***TW: Violence; Profanity.
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Chapter 43 - Ashes to Ashes
July 21
The shifting weight on the mattress caused Emmeline to awake in a panic. She snatched her wand from the nightstand, shot up, and pointed it towards whoever had entered her bedroom in the middle of the night.
Remus, having just arrived home from his trip, held up his hands in defense. His hair had grown out considerably and the skin of his face was dappled with small cuts. Seeing that it was him, Emmeline's heart leapt in her chest - but her wand remained up.
"Fifth year - What book were you reading the day we spoke on the bridge?" she asked, her voice full of gravel from sleep.
Remus smiled wearily. "To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf."
Once she confirmed that it really was him, she cast her wand aside and climbed fervently into his arms, kissing him hard. Ignoring his soreness and reciprocating the kiss, Remus enveloped her in as strong an embrace as he could currently muster.
Emmeline held his face in her hands and kissed him over and over again, moving so quickly from one kiss to another that you'd have thought she was gasping for air and Remus' lips were her only source of oxygen. "That trip was too long," she murmured against his mouth. He'd been gone three months to the day.
He lowered Emmeline back down onto the bed and laid beside her just to feel her close. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't have stayed so long this time if it hadn't been so productive. Dumbledore was pleased with what I gathered."
"And what did you gather?"
Again, he gave her a weak smile. "That, my dear, is classified," he said apologetically, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "I've missed you terribly."
"Missed me?" she repeated, mildly amused. "I spent three months in a tizzy wondering every second if you were still alive. I think I've got you beat."
As Remus gently stroked her cheek, he wondered if he should ask... "How's it been here?"
Emmeline blinked rapidly. Her first impulse was to lie and say that things had been fine, but they hadn't.
"...Pretty dreadful," she admitted, her bottom lip quivering.
…
The morning sunlight shining through the window found Emmeline and Remus in each other's arms. Excited to finally have him home, Emmeline woke up uncharacteristically early and quietly untangled herself from his embrace. Remus was so exhausted that he hardly stirred. When she rose from the bed, Emmeline took a moment to appreciate the sight of the tired lycan sprawled out on the mattress, still in his clothes from the night before. His poor body was probably in so much pain after three whole months off the Wolfsbane, but at least for now he was resting. What small comfort could she offer him to soften the blow of waking up to the aches?
And then it came to her: "Fresh pastries," she thought. It had been forever since the two of them splurged on treats from the bakery down the road. A day like today called for pastries, not whatever sad excuse for breakfast she'd been settling for lately. She slipped on a comfortable dress and located her satchel before commandeering a pair of Remus' boots. Thank God it was a Sunday; she wouldn't have to contend with a shift at Flourish and Blotts, and could instead spend the day getting reacquainted with her sorely-missed beau.
She tip-toed down the stairs and raised her wand towards the front door before setting off.
"Finite."
The atmosphere shifted as the protective spells surrounding the townhome dissolved. The shop was only five minutes down the road, hardly far enough to require that she re-cast them before she returned.
The walk was pleasant enough, though the direct July sunlight felt foreign on Emmeline's skin. Recent patrols with the Order had practically turned her nocturnal. She relished in the mundane-ness of the morning - taking a casual stroll, wearing a dress she hadn't put on in ages - it made her feel normal. She felt like a regular old twenty-one-year-old for the first time in a long time.
The owner of the bakery chuckled as she unlocked the front door of the shop for Emmeline. "Early bird catches the worm I suppose," she chirped, welcoming her inside then piddling back behind the counter. "The croissants are fresh this morning, if that sparks your interest."
"I'll take two of everything."
The owner turned her lips upward, impressed. "Two of everything it is. Having a garden party?"
"Something like that."
…
"I expect Sirius is still sleeping?" Lorna McKinnon asked from her place at the breakfast table. "I'm convinced that boy could sleep through a hurricane."
"No Mum," Marlene responded from the kitchen as she poured hot water for tea. "He set off early this morning, remember I told you? James had something to tell him."
Clyde McKinnon, dressed in his Ministry attire, lowered his copy of The Daily Prophet. "Is James the strapping fellow, or the one with the scarred face? Or the portly one?"
