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whatstruthgottodowithit · 2 months ago

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The Only Evans Girl [Department of Mysteries]

Fandom: Harry Potter [Marauder’s Era]

Pairing: Sirius Black x Original Female Character, Sirius Black x Daisy Evans, James Potter x Lily Evans

Characters: Sirius Black, Original Female Character, Daisy Evans, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Alice Fortescue, Frank Longbottom, Marlene McKinnon, Albus Dumbledore, Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange, Walburga Black, Orion Black, Jasper Thicknesse, Barty Crouch Jr, Mulciber, Walden McNair

Word Count: 6038

Rating: Mature

Summary: On the 31st of October 1981 Daisy Evans life changed forever. Since then she’s been tasked with one objective, keep Harry Potter safe. That however isn’t always that easy to do.

Notes: only a couple of chapters yet. dont worry im gonna do my boy dirty

LINK TO AO3 // LINK TO PINTEREST // LINK TO ALL PARTS

Daisy paused as she stepped over the threshold. The house was quiet, shrouded in an eerie stillness which was only disrupted as Remus stepped in through the door behind her, shutting it with a click. It was an odd feeling, one she hadn't felt in months, as number twelve Grimmauld Place had become unrecognisable since she and Sirius had decided to give it another go. They no longer danced around one another, no longer made clunky excuses to not spend too long in a room in case it got awkward, and no longer spent their nights in separate bedrooms.

Or at least they hadn't been, though something told her as her eyelids begged for her to find something soft to crash into that it might not be the soft scarlet bedspread she’d come to know that she’d be sleeping on today. It hadn't been easy. Sirius still had his frustrations about being forced to stay home, and she still felt put out by being on the verge of a second war, feeling like an unfair lot given they'd barely survived the first, but they were making it work. Or they had been until last night.

‘It’s quiet,’ she remarked. It was an obvious statement. Remus, who’d been right behind her as they’d headed into the kitchen, was sure to notice the lack of people, or rather one person.

‘S’pose everyone’s at work,’ he said as he moved to make himself a cup of tea, washing his hand down his face as though that would stimulate him enough until he could crash again. It wasn’t even that guard duty was an arduous task; it was just a boring one. Normally she would’ve spent it talking to whoever she was with. And she was sure if Remus had gone with Tonks last night as he was supposed to, they would’ve spent the night doing more than sitting in silence. But she’d begged Tonks to swap and fled the house to try and avoid another argument or avoid the feeling of being shut out, only to find Remus wasn’t in the mood for entertaining her either, an errant stray insult he’d caught in the crossfire seemingly stinging him.

Daisy wanted to point out that no one usually dropped by in the morning, their pretences at keeping on with normal life imperative until war really descended, but she didn’t bother. Though he’d mellowed as the night had waned on, Remus seemed to want nothing to do with their fallout, and so getting him to speak about Sirius, what he was doing, and if he was mad at her felt like trying to get blood from a stone. Instead she muttered something about going to bed and left the kitchen, trudging up the stairs like a man headed for the gallows.

The only sound was her own breathing and the creak of ancient wooden floors beneath her feet as she took herself to the top of the house. It was only when she was between the Black brothers’ bedrooms that she hesitated after all; did she have the right to barge in there? It was ultimately his room; she’d merely moved in. And what if he was sleeping? She’d run away to avoid the consequences, and was she now really going to waltz back in like nothing had happened and disturb him? Or worse, was she setting herself up for round two? As a yawn crept up on her, she wondered if she had the capacity to go through another one.

Then she heard movement, shuffling beyond the door which sounded like Sirius moving around his room, probably getting up for the day, and without thinking she darted inside Regulus’ room and closed the door. The room was in darkness. The green velvet curtains pulled shut for God knows how long, but she didn’t care; darkness hid the wave of tears as they started to trickle down her face. She brushed them off; after all, what did she have to be sad about? It was her fault she was in this mess.

If only she could keep her big gob shut. As she peeled off her jeans, leaving them in a heap on the floor, she thought about the order meeting last night, where everything had derailed.

Sirius was tidying up, or rather, he was directing the various cups and plates that littered the long kitchen table into the sink with a flick of his wand whilst he peered through the crack in the kitchen door, trying to spy Remus, who’d keenly volunteered to see all the order members out, which was no surprise given Daisy could hear Tonks's voice still in the hall.

However, she wasn’t focused on that. She was too bothered about what she'd learnt at the meeting. That Harry had given up on his Occlumency lessons. She knew why, of course. After all, she wasn’t sure that she’d like to spend an hour a week having her brain fiddled with by someone she didn’t like, but Dumbledore had made it explicitly clear what was expected of him, what was important for him to do. He’d been fighting to be heard and included in the war effort, and he’d fallen at the first hurdle. He’d let himself become vulnerable, and that terrified her.

Her mind was still on it when Remus slipped back in, scowling as Sirius straightened up and pretended like he’d not been spying on them.

‘What are you, thirteen?’ Remus said, rolling his eyes as he took a seat back at the table.

‘Let’s hope not because you didn’t have any pull when we were thirteen,’ Sirius retorted, taking a seat opposite them, ‘right Dais?’

‘Mm,’ she said, her gaze still locked on the cabinet behind him, though she wasn’t really seeing it.

‘What’s up with you?’ Remus said, nudging her with his elbow that made her come to, trying to shake those endless worries flashing through her mind as she said, ‘nothing.’

‘Oh yeah, pull the other,’ Sirius said, concern dancing across his face as the weight didn’t lift from her shoulders. Daisy glanced between them and sighed, ‘I think I'm going to write to Harry.’

‘Why?’ Sirius asked, though he was sure he knew where it was headed.

‘Why?’ Daisy scoffed, ‘he ditched his Occlumency lessons!’

‘It’s not that big of a deal,’ Sirius shrugged.

‘’Not that big of a deal?’ Daisy baulked, ‘it’s the only thing Dumbledore insisted he do! Do you know the risk-’

‘Of course I know the risks!’ Sirius snapped.

‘Daisy’s right. Maybe we should speak to him,’ Remus said tentatively, earning himself a scowl as Sirius said, ‘And making him go and grovel to Snivilly is the way to go?’

‘It’s not grovelling,’ Daisy scoffed.

‘No? Are we forgetting he’s the grown-up here? That Dumbledore insisted he tutor him, and he’s the one who’s backed out of that? You heard him, ‘If Potter chooses to continue his lessons, I will be there until then he knows where to find me,’ like he was in the same year as Harry. It’s pathetic!’ Sirius said.

Remus shrugged in agreement, and Daisy looked between them, infuriated. Didn’t they get it? It wasn’t about how things looked anymore. Who was right or wrong. They'd done that in the first war, and it had barely won them anything. Voldemort wasn’t thinking about what was right, whether using a child for his own gains was right morally. And she’d be damned if she let pride stop Harry from getting the protection he needed.

‘I don’t care about what Snape said. He might be a dick, but he holds the cards, and if it means Harry will be protected, I don’t care. Or have you forgotten Christmas?’ Daisy said. It had been a good one, time for the three of them to spend together. The only thing that had marred it was seeing Arthur’s broken body trying to smile through Christmas pudding and charades. It had been sitting with five terrified children as they waited for news, good or bad. It was seeing Harry scared, fearful he’d hurt him even though he was four hundred miles away at the time of the attack. The connection between him and the dark lord was evident; he didn’t need any more help when it came to exploiting it.

‘I haven’t forgotten anything,’ Sirius said tightly.

��Well then you can see why—’ She attempted to reply, but he cut her off.

‘But neither has Snape. And if he wants to win this war as much as he says he does then he needs to suck it up just as much as Harry. Why should my godson have to beg him to do his job?’ Sirius said.

‘Your godson?’ she mocked, ‘this isn’t about your stupid male egos –’

‘This isn’t about ego,’ Sirius said angrily.

‘Let’s just calm down, yeah,’ Remus said, but they ignored him. Their eyes locked on one another as if he wasn’t even in the room. That was the thing about rekindling romances. Everything fit back into place in an instant. Kisses felt familiar, embraces felt as if they’d never gone away and arguments were easy to slip into as old issues evolved into new ones. It just irked Sirius that it was Severus Fucking Snape who was still causing friction between them this many years on.

‘Isn't it?’ Daisy challenged, ‘you’re really trying to tell me you’re not taking this one bit personally?’

‘No,’ Sirius lied.

‘That this isn’t something to do with you being stuck in this house and putting up with Snape’s digs when he should be helping Harry?’ she said disbelievingly.

‘No,’ Sirius said, ‘I’m not taking it personally because it’s Snape. I’m taking it personally because he’s letting his issues with us stop him from helping a child.’

‘Can you blame him?’ Daisy asked.

‘What?’ Sirius replied, his brows knitting together at the insinuation.

‘We weren’t exactly nice to him,’ she said.

‘You mean me and James,’ he corrected, his jaw tightening as he finished.

‘I didn’t say that,’ Daisy protested.

‘But that’s what you meant,’ he grunted.

‘I’m just saying I understand why he doesn’t like us –‘

‘You realise you’re defending a Death Eater,’ Sirius spat.

‘Ex-death eater,’ Daisy said, though he had a point.

‘Debatable,’ Sirius snorted.

‘Dumbledore trusts him,’ Remus added, making her defence feel more excusable.

‘Because we’ve never been wrong about someone before,’ Sirius said darkly. Both of them shifted uncomfortably, flashes of Peter flooding Daisy’s brain as she tried to push it away.

‘Anyway,’ she said, trying to ignore the guilt gnawing at her, ‘you saw how affected Harry was after seeing that memory of us by the lake. How do you think Snape felt reliving it?

‘He hexed you! Called you mudbloods, remember? Not even your own sister defended that, and now what? You’re holding a torch for him twenty years on,’ Sirius shouted, pushing back from the bench as anger bubbled through him. He couldn’t believe his ears, how she could defend him after everything. Suddenly he felt sixteen again, watching her storm away from him and James as the reality that they’d gone too far this time sank in. That feeling came back as she pushed the bench back and stood too, fury in her eyes at his mocking.

‘Really?’ she scoffed, ‘and you talk about Snape acting as if he's Harry's age. This isn’t about who did what!’

‘Look, let’s just stop, yeah,’ Remus said, tugging on her sleeve in the hopes that breaking their eye contact would melt some of the tension. Instead Daisy merely looked his way with a scowl as she spat, ‘of course you’ve gone quiet again.’

‘Oi, don’t take it out on Moony,’ Sirius warned. Remus said nothing, folding his arms across his chest as he took umbrage with being chastised.

