Here comes a new chapter! As the previous one was filled with Jily, I thought we needed a bit of Blackinnon to keep the balance. So looooots of Blackinnon here!

Thank you so much Lara.X for your reviews, and thank you to you as well, dear Guest, whoever you may be :)

And as my favourite character in HP is Sirius (as my pen name may suggest), it really means a lot that you tell me that you like my version of this character. So thank you Lara.X!

I'll update again next week.

Hope you like this new chapter, and please, tell me what you think about it!


The Powers of Treats

"Okay, everyone's ready? Wormtail, you know what to do?"

"I'll go upstairs, ready to free the owls."

"Moony?"

"I'll keep an eye on the teachers."

Sirius nodded.

"And James and I take care of the treats."

"How are you going to make the Slytherins get in the grounds though?" James asked his best friend.

But Sirius winked at him, a mischievous smile on his lips.

"I'm not worried about this. It won't be difficult."

They walked down the corridor, heading for the cafeteria.

"I'll warn Marlene to be around the grounds at lunch," Sirius told his friends.

"What is this game you're playing with her anyway?" Remus asked him suspiciously.

"A game? There's no game, Moony," Sirius answered. "I just want to win a drink."

"Really?"

"Really."

He opened the door of the cafeteria, and quickly spotted the Gryffindor girls already eating their breakfast. He went straight to Marlene.

"Hello there, beautiful blond," he smirked as he sat down next to her.

Marlene rolled her eyes and Sirius nodded to Alice and Lily.

"Hello there, you annoying arse," she replied.

"I hope you had wonderful dreams last night," he went on, his smile widening at Marlene's remark.

"You stayed out of them, so they were alright."

He smirked.

"That means that you've already dreamt of me."

"You only appear in my nightmares."

"I bet I'm the one who saves you."

"Never."

They exchanged a smile.

"What can I do for you, Black?" she asked, before sipping her tea.

He stole a toast from her plate, and he started to put jam on it.

"If I were you and I was in the mood for a bit of revenge and a good laugh, I would hang around the grounds at lunchtime."

She narrowed her eyes.

"So, are you going to strike today?"

He winked at her.

"I might..."

"That means 'yes', clearly."

"Prepare that bottle of firewhiskey."

"We'll see about that."

He stood up, and handed her the toast.

"And this is a toast. You see the difference with yours? There's not too much jam."

She took it, and took a little bite, before faking a wince.

"Disgusting, Black."

They exchanged another smile before Sirius would walk away, joining his friends in the back of the cafeteria.

Lily and Alice looked at Marlene with disapprobative glances.

"What?" Marlene asked, her mouth full with bread.

"This is not going to end well, for neither of you. I don't like this flirty game you're playing at," Alice warned her.

"There will never be anything going on between me and Black," the blond girl reassured her friend.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Lily replied, nodding towards the bread Marlene was biting in fiercely. "You're eating his toast."

Marlene froze, and immediately put down the piece of bread he had given her.

There was nothing wrong with her, nothing wrong at all...


The treats were in position, hidden in the bags and the pockets of the Slytherins. All Sirius had to do was to take the Slytherins in the grounds.

A piece of cake...

"Hey, Mulciber," he called, as he spotted the boy in the corridor, walking out of a classroom.

The Slytherins all turned towards Sirius.

"I think I can do something for you," Sirius went on.

The large and strong boy crossed his arms before him.

"And what could that be, Black?" he asked.

"I cold straighten that nose of yours. Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror?"

Mulciber took a deep breath, but it was clearly not enough to piss him off.

"I wonder how you managed to twist it so much," Sirius went on. "Or perhaps it's just naturally like that. In that case, I hope you didn't inherit that feature of yours from your mother. The poor woman, she must look like a rhinoceros."

Mulciber's eyes narrowed, and anger twisted his face. But Lestrange held him back, preventing the boy to walk to Sirius.

In response, the Gryffindor boy casually leaned against the wall, putting his hands in his pockets, and a little smile appeared on his face.

