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Marauders Era 1977 with Jessy753

"That story is for another time, darling.", he told her apologetic and pecked the top of her nose. He smiled trying his best to hide the hurt but he knew Marlene would be able to see it anyways. She had proven to look through his facade. Many girls as well as many blokes didn't bother. To them he was either the bad seed of the Black family or a jumped-up man from the Black family. Neither of both reputation were actually quite comforting to Padfoot. He gently rubbed her back hoping to drop the topic once and for all.


Sirius looked surprised at the mention of that small café. "You would've liked going there?", he asked surprised and frowned. That was no place he'd even consider going. Perhaps only because of a lost bet. But nothing more. "I actually thought of somewhere completely different.", Padfoot told her honestly and started to walk into the direction of the place he had in mind. Soon they arrived and he opened the door for her. "After you, darling.", he told her with a smile. The room behind the door was elegantly decorated and on each table was decorated with a candle and some flowers. Yet the café managed to have a homey feeling to it. So it welcomed one to stay some time. "Hopefully you'll like it here.", he spoke


Lily thought about his question with a smile as they left Zonko's. "How about the Three Broomsticks?", she suggested and continued "We could have a snack and warm up as well? What do you think?" The ginger took his hand into hers as they started to walk but she lost her smile as soon as she realised who approached her.


She watched with surprise as Severus's arms were bound to him. It needed a moment too long to understand what was going on. She turned to James and saw him walking up to them with his wand aiming at Snape. Eventually she was able to understand what was happening and her face hardened completely. "No-one has asked you for your bloody opinion, Potter!", Severus spat at Potter trying to reach for his own wand with his bounded arms. "What in Godric's name, James!?!", she called out loudly sounding anything else than pleased over the way James had interfered. She reached out for James's wrist and announced "Undo the bloody curse, Potter!" But she stopped moving her hand as Lily randomly looked into Sev's hopeful eyes as she took his side once again. The redhead shook her head and looked between both boys but her gaze stopped at James. "You know what? Do what you want!", she almost shouted at James angrily before turning to Severus. "And now to you! Leave me alone! I don't want to do anything with you! If you approach me one more time he will be your least problem!", she shouted at Snape and pressed her finger hard into the bloke's chest before concluding "The bloody mudblood helped you one too many times! See how you get out of this on your bloody own!"


With that being said she stretched her chin, striding off to the castle. Lily had enough of both the situation and her date. She left James standing there with Severus. Why in Merlin's name did he think he needed to interfere!? She didn't need anyone to protect her honour or any of that bullshite. By now she was fuming but still managed to more or less elegantly strut away with her head held high. At the very moment she didn't want to have anything to do with both blokes. Lily felt confused over James as well as betrayed. Somehow she had really believed that Potter had changed. Yet he had just proven to having not changed at all. Still stupidly wandwaving at everyone who was in his way. Lily eventually arrived at the Three Broomsticks and entered it on her own.


"Are you happy now, Potter?", Severus spat at James as Lily walked away. He looked helpless suddenly having no clue how to ever properly apologise to her if she obviously wasn't willing to listen. 
 
Marlene nodded, understanding that he might not be ready to share just yet. "Okay Sirius, just know that I am here for you too. I believe that relationships are 100%/100%. I support you too. I also don't mind hearing you out." She embraced him and looked at him sincerely "I really care about you, and I want you to know that you can come to me with things. I'm very strong and I like helping those I really care about." She closed her eyes and relished in his hand rubbing her back. She did enjoy back rubs, she like foot rubs too, but wouldn't dare ask for one this early in their relationship.


Marlene scrunched up her face and shook her head. "No actually, their food sucks, I hate their decorations and atmosphere. I also hate how all the stupid girls with their heavy perfumes fawn over their boys like they cannot live without them. I get sick in more than one way going there." She smiled and nodded with interest as he mentioned that it was a different place. "I cannot wait to see it," she wrapped an arm around him as they walked.


As they approached the cafe, Marlene smiled to herself - it seemed like a nice place that was homely enough, but not crowded. "Why thank you, good sir. You are quite a gentleman" Marlene said as she went into the cafe first. She looked around in awe...it was beautiful here! The decorations were nice, but not overbearingly pink, candles set the mood to the right atmosphere and the overall feel of the cafe was welcoming. She looked at Sirius with a large grin on her face. "Sirius, this is magnificent! Where do we sit? Is there assigned seating or anything like that?"


Such an idea made her reminisce about Roderick...the few good moments. She did enjoy feeling like a princess going to special dinner parties and places where you had to dress up nice. She hated to compare her date with a wonderful bloke to those memories, but they did have a bit of charm to them. She held her breath and shook off the thought. This is different, I am with someone who accepts me as I am and would never hit me. She thought to herself and brought her grin back and turned to snog Sirius. "It's perfect...thank you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and passionately snogged him.


James was glaring at Snape, daring him to try anything dark when he heard Lily shouting behind him. As he felt the hand on his wrist he looked at her shocked. Was she really sticking up for Snape again? The one who called her that awful name and just grabbed her wrist? He flinched when she yelled at him and watched in shock as she told Severus off while sticking her finger in his chest.


Well....I guess it's good she's saying that I would be the least of her worries...right?


His internal euphemism was cut short as she darted across the  town of Hogsmeade and toward the castle. Damn it, that bloody arsehole ruined it for me! He thought to himself, knowing that part of this might be his fault as well, however. Great, now I really blew my chances with Lily. I have this stinking git to thank for it too. He looked to Severus with anger. "Oh come off of it, Snape. You know that you started it by grabbing her like a perverted creep," he spat at the awkward Slytherin.


"I'll let you go, but I don't want to hear that you grabbed her in any way, shape or form. Got it? I have been cordial to you this entire year so far, but I cannot watch you harm the ones I care about and let you get away with it. You are to stay clear of her, leave her alone and think twice before you ever try to pull a stunt like you did two years ago, understand?" He released the bind off of his hands and ran toward the three broomsticks where he thought he saw Lily run off to.


When he found her, he cautiously approached her. "Lily, I'm sorry for that disturbance...I just cannot let him get away with grabbing you like that. Do you realize what kind of creepy things happen to birds daily? I know you can hold your own, and I am sorry I stooped to his level...I'm just protective of those I care about." He truly was sorry for displaying behavior like he had, his vow to honor Godric Gryffindor's code did not include starting arguments with Snape. Though he did still hold a lot of anger for him, he tried to keep his cool and be the better person.


"I really hope you can forgive me Lily."
 
Sirius found himself surprised by the embrace he hadn't expected her to react that way. But he tried hard not to show his surprise. Sirius closed his eyes for a moment to just feel her embrace and removing the rest of the memories from his current thoughts. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on the top of her head before nodding agreeing "Alright, I'll keep it in mind."


"Oh, thank Merlin! I was already afraid you were one of those birds...", he spoke obviously relieved over the her statement that she hated that place. To him it was nothing more than very pink nightmare. It smelled back and just everything was so bloody pink. "Well, I do hope you like that place better than Madame Puddifoot's cause someone I know actually runs that place. And the food is definitely better.", he told her with a grin.


He glanced at Marlene as they approached the place and smiled as she seemed to like it. He was even surprised to manage to get a snog out of his. But of course he wrapped his arm around the small of her back while snogging her back. "In fact we have a table booked because I wasn't sure how crowded the place would be, today, given it's Hogsmeade weekend I mean.", he replied once they broke their kiss. Sirius smiled gently at her and seemed happy over both that she was here with her and that she seemed to enjoy the place.


The waiter arrived and led them to their table. "Here you go...", Sirius spoke with a smile and pulled Marlene's chair out. Once she was properly seated, he took his jacket off and placed it around the backrest of his own chair to sit down. "So, liking this date so far?", he asked once the waitress brought them the menu cards. He smiled at Marlene as he simply seemed to have eyes for her. "I can really recommend the sandwiches in this place. They're great.", he told her once he reached for his own menu.


"Started it?", Snape asked back sounding despicable and added "No-one asked you for your opinion, Potter! And certainly not Lily either!", he told him off and added "You think you're the greatest now that she has finally agreed to go to Hogsmeade with you! But guess what?! She simply is feeling sorry for your stupid arse" He tried to create doubts on why the redhead had agreed on going on a date with Potter in the first place. It had been beyond him how Lily had even considered the stupid git to go out with her.


Lily made her way through the crowded pub and walked up to the counter ordering herself a butter beer. She tried her best to sound friendly and polite but she was fuming over what had happened. "And here I thought he had changed...", she mumbled her thought out loud and pulled her hand into a fist. Lily couldn't tell why James's action hurt so much. She knew it had for once nothing to do with him cursing Severus but still she knew it was linked to that. But she knew it had not been necessary to pull a wand at any of them. It had been a simple quarrel.


