Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The song "Sway" is by The Perishers and I do not own it in any way.


Desperado
Chapter Seven: Sway

I look at you and see a friend
I hope that's what you want to be
Are we back now where it all began?

'Oh, Merlin,' Marly thought for the umpteenth time in the half hour she had been awake. She paced the length of her sitting room in her bathrobe; both of her hands were balled up atop her head and her eyes wide in a mixture of confusion and desperation. 'How the hell did that happen?'

Marly's pot of tea suddenly whistled, making her jump and hurry into the kitchen. With a heavy sigh, she poured some of the tea into a cup. Standing over the sink, she watched as the steam circled from the top of the cup, feeling the warmth on her face. Furrowing her brow, she strained to remember what had happened the night before. 'Dance class…Sirius's pub…Remus was home.'

She glanced around and Marly's eyes caught the sleeve of the button up she had forced him to take off while they were on the couch.

'Oh.'

But, remembering what had happened confused Marly more. She had never been attracted to Remus before. Sure, she knew that he was good-looking, but it made her queasy – even now – to think of him as anything more than her best friend.

Marly breathed another sigh and turned back into the kitchen, her feet sinking into the well-worn rug on the tile. She stared at the peeling wallpaper and made a note in her mind to talk to Remus about getting it replaced when someone cleared their throat behind her, making her jump and spill her tea down the front of her tan bathrobe.

"Hi," Remus said in a timid voice.

Marly turned to face him, running her hand over the wet spot and making it disappear. She took in his disheveled appearance. He had managed to find his pyjama pants, but there was a massive hickey on his collarbone. When Remus noticed what she was looking at, he brought his right hand up to cover it, making them both flush.

"Hi," Marly replied, backing into the counter.

Remus cleared his throat once again and took a step toward Marly, making her squirm. He hesitated before walking straight toward and reaching over her shoulder to open the cupboard door that held the teacups.

"Oh, sorry," Marly mumbled, sidestepping out of his way, uncomfortable to be nearly touching him.

Remus seemed to sense her awkwardness and hesitated before reaching to pick out his favourite cup. They were silent as he filled his cup with the rest of the tea in the kettle. Marly could never recall a moment in their friendship where neither of them knew what to say to each other. Then again, Marly also could never recall a moment in their friendship when they had broken the cardinal rule – don't sleep with your best friend.

Suddenly, the two opened their mouths to talk at the same time, and then chuckled sheepishly. After a moments pause, Marly took a deep breath.

"I guess we should talk." She tapped the side of her white cup with her fingernails.

"I guess so," Remus replied, scuffing his heel against the rug.

"Look, Remus, I - "

Before Marly could say another word, there were three sharp knocks on the door. With an apologetic sigh, she crossed the room with Remus behind her, retrieving his shirt and quickly putting it on to cover his bruise.

Marly didn't even bother to look through the peephole, thus causing Lily to fall through the door, as she had been leaning against the door herself.

"What if I was a Death Eater?" Lily asked with an incredulous look.

"I somehow doubt that a Death Eater would knock, Lily," Marly replied in an unamused voice, letting Lily come into the sitting room before closing the door behind her.

"How was your – Remus!" Lily exclaimed, noticing him hovering near the sofa. "Thank Merlin you're home. I don't know if I could endure any more fretting from Marly."

Remus forced a smile and allowed Lily to give him a tight hug.

"It's good to be home," Remus said, although lack of enthusiasm in his voice seemed to argue with that statement.

"Lily, is there a reason you're here?" Marly asked, looking a bit irritated.

With a bit of a hurt expression on her face, Lily replied, "We're supposed to go to that flower shop, remember? You promised me a few days ago you'd come with. You didn't forget, did you?"

"No, Lily, I'm planning on wearing my bathrobe in public," Marly replied, then feeling a bit guilty for being so short with her. "Let me go change."

Marly hurried to disappear in her room, but there was still a lingering air of what had happened in there only a few hours earlier. She swallowed hard, fighting desperately to put that out of her mind. As she opened her dresser and pulled out her underclothes, she forced her mind to think about flowers. 'What flowers would look best with our dresses?'

As soon as she had put her bra and underwear on and pulled a t-shirt on over her head, she mused about whether or not red roses would be too Christmas, as their bridesmaid dresses were emerald green. Suddenly, there was a pop and Remus appeared behind her.

Marly met his eyes and gave him a look that clearly said that this was not the time. Rather than leave her be, he crossed his arms and looked at her impatiently.

"What?" Marly asked, walking past him and picking up long skirt off the floor that she'd only worn once since she last washed it.