‘I’m not taking it out on Moony!’ she shrieked, ‘I just want to protect Harry and –’

‘Grovelling is the way to do that?’ he scoffed.

‘Newsflash: taking the high road doesn’t get you anywhere. The other side isn’t sticking to morals or etiquette. That’s why Harry's a target in the first place. And I'm not going to let pride stop him from getting help!’

‘Like me, you mean?’ Sirius said.

‘Would you stop with the pity party? This isn’t about you; it’s about Harry!’ she challenged, her tone begging him to see reason.

‘Yeah,’ he challenged, his eyes narrowing as he watched her, ‘or is this about you hating the fact someone else other than you has a say in Harry’s life? Or that he actually listens to me.’

‘He listens to you because you see each other as James.’ Daisy spat, venom coating her words so that they hit like barbs. Sirius faltered, his scowl softening enough to be noticeable; otherwise, Remus wouldn’t have whispered, ‘Dais, stop it.’

But Daisy wasn’t listening. She was too hurt. Hurt that no one seemed to be listening to her. That trying to keep her family from falling apart only seemed to be like screaming into the void. All she had ever wanted to do was keep Harry safe, and it was becoming increasingly harder to do so, made harder by the fact that no one seemed to be listening. Harry seemed to get himself into trouble at every turn and she couldn’t even steer him in the right direction because he didn’t listen to her anymore. He listened to Sirius because he filled a void she couldn’t. Sirius wanted to keep Harry safe the way he’d wanted to keep James safe, by fighting alongside him. That hadn't worked. And she was terrified it wasn’t going to again.

‘I actually see him for him. Not an extension of them. Probably why I didn’t go running off the moment we lost them, defending my hurt pride and ego by being stupid,’ she ranted. Though the moment the words fell from her mouth, silence descended.

There was no quick retort, no challenge to her argument, just silence. Sirius looked as though she’d slapped him.

‘Pads, I’m sorry,’ she whispered hurriedly, but he was already climbing out of his seat and headed towards the door, ‘I didn’t mean it; I just –’

‘Let him go,’ Remus said, tugging on her sleeve to stop her as she tried to follow. Sirius slammed the door behind him, causing a thunderous rattle to echo throughout the house until it petered out, leaving silence in its wake.

That silence was all that could be heard throughout the house now as she lay in Regulus’ bed trying to block out the memories of last night in the hopes of some sleep. Eventually it became too hard to keep her eyelids open, but as she fell into a fitful slumber, Sirius’ broken expression was the only thing she could keep her mind on.

When Daisy awoke, it was dark, the curtains still doing an excellent job at blocking out the world enough for her not to know if it was day or night, though the clock on the bedside table told her it was well into the evening. That didn’t surprise her given that most of the morning had been spent tossing and turning until she’d finally hit a deeper sleep. But she was wired again now, the moments of peace fleeting as thoughts of Sirius and their argument returned. With a sigh she got up and pushed the curtains open, peering into the empty, overgrown backyard. It was still light out, and a glimpse at an old, broken patio set made her yearn for days gone by when they’d spend summer evenings in the Potter’s vast backyard until it got too cold to sit outside.

There’d be no dining al fresco tonight. In fact, she found she wasn’t even hungry, her stomach too knotted to contemplate keeping anything down. No, the only thing that would settle her would be fixing this between her and Sirius. So, with trepidation, she made her way across the hall and knocked. There was no answer, but her heart sped up again anyway.

She knocked again. Nothing.

Either he wasn’t in his room or he simply wasn’t answering her. Which was worse; she didn’t know. Yet to her surprise she found herself feeling relief. When she’d run last night, she’d figured it was because she was avoiding him, but now it felt as though it was because she wanted to fix it so that when she did eventually throw herself on his mercy, she’d have a solution to their problem. And that gave her an idea.

Once her bag was packed, she headed downstairs. She didn’t find anyone around, unless one counted Kreacher, whom she could hear pottering around down in the pantry, whittering away to himself with a glee that was rather out of character, but that was what she was hoping for. She was going to leave a note.

It wasn’t very long, but she hoped it would explain it all as she placed it on the kitchen table and headed towards the front door. She was quiet as she went, hoping not to draw attention to herself.

‘Going somewhere?’ she heard a voice say as her hand touched the latch. Daisy turned to find Sirius standing at the bottom of the stairs watching her, his eyes flicking to the bag on her shoulder with suspicion.

‘Oh, um, yeah, actually… I was thinking of going to Hogsmeade,’ she admitted, stumbling to explain as he looked at her sceptically, ‘I thought I might be able to sort this Occlumency problem. I figured Harry might ignore my letters, and Snape too.’

‘Of course,’ Sirius said, ‘what’s best for Harry and all that.’

‘Look, about last night I didn’t mean anything by—’

‘And sneaking out was for whose benefit?’ he asked, cutting her off. Daisy faltered; whatever argument she’d had locked and loaded was knocked off kilter for a moment before she recalibrated and retorted simply, ‘I thought you weren’t talking to me after last night.’

‘I haven’t seen you,’ he protested.

‘I knocked on your door,’ she said, leaving the door behind as she was pulled into the argument.

‘This morning?’ he queried, ‘I heard you outside, but you didn’t knock.’

‘I meant this afternoon,’ she said, cringing at the fact that he’d heard her lurking about this morning.

‘I’ve been down here looking after Buckbeak; he’s hurt himself. Did you bother checking if I was in my room or not?’ he asked.

‘No, but—’

‘No, you just thought the worst of me, obviously,’ he tutted, heading into the kitchen with her hot on his heels, her bag slung by the stairwell all but forgotten.

‘No, I didn’t,’ she snapped, watching as he moved around the kitchen nonchalantly, filling the kettle as if they were about to sit down to an evening cuppa and not have a slanging match.

‘Well, I don’t know why not,’ he retorted as he moved past her, putting the blackened kettle on the hob and turning the flame up, 'I mean, you said as much last night.’

‘I didn’t mean it!’ she replied as he turned back to her.

‘Didn’t you?’ he asked, folding his arms across his chest as he rested back against the countertop top and watched her. ‘I mean I did think it was too good to be true how you just forgave me.’

‘There was nothing to forgive,’ she said, ‘I said I never believed what happened. And I know you weren’t thinking straight then. The grief, it got to us all; I know that.’

‘So why don’t you trust me?’ he probed, grey eyes scrutinising her face closely.

‘I do,’ she vowed.

‘But not when it comes to Harry?’ Sirius said quickly.

Daisy sighed and dropped her head back, closing her eyes so that she didn't have to see him, if only for a moment, so she could think. She trusted Sirius with her life. She trusted him to look after her and Harry, but if she was truthful, she was struggling. Because she’d been there. Harry’s whole life he’d had her in his corner, trying to do what was best. Even if she had made missteps, it was only ever through trying to do what was best for Harry. And though she knew Sirius adored his godson, sometimes she worried he didn’t see the boy in front of him.

‘Well?’ Sirius pressed, her silence worrying him.

‘It’s not like that,’ Daisy said finally opening her eyes and looking at him, her voice hesitant, ‘it’s complicated.’

‘Is it?’ he asked, his heart sinking, ‘or are you his parent, and I’m just his godfather?’

‘I’m not trying to shut you out,’ she said, moving towards him, her hands resting on his folded arms as he looked away, his jaw tight and his lips turned into a scowl. ‘I’ve just got so used to being it. Mum and Dad. The only thing each other had.’

Sirius looked at her guiltily as those words slipped out.

‘I’m trying, honestly I am, but it’s not easy. He’s all we have left of them, and I’m just trying to keep him safe,’ she said. At that whatever sympathy she had elicited from Sirius dried up, his eyes narrowing as he scoffed and pulled away and said, ‘and I’m not?’

‘No, that’s not what I meant,’ she sighed as he moved to the kettle, which was whistling for attention. Daisy proceeded, ‘but you think that telling him not to carry on with his Occlumency lessons is safe. You saw what happened to Arthur, what Dumbledore said – if he can see one way, so can Voldemort –

‘I know that,’ Sirius said, taking the kettle off the hob and turning it off with a flick of his wand. Daisy wished he would look at her, that they could get through this without shouting or ignoring each other, and her frustrations played out as her voice got shriller, protesting, ‘so he needs protecting! We all do!’

With that Sirius turned, slamming the kettle onto the table so hard it spattered water onto the wood. Daisy jumped, watching it spread out before she looked up at him, his eyes hard and his jaw tense. They both fell quiet for a moment, their chests heaving as they tried to keep civil. Though his voice was still tight as he grunted, ‘It’s war, Dais.’

‘Yeah, and last time I lost everything,’ she said, her voice breaking at the end. Sirius dropped his gaze, but she moved into it, placing her hands on his chest until he looked at her, his grey eyes sad and sorrowful. ‘I’m trying my best to keep you all safe. You’re safe when you’re here. Harry is safe at school as long as he keeps up with his lessons.'

‘And what about you?’ Sirius challenged, ‘When you’re going out on order business? When something might happen and I’m here on the sidelines. Don’t you think I worry? That I care about Harry being safe. I have concerns too, Dais.’

‘I know that,’ she said.

‘Do you?’ he said, stepping from her grasp, ‘because it feels like I’m second fiddle. That we’re not a team.’

‘We are,’ Daisy protested.

‘But at the end of the day, you get the final say; is that it?’ he challenged, raising an eyebrow as Daisy struggled to give an answer. Sirius scoffed, ‘I knew it. And I suppose, why not? What am I gonna do stuck in here?

He was starting to rant but at that moment the door swung open, hitting the wall with a bang as Remus appeared looking frantic as he said, ‘there you two are!’

‘Rem now’s not a good time,’ Daisy said.

‘Why’s that, Dais?’ Sirius mocked, ‘scared he’s going to side with me.’

‘No,’ she snapped, glaring at her other half, ‘I just think we need to discuss it alone, that’s all.’

‘We don’t have time for discussions,’ Remus said, perplexed at their lack of haste. When they stared at him blankly, he looked between them confusedly, offering a, ‘Hello? We’ve got to go.’

‘Go?’ Daisy asked, ‘go where?’

'Haven't you heard?’ he asked with a frown. Sirius moved in behind her, watching the other man closely. Something was up.

‘Heard what?’ Daisy asked.

‘Harry’s missing,’ Remus said flatly.

‘What?!’ Sirius exclaimed, but Daisy fell silent. She could feel her stomach drop, her heartbeat hammering in her ears, which made it hard to hear anything that was going on as worries flooded through her. She barely registered it as they went on talking.

