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How It Should've Been

Chapter 18: You'll Be Begging

Next Day

"Alight, it's done. Now what?" Jake questioned as he entered the kitchen where Alex was reading a newspaper and he moved to stand in front of her. Looking up from the paper she thought.

"Well, now we just have to…" She trailed off as she stood looking just beyond Jake's shoulder.

Not noticing that she wasn't looking at him, Jake looked at her concerned. "You okay?"

"You see that too right?" It was clear now that Alex wasn't looking at him but behind him. Frowning, he turned and looked where her gaze was frozen on. There was a bird, or more specially a bird as dark as midnight holding a letter but it wasn't that letter that stopped them, it was the birds eyes. They were red, blood red.

"Yeah, I see it." Jake confirmed not taking his eyes from the bird. "What do we do?" He questioned.

"Lock the window?" Alex suggested seriously when the bird lifted one of its talons and started scratching something on the window creating a high pitched screech. Wincing, the two looked away for seconds only to look back and the bird to be gone with the letter just laying on the outside sill, but what really worried them was the symbol the bird etched onto the window pane, the Dark Mark. Exchanging a look and taking a breathe, Alex moved forward and looked out the window before opening it and pulling the letter inside before closing it again. Walking past Jake to begin exiting the kitchen when he spoke.

"It's gone." He whispered in disbelief. Alex turned to face him only to see him still looking at the window. Looking at it her eyes widened slightly before she went closer standing right in front of it and looking at it. It was gone, the symbol was gone. Shaking her head, she blinked several times before looking again, still gone.

"Hey." Harry greeted as he entered the kitchen. When he saw them staring at the window his brows furrowed. "What's wrong?" Both of them turned to face him before Alex nodded to Jake. It wasn't the time for lying, at least not about things concerning Voldemort.

"There was a bird, as black as night and with eyes as red as blood. He had a letter and when we didn't open the window, he scratched a symbol onto it." Jake explained.

"What symbol?" Harry questioned confused looking between the two of them.

"The Dark Mark." Alex answered as Harry's jaw clenched. "Then when we looked again, it was gone. Like it never happened."

"Have you opened the letter?" Harry asked no hesitation. Alex shook her head.

"Can't." She flipped the letter in her hands to show the front to him. There was red writing on the outside of the black envelope.

When The Time Is Right All Will Be Revealed

The seal was blood red with another Dark Mark etched into it. Obviously the sender was not doing anything to hide who they were. No matter how hard they tried to open it, the seal didn't budge.

"There's been another attack!" Hermione burst into the room causing them all to whip around to face her. Alex set the letter down on the counter face up as the three of them followed after Hermione towards the command room.

Upon entry, Sirius and Amelia turned to face them looking grim.

"What happened?" Alex questioned as they stood around the table.

"A home was attacked. The parents found dead, one in the hall and the other in the nursery. There was a child, about a year old, also found dead in his crib. The woman looked to have died protecting him." Amelia revealed. With each sentence Amelia spoke, more realization dawned on Alex before she turned on her heel and left the room leaving the rest of the group surprised. Harry frowned and looked at the paper Amelia passed around again, taking care to read the details. His eyes widened as realization also dawned on him and he to left the room in search of Alex.

He caught up with her in her study. He entered the room as Alex was leaned over her desk reading a paper.

"I didn't get it at first." Harry said quietly as he announced his presence which in hindsight, she probably already knew he was there. Looking up she met his eyes and nodded. "I don't think any of them did either." Harry smiled sadly as he entered he room further. "Because none of them know." Harry paused.

Licking her lips Alex rose from her bent position. "Really? I thought I taught you to be more subtle than that. I know what your getting at." As Harry's raised his eyebrows she continued. "You want me to tell them. About the deal, her going missing. Yeah, I get it. But it's a no. I'm not telling any of them." Alex shot down. Harry huffed angrily.

"Why the hell not?" He snapped.

"Because then the taunts will mean something to them. It will give him a way to hurt them. And in the end? That's all that will be coming from this, hurt. Because I have no clue in hell where she is or even what happened. And she's more than likely dead right now, okay? Again." Alex shook her head before meeting Harry's eyes. "And I am trying to save Sirius from that loss again, you didn't see him last time. You were the only thing that kept him together for a long time. So I am trying to spare him from this." Alex moved around the desk and started walking past Harry.

"What about you?" Harry questioned turning to face her as she came to stop.

"What about me?" She shrugged.

