Chapter 4:

Oh goody, oh boy, adventure's afoot

Let's hope he's not caught or else: caput!

No really there truly is danger quite near

Do you hear that sound? (Listen slow my dears)

That's the sound of Death Eaters' smile

Yes, I know, it is truly quite vile

But soon they will come, for the McKinnons are next

And the Death Eaters? They're preparing to hex

So Sirius Black fly, quick as you can

And save this dear princess from their violent plan.

When Midnight, Sirius' aptly named owl, came back, the clock had just (ironically) struck midnight. Perfect for sneaking out of the castle (Sirius knew this from experience). Her note made him smile. Even on paper she got straight to the point. So, summoning his broom and leaving a quick note for James in case he woke up, Sirius enlarged the window, summoned his broom, and left towards Marlene's house.

Luckily, the girl had held a party at her house last summer, and Sirius had an uncanny sense of direction, so it was with ease that he set off in the direction of her house. The night air was cold, the mission was dangerous, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Perfect.

During his flight, he let his mind wander, to things he usually didn't think about when thinking of girls. But Marlene really was beautiful, wasn't she? He'd thought that a concession would make him like her all the less, but it did the exact opposite. Here he was, thinking about her beauty, her skill, her incredible charisma.

He sounded like James for crying out loud!

"Ugh," he said out loud, trying to dispel all cheesy thoughts (to no avail).

So Sirius was accompanied on his flight by nothing more than his memories of Marlene McKinnon.

Until, of course, he arrived at her house.

There, instead of being met with the calm he expected, coming to the rescue to save her from unending boredom, he encountered quite a different scene. Oh he was saving her alright, but from the green hexes bouncing off everywhere.

"Avada Kedavra!" pounding in his ears, he looked around frantically for Marlene.

He couldn't shout without earning their attention (they were blissfully unaware of his presence for now, at least), but he needed to find out if she was all right. If nothing else, so his heart would stop clenching in his chest.

Luckily, when he'd been over, he'd done his typical Marauder snooping around the house, and discovered where her bedroom was, so it was with great trepidation that he enlarged the window and entered, as quickly and silently as he could.

He got off the broom quickly, putting his hand to his wand, drawing it out – only to be stopped as his gaze fell on Marlene McKinnon, wand extended directly at his heart, fire in her eyes.

"Marlene," he said, "it's me."

She still didn't buy it (a part of him swelled with pride), "What was the last thing we did together?"

"You kissed me then left," he said to her, "Without telling me you were leaving, mind you, that wasn't very nice."

She lowered her want, barely letting a ghost of a smile grace her face, "I'm not a very nice person." As his urgent question, she said to him, "They got here five minutes ago. There's a permanent sticking charm on my door so they can't get through. I can't hear my parents."

Just as she said that, a patronus horse glided through her window. Sirius wanted to curse her parents; the Death Eaters now knew where they was.

The patronus spoke in her mother's voice, "Get yourself out of here, now!"

Then, it disappeared, leaving Sirius and Marlene alone in her room.

Without even a hesitation, Sirius got on the broom, sliding forward to make space for Marlene.

"You steer, I'll deflect," she said to him. If it were any other witch, he'd argue the point, but Marlene was one of the best witches in their school, if not their year. Sirius was confident she could match (if not beat) him in a duel, so he didn't question her.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready."

He flew towards the window, and not a second too soon. As they made it out, he could see curses flying from every direction at them, all deflected by Marlene's wonderfully placed protection shields. She even managed a few curses of her own, but nothing to hurt the Death Eaters, who could heal each other within moments.

Sirius, looking down despite himself, saw a curse that would make it past her shield, which was fading, "Marlene!" he called, and she cast one, a second too late. The curse grazed her on the leg, causing blood to spurt out as she gasped.

Sirius' broom faltered for a moment, as he debated what do to.

"Keep going!" the girl behind him shouted, and he complied, putting on as much speed as he possibly could, pushing the broom to its limits. There was a quick fight between Marlene and an outlying Death Eater but then they left that fight too.

The calm after that fight was eerie.

"Let me see that," he said to her, after carefully positioning the broom to go straight. Brooms these days had to be held on to and steered, but James and Sirius had developed a quick charm (with the help of the charming Charms-genius, Lily herself) to keep a broom pointing straight.

She extended her leg, revealing a cut she'd been applying pressure to. Sirius grinned at himself, though internally he was perturbed. Witches and wizards these days really knew next to nothing about healing, but she was in luck that he knew a few spells. He and James had gotten into so many scrapes (what with their monthly full-moon outings and everything else) that it became a bother to go to the Hospital Wing to heal every scrape. And so they'd learned a few, which did come in handy in times like these.

"All better," Sirius said, before kissing it quickly, trying to charm a smile into her. It didn't last though, and he could tell she was worried about her parents.

"Do you know how to produce a talking corporal patronus?"

She shook her head.

"Use mine then," he said to her, "Expecto Patronum!" A big black dog burst out of the tip of his wand and stood there in the wind, as if he were standing on the ground not whizzing above it.

To the dog he said, "My name is Sirius Black, I'm with your daughter now." Then he nudged her, signaling it was her turn to speak.

"Mom, Dad, I'm fine, I'm heading back to Hogwarts. Talk to Professor Dumbledore as soon as you can, he'll find somewhere safe for you. Message me back as soon as possible. I love you."

A few more words from Sirius sent the dog on its way, and it became nothing more than one of the many lights in the background.

They flew silently for a long, long time, her holding onto him, appreciating his comfort. It was only after they made it back to his rooms that she let go of him, getting off of the broom and sitting comfortably on his bed.

He sat next to her in comfort and silence.

"Sirius?" she asked, after a long time.

He looked at her. He loved looking into her eyes, watching the depth behind them.

"Thank you for saving me."

He leaned in and kissed her then, as if he truly were a prince, and this truly was their fairytale.

And so dear reader, this story must end

But before you go, I will amend:

They didn't get their happy ending

But at this moment, their story stays, unending.

Life's not always happy, nor is it always sad

And if you go on too long, you'll find that you go mad.

So sit back, relax, and do what they've just done

Forget the pain and embrace the fun

Life's short moments are happy and free

And from them you can write a fairytale – or three.