Creatures of heaven

Chapter 1 – Epitaph of the murderer

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter
Love and desire and hate.
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate
They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.
- Ernest Dowson

23 September 1981
Malfoy Manor
Wiltshire, England

The manor was an impassable fortress. The perimeter was reinforced with the kind of charms that would probably make even Dumbledore think twice about trying to breach them. Especially Dumbledore, now that she thought about it, since he was more sensitive to magic than the best sneakoscope to lies. But it didn't take the old geniuses' miracle-like skill for sensing magic to feel the strength of the spells around this place. Even someone whose magic skill was modest – like the woman currently hiding behind the high bushes - could feel the reverberations of the power. It was like a heat-wave on her face. It made her skin prickle and gave her shivers.

On the other hand, that could be her nerves playing last-moment-tricks on her. She could not really tell if she was scared or not at this point. Couldn't say whether the little twitching of her limbs was due to anxiety or fear. But the possibility of it being from fear was thin: she had stopped being afraid of death long ago. After all, the way she saw it, fear was a matter of willpower - like everything else. And her mind was made up tight: there was no going back now and therefore, no reason to fear anything.

There never had been, not really. She had crossed the line of no return a long time ago, when she decided which side she was going to take.

In retrospect, perhaps even before that.

For a brief moment, just for a heartbeat, she spared a thought to the feeble goodbye letter that she had written not one hour ago. She knew that it was not going to suffice, that she could never do anything to atone for the harm she was going to do now to those she loved most. There was no forgiveness for people like her, no redeeming her sins... There was no honor in what she was about to do, nobody would praise her for this, nobody would be happy for it. People would mourn this day, curse her name and cry for the ones her treason here and now would surely kill at a later time… But they would be alive. All those that would hate her would be breathing. She would give them the chance to live… even though she knew that they would live to hate her.

She owed the world that much, after all she had taken from it.

No matter what horrifying deeds she had done, no matter how cursed her existence had been, she knew that she had never been without purpose. Through blood and pain she had always found her purpose, her guidance. Some times she had been wrong and others right, but she had never been a loose cannon, a meat grinder with no sense. She had always had a motive. This time was no exception.

After all, it wasn't such a bad way to die, or such a bad thing to do. She was not the monster. She was simply the product of monstrous times. And this world needed people like her in it. Needed them to do the things other people couldn't do - things other people shouldn't be made to do…

So she took a deep breath and as she slowly released the air from her lungs, likewise she let go of every single emotion in her, quieting down her thoughts and sharpening her senses. Her emotions were locked somewhere she couldn't hear of feel them, where they wouldn't bother her concentration. It was an amazing quiet in her head: there was only the buzz of adrenaline and the quiet pumping of her heart. She was good at this. Years of training and warfare had taught her the ways of the assassin better than her military background ever could.

And she would need all of her skill tonight because her plan was not perfect and she knew it. It had too many loopholes, too much had been left to chance, too little could send it all to hell in a hand-basket. It would be so easy to die here tonight without delivering her message. Ironic that this was probably the most important operation she had ever been in and she - a perfectionist and control freak - was unprepared for it.

But despite everything, in her characteristic stubbornness, she refused to consider failure among her options. Even if she had to scream what she had to say until a Death Eater heard, she would do it. Begging to be heard was a last resort, but if it came to that, she wouldn't hesitate. No room for pride here, even thought it stung as hell to admit it. That bullshit was way done with though. She had a goal to reach and she would stop at nothing to accomplish it.

She wouldn't beg for her life though. That she would never do. She could deal with dying as a traitor... but never as a coward. Maybe for most people that was the same thing, but to her – as she stood there in the bushes waiting to betray all that she had fought for all these years - there was a universe of difference.

She repositioned her feet on the ground, listening, breathing in and out slowly, tensing her muscles for the action that was to come. She didn't let herself get focused on the finer details of this madness, but instead only focused on the goal, on the paramount importance of it, on how much depended on it.

Too many lived were at stake.

Deep breaths…

Getting near to the property was not difficult – it wasn't like they were trying to hide - on the contrary. It was getting in and surviving long enough inside it that could prove to be a little… problematic.

Despite all her courage and resolve, the intruder still hoped as hell that Bellatrix wasn't in there. That crazy thundercunt was one big-ass complication the intruder really didn't want to deal with.

The problem with dear Bella was thorny, since not only was the bitch violent and sadistic as fuck, but she also held a very deep, very delicious hatred for the woman that was now crouched in the bushes, waiting to break into the manor. Which would make torture hot like pie for Bellatrix – and a French kiss with Satan and all his fangs for the other woman.

