Chapter 4 - The Flints

Alvin Flint yawned as he stretched in the comfort of his own bed and as he did so his curly haired, blonde wife nestled into him. He wrapped his arms around her before resting his chin on top of her head. They had been married for over nineteen years, yet Alvin never tired of waking up to her every morning. Her name was Gale; she was the love of his life, the mother of his children, and he would have done anything for them and sadly, he had.

The day ranged very clear within Alvin’s mind. It had been mid August -- August 18, 1978 to be exact and they were celebrating Chelsie’s tenth birthday. She was opening up her last present for the evening, which had been a certificate for flying lessons for an entire year, when the front door of their countryside home came barreling open. Gale screamed before rushing to pick up a three-year-old Marcus. Chelsie clung to her father, who was standing nearby, but he told her to go to her mother.

A small group of Death Eaters, of about seven or eight, came leisurely into the house and approached the Flint family. “Alvin Flint, I presume,” came a female voice from behind one of the masks. It was a voice Alvin did not recognize, but it would soon be one he would never forget.

“What is your business here?” Alvin asked as he stood in front of his family.

“Today is your lucky day,” the female began. “You have been chosen by our Dark Lord, to be one of us. To be one of the chosen few to serve by his side as he rises into power. And as he rises, those that are most loyal to him will as well,” she paused and tilted her head to one side. “But you’ve heard all of this before, haven’t you, Flint? You know what he can offer you. So recognize this opportunity, accept your fate and come with us willingly.”

"Alvin, what is she talking about?" Gale asked, but she went ignored.

“My answer is the same as before. I don’t need to think about it. I will not come with you and I will not join him,” he stated boldly. “Now get out of my home.”

“I'm sorry, but you no longer have the luxury of time, Flint.” The woman smiled behind her mask. “This will be the last time we will extend this offer.”

“Good. Now out.” Alvin looked at all the intruders; he knew if forced, he would not be able to take on this many, even with Gale’s help, not with their children so close by.

“Amusing, but I don’t think you have fully grasped this situation,” she spoke as two Death Eaters seized Alvin in the blink of an eye.

“Daddy!” Chelsie shouted and yanked herself from her mother’s holds.

“Chelsie, no!” Gale yelled as she unsuccessfully tried to pull her back.

Chelsie attached herself to her father as she stared with narrowed eyes towards the female Death Eater. “You heard my dad. Get out!” she demanded.

“Chelsie, go back to your mother,” Alvin told her. Marcus didn’t really know what was going on, but knew that everyone seemed upset and so started to cry.

“Foolish girl,” another Death Eater, a male, spoke as he walked passed the one who had been speaking and grabbed a shrieking Chelsie by the hair.

“Leave her alone,” Alvin struggled against the men holding him. “She's only a child!”

“Listen up and listen well,” he began as he picked up Chelsie, who fussed and yelled at him until he put his wand to her throat. “I don’t care if she is an only child, I’m bored. It’s been two days since I’ve killed someone and I’m getting that itch again,” he explained as he looked around. “You have no choice in this matter. You will leave with us right now, and you will join our ranks or this pretty little girl of yours won’t live to see her next birthday.”

Alvin looked at his wide-eyed, frightened daughter as she heard the threat. Alvin then closed his eyes and bowed his head. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just leave my family out of this,” he said in a quiet voice.

Chelsie was dropped rudely to the floor before she rushed back to her father. “Daddy, don’t go," she begged him. “I don’t like these people.”

“Chelsie, come to me,” Gale called to her, but Chelsie wasn’t listening. “Damnit, now,” she called in a frustrated whisper, but the girl did not move.

“Ahh!” Chelsie yelled as the man who had been holding her smacked her.

“You should be an obedient child and listen to your mother,” he told her as she lay on the floor holding her face.

“You bastard!” Gale couldn’t hold her temper any longer. These people had come into her home uninvited, held her husband at bay, and then had the audacity to hit her first born in front of her. Gale had never been the kind to take things lying down, and so she punched the man who had struck her child, while Marcus still rested firmly on her hip.

Without hesitation, the female Death Eater raised her wand. “Crucio!” she yelled, sending Gale crumbling to her knees. Gale dropped Marcus in the progress so he would not be hit by the curse, as she tried her best to hold in her screams of pain. Chelsie pushed away tears as she could do nothing more than go over and hold her brother helplessly. “Lay your hands on my husband again and I’ll kill you,” the Death Eater told Gale as she lowered her wand. Alvin said nothing as his face grew contorted in anger. He could only hold his tongue; he didn't want to give them another excuse to harm his family. He then promised himself that one day they would pay for this; he didn’t know how, but they would surely pay.

