Chapter 28 - Rocking the Boat

Hello! Sorry about the wait for this chapter but it's a lovely long one with lots of cute scenes (and one that made me cry writing it, oops). Just going to warn people who dislike violence that there's a small amount of graphic description of an injury here so please be warned, I wouldn't want anyone to feel bad!

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters created by the wonderful JK Rowling or the song lyrics I use each chapter.


Don't wanna leave it all behind,

But I get my hopes up,

And I watch them fall every time

- Vanessa Hudgens, Gotta Go My Own Way


Lily, Remus and Marlene arrived back in the Gryffindor Common Room looking shaken and pale. In the chaotic coziness of the room, their expressions went relatively unnoticed until their friends spotted them and beckoned them over.

"Merlin, Moony, Marlene scare you with her Defence knowledge or something?" James teased as he saw Remus' pale face, frowning slightly despite his light tone.

Mary moved up to make space on the sofa for Marlene and Lily, the note still crumpled in Marlene's hand. Noticing she was shaking slightly, Mary licked her lips nervously and looked at the others.

"Ummm... what happened?" she asked slowly.

Lily took Marlene's hand and sighed. "Snape's lot was in the Library. They were all staring. Avery was watching Marlene again and it was really creepy," she explained.

Sirius stood up quickly. "Avery?" he snapped, "I'll-"

"Sirius sit down, she's not finished," James said quickly.

Opening her hand and taking a deep breath, Marlene lifted her gaze and looked across at Sirius apologetically.

"R-Regulus was there," she whispered, "He gave me a note."

"Sirius, before you freak, it wasn't a-"

"Did he threaten you?" Sirius demanded, hurrying over to her.

Marlene just shook her head, gulped and handed him the piece of paper.

"They have a plan, be careful?" Sirius read, his voice getting louder and louder. "Sounds like a threat to me!" he snapped, "He's probably involved himself!"

"Sirius, no, he's warning us! He's telling us to keep an eye out," Remus insisted, "He's not-"

"He is, he'll be in on it in some way, he always is!"

Marlene shook her head. "No, I don't think he is. Or if he is, he doesn't want to be."

In his anger, Sirius ripped the note in half and stared at her.

"Please, Sirius," Marlene mumbled, standing up and looking up at him. "He saw we were scared, he's trying to help! He's helped you before and you refuse to acknowledge this!"

Scoffing, Sirius turned away and Marlene scowled.

"Fine, ignore me! But I trust him and I'm going to listen to him even if you don't. Avery terrifies me, Sirius, and if Regulus wants me to be careful after Avery stares at me all afternoon, I'll be fucking careful!"

Picking up her books and quill, Marlene shot him one last look before composing herself before she had a full breakdown and headed for the staircase to the dorms. Sirius gaped at her for a moment before hurrying after her, wanting to know why Marlene was so chummy with his younger brother.

Mary whistled lowly as they left. "Trouble in paradise?"

"There's always trouble and I don't think it was ever paradise," Lily sighed, leaning back against her friend and they all privately agreed.


Marlene dumped her books on her shelf quickly, still worked up, and huffed to herself.

"Hey," Sirius said as he appeared behind her, "Hey, Marlene, how come you and R-"

"Jealous, Black?" she sighed. "You know why we're friendly so get over it!"

"Oh come off it, he always has an ulterior motive, he's a Slytherin, they're selfish and I don't like it!"

Marlene narrowed her eyes even though she wasn't really mad at him, just frustrated. "And you know this, do you? You know the reason behind every time he's tried to help us that was 'evil', do you?"

Sirius seemed to reconsider his words. "Lene, come on, just... I'm sorry, okay?" Sirius groaned, sitting on her bed, "I'm not used to seeing him like this."

"What, as a decent human being?"

"... Basically," he sighed, watching her as she slotted the last book back onto her shelf.

She moved to sit next to him and sat on her hands to stop them trembling, but Sirius noticed anyway and hesitated before pulling her closer and wrapping an arm around her. Reluctantly, Marlene dropped her head onto his shoulder and settled against him.

"I'm still mad at you," she mumbled unconvincingly.

Sirius snorted slightly, "Sure you are, McKinnon."

"Okay, I'm not," she admitted, pulling back, "But I do think we should take Regulus' warning seriously..."