"I'd be willing to bet Sirius isn't the only one that was hurt and lost when they died! When my mom, your sister died! So stop trying to make it seem like you aren't affected by this to." Harry commented. "I refuse to believe it. Show me what you are really feeling!"

"You'd lose that bet. I wasn't lost or hurt when she died, I was guilty." Alex pursued her lips. "And then I was emotionless. For a long time, I didn't care, I chose not to feel emotional pain. I did that for almost six years. Surely you remember it? I was a sarcastic ass. And I still am. Yeah maybe I did start caring again about someone other than myself but I didn't for so long it is hardwired. Self-preservation! Surely you, could at least understand that? So yes! I care about getting her back, and I will move heaven and hell to do that, I mean really? I kind of already did. But this?" She gestured to herself. "This is how I respond. I don't get hurt, I don't feel lost. I fight back. And I think we both know, that Sirius isn't even close to the same way. Because I don't get sad, I get even." And with that, Alex left the room only for Hermione to enter less than two minutes later.

"You okay?" She questioned not meeting his eye. Harry instantly knew that she heard at last the back end of that conversation.

"At much as I can be." He looked down and ran a hand through his short hair.

"She didn't mean it." She tried to make him feel better. Harry shook his head in denial.

"No, no she did. She's right. That's who she is. I mean, I've lived with her for years, I know its true. I seen it. She's completely capable of being emotionless, of shutting it off."

"It's not possible to stop caring or to not feel emotions." Hermione pointed out.

"For Alex, it is. I don't know how, but she can. Maybe it's part of her self control. She's always in control, never does anything without reason even if it's to get even with someone. It's who she is, she will do what she wants at any costs." Harry sighed and sat on the floor leaning back against Alex's desk as Hermione joined next to him. "You shouldn't have done that yesterday. Tried to get in the way." Harry commented.

"I had to. What she wants to do? It's heartless, just killing them all. They need justice not death." Hermione shook her head. "And not feeling anything, that's like the definition of a sociopath."

"No, it's not like that. She's felt guilt before, she still does for some things, she's just hella good at compartmentalizing and justification, and not showing it. It's all control. And about the justice?" Harry sighed. "Sometimes, they're the same thing." When Hermione went to speak, he cut her off. "This is war. This is Alex's way of ending it. You may not like it, or think it's cruel and immoral, but it will be saving so many innocent lives. And at the end of the day, that's all we can really aim for."

Hermione nodded reluctantly in understanding and the two continued side by side on the floor in silence left to their silent companion and their thoughts.

"Another house was hit, same thing." Sirius announced when they reentered the room nearly an later. Amelia and Sirius were in the room but Alex was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Alex?" Harry wondered out loud.

"Went to go check out the site." Sirius answered looking up at him.

Alex walked in through the broken door and stepped over the debris at the threshold looking around. The house layout was similar to one that was oh so familiar. Going up the stairs quietly, the first site that greeted her was a man lying on the floor in the hall. Not bothering to check on him as she already knew the result, she continued to where the open door of the nursery was in plain site. Entering, she could see it was set up exactly how it was fifteen years ago, just in a different house and this time, the boy wasn't alive.

Stepping closer to the crib, Alex took a glance inside. A piece of parchment was laying next to the boy. Picking it up, Alex read.

Looks Like He Died. Wasn't Right. Third Times The Charm? Or Maybe It's Just The Place?

Crumbling up the letter, Alex set it ablaze before striding out of the nursery and then the house all together. This was going to happen one more time and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. It probably already happened, but she did know where to find the last set.

That was how she wound up five minutes later entering the destroyed Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow and walking up the stairs to find a man lying in the hall, woman on the nursery floor in front of the crib and a one year old boy crying in the crib. On the wall behind the crib written in dripping blood was:

Now It's Right

That's all it took before it clicked for Alex as her mind went back to the letter. When The Time Is Right All Will Be Revealed. This was all one big game. All to what? Prove a point? Piss someone off? What? Shaking her head, Alex left the house with only one destination. The counter that the letter was laying on.

When she entered the kitchen, she went straight to the counter only to find it void of the letter. Looking around the kitchen turned up nothing. Fed up, Alex stormed into the command room that now only housed Harry and Jake.

"Where is it?" Alex demanded roughly. Jake and Harry exchanged a look and furrowed their brows.

"Where's what?" Harry questioned thrown by her entry.

