#growing pains || marlene mckinnon

[theblack3stday]

𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 — marlene mckinnon

Pairing: Marlene Mckinnon x fem!reader

Summary: Marlene and you are friends with benefits. Or are you?

Word count: 1.9k

Warning: angst (w/ happy ending)

As the team is celebrating their victory, Marlene has been looking for you everywhere but hasn't been able to find you. She is feeling a little tired and a bit disappointed that you're not here to celebrate with her, you two were friends you know. Most of the time. But then she finally sees you across the room and decides it's the perfect moment to surprise you with a little intimate time. Marlene approaches you with a mischievious smile. She seems a little flushed and her cheeks are a bit flushed. She gets right to the point and pulls you aside to a quiet area. You can tell exactly what she wants and your breath catches in your throat at the prospect. "I've been looking for you everywhere," she whispers, her breath hitting your neck. You feel her warmth as she pulls you close to her. You can feel the heat building up between your bodies as she looks directly into your eyes. "I have something special for you," she says, her voice trembling with desire. Marlene pulls you up against her, caressing your body in a sensual way. Her touch is soft and gentle, but also has a hint of intensity that makes your heart beat faster. You can feel her breath on your neck, your skin trembling with arousal as she looks at you with a fierce stare. You feel like you are in the presence of a force of nature, someone who can't be stopped from getting what she wants. “We should be at the party, Marls.” you caressed your hand on her face.

“And who said that?” Marlene's hands caress your body, traveling up and down and exploring every inch of you. Her fingers run down your spine, her soft touch sending a shiver of arousal through you. She is breathing heavy, her body pressed close to yours, but you feel no tension between the two of you. The pressure between you is palpable, building up and up like a wave of satisfaction about to break. "Just let yourself go and let me take care of you," Marlene says softly. Her hands brush against your skin, her touch making the atmosphere between you and her feel like a cocoon of pure bliss. You could never resist her. That’s why you were in that situation. At the beginning, you weren’t sure that you have feelings for her and you thought it was “just sex”. But it wasn’t like that. You were in love with her, but she wasn’t. You didn’t want to end this because you wanted her to touch you and make love with you, but this situation was keeping to give you pain and suffering.

Marlene kept touching you, her hands sliding across the muscles of your back, her gentle fingers caressing every inch of your body. The warmth feels intoxicating and you start to lose your train of thought, your mind filled with only one thing: Marlene's touch. Marlene's touches become more insistent, her hands sliding up and down your body, the heat between you growing to almost unbearable levels. Her breathing becomes heavier and she pulls you in for a deep kiss, her tongue exploring your mouth with a sense of familiarity that only comes from having done this a thousand times before.

"I can't do this anymore," you say softly, looking away from Marlene with a sense of regret and sadness. Marlene is taken aback by your sudden change in tone, her hands dropping to her side. Marlene stops and pulls back, surprised by your sudden change in tone. She looks at you with a concerned look on her face, her hand brushing against your cheek. "What's wrong?" she asks, her voice full of concern. You look up at Marlene, your eyes filled with sadness and remorse. You take a deep breath and look away again. "I...I'm sorry, I just can't." you didn’t want to admit that you were in love with her. Marlene was confused, her tone becoming more sympathetic as she sees the pain you're feeling. She reaches out to hold your hand in hers, her warm touch trying to give you some comfort. “I thought you wanted that..” Marlene's touch made the whole situation even more confusing. Her kindness and sympathy made it difficult for you to stick to your decision. You felt like she was pulling you in and you wanted to resist, but the warmth of her touch was so alluring, so inviting. Marlene's eyes met yours, a glimmer of hope and sadness in her gaze. "You don't want this?" she asked softly, holding your hand tighter. Marlene stares at you with an inquisitive gaze, unable to understand why you've suddenly decided to change directions. She seems disappointed as she steps back from you. She looks at you with an expression of hope and concern at the same time. When she sees the sadness in your eyes, she feels her heartbeat quicken. She doesn't know how to respond to this new development. She doesn't know if you're simply hesitant or afraid, but she doesn't want to push you away. She is feeling a mix of emotions herself and she doesn't like the idea of being rejected. As Marlene takes a step back, you feel your heart sink. You feel an overwhelming sense of sadness and regret, thinking about the wonderful times you have actually had together. The chemistry between you and Marlene has been one-of-a-kind and now, suddenly, you're throwing it all away. The thought of losing her fills you with overwhelming anguish, but you know you can't carry on like this.

“This is wrong.” you could just say that. You wanted to scream that you love her, but you couldn’t. You knew Marlene wasn’t that kind of a person. You wish she were.. The idea of telling Marlene your true feelings was unbearable. For so long, you had kept your thoughts and feelings to yourself, afraid of being rejected. You were tired of being silent and hiding your feelings. You wanted to scream the truth and show Marlene just how much she means to you. But you were also terrified of losing the special connection you shared with Marlene, one that was so unique and filled with passion and excitement.

Marlene stares at you in disbelief, her anger and fear mounting with every word you say. She feels a wave of frustration and sadness washing over her, filled with confusion and disbelief. She doesn't understand what's going on, but she knows that something is wrong. A part of her wants to lash out, but a deeper part of her is frightened by what is happening. She wants to shout back and demand answers, but she is afraid of what she will find. "What the hell are you talking about?!" Marlene's words erupt from her in a burst of fury, the frustration and rage building up inside her until she could no longer keep it bottled up. She stares at you with a look of anger and anger, her eyes bearing deep into yours. “We hooked up every damn night and suddenly you decided it’s wrong?” Marlene stares at you in disbelief, her anger and fear mounting with every word you say. She feels a wave of frustration and sadness washing over her, filled with confusion and disbelief. She doesn't understand what's going on, but she knows that something is wrong. A part of her wants to lash out, but a deeper part of her is frightened by what is happening. She wants to shout back and demand answers, but she is afraid of what she will find.

"It's not that simple," you say, your stomach knotting with a sense of fear and guilt. You can feel your face flushing with humiliation "It's not just the sex or the hooking up. I've developed feelings for you. I know that sounds stupid," you continue, your words stumbling over themselves as you stare directly into her eyes. "I know it's just casual and it was never supposed to be more than that. But I've started liking you and I don't know what to do now." You feel completely overwhelmed by the situation, your emotions running wild as you try to explain yourself to her. "You probably think I'm a fool for ever coming to you with feelings," you say, your heart pounding in your chest. "I've tried to keep these feelings buried, but I can't hide them anymore. I want more than just physical intimacy. I want all of you. I want to be your partner and not just a hookup. But i know you don’t want that, you have always been clear with me.”

Marlene listens to you, a look of shock and surprise filling her face. Her anger has dissipated and is now replaced by a deep sense of sadness as she realizes that you have fallen in love with her. She stares at you for a moment, taking in every word and processing all the emotions that you have revealed to her. Her expression changes to one of empathy and regret. She is silent for a few moments. You can tell that she is feeling a mix of emotions, her mind and heart battling with one another. She loves the idea of being with you, but she doesn't want to risk losing what she has or getting hurt in the process. She is torn between wanting to express her feelings and the fear of rejection and heartbreak.

You felt humiliated. You just wanted to leave there. “Congratulations.” you said before pushing her from you. Marlene grabbed your wrist lightly as you tried to leave, her grip not tense but enough to hold you in place. Her grip feels like a gentle embrace, not restrictive at all. "Don't go," she says quietly, her eyes meeting yours. She seemed genuinely overwhelmed with all the emotion that you have unleashed on her. Marlene: "Congratulations?" She repeats the word softly, her words filled with disbelief. "You're really congratulating me?" She looks at you with a slight grin on her face. She can't help but think how sweet it is that you're happy for her. “You’re an important part of my life, and I don’t want to lose you either. The truth is, I’ve been grappling with my own feelings, and maybe I haven’t been as clear as I should’ve been. I care about you a lot, and I’ve realized that my feelings go beyond just friendship. I love you too.”

You looked came closer to her and kiss her. The hot kiss burnt with desire and passion, your lips locked together in a passionate embrace. You can feel the heat of her breath on your skin and you want to sink into it. Her tongue slides and flicks against yours, her lips exploring your mouth and tasting the sweetness of all of your desires. The warmth of your bodies is building into a boiling torrent of excitement and you feel like you're both on the edge of something incredible. Your hearts are beating with a fierce desire to be close and to explore every inch of your bodies.

“Marls, come here they gonna make us a show! And find Y/N too!” James's voice echoes through the hallway as he calls out to them. Marlene and you break away from the intense kiss and laugh lightly as you pull away. Marlene's cheeks are flushed with a deep red hue and she's slightly out of breath. When she hears James's voice calling out to them, she chuckles lightly and then smiles at you.

“We are coming!” she responded back and grabbed your hand.

[teddyjamesro]

Marauders and co!Superhero AU

(gay, disabled, cute)(im projecting)(wolfstar, jegulus, marlily, dorlene and more)

Both Sirius and Regulus were raised in the House Of Black, a notorious inbred house of villains. Neither of them were huge outcasts growing up, but the older members of the HOB kept a special eye on them as they grew older.

On the other side of it all, James Potter grew up surrounded by members of The Order, the biggest hero establishment around. Him and his best friend Peter have lived in the headquarters their whole lives, trying to prove themselves.

Remus and Lily are childhood best friends who are pretty anti superhero. They ruin the city. They run all over the place. And they think they’re better than everyone else.

Marlene and Mary are two aspiring journalists who just want one word in at hero interviews. Is that too much to ask for?

Featuring!

James Potter(He/him). Trans, bi, MAD, and PPD. He’s just trying to prove himself

Sirius Black(any pronouns). Genderfluid, queer, ADHD and tourettes. They really dont care.

Remus Lupin(He/him). Gay, PTSD, hEDS(uses forearm crutches and/or a wheelchair). Hes tired.

Peter Pettigrew(He/him). Aroace, Autism. Hes happy to be there!

Regulus Black(He/they). Pan, autistic, vitiligo. He’s also really tired.

Lily Evans(She/they). Trans, pan, autistic, and MAD. She knows her name is a flower.

Marlene McKinnon(they/she). Nonbinary, lesbian, MADD, depression. THEY LOVE WOMEN

Mary Macdonald(she/her). Lesbian, deaf, chronic pain, ADHD. She also loves women

I will add more details if ppl want(submit questions in asks)

[padfootagain]

Because We Are Made of Dreams (IV)

Chapter 4 : Broomsticks

Hi everyone! Here is a new chapter for this series!

I hope you like it!

****

Pairings: Sirius Black x Original Female Character + Jily

Warnings for this chapter: None! Just cute and… nothing particular, really, just setting things into motion.

Warnings for the series: graphic depictions of violence and torture, graphic depiction and mentions of child abuse, mature themes.

Summary: The Marauders come back to Hogwarts to begin their sixth year there, and many things will change for them during these coming months. Outside the safety of their school, the world is growing darker. Inside the Castle, they'll find both new friends and enemies.

Word Count: 3200

Masterlist for the series – Sirius Black’s Masterlist – Main Masterlist

The day was upon her.

Saturday morning. Filled with lazy grey clouds covering most of the bright blue sky. Saturday morning…

… the Quidditch try-outs!

Clara wondered for the thousandth time why she was doing this to herself. Her nerves were getting the better of her: lump in her tight throat, dry mouth, and a painful stomach. She was struggling to breathe already, felt nauseous. She took a deep breath, splashed more water onto her face.

She couldn’t let herself be like this, a true bundle of nerves. She had worked too hard for the past two years to fail now simply because she was scared.

When she looked up again at her reflection in the mirror, she was terrified but determined.

She could do it. She would do it. She was going to be selected and join the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and nothing would be able to stop her.

She gave herself a nod, gathering her courage one last time as she checked that her braid was secured, making sure she wouldn’t be bothered by her hair. And then she walked out of the bathroom, as ready as she could be.

She walked across the Girls’ dormitory, picked up her broomstick and kicked Marlene’s truck to make the blond girl jump. Indeed, her classmate glowered at Clara as she was torn away from her thoughts. She didn’t get up from her bed though, still lying down, although she was dressed in full Quidditch gear already.

They were alone in the dorm. Dorcas was getting ready with the rest of the Quidditch team, and Alice and Lily were studying at the library. They would join their friends at the Quidditch Pitch later to offer their support, but were busy with some essay for now.

It was easy to identify who the beds belonged to. Marlene’s was messy and surrounded with empty packs of cigarettes and magazines. Clara’s was decorated with drawings and a few Quidditch posters. Lily’s bed was pristine, with pictures of her parents on her night stand, a muggle record player and some posters of her favourite bands. Dorcas’s side of the bedroom was such a mess, even Lily had given up on bringing some order into her chaos. It was a mess of Quidditch supplies, muggle novels and rock records.

