James Potter woke up the Saturday morning of the final Quidditch game, rolling over in his bed to find his windowpanes soaked in water droplets as it poured rain outside. The weather felt fitting to his mood. This was the last weekend at Hogwarts. The last Quidditch game. Monday, they'd all be getting on the train and heading back to King's Cross station for the last time.
With a heavy sigh, James crawled out of bed, gathering his Quidditch gear to throw on. He felt the usual butterflies accompanied with any Quidditch match. It didn't matter that he'd been playing for years, the nerves still managed to kick in no matter what.
The Great Hall was usually completely empty on weekends until about nine a.m. Not this morning, though. James walked downstairs and into the hall to find it full and bustling with people. The House Elves had cooked a pancake breakfast – as they did before every big game. Anyone at Gryffindor or Slytherin table was dressed in House colours, chatting excitedly about who might come out the victor.
"Hey, James!" A few teammates greeted him cheerfully.
"Ready for the big game?" he responded.
"Always!"
James found his own friends sitting towards the centre of the table. Sirius was talking very seriously to the Prewett twins about their strategies for the upcoming game. Remus was going over the Muggle Studies exam from yesterday with Alice while Peter and Lily were sat closely laughing.
"Morning, captain!" Sirius grinned upon spotting James before them. James slid in beside Remus and Sirius, grabbing himself some food.
"How'd you sleep?" Lily asked with a warm smile.
"Fine. I'm just ready to be out on the pitch at this point."
"I'm not," Lily complained, looking up at the Great Hall's ceiling. It was filled with dark clouds, lightning striking once in awhile, as rain poured down.
"We're all going to have to be on high alert," Sirius informed James. "The rains going to make it impossible to see each other, especially impossible to find the snitch."
James didn't know why, but for some reason, the winning of today's match meant little to him. Usually, the few hours before a game was spent grilling all his teammates on how they could best strategize. Suddenly, the whole thing felt much less important.
Down the table, a few people over, James caught Marlene sitting with Janie Douglas, the team's seeker. The two girls were chatting, laughing together. Both sat in their Quidditch gear, Marlene's short blond hair in a tiny ponytail on the back of her head.
"Remus, don't look ahead of you," Fabian instructed anxiously. James – never good at being subtle – looked right ahead. Leila was at Hufflepuff table, directly across from them, practically attached to a dark haired boy beside her. The pair were even sharing the same plate of food. It was positively nauseating, in James' opinion.
Of course, Remus didn't follow Fabian's advice. His head perked up, his face not dropping nearly as much as James had expected.
"You dodged a bullet with that one," Sirius assured his friend. "I mean…she was a bit mad."
"You barely knew her Sirius," Lily scolded him. "Leila is sweet—"
"She had me fooled," Alice muttered under her breath. James smirked.
"She was a bit…" Gideon paused, being careful with his words, "erratic." Fabian snorted with laughter in response.
"I think what Lily is trying to express, is that Remus liked her and therefore, we should all practice a little empathy."
"I don't mind," Remus shrugged casually, taking a bite from the sausage on his plate. James' eyebrows rose. Was he dreaming?
"You don't care?" he pestered his friend. "A week ago you told me you thought you might have made a mistake—"
"A lot changes in a week Prongs," Remus told his friend. James couldn't tell if the whole thing was a cover up or if Remus was really over the whole breakup.
"Am I the only one feeling a little confused?"
"Oh no, I'm definitely in that boat with you," Sirius nodded.
"Me too. Mostly, because not that much actually changes in a week?" Gideon added.
"Are you sure you're okay, Moony?" Peter worried. Alice sat on Remus' right, had a big grin on her face that she couldn't seem to shake.
"Does Alice know something we don't?" James requested swiftly. He wasn't one to miss a sign. "Because if so, I am very offended."
Remus shot Alice an incredulous look, "Alice!"
"I'm sorry!" the petite witch proclaimed. "I can't help it!"
"Oh my god, what are you hiding?" Lily nearly jumped across the table with excitement. She pushed aside her finished plate of breakfast so she could lean in closer to Remus.
"Are you and Leila secretly still together!?" Gideon exclaimed. Fabian rolled his eyes, punching his brother in the arm.
