A Marauder's Guide to Falling Forever

PART FOUR

Written by alliegrl


Epilogue


"He had the strangest feeling that there was someone standing right behind the veil on the other side of the archway. Gripping his wand very tightly, he edged around the dais, but there was nobody there; all that could be seen was the other side of the tattered black veil."

Harry Potter encountering the Veil in Order of the Pheonix


It was like waking up from a particularly long, deep slumber. Marlene's feet descended down the spiraling staircase of the girls dormitories to where she could hear the voices of James and Lily speaking to one another.

When the common room came into view it was otherwise empty and quiet. The only other movement was that of the magnificent fireplace which was roaring with dancing embers that cast their shadows against the stone walls.

Lily and James had their backs to Marlene. Where the portrait hole had once been now existed a very large and dark archway with black curtains raised to reveal something behind it. Over Lily's shoulder she caught sight of a youthful boy with unruly jet black hair and circular rimmed glasses standing just on the other side of it. He was staring directly at Lily and James.

"Lily, he has your eyes!" James observed with excitement. His hand clasped down gently on Lily's shoulder as he hovered beside his wife, both of them looking forward together at the boy on the other side.

"But he has your spirit, James," Lily said fondly, accompanied by a gentle laugh. "And that hair. Merlin, he could be your twin!"

"I don't think the world could handle another James Potter," Marlene said, joining the conversation. Both Lily and James pulled their attention away from the boy to acknowledge Marlene's arrival.

She stepped off the last tread of the staircase and entered into the common room to where her best friend was grinning ear to ear with open arms. She suspected it had been a very long time since they had last seen one another, given by the age of the boy she assumed to be Harry.

"Oh Marlene!" Lily exclaimed with joy as her arms wrapped around Marlene and they embraced. "It's so good to see you again."

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Marlene said jokingly. James humored her with a rich laugh and pulled her into his arms once Lily had let go.

"Alright, Marlene?"

"As good as I could be for being dead, I suppose," she replied. She smirked up at him and he tousled her hair as though she were a child. "And you?"

"Can't complain." He shrugged before slinging his arm around Lily and pulling her into his side. Marlene admired their affection for one another and smiled. Even in death they could be nauseating to watch.

She turned her attention back to the archway. Up close she noted that it looked more like a glass window, and Marlene moved closer to look through to where the fifteen year old boy stood staring through at them. Indeed, he looked very much like his father.

She watched fondly as Harry contemplated the archway, peering in towards them as though he were aware of their presence. "Can he see us?" Marlene wondered aloud.

"No," James said sadly. "I think he can hear us a little though."

"He's spectacular," Marlene told them. What an amazing boy they had brought into the world.

"It was inevitable. He has a pretty fantastic set of parents," James teased arrogantly and Lily shoved at him. "What? He does!"

"Have you seen Sirius yet?" Marlene asked quietly. Lily and James had gone back to admiring the son they had never had the chance to know.

"Not yet," James responded. "Only Harry."

She looked back to the archway but Harry had wandered away and a shroud of darkened shadows cast down like a billowing curtain of black smoke.

"Is it selfish for me to be happy to see him again?" she asked.

"It's never selfish to want to see the ones you love," Lily replied. She placed both hands on Marlene's shoulders to look her straight in the eyes. "It's his time Marlene. You are not selfish."

"Thanks Lily," Marlene said. Lily grinned and then her hands moved from Marlene's shoulders and fell to her side.

It wasn't much longer before Marlene recognized his voice. He sounded older, much older. The three of them peered through the archway once more as the curtain had drawn back again to reveal the other side.

And then she saw him.

Sirius was still as handsome as the day she first laid eyes on him. Even though he had aged, his adventurous spirit made him seem much more youthful than that of his physical appearance. His eyes were twinkling with usual mischief and his lips formed into his trademark smirk. He was only mere feet away from her, and yet still so far. She could tell that he was completely oblivious to her presence or his certain fate.

Marlene couldn't help it; she reached her hand forward to touch the tattered curtains. They passed through her fingertips and were cold like winter frost.

And so they waited.

Finally, a jet of light illuminated the curtain of the veil. Sirius's glorious smile forever stilled on what physically remained of him in the land of the living. His body fell gracefully backwards to where she, Lily, and James awaited his arrival.

