"Oh, Mary!" Marlene's mother, Love McKinnon, cupped Mary's face and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She then hugged Mary tightly, careful not to squish Phoenix, "It's so good to see you, darling." She let go and looked at Phoenix. "And you must be little Nixy," Love tweaked Phoenix's nose. The little girl giggled.
Love McKinnon had her long, wavy, grey hair pulled back with a single black ribbon. She was a springy eighty-four year old, having children well into her seventies. Marlene was the tenth of twelve children, being born when Love was sixty-three. Today, Love wore a multi-coffee-colored sleeved dress that fell just past her knees, her usual bright, sparkling purple robe, and fuzzy pink house slippers that looked like bears. Love looked just like any old, sweet, adorable grandmother, who just wanted to spend her days baking and knitting.
Mary let Love take Phoenix from her arms, cooing and claiming that if age hadn't caught up to her she would still be having children. "But I'm sure Alvino would have had something to say to that." Mary smiled sympathetically. Alvino, Love's husband of sixty-five years, had passed away two years ago.
"Mom," Marlene groaned, "you're so lewd." She had her hair in a braid today.
Love just laughed, "Do you mind if I play with her? It's been so long since a baby's been in the house."
"Of course!" Mary insisted, dropping off Phoenix's care bag by the front door.
"Sorry about her." Marlene joked, "She's just baby crazy."
"Well considering you've got eleven siblings, nine nephews, six nieces, four great nieces, and three great nephews," Mary counted, "it doesn't surprise me." She may have cheated a little by looking at the McKinnon family portrait that was taken just three years ago. All fifty three McKinnon's were accounted for.
"Don't remind me." Marlene groaned, "And just last week, Fabian and Gideon were talking about how their sister was expecting her seventh child! I think she's trying to give my mom a run for her money."
"Insane." Was all Mary could say, she could never imagine having twelve children, let alone seven, or even one! But Love had managed to crank out twelve healthy children, who in turn gave her grandchildren and great grandchildren to spoil. "Some people were just born to be mothers." Mary supposed.
"Who all is here, anyways?" Mary followed Marlene to the large dining table, discarding her jacket on the couch were Love was now playing with Phoenix.
"Everyone really." Marlene sighed, "Chester's wife just passed last week."
"Oh no," Mary said, though she wasn't sure how sympathetic to be. Marlene's oldest brother, Chester, was sixty-six. He'd been forty-five when Marlene had been born, and mostly out of the picture while she grew up. Chester had grandchildren who were just a few years younger than Marlene.
"Yeah, so he's been living here." Marlene drummed her fingers on the table, "His kids and grandkids should be coming over anytime soon." Mary's head spin trying to keep track of everyone. Marlene laughed, "It's a lot to take in. I'm part of this family and I still get things confused."
"Okay," Mary sat down next to Marlene, "tell me again about your family tree." Although Mary's family was also large, there had to be something about being born into the family. Just as Marlene had never remembered who was who in Mary's family, Mary had a hard time keeping track of everyone in Marlene's family.
There was Love and Alvino, who married straight out of Hogwarts and began having children the following year.
Chester was their oldest at sixty-six, then Star, Carnation, Rose, Celeste, Alvin, Barry, Firoze, Trevyn, Marlene, Gwendolyn, and Kellan coming in at a young eighteen years old.
Mary could tell who was who up to that point, but after that things got messy.
"Grandma?" A knock at the door, "It's me, Alvino." A voice called. Another McKinnon, Carnation, got the door. "Hey, Auntie, where's dad?" Alvino, supposedly the exact replica of his father and grandfather, came in with the late August heat, two young girls in tow.
"He's upstairs, your Uncle Firoze has been trying to get him to eat." Carnation looked up the stairs sadly, Mary wondered why the oldest McKinnon wasn't eating. "Maybe seeing his granddaughters will help him," Carnation smiled at the two young girls Alvino had brought. Without saying a word, the two girls ran up the stairs, calling for Chester.
Alvino looked at the long table at Marlene and Mary, "Hey, squirt. Don't tell me mom's had another baby." He pointed at Love who was alternating between holding Phoenix on her lap, and up in the air above her. Phoenix seemed to be having a blast.