‘Snape sent a message to the order,’ Remus explained, ‘he said Umbridge caught Harry in her office trying to call here through the Floo Network. He seems to think Sirius has been…taken hostage.’

‘Why does he think that?’ Sirius asked.

‘I don’t know. I’m assuming he’s had another vision or something. One like Arthur’s maybe,’ Remus speculated. Daisy was barely listening until that point. She was too busy looking at Sirius, who was locked in, ready for whatever was being thrown at them calmly and rationally, whilst her brain went into overdrive. She could tell it was serious from the fact he didn’t make a face or remark when Snape’s name was dropped into the conversation. Though at the mention of the attack, she snapped out of it, shaking her head as if that was ludicrous information. Because Arthur Weasley had been attacked and Sirius was here, standing in front of her. Living, breathing and safe.

‘But Arthur was in danger,’ she reasoned, causing both of them to finally look at her. It was as if they’d forgotten she was there; she’d been so quiet.

‘Yeah, that’s true,’ Sirius said, placing his hand on her arm in an attempt to reassure her.

‘Maybe Voldemort has figured out a way around that. Maybe he doesn’t need Sirius there to put the image in Harry’s mind,’ Remus said gravely.

‘Okay, but where is he then?’ Daisy reasoned, grasping at anything that would shake this feeling of impending doom from her core, ‘Harry’s a smart kid; surely he knows that Sirius would be here even if he didn’t get through the first time. This house is hidden; Sirius wouldn’t leave for no reason. Why not try and get a hold of someone else from the order? Me, you –

‘He got hold of Snape,’ Sirius grumbled, ‘Harry knows Snape’s in the order. Maybe he waited for him to tell him it wasn’t real, and he didn’t.’

‘Probably couldn’t,’ Remus reasoned, ‘not in front of others.’

‘And even if Snape told him the truth, I doubt he’d believe it,’ Sirius said, ‘not exactly like he likes me.’

‘But Harry must’ve known that. Surely he’d wait for one of us,’ Daisy reasoned.

‘Panic can make the best of us a little impulsive,’ Sirius said, looking at her guiltily.

Sirius’ words were loaded, and he had a point. After all, Harry was just like James and Sirius. Impulsive, yes, but not through stupidity, but through love. If he thought someone he loved was in danger, there wouldn’t be any stopping him. But he had Lily in him too. Lily, cautious and clever and brilliant. Who felt that love run deep but played it smart. She hoped that part would be the part that won out.

‘Okay, say he has gone looking for you,’ Daisy said, trying to shift the terror from her brain to think rationally, ‘how would he even get out of the castle? He can’t apparate, and the Floo Network mustn’t be an option if he got caught.’

‘Broom?’ Sirius asked.

‘Possibly,’ Remus said, ‘but where would he go? Here?’

‘No,’ Sirius said, ‘not if he knew the place Voldemort was supposedly holding me. He’d go there.’

‘Snape didn’t know where that was,’ Remus said.

‘It doesn’t matter. Harry wouldn’t assume,’ Daisy said disbelievingly, ‘he’d come here right. If he didn’t get through, he’d try here, I’m sure of it.’

‘Dais we’ve been here all day and nothing,’ Sirius reasoned, the darkness descending outside the windows not reassuring him.

‘Yeah, sleeping,’ she reasoned.

‘I’ve not,’ Sirius said, ‘I’ve been with Buckbeak all day, and I haven’t heard anything. If I had, I would’ve…’

Sirius trailed off; his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Given their argument and Daisy’s fleeing to avoid it, the house had been rather quiet, so much so that he was sure that any disturbance he would’ve heard, especially if Harry had got through the Floo network.

‘Did Snape say he got through?’ Sirius asked Remus.

‘I’m not sure,’ Remus said, ‘but he said Harry seemed sure you were taken.’

‘Just because he didn’t answer?’ Daisy asked.

‘Because someone told him I wasn’t,’ Sirius said, and before either of them knew what was happening, he was across the room in a few short strides, wrestling something onto the table with anger. It was Kreacher, who’d apparently been listening at the door but was now cowering at the end of his master’s wand, a glare on his haggard face.

‘What have you done?’ Sirius demanded. The elf didn’t answer, though it looked as though he was fighting to be disobedient, as if Sirius’ demands were pulling the words from his mouth without him wanting them to. Sirius continued, determined to get answers, ‘it was you, wasn’t it. You hurt Buckbeak to keep me out of the way, didn’t you? Didn’t you!?'

‘I only did as mistress asked,’ Kreacher grunted.

‘Your mistress is dead,’ Sirius spat.

‘I serve many in the noble house of Black,’ Kreacher snarled, his rotten teeth glinting in the kitchen light. Daisy and Remus shared a confused look but pressed on.

‘You serve me, you little wretch,’ Sirius shouted, ‘tell me what you’ve done.’

Kreacher smiled menacingly as Sirius tried to stand straighter, hoping to enact some form of obedience from his servant, but everyone knew Kreacher held the cards. The only hope was that he’d be bound to tell Sirius. No matter who he’d been obeying on the side, he was still his master.

‘Tell me!’ Sirius demanded.

‘You look worried,’ Kreacher smiled, ‘so did the blood traitor when he called, like he was going to cry, but don’t worry mistress will show him what tears really are if he doesn’t obey.’

‘Where is he?’ Daisy asked, panicked.

‘Don’t talk to me, you filthy mudblood,’ Kreacher spat.

‘You’ll tell her, and you’ll tell me now, Kreacher,’ Sirius demanded, ‘where is Harry?’

‘Mistress told me not to tell,’ Kreacher said smugly.

‘But I am your master,’ Sirius said, prodding the tip of his wand into the elf’s neck, ‘and you’ll tell me where he is and what you have done; otherwise I’ll give you clothes.’

That made the elf straighten up, a wicked grin dancing on Sirius’ lips as he said, ‘I’ll throw you out. A disgrace to your ancestors, and you’ll be locked away from my mother’s things forever.’

They waited, every second feeling like an eternity as Kreacher fought an internal struggle before the words fell from his lips in defeat, ‘She…they want him where the treasure is. They needed him to get it.’

‘The department of mysteries,’ Daisy whispered, cursing herself. If she hadn’t swapped duties, she’d be headed there now. She’d have been awake when Harry got through; none of this would’ve happened.

‘You sure?’ Sirius asked as he grabbed Kreacher by the scruff of his old rags and tossed him towards the door. The elf hobbled away down towards his room and no doubt his mistress’ belongings.

‘It’s gotta be,’ Daisy said, ‘why else would they need Harry?’

‘She’s right; they must be going after the prophecy,’ Remus said, ‘we thought they would at some point.’

‘Right, then we need to alert the order. Tell them we know where he’s headed,’ Sirius said.

‘I’ll send a Patronus now,’ Remus said, heading off from the kitchen so that his message wouldn’t be disrupted.

Silence fell between the pair of them, and suddenly they realised just how close they’d been standing to one another, the stress of the situation making them close ranks. Daisy pulled away, moving into the hall where she found her discarded bag still slung by the stairs. She bent down and pulled a hair clip from it before moving to the mirror in the hall. Sirius watched as she swooped her golden locks and twizzled, trying hard to get it out of her line of sight, though no matter how she styled it strands kept falling into her face. He could tell that she was ignoring him and so he moved until he was standing beside her, which made her hand stall before she continued to fiddle with the strands.

‘You’re probably better brushing it back altogether,’ he said, producing a hairbrush he’d fished from her bag on the way to her. Daisy looked at it and nodded meekly, taking it from his hands as she brushed through it quickly, twisting it in a loop before it was secured behind her, her face now obstruction-free.

‘Thanks,’ she said, handing it back to him, though he placed it on the table beside them, his grey eyes never leaving her face. Daisy swallowed, ‘Sirius.’

‘Dais, I’m not gonna stay here,’ he said firmly.

‘You can’t,’ she started.

‘Harry’s missing, and it’s my fault. I’m not going to stay behind and worry,’ Sirius reasoned.

‘But it’s dangerous!’ she protested.

‘It’s dangerous for you too,’ he reasoned, his hand ghosting along her face though she moved away angrily.

‘What if this is what he wants? What if Voldemort or whoever Kreacher was on about wants you to come to his rescue? It’s obvious they know how much you care about him. What if it’s a trap?’ she said, trying to will tears not to show as she swallowed them down.

‘What if I’m running in headfirst, no thought, just that ego and pride bursting out again, you mean?’ Sirius said, though his tone wasn’t mocking and angry like last time. It was understanding. He could see the worry on her face, the terror in her eyes which grew as she whispered, ‘What if that puts Harry in danger? What if it puts you in danger? I can't lose you, Sirius. I can't lose Harry.’

‘I know,’ he said quietly.

‘I just want you safe,’ she whispered.

‘I know,’ he agreed, pulling her to him, ‘but dais this is war. We don’t have a choice… Harry's already in danger, and wouldn’t you rather us in the firing line than him? I mean, isn’t that what you keep saying: ‘Keep the kids out of it and let us do the work.'

‘What if you get caught?’ Locked up and thrown in Azkaban. What if –

‘What if something happens to Harry and I could’ve stopped it? Believe it or not, I can look after myself.’ Sirius said. He understood she was scared that this was just him being impulsive and reckless. But the last time he had charged into battle had been through pride and anger. He’d been looking for revenge as an afterthought; now he was trying to stop something happening. He had to do something.

‘I know that,’ she sighed.

‘So let me come… Or don’t you trust me?’ he reasoned.

Daisy looked at him, chewing on her lip. She knew he was good in a fight. That he, like her, would only be thinking of keeping Harry safe no matter what. She knew the feeling of needing to help. She understood how grief gripped you, how determined it made you not to want to go through it again. Above all, she trusted Sirius Black with her life.

‘Everyone’s headed to the ministry,’ Remus said as he appeared at the top of the stairs, running down them in bounds as he headed to the door, shoving a jacket on as he passed them. Sirius let go of her, still awaiting a decision as she looked between him and Remus, who was watching them like he’d missed something.

Finally Daisy looked at him and sighed, ‘got your wand?’

Sirius nodded, his mouth turning up in a smile as she rolled her eyes and said, ‘Come on then. Department of mysteries it is.’

SIRIUS BLACK/SERIES TAGS

@mysteriouslydelicateface @caitlin1996 @imthebadguyyy @maeisafangirl

#my writing #sirius black #sirius black x original female character #sirius black fic #marauders #marauders fic #hp fic #daisy evans #the other evans girl #the only evans girl

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vanillann · 5 years ago

Text

cupid’s aim (sirius black x f.reader)

word count: 1.5k

cupid’s aim masterlist

i. aphrodite; goddess of love and beauty

"Sirius!"

