Stars.
"Surprise!" Sirius bursts into the Gryffindor common room, throwing a large pocketful metallic star shaped confetti into the air and showering his gathered friends along with the sofas they were lounging on in the irritating sprinkles. The crowd groan as they swipe and shake the offending items from their shoulders, brushing them onto the floor. The majority sigh, rolling their eyes or shaking their heads before returning to their studying or conversations. As Sirius rounds the arm, James slips him a low five and a grin in return before continuing to destroy Pete at exploding snap. Remus, who had been reading, simply sighs to himself before returning the hard-backed book to being in front of his face in an attempt to block out his surroundings.
Marlene glares at the laughing teen as he flops beside her, shifting her legs before resettling them on his lap. She combs her fingers through her blonde hair picking at the red points with black painted nails. Disgust crosses her face as she flicks the remaining offensive bits onto the floor. The Black ex-heir continues to chuckle while the blonde fusses. Out of those currently now around him, it was Marlene's reaction, and attention, that he had craved. Usually nothing bothered her, outwardly at least, but he knew her better than that. Sirius Orion Black could read Marlene Clementine McKinnon like an open book. There was something lurking beneath the surface. Something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He would get to the bottom of it, that was certain. She knew just as well as he did that. He would be rather persistent in attempting to find out what.
"Why?" She turns to face him slightly more, twisting a star between her fingers.
He simply shrugs, "I felt like it." It was worth seeing you smile, even for a second, you don't do enough of that anymore. The stars look amazing glittering in your hair. It all remains unsaid as they go back to a comfortable silence, her fascination focused on the small object opposed to the beautiful person at her feet.
Later that night he finds her in the Astronomy Tower, a blanket pulled tightly round her shoulders as she looks into the skies above. He joins her side, casting a spell to warm them both. He didn't have the words to describe the cloudless night. Or the colour of the sky. Or the way the moon cast light over them both. Or the way the stars seemed to shine against her hair, illuminating the blonde as golden.
Up here, everything seemed distant. Problems were answered. Or at least they didn't matter. Up here everything was small. Up here nothing could touch them. Up here they had something, were something, whatever it may be. That whatever life would throw at them, at least they could do it together.
Up here, they were stars together. One of the seas, the other of the skies. Together in that limbo that was the safety of Hogwarts.