A/N: How Soon is Now? is a song by The Smiths that I listen to whenever writing a tense scene (specifically rescue missions which, there are lots of in this story).


James had been startled, to say the least, when he was shaken awake early in the evening by his father. It was dark in his room (he'd fallen asleep soon after dinner) and his dad had informed him that he was expected in Dumbledore's office immediately.

"I don't understand?" He was only half-awake after all.

"You told Alastor Moody that you wanted to be more involved, didn't you?"

"Have you found them?" James tore off the covers, bolting up from the bed.

"Just put some clothes on," his father instructed - though James could've happily gone in just his pyjamas. "Then go wake the other boys, and Frank Longbottom, and meet me downstairs."

James got dressed so quickly he nearly fell over pulling on his pants. He crossed the hall to the seventh year dormitory in a matter of minutes, making a beeline for Sirius' bed on the far right side of the room.

"Padfoot," he whispered, delicately shaking Sirius awake. "Wake up."

"Prongs?"

"Get dressed. There's news about the girls." James was startled by the speed at which Sirius rose from the bed and began scrambling to get ready. "We need to wake the others."

"You get Peter - I'll get Remus..."

"Frank too," James added. "My dad is here."

"What?"

"What's going on?" Remus grumbled from the bed next to them.

It didn't take long to wake the rest of the room up after that and, once it was mentioned there was news of the girls, Frank was ready within seconds.

"Good luck," Fabian said as they headed for the door.

"Thanks, mate," James nodded. He knew it would have made Lily happy to see - the two of them actually getting along.

James found his parents together downstairs, waiting near the portrait hole. Mary and Emmeline were with them as well - clearly woken up by his mother. Both of his parents were in their Auror robes. James rushed towards his mom, Sirius close behind him, and she embraced them both in her arms at once.

"Don't worry," she whispered to the two of them. James could picture her, ten years earlier, comforting him, or Marlene, whispering promises he would one day come to learn she could never really keep - no parent can.

The group of them followed the Potters to Dumbledore's office where The McKinnons, Alastor Moody, and Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore were waiting. Everyone filed in, centred in front of Dumbledore's desk. He sat behind it, hands gathered on top of the table.

"Thank you for all coming on such short notice," Dumbledore greeted them warmly.

"Have you found them?" Frank was practically trembling in anticipation.

"Kingsley will be with us momentarily with news," Moody interjected. "We've got the best on this, Longbottom." Frank's tension seemed to wain a little after that, as if all he needed was Alastor Moody's reassurance to know everything would be okay.

"We have good reason to believe that we will have them home by sunrise." Everyone in the room seemed to sigh with relief. James almost smiled - something he had begun to believe would never happen again. "Now, while we wait, there is, I believe, another matter to discuss." Dumbledore's blue eyes turned towards Moody.

"We've agreed that you lot have proven yourselves to be mature and trustworthy students." It was impossible to mistake the most important words in that sentence. "On that note, Longbottom," Moody motioned Frank over to him, leaning against the far wall.

"What's going on?" James whispered to his mother, standing just behind him.

"You are seventeen and, if everything goes as well as we believe it will, we think it'll be good for the girls to see friendly faces when they first escape."

"Potter, Black, McDonald!" Moody called out. The three of them wandered over, hazy eyed. Moody explained what would happen - they would all apparate to the location the girls were being kept at together along with Maureen McKinnon and James' parents. They would help make sure the girls got out safely. Each of them (along with a trained adult) would guard a post around the manor. Of course - their own safety could not be guaranteed in the process. James didn't care, not where the people he loved were concerned. He would have sacrificed himself right then and there if it meant getting all three of them home safely.

They agreed - all of them. Even Mary, who James has expected to struggle more, had been unwavering in her decision to join them. Now, all there was to do was wait (and hope Kingsley came running through the office door at any moment). James sat at the bottom of the staircase which curled up towards Dumbledore's private rooms. The rest of them were dispersed throughout the office - Moody and Frank together against the wall, Emmeline and Mary chatting closely on the couch, Sirius standing in the corner with the rest of the Marauders.

"Is it true?" James looked up and there was his mother standing before him, hands clasped behind her back. "You and Lily are…?" She let him fill in the blanks.

"Together," James nodded. "It's new. I was going to tell you…"

"Oh my love." She sat down on the step beside him, arm coming to wrap around his shoulders. "That's wonderful news." It had been wonderful news. Before James' own need to prove himself had gotten in the way. It was always his stupid ego…

"It's all my fault," James said, looking at his hands in his lap as he spoke. "They wouldn't be in danger if I hadn't tried so hard to prove a stupid point."

