Not a Fairytale
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and accept no credit towards it. I am not the wonderful J.K. Rowling or any of her affiliates.
Warning: instances of bad language so just...beware, I guess :p
Word Count: 2886 (without AN)
Written for The Love in Motion Challenge Round 1: Marauders pairing, Marlene/Regulus
Marlene was many things.
Romantic was not one of them.
She broke boys' hearts like pencils and toyed around with red lipstick and choking cigarettes, never once believing in the fool's tale they called love.
Nothing changed when she met Regulus.
It was the start of seventh year and she'd just broken up with his brother, Sirius, for the third time; an explosive tantrum of wands at throats and slamming doors and tears spilled after midnight, when there was a knock on her door.
It was Lily Evans, beautiful, kind Lily who Marlene had had a secret schoolgirl crush on in third year and was currently rolling her eyes.
"There's a boy outside for you." She said and slumped down on her bed, pulling out her Transfiguration homework.
"Boy?" Marlene queried, pushing herself up on her elbows with a gleam in her eyes. "Who is it?"
"I think it's Sirius' brother actually." Lily said, rummaging around for a quill before giving her best friend a look. "Black's still really upset, you know."
"He'll get over it." Marlene said dismissively as she slid out of bed. "Be back soon."
"Love you." Lily said as Marlene left, not even glancing up from her homework. "Be safe."
It was dark outside the common room.
"Hello?" Marlene called, stepping into the light of the window and feeling the pale moonlight illuminate her shadow. "Mr Black?"
"You're awfully polite for the girl who broke my brother's heart." A quiet voice observed from behind her and Marlene jumped, spinning round to see a small boy, slight in stature and with the same achingly familiar features as Sirius.
"Do you often sneak up on people?" She replied, quirking an eyebrow. Black's brother didn't answer.
"Regulus Black." He said instead, holding out a hand. "There's no need to ask who you are. Marlene McKinnon."
Marlene was a little taken aback at the directness of his tone.
"Well, you got my name right, congratulations." She snapped, annoyed at having been torn away from her warm bed. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"Yes." Regulus said solemnly, dark eyes boring into her. "Stay away from my brother."
He melted away into the shadows as though he'd never been there and Marlene was left, visibly shaken at the look in his eyes and furiously determined not to listen to the orders of a measly little sixth year.
She pulled Sirius aside the next morning, gushed out a hundred hurried apologies and kissed him so hard she tasted blood.
She hoped Regulus was watching, hoped that the Slytherin would see them and realise that it took much more than empty threats to drive Marlene McKinnon away.
Sirius didn't object. In fact, he drew her closer and they bunked off Potions to snog by the Whomping Willow.
She didn't see Regulus again for a few days so she counted that as a victory.
She and Sirius were back together, not the talk of the school anymore (that honour had been given to James and Lily who had finally started dating), but going strong and being invincible and Marlene thought that maybe she wouldn't have to break his heart this time.
Turned out, the bastard got to hers first.
She found him on a rainy Thursday afternoon, pressing Alma Diggory from Hufflepuff against the wall, slobbering and salivating over her until Marlene felt sick.
"Sirius?" She said, for the first time her voice sounding broken. "What- who-"
Alma flushed with guilt and she nudged Sirius who stopped and turned to stare at Marlene, his eyes wide with horror.
"Marley- oh Merlin- Marls-"
"Don't call me that." She snarled, drawing her wand as Alma shrieked and ran for cover. "You lost that right the moment you started snogging Diggory."
Sirius looked flabbergasted for a moment before the fire that Marlene knew so well entered his eyes.
"Don't think you can act so righteous." He spat, pulling his wand from his pocket. "You've cheated on me twice now and still we take each other back."
"Pathetic, isn't it?" Marlene hissed and Sirius nodded.
"Us. We're pathetic, Marls."
She didn't correct him on the use of her nickname.
Storming back to her dormitory, flames licking up her veins and fury pounding through her heart, Marlene threw herself on the bed, fuming and scheming and desperately trying to come up with a plan to seek revenge on Sirius Black.
She'd have to hook up with someone else- who, that was the problem.
James Potter would be a good bet; Sirius would be catastrophic if he knew his ex girlfriend and his best friend had got it on.
But Lily was dating James and she'd be devastated if her boyfriend of only two weeks cheated on her with Marlene.
Marlene couldn't do that to her best friend.
The only other bet was someone who Sirius was protective of, someone Sirius pretended not to care about but did-
Marlene felt a smile spread across her face and wondered for not the first time if maybe there was a little bit of Slytherin lurking inside of her.
Regulus Black was sitting in the library when Marlene cornered him.
He didn't look up at first, merely carried on reading his book, and only spoke after she cleared her throat rather pointedly.
"Hello, again, Miss McKinnon."
"Are you always this polite?" She asked, perching on the end of the desk. "Call me Marlene, Reggie."
Regulus blinked.
"I'd prefer it if you called me Regulus, actually."
