Okay, sorry updating took so long, I had a lot of things to do, and my friend was torturing me with dramatic RPs on MNI... But we had a few power cuts which meant I had time to write a lot. It's a long chapter than normal, so REVIEW BECAUSE YOU ARE AWESOME! *pleading face* :P

Chapter Two - In the Common Room

Marlene and Lily were sitting at a table in the corner of the Gryffindor Common Room trying to complete some pretty important homework when the other girls came in. The table was starting to become rather crowded with Lily and Emmy sharing a seat, and Mary perched precariously on the edge of the table. Overall, it was pretty funny to watch, and James laughed from where he was sitting, quite comfortably, on the sofa by the hearth as Lily squealed, "Emmy you heavy lump! Move!" Emmeline giggled and squirmed as Lily tickled her. She was deadly ticklish, which the others used to their advantage all the time, "Not fair, Lils!"

Hearing a quiet knock on the door, Mary leaped up smiling, "That'll be Hestia! Another one to fit on the one table," she joked. She walked over to the portrait hole and opened it, peeking her head round to check it actually was Hestia, and not some idiot's idea of a joke. It was Hestia.

"Hey guys!" she said, giving Mary a hug and running over to the table, almost, but not quite, knocking Emmeline off Lily's lap. Marlene cheered, abandoning her essay and knocking her quill off the table with her elbow as she hugged Hestia. Because Hestia was a Ravenclaw, the girls haDn't seen her since the train but they almost always met up in the Gryffindor Common Room after dinner: this was quite controversial with many Gryffindors, but the professors had no problem with the arrangement as long as Hestia wasn't told the password to Gryffindor Tower.

The girls chatted and laughed loudly, enjoying the time together back at Hogwarts. "So, has Black spoken to you after last years Truth and Dare incident?" Hestia said, glancing over to the Marauders and smirking. Marlene frowned, "Yeah, once - at the station, when I was panicking about my parents, he asked what was wrong." "I say he likes you," Mary said, also looking over at the Marauders, but gazing at Remus instead of the Sirius Black they were discussing: Marlene couldn't help but smile, they were perfect for each other. Then she real side what Mary had said, and what impressions her reaction might give. "No he doesn't! He is just a man whore who doesn't know the meaning of fancying," she said with a frown.

Then the black haired scruff that was James Potter walked over from where they had been sitting and smirked at Lily, "Evening, Evans... But hello there, Jones." He turned to Marlene with fake surprise, "Why is there a Ravenclaw in the Gryffindor Tower, Marls!" Lily gritted her teeth not realising it was a joke, "You're one to talk, sneaking off to the Hufflepuff Common Room to plant stink bombs and such!" James pretended to look innocent, which didn't work and just made him look demented, "Who, me?" "Yes, Potter, you! I caught you on Prefect patrol!" Lily fumed.

Sirius laughed and glanced at Marlene who was laughing at James' stupidity: everyone knows you don't cross Lily Evans. But it was the wrong thing to do as Lily turned to Sirius, "And don't even get me started on you, Black!" Sirius, more cleverly than James, didn't try the innocent routine, instead angling for 'extremely sorry, Evans, I won't do it again, Evans'. Unfortunately, Lily was really losing it this evening, and it didn't help at all. In fact, it made it a hundred times worse. "But you're NOT! You will do it again. And again. And again, Black, and you know it! ARGH!"

The common room was rapidly clearing and Hestia looked awkward as they argued around her. Mary tried to help but there was nothing she could do, another James and Lily feud was starting. Granted, it wasn't as bad as the one after last year's truth and dare episode where Lily had screamed at Sirius for being a 'man whore who can't tell when you aren't wanted' and James had tried to defend his best friend.

"You're all as bad as each other! Apart from Remus," she admitted with a friendly nod towards the pale boy, who smiled back but still kept well out of it all. Marlene had to say, he was easily the most sensible. The argument continued for another half an hour before Marlene slumped on the floor, her head against the table. She rolled her eyes and settled down. She couldn't go to bed until it was finished, Lily's screaming and ranting would see to that, and she couldn't escape any where else as it was past curfew. Only Remus noticed Sirius glancing over to Marlene as she closed her eyes. He, as well as being the sensible one, noticed everything, and smiled to himself as Sirius sat there, blocking out the tirade of anger around him. Sirius, like Marlene, knew he would just have to wait it out, and had decided to watch Marlene sleep. Not that he fancied her or anything, he told himself, she was basically James' sister, and you don't date your best friend's sister. Not that Sirius dated either.

Marlene let her eyes drift shut as she let the harsh words of her two best friends drift over her. She didn't get why they always fought; James was madly in love with Lily, and Lily also returned the feeling, even if she herself didn't see it. She sighed. But there was nothing she could do, and meddling herself would only cause more strife, and Merlin knows she'd had enough of that to last her a lifetime. After a few more minutes, Lily threw her hands up, shouted one more 'ARROGANT IDIOT' before James gave up and walked off towards the boys stairs. Sirius got up and followed him, "I'll talk to him, Moony, you stay here if you want..."

Marlene got up too, and with a yawn said goodbye to Mary, the only one left. Hestia had crept off with muttered apologies for abandoning the girls, and Emmy had gone to her bed long ago. Mary shook her head, "I'm coming up too. This fight was longer than usual," she sighed. This left just the angry Lily and the passive Remus.

There was silence for a minute while Lily calmed down enough to actually communicate in something quieter than a shout.

"Argh, Remus, he makes me so mad!" Lily said, collapsing in an armchair opposite where Remus was lying on the couch.

Remus chuckled, "We can tell, Lily..."

"And Black does not help! All he does is make things worse and make crude comments about girls!"

Then Remus took more interest, this had been playing on his mind since the end of last year, at the fateful game of truth and dare, "Ah, Lily, he used to, but have you noticed that he hasn't once said anything like that this year?" Remus knew there was a reason for this, and he had his suspicions, but wanted to get someone else's opinion before he began meddling.

Lily thought about it for a second, then her emerald eyes widened, "He hasn't, has he?"

"Nope."

"Do you know why?"

"Maybe..."

Lily sighed, "Remus, I'm not in the mood for games, just tell me your idea or I will thump you like I did Potter." She actually had hit him, too, whacked him right round the face after a particularly stereotypical comment about Ravenclaws. He sighed and thought over what he had seen: overall, he thought it looked likely.

"I think he likes Marlene."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "As in, 'he thinks she's fit so will check her out, take her to a broom cupboard a few times then leave her' like?"

"Noooooo, as in, /like/ her. Fancy her. Has a crush on her."

Lily snorted, "Sirius Black has a crush? No way, Merlin help me, no way!"

"Lily, think about it. He chose her for the snog, he was watching her on the platform and tried to help her on the train. Kind of. He talks to her normally rather than just to irritate her and was staring at her the whole time you and James were arguing, it kinda adds up."

Lily's brain was whirring, memories and comments slotting together, and little alarms were ringing, "He does! Remus you genius! Oh wow! This is awesome, we have to get them together!"

Remus looked worried, "But Marlene doesn't like him! Since Truth and Dare last year, she's avoided him."

"Ahh, Remus, just you watch and learn; get ready for Lily Evans, match maker extraordinaire "