April 23rd, 1978
The cloudless, blue sky above them announced the beginning of another warm spring day, yet the mood in the Great Hall was as solemn as any other morning over the last two weeks.
'Now what could be the reason for that?' She flipped the front page of her edition of the Daily Prophet, spotting an all too familiar, gruesome image.
MASSACRE IN BIRMINGHAM!
How Close Are We To Being Exposed To The Muggles?
"Really spoils the appetite, doesn't it?" Marlene pushed the paper aside and loaded another spoon with some porridge.
"We're almost at an attack per night at this point," Harry sighed, skimming over the article: "Charlus said that the Aurors are spread incredibly thin and many of the hit wizards have moved to the continent already. It's much easier to earn gold catching thieves and petty criminals instead of Death Eaters who kill you on sight."
"Cowards." Marlene flared her nostrils, fingers tightening around her spoon: "They wait for some hero to step in and make sacrifices for them. And then they'll all come flocking back once the danger is gone..."
"Well, it won't be us." Harry's eyes darkened a shade: "We've sacrificed plenty already."
'That we have.' Marlene grimaced before swallowing another spoonful.
"Our greedy little friends finally wrote to you?" She glanced up from her bowl when Harry opened a letter with a recognizable seal: "Are there any updates on our future home?"
His eyes roamed over the contents: "They've started with the renovation of the roof and expect the first down payment from us soon. I've also been writing to them about some additions from the muggle world."
"Are we going to put a jacuzzi on the terrace, like the one we had in Greece?" Marlene chuckled.
Harry laughed: "Sure; we can have a jacuzzi as well. But no, it was mostly about having electricity in our kitchen for some muggle utensils, like a toaster or a fridge." He wrinkled his nose: "I'm not going to be casting freshening charms on our food every day."
"Usually the elves have a way of keeping it fresh." Marlene shrugged and took a few sips of juice: "Which reminds me, we still need to look for one. They're very useful for some of the more mundane stuff."
"You're right," Harry nodded: "Perhaps we can ask some of the shop owners in Hogsmeade during the next visit where to buy one?"
"They're not too expensive. I think my father bought one for 250 Galleons." Marlene finished the last bits of her porridge, licking her spoon clean with the tip of her tongue: "I wonder if Dobby is already alive." A small smile bread over her lips: "He was undoubtedly on the very weird end of the elf-spectrum, but no one could deny his enthusiasm and loyalty."
"You're right." Harry chuckled: "I'd definitely prefer having Dobby for an elf over someone like Kreacher or-"
"Harry? Marlene glanced at him, curious why he'd stopped.
His mouth was left open in a small gape while his eyes shifted frantically from side to side: "Winky..." He finished in a whisper.
'Winky? Who the hell is Winky?'
The Galleon finally dropped and her eyes widened in realization: "The elf of the Crouch family!"
In a split second, she erected a small privacy ward, edging closer to her fiancé.
"Two weeks ago, when we overheard them in the antechamber, Crouch said that she was acting strange. That she was going 'barmy'..." Harry ran his hands through his hair, and his breath came quicker: "I've met her back in my time, she was shy, quiet, very loyal to those she served. She didn't seem like anyone going barmy all of the sudden unless-"
"-Unless there was something more to it." A memory swirled through her head, one of the many Harry had shared with her: "Unless someone has meddled with her brain..."
The elf's pale skin hung off him in folds, white hair sprouting copiously from his bat-like ears. He was wearing the filthiest rag Marlene had ever seen while looking up at them, large eyes full of contempt: "And one day, a year after he had joined, Master Regulus came down to the kitchen to see Kreacher. Master Regulus always liked Kreacher. And Master Regulus said… he said…" The old elf rocked faster than ever. "…he said that the Dark Lord required an elf."
The memory faded and Harry came back into view, studying the white edges of his knuckles.
"Do you think-?" Marlene's breath hitched.