"There are so many things in this world beyond our control James. If you sit here and blame yourself for all the danger you could not foresee you'll never stop. No one could have predicted what would happen that night and you of all people would have never have allowed those girls to wander into trouble. They're going to be okay." His mother pushed a strand of hair from his eyes. "In a week's time you'll all just be kids again."

"Do you really believe that?" James asked, turning to her skeptically. It was a comforting thought, that they could all slip back into their roles as school kids with not a care in the world but such a reality no longer seemed possible, not with war brewing.

"It's what I tell myself to get to sleep at night," she told him, smile resting on her lips.

It wasn't much longer before Kingsley arrived, the bottom of his robes caked in mud, sweat dripping from his brow. He went straight to Moody, Dumbledore joining the three of them, as they discussed matters with heads close together and voices so soft no one in the silent office could make out a word.

"Okay, let's go." Moody announced to the room. James was shocked by the abruptness of it all but, as he'd heard from his parents many times, that was the way things worked with Alastor Moody.

The four of them - Frank, James, Sirius, and Mary - gathered close together. "Potter, you'll be with your mother, Black, you're with Alec, Longbottom with me and McDonald, you'll accompany Maureen." They took their places, linking arms with whoever it was they were meant to be working with before they were zipped off by the powers of apparition.

James landed with his mother in the dark, his feet squishing in damp earth. They were on the edge of a gated property, a three storey home with shuttered windows and dead vines climbing up the red brick exterior. It was dark - so dark that the only details James made out were thanks to the light from the end of his wand.

They were positioned at the left gate. He later learned that Maureen and Mary were at the other side, Sirius and his father around back and Moody and Frank at the front. It would be impossible for anyone to get off the property without being caught.

"Kingsley and Dorcas have a team of Aurors in there with them. The property has been charmed so that no one can apparate from within the boundaries," his mother explained. "They'll be okay." She placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly the way she had since he was a child. James couldn't help thinking then that if there was anyone he'd want to face the end of the world with it would be his mother, whose warm eyes and tender touch would keep him going until the bitter end.

They waited, for what felt like days they waited, shivering in the cold. James couldn't stop imagining Lily being carried out the front door, body limp and covered in wounds. They had promised a hundred times that the girls would be safe but how could they know for sure? How could they guarantee they'd leave the house the same people? What if Lily hated him for it - for everything that had happened? What if she didn't want him anymore?

"Stop it," his mother commanded. "I can see you worrying. In fact, the anxiety is practically radiating off of you."

"I can't help it."

"You'll need to learn to. This won't be the last time someone you love is in danger, not by the end of this war." She sighed, cracking her knuckles as she stared towards the house. "I've been doing it most of my life," she continued, "Every time your father is called out on work." How many times had James watched his mother, wandering their house, filling the hours with menial tasks until his father returned home safely?

"There," his mother said, pointing straight ahead. From the side of the house James could make out three figures rushing forward, towards the front gate, To Moody.

"Go," she told him. "I'll stay and keep watch."

James didn't pause, not even to thank her. He went off sprinting, straight towards the end of the road where Frank and Moody were waiting.


Lily had fallen asleep and came to with a terrible kink in her neck. It took a second to get beyond that wretched sensation and realize that the door at the bottom of the stairs was open, though this time, no light poured through. Someone was coming up the stairs so slowly it made Lily's stomach turn. Oh god, she thought in horror, he's going to do something terrible to me.

Suddenly, light from the end of a wand flashed in Lily's face, blinding her. She gasped, turning away…

"Lily Evans?" It was not a man's voice but a female's, soft and unassuming. She opened her eyes and turned her head. Standing before her was a woman in Auror robes. Lily recognized her as Dorcas Meadowes - though it was frightening that she could now recognize Aurors because they were around on such a frequent basis. Lily had run into her once, leaving Dumbledore's office while she was entering. They'd smiled at each other. She'd always thought Dorcas seemed kind - not to mention totally badass (and incredibly stunning.)

"Oh thank god." Lily exhaled upon recognizing Dorcas.

"Are you okay?" Dorcas rushed forward, crouching down behind Lily to untie her. It took less than a second for Dorcas to unbind Lily's hands (these were the moments in which she found herself truly grateful for magic.)

"Yeah...I'm fine, where are the others?" Lily asked. Dorcas paused, standing before her, stunned. Lily's wrists were raw and there was a bruise developing along the right side of her face but the only thing she could worry about was finding Marlene and Alice.

