From where Marlene sat with Sirius in Charms, she couldn't help but keep the smile off her face, watching Lily and James across the room, laughing as they scribbled on each other's parchments. How did that come to be? Well, all that took Lily to finally say yes to going out with James was that fateful night when the Marauders had been on an order mission and the reports of several missing wizards surfaced towards the end of their summer break.
Everyone assumed the worst when the Marauders hadn't returned after 2 days when their mission was only supposed to last half a day. As expected, Marlene was inconsolable, sitting in Sirius's living room with Mr and Mrs Potter, who were barely holding on themselves. But what wasn't expected was Lily Evans turning up at Sirius's doorstep with Alice, her eyes puffy and red.
The doorbell made everyone jump and rush to the front door, hoping for some good news. When the door was yanked open, and Lily met the eyes of the two older wizards, her nerves got the best of her.
"Lily –" Marlene's voice was barely a whisper; she took in her best friend's dishevelled appearance.
"Is that Lily Evans?" Mrs Potter dabbed her eye with the white handkerchief in her hand, giving Lily a small smile.
"Hello Mrs Potter, Mr Potter," Lily said, "I am sorry for dropping by like this – I," Lily fidgeted with her fingers, her eyes darting from her friends to Mr and Mrs Potter.
"No dear, come inside," Mr Potter said, making way for her and Alice.
"Hello Mrs and Mr Potter, I am Alice Fortescue," Alice introduced herself, as she made way inside with Lily.
"I know your father," Mr Potter gave her a brief smile, which Alice returned.
"Would you like some tea?" Mrs Potter asked the new arrivals, as they all settled in the drawing room.
"Oh no, we don't want to trouble you," Lily shook her head, "we only came because –" she couldn't even get herself to complete the sentence.
"We're also waiting for news," Mrs Potter dabbed the corner of her eyes again, before a tear rolled down her cheek. "Oh! Why am I being like this? My sons are fine!" she spoke more to herself, unable to control her tears anymore. "Excuse me girls," she said with a polite smile, getting up from the couch and quickly rushing to the kitchen.
"I will check up on her," Mr Potter said, following his wife to the kitchen.
"It's true then, isn't it?" Alice whispered, scooting closer to Marlene. Marlene's heart clenched at the thought. She was spending the vacations with Sirius when he was asked to go on a mission, she didn't know the details but it was supposedly an easy mission, he asked her to wait for her in the house, then what went wrong?
"Lils, have you been crying?" Marlene's voice cracked; it was shocking that Lily was here but her crying was on another level of shock.
"No," Lily mumbled, her eyes on the floor. Marlene could tell she was lying.
"Who are you lying to? She's been worried about –" Alice lightly hit Lily on her knee and then looked towards the kitchen before saying in an almost inaudible voice, "James."
"I tried, alright? I tried not to be worried about him, but – I," Lily sobbed, she quickly wiped her tears away, taking in a deep breath. "I don't know why I am worried."
"Because you like James," Marlene said nonchalantly, it was painfully obvious and what was worse was that James and Lily had been dancing around the topic.
The doorbell rang again, and all eyes turned towards the door, somehow the girls were glued to the couch but Mrs Potter quickly made way towards the front door, followed by Mr Potter and finally the girls got up too. The hallway was crowded as Mrs Potter yanked open the door.
Marlene's heart sank to the pit of her stomach when her eyes landed on Alastor Moody, the most famous auror of all times, standing in front of their door with grim expressions.
"Alastor," Mr Potter extended his hand, that Moody shook before they dropped their hands to their sides.
"My sons?" Mrs Potter asked, her husband wrapping his arm around her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.
"Your sons are fine," as soon as the words left Moody's lips, everyone present let out the breath they had been holding. Marlene tried to subtly look over Moody's shoulder for any signs of the Marauders. "They had to keep a low profile – hide, to get back safely."
"Where are they now?" Mrs Potter asked, the urgency in her voice couldn't be hidden.
"Dropped off Pettigrew first, then Lupin, they should be here in a few minutes, they asked me to tell you they were okay when I found them. Your sons knew you would be worried," Moody replied, his eyes shifting from the older wizards to the three girls in the back and then back at the Potters.
"Thank you Alastor," Mr Potter shook his hand once again.
"Thank you," Mrs Potter's voice wobbled, her smile had finally returned.
"Alright then, I have to get back to the ministry," Moody gave a firm nod, turning around, he apparated with no sound at all, disappearing into the thin air.
The minutes seemed to drag as everyone waited for Sirius and James to return. Marlene's heart was thumping loudly. She knew he was safe, but she had to see it for herself. It had been the worst 24 hours, the sobs from Mrs Potter when she arrived to give Marlene the news with her husband were still haunting her.
