Adele Black: The End

Darling, Everything's on Fire

FYI— it gets rough in this chapter. This chapter was tough to write, but it had to be done. Also, the title of this chapter inspired by a Taylor Swift lyric from Safe & Sound, which is from The Hunger Games soundtrack.

By mid April, I knew it was time for me to talk to Remus and Tonks. I had been putting off talking to them— Remus especially— but I couldn't anymore. I decided that I would do it while Draco and his mother were on a vacation in Italy.

"Hey, this is Remus Lupin we're talking about. He's going to be a great witness," Fred told me that morning. He rubbed my back as I sat I up in bed, nervous.

"I know he is," I said, laying back down and resting my head on Fred's chest. I played with the loose threads from his Quidditch World Cup T-Shirt. "I just... have a bad feeling, but I don't know what it's about."

"Are you anxious?" Fred asked. He softly rubbed circles onto the palm of my hand with his thumb.

"I'm not sure. I just... I have this horrible feeling that I need to tape this interview with a camera. Maybe it's just a premonition, I don't know, maybe I'm just freaking out and nervous because Remus and my dad were best friends. Maybe it's because Remus is the only Marauder left."

"Wait, Remus is one of the Marauders?" Fred asked, gobsmacked. "Like, the Marauders Map Marauder?"

I nodded. "I thought you knew that."

Fred looked like his entire life had just been changed by this obviously new tidbit of information. "No, I didn't. Oh my Merlin, I was taught by a Marauder! Which one is he?"

I sat up again and turned to look at him. "Remus is Moony. You know, because he's a werewolf, and he turns into one during the full moon."

"And what about Prongs? Padfoot? Wormtail?"

I gave a him a grin. "Well, Harry's dad, James, was Prongs. My dad was Padfoot, and Peter Pettigrew was Wormtail."

"I've met 3 out of the 4 Marauders? I've never felt more honored in my life! Wait, how come Harry never said anything? George and I gave him the Map! I need to talk to him right this minute!" Fred exclaimed as he climbed out of bed hurriedly and raced out of my bedroom.

I quickly followed him in just a pair of shorts and a Camp Half Blood shirt, my eyes filled with crusts from sleep.

I swore under my breath at how loud he was being. "Fred! He's probably not up yet! I think he was planning on sleeping in! He's taking Teddy to the zoo today—"

But I was too late, because Fred had already swung open the door to Harry's room and rushed in there and started moving the mattress.

"Fred Weasley!" I whisper-yelled.

"What the— Fred, what the fuck are you doing in my room!?" Harry exclaimed as he hastily grabbed around his bedside table for his glasses. He put them on and looked up at Fred with a look of anger and disgruntlement.

"How could you never tell me your dad was Prongs! George and I gave you the Map and everything!"

Harry looked bewildered. "I thought you knew. Why else would you have given me the Map?"

Fred looked at Harry like he was an idiot. "Uh, because we wanted you to be able to sneak out to Hogsmede! I didn't even know that Remus or any of them were the Marauders until less than 5 minutes ago!"

For the next 10 minutes, the two of them bickered like children. Oddly enough, it eased some of the anxiety that was building up in my stomach.

I found myself, once again, sitting on the couch in the living room of the house where Andromeda had told me about Narcissa's true heritage. Apparently, Andromeda had a nasty fall a few weeks ago and was still recovering, so Tonks and Remus and Teddy were staying with her for a little while until she got back on her feet. Harry and I had journeyed over here together, as he was taking Teddy out for the day and go the zoo. I still felt tense, but I was unsure of why. I knew it wasn't because I left Achilles with Fred— which might not have been the smartest thing to do— and I knew it wasn't because of anything else besides this.

"Did you ever have your suspicions about Pettigrew?" I asked as the quick quotes quill wrote down my question.

"No," Remus replied. Tonks took his hand in hers and squeezed it to symbolize he was there. Andromeda looked at Remus inquisitively, fiddling with the handle of her cane as she did so.

"Could you explain more?" I asked. "I know this... might be painful to relive with the hindsight that you have now. If there's ever a point that you want to stop— that goes for you two as well— just let me know, and we can stop. I'll support whatever choice you make."

Remus took a deep breath. "Well, Wormtail— Peter Pettigrew— was more of a follower than a leader. He wasn't exactly brave, but he was loyal, at least I thought. He stuck to James and Sirius, because they protected him. I never in my wildest dreams would have suspected him."

"But you suspected Sirius?" I asked without judgement.

Remus gave me a look that was full of guilt and self-loathing. "You've got to understand, Adele. Everybody was suspecting everybody of being a traitor. And... Sirius was acting suspicious of me since I was gone a lot. In reality, Dumbledore had sent me on a secret mission to try to get the werewolves on our side.

"But Sirius was acting shady as well. He... wasn't as attentive the few times I did see him. He didn't show up to gatherings. Nobody knew why. Looking back on it, I'm sure James and Lily were aware, but if they thought I was the spy, of course they wouldn't tell me. I'm unsure if Dumbledore knew or not. It makes sense why he was acting suspicious now."

