Hi everyone. Here I am with the next chapter for you. Thanks to fredandgeorgerule and d-aisychains2 for favouriting and following, and Raven that Flies at Night for the review.

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Enjoy! Please R & R.

Recollections and Reconciliations

1st September, 1973

"I'll be okay, Dad," Marlene pulled up a smile as she pushed her trunk towards the scarlet train waiting at platform 9 3/4. "No mistakes this time. And this is Hogwarts."

Mr McKinnon nodded, but the worry lines on his forehead did not recede. "I know, Marlene, but be careful. You are hurt as it is," his fingers brushed the scar running down her forehead and her left arm, which had, only days ago, been covered with ugly bruises, "and I don't want anything bad to happen to you again." His expression became stern. "No getting into trouble. Of any sorts. Is that clear?"

Marlene nodded hastily. "I'll be fine. Don't fret." But she herself felt shakier than she had in a long time. She had come to the station with her father and Malcolm; her mother had stayed back to look after her younger siblings. Michael had wanted to come, but his injuries were yet to be healed enough for him to step out of the house.

The Hogwarts Express gave a loud whistle, steam hissing out.

"I need to go," Marlene hastened to grab her trunk. Malcolm stepped up.

"Go on, sis, I'll carry it for you."

"But Malcolm —" Marlene eyed his still scarred hands.

"I'm fine," Malcolm smiled easily. "Now let's get a move on, or you will be late."

Walking ahead of their father, Marlene and Malcolm moved towards the train, Marlene carrying her new owl in the cage, and Malcolm her trunk. He hauled it up on the train before Marlene.

"Be careful, okay?" he asked, eyeing her with a rare seriousness. "Stay safe."

"I will, don't worry," Marlene smiled, hugging him. "Hogwarts is the safest place in the world. You take care, brother. Look after the others."

Malcolm laughed. "You know I do." And mussing up her hair one last time, he let her board the train, his brown eyes full of concern.

-o0o-

Marlene waved at her family until the train left the platform, and then sighed. Somehow, she did not feel the same carefree happiness while boarding the train like usual. She wondered where her friends were. She got up to look for them, but then sat back down. In a bit. For now, she needed to calm herself.

It had been five days since the attack in Knockturn Alley, and yet she was so badly shaken from the incident, it felt like yesterday. The sense of grim foreboding chased her everywhere. Pressing her forehead against the cool glass of her window, Marlene shut her eyes, taking deep, calming breaths. No thinking about that day. Keep calm. But even as she thought that, Marlene knew she was failing miserably.

Marlene didn't know how much longer she could stay on her feet. Every spell she fired seemed to demand more and more of her depleting energy, and her entire body ached from the way the man had thrown her to the ground. Her leg hurt like hell; Marlene strongly suspected a broken ankle as she limped away to dodge a curse.

"Petrificus totalus!" she yelled at her opponent, and to her surprised delight, he froze and fell to the ground. Momentarily relieved, Marlene relaxed a bit, putting her weight on her good leg. Now she could help her friends...

Someone gripped her tightly by her ponytail. Marlene yelped, losing her balance.

"Now, girl," the person holding her rasped, "give us your wand, won't you? You don't want to end up like your friends, I'm sure."

Marlene struggled, but it only caused her scalp to hurt like hell as her hair was pulled, so she fell back, defeated, and scanned the scenario.

Remus was on the ground, struggling to get up, purple bruises around his eyes and on his cheekbones, while one of their enemies held a wand to his throat. Peter was tied up, tears in his eyes, hopelessly fighting against his bonds. James was flat on the ground, his eyes shut and glasses askew. Only the rise and fall of his chest gave Marlene some relief from the panic that threatened to clamp down around her as she looked at him. And Sirius... Sirius was nowhere to be seen.

Marlene swiveled her head as much as her opponent's grip on her hair would permit, but she caught no glimpse of her best friend.

"Sirius!" she called. Where was he? "Sirius!"

At her voice, the others seemed to notice their friend's absence. Peter took up her call in a quivering voice. Remus, disregarding the wand at his throat, looked around wildly, and tried to get up, only to be brutally thrown back. But their attempts were in vain. Sirius did not appear.

"No need to fret, children," a voice spoke from the shadows, and a young man stepped into their sight. From his figure, Marlene recognised him as the man Sirius had been duelling with. Except that now, he had lowered his hood, revealing his face.