"Don't be such a tease, Reggie." Marlene giggled and accidentally-on-purpose pulled back her skirt to expose more of her thighs. Regulus's eyes widened.
"What are you doing?" He demanded. "Don't do that- we're in a library for Merlin's sake."
"Do what?" Marlene asked innocently, trailing a hand across her knee. "This?" She ran a finger down his chest. Regulus went red and snapped his book shut with a thud.
"I think you should stop, Marlene." He said and promptly rushed from the library.
At least, Marlene thought, at least she'd got him to use her name.
The day after, she joined him at the edge of the Lake, watching in silence as the Giant Squid dipped in and out of the water.
"Hello." She said and he turned to look at her.
"Are you going to try and seduce me today?"
"Perhaps." Marlene gave a noncommittal shrug and shook back brunette curls from her face.
"I should tell you that nobody's ever tried to flirt with me before."
"Really?" Marlene couldn't help the tone of surprise that crept into her voice. Regulus was practically the spitting image of Sirius; only the eyes and nose differentiating the two brothers. Regulus smiled painfully.
"The other houses don't take any notice of me because I'm a Slytherin. My fellow housemates...well, they're not exactly kind." His arm flashed by Marlene's eyes as his sleeve fell down and she caught a glimpse of several bruises mottling his pale skin.
"That's awful." She declared and Regulus laughed hollowly.
"Famous Marlene McKinnon having an opinion, well I never."
"That's not true!" Marlene protested. "I have lots of opinions. For example, I think that...er- that-" she stopped. She couldn't remember the last time her goal hadn't been to kiss and make out with a boy behind the Greenhouse sheds. Regulus raises his eyebrows.
"See." He said flatly and got up to leave.
"Wait," Marlene said suddenly, pulling on his sleeve. He turned.
"Meet me here tomorrow?" She asked hesitantly and was rewarded by a slight smile as he nodded.
"You came." He said as a greeting as she sprinted down to join him, her face red and sweaty from the run and her hair bouncing in curls around her face.
"What? You thought I'd stand you up?" Marlene asked. "I'm many things, Regulus, but a bitch is not one of them."
"You are actually sort of a bitch." Regulus pointed out and Marlene scowled.
"Oh, alright, I am a bitch but I still wouldn't stand a boy up on a first date."
Regulus's cheeks went a little pink.
"This is a date?" He asked.
"Only if you want it to be." Marlene said and winked.
"I'd rather it not be, then." Regulus said, wrinkling his nose and Marlene squashed an inward groan.
It had never taken her more than two days to seduce a boy before.
Clearly, she was going to have to up her game.
They didn't touch at all for the remainder of their 'date' but simply sat and watched the sun go down and talked endlessly about things that shouldn't be interesting but were.
Marlene didn't think she could enjoy the company of a boy without kissing him senseless but Regulus was sweet and the conversation stimulating and she found herself wanting to meet again.
(Attachment is a dangerous feeling, McKinnon.)
It became a regular thing.
Every day after class, two figures would meet on the shore's edge.
One, a staunchly proud Gryffindor who had kissed too many people to possibly remember and the other, an introverted Slytherin hidden away in the shadow of his brother.
They came together and never wanted to break apart again.
What had started as a not-so-innocent way to get back at her ex had turned into something else entirely and Marlene wasn't sure she'd ever felt this way about anyone before.
"You ever been in love, Reg?" She asked him one afternoon, as they skipped stones across the lake. He looked at her.
"Define love." He replied, eyes shining with an emotion she couldn't detect.
"Fuck, I don't know." Marlene picked up another stone. "Do I look like I carry a dictionary around with me?"
"A strong feeling of affection." Regulus said softly and launched a pebble across the lake. "Damn, I missed."
"Of course you'd be the one to know that." Marlene laughed and leant in. Regulus didn't draw back for once so she took this as a yes as she put her lips on his and suddenly hands were roaming, tongues were touching, and hearts were beating under crests that were not made for each other.
When they finally stopped and pulled apart, Regulus stared at her in wonder.
"Is it bad that that's the first time I've been kissed?" He asked. Marlene laughed again.
"You're lucky it was me, then. Not all girls can kiss as well."
Neither of them saw the fleeing figure of Sirius Black running back to the castle.
Next morning, Sirius approached Marlene at the breakfast table.
She didn't mind; things had been getting a little friendlier between the two of them, but she was more than a little surprised when he touched her hand.
"Do you mind?" She asked, a little rudely. "I'm involved with someone else."
"I know." Sirius said quietly and Marlene turned to look at him sharply.
"If this is about us..."
Sirius shook his head.
"No, Marley, that's not it."
The use of her old nickname made her sit up a bit straighter.
"What do you want, then?" She asked, as politely as she could manage.
"Do yourself a favour and stay away from my brother." Sirius said, echoing the words of Regulus so many nights ago.
"And why should I do that?" Marlene demanded, hands clenching around her pumpkin juice. Sirius looked distressed.
