It was Marlene's eighteenth birthday party and through some lack of judgment, she'd allowed herself to get wildly drunk. All of her friends had thrown together a party in the Room of Requirements, a sort of last blowout. The room was packed with students of all houses and years. Music vibrated off the walls. It was the kind of party Marlene usually loved, just not tonight. No, she couldn't seem to convince herself to have a good time.

The room was spinning at a horrible speed as Marlene stumbled towards one of the plush red couches along the far walls, pulling off her high heels.

"Mar!" Emmeline screamed ecstatically from above her. The strawberry blonde's hair was all clipped up and she wore a see-through loose white dress, which made her look like a goddess come down from the heavens. Her forehead was glistening with sweat from a night of dancing and she clutched onto Gideon's arm. "How're you liking the party?" she asked cheerfully.

"Lovely," Marlene muttered in response. She was having a hard time even seeing straight.

"I am exhausted," Emmeline complained, dropping down onto the couch beside Marlene. "I feel like my feet might just fall off."

"Give them here," Gideon prompted her, sitting down at the end.

"Look at this," Emmeline grinned, Marlene nodding with approval. "My knight in shining armor."

"Better known as your personal masseuse, but I'll take it."

"You okay Marley?" Emmeline asked. Marlene was leaning back into the couch, her gaze glued to the ceiling above her.

"Is it just me, or do you see stars?" the blonde asked curiously in her drunken haze.

Emmeline laughed. It felt to Marlene as though her laughter echoed off the walls, surrounding the room. "I see them," she assured Marlene. "Do you see the stars, Gid?"

"Oh yeah," Gideon joined on. "They're gorgeous. Look there, I think I see the big dipper."

Marlene wondered what it felt like to be a star. Always being admired, better in groups. She figured it was rather nice. An existence of very little loneliness. She would like to be a star…

When she looked over at Emmeline again she found her friend passionately making out with her boyfriend. Marlene smiled. That was nice. She didn't mind not being happy as long as someone else was.

"He's lovely isn't he?" Emmeline asked, turning to grin at Marlene.

She nodded in agreement. "Very lovely."

"I'm afraid I'll make him vain with all these compliments."

"Oh, please keep them keeping," Gideon playfully begged her.

"Just remind him that his nose is a little big," Marlene whispered to her friend.

Suddenly Emmeline and Gideon were kissing again and Marlene, with a little bit of trouble, climbed to her feet, waltzing throughout the party. She couldn't quite remember what time it was. Nine? Twelve? A part of her never wanted to find out.

She stumbled a little, someone catching her.

"Careful there McKinnon," Frank laughed. Marlene turned around to find she'd walked right in the middle of Alice and Frank dancing.

"How're you liking the party?" Alice asked her hopefully, running her fingers through her short brown hair.

"It's perfect Alice," Marlene assured her. Her arms draped around Alice's shoulders. Alice held onto Marlene's hips to try and stabilize her.

"Someone's had a little too much to drink."

"It doesn't count! It's my birthday!" Marlene retorted.

"She's right," Frank shrugged. "Suppose we'll have to give her a free pass."

"Free pass Marlene..." she announced with pride. "I should make that my name."

"You want to dance with us, Mar?" Alice offered kindly.

Marlene stared deeply into her friends round, deep brown eyes. They were so earnest and filled with love. "You really are lovely, Alice," Marlene told her, holding on to either side of her friend's face.

"Thanks, hon…"

"I've always admired you," Marlene admitted.

"Oh god, you shouldn't."

Suddenly, without any warning, Marlene leaned in and kissed Alice square on the lips. It was a quick kiss – one that only lasted as long as it did due to the shock of the whole thing – and ended with Alice swiftly pushing her friend off.

"Marlene!" She gasped in shock. Marlene stumbled backward into Frank.

"I'm so sorry…" she apologized in humiliation.

