Fear of Silence
" In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing."
-Robert Ingersoll
She was walking with purpose as she left her flat. She had made her decision after having a shaking epiphany. As she stood in front of her gate, the girl stopped and closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, but felt as if arms were pushing her and keeping her rooted in place.
Maybe a walk would be better, she thought, so she could gather herself.
Opening her eyes, she turned around and kept walking, she kept taking deep breaths, observing the day was chillier than the summertime she was accustomed near London. She noticed that she had taken a different route, but was not lost. It was the path to the park close by.
The girl sat down on one of the benches, staring at the kids playing on the slides of the playground. She felt her chest constricting, and felt like crying. Stupid, she thought. Since when had she been so sentimental over watching kids play around? She brought her knees to the bench, hugging them to her chest while sitting. Her head went between her knees as she remembered the last time she saw her friends together, happy but marked by the revolution.
"Come on, Mars! Just one more picture, and then you can leave," said Lily pouting and giving Marlene her best puppy-eyed look
Rolling her eyes, Marlene scooted over and stood next to Dorcas. "Let's get this overwith!" Marlene said jokingly.
Dorcas' brand-new boy-toy, an auror that liked going by the name Will, held the camera in his hand, waving so that everyone would look at him. When was, he said, "Smiles everyone!"
"Just take the picture!" Dorcas exclaimed at the moment he took the picture. Everyone groaned and Marlene said: "Aand that's my cue. I'll see you all some other time!".
She was already by the door, when strong hands were grasping her right arm, spinning her around as she stared at grey eyes.
"What, were you thinking you could go without saying goodbye?" Sirius Orion Black demanded.
"I'm not only thinking it but in the middle of doing so," Marlene replied sarcastically, yanking her hand from his grip and walking out the door.
It was useless of course, because he followed her outside. "Why do you keep doing this? It's been three days, Mars! Why won't you talk to me? You didn't even want to look at me in there."
Marlene rolled her eyes and kept on walking to the apparation point in the alley.
"Are you thinking of apparating? You know we can't do that anymore. I think they're tracking us. Last time I apparated, two Death Eaters were waiting for me at my door step," Sirius reminded her.
Cursing to herself for not thinking that through, she sighed and turned back around for the house. What she did was smash her head unto the stubborn black-haired man that had been stalking behind her. He grabbed her shoulders, making her look up to his eyes.
His eyes actually looked hurt. "Why are you doing this Mars? Talk to me. You used to do that. Don't you trust me?" he whispered with a raspy voice.
Oh hell, Marlene thought.
"Just, I need some time to think things through," Marlene finally answered.
"Merlin, Mars! It was a simple-"
"Don't you dare say it was a simple question! It would change my entire life,and you treated it like some big joke!" Marlene shouted while hitting him in the chest with her fists.
"Marlene!" Sirius said while trying and failing to deflect her blows.
"Do you not remember what we were doing? We had just made love and after finishing you said 'I love you' and then asked me to MARRY YOU. And then you panicked. Why are YOU the one that's allowed to be hurt? I thought I could have a future with you and you panicked! I told you I was leaving and I did. Are you happy now?" Marlene huffed and glared at him before storming away.
But again, her path was invaded by a furious Sirius Black.
"Did you think I panicked? Yes, I did. Because I meant it. And I panicked because we're in a fucking war, and by asking you to marry me it would immediately paint a target because, in case you didn't notice, the people I called 'family' once, are now Voldemort's lapdogs. And you can guess who's on the top of their hit list. How many times have I said this? I'm scared for your sake, Marlene," Sirius murmured, staring at her eyes while doing so.
"I can take care of my own bloody self, and you know it," Marlene yelled.
"I KNOW THAT!" Sirius roared. "And each time you say that to me, it makes me so bloody mad, because I KNOW. I know how much you love to fight and that you're so stubborn that you would attempt to fight Voldemort single-handedly, but you're not invincible, and in the end, it's you who's afraid of facing the truth."
"What truth?" Marlene spat.
"That you want to come back. And realizing that I meant what I said then and what I said now is the truth. You love me, and I love you enough to accept all of you," Sirius said.