"Are we going to talk about this?" Remus asked, watching as she pulled the skirt up over her hips.

Marly met his eyes as she looked at her reflection in her mirror, making sure that the shirt and skirt matched well. "Now probably isn't the best time."

"Are you going to pretend it didn't happen?"

"Well, I obviously can't with you breathing down my neck, can I?"

"Would you rather I didn't?"

"Yes, Remus, I would," Marly snapped, hurrying across the room and wrapping a white scarf around her hair. "At least for the time being, please."

"You want me to just sit here all day as though we didn't shag?" Remus asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Basically," Marly replied shortly. "Look, Lily is out there right now. I need to go and make sure she doesn't pick carnations. Can this wait until I get back?"

"I don't have much choice, do I?"

"No, you don't," Marly replied, slipping into a pair of flats and grabbing her cloak swiftly before exiting the room.

Once she was in the sitting room, she looked at Lily, who seemed to have not heard any of the conversation, which made Marly feel at least a bit relieved.

"Let's go," Marly said, whipping her cloak around her and nearly taking out one of the plants in the corner.

The walk to the flower shop, which was only a few blocks from Marly's flat, consisted mainly of Lily babbling about the kinds of flowers she was thinking would accent the different dresses. Marly nodded and made approving or disapproving noises based on the subject matter. However, her mind was still back in her flat, trying to wrap itself around the fact that she had sex with Remus – Remus Lupin!

Marly furrowed her brow, trying to understand why she had done it. She couldn't even pinpoint a time in her twenty-one years of life that she wanted to end up in bed with him. Yes, she had definitely enjoyed it, but she was nearly involved with –

'Oh, hell… Sirius.'

Marly groaned inwardly, her heart sinking to her feet. They were far from exclusive, as they hadn't even kissed since his birthday, but it was obvious to just about every one of their friends that once the end of November came about, they were going to be.

And then, light a jolt of lightening, she realised that Remus didn't even know about the growing relationship between her and Sirius. They had barely even brought each other up to speed about the last couple of months when things spiraled out of control.

Which brought Marly back to her initial thought. Why had she suddenly been so attracted to him? It wasn't as though she hadn't come home drunker than that night – not the mention that most of the time she drank, Remus was with her, in the exact same state. Why hadn't they –

"Marly!"

Marly jumped and blinked a few times, turning to look at Lily, who was giving her an annoyed look. She noticed that she had almost walked straight past the flower shop.

"What?"

"Are you listening to me?"

"Maybe?" Marly asked, biting her lip. "Sorry."

"Whatever," Lily sighed, leading Marly into the shop.

'Flowers, Marly,' she thought to herself sternly. 'Just think flowers.'

As Lily began to slowly meander around the shop, she gave Marly a questioning look. She reached forward and gingerly touched the petals of a lily, which was part of a rather beautiful bouquet.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Marly lied without hesitation.

"Did you have a good night last night?"

'Daffodils, sunflowers, roses.' Marly cleared her throat. "Sort of."

"Meaning?"

'Orchids, pansies, hibiscus.' She spared Lily a look. "Just sort of."

"Did you shag Sirius?"

'Gladiolas, petun - ' Marly felt her jaw drop. "What?"

"You heard me," Lily smirked. "And judging by your guilty manner, I'd say I'm correct in my assumptions."

"I can guarantee you that I did not shag Sirius last night," Marly said point blank. "What do you think about these?"

"You're acting far too guilty to have not shagged anyone," Lily ignored the flowers, a hand planted on her jutted out hip. "It had to have been Sirius."

"I think that if you put some greens with these they'd be lovely."

"Who else could it have been?" Lily mused pursing her lips in thought. "If Sirius just took you home and you didn't meet anyone along the way - "

"Or maybe some of these," Marly continued, her speech becoming more rapid and high-pitched.

"Then – Merlin, no!"

"Lily, please, before you jump to any conclusions - "

"Remus?"

" – I was quite drunk and - "

"You shagged Remus?"

" – I really don't remember much - "

"The potion was meant for you and Sirius!"

" – and I didn't, wait, what potion?" Marly asked, a confused look on her face.

"Did I say potion?" Lily asked, flushing. "I meant, err, watermelon."

"What potion, Lily?" Marly demanded, crossing her arms angrily.

"Well, look," Lily's eyes darted around the shop, looking for the shopkeeper in desperation. "It's just, well, all of us thought that it was daft that you were actually following through with that pact. I mean, we weren't really making you go through with it and it's quite painful watching you - "

"Get to the point," Marly's eyes narrowed.

"I mixed a Passion Potion with firewhiskey," Lily said quickly, her face contorted slightly, as though expecting Marly to slap her.

