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THIRTEEN THE TRAGEDY OF MARGO VALEN

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       THERE ARE TWO VERSIONS of Margo Valen; it's clear, like the stark contrast between Dorian Gray at the start, and at the end of his novel. The first one is Margo Valen, aged eighteen, already a Death Eater but beginning to feel differently about the cause. This Margo Valen is pregnant, and not a day goes by that she doesn't think about her first love, her only love, the boy called Regulus Black, the boy that left catastrophically, her heart in his pocket. Every day she thinks of him, and she misses him, and she thinks, If I had just listened to him. Because he knew the truth, he knew that the Death Eaters were not good, but Margo only came to the same realisation when, in a heartbroken haze, slept with a muggle and found herself pregnant, and thought, This baby will look like me, act like me... How can it be terrible when I'm the same?

     That Margo Valen was already a murderer, the blood of her parents stuck to her fingertips like when she was little, and she made butterflies out of fingerpaint, before her mother promptly made the house-elf Buttercup clean Margo's fingers, scolding her for being irresponsible. Things were even worse when Margo returned home, having walked out of Christmas dinner to go to Malfoy Manor, shouting to her parents before she jumped into the Floo Network's flames, "See ya, fuckers!" She never wanted to go home, but her dilemma was this: she was pregnant, she was broke, and she knew she could get away with killing her parents, because she knew the house, and no one saw them nowadays anyway.

       They had her when they were old, too concerned about their jobs at the Ministry to think about children. But then everyone else started having kids, and (this is what Margo imagines) they looked at each and thought, "Well, I suppose we should get one of those, too." And then her mother gave birth to her, named Margo for no reason other than the fact that she thought it would be hilarious for her kid to never find a keyring with her name on it. Her dad probably patted Baby Margo on the head, and went, "She's pretty," and then went back to work because he had already missed half a day.

       But anyway. They were old so they retired, and now, they were recluses in the Valen House, the old manor house bought by her great-great-grandmother moved into with her fourth and final husband, where they painted the outside white and hid the Valens' love for dark magic in cupboards and closets around the home. So, it didn't take much for Margo to return home, to say, "Reg is dead, I got knocked up by a muggle, I'm in deep shit, and I need this house."

       She left the last part out. She thought the last part to herself, as she kept on thinking it to herself, knowing her plan inside-and-out as her mother shook her head and called her irresponsible, idiotic, blah blah blah, whilst her father said she was a disgrace. He blamed her for the death of Regulus — which only made her want to kill him more — and said he was counting the days until Walburga stormed into their home, to rightfully shout at Margo for the tragedy she's caused.

       "I haven't caused a tragedy!" she had snapped, at long last, her knees feeling weak and her fingers gripping onto her wand. "I am the tragedy."

       And she had killed them, right on the kitchen floor.

       She didn't think about them after she hid the bodies in the woods, casting a charm so muggles approaching the area would have a mysterious wish to turn back around. Margo doesn't think she was being disgraceful when she had done that, for her family lived and breathed the idea of being mysterious. Metamorphic, that's what Regulus used to say, when she'd say how the muggles living near her house always thought it was mysterious, and how Margo loved the idea that there were all of these people that didn't know her, didn't know what she was like. She could mould herself to make them like her, to slip in through the cracks; there was a reason Walburga sort-of liked Margo and it wasn't because she acted like herself around her, that's for sure.

       But there's that Margo Valen, a teenager that's lost the love of her life, is pregnant, and has no one but the family house-elf to support her (until she approaches Atticus, but whatever, that happened a fortnight into her stay at her childhood home and shit, she got cabin fever.) And then there's the present-day Margo Valen, a woman in her early thirties, who sacrificed her life, her freedom for her daughter and, after sixteen years in hell, she isn't the same as who she used to be. Sometimes she hears a voice in the back of her, the voice of her younger self, telling her that this is wrong, that she shouldn't be so possessive... But then she remembers. That idiot lost Reg, slept with a muggle, and killed her parents all in the space of six months. She doesn't know how much she can trust her eighteen-year-old self.

