"You're cold," Sirius said, suddenly noticing Marlene's shivering. "C'mon, let's go back to the common room."
He took her hand in his, smiling, with a look on his face that Marlene could only decipher as shy. Sirius Black, shy? Miracles really did happen.
They walked slowly back to the common room, hands clasped together. At one point, they spotted Mrs Norris, and had to duck into an empty classroom to avoid Filch's suspicions. Sniggering, they rushed back to the common room as quickly as possible.
Once they were back, Sirius and Marlene headed immediately to the fireplace, where the embers of the fire were still glowing. Sirius pulled out his wand, muttering an incantation, and the fire sprung to life.
"That should warm you up soon," he said, pulling her onto the sofa to lie down against him.
"It was so cold up in the Astronomy Tower," Marlene said. "Should have put more layers on."
"Why were you up there, anyway?"
"Couldn't sleep."
"What, head filled with thoughts of me?" Sirius teased, and Marlene blushed furiously.
"No! I just… it was really nice today, that's all. I had a good time."
"Yeah, me too," Sirius said, brushing some of her curls out of her eyes. With Lily and James paired off, and the same with Alice and Frank, Sirius had wandered Hogsmeade with Remus, Peter and the rest of the girls. They'd ended up in Tomes and Scrolls, the bookshop, where they'd discussed the latest instalment of Jonathan Trout, a famed Wizarding novelist, and then onto Zonko's and Honeydukes, where Sirius had bought Marlene a chocolate frog, just because.
"Why did you never tell me, Marlene?" Sirius asked softly, breaking the silence.
"How do you tell someone that you've felt some way for the best part of a decade?"
"True," Sirius acknowledged.
"And… well, I guess I didn't know if you were done with the other girls, I suppose. You've had someone on the go since fourth year."
"I guess that's fair. So…" Sirius said, taking one of her hands in his, and tracing his index finger over the lines of her palm.
"So?"
"This is it, then?" Sirius said, a twinkle in his eyes. Marlene frowned in confusion. "You and me, two commitment-phobics, finally committing."
"I'm in if you are," she replied shyly.
"Trust me," Sirius whispered, pulling her closer, "I'm in."
Marlene fell asleep before he did, the pattern of her breathing slow and rhythmic. He felt warm, not just from the fire or from the heat of her resting against his chest, but deep down in his bones. He wasn't quite sure how she'd fallen asleep so quickly - his mind was alive with elation. She felt the same. That night in the orangery hadn't been an aberration, or a slip of self-control, but she wanted him. Sirius stared up at the ornate ceiling of the common room, not bothering to hide his grin. Not in a hundred years, he thought, did I think I'd be grinning like a maniac in the dark because Marlene McKinnon wants me. Just the idea had kept him going for months, consumed his thoughts in a dull class, or late at night behind the curtains of his four-poster bed in the dormitory while the others slept. No more going solo, he thought wickedly. Pulling her closer to him, revelling again in the apple smell of her shampoo, he shut his eyes and waited for sleep to come.
"Well, well, well."
Sirius opened his eyes. It took him a minute to realise where he was, to realise that he was still lying on the sofa in the the Gryffindor common room, and that a grinning James was looming over him. It took him another moment to realise that the weight on his chest was a still slumbering Marlene. The room felt far too bright, and incredibly hot; his lower back was aching from sleeping on the slightly sagging sofa.
"Something you'd like to tell us?" James said, still grinning, and Sirius noticed that James wasn't alone, but surrounded by the rest of their friends.
"Does this really need explaining?" Sirius asked, yawning and stretching. Marlene woke as he shifted.
"Not really," Lily laughed. "Good night, Marls?"
"The best," Marlene muttered sleepily, burrowing a little further into Sirius' chest. He kissed the top of her head, smoothing down her hair with his hand.
"We're going down to breakfast, you guys joining us?" Remus asked, pointing toward the portrait hole, a smile on his face.
"Go ahead," Sirius waved. "Be down in a bit."
The group moved off and out the common room. Sirius watched them go, before turning to look at Marlene, who was still tucked in at his side.
"You want to get breakfast, love?" he asked.
"In a minute," Marlene yawned. "Let me stay here for a mo."
"Sure," Sirius replied, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger.