He nodded and kissed her softly. "You know best, as usual," Sirius teased.

Marlene rolled her eyes and whacked his arm, making him chuckle and kiss her again. Laughing too, Marlene slipped onto his lap and wound her arms around his neck.

She bit her lip. "Does this mean Avery is after me again?"

With a quiet sigh, Sirius shrugged uselessly and pulled her closer again. Marlene understood - he didn't know but either way he'd be watching out for her - and was grateful. Kissing him again softly, Marlene smiled and pushed his fringe from his eyes.

"You need a haircut," she teased, whispering the words so no one else would hear: these were the times she lived for, when he wasn't putting anything on because other people were around.

"Do I now?" Sirius chuckled, pushing her hair aside too and dropping a tender kiss to the crook of her neck.

"Sirius!" she giggled as he continued to kiss up and down her skin. "Don't - the others might-"

He cut her off with another firm kiss, a mischievous grin on his face as he flicked his wand and locked the door.

Still giggling, she rolled her eyes and just let him do what he wanted as he pulled her down on top of him on her bed.

"If they catch us - again - I'm not coming near you for a month," she threatened, running her hands down his chest lightly.

"They won't," he promised, pulling his Muggle shirt over his head and discarding it.

Marlene just rolled her eyes, grinned and pulled her own blouse off too.

"Y'know, Marlene, there are other things we can do instead of just sex," Sirius smirked, running a finger along the strap of her bra.

Her eyes widened slightly: was this him asking her out or another one of his games?

"Go on..."

He chuckled as he flipped them over and kissed her passionately.

"Relax," Sirius breathed, undoing her skirt and kissing his way down her stomach.

And even though her body was reacting to what he was doing, where he was going, her heart was resigning itself for another wait.

"You okay?" he breathed, glancing up.

She mumbled a yes, threaded her fingers through his hair and shut down the part of her brain that just wanted more.


"Okay, everyone, you know the drill! James called and everyone piled out of the changing rooms and onto the sunny pitch for James to dish out instructions.

"By now we should all know the warm up so we'll do that then jog around the pitch a few times. Then I'll set up some drills and we can talk about the upcoming match!"

All of the Gryffindors propped their brooms up against the cloth-covered side and moved to do their usual stretches, chatting amongst themselves. James and Sirius were talking to Rue, Jacob seemed to be engaged in conversation with Emmeline and Marlene was listening to Benjy.

"And then the Arrows' Keeper joined in and cost them the match. Their Seeker got banned for a month, too," he exclaimed and Marlene looked dismayed.

"What?! But if they're playing the Hawks in just under two weeks, they need Weatherby - he's their best player!"

The Appleby Arrows was both Marlene and Benjy's favourite team and most of their conversations revolved around or started with Quidditch.

Benjy nodded. "But hey, a month isn't as bad as I thought it would be!"

"Is Vanessa Green back from injury yet?" Marlene asked, leaning over and extending her arms.

He thought for a moment. "Not sure, actually. If not, they're fucked."

Sighing in irritation at their team's mess up as James blew his whistle, Marlene straightened up and tightened her ponytail.

"Just two laps today, team," James grinned mischievously, "Then we can train."

"Just two?" Rue whined, pouting at her Captain, "You do know how big the pitch is, right?"

James simply winked, blew his whistle again and set off running along the white lines marking the edge of the Quidditch pitch. Marlene was near the front and Sirius and James sped up to run with her, James beaming, Sirius scowling slightly. Raising an eyebrow, Marlene looked across to ask why but decided against it: he probably wouldn't tell her what was wrong anyway.

"We're playing Ravenclaw next, right?" Marlene asked James, ignoring Sirius on her right.

James nodded and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I got Benjy to do some spying, one of his friends is on the team. According to him, they're good. Really good."

"Oh well, if Benjy says they're good then they must be," Sirius muttered sarcastically.

"Someone got out of bed on the wrong side," Marlene said dryly and James rolled his eyes.

"Ignore him, Marls, he's been in a bad mood all day."

"Oh I will," she sighed and picked up the pace, not wanting to make the practise more awkward by pissing Sirius off more.

Having completed their laps to James' satisfaction, everyone took a moment to catch their breath before stretching again and collecting their brooms from the side of the pitch.

