Alexandra's heart sank in her chest. She tore her eyes away and threw her glance at the man and woman laying on the cold floor motionlessly.

     The starlings...

     She then remembered what Dumbledore had told her. It all added up. Henry and Adeline Starling were murdered about sixteen years ago... in a small village called Castle Combe... it was December... they were killed in their own house...

It was at that moment when Alexandra found out that after all this time, it was her grandfather who had murdered her parents. Although as it seemed, this man was probably never her grandfather to begin with, because neither of them had recognized Marcellus's face.

But there were many pieces missing that made Alexandra's mind ache. How did she end up with him, raised in his household? If his real name was Blackwood and she wasn't related to him, then how come she knew him as 'Starling'? How was it even possible? She was too confused to process what was going on.

The tears were rushing down her eyes mercilessly. Alexandra had just witnessed her parents die right before her eyes, to the hands of the man who had claimed to be her grandfather for sixteen years.

She walked toward the two bodies that laid lifelessly on the cold floor. Alexandra had barely seen any pictures of her parents, but even though the lights were dim, when she bent down, she recognized them in her heart and through her soul. Her father had the same raven black hair. Her mother had the same shape of lips and nose as hers.

"Come along. We must leave." Alexandra heard Marcellus call onto the other two Death Eaters, and so the three started to make their way toward the door.

But just then, they came to a halt when the sound of someone crying came from upstairs. It was a baby.

"Mr. Blackwood... did the Starlings have a — a child?" one of the Death Eaters asked Marcellus.

"Not that I was aware of," said Marcellus thoughtfully, his eyebrows furrowing. "They've been on the run for that past two years after turning down the Dark Lord's offer. We had no information of them until quite recently."

The three cloaked men stood frozen on their spot for a few seconds as the sound of the baby crying from upstairs rang through the whole house.

"Wait here for me," said Marcellus with authority, his cold blue eyes fixed on the staircase that could lead him upstairs as he walked forward.

"But, Mr. Blackwood —"

"I said wait!" Marcellus snapped hoarsely and so the Death Eater threw down his head and took a step back fearfully.

And so with that, Marcellus started walking upstairs, onto the second floor of the small house. Alexandra was now sobbing uncontrollably, but she wiped her tears away with her shaky hands and followed the old man upstairs.

The sounds of the cries grew louder to her ears as Alexandra walked behind Marcellus. Once he reached the second floor, he hesitantly pushed the door to the baby's room open, peering inside.

"Lumos," he whispered, the tip of his wand lighting up.

Alexandra stopped at the doorway, watching him as Marcellus took slow steps toward the cradle, in which a little girl was crying. She couldn't have been more than one year old.

"Oh, Lord..." Marcellus whispered under his breath, his eyes fixed on the little baby in shock. The guilt and remorse was obvious in his tone.

When he looked around the room, his eyes caught sight of a teddy bear on the shelf nearby, with a note beside it which read,

To little Alexandra
Lots of love

Alexandra watched Marcellus pace around the room, as if deep in thoughts. He seemed troubled as he ran a hand through his almost-grey hair.

At last, after long minutes of pondering, Marcellus came to a stop at the baby's cradle and picked her up, holding her in his arms to try and calm her down, so he could think more properly and decide what to do. But the most extraordinary thing happened.

      The moment he held her in his arms, the little girl immediately stopped crying, staring up at him in surprise. And just then, a faint smile appeared across his lips.

He had made up his mind.

So with the little baby now resting in his arms, Marcellus left the room and went back downstairs.

Windswept and shocked, Alexandra followed him down into the hall where the other two Death Eaters awaited him, as she watched the memory of the Pensieve.

"What are you doing, carrying her down?" one of the Death Eaters asked in disgust. "We must kill her! The Dark Lord's orders were absolute: 'get rid of the Starling family'!"

"Yes, but at the time, the Dark Lord didn't know the Starlings had a child," Marcellus tried to reason, the little girl still in his arms. "This — this might change his mind... we'll take the girl to him and let him decide her fate himself. After all, she's the last of their family."

***

The scene suddenly started changing again. Alexandra entered another memory as things blurred out and became clear once again.

This time she found herself in a large hall, with black wooden floors and high ceilings, chandeliers hung from them. Alexandra recognized the place immediately.

They were now in the Malfoy Manor.

As she looked over, she saw a singular man standing before the tall windows, staring outside with his hands laced together behind his back.

There was a knock at the door and she heard the man say in a cold voice, "Come in." There was a distant hissing in his voice that reminded Alexandra of a snake.

Once the door opened, Alexandra caught sight of Marcellus, stepping inside with the little baby in his arms. Although the girl was fully awake now and had stopped crying, staring around her curiously.

"Is it true what I heard, Blackwood?" The man by the window spoke blankly. "Did the Starlings have a child?"

"Indeed, my Lord," said Marcellus, setting the baby down on the round table.

But the moment the man turned around, Alexandra nearly screamed and took a step back in horror as she saw Lord Voldemort before her, his face as pale as a ghost and a glint of redness in his dangerous eyes. He looked nothing like the handsome boy she had seen in Slughorn's office.

For the hundredth time, Alexandra tried to remind herself that this was just a memory. That the Dark Lord could not sense her presence and bring her any harm. But the mere sight of him brought fear to every inch of her body and her weak knees started trembling.

The Dark Lord stared down coldly at the little girl who was sitting on the table inside the hall, trying to balance herself so she wouldn't fall to her back, struggling to remain seated.

"Kill her," said the Dark Lord, once again turning his back on her and walking toward the window once more.

A glint of worry flashed before Marcellus's eyes. One that Alexandra had never seen before. It was as if the guilt of turning the little girl into an orphan was haunting his soul and he couldn't bear the thought of killing her.

"But — but, my Lord — wouldn't it be better if we — if we kept her alive?" said Marcellus, holding his breath.

"Now why we do that?" asked Lord Voldemort, his cold eyes now fixed on the man.

"The girl has a powerful background. She could come to great use and power for us in the future," Marcellus tried to reason, as if attempting to try and save the little girl's life. "Maybe — maybe we could raise her as one of our own lot. Her parents unfortunately did not share the same noble view as us, but perhaps we could raise this girl to believe in what the great Salazar Slytherin himself believed in."

"I hope you're not suggesting that I raise this child myself," said the Dark Lord in a dangerous whisper.

Marcellus gulped, thinking fast as he threw his gaze down. "I can do it..." he said unsurely after a short pause, finally looking back up. "I can take her in and raise her as my own granddaughter."

"And what? Change her surname into Blackwood?" Voldemort let out a high-pitched laughter. "Her name is too noble to change."

"I-I understand, my Lord." Marcellus nodded. "Then perhaps I'll take her name. It would be a good cover up."

"Very well," said Lord Voldemort after a short-lasting yet deadly silence. "But you must carry the name 'Starling' with dignity, Marcellus, and raise this girl to become one of ours by the time she turns seventeen. After all... she is the last heir and descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw."