She was shaking her head, not understanding what was going on or what the Hit Wizards were saying to her. Oh, they were speaking perfectly clearly, although they were going around in circles instead of coming straight to the point, but there was this buzzing noise in her ears and her stomach was twisting. They were even speaking English, something she hadn't been too sure they were actually capable of, what with their one brain cell between them. She clutched at the edge of the table in front of her.
"Auror McKinnon?" One asked carefully, exchanging a look with his partner. Was his name Mortimer? Or was it Montgomery? Had they even told her their names? "Are you okay?"
She turned to stare at them. Okay? Did she look okay? What part of this was, okay? She had been ushered out of her home with her child, who was being looked after by a receptionist of all things whole she was put in this conference room where no one was talking to her straight. Was that supposed to make her, okay? She didn't think so.
"Where's my daughter?" She asked instead, making as if to stand up.
The taller of the two (seriously, what were their names?) held his hand out.
She didn't take the hint and stood up properly. He glared at her which she paid no mind because why should she when they weren't telling her things properly? It was only when she was explicitly asked to sit back down and not get aggressive that she reluctantly sat down again. Aggressive? They thought that was aggressive? She'd show them aggressive. Right after one extremely important thing.
"I want Cassie," she repeated.
They exchanged confused looks and she huffed impatiently. Apparently, they were as stupid as they looked. Which was impressive. Should they have even been allowed to wave wands never mind become Hit Wizards? She understood there was a war on and all and there was a limited pool of people but come on!
"My daughter. That's her name."
"Ah, the shorter one, he had a squashed looking nose, said with a nod. "You'll get to see her when were finished here."
"Finished? We haven't even started yet. You haven't told me or asked me anything? All you've said is nonsense about current events being terrible without telling me what is going on!"
Yes, her voice got louder at the end there but she hadn't been shouting there was no reason for them to cower like that. Pathetic. And they were supposed to be Hit Wizards? Were times really that dire?
"Where is she?" She growled.
The shorter one, his face was shiny with sweat, tugged at his collar.
"She's with a secretary."
"She's fine," the taller one reassured her. "Pretty sure she was asleep when we left her."
That soothed Marlene somewhat, at least her baby wasn't confused about what was going on and being around people she didn't know. But still, she did not appreciate being separated from her for apparently no reason whatsoever!
"Fine. Then both of you. Talk."
They did that stupid looking at each other again, vaguely shocked looks on their faces. What? She was an Auror. What did they expect from her? Sunshine and butterflies? Or maybe they were the type of people who thought female Aurors were all soft. Idiots. She sneered at them. They actually flinched at that. It was extremely satisfying. Maybe she could make this work to her advantage. If they weren't going to actually tell her why they yanked her all the way down here then she may as well have some fun with it, right?
And why weren't they talking? Hadn't she just told them to talk? She channelled Moody and Emmeline and every other snarky and terrifying person she knew.
"Do your ears not work?" She asked. "Did you hear me?"
"We heard you, Auror McKinnon," the shorter one said hesitantly.
"Fantastic. Your ears work. Now, do your mouths work? You've been talking to me this whole time but nothing useful had come from those lips so I'm not so sure."
Now that got them frowning at her. Good. Maybe if she annoyed them enough, they would just shout something at her and she would finally know what the hell was going on.
The door was suddenly thrown open with a BANG making them all jump. It was Moody. Finally. Someone who was going to talk some sense.
"Milton. Govern. Out. I'll deal with this."
Ah, so that was their names. Huh. She hadn't been anywhere close. Whoops.
He didn't have to tell them twice because they scrambled to their feet and all but ran towards the door. Moody tended to have that effect on people. It was hilarious to watch if you weren't on the receiving end of it.
Which left her alone with Moody. You would think that she would be relieved about that and she briefly was but that was before she properly took in his demeanour. It was stiff and antagonistic. That was definitely not a good sign.
"Moody?"
He didn't say anything, just grabbed the seat opposite her and sat down in it, gesturing for her to do the same. Oh, yeah, she was still standing. She had forgot.
His eyes were now narrowed at her. Why was he looking at her like that? What had happened? What was going on?
"I'm tired," she said, rubbing at her eyes. "And no one is telling me what is going on."
"Do you know where your partner is?" He asked gruffly, ignoring her question completely.
She blinked at him, confused. Why was he asking about work now? She hadn't been on a shift for hours nor had she been on call.
"What?"
Moody made an impatient noise which was rich considering he wasn't elaborating.
"Your partner. Where is he right now?"
"I don't know. Didn't he go home after our shift? That's what he said he was doing."
