Sirius looked over to Marlene and took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart down. "Thank you for yesterday," he spoke softly. When Marlene turned her eyes towards Sirius, he couldn't help but smile. He noticed he had been doing that a lot around Marlene, but didn't know what to think of it.
"I didn't do anything yesterday," Marlene replied, tucking a lock of her hair, hanging loosely, behind her ear. Sirius wanted to do that for her! He wanted to put the stray lock of hair that had been bothering her because of the wind behind her ear. He had to ball up his fists to physically stop himself from doing it.
"You helped me calm down," Sirius breathed and Marlene could look at the sincerity in his eyes. He wasn't just saying it, he meant those words and it made Marlene smile.
"Are you sure you are okay though? You were in a terrible shape yesterday," Marlene asked him, her brows furrowed together and her small lips were set in a straight line; her body turned slightly towards Sirius.
"Madam Pomfery fixed me up," Sirius grinned, winking at Marlene that made heat rise up to the tips of her ears. Thankfully, she had let her hair down today that helped curtain her red ears from Sirius.
"Everyone was wor – worried about you," Marlene stammered, looking away, her eyebrows raised slightly before her eyes finally landed on her hands in her lap.
"Everyone?" Sirius asked, his curious orbs studied her face closely, another smile threatening to form on his lips.
"Yes, your friends," Marlene nodded, still looking at her hands in her lap.
"And you?" Sirius asked before he could stop himself, he was mentally cursing himself until Marlene's head snapped up, her eyes stretched wide as if she was caught with her feelings written all over her face and that was when Sirius knew he didn't have to know the answer, it was clear as the day.
"Yes," her voice was barely audible when she spoke but it made Sirius grin again. He didn't attempt to hide it in any way this time.
"So, I can have your attention by getting hurt," Sirius jested, putting his arms behind his head, he laid down on the lush green grass underneath him, his eyes never left Marlene's face.
"You don't have to get hurt to have my attention," Marlene shook her head, a small pout forming on her lips as she inclined closer towards Sirius unconsciously.
"Can I have your attention anytime I want then?" Sirius asked, he had no idea how he had the courage to ask Marlene that question, but he was proud of himself for making her blush like she was at the moment. The winds started getting stronger and the strand of hair that Marlene had tucked behind her ear was irritating her once again, no matter how many times she wanted to tuck it behind her ear, it kept touching her pale cheeks softly.
"You always have my attention," Marlene replied, when she lifted her gaze to look at Sirius again, she barely registered him getting up, their faces only inches away because of how close she was inclined towards him; she could feel his breath on her face. Her heart pounded against her ribcage and her eyes widened just slightly looking straight into Sirius's warm grey eyes.
Sirius's index finger and thumb caught the loose strand of her soft blonde hair and tucked it behind her ear. As his fingertips touched the tip of her ear, she felt her breath caught in her throat and her body froze. "Do I?" Sirius's voice was a whisper, with a smirk he studied Marlene's face and when she stayed frozen, Sirius dropped his gaze, chuckling, he put some space between himself and Marlene.
"That means I can come and talk to you whenever I want?" Sirius asked, Marlene nodded shyly. "I can steal you from your friends?" he jested; Marlene nodded again.
"Sirius," he never knew he could like his name so much before he had heard Marlene say it with such adoration in her voice. If she asked him to jump in the Great Lake right now and fight the giant squid, he would do it in a heartbeat.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked, earning a quick nod from Sirius.
"Is it true that you – went to the Slytherin dormitories in fifth year?" Sirius was caught. Should he lie and be done with or it tell her the truth? What if she asked him why he went there? Could he tell her he was too pissed at what happened with her?
"Yes," Sirius knew there was no point lying to her, especially her. How could he lie to Marlene? She was one person besides his friends that he cared about and felt something even he could not explain.
"Why?" she looked right into his eyes, her face was unreadable. Sirius knew Marlene had heard the rumours going around Hogwarts; that he had gone to the Slytherin dormitories after hearing about her and Mary, though it wasn't a rumour but no one confirmed that until now. For everyone it was just a baseless rumour spread around by a bunch of Slytherin who didn't have the best reputation against Sirius one of the star students.
