Once upon a time, two kingdoms wished to be united. The King and Queen of the Black kingdom bore a son, Sirius, named after the dog star in the sky. Not long after, the King and Queen of the McKinnon kingdom bore a daughter, Marlene, meaning 'from the tower'. The two were betrothed from birth.
When Marlene was born, three fairies came to grant her gifts. Mary gave her the gift of beauty; saying that she would grow lovely curls as gold as the sun, and lips so red that they'd put a rose to shame. Lily gave her the gift of wit; saying a sharp tongue was what she needed to run a kingdom (and put Sirius in his place). Dorcas was about to offer her gift, when a chill ran throughout the castle.
A flash of green fire came next, and Bellatrix appeared, cackling madly, proclaiming that she too had a gift for the princess. It was that she'd prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die on the evening of her seventeenth birthday.
Bellatrix disappeared again, her laughter reverberating throughout the castle, and Dorcas made up her mind.
"Fear not, your majesties, for although I am no Dumbledore, I will attempt to reverse the spell. Marlene will not die upon pricking her finger, she will merely fall asleep, until her true love kisses her. Then she will awaken."
"MARLEEEEEENE!" Sirius' voice came shouting down the corridor, waking a grumpy Marlene. She was sixteen, and to celebrate their upcoming nuptials, and her birthday, the castle was in arms preparing for a banquet. Her future husband came bursting into her bedroom with no regard for her privacy and launched himself on her bed. "WAKE UP!"
"I am NOT having this for the rest of my life," she grumbled, sitting up. "Do you have any idea what time it is?!"
"Yeah, it's lunchtime, you lazy bint," Sirius smirked. He was extremely handsome, and many of the girls in the kingdom were secretly hoping that the old curse was still active and Marlene would die, and they could take her place. Even if the King and Queen had burned all the spinning wheels in the kingdom. "James nicked my crown and said I have to ask you to help me get it back." He rolled his grey eyes. His and Marlene's best friend, James, was constantly trying to force them together.
Marlene yawned and threw on her dressing gown, following Sirius towards the garden, where James was attempting to woo a particularly irked fairy.
"Oh Lily Flower," he was beginning, before she slapped him, her red hair glinting like fire in the sun. Both Sirius and Marlene chuckled at the sight.
"Stop bloody pushing them together!" she scolded him. "We need Marlene's one true love to break the curse!"
"Oh good, I forgot I was going to fall into a death slumber at any minute," Marlene snapped.
"I have no idea who could ever love her," Sirius muttered under his breath, earning a death glare from Marlene.
"You do," James said. "You just don't know it yet."
"No," Sirius and Marlene said together.
Sirius sloped off towards the smell of food and James attempted to cheer Marlene up. "Come on Mar, it's your birthday masquerade ball tonight! And tomorrow you get all those presents to open!"
"Hmmm," Marlene grumbled. Her birthday had lost its appeal over the years, and although she'd never admit it, she was terrified that somehow she'd manage to die tonight anyway.
That evening, Marlene barely recognised herself as she stepped down the stairs in a shimmering, skintight red dress, and matching red mask on her face, bringing out the natural stain in her lips. Her golden curls flowed freely down her back.
Looking around, she was somewhat disorientated. She couldn't recognise anyone in their masks, not even James or Sirius.
Sirius himself was stood a little further away, eyeing up a blonde in a red dress. James, knowing perfectly well that it was actually Marlene, gave him a push towards her.
"Merlin Potter, what have you done?" Lily asked, from under a green mask that complimented her eyes.
"Lily, my flower, you know they're supposed to be together," James rolled his hazel eyes.
"Yes, but -"
"Oh shut up, and dance with me," he insisted, and she rolled her emerald eyes and obliged.
"Want to dance?" Sirius asked the mysterious blonde, and she gave him a quick look over before agreeing.
"What's your name?" he murmured.
She shook her head. "The whole point of the party is to not find out," she teased.
One hand jumped to his dark hair, ruffling it, a habit he'd picked up from James. "Alright. So what should I call you?"
"What comes to mind?" she challenged him.
"A rose."
"So you can call me Rose. And you'll be...?"
"Padfoot," he smirked.
"You're so weird."
The music shifted to something much slower. Electricity pulsed between them. They were attracted to each other, there was no denying it.
Grey eyes bored into brown. She recognised those eyes -
His lips were on hers before she could accuse him of anything. Tingles shot up and down her spine, fireworks exploding behind her eyelids.
"I'm sorry," she gasped, wrenching herself away.