I watched all four members of the Marauders turn at the call of one of their names, each member smiling at me as I ran to them.

Amira walked behind me, her nose stuffed in a book while I held her wrist and led her to the Ravenclaw tower.

"My partner in crime," Sirius smiled at me as I slipped into the space beside Peter and him.

"Boys, It's wonderful to see you," I nodded to each member quickly.

"We've seen you everyday for the past seven years Bennett."

"I literally spoke to you before dinner."

I waved them off with my empty hand, looking back to Sirius. I watched Peter wave to Amira but she was way too into the book she was currently reading, Pride and Prejudice.

"I have the best idea ever."

"Shoot."

We wander down random halls, taking the long way to our respected towers, conversation flowing easily.

"What if we started a matchmaking service here and Hogwarts?"

I watched Remus turn around, his eyebrows drawn together as he stopped in the middle of the hall. The rest of the group stop as well which made me stop. Mi ran into my back and she finally looked up from the pages of her book.

"You could give everyone the love like Lizzy and Mr. Darcy," Mi spoke nonsense but Remus seemed to easily understand the statement.

"I mean you might be on to something, we do work well together."

Sirius shrugged and looked around the small group that looked between us both with bewildered eyes.

"Exactly, we can take that empty classroom and make it like headquarters or something. It's our last year at Hogwarts so let's leave something behind."

Sirius smiled at me lightly, withdrawing his hand from his pocket and waiting for a high five, which I returned like I always did.

"I hope you know how crazy this sounds, I mean you barely have any details laid out," Peter spoke form beside me.

"I don't care about the details, just make Lily love me," James jumped in front of us, grabbing our shoulders and looking us over.

"Well Cherry also said we could use her, also we can't just do our friends."

I looked over at James pleading eyes and over my shoulder Mi would finally decide to close the book and join the conversation.

"Why don't you set up a suggest a box, that way everyone can join?" Mi questioned.

I smiled and kissed her cheek, whispering a thank you while I looked at Sirius. I watched his scan my face before smiling at me and nodding his head.

"Perfect, I already have a name."

I let My wrist drop and did small jazz hands while I spoke in an exciting laugh.

"Cupid's Aim Matchmaking Service."

James started laughing while Remus punched his shoulder and told him about manners.

"Before you lot laugh I got the idea from Cherry so if you don't like it-"

"I love it, I'll marry it. I love it so much," Sirius spoke while twirling a small piece of hair around his finger with a nervous laugh.

It is wonderful having a friend everyone is scared of at times.

"Perfect, we will meet tomorrow to work out the finer details."

I grabbed My wrist and took off down the hall to the Ravenclaw tower, loud goodnights echoed down the hallway as I ran.

"Cherry didn't suggest that."

"I know."

"Meet me after class."

I laughed at the note Sirius passed me in class, the horrible drawings of what I believe was cupid and hearts covering the page is messy handwriting.

"I will be paring you up for the research, groups of 4."

I looked up at Professor Slughorn while he stood at the front of the board, coughing as he read off the paper before him.

"Pettigrew, Lupin, Day, McKinnon."

Mi nodded and smiled from beside me, writing the name of her group at the top of her page before looking back at her journal jotting down other little things.

"Evans, Potter, Black, Bennett."

I watched Mi jump from beside me and write faster, ripping the page from her journal and starting writing again. I looked around her large curls, smiling at Sirius. His eyes were already looking for me and smirking, nodding his head before he looked to the front of the class.

Slughorn read off the different names with ease, some groups groaned while others sounded pleased with the members of their group.

"Each member will receive a potion they must do intense research on and present the potion to me with the research."

I nodded and wrote the last bit of notes that Mi had missed on her page before paying attention to the front again.

"Evans group, Amortentia."

Slughorn wicked at Lily before carrying on with the class. I felt Mi pull my robe looking at me with questioning brows.

"Me too."

The bull echoed in the room, students flying from their seats and filtering out the room.

I grabbed the few books I had out and stuffed them into my bag when I felt a hand lay on my shoulder.

"I've started working on our first client," Sirius whispered not in my ear as Lily walked past us both with Marlene at her side.

"I thought we were doing it at random?"

"Eh, he deserves a break."

I turned and faced him finally, his smile wicked as he rocked back and front on his high tops.

"What did you do?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and his eyes trailed across the ceiling before looking at me again.

"I might have sent Slughorn a letter from Lily that she would like to work with Potter and us and would prefer if she did Amortentia."

Sirius and I trialed from the class, the members of the group and Mi stood against the wall across from us.

"You didn't."

"I just told you I did."

I felt a body collide with mine, James arms wrapped around my middle while he danced side to side giggling, actually giggling.

"Thank you thank you (Y/N), you must have done this."

I opened my mouth to correct him but Sirius coughed and looked at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah, she's the brain of the service."

I titled my head to him before I heard Cherry yelling from down the hall.

"Trying to steal my friend Potter?"

James jumped off my and moved to Sirius' side, both taking one step farther away from me as Cherry moved closer to my side.

"What I thought," Cherry moved to stand beside me while making a grabby hand at Mi. Mi approached and joined us, Cherry throwing an around our shoulders.

"What was the conversation of the day?"

"Sirius and (Y/N) matchmaking service," Remus answered while pointing between Sirius and I.

"You got him to agree."

I nodded my head once and placed a hand on my hip and I looked up at her proudly.

"The name too."

"I hate that name."

Sirius gasped beside me, nudging my calf with his shoe.

"You lied to me, I made a box for you and everything."

I turned in Cherry arm, watching as Sirius searched in his bag before pulling out a box the size of a bug. He lightly tapped his wand on his before she grew, an average size box now sat in his hand.

It had "Cupid's Aim Matchmaking Service sketched on the front, painted pink with red bubble letters, really bad bubble letters. The top had a small whole it the top, just enough to tell nothing was in it but nothing enough to really tell even if something was. The badly drawn cupid was in the corner of the box.

"You made this?"

"If he bought it I would tell him to get a refund," Cherry laughed at the messy box.

"He stayed up all night making it, made us help," Remus spoke, a loud ow echoed off the hall and Sirius threw his wand at him.

"I'm confiscating this now," Remus shoved the wand in his pocket, Sirius was distracted enough for me to lift the small box from his palm. I looked all around the sides, the ugly drawings of hearts and other objects of love cover it head to toe. I caught sight of something on the bottom, titling the box to his Black and Bennett carved into the bottom.

I smiled to myself while Sirius jumped on Remus' back, Cherry cheering them on while Mi tried to hush Cherry loud "Kill him" cheers.

"You know, he really worked hard on this box."

Peter stood in front of me, handing me a Polaroid from his robe pocket. The sight itself was a masterpiece.

Sirius Black laid on his dorm floor, feet in the air while the shot caught the glitter falling to the floor. Glitter dramatically floated in mid air, Sirius faced reasonably calm from the events most likely soon to unfold.

"Keep it, it can be our little secret."

hp tag list:

@siriusmaraudeers @marauder-exe @haphazardhufflepuff

sirius black tag list:

@coldlilheart @inkhearthes

#harry potter x reader #james potter #remus lupin #sirius black #fred weasley #george weasley #harry potter #hermione granger #ron weasley #draco malfoy #sirius black x y/n #sirius black x you #sirius black x reader

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maraudererasmut · 5 years ago

Text

Black and White (Part XXXIII)

Remus followed his friends into Chez Bijou as James’ car was driven off by the valet out front. The restaurant was still a culture shock for the artist, but he was significantly more comfortable than the last time he was there. As they were escorted to their table, Sirius kept his hand protectively on Remus’ back, guiding him towards his seat.

Sirius pulled out Remus’ chair for him, the same way James pulled out his wife’s. Remus glanced over to Lily with a questioning look, but she simply smiled in return.

“Uh… thanks…” he mumbled to Sirius as he sat down. Sirius took the seat beside him, his eyes remaining focused on the artist. Remus felt like he was on display and he wasn’t sure if he loved the sensation or hated it.

“So!” James began, drawing the table’s attention to himself. “Sirius tells me you guys might have some news to share?”

Remus felt Sirius’ gaze on him, but he purposefully ignored it, glancing at Lily instead. Lily gave Remus an understanding nod before she answered her husband.

“Yeah! Dorcas and Marlene represent a film studio who’s looking for some paintings for a shoot. They asked Remus and I to produce three pieces each within the next two weeks!”

“That’s amazing!” James’ smile was so wide, it was almost as if he were the artist in question. “I’m so happy for you guys!”

Sirius was beaming proudly down at Remus, who couldn’t shake the sense of guilt that had settled in the pit of his stomach. The artist looked up at his boyfriend, trying to keep his face calm.

“You didn’t have anything to do with this, did you?”

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus.

“Would it be a problem if I did?”

Remus’ stomach churned and he felt a lump forming in the back of his throat.

“Sirius…” He began quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. “I don’t want you doing things for me just because we’re… you know…”

“Remus,” Sirius responded, loud enough for the entire table to hear. “You’re showing in my gallery. For the duration of this exhibition, I am representing you. You are one of my artists. When Dorcas and Marlene approached me and asked if I knew of any artists who fit their criteria, I recommended both you and Lily, because I felt that you were best suited for the job.”

“So… it wasn’t because of… anything else?” Remus asked, fiddling with the napkin that had been placed in his lap by a server.

“I did my job as your gallerist, Remus. It’s mutually beneficial. When you succeed in the art world, so do I. I would have done the same for any artist who I represent.”

Sirius’ statement gave Remus pause for a moment.

“How many artists do you represent?” He asked cautiously. It wasn’t a question he had thought to ask before.

Sirius responded with a shrug.

“Five or six. Why do you ask?”

“I just… it never crossed my mind that there were other artists. I just… didn’t think of that…”

Sirius let out a deep chuckle and reached for the bowl of bread in the center of the table. He casually took a bite out of a piece of focaccia before grinning at his boyfriend.

“You know, I wouldn’t be a very good gallery owner if I only ever showed two artists, Remus.”

He made a valid point. Remus glanced down at the empty plate in front of him. There was still so much he didn’t know about his boyfriend and the gallery business.

“Speaking of which…” Lily’s voice carried across the table, catching Remus’ attention. He looked up at his friend, who had her eyebrows raised. When Remus didn’t respond, she continued. “Dorcas had asked Remus and I if you were representing us, Sirius. Of course, I know that I’m signed on with you indefinitely, but as far as I know, Remus is only working with Black and White until the end of this show, right?”

