Chapter 24
Marlene McKinnon
The next few weeks flew by around the seventh years. When Marlene returned, the dynamic among them changed. The girls started hanging around the boys more, and tensions that used to string high between them seemed to have dissolved.
Victoire and Teddy had decided that they would tell Alice, Marlene, and Dorcas. Unexpectedly, they had trusted the time travelers with their lives. Their decision to do so was even more cemented when two days after Marlene's return, word of a Death Eater attack came from Marlene's aunt's neighbor. She had said the Death Eaters had broken into Ms. Mckinnon's house and when no one had been home, thanks to Teddy's letter, they had been enraged and had killed Ms. Mckinnon's two cats that had to have been left behind. Marlene's family was quite outspoken about being against Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
The attack on Ms.McKinnon's cats marked the third attack of Marlene's extended family. Attack one was on Mr. McKinnon's (Marlene's father) younger brother, Mr. Martin F. McKinnon, and his wife, Amaya McKinnon, and infant child, Fitz McKinnon. The second attack was on Marlene's father, Mr. Erich McKinnon, Marlene's mother, Andrea, Marlene's older sister who was visiting, Vera, and Vera's husband, Mathew. The third attack was supposedly to kill the last of Erich and Martin's siblings, Joan McKinnon, their much younger sibling only a few years out of Hogwarts and only a few years older than Marlene. It was meant to end the last of the McKinnon bloodline.
Then, with Marlene back at Hogwarts and Teddy and Vic's secret out in the open among their small group, they tried to return to normal. Most threw themselves into their studies. Or, in the case of James and Sirius, they threw themselves into pranking.
By the time spring break rolled around, the seventh years didn't know anymore about the future from Vic and Ted, as well as those two not having anymore of a plan on what to do. So far, they were split between writing letters and still searching for ways to get home, and living in the past at least until July 31st, 1981.
But for now, they wanted to enjoy the last few months before the war really began to get bad. The seventh years had decided to stay at Hogwarts for their last break of their Hogwarts career.
(A/N: You people never cease to amaze me. Even when I update within 24 hours you still crush my expectation. 8K! Oh mon dieu, c'est incroyable! (excuse my french) Thank you all so much! I'm sorry for the shorter chapter and the extreme time jump, but I wanted to let you all know what was up with Marlene and her family. PROMISES FOR FUTUR CHAPTERS: (Y'all might wanna read this) I promise more Jily. I know I've been hinting at things but I will follow through ASAP (the next chapter I hope). SNAPE. I know he has been absent throughout this story, but I promise you he has been there. Also Regulus. I want more Death Eater involvement. I don't know how soon for that though. Until next time my friends! -Jul)