"You might be relieved to hear that your friend is safely in his home."

"You're lying—" Marlene began.

"I delivered him myself. To his mother."

Marlene closed her mouth with a gasp as she understood the meaning behind the words. The worst person Sirius could meet at the moment was his mother. The very thoughts of what she might do to him made her shudder.

"You—" Remus snarled, his face surprisingly wild and dangerous.

"Oh, but you should be happy." The man smiled. "At least comfort yourself by the fact that your friend will stay alive. For you, however, I cannot guarantee that."

"We can, though," a voice called from a distance. And her brothers, Michael and Malcolm, stepped into the light.

"Leave Marlene alone. And her friends too," Malcolm glared at them.

"I'm sick of interruptions," the man holding Marlene grumbled. "Can't we get done with this? Finish the lads off, Rodolphus."

Rodolphus gave a long-suffering sigh, and then the fight began.

There were two men still holding Marlene and Remus, so Michael and Malcolm were up against three. But they proved themselves more than adequate. Marlene flushed with fierce pride for her brothers as they downed one of the opponents within two minutes.

With a growl, the man holding Marlene left her to join the fight. Remus' captor followed suit. Taking immediate opportunity of her freedom, Marlene rushed over to Remus.

"Are you okay?" she asked anxiously, helping him up.

"I've been better." He smiled wryly. "But we must get moving."

They hurriedly reached Peter, who was trembling from head to toe in his bonds.

"Do you think that man... Rodolphus, he was telling the truth? About Sirius being at home?" Marlene asked Remus as they fumbled with the cords.

"I think so," Remus replied. "If I am thinking on the right lines, and if I remember correctly, then this man is engaged to Sirius' cousin Bellatrix. He wouldn't want a family member of his fiancee's to be killed at his hands, would he? And anyway, taking him to his mother in this situation is no less of a punishment."

Finally, the ropes came off Peter, who stood up unsteadily, and then they rushed over to James. He was still senseless.

"What do we do about him?" Marlene fretted as they shook him hopelessly.

"I know the charm to awaken a person... but I've never used it. I don't know if it will work."

"Oh, do try it!" Peter said in a trembling voice.

Remus took a deep breath. "Rennervate!"

There was a moment in which they all held their breaths, and then James' eyes fluttered open.

"Wha—" he mumbled. Marlene tackled Remus to the ground in a fierce hug.

"Marlene, I appreciate it, but now's not the time..." Remus blushed.

"Oops." Marlene let him up. "Thanks, Remus." She smiled at him tearfully.

But the moment was broken by Michael's exclamation.

"Jonah!"

Marlene swivelled around. She had completely forgotten about the young man, because of whom the entire ordeal had occurred.

Michael and Malcolm were both staring at their old friend, open-mouthed.

"Don't tell me — You're not —" Malcolm spluttered. For a second, a look of pain and grief passed through Jonah's face, but the next second, a sneer had taken its place.

"I am. And so what? What will you do about it, McKinnon?"

Michael looked devastated. "Why?" he whispered.

"Why?" Jonah gave a wild laugh. "Why not? It's you who's on the losing side, Michael, not me! And not everyone is like you, sticking to your own doom like a fool that you are."

Rage contorted Michael's face. "You —"

But the next moment, he was on the ground, blood spurting from his back. The man who had been holding Marlene limped forward.

"One down." He looked at Malcolm. "And now you—"

"No." The voice came from Rodolphus, who was standing up with difficulty. All the men, Marlene noted with relish, were rather badly injured. "We've wasted enough time and effort. Let's go. Hill, are you coming?"

Jonah nodded, and in a flutter of black cloaks, they disappeared. The men who had been unconscious — there were two of them, remained.

Marlene hurried over to her brothers.

"Michael! Are you—"

Michael cracked a feeble smiled. "'M okay, sis. Let's get out of here."

Both of them were badly injured. Michael, apart from the back injury which still leaked blood, had a cut running down his arm and cheek; Malcolm's hands were purple with bruises, and there were random cuts here and there.

Together, supporting each other, the six of them slowly walked out of the alley.

"How did you find us?" Marlene asked as the thought struck her.

"Tracking spell," Malcolm explained. "We were afraid you'd get lost on your own." For once, Marlene did not get annoyed sy her brothers' protectiveness. She smiled gratefully.