"Don't be an idiot Gid, there's clearly someone new."
Remus rolled his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Well…"
"Oh spit it out!" Sirius complained in agony. "The suspense is killing me!" Truthfully, there was little suspense, Sirius was just the most impatient person on the planet.
"I shagged Dorcas Meadowes," Remus confessed. It seemed as though everyone gasped at once.
"I have never been so proud," Sirius admitted after a period of silence, grinning joyfully.
"When did this happen?" Lily squealed.
"Who knew Lupin had it in him?" Gideon teased.
"Oh shut it, Prewett, just because you scored Vance doesn't mean you're the only one with game," Remus' voice was swelling with pride as he made the proclamation. Everyone clapped and hooted in awe.
"What a legend," James announced, shaking his head in dismay. He felt as though he'd just been hit over the head with a brick. Never in a million years would he have imagined Remus and Dorcas together.
"What have I missed?" Marlene asked the group, walking up the center aisle, pausing behind Lily and Peter. Gideon flashed her a big toothy grin.
"Our boy Remus is shagging Dorcas Meadowes."
Marlene gasped with excitement, her hand flung over her mouth. "Oh my god! That's so amazing. You two are going to be freaking adorable together!" She was so excited you'd think Marlene was the one who'd just been shagged.
"Thanks, Mar," Remus, laughed, his cheeks going rosy pink.
"I'm heading down to the pitch early," Marlene announced to the group.
"Even in this rain?" Alice looked towards the ceiling in horror. It was hard to understand the joy of flying in any weather condition if you didn't play Quidditch. "I'd be waiting as long as I could to get out there."
"Aren't you coming to watch the game?" Lily pouted from across the table. "I can't be the only one sitting there complaining about frizzy hair."
"Oh trust me, Sirius will be complaining about his hair the whole time," James quipped, Remus and Peter practically falling from their seats with laughter.
"I will get Gideon to hit you with the bludger if you don't watch your tongue, Potter," Sirius warned him darkly.
"Everett's coming to watch! I'm sure he'll complain about his hair with you as well," Fabian reassured Lily.
"It's our last game, you're really going to skip it, Al?" Marlene looked a little disappointed to be hearing her friend wouldn't be there. In all honesty, James was wracking his brain, trying to remember a time Alice had attended a Quidditch game.
"I promised Frank I'd stay in with him," Alice admitted guiltily. "Besides, I need to get started on some packing."
There was a collective groan from everyone in the group at the mention of packing.
"Oh please don't remind me," Fabian pleaded. "I have a pile of dirty clothes shoved under my bed."
"Even the house elves don't dare touch them," Gideon nodded in terror.
"Okay, well I'll see you guys at the game then," Marlene said with a final wave. Something inside of James jolted him up from his seat.
"Wait up!" he called after her, jogging a little to catch up. "I'm going to head down too."
"Oh," Marlene nodded absently.
"Don't look so pleased," James joked. He'd found that looking at things through a lens of humor was the only way not to leave him in tears every night. Losing one of his closest friends was the hardest thing, not knowing if she'd ever come back made it only worse.
The two of them were right about to push open the doors to the courtyard when James heard a timid voice say his name from behind him. Even Marlene stopped and stared as James turned to see Sarah Daniels standing there.
Her silky brown hair was longer now, flowing down the length of her back. She smiled at him, standing closely to another Hufflepuff girl James didn't know.
"Good luck today," Sarah said kindly. "I've put my money down on you guys, please don't let me lose."
"Wow…uh…thanks, Sarah." James hadn't spoken to his ex-girlfriend since their rather dramatic breakup in the very entrance hall they now stood in. Every once in awhile he'd drift past her in a hall or see her giggling with her friends during dinner. Never had she stopped to speak to him.
"Hey, listen, I…" Sarah cleared her throat as she stepped forward. She paused, rummaging around in her book bag for a minute. "I've been wanting to give you this for a while." She handed over a folded piece of parchment. James was sure he'd open it to find the words "FUCK YOU" in bold print. Except, that wasn't it at all.
