"It's Valentine's Day next week."

Marlene looked up from her desk in the library as Sirius walked towards her. The afternoon light came through the window, casting one side of her face into gold. God, I'm a lucky bastard, he thought, approaching the table and giving her a chaste kiss.

"I love that you've learnt the calendar, good job!" Marlene teased as he took a seat beside her.

"Behave," he said good-naturedly, passing her a piece from the chocolate bar he'd brought with him.

"Thank you," Marlene said with a smile, popping the piece into her mouth.

"What d'you wanna do?" Sirius asked thickly through his own chocolate.

"I don't really mind. It's a Hogsmeade weekend, right?"

"Yup."

"Grab a drink? I don't know, what do you want to do?"

Sirius shrugged.

"What does one do on Valentine's? I've never had a Valentine before," he admitted.

"If I'm honest, I'm really not fussed. I kinda just want to do what we'd usually do on a Hogsmeade weekend, you know?" Marlene scrunched up her face.

"You sure? Not just saying that and then when I don't buy you anything you'll be mad at me?"

Marlene rolled her eyes. "No," she laughed, "I'm not buying you anything, if that helps."

"Good," Sirius beamed. "I'll send a message to Rosmerta, get her to save us a table. Don't know what the others will be doing, imagine James will take Evans to Madam Puddifoot's." He made a face.

"If you take me there, I'll break up with you," Marlene said nonchalantly, scanning the papers in front of her. "Noted."

"Oh! Also meant to ask, what do you think of this?" Marlene pushed a catalogue towards him, pointing out one of the figures on the page, a model witch who twirled back and forth in a beautiful midnight blue dress. "I was thinking of wearing it to the Leavers' Ball in May."

Every year, seventh year students were treated to an evening in the grounds of the castle, where a magical marquee was erected; there was a feast, and drinking and dancing, and Dumbledore usually made a speech that inevitably brought everyone to tears.

"S'nice," Sirius said.

"Nice?" Marlene asked. "Anything more effusive to add to that, Black?"

"You know I prefer you with your clothes off, McKinnon," he replied with a cheeky grin.

"Flirt."

"How are you feeling about the match this weekend, by the way?" Sirius asked.

"It'll be a tough one - the Slytherin team are really good this year. Your brother's turned out to be quite the seeker."

"Stupid git," Sirius murmured to no one in particular.

"Be careful, yeah? You know their captain, Flint, is a devil with his beater's bat."

"Worried for me, are you?" Sirius teased, and Marlene fixed him with a look.

"Yes, as it happens, I am worried about my boyfriend's safety."

"Say that again," Sirius grinned.

"What?" "Say it again, what you called me."

"I don- my boyfriend?" Marlene frowned, completely confused. Somehow, Sirius' grin got even bigger when she said the words.

"Sounds great, that."

"I seem to remember a little while ago you saying to me that you didn't think I was a romantic. Seems you were overcompensating for how much of a sucker you are," Marlene teased. "Me?" Sirius laid a hand on his chest. "Hard as nails."

"Shut up, Sirius, you're a total sap."

Saturday morning dawned fresh and crisp, a light frost glittering upon the grounds. The sky was clear of clouds for the first time in a while, weak winter sunlight bouncing off the lake. Sirius had woken early, before the rest of the Marauders, and dressed quietly before creeping out of the dormitory. Now, ensconced at the Gryffindor table, he lazily ate a bowl of porridge and read the Daily Prophet, as his fellow students came into the Great Hall in dribs and drabs.

"Morning," came Marlene's voice in his ear. He felt her hands on his shoulders, and she gave him a swift kiss on the cheek.

"Morning," he replied. "Want tea?"

"Coffee, please."

Sirius obliged, pouring the hot liquid out of the pot in front of him, and passing it to Marlene as she sat down.

"Pass the sugar, please," she said, taking the steaming cup.

"Not like you, you're sweet enough as it is."

Marlene rolled her eyes, taking the sugar pot, and dumping two large teaspoons of the white granules into her coffee.

"Need a bit of a boost this morning, what can I say? Anything interesting in the Prophet today?"