"You did what?"

Lily swallowed hard, looking guilty. "If all would have gone to plan you wouldn't be mad."

"However, all did not 'go to plan,'" Marly replied, shaking her head in disbelief. "Lily, I can't believe you!"

"It wasn't just my idea," Lily protested. "Both James and Anna agreed that you both would either not mind or not notice."

"Lily, I slept with my best mate last night," Marly stated. "Have you ever done that before?"

"That would require me sleeping with you," Lily answered. "So, I'd have to say no."

"This isn't good," Marly sighed. "At least I know that it wasn't because I have some hidden desire for Remus, though."

"Well, he was sober."

"Right…" Marly cocked an eyebrow.

"Did he try to stop you?" Lily continued.

Marly racked her brain, trying to recall exactly what had happened. "I don't think so."

"Then again, why would he?"

"What are you talking about?" Marly asked, looking confused.

Lily gave Marly a blank look, and then blinked a few times as though waiting for Marly to start laughing. "You're serious?"

"What?"

"You honestly haven't picked up on the fact that Remus has been smitten with you since you two were teenagers?" Lily explained, still looking at Marly in disbelief.

Marly let out a laugh. "Yeah, all right, Lily."

"Marly, he does your laundry!" Lily insisted. "What kind of man does that?"

"You're mental," Marly shook her head, but looked as though she was actually considering what Lily was saying. "Now, come on, let's find some bloody flowers."

"Are you upset with me?"

"Yes," Marly replied simply. "However, I'm used to you going to great lengths trying to control my life. It's nothing new."

"What are you - "

"Can I help you?" the shopkeeper interrupted, smiling pleasantly at the two and obviously not picking up on the tension.

Marly slowly walked up to her flat, not wanting to go in and explain the situation. If what Lily said was true, then the situation was quite a bit more troublesome than as Marly first suspected. With a discontent sigh, she reached the door and pushed it open, preparing herself for a very agitated Remus.

However, the scene was much different than as Marly anticipated. In fact, rather than angrily pacing around the flat as Remus normally did when he was upset, he had set up his Muggle record player in the sitting room so that it was exuding a quick foxtrot. Remus, meanwhile, was dancing around the sitting room with a normal broom in front of him. Marly watched him in wonder until the song came to an end. He turned, suddenly, sensing her presence as the record continued on to play "Melody of Love" by Frank Sinatra.

With a would-be roguish smile had it come from anyone other than Remus, he threw the broom onto the couch and invited Marly to come toward him.

"Waltz with me, darling," he drawled in a bad American accent, extending a hand.

"You're in a good mood," Marly ventured, taking his hand and letting him pull her close.

Remus lowered one of his hands to her waist as they fell into the simple dance steps. "I've been dancing."

"I noticed."

They fell silent as they circled the room, the tension rising once more as they realized how close they were to each other. Marly could tell that Remus was trying to catch her eye, but she was careful to keep her gaze on his shoulder.

"Want to talk now?" Remus asked, his fingers shifting around hers.

"Lily gave me a Passion Potion," Marly said quickly, still looking at his shoulder. "I didn't know until we were at the flower shop."

Remus was silent for a moment, and then asked quietly, "Why would she give you that?"

Marly swallowed hard and explained, "Lily has been playing matchmaker these past few months with me and…someone else. She thought that if she slipped us the potion we'd, well, I think you know what happened."

They fell silent once again, their steps not even lining up with the beats in the music. Marly felt her face flush a bit and her eyes lowered to the middle of his chest.

"And it was all the potion," Remus accused, his voice steady.

"Yes," Marly replied, her voice barely audible.

"I see."

Marly hesitated before saying, "I'm really sorry, Remus."

"Who is Lily trying to set you up with?"

"What?" Marly asked, blinking hard and meeting his eyes for the first time since she entered the apartment. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious."

Marly swallowed hard. "Sirius."

Remus tore his eyes away from Marly's and stared over her shoulder.

"I see."

Marly fought back a grimace. Whenever Remus said, "I see," it meant that there was much more he'd like to say, but he was fighting back saying it and he'd already said it twice in this conversation.

"I'm really sorry, Remus," Marly said again.

"Is it working?" Remus asked suddenly, their dancing slowing more.

"What?"

"Lily's efforts?"

Marly let out a deep breath. "Yes."

The song came to an end and they broke apart, but were still standing only inches away. For a split second, there was a hurt expression on Remus's face, but he quickly masked over it.

"I see."

"Look, Remus, you're my best mate and I love you," Marly said quickly, trying to fix everything as quickly as she could. "But that's the only way I'll ever love you – as my best mate."

