Protection

October 31, 1981: 

Dorcas shoots up suddenly. "Something's wrong," She says simply, looking at Marlene. It's October 31st, 1981 and Marlene is exhausted. Kids keep coming trick or treating by their house. She really finds them cute but tiring. 

"Cas, what are you talking about?" She asks wearily. 

"I just... are we sure James and Lily are okay? I'm sorry, I just think something's wrong. Can we go check?" Marlene sighs and nods. 

"Of course." She nods again and holds Dorcas' hand, Disapparating. They land in the graveyard of Godric's Hollow and Dorcas screams, making Marlene alert. Dorcas is running and Marlene goes after her. 

"No, no, no, no! NO! NO!" She screams again and again, sinking to her knees in front of James and Lily's house. "NO! James! Lily!" She rests her head in her lap. Marlene is just in shock. James and Lily are alive- they have to be, they have to be! No, no. They're not dead! What happened to Sirius that allowed this to happen? Marlene steps over the edge of the house and walks through the house. Dorcas is still crying outside. She looks down at the staircase and takes a deep breath before setting her foot on the steps. She climbs and stops. James... James... He's laying on the landing, still staring away. She's never recalled a time where the little twinkle in his eyes was gone. 

"James..." She whispers. She can't even cry. She can't even cry for her dead best friends. She can't but she wants to. "James!" She screams, the sounds coming raw and pained. "JAMES!" She takes a deep, steadying breath and just runs by him. She can't look at him any longer, my god. She stops at the sound of crying. It's not Dor- HARRY! She runs to his bedroom and throws open the door. He's in his crib, crying. And in front of him... "Lily!" She drops down beside Lily, pulling the other girl into her lap. "No. You're so strong, Lils. You're meant to survive, Lily. You're too young," She whispers, still unable to cry. Every good memory, every happy moment she's had with these two people are now wiped from her memory. Their dead bodies replay in her mind over and over. She feels like she's been stabbed but she doesn't have the time. Sirius is coming and she realizes- nothing happened, that fuckwad betrayed us! He betrayed us, he left us, he killed them! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! She takes Harry out of his crib and kisses his scar. "It's okay, love." She runs downstairs and sees Dorcas staring up at Sirius. Her hands literally give off lashes of lightning and she's ready to kill. Marlene grabs her. 

"Marley!" 

"Cas, we've got to take Harry and go! Sirius betrayed us! Let's go!" She yells. Dorcas glances at Sirius and nods. Marlene takes her hand and Disapparates back to their house. She sits on the ground and leans against the couch, staring at the ground. She doesn't even feel sad, just... hollow. Empty. Alone. Dorcas sits beside her and holds Harry, just thinking. Neither of them say the thoughts they want to. That Sirius had betrayed them all. James and Lily were gone, Harry an orphan. Voldemort was vanquished for now. Mary must be safe. Remus, Peter, Alice, and Frank are alive, at least. 

November 2, 1981: 

"MARLENE! IT'S CRYING AGAIN!" Dorcas yells. 

"He's not an 'it', Cas! And you've got to wait a moment, I'm listening to the news!" 

"Stay tuned for reports' on the Potter murders." Marlene turns up the volume. 

"Cas! Come here, now!" Dorcas walks out, looking exhausted. 

"What?" 

"Sh, sh. Reports about... them." 

"As everyone is quite aware, James and Lily Potter ended up dead in their house and Harry Potter was orphaned. And, while we're all happy for the Dark lord to be gone, Sirius Black was still out there. Today, he tracked down a close friend of the Potters'- a man named Peter Pettigrew." 

"What the fuck have you done?" Marlene whispers. 

"-blasted apart a Muggle street, killing twelve Muggles and Peter Pettigrew himself. Black was known to have betrayed the Potters' secret location, selling them out to Voldemort. Pettigrew confronted him and now, the biggest part of him that could be found was a finger. He's been given the Order of Merlin, First Class. Black stayed on scene as Aurors appeared and all he did was laugh. He was arrested and is now residing in Azkaban for life." 

November 4, 1981: 

"Sh, sh, sh," Marlene repeats, bouncing Harry up and down. God, what the fuck is he crying about now?! "What is the news saying?" She asks Dorcas, who's listening intently. 