As soon as the lock clicked, everyone was on their feet. Marlene waited for Sirius to appear in the living room, and as soon as he did, her vision was immediately blurred by the tears forming at the brim of her eyes.
"James! Sirius!" Mrs Potter exclaimed, pulling both of her sons in her warm embrace at once.
"Why have you been crying?" Sirius wiped her tears away with his index finger before hugging her back.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, holding them at an arm's length, studying their faces.
"No, we are fine," Sirius smiled, giving her hand on his shoulder a light squeeze. Marlene finally let out a sigh of relief, but her lower lip was trembling as she tried to contain her tears, a lump forming at the back of her throat.
Mr Potter, too, embraced his sons, giving them a proud smile.
Marlene's eyes drifted from Sirius to James, who was frozen in his place, staring at something – someone. Marlene followed his gaze and couldn't help but chuckle at Lily, who was avoiding his gaze as if her life depended on it.
"Let me get you both something to eat," Mrs Potter said after she had noticed the tension between James and Lily. "Your friends have been waiting for you," she smiled, and turned to her husband, "Fleamont, would you help me please?" Mr Potter nodded.
Passing by Marlene, Mrs Potter gave her a light pat on the back and a smile, as Marlene wiped her own tears away, smiling at Mrs Potter. "Let me help you Mrs Potter," her voice cracked.
"No dear, we won't be long, sit here," Mrs Potter assured her, quickly making way to the kitchen with her husband.
When Marlene turned back towards where Sirius was standing, she was startled at how Sirius had covered the distance between them so quickly and without any noise.
"You know," Sirius started, cupping Marlene's cheeks, "I hate tears in your eyes," he wiped her tears away with his thumb. Leaning down to press his lips against hers.
"Then don't disappear next time," Marlene whispered, looking into his grey orbs.
"I won't," Sirius promised, quickly pressing a kiss on her forehead. Marlene wrapped her arms around his torso, and Sirius pulled Marlene closer, resting his cheek on the crown of her head.
When the two dropped their hands, Sirius wrapped his arm around Marlene's shoulder, pulling her closer to himself. Mischief danced around in his eyes, as he looked back and forth between Lily and James.
"Hello Alice" Sirius greeted Alice, who returned a smile and asked if Sirius and James were alright, Sirius responded in affirmation. He then turned towards Lily, "Hello Evans," the amusement in his voice made Marlene chuckle.
Lily turned her head towards Sirius so fast, Marlene wondered if she had a whiplash.
"Are you here to see me?" Sirius asked, a smirk on his lips. Marlene snorted, elbowing Sirius in the ribs, making him chuckle.
"I – uh," Lily couldn't find her voice to respond to Sirius.
"Of course not," Alice smirked, "She's here to see James."
If James's eyes were wide then, they were the size of a saucer now! Lily's face was the same colour as her hair at Alice's words.
"What are you doing there mate?" Sirius turned towards James, who stood frozen in his spot.
"Me?" James asked looking at Lily, unable to tear his gaze from her, his voice barely a whisper. Marlene couldn't help but grin when Lily nodded.
Now here they were, graduating Hogwarts in a few months, with Lily and James as Head girl and Head boy, dating, and everything seemed as if it was going to be alright very soon. For the first time, everyone could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"What are your plans for Christmas this year?" Sirius asked Marlene as they were walking towards the Great Lake that was now almost frozen. The harsh wind made Marlene shiver, she cursed herself for not wearing her scarf.
"I'll stay with my family this year," Marlene replied, looking at her feet.
"I won't see you for the whole Christmas break?" Sirius exclaimed, holding Marlene's wrist, stopping her dead in her tracks.
"I wouldn't say that, I don't think either of us can stay away from each other for that long," Marlene chuckled, looking at Sirius, who was undoing his own scarf.
Without another word, Sirius took of his scarf and tied it securely around Marlene's neck, making her chuckle as she shook her head. "You're going to be cold," she frowned.
"No, but you are cold and I hate that," Sirius grinned, intertwining his fingers with her, as they continued walking towards the Great Lake.
"Can we meet during the New Year?" Marlene asked, looking at Sirius from under her lashes.
"I'm always up for meeting you, love," Sirius replied, squeezing her hand as he smiled, his eyes glistened at the thought of having Marlene with him, away from the prying eyes.
Even now, with everyone knowing that they had been dating exclusively, they still earned either glares or sympathetic glances. Even now, for everyone either Marlene was the unworthy girl to date a pureblood wizard or Sirius was the idiot to hang onto a halfblood witch, which would end in her demise. Something that everyone believed was inevitable. But that is about everyone else, for Sirius and Marlene, they were in love and blood purity was the last criteria that was going to break them up.