At the thought, a small shiver went down the intruder's spine. She had always feared pain, even though she had tasted it so frequently that her endurance levels had changed, normal injuries meaning little to her nervous system. Tell that to her frontal lobe though…

Next problem: the guards. While most were stupid as fuck, they could be dangerous if they felt cornered. And being killed too soon by a novice with a loose hold on his wand was not an option. She could go through them like the plague of course, but slitting a few throats as she made and entrance might give the wrong impression about her intentions.

So… to kill or not to kill, that was the question.

But as she passed her hand to check she had both daggers still strapped to her upper-thighs, she knew that it wasn't really an issue. She couldn't take unnecessary risks and if that meant taking a few more lives, then so be it. She was going to hell anyway, might as well make it thorough. And besides… less Death Eaters out there, the better it would be.

Last, but alas not least, there was the very delicate matter of the ground-guarding beasts. Getting pounced on by Grayback would be… distasteful indeed. It was not full moon – which was why she had carefully chosen tonight to pay her visit - so he would be in his human dress, therefore jabbing a dagger through his skull would be much easier that way.

The intruder couldn't help a smirk and suddenly the weight of the machete that rested safely in its holster strapped to her back was comforting. She had been waiting a long time to kill that animal and if she succeeded in snapping his neck tonight, well, that would be one of the few perks of this mission. She had left a few nice-looking set of scars on his ass-of-a-face before, maybe this time she'd get lucky and actually pierce his heart. She could actually find out if there was a heart beating within that chest or not and then she and Sirius would settle that bet they'd made a while ago.

But first things first: How do you get inside the most well protected territory in all England?

Well, if one was to want to get inside someone's house, one got in through the front door, of course. Preferably by knocking. Though foreplay is always welcome and makes things much more easy.

She smirked. The golden rules of sex applied in life as well, thank God.

OoOoOoO

The explosion seemed to shake the foundations of the earth, but she knew it was all bark and no bite… almost. It blew the elegant front gate of the Malfoy mansion to the wind though, leaving a considerably big gab where said gate had been, along with a handsome hole in the intricately decorated wall. Which was only an improvement as far as she was concerned.

The intruder waited for the cloud of smoke to clear before stepping out of her hiding point, standing very still, listening. Her hand was millimeters away from the dagger strapped at her right thigh. The feel of the large machete on her back calmed her nerves. She was motionless, coiled, her muscles ready to snap in action.

"Anybody home?" She said softly, unable to contain her smirk despite how fast her heart was beating, wolfish eyes narrowing through the thinning smoke to gather the presence of at least 6 other wizards, all with wands pointed her different parts of her body, though she could bet most of them were pointed at her chest and head.

It was now or never…

She pressed the button of the small detonator in her hand at the same time as she reached for the dagger on her thigh. The ground shook with the force of the multiple the explosions she had wired before, shaking the cloaked wizards from their feet as they tried to take cover and not lose her out of their sights at the same time. But the cloud of smoke around them became so thick that they couldn't see their outstretched wands before them. The more they tried to dispel it, the thicker and persistent the smoke became.

But they could hear very well though, and they heard the yelps of each other as one after another they fell to the ground. Soundlessly, the intruder had cut through them, one after the other, her vision undamaged thanks to her goggles. Just as soundlessly she came behind the last one standing, which was difficult because he kept turning into himself, and rested the blade of her dagger on his exposed throat, right over his wildly beating pulse. She heard the man inhale sharply and stop his movements.

"I would like to be invited in if you don't mind." She breathed close to his ear. "I have something for your Lord, something he has been looking for, for a very long time."

She let him go then, but not before knocking off his wand, just as the smoke began to clear and she found herself quickly surrounded anew. She pushed her captive in the direction of the newcomers, saw him sputter something to them. The one leading the group raised his wand and she knew what was coming next.

She didn't fight it.

The pain gripped her like vice and she fell on her knees, clutching at the ground and trying not to scream. Loosing eye contact with the enemy is never a good thing, but in that moment strategic thinking was the farthest thing from her mind - as were all other thoughts except for the one that kept articulating the desire to kill something. She clutched to her anger desperately. That was the only thing that kept her from losing it during torture.

When the pain relieved, she knew that there was no better feeling than the one in one's body as it felt nothing. She gasped for air and realized that she'd been was bound, and that she was no longer outside. Her gaze met the one of the person closest to her… and she had to admit to herself that she was a little taken aback.

