Marlene
She realized immediately that she wasn't alone in the house.
"Expelliarmus!" A deep, masculine voice called out from somewhere up above her and her head whipped upwards to the staircase where the source of sound had omitted from. It was too dark to see anything, but she felt her wand slip from her fingertips to the person who had disarmed her. A shrill feminine cackle followed from just down the hallway and the sound of rustling fabric moved towards her.
"Lumos," a feminine voice whispered. The threatening glow of light lit up the intruder's face from where she had the tip of her wand pointed below her chin. It was still dark and the shadows covered just enough of her face that it was at first challenging to identify who she was.
But it was the manic laughter that floated around them that told Marlene all she needed to know. Bellatrix Lestrange was moving down the hallway towards her.
"Cat got your tongue?" Bellatrix's voice was smooth and taunting, and the man on the staircase laughed.
Marlene knew it was futile to retreat back outside to the front of the house. She had already closed the door and she would be dead before she even managed to get it open, let alone escape from her attackers. Her best chance was moving through the house in an attempt to put enough space between them so that she could make her way out the back where the cover of trees and alleyways might offer her a chance to get away.
But the sinking feeling in her gut told her that the odds were not in her favor.
She didn't take further time to contemplate her actions. She reached sideways to where she knew a vase rested on the side table. Easily her fingers clasped around the smooth glass and she chucked it at the Deatheater walking swiftly towards her. Then she shot sideways into the living area where the soft and subtle glow of the moonlight filtered in through the drapes and lit up the pathway towards the kitchen.
"You bitch!" Bellatrix screeched at the same time the sounds of shattering glass echoed through the foyer. Marlene felt the graze of some unknown hex pierce the top of her head and she ducked her head lower as her feet continued moving.
The thunderous sounds of boots moved down the stairs and another curse called out from behind her, slamming into the back door where Marlene was headed. An explosion of splintering wood sent fragments of the door flying and Marlene dove downwards to the floor.
"Did you honestly think you can escape us?" Bellatrix jeered from somewhere close behind. "How cute."
"Stop playing games, Bella." The other man chided. He too was nearby. "We agreed that she's mine."
But Marlene had scuttled into the adjoining hallway that looped back into the front foyer. Scrambling to her feet she ran for the door, completely unable to process the words chasing after her from her attackers. She could only hear the sound of her blood pumping furiously to her heart, fueling her to move faster.
Thump.
Thump, thump.
A thought occurred to her, and at the last second Marlene grabbed hold of the ridge of the banister and swiveled her body around one eighty degrees to climb the stairs. Another jet of red light from below blew up a few of the glass picture frames following her up the stairs, the tinkering of the glass falling keeping tempo to the sound of her hurried steps up the hardwood risers.
Marlene knew she was trapped on the upper level, and the amused laughter that moved slowly from behind her told her that her attackers knew just as much. They were teasing her, taking no effort to hurry after her.
She flew into the master bedroom, slamming the door behind her and clicking the lock into place. She knew it wouldn't hold them off long, but she hoped it would give her even just the seconds longer she needed.
Her hurried hands reached for the top dresser drawer and she desperately pulled it open. The magic mirror Sirius had given to her lay readily available on top of the folded shirts. Her fingers enclosed around the handle and she screamed into it.
"Sirius!" Her throat was dry and her voice cracked. "Sirius! Help me! SIRIUS!"
The loud banging of the bedroom door being forced open caused her to drop the mirror, and the sound of it hitting the floor was drowned out by her next scream.
"Black won't save you," the man chuckled. His face was more recognizable now that she was staring into his hate filled eyes.
Travers.
Her blood, if possible, turned even colder.
Thump, thump, thump.
"Nobody can save you now," he said.
The two dark bodies glided into the room and Marlene felt her body tremble, the full effects of adrenaline beginning to give way to shock. She was cornered with no wand and no escape, completely at the mercy of the two Deatheaters walking towards her. She was clinging to the hope that Sirius, still at the Potters where the sister mirror resided, had somehow heard her pleas for help. He was her only hope and she needed to stall for time.
"Sirius is on his way right now with the other Order members," she threatened, attempting to sound confident and brave. However, the accompanied laughter that followed her statement indicated they didn't believe her. She could hardly blame them. She couldn't have fooled a cat from thinking a mouse was something other than dinner.
Travers smirked something wicked. "Even if that was true. You'll be dead before they get here."
"Then get it over with already," she said hastily, mentally cursing herself for encouraging rather than trying to delay.
"Patience love," Bellatrix purred. "First you're going to tell us where the Potters are."