"It's a stretch, a far stretch even," Harry murmured, slowly lifting his head and glancing past her: "But we'd be fools to outright dismiss this opportunity."
Marlene turned on the spot and glanced down the Ravenclaw table where the fifth-years usually sat, searching for a patch of straw-colored hair over a freckled face.
She found Bartemius Crouch Jr. sitting among a group of his friends, leaning over some OWL material in an attempt to study while having breakfast: "We vowed not to take any more risks, love. How do we make sure he has actually offered Winky to him?"
Harry studied the fifth year with contempt: "Crouch has been on my list from the very beginning for what he did to me in my fourth year. With what happened at Azkaban, it looks like Voldemort has found a use for him much earlier than in my time." A grim determination settled on his face: "We will isolate and check how much he knows. Even if Voldemort obliviated him, the resulting memory gap will confirm our theory."
"I will study his schedule with the map." Marlene nodded: "There must be opportunities when he's usually all by himself. That is when we strike and interrogate him."
"No risks," Harry warned her, gently tilting her head back to him to study her with calculating green eyes: "Voldemort mustn't learn that we developed a sudden interest in Crouch. It might be the final clue he needs to know it is us hunting his Horcruxes."
"I'll be careful." Marlene stole a quick kiss from him and finished her breakfast, shooting one last glance over to Bartemius Crouch Junior.
'One less enemy, one less Horcrux, and one less obstacle in the path to our sunset.'
April 28th, 1978
He watched as the ink footprints slowly crept closer, heading towards the corridor leading from the library to the Ravenclaw common room.
'Not as elaborate of a trap as you prepared for me, but it will do, Barty.' Harry folded the Map and stored it within his robes. He let the Elder Wand slip into his palm and twirled it between his fingers: "It will do just fine."
A lone, dirty blonde figure stepped into the corridor casting long, dancing shadows over the wall opposite the torches. Blue and bronze highlights sparkled on his uniform, his arms were full of books and his spine was arched by a heavy bag.
Harry waited until he was a few meters away before stepping out of the alcove, abandoning his disillusionment charm:
"Bartemius Crouch Jr..."
"What-?" Barty's head snapped up. Startled, he dropped a few of the books in his arms. They scattered over the stone tiles.
"Peverell!" His eyes found Harry and widened for a second before he scowled his features. Yet he made no effort to crouch down and retrieve any of his books either.
"What- what do you want from me?" Barty asked, his tongue dipped out and wetted his upper lip in quick spasms: "I haven't seen your girlfriend if that's why you're asking..."
"You seem a bit nervous, my friend." Harry took a step forward: "And I'm not looking for my fiancé, I know exactly where she is. I was looking for you instead."
"What do you want from me then?" Barty repeated while slowly edging backward. He almost stumbled when he glanced over his shoulder and caught Marlene blocking the exit of the corridor.
"We have a few questions for you." Marlene approached him steadily, the click of her heels echoed over the hard tiles: "There's an elf we'd like to know more about. I believe her name is Winky..."
Fright spasmed in Barty's features. He dropped the remaining books and his heavy backpack in one fluent motion. The length of a wand slipped into his fingers, firing a bright yellow spell straight at Marlene.
The blonde twirled aside gracefully, her golden braid dancing through the air as she dodged the subsequent attacks.
Purple beams of light flashed from her wand, punching fist-sized holes through Barty's silvery shield. She hurled him against the wall of the corridor with a sickening crunch that had the younger boy wheezing for air. Then she summoned his wand, preventing any return fire.
"All yours, love." Marlene pocketed both wands and accepted the Map Harry offered her: "I'll let you know if someone is coming."
"Good." Harry twisted his wrist, curling his fingers into a fist to force Barty's head to snap back up and meet his gaze. The Elder Wand pointed at a spot right between the pair of his eyes, widened in terror.
He touched their thoughts, floating Barty's consciousness with images of the elf he'd gotten to know at the World Cup, accompanied by the repeated whispers of her name.
