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ATHENA'S MEMORY HAD BETRAYED HER. Nothing she read, spoke or wrote could recall whatever genius idea had hit her in the state of exhaustion. She decided it probably wasn't that good anyway. How good of an idea could it have been if she'd come up with it seconds before falling asleep?
She'd taken another week off work (Aurora didn't seem to mind) and had spent most of the time bouncing ideas off Remus as they sat in the living room. Now she slept at appropriate times and ate when she was supposed to. She felt a lot more organised which she had hoped would motivate ideas actually worth something. Unfortunately she was wrong to come to this conclusion. So far they had come up with nothing.
Things weren't the same with Remus. Athena had hoped they would go back to normal now they had stopped arguing but it seemed the words that they had said to each other were unforgettable, lingering in their air over every conversation they had.
Athena didn't want to focus on it right now but she couldn't help but think that nothing was going to go back to the way it was without them talking about things. However they both understood that there was a larger importance placed on saving Harry.
She'd given up looking to the horcruxes for an answer. It seemed everything they gave her was giving more reasons why Harry would have to die which was not helping anyone. Athena needed a new perspective, something out of the box which would allow her to save Harry. Unfortunately she couldn't think of anything at all.
Remus was trying to help but since he hadn't been there for the first week he was simply coming up with answers that Athena had already discarded. She didn't mean to be short with him she was just simply stressed about what was going on.
The last thing she wanted to happen was for her to stop believing there was a way they would help Harry but with every passing hour, that possibility became more and more clear. Athena's eyes were blurred with black lines of words in a book every time she looked up from its pages. She was never fully awake or hungry as though all her needs had taken a backseat.
Remus tried to be as thorough as her. Athena knew that he really cared but his mind didn't work the same as hers. For some reason he was being the more rational one and by the sixth day of their second week it seemed that all hope might be lost for him. Of course he kept up the act of helping Athena so she wouldn't break again but she could see through it. She knew the signs of defeat and soon she stared to feel it too.
Athena would never give up on Harry. Nothing in the world would stop her from believing there was another way. She knew there was something even if it came in the darkest form of magic there was. Athena would find a way. She hadn't managed when Lily and James were in danger but she was closer now, she could feel it. Harry's fate wasn't set in stone which meant it could still be changed and if anyone was going to find a way to change it, Athena was that person.
☽☽☽
Remus and Athena were eating dinner on the seventh and final day of her weeks off when the owl flew through the window. It dropped the letter right in front of Remus who stared at it, perplexed for a moment.
"You've got a letter?" Athena frowned. It certainly didn't happen often.
"Yeah" Remus replied as he started opening the envelope. Athena was curious, she stood up from he seat and craned her neck so she could read the words written on the parchment.
Dear Uncle Remus
I realise I never call you that but recently I've been thinking a lot about family and what failures they are. Now I have my new family, a family who really cares for me and it brought up buried anger I wasn't aware I possessed.
It would be so nice to see you but you have to hurry. If not I fear you won't like the consequences.
I'm going back to where it all started. I'm going to find the people who failed me first.
I'm going to end the circle. Stop me if you can but I doubt you'll be able to. You see, I'm stronger than you are dearest uncle.
You have until Sunday the 17th of April.
My worst wishes
Theodore Sanders
"Today is the 17th" Remus pointed out.
"What's that? Some kind of riddle?" Athena frowned as Remus finished reading, "Theodore's being controlled, it's not really him speaking"
"They've left a lot of clues" Remus continued, "anger buried deep, they're using his inner aggression to act on something"
"It sounds like he's going to kill someone... like he's daring you to try and stop him"
"Where it all started" Remus muttered and although a light had turned in in his mind, he jumped up and rushed towards one of the drawers in the kitchen. Athena watched in astonishment as he pulled out what looked like an old muggle phone and started jamming the buttons to form a number.
"Why do you have a muggle phone?" Athena asked in disbelief.
"I got it incase I ever had to contact my brother" Remus explained, "in emergency's, like this"
"What? Theodore's going to kill Samson?"
"The first people who ever failed him!" Remus exclaimed, staring at the phone and growing redder and redder with every passing second, "Heather and Samson gave him up! They're his parents but they sent him away and never tried to get in contact, of course he has a grudge... and now... he's not picking up the phone!"
