Chapter 32: Results

Marlene had never been so confused, for the first time that evening she was lying flat on her back, the cushions underneath her had been conjured mere seconds before she had hit the ground. Also for the first time that evening Regulus extended his hand and pulled her up.

"You're not concentrating." He accused directing her to a sofa and handing her a cup of coffee from the flask he had snagged from the kitchens.

"I am too, you just caught me off guard." Marlene said hugging her cup of coffee, but not actually drinking it.

Regulus raised an eyebrow. "You were doing so well, we were actually getting somewhere, we had results, The Dark Lord isn't going to ask your permission, you have to be ready at all times. Maybe we should call it a night, it's only the third Sunday after classes started back and I know you've got a lot on your mind, we can pick it up next Sunday then the Sunday after that, you will have played your all important Quidditch match and it'll be February, things are always better in February."

"That's because you turn seventeen." Marlene stated, placing the cup on the coffee table.

Regulus smirked, before helping her to her feet.

Rolling her eyes at the gesture, Marlene headed straight for the door.

"See you next Sunday then." She said before letting herself out and leaving Regulus alone to smirk.

Regulus had a point, Marlene was getting somewhere, that was the first time tonight he had actually managed to penetrate her barriers, ever since her lunch with Martyn she had really concentrated in building her Occlumency barriers, she didn't want to feel as vulnerable or as uncomfortable as she did back then.

Happy that both the Room of Requirement and the Gryffindor tower were both on the seventh floor, Marlene clambered through the portrait five minutes later and came face to face with a stern faced head-girl.

"Hey Lily, you wouldn't be thinking of taking house-points off your best friend would you?" Marlene laughed nervously and dodged round to sit on the empty sofa.

"It's nearly midnight Marl, where have you been." Lily asked her face softening.

Marlene shrugged, "It's Sunday, I've been with Regulus. Is this to do with the fact that Sirius has been spying on me with that blasted map and for some funny reason wherever we go doesn't show up on said map?"

Lily blushed and Marlene smiled.

"He has to learn to trust me."

"Have you trusted him? Lily remarked and it was Marlene's turn to blush.

Making a face Marlene stood up and walked to the girl's staircase.

"You really should tell him." Lily called after to her smirking slightly. Marlene just waved over her shoulder and pulled open the door. As she disappeared up the stairs she heard Lily let out a small laugh.

Lily also had a point, why were people making such good points lately? Was it because she was wearing a big sign that said Point Me or was it because both of them knew she was in fact four weeks pregnant?

Lily obviously knew because she was there when the results came in, Regulus however, knew because of Occlumency training. It happened on their first Sunday back, and Marlene completely forgetting what Occlumency training involved found herself sharing her memories of the fateful day when her results came up positive.

Times were hard and Marlene didn't have a clue what to do, she knew for one that she would have to tell Sirius, but she didn't exactly know how to go about it, or how he would react, the thought that also crossed her mind, was; what if he didn't believe the child was his?

Sighing she concentrated on her Potion, she had been partnered with Severus today and rather than talk to him, she had decided to copy the instructions according to his book, which as usual was littered with his own personal notes. At least I'll get an O, that's one good result anyway. She thought as Severus took the cauldron off the fire and she added the finely chopped porcupine quills she had been working on for the past fifteen minutes.

Across the room, Lily was having a whispered conversation with James, whom she had been partnered up with.

"Why is Marlene so down all of a sudden, she's having mood swings as much as...." James began as he watched his girlfriend add a couple of drops of honeysuckle.

"If you value your life, you won't finish that sentence." Lily cut in, foiling James' attempt to insult someone.

James gave Lily a pained look. "Yes love." He said and started chopping up the porcupine quills. "So what's the answer?"

Lily sighed and took the cauldron off the fire before allowing James to pop in the quills. "I can't tell you." Across the room, Sirius and Remus were already corking their potions where as Peter and Mulciber were just about to add their quills before taking their cauldron of the fire. Lily watched as Severus – who was heading for the store at the back, stopped Mulciber from adding the quills and pointed down to their book.

James who had also watched as Severus unwittingly helped their friend whilst at the same time as helping his own glanced down at Lily. "So something is up then? Why can't you tell me?"

"Because it's none of our business."

"Whose business is it?"

"Marlene's and she will tell you when she's ready, she's just got to tell Sirius first." She added under her breath.

James heard and his eyes widened. "Ah, so it's Sirius' business as well?"

Sirius – who heard his name, looked over at James and Lily and gave them a thumbs up before mouthing: Result!

James smiled, "He's just happy because he got paired with Moony, the way Slughorn's done our pairs we'll all get O's except for Peter, bless him." He added when he saw that despite Severus' intervention Mulciber had still added the quills before taking the cauldron off the fire and Peter was now standing on his stool trying not to get covered in the complicated potion they were meant to brewing.

Slughorn tutted and rushed up to their workstation, with a wave of his wand the mess that was a cauldron, disappeared as did the potion that was eating into the stool Peter was standing on.

"I seemed to remember you doing the exact same thing in first year with a Boil-Cure Potion." Lily stated as Sirius and Remus got drafted in to take Mulciber and Peter to the hospital wing.