"It's okay, Mar, it just—"

Before Alice could get in a word Marlene had tore away, stumbling off, barefoot and teary eyed.


Lily Evans was rather drunk and appeared to be absolutely enjoying the experience. It was whispered often; mostly by the boys whose egos she'd hurt by rejecting their attempts to go out with her, that she was a total wet blanket. Of course, this rumor was categorically untrue. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Lily was more than game to party just as hard as the next person, and James could attest to this fact more than anyone else.

"Evans," James chortled, chasing after his girlfriend. "You're mad!"

Lily was running, top speed, down the hill towards the Great Lake. She'd thrown her shoes off somewhere near the exit of the bridge. It was a challenge for James just to keep up with her tonight.

"We're going to get caught, you do realize that don't you?" James called out to her warningly.

"Oh come on Potter," Lily teased her boyfriend, turning to walk backward. She had a big grin on her freckled face. "Not scared of a little trouble, are you?"

James smirked. "When have you ever known me to be afraid of a detention or two?"

Lily stopped moving for a moment, out of breath and panting. She locked lips with James, the pair stopping in the middle of the dark field to make out passionately for a little while.

"Come on then," Lily prodded him once they'd parted.

"Merlin…" With the light from the tip of her wand guiding them, Lily pulled James right down to the edge of the lake. "Do I want to know what you're going to do next?"

The redhead dropped her wand into the grass, grinning all the while, and then pulled her dress over the top of her head. James' eyes widened.

"Okay, no, I'm one hundred percent sure this is how we die," James decided anxiously. He was not usually the one talking the pair out of trouble.

"Oh live a little, grandpa," Lily chuckled.

"That's exactly what I'd like to do, live a little longer."

"Well I for one, am quite tired of all this living business." Without another word Lily dove head first into the lake. James watched from the edge, a mixture of worry and amusement filling his hazel eyes, as she broke the surface.

"Whew!" she cried out with thrill. She was in the center of the lake, treading water. "Come on then, Potter," she urged her boyfriend. "The water is lovely."

James could not believe that Lily Evans, of all people, was convincing him to jump into the Great Lake at midnight. Yet, somehow, despite his better judgment, he began to undress.

Lily giggled infectiously from the water. "Look at you, handsome!"

James jumped in, splashing her with the wave which followed him. She didn't seem to mind. As he submerged she waited, treading water, smiling widely. It was the happiest he'd seen her in a while.

"What?" Lily asked him breathlessly. James stared at her with endless affection. In the poor lighting, he did his best to admire every aspect of her features. Her heart shaped face. The freckles that covered every patch of her skin. The way her dark red hair parted in the middle, tumbling down to frame her face. Her almond shaped green eyes that sparkled when the light hit them just right.

"You're beautiful," James told her, swimming closer. "Not a bad swimmer either."

Lily laughed boisterously. She shifted to floating on her back, treading out into the center of the lake.

"My grandmother lived in this wonderful cottage by the beach," Lily told him. "We used to visit her every summer. I was always terrified of the water. I'd stay on the beach and make sand castles while Petunia swam."

"Always the creative one," James quipped.

"Finally, one of the last days of one of our many visits, Petunia insisted I come in the water with her."

"And you did?"

"Yes," Lily confirmed, still floating on the surface. "She promised she'd hold my hand the entire time and she did. She never let go."

It was impossible for James to miss the tone of nostalgia in Lily's voice. It was clear that despite the drift between her and her sister, Lily missed the bond they'd once shared immensely.

"My parents had me swimming before I could even talk," James informed her, trying to shift the subject matter to something a little more lighthearted. "My mother was this amazing swimmer, she used to be able to go miles without stopping. The minute it was warm enough she always had us going down to the water, spending our summers there."

"I didn't know that!" Lily enthused, turning off her back. "So, are you a champion swimmer then?"

James laughed as she came closer towards him. "Hardly. I can just manage to keep myself above the surface for a little while."