"I was angry," Sirius sighed, partly confirming the rumour going around at Hogwarts. When he noticed Marlene waiting for him to explain further, he bit his lower lip and took a deep breath. "I hate this blood purity mania, this war we are being dragged into unwillingly and when I found out something happened to – you, I don't know why I hated it even more," Sirius replied earnestly.
"Sirius," Marlene let out a sigh, she didn't know how to put it in words.
"I know, it was immature of me," Sirius shook his head and looked away.
"Why do you always have my back?"
"Because I enjoy watching you smile."
Marlene chuckled. "I mean it," Sirius said, he meant it more than he could explain. From the first time he had noticed Marlene up until now, he wanted to see her smile as brightly as she could.
The two of them settled in complete silence, just looking at each other their pupils dilated, heart pounding. Silence was comfortable, neither of them needed words to declare their feelings, whatever those feelings were, anyone could tell their sincerity with just one look at their faces. "Let's go," Sirius got up first, collecting his books in one hand and offering the other hand to Marlene, who took it shyly.
The familiar touch was welcomed by Sirius as he held onto her hand tightly. Once Marlene was up on her feet, she slightly withdrew her hand and Sirius had to reluctantly let her hand go. Already missing the warmth of her hand, he shoved it in the pocket of his trouser as the two made their way back to Hogwarts.
A lot of people looked at them when they walked back together, but Sirius didn't care one bit. All his thoughts and his eyes were only on Marlene, rest of the world faded in the background. For Marlene, she was hyperaware of everything, the whispers, the stares, but most importantly she was hyperaware of how close she was walking to Sirius, one little movement and she could touch his arm.
"Padfoot!" A voice made them stop dead in their tracks, both of them turned towards the voice at the same time to greet a politely smiling Peter. Marlene smiled back at Peter. "Can you come with me?" Peter asked Sirius and Sirius looked at Marlene, who gave him a nod.
"I'll see you later?" Sirius asked her, hoping for a yes. When she nodded again, he gave her a grin before running off with Peter; leaving all eyes on Marlene as she quickly made her way back to her dormitory.
"There is an order, I told Professor Dumbledore that we would like to join and help as much as we can," Remus announced to his friends, they were standing at the astronomy tower, away from the prying ears.
"He needs someone to deliver a letter for him, they are gathering allies against you-know-who," Remus continued and the rest of the Marauders exchanged glances.
"We'll do it," James injected quickly, Sirius and Peter nodded quickly but Remus let out a huge sigh.
"It's to be done this Wednesday, when it's full moon," Remus told them in a low voice, his features were instantly covered in shame and Sirius felt an urge to embrace his friend and tell him there was nothing to be ashamed of.
"I will go," Sirius announced, and all eyes turned towards him. "Someone needs to be there for Moony, and Prongs handles it the best and we know why we need Wormtail, I am not needed," Sirius told them.
Shaking his head, Remus spoke in a low voice, "It's not easy Padfoot, especially going alone."
"I have to be inconspicuous? I literally come from the family of Pure Blood fanatics, if anything I will be the last person with a target on their back," Sirius said in a matter-of-fact voice. The Marauders exchanged glances.
"I don't think this is wise Padfoot," James shook his head.
"It's going to be alright, I just have to deliver a letter," Sirius shrugged, to him it wasn't a big deal and to be honest, it felt better than just sitting and doing absolutely nothing with a war right outside Hogwarts.
The days leading up to Wednesday – the full moon was more tensed than usual for the Marauders. Sirius was training with James whenever they had time, preparing himself for the worst. Remus tried his best to help Sirius as well but just like before all other full moons, he was drained of energy and he couldn't focus on anything, he felt the worst during the days leading up to the full moon. Peter tried his best to help Remus with whatever he needed, be it taking notes for him in the class or covering for him when he fell asleep in odd places. On top of that, Severus Snape was hell bent on trying to figure out what the Marauders were doing.