"What is it Mulci, losing your temper?" Sirius said in a mocking voice. "As if I was afraid really. Anyway, I know you're too much of a coward to try anything against me. And I guess you'd be wise to stay there with your little friends. We both know I'm a better duelist than you are."

Mulciber freed himself from Lestrange's grasp, and started to walk towards Sirius, his face crimson with anger now. He took his wand.

"I'll teach you to hold your tongue," he roared throughout the corridor.

"Me?" Sirius asked innocently, walking backwards towards the grounds.

"Why are you looking for trouble anyway, Black?" Avery asked, the boy taking out his wand as well.

"I'm not looking for trouble, I wanted to help this poor boy. I mean, take a look at his face. How could any girl ever want to kiss someone with such an ugly nose. I was just trying to help there."

Sirius walked into the grounds, walking under the burnt tree, and after only a few seconds, all the Slytherins were out of the corridor as well.

It was the moment...

"Now, Wormtail!" James shouted across the corridor to his friend, who immediately opened the door he was standing in front of.

Or at least he tried to...

James's eyes remained fixed upon the Slytherins and Sirius, down there, three floors under him. And there were sparks now escaping from the Slytherin's wands...

"Wormtail, Padfoot is starting to be in a difficult situation down there," James called for Peter to hurry.

"I'm doing my best," Peter mumbled, finally managing to open the heavy wooden door.

He sent a few sparks inside the room, and soon, dozens of owls were flying out, and escaped towards the grounds, leaving a trail of feathers behind them.

"What the HELL!?" Lily squealed at the sight of the birds heading towards the Slytherins.

"Oh Merlin..." Marlene breathed, her eyes wide.

"Bye Mulci!" Sirius shouted, before running away towards the closest door to escape the army of owls that was diving towards the grounds.

And guess where he landed?

Right in Marlene's arms.

"Hey, McKinnon!" he grinned as he stumbled against her, trying to slow down.

"Is that your brilliant joke?" Marlene asked, clearly not convinced. "Freeing owls?"

"No, this is my brilliant joke," he winked at her, pointing at the Slytherins.

And the owls started to head straight towards the students, and soon the Slytherins were covered with hungry birds. They were shouting, and waving their hands in the air, but none of the animals seemed willing to harm them.

They seemed attracted by their pockets and bags.

The students started to run across the grounds, and the owls followed them.

All around them, laughs were echoing throughout the school. And Marlene was holding her stomach at the sight of the panicked students running frantically in all directions, chasing owls away.

Sirius looked at the girl next to him.

"So? Satisfied, McKinnon?" Sirius asked the girl as he dried his cheeks, laughing so hard he was crying.

She nodded, laughing too hard to answer with words.

"You're brilliant," she hiccupped between two waves of laughter.

"So? Have I earned this drink?" he asked, and there was flirt back in his voice.

"I think you do deserve a drink," Marlene nodded calming down at the sound of his tone.

"Wonderful!" Sirius cried.

McGonagall finally stormed into the grounds, and chased the birds away, sending them back to their tower.

And as Lily was looking at the owls flying up towards the sky, James suddenly appeared next to her out of nowhere, along with Peter and Remus.

But where were they coming from?

"Potter," she breathed, glaring at him. "Was that you?"

"Was that me where?" James asked back at her.

"Was it you and your friends who planned all this?"

"Oh, come on, Evans! Even you were laughing!"

"Then it is you! You're supposed to be responsible, remember? You're Head Boy, for Merlin's sake!"

"Evans, relax!"

"That was childish and stupid and..."

"Funny?"

She heaved a frustrated sigh, pulling on her hair.

"You..."

"I hope for you all that you have nothing to do with this!"

McGonagall was striding towards them.

And she seemed extremely angry...

"You four!" she roared, pointing at the four Gryffindor boys. "If it is one of your stupid pranks again, I will personally write to your parents. This time I will!"

An expression of panic appeared on the boys' faces.

And Lily was feeling sad for them. Because after all, it was just a joke. She turned towards the Slytherins. Bellatrix was hysterical, the boys were furious, but they seemed unhurt.

"Professor, it wasn't us," Sirius tried to defend himself and his friends.

"Everyone can testify, Sirius was on the grounds as well as the Slytherins when the owls arrived," Marlene said.

