A/N: Hey guys! I've been meaning to write this for a while. It's the sequel to Secret Santa. You should probably read Secret Santa first because you probably won't understand this.
I walk into the Great Hall. I see Sirius and Lily arguing about something or another and roll my eyes. Honestly, those two fight like cats and dogs sometimes. I sit down next to Sirius. "Hey," I say.
"What's up, Marley?" he asks, buttering a piece of toast.
I hate when he calls me that! It makes me sound like a boy. He's going to pay. "Not much." I grab his toast. Take that!
"Hey! That was mine!" he whines.
"Too bad," I say, taking a ridiculously large bit.
"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late," James says, sitting down next to Lily.
"You ok?" Lily asks, then wrinkles her nose. "Where have you been?! You need a shower!"
"I'm sorry I don't smell like roses," he says, sarcastically.
Just then the post comes in. I pick up my Daily Prophet and scan through it. While I'm doing this Sirius grabs the other side and slides closer to me. "What are you doing?!" I snap.
"Shh, there's something going on with Prongs," he whispers.
"And you're telling me because?" I ask.
"Because you're his cousin and you know him better than anyone, besides me," Sirius tells me.
"If you can't get it out of him, why do you think I can?" I ask.
"Because two heads are better than one."
"Then ask Remus."
"I already did. He wouldn't help."
"Will you leave me to my paper if I help you?"
"Yes."
"Fine!"
"What exactly are we doing?" I ask. Sirius has dragged me into a broom cupboard. Big surprise, I think. I am one of the few girls Sirius hasn't gotten in the sack and I intent to keep it that way.
"Waiting for James," Sirius says, peeping out of the door.
"And we just happen to be in a broom cupboard?" I ask.
"Yep," he says, still looking out of the door.
"Well, no offense, but I really don't like being in here knowing that you and one of your slags were in here," I say. I don't like this at all.
"Actually, I haven't used this one. . . . .yet," he says, still not looking at me.
"Oh, well that's lovely," I say. "How do you even know James will come this way?"
"Because James is my best friend," Sirius replies. "I have a feeling."
"Well, can he hurry up? I don't want to be here all day," I tell him.
"You'll get over it," he says airily.
"You're a berk," I mumble.
He finally turns around. "You know, you're supposed to be helping me, not insulting me," he says.
"Well, let me have a turn then," I say. "I want to look out, too!"
"No! That's my job!" Sirius says.
"Then why am I here?" I ask.
"To look pretty," he says before patting my head and turning around.
A few minutes later he whispers, "I see him! I see him! It looks like someone's with him."
"Let me see! Let me see!" I says trying to push him out of the way. He might be a boy, but that doesn't mean he's stronger than me.
Ok, he stronger than me. He holds me back with one hand. I remove his hand and slip under him elbowing him out of the way. In the process, the door slides open and I fall through it. I land on my back with Sirius on top of me. James and Remus are standing at our heads looking down at us. James is smirking while Remus' eyebrows have almost reached his hairline. "Did you finally get Marlene in the sack, Sirius?" James asks.
"No, he did not," I say, standing up quickly. I brush my skirt off and straightened my shirt.
"Then we were you in a broom cupboard?" James asks.
"Because we were-" I was cut off by a hand slapping over my mouth.
"Because we were hiding from Filch," Sirius supplies.
"Sure," James says smirking.
I elbow Sirius, but he doesn't let me go. In fact, he slips his arm around my waist and pulls me away. "Well, we'll be leaving now," he says. "Have a good day."
We get around the corner and Sirius lets me go. "Great!" I say. "Now, everyone is going to think we shagged."
"Well, if it helps, Lily probably won't believe it," he says.
"That's not helping," I reply. "When you get real plan, let me know." Then I turn and storm off.
"Where are we going now?" I ask.
"Shh, James is just ahead," Sirius tells me. We peek around the corner and sure enough there's James. It looks like he's headed up to the Owlery, but why would he do that? He has his own owl.
We watch as he walks over to a school owl and sends a letter. Why wouldn't he use his owl? Is it hurt or something? "Sirius, is James' owl hurt?" I ask, voicing my thoughts.
"I don't think so," Sirius replies. "Oh, no, here he comes."
He grabs my hand and pulls me into a broom cupboard. A very small cupboard. Sirius was pressed up against me with his hands on either side of my head. "Sirius, could you move?" I ask.
"Sorry, love there's not much room in here," he replies.
"Well, if you don't move then I'll move you," I say, my voice rising.
"Marlene, please, be quiet," Sirius begs. "James will here you."