"The first one. Remus has the scars on his face, Peter's the portly one. Honestly Da, you can name all the players on Angus' Quidditch team, shouldn't you be able to remember my friends' names?"
"Do your friends play Quidditch?" asked Angus, his mouth full of toast.
"Not anymore."
"Then he's probably not gonnae to remember their names."
Marlene rolled her eyes, and turned to stare out the kitchen window while her tea steeped.
All of the sudden, she heard the unexpected sound of an apparition and spun around and reach for her wand.
She met Peter's eyes, and for a fraction of a second, she was relieved.
…
Emmeline paid for the box of various pastries and pies with muggle money. She didn't get to use it often, and was always a bit excited to pay in pounds. It made her think of her father.
She helped herself to one of the warm croissants as she walked back home. She might as well enjoy it while it was fresh, since they'd inevitably be cold by the time Remus woke up. When she'd gobbled it all up, she had to wipe the flakes from her mouth and dress to hide the evidence. She heard a squawk overhead and looked up to find Orpheus following her. "You'd better not tell on me," she jested.
But the rest of the pastries went to waste anyway. She dropped the box on the ground when she turned the corner to find the house being searched high and low by death eaters.
She scampered back around the nearest building, kicking the box out of view and drawing her wand, her heart pounding. Peeking back towards the townhouse, she spotted Mulciber standing outside giving orders to others. The front door had been blasted apart, and a few adjacent neighbors were being threatened to go back into their homes. There were far too many death eaters for Emmeline to take on alone, and Remus-
Emmeline felt as though all the blood had gone out of her body.
Remus was asleep inside.
She peeked out again, her eyes searching wildy for him, as three death eaters emerged from the house to report their findings to Mulciber. Emmeline was too far away to catch everything, but she definitely heard something about "Malfoy," "we can't find her," and "Travers [something something] the other one."
But she was distinctly able to hear Mulciber deliver this instruction: "Burn it down!"
…
Marlene cried out as she took a second blow to the face, and dropped onto her hands and knees on the floor of the kitchen.
"MARLEY!" Angus screamed.
"STOP IT! STOP IT!" her mother sobbed.
The death eater who had hold of Lorna only pulled her hair harder. "Be quiet, or you're next to go!"
Clyde McKinnon already lay motionless on the floor.
Travers rubbed his knuckles, preparing to deliver another punch. "Had enough yet, cupcake?"
"FUCK OFF!" Marlene spat.
A bone-chilling smile crawled across Travers' lips. "I'm just getting started."
Lorna just kept whispering "Please, please, please," over and over through her tears. Angus was fighting hard to free himself from his captor.
With blood dripping from her nose and mouth, Marlene swiveled her head viciously to Peter. He had shoved himself in the corner of the room, his eyes fixed safely on the floor where they would not have to endure her gaze.
"It's been you this whole time," she growled.
Peter winced at her words, but said nothing. Did nothing.
Travers began to snicker. "You know, I thought he'd be useless. Turns out he's quite the chatter-box when you've got him at the end of a wand."
Marlene roared with rage, starting towards Peter. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD-"
Peter shrieked and cowered from her, but lucky for him, Travers' fist was quicker. Marlene fell back to the ground again, the screams of her mother and brother enveloping her like a strange embrace.
It was then that Marlene realized none of her friends were safe, and only then did she begin to cry.
…
Emmeline bit her lip to abate tears, watching helplessly as the death eaters set the house on fire. They laughed as they hurled flames up onto the roof. When they were satisfied with their work, they disapparated.
After they had all gone, she rushed out from her hiding spot towards the blaze, her wand in hand. Some neighbors tried to grab her as she ran straight past them into the burning building.
"REMUS!" she screamed, coughing and choking on the smoke filling the air. Pointing her wand at the flames nearest her, she shouted: "Aguamenti!" But the spell was no match for the hastening magnitude of the house fire. She gave up and sped up the stairs, accidentally grabbing the bannister and scorching her hand on the metal. She let out a wail but ignored the burn, and continued up to the second floor. The entire bedroom was already engulfed in flames. The bed had gone up in an inferno, and through the smoke she could not make out whether or not Remus' body was on it. If it was, he was gone.