She'd heard a rumor that he had joined the Death Eaters and if said rumor came from the mouth of Sirius Black than it was as good as written on stone. So it didn't surprise her that much to see him here.

What surprised her was how much Sirius and his little brother looked alike now that little Reggie was all grown. He was almost a man… Almost…

"My my, what do we have here? A McKinnon in the flesh… I thought you were all extinct." He was so close to her face and she wanted nothing more than to bite that smirk off his lips.

"We found your body along with the ones of the rest of your family… so how come you're still alive?" Regulus went on slowly. She knew he was trying to provoke her, so she concentrated on him instead of giving release to the burning turmoil in her breast.

"It's not the first time a corpse has lied, Black." She hissed low, trying her best to smirk at him. They had failed to kill her so many times.

Regulus's smirk died on his lips. "No, it's not. Tell me, how many times do we have to kill you? Just a ballpark figure."

Regulus watched those lips stretch in a smirk worthy of the sourest milk.

"How is your friend Avery, Regulus? Found his body yet?" She watched as his young face paled and then distorted with anger. She neared her face even closer to his as her smirk widened. "There isn't much to find anyway. I chopped the motherfucker up like a beast that he was."

His expression wavered and for a moment she watched as fear and disgust danced in his grey eyes. So lowered her voice and widened her smirk. She enjoyed twisting the blade in the wound.

"Do you want to know his last words?" she asked with a whisper.

The slap that connected with her cheek was nothing but a tingle. It was the hit of a boy who had never before slapped anyone. The hit of a wizard that used magic to make others feel pain. She hated that about magic: it made you lazy. Few wizards knew that true pain is the one that you make with your own hands, slowly… as the knife does away the flesh.

She snickered. "Oh honey, you hit like a ten year old girl."

But Regulus was not there anymore. He had been replaced by someone else. This one that the characteristic bone mask over his eyes, but Marlene would know that scarred chin anywhere. She had been the one to put that piece of work there! Frankly, Marlene thought of it as an improvement.

"You killed our guards McKinnon." The Death Eater deadpanned. Marlene smirked as her eyes shined with malice.

"I'm sure there's plenty more where they came from, Nott." His wand dug in her throat making it hard to swallow.

"Give me one reason not to kill you now, bloodtraitor." He hissed through gritted teeth.

"Your Lord wouldn't be happy if you robbed him of that pleasure."

The last thing she saw before the pain picked up was his scowl. It came over her on and off, and she knew that the people in the room were taking turns at doing this. At doing her. Ah, they must be enjoying this so… After all, she had been a royal pain in their ass for a long time now. If it hurt now, she could only imagine how bad it was going to get when Bellatrix Black showed up… or was it some other surname now? Hadn't dearest Bella married to someone? She remembered Sirius' scowl as he mentioned something like that…

Oh nonono… please…don't let me lose it so soon…

She didn't know who she was talking to, but she had been doing that more and more lately. Marlene shook her head to clear it, but it hurt more and made her stomach rise to her throat. She was losing focus. She gulped and put a conscious effort to collect her thoughts and have a firm grip on them. It was too early to lose her mind, she could not afford that.

She tried to move and realized that ropes were no longer binding her, but she was chained to a wall. A pair of thick cuffs were holding each of her wrists fast, biting at her flesh, making her wrist bleed, both connected to a chain and bolded in the wall against which she was leaning. Her binds had been the only thing keeping her up, since her knees had failed. She tried to straighten her posture, but it seemed that her legs and brain were having a bit of a communication problem. But she wasn't even trying that hard because she was busy trying to convince her stomach that dry heaves were not such a hot idea at the moment.

Her jaw was picked up and she opened her eyes to see that the nose of the only female Death Eater she knew was inches from her own, a smirk playing on them. Bellatrix was here. That meant that Voldemort either knew that she had been captured, or he was going to know very shortly.

Good.

"Marlene, darlilng, you ruined my sister's front gate. That was rude." Bellatrix spoke softly. Marlene tried to smirk, honestly not knowing if she made it or not. She couldn't feel much of her face. Bellatrix pushed a few strands of Marlene's hair off her face using the tip of her wand. Then she rested the thing under Marlene's eye and smiled pleasantly.

"What was so important that you had to make such a grand entrance?" Bellatrix's voice was calm, almost as if she was making a nice conversation, but Marlene knew better. There was nothing nice about Bellatrix, the bitch was rabid.

"I have… something… for your Lord. Something … that he … wants…" Marlene would have liked not to have to catch her breath that often, but her body wasn't agreeing with her for the moment. The numbing was starting to fade from the tips of her fingers though. Soon she would be able to feel again… and Marlene wasn't quite sure that it was a good thing. Still, she had known from the start that she wouldn't be able to avoid it. Pain was the host of this party; it was bound to make a show again.