"I don't care!" I say. "If you don't move your ar-"
My shouting was cut off by a pair lips on mine. Naturally I kissed him back. I mean I have a reputation to uphold. I kissed almost as many guys as Sirius had girls. Only when he pulled me closer to him so that our bodies were mashed together did I come to my senses. I push him back roughly. There still wasn't very much space between us, but it was better than nothing. "What was that for?" I hiss at him.
"James would have heard you yelling," Sirius tells me. "I'm telling you that kid has sonic hearing."
"Well, never do that again unless you want to be kicked so hard you won't have children," I say.
"That's lovely, Mars, you know you're a really lovely girl to be around," Sirius says, sarcastically. "Any guy would be lucky to have you."
I just roll my eyes. "Do you think he's gone?"
"I'll look," Sirius says, then peeks his head out of the door. "Looks like it's all clear."
"Ladies first," I say, moving around him and walking out.
"I don't see a lady," he say. I whack him across the chest.
"So what do you think James was doing?" I ask. "He has his own owl, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, and as far I know, it's not hurt or anything," Sirius replies.
"Do you think Peter or Remus might know anything about it?" I ask.
"Peter, no. Remus, maybe," Sirius tells me, " but Remus isn't very good at lieing, or keeping secrets."
"Just go talk to James and maybe he'll say something about," I tell him.
"I don't think he will," Sirius says.
"Well go anyway," I tell him. "I have other things to do besides help you all day."
I watch Lily as she goes up to staircase to the girl's dormitory. I'm so happy for her. Lily deserves a good boyfriend. I smile and look out the window.
"Marlene," I hear someone whisper. I look around the common room, but don't see anyone.
"Marlene," the voice comes again. I look around again, but still see no one.
Suddenly there's a light tap on my shoulder. I scream and jump up. "Who's there?!" I say, pulling out my wand. "Show yourself or else."
"It's me, Sirius," I hear then I'm being pulled forward and I see Sirius. I'm under some kind of cloak. What the heck?
"What? What's this, Sirius?" I ask, touching the edges of the cloak.
"James' invisibility," Sirius replies. "You didn't know he had this?"
"No! I'm his cousin, for Merlin's sake! Why didn't he tell me?!" I yell.
"Shh! It will look weird if there are voices, but no bodies," Sirius says.
"Fine," I huff. "What do you want anyway?"
"James said he was going for a walk," Sirius tells me. "He's upstairs getting ready."
"What was he wearing when he said that? His boxers?" I ask snorting.
"Yes, he was."
"Lovely."
"Here he comes," Sirius whispers.
I watch as James comes down the stairs and walks over to the portrait hole. We follow him and slip out just before the portrait closes. We follow James through the corridors. Suddenly James stops and turns around. We freeze. Does he know we're here? He looks around then reaches his hand out around him and grabs at the air. I thought he was going to grab the cloak, but Sirius backed us out of his reach. James shrugs and continues his walk.
He went up to the Owlery just like before. We watched as he went over to a barn owl and says, "You know where to take it." He then turns and walks back down the stairs.
"Come on," Sirius whispers. "Let's see where he's going."
"Ok," I nod. We walk out of the Owlery, but James is no where in sight. He must have slipped away while we were talking.
"So much for that," I mumble.
Sirius pulled the cloak off of us and we headed back down to the common room. "What do you think?" I ask.
"I don't know," Sirius replies. "It's weird. He always uses Zeus."
"Zeus?" I ask.
"Yeah, that's his owl," Sirius tells me.
"Who names an owl Zeus?" I say.
"I like the name," he mumbles.
I roll my eyes. "You were saying."
"Right, he uses Zeus all the time," Sirius explains. "It's his most prized possession, well, except for his broom."
"Men," I mumble.
"I don't know why he wouldn't use him," he says. "It doesn't make sense."
"You know, you shouldn't meddle in other people's business," we hear a voice say from behind us.
We spin around to see Remus leaning against the wall. "You shouldn't do that, mate," I say. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"James is going to be furious when he finds out you've been spying on him," Remus says causally.
"You're not going to tell him right, mate?" Sirius says nervously.
"I should," Remus says, "but I won't."
"Good man," Sirius says. I smile.
"But you should really think about what you're doing," he says. "It's none of your business what James is doing. You don't need to know everything, Padfoot."
"Yes, I do!" Sirius protests.
"What are you going to tell James if he finds you again?" Remus asks.
"That I was snogging Marlene," Sirius says simply.
"What?!" I snap. "When did we agree on this?"
"Since just now," Sirius says, giving my head a pat.