Instead, Sarah had given him the sketch she'd drawn while they were still together. James sitting against the tree down by the water. His novel between his hands, his glasses on the edge of his nose. What a different time that felt like.
"After you cheated on me with Lily I was dead set on burning it," James' eyes widened. He wasn't so sure he wanted the drawing now. "I couldn't do it, though. It was too good."
"Thanks, Sarah," he smiled gratefully. "Honestly, you didn't have to."
"I figured, after tomorrow I'll probably never see you again." James' stomach rolled. He supposed that was true…
"We might see each other," he shrugged, his voice filled with false optimism. "Maybe we could be friends."
Sarah smirked at him, as though she knew something James didn't. "That's okay Potter. I think it's best we say our goodbyes now."
"I'm really sorry for everything that went down in the fall. I never got the chance to tell you that."
"You seem happy," Sarah nodded, "with Lily. You two are good together. I'm glad."
It was strange, such a final goodbye. Knowing that this was most likely the last time he'd ever speak to Sarah. She gave him a small wave, turning for the Great Hall with the girl she'd been standing with, the two of them linking hands. A smile came over James' face as he watched them both disappear into the Great Hall. Perhaps Sarah had found herself, someone, to be happy with too…
"Are you okay?"
James practically jumped out of his skin, turning to find Marlene leaned against the door, a curious look on her face. He'd forgotten she was standing there.
"Yeah," he shrugged. "That was nice."
"She was a good rebound choice," Marlene nodded with approval, leading the way out to the stormy grounds. James scoffed.
"Oh shut up." And for a moment she did. And for just that moment, everything was the same.
Alice tapped on the door to the boy's dormitory. She didn't know why she bothered. She and Frank were about the only people left in the castle – no one else was crazy enough to miss the final Quidditch game.
"Look what I found shoved to the bottom of my suitcase," Alice said, shaking the sweater in front of the door before she entered herself. Frank smiled from the floor beside his bed, where he was folding and stuffing away all his things.
"My jumper! When did you take that?"
"I didn't," Alice told him honestly, tossing the sweater in Frank's direction. "You gave it to me, that night at the hospital." Frank paused before he seemed to remember what Alice was talking about.
"Oh yeah," he smirked. Alice came and sat in the space between Frank's legs, leaning into him. "Back when I didn't know if we'd ever be back together."
"I knew!" Alice bragged. Honestly, she hadn't a clue. She'd been terrified that her days with Frank were over. That his arms would never stretch around her again. This she'd forget the feeling of his mouth pressed to hers.
"Liar," Frank laughed.
"Fine. I had a good idea, though."
Alice went to lace her fingers through Frank's but he pulled away, sitting up abruptly. She turned and shot her husband a funny look.
"What do you think you're doing, sir?"
"I want to show you something."
"I was enjoying that cuddle," Alice whined, leaning on the hard and uncomfortable bedpost instead. Frank was fiddling around in his bedside drawer, flipping through papers. Alice watched him with an unavoidable smile. He was hers. Forever. She didn't know how she'd managed to get so lucky.
If Frank hadn't come back into her life Alice figured she would have been leaving Hogwarts a mess. No family left. No home to return to. Her life as she'd known it before was gone.
Karen had sold the house. She'd written Alice to see if she wanted her to keep it but the young witch had refused. The last thing she wanted was to spend any more time in that house. It was only filled with bad memories now. Karen had promised to keep it until Alice returned at the least. For one final goodbye.
"So," Frank began, his voice filled with joy. "I was thinking about what we should do after school. Where we should live."
"I figured we'd be living with Augusta until we found a place of our own?" Despite not being super hot on the idea of Augusta watching her every move, Alice knew that after selling the house it wouldn't take long for her and Frank to find a place – with good money too.
"No," Frank told her, shaking his head with a big grin. He pulled out a photograph from behind his back, Alice gasped. "Say hello to our new home."
"Frank! Oh, my god. Frank, is this for real?" Alice had jumped up from her cozy spot on the floor. She leaped from foot to foot, her arms flying in the air. "That's our house?"
"Paid for and everything. It's in Brighton. Right by the water. You always told me you wanted a little house by the water."