Marlene was contemplating what to say to make them take her to Voldermort when she felt the sting at the side of her head. She knew the feeling all too well to mistake it for something else. She would have liked to laugh in Bellatrix's face, but it only came out as a snort.

"It's very naïve of you … to think you can poke inside my head… without my permission… and in such a graceless fashion too." Marlene lifted her head as if the thing weighted 10 thousand pounds and looked in the beautiful woman's heavy-lidded eyes, hoping that her hate shined through her. She actually managed to speak without interrupting herself this time. "There isn't a single thing that you will learn from me unless I want you to, so I suggest you take me to your Lord."

Bellatrix's face started to contort. "You are not worthy to stand in his presence, you filthy bloodtraitor!"

Marlene gave herself a mental pat on the back as she saw the woman get enraged and heard her voice rise with every word. She had always been considered insane by her comrades for this, but she just loved to get Bella all worked up. It brought up the ugliness inside the woman very nicely, turned into the monster that she really was under all the perfect bone structure of her splendid face.

"That's not what I heard… Did you know that he… personally offered me… a place by his side?"

Bellatrix's face smothered out and she gave a little smirk.

"The Dark Lord can make use of everyone's skill. Even if yours consists in only spreading your legs for all who are willing." The other men in the room chuckled at Bellatrix's words, and Marlene smiled again, but there was a ring of alarm on the back of her head. She hadn't noticed there were others in there. She was weakening too fast.

"If that's what he was thinking… than it makes sense… since the spot he offered… was yours." She didn't hear the rage-filled scream that followed, because her body contracted at the gust of pain that crushed on her like nothing ever had before. She could almost taste the hate in the spell. When it relented, Marlene coughed blood, but her own anger made her lucid much quicker than before. Ah, anger… man's best friend…

"Jealous… much?" she snorted and as her torturer lifted her wand high to sent another hit her way, Marlene added quickly, trying to hide the hysteria and make it sound like a threat. "Your master doesn't like damaged goods Bella… So have a care."

Bellatrix almost snapped at the finality in the other woman's voice but Marlene McKinnon was right and they both knew it, as well as everyone in the room. No matter how strong the McKinnon was, there was only so much that a human body could hold against Bellatrix's Crucio.

Bellatrix scoffed and in response she took a knife out of her cloak and approached Marlene with it in her hand.

"Such a pretty face… I especially like your eyes." Bella said playfully as she fiddled with the blade.

Marlene knew what was coming and even thought she told herself to calm down, she couldn't. Bellatrix was going to gauche her eyes out, she was sure. Her breathing picked up. If she had the strength she would be hyperventilating. She wished she was as good as Bear in enduring pain… but she wasn't. She hated pain…

"Bella, she belongs to the Dark Lord." A deep voice said, but Bellatrix only smiled at that.

"If she dies from blood loss, he will punish us."

For the first time since Marlene had known her, she saw Bellatrix Black hesitate. Then Bellatrix rolled her eyes like a child being denied candy and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Process her." Bellatrix said offhandedly as she hid the knife under the folds of her cloak again and turned to leave the room.

Marlene had never been more grateful for the fear that Voldemort sparked even in his closest followers. Now, all she had to do is figure out how painful this 'processing' thing was going to be. As a hooded figure approached her, she caught the whiff of death on him. Big hands picked her up and held her up by the throat as they groped around her for anything that could be a potential weapon. Had it been anyone else, they would have been robbed of their wand and that would have been it, but Marlene McKinnon had a reputation preceding her. She was stripped to her underwear and the Death Eater had had frisked her even checked in her hair.

Then she was left alone in the dark.

When she heard footsteps again, she really had no idea how much time she had been alone. She was sure that she was being kept in some kind of dungeon – there were no windows anywhere in view and it was very cold.

Voices sounded from outside her cell.

"Is she clean?" a gruff voice asked and got a grunt in response.

"Leave us."

She knew that voice. At the cloaked figure opened the dungeon door and stepped towards her, the faint candlelight from behind him illuminated his features and Marlene knew in that moment what was going to happen.

She looked in his black eyes and smirked, anticipating, savoring the moment. Ah… the Death Eaters wouldn't be the only ones to have some fun tonight.

oOoOoOo

Bellatrix opened the heavy door of the dungeon with a barely noticeable flick of her wand. It was dark in there, even more so than in the halls and she hated going down there because of the stench of sweat and decomposition that oozed off the walls. But she had a job to do and considering who she was supposed to take care of, she trusted nobody but herself to do it.

