A/N: Inspired by insomnia and The Obstacle Course Competition, Round 1 in which this is entered, using the prompts Sirius/Marlene, potion book, glasses, emotion:amazement, setting:Hogwarts and phrase: "You're in Ravenclaw?"
Also for the Ultimate Shipping Challenge Extravaganza, with Sirius/Marlene.
Midnight Meetings
There's never been a time before this where you've been so desperate to have yourself proven wrong. The lights are off and there's a silence in the corridors that normal people would have perceived as eerie, but you're Sirius Black and you can just not be fazed all that easily. You send silent thanks to whoever's listening out there to have James made prefect, because that allows you as his best friend a freedom that would have otherwise come at too great a cost.
You stealthily sneak out of your dormitory and walk out the portrait hole of the common room, shushing the Fat Lady before she begun another one of her never-ending tirades. There's a restlessness in your bones and your feet automatically take you to the library in a fit of desperation.
The library.
Your lips curl into an expression of distaste as the musty smell of the library hits you and you wrack your brains for the memory of the last time you came in here. You come up with absolutely nothing and, heaving a sigh, push yourself into the library towards the section where old records are maintained.
A little scratching noise erupts in your background and persists, seemingly growing louder as the night wears on. You are exhausted and haven't found the name you've been searching for, so you begin walking off in the direction of the noise in an attempt at diverting yourself.
What you didn't expect, however, was for Marlene McKinnon to be sitting before a parchment with a large pair of glasses atop her nose. Her hand was blur, so fast was she filling her parchment up with neatly printed words. You stare in amazement at the size of the potions book beside her parchment, and the overall vibe of erudition that she's constantly emitting only affirms your suspicions.
Abandoning all notions of subtlety, you pull up a chair beside her and unceremoniously plonk yourself down into it, just staring at her as she speedily takes notes down.
"Something's going to flutter into your mouth, Black," she says, and you shut your mouth mutely. There's something about her that wows you, and you know it, and it's been changing you – but you don't know what it is or why you are even remotely attracted to a girl with whom you've hardly ever spoken all the six years you've been at Hogwarts.
"You're in Ravenclaw?" You blurt out numbly, your hands slightly shaking for some odd reason. You realise in that moment that all you really want is for her to be in the very same house as you.
She gives you a long, hard look and you squirm under her silent gaze.
"No," she draws out slowly, a smirk suddenly crossing her features.
"What do you have against Ravenclaws, though, Padfoot?" Her sneer has melted into a softer smile but you are thrown into a deep shock, one from which you are unable to recover.
"You…you know?" you whisper, feeling strangled. A thousand fears dance before your eyes, but she grasps your clammy palms in her warm, dry ones earnestly.
"Hey, hey, Sirius…there's no reason to fear or suspect me, I promise," she says, and you find yourself blindly shaking your head.
"I know about Remus, too," she adds, and her tone is deeper, more wistful. You briefly wonder why her entire manner changes at the mention of Remus, but she continues.
"When I realised that you three – his best friends, were doing so much to help him, I was so, so happy for him. A little impressed, too," she admits, and only then do you look up to find her cheeks stained scarlet.
"Marlene?" You stare at her, your gaze growing bold as you take in the sharp contours of her jawline, and the way her long brunette waves sprawl around her elbow.
"Yes?" She answers within seconds, not breaking eye contact with you and soon you've turned the strange conversation into a staring match.
It takes a few seconds for you to surrender, and you don't do so very gracefully. Tears are flowing down your cheeks now while her eyes are still sparkling and wide open.
"Alright, alright, I give up! Jeez, is this some sort of contest?"
She laughs then, really throws her head back a laughs a husky yet playful laugh that dances over your skin and lodges itself deep into cracked chasm in your heart, healing it slowly.
You can't help but smile back at her. Soon, the two of you are busy chortling over everything and nothing and anything in between.
"So tell me," she manages between gasps, and you look up to find her palm covering yours on the table top.
"What?"
"What do you think about James and Lily?" Her tone has settled into something more serious, and your curiosity piques.
"What makes you ask that?" Your question comes out sounding harsher than you intended for it to be, and you watch her eyes grow wide in defense.
"No! I didn't mean it like that."
"Like what?"
"Like I didn't want them together."
"Then why the question?" You personally can't imagine James with anyone but Lily, and Lily with anyone but James. Something about the couple made you want to have a love story like theirs, even though theirs was still being written. You just knew that there was something great in store for the pair.
"Because I've watched Lily struggle with herself for way too long," she begins, and you wonder what she means by that. Complicated emotions always confused you.
"I mean, I know that she wants to be with James. I don't know if she can see that in herself, but I definitely can. But her friendship; well, previous friendship with Severus and the way in which he hurt her, couple with the fact that she's also watched James be an arse to Sev before…" She trails off meaningfully but you still don't get where she's going with this.
"Well, Severus proved his true colours, didn't he? James wasn't wrong in pulling the tosser's leg! Look at how he hurt her!" You are indignant, and the thought of Severus dating Lily makes your skin crawl.
"Also," you continue hotly. "While James did bully Severus, if only a little, Severus hurt Lily in ways he never should have. In ways I know James never will." You cross your hands across your chest and stare at her, daring her to contradict you.
She doesn't.
"So James and Lily work out, for you," she says with a smile. You simply nod your head.
"Seeing as you're clearly some sort of a relationship expert," she says, and you can't help but smile at her ridiculous choice of words.
"What are your thoughts on, say, you and I?"
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