"Never," Marlene spat and suddenly she was on the ground writhing in pain. Though Marlene was no stranger to the intrusive, burning hot sensation of the cruciatus curse, it felt as if each subsequent experience were amplified.
"Oh that's so cute." Bellatrix cocked her head to the side as she contemplated Marlene's crumpled form on the ground. "You think you have a choice."
"Even if I wanted to give you that information, I don't know where they are," Marlene lied, grinding down on her teeth. Her body felt as though it were on fire, and she failed miserably at ignoring the burning heat raging through her limbs.
"Lies!" Travers yelled and Marlene could only hear her own screams as Bellatrix hit her with another curse. And then another. And another.
Thump, thump, thump.
As Marlene lay battered on the floor it occurred to her that too much time had passed. Sirius hadn't heard her through the mirror and would not be coming. She watched through blurred vision as Travers' thick, black boots moved towards her. He squatted down in front of her and she felt his hands reach into her hair, yanking her head off the ground by a fistful of her blonde curls. She screeched in protest as he raised her head high enough to meet his gaze. Even through her tears she could see that his stare was purely malevolent. Repulsively she watched as his lips turned upwards into a grin so sinister that Marlene felt the rolling waves of nausea rush up and outside of her body.
"Disgusting filth." Travers let go of her hair and she fell face first into the floorboards. The sound of her nose smashing against the ground and the searing sensation told her that it might have fractured. "Can't even handle a couple minutes of torture. I thought this was going to be more fun to watch you squirm around, but this is just pathetic."
"Where are the Potters?" Bellatrix had joined at his side and she kicked repeatedly into Marlene's midsection. She screamed out again as a snapping sound accompanied the last kick, and she knew without a doubt her ribs had broken.
"I don't know!" Marlene sobbed. Her hands cradled around her stomach with the sudden realization she was not only fighting for her own life, but that of the one she had been preparing to bring into the world. Depressively she couldn't help but begin to mourn the loss of the baby she would never have the chance to meet, that Sirius would never have the opportunity to know.
And then another blinding flash of another curse lit up the room in red and her vision turned black.
It felt like an eternity before the torture subsided, but the reality was it had probably only been minutes. Laying dazed and on the immediate verge of unconsciousness again, the quiet discussion across the room between Bellatrix and Travers was lost to her comprehension. Marlene's head rolled to the opposite side away from them and her eyes adjusted on the mirror that lay within arm's reach.
Her fingers twitched, and with all the remaining strength she had left she stretched her arm across the floor in a desperate attempt to grab for it. Her arm felt as though a thousand knives were slicing through her tendons with each movement. She bit down on her lip from crying out and with one great final physical effort she pulled her body forward just enough to grasp the handle of the mirror.
"Sirius," she whispered. The taste of blood stirred around and mix with the saliva in her mouth. Then she let out an involuntary groan.
"Enough of this. Let's just kill her already." Travers' deep voice spoke loud enough for Marlene to hear.
"We need her to tell us where the Potters are first," Bellatrix argued. Their disagreement about when to kill her was lost to her ears.
She knew that her time was running out and with great effort she screamed one last time into the mirror. "SIRIUS!"
Thump, thump, thump, thu -
The brilliant flash of green light that danced across the walls was electrifying. It was not, however, the last thing she saw.
She had once asked Sirius what he thought it would be like to die. In short, the answer to her question was nothing quite like she could have ever imagined it to be.
Almost as if time were offering her one last gift from her departure from the living, time momentarily froze and she became enveloped in all that had been. Death wrapped around her gently, pulling her closely into its arms of uncertainty. The darkness slowly flooded through her, consuming her body, her mind, and eventually grabbing firmly onto her soul.
Suddenly, she watched as Sirius's hand extended out from the darkness to reach for her and she clenched onto it firmly.
"You're not real, are you?" she asked him.
He didn't answer. Instead he pulled her into him and the warmth of his love folded around their tangled bodies. "I'm here Mar," he whispered into her hair.
She felt him as if he were real.
"I'm not ready," she said quietly. He nodded as if understanding and then pulled away to look into her eyes. One last time she admired his magnificent smile; the way it quirked to one side playfully, how it melted her inside and made her forget herself, becoming lost.
Everything felt so peaceful. So calm.
His brilliant blue eyes, his everlasting presence that had permanently etched its way into her heart, all at once enveloped her into a welcoming embrace and she moved with him into the darkness.
And then she fell gracefully backwards into the dark veil that separated the two worlds from one another. Separating her from her friends. From Sirius.
There was no fear. No pain. Only love.
And then there was nothing.