“That’s true,” Sirius remarked, raising a brow. He turned to Remus, an expectant smile on his face. “What do you say, Remus? Interested in coming on as a permanent artist with us?”

Remus hesitated for a moment, remembering their conversation from the previous evening and the card that was slipped into his jacket pocket. He hadn’t mentioned his exchange with Caradoc to anyone yet. He also distinctly remembered one of Sirius’ ground rules explicitly stated that they would not let their personal lives get in the way of professional decisions.

“Well,” Remus admitted guiltily. “I was approached by someone at the show yesterday… He mentioned that his gallery would be interested in displaying some of my work, and I know Black and White requires exclusive ri—“

Remus cut himself off when he noticed the colour drain from every single face at the table. He kept his mouth shut for a moment, waiting for somebody to explain what he had done wrong, before three voices suddenly started shouting at him at once.

"Someone approached you at the show, Rem—"

"-- plan to sign on with another gallery?"

"--was their name? Was it Na— "

"--can't possibly think they're better than Si— "

"--fter everything we've been through you sti—"

"--bably another Black from the sounds of—"

"Stop!"

Remus thumped his fist on the table, directing everyone's attention towards himself. He glared firmly at his group of friends, making sure to make eye contact with each of them.

"For Christ's sake, I can't understand you when you all talk at once! One at a time! Jesus!" Remus turned to his left and looked at Lily. "You first."

Lily looked taken-aback. She blinked in surprise before gathering herself and starting.

"As one of Sirius' artists, I can honestly say, I don't think you'll find better representation in the city. I really mean that, Remus…"

Remus nodded at his friend.

"Understood. James? What were you saying?" Remus turned to look expectantly at the man across the table from him.

"Oh… uh… just that…" In all the time that Remus had known the man, he had never seen James at a loss for words before. "Who was it who approached you? Because if it was another member of the Black family—"

"His name was Caradoc Dearborn."

James furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Who's that?"

"Tall, dark and handsome? He has blonde hair? Anyway, this is his card."

Remus pulled the card out of his pants pocket and handed it to James, who was studying it so hard, he seemed to be trying to memorize it.

"You… brought it with you?"

Remus heard Sirius' voice to the right of him, but refused to look at the gallery owner. Why did he feel so guilty? Wasn't this something that he and Sirius had discussed?

Remus shrugged, trying to pretend he couldn't hear the hurt in Sirius' voice.

"I figured it would be easier to ask about him if I had the card with me," Remus lied. The artist was never particularly good at lying, but he was afraid the truth would make Sirius feel worse; Remus had brought the card with him because he was considering checking out the other gallery that day, just to see what it was like.

"...Do I get to voice my objections now?"

Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and turning to Sirius.

"Yes. Go ahead, Sirius."

"After everything that's happened… after these past few weeks, you accept the business card of a stranger at the gallery show that I put on for you?"

Sirius' eyes were clouded with anger, but Remus could tell that he was trying to keep it at bay.

"I didn't accept his card. He put it into my pocket. I just… I figured there was no harm in bringing it up with you guys." Remus glanced around the table at the faces of his friends. "Clearly I was wrong."

Remus watched as Sirius' face darkened, his jaw hardening. He noticed Sirius tilt his chin up, the thin line of his mouth tightening. Remus knew what was coming before the words even left the gallery owner's mouth.

"If you want to switch to another gallery, go ahead." Sirius said, a tinge of malice in his voice. "It's fine by me."

Remus rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

"That's not what I said, Sirius, and you know it." The artist was beginning to tire of Sirius' games and the way he resorted to juvenile passive aggression. On the bright side, at least Sirius' behaviour was predictable.

"You're sitting here, the day after your opening night, with someone else's business card in our hand," Sirius growled, his fists tightening. "Is there another way that I should be interpreting this?"

"Sirius…" James began in a warning voice, but he was met with a glare from the gallery owner.

"Fuck off, James," he spat, before turning on Remus again. "I can't believe this, Remus. I thought you were better than that."

Remus straightened his posture and steeled his expression.

"Sirius, you said not to make any business decisions based on personal feelings. But more importantly, I haven't done anything yet. I told you about someone who gave me a card. Stop being a jealous prick."

Sirius was about to retort when the waiter came by to take their orders. Sirius closed his mouth and glued a fake smile to his face while he told the server what kind of steak he would like. Remus hated the way Sirius could turn his charm on and off; not only was it frustrating, but it made reading his boyfriend nearly impossible at times.

After the table had ordered their food and wine was poured, the conversation recommenced, albeit in hushed voices.

"Sirius," Lily chimed in after James and Sirius had a whispered row. "I think Remus just wanted to be open and honest with you, letting you know exactly what happened. You shouldn't fault him for that."

Sirius turned on Lily.

"Really? Is that why he brought up the fact that business decisions were separate from personal matters?"

"Stop it, Sirius!" Remus' voice was louder than he intended, but the desired effect was achieved. All three friends looked at the artist with mild surprise. "You said you would work on handling things more maturely! You're acting like a spoiled brat, Sirius. This is a terrible way to start a relationship."

Sirius' face went through several changes upon hearing Remus' words. He looked shocked, upset, dismayed, until he finally settled on a dejected pout. Remus felt a slight twinge of remorse for being so careless with his phrasing, but he knew Sirius needed to hear it.

The food arrived just in time to help ease the tension, but conversation was few and far between as the four friends sat and ate their meals. By the time everyone was finished, the heaviness that hung in the air was stifling, the tension palpable.

All four of them filed into James' car in silence, and Remus and Sirius faced opposite windows in the back seat, purposefully keeping their knees from touching. The ride back to Black and White was the most uncomfortable car ride that Remus had ever endured.

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homenum-revelio-hq · 5 years ago

Photo

THE MISSION IS OVER.

As the mission comes to a close and a majority of those in the Order get home safely, the news that Ainsley Abbott has betrayed the organization with the murder of James Potter becomes the main topic of discussion with the members. Mary Macdonald was able to retrieve James’ body and brought it back to Lily Evans at the Potter Estate, while Emmeline Vance and Severus Snape helped continue to monitor the map and treat the injured.

Those who were focused on retrieving the orb had varying levels of success: Edgar Bones and Caradoc Dearborn found what they assume to be the real orb in the cellar. They still need to submit the object to Gideon (without Ainsley’s help, this time) for testing, but are largely confident in their success. Meanwhile, Amos Diggory, Artem Tremblay, and Maurice Creevey discover a map with locations and a list of dates that they believe to be telling of future Death Eater plans. The last group in search of the orb, Isla Sewlyn-Macmillian and Archie Macmillian, were captured by Death Eaters in the chaos after the murder, despite the original assumption by the Order that they would be the safest to blend in.

Sirius Black and Mundungus Fletcher were caught in their attempts to locate Death Eater information by Cordelia Greengrass, thus resulting in her convincing Dorcas Meadowes to let her into headquarters once the chaos began. At the time, Dorcas was alone due to Ndulue Travers abandoning their mission at the first sight of trouble. Lydia Avery was also brought into the Order’s safe house on McKinnon Farm by Daisy Hookum. Despite having not been aware of the Order’s mission, Amelia Bones was also caught in the crossfire and was brought to headquarters later, where she tended her splinched brother.

As not many in the Order knew that Andromeda Tonks was under polyjuice as her sister, Bellatrix Black, she was mistaken to be the real Death Eater by multiple people, including an awkward encounter with Frank Longbottom where he tried to battle her. Despite this, she and Ryland Greengrass were both able to make it safely back to headquarters, where Emma Vanity was reuniting with Dorcas. As Andromeda did not want to blow her cover, she immediately went home.

Before Alice Longbottom Disapparated, she was able to track down and capture the Death Eater Lachlan Greengrass. She will have to make a statement to the Ministry of Magic about what happened at the engagement party. Lachlan has been placed under the custody of the Auror department and will stay in Ministry cells, pending trial.

On the grounds of the manor, Branwen Yaxley and Fabian Prewett discovered a sinister sighting of sixteen dead bodies. They don’t know what these bodies will be used for, but have taken a picture with a Muggle camera to show the Inner Circle. As it happened so quickly, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were not able to support the Order before the chaos began, but learned of James’ death by a patronus from Emmeline. Despite being able to get the wards down in time for the emergency Disapparition, Marlene McKinnon was still injured by Death Eaters and taken to headquarter by Gideon Prewett, who then went back to the party to help get James’ friends out without more harm.

THINGS TO CONSIDER.

Now that James has died, there is much that the members of the Order will need to discuss, particularly because his death was due to one of their own’s betrayal.

James is Secret Keeper and owner of the Order’s headquarters, along with the main funder for the organization. Do they have someone like Sirius ask James’ mother for money? How do they keep the location a secret? Do they find a new location for headquarters instead?

Now that everyone is Secret Keeper due to the original’s death, this also includes Ainsley, who has betrayed them. Not only that, but Peter could potentially give up their location as well, given he is the unknown spy.

Prior to this mission, James implied to the Order the Remus is a werewolf. What do they do about this now? They’re unable to ask James any follow-up questions.

James was working on a plan to leak fake information to the Ministry in order to figure out who is a Voldemort supporter and who isn’t. What happens to this plan? It can be found on a desk in one of the studies, where James was working on it.

Ainsley knows who they are, knows their names, and works for the Daily Prophet. What now? What will she do? What do they do about her?

How do they stop James’ friends, particularly Sirius, from tearing-off in distress to kill Ainsley and other Death Eaters, which would likely result in him getting himself - and anyone else he drags along - killed too?

Those who attended as themselves with polyjuiced partners have some explaining to do. How do they make their excuses to avoid suspicion? Do they pretend to have also been polyjuiced, or do they admit to having been at the party but having had no idea their “partner” wasn’t who they seemed? Do they pretend they thought it was a prank, or make some other excuse?

DETAILS.

Karli will be taking up the role of Regulus Black, who will come in via plot drops throughout the next few weeks. His application can be found here. He will not be set for activity requirements until the plot drops have occurred and he is officially in play.

Ainsley Abbott will be moved to a secondary role, allowing for periodic interactions without the activity requirements, given that she is no longer part of the Order.

The Death Eater list will be updated to include the changes reflected from Alice’s capture of Lachlan Greengrass.

You may now begin paras set after February 14th. Threads set during the event or prior to February 14th can still be continued, with new threads being kept to a minimum.

#harry potter rp #marauders rp #marauders rpg #harry potter rpg #hp rp #homenumevent #homenumplot

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siriuslyblack12 · 5 years ago

Text

chapter 9

“Pads, Pads c’mon, we have to talk about this.”

He groaned.

