Chapter 36: ──thirty three

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

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𝐓𝐖:

𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝

- 𝐟𝐚*𝐠𝐨𝐭

KATHERINE SUMMERS HAD ALWAYS BEEN a carefree girl. She's the embodiment of a true hufflepuff. She's just, loyal and with a big heart, which was why as soon as she found out there will be a rescue mission for Olivia and Regulus, she had been one of the first to sign up.

Of course so had James, Lily and Sirius, but they were deemed too emotionally unstable and so it was only Kat. She'd be accompanying Amara and Samuel along with Alastor Moody and an auror in training named Kingsley Shacklebolt.

They're unable to call for actual aurors considering that would come with explaining who Olivia is and why it's so important for her and Regulus to be rescued as well as the fact that the ministry is crawling with death eaters. They simply can't risk it.

They're unofficial members of the order now, Dumbledore says and Kat had beamed with pride to be part of something determined to make the world a better place for the generations to come.

"This is bloody stupid," Sirius grumbled in anger. "He's my little brother."

Kat wanted to walk over to him and calm him down but the situation between her and Sirius isn't actually fixed just yet. When he found out Olivia and Regulus had been taken, it was Kat he first went to and she held him, becoming the emotional support he needed. She let him cry and allowed herself to be the calm Sirius needed her to be, but they still haven't talked about it.

But Kat isn't sure if she wanted them to talk about it.

The truth is, Katherine Summers loves Sirius Black with every fiber of her being. But loving Sirius came with losing herself and that's simply something Kat can't afford to happen again.

Her love for him consumes her in a way it becomes the only thing that matters. He becomes the focal point of her universe and the only thing her mind ever thinks about. And that was seriously fucked up, because love shouldn't be like that. Kat doesn't believe in all the 'you complete me' bullshit because you shouldn't ever allow yourself to fall for someone without finding yourself first. That just sounds like a recipe for heartbreak. You shouldn't depend on this person to 'fix' you. Love should be equal. It should be growth. Your universe shouldn't revolve around this one person.

Perhaps the real problem was that Kat loved Sirius too much. She had loved him so much, determined to fix his broken pieces that she had ended up ignoring her own. She had given him all of her that she could give without leaving anything for herself.

And when he left her that one summer night, Kat felt like the moon split in half and the stars crumbled. She watched her world fall apart when her love left her.

And Katherine simply cannot let that happen again. Their love is all consuming, the type to claw at every atom in her body till it's all that she knows and the heartbreak that came with it, oh it had destroyed her. Kat had spent so long trying to pick up the broken pieces of herself that Sirius left and she's only just started healing.

Kat simply can't risk her heart again. Not even for Sirius.

And so she kept her distance. She held him at arm's length, but Sirius seems to have a way of slithering into places she doesn't want him to be and Kat found herself falling hard again. She found herself going back to that same routine and so she stepped back before she got in too deep.

"Nobody's saying he's not," she said calmly. "They're just saying you're too emotionally attached to be part of this mission. Attachment can lead to making impulsive decisions."

"Samuel and Amara are in the mission," Sirius complained. "And no one's saying the same to them now, are they?"

Kat gave him a look. "Samuel and Amara are trained aurors."

"Well, why do you get to go?"

Kat rolled her eyes. "Because I'm eighteen and actually passed my apparition test with flying colors and they need a backup in case one of them is unable. I won't actually be fighting, just standing outside, waiting for the real aurors to do the work."

"I want to be an auror someday," Lucas mumbled as James told him to put on his jacket. The rest of them would be waiting in St. Mungos, the decided drop off considering Olivia's seven months pregnant.

James gives the little boy a small smile. "You don't have to think about that yet, bambi."

Lucas, for the lack of a better term, had deteriorated. He reminds Kat of the Lucas last Christmas before the Potters had officially adopted him; terrified and fragile.

"That's what you're going to do, right?" Lucas asked. "Be an auror?"

James smiled at him again. "Hopefully. Now, go put on your shoes."

As Lucas runs back into Olivia's room, James faces the two - Remus is with Samuel while Peter is God knows where. The look on his face breaks Kat's heart.

"I'm gonna go shave," he said quietly, giving his friends a smile. "See you guys later."

"Are you okay, James?" She asked softly, instantly regretting it as soon as it left her mouth. Truth is, James Potter hasn't been okay for a while now and everyone knew it.