“Hell of a left jab you have there,” the man spoke as his hand went up to his mask and felt the crack that had been made there. He then turned to his wife. “Our business here is done. We have what we came for, let’s go.” He turned around and walked towards the door as the others closely followed him. As Alvin was dragged out of his home, the last scene he saw of his family was his wife, who was still on all fours as his small children clung to her, hoping that she would be all right.

That had been years ago, but Alvin still dreamt about it as if it had happened yesterday. It had scared his daughter completely. After that day, she refused to celebrate her birthday, saying she didn’t want to remember the day her father became one of the bad people. It broke Alvin’s heart.

He sighed heavily as his hand drew up into a fist. He raised his left arm and began to stare at it. It had been unblemished for a few years now. He then saw Gales’s fingers wrap around his arm and push it back down. “I really wish I didn’t have to wake up to find you staring at your arm every morning.”

“I can’t help it,” he confessed. “I’m afraid that one day I’ll wake up and it’ll be there.”

“You-Know-Who is gone. We are living in peaceful times,” she tried to reassure him.

“Yes, but for how long, Gale?” He sat up, pushing his wife off him. “I know he’s still out there,” he once again looked at his arm. “It’s like I can feel him. It’s faint, but it’s there.”

Gale wrapped her arms around him and kissed his shoulder. “Please Alvin; just put it out of your mind. It’s the only way you will ever find peace.”

Alvin turned his head towards her and smiled. He then kissed her forehead before asking, “Did you sleep well?”

“No,” she admitted as she pulled away. “It’s been two days and no one has come for Oliver.” She got out of bed and found her housecoat. “I mean, what kind of mother leaves a child so young on their own for that long?” she asked, but only got a shrug out of Alvin. “I think it’s about time we report her to the Ministry for child neglect.” She grew upset. “I just shudder to think what would have happened to him if he hadn’t come to us right away.”

“You’re right.” Alvin got out of bed. “We’ve put it off long enough. I’ll head out early and go there before I head to work.” Flint worked at the Daily Prophet. His job had been clear from the beginning, which was to downplay any activity ordered by the Dark Lord. He wasn’t the editor, but he might as well been, for the editor often asked for Alvin’s help. It had soon become clear to him, that the editor actually had no idea what he was doing and so Alvin practically ran the place from behind the lines.

“Good,” Gale responded. “I’m going to wake up the children. What do you want for breakfast?” she asked as she headed towards the door.

“French toast, eggs, bacon, and orange juice if we have it.”

“What? Cereal?” She walked out the door.

Alvin frowned as he said loud enough for her to hear down the hall, “Then why ask me, woman?”

Gale went to her daughter’s room. “Chelsie, get up and fix breakfast for the family.” Chelsie only groaned loudly as she shifted in her bed. “Now, Missy,” she warned before heading to Marcus’ room. She leaned on the doorway as she looked in on the two boys. Oliver had been with them for two nights now. They had conjured up another bed for him to sleep in, but the boys had pushed them together and slept in the middle.

Gale smiled sadly, as she saw how her son slept with his arm around Oliver, as if he was trying to protect him somehow. Gale couldn’t blame him though; she had come to adore that little boy over the summer months. She also had to admit, it was nice having another child in the house. She then unconsciously rested her hand on her stomach. It almost made up for the one she would never have, the one that had been stolen from her, along with her husband’s peace of mind those years ago.

She never even had the chance to tell Alvin she was pregnant. She had only found out that morning of Chelsie’s tenth birthday and didn’t think it proper to announce the coming of another child during the celebration of the birth of another. Gale blamed herself for the lost of their child. If only I had held my temper, she would often think. And although she knew Alvin would never blame her, she just couldn’t bring herself to tell him. She didn’t want him to have a void in his heart that could never be filled, as she had.

“I honestly wish he would stop that,” Alvin spoke as he came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her. He then rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Stop what?” She tilted her head to rest on his.

“His thumb sucking,” Alvin answered referring to Marcus.

Gale sighed. “He only does it in his sleep when he’s upset. I doubt he knows he does it.”