All in all, it was less messy than the boys’ dormitory, but it was not less welcoming and charming in any way. Which explained why Marlene was so eager to remain in the safety of this cocoon, instead of risking humiliation at the try-outs.

“Move your arse, Marls,” Clara warned her. “We’re going to be late.”

“I can’t do this. You go without me.”

Clara kicked Marlene’s bedpost hard, making the whole piece of furniture shake.

“Move. Your. Arse. McKinnon!”

“I can’t do this!”

“Of course, you can. We’re doing this together! Get up!”

“We’ll never enter the team…”

“Not with that attitude, we aren’t! Marls, we’ve been practicing together for two years, we can do it. We’re ready! So stop wallowing in your self-pity, and get up! You’re supposed to be a Gryffindor, for Merlin’s sake! Act like one!”

Marlene stared at her for a few seconds, blinking, a little too stunned to move. But then a grin spread on her lips.

“I’m a Gryffindor.”

“You sure are!” Clara encouraged her, offering her hand and helping her friend get up.

“I’m a Gryffindor!” the girl repeated while Clara gave her her broomstick.

“You are. A real lioness.”

“A fucking Gryffindor!”

“You are! Let’s go kick an arse or two, and show these amateurs how to play Quidditch properly!”

“Hell yeah!”

Marlene stormed out of the room, a chuckling Clara following close. She just needed a little bit of support, that was all…

When the Gryffindor girls entered the Quidditch Pitch, many players were already waiting for the Gryffindor team to arrive. Many seats were occupied as well by friends who had come to cheer for their friends, but also by a number of girls and boys coming out of curiosity or out of admiration. Indeed, as she looked around, Clara spotted the same girls who had been gossiping in the library earlier that week during her studying session with Sirius. An awful lot of groupies, up there…

When the two girls spotted their friends, they waved at them, shooting a smile at Lily, Alice, Frank, Remus and Peter.

“How many players do we need for the team this year, again?” Alice asked Peter, who was taking a snack out of his backpack.

“One Beater, one Chaser, one Seeker.”

“Last year, James and Sirius regretted their choice with one of the Chasers,” Remus explained. “So they asked him not to come back this year. That’s why they need a Chaser. And we are also replacing Fillson who finished Hogwarts last year, so we need a Seeker. And then, they need to replace Bardmay, as he was in his seventh year last year too.”

“Do you come to the try-outs every year?” asked Lily, grinning at Peter as he offered her some jelly beans, and she carefully picked a coloured candy in an attempt to avoid the worst tastes.

“Yep!” Peter nodded. “For James and Sirius, obviously. Besides, it’s a lot of fun! Some people are pretty good. Some others… not so much.”

“If any of you laugh at Clara or Marlene, I will turn you into toads for a week,” Lily warned the two boys, who merely burst into laughter.

“Better not, then! We wouldn’t take the risk!” Remus laughed. “Don’t worry though, we’re not mean. Besides, we’re cheering for them too this year!”

They were interrupted by a wave of cheers and applause when the Gryffindor team walked onto the pitch. All dressed in red and gold, James and Sirius leading the small group, broomsticks thrown casually upon their shoulders, they looked quite majestic, indeed. They smiled at the crowd, but quickly headed straight towards the players who had come for the try-outs.

“Hi, everyone!” James spoke loudly, and silence filled the arena as soon as his voice rang across the pitch, loud and firm and commanding. “Thank you all for coming today. We have three posts to fill up this year: a Chaser, a Seeker and a Beater. We'll start with the Chasers, so please, everyone who came to try for Beater or Seeker, you can sit on the bench for now. Come on, hurry up! Everyone in the air, and form a line."

The twelve Gryffindors who had come to play as Beaters or Seekers walked away and took a seat on the lowest benches. And as Clara sat down, she couldn’t help but be quite worried at the sight of the six boys waiting patiently by her side. The youngest was probably in his third year, and he was as tall as her already. The fifth-year boy sitting on her right had shoulders twice as big as hers, and his arms could have been compared to her thighs. He looked like a bloody titan next to her. She wasn't feeling that confident anymore, so she tried to focus on Marlene instead.

A line of eleven people floated in mid-air, waiting for James’s instruction, and Clara finally noticed that Marlene and she were the only girls in the try-outs this year.

Marlene was the tenth player. But no matter how many people were to pass James’s tests before she did, Marlene was a nervous mess all over again. She risked a glance at Clara sitting there, over on the bench, but the thumbs up and encouraging smile her friend offered her were not enough.

She regretted every single decision in her life that had led her to be in this situation now…

"Okay, easy first,” James commanded, flying back and forth before the aligned students, holding the large Quaffle under his arm. “I'll pass you the Quaffle, and you'll have three shots, stationary. The first one without keeper, and then Caradoc we'll defend. Go on you, you go first!"

Clara couldn't deny that James was impressive as a captain. He was more than competent as a leader, he seemed to have a talent for it. He wore a stern charisma now, that contrasted with the usual look of mischief painted in his brown eyes; and it was easy to imagine him guide a team through the hardest match, the worst storms. Sirius, on the other hand, was like his shadow, helping him to command his little army, and Clara clearly understood how the dynamic of the team worked: they were nothing without James, and James was nothing without Sirius.

Two boys tried to score, the first one was terrible and missed all three shots, but the second only missed one shot. Clara heard someone call her name from one of the benches above her and she looked up, to discover Lily, Alice, Remus and Peter.

"You're gonna be brilliant, I'm sure of it!" Lily encouraged her.

"Thanks!" Clara answered in a smile.

"Do you think we should encourage Marlene, or will it disturb her?" asked Remus, quite excited to see the two girls play.

"We have to encourage her! And Clara too, of course!" answered Alice.

"It'll help her, for sure," confirmed Clara.

The students flew before the three goals one after another in front of the three rings, and only one had managed to score three times when it was finally Marlene's turn. The Pitch had remained quite silent all along, for much of the supporters were either girls wanting to admire the boys, either Quidditch fans who didn't know any of those who were attempting the try-outs. But when Marlene finally flew towards the goalposts, shouts exploded across the Pitch.

"Come on, Marlene!"

"You're the best!"

And her five friends went on and on. She blushed slightly when James flew towards her, handing her the Quaffle.

"At least, you already have a fan club!" he joked, amused.

She smiled nervously and took position in front of the three high rings. But she wasn't ready. Oh Merlin, she wasn't ready at all! She wanted to hide, to fly far away from Hogwarts, from Britain even. Maybe she could manage to get to Australia or something… Yes, Australia sounded like a good plan: on the other side of the planet, and with an infinite desert where she could disappear forever...

Clara could see that her friend was too nervous to take a shot. She was rolling the Quaffle again and again in her hand, biting on her lower lip… No, Marlene was too nervous and was about to give up. When she threw a desperate glance towards Clara, her friend was certain that there was only one way for Marlene to complete the try-outs. She needed her help, and Clara quietly cursed the blond girl for what she was about to do. But then again, they had planned to enter this team together, and Clara was ready to be ridiculous to ensure that they would both earn their place on the Quidditch team.

She took a deep breath, and said goodbye to all bits of credibility she still had.

"Come on, Marlene! Don't you dare throw this Quaffle like a bloody Hufflepuff! You’re a Gryffindor, so act like one!"

Everyone suddenly looked at her, and she summoned all her will to ignore the many stares focused on her, but she felt herself blush anyway. Marlene started to smile.

"If you're not even able to score without a bloody Keeper, then you really are the worst thing that has ever ridden a broom since this school opened, McKinnon!"

Marlene's jaw set, and her cheeks turned red as determination ignited her eyes. She turned back towards the goals, took aim, and scored.

Her five friends cheered like mad. But it wasn't over, and now an amused Caradoc Dearborn had taken his rightful place in front of the loops. The rest of the Quidditch team tried their hardest not to laugh, especially Dorcas and Sirius, who were whispering together behind James and looking alternatively towards Clara and Marlene.

As she took aim, the girl seemed anxious again and so Clara cleared her throat, wrapping her hands around her mouth to shout even louder.

"Are you really afraid of him? It's just Caradoc, for Merlin's sake! Kick his arse!"

Marlene smiled, took aim on the left loop, changed at the last second, and scored in the ring on her right. The five Gryffindors howled with joy again.

"Is that really the best you can do?" Clara continued, as James was handing her the Quaffle again, trying to fight his laughter but failing miserably by now. "You should be ashamed! Even my grandma has more strength than that! You're slow, McKinnon!"

As a response, Marlene armed her arm and moved so quickly, with so much strength, that Caradoc didn't have the time to reach the right loop. Again, the Gryffindors cheered, this time joined by Sirius and Dorcas, while Clara rubbed her painful throat.

James eliminated half of the students and made the others fly across the Pitch, passing the Quaffle over to them, asking them to score... Marlene was confident enough by now to play without encouragements, and Clara's dry throat was grateful. She only dropped the Quaffle twice as Sirius, Caradoc and Dorcas, were trying to take the Quaffle from them and delay their progression. At the end, James seemed quite satisfied, and told the students he would give them his decision next Monday, taking a bit of time to talk with his teammates.

The aspiring Beaters were finally called on the pitch, and Sirius took the lead.

"All right. James is going to release a Bludger, and you'll start by simply hitting it as hard as you can, in any direction as long as you don't target anyone. Form a line, I'll send it over to you in turns. Understood?"

They all nodded, taking position and Sirius made a sign to James, who released the Bludger. Clara tightened her grip on her bat. She was third in line, right behind the Titan. But it only motivated her more to have to battle with someone who looked as strong as him. Besides, she was well aware that a good Beater ought to be more than physically strong. Precision was key as well as speed… at least that was what she was repeating over and over to herself as she tried to remain calm and swallow back the lump in her throat.

Titan hit the Bludger so hard, it went out of the Pitch, and Caradoc had to go and get it so that it would come back faster. Clara took position in front of Sirius, and she could hear her friends encouraging her from afar, but she still felt like she was going to throw up.

"All right, here it comes, as hard as you can, yes?" said Sirius as the Bludger was rushing towards them.

She nodded, unable to talk. She raised her arm, ready to strike. Sirius sent the Bludger towards her, and she hit it with all her might. The vicious ball was sent flying almost out of the Pitch, above the bench.

"Really good, Clara!"

He grinned at her, and she sighed heavily, smiling. She felt herself relaxing and as she was doing several exercises with the boys, she felt more and more comfortable. At the end of the try-outs, she reckoned she had performed quite well despite her nerves, so she walked back to the dorms with her friends joyful and satisfied.

"Well at least, we’ve done our best!" said Clara.

"You're right, if we lose, we'll lose without regrets," answered Marlene.

She wrapped an arm around Clara's shoulder.

"Thank you by the way, I needed it," she whispered.

"Anytime, Marlene, anytime."

They smiled at each other and both headed towards a well-deserved shower.

"So, who do you reckon we should take?" asked Dorcas bluntly, as per usual when it came to her.

She had taken a shower and changed into her regular robes already, and was now leaning against the doorframe of the boys’ changing rooms, waiting for them to finish dressing up.

James sighed heavily in response, unbothered by the fact that the girl was seeing him shirtless. After so many games played together, the four of them were too used to seeing each other getting dressed for that.

"I don't know. The guy in fifth year, Thomson, he was quite good. Fast, steady, the kind of person you can rely on in a match. I’d vote for him for Seeker. For the Chaser though, it’s trickier, I reckon. I’d say… do we take McKinnon or Barrow?"

"Barrow? Fourth year?" asked Caradoc.

"Yep."

"Marls is a better flyer,” Dorcas argued.

"She is, but she's not confident, not at all,” James replied. “She looked completely terrified on this broomstick!"

“But she got a grip. And she’s better than Barrow.”

“We need to be certain that she won’t panic during a match. I don’t want to have a fucked-up season all over again, simply because a player is not reliable.”

“Carlson was much younger. Marls is strong, she was just nervous today. But she’ll be fine.”

“You’re not just saying that because you like her, right?” Caradoc asked, a mischievous smile on his lips, that earned him a glare from the girl.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t like McKinnon.”

“No, of course not… that’s why you were so bloody excited at the idea of her coming today,” Sirius chuckled, and Dorcas picked up a towel from the floor and threw it right to his face.

Meanwhile, James was still hesitant.

“Sirius, what do you think?” he asked his friend, his stern voice bringing back a more serious tone to the conversation.

Sirius shrugged, his back to the other players. He put on his shirt, before answering to his friend.

"It's normal to be nervous at try-outs. And she got a grip, after a bit of help. She's a better flyer, and I reckon that once she's familiar with the team and the whole thing, she'll be alright."

"You're sure?"

"I am."

James thought for a moment again, standing, only one arm in his clean shirt.

"Let's get a vote," he suggested to his teammates, finally putting on his piece of clothing. "Who votes for McKinnon?"

