"We need to get out of here fast," Sirius had grabbed her hand firmly and pulled her quickly away from the center of the street towards the nearest shop. There was another loud explosion from the opposite end of the street and it was followed by piercing shrieks so terrifying that Marlene could feel her skin crawling with growing unease.
The crowds of people around them were only half aware of what was going on. Marlene could tell that the majority of people that were still looking around had no idea of the deadly situation that was creeping closer and she wanted to scream at them to get back inside. She couldn't blame them too much though; there were so many people that it was difficult to see anything clearly through the increasing smoke from the most recent explosion and the heavy snowfall that was still cascading around them. The deatheater that she had caught sight of had disappeared in the haze of smoke and she couldn't be certain where he or she was now.
Sirius's hand clenched around hers more firmly and he yanked her as close to the buildings as possible. She let out a small yelp as a man rushing past them in the opposite direction stepped on her foot but they couldn't stop long enough for her to concentrate on the pain.
A third explosion in the shop in front of them caused Sirius to skid to a halt and Marlene to crash into his back. It was apparent that now the people surrounding them were becoming more aware of what was going on and pure chaos was ensuing. Marlene could barely hear anything amidst the screams coming from around her and she looked frantically around to see people trampling over one another in their desperation.
The smoke from the most recent explosion had engulfed them, making it extremely difficult to see anything more than five feet away. Sirius had not released his grip on her but she could hear and feel his body coughing from the smoke.
"Are you okay?" she asked him hurriedly.
"I'm fine," he coughed again. She was fairly certain that he was lying but Sirius was not the type to admit to weakness. She didn't press him further and he moved slightly so that she was able to see what he had been blocking.
The building in front of them had partially collapsed and she watched in horror as a few mangled bodies lay scattered on the ground amidst the burning rubble. A woman was kneeled over one of the corpses screaming with such horror that Marlene felt her stomach churning; she knew that she would never be able to erase the haunting image from her memories. And just as quickly a blinding flash of green light shot out of the smoke towards her and the woman slumped over the body. The sinking feeling in the pit of Marlene's stomach told her that she was unmistakably dead.
"Sirius!" her voice raised an octave or two and she could feel him tense up beside her. He turned around and they headed back towards the direction that they had been moving; fighting through the frantic crowd, pushing people and desperately trying to get somewhere out of the firing range of the Avada Kedavra curses that had suddenly began shooting out of nowhere.
"We need to get to Honeydukes," he said loudly to her so that she could hear over the noise around them. At first she couldn't understand why he was adamant to make it to the candy shop but then her mind registered the secret passage in the cellar and knew that it was their best option at getting out of the village safely.
"What about James, Remus and Lily?" Marlene had temporarily forgotten about their friends. Her mind flashed to Mary and Alice too and for some reason the strange couple that had been fighting in the Three Broomsticks. Had any of them gotten out safely?
"Look at me," Sirius turned to face her. He had yanked her aggressively away from a loosely fired curse and they had taken cover at the side of an alley where a few other witches and wizards were hiding. He had her shoved her up against the wall as though his body were meant to protect her. "They are all very capable of taking care of themselves. The most important thing right now is that you and I get out of here safely and together. We cannot get separated, do you understand me?"
YOU ARE READING
A Marauder's Guide to Falling Together
Fanfiction"I have a more personal question," she ignored his arrogance. Watching him had sparked a new interest that seemed to overpower any interest she had in their previous conversation. "Oh?" he seemed surprised but didn't allow it to affect his composure...