       It's the older Margo Valen that steps through the Vanishing Cabinet, her gaze roving across the Room of Requirement. Bellatrix stands in front of her, a devilish grin spread across her face as she prods Margo, eager to get going, make their presence known within the school.

       Margo despises Bellatrix. Sometimes she thinks that the feeling isn't mutual, but, she does know that Bellatrix has had a keen hatred towards Margo's Holliday ever since she casted Crucio on her last year, and that's enough for Margo to hate Bellatrix. Her daughter is powerful, that's what they forget, every time they mention how forcefully she had protected that boy she 'loves' — she'll grow out of it, it's only a childhood thing, but, she does know that her daughter's power is as real as the sky is blue. Holliday Lippincott is a weapon, a metamorphic dagger, perfectly concealed to hide in plain sight until it's too late.

       But, then again, Bellatrix could be playing favourites, simply because of the imbeciles following them tonight. Margo hasn't liked the Carrow siblings, nor Fenrir Greyback, for years. Ever since she met them, they pissed her off. Greyback especially. What kind of monster attacks children like that?

       "I haven't been here in a while," says Amycus, an ugly grin on his face.

       Margo rolls her eyes. "That's because they don't let dropouts return," she says, her voice a monotonous drawl. Often it is, when she has to do these excursions. Most of the time, she's unimpressed with her company, and considering she's always the one in the group with the highest position, obviously she doesn't need to worry about what they think of her.

       She walks ahead of them, remembering her way around the school from her seven years there. They're close to the Astronomy Tower when she hears someone screech at the sight of Death Eaters in the school, and Alecto shouts a curse at them, cackling wildly. Margo rolls her eyes. She may as well stretch her nose and paint herself green.

       Teachers and students in Gryffindor uniforms appear, wands at the ready. Someone tries to disarm Margo but she dodges it with ease, spinning and turning to curse them in response — but it misses. Her brows furrow.

       All of their spells — they're all dodging the students, the two gingers and the girl with frizzy hair. Two Weasleys and that Mudblood that her Holliday knows.

       Margo frowns, barely bothering as she repels the Stunning Spell. What's the point in this, if the spells are missing everyone? Her brows furrow and she looks around, thinking to herself, If Holliday's friends are here, where's she? Quickly she forgets about this mission, about causing chaos throughout Hogwarts and making it known that they've killed Dumbledore — well, they're about to kill Dumbledore. Instead, her mind turns to her daughter, the thing she loves most in this world.

       Little Holliday dearest.

✧

       "I HOPE YOU KNOW, you piece of shit, that I'm never, ever going to speak to you again after this," says Holly, her venting directed towards her cousin. Part of her worries that now's the wrong time to say this into his mind, so instead, she says it aloud, for Susannah to sigh at, incredibly bored. "What kind of fuck-head does this, huh? A stupid one, that's for sure... What kind of idiot locks their own cousin in the hospital ward because there's—"

       She hears someone scream, and she stops.

       "Suze," says Holly, her heart beginning to pound. "You were in a cult. You did illegal stuff. How do I pick a lock?"

       "We just smashed windows," says Susannah with a shrug.

       Holly grimaces. "Thanks."

       "You're welcome," says Susannah, doing a somersault.

       "There must be a way to open these doors," says Holly, her brows furrowing. She looks at the doors, crouching down and looking through the keyhole, only to realise her cousin had, most likely, locked the door and cut the end of the key off, so the lock itself was stuck shut. Holly stands up, and looks around. If she can't unlock the door, surely she can ram it down, one way or another...

       Holly looks around. Susannah slams her spectral form into some cabinets and the flimsy locks break. She searches through them, but quickly realises that bottles of Skele-Grow and scalpels aren't exactly what she needs to open massive, wooden double-doors.

       "Draco physically locked the door," she says, crossing her arms. "And they always show in muggle action movies, if you kick near a lock you can break open the door... But obviously you'll have to do it the way the doors move, and since these doors, from this side, are pull..." Holly looks up at Susannah. "How'd you fancy going to the other side of this door and forcing your entire being into the part of the door next to the look?"

