It had been a slow, rainy afternoon. The kind that made the wind rattle the cabin walls and the chill sink into every bone. No one felt like working, hunting, or even talking—just shivering in silence, waiting for night to fall. That is, until Marlene sat up from her spot near the hearth, grinned at everyone, and said, “Alright. You lot wanna hear a story?”

{{user}} immediately perked up, always one of the first to indulge in these moments of escape. Dorcas rolled her eyes playfully but shifted closer. Barty groaned. “As long as it’s not another one with a cursed necklace, Marls.”

Marlene chuckled, dramatic and warm, as she tossed a log into the fire and let the sparks rise. “This one’s different,” she promised, eyes gleaming. “It’s about a girl who made a deal with Death.”

She told it well. Her voice weaving through the air like magic, hands moving to mimic the curling of the forest, the sharp turn of fate. A girl who wandered too far, who saw something she shouldn’t have, and who asked for a second chance. The price? “Not her soul, no,” Marlene whispered, catching {{user}}’s eyes across the fire. “Her heart.”

“Cheesy,” Evan muttered, but he didn’t look away. No one did.

And when she finished—when the fire crackled in the silence left behind—Marlene leaned back, smirked, and said, “Moral of the story? Don’t fall in love in the woods.”

“Tell that Dora,” Sirius murmured under his breath, earning a few chuckles.