Hope – that was the last thing Marlene was stripped off as her breathing became ragged and her eyes finally closed, the bony and decaying fingers wrapping around her neck and from underneath the black cloak it drew long, slow breaths as it sucked on air and the hope Marlene was holding onto. The wails of her mother rang in her ears till she drowned in the darkness.
"MARLENE!" The shout jolted her awake, her heart pounding as her eyes flung open and in her view was her best friend hovering over her.
"You scared me to death," Mary helped Marlene sit up, and offered her a piece of chocolate.
"What happened?" Marlene's voice was horse, she took the small piece of chocolate and put it in her mouth, a heaviness weighing on her chest.
"They're saying the dementors mistook you for the death eaters we were rounding up – I came just in time to stop them, I already said it was not a good idea to work with the dementors," Mary huffed, her jaw clenched tightly. "Why didn't you use Patronus charm?"
"I cannot – perform it," Marlene answered, lips pressed together.
"What do you mean?" Mary's brows creased together, "Of course you can perform it, we learnt it together."
"I mean I cannot perform it anymore," Marlene sighed, getting up from the ground, "I have no happy memory," she mumbled. It was true, the happiest memory she used to conjure a Patronus was related to the one person she couldn't bring herself to think about without tearing up and even that memory was tainted now.
"Marlene," Mary frowned, her voice low and soft.
"It's alright, it's not the most important spell in the world," Marlene gave a tight smiled, brushing off her clothes as she walked away.
James watched as Sirius tried to hold himself together, but even as he played with Harry, Sirius wasn't smiling wholeheartedly. James tried to ignore it first, thinking Sirius was getting depressed because of the war, but deep down he knew it was something more.
"Padfoot," James sat down on the floor beside Harry and Sirius, the two playing with Harry's toys.
"Yes?" Sirius asked, his eyes still on the ball Harry was throwing towards him.
"What is going on with you?" James asked, and as soon as he noticed that look on Sirius's face, the one he used when he tried to lie, James cut him off, "Don't even try to lie."
"Why would you think I'd lie?" Sirius asked, passing the ball back to Harry.
"I know the look on your face," James shrugged, "Now tell me."
"I – I lied to – Marlene," Sirius's voice wobbled, his eyes focusing on Harry, avoiding James's gaze completely.
"About what?" James's voice softened.
"I told her that I only dated her because she was beautiful – and easy, nothing special and I was glad she broke up with me," Sirius's voice turned to a whisper at the end, his vision blurring with tears, he gave Harry a tight smile as he picked up the ball Harry had thrown towards him.
"Why would you say that to her?" James asked, frown settling on his lips, he let out a sigh.
"My deranged cousin threatened to kill her and her whole family," Sirius whispered, passing the ball to Harry.
"Tell her the truth Padfoot, she is not doing any better," James told him.
"How can I? I know she is safer now," Sirius wiped away the tear dropping on his cheek.
"You care for her that much?" James asked after a pause.
"She is the love of my life, and one day I will tell her that," Sirius's voice cracked, as the familiar pain in his heart returned, tears cascading down his cheeks. Harry's whole attention turned towards Sirius, his lower lip trembled as he scooted closer to Sirius, his own eyes filling with tears and he extended his tiny chubby hands towards him, throwing away the ball.
"Why are you so adorable?" Sirius cried, picking up Harry in his arms, cradling him against his chest, as Harry extended his tiny fingers to wipe away Sirius's tears.
Marlene knew she had to put on a smile and just get through the day. After the meeting, she could finally drop off the radar and go into hiding with her family for a few months. Her father had been attacked and barely managed to survive a few weeks ago, followed by an attack on her brother. She was advised by Dumbledore to reduce her involvement with the Order as the Death Eaters figured out she was an integral part of the Order and go into hiding for a while, to keep her family and herself safe.
She wasn't very keen on hiding away for two reasons. One, she felt useless, hiding away while others were on the frontline fighting. Two, her father had introduced her to a man who worked under him, and no matter how many times Marlene tried to reject him, his advances never stopped. If she was to live with her family twenty-four by seven, she would go crazy listening about the lad and how perfect he was for her.
As she walked inside the warm house, she was immediately greeted by the warm familiar faces of the Order members. The loud buzzing noise of the conversations filled the room as Marlene scanned the room for her friends.