"Guess we don't have to tell them all, right?" Marlene huffed.
"No," Sirius chuckled, "guess we don't."
"We could tease them, of course, and pretend like this never happened."
Sirius' heart missed a beat, and Marlene looked up at him.
"I was joking," she said with a smile.
"You better be," he replied, matching her smile with his own.
Sirius Black was dating someone. More than that, Sirius Black was dating Marlene McKinnon. The news spread round the castle like wildfire, that the two people least likely to date anyone had, remarkably, decided to date each other. That first morning, they'd walked down to breakfast together, deciding to take a leaf out of James and Lily's book and just saunter in holding hands. There was a ripple among the students when they did, and Sirius relished in it. To be sure, they cut a striking silhouette together: tall, solid Sirius with his dark curls that always flopped forwards into his inky eyes, and willowy, fair Marlene, with those legs that seemed to go on forever, and that wheaten hair that foamed down her back. As they walked in, Sirius had caught Amelia Bones' eye at the Hufflepuff table, and she grinned, giving him a thumbs up. Good egg, that one, he thought.
Sirius revelled in the fact that they were the talk of the castle. Marlene, less so, because she wasn't quite the lover of being the centre-of-attention that Sirius was. He would kiss her after class, or take her hand instinctively on the way back from Quidditch practice, not caring who saw; it certainly took some getting used to. They had, of course, had an awkward run-in with Professor McGonagall one evening after supper, when Sirius had pulled her into an alcove on their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Marlene had giggled as he slipped his hands under her top, sliding them round her bare skin to the small of her back. She'd been about to say something when they heard someone clearing their throat, and jumped apart.
"Professor," Sirius said in his brightest voice, "lovely to see you. Great hat, is it new?"
"I realise," McGonagall said, in her trademark, withering tone, "that it is Valentine's Day soon, but must we cavort in dark corners quite so much?"
"Well, Professor," Sirius began charmingly, but McGonagall knew that tone of voice only too well after teaching Sirius Black for nearly seven years.
"To the common room, Black, and you too, Miss McKinnon. I don't want to have to deduct points from my own house for the two of you canoodling in the corridors."
"Righto, Professor," Sirius said, grabbing Marlene's hand and pulling her up the stairs, before either of them could burst into laughter. Had they looked back, of course, they might also have seen a smile on McGonagall's face.
Still, it was nice not to carry that burden anymore, nice to just be honest about how they felt. Being able to look Sirius in the eye and be completely honest with him had been like a weight lifting from Marlene's shoulders, after all. Like with James and Lily, people would get over the novelty in good time.
Soon enough, the end of the month approached and that was just the case, because the end of January meant Lily's birthday. One Wednesday afternoon, Marlene, Sirius, James, Remus and Mary stuffed themselves into a broom closet on the fifth floor. Dorcas, sadly, had been laid up with a bout of flu, and the Marauders had tasked Peter with distracting Lily with his Potions essay.
"Right," Marlene said, "we need to - ow! Sirius, get off my foot - we need to finish the details on Lily's party."
"Sorry," Sirius said.
"Pads, have you spoken to Aberforth?" James asked.
"Course I have," he replied. "I'm going down to collect the drinks on Friday night."
"How are you going to get there, you'll be caught in a second," Mary frowned.
Sirius chuckled darkly, and tapped the side of his nose.
"A Marauder has his ways, my dear Mary."
"Not the point, can we focus?" Marlene said fractiously.
"Don't stress, babe," Sirius said soothingly.
"I'm not stressed!"
"Is it just me or is it the temperature of the sun in here?" Remus asked from the back.
"Yes, let's hurry this along before Remus passes out," James said. "Pads, you're on booze. Moony, you and Mary are going to chat up the house elves, right?"
"Disgusting turn of phrase, but yes," Remus replied.
"So that leaves Marlene and I to sort the decorations," James smiled. "As long as Dorcas is back on her feet by Saturday night, she's on to distract Lils with Wormtail so we can get the common room ready."
"Is that everything?" Mary asked.
"Yes, and don't forget that I've got her a cake organised," Marlene added.
"Dreamy," James said, and clapped his hands together. Sirius hid a smirk - sometimes James was the epitome of Head Boy. "Onwards, gang, and we'll reconvene on Saturday morning."
