Chapter 26: Unforgivable

"So you can just listen to any song? Anywhere?" Charlie asked agape.

"Yeah, you pay a couple bucks a month and then you can go ahead and listen to your heart's content," Marina said, leaning her chin forward on his shoulder.

It was an unexpectedly warm afternoon about a week after their trip to Diagon Alley. Golden sunlight streamed onto the frost-bitten countryside, a brief respite from the ever-cooling winter air. They had covered every chore they could think of tackling – from checking on the moaning ghoul in the attic who was posing as Ron, to cutting so much firewood that the callouses that had been steadily growing on Marina's hands had gone white with strain. When the afternoon had hit and Mrs Weasley was still finishing up the bread, Charlie and Marina had retreated to the field to distract themselves until it was time to go.

Charlie – who was giving Marina a piggy-back – started twisting his body side to side, using Marina's feet to kick aside the grass in front of him.

"Muggles come up with some crazy stuff," he muttered, though he sounded impressed.

"I must say, I do miss Spotify a lot," sighed Marina, watching the grass flow over her feet. "Honestly I just miss music a lot."

"We have music," Charlie protested.

Marina rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see her. "No offense, Charlie, but magical music sucks."

"You'd say that," he said accusatorily, "you didn't grow up with it, did you?"

"True," she conceded.

"What did you grow up with?" he asked, meandering through the grass. "You don't talk much about your past."

Marina was quiet a moment. "No," she said slowly. "That's by design, though."

"Sorry," said Charlie, craning his neck to look at her apologetically.

"It's alright," she said, letting her head roll to the side lazily. "I just don't like to think about it. That whole world, my childhood, my life… it's all so far away now. It feels sort of self-flagellating to think about it, considering I'll never get it back."

"You might," Charlie said quietly, "you never know. Maybe after the war, we could go figure something out."

Marina gave a non-committal hum, looking out at the countryside before them. The sun was lowering before them, and a cool breeze blew the grass around making it ripple and rustle. Charlie had fallen silent, giving her time to think. She twisted her mouth, feeling conflicted – Charlie was her friend, and she was hardly taking her own advice if she held back from opening up to her friends just because it was difficult.

"My favourite subject in high school was history," she said, not looking at him.

"Are you serious?" he said, grin audible.

"Yeah."

"You're a real nerd, you know that?"

"So I've been told," Marina smiled wryly.

"I hated history," Charlie muttered. "Bloody Binns sitting there droning on all day… I'd much rather be outside."

"A lot of people feel that way," said Marina, "I think it's because people have shite history teachers. You have to have someone that makes it come alive. After all – history is just stories... it's like talking to people from the past," she mused. "I fell in love with it."

"With talking to people from the past? You certainly do a lot more of that than your average person," said Charlie.

"No," Marina said wryly. "I mean, I fell in love with people's stories. It's what made me major in anthropology at university."

"Reckon you'd go back to that?" said Charlie. "You know, once this is all over?"

"No," she said again, giving a short laugh. "The further up the ladder I got, the more isolated it became. Ended up spending more time at a desk reading about some obscure data set rather than being with actual people. I wanted to go study something else."

"What?"

"Can you guess?" she smirked.

"Is 'self-depreciating sarcastic twerpery' a course they offer?" Charlie said, using her foot to smack away a large weed. "You'd excel."

"You're the one who wanted me to talk about my past," Marina said, scandalised, "and this is what I get? Honestly…"

"I'm sorry," he said smiling. "Just tell me."

"No," she said with false haughtiness. "You've squandered your chance."

"Don't be like that," Charlie laughed.

"I'll be however I want, thank you very much –"

"Marina!" Mrs Weasley yelled. "Charlie! Let's go!"

Charlie turned and let Marina down. "Tell me when we're back," he said imploringly. "I promise I'll only tease you at a diminished rate."

"Gee," she said sarcastically as they trekked towards the house. "What an offer…"

"It's the best you'll get," Charlie grinned.

Marina shoved his shoulder in lieu of replying, and dodging his retaliation turned into a race back to the house.

Inside, they breathlessly picked up their bread baskets and Marina pulled a cloak over her Muggle clothes.