Marlene stepped aside to allow Sirius passage into the afterlife. He passed through the shadows and Bellatrix's sinister cackles of triumph over his murder broke through the barrier. But as soon as his body had fully passed through, the barrier silenced once more, closing the realms between all things living and dead. Everything beyond the veil faded away into darkness once more.

His back was to her when he pulled himself upwards from the ground so she was not the first thing he saw. Lily and James stood in front of him beaming.

"Padfoot." James had a large grin embellished on his face as Sirius eyed him up first.

"Prongs?" he questioned, his tone suggested a very evident level of surprise. "I suppose there's two explanations why the two of you are standing in front of me."

"Go on then," James probed him.

"One, I either got hit with a really great hex and am hallucinating." Both Lily and James laughed along with him while Marlene smiled silently from behind. And when the laughter stopped his tone became sad with recognition. He continued on with his second explanation. "Or more logically I'm dead."

Neither James nor Lily confirmed his suspicions.

"It's good to see you again, Sirius," Lily said instead. She moved forward to give him an affectionate squeeze. "Thank you for watching out for Harry."

"He's just like you." Sirius sounded proud. "A good mix of you both."

He moved from Lily to embrace James in a fierce, brotherly hug and the warmth of their love filled the air, second only to the heat of the fire that engulfed the common room.

"Is it only the two of you then?" Sirius sounded disappointed, as though he were wishing for someone else. Lily shook her head at him and pointed her slender finger to where Marlene stood patiently behind him awaiting her turn.

"I'm here," Marlene spoke loudly and he spun around at the familiar sound of her voice.

"Marlene?" he breathed, uncertain.

Though time did not exist in the afterlife, it surely would have stopped in the moment they spent reunited for the first time since Marlene's tragic death so many years before.

She smiled at him and he raced forward to grab her. His arms encircled around her, pulling her into him. She didn't realize how cold she was until the warmth of his unfaded spirit surrounded her, drawing life back into her for one last time.

"I never got to say goodbye to you," he said sadly when he finally pulled away. However, his hands refused to let go of her. "I never got to tell you one last time how much I love you."

"But you did, Sirius," she encouraged him warmly. "Love is not defined by words. You showed me your love every day that you breathed life."

He pulled away just enough to look down into her eyes and she observed that his were flooded with a raging sea of emotion. Powerful and strong, his silent understanding and acceptance of death washed over him like a tidal wave in a storm. Marlene reached her hand up to touch his face and his eyes fluttered closed at the feel of her touch.

"I can't believe this is real," he whispered softly. "I've dreamed about this every day since I lost you. I could only hope that you were waiting for me on the other side and that we'd be together again."

"You never lost me," she insisted. "I've always been with you. Always and forever."

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. Soft and gentle, his tender lips pressed against her own and rekindled the fire within. When they pulled away he pulled her close back into his chest and buried his head into her hair.

"I've never stopped loving you," he murmured. The vibrations of his vocals tickled her and she shivered.

"I know," she told him. "I love you Sirius Black. Not even death could change how much I love you."

James coughed suggestively across the room. "I hate to ruin your moment," he teased, "But it's time for us to go."

Sirius pulled his head away from Marlene to look at Lily and James. He smirked wickedly, like he always did when some scheme or form of mischief came to mind. James returned it eagerly.

"Have you ever not caused mischief wherever you go?" Lily asked. She tried to look annoyed but her smile gave her away. Marlene laughed; James and Sirius's spirits would never change, not even in death.

"Definitely not," Sirius informed her. "You knew what you were getting yourself into when you married that – what did you use to call him?"

"An arrogant bullying toerag," Marlene chimed in. Lily looked embarrassed.

"Yes, well." Her beautiful face flushed. "James, you really were."

"That's neither here nor there, now is it." He gave her a cheeky wink. "Got you in the end didn't I?"

Lily leaned up to kiss him.

"Take is easy Marlene." James redirected his attention back to his friends once more. "Until our next adventure, Padfoot."

The four of them exchanged their final goodbyes and Lily and James faded away, leaving Sirius and Marlene alone in the quiet room. They had spent a great deal of their time together in the Gryffindor common room and it only seemed fitting for them to meet there one last time. The fire continued to crackle somewhere in the distance and the light began to brighten the walls around them. Slowly, the common room began to ebb away into nothingness.