"And you three?" the teacher asked Peter, Remus and James.

"We..." James started, his brain working so quickly he was surprised no smoke would come out of his ears, searching for an excuse.

"They were with us, Professor," Lily lied.

McGonagall looked intensely at her student.

"Are you sure, Miss Evans?"

"Yes, Professor. The boys were with us."

McGonagall nodded slowly.

"Well, I guess you will have to thank Miss Evans for giving you an alibi, young men," the teacher said. "But the next time you misbehave, your parents will be warned."

The four boys nodded, and McGonagall walked away, heading towards the Slytherins.

Remus heaved a relieved sigh.

"This one was close," Peter breathed.

Lily turned around, glowering at James.

"I owed you one, for the other day," she breathed, her cheeks red with fury. "But the next time, don't count on me to save your arse, Potter. Understood?"

"Crystal clear, Evans," James breathed.

His heart was about to explode, she was so beautiful when she was mad...

She started to walk away, closely followed by Alice.

"Hey, Evans," James called after her.

She spun around, looking at him again.

"Thank you."

"Next time, plan your alibi as well, Potter."

And she turned around again, and disappeared into another corridor.

But James was smiling.

"What makes you so happy?" Peter asked. "She's mad at you."

But James shook his head.

"She lied for me."

He patted his friend's shoulder.

"She likes me, Wormtail!"

"I wouldn't be so optimistic if I were you," Remus warned him.

"Oh, Moony, always the kill joy!"

And James and Peter started to walk down the corridor, laughing. Behind him, Remus could hear Sirius and Marlene talking about when he would have this drink she had promised, but she brushed his insistent remarks away, and hurried after her friends in an adjacent corridor. So Sirius shrugged and walked towards James and Peter, throwing a questioning look at Remus, and the smile he threw at his friend was inviting him to follow their lead. There was mischief painted all over his face.

Remus rolled his eyes.

What an adorable bunch of morons...


It was the end of their DADA class. the end of their day. Sirius was tired, he had barely slept the previous night, busy at stealing owl treats for his prank. He yawned loudly, not bothering himself with covering his mouth.

"That's rude to yawn like that, you know?"

A smile appeared on his face, and he waited for Marlene to join him, oblivious of his friends around him.

"What else do you want? Don't you think you put me into enough troubles already?" he asked, a teasing glint alit in his eyes.

"I thought you would want to have this glass of firewhiskey you craved so much for."

Sirius grinned.

"How could I say no to that?"

He warned James that he would join him and their friends for dinner, and he followed the blond girl to the dorms to get the bottle of firewhiskey she was hiding in her truck, and they hid in a deserted corridor, sitting on the ground under a large window.

They could hear the wind blowing and shattering against the windowpane, and it was the only sound they could hear in the corridor.

Sirius summoned two glasses, and handed them to Marlene for her to fill them up with alcohol.

"Well, I guess I should understand that you appreciated my wonderful prank," Sirius smirked.

"It was funny," Marlene admitted.

They hit their glasses together, before drinking it all in one, long gulp that burnt their throats.

"That's good firewhiskey," Sirius nodded, his voice made a bit hoarse by his burning throat.

"I know," Marlene nodded, her voice a bit hoarse as well.

She poured them another glass of liquor.

"Have I also managed to convince you that I'm charming?" he asked with a cocky smile.

"Not so sure of that yet," she replied.

But he could see there was something wrong with her. Sure, she replied at his flirty lines, but she seemed to be worried. She didn't smile at him as much as she would usually do.

"Is there anything wrong?" he asked her.

She raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we were supposed to drink, not talk", Marlene replied.

"People usually talk while drinking," Sirius argued.

She turned her drink between her fingers.

"Why were you so scared when McGonagall talked about writing to your family?" she asked slowly. "Do you think they would write to your parents?"

Sirius froze, his glass raised just half way to his lips.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," Marlene mumbled under her breath,

"You like asking delicate questions, don't you?" he joked.

But his tone wasn't merry all of a sudden.

"I shouldn't have asked that, I'm sorry," Marlene repeated.

