𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗜𝗜𝗜 ━━ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘

118. happily ever after

( song for the chapter:
when we were young — adele )

FEBRUARY, 1981

          𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗚𝗢𝗧 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗥. London had one giant cloud looming over the city, resulting in omnipresent dullness.

      The Death Eater meeting Scarlet was just at was adjourned, and everybody was standing up to leave.

"Stay," Riddle ordered as he regarded Bridget with a single sharp glance, and she stayed in her seat with a stubborn look. Everybody spared her an unwanted concerned glance as they left, automatically assuming she's in trouble as if they're kids at Hogwarts and Voldemort is a professor.

She made sure her heartbeat was kept stable because somehow, even without the use of Legilimency, Riddle could sense whenever she was nervous. And Scarlet being nervous is always a suspicious matter. Awkward silence stretched out, and Scarlet started to feel uncomfortable underneath his silent stare. They were just sitting there.

"If you're not going to say anything, I'll start smoking." She blurted out.

      He was merely glaring at her, and then made a gesture with his arm to give permission, to show she can do so.

      So she did. She pulls out a cigarette. She lights it with Fiendfyre. So over the top ridiculous. But it is Fiendfyre, plain as day. A tiny dragon rises from her palm in the red-orange glow before it's swiftly gone, just as it was trying to split and grow into another fiery beast.

"You taught me this, remember?" She sparked up the conversation and instead of verbally replying, he sent one single nod in her direction. She remembered as at the age of eighteen, she was standing in the forest nearby Riddle's lair, watching him summon the fire with much ease, with a flicker of his wrist. She was in awe, as bad as it sounds, she couldn't take her eyes off.

       It's absurd, unnecessary, but remarkable. To summon the Great Fire with the flick of a wrist, to control it, banish it without the slightest effort, confidently enlarge it to massive flames and then dim it down instantly.

      She is taking drags of the substance and sighing. Smoke blurred her view of Voldemort. Then he leaned forward, staring her down a little bit more with his hands politely locked on the table, resting there.

      Scarlet had the childish urge to blow smoke in his face.

"Your emotions have been heightened recently," he pointed out. Finally, the bastard talks.

As if she wasn't aware that her emotions have been all over the place, "I know, I have been quite... angry as of the late—"

"Not angry, you have been sadder than usual." he mused.

"Oh."

"Whatever you are going through, I don't care for it so get rid of it," he ordered, and she rolled her eyes, silently, "your fit of temper serves you well, your magic is more potent when you're in rage."

As usual, her feelings got the best of her and her snarkiness came forward, "you claim you don't care and yet..." she stopped herself, meeting his eyes.

"I know you're dying trying to suppress your questions, so I give you permission to ask." He liked to pretend nobody in his circle had any choices, that he gave them permission to do everything.

"Why is Mulciber absent today?" She quickly said. He was right, the question was eating her brain.

"Because he is dead."

Scarlet almost gaped but her elegance made her keep her mouth shut, wide-eyed gaze, astonished. "Did you—?"

"Of course, I did, Scarlet," Riddle scoffed, staring at her in disbelief, "do you think that someone can touch you and get away with it? Do you think I'll allow my greatest fighter to be harmed—? Do you think that anybody else in my circle matters more than you?"

      Oh for fuck's sake, he's going to be pissed when he realises she's a traitor. She decided at that moment that she might have to take her secret to her grave.

"Bellatrix might disagree." Scarlet said. When attending pureblood gatherings for the past few months, she realised that Lucius and Narcissa, her family, meant a lot to her. She realised that no matter which side of the war wins, she was bound to lose. She was going to lose someone from one of her two sides.

"I immensely value Bellatrix but you..." he shook his head, stopping himself before saying anything that might make him sound dependent or amused— he never really liked praising his followers, Riddle looked away, "you're free to leave."

      Scarlet made her way out of the room, there were various people in Malfoy Manor, gathering around and chatting. She hasn't heard anything about a party or anything.

"Where is Narcissa?" She asked Rodolphus who regarded her with a nod in the form of greeting.

"Out in the gardens," said the man, "is everything alright? With our lord?"

      She nodded, assuring him before slithering away to the manor's gardens, her dark green robes standing out in a house full of women in their silk and shiny gowns.

When she stepped out, a full head of blonde stood out in the snow with a baby in her arms.

      Narcissa was rocking her son back and forth, slightly throwing him up in the air softly and trying quite literally everything else— smiling and planting him with honeyed words. Draco is a massive crier, and the biggest attention seeker Scarlet had ever seen. He constantly needs to be held, always in need of being rocked, even in his sleep. Lucius has dark circles under his eyes, he doesn't focus during death eater's meetings anymore.