       Susannah looks at her for a minute.

       "Sounds good."

       And then she disappears. Holly stands backwards, desperately hoping that Susannah will manage to open the doors. She holds tightly onto the diamond hanging from her necklace's chain, quietly mumbling, "You can do this, you can do this..."

       BANG!

       The doors slam open, the locks breaking and the doors flying, crashing against the wall. Holly grins at Susannah, who looks proud of herself, and she sets off into a run, completely disregarding the fact that (a) she's wandless, and (b) she's in her pyjamas. It'll be fine. And they're pretty pyjamas anyway, a satin tank and bottoms to suit, both dark green. The main issue is the fact that she's only got socks on her feet, which makes running a little more painful than usual.

       Holly follows the sound of screams and yells, bolting through the corridors, her heart hammering in her chest. She feels like she wants to throw up, and it begins to dawn on her that her mother's going to be there, and for a second, she struggles to continue running. But then she remembers — Mother's here to hurt people.

      So she breaks into a run again, running and running and eventually, reaching the corridor with the screams, the yells, the flashes of light, all colours of the spectrum. Holly stops for a second, her mind telling her, YOU IDIOT YOU NO WAND HOW DID YOU EXPECT TO DEFEND YOURSELF? YOU IDIOT YOU IDIOT YOU IDIOT—!

       And then she hears her mother.

       "You know where she is, I can tell! Tell me where my daughter is, mudblood, or else I'll kill you — better yet, I'll find those muggle parents of yours, how would you feel if they were killed because of you?"

       She's talking to Hermione.

       Holly doesn't think twice, she darts straight through that corridor, her eyes on her mother, and before Margo can spot her, Holly snatches the wand straight from her mother's hand, standing in front of her friend.

       "You're not hurting my friends," says Holly, staring dead into her mother's eyes. Margo looks outraged. In her peripheral vision, she can see Atticus, trying to fight his way past McGonagall. "You're—You're not treating me badly anymore. I won't let you. Just because you sacrificed your life for mine doesn't mean I should put up with—with you!"

       Margo's seething. "You don't know what you're saying."

       "Yes, I do," says Holly. "I'm not letting you belittle me, not anymore."

       Margo steps closer to her, and Holly uses her free hand to gesture to Hermione, urging her to get away. Holly steps backwards, pointing the wand at her mother.

       "You don't mean that," says Margo, her voice scarily still.

       "You don't know that, because you don't know me," says Holly, her heart pounding. She can do this, she can do this. "You never tried to get close to me, you never accepted that I'm not the daughter you fantasize about."

       "Oh, wow," her mother spits, stepping closer to Holly, who in turn, steps further backwards, her hand shakily gripping the wand. "Little Holliday dearest has the whole world figured out now, does she? Little Holliday dearest knows everything about the big, bad world because she went to one bad school when she was younger... Little Holliday dearest thinks she's so powerful, that she can defend herself, just because she knows the Unforgiveable Curses. Everyone can do those curses, little girl, it doesn't make you special. But how would you know that? Obviously little Holliday dearest doesn't know everything, like she thinks—"

       "Get away from me," says Holly, her voice shaking and cracking. She feels like if she stops inching backwards, her mother will be able to snatch the wand straight from her hands, she's shaking so much. But she knows this corridor's going to end soon, and she'll be done, she'll have to act then... "Leave me alone, leave my friends alone—!"

       Margo narrows her eyes, smiling wickedly. It's the same look that makes people fear Bellatrix. Holly begins to realise — this is why Margo Valen was always high up amongst the Death Eaters. She can pretend to be nice, she can pretend to be kind. But then she can turn, so horrifically that Holly's convinced her mother's going to kill her the first chance she has.

       But then her mother's smile softens. She looks far kinder than the moment before, and it confuses Holly. It's strange to her, how one second she's terrified, and the next, she's conflicted. Maybe her mother isn't so bad, look, doesn't she look kind...?

       "Come on, Holliday. We're both getting worked up," says Margo, and she extends her hand for Holly to take. "I know this is all scary, I understand that... But I recognise the situation, I remember the situation, and I won't let you make the same mistake I did."