The world fell, swallowing him in endless darkness until he resurfaced in a dimly lit room, kneeling on a wooden floorboard.
"Lord Voldemort has a task for you." A high, cold voice rang from above him: "There's something I need..."
He struggled to breathe freely, the pressure on his lungs had him wince: "Any- anything, my Lord."
"Very well, Bartemius," the cold voice whispered and some of the pressure eased.
Black mist swelled all around him, ravishing the flickers of images he saw. He bowed low and lower, then he toppled over, swallowed by the wooden floorboard, and tossed into the darkness until he emerged back at Hogwarts.
'Unpleasant.' Harry panted heavily, blinking his eyes: 'Legilimency is truly a double-edged sword.'
"Are you okay?" Marlene asked worryingly: "Did you see anything? You were gone for only a second."
"It felt much longer." Harry glanced at Barty, noticing the trail of blood that left the boy's nostrils while he spasmed wildly. "Memories are a fickle thing."
"What did you see?"
"I think we assumed correctly." Harry straightened and rubbed his temples. "He asked Barty for something before obliviating him. The memory was interrupted and cannot be recovered; however, it is still associated with Winky. That's the only reason I found it to begin with."
He levitated Crouch and disillusioned the body with a flick of the Elder Wand: "He must have obliviated Winky as well. That's why she's acting all 'barmy'. Voldemort isn't exactly known for his delicate touch with the mind arts."
"Why would he take such risks?" Marlene frowned, glancing up from the Map: "Why not leave her to die like last time?"
'And how did that work out for him?' Harry snorted.
"I don't think he fully trusts any of his Death Eaters right now. Not with a secret as important as his anchors when the Lestranges already failed to protect the Cup," Harry mused while they took a shortcut leading up to the seventh floor: "Killing the elf of one of his followers raises much more attention than keeping her alive. Especially the elf of the Head of the DMLE."
"What are we going to do with him?" Marlene nodded towards the faint ripple of air that was Barty's body.
"We take him with us." Harry answered, a small smile playing on his lips: "He still has an important role to play."
"You want to go right now?" Marlene frowned.
They reached the seventh floor.
"We have to. The moment Voldemort learns that Barty was attacked, he will grow suspicious," Harry said, passing up and down in front of the Room of Requirements: "Besides, I've packed everything we might need."
A doorway materialized on the blank stone. It was not an actual room they entered, but a cold dark tunnel, leading down a gentle slope in the darkness.
Marlene huffed behind him: "Really, Harry?"
"I swear I tried to make it look less 'venturesome'," Harry chuckled and lowered Barty's floating body to slightly above floor level: "The Room just knows we're going on an epicadventure and decided to set the mood for us."
"Sure." Marlene wrinkled her nose and cleaned a few spiderwebs with her wand: "As if the path to our sunset wasn't gruesome enough..."
A short while later, they emerged on the rocky cliffs above Hogsmeade, glancing at the setting sun on the distant horizon.
"Are you ready?" Harry pushes the boulder back to conceal their entrance.
Marlene swallowed heavily before shooting him a nod, eyes sparkling with grim determination: "One step closer."
"Take my hand." He canceled his charms on Barty and steadied him while Marlene slipped her fingers through his.
He pictured himself standing upon the high outcrop of dark rock, water foaming and churning below him. Then he twisted the world past him with a soft snap.
Fresh, salty air filled his nostrils as he took a deep breath. The sound of waves crashing against unforgiving rock rang in his ears. He let Barty tumble to the ground and steadied Marlene around the waist instead.
"Here it is." A light, chilly breeze ruffled her golden hair as she glanced over her shoulder at the towering cliff behind them. The sheer drop, black and faceless rock formation looked as hostile as Harry remembered.
Harry dragged Barty back up and beckoned Marlene to the very edge of the rock. A series of jagged niches made footholds leading down to boulders that lay half-submerged in water and closer to the cliff.
