Author's note: Will I ever tire of Femme Fatale Marlene McKinnon? Probably not. Enjoy!

Hogwarts: Assignment #1, Ancient Runes, Task #2, Write about someone on the brink of death.

Warnings: Assassins and seduction

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

The Brink of Death and Back Again

Marlene had her craft honed to a near perfect standard. Truly, it may as well be art by this point. Lily could laugh all she wanted while she watched Marlene curl her hair or fuss with the wings of her eyeliner before she went off on Order missions. It didn't matter; Marlene was an effective agent, armed with her cranberry red lipstick, the innocent bats of her eyelashes, and the way she could cock one of her hips while chatting up a Death Eater and emerge with new intelligence. Pillow talk was also an option but it took more work, and Marlene was a big believer in working smart if one could avoid working hard, which was why she had finally accepted her mother's invitation to attend the Ministry's annual fundraiser for St. Mungo's. Largely because she wouldn't have to track down Death Eaters if they were all there, milling around high wizarding society and enjoying their finger sandwiches. Most of them would have their husbands and wives with them at this fundraiser, which made Marlene's life more difficult, but no matter. To that extra hurdle, she said "challenge accepted."

It didn't take her long to spot Regulus Black across the room. She wrapped up her conversation with Hektor Zabini as quickly as she could before picking up her skirt and crossing the room. She introduced herself via a brush of Regulus' arm. She saw him shiver as he turned back to look to her and Marlene smiled.

"Regulus," she smiled. "I haven't seen you since school…"

"Marlene McKinnon," he smiled courteously, bowing his head to her. He was holding a flute of champagne and quickly turned around to grab another one from a passing server for her.

"Thank you," she said, offering him another beaming smile. "My, it's so nice to see you here, all dressed up." She reached out to let her fingers drag against the tie nicely fastened around his neck, meeting his eyes. "How have you been? It's been too long."

"I've been well," Regulus said. He'd been famously shy in school, which was really quite shocking since Marlene had always known his brother best, and Sirius was about as shy as mud was light. "And yourself?"

"Well as always," Marlene had smiled. "I've been working at Flourish and Blotts, mostly helping with the books because I'm not quite polite enough to be let loose on the customers."

Regulus laughed at that.

"That sounds nice," he said. It was a boring job doing something with numbers that Marlene liked but that most people hated, but somehow Regulus seemed genuine when he said that—like he did actually think it sounded nice and might want to do it himself.

"What about you?" Marlene asked, reaching out to drag her fingers down his arm again. She'd learned a long time ago to rope people in with these kinds of small touches.

"I have been helping my family with their affairs," Regulus said. That was quite a nice way to say 'being a Death Eater,' Marlene thought, but she didn't miss a beat in their exchange.

"That's lovely," Marlene said. "Are they well?"

"Yes, thank you," Regulus said.

"You know, we received the most fascinating book about the history of the Sacred Twenty Eight…" Marlene began, piquing Regulus' interest. He played along and Marlene strung together a thoughtful, compelling, absolutely bullshit discussion on the intricacies and particularities of family history.

"I'd never thought of it that way," Marlene said to punctuate one of his observations on the methodological flaws of familial archives. She'd inched herself a little bit closer to him. "You know, I always thought we should have spoken more, while we were in school together. I think we have more in common than it seems, and you're… well, fascinating."

Regulus blushed. Marlene knew for a fact that he had absolutely zero of his brother's shameless, extroverted, attention-grabbing nature. Hell, he didn't have any of her shameless and bold traits either—she was playing hard and loose with the idea of 'opposites attract' at this point. She didn't want to push too hard, but she could tell that this kind of attention was new to him… she felt him standing at the edge of a cliff she'd happily shove him off of.

He looked away from her and looked around the room awkwardly. She mirrored his darting gaze and then smiled when their eyes met again. She put on her softest, most enchanting facade.

"There's not much of interest going on here, is there?" Marlene asked him cheekily, as if they were both in on a joke nobody else could hear.

"No, it's quite dull," Regulus admitted. "I've been coming to these events to represent my father for a few years now, and this one seems to be a new low."

Marlene laughed as the pieces clicked into place.

"Well why don't you and I step outside, then?" Marlene said. This time, when she touched his arm, she ran her fingers down and took his hand. "I promise not to be so… dull."

Regulus blushed but then looked around the room and back to Marlene. He smiled and then kissed her cheek.

"Did you have anywhere in mind?" he asked.

"I happen to have a room upstairs," Marlene said. This was a lie, but she would cross that bridge when she got there.

Regulus, still seemingly shy, nodded but didn't move. Once Marlene tugged on his hand, he came to life and she dragged him out of the ballroom with its overly polite and tasteful music and company and decor.

Marlene led Regulus towards the lift and squeezed his hand as she called it down to them.

