lionheart

Would there ever be anything more entertaining, than to watch a little lion as her spark threatened to fizzle o u t? Alecto didn’t think so, for this was by far the most amusing thing she’d experienced all day. Still, the redhead kept her face perfectly void of emotion, not even allowing a smirk to curve at her lips, as she continued to stare at the brunette; unblinking, unmoving.

Her lion’s roar evidently had yet to be silenced, for the question that soon snapped at Alecto’s ears contained all of the ROAR one would expect, from a feisty, little G r y f f i n d o r. 

                                                                    {What do you want?}                                                                      What did she want?                                                  P a i ndid not quite fit her ideals for the day;                                                        at least, not that of a physical form.                                   Really, all Alecto wanted to do was play with her little lion’s head.

                                                                  So that was what she did. 

"Why, I came to offer my c o m m i s e r a t i o n s, of course.” Wide eyes batted innocently, lips still pursed before a grin stretched out across her lips, head shaking as Alecto offered a laugh; malicious and cruel in every sense.

"No, no, that doesn’t sound like me.”

Usually in inexplicably horrific situations like the murder of Bertram Aubrey, Marlene would’ve found a candidate to blame. Most likely it was the Slytherins with their slimy nastiness that oozed from their every step. She knew that they were the ones who hated muggleborns more than anyone else. She knew that they would seize every opportunity to hurt those around them whose blood was less ‘pure’ than theirs. Every inch of her wanted to scream out at Alecto and stab her finger at her chest, shouting that it was her fault that the Ravenclaw was dead.

             However she didn’t. Perhaps              it was the lingering guilt that              wouldn’t leave her alone or the              overwhelming tiredness that              covered her body

Her eyes flashed when the red head let out a spiteful laugh, cackling over the death of a poor innocent who should’ve never been there in the first place. Oh, but she wasn’t going to let her get away with   t  h  a  t

                                               She had to pull herself together;                                                bind her bleeding heart up tightly                                                because this wasn’t the place nor                                                time. Not in front of a Carrow.                                                Her father would’ve told her;                                                ‘Courage dear heart’ and squeezed                                                her hand gently. She had to find that                                                courage, she knew it was there, inside                                                her and she had to leave her grief and                                                guilt behind. There was no place for it                                                when a Snake was watching her every move.

“Shouldn’t you get back to your celebrations?” she hissed, her mouth set in a straight line, trying to keep a handle on her temper. “Well I suppose the fact that most of Slytherin hates you could make your parties a little awkward. It says something that even they can see that you’re a scaly little reptile,”  

Her appearance already implied that this had affected her in some way but her tone just confirmed it. Caradoc didn’t think she’d respond to him and would have just left without another word but she allowed him to stay. Instead of exiting, he closed the door behind him. 

"Not that free apparently.." He answered just as quiet before taking a seat a few seats away from hers. Mckinnon. Everytime he had spotted her in the halls, she was usually smiling and was anything but the one he saw right now. Then again, that could be the same for a lot of people and who could blame them. A student had died. Caradoc sighed softly as he rested his elbow on the desk and his chin onto his palm. His eyes scanned around the empty room before landing on her figure. He shouldn’t pry but at the same time, it didn’t feel right to leave her alone like this. “…….You okay?” He asked, knowing what the answer was but still he asked. 

             Hallways were filled with whispers;              hushed murmurs of Aubrey’s death.              Gossip lingered around every corner,              spreading fear and worry in every              common room and classroom around              the castle. There was no escaping the              whispers, no way of trying to forget what              had happened. He was  d  e  a  d              He was   g  o  n  e   and he wasn’t ever              going to come back. His life was over.

The guilt was a river that flowed over her frame, drowning her in its tainted bitterness every single time she tried to do something more normal. Every time she lifted a pen to write, or leaned over to whisper to Lily or tried to clean her broom, it suffocated her. For she truly did feel like it was her fault, no, she hadn’t been the one to kill him. But it was her actions, her wild and daring actions that could have inspired him to pursue the werewolves.

