A/N: Early update because Christmas is in 4 days! Merry Christmas friends!

It had taken the better efforts of both Lady McGonagall and His Majesty to help Marlene calm down. And while Marlene blamed it all on Lord Crouch, she admitted in her heart that part of her later anger had come from Sir Sirius leaving so abruptly. She couldn't let it show, he was not supposed to mean anything to her, and so she let it roll into her anger at Lord Crouch.

The King had promised to advise Lord Crouch that his actions were inappropriate, but based on the Lord's background, they didn't find him a threat to her person. Lady McGonagall chuckled that she'd probably managed to rid herself of a suitor with her insults, and Marlene could only hope she was right. Now that she knew Lord Crouch had been listening at her door, she was certain he had been the person trailing in the shadows behind her in the three months or so since she'd arrived.

It was a day hence as she and Emmeline returned to her quarters for the night when Sir Sirius found her.

"Your Grace, a word if you have a moment." He was being very formal and it startled Marlene. She often forgot he was a low ranking knight. He certainly seemed as though he'd been raised a higher born noble, but perhaps that was just Aunt Mia's influence.

"Of course, Sir," she smiled warmly at him.

"I owe Your Grace an apology. My actions yesterday morning were unbecoming of a Knight, and I couldn't go on without making amends for letting my…" He drew in a quick breath, clearly uncomfortable with the whole ordeal. Marlene couldn't help but feel curious about the personal history between the King and Sir Sirius. It seemed like there was a lot going on beneath the surface that she was not privy to. The pain in his grey eyes was apparent as he continued his rather stilted apology. "...personal feelings regarding something that had nothing at all to do with you...get in the way of my duty to protect the royal family. Please know that I intend to put my best efforts into ensuring your safety."

She wished he wasn't speaking so formally. He was even harder to read than usual when he was acting so...properly. Considering his standing, it should have felt completely normal, but for some reason, it didn't.

"Thank you, Sir," Marlene smiled up at him and then, justifying it as an attempt to reinforce her rumors, she offered him her hand.

Sir Sirius apparently understood her false pretense and reached for her hand, bowing at the waist and kissing her fingers. Marlene tried to ignore the way her heart flipped in her chest.

"I bid you goodnight, your Grace," and then he turned and went walking back down the corridor from which he came.

"Well," Emmeline smiled over at her, black hair falling into her eyes, "It appears the Knight will be helping you outside of banquets."

"I suppose it does," Marlene could feel the cracks in her mask, apparently Sir Sirius playing along was going to be harder on Marlene than she originally expected. "Let us retire," Marlene sighed, hoping it just sounded like she was tired and not still spinning from the feel of Sir Sirius' lips on her fingers.

The Lady Emmeline bid her goodnight in her sitting room and Marlene took a moment to breathe. She needed a plan inside of her plan now. But how does one seal one's heart when the rushing waters of affection have already begun to flow? She could only make the excuse of show for so long. It was imperative that she find a way to conduct herself in his presence when there was no need for show, specifically at the Privy Council meetings that she attended as a silent observer. She absolutely could not allow herself to act like a lovestruck milkmaid there. Marlene pressed her palm to her forehead and wished desperately for her mother.

Her contemplating was interrupted by the sound of her door opening. Marlene turned expecting to see Lady Emmeline, perchance forgetting an item or having some message. Marlene's heart panicked at the man who had imposed upon her solitude.

Lord Crouch stood before her, and his face no longer held the look of a civilized courtier. He looked at her with anger in his eyes.

Marlene drew herself erect, "You were not summoned, Lord Crouch."

"I'm not here for a social call," he slowly closed the door behind him. "I'll be needing you to come along quietly. I'll get no reward if you die, but I'll take great satisfaction in your death if you can't do as your told."

He approached her purposefully and the years Marlene's mother had spent teaching Marlene to protect herself kicked in.

Marlene rolled her eyes back and brought a hand to her forehead before dropping down into herself. She slipped a hand into her bodice and pulled her mother's knife out of its sheath. Then she waited, trying desperately to keep her breathing measured.

"Well that certainly makes things easier," Lord Crouch commented above her.

She felt him try to grab hold of her and that was when she sprang like a coiled snake, sinking the knife into his shoulder before pulling it out, spinning and bolting for the door, screaming for her life.

Her feet carried her to the Royal Quarters. There were guards everywhere in the Royal corridor, she would be safe if she could make it there. She heard running behind her but she refused to look back. The path to the Royal quarters had never seemed to take so long as Marlene ran with the bloody knife clenched in her small fist, loud footsteps seemingly getting closer with each passing second.

After an eternity, she turned down her cousin's corridor and the guards closed rank around her. Her body seemed to finally give out and she collapsed on the floor. Then James was there asking her questions and she knew she was still screaming but she couldn't stop. Lily was trying to move her into a room at the same time one of the guards was trying to pry her mother's knife from her clenched fist. The corridor was closing in on her. The panic would not subside with everyone crowded around. And she couldn't stop screaming.

Then someone said her name; someone had lifted her up into their arms; someone had set her in a soft chair and was running their hand through her hair; someone managed to slide the knife from her hand; someone was wiping the blood from her skin; someone was speaking calmly to her; someone was breathing air back into her lungs; someone had quieted her screaming.

"Marlene."

Finally, she could breathe again, finally it didn't feel like the world was spinning around her, finally, she felt like she had an ounce of control, and when she opened her eyes, Sir Sirius knelt before her.

Marlene collapsed against him and opened the floodgates of tears. She was safe.