A Marauder's Guide to Falling Forever

PART FOUR

Written by alliegrl


Chapter Eight

"Where did you hear that term?" his attention snapped into place and he hissed under his breath; a look of fierce surprise etched into the aging lines of his once handsome face.

"Where isn't important, Tom," she said firmly. "Can you tell me who it is? I have reason to believe that something bad might happen in the Hall of –"

"Marlene," he snapped, "this is not the place to come asking these sorts of questions. If you know what's good for you, you will stop talking nonsense immediately. I don't know where you got your information from but there is no such thing as a Hall of Prophecy, or a Keeper of the Hall or anything of the sort."

"You're lying," Marlene called him out. "I know that you're lying. Why can't you just tell me the truth? I'm trying to help –"

"Help who? Me? Or Dumbledore?" he laughed bitterly. "Please, Marlene. Even if such place existed here, which it doesn't, do you honestly think that I would be capable of disclosing such information to you?"

"But you can Tom!" she urged. "You can trust me."

"I don't trust Dumbledore," he spat bitterly. "And he's got you lot brainwashed so no, Marlene. I cannot trust you."

She flinched at his intended harshness. His face seemed to soften as he realized the impact of his words, but he made no motion to apologize or retract his statement.

"I see," she said after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

Before any further conversation could take place, the door swung open quite suddenly and any remaining color drained immediately from his face. It appeared as though Tom believed they wouldn't be interrupted in the small confining room. Marlene swiveled around just in time to catch sight of a young, frazzled looking man with bright orange-red hair, his arms braced with a wobbling stack of books that he was trying to balance.

"Oh I'm so sorry Tom," said the man, catching sight of the pair. The man seemed just as equally surprised to see Marlene and Tom as Tom was to see him. "I didn't realize anyone was in here."

"My apologies Arthur. I thought you were on holidays with your family," Tom replied, and his face relaxed.

"Afraid not," he chuckled while he found a small space to put the books onto. The top two still managed to slip off the pile and scattered to the ground at Marlene's feet. She quickly stooped down to pick them up and put them into the man's outstretched hands. He smiled, "Thank you my dear."

He couldn't have been all that much older than she was. Marlene observed his patchy cloak and youthful appearance. But there were dark circles lining his eyes as though he hadn't slept in a decade, and his flamboyant orange hair was already beginning to bald at the top.

"I'm sorry to take up your office, Arthur. We were just on our way out," Tom apologized again without offering to introduce Marlene to the newcomer. "Please give Molly my regards."

Tom ushered her from the room quickly and closed the door behind them, sealing them away from the man named Arthur. Tom began walking back towards the direction of the Auror's office while ignoring Marlene's protests. Just as the emanating sounds of busy workers rang in her ears, he turned on his heel and gave her a stern look of warning.

"I don't want you to repeat what you said to me," he warned. "Not a word. Do you understand?"

"But will you -?"

"Marlene," he growled with annoyance. "Do you understand?"

"I understand," she said, realizing that she would not get anything further from him. He escorted her back through the maze of cubicles and she noted that Frank's station was empty. However, they didn't stop to find him and instead navigated to the lift where he directed her back to the level eight atrium with full intention of her departure from the Ministry.

"Are you finally heading home, Tom?" a smooth, masculine voice drew Tom's concentration away momentarily at the security gate. Marlene surveyed the young man with dark, curly hair who appeared to be roughly the same age as Arthur. He was heading out alongside them.

"No, no, just saying good bye to my daughter," Tom said, and then instantly appeared to regret it. Marlene inwardly cringed at the sentiment and shared an apologetic glance with Tom who seemed just as awkward for saying it. Briefly, they both seemed to forget the tension between them.

"Ah," the man's eyes connected with Marlene and there was something about him that seemed familiar, "I didn't know you had kids."

"She's my god-daughter," he clarified. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rookwood." Tom bowed his hat in a goodbye gesture and the young man he was referring to rewarded him with a handsome smile and a polite wave as he passed by.

"Likewise," he called out before his face disappeared from view and into the bustling crowd of the atrium.

"You're not going home yet?" Marlene asked Tom, slightly horrified. She learned that he had been at the Ministry all night pulling a double shift. Of course he wouldn't reveal what or why, but he looked near ready to collapse on the floor from exhaustion.

