Disclaimer: Once again...I do not own Harry Potter, nor would I ever claim to own Harry Potter. Sad fact of life.
Alex opened the door to her flat after a very long day. Days like this made her want to quit her job as an Auror and open up a joke shop. Or, at the very least, go into the country to live the rest of her life in peace.
Lately she had been working on a case that was especially confusing and tiresome, that of tracking the whereabouts of Bellatrix Black, one of the most wanted Death Eaters of the time and, ironically, her own cousin. Not that either of them would acknowledge the relationship.
Alex had to admit, she was made for the job. Having grown up with Bellatrix, one of the most evil witches alive, Alex thought she should be able to read her mind like no one else could. But still, she was drawing a blank. Six months of hard work and still no Bellatrix.
The most frustrating part was that Alex was sure she had all the information she needed to find her infamous cousin. It was just a matter of putting the pieces of the puzzle together in the right way. But then that was always the hardest part of an Auror's job.
Stop complaining, she thought to herself. You know you love it. Which was true. There was nothing more appealing to her than uncovering the most evil witches and wizards alive and exterminating them for their crimes.
Well, that wasn't completely true. There was one thing, one person rather, more appealing, she thought as she looked at her engagement ring.
It certainly wasn't much to look at, but who could afford expensive rings at a time like this, especially Remus? Hard-pressed to find a job in normal conditions, Remus, like her, had devoted all his time and energy to the Order. But he does still manage to save quite a lot of his energy for you, she reminded herself.
Alex climbed into bed, only bothering to idly fling her shoes across the room. She couldn't manage to work up the energy to change; she was exhausted.
Pulling the sheets up around her body, Alex stared at the ceiling. Tomorrow was the big day. Her wedding day. Her gown was ready in the closet, and Lily would come early tomorrow to help her with her hair and makeup. Alex even suspected that Remus had saved his money to buy her a small diamond ring. Okay, so she didn't suspect that he had bought her a ring, she knew it. Remus was never any good at hiding things from her in the first place, and admittedly she had used her abilities as an Auror to find the ring. It was small, nothing that anyone would gawk over, but it fit her perfectly. It was intricately crafted and beautiful in its delicacy. She hadn't realized that Remus had such good taste. You'd never know it to look at his clothes.
That's not fair, Alex, she reprimanded herself. It's not like he's got loads of money stored away, and he's spending what he does earn on you! She did know, however, that he would certainly be flawlessly attired tomorrow. Their wedding was as important to him as it was to her, though it would be a small affair because of the war.
She remembered Remus' face as she accepted his proposal and fell asleep warm in the comfort of his imaginary embrace.
Alex woke with a start. She was breathing hard, her head throbbing with the knowledge that something was not right. Somewhere in her cursed pureblood family, there had been a seer, and she had endowed Alex with just enough sight to discomfort herself. It could occasionally come in handy as an Auror, but it sent as many false alarms as it did true warnings.
Alex almost rolled over and went back to sleep but decided to check the door to calm her paranoia before she went back to bed. She silently slid out from under her sheets and grabbed her wand at her nightstand. A faint green light shimmered through the crack underneath the door, and Alex's heart raced as she realized her predicament. She backed away from the door as it exploded off its hinges with a flare of green light. Two people strode into the room, silhouetted in the light from the doorway.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Alex shouted as she recognized the form Bellatrix and her husband, but the two blocked the spell, sending it hurtling back at Alex.
Caught off-guard, Alex cursed, dodging the spell like a novice. Pull yourself together, or you'll end up dead, she thought. For goodness sake, you're an Auror after all!
She thought of sending a message to the Order, but she didn't have the time, she was so busy blocking deadly spells and sending her own back. So far, she had only managed to singe Bellatrix's hair, something that made her cousin even angrier. Alex knew the battle was over before it had even started. Outnumbered two to one, she would never win. It was just a matter of time before…Alex yelled as her wand flew out of her hand, a well-aimed spell from Bellatrix sending it to the other end of the room. Alex dove for it, but Bellatrix's husband had already sent a binding spell, and ropes caught her painfully midway through her flight, sending her flat against the floor on her stomach.
Alex breathed hard as she attempted to reach her wand. It was hopelessly far away. She would die here, the night before her wedding day. The thought brought tears to her eyes.
"Boo-hoo, my poor little cousin crying like a baby," Bellatrix spat, her hands over her mouth in mock-horror. "So sad, ickle Alexandra, the night before your wedding day too." Bellatrix used her foot to flip Alex over onto her back like she was flipping a fish frying on a pan.
Alex's eyes opened wide in shock. The pig had planned this! How did Bellatrix know about her wedding date though? Only close friends knew about her wedding.
Then it all made sense. The spy. He had told her. The spy was the key to everything. And she realized with a start who it was. If only she could reach her wand, tell the rest of the betrayal of little Peter Pettigrew. It would be worth even her death to reveal that spying rat.
But Bellatrix immediately guessed her plan. "Now why would you want to go all noble and tell your friends about Peter?" she said with a cackle, snapping Alex's wand neatly in half like a twig. "No, we'll let them find out for themselves, when it's far too late to recover. And when you're long dead and forgotten."
Alex shivered. Her cousin was pure evil, no doubt about it. And she bet that she wouldn't be satisfied with simply killing her quickly.
Bellatrix drew close to Alex, whispering in her ear. "You really have no idea how long I've been waiting for this, for the chance to kill you. You've always been a pest, you and Sirius, my two rotten, goody goody cousins. Think you're so noble, so brave. Well, let's see how brave you are under the Cruciatus Curse, shall we? You'll betray all your friends, yes, even your fiancé, in your pain!"
Alex refused to let Bellatrix see her fear. She spat on her cousin, saying, "Try me scum."
Bellatrix howled in rage. "CRUCIO!" she screeched.
Alex felt pain like she'd never felt before. Her body went stiff with contortions, her back arched, fighting against the ropes that bound her. When Bellatrix let up, her arms and legs were bleeding from the ropes, but a look of defiance still gleamed in her eye.
"Is that all you've got?" she yelled, determined to not give in an inch to her cousin.
"CRUCIO!" Bellatrix howled, her black eyes mad with rage.
Alex was awash in pain. She retreated into her mind. At least Bellatrix couldn't touch her there, couldn't force her to give up her soul as well as her body. Alex knew Bellatrix was playing with her, like a cat plays with a mouse, but soon the games would stop, and the cat would grow tired of its game. Her pain was unbearable. She longed for Bellatrix to just end it all. Her only regret as Bellatrix shouted "Avada Kedavra" was the thought of Remus' face when he found her lifeless body. I'll never really leave you, she tried to tell him. I love you. Please know that, please understand.
Author's Note: Sorry I've taken so long to update this! I didn't really want her to die, so I think it took longer for me to decide to post it. That and an excessive amount of homework combined with senioritus.For anyone mad with me for killing Alex off I have these words: It had to happen. This is not an Alternate Universe fanfiction, and Remus isn't married in the books, and so he doesn't get married here either...by a day. Oh yeah, and Bellatrix is pure evil, so she'd definitely love doing something like this.
Thanks neurotica5684for reading and reviewing! And I'm sorry again that this took so long! Hopefully you're faster atupdating your stories than I have been lately!
Thanks for reading my story everyone and please review! Oh, and I'd best mention as well that this isn't the end of the story!