Marlene McKinnon

“You know what, you’re completely right, I don’t know what I was even thinking.” The words flowed out before Mary even realized who was saying them – partly due to the alcohol and partly due to her mind being solely focused on food in that moment. Ordering two packages, Mary gently tossed one of them in her friends direction, mood significantly enhanced. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here tonight. Nice of Tom to let you go.” That was one of the upsides of working in a bookstore – their hours were fairly reasonable, unlike Marlene who would come home at the oddest of hours.

Taking a sip of the drink in question, she grinned the moment she began lowering the cup. “Let’s just say that either you will be responsible for getting me back to my place tonight – or someone else will be responsible for the both of us. Either way, it won’t be me.”

★

“I wasn’t expecting me to be here either,” Marlene laughed, catching the package her friend tossed to her with all the practiced ease one would expect of someone who had once been a star Chaser for Gryffindor. “I’m glad I made it though. I’d have been gutted if I had to hear about this all second hand tomorrow!” She would have still been happy to listen of course, but it was never quite the same to hear about an event you missed out on as it was to actually be in attendance.

Another laugh burst from her as Mary continued, and she shook her head fondly at her friend. “I think I can manage getting us back home,” she promised, still chuckling slightly. “But you’re responsible for yourself from there. I’ll get you to the sofa and that’s it.” 

The moment Mary heard about the concert, she knew she had to go – price of a ticket be damned. It’d been… months at this point since she’d done anything fun, which was entirely valid all things consider, but she desperately needed to feel like a person and someone in a war for just… one night. Just one measly little night, that’s all she asked for. A simple request. Right?

Cup of Dragon Scale in hand (her third one, mind you), her hair swung back and forth as her head shook to the beat of the song, entirely unaware of anyone else around her. Potentially not the best situation to put herself in, all things considered, but she had passed the point of caring about… oh, half an hour ago. Now, she was singularly focused on having a good time – and that meant getting snacks.

Shoving her way through the crowd, Mary made her way over to the Honeydukes stand, staring up at the menu in awe – and unable to make a proper decision, spoke her choices out loud to the nearest person. “All right – chocoballs or pumpkin fizz? It’s a tough choice.”

***

“Obviously chocoballs,” Marlene laughed, coming up behind her friend to surprise her. Though she had been more than excited at the prospect of the concert, even if it was just for the chance to let her hair down for the night, she hadn’t known if she would be able to get the night off work. Thankfully Tom had finally agreed, with a knowing smile that Marlene suspected meant he had planned to let her go all along but had just wanted to mess with her a little. At least she was here, and beyond ready to spend a night laughing and dancing with her best friends. With a war raging around them, it was rare for such an opportunity to come their way. 

Another laugh sounded from Marlene as she arched a brow in amusement. “Do I dare ask how many of those you’ve had?” she asked, nodding at the cup of Dragon Scale in Mary’s hand.

It was a strange feeling, Marlene being the one to find him here. As much as he usually wanted to see her - he didn’t want her to see him like this. “I’m, uh….” Fine. The word died on his lips - she knew him too well, and besides that, he didn’t want to lie to her. He knew at some point, he’d have to take his sunglasses off, because he’d rather tell her what happened than be rude, but he wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. “No, not really.” He admitted, letting his smile fade as he shook his head. But were any of them? He didn’t really want to complain about a stupid fight with his brother - it seemed trivial and immature in the middle of an actual war. But to him, it wasn’t. He wasn’t even always sure why, but Regulus had always been a sore spot for him, always managed to get under his skin. The one thing in his life he regretted - the one person he wished he didn’t have to leave when he’d walked away from his family. But, he’d made his choice. 

He sighed heavily, looking down to the table as he reached up to slide his glasses off his face. His arms felt heavy, as if they didn’t want to cooperate with him, knowing what was most likely coming from the girl across the table. But still, he would face it. After all, he certainly hadn’t tried to stop the fight, either. As he looked up, he knew she would be taking in his cuts and bruises and he winced at just the thought. “Quite the festival they host over there, eh?” He tried to joke, but the smile hurt and his voice fell flat. If it had just been Regulus that was bothering him, maybe he’d have been able to shrug it off, but everything felt wrong lately, and he was having a hard time rallying his usual high spirits.