There was a moment of silence, and Sirius put down his glass.

"To answer your question," he said softly, "they would send words to the Potters, not to my parents. Which is why I was scared. I don't give a damn about my parents, and they don't give a damn about me."

"Didn't they... try to stop you from leaving? Your parents I mean."

Sirius looked down at his glass, before drinking it straight.

"I don't think we're close enough to talk about that, McKinnon," he replied.

She looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so curious."

He shook his head.

"It's okay."

There was a new silence as Marlene filled up their glasses again.

"Tell me," Sirius said slowly. "Do these questions about my family mean that you want to talk about your family."

She shifted.

"Not really," she answered. "It's just that... of all people I know here, you're the only one who has a family life as shitty as mine. So... I don't see who else I could talk with about that."

"So you do want to talk about your family."

She drunk up again.

"It's been two months today since..."

Her voice broke.

He carefully looked at her, but she was fleeing his intense stare.

"I miss them today," she breathed.

It was his turn to pour the brown liquid in their glasses.

"I don't reckon that listening to someone else's suffering is going to help you, though," he said.

"That's not what I wanted us to do," she reassured him. "I... I just don't want to be alone today. And Alice and Lily are giving me these eyes full of pity, and... and I knew you wouldn't."

She wrapped her arms around her knees, and looked shyly at him.

"You can leave if you want. I know you didn't come here to talk about depressing things."

Sirius heaved a sigh.

"There's nothing better than firewhiskey to talk about depressing things though."

She smiled.

"It wouldn't be fair if I was the only one confessing tings though, don't you think?" she said.

He nodded, a little smile on his face.

"I guess you're right on that one."

"How did you do to run to the Potters?" she asked him, resting her cheek on her arms.

Sirius shrugged.

"I grabbed my trunk and ran away."

"But your parents didn't look for you?"

Sirius clenched his jaw.

"My father didn't want to let me pass the door. I arrived at the Potters... in a quite bad shape. My father did come after me at the Potters. But James's parents defended me. They... they threatened my father to call the Aurors if he insisted."

"What do you mean? Why would they called the Aurors?"

Sirius struggled to swallow.

"My parents are not known to be particularly tender people," he breathed.

"Do you mean...?"

"Let's just say that I know what an Unforgivable Curse feels like."

Her eyes widened.

"I didn't know..." she whispered.

"No one knows. Because no one cares..."

"Did you ever try to talk to the Aurors about all this after you ran away?"

He rolled his eyes.

"The Black family is one of the most ancient and powerful of the Wizarding families. They will just... bury the case. And anyway, my brother would deny everything I would say and it wouldn't bring any good to anyone in the end. I'd rather... try to forget about that."

He cleared his throat, picking up the bottle of firewhiskey and drinking directly the alcohol. He took one, two, three long gulps.

"See, not the same kind of... fucked up family, but still fucked family."

He drank up more firewhiskey.

"McKinnon, don't tell that to anyone," he breathed.

"You have my word."

She took the bottle from him, and drank up. And she reckoned that it was enough sad confessions for one day.

"One more question," she said, before handing him the bottle again.

"Anything you want, beautiful one," Sirius said, clearly tipsy by now.

"Would you like us to be friends?"

He raised an eyebrow, and he looked at the blond girl next him. Her cheeks were reddened by alcohol, and for sure he wasn't the only tipsy anymore.

"So... we're not friends?" Sirius asked, a smirk back on his face. "I'm upset, McKinnon. I thought you liked me more than that."

She laughed.

"We're not friends. For now you're just an annoying classmate."

"And why would you like this situation to suddenly change?"

She stared at him, and she was serious again all of a sudden.

"Because I don't think you're a stupid clown anymore."

He gave her a small smile.

"Well, I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not. It means that you thought for years that I was a jerk."

She laughed.

"I didn't say jerk."

"But you meant it."

"A bit."

"See, it wasn't a compliment at all."

They exchanged a smile.

"But I don't think you are anymore," Marlene said.

"What made you change your mind? The sad story behind the jerk?"

She shrugged.

"It helped," she admitted. "That and the fact that you did avenge me today. Thank you by the way."