“You can’t just ignore it forever,”

Another groan.

“Sirius, baby, I know this is hard for you and you don’t know how to deal with it but if you just let me help we could do it together, yeah? Please let me help you.”

Sirius went to groan once again but this time just sighed softly in defeat. He and Remus were sat on the latter’s bed, snacks that Mrs Lupin had brought them long discarded and sheets askew. Sirius was yet to respond to the messages he’d gotten from his brother the night before, which was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that he hadn’t had to confront it, but a curse in that he couldn’t help but stress over it. Regulus was all he could think about as he lay face down on his boyfriend’s bed, clothes and hair askew.

He lifted his head to look at Remus, smiling at the way his curls fell down onto his forehead, “What is there to talk about? He wants me to go stay at the house I ran away from, there’s nothing to even consider. I’m not doing it.”

“I know, I know,” Remus leaned forward to cup Sirius’s face in his hands, forcing his eyes to stay on him, “But he reached out to you, he hasn’t done that before. You’ll have to talk to him at some point.”

Sirius didn’t reply in favour of capturing the boy’s lips in a long kiss. It was gentle, as if both were afraid that the other would break as they fisted each other’s t-shirts to bring them closer together. Remus moved his head to the side with a bitten back smile, causing Sirius’s lips to fall on his cheek as he was still in the trance. He snorted quietly.

“I for one think that my time would be better spent kissing you, unless you any objections…” Sirius trailed off suggestively.

“You’re an idiot.”

Despite that, Remus gave him the shortest of pecks to the forehead. “What does that make you then? The idiot’s boyfriend?”

Remus spoke breathlessly, “Something like that, yeah.”

When their lips met again, everything in the world seemed to fall into right into place. The stars aligned, the planets shone brightly, the two of them together where they belonged. Sirius could feel Remus’s eyelashes flutter shut against his cheek and hand come up to grip his jacket. If he didn’t have something to hold onto he would probably combust on the spot, but he abandoned that thought in favour of living in the moment.

Sirius sighed into his mouth as he pulled away, “You’re too good at that,”

“You think?” Remus laughed tucking a stray piece of hair behind his ear. It was a little exasperated, coming out in a much higher pitch than his usual tenor.

“It’s a wonder I get anything done,” Sirius pressed a kiss to one cheek, then the other. “When you’re sat there,” A kiss to his nose this time, “Looking like that.”

Remus couldn’t control the blush that rose on his cheeks, “’m nothing compared to you.”

“Nonsense!” His boyfriend practically shouted, making Remus have to put a hand over his mouth to stop his mum from hearing and coming in. “You’re literally the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, babe. I’m in second, of course, but you’re like… unreal.”

Rolling his eyes, Remus was hit with a wave of emotion and gratitude for Sirius. He didn’t exactly agree with him, but every compliment did something to his heart. Maybe if he heard it enough he’d begin to believe it himself, but he couldn’t see that happening anytime soon. Sirius Black is vain, Remus Lupin is not, that’s the gospel truth.

“You could come with me,” Sirius supplied rather unhelpfully, hand wading through Remus’s hair. “Stay over at the house with me, at least then I wouldn’t have to talk to Reg on my own.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t want to get in the way or anything-” Panic snuck into his voice as he questioned him, they’d never slept over before. There was a part of himself telling him that Sirius just needed the comfort, but another part saying that they weren’t at that stage in the relationship.

“No, no, you wouldn’t be in the way. I can’t go there alone, Re, I just can’t. There’s a double bed in my own room so there’s plenty of room and everything.”

He hesitated slightly, before replying, “Yeah, okay, I’ll stay with you. But if at any point you need to be alone with Reg then I understand, just tell me, okay?”

Sirius surprised him with a kiss, one full of happiness and hope and promise. “Thank you so much.”

“I’m just doing my job as the idiot’s boyfriend, after all.”

The pillow that met his face second later did not come as much of a surprise.

Lily looked over at Remus from over her book, the library table between them littered with pens and notebooks long abandoned. Marlene was sat by her side, her phone open and hidden under the table away from the peering eyes of the librarian as she laughed at whatever was on the screen. He’d just finished telling them, like an excited little girl, of his weekend plans with Sirius, a smile etched on to his face which quickly dissolved. “You do realise he wants to shag, right?”

Lily’s words made him scoff, “What? What are you talking about?”

“Think about it,” She began patiently, her elbows folded over her book, “You’ve been dating for a couple of months now, you’ve never slept over at each other’s house before and suddenly he asks you to stay over for a whole weekend. In his bed.”

Marlene clicked her phone off, placing it gently on the table and laughing slightly, “She’s got a point.”

“No she doesn’t!” Their stares burned into him, weighing him down as he tried to argue further. “Why would he invite me to comfort him in a house he hates to talk to his brother and shag as soon as he’s not looking?”

“Don’t ask me.” Lily said dismissively, eyebrows raised. His mind reeled as he considered what she was saying. If, and only if, they were right and that was Sirius’s plan then he was about to lose his virginity to the boy he loved, about to experience something that he would remember most likely for the rest of his life. It scared him a little, thinking about being so open and vulnerable even if it was with someone whom he trusted more than life itself. He’d be under scrutiny, criticism, judgement, Sirius could hate what he saw; but at the same time, sharing himself with him gave an unexpected rush through his bones.

“He wants to shag me.” Remus stated with disbelief.

Lily looked over at Marlene, then back at Remus, “I thought we’d already established that.”

“Well I hadn’t.” He squeaked. “What am I supposed to do? Why didn’t he say anything? We haven’t even talked about it, and it’s not like the gay stuff is taught in school. I’m gonna be rubbish.”

“I’m not sure a lesbian and a straight girl are the best to talk about the technicalities of gay sex with,” Marlene said with a laugh. She shrugged, “Just do what you’re comfortable with, Re. And talk to him. Don’t be afraid to tell him what you like.”

He groaned, pressing his head down into his hands out of embarrassment. It wasn’t exactly the most appropriate conversation to have in the middle of a library.

“Aw, you’ll do fine, Re. There’s no pressure.” Lily reached over to hold his hand, swiping a thumb over his knuckles.

He rolled his eyes, “Have you met my boyfriend? The most attractive person in the school, of course there’s pressure.”

“And what do you think your boyfriend would say if he heard you saying that.” Marlene smiled.

“I’m fucked. Royally fucked.”

As soon as the school bell rang at the end of the day on Friday, Remus and Sirius found each other outside as soon as possible, pushing poor year 7’s out of the way to meet in a loose hug. It was as if they’d forgotten that they’d been in every lesson together, and that they’d sat right next to each other at break and lunch. Every second apart was torture.

Remus stepped back in favour of taking Sirius’s hand in his, “You ready to go?”

Sirius brought their hands to his lips with a sweet kiss, “Reg told me to pick up something to eat on the way there, he’s not exactly a great chef.”

“You’ve been talking to Regulus,” It came out as more of a question than a statement, to which Sirius nodded encouragingly. He seemed happy for the progress, “Well what do you fancy?”

Sirius bit his lip, “How about a subway? I haven’t been there in years.” It was probably an exaggeration, but Remus couldn’t help but smile.

“Lead the way.”

Before they could make it far however, James came up behind them with a startling shout, “Here that, Pete, we’re going to subway! I’m dying for a club sandwich.”

Sure enough, Peter walked up right beside James, but his face served as a direct contrast to his friend’s oblivious smile. “I don’t think we’re invited, Prongs.”

“What are you on about?” He had thrown an arm around Sirius’s shoulders as a friendly gesture, bounding forward with his chin up until he finally looked down and saw a pair of entwined hands. “Oh my God, this is a couple thing isn’t it? I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” Remus assured, smiling up at both James and Sirius. It wasn’t the first time he’d unknowingly third-wheeled them, multiple times he’d caught them about to sneak off together and tagged along or sat himself right between them on the common room sofa. At first it had been funny, watching his head reel in confusion when they told him what he was doing, but at a certain point it had become frustrating. “But you are correct.”

He felt Sirius tug on his hand slightly, “We’ll see you on Monday, okay?”

“You wound me, Moony.” James placed a hand over his heart playfully but fell back to respect their wishes.

“He wounds your ego,” Sirius jibbed. He seemed quite happy with himself, grinning wildly and squeezing Remus’s hand. Remus squeezed back to contain himself. “See you later, mate.”

“Bye, dickface.”

And with that, they had to take another detour as Sirius tackled James to the ground. Friendship truly is a beautiful thing.

“C’mon, Regulus will probably be wondering what took us so long.” Remus prompted gently. The two approached the door of Sirius’s old house, subway bags in hand as Sirius gradually became more hesitant. Remus couldn’t even begin to imagine what he was going through, the pain that just being there brought back.

“It’s not my fault someone couldn’t make up his mind about his sandwich. I mean, how hard is it to decide if you want it toasted or not.”

He smiled, “It’s a difficult decision! Throws off the whole thing.”

“Sure it does,” Sirius snorted, waving Remus off dismissively. He stopped them as they came to stand right outside the door, taking in a breath and squeezing his eyes shut. The ministrations on his face told Remus everything he needed to know, so he turned to cup Sirius face in his hands.

“It’s going to be okay, Pads,” He assured. “He wants you to be here, he’s the one who invited you, remember. It’s just us and your brother.”

“I know, I know.” He pressed his face further against the warm hands, relishing in it. “It’s just weird to be here and feel so… happy.”

First, they kissed quickly and simply, but as they pulled apart Sirius chased Remus’s mouth for a much longer and deeper kiss. He kissed him like he was a dying man, as if Remus would somehow save him from his inevitable fate. They were so lost in each other that they only barely noticed as the door was swung open by the youngest Black brother, startling them back to reality.

Regulus stayed in the doorway, eyes flicking between them in equal surprise. It occurred to Remus that he probably wasn’t aware of their relationship, considering everything they did at school could be passed off as banter. “I didn’t know you were inviting friends.”

“It’s just Remus,” Sirius said harshly, walking past Regulus and into the hallway, gesturing for Remus to follow him, “And in case it wasn’t clear, he’s not exactly a friend.”

Remus couldn’t help but blush fiercely at the statement, and then at Regulus’s intense stare that followed. After a few moments of silence, just eyeing each other curiously, Remus cleared his throat and followed his boyfriend. The first thing he noticed was the sheer size and expense the house had, all grand spaces and luxurious furniture. There was a cupboard on the back wall showcasing various pieces of china, fragile enough to break at a single touch. Remus suddenly felt very out of place in a faded red school leavers hoodie and his dad’s old jeans, kicking off his mud-covered trainers and discarding them neatly.