A cheerful little ding preceded the doors opening. This time, it was Regulus who dragged her inside but Marlene made sure to tug him into the corner with her. He leaned against the railing, seeming content as he gave Marlene a little smile that might have been endearing in any other context.

Marlene smiled back and ran her thumb in circles against the back of his hand. She gave it a few moments before slipping her other hand into his jacket. His hand found the dip of her waist and he met her eyes, as if asking for permission, before leaning down and kissing her. Marlene let him, more than let him she reciprocated because as it turned out Regulus Black was a fairly good kisser.

He pulled away and looked at her for a second, seeming both happy and confused.

"Your lips taste like that pink Muggle bubblegum," he commented.

"How does a good Pureblood such as yourself know what Muggle bubblegum taste like?" Marlene laughed, half teasing but half genuinely curious.

Regulus opened his mouth to answer but then his eyes hardened and he sucked in a deep breath as if he'd just come up from underwater. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked at her in confusion and then in realization, whatever answer he'd prepared lost on his lips.

That was, after all, why she liked that luxurious shade of cranberry gloss so dearly. It was just dark enough to hide the poison she liked to drip on her lips.

Regulus Black stumbled backwards away from Marlene. She drew her wand and took a step back, giving him room to slide against the wall and down onto the floor, barely holding onto the railings. She tapped her wand against the elevator's control panel to stop it between floors before turning back to him.

Marlene kept her wand fixed on him as she watched Regulus' wide, panicked eyes as he struggled to close his mouth or take in air. All he could do was look at her and Marlene did nothing but look back at the Death Eater as the poison made its way through his veins. Ideally, once he'd croaked, she'd start the elevator up again, ride it up to the penthouse, and Apparate from there.

Regulus met her eyes more boldly than he had before—funny how being on death's door could bring people around like that—and then against all odds he sputtered out a few words.

"I know how to kill Voldemort," he said.

Voldemort.

Not "The Dark Lord." Not "He Who Shall Not Be Named."

Voldemort. Like an Order of the Phoenix member. Like someone who knew what bubblegum tasted like. Unlike a Death Eater.

"Fuck," Marlen blurted before lowering her wand and kneeling next to Regulus. She picked him up by the front of his dress robes to straighten him up. His eyes rolled before he managed to focus on her again.

"What do you mean you know how to kill him?" Marlene asked. "What's so special?"

Regulus didn't manage to answer; his eyes got hazy.

"Oh, fuck me," Marlene sighed. This would have been far too straightforward, clean, and efficient of a job if the man had just died quietly. She should have known something would go wrong. Was every member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black this much of a pain in the ass? Her ass, specifically. Should she have gone easy on Sirius on account of his genetics after all?

Marlene reached into the front of her dress and pulled out the tiny vial of antidote from its hiding place. She'd developed an immunity to the toxin she wore over the years, but kept its neutralizer handy in case of an emergency whenever she was out and about with poison on her lips. Never would she have imagined counting "saving a Death Eater's life" as an emergency, but here she was.

She reached into the inside pocket of his robes to snatch his wand, which she'd scouted out and located while being handsy earlier. She speared it in her updo before shaking Regulus by a collar.

"Is this a game, Black?" she asked. "Because if it is, I'll bring you right back to the brink of death twice as painfully."

Regulus shook his head, choking out the words: "I want him dead. It'll be hard."

"Merlin's fucking beard," Marlene swore again. She tore the vial's lid off with her teeth before tilting his head back. She dropped her wand for just one second, to free a hand she could use to empty the vial into his throat. She pinched his nose to made him swallow, and then dropped him.

Regulus crumpled to the elevator floor as Marlene grabbed both of their wands and jumped back to her feet. She backed herself up into a corner away from him and kept her wand pointed towards him as Regulus coughed his way back to life, forcing air into his lungs. She made sure to draw the billowing grey tulle of her dress against herself, to give him nothing to grab.

Finally he was strong enough to prop himself up onto his elbow. He rubbed his throat as he looked at her, stunned.

"You're the one who's been assassinating Death Eaters," Regulus said. It was hard to pinpoint emotion in his voice as he panted and recovered, but Marlene felt as if she could sense a certain… admiration? No, it couldn't be.

"You could have killed me," Regulus said plainly.

"But I didn't," Marlene said, arching an eyebrow and holding her wand steady.

"You nearly did," Regulus said. "I was on the brink of death!"

"Yes, and I'll bring you all the way back if you don't start providing answers, Regulus Black," Marlene said. "So: tell me. What exactly makes this Dark Lord of yours so hard to kill?"

Stacked with: MC4A; Hogwarts; Shipping War

Individual Challenge(s): Gryffindor MC; Slytherin MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Order, Order; Seeds; Minerva's Migraine; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (New Beginnings); Themes & Things B (Deception); Themes & Things E (Dress/Skirt); Themes & Things F (Second Chances); Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash; Two Cakes!;

Word Count: 1924