Marlene didn't know what was more difficult; not letting her friends know about her feelings or getting Sirius to stop eye flirting with her. Every time her eyes drifted towards Sirius, he would give her a lopsided smile and hold her gaze, while slightly lifting his brows. It would make her heart flutter and her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. She'd gestured him to stop doing it, but his smile only grew smugger.
"Why aren't you eating?" Alice asked, making Marlene jump. Her eyes darted away from Sirius and looked at her plate.
"I'm not very hungry," she replied, taking a bite of her bread.
"Does it have something to do with how Black is looking at you?" Mary asked, looking back and forth between Marlene and Sirius. It made Marlene's heart skip a beat. Her friends have noticed!
"I – didn't – I," Marlene stammered to find the right words. Clearly lying would get her nowhere; she sighed loudly.
"I think it's cute," Alice's words made heat rise up to Marlene's cheeks and she knew she was already a furious shade of red.
"It's only cute if Marlene likes it," Lily remarked.
"Yes, otherwise, it's just creepy," Mary nodded in agreement.
The rest of the day went by quickly. There wasn't anything particularly interesting, only Sirius's not so subtle attempts to flirt with Marlene throughout the classes, which made the other three Marauders groan inwardly. When Marlene rejected Sirius's yet another flirting attempt for what seemed like a millionth time that day, he took his chance to talk to her in the library in the evening when she was looking for a book in the transfiguration section.
"Why are you ignoring me?" Sirius announced his presence in a low voice.
Marlene turned around to find Sirius sitting on a table near the bookshelf from where she was searching a book for her homework.
"I'm not," she responded, looking at Sirius from under her lashes.
"Are you ashamed of me?" Sirius questioned; his face solemn all of a sudden.
"Why would you think that?" Marlene's brows furrowed together; she took a step towards Sirius and kept a hand on the table where Sirius was sitting.
"You don't acknowledge me when we are around people," Sirius eyes drifted towards Marlene's hand and he wanted to hold it, but he refrained himself.
"It's because my friends don't know anything yet," Marlene responded, her eyes following Sirius's gaze.
"Why?" Sirius inquired, jumping down from the table, leaving only a few inches between himself and the beautiful girl who always occupied all his thoughts these days.
"I – didn't know – what was going on between us and what should I tell them," Marlene stammered, before taking a step back, her back pressed against the bookshelf.
"You should've told them everything," Sirius had a playful smile forming on his lips, his fingers lingered near Marlene's hands.
"Is that right?" Marlene tried to supress the smile forming on her own lips.
"Yes, you wouldn't have been able to resist my charm anyway," Sirius jested, grinning.
"You think I can't resist you?" Marlene raised her eyebrows, she knew the answer, but she couldn't just let Sirius have that satisfaction.
Sirius took another step towards her, trapping her between himself and the bookshelf, "Do you want to resist me?" he inquired.
Marlene's unsure big doe eyes found Sirius's intense gaze, her tongue grazed her lips slightly, before she confidently replied "No."
If Sirius thought he had any upper hand flirting with Marlene, he knew now that was not the case. Marlene had turned the tables effortlessly. It was his turn to avert his eyes from under her gaze and he could feel his cheeks burning up.
Lily heard James informing his friends how Sirius had gone to the transfiguration section where he knew Marlene was, to talk to her. She noted how Peter commented their mutual liking for each other, which left Lily puzzled.
"I don't think Marlene likes Black," she remarked, standing near their table.
The three boys turned their heads in her direction, before chuckling at her obliviousness.
"What makes you say that Evans?" James asked, he had no idea Lily could be that oblivious to her roommate's feelings.
"She never said anything like that to anyone of us," Lily replied, shaking her head.
"I bet they are snogging in the transfiguration section right now," James grinned smugly.
"No –" the confidence in James's voice made Lily question if she was actually out of the loop.
"I'll show you now," James got up from the table, keeping his quill down.
"Fine," Lily agreed, but only to prove James wrong. She knew her best friend would say something about her feelings for Sirius, at least to one of them.
"Be very quiet," James whispered, as they turned around towards the Transfiguration section in the library. James was already grinning when he heard Sirius's chuckle followed by a light giggle from whom he assumed was Marlene.