"Nope, it's my friends." Marlene said, and Mary blushed scarlet. No one had actually referred to Phoenix as her own, though she supposed Marlene did so to avoid explaining the situation. Someone kidnapping a child might not go over well with the family that seemed to be constantly reproducing. "Her name is Nix." Mary looked at Marlene, just how much did Marlene lie to her family to cover her tracks? Alvino said no more and headed up the stairs to see his father.
"So, what are your plans?" Marlene asked, "Just keep having us over until you get the hang of this 'mommy' thing?"
"I don't know, but I am grateful for your help." Mary admitted, "Having her has really thrown a wrench in my plans."
"Your plans?" Marlene asked.
"I wanted to be an Auror, like my father and Moody." Mary clarified. "I was supposed to start my training with Kingsley this October."
"You still could be." Marlene reassured her, "you were the strongest witch in our class."
"Only because you convinced Remus to tutor me. And what if something were to happen to me? Or what if someone found out about her?" Mary nodded her head towards Phoenix. Several of the McKinnon's moved about the house, doing their own business, not paying attention to Marlene and Mary.
"That's just a risk you have to take, that's what life is about." Marlene said, leaning back. "I always wanted to be a healer, myself."
There was a pause. "Really?" Mary laughed, "You? A healer?"
"What's so funny about that?" Marlene pouted, which only made Mary laugh harder, "What?" She smiled and gave Mary a playful shove.
"I just," Mary said through her laughter, "Can't see you being at all careful with someone's injuries." Mary then pretended to be bandaging a limb, "Oh, is this too tight?" she asked her imaginary patient, she yanked at the pretend bandage, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought I was the healer? Who went to healer school? Not you? Didn't think so." The two had a fit of giggles at the thought of rough and tough Marlene being a healer.
"What happened to playing Quidditch for the Falmouth Falcons? I thought they had offered you a spot?" Mary asked.
Marlene's smiled dropped, "remember that fall I took our last year?" Mary nodded, "Threw my shoulder out. Apparently so far out that they withdrew their offer."
"What? How come you never told me?" Mary asked. Marlene had been pretty upset after that accident, now that Mary recalled. She'd always assumed it was because she was out for the season, but now it made sense why, even after they won the Quidditch Cup, she'd been upset.
Marlene shrugged, "didn't seem important." Mary could tell she was lying. Quidditch had been Marlene's whole life. Her family was full of pacifists who would rather be professors, healers, or any other number of non-combative, non-aggressive occupations. Being in Quidditch was what made her stand out in a family large enough to have their own country.
"Important?" Mary repeated, "Marlene, you're one of my best friends, it was important to you, so it's important to me."
Marlene said nothing in response to that, and the two fell into a silence, listening to the hustle and bustle of the house, "Anyways, it's in the past. So now I want to be a healer." Marlene nodded her head as if reassuring herself. "Like the rest of my family." She added quietly. The disappointment was clear in her tone.
"Well why don't you?" Mary asked. She'd support Marlene through anything.
"We're not exactly swimming in galleons, Mary," Marlene teased, "Not all of us have old birds leaving banks of money and a house to us."
Mary blushed again, "I'm sorry." It was true, medical school was expensive. Mary had the luxury of being the youngest grandchild, she got almost everything from her grandparent's vault and their house. Everything had been handed to her and there she was, complaining that her life was ruined because of a child.
Marlene shook her head, "I'm just teasing you. I know we're both in tight spots right now." Mary felt awful for her earlier comment, and so she just smiled sympathetically. Marlene stretched across the table, her arms nearly reaching the other side, "So?" she began.
"So?" Mary deadpanned before Marlene could get her entire question out.
Marlene scowled at her, "So," she dragged out the word, "what are your thoughts on Sirius and Remus? They've been hanging out with you an awful lot."
Mary paused, "They're some of our best friends? They're foolish and childish, but can be very endearing when they want to be." She thought about her friends, "why do you ask?" she looked across the table at Marlene who shrugged coyly.
"I was just," Marlene grimaced, "I dunno," she avoided looking at Mary, "thinking about them."
"We could have met at my house." Mary offered, "I know I wanted to get out of the house, but if you wanted to hang with them too," she didn't truly mean it. She wanted out of the house and wpuld have fought tooth and nail to get out, but if she was the reason for Marlene's discomfort or boredom then she'd do what she could to make her feel better.