The four players raised their hands together, and James grinned.

"Perfect, we officially have a new Chaser in the team. Now, the Beaters."

"Jacobs is good," said Caradoc. "He's the strongest, he's reliable, and he won't get panicked or anything. I vote for him personally."

"Clearwater was good too. And she’s faster, more agile,” argued James.

"She doesn't have Jacobs's strength though.”

James turned his attention towards Sirius, who was struggling with his tie.

"Well, you're the Beater. Who would you choose for the team?"

Sirius thought for a while, sitting down and bending over to lace his shoes. He finally sat straighter again.

"Jacobs has the strength, true, but he will need a lot of work to be efficient. He's not precise enough. And he's slower. I'd take Clara."

James seemed lost in thought again, but nodded at last.

"I agree. Clearwater it is. Sorry 'Doc."

The boy sighed dramatically.

"No problem. I know you never listen to me anyway."

"That's because you're always wrong!"

They got out of the changing room, laughing, and headed back towards the Castle. James let Dorcas and Caradoc go ahead and stayed behind with Sirius.

"When did Clearwater and you changed for first names?"

Sirius looked warily at him.

"Tuesday, why?"

"Nothing. I've just noticed, that's all."

"Don't get any ideas. I get along well with her, that's all. I reckon we're becoming kind of friends."

"Friend? With a girl? Bloody Hell! That's a first for you Padfoot, congratulations!"

James laughed mockingly, and Sirius hit him on the shoulder, laughing too.

"Shut up Prongs! I'm serious!"

"Just kidding. She's great. I'm glad we can get along with the girls actually, they're nice."

"True."

They smiled at each other, dreaming of food and a good night of sleep.

*********************************

Taglist : @reg-arcturus-black @hells-escapees @omgrachwrites

@wolfmoonmusic

[vauxxy]

songs i think the marauders era characters would EAT THE FUCK UP!!

james potter

‘say yes’ by elliott smith

i feel like james doesn’t really listen to music that much, more so just pick out a few songs that sirius and remus like and just go with it. remus loves elliott smith (despite his more ‘grunge’ music taste) so he would play a lot of his songs when he’s alone or just chilling out.

james would hear this song and be like “UMMM THIS IS SO ME CORE” and he’d listen to it on repeat for WEEKS.

remus lupin

‘my iron lung’ by radiohead

this mother fucker is a radiohead stan. remus is the radiohead bf sirius is his blur gf.

he loves a little guitar riff and then absolutely nonsensical breakdowns in the middle of the chorus 👍

also i feel like he just relates to the teen angst vibe of it. he listens to it when he’s upset that he’s a queer werewolf from care home. so HIS ‘iron lung’ in that sense would be he queerness and his upbringing, or maybe even sirius at some points.

sirius black

‘beetlebum’ by blur

one thing abt sirius is that he only listens to brit-rock or 2000’s pop punk bangers with explicit sexual innuendos. they just hit!

he’s an early p!atd stan btw. soz.

and a deftones boy. cringe!

but he really likes blur!! he listens to it for hours at a time. he just LOVES the chorus soooo much. it’s a bit basic but he likes it.

lily evans

‘velvet ring’ by big thief

i feel like lily is a folk fan above all other genres of music. obviously she loves fleetwood mac, taylor swift, etc… but her loyalties lie with the cluttered, wordy and intimate lyricism of artists like big thief, clario and sidney gish.

lily listens to this specific song whenever she feel nostalgic or when she’s got growing pains. it kinda grounds her. she’s the type of person who gets so fixated on the past or what her futures gonna look like, so she channels those feelings into reflection instead. she finds a lot big thief’s songs do just that :)

marlene mckinnon

‘debris’ by lowertown

marlene loves indie girl music!! she loves messy vocals and melancholic chord progressions, so she lovesss lowertown.

this song is basically the verbalisation of how she feels other people would treat her if she finally opened up. she feels deeply attacked by the lyrics lol xx

mary mcdonald

‘this is what makes us girls’ by lana del rey

this mf loves lana del rey more than anything. she is a dark feminine born to die giant falsies dark pink french tips and ices mocha latte typa girlie.

this song just makes her feel so powerful and so connected to her friends!! she thinks it’s just so her. she also feels like her attractiveness is one of her best qualities (which isn’t true she’s literally the funniest and kindest girl at hogwarts) and one of her only strengths and she HATES FEELING THAT WAY… so when she listens to lana she’s like ‘mmm she’s so mother! she gets me!!!’

she knows she’s a pretty girl with a group of pretty girl friends and she loves it!!!!

regulus black

‘you’re on your own kid’ by taylor swift

ok regulus is not a tswizzle fan by any means.

but pandora likes her and forced him to listen to a few of her favourite songs. when this song came on he was like “… ok wtf 😧 she’s so me”

all of the lyrics just ATE in his mind. he relates to every lyric PAINFULLY SO.

pandora

‘whatever’ by elliott smith

pandora listens to literally every type of music ever.

she likes phoebe bridgers and found out about elliott smith though her, and heard this song and was like “elliott smith wrote this song about reggie and i xx”

they’re best friends! they are literally the bestest of friends. such a pure friendship.

all of them :)

‘spring’ by angel olsen

bro you’ve gotta listen to this song. it’s like evil crack.

[recreancyrpg]

BASICS.

NAME. James Potter AGE. 24 ALUMNI HOUSE. Gryffindor BLOOD STATUS. Pureblood FACECLAIM. Darren Barnet

HISTORY.

From a young age, James Potter got what he wanted. He had plans. Go to Hogwarts and finally make some friends (his closed-off neighborhood with aging parents wasn’t exactly crawling with children his own age). Explore the castle and have a laugh and ace his exams without trying and become Quidditch captain. The group of friends he found was an unexpected bunch of misfits, but no one questioned his choices because he was James Potter. He viewed even some of the biggest obstacles as an adventure. Like learning one his friends was a werewolf (a mighty challenge!) or when one prank went too far (it was an accident really!) or when he joined the war against Voldemort (bring it on!). The Order had always been the next thing for him and his friends to do. He’d decided it and the boys had followed, like they did with everything. He still had plans. Fight the bad guys, win the war. It would be fine (because he said so!).

Even when things in the war got bad, James’ optimism never wavered. He believed in the Order. He had his friends fighting alongside him, the love of his life right there with him. His money allowed him to dedicate his entire life to the cause without having to deal with a stupid job that would take up extra time. He became the Order. What might’ve begun as his next adventure - the right thing to do, of course, what with his girlfriend being a muggleborn and all - had grown into something much more.

And then he got captured. Right on the edge of what was supposed to be a safehouse. Sure, The Flaming Dragon might’ve been technically located in Knockturn Alley, but it wasn’t a place any of them needed to be afraid of. But James had gotten hexed from behind, taken without anyone noticing, and brought to an undisclosed location with three other pureblooded Order members. It had been a surprise - even with his growing understanding of privilege and Lily’s insistence that he wasn’t safe with her, he never really thought it would be him. Those four months of torture were rough, but he’d made it through with the knowledge that he had people waiting for him. The thought of fighting his way back to them made his survival possible.

What he didn’t expect were the changes he would come home to. Peter, as an unlikely leader. Remus and Sirius at each other’s throats. And Lily... well, she’d told him it wasn’t safe and his capture had only proved that. What he thought would be a loving homecoming led to cracked friendships and a break-up that even James couldn’t have anticipated. Not in his plan. Since his return, James has had to navigate the changes in both his personal life and the Order as a whole. For the first time in his life, he doesn’t know where he quite fits, but he’s trying to figure it out. And, even if he sometimes can’t help but shudder at the pain he’d felt while away, he’s at least pretending to keep that familiar optimism.

CONNECTIONS.

LILY EVANS. He will never understand why she ended things like she did. She says its because his capture proves he’s not safe with her - deemed a Blood Traitor for dating someone below his bloodline - but he thinks risking that should be his choice. If she really loved him, wouldn’t she not let go? SIRIUS BLACK. One staple in his life is Sirius Black. His best friend’s loyalty to James is one thing that hadn’t changed when he’d returned from captivity. While Sirius, like everyone else, thought him dead, James doesn’t hold that against him. It’s just good to have something that doesn’t feel so different to rely on. MARLENE MCKINNON, EMMELINE VANCE, & GIDEON PREWETT. Trauma brings people together. James spent four months locked up in a cellar with these three and, now, they share a different sort of bond. While the group isn’t exactly the Marauders, James has formed something as equally special - something that, unlike his other friends, isn’t splintering apart.

JAMES IS TAKEN.

[ao3feed-drastoria]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞; Tһᥱ һᥙr𝗍 o𝖿 ᑲᥣᥲᥴk sorᥴᥱrᥱr ( 𝘄𝗼𝗹𝗳𝘀𝘁𝗿 )

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/yk3NODq by wolfstarlamour ➥ In the midst of the conflict between Voldemort and Harry Potter, Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban with the help of a very close friend he has made in that hell of demons and torture, desperate to protect Harry and seek revenge for his defamation and distortion of facts that he would never have committed in his life. Upon arriving at Hogwarts after days of desperation navigating, he faces the red and bleeding scabs of his old murky past full of deep betrayals in an encounter that rains him back into the intimate hands of Remus Lupin, his one and only old love. Confused, wounded by years of imprisonment, and hopeful of regaining his love. Between suspense and repressed passion, a growing fire ignites between Remus and Sirius. They hate each other, not because of the alleged betrayal, but because their bodies cannot resist the soft and suffocating heat between them. Sirius struggles between the desire for justice and the longing for his moon, while the mystery of his destiny unfolds in a whirlwind of emotions. A new villain appears to ally himself with Voldemort and take away from Harry everything he could ever have had again. Words: 11227, Chapters: 1/40, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley, Ginny Weasley/Blaise Zabini, Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Pansy Parkinson/Blaise Zabini, Neville Longbottom/Theodore Nott, Peter Pettigrew/Original Female Character(s), James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Regulus Black/James Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Barty Crouch Jr./Evan Rosier Additional Tags: wolfstar, Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, slow and deep burn, rude sex and more dirty obsene sex in certain chapters, Bottom Sirius Black supremacy, Top Remus Lupin supremacy, Remus needs therapy just like everyone and more specifically Sirius, Sirius in love to the bones, Sirius black suicide, Albus Dumbledore staggering in grey, Damond its the best, Werewolf and now in a manade Remus lupine, Werewolf Remus Lupin, Remus lupine se I harden over the years, Absolutely EVERYONE has problems, possessive Remus Lupine, posseisve sirius black, Bisexual Sirius Black, Bisexual Remus Lupin, Jealous Remus Lupin, Jealous Sirius Black, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comedy, Romance, Sexual Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Trust Issues, Angry Sex, they don't know how to communicate their feelings and it's painful shit, friendly betrayal, Moody is a son of a b!tch to Remus because of his condition, dead Lily Evans, Dead James Potter, and Sirius wants to mutilate him in his animagus form, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin In Love, Sirius Black Loves Remus Lupin, Peter tries to redeem himself helping the golden trio read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/yk3NODq

[unravellingsilencehq]

May I have some prompts for one Mr. McKinnon please?

SONGS ON DOUGAL MCKINNON MIXTAPE COULD BE...

“But I know the reason why you keep this silence up, no you don't fool me. The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows it's no stranger to you and me.” - In the air tonight, Phil Collins (1981) [x]

The betrayal of Nathair McKinnon has shaken the family to its core. With Nathair voicing that he doesn't think Dougal should marry Annabeth, for his brother who's know her since he was four to object, it has taken Dougal completely off guard. Arguments erupted, with Marlene facing off against her twin for answers, how does he feel knowing that his union could split the family apart? Is he thinking of how Nathair gained these views and the people he's spending his time with? Or has his relationship with Annabeth changed since?

“Cause you were born into this evil world where man is killing man and no one knows just why. What have we become just look what we have done” - When children cry, White Lion (1986) [x]

Assertive in his search of truth, explore Dougal on a research mission to gather information about his private investigation around the death of Namari. What leads is he following/how is he planning to do that? With photographs he stole from Keira, has he stolen any information from the ministry of magic to aid his cause?

“You can't start a fire. You can't start a fire without a spark, this gun's for hire. Even if we're just dancin' in the dark” - Dancing in the dark, Bruce Springsteen (1984) [x]

Growing up with the breath of dragons under his skin and the scottish fire in his heart, Dougal can be as stubborn as he is wise. A loyal heart with black and white morals, explore a time where he was wrong. Where his inability to look in the grey held him back. With the order on the rise and his sworn alliance to them, has he ever thought that living away from it all would be best? Especially with Annabeth at risk with her blood status. Does he ever dream of what could be and what would that dream be?