He watched intently as Sirius fell down onto a pure white sofa, legs lined with gold embroidery, and opened the bag of food, “I got you tuna, if that’s alright Reg. You used to love it.”

“Mum wouldn’t like us eating on the sofa.” Regulus warned. Despite the words being cold it was said with all the warmth he could muster; even a small smile accompanied it.

“Should’ve thought of that before you invited me,” Sirius folded his legs and took a sandwich out of the bag to give to Regulus, and then another one for Remus. Then Regulus didn’t even hesitate to sit himself on a chair opposite the couple, a similar perfectly kept colour and texture. “Want some crisps?”

“No way I’m eating your cheese and onion monstrosities,” Regulus said with disgust.

Sirius sighed, shoving the bag towards Remus to offer him the same, “For the last time, cheese and onion is the best flavour! What do you prefer, ready salted?” He teased.

“Actually, yes I do.”

Groaning dramatically and laying his head back onto the sofa, Sirius reached around for the TV remote. Remus looked curiously up at where he was pointing it, what seemed to be a blank wall decorated with only lavish paintings and one bland family photo from years ago, when a large square lit up with an episode of Friends. Of course.

“Seriously? This is what you’ve been watching without me?” Sirius said with shock and disgust.

Regulus took a bite out of his sandwich, “It’s mum and dad, not me. Turn it over if you’re that bothered.”

“Nah, Remus loves this show.”

Remus looked up at the mention of his name, curls bouncing, “What? No I don’t!” Sirius just smiled giddily at him, turning the volume up and settling back onto the couch. A blanket that was thrown across the arm was thrown across both of their laps, enclosing them in warmth as they joked quietly with Regulus. One of Sirius’s hands found Remus’s underneath it, a silent show of gratitude and thanks.

“So, Reg, what’s your excuse for the Halloween party?” Sirius spoke after a few moments of silence.

Regulus paled a little, thin fingers tightening around the arm of his chair. Remus expected some sort of explosion, emotion pouring out of the boy like a violent foundation of pent up anger against his brother. Instead however, Regulus let out a long breath, unwinding his fingers and curling the corners of his mouth up, “Pardon me for not wanting to spend my Halloween with my brother and his idiot friends.”

“I’ll have you know that we are extremely cool,” Sirius raised his chin in defiance.

Regulus snorted, “If by cool you mean thoroughly stupid, then you are correct.”

“Prick.”

“Dickhead.”

“Gimp.”

Listening to them tease each other, Remus was reminded starkly of Sirius and James, arguing and wrestling like all brothers do. Sirius and James had always acted more like brothers than the biological pair, from the first time Remus had met them, but it wasn’t too bad of a change. I’m happy for him.

If Remus felt out of place in the living room, he certainly felt the same as he stepped into Sirius’s bedroom. Large bookcases loomed over him from one of the walls, filled with all the literature he’d ever wanted and a few stray comic books. However, that was where the small touch of personality seemed to end as his eyes shifted to the king-sized bed pushed against the wall, draped in silk sheets and a golden throw. Remus couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp as he looked on.

Sirius laughed slightly, “It’s not as fancy as it looks, I promise.”

“Shit, this whole house is…” He trailed off, searching for but not quite finding the words to express what he thought.

“I hate it here,” Sirius admitted, sitting down on his bed gingerly. “I hate this house, I hate being here, I hate thinking about it.”

Remus sat beside him, tangling their legs together and placing his hand on top of Sirius’s, “You don’t have to do it alone, you know. I’m here, and Regulus, and everyone else.”

“I know,” He said, threading their fingers together. His eyes were sad, contradicted by the smile spreading on his face. Remus thought the dimples on his cheeks were impossibly cute. “Thank you, by the way. I don’t think I said that before. Thank you.”

“No place I’d rather be, love.” Remus said honestly, his hand drawing circles on Sirius’s jaw. When they kissed, it was gentle and kind and tender with all the care they could give one another. Sirius almost sighed as he felt a familiar nip of teeth on his bottom lip, falling back onto the bed under the weight of his boyfriend’s mouth. What was at first slow and quiet gradually became more heated, passionate with want and teenage hormones. He straddled Remus’s hips, strands of hair falling into his eyes causing them both to laugh slightly.

Remus blinked up at the ceiling as Sirius moved down to his neck, peppering kisses over his cheeks and jaw on his way. Hands threaded through each other’s hair, breathing deeply and melodically, the two fitted together like two pieces of a perfect puzzle, moulded like clay. Neither were particularly religious, not necessarily believing in greater powers but somehow it was as if they were always meant to be together. Remus opened his eyes, “Wait, wait, Sirius, fuck, we need to talk about this.”

“You didn’t want to do much talking a few minutes ago, did you?” He punctuated it with a heavy kiss to his neck.

“Sirius.”

He giggled, fucking giggled, “I know, I’m sorry.” Sirius pressed a kiss to his jaw once more, before leaning back to look Remus in the face, his thumbs drawing circles on his hip. “Go on.”

Remus licked his lips timidly, his own hands joining behind Sirius’s head. He let out a shaky laugh, “Regulus is just down the hall, you know.”

“It’s a big house,” Sirius said, his signature smirk showing itself on his face. “Thick walls, he probably can’t hear a thing.”

“Is that so?” They just looked at each other for a few moments, before Remus put a steadying hand on his boyfriends’ thighs to flip them over. Sirius almost groaned as their mouths met again, tongues swirling and hands exploring. His hands rode up beneath Remus’s hoodie, resting on the back skin beneath it as he tilted his head to give him more access to his mouth. Remus pushed a knee between his legs and to his crotch, earning himself another pleased noise.

“Are you sure you want to do this? I know it’s a big deal, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Sirius said as he pushed a hand through Remus’s hair. He said it with authenticity, genuine care dripping from the tone.

“Yeah, I do,” Remus breathed. “What about you?”

Sirius tore his mouth away from where it had been stuck pressed against Remus’s, sitting up slightly so that the tawny-haired boy sat between his knees. “I really do hate this house. There’s just too many memories, bad memories and no matter how nice Regulus is I can’t be here without thinking about it, you know?” Remus nodded along sadly as he spoke, “But maybe if I make new memories, happy memories, I won’t have to think about that anymore.”

“But that shouldn’t be the only reason you chose to have sex. I don’t want you to feel like you have to,” Remus reasoned.

“But that’s the thing, I do really want to. I really care about you, Re, I don’t think I’ve ever cared about someone like this. Prongs and Wormtail are great and all but you’re… you. I can’t even describe it. You’re dead fit, too. That helps.” Remus rolled his eyes and barked a laugh.

Sirius continued, laughing along with him, “What I’m trying to say is, I want you to be my first. I-, I love you. I love you.”

Remus bit his lip to subdue his overwhelming happiness, tears threatening to spill, “I love you too. Fuck, I love you so much.” They said it twice because neither could believe just how lucky they’d gotten, because it didn’t feel real enough to say and move on.

When it was over, they lay exposed in the evening sun flitting in from the window to bask in the afterglow. Sirius’s chest heaved, “I officially declare that your cock is a masterpiece.”

Remus laughed loudly, “Shut up.”

“Absolute masterpiece, if James only knew! If he ever calls you innocent again-“

“Stop talking or I’ll make you.” Remus growled playfully, running his hands along Sirius’s sides.

He leaned into the touch, “Is that a threat or a promise?”

5 notes · View notes

downin-thevalley · 8 years ago

Text

Marlene McKinnon is Not a Werewolf

(Based on this text post)

(I never really write let alone post fanfiction so uhhh let’s go)

“Jesus, Sirius” said Remus, “this is disgusting and I will have no part of it.”

Sirius wrapped James’ invisibility cloak around him like a cape so that his head was seemingly floating in midair. Even to the other marauders this was unnerving. “Is it really much worse than the time we snuck into McGonagall’s office?”

“Yes.”

“Well, is it worse than chasing Snape with a shampoo bottle while we were under this thing?”

“Yes,” Peter chimed in.

“Okay, well, is it worse than—”

“Sirius!” Remus interrupted, “sure, we’ve done worse from an objective point of view, but this isn’t even that funny.” He made eye contact with Peter who, by nature, followed Remus’ lead. Sirius looked towards James in hopes of the same comradery. He was unfortunately met by dark brown eyes glaring at him over large framed glasses. Sirius pouted.

“James! My best mate! My brother, my—”

“Oh, Sirius, you drama queen. Spying on the girls…”

“Is something you should be dying to do!! You do realize that Evans is a girl, and therefore part of this sleepover business?”

At this James blushed and went rigid. “Uh, yeah, wh-which is why I think it is wrong to spy on them. She already hates my guts, and if we got caught—”

“Which we won’t!”

“Anyway! If we got caught Evans would beat my arse. And for the rest of my life she’d be glaring at me with those bright green eyes, swishing her hair in my face as she turned up her nose at me and strode away…” James flopped back on his bed, groaning into his hands. “I just can’t stand it, Sirius. You’re on your own for this one.”

Sirius rolled his eyes and snatched his broom from the end of his bed. “Fine, have it your way. But if I happen to hear something particularly juicy, you lot aren’t gonna hear it from me!”

Him and his broom concealed beneath the invisibility cloak, Sirius descended the staircase from the boys’ dormitories to the common room. Floating scarcely a foot above the ground, he looked up at the girls’ staircase. He gave a loud gulp and slowly ascended, careful of his feet not touching the ground and blowing his cover. Finally, he found a door slightly ajar, and heard the familiar voices of the girls in his second year. The sound of their chatter and music covered his awkward entrance which would have given him away under just about any other circumstances.

He figured he could stand now instead of hovering. He wasn’t entirely sure, though; he’d never gotten this far before after all. Clutching his broomstick to his chest, he stood pressed against the wall, thankful that he wasn’t forcefully removed by the floor beneath him.

Holy shit. I’m really here. I’m really doing this. Oh, Prongs, you don’t know what you’re missing!

The room was more crowded than usual, and the party was in full swing. It was warm, and it smelled of—was that rose? Citrus? Lilac? Jesus, did they put all their perfumes in a cauldron and let it fester in the corner of the room? It was all rather intoxicating for Sirius. He strained his ears over the strange music they were playing to try and make out what they were saying.

“Lily and Severus, sitting in a tree!”

“Get off it, Mary!” Lily retaliated, giving her a swat on the shoulder from the bed she sat on.

“Well, if not him, then who?”

“I don’t know. Boys just aren’t mature or appealing in their second year.”

“I bet you fancy the Potter boy!”

“Don’t make me vomit, Dorcas!”