The concern etched into her face deepened, and she slid into the seat opposite him. Any thoughts of potential awkwardness vanished; all that mattered in that moment was being there for him, helping him through whatever he was dealing with. That always came before anything else for her. His attempted joke had one corner of her lips twitching slightly, though it was a fleeting ghost of a smile at best, never meeting her eyes and gone almost before it even appeared.

"Yeah, people really seem to be enjoying it," she nodded, head tilted as her eyes danced across Sirius’ face, taking in his injuries. She hated seeing him like this. It wasn’t just the cuts and bruises; they would always have concerned her a little, but had he been jovial and able to laugh about them, it wouldn’t have been so bad. That wasn’t the case though, and instead he seemed... flat. Deflated. Not himself. 

“What happened?” she asked softly. 

The festival had been a mistake - he knew that now. He was glad to have been there for his friends - ever the one to step up when they needed him - but if he could do it over again, he wouldn’t. He had slept most of the next day, which was both a blessing and a curse, because when he finally got out of bed, his headache was gone but his stomach was aching. One look in the mirror and he almost decided to starve, at least until he could get to Andromeda the next day, but he doubted he’d even be able to get back to sleep without some food first. He’d rummaged through his cabinets for a bruise salve, but had come up empty, instead snagging a pair of sunglasses off the table before he set out. It wouldn’t help much, but it was all he had at the moment. 

The weather was nice, a rare sunny day, so he decided to take his chances at a new place down at the far, less traveled end of Diagon Alley in the hopes that he wouldn’t run into anyone who knew him. But he should have known his luck wouldn’t be that good, and he’d barely started in on his dinner before someone he recognized was passing by and he put his fork down, steeling himself for the inevitable. Sirius hoped in vain that they might not notice, or even choose not to stop, but as they angled their feet toward him, he fought a sigh and faked a smile, ignoring the way it pulled at the cut on his lip. “Didn’t think I’d run into you all the way down here." 

With everything that had been going on, Marlene had thrown herself into Order work, doing whatever little jobs she could to make herself useful. When she wasn’t there or working at the Leaky Cauldron, she was training. Stubborn and determined as she was though, she still had to have a break sometimes. Today was one of those rare days where she found herself not working at the pub, and without any Order tasks to carry out. Deciding to forgo training for the day she had headed out to Diagon Alley for lunch, opting for a place down at the quieter end. As much as she loved the Leaky Cauldron, spending so much time there on a regular basis for work meant she would rather not spend her days off there as well.

She had only just entered the place when a familiar face caught her attention, her breath hitching momentarily. One of the other advantages of keeping herself so busy was that it had meant she had been more or less distracted from thinking about him. It had been nice in a way, though she had missed spending time with him. Yet when she did spend time with him, she always found herself thinking if only. If only he felt the way she did, if only they were together as more than friends... Still, she had always prioritised their friendship over everything, and so she made her way over, caring more about catching up with him than about how it would make her feel later.  “I could say the same to you,” she shrugged in response to his greeting, a smile ghosting over her lips briefly before concern tugged at her brow as the cut on Sirius’ lip caught her attention. “Are you okay?”

For just a moment, sitting there on the bike looking at each other - it was as if time had slowed down for Sirius. It was a moment of clarity, and his lips parted to tell her what he’d wanted for years; but then she was taking her helmet off and pulling away from him and he caught up with the rest of the world with a shake. Probably for the best, he told himself, swallowing the words back. “Oh, don’t worry, that’s next.” He winked at her, continuing their banter as if nothing had happened. Sirius tapped the side of the bike reverently, a fond smile on his features as he thought about what it would be like when it was finished. “Pretty good? Pretty good?” He asked incredulously, putting a hand dramatically over his heart as he stepped onto the curb to follow her with a laugh. “I’ll just have to take you out more until you’ve come to your senses." 