"Michael," she mumbled after a while. "Jonah — what was he—"

"He's a Death Eater, Marley," Michael whispered angrily. "He came to join."

"No— he —" Marlene didn't realise she was crying until Peter wiped a tear from her cheek. "Oh, Michael..."

"I know, sis," Michael smiled sadly, and the pain in his eyes told Marlene he was suffering a hundred times more. "I know."

"Marlene!"

Marlene looked away from the window, startled at the sudden transition from Knockturn Alley to Hogwarts Express, before she managed to gather her bearings. She was vaguely surprised to find tears in her eyes. She hurriedly brushed them away.

Lily Evans was standing at the door of the compartment. Before Marlene had a chance to speak, she had been gathered into a tight hug.

"Hi, Lils," Marlene smiled at her, gently prying her best friend off herself.

"Oh, Marls, I heard what happened that day. I'm so sorry... I should have stayed with you."

"Don't be silly!" Marlene mock-glared at her. "Of course you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm glad you weren't there, Lily." She looked away, trying hard not to think about the incident again.

"How are you?" Lily's face was a study of concern. "And the others?"

"I'm fine. And I exchanged letters with the others after getting back home... they are okay, although they were hurt. And as for Michael, his injuries were a bit severe; he stayed back. Malcolm's managed; he came to see me off."

"I'm glad," Lily gave a relieved smile. "The boys... where are they?"

"I didn't see them yet. I was just about to go find them when you dropped in."

"They weren't too badly hurt, were they?" Lily asked anxiously as they looked from one compartment to another.

"Well, somewhat... Remus was banged up pretty bad , and Peter had been tied up." Marlene wondered if Lily had noticed her not mentioning Sirius.

"And... Potter?"

"He had been knocked out, suffered other injuries too. But he said he's fine. We'll have to see."

"Good." Lily gave a sigh of relief.

"Lily Evans! Would you like me to tell dear James how anxious you were to check his well-being?" Marlene grinned slyly.

"Don't you dare, Marlene! I was just trying to find if he was alive and okay," Lily huffed, her face colouring.

"Ah, ah..."

"Shut up!"

-o0o-

They finally found the Marauders and slipped inside their compartment. Or more specifically, three of them — James, Remus, Peter.

"Hey Marls!" James grinned at her from the Chocolate Frog he had been munching on. "Evans! How nice of you to drop in!"

Lily said nothing, only gave him the littlest of nods and sat down beside Remus.

"Of Remus, Peter, I'm so glad you're okay," she smiled at them. Peter had more or less got over the fight by appearance; all signs of wounds were gone from his body. Remus, however, looked worse for wear, his scars from the last fight adding to his already battered appearance. Whatever he suffered from must be pretty bad, Marlene thought sympathetically for the umpteenth time.

"Aw, Evans, what about me?" James was giving Lily a pleading look.

Marlene gave Lily a sidelong glance, and Lily gave her a 'don't you dare' glare, before sighing and turning to James.

"I'm glad to see you safe and sound, Potter," she said grudgingly, and immediately turning her face away, but James looked as if Christmas had just come months earlier; Marlene giggled.

"Where's Sirius?" she asked once her amusement had worn off.

"We didn't see him," Peter told her. "We were expecting him to turn up, but he never did. This is our compartment. We always sit here. Sirius knows that."

Marlene frowned. She had sent a letter to Sirius as soon as she had reached home and was in a state to write, asking him if he was okay and letting him know of the details of the fight. His reply had come two days later, during which she had been going mad with worry, and it had been extremely brief and not like Sirius at all. The same thing had happened to the letters the other three boys had sent to him. Something was wrong with her best friend, Marlene knew, and she was worried.

"Well, we'll see him in school anyway," she tried to comfort herself as much as the others.

-o0o-

"...welcome the beginning of another school year," Professor Dumbledore was saying. Marlene looked over to the spot in the Gryffindor table where the Marauders were sitting, about a dozen people away from her. Much to her relief, Marlene saw Sirius sitting beside Remus. But she immediately noticed that there was something wrong with him. Unlike always, he was stiff, his expression wooden. He made no attempts to talk to his best friends. Marlene saw the other three make brief efforts at conversation, but none of them lasted long. Something was definitely wrong. Forgetting everything else, she began to get up and go over to talk to them.

"What are you doing?" Lily hissed, tugging her back to her seat.

"I want to talk to Sirius. Something's wrong," Marlene whispered back.