[ao3feed-snape]

The Supercut Of Us

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/RlKgfaI

by iwanttobegood

Hi everyone :) This is a long fic written from Lily's perspective. It covers her time at Hogwarts and beyond, and revolves a lot around her relationship with Snape and Petunia. This is NOT a snilly fic, you can calm down, but considering it is from Lily’s POV, a lot of red flags will be flying completely over her head, so it might seem a bit like it at first. I am NOT a Snape apologist- he was a blood supremacist, and his actions are beyond forgiveness. This work is primarily about the unfortuantely very common experience of watching your childhood guy friends slowly change into complete monsters, as you grow up, and the pain of letting them go. This is a Mary x Lily fic, but it will strongly focus on Lily’s relationship with all of the girls- so Marlene, Alice, Dorcas and my OC- Ross. It will contain background marauders (it’ll be a very blurry background for the first few years though). I will also preface this by saying- I do NOT condone nor agree with JKR’s disgusting, transphobic views in any way. If you do, I’m asking you to get out of here now. If this description sounds like something of your interest- enjoy :)

Words: 5806, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Lily Evans Potter, Mary Macdonald, Marlene McKinnon, Severus Snape, Petunia Evans Dursley, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Alice Longbottom, OC-Rosalia Kowalski, Frank Longbottom, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore

Relationships: Mary Macdonald/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin

Additional Tags: Marauders Era (Harry Potter), canon is an emotionally distant father, like seriously, he's around but we can pretend we dont see him, Lesbian Marlene McKinnon, Bisexual Lily Evans Potter, unlabled Mary Mcdonald, Gay Sirius Black, Pan James Potter, wlw, friends to lovers?, will they won't they, slowburn, Like really really slow, literally years, background Dorlene, enemies to lovers dorlene, Bisexual Remus Lupin, Canon Compliant, Fluff and Angst, POV Lily Evans Potter

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/RlKgfaI

[keepmeinthedark]

Growing Pains || A Marlene McKinnon fanfiction

Chapter Two - Hogwarts

Chapter One here

Finding the confidence to ask someone if she could sit with them was proving to be a lot harder then Marlene originally thought. Especially with the thought of her fight with her sister so clear in her head.

Marlene was overreacting, she knew it but she didn't care. Steph lied and her and she hated being lied to. Steph knew this.

They had both been brought up in what Marlene thinks was the right way. To respect others, to not take the purity of others blood into account, to be kind and fair and brave. That Slytherins were anything but, that Gryffindor was the house that every member of their family was apart of and that was for a reason.

But surely she knew better then this? Maybe if her sister was in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff she would be less mad. She didn't want to be mad at Steph, for she was the only person on this train that she knew. She didn't think about making friends on the train, she had just assumed she would enjoy the ride with Steph and her friends and then start actually putting herself out there to her own year once sorted.

Luckily she was able to find a carriage of her own, at the very front of the train, next to where the prefects were. She took her seat and a deep breath.

Now what?

She hadn't really packed anything in her bag that could be used as entertainment. She expected that she would have people to talk to for the train ride.

She sighed and looked out the window, this was going to be a long journey. And the train hadn't even taken off yet.

It was about twenty minutes before the train took off and then another ten minuets for someone to join Marlene.

A small plump boy, draw coloured hair and baby face entered the carriage. "Umm I hope you don't mind but could I sit here?" he asked quietly.

Marlene had to stop herself from jumping with excitement, he was clearly someone who would be in her year and she could use the company.

"Oh yes! Of corse, please take a seat," she beamed. "My names Marlene, Marlene McKinnon."

"Peter Pettigrew," the boy replied, shaking her outstretched hand and sitting in the seat opposite her. "Are you a first year too?"

Marlene nodded, "Yes I am, I'm so excited. Aren't you? Oh I can't wait to be sorted and start classes," she rambled, slightly bouncing up and down in her seat.

Peter smiled, "So am I. What house do you think you'd be in?"

"Gryffindor probably," she replied, trying not to sound as confident as she actually was. "My whole family has been Gryffindor, only makes sense. What about you? Are you pureblood?"

Peter nodded, "My family has been mixed and matched. No real legacy for me, although I'm hoping to also make Gryffindor."

Marlene nodded and politely smiled, trying not to let it show on her face that she thought he would rather be suited in Hufflepuff in her opinion.

"Do you have any siblings?" she asked, she didn't want to sit in silence with Peter. She had to make friends somehow and this seemed as good of a time as ever.

Peter nodded, "A sister, Beth her name is. She's a year younger then me. Have you?"

Marlene hesitated. Really she should've known that Peter would ask back but it still caught her off guard. She had just told Peter that her entire family was Gryffindors, but Steph in fact wasn't a Gryffindor at all.

Still, she was her sisters. And it wasn't like she expected Peter to actually make Gryffindor, he probably would never notice.

"I have one older sister, a younger brother and two younger sisters."

"Wow, big family you've got there."

Marlene let out a little laugh, "Yeah, I guess... But I like having a big family. I love my siblings as I know you must love your sister."

Peter nodded, "Yeah, definitely."

Marlene and Peter continued talking throughout the ride and rode the boats to the castle with two other girls.

Just the sight of the castle made Marlenes stomach grow butterfly's, it was everything she ever dreamed of and walking into the great hall for the first time was surly a moment she would never forget.

"When I call your name, come forward and I will place the hat on your head. When you've been sorted please join your house table," Professor McGonagall said, before pulling out a scroll and speaking the first name.

"Black, Sirius"

Black, Marlene had heard of that family before, all Slytherins, all purists, all arseholes. She narrowed her eyes as she watched the black haired boy take his seat up on the stool. This one would be obvious.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted and the hall went silent.

Marlene allowed herself to glance back at the Slytherin table, where Sirius' family were, ready to welcome him with open arms. Now all sat with their jaws open and eyebrows raised.

Looking back at Sirius almost broke her heart, he looked... scared.

Marlenes eyes didn't leave Sirius for the majority of the sorting. It wasn't until she hear "MacDonald, Mary" that her head shot back to the front. She should be called up soon.

Mary was a small girl, with beautiful brown skin and was wearing a black hijab. She walked up to the stall and sat down, it didn't take long for the hat to yell "GRYFFINDOR," causing the hall to applause while Mary joined her house.

"McKinnon, Marlene."

For whatever reason, Marlene decided to wait a total of three seconds before actually moving, as if she was scared that there were two Marlene McKinnons in her year or perhaps if she misheard the professor and went up before her name was called.

She sat at the stool and faced the great hall. Only then did she feel so incredible small. So many eyes all staring up at her, waiting to see where she'd be placed.

She found Stephanie easily, she was sat at the Slytherin table, close to the edge of the table, as if she was getting ready to welcome Marlene into the house.

"Oh god please not Slytherin" she whispered.

Not Slytherin? Pity, I reckon you'd do rather well there.

Marlene had to stop myself from jumping too much. Of course the hat talked, she had been told this. She had been told every little detail about the sorting ceremony but now that she was here she was terrified. Steph being a Slytherin had completely caught her off guard. She just wished the hat would hurry on and sort her already.

Getting impatient are we? So Hufflepuff will never do.

Well you've got that right, she thought. Just please say Gryffindor and leave me be.

Gryffindor? You have bravery yes but also creativity and wit and, if you use it correctly, intelligence. Perhaps Ravenclaw is more your style.

Ravenclaw? She hadn't thought of herself as a Ravenclaw before. Always Gryffindor. She had to be Gryffindor.

You don't have to be anything the hat spoke again. Here all you have to be is yourself and you are not a Gryffindor

Marlene could feel the hat move on her head, she knew what was coming.

Wait, I'm not-

"RAVENCLAW!"

Marlene didn't remover much of the feast from then on. Instead she sat at the Ravenclaw table sulking. She looked like a fool.

Of corse Peter had made it into Gryffindor, along with Sirius, Mary, three other boys and a girl with red hair. She had never envied strangers more.

She couldn't keep her eyes off the Gryffindor table, they all sat there talking and laughing with their prefects. The Ravenclaws around her tried to get through. Also sorted into her house were two other girls, Emmeline and Hestia. And two boys, Caradoc and Benjy. Their prefect, Frank was currently answering every question her four housemates could come up with.

"It's a small batch this year isn't it?" A girl said, taking a seat next to Frank. "Hi, my names Pandora. I'm head girl," she said, shaking each other their hands.

"Small as in number or height?" Frank joked.

Pandora laughed and shoved him "Oh shut it Longbottom, Merlín knows how you got prefect you can't go abusing your power by bullying first years," she laughed causing the others around them to laugh along.

"Anyways, we better go off to bed. Before everyone starts clearing out and we end up losing one of you. Follow me firsties," Frank said loudly, getting up from his seat.

The five first years followed him through the castle until they had reached Ravenclaw tower.

Marlene had to admit the Ravenclaw common room was beautiful. Frank lead them down the staircase and sat the five of them on the blue sofas by the fire.

"Right, well this is it! Umm just a few ground rules that Ravenclaw house has had for a while and a few insights of other houses and all that.

"Firstly, you're welcome to borrow any book only condition is that you give it back. A rule that I'm pretty sure all houses have are parties are allowed but Hufflepuff usually take care of Halloween because they're closest to the food, there's a ball every year right before the Christmas holidays, although only forth year and above are allowed, sorry guys and parties for such events such as birthdays we say third year and above are allowed to host those. Like no offence yall are cute but nobody knows who you are or care about the fact that you're turning twelve so-" he shrugged.

"Boys I warn you, don't go up to the girls dorm by your own will you will regret it. Ummmm what else is there...? Okay if I think of anything else I'll tell you but until then, follow me youngsters," he quickly jogged to a door under the balcony, down a corridor leading to two stair cases.

"Ladies, follow those stairs up to the first door and you will find your dorm room. You'll find that your things have already been sent up for you. Boys, follow me," and with that he, Caradoc and Benjy were gone.

It was Hestia that lead the way to the dorms and immediately jumped on the closest bed. Emmeline then took the middle one leaving Marlene to take the one furthest from the door.

The three girls unpacked in silence until Hestia spoke up, "You're quiet," she said, looking at Marlene.

Marlene just shrugged, "I guess."

Hestia didn't respond but Marlene caught her and Emmeline sharing a glance.

"Well, I was thinking about going down to the common room. Maybe we could get the boys, try to know each other a little better. You two up for it?" Emmeline then asked.

Hestia nodded smiling but Marlene shook her head, "I'm actually a bit tired. Might go to bed early after writing to my folks," she lied. Really she had no intention in writing to her parents until she could properly talk to Stephanie.

The two girls nodded and left the dorm, leaving Marlene on her own.

She sighed and got changed quickly before getting into bed.

"This isn't so bad," she told herself. So far Hogwarts was nothing like she expected but it wasn't all bad. Could've been worse definitely.

With that thought in mind, Marlene turned off the lamp and slowly but surly fell asleep.

[messers-moony]

Secrets | R.L

Paring: Remus Lupin X Wife!Reader

Summary: Y/n withholds her past from the Order of the Phoenix but it all comes loose after one eavesdropped conversation with Sirius.

Standing in the kitchen of Grimmauld Twelve after cleaning up dinner was always a fun experience. The Aurors finally allowed themselves to relax, even if it was just for a moment. Everyone could feel the amount of ease in the room, including the children. Harry Potter always remained grateful for these moments to relax. But he was never far from the woman who raised him, Y/n Lupin.

Remus was having an animated conversation with Sirius, Nymphadora, and Mad-Eye. Meanwhile, Molly, Arthur, Y/n, and the kids all spoke together, just joking around. Y/n couldn’t believe that Harry was fifteen. It felt like yesterday when he had gotten spit up all over her shirt while she tried to feed him. It was astonishing to watch Harry grow into the man Lily and James always wanted.

“ Professor Lupin! “ The Weasley twins called in symphony making both Lupins turn their way, “ The female Professor Lupin. “ Fred specified, and Remus chuckled.

The twins pulled her away into a secluded corner, “ Did you get them? “ George queried, and Y/n scoffed, “ Of course, I did. What do you take me for? A liar? “

“ Absolutely not! “ Fred replied, “ They’re all in your room. Make good work of those fireworks. “ Y/n whispered, and both boys were jumping with joy.

They bowed, “ Only for you, Professor. “

Both boys ran off to presumably go and check their new items. Y/n chuckled at their antics when arms wrapped around her waist. A chin was rested on her right shoulder, and the scratch of scruff tickled her jaw. Caramel-brown hair fading and flecked with grey obscured part of her vision. Two hands were rested on her waist—the left hand adoring a very familiar ring.

“ What have you given those mischievous boys? “ Remus asked, “ Nothing. I’m not quite sure what you’re on about? “ Y/n answered, turning to face her husband.

His eyebrow quirked, “ Okay, I made a trip to a particular store. I got them some fireworks. “ Y/n informed, “ Fireworks? “ Remus questioned.