They shuffled towards the door, James exiting first, followed by Mary and Remus.
"C'mere," Sirius said, grabbing Marlene's hand before she could follow the others out of the cupboard. "What's up?"
"I don't mean to be ratty, I'm sorry," she said.
"It's ok," he said, "but are you sure everything's alright?"
Marlene sighed.
"I had an owl from my parents this morning. My sister and Fawley… they've decided to move to France. He got a job in the Department of International Magical Cooperation office in Paris."
"Is this because of the dickheads running around at the moment?"
"Yeah… they decided it was safer for the baby to be somewhere else. It's no place for Phineas to grow up."
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine, I understand why they're doing it, I just can't help stressing about everything. My parents and brother aren't going anywhere - they're too involved in the Ministry and in the push back against… Voldemort. Maybe that's the worry."
"It's going to be ok, Marls, I promise."
"How can you say that?!" she asked in a hushed tone. "Even we aren't safe and we're purebloods. You're in the sodding Sacred 28, for goodness sake."
"Please don't bring that up, you know I hate it," he muttered.
"I know, I know, I just… if they're coming after blood traitors, as they love to call us, what's going to happen to the Muggle-borns?"
"That's why you're so worried about Lily's party, right?" Sirius said gently. "You're worrying about what happens to her after we leave Hogwarts."
"I want to make it good for her. We're so sheltered here, Sirius, but who knows what's going to happen when we leave? I want her to have this."
"You, Marlene McKinnon," Sirius said, taking her face in his hands, "are such a wonderful girl. But I promise, sweetheart, things are going to be ok. We're going to win, but before then, we're going to give Lily the best party ever."
"Yeah?"
"Absolutely. Now, give me a kiss to last me through Potions - Slughorn's been a moody bugger for weeks."
Saturday arrived, and the group were ready. That morning, they'd gathered to shift the alcohol that Sirius had procured from the seventh floor to the Gryffindor common room. Now, as the afternoon had turned to evening, Dorcas and Peter were distracting Lily in the library while the others rushed to decorate the common room. James had procured a series of decorations, many of which he'd convinced Sirius to charm - there were now tiny paper woodland animals dancing upon the windowsills and the mantlepiece. Marlene had arranged fake flowers around the pictures on the walls, and bunting criss-crossing from wall to wall.
"We've got about ten minutes, do you think that's enough time?" James asked from the corner of the room. He was organising a group of third years he'd roped into inflating balloons, each of them slightly red in the face from the effort.
"Plenty of time," Marlene said, "if Sirius gets off his arse and helps us." She gave her boyfriend a glare, as he reclined on the sofa. Sirius had, admittedly, done a considerable amount of heavy lifting, shifting alcohol, moving furniture, and bringing his own magic record player down from the dorm in order to provide music.
"You're too far from me to hit me, and too far from your wand to hex me, so I think I'll stay right here," he grinned back, putting his hands behind his head in mock relaxation.
"I used to take dance classes, honey, I'm flexible enough to injure you with my feet from here," Marlene replied, fixing a slightly drooping piece of bunting that slouched off the mantlepiece.
"Kinky."
"She's coming early!" Mary hissed, silencing Marlene before she could respond. Everyone in the common room hushed, as James extinguished the lights - it was pretty packed already, and Sirius knew they were expecting more people. He jumped up off the sofa, and moved to hide behind a rather unflattering statue of Godric Gryffindor beside his girlfriend. Tucked into the corner with Marlene, as they waited, he took the opportunity to slip a hand up her skirt - it really was indecently short, he thought.
"Sirius!" Marlene hissed at him. He grinned lazily, and pulled her closer into him as she swatted at his hand.
"What?" he whispered into her ear. "You aren't telling me you expected me to look and not touch, are you?"
"That's exactly what I'm telling you, you beast," she muttered back, but it wasn't even a half-hearted attempt to get him to desist, and Sirius knew it.
"Liar," he said, crushing her lips against his, before-
"SURPRISE!"
The common room erupted with voices and light as Lily climbed through the portrait hole, flanked by Dorcas and Peter. Upon realising what the commotion was, Lily's face went bright red, her hands coming to her mouth in shock.
"You guys!" she exclaimed.