The redhead closed her eyes as she heard James's voice behind her. Why couldn't he leave her alone!? She had made it pretty clear that she didn't want to have something to do with any of them. So she went to ignore him and pay her butter beer once Madame Rosmerta handed it to her. "Thanks...", she mumbled and turned around to have him stand in front of her. She quietly listened to what he had to say and tried to push past him without making any body contact. Lily gave up once she realised that she wasn't able to pass him without accidentally bumping into anyone. Lily took a sip of her beverage debating whether or not she should start discussing this with James or not. Because a big part of her thought that it had no use anyways.


 "For what exactly are you sorry, James?", she asked him - still obviously angered. "For pulling your wand or Severus approaching me?!", she added and continued "Because as far as I can tell you are not sorry for cursing him. Besides Severus is not such a bad person as you make him to be! He would never do things like touching someone inappropriately or more as you are implying, Potter! He might not be the same person I became friends with but he is still a good person deep down!", she told him angered and puffed  a little as she stared at him. Yet she was aware that she was cross with the wrong person in this case. In Potter's twisted way he had just tried to help her.


"Don't go and seek my forgiveness, Potter!", she told him more calmly as she had most of her anger of her chest now. "I'm not the one you constantly go around and bully!", she added and pushed past him. "If you excuse me now. I want to find a place to sit down.", she told him not caring if he followed her or not. She simply wanted to drink her beverage and go back to the castle now.
 
Marlene felt that their exchange of affection felt fluid and natural. She definitely did not feel this way with Roderick. It was more of a "muggle film" kind of love - the kind that looked nice, but wasn't real. The way Sirius was honest with her, the way they were okay with things not being perfect, the enjoyment of simple things was wonderful. She was happy to be with him. His gentle touch on the small of her back made her feel wonderful, he definitely knew what he was doing when giving her a good snog.


She playfully smacked Sirius "are you kidding me? You thought I was like 'those other girls?'" she looked at him with sass. "Did you also think I wanted your autograph, thought you were the best thing since sliced bread and fawned over your unmentionables?" She had to keep the joke going, she thought the girls in their classes were pathetic the way they looked at him as if he were the most flawless human being and that drooling over someone was attractive. No doubt she found Sirius handsome, it was the obsession that some girls showed during class that made her sick. Marlene had been friends with the marauders for years. James since childhood and then Remus and Sirius since around 2nd year. Being raised with brothers made her compatible with blokes for friends. She had nothing against Peter, she would greet him with "what's up" and acknowledge him in their gang, she just found him odd. A bit like a male version of aforementioned "fangirls".


Marlene was thrilled to hear that he had booked a table for them, it seemed to have a certain charm to it. It said that she mattered and he put a bit of thought into their date. "Oh really? You know the person who runs this nice place?" she asked. She was going to say "joint" but the place seemed a bit too nice to say such slang inside. She really enjoyed his manners as he pulled out her chair and looked at her thoughtfully. She could tell that he really liked her and that she was respected by him - it was nice to feel respected after her last situation. She wasn't sure if it could be considered a "relationship" now that she saw that better was out there for her.


She nodded thoughtfully and smiled at him. "I am enjoying this date very much, I would love to go on more with you." She winked at him. Once the waitress brought the menu cards, her mouth watered. Everything on the menu looked so good, she would have a hard time choosing what she wanted. "Oh, well thanks for the suggestion. It all just looks so good. And even the menu cards look nice." She smiled peering down at hers. "Do you recommend any of the soups? They look good too." She figured maybe a small soup with a few of the small sandwiches would be perfect. "Oh, I will take a light raspberry flavored tea please?" she told the waitress - she hoped that it was okay with Sirius that she didn't chose a more "traditional" tea - she didn't feel like drinking regular tea and the many flavors sounded exciting.


Severus' weak attempts to harm James' ego were brushed off. "Yes, you started it by grabbing a hold of her when she told you she didn't want to talk to you. And it was quite rude to pull her like that." He looked at him with disgust "and further, she didn't date me out of pity. I'm sure she would be happy you think that way about her. She is choosy about who she picks!" He was done with the Slytherin, any further conversation from him was ignored.


James felt worse by the minute as Lily tried her best to avoid James and felt altogether lousy when he heard her mumble about him changing. All of his hard work to be honorable, noble, and well-mannered down the drain because he felt protective of Lily. At the moment it seemed like the right thing to do - the honorable thing to do. He forgot that Lily despised seeing him in a battle that she deemed "unnecessary" - what seemed to be important then was not important in hindsight. He could have just said "leave her alone - treat her with some respect" - he guessed that old habits were hard to break.


He backed up when she shouted at him, still angered. "I am sorry for both, obviously. I do not like seeing my friends grabbed. Whether they are boys or girls. I am also sorry for making a larger spectacle out of it. I could have just let you handle it or said something a bit less confrontational." He looked at her sadly showing true remorse in his face. "I don't want to seem like a bully to you Lily and I know I have a history of being unfair to him...I just don't have-" He cut his speech abruptly and bugged his eyes when Lily defended Snape once again.


He took a deep breath to hold his composure and sat down - keeping his distance. "Lily, I know you two have been friends for a long time and it probably still hurts to think of what happened." He took another deep breath. "He's not really as good hearted as you think Lily - trust me he.." he gulped. "He tried to get Remus expelled in 5th year." he didn't want to say too much this soon as it was still his friend and he did not plan on spilling his secret in public when Lily had a heated temper.


"I know you didn't always call me 'friend', but I'm sure you know that Remus is a good person and was always a friend of yours." He tread carefully as he tried to reason with Lily about his perception of Snape. "I will admit we weren't always kind to Snape, but he has not been completely innocent either. I won't go into much more detail because I don't want to upset you more...just please consider the fact that a friend of yours and mine. A kindhearted, good soul was almost expelled because of Snape." He fidgeted with his hands as he waited for Lily's response and felt he had to say a few other things.


"I do ask for your forgiveness because I have been doing all I could to uphold my honor as a Gryffindor. This summer was a life changing time for me and I set a lot of goals for myself to become better. I am not perfect, but I am very close to becoming the person I want to be for myself." he heaved a sigh. "and a good friend to you, Lily. I think we need to talk about boundaries with Snape as you are still stirred up about things and I want to respect your wishes."
 
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"No, I didn't think that.", Sirius grinned playfully at her and added "Just concerned for a moment. Cause that place makes me nauseous. Too much pink and too much of everything. "Besides everyone wants my autograph, darling. It's just a matter of time till you ask.", he joked and winked at his girlfriend finding the thought incredibly entertaining. He had never considered such a thing. Of course he knew how attracted the girls were towards him and he knew his way with them but he had never thought of himself as a celebrity. Alright, he perhaps might have mentioned it jokingly before but there was a difference between mentioning it and actually thinking such a thing.


"Yes, really. He's one of the few friends of my family who keeps up the contact. Even after I infamously broke with them. He's a nice bloke - just some trippy views from time to time. But a nice guy if you ignore his ways.", he told her and placed the cloth napkin over his lap once he was seated properly. 


Sirius went through the menu thinking of what to drink himself. "To be honest I'm not quite sure. I only come here to eat sandwiches.", he chuckled and grinned at Marlene before turning to the waitress. "For me some pumpkin juice, please.", he told the waitress and she nodded before leaving the couple alone. "So, you'd like a soup..?", he asked curiously before adding "You didn't feel cold earlier, did you?" He seemed worried and almost instantly cursed himself for being so stupid to not offer her his jacket. She had obviously mentioned earlier to try it on. Had that been a clue back in the common room? He didn't know yet it was too late to change things. 


"There are smarter ways of helping friends out, James.", she reasoned and sounded more calm now that she had things off her chest. Yet she still felt crossed with James despite of his noble reason. Not that she thought it was noble pulling one's wand against people who obviously hadn't pulled their wand. Lily seemed surprised as she spotted remorse on his face and it subsided the rest of her anger. In fact she felt quite sorry for shouting at him now. But she'd be damned if she mentioned that to him in a moment like this.


Lily listened to him quiet and for the first time didn't know what to say. Was that true? She feverishly thought about what Severus had mentioned to her in that year.  Most of it was overshadowed by what had happened at the lake. But there was nothing against Remus or at least nothing what she could remember. Of course when it came to Remus, she had her own assumptions on why he was missing regularly. She had it narrowed down to two things by the time of forth year. It had been the rather strange thought of him being a werewolf and that his family had troubles which he needed to help regularly. The strange thought was becoming likely. The way James seemed to talk about certain things and she had overheard a conversation between Black and Remus when they had talked about the "time of the month". Perhaps it was time she talked with Remus about this problematic.