“ They’re magical fireworks. “ Y/n stated, “ The boys like to experiment, so I let them have their fun. “

“ And that’s why you refuse to give them detention. “ Remus rolled his eyes, “ I do give them detention! “ Y/n exclaimed, pouting slightly.

“ I lecture them about all the things they did wrong. “ Y/n added before Remus could speak, “ And then I tell them how to do it better. “ She mumbled.

Her husband laughed, “ Oh, there's the marauder in you, my dear. “

There was a prominent silence between them before Remus spoke up again, “ Have you told Harry about your former last name? “

“ No, I haven’t. “ Y/n swallowed, “ He doesn’t need to know. “

“ I think he’d like to know. “ Remus replied as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, “ I think he’d like to hear all the stories about your twin brother. “

She shook her head, “ Sirius can tell him. “

“ Sirius can’t tell him everything, love. “ Remus informed sweetly, “ Only you knew James Potter since he was born. “

“ I know, I just- it’s hard. “ Y/n bit her lower lip, “ I know, darling. “ Remus responded as he pulled her lower lip from her teeth with his thumb, gently.

They stared at each other for a moment before someone interrupted, “ Y/n, I think you should talk to Sirius. “ Molly informed, and she furrowed her eyebrows, “ He showed Harry the Black Family tree. “

Molly left, and Y/n kissed her husband on the cheek, “ Talk about this later. “ Y/n whispered, leaving him.

She walked around the house. Sirius was standing in the doorway, about to close the black wooden door. Y/n only stood a couple of feet away, but he was hesitant. He didn’t want to shut the door just yet. So much history laid on the wallpaper of the room. So many awful memories. Y/n laid a hand on his shoulder gently.

“ Come on. “ Y/n beckoned as she pulled him into the room, and he shut the door behind them, “ Colloportus. “ She muttered, locking the door.

Sirius stood in front of Regulus’s name, “ Go on, speak. “ Y/n said, and Sirius sighed.

“ It was hard. Losing him, I mean. Even though we didn’t have the greatest relationship, it still felt like I should’ve been there. I should’ve protected him. He was my little brother, for Merlin’s sake. “ Sirius ranted, “ Maybe if I stayed. Maybe if I took him with me that night, this would’ve never happened.

“ Losing a brother is hard. “ Y/n began, “ It’s a pain I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, but people die. People come and go. Truth be told, there isn’t much you can do about it. “

“ My brother wouldn’t have wanted me to live my life suffering. That’s why I married Remus even if he wasn’t by my side. Even if he wasn’t the one walking me down the aisle like he promised. “ Y/n continued, and tears streamed down Sirius’ face, “ Harry still doesn’t know. “

Sirius turned faster than a threatened spider, “ What? Haven’t you told him? “

“ No. He doesn’t know. I’m Y/n Lupin to him and everyone else aside from the adults. “ She shook her head, “ To be fair, it feels nice. “

“ Call me daft, but it feels nice not to be Pity Potter anymore. It feels nice to be Professor Lupin. “ Y/n shrugged, “ You raised him, and you lied to him. “ Sirius retorted.

“ I’m not lying to him; I’m just not telling him the entire truth. “ Y/n corrected, and Sirius turned back to the family tree, “ You were never Pity Potter. “ Sirius muttered.

Y/n chuckled, “ Everyone pitied me after they died. Poor Y/n Potter. She lost her parents at seventeen, lost her brother at twenty-one, became an unexpected parent at twenty-one with her brother's son. People didn’t have to say ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ for me to see the pity in their eyes. “

“ When Regulus died, nobody even said I’m sorry. “ Sirius whispered, “ Nobody knew Regulus like you did. “ Y/n replied.

“ Regulus wasn’t meant to die. He shouldn’t have died. But he did, Sirius. “ Y/n stated, and Sirius turned to her with tear-filled eyes, “ And if your brother was anything like mine, he wouldn’t want you to sulk your entire life. He wouldn’t want you to ask yourself ‘what if’; he’d want you to live your life. “

She took steps in front of the crying man, her hands placed on his shoulders, “ Regulus Black and James Potter didn’t die because they wanted us to suffer. They died because they wanted us to live. “

“ So please. Live for them. Don’t let their death be in vain. “ Y/n said, taking Sirius in for a hug which he returned gratefully, “ Harry loves you. He likes having his godfather in his life. Live for Harry. “

Sirius nodded, and they pulled apart, “ Remus got really lucky. “

Y/n laughed, “ James used to say the same thing. “

When they left the room, it felt like time stopped. Everyone stared at them. Sirius and Y/n were given glares aside from the adults. The children looked betrayed. Harry looked almost in tears. The Weasley twins looked guilty. It seemed to freeze, and Remus looked stressed. Molly and Arthur looked disappointed in their children. Mad-Eye looked unimpressed. Nymphadora looked intrigued. Remus and Y/n exchanged looks, his saying everything– he found out.

Y/n coughed, “ Why- Why is everyone staring? “

“ You lied! “ Harry’s voice sounded heartbroken, betrayed, “ I never lied to you, Harry. I just- you never asked, and there was never a suitable time. “ Y/n tried to explain.

The extendable ear in Fred’s hand told her everything, and she took a breath, “ Harry, can we talk about this in private, please? “

Remus walked forward and took Harry from the shoulders, guiding him to their shared bedroom; once Harry was out of earshot, the Weasley twins stared at their Professor, “ I’m- I’m so sorry, Professor. We didn't- “

“ I’m not mad at you. “ Y/n interrupt, “ I’m not mad at any of you. To clear the rumors, yes, James Potter was my twin brother- “

Before Y/n could continue, Sirius interjected, “ And Y/n Lupin is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. “

“ She has suffered a more remarkable feat than any other witch I know. Y/n was the one who found Marlene McKinnon’s family dead. She watched her best friend bleed out right in front of her eyes. “ Sirius continued, and Y/n swallowed, looking at the ground, “ She watched Frank, and Alice Longbottom get tortured to insanity. “

“ And finally Y/n suffered losing her other half, James Potter and her sister in law, Lily Evans or Lily Potter. “ Sirius put two hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her, “ So before you glare at her, understand what she’s been through. Understand that she’s been tortured, hurt, and killed in more ways than one. “

Sirius still wasn’t finished, “ Her husband is a werewolf. Her husband has hurt her before, and she bears the scars. Her brother was killed. Her brother by choice- “ Sirius chuckled before he continued, “ Was sent to Azkaban for twelve years, and someone she trusted betrayed us all. “

“ Y/n Euphemia Potter-Lupin has endured more pain than everyone in this room combined. But Y/n Euphemia Potter-Lupin is always the one holding us together, the glue to this horrid new world we live in. So please, before you glare. “ Sirius repeated, “ Understand that she’s been tortured, hurt, and killed in more ways than one. “

Hesitantly, Y/n raised her head to see everyone almost in tears. The children weren’t meant to know; they weren’t meant to hear all the suffering she’s endured. It wasn’t their time yet. But as she looked up, she saw Harry and Remus. They hadn’t entirely made it to the bedroom before Sirius began talking. Tears trailed down her husband's cheek, remembering that faithful night he had broken his vows and attacked her. She didn’t blame him.

Hermione was fully sobbing. The Weasley boys had light tears falling down their cheeks. Molly cried in Arthur’s arms while he tried withholding his tears. Nymphadora and Mad-Eye looked astonished. Ron was brought into a hug by Hermione but remained shocked. Y/n didn’t quite know what to do from here. They had just heard her entire life story.

“ I’m sorry you all had to hear that. “ Y/n chuckled, “ I didn’t know Sirius was going to give you a biography on how the first wizarding war went for me. “

She swallowed, “ I’m sorry for keeping this secret from you guys. And Harry, because I know you’re only a floor above me right now in the comfort of Remus’ arms. You need to know that I love you from the bottom of my heart. I just- I just didn’t want you to find out and get too excited. “

“ But I’m your biological Aunt. I fought Dumbledore tooth and nail to take care of you. I remember sobbing and wailing in Remus’ arms because you were right there, right in front of my face, yet I couldn’t have you. “ Y/n explained, “ Vernon and Petunia are awful people. You deserved love, and you wouldn’t have gotten it there. You would’ve been an outsider your entire life. “

Y/n was sobbing as Sirius rubbed her back, her words choked up, “ B- But, I love you, Harry James Potter. “

Harry left Remus’s arms and ran down the flight of stairs. His arms took around his Aunt. The fifteen-year-old held onto his aunt closer than he could ever imagine. Remus walked down the steps slowly to take his place beside Sirius. Harry pulled away slightly, and Y/n wiped her face. Harry’s eyes had that glint of mischief James always had, and it made her want to sob all over again, but Harry spoke before she could.

“ What was your marauder name? “

[fruitcoops]

Cake Off

Happy birthday, Finn O'Hara! Here's to hoping all your wishes come true <3 SW credit goes to @lumosinlove!

Marlene waved to the camera as she wove a small whisk into her bun; behind her, five young men sat in front of a well-lit industrial kitchen. “Hello, Lions, and welcome back to Lion Pride! I’m your host, Marlene McKinnon, and we’re here today to celebrate someone we all love very much.”

“Some more than others,” Leo corrected.

“Today is Finn O’Hara’s 25thbirthday,” Marlene continued. “And my gift to him was letting him pick what our next video was going to be. Being the agent of chaos we know and love, he chose to force his friends to make him birthday cakes. Cap, Knutty, I know you two are feeling pretty confident about this. Tremzy, Kasey, and Loops, how are we feeling today?”

Logan’s expression was rather pained. “Can I apologize in advance?”

“I have…a history with ovens,” Kasey said carefully. “Kind of like Britain’s history with the rest of the world, except I’m the rest of the world and the oven wins nine times out of ten.”

“I don’t bake,” Remus sighed. “This is going to be an adventure. Can I leave if I already got him a present?”

“Nope!” Marlene chirped. “To your stations, everyone!”

The five of them trooped to the countertops, which had been covered with a colorful assortment of baking supplies; Logan’s smile grew even more nervous. “Is there a guidebook, or something?”

Marlene ruffled his hair as she passed. “Where’s the fun in that? You have two hours to make a unique birthday cake. On your marks—”

Kasey went pale. “Wait—”

“—get set—”

“Marlene, please,” Remus begged.

“—go!”

“Oh my god,” Logan muttered. “Uh, I don’t have a recipe.”

Marlene’s grin was wicked. “That’s the extra bonus fun.”

Leo paused from where he was measuring flour into a sifter and raised his hand. “Finn’s not actually tasting everyone’s cakes, right? ‘Cause making him sick on his birthday seems a bit mean.”

“He only has to try one bite of each,” Marlene assured him as she stopped by Sirius’ station, where he was gathering his ingredients in a line. “Cap, what are you making today?”

“Vanilla with chocolate frosting. I know the recipe by heart, but I only make it when I’m stressed.” A furrow appeared between his brows before he straightened up and raised his voice. “Hey, someone stress me out!”

“Playoffs!” Kasey shouted from across the room. All five men immediately hurried to knock on the wooden cabinets.

“Thanks!” Sirius gave him a thumbs-up and Kasey winked.

“And somebody won’t be sleeping tonight,” Remus muttered, flicking sugar at Kasey. “Thanks, Bliz.”

Logan was still bracing himself against the countertop when Marlene arrived at his table. “How’re you feeling, Tremz? I see you haven’t chosen any ingredients.”

“There’s a very fine line between making your boyfriend a birthday cake and poisoning him,” Logan said after a moment. “And I think I’m about to find out where it is.”

“What are you making?”

“I don’t know yet. Whatever happens, happens.”

“Fair enough,” Marlene laughed as she moved on. “Leo?”

“I’m gonna make a lemon cake,” he said with a proud smile as he mixed the dry ingredients. “And it’s going to be delicious.”

“Do you bake at home very often? You sound confident.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “For special occasions, yeah. I vaguely know what I’m doing, so I feel pretty good.”

“How do you think Logan’s cake will turn out?”

Leo paused and glanced up. A beat of silence passed before he bit his lower lip. “I think it’s a really good thing that Finn has two boyfriends that are making him cakes.”

“Rude,” Logan grumbled as he dumped another cupful of flour into a bowl to Sirius’ obvious horror. He stuck his tongue out. “Don’t give me that look, Cap, this cake is going to be fucking amazing.”

Sirius raised his eyebrows and turned back to his own batter. “If you say so.”

Logan stood on his toes and poured the next cup directly over Sirius’ head in a poof of white. The studio went silent. With a cough, a bit of flour puffed from Sirius’ mouth. “Cap?” Kasey ventured.

“Hmm?”

“You okay?”

“Mhmm.” He slowly took a towel off the oven door and wiped his face with it, then whipped around and snapped it at Logan’s thigh—it connected with a sharp sound, followed by a yelp as Logan shoved Leo in front of him as a makeshift shield. “You can’t hide behind him forever!”

