In All the Thunder

Chapter Thirteen: Fifteen Years Later - Life Goes On

~*~

"So you can watch Dahlia tomorrow? I have that job interview; and I really don't want to load Catherine with her again. Thomas is a real handful already at five! I hope Dahlia doesn't get that way, but from the looks of it..."

Krystyna smiled as she watched her daughter run around the room, chasing old Padfoot Junior, the dog that Krystyna had given Sirius in seventh year for Christmas. He was still alive and very energetic, of course. It was a good thing, too, because three year-old Dahlia bounced off the walls. Krystyna was leaning against the threshold with her arms crossed across her chest, the smile still on her face. Lorena stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall in the dark, her blond hair falling in her face.

"Yeah," was all Lorena said, and then she thought to herself, Just like how Sirius used to be.

"Are you sure you can watch her?" Krystyna asked, looking back at her friend. "I mean, I hear that you're in deep water with that Dolohov"--the corner of Lorena's mouth twitched--"case and all."

"Oh, well, yes, Crouch is riding all our butts," Lorena said, and she muttered under her breath, "and especially mine because of who the stupid arse is," which she quickly voiced over by adding, "but I'll be glad to watch Dahlia. She'll give me something else to think about, alright. Besides, I know this is really important to you."

"Yes, of course." Krystyna turned back to look at Dahlia, who was now jumping on the couch, giggling how three year-old girls should. "I want to be able to spend more time with her--as much time as I can, you know."

Lorena nodded her head. "I know." She glanced at Dahlia, who was still jumping on the couch and giggling, but was now also looking at Lorena directly. Lorena sighed; she had Sirius's eyes.

~*~

It was late at night with the fire lamps slowing dimming even further. It was also very quiet and only two people were outside tonight--a man and a woman. The woman had bright blond hair; she looked a bit too thin and shorter than the man, but there was something different about her. The man seemed to notice this by the way he held onto her. However, as they talked in low voices, while the man sounded to be enjoying himself very much by being with her, the woman didn't appear to be as enthused and happy about being with him. He was doing most of the talking; she just nodded her head and murmured the occasional reply.

They soon stopped in front of a nice house where the man opened the gate for the woman and she walked in first. He quickly followed behind her as she walked up a small path to the front door. Once on the small concrete porch, she stopped to gather her keys. Right when she found them, he jumped to her side.

"Well, I had an excellent time tonight," he said cheerfully, grinning at her. She looked up at him, fiddling with the keys in her hand to find the right one. A small, forced-looking smile came upon her face. "What about you?"

"Oh, fantastic," she replied, but she sounded a little distracted. He didn't seem to notice because his grin broadened. She found the right key and smiled just a little.

"Maybe we can do this some time soon again," he suggested hopefully, giving her a wink.

"Maybe," she simply said. He bent down to kiss her on the lips. He was just centimetres away from doing just that when she suddenly turned her face away from him. He stopped and stared at her, surprised at what she had just done. That had never happened before to him. She turned pink in the cheeks and was smiling still, a bit sheepishly, but she didn't move. He took that as a hint. He kissed her on the cheek; she blinked, having been expecting that he wouldn't do anything at all, but she just bowed her head instead.

"Thanks for the lovely night out," she said, regaining her composure as if nothing had happened. She pulled her head up and managed a small smile. "Good night, Matt."

"Good night, Lorena," he said, sounding a bit disappointed. She opened her door up and slipped inside. He walked away with his hands in his pockets, recounting the night's events to see if he did anything wrong as she shut the door quickly.

Once inside, she put her back against the locked door, and sighed with relief, her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and stood up straight. She threw her long, black trench coat onto the couch while she walked through the living room.

"I'm going to hex the arse off of Riley when I get to work," she muttered.

Lorena Fawcett was not the young woman she used to be; and although you could see flashes of what she used to be like at nineteen, things had undoubtedly changed. For one, she was thirty-five now, which, if you looked at her long enough, you still wouldn't know. She still looked very much like she did at twenty, but that was because of her genes, she'd always reasoned. She didn't think she was that pretty, but to others, with her flowing bright blond hair, blue/grey eyes, and good complexion, she was considered beautiful. That was totally exaggerated, Lorena always thought without a doubt. It had all started because of Riley anyway.