"The letter." She snapped angry. Jake swallows before going over the desk in the corner of the room and opening the drawer and pulling something out before coming back and setting it on the table in front of Alex.

Picking it up roughly and tearing the seal, Alex pulled the folded parchment from the envelope and unfolded it before she began reading the page. As she read on, Harry and Jake could see her eyes flashed and her face darken in barely concealed anger before she took a breathe and suddenly all emotion was whipped from her face as she finished the letter before she folded it up again.

"I have to go." She began walking past them leaving them shocked when Harry called out just as she was about to push the door open.

"Wait! What did it say?" Harry demanded. He knew there were not many things that could get that reaction from his aunt and it only worried him more. Alex frowned, before looking away and think for a second. Looking back at Harry, she extended the letter to him to read. Harry's eyes narrowed fractionally for a second before he took it and unfolded it again and begun to read.

Hogwarts Dungeons if you want to see Lily Potter again. You have ten minutes before she's dead, again that is. No time to waste. – Yours Truly, The Dark Lord

As soon as she handed him the letter, Alex had disappeared in electricity. After Harry finished the letter, he tossed it back onto the table and also disappeared in flames leaving Jake standing in the middle of the room.

Harry appeared only a few feet behind Alex as she hadn't moved yet. Turning back to look at him, she didn't protest him being there. She knew there was nothing she could say that would change anything.

Alex turned back to looking forward and started walking through the halls with Harry following shortly behind. They continued walking until they came upon an closed door. All of the others were open. Exchanging a look, Alex pushed open the door to see a room well lit with the lanterns hanging from the walls. It was a decently sized room, probably about twenty by twenty and was completely barren. Walking further into the room, they were in the left part of the room when the door closed and a figure appeared only feet in front of it. A figure that couldn't be mistaken for anyone else, ever.

"Voldemort." Harry realized quietly. "Where is my mother?" Harry demanded.

Voldemort held up a magical picture with a evil grin, it was Lily begging in a cell.

"Mom." Harry breathed out in realization.

"You see Atlas was just a distraction, took the gods attention and yours. You never knew that I had found and took her. I did hope that he would be more of a distraction but he served his purpose. " Voldemort taunted. "By the time she remembered it was to late. I turned her minutes after she remembered, I wanted her to see my face, to feel despair."

"Don't do this." Alex warned. Doing this, it would be unimaginable.

"To late." Voldemort smirked as he snapped his fingers, the picture disappeared and Lily appeared, chained, on the floor, but it was as cursed living corpse.

"You made her an inferni." Alex snarled as lights began flickering in her anger. That should've been his first warning sign. Voldemort cackled, as the chains that were holding her vanished and she sprung forward going straight at Harry. He froze seeing his dead mother rushing him with the intention to attack him. Alex noticing his inability to move disappeared in flames. Lily collided with Harry knocking them both to the ground. Lily was on him inches away from ripping his throat open when a sword went through her stomach. For a seconds her dead eyes flickered emerald green and a wave washed over her body restoring it. Her eyes flickered again her soul fighting the curse, her human side won out and her eyes remained emerald green as she collapsed to the side and off of Harry.

The sword clattered to the ground and Alex knelt next to Lily gripping her hand. Harry shaking himself out of his shock moved into his knees and stared down at his mother, grasping her other hand. Tears filled his eyes.

"No, no, please." He pleaded over and over. "Not again. Please." He begged. Lily looked up at him pulling her hand out of his and bringing it slowly to his face where she cupped his cheek causing Harry to automatically lean into her touch.

"My beautiful boy." She gasped out. "I-I'm so proud of you. I-I lo-love y-you." She stammered out as the blood rose. Alex's hand glowed orange in Lily's hand as she tried to repair the damage.

"Why can't I fix it?" She shouted angrily, all of their eyes holding tears. Lily shook her head as much as she could and lowered her hand from Harry's cheek back into his hand.

"It's okay." She coughed out. "D-doesn't h-hurt. T-take c-care of Harry. P-please." She pleaded as strongly as she could as she lay there bleeding out. She held Alex's gaze as Alex nodded quickly. "T-thank y-you. I l-love y-" She didn't finish as she took her last shuddering breath and her eyes glazed over, the life leaving them. Tears streamed down Harry's face as he clutched her hand tighter. He shook his head vehemently, refusing to believe. Alex wasn't much better.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She repeated lowering her forehead to rest against Lily's hand that she was holding in both of her own.