Marlene was frozen in place. Right in the middle of the lonely sidewalk, a few houses down from the reunion they had been in. Sirius took a step towards her and grabbed her hands. That made her look at the man once more and as he took her chin and tilted it up so he could look at her eyes, she saw all the emotions that were going through his stormy eyes: regret for what he had said in the past, safety, defiance towards her to say the contrary, bitterness towards his family, but mostly love. And she closed the gap from her lips to his, and kissed him desperately and passionately, letting all the tension from the past days float away as their lips moved in sync, as if they were made to be kissed by each other.
She broke away and felt tears on her cheeks and said: "I love you too, you arse."
Sirius smirked at her, grabbed her hand, leading her back to the reunion.
There, she stood in front of the fireplace and said the goodbyes she evaded before. She took a handful of Floo Powder. Before saying her destination, she saw Sirius once more and winked his way. She arrived home.
But, as Marlene threw herself on the bed, the real agonizing truth of why she had avoided Sirius stirred in her head.
She still had not told him her truth.
Taking a deep breath that almost sounded like a strangled sob, Marlene took out the notebook Lily had gotten her when they were Third Years at Hogwarts. She could write anything and it would appear on Lily's diary-twin. They had been communicating like this when they were apart for long periods or whenever they felt like saying something important without fear of being overheard or have their owls intercepted. Especially since it erased after you finished writing, leaving no trace of it being a used journal, staying on
She took out a muggle pen and started to write.
Lily, what I'm about to say you will not tell anyone until it is time for you to divulge…
"Sirius!" She called from the door, knocking while doing so. She had to get it over with and tell him. It was time.
When he opened the door, he raised one of his eyebrows and smirked. "I don't recall ordering a tall blonde beauty today. I thought what I ordered was pizza, but this'll do."
"Oh, sod off!" she muttered while entering his apartment.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, madam?" Sirius asked while closing the door behind her.
"You may need to sit down, Sirius, because what I'm about to tell you is important," Marlene said, her voice low.
"All right...," Sirius said confused, since this was nothing like Marlene. She actually looked scared, raking her fingers through her hair, a habit she had taken up since Hogwarts thanks to James.
"Sirius, if we weren't in this bloody war, and we were still together, would you wish to marry me?" Marlene asked straight-forwardly.
Sirius flinched for a second. He blinked a couple of times and blurted out, "Of course Mars. Where is this coming from?" He asked frowning.
"Because I love you that's why. I know I've said it before, but the truth is I do. I fully and completely love you. And two weeks ago you told me a truth about you and me, and it's time I told you some truths too." Marlene said.
Marlene continued, "You see, I do want to marry you, and I know your reasons for not wanting to do that now. And I get it. But Sirius, I AM scared. Mostly because I have been followed since I was born, an outcast that needs to be eliminated according to those you called 'family'. But I'm willing to be that family for you, love."
Sirius was still silent and it urged her to make her point.
"The truth about why I'm here is that I'm going to die soon. I'm not invincible, as you told me before." Sirius's head snapped up from his trance and opened his mouth to say something, but Marlene brought her hand up to stop him from commenting. "I'm not finished."
"Sirius, I'm not invincible. I never thought I was. What makes this even worse is that I know. I'm not leaving without a proper fight, but at the end, death will be so overpowering that I will give up." Her voice had been cracking towards the end and Sirius stood up from his seat and enveloped her with his arms as she started to cry softly. He rocked her slowly and cleaned the stray tears from her cheeks. He didn't know what to say, he just knew what to do.
Marlene finally gained her composure and took another deep breath. "Love, there's something else I need to tell you."
"Go on," Sirius said, knowing there was something that she had come to say, and he had a suspicion that it wasn't that big declaration of love.
"Sirius…I'm–" she couldn't finish her sentence before seeing silver wisp in her line of vision.
The light flooded the flat and transformed into a wolf. Remus.
Sirius instantly let go of Marlene, who was still holding the words she had come to say since she found out.
"Wormtail's house is being attacked. So are the Longbottoms. We need reinforcements. Come soon!" the Patronus said and dissapeared not long after that.
"You're going to stay," Sirius said immeadiately. "You're not going to fight like this." He was already picking up his wand from the table.
"Damn it, Sirius! I told you I would fight to my last breath! I need to tell you something important!" Marlene yelled.