"For heaven's sake, Marlene, can't it wait until the feast is over?"

And so Marlene had to sit through the feast until dessert appeared. Then, she chanced a glance at where the Marauders were sitting. And stared. Sirius was gone.

Ignoring Lily's calls, she made her way to the three boys.

"Where's Sirius?"

"He said he wanted to be alone," Remus said. He looked confused and troubled.

"What's wrong with him?"

"We don't know," James sighed. "He wouldn't tell. He isn't even talking to us properly. So much for looking forward to seeing him."

"I'll find out." And disregarding the three boys' queries and calls, Marlene walked out of the hall.

It was not until she stood in front of the Fat Lady's portrait that she realised that she hadn't asked the new password from the prefects. Damn.

"Looking for young Mr Black, dear?" the Fat Lady put in helpfully. Marlene started.

"How—?"

"I suppose telling you the password wouldn't hurt?" she winked. "The young man knew it, you know. Ah, clever, that one. And handsome."

But Marlene wasn't about to wait for the Fat Lady's musings about Sirius. "Er, the password..."

"Ah, yes, it's 'Puckwudgie'," the Lady grinned as the portrait swung open. "And by the way, you could thank the Monks for me, for their excellent old wine!"

Rolling her eyes, Marlene started forward. That woman was dippy.

The common room was empty. Calculating, she walked up the boys' staircase, and entered the third year dorm.

Sirius was standing by the window, staring out into the night.

"It's a rather pathetic place to hide, you know," Marlene remarked as she walked towards him. "Everyone will be here soon."

Sirius whirled around at her voice, startled. "Marlene?" But after the shock, his eyes grew cold. "What are you doing here? It's my dorm. Get out."

Marlene flinched. What was wrong with him? But she forced herself not to blow up. "Your dorm did nothing to kick me out. I don't see what you can do about it."

"Just go away, Marlene," Sirius rubbed his temple wearily.

"Why, Sirius?" Marlene had moved very close to him. "What's the problem? We've been worried about you. We all want to talk to you."

"And what if I don't?" Sirius snapped, his eyes grey orbs of ice.

That did it. Marlene couldn't keep calm any longer. She punched him in the face. With a yelp of surprise and pain, Sirius fell to the floor.

"What is wrong with you, Sirius Black?" Marlene lowered herself to his level. "We have been worrying sick about you, and this is what you do? Shut yourself away? Do you care... do you fucking care—" To her mortification, Marlene felt tears slip from her eyes. And before she could stop herself, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

The mask had slipped from Sirius' face. Wiping his nose, which now dripped blood, he moved close to Marlene.

"Marlene? Marls, what's wrong?" He wiped away her tears with his fingers. Marlene tried to jerk away, but he held her close to him. "Now, Marlene, please, don't cry."

"W-what's wrong?" Marlene hiccupped. "Everything is wrong. What is the problem, Sirius Black? Why won't you talk to us?"

Sirius looked away. "And why would you want to talk to me?"

Marlene stared. "What?"

"I couldn't do anything to help you, Marlene. While you fought, I sat in my home like a prize goose. I didn't even know if you were alive! You, James, Peter, Remus, your brothers, all got hurt, and I did nothing. Nothing!"

Marlene stared at him for a moment, and then threw herself at him.

"You — you... ass!" she hugged him tighter. "Was that why you were closed off?"

"I— yes, Marlene, please let go!" It was Sirius' yelp that caused her to jump back.

"Sirius.. What..." He was massaging his chest. "Are you hurt?"

"No.. I.." he looked away.

"Open your shirt," she commanded. When he didn't listen, she ripped it off herself. And gasped. On his chest was an ugly purple bruise, as large as her fist. And on his back... Marlene could see one, two, three long scars.

"What happened?" she whispered, aghast.

"Rodolphus got me," Sirius replied quietly. "And on the back... my father wasn't exactly pleased when mother told him about my escapade."

"Oh Merlin, Sirius..." Marlene didn't know what to say. She reached over to him, and put her arms very gently around him.

"You are an idiot, you know," she whispered into his shoulder even as he hugged her back, her tears wetting his bare skin. "A very, very brave, amazing idiot."

And as his warmth enveloped her, giving her a comfort only Sirius was capable of, Marlene smiled through her tears.

That ends this episode. How was it? Please let me know. Until next chapter, guys :)