Only death gives one the sight to see the end of a war. And death comes when you least expect it. Marina should have known that by now.

It comes creeping upon you, and you are so unaware, you can't even speak of it before it happens. Suddenly it's there: the angel with black wings standing before you. It needs a new victim, and it is whispering your name. It is your turn to go. Even though you are not ready to leave. Even though you don't deserve it, the angel takes your soul. And you can't do anything about it. This is it, this is the end.

What happens next? No one knows. Those around you will be left confused and broken. They will wish that they could somehow bring you back; to see your smile once more. But they can't. Because death is forever. Your lifeless body lies six feet under the ground, waiting to become dirt. The soul is gone. Where is it now? Is it reuniting with its loved ones? Is it entering a new body? Is it screaming? Is it crying? Is it laughing? As the body rots, the others wonder. And they will keep wondering until it's their turn; until the angel with black wings returns. Because death is forever.

Harry was breaking and bottling up tears and anger when Marina entered Dumbledore's office. He was well familiar with death. It seemed like those closest to him dropped like flies. But a person could never learn how to greet death as a friend.

His muscles tensing and his jaw clenching, he looked at Marina a way that made her feel so unsure and small, "why did you do it? Why couldn't you just have listened to him?"

He would normally have looked at her like he had just realized what love is. But now, it was as if it hurt him to look at her. Marina drew a long breath, parting her lips to tell him about everything that had happened. But not a single word came out of her. She looked down at the floor, feeling warm tears rolling down her cheeks.

"He's not coming back!" cried Harry, his voice breaking. Marina watched in silence as he pounded his knitted fist against Dumbledore's desk.

"Harry, I did not know that he was following me to the manor. I thought-"

"YOU THOUGHT WHAT?"

Marina gulped. Her hands were shaking. "You know I didn't mean to hurt anyone. You out of all people should know that. If I had known that he was coming after me, I wouldn't have-"

"SHUT UP!" Harry suddenly bellowed. With a swift motion, he turned to look at her and took several steps forward. His face was now completely red. Marina looked into his eyes - they were much darker than usual - something about him was off. "YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!"

Marina gasped, trying to get away from him. But as if she was a marionette doll whose strings had just been cut off, she fell to the floor. The sound of something breaking under her filled the room.

"No, no, no, no..."

Horror struck her as she reached into her pocket to find out that her wand had snapped in two.

"Shit! Marina, I didn't mean that," said Harry, rushing to kneel down beside her on the floor. When she looked up at him now, he was back to his normal self; his eyes were the shade of green again. "I'm so sorry."

She felt every inch of her burning. Not able to control herself, she let out loud whimpers. Marina was not sure what had broken her - Dumbledore's death, her stubbornness, the fact that she had (most probably) killed a family member, Harry's yells or her wand snapping. It was probably a mixture of it all, but she thought it was too stupid to cry over a simple object such as her wand when someone had just died.

"I know you didn't mean it, Harry. Are you okay?" she sobbed. Such a stupid, stupid question.

"It- it wasn't me... I didn't want to yell at you," he said with a thin voice. "I don't know what is happening, Marina. It's like there is someone in my head, but it's not me."

He burst into tears. She threw her arms around him and let his tear stain her uniform, burying her face in his messy hair, but couldn't help but wonder: would he still be embracing her if he knew that she had taken a life just an hour ago? Marina did not regret hurting Bellatrix. The woman had bled to death, and all Marina could think about was how good revenge tasted. In the end, the second war seemed more like a bitter battle between her family members, and Bellatrix had killed Sirius. Perhaps she had deserved the pain...

"I think I'm going mad," Marina softly whispered.

Harry did not answer her. Instead, he let go of her. He turned his head to look at Dumbledore's lifeless body beside them, and then slowly reached forward to put his hand in Dumbledore's pocket. Marina watched in silence as he pulled a small object out of it.