“Remember, you only have two hours!” Marlene called as she dodged a patch of flour on the floor. Sirius scowled and put the towel back down on the counter; Logan backed away to his station with a suspicious glare. “Loops, how are you?”

“I’m minding my own business,” he said innocently. “Staying in my lane. Paying no attention to the idiots behind the curtain, if you will.”

“Impressive. What are you making for our wonderful Harzy?”

“Spite cake.”

“What?”

“Spite cake,” he repeated with a shadow of a smile. “It’s carrot cake, but with no special ingredient of love or appreciation, because he knows how much I hate baking and he’s been making fun of me over text all morning.”

Leo frowned. “Weren’t you two bonding over how much you hate carrot cake when we went to lunch yesterday?”

“Hence the name,” Remus said as he pulled a cheese grater out of the lineup.

“And last, but certainly not least, Kasey.” Marlene leaned against the edge of his table. “How’s it going over here?”

“So far, so good.” He eyed his batter and poked one of the lumps with a fork. “Does this look ready to you?”

“Seems a bit wet, to be honest.”

“Yeah, I thought so. Do people put milk in cake batter?” On the other end of the kitchen, Sirius and Leo shared a look.

Marlene patted his arm. “Good luck, Bliz.”

The camera cut for a moment—when it returned, the three bakers on the far end seemed to be even more flustered than before. “You have one hour left!” someone off-screen announced.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” Logan held his spatula up. The batter remained stuck to it in a doughy lump. “Is this supposed to happen?”

Leo’s eyes flickered between Sirius, who was clearly shocked into silence, and Logan, who was growing more distressed by the second. “Sure, honey.”

“Baby, it looks like jello,” Remus called as he shook his mixing bowl with a nervous glance to Sirius. “Why does it look like jello?”

“Mon dieu,” Sirius muttered as he crossed the room; the second he looked over Remus’ shoulder, his eyes widened. “How did you…?”

“I don’t know.”

“You put flour in, right?”

“Hey, no helping!” Kasey protested, swatting Sirius on the shoulder with an oven mitt. “We all fail on our own merit here. Tremy’s making concrete, Loops has jello, and I’ve got soup, so you and Knutty can fuck off back to your perfect batter and let us suffer in peace!”

“Jesus, Bliz, did you put water in that?”

“No! I put butter and milk in!”

“Why?”

“Because!”

“One hour left!” Marlene shouted.

“Fuck it, it’s good enough.” Remus grabbed the nearest cake pan and dumped his batter in, then put it in the oven. He turned the heat on and faced the camera guiltily. “Harzy, I know this was meant to spite you, it really was just meant to be a carrot cake. Not…that.”

Logan sprinkled a handful of chocolate sprinkled into his mixing bowl. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” he singsonged. “But I know I’m doing it poorly!”

“Oh my god,” Remus said suddenly as he licked some of his batter off his finger. “Oh my—oh my god.”

Kasey looked up from pouring his batter into a pan in mild alarm. “What?”

“Oh my god, that’s terrible. Here, try it.”

Kasey put his cake in the oven before swiping a bit off and tasting it. His whole face scrunched. “What?”

“I know,” Remus laughed, passing the spatula to Logan. “It’s like getting punched with a cinnamon stick.”

“I can feel it in my nose,” Logan coughed. “Here, try mine.”

Leo regarded them with a healthy amount of disbelief. “Why are you all tasting it if you know it’s bad?”

“Because Marlene needs workable content.”

“Do it for the vine.”

“Because I’m a dumbass, rookie.” Kasey lifted the spatula up. “Cap, your fiancé made toxic sludge in cake form. Want some?”

Sirius hesitated, then sighed and headed over. Leo threw his hands in that air. “You, too?”

“What else am I supposed to—” Sirius faltered with a harsh exhale and braced his hands against the counter, licking his lips. “How many eggs did you put in that?”

“Four? Five?”

“How much cinnamon?”

“A teaspoon?”

Sirius took a fortifying breath through his nose. “Teaspoon or tablespoon?”

“Tablespoon,” Kasey answered for him. “Definitely a tablespoon. Try mine.”

“You two are never allowed in a kitchen again,” Sirius said, though he swiped his finger along the inside of Kasey’s bowl and tasted his batter with a grimace. “Ugh. It’s just melted butter.”

“How did you make it taste like salty butter and nothing else?” Logan asked, sounding genuinely interested.

“Well, Tremzy, I put salt and butter in it.”

Leo’s phone timer went off and he opened the oven door; four faces turned toward him in shock as he pulled a golden cake out and checked the center with a toothpick. Logan closed his eyes and bent closer, taking a deep inhale. “I wish the viewers could smell this, because it’s heaven.”

“Can it be my birthday instead?” Kasey asked. “Please?”

“Get back, you hyenas!” Leo whacked him lightly on the hand with a spoon when he reached out to poke the cake. “That oven was 350 degrees!”

Sirius glanced up at the camera. “That’s 177 degrees, for all you smart people out there.”

“Boo, Celsius.” Remus kissed his cheek. “You smell like sugar.”

“How much time do you all have left on your cakes?” Marlene asked from her perch next to the sink.

Logan, Remus, and Kasey shared a look before Logan turned back to her. “I don’t know?”

“You can’t answer that with another question,” she laughed.

“Ten minutes,” he guessed.

“Whenever it starts to smell good,” Remus said. “Though I doubt that’s going to happen.”

Kasey cocked his head and scanned Leo’s cake for a second. “When it starts looking like that.”

“It won’t,” Leo informed him.

“Damn, Knutty, okay.”

Marlene shook her head. “We’re going to cut filming until everyone’s cakes are out of the oven, but in the meantime we’ve got some special messages for our favorite redhead.”

A banner reading Happy Birthday, Finn! appeared on the screen with a burst of confetti before the usual studio replaced it, with its white walls and folding chairs. Dumo crossed one leg over the other with a soft smile. “One thing I admire about Finn is his tenacity. When he wants something, he’ll go for it with his whole heart.”

“I love his humor,” Leo said in the next short video. He was smiling as well, and had a faint blush on his freckled cheeks. “And the way he makes breakfast in the mornings. All the little things he does to make the people he loves happy. And he really does love with his whole heart. There’s no holding back with him.”

“Finn?” Sirius thought for a moment. “He’s a good person. I know that might sound lame, but he’s one of those people that you meet that always makes you feel happy, and confident, and supported. Anyone who meets him should count themselves lucky.”

Logan’s face was filled with nothing but affection. “I love his patience and his kindness. Whether that was helping me work on my English in college, or making the rookies feel welcome, or even the way he talks to complete strangers when they ask for directions on the street. Everything about him is kind.”

“Ah, jeez.” Remus bit his lower lip. “I think—I think what I admire most about Finn is that he never lets anyone else define who he is. He’s comfortable in himself and makes everyone around him feel safe. It’s sappy, but it’s true. He’s one of my best friends and I’m grateful for him every day.”

“He’s one of the most reliable people I’ve ever met,” James said. “Both on and off the ice. He will be there to support his friends in any capacity and I think we all need to be a little more like Finn that way.”

“Great player.” Arthur nodded. “Great player, and an even better teammate. I can put O’Hara anywhere on the ice and he’ll throw everything he’s got into doing his best. I can’t think of a single Lion who doesn’t love being on the same shift as him.”

Talker grinned, leaning back in his chair with a shake of his head. “Finn just loves hockey. He takes it seriously, of course, but he loves being out there with us and I’m always happy when we’re on a line together. He goes out there every night and has a blast. I admire a lot about him, but especially that.”

“It’s hard to pick one specific thing that I admire about him,” Kasey said, shifting in his chair. “He’s Finn. He’s annoying as all hell, and I love him for it. I’m not sure. Can I make a list?”

“Harzy is very cool,” Olli laughed. “Very cool and very fun to be around. He has a quick wit and truly cares about all of us.”

Kuny raised his eyebrows. “What I like about Harzy? Oh, everything. Everything. He is good friend, good teammate, always there when we need him. Good for Tremzy and Knutty, too. He would turn red like fire engine if he heard me. Don’t tell him I say that.”

The video changed to a wide view of the whole team as they waved to the camera. “Happy birthday, Harzy!” they chorused. “Bitch ass moves!”

The kitchen was much cleaner when the video resumed; all the cooking supplies had been taken away, leaving five hockey players with their cakes in front of them. Leo’s cake was a bit lopsided, though the yellow frosting was cheerful and even—next to him, Logan’s cake looked more like a squished loaf of bread. Sirius’ was plain and elegant, while Kasey’s frosting was still dripping as the camera zoomed in on it.

“Wow,” Finn said after a moment of silence from his seat at the main table, where five slices of cake had been placed on small plates with a label for each name. “Just…wow.”

“You can start with whichever one you want,” Marlene told him.

“I think I’ll save Cap and Leo’s for last. Uh, Kase, what happened here?”

Kasey sighed. “I wish I knew.”

Finn gave it a wary look, then took a bite; his chewing slowed to a stop almost immediately and Logan’s shoulders started to shake from his suppressed laughter. “You know it’s burnt on the outside and not cooked on the inside, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Just checking.” With great effort, he swallowed. “Why is it wet?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, man.”

Finn took the next plate, then paused. “Re, I love you, but…”

Remus shook his head. “I know.”

“I’m genuinely afraid to try this.”

“You should be.”

The second it touched his tongue, Finn started laughing. “Jesus, it’s a straight shot of cinnamon. Why is it crunchy?”

“It’s carrot cake!”

“You know I hate carrot cake!”

“Look, I gave it my best shot. It really wasn’t supposed to do…” He gestured at the plate. “That.”

“Lo, baby, please tell me yours is better than the last two.”

Logan thought for a moment. “It was made with love and that’s all that matters.”

Finn took a deep breath before taking a bite. A range of emotions washed over his face—pleasant surprise, then confusion, then horror, and finally disbelief. “I…what?”

“I don’t even know.”

He swallowed, then ate another bite. “Oh, bad idea. This—are there chocolate chips in here? And almonds?”

“Yeah. You like those, right?”

“Usually, yes. It’s kind of got the texture of fruitcake, but—” Finn broke off and picked the slice up, giving it a shake. Not even a crumb fell out of place, and the rest of the boys burst out laughing. “Lo. Logan. Light of my life, what the fuck?”

“Happy birthday?”

“This is the best birthday present ever. Alright, Cap, your turn.” He took a piece of Sirius’ cake and nodded. “Yep, that’s cake.”

Sirius blinked at him. “And?”

Finn shrugged. “It’s cake. Classic flavors, good texture. I like it. Definitely tastes like a cake you would make.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“He’s calling you basic,” Kasey said, patting Sirius’ shoulder sympathetically. “But hey, at least yours was cooked all the way.”

“And now for boyfriend number two,” Finn continued.

Leo rolled his eyes. “Boyfriend number two.”

“Oh, that’s so good,” Finn groaned around a mouthful of cake. His eyebrows pitched. “I love it.”

“What about it?” Marlene prompted.

“For starters, it’s cooked all the way through. The lemon is freakin’ amazing, and the frosting isn’t melting off the sides or anything. I can’t even taste everyone else’s anymore. It’s a helluva cake. Happy birthday to me. Will you make this every day?”

“No,” Leo said, though there was a pleased flush on his face. “But maybe on the weekend.”

Finn scraped the last of the crumbs off his plate. “Alright, everyone, come get a piece of this magic. Thank you for doing this, by the way. I know three of you hate baking.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Logan admitted as he settled himself on one of Finn’s thighs with a slice of his own and kissed his temple. “Sorry for almost poisoning you. Oh, that is tasty.”

“I love you anyway. I think Loops and Bliz were actually the closest to doing that, so you’re all good.” Finn raised his eyebrows and craned his neck over Logan’s shoulder. “Speaking of…”

“Lasagna or chicken piccata?” Remus asked. Sirius took advantage of his moment of distraction by stealing a bite off his plate and received a playful glare in response, though it was soothed by a kiss on his cheek.

“Lasagna, please.”

“Does Friday work?”

Finn gave him a thumbs-up. “Sorry, Harzy,” Kasey said as he carefully got the last bits of frosting off his fork. “I have no marketable skills to apologize with. You don’t want me anywhere near a stove or an oven.”

A gleam lit in Finn’s eye. “Will you get in all your pads and play chicken with Knutty and I?”

“For the twentieth time—”

“It’s my birthday,” he wheedled, pouting his lower lip out with the Bambi eyes turned to full blast.

Kasey sighed. “Fine.”

“Hell yeah.”

“Thanks for joining us for our birthday celebration,” Marlene said with a smile. “The best estimations of these recipes are linked on our website, with a few tweaks to make sure none of your loved ones get food poisoning this August. Have a great day, Lions!”