"You'll have to tell me when I get back," he said, already in the fireplace, Floo in one hand and his wand in the other. He looked up and said: "I'm sorry Mars. Love you."
As he yelled his destination and Marlene saw the powder leaving his hand, she yelled: "I'M PREGNANT!"
But he was already gone. She was pretty sure he heard her. Marlene was about to follow him when she saw that the plate with the Powder was empty. That git!
She looked for a piece of paper in which to write in. Taking out the pen she'd used before, she wrote:
Sirius, you're in trouble. Leaving me here without any Floo Powder. Psh.
I don't know if you heard me, but now you'll know now.
Yes. I am pregnant.
No. It's not from another man, it's yours.
I'm willing to give my life for her, and I hope you will too.
I just wish you hadn't gone alone. I hope nothing bad happens to Peter or the Longbottoms.
I love you.
Mars
PS: I was thinking about Venus for a girl or Orion (like you) for a boy. Either would be great and they'll be blond with grey eyes. I can see it already. A baby zooming around on a broom that you bought… All right I'll stop now. See you later.
She pinned the note under the empty powder plate. Still fuming a bit, she walked out of the flat with her bag in hand. Locking the door, Marlene turned around to the street, where she could see the now darkening sky.
Strolling distracted down the streets, Marlene was thinking about the new life she had inside her. She thought about the dinner she's supposed to be heading, to meet up with her mother. She had received the note before leaving to Sirius'flat. Looking at the clock in her hand, Marlene noticed she was 15 minutes late for it.
"Shit!" she cursed to herself.
As she turned on her heel apparating, she realized she'd made two mistakes:
One: Apparating near someone.
And two: Apparating.
She knew they were being tracked. So when she landed in the middle of a park that was near her mother's house, she took out her wand, ready to attack, but the person that had grabbed a hold of her was nowhere in sight. And that scared her even more.
From where she stood, she started running towards her home, cursing while doing so.
When she went through the threshold, she paused. "Mum?" She called.
Her mother came out of the dining room. "Marlene! We thought you wouldn't make it or had forgotten about our dinner! Come along," her mother said. The woman was about 50 years old and went by the name Geraldine Mckinnon. Thin and her hair was gray. She wore big square spectacles, with which she would observe (or glare) her children. "Look who decided to surprise us and join us! Isn't it wonderful, dear?"
Sitting at the table was her brother, Rob, who was the spitting image of Marlene, in a male body.
Of course, one would know they were twins from a kilometer away.
Marlene immediately straightened her back. "Hello Robbie. It's been so long," she said with faux sweetness.
"Oh, yeah. About a week perhaps, correct me if I'm wrong?" Rob asked feigning ignorance.
"Oh how wonderful! It's nice to see you both communicating at last. At least you're not having those petty feuds you used to have when you were at school. Don't you remember?" Geraldine Mckinnon said, not noticing any bit of tension in the room, that was observable in the way Marlene and Robbie kept smiling tightly at each other and Marlene's grip on the back of the chair in front of her. Meanwhile, her sibling was the image of relaxation.
"Mum? Could you fetch me a cuppa?" Marlene asked her mother.
"It would take some time, dear. But anything for you," her mother said, while getting up and pinching her cheek a bit, before entering the kitchen and closing the door behind her.
Marlene eased her way into the chair in front of her brother. She stared into his eyes that were a mirror of her own.
"So, Dearest Robbie," Marlene addressed him, smiling sweetly at him. "Finally made space in your schedule to kill me? Your precious Death Eaters finally gave you the OK to do what you wanted? What are you gonna do? Immobilize mum while you tear me limb from limb and serve me for dinner? Or are you going to make this easy for me and just do it with one wand movement?" She asked while shrugging.
Robbie drew a sarcastic laugh and leaned on the table, with his chin propped up by his fists. "Well Marley, there's never a easy way out of it. And we chose our ways the moment the Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor and me in Slytherin. Who would ever think about sweet and quiet Robbie, always being overshadowed by the Precious Gryffindor Princess. Now, I can have any power I want, since my Lord will be ever-thankful for getting rid of my dear sister."