Lily irritated tapped her fingers against the wooden table as she already had other things on her mind than James's apology or what had just outside in the cold. She crinkled her mouth and sighed a little. That was the thing with her anger it was gone just as quickly as it came. Mostly leaving her sorry for being so cross with people. "I need to talk with Remus about this. I covered his Perfect duties one to many times without saying anything.", she spoke more too herself than James. She seemed determined on that. After all she was his friend and wanted to be here for the bloke and knowing Remus it wouldn't be easy to offer her help.


The redhead seemed to get back to James as he mentioned honour and she rolled her eyes. James mistook honour mostly with something completely different. It was no honour to bully people or pull one's wand. "Okay, boundaries: No silly wand waving in front of him, if he's simply trying to talk to me. I can stand my own in front of Severus or in fact any Slytherin.", she told him and stopped her fingers from tapping against the wood before looking at James. "Besides I thought we have already established that this friendship nonsense does not work for us or else I wouldn't have agreed on going on a date with you beforehand, James." Her green eyes were set on him waiting for some kind of reaction.
 
Marlene was enjoying herself. "Yeah, it's too frou-frou and....pink." She chuckled. "Also, it always reeks of heavy scents. The clientele don't know the definition of 'moderate use' when it comes to cologne or perfume." Marlene herself didn't mind a good cologne used sparingly and used fruit sprays herself. She always chose a light, sensible scent though and could not stand "rich perfume". Marlene laughed at Sirius' joke about people wanting his autograph.


"The only reason I would want your autograph is to make gold off of it." She looked at him with a slight mischievous look on her face. "Now that you mention it - that could be a get rich quick scheme." She could see it now, offering to hunt down a "rare collectable" for the right price. She would have the gall to do it - if she felt it was worth it and proved to be a fun kick.


Marlene was happy to have a small gaze into Sirius' life away from being a marauder. She was eager to hear more. "What kind of trippy views do you mean? Will I be sorry for asking?' She was curious, but not too sure what kind of views a friend of the Black family would hold that might bear repeating. Marlene followed suit with her own napkin. She wondered if she looked okay in this kind of place. She felt it would be rude to use a compact, yet found it pointless to get back up after she had already been situated. "do I look alright? I mean, I don't have my makeup smeared or anything do I?" she whispered to Sirius. She hoped he would be honest if something was off about how she looked.


Marlene was gazing at the selections of soup; minestrone, chili, chicken noodle, butternut squash when Sirius asked her about being cold. She looked up "oh, it got a bit chilly before we entered the cafe and a nice bowl of soup sounds nice actually. I don't really eat enough vegetables and find soups perfect for that." She was heavily considering a minestrone soup, unaware that Sirius might be feeling self-conscious about her desire for soup. "Oh well then I guess it would be silly for me to ask you about the minestrone soup - what sandwiches do you recommend?" Marlene loved sandwiches and felt a few good ones with soup would be just perfect.


James was relieved that Lily was calming down and he edged himself a little closer keeping a safe distance apart - just in case. "Yes Lily, I know....something I need to work on." He truthfully was trying to curtail his defensive ways - he often rationalized them as the "brave" thing to do. However, Lily had a point that starting fights were not the only ways to help.


James became nervous as Lily tapped her fingers on the table and felt a bit of relief when he saw that her anger had subsided. "Lily...please don't approach Remus about this before talking to me?" He wondered if he put his foot in his mouth by mentioning his friend. He wanted to make sure he was honoring his promise to one of his best friends. He also did not want to really get him in the middle of their affairs, although he sort of did by bringing him up.


"I mean the topic is really sensitive and I want to make sure it's handled delicately." He heaved a sigh. "Well our progression from 'friends' to whatever we are should definitely show now because I trust you with this." He knew that Lily was confidential and a great friend to many. "I was hoping for it to come up later, but I guess I will have to tell you after our date and before you talk to him." It probably was just as well, because the topic was to come up sooner or later.


He shifted the conversation back to the aforementioned boundaries he proposed. "Got it, I won't resort to 'silly wandwaving' and will choose my hasty decisions like that carefully". He hesitated at the 'handle any Slytherin' comment. "Now that...I am not too sure of Lily. I am not doing this to be old fashioned or anything...I just know that some of those Slytherins can be awful." He looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Yes you are strong, could probably beat me in a duel any day - I just worry. At least let one of us be a reinforcement if needed?" He hoped that she would be comfortable with his arrangement - he wouldn't let any of his friends take on a Slytherin without backup.


James tried to crack a smile. "So....does that mean we still are on for another date...in the future. And that we are okay?" He wasn't sure what was the appropriate boundary between the at this time.
 
He laughed as she mentioned the way it smelled in there. "Glad we're on the same page when it comes to Madame Puddifoot. I hated to take you there.", he spoke and winked at her. "Oh perhaps we should try that one out and share the gold?", he suggested with a grin as she mentioned to sell his autograph before adding "It would be really interesting to know how much my signature is worth on the market out there. Besides it would drive McGonagal crazy. So I'm always in for that!" He chuckled at the thought. Sirius had always considered McGonagal as some kind of mother to him despite of the fact that he regularly drove her up the wall. Sirius really liked their head of house.


"Well, for an instant that they think it's okay to use the unforgivable curses on anyone.", he spoke quietly and added "And that they with You-Know-Who is correct about his believes and torturing and killing blood traitors and mud...Muggleborns." He closed his eyes and crinkled his mouth as he knew that one word almost slipped his lips. It wasn't like he believed that Muggleborn's blood was dirty. But he had been taught for years the way of believing and if it probably wasn't for little James. Sirius would be happily joining the Slytherins and his brother by bothering Muggleborns and joining the Death Eaters later. He looked away from Marlene feeling ashamed for what had almost slipped his lips.


Sirius first looked back up as she asked how she looked. "You look great, love.", he whispered back and smiled gently at her not daring to kiss her.


"Well, if you want to, you can totally have the Minestrone Soup...", Padfoot told her trying his best to sound lighthearted before adding "about the sandwiches. I can recommend the ones with ham and the tomato with mozzarella does taste surprisingly well. Even though I thought we could order from each offered sandwich one and eat as much as we want. The rest can be taken back to Hogwarts. I'm sure Moony and Wormtail might want them.", he tried to grin at her hoping dearly she hadn't noticed his slip.


She found herself surprised that James was being reasonable when it came to Severus or the way he had acted earlier. Despite of how he had acted this year she never found him quite reflective when it came to his actions. But it brought a small smile to her lips as she glanced at him.


Lily looked at him considering to tell him how much she actually knew. She had narrowed the possibilities down to two options on what was frequently wrong with her friend. The first one was quite shocking but she intended on help her friend without telling anyone about the secret and the second option would also require her offering her help. Yet the prospect of James telling her the secret seemed wrong to her. She knew he wanted to be noble and protect Remus but this was not his secret to tell.


Eventually she made up her mind and placed her hand on top of James's. "I know you only try to help your friend.", she began cautiously before slowly adding "But I think I should talk to Remus directly about this instead of talking behind his back with someone else. I know the lot of you try to keep this as a secret but I have a very clear view on what might be going on during the days he is missing. I wanted to check on him in the Hospital Wing after Peter told me he was sick. But he hadn't been there so I kind of did my own research. I narrowed it down to two possibilities and none of it would be pleasant for Remus. But I think I can be tactful enough to go and talk to him in private. It's his choice after all whether he wants to share his secrets with me. But appreciate the gesture, James, and I think he does, too. Besides even if you told me, I highly doubt Remus would want me to help. And I want to help whatever it is" Her green eyes were on James before she looked down at the table in worry and withdrew her hand from his to take a sip from her butter beer.


"Thank you.", she told him drily as he agreed on not resorting to go around and hexing people in the future. That not only made him look like a bully but it was stupid. That simply didn't suit someone like him. "I know how Slytherins can be. May I remind you that as a Muggleborn I mostly end up as their victim of jokes or at the end of their wand? Just because I seem like I don't care doesn't mean I don't know that they can be quite difficult. Besides I don't like my friends to take on the fights which I am part of.", she told him honestly and looked back at him. As he looked at her with worry she couldn't help but soften her gaze and speaking softly "Really, James. I can stand my own ground. No need to worry. But fine, reinforcement if needed."


