Chapter 4: Marked for death

AD 2007

In the dead of the night when hardly anyone was stirring, a lone figure donning a black cloak slowly made her way up the hill. Despite the merciless, particularly cold harsh winds continuously beating against her body, the figure did not make any attempt to hurry to her destination to seek shelter and warmth. In fact, she seemed hesitant to approach the castle looming in the distance. With the snow pattering down of her body like raindrops, she stopped in her tracks and shut her eyes. She then turned to face the wind, which seized the opportunity to attack her face in earnest.

"Even the wind hates me for what I am about to do." Sable sighed as she continued trudging up to the castle. To many, Hogwarts seemed as majestic as ever, especially when the dim lights of the castle made the thick layer of snow lying upon the grounds and buildings glitter endlessly. To Sable, Hogwarts looked even more haunting. Possibly because of the knowledge that the school was in mortal danger. Possibly because she knew that her plans to save the castle and its inhabitants would inflict much suffering on the people she cared for, and on herself.

"They have to survive. They must." Sable's hesitation to approach Hogwarts seemed to vanish with that thought. Her eyes started blazing with determination to carry out what she planned and her pace began to quicken. She did, after all, have an appointment with the esteemed headmaster of Hogwarts and it would not do for her to be late.

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"I am sure Severus would be delighted to know that you're back." Albus had a small smile on his face upon thinking how overjoyed he would be that his personal councillor has returned.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Sable was quick to correct Albus. Albus shifted his gaze from the piles of paperwork he was handling, and directed it at Sable, his curiosity aroused. Sable's face did not betray any of her emotions, and she made no move to satisfy his curiosity. Instead, she just got up from her seat and started pacing around the room. Back and forth.

"Please spare my carpet. You're going to tear a hole in it, Sable, if you don't stop pacing. Besides, I can feel my eyes shutting already. Tell me why you have requested an audience with me in the middle of the night privately. Unlike you who can manage with a couple of hours, I need more of my beauty sleep."

"Well Albus, I think both of us can forget about getting any sleep tonight. You won't be able to do so after you hear what I have to say." Sable finally pulled out a chair and sat face to face with the elderly man.

Albus groaned. The knowledge that he was going to have a long night ahead of him made the slight throbbing in his head to become more and more prominent.

"I saw it. The entire Wizarding world would be annihilated seven years later. The Fates had marked your family and Severus for death. " Sable decided that she should just drop the bombshell on Albus and not delay any longer.

Albus' face ashen, making him seem a decade older in an instant. He stared at Sable in shock and gripped the quill in his hand so tightly that it broke into two and the tip pierced in his hands, and blood oozed out from the wound profusely. Images of his family dying around him floated to the surface of his mind as he watched his blood dripped on the table. He realised he was trembling. Trembling at the prospect of not being able to save his family. He had already taken every precaution to protect them. No one knew about his marriage, not even his closest friends. He even went to the extent of sending his daughter to a muggle family the moment she was brought into the world. Being marked for death is the worst curse the Fates can inflict on a mortal.

"No. No Sable. You must be mistaken…There must be some way to prevent that from happening."

"Albus. You're in denial. That won't help you save your family. There's no way to prevent it from happening. It already happened. And you know better than to doubt me, especially on matters like these."

"Sable. I know. But My Minerva, my child and Severus marked for death. I don't want to believe it. I won't be able to do anything to save them from death Sable. Can't you do something, Sable? Please… help them." Albus cried in despair, not caring to keep his emotions in check any longer.

"Get a grip on yourself!" Sable's harsh tone immediately pulled Albus out of his despair, and he allowed himself some time to rein in his emotions.

"There is a way to help them..."

"Tell me, Sable. You know that I will do anything to save them."

Sable bit her lip, clenching her hands. "You can do everything to save them, but it will not be enough. Those marked for death have to save themselves. You can only aid them. But after you know what you have to do, you might be more willing to just let your family die…"

Sable took a deep breath, before continuing. "Those marked for death usually end up losing their lives in an extremely painful way. The only way they can survive is when they experience the same intensity of pain when they are alive. The only way you can protect your family, Albus, is to make them suffer. To make them go through a hell lot of pain. To make them feel like dying instead of living. Only when they are suffocated by pain, would the Fates be more inclined to remove the mark of death from them, and allow them to continue living. To be unmarked for death."