Had something happened to him? He'd seemed pretty quiet earlier, which was a bit odd, but people just got like these days. No matter what your personality was like. Especially when you were an Auror and saw so much death and destruction up close. Far too close. So, she had thought nothing of it. It hadn't affected their work or anything and he clearly hadn't wanted to talk when she made a vague attempt so she had left him alone. Should she have pressed him?
"Not that partner."
"Not that partner? I only have one partner?"
Now she was really confused. What in Merlin's name was Moody talking about? Why was nothing that was happening this evening making any sense?
"Black, you idiot," Moody barked. "Not your partner at work."
Marlene frowned. "How was I supposed to know that?"
"Isn't Black your partner?"
She was about to deny that but then she realised that Moody didn't mean work partner. Whoops. She told him that she was tired. She could hardly be blamed for not thinking straight.
Yeah, he's my partner," she said awkwardly.
Why did it feel weird to call him that? It didn't sound right. Partner was like for work not for whatever she and Sirius was. Though she didn't know what the hell she would call her and Sirius. Whatever. They loved each other. Liked each other and lived together. And had a child to prove all of those things. That was enough for her and should be enough for everyone else. But calling him her partner was still weird.
Moody nodded at her. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Why did Moody have to be so hard to read.
"Do you do much apart?"
What sort of question was that?
"Not in recent months," she answered carefully.
Where was Moody going with this? He was now raising an eyebrow at her.
"It doesn't feel safe to do a lot of things apart," she explained.
Actually, it didn't feel safe to do anything extracurricular outside of work full stop. Whether they did them together or not.
"Where has he been this evening?"
She was about to answer when she narrowed her eyes and snapped her mouth shut. Why exactly was he asking this? What had happened?
"Wait, what's going on?"
Moody sighed.
"McKinnon..."
She did not like that tone. She had heard that tone before. That tone was used to give bad news and she did not need bad news right now. No. No bad news.
Shaking her head, she repeated, "What's going on? I'm not saying anything until you tell me what's going on!"
Yes, she was shouting by the time she got to the end of that last sentence. You couldn't blame her, no one was telling her anything! And yes, she had just said that she didn't need bad news because that's what that tone was used for. But her need for information trumped that one.
Why wasn't anyone telling her anything?
"What do you mean Marlene and Sirius are occupied?" Remus demanded sharply.
But Dumbledore shook his head.
"That does not matter. Do not fret, she will be made aware in due course. "
Did Dumbledore not realise that of you told someone not to fret or worry that they were going to do just that? It was the natural reaction; you couldn't help it. It didn't help that if you were told not to worry that there was almost always cause for worry. So, yes, he was going to worry and fret about his friends. His family. And wait, did Dumbledore just say she would be made aware in due course? What about Sirius? Where was he? Was he with Marlene? Did he know what was going on?
Before he could ask anything, there were dual cracks outside and instinctively Dora and he raised their wands. Though, they probably shouldn't have considered the fact that Dumbledore didn't. And it turned out they didn't need to for it was Chryssie and Severus.
"I was asleep!" Chryssie complained before greeting anyone.
Remus winced. Ouch. It was not a good idea to wake a sleeping Chryssie. She got very cranky. Please say Severus had her wand. She tended to get a little trigger happy when she was cranky.
"Evening," Severus said very naturally in comparison and then raised an eyebrow. "Or is it night?"
"Nearly morning," Dora grumbled after glancing at the clock.
Which was true, even if it was a bit dramatic. Remus had returned home very late and it was getting close to midnight now. So, yes, technically nearly morning. Technically.
Dumbledore coughed to remind them that he was here. Remus could feel his cheeks going red as he had almost forgotten that he was present. Everyone straightened up and Chryssie was an impressive shade of red as she rubbed at her eyes in an effort to wake up. Only Severus had an impassive look on his face.
"I hope you did not apparate over here half asleep," Dumbledore said to her.
If it was possible, Chryssie went even redder and she shook her head.
"I side-alonged her," Severus told him. "Or else she would have splinched herself."
That was a relief at least. Though Remis didn't know why it was now just a relief when it was obvious that Chryssie was all in one piece and here.
His stomach twisted uncomfortably. They were all here, except for Marlene and Sirius. Well, all of them who weren't in hiding anyway. Though, they rarely tagged that on on the end anymore. It was just a fact now. Their little group would always be those who were in hiding and those who weren't. It was odd how quickly that sort of thing became normal. You didn't like it but it became normal.