[stars-a-n-d-scars]

Who are your favorite characters from the Harry Potter? Do you have any favorite ships?

Okay so:

Marauders Era: Characters

Remus Lupin

I mean obviously. How could you not love him. I just... he's perfect. There are so many different ways people interpret his character, and the way his backstory is just so fucking tragic, yet he remains a good person throughout it all is just *chef's kiss*

Sirius Black

My bretheren. I relate to him so hard. Having troubles with family, not fitting in, feeling like you have enormous expectations to love up to, putting on a facade of confidence while actually being extremely insecure, I just love him so much.

Marlene McKinnon

My lesbian QUEEN. I think she and Sirius balanced eachother so well, and I adore the idea of her also being a slightly ignorant pure-blood who learned to be better through her friends (and girlfriend, Dorcas).

Regulus Black

There is so much that goes unexplored in Reggie's character. I love seeing the different directions that different people go in with him.

Marauders Era: Ships

Wolfstar

My home. My life. My soul. I adore this ship, there are no words.

Jily

I feel like Jily is that token hetero couple that we all love so much. There are so many different takes on the ship, but all-in-all I just love them.

Dorlene

Not much of the fandom actually centres around dorlene, they're more of a peripheral ship, but I love them all the same.

Golden-Trio Era: Characters

Luna Lovegood

Love her. I hc Luna as an Autistic person, and she was such a comfort character growing up, showing me it was okay to be a bit different and like what you like, even if people laugh at you for it.

Ginny Weasley

Don't even get me started on how the movies did not do this queen justice. Adore her.

Hermione Granger

Hermione can get so much hate, and although she is a bit of a pain at times, I totally love her character and how she works so hard because she feels like she needs to in order to fit in (much like Remus).

Neville Longbottom

Plants. That's it.

Golden-Trio Era: Ships

I don't have many golden-trio era ships, but here are some, plus I added my opinions on some of the existing ones.

Nuna (Neville + Luna)

Love it. Totally see it. Wish it had worked out in canon. I can see them as profs at hogwarts along side eachother, like neville in herbology and Luna maybe in like divination or smthng.

Drarry

No. Nope. Not for me, sorry. I just don't see it.

Harmione

Why not? I know it isn't canon, but it does kinda make sense to me. I don't really like Ron and Hermione together anyway, I feel like this makes much more sense.

Hinny

Yup. Again, in the movies, total shit, despise it, but in the books, great, awesome, pls give me more.

Remadora

Not sure if this counts, but I want to say how much I HATE IT. "Oh, let's take two obviouslt queer characters and just smash them together even though it makes no sense at all, just to stop speculation about them being queer". Fuck that shit. No. I see them as great friends, and I like fics in which they had Teddy as a one-night stand drunken mistake sort of thing but then become great co-parents, but as an actual couple, absolutely the fuck not.

So there you go! Thanks for asking.

[wlntrsldler]

champagne problems (s.b one shot)

PROMPT: based on champagne problems by taylor swift. Y/N leaves to protect her family and Sirius waits for her.

WARNINGS: mentions of death, death, angst, fluff?

WC: 2.2K+

HARRY POTTER MASTERLIST

-

champagne problems (s.b one shot)

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Sirius whispered, scared of the situation in front of him. You’d been distant all day, as if something was bothering you. With Sirius, you were always so carefree and at ease because he knew exactly how to make you feel better, but this time, it seemed Sirius was at a loss. 

You refused to look at him. He felt his heart shattering every time he called for you and he got no response. He tried to be patient and not push you, knowing your stubbornness rivaled his. So he sat quietly and let your mind wander off into new places as he watched you slip away from him— until finally, he could bear it no longer. 

“Sirius,” you sighed, using all your power to push yourself further away from him. You held a hand up, keeping him at an arm’s distance as he tried to get closer, “I have to leave.” 

His eyebrows furrowed, a look of genuine confusion etched on his face, “What?”

“I have to go,” your voice betrayed you, cracking in mid sentence as you tried to explain why you had to leave. “I’m muggleborn. After the McKinnons…. They’ll try to take my family next, I know it. Sirius, you have to understand.” 

“I can help protect them,” he rebutted, eyes darting everywhere, as if trying to figure out how he would do that. “We can do this together, you know? I’m getting better and better everyday since Hogwarts, Y/N. We’ll put up protective charms a-and we can fight. Yeah, we’ll fight—”

“This isn’t your fight, Sirius,” you explained, wiping your tears, “You have your own family to protect. Moony, Peter, The Potters! James and Lily and young Harry! The Order needs you, Sirius. I can’t take you away from your duties.” 

He shook his head, hair already messy from his constant tugging, “You’re my family, too! I don’t understand why I can’t help you.”

“I could never forgive myself if something happened to you because you were trying to protect me and my family.” 

“And I could never forgive myself if something happened to you! Especially knowing I could’ve helped!” Sirius exclaimed, his calm demeanor long gone. He wasn’t yelling at you, but his voice significantly picked up volume as the conversation progressed. His eyes were red, lips severely bitten as he pleaded his case. “I don’t understand why you have to go! They’re okay, I’ll make sure of it.”

“Sirius, you’re not listening to me!”

“No, you’re not listening to me!” he replied, marching over to you. He held you by your shoulders, looking at you straight in the eyes, “You… You can’t leave, Y/N. Not right now, not ever. We already lost Marlene and the Prewetts and Godric, if I lost you— If I lost you, I wouldn’t know what to do. We’ll put your family under protective custody and we’ll make sure they don’t touch them, you hear me? But you are not going off by yourself.” 

“Sirius, I can’t have you pulling strings for me. The Order needs people here. They need people to fight. I’m expendable, Sirius, don’t you understand? Nobody is going out there to protect muggles. No one.” You held his face in your hands, leaving soft kisses on his skin. He closed his eyes, crying brokenly. You continued, “I have to go, Sirius. You need to stay here. They need you, Sirius Black.” 

“What about what I need?” he whispered, gripping your waist. He showed no signs of letting you go. In fact, his grip on your waist tightened, afraid that one falter in his movements, you’d walk away. He wasn’t ready. “I need you.”

You knew then that Sirius understood why you had to go. If the Potters were ever in danger, he’d drop everything to make sure they were safe. Although he wasn’t Euphemia’s and Fleamont’s son by blood, they treated him like he was. You grew up with a loving family— one that Sirius longed for and finally got after meeting young James Potter on the train in their first year, and Sirius knew you had to go. But it didn’t make it any easier on him. 

He opened his heart to you, and there was not a day since that he regretted doing so. He was broken and bruised and for a while, he thought he was incapable of accepting love that didn’t come from the Marauders or the Potters. You came along in his fourth year, trailing behind Lily Evans who was asking Remus for some help on Transfigurations, and you beamed at him with that sunshine smile and he was done for. 

Sirius fell for you, hard and quick. He was in love with you before you even entertained the idea of Sirius Black in your life. Growing up, he yearned to be loved by someone and he never thought that the mere idea of falling in love with someone like you would feel just as good as feeling that love he craved. You had such a big heart, Sirius knew that but a part of him still thought there was no space in there for him. As pathetic as it sounded (Remus’ words— though he said it with a small smile tugging on his lips), Sirius would’ve been okay with that because to him, it was an honor all on its own to love you, even if it wasn’t reciprocated. 

The day you told him you loved him, all the heartache and pain that young Sirius Black endured all his years suddenly felt like nothing. Sure, the trauma and the hurt will always leave their mark on him, but now, once those words left your lips, Sirius Black knew that he would be okay. He had you. 

Sirius spoke again, “Y/N, this is probably the worst time to do this but I never had good timing, did I?” 

“Siri,” you whispered, gasping into your palms as he kneeled down on one knee. 

“I don’t have a ring. Uh, the Black family has a ring we pass down every generation but obviously, I was not blessed with such,” he chuckled, playing with your fingers. “I may not have a ring but I have my love and I’m hoping that will suffice for now. Y/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?”

Nodding your head furiously, you mumbled a shaky, “Yes.”

Sirius laughed, getting up on his feet to twirl you around your living room. He buried his head in your hair, wanting to memorize your scent. He kissed your neck softly, muttering his undying love and affection. He spun you around until you were both too dizzy to stand and you collapsed on top of him on your couch. 

You giggled, tucking a piece of his hair behind his ear. You rubbed your thumb across his cheekbone, kissing the tip of his nose, “I love you.” 

“I love you,” he replied, “I promise when you get back, I will put a ring on your finger.” 

When you get back. 

“When I get back,” you confirmed. 

-

James whistled, inspecting the ring in the box, “Blimey, Padfoot. This is beautiful!”

Sirius smiled proudly, eyes gleaming with excitement as his friend examined the ring he picked out for you. Since you left four months ago, he went on a hunt for the perfect ring, “Thanks, Prongs.”

“She’ll love it,” Remus added, putting down the newspaper that he was reading, “When is she coming back?” 

“When it’s safe enough, I suppose. That’s why we have to win this war, gentlemen. I would like to see my fiance as soon as possible.” 

Lily laughed, holding Harry by her heart, “I would also like to see my best friend soon. Harry also does miss his Godmother.” 

“He babbles her name whenever he sees the stuffed lion she got him,” James added, getting up to wrap his arms around Lily. The picture perfect family looked so happy to be with each other. It almost made the other two boys in the room forget what was going on outside the doors of their home. 

Sirius got up to take Harry from Lily, rocking the baby back and forth as he smiled fondly at his Godfather, “I miss her too, Bambi. We’ll see her soon, yeah?” 

Harry made some baby noises, laughing with his chest as Sirius pulled funny faces. He couldn’t help but think about how nice it would be to have one with you. Remus popped his head over Sirius’ shoulder to watch the baby and Harry immediately made grabby hands at Remus. Sirius passed him over to his best friend and sat back down on the Potters’ couch. He picked up the box that James left on the table and stared at it lovingly. 

Then, a bright light entered the room, startling all its occupants. A patronus. 

It was a black dog, one that mirrored Padfoot, and it ran around the room before stopping right in front of Sirius. Lily ran to Remus and grabbed a hold of Harry, who buried his head into the crook of his mother’s neck. James rushed over to his family, wrapping a protective arm around the two. Remus stood there, stunned. 

Sirius knew it was your patronus. 

Before anyone could make another move, your voice rang in the room. 

“Sirius,” you gasped, sounding out of breath. There was chaos in the background, he could hear it. His heart dropped to his stomach. No. 

“Sirius,” your patronus said again. “They’re here. There’s too many of them and— Sirius…”

“No,” his eyes were wide. Remus placed a hand on his shoulder but he couldn’t feel it. Lily looked away, hiding into James’ chest. Harry began to hiccup. 

“Sirius, I love you. I love you so much. So so much.” 

Then the black dog disappeared. The silence was eerie, even young Harry stopped his noises. Sirius dropped the ring, falling to the ground right after it. 

Remus kneeled down, holding him up, “Padfoot…”

“We have to go,” he breathed out, not looking at anyone in the eye. He faced straight ahead, his mind spinning too quickly for him to make sense of his thoughts. Sirius began to breathe unevenly, clutching his chest like it might burst. 

“Okay, Pads,” James nodded. He looked at Lily for confirmation. She tipped her head, holding Harry even closer than before. She knew. 

Without another word, the three boys apparated straight to your old home. Sirius promised to you that he would never try to visit you or check up on you until the war was finished, afraid for his safety and yours. But he had to break his promise. 

When they arrived, the house seemed empty. Nothing seemed out of place until he walked into the kitchen and saw your parents on the floor, unmoving. Sirius paled as he looked up at the ceiling and saw the symbol of the Dark Lord and his followers etched upon it. He ran up the stairs, tripping over the steps and his feet, bracing himself for what he already knew. 

The door to your bedroom was opened a tiny bit. It was large enough for Sirius to slide his foot in and open completely. He stood still. 

Sirius could hear the rushed footsteps of his two best friends chasing after him up the stairs. When they reached the final one, they stood behind Sirius, a gasp leaving their lips. The two boys began to cry quietly. 

James placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder, “I’m so sorry, Padfoot.” 

Sirius knew his friends were crying. After years of living with them, he knew the tone of their voice when they cried. He learned that. He knew that he should’ve been crying too because it hurt so bad. It felt like his heart was ripped out of his body and discarded but Sirius decided that not even that would hurt as much as the image of you lying lifelessly on the floor in front of him. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t feel anything. 

He walked closer to you, ignoring the howling of the wind coming from the broken window to his left. He stepped over the items knocked down by the fight. He was walking so slowly, afraid that if he were to come any closer, it would suddenly become too real. As much as he dreaded to get too close to you, he finally did. 