"You know what I don't understand? Why now? Were the attacks on other Order members also part of this? Was this a result of last week's attack? As you may remember, you guys did manage to take out Cas." Marlene questioned, remembering the fight at The Longbottoms' house, where they managed to evacuate Alice, Frank and Little Neville, not without losing one the most valued Order members: Dorcas.
"I think so," Rob answered, shrugging. "It was more the fact that the girl stood in the way of our Lord, and that seriously sets him off." He spoke as if declaring something.
Marlene scoffed at him. "And now look at you," she motioned at him. "You do know that our mother is right in there."
"Ah! Right! Our stubborn mother is standing right in the way of getting rid of you… Or is she?" he gave her an innocent questioning look, hand on his chin.
In that instant she heard the shattering of porcelain. She stood up but did not aproach the kitchen door, choosing better to draw her wand towards it. "Who was the bloke that was following me and hitched a ride on my apparition, Robb?" Marlene asked, her tone emotionless.
"That was Travers. He never Disapparated from the park. He was only camouflaged by a Disillusionment Charm after you stumbled," Robb replied coolly.
A tall man entered through the door. His hair was long and black, but it was clean. Marlene's observations were disrupted by her brother's voice.
"Took you long enough," Robb simply said.
"Well, you made me silence your mother, thought I'd do it for good," Travers merely shrugged. He now directed his wand towards the blond woman that was doing the same. "Girlie, what you did last week to my leg hurt like a bitch."
"You would know all about them right? I assume you own a mirror and just love seeing one staring back at you," Marlene replied.
The man simply gave a bark of laughter, but not like the one she was accustomed to hear come out of Sirius. It was wrong. And out of place. She felt compelled to run away, but she stood her ground. "The girl's a bit of a pain in the ass, Mckinnon," Travers grinned maliciously.
Robb rolled his eyes and stood from his chair. "So, Marley, here's how it's going to go: you're going to give us your wand and you'll die peacefully and instantly. Or, of course, your death will be quite horrible and messy. Which one is it going to be, Sister?"
Marlene pretended to think it over, "Problem is, I'm a huge fan of my own wand, and would like to stay with it to kick both your asses once and for all."
Robb looked at Travers. "So be it."
The witch immediately Disarmed her brother and Stunned the other wizard, who fell to the floor unconscious. She caught Robb's wand and taunted him, twirling it. Furious, he picked up Travers' wand and, turning around, realized no one was there.
Marlene had taken off quickly, trying the entrance door knob. She hissed upon touching it, making a burn mark on her hand.
"They're all closed and charmed, you know?" Robb's booming voice echoed throughout the house. Marlene's eyes darted towards the windows. "Yes, even those. You chose the hard way and now the fun will begin. I'm giving you a headstart, since Travers is dead to the world, but that's going to give you two minutes. Or less." His voice was like a whisper now. It was eerie when he spoke out. Marlene's breath was getting heavier, as her eyes darted around, looking for an escape. There was none.
She ran up the stairs and opened the nearest door, which was the bathroom, closed and locked it behind her. Marlene took a moment to gather herself without hyperventilating. She still had the two wands, but she knew it wasn't going to help her now. Still, she placed her brother's wand on the sink and took a look at her wand. Marlene closed her eyes and felt herself fill with the last happy thought she had had and saw as her Patronus took the form of a Golden Retriever.
"Go to the Order members that are not fighting. I need back up. Robb's here. Mum's house. I'm sorry," her voice was demanding, but cracked at the end, for she knew what was going to happen.
"Maarley…" his voice taunted her behind the door. His voice would have been sweet, if she didn't know the mad-man that was behind it. Her Patronus dissapeared.
Quickly, Marlene stepped into the tub on the other side of the small bathroom. She laid down and closed her eyes, wand in hand. When she opened her eyes and observed the light was flicking, like it was getting tired, until it vanished completely. Leaning a bit forward, she chanced a look towards the direction of the door.
All too sudden, a blast shook the house, debris was flying around the bathroom from what was left of the bathroom door. One of the chunks of wood reached Marlene unexpectedly and everything went dark.
"Prongs!" Sirius burst through The Potter's household.
"Padfoot, what's wrong?" James asked, rising from his seat on the sofa
"Where's Red?" Sirius demanded.
"Upstairs, trying to get the little one to bed," James replied as he reached the entrance and finally took in Sirius' state. "What the bloody hell happened now?"