"Happy Birthday, babe!" James grinned, grabbing her and planting a great kiss on her cheek. Sirius resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that, and instead took Marlene's hand to pull her over to their friends.
"Happy Birthday, Evans!" he cried, as Marlene gave Lily a hug.
"I can't believe you did this!" Lily said, her eyes wet. "You're the best!"
"We got you a cake, c'mon," Marlene said, pointing Lily towards an armchair. She sat down, shock still on her face, as Marlene quickly moved to the table at the side of the room, returning momentarily with an enormous birthday cake, resplendent with sprinkles and eighteen pink candles.
"Oh my gosh, Marlene! Where did you get that?" Lily asked.
"Borrowed James' darling house elf, obviously," Marlene said, nodding her head towards James.
"Good old Hempy," James replied with a smile. He raised his voice to include the whole room, gesturing with his hands. "Okay, ready, folks? One, two, three!"
The room burst out in the old familiar song.
"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Evans,
Happy birthday to you!"
Lily blew out the candles, taking a few gos to finally blow out the joke candle Sirius had snuck onto the cake when Marlene hadn't been looking. Sirius flicked his wand, and the record player in the corner started pumping out music. He gestured towards the drinks table, as the crowd began to chat amongst themselves.
"Help yourselves, all of you!" he called to the guests, before turning back to the group that had gathered around Lily's armchair, where James perched on the arm. Marlene was on his left, Remus and Peter on his right, and they'd been joined by Alice, Frank, Mary, and Dorcas.
"We got you some gifts - I know it's not your birthday until tomorrow, but it seems as good a time as any to give you them," Mary explained.
"Yeah, and let's face it - you'll be hungover as shit tomorrow," Sirius added, earning a laugh.
"Go on, open this one," Mary continued, handing Lily a beautifully wrapped gift with a large pink ribbon. "It's from Dorcas and I."
And so, the gift giving began. Mary and Dorcas had given Lily a bottle of beautiful perfume, which she immediately spritzed onto her wrists. James had bought her a golden necklace, a delicate chain with two tiny charm pendants: one capital L, and one dainty little stag, the latter of which made Sirius and Remus catch each other's eye, biting back grins. Lily went bright red upon opening it, and insisted James clip it round her neck immediately. Remus had bought her a beautiful writing set, complete with personalised seal for the wax on the back of her envelopes. Peter, in characteristic form, had procured a box of Honeydukes' most expensive chocolates, and presented them to Lily was a beaming smile.
"Here, this is from Sirius," Marlene said, passing the next gift from the pile. "I apologise in advance for whatever it is, he did not ask my advice, and I obviously didn't help with the travesty that is the wrapping."
"You know you're supposed to be my girlfriend and build me up, not tear me down, McKinnon."
Lily laughed, and unpacked the present in her lap. Two things were revealed as she did so. Lily picked up the first one, a little black box about the size of Sirius' hand, and took off the lid. Inside, a neat silver-coloured hip flask, engraved with her initials, rested on black satin.
"A hip flask!" she laughed.
"Goblin-made, no less, Miss Evans, so it should last a hell of a time."
"This is so characteristically you, Sirius, thank you!"
"You know, you're going into the real world after this year, I though you'd need something to take with you. Can't be relying upon the Marauders all your life for your tipples, Evans," he grinned.
"No," Lily laughed, "I suppose I can't."
She reached for the second gift, a bottle that looked about as old as she was. It was corked, and sealed with a silvery wax.
"Sirius is this…" she trailed off. James leant forward, peering at the label.
"Bloody hell, Padfoot!" he said, looking up at his friend with pure shock on his face. "How the hell did you get a bottle of Veela champagne?"
"I know a guy," Sirius replied.
In reality, it had been a hell of a cost. He'd been in touch with Aberforth Dumbledore at the Hog's Head almost as soon as they'd been back to Hogwarts, who'd arranged a meeting in the pub with a French wizard who passed through Hogsmeade every now and then. Hurrying down there through the secret passageway in the Room of Requirement one Wednesday afternoon, they'd met in Aberforth's dank upper room. Sirius was somewhat convinced the man had been part-troll - his body odour had been, quite frankly, rancid - but had nonetheless parted with half the payment in advance for a bottle of the champagne. He'd casually dropped in the Black name as security, and watched the man pale in recognition. When he'd returned to Hogsmeade to collect the rest of the alcohol from Aberforth that he'd purchased for the party, sure enough, the French man was returned with the bottle of Veela champagne. Parting with the second half of the money had been painful - it really was extortionately expensive - but the look on Lily's face made it worth it.
