Sirius looked up apprehensively at the thickening clouds. A flash of lightning lit up the sky and he considered making his way home, after all he knew where James was going and could always find and beat the sense back into him tomorrow.

Suddenly the door opened and James slipped out. Sirius watched curiously as the man turned back towards the door and for a moment Sirius thought James was going back inside.

He stopped and stared at the door for a long time, James lifted his hand to rest against the painted wood and he slumped, resting his head next to his hand. So the stag wasn't so proud of his extra-marital dealings… Or was it something else? Sirius kept to the shadow and frowned. He'd never seen James behave this way. Surely it was the stress of the war, but why not talk to him or Remus?

Sirius lips quirked at the fact that they probably couldn't offer the same kind of consolation; not the kind he was currently seeking anyway. Well Remus might…

All at once James pulled himself together. He straightened his back, took a deep breath and walked briskly back the way he came. But this time Sirius did not follow. He had to know who the hell was changing his friend so dramatically. There was an edge of jealousy in his curiosity. James was his best mate. How could he not tell him that he was having an affair? Sirius wondered if he'd told Remus or Peter.

He found himself glaring at the door to James' secret. Who was she that James would go to her instead of speaking with his friends? Who was she that James would risk everything for a short few hours in her presence?

This kind of reckless behavior was more his style then James' and it felt somehow wrong to be on the other side. He shook his head and turned away but stopped. James was a well known Auror now, his face was in the paper at least once a week and there were always those gossip columns with pictures of him and his wife. Surely this woman knew that he was married… And in a position where any scandal could cause a great deal of damage.

"James you bloody fool." This woman was probably gathering blackmail material or worse fighting for the other side. A spy! They had suspected a spy was amongst them for quite some time.

He growled and paced in front of the door feeling like a caged tiger. If she was the spy then she was responsible for more then twenty deaths possibly more. He couldn't go to the Order, James would be ruined and Lily would be humiliated…

He had to handle this himself. Sirius pulled his wand and marched up to the door. One way or another, this was going to stop.

Sirius knocked three times and waited.

And waited.

"Oh no you don't," he spat and pounded on the door with all his strength.

The door was flung open and he found himself face to face with the woman in question. "What! Did you forget your…" She screamed but faulted when she saw him. "Oh… I'm sorry I thought…"

He raised his brow sardonically, "Expecting someone?"

"I guess not," she replied with a breathless laugh then said something under her breath that sounded like, "Stupid."

He couldn't take his gaze away. She wasn't so much beautiful as striking with large blue eyes, a small, pert nose and thin but shapely lips. Long black hair hung loose over her shoulders, wet and dripping and she was wrapped in a towel.

A hot jolt of arousal shot from his head to his feet and wrapped tightly around his cock. It took all his effort to pull himself together. But to his annoyance he noticed her watching him just as closely. She seemed more then a little shocked to see him and that brought him back to his original mood. She was a spy.

He searched her face and noticed her eyes were red and puffy and her nose was a bit pink. "Have you been crying?"

She stood straighter. "No, why on earth would I be crying?" She was lying.

"We need to talk," he said gruffly.

"I don't see how you and I could have anything to talk about."

"I think we have a great deal to discuss. You are aware that you're lover is a married man?"

What she did next was more then shocking. The woman fell against the door and laughed. She laughed so hard her shoulders shook and her face flushed. "Are you Serious?" But that just sent her into another bout of giggles and laughs. She pulled herself together slowly but her eyes still danced as she looked up at him. "Honestly, Sirius Black lecturing me on moral conduct."

His lips twitched, yeah that was sort of funny. "Wait." He looked at her sharply. "How do you know who I am?" Gotcha!

She stopped smiling and before his eyes she sobered and stood straighter again, squaring her shoulders. "How do I…?" She shook her head as though she couldn't believe what he's said. "Well - don't you know who I am?"

"Have we met?"

Her outraged cry was completely unexpected. "You son of a bitch! You come here to talk to me about my moral standing and you don't even…" She couldn't finish and Sirius noticed that here eyes shimmered as she glared at him. "Stay away from me!"

She moved to slam the door but he shoved harder and forced his way in. "Oh no, I'm not leaving till you explain yourself. What did those sick bastards offer you to fuck information out of Auror Potter, hmm?"

"W - what? I'm not a spy. What the hell gives you the right to come barging into my home and accuse me of whoring for the enemy!" Her face was a mask of outraged disbelief. "For your information…" She shook her head. "You know what I don't owe you a damned thing. If you really think I'm a spy then call up someone with some actually authority and I'll gladly be interrogated by them."

"I have authority to_"

"No you don't," she spoke calmly now with a slight smug smile. "James is the Auror - you are just the wealthy hanger-on. The rich playboy living off mummy and daddy's trust fund."

With a smile of his own Sirius' hand snapped out and grabbed her arm. He pulled her close and lowered his face so it was close to hers to insure he had her full attention.

Her eyes widened and he could feel her breath gusting faster against his mouth. Sharp, tingling sparks seemed to fly back and forth as they glared into each other's eyes. His fingers felt hot where he gripped her and his lips ached to taste hers. But he had to remember what this was about.

