A Marauder's Guide to Falling Forever

Chapter Twenty Five

Things became a blur. Her head was spinning fast and the lights and sounds around her whizzed past without conscious awareness. Voices were speaking somewhere in the distance; some angry shouts and a few subtle whispers floated in and out of her ear without comprehension. Marlene could only look at the large boar's head that hung slightly off center above the fireplace mantle in Tom's living room.

"Marlene?" Lily's voice, sweet and gentle. "Marlene? Hello?"

Marlene lifted her chin to stare upwards at the girl towering over her. "Lily? When did you get here?"

"I've been here for an hour." Lily bit her lip and shifted her glance sideways to look at someone. Marlene followed her gaze. Sirius was standing in the doorway that separated the living room from the hall. He was fixated on her, arms crossed against his chest and a heavy set brow indicated that he was concerned.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, toneless.

His face relaxed as though he hadn't realized that he held any tension there, and then he glided into the room to sit in the empty space beside her. "Well, I mean –" he trailed off.

"What?"

"Are you okay? You don't look like you're okay," he asked quietly. His eyes were focused on someone behind Marlene and she turned to look. Tom was watching them with a hawkish glare. It was apparent that Sirius did not wish for him to overhear.

"I'm fine," she replied, though she didn't know if it were true or not. She felt very numb. "Maybe a little shocked, that's all."

Marlene was the Keeper of the Hall of Prophecies. The Keeper. Marlene. A large lump seemed to settle at the back of her throat and she swallowed loudly. She had only been sitting with the information for a few hours but somehow it didn't feel overly unexpected. It was an absurd thought, she knew that. But she couldn't explain to herself why it felt that way. Of course she kept her mouth shut to the others, especially Tom. He was having a mild tantrum over the entire ordeal.

"I don't get why you were even there in the first place?" She snapped out of another trance to overhear Sirius speaking sternly to Tom. He had wandered over to the couch, no doubt to yell at them some more. "Isn't it a little late to be at the Ministry anyways? How do we know that you aren't a threat here?"

"Me? A threat?" Tom balked, outraged. Marlene threw her hand sideways to clench onto Sirius's as a warning. He didn't need to go picking any fights. "You have the audacity to come in here, to my home, after all that you've put Marlene through, and accuse me of something?"

"Stop!" Marlene commanded loudly, and the entire room obeyed.

It was the first time that she felt fully conscious and she surveyed the room. Tom and Sirius were closest, with Lily and Alice not far off to the side where she was standing, both wide eyed and anxious. James and Frank were in the corner talking with Dumbledore, grim expressions painted their faces.

"This night has been strange," she admitted. "I'm not even sure what is going on right now and all you can do is yell at one another? Just stop. Tom – Sirius has not been a bad influence on me, believe it or not but I'm the one that broke into the Ministry and I forced Sirius to come with me –"

Sirius interrupted, no doubt to contest her, "Marlene –"

"Shut up, Sirius," she snapped at him, drawing her hand away. "And don't think you're getting off so easily. Just because Tom was at the Ministry tonight doesn't mean that he's some sort of spy or something. Don't you think it's a bit much to accuse him of something like that?"

"We can't be too careful, Marlene," Sirius grumbled.

"You can't condemn everyone. Not everyone is untrustworthy," she said icily, referring to Remus. Sirius didn't respond.

"What I'd like to know is how the hell you managed to come by that key," Tom barked. Marlene flinched. She hadn't told him about the piece of paper with the strange engraving. The same engraving that now rested visibly on her left forearm. Her eyes dipped down to look at it again, and her finger unconsciously traced over it.

"Tom, if I may." Dumbledore had stepped from the corner of the room and swept closer. His thumb and forefinger stroked his beard thoughtfully as his eyes passed between the occupants in front of him. "Marlene has been working on a special project for me this past year – "

"Of course you're to blame for this," Tom interrupted him. "These kids are still kids, Dumbledore. You had no business recruiting them for your ridiculous little vigilante organization."

"We are not children – " Sirius started but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him. Marlene was surprised to see that Sirius obeyed immediately.

"Tom, I understand that they are quite younger than you and I, but do not be fooled to believe that they are still children. They have been swept up in this war for just as long as you and I, and unfortunately the scars run quite deep for all of us." His gaze rested on Marlene, and she shivered. "I know that Molly and Dave were close friends of yours – "

"Molly and Dave have nothing to do with this," he spat angrily. "They were adults making their choice and they got themselves killed. I'll be damned if I sit back and watch their daughter do the same." He turned his attention to Marlene. "I need you to give me the key, Marlene. You are not a Departmental Mysteries employee and I don't want to see you rot in Azkaban for the crimes you've committed tonight. Just give me the key and be done with this nonsense."

"Do you really believe that my parents died for nothing?" Her brows deepened. "I'm an adult too, in case you're forgetting. I'm making my choice. I'm choosing to follow my parents in an attempt to bring justice to the world. They didn't die in vain. They died trying to ensure that I had a life to continue to live for. That we all do."

"You lot are going to get yourselves killed – "

"Then I die," she said with exasperation. "If I die, I die. But I'm not going to sit around and wait for the Ministry to defeat him. We are all doomed if we do that. You can join us or you can sit by and watch from the sidelines, I don't care. But I'm not going to let you make me feel bad for this decision anymore. Especially not after tonight. I made the right choice, I truly believe that."

Tom was silent. "This is not a life your parents would have wanted for you Marlene."

"But they're not here are they? And whether they would have approved of my decision to join the Order and fight Voldemort is irrelevant. I'm not going to let ghosts control my future, Tom. I don't think you should either."