A Marauder's Guide to Falling Forever

Chapter Eighteen

The snow was blowing fiercely the night of the Order meeting. She and Emmeline had arrived to Elphias Doge's home located in the countryside outside of London. She had never been before and the storm of snowflakes littering the darkened sky made it difficult to navigate the street.

Mid-calf high in snow they trudged along the narrow street looking for the location of his home. Emmeline's teeth were audibly chattering next to her and Marlene drew her coat around her closer to avoid doing the same.

"I think that's it." Emmeline pointed a shaky finger ahead. The figure of two other bodies hurrying through the blizzard towards a house near the end of the cul-de-sac indicated that she might be right. As they neared closer the house number painted on the mail post at the edge of the pathway confirmed that it was the right house.

The door opened before they had the chance to knock. "Ladies!" Elphias welcomed them merrily and moved aside to allow them entrance. "I can take your coats."

Marlene shrugged out of her thick jacket and thanked him before moving further into the house where half of the other members were scattered. She admired the regal style of his home; it was filled with old artefacts, the wall hung with tapestries that appeared to be dated well into a previous century. The interior reminded her much of Hogwarts, and it spoke of a historical wizarding family.

"What are all of these things?" she asked Emmeline as she admired some of the artefacts. Many of the objects in the room were noticeably old, likely being from centuries prior. None that she had ever learned about in school or read about in books.

Emmeline shrugged, "No clue. But they're obviously old and I'm afraid if I sneeze I might break something."

They walked past an old wardrobe and Marlene stopped abruptly. Something about it looked familiar. "Hey I think I've seen this thing before," she mused aloud. Emmeline turned to assess it.

"It's sort of any eyesore in my opinion. What do you even put in something like that? Clothes? Sort of a strange thing to have in your living room."

Marlene laughed but quickly became distracted by another familiar face. Sirius. Even though her thoughts were frequently on him, she hadn't actually seen him in over a month and her heart seemed to palpitate quicker at the sight of him. He had cleaned himself up; freshly shaven and a haircut made him look much more like the teenage version of Sirius Black. She admired the way his face lit up with a jubilant smile when he caught a glimpse of her entering into the room.

Her heart fluttered. And she knew that she had been fighting a losing battle. She'd only been wasting time being apart from him.

"Hello beautiful," he whispered into her ear as he drew her into his arms for a hug. It was more intimate than their usual interactions, and Marlene blushed into his chest. When she pulled away he admired the rosy glow to her cheeks and she watched as the corner of his lips pulled upwards into a glorious smirk.

"You seem to be in high spirits tonight," she replied pointedly, not bothering to greet him.

"It's been a good day," he said, still smiling.

Marlene looked at him inquisitively. "Has it?"

"You're here." His hand reached down to clasp hers and she did not pull away. "It's always a good day when I get to see you."

She hadn't yet recovered from the chill of the winter storm and his hand was warm against her frozen fingertips. She instinctively squeezed his tighter and leaned in to rest her head against his shoulder. It felt like the natural thing to do.

"You're so cheesy," she teased him. "What have you done with the real Sirius?"

"He's been into the Firewhiskey," James said. He had been the one Sirius was talking with upon her arrival. He didn't seem phased by the display of affection omitting between his two friends, likely used to the idea that they were still together, even while they were not.

"Have you really?" She pulled her head away from him to look him in the eyes. The mischievous twinkle that belonged only to him greeted her back. "You didn't save me any?"

Sirius laughed and the faint traces of alcohol originating from his breath reached her nostrils. She grinned at him and squeezed his hand tighter.

"Only a glass." He shot James a look. "And it was his idea."

"Of course it was," she said. Marlene watched as James shrugged guiltily yet unashamed that he had been the instigator. She caught site of the bottle in his hands before he quickly tucked it away into his pocket.

"How's Lily? Harry?" she asked.

"Oh they're doing good. Harry's starting to sleep through the night now. I know that Lily has been feeling better since..."

Marlene stopped listening. Her eyes caught sight of something behind James that pulled her focus away from the conversation. The large room was decorated formally with antique furniture that screamed nineteenth century European royalty. But tucked away in the back corner of the room was a large rectangular wooden cabinet that seemed to blend in effortlessly with its surroundings. In fact, it was so normal in comparison to the rest of the décor that she doubted anyone would think there was anything peculiar about it.

It was the same cabinet she and Emmeline had been looking at not even ten minutes ago. But suddenly somehow it looked different.

"What's wrong?" Sirius was in her ear. She hadn't realized she had given off any sort of reaction but his question brought the realization that her body had stiffened. Her eyes were still trained on the cabinet; the shape of two crescent moons pulled a long forgotten memory from within.

"What time is it?" She felt a sharp twinge of anxiousness unexpectedly wash over her. Then the same unwelcome sensation as though she were apparating transported her into a conscious awareness. Adrenaline coursed through her like a bursting damn, and she pulled away from Sirius's hand. She turned her attention to them, awaiting an answer.

"About seven," James replied with confusion in his tone. Like Sirius, he had a concerned look directed her way.

"Where's Remus?" She heard the frantic edge in her tone grow more prominent. She ignored the apathetic look that crossed Sirius's face at the mention of Remus's name. He still hadn't given up on his suspicion that Remus was untrustworthy. But that didn't matter right now. She needed to know.

"It's a full-moon tonight," Sirius replied, then he reached out towards her, trying to bring her back into his side. "What's going on Marlene? Why do you have that look on your face?"

Marlene turned away from them and bolted for the door. She didn't bother to grab her coat before flinging it open and running a few feet out into the high bank of snow. The soft powder engulfed her legs as she trudged deeper down the pathway towards the street. The blowing snow had only subsided slightly, but the obvious glow of the moon cast over the street like a bad omen.

It was blue.