#marlenem

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.”

So when he finally caught sight of her - her hair shining in the sun - he took a deep breath and simply watched for a moment, a small smile creeping onto his lips as he did so, debating what the best approach would be. Best to go all in and see where they stood, he finally decided, and in his typical brazen fashion he strolled up to her, what he hoped appeared as an easy smile gracing his features. He had put on the old shirt he’d made in school with her numbers on it, mostly without thinking, but now he hoped it might win her favor. “Hey, Marley.” Sirius slung his arm around her shoulders, leaning into her only slightly as he lowered his voice, head turned so he could speak right in her ear, not wanting anyone to eavesdrop. “Do you have a second to talk?”

In the late hours of the night, Gideon Prewett found himself clearing out space in the largest room he could find in one of the Order’s safe houses, pushing furniture up against the walls and out of the way. He would need space for what he was going to be getting up to with James Potter and Marlene McKinnon, who had both volunteered to help him test the prototypes he’d made recently, for the contraption he hoped would be of good use to the Order. He had been working on the plans for a while, had managed to make a few prototypes and tested them on a smaller scale, but now with the newest improvements he needed testing targets that could potentially think their way out of it. He’d put out a call for volunteers, and just like that he was meeting up with them. Gideon recognized them both, he’d heard a few things about the havoc James and his friends had wreaked on Hogwarts during their time in school, and he’d heard a fair bit about Marlene’s attitude as well. All and all, he wasn’t surprised either of them would sign up for such a thing as having someone’s contraptions tested on them. He had no doubt they would both be able to handle the job. Gideon grinned to himself as he set up the room, thinking of what he had to show and test, excited at the chance to finally meet and work with the younger members. With the final chair stacked and everything in place, Gideon sat himself down on the edge of a table in the corner, his messenger bag beside him and his wand tucked behind his ear. One of his hands slipped into his pocket, fingers curling around one of his prototypes. It would be excellent to finally be able to show someone outside of him and Fabian what they could do.