"It's a locket. I saw it sticking out of his pocket before you came in here." He turned the object, discovering that it was open. A scrap of folded parchment wedged tightly inside it, which he soon pulled out and read: "To the Dark Lord. I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can." Harry took a break, biting his tongue and closing his eyes before continuing. "I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. R.A.B."

Marina let the two pieces of wood that used to be her wand fall to the floor. "Father," she whispered, crawling close enough to Harry to snatch the parchment out of his hand. The handwriting on it was identical to her father's, and the initials R.A.B. could not belong to anyone other than Regulus Arcturus Black. "Why would Dumbledore have this?"

"You need to go now," said a voice. Marina flinched at first - it wasn't Harry's voice. She turned around to find Tonks standing in the doorway, Kreacher at her side. He was folding his arms.

"Go?" Harry echoed.

"It's too dangerous for you to be here. The Death Eaters have already taken students, and they won't hesitate to kill you if they find you," Tonks put out.

"Then we'll fight," answered Harry bravely. Marina almost agreed at first. Let's choke them on the ashes of the dreams they have burned.

"No, you're not, Harry." Tonks shook her head. "I want you to bring Kreacher with you and Apparate as far away from here as possible. The Death Eaters will leave only then, for they are here in search for you."

It was weird seeing Tonks like this. The only few times Marina had seen her, she had been playful and clumsy - not scared and hurt. She was doing everything in her power not to let her eyes fall upon the dead body of Dumbledore.

"Kreacher is not going with the half-blood!" screamed Kreacher suddenly.

"Yes, you are."

"No!"

"Kreacher, have you ever seen this before?" Marina asked calmly, and took the silver lock Harry had found in Dumbledore's pocket out of his hands, and held it up. Kreacher froze. "Weren't you close to my father?"

"The half-blood laid his hands on-"

"Perhaps you want to help us find out why Dumbledore died with it in his pocket... I think father would have been proud of you for helping me with this..."

Kreacher gave in: he marched over to her and grabbed both her and Harry's arm. "Where to go?"

"Wait," Marina burst out, moving away from the house-elf. "I need to talk to Draco. I need to get him somewhere safe!"

"I can't let you do that, Marina," Harry said softly. "You don't have a wand, you can't Apparate and Voldemort can still control you. It's too dangerous for you out there."

"What? You don't have a wand?" Tonks breathed. Marina shook her head and showed her the broken wand. "Harry, that means you cannot leave her side. If the Death Eaters find your hiding spot..."

"I won't," Harry answered at once.

Trembling from fear, they got their bags ready. Marina hid her father's diary and the silver locket inside her uniform just in case they would meet anyone curious on the way. She then took a deep breath and looked out of the window one last time. How long would it be before she saw Hogwarts again? Or - would she ever see Hogwarts again?

Tonks hugged both of them before they left. She asked them to be careful and stay low. But Marina didn't want to be quiet anymore. Tom had made a grave mistake by making her a Horcrux: she could see where he had hidden every other Horcrux he had made, find them, and destroy them so that he could be mortal once more. If that meant that she had to eliminate herself, she would be willing to dig her own grave.

When Harry took her hand, she determined that as long as he was alright, she could take all the pain in the world.

Marina squeezed her eyes shut as the familiar flash of lights appeared when Kreacher Apparated them out of the castle. She gripped on to Harry a little harder right before they fell. The ground below them now was covered in snow and ice. The sun had gone down a long time ago, but the light shining from the Weasleys' Burrow behind them lit up the garden they were standing it. It took Harry a minute to realize where they were. He shook his head - an action that earned a great huff from Kreacher.

"We can't hide here," Harry began. "They expect us to come here."

Kreacher opened his mouth to yell. Marina's first instinct was to draw her wand and say Silencio. But she could no longer do that.

"Kreacher, I have an order for you," she said instead. "Go back to Hogwarts. You're going to find Draco and bring him to Malfoy Manor. Then, you're going to get out of there and come back as fast as you can. We'll try to find a place to stay in the meantime."

