Drea Stephens sat depressed and alone in her now bare walled, drafty
room. She'd been there for hours, occasionally crying, wiping away tears
and puffy cheeks, and thinking about the only thing she had left. Her
memories. They were what kept her up at night, reminded her that she was
alone, and led her to believe that she would be better off dead and with
those she loved, than alive and dreadfully on her own.
The war was over, the dark lord had been defeated, and she was left with nothing but a broken heart, a shattered soul, and in her mind, nothing left worth living for. She was an auror for the Ministry of Magic, only 22 and an active member for The Order of the Phoenix. But she had another job, one that had taken what life she had left in her long ago. She had buried those she lost in the war, every one of them.
Silently, she slipped off the bed and walked across the room over into a corner where a small chest lay shut. She lowered herself to the ground, letting her back thump hollowly against the wall, then pulled the chest to her, opening it slowly. Inside lay a well preserved, red, leather bound album with gold embossing upon the front.
Drea's long dark auburn hair fell messily in her face as she pulled out the treasured scrapbook and dusted it off. Sitting it on her lap, and quickly wiping her eyes, she opened it, leafing through the first few pages. She stopped about 4 pages in and stared longingly at the picture, more so, the people in front of her.
"Kat," Drea muttered to herself, letting a tear escape her eye and run down her cheek.
Waving happily from the picture was a fair skinned, long blonde haired, light blue eyed girl in her wedding dress. She was ravishing with her hair pulled up and curled into soft tendrils, pinned every which way, framing her face. Kat Bristow was 20 when she married Rabastan Lestrange. Little did she know that he would be one of the dark lords more prominent death eaters and in the end, her murderer.
Kat pulled Drea into the picture with her, laughing wildly as they played around; their arms draped over each other's shoulders. Drea in a long slimming black dress, her hair down and straight, but curled into ringlets at the end. They were best friends, the troublesome two, together forever until death do them part. They smiled at the camera, Drea now toasting to Kat and Rabastan, flashing her once famous grin
A little less than a year ago, Kat had become aware that Rabastan was not the husband he appeared to be. She too, was a member of the order and now her life was in danger as well. She opted to go into hiding, to flee from the home she shared with him. Deciding to stay with her family, (who were muggles) she went home, Rabastan was enraged.
He tracked her down after 6 months, learning her hiding place from an insider in his circle. She had no time to protect herself, in the dead of night he entered their house, silently killing her mother and father first. Then he proceeded into her bedroom where she layed asleep and unaware her life was soon to end. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, he rubbed her back, waking her up sweetly.
Kat opened her eyes and stared into all too familiar ones.
"Rabastan.. No.. Please... How could you?" she gasped, seemingly too frightened to move.
He shook his head slowly, a malicious grin spreading across his lips.
"Goodbye Darling," he whispered, firmly jabbing his wand into her chest.
"Avada Kedavra."
Drea shook her head violently, trying desperately not to cry. Her best friend, murdered by her own husband. It was she who found Kat's body, cold and pale in the bed where she'd been killed. Kat was not the first to go, nor was she the last. The memorial service was short and depressing. Drea, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James had all helped carry the casket to the grave, and watched together as they lowered it into the ground.
Drea flipped through the next few pictures, stopping once again to rest on a picture of herself and her longtime love, embracing tightly, and looking deeply into each others eyes.
She had loved Sirius Black with everything she had; in fact, she would have done anything for him, died for him without second thought or notion. They were to marry only a month from now, but no, it would never be. Sirius was not the man she thought him to be. She herself along with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody, only weeks before, had escorted him to Azkaban, locking him away in his cell, for the rest of his life.
They'd met fifth year and became fast friends. Always laughing and taking midnight flights around the Quidditch pitch. Though Drea was never a apart of the apparent gang of the four inseparable boys, she still was close friends with all of them, but tended to stay with her own group of girls, or spent a lot of time alone in the common room.
Drea and Sirius had always had a companionship between them when it came to Quidditch. She being their seeker and he being one of their beaters, making it his apparent that his job was to protect her while she hunted for the snitch.
By the end of fifth year Sirius and Drea had become a couple, almost always smiling around each other and for the most part, getting along. Their bickering was quite an entertainment for the main population of the school as well. Yelling matches across the hallways, hexing, and then of course the occasional make up and make out "lets go snogging in a near by broom closet" routine. Throughout the remainder of their years at Hogwarts they stayed together, though their relationship tended to get a bit rocky at times, they were still undeniably in love with each other, but thankfully not attached at the hip.