"So, considering Ravenclaw have a very tight defence and it'll take work to crack it, we're focussing on attacking today. I thought we could look at some new formations, mainly for the Chasers, but the Beaters will definitely be involved too," James grinned at the six other Gryffindors.

They nodded and watched as he dragged out the old chalk board he'd got from Professor McGonagall last year. It was covered in colourful dots, names, numbers and arrows.

They all looked at him blankly.

He laughed at their expressions. "Oh don't worry, it looks more complicated than it is!"

"Hope so," Emmeline snorted, rolling her eyes, "Come on, Captain, explain away."

Chuckling, James began his explanation of the moves he'd found but Marlene was rather distracted by Sirius' gaze burning into the side of her face. Benjy leaned in, eyebrows raised.

"What's going on with you and Black? He kinda looks like he's planning on drowning you in gravy at dinner."

Marlene snorted and glanced across at Sirius who clenched his jaw.

"No idea. Probably his usual 'commitment versus jealousy' issue, I suppose."

He looked surprised. "You mean... you two aren't...?"

"Depends on what you're asking," she sighed, now only half listening to James' breakdown of the plan. "But we're not dating, which is what I assume you wanted to know."

He appeared even more shocked. "You seriously aren't? Damn, Marlene, why not?"

"Sirius Black doesn't date," she shrugged, watching James.

"That's shitty. Even I know you really like him."

"Yeah, me and the rest of the school," she groaned, "And I said I'd never be that kind of girl."

He laughed slightly. "So? You're Marlene McKinnon and you're single! Make him see what he's missing!"

She gave him a look, a small smirk appearing on her face. "I might just do that."

Benjy laughed and got up with the rest of the team. "I hope you understood that," he said, gesturing to the now clean board. "Because I certainly didn't."

Marlene rolled her eyes and shoved her lightly. "You don't need to, you're the Beater, Ben. I'm the Chaser, it was for me."

"And it's all about the chase," he said dramatically, striking a pose with his hands on his hips.

Marlene, laughing hard, tossed her hair over her shoulder and fluttered her eyelashes at him, "Oh you're so dashing. I feel like we have to break into a choreographed dance routine or spontaneous song or something now..."

Benjy cleared his throat and pretended to stretch in preparation, causing Marlene to burst into giggles. Sirius rolled his eyes and tugged her over, hands tightly round her wrist.

"James is waiting," he said gruffly.

She just laughed and patted his head before grabbing her broom, kicking off and flying over to join Emmeline and James.

Benjy turned to Sirius, who'd fixed his glare on him the second Marlene wasn't looking. He raised an eyebrow and Sirius' scowl deepened.

"Is this the part where you act like a jealous boyfriend and tell me stay away despite the fact that it was perfectly friendly and you're not actually her boyfriend?" Benjy said, folding his arms across his broad chest.

"No, this is the part when I laugh at your futile attempts to get her to see you as more than a friend."

Benjy just shrugged and smiled at Sirius. "I don't mind, I just like knowing her. I don't mind if that's as a friend, honestly, because it's worth it to-"

"Please stop, I feel nauseous," Sirius said, voice dripping with disgust. Then, turning his back on Benjy, he got on his broom and flew up to join everyone else.

Sighing at the younger boy's attitude, Benjy grabbed his well-looked after Cleansweep and hurried over to where the team had assembled in the air.

The rest of the two hour practise went along uneventfully, with Sirius getting noticeable more aggressive as Marlene and Benjy continued their movie star joke, Marlene impersonating some blonde Muggle actress Benjy had told her about (who seemed, to Sirius, to flirt with everyone she talked to).

The changing room afterwards wasn't affected, however, and the team's usual post-practise enthusiasm wasn't dampened by Sirius' stony silence. They all walked back up the castle together in their Quidditch jumpers, heading for the Great Hall just in time for dinner.

Marlene was chatting to Rue about a potion she was studying as they reached the main entrance, the dining hall just up ahead. As the huge doors shut behind them, Marlene felt fingers wrap around her wrist. She looked up as Rue's cheeky grin appeared.

"Sirius?" Marlene asked, giving him a frustrated look. The broody attitude was getting kind of boring now.

"Meet me at the Room of Requirement in two hours," he breathed in her ear, lips against her hair, not bothering with a hello.