Her eyes landed on the couple standing with Mary, talking animatedly. Alice and Frank had been just as stressed as Lily and James for their son, but fortunately for them, Voldemort had decided not to go after their son.
"Alice," Marlene said, putting her hand on the woman's shoulder.
Alice turned around with grin, and instantly wrapped her arms around Marlene's shoulders, "Oh hello!" Alice exclaimed, as Marlene returned the hug.
"I've missed you," Marlene gave Alice a light squeeze as both of them dropped their hands to their sides.
"I've missed you too," Alice smiled, her eyes glistening with joy.
"Hello Frank," Marlene gave Frank a quick hug, who returned it happily.
"How have you been?" Frank asked, smiling.
"I've been good," Marlene answered, nodding, "How is Neville?"
"He's good," Alice replied, beaming at the mention of her son's name.
"I can't believe he is turning one already!" Marlene sighed, remembering the first time she had seen Neville's photograph that Alice sent her a few days after his birth.
When Alice's smile disappeared and she exchanged a glance with her husband, Marlene couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?" as her smile disappeared.
"It's something stupid," Alice shrugged, shaking her head.
"No, if it's bothering you it's clearly not something stupid," Marlene frowned, her brows furrowed together.
"He still isn't showing any signs of magic," Alice whispered, sighing as her eyes drifted towards the floor.
"That is stupid," Marlene rolled her eyes, how could Alice worry about something like that?
"Yes, tell her that," Frank smiled, "My mother and she have been on the poor baby ever since he was born, if something moves in his presence, they get so excited only to find out he didn't do it and then get disappointed about it."
"He is a baby, he would show his abilities in due time," Marlene said, taking Alice's hands in her own, giving them a light squeeze.
"But what if he doesn't?" Alice frowned, the worry lines appearing on her face. "I want him to be able to protect himself, in case –"
Marlene couldn't let Alice complete that sentence, "Stop. You'll watch him grow up and become a talented wizard, who'll achieve great things. How can he not? When he has such talented parents."
Alice's smile warmed up Marlene's heart and without any conscious effort, Marlene smiled back at her friend, happy that her friend had found some comfort in her words.
From the corner of her eyes, Marlene caught sight of familiar red hair and she instantly turned around, watching as Lily and James entered the room. Her smile only grew wider as she waved at her friend, who waved back. She took a step towards Lily, but when a familiar black-haired lad came into her view, she stopped dead in her tracks. Looking away, she turned her back towards her friend.
"I am going to get some firewhisky," Marlene mumbled, getting away from the group she was standing with.
Sirius scoffed as he watched Marlene drink Firewhisky with a scrunched nose. 'She hates it, why is she even having that?' he thought to himself. He couldn't tear his gaze from her face, studying all the changes in her appearance. She had chopped off her long locks in favour of shoulder blade length hair. Her usually colourful dresses were replaced by darker coloured clothes. Sirius tried to count the exact number of days since he had seen Marlene.
"Are you going to avoid me for the rest of the night?" Lily asked, finally catching a hold of Marlene.
"I'm not avoiding you," Marlene replied, gulping in the Firewhisky.
"Aren't you?" Lily smiled, "You literally walked away."
"Not from you, how can I walk away from you?" Marlene smiled back.
"How are you?" Lily asked, her green eyes studying Marlene's face carefully.
"I am good, how are you? And James? And Harry?" Marlene questioned back, putting down the glass of Firewhisky that she could not finish.
"As fine as we could be," Lily mumbled, still trying to maintain her smile.
"I am sorry Lils," Marlene frowned, understanding her friend's discomfort.
"Everyone has been wonderful, I couldn't be more grateful," Lily assured Marlene, pursing her lips together.
"We'll always look out for each other," Marlene said, giving Lily's hand a light squeeze.
"Then let me look out for you too," Lily placed her free hand on Marlene's hand, "Tell me what happened? What did Sirius say to you?"
"Nothing I don't already know," Marlene let out a humourless chuckle, looking at her feet.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked, trying to hold Marlene's gaze.
"He told me –" Marlene let out a sigh, trying to ignore the lump forming at the back of her throat, her eye brows rising as she tried not to let tears form in her eyes, "that I was beautiful."
Confusion was an understatement for Lily, until she heard the rest of what Marlene had to say.
"And easy. He isn't the commitment type, and I am nothing special to change that," Marlene shrugged, biting the inside of her cheek to supress the sudden surge of emotions.