Nodding, he found he actually felt a little nervous, which was something Sirius was completely unaccustomed to. They’d been friends for a while now, but it wasn’t all that often that it was just the two of them. It wasn’t really all that often that Sirius found himself alone with any of his friends, but it was different with Marlene. It was more important to him. ”Marley.“ Sirius pitched his voice low, teasing. Sometimes he really couldn’t help himself, even if he’d wanted to. "At least buy me a drink first.” With a laugh he followed her in, kicking his shoes off at the door. He glanced around, eyes twinkling as they found hers again. “You know, I think you should get a dog.”

“What, you’re gonna get it to fly?” It sounded complicated at best, but somehow she didn’t doubt that he’d manage to make it happen. Would it be safe? That was slightly more debatable, but it didn’t stop her from wanting to take a ride when it was done. “You’ll have to let me know when you’ve got it working.” She chuckled as he said about taking her out more, glancing back at him as she slid the keys into the lock. “Hey, if you want to take me out more, I won’t be complaining.” More time spent alone with Sirius? That wasn’t something she was going to say no to, even if she knew she probably should.

She rolled her eyes as she dropped her keys and bag near the door, shaking her head at him. “I think I’ve bought you enough drinks by now,” she laughed, returning the teasing remark easily. Merlin though, how she wished they weren’t just joking around about that sort of thing. “Oh a dog, yeah?” Another laugh rang from her as she made her way towards her bedroom. “I suppose a dog would be nice. Maybe a big, black, shaggy one?” she joked, referring to his animagus form.

Order Safe House

It was hard to pinpoint when it happened, but Lily had gone numb. All initial shock and denial had worn off rather quickly, leaving her instead to feel nothing. News of any new attacks were expected, but this was – even with the thought always burrowed in the back of her mind as a possibility, nothing could have prepared her for it. Home, destroyed. She hadn’t known until a day later, when her mother called to promise she and Petunia were safe. That should have been enough, but the three words that followed had chilled everything straight to her core. It’s your father.  

She needed to go home, to be with her mother and her sister, their fighting be damned, but she couldn’t. Lily felt more like a ghost than a person, and after sitting in her apartment with Crookshanks wailing, hours on end of silence, she had to get out. It all felt like a bad dream, and Lily was in a trance, not entirely sure what to do next. She ended up in one of the safe houses used for the Order, just to be around people, but still able to be alone, and hid in the corner, alone on the floor. Secluded from the world. A list of things that needed to be done was going through her mind but none of it was registering. So much for a happy holiday. Whatever was supposed to happen next, whatever she could possibly be meant to be doing was just – absent. 

If there was one face Marlene hadn’t expected to see at the safe house today, it was Lily’s. After what had happened, it would have been more than understandable for the redhead to take some time for herself to process everything. Then again, she supposed she shouldn’t be too surprised. If it was her in Lily’s position, she’d want to find some kind of distraction. Maybe that’s what she was doing. 

“Lils?” Marlene asked softly as she approached her friend. “I was going to come and see you later, bring you some stuff.” This was usually the part where she’d ask how someone was, but given everything that seemed like a foolish question. Of course Lily wasn’t going to be okay, she’d just lost her father. “How are you holding up?” That seemed like slightly better phrasing, at least. 

ask game: Is this character fuckable?

repulsive | no | just a hug | kissable | maybe | down to cuddle | yes | absolutely | Take Me Now

i’d top them | i’d bottom for them

i’d dom them | i’d sub for them

He was glad she couldn’t see his face as she moved to hold onto him, as the wide grin that immediately took over him would have surely given everything away. Sirius took a deep breath, feeling for the first time in days as if he were completely back to being himself - or better. He pushed the bike harder when there was no traffic, flying over the blacktop in a wild moment of freedom. It was as if it were just the two of them in the world, racing down the street. Sirius tried to pay attention to her reactions, not wanting to make her nervous by being too reckless, but so far she seemed to be perfectly comfortable.