"Don't worry, others are on it. The people who took you three, they were...what we'd call fanatics," Dorcas explained with a heavy sigh. "Not Death Eaters, not yet at least. The went running for the hills the moment they realized we were coming."

"I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse."

Dorcas nodded sombrely. "Come on, let's get you out of this dump."

Lily struggled to pull herself up onto her feet. She stumbled forward, exhausted and dehydrated. Her lips had been chapped for hours but her tongue could barely get wet enough to moisten them.

Dorcas held tightly to her arm, her grip so firm Lily knew she wouldn't fall. She helped her slowly down the stairs where two Aurors stood waiting. One was younger, closer to Dorcas' age, and another a middle-aged man with greying hair and smile lines.

"Eliana and Leopold are going to talk you out to the others."

"Others?"

"You'll see," Dorcas nodded encouragingly and then darted off down the hall before Lily could ask anymore question. Eliana, who was much stronger than Lily might have expected, insisted she give Lily a piggy ride down the two flights of stairs. Lily was grateful, considering both flights of stairs were steep and winding. They reached the landing - the entire manor masked in darkness - and Lily walked out of the house with Leopold on one side and Eliana the other, both steadying her whenever she needed it.

It was dark out - just as it had been when they'd entered the house. Lily strained her eyes, trying to make out who waited for them up ahead.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Aurors," Eliana clarified, "and some of your friends." James. He was all Lily could think about, her stomach knotting in anticipation. She smelled disgusting and looked even worse but none of that mattered. She started walking faster, Eliana and Leopold having to slow her down.

"You can't Lily - take it easy," Leopold warned her. She knew he was right - she could already feel her head getting light and fuzzy. They were nearing the front gate, Lily could make out two figures up ahead. She knew for certain one was Alastor Moody - just by the way he was standing - but the man beside him was not so clear.

The gates opened. It was Frank, Lily could see by the slouch in his shoulders. Her stomach sank and then, from her left side, she saw James running. He was out of breath when they met, just outside of the gates, Lily melting into his arms.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." How could she not be now? She was safe, she always was when James was around. He kissed her forehead and then caught Lily as she fainted, nearly toppling to the ground.


Marlene was curled into the fetal position as far from the bucket she had to pee in as possible (which was not very far in a broom closet.) She drifted in and out of consciousness but even then - she knew it had been a while since she'd been visited by her captor. So, she was not surprised when she heard the door being unlocked and opened. She barely rose her head. Maybe she could play dead and he'd just leave her alone. Her body was still trembling from the last two blows she'd received.

"Marlene?" She recognized that voice. Her eyes flickered open and there was Henry, hovering over her, a frown on his face. He crouched down and lifted her up into a seated position.

"What're you doing here?"

"Rescuing you of course." There he was, the same Henry she remembered, not the guy she had met in Hogsmeade that night. "I'm so sorry," he apologized, green eyes heavy with remorse. "That night - I should have just told you...I didn't want you guys to get mixed up in any of it."

"What were you doing mixed up in all of it?" Marlene was only half-conscious, but these questions had been playing on an endless loop in her head for as long as she'd been trapped in the dark.

"It'll all make sense soon," he promised, he stood and offered his hands to lift her up onto her feet. She was weak and walked better with one arm wrapped around him to steady herself.

"The others?" Marlene inquired as they entered the corridor. "Are they okay?"

"They're already outside with the others. You were the most difficult to find."

Marlene wanted clean sheets, lots of food and a nice, warm bath. She had about a hundred questions - who were the men that had taken them? What meeting were they talking about? Where were they? But all felt better suited for a later date, when she wasn't in such rough shape.

"They put you in an entirely separate wing of the house," Henry told her. It wasn't surprising, Marlene had been the one talking the most, speaking up for the others. they had probably been most worried about her acting up.

"Henry," she said, her tone of voice alarming enough to make him stop walking and pause to look at her. "I'm glad it was you who found me." She didn't know if it was a mistake - to expose her feelings to him like that - but perhaps this would be the only moment in which she had the courage, fuelled by lack of sleep and food.

"Me too," he smiled and then he reached out, slowly, hand brushing across her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear. They kept walking after that, Marlene too stunned to speak, until they reached a back door, just off the kitchen. It was dark outside, and the ground was damp from rain.