Bellatrix entered the cell and saw her captive, standing up in wobbling legs but wearing an arrogant smirk on her face… The McKinnon's jaw was covered in blood, as if she had been drinking some. Not too far from her feet was the unmoving outline of a body.

Bellatrix shined the light of her wand on it, barely glancing at it as she moved. The front of his robes was blooded, his bottom lip missing as if it had been ripped off, his neck visibly broken. Bella scoffed at his appearance. He had been killed by a woman unable to use her hands or her magic. His stupidity and male arrogance had been weapon enough for Marlene McKinnon.

'Never send a man to do a woman's job.' Bellatrix thought as she sidestepped the body and pointed her wand at the captive.

The cuffs at her wrist opened, but Marlene was a puppet in Bellatrix's hands. A black cloak wrapped itself around her from thin air and she found her legs moving against her will and started to walk in front of Bellatrix and out of the dungeon. It was not the Imperius, because Marlene noticed she still had full control of her mind – it was something else. Marlene couldn't control it when her eyes closed, nor could she know how she got in that room when she opened them again.

It wasn't long before Marlene could open her lids and she saw that she was in the middle of a half circle of hooded men. Standing a few feet away in front of the fire was a tall and lean figure. The fire was the only source of light, but Marlene didn't need to see his face to know who that was. Marlene felt so close to her end that her limbs almost sagged with what was either bone-chilling fear or the deepest relief. From the way her heartbeat quieted, Marlene knew that she was truly relieved, and only for a moment, she astounded herself with her own calmness.

But she also knew that she was only relieved to know that she was a little closer to her goal. Relieved that she would get to speak to him personally. Down there in the darkness of the dungeons, she had almost lost her hope that she was ever going to see Voldemort at all. But she was here now. Which was a strange thing to be relieved about, but it was not the strangest thing Marlene had ever done either.

"Marlene McKinnon… Your reputation presides you." The voice came almost as if it was disembodied, as if he were all around her. The fact that being here in front of him was part of her plan didn't lessen the shiver that ran down her spine. Her heart picked up and Marlene clenched her fists. She was standing in the same room with the same thing that had killed almost all the people she had held dear. Her fear battled with her anger… both were tightly in control, but as always, she held on to her anger as if it were a lifeboat. She didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing her bend before him.

"Your traitorous father is well known among us. Such a shame that he died."

The chuckles around her made her grind her teeth. And there it was: Anger shoved Fear away in some dark corner of her mind and slammed the door in its face.

"My father didn't die. You killed him." She whispered and the chuckles picked up a little more.

"Why, yes. I did."

He finally turned and her eyes involuntarily searched for his. All those ridiculous rumors that went around - like the one that he could Crucio a man to death by just looking at him – she had always made fun of the people that believed them. But as fire met ice and their gazes connected and held, she knew she had been right in her estimation of where the rumors came from: He was not human… he couldn't be… But then her brain decided to make an appearance and reminded her that she had seen him bleed with her own eyes, and she knew for a fact that anything that bleeds can be killed.

He may not be human, but he was mortal. The knowledge was remotely reassuring.

Some kind of emotion or calculation flickered in his red eyes and Marlene saw him start closing the distance that separated them while taking his wand out. Marlene tensed all over but didn't flinch.

Her resoluteness had a contradictory effect on Voldemort.

It had been a long time since someone had looked at him without panic in their eyes, it was almost insulting that this child dared to do such a thing. Admirable as her audacity was, it irritated him. The only reason he tolerated her defiance and allowed her to look at him in the eye was because her status as a pureblood gave her the right to at least look upon the Lord that would bring about her death.

But despite the lengths she went to hide herself from him, the spark of fear was there in her wolfish eyes, and that brought him satisfaction. She knew her rightful place: beneath him. But what was a little more curious was the burning flicker of anger in her, the hared. Few could battle the terror he infused in them to allow for that burning feeling to come out. And her hatred burned in her eyes stronger than her fear – it caught his attention.

Voldemort didn't let her break the connection with his eyes as he poked through her memories. She didn't even attempt to resist his invasion… but there were too many closed doors in her head. Doors that led to names and locations that he fervently wanted to get his hands on. He would break those doors down one by one if he had to, and he was already starting when something else in her head caught his attention so sharply he almost suffered a whiplash.

Marlene saw those hellish red eyes widen a fraction and shine in the dark as he broke his subtle Leggimency. He moved even closer to her. She didn't see his wand or his lips move, but his voice came soft and smooth in her head, almost soothing.

