fierce angel

"me? come on, mckinnon. you and i both know that i'm not the type to wear a tie to an office job. i think i'd rather the war take me if that's the case." normal seemed like a too distant thought to bring into reality and so remus just gave a rapsy chuckle at the idea. what he didn't say was he didn't want to turn into his father, who did the same thing. "unbearably earnest? you've been hanging out with lily far too much, i swear." but marlene wasn't far from the truth and remus considered that a better character trait than anything else.

Marlene laughed, allowing herself to lean into his side when he pulled her closer. “You say that now, but give it ten years and I'll find you wearing a tie and complaining about paperwork.” She shook her head dramatically. “And don't blame Lily for your earnestness. You've always been like this. It's one of your more tolerable qualities.”

Evelyn chuckled, knowing very well Marlene would hate to knock. Before they knew it, the Hit Witch blasted the door and Evelyn followed right behind her, wand already ready. The contrast with Marlene's fire, her posture was more serene, quiet. She looked around and began to wave her wand, sealing any potential exit but also keeping an eye on Marlene and watching her back.

Marlene had barely made it three steps into the house before the spell flew past Evelyn's head. For one terrifying second, her stomach dropped. The very next moment, pure adrenaline took over. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." The annoyance in her voice was completely undermined by the grin spreading across her face.

"Yes well, she believes very strongly in karma," he laughed a little. "It keeps her from saying anything mean." About most people anyway; his father was an exception. "It sounds like quite a boring story to me," he replied, grimacing. He had at least learned that you couldn't trust everything you read in the paper.s

“Your mother has considerably more self-control than I do, then,” Marlene replied with a laugh. “If someone’s being awful, I generally prefer they know exactly what I think of them.” There was a flicker of something knowing in her expression before she shook it off with an easy shrug. “Though she's probably right. Most people aren't worth the effort.”

Mary stared at her friend for a moment. "My plants have it together. I, however do not. Well, I suppose I do when it comes to the greenhouse. Just don't look behind the bigger plants. I may be hiding a pile of dry leaves there." And some other things she hadn't quite found a place yet, like fertilizer and crates to store dried herbs in. "But I appreciate that you think I do. Honestly." Perhaps it was their friendship, or simply the way Mary moved through life but she cared. The tiniest flicker and she found herself worrying, wanting to reassure Marlene that it was alright to think that way. "If it helps, I thought you have it rather well together yourself."

"Your plants are quite a reflection of yourself, babe, and they're beautiful," Marlene told her friend, a warm smile on her lips. "But that is life, you know? Not everything is perfect, there will be some dry leaves in between the blooming flowers," the blonde added with a wink of her eye, softening the topic as they reached a point that, at least to her, was becoming a bit uncomfortable. She laughed, a short but genuine one, at Mary's words. "I'm honored you think so highly of me, love, but I'm nowhere near of having it together."

Edith's lips twitched in an almost smile. She really shouldn't be seen talking to Marlene and enjoying it. Marlene was brave and capable but Edith didn't want to be the reason she got hurt. No way would she ever want that.

The witch was curious now, more than she would've admitted on a typical day, but she'd been all too bored and decided on taking the seat across Edith. "Well, you've got my attention now. I mean, what is even the point in playing a game if you know what the outcome will be?" Marlene agreed with her premise. "So, would you share your tricks for free or is there a price?"

She was a sight for sore eyes, she has always been. Sirius offered her a relaxed smile, his lips kissing now the column of her throat, all the way up to her lips. He kissed her chin and then the corner of her mouth. For someone who lived a relatively fast life, Sirius liked to take his time with her.

Marlene let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head as she looked down at him. “See, this is exactly the problem with you.” The words came softer than intended, her fingers already slipping into his dark hair. She couldn't seem to stop touching him tonight. Then again, after nearly getting herself killed a few hours ago, maybe she had earned the right.

Evelyn actually adored Moody, he was a cranky man, crass and rude, but deep down he had a good heart and it was on the right place. In such a male dominated field, he took a chance on her and she didn't want to disappoint him at all. She had always been a model student and later and auror, and intended to keep it that way. "Will be a great belated christmas gift" she joked.

Marlene watched the spell settle over the house, satisfaction curling in her chest. No apparition. No Floo. No easy escape. Perfect.