But in the end, Sirius had gone as well, betraying not only her, but everyone who had ever cared about him. Killing two of his best friends and countless muggles in the mix. Never would she love again. No matter how hard she tried, she would always love the infamous and traitorous Sirius Black.
She would never forget the night he had proposed to her. The way he took her out on his broom, just like old times. How he flew her off to a deserted meadow, full of beauty and life, then proceeded to get down on one knee and without a word slip a beautiful ring on her finger.
Flashback
"What's this?" Drea asked, dismounting the broom with labored ease. She looked around the clearing and smiled inwardly to herself. She knew this place all too well. The times she and Sirius had run off together on the weekends at school had always led them here. She turned around to face Sirius, who was staring at her affectionately, a grin spread wide across his face.
"Do you remember?" He asked, stepping forward and grasping her hand.
"Sirius, it was only 3 years ago that we graduated. How could I forget?" Drea replied, smiling.
Drea looked around again, taking in the beautiful night sky and the bright stars that lit up the meadow. She looked back to Sirius and felt her breath catch in her chest as she realized what he was doing.
He kneeled in front of her on one knee, holding some sort of velvet box in his free hand. He gently lifted the hand he held of Drea's in his up to his lips, kissing it softly. Then wordlessly, he opened the velvet box and took out a silver engraved ring. It wasn't much, nor was it too expensive. He slid it softly onto her finger and gazed into her eyes, awaiting her reply.
Drea let out a quiet gasp as she stared at the ring on her finger. In her eyes it was beautiful.
"Are- are you asking me to marry you?" Drea laughed then continued. "The heartthrob, never one to settle down really, "I'm never gonna get married" Sirius Black, is asking me to marry him???"
"Amazing isn't it?" Sirius replied, now standing in front of her.
"Extremely!" Drea exclaimed, gazing at the ring on her finger, studying it carefully. She had never been so in love nor had she ever felt so deeply for one person. Never did she honestly think she would end up with Sirius, but now that it was apparent she was going to, it was like a dream come true.
"Well? Is that a yes then Ms. Stephens or dare I call you Mrs. Black?"
She paused for a minute, feeling as though she might cry then whispered, "Yes. Yes, of course I will marry you."
Sirius's face lit up with sheer delight as he wrapped an arm around Drea and pulled her into a tight embrace.
End Flashback ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The happiest day of her life, all gone in what seemed like an instant.
Her tears wet the page somberly, as her sobs were soft and mournful. Only god knew why she had experienced the things she had, and lost the things that meant the most to her. Only god knew why she was contemplating taking her own life.
She turned the page and looked down at the picture that sat in front of her. A seventeen year old boy with longish sandy brown hair and light brown- honey colored eyes smiled shyly at the camera. He had a book in one hand, and casually was running the other through his hair.
Remus Lupin had survived the war as well, he and Drea alone. They had remained close friends even after Hogwarts. He and James were both set to be Sirius' best man at the wedding. But after Lily and James had died, they hadn't talked much, both too consumed in the mourning that had engulfed them.
She saw him about a week ago, at James and Lily's service, they both helped carry the caskets to the graves as they had done so for others that they knew many times before. They were the last 2 to stay at the gravesite that day, in the rain and cold. After minutes of silence, Remus quietly walked over to her and wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Why? What do we do now, Remus? They're gone, everyone, we're alone. I've got no one left" Drea broke down into his strong shoulder, her cheeks streaming with tears. "It's alright, everything will be alright. Time Drea, time heals all." Remus replied softly, holding her tighter. He wished he could cry, but no, he must be strong. She was the last friend he had left, he had to be strong. They would make it through this together.
Drea put her hands over her face, sobs racking her body. Kat, James, Lily, Peter, Sirius, all dead. All gone in what seemed like a blink of an eye.
She turned the page once more, coming upon the last picture she would ever see. It had been taken near the end of their 7th year, right after a Quidditch match. First on the far left was Lily, beautiful and elegant as ever in her school uniform, clapping her hands together and smiling brightly. Obviously enthralled about the recent win over Slytherin.
Next to her was James in his Quidditch robes and pads, holding his broom, and of course, had his arm draped around Lily's shoulders. He too was smiling widely, looking around at all his friends. His black hair looked wind blown and stuck up in odd directions in the back, but still he looked so alive.
Right next to James was Kat, jumping up and down quickly, her face vivid and content looking. She wore her school uniform with the Gryffindor scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, and a book clasped in her hand. Her glasses were a bit crooked on the tip of her nose, but never had she looked to happy that Drea could remember.