"Where are they?"

She suddenly felt so very light as everything unpleasant about the situation faded away. The pain, the hopelessness and utter despair that had lead her to this point were simply gone… Her head swam in a peaceful state of limbo. Oh this was lovely, it truly was. The bliss of nothingness, the balm of forgetfulness was such a blessing. The quiet… she loved the quiet here.

Somewhere in a back corner of her mind, a voice that wasn't hers told her that she was flirting with disaster by surrendering to this feeling. In a whisper it warned her… but she was too numb to really understand.

"Tell me… tell me where they are hiding…"

This time, when she heard that whispery voice inside her head, it made her uncomfortable. That whisper had been much too close for comfort. It was as if he was inside her, trying to trap her into telling him. The thought that he could lull her, seduce her into telling him was revolting; it almost made her stomach turn.

Marlene involuntarily fought against him, forgetting what she had come here to do in the first place. She wanted to push him out of herself but she wasn't strong enough to do it. Her body was his, her mind under his control because it was too drugged on that strange calmness and numbness that had taken over her. She was under his power now, fully and she knew it, felt it.

Marlene had never been possessed before, but it was such a singular feeling that you couldn't mistake it for another. It was comparable to the one you have between sleep and awakening, when you can't tell the difference between dreams and reality and can't remember who you are, where or why.

"Tell me… and I'll make your pain go away. Tell me… and I'll destroy everything that hurts you…"

Marlene wanted to comply. There was the taste of truth in those whispered words, and the pain and rage inside her rattled, demanding the revenge that was being offered. Why deny him, why keep fighting? This world and all the madness in it, she hated it, despised everything about it. Let this wretched world have the ruler it deserved – a monster.

Marlene was going to do it, she was going to give him what he wanted. She could really no longer remember why she shouldn't… but as she searched her numb brain for the answer to his question, as she processed what he really wanted, a strange feeling came over her - something that pierced that sedated quiet she was submerged in, clenched at her heart, shook the very foundations of the calmness that had come over her.

Marlene remembered. She remembered that this was not the way it was supposed to happen, she remembered that he had a plan even though she couldn't recall what it was. She remembered the bright smile and the loud throaty laugh of the friend she was about to kill… even though she couldn't recall who. But it was enough: the mere ghost of that memory ripped open the silence in her head, as if a scream had slashed through it. The clarity was painful, her chest felt like it was burning from inside out. She couldn't breathe, that was how much she loved, how much she missed… Her dimmed brain couldn't prevent the tears coming out of her eyes in unstoppable streaks as a powerful longing came over her, pulling her insides apart in a kind of pain that no physical wound could cause…

Marlene gasped as reality filtered in her body and mind again, bringing the pain of her body on her like a ton of bricks, even sharper than before. She realized what had happened before she had time to take a full deep breath: The possession had been broken.

Marlene closed her eyes and spared a thank you that was whispered in her thoughts without a clear recipient.

But she knew, she just knew that Voldemort hadn't stopped voluntary. He had been wrenched from her violently, as if sucked out of her head – which now throbbed even more violently than before and she could hardly see straight. The room kept spinning. Marlene almost toppled over, coughing up blood, almost choking in it. Voldemort had been wretched out of her so violently that it had felt like being torn part inside. But despite the numbing pain, she was grateful that it had stopped so abruptly. If she was going to do this - and she was - she was going to do it because she had chosen to, not because he seduced her with the promises of violence and revenge.

Sure Marlene wanted revenge… revenge on Voldemort, on his followers. She wanted to stain the earth with their blood and dismember their cadavers, throw their rooting flesh to the pigs. And then she'd proceed on cutting open Dumbledore himself and a few other from his side of the fence who deserved it just as much as Voldemort did. The rage inside her was insurmountable, her hatred burned brighter than any sun, her pain as smoldering as the fires of the deepest hell. She wanted revenge on the world, on god himself…

But life had to come before violence, it had to be more important than death. The future couldn't be for the damned, it had to be cleared for those that would live in it. And if there was one thing Marlene wanted more than to rage her anger on those that had destroyed her life, it was to make sure that nobody after her would suffer the same fate…

She would not submit to any empty promises. She would do this on her own terms…In some part of her, even under possession, she had remembered that. She had remembered why she was here.

Her triumph lasted just a second as a new wave of pain came for her and she felt like she was being burned alive, even if there was no sign of fire anywhere near her.