"No," Sirius sighed, scanning the front page again. "Just the usual doom and gloom."

"Don't know why I bother asking anymore."

"Don't know why I bother reading, to be honest."

The pair looked at each other, and Sirius couldn't help breaking into a broad and genuine smile. He reached out, taking Marlene's hand and running his dumb over her knuckles - he ignored the giggles from a group of third year girls slightly further down the table.

"You're going to make your fan club jealous," Marlene mocked in a stage whisper.

"Gladly," Sirius replied, "if I get to hold your hand, Marlene McKinnon."

"Good thing I let you then, isn't it, Sirius Black?"

They were joined in that moment by Lily and James, approaching the table with their arms around each other. James' was slung around Lily's shoulders, and he had her pulled close to him, whispering something into her ear that was causing her to blush. Sirius and Marlene shared an amused glance - they knew an afterglow when they saw it.

"Morning, folks," James said, flinging himself into the seat opposite Sirius. Lily sat beside him, admittedly in a more restrained manner.

"Morning," Sirius replied through a mouthful of bacon.

"Feeling pepped up and ready?" James asked, handing Lily a glass of orange juice.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Marlene shrugged. "You watching with Remus and Peter, Lils?"

"Yep," Lily answered, "and Mary's going to join us once she's out of detention with Flitwick. Poor Dorcas is feeling under the weather again."

"What's Macdonald doing in detention with Flitwick of all people?" Sirius frowned. "She's great at Charms."

"Exactly," Lily replied, "which means she never does the homework because she doesn't see the point. Even Flitwick's favourite gets a detention every once in a while for that."

"D'you know, my respect for Macdonald only grows with every passing day," Sirius mused lightly.

"How're you feeling about the match?" James asked, turning the conversation once again to Quidditch. "Confident against Regulus, Marlene?"

At the mention of his brother, Sirius concentrated very hard on buttering another piece of toast.

"It'll be a tight match," Marlene admitted, "but I think I can out-fly him. He's quick, sure, but he usually relies on that over being first to spot the Snitch."

"And with that bloody fantastic new broom of yours," James grinned.

"I like my chances," she finished, matching James' smile with one of her own.

God, it felt good to be in the air. Sirius took a moment to assess the Quidditch pitch after shadowing James, the latter of whom had managed to score a really rather remarkable goal. They were just into the second half, and Sirius was hovering some ten-or-so-feet from the ground, eyes flitting back and forth as he looked for the two bludgers. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one hurtling towards him. Turning, Sirius took an almighty swing at the bludger, sending the ball spinning off towards two of the Slytherin chasers. The dull thunk let him know he'd hit his target, and Sirius grinned in spite of himself. He spun around, bat in hand.

Smack.

He didn't, at first, know what had hit him. All he knew was that a great force knocked him from his broom, sending him spiralling toward the ground. Sirius collided with the hard earth, his breath pushed out of his lungs by the force of it. Jesus, he thought. Getting his bearings, he saw his little brother's laughing face a few feet away, as Regulus sat up and brushed his emerald green robes down.

"Oi," Sirius snarled, "you little shit."

"Getting slow are you, big brother?" Regulus sneered back, now on his feet.

"C'mere, you filthy little twat," Sirius said, jumping up. "Won't have such a mouth on you after I've beat you to a pulp."

"All brawn and no brains, as per usual, Sirius."

Sirius lunged towards his brother. He heard his teammates land, but didn't take his eyes off of Regulus. Before he could respond, he felt someone yanking him by the shoulder, strong arms pulling him backwards. He realised it was the Prewett twins, pulling him back, Gideon shouting into his ear to ignore it. James marched up to Sirius, cutting off all view of Regulus as the Slytherin captain did the same.

"Padfoot," James growled, grabbing Sirius by the neck of his Quidditch robes. His face was inches from his best friend's, close enough for Sirius' breath to steam up the bottom of his glasses. "Don't you fucking dare quit on me now for your slimy toe rag of a brother."

"Get off me, Prongs!" Sirius snarled, struggling under James' surprisingly tight grip.

"No!" James spat back, shaking Sirius firmly. "I'm not talking as your friend, I'm talking as your captain. Get back on your fucking broom."