As he smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back at him. "I guess that is what it means.", she replied to his first question with a sigh and added "Yes, we're fine." Lily looked at him and crinkled her mouth. Whatever it was between the two it made her want to snog him senseless and in the same time shove her wand to his throat. He was so irritating sometimes. "I shouldn't have been cross with you in the first place... You only tried to help.", she reasoned quietly knowing that was the closest thing she would ever get to apologising for shouting at James.
 
Marlene looked at Sirius slyly. "Who says I would share the gold with you? It is my idea....although" she put her finger to her chin "you do pay for our dates, so in a way what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine." She smirked at Sirius. "McGonnagal might find some entertainment value to it, you know? She isn't all bad. I think she likes some of the mayhem we cause at times."


Marlene listened as Sirius quietly told her all the details about the owner of the shop. With ideals like this what makes him an okay Bloke? she thought to herself but continued to listen. When he almost slipped out "Mudblood" her eyes bugged out and gaped at him. "Sirius..." she reminded him and was pleased to see that he caught himself. Her family was a band of "blood traitors" - they definitely taught their children at a young age that everyone was equal and that it was important for the wizarding world to have a melting pot of all types. "Not to be rude or anything...but what exactly makes the owner an okay bloke?" she asked quietly hoping she didn't offend Sirius.


She smiled as he told her she looked great, she enjoyed being called "love" - it was her favorite term of endearment. Love was a beautiful thing to her that she strongly believed in.


"That actually sounds lovely, in that case could we get two of the ham sandwiches with the rest? I do like Ham, cheese and tomato." She as eager to taste all of the sandwiches and enjoy a nice bowl of soup. She looked at Sirius lovingly and smiled at him in the candle-light. He looked just as handsome in casual attire as his hair and eyes were gorgeous to her. She moved closer to him at the table and held his hand. Her smooth, chilly hand warmed in his slightly larger and cozy hand and she smiled up at him again. "This really is a great place Sirius...thank you for taking me here....and I.." she blushed. She wasn't sure if she could use the "L" word just now. It was still early in the relationship. She definitely would be walking on clouds when she discussed everything with Lily later.


James moved closer as he saw a smile come to Lily's lips. He lit up as Lily touched him and listened carefully to her words. She made some valid points, Remus did prefer being talked to directly rather than through others. Further, Lily was a good friend of his and perhaps it would be better if she brought it up to him. He nodded at her "You do have a valid point Lily. It would probably be nice for him to know he also has you as a friend that doesn't judge him." He sighed unsure of how to approach this best - he sort of wanted to ask her if she could say she figured it out herself...but that would be a cowardly thing to do.


He frowned as Lily pulled away her hand and cautiously. He put an arm around her looking to her to ensure that he was not overstepping any boundaries. He backed off when she spoke dryly. He could tell that she really wasn't impressed with his promise. He continued to listen as she told him that she preferred to take them on. "I understand that Lily, I just like to have backup for all of my friends. Strength in numbers you know?" He put a piece of strand behind her ear and said "I don't doubt your strength and capability at all. I thank you for understanding." he pressed a small kiss onto her hair.


He shook his head. "I invite you to be honest with me Lily. I want to become a better person and thank you for forgiving me and giving me another chance." he wanted to give her another kiss, however, he didn't want to press his luck. He dug into his pockets and gave her a galleon. "for your butterbeer."
 
"I do have more work with signing things than you to sell it. So we share it 50/50, Darling. Or else no signature for you!", he told her with a grin and laughed as he couldn't find a hole in her Statement. "Sounds pretty unfair if you ask me.", he grinned back at his date and winked at Marlene. "Of course, she does. McGee only acts like it bothers her. But in truth she would miss our shenanigans.", he chuckled and smiled to himself. He was pretty sure that McGonagal only acted like most pranks irritated her. In fact she would miss them as soon as they graduated.


"Many People outside of Hogwarts think it's okay to use them. Look at the Aurors, they use them on anyone they think is a Death Eater.", he reasoned and looked at her passively. Marlene had no idea what Kind of ideals were going around in the circles he had an inside view from his parents. Those were just a scratch. "Believe me things could be way worse. Besides he had been still Kind to me after breaking with my Family and I cannot say that too many People.", he simply told and looked around. Sirius wasn't offended by that. But the owner had sent him somehing to eat while he didn't have anything at all. Things looked up for him but he definitely had hit a low before he appeared on James's door looking like a mess.


"Sure Thing, we can do that.", he replied and grinned at her. Sirius ordered the Sandwiches as soon as the waitress arrived with the beverages. He looked at Marlene unsure what Kind of soup she wanted.


Padfoot Held her Hand with a smile and brought her cold Hand up to his Hand giving it a gentle kiss. "Don't worry it's my pleasure.", he told her with a smile and intertwined their fingers. "And you what...?", he asked curious oblivious to what might go on in her head. "So how do you like Hogsmeade so far?", he asked curiously.


"Well if you want to we can talk to him together. But I think it really is better to integrate him, James. After all it will be his decision on whether or not to integrate me on his secret. Don't get me wrong I really would like to get to know things from you. But he'd be really cross with both of us if we disrespected him like this.", she told him gently and smiled at him. Lily was worrying and yes she did want to get to know what was going on. But she felt that talking to Remus directly would be better for all of them. So she simply pushed her curiousity aside. She would talk to Remus either alone or with James later this day or week hoping things would work out.


"You are Aware that Quality goes over quanitity?", she asked cracking a smile again as he mentioned strength in numbers. To her own surprise this amused her more than it irritated her. She didn't want him to get into any of her fights because she wanted neither of her friends to get hurt because of her. So that included James. She looked into his eyes lost in them for a Moment as he pushed a strand behind her ear and leaned closer to him as soon as she felt the peck on her hair. "It's still stupid but fine.", she agreed involuntarily and leaned closer to him.


She sighed and rolled her eyes as he handed her a galleon. "That's way too much, James.", she told him and placed it on the table not sure what to do with it. She appreciated the gesture and she leaned in giving him a short peck on the lips. She grinned at him before reaching for her butterbeer and taking a sip. The head of her butter beer left a small mustache on her upper lip. "Do you want anything by the way..?", she asked him curiously.
 
Marlene snickered softly as he told her about him doing "more work". "Aww...no autograph from Mr. Popularity- I think I'll go find a pillow to cry into." She rolled her eyes sighing dramatically "okay, I guess we have a deal at 50/50." She nodded when he mentioned McGonnagal and stifled a laugh when he called her McGee. "I do think she will miss us when she graduates - she only needs to keep up appearances and do well as deputy headmistress." Marlene saw McGonnagal as a strong woman and enjoyed her spirit - she could tell that McGonnagal harbored a young spirit despite her strict appearance.


Marlene was unsure of how to respond to Sirius' comments about aurors. Her entire family was made up of aurors and even their older friends Frank and Alice have taken up the dangerous job of protecting the wizarding world. "Well...I don't know if that's fair to say...I mean" she looked around and said in a lower voice, "aurors must make difficult decisions every day and they risk their lives to keep us safe." She gulped, she really didn't want to get into an argument with Sirius and was unsure of how he would feel about her family being made up of aurors.


Marlene looked at Sirius sadly, it must be hard for him to have no family support and hardly any friends associated with them still in contact with him. "Well...that's fair Sirius. I am really sorry for all that happened to you. I mean...you're a good man. I hope that you have at least some people in your life that you can call 'friend' or family member..." her voice trailed off. She could not imagine not having her family around her to support her. She really didn't want to seem judgmental of his friend so she said. "We are all entitled to our opinions...I guess it's all in the decisions we make that define us."


When the waitress came with her tea, she thanked her and complimented her on the terrific job she was doing. She believed in being courteous to all - especially those that brought you food and drink. She took Sirius' cue and stated "oh, I would like a small bowl of minestrone please? Thank you"


Marlene lit up and felt her heart warm as Sirius took her hand into his, kissed it gently and intertwined their fingers. She smiled at him showing her appreciation and adoration for him. She blushed again when Sirius asked her to continue "Oh...I...really like Hogsmeade and think you have been a wonderful date. This is the best one I have ever been on and look forward to more." She leaned over the table and kissed him, careful not to let her hair get into the candle or snog too passionately. She liked how his hair felt against her cheek when she kissed him and adored looking into his large, passionate eyes. She felt they held mystery, many layers to explore, and stories that she looked forward to hearing.


"I think you have good judgment Lily, and I appreciate your concern and kindness for helping others." James stated, feeling nothing but admiration for the redhaired Gryffindor. Lily was right, it would be disrespectful to put Remus in the middle, and any explanation about the necklace and his animagi talents could be bookmarked for the time being. Right now, it was about Remus, making him feel comfortable and refraining from seeming overbearing or confrontational.