"No!" Marlene said quickly, she stopped and leaned back, "I mean-I just," she groaned and put her face in her hands. She looked up, chin on her arms, "me and Sirius were talking the other day about the war." Mary stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt, "and then we got to talking about Phoenix. Then Harry-and," Marlene sighed distractedly, "you should have seen him talking about Harry, it was so cute."
Mary blurted, "You like Sirius?" she immediately regretted it once she'd said it.
Marlene was glaring daggers at her, "No!" She insisted. After a beat her gaze softened, "I mean." She buried her face in her hands again, "I don't know." She admitted. "I just-the thought of him having a child of his own popped into my head and then I was like," Marlene sat up and put a finger to her chin, as if she'd just gotten an idea, "huh, I wonder what it'd be like to have a kid myself? I've been around children my whole life. It would totally be easy." Marlene seemed to be rambling to herself now, but Mary let her continue, "And then," Marlene's face turned bright red, "I thought about having kids with Sirius! Oh Merlin, can you believe me?!" Marlene looked ashamed of herself, "Me and Sirius? Together? Me and Sirius? As parents?" She looked distressed.
"I think you two would be cute together." Mary insisted. In fact, nearly everyone in their final year had a betting pool to see how long it'd take for Sirius to ask Marlene out. Mary had lost a few good Galleons to his cowardice. The two always had a kind of teasing, childlike, fun between them, but it grew to be sexually tense after a particular wild night of spin-the-bottle at James's end of summer party before their final year. In truth, Mary didn't remember much of that night, but she did remember how awkward and tense things got between Sirius and Marlene after that. It was all harmless of course, just the two getting close to each other's faces in shouting matches over every little thing. Their hands would start off pushing the other away, but gradually move to pulling the other closer. Remus usually had to be the one to break the two apart.
"But that'd be weird!" Marlene argued. She looked torn between admitting her crush and denying it to the day she would die.
"Why would it be weird?" Mary snickered. Marlene was the flirt of the dormitory. If she had a crush then everyone knew.
"Because I used to date Remus! Remember?" Marlene said, "And you're not supposed to date your ex's friends!"
Mary had completely forgotten that Marlene and Remus had dated. Did it count if all they did was snog for a week straight and then pretend like they didn't know each other for six whole months afterwards? That explained why Remus was the one to break up the fights between the two. He knew exactly how to break the two apart and calm them.
"So?" Mary finally asked. Her stomach was knotting up uncomfortably, "If you like Sirius, then go for him."
"You don't think Remus would mind?" Marlene asked.
"Why do you care if he cares?" Mary asked sharply without meaning too. "We are all adults now, it shouldn't matter." She said to reassure herself.
Marlene didn't seem to notice. "What if he tells Sirius about our relationship and then it ruins my relationship with him?" She seemed genuinely concerned.
Mary laughed, "I doubt Remus would care." She didn't know why it bothered her so much that Marlene thought Remus would care about Marlene's relationship with Sirius. "It's probably because we were all friends first. And then Marlene had to go make things awkward by dating Remus." Mary thought. The six months after they 'dated' was nothing short of awkward. Lily and Mary often being caught in the middle of the mess. If Marlene wanted to say or ask anything to Remus's friends then she would just beg Mary or Lily to carry the message. And vice versa, if Remus needed anything from Mary or Lily he'd ask James, Sirius or Peter to talk to them. Mary didn't want another repeat of that.
Just then, Phoenix let out a cry, "Oh shhh," Love cooed, "nothing is wrong, nothing is the matter."
"What happened, mom?" Marlene asked, she didn't sound too concerned. After all, her mother had raised twelve kids, and had a hand helping raise her grandkids and great grandkids.
"She grabbed for one of the toys in the bag," Love explained, rocking Phoenix expertly, despite the girls squirming, "I went to grab it, came back, gave it to her, and now she's crying." Love went back to quieting and cuddling Phoenix.
Mary walked over and sat next to Love on the couch. She tried to help the older woman soothe the little girl. The girl had no control on her powers, but the fact that the rain made such a loud ruckus against the McKinnon's little cabin made soothing the girl no easier.