Each sentence seemed to stab Albus in his heart. "You're telling me that in order to survive, they have to go through a whole lot of pain that will scar them for life."

"I don't think you understand. What they have to go through if they want to survive will not just scar them. It will most probably destroy them both physically and mentally. That's why the mark of death has always managed to rob so many lives. No one in their right mind would choose to go through so much pain to fight for their lives. When there is no guarantee that it would work and when they might have to continue living in pain for the remainder of their lives. They would rather choose to die so they can experience a short lived pain than a long one. Choosing to be unmarked for death is akin to suffering twice the amount of pain one will experience if they are just killed by the curse."

Albus sat slumped in his chair, feeling like he will never be happy again.

"Basically, you're telling me…to let my family die. That they might be better off dead than alive."

"Yes, they might be better off dead than alive. But no, I am not telling you to let your family die. If they have to die, they would rather lose their lives for a damn good cause than to lose it because of the cruelty of the Fates. They have to fight for their lives, Albus. They have to." Sable admitted.

Albus felt a sudden surge of anger coursing through him and the blood in his veins started boiling. "You're telling me that you want my family to go through so much potential pain in order to survive? To be unmarked for death? I would rather them die of the curse rather than be unmarked for death!" His explosion startled Fawkes and the portraits on the wall from their slumber.

Sable seemed unfazed by Albus' reaction. "You know exactly why I need them to be unmarked for death. Especially Severus. I will not be able to defeat him without your family and Severus. He is waking, Albus."

"So you want them to survive for your own selfish purposes?" Albus shot back, fuming at Sable's apparent lack of concern for his family.

"Don't you get it, Albus? He's waking! You think I would want Severus to be unmarked for death if I didn't need him, if the world didn't need him? This is also hard for me, Albus! I made it my personal goal not to ever let anyone suffer. Do you know how much I tried to look for alternatives? I hated myself. I hated myself for not being able to stop the Fates from marking them for death in the first place. I hate myself for being so despicable, that I will let Severus suffer so much." Sable slammed her hands onto the table, her eyes losing all its colour. And it got blacker and blacker by the second.

Sable's outburst shook Albus from his anger and grief. He realised that Sable was having an even harder time than him. She had no choice but to inflict suffering on the people she cared for. So that the world had a chance against a force that will crush them all.

"I'm sorry, Albus. I shouldn't have lost my temper. You are just as distraught as I am."

"No Sable. I'm sorry. You are already in so much guilt and pain, and I did nothing to ease it." Albus went up to Sable, giving the child the warm, comforting hug she needed.

Some of the blackness began to fade from her eyes, but only a slight tinge of colour could peek through the remaining blackness. Sable reluctantly broke from the embrace, gesturing Albus to sit again.

"Albus. Minerva, your child and Severus needs to be unmarked. There's no other way if you want to prevent even more death from happening."

"What do they need to do to be unmarked?" Though Albus was still torn between wanting to protect his loved ones and letting them suffer for the sake of the world, he knew he had to give in to Sable.

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The rising of the sun usually gives many the promise of hope. Hope for a better day, a brighter future. But for the two individuals in the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the sun only indicated to them that they were a day closer to the impending doom of those that they loved. As the sun rose, Sable and Albus finally wrap up their discussion on how to unmark Minerva, his girl, and Severus for death.

"Remember, Albus, not another soul must know about this conversation and that I came back. Especially Severus. It is crucial that he does not know I have returned. Or all our efforts will be in vain" Albus could only nod his head, his head and heart aching with pain, completely drained.

"Understood. But he would have a much easier time with you to help him. Then again, you wanted to make his life a living hell. Rough times for Minerva, Severus and Hermione. How I wish there was another way. They are going to absolutely despise me. On another note, you are sure that you will still be here on your thirteenth birthday. I can't, I can't manage so much alone."

Sable gave a sad smile and made to leave. "Yes. I'm quite positive that I will still be here. They might hate you for now. But, it's going to be over soon. Hermione is already in her first year. Just six more years to go. I assure you that everything will be alright for you after that. But for me…"

"That's just the beginning of your troubles isn't it?"

"No, Albus. My troubles has already begun." With that, Sable sighed and disapparated, leaving Albus alone to his migraine and his worries of what was approaching.

This was an extremely challenging chapter to write. I am not sure if I explained the concept of being marked for death properly. Please give suggestions if you know how to phrase it better. Thank you. Hope you enjoy this chapter :)