"They attacked Peter's house," Sirius gave as answer. James' eyes darkened. "They're all gone, James. Wormtail was somewhere else with Moony, and arrived just in time to see the place go up in flames."
James raked his hand through his hair, practically pulling it, muttering curses under his breath.
"Peter?" he asked while looking at Sirius' eyes.
"Devastated. He took one look at the house and crumbled. And guess who was the pyromaniac that decided to do it herself?"
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say Good Ol' Trixie?" James said with ferocity. He kicked the wall and emitted a sound of frustration. He looked at Padfoot and saw that he still had more to say. Staring straight into his eyes he said: "There's more, isn't there?"
Sirius scoffed. "You think? It doesn't end there. Oh no, Death Eaters decided to give Alice and Frank a visit and Voldemort himself joined in for last-minute tea. They got away by an inch. Luckily, Nev was with Augusta." Sirius released a sigh and looked at James dead in the eye as he said the next thing. "Cas is gone too."
James merely looked back dumb-founded. "W-whaddaya mean Cas is gone? She can't be! She's tough as the Whomping Willow!"
"Everyone has their weak spot, Prongs," Sirius slowly made himself sit down on the floor. His voice grew hysterical as he went on. "She decided to serve as a distraction so that The Longbottoms could run. Her weakness apparently was Voldemort, who decided to give her a few Crucios and an Avada to finish her off." He finally looked at James who was sitting directly across from him. His eyes were growing manic as he stared at the floor again.
"Sirius… How did you know that?" James asked carefully.
His eyes snapped back up. He was broken. "I saw her, James. I had just received Remus' Patronus warning me about everything and decided to back-up The Longbottoms. I didn't know she was going to be there. And when I burst into the house I got a Body-Bind to the back. I heard her screams and I panicked." Sirius was practically sobbing, but he needed to finish. "They made me watch. I thought someone would be there for back-up, but it seemed everyone was distracted with Wormtail's attack. I felt useless and hollow. They killed her off when they knew she wasn't going to be of any use. He did it himself. And then turned to me and said, 'Brace yourself, for you're still next.' He dissapeared and everyone else with him. They released me from the curse and when I could finally move, her body went up in flames. And all I kept thinking about was-"He stopped mid-sentece as he remembered.
Marlene.
Shit.
He got up immediately.
"Shit. Shitshitshit!" He turned to James. "Where's Mars?"
"Marlene?" James was now in full-alert.
"She's gone." a soft voice came from the stairs.
Both of the men looked up at Lily. She held in her hands a notebook. They'd seen it loads of times but never actually seen what was inside.
"It's been burning for a while and that means she's written something. It could also mean she's not with it. She always has it on her."
The room went silent and in that moment a Golden Retriever in the form of a Patronus sauntered into the room.
They all held their breaths as they listened. A dark look settled over Sirius' eyes. "I have to go." And not letting James or Lily tell him otherwise, he exited The Potter household and Dissaparated in front of Marlene's mum's house.
She was lying at the top of the Astronomy Tower, gazing at the firmament. Her blonde hair was splayed around her head, creating an almost perfect silver halo for the girl.
"McKinnon? What are you doing here?" a voice startled her from her thoughts and she sat up. She saw a familiar figure standing by the door.
She smirked. "Might as well ask you the same thing." She laid back down. Her exhales were creating soft swirls near her lips, thanks to the cool air and wind that blew around them.
"I figured you'd be up here," Sirius said as he sat down beside the blonde girl.
"Oh, really? Why would that be?" Marlene asked, still gazing up at the stars.
"I dunno. Call it Marauder Intuition." Sirius winked at her, even if she wasn't looking at him.
She smirked and said: "Well, I call it 'Using that fancy map of mine to stalk a beautiful witch late at night.'"
Sirius let out a bark of laughter and then said, "I think I prefer 'Marauder Intuition'," as he wrinkled his nose as a sign of slight disgust.
They both dissolved into fits of laughter as Sirius lay down beside Marlene. She let out another sigh and he again marveled at the distinct beauty of it.
"Seriously though, why are you here? Not meeting someone for a midnight lovers' rendezvous?" Sirius asked.
"Nah. I just wanted to think and just be. And what better place than the grandiose Astronomy Tower."
