A/N: Hooray for Friday updates! I'll be back on February 29th with chapters 49 and 50. (Because I'm sort of geeking out over posting on leap year, but I'm weird that way...)

Sirius:

Sirius noticed them walking down to the grounds and smirked. Apparently, James' plan to use archery lessons was extending into their current circumstances.

He had started to move toward them when he remembered why he was out at the training grounds in the first place. As much as he may have wanted to go to Marlene, he had an oath to uphold. Trying to ignore the bitterness that only made him angry with himself, Sirius threw himself back into his regimen to rebuild the strength he lost while recovering.

He was so caught up, he almost didn't hear her.

"You're quiet on your feet," he turned to find her about ten feet away from him.

"I was trying to be," she smirked at him and Sirius felt his smile break across his face.

"Couldn't stay away?"

It was too easy to fall with her, fall into conversation, fall into her stare, fall in love.

"You're a great deal less tiresome than those two," she gestured back at James and Lily with a teasing grin.

"Of course, I am. I haven't got a royal bone in my body."

She laughed and Sirius couldn't help but move closer to her.

"Oh, you've got at least one tiresome bone though, seeing as you've yet to tell me how we're going to get James bound in my oath."

There was an edge in her voice that felt like a challenge. And maybe it was that Remus had told everyone to go easy on him, or maybe it was the way her eyes flashed as she spoke, or maybe it was simply Sirius could never stop playing with fire, but whatever the reason, he goaded Marlene.

"You've yet to give me a reason to do so."

Ice started to form behind her blue eyes as she bristled.

"Are you implying that you don't find my skills adequate?"

Sirius flashed her a grin, "All I said was, I don't have a reason."

She stepped up to him and pointed at the foils and wasters and other practice weapons kept on the training grounds.

"Choose your sword, Black, and I'll give you your reason right now."

"We ought to choose the same, don't you think?" Sirius strode over to the practice swords. "After all, this waster," he picked up the one used for broadsword training, "would destroy a foil."

"Then leave them," Marlene shrugged and smirked at him, "I've been trained in hand to hand combat."

Sirius knew this was a dangerous game. Could he wrestle her now, after having held her closer than he had ever held another being? Could he keep it a contest of strength and not a repeat of the previous evening? Could he play with fire and not get burned?

"Winner chooses how we go about evening out our responsibilities." She held out her hand.

"Agreed," Sirius took her hand in his and resisted the urge to pull her into him.

When they'd traveled together, Sirius learned a fair bit of what Marlene's training had been. Almost none of it had instructed her on the oath she'd taken or the intricacies of it. It had entirely centered around combat, whether with her wand, her sword, or her firsts, Marlene was a coiled snake that looked like a delicate gold brooch. And Sirius realized he'd just agreed to spar with a woman who could probably kill him in her sleep.

But based on their previous rendezvous, Sirius hoped she'd at least let him live, if for no other reason than she admitted she loved him.

They took a few paces back from each other and Sirius felt the familiarity of combat training take over his brain. It was as if he was thrown right back into those days when Ruth and Elias started training him. Muscle memory thankfully overpowered the part of his brain that couldn't separate now from yesterday, and he was able to spar without too much distraction.

But he was still weak, and Marlene played that to her advantage. She forced him to move as much as she could and rather than simply block his strikes, she'd force his momentum to spin them around making Sirius work harder to stay on his feet. It was the most frustrating because Sirius knew that he would have been fine if they'd performed this little display before Enid. But now, Marlene's antics were draining him.

"Need a break?" Marlene grinned at him.

"You're in perfect condition you know," Sirius cursed his labored breath. "And I'm coming back from the dead."

"So that's a yes?" She almost got his arm but Sirius just managed to escape her grip.

"No, it's a point to be made," he deflected her strike but had to spin quickly to keep her in front of him.

"Next you'll tell me that you've been working hard all day while I've been sitting around doing nothing." She smirked before striking again.

Sirius only barely made the block.

"And you'd be right."

"Do you have enough of a reason now?"

Marlene started to close the distance between them and Sirius knew he was losing energy fast.

"If I'm not mistaken, I'm still on my feet."

He was insane, he knew, but Marlene seemed to bring that out in him. He couldn't not play with fire.

She moved so quickly that Sirius almost missed what she was going for. But in his exhausted state, he could only watch as she sprung at him and managed to knock his feet out from under him and pin him to the ground.

"You know, I do believe you are mistaken."

Sirius' breathing was labored for a new reason now as Marlene held his arms down.

"And for some reason, I'm not worried about it," he smirked up at her, pleased to see her eyes darkening as she stared down at him.

"Suddenly this victory seems a touch hollow..."

Sirius chuckled, "Because you know I've been goading you this whole time?"

Marlene glared at him and Sirius gave in to the emotions he'd been fighting since he saw her come down to the training grounds.

He summoned the last of his strength and pushed up to kiss her.

"We're going to get found out," Marlene whispered as he fell back to the dirt below him.

"And I don't care," he reached for her hands as she released his wrists. "I'll come by tonight, we'll figure out how to get you bound to James."

The ghost of a smile touched Marlene's lips. "It'll have to be after Lily has gone to sleep."

Sirius let her pull him up with a grin, "So much the better."