One By One
By Hazelmist
Ship: Marlene McKinnon/Edgar Bones
Summary: "When will it end Marlene?" Eddie asked hopelessly. Marlene wordlessly shook her head. "Are they just going to kill us off one by one until there's no one left?" Marlene McKinnon and Edgar Bones are forced to face the frightening truth.
A/N: Another one shot, my impression of how the first war went.
The moon was high in the sky and the cold, harsh wind was biting when the Aurors finally finished with the tedious field work. Marlene McKinnon trudged over to join the rest of her team, looking forward to a good nights sleep.
"I'm sending you to help with a clean up," Moody told them.
Frank Longbottom groaned and Emmeline Vance muttered darkly under her breath, but Marlene was too tired to protest. She'd been looking forward to seeing her family, but right now she could only think of rest. Even if it would be put off a few more hours.
"You're lucky you're even getting a minute to rest," Moody's eye rolled, seeking the malcontents, "we used to work right through the night and into the next day…"
Marlene stopped listening. She was so tired that her eyelids were starting to droop. Edgar Bone nodded off beside her, his head falling onto her shoulder. Moody's eye halted on the sleepy pair but Marlene had closed her eyes.
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody roared, firing a harmless jolt of electricity at the unlucky sleepers.
Edgar stood up straight, and Marlene's eyes opened wide. The other Aurors hid smirks and stifled sniggers as Moody's eyes were on the move again.
"Are you awake now?" Moody demanded.
"Yes sir," the two nodded vigorously.
Moody handed Marlene a shoe and then disapparated. Grumbling and complaining, Emmeline, Edgar, Frank and the others grabbed onto Marlene's portkey. Marlene looked around at the tired faces that surrounded her. Many of them had been up for over thirty six hours, herself included. But Moody's jolt had done the trick. She felt wide awake now.
"I don't understand why we can't just apparate," Frank grumbled.
Marlene felt the familiar tug behind her navel, and the whole world spun away from her. She managed to land neatly on her feet, but Edgar Bones didn't. He staggered backwards, taking Marlene and Frank down with him.
"Eddie!" Marlene groaned, "You're squishing me!"
"Well, Frank's on my leg!" Eddie protested.
"I can't move," Frank said wearily, "I'm too tired."
"I can't breathe!" Marlene panted.
"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Emmeline whipped out her wand, and with a simple swish she had all of their limbs untangled and all three standing on their feet.
"Thanks Emmy," Eddie gave Emmeline one of his charming smiles, which didn't have quite the same effect on Emmeline as it did on most women.
"Don't ever call me that again or I'll cut all your fingers off, understand?" Emmeline threatened, brandishing her wand.
"Yes ma'am," Eddie's conspicuous blue eyes sparkled with laughter as he made a funny face at her back. Marlene giggled, and Emmeline whipped around, ready to breathe fire. Frank though, grabbed the short tempered girl's arm.
"Come on," Frank urged, "I want to actually get some sleep tonight."
Emmeline wrenched her arm from his grasp and led the way up the sloping lawn. They'd been awake for nearly forty hours and the lack of sleep was finally starting to take a toll on all of them. Frank, Edgar and Marlene hastened to follow her. They'd lost sight of the others, but it was obvious where they were headed.
A glittering green skull had been left in the sky above the old mansion and a candle had been left in one of third floor windows. The Death Eaters mocked them, despite their absence. Marlene shuddered, wondering what they might find inside. Everything was usually cleaned up by the time they got there, but it never made it any easier, knowing what had been there only hours before.
They stepped through the doorway, where a door should've been. It rested at the end of the foyer in bits and pieces. Marlene's kicked the doorknob, watching as it rolled across the floor to join the rest of the debris.
"I guess we should split up," Frank cleared his throat, taking charge in the absence of their team leader. He studied them for a moment, his eyes stopping on Emmeline who still looked as if she might strangle someone at any moment. "I'll go with Emmeline," he decided wisely. "Marlene, go with Edgar."
Emmeline and Frank went left and Marlene went right. Eddie stopped her.
"The others probably went that way," Marlene realized that he was right. They always went from the bottom up, Moody found it more efficient for some strange reason.
"The stairs then?" she suggested. Eddie nodded.