On Kat's left and next the picture was none other than Peter. He waved sheepishly at the camera, his blond hair messy and chubby face pink with excitement. He turned to look at Kat who was still acting like a maniac and began to laugh with the rest.
Next to Peter was Sirius, also still wearing his Quidditch robes, pads, and carrying his beater's club. He pulled Drea into his body (who happened to be standing next to him) and gave her a quick peck on the lips, then grinned broadly at the camera and waved.
Drea smiled genuinely from Sirius's side and waved a closed fist at the camera, for in fact she still had the snitch grasped in her hand, fluttering madly. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so happy or felt so loved and un-alone.
Next to Drea, on the very far right of the picture was Remus, laughing happily along with everyone else. His eyes were bright and alert, hopeful and full of youth. He turned to Drea and Sirius, praising them for their excellent match and fantastic play. He was also dressed in school uniform, his shirt partly unbuttoned though, and his tie hanging loosely around his neck.
"The old crowd," Drea whispered to herself, closing the leather bound album gently and setting it back in the chest it had been extracted from.
She stood up from her hiding place back in the corner and looked around her room. She couldn't deal with any of this anymore. The sorrow, the pain, the hate, the betrayal, there is only so much a person can take before it's too much.
She turned around and looked into the full length mirror hanging on her wall. She was no longer the woman she had once been, she was no longer who she wanted to be. Her bright blue eyes were now a dull, dark, blue, while her long waist length dark auburn hair hung limply around her. Her once curvy body was now thin and seemingly shapeless.
"No more." She told herself in a sad but firm tone. She pulled the chest out into the middle on the room, grabbing some parchment off her desk while doing so. She scribbled a quick note on it and sat it on the chest, then headed back over to her desk. She took out another piece of parchment and her favorite quill and began to write:
My Dear Remus,
These wounds won't seem to heal. This pain is just too real. There's just too much that time cannot erase. Good by my friend.
Your friend evermore, Drea
She folded the paper up and walked over to her window, opening it hastily. She whistled softly, and listened as the flapping of wings became more evident in the midnight air. Her owl landed softly on the window, and was patient as Drea attached the letter to her leg.
"Take this to Remus Lupin," Drea stated clearly, sending the owl off on its way. She did not stay to watch it take flight, but simply turned around and walked back over into the middle of the room.
She glanced around one last time and pulled out her wand from her back pocket.
"Goodbye..." She whispered to the empty place.
She took one last deep breath and pushed the wand tip in between the center of her breasts.
"Avada Kedavra."
The war was over, the dark lord had been defeated, and she was left with nothing but a broken heart, a shattered soul, and in her mind, nothing left worth living for. She was an auror for the Ministry of Magic, only 22 and an active member for The Order of the Phoenix. But she had another job, one that had taken what life she had left in her long ago. She had buried those she lost in the war, every one of them.
Silently, she slipped off the bed and walked across the room over into a corner where a small chest lay shut. She lowered herself to the ground, letting her back thump hollowly against the wall, then pulled the chest to her, opening it slowly. Inside lay a well preserved, red, leather bound album with gold embossing upon the front.
Drea's long dark auburn hair fell messily in her face as she pulled out the treasured scrapbook and dusted it off. Sitting it on her lap, and quickly wiping her eyes, she opened it, leafing through the first few pages. She stopped about 4 pages in and stared longingly at the picture, more so, the people in front of her.
"Kat," Drea muttered to herself, letting a tear escape her eye and run down her cheek.
Waving happily from the picture was a fair skinned, long blonde haired, light blue eyed girl in her wedding dress. She was ravishing with her hair pulled up and curled into soft tendrils, pinned every which way, framing her face. Kat Bristow was 20 when she married Rabastan Lestrange. Little did she know that he would be one of the dark lords more prominent death eaters and in the end, her murderer.
Kat pulled Drea into the picture with her, laughing wildly as they played around; their arms draped over each other's shoulders. Drea in a long slimming black dress, her hair down and straight, but curled into ringlets at the end. They were best friends, the troublesome two, together forever until death do them part. They smiled at the camera, Drea now toasting to Kat and Rabastan, flashing her once famous grin
A little less than a year ago, Kat had become aware that Rabastan was not the husband he appeared to be. She too, was a member of the order and now her life was in danger as well. She opted to go into hiding, to flee from the home she shared with him. Deciding to stay with her family, (who were muggles) she went home, Rabastan was enraged.
He tracked her down after 6 months, learning her hiding place from an insider in his circle. She had no time to protect herself, in the dead of night he entered their house, silently killing her mother and father first. Then he proceeded into her bedroom where she layed asleep and unaware her life was soon to end. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, he rubbed her back, waking her up sweetly.