Dumbledore had yet to explain Marlene and Sirius' absence. And he didn't look worried or anything. Which meant that he knew what they were doing. So why could he not just tell them? Was it really that hard? There was no way they had just suddenly been sent on a mission either. They both had work tomorrow. Dumbledore was usually considerate about work priorities. Especially with the Aurors.
Remus felt himself getting more anxious and he was sure it was for no reason but experience had long taught him that waiting for things to happen or be said was never a good thing. And yes, he was aware of how paranoid he sounded. Again, he couldn't help it. He took a deep breath in an effort to steady his nerves. Dora gave him a concerned look and he tried to smile at her but she just frowned at him.
"May I have your attention?" Dumbledore asked quietly to be met with absolute silence and stares in return.
They all knew that that wasn't a request. Remus took another deep breath.
"Voldemort," Dumbledore said slowly and they all braced themselves for the worst of news. "Appears to have been vanquished."
There was the briefest moment of silence while that sentence sunk in. And everything got very loud. Even Severus was cheering. Voldemort was dead. Voldemort was gone. It was over. It was over. Dora was hugging him. He was hugging her and jumping up and down. And then he hugged Chryssie. Then Severus. They were all hugging each other. There might have even been some tears but Remus wasn't going to admit to those. It. Was. Over.
He looked from face to face eagerly and everyone's reflected the joy he felt. It was over! It was done! They'd made It! They were going to get to see Lily and James Again! And Alice and Frank! They were all going to be together.
But Dumbledore didn't look as happy as he expected him to be. In fact, he looked almost regretful. Regretful... why would he be looking regretful?
One by one they each came to the realisation that Dumbledore didn't seem to be sharing in their joy and they settled down warily, most of them with tear tracks on their faces, embarrassingly. There was this sense of anticipation and dread that was starting to settle over the room. Why was Dumbledore being so quiet? Why was there no smile on his face? He didn't even look tired. In fact, he looked... sad? Remus wasn't sure, he wasn't that good at reading his emotions. Finally, there was complete silence.
"I'm afraid that I have more news for you all."
She felt like the floor was falling apart under her feet. Like it was dropping and she was falling, falling, falling with it. Except she wasn't because Severus had caught her, hands under her arms. Armpits, really, but that wasn't important. It was a weird thing to focus on. Especially with what she had just been told. It was like her brain couldn't process anything else. It wasn't actually comfortable to have all your weight on your armpits despite what the films showed, by the way.
Lily. James. No. No, no, no, no, no. The world was moving side to side. No, wait. She was shaking her head. Because Dumbledore was wrong. He was wrong. They weren't... Lily was... No. No. This wasn't right. That's not what had happened. It was a joke. Dumbledore liked jokes, didn't he? This was one of them. A cruel one but it was one of them. He was going to tell her so in just a second. He was. He was.
Except he didn't. If anything, his face got even more solemn. Someone was crying. Was it her? Was it Dora? She felt a gasp. That was definitely her. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe.
Marlene swayed slightly, despite being in a chair. She felt like she had no control of her body. Like she had no control of anything. Because, well, how else was she supposed to respond to what she had just been told? Crying? Shouting? Screaming? Laughing? None of those seemed right. But she had to do something, didn't she? You couldn't just not have a reaction to that kind of news. Unless you were and animated dummy or something. Which she wasn't. She had feelings. Feelings she was definitely feeling. She just didn't know which one she was supposed to let loose first.
Anger? What had Sirius done to make them think this? How stupid had he been? How stupid had the Hit Wizards been? She needed to shout that someone had got something wrong somewhere.
Fear? Fear that Moody was right. That Sirius had done those things. Except he couldn't have. There was just no way he could have. She refused to even think like that so it was more fear of what was going to happen. She didn't want to even think about it.
Pain? Grief? Two of her friends. Her best friends. Her family. Gone. Murdered. Killed. And she hadn't even been given time to process that. She needed to cry. She wanted to bury her head in her pillow back at home and weep.
See? Far too many emotions. And that was just the stronger ones.
Moody was staring at her with this incomprehensible look on his face. That scared her more than anything. What was he thinking? What did he believe?
"I need to see him," she said suddenly, getting to her feet.
"Marlene..."
The fact that he was calling her by her first name rather than her surname was worrying. But she pushed that to the side. That didn't matter right now. There was only one thing that mattered.
"I. Need. To. See. Him."
"You can't do that."
"Like hell I can't!"
"You aren't going down there. It's not allowed. And you know damn well why."
"Look, take my wand. Put the magic restraining cuffs on me. Do whatever you want but I am going to see him, do you understand?"
Moody ran a hand over his face. Did this mean he was actually considering it? Her hopes rose.
"They aren't letting anyone see him."
"Bullshit."