"Cissa," she said from a bit further away so she doesn't startle the woman with her presence, "it's freezing out here, you're going to be sick."

"The inside of the Manor is too... too much, Draco doesn't really like gatherings," Narcissa said, worried, "hope he gets used to it soon."

      It was hard to hear her over the boy's crying, he was wailing now. Insides were not any less colder than the gardens, even with the snow over them. Narcissa's golden hair was covered in flecks of snow, they glinted the second they landed on her blonde strands as though Narcissa's mere touch illuminated the snow, passing light energy. It melted like it belonged with her.

      Even after all these times, Scarlet's heart skipped a beat whenever she would look at Narcissa. It always did, even back at Hogwarts; she never knew the reason back then, but now she thinks she knows.

"Let me try," she leaned forward, sprawling her arms in the air. Narcissa carefully passed Draco over to Scarlet.

       Almost instantly, Draco quieted down like a miracle, he looked perfect in that expensive blanket of snow. His head was full of icy blonde hair now, soft and wavy.

"He'll learn to cope in time," Scarlet softly uttered, smiling down to him. "I have a feeling."

"Cope with what?" Narcissa asked cluelessly.

"Being on top," she answered. "Draco is Malfoy's heir, Cissa, he will be expected to portray himself very accordingly."

      Narcissa inhaled sharply.

"Do you know what the worst part of being at the top is, Cissa?" Scarlet asked, Narcissa probably knew the answer somewhere at the bottom of her heart where she would never shed light but Scarlet often thought about it. Heirs and heiresses, it was difficult, not because—

"The higher you are, the colder it gets?" Narcissa offered, "I don't understand science."

"Partly," she responded, brushing snowflakes from Draco's cheeks with her gloved hands. "When you're high, atmospheric pressure drops and you feel internal pressure rising. The world, the outside world thinks it's easier but inside your mind, you feel..."

      Her teeth clattered in the cold, she clutched onto Draco tighter.

"You feel uncomfortable inside... it's not easy being where we are," she spoke, mostly to Draco although he did not understand, "especially when you're born at the top, it's such a long way down to the bottom."

Narcissa smiled lightly, "I'm glad he has someone who will properly explain these things to him," she said, "I often find it difficult to express."

"If I'm ever not around, please, always make sure he has somebody to go to— it's very unfair for young kids to bottle their feelings, it results in tarnished relationships later in life and I don't want that for Draco."

      Scarlet's eyes drifted to something in the distance, and Narcissa noticed the lilac circles under them.

"To be fair, I don't understand you at all," Narcissa admitted, sucking in a sharp breath of freezing air, forming tiny clouds with each word.

      There was a tense stretch of silence during which Narcissa closed his eyes, allowing the snowflakes to settle gently in her hair and robes.

"No one really does," Scarlet replied with a sad smile. Then, her expression shifted back to one of earnest concern, she rocked Draco in her arms, "let's get this fussy one inside before he turns into a popsicle."

      Marlene did not show up at Everest's flat, not for an entire month.

      However, McKinnon did show up at the Order's meeting, and the atmosphere was so tense that even Alastor felt a little uneasy. Everest was glaring at the blonde, tapping her fingernails against the table gently as Dumbledore spoke slowly and made everyone miserable. Marlene locked eyes with Eve, and inhaled sharply, her heart skipping a beat as she glanced away.

"How are your missions going, Miss Chasseur?" Dumbledore asked, capturing the huntress' attention.

"Fantastic," she declared proudly, "I have managed to kill two of Fenrir's followers, shot them in the hearts with silver and they bled out overnight."

      Scarlet rubbed the bridge of her nose at what her best friend was doing, it was clear that the brunette was aiming her statements to make Marlene feel irritated, more at unease. Everest was frostbite whenever she was frustrated, threatening everybody with sharp ice. It was not a pretty look.

      Remus, who sat beside Bridget, looked pale.

"You know, she doesn't know about you, right?" Scarlet assured him, whispering quietly by leaning over, watching him gulping harshly out of sudden fear.

"I know but she scares me," he whispered back, shrugging.

"I could go on and hunt again if you'd like." Everest offered.

"You should take a break," Moody told her sternly because he could practically sense the girl's pettiness, already figuring out that there was something strange going on and that Everest should stay out and calm down a bit. For the rest of the meeting, Eve argued with Moody about wanting to continue fighting and she lost the argument.

      Sirius left with Remus as they talked things through about their fight.

Everest and Scarlet were together, and the blonde turned around to call McKinnon, "Marlene?"

"Yeah?"

"Come join us, we'll drop you home." She smiled at her, and Everest squeezed her hand so tightly that her bones almost broke.