"Fawley?" A man asked from nearby. Marlene looked to her right and there was Alec Potter, wand at the ready, Sirius standing beside him. Marlene and Sirius looked at one another for a moment, frozen. For just that moment they were the only two people standing there, studying one another intently. It had been her memories with Sirius that had helped the most when she was lying on that concrete floor feeling hopeless. Memories of their first kiss, first time, their inside jokes…

At the same second, they rushed toward one another (as much as Marlene could currently "rush".) They embraced, holding each other closely, Marlene's whole body relaxing the moment she found herself there in his arms - home. They didn't stay there long (nothing between them could ever look suspicious of course) and Marlene turned to Alec next, who insisted she let him carry her around to the front of the house to meet the others. She might have protested if it had been anyone else but Alec was like a second father and she - as Caroline always liked to remind her - was the daughter they'd never had.

"Are you okay?" Alec worried the whole way. "Are you injured?" Her reassurance that everything was fine did nothing to soothe his worry, it was what she'd always loved most about The Potters - they were loyal to a fault.


Alice was almost certain she had a concussion. She had thrown up - twice, forced to do so only a few feet away from herself due to her tied hands. She moved in and out of hallucinations, picturing a cup of water before her or even once her mother, smiling, brown eyes crinkling with joy.

Part of Alice wished she could join her mom and cross over to the other side - wouldn't it be so much easier? She wouldn't be around to break Frank's heart and she would no longer have to wake every morning with the hole in her heart that her mother's death had left behind. Of course, Alice was not that lucky. She was forced instead to endure what felt like endless wooziness, waiting for her next interrogation.

If I survive this I'll do better, she promised herself. I'll be a better person, better partner, better friend. Of course, Alice knew better than anyone how easy promises were to make - just not so easy to keep.

She was slipping into unconsciousness when she heard the door burst open, as if blown right off its hinges, and then the sound of footsteps down the staircase. There, standing before her, with light sprouting from the end of his wand, was Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Kingsley?" Alice squinted to get a better look, her eyes stinging in the light. "Is that really you?"

"Yes. I'm getting you the hell out of here." He was by her side, undoing her binds, not even complaining when he stepped in her vomit. Alice nearly slumped over when he freed her, Kingsley lifting her in his arms and carrying her from the basement. At the top of the stairs waited two other Aurors who assisted in leading them safely from the house.

"Lily and Marlene…?"

"They're safe," Kingsley promised, "you're all safe now." No, Alice had the desire to tell him, none of us will be safe with Voldemort around. That would've required more brain power than Alice had to offer though. Rather, she closed her eyes and waited until she could hear the sound of others. When she looked up again they were walking out through the front gates, Frank rushing towards her.

"Is she okay?" He demanded frantically. "Al?"

"I'm okay." Was she? When was the last time Alice could remember actually being okay? It seemed a lifetime ago, a feeling for another girl with the same name who no longer existed.

"Thank Merlin." Frank leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Let me take her." She transferred arms and then her head was pressed up against Frank's chest, his musky smell filling her lungs.

"Frank," she said looking up into his eyes, glistening with tears. "Forgive me." It was the last thing she said before losing consciousness.


It seemed impossible to Mary - that only a few hours ago they'd been worried sick about the girls' whereabouts and now, they were in beds, side by side, in the Hospital Wing. She and Emmeline stood next to each other, looking over the girls, neither quite able to believe how well their luck had turned out.

Emmeline had been jealous, being left out of the rescue mission. Mary had needed to recount the story about a hundred times once they returned to the castle, the early morning light casting a hazy orange glow over the grounds.

Mary had recalled the excruciating wait for the girls. The cold and the damp ground which left her new shoes caked in mud. She had seen Marlene as Alec, Sirius and Henry came from behind the manor, walking towards the front gates where everyone had been told to convene.

Marlene was bruised and her clothing dirty but she still had the same sparkle in her eyes and she smiled when she saw Mary rushing towards her.

"You missed out on all the fun," she said making Mary burst out both in laughter and tears. She had been so worried that the girls would be carried from the manor in body bags - or whatever the wizard equivalent was. Mary had been honoured, being chosen to join the rescue effort, but truth be told, she didn't have the stomach for it. She had nearly fainted upon seeing the state Marlene was in.

It was easy to read about the war, to see others experience loss and shutter at the sight of tragedy, but suddenly, it was Mary's world. It was her friends torn away from home and taken to be tortured and killed.

Maureen and Marlene stood, face to face, and shared a long stare that Mary couldn't quite read. Relief? Affection? Pride? Maureen's shoulders fell and then she drew Marlene into her arms.

"Are you hurt?" Mary had heard Maureen whisper to her daughter, hands holding her face so that she could get a closer look at her.

