AU - both Sirius and Marlene survived through the end of the second war
Halloween Collection Prompt: (location) Azkaban burial grounds
Reflection
It had been ten years since Sirius had escaped the hell of Azkaban. Something had drawn him back here, although he couldn't explain just what it was. He just needed to see the place now. He knew that Kingsley had made many changes, the most important one being the banishment of the dementors.
Even after several years without the presence of the oppressive beings, there was still an air of depression about the place. As he stood at the edge of the burial grounds, Sirius wondered how any of the Aurors could stand to guard this place. Even though they were regularly rotated back to the mainland, it still had to get to them.
A warm hand slipped into his and for the first time ever on this horrible island, Sirius felt comforted. Marlene had insisted on accompanying him. He had refused at first, not wanting her to see such a terrible place no matter how much it had been transformed. Now he was glad to have her by his side.
Marlene looked around at the mounds, her expression sober. "So many," she said. "So many people died here. I can't imagine this being my final resting place." She shivered in the chill wind coming off the sea.
"I could have been here too, you know." Sirius's gaze traveled over the graveyard. "I spent so many years here. If I hadn't escaped, I would've ended up like all of these people."
Marlene squeezed his hand. "I'm glad things didn't turn out that way," she said. "We would've never found each other again. I don't want to imagine what my life would've been like then. I just wish things hadn't happened the way they did. If you hadn't been sent here, maybe we could've had more time together."
Sirius shook his head. "Other than what happened to James and Lily, I wouldn't change a thing. If surviving two wars and thirteen years in Azkaban led me to you, then I'd do it all over again."
As Marlene laid her head against his shoulder, Sirius knew that everything they'd suffered, everything they'd lost, had led them to each other. To him, she was the reward for a lifetime of suffering, a prize well worth every hardship he'd endured.