Lost in her own thoughts, she almost didn’t hear Caradoc’s question. Her eyes instinctively flickered up and met his, but then she immediately looked back down at the brick wall. “I’m fine. I wasn’t close with him or anything,” she muttered, each word feeling heavy in her mouth. Everything was so tiring; deflecting questions about her exciting journey into the forest, ignoring others’ tears at the Great Hall, trying to find a quiet spot to sit. “What about you?” she asked, glancing up for a moment. 

Mourning really was a d u l l affair; a waste of time that could be better spent, were people to get their god-damn emotions under control, and move on from a death that should have happened, a death that resulted in one less piece of f i l t h trailing around in the same hallways as Alecto and her brother; people who were far superior, and far more worthy of a life than the idiot thief of magic that had wandered out into the forest, regardless of the warning that oaf Dumbledore had given.

Why would you grieve a life that had every right to end; a life that had ended because of the stupidity of it’s owner, no more and no less? The minds of the students Alecto was forced to surround herself with would never not b a f f l e her, and oh how she detested having to hide that fact.

Needing a moment away from all of the sniffling, the whimpers of pain and loss, Alecto stepped into the nearest classroom eyes narrowing at the sight of another, before they began to g r o W, an entirely unpleasant smirk curving at her lips as the red-head made her way over to the sad little lion, who had apparently lost all of her                                                                                                          ROAR. 

Slowly, Alecto stalked over to her new friend, every movement she made p r e d a t o r y as she moved to sit opposite the girl, eyes wide and unblinking as she simply pursed her lips and stared. 

                                                                S i l e n c e  speaks volumes, after all.

Marlene needed her friends, she needed them there. She needed their quiet whispers of encouragement, their hands tightly squeezing hers, even their scoldings. She needed them desperately. She hadn’t felt like this before. Not this badly. It felt like she was underwater and tangled in slimy seaweed, unable to breathe properly. She was drowning and no one was there to throw her a rope to hold onto.

           ( Her heart ached and ached,              oh how it hurt. For Marlene                could deal with many, many              problems, but  d  e  a  t  h               no, she couldn’t. Especially              when there was a tinge of guilt              soaring through her system.              It was painfully b  i  t  t  e  r              and poisoned her blood with the              harshness of it. Oh Merlin she was              H     U     R     T     I     N     G.  )

She didn’t realize that her empty cobwebbed room had been disturbed until she glanced up. Her nearly tear filled eyes saw the familiar face of the venomous snake who stared directly at her, taunting her. Marlene stared right back at her, hatred seeping through her glare. Though she didn’t have the energy to fight, oh, she barely had the energy to stand.  

“What do you want, Carrow?” she murmured, her voice far more quiet than usual.

Everything that had been going on had taken a toll on everyone - well, almost everyone. Caradoc witnessed a few acting nonchalant about the whole thing. Someone had just died and they had the audacity to smirk at those who were mourning. 

Retreating himself into an empty room, or at least he thought was unoccupied, Caradoc jolted in surprised at the girl sitting there with her hands around her knees. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts so the badger didn’t know what to do. Should he interrupt her and asked if she was alright? It wasn’t polite to probe and he figured it might have something to do with the current events. Or he could just back out of the room but what if he got caught half heading out of the room? That’d be quite awkward. Instead, he settled on the last option,

"……Sorry, I thought this room was empty…" Apologizing and then leaving seemed to be best. 

                                 Was this her fault? She had boasted continuously that she would                              be the one to put a stop to the werewolves. What if he had listened?                                 What if he had listened and wanted to beat her? WHAT IF WHAT IF                             It felt as though her heart had a splinter and it wouldn’t stop bleeding

Her eyes flickered towards the figure at the doorway, gradually taking in who the student was. Caradoc Dearborn, he didn’t seem like the type to spread that the party girl had lost her spark. She couldn’t put up with prying eyes and a harsh temperament right now. She simply couldn’t.

“You can stay, it’s a free country,” she murmured, her voice low and hushed. She didn’t feel like herself. She didn’t even know what herself was anymore. She just knew that she was hurting like something had cut into her chest and let the blood flow out all over the floor. But there was no cut, there was no blood. It was all inside her and she couldn’t feel any better.