"I'd like to think I'd bring my kids down to a nice cottage every summer," Lily dreamed.

"I'd like lots of children," James announced. "Not to scare you or anything."

"I hope you know, as I'll be giving birth to all these kids, I'll dictate the number."

James laughed. He supposed that was a fair agreement.

"I'd like a little gaggle of kids as well," Lily professed after a little while. "I always wished I had more siblings."

"I wished I had any," James admitted.

Suddenly Lily's hands pressed against his chest, her face right up near his. "We'll have lots of kids," she promised him. "A whole house full. It'll be wonderful."

The pair kissed. Lily's arms hung around James' neck as he kept them afloat. It was one of the most romantic moments they'd ever shared – until they were rudely interrupted, of course.

"You bloody kids," a grumpy voice grumbled in the distance. James and Lily bounced apart faster than the speed of light. Lily screamed so loud James feared she'd wake the giant squid.

Filch stood on the water's edge. His lantern gave him the slightest outline of the two kids in the water.

"Get out!" he yelled at them. "I see you swimming out there!"

"Can I please die right now?" Lily begged her boyfriend.

James swam forward first, leading the way, Lily cowering behind him.

"Mind turning around for a moment?" he requested, Filch grumpily obliging. The pair climbed from the water, dripping wet, scurrying to get their clothing on.

"Finished?" Filch snapped. When the pair gave him no response he took it as a yes, spinning back to face them with a sinister grin. "Well, isn't this something," he said with joy. "Our Head Boy and Girl." James was sure Lily felt just about ready to sink into the ground and never surface.

"Care to tell me what this is?" Filch demanded, shaking what to the ordinary eye appeared to be a folded up, blank map. Of course, it wasn't. James had left the Marauder's map on top of his clothing, having carried it down with them from the party to look out for any teachers. They'd failed on that count.

"No clue," James lied.

"Oh no?" Filch taunted him. "Won't mind if I keep it then, will you?"

James felt tempted to physically reach out and snatch the map from Filch's hands. He didn't of course. He shook his head, his face staying straight.

"Nope," he replied flatly. "Not at all."

The caretaker appeared slightly let down by James' cool reaction but tucked the map into his back pocket nonetheless.

"Let's go you two," he directed them with a heavy glare. "Time to go let McGonagall know where you've spent your evening."

As Filch led the way back up to the castle James turned around to see Lily looking near tears.

"I'm so sorry!" she whispered over and over. "Oh my god James, I am so sorry."

Perhaps, at another time, James might have been angry, or at the very least annoyed. Yet for some reason he couldn't quite understand, all he could do was look down at his small, apologetic girlfriend and smile.

"Come on, you troublemaker," he joked. "I think detention is punishment enough for you."


Sirius could not hold back his laughter when James called to him through the mirrors they shared.

"You mean to tell me you lost the Marauders map because you were skinny dipping with Lily Evans?" he asked with amusement. James and Lily had been forced to return to their dorms after McGonagall had announced they'd endure an evening of detention the next day.

"I can't bloody believe it," James admitted painfully. "Seven years we've held on to that stupid map—"

"I always imagined us handing it down to our children someday," Sirius said half-seriously.

"How much do you hate me right now?" James worried.

Had it been a year or two ago Sirius might have been truly upset about the lose of the map they'd spent hours slaving over to create. It was one of their greatest achievements during their years at Hogwarts.

"Sadly, I don't think we're really going to be needing it in a month's time."

"I keep forgetting that," James sighed from his end of the mirror. His reflection frowned at Sirius.

"How's the party going?"

Sirius had stepped out into the hallway for a moment to share a few words with his missing friend. Many students had returned to their dorms already, but like any good Marauders party, people were still raging inside.

"Good, of course, we're throwing it."

"Remus and Pete still there?"

"Peter is currently dancing with Emmeline and Gideon, Remus is moping around a bit."