"Right Remus calm down" Athena sighed, "look, Theodore left a challenge. It's as though he wants us to stop him because he knows deep down that this isn't him. He knows who he really is and he doesn't want to go through with what the death eaters are making him do"
"How does that help us?" Remus yelled.
"Because it'll slow him down, he's left a challenge because he wants us to stop this from happening. If we go to them now there's still a chance of us managing that!"
"Right" Remus nodded, finally listening to her. Athena could see his stress latching onto to his every thought. Of course Remus and Samson had never gotten along but they were still brothers. Remus had always strived to protect his brother from the magic world. Heather and Samson couldn't die at the hands of Theodore.
Athena couldn't help but think about what this meant for Theo too. He was being held against his will, captured in his own mind. Athena imagined somewhere internally that he was screaming for it all to stop, trying desperately to break free. She could see it in the way he wrote the letter. He wanted them to get there first.
Remus grabbed Athena's arm and a second later they were apparating. Athena held tight to him, trying not to fear for the worst.
They landed in the back garden of the small cottage. Athena had only been here once. That time she'd been kicked out when Remus tried to tell his brother that keeping Elle's magical abilities concealed would end badly for everyone.
As soon as they arrived, Athena could tell something was wrong. They were cast into a sickly green light floating above them in the sky.
Remus looked up slowly, Athena had already seen it and she couldn't stop Remus from staring up at it too.
The dark mark served as an omen in the sky. It was disgusting to look at. The eery skull with the snake coiling out of its jaw. Athena knew what this mark meant and there was a single reason why death eaters left it there. It represented death.
Remus stood stationary, staring up at it as though it had confirmed his worst nightmares.
"Come on Remus, we still have a chance" Athena muttered as she rushed into the house.
The lights were on, the kettle had just finished boiling. There were footprints coming in from the back door. It had been raining outside so they left a mark over the tiles before the person had hastily walked back and removed the water on the mat. Whoever it was, wasn't Theodore. He wouldn't care about leaving footsteps.
"They're new" Athena stated, "the kettles just boiled"
"So we made it in time?" Remus asked, his eyes lighting up again.
"Or someone else is here" Athena looked at him anxiously.
"Who?" Remus asked before he paused, realising what Athena was getting at, "Elle"
Remus turned and dashed out of the kitchen with Athena only a few paces behind, she ran up the stairs right behind him, pushing open every door into every room. She could hear the faint sound of a girl crying and although she wished it meant Heather was still alive. She had already realised now the truth of this situation.
They moved to the last door at the end of the corridor.
"This is the one" Remus muttered, gripping ahold of his wand.
Athena nodded before Remus dived forwards and barrelled his way into the room. Athena ran in a second later to see Elle, alive with her wand pointed at them. She seemed terrified by their arrival but relaxed upon seeing it was them.
Remus placed his hand over his mouth as he stared at the floor. There Samson and Heather lay. They could have been asleep if it wasn't for the weird way they had been positioned. A large golden retriever was lying over the legs of Samson, crying softly but still alive.
Remus fell back slightly using a smaller bookshelf to hold himself up. He stared at his brother in shock but didn't cry. He seemed hyper aware that Elle was sitting right next to her parents lying on the floor. Athena's heart broke for her. She couldn't imagine what she was feeling. She could see the hurt in confusion in her dark eyes.
"We need to go Elle they could come back" Athena stated quickly.
"I'm not leaving them" Elle shook her head as tears traced her cheeks.
"Did you see it?" Remus asked her "was it here when you arrived?"
"Was what here?" Snapped Elle.
"The dark mark" Athena explained as she pulled Elle up off the floor. She stumbled and swayed slightly looking as though her legs couldn't support her. Athena placed her arm around her quickly and let Elle rest against her. She seemed so shaken, so frail.
"I didn't look" she sobbed "because of the rain, I didn't see"
"It's ok" Remus replied. Elle sobbed louder than ever. Athena let her go to Remus who hugged her straight away. Athena watched the hurt enter his eyes now as Elle couldn't see. Samson was his big brother, differences aside he'd always loved him.
"I'm so sorry Elle" he whispered "I didn't think they'd come after them, I didn't think" he cursed,
"Remus we have to go" Athena reiterated feeling sympathetic at the thought that Remus blamed himself. He shouldn't blame himself. No one had seen his coming.
"Bring the dog" Remus nodded as Athena beckoned for the retriever to follow her.