"Oh, it is always a pleasure to mess up with the Slytherins."

"And you're funnier than I thought you were, once one learns to ignore the constant flirt."

"You love it when I'm flirty with you, and I know it."

"You overestimate your charm, Black."

"But I keep calling you McKinnon."

"Why, you like my name so much?"

"See, who's flirting now?"

She chuckled.

"Okay, you can keep on calling by my family name, but I'm calling Sirius from now on."

"Deal."

"And there's a rule we need to establish."

"I hate rules. I always want to break them."

"We don't sleep together. Which means that you can stop trying to get into my knickers."

"See, I hate rules. They're never fun."

She drank up again, a defying glint into her blue eyes.

"I was never going to accept to sleep with you anyway, Black."

"Where is our deal on you calling me Sirius?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"You would have given in sooner or later."

"I don't think so."

"I could have tried to persuade you."

"Sirius..."

She leaned towards him, and he imitated her, their faces only inches away.

"You're not my type," she replied.

And she stole the bottle of firewhiskey from the boy before pulling away, making Sirius almost fall forwards.

She laughed at him, drinking one more gulp.

"You're... so cruel, McKinnon," he laughed.

His head was spinning a little bit now, and when he tried to take back the bottle from the girl, he almost fell again.

"You want that firewhiskey?" she asked, teasing him, keeping the bottle out of his reach. "I bet that's your treat. Your final weakness. Like owl treats for these birds you used this morning."

He pushed her, struggling to catch the bottle, and they both fell down to the ground, laughing.

"So, do you agree on the terms of our friendship?"

He looked down at her. He was lying above her, and although he made sure their bodies were not touching, they had never been so close...

"Friends and no sex," she went on.

"I could break that right now..." he proposed, hovering above her, his lips only millimeters from hers.

"But if you want to have a chance to have children one day, you won't try it."

He smirked, but nodded nonetheless.

"All right. Friends and no sex, then."

They grinned at each other.

"Could you get off me? You're heavy, you know?"

"I'm not even touching you."

" Maybe you should try a diet."

"I'm all muscles, McKinnon. I don't need a diet."

"But your ego could use one."

They laughed, alcohol preventing them from stopping, and Marlene used his laugh as a distraction to make him roll off of her. She looked at the bottle of alcohol.

"It's almost empty," she pointed out.

"And you're drunk," he replied, laying on his back next to her. "'Can't hold your liquor, McKinnon."

"As you're drunk as well, I guess it... means that you can't... hold your liquor either."

"I don't stutter at least."

They were both lying on their backs, staring at the ceiling, and they remained silent for a while.

"My Dad used to make us hot chocolate when we were sick," Marlene breathed. "He thought chocolate could heal anything."

"He would have loved Remus then, he thinks the same."

She cuddled against his arm.

"Something tells me that I would have needed one of his hot chocolate tomorrow morning."

When he looked at her again, she was already asleep.

"Marlene! Wake up!"

The girl groaned, burying her head under her pillow.

"Lily, let me sleep! It's Saturday!"

"Wake up! Someone left something for you."

"What?"

She sat up, nausea rising in her body, her head spinning. She growled, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"If you hadn't drunk with Black, you wouldn't feel miserable like that."

"Shut up."

Alice handed her friend a white box.

"It was on our doorstep, with your name on it," she told Marlene. "Have you hidden some secret admirer from us?"

Marlene rolled her eyes and took the box from her friend. There was a little note with it.

For hangover, I would advice some Wizarding remedy available at the infirmary, but I can't provide you with everything, can I now?

She smiled, recognizing Sirius's handwriting. She opened the box.

The entire room was instantly filled with the scent of hot chocolate.

And when she looked into the box, breathing in the warm and sweet scent, she discovered a huge cup of her favourite drink.

She felt tears appear in her eyes.

"Who is it from?" Lily asked, frowning at the sight of the warm beverage.

Marlene smiled, taking a sip of the comforting liquid.

It was perfect.

"Marls?" Alice called her friend. "Who is it from?"

The girl didn't even notice that a smile had formed on her face.

"Sirius."