"I don't think so either, but the managing staff insisted and there is little I can do to sway them. I'm not scared of one man who has some misguided affection directed at me." She rolled her eyes. "It started with letters about games so he must have been there, but recently he's made some remarks that point to him watching me outside of the pitch. Fans have approached me loads of times, but none of them are him. The wordings specific. I would've noticed. "

"Bloody hell, people are batshit crazy," the blonde settled on the statement, a bit regarding the stalker, the rest referring to the witch in front of her who dismissed the matter. "This is a liability, Vanity, you could get hurt. It's not a publicity issue, hence why the managing staff called us," Marlene explained, exasperated. "Think you can give me these letters? I'll solve it fast as I can, get this over for both of us."

Mary turned toward her, a big head of lettuce in her arms. "Me? Have things figured out? As far as my greenhouse goes. Nothing beyond the borders of that." It truly didn't feel that way. Besides, if not for the greenhouse she very likely would have fallen into pure chaos. A tether, she'd have considered it that much.

"It looks like you do, at least," Marlene offered with a small smile, encouraging and warm, protective of her friend's wellbeing in such a cruel world. "I mean, even if it's just your greenhouse-- that's better than most, and that's all that matters," she offered, suddenly feeling her words heavier than intended. The blonde brushed it off as per usual, the smile on her lips turning from nostalgic into apologetic.

"if i keep myself busy, then i can contain it. it's everything else i can't control," he explained poorly. "if there's enough normal for all of us after this, then yeah, i'll have some of that." remus left crumbs when he talked about his childhood, thinking it was more tragic than good sometimes. there were those cracks of light and it was his mother who was often that bright guidance. without her, remus wasn't confident he would've made it through as the same man. and he hated himself more for still needing his dad, asking for the bare minimum each month to get by. so remus told his friends what he could, leaving a trail of tragedies in thirty-seven parts.

"You'll look good in normal," she teased him. Something in her expression softened at that, the joking ease fading just briefly. Marlene looked down at her glass for a moment before reaching over to squeeze his hand once, warm and grateful. "I know," she said quietly. "And I love you all too, even when you’re unbearably earnest."

Sirius kissed her deeply, in the only way Marlene McKinnon deserved to be kissed. He ran his fingers over her hair, combing it gently. It was easy to get lost on her, on the softness of her lips, the warmth of her skin and her scent.

A shiver ran through her at the feeling of his lips against her skin, her head tilting instinctively to give him more room as her fingers tightened slightly at the back of his neck. Merlin, Sirius Black was unfair when he wanted to be.

Evelyn gave him a look. "Of course I don't doubt our capacity, but I am not taking any chances with this asshole" she pointed out knowingly. "I also do not want to be on the recieving end of Moody's wrath" she then added. Deep down, Evelyn's loyalty laid with Alastor Moody. The man had given her the chance and taught her everything she knew. He was a good man with good morals. Perhaps a shitty temper, but that was needed in times like these.

Marlene barked out a laugh at the mention of Moody, shaking her head as she followed Evelyn out into the corridor. “Right, because getting murdered by a serial killer would be bad enough, but Moody being disappointed in us?” she scoffed dramatically. “Truly the greater threat.” Still, there was fondness buried beneath the sarcasm. Everyone in the department knew better than to test Alastor Moody’s patience twice.

"That's bullshit," Lily disagreed, rolling her eyes as Marlene dropped her gaze. "For one thing; he sends James on plenty dangerous missions." Which not just made her a little paranoid and a lot pissed off that Moody might be doing it purposefully against her. But not one to let things like this go, she decided she was going to question him about it the next time she saw him. "That's not fair to say," she frowned, her eyes leaving the drawers to search Marlene's face.

Marlene looked like she was about to argue back at Lily’s immediate dismissal, something sharp already sitting at the edge of her tongue, but the other witch cutting herself off stopped her short. The blonde’s expression softened just slightly instead, guilt flickering briefly beneath the usual bravado. "Hey," she said quieter this time, nudging her friend lightly with her shoulder. "I didn’t mean it like that."

"Well if I was to listen to my mother it's only because their own lives are so boring," he told her, though he didn't agree. He thought people were just nosy, and didn't care about disrupting other people's lives as long as it didn't hurt their own. His mother was very much a believer that people were only mean to you because they were jealous of you. Lucian knew that some people were just pricks. "I am very interesting," he joked.

Marlene laughed softly under her breath. "Mm, see, I think your mother gives people far too much credit. Most of them are just bored and invasive." She glanced sideways at him then, a teasing smile tugging at her mouth. "Though, to be fair, you are very interesting. Tragic backstory, Quidditch career, expensive taste in footwear. I mean you’ve got all the makings of a proper public fascination."