My brows furrowed. "Why? What was he doing?"

Tonks, whose hair was bubblegum pink today, responded for him. "It's obvious, isn't it? Sirius was busy with you."

"Oh," I simply stated. I felt my cheeks heat up and I found myself almost wanting to hide in a hole.

"Yes, he was busy taking care of a baby. And that baby was you," Remus confirmed. "I knew he was seeing a woman, but I wasn't aware of who she was." He looked over at the quick quotes quill and then at me.

"And that woman was my mother," I responded, careful not to mention her name. Remus gave a nod that symbolized I was both correct and that he would not mention her name either.

"Yes. And it makes perfect sense now why he was acting suspicious. He didn't want you to get hurt, and feared that a spy in the Order would reveal your existence to Voldemort and that you would be hunted down."

I nodded. It made sense to me that my dad would not only want to protect me, but not let Voldemort get ahold of me because of who my mother was. I could only imagine the horrors that would have happened if Voldemort had managed to get demigods on his side, and I'm sure that my dad could imagine that too.

"Was Peter Pettigrew and animagus?" I asked.

"Yes," Remus replied. He then went on to explain how the 3 other Marauders became animagi to help him, explained the process they went through, and even more. Once he was done with the tale, I knew the interview was over and I had the quick quotes quill stop writing.

"You must stay for lunch," Andromeda said.

"If it's not too much trouble," I responded.

"Of course it's not! You and Dora, both of you seem to think that—"

Andromeda was interrupted by the popping noise associated with apparition. A furious Narcissa Malfoy came into the room, her eyes lit up with an anger that I had never seen before. She was shaking in fury and looked like she was about to go on a rampage. There were slight bits of purple sparks that were coming out of her hands. I quickly touched my bracelet and gripped my sword tightly in my hands. I stood in a defensive position, ready to strike down Narcissa if I had to.

Narcissa stormed up to Andromeda.

"Aren't you supposed to be in France?" Andromeda asked.

"I was, until I took a nap and was visited by somebody in a dream!"

"So you left your son in another country?" Andromeda countered.

"He doesn't know I'm here and he doesn't know I left," she snarled. "I came to see you."

I watched the air tighten between the two sisters, and I felt my insides twist.

"You knew! You always knew! And you didn't say anything! You lied! YOU LIED!" Narcissa screamed at Andromeda. Her body seemed to be glowing, and I knew that this wasn't regular magic— this was Hecate magic, something that couldn't be fought back with a wand.

"I did it to protect you!"

"And they know too!" Narcissa screeched, pointing at Remus and Dora. "You lied to me for my entire life! YOU KNEW—"

"I DID IT TO PROTECT YOU!" Andromeda screamed back, slamming her cane against the ground loudly. "I—"

Before Andromeda could finish, her nose and mouth disappeared. I glanced fearfully at Remus and Tonks and found that they also lost heir nose and mouth. Their faces were flat, and their eyes were panicked. I quickly touched my face and was lucky to find that my nose and mouth were still there.

"How did I—" Narcissa suddenly looked very panicked. "I didn't mean to— how do I fix it!?"

She turned to me with fear written across her face. The three began to grab at their neck and try to gasp for air, but couldn't as they had no nose or mouth.

"I don't know!" I told her, also panicking.

"You're supposed to train me! How come you don't know!" Narcissa hysterically cried, her eyes beginning to swell with tears and her voice becoming unstable.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I tried to calmly say as she made her way towards me. I braced myself with my sword even further.

"She said the girl with blonde hair—"

There was suddenly a thud, and I whipped my head over to where Andromeda once stood. Her face, once pale and aristocratic, was puffy and blue. I raced over to her and saw the fear in her eyes. I put my fingers to her neck to take a pulse and found none.

Two more thuds echoed on the floor, and I turned to see that Remus and Tonks had fallen as well.

"No no no no no..." I cried. They too were blue in the face. Tonks' once bubblegum hair had become a mousy brown color and was limp. Her eyes were frozen with panic and fear. Remus looked similar to her.

I began to hyperventilate and panic.

They were gone they were gone they were gone

"What did you do!?" I screamed at Narcissa as I fell to my knees, my sword falling to the floor with an echoing clang.

"I didn't mean— you're supposed to train me! Why haven't you—"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" I screamed so loud that my voice was going to go hoarse.

"SHE SAID THAT THE GIRL WITH BLONDE HAIR WOULD HELP ME CONTROL IT!"

"I can't help you control it Narcissa! I can't! I can't do what you can do!" I screamed and cried, tears trailing down my face. "I don't know who you're looking for, but it's not me, you've got to believe me."

For the first time that I could remember, I was paralyzed with fear. I couldn't move. I was stuck on my knees, crying and hyperventilating and in shock. Narcissa grabbed my face roughly in her hands and I found myself beginning to plead with her.