James smirked but it wasn't his usual smirk. It was dark and venomous and it scared Kat. "The seas are wide, the oceans are deep and demons lurk in the water that separates her from me. But nothing compares to the monster I will become if they don't return her. So yes, I'm okay but as soon as Olivia is back with me and I know she's safe, I will come after anyone who dared touch her and I will kill them one by one."

Silence followed after his words and the two occupants in the room was left speechless as he walked away as if he hadn't just threatened murder.

Sirius looked at where James had disappeared, a frown on his face. "Remus and I are worried. What if Olivia lost the babies? We're not sure what those bastards did to them. We're not sure how James will handle it."

"They'll figure it out," Kat tries to assure him and herself. "James and Olivia, they're one of the lucky ones. They can do anything together."

They found a love that lifted them both, that encouraged growth. A type of love Kat can only wish for. A type of love Kat can only wish for.

With that, Sirius turns to face her. "You'll be careful, right?"

"Of course."

Kat can see him hesitating before he stands up to approach her. "Can I hug you?"

"Yes," she says with a sad smile, opening her arms for him.

This time, Sirius didn't hesitate as he stepped into her embrace, arms automatically wrapping around her waist as he took a deep breath of her scent. His hug is tight, the type that made Kat feel so safe. His scent overpowers her senses and suddenly her mind is filled with him.

This time, Sirius didn't hesitate as he stepped into her embrace, arms automatically wrapping around her waist as he took a deep breath of her scent. His hug is tight, the type that made Kat feel so safe. His scent overpowers her senses and suddenly her mind is filled of him.

Sirius

Sirius

Sirius

Her brain chanted and that's when Kat knows it's time to pull away.

Sirius held her still though, cupping her face with his much bigger hands. "I love you."

"I know, and I love you more than anything in this world," she says sadly. "But that's the problem, Sirius. I shouldn't love you more than I love myself."

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OLIVIA CAN SLOWLY FEEL HER body losing its strength. She can feel herself rotting in that cell, but she kept on. She ate the meals they gave her no matter how disgusting and she'd force herself to stand up even though she can barely hold herself still. She'd stretch her limbs no matter how dizzy it made her feel. Olivia is determined to do whatever she has to so long as her babies will have a chance.

"How long have we been here?" She asked Regulus softly.

"I don't know," he says. "Months."

"We were stupid for going into Hogsmeade so late at night," she said.

"Yeah. We were."

"I should have listened to James," she mumbled to herself.

"Maxwell is probably laughing at how dumb we are," Regulus say with a smile in his voice.

Olivia can't help but let out a smile of her own. "Yeah. He's shaking his head in disappointment."

That was when the door opened and both Regulus and Olivia flinched at the sound. No one had done anything to Olivia yet, and though she'd like to think it's because her father actually, maybe, in an alternate universe, cares about her, she knows that's definitely not the case. He's keeping her alive for something else. He has plans for her.

The two waited for the taunting to come. The sneers and the grimaced in disgust the death eaters often gave them, as if Olivia and Regulus are nothing but dirt stuck on their shoe.

However, all that follows is silence and Olivia can't help but hold her breath, wondering who the hell they sent this time.

"Lumos," someone whispered and a dim light covered the room they're stuck in, making her blink her eyes multiple times to adjust.

"Olivia!" Someone called and Olivia almost wants to cry in relief at the sound of her older sister's voice. "Liv!"

"Here!" She croaked out, her voice hoarse. "Mara, I'm here!"

Amara then appeared from the shadows along with a man she's not familiar with and Mad-eye Moody. "Oh, babygirl, I'm never letting you out of my sight."

Olivia choked back a sob and she couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Someone entered the room again and all occupants of the room turned to him in a hurry, three of them with wands raised. It turned out to be Samuel with his own wand raised, chest heaving fast and looking like he just committed bloody murder - and Olivia wouldn't really be surprised if he had done just that.

"I'm never going as lookout again," Samuel breathed out. "There were like fifteen death eaters out there and they all despise me."

Moody grunted at his dramatics. "Well, you survived, didn't you, boy?"

"Barely!"

Samuel then saw Olivia and Regulus still inside their cells and his eyes softened. He gave Olivia a lopsided grin. "Your baby daddy sent me."

She returned his smile. "Good. I was starting to worry."