"No, not yet." Tom stopped and peered at her over the top of his eyes with a weary sort of contemplation.

She wanted to ask him why but figured it would only lead to another argument. He had made it perfectly clear that she was not privy to the information behind the doors of the Department of Mysteries. Instead she asked, "Don't you think that you should get some sleep? You've been awake all night."

He merely shook his head. "It's time for you to go home, Marlene," he said tiredly, and Marlene finally conceded that she would get no further with him today. "Remember. Not another word."

Of course Marlene could never promise him that and so she didn't.

She was headed back to her flat in London anyways, so Tom showed her the muggle Ministry exit. She was only half a block away from the Ministry when the sound of her name being called out caused her to stall. The voice sounded welcomingly familiar, and she placed the sound of Patrick's voice just as she turned to see his smiling face jogging to catch up with her.

"Why hello stranger!" His elated energy was a comforting change of pace from the tired, strained and stressful interaction she had been recently engaged in. Overall she was getting rather fed up with hitting dead ends in her conversations with Tom, and didn't know how much more she had to give.

"Hi, Patrick," she replied, and copied his smile as though it were contagious.

"Fancy running into you here," he continued, "I wasn't sure if I was ever going to see you again. You never returned any of my owls."

"Sorry about that." Her apologies were becoming more monotonous each time they were offered. "I've been out of the country, travelling."

She thought it sounded convincing enough, and Patrick seemed more than willing to accept her response as the truth for he didn't challenge her on it. She noted that he looked good, as though the stressful times around them did not exist.

"So you're back in London then?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

"Yes," she replied. Something about the way he smiled made her feel warm inside. It was nice for someone to receive her without accompanied by a fit of rage or tears. She felt a genuine appreciation for his friendship, yet at the same time guilty somehow for feeling that way. Probably because of Sirius. But she tried not to dwell on him.

"What are you doing at the Ministry?" He glanced towards the red telephone box across the street from the direction she had come.

"Oh, I was visiting my god father at work," she said nonchalantly, as though it were no big deal. She didn't need to draw any attention to her agenda, especially when they had everything to do with the Order. Instead she directed the conversation away from herself and asked, "How about you?"

"I was coming to visit my sister," he replied, "but I can come back later. What are you up to now?"

"Um," she bit her lip. She hadn't really thought about it. "Likely going home, I suppose."

"There's a café down the street. I'd love to catch up if you have the time," he asked, and Marlene couldn't think of a reason to say no. Except for Sirius, her conscience nagged again. But she reminded herself that they were broken up, that hadn't changed. There was no reason to feel guilty about spending time with a friend.

"Sure," she smiled, and they began to walk down the street together. Marlene tried to match his large strides as they made their way down another busy street and it made conversation difficult amidst the noise of people talking and cars whizzing past.

The café he led her towards was quaint and lit brightly by the large glass windows that overlooked the London street outside. It wasn't overly busy and after ordering some tea, they secured a small table for two near the window.

It felt strange to see Patrick sitting across the table from her. The last time they had spoken was the night at the hospital when Euphemia Potter had died and everything in her life had crumbled to pieces. He looked somewhat different to her in a non-hospital setting, though she couldn't quite place why she felt that way.

He talked animatedly, and Marlene required very little effort to search for conversation topics as the afternoon dragged on. Eventually though, a more uncomfortable turn in conversation forced Marlene to think about what led to her departure in the first place.

"Claven's gone now," Patrick seemed overly eager to share. Claven had been the driving force behind her departure from the Healing program. "A few others came forward to report his indiscretions and he was let go not long after you left."

"Oh," she said with little emotion. Patrick seemed crestfallen, likely having expected to get a better reaction to his news. He shifted in his chair to lean closer into the table towards Marlene, his knee brushing against her from the movement. The sudden movement caused her to jump in her seat.

"I think Mathalda would let you back into the program," he pressed onward, determined not to let her lackluster enthusiasm kill the conversation. "I can ask her if you'd like?"

"Why would she do that?" Marlene's eyes snapped up from where she had been staring lifelessly into her now empty teacup. Her voice was louder than she intended it to be and a couple sitting at the next table over turned to glance in her direction.