"It's time," Marlene said softly. She reached out and offered her hand for Sirius to take.

His fingers threaded with hers and she squeezed his hand affectionately. Sirius offered her one last smile and she melted inside.

"Shall we do this then, McKinnon?"

Marlene held his steady gaze and nodded her head. "Together," she said. She was finally ready to let go completely.

Death would not tear them apart. They belonged entirely to one another; two souls entwined and promised to one another, bound by a powerful force of unexplainable love magic.

Together, forever.

And then Sirius and Marlene walked hand in hand towards the light.


A/N: THE END!

October 31st, 2020

Wow guys. It has been one heck of a magical ride.

Nearly ten years ago an idea popped into my head - who or what is behind the veil and why can Harry hear whispers? I've always loved the Marauders aspect of the HP kingdom, and all it took was one search to HP Lexicon to discover my main protagonist Marlene, my love for Sirius Black, and BAM A Marauder's Guide to Falling in Love was born. I have known from the beginning, even before I started writing, how the epilogue was going to go. I used the quote from Order of the Phoenix (listed in the epilogue) to craft my story completely around how Sirius and Marlene end up together in the end. I always envisioned that the whispers Harry was hearing were his parents, and after Sirius passed through the veil that they would be waiting for him on the other side. So needless to say that ten years ago when this idea flooded into me I had to write it down. Its safe to say that I have been dying to reach the epilogue, the true beginning of my adventure writing this series, ever since! Never did I imagine that I would spend so much time or pour so much of myself into this. Originally this was supposed to span over three books, but as I got writing, and more ideas began to flow, I had to listen to my characters and their development and take them in the places they were directing me to go. But the one thing that has never waivered was that stupid veil which has haunted me since Order of the Pheonix's post traumatic stress disorder causing death scene of my dear, beloved Sirius Black back in 2003.

When I was a child I used to write stories and comic books. My love for reading and writing spans back to my earliest memories, and when I was ten years old I fell in love with Harry Potter. I wrote my first fanfiction when I was thirteen years old and when I tell you it was garbage, you best believe I mean it. My second fanfiction was developed when I was about fifteen or so and revolved around my then obsession for Draco Malfoy (who am I kidding, it was totally Tom Felton). I told myself when I was younger that I was going to write a novel, and while those early fanfictions weren't the best of me, they definitely got me going in the right direction. Now that I'm closing this chapter of my fanfiction life I do hope to finish writing one of the numerous novels I have started in the past few years. I do hope to one day fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a published author and write a novel that is my very own. While the words and ideas of this series belong to me, they wouldn't have been possible without the wonderful, brilliant mind of J.K. Rowling.

The Marauder's Series has been both a blessing and a curse. I have gone on writing frenzies and pushed out chapter after chapter and then hit a wall and taken numerous month long hiatuses (I've also had 2 children and pursued a University Nursing degree along the way). What has amazed me is that people continue to read my stories even after all this time, even despite the numerous breaks I have taken.

When I started writing this I started writing it for me. I didn't expect anyone to read it. While I'm not a popular author online by means, the amount of reads, votes, and comments I have received since posting to and Wattpad these past ten years has been nothing short of amazing, and I am so very blessed that others have enjoyed my story as much as I have had sharing it.

There is one person I want to acknowledge more than anyone. Jill, you are my kindred spirit, book buddy, soul sister, best friend that has supported me and my writing for the past twenty years. The one person I can turn to and talk to about cheesy romance books and watch silly cliché hallmark style movies with, even despite their overly predictable nature. And smut. Definitely smut. Our love of reading the same genre, the sorts that everyone rolls their eyes at, makes you all that more special to me. Thanks for sticking by my side all these years. Also wishing you the happiest of birthdays to you on this day. One day I'm going to write that book I've been promising you.

While I haven't been able to track every read or vote I do also want to acknowledge you as well. Thank you for the love. Thank you for taking the time to read my work. Thank you for all your kind words, criticisms, error corrections, and comments. They mean the world to me and I am so sad to say goodbye. I hope to see you all again when I publish my own, original novel someday in the future.

But until then I have one more thing left to say:
Mischief managed.

XOXO Allie

UPDATE: I have began posting chapters for my own novel All The Scars You Hide which is available to read on Wattpad under my username alliegrl

Check it out! :)