"This must have cost you a fortune!" she cried.
"Can't celebrate your last birthday at Hogwarts without something really great to drink, Evans."
"Thank you so much, Sirius!" Lily said, looking at him with such genuine affection that Sirius didn't really know what to say.
"Well, you know, it was nothing," he shrugged.
Lily moved to open the gift that Alice and Frank had bought her, and the conversation moved on, but Marlene caught his eye.
"Thank you," she mouthed silently, earning a wink in return.
The night wore on, and Marlene began to tire. She had done the rounds, played countless games of Exploding Snap and Quidcup, danced with Lily and Mary until they'd collapsed in a heap into armchairs. The common room was rammed with people, from third years all the way to seventh years; Lily was well-liked in the house and outside of it, and Marlene had seen a few people from other houses gathered with drinks in hand. Marlene had been chatting to Fabian Prewett, another member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and they'd been joined by Gideon; the three of them had discussed, like old times, the merits of the Wimbourne Wasps versus Puddlemere United in this year's Quidditch League, before the boys hd gone for more drinks. She saw Amelia from across the room, and thought about going over to apologise; before she could, Amelia smiled at her and waved, which she returned.
Marlene spotted Sirius on the other side of the room, bottle of beer in hand, laughing as Peter told him something. God, she thought, I'm mad for him. In the evening light, she could see the chestnut and chocolate in his dark hair. She'd known every inch of him for years, the way that scruffy kid had grown into broad shoulders and strong arms. He was built like he'd been born to be a Beater; he was solid, sturdy, standing with his chest open, shoulders back and relaxed, one hand in the pocket of his jeans. The other hand was wrapped around his beer, the fingers a little crooked from one-too-many breakages at the mercy of bludgers. There was something about the way he stood that was so characteristically Sirius, a sort of unconscious way of being that was utterly unique, and that Marlene couldn't put her finger on.
For a long time, she'd thought it was arrogance in Sirius' stance; Marlene had assumed that that relaxed, confident way of moving and behaving came with Sirius' money and status and good looks. He was confident, certainly, the kind of confident that is so ubiquitous in clever, successful teenage boys with good friends. Since getting to know him intimately, she'd realised her mistake. What she'd learnt was Sirius' different kind of self-belief, reflected in everything that he did and every interaction he had and the way he held himself. Not arrogance, but instead a simple, unshakeable belief in doing the right thing, in being on the right side, no matter the consequences. It was a kind of certainty that made him kind to people who needed it, even if that kindness sometimes meant showing them how to laugh at themselves; it was what spurred him on in the sometimes unfathomably high standards he held for himself in his relationship with his friends. The same belief had caused him to up sticks and leave home, and meant he shunned his brother at school even though he grieved for their sibling relationship dreadfully.
When she saw Regulus around the castle, she was shocked at how much he didn't resemble his brother. Sure, that trademark head of Black curls was the same, but the look of his face was remarkably different. Regulus was sallow where Sirius was pink-cheeked, even when both brothers had been playing Quidditch; his forehead was heavier and lower, his eyebrows so often knitted together in a frown. Sirius, by comparison, had features that were open and warm, his eyes crinkled round the sides and a lazy grin. They looked like Blacks, both of them, but if anything, Regulus was a testament to the idea that carrying on with wretchedness made one wretched. Sirius, instead, seemed at times the very definition of freedom.
As Marlene moved towards him, she saw Peter gesture towards the drinks table, and walk away. Sirius span around, breaking into a grin when he saw her approaching.
"Hi, love," Sirius said, putting his arm around her. "Enjoying it?"
"Yeah, it's a good time," Marlene said with a smile, "but I'm wiped."
"Yeah?" Sirius asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Think I'm going to head to bed," she replied quietly, planting a kiss on his bicep.
Sirius grinned.
"Want some company?" he asked.
"Are you inviting me up for coffee, Mr. Black?" Marlene asked mock-seriously.
"After you, Miss McKinnon," he said, bowing and gesturing towards the boys' dormitory stairs.
