The Fifth Marauder - r.a.b

CHAPTER 45

"Violetta."

Violetta looked up to see Remus shaking her shoulder, his face screwed up with worry at her unresponsiveness.

"Yeah." She said clearing her throat, "What's going on?"

"It's Xinya's funeral, remember." Remus said, standing up; he was wearing a black jumper matching the attire for the occasion, "We need you for the opening speech, or something, Lily has been fretting all afternoon."

Violetta let Remus coax her up and out of her dark room, she was momentarily stunned by the light due to the fact she had spent the last three days in complete darkness.

Lily had tried to explain to her the five stages of grief but at said point in time she was feeling everything, denial, anger, depression, everything was warped and amplified into a festering darkness inside of her.

She had grown weak from refusing to eat, her eyes were heavy and red from a mix of lack of sleep and tears.

By day three she had run out of tears to shed.

She had figured that Astrid had told the others the full extent of her and Xinya's relationship from the way they tiptoed around her, being careful not to do anything that may trigger her.

But the truth is, Violetta had nothing.

Apart from prom night they had barely talked like that, hell she didn't even know Xinya's favourite colour, her favourite food, what music she liked or anything that made her seem more like a person and less like a shadow.

Violetta caught a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors and stopped, looking at herself in disgust.

Not only was her face red and blotchy, but her dress was wrinkled and ill-fitting.

"Violetta, what's wrong?" Remus asked worriedly, he did not have the emotional capability to handle a breakdown, maybe I should just call Astrid."

Violetta held up a hand to stop him, "Tell Lily I'll be down in ten minutes, I want to look proper when I say goodbye to Xinya."

Remus nodded before rushing downstairs to Lily and the others.

"Remus where's Violetta?" Lily asked, nervously.

"Don't fret Lily, I think she just wanted to get dressed up all proper." Remus answered as he began to smoke a cigarette, "What a bloody mess this has turned out to be."

Lily took the cigarette from him bringing it to her lips, "I know, I can't imagine how Violetta is feeling, especially since they were going out."

"I just can't believe the two of them were with you know who." James said fixing his tie, "We went to school with Violetta and Xinya used to teach us."

"It's not a bloody surprise to me, it's basically a Black family tradition to join a supremacy group when you turn 17, there's no reason for it not to be a Black-Heatly tradition as well." Sirius said bitterly, "I'm just surprised Dumbledore knew and he still allowed them to be in Hogwarts."

"Makes you wonder how much Dumbledore really knows." Mused Mary, "Also how much he is willing to keep secret."

"Nonsense Mary." James scoffed, "This is Dumbledore we are talking about, he would never do anything that will harm us."

"He sent us on a mission that got Xinya killed."

"There are causality in war."

"James!" Lily exclaimed shocked at his words, "Not everything in this world is so bloody black and white. I'm sure Dumbledore has his reasons to send us to the ministry and I'm sure he didn't mean for Xinya's death but at the end of the day, it still happened."