Kat opened her eyes and stared into all too familiar ones.
"Rabastan.. No.. Please... How could you?" she gasped, seemingly too frightened to move.
He shook his head slowly, a malicious grin spreading across his lips.
"Goodbye Darling," he whispered, firmly jabbing his wand into her chest.
"Avada Kedavra."
Drea shook her head violently, trying desperately not to cry. Her best friend, murdered by her own husband. It was she who found Kat's body, cold and pale in the bed where she'd been killed. Kat was not the first to go, nor was she the last. The memorial service was short and depressing. Drea, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James had all helped carry the casket to the grave, and watched together as they lowered it into the ground.
Drea flipped through the next few pictures, stopping once again to rest on a picture of herself and her longtime love, embracing tightly, and looking deeply into each others eyes.
She had loved Sirius Black with everything she had; in fact, she would have done anything for him, died for him without second thought or notion. They were to marry only a month from now, but no, it would never be. Sirius was not the man she thought him to be. She herself along with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody, only weeks before, had escorted him to Azkaban, locking him away in his cell, for the rest of his life.
They'd met fifth year and became fast friends. Always laughing and taking midnight flights around the Quidditch pitch. Though Drea was never a apart of the apparent gang of the four inseparable boys, she still was close friends with all of them, but tended to stay with her own group of girls, or spent a lot of time alone in the common room.
Drea and Sirius had always had a companionship between them when it came to Quidditch. She being their seeker and he being one of their beaters, making it his apparent that his job was to protect her while she hunted for the snitch.
By the end of fifth year Sirius and Drea had become a couple, almost always smiling around each other and for the most part, getting along. Their bickering was quite an entertainment for the main population of the school as well. Yelling matches across the hallways, hexing, and then of course the occasional make up and make out "lets go snogging in a near by broom closet" routine. Throughout the remainder of their years at Hogwarts they stayed together, though their relationship tended to get a bit rocky at times, they were still undeniably in love with each other, but thankfully not attached at the hip.
But in the end, Sirius had gone as well, betraying not only her, but everyone who had ever cared about him. Killing two of his best friends and countless muggles in the mix. Never would she love again. No matter how hard she tried, she would always love the infamous and traitorous Sirius Black.
She would never forget the night he had proposed to her. The way he took her out on his broom, just like old times. How he flew her off to a deserted meadow, full of beauty and life, then proceeded to get down on one knee and without a word slip a beautiful ring on her finger.
Flashback
"What's this?" Drea asked, dismounting the broom with labored ease. She looked around the clearing and smiled inwardly to herself. She knew this place all too well. The times she and Sirius had run off together on the weekends at school had always led them here. She turned around to face Sirius, who was staring at her affectionately, a grin spread wide across his face.
"Do you remember?" He asked, stepping forward and grasping her hand.
"Sirius, it was only 3 years ago that we graduated. How could I forget?" Drea replied, smiling.
Drea looked around again, taking in the beautiful night sky and the bright stars that lit up the meadow. She looked back to Sirius and felt her breath catch in her chest as she realized what he was doing.
He kneeled in front of her on one knee, holding some sort of velvet box in his free hand. He gently lifted the hand he held of Drea's in his up to his lips, kissing it softly. Then wordlessly, he opened the velvet box and took out a silver engraved ring. It wasn't much, nor was it too expensive. He slid it softly onto her finger and gazed into her eyes, awaiting her reply.
Drea let out a quiet gasp as she stared at the ring on her finger. In her eyes it was beautiful.
"Are- are you asking me to marry you?" Drea laughed then continued. "The heartthrob, never one to settle down really, "I'm never gonna get married" Sirius Black, is asking me to marry him???"
"Amazing isn't it?" Sirius replied, now standing in front of her.
"Extremely!" Drea exclaimed, gazing at the ring on her finger, studying it carefully. She had never been so in love nor had she ever felt so deeply for one person. Never did she honestly think she would end up with Sirius, but now that it was apparent she was going to, it was like a dream come true.
"Well? Is that a yes then Ms. Stephens or dare I call you Mrs. Black?"
She paused for a minute, feeling as though she might cry then whispered, "Yes. Yes, of course I will marry you."
Sirius's face lit up with sheer delight as he wrapped an arm around Drea and pulled her into a tight embrace.
End Flashback ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The happiest day of her life, all gone in what seemed like an instant.
Her tears wet the page somberly, as her sobs were soft and mournful. Only god knew why she had experienced the things she had, and lost the things that meant the most to her. Only god knew why she was contemplating taking her own life.