Sirius clenched his jaw, a rush of cold air washing over his body. He stared at your face, remembering the color of your eyes and the happiness that once occupied it. He leaned over to shut your eyelids, not wanting the gray clouds in your irises to overtake the happy memories he had saved in his mind. His eyes trailed down to your left hand that rested on your chest, black, veiny lines growing on your skin. You used it to try to block the curse from hitting your heart. Sirius stared at your unmoving, bare ring finger. 

It wasn’t until Sirius looked down at your stomach did he finally fall to his knees. He sobbed over your body, still warm from the impact, with a loving hand on top of your once growing belly.

**NO LONGER DOING GENERAL TAGS BUT THESE PEOPLE EXPRESSED INTEREST

@vereseg @teenagesublimefan @whoreforfredweasley 

read the james version here 

[saintchaser]

how could it end like this?

it all was so short for them, mary thought. none of them have made it to forty. she was the only one left and, after none of them were there anymore, she took a moment to remember them. their memory was faded, but not in a way to forget. in a way to ease the pain, in a way to not wake up, hot breath and cold sweat, crying for the ones left behind.

lily, lovely lily. lily was her first friend. lily, who braided mary's thick hair in hundreds of little braids. lovely lily, who kissed her friends good bye. who always had a smile and she was always happy. who loved and fought for the right she believed in.

james, who was always the life of everywhere he went. james potter, who hyped everyone up. james, who always winked at mary with both eyes and he always made her laugh.

he and lily were supposed to have a big family. to see their kids running in their garden and to take them to school and to cry tears of joy every time their kids boarded on the train they boarded on merely years ago. the train where james and lily kissed for the first time and the train where it all started for them.

remus, with who mary shared quick glances and with who she was in love at some point. she didn't pity herself when he got with sirius, because she was over him and because they were made for each other. remus, with who she had study dates and they always joked around about this and that.

sirius, to who she always smiled and it wasn't one time xe didn't return it. who was the best beater mary had ever known. who did her make up every time they she went out with a boy and who she always talked about boys because she knew they had the best advice.

remus and sirius were supposed to get married. they were supposed to live in their small apartment in the centre of london and all of their friends were supposed to come over and they'd drink and smoke and chat, after the war was over. they never got the chance.

dorcas, with who she always sang dancing queen on tables. who kissed marlene in the dorm and mary walked in on them and dorcas just smiled and winked. dorcas, who danced in the hallways and flew their broom every evening to their dorm.

marlene, who always joked about everything she could. who cut her hair short with paper scissors and who always wore dark eyeliner. who gossiped with mary and who knew all the rumors about everyone. marlene mckinnon, who always sang at the top of her lungs when she got drunk and the next morning they'd laugh over it.

marlene and dorcas had just gotten engaged. they were supposed to buy a small house in a cottage and raise their cats together. they were supposed to drink tea every morning together and laugh at the other's stupid outfits.

and peter. peter, who betrayed them all but he outsmarted them. peter, who always laughed at the stupidest things. who pulled the blankets off them in the morning when all of them lived together in a cramped apartment. peter, rosy cheeks and a small, shy smile. peter, who they all trusted.

they were all supposed to grow old together. they were supposed to have lily and james' kids and grandkids over every weekend and drink tea. they were supposed to be cranky old people and recall the times when they were reckless and they didn't care about themselves as much as they were supposed to.

it didn't happen. they were all gone. but they weren't forgotten.

taglist: @keepawaythenargles @wolfstariscannon @justadreamyhufflepuff @naviation-xx @enbysiriusblack @alexsimpss @headcannonshp @just--another--bean

[understandablyidiotic]

Jily Fic Recs

Disclaimer:

I have read most of these fanfictions, and most of them include smut, swearing, racial discrimination and other rather harsh topics. Some of these fanfictions are AU’s or are canon-compliant.

All Right, Evans?

Author: CokeBottleK

Summary: The thing about being Lily Evans and James Potter was that you couldn’t do anything without everybody else saying something about it.

Words: 177,798

Chapters: 30

Website: Fanfiction.Net

Description: All Right, Evans? is a personal favorite of mine, to be honest. The author, CokeBottleK, did such a great job of writing their history in the fanfiction and when I have no idea what to read next I almost always end up picking this one here.

Dangerous Crowds

Author: CokeBottleK

Summary: “As in all wars, life goes on” - HP/HBP

Words: 106,188

Chapters: 14

Website: Fanfiction.Net

Description: Dangerous Crowds is the sequel of All Right, Evans? and another personal favorite of mine. While All Right, Evans? focuses mainly on their “secret relationship”, Dangerous Crowds really brings out their friendship and relationship, as well as different P.O.V.’s of different characters. However, this fanfiction (as well as the series of ARE) was abandoned and I have no idea were CokeBottleK went.

Jily: I Can’t Love Him

Author: uncertainwallflower

Summary: Finding them at the end of fifth-year in 1976, you follow Lily Evans and James Potter through their lives at home and at Hogwarts-their second home-into the war-torn Wizarding World. Love and hate will grow and crumble around them as everything they know is flipped upside down by a dark wizard who threatens their mere existence. All mixed in with some ooey-gooey romance!

Words: 66k+

Chapters: 31

Website: Wattpad

Description: The not yet finished fanfiction by amazing author, uncertainwallflower. The story itself shows the amazing history of Lily and James starting out at the end of fifth year going to (what I presume) the end of their seventh year. It shows and brings out not only their relationship but their friendships with the people they love.

Fighting Fate

Author: scared of clouds

Summary: It may have taken him awhile to get to this point, but James Potter is happy with his life; as the captain of the pirate ship Fawkes, no-one tells him what to do or where to go. But when he agrees to carry a passenger - for a fee, of course - his life takes a rather interesting and wholly unexpected turn, and the past may be about to catch up with him.

Words: 128,296

Chapters: 18

Website: Fanfiction.Net

Description: Another one of my favorites on FF.Net! scared of clouds did an amazing job of making a Jily pirate AU for the Jily Pirate Fest (hence the JPF’s). The fanfiction features adventures, romance, friendship and, of course, pirates.

Her Oddest Customer

Author: sunaprincess7

Summary: Lily Evans has just opened a new cafe which serves models, musicians...and Royalty, aparently.

Words: 14,212

Chapters: 1

Website: Fanfiction.Net

Description: Rather than being a fanfiction, Her Oddest Customer is an amazing one-shot that captures modern-day Lily and James, James being the royal one.

All Of Me | A Jily Love Story

Author: arttloverr

Summary: It's the Marauders Seventh year at Hogwarts, as well as Lily Evans, Alice Fortescue, Marlene McKinnon and Mary McDonald. The year is filled with Love, adventure, laughter,  pain and death. Can love outshine the darkness? As the girls learn to live life the marauder way, Lily accepting how the times have changed - she finds herself rapidly falling in love with all the things she used to hate about the arrogant bullying toe-rag. As James's head deflates, he takes a step back and looks at Lily from another perspective; finally understanding what is at cost. From enemies, to best friends, to lovers. Follow their drama filled teenage life at Hogwarts: relationships, friendship struggles, right and wrong, discovering sexualities,  and of course, late night parties in the Gryffindor common room. 

Words: Unknown

Chapters: 53

Website: Wattpad

Description: All Of Me captured Lily and James’ life, along with their friends’, while in war perfectly. I haven’t been able to finish it due to angst (which there is a lot of), but I plan to soon.

Limerence | A James & Lily Story

Author: episkeyyy

Summary: I take her head in my hands, and do what I've been wanting to do for as long as I can remember- I press my lips to her. It's better than I could have ever dreamed it would be. Her lips are soft and mold perfectly to mine. The smell of vanilla is so overwhelming it's staggering, but I can't bring myself to care because it smells like Lily. I'm kissing Lily Evans.

Words: Unknown

Chapters: 34

Website: Wattpad

Description: Although told through first-person P.O.V., it’s still an amazing story that brings out Jily through James’ eyes. I found out from this story that I quite like Jily from James’ P.O.V., so if more fanfiction writers could write more of Jily but James’ P.O.V., that would be amazing.

Faint Hearts and Fair Ladies

Author: thejilyship

Summary: As the day turns to dusk, Sir Lupin heroically gets the royal family out of a castle under siege. Now the three royals and their knight find themselves running for their lives through the forest. James and Lily's tenuous relationship will be tested, as secrets come out and emotions run high. But to protect their family and their people, they must come together to fight their enemy.

Words: 141,663

Chapters: 17

Website: AO3

Description: Another royal AU where James and Lily are married but don’t know each other very well, and when Voldemort’s- good God you probably read the summary, why am I trying to explain it? Anyways, the fanfiction, although an AU, is amazingly written and I suggest you read this as well as the other few.

[recreancyrpg]

BASICS.

NAME. Marlene McKinnon AGE. 22 ALUMNI HOUSE. Hufflepuff BLOOD STATUS. Pureblood FACECLAIM. Jessie Mei Li

HISTORY.

The McKinnon family were always a tight-knit bunch, something that Marlene sometimes reveled in and sometimes found incredibly annoying. When she was younger and constantly feeling the pressure to live-up to this sibling or that cousin or to follow in the shoes of some great-great-granduncle, she used to dream about some spell that would magically turn her into an only child. Over her years at Hogwarts, as she got to know her fellow students and hear all about their family situations, she came to appreciate her own more. The McKinnons were all deep in each other’s business, but they also always had each other’s backs. It wouldn’t have mattered if Marlene had been sorted into Slytherin, Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw; her family would have treated her just the same. Quidditch captain, Head Girl, or the witch with the lowest O.W.L.s scores of all time? None of that would have mattered to the McKinnons. You were who you were, and who you were was family. Full stop.

Maybe it was their position as half-respected members of pureblood society and half-outsiders, but growing up in the McKinnon family always felt safe - sheltered, in a way. Maybe it was just that her childhood summers were split between the Isle of Skye and Sok Kwu Wan as opposed to London or Manchester or Dublin or Ottery St Catchpole, so she had some built-in insulation between herself and her peers. Whatever the reason, Marlene grew-up feeling safe. And not just from danger: safe from censure, safe from gossip. She was a McKinnon. That didn’t carry the same awe or fear or respect as being a Malfoy or a Black or a Prewett, but it meant something. Maybe a lot of that something was just “don’t bother trying, you won’t be able to bother them anyway,” but it was still nice to be known.

At least, it was. But then Marlene had the bright idea that she ought to do something to make the world better. She had always been an arbitrator among her cousins and siblings, the one who could take three angry kids and find the fairness buried in the feud. How hard could it be to do that outside the family gates? Why not join the Order of the Phoenix and put her wand behind her words? Stand up with - and for - her friends, and fight to defend the things she believed. It was a grand adventure, a good thing to do...until it wasn’t. She’d thought her family was under the radar enough to not have this war truly affect her but, boy, was she wrong. When she went missing, her family mourned. They memorialized her and grieved her and, all the while, Marlene was stuck in a cell being tortured, wanting to get back to them.

In the dungeon - she’s the only captive that knows now that they were being held at Malfoy Manor - the Death Eaters would take them one at a time, try to break them. Hurt them until they agreed to serve the Dark Lord. For months, Marlene held out. For months, they tortured her - physically, of course, but it was the mental part that pained her the worst. They put visions in her mind - of her family, dead because of her choices. And, eventually, she broke. She took the Dark Mark and, within a few weeks, the group were let out under the ruse of escape. Only Marlene knows that she has to help the Dark Lord or else her family will be targeted. He’s assured her that they will be safe, so long as she plays the game. Good thing she always excelled at chess, then. 

CONNECTIONS.

EMMELINE VANCE. Like everyone else in the cellars, Marlene had gotten close to Emmeline during their captivity. But Emmeline was different than James or Gideon. She was the youngest of them - had barely joined the Order before being taken - and it was like the rest of them wanted to protect her. Out of everyone she’s betraying, she thinks she feels guiltiest about Emmeline.  FABIAN PREWETT. Fabian is connected to Marlene in more ways than meets the eye. Both are purebloods committed to family. Both are here because it’s the right thing to do, not because they have to be. In the beginning, it was easy to believe she was making the right choice as long as the Prewetts were here! But now... with her family on the line... He would understand, if she told him, wouldn’t he? He’d do anything for Gideon, after all. DAISY HOOKUM. Best friends, they joined the Order together. Back in school, they’d never run out of things to talk about - whispering until three in the morning in their dormitory, often falling asleep under the covers together, too tired to move back to their own bed. But now, it’s like they’ve suddenly run out of things to say. Marlene misses Daisy, but the capture changed everything and it’s something Daisy just wouldn’t understand. 

MARLENE IS TAKEN.

**Note: Marlene is a spy for the Death Eaters. No one - not even the other spies - are aware of this fact. A future plot suggestion would be for one spy to be rewarded with the information by the Dark Lord to help Marlene with her endeavors. This plot connection will be UTPs.