Harry Potter Halloween Collection Prompt: (object) cloak/cape

Persuasive

"Where were you last night?" Lily's question greeted Marlene as Lily opened the door to her. Marlene had known that Lily would be upset that she'd missed their planned night out together.

"Good morning to you, too," Marlene said as she brushed past Lily into the house. "I'm sorry, I – got distracted last night. I'll make it up to you, I swear."

"What could possibly have distracted you so much that you forgot about your best friend?" Lily had her arms crossed over her chest and one eyebrow raised.

Marlene was spared having to answer when James walked into the room. "Hey, Marlene," he greeted her. "Good thing you're here. I've just received word that there's a meeting at headquarters in half an hour."

"Well then, we'd best get going," Lily said. "And you're still not off the hook," she said to Marlene.

A few minutes later they had safely arrived at headquarters. A few other members of the Order had already arrived, but there were still several that were missing. Marlene breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that Sirius was among the latter. She hoped that he would arrive at the last minute so there would be no awkward encounter between them or questions from Lily.

"Alright, start talking." Lily was apparently unwilling to let the subject from earlier drop, especially since they had some time to spare before the meeting began and James had wandered off to find his friends. "What happened last night?"

Marlene was just trying to think up some grand excuse when she heard Sirius's voice behind her. "Morning, Lily," he said cheerily. "And good morning to you, Marlene." He came up beside her and draped an arm over her shoulders.

Marlene blushed furiously. "G-good morning, Sirius," she managed to say. Lily was looking from Sirius to Marlene, utterly confused.

"You left this behind this morning, by the way," Sirius said. He held out a cloak, and to Marlene's horror, she realized it was her own. It was neatly folded in his hand. She quickly took it from him. "The meeting should be starting soon. I'll see you around, Marlene." He winked at her, planted a kiss on her cheek, and walked away.

"You – wha – " Lily seemed unable to form a complete sentence. "You – and Sirius – last night?"

Marlene was so embarrassed that she wanted to disappear. She had sworn to Lily for years that she would never succumb to the deadly charms of Sirius Black. "I – he – he caught me in a weak moment, okay?" she stuttered defensively. "He can be – quite persuasive."

As the meeting began, Marlene wasn't sure which was worse: Sirius glancing over at her and winking every so often, or Lily staring at her in amazement. She was certainly not going to live this one down for a long time.