She turned the page and looked down at the picture that sat in front of her. A seventeen year old boy with longish sandy brown hair and light brown- honey colored eyes smiled shyly at the camera. He had a book in one hand, and casually was running the other through his hair.
Remus Lupin had survived the war as well, he and Drea alone. They had remained close friends even after Hogwarts. He and James were both set to be Sirius' best man at the wedding. But after Lily and James had died, they hadn't talked much, both too consumed in the mourning that had engulfed them.
She saw him about a week ago, at James and Lily's service, they both helped carry the caskets to the graves as they had done so for others that they knew many times before. They were the last 2 to stay at the gravesite that day, in the rain and cold. After minutes of silence, Remus quietly walked over to her and wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Why? What do we do now, Remus? They're gone, everyone, we're alone. I've got no one left" Drea broke down into his strong shoulder, her cheeks streaming with tears. "It's alright, everything will be alright. Time Drea, time heals all." Remus replied softly, holding her tighter. He wished he could cry, but no, he must be strong. She was the last friend he had left, he had to be strong. They would make it through this together.
Drea put her hands over her face, sobs racking her body. Kat, James, Lily, Peter, Sirius, all dead. All gone in what seemed like a blink of an eye.
She turned the page once more, coming upon the last picture she would ever see. It had been taken near the end of their 7th year, right after a Quidditch match. First on the far left was Lily, beautiful and elegant as ever in her school uniform, clapping her hands together and smiling brightly. Obviously enthralled about the recent win over Slytherin.
Next to her was James in his Quidditch robes and pads, holding his broom, and of course, had his arm draped around Lily's shoulders. He too was smiling widely, looking around at all his friends. His black hair looked wind blown and stuck up in odd directions in the back, but still he looked so alive.
Right next to James was Kat, jumping up and down quickly, her face vivid and content looking. She wore her school uniform with the Gryffindor scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, and a book clasped in her hand. Her glasses were a bit crooked on the tip of her nose, but never had she looked to happy that Drea could remember.
On Kat's left and next the picture was none other than Peter. He waved sheepishly at the camera, his blond hair messy and chubby face pink with excitement. He turned to look at Kat who was still acting like a maniac and began to laugh with the rest.
Next to Peter was Sirius, also still wearing his Quidditch robes, pads, and carrying his beater's club. He pulled Drea into his body (who happened to be standing next to him) and gave her a quick peck on the lips, then grinned broadly at the camera and waved.
Drea smiled genuinely from Sirius's side and waved a closed fist at the camera, for in fact she still had the snitch grasped in her hand, fluttering madly. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so happy or felt so loved and un-alone.
Next to Drea, on the very far right of the picture was Remus, laughing happily along with everyone else. His eyes were bright and alert, hopeful and full of youth. He turned to Drea and Sirius, praising them for their excellent match and fantastic play. He was also dressed in school uniform, his shirt partly unbuttoned though, and his tie hanging loosely around his neck.
"The old crowd," Drea whispered to herself, closing the leather bound album gently and setting it back in the chest it had been extracted from.
She stood up from her hiding place back in the corner and looked around her room. She couldn't deal with any of this anymore. The sorrow, the pain, the hate, the betrayal, there is only so much a person can take before it's too much.
She turned around and looked into the full length mirror hanging on her wall. She was no longer the woman she had once been, she was no longer who she wanted to be. Her bright blue eyes were now a dull, dark, blue, while her long waist length dark auburn hair hung limply around her. Her once curvy body was now thin and seemingly shapeless.
"No more." She told herself in a sad but firm tone. She pulled the chest out into the middle on the room, grabbing some parchment off her desk while doing so. She scribbled a quick note on it and sat it on the chest, then headed back over to her desk. She took out another piece of parchment and her favorite quill and began to write:
My Dear Remus,
These wounds won't seem to heal. This pain is just too real. There's just too much that time cannot erase. Good by my friend.
Your friend evermore, Drea
She folded the paper up and walked over to her window, opening it hastily. She whistled softly, and listened as the flapping of wings became more evident in the midnight air. Her owl landed softly on the window, and was patient as Drea attached the letter to her leg.
"Take this to Remus Lupin," Drea stated clearly, sending the owl off on its way. She did not stay to watch it take flight, but simply turned around and walked back over into the middle of the room.
She glanced around one last time and pulled out her wand from her back pocket.
"Goodbye..." She whispered to the empty place.
She took one last deep breath and pushed the wand tip in between the center of her breasts.
"Avada Kedavra."