The pair silently proceeded up the steps. Fatigue evaporated, replaced with anxiety and fear. Silence always spoke louder than any noise. It was the sound that accompanied death, destruction and defeat. The suffocating silence, settled around them like a blanket, weighing them down and waiting to gag or strangle at every turn.
Behind every door there seemed to be someone or something waiting for them. Marlene and Eddie had to open every single one of them, though their hands trembled and their instincts screamed in protest. Marlene hated big houses like this one. There were too many doors to open and too many rooms to search. She was visibly shaking by the time they finished with the second floor and moved onto the third floor.
Eddie grabbed her hand, giving it a hard squeeze.
"There's only five doors up here, see?" he whispered, his voice echoing in the eerily empty hallway. "We're almost finished, they probably already cleaned up everything and we can go home," he comforted her.
Marlene nodded and anxiously reached for the first door. It was a child's room. The walls were painted pink with a flowery border. Unicorns pranced across the bureau, and a smiling teddy bear danced around the lamp on the bedside table.
"This is when I hate my job," Eddie whispered to Marlene. He flicked open the closet and cleared it out with a simple twitch of his wrist. Pink and purple jumpers, big floppy grown up hats, frilly gowns, a tutu and many high heeled shoes that were probably used for dress up purposes, tumbled out of the closet, landing at their feet.
"Some poor little girl is going to be missing a parent or an arm," he remarked sadly as both of them stared at the pile of clothes. He shook his head.
"Let's go, we still have four more," Eddie said, touching her arm gently.
Marlene stayed where she was though. Her eyes were locked on something in the window, something that she hadn't noticed before. It made her blood go cold.
"Eddie," she tugged on his sleeve, "Look!"
She pointed to the candle in the window with a quivering hand. The color visibly drained from Eddie's face.
"Marlene, do you know where we are?" he asked softly.
Marlene didn't respond.
"We're at Raven's Manor, the Prewett's home," he answered.
A chill ran down her spine. Gideon and Fabian Prewett were two of the best wizards of their age. If the Death Eaters had gotten to them… Suddenly Marlene found it difficult to breathe. Her heartbeat sped up, pounding in her ears.
"We still have four more rooms," Eddie reminded her, turning to go. Marlene turned to follow him, but as Eddie reached for the door she stopped him. Behind the door, there was a crater in the wall that they had missed on their way in. Her eyes snapped back to the flickering flame, Eddie's haunting words echoing in her mind.
"Come on," Eddie said, taking her hand, but Marlene pulled away.
"Check the closet!" she gasped.
"What?" Eddie asked, puzzled.
"Look in the closet!" she begged, backing up against the wall.
"Marlene, I just checked it," Eddie repeated.
"Please, just do it!" she pleaded with him.
Eddie frowned at Marlene, his eyes shining with concern. Sighing, he kicked the clothes aside and opened the closet door again. Marlene covered her face with her hands, bracing herself.
"Marlene, it's okay, there's no monsters, nothing here except…" Eddie's voice faltered as Marlene slowly lowered her hands. "Marlene! Quick!" he cried desperately, as he sank to his knees.
Marlene ran to him. Peering over Eddie's shoulder, her worst fears were confirmed. One of the greatest wizards of their age stared up at her through lifeless brown eyes. Gideon Prewett's body had been stuffed in the closet by a Death Eater and the candle had been left for them, as a warning...
"Help me with her!" Eddie panted, as he tried to get the second body out of the closet. Marlene stifled a scream as she saw the bloodied child that Gideon was shielding. "I think she's still alive!" his voice shook as he pushed Gideon's lifeless form out of the way and took the fragile girl delicately into his arms.
The blood was still fresh, but Marlene saw that the light had gone out in the girl's eyes. Eddie frantically checked the girl's pulse, pressing his ear to her immobile chest. Marlene felt her own heart stop as Eddie's face fell.
"We can bring her back," he said, taking his wand out. "She was alive when we got here, we can bring her back!" he echoed, healing the gaping wound in the girl's chest, though the blood had stopped flowing.
Marlene's eyes filled with tears.
"Eddie," she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. Eddie froze his muscles stiffening at the sound of her voice, thick with tears. "She's dead. They're all dead."