Dorcas tightened her grip on her wand and only stopped moving once she was grabbed. Her eyes studied the crimson blood painted across the bottom of the tree trunk. Not saying a word, Dorcas pushed deeper into the forest. Her boots crunched against the fallen leaves and she could hear the echoed voices of her educators a well distance behind her. The full moon sat high in the night sky and it almost taunted her.

A loud noise bounced off the thick trees, though it was most definitely not the sound of a werewolf. Another centaur was injured. She couldn’t help but to think if she and Marlene would be the next howling in pain.

In that very moment with adrenaline, fear, and the will to fight Dorcas made a decision. This is what she wanted to do. She’d always assumed she’d do something along the lines of defensive measures but she had never been so sure and so passionate about the idea as she was now. Granted, she was chasing werewolves after all.  

Making down a steep hill at a high rate of speed, the girl came to a sudden stop. Holding her arms out to halt Marlene, her eyes pierced the darkness.

She felt as if they were being w a t c h e d.

Proceeding with caution, she outstretched her wand arm. And in that moment she felt immortal.

Somebody - something was there with them, hidden in the thick brush. Stepping forward, her boot landed in wet mud and she proceeded throughout until she were on stable ground once again. A chill ran down her spine and just as she were about to open her mouth, a new voice shrieked. “DORCAS MEADOWES AND MARLENE MCKINNON!" McGonagall bellowed, lips pressed in a tight line ( though it seemed she regretted her decision to yell upon the realization of what could be a few short feet away ). "You are to report to the castle immediately and your punishment will be sever—”

"Shh," Dorcas murmured in a small voice, completely poised. Pointing her wand in front of her, she held still for only a moment until bursts of red became spewing from McGonagall’s wand. Dorcas quickly began interlocking her own spell work to the growling figure though just as she did several other professor’s joined the scene. Too distracted in the moment she wasn’t quite sure who had placed their hands on her shoulders. "Back to the castle. Back to the castle!" 

Any logical thought that blood meant there was danger was completely foreign in Marlene’s mind. Blood meant that the werewolves were close. And Marlene was more than ready to take them on. Some might describe her determination as partial insanity, but with the adrenaline pumping through her blood and her wand gripped tightly in her hand, she felt ready to take on the whole world.

A strange noise echoed through the tall trees, it sounded like a guttural shriek of pain. It was probably another centaur that had become a victim to the wolves, yet another creature destroyed by these violent vicious animals that lurked at the edge of their school. She wasn’t going to back down now. It was out of the question. She always had told herself that she could fight and fight for what she believed in. She certainly fucking believed in getting rid of these werewolves.

Leaves crunched under their boots as they ran through the forest, searching out the monstrous creatures. Then Doe stretched out her arm, stopping her in her tracks. There was something out there. The most peculiar feeling as though it was staring straight at them crossed over her. In that moment, clutching tightly onto her wand with a dangerous grin on her face, a burst of what felt like fire crossed her body. She felt like nothing could touch her and nothing ever would.

it felt like every inch of her body was glowing, as if it had been bathed in flames and ashes. this was the feeling that she’d been searching for all her life. this was truly living and she wasn’t going to stop now.

The faint flicker of golden eyes peered at them through the shrubbery. She was about to nudge Doe, to show her, this was the monster that had threatened everyone. This was the danger and they were going to destroy it. But then it dashed off, to spy from another corner of the forest. It was teasing, taunting, playing with its food. But it had underestimated the young witches, they could play with their food too. But they were interrupted.

Teachers suddenly appeared, ruining the moment. They had been so close. Marlene could practically taste the victory of being part of the duo that had rid the school of the werewolves. But it was snatched away from her. There was something else out there, the light of the other wands had made the area easier to see and it seemed like there was perhaps a centaur body lain out across the terrain. But before she could get a better look or  even utter a word to Doe, she was marched off in the direction of the castle, with threats of years worth of detentions and even an expulsion muttered in her ears.

They had to be quick. They had to know how to weave in and out of shadows and when to duck or dive — and thankfully for them they read each other even better off the Quidditch field. There was no need to tug Marlene’s hand when they needed to duck, she already knew. It was a well choreographed dance by now. The adults were all huddled around Hagrid’s hut and were clearly organizing a plan, though teachers were already entering and exiting the thick forest simultaneously.