Okay, maybe James was wise not to come.

Mindless chatter ensued. Topics such as muggle stories, schoolwork, and boys came up, but no boys Sirius knew or cared for much, so he was growing tired of his little stunt. He started towards the door, awkwardly trying to mount his broom without knocking anything over or bumping into something or someone.

“Ugh, who here knows that one healing spell?” Marlene groaned next to Lily on the bed.

“That time of the month again, Marlene?”

Sirius stopped suddenly. His blood ran cold. Surely he had heard wrong.

“Yes, it’s awful,” she said. “I’m in so much pain. I can’t believe this has to happen every stupid month.”

Sirius had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep in his shock.

“I feel sort of silly, but I sort of wish it’d happen to me already,” piped up Mary.

Why would Mary want that?

“Why would you want it, Mary?” Lily asked.

“I dunno. I think it’s sort of neat to be in sync with the moon like that.”

This statement caused Sirius to stumble off his broom. Unfortunately, as close to the door as he was, this caused his left foot to step out onto the staircase. Losing his balance further, he yelped, falling onto his back and sliding down the concrete slab where the stairs used to be.

“What was that?” Asked Marlene. The girls all looked at the door and shrugged.

Sirius was left sliding helplessly. His heart was pounding in his ears. He was still in shock. He suddenly wished he’d listen to his friends, for now he was stuck with this bit of information he was sure he wasn’t supposed to hear.

Marlene McKinnon is a werewolf, too.

Sirius didn’t remove the invisibility cloak until he reached his dormitory. There, he slammed the door shut, dropped his broom to the ground, and tried to control his breathing.

Peter was asleep, but James and Remus were sitting up in bed reading. After James was hit by his cloak flying through the air, they could clearly see Sirius’ face: pale, clammy, and eyes bulging.

“Sirius, are you alright?” Remus asked, putting his book on the bedside table.

“Yeah, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Did Nearly-Headless Nick catch you?”

Sirius realized he was still clinging to the closed door. He tried to relax and appear casual, but he stumbled and the hand leaning on the door frame began slipping. “Oh, I’m great. Heard a lot of interesting stuff over there. Yup. So much cool shit that I’m just going right to bed right now.”

Remus smirked. “And you’re not going to tell us anything you overheard?”

“Nope” Sirius said, changing into his pajamas, “I told you I wouldn’t tell you anything I heard. You weren’t the ones sticking your neck out. And besides, it’s not my secret to tell—”

“Secret!” James perked up. “Was it Evans? Did she admit she can’t resist me? I bet she’s secretly madly in love with me.”

“Stuff it, Prongs, big red still can’t stand to look at you.”

“Whatever you say,” James shrugged and pulled up his covers. “So what did you find out? You can’t just bring it up and hop into bed.”

“Actually, I can, and I will,” Sirius said as he did just that, jumping into his bed and under his covers in one swift motion.

“I bet he’s just pulling our legs. Padfoot didn’t hear a damn thing, just wants to make us feel as if we’re missing out.”

Sirius was about to defend himself, but then was reminded of what he was keeping concealed. “That time of the month again, Marlene?” His breath caught in his chest all over again.

“Haha, yup, you caught me, goodnight boys.”

Remus gave him a curious look. It was obvious Sirius wasn’t going to sleep any time soon—he was just laying on his back, eyes wide, staring at the top of his four-poster. Something he heard in the girls’ dorm was clearly bothering him. He considered pressing Sirius to talk more about what he’d heard, but it was late. He figured if it was still bothering Sirius in the morning, Sirius would talk about it. He had trouble keeping his mouth shut. After having this silent debate Remus shrugged and rolled under his blankets.

As the night went on Sirius could hear his roommates snoring, but he barely blinked for hours. Poor Marlene, he thought, having to suffer every full moon like he’d seen Remus. Wait, it wasn’t near the full moon. So why was Marlene in pain? Maybe it was different for girl werewolves? Then again, Remus would feel the repercussions of his transformations before and after the full moons, so maybe Marlene was just extra sensitive to it.

Those words bounced around in his head over and over as sleep finally took hold of him hours later. Poor Marlene.

“Pads!” James exclaimed at breakfast the next morning. He reached over and pulled on Sirius’ shaggy hair, lifting his face out of the bowl of oatmeal in front of him. “What’s the matter with you? Didn’t you sleep at all last night?”

Sirius tried rubbing the sleep (and oatmeal) out of his eyes. Remus offered him an extra napkin, and only then did Sirius seem to realize he was covered in warm oats. “Aw, shit” he said, furiously scrubbing his face as he heard the laughter from down the table.

“Sirius, something’s clearly bothering you,” Remus said quietly. “What’s going on? You know you can tell us.”

Pulling the napkin down from over his eyes, Sirius spotted Marlene a short way down the table. His eyes lingered until she turned to look back at him, at which point he promptly went back to cleaning his breakfast off his face and now the front of his shirt.

Remus looked at him, to Marlene, to him, to Marlene, and back again. “Marlene? What about Marlene? Did she say something?” His eyes widened. “Did you…did you see her…?”

Sirius looked horrified that Remus would even think such a thing. “God, Moony, no! What on earth would give you that idea? There is nothing the matter with her!” Throwing down his napkin, Sirius saw Marlene getting up from the table, and hastily followed suit. “It’s fine, she’s fine, I’m fine, I gotta go… take a piss.”

Sirius’ pace quickened as Marlene rounded the corner out of the great hall. James, Remus, and Peter all looked at each other, equally confused.

James shrugged, shoveling a spoonful of scrambled eggs in his mouth. “Knew he fancied her.”

Sirius followed Marlene all the way up to Gryffindor tower without saying a word. What was he even supposed to say? As Marlene reached the portrait hole, instead of saying the password, she whipped around and was nose to nose with Sirius.

“What, Black? What? What do you want?”

Sirius was so taken aback, all he could do was stand there with his mouth open, words failing to come out. Marlene grew more aggravated.

“You stare at me all through breakfast, at least when you weren’t swimming in your food, you follow me all the way to the tower, what? What is it? Spit it out! I’m sick of—”

“I know your secret!”

The sudden exclamation surprised both of them. “What are you on about?”

“Don’t ask me how, but…I know. I know about your…monthly ailment.”

Her eyes were the size of saucers and her face started glowing red. “What?”

“I overheard something. I’m sorry. I heard you and the other girls talking about your ‘time of the month’. And I just want you to know, your secret is safe with me. And I’m glad you have friends who aren’t afraid of you being a…you know…a werewolf and all.”

Marlene’s brow furrowed as Sirius struggled to find the words. “You think I’m a werewolf?”

“Well…yeah.”

“Oh my God.”

“I’m sorry, I know I’m not supposed to know, but I—”

“Oh my God!”

“Please don’t be mad! I promise your secret is safe with me! In fact, I—”

“HAHAHAHA!!”

Marlene was doubled over in laughter, much to the confusion of Sirius. He blinked at her and chuckled back, unsure of what was so funny.

“Sirius, Sirius,” she said between gasps of air, “I take it you haven’t had the talk? You don’t know what a girl’s ‘time of the month’ is?”

“Well, I do get the impression that it’s different for girls and boys.”

She let out another guffaw just as a few other second year girls reached the top of the stairs.

“What’s so funny?” One of the girls asked.

“Yeah, Sirius,” Marlene said, “why don’t you tell them what’s so funny?”

Sirius was even more confused. Did she want the whole world to know? “Well, I don’t really get the joke.”

“Black, just follow us,” Marlene said leading the group into the common room, the painting swinging shut behind them.

James, Remus, and Peter walked into their dorm to find a lump on Sirius’ bed under the covers.

“Padfoot, that you?” James asked. “If you’re not too tired, we were just going to head out on the quidditch pitch.”

“Go on ahead. I… I need some time to think.”

“Oh, come on, Sirius! What is going on with you?” Said Remus, exasperated, and sitting next to the lump under the covers. “What happened last night? Why did you run out of the great hall? What’s so bad that you can’t even tell us?”

Sirius rolled onto all fours and poked his head out from under the blanket so that he was inches away from Remus. “Marlene McKinnon is not a werewolf.”

Siruis went back under, not unlike a turtle, as the three boys exchanged confused looks.

“What? Did you think she was a werewolf?”

Sitting up this time, Sirius wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. “Do any of you know what a menstrual cycle is?”

“What?!”

“It. Is. Horrifying.” Sirius’ eyes fixed on a spot on the floor. “They…they went into so much detail.”

Remus was having trouble holding back his laughter. James and Peter still looked confused. “Is that what you heard last night?”

“Well, sort of,” he explained. “I heard…Dorcas said something to Marlene about her ‘time of the month’, and…”

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” James said, finally understanding.

“And, well, I know you have a ‘time of the month’, Remus, so I thought…”

“Sirius!” Remus began to blush. “Menstruation and Lycanthropy are very different things!”

“I know! I know this now!”

James sat on the bed across from Remus and Sirius. “So wait,” he said, “when you followed Marlene out of the great hall morning, you asked her…”

Sirius went back into hiding.

“Oh, Padfoot, you didn’t!”

A quiet groan, growing louder, was heard from under the blankets. The other boys laughed until their sides hurt.

“Come on, guys, it’s embarrassing enough” Sirius whimpered from under his covers. “No one told me! No one told me a god damn thing!” He poked his head out again. “Did you know that they bleed once a month?!”

The laughter tapered off as the preteen boys grew uncomfortable.

“Well you don’t have to put it like that,” Peter muttered at his shoes.

“Well it’s the goddamn truth, and if I had to hear it, so do you.” Sirius retaliated. “I mean, you bleed from your nether regions once a month, it changes you.”

“Sirius! We don’t want to hear this!”

“Well, James, I don’t care. I was happy and naïve like you, once.” Sirius’ face scrunched up in thought, then popped up to look at James. “Hell, I blame this whole thing on you!”

“Me?! Why me?”

“You refused to go with me last night. If you’d been there, or sufficiently talked me out of it, none of this would have happened.”

James opened his mouth to retaliate, but instead sighed. “Okay, fine. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Oh, by the way,” Sirius said, smirking, “the girls found out how I found out and got McGonagall involved, so we’re in detention all this week.”

“Wait…did you say ‘we’? Because you better not have said ‘we’!” James said.

“Look, boys. If I’m going down, you’re going down with me.”

Three different hands smacked him upside the head in sync.

#pls be nice #harry potter #fanfiction #marauders #sirius black #remus lupin #james potter #peter pettigrew #marlene mckinnon #lily evans #wolfstar #jily #i never know how to tag tbh #my fanfic

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