       "Which one, Mother?" says Holly.

       Margo's expression doesn't change. She keeps her hand out, waiting for Holly to take a hold of it. Holly doesn't want to think of what her mother would do, if she did take her hand.

       "I love you, I love you so so much Holliday—"

       "It's Holly," she snaps. "I am not Holliday, I am not your Holliday dearest — my name is Holly fucking Lippincott and my parents are Gus, Eugene, and At. Not you. It was never you—"

       Margo tries to grab hold of Holly, but instead, she pushes Holly to the floor, and she stands over her. Holly scrambles backwards, holding tightly onto her mother's wand.

       "DIFFINDO!"

       And then, things slow down.

       She watches the clean line sear into Margo's neck. Margo's eyes widen, her fingers touching the place where her skin splits, blood oozing onto her fingers, down her neck. She looks down at her hands, now covered in her own blood, and she begins to stumble.

       Holly scrambles backwards, before Margo can fall on top of her. At one point she accidentally lets go of the wand and her mother crashes on top of her, her blood already staining the shirt she's wearing. Holly forces herself to her feet, even if she feels close to vomiting.

       Margo goes still, and Holly doesn't know what to do.

       She killed her.

✧

       THIS IS HOW MARGO VALEN, the woman feared by many, dies. It is not a noble death, it is not the unhappy passing at an old age. Instead, it is sudden, and painful, and filled with hatred. Because she isn't being killed by the enemy for her cause, nor is she greeting Death, ready to move on. This is her end: sixteen years spent protecting her daughter, all to fall at the wretched girl's hand.

✧

       HOLLY PANICS, AND, KNOWING that she's powerless without a wand, she breaks into a run towards the Astronomy Tower's doors, knowing she can hide in there, maybe get a signal out, anything. But she pushes the door open and runs straight into someone, and she feels her heart stop.

       Bellatrix grabs onto Holly before she can react, pushing her wand into Holly's cheek. "Did you want to see the show, little Holliday dearest?" she hisses, laughing menacingly. Holly shakes her head desperately, trying to get out of Bellatrix's grip. "You've got no protection now, little girl, and it's all your fault! Come on, little Holliday, lets see your cousin doing the right thing, maybe you can learn a thing or two, you wretched girl... THEY'VE BLOCKED THE STAIRS — REDUCTO! REDUCTO!"

       Holly sees Susannah dive straight into Bellatrix, and Holly bolts out of the room before Bellatrix can grab onto her again. She runs straight to her step-father, already bursting into tears. Atticus holds onto her, and over the noise, he shouts, "Holly — what happened?"

       "I killed her," says Holly, holding onto her step-father. Tears run down her face as he keeps his arms tightly wrapped around her, protecting her from any spells coming their way. "I didn't mean to — I used Diffindo but it went wrong and her throat — I—I didn't mean to — and then Bellatrix grabbed me and said I had no protection — what if she kills me? I don't want to die, I don't—"

       "I'm taking you home," says Atticus immediately. He keeps his arm around her and guides her through the corridor. "We'll stay at Malfoy Manor for now... You didn't mean to do that, Holly, it wasn't your fault... She's been acting strange ever since she escaped... It's not your fault, it's not your fault..."

       One second she's walking through a normal school corridor, the memory of kissing her boyfriend there being interrupted by someone shouting, "DUMBLEDORE'S DEAD!" And the next, she's blinked, and the words 'Dumbledore's dead' ring in her head as she walks through Malfoy Manor's gardens; past the green apple trees, and into the rose garden.

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so... what do you thinks gonna happen in deathly hallows?

i hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you thought!!

(also: like when susannah left for ootp, there's a reason margo died and the reason is the fact that, for deathly hallows, i wanted holly to be completely on her own. like without her mother's protection she's sorta fucked because if holly killed her, it sets in stone the fact that holly is not on the side of the death eaters, which puts her in a lot of danger. yes she has atticus who somewhat keeps her safe BUT he isn't  as high up as margo was so he's not as feared. so yeaaaaaahhh exciting times the bitch is DEAD)