"There has to be a misunderstanding," Lily breathed, at loss of words. She had seen first handed how devastated Sirius looked after their fall out, it couldn't be true.
"No, there isn't, that's what he said," Marlene finally looked up, her eyes cold like the winter blizzard. "Lily, I am not asking you to choose between him and me, he is your secret keeper and the godfather of your son. Besides I don't care about what he said, he is just as we anticipated during Hogwarts, and that's not even important, I am moving away with my family and –" Marlene paused, thinking if she should continue, "very soon, I am getting married."
"What?" Lily exclaimed, her mouth hanging open as her eyes doubled in size.
"My father introduced me to this man who works with him, and he proposed," Marlene could feel her voice wobbling as the lump became prominent in her throat.
"Wait – when did this happen?" Lily tried to find the right words, but her brain was already trying to process everything.
"A few days ago," Marlene answered, putting on a tight smile, "He proposed to me, and I am thinking of saying yes."
"Are you getting married?" the voice sent shivers down Marlene's smile, she let go of Lily's hand and turned around. For a moment, Marlene wanted to take her words back, the devastation on Sirius's face was not concealed. Then, she remembered his words, still ringing in her head as fresh as they could be. Glaring at him, she passed him, shoving him away with her shoulder.
Marlene needed fresh air, it felt stuffy and clustered, but the headquarter was still confusing to her, if she could only find a window and open it for a few seconds.
Down the hallway on her right, she found a window at last, quickly opening it, she took in a deep breath as the cool evening breeze hit her face, softly lifting her hair and she closed her eyes.
"You didn't answer me," the voice made her jump, her eyes flung open. She would hate to admit it to anyone but her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice.
She glared at Sirius, rolling her eyes and then turning back towards the window, "I am not obliged to."
She could feel the irritation radiating off of him as he closed the distance between them. "Are you getting married? Or were you only saying that to make me jealous?" Sirius asked.
Marlene scoffed, her brows furrowed together as she looked at Sirius in disbelief, "Aren't you delusional?" She questioned back, rolling her eyes, she turned to face him.
"Is it someone we know?" Sirius spoke from between his teeth, her gaze boring into her.
"I hope not, I don't want to be married to anyone you know for the rest of my life," Marlene spat back, every fibre of her being drenched in rage.
"Is it a muggle then?" Sirius questioned, his fists balling up to his side.
"Are you going to lecture me about blood purity?" Marlene mocked, raising her eyebrows.
"Don't marry him," the words made Marlene's heart do summersaults.
"Why?" Marlene asked, her lips set in a straight line.
"Wait till the war ends please," Sirius pleaded, his eyes softening as he inched closer towards Marlene.
"I am done waiting," Marlene whispered; as if under Sirius's spell, she moved closer too.
"I can't lose you" Sirius breathed, his fingertips dancing on Marlene's forearm, leaving goosebumps rising in its wake. His hands made their way up to her cheeks, cupping them as he tilted her head to gain full access of her lips. Closing his eyes, he leaned closer, softly pressing his lips against her.
The familiar warmth raised in the pit of Marlene's stomach, her hands starting to move towards Sirius's torso, enjoying the sensation of his kiss, she didn't know she needed it so desperately until he actually kissed her.
Like an alarm going off, Sirius's words rang inside her head, pulling her out of the trance as she pulled back, opening her eyes at once. She studied his peaceful face, eyes still closed, his lips curling upwards in a smile. Tiptoeing, she bought her lips closer to Sirius's ear, and spoke in a soft whisper, "I am not as easy as you think, find someone else to toy with."
Swatting his hands away, Marlene avoided his gaze as she rushed back to where the rest of the Order members were. The violet eyed sin sat on her shoulder, praising her. Like Icarus, Marlene had flown too close to the sun. Blinded by pride, she was unaware of her own demise.
"Where were you?" Mary asked, pulling her towards the centre of the room, where the Order was gathering.
"I needed some air, what is going on?" she questioned back, letting Mary guide her towards Alice and Frank.
"They're taking a photograph, I was going to come find you," Mary answered, as the girls reached Alice and Frank.
Benjy Fenwick was preparing his camera to take the photograph as Order members gathered in the centre of the room. Marlene stood behind Alice and Frank, on the opposite end of Lily, James and James's friends.
As soon as Benjy Fenwick joined the group, and the buzzing quiet downed, the Order looked straight ahead, smiling as the camera flashed.