"What is wrong with this child?" Marlene whined, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes, "One moment, she's fine. The next she's gone wild."
Then, just as suddenly as the crying had started, it stopped. Phoenix, covered in tears and snot, suddenly began to shiver. "Oh my God, oh my God! Marlene!" Love began screaming, Mary looked Phoenix over, "Marlene, quick, grab some blankets! She's gone cold as ice!" Panic began to settle in as Phoenix's skin started to turn blue and cracked. Phoenix whimpered and shivered, her wide eyes looked around fearfully, not once noticing Mary or Love who was trying desperately to warm her up.
"Stop," Marlene was half standing when she suddenly whispered sharply. Mary looked at her, shocked at the outburst. Phoenix continued to shiver, looking around as if she were lost. "Someone's outside." Mary wasn't sure if it was the freezing child on her lap, or the fact that none of Marlene's safety charms had alerted them, but her blood ran cold.
"What?" Love asked, "Impossible, we have protections up, we would have heard." A few other McKinnon's came downstairs to see what the fuss was about, but Marlene hissed at them to stay put and hidden.
"Did you see who?" Mary reached for her discarded jacket on the couch, she bundled up Phoenix as securely as she could. Her whimpering stopped, and she'd stopped turning blue, but Phoenix continued to shiver, now with her head bowed as if she was hiding from whatever was making her cold. She took Phoenix from Love's arms and slowly moved back by the table, where Marlene was standing.
"No." Marlene whispered, just then the lights in the house went out. Both women stood silently, wands drawn. "They were cloaked."
"What's happening?" An older woman asked.
"I dunno, Aunt Marlene said to stay still." Another voice said.
"Death Eaters!" Mary's mind screamed. She had to get Phoenix back to the safety of her own house, but she couldn't leave Marlene and her family (most of who were old anyways) to defend themselves. "If they got in without being traced," she whispered to Marlene who had crept behind a cupboard, "then we can get out without being traced."
Marlene nodded, "Okay." She reached towards the chair she'd been sitting out, grabbing for her jacket. "Mom," she whispered across the room, "get ready to grab everyone and apparate."
No one heard the spell that blew the door off its hinges. Phoenix screamed and Mary ducked behind the table as Marlene tipped it over for cover. "You have to get her out of here!" Marlene insisted, peeking up to throw a spell at the intruder. It sounded as if a dozen pairs of feet were thundering through the house. Curses and jinxes rocked the table. Marlene ducked down as a curse whizzed by her head. She popped back up only a second later to return the attack. Someone screamed for Love, and the screams of Marlene's family filled the air. Mary peeked around the table and saw Love limp -dead- on the couch, one of the youngest McKinnon's was at her feet, dead. Mary felt horrible, she didn't even know the little girl's name.
"We have to get out of here!" Mary reminded her, a dark shape moved from the side door, Mary pointed around Marlene and sent the figure flying back against the wall. Sure enough, as her spell flew through the dark she could see the glow of a Death Eaters mask. Phoenix had not stopped wailing, only making the situation louder and tenser. Marlene cried out and grabbed her shoulder, a cutting curse had hit her and was slicing open her arm. She ducked back down behind the table, noticing the fallen Death Eater just a few feet beyond the door next to her. Marlene waved her wand, the cupboard she'd been hiding behind just moments ago now slid over to block the doorway. Mary tried to keep Phoenix in her arms, but the girl insisted on squirming, they had to get out of there and fast. Marlene had returned to peeking up and shooting the advancing Death Eaters.
"Hold onto me!" Mary called out to Marlene over the explosions of curses. In that second's distraction where Marlene turned to face Mary and reach out to her, a speedy, green curse landed right on its mark. The killing curse hit Marlene in the chest, knocking the young woman to the ground like a ragdoll. The curse spread across her body and by the time Marlene's head had hit the floor, her eyes were already glazed over.
Mary screamed.
Phoenix screamed.
There was a pulling sensation.
And then, there was silence.
They were back home, Remus was sitting on one of her lounge chairs, reading. Sirius could be heard rustling around in the kitchen. Remus looked at Mary in shock, "What are you doing back so soon? Why are you on the floor?" he got up and helped Mary up, one hand on her elbow, the other on her back, "Why is Phoenix wrapped up like that? Mary?" Remus grabbed her shoulders, and she realized she was crying, "Why are you crying?"