"I'm okay, mum," Marlene promised, relaxing into her mother's side. "I just want a warm bed and maybe a shot of tequila." At least she still has her humour, Mary had thought to herself.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Emmeline worried. "After everything they've been through?" Madame Pomfrey had put all three girls under heavy sedation. They were exhausted, dehydrated and weak from lack of food. Mary could've strangled whoever had done this to them.

"I think that they'll survive," Mary sighed, "at this point, that's the most important thing." That didn't settle the look of concern on Emmeline's face.

"Come on," Mary said, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulder to usher her away from the hospital beds they stood before. "Lets go get some breakfast. I'm in desperate need of some eggs and an extra strong cup of tea."

"You really need to get over your issue with coffee," Emmeline scoffed.

"Never." Mary would stand by that till the day she died.

They joined the rest of the students slowly making their way down to the Great Hall, blending in as if their night had been just a regular old Tuesday evening. Mary tried to convince herself it was true, that nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and they were still just regular old students.


Alice had feverish dreams, moving sluggishly in and out of consciousness. She was back home, sitting in her living room, her mother knitting in the armchair, her father reading across from her. Then the scene would transpire into something closer to the truth - the darkness that had begun to eat away at her family. First her mother now…

"Alice? You're okay." It was Frank's voice breaking through - steady and safe. She could feel him, running circles in the palm of her hand, stirring her back, slowly, into reality. It was dark and she was lying in a bed with Frank leaning over her. It took a few seconds to realize it was the Hospital Wing, late at night, she could see another student, younger than them, in a bed across the room.

"Lily? Marlene?" Alice began to fret.

"They're okay. They want back up to the dorms earlier."

"How long have I been here?"

"About a day," Frank said, reaching out to stroke her hair. "You needed some extra rest, for your head."

"Oh, Frank," she sighed, looking at his face, so full of relief, knowing how terrible she had been. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't cry," he spoke softly, climbing onto the bed beside her. He opened his arms, Alice curling up inside of them, head against his chest. She had worried for a moment there that this might never happen again - that she might die without getting a chance to make things right with Frank.

"I love you," Alice said, holding on to him tightly. "I'm sorry if I haven't shown it recently-"

"Stop apologizing."

"I want to marry you," Alice said, staring up at him with tears glistening on her cheeks. "I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."

"I know." Frank leaned forward, kissing her softly. "I know you better than anyone Alice Griffith."

That was when she should've said it - the truth - that the girl he thought he knew was gone. This one, the one whom he planned to marry, was nowhere near as decent. She was a coward. Alice buried her face in Frank's chest and tried to wish away all the pain she had caused and would come to create. They should've left me in that basement, she thought bitterly, I should've been left there to rot.


Marlene had woken up just before dinner. She was the first of the girls to come to, Lily and Alice asleep on either side of her. Marlene crawled out from under the covers of her hospital bed and reached for the clean clothes that had been left folded on her chair. One of James' old sweaters she had stolen and a pair of faded blue jeans. She moved slowly, her body still positively drained.

"What do you think you're doing?" Came Madam Pomfrey's firm voice. Marlene turned around to face her.

"I'm starving," she confessed. "No offence but, I'd also much prefer my own bed." Madame Pomfrey rolled her eyes and motioned Marlene forward. She first checked her forehead and then pressed her thumb firmly on the inside of Marlene's wrist to check her pulse.

"Fine," she agreed, "but come back in the morning for a checkup."

"Yes ma'am."

Marlene was just outside the double doors of the Hospital Wing when her trip to the Great Hall was interrupted once more. This time though, it was Henry Fawley stopping her. He was coming from the other end of the hall, still wearing the same clothes - black robes and white converse. Marlene respected the look. Truth be told - she respected a whole lot more about Henry now that she realized who he really was. He wasn't just working as a bartender at Donovan's - he was helping to facilitate and organize a Death Eater resistance.

"How are you?" He asked, pausing a few feet away from her. His green eyes studied her closely. Her hair was most definitely a tangled mess and her eyes likely heavy from sedation. The chances of ever enticing Henry were slim now - if they'd ever existed at all.

"Alive," Marlene smirked. "Thanks to you."

"I played a very small role." Humble too. Marlene stared at him, trying to gage his mood, and then bit the bullet.

"Who are you?" She asked, "really?" Henry paused - perhaps considering avoiding the question - and then nodded his head.

"I'm not just a bartender."

"I've gathered."

