It was after days of glancing at her own picture on her family tree that Marina truly understood what choice she had taken.
She didn't regret telling the others the truth (not at all), but she knew deep down inside that she didn't want to change anything in her life.
It was on the day that they went back to Hogwarts that she realized that there was no going back: no more holidays celebrated at Malfoy Manor anymore, no more calling on who she had thought was her father, no more missions or commands. A part of her could not understand how she was going to do it, as she still loved the Malfoys more than anyone, but she had told herself that it was the best thing to do a million times over.
She glanced at the picture of Regulus one last time before leaving. His cold eyes looked right back at her.
She didn't know much about the man. Narcissa had, of course, mentioned him while talking about their family history over the past years, but never told her who he really was.
"Do you hate him?" Marina turned to Sirius. "Every time you speak of him, your face twists and you rush through your sentences."
Her uncle pressed his lips together and looked between her and the portrait. "Regulus followed Voldemort and was obsessed with blood purity — just like you."
Lupin stepped between them. "No. Not like Marina."
"She tried to fool Harry—"
"Everything Marina has done belongs to the past," Lupin said and turned to look at her. "You didn't know who you were. They fooled you, Marina, don't forget that. You didn't have a choice. Now, you do."
"She did have a choice! And look at what she did — she killed a boy!"
Marina felt her heart break. She had to look down at the floor. "No, she didn't," Lupin said, defending her again. "We've been through this. The only logical explanation to that night is You-Know-Who taking control of her body. He has done it before, she knows how it feels."
"I don't care what you think of me," Marina told Sirius, "I would never hurt Harry."
Harry entered the room, his jacket already on. They were to return to Hogwarts on the Knight Bus.
"Harry fell in love with Marina spite knowing who she was raised and guided by," Lupin told Sirius when Marina turned to Harry.
Mrs. Weasley stood right outside the room, ready to hand Marina her bag and cloak. It was with tears in her eyes that she pulled the girl into a motherly hug as a way of saying that she understood that the girl had gone through Hell over the past week.
"Now, if you ever need anything, do not hesitate to borrow Harry's owl and write to me! Is that understood?" she said, smiling, and Marina nodded. "Good, my darling." She turned to Harry, not hesitating to pull him close. "Good-bye Harry, take care of yourself. I will see you soon."
Sirius followed them to the staircase, hands buried deep into his robe's pockets. Marina felt worried approaching him.
"Look after yourself, Harry," he pushed her to the side, ready to pull his Godson into a brief, one-armed hug. Marina watched in silence as her uncle hugged Harry goodbye before running up the stairs, not even giving her a glance.
"He just needs some time," Harry tried with a soft voice, but she quickly shook her head.
"I understand. I wouldn't have trusted me, either."
The house-elf who Marina understood was called Kreacher, opened the door widely once they reached the end of the staircase.
"Kreacher lives to serve the noble House of Black..." he spoke to himself as she walked past him. According to Sirius, Kreacher and her father had been extremely close till the day that he died, spending their time in Grimmauld Place together. Marina looked down at him, to which he answered with a bow, and she could only smile in return.
The door of number 12 shut behind them and the house started shrinking rapidly, squeezing out of sight. A second later, it was completely gone.
The Weasley children, Hermione and Lupin stood on the sideway, looking at Marina with heavy hearts. She didn't like it for a second - she didn't want their pity. She wanted everything to go back to the way it was before Christmas.
BANG
A violently purple, three-decker bus appeared out of thin air in front of them. A thin, pimply, jug-eared youth in a purple uniform fell out of it, beginning: "welcome to the-"
"Yes, yes, we know," Fred snapped, already on his way to step inside the bus.
"But thank you," George sang, following his twin close after. The rest of them got on within a blink.
"Aye! It's 'Arry Po-" the conductor began once Harry stepped in, making Marina stomp her foot into the ground from behind them.
"If you shout his name, I will literally curse you until you forget your own name and see nothing but-"
"Marina!" Lupin quickly grabbed her arm, laughing the whole situation away. "She didn't mean it..."
"Yes, I did!" she pointed down at the pocket of her jacket, where her wand was sticking out, before closing her mouth and turning to Lupin.
"Stay safe this year, alright?" the elder man said, looking at her with gentle eyes. Marina smiled at the man who had been the one to convince her to tell the others the truth.
"You have a good heart, Remus. Thank you for everything."