It wasn't a big house, just enough to accommodate four people, made of black bricks, standing tall in the middle of nowhere. Mrs McKinnon had put charms on the house to protect it, it included hex defection charms and intruder charm. The house was much different from the one the McKinnon's were used to and though the first few nights were uncomfortable; they were getting used to it by the end of the second week there.
Marlene sat on the small wooden dining table in the middle of the kitchen, her head buried in the newspaper as she scanned through the list of the people murdered ever since she had gone underground with her family.
She read the familiar names of the Prewett twins, Benjy Fenwick, among the other Order members. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh, her mind clouded with despair. She questioned how horrible it was out there if wonderful wizards like these were getting murdered. She wondered if Lily's and Alice's families were safe, but she found comfort in the fact that had anything terrible happened, she would've heard it.
Although her pride didn't allow her consciously, but Marlene always check for one particular name before looking for any other name, not that she would ever admit it.
Nothing about the day was out of ordinary, except the grey clouds covering the sky. The air was humid and smelt of storm. It was the reflection of her mood, dull and depressing. The sun struggled to make an appearance in the sky, as did happiness in Marlene's life.
A thunder rolled across the magnificent sky, but Marlene didn't pay any heed to it, continuing to scan the newspaper as she waited for the tea getting prepared on the stove. It was too early to wake anyone up.
The thunder roared once again, as if the sky might split open any moment. Marlene sighed loudly, the last thing she wanted was a downpour, not that it would hinder any plans, since she wasn't allowed to leave the house anyway.
When another thunder rolled overhead, and then again in a matter of few seconds, like the fury of gods, Marlene knew it wasn't natural. She pushed the newspaper aside, and got up from the chair, walking towards the window.
It wasn't thunder, a blue-ish white light hit the protective shield over their head, causing the rumble. At first, Marlene tried to find the source, but the small window didn't allow much access to the outside world. Her hand immediately searched for her wand in her pocket as she heard another rumble and the protective shield retreating like a rubber band stretched too hard and then broken.
The rambunctious blaring rang throughout the house, marking the presence of intruders, jarring Marlene out of her peaceful state, crippling her thoughts and assaulting her ears. A loud commotion could be heard from upstairs, followed by footsteps rushing down the staircase.
"Marlene?" Elias shouted, as he emerged in the kitchen.
"Someone's here! The protective shield is broken," Marlene cried, looking at her brother. His hair was unkempt, signalling he had just woken up.
"Elias? Marlene?" Mrs McKinnon and Mr McKinnon appeared in the kitchen shortly after, followed by their house elf, who stared from face to face.
"Where is your wand?" Marlene asked her mother, eyes widened, adrenaline pumping through her system. She feared her heart was going to explode, her body wanting to either run for safety and hide, or run outside and fight the intruder.
"In – m – my room," Mrs McKinnon stuttered, gulping in hard, her eyes widened with fear.
"Mum go get it!" Marlene shouted, turning towards her father, "You need to hide."
"No, I'll help your mother," Her father stated, rushing out of the kitchen behind his wife.
Marlene knew they had minutes, if not seconds left to think and react. And the only way out of the situation was to get her brain to work, looking for solutions, instead of spiralling down in anxiety.
'It's not different from all other Order missions!' she thought, but she knew it was much different, after all, it wasn't just her life, but the life of her whole family at stake.
It was like a wrecking ball had hit the top of the house, sending a jolt all across the establishment. A scream tore through the house as the stones started to collapse, a scream that would make anyone's blood run cold, landing on the ground floor with a thud. Marlene froze in her place, like a deer caught in the headlight, her hands shaking.
"Marlene, we need to move!" Elias's voice rang in her ear, as he pulled her with himself out of the kitchen.
Marlene's brain wasn't working anymore it seemed, her body was moving on it's own will as she followed her brother outside, but the two of them came to a halt when they witnessed the front door had been sealed off by the debris of the partly collapsed house, and in those debris, eyes staring back at them.
They laid there like dolls, limbs at an awkward angle and heads resting in such a way that there was no way it was comfortable.
Marlene pushed past Elias, resting her hand on top of her mother's chest, which was no longer rising and falling. "Mum?" her voice cracked, she tried to blink the tears away.
Another hit jolted the house and before any debris could fall on Marlene, Elias pulled her back, as another part of the wall fell on their parents, crushing their bones, if they hadn't been crushed before.
