The Unofficial Marauder

- Donna Vito Fruttie

Quidditch League Fanfiction Challenge

Season 2, Round 8

Team - Wimbourne Wasps

Position - Beater1

Word - Basilisk

Prompts - Difficult, Beastly

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The Unoffical Marauder

Cindy Bradshaw was the unofficial Marauder. She occasionally joined in with the other Marauders in their pranks. Unlike them, however, she never got caught. She was much too smart for that. Also, unlike them, she never bullied anyone. She was much too fair for that.
At Hogwarts, she became popular, for she was spunky and fun. She was sorted into Gryffindor, which meant, of course, the Marauders tried to recruit her. However, Cindy, didn't want to hang out with troublesome boys. She didn't hang out with a lot of girls, either. Adam McKinnon, Remus Lupin, Greg McMillan and even Bryce Zabini became her good friends. So did Lily Evans, for some reason.
Eventually, however, she did start hanging out with the Marauders, more often. She liked their company. (Theirs, meaning Remus').So when James and Sirius persisted in their efforts to involve her in their pranks, she finally conceded. Cindy would become the occasional Marauder.
The unofficial one.
Cindy liked James. He was stupid and immature (like most boys), but good company. Remus Lupin was a great friend. He was intelligent, smart and considerate, things she prided herself on being. He was quietly strong and over the years, she felt herself growing protective of him. Of Peter, she was tolerant. He was funny at times, too. She liked Sirius, as well, but she often found herself at odds with him. He was far too impulsive, and far too arrogant.
"A lot like you, in fact," Remus told her, when she confided in him.
"Nonsense, I'm nothing like him." She frowned.
But as it turned out, they were a lot similar. And, over the years, as Sirius became popular with the girls, Cindy became popular with the boys. It certainly didn't hurt that they were both very good looking.
Cindy continued to hang out with the Marauders. Whenever she wasn't hanging out with the others, that is. She and Sirius were good friends, though, not as great friends as he and James were. They called each other endearments, but then, they also called each other names.
It was clear, though, that they enjoyed each other's company. By the end of their fourth year, it was, also, clear that they were both strongly attracted to each other.
"It's ridiculous," James would comment about them.
"Beastly, even," Remus said, sarcastically. Remus always got moody, a couple of days before a full moon.
"Don't worry, Remus. We're working on our furry little problems, too," Peter would say. "Any time, now."
And then James would sulk about Lily.
"James, mate, move on, will you?" Sirius would tell him. "Or atleast, grow up."
Cindy would roll her eyes. "Like, you're so grown up?"
They remarked that Sirius and Cindy were, perhaps, made for each other. When they were teased about it, they would always deny it.
"We are just friends," Sirius would say.
"We are not that close, "Cindy would say.
"We don't even get along half the time."
"We get along, like, only half the time."
"The only thing we have in common is a love for quidditch."
"The only thing we have in common is our extremely good looks."
"He is arrogant."
"She is obnoxious."
But then:
"I do like her hair though. It's pretty curly"
"I think I like his eyes. They are a cool grey."
"I don't think I dislike her very much."
"I don't hate him, not much."
"He always has a stupid nickname for me."
"She keeps calling me by my last name."
And then:
"It's maddening how she doesn't even need to put in an effort to be an all rounder."
"It's annoying how he doesn't have to put in an effort to be popular with the girls."
"I hate his stupid hair and his casual elegance."
"I hate her stupid cheekbones and her stubborn chin."
It was difficult to win an argument with Cindy, so, they would bicker even more, all the way up to his dorm room.
And whenever Sirius bullied someone, Cindy would confront him.
"He was being annoying."
"Unlike you?"
"I'm not annoying. I'm charming."
"Sure. Say that to the guy who ended up in hospital wing. With a tail."
When Sirius hung around with a girlfriend, she would tease him.
"Do you really have a girlfriend? Or is it really Peter in polyjuice potion?"
"I thought you were Peter in polyjuice potion."
If Cindy refused to talk about her current boyfriend, Sirius would tease her.
"What is so secretive about him? Is he gay?"
"Here's a business idea, Black: mind your own."
