The World and Her Stars: One Shots

Revenge then Reunion

(DURING WAR; pre-Rose & Draco reunion after 6 months apart; Rose has been in the bunker for 4 months; she just started training the Order to fight the Death Eaters; there's a moral dilemma & a small disagreement in a post-training meeting; sad, angsty, conflicted Rose coping with loss, grief, and the impending war)

(TW: mentions of suicide, depression, loss, and grief)

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ROSE POV

"I agree with Eros." August broke the momentary but tense silence in the room with a heavy exhale. He paused for half a second before following up with, "For once."

I hardly–if ever–doubted that I was wrong, but August actually agreeing with me about something genuinely made me question if I was confident in what I had just said. This might be the first time August and I had ever been on the same page. Hell, this might be the first time August was on the same page as anyone. I swear to Salazar--he got off on being contrarian at the most asinine of times.

But on this–we agreed.

"Casting to kill will make us just as bad as they are." Harry repeated the same bullshit he's been spewing since I started training with them. "We can win this without stooping to their level–"

"This isn't a war of our morals vs. there's. There is no judge that's going to choose a winner based on how virtuous and noble we've been compared to them throughout this entire war." I started with my counter argument--yet again. "They want to kill us. They will kill us. They have killed us. We are well within our right to return that energy. Especially if we want to defeat the Dark Lo..." I paused for half a second, closing my eyes and correcting myself with a calming exhale. "Him."

"Why show them grace and mercy when they wouldn't hesitate to obliterate us all, and then some once we're all dead and out of their way, and they take over the entire wizarding world?" August backed me up, which still felt odd. "They look at us like targets that need to be neutralized. We aren't people to them. I'm not going to show mercy to someone that would cheer and click their fucking heels together after watching my dead body crumple to the ground in front of them."

Ginny looked down at her hands in her lap, and I could tell she was genuinely seeing this side of things. A few other downcast eyes around the fireplace-lit room told me she wasn't the only one either. 

"They are trained in combat with the goal of eliminating whoever it is they are going up against. Not subduing them until Aurors can get around to locking them up so they can be handled as the oh so moral and efficient magical  justice system intended." I emphasized with a quick eye roll. "They aren't innocent people. They're monsters. And as long as they're alive, they are a danger to us all. The world would be better off without them–"

"I agree." August chimed in again.

"Again--we can defeat him without stooping to their level–" Harry started up again, and I was about 5 seconds from pulling a chunk of my own hair out.

"I'm already on their level." I asserted sternly, holding Harry's eyes as I reminded him where I came from and how I got to this point. How my conscious--unlike his--wasn't clean. I was raised to be ruthless and unforgiving towards my enemies by the people that would then become my greatest enemies. I was a weapon of Death Eater creation. My conscious was already tainted. It's how I was raised. Pacifism isn't in my nature. Violence--however--is something I was shaped by my entire life.

I've killed before. An innocent person. Someone that didn't deserve it. Someone that I didn't want to kill, but was forced to, because Death Eaters aren't supposed to have silly little emotions or righteous morals. They don't dwell on death and mourn lost innocence. A Death Eater's first kill is celebrated amongst the ranks.