"Ready?" Mrs Weasley asked her, reaching forward to fuss with the clasp of Marina's cloak.

"Yup," she replied with a tight smile.

"Alright then," Mrs Weasley said, casting one last glance towards at her family's faces on the clock – they all still hovered above 'mortal peril' unhelpfully – before making her way through the fireplace.

Marina followed Charlie through, keeping close as they made their way back through Diagon Alley towards the quiet, empty alcove where the skeleton of Ollivander's store still stood.

"Be quick," Mrs Weasley muttered as the first of the refugees began to approach. "Let's not draw attention to ourselves."

Marina nodded and began handing out loaves as quickly as she could. After the first few had seized their bread and scuttled away, there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere and the small crowd began to disperse frantically.

"Someone's coming," hissed Mrs Weasley, slamming the flap of her basket closed and gesturing for Marina and Charlie to do the same. "Stay quiet and keep your face covered!"

Heart pounding, Marina ducked her head under her cloak and stepped behind Mrs Weasley with Charlie as a raucous group of darkly dressed strangers appeared from behind the corner of the street. They were walking too tall, speaking too loudly, and stood too relaxed to be regular patrons of the hushed shops – the only people who could afford to be so confident were those who contributed to the danger.

"'Ello 'ello!" one of the men at the front jeered as they approached Mrs Weasley. "What's this then!"

"Good afternoon," Mrs Weasley said in a tight, even voice, not making eye contact. She had positioned herself in front of Charlie and Marina, her head tilted down but her shoulders wide and her posture fixed. Marina could imagine the firm set of her jaw.

"It's the Weasley woman," one of the group smirked. "And her spawn."

Charlie shifted slightly beside Marina, tense and alert.

"Ah," the man who had called out to them said, leering forward. "Arthur's wife, is it? That Blood-traitor has poor taste in all walks of life, then."

The group sniggered. From under the edge of Marina's hood, she saw Mrs Weasley's hands gripped the wicker handle of the basket tighter.

"Just doing our shopping, gentlemen," Mrs Weasley said slowly, the desire to defuse the situation thick in her voice.

"Is that right?" the man said in a whispery voice. "'Spose we can't fault you that, even Blood-traitors got to eat, don't they?"

He took a step closer to her, and Mrs Weasley drew back to keep the distance between them. Marina could only see the bottom of the man's black robes and his shoes, but he lingered there for a moment as if pleased that Mrs Weasley had shrivelled under his scrutiny.

He gave an audible smirk.

"Let's go," he said to his crew, sounding self-satisfied.

They pushed past Mrs Weasley hard enough to knock the basket from her hands, and they laughed loudly as she stooped to retrieve it. Their jeers and hoots continued down the street and when they had finally grown distant enough, Mrs Weasley turned to Marina and Charlie.

"Are you alright?" she asked, grasping at their cloaks attentively.

"Who were they?" Marina muttered, casting a discerning look at the departing gang from under the edge of her hood. Her hair fell down obscuring her line of sight and she pushed it behind her ear.

"Snatchers," said Mrs Weasley, her mouth in a grim line. "Best not look, dear, they'll take any chance they can get to –"

"Hold on a second!"

The words reverberated down the street, and Marina froze. Before her, Mrs Weasley had done the same, her eyes wide and fearful as her grip on Marina's cloak tightened.

The same man was coming back down the street with slow steps that echoed on the stones beneath his feet, growing louder as he came nearer and nearer. All too soon he was right beside Marina, standing uncomfortably close.

"Hold on a second," he said again, voice dangerously quiet. "Now I could have sworn you Weasleys was all gingers," he said softly, a hand coming up and seizing Marina's hood, tugging it back with a swift motion to reveal her blonde hair. "So what's this then?"

Marina didn't dare look at him, her eyes fixed on the ruin of Ollivander's in terror.

"She's –" Mrs Weasley began, but she didn't get to finish.

With a flash of yellow light Mrs Weasley was thrown backwards, and Charlie cried out in anger as he shot forward to throw an arm around his mother, his other hand going to his pocket. The man trained his wand at Charlie immediately.