"Something about the torture of two Aurors. Sh, I'm trying to hear." She strained and her face went white as paper. 

"What? What's wrong?" 

"Marlene..." 

"What?!" 

"Alice. And Frank." 

"SIRIUS!" She screams. She could've killed him, she could've ripped him apart with her bare hands! How dare he be so fucking selfish! How dare he hurt her like this, how dare he fucking kill them! The baby starts crying again. "Why did we adopt this little monster?" She says, trying to distract herself. James, Lily, Peter, Frank, Alice. All of them are gone. And they will never come back. 

Halfway through the day, a Patronus slips through their window. A shimmering weasel speaks with the voice of Arthur Weasley, asking them to possibly come for dinner. "Why?" Dorcas asks Marlene. She shrugs, hoisting Harry onto her shoulders. She's sad and she's scared and she's angry... but Harry's still there and she loves him with everything she is. 

"Probably because all our friends are dead or insane." Dorcas tenses and Marlene sighs. "I'm sorry. I don't want to, like, I just can't, process all this. Sirius- it's not him, I just know it! I know he couldn't do something like this, ever." 

"Marlene..." 

"Let's not," Marlene says quickly. Dorcas sighs and kisses her cheek. "I'm sorry." 

"For what?" 

"I don't know," Marlene whispers. "I just feel like I've done something wrong. Or didn't do enough. I just feel like something I did caused all this." 

"Marley. None of this is your fault, okay? And you couldn't have done anything. We'll be okay. I'm sorry, too." They do go to the Weasley's place- the Burrow- and meet the new fucking kid- Ginny. Then there's Ron, the twins, Percy, Charlie, and Bill. The twins and Charlie have a passion for being mischievous and, specifically, blowing things up. Harry plays with Ron while Marlene and Dorcas relax in the kitchen with Arthur and Molly. They're nice enough, though Molly seems to be pitying them quite a lot. Marlene gets an itch under her skin when she's being pitied. It was like when she ran away to the Lupin's cottage and Remus was too nice to her, too willing to do stuff- it was just annoying. Molly and Arthur run off to stop Bill from doing something and Dorcas turns to Marlene. 

"I hate this," She whispers. Marlene nods. "Everyone feels bad for us. I get it, I get it. I just don't fucking want their pity. I want to start living a normal life again!" 

"No offense, Dorcas, but I don't think a 'normal life' is in store for us any time soon. For Merlin's sake, we just fucking adopted Harry Potter. There is no 'normal life' ever again." Marlene shakes her head. "Sorry." 

"For what?!" 

"I don't know," Marlene whispers, resting her head on Dorcas' shoulder. Dorcas kisses the side of her head and rubs her back. 

"It's okay, love." Marlene barely registers Molly and Arthur there again until Molly cries out, 

"I'm so sorry!" Dorcas spins around, hands raised and already crackling with magic. Marlene is a split second behind her. "No, no, it's just us!" They both lower their hands and Marlene sees tiny little Bill staring at them. He runs up to Marlene. "Oh, Bill, let's not bother Marlene!" 

"It's okay, Molly," Marlene assures her, crouching to be on eye-level with Bill. "Hi." 

"How did you do that?!" He demands. 

"Do what, love?" 

"The... the... magic! With your hands." 

"Oh!" Marlene smiles slightly. "It's just the way my magic works." She makes the air around her shimmer and sparkle. "See?" In the palm of her hand, she creates a little model of the solar system and closes her hand upon it. "Isn't that cool?" 

"Could I be like that?!" He yells excitedly. 

"Well, maybe. It's very rare, though. However, if you practice a lot, you might be able to do stuff like that." 

"I'm not at Hogwarts yet, though!" Bill says. "Which is dumb, I could keep up with any of them." Marlene laughs. "I'm not kidding! Don't laugh at me!" 

"I don't doubt it. You'll be better than I ever was." She glances at Dorcas, who's staring back with a fond expression on her face. "I failed every class I took." 

"Liar," Bill says. She grins. 

"You're like my friend," She says quietly, thinking back to the days when she and James would race around the pitch. He never slowed down for her, just repeatedly kicked her ass before starting all his victory laps, screaming pointless things at her. "Remember James?" Bill nods vigorously. "Him. You're just like him." 

"Isn't he dead?" Molly exclaims and Marlene looks down, nodding. "You must be sad." 

