Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Beta'd by the lovely Gus-Gus

Word Count - 1896

Warning - Murder. Lots of it. And Angst. Also lots of that.

Carnations

May, 1977

She stared at the man in shock, her eyes moving from his face to the paltry bunch of carnation flowers in his hand and back again.

"I. Um. No?" she offered, with an apologetic shrug.

The smugness on his face seemed to fall away, leaving a mask of embarrassment and anger in its place.

"What? This ain't good enough for you?" he asked, his voice raised slightly as he lifted the flowers in his hands. "You one of them girls that's just out for what they can get?"

Marlene blinked. "It's nothing to do with the flowers, Travers," she replied after a moment. "I just would prefer not to go on a date with you."

She realised it was the wrong thing to say when his eyes flashed with rage. Pulling his wand out, he cast incendio on the bunch and watched them burn with a sneer.

Meeting her eyes again, he leant forward, and said quietly in her ear, "I'll get you back for this, McKinnon. Just you 'll regret making a fool out of me."

He left her standing in the middle of the courtyard, storming away to the giggles and loud whispers of the other students.

Dorcas raised her eyebrow. "He really doesn't deal with rejection well."

Marlene nodded, "No kidding."

Later that night when she thought about the look of rage in his eyes, Marlene shuddered and pulled her blanket tighter around her, his threat ringing in her ears.

…

November, 1977

Marlene stared at Professor McGonagall.

"What, but, no. He can't…"

Tears streamed down her face, and as her legs lost all their ability to hold her up, she slumped to the floor of her Head of House's office.

"I'm so sorry, Marlene. Your mother is waiting for you at home with your brothers."

"But… my dad. My dad isn't…"

…

She held her mother for hours, the two of them crying over the lost man in their lives. Michael, Marlene's older brother, sat with Mark, the youngest asleep on his knee, staring at the wall as though it held all the answers as to what they were supposed to do now.

"I don't understand," Michael said suddenly. "What were the flowers for?"

Marlene released her mum to look at her brother. "What?"

She hadn't been given any details, not that she particularly wanted them, but she knew her Father had been murdered in a suspected Death Eater attack.

"What flowers?" she asked again, when no answer was forthcoming.

"There was a shitty bunch of carnations placed on his chest," Michael muttered. "But it makes no sense. Why would a Death Eater leave flowers?"

Slumping in her seat, Marlene closer her eyes, a vision of Travers standing in front of her with limp flowers, and an echo of his threat ringing in her ears.

He'd done this. She'd done this.

"It was revenge," she whispered. "Travers, he was in the crew of baby Death Eaters who left Hogwarts last year. I turned him down and he said he'd make me regret it."

Michael shook his head. "Nobody is gonna commit murder because a girl rejected them in school, Marl. This wasn't your fault."

Disagreeing but not wanting to argue with her brother, Marlene said nothing.

…

August, 1978

"You should sleep, babe," Sirius said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

She shook her head, then leant into his side. "I can't. Michael is out on the raid. I need to know he's okay."

He took a long drag of his cigarette, blowing smoke rings into the night air. "You haven't slept for days."

"Exaggeration, much," she mumbled, her eyes closing despite her words. His shoulder really was a comfortable pillow.

"Not much of one. Stop being so stubborn and go to sleep, even if it's only for an hour. I'll wake you up as soon as your brother gets back, I promise."

She barely heard the end of his sentence before she was asleep.

…

The look on his face told her everything she needed to know.

"How?"

"Spell to the back from what Frank said. Nobody saw who cast it, and it was too late to do anything."

"I. I. I need to go and tell my mum," she murmured, her voice hollow. "How? How do I tell her that her son is dead? And Mark. We lost dad already, and he looks up to Michael. I don't…"

"I'm sorry, baby. Michael was a good man."

She nodded. She felt like crying, but no tears fell. She felt empty, but also like her insides had turned to stone.

She let Sirius lead her into the room where the others were gathered, but she avoided looking at everyone. She didn't think she could handle the sympathy or pity.

Sirius sat her down on a threadbare sofa, asking someone to get her a whiskey. She listed to the murmur of voices around her, and accepted the tumbler when it was pressed into her hands. Sirius stayed by her side, his hand rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"The flowers were weird though."

Her head swung around so fast towards the voice, and she stared at Frank Longbottom. "What flowers?"

"Carnations, a weird little bunch laid on Michaels chest," he replied apologetically.

Marlene felt as though the world had suddenly stopped spinning. Stumbling up to her feet, she left the room, managing to get back into the large garden before she vomited violently.

Sirius was at her side in seconds, rubbing her back and holding her hair. When she straightened up, she wasn't surprised to see him watching her with a burning worry in his eyes.

"Travers," she whispered. "He's going to kill my whole family."

Sirius frowned. "Baby? What's going on?"

"Do you remember, in our sixth year -"

"When you turned him down in the courtyard?" Sirius asked, nodding. "I remember."