"I don't know where they are hiding…" She said out of gritted teeth against the rising temperature, trying not to scream, but failing. How could they ever had hoped to overcome this creature? She gasped for air.

"… but I can… I can give you… the one who does…" she spat out and almost bit her tongue off as she tried to articulate it. The heat went away and she whimpered in relief and fell on her knees and then face first on the floor. Her pride was gone, stripped away and again she realized that pain must be the strongest emotion in existence. Pain and the desire to have it stop.

Before she could gather enough strength to move a muscle, her body was picked up and she found herself face to face with him. As a child she used to think that staring in the face of death was supposed to have some effect, illuminate one of one's mistakes, make some strange epiphany known and give some sense to life and death itself. But now, as she looked in those red eyes, she found herself terribly lacking something. There was no illumination, no epiphany. Only a strange stillness. She felt like she was staring at the finish line of a race, one that she couldn't wait to leave behind.

Voldemort made himself known inside her head with a hiss - one that most certainly didn't belong there.

"Speak."

She gulped and had the urge to smile, but her muscles had given her the finger at that point. But she knew that this was her turn to lay the terms and that there would be no second chance.

"I'm afraid that you're going to have to give me something first…"

She felt his anger in the way the bones of her left knee crushed. The horrifying crushing sound was something that she didn't hear, because it was drowned by her cream. The veins in her neck almost popped by the difficulty she was having at the simple act of breathing.

"Speak his name."

"! I didn't come here to die for nothing!" She screamed in altogether pure despair. Then, just as it came, the pain faded away and she even felt a soothing freshness in her previously scorching skin. Her body felt as good as new, but the game hadn't been played all on her skin. She felt exhausted and wanted it to be over already.

"What didn't you come here for then?" this time his hissing voice was not in her head, but across from her, very much real. It was calm and perfectly soothing, maybe trying to induce a sense of security in her, that he would listen and would be compliant. The fact that he thought he could create that kind of illusion around her, when she had seen and felt exactlyhow soulless he was, was insulting. But the good thing was that there was nothing to distract her from her goal.

"I came here… to offer you a trade." She said and looked up in his face. She didn't want to look him in the eyes and was firmly bracing her mind against his or any intrusion. She was now calm, because she was nearer to the end than ever before.

"I give you the one that will lead you to the Potters… and you spare my life and the life of my men." She said evenly. She knew how fervently he wanted to get his claws on the Potters, it was an opportunity that he couldn't pass over. She saw his yes spark as he looked into hers, trying to detect where the catch was in this offer. She let him look all he wanted, because there was no catch that he would ever be able to understand.

"My Lord, may I speak?"

Marlene knew that voice very well. She didn't need to see the unwashed hair to know who was under that mask. Voldemort looked away from her for a few moments and then opened his thin mouth.

"You may."

"This girl is one of Lily Evans's closest friends. I have seen them with my own eyes risking their lives for each other. She is not to be trusted." Snape spoke in a low voice, each word making Marlene's skin crawl with disgust as if a bug had crawled on it.

"So you are suggesting that this is all a trap." Voldemort said after a while, with enough humor in his voice to be dangerous.

"My Lord…I am merely stating what information I know, to make a use of myself for you." Snape spoke just as evenly, as he bowed his head and Marlene saw the contented smirk on Voldemort's nonexistent lips.

"So, my darling." He suddenly said as he turned to fix his fire eyes on Marlene. "What do you make of this new revelation?"

Marlene stared back. "I would like to see my men here. I will give them a portkey arranged to transport them to a safe location of my choosing. Then, I willgive you what you want… I am ready to make an unbreakable vow over it…"

The way he looked at her, so amused it scared her for the first time since she had seen him. What now? What was he thinking? What would he do? Would he refuse to let her squad go? Strategically, the info she promised would be worth it and he knew that she was telling the truth… but what if he didn't believe her anyway?

"Bring them up."

Marlene could swear that she felt her insides liquefy as she heard those words. She let out a breath she had been holding. Three Death Eater broke the semi circle.

"Now, for your part of the bargain, Marlene." She hated the way her name rolled in his mouth. He spoke it sweetly with the kind of softness that was as sure as the prelude to death and a smile that made the hair on the back of her head stand. Had she not known it before, this tone would have told her that she would be very dead soon. She said nothing but extended her hand to him.

"Forgive me, but you have killed enough men to make me doubt your word." She had expected to feel his rage then, but it never came. Instead, a wider smile was playing on his thin lips.

"And what would you like me to swear on?"

She swallowed her agitation at this new turn of events. "That you agree to my terms… That you let them go unharmed."