Life had changed for her. Lorena was now the Chief Prosecutor in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. That was the highest position you could possibly be without being Head of the Department, which was, of course, Madam Bones's job; but Madam Bones would often ask of Lorena's assistance, such as when the opportunity of the hearing of Harry James Potter. Now that had been a ball. She hadn't heard so much as a word of Harry Potter for fourteen years; and then she got smacked in the face with news that he was under the heat of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. What a pleasant surprise that had been.

Of course, there were other things, too. She hadn't been a prosecutor forever. She'd been a defence attorney for quite some time after she and Remus had split-

And why are you thinking about that, Fawcett? Honestly, if it hurts so much, then why do you think about it so much? Lorena reprimanded herself in her mind as she collapsed onto her couch. She threw her arm over her eyes and gave a sigh. Even if she didn't want to, she knew she couldn't avoid it every time he came to her mind.

How long had it been since she and Remus had split? It had to be thirteen years now. Shouldn't she be over him by now? Shouldn't be dating since she was single again--and had been for a while? She hadn't seen him for over ten years and here she was, still thinking about him! The First War had undoubtedly driven her mad; or it could've been all of those Firewhiskies and Devil's Whiskies she used to drink. Every night, he crossed her mind, and every night, she failed to get over him.

Her date with Matthew Withers had been a bomb - yet again - at least for her. She was never happy with the men she dated. She hadn't wanted to date him at all, but Riley Connors, her personal assistant, had insisted on it, along with the other countless of blokes she had set Lorena up with. Riley had maintained her declare that Lorena needed a hot social life to go along with the image everyone had for her.

Lorena had been perfectly fine with being a workaholic and former alcoholic. She didn't want to date anyone else because she was still hung over Remus Lupin, for heaven's sake. But Lorena wasn't about to tell Riley that she was still head-over-heels for her second boyfriend of over a decade ago. That was simply unheard of.

Lorena groaned and rolled off of the couch. Not again, she thought sullenly. She pulled herself to her feet with the help of the couch and shuffled into her office. She flicked her wand and a few flames arose from the seemingly brand new candles. Time to go back to work.

They all said it was hopeless thirteen years ago; they all told her that she'd never be able to do it. And so far, Lorena hadn't been able to prove them wrong, much to her dismay. A heinous crime had been committed all those years ago; and she was no closer to solving it as she had been then. It had been the last thing that had unhinged Lorena completely and had thrown her life into complete disarray; it had been the thing that had broken Lorena Fawcett in a way that was not possibly repairable. She was still picking up the pieces and trying to stick them back together with Spell-O-Tape.

Thirteen years ago, the last murder of the First War had been committed. Thirteen years ago and Lorena still wasn't over the murder of Krystyna Black.

Lorena fell back into a chair and put her fingers in her hair, her elbows on the table. In front of her on the table were pages and pages of notes, written in her own hurried, messy handwriting. On the walls were pictures of Krystyna and Dahlia, Krystyna's daughter - and Sirius Black's daughter. Often, Lorena had a little wonder as to what Sirius was doing now that he had escaped Azkaban.

Must be nice to get out of that hell hole, Lorena thought as she looked at one of the few very old pictures of Sirius, Krystyna, and Dahlia all together, beaming happily. She looked at Sirius pointedly in the picture and the Sirius in the picture gave her a cheeky grin before he began waving at her enthusiastically. I wish I could do the same thing.

After Krystyna's murder, Lorena's life had spun out of control, eventually leading to her split with Remus because he, too, was having problems. She hadn't been happy anymore and he was not feeling too good with himself either. They only reminded of each other of their great friends that had been killed. Every time she looked at Remus for too long, she was reminded of Sirius and James. And she had clearly reminded him of Lily and Sara.

But that's not the reason you and Remus split, is it, a voice in the back of Lorena's mind nagged. You would've been happy to stay with him. He was the one that broke up with you. He didn't love you anymore, but you loved him.

"And I still do," Lorena mumbled out loud. She groaned again and rubbed her face. "Bugger that. It's over and he's long gone. Get over it."