"Typical," James shrugged.

"Alright, you get some sleep mate, I'm going to head back in and see if I can't cheer our good old friend up," Sirius assured James.

"Will do," he agreed from the other end. Then his reflection disappeared and Sirius tucked his mirror into his back pocket. He was turning for the doors just as he heard a small cough echo from around the corner. He hadn't realized anyone was out here but him.

Sirius poked his head around the corner curiously. Marlene McKinnon was sat down on the floor alone, missing her shoes.

"You okay there, McKinnon?" Sirius asked, leaning against the wall for support.

Marlene's head had been bowed, her short hair hanging in front of her eyes, but she looked up quickly to see Sirius standing across from her.

"Just…a little too much to drink," she explained. Sirius took a deep breath, approaching the spot of floor beside her.

"Happens to the best of us," he said with assurance.

"This is embarrassing," Marlene mumbled drunkenly.

Sirius didn't feel like admitting it, but he'd had much worse run-ins with alcohol. During one New Years party at the Potters', Caroline had needed to spend a whole evening in the washroom with him as he puked his guts out.

"It's just me," Sirius promised her, his hand rubbing small circles on her back comfortingly.

"Exactly," Marlene said, her eyes half closed. She leaned back against the wall, stretching out her long, lean, legs.

"Where did your shoes go, Marls?"

"I can't quite remember," she admitted. "They weren't comfortable. I hate heels. I don't know why I insist on wearing them so often."

"Usually, you tell me it's because they compliment your figure," Sirius reminded her.

Marlene snorted with laughter. "That's true."

Very slowly she began to lean to the side, her head eventually resting on Sirius' shoulder. His muscles tightened the slightest with the closeness between them. It felt like so long since they'd been this way. Sirius had almost forgotten the way it made him feel.

"I'll never regret it, you know," she told him very surely.

"Regret what?" Sirius asked, already having a good idea what she might be referencing.

"Kissing you that day in the change rooms. It was a good kiss."

Sirius couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I suppose it was."

"Then we walked back up to the castle together and I told you very sternly that it was a one-time impulse."

How long ago that all felt now. Sirius could still remember his surprise and excitement as Marlene's lips had pressed to his, the feeling of his hands along her hips. There had been a blazing look of determinedness in her blue eyes as they'd reached the castle doors.

"Never speak about this to anyone, okay?" she'd told him very sternly.

"Don't flatter yourself, McKinnon," he'd scoffed with pride.

"Do you remember what happened next?" She laughed.

It was impossible to forget. Marlene had stared into his eyes – all defiant and self-righteous – and then kissed him hard, Sirius pushing her back against the castle wall. He'd never felt so much passion in his life. He'd nearly pulled his pants down right there. The pair of them practically rushed inside, in desperate search of a broom closet to tuck away into.

"We had a good run, didn't we?" he asked her with a hint of nostalgia. He hated the way the words came from his mouth, as though they were only a thing of the past. There was a heavy pause and then, very slowly, Marlene lifted herself up from Sirius' shoulder, turning to look him in the eye.

Her gaze was filled with uncertainty and nervousness. Sirius could practically feel it radiating off of her. "If I kiss you now do you promise you won't hold it against me?" she asked him. Sirius couldn't pretend he wasn't a little startled by the request.

He stared back at her, breathing deeply. "Okay," he finally agreed.

Marlene leaned in, her mouth finding his. Their lips connected, Sirius locking his hands in her hair. It was impossible to miss how much lay between the two of them. Years of history. Fights and laughter. There was nothing the two hadn't been through.

"Sorry," Marlene said very quietly as she pulled away. She didn't do so quickly but with slow, resistant, movement. Her forehead pressed against Sirius'.

"For what?" he asked her.

"Falling in love with someone else." That one line left a crushing feeling in the center of his chest. Marlene pulled away from Sirius, leaning back into her previous position. "Did we screw it up, Sirius?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about half the time," he informed her. Marlene rolled her head to glance at him.