Eddie raised his striking blue eyes slowly to hers. Silently he searched her eyes, as if looking for any sign of hope. He didn't find anything because her eyes were veiled with tears. Shuddering, he held the small girl to his chest, gingerly rocking her back and forth. Marlene gently took the girl from him, helping him to lower her to the floor. They laid her to rest beside Gideon.
"Why? I don't understand why?" Eddie choked out, staring hard at the two corpses.
Marlene took his face in her hands and pulled it to her chest. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her middle, nobly struggling with the tears. She stroked his hair, kissing the top of his head.
"This is what separates us from the Death Eaters," she answered softly. "This is why we're still fighting."
Eddie trembled and with a sob, he lost the battle. The hot tears finally leaked from his eyes, soaking the front of her robes. She buried her face into his hair, silently crying. They had read the obituaries which now took up nearly three pages, front and back, of the Daily Prophet. They had attended funerals and memorial services for family, friends and colleagues. They had heard the horrific testimonies of the few witnesses and the rare survivor. But now they saw Gideon, one of the best Aurors, one of their last hopes, killed along with his family and they finally realized where this war was going.
"When will it end Marlene?" Eddie asked hopelessly.
Marlene wordlessly shook her head.
"Are they just going to kill us off one by one until there's no one left? Who's next? Frank? Emmeline? Me? You?" he sat up, meeting her sorrowful eyes.
"I don't know Eddie," Marlene whispered, leaning her forehead against his. "I don't know."
"Marlene? Edgar?" Voices floated up from the staircase, pushing them apart.
Eddie drew in a shaky breath, pulling himself together. Marlene swiped at her eyes with her sleeve. Eddie grasped her hand, helping her to her feet. They stood, trying to look at anything other than Gideon's dull eyes and the small girl's bloody, battered body.
Frank entered, immediately spotting the dead. He made a funny noise in his throat and seemed to have lost any ability to move or speak. Emmeline on the other hand, only saw Eddie and Marlene. Fuming, she brushed past Frank, pointing her finger at the solemn pair.
"Do you have any idea how long we've been-" she followed their downcast eyes and screamed.
The rest of the Aurors heard Emmeline's screams and came running. Everything was a blur. Marlene didn't remember much of it. Frank shoved a portkey into their hands and the room disappeared.
Gideon and the girl though, did not. They stayed in her mind, even as she fell face first outside of the Order's Headquarters. It was a long time before Marlene had the strength to get up and pull Eddie to his feet. She half dragged, half carried him into the cottage. Laying him on the sofa, she covered him with the quilt.
"Thanks," Eddie whispered gratefully, his bloodshot eyes finally closing.
Marlene listened to his ragged breathing for what seemed like hours, before finally leaning over him, only to find his eyes wide open again. She sat down on the arm of the sofa and smoothed the hair from his forehead.
"Sleep, Eddie, just go to sleep," she whispered soothingly.
"I can't," Eddie turned his head away from her, covering his face with his hand.
Marlene's breath suddenly caught in her throat, a frightening thought entering her head. She pulled his hand away from his face, forcing him to look at her.
"You're next, aren't you?" It wasn't a question, but a statement.
Eddie swallowed hard, his eyes purposefully avoiding her.
"When?" Marlene asked, trembling.
"We go into hiding in two weeks. They told me just last week," Eddie explained, rubbing his eyes.
Marlene stopped listening. Going into hiding was like a death sentence. Once the Dark Lord decided to kill you, there was no escaping.
"Oh Eddie," Marlene whispered, crawling underneath the quilt, beside him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I guess, I didn't want to scare you," Eddie sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
Marlene stared at him, realizing that if the Bones were considered a threat to Voldemort than the McKinnons were as well.
"I meant to tell you Marlene, I did, but I…well…I didn't know how…"
"It's okay, Eddie, sooner or later I had to find out."
"No, it's just that I…" he trailed off, but a moment later Marlene felt him grab her hand, tugging her roughly toward him. Marlene's breath caught in her throat when she saw the intensity in his blue eyes. He kissed her on the cheek, but Marlene turned her face, catching his lips instead.
"I'm going to miss you," Marlene said softly in his ear.
"I'm going to miss you too," Eddie whispered, as his eyes closed.
Marlene watched him, as his chest rose and fell. She waited until his breathing became soft and steady and then, only then, did she allow herself to close her eyes and finally give into sleep.