      Everest, Marlene and Scarlet were on their way home together in silence.

Marlene turned to the two best friends with her hands shoved tightly in her pockets as they reached McKinnon home, an uneasy look on her face. "This is it," she lazily pointed to her house, decorated in various flowers and loud music was being played from within. "Uhm, before I go, there's something I need to say."

      Marlene's eyes travelled to Scarlet who stood behind with a half-sad, half-joyful expression, a bittersweet look on her face. Her hands were also in her pockets due to the shivering cold. The Gryffindor took a step towards the girl with a large inhale.

"I'm gonna leave, you guys should find a room—" Scarlet jokes, but was cut off by Marlene's shaky voice.

"No, Scarlet, I need to— I need to know that I said it to you before..." she met her blue eyes under the darkness.

      Scarlet came to a frozen still, swallowing a lump in her throat as she relaxed her frame. She hated this already. Whatever was so important—she could say it after tonight. Because despite whatever Riddle had in plan, they were all going to see tomorrow, right?

      With a smile spread across her lips, and a mix of pride and love swimming in her eyes, Marlene finally said;

      "You're the strongest person I've ever met."

      Scarlet stayed frozen, her mind letting the words sink in. There was nothing she wanted more than to hear Marlene McKinnon suggest she is proud of her, that she is strong. Her opinion was very valuable to her.

"Also," Marlene coughed lightly, a chuckle leaving her lips. "Everest used to have a crush on you—"

"—Marlene!" The brunette gasped, placing a hand over her mouth to stop her from blurting out more things.

      Scarlet let out a fit of laughter, covering her lips with her palm as she giggled to herself. Teary mascara surrounded her fearful eyes.

"Goodbye, you two," the blonde said with a tiny smile, and they bid her a goodbye in return as she walked away.

      Everest and Marlene stood out in the cold, snow-covered ground underneath their shoes as they stared at each other underneath the starry night, their eyes glinting due to vivid stars.

"You broke your promise." Everest was the one to first speak.

"I'm sorry," Marlene sobbed almost instantly, lips tugging down into a frown, "I'm so sorry, Eve, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry."

Everest took a step forward and took her hands in hers. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"I love you," she blurted out, voice strained and a look of contemptuous in her eyes. "I really love you."

The brunette sobbed a little as she nodded, pulling her into a light kiss, pecking on her lips as she mumbled lightly. "I love you too," she said with a chuckle, holding her face in her palms. "I really love you too."

"Will you marry me?" Asked Marlene.

      The silence that followed was deafening, Marlene couldn't read Everest's expression underneath the overwhelmingly tight air and dim lights and she was so desperate to hear an answer.

"Not, now now, I mean... when times are better," Marlene added gently, "Last night, I realised I left you that day without saying I love you; I was so unfair to you and it haunted me. I couldn't sleep at all, and I found it hard to breathe knowing you're out there somewhere, mad at me— times are so dangerous, if I had to die with you upset with me, I'd never find peace—"

      Marlene cut herself off, she could not physically continue speaking due to the way Everest grabbed her face in her delicate palms and pressed her lips against hers. They kept one long, passionate kiss.

When Marlene pulled away, she smiled, "I realised in your absence that you're the only true thing in my life, the one real thing and there is nothing I'd like more than to spend the rest of my life in your arms."

"I'm sorry," the Slytherin let out a tiny sob, eyes squeezed shut. "I'm sorry, Marls. I'm sorry for suggesting you were not in danger, I was so wrong."

"You have nothing to apologise for," McKinnon pushed away some brown strands of hair from the girl's face, holding her... just holding her tightly. "I only ask for you to answer my question."

"Yes," she let out the tiniest laugh, "I'll marry you, of course, yes, a thousand times yes, love." Everest knew she could never possibly love anyone more than she loves Marlene right now. And there will be no one to ever exist that will love her as much as her soulmate does.

Marlene laughed, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's waist and kissing her eyes, "I never want to fight again."

      After the blissful kiss, they parted ways.

the next day

  "NO... NO..." Scarlet whispered to herself, feeling her blood run cold inside her veins from the vision she had just received. Surely, sometimes when Death Eaters are calling for each oher, or Riddle does so, Scarlet gets signals— she gets vision of their location and some fading image of what they are doing. The network was all connected in a way, making it easier for them to approach each other. In her dream, she was in the flower-decorated house that belonged to Marlene, and this time, something terrible happened. "No—no-no... NO!"

      She shot up straight on her bed, not spending more than a minute to put on a dress and a long coat. She suddenly heard ringing in her ears, and she looked around at Sirius who held a worried face. She watched as his mouth kept opening to speak—but she didn't hear any of it.