"Please don't hurt me please don't hurt me," I panicked, my face blotchy and my eyes stinging with tears. "Please please please."

"I can't control my powers," Narcissa coldly said. "She said a girl with blonde hair would help me control them."

"I'm not that girl," I cried. Suddenly there was a sharp sting across my cheek and a slapping sound. I brought a shaking hand up to my cheek and touched it. It stung, and I brought my finger in front of my face and so that there was blood on my finger. The rings on Narcissa's finger must have sliced my skin.

"You have to be," Narcissa whispered harshly at me. "You have to be! There's no one else it could be."

I sobbed even more as she dug her fingers into my skin, no doubt leaving bruises and crescent indents from her nails. "I'm not her, I don't have your power."

"I can't control them, and look what I've done!" Narcissa spat out, spit hitting my face. "And she said the girl with blonde hair would help me control it!"

"I don't know who you're talking about," I cried, my voice strained. She slapped me again, and I felt salty tears mix with blood and trickle down my cheek. "Please let me go please let me go."

Narcissa removed her hands from me and hit me again. She took a step back and stood stiffly.

"My real mother told me," she said. "She told me a girl with blonde hair would help me! She said that girl was like me, and that the girl would help me!"

"I'm not like you," I cried. Narcissa kicked me in the side, her pointed heel smashing into my ribs. I gave a cry of pain.

"We're both children of the gods! We're both witches! We are the same! Don't deny it!" Narcissa yelled, her hands turning into fists. Blue sparks began to form in her hands.

"I'm not a daughter of Hecate, I can't help you control it," I sobbed. "She's not my mother, she's not my mother, but she has other daughters, and some of them have blonde hair. Please just let me go, I can take you to them, I promise."

"No, they have to come here. I can't leave, I can't ever leave! They'll come after me! They'll hunt me down for this, you know they will!"

"I don't know who THEY are!" I screamed. My head suddenly was forcefully turned to look at where Remus laid, still and forever frozen in fear. I would remember the way they all looked forever, and I knew I would always be haunted by this.

"The Gods will come after me! I'll be punished! I need to be able to control my powers to get them off of my trail! I need to do something, anything, I need to control these powers! What if I harm Draco with them? I could never live with myself," Narcissa explained. She grabbed my head and turned it to face her. She stood over me and I looked at her in fear; I was more terrified than I had ever been. I couldn't fight back— I was frozen.

"I'll bring the girl here, I'll bring the girl here, I promise," I cried. "Just let me go, please!"

"Bring her to me so she can train me. Bring her. I've already hurt you and them with my powers, and I can't hurt anybody else," she softly stated, her voice laced with fear and regret at what she had become.

"I don't know how long it'll take me to get her," I cried out. "But I'll get her to you, I promise. Just please stop."

Narcissa once again looked over to where the three dead bodies lay, motionless. "How do I fix it? How do I fix it?"

I shook my head. "You can't, they're gone. They're gone!"

"No, I refuse to believe that!" She screamed. "YOU'RE LYING TO ME!"

Narcissa's body began to glow orange, and she unrolled her fists and I saw little orange flames dance on the palm of her hand.

A child of the Gods shall see the flame.

But it couldn't be, because nobody was making any sort of vows tomorrow. This couldn't be it. This was a fluke.

"Narcissa you need to calm down," I pleaded. I felt like my body was on fire, and the room seemed to be getting hotter.

"Help me," she croaked out. "Please, help me. It's taking over me."

"Take a breath, please," I sobbed out. I felt like I was being roasted from the inside out.

"I can't take a breath! Not after what I've done!" She screamed in anger. "Not after what I've done..."

"Please just stop, Narcissa, you're hurting me," I screamed out. Anything would have been better than the pain I was feeling.

"Oh my god," Narcissa said, shocked. She looked at me with surprise and shock. She glanced at Remus, Tonks and Andromeda. "I'm a monster. I can't... I can't go on... please, tell Draco I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Narcissa gave a final scream as flames took control of her body. I screamed— whether or not it was in pain or screaming for help that I knew wouldn't come I wasn't sure.

Everything went white, and I saw a blurry figure in front of me.

"It's okay Adele, you can let go," it said in a calm voice. "You've fought so hard. You don't have to anymore."

"But I have to.. I can't... I can't leave yet," I whimpered. "There's still things I need to do."

"You've done beautifully," the figure said. My vision straightened out, and I recognized the messy dark hair and the gray eyes. "You don't need to do anymore. You don't have to clear my name, being able to have you as my daughter is enough."

I panicked. "This isn't real, this isn't real, you can't remember me, you're not supposed to be here. You're not... you're not real... this isn't..."

The figure disappeared.

I thought of Fred. I thought of his laugh, his smile, his scent, the way his hair blew in the wind, his lips on mine. I thought of him, and how happy I felt. I murmured his name and everything went black.