"Do you feel it's better if you inquire alone, or if we did something as a pair? He might feel we have been discussing him if we 'tagteamed' him...or perhaps it's important for us both to be present and explain that you have been concerned about him?" James looked to her for her input - she was rational and had great ideas most of the time.


James smirked at her "are you calling us at-matures? The group that cooked up the most clever pranks for seven years in a row?" He thought her "quality over quantity" comment was cute, but he had to put in that his gang was clever.


As Lily leaned in closer to him, he went in for a full on snog. He could taste the sweet butterbeer on her lips and enjoyed the punch their passion brought between each other. It was a connection that could not even be explained by magic...could it truly be this is what love was?


James gestured to her mouth when she had a butterbeer mustache and then shook his head, pushing the galleon towards her. "Think of it as a fine for being an idiot as well. Some partners have cuss banks - we can have 'curse' banks". James winked at her hoping his clever remark didn't sound too cheesy.


When Lily asked if he wanted anything, he immediately got up and was about to order himself a butterbeer when he turned around and asked "Another one for you? Or anything else Lils?"
 
"Always happy to do Business with you, Miss McKinnon.", he grinned and laughed. "Oh, I don't think she will have Troubles keeping up with the students and be a great head of our house. McGonagal knows when it's time to be strict and when it's better to simply ignore the pranks and laugh along. That woman knows what she's doing.", he explained and it was obvious that Sirius was font of the deputiy headmistress. Sirius had taken a big liking on her after she supported him through the Phase with his parents. He was sure that breaking all bonds to the Blacks wouldn't have been so easy without her help.


Padfoot sighed as she went to defend the aurors. "I'm not saying it's not a dangerous and important Job, Marls. But look at it like this: why is the "good" side allowed to use the unforgivable curses while the "bad" side is going to be sentenced to Azkaban until they die. I don't see the Fairness in that. It's an important Job but don't you think killing someone shouldn't be punished simply because an Auror was behind the wand?", he looked at her passively. He didn't agree on torturing or killing anybody might it be Auror or Death Eater.


"And I do have Family. Different than most People but I still have them. My Family simply has different surnames than I do.", he explained with a grin as he didn't even seem sorry or sad about it. "I do have Brothers, parents and really good friends. Even managed to snatch myself a girlfriend recently.", he added and chuckled at the last part and winked at her. He was refering to the other Marauders as well as James's parents and perhaps McGonagal. But he would never admit the last Person.


Somhow Sirius had a Feeling there was more to it than she said as soon as Marlene blushed once again. But he dropped it knowing there was a reason on why she didn't tell him. He was surprised by her kiss but kissed her back happily. He didn't mind who was staring so Sirius simply went in for a snog. He glanced into her eyes as they parted their passionate kiss.


"I don't know what's the best. Especially if that secret is what I think it is. He could feel like it's more comfortable with someone around who knows about it. But it could also end up being the opposite. Like you pointed out like we tag teamed him. But if I were him, I'd rather have someone to rely on. You know it case things get tricky and that's how you Play in.", she told him truthfully but she didn't have the best solution for the Scenario. All she wanted to make Remus like it was okay and that she was there for him no matter what.


Lily chuckled and grinned at him. "Well, may I remind you that I personally out-smarted the "most clever" pranksters of Hogwarts?", she told him and winked with a smile. "But alright, if it makes you feel better. Help me if I ever get into a fight with our fellow Slytherins. But don't hex Severus if he simply stands there doing nothing.", she nudged him playfully and looked into his eyes.


As he began to snog her, she placed her Hand on the back of his neck and snogged him back. She felt butterflies in her stomach and she refused to think about what this meant. She did like James, Lily was sure of it. But she refused to think anything else.


"Oh sorry...", she mumbled and blushed a Little as she wiped the mustache off her face with the sleeve of her pullover. Lily laughed at the remark of the curse bank and shook her head. "We should've done that way earlier! I'd be rich by now!", she exclaimed and giggled. "Alright but let's say we save the Money from that curse bank to do something nice together as soon as we have saved enough Money for it.", she suggested.


Lily watched him rose to his feet almost immediately. "Oh no, no butterbeer.", she spoke but looked at the offered Food. "But perhaps a Sandwich or something would be nice. I'm Kind of hungry.", she told him as it seemed like she wouldn't go back to the Castle as originally thought.
 
Marlene smiled at her boyfriend boyfriend she thought to herself and felt even more content. Marlene was happy to hear Sirius say great things about their head of house - she was a strong woman that she respected and looked up to. She nodded in agreement. "I do think she will be great - but Dumbledore is nice too. She keeps things balanced."


The conversation about the aurors using their powers unfairly really struck a chord with her - especially since she had considered being one. Either that, or a mediwitch. She heard that there were jobs that combined healing and auror work. Helping those recover physically and mentally. She could relate to that - she wanted to help as many people as possible and make others better. She took a long sip of her tea and looked down.


"Sirius" she said in a small voice and looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. I have family in that business....I'm trying not to say it too loud for obvious reasons. I know first hand what the rules are. They aren't allowed to use those curses whenever they want, nor do they use them to play vigilante. She looked at him seriously and took a sip of water. They have to go through intense training and take a character test to ensure that people don't abuse their power. Those curses are only used as a last resort in the event of a special case scenario and it must be approved by the ministry. Nobody likes using them in the Auror office and they do all they can to avoid it. She felt the need to get personal with Sirius.


When I said I would do anything for Mackie and Michael, I meant it. If someone were to break in and intend to hurt or destroy those babies, I would have no problem using avada kadavra on them. Of course I would not use it frivolously - I would hide them, use any other curse I could and even take a blow for them. Talking about such deep things was scary for her. She knew that soon Mackie would be old enough to understand what her parents did - and know that there is a possibility that her daddy might not come home. The idea of anybody getting hurt upset her - surely Sirius didn't think that her family would be part of an awful system? Idealistically, his values were spot on. Nobody should hurt anyone, but it was sometimes necessary in order for protection.


When Sirius shifted the conversation to his own family - his family he chose for himself she just listened and sniffled, trying to calm her tears down. She gave a small smile when he said "I even got a girlfriend out of it". "I like hearing you refer to me as your girlfriend...it's sweet." She enjoyed their passionate kiss and decided to think back to that magical moment. "Is there anything on your mind?" she asked when she saw him looking into her eyes.


James pondered for a moment and proposed "Perhaps a mixture of the two where I tell him that you are concerned about him and had your own questions that I feel he should answer rather than I?" He felt this was a good way of relaying the message as it would show that he respected his privacy while also showing that James and her were not conspiring to tag-team him.


"Well yes, you did, but you're a clever witch so that doesn't count." he smirked at her in his trademark glance and pecked her cheek. He nodded and took her hand into his. "Alright, I will back off and let you handle your own battles." He took a deep breath and then stated "and I will not throw the first curse between Snape and I...I'll be the better man about it."


James felt alive snogging Lily and was happy to be there in the three broomsticks with the love of his life. She truly did have everything he wanted in a mate inside of her. He wouldn't necessarily call it "love at first sight" but he always knew there was something special about Lily. He knew that his step forward to become a mature, responsible man also meant that he was thinking about his future. He wanted a loyal, kind and generous lady like Lily. He knew his parents would adore her too. He hoped she could meet them before time ran out. It would be excellent if they could see him married.


James waved off her apology "I just thought you would like to know, I don't mind. You're always beautiful" he smiled warmly at her. He shook his head at her remark that she would have been rich, had they started this long ago. "There's still many more mistakes to catch me in and besides, I'd spend every knut on you if I had to so in a way you are rich." he winked at her. He liked the idea of sharing the money on a special date between them. "I just hope I don't screw up too often where it fills up too quickly" he smirked at her.


James nodded. "Anything you want for the lady, what sandwich would you like? anything else?"
 
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Sirius frowned as he saw Marlene's tears wondering what he had said wrong. He listened to her quietly and stayed silent a little longer. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.", he concluded finally and dropped the topic knowing he would only get in troubles if he started to discuss the topic. Padfoot had forgotten about the profession her parents had. His heart weighed heavy knowing that based on his name they wouldn't approve him. Even if she introduced him as the one who made her open up about what had happened. He smiled gently though. "I didn't mean to insult your family.", he finally spoke after some silence.