"Because she'd be silly not to want your talent at the hospital," he replied with a hint of confusion, like it was a ludicrous question to be asked.

"Talent? Right," Marlene laughed. Her fingers drummed against the tabletop and without warning Patrick's hand moved over top of hers to give her hand a comforting squeeze.

It felt wrong. It was like his touch had burned her, and she yanked her hand away from his instinctively as one would do when touching fire. The shocked expression on his face indicated that he hadn't expected such a severe reaction.

"I'm sorry," she flushed, eyes growing wide. She hadn't been expecting his touch and it reminded her why agreeing to go for tea with him had been a horrible idea. Everything Sirius had been insecure about regarding Patrick's intentions flooded into her thoughts.

"It's Black, isn't it?" Patrick's body noticeably stiffened as the words flowed freely from his mouth. It was obviously apparent that he still harbored ill feelings towards Sirius, and it seemed unlikely that that would ever change.

"No," she lied. "Your hands were cold, that's all."

"Oh," he said, seemingly uncertain of whether he believed her or not. Marlene moved both her hands under the table and clasped them together in her lap to avoid another attempt.

"So are you two broken up then?"

Marlene drew in a sharp breath. She didn't like discussing her relationship – or lack thereof – with Sirius, and most certainly not with Patrick. She hated that Sirius and Patrick were an interchangeable contention where the other was concerned, and quite frankly she was getting tired of it.

"Yes, we broke up," she said. "But I'd rather not talk about Sirius if you don't mind. I have no hard feelings about him and I know that you aren't fond of him. I think we'd be best off if we didn't involve Sirius in our conversation."

"I'm sorry," he sounded genuine. He picked up his teacup and slowly drained the remaining liquid from the porcelain. What once had been a welcome pick me up from the frustration she had been dealing with earlier in the day had quickly turned uncomfortable, and she was itching to leave.

"I think I should be getting home." Marlene glanced at the large clock on the wall and it informed her that it was nearing four o'clock. Emmeline was probably wondering why she hadn't returned yet, and heaven forbid Sirius had sent someone to check in on her, making sure that she hadn't broken her promise to tell him when she was planning to leave the city. It was something she was certain he would do, and the thought caused her to scowl.

She knew that he was coming from a place of love, but it felt overbearing and infringed upon the trust they were trying to rebuild with one another. Another wave of guilt crashed over her, thinking about how Patrick had been another driving force in their gradual distance from one another. She should have declined Patrick's offer for tea. Sirius mattered more to her than Patrick ever could.

"Already?" She watched Patrick's shoulders drop, and his expression became somber. He was very obviously disappointed. "Well, let me know if you'd like me to talk to Mathalda. I'd be happy to do it."

"Mathalda?" she asked, confused. "What about Mathalda?"

"The Healer program," he reminded her, eyebrows coming together in a frown. "Remember?"

"Right," she said. In her fluster from Patrick's sudden contact she had completely pushed any conversation they had been having from her mind. She thought about his offer though and decided within a matter of seconds that the idea wasn't worth entertaining. "I don't think that's a good idea."

The lines between his eyebrows deepened. "Why not?"

Marlene sighed, "If I'm being completely honest I didn't enjoy the program, even before Claven and the whole probation thing. I don't believe that being a Healer is what I'm meant to do with my life."

"I don't think that's true," he replied. She knew he was only trying to be encouraging but it only irritated Marlene more. She was tired of everyone else making assumptions about her ability to handle aspects of her life. Tom, Sirius, now Patrick. She'd had enough.

"Regardless, I'm not interested," she quipped with more salt than was probably necessary. "It was good to see you, Patrick. I'll see you around."

Marlene hastily made her exit, disinterested in continuing any social interactions for the rest of the day. A few blocks down she slowed her pace and stopped to lean against the wall of a small clothing store. Although she had used the excuse of needing to return home, she had no interest in making her way back to the flat.

Instead, Marlene decided that there was only one logical thing that required her time and energy. Without wasting a second thought on betraying her promise to Sirius, she turned into the nearest alleyway, made certain that no muggles were within eyesight, and disapparated.