Chapter 29
March 16th, 1977
"So you two are like a thing now?" Mary MacDonald asked as she set down her notebook.
Lily Evans popped her head up from the bubble bath. The five friends sat in the seventh floor girl's bathroom, chatting and pretending to do homework on Wednesday evening. Mostly they were interested in Lily's advancement with James Potter, and who could blame them? The ginger slicked her hair back and said, "No, Merlin no. Absolutely not."
"Yeah, Mary," Marlene McKinnon said boorishly, "I doubt anyone considers snogging a sign of marital commitment."
Mary made a face. "No one said anything about marriage," she grumbled quietly before returning to her note taking.
"But it wasn't just snogging," Emmeline Kim said, helping out her housemate. "I can see the hickies on your tits."
Lily instantly put her arms over her chest. She wasn't ashamed of them, because the process of receiving them was absolutely marvelous. But, she didn't want her friends staring either. Her mind drifted back to Sunday when James was so adamant about making her squirm on his lap. The way he bit her and then caressed the marks was addicting.
"Did you go past snogging?" Marlene asked, now with a peaked interest. When there was silence, Marlene screamed at the top of her lungs. The vocalist had quite the range.
"Merlin, Marls," grumbled Emmeline as she clamped her ears shut.
"You're going to break the glass," Mary chastised.
Dorcas Meadowes, whom had been peacefully resting, peeked one eye open and glared at her curly blond friend.
"I'm sorry," she said apathetically. "It's just that…" Marlene couldn't contain her giggling. "Did you and James get nasty?"
Lily made a repulsive noise. "Did we get nasty? Merlin, Marlene, he's your cousin."
The McKinnon glared at her friend and said in a lethal tone, "Answer the question, Evans."
Lily made an equally serious face. "No, we did not get nasty."
"Ugh, boring," she commented as she began to inspect her cuticles.
"He a good kisser?" Dorcas asked, standing up. She slung her knapsack onto her shoulder and straightened out her clothing.
"I mean, he has to be," Emmeline answered, "if Lily chose willingly to snog him now three times."
Lily tried her best not to think too much about it, not wanting to get a whole other kind of wet. She instead looked to Dorcas and tilted her head. "Where are you off to?"
Dorcas had already turned her back on her friends. She looked over her shoulder and aimed for indifference. "Remus and I are studying together," she said.
Marlene tapped her fingers against each other and grinned devilishly. Before she could make a snippy comment, Dorcas beat her to the punch, "You need to reel in your gossip fetish."
"No fun," Marlene complained. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking like a neglected poodle.
"So, you and Remus are good again, like all the way?" Lily asked curiously. She had always been rooting for the friendship… with potential for so much more.
Dorcas thought about this for a moment. "As good as we can be," she clarified. "I'll see you lot tomorrow."
When Dorcas was fully out the door and out of hearing and telepathic reach, Marlene stated, "Merlin, I hope they shag soon."
In the hallway, Dorcas had heard Marlene's rude request but chose to keep going. She headed down the stairs in a daze, still rather tired from the day. NEWT classes were getting harder and so was sleep. Her sessions with Max were taking a toll on her headaches, but they were useful in the long run. Her nightmares were decreasing; instead of every night being tortured with memories, it was maybe every two nights. It may not seem like a success, but Dorcas would take anything at this rate.
As she made her way down the stairs, Dorcas decided that while working with Remus, she'd work on her Transfiguration essay on animagi. That needed to get done by tomorrow's 9am class.
Her concentration on homework immediately ceased when a sharp pang hit her head. It was blinding, so much that she dropped to her knees. She tried her best to contain a scream, but it was too hard. She whimpered as her mind began flashing. Dorcas didn't want to see her own memories; she had been doing so well.
But, it wasn't her own memories that flashed in the darks of her eyelids. It was something that she'd never seen before, like a horror show.
Somewhere far away in the country, a scraggly dark-haired man tottered into a crumbling cottage. He looked happy, or as happy as the man could be with his curled lips and gaunt face, until he walked into the cottage. It was empty, dusty, and a few vermin skittered away. In a fit of rage, the man shouted in an unknown language. He pulled out a fat long wand – looked more a club – and began smashing the remaining pieces of furniture to bits and pieces. He was alone and angry. He was so focused on those two emotions that he didn't notice a ring and locket on the corner counter.
"Dorcas!"