"Well, I'm not the one to judge about the Unforgivable Curses, Marlene.", he spoke as she told him that she would use them as well under special circumstances. "But please keep in mind that you shouldn't use them lighthearted. They're harder to use than most think.", he told her and eventually added "And believe me if I tell you that that's not the kind of blood you want on your hands." Padfoot's facial expression turned grim giving a small insight of what he knew about it and that he might've used them before.


"Does thinking you're beautiful count?", he asked smirking at her. It was the same smile he knew that most birds swooned over.


Their food came and the waitress placed Marlene's soup in front of her before placing the different sandwiches all over the table.


"That does sound like a good plan.", Lily agreed happy that they've found a solution to said problem. She smiled gently at him and nodded. That did sound like a good idea. They weren't teaming up on Remus but he still had someone to relate on especially as it seemed like a really touchy subject for the four of them. "Somehow I have a feeling there's more behind that secret than what meets the eye...", she mentioned and added "Especially knowing you and the rest of the Marauders."


"So that doesn't count, huh?", she laughed and her eyes lit amused up. She moved closer to him as he kissed her cheek and nodded satisfied. "Thank you.", she told him and reached for his hand taking it into hers. "But if you interfere into my fights, I will get into yours.", she warned him seriously and pecked his cheek back.


Lily wrapped her arms around him as they snogged. Eventually she broke their kiss and gazed into his eyes. Lily was breathless as she gently ran her hand through his messy hair. Somehow something had changed about him and perhaps it had already changed at the end of sixth year as she had watched one of Gryffindor's Quidditch matches. The way his hair and he had moved on the broom. She blushed a little at the thought and realized that she hopelessly fell for her fellow Gryffindor.


"Thank you...", she whispered and gave him a gentle kiss after he complimented her. "And you're handsome.", she admitted finally giving him that much. To be honest she knew that it might float his ego a little but for once she didn't care. Lily chuckled and grinned amused at him placing her hand on his cheek. "You know that you don't need to spend all your money on me, don't you?", she told him carefully knowing that it would be inappropriate and would make her feel uncomfortable. She laughed as he mentioned that he hoped it wouldn't fill it too quick. "Well, a part of me hopes you do mess up, James.", she joked and asked "So what counts for me? Cursing people as well?"


"Perhaps something with cheese... Or anything that looks delicious.", she answered and shook her head giving her no to the question if she needed anything else. "Thanks though.", Lily added quickly.
 
Marlene walked back toward the castle with Sirius wearing his jacket. Before departing to their separate dormitories Marlene shared a final night snog with Sirius with her arms around his neck. After they parted she looked into his eyes. "I had a great time Sirius. I thank you for the lovely date and the sweets." She handed him back his jacket and ran off to her dorm where she and Lily agreed to meet. The new charm bracelet he had given her jingled as she sprinted to tell her best friend all about her date. Just today she had been given a feast, a generous supply of sweets, a charm bracelet and more importantly, a boyfriend. She was in a daze.


Her charm bracelet was unique to say the least. It was not that she expected diamonds and gold - she wasn't superficial like that. What made the bracelet unique was the charms he had picked out for her. He had promised to add to it as their relationship progressed - so far he had gotten her a bone and a paw print for charms.


"Is this to tell me I am a bitch?" She had asked him with a smirk on her face. She had her right hand on her hips as she leaned over the jewelry counter on her left elbow. The shopkeeper arched his eyebrow at the young Black. "Perhaps the lady prefers something less....doggy?"


Apparently Sirius had given her these charms on purpose to prove some kind of point. Was he the year of the dog? She thought about this for a second as she knew his family was filled with family members named after various constellations.


Let's see, I'm year of the rat, 1960....he's before me....he's the....Rat, Ox, Tiger. She nearly ran into a suit of armor she was so distracted trying to figure out the puzzle. The Fat Lady looked down and smiled "I see the young lady is smitten with a fellow - password? Or have you become so infatuated it is not longer in your head?"


Marlene rolled her eyes. "Devil's Snare" After being omitted into the Gryffindor Common room, she made her way into her dorm room and flopped onto her bed dreamily. "Such a great day...and we didn't even need to shag" She chuckled to herself, it was odd as she knew Sirius had a reputation for that being his favorite activity with a bird.


She took off her heels and walked over to the closet to change her clothes. As she was pulling her arm through the sleeve of her nightgown, she noticed a few splotches on her arm. After carefully observing her slightly freckled forearm, she determined that the large splotch and few tiny splotches were actually a paw print. Almost identical to the one on her charm bracelet. This is odd she thought to herself. Perhaps Lily would know an explanation?


James headed for the dorm he used to share with the boys with a large smile on his face. Yes, there had been a few setbacks from the confrontation with Snape and negotiating with Lily, but she had enjoyed herself, he had an opportunity to go on another date with her and she actually wanted to use the money from their "curse jar" on another date! Things really were looking up for him, enough to make him feel like he could conquer the world, forget quidditch he could go for world domination.


He knocked on the wooden door and shouted. "Any of the boys home? The leader of our pact is here" He grinned, it was a funny rivalry back in the day between Sirius and him on who was in charge of the group.
 
"No the lady wants something exactly this doggy.", he had replied casually while going through the charms. He had almost snapped at him to shut it up after all he was a paying customer. Of course he should've gone the safe way and simply buy a heart or something obscurely cliché but he thought that in the long run she would prefer the dog paw and the bone way more. At least it was something really personal even though she didn't quite understand just yet and he did plan on keeping their secret a little longer. Perhaps he would need to talk with Prongs about that. He loved him like a brother but James gets stupid ideas if things involved Evans.


Sirius walked her back to the castle and had given his jacket to Marlene. They strolled together and talked about random stuff. He hoped dearly that she had liked this date. After all going on a date wasn't really his forte but she seemed to have enjoyed herself except for when her ex appeared and when he had talked about Aurors. These topics were dully noted and he knew that he needed to approach them carefully in the future. But he would definitely have a talk with that idiot. Perhaps even with James. He knew he wouldn't be able to share that secret with his best friend but if he mentioned it included something about Marlene he would help him.


"Glad you enjoyed the date. I did so too.", he replied with a grin and kissed her passionately a last time before they parted ways. He grinned from ear to ear as he watched her leave for the common room and mumbled a small charm. He knew he shouldn't charm her but he just couldn't help himself of making small paw prints appear on her skin. A few minutes later he followed her to the common room and walked to his dorm. Once inside he threw his jacket on his bed and made himself fall next to him.


Not even a minute later, Prongs bursted through the door. He grabbed his pillow and threw it toward James's head. "That's still me, twit!", he told him and sat up to see whether he had actually hit or missed his best friend. "Given your mood: I assume that you neither stunk her out nor had a bad time with Evans, today...", he assumed waiting for James's usual daydreaming face when the redhead became topic.


To her own surprise, Lily had enjoyed her time with James immensely. Of course things could've gone more smoothly but given it was Potter, she shouldn't have expected anything else than Severus had approached her. Things were still difficult between the two former best friends. So it could be easily misinterpreted, right? And of course James had only wanted to play her shining knight in armour. At least that's how she explained it to herself despite of his try to explain things. And most importantly he hadn't tried to pull some kind of stunt to impress her. It had been a normal but beautiful date at the small village.


Once they were in the common room shortly before parting way, Lily turned to James. "Thanks for today, James.", she told him and gave him a gentle kiss on his lips. She smiled at him before adding "I really had fun today." She kissed him a last time before making her way to her old dorm


"I see you're back from your date.", Lily said once she entered her old dorm and grinned at her best friend before she teased "Was it that bad..?" She chuckled and walked over to her. Something about how Marlene acted already told her that the Gryffindor had the time of her life at Hogsmeade.
 
James caught the pillow and threw it back at him watching to see if he expected the incident to happen. "Correction, it is I that leads this band of gentleman - you are strictly a second in command" He gave him a toothy grin. "After all, I'm a quidditch star, a Potter and I always want world peace." He flopped down on his old bed. "Godric, I don't know how long we've been walking today, but I cannot bear the pain any longer" and with that he took off his shoes, rubbing his feet. At Sirius' inquisition, he gave him a smile.


"I imagine I didn't mess it up completely....just when Snivelly got there and wouldn't leave Lily alone. Apparently she got angry because I was over the top with my threats and she doesn't like others fighting her battles - she's a tough cookie that one." He pulled off his socks and charmed them to shrink while rubbing a solution on his bare feet.


"So how was it with Marly? I didn't expect you to be here alone...you two got back around the same time we did. Did it go well?" He was genuinely interested. It wasn't like Sirius to end a date without something else.