"Huh…" Sirius remarked, also looking up at the stars.
"Oh go on. Laugh. I know you're dying to make fun of my methods," Marlene said after a moment, shoving the boy with her arm.
"Why would I do that?" Sirius asked, furrowing his eyebrows with confusion.
"Because… I- uh… I don't know, it just sounded kind of pathetic," Marlene finished with a bit of embarrassment in her mumbled words.
"But it's not! I mean, I sincerely hate astronomy with a passion, ironically, since my name comes from the Dog Star," Sirius defended.
"Why do you hate it? I find it fascinating. It makes me feel so small. To know all that's left to be discovered, and there would still be more to be uncovered… It helps me realize there's so much more outside of this castle," Marlene said, her voice merely a whisper.
She snuggled closer to Sirius, and he immediately snaked his arms around her body. She's cold from being outside for so long, and he feels her drawing warmth from him. He felt her eyes on his face, searching for his eyes. He finally locked his eyes with hers, and he felt as if all the answers he could ever ask lay there, in her infinite blue eyes. Sirius inhaled sharply as he felt a sensation in his chest, like a heaviness that could only be lifted if she was away. But he didn't want it to go away.
"I hate it because of my family," he blurted out.
Now it was Marlene's turn to be confused, "What?"
"You asked why I hate Astronomy. The answer is because my family has an obsession with Astronomy. It's really mental. Besides making us learn our extensive family trees, we know all about Astronomy. That's why all our names come from space. It's a metaphor, you see? Toujours Pur," he said it as if it tasted bad. "If there's a place no muggle could touch our blood, it's in space." Sirius looked back towards the sky. "Completely nutters," he muttered.
Marlene was silent for a few minutes. "Do you know what my name means?"
"No, not really," Sirius said.
"Apparently it's a mix of Maria and Magdalene, and Maria means 'Star of the Sea'. Fitting isn't it? You're the Dog Star, and I'm the Sea Star," she grinned at Sirius, who was looking at her.
For a few seconds they grinned at each other like fools. Sirius reached out and placed one of his hands on her cheek, stroked it, then kissed her forehead, making Marlene curl up closer to him.
She inhaled his scent and looked at his eyes once more.
"Sirius… I'm scared. But I have to fight," she whispered.
"I know. That's why I'll be beside you the whole time. Kicking Death Eater ass all-around. Sirius and Marlene: Most Dynamic Duo of the Year!" he exclaimed while Marlene hit him.
"I wasn't trying to be funny! This is serious!" she groaned.
"Then, you should know, I'm being serious now," he said sincerely. "There's no way I'm staying with my arms crossed while my best friends are fighting. Now I have you too to think about."
Sirius kissed the corner of Marlene's mouth and she smiled, sadly, but it was a smile nonetheless.
"Mars," he declared with a certain finality.
"What? What did you call me?" Marlene asked curiously.
"Mars. That will be your new nickname."
She laughed a bit. "Why?"
"Because, Mars is the God of War. And you're worth fighting for."
"Oh."
And they felt as if everything they were meant to say, was said in silence. So, they stayed wrapped in each other's arms until the sun came out announcing the new day.
"MARLENE!" he yelled at the house, wand at the ready.
He realized it was too late as the house burst to light with a magnificent blast.
When Marlene gained consciousness, she was aware that she had been removed from the bathroom and was currently magically tied at the foot of the stairs.
Travers was sitting in front of her.
She groaned as she realized how much blood was covering her.
She only had a few cuts on her arms, nothing that would require so much blood. She attempted to move her legs, but with the jolt of pain that shot through her body when she did so, helped her know the source of the blood.
"A chunk of wood is through your legs. From the explosion," the wizard commented simply.
"Where's Robb?"
"About to die," Travers said smiling. A chill went through her body that had nothing to do with the darkness of the room.
Robb came through the kitchen door with a towel wrapped around his bloody arm.
Marlene opened her mouth to shout some warning to him, but it was too late, since Travers had silenced her from his spot. Then, he twirled around and said "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Just like that, her brother was gone. She hadn't realized she was sobbing until the killer had released her Silencing Charm.
His cold calculating voice made her tear her eyes off the dead body in front of her.
