☽☽☽
ATHENA LET HER SCREAMS TAKE OVER as she stared down at Fabian who was blankly staring up at her. If she'd only been faster, Athena had very nearly saved Fabians life and now his empty eyes would forever haunt her dreams.
It had been Bellatrix who killed Fabian. Her husband having killed off his brother. She'd left Sirius lying unconscious next to Lucius' body but Athena knew that if he were dead she'd be singing about it.
Athena hadn't been prepared for the array of spells that hit her as she knelt beside Fabian, tears tracing her cheeks. Redolphus, Bellatrix and the Carrow's were all spurting curses at her. It hurt so bad and Athena could do nothing but yell.
They stopped, thinking that they'd won. Athena was alight with magic. It wasn't just swimming over her skin but swirling in her veins. Lights of green, red, blue, purple, silver and many more. The spells graced her hair, swirled around her and coated her eyes in a glimmering sheen.
She stared up at them, even her tears now glowing blue. They looked right back as Athena stumbled to her feet, staring at her hands now covered in a glistening coat of magic.
"Hit her again!" Bellatrix cried. Athena's eyes snapped up to look at Lestrange and she relished in the fact that she looked scared. They feared her and Athena had never felt more powerful, never felt more in control.
She could kill them all if she wanted to. They'd killed the Prewett twins, they'd killed so many. So many lives taken. Why shouldn't Athena kill them? Why did they deserve to live? They were scum. They were sickening.
Athena was stood in between the bodies of two people she'd grown close to. Two people she had called friends and around her sat the power to avenge their deaths. Fire, death, rage and magic swarming around her, swarming through her. So why shouldn't she just end it?
"I said hit her again!" Bellatrix screeched,
"You hit her again!" Redolphus cried, "she looks like she's going to blow up"
"She looks like a fucking demon" Alecto Carrow swore.
Athena turned her head and saw that everyone has stopped fighting now. They were all looking at her, shock, surprise littered their expressions. Kennedy looked amazed in pride but the others looked... fearful.
That's not what she wanted. Athena didn't want her friends to be scared of her. She didn't want to be feared by those who stood by her side. Athena imagined what Remus would say. He'd been scared for her, he'd always been scared for her. Remus had never liked her power. He wouldn't want her to do this.
Then she thought of Mary. Mary was dead at her hands, surely that was enough? She thought of the girls words. Athena, making a good death eater. Athena, being a killer. She was better than them, killing them would be feeding into the perceptions that she hated, the ones that made her want to scream.
Athena was not a killer, she would never be a killer.
That's all her mind needed to hear.
With a loud scream of pain, Athena crumbled and let the energy that had collected around her fly into the air, into the now night sky as she fell to her knees. Looking up through tears, she saw the four death eaters looking vindictive and she hated it but there was nothing to do. They could think what they wanted about Athena and this wouldn't change a thing. After all, she wasn't one of them nor would she ever be.
It seemed everyone as preparing for a fight however in that moment it seemed the death eaters had done what they wanted. Bellatrix was the first to vanish however with a few pops they all flew away. Even Lucius Malfoy who had been taken by Barty. In fact, even the death eater knocked out by Kennedy was gone which raised the question. What had this been about? Why had the twins lost their lives? What had this been for?
Athena almost got herself to her feet when she felt arms wrap around her.
"Holy shit Rena that was terrifying" Dorcas gasped as she held tightly onto her. Athena couldn't speak, she could only stare at Fabian who was still lying next to her.
"Molly" she whispered, unable to think of much else to say.
"Why the hell were they here?" Sirius asked as he paced over, "what the bloody hell just happened?"
"They were after the twins" Kingsley explained, "the battle broke out, the twins were caught unaware on a mission to follow MacDonald, it seemed she knew what was going on, they called for backup but—"
"But we failed" Athena finished, "they're dead"
"Molly" Marlene cried, "they're her brothers"
"They were amazing people" Kingsley sighed, "I wish we could have helped them but it was evident when we showed up that we were outnumbered"
"There's a muggle who needs obliviating" Athena murmured, finally tearing her eyes away from Fabian and nestling her head in Dorcas' shoulder.