"No, no, please. I can't lose you again. I can't- I can't! Please!" Harry pleaded over Lily's body. At this moment, Sirius kicked open the door at the other end of the room and rushed in but didn't get more than two feet across the twenty feet distance when he took in what was going on. Hermione rushed in right behind him and when he stopped abruptly she crashed into him. Seeing he stopped she followed his line of sight before gasping. Alex and Harry were knelt over Lily Potter's body both holding onto one of hands. But even from the distance, they could tell she was gone. Tears collected in Sirius's eyes.

Memories flashed before Sirius's eyes. Watching Lily get sorted, her laugh, hearing all about James and Lily's first date, seeing the ring, hearing she said yes, watching them say 'I do', when they announced that they were expecting Harry, finding her and James dead. The memories kept coming one after another, only staying for seconds at a time.

Suddenly Alex stood, turning to face Voldemort where he stood with a smug smirk on his face. Thunder boomed over head as everyone could hear the rain pound and the ground shook. The hanging wall lights tapped against the wall and flickered. Alex's eyes flashed and crackled with power as the entire room shook.

None of them fully realized it in that moment but news reports were going wild as a category four hurricane formed out of practically nowhere with no warning. The oceans were rocking with waves crashing into the shores and lightning struck across the sky with thunder booming.

Electricity crackled along Alex's skin as Voldemort was thrown back several feet into and through the wall behind him into the next room. Alex began slowly walking forward and with each step flames flared under her feet when they made contact with the ground. Sirius shivered with anxiousness, he, nor anyone else had ever seen Alex this angry, giving off as much power as she was.

Hermione went to move forward to Harry when Sirius stuck his arm out blocking her. She looked at him and he nodded in Harry's direction. Harry was still kneeling over Lily clutching her hand but magic was rolling off of him in waves along the ground. The air became thick and tense with magic.

"You set up that sick, twisted display just for fun!" Alex snapped grabbing Voldemort, pulling him up only to punch him and send his straight back down again. He laughed sadistically and spit blood.

"I see it worked." He taunted. Alex's eyes flashed again, as she lifted him and shoved him against the wall, fire and electricity dancing dangerously in her eyes.

"I may not be able to do it now, at least not permanently. But I will kill you, I will burn you to a crisp and make you into ash before you even have a chance to move. I will draw it out, I will burn and heal and burn and heal you again if I have to but you will feel pain. Pain like you have never felt or even inflicted before. I will break you." Alex promised. Her tone held the power of the threat. Voldemort barely wavered, but he did, for just a second.

"You can't kill me!" He laughed. "I'm immortal!" He yelled with glee.

"Nobody magical is truly immortal. The gods don't allow it. Hades himself has taken a certain distaste to you. He will greet you at the doors of hell and promise you an afterlife of misery. And I will be the one to ensure you get it. Now I know your horcrux's keep you from dying completely, but they don't stop you from it completely either. You have one left. I will find it, and I will destroy it. And while I do that, your going to experience just a taste of what you'll be experiencing for the rest of eternity." Alex smirked, Voldemort's expression changed when he heard 'one'.

"That's not possible." He denied.

"Oh, but it is." Alex nodded. "Have a fun trip to hell. And when you get back, I'm won't be holding back, and I won't hold my nephew back. Because I know you can feel the magic pouring out of him, the air thickening. That's him. And the only thing keeping him at bay, is me. And I promise you, that as much as I hate you, his face, will be the last thing you see standing over you, before you die for good. He will be the one delivering that final blow, because you have taken the most from him. And he will be the one that takes the only thing you value from you, your life. You will be begging for death when you get back." Alex warned as a dagger entered his midsection. Gasping, he looked down as she let him go and fell to his knees coughing blood as the light faded from his eyes. He'd be back and it would be the last time.


Woah, that got dark as all hell(see what I did there?) anyway, I would say hope you enjoyed but considering the fact that I just wrote off Lily again, it would be super cold to have enjoyed that. But! Things are heating up, as you can see Alex is certainly a dark person in terms of hellish revenge(last time, promise ;)

Anyone, thank you for all of the support, the next chapter will be the last in terms of the Voldemort Arc and then we get into an arc of my own personal creation and one I am really looking forward to. We've seen hints of it over the course of the story but now it will be front and center and it will really pack a punch. Hope your looking forward to it as much as I am, and see you next chapter. -DS

Leave your thoughts and reactions in the reviews? They really mean a lot and help more than you know!