"You see, the Dark Lord wanted to dispose of him. He slipped up on one of the plans. So, my Lord told him we were going to kill you and your mom. But it was all part of the plan. Next up are The Potters. I reckon they finished off The Longbottoms and The Pettigrews tonight. Oh, wait. I forgot you got a rat in your group. But I've already said too much. Besides, you're going to die in a few minutes."
Marlene braced herself as he brandished his wand and made a whip motion.
She bit her lip in an attempt to restrain from crying out in pain. He had made a large gash on her abdomen. The man made another wand movement and she cried out this time, as she felt her legs snap. Gasping with pain, she stared straight at her killer's eyes. She would not give up.
He smiled maniacally as he did the whip motion again, and this time the gash ran along her face. But she stood her ground, even as she felt herself debilitating as her body lost more and more blood.
The killer crouched down in front of her and stroked her cheek and she gathered her remaining strength to butt his head, but he grabbed her chin with force and released her for a moment, before smacking her in the face with his full force. She felt blood in her mouth and she spat in his face, her smile a bloody one as she said, gasping: "You may kill me, but I assure you, you will lose."
He growled as he wiped his face from her blood. He got up and glared at her. "And you will burn." And as he said this, he made some motions Marlene didn't recognize. All of a sudden, her brother's body caught on fire. As a matter of fact the whole house seemed on fire.
Travers was already at the backdoor when he turned around and said: "No one can save you now." And he was gone. Her hands were released as he Dissaparated and she attempted to crawl from her place to do front door. Even in pain, she screamed as she reached the doorknob and turned it. She kept on crawling out until she thought she was well out of range from the fire.
She felt herself gasping for air, coughing with what little life she had left. She collapsed as she stared at what was left of her childhood home. The smoke was all over the home.
She thought she heard her name being called distantly. It must be death coming to claim her. A blast of colors happened before her eyes and she realized that her home had collapsed.
Her eyes were closing and the world was closing itself to Marlene. More shouts of her name were heard in the distance, and she recognized it was not death. Unless death sounded remarkably like Sirius Black.
He found her in her front yard. Heaving chest and all gore and desperate to cling on to what was left of her life.
He hurried to her side and whispered, "Oh Mars." His voice was broken.
She gave out a nasty cough, he eyes travelling wildly around her, searching but not finding who she was looking for.
"Si-rius? You… Found me?" She was having trouble breathing.
He gave out a watery chuckle. "I'll always find you. I told you once that you were worth fighting for."
"Even…" Her coughs were becoming more violent as she fought to speak through her agony. "Even if… I can't fight… for myself?"
"Especially then," he brushed the hair out of her face. Even beneath all of the blood, she was still eeringly beautiful.
"Save Harry," Marlene's eyes were pleading. "They're-next…"
"I'll do my best, Mars," he promised.
"I l-love you," she gripped his hand.
Sirius felt his tears come silently down his face. "I've always loved you too."
Her eyes turned to the skies. It was such a beautiful night.
"I can- I can see him. He's so… Handsome," she tried to reach out to someone that wasn't there.
"Antares. Such a lovely name," her voice was merely a whisper.
She closed her eyes, and he knew she was gone.
Sirius grabbed her body, hugging her as he felt himself cry out with wild abandon.
She was gone. Antares. That would have been the name of their child.
Should have been. But he was gone too.
And in that moment, Sirius Black was gone too. And he had never felt so alone.
"James, I need you to find me some parchment, right away."
"Why?"
"Marlene left me a note."
"What does it say?"
"I haven't read it. But I need to copy it before it's gone."
Lily, what I'm about to say you will not tell anyone until it is time for you to divulge… I'm pregnant. But he won't live. I know because I feel like today is the day. Robb will find me today. I have a feeling it's going to happen.
I have decided the name should have some meaning. Antares. It means Anti-War. I'll never see him.
Promise me you will be safe. You should all be safe.
Tell Sirius that I love him. Even when I'm gone, I'll always love him. Even though I wasn't what was worth fighting for. Our love was worth fighting for. And indeed it was.
My response to him is yes. Yes, I will marry you.
But I never will.
I love you all. I will miss you. Be safe. Love, Marlene.
A/N: So? What do you think? Leave me your thoughts in a review. Sincerely, Adriana.