For Sirius, Marlene was the light he needed in his life. The one person besides his friends who didn't judge him for his name, who didn't shy away from his scars; someone who wanted to know him for being Sirius and after knowing his flaws, and the good side, the only person who decided to fall in love with him.
For Marlene, Sirius was the brightest star guiding her, helping her and protecting her. The one who loved her unconditionally and made her stronger and more confident. The only person who allowed her to experience the beauty of falling in love and receiving love as she had only read in the stories that kept her accompanied.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Marlene asked, noticing the way Sirius's eyes softened and the way he smiled with his eyes.
"I love you; you know?" Sirius breathed. He hadn't even realised that they had reached their destination until Marlene stopped and turned to stand face to face with him.
"I love you too," Marlene said, biting her lip to stop the smile forming on her lips, but failing miserably.
Sirius couldn't help himself but cup her cheeks as he lowered his head. Marlene's eyes grew wide in panic as she heard the audible mumbles of the students around them.
"Sirius," she hissed, making Sirius stop and furrow his brows. "There are students here," she whispered, holding his wrists.
"So? It's not like I'm kissing their girlfriend? I am only kissing mine," Sirius shrugged, before Marlene could say another word, Sirius pressed his lips firmly against her.
Marlene's heart went erratic, she could feel her cheeks getting hotter by the second under Sirius's cold palms. The kiss was soft and delicate, lasting only for a few seconds before they parted their lips.
Sirius tilted his head to the right and chuckled softly, "You look exactly the way you did when I kissed you for the first time."
Marlene playfully hit Sirius's chest, making him laugh, before he pressed another kiss on the crown of her head, and reluctantly let her go.
Days flew by faster than it seemed possible and even though the war still only bought sad news for everyone fighting against Voldemort, Marlene was looking forward to spending her New Year with Sirius.
Lily's sister was getting married and although she was horrible to Lily and Marlene didn't particularly like her, she was glad that Lily was taking James with her to her sister's wedding and couldn't wait for the school to start again to find out what happened when Lily introduced James to her parents. If Marlene had to guess, Lily's parents must've loved James.
Marlene sat in the small coffee shop near her house where she was supposed to meet Sirius. The brown interiors with white walls and yellow light made the perfect ambiance for a cosy date. Adding to it the fact that there were only 3 more people in the coffee shop, Marlene knew Sirius and she could sit and talk there for hours. She was getting giddy as the addictive scent of coffee hit her nostrils as soon as she walked in. Her bright eyes and lips curled in a small smile, showed the excitement of going on a first official date with Sirius.
She had only taken her seat when the bell chimed that hung on the door of the coffee shop, signalling someone's entry and when she turned around, she met the smiling face she had been waiting to see for days.
"Hello beautiful," Sirius kissed her cheek delicately, handing her the small bouquet of burgundy roses, before taking his seat in front of Marlene.
"Hello," Marlene greeted with a grin, and then her eyes landed on a dozen of beautiful roses and her smile grew even wider if that was possible! "These are beautiful!" she exclaimed, "Thank you."
"Not as beautiful as you," Sirius smirked, shrugging in a nonchalant manner. "I hope I didn't make you wait for too long," he added quickly.
"No," Marlene shook her head, "I just got here."
"I missed you terribly over the last few days," Sirius sighed, placing his hand over Marlene's hand and smiled when she quickly intertwined her fingers with his hand.
"I missed you too, but I'm so glad we could arrange this date," Marlene's bright eyes glistened with joy and it made Sirius's heart swell up with love.
"Me too," he chuckled, "What would you like to have?" he asked after a short pause.
"I would take anything," Marlene replied, unable to control her excitement any longer.
"You should decide," Sirius said, passing her the menu. She quickly scanned it once and then put it aside before speaking.
"Café Latte," she said, and Sirius couldn't help but chuckle. He wished he could take her for a better date than a coffee shop, she deserved better but with everything going on, meeting here was a massive deal in itself, he couldn't risk being in public with her too much, for her own safety.
"Coming right up," he quickly leaned across the table and pressed a light kiss on her knuckles before getting up to get the coffees for them.
Marlene blushed when she noticed Sirius stealing glances of her from over his shoulder as he waited for their order. Marlene looked down at the flowers and ran her fingertips on the petals. She had never seen flowers more beautiful than these, maybe it was because none of those flowers were meant for her as these were. The beautiful burgundy colour was in stark contrast with the white snow falling outside. The sweet scent of the flowers and velvety touch was enough to keep Marlene distracted until Sirius returned with their coffees.
He placed two cups of Café Latte and two plates of coffee cakes in front of themselves and pushed the tray aside.