Marlene raised an eyebrow and looked up at him.

"You know what for. If you don't want to come, don't," he shrugged and hurried past them to find James and the Marauders for dinner.


"I was beginning to think you weren't coming," Marlene said as Sirius rounded the corner, hand in his pockets, confident smile back in place.

"And miss out on you? Not a chance," he replied and quickly told the Room what he wanted, pacing three times in front of the wall.

As soon as the door materialised, Sirius held it open and gestured for her to go in. Marlene did quickly and he followed her closely, hands on her hips as he brushed his hair away from her shoulder so he could kiss the nape of her neck.

"Already?" she snorted.

"Why not? I had to Fenwick drool over you for the whole practise," Sirius protested, turning her around and kissing her firmly.

"He's a good friend, Sirius, just like you are - and you can hardly complain, you get to do far more than look," Marlene pointed out, rolling her eyes at him.

"That I do," Sirius agreed, cupping her cheeks as he backed them towards the large double bed in the centre of the room.

She sighed when he didn't complain at being called a 'friend' but slid her arms around his neck, falling back against the soft pillows.

"Marlene, you know we don't have to?" Sirius said slowly, sensing something wasn't quite right.

She laughed. "But you want to, and I want to. Come on, before everyone suspects what we're up to!"

He snorted. "Fine, fine, but you're sure?"

"Sure as ever," she nodded.

Sirius smiled and kissed her again, pressing himself against her; Marlene moaned in response and sat them back up so she could pull his red and gold jumper off, throwing it off the bed carelessly. Sirius did the same and pulled her closer as she repeated the action with his t-shirt.

"You can hardly blame me for wanting to keep you all to myself, can you?" Sirius smirked, trailing his hands down her back.

"That's not fair, Sirius," she mumbled running her fingers through his already messy hair. "You're..." She hesitated. "You're not my boyfriend, so-"

"But you're mine," he said possessively, lips moving down her neck.

She sighed with pleasure as he moved his hands to her sports top and got rid of that too.

"But I'm not your girlfriend!"

"So?"

"So I'm not yours. And I wouldn't be 'yours' even if we were dating. Which we're not."

Sirius kissed her again, lying her back down. "Fine," he corrected, "Then I want you. And I dislike Fenwick wanting you too."

He was making quick work of her leggings so Marlene closed her eyes and relaxed.

"You can't stop him liking me, Sirius. And what would you do if I liked him back?" she said breathily as he began kissing down her torso again.

Faltering, he paused with a hand on his buckle.

"What would you do, Sirius?" she demanded.

He made a small noise that was a cross between a growl and a groan, and moved back up to kiss her properly, finger tracing her jaw line softly. "I'd have to kill him."

"But why? You've made it very clear that you don't want to date me even if you do like me," she protested, kissing him back anyway.

"What can I say?" he shrugged, "I'm a jealous insecure arsehole."

"You're not a arsehole," Marlene sighed, forcing him to look at her. "And I don't like him like that, okay? You don't need to kill anyone."

Sirius nodded as Marlene undid his buckle for him, smiling, not wanting to upset him, just make him understand.

"We'll talk another time," he said to assuage her, knowing he was doing a shitty job of keeping her happy.


James appeared at the bottom of the stairs at about 8 o'clock, freshly showered and changed after Quidditch practise, still trying to both dry his hair and keep it flat. His easy smile widened when he spotted Lily reading by the bookshelves.

"Evans!"

She glanced up, startled, then smiled when she saw him.

"Hey, James, how was Quidditch?"

"Interesting," he chuckled, sighing slightly and flopping into a chair opposite her and glancing at the cover of the book she was holding for a topic of conversation. "Frankenstein? What's that?"

She laughed. "Purebloods, honestly. It's a book about a Muggle who tries to bring someone back to life with science and then has to deal with the consequences. Really, it's a moral story about pushing the boundaries too far."

"A Muggle brought someone back to life without using Dark magic?!" James said, looking aghast.

"It's just fiction, James," Lily grinned, very amused at James' horrified expression.

"So it's not real?" he checked.

"No," she laughed, putting the book down and smiling.

"Muggles, honestly," he retorted, mimicking her tone from before.