Alice snatched the photograph right from his hands. It was a cut out from the Prophet. The photo was black and white but Alice already knew the sun was shining down on the house, the smell of salty seawater filling her lungs as she imagined standing before it. It had a large bay window where she figured the living room was, and three little cobble steps that led to the old fashion wood door.
3 bedroom. 2 bath.
Alice read the caption of the photo with eagerness, soaking up every word. She wanted to be inside the new home right now.
"When did you do this?" Alice demanded, her eyes filling with tears of joy. Frank laughed, standing to wrap his arms around her.
"I saw it in the paper, the Monday after we got married. I figured it was a sign."
"I can't believe you did this Frank." Alice was overwhelmed. A whole house to herself. A place for her and Frank to make a home. To build a family. A place of love and comfort.
"We're going to be so happy Alice," he promised her. Frank took her face in his hands. Alice felt like she was flying, the two of them spinning around in the sky. Too happy to be held down by gravity's force. "We'll fill it up with all the art and photographs you want. Decorate it however you like." Alice gulped back the lump in her throat. "It's our turn to be happy Al, it's our turn to start a family."
The desperation for a solid, full, household was just as important to Frank as it was to Alice. He'd lost his father when he was young and craved his whole life for more siblings. Alice had always sympathized with his loneliness.
For the first time since she'd seen the photo, Alice paused. She stared up into Frank's big brown eyes, her smile faltering the slightest. She'd never thought much about why they never went to Quidditch games, why Frank had always insisted on hiding away in the Common Room when everyone else was out on the pitch.
Well, that wasn't completely true. She knew why she just hadn't ever really taken the time to talk to Frank about it. Alice still remembered their first Quidditch game, first year.
It was late September, the leaves on the trees beginning to go from green to red, and everyone was absolutely brimming with excitement. Alice had never seen a real Quidditch game before. She'd always begged her parents but they were too busy, and neither were big fans of the game.
"It's so great!" Marlene enthused as the girls made their way down from the common room, following the bustle of students. "Sitting up in the stands, you can feel it as they swoosh past you." Her friend had her hair in pigtails. She was chewing on a piece of bubblegum, blowing it with disinterest.
"Isn't it kind of dangerous?" Lily asked, trailing behind them. "Flying on broomsticks? Can't they fall off?"
Marlene laughed as though it were a ridiculous thing to wonder. "Lily, you really need to get used to living in a world of magic."
The redhead scowled at Marlene as they took their usual shortcut across the fifth floor.
"McKinnon!" James caught sight of them from down the hall, he and Sirius rushing to meet up with them. "You excited?"
"Are you kidding? This is what I've been waiting for since we got here!"
They turned the corner, the whole lot of them speaking animatedly about Quidditch. Sirius, Marlene, and James were trying to explain the concept of the game to Lily – all of them speaking at once. As the four of them chattered on Alice caught sight of Frank, curled up on the edge of a windowsill. If you didn't look twice you missed him.
"Frank?" Alice asked in shock, pausing abruptly. He looked down, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Oh, hi."
"Alice!"
The young witch paused, staring up ahead at her friends who'd stopped to wait for her.
"Are you coming?" Marlene asked, looking irritated that she was being held back from the Quidditch pitch for longer than she had to be. Alice stared from the group to Frank, her hands clasped behind her back anxiously.
"Um…I'll meet you down there," she shot back. "Save me a spot!"
Marlene shrugged, continuing down the hall with the rest of the group until they disappeared around the corner. Alice stared up at Frank, the light streaming in from the window illuminating his melancholy expression. Alice, with much struggle, hiked herself up onto the windowsill with him, dangling her legs off the side.
"Why aren't you going to the game?" She asked innocently.
"I don't like Quidditch." Something about the look on Frank's face told Alice that couldn't be totally true.
"I'm pretty sure everyone likes Quidditch—" she'd meant the comment lightly but the irritation in Frank's eyes told her it'd been perceived quite the opposite.
"I just don't like it, okay?" he snapped, more furious than she'd ever heard him before. "Why're you here anyway? You should be with your friends—"
"You are my friend," Alice responded with a bold stubbornness. She crossed her arms, glaring at Frank until his face softened. He sighed heavily, looking towards the ground with guilt.
