Chapter 8

"He is gone again!" came the frustrated yell from James while he let himself fall onto the couch beside Remus.

Said werewolf glanced up from his book and just smirked slightly. Oh the blonde Gryffindor had a pretty good idea what Padfoot was doing even if he didn't know where. The Quidditch captain of across from him noticed the tiny smirk on his face and became instantly suspicious.

"You know something!" he accused the fellow Gryffindor.

A noncommittal hum just made the Potter heir even more suspicious.

"Out with it, seriously, I'm getting concerned Padfoot normally never vanishes this often!" James said with a petulant pout.

This time Remus was openly grinned at the bespectacled boy before he singsonged, "It's a girl."

"Girl,… it can't be a girl,… that's typical Padfoot behavior, he loves them and then leaves them, end of story." James pouted.

Shaking his head Remus put his homework away and turned to James, "I thought so too but that doesn't change the fact that under the ever changing escapades of our fellow Marauder is one smell that hasn't changed since the start of this year."

James nearly choked on his Butterbeer as he sent Remus and disbelieving look, "You're joking!".

Said werewolf just rolled his eyes, "I can smell her on him,… and the funny thing is he hasn't even slept with her yet." the last part was said a decidedly mischievous tone.

As a response James jaw dropped and he just stared at Remus for a while until he shut his mouth and looked pensively at the wall of the Gryffindor common room. He then suddenly stood up and grinned at his fellow Marauder with a familiar look on his face that told everybody who caught a glimpse of it that somebody was going to get pranked.

"That I have to see. Starting tomorrow we are on Mission: find Padfoot's secret girl!" James announced dramatically while Remus just sighed, oh boy James wouldn't let this go until they had found out everything there was to know about Miss Mysterious. Still the werewolf refrained from trying to stop his friend, he knew better than to try to talk James out of it, the wizard was more stubborn than a hippogriff.

"Are we telling Wormtail?" he asked the stag animagus instead.

The bespectacled wizard tilted his head and thought about it for a second before he dismissively waved his had, "Na he still has detention tomorrow and until we know exactly what is going on we will keep our mouths shut. And Wormtail is just horrible at that, so no."

Remus nodded at James explanation, it was true after all, before he turned back to his book while he contemplated if he should pity Sirius and that mysterious girl of his. Oh well Padfoot should have known better than to try to hide something like that from James and him. His secretive behavior was like a red cloth to both James and him; the Black was really asking to be pranked.

XXXXXX

Marianne sat relaxed on the couch of the den; her feet were folded loosely underneath her in a very unladylike tailor seat while one of the yellow throw blankets was covering them for modesty's sake as well as to ward of the cold. In her lap was a piece of parchment halfway unfolded and her quill hovered slightly over the three quarter full roll. In the last few days Marianne had started to write down some of the short stories that had kept eluding her until recently. She had amassed a pretty decent collection until now and was contemplating how to fit said stories into the book that she wanted to publish.
She was so engrossed in her work that when the blonde witch heard the door opening she didn't look up, after all there could only be one person coming through that door. For a moment there was nothing but silence until she heard Sirius clear his throat and so Marianne turned her head to look confused in his direction, normally when he saw that she was engrossed into something the Gryffindor was surprisingly patient and just sat down somewhere close to do something else until she put her things aside, he was considerate like that. For him to interrupt her something had to have happened.
The blonde Abbott's eyes landed on the door area and when she realized who was standing before her she nearly dropped her writing paraphernalia. Sirius wasn't alone, behind him stood two curious looking Marauders who scanned her and the room in which she sat.

Sirius walked closer to the couch, he had a somewhat annoyed air around him, with a sigh he drawled half sarcastic, "Marianne, it looks like we have been found out. I want to introduce you to my closest friends." He than did a dramatic hand wave in direction of James and continued, "This fellow pranking schemer and Gryffindor is the infamous James Potter also otherwise known as Mr. Prongs, a sedulous Quidditch fiend and defeater of evil Slytherins."

Said Potter did a dramatic bow and sent an exaggerated wink at Marianne. Said Hufflepuff giggled shyly while she stared at both elder boys that had slowly come closer.