"You and I," she explained further. She held him in a longing gaze. "Remember how easy it used to feel last year?"

Sirius hated getting all nostalgic. He'd never seen anything good of it. People reminisced about the past and spent their entire present wishing they could go back. Maybe it was because Sirius had never before had anything very special in his past to miss…He didn't want to sit and remember all the good old times because it just made him feel like they were all gone.

"You've really had too much to drink, huh?" he teased her. Marlene rolled her eyes, edging a little closer to Sirius.

"Humor me."

"It's not as though you'll remember anything I say," he sighed.

"Oh, how the tables have turned."

Sirius supposed he did deserve that. Too many times he'd cornered Marlene while under the influence, perhaps he could allow her one night.

"That one Halloween was fun," he shrugged. "The one where we pulled together a party in the Common Room."

Marlene squealed with joy. "The one where all four of you dressed up as The Beatles!"

"Yeah," Sirius chuckled. "And you promised me you'd come down the stairs as Marilyn Monroe." Marlene grinned knowingly. "Then you came down the bloody stairs with Joni Mitchell's hair."

"It was the best Halloween costume I've done yet," she admitted. "Mary managed to give me bangs for the night and I wore a long kimono style dress."

She sat rather close to Sirius, their faces inches apart. He looked over at her, her blue eyes rounded with curiosity. God, he missed her. He'd never admit it though. He missed being able to run off after a party and tear her costume off. He missed feeling like she was his, even though she never truly was. In some weird, twisted way they had belonged to each other.

"Marlene…" Sirius spoke softly.

"Sirius…"

"I think that—"

"I'm going to be sick," Marlene announced suddenly, Sirius jumping up into action.

"Right now?"

"Right now." She nodded, already looking a little queasy.


Alice hadn't been in the Room of Requirements with Frank since the night of their disastrous break up. So much had changed since then. Alice no longer felt like she was sinking into a deep, black chasm, and Frank was now her husband. The word still sounded a little funny…husband.

"Why do you have that look on your face?" Frank asked as they danced slowly to The Rolling Stones' No Expectations. Alice looked up at her husband, smiling.

"Why did you forgive me?" she asked him out of the blue. Frank raised his eyebrows.

"Is that what you're thinking about as you dance with me?"

"You didn't have to," she continued, disregarding his question. "I was horrible…I probably wouldn't have taken me back."

Frank licked his lips, staring down at Alice with a knowing look glistening in his brown eyes. "I didn't think I'd be able to," he admitted to her. "I was really angry at you for a while. You broke my heart." Alice bowed her head guiltily. "I got with Cecily because I wanted to make you jealous and also to see if I really could find what we had with someone else." Alice looked back up at him with big doe eyes. "You are irreplaceable," he told her certainly. "To me, Alice, you're everything."

Alice stopped dancing suddenly, throwing her arms around Frank's middle and holding him tight. He seemed startled by her sudden gesture, his arms finding her slowly.

"I love you," she told him. Alice had never been so sure of something in her entire life. Every time she got to wake up in the morning and see Frank beside her she was reminded her lucky she'd gotten. Not to have just one shot with him, but two.

"I just know how happy my mom would be," Alice said, staring up at Frank once more, "knowing I had you. Especially with my dad gone…Frank, you're really everything to me. You're all I've got. You're my family. I hope you know that. I hope you know how sorry I am that I ever hurt you—"

"It wasn't you," he assured Alice, kissing the top of her head. "You were filled with anger and grief and you did a stupid, reckless thing. I forgive you, Al, your slate with me is clean."

She smiled at him tearfully, their lips meeting. Alice thought they might not ever part – until they were interrupted of course.

"Uh, have you guys seen Lupin?" Alice pulled away from Frank to find Everett and Fabian standing beside them, looks of concern upon their faces. Fabian pointed towards one of the couches near the back of the room. Remus sat on one with a look of true melancholy and total drunkenness.