"Crying?" Sirius came in, food in his mouth. His jaw dropped when he saw the scene before him. He swallowed hard, "Mary?" He put his food down on the coffee table and stood beside Remus, "What's happened?"
Her head swam with a million thoughts. If Benjy was found in bits, what was to stop the Death Eaters from doing the same to Marlene? And what if they could only find a few bits? What if they completely disposed of her body and they couldn't find her, like Caradoc? What was happening to her family? She had to go back.
"Mary?" Remus shook her once again. Mary looked down, somehow, Sirius had taken Phoenix from her and was watching her with confusion.
"Marlene," was all Mary could croak out before breaking down in tears.
"What about Marlene?" Sirius asked. Mary felt her face screw up in an unpleasant scowl as tears ran down her face.
"Death Eaters." It felt as though a rock had formed in her throat. Mary could hardly see through her tears, but Remus had pulled her close and was running a comforting hand over head her. She wasn't sure how long she cried, but she must have fallen asleep because she suddenly realized she was waking up. Mary was in her living room, the only light coming from the kitchen behind her.
"You can't just run over there, what if they're still there?" Remus's voice whispered through the otherwise quiet and still house.
"I'll kill them myself then." Sirius said, "Marlene was," Sirius stopped, "she had so much life. She was going to play Quidditch," Mary felt her stomach and throat knot up, Sirius didn't know. "She was going to go places."
"Sirius," Remus sighed, there was silence and a shuffle, "I know how you felt about Marlene." Mary paused in her silent crying to listen, "But, you can't just go off into the battlefield. How would Lily and James feel if you went and made a stupid mistake like that? Wait until Moody can confirm the news, then you can go see for yourself."
"You're right." Another shuffle, "as usual. You're always right."
"I'm not always right." Remus insisted.
"Whatever." Sirius said, "Did you see the state Mary was in when she came back?"
Remus hummed in response, "She didn't even notice she was splinched." Mary gasped. The boys grew silent, Mary tried to even her breathing to make it seem like she was still asleep. Thankfully, the boys believed it.
"I've never seen a splinch across the torso like that. It's usually just a little clip of you." Sirius whispered. "Never seen one so violent." Mary lifted her shirt, she'd have to thank Remus later, he probably knew how to whip up a potion to heal her torso, but faint oval shaped pale marks littered her skin. Almost as though someone took a spoon to her skin and scooped bits of her out. How had she screwed up apparating so badly?
"Well she was on the run from Death Eaters." Remus mused.
"This is crazy, this is," Sirius took a deep breath, "this is crazy," he said again and again. "I'm going back to the pad to shower, you coming?"
"I'll stay with Mary in case she needs help when she wakes." Remus answered.
There was silence for a moment, then some shuffling, "Now's not the time to be silently pining, mate." Sirius said. "Trust me."
"You don't think I miss her too?" Remus asked. "You don't think I want Marlene to walk through the door right this second?"
"Not the way I want her to." Sirius said. In a different time and place someone would have thought his words were provocative and Sirius would have earned a smart smack on the arm for that kind of remark. But Mary knew Sirius meant it humbly. Marlene would never walk through the door. She'd never do anything again. She was gone. "I'm just saying," Mary listened back in on the conversation, "don't get attached to Mary and not tell her. Don't risk losing her and not telling her how you feel."
"And what am I supposed to do after I tell her?" Remus demanded. "What woman would want me? Me?!" Remus accusingly asked. "With my," he trailed off.
"Furry problem?" Sirius offered after a beat of silence.
"Shut up." Remus snapped, "It's bad enough Dumbledore has dumped this kid on her. Do you think a love confession is what she really needs right now? Especially from me? Especially after Marlene? What if she hates me?"
"Hates you? Mate," There was more shuffling, "Mary was the first person you willingly told about your problem. What did she think about it then?" Mary held her breath. She knew not many people knew of Remus's condition. James, Peter, and Sirius already knew about Remus's condition when Remus had told her about it, and it was only because she'd started to notice that in fifth year all four boys would sneak out of the common room once a month and she confronted Peter about it. If anyone was going to spill the beans, it was Peter. He was a fantastic storyteller, but a horrible liar. Peter had panicked as soon as Mary blocked his exit from the men's room and said it was because of Remus. When she confronted Remus, he told her everything.