Sirius didn't say anything for a moment, before yanking his robes from James' grip. Glaring daggers at them all, he mounted his broom and kicked off from the still-frosted ground.

"You," James pointed at the Slytherin captain, Christian Flint, "keep your fucking players in check." He turned back to the rest of the team, their faces betraying shock at James of all people losing his temper. "Gryffindors, get the back in the air!"

Sirius was furious as he took to the skies again. The look on his face was pure, unfettered rage; he was practically spitting venom. He circled the pitch, climbing higher in order to survey the damage. The rest of the team, save for James, had returned to the air; their captain was talking animatedly with the Quidditch mistress, Madam Hooch, and the Slytherin captain on the ground. James, every now and then, gestured angrily towards Regulus. Finally, Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the captains kicked off again.

Marlene hovered next to him.

"Sirius?" she said.

"What? Going to tell me not to let him get to me? Bit late for that."

She reached across the air and grabbed him by the forearm, and Sirius met her eyes.

"No, because I'm not James," Marlene said deliberately. "I'm going to tell you to beat the motherfucker by winning, honey. Also not going to lie and say that the whole macho-testosterone thing didn't turn me on."

Sirius grinned.

"Knew I fell for you for a reason," he said wickedly. "You seen the Snitch yet?"

Marlene shook her head.

"Regulus is a good Seeker, but he's definitely not seen it either. Wouldn't have pulled that little stunt if he had."

"True."

"So I need you to focus, Sirius. Their beaters are savage."

"Well," Sirius sighed, feeling his anger dissipate, "I've got your back."

"I know you have. C'mon, Black," she said, her eyes twinkling as she turned her broom and readied to shoot off, "let's give them hell."

"Lead the way, McKinnon."

Gryffindor won, and very convincingly. James scored another seven times, each time to raucous applause from not just the Gryffindor supporters, but also those from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Slytherin, Sirius thought, really didn't stand a chance. Marlene had taken the Snitch in the seventy-third minute, beating Regulus to that little golden orb by a matter of centimetres, after a hair-raising chase from one end of the pitch to the other. Landing roughly, Sirius had dropped his broom in favour of gathering Marlene up in a passionate kiss, to many wolf-whistles and hollers from the crowd. The team then returned to the changing rooms, beaming smiles and enthusiastically patting one another on the back. Sirius spuriously avoided James' eye as they did so, instead heading straight to the showers.

Twenty minutes later, after every inch of sweat and mud was washed away, Sirius walked out of the boys' showers with a towel wrapped around his waist. He settled himself on the bench, next to where Marlene was packing away her gear, and was about to ask her a question when James strode over to him. Sirius realised the three of them were the last left in the changing room, and that his best friend had been waiting for that exact moment.

"What were you playing at, Sirius?" James said, and Sirius bit back the urge to laugh.

"Playing at? He knocked me off my broom!"

"So you get back on it, and you keep playing!"

"Is that what you'd have done, Prongs?"

"Yes!" James cried. "Who cares if your Baby Death Eater brother pushed you a little bit? Get over it, Padfoot!"

"Oh, right!" Sirius scoffed, barking out a laugh. "You'd know what it's like to have a Baby Death Eater brother, right?"

"Keep your family drama off the Quidditch pitch, you know it's not the place," James growled.

"Watch your fucking tone, Potter," Marlene said, laying a hand on Sirius' arm. She'd appeared by his side quietly.

"You're seriously going to defend that show?" James gaped.

"Regulus is a brat, we both know that," Marlene shrugged. "Doesn't mean you have to be a brat about it, either, James. Sirius had the right to be pissed about it, we all would be in his situation."

"You're only saying that because you're dating, McKinnon!"

"Yeah," she said softly, "I am."

Silence fell. Neither James nor Marlene were backing down, staring at each other. James' face was red, displaying his anger and irritation; Marlene, in comparison, seemed frighteningly calm. Sirius knew who he'd put money on in duel.

"Yeah, ok," James sighed, finally, scanning Marlene's face before turning to Sirius. "You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have had a go at you, because I don't know how it feels."

