Hey everyone. This story was brought to you by Sex Ed: Boundaries assignment, Our Tangled Webs, and Herbology Hangout on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For Sex Ed: Boundaries assignment I wrote for task one which was to write about breaking or building up a wall (literally or figuratively). For Our Tangled Webs I wrote for the platonic adoptive daughter/father pairing of Marlene/Remus. For Herbology Hangout I wrote for the Trope of De-Aging. Warning for mentions of character death. I hope you all enjoy To De-Age and Age Again.
Marlene knew that when she saw the tear in the Veil in the Department of Mysteries from when Sirius had fallen through she had to take her moment to escape. She'd heard several people talking about it on this side of the Veil. If you went through the Veil you would be alive again. But as she jumped through the closing breach something felt wrong.
"Marlene?" came the questioning voice from off to her left.
"Yes," the blonde woman looked up towards were the voice had come from. Grey eyes widened in shock as she saw the face of a friend staring down at her. "Remus Lupin? Is that you?" She held back a relieved giggle. "You look so old."
Remus laughed out a bitter laugh. "A lot has happened since the last time we talked, Mar," Remus told her sadly. "You dying include. Then Sirius just...he just..."
"I know. I'm sorry about Siri..." A pain Marlene had never felt before raced through her body. It felt like being Crucioed several times over while someone was smashing the bones in her arms and legs.
"Marlene," Remus exclaimed a look of horror coming over his face, "what's happening?"
If Marlene knew what was going she'd want to forget that she knew. The pain was blinding and felt like it would never end. But soon enough she felt the pain receding slowly. "I don't know," a younger sounding voice came from Marlene's mouth. "Oh my God! What's wrong with me?"
"I think your de-aging, Marlene," Arthur Weasley had come over seeing who Remus was talking to. "Someone from the Department of Mysteries was telling me about something like this happening. Did you come through the Veil?"
Marlene nodded.
"She needs to be taken to St. Mungos," one of the newer member of the Order said looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Seeing as she looks to have de-aged to about sixteen someone needs to be this girls guardian."
"I'll do it," Remus spoke up. "Come on, Mar. We better get you to St. Mungos and see what's going on with you."
They had just arrived to front of the line at the reception desk of St. Mungos when the pain struck again. Marlene's screams brought Healers running from every which directions. But all her mind was able to focus on was the pain.
"How long has she been like this?" A Healer's voice floated down to her through the pain.
She wished they talk to her and not just about her. But she can't answer through the pain. It's that all consuming sort that makes her wonder if it was a good idea to come through the Veil to begin with.
"She's been like this for about an hour so far," Remus is telling the Healer.
"How'd this happen?"
"Not out here."
Marlene feels herself being put onto a stretcher as and brought away from the reception desk. She feels short this time like she's lost some of her old height and weight.
"How old is she?" a healer who looks like she just graduated from Hogwarts asks.
"She was 20."
"Was?"
"That was how old she was when she was killed during The First War with You-Know-Who," Remus told the girl.
"If she died then how is she here? And why does she look like she's eleven years old?"
"I went through the Veil at the Department of Mysteries," Marlene's voice sounded way younger than she can remember hearing it when she was eleven. "That's how I came back from the dead."
The nodded at Marlene smiling sympathetically at her. She then walked over and began whispering to the head Healer. Marlene could see her pointing in Marlene's directions every now and again. A look of concern on both Healer's face.
"We would like to keep Marlene here for observation," the head Healer told Remus. "We've seen this sort of thing once before and it didn't really end that well."
"What?" Marlene asked fear in her voice. She looked to Remus for comfort. At one point they'd been everything to each other. But now the wall that was figuratively between was getting bigger and bigger.
"We'll talk it in a few minutes," the Healer told Marlene as he lead Remus out of the room do paperwork.
Marlene knew they were talking about her. This infuriated her more than anything. It was her fault she was slowly de-aging into more less non-existence. This wasn't fair, she thought as the pain raced through her yet again. She felt a hand being placed over her own and looked up see a young woman with pink hair standing by her side.
"You're going to be okay," she told Marlene. "Just focus on my voice and not the pain."
"Who...?"
"I'm Nymphadora Tonks. Remus and I will take care of you." Nymphadora looked around her and then leaned forward. "I think I know what's happening to you. I think I know why."
I hope you all enjoyed To De-Age and Age Again.