As Marlene examined her mark further, she noticed another one on the back of her hand, then another on her shoulder. What the ****? Is this a new disease or something? She made a note to perhaps ask Madame Pomfrey about it.


She also started to smell an odd odor - like mud, wet rain, and dirt. She sniffed the air while wrinkling her nose. What was going on here? She checked the closets, the bathroom, even her shoes...she could not find the culprit.


Marlene grinned widely and turned around upon hearing her best friend's voice. As if to defy any ideas Lily might have about her date going wrong - she shook her head busily and stretched out her right arm showing off her charm bracelet.


"Lily! We're official! He called me his girlfriend! We're an item!" She ran up to her and hugged her tight while placing several kisses on her cheek. "He got me a bracelet, bought me lots of sweets, and..." She just smiled contently. "He's just so great Lily....I hate to sound like those bimbos I always make fun of but...I really feel like I'm walking on clouds"


She decided to ask her friend about her date "and what about James? Did you enjoy your time with him? I see a smile on your face!"
 
"En contraire my dear friend. We only make you believe that you are in charge. But in truth it has always been me because I'm the one with the flawless hair after all.", Sirius told his best friend with laughter. He grinned boyish at James and sat up in his bed before outstretching his hand. "May I have my pillow back, please?", he asked unusual politely and used a spell to stop the pillow midair as James threw it back to him. Of course it was no secret that the young Black did have manners, he just normally didn't bother around James or the other Marauders. Usually he simply demanded things and they had to happen. "Poor James Potter had to walk after Evans all the time after being so delighted to spend his time with her.", he teased but his grin widened as he nodded agreeing with his inquisition. Despite of his constant quarrels with the redhead, Padfoot was more than delighted to hear that James's date went good. Perhaps he would stop hearing about her perfect hair and eyes and just everything from now on. Even though he doubted that.


At the news that Lily had seemed to be upset as James interfered however with Snivelly. It wasn't a big surprise to him. After all he had heard her defending that son of a banshee even after the fifth year. Not that he understood that. "But still seems like things went well despite of that..?", he asked curiously ready to tell Evans how stupid she would be for not giving his best mate a "second" chance for doing something that noble - or perhaps how Evans usually put it "something completely stupid and childish". 


"Well, it went well. I think Marlene enjoyed me taking her to the restaurant.", he started casually and finished his statement like it was no big deal "But well, she agreed to be in a relationship with me." To his own surprise Sirius managed to remove the excitement from his voice and might have even come off as bored. That was one big talent in his family: acting like the whole world bored them to death. "So, I think yes, you could say things went well.", he stated with a small grin on his lips.


The redhead walked over to her best friend and looked at her outstretched arm. "Oh that's...", she started but faltered for a moment as she saw all the dog themed charms. Lily rose her eyebrow a bit but soon replaced it with a smile and looked at the charms. "Those are unusual but pretty. Do you like it?", she asked.


As Marlene ran over and hugged her, the redhead was taken aback for a moment before hugging her back. "Well, congratulations and glad you had fun.", she spoke smiling happy at the brunette. Lily enjoyed seeing her best friend like this immensely. After all Marlene deserved that a lot. It was just a little strange to think that Sirius Black did something like being in a relationship. Though Lily though that the two Gryffindors made a great couple. "By the way, it's alright to sound like one of those girls... I won't tell it to anyone.", she promised quietly with a grin and kept on hugging her best friend.


"Well...", Lily began thinking of how to answer Marlene's question without giving away too much. She knew that her best friend were childhood friends with James so she didn't want her all over her with questions about whether or not Lily and James were a couple. Truth be told she preferred not to label their current relationship yet. She liked things as they were with them going on dates. But not more. "It was really nice. Severus came along and well James thought the best thing to do was jinx him... But yeah... That wasn't the best idea but apart from that things went well...", she answered finally and smiled gently at her.
 
"And I am the born leader, plus I come up with all the flawless ideas!" He grinned back. He knew this banter could go on forever. It was common between the guys. He raised his eyebrow at his best friend. "well yes, things did go well....I had to keep my ego in check though to get another date with her" he really did not feel like elaborating on the argument or his mistakes. He was more interested in hearing about his friend's time with his childhood friend. He could tell he enjoyed himself more than he would admit. He always acted very cool like to these things.


"You agreed to start a relationship? Wow, I'll bet she's happy about that." He knew his friend wasn't one for ships and was a bit shocked to hear he committed. "I know you enjoyed yourself more than you let on, especially if you agreed to start a relationship." He saw his friend's grin and decided to pry more. 


"So what lead to this decision? I know you don't give commitments away frivolously. Did she get your heart by any chance? Perhaps you will dream of her and I'll get to hear all this embarrassing mumbling when you sleep!" He loved teasing his friend. "maybe you will dream of a white picket fence."


Marlene smiled at her friend. She knew Lily would be happy for her. She blushed when she mentioned her sounding like other girls. "I appreciate you keeping the secret....he just..." She blushed again before she could finish the sentence. She knew that more gushing over the mysterious gryffindor would come over the next few days.


She looked at Lily with concern when she mentioned Snape paying them a visit. "Oh...he showed up? That must have been....interesting" she knew that James jinxing Snape would spell bad news for Lily's spirits. She still made excuses for her ex-friend and she knew it was sensitive territory to discuss.


As Marlene held out her bracelet to Lily, she noticed another spot on her wrist. She looked at it curiously and then spotted another one on her ankle. What the hell?


"Say Lily....have you ever seen such a thing before?" She pointed to the small paw print on her wrist and another on her forearm. She felt her friend might be able to interpret the odd markings.


 After a few minutes, the air became perfumed with wet dog smell, she wrinkled her nose. "What is that? Do you smell that?" She curiously sniffed around trying to find the culprit of the odor.
 
“We only make you believe it’s only your ideas because in that case you won’t argue our ideas, my deer friend.”, Sirius easily jabbed and casually crossed his arms in front of his chest. He listened to his friend’s rather short story about his very first date with the “perfect” Lily Evans. The perfect part was rather debatable according to Padfoot. Evans did have her weird habits and he didn't think of her as the perfect bird like his best friend. Yet Sirius would be the last one to voice his concerns. He was happy for his friend finally getting a shot with her. "So, what did you do?", he asked with a grin and joked "Accidentally hexed her? Coloured her hair green?"


"Well, I didn't say it was a bad date, did I?", he spoke casually and looked at his best friend. He thought about it in fact it was quite the opposite to a bad one but he didn't feel the need to tell that to James. First of all he wouldn't hear the end of it especially that Marlene and he were officially dating but also because Prongs here didn't feel the need to elaborate his own date with the fiery redhead.


Padfoot rose his eyebrow at the possibility of him mumbling about Marlene in his sleep. "Aaaahh, my deer friend Potter. I think you're mistaking me for you. I mean who's been constantly talking about beautiful red hair and those green orbs for years now. I think all of us know of your wet dreams about Evans.", he teased back hoping it would distract him from his actual question as he smirked. "Not all of us are head over heels into a girl who basically showed us the cold shoulder for years."


"Yeah, yeah, I know. He's just so perfect. With his long dark hair and mysterious aura. He's so handsome and...and I mean have you seen his perfect dark eyes..? So magnificent.", she teased Marlene by acting to swoon over Black. She sighed heartfelt for good measure and was satisfied of her imitation of the other girls, who swooned for the older Black.


Once her former best friend seemed to come into topic, Lily's mood dropped. She was still not over what had happened at the lake that summer. Lily had thought of him as a really good friend and at one point perhaps even more. But he just had to call her mudblood to impress all the other Death Eaters to be. Of course Snape had tried to apologize and she knew that he meant it. But a part of her would never forgive him and she wanted to keep her distance. Being reminded of it was still too painful.


"Well, it caused Potter to think he needed to protect my honour.", she rolled her eyes and continued a little pissed "I can do that on my own. Thank you very much." Lily huffed but had to admit that her date with James had turned out way more fun than her younger self would actually think it to be.


She looked up and towards Marlene. She was confused for a moment before she saw the small imprints of a dog paw..? "No, I haven't... Perhaps Madame Pomfrey can help? But I'm sure it's nothing", she said as she looked at the small paw prints with a frown. Lily looked confused at Marlene thinking that her best friend had gone completely bonkers "Smell what?" She shook her head as to her things smelled perfectly fine.
 
Marlene McKinnon sat in front of the vanity of the girl's dorm frustrated. Her other dorm mates had already gone to the great hall for breakfast. Marlene on the other hand was losing her patience with the current curse, or whatever was pulled on her.