"I'm sorry," he finally apologized in a quiet voice.
"That's fine."
"I did like Quidditch once." Frank wouldn't stare at Alice as he spoke. "My dad was a really good player." The, was in the sentence told Alice exactly where it was going. She reached out a hand for Frank's, not letting him say anymore.
"I understand," she nodded. "We don't have to go."
"I don't want you to miss it!" Frank protested.
"There'll be other games." Alice was too stubborn to take no for an answer. She'd spend the afternoon with Frank whether he liked it or not.
There were other games after that day. Lots of them. Alice never attended one, though. No, for seven years she spent her afternoons bugging Frank instead, and she hoped she always would.
The Quidditch pitch was absolutely packed with students. There was chatting and cheers coming from all angles as the two teams soared up above, pouring pelting from the sky. Mary, Reg, Lily, Remus and Peter had all grabbed seats together. They passed around the one pair of binoculars Remus had brought down, fighting for the chance to see what was going on above. Peter had tried to keep a rather large umbrella above the group of them but the plan and mercilessly failed. They'd resorted to raincoat hoods, more or less, allowing the rain to soak them through.
Mary was on the edge of her seat. Although she'd never been very good at playing, she found watching the game of Quidditch positively thrilling.
"There goes, Potter!" Mary's eyes followed a little red and gold spec in the sky as the student broadcaster gave a play by play. Seeing the game in detail was hard on a good day but in the rain? It was nearly impossible. "He's got the quaffle, the question is whether or not Gryffindor's captain can get them a few extra points…"
"Come on James!" Lily hollered at her boyfriend in the sky.
"I want to see!" Peter reached out for the binoculars Lily was clinging to.
"It really would have been smart to have more than one pair," Reg noted.
"He's going to get it, he's going to get it," Mary repeated the words over and over, hoping it made them true. James chucked the quaffle towards the post. Mary clutched tightly to Reg's hand as she watched it soaring, forward, forward, forward and then...in! He'd done it!
"YES! Potter's still got that touch. That's twenty points for Gryffindor. We saw them trailing behind at the start of the game but this brings them to eighty-five points, ten behind Slytherin."
"That was tense," Mary admitted, letting out a sigh of relief as she leaned over into Reg.
"Do you guys ever think you take this game a little too seriously?" He asked with caution. The whole group shot him looks of disapproval.
"Do not question the power of Quidditch," Remus advised him, lightning striking above.
"Quidditch is life," Peter agreed.
"Sorry babe, you're outnumbered."
"Whatever, as long as I still have an invite to the party if you win."
"Always," Mary assured him, leaning in for a quick kiss.
This was nice. Kissing in the rain. Mary curled into Reg's side as they watched the game. Never in a million years had she expected her year to end this way but now that it had, she wouldn't have it any other way.
"I brought snacks," Reg told the group, rummaging in his pack for a few seconds before pulling out a baggie of jelly slugs.
"He's a keeper," Lily assured Mary as she reached in to grab herself one.
"Reg, you are most certainly invited to any party we throw," Remus approved.
Mary turned to her boyfriend with a grin, giving his thigh a little squeeze.
"Guys!" A voice cried out from a distance. Mary's head poked up curiously, Emmeline rushing from across the stands to reach them. She was bumping into people, and smacked a few Ravenclaws on the back of the heads with her umbrella, but Emmeline didn't seem to mind at all.
"Where have you been?" Mary asked with raised eyebrows.
"That is not what is important right now." Emmeline dropped down into the space between Mary and Remus with an exasperated sigh. "You will never guess what I just heard." Her strawberry blonde hair was soaked with rain, her face flushed as though she'd run the whole way over. This had to be some good gossip.
"What's happened?" Lily asked, leaning over Peter, still gnawing at her jelly slug. Peter had the binoculars now, keeping a close eye on the game above.
"I had to go to Madam Pomfrey for something," Emmeline shot the two girls in the group a special look as she said this. That meant Emmeline had needed to go to Madam Pomfrey to get some of the potions she made for girls suffering from bad menstrual cramps. It was the only thing Mary knew to cure the pain.
