Triple update, surpriiiiise. Make sure you've read chapters 68 and 69 before this one, that's really important!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, he wasn't as drained as the second Death Eater I'd taken down. His fighting style seemed aggressive, fast and angry. He didn't stay on one spot longer than a few seconds, so he was using the space he knew I didn't have.

The woman caught up on his plan and started to move more, too, forcing Marls and me to turn away from each other. I could barely see her anymore, because her duel was happening diagonally behind me. We weren't fighting back to back or in juxtaposition anymore, like we were used to.

I didn't like where this was going. Marls and I were now both more vulnerable, offering more space to get hit. On top of that, we were getting tired - we'd had to fight off four other Death Eaters before them, and that had taken its toll on our energy.

I clenched my jaw again, determined to finally end this stupid fight, when the Death Eater caught me completely off guard just as I was conjuring my shield.

He didn't fire at me.

He fired at Marlene.

She couldn't see it, since she was busy duelling the other hooded figure.

Everything around me seemed to slow down, even though I had to act fast. Before I even completely registered what I was doing, I yanked aside and threw myself in front of Marlene.

The unnaturally white colour of the curse coming towards us confused me, since I'd never seen a curse like that before. Not in the Auror lessons and not on order missions.

I knew that not all kinds of curses could be reflected by shield charms, and I didn't want to take any chances and risk the curse getting through my usual protego, so I sent an expelliarmus towards the flash, planning to make the curse bounce back to the Death Eater who'd sent it.

But since I'd been moving quickly to jump in front of Marlene, I missed.

My eyes widened in shock as I witnessed how the white flash flew past the red one, rushed under my outstretched arm and hit my stomach.

It was like all air had been knocked out of me, as I was overcome with unbearable pain. My insides were burning. I only saw my curse knock the wand out of the Death Eater's hand, before I dropped my own wand and clutched my hands over my stomach.

Scarlet liquid was pouring out from between my fingers, slowly running over my hand and dripping down on the floor.

I wanted to scream in pain, but except a gasp, no noise escaped my lips.

I tried to ignore all of the pain and put pressure on the wound instead, trying to stop the bleeding. But then I noticed that the blood didn't just come from my belly. There were deep gashes on my arms, too.

On my hips as well. My shoulders were burning, and the blood even poured down on my hands from my chest area. Something ran down my cheeks and forehead, some of the liquid getting caught in my eyelashes.

I fell over like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

The shocked 'Freya' from Marlene sounded muffled, as though a thick water wall was between us.

I started to tremble, still trying to stop the blood from leaving my body, but to no avail. It was everywhere. There were too many cuts. I couldn't possibly stop the bleeding.

My chest hurt; every breath hurt as I forced oxygen in my lungs again and again.

Merlin, everything hurt.

I had to fight it. I had to tell Marlene about Regulus' secret before I couldn't anymore. In great pain, I opened my mouth, but again, no noise left me. My mouth felt unbelievably dry, making it almost impossible to move my tongue at all.

Only muffled sounds reached my ears and the vision through my tears was blurry, but I think that I saw the Death Eater I'd been duelling with run away, followed (but missed) by a few curses coming from Marlene. She only managed to send spells in his general direction, since she was still trying to hold her ground against the Death Eater in front of her.

The other Death Eater was long gone now.

My body didn't hurt anymore. My limbs felt numb, although I was still shaking uncontrollably.

Stay awake.

After what felt like forever, I saw the female Death Eater fall, and Marlene wasted no second in dropping down beside me.

My numb hands fell off my stomach.

Stay awake.... Tell... Marlene.

Marlene's clothes were immediately soaked in blood. She looked up and down on me, pressing one hand onto one of the many wounds, the other one was still holding her wand.

"Freya, oh my Merlin, hold on, I'll get help!" her voice sounded strangely far away.

Black spots appeared in my vision, but I saw her shoot red sparks in the sky, before she directed her wand at me. Then I couldn't stop the darkness creeping in from the edge of my vision anymore. My eyes drooped close.

"No! Freya, stay awake, look at me! I'll get help! We'll heal you!" Marlene's voice cracked. She was crying.

"Stay awake! Everything will be okay!"

I started to hear my heartbeat in my ears; every other noise was drowned out. There was just pumping that got slower with every second.

I forced in one last, shaky and weak breath. I knew that I wouldn't have the strength for another one.

You know how they say that when you die, you see your life pass by in front of you one final time?

I may not have seen my life flash by in front of me, but I saw the person that had managed to change it. For the better and the worse.

While he'd never loved me the way I loved him, and while he was the person that hurt me like no other could, he still was the best thing to ever happen to me.

I saw the moment of my life that had made me begin to feel alive. Sirius was walking me to the Ravenclaw common room that evening after we'd played Quidditch together. He was smiling at me, and even in this moment, his presence made me feel better.

I wanted to hold out my arm and reach him, finally kiss him and tell him that I love him, although this was just my imagination - but I couldn't move.

Then the scene changed and I was at the Elton John concert, swaying back and forth with Marlene in my arms. I was laughing hysterically, high on adrenaline and touched that she'd officially named me her best friend.

The last thought that crossed my mind was that I'd saved Marlene's life.

I'd saved the life of my best friend, and I'd saved the girl that the love of my life loved more than anything or anyone else.

I'd made sure that they'd get to be together for the rest of their lives, and get the chance of a happily ever after. I'd sacrificed myself so that both of them lived, so that Sirius could be happy with Marlene.

And after all, wasn't that what love was about?

You know what? I was fine with that.