"Get Eve, meet me at Marlene's."

Sirius' voice was faded, but he said something along the line, "Is she okay? Is everyone safe?"

      Whilst Scarlet made her way out of the house, she muttered the Apparatus spell, but nothing was happening.

        She dug her fingernails into her palm, tugged at her hair in frustration but nothing happened, she assured herself, this was a dream. She felt the ground shift beneath her feet, her heart racing and thumping in every nerve of her body.

"This isn't happening," she whispered shakily to herself, ignoring Sirius' presence behind her. She couldn't feel his hand on her shoulder, his worried tone. All she felt was the entire world crumbling down, "This can't be happening—"

      Her heart was on the verge of hyperventilating as she made her weak and tired body run to the McKinnon house. Sirius was gone, perhaps listening to her orders and going to get Everest.

      After sprinting and finally reaching the house, she heard the familiar tone of Everest screaming her name—but she couldn't stop. After bursting through the unlocked doors, her tired legs gave in, she lost balance and fell into the wall beside the door, her eyes clenching shut at the sight on the floor as she struck her arm against the door harshly enough to bruise it.

      Marlene's lifeless body laid on the ground, a protective hand over her little brother's body who similarly laid behind her.

      And Scarlet was too late.

      She remembered her vision more clearly—in more detail. Marlene stood before her brother when the Death Eaters arrived, trying to protect him. She begged for their mercy, begged for them to only take her. Instead of shooting the killing curse that takes mere two seconds to get rid of an individual, the Death Eaters were annoyed at her attempt to save the boy.

      The slashed a blade right through her stomach, blood splattering everyone. Then they made her watch her little brother fall to the ground, instantly hitting death. Marlene laid there with bloodshot eyes, watching as they made their way up the stairs to get to her parents.

      The warmth of her life was stolen by the cold embrace of death, blood rushing out of her open wounds and tainting the white tile with undeserving bloodshed.

      Scarlet heard the gut-wrenching scream Everest let out behind her, allowing her body to fall forward and kneeling to the ground, delicately pulling Marlene over her lap.

The brunette was in denial. She stroked her thumb over the soft flesh of Marlene's face. "You're okay, you're okay... y-you're okay..." she repeatedly mentioned, speaking weakly.

      At the sight, Scarlet looked away, burying her face into the crook of a shocked Sirius' neck and sobbing uncontrollably. Sirius was shooting a Patronus, to Dorcas, muttering something along the lines of, 'it's the McKinnons, they're all gone, Marlene is gone."

"Marlene, NO!" Everest cried out, unable to find any life in Marlene's eyes. "Please come back, please come back to me."

It was a physical ache that flooded through her like a tsunami, destroying everything inside her. "I love you," she whispered, "I love you so much... Mar, you've to keep your promise, you said... you said you'd marry me."

      Everest and Marlene were two souls who were put on this earth for the intent of finding each other—in order to feel whole. And now they were separated.

"Wake up, WAKE UP!"

Scarlet finally unwrapped herself from Sirius' grip, similarly falling to the ground and snapping Everest out of her denial. "Eve..."

"NO, SHUT UP, SCARLET!" Everest roared, pushing herself away from the blonde's touch. "She's okay, I know it... I know her."

"Eve, I'm sorry," she croaked, and Everest finally allowed it to settle, falling into the girl's chest and continuing to sob. Desperately trying to find a heartbeat. Everest didn't think this was the end of them—not for a second. Whether it's decades from now, or unfortunately sooner, they will meet again. When they're both at peace. On the other side. And they'd live happily ever after.

      Seeing Everest in that way, Scarlet knew that was the day that changed everything within the joyful, optimistic and easily cheerful girl. Everest Chasseur was her rock, her other half, the soul to match hers—and Everest lost all of her joy at the sight of the love of her life paying lifeless. It made Scarlet feel as though she lost half of her soul.

      Dorcas came soon enough with a couple of other Ministry workers; she managed to climb up the ranks as an Auror pretty quickly, with so many cells in Azkaban filled up because of her. The dark-haired girl was rocking a screaming and pained Everest back and forth with tears streaming down their faces, and Sirius and Scarlet stood nearby, trying to make sense of a life without Marlene McKinnon. 

𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑨 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑺

I know canonically marls dies a bit later on but I thought this moment was the perfect closure in her story. As u know, I'm not a fan of unnecessary angst so I'm REALLY emphasising this: her dying w/o resolving her issues & doubts with eve didn't make sense considering they've been by each other's side for 5 yrs. marls/eve's story did not end on bad terms, they would've gotten married if not for marlene's death...

Does them reconciling make it better or worse? idk