"Of course," Remus shrugged, backing up slightly and turning his record player off. "I feel the same way."

"You do?" Marly asked hopefully.

Remus nodded and smiled. "Of course."

"Okay, good," Marly breathed a sigh of relief. "What are your plans for today?"

"I'm actually about to go out and grovel for my job at Flourish and Blotts," Remus said, reaching over to where his cloak was resting on the edge of the sofa. "I was waiting for you to get back."

"All right," Marly nodded, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. "Good luck, then."

"Thanks," Remus nodded, then disappeared through the front door.

'Great,' Marly sighed to herself, then retired into her room.

Looking around, she saw a mixture of her quick flight from the flat that morning and the efforts of ridding each other of their clothing the night before scattered around the floor. She shrugged her cloak off and draped it over one of her arms. As she was looking around, deciding if she wanted to clean or not, something fell out of one of the pockets and landed softly on her foot.

Surprised, Marly took a step back and saw a small object wrapped in brown paper. She bent over to inspect it and couldn't remember seeing it before. Dropping her cloak to the floor, she sat on the edge of her bed, ripping the paper open. Inside the paper was a small square mirror that was chipped along the right hand side. Marly stared at her reflection in confusion, and then turned it over to see a piece of parchment Spellotaped to the back.

"Marly,

"I nicked this back from James last time I was at his house. We used these in school to talk to each other. This is much easier than Floo or owls if you need to get hold of me. Just say my name, all right?

"Yours, Sirius"

Marly raised an eyebrow at the mirror and couldn't decide if she wanted to actually see if it worked. Sirius must have slipped it into her cloak the night before when they were walking to his motorbike. She couldn't help but feel butterflies rise in her stomach thinking about him, but pushed them away.

"Sirius Black," Marly said quietly, not really knowing what to expect.

Nothing happened for a few moments. With a sigh, Marly resigned that nothing was going to happen other than her looking at her reflection, and began to reach over to put the mirror on her bedside table.

"Marly?"

Marly grabbed the mirror once more, her eyes wide that it had actually worked. Rather than her own reflection, she saw Sirius, almost as though she was talking to a photo of him.

"Hi," Marly replied, her eyes still wide in amazement.

Sirius chuckled at how impressed she was. "You called?"

"Err, yeah," Marly nodded, remembering why she had wanted to talk to him in the first place. "Think you could Apparate or Floo over? I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure," Sirius nodded, and then disappeared from the mirror.

Before Marly could even look up from her own mirror, the door to her bedroom opened and Sirius walked through. Marly blinked blankly at him for a moment.

"Take your time, why don't you."

"Sorry, I was held up," Sirius retorted with a wink. "What's up?"

Completely sick of having to go over the story, Marly sighed heavily before launching into it quickly. "Basically, Lily gave us a Passion Potion last night. We were supposed to shag. You left and the only person for the effects to work out with was Remus."

Sirius shut the door behind him, looking confused. Suddenly, a look of realization washed over his face.

"Ah, I see."

"I know we're not really together or anything, but I thought I should tell you," Marly continued to explain quickly, moving over so he could sit next to her. "It didn't mean anything and I really wish it hadn't happened and all, so I'm hoping you aren't terribly upset and - "

"First of all," Sirius interrupted, placing a hand over Marly's hand, "I'm not upset with you. I had someone use a Passion Potion on me in the seventh year and I was basically at her mercy. You couldn't help it. Second of all, I'm hoping that Lily has a nice limp about now after doing that."

"Oh, she won't be walking for weeks," Marly smirked after pulling his hand off of her mouth.

"Third," Sirius continued, smiling slyly, "was it any good?"

"Merlin, Sirius, I can't believe you just asked me that," Marly replied, her face scrunched up in disgust. "Honestly, that's terrible."

"Well, I figure eventually we're going to find ourselves in a passionate clutch – with or without the aid of a potion," he replied, edging closer to Marly.

"And you need to know how good Remus was in bed in order for that to happen?" Marly asked, not able to keep herself from leaning toward Sirius. "Is there something you should tell me, Mr. Black?"

Sirius chuckled. "I need to know if I have a little competition."

"No, believe me," Marly replied, their lips meeting. "You're pretty safe."

Author's Note: If you flamed the last chapter, please forgive me for laughing at you. I'm pretty sure that I am the only one that knows the plot, therefore I am the only one who can feel as though the story is ruined. I'm the author. So, if you're going to judge my story before reading the whole thing...I feel sad for you.

Anyways, obviously the drama isn't going to stop yet. (-: You know how these things go. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you thought!