integrity ━━ george weasley

-32 || The Thrill of It All

     The actual transportation lasted a mere few seconds before they arrived and her mother roughly shoved her away, pointing to the place she should stand. They were in the middle of a field, and what seemed to be some sort of marshland, with reeds towering above her head. And then, she was instructed to hurt as many people as possible and catch Harry Potter, as though it were the easiest thing in the book.

     "You know what you've done," her mother hissed at her. "And here's your chance to fix your problems. You have to ruin this family, Melora, like your life depends on it," she said, pressing her finger against the Dark Mark through her sleeve, making Melora wince. She reached up and pushed Melora's hair back, tucking it behind her ear, and grinning horribly as she did so.  "And hunt down Potter once you're done."

     And that was when she realised what was going on.

     Just then, as the two Death Eaters had positioned themselves in more concealed areas (along with the werewolf her mother had talked about - Fenrir Greyback), Melora looked over at the building they were waiting nearby to. She had to jam her knuckles into her mouth and bite down into the skin hard to prevent herself from screaming.

     Before her, stood the oddly shaped house that belonged to a traitor and his family. The family that she classed as her own had repeatedly taught her to despise such a place and belittle the residents, but since she had hidden there for the two months that she had been away - which her mother still hadn't questioned her on now that she spoke, thankfully - Melora could never quite call the place a hovel, like her cousin so proudly did.

     As she continued to stare at the house in horror, there was an unwelcome heat that gushed over her body, yet only moments after, her chest fell heavy and felt cold and empty, sucking her from within. Melora felt nothing but guilt as she watched the house that contained the people who had welcomed her in when she had no one. The home that contained an entirely innocent family who were celebrating Christmas in peace.

     Peace seemed to be part of a foreign language in Melora's world. And as Harry Potter stayed inside of this house, protected from her and the others, peace seemed to be way out of sight.

     Melora didn't need any training to work out that the ambush she was part of was going to turn violent shortly. The sky was almost black now, as though it were in her favour and was helping to hide her positioning. Clouds were absent that night, and therefore all that remained in the sky was darkness. No white. No light. No innocence. Nothing pointed towards a failure for her.

     They waited in silence - only her short, panicked breaths were audible as time passed them by. But only moments after, a small click was heard, and two figures stepped out of the Burrow. She tried to see who it was through squinting, but the gesture proved to be useless. Their voices, on the other hand, provided immediate identification.

     "Well, thank you for the food, Molly," her cousin smiled as she stepped out into the open, closely followed by another figure - a man.

     "It was really kind of you to let us join," Remus Lupin added, as though he felt obliged to show gratitude as well.

     Melora watched intently through the reeds, the silence that surrounded her still so overwhelmimg, and the adults before her finished their conversations. There was no sign of the boy they wanted so desperately, but she knew exactly what the others were thinking. If he wasn't going to come to them willingly, then this seemed like the perfect time to make him do so.

     She remained hidden for as long as she could, and continued to be a silent spectator as her mother than Apparated forwards, into the clearing, where all of the adults were then able to see her. She began to laugh, which told Melora that Bellatrix had been spotted. She straightened up a little in attempt to get a better view, and watched as a blazing fire then hurtled around the house in a perfect circle.