"I went to the bathroom down the hall afterwards and while I was in the stall these two girls came in, one of them was crying." Mary knew she should be paying attention to the Quidditch game but she was too intrigued by whatever it was that had Emmeline so worked up. "It was Cecily," Emmeline explained in a hushed tone, assuring the other spectators around wouldn't hear. Now even Peter, who'd previously been invested in the game, looked over. "She's pregnant!"
There was a collective gasp, which came from the five of them. A loud, shaking, round of thunder surrounded them. "You're joking?" Remus said, shaking his head. "There's no way…"
"It was her. I wouldn't tell you guys if I wasn't certain."
"It couldn't be…" Lily stopped herself short. Frank. It was the first name to pop into Mary's head. He and Cecily hadn't broken up more than three months ago..."Oh, someone please tell me I'm being paranoid."
"Alice is going to freak…" Peter realized with fear.
"Frank is going to freak." Mary tried to imagine the look of utter terror on Frank's face as he heard the news.
The whole group of them stared at one another in shock as the stands began to grow rowdy, some students standing up.
"THAT'S IT! It's the snitch! Janie Douglas is a quick cookie, she's on it, but is Bertie Owens going to get to it before she does?"
Suddenly, all eyes were back on the Quidditch pitch, the five of them once again fighting to get the close-up view of the game.
"JANIE'S CLOSE…oh merlin, her hand is practically around it right now and…OHHH that's gotta hurt. She missed it by an inch."
"COME ON JANIE, just fucking catch it!" Mary barked from her seat. She felt as though she were the one chasing the snitch.
"Bertie looks like he might take it. He's in the lead now and it doesn't look like Janie has the chance of catching up. It's looking like it's time to prepare ourselves for a Slytherin victory." Everyone in green hooted at the prospect of that.
"HOLY SMOKES! Did anyone else see that hit from Gideon Prewett? He practically knocked Bertie right off his broom. Janie is speeding up now. Bertie is still recovering from that bludger. Folks, this is a real turn around!"
"THAT'S MY BOYFRIEND!" Emmeline cried out with pride. "THAT BADASS IS MY BOYFRIEND!"
"COME ON JANIE!" the group of them all screamed from the stands. Mary was the lucky binoculars holder and watched, up close, as Janie Douglas reached out her tiny hand and grasped the snitch. She practically threw the binoculars across the pitch, jumping up with pure joy.
"YES!" She screamed with excitement. "YES!"
"GRYFFINDOR HAS DONE IT AGAIN!" The whole pitch was erupting in shouts of joy. "THEY'VE WON THE HOUSE CUP!"
Marlene hadn't felt so happy in a long time. She stood in the Gryffindor Common Room, surrounded by cheers of joy and exhilaration. They'd won. All she'd wanted since first year was to hold the Quidditch cup between her hands her last year, to know she'd gone out with a bang.
Marlene, buzzing from the three beers she'd already had, stood at the front of the group, clutching the Quidditch cup in her arms, hugging it like it was a small child. The rest of the gang stood behind her. Everyone was chuckling, their arms wrapped around each other. It was the first time in months Marlene had felt like smiling, really smiling.
"Say cheese!" Dave - a pleasant sixth year - instructed them as he snapped a photo.
Marlene was sure she looked a mess. She hadn't cleaned up much after the game, besides throwing on a new pair of clothes. Her hair was still damp and frizzy and she was sure her makeup was smudged.
Someone had stuck on a record, music pulsing through the room. A few fifth years were dancing, shaking around in the corner. The couches and tables had been pushed back against the walls, clearing space for everyone to move around freely.
The Marauders had stocked a table full of food and drinks. Students from all houses and years moved through the common room. Marlene was sure you could hear them from the first floor but none of the teachers seemed to mind. It was the last weekend at school anyway, studies were over.
After the photo had been snapped Marlene floated towards the food and beverage table, snatching herself a chocolate cauldron cake and a tall glass of Fire Whiskey. If ever there were a night it was okay to get totally smashed, it was this one.
"Oh! Dave! Dave!" Alice cried after the boy rotating around the room with his camera. "Can you take one more picture of just us girls?" Marlene had just shoved a whole cauldron cake in her mouth as she was ushered forward. She sandwiched herself in between Alice and Lily, the girls all clinging to one another.