Both James and Lily stuck their heads out from behind the bookshelf where James knew Sirius and Marlene were. Much to Lily's surprise, she saw with her own eyes when Marlene kept her hand on Sirius's torso and pushed him away, walking away from the bookshelf she was pressed against; Sirius caught her by her wrist, twirling her around to face him. The two of them had the biggest grins on their faces. Sirius tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and Lily's eyes widened when Marlene blushed and looked away.
James pulled Lily back just in time to avoid Marlene and Sirius's gaze. Lily collided in James's chest and her heart immediately went pit-a-pat. James pulled her back away from their best friends, without thinking about the proximity, until they were standing against two bookshelves away from Marlene and Sirius. He immediately let Lily go, blushing furiously, his mind went blank.
Lily rushed back to her friends, without looking back at James. Her heart was racing with the sudden proximity, having never been that close to James in a confided space.
"Marlene likes Black," she reported, taking her seat beside Alice. The girls dropped their quills and looked at Lily, astonished.
"What?" Mary exclaimed, inclining forward towards her friends.
"I saw them – just now, in the transfiguration section, if I had stuck around maybe I would've seen them kiss," Lily looked back and forth between Mary and Alice.
"She didn't say anything to us!" Alice whined, her eyes flickering in the direction of the transfiguration section, not that she could see it from her seat.
"Black's friends knew about it!" Lily added in disbelief.
"What?!" Alice and Mary exclaimed together, their mouth hung open and eyes widened.
"Potter showed it to me," Lily nodded.
"Why wouldn't she tell us?" Alice cried; her lips twisted in a small frown.
"Maybe she thought we would judge her," Lily replied and pressed her lips in a straight line.
"Why would we?" Mary raised her brows and rolled her eyes.
"None of us particularly like Black," Lily tilted her head to a side and looked at Mary.
"He's not that bad if you ask me," Alice told her friends.
"He's a flirt," Mary straightened up, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"But – they weren't just flirting, they were – happy," A small smile spread on Lily's lips when she remembered what she had seen.
"I wonder when this started?" Mary had a mischievous smile playing on her lips, her eyes twinkling.
"I reckon before his accident at the beginning of school year," Alice replied excitedly.
"Now that I think about it, when she cried for Black it was out of character for her, she doesn't just cry for anybody," Lily agreed, nodding fervently.
"Should we ask her about it?" Alice questioned after a brief pause.
"I think we should have some fun," Mary giggled, looking at her friends.
"How?" Lily couldn't contain her giggles either.
"Let her try telling us, we will pretend to be oblivious, and just keep asking about her feelings for Robert," Mary shrugged, she had a lopsided smile that she couldn't put away.
"We can do that," Lily agreed, grinning from ear to ear.
"Both of you are so mean!" Alice chuckled, making the other two girls laugh.
"Hush!" a seventh year Ravenclaw student looked at them irritatedly. The girls covered their mouth with their hands, trying to contain their laughter.
When Marlene returned to her friends, they noticed the obvious change in her mood. She was more cheerful than when she had left, and though her friends only exchanged glances, they couldn't wait to bombard her with questions when she finally confesses her feelings for Sirius.
"Would you like to sit with Robert?" Mary asked Marlene as they passed Sirius and his friends in the Great Hall during dinner. Catching Sirius choke on his soup and then coughing loudly as he sharply turned his head around made Alice and Lily snicker.
"No!" Marlene exclaimed, admittedly a little louder than she wanted to.
"Why not?" Lily chimed in innocently, looking at James from the corner of his eyes, who looked just as puzzled as the rest of his friends.
"I've told you, I don't like him," Marlene mumbled from between her teeth.
"Robert?! Why do they think she likes him?" Sirius narrowed his eyes, sticking his fork in the chicken.
"Careful Padfoot, I think you just murdered the chicken," James snickered, flickering his eyes in the direction of Sirius's plate.
"He's handsome," Peter shrugged, stating as if it was the most obvious thing.
"His accent also helps," Remus added, taking a bite of his chicken.