Sirius apparently took this as permission to continue because he sighed dramatically and pointed at the calmest of the three males, "And this rather handsome fellow is the knowledgeable Remus Lupin. Your fellow everyday bibliophile, secret brains of our notorious group and breaker of sweet Ravenclaw hearts, who also goes by Mr. Moony!", finished Sirius his introduction.

Marianne's smile only increased, she had always rather enjoyed Sirius dramatic antics. The younger Abbott was ripped out of her musings when the blonde werewolf started to complain.

"PADFOOT!" Remus scolded, "I certainly do not break Ravenclaw hearts!"

"Oh yeah? And what about Melinda Whiterby? She was in tears when you declined her Hogsmeade invitation." came the question from a grinning James that seemed to find the whole encounter hilarious.

"Anyway!" the eldest Black son changed the topic, with two wide steps Sirius was suddenly behind the couch and hugged Marianne loosely, his arms settled comfortably around her waist before he continued, "Prongs, Moony, THIS is Marianne Abbott, the reason why I sometimes disappear."

James raised an eyebrow and incredulous mouthed 'sometimes' in Remus direction. The blonde Gryffindor lips twitched sardonically before he looked back at Sirius with a rather deadpan expression on his face.

Marianne's face in the mean time had taken on a rather beet red color and she was now gently trying to unwind Sirius arms from her body. After some carefully tugging she eventually succeeded before put her writing utensils aside and shyly waved at the two older boys in front of her. She couldn't even look them into the eyes let alone talk to them, why the hell did Sirius have to hug her? Her teenage hormones were going crazy and it made her useless for any conversation!

Both unfamiliar Gryffindors watched her carefully for a time before they settled on both sides of the other to Hogwarts students and started a conversation with Sirius. After the first few awkward moments Sirius and James took it onto themselves to include her in the conversation and make Marianne feel comfortable while Remus kept watching her curiously. Relaxing a bit the blonde witch let herself be talked into playing and singing a bit for the three older boys, it seemed that it didn't only have a soothing effect on Sirius but also on the other two Marauders.
Throughout the whole time the other two wizards were in reaching distance Sirius had taken to touch her in one way or the other as if he was staking claim on Marianne in a rather primal way. The blonde witch was confused for some time but then dismissed his behavior as a canine instinct, Padfoot was probably considering her his in some way and didn't like the fact that two other males were in her presence. Secretly Marianne rather enjoyed this possessive behavior even if it didn't mean anything.

To be honest Marianne had expected the teasing to become out of hand the moment two other Marauders joined Sirius and her but somehow the Black seemed to always find a way to divert his friend's attention into a different direction, because let's be honest Remus was too kind to tease her.
After a while she began a conversation with Remus about Potions while the two other boys were engaged in their newest prank idea. The four spent nearly three hours like that and when James and Remus left Marianne felt relaxed and was pretty positive that their future encounters would not end in disasters.

XXXXXX

When James and Remus left some hours later both of his fellow Gryffindors sent Sirius promising looks, said Marauder was well aware that he was in for a lot of ribbing and questioning in the evening but honestly he didn't mind as much as he would have a year ago. Hell even four months ago he would have never even dreamed about taking crap because of a girl like James did all the time because of Lily. Though this situation with Marianne was kind of different then the one sided love affair between James and Evans.

That night lying in his red poster bed Sirius grinned like a loon while he let himself relive the conversation the three Gryffindors had had that evening. Both Prongs and Moony approved of his little Hufflepuff and had told him so when they had intercepted him outside the common room. Though Remus had cautioned him about hurting the so a fragile looking Hufflepuff, the Lupin always had had problems with Sirius' womanizing and he had genuinely enjoyed talking to Marianne that afternoon. Sirius had just shrugged his shoulders and told his two best friends truthfully that he had intended to relieve some stress with her until she had turned out to be a lot more interesting than he had thought. Remus had openly scolded at that while James just nodded without saying anything.

