Disclaimer: The World of Harry Potter does not belong to me. Anything you recognize isn't mine

Prologue, June 1968

The two children lay next to each other on the double bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to pretend that they weren't eavesdropping on the raging argument taking place downstairs. Marlene smoothed out her floral skirt for the hundredth time and kicked her legs in the air. She wasn't supposed to lie down in her summer dress because it would get crumpled, but James had told her to stop being such a girl and they had spent the last twenty minutes jumping up and down on the mattress, until the shouts from the floor below grew too loud to ignore. Her parents wouldn't usually argue like this in front of guests. She wanted to make it clear to James that her mummy and daddy weren't usually like this, but the things being said outside were too important to interrupt.

"Honestly, David. I'm ashamed of you. The Blacks are not a family we want to spend anymore time with than we already do, and I will not be bringing our daughter into your foolish schemes for self preservation."

"If you would just LISTEN to me you'd understand that we don't have a choice. This threat isn't going away, and unless you want to openly declare your allegiance to Dumbledore and risk the safety of the whole family, we need some kind of alliance with a family like the Blacks. They have a son the same age as Marly, and..."

"And like Marly, he is EIGHT YEARS OLD. We shouldn't be making these kinds of decisions right now. She's just a child, Dave. We can't just throw away her future like this. It isn't fair."

"If I recall correctly, our marriage was planned when you were six years old and I was still under ten. This is the way our society works, and so far as I'm aware you don't see any problems with us being married."

"Of course not. That's not what I was saying. But the fact that we've managed to be happy doesn't mean it would be the same for Marly. The Blacks are a dangerous family and I don't want to throw Marly in with them like that. We've tried to keep her away from those children. Tying her future to one of them makes it all pointless."

Upstairs, Marlene felt James take her hand and squeeze it. She wasn't completely sure what her parents were discussing, but she knew that it involved her and those nasty boys from the House of Black. Her and James had never spoken to those boys. They had seen each other at the big parties her mummy made her go to, but she always sat with James and her brother. Her mummy had told her not to speak to the other children because they might be dangerous. She nestled her head against James' shoulder and took deep breaths the way her mummy had taught her to when she felt sad but it wasn't appropriate to make a scene. James usually didn't like hugging her because he thought it made him seem girly, but he seemed to decide that the situation demanded it, and wrapped his arm around her tiny shoulders.

"For goodness sake, Tess. We've kept her away from those boys because we wanted to keep her safe. We will continue to do so because they are not a friendly family. But it is precisely because of the dangers posed by them that we need to do this. If they see Marly as one of their own, which they will do if we make plans for her eventually to marry into the family, they won't harm her or her family. I don't like it anymore than you do, but these are dark times and we need to take precautions to keep our children safe."

"I just didn't want her to be involved with any of those people. It's bad enough seeing them at the functions we have to go to. She shouldn't need to spend more time than that with any of them, especially not one of the Blacks."

"The boy's the same age as Marly. He'll be starting Hogwarts with her in a few years anyway. She won't be able to avoid him, and if we arrange this engagement it should offer her some protection at school."

"She shouldn't NEED protection at school. Don't you think you're overreacting slightly to this whole situation? She'll have Dumbledore, and both of the Blacks will end up in Slytherin like their parents anyway."

"Don't be so naive Tessie. Marly and James will both be in Gryffindor, sure, so they won't be living with the Blacks, but the Slytherins didn't leave us alone when we were at school and if anything it'll be worse now that You Know Who's gaining followers. Please can we just stop arguing and accept that we need to do this to look after our children."

Marlene shifted in James' arms. She looked up at him and he quickly replaced his angry frown with a smile. She didn't know why he tried to hide things from her. It had never worked. They had known each other their whole lives. Even if she hadn't been able to see his expression she would have known the effect her daddy's words would have on her best friend.

"Jamie, I'm scared," she whispered, burying her face further into his shoulder.

"I'm not surprised. You're going to have to have a husband. What if you have to kiss him?" James said. He gave her a grin and she pretended to shudder. They both laughed, but stopped abruptly when James heard his own name come into the discussion.

"I don't understand why you think this is necessary. I don't see the Potters setting up a marriage for James, and their blood goes back as far as ours does."

"The Potters have chosen to join the Order of the Phoenix. Their time of being accepted in pure blood circles is limited. For now, people are unsure of where their loyalties lie, but it is unlikely that they will still be in contact with families like the Blacks by the time the kids have finished with school. Our situation is different. We have the opportunity to protect Marly, and we should take it."

"Okay. I give up. Tell Orion that Marly will marry Sirius Black when they come of age, joining our families. But promise me that this is what will keep her safe."

"I promise. I'm sorry, Tess. This isn't what I wanted for her either, but I don't think that we have a choice. The marriage won't be until after they've finished school, so she still has a long time to be a child."

Her mummy's response was too quiet for Marlene to hear. She looked at James and grimaced. He seemed to decide that she no longer needed his comfort, and withdrew his arm from around her. Neither of them moved any further than this. They both lay back to think about what they had heard. Marlene had known that her family was worried about what would happen to them. There was something happening that meant all the pure bloods were supposed to join some kind of team, but her mummy and daddy didn't like some of the people on the team so they didn't want to play. James' parents were on the same side as her mummy and daddy, but were fighting instead of just watching. She was glad her parents weren't fighting. She didn't want them to get hurt. Apparently if she married this boy when she grew up, she would be able to help stop them get hurt. She liked that idea. Usually she was too young to stop other people getting hurt, like when Jack was stuck up the big tree and her legs were too little to climb up and help him. She had to sit at the bottom until he fell, and all she could do was put plasters on his scraped knees. This wedding thing was a good thing. She could stop people hurting, and that was all that she'd ever really wanted to do.

The door creaked open. Marlene jumped up and tried to hide her crinkled dress with her arms so that she wouldn't get in trouble. It was only Jack, though. He came and gave her a big hug, and she thought that he must have heard the argument as well. She lay back down on the bed next to James and Jack took the place on her other side. She linked one hand through James', and the other through her big brother's, and the three of them lay there in silence, thinking about the changes that were starting to affect their sheltered lives.