"I can talk like him," Sirius replied, imitating Robert's posh accent.
"Please don't, it makes you sound more stupid than you already are," Remus shook his head.
"Why is it bothering you? She likes you, and you know it," James clapped his hands together.
"Because I also know he likes her," Sirius gestured his head in Robert's direction.
"Quit it already, a lot of people already know you two are snogging each other," James told him.
"How? – and we aren't – snogging," Sirius narrowed his eyes at James.
"You aren't snogging? What were you doing in the common room then?" James smirked, wiggling his eyebrows at Sirius.
"Just kissing, though you wouldn't know what that is, seeing as Evans has rejected you for a hundredth time," Sirius jested, pulling his fork out of the chicken.
"We are on talking terms and that's good enough for me," James replied with a loud huff.
"Is that what you want to do with Evans for the rest of your life? Remain on talking terms?" Sirius asked with a huge grin.
"It's better than nothing," James shrugged.
"This is just painful, you both like each other!" Remus exclaimed, turning towards James.
"She – doesn't like – me," James stammered, he gulped in, finding it hard to believe Remus's words.
"Yes Moony, don't give Prongs false hope," Sirius jested, taking another sip of his soup.
"Would you talk to her though?" James asked Remus, earning a groan from all his friends.
"C'mon Prongs," Peter whined, everyone knew how that went last time. Lily had hexed James the last time Remus tried knowing about her feelings for James, stating that she was only answering Remus's question.
"I know but that was back in the beginning of 5th year," James stormed his foot under the table like a child.
"Fine, but if she hexes you again, don't complain," Remus warned him with a glare.
"I won't," James grinned happily.
"But be subtle this time, not like last time," Peter told Remus.
"Yes, it was too in the face, though we had a good laugh at the end of it," Sirius added with a chuckle.
"Why do you enjoy my misery so much Padfoot?" James narrowed his eyes at his best friend.
"It's funny how Evans can literally hex you with the worst spell and you still have the most lovestruck look on your face," Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. Of course, Lily Evans was the love of James's life. He had never met someone like Lily and he doubted he ever would. He had never felt what he felt for Lily either and he knew that was once in a lifetime deal.
"I have to tell you something," Marlene was sitting in the window pane, the four girls talking about random things.
Her friends exchanged knowing glances but looked back at her innocently.
"What is it?" Lily asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Marlene.
"I – uh – alright, you have to listen to everything, okay?" Marlene sighed, looking at all of her friends one by one.
"Of course," Lily replied first with a nod.
"Yes, okay," Alice added after her.
"Yes," Mary nodded enthusiastically.
"I like someone – and he likes me," Marlene's gaze turned to her hands in her lap.
"Robert?" Mary asked, trying extremely hard not to laugh or even smile. It was just as hard for Alice and Lily to keep a straight-face.
"I knew it!" Lily chimed in excitedly.
"What? – No!" Marlene exclaimed, the distress on her small face was clearly visible.
"Who is it then?" A small smile slipped from Alice's lips before she could cover it and Marlene caught that.
"You all know who it is," she asked in disbelief, her eyes wandered towards her friends.
"No, we thought it was Robert," Lily tried to sound earnest, and Mary nodded in affirmation.
"Not Robert," Marlene spoke from between her teeth, her lips set in a straight line.
"Then who?" Lily questioned again, blinking her eyes.
Marlene couldn't get herself to speak Sirius's name, she could already feel her heart pounding in her head and she knew it for a fact that her ears were as red as Lily's hair. The shy smile on her face made it worse.
"You all know," was all Marlene could mummer.
"No, we don't, especially since you haven't told us anything," Mary jested, no longer able to keep the grin off her face.
"Are you teasing me?" Marlene narrowed her eyes at her friends once again, the heat was rising to her face.
"No," Lily continued, getting up from the floor and sitting next to Marlene on the window pane. "Teasing would be if we said something like – is it a certain Black-haired boy?"
Marlene's eyes widened, she knew her friends knew, but since how long?
"With grey eyes?" Mary continued, getting up from her bed.
"A Gryffindor perhaps? Sixth year?" Alice joined in. Marlene knew her face was crimson already.
"Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" Mary asked, raising her eyebrows rapidly.
"What's his name Marlene?" Lily bumped her shoulder into Marlene's shoulder lightly.
"Yes," Marlene's voice was barely audible, she didn't know it was going to be so nerve-wrecking to confess her feelings for Sirius in front of her friends, who already knew about it in the first place!
"We didn't know there was a boy named yes in our year?" Lily jested, making her other two friends laugh loudly.
Marlene hid her face in her hands, unable to stop herself from laughing with her friends.
"Oh! Stop it already. Her face is the same colour as Lily's hair!" Alice shushed her friends.
"We'll stop if she takes his name," Mary shrugged, she was grinning from ear to ear.
"Si – Sirius," Marlene stammered, her muffled voice was not loud enough to understand if her friends hadn't been sitting as close as they were.
"We knew!" Lily wrapped her arm around Marlene's shoulders, pulling her in for a hug, that Marlene gladly returned.
"You did?" she asked, when Lily and she dropped their hands to their sides.
"I saw you and Sirius in the Library today, looked like things have been happening since a long time," Lily raised one of her eyebrows.
"We'll forgive you for not telling us earlier, if you tell us everything now," Mary scooted closer to Marlene, making her chuckle.
"I can't point out the exact moment it started, but it was in the fifth year. He was always around when those wannabe death eaters tried to bully me for my blood status," Marlene started, it made her chuckle how her friends had their undivided attention on her. Their eyes were wide in curiosity, a small smile on their lips.
"Do you remember when in fifth year – Mulciber did that prank?" Marlene inquired, she knew it was enough description to remember that fateful night that broke Mary to a point where she would never be the same again, that scarred Marlene too. Her friends gave her a stiff nod in response.
"The next day there was a rumour that Sirius got in the Slytherin common room?" Marlene looked at her friends and their eyes went wide, jaw dropping to the floor.
"Don't tell me – really?"
"No – No way, that's true?"
"It can't be –"
Her friends spoke at the same time.
Marlene nodded her head and spoke in a low voice, "I reckon it is, I never got a confirmation from him. I saw him bruised and walking around the corridor the same time when he was supposedly coming back from the Slytherin common room."
"He did that for you?" Alice's eyes softened. When she put it that way, Marlene could feel herself blushing again; the squeals from her friends didn't help either.
"There wasn't anything else in fifth year, we went back home for summer break. But I knew I had developed a little crush on him," Marlene admitted, even saying it out loud was crazy for her!
"Sixth year, when he was injured, I knew it wasn't just a silly crush that would go away, especially when it kept me up all night, but it didn't bother me, I was fine with it," Marlene shrugged casually.
"You do know that a lot of girls and boys like him?" Mary asked her, earning a nod from Marlene.
"She knows he only has eyes on her," Alice said, making her friends chuckle.
"You know Lily when your muggle chips disappeared and I said I ate it?" Marlene turned to Lily. Lily nodded enthusiastically, wondering if she ate it with Sirius?
"I couldn't sleep and I was pacing in the common room, when Sirius and James made their way to the common room, apparently they were hungry and going to the kitchen to get some snacks, I told them we had some, and I gave them those chips and the marshmallows I always kept," Marlene admitted sheepishly.
"James was worried you would not like sharing your snacks with him. I told him he could take you out to pay back for the snacks."
"Marlene!"
"Don't pretend you don't like that idea."
"Moving on –"
"Why moving on?"
"Are you trying to get us distracted?"
"No!"
"Then tell us the rest."
Marlene sighed and continued, "He asked me to come to the Great Lake the next morning to return his books and I did go there." The three girls listened to Marlene talk about her feelings for Sirius and they noticed the unfamiliar gleam in her eyes.
"And I kissed him," Marlene narrated the events of that very afternoon continuing till the events of the Library, updating her friends, making her friends jump up and down in excitement. All of them stayed up till late, refusing to go to sleep and refusing to let Marlene go to sleep until she told them everything. It wasn't until after 1 o'clock when they finally decided to call it a night, once they had all the details of their best friend's love life and the promise that she would tell them everything that happened with her, without editing out any part.