"He's- he's taken the Dark Mark." He hissed and glanced around carefully. "He's a bloody idiot and more fool him for doing so. But you don't need to get hurt, Marley. You can walk away and we can pretend this never happened."
His eyes were pleading and Marlene realised as she surveyed him coldly that he really did want to be her friend and really did have her best interests at heart.
But, like Black himself, Marlene had never been very good at following orders.
"I think I can take care of myself." She said coldly. "Don't you think, Sirius?" And she rose from the bench and seated herself haughtily next to Regulus at the Slytherin table, causing raucous outcry and violent protests but Marlene just squeezed Regulus's hand under the protection of the table, and they stayed like that, standing against the prejudices of the world.
It became a struggle.
As the war dragged on and deaths became more and more imminent, the houses were pitted against each other.
None more so than Gryffindor and Slytherin whose rivalry got so out of hand that they had to have separate mealtimes.
It wasn't a rare occurrence for a Slytherin to hex a Gryffindor (or vice versa) just for being there.
And every time she kissed Regulus, every time they stole away together for secret rendezvous, Marlene felt as if she was already betraying her friends, even now, secluded in the castle.
Lily assured her that none of them minded, that Marlene's happiness came first, but Marlene could see the looks Mary MacDonald gave her after she stumbled in from visiting Regulus, and the day Dorcas Meadowes staggered to their room with a broken arm and a split lip was the last straw.
"Slytherin did this!" Mary shrieked, pointing at Marlene with accusations sparkling in her eyes.
"Don't you see, Marley? Your precious boyfriend and his house are responsible for this; that pretentious Pureblood-"
"Don't you dare talk about Regulus that way." Marlene snarled, rising from her bed, her face red from anger and also fear.
Fear that maybe some part of Regulus was responsible for hurting her friend.
"Why shouldn't I?" Mary snapped. "This is just like Lily and Snape; it's ridiculous- Slytherins and Gryffindors can't be together!"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring me or Severus into this." Lily said as she crouched over Dorcas on the floor, hastily muttering a string of spells whilst waving her wand. "There. Dory, you think you can stand?"
Dorcas nodded mutely, tears falling from her eyes.
"Who did this to you?" Lily whispered urgently. "We need to know; we need to inform McGonagall-"
Dorcas mumbled one word.
"Black."
And Marlene's whole world fell apart in her hands.
It was lonely without Regulus to talk to at night.
Marlene had broken up with him the very next day after Dorcas's incident, sending him a letter because, for once, the stoic and standing Marlene was too cowardly to tell him face to face.
She'd ignored his owls, his attempts to corner her; even the futile messages sent through his apologetic brother.
She cut Regulus from her life.
At night, she'd taken to sitting at the top of the Astronomy Tower, watching the forlorn figure of Regulus trudge back to him common room as he realised she wasn't coming.
More fool him if he thought she ever was again.
Marlene never cried; that was her rule; tough girls don't cry, they move on, they continue with life, but eighteen and heartbroken is a very fragile state to be in.
She cried for about two minutes before she heard a timid cough behind her and she spun round, expecting to have to berate Lily for following her again, but who stepped out of the shadows than Regulus Black, so reminiscent of a gloomy night six months ago.
"How did you find me here?" She hissed, drawing her wand, her eyes sparking with anger. Regulus shrugged, seeming unconcerned at the wand pointing in his face.
"I have my sources. Namely, Sirius."
"Fuck off and die." Marlene whispered and then threw her head up to the sky. "Go on! Let's let the world world know! Marlene McKinnon does not love Regulus Black anymore!"
"You're lying." Regulus said in that irritating habit of his and stepped closer. "I want to explain."
"Come any further and I swear I'll hex you." Marlene said, but her voice wavered. Regulus took this as an initiative and sat down.
"I broke Dorcas's arm." He whispered and Marlene was taken aback. She'd expected him to try and talk his way out of the situation, not confess.
"I'm so sorry." He admitted and suddenly he was crying, tears pouring down his cheeks, and, for the first time in her life, Marlene didn't know what to do.
"They're forcing me." He said in a hushed voice, tears rolling down his face as Marlene knelt by his side. "You-Know-Who and his...minions. They threatened Sirius...my brother- Rosier wanted me to take her arm off completely but I couldn't- Marlene, I think He's going to kill me!"
Marlene had dated enough boys to know when one was lying. Regulus, strangely enough, wasn't.
"We'll- we'll run away together!" Marlene said desperately, slipping into the cliche of a fairytale and believing in all the things she swore she never would.
"Don't be stupid." Regulus said scornfully and this was all so wrong because she was supposed to be the judger and him the dreamer and, in the story of Marlene&Regulus, nobody had a happy ending.
"We loved each other, didn't we?" Regulus said after a while as they sat and stared at the stars. Marlene thought there must be something poetically ironic in there somewhere.
"We can say that, at least. When we're old and grey and about to die, we can say it, Marlene. We were in love."
Never written these two before so let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading! Reviews would make my day!
Xx