"Ready?" Alice said to the group of them, as though there was some plan Marlene had not been let in on.
"For what—" Marlene didn't get to finish her sentence before four different lips pressed into her cheek, kissing her. The young blonde squirmed and giggled as Dave snapped the picture, grinning.
"Perfect," he assured them, the girls all smiling proudly.
It was near midnight, the party still raging on strong. Marlene felt light and free from the alcohol she'd had. She sat on the floor with Emmeline, Mary, and Remus, the three whispering to each other. Emmeline and Remus had insisted they had a secret they needed to let Marlene in on and she was too drunk to really question them about it.
"Cecily is pregnant," Emmeline whispered, as though anyone would hear them talking in the over packed and loud room.
"And it is very possibly Frank's baby," Remus added in a scandalous tone.
"WHAT?" Marlene screamed out drunkenly.
"This is top secret business!" Emmeline hushed her, all three of them laughing in their drunken haze.
"Oh my god…does Alice know?"
"Do you think she'd be necking Frank right now if she knew?" Remus asked Marlene as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Slowly, Marlene shifted her gaze towards the couple sitting in the corner armchair. Alice on Frank's lap, her arms wrapped around him. Oh boy.
"Maybe she's into that kind of thing," Marlene shrugged as if that made any sense.
"Should we tell her?"
"Maybe Cecily will just forget?" Remus suggested. Both Emmeline and Marlene stared at him blankly. Even drunk they knew it the most ridiculous thing they'd ever heard.
"Just forget that she's pregnant?" Marlene clarified, hoping she'd heard him wrong.
"Yeah, it's worth a shot."
Marlene was certain she had never laughed so hard in her life. minutes later, as she began to calm down, her ribs felt like they were broken and her stomach ached.
"What are you three laughing about?" Sirius asked, approaching the group. He stood over them, beside Marlene. The blonde reached up, grabbing his arm to pull him down.
"SHH! It's a secret," she enthused.
"Top secret," Remus confirmed.
"Cecily is pregnant," Emmeline whispered across the circle. Everyone stared at Sirius expectantly, watching the shock sink in.
"WHAT?" He responded in exactly the same manner as Marlene.
"With Frank's baby," Marlene added, although that part hadn't actually been confirmed yet.
"Have I been drugged or am I hearing this right?"
"If you heard that Cecily is potentially pregnant with Frank's baby you haven't been drugged," Remus told him straight.
"If you heard otherwise then there is a possibility you were drugged," Emmeline added with a helpless shrug.
Marlene stared up at Sirius, a big grin on her face. His shaggy black hair looked longer to her, as though he were growing it out. It was just past his chin now and every once in awhile he ran his fingers through it, pushing it back from his forehead. There was something about the action Marlene positively adored.
"Does Alice know yet?" Sirius wondered. He looked ready to pass out from the surprise he'd just been hit with.
"Hasn't a clue," Emmeline admitted with a heavy sigh. "You can go tell her if you like,"
"Uh, I think I'll pass."
"Good call," Marlene patted him on the back proudly.
"Guys, look at my boyfriend," Emmeline instructed them all, Remus turning his head to get a look at Gideon, sticking on a new record at the turntable. "Isn't he gorgeous?" Emmeline sighed dreamily. "I think I'll go make out with him right now." she stood up, brushing off the bottom of her jeans. "See you guys in a little while."
For a moment, the room was quiet before the beginning of Space Oddity began to blare through the speakers. Marlene hopped up from the floor with excitement.
"Oh, it's Bowie!" She exclaimed. "Come on, dance with me," she stuck her hand out for Sirius.
"Space Oddity is not really a dancing song," he reminded her.
"But you're going to dance to it with me regardless."
"Come on Sirius!" Remus encouraged his friend. "Dance to Bowie with her!"
Marlene gave the shaggy-haired boy sitting below her a pointed look until he finally lifted himself from the ground.
"Let's go you, princess," he sighed, the two moving into the center of the room, where the couches would usually sit.