"Going back to Quidditch though," Lily chuckled, "The lighter topic... How was practise? Emmeline didn't attack Marls again or anything?"

"No Emmeline drama but Sirius looked like he was about to burst into flames at any second," James sighed, shoulders dropped, "More of the stuff about Marlene."

"They still together? Well, having sex together, I suppose," she muttered, wrinkling her nose up.

"No but yes? I think? He hasn't mentioned it much, which is a good sign because he's not boasting like he would if she was just some girl, you get me?"

Lily nodded.

"Do you know Benjy Fenwick, seventh year?"

She nodded again, smiling. "Yeah, I do, he's lovely. He helped me out in first year when I was confused about all the magic stuff."

"Yeah, he is nice," James agreed, "And he's had a crush on Marlene since forever but is happy just being friends because it's perfectly clear she fancies Sirius. Anyway, Sirius isn't happy with Benjy just being friends despite the fact that to anybody else it's obvious he wouldn't make a move on her and Sirius is getting jealous because they get along like water under a fire and-"

Lily burst out laughing and James trailed off, looking confused.

"What?!"

"Oh, James, you - oh God," she spluttered, "I think you've mixed up your metaphors there, it's water under a bridge, which doesn't make sense here, and like a house on fire!"

James blinked. "Oops?"

She was still snorting as she wiped her eyes. "Kudos for trying, James. They're Muggle phrases though, where did you pick them up?"

Flushing slightly, James ruffled his hair and smiled. "You. And Peter. But mainly you."

"You listen to me that much?" she asked, bemused.

"Of course," he said, offering her a lopsided grin, "You're very interesting."

Lily laughed again and shook her head. "Smoothly recovered, Potter."

"I'm a smooth criminal," he joked.

She rolled her eyes, bringing her legs up to her chest and curling up in the squashy armchair. "Nah, Sirius is definitely the most likely to end up in prison as a criminal."

"Very true," James admitted, laughing, "But how are you? You asked about me and I forgot to reply!"

Smiling, she shrugged slightly as she pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. "I'm alright. Already got homework piling up - I don't know how you manage it, I really don't, you never seem to be working," she said with a jokey glare.

James winked. "All part of the natural charm and good looks?"

"Yeah right."

He sniffed dramatically but then leaned back and caught her eye. "What about the sleeping?"

She looked at him with surprise, impressed that he'd remembered. "It's okay, I guess."

"Sure," he nodded, "Feel free to come and get me again if you want to talk. I know everyone's already forgotten about it in the every changing drama of Hogwarts life but... I'd still be hurting if it was me who'd been taken and I know it's not the same because I don't get the same shit but.."

Lily met his warm hazel eyes and had a moment of surprising clarity: James had grown up.

At some point since now and last year, in between the teasing and the messing around, James had matured. So when she looked at him again, she noticed things she'd seen already but never really registered, like the fact that his eyes weren't mocking now, but warm, and that his jaw had gotten stronger and when he smiled at her, it wasn't because he was about to tip paint on her head it was because he was genuinely happy.

Most terrifying of all, she realised he'd gotten handsome.

"Lily?" he snorted, waving a hand in front of her face as she stared blankly at him.

She was startled out of her epiphany and laughed nervously at him. "Sorry, I was just thinking. Thanks for the offer, though, I might take you up on it."

James nodded and grinned at her before the note on the coffee in front of them caught his eye.

"Is that the one from Regulus?" James asked, picking the two halves up and reading the familiar words.

Nodding, she leaned forwards. "I've been trying to work out what he's warning us about."

"Isn't this just a general warning?" he frowned, shuffling closer.

"I guess. I just don't like that Avery had his eyes on Marlene again, it makes me nervous. After everything that's happened to me and the things he's tried with her..."

James nodded sadly. "I hate that she's worried again - she'd only just stopped being scared from last time."

"Yeah," Lily sighed and shook her head, "At least Sirius is keeping her happy."

He snorted slightly. "I guess. Although for how long? Those two aren't exactly likely to work out long term. Sirius couldn't be a boyfriend to save his life. I mean, he's my best mate and I love him but he's not relationship material, is he?"

"No," she agreed, "But I didn't think that Marlene would ever agree to a friends-with-benefits arrangement and she has. Love does weird things."