"Wait!" he called, but she was already gone, fleeing across the dance floor and running up the stairs.
That was Sirius, she knew. She was supposed to tolerate him, not develop feelings for him. He could never love her back, she knew that. They hated each other too much. Yet, that kiss...
"Merlin," Sirius muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair. He'd never experienced a kiss like that before.
"Where is she?" James rushed up to him, panicking.
"What?"
"Where did she go?"
"I dunno, she just legged it..."
"Sirius, that was Marlene, you idiot," Lily cut in.
He stared at them, confused.
"THE CURSE," James roared.
"SHIT!" Sirius swore, and the three of them ran off to find her.
Marlene wrenched off her mask and sat on her bed, staring into the empty fireplace. How odd, she'd never noticed a door behind the fire before. Momentarily forgetting her feelings, she got up, and pushed at it. It opened easily.
She stepped through into a corridor. It looked like it hadn't been used in years. Abandoning her heels, she set off through the winding passage. Eventually, she came to a small room, in which was something she'd never seen before, a rickety table covered in dust, with a wheel and a needle sat atop it.
If Marlene had looked around, she would have seen Bellatrix standing behind the door, whispering "Imperio". Instead, she was taken over by a blissful state of existence. This was like a dream.
"Touch it, my dear," Bellatrix said.
"Ok," Marlene said without a second thought, and approached it.
Back in her bedroom, Sirius, James and Lily had just burst in.
"WHERE IS SHE?" Sirius yelled at the room, as though he was expecting it to answer.
"Look!" Lily shrieked, pointing to the fireplace.
James got through first. "Her shoes are here," his voice echoed.
Sirius pushed his way past and sprinted down the corridor, Lily and James close behind.
"MARLENE!" he yelled, bursting into the room at the end.
"You're too late," Bellatrix said coldly, grabbing him and disappearing with a crack.
"Sirius!" James shouted. "Marlene!"
"Where is he?!" Lily shouted, panicking.
James picked Marlene up and carried her away. Lily followed him, sobbing. Once they stepped out of the fireplace, the door melted away as if it had never existed. James gently lay Marlene on her bed, and left to fetch her parents.
"Oh, Marlene," Lily cried. "We'll find him, everything will be fine."
"Lily," James had returned with Marlene's parents, and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Get Dorcas and Mary, we need to go to Dumbledore."
"We?"
"Both my best friend's lives are in danger, of course I'm coming!" James said indignantly.
Professor Dumbledore, the eldest and wisest of fairies, resided in a small cottage in the middle of the forest. While it was no trouble for other fairies to get there, it posed somewhat of a problem for James. Or it would have done, if he hadn't possessed a certain level of magic and could transform himself into a stag. He galloped along after the fairies, who could turn into tiny balls of light; green for Lily, blue for Mary, and yellow for Dorcas.
Professor Dumbledore's cottage was bathed in rose coloured light, full of squishy armchairs and books.
"Professor!" James said, as soon as he answered the door. "Marlene's asleep and Sirius has been taken!"
"Oh my," the professor murmured, ushering them inside. "Are you absolutely sure he's the one?"
"Professor, I'd bet my own life on it," James said, while Lily muttered under her breath about what an idiot he was.
"Ah Lily, James is wise," Dumbledore told her. "He sees what others cannot."
Lily looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"We need your help, professor," Dorcas cut in, not wanting to waste time. "We don't know where Sirius is. If he dies, then Marlene will be asleep forever."
Meanwhile, in the very same forest, Sirius was being held captive in Bellatrix's underground fortress.
"More tea?" she offered, as he sat chained to a chair at a large dining table.
"What do you want?" he asked flatly.
"I'm glad you asked, Sirius," she cackled. "I want to be Queen. By killing off that wretched McKinnon girl, I can hold you ransom for her kingdom, and marry you and gain yours."
"Then what?"
"You cease to be of use to me. However, I might keep you around for entertainment."
Dumbledore was busy throwing ingredients into a pot, planning a spell to lead them to Sirius' location. Dorcas was going over the battle plan.
"James, Lily, you stay outside and keep guard. Mary, the professor and I will keep small and sneak in and try and find Sirius. We don't expect him to be unguarded. Once Bellatrix knows we've got him, she'll probably try to get to the McKinnons."
James and Lily nodded, understanding the plan.
"Aha!" Dumbledore cried, as purple lights flashed before him, and an old piece of parchment appeared. Several inked dots appeared to be moving slowly.