"A little. But, he wouldn't have wanted me to be sad. He would've wanted me to teach you guys how to play Quidditch. Want to?" 

"YES! Can you teach them too?" He points at Charlie and the twins. "Percy would never, though I think he'd scorekeep." Marlene straightens and looks at Molly and Arthur. 

"I think we're playing Quidditch." The two Weasleys smile and in Molly's smile, Marlene nearly cracks. She could be wearing Fabian's smile. "Come on, Cas." 

"Who better to teach Quidditch than the famous Beater- Marlene McKinnon." 

"I'm amazing, I know." After fitting them all with brooms, she takes out a Quaffle and tosses it to Bill. "That good?" 

"It's a bit heavy!" 

"Meant to be! So," She says to the four little kids. "What you're going to do with a Quaffle is lob it at those goals!" She set up low goals for them. "Don't throw it at Cas or I'm gonna be in trouble. It's not fun if I'm not here." Dorcas- who was a Keeper for Slytherin- spent the afternoon teaching the four Weasleys to play Quidditch, Percy how to score-keep, and taking Ginny, Harry, and Ron for rides around on their brooms. Harry was going to play Quidditch, Marlene could already tell. Bill lands hard on the ground and nearly falls, but Dorcas holds his arm. 

"Aunt Marley!" He yells. Marlene looks down from where she's practicing with Charlie. "Can you come to my Quidditch games?" 

"If you make the team, of course!" She yells. "And, I promise, your family will always score tickets to my games!" 

"REALLY?!" 

"Of course, Billiam!" 

"My name's William-" 

"Billiam!" She steamrolls over him and he laughs at her. "Okay, Char-less." 

"Charles." 

"Char-less. Pick up this Quaffle. It's heavy, watch out." 

"It's not that heavy," Charlie says, rolling his eyes. 

"Mhm. Throw it then!" 

"Fine." He drops it immediately, embarrassed. 

"That's what I thought. Come on, show us that muscle." She flexes her own and yells, "Manly man, come on!" He stares at her. "I thought it was funny," She mumbles. Sirius used to yell it at her during practice, flexing his baby muscles at her. It was always a great time until James threw the Quaffle at their heads and told them to keep practicing. Fabian had a nicer way of reminding them. He crept up behind them and blew his whistle as loud as possible in their ear. 

November 10, 1981: 

Marlene looks at Dorcas, who's staring back at her with a sort of hollow look in her eyes. Marlene looks back out at the crowd dressed in black. Crowd isn't even the right word- there must be about five hundred people there. Except for a few select people, none of them even fucking knew the Potter family. Marlene opens the door to their car and steps out. Her heels crunch loudly on the snow and she looks back at Dorcas. "I don't want to get out," She whispers, still holding Harry. "I don't want to be around a bunch of mourning assholes who never knew them! Please, can we go home?" 

"Dorcas," She say quietly. "No. Come on. You've got to get out, love. We'll stay with Emmeline, Mary, Remus, and Benjy. Please, come on." Dorcas shakes her head violently. Marlene gets back in for a moment. "I'm sorry. I really am. But I'm mourning too. I need you to come with me! I don't have the strength or energy to fight with you today nor to go there alone. Please, get out." Dorcas shuts her eyes tight and nods so she walks around to the other side, opening up Dorcas' door and helping her out. 

January 5, 1982:

Marlene wakes up early, seemingly for no reason. She stares up at the ceiling and shifts. Dorcas is still asleep on her arm and Harry's clinging to her hips. She realizes that she's awake because she always woke up early when she went back to Hogwarts- on January 5. She sighs and pulls Harry off her hip while dragging her arm from under Cas' head. "Sorry," She whispers, barely audible so as not to wake them up, and walks down to the kitchen. It's only 7:30. She pours herself a coffee and decides to make pancakes for Dorcas. She quietly sips at her coffee as she works and soon enough, Dorcas is coming downstairs, Harry holding onto her leg like a koala. "Hi, Cassie!" 

"Coffee," Dorcas groans, setting Harry on her thigh. "What are you making?" 

"Pancakes," Marlene replies and pours sugar into Dorcas' coffee. "Cream?" She nods. "Here you are." 

"You can't cook, why are you making pancakes?" Dorcas asks. 