On Wednesday, just as Sirius was leaving, he caught Snape sneaking around Peter and Remus, eavesdropping on their conversation. It enraged Sirius to the point where he caught him by his collar and literally dragged him to an empty corridor and shoved him roughly against the wall, sticking his wand in Snape's throat.
"What were you doing Snivellus?" Sirius spat out, he felt something poking his stomach, when he looked down, he noticed Snape holding his wand against Sirius's torso. Sirius let out a cold chuckle before his eyes turned dark.
"I know your secret," Snape couldn't help keep the smirk off his face. Sirius was blinded by rage, it boiled up in the pit of his stomach and showed up on his face as he pressed his wand against Snape's throat further.
"Wipe that smile off your face before I do it for you," Sirius spoke from between his teeth, his lips were twitching and his fist was clenched tightly.
"You seem scared Black, but it is only the start, I am going to find out what you are hiding in the Whomping Willow – who you are hiding, and I am going to make sure everyone knows, and then you, Pettigrew, Lupin and Potter are going to suffer, I will make sure of it," Sirius could feel a dull ache at the back of his head, he let out a loud sigh as he looked away and when he looked back, his eyes were cold and emotionless.
"Go to the Whomping Willow then, we'll see who suffers," Sirius's voice was as calm as the sea before a storm.
"Do you think Lupin would be safe?" Snape spat out, Sirius could see how his words infuriated Snape and Sirius wanted to relish in the fact. He took a step back and pushed Snape's wand away as he lowered his own wand.
"Do you think you will be safe Snivellus?" Sirius had a smile playing on his lips that could only be described as devious, but on the inside, he was fuming with anger, he wanted nothing more than Snape to be punished.
"Are you scared?" he asked, when Snape's eyes widened at Sirius's words. He let out a maniacal chuckle and bought his lips closer to Snape's ear. "Do you want me to tell you how to enter the Whomping Willow? Or are you going to figure that out yourself?" he whispered and then straightened up.
Snape was frozen in his place, "But with a brain like yours we will be old and rotting and you would still not be able to figure out how to get there, so let me give you a hint."
"Wormtail," Sirius whispered in an almost inaudible voice and watch a range of emotions play on Snape's face – fear, confusion, anger were just a few of them. Snape shoved Sirius aside and quickly walked away, picking up his pace until he broke into a jog. Sirius caught Snape smiling just as he turned around the corner and he wondered why Snape would smile.
It took Sirius a while to calm down and by the time he had calmed down, he was almost at the secret passage behind the portrait from where he was supposed to go to Diagon Alley that would lead him to Leaky Cauldron. It was then that fear set in, realising what he had just told Snape, and how he had played right into his hands. The smile only meant that Snape was doing what he wanted to do to infuriate Sirius into giving him the information he needed.
Sirius rushed back towards the Library to look for James or Peter to tell them what he had done and to save Remus from doing something he never wanted to do, all because Sirius could not control his temper. His feet pounded against the stone staircase as he broke into a sprint. His rasped throat was dry and it physically hurt him. He pushed students out of his way, looking around frantically for his friends.
When he didn't find anyone in the Library or the courtyard, he rushed back to the common room. Only to be greeted by a few students, looking at Sirius like he was completely insane, which was exactly how he felt at the moment. "Has anyone seen James or Peter?" he asked them in an urgency, when the students shook their head, he bolted right to their room only to be greeted by the empty room.
He looked around agitatedly, as if hoping for an inspiration or a divine intervention and then his eyes landed on a quill. He felt Dumbledore's letter in the pocket of his leather jacket and he let out a cry in frustration. That is when he had an idea.
He stumbled to his bed and tore a piece of parchment from his incomplete homework and quickly picked up a quill.
'Snivellus knows about Moony, I told him how to get past the Whomping Willow, I will explain when I come back.'
He wrote in his neat handwriting and folded in twice, before placing it on James's bed near the invisibility cloak that Sirius was sure James was going to come and get before leaving with Remus. His heart pounded loudly as he threw a last glance at the letter and hoped that James would read it and save Remus.