"Don't try anythin', Blood-traitor," he spat, "or your father will be down here identifyin' the bodies."

Charlie stilled, his arm around his mother's shoulders. Although his eyes darting between the man and Marina fearfully, he made no further move to draw his wand.

The man turned back to Marina, his wand going with his gaze. "Now, I asked you a question," he said in the same, dangerous voice. "You're not a Weasley, are you?"

Marina didn't breathe, her pulse pounding loudly in her ears.

He placed his wand under her chin and used its point to push her face up. When Marina finally saw his face, she felt her heart sank to her stomach.

"Well well well," the man breathed. "We meet again."

It was Twiggs. To her immense bad luck, the corrupt Ministry goon who had ransacked her flat above Tomes and Scrolls seven years prior had recognised her.

"Now what's a Muggle doin' in Diagon Alley at a time like this?" Twiggs said, motioning the onlooking gang to come over.

"Muggle?" one of them exclaimed loudly as they approached again, sounding disgusted. "Did you say Muggle, Twiggs?"

"Aye," he said, eyes alight with a deadly mirth. "We've got ourselves an infiltrator."

One of the gang spat at Marina's feet but she didn't dare move.

"You two are in real trouble now," Twiggs said, pointing his wand towards Mrs Weasley and Charlie. "Fraternisin' with Muggles? Wait until the Ministry hears about this."

Marina chanced a glance at them to see them rooted to the spot looking horrified. She saw Charlie lean forward, and Mrs Weasley's mouth opened to say something.

"I'm not with them," Marina said quickly, looking at Twiggs.

The Weasleys froze.

Twiggs returned his wand to underneath her chin and pushed it uncomfortably into her skin. "What's that?" he asked, sharply.

"I'm not with them," she repeated, not looking towards the Weasleys. "I was just – just shopping in the same place, they didn't know that I was a – a –"

"A filthy, disgustin', pathetic little Muggle sneakin' around where she doesn't belong?" Twiggs leered, seizing her and turning towards the Weasleys with his wand still pointed up at Marina's throat. "Is that true, Weasley scum? You didn't know that we had a slippery Muggle spy right under your noses? Probably can't tell the difference with the company you keep, Blood-traitors, Mudbloods, and Muggles is all the same to you isn't it?"

Marina stared at them, hoping with all her soul that they went along with the ruse. They were already in hot water; she couldn't imagine what would happen to them if it came out that they'd been running around with a Muggle in the middle of Diagon Alley.

Neither of them spoke, a stony mix of dread and anger in their eyes.

"Well? Did you know?" Twiggs said loudly from behind her.

There was a flurry of movement at the edge of Marina's peripheral vision. The rest of the gang had drawn their wands in unison, but still the Weasleys said nothing. She caught Mrs Weasley's eye and saw the truth with equal parts dismay and pride – neither of them was going to lie and give her up, even if they knew what it meant to be incriminated. In a moment of surreal clarity, Marina realised that if the Weasleys were going to get out unscathed, she had to do something – fast.

Marina reached up and grabbed the back of Twiggs' wand hand, twisting it away from herself with a swift jerk. Before he could even cry out in pain she was turning in the same direction, facing him in a flash - with both thumbs pressed against the back of his hand, Marina bent his wrist back on itself, crippling it and forcing him to drop his wand. He spontaneously leaned forward to try to alleviate the strain on his wrist but she was already stepping towards him, forcing his hand down even further and he crumpled as the strain on his wrist increased. Marina drove forward even more and as he reached the edge of his balance she easily swept his legs out from under him. Before any of his cronies could react, he had hit the ground on his back and let out a loud expulsion of air as he was winded.

With shouts, the onlooking Snatchers started firing spells. Smoke and ash exploded into the air as the curses erupted against the surrounding shops. A bolt of red light whizzed past Marina's head and she leaned out of the way just in time, but in the flurry of curses there was no avoiding getting hit and a second later a purple bolt crashed into her chest – but nothing happened. The light dissipated, and she felt nothing.

The Wardore, she thought distantly, feeling the charm growing warm on her skin under her shirt. I'm still wearing the Wardore Moody gave me.