Emmeline apparated to the wooden thicket behind the house, vomited at the base of a tree, then stumbled a few feet away and collapsed on her hands and knees. Having forgotten all about her burn, she clenched the earth underneath her palms to stabilize herself as she quaked with sobs.
A nearby whoosh frightened her, and she shot up on her knees, her wand wavering in her trembling hand.
"EMMELINE!" Remus screeched, sprinting through the trees.
Relief rushed through her. She flung herself into Remus as he skidded to the ground and seized her in his arms.
"Thank God-"
"I thought they killed you," she bawled into his shoulder, squeezing him tighter than she ever had before. "I thought you were in the fi-fire!"
"Orpheus woke me up, I saw them coming. I didn't know where you were, I was so worried!"
Crying against Remus, Emmeline had a sudden, horrible epiphany: Something that one of the death eaters had said before had suddenly become clear:
"Travers is taking care of the other one."
Malfoy. Travers. The other one...
She pushed herself up and began to panic again. "They're going after Marlene!"
…
When they apparated to the McKinnons, the house was already ignited. The column of thick, black smoke over the flames made a canvas for a monstrous dark mark.
"NO!" Emmeline screamed, headed straight for the inferno, but Remus flung his arms around her waist and held her back.
"EMMELINE-"
"LET ME GO!" she shouted, writhing in his grasp. "MARLENE! SIRIUS!"
Not only was it possible that Marlene was in there; it had just occurred to Remus that Sirius, who had been staying with the McKinnons, could have also been in the fire. His momentary shock allowed Emmeline a split second to break free of him and race towards the house.
"EMMELINE, STOP!" he cried, running after her.
There was no possible point of entry - the flames had already engulfed every doorway and window. Emmeline searched the perimeter of the house desperately, but could not find a way in.
"MARLENE!" she called again through a broken window, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice. "SIRIUS!" No one answered.
Remus had caught up and attempted to pull her away again, but she shook him off and drew her wand. "Aguamenti!" Now that her voice wasn't hindered by smoke, a larger gush of water flew out of her wand towards the house.
"Emmeline," Remus beckoned, reaching for her arm again. "You can't-"
"Help me!" With her wand still pointed at the flames, she spun around to face him. "HELP ME!" she begged.
Feeling utterly powerless, Remus looked up at the flames. They towered so high that they were kissing the feet of the smoky dark mark. "Aguamenti!"
Even together, their streams of water had little effect on the raging pyre. Remus knew it too; but he glanced over at Emmeline, the heat evaporating the tears from her cheeks, completely concentrated on getting to her friends - dead or alive. He realized she would spend all day trying to put this fire out if she had to, and this gave Remus the will to do the same.
From up above their heads, they heard a faint rumbling. Remus glanced up at the sky to see Sirius' motorbike diving towards the ground. "They made it out," he rejoiced. "Emmeline! They made it out!" Halting their water spells, they ran out to meet the motorcycle.
But when the bike landed, Remus' heart plummeted.
Sirius had seen the fire from the sky and practically jumped off the bike in midair. "Where are they?!"
He'd been the only one on board.
Remus searched for the words. He couldn't ever remember seeing so much panic in Sirius' eyes. "She's... she's not with you?"
"They must have gotten out, where are they? They can't..." he repeated his question, but trailed off when he spotted the dark mark.
"Sirius," Emmeline whimpered, beginning to cry again.
But Sirius was no longer listening. There was a peculiar ringing in his ears.
"N-...No...no..."
"We don't know-"
"Marley- MARLENE!" he shrieked suddenly, bolting towards the house.
"You can't-"
"Sirius, STOP-"
"GET OFF ME!" he wailed, shoving Remus aside as he tried to grab his shoulders. He continued sprinting towards the blaze until the roof collapsed inward with a splintering crash. Sirius staggered back, swayed unsteadily, then fell to his knees and let out a wounded howl.