"That's deep, Miss Evans," James joked, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked and she smiled at him warmly. "That's me, Mr Potter."

"Mr Potter sounds odd when you say it," James laughed.

"So does Miss Evans!" she retorted, throwing a pillow at him.

Dodging it quickly, James grabbed another and hurled it at her with the precision of a Chaser and she yelled happily.

"OI!"

And so, both of them being far too competitive, a pillow fight ensued rapidly. The whole of the Common Room was quickly covered in the things and none were left on the sofas at all. One had even narrowly missed the fireplace but a quick spell from Lily had landed it just in front, on the rug. Eventually, the colourful cushions were scattered everywhere but where they should be.

Somehow, Lily realised one the cushions had stopped flying and they were both attempting to stop laughing and catch their breaths, James had ended up on top of her with his glasses nearly dropping off his nose onto her rather close face.

"Umm... James?"

He blinked at her for a second and then a brilliantly red blush crept up his cheeks as she burst into another round of light laughter. Scrambling up, he pushed him off her and sat up awkwardly, ruffling up his hair as his cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"Shit, sorry, LIly, I was just-"

"It doesn't matter," she giggled, her face also pink underneath her freckles. She would never admit it, but being so close to him made her heart speed up but it did so she just tried to laugh it off.

"Well, I'm still sorry!"

She watched him looking all flustered and grinned mischievously, groping blindly for the cushion she knew was nearby.

"Are you sure you're not-AHH!" James spluttered, toppling backwards.

Lily smirked triumphantly and scrambled back onto her arm chair, looking smug.

"You win, okay?" James whined but he was laughing too as he got up, straightened his glasses yet again and flopped back on the sofa.

Lily winked at him. "Good. Glad we agreed on that one," she teased, settling back and picking her book back up.

They dropped into a comfortable silence and Lily smiled to herself as she felt James watching her, deciding she really needed to revaluate her perception of him soon because she'd spent too long being too hard on him when he was a decent guy underneath it all. And damn good looking to boot, she added privately.


By the next morning at breakfast, both James and Lily had got a hold over any memories they had of the previous night and had separately decided never to mention James accidentally straddling her ever again. All the sixth year Gryffindors were seated together at the top of the table nearest the teachers, chatting animatedly about the drastic turn around of the weather and whether Bertie Bott's were really worth the risk.

On the other side of the Great Hall, the Slytherins had also gathered but their conversation was far less friendly. With a small smirk, Avery straightened his back, watching both the little Hufflepuff and the blonde at the Gryffindor table.

"Everything ready?" he said, still scanning the room.

"The next time she takes a sip," Snape promised, looking down at his table and keeping his face out of view.

Avery nodded with approval and grinned menacingly at the fourth year looking at him with disgust from the opposite bench.

"Got a problem, kid?" he said, voice so light it was threatening.

The boy shook his head and went back to ignoring their sinister conversation.

His chuckle was cut off by the piercing sound of a horrified scream and a terrible splintering noise. The laugh was replaced with a hidden smirk as he immediately zeroed in on the hysterical third year two tables across.

Marlene, along with everyone else in the Hall, looked up, startled, and stared at the girl who had jolted out of her seat and was gripping the table for support, crying was a brief silence, interrupted only by her wracking sobs where everyone just stared and then there was another crack, followed by another sobbing scream. That was when everyone panicked.

The girl's friends tried to hold her up out of the crush as her legs gave way beneath her, shards of blood-covered bone breaking the skin, contrasting her deathly pale face streaked with terrified tears.

Dumbledore stood up and pushed his way through the transfixed students, wand already withdrawn from under his robes and the girl's eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted, almost a blessing considering the state of her.

"Out of my WAY!" McGonagall cried, following him frantically as everyone, as sick as they felt to be watching still, continued to stare, too dumbstruck to help.

Parting like the Red Sea for the two professors, they flooded back, pushing closer, only flinching back when another grinding crack came from the girls upper leg, twisting her lower body into contorted angles, drowned out quickly by the sound of people panicking as the realisation of what was happening began to sink in.

"Her bones," was the horrified whimper that rippled through the gathered pupils and the Ravenclaw boy at the front immediately bent over double and vomited at the sight of bone breaking skin.