“It's still a bad habit,” he argued before asking. “I thought you were going to wake them up?” Alvin then frowned as something touched his face. “Gale? Are you crying?” He slightly pulled away to look at her.

“What? No,” she answered. “My eyes are just watery this morning.” She then smiled at him, hoping he believed her lie. She then turned back towards the boys. “How could she not come for him by now?” She thought aloud. Alvin once again only shrugged as he shook his head.

Oliver had come to them two nights ago. Alvin had already gone to bed for the night and Chelsie was in the living room, taking a break from the homework she had to complete before she began her fifth year at Hogwarts. She laid lengthwise on the couch with her back on the armrest as Marcus rested in between her legs reading a book aloud to her. “Sound it out, Mar-Mar,” she encouraged him as he struggled through the words. Though he had passed to the fourth grade, his reading and comprehension skills were not up to par.

There then came an urgent sounding knock at the door as Gale cleared the table with her wand and had the dishes float over to the sink to be washed. The knocking became louder as she walked over to the door. Chelsie and Marcus stopped what they were doing as they wondered who there visitor could be. Gale opened the door cautiously and gasped at the sight before her. “Mum?” Chelsie sat up when she saw her mother lower herself to her knees.

She and Marcus stood up and quickly went to the door to fully swing it open. Both of their eyes grew wide as they saw Oliver at the door, his front side completely covered in blood. “I- I- I can’t get it to stop,” he cried as he held his left hand in a fist close to his chest as his other hand gripped his wrist tightly. “It hurts.” He grew pale as tears rushed from his eyes and down his cheeks.

Gale tenderly reached out for his arm and as her skin met his, he recoiled in the pain. “Come on, honey, you have to let me see it.” Oliver whimpered as he obeyed. “Merlin,” Gale whispered as the large, deep gash came into her view. It went from his wrist on up to the parting between his middle and ring finger.

“What happened, Ollie?” Marcus asked as tears started to flow from his eyes as he saw his best friend in pain.

“I tripped and broke the glass in my hand,” Oliver explained.

“Where’s your mom, Oliver?” Gale asked him, but instead of answering, he just looked back down at his wound and began to cry again.

“I’ll go check on her, mum,” Chelsie suggested and slipped passed the two and ran down the hall as she followed the trail of blood.

“Marcus,” Gale turned to her son. “Wake your father.” Marcus nodded and ran down the hall and up the stairs. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you inside.” Gale easily picked him up, he was such a frail boy for his age, and as she walked over to the kitchen, blood ran down her clothes and some splattered onto the floor.

“Gale, what’s going on?” Alvin asked as his son accompanied him into the kitchen. He then saw the terrified looking boy sitting down. “What happened?” His brow furrowed in confusion.

“He cut himself,” she told him as she grabbed a towel from a drawer and wrapped it around Oliver’s wrist and hand.

“Mum!” Chelsie called from the front door.

“The kitchen!” she yelled back.

“There’s no one over there,” Chelsie explained. “He was by himself.”

“What?” Gale looked at her daughter in astonishment before turning back to Oliver. “Were you alone, Ollie?” she asked him gently and he gave her a small nod. She sighed and looked to Alvin. “I’m taking him to St. Mungo’s.” Alvin readily agreed as he saw his wife pick up the child and Apparate.

“Dad, is he going to be okay?” his son asked him, but Alvin found he was unable to give him an answer, so he only smiled softly before picking him up. “It’s late. You should be in bed.” He then looked to his daughter. “You too.”

Chelsie bit her nails nervously. “I want to stay up until mum gets back.”

“No,” he shook his head. “Upstairs.”

“But dad-”

“Don’t argument with me, Chelsie.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied and headed towards the living room to gather their books and then headed upstairs as she followed behind her father and brother.

Marcus said nothing as his father carried him to his room and tucked him into bed. “Goodnight, son,” Alvin said softly, but his son did nothing more than stare unblinking at the ceiling. Alvin sighed as he walked to the door, he then looked back over his shoulder one last time only to see his son turn away from him and, more than likely, continue to stare at the wall.

Alvin was pulled from his thoughts as Gale left his arms and continued into Marcus’ room to wake the boys. The rest of the morning went by smoothly as they all sat down to breakfast together. Before long, Alvin was out the door, not to return until later in the day. A few hours later Gale also left for her job at the nursery, where she grew trees and plants for study, leaving Chelsie to look after her brother and Oliver.

To Be Continued. . .

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