"No hard feelings," Sirius shrugged.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Sirius smiled. "See you back at the castle, yeah?"

"Sure," James grinned back. He glanced at Marlene for a moment, his face unreadable, before leaving the changing rooms. Sirius watched him go, before turning to Marlene.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," he said quietly, wrapping an arm round her and pulling her close to his chest.

"I know," Marlene said simply, resting both hands on Sirius' bare chest.

"Appreciate it, though," Sirius replied, and kissed her gently. Marlene's hands moved from his chest, gently down his abs until they were resting at the top of his towel. Sirius felt a jump south of his navel, and pulled his lips from hers.

"Here?" he asked, eyebrows raised incredulously.

"Everyone else is already back at the castle," she whispered, "and I told you all that testosterone got me hot and bothered."

Marlene pushed Sirius' towel down, exposing him. Sirius was about to speak, possibly to offer a weak protest, when she kissed him on the mouth, soft and gentle. His tongue slipped against hers, and he tangled his hands in her golden curls, taking in the soft feel of them against his rough hands. Her hands, meanwhile, had descended further, gripping him as he hardened against her palms, straining at the bit.

"Let me," Marlene whispered in his ear. She kissed his neck, gently at first, and then pulling at the skin with her teeth, leaving proud red marks on his neck and jaw in the way he usually did to her. She usually used concealing charms, or covered the more stubborn ones with make up when that didn't work. Sirius would leave them out for all to see, like he always did; Marlene always teased him about it, about the fact that ladies man Sirius Black liked showing off the angry bruises that marked him as hers.

Then, she was on her knees, and Sirius looked down at her, scarcely able to believe that this insanely perfect girl was on her knees in front of him, licking her lips and staring him down like he was the most delectable thing she'd ever seen. When she took him in her mouth, Sirius slipped his eyes closed, as fireworks exploded on the inside of his eyelids over and over again. God, he could barely breathe, all he could think about was the feeling of her soft lips all over him, nimble fingers working in tandem, tongue driving him crazy. The feeling was almost excruciatingly perfect, and he lost himself in it.

"'M close," he grunted after a while, drawing on every ounce of willpower he had, and she slowed, pulling away from him and standing up.

"How'd you want me?" Marlene whispered in his ear, and if he'd thought he was hard before, that sent a jolt of electricity through him. Sirius pushed aside his belongings on the bench, sitting down and patting his knee.

"Here," he said, his voice gruff.

She look too much enjoyment from teasing him, he knew that, as she began to slowly undress. The disparity in their attire suddenly became ludicrously apparent, and Sirius was almost salivating as he watched her. Had she been in her school uniform, she might have just hiked her skirt up and slipped out of her underwear, and gone to town just like that. Now, she was pushing her jeans down those long, long legs, kicking them off. Then, she was in his lap, kissing him again and gasping with anticipation as they rubbed against each other.

God, he wanted to stay like this forever, the two of them wrapped up in each other in the Quidditch changing rooms. It was hardly the most romantic place in the castle - he could think of a hundred other places that didn't smell quite so much like mud and leather, he had to admit. But then, she was moving up and down on top of him, and Sirius didn't care, didn't care about where they were or who might walk in or anything other than the sensations flooding his body. Marlene had her hands on his shoulders, and Sirius moved his hand from her smooth thigh to her lower back, gripping her soft, supple flesh as the pleasure increased. She had her head thrown back, moaning with wanton abandon, and Sirius pulled her closer to him, clamping his lips around her collarbone and leaving matching bruises to the ones now blooming on his own neck.

"Sirius," she breathed, and he knew she was close.

"Look at me," he urged, barely getting the words out. His throat felt dry from the panting, his voice alien to him. Marlene obliged, opening her eyes and meeting his. Sirius felt himself building towards an explosion as she did, and that's when he knew what he wanted: he wanted to keep looking into those eyes for the rest of his life. That, or he wanted to die looking at them, right there in the Quidditch changing room, with nothing else seeming to matter in the world.

"I thought we should… talk."

Marlene looked up from the book she was reading. It was a free period, the day before Valentine's Day, and she was tucked into an armchair in the Gryffindor common room. James was standing in front of her, hands in his trouser pockets, looking sheepish.