"Of course you do, you thought it was hilarious. Anyway, he told me that he'd make me regret it. That I'd pay for embarrassing him. Sirius… he killed my dad. There were flowers, carnations, left on my dad's chest, and again now. What am I supposed to do, the damage has already been done? He… he's never going to stop. He's never going to leave my family alone."

Holding her close, Sirius rocked her slowly. "We'll get him, babe. I won't let him get you."

"What about my mum and Mark? He's only a kid, Sirius!"

"We'll keep them safe. Come on, we'll go and speak to Dumbledore."

…

February, 1979

She shot up in her bed, her hand automatically reaching for her wand. She didn't know immediately what had woken her up, but as her fist closer around her wand, a bang downstairs followed by a shriek from her mum had her leaping up.

Opening her door as quietly as she could, she made her way down the stairs, checking everywhere for any sign of what had caused her mother's shout.

Pushing the living room door open, she gasped, fear shooting through her.

Her mum lay bound and gagged on the floor, tugging helplessly at the ropes. Travers was leaning against the fireplace, his eyes narrowed on Marlene as he twirled his wand between his fingers.

On the sofa, her little brother lay prone. He looked to be asleep, and Marlene couldn't begin to imagine that there was another reason for his stillness.

"You've made your point," she whispered, her voice traveling in the silent room. "Kill me if you really think that my actions deserve it, but leave them alone."

"Didn't you like the flowers I left you?" Travers asked, his voice rougher than she remembered. "I told you that you'd regret turning me down, didn't I? I'm a bit disappointed though. Your dad didn't put up any kind of a fight, and, well, I hit your brother in the back. I hope you've got a bit more fire, make it all the more sweeter for me when I end you."

"You cursed him in the back because you're a coward," she snarled. She gripped her wand tighter in her hand, and as he sent the first flash of green her way, she ducked out of the doorway, moving quickly to the yard.

She couldn't stand to have her mum or her little brother get hit with a stray spell.

Thankfully he followed her, another flash of green missing her by inches as she ducked behind the rickety swing in the garden.

"Don't hide, Marlene," he taunted. "If you bore me, I can always go and play a game with your brother instead. Cute kid, isn't he?"

She ducked out from behind the swing, sending a litany of stunning spells at him, all of which he shielded against easily.

He engaged her immediately, putting her on the defensive as he barely let her get a spell out before she had to move out of the way of his. She knew she just had to buy time, Sirius and the Order would know they were under attack, she just had to hold her own until they could get there.

"Bombarda!" she shouted, pointing her wand not at Travers, but the decorative rocks behind him. She knew she'd hit her mark when he stumbled with an 'oof' sound.

Proud of herself, she didn't realise that he'd managed to back her into a corner until it was too late. She braced herself for a killing curse than never came.

"Crucio," he snarled.

Pain like she'd never imagined seemed to hit every inch of her all at once and she screamed out into the night. The pain seemed to reach deeper inside her with every second that she twitched under the spell.

Why couldn't he just kill her?

Blinking her sore eyes open, she found herself bound and in the living room, though she wasn't gagged like her crying mother beside her. Travers sat on the sofa beside Mark.

"All you had to do was go on one date with me," he said, his voice quiet. "I was enamored with you, had been for years."

"Would a pity date have been better than me saying no?" she whimpered. "Would it have saved your pride?"

"Is that what it would have been, Marlene? A pity date? Was I never good enough for you, Princess?"

"I didn't mean it like that," she sobbed, choking on the snot dripping from her nose. "You can't help it if you're not attracted to someone! I didn't hurt you on purpose!"

His face twisted into a cruel smile.

"I hurt you on purpose," he told her. "Avada Kedavra!"

She watched in horror as the green light sped towards her mother.

"NO!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Her brother's body jerked as the spell hit him.

"For them, because their only crime is sharing blood with you, I kept it painless. You should be thanking me for that," he said coldly, standing over her. "For you… you deserve something extra special."

Tears streamed from her eyes as he pointed his wand at her. She heard the chime of the clock, the telltale crack of Apparition close by, and then all she knew was pain as he snarled, "Bombarda," and the spell hit her squarely in the chest.

…

The McKinnons were buried together in the same plot as their previously fallen members, and the funeral was well attended.

There were no carnations.

Written for;

Character Appreciation - 30. Death in the family.

Disney - T1 - Losing a Parent

Shannon's Showcase - FYR Macedonia - Deeper / A swing

Book Club - Eddie's Dad - Damage / Stubborn / "What? This aint good enough for you?"

Buttons - D2. "I didn't mean it like that." / W1. Chime

Ami's Audio - 7. Cigarette.

Sophie's Shelf - 1. Someone who isn't safe.

Emy's Emporium - 11. A woman fighting

Showtime - 7. Pride

Cooking Corner - Onion - Crying

Scavenger - 8. A fic that's incredibly angsty

Chocolate Frog - Travers - Marlene and her interactions with Travers.

Insane House Challenge - 308. Crucio