Marlene quickly pushed her plate away and got up from the table without a word of explanation to Dorcas, Mary, Alice, and Lily.
Knowing there was only one place the Slytherin could be headed on a Saturday this early in the term, Marlene quickly made her way up to the fourth floor and the library. Upon entering the book-filled room (which, admittedly, she should probably be just a tad more familiar with after 6 years) Marlene began prowling the shelves, before her eyes alighted on just the person she was looking for.
"Reg…psst! Regulus!" Marlene hissed at the dark-haired boy from behind a bookshelf.
The Slytherin, who had been studiously working on an essay at a nearby table, gave a startled jump and looked around frantically before he finally caught a glimpse of Marlene, causing his expression to settle into a severe frown.
"What do you want?" He asked, rather rudely, not even looking at her as he spoke, instead turning his attention back to his essay.
"I need your help," Marlene informed him, checking the general vicinity around them one more time. Finding it quite deserted, she stepped out into the open and settled herself into the chair across from Regulus.
This announcement caused Regulus to look up in surprise, though his snide Slytherin mask quickly fell back into place.
"With what?" He asked, one eyebrow raised.
"It's about your brother," Marlene began slowly, still a bit uneasy about her whole plan, as she had quite literally just thought it all up on the spot.
"What?" Regulus' expression slipped into one of worry for his brother, whom he hadn't actually spoken to in months, not since the elder Black had run away from home. "Is something wrong with Sirius?"
"It's…well, kind of, I suppose," Marlene admitted. "Have you heard he's dating Joscelind Wadcock?"
Regulus rolled his eyes. "Mum nearly blew the roof off the house when she read it in the Prophet a few weeks ago. But what about it?" He demanded, becoming the cold Slytherin once more. "Why should I care about my dear brother's personal life? He's made it quite clear he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."
Marlene sighed at this. "Reg, I know him leaving really hurt you, but I don't even want to think about what he might have resorted to if he had stayed. He was going insane in that house, and you know him leaving was for the best."
"I'm not hurt," Regulus said, stiffening at what he perceived to be an accusation of weakness. "And Mother, Father, and I are better off without him."
"Well you might be, but I'm certainly not," Marlene stated.
Regulus just gave her a confused look.
"Your brother has abandoned me for that blonde bimbo," Marlene informed the younger boy. "I swear she's brainwashed him or something; even while we're here at school and she's nowhere to be seen he's…" She trailed off before her gaze refocused on Regulus. "Reg, I need your help. I'm going to get revenge on Sirius and that…person."
Regulus gave her a calculating look. "What kind of revenge?"
"Now, hear me out on this one, Reg, please," She began slowly. Marlene took a deep breath, steeling herself to say something that she just knew he wasn't going to like. "I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend."
"What?" Regulus protested, only remembering that they were in the library and keeping his voice down at the last second, thus avoiding drawing any sort of attention to their otherwise deserted little corner. "I'm not going to do that! You're a Gryffindor! And practically a blood-traitor. My mum will kill me!"
"Is that really all you think of me, Regulus?" Marlene questioned, her expression stony. "You used to be Marcas' best friend; don't tell me that's why the two of you refuse to be in the same room as each other anymore. You can't be Marcas' friend because he just isn't good enough for you anymore."
"Isn't it?" Regulus challenged, before his shoulders slumped as he gave a deep sigh. "I guess I don't think that. Not really, anyway. It's hard to figure out what's going on in my head, some of the time, what thoughts and ideas are mine and which ones are Mother's. But…" He hesitated, "Either way, I'm still not entirely sure I like this idea."
"Why not?" Marlene pressed him.
"Well…because you and Sirius…the two of you always seemed so perfect for each other," Regulus admitted, flinching preemptively, recalling Marlene's previous reactions to people's assumptions that she and Sirius were an item. "I mean, I know you were never together or anything, but, no matter how angry I am with my brother, I don't know if I could hurt him like this. Even if it is all pretend."
"Yeah…well," Marlene gave a large sigh as if what she was about to say was going to pain her greatly. "After Sirius and the bimbo got together, I got to thinking, and…well, I realized all of you people might have been right for all these years."
"So if you really do have feelings for my brother," Regulus said, looking confused, "Why would you want to pretend to be dating me? What's that going to achieve?"
"Reg," Marlene practically moaned, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears. "Sirius abandoned me. He completely and utterly left me, no matter what we've always said about being friends forever. I need to get him back from her before I lose him forever. I really think that seeing the two of us together will help Sirius come to his senses; everyone couldn't have believed we'd end up together for all of these years if our so-called apparent feelings for each other weren't mutual."
Marlene gave Regulus a pleading look. "Please, Reg? I know that no matter how angry you are with Sirius you don't really want to hurt him, but I need him back."
Regulus frowned again, but Marlene could see that he was wavering. "Mother won't take too kindly to hearing that I'm dating you. You know better than I do that she's never been…fond of you."
"You don't have to tell her," Marlene said quickly.
"I'd like to see us do something big enough to get Sirius' attention and yet keep it hidden from the rest of the school," Regulus told her. "I might not have to tell her directly, but Mother will find out somehow."
"Then tell her," Marlene said, straightening out of her slump as a sudden thought popped into her head. "Tell her that Sirius and I had a bit of a falling out, and you're dating me to get Sirius angry." She smiled sadly here, "I'm sure your mum will be pleased with anything that's supposed to hurt Sirius."
Regulus sighed again. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Fine, I'll do it. But," He held up one finger before Marlene could begin to thank him. "As soon as the two of you get everything sorted out you had better tell him that none of it was real."
"I will, Regulus," Marlene said, standing up and rushing to the other side of the table to throw her arms around Regulus in a quick hug. "Thanks so much, Reg, you're the best," she informed him as she pulled back. She turned and began making her way out of the library.
"Marlene?" Regulus only hesitated for a fraction of a second before calling out to the girl.
"Yes?" Marlene turned around, a questioning look on her face.
"Tell Marcas I say 'hi' will you?" He requested a bit stiffly. "I…I feel bad about how things turned out between us."
"I will," Marlene said with a nod, her lips quirking up into a sad smile. "See you later, Reg."
She's not a saint, and she's not what you think
She's an actress, whoa
But she's better known for the things that she does on the mattress
Whoa
Soon she's gonna find stealing other peoples' toys on the playground won't make you many friends
She should keep in mind
She should keep in mind
There is nothing I do better than revenge