'Well, the descent is just as treacherous as last time.' The lower rocks were slippery with seawater and now he had to steady a half-unconscious sixteen-year-old boy as well.
Harry could feel flecks of cold salt spray hitting his face. They reached the boulder closest to the cliff face, where Marlene raised her wand:
"Lumos!"
A golden sphere of light hovered over the dark surface of the water a few feet below where they crouched; the black wall of rock beside him was illuminated too, revealing a fissure in the cliff into which dark water was swirling.
"Did you bring my bikini by chance, Harry?" Marlene chuckled: "Otherwise, I'll just have to skinny-dip."
"No, but I've got you a toy to play with." Harry fished a set of miniature brooms from within his robes.
'I never understood why Dumbledore had us swim the distance.'
He enlarged them back to their original size with quick taps of his wand, and handed one to his fiancé, earning himself a salty kiss on the lips: "No peek at naked me for you then."
"I'll survive." Harry laughed.
"Imperio!" He stabbed his wand at Barty, washing his thoughts and commands over him.
The boy stood a little straighter and waited for Harry to climb his broom before jumping on behind him, holding on tight to Harry's shoulders.
"Let's go." Harry jumped off the cliff and flew the short distance over to the gap in the imposing wall of rock.
The fissure soon opened into a dark tunnel that Marlene illuminated by letting orbs of bright light shoot from her wand. The slimy walls were barely three feet apart, forcing them to fly rather slowly with Barty clinging on to him. Soon the passageway curved to the left, extending far into the cliff. Finally they reached the entrance to the large cave, landing right in the center.
Harry raised his wand high as he turned slowly on the spot, examining the walls and ceiling: "I finally know what Dumbledore meant back then. This place has known magic, and certainly not of the good kind."
"I can feel it too," Marlene grimaced, casting a warming charm over herself, and binding her hair in a tight braid: "What an unpleasant spot."
"This is where the fun begins." Harry pointed the Elder Wand at the wall opposite them, pouring his intent to gain entrance into the cold rock. For a moment, an arched outline appeared there, blazing in bright white.
"My blood still holds an advantage from events that won't ever repeat themselves," Harry murmured. He ordered Barty to the wall, glancing over his shoulder at the blonde: "I'd also hate seeing your blood spilled, but luckily we have a volunteer with us this time."
He flicked his wand, slicing a small cut into the palm of Barty's right hand. Then he forced the boy to brush his injury over the stone, leaving a trickle of crimson that sparkled in the magical light.
"Open Sesame!" Harry grinned when the blazing silver outline of an arch appeared in the wall once more, and this time did not fade away.
Marlene snorted in amusement when the blood-spattered rock within the arch simply vanished, leaving an opening into what seemed total darkness.
"Follow us and don't step near the water," Harry ordered Barty and walked through the archway with Marlene on his heels, a trio of bright glowing spheres orbiting around them.
"It's massive," Marlene gasped, staring up at the high ceiling as they came to a halt on the edge of the great black lake.
"I agree, the memory doesn't do it justice." Harry nodded toward the misty greenish light that shone far away in the middle of the lake, penetrating the unnaturally dense darkness: "Let's move."
"Will we take the brooms again?" Marlene eyed her pale reflection in the water as they set off around the edge of the lake: "The boat won't carry all three of us and I'd rather not provoke the inferi just yet."
"No, we can't fly." Harry shook his head while his footsteps made echoing, slapping sounds on the narrow rim of rock that surrounded the water: "Voldemort might have forgotten to ward out house elves, but the magic in this cave has been cast with the clear intent to make any visitor cross the water by boat. I don't doubt for a second that we'd trigger some defenses if we attempted to fly to the island."
"But both of us are of age already, Harry. How will we... ahh-" A little gleam dwelled in the depths of Marlene's blue eyes: "Death shall be the ferryman."
"Almost like it was meant to be this way, isn't it," Harry chuckled, coming to halt: "Now let's see if I can replicate what Dumbledore did."