"How dare you!" She retorts. "I can cook just as well as you can!" 

"No you can't, jackass." 

"Jackass," Harry babbles. Dorcas looks at Marlene, who's gaping. 

"That's James' kid for sure!" She says finally, laughing. Dorcas looks at Harry. 

"No, Haz- stop swearing." 

"Fuck," He says and giggles. 

"You caused this!" Dorcas tells Marlene, shaking her head. Marlene laughs, flipping their pancakes. They continue chatting- Harry swears- and she makes them pancakes. She sets them in front of Dorcas and she tentatively takes a bite. "Oh." She looks up. "This is really good!" She says, grinning. Marlene picks up Harry and tosses him into the air, catching him. 

"Your shock is not needed, Cas." 

"It is, actually." Marlene pulls a bunch of faces at her and at Harry, who starts giggling, making Dorcas laugh. BING! "Jesus, that's loud," Dorcas winces. "I'll go get it." She stands up and walks out of the room toward the door. "What the fuck are you doing here?!" She yells. Marlene sets Harry down on the couch and runs to the door. 

"Dumbledore," She hisses. "Fuck off, old man." 

"I'm just here for Harry," He says. Dorcas pushes him away. 

"Stuff it, we're keeping him!" She yells. "If you try to take my child again, I will bring you to fucking court, understood? He is my damn godson and if you ever so much as step foot on my property, I'm calling Aurors to arrest you. Don't fucking test me." She slams the door as hard as she can and takes a deep breath. Marlene kisses her deeply. 

"You're very hot when you yell at bitches." Dorcas chuckles, hands on Marlene's shoulders. "I love you so much," She says. "And Dumbledore is the dumbest fucking person in the world." They go back to the living room and sit on the couch with Harry. They just want to sit and relax with Harry but people obviously have other plans. Emmeline, Benjy, Mary, and- very obviously reluctantly- Remus come over. Dorcas screams and runs up to Remus, pulling him into a hug. Mary walks up to Marlene and smiles. "Hi, Mary." 

"Hey, Mar," She says. "I'm sorry I haven't been around." 

"It's okay, Mary. I wish I hadn't been either." 

"How's it been- is that Harry?" She whispers. Marlene nods. 

"He's my godson and I figured James and Lily would want me to keep him." Mary reaches out for him. 

"Can I?" Marlene nods. 

"Course you can." Mary picks him up apprehensively and kisses his forehead. 

"He looks exactly like James," She comments. "Especially now that his hair is growing in- just like James'. Except for those eyes." Marlene smiles shakily. "Lily's eyes- exactly like Lily's." 

"Stop it, you're gonna make me cry," Marlene jokes. Mary smiles back and lifts Harry up into the sky. Benjy runs by and grabs Harry, sprinting out of the room with him. Emmeline rubs her forehead. "I'll get him. Benjy!" She yells. "Get back here right now!" Ben comes back, holding Harry behind his back by his leg. "HEY! Mate, that's my goddamn kid!" She takes Harry and smacks Benjy upside the head. "Don't do that! Only I manhandle my child!" They sit on the couch and get to talking about their lives. Emmeline has been working on a potion apprenticeship. Benjy has been working as an Auror. Remus has been hiding out in his cottage and ignoring humans, only ever talking with Mary. Mary found a girl about a year ago and is going to a Muggle law school. 

"And!" She says with a grin. "The reason I wanted to come over is because last weekend, we went out on a date and, well..." She sticks out her hand. 

"Holy fuck, is that real?!" Dorcas shrieks and grabs Mary's hand to inspect the ring. Benjy dives forward, eager to see as well while Marlene, Emmy, and Remus clap and cheer. Mary laughs, beaming around at them. "Mary! Your fiancee is better than my girlfriend! Speaking of, Marlene!" 

"It's a surprise!" Marlene replies. Mary giggles and fiddles with her ring. 

"And we're planning the wedding for July. Marlene, Dorcas, Emmy." 

"Mary!" Emmy shrieks. 

"My fiancee wants us to both have bridesmaids so..." 

"Of course we will!" Marlene yells. "Of. Course!" She smacks Dorcas' arm, overly excited. Dorcas grabs her arms, laughing. 

"Marlene's a child but of course we will, Mary, we'd be happy to!"