"She didn't care. She just wanted you lot to take care of me." Remus answered quietly.
"And she won't care now. She knows what you are. She knows the risks of just being friends with you. And she has been your friend this whole time." Sirius said. Mary felt a small ounce of respect for Sirius. He was actually being, well, serious! "Besides, I hear fleas can make a girl squirm." And there went all her respect for him, out the window. Goodbye respect.
"I should kill you." Remus laughed softly.
"Least I'd be with Marlene." Sirius responded, suddenly dampening the mood of the house.
Mary was suddenly very awake and very alert. She sat up, she could hear the boys shush each other and decided to take her time getting up and walking over to the kitchen. She brought the blanket that had been laid on her with her, wrapping it around her shoulders like a cape.
"Hello." She said, pretending she hadn't been eavesdropping for the past five minutes. Sirius looked as though he'd done a lot of angry crying, his face was red and wet from tears. He looked tense and ready to strike. Remus, on the other hand, looked exhausted, and while he too had been crying, the only indication were the dried tear streaks on his face.
"How are you feeling?" Remus asked cautiously.
"Where's Phoenix?" she asked in return. She wasn't sure how she was feeling, and after overhearing their conversation she wasn't sure what she should be feeling.
The boys shared a look, "I put her to bed just a little while ago." Sirius finally answered. "Are you alright? You didn't get hurt did you?"
Mary did a mental check of herself, nothing felt broken or bloody, "I'm fine." She answered, not letting on that she knew about the splinching. "Just," she took a deep breath, "shocked." She hugged her torso. In reality, she felt like she was going to be sick.
"We all are." Remus said, and for a moment no one said anything. In silence, Sirius conjured up three glasses, each filled with firewhisky. Remus and Mary looked at Sirius who fiddled with his glass and looked like he wanted to say something. Instead, he shook his head, raised his glass and then tipped the entire glass back into his mouth. Remus and Mary followed his toast, Mary trying hard to remember each name and face of Marlene's family.
Maybe one of them somehow survived. If anyone would know, it would be Moody, and it would be tomorrow. For night had fallen and word would surely spread in the next day's paper. Sirius left not much later, wishing them both goodnight.
"Will you be alright?" Remus asked. They stood at the window by the front of the house, watching Sirius disappear.
"No." Mary wanted to say, she didn't want to be alone, but after overhearing the conversation between Remus and Sirius, she wasn't sure she wanted him there with her. "Yes." Mary finally said out loud. "I'll be fine." She'd been saying that a lot lately, and she wasn't sure it was entirely true anymore.
"I'll stay in case you need anything." Remus insisted. Mary didn't argue with him, instead, she just smiled politely and shuffled off to the stairs. After what felt like a long, treacherous climb, Mary reached the top of the stairs. Phoenix's door was open and the little girl was sound asleep inside. If Phoenix hadn't thrown a fit, Marlene might have never looked out the window, they could all be dead. Mary shivered at the thought. Then the balance of the war would be tipped back in You-Know-Who's favor. Mary pushed herself to keep moving and she finally found her way to her bed. Not bothering to change or even kick her shoes off, Mary collapsed on her bed.
When she woke the next morning, it was to the smell of something on the verge of burning. The shock of yesterday hit Mary like a ton of bricks and she bolted out of bed to her bathroom. Mary's throat was on fire, she tried her best to throw up, coughing up a storm over her toilet. Instead, she dry heaved for a few minutes before the tickle in her throat and knot in her stomach finally settled down. Her eyes were watery, and she dabbed the tears away before splashing her face with water. Her face had gotten blotchy and puffy by the time she was done drying her face off. She looked horrible.
Just then, the burning smell hit her again. Quickly, but quietly, Mary crept out of her bathroom, trying to listen to any small sound her house had to give to her.
"Well if you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it, little one." Remus said from downstairs. Mary looked down the stairs quizzically, who on earth was Remus talking to? Mary relaxed and continued down the stairs. When she turned into the kitchen she saw Remus with his hands on his hips and giving a suspicious glare to Phoenix who was in her high chair laughing.
Somehow, a pair of eggs had made their home on the ceiling and another pair were floating just out of reach over Remus's head.