Sirius and Marlene were soon ensconced in his dorm, away from the party. They could still hear the thump-thump-thump of the music, and Sirius wondered for a moment whether it was really wise for him to have left his records and player at the hands of increasingly drunk students. Nevertheless, he pulled the drapes around the bed, and cast a silencing charm. Turning back, the sight of her took his breath away. Marlene was reclined on the red bedspread, her hair fanning around her, and her skirt had ridden up even further revealing the tops of her stockings. Like some kind of heat-seeking missile, his hands reached for them immediately.
"You look beautiful, in case I didn't tell you," Sirius murmured, and brushed her neck with his lips.
"You might have mentioned it," she said back.
"This skirt is tremendously naughty, though," Sirius grinned, rubbing the edge of the fabric between his thumb and forefinger.
"Only wear it because I know it drives you mad."
"It does, it really does," he groaned against her neck. He dipped his hand under her chiffon top, stretching it across the smooth plane of her stomach.
"Take this off," Marlene instructed, pulling at the soft cotton of his t shirt. He obliged, and Marlene bit her lower lip in lust as he revealed those toned abs, dark hairs running down to his waistband, and that hideous dog tattoo on his chest, just off centre.
"I really hate the tattoo, you know," she said, planting a kiss on his neck as he lay over her again. Sirius let out a laugh - no, more than just a laugh. A deep, rich, hearty, genuine laugh, and Marlene's insides flip-flopped at the sound. Sirius did a lot of smirking, a lot of chuckling, a lot of sarcastic sniggering, but it was rare that she saw him properly laugh like that.
"It's not supposed to be aesthetically pleasing, that's the point," he muttered.
"Why both having it, then?"
"What can I say? It adds to my allure."
"You trying to impress other girls, Black?"
"With you in my life, McKinnon? Never."
He kissed her, and Marlene wrapped one hand around the back of his neck, the other running down his back. He moaned as her nails caught his skin, and pushed his tongue into her mouth, teasing hers. He moved his thigh between hers, and then it was Marlene's turn to groan.
"Far too many clothes here," he whispered, pushing her stockings down, and kissing her again.
One thing led to another, as it was bound to do, and soon she was lying there, utterly undressed, Sirius resting on his arms above her with his belt unbuckled.
"You really are fucking magnificent," Sirius said, eyes roaming all over her body. Marlene had never felt so exposed, so laid open and bare - literally, and figuratively. She blushed.
"No," he breathed, "no, don't do that. Don't be embarrassed."
"Bit hard when you're staring at me like you're trying to pull out my soul."
"Anyone ever told you you're not a natural romantic, honey?" he laughed.
"Working on it," she grumbled, and he laughed into her lips again. Before he could respond, she'd flipped their positions, so that she was sat astride him. Marlene shifted against the hardness of his groin, and Sirius groaned, his eyes slipping shut, and he ran his hands desperately up and down her bare thighs.
"Antsy, aren't we?" Marlene teased.
"Only been waiting on this since New Year," he said, biting back another moan as she moved on him. Of course that made her want to tear every piece of remaining clothing off of him.
"Why did you make us wait?" Marlene asked, and Sirius' eyes flew open.
"Remember what I said to you, that night?"
"Not really, actually," she admitted, and Sirius laughed.
"Exactly. I'm many things, Marls, but I'm not enough of a dick to do that. But, I'll refresh your memory: I said that when I blow your mind in bed, I want you to remember it."
"What a line."
"Won't be saying that when I'm proving it to you, will you?"
"Why are you wearing so many clothes?" she said, sudden and breathless, climbing off him. Sirius laughed, and pushed his jeans down, flipping over to lie atop her again, before Marlene spoke.
"Are those… are those dogs on your boxers?"
Sirius looked down.
"What? Oh, yeah… James' parents got me them for Christmas. Got a pair of matching socks somewhere."
This time it was Marlene's turn to laugh.
"Have I told you," she said, pulling his face to hers and planting a kiss on his lips, "that you're fucking adorable. They really are your family."
"Once or twice," he grinned, and his hand began to slip down her body, "but if it's all the same, I'd rather not talk about James' parents while I do this."
Marlene opened her mouth to protest, but groaned instead as Sirius' hand found its destination. Talk, it seemed, could wait.