It was when Marlene leaned more fully against him that he decided to take a wrong turn and go the long way around to get to her place, not quite ready to say goodbye to the quiet intimacy the bike brought them. Her hair tickled the back of his arm where the wind managed to pick up the ends not hidden by the helmet, and he wondered idly if she could hear the way his heart seemed to beat erratically in his chest at her closeness. Still, as much as he might try to delay the inevitable, he rounded the corner to her street and slowed down, coasting most of the way to her place as if to wrangle every last second he could. With a light sigh, he knocked the kickstand back down and twisted to look at her, already missing the warmth of her body.

“So? Cool, yeah?” There was a light blush on his cheeks to accompany the boyish grin he sent her, unable to mask his excitement as he waited impatiently to hear what she thought. “You like it?”

It didn’t escape Marlene’s attention that Sirius took the long way. Some foolish part of her couldn’t help but hope it meant he wanted more time with her, but she knew he’d probably just either forgotten the short way or wanted more time on his bike. Still, she didn’t mind. Sitting there leaning against him and watching the world go by was hardly something she saw as a problem. Well, not much of one anyway. Certainly not enough of one to warrant caring. 

Even taking the long route, it seemed they arrived at hers all too soon. As the bike slowed she forced herself to pull away, though kept her arms around him until they had come to a stop. Only then did she release her grip and lean back, hands already unfastening the clasp of the helmet by the time Sirius turned to face her. Was that a blush on his cheeks, or... no. No it was just the result of the wind rushing past, why would it be a blush? She hoped he’d put the slight redness of her cheeks down to the same reason. 

“Yeah,” she nodded, swinging one leg over the back of the bike and slipping from it. “I mean it’s different to flying a broom but... still a pretty good rush.” She glanced down, reaching into her bag for her keys before looking back up. “Do you want to come in and wait while I change? I won’t take long.” 

Sirius could feel his heart beat faster as she climbed on behind him, excited just to simply be so close to her. He had to admit he hadn’t simply brought the bike so that he could show her - his ulterior motive was right here, in the way he was hoping she would have to hold onto him as he picked up speed. A hearty chuckle escaped him at her words and he turned to wink at her as he slapped the visor down on his helmet. “You better hold on tighter than that.” 

That was all the warning he gave her, however, before he kicked up the stand and took off - not quite floored, but certainly not easing into it, either. It was almost as if he could breathe easier, once he was flying over the road like this. The wind blowing over him felt freeing, and he couldn’t help the wide smile that overcame him as they raced off, hoping Marlene was having at least half as much fun as he was. It was only a shame that she didn’t live particularly far, although it was a nice bit of extra time to sort his thoughts out for how he wanted to go about the rest of the night.

Marlene rolled her eyes at him with amusement playing on her lips, but a blush rose to her cheeks - she hoped he had turned away before seeing that. Before she could worry about it too much though they were off, and she found her arms quickly encircling Sirius’ waist. The sudden start had surprised her a little, but even as he picked up speed she didn’t feel scared or unsafe. How could she, when she was with Sirius? 

She smiled as she looked around, taking it all in. As she did so, she found her head moving to rest on Sirius’ back, the position they were in making it a natural thing to do, and against her better judgement she let herself pretend this was something more than what it was. No doubt she would regret it when they stopped and she was jolted back to reality, but she couldn’t help herself. 

Sirius grinned cheekily, shrugging one shoulder as he answered. “Just tellin’ it like it is.” He couldn’t help but feel as if a weight were lifted from his shoulders. Sure, they had cleared the air, but this - this felt like them again. Seeing Marlene was exactly what he had needed to put himself back in a good mood and forget about his brother. Unknowingly, she had fixed everything, just by being here. It wasn’t the first time, and he thought if he were a very, very lucky man - it wouldn’t be the last.

