Title:
A Ballad of Grief (changeable)

Underrated character:
Dorcas Meadowes

Plot by:
kencbi

Status:
Available

Optional readymade cover:

Dorcas Meadowes x Marlene McKinnon

Synopsis:
And she kept on repeating to herself the same words over and over again as though they would protect her from the forthcoming evil;

"I will not die, I will not die, I will not die."
(changeable)

Plot:
The year is 1981 and the whispers about a traitor among the members Order of the Phoenix have been confirmed—they just don't know who is the traitor.

Marlene and Dorcas live together in a small flat in Edinburgh in a muggle neighbourhood at the height of the war. They have been girlfriends since 1976. Around July 1981, the stress, the fear and the paranoia of the war are so overwhelming that the two girls get into a huge argument, and Marlene ends up leaving, claiming they need to get out of each other's hair for a bit. She goes to stay at her brother's, who is also a member of the Order.

Two weeks later, their bodies are discovered dead in their home, and there is no doubt as to who are the perpetrators (the Death Eaters). Dorcas is absolutely devastated, grief stricken, and ultimately, she is furious. From that point on she is determined to get her revenge and discover who is the traitor among them.

She finds solace in Sirius who himself is going slightly mad, although he isn't showing it. He loved Marlene and he suspects Remus, his own lover, to be the spy, which is absolutely awful and devastating for him. Dorcas starts to believe that it is Remus as well, though since there is no real evidence, she cannot quite take immediate action. She visits Sirius down in London regularly.

During an Order meeting, around late August, it is revealed that they know where Voldemort may be hiding. Dumbledore however won't allow an immediate attack, which creates a major uproar amongst the survivors. Dorcas loses it. After the meeting, she finds Caradoc Dearborn who had also been protesting loudly during the meeting, and the two of them agree to go right now to Voldemort's hideout and kill him once and for all. They don't tell anyone, though Dorcas leaves a letter for Sirius and another one for Dumbledore, for later, just in case they don't survive.

What they however don't know is that Peter heard their conversation, and hurried to warn his new Master. When they arrive, Voldemort is ready to receive them and kill them. Cruelly, he tells them about Peter who was the traitor all along, which shocks both Dorcas and Dearborn greatly. But Dorcas isn't really afraid of dying. The grief and the pain she has been feeling ever since Marlene's death has turned her into such a wreck, she just felt completely dead inside ever since then.

The story ends on the letter she left to Dumbledore, in which she basically gives him a major f*** you, and how she is done with his tyrannical nonsense.

Other:
– Dorcas and Marlene are obviously lesbians. Dorcas is black and of African heritage. Marlene is Scottish. They're both 21.

– Peter is super quiet, practically invisible. Dorcas doesn't suspect him at all, she just thinks the war is really having its toll on him, but that's it.

– Wolfstar is also present here, which explains Sirius's own grief and pain. Everyone suspected Remus to be the traitor back then, Sirius being the first one. It's for that reason that he and Dorcas bond and find solace in each other. They're kind of tea-drinking buddies.

– Dorcas is completely depressed after Marlene's death. She's usually silent and doesn't speak much in general. So when she has an outburst at the Order meeting where it is revealed that they know where Voldemort is hiding, it surprises everyone. She has a complete breakdown to the point where she needs to be taken out of the room.

– She may be silent most of the time, but in battle, she is far more aggressive and vengeful than she used to be, and she actually manages to create great losses on the Death Eaters' side, to the point where Voldemort knows about her when he finally meets her.

– She and Dearborn are captured by Bellatrix who brings them to Voldemort, already beaten up and ready for the slaughterhouse. They're both really confused until Voldemort summons Wormtail who was hiding in another room. When he shows himself, Dorcas loses it.

– The Death Eaters abandon Dorcas's body behind when they leave and dump Dearborn's in a river.

– I picture Dearborn as a middle-aged man from England but I guess you can always just picture him however you want.