"What the hell is in the alcohol tonight?" Frank mused.

"Who else is completely pissed?" Everett wondered curiously. Frank shot him his usual glare – it'd become a sort of custom between the two – leaving Alice to politely answer the question.

"Marlene," she informed him, amusement in her tone. "She tried to make out with me."

"WHAT?" Fabian cried out, spitting the beer he'd been drinking all over the floor, narrowly missing Alice's face.

"Don't tell Frank, but I was a little tempted—"

"Oi!" Frank cried out, pulling Alice closer to his side while Everett and Fabian chuckled.

It was strange, being able to stand in the same vicinity as Everett and have Alice not want to murder him. She supposed Frank was experiencing something of the same sensation. It was hard for her to hate him when she saw how far he'd come. Perhaps, just like Alice, he'd been trying to use her to repress something. Not to mention the grin plastered all over Fabian's face whenever Everett was close by. Alice hadn't seen the Prewett so happy in months.

"Someone should go make sure he's okay," Fabian suggested.

"Well, why'd you come to us? Why don't you two go?" Frank shrugged.

"Sorry Longbottom, but this is my song and my boyfriend requested it just for me," Fabian informed him, little sympathy in his gaze as Y.M.C.A by The Village People began to play. Fabian and Everett slowly began to back away as Alice shook her head with disapproval.

"I'll go talk to Remus," she said, leaning up to kiss Frank on the cheek. "You go join Peter and Emmeline."

"The things I do for you," Frank sighed, as though the task he was contemplating were terribly daunting. He moved across the dance floor towards Peter as Alice approached Remus across the room.

"Hey buddy," she greeted him, sliding beside him onto the couch.

"Leila was here for a little while, did you know that?" he announced, his eyes drooping in his state of drunkenness.

"I saw that," Alice nodded. "Hard for me to miss those death stares she's always shooting me."

Remus pouted, staring at Alice with big puppy dog eyes. He took another sip of his drink, slouching backwards. "She was making out with some guy in her year," he announced, looking less than pleased about the fact.

"I'm sorry, Remus," Alice sighed, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"She left with him," he nodded sadly. "One week we've been broken up…"

Alice knew how painful it could be to see someone you'd cared so deeply about be with someone else. Remus and Leila had tried so hard, she'd seen it, but even their second chance hadn't been enough to make it work.

"It doesn't mean she's over you," Alice told him pointedly, slouching back against the wall with her friend. She watched a group of girls she believed to be Gryffindors in the distance. One of them was sobbing endlessly, her friends all circling her, whispering words of comfort Alice couldn't hear. She smiled. The young girls reminded her greatly of her own friend group a few years ago when their teenage problems had felt like the end of the world. Perhaps there was a new generation now…

"The truth is," Remus began, slurring his words together. Alice turned her head, her attention returned to her rather intoxicated friend. "I don't know why it even bugs me so much. I'm the one who kissed another girl first."

Remus used the hand his drink was into gesture dramatically, some of the liquid in his cup spilling over the edge onto Alice's flats. She might have been annoyed had it not been for his surprising revelation.

"Sorry, can you repeat that one for me?" she asked, struggling to contain herself. When the hell had her friend found the time to kiss another girl and how had he not told her?

"I kissed Dorcas," Remus whispered to Alice, as though afraid one of the non-existent people around them might hear. Alice's doe eyes widened with surprise.

"Meadowes?" she clarified, just in case, he'd somehow found another Dorcas to make out with.

Remus nodded surely. "The night that Donovan's burned down…we promised it'd never happen again…" Remus' gaze drifted off in a dreamy fashion. "A part of me wishes she'd walk through the door right now so it could…"

"Holy shit," Alice cursed in shock, her mind spinning with the news. "You like Dorcas?"

