author's note a trigger warning: this chapter will contain scenes with violence and death. read it only if you're comfortable. it will also be the longest chapter in this book. set off some time and enjoy. x
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Here is the thing about war: when the last battle is approaching, your soul will ache. You will feel the end coming. You are already putting on your armor, asking the wind if you are going to commit yourself to dry earth or end in triumph.
Marina stood at the top of a staircase, glancing down. Under her, all of Hogwarts' students were marching toward the Great Hall. The children with hunched shoulders and bruised bodies were divided by their houses, Prefects leading their ways. She knew where the lost diadem was: in the Room of Requirement. But the room was enormous, and she needed help to find the little crown. The members of Dumbledore's Army couldn't help her now that Snape had called on them to meet in the Hall.
Perhaps she would be able to sneak past everyone, get to the Second Floor Girls' Lavatory, and whisper in Parseltongue without being seen or heard so she could find Nagini. Maybe the snake, who was a Horcrux herself, would be able to help her find the diadem.
A hand was smacked against Marina's lips. Turning, already bringing her knee up, she reached for her mother's wand in her pocket.
"Don't; it's me." It was a whisper, but her heart immediately understood who the owner of the voice was.
When you are ready for the final battle, your knuckles should already be bloody, your feet sore, and your throat cracked from war cries. She looked at him and understood that he was ready. He had already made up his mind and drawn his sword. Fear didn't exist in his bones. You see, he was already damaged and well familiar with hell. He had been forced to make hell his home when he was just a young boy. So she was afraid that he had come to make the hell that was war his home, too.
"They're here, aren't they?" she asked him, thinking about Tom and his followers. "That's why you're here. The battle is coming."
"The Order was called on. Harry is here, and You-Know-Who knows it." He looked down toward the Great Hall; Harry was in there.
"You can't be here, Remus," Marina whispered. "Tonks is pregnant. You need to be by her side. Imagine if you fight, and something happens to you. She needs you."
The corner of his lips tucked upward. "Tonks is here, down by the Great Hall. Teddy was born last month."
"Oh, Remus, that's amazing! Congratulations!" Both of them glowed when she said it. "I know you're going to be a great father."
He looked both proud and happy; Marina's heart filled with joy for him. His eyes moved from the staircase leading to the Great Hall to her. "Marina, I spoke to Ginny earlier. She says you are not ready to show yourself to Harry. I will not tell him that you are alive if you don't want me to, but understand that he can't live properly without you."