"I'll see to it" Tessa suggested as she backed from the scene and paced over to the smashed up corner shop.
"We need to get out of here" Sirius sighed,
"Moody and Dumbledore were called before, they'll be here soon"
"They couldn't have come any sooner?" Kennedy asked bitterly, "we could have done with their help"
Athena silently agreed. People like Dumbledore and Moody were the kind of people who prevented events like this.
"Come on Rena" Dorcas mumbled, "there's nothing either of us can do now, let's go home"
"I don't want to leave them" Athena whispered, "who's going to tell Molly?"
"That's not your responsibility, I'm sure Dumbledore will do it" Dorcas replied, "and they're not alone Rena, they have each other, they'll always have each other"
☽☽☽
The next few days were agony. Molly had been a wreck. Dumbledore had indeed broken the news but Athena had to visit, she just had to. Knowing what Molly was going through and not being there to help her felt wrong. Especially when Athena had seen it happen, especially when Molly's brothers had died right in front of her eyes.
Part of Athena feared that Molly might be annoyed at Athena however this wasn't the case in the slightest. Molly seemed slightly glad to see her. Of course she was distraught and therefore couldn't be happy about anything but she appreciated the company, the comfort.
Molly takes about memories she'd shared with her brothers and Athena felt like screaming. They'd always been so close. The twins had always been around to cheer Molly up, to help her with the kids.
The kids. They'd never really know their uncles. Bill, Charlie and Percy would probably be the only ones to remember them and for Charlie and Percy this would grow faint over time.
It seemed incredibly cruel that the twins would never know them. The twins were practically copies of Gideon and Fabian but they'd never know them, never know the men they were named after, the men who had loved them so much.
The world was cold and life was so disappointing. Athena missed Remus more than ever. She needed someone to cry to, someone to hold at night. The death of the Prewett twins had simply added on to the pain that she was already feeling and it crushed her spirt and every fibre inside of her.
Athena needed Remus with her, without him being here she held no hope that this pain would go away anytime soon. Remus could make it better, he always made things better even if he didn't realise that he was doing it.
It wasn't really her loss. Of course she'd loved the twins and known them well but there were others who were hurting more and she tried to place her focus on them. Molly, Arthur and the kids for starters. After that there was Frank and Alice, even Kennedy had grown closer to the twins than Athena had realised.
The funeral was set to the following week after the fight and Athena had really hoped that Remus would be back. She woke up in the morning and had some false hope that he might be sitting downstairs making some tea or asking for pancakes. Of course he wasn't there. Athena shouldn't have got her hopes up.
By now it had been more than two weeks. May was in full spring now and Athena was left with no information about his whereabouts. All she knew was that he was alive and this wasn't enough.
The day of the funeral was bound to be hard, especially without Remus there. Athena went with Dorcas and Marlene so she didn't have to be alone. They were upset too, in fact everyone was.
The twins had owned a presence that had now been dragged away, it left an empty space for everyone even those who didn't really know them. Their laughter could sometimes still heard in the back of her mind like a whisper. Even sitting in the church, Athena half expected them to come walking through the door. They were always a welcome sight, never dimmed or upset. They were always alive with energy and joy. This was something which couldn't be easily replaced.
All six Weasley children were there. It wasn't as though the youngest three understood what was going on but it felt like they did because it was utterly silent in the church. Even the young twins weren't acting up.
Athena, Marlene and Dorcas sat near the back of the room and watched from afar. She didn't really want to be here, who actually wanted to be at a funeral? Being here and seeing their photos at the front beside two coffins really set the reality into Athena's mind. As if seeing them crumble in front of her hadn't been enough.
She would still see the lost and blank expressions on their faces when she closed her eyes. Athena had seen this coming, she had known that this memory wasn't one easy to forget.
However Gideon and Fabian had died together just as they had done everything together. Athena couldn't imagine one living without the other. She'd seen the agony and anguish on Fabian's face and wouldn't want him to be here commiserating his brothers life.