"I have more authority then you know," he murmured, his voice dangerously low. "For instance if I were to suspect you of using your body to gain information for the Death Eaters then I could legally perform a wizards arrest and drag you into the ministry right now. Shame, you're going to be cold in that towel."

"Bastard," she hissed. "I'm not a spy, I'm just the doll he fucks when he needs to blow off steam." With that she yanked hard to free herself.

His hold was tight but she was stronger then she looked. She pulled and swung out of his hold but just as his fingers let go she lost balance. In her attempt to regain her position, she grabbed Sirius' arm but lost her grip on the towel.

The world fell silent for a bare moment, bare being the operative word. The towel pooled around the woman's feet and she stood perfectly still and perfectly naked in front of a very shocked Sirius Black.

Unable to stop, Sirius' gaze slid slowly down the woman's bare form. He thought she was attractive before, now he was gobsmacked. She was shapely, rounded hips, long lean thighs with a tuft of black hair between them. Small, firm breasts rose and fell quickly and even faster a deep red flush spread down her front.

"I - I'm…" Oh fuck what was he supposed to say - Usually when he was with a naked women they had moved past the shouting and were onto the touching.

"Get out." Her voice was raw and barely audible.

Sirius' brain was still trying to keep some of the blood that was all too quickly racing south. "Huh?"

"GET OUT!" She shoved him out the door then slammed it leaving him to listen to the unmistakable sound of a bold locking.

Apparently this situation was more complex then it appeared. He leaned towards the door and yelled through. "So just to clarify, you're not a spy then?"

She screamed and something smashed against the door.

Marley paced the floor. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Sirius Black. Sirius Black had been at her front door. He'd been right here, so close she could have touched him and he didn't remember her.

How dare he try to lecture her on her relationship with a married man when he himself had broken more hearts and hurt more people then anything she could do…

She sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around her legs. Resting her chin on her knees she sighed heavily. "Oh, Marlene, what have you gotten yourself into."

It had been years since she'd seen him. Sirius Black. It wasn't fair that he looked even better now. His face had taken on a more mature shape, his jaw looked stronger. His shoulders were wider and his arms seemed more muscular now. She closed her eyes and saw him again, standing in front of her, large as life: Long black duster coat, black leather pants, white shirt.

Damn! She was sure that she was over him. It had just been a stupid crush to begin with, a sixteen year old girl mooning over a rebellious seventh year boy.

She remembered the night he finally noticed her…

She'd gone to the Yule Ball with Frank Longbottom, a handsome seventh year Gryffindor. He was desperately in love with Alice but she was dating a Ravenclaw boy. Marlene didn't mind, after all she was in love with Sirius so all in all they were a good match. They liked each other well enough but both knew there was nothing more.

She wore a full length satin gown in pure white with deep red edgings. It hugged her slim waist and pushed up her breasts. She turned and turned again in the mirror while the other girls, ooh'ed and ahh'ed. For the first time Marley truly felt beautiful, she felt like woman.

Frank's eyes had nearly popped out of his head but that didn't have nearly the effect on her than Sirius' reaction. He'd watched her all night, dancing and laughing she was very aware of her gaze and blatantly refused to return it.

He caught her finally and with a charming bow that made her toes curl he asked her to dance.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. They danced, then they walked outside and he'd kissed her. He asked her to come and sit with him in his room and she went. Sirius Black took her virginity in a wave of pleasure and joy then escorted her back to the Ball which was winding down. He kissed her briefly, said she was incredible then promptly forgot who she was and never spoke to her again.

Marley had cried so many tears over him. Every time she walked by him in the hall and he didn't even acknowledge her it was like a knife in her heart. She loved him and he didn't even notice her, she was just another notch on his belt.

Well never again. How dare he judge her! She gave him her virginity and he didn't even remember who she was.

"Asshole!" she screamed to the empty room.

How could he not even know who she was? As much as she tried to control her emotions she could feel tears pricking and leaking down her cheeks, down her chin and dropping onto her chest. Finally she buried her face in her hands and let the pitiful sobs overtake her shaking body.

Sirius needed to talk to James. The man was making the biggest mistake of his life and he didn't even know it yet. He still couldn't believe it. James had been head over heels for Lily forever and now he was having an affair? It made no sense.

In his mind's eye he saw James' mistress looking back at him. Now he thought about it her outrage wasn't so much anger as something akin to pain. But how could he have hurt her, they didn't even know each other…?

"Don't you know who I am?"

He shut his eyes and pictured her in his mind. There was something familiar in her eyes, something from a long time ago. He liked the way she looked, he remembered her thin but shapely lips and that long hair. He imagined combing his fingers through that hair, he bet it would feel silky and soft to the touch. He imagined burying his face in that hair and inhaling more of the mild jasmine smell that must have been her shampoo.

His eyes flicked open. "Snap out of it!" he hissed and slapped his cheek sharply. "You're supposed to be yanking Prongs out of this mess not swaggering yourself in."

