Harry Potter Halloween Collection Prompt: (dialogue) "I'm not hiding in there!"/"Why not?"/"Well, if we have to hide, I want to be somewhere familiar. I want to know where the exits are, and I want to be allowed to smoke."

Hide and Seek

The endless rain of the last two weeks had put a strain on the students and staff of Hogwarts. Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures had been cancelled indefinitely as the grounds were flooded. Quidditch had been cancelled as well for the same reason - no one could even make it to the Quidditch pitch. It was impossible to leave the safety of the solid stone floors of the castle, and anyone who tried got their shoes stuck in the mud. Everyone was starting to get cabin fever.

Professor Dumbledore, eccentric as ever, gathered the students in the Great Hall one morning during the perpetual rain and announced a school-wide game of Hide and Seek and, to liven things up, no magic would be allowed. Students would pair off, with two houses hiding and two seeking.

"I think the rain's waterlogged his brain if he thinks I'm seeking out any Slytherins," Sirius commented to his friends. "They can stay hidden. Maybe they'll get lost and we can have some peace and quiet around here."

"You weren't listening," Marlene said with displeasure. "He just said we're going to be hiding, as is Slytherin."

"Whatever, McKinnon. Oi, James-" Sirius had just been about to ask his best friend to be his partner, but James was already walking out of the Great Hall hand in hand with Lily. Remus and Peter had paired off as well, their heads already together trying to come up with a good hiding spot. Resigned, he turned back to Marlene.

Marlene's eyes widened as she realized what he was thinking. "Oh no," she said, "no, I will not hide with you. No way."

"What other choice do you have?" Ever since Lily had changed her mind about James, Marlene had started hanging around with them all in order to stay close to her best friend. She got along well with everyone except Sirius. She still couldn't be civil to him for even one entire day, especially when he started flirting with her.

Marlene glanced around desperately, but everyone she knew had already been taken. She stood and started to walk out of the Great Hall, stopping when she realized Sirius wasn't behind her. "Well, are you coming?" she called over her shoulder.

They had been given one hour to find an appropriate hiding spot. The unlikely pair of Sirius and Marlene had already wasted five of those minutes trying not to get stuck together, and another ten arguing over the best place to hide.

"I'm telling you, the Astronomy Tower is perfect," Sirius insisted again. "There's a little hidden room up there that not many people know about. We could hide in there for days without being found."

"That's the problem," Marlene countered. "I don't want to be hiding with you for days. I think somewhere like the kitchens would be better. Hardly anyone goes there."

"If by anyone you mean just yourself, then you're right," Sirius said, laughing. "You don't pay much attention to things, do you? Students are in the kitchens all the time."

"You don't have to be an ass about it," Marlene said testily. "Fine, I've got it. What about the Divination classroom? There's a little closet in there where the the crystal balls are kept, but there's a large enough gap between the floor and the bottom shelf that I think we could sit comfortably."

"I'm not hiding there!" Sirius said quickly.

"Why not?" Marlene thought it made perfect sense.

"Well, if we have to hide, I want to be somewhere familiar. I want to know where the exits are, and I want to be allowed to smoke." Sirius said all of this with a straight face.

Marlene clapped a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "You are beyond ridiculous," she said. "Firstly, from what Lily's told me, this whole damn castle should be familiar to you. Second, there is one safe exit - the door, obviously - and the window, which I take when I've had enough of your idiocy and just want to end it all. Third, you don't smoke!"

"How do you know?" Sirius said, feigning offense. "Have you ever asked?"

Marlene narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you smoke?" she asked, clearly irritated.

"No."

Marlene stared at him speechless for several seconds before grabbing his arm and dragging him in the direction of the Divination classroom.

Three hours later, they were still squashed together in the closet. There was enough room to sit up properly, but the closet wasn't very wide or deep. This presented the rather unfortunate consequence, for Marlene at least, of having to be entangled with each other. Sirius didn't seem to mind in the least.

"It's so hot in here," Marlene stated for the third time in an hour. "Open the door a little more."

"I can't open it anymore or we'll be found," Sirius said. "I'm already going to have to act quickly to get it closed if someone comes up." He leaned in close to her, his face inches from hers. "We could make it really hot in here, if you know what I mean."

"I do know what you mean," Marlene said irritably, trying to push him away, "and you're disgusting. I'm not snogging with you just because we're hiding in a closet together."

"Aha!" The door flew open and a pair of Ravenclaws stared down at them triumphantly. "Found you!"

"Oh thank Merlin," Marlene said, disentangling herself from Sirius, pushing past the Ravenclaws, and running from the room.

Unfortunately, she couldn't run or hide from the rumors that persisted for the next week about her time in the closet with Sirius. Sirius, of course, enjoyed it, much to her dismay.