Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. I wrote this because she killed off all my favorite characters (they'll have a * next to their name) and because it sounded cool to write. I did invent some of these characters.
Chapter 7: Marlene, 1978
"Bye Andromeda, bye Ted, thanks for the tea!" I called as I walked down the Tonks' cobbled stone path to the sidewalk.
"Good-bye Marlene, say hello to Sirius for me!" Andromeda called.
"Can do!" I said before I Disapparated. I reappeared in a small suburb. I headed north to Morning Ave. There I knocked on number six. A voice shouted from behind the door.
"State your name!"
"Marlene McKinnon married to Michael McKinnon, mother of Joseph and Timothy McKinnon! My cousin, Frank Longbottom, locked our uncle Caleb in the garden shed with his own wand!"
"That's her, Fabian." I heard Frank say wearily. The door opened.
"Good evening Fabian, thanks Frank." I said with a smile. Frank and I went down the hall to the kitchen where the Order was gathering. Fabian remained by the door to check other members in. All the youngsters were already there; James Potter and his girlfriend Lily Evans, Frank's girlfriend Alice, Sirius Black and his girlfriend Savannah, Remus Lupin and his girlfriend Mary MacDonald, and Peter Pettigrew. Gideon Prewett was there too, half asleep at one end of the table.
"What's up with Gideon?" I asked.
"His sister had twins last night. He's exhausted out of his mind. That's why Fabian is being so short." Frank explained.
"Oh, I can't wait to see the twins!" I said excitedly. Molly and Arthur Weasley had the cutest children ever.
"I hope we get started soon, most of us need to get back home before our parents catch us out after hours. The woes of Christmas Break." Frank joked. I giggled then walked over to Sirius.
"Hey, Sirius, Andromeda told me to say hi." I said. Sirius smiled.
"Er, well, okay then, hi." He said.
"You don't remember me, do you?" I asked.
"Er, no, sorry." He said.
"I was one of Andromeda's bridesmaids at her wedding. We went to school together. I was in Ravenclaw with Ted." I explained.
"Oh, you were the only girl with blonde hair, weren't you?" Sirius asked. I laughed.
"Yep, that was me." I said.
"Enough chit chat, let's get this meeting started. Who are all these?" Alastor Moody asked.
"These are some recruits. They'll be joining us once they graduate. They are all 17 or older, so they can be here. Dumbledore invited them." I explained. Moody grunted.
"Trusts too many," he muttered.
"Is that the Auror Moody?" James asked me. I nodded. Following Moody was Benjy Fenwick. He had graduated two years previously. He was a short man with a wickedly sharp tongue.
"Evening, Marlene how's the family?" he asked sitting down."
"Fine, it's a daddy's night." Said. Benjy nodded.
"So, did you find Dedalus?" I asked.
"Oh yes, he's more annoying than a child. I'm not my cousin's babysitter, but apparently no one else will deal with him. Now he wants to join the Order!" Benjy roared.
"I don't see the problem. He's just a little easy to overexcite." I laughed. Benjy grumbled.
"Hello Marlene,"
"Hello, Edgar, how's Lexi?" I asked.
"Oh, she's fine, keeps saying the kids are driving her up the wall, but I think its all talk. The only one who's a real pain is Carter. Thinks he's some sort of ladies man. Said he learned all he knows from some kid named Sirius Black. I ought to tell that boy off whoever he is." Edgar laughed.
"Well, that's him over there." I said pointing to the handsome devil. Edgar laughed harder.
"That explains a lot." He said.
"Has Edgar finally lost it?" Dorcas asked. I laughed.
"He might have, he just figured out who his teenage son's idol is." I explained.
"Ah, that would do it. I take it it's one of those handsome young men over there?" Dorcas said pointing at the young bloods. I nodded.
"The one with the long black hair." I said.
"His son has good taste in role models." Dorcas said appreciatively. I shook my head.
"Well, we do have a full house." Dumbledore smiled. The room grew quiet. Moody "harrumphed" and Dumbledore smiled at us all.
"I'm going to make this meeting short for our students who need to get home. Caradoc Dearborn who has been missing since 1974 has been officially labeled dead. No body has been recovered but as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, I don't believe they would want to keep him alive this long unless he had given them information. Obviously, he has not done so. Tonight I just urge all of you to remain alert and safe. Good night,"
We all left whispering. I was sorry to hear that Caradoc was definitely dead. He had been such a sweetheart. He was a Muggleborn though, so he was at a great risk anyway. It was a good thing he didn't have a girlfriend or a wife. That was always the hardest part, telling family members that their loved ones were dead. Why, just the other day, Benjy and I had to go to a young couple and tell them that their four-year-old daughter had been ravaged by a werewolf and proclaimed dead that very morning.