"Well as I said, I planned to…, but she is … different, a complete other type then the girls I normally hang out with,… she is interesting,… and honestly I think Padfoot is coming through a bit more stronlgy than he should,… I fell… possessive, protective,… hell I don't even want you two that close to her." Sirius tried to explain while he stared out of the window of the hidden room close to the tower.

Remus gaped disbelieving at the self proclaimed ladies man in front of him while James snorted and then started to laugh, "Oh, oh, THIS is gold. You feel protective over her? What happens if she starts to date someone?"

The growl that escaped Sirius surprised all three wizards.

Now Remus also started to laugh softly before saying, "Serves you right, maybe that will give you a taste of what all the male relatives and friends of the girls you have been sleeping with go through."

Sirius face was torn between outrage and pouting while his friends made fun of him.

James stopped chuckling and then smiled brightly at his best friend, with a quick move he was beside the Black and drew him into a manly hug before saying, "Don't worry, your little Hufflepuff is going to be fine, we too will keep an eye on her. I can understand why Padfoot is going crazy, she had this little innocent sister vibe all over her."

Remus just nodded in agreement while he thought back at the blonde witch that had surprisingly been able to keep up with him in their conversation about Potions, it had felt like talking to Lily. Comfortable and mentally stimulating and Remus had even played with the thought about dating someone like her for half a second until the wolf inside him had smelled the scent of his pack mate all over her as a result Remus had instantly dismissed the petite Hufflepuff as potential mate. The Lupin had found that part of his werewolf physiology partly annoying and partly reassuring. The moment one of their pack mates had claimed a person in a certain way they lost all sexual interested concerning him or her and no matter what said person would do, the werewolf wouldn't encroach on the territory of one of his pack mates, they were too loyal for that.

Sirius on the other hand looked confused at the two Marauders in front of him, he certainly didn't see Marianne as a younger sibling that would be… strange, she was something… different but certainly not a little sister.

"Right, as long as you keep your hands to yourself… Anyway I know this is weird but could you stay away from the room when I'm not with you, I mean…" Sirius looked helplessly at his friends, he had no idea how to describe his need for them to stay away from the den.

Remus looked all to knowingly at Sirius and snorted before nodding, James' eyes showed some hurt but he too agreed to Sirius request.

"Your instincts are really going haywire but oh well. Do you want to tell Peter?" Remus asked amused.

The Black pondered said question for a moment before he slowly shook his head, "I like Peter but,…"

"He can't shut his mouth." Remus clarified.

"Yeah and I really don't want to expose Marianne to my ex flings or the Slytherins, she HATES conflict." Sirius said relieved that his friends understood, he like Peter, he really did but he wouldn't let Marianne get hurt just because his friend had a loose mouth.

After that the three Marauders had made their way to the Gryffindor common room and joined Peter at the fire, said rat animagus was visibly exhausted from his detention and only gave them a weak wave.

And now Sirius was lying in his bed and contemplated the day, he hadn't expected to introduce Remus and James to Marianne, at least not yet but oh well he should have known that he couldn't hide anything from those two. Peter was easy; everybody could fool him but hide something from those two? Tze, he really should have known better the Black thought with a sardonic smile on his lips.
The sneaky bastards had followed him after lunch with James invisible cloak and confronted him a corridor away from the Den.

At least he could use the introduction between his fellow Marauders and Marianne to his advantage, Sirius had cleverly used her being caught off guard to put his arms around her. Since the poison incident the Black hadn't been able to keep his hands off that cute little Hufflepuff. He had loved feeling her in his arms and from then on he had changed his type of girl a bit he was now going after the smaller girls that weren't completely stick thin, Sirius also had been noticing the blonde girls around him a lot more since meeting Marianne.
During the introduction to James and Remus he had finally gotten a good grope in without being to suspicious and Merlin was it worth it. Marianne had been so soft and her hair and neck had really smelled good, whatever shampoo she was wearing, it made Padfoot howl in approval. The only drawback was that while holding her he had trouble resisting the urge to bury his head in her neck and hair.
Sirius was also satisfied with the way Marianne had reacted when confronted with his friends, at first she had been shy and nearly mute but the nervousness vanished after some coaxing and she had played her first song and after that everything had gone smoothly.