If Only Tonight we could Sleep
As night slipped over Hellsgate, the stranger still had not been found. And five residents hunted, with an urgency, below the bright crescent moon, amongst the dark streets.
Peter slinked in the shadows, one hand on the sword and the other holding a wooden torch. He didn’t really expect to find the stranger, and as the search went on, he felt himself care less and less if they even succeeded. They were likely long gone now.
He glanced around, trying to sense if the others were nearby or not. And in the absence of the sound of footsteps or wings flapping, he headed home, reaching his mothers’ inn with a relieved sigh. He really didn’t want to get into a fight, and knew he was rather shit with sword fighting, not to mention the exhaustion that had swept over him in having to walk around for hours with a heavy sword in hand.
He pulled his shoes off, leaving them on the porch, hung the torch back on the wall, and headed to the kitchen for a drink, leaving the sword on the small table.
As he started to boil the kettle, footsteps started creaking closer. Peter turned, just as the kitchen door was pushed open.
Remus hovered in the doorway, staring at Peter from across the room.
“Did you want a drink? Some tea?”
Remus paused before nodding, “Yeah, thank you.”
Peter turned back around, grabbing two mugs from the cupboard, as Remus sat down at the small kitchen table.
After a few minutes passed, Peter passed him a steaming mug and sat down opposite him, own mug clutched in his hands.
Remus nodded towards the stranger’s sword, “What's that?”
Peter blinked, “A sword.”
With a roll of his eyes, Remus huffed, “Didn’t know you had one.”
Peter eyed the other man, glancing at his uncombed and unwashed hair, crumpled clothes, and tired eyes.
“You look like shit.”
“Thanks… I keep thinking I should leave.”
Peter narrowed his eyes, “I thought James got you to agree to help out?"
“It just might be too much for me. And you were only looking for one hunter, and James is here, so I’m not really needed.”
Peter sipped his tea, nodding, “I’ll miss you, if you do choose to leave. But I guess that was always going to happen, you’d never stay here for long.”
Remus glanced back, fingers tapping his own mug, “Right. I don’t really belong here.”
Peter let out a small laugh, “Sometimes I think I don’t either. God, Mary’s probably packing up to leave right now, maybe you could hitch a ride with her.”
Remus frowned, “Why do you think she’s going to leave?”
“Ah, don’t worry about it.”
Remus’ frown only deepened, his head quickly turning to the sword. His eyes widening as he recognised the pattern of the hilt- red jewelled and a small lion and anemone flowers engraved onto it.
He slowly turned to Peter, “Where did you get this sword?”
Peter paled, “The pub.”
“Who from?”
“Lily gave it to me.”
“And where did Lily get it?”
“Just some stranger. She left her sword behind when she left the pub.”
Remus was holding the sword now, standing up and half heading to the door, “Why was she at the pub?”
Peter glanced down to the mug, “She was looking for you and James.”
“Why would she leave her sword behind?”
“She ran off, because Lily wanted to kill her. I said not to, same as Mary.”
“But she managed to escape? She’s left now?”
Peter scrunched his face up, not looking at Remus but the table, “I think she’s left… but Lily and the others are still out there searching for her. I begged them not to, but Lily told them to kill on sight.”
Remus swore, “Alright. Stay here, Pete. I’m going to go look for her, can you stay up and maybe get any medical supplies you have in case she’s injured when we get back.”
Peter nodded, scrambling out of his seat as Remus fled the kitchen, running upstairs to get his weapons and then ran back downstairs and out the door.
Peter stared at Remus’ retreating form through the kitchen window.
“Fuck.”
-
Lily dragged her hand against the stone walls, closing her eyes as she hummed. She could feel the wall’s past, an arm brushing against it with urgency. Lily smiled, and carried on walking, cloak billowing in the wind.
As the flapping of wings started creeping closer, she slowed down her pace, hand still pressed against the stone walls.
The wings flapped by her ear, before shifting into footsteps by her side.
Marlene turned to glance at her, “Still no sight of them. And Peter seems to have gone and fucked off.”
“Don’t worry about Peter. We can find them without him.”
“Listen- Y’know I’d follow you wherever, but I think this is a lost cause, Lils. It's been hours and no sight of her, is she that important?”
Lily didn’t reply, just carried on walking on. Marlene stayed by her side.
-
The woods were enveloped in darkness, only the moonlight shone down onto the tall trees. Invisible creatures snapped twigs and crunched leaves, wind whistling through the tree trunks. Dorcas walked silently through the darkness, their thermal vision coming in handy.
They ignored the owls and foxes and small woodland animals, hunting solely for the newcomer.
Axe in hand, they searched the woods.
And just as they started to ponder heading back to town, they noticed a human shaped heat close by. And with a tight grip on their axe, silently heading towards the newcomer, Dorcas pounced.