Krystyna had been killed by someone unknown. It was an unsolved murder; no one knew who did it and there hadn't been any leads or clues in years. The only witness to the killing was somewhere in the world, coordinates unknown. Dahlia had disappeared. The killer hadn't kidnapped her, but the Ministry had been a pain in the arse to Lorena forever and a day. It didn't matter that she was greatest prosecutor they'd ever seen; they weren't going to give her even a single hint.

Lorena didn't think it was fair or right, for that matter. After all, Krystyna had appointed her as Dahlia's godmother! Didn't that count for anything? If anything was to happen to Krystyna, Lorena was supposed to become Dahlia's legal guardian; and when something actually happened to Krystyna, Lorena was not able to become Dahlia's legal guardian because the Ministry wouldn't allow it.

Instead, the Ministry had taken Dahlia away and had forced her to live somewhere. Perhaps she was living with foster parents or maybe in an orphanage; Lorena didn't know. The only things Lorena knew were that Dahlia was not going to Hogwarts; she was still living in England; and she was now fifteen until October 31^st, Halloween. Lorena always thought it was such cruel irony that on the Dahlia's birthday, James and Lily had died. Voldemort couldn't have picked a better day.

Lorena's forehead hit the table with a bang and there was silence. Nothing could penetrate the deep thought she was in. Lucius Malfoy could've walked in, sobbing and apologizing, and that still wouldn't have done anything to faze her. She was thinking very hard.

On one hand, Lorena had the best bloody life in the world. She was rich, all thanks to some wit, arguing skills, and a good voice. She had a great house. She was famous, by both her talented skills in the court and in the recording studio. They said she was beautiful. And by the looks of it, she was the most eligible bachlorette over thirty.

What a perfect bloody life, Lorena thought with a snort.

Except her life wasn't what it seemed on the outside because on the inside, she still felt like a total disaster site. She hadn't been cured of that hollow depression that had been etched in her heart over a decade ago. It was still there, the wounds still feeling raw and fresh. Everyone's deaths had marked her from head to toe and her split with Remus had nearly thrown her over the edge. She'd almost lost it completely; she'd about killed herself from drinking too many nights away. She could barely remember what had happened the month after Remus had broken up with her.

And Lorena still felt terribly alone, even after all those years. She still curled up in bed, remembering a time when she would sigh with relief that Remus was just a call away--and a time when she could burry her face in his robes for comfort.

Get to work, Lorena told herself.

And so, Lorena began her usual routine of pouring over the notes of Krystyna's unsolved case. She did this every night and every night, she got the same results: Nothing new. There was absolutely nothing to help her close the case and find Dahlia. Krystyna deserved justice and Dahlia deserved to know the Truth. She had to have remembered what had happened that fateful night in May; she'd been three years-old.

Hours later, Lorena stopped for the night. She needed to get some sleep; there was news of a few new cases coming through the filter, which was always "exciting". She stood up to stretch and yawned. She walked to the door and opened it up. When she turned around, she stared at the picture of Sirius, Krystyna, and Dahlia again. It was all she had left, really.

"'Night," Lorena said, mainly to herself but to the picture. Krystyna and Sirius in the picture waved at her happily. Lorena gave them a wan smile and flicked her wand. The candles went out. Lorena shut the door and walked to her bedroom. She changed into her pyjamas and slid a robe on over them. She sighed and sat down on her bed slowly. She glanced at a much different picture on her bedpost.

It was a picture of all of the members of the first Order of the Phoenix. Back in very beginning of 1981 on New Year's Day, January 1^st, when no one was dead yet and everyone was happy to be alive and together. Those were the days. Lorena smiled, remembering how she had been late and they had already taken one picture of the Order. She thought about it hard, and remembered that Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody had been given the picture that missed a few people.

~*~

"Late--I'm going to be late. I can't believe I'm going to be late! Leave it to this bloody place to make me late. I can't believe I'm going to be late--again!" Lorena had turned twenty just two days ago. It was late on New Year's Eve. There was supposed to be a little gathering of the members of the Order of the Phoenix tonight. Lorena had been stuck at work. She staggered out of her office, clumsily trying to find her keys or wand to lock her door and holding a bunch of papers.