Dorcas' eyes flew open, and she was met with Remus Lupin crouching above her. His face was mere centimeters from hers, and he looked as if he had seen a ghost. And he had, or it appeared to be since Nearly Headless Nick floated behind Remus. Even the ghost seemed worried as he bit his nails.
"Hey, there," Remus said gently, noticing her steadier breath.
"What happened?" She asked quietly. Her attention moved onto the bystanders, watching her as if she had just psychotic break. Some were nervous younger students, while others were disapproving peers. Perhaps she did have a break.
"I should be the one asking you," said Remus. "Can you stand?"
The Gryffindor put out his hands, but Dorcas wasn't interested in pity. Not in front of others, at least. She tried to get up, but faltered. Remus grabbed her arm and helped Dorcas steady herself.
"Let's get you away from vultures, aye?" Remus offered, helping her walk towards a further bench.
After a moment, Dorcas shook him off. "I'm good," she grumbled as she rubbed her temples. She plopped down on the bench and let out a long sigh. "What did you see?" She asked with her eyes closed.
"Well, Nearly Headless Nick was watching over in the Library since Madam Pince is out," Remus explained. "He heard you scream but warned us to wait. I didn't listen that well and found you at the same time."
Dorcas didn't like the hesitance in his voice. She bit her lip as she looked at him. "What was I doing?" She asked.
Remus didn't look at her or answer her, which pissed her off further. "Remus," Dorcas said in a short tone.
He rubbed a hand over his face and said quickly, "I don't know exactly. You screamed and then you went silent, as if you had been stupefied. But, you were also twitching."
"Twitching?" She repeated. "Bloody perfect. The school already thinks I'm mental as is. Now, I'm having seizures in the halls."
Remus blinked. "Was it a seizure? Should we go to Poppy?" He stood up right away.
"No, no, well, I don't think so," she murmured. She rubbed her forehead and said, "It was like my nightmares."
"So a day-mare?" It was a poor attempt at lightening the mood.
Dorcas simply said, "I guess."
"From Voldemort?"
"I think, but it's different this time. Normally when he enters my dreams, it's the same one. But, this time it was something else, something I've never seen before."
When Remus realized she wasn't going to continue, he asked, "Well?"
Dorcas took a deep breath. "An old man had a fit in a broken down cottage," she said. After a moment, she added, "I've never seen someone that angry, besides my mother."
Remus rubbed his chin. He looked down at Dorcas, who was breathing slowly and twiddling her thumbs. She looked as if she were about to explode any moment. "Do you think you should tell Dumbledore?" He asked.
"I don't know what he's going to do," she grumbled.
"Maybe he knows what it means?"
"Remus, I don't know if it's a memory or some hallucination he's using to torment me. Or if I'm just so fucked up that I'm beginning to shit for giggles."
"You're not fucked up."
Dorcas smiled, an earnest one, as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Remus, thank you for trying to be nice."
"C'mon, Dorcas. You're not fucked up."
"I'm the personification of fucked up."
"No, you have fucked up shit going on your life."
"Aren't they the same?"
"Are they?" Remus countered with a raised brow. This made the Slytherin quiet and finally stop shaking. "The cruelest man on the planet is currently implementing nightmares into your mind because he is under the impression that you're going to overthrow his totalitarian regime because your biological father was just as batshit and bigoted as he is. All of that is fucked up. Not you, Doe. No, you're perfect."
Dorcas could've kissed him, but was too tense to actually do it. Shit, it may have been cathartic to do it, but she held back the urge. Instead she just placed a hand over his. "Thank you, Remus."
Remus smiled, "What're friends for?"
March 19th, 1977
It felt like spring that Saturday as the two Gryffindors walked down the path towards Hogsmeade. For years, they were just friends. Or friends of cousins and foster brothers? It was a platonic friendship, acquaintance-ship? Either way, now Sirius and Marlene were both wondering what the fuck to say to one another.
These two friends had never reached this point before. They were well-versed, witty, and charming teenagers who were known for their cheeky attitude. There should be at least one snarky remark made, but instead, there was nothing. Absolute silence surrounded them, and it was as quiet as Madam Pince's best dream.
The only noise that could be heard was Sirius soft clucking noise, pressing his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He had been doing it several times now, and after a particularly loud one, Marlene absolutely had enough.
"STOP IT, YOU SQUID!" She demanded shrilly at the top of her lungs. The girl even stomped her polished boot to the ground.
Sirius cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, we speak now?" He asked quietly.