"Ok, first, don't pat my head," I say. "Second, you are not telling James that! I will never live it down."
"Please!" he begs.
"No!" I say before storming off.
I sit with Lily the next day trying to avoid Sirius. I mean really, the man has the nerve to propose that I be his 'girlfriend' so he can do what he wants and get off scotch free. It's not going to happen.
This is a good time to talk to Lily about her guy. "So?" I ask.
"So what?" Lily says.
"Any more letters from him?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.
"Yes, if you must know everything," Lily huffs.
"So do-" I never get to finish my sentence because Sirius taps me on the shoulder. I turn around; he gives me a look that says, 'Can we talk alone.' I stands up. Usually I would just tell him to piss off, but I will have to talk to him sooner or later.
"Sorry, Lils, gotta go," I say. I follow Sirius out of the Great Hall.
"Where are we going?" I ask impatiently. "If you say to spy on James then I'm going to-"
"Here we are!" Sirius says, pushing the door of an empty classroom open. I walk in slowly.
"About yesterday," he says, closing the door. "I may have gotten carried away in the moment."
"Really?!" I say. "I never would have guessed. You know, next time you want someone to be your pretend girlfriend all you have to do is ask nicely."
"Really?! So you'll still help me?!" Sirius asks.
"Well, I'm already to wrapped up in this whole mess to not help you," I sigh. "Might as well find out what James is hiding."
"Great," Sirius says, slinging an arm around me.
"I'm staying for break," Lily tells me later.
"What?!" I ask, nearly breaking my quill.
"I'm going to meet him over break," Lily says. "He says he wants to meet me."
"Really? When?" I ask.
"On Christmas Eve," she says. "It will be prefect."
"That sounds wonderful," I say.
"Yeah, it will be," she replies.
As I get into bed Christmas Eve, I smile. Lily's going to meet her prince tonight. Sirius finally gave up looking for James. I am free at last.
I am out as soon as my head hit the pillow, but that didn't last long. I felt myself being shaken and a voice saying, "Mars! Get up! Come on, get up!"
I groan and sit up, rubbing my eyes. "Is it Christmas day, already?" I ask.
"No, now get dressed." I look around and see Sirius rummaging through my trunk.
"What are you doing?!" I shout, standing up.
"Looking for some clothes for you to wear," he says, then give me the once over. "Although, I wouldn't mind if you wore that."
I realize what I'm wearing. I look down at my nightwear, which consists of a silk nightgown that hits mid-thigh and shows a good amount of cleavage. "Move," I say, bending down to get my clothes. "Why are you here in the middle of the night, anyway?"
"Because, Prongs is on the move," he tells me.
"This late at night?" I growl.
"Yes, Marley," he says, leaning against the bedpost.
"Don't call me that," I snap.
I walk into the bathroom and pull on a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pants. "How did you get up here anyway?" I ask.
"Broom," he says. "You might want to get a coat."
I grab my black coat and follow Sirius to the window. He slides onto his broom and I follow. We take off and he lands near the courtyard when we see two figures from above. We stay in the shadows watching. "That's Lily," I whisper as we get closer.
"Why is she here?" Sirius asks.
"James must be her Secret Santa!" I say.
"Her what?" Sirius asks.
"Shh, I'm trying to hear what they're saying," I hiss.
"I-I'm in love with you," I hear Lily say. "I don't know how or when, I just know I am. It's crazy really. I don't even know who you are, but I don't need to. Heck, you could be some crazy person or a convict or-"
James steps forward and kisses her. I smile. Sirius is about to yell something, but I cover his mouth. "Shh, we don't want them to know we're watching," I say.
Lily suddenly pulls away. "What?" James asks.
"James?" she asks. Oh no, he's in trouble now. If doesn't run he's going to lose body parts pretty soon. I don't think Lily is going to be to happy about this.
"I-I-I," he stumbles back as he tries to speak. The boy can lie like crazy, but when it comes to Lily he can't do it. It's sad really.
Lily steps forward and kisses him lightly. "I meant every word of it," she says. "I love you, James Potter."
"Well, this is the best Christmas present I ever got," James says.
I pull Sirius away to give them some privacy and we get back to his broom. "I never thought I'd see the day," he mumbles. "Evans kissing Prongs."
"Well, look on the bright side, at least James won't whine anymore when he gets turned down," I say.
"That's something," Sirius says.
We mount his broom and he flies me back to my room. I get off of his broom. "So, Marley, how about one for the road?" he asks.
I roll my eyes, but kiss his cheek anyway. Then I close the window and craw back into the my bed, indenting to get a good night's sleep.