Hopping to the other side of the stone steps, Dorcas crouched as her walk turned into a run. Her eyes didn’t leave the group once — that was until she heard them. They howled into the night, ferocious snarls echoing. They were taunting.

Dorcas accepted the challenge, regripping her wand and setting off in a sprint as she disappeared within the brush of the forest. With her wand outstretched she didn’t slow down her speed, eyes piercing the darkness as she continued on her path.  

"Marlene …" she whispered upon coming across a small meadow. A bloody centaur lay. Lifting her arm, her wand set off red sparks high into the sky. This only decreased the distance between them and the adults as she were sure a team had already been sent in the direction.

Her legs pushed off the muddy ground once more as she set off in the westerly direction. 

They made a good team, always had and always would. They had a way of communicating that didn’t require words, it was like they just knew what the other would do. It had always come in handy when they were sneaking around where they shouldn’t or practically obliterating the opposition on the Quidditch field.

The teachers seemed to be discussing exactly what was going on fervently by Hagrid’s hut. They were preoccupied with the threat that their school was facing that they didn’t notice the two girls dart in among the foliage of the forest. It was only when the ferocious growls and howls of the wolves filled the air that they looked around, but by then the Gryffindors were hidden by the large trees and shrubbery.

It felt good to be running, feeling the air whip through her hair and blood pump through her body. The overbearingly strict rules had restricted her from stretching her legs and going for the sprints that she loved, she’d missed them, that was for sure.

At first she didn’t see the centaur and looked to Doe with a perplexed expression on her face, but then the pool of blood surrounding the tawny coloured creature came into sight. “Merlin,” she said, not quite sure whether it was to herself or to her friend. Before she could think, she was crouching down beside it, her fingers placed gently over its neck. There was the faintest throb of a pulse, but it was still alive. Marlene darted back to Doe, watching as the red sparks fly into the sky, now the centaur would have proper medical attention.

“Let’s go,” she whispered, sprinting off further into the woods. They moved deeper and deeper into the maze of trees and shrubs, determined to find the creatures that had threatened their school, their teachers and their friends. Marlene stopped for a moment, grabbing Dorcas’ arm and pointing out the blood that was smeared against the trunk of a tree. “They’re close,” she murmured.  

"On you go!" Dorcas called, and in the midst of her sprint she bent down to grip a pair of shoulders and pull the older boy back up to his feet whom had fallen due to the mass crowd. She pushed throughout the sea of students, her legs moving in only one direction; towards the back exit of the castle.

She skillfully maneuvered throughout the halls, ducking and diving at any chance she got. Her hand lifted her shirt slightly as she wielded her wand. Rounding a corner she came to a sudden halt at the sight of two girls curled up behind a suit of armor statue.

"Aye, what’re you doing? Up, get up!"

The first year girl reached for her, and Dorcas immediately clutched her tightly and awaited her friend. Pushing their backs in the direction of the Great Hall, she shouted, “Go!”

Never in all her years had she experienced the castle as crowded as it was in that moment. She pushed and fought, determined to make it out. As she did so, she remembered the vow she made with Marlene McKinnon — her best friend. They sat in Marlene’s bed, eating snacks they’d swiped from the kitchens, and both swore to each other that if there was a fight to be fought they’d be in the frontline. No sense of nervousness ran through her core. Actually, no sense of anything ran through her ( which was perhaps why she and Marlene would l i t e r a l l y be running in the wolves’ den ).

Running out those wide open doors and having her face be slapped with the harsh wind she practically stumbled backwards, allowing herself a moment to catch her breath as she awaited Marlene in their designated spot. Footsteps echoed, and she knew her best friend too well to know that they didn’t belong to her. Dorcas pressed her back to the castle, praying she would go unnoticed. As Professor Flitwick and Slughorn’s walk turned into a run they made their way across the lawn and then disappeared on the downward climb to Hagrid’s hut. 

“For Merlin’s sake, just grab my hand,” she shouted, trying to be heard over the chaotic noise of frightened students and frantic teachers. Marlene seized the tiny freckled Ravenclaw’s hand, her nose wrinkled in distaste at the strawberry jam that seemed to be smeared across it. They pushed through the hundreds of students that seemed to be all heading in the same direction as one another. Once it seemed a tiny bit calmer; she let go of his hand and scuffed up his hair in a friendly manner, while simultaneously wiping the jam off her hands.