Despite this, it was even harder having both of them gone. It felt completely wrong. Athena had been in this war for a few years now but sometimes she forgot how real this was, how dangerous this was, how many people were going to have to die before it could be won?
Athena had been to four funerals now however each felt as bitter as the last. Her aunts had been the first and therefore the hardest for her however the Potter's had felt raw and cruel, Hope's had been terrible because she had known Remus was broken and the twins funeral felt dark and foreboding. Athena couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.
She didn't cry. Athena retained her sadness and sat with her hands clasped in her lap. She squeezed her nails into her skin slightly in an attempt to stay alert. Athena had recently gained an annoying habit of drifting into her thoughts and missing what was really going on. Remus had been her anchor for this issue however she was now just freely floating without anyone to hold onto.
She turned briefly to Marlene who was sat on her right. Her hair pulled back and her eyes teary. Marlene and the twins had shared similar humour, they'd always laughed at the same time. Athena also thought that Marlene saw the twins as brothers in a way.
Why them?
Marlene's voice broke into Athena's mind and she looked away quickly not wanting to invade the blondes privacy. Athena didn't know how to control her knew mind reading ability yet which often led her to reading into things that she didn't want to. She often felt guilty about it, being so invasive without meaning to.
She focussed her attention to the front of the hall as the priest talked. Athena didn't listen, she wasn't religious and truthfully it was impossible for her to imagine that there was another world out there. Death felt so final, she'd felt it when the killing curse had hit her. It was cold and unforgiving, that's how it remained in Athena's mind.
She focused her attention onto the smiling photos of the Prewett twins sat in front of the coffins. They were smiling identically. The photos had been taken before Gideon had grown his hair out, when they still looked pretty much the same.
Athena had remembered back when she'd first met them, trying to decipher which was which. It had taken Gideon's hair for her to be able to successfully accomplish this. However now looking at the photos she could tell that Gideon was on the left and Fabian on the right. She didn't know how, but she knew.
Molly made a speech and Athena realised how incredibly strong she was for being able to get through it. She held the paper in front of her with shaking hands, silvery tears over her freckles but although her voice shook she never broke.
The speech was beautiful, full of memories, etched with love and combined words of pure poetry that Athena knew encapsulated the twins perfectly. Molly had known them better than anyone, she'd been there sister. Athena couldn't comprehend losing one sibling never mind two.
After the ceremony came the burial which was always Athena's least favourite part. The coffins being lowered into the ground was the last goodbye and Athena wasn't sure whether she was ready to accept the truth yet. She kept tight ahold of Dorcas' hand as the taller girl stood in between Athena and Marlene. Dorcas was being strong, she was being strong for the three of them.
Athena had to go home on her own. Marlene and Dorcas had offered their flat for the night but Athena thought that they'd prefer being together on their own. Anyway, Athena couldn't avoid her loneliness forever.
The house was even more empty, even more dark and the echoes seemed too prominent now. Remus' mark was slowly fading, his scent disappearing and the bass guitar collecting dust. Athena felt that everything was cold now. Even pulling on Remus' thickest jumper didn't help, she still felt like shivering.
She sat staring at the empty fire hoping Remus would appear even though she knew he probably didn't have access to floo powder. Athena wanted to scream again, she'd felt this emotion a lot recently but she couldn't go through with it. Actually screaming on her own in her empty house felt stupid.
Her hand clasped around the golden locket sitting on her chest. Remus' heartbeat calmed her. She could feel it however Athena began to realise that it was faster than usual. Athena had come to memorise the pattern of the beating however this was different, this was new, this wasn't good.
Athena frowned as she pressed the metal so tight absent her skin that it hurt. Trying to decipher something that wasn't there. As she screwed her face up in hurt and confusion she heard it. It was unmistakable, it was so clear yet so far away and Athena's eyes snapped open in shock and fury as she heard Remus' whisper in her ears.
Help me Rena, help me
☽☽☽
A/n
Words - 2595
Published - 2nd April 2021
I think I'll finish this act today :0