“Yeah?” He breathed, smile growing so wide it threatened to stretch right off his cheeks. Merlin, she was perfect, wasn’t she? Sirius laughed, nodding as he swung his leg over the bike and settled into his seat, twisting to look at her as he slipped his helmet on. “Just remember; you asked for it.” He smirked, a coy glint in his eye. Patting the spot behind him, he gestured for her to join him. “Hop on, gorgeous.”

“Uh huh, sure you are,” she laughed, shaking her head a little. It surprised her how easy it was to fall back into that rhythm with him, to let the awkwardness that had been there fade away. But then, she had always found it easy being with Sirius. They just seemed to get each other, and it was one of the reasons she had fallen for him.it

There was no hesitation as she joined him on the bike, trying not to sit too close just yet. When he was going fast and she had to hold on, that would have to change, but she didn’t want to invade his personal space when there was no need to. Arching a brow as she secured the spare helmet in place, she smirked, the glint in her eyes matching the one in his. “Bring it on.”

“So humble, McKinnon. And here I was, trying to be a nice guy and all.” James put on a pout, but it didn’t last long when he was once again smiling at Marlene’s acceptance of a drink. “Catching up with Hooch? I haven’t seen her in a while. I wonder if she’s still mad at me for those tricks I pulled our last game.” Needless to say, the stunts may have been game violations but they had already won at that point, so for James, it hadn’t mattered much; he couldn’t tell if Hooch’s glare was out of fondness or genuine irritableness. “Let’s go, then, because you need to catch me up on what you’ve been up to – you know that Sirius is wearing your number instead of mine?” James gave her a knowing look. “Not that I’m jealous or anything.”

“I know, right? Think your modesty may have rubbed off on me!” she teased, grinning at James. “Yeah, it was good to see her again. Think she’s a little disappointed we didn’t go pro but...” she trailed off with a shrug, The world was a mess, and for Marlene at least it had been more important to try and do what she could to help people. “She didn’t actually mention those stunts, but honestly I reckon she’s more amused than anything at this point. We’d won, you didn’t get yourself hurt, all’s well that ends well, right?” As the topic turned to Sirius, Marlene glanced down at the ground, lips chewing lightly at her lower lip for a moment. “Yeah, I noticed.” It had been an interesting choice, and one she wished actually meant something. “It was probably just out of habit, he used to wear that to a lot of games at school, and this is kind of a school game, I guess.”

It was ridiculous, really - the way those three little words made his stomach flip. I’d love to. Did she? Love hanging out with him? He hoped so, and he tried to ignore the little voice in the back of his head trying to get him to pretend they were three very similar words, instead. He was Sirius Black after all, that wasn’t his style. “Then it’s a date.” He grinned at her, but then she was gesturing at her outfit, practically giving him a reason to check her out, which of course, he was going to take advantage of. Because that was his style. If he were one prone to blushing, he was sure his cheeks would have been bright red by the time his eyes made their way back up to hers. 

“Please, Marley, you look great.” He rolled his eyes. “You always looks great.” Sirius’ voice softened with his smile, but he nodded at her request. “Of course - anything for you.” He winked, reaching over to grab the extra helmet from where he had it stowed on his bike. “You okay with riding? I’ve been dying to show you this thing. I promise I won’t go too crazy - precious cargo and all that.” 

Date. Merlin, did he have to use that word? It wasn’t his fault she supposed. It was just a phrased people used. How was he to know how much she longed to go on a real date with him? How much she wished that this really was the classic boyfriend-picks-girlfriend-up-after-work situation. Alas, it wasn’t, and if she was to enjoy herself she needed to push those thoughts from her head. 

“Flatterer,” she laughed, ducking her head slightly so that her hair fell forwards, hopefully hiding the faint blush that had risen to her cheeks at the compliment. She glanced back up at the question, a bright grin lighting up her face. “Are you kidding? I’d love to!” She’d never ridden a motorbike before, but carpe diem, right? Besides, there was a definite appeal to getting to sit with her arms around Sirius for a while... “Oh please, you’re welcome to go crazy if you want. It looks like a really cool bike.”