James shook his head, "Nah I did that on purpose, I had Snape as a partner remember, when he wasn't looking I slipped in the quills and melted his only cauldron."

Lily rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. Seeing the reaction on Lily's face James shut up.

"Look don't tell Sirius that Marlene needs to talk to him, it's up to her to tell him herself." Lily said once they had tidied up and left the dungeons.

"She's not dumping him is she?" He asked pulling Lily closer as they passed a group of fifth years, who were spending the break outside their next classroom.

"I hope not, she needs him, it's all a matter of if he dumps her. We all know Sirius can be a little rash and unpredictable at times and to be honest I don't know how he's going to take this news."

"What news?" James asked again, they had reached his Muggle Studies class and although Lily had a free period next, she had walked with him to his next class and had agreed to spend the rest of the break with him.

Surprised to find the door unlocked and a couple of Hufflepuff's in their seats, James pulled Lily into the classroom and sat her in Sirius' seat whilst he sat in his.

"James, no matter how much you pout and flutter your eyelashes I'm not going to tell you, how would you like it if I told Sirius some good news, then told you and you rushed to Sirius and he was like, oh I already know. How would you feel if you were the last to know when the topic of conversation concerns you."

James frowned then nodded, "Okay I'll wait but Marlene better hurry her tiny little behind and tell Sirius." He leant forward to kiss Lily on the cheek but was interrupted by one of the Hufflepuff's asking a question rather loud.

"Professor, is Solar Energy a Fossil Fuel?"

Lily bit back her laughter and got up to leave.

Professor Quirrell – who had entered his classroom sometime after James and Lily, looked up from his desk and smiled at the question. "That is a good question." He said and made a note of it on the board with a piece of muggle chalk. "One that I will address in class. Oh aren't you staying?" He asked when he spotted Lily leaving.

Lily shook her head, "I'm not in this class, I was just discussing Head business with Mr Potter."

Professor Quirrell caught sight of the Head-Girl badge pinned to Lily's robes and smiled. "Miss Evans, right? Why don't you stay awhile, that is if you're not busy."

Lily shook her head again, "as fascinating as Muggle Studies sounds, I'm a Muggle-born and without meaning to sound big-headed, I could probably get into a huge debate with you, regarding the accuracy of what you teach, I also have duties to be getting on with."

She hadn't meant to sound arrogant and she did have the utmost respect for Professor Quirrell, as she did with all the Professor's she just didn't see the point of Muggle Studies, she had read Marlene's text book when she had taken the class in 3rd year and Marlene had to buy herself a new text book because Lily had corrected the whole book and separated the fact, from the fiction, from the imaginative. Muggle Studies was as high-up as Divination as one of the most useless subjects.

She passed Sirius in the corridor and gave him a small smile as he dashed along the corridor to join James in the classroom. Overlooking the fact he was running in the hallway and was late for class, Lily went to the library to find Remus so they could patrol the corridors.

"Right I'm going to tell him." Marlene exclaimed that Saturday night, they had just come back from Quidditch practise, in preparation for their match against Ravenclaw next week.

"That's great." Lily said, not sounding convinced, Marlene had said that she was going to tell Sirius at least once a day since she got the results, it was now three weeks into the new term and Sirius was as oblivious as Peter was in potions.

"No really, I mean it. Where is he?"

Lily glanced at her watch then out the window to look at the full moon, the second full moon that month. When she was little Lily had always imagined blue moons to be well... blue.

"Out with Remus, it's the 28th today."

Marlene nodded her head. "That's fine I'll wait up for him. Night Lils." She smiled at Lily and before Lily could say anything Marlene had left her room.

Marlene was as stressed and as confused as she had been exactly one week ago, the ginger root potion had helped to quell the morning sickness, but she didn't know how it happened or why it had happened.

By waiting up for him she could at least get her facts sorted but by three o'clock Marlene had exhausted her books, caught up on the next months homework, and was stubbornly refusing to go to bed, if she went to bed now, she reasoned she would lose her resolve and not actually speak to Sirius.

While she was waiting for Sirius she had done a lot of thinking, including what she was actually going to do with the child. She had read loads of books on adoption, but with that one she'd need to talk to the ministry as adoption is a rare thing in the magical world and there was a chance it would be adopted by a muggle couple, which would have to be allowed access to the wizarding world when the child started Hogwarts. There were other means as well but she didn't want to resort to those.

What ever Sirius wanted to do, is what she'll do, which is why she had put of telling him for long enough. Tonight, or this morning, whenever he returned from gallivanting off in the forest with his friends Sirius Black would find out he was a Father.

A/N: I've had this particular story line planned from the dawn of time (and I literally do mean then,) back when I was young and posted my first HP fic (which has long since been deleted due to Order of the Phoenix being published (yes that long). Anyway enough reminiscing, Next chapter should be up soon, and all will be revealed how do you think Sirius will react :D, I am being vague and confusing for a reason, I am attempting an author technique that allows the reader to feel the emotions the characters are feeling i.e vague and confused (I think I may have made that technique up lol) after all I've got nothing better to do apart from watch the snow yes folks it's snowing again, I feel like I live in Iceland or somewhere in the middle of the Arctic circle instead of being close to it by a couple of hundred miles. Please review and tell me your thoughts :D