Marlene glared. "Likewise," she grumbled. She regarded him carefully but decided not to say another word. She decided that silence was better than tempting Sirius's game plan. Marlene McKinnon refused to be the type to just let Sirius Black get the better of her, just because they were on a date.
"Well, you look lovely," Sirius said in an appreciative tone.
Marlene scoffed, "Don't hurt yourself, Black."
"Hurt myself?" He asked. He drank in her appearance like an alcoholic's first re-appearance with Scotch. "Darling, this is the view of my life," he smirked.
Marlene rolled her eyes. The poor boy was the most obvious version of cliché she'd ever met. She wasn't interested in slight compliments or teasing that qualifies as flirting. She wanted something more, because she had seen the way that Hogwarts boys worked. The school was so small that it was hard not to witness Sirius' re-runs of bird spotting. And, she refused to be just another notch under his figurative belt.
For fuck's sake, she was Marlene McKinnon.
Sirius pulled out a cigarette from his tin and offered one to Marlene. At first she thought against it since she had a vocal evaluation this week, but who was she kidding?
"Thanks," She said dully.
"No problem," Sirius said as he pulled out his lighter. He lit hers and then lit his own as they made it into the actual village of Hogsmeade. "So, no Madam Puddifoot's?" He reiterated.
"Definitely not," agreed Marlene. "I doubt they have a smoking section."
"Three Broomsticks? I know it's the bland option, but it's also the best option."
"This is true," agreed Marlene. She gave Sirius an appraising look and chuckled to herself.
"What?" Sirius asked, suddenly feeling more self-conscious.
"We're also going in to get a glimpse of Rosemerta, aren't we?" She asked, giving him a poke in the arm.
He immediately shook his head. It was as if he had been put on the stand at court. "No!" Sirius shouted, a bit too loudly. "I just thought that they had the best butterbeers… and a smoking session!"
"Oh, come now, Sirius. I know why guys like Rosemerta's. She is pretty fit."
"Yes, she is. But that's not why we're going."
"Trying to start a threesome? Is that a bigger prize for this bet?"
Sirius blinked. "I think I'd propose to you then," he said once he came back from his quick daydream.
Marlene couldn't even contain her laughter at that point. Sirius joined in. The laughter felt good, warming their bodies on this cool spring afternoon. They laughed so heartily that they couldn't see the townspeople watching them. The several clusters of Hogwarts students watched closely, because everyone knew that Marlene McKinnon was a maneater and Sirius Black was a ladykiller. So, they were wondering who was playing whom? And what would James Potter have to say about his best mate and cousin dating?
Marlene and Sirius laughed so hard that they didn't even notice the dark owl with a white beak soaring down towards them. They only noticed it when it landed on Sirius' head.
"Darwin?" He asked the bird. "What're you doing here?"
"You named your owl after that muggle scientist?" Marlene asked skeptically.
"Evolutionist," Sirius clarified. "My uncle had a strong appreciation for muggle sciences. That's why he named him."
Darwin plopped a letter into Sirius' hands before he began nipping around his pockets for possible treats.
Sirius felt his chest tighten as he examined the letter. There was no Black sigil or any signs of his uncle's stationary. He opened the letter slowly and with reluctance.
Even Marlene could note the unusual solemnness in Sirius' face. He suddenly looked thinner and like he had just seen a ghost or starved himself. She wanted to ask if he was all right, but clearly, he was not.
Sirius tore open the envelope with haste and unfolded the parchment. His eyes scanned the paper rapidly, and once he reached the end of the long letter, he exhaled deeply.
"Who's it from?" asked Marlene. Her voice became gentler, barely above a whisper.
"My uncle's lawyer," explained Sirius. He looked to Marlene as he stuffed the letter into his pocket. "I'm sorry, Love, but we're going to have to rain check. I need to get back to the castle."
"Why?" Marlene didn't want to admit that she felt quickly offended by this sudden cancelation. She decided to believe that the offense was caused by her desire to outplay Sirius, not because she didn't want to be alone.
"I need to pack," Sirius said. He was already walking backwards.
Marlene noted the firmness in his voice. There was a sense of finality in his tone that she hadn't heard before. "For?" She asked slowly.
"I'm going to a funeral. My uncle's funeral." And with that, Sirius turned around and walked back up the hill towards Hogwarts Castle.
A/N - My poor baby Sirius. I know, the inevitable time has come. Timing is always a bitch.
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Rose