The dog looked up and followed Athena hastily. She sent a quick look back at the bodies lying on the floor and felt her heart crumble again. Part of Athena largely agreed with Elle. She didn't want to leave them. It seemed cruel knowing they were there but not being able to do anything about it. Soon they could send aurors but for now it wasn't safe.
Remus led Elle down the stairs as best he could. Her eyes were so filled with tears that she couldn't see a thing, she stumbled at some point but he grabbed her arm and held her up.
It was raining again by the time they had made it back outside. The garden was still covered in that same sickly green light. This time Athena didn't gaze up at the sky but she could see that Elle was. The tears making her eyes look like glass as they reflected the large skull in the night.
"Now Remus" Athena called as she lifted the large dog up with great strength and disappeared.
Athena wasn't exactly sure where Remus wanted to go but she decided Fred and George's shop was the safest bet. After all, Elle did live there. The dog was a lot heavier than she expected and she was sure he did not appreciate the experience of apparition but there was nothing she could do about that now.
She held the animal close to her as she arrived with a pop in the empty store. It was weird seeing the place desolate when it was usually filled with so many customers. It seemed almost creepy in the dark, the large stands creating shadows in the moonlight.
Athena let the dog down onto the floor, relived to not be holding onto him anymore. A second later, Remus appeared with Elle still crying. He had his arm wrapped around her but seemed unsure of what else he could do. Athena understood this. Remus hadn't had a chance to process his own grief yet, he was out of depth knowing what Elle was feeling.
"Who did it?" Elle asked through a broken voice "I'll kill them, I'll kill them" she yelled furiously.
Athena heard clattering from above. Obviously the twins had heard them.
She didn't want to tell Elle the truth. If the girl was upset before this would make everything ten times worse. Theodore was her brother and Elle cared for him. Elle understood that Theodore wasn't himself but she was looking for someone to blame, looking for someone to take her anger out on.
"I'm so sorry Elle if I'd known" Remus replied.
"Who. Was. It" Elle repeated clearly.
"It was Theo"
The look of pure distraught on Elle's face was interrupted as the twins came running down the stairs to see who was breaking into their shop. They stopped in surprise to see Elle, Remus, Athena and .... Elle's dog.
"What's going on?" Fred asked immediately. Athena sighed lightly as she looked at Elle. Her eyes filled with tears her expression one that couldn't understand what was happening. How this was happening and probably why this was happening to her.
"It wasn't really him" Elle shook her head "he's still cursed"
Elle looked back up at Athena and Remus as though desperate for them to confirm this. She had to cling onto the part of her brother she knew. Elle had only known Theodore for two years but Athena could tell from the hurt in her eyes that she cared for him a lot.
"I know he is" Remus smiled sadly "he's not in his right mind Elle"
Elle nodded but Athena couldn't shake the feeling that this had changed everything. She'd never be able to look at her brother the same again. Athena knew that much.
"Elle what's happened?" George paced forward noticing the look of pain and grief written all over Elle's face.
"They're dead" Elle whispered as he approached "my parents are dead"
She crumbled again but this time George was there to catch her, he held her tightly in his arms as the wave of shock washed over his face
Athena stared at the scene in sympathy feeling that they shouldn't be there. She wondered how Remus felt. He was still standing tall beside her, not wavering in his expression. She guessed it must have hit him by now. The truth that his brother was dead. Remus had lost his mother when he was only 20, his father in the twelve years he'd been away and now his brother. Athena couldn't imagine how he felt in this moment.
"The orders on the way there now" Remus informed the group "to get the... bodies and dispose of the dark mark"
"It was death eaters?" Fred gasped.
"It was Theo" Elle sobbed "they made him do it"
The twins just stared at Elle in shock. It was clear that neither of them knew what to say. Athena reached down and took Remus' hand in her own as she stared at Elle crying silently into George's shoulder.
"We'll give you some space" Athena smiled warily "come on Remus"
She turned on her heel and a second later they were standing back in their kitchen. The letter that Theodore had sent them was still sat on the table. Remus stared at it for a second before he turned and went to walk out of the room.
"Remus wait" Athena sighed as she reached out her hand, "I'm so sorry, look if there's anything you need—"
"I just need some sleep" Remus muttered. This time Athena let him walk out of the room as she wrapped her arms around herself. She hadn't believed that anything could get worse at the moment. It seemed yet again she'd been proven wrong.
☽☽☽
A/n
Words - 2873
Published - 12th August 2021
This is from cinnamon dreams
if anyone remembers :)