A loud scream erupted from the stranger’s throat, causing flocks of birds nearby to awaken and fly away. Blood poured from the stranger’s stomach, she held her stomach with a strong grip, trying to stop the blood from flowing out. Dorcas held their axe against their neck.
The newcomer glared up at them, before kicking out their leg into Dorcas’ abdomen, successfully giving her an opportunity to roll away.
Dorcas groaned, clutching their stomach in reflex before turning back to the stranger and scrambling after her. With two hands still clutching onto her open wound, she kicked back against Dorcas, determined to survive.
They scrambled against each other, fighting and dodging each other’s attacks on the muddy ground of the woods. As the newcomer kicked Dorcas’ face with force, they hissed in anger, blood oozing from their broken nose. Dorcas swung the axe into the stranger’s calf, hitting the bone as she tried to pull away- the blade grating down her leg, the skin peeling off in harsh chunks, bone visible as blood oozed onto the muddy ground.
Bat wings flapped closer to the two, Marlene turned back as she reached them, going straight for the newcomer, fangs immediately digging into their neck. The newcomer let out a small groan, eyes fluttering shut as she lost consciousness.
Lily floated down onto the forest floor, quickly stepping onto the muddy ground, broomstick in hand, and helped Dorcas to their feet.
“We heard a scream and birds fleeing from here”, Lily smiled, pulling a vial from her bag and handing it to Dorcas, “Good work.”
Dorcas smirked back, uncocking the bottle and downing it, their injuries starting to heal straight away, “Thanks.”
Marlene pulled her fangs out, glancing over to Dorcas, “You alright?”
They nodded.
Lily stepped forwards, eyes on the stranger’s unconscious form, “keep drinking, she’s not quite dead yet.”
Marlene nodded, wiping the blood from her mouth before digging back in.
“Stop!”
Marlene groaned at the shout and the footsteps running towards them, begrudgingly letting go, “Mary, I love you, but can you just leave it?”
Mary carried on running over, putting herself in front of the stranger, “Since when do we kill innocent people?”
“Since there was a war going on, and hunters showing up”, Lily began, taking a step towards Mary, “Are you really willing to risk all our lives for some stranger who’s likely already killed hundreds of people just like us?”
Mary glared, “Yes. And usually so would you. But this has nothing to do with the war, this is just your personal agenda, Lily.”
Dorcas turned to Lily, “What does she mean by that?”
Lily stared back at Mary, unwavering, “Mary is trying to stop us, by whatever means she has, even lies.”
“I’m not lying! You said it yourself, the only reason you want to kill her so badly is because whatever the hell happened with Severus Snape.”
“Who the fuck is Se-” Dorcas started.
“He’s no one.”
Mary laughed, “Lily Evans, the leader of deceit.”
Lily smiled, kneeling down, “Mary Macdonald, the witch of lies… I’m no leader, Mary. I haven’t made anyone do anything, I’m not the puppet master that you seem to think I am. I know it might be hard or painful to admit, but sometimes we have to do things we might not want to, horrible things, harrowing things. And even sometimes people might enjoy doing such horrible, gruesome things. Right, Marlene?”
Marlene grinned, blood dripping down their lips, staining their shirt, “We can't all be you, Saint Mary.”
Lily smiled, eyes gleaming in satisfaction, “Dorcas?”
Dorcas paused, standing slightly away from the group, “I- I don't know.”
Lily frowned, standing up and turning to Dorcas, “Do you kill, Dorcas?”
“Yes.”
“And do you enjoy it, like Marlene?”
Dorcas glanced to their girlfriend, “Sometimes- when they deserve it, when I kill for revenge. But when they're innocent; I get overwhelmed in grief, in shame.”
Lily nodded, sympathetically, before turning back to Mary, “They understand. So, Mary, are you going to move or not?”
“No”, Mary practically spat, “You can't just keep manipulating everyone! I'm not letting you kill her.”
Lily sighed, “Since you seem so stuck on the idea of a leader, I guess our town's leader would be Sirius, hm? And what do you think they'd do, finding you so against killing someone dangerous to the town?”
Marlene scoffed, “Sirius is not my leader.”
Lily shot her a look, and Marlene abruptly closed her mouth.
“Sirius isn't here, Lily! Sirius wouldn't care! You do! You and your stupid issues with anyone that has a Phoenix Emblem!”
A snap sounded in the distance, and everyone turned to the source of it.
Remus Lupin made his way through the trees, eyes widening as he caught sight of the newcomer, unconscious on the floor.
“Remus?” Lily frowned, “What are you doing here?”
Remus’ eyes were fixated on the blood covered body.
“Is she dead?”
Marlene licked one of her fangs, “Not yet.”
He ran over, bending down in the leaves and mud, frantically searching the injuries, determining how bad they are.
He turned to Lily, and her bag of medical equipment, “Heal her.”
“I can't-”
Mary scoffed.
A small groan sounded from the bloody body, and Remus immediately turned back to the strnager, staring into her face as her eyes started to flutter open.
“Emmeline?”