The patch of dark bank looked exactly like every other bit. However, it felt much different. 'Because magic always leaves traces,' Harry murmured under his breath, running his hand through the thin air until his fist tightened around something. He moved closer to the water, keeping his hand clenched in midair around what felt like slimy links of a chain.
The familiar, thick coppery green chain appeared out of thin air after a tap of his wand, extending from the depths of the water into his clenched hand. A second tap later, the chain began to slide through his fist like a snake, coiling itself on the ground with a clinking sound that echoed noisily off the rocky walls.
Soon, the tiny boat broke the surface, glowing as green as the chain, and floated, with barely a ripple, toward the place on the bank where Harry, Marlene, and Barty stood.
"You should take it." Harry handed the Cloak to Marlene: "My magical signature is much harder to identify than yours."
The boat hit the bank with a gentle bump.
"Okay." Marlene nodded and wrapped the cloak around her shoulder, leaving her golden head floating in midair.
"This is going to be very cramped," Harry chuckled and ordered Barty to climb in the boat first before following himself.
"I'll slip onto your lap if you'd like," Marlene laughed, pulling the hood completely over her head.
She vanished from sight, but Harry heard the careful footsteps on the wooden planks. "Alright, I'm inside. Now let me just..." A warm weight slipped onto his lap and nestled herself against his chest. "Well, I've definitely taken more comfortable rides on your lap before."
"Oh, I'm sure you have." Harry snorted as the boat began to move at once. There was no sound other than the silken rustle of the prow cleaving the water.
"How many do you think are in here?" Marlene's voice hitched ever so slightly when something marble white, floated inches below the surface to their right.
"A few hundred perhaps," Harry cringed: "I believe it was one of the reasons why they didn't find the corpses of muggles after the raids. Voldemort turned them into inferi to protect a piece of his soul."
Soon the greenish light grew larger and the boat bumped against the smooth rock of the small island in the center of the lake.
"Climb out and don't touch the water!" Harry ordered Barty and lifted Marlene out of his lap before he exited himself.
They mounted the expanse of flat dark stone and headed straight for the stone basin standing on top of the pedestal.
"Have you ever figured out what poison this is?" Marlene warily eyed the emerald liquid that emitted a phosphorescent glow.
"They call it 'The Drink of Despair'." Harry clenched his jaw and attempted to stick the tip of the Elder Wand into the basin.
As expected, he met an invisible barrier that prevented him from coming within an inch of it: "It caused strong hallucinations as we've witnessed in the memory and as we're about to see again. Luckily neither of us will have to drink it, we have our volunteer after all."
"Barty, did you hear that?" Harry raised his wand again, twirled it once in midair, and caught the goblet that he had conjured: "It's time to shine, boy!"
"Drink up!" Harry ordered, pushing the goblet in the boy's open hand.
Barty dutifully lowered the crystal goblet into the potion. It sank into the surface, filling the glass to the brim. Eyes empty and duel, he lifted it to his mouth like a marionette and drained the goblet in quick gulps. Small spasms twitched over Barty's face, yet he obediently reached out to fill the cup again.
"I'm really doing him a favor actually." A cold smile curved Harry's lips: "Barty will only suffer from some foul potion for a short while. His future counterpart had to gulp down flasks of polyjuice multiple times a day for an entire year. I know which I'd prefer anyway…"
Barty repeated the process three more times, arms trembling a little harder each time until he staggered and struggled to keep upright.
"Drink!" Harry ordered once more, pouring his magic into the boy's consciousness with his wand aimed straight at the head.
Barty staggered back to the basin. His knuckles drew white on the goblet. His eyes were twitching widely with each consecutive go. He panted and wheezed, face distorted in discomfort as he downed another cup.
"Father, I don't like- I want to stop..."
"Yeah, I don't think so." Harry mercilessly held control of the spell and forced the goblet back toward Barty's mouth. He tipped it so that the boy drank the remainder of the potion inside.
