Author's Notes: Warning: Sadistic, eye-related murder. If you don't like that, turn back now. Epilogue still to come.
)O(
Marlene McKinnon.
The name floated in Bellatrix's mind, a specter haunting her.
How could I have agreed to kill someone? And for such a low price, too…
"You all right, Bella?"
Bellatrix startled. Lily was looking at her, with an expression of honest concern on her face.
"I'm…"
Marlene would see Lily handed over to the Dementors. Tom in Azkaban. Me too, just for knowing him. Poor Lily, with the Dementors…
"I'm fine," Bellatrix lied.
"You'd tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?" Lily asked. She edged closer to her wife on the couch, touched Bellatrix's shoulder.
"Of course I would," Bellatrix lied again. "But nothing's wrong." Three lies. "Everything's fine." Four lies.
"You look sick," said Lily. She pressed her cool, soft hand to Bellatrix's cheek. "Maybe you're coming down with something."
"You ought to be a mother," Bellatrix said dryly.
"I'm happy being just a wife," Lily reminded her. She wrapped her arms around Bellatrix, and rested her head on her shoulder.
"Lily?"
"Yes, Bella?"
Bellatrix hesitated, then asked, "What do you know about Marlene McKinnon?"
"Marlene?" Lily raised her head and looked at Bellatrix, confused. "I went to school with her. Why?"
"Tom mentioned her," Bellatrix said. It was true, although not the whole story, of course.
Lily shrugged nonchalantly. "She was in most of my classes. My year, Gryffindor also. Very smart. Nice enough."
"You were friends?"
"Not really," said Lily. "But we weren't not friends, you know?"
Bellatrix made a non-committal little noise. She hadn't really had not-not friends at school. She had had a small handful of friends, and dozens of rivals and enemies, but little in between.
"Your cousin knew her better than I did," Lily said. "Sirius. And those others too, what do they call themselves? The Order of something or other…"
"The Phoenix?"
"Yes, that's it."
"Why are we talking about this?" Lily asked, twisting her hands in Bellatrix's hair. "Marlene's nothing special."
"Not compared to you, I'm sure, my Lily," Bellatrix purred, pulling the other woman into her lap. Lily laughed, and kissed her wife.
Bellatrix kissed back, but her mind was on Marlene McKinnon, and how she could get her dead. And, if she was to be honest, she was also thinking of Tom…
)O(
Marlene McKinnon was coming out of her Ministry office when she ran into the dark woman.
"Can I help you?" she asked, rather distracted. Let me see, if I go straight home, I'll have time to look over my papers before the meeting…
"Are you Marlene McKinnon?" the woman asked.
"Yes."
"Bellatrix Black-Evans," she said, putting out her hand for Marlene to shake.
"Do I know you?"
"Not as such. I'm Lily Evans' wife. But I was told I should talk to you about…" she trailed off and glanced to either side, as though worried someone would see them talking. Then she dropped her voice to a whisper. "The Order of the Phoenix."
Marlene's heart skipped a beat. "Pardon?"
"The Order of the Phoenix," Bellatrix repeated. "You are a member, aren't you?"
"I don't know what you're–"
"Because," Bellatrix continued, voice dropping to a low whisper, "I could give the Order information about Tom Marvolo Riddle that could help you greatly…"
"I can't help you," Marlene said shortly. "I'm sorry, I might be able to send someone…"
"You don't understand," said Bellatrix urgently. "I have to talk to you. To you. Only you."
Marlene glanced over her shoulder. "We shouldn't be here. There are spies everywhere."
"Where should we go, then?" whispered Bellatrix.
Marlene hesitated. The Order of the Phoenix was an illegal organization, and she shouldn't go around telling people that she was part of it. But clearly this Bellatrix already knew she was part of it. And if she was married to Lily…
She's friends with Tom Riddle… if she really is willing to help us, then she could tell us a lot…
"Come on," said Marlene. She indicated that Bellatrix should follow her, then walked nonchalantly towards the exit.
"Where are we going?"
Marlene said nothing, only led Bellatrix out of the Ministry building, into the streets of London.
The two women hurried through the roads adjacent to the Ministry, then Marlene led the way into an Underground station.
"What–" Bellatrix began, but Marlene just shook her head, and pulled Bellatrix through one of the busy terminals, down a moving staircase (Bellatrix watched the staircase warily, holding her skirts out of the way of all the moving parts), and into the bowels of the station.
The crowds thinned as they went down the staircases, until they were nearly alone. At the very bottom level, where there were only a few rather tired-looking muggles, Marlene led Bellatrix to the edge of one of the platforms. She glanced around, making sure there was no one to see them, then lowered herself onto the tracks and beckoned Bellatrix to follow, which she did.
"Why are we here?" Bellatrix asked, putting her hand on the handle of her wand.
"No one to find us," Marlene said.
"You're sure no one will find us here?"
"Positive."
In the dark, Marlene couldn't see the smirk twisting Bellatrix's face.
"Now, tell me what you know about Riddle."
"Before I do," said Bellatrix, "There's something I think you should know."
"What?"
"Well, technically speaking, this makes me a double agent…"
"Get to your point."
Bellatrix drew her wand and pointed it at Marlene. "You should never trust a double agent."
Marlene's hand flew to her wand, but Bellatrix had her disarmed in a second.
"Now, you see, I was told you were intelligent," Bellatrix said conversationally. "Only, I don't think you can be very, because no one intelligent would take a complete stranger who just happens to know that they are a member of an illegal organization into an empty…" she looked around scornfully, "train station."
"What the Hell kind of game do you think you're playing?" asked Marlene in a low voice. "What would Lily say if–"
"Lily! Lily! Lily! Crucio!" Bellatrix slashed her wand in Marlene's direction, and the woman was thrown back across the track.
"Don't you dare talk to me about Lily! Lily this and Lily that, everything's about Lily! I don't give a damn about Lily!"
Marlene stifled a sob of pain, tried to sit up, but Bellatrix was on her in an instant. She clutched the front of her robes, held her still.
"You're quite pretty, you know, Marlene," Bellatrix murmured. "Eyes all big and afraid, shaking, quivering…" She ran the tip of her tongue around her lips. "Such a pity I have to kill you."
"Crazy…" Marlene managed. "You're… crazy…"
"Perhaps I should have a little fun with you first," Bellatrix continued. "We could have such a lovely time… you could die happy…"
Marlene spat.
"No?" Bellatrix used her wand to trace a delicate pattern over the curve of Marlene's breast. "Are you sure?"
"Get away from me, you bitch," hissed Marlene.
Bellatrix shrugged, and aimed her wand at Marlene. "Well, if that's the way you want it."
She moved her wand around, trying to decide where to attack. Heart? No, too protected. Throat? No, too unoriginal. I'll go straight for the eyes…
Bellatrix held Marlene steady, aimed her wand dead at her left eye.
"Ever wondered what it's like to be blind?" she purred, and shoved her wand into Marlene's eye socket.
Marlene screamed, tried to shut her eyes, and too late. Bellatrix moaned softly, enjoying the sight of the woman writhing, with Bellatrix's wand driven into her head. "And here I thought I wouldn't be able to kill someone..."
The tracks trembled, a train was approaching.
Bellatrix pulled her wand out, very slowly, laughing and Marlene's shrieks of anguish. She wiped it on Marlene's robes, then stood up.
" Good bye, Marlene McKinnon," she purred, and disapparated.
The last thing that Marlene saw, near-blind and in excruciating pain, was the single eye of the train's light, bearing down on her.