"We need to get out of here!" Elias shouted; his own eyes filled with tears.
Marlene saw it before she could close her eyes, her eyes widened the size of a saucer and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Shaking her head, she reached her hand towards the house elf that still stood in the kitchen, "WOOKEY MOVE!" she shouted, seconds before the floor of the first floor crushed his tiny body.
"What do we do now?" Elias questioned, looking around himself, scanning the collapsing house, as if looking for some divine intervention.
'Apparate' Marlene thought, but she had never apparated before herself, she didn't have a licence either. Which is why she always went on missions with Mary. She promised herself that if she made it out alive, the first thing she would do would be to get a license for apparating.
"I can call for help," Marlene answered, her brain finally catching up. "The Order members or Aurors are always around, but we'll need to fight till then."
"I'm ready to fight," Elias replied, holding up his wand.
Marlene took a deep breath, closing her eyes, she tried to push away the thoughts clouding her mind, or the fact that her parents laid under the debris only inches away. 'Please' she thought, gulping in the lump forming at the back of her throat and let out the breath she was holding through her mouth.
She knew exactly what memory she needed to conjure her Patronus and she let herself be consumed by it. The black-haired boy appeared as clearly to her as he possibly could, his grey orbs shining brightly, the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes as he grinned before wrapping his left arm around her waist, and cupping her cheek with his right hand. Was it possible that she could still taste his lips on hers? Or feel the way his skin felt against hers? The memory of their first kiss had transported her back to their common room.
She opened her eyes and raised her wand, a thin wisp of silver escaped from her wand before taking the shape of a huge dog, it danced around the room before disappearing from the kitchen window.
"Let's go," Marlene told her brother, leading the way towards the living room.
"Confringo!" Marlene exclaimed, pointing the wand towards the boulders blocking the exit from the house, a fiery orange light exploded the boulders, opening the exit.
Marlene turned around to look at her brother, smiling as she gestured for him to join her. The loud rumbling caught her attention, she looked up and watched as the wall from her parent's bedroom crashed down towards her brother.
She raised her wand once again, ready to help her brother, but before she could even move, she experienced excruciating pain, all consuming and she could no longer think where she was, as hot knives pierced through every inch of her skin, the raw screams from her lips were louder than ever. It was the Cruciatus Curse.
When the pain did subdue, she could barely manage to get on her feet, her eyes landing on her brother. A scarlet liquid drenched his whole face, his body hidden under the wall that had collapsed on him. The light had left his eyes, as did the tint of his cheeks as if he had been stuck by ice.
"No!" Marlene whispered to herself, her trembling hands holding her brother's face. "Elias?" her voice cracked, she blinked away the tears. A scream from deep within her body forced its way out of her mouth. All she could feel was anger and hatred, towards everything around her. The scream came again – but this time desperate and terrified as Marlene's eyes landed on the bodies around her. A scream of disbelief and terror.
She looked up, only a part of roof hanging on for its dear life, and above that roof she could see a hooded and masked Death Eater hovering. Marlene lifted her hand, clenching onto her wand and set off a chain of spiral reaction. The red light hit the Death Eater and Marlene watched as the Death Eater disintegrated into particles the size of dust that swirled around her. A final blasting curse by an unknown source toppled the only part of roof hanging and it quickly made it way downwards.
A pain raised through Marlene's hand that was holding the wand, her eyes shifting towards the source of the pain, her hand immediately let go of the wand. Blood spurted out of her wrist; raw pink flesh visible. Her other hand quickly covered the wound as thick scarlet rivers of blood flooded freely, drenching her fingers in seconds.
Marlene felt it before she saw anything, her body stuck to the ground, her head tilted towards her dead brother's face. She couldn't move, something heavy had halted all her movements. She could taste the rusty blood in her throat and she couldn't help but cough some of it out. It became increasingly difficult to breathe; she could hear her own shallow and wheezy breath. She waited for the pain, but she couldn't feel anything except the dull ache at the back of her head
Her eyes were getting heavier by the second as colourful spots contoured the sides of her vision, and she wondered if she could only close her eyes for a few seconds to rest. And she did, as a tear rolled down her cheek.
The black-haired boy was back, his eyes staring back at Marlene, hovering over her as the moonlight danced around them in her memory, he whispered in her ear softly "I love you."
Marlene could feel a smile forming on her lips, but she couldn't be sure, "Sirius –" her voice hoarse.