Another curse shot towards her and she ducked – she could hear shouting behind her, and under the cover of the smoke she turned to see Charlie and Mrs Wealsey, wands drawn as they cast shield charm after shield charm, desperately waving her over as they were forced back down the street. Marina stood and was just about to run after them when a horrible scream made her stop.

"NOT WITH THEM!" bellowed Twiggs, scrambling to his feet. "NOT WITH THEM ARE YOU!"

Marina hesitated, horrified. If she followed the Weasleys, the Snatchers would know that she'd been lying. They'd be doomed. She saw panic on Charlie's face and fear on Mrs Weasley's as Twiggs raised his wand once more. His curse hit her at point blank range right as his gang cast more jinxes her way, and Marina felt pain erupt across her skin like a spreading fire. She fell like a stone. Eyes swimming with pain-induced tears, Marina's head spun as she tried to focus on her surroundings. Dizziness had taken the solidity from the world, and her head blearily drifted to the side.

Twiggs pointed his wand down at her, anger burning in his eyes. "Filthy Muggle," he spat. "How dare you put your hands on me!"

He kicked her hard in the stomach. The sharp pain instantly cleared Marina's mind to a razor edge and brought her assailant into adrenaline-fueled focus, but it also sent nausea rocketing through her diaphragm and she heaved.

"I'll kill you, Muggle scum!" Twiggs was shouting somewhere above her. "Teach you a lesson, won't it!" I'll –"

"What's all this, Twiggs?" a cold voice cut through the havoc of the street like a knife.

Everything stilled. Smoke slowly faded upwards, and Marina opened her eyes where she lay on the cobblestones to see a man in a long black robe and a harsh, angular face peering down at her disapprovingly.

"Yaxley," said Twiggs flatly, not sounding pleased to see him. "Nothin' to see here, just a Muggle who –"

"A Muggle?" Yaxley repeated coolly, eyes narrowing on Marina. "In Diagon Alley?"

"Yes sir," Twiggs mumbled, "I was just dealin' with it as you can see –"

"How did she get in?" said Yaxley icily.

Marina's heart sped up. "I worked here," she said from the ground, forgetting about the assault to her stomach and devolving into a coughing fit. Yaxley patiently waited for her to finish, his hard eyes never leaving her face.

"I worked here years ago," she breathed, heaving in oxygen. "There's an entrance through the back of the Leakey Cauldron –"

"You need a wand for that," Yaxley interrupted, looking around. His eyes fell upon the two Weasleys who were looking on with horror from where they had been driven back further down the street. "You'd need someone with a wand to… help you," he said softly, mouth curling.

"I waited for someone," Marina rasped desperately, trying to get his attention back off Charlie and Mrs Weasley. "I waited for someone to open it and then – then followed them in –"

Yaxley withdrew his wand with a single swift motion and pointed it at her. "Crucio," he said calmly.

Pain like none Marina had ever known bloomed in her chest and spread across her body, inside her, on her skin, across her face and fingers alike. It writhed and burned and seared on and on until she thought her heart would stop – and then just as quickly as it had engulfed her, it was gone. She lay gasping on the stones, her thoughts taking their time coming back to her. She managed to make out the tail-end of what Twiggs was saying, his voice defensive and near petulant.

"– near on seven years ago now, me and Batt –"

"You mean to say that this Muggle was living in Hogsmeade seven years ago," Yaxley interrupted sharply.

Twiggs evidently nodded because Marina didn't hear him reply. She finally managed to open her eyes, only to see Yaxley's heavy face looking down at her, wand in hand.

"A Muggle who worked in Diagon Alley and lived in Hogsmeade," Yaxley said softly. "My my, to allow such filth to walk among us for so many years, right under our very noses…"

The gang of Snatchers gave jeers and low murmurs of dissent.

"Shall I deal with her?" Twiggs asked, fervently raising his wand with hatred in his eyes.

Marina stared up at the wand, wondering if her life was really about to end. She felt strangely detached from the situation, like it was someone else's body on the ground and she was just spectating.

After an age, Yaxley replied.

