Stepping back onto the grounds of King's Cross Station made Mary realize how quickly the year was going by. She remembered seeing the faces of her family as they watched her leave the station on the first day of September. Now, she would see them again for the first time in over three months.
The anxious feeling came over the girl when she spotted her brother waiting for her. She huffed a sigh and made her way towards him. "Hey!" she called out.
Tobias looked over and smiled. "Hey, you." He gave her a hug, one that Mary knew was sincere. "Behaving yourself?"
"As much as I can," she replied. "You?"
"You know I am," he said.
"I find that hard to believe," Mary joked, grinning.
The boy rolled his eyes playfully as the two began to walk. "Come on. I'm taking you out to eat." He paused, then continued on. "So, how's things going with the mission? Are you and Draco getting far with it?"
Mary was a bit hesitant to respond. After the last letter she got from him a few months ago, she really felt as if Tobias didn't need to know any more about what was going on. "It's going," was all she said.
"Well, that doesn't sound convincing," he retorted.
"There isn't much to say about it," she told him. "Draco and I have been working hard on it, though."
Tobias exhaled loudly, shaking his head. "I don't think that answer will be good enough for Dad and Mom."
Mary couldn't help but roll her eyes. She was hoping that wasn't the case, but being at the halfway mark of the mission, she really wasn't sure. Now, she was beginning to feel more nervous than ever.
"So what exactly have you been up to while I was at school?" she asked.
Tobias let out a chuckle. "Oh, nothing too crazy."
"That doesn't sound convincing," she mocked him from before.
The boy looked at his sister. "Well, nothing crazy until now, I mean. There is something I have planned to do with a few other people over the holidays."
"Which is what, exactly?" she questioned.
He paused, scratching his head. "I'm not really supposed to tell you, Mary."
She frowned. "Why not?"
"It was Dad's idea. He thought it would be best if you focused on your mission with Draco and nothing else."
Mary sighed, walking outside with her brother. "Is it something big?"
Tobias smirked down at her. "Oh, yes it is. I can guarantee it."
With that, Mary was left with the thought of what could happen, a gut feeling that it would be something terrible.
*******
For the next few days, Oliver found himself inside his house, trying to enjoy the holidays, despite the situation of being with his parents. While the atmosphere was mostly calm, Oliver still had the feeling that his parents were hiding something from him.
By Christmas night, the three were sitting around the table, finishing up their clootie dumplings prepared by his mother. It was quiet among them, but Oliver saw that his parents were itching to say something.
Finally, his father cleared his throat, getting Oliver and his mother's attention. "Well, Isla, I think it's time we tell Oliver our news."
Oliver raised his eyebrows, interested yet nervous of what news his parents were about to drop on him. "What is it?"
His mother looked at her husband and then back at Oliver, sighing. "Your father and I have decided to move back to Scotland."
The boy widened his eyes. "Really?"
She nodded in response. "Yes. We've talked about it for a while, actually. England has been a great home for us, but Scotland is where we come from. It's where our ancestors planted their roots. We miss it there."
Oliver sat there, trying to process all of this. "But we moved here because of your jobs. Now you want to leave all of that behind?"
"Son, you're about to graduate and move out soon and we can relocate back to Scotland with our jobs," his mother informed him.
He sighed. "Yeah, I'll be on my own eventually," he muttered.
"Or you're welcome to come with us," his father suggested. "We get that our relationship with you has been rocky, especially after Fiona died." He paused, exhaling. "But we want to make things right and be a family again. Don't you want that, too?"
"Well, of course I do," Oliver replied. "It's just that..." He scratched the back of his head, finding the news a lot to soak in. "I need some time to think about all of this."
His parents nodded their heads. "Of course," his mother said.
"If you'll excuse me..." Oliver stood up and took his empty plate to the sink, then began to head upstairs.
"Oliver," his mother called out to him. He turned around. "Merry Christmas."
He gave them a weak smile. "Merry Christmas." With that, he turned back around and headed up the stairs.
When the door was closed, Oliver groaned and plopped on his bed. He felt the news was so sudden. The thought of going back to Scotland when there was a war possibly on the rise made him feel uneasy. He was aware that no matter where he went, he couldn't guarantee his safety, nor his parents' safety at that.
He huffed a sigh and sat up, looking out his window at Eliza's house. Their light was still on, signaling her parents were still awake. His eyes slid over towards Andrew's place, where everything was dark. Knowing his family, this was unusual for them to be asleep this early. It was odd and worrying for Oliver.
Something's not right, he thought.
Oliver grabbed his wand from the nightstand, even though he wasn't at Hogwarts, therefore, not allowed to use it due to being underage, and crept downstairs, slipping out the front door and into the night. He scanned his surroundings, making sure he wasn't being followed for whatever reason. His pace slowed down when he was just in front of the house, already realizing a problem when he saw the door was no longer attached to the frame.
"No," Oliver mumbled, running inside. He was met with broken glass and ripped wallpaper. His heart was beating faster and he wondered if his heart dropped to his stomach. In a frantic, he made his way around the downstairs portion of the house. "Hello? Andrew, are you here?"
"Up here!" the familiar cracked voice of Andrew yelled.
Oliver rushed up the stairs and into his bedroom, where he didn't find him. Then, he heard the faint crying coming from down the hall, so he headed that way, finding a distraught Andrew on the floor over something covered up on the floor. "What...what happened?" he asked, getting on the ground with him.
Andrew began to breathe fast, tears flowing down. "Death Eaters. They...they came in, tore up the house..." He paused. "Sarah and I were the only ones left. I tried to stop them from getting to her, but it was too late."
Oliver slowly looked down and realized that under the blanket was a body. "Is that--"
"Yes, it's her," Andrew croaked. "Ollie, they're gone. My family is gone." He began to cry harder.
Oliver felt his heart break for his friend, grabbing him and holding him, his shirt getting wet from Andrew's tears. He couldn't help but shed a few tears for him and his family.
"We'll find out who did this, Andy," Oliver assured him. "I promise."
He sniffled and nodded his head in response, raising his face to look at his friend and composing himself a bit. "And when we do find them, I'll make sure to finish them off myself."
A/N: Well, I'm sorry.
This was a scene I planned out at the very beginning. While there wasn't much development for Sarah, she will be missed, along with the rest of Andrew's family.
Anyway, what did you think? Be prepared since there will be more surprises coming...
Song above is No Rest For The Wicked by Lykki Li.
Comment, vote, PLEASE COMMENT OMG.
-A