"Lorena, what are you doing?" Camille Thompson called from across the room. A few other heads peeked out from there offices and cubicles. Lorena squealed when most of the papers slipped out of her arms and came tumbling to the floor. She let out a loose string of curses under her breath as she stomped her foot on the ground.

Lorena pointed her wand at the mess. "Scourgify!" she ordered; the papers organized themselves in a neat pile on the floor. She sighed and picked them back up. When she looked around, people were still watching her intently.

"I'm off," Lorena simply said. They nodded their heads and let her be. As she walked out of the place, her boss accosted her right before she made it to the elevator door. Lorena stopped.

"What do you think you're doing?" her boss, Evan Brooks, demanded.

"Leaving," Lorena answered bluntly. Her boss was not happy with the explanation and the scowl on his face showed it. Lorena fought the urge to roll her eyes at him. "It's a very important matter."

"I'm sure it is," he said impatiently, "but it'll have to wait, as you are still on my time. You will go back to your office and continue to work."

"But, sir, I don't think you understand," Lorena replied calmly. He glowered at her, still not believing a word she said. He knew she was a good liar. That was the only set back with being a lawyer; some people automatically come to conclusions that you are liar when you're not--all the time, at least. Lorena lowered her voice and leaned in as she said, "It has something to do with the Rookwood case. I think I may have found something out that will help me close this case--for good."

Her boss's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree; Lorena knew she had won him over. He nodded his head. "Oh, I see now," he muttered, rather eagerly. "Yes, I will allow you to go"--Lorena couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face--"but don't you go thinking that I'll do this for you all the time."

Lorena nodded her head. "Of course, sir, I understand."

She walked away from her boss and into the elevator. The truth was, she had not a single new bit of information on the Rookwood case, but she knew that it would be the only thing that would get her out of this place alive. Now, she had to find something out in a few weeks in the Rookwood case or her goose would be cooked. Lorena didn't think about that though as she Apparated to Headquarters.

Lorena glanced at her watch as she stalked down a street to Headquarters. It was very cold and snowing again. She tugged on her scarf and nuzzled her face in the warmth of the wool; Lily had knit the scarf for her for Christmas. When she got to Headquarters, she cast the area a few glares. Anyone who dared look at her would suffer the wrath of such vicious gray eyes. No one was around. She entered Headquarters without a problem.

Hot cocoa was the first thing that attacked Lorena's nose and then the fumes of a wonderfully cooked dinner danced around her. But no one was to be seen. She furrowed her brow as she stalked through the place, looking for everyone. That's when she heard a peal of laughter--Krystyna's laughter. Sirius's bark-like laughter rang out after Krystyna's. Lorena rushed in that direction and burst through the door. At that exact moment, there was a bright flash and Lorena was blinded.

"Ooh!" Lorena squealed as she stumbled into the room and fell to the floor. Everyone in the room looked over at her and laughed loudly. She looked up at them all and saw what positions they were in.

"Krystyna, Sara, you didn't show up in the picture," Frank Longbottom pointed out with a frown. He gave the picture to his wife, Alice Longbottom, who sighed. He tampered with the camera a bit. "Do you think you can move over to the left a little?" Krystyna and Sara moved to the left slightly. "Ah, yes, that's much better now."

Everything dawned on Lorena as she got to her feet and fixed her papers once again. "You took the picture without me," she said sullenly.

"Come on, Lorena!" Sara giggled, beaming brightly. "If you hurry, you'll make it before the clock strikes twelve!"

Lorena glanced at the clock and saw that her time was ticking. It was only ten seconds until midnight. She dashed over to them and ran into Remus. She threw her arms on him and grinned broadly. The camera flashed and their picture was taken. The Order of the Phoenix was captured on film.

~*~

Lorena pulled the covers of her bed up to her chin and shivered. It was cold. She closed her eyes and rolled onto her side. She curled up in a ball. She had to go to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day; she could just feel it in her bones. Soon, Lorena forced herself to fall asleep, like she had learned to do years ago. She drifted off into a dream, in which she would see Remus again and everyone else was there.

What Lorena didn't know was that tomorrow was going to be the day she'd been waiting for. Tomorrow was going to change the course of her life forever, for better and for worse.