"I don't want to! Let me go, Father... it hurts!"
Barty slowly began fighting against the spell, his hand hovered in front of his lips with a full cup at the ready, yet he refused to cross the last distance.
"We don't have time for this," Marlene huffed and stabbed her wand forward, freezing him in place. She forced his lips agape and tipped the contents of the goblet into Barty's open mouth.
He screamed; the noise echoed all around the vast chamber, across the dead black water.
"-don't make me, Father, I don't want to..."
Another cup later Barty dropped to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. He began to cower as though invisible torturers surrounded him; his flailing hand almost knocked the refilled goblet from Marlene's grip.
"Bind him, Harry!" Marlene ordered in annoyance.
Harry wrapped his magic around Barty's limbs, forcing his arms behind his back in a tight hold. He arched the boy's spine, tilting his head back and his mouth open to allow Marlene to pour the content of another full goblet.
Barty shook from head to foot and screamed, unable to move his limbs. Harry caught blood trickling down his fingers from where his nails dug into his own skin.
"Please, Father... you're hurting me, Please!"
Marlene scooped up a tenth goblet full of potion. He made out the crystal scrape at the bottom of the basin. Barty began to scream in more anguish than ever.
"Make it stop, make it stop, Father!"
Marlene poured every last drop of the final goblet into his open mouth and forced him to swallow.
'No water for you just yet.'
Harry kept his hold on the boy, wrapping him in tight back ropes that bound him to the stone.
"So this is it." He joined Marlene at the basin and peeked down into the drained depths.
The large, oval locket of heavy gold with a serpentine 'S' in green jewels sparkled in the gloomy greenish light.
"It's beautiful." Marlene scooped the locket from the bottom of the stone basin and held it between pale fingers: "They say that Salazar Slytherin crafted it for his wife. It's supposed to have all kinds of powers..."
"Just store it securely, preferably not too close to your heart," Harry grimaced, turning to head back to the boat: "I've seen first-hand what wearing it does to people..."
"And what do we do with him?" Marlene followed him to the edge, gesturing at the twitching form of Barty.
"My spell will eventually lose its effect," Harry shrugged, stepping into the boat with one foot: "He will be extra thirsty by then and the water will seem all the more irresistible..."
Marlene suddenly paused, frowning when she let her eyes roam over the water.
"You coming?" Harry asked.
"I don't think we should leave just yet." Marlene pondered: "We've taken the Horcrux, but this cave, especially what's in it, is still of use to Voldemort."
'The fewer followers he has the better.'
'And inferi are part of that following.'
"Maybe you're right." Harry stepped back onto the shore and undid his binding on Crouch, heaving the boy up by the collar of his uniform.
"You know, you've really been of great use to us tonight, Barty." Harry dragged the twitching, gasping weight to the edge of the island. "But you must be dying to drink something." He tossed the boy into the mirror-smooth surface of the lake: "Go clench your thirst!"
Harry and Marlene climbed back up the podium, standing back-to-back and watching as Barty desperately lowered his head through the surface of the black lake. "Unleash hell on them, love."
The surface started churning, and everywhere he looked, white heads and hands were emerging from the dark water. A bony hand yanked Barty's neck down and pulled him under. Men, women, and children with sunken, sightless eyes were moving toward the rock: an entire army of the dead rising from the black water.
They began climbing onto the rock, their bony hands clawing at its slippery surface, their blank, frosted eyes upon them, trailing waterlogged rags, sunken faces leering.
Harry drew in a deep breath and raised his wand, fixing a set of scarlet orbs, burning bright like coal in front of his inner eye. Hatred, bubbled in his stomach. The hairs on his arms prickled and his skin began to tingle: "Now!"
Crimson flames boiled from the Elder Wand in a wave of whispering tongues. He poured every drop of furious hate into its heat, shielding his eyes as the inferno rushed down to engulf the first inferi.