"Enough with the chit chat," Moody ordered, get them and let's get the bloody hell out of here."

Samuel, Amara and the man they're with didn't hesitate to follow as Amara and Samuel instantly headed for their sister while the man headed for Regulus.

"He scares me," Samuel muttered as they break Olivia's chains. They then pulled her up, which is no easy feat considering her legs are basically jelly and her stomach is as big as a fucking house.

Amara lightly glared at her little brother. "Focus, Samuel."

Samuel rolled his eyes. "I just stupefied fifteen fucking death eaters alone, Mar. Aren't you proud of me?"

"I'll give you a bloody pat on the back later, but right now, focus," Amara scolded.

Olivia smiled at her siblings' banter, turning back to see Regulus placed on the man's back.

"Summers is waiting outside," Moody started. "So let's make this quick."

The three aurors nodded and so they started exiting the room. Amara and Moody led the group while Samuel helped Olivia and Regulus stayed on the man's back. The hallways are empty, though Olivia can see the death eaters Samuel had stupefied laying on the floor. It's quiet apart from the echoes of their footsteps and the entire house is cloaked in darkness and it leaves Olivia wondering where her father could be. It smelled like ash and smoke and it burns Olivia's throat.

But the silence didn't last long as soon, a group of death eaters - around twenty - arrived, led by their mother.

"Of course it'd be you," Amara muttered, dramatically rolling her eyes. "You've hated us all since the day we were born, didn't you?"

Their mother scoffed. "Oh I hated you before that. I should have known you'd all be traitors."

"Hey, bitch!" Samuel called. "Ever thought that maybe it came from your horrendous parenting?"

Their mother glared at Samuel. "Don't speak to me, faggot."

"I'd rather be a faggot than a whore who let a snake slither between her legs while married."

Their mother silently fumed. "Kill them."

As if in sync, the death eaters raised their wands but Moody was faster, using a non verbal spell to create a shield.

Samuel let Olivia lean on the wall before pulling out his own wand, instantly firing spells left and right.

Olivia feels dizzy as she watches them duel. Moody alone was able to stop half of the death eaters. The man they came with - Shacklebolt, Olivia heard Moody call him - was also pretty skilled as he fought three by himself.

Amara was left duelling their mother and sparks flew all around the little hallway.

Overall, the fight did not last long. Moody and Shacklebolt are just too good, Amara was mad and Samuel - well, Samuel was an idiot who kept screaming stupefy without really looking which direction he's pointing at. Olivia thanked whatever deity is in charge that he hadn't accidentally hit her or Regulus.

Eventually, the four continued on, leaving Olivia's mother face planted on the ground after a very nasty spell from Amara.

They were already on their way out and Olivia could already see Kat smiling at them.

Maybe they were too happy, too confident after easily beating those death eaters that they hadn't realized that their mother had stood up.

It was only when Olivia heard her voice that she turned around, seeing a wand already pointed at her and Samuel.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The green light that came from her mother's wand blinded her and Olivia shut her eyes tight, realizing that this is the end. Her and her babies will die and they'll never get to live. She'll never see James or Lucas again.

This is it. This is it. This is what her life led to.

But it never came. Instead, she heard Moody firing a curse at her mother and when she opened her eyes, in front of them was her sister, eyes wide in shock as she covered her brother and sister, protecting them from death itself.

When Amara fell to the ground, lifeless eyes staring back at her, Olivia heard Samuel scream with such pain that it broke the heart of everyone who heard it, but Olivia remained still.

She watched as Samuel fell to the ground, his legs no longer able to support his weight as he clutched his older sister's clothes.

That's when Olivia realized what had happened.

Her sister is dead. She won't be able to meet Olivia's children or get married and have a family of her own. She's dead, gone. She'd never come back.

She had died protecting Olivia the same way Maxwell had. The same way many others will.

With those thoughts and Amara's dead eyes staring at her, she allowed darkness to take over.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞:

will you guys forgive me

if i say i'm sorry? in my

defense, i knew i was going

to kill off amara before i

even thought of alexander's

character.

there's like four chapters left

omg. i hope you guys enjoyed

this. also i've updated 3 days

in a row??? i'm pretty fucking

proud of myself even if i

i haven't edited anything.

btw if you guys hadn't

realized yet, i am not following

canon which means whatever

happened in the book may not

even happen here.