The Death

Three days after the engagement, Ivy was still walking on air. She went on with her life how it was. She caught herself smiling at the oddest times, and spacing out when people spoke to her.

However, this proved to be a reckless undertaking. During her Death Eater summons, she would space after Voldemort finished talking. Bellatrix began to get suspicious because of all this. She could see something was different. This kept going on for two more days until Bella decided to take it to Voldemort himself.

She told him her suspicions and his temper flared. He was so angered by this he cursed the nearest person until their shrieking could be heard throughout the whole of the place where Voldemort resided. He however kept his cool around Ivy, conducting everything as usual.

Bellatrix, however, wasn't as level headed. She would smile at Ivy, large, soulless smiles that she had only reserved for school back when they were younger. She would chat animatedly, happily. Ivy was so preoccupied that she hardly noticed though.

One night, a week before they were to get married, Ivy was sitting at home alone, thinking of her wedding. She was thinking of her dress, which she and Lily had picked out. She was thinking about the church where they would be wed, which was small and beautiful. She was looking at her engagement ring and thinking about Sirius Black, her soon to be husband and the man she loved more than anything else.

A searing pain started on her left arm, burning her like fire from hell. It was different though. She lifted her sleeve and looked at the Dark Mark, which should have been burnt as black as toast, but was instead a deep, blood, red. Ivy couldn't believe it. What had she done? Hadn't she been careful enough? Why now?

These questions all ran through her head at once, then a sickening thought came to her, blocking out all the questions, all the wondering. Voldemort knew she was a traitor. He'd be there for her any time now.

Ivy walked calmly to her room and found a pensieve, and drew the large stone basin out of the cabinet. She sat it on the table and started thinking. She drew memories out of herself as she thought of them. A memory of her and Sirius's first kiss. Another of the day she got her green highlights. Memories of endless adventures at school and of tricks played on unsuspecting people. The night she got engaged. All of these memories and more, sacred to her in almost every aspect, went into this pensieve. Another thing went into it as well. She put her will into the Pensieve. If she didn't survive tonight at least her friends, the people that mattered to her most, would know what happened, and that she was sorry and would miss them so dearly. She conveyed this as best she could and put the pensieve back away so only her friends would find it.

Then she went back to her living room, sitting on her couch as the time ticked silently by. She sat there mulling over what her fate would be. She thought of running at first, but Voldemort would kill people to find her. You didn't just quit being a Death Eater. She didn't know why she didn't think of that before. Voldemort would kill people to get to her, and she couldn't bear the thought of losing any more people to that beast of a man. Too many people had been lost already.

Ivy's thoughts also wandered to what she would be doing to her friends. She knew they would be sad, incredibly so. She had known them for a long time, and they had always stood by her. She knew they would be disappointed that she didn't go to them, but she couldn't. She'd never forgive herself if Voldemort hurt one of them in his pursuit of a traitorous Death Eater.

She decided to fight. She would try to take Voldemort herself. She would try to kill him on her own. No other had been able to do it, but she had little other choice but to try. What could hurt her, other than dying? She realized that she was half losing her mind with worry about everything that would be affected by her death.

She could hear soft footsteps coming down the hall to her apartment door. She took off her ring and held it tightly in her hand, her knuckles going around it.

"I'm not letting you take my ring." She whispered to the footsteps coming at her door. Even in death she would hold her ring. She also lifted her wand to the ready.

Her breath caught in her throat as the steps stopped outside her door. There was a flash that could be seen under the door and then the door splintered apart, flying out into thousands of pieces. She could feel some fly past her face as they expanded almost slow motion into the room. Everything seemed slowed, but it was only in her mind. She forgot everything she had learned about defending herself in an eternal second.

Voldemort's slit red eyes stared down at her, as his wand was pointed at her.

"You shouldn't have betrayed me. And I held you in such high regard, too. Well, goodbye Ivy." Voldemort's cold voice cut her like knives.

"Avada…" He started to say, again as if in slow motion.

"I'm sorry Sirius." She whispered. Then she screamed out piercingly.

"Kedavra." He finished as though making polite conversation.

She felt a rush like water that enveloped her, drowning her on dry land. She felt as her breath fled from her lungs, stolen away by the death dealing spell. She thought she heard a shriek of laughter, perhaps Bellatrix's. Then she felt herself falling into the darkness..