"Is that a map?" Mary asked, leaning over to look.
"Indeed!" the professor replied. "Look, there we are!"
Five sets of dots were huddled together, much like they were in real life.
"That's amazing!" Lily gasped.
"Look!" James said, pointing further up the map. "Bellatrix's fortress!"
"I believe," Dumbledore murmured, flicking through the pages of the map. "Yes, here we are. Details of each floor."
"He's on the second floor down," James said. "Right. Let's go."
The four fairies transformed into their small coloured lights as James changed into the stag, and hurried off towards Bellatrix's fortress.
James hid behind some trees near the entrance, Lily's emerald ball of colour resting in between his antlers. Purple, blue and yellow colours slipped through the fortress without being noticed.
Bellatrix had grown tired of Sirius and thrown him into a cell, chained to the wall. She was going to leave him there to rot, and in the meantime she was going to kill Marlene. He felt completely helpless, being unable to do anything. He knew now that he would do absolutely anything in the world to be able to protect Marlene.
Three balls of light floated through the gap underneath the door and transformed. Dorcas slapped a hand over his mouth before he could gasp.
"Shhhhh," she hissed at him, as Mary and Dumbledore attempted to break Sirius free of the chains. They succeeded, and Dumbledore waved his wand and conjured a sword.
"The sword of Godric Gryffindor," he murmured, pushing it into Sirius' hands.
"She's gone to kill Marlene," Sirius whispered urgently as soon as Dorcas let go of his mouth.
"Let's go," Mary said, and they hurried back to the entrance, thankfully without being caught.
James galloped forwards as soon as they were in sight, and Sirius jumped on.
"Shield charms at the ready," Dorcas whispered as they flew off towards Marlene, James sprinting with Sirius on his back below them.
"NO!" Sirius roared as he caught sight of Bellatrix entering the castle. She simply smirked, and waved her wand to cause thorny bushes to erupt out of the ground. Sirius hacked his way through them, sweating profusely. The fairies attempted to help with their magic, speeding along the process somewhat.
Bellatrix was waiting for them when they finally cut their way through. She cackled in her mad way, and transformed into a huge beast, black and purple, breathing jets of green flame.
"Holy crap," Dorcas muttered, her eyes huge.
"How the hell am I supposed to kill that?!" Sirius yelled.
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus!" Dumbledore called, before flying around Bellatrix's head to distract her.
"What?" Sirius shouted.
"Never tickle a sleeping dragon!" Lily replied, and the three fairies attempted to distract Bellatrix, while James charged towards her.
With all his might, Sirius threw the sword at her, and it pierced her straight through the chest. The great dragon roared, blood pouring out of her wound, and collapsed onto the ground, causing it to shake.
"Is she...?" Mary asked.
"Dead? Yes." Dumbledore replied. "Onward, Mr Black. Just remember that the course of true love never did run smooth."
"Er, right," Sirius muttered, dismounting from James, who transformed back, and made to follow him inside the castle.
"No," Lily murmured, holding him back. "Let him go alone."
Marlene's parents ushered him into her room, before giving them some privacy. She was still in her party dress, her blonde curls arranged neatly around her face as she lay on her bed. This wasn't his Marlene, Sirius thought. His Marlene had messy bed hair and wore jeans and jumpers and didn't much care how she came across to him. It was clear that her parents were desperate, to try and make her more appealing to him. They just wanted their daughter back.
She looked so peaceful, sleeping there. Knowing full well that she'd probably slap him when she woke up from whatever dream she was having, he sighed and bent down to kiss her.
He'd never kissed a girl like he kissed Marlene before. He was gentle, just brushing his lips against hers, and he felt her eyelashes flutter against his cheeks. She began to kiss him back before he pulled away, smirking.
"Black! What the hell?!" she looked disgusted, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.
"Ah McKinnon, you loved that, don't deny it."
"Wait. If it was you who woke me up, then that means..."
"Yep," Sirius' smirk stretched wider across his face.
"Oh God. Oh God oh God oh God."
"You know McKinnon, it'll be a lot easier if you just accept that you're in love with me."
"I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH YOU, SIRIUS BLACK," Marlene screamed at him. "You're just a nice kisser, that's all. Even James wouldn't mind waking up to you kissing him like that."
"Hey!" James protested through the door.
"A nice kisser?" Sirius questioned. "Then I suppose you wouldn't mind me doing it again."
Before she answered he'd pulled her to her feet, and kissed her properly. The door opened and their friends were cheering them on.
"I told you," James said smugly to Lily.