Finally, one time, in their fifth year, James could stand it no longer.
"Oh, just kiss already," he yelled from the common room.
Sirius and Cindy looked at each other in silence.
And then, slowly, they grinned.
"You wanna ?" he said, softly.
"Sure thing," she whispered, closing the distance between them.
They acted on impulse. Or, perhaps, it was the years of mutual attraction.
They kissed.
They stopped their banter (somewhat) from then on, and started dating. James would look at them, ruefully, wondering why Lily wasn't, yet, attracted to him the way Sirius and Cindy were attracted to each other.
Peter would try to comfort him.
"Maybe, we should ask Cindy for tips."
"Maybe, you should really deflate your head, like Lily suggested," Cindy would say. "Want some pins?"
"Maybe you should practice with Moaning Myrtle, "Sirius would suggest.
"And guess what you ought to say to Moaning Myrtle," Remus would add, grinning."'Moan, my Myrtle.'"
"Maybe, I should just get better friends," James would scowl and Remus would burst into laughter.
In their seventh year, Cindy made a bet with Sirius. She was in the Gryffindor Quidditch team and played beater. They were playing the final match against Ravenclaws, who were captained by Rosart Nott. He was a smart, cunning captain. Under him, Slytherin had won the Quidditch Cup for the last two years.
She bet fifty galleons that Gryffindor team would win that year.
The match was one of the longest they had ever seen. And in the end, Gryffindor did win. There was a huge party in the Gryffindor common room. Some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs attended, too.
In the midst of the celebration, Cindy found Sirius. She pulled him aside, to a corner, away from prying eyes.
Snaking their arms around each other, they kissed then, laughing softly, Sirius lifted her up in his arms, his cool grey eyes boring into her deep blue ones; her arms wound around his neck and she wrapped her legs around his middle. Locks of her curly hair fell against his face.
"Come with me?" he murmured, lowering her to the ground.
"Love to, sugar." Her voice was just above a whisper.
Sirius glanced up towards his dormitory.
Cindy nodded. Moments later, they were out of the common room, on their way up his dorm room. Everyone downstairs was too focused on the celebrations going on in the common room, to notice the two people missing. Except Remus, who was only a little drunk, unlike everyone else. He gave a lopsided smile and turned back to James who was boasting of his excellent tactics as a Chaser. Lily saw them, too, but chose to ignore them.
The dorm room was empty, as was expected. Cindy cast a spell on the door, locking it.
Sirius looked over to Remus' neatly packed trunk at the foot of his bed. For a guy who turned into wolf every month, Remus was always surprisingly neat. He suddenly remembered something.
"Cindy," Sirius said. "Is it true that you'll be leaving soon?"
Cindy froze. She couldn't have looked more surprised if she had seen a ghost. Sighing, she looked away. "Where did you hear that?"
"It's true, then?"
Cindy turned to him. "Yes."
"Why didn't you say something?"
"I didn't want it to affect whatever remaining time we had together."
Sirius frowned.
"How much time is that?"
A pause. And then: "Two weeks."
Sirius cursed softly.
"Screw you, Black. This isn't any easier for me."
There was another pause, and Cindy wished she had, indeed, faced a basilisk, and gotten petrified, rather than face this moment.
"I'm sorry." she said, after a time.
"You don't have to go," he said.
"I'm afraid, I have to," She said, softly."They are worried and that gets me worried. And you know I don't worry easily."
Sirius nodded. The Bradshaws, it was said, were being targeted.
"I'm gonna miss you, Sirius."
Sirius. It had taken seven years of knowing him, to actually know him. Real sweetheart, that one, she thought to herself.
God, she loved him.
"Cindy..." he said. "I..."
"I know," she said.
Of course, she did, he thought to himself. Cindy understood everyone. It was one of the things he loved about her. It suddenly struck Sirius how much he was going to miss her.
"Oh, and by the way, I love you," he said.
Cindy laughed. "Yeah, I know, you dolt. I love you back," she said, "come here."
He enveloped her in a warm hug, which she gladly returned.
A few moments later, they pulled away. Sirius gave a small smile. "So, what do we do now?"
Cindy fingered a button on his shirt. She winked. "Use your imagination."

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