Marina turned back to the bus, entering it without hesitation, still pointing at her wand while meeting the conductor's gaze. She looked around, the bus crammed with an assortment of mismatched chairs grouped haphazardly around windows. There were several people on it, looking at Harry with wide eyes. Marina took his hand, quickly finding the way to the very top deck. Hermione and Ron had already found seats at the top, staring out of each of their windows.
"I've always wanted to go on this thing," Ron said, his mouth wide open.
The Knight Bus swayed alarmingly just as he finished his sentence, making Marina fall into the nearest seat. Hermione was quick to cover her face with her hands.
BANG
Chairs slid backward in the bus, one hitting Harry's knee. He fell to the floor, letting out a loud groan.
BANG
The bus jumped from the motorway to a quiet country lane as Marina tried to hold back her laughter, reaching out to help the boy on the floor.
"I have changed my mind!" Ron screamed. "I don't want to ride this thing!"
BANG
The bus was now placed on top of a gigantic hill before it suddenly jumped to the middle of a busy town, then somewhere in the middle of the woods.
"Hogwarts next!" Hermione confirmed with a high-pitched voice, now peeking outside. "Ron, get up from the floor, what are you doing?"
BANG
The Knight Bus entered a snowy Hogsmeade. Marina put her palm on the window, feeling the cold and leaving a handprint of damp on it before getting up.
"I am never, ever stepping my foot into this bus again," Ron cried loudly, getting to his feet. His face was now as pale as the snow outside.
The quartet got off the bus quickly, their luggage in their hands, and watched the rest of the passengers of the bus stare down at them, noses flat against the window.
"We need to get back to Hogwarts quick," Hermione breathed, her bag falling from her grip to the ground. "I should - we should - do a Prefect control before the semester starts."
She got to her knees, brushing snow off the bag. Ron looked down at her with pursed lips - it was clear that the Christmas break was over, and that the old Hermione was back.
"Can't we do that tomorrow?" he tried.
"No, because-" Hermione gasped as a snowball flew toward her in a tremendous speed, hitting the top of her head.
She shot up, her beanie sliding off. Marina was quick to turn, finding the one who had thrown the snowball looking at her with his arms wide open.
"Wow! I'm sorry, Mudblood, I didn't see you there," Draco began as the twins and Ginny stumbled out of the bus. It took only a second before it had disappeared into thin air.
"If you call her that again, I'm sure she will have no problem with breaking your nose for the second time," Marina stepped forward, reminding Draco of what had happened during their third year.
"Well, hello Marina! Mother missed you terribly this Christmas," he smiled, leaning forward. "I'm sure you can guess who else missed you."
"Shut it, Malfoy," Harry stepped forward, throwing his arm around Marina's waist.
"Oh! I see! You have gotten yourself a boyfriend, haven't you, Marina?"
"Did you not hear what Harry just said?" snapped Fred. George pulled out a lethal-looking metal instrument from his bag. "Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?"
"Or any part of your body, really," continued George, "we're not fussy where we stick this."
Draco's eyes became wide at once. Suddenly, his confident smile turned, and the color drained from his face.
"Piss off," Ginny snickered, straightening her back and walking to stand face-to-face with the blond boy. Crabbe and Goyle both stomped their feet into the ground, clenching their fists. The Weasley only laughed at them. "It's three of you, and seven of us. Who do you think would win?"
The Malfoy took a step back, meeting Marina's eyes. Something had changed in him, but something had changed in her, too.
"I just wanted to give Marina her Christmas present," he said, gloved hands reaching into his pocket. He drew out a torn copy of the Daily Prophet, throwing it in her direction. "We wanted to give you something special this year. Enjoy!"
He quickly turned around, marching into the nearest building, Crabbe, and Goyle following him with heavy steps. Marina let the paper fall into her hands, her eyes flickering over the front page.
MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
Her eyes were drawn to the great picture below the headline. A familiar witch leapt out at her, her long, dark hair dangling in front of her hallow face.
The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, could today confirm that ten high-security prisoners escaped from Azkaban in the early hours of yesterday's evening.
"We find ourselves in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderous Sirius Black escaped," said Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footstep. We think it is likely that these individuals, who include Sirius Black's cousin, Bellatrix Black, have rallied around the man as their leader. We beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious; on no account should any of the Blacks be approached.
Marina let the paper fly to the ground. So, this was what the Dark Lord had meant to be her huge present for completing her mission.
Quick Author's Note:
Thank you all for helping this book hit 10k reads! I never thought it would happen, but it truly means the world to me. I am so grateful for the fact that you're not tired of me yet... Oh, and also, a quick happy birthday to The Dork Who Didn't Die!