McGonagall and Professor Sprout pdrove everyone back, giving the Headmaster space; Dumbledore crouched down at the HUfflepuff's side, chanting, his hand on her damp forehead, trying to calm her as she began to come around again breathlessly.

Every single person in the Great Hall held their breath for the next fracture and another gut wrenching scream but, when they realised it wasn't coming and that Dumbledore had halted whatever had caused the attack, they dared open their eyes again and peer down at the old Professor and the unconscious student.

Having been nearer to her than most, Marlene was only a few rows of people back and, unfortunately for her, had seen the whole thing, Remus by her side. Sirius shouldered his way forwards, reaching out and taking Marlene's hand quickly.

"Is that her-" Sirius asked, voice hoarse.

"Her bone yes," Marlene whispered, backing against him with a sick feeling in her stomach, "What... Whatever it was, it... it was breaking her bones and-"

"Oh fuck," Sirius breathed, glancing across at Remus who was visibly shaking.

He reached across and turned Remus around so he didn't have to look.

"What?" Marlene asked.

"Remus knows her. I know her," he muttered.

"Shit. Remus, she'll be okay, Dumbledore can fix anything! He's stopped the... whatever it was already!"

Remus shook his head and held onto Sirius' shoulder tightly as Sirius yelled at people so he could get Remus out of the area. Marlene was forced to look around again as Sirius tugged her along too and she caught a certain Slytherin's eye across the room full of horrified people, his face far too relaxed as he smirked at her.

It took her a second to work out what he was mouthing to her but once she had, it sent shivers down her spine.

"You next," he said saying, a glint in his eye.

Marlene suddenly couldn't be in the room and the relief she felt when the teachers started ushering people out of the hall was immense. She found Lily and dragged her out without looking back as Mary hurried after them, both grossed out and worried because Marlene looked petrified again and Sirius had already vanished with the boys.

"Marlene, what is it?!"

"He did it! It was him again! This is what Regulus warned me about! Avery was responsible!" she hissed once they were back in the safety of the Gryffindor Tower.

"You can't just assume it was him," Lily began, unsure herself, but Marlene just laughed hysterically and fled up to their dorm, bolting the door for good measure even though she knew he would never get past the Fat Lady.


Back in the Great Hall, people were still milling about, too dazed to move in the aftermath of the attack. Teachers were trying to keep students (and themselves) calm, older students were discussing it with horrified hushed voices as younger pupils struggled to understand the politics and magic behind the whole thing.

The Marauders sat in a row on one of the benches, watching silently. Sirius and Peter were on either side of Remus and the boy in the middle was staring at the floor blankly, chewing his bottom lip and taking deep breaths.

"They'll find them, Moony," Peter said quietly, "The person who did it, they'll catch them."

"And Nina's gonna be just fine too," James added, pacing in front of them, "Madame Pomfrey can fix anything - just think of all the shit we've turned up in the Wing with that she's healed in an instant!"

Remus just nodded slightly and went back to staring at the floor slabs. All three of his friends sighed and tried to relax, looking at him sadly.

Remus knew he wasn't to blame - clearly he hadn't hurt Nina and never wanted to - but he'd known her. By associating with her, he had made her more of a target, like he did with everyone else. The Marauders were in danger every month because they cared about him so why couldn't that extend to other people? Obviously no one knew about the werewolf thing but the Slytherins were looking remarkably unperturbed by the violent scene and he had a gut feeling that he knew who was responsible and why.

And if his instinct was correct, which it normally was, and Avery's group was responsible, they couldn't find out about the link between the Marauders and the Hufflepuff - Avery just loved hurting the Marauders by hurting other people and he wouldn't let someone else, like Mary or more mutual friends, hurt for them, for him.

Remus bent over and put his head in his hands, knowing he couldn't tell the others about his paranoia as they'd get all protective and spend all day trying to convince him he wasn't responsible.

And while he knew he wasn't really, it didn't stop the sick feeling in his stomach from lurching up his throat as he remembered Nina's eager face in the Library and her mischievous grin the previous night when she'd helped with their prank.

"Remus, mate? She really will be okay," James said gently. "How about we leave this and just tease Sirius over the fact that he was holding Marlene's hand and go and find some chocolate in the dorms, yeah?"

Sirius spluttered furiously and Remus had to laugh.