"Like is such a strong word…" Remus mumbled. Alice couldn't miss the look in his eyes, though. She was ready to practically jump out of her seat. Yeah, it was still a shock, but Dorcas! Her funny, sarcastic, easy-going Auror buddy. The person who'd offered a shoulder to lean on during her breakup. Dorcas was a step up from Leila, who looked about ready to hit Alice with a hex anytime she so much as looked at Remus.

"Am I doomed to be miserable?" Remus asked pessimistically. Alice grinned, her arm wrapping around his shoulder.

"Oh, I think you're going to do just fine, bud," she promised him.


For about the third time that night, Sirius held Marlene's hair back as she puked violently into the seventh floor girls' bathroom. After flushing the toilet she leaned back into him, his hands rubbing her shoulders soothingly.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized for what felt like the hundredth time. "You don't have to stay—"

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to leave you drunk and puking in a bathroom stall," Sirius replied sarcastically.

"I'm sure you regret deciding to talk to me tonight," she scoffed. Her eyes were closed as she rested the back of her head against Sirius' chest, her knees curled into her side.

"Please, do you know how many times I've been in your position, McKinnon?"

"I can imagine," Marlene said with light laughter. "I wasn't really ready for a big party…" she began to explain. "I know that sounds dumb…"

"Nah," Sirius assured her, "I get it. It's been a shitty few months."

"I thought maybe if I got really drunk it'd feel better, you know? Just for a little while."

"Did it?"

Marlene took a long pause. Sirius worried for a moment she'd fallen asleep.

"No, maybe a little bit…I don't know." She took Sirius' hands from her shoulders, instead, wrapping his arms around her, holding tightly onto his hands. Sirius hoped to god she couldn't tell how hard his heart was beating in his chest.

"I did love him," Marlene admitted, although Sirius had never asked. "I think…" her sentence drifted off. "I think maybe that…well…that he was the guy I thought I was supposed to love. Because I'd always wanted him when I was younger…" Sirius felt his stomach drop just the slightest. He tried his best to ignore the sensation. "You're different, though…"

"Different?" Sirius asked, unable to help himself. "What's that mean?"

"Henry was the kind of guy I wanted to be with…you…you're just that guy…the one who makes sense."

"I think I need to get you drunk more often, McKinnon."

Marlene laughed. "No! Oh, Merlin. This is horrible, I don't know how you've even stuck around this long."

"Nah, it's not that hard," he assured her. "You're a pretty endearing drunk."

Marlene held onto Sirius hands a little tighter, her fingers locked with his. It made everything inside of Sirius swell up in a way he didn't quite like. It made him want to only hold onto her more tightly. He pressed his face down into her head for a minute, inhaling the familiar scent of vanilla and coconut off her hair. He loved that smell.

"Sirius?" she asked, a tone of fear in her voice.

"Yeah?"

"If you could go back, to that day when you told me I was nothing more than a shag…would you change it?"

Sirius inhaled sharply. It was a moment he'd gone back to so many times in his head. What if he hadn't said it? What if he'd told her the truth and dealt with the shit from James? Everything would have been so different…

"I would have told you the truth," he admitted. "I don't really know what that would have meant, honestly. Maybe we would have given it a go…maybe we would have just gone back to what we used to be. All I know is that I miss you; having you around, laughing with you. I wish I would've realized how much I was giving up that day."

Sirius paused, realizing he hadn't taken a moment to blink since he'd begun talking. He blinked back the tears that had formed in his dry eyes, taking in a deep breath. He looked down, noticing Marlene's rather still form. Then he heard the sound of deep, even breaths. She'd fallen asleep and Sirius' honest confession had fallen upon deaf ears.


A/N: I'm really dragging my heels on this whole Sirius and Marlene thing but I swear it's for the best of reasons, you'll see! If it helps at all, I posted a Blackinnon video this past week, it's on my blog if you want to check it out! Until next time... xxx