"For the past year or so, I've been helping Dumbledore build up an army." Henry kept his voice down as they spoke, frightened that even in a deserted corridor he might be heard by the wrong ears.

"An army?"

"To fight against the Death Eaters." Marlene felt like a door had suddenly swung wide open. In she was being pulled...

"How do you join?" Her eyes lit up with excitement.

"You finish school," Henry told her unquestionably. "Until then, don't even think about it."

"You'd be lucky to have me," she told him - stung by the reminder that she was still just a kid.

"I know we would." When he looked her in the eye Marlene couldn't help but believe he really meant it.


James hadn't left Lily's side once. He had caught he when she fainted and - from what Lily had been told - refused to put her down until they reached the castle and she could safely be sent to the Hospital Wing. Lily woke up in a single bed with James reading a book in the chair beside her. He looked up when he heard the bed squeak as she tried to pull herself up.

"Hey," he leaned forward, reaching to help her.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Lily asked, arm stretching for the water glass beside her bed.

"All day," James shrugged. "I wanted to make sure I was here when you woke up." He pulled the chair he was in closer up to her bed so that they could speak more privately.

"Lily, I owe you an apology."

"For what?"

"Everything that happened—"

"Oh James, it's not your fault in the least." Lily reach out to stroke his cheek, straightening his glasses out on the bridge of his nose. "Besides, you had no idea we would end up sneak out instead of you."

"I was so worried," he confessed, dropping his head down so that she stroked the back of it comfortingly. "If anything were to happen to you.."

"I'm okay," Lily promised him and she meant it. She had made it out alive - with minimal injuries and no broken bones. That was more than most muggle borns would be able to say in her shoes.

"I love you," James said, looking up at her, his hazel eyes filled with tears.

"I love you too," she smiled, knowing it was true. She had known for a while now that she was in love with James but it hadn't been easy to admit. She didn't need more time to be certain, she knew in her heart that she loved him, that she wanted him more than she'd wanted anything in her life.

"Yeah?" James smiled. "Really?"

"Really." Lily leaned in to kiss him, tears intermingling between them. She was back, right where she was meant to be, with James. It felt like home when she was with him, it was the kind of belonging she had waited for all her life and yet, all this time, it had been right under her nose.


It had been difficult, to say the least, when Sirius had to watch Marlene emerge from the house leaning on Henry for support. Truth be told, he wanted to be the one to save her. He pictured himself taking on Alec's role, insisting she allow him to carry her to safety. He would have done it, were the others not there. That would always be the way with them wouldn't it? longing glances and hugs cut too short in order to ward off suspicion.

He found her after dinner standing outside of James' room. She was wearing a baggy sweater and a pair of jeans. Her hair was wrapped in a loose bun on top of her head. He wanted to gather her in his arms and take all the pain away.

"Where's James?" she asked, noticing Sirius at the top of the stairs.

"With Lily." She nodded, struggling to hide her disappointment. She doesn't want to be alone he realized, watching her eyes fall to the floor.

"Come on." Sirius motioned towards the door to his dorm room. "Everyone's distracted, they won't be up for a while."

"I'm not really in the mood for a shag right now-"

"I'm not trying to fuck you," he sighed, "only trying to help."

She looked uncertain but followed a few steps behind Sirius nonetheless. The dormitory was dark but even then she knew the way to Sirius bed by heart. He sat down first, opening his arms for her.

"This is very...unlike you." No, he wanted to correct her, it's what I've always wanted to do.

"You did the same for me once, remember?" She nodded almost immediately. Perhaps the memory was at the forefront of her mind as often as it was for him. That was hard to believe - that Marlene could see him the way he saw her. She was everything that was light in his eyes - smart, beautiful, strong - and he was darkness. Everyone knew it, if she was as smart as he thought her to be she was certainly aware.

Marlene kicked off her shoes and climbed gingerly onto the bed. She stretched out, legs not quite touching Sirius', and rested her head against him. Their embrace was awkward at first, neither quite used to such intimacy between them, and then their bodies came closer together and Sirius held her tighter, the way he'd wanted to since seeing her come stumbling out that back door.

"You were so brave that night," she reminded him. He couldn't see her face but he ran his fingers slowly up and down the surface of her arm. "I wish I could be that brave."

"You are," he assured her, kissing the crown of her head. "You're the bravest person I know."


A/N: I know this "night" being mentioned between Sirius and Marlene may be confusing to some, the night in question will come to light eventually in a flashback but I'm sure many of you can guess which ~important~ evening in Sirius' past they might be referencing.