"What is going on here?" Mary asked, Remus immediately stood at full height and turned on his heels to face her.
"Oh! You're up." Remus stated, "I," he trailed off, "tried to make breakfast." He waved a wand and the dirty dishes from his failed attempts filed into the sink in a single file line. Mary looked around the chaos Remus had caused in her kitchen, her face must have betrayed her thoughts because Remus sheepishly lowered his head, "Sorry." He apologized.
Mary continued to survey the scene before her, then, she laughed. "What have you done to my kitchen?" she rubbed her face, trying to wake up now that the adrenaline from her morning had faded. She continued to laugh as Remus attempted to defend himself. She laughed so much that Phoenix joined in, warming the room with her giggles.
"Here." Mary waved her own wand, the dishes moved quicker, leaving the sink squeaky clean in half the time they would have taken if left at Remus's speed. The two eggs on the ceiling peeled back and dropped themselves in the bin, and the two hovering over Remus followed them to the trash. "Let's try this again."
Mary helped Remus get his charms down correctly. The kitchen ware was a little wobbly under his wand's instructions, but no food ended up on the ceiling, floor, or hovering in midair. "Was Phoenix fed?" Mary asked as she waved two plates over to Remus.
"Yes, and," Remus blushed, "she's been," he shook his head, "she's been taken care of." He resolved.
"You changed her?" Mary asked. Remus's awkward silence confirmed her question, and Mary couldn't help but giggle some more. Remus smiled at her over his shoulder, and Mary remembered the conversation she'd overheard the night before. Her smile dropped and she turned her attention back to Phoenix who was clapping.
"Have you heard from Sirius or Moody?" Mary asked, "Or anyone?" she added.
"No." Remus said, her question had sucked all of the happiness from the kitchen as they fell into a somber silence. Remus finished cooking and he brought two plates over to Mary, setting one down in front of her and one down in front of another chair. Just as Remus was taking his seat, a soft pop came from outside.
Mary's heart seized, what if it was the Death Eaters? What if they'd found her? Her hands began to shake and she stood quickly, her wand drawn. She scooped Phoenix up, "will you check that?" she asked, ready for a fight. Phoenix looked at her in confusion and pushed her shoulder.
Remus was already walking out the kitchen, his wand drawn. "Who's there?" He called. Mary clutched Phoenix tightly, eyes squeezing shut as she tired to map out all the places she could take cover should the need arise. Phoenix squirmed, voicing her discomfort. "It's alright." Mary's eyes shot open, "it's Sirius and Moody."
Mary could feel every fiber in her body relax as she slipped Phoenix back into her highchair. Remus returned with Sirius and Moody, all men looked miserable. "So?" She asked, looking at Moody who looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there.
"No one made it." Moody said, she could tell it genuinely upset him. So many good witches and wizards lost. "The entire clan. Gone." Mary thought she'd gotten all of her tears out the day before, but when she saw Sirius clench his fist and turn away, she couldn't help but let a few more tears loose. "Damn cowards. Attacking defenseless children." Moody said, but Mary could no longer see through her tears.
"And Marlene?" She croaked out.
"Well they didn't do to her like they did to Benjy." Moody took a breath, trying to keep himself calm in the presence of the three.
"Maybe that means they didn't know she was in the Order?" Remus suggested quietly.
"So, they just killed her because she's got a big family?" Sirius asked, his voice was sharp. "They just killed her because You-Know-Who figured her family could all cause some sort of revolution?"
"I'm just saying," Remus started, "it's possible." He weakly admitted.
No one said anything. Mary wanted to curl up on the floor and drown in her tears. Marlene had been her best friend since before Hogwarts. Her grandparents and Marlene's parents had been best friends. Marlene always had Mary's back, even when bullies tried to put them down. Marlene had been the one to suggest getting tutored by Remus for defense. If it hadn't been for any of them she wouldn't have become the strongest witch of their age.
And yet, she had been unable to save even one McKinnon. Mary looked at Phoenix through her tears. "It's all your fault." She wanted to say, "Everything was fine until you showed up." She wanted to personally drop Phoenix back off at Malfoy manor. But, now that all the McKinnon's had been killed, Mary felt she owed it to them to see this mission through.