The house-elf Disapparated. Technically, he did not have to listen to her orders anymore: she had freed him from his duties. But it seemed like his loyalty to the Black family was too strong for him to refuse her requests.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Harry. He rubbed his hands together, and only then Marina realized how cold it was. "Leading Draco right to Voldemort?"

"As long as he's close to Narcissa, he'll be fine. I know she's going to protect him. They are not like the others in the manor, but they can pretend."

He nodded in response. "Where should we go?"

Marina looked at the Burrow. How nice it would be to stay there; to warm up beside the fireplace, listening to Fred and George's idiotic jokes and eating Mrs. Weasley's food again. She could still recall the Christmas she had spent at the Burrow and the morning she had met Sirius. But now, Sirius was dead, and the Weasleys were in the castle fighting against Death Eaters.

"Didn't the Diggorys live right down the street?" She picked up her bag and threw it over her shoulder. Maybe if Cedric was home, they could stay there for a night or two.

"But is it safe to stay there?"

"Safer, not safe."

The Diggory family lived in a large, blue house. Brooms lay on their doorstep. A sign with the Diggory name hung on the wall. There were large windows, but no light shone through it. Maybe they weren't home? Marina knocked on the door. She counted the seconds that passed. She must have reached 30 before a pink-faced Cedric opened the door, tears rolling down his face. He was clutching his wand.

"Are you alright?" Marina muttered. She took a step forward when he shook his head. "What happened, Cedric?"

"Cho," was all he managed to press out.

Marina's heart began pounding. "She's at school, isn't she?"

"I'm going there now," Cedric announced, stepping out of his home. Marina turned to Harry. He was standing completely still, his eyes wide as he looked down at the ground. "The Death Eaters were there. We got an owl."

A pale Amos Diggory opened the door wider and stepped outside. He put his hand on his son's shoulder and looked at Marina and Harry with his eyebrows high.

"I'm sorry," whispered Cedric. "I'll talk to you later."

And with that, Cedric was gone. His father stood in front of Marina and Harry like a question mark. With a trembling voice, Marina tried to explain their situation to him; how they only needed to stay for one night. Thankfully, Amos let them into his home. Marina could tell that he was hurting as he showed them around the house. He would avoid eye-contact with her, and his voice would crack ever-so-often.

The final room he showed them was the guest room. It was small, with yellow paint on the walls and a bed close to the window.

"Get some rest," Amos said and tried to smile. He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him before Marina could answer.

Harry looked at her - he looked at her arm, making a grimace at the sight of blood on it. Without saying a word, he opened his bag, stuck his hand into it and found a flask of healing potion. They both sat down on the bed. He reached to pull the sleeve of her uniform up, carefully tracing his fingers over her arm, not caring (or, at least not showing any signs that he cared) about the Dark Mark which was carved into it. She watched him in silence as he opened the potions flask and rubbed the liquid in it on her arm. The pain she had felt for so long disappeared - as did the blood she had lost.

They laid down on the bed, cuddling up under the sheets. The silence remained for a moment, and then, he was the first one to break. Whimpering, shivering, realizing that he had lost two people he cared about in one day, he broke. Listening to his cries, knowing that she had been the one who caused the deaths, she broke.

"Please don't leave me," Harry whispered, hugging her tighter. "I'm losing everyone I love. I can't lose you. Please don't leave me."

Sometimes, Marina wondered how Harry did not understand that he had changed everything for her. She had never gotten the chance to be soft before she met him. Before him, there had only been shattered glass and screams. But now, she hugged him with fragile bones and kissed him with bruised lips like his lips were air and she couldn't breathe. They took off their clothes and fell asleep in each other's arms, her head on his chest so that she could hear the beat of his heart.

"I wish I could stay alive for you," she whispered once she was sure that Harry had fallen asleep.

Marina knew deep down that loving him was a death sentence.