Harry Potter Halloween Collection Prompt: (color) Pumpkin Orange

The Gigantic Harry Potter Collectables Challenge: First Love Beguiling Bubbles (write about puppy love); Rose Oil (Sirius/Marlene)

Word Count: 484

Charming

Lily eyed Marlene curiously as her friend sat next to her at the Gryffindor table. It took Marlene a few moments to realize she was being watched as she filled her plate with eggs and toast. "What?" she asked, turning to Lily.

"Why is there a bow in your hair?" Lily asked.

Marlene patted the pumpkin orange bow in her light brown hair, blushing as she did so. "Oh, well, I just decided to do something a little different today. I thought it would be fun to experiment." Her gaze drifted down the table to where Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter sat, eating their breakfast and laughing.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Merlin, it's for him, isn't it?"

Marlene bit her lip, her face turning a darker shade of red than it already was. "I overheard him complimenting Gwendolyn Abbott the other day for her beautiful hair bow. I decided to see how well it would work for me."

"You do realize he was only saying that to get her to snog him?" Lily asked. "Really, I don't understand why you like him so much."

"He's just so...mmmmm." Marlene's sentence trailed off into a longing sigh as she gazed hungrily at the boy in question.

"I really hope you just couldn't think of a word and that you're not trying to tell me you think he's delicious. Because that would be gross."

Lily tried to eat her breakfast, but found that Marlene's dreamy looks and longing sighs made her nauseous. By the time she finally pushed her half-finished breakfast away, the four boys were making their way out of the Great Hall. Lily realized that they would have to walk past herself and Marlene and silently hoped that Marlene wouldn't do anything stupid. Like try to get his attention.

Lily closed her eyes and suppressed a sigh when Sirius stopped just a few seconds after he passed them. "Marlene, did you do something different with your hair? It looks great."

"Thank you," Marlene replied. "I put a bow in it today. Do you like it?"

Lily opened her eyes, hoping she wouldn't see her friend acting like a fool. Unfortunately, that was exactly what Marlene was doing. Sirius was fingering the bow while Marlene just grinned, looking as though it were Christmas morning and she'd just received the gift she'd been asking for all year.

"I love it," Sirius said. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear, his hand trailing down through her hair and resting on her arm. Marlene's face brightened and she giggled behind her hand, nodding. Sirius raced to catch up with his friends, turning to wink at Marlene before he left the Great Hall.

"He asked me to meet him after classes this afternoon!" Marlene said excitedly. "It worked, Lily!"

Lily put her head in her hands, cursing the day that Sirius Black charmed his way into Marlene's heart.