"Very well." He said and he grabbed her forearm. In turn, she grabbed his, just as her six friends entered the room. She saw the way they were beaten and blooded, but by the surprise and alarm in their faces, she understood that they were mentally sane. Bear froze when he saw what she was doing, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Marlene…" His whisper carried to her, but she turned to face Him and that frightening smile of his that was supposed to reassure her. A hooded figure with pale blond hair was by their side, as the testimony of the vow. For a moment she doubted that they were trying to fool her, that the magic would be empty, but if that was the case, she would be able to tell. There was something about the Unbreakable Vow, it tied a knot in you and you could feel it, just as acutely as you feel the heat when you burn your hand accidentally.

"I so vow myself that I and my men will let go of your friends without harming them further… and yourself, as soon as you fulfill your end of the bargain." He said slowly and his eyes gleamed.

"I so vow myself that I will give you the name of the Potter's Secret Keeper… as soon as you fulfill your end of the bargain." She said slowly, the weight of thee words settling on her stomach on her as she said them as if she had swallowed them instead. She had never said it this clearly before. Being a traitor really sucked. She felt Malfoy move and a warm fire-tongue licked at their joined forearms. She felt the knot in her as it stopped her lungs from functioning for a brief minute, recognizing the feeling immediately. She let go of his forearm as if it burned.

"Take care of your friends." He said gesturing at the bound group at their right. She turned to Malfoy and stared him down

"Among my possessions there was a golden necklace. Bring it to me." She demanded.

"Not fucking likely." The blond hissed and then he turned towards his master. "My Lord?"

"Comply."

Malfoy hesitated then did as he was told. "Fetching for a McKinnon like a dog is where you always belonged Malfoy. By right and blood." Marlene said slowly as she took back her necklace. She felt Malfoys glare but didn't really care about it.

Marlene limited herself with looking in the eyes of her friends in turns as she extend the heart-shaped amulet to Jenny who was the closest… She didn't take it, so Marlene threw it at Shooter. He caught the thing only on reflex. Their expression was unreadable, but Bear was not even trying to hide his disgust at her. Whydidn't he understand? This was the only way! In another second, the necklace glowed blue. The blood on Marlene's hand had activated the portkey. They would be safe in a matter of moments. Shooter held it up for her other companions to take, as the glazed look faded from his eyes.

"What have you done…" he whispered as he looked at her, the betrayal finally showing in his eyes.

A growl was heard and Marlene turned to look at Bears big body. He was built like a brick shithouse, two hundred and twenty pounds of muscle strapped on a six feet five frame, shoulders massive and hands strong enough to crush a man's skull. Even after all the torture he had undoubtedly been put through, he still managed to loom. Bear had never been one to complicate feelings much. You are loyal then you are loved. You are a traitor then you are as good as dead.

"I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands." He hissed and for the first time she saw true hatred in his eyes, directed at her. That look was the look he served for his enemies. She didn't speak a word until they disappeared from view.

Then she turned to face those unnatural eyes one last time. In that moment, she knew that she could lie. She could deceive the Dark Lord and that way she would save her best friend from death. She could do something noble right now and sacrifice herself, give up her life for the life of someone so much better than her. It was so god dammed appealing…

But she didn't come here tonight to be noble. She came to do the right thing… for all the other people that she didn't know but that would be dead if she didn't do something about it.

"Pettigrew." She said. And as soon as the word left her mouth, her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she dropped to the ground as if the strings that had been holding her had been suddenly cut. Voldemort had heard her, but as he saw her drop like that, he knew that he had been tricked. She was dead, which meant she had broken the vow. He looked at the body and for a second he didn't understand. What was the meaning of this?

It didn't take long for his rage to bleed thought the surprise though. He screamed long and his minions broke the circle running for the door. But he was faster and locked them in. He paced around and killed a couple of bodies that came in his way. His rage was barely suppressed.

"Lucius, take five of your choosing and go after them..." A small smile crossed his features "I let them go, but I never promised not to get them back. Do kill them this time."

"Yes my Lord."

"Snape."

"My Lord."

"Who is this Pettigrew?"

"One of Potter's friends, but not the closest he had." As he looked at the lifeless body of the girl in front of him, he contemplated this piece of news. Even if it was useless, it was worth trying. After all, she had not been lying when she spoke her last word. But she had still dropped dead like a puppet… There was something here, something that didn't add up even thought the pieces fitted perfectly. He could tell that something in this puzzle was not right, and it was as elusive as air but just as substantial… and despite all that, it was marginal in his mind.

"Find him… and bring him to me."