The journey to the Leaky Cauldron was easy but Sirius's mind was running wild. What would happen if James couldn't reach in time? Would Snivellus be bitten by Remus? If that happened, would Remus ever forgive Sirius? Could he afford losing his friends? Would they give him a chance to explain? And then a thought crossed his mind that made him hate himself even more, if that was possible, and almost gave him a sense of relief at the same time. Would it be so bad if Snape turned into a werewolf? He has been nosy for too long and if Remus bit him, that would shut him up for good.
The other three Marauders were anxious for Sirius and what was going to happen on his first mission and that too alone; Sirius on the other hand was anxious about what was going back at Hogwarts.
Dread. That was the only word James could use to describe his feelings when he read Sirius's letter. He had come back to get his invisibility cloak, he knew Remus was already at the Shrieking Shack with Peter and if Snape was really going to follow them, he would be right behind. 'What have you done Padfoot?!' James thought as he bolted right out of their room, like an Olympic runner at the start gun.
"Marlene," a familiar voice called her out and Marlene turned towards it just as she was about to exit the corridor of the girl's bathroom. The dark-haired beauty Anne, a sixth year Ravenclaw student was walking towards Marlene.
"Anne" Marlene greeted her with a nod as she stepped towards the familiar face.
"Can I ask you something?" Anne spoke in a hushed voice, looking behind herself and then turning to look at Marlene, who nodded, her brows creased together.
"I don't mean to be nosy but – are you and Sirius Black dating?" Anne's question made Marlene's heart skip a beat, she tried her best to keep a straight face in front of Anne.
"No, we aren't," Marlene told her and Anne let out a sigh of relief, which puzzled Marlene.
"I knew you weren't; you wouldn't be stupid enough to date Sirius Black," Anne's words annoyed Marlene. Neither was Anne close enough to Marlene to give such statements nor she knew Sirius enough.
"Excuse me?" Marlene's tone gave away how offended she was.
"I mean, he is a pure blood, that too a Black, one of the sacred twenty-eight, the oldest, largest and most fanatic Pure Blood family, and after the Mulciber incident – you don't think Sirius is different, do you?" Anne's rambling only infuriated Marlene further, but she kept mum.
"He is probably the worst of the lot, to make you believe he likes you; at least the rest of them don't hide behind a façade. Sirius is like that with every girl, flirting and making her feel special –" before Anne could speak any further, Marlene spoke in a loud clear voice.
"Are you my friend?" Marlene asked, leaving Anne bewildered.
"I am only looking out for you."
"Don't. You sound like someone whose feelings weren't returned, and you aren't looking out for me, you aren't my friend and you certainly don't know Sirius enough to make such comments," Marlene told her, turning on her heels, she was ready to leave when Anne's voice stopped her.
"Do you really think you are different for him? Just wait until he is done with you, you will wish you were dead than ever falling for him!" Marlene sighed, rolling her eyes and walked away quickly.
The pillars of scorching smoke and dust were still clouding everyone's vision from where the explosion had happened just a few seconds ago. Sirius had barely managed to get away from a death eater and hide behind a sturdy wall just as the explosion went off. When he looked out from his hiding place, he could see the windows shattered of the stores in Diagon Alley, rushing witches and wizards along with aurors that had come to fight off the dark cloaked death eaters, ear shattering screams and worse of all amputated bodies of the poor individuals standing too close to the explosion.
Sirius had already handed the letter in the safe hands of the wizard Fabian Prewett who handed him a letter back for Dumbledore. He knew the wizard was gone and safe, because he had seen him apparate right in front of his eyes. The task at hand was to get himself out of Diagon Alley and reach the secret passage that would lead him to Hogwarts.
He stuck his head out once more and looked at the inviting alleyway that would lead him to the secret passage, making a run for it, his heart in his mouth. He barely managed to escape the scorching flames sent his way by the death eater right behind him. "For Merlin's sake!" Sirius mumbled under his breath.
Without completely turning around, he pointed his wand in the death eater's direction, whose face was covered by a mask and sent a red light right at his chest, knocking him out in an instant with the powerful stunning spell; Sirius glided to the alleyway and safely secured the secret passageway and his exit from the Diagon Alley.