"Talk?" Marlene frowned confusedly.

"Yeah," James sighed, pulling a small stool over and perching on it, so he was sat right in front of her. "About the weekend."

"Gotta be a bit more specific."

"The match," James said simply, and Marlene realised what he was talking about. She closed her book.

"I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're worried about," she said.

"I'm not…" James trailed off, looking at his hands, and sighed. "I guess I just wanted to know where you were coming from, that's all."

"You know me," Marlene said, quietly, "you know I call Sirius on his bullshit whenever necessary. But, that show at the match wasn't bullshit, James."

"I just feel like he could have left it, that's all. We're through to the finals because of that match, and he put that in danger."

"You're an only child, right?" Marlene queried, and James knotted his brows in confusion.

"Yeah."

"Parents who love you? Stable family life?" Marlene asked, and James nodded. "Then you're never really going to understand. Imagine not being the long-awaited miracle baby but just another kid in a fucked-up family who constantly seems to be disappointing, no matter what you do. Even when you're brilliant, you're disappointing, because it's not the right kind of brilliance."

"Well-"

"And," Marlene continued, "don't even for a second think of saying he's not brilliant, because you know he is."

James laughed.

"I wasn't going to," he said good-naturedly. "Do you know how many of our little adventures wouldn't have been possible without him?"

"That doesn't surprise me."

"What I was going to say is that I get it - he is brilliant. He walked away from all of their mess. I couldn't have done it."

"Neither could I," Marlene said, "and I think that's the point. Even if we don't say it to him, we've got really used to him being able to do all the things by himself, that it's unthinkable that he might have a moment every now and then when the brilliance slips and he's just that pissed off kid with the shitty brother."

"Yeah, that's true,"James admitted. "I guess I understand yours and his relationship a bit better now, too."

"What do you mean?" Marlene frowned.

"Well," James started, and then stopped, clearly thinking how to phrase his comment. "I know how it is to be in love with someone, right? Like, I love Lily so much sometimes it feels like I'm going to stop breathing." He blushed, and Marlene smiled knowingly. "And yes, I know, that's a total cliche, but that's how I feel about her. I guess that moment after the match made me realise that I'm not the only one who has the urge to do everything to protect that person they're crazy about."

"You wanna know something?" Marlene said, after a moment.

"Sure."

"I've loved him probably as long as you've loved Lily," she continued, noticing the shocked look on James' face. "And don't look at me like that - not all of us wear our hearts on our sleeves like you do, James Potter."

"I always thought you were just friends…" James said with surprise. "When, you know, did you know?"

"That first detention," Marlene said, with a knowing grin. "Came out of it and obviously everyone wanted to know how detention was with the all-star James Potter. No one else seemed to be interested in knowing anything about mysterious Sirius Black, which was baffling to me - no offence, of course."

"None taken, although I will point out that it's reasonable for everyone to have been more interested in me. I am taller, after all, and that's very important when you're eleven."

Marlene threw her head back and laughed.

"Oh shut up, James, you were scrawny little things. I was taller than both of you at that point."

"Ok, fair."

"Anyway, I don't think I knew what I felt, at first. We became friends, and I thought it was just that that was how you felt about your guy friends. Didn't occur to me that I didn't feel the same about you, or Remus, or - God forbid - Peter. After a while I kind of had to acknowledge the fact that feeling like you want to actually die when seeing Sirius make out with some other girl probably wasn't the mark of being just friends."

"But you dated other people? Benjy? Gideon?"

"Halfhearted attempts at distraction, I suppose," Marlene shrugged.

"I guess he's one of a kind, right?"

Marlene was about to respond, when the portrait hole opened, and in strolled Sirius. He was carrying a stack of books under one arm, his other hand stuffed into his pocket, and he looked the picture of good cheer. His face lit up when he saw James and Marlene, and he bounded over to them.

"Guess what? McGonagall just gave me ten points for not hexing the first year that spilled pumpkin juice on my shoes!"

James and Marlene shared a knowing smile. Yes, that was their Sirius - one of a kind.