"I should tell you something that happened last night," Sirius said, immediately drawing Marlene's attention to himself.
"What happened last night?" Marlene's furrowed brows and agape mouth looked adorable to Sirius.
"James and I were on our motorcycle, when we got involved in a motorcycle chase with the police," Sirius said, wrapping his hands around the hot coffee cup.
"What?!" Marlene exclaimed; her eyes widened. Had she heard Sirius correctly?
"I oversped, and I was going to stop – if three death eaters hadn't come that close to blowing our heads off," Sirius shrugged, as if it wasn't a huge deal.
Marlene's jaw hit the floor, and she tried to find her voice, "Wh – what – how- " was all she could manage to say. Had Sirius lost his mind? Her mind was working in an overdrive, a million questions trying to tumble out of her mouth at once and yet she couldn't find her voice!
"We lifted the police's car and they crashed in the car, their broomsticks broke beyond repair so that bought us time and we got out," Sirius assured her.
"Are either of you hurt?" Marlene finally managed to ask.
"No love," Sirius answered, smiling sweetly at her.
"Sirius! This isn't a joking matter!" Marlene exclaimed, her lips pursed together, she let out a loud huff.
"I know it's not, we'll be more careful," Sirius assured Marlene once again, hoping it would bring her some peace.
"Does the ministry know?" she questioned, now worried if Sirius and James would get in trouble.
"I'm sure they do, but they won't put us in Azkaban for it," Sirius shrugged, gesturing for Marlene to take a sip of her coffee, which she did to calm her mind, it barely helped.
"One of these days, you might actually end up there," she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Would you share the cell with me?" Sirius smirked, taking a sip of his own coffee.
"No, I would probably be long gone by then," Marlene rolled her eyes playfully before taking another sip of her coffee.
"I won't let you go," Sirius said, shaking his head.
"Promise me that you'll be more careful from now?" Marlene raised her brows, her lips turning downwards in a frown.
"I promise, you won't have to worry about me," Sirius said, the genuineness in his voice made Marlene's heart rest in ease. "Besides," Sirius continued, "There are too many memories of you and I separately, I want to make memories of us, and for that I need to stick around."
"I think this is a beautiful start to making memories of us," Marlene smiled, her eyes lighting up again.
"I wish I could take you on a better date, I hate the fact that I can't," Sirius said, his smile disappearing.
"This is wonderful, we get to experience this, and I'm grateful for it. I'm sure a few years down the line when the war is over, we would be able to go on many adventures together," Marlene said, giving Sirius an assuring smile.
"I guess you're right, most people don't even get to experience this," Sirius said after a pause, nodding in agreement.
"Besides, any memory I make with you is automatically a million times better than any memory I make alone," Marlene shrugged, breaking out in a grin.
"I can't wait to take you on adventures with me," Sirius returned the grin.
After a moment of silence, Marlene looked up at Sirius and spoke slowly, "Do you think we'll last?"
"Why won't be?" Sirius questioned, tilting his head to the left, his brows furrowed together.
"My family," Marlene answered in a matter-of-fact voice.
"You know why they don't like the idea of us, once the war is over, I am sure they would warm up to us, and then I'll make you mine forever," Sirius said, a shy smile forming on his lips.
"Forever?" Marlene felt her breath getting caught in her throat.
"I hope you don't mind," Sirius's shy smile turned into a playful one.
"No," Marlene shook her head, "As a matter of fact, I think it has a nice ring to it, just like us."
"Do you realise how in love I am with you?" Sirius asked, this beautiful girl, whose blue eyes shined brighter than sapphires, who smile was so contagious and uplifting, her voice so calming and her naturally warm aura to draw Sirius in was someone Sirius could call his girlfriend, and he couldn't believe his luck.
"I think I have some idea," Marlene jested, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. How did even the smallest things she did would make Sirius's heart swell up with love? He didn't think it could ever go away! He would swim all the oceans just to put a smile on her face and make sure it stays there.
No, she had no idea because Sirius could never put in words how much Marlene meant to him and how he would give up everything – including his life and happiness – for her safety and wellbeing. But someone did know; the intensity of Sirius's feelings, the exact person to control him and bring him to his knees.
A/N: Hey Readers,
Thank you so much AleBu95 and Little Indulgence for your uplifting reviews! Your reviews want to make me write more!
I am sorry that I haven't been as active, I am trying to be, but I'm dealing with some issues and that is taking a slight toll on my mental health. Also, I completed this chapter at 3 in the morning, I am so sorry if it isn't up to the mark.
I'll try to be more active from now on. Please leave a review and let me know what do you think? I appreciate all my readers and the wonderful reviews. Keep reading!
Thank you!
-JT