Marlene glanced around frantically, trying to see over the herd of students that were clashing and colliding with one another in order to try and get to safety as soon as possible. “Where the bloody hell are you Doe,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. She let out a loud huff, shaking her head at the mess and confusion that presented itself in front of her. She had to get out.

A slightly taller but still scrawny boy started crawling on the ground, letting out a little yell. Naturally the little idiot had lost his glasses, in what seemed like the worst possible time to lose one’s glasses. Honestly did people have any sense anymore?

“Shut up a bit, yeah?” she hissed, darting towards him and helping him search frantically. It seemed like an impossible task, but she couldn’t resist a damsel, well a dork in distress. It was the right thing to do, she knew that. But that didn’t stop her from letting let out a dozen curses as someone trampled on her hand, most of which were barely in English and some of which were directed at the glassesless boy. Finally, her other not so bruised hand uncovered the slightly dusty pair of glasses and quickly passed them onto the boy.

With that, Marlene got up and darted through the crowds, almost imagining that she was part of an extraordinarily large and slightly manic Quidditch game. She could weave and cut through expertly, thanks to her training and before long, she made it to the doors. A triumphant grin tugged at her lips as she ran through the wide open doors.

“Ready to go on a wolf hunt?” she whispered, pressing her back into the cold walls of the castle. The two continued down the path, carefully avoiding any teachers or anyone else that would try to get in their way. They were practically experts at that sport.

Mafalda looked at the girl with a raised brow, before packing up her things. It was clear that the girl wouldn’t lower her volume so she decided the library was the next best thing. Besides, it was getting dark and she didn’t want to take a bigger risk, neither did she want to get caught by a prefect or a professor. She sent a forced smile at the girl along with a curt nod, sliding her leather satchel on her shoulder, wand in hand just in case.

"It’s getting dark so I suggest that you return back to the castle."

She rolled her eyes, overdramatically, of course. It was the customary Marlene McKinnon way. She was simply trying to memorize some irritating potions ingredients, it wasn’t as though she was throwing a raucous party. Honestly, some people.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared of the dark,” she retorted, now having abandoned her school work and her attention turned to the brunette. Her eyebrows were raised in amusement as she turned to the other girl. “Or the things that go bump in the night,”

A little cry of pain escaped from her lips as she looked across at Moody; her eyes wide with horror, not wanting to believe that this could be true, hoping that it was a cruel joke. Other people had started to react to the news, some had even headed her way, to comfort her but she pushed them away. They knew it had only been two weeks since her family’s tragedy, it didn’t seem fair for someone as important as Doe to be taken away from her. It wasn’t fair.

Doe and Marlene wouldn’t trade pained looks while Moody rattled off yet another speech that they’d all heard before again, they wouldn’t share a cup of coffee to save some money but then bicker over who drank the most again, they wouldn’t ever share a bottle or two of firewhiskey when something had gone wrong again. Her best friend, her wildly beautiful and witty best friend was gone.

All the emotions about her rushed to the surface mixed with a kind of anguish that was hidden down at the very core of her being, creating an emotional cocktail bound to explode at any moment. Her heart felt like it was cracking in half; breaking for the one girl who had seemed so alive and who appeared as though she would defiantly take on death and win, while maintaining her perfect hair. Marlene felt as though she was being crushed into the ground and she gripped onto the edge of a desk; her hands going white with the pressure.

Tears had started to trickle down her cheeks. Merlin, she hated crying in front of other people. In fact, Doe was one of the rare few people that she could feel comfortable sobbing around. Before she could even think, she was striding towards Moody and then she pushed him against a wall, hard, with a thunderous look on her devastated face.

“Why the fuck did you send her out on that mission? You made her go, you sent her off to her death,” she hissed, tears still falling down. Then Marlene slapped him as hard as she could muster on the cheek. It was then that someone restrained her, she wasn’t sure who, it didn’t matter.

“She was my best friend,” she screamed, struggling against someone’s grip. “She was my best friend and now she’s dead. Everyone around me dies… e-everyone but me,”