AN: For SeriouslySiriusBlack's Christmas Prompt Challenge. My pairing was Sirius/Marlene, prompt- popcorn. Never tried this pairing before...what do you think?
'I regret to tell you, that yesterday evening, the McKinnons were killed. There was all evidence that our Marlene put up a fight. A moment's silence please, in respect of the dead.'
Sirius's heart leapt up to his throat in a single bound. He sensed James and Lily looking at one another in horror across the table, but he couldn't look up. Marlene. Brave, beautiful Marlene, the only one who'd ever been able to beat him in transfiguration (apart from James).
He remembered the first time they'd met, first years sitting at the sorting feast.
'Hey! Aren't you a Black?' said the girl across from him in a loud voice.
'What's it to you?' he replied brusquely, because he was thinking exactly the same thing.
'Shouldn't you be in Slytherin?'
'No. I 'shouldn't' be anywhere,' he said, feeling his confidence grow.
'Only wondering, 'coz I should be in Ravenclaw according to family tradition,' she said, tone a little softer now.
'Well, that's not so bad. It's hardly like Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are mortal enemies,' he muttered.
She glared at him. 'Oh, get over yourself. You're not the only one who'll have disappointed parents in the morning.'
He'd been quite determined not to say anymore on the subject, because there was no way some girl was going to be more mature about the whole situation than him. He'd had some pride.
And then there'd been the time in third year, when upon entering the dorm, they'd found the whole place turned pink, including all their robes.
Sirius stormed downstairs to the common room, clutching a pink sock. He saw Marlene, Lily and Mary giggling in a corner.
'Was this you?' he asked, temper flaring.
She looked up at him, all sweet smiles. 'Us? Honestly, you can't just drop dung bombs in the common room and not expect some retaliation. But us? What makes you think that?'
'Because only you, McKinnon, would come up with a prank as ridiculous as this.'
'Ah, temper Black. You're just irritated because you can't undo Lily's charm work.' She grinned at him.
What wouldn't he give to see that smile now?
And sixth year. They'd been celebrating Peter's birthday true Marauder style, which obviously involved a large amount of firewhiskey.
'Well well, what's this,' said a highly amused voice from behind Sirius. He had been elected to not be under the cloak during this little excursion, but they honestly hadn't expected anyone to be in the common room at this time anyway.
'I'm just... What does it matter?' he asked, quickly tucking the firewhiskey under his robes.
'Well, it looks like you're carrying banned substances. I'll probably have to confiscate those for Lily to examine,' she said oh-so-sweetly.
'McKinnon!'
She walked up to him and tried to grab one of the bottles. He dodged, but she gave him a nifty kick around the legs, knocking him to the ground. He jumped up, but she'd already grabbed one of the bottles. Winking at Sirius's curses, she ran off up the girls dormitory stairs, where Sirius knew better than to follow. (The Marauders had of course tried on many occasions to defeat the girls' staircase. And never managed it.)
Sirius, thoroughly disgruntled at being beaten by a girl, had made his way up to enjoy the party.
The next day though, he was shocked to see the girls looking quite as hung-over as the boys.
'What's up with you? You only had one bottle,' he asked in his most contemptuous voice.
'We , unlike you, know how to duplicate things. Oh and thank you for fetching that first bottle for us. Really made the party.' She grinned evilly at him.
Sirius blamed the hangover for his lack of a witty comeback.
And seventh year. It all came back to seventh year.
'Well,' he proclaimed loudly, wobbling slightly on the table. 'N.E. over. Another year over. OUR WHOLE SCHOOL LIVES OVER.' He hiccupped loudly, and took another swig of the bottle in his hand. 'We've had a good run, haven't we.' Gesturing to the marauders, he said, 'made some friends.' They cheered back at him. 'Made some enemies,' he said, looking at the girls, who laughed. 'Got this lot past the teachers,' he pointed at the mountain of food and drink on one of the other tables.
James knocked him off the table with a yell of 'You're drunk, pads, and getting boringly sentimental. And anyway, I want to make a toast.' He swayed alarmingly before saying 'to Lily Evans, the most beautiful girl in the whole world.' She laughed and joined him up on the table, dignity forgotten, and they kissed, leaning into each other and becoming dead to the world.
Sirius grinned, and sat down on the floor with a flump. He took another long draft of whatever it was (he'd forgotten by now). 'Beautiful,' he murmured, looking at his two friends.
A figure came to sit next to him, clutching a similar bottle.
'lo Sirius,' she said, eyes bright.
'lo Marl,' he replied in kind. They both took another swig. 'You,' he said suddenly, 'were always the second best at pranks.'
She slapped him.
'Hey, that was a compliment.'
'I was the best. Did we ever get caught? Just because we didn't prank as regularly as you, and we rarely strayed out of the house, didn't mean yours were better. Ours were the bestest bestest pranks.'
'Okay, okay. For this evening, you can be the best at pranks. Fair?'
It wasn't, but she was drunk and he was drunk and neither of them cared. 'Fair.' They shook hands solemnly.
'And now, as chief prankster for the night, you must pull a prank,' he said grandly.
She frowned.
Then leant in, kissing him passionately, furiously, bottle thrown aside. She gripped his face, and he wove his fingers into her hair, conceding, in some small part of his mind, that she was definitely the best.
He'd had such a chance. Such a chance.
'C'mon Sirius, when are you going to admit it?' she asked, picking the popcorn out of his hair. He leaned back against the sofa, closing his eyes. Relationships… what did he know of those?
'Admit what?' he asked, even though he knew perfectly well what.
She frowned, moving away from him. 'That I'm the only girl in the world for you. The first girl you're actually going to admit you're in a relationship with. I won't be your toy.'
'I don't expect you to be,' he said smoothly, leaning in for a kiss. But she backed away.
'You're avoiding the question.' There was a pause, while she seemed to wait for him to speak. He didn't. 'We're practically living together, why would you bother asking me over here, with all this movie and popcorn business, if it weren't… because you actually are going to ask me out'
He swept his hair back, that usually made girls swoon and fall at his feet. 'C'mon Marl, why do we have to put labels on things…'
But she was standing up now, eyes flashing dangerously. 'Oh don't start with the label rubbish again. I'm not asking for you to marry me, just admit that I'm not just someone you invite over when James is off with Lily and you're bored, so fancy a bit of casual sex. I'm not just some girl.'
But Sirius was stranded. Platitudes were all he knew. 'Of course you're not, you're the most beau…'
She smashed the popcorn bowl over his head, and ran out the room, out the door, into the street beyond. He thought that if he were James and she was Lily, he would be running after her already, begging her to hear him out.
But he was not James, and still a Black in name if nothing else. So he sits, rooted to the spot, and curses his mother.
And now she's dead, and he wishes that he'd run.