She woke up to find that the paw print mark she and Lily tried to investigate was still on her skin...along with at least 25 other marks throughout her body! They were on her forearms, neck, the back of her left hand, legs, even on the sides of her face under her ears.

The newest mark was around her left eye completing the entire disaster. Between the mark, the freckles and her hair put into pigtails, she looked like a dog. She didnt want to wear her hair down, so her hair had been placed in pigtails - her dark brown hair hung like two dog ears completing the look.

She had tried primping charms, spells, even Lily's muggle cosmetics to hide the marks. Nothing was any use. She looked in the mirror and saw a brand new small paw print on her nose...she cursed to herself.

Screw this...I'm hungry

She walked out of the girls dorm in her doggy get up in no mood to hear remarks from the others.

James tucking into his bacon, eggs and toast when his childhood friend came into the great hall. He nearly choked on his pumpkin juice and nudged Sirius as Marlene sat down and helped herself to some breakfast.

The brown haired Gryffindor glared at James and dared him to say a single word.
 
Sirius looked up from his daily routine of reading the Daily Prophet instead of eating breakfast. It regularly resulted in him visiting the kitchen throughout the morning. He was just so damn hungry all the time but still he had never been able to eat right after getting up. But still the Gryffindor couldn't be bothered to get up earlier. His complete morning routine was finished within 15 minutes, which once resulted Wormtail how he always looked so sharp. Well, he was blessed with natural beauty so no need for enhancement, he had told the Marauder with a smug smile.

A smirk slowly but surely spread over his lips as he sat up leaning back. Like always he seemed like he had come right out of trouble but still managed to have the aura of innocence around him, which mostly didn't mean good things. If anything happened in this school, he was mostly right in the middle of it. "You're looking quite fetching, today.", he told her and gave her a wink, "Slept well or had a ruff night?". He had thought about this pun all morning thinking of how to integrate his spell into possible conversations throughout the day.

Lily watched the two blokes as she ate her own breakfast. She had chosen the seat next to Remus. Despite the current change in James's and her friendship, she still felt the closest to her fellow Perfect. For years, he had been the only Marauder she had been able to talk to without feeling annoyed within seconds. So it still somehow just came in naturally for her to sit next to him in the mornings.

Black's two comments earned him a raised eyebrow and dark glance from Lily. She even tried to kick his shin underneath the table to make him shut up. But accidentally the redhead ended up kicking James because he was sitting opposite of her.
 
Marlene was piping angry. She woke up feeling like total crap. She had a hard time brushing her hair, she woke up groggy, she had to deal with these odd marks. Plus, to top it all off, she was at the most stressful and bothering time of the month. It was not a good time to mess with her.

James could sense the tension as his best mate smirked, then proceeded to tease Marlene. He could tell from knowing her a large part of her life that today was not the day for that.

He decided to look over at Lily and smiled to himself. She looked so beautiful..even when just discussing business with Moony.

Marlene was tucking in to her second helping of bacon when she heard Sirius make the annoying puns towards her. She slowly looked up at the smirking teenage boy and inhaled noisily. After holding her breath a few moments, she let it out and slowly got up pointing a finger at Sirius.

Who the f--- do you think you are making such awful comments at me like this. You think this is fun for me? Would you like to spend your precious time covering these marks up? You realize I'm on my period plus you made me miss my morning smoke! You are an arse....

She grabbed some pumpkin juice and threw it onto his robes.

Piss off!

With that she ran off and made her way to her first class...double potions.

F--- I have to deal with the sodding arse plus double potions....ugh

She took her seat and wondered whether she could get away with smoking in moaning Myrtles loo.

James was aghast at the scene and looked to his best mate.

Just as he was about to ask what the big idea was he felt a sharp kick under the table.

"Ow...blimey..what's the big idea? It wasn't my hare brained scheme"
 
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Of course Sirius had expected some kind of reaction to his teasing. Perhaps being insulted or a smack on the back of his head but having juice on his robes hadn't been in the big picture. "Blimey, Marlene. Who twisted your knickers? Don't blame it on me that you haven't smoked yet. It's not my bloody fault!", he called after her clearly getting annoyed as well. Quickly he got the wand from his robe and cleaned himself. "Birds...", he muttered under his breath rolling his eyes. He hadn't even made nasty comments but only smart puns.

"What big idea?", he asked his best friend innocently and continued "I was just doing clever puns." Still after what had just happened he looked like the innocence in person. Even though everyone on this table knew better than to believe him compeltely. Mostly when he looked innocent it was the complete opposite though.

"You're such an arse.", Lily suddenly exclaimed and ignored the fact that James complained about being kicked. The bloke mostly wasn't innocent anyways. Whatever Sirius had done, she was sure that James had participated in as well. She stared at Black with small eyes before rising to her feet to follow her best friend. "I'll see you later, Remus.", she said casually when sent both James and Sirius a dark gaze. She even gestured between her and Black in a manner that made clear she was watching him.
With that Lily strutted away to look for her best friend. A feeling made her go and check the bathrooms around them. The latest she would see her friends in potions though.
 
James shook his head at Sirius as he inquired about Marlene's reaction. He was about to give him a little heart to heart, until Lily called him an arse.

"Hey! I'm an arse? What the hell did I do? You kicked me." He frowned as she glared at him and walked away in a huff. Remus seemed just as confused about the entire spectacle - but he kept his mouth shut.

The bespeckled, messy haired boy sighed and helped his friend clean up the mess with his wand.

"What was that about anyway? I know you don't think you did much...but today was a bad day to annoy Marlene."

James knew too well that bugging Marlene on a bad day, especially when sleep deprived, hungry and uncomfortable spelled trouble. She had a hot temper and it ignited when she was around stressful times.

"Well mate...it was a bit of a wrong move to pick today to bug her. She really isn't herself when she's uncomfortable and feeling jittery. Also, I don't think whatever you cooked up for a prank made her smile."

He looked as Lily continued down the hall. "It's probably best to either apologize or leave her alone for now....why did you do that anyway?"

James' real question was why Lily kicked him when it was clearly Sirius' prank.

A puff of smoke occupied a corner of Myrtles lavatory. The irritable brunette was on her third smoke. She had washed her face showing a few more smaller paw marks on her face and her hair now hung down. Stringy, tangled and dull. She hated this time of the month when everything hurt, her hair was a disaster and she just wanted to lie in bed with greasy foods.

I have no idea what's wrong...he was irritating me..but he was just being stupid. This isn't like me.

She then remembered a time two years ago when her ex, Roderick had taken a few knocks at her. She had been exercising and dieting to fit into the impossibly small dresses he bought her - the kind made for girls with no hips.

She was proud of herself for finally being able to suck in and wear the "larger" dress with a girdle. She worked hard to lose the weight and felt like she really made an accomplishment. She met him in their usual spot elated to show off her look. Unfortunately, the shallow Ravenclaw was displeased.

What's the matter, porky? Couldn't skip a few meals here and there? Get the house elves to fetch you some snacks? What's this?

He pinched her midsection and shook his head. "You really have no self control - and you told me you could rough it out?"

Marlene felt tears come down her face...she knew Sirius' comments were not the same...she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable being picked at during a sensitive time.

She wanted to look good for Sirius- as she had with Roderick only for it to blow up in her face.

She also realized that "rough" and "fetch" were also used in that memory...and she thought she was over it...she needed help.
 
"Oh, shush it, James. I wasn't talking to you but your boyfriend!", she told him unnerved, "Not everything's about you." With that she left the blokes on their own and hurried to help her friend.

"What?", Sirius asked incredulous, "It's not my fault someone got her knickers twisted!" He huffed and straightened his robe than ran a hand through his long dark hair. Some birds were staring at him and he simply gave them a capturing smile and a wink before turning back to his best mate. "Well, she clearly overreacted, don't you think? No need to snap at me like that.", Padfoot spoke seemingly getting more annoyed with this situation. Either he didn't want to see his wrong or simply didn't seem to care. It became more than obvious he would do the second option instead of apologizing to her.

"Besides it was nothing else than a simple and innocent spell. Just making small paw prints appear on her skin.", he muttered under his breath and reached for the bacon. Black didn't even bother to use his cutlery but simply ate with his fingers. He rolled his eyes thinking this was not worth it. Next time he would see Marlene on the hallway, he would simply use the counter spell removing the paw prints from her skin.

Lily sighed as she went to Myrtle's loo. She didn't want to be in there but what one didn't do for a friend. Almost instantly she noticed the smoke. "You can be happy it's me and not McGonagall seeing you smoke in here."; she told ehr friend as she walked over to the stall and knocked gently against it. "Marls..? Wanna talk about it?", she asked.
 
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