it all ends with us: ruins

035

Chapter Thirty-Five:

"It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember."

The next morning was absolute chaos. There had been a death eater attack on a nearby village and it had caused two deaths. The entire school was on edge and you could've heard a pin drop at breakfast. The silence drowned the group as they sat in fear of what would happen next. Even during potions no-one uttered a word while Snape was talking. Throughout the day it was as if all happiness was drained away.

"Do you think Hogwarts is next?" Ren asks at the end of the day.

"Ren, absolutely not." Atlas exclaims.

"It's not impossible, attacking a school full of wizards and witches is the best way to have everybody in fear." She whispers, not wanting to scare any younger children.

"Like hell Dumbledore would let that happen." Atlas adds.

Ren freezes where she stood and then turns to look at Atlas with a sombre look on her face. The two stand like that for a while before Atlas' eyes soften at Ren's which were full of fear. Atlas embraces the girl in her arms and rubs her back softly.

"Dumbledore, he isn't that great of a person." Ren continues.

"Let's go back to the dorm." Atlas avoids Ren's statement.

The two girls walk in silence to their dorm. The hallways filled with hushed conversations and the echo of footsteps. The aura of the school had changed from the news and it felt as though Hogwarts had lost its spark. Even in the common rooms the talking was kept low. The two girls walk through into their dorms and Ren follows Atlas onto her bed.

"I don't think you understand Atlas." She says softly.

"Third year we found out that Weasleys' pet rat was Peter Pettigrew. He was the secret keeper for Harry's parents and practically got them killed." Ren starts. "Dumbledore knew."

"He what?" Atlas breathes out.

"I haven't ever told anyone." Ren whispers.

"My mum's best friend was Marlene McKinnon." She says looking down. "I know you probably don't know who that was, she died before I could meet her." Ren stops to take a breather and Atlas holds her closer than ever.

"Marlene and my mum were friends with Lily and James Potter, as well as Sirius and Remus Lupin. You know them right? It happened around the time of the first war. Lily and James went into hiding and they had to have a secret keeper. They chose Peter for some odd reason. He turned out to be a double agent though." Ren explains as Atlas wipes away the blonde's stray tears.

"Marlene was a lot smarter than everyone else. Maybe not the top of her classes but she was quick witted. She figured out Peter was the traitor and coincidentally her and her whole family were murdered by death eaters." She emphasises death eaters hinting it wasn't as straightforward.

"You don't think so?" Atlas asks and Ren shakes her head no.

"Marlene left a letter to my mother that she was only able to read after the war was over. She told her in the letter that Peter had been the one to expose the Potter's location and my mum went and told Dumbledore and he did nothing. Everyone just went on and believed that Peter had apparently been killed by Sirius. He even let Sirius face the punishment for something he didn't do" She finishes.

"It's not just that though, ignoring the fact that Peter was the traitor couldn't compare to anything else he's done. He's supposed to be the most powerful wizard, the one who defeated Grindewald but he couldn't defeat Voldemort?" Ren sniffles.