"No," he said softly. "No, I think there is more to this story…"

Yaxley levelled Twiggs with a cool but unrelenting gaze, and without having to speak another word Twiggs dropped both his wand and his face, stepping backwards automatically. It was clear who had the real authority. Twiggs' expression was as full of rage as it was embarrassment, and his eyes were flicking to the side like he was trying to gage the reactions of his cronies.

Yaxley ignored him. The Death Eater crouched beside Marina's face, holding his wand loosely in his hand. The way he assessed her gave him a cavalier arrogance that made Marina's skin prickle with fear. Unlike Twiggs, Yaxley clearly had no anxiety to prove himself – it made him a hundred times less predictable and infinitely more dangerous.

"So, you have been living among us," Yaxley said quietly. "How did you find out about our world? A family member, perhaps?"

Marina was breathing heavily through her nose, body still aching from Twiggs' kick and Yaxley's curse. "I got sick," she whispered truthfully, eyes flicking between Yaxley's face and his wand. "They cared for me at Hogwarts."

"Sick," he repeated, sounding unconvinced. "And why did they not simply wipe your memories after you recovered?"

Marina gave a tired snort. "You're assuming I recovered," she said, thinking of the last two months of bleeding noses and bruised ribs.

Yaxley's wand twitched in her hands and this time she didn't even hear him speak the curse before the pain wracked her body. She felt her fingers curling, heard herself screaming, but there was no presence to those thoughts – her mind was consumed by the pain, unspeakable and without boundary. It was a pain so immense that it seemed to transcend the limits of her skin, so much pain that her body couldn't possibly contain it all, it must be washing down the street and filling up the whole world, and she was suspended within it, writhing, burning –

Yaxley dropped the curse and Marina's body collapsed back onto the cobblestones from where her back had been arching. She was too tired to sob, too tired to try to get away. She just let her head fall to the side and felt the tears that had pooled in her eyes drip away passively.

"You will not speak to me with such disrespect," Yaxley said, his voice as cold and as even as ever. "Clearly, living in the wizarding world has instilled you with some false sense of importance – you have begun to think that you are worthy of walking among us… a parasite." He gave her a disgusted look like he might give his shoe if he had stepped in something foul. "This must be rectified."

Yaxley stood. "The Blood-traitors," he said quietly. "Are they a part of this?"

Twiggs stepped forward obediently. "No," he said quickly, eager to be useful again. "No, they was just onlookers –"

"I see," interrupted Yaxley, dismissively.

Twiggs hesitated and then moved back again, shooting Marina a look of deep hatred as if the humiliation was somehow her doing.

"Well," said Yaxley. He lifted his foot and pushed Marina's face with the toe of his shoe, forcing her to look up at him. "Quite the character I have discovered…" he appraised her with a look of chilling calculation, and Marina stared up at him, despondent.

Yaxley gave a cold smile. "I do believe that the Dark Lord might like the pleasure of meeting this Muggle himself…"

Before anyone could speak another word, Yaxley leaned down and seized Marina by her hair, fear washing over her and mixing with the sickening drop in her stomach as he Apparated her away.

A/N: Sorry for the delay! I have had something of a difficult week...
Thanks so much for the amazing reception on the previous chapter! I was really blown away, not sure what I've done to deserve such a kind and engaged audience ❤️

Also - I realised that I haven't made a comment on this yet so I will now bc it's important. JK Rowling is a terf, trans women are women, and trans men are men, so jot that down.
If you're new to trans issues and the discourse around JK Rowling's recent comments has brought it up to you, or if you'd just like to learn more about trans issues, I'd recommend checking out Contrapoints on the ole youtube. She has some great videos about it that are as accessible as they are entertaining - she's probably the funniest person alive. And Shaun (also a youtuber) has a great video on transphobia in the UK - though his videos are not from a trans perspective.

Last point - there have been some issues with the site over the past few weeks with reviews, pms, and alerts - I think they're mostly fixed now but if there are ever problems with , you can find this story on archive of our own under the exact same title! Though my username is a bit different, there it's "please-don't" (do you sense a theme)

Thanks everyone, you are the greatest :)