When I got home, I was so preoccupied I didn't notice the front gate hanging off its hinges. I did notice the open front door. Panicking, I ran inside. I snuck toward the living room, my wand in my hand. I could hear voices issuing from there.
"Where is she? Another Order meeting?" a rough male voice asked.
"She went to visit some family friends!" Michael insisted.
"Liar!" There was a thud as if the man had punched my husband. I cautiously poked my head around the wall to see what was going on. Timothy, my six-year-old, was huddled in a corner, tears streaming down his face, obviously terrified. My four-year-old, Joseph, was no where to be seen.
"I'm telling you she's in Muggle London. She's with the Tonks family, you know, your sister-in-law?" Michael said. That struck a nerve with the Death Eater holding him. He had long blonde hair; Lucius Malfoy.
Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind. I reacted instantly; my foot struck the Death Eaters groin. He grunted and let me go. I rushed into the living room, launching myself at Lucius. I knocked him over and we landed hard on the carpet.
Another, stronger pair of arms lifted me off of him.
"Let me go!" I shouted.
"Rabasten, you need to work on your capturing skills." the Death eater holding me said.
"Oh shut up, Rodolphus." The Death eater groaned. Lucius stood up.
"Filthy blood traitor. I'll teach you to attack me." He put his wand to my throat. "You going to tell me where you were tonight?"
"Ted and Andromeda invited me over for tea to get away from the kids for a bit." I said. Lucius slapped me.
"Mummy!" Timothy hit Lucius' thigh. Rabasten shoved back into the wall.
"Don't you dare touch my son like that!" I spat struggling against his brother's vice-like grip. I tried to find Michael, but he was pinned to the floor by a large blonde Death Eater.
"Oh, well, how about this." He picked up Timothy by his shirt and Lucius pointed his wand at his chest.
"Where were you?" Lucius asked again.
"Let him go, he's just a kid!" Michael shouted.
"Shut it McKinnon or you'll go the same way as the little one." The blonde Death Eater growled.
"What?" I said frantically. The blonde Death Eater smiled and pointed behind me. There lay Joseph, his blue eyes open in fear. I screamed.
"Joseph, what have you monsters done?" I struggled against Rodolphus, but he wasn't relenting. I sobbed. My baby was dead, murdered by these monsters.
"I'm going to ask one more time, where were you?"
"I told you, I was with the Tonks'. You can even ask them!" I shouted frantically. I just wanted to go to my poor baby. Joseph…
"We may just pay that little whore a visit, won't we Lucius?" Rodolphus chuckled.
"Yes, but since we can't get the truth from her we'll just finish her off. Avada Kedavra!" Timothy fell limp. Michael launched himself out from under the blonde Death Eater. He hit Lucius hard causing him to hit his head on the ottoman. I elbowed Rodolphus in the gut and kicked Rabasten in the groin again. Then I ran to timothy. He was already cold. The blonde Death eater was on his feet again, ready to attack my husband. I picked up Rodolphus' fallen wand.
"Stupefy!" I shouted. The blonde fell over. I scooped up Timothy's tiny body and ran to Joseph. I picked him up too and ran into the next room. I placed them in a kitchen cupboard so the Death eaters couldn't find them and ravage their bodies. Then I went back to help my husband, just as part of the roof collapsed. Coughing and spluttering, I screamed Michael's name.
"I'm over hear!" he called. I rushed into his arms and sobbed.
"It's okay, I think we're safe now." He said.
"But, the boys." I sobbed.
"I know, it's not fair, but we can have more children." He said optimistically.
"Good luck with that." A woman towered over us. We backed away.
"Trying to kill my husband, are we?" the frightening woman asked. She had wild black hair, wild black eyes, and red, red lips. "I don't like that plan. Why don't we kill yours instead, Marlene?" she pointed her wand at Michael.
"Crucio!" she screamed. Michael shouted in pain. He was writhing in agony.
"Stop it! Stop please!" I begged. "Stop hurting him!"
"Then I'll make it simple." With a flash of green light, Michael stopped moving.
"Michael!" I tried to reach him, but an agony I had never felt fell over me. It was released almost immediately.
"Who else is in the Order?" the woman asked.
"I'll die if I tell you." I said. I had no reason to be nice. My family was dead. There was nothing left to fight for.
"Go ahead, I'm waiting." The woman said.
"May the dragons burn you." I spat. The woman growled and finished me off.
The next thing I knew, Michael had me in his arms and my boys were screaming "Mummy!" at the top of their lungs. We were in a white meadow and there was a large castle made of white granite behind us. I saw my family coming down to greet us. I would miss earth and all my living friends, but at least I was still with my family.