"She doesn't like that kind of stuff!" Sirius protested, "It was friendly, okay? And Avery was being creepy again so I was just helping her out!"

Peter grinned cheekily and nudged Remus, "I bet they have 'just friendly' sex as well."

Sirius kept choking. "No! I mean yes! I mean, yes, no, it's just sex!"

Rolling his eyes, James got up and pushed his hair back. "Come on then, dorms for Honeydukes' Finest!"

They all stood and headed back up to the dorms, Peter telling dodgy Muggle jokes until Remus forgot to worry because he was to preoccupied at laughing at the awful punch lines, wondering when he'd picked up such good friends.


Sirius knocked on Marlene's door later that day after the Marauders had spent a few hours of their free time, now lessons had been cancelled, planning pranks to keep their minds off everything that had happened. Hands in his pockets, Sirius waited, wondering if their hand holding really was just friendly or meant more, like James had insinuated. Realising that, despite everything, that idea both terrified and pleased him, Sirius shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Oh, hi," Marlene said, pulling the door open and smiling at him. "How's Remus?"

"He's fine. Or will be. It's you I'm concerned about now. Lily told us you think Avery's to blame and freaked again?"

She bit her lip. "Yeah, I think this was what Regulus was trying to warn us about. He kept looking at me, like always and... I'm not sure, but..." She took a breath and looked up at him from under her eyelashes. "I think he was trying to say 'you're next'."

Sirius' expression darkened immediately and he stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. Marlene's gaze followed him, biting her bottom lip as she debated whether telling him had been a mistake. He came and stood in front of her, tilting her chin up and smiling softly even though his eyes were blazing furiously.

"He's not coming near you."

She shivered and practically melted against him, cursing herself for how much better she felt now he was here. Her arms wound around his neck as his encircled her waist and pulled her closer carefully, feeling her heartbeat through his jumper.

"it's okay," he whispered, He'll get caught, someone will know something and when he's expelled he'll be far away from you."

She laughed wetly. "Why can't you be like this all the time?"

"What do you mean?"

Marlene shrugged slightly, wiping her eyes. "Just... not a jerk. Like I'm more than a quick shag, like you care."

"You know you are! ... Right?"

She sighed. "Sometimes. Like now, when I'm hurting or upset I can tell, but when we're both fine? Or with other people? You turn back into the arrogant guy from fourth year who didn't care about anyone and I don't like you like that."

"Really, Marlene?!"

"Yes, really! Because love isn't something you hide away! Either we're together or we're not but this double act is confusing as hell and it's not much fun any more, Sirius. I can't deal with it, not when we have other things to be dealing with now," she said, burying her face into his shoulder.

"I-I don't understand... We we're working fine, aren't we?" Sirius said weakly but he knew exactly what she meant and had for a long time.

"A girl nearly died today! Someone tried to murder her and you still made my heart flutter like a blushing 11 year old when you held my hand and I can't... I just... I need you all the time, not just when things are shit. The only time I feel okay is with you and I know you feel the same, or something similar at least."

"Where's this coming from?" he gaped.

"There are bigger things than us, and if there isn't even an us to begin with then I need to focus on other things like the war and not some boy who thinks he likes me but would rather shag than face up to that."

She sniffed and wiped her eyes before pulling away, meeting his gaze. "Either there's something I can depend on or there's nothing here and you should go."

Sirius stared.

"And I know you," she smiled sadly, "Inside out. Probably better than you do. And you won't stay. So go, Sirius."

He laughed feebly, not quite believing this. "Are we over? Is this you breaking up with me?"

She shrugged. "Can you break up with someone you never dated?" she said calmly, but she didn't quite make it to the end of the sentence without another tear sliding down her cheek.

Sirius stumbled back towards the door, too dazed to protest.

"This isn't over yet," he croaked, panicking when he realised she was serious.

Marlene closed her eyes, wobbling slightly as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"I hope not, Sirius," she whispered as he closed the door, leaving Marlene to wonder if she hadn't just ruined everything they had worked so hard to build.


Thank you for being so patient with this update and I hope you don't all hate me for keeping you waiting... I don't own anything here apart from the very dodgy and inconsistent plot but thanks for continuing to read. As always, reviews are welcome whatever they say (as long as it's not throwing insults)!

- PatronusIsAMockingjay