Sirius had been unable to keep his mind off of Marlene for the better part of most of the days since the World Cup - and while that wasn’t entirely out of the usual for him, this was different. They had cleared the air, and it had mostly gone back to normal, which he was thankful for, but he wasn’t sure that’s really what he wanted. Would he regret it, later on? If he never even told her how he felt? After all, at least then she would know, and he could have some sort of closure. And he had to believe that if they had gotten through what happened at the park relatively unscathed, they could get through this, too. That was if his nerve held out long enough to actually do it, which was anybody’s guess at this point. His rather typical Gryffindor bravery only took him so far - and seemed to falter when it came to her.

Without much thinking about it, he had hopped on his bike and made his way to the Leaky Cauldron, and before he knew it he was in front of the bar, leaning on the side of his motorcycle as he waited for her to finish up her shift. He was desperate to use any excuse as a reason to see her, and he hadn’t gotten to properly show her his latest purchase. He supposed he could have gone in as he waited - said hello to Molly and gotten a drink, but he was still in a bit of a funk over his brother and he really was only in the mood to see Marlene. “Hey, you!” He called as Marlene came outside, a wide smile hitting his features as soon as he saw her, and he straightened slightly, reaching out to wrap her in a hug as she drew close enough. “I was thinking you and I could go out tonight, if you wanted. Just the two of us.”

As much as Marlene liked her job, even if it wasn’t what she had hoped to be doing, she was still glad whenever her shift was over. That usual happiness she felt as she left however turned into a range of other feelings as she heard the all too familiar voice call her name as she stepped outside. Part of her was giddy at seeing him there, looking as gorgeous as ever. If she let her imagination take over, she could pretend he was her boyfriend picking her up from work, and certainly anyone walking by may have thought that. He wasn’t her boyfriend though, just a friend, and even after clearing the air with him at the World Cup she couldn’t help but feel a little awkward about having practically thrown herself at him, though she managed to hide it well as she returned his smile and embrace. 

“I’d love to,” she nodded as she stepped back, reminding herself that if she wanted to feel normal around him again, she first needed to act normal. “I’m not exactly dressed for going out though...” It wasn’t an excuse, even if going out just the two of them didn’t seem like the best idea right now, just a statement. As if to make sure he knew that, she gestured down at the casual top and dark jeans she had worn for work. “If you don’t mind a detour though, we could stop by my place and I could get changed?” 

He was hating this - it had always been so easy between them. What if this put a stain on their relationship, what if they couldn’t get back to how it was? He shook the thought from his head, trying for a smile again. There was no way, they were too close. Right? Sirius could feel himself relax at the words, feeling better just hearing her say it. At the end of the day, all that mattered was that she was happy. No matter what she said - ever - he would oblige. 

He looked down for a moment; a broad, genuine grin creeping across his features. Sirius was glad to see her smile, even if it was small. It’s what he lived for, after all. “Been a bit, hasn’t it?” He chuckled, brushing off his shoulders and straightening proudly. “Not long at all. It’s my favorite shirt.” He winked, finding it much easier to discuss something more normal, now that they’d talked. “I just thought - I don’t know, it’s Quidditch. It’d feel weird if I went to a match and didn’t wear it. Plus, you’re still my favorite player.”

It was unfair how that grin on his face had her heart practically fluttering in her chest. How could someone she knew would never reciprocate her feelings have such an effect on her? It was cruel, practically torment, yet it had been that way for so long she was almost used to it. Almost. 

“Yeah, just a bit,” she chuckled, hoping her voice sounded steadier than she felt. “Surprised you haven’t outgrown it with all that extra muscle you’ve put on,” she teased. Maybe if she tried to act normal, the awkwardness she felt would lift. His comment about her being his favourite had her laughing again, though the ache in her chest lingered. “Your favourite, huh? Well, I promise not to tell James you said that.”