The fiendfyre swallowed their sodden rags and icy skin, vaporizing them the moment they met. Outstretched thin, fleshless arms, cold as death, turned to ash that rained down on the smooth, black stone.
The screaming flames spread out to either side where they joined a second set of hissing tongues and formed a tight ring of gold and red that surrounded the rock like an impenetrable shield.
The inferi mindlessly hurled themselves into the inferno, bumped into each other, desperately attempting to gain ground, yet to no avail. Their burning corpses slid into molten, bubbling stone, sending thick, reeking smoke up to the cave's ceiling.
Harry dragged the fiendfyre further outward onto the surface of the lake, letting it swell into slim, white-hot serpents that lunged at the inferi, plugging them one by one.
The stench of putrid, rotting flesh being immolated made him want to gag but the fierce heat of the cursed flames made it quite difficult to do so.
The high, frantic screams subsided eventually and a trembling hand slipped into his own from behind. Harry clenched the fiendfyre out beneath Marlene's soft, warm smile, breathing heavily as the red flames guttered out to his feet.
"That... was... intense," Marlene gasped for breath, clinging onto him, her fingers curling into his robes.
"Indeed." Harry surveyed the small island, his eyes roaming over, fleshless, scattered bodies and molten black stone: "We should go and destroy the Locket." He steadied her on the waist: "And you definitely need some rest."
"Wait! There's something I was reminded of when I saw those crimson snakes form." Marlene gently untangled herself and pulled Salazar's locket from underneath her robes.
She held it up, letting it dangle on the slim chain while catching his eye: "Do you trust me, Harry?"
"Of course I do." Harry frowned.
Marlene led him over to the basin by hand and placed the locket on the top: "Open it, Harry."
"Marlene, I- "
"Do you trust me?" She repeated firmly, eyes gleaming with grim determination.
"I do." Harry swallowed heavily and reluctantly tore his gaze away from her and to the locket.
He focused on the emerald 'S' engraved into the sparkling gold:
"Open!"
The golden doors of the locket swung wide open with a little click. Tom Riddle's eyes flashed scarlet red.
Then, a voice hissed from out of the Horcrux.
"I have seen your heart, Marlene McKinnon, and it is mine."
"You've seen nothing!" She drew herself together, a cold smile on pink lips: "You are nothing, Tom!"
Riddle's eyes gleamed scarlet.
Black mist poured out of the locket's two windows, right out of the eyes. It wrenched into a distant, familiar manor standing on a peninsula between a small valley by the lake.
"Mum!" A young girl's scream pierced the air.
Crimson flames consumed the manor. The Dark Mark emerged from thick black smoke that billowed from destroyed roofs and towers.
"Do it, Marlene!" Harry urged her. "Do it now!"
The blonde raised her wand, the tip glowing a faint green.
The black mist wrenched around again.
A small girl lay on black stone tiles, her golden hair flared out in every direction, blood trickled from her lips, her green eyes were open, large, and lifeless.
"Never!" Marlene hissed.
Her wand stabbed forward in a blur.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A bright green flash seared Harry's eyes. The black mist coiled in on itself and dissipated with a desperate, distant, drawn-out scream.
"Why did you want to see it?!" Harry snapped, steadying his trembling fiancé. "What good did it do?!"
"What we just saw will never come true." Marlene replied somewhat shaken. She brought the tip of her wand to her thumb and sliced her skin, letting a few drops of crimson dwell from the wound.
"What are you doing?!"
She ignored his deep frown and picked up the locket from the basin, pressing her thumb in between the golden doors. Then she shut them with a faint click. "Just trust me, Harry."
"You should be careful; he might have put some more spells on it." Harry cautioned.
"I don't think so, my love." She lifted the slim chain over her head and held the jewelry in front of her face. Harry caught the reflection of the engraved 'S' in the depths of both her eyes.
"Now how about this-" A small, triumphant smile spread over Marlene's pink lips:
"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"