With another shake of his head he headed for the Leaky and sat at the bar. His owl asked James to meet him here in another ten minutes. Sirius would need a few stiff drinks before he was ready to have this talk.

He ordered a shot and a beer. Downed the shot and cradled the beer. A minute later he ordered another shot.

Ten minutes flew passed too quickly but James didn't show. Sirius flicked his gaze impatiently to the clock on the wall every minute for the next ten until the sound of the bar door swinging open and closed made him turn.

James sauntered in and immediately grinned when he spotted his oldest friend. "Mate." James slapped Sirius on the shoulder and perched on the stool next to him.

"You're late," Sirius growled into his still untouched beer and felt rather then saw James' shocked recoil.

"Sorry, dear, but work ran later then expected," James replied and signaled the barman. "Should I have brought flowers?"

Sirius knew he was being petty and clamped his mouth shut then before James could order he requested two more shots one for each of them and a beer for James.

They made idle chitchat, usual lads jokes, comments on Remus' difficulty in finding work, well James did most of the talking, Sirius merely nodded but didn't respond out of fear that he might snarl. But it was no use, his temper was there just under the surface and James was the cause.

Finally he jumped to his feet and headed for the door. "Come on lets get some air," he muttered and led the way out into the brisk night.

James shrugged, swallowed the last of his beer then eyed Sirius' untouched pint before following. Once out he rounded and asked the question directly. "Sirius, what's the matter? I thought that the mission you were on was a basic search and destroy. Did something go wrong?"

"No, the mission went as planned."

Sirius began to walk and James kept pace. "Then what is it, man? I haven't seen you in a month and it's like I'm the only one who is happy to see the other."

Sirius laughed humorlessly and turned to walk. James looked hurt but kept pace.

"Haven't seen me in a month, huh? The way I hear it I've been keeping you out every night." Sirius stopped and spun to face his friend. "So much so in fact your wife is starting to feel rather left out."

James went very still for a long time. He licked his lips and averted his eyes and Sirius could tell he was searching for something believable. "How did you respond to that?"

"How can you even ask that? I'm your best mate, have been forever. I covered for you."

James visibly relaxed and exhaled loudly. "Bloody hell, Sirius, you scared that beer right out of me."

Sirius shook his head and pulled back a stride. "Oi, I covered for you and you know I'm your mate, but that don't mean I'm happy about the situation."

"Ah come on." James crossed his arms and stood flat-footed, averting his eyes. "I just needed a bit of space to keep my head together and I told a white lie. What's the problem?"

"If that was all there would be no problem other then the fact that you're acting like a grounded teenager. Lily isn't your mother, she's your wife."

"I know that!"

"And she's not stupid, mate. She knows something's up…" Sirius took a breath. "She suspects that you're seeing another woman."

James inhaled sharply through his teeth and visibly paled. "No, that's not possible. She can't know."

At that Sirius' patience snapped and he spun of his friend. "What the hell do you care if she knows! You have it all James, what's one wife?" He raised his hand and shook off jame's interruption. "Oh no, you selfish bloody git. You have the kind of wife and the kind of marriage that most men dream about. You're wife loves you for who you are, not how much money you earn and she doesn't nag or bug you like some wives. And look at you, sulking because you have to do this one thing - be faithful to her…"

His rant drifted off at James' sudden outburst of laughter. The bespectacled man fell against the wall and he had to hold his sides as his whole body shook with chuckles and guffaws.

"I - I don't believe it," James managed between chuckles. "Sirius Black lecturing me on morals."

Sirius felt a smirk pulling at the edges of his lips. "You know you're the second person to say that to me."

James cringed. "Oh no, you didn't blab to Remus did you?"

"No I didn't blab to Remus - I confronted you're bunny-girl."

"You what!" James suddenly stopped smiling and stood straighter.

"I went to talk to your bird on the side - and don't get me wrong she's a looker but is she worth throwing away your life for?"

"First, she isn't my bunny-girl, she has a name, it's Marlene and she's nice - She went to Hogwarts with us." James ran a hand through his short messy hair. "Second, I need her - You know how dark my job can be, sometimes I need an outlet, someone to tell, someone to just let everything go with. I don't want Lily to see that side of me."

"So you'd rather that she put two and two together and work out that you're cheating on her. Do you honestly think she would prefer that?"

"Ah come on, Sirius…"

"No you come on - Lily is no delicate flower, don't you remember in Hogwarts she was the one person we all agreed we would not want to duel because she was so bloody ruthless. What ever it is - She can handle it but you will never know that unless you give her a chance." Sirius looked his friend in the eye. "And it's not just Lily - When I went to the other woman's door, she looked like she'd been crying. You're hurting her, mate. She might just be a mistress to you, but she obviously has other dreams."

James looked at his feet and shut his eyes tight. "You're right. I love Lily, she's my whole world." Slowly his gaze rose to Sirius' face and he shook his head. "You know it was a good day when the hat sorted you into Gryffindor. You are a real friend, Padfoot."

"Stop it ya great poof, you'll make me blush."

With that the two friends stumbled home.