Marlene held to Sirius and for the first time ever she didn't care who saw. Perhaps, it was the exhilaration of winning their final Quidditch game or the fact that this was one of the last nights they'd spend in Hogwarts. Perhaps, it was the simple confidence offered by alcohol.
Despite all of it, Marlene had suddenly decided she was perfectly allowed to be happy. She was allowed to look into Sirius' eyes and feel her stomach fill with butterflies. She didn't have to be embarrassed or feel guilty about it. He wanted her.
Marlene took Sirius' hand, spinning herself around so she went flying into his chest when she returned back to face him.
This is ground control to major tom. You've really made the grade.
"I'm sorry about Thursday," Sirius said in a hushed tone. "It wasn't fair, you were right. I keep fucking up don't I?"
Marlene frowned, wrapping her arms around his neck. From behind Sirius' shoulder, she caught Alice and Lily staring at her with big excitement filled eyes. Lily gave Marlene a big thumbs up and grin, making the blonde blush.
"No," Marlene said, pulling away to look Sirius in the eyes.
Here am I floating 'round my tin can. Far above the moon.
"You loved him," Sirius sighed. "I get that. I hate it but…I never want you to feel like I'm making this all harder for you—"
Marlene couldn't help herself. She leaped forward, her mouth finding Sirius'. He held her so close she was lifted off her feet for a moment, their lips so perfectly matched. A hoot of joy came from behind them, Marlene pulling from the embrace to find all of their friends watching them with big grins.
Remus and Peter were smiling like two proud parents, Emmeline and Mary looked ready to burst into tears. Marlene giggled, burying her face in Sirius' chest to hide from the whole scene.
"They'll shut up about this, you know?" Sirius said it like the point was a negative one.
"You know…I don't really mind."
"Come on," he whispered to her, leading the way towards the dormitory stairs.
"Be safe!" Mary cried after the pair of them, Marlene sticking her tongue out at her friend behind her.
Upstairs they stepped into the boy's dorm. There were no lights on, the room was empty and so quiet that you could hear every crack of the floor board. Marlene paused, her back against the closed door. For a moment, she felt like they said talk or maybe, at the very least, turn on a light.
Yet, then Sirius was lunging towards her, his hands on her face, his tongue in her mouth. Marlene inhaled his scent like it was the only thing keeping her breathing. They both staggered around, struggling to slip off their shoes, to get their clothes dropped to the ground.
The last time Marlene had done this Henry had died less than an hour later and she had tortured herself for that. For months, she'd done nothing but blame herself. She still did, a little.
Marlene let Sirius pull her shirt over her head as she struggled with her own bra – it would take too long if he even attempted it. She watched him hungrily as they both undressed with rapid speed, a smirk curled upon his lips.
Marlene literally jumped into his arms, Sirius holding her up, her legs locked around him as they kissed passionately. He fell backwards onto his bed, Marlene on top of him. He pushed into her, Marlene exhaling sharply. It'd been so long since they'd been like this.
It'd been easy to tell herself it hadn't been that great, that she didn't care for Sirius. It was harder to believe when she lay here with him, his hands rested on her hips, his eyes eating her whole. Sirius' lips found her neck, Marlene closing her eyes as she let herself truly sink into the feeling.
Then he held on to her, flipping her over onto her back, leaning over her as they continued. Marlene wrapped her legs around his hips as they went on, everything inside of her feeling ready to explode with pure exhilaration.
"You're beautiful," he told her, Marlene holding his face in her hands for a second. She leaned towards him, their lips meeting.
"There, there," she breathed heavily, Sirius going harder. Marlene clenched her eyes shut, feeling herself begin to climax. Sirius groaned with pleasure, rolling over beside her a few moments later. They were both breathing heavily, squeezed onto his single bed. They held hands, playing with each other's fingers.
"I forgot how fantastic you were, McKinnon," Sirius chuckled, Marlene grinning proudly at him.
"You're not too bad yourself, Black."
And for then, just in that moment, everything was right as it should be.
A/N: Sorry for any editorial mistakes, I decided to give you the chapter before it was edited a second time since it's been so long. I'm very sad that these are the last few Hogwarts chapters...As well, I recently posted a little drabble on my Tumblr blog, go check it out! xo
