fatal love

Chapter 25

As September drew to a close, none of them had found any information on how to become Animagi, and Sirius was starting to get frustrated. They had no option but to keep looking though.

He and the Marauders were in the Common Room, taking a break from the research, and laughing about how ridiculous Snape had looked yesterday after Evans had hit him with a Cheering Charm in their practical lesson the other day.

They had started hanging out in the Common Room more this year. Being in Third Year meant they were finally high enough on the pecking order to always get seats, and James wanted more opportunities to woo Lily.

He hadn't been doing very well at that. It was confusing to Sirius, because James was the most confident person he knew, but every time he tried to talk to her he became a bumbling mess, and forgot how conversation was supposed to work. But it was entertaining, if nothing else, so Sirius was quite happy to watch.

It was as they were in the Common Room on the last Saturday of September that Marlene approached.

"Hey Sirius," she smiled.

"Alright?" Sirius asked. He noticed Mary and Lily watching them from the other end of the room, giggling.

"Do you want to eat lunch with me today?" Marlene asked, twisting her hands together anxiously. "We could take some food outside, eat by the Great Lake?"

The other Marauders started snickering, and that's when Sirius realised - Marlene was asking him out. Oh. Well, she was nice, and pretty, and she clearly liked him. That last thing made Sirius feel very smug - having a girl fancy you was quite an ego trip.

He put on what he hoped was an attractive smirk. "Sounds good. Meet you in the Entrance Hall in half an hour?"

"Awesome!" Marlene exclaimed. "I'll see you then!" She hurried over to Mary and Lily, and James punched him in the arm, grinning.

"You have a da-ate," he teased, delighted.

"Hell yeah I do," Sirius grinned.

"Are you gonna kiss her?" Pete asked.

Oh, right. That's what people do on dates, Sirius remembered. He'd been so busy grinning about having a girl fancy him that he forgot what came next. Would he have to kiss her? It couldn't be that difficult, he told himself, everyone did it. "If the moment's right," he shrugged, not letting the other boys in on his sudden panic.

He met Marlene at the Entrance Hall as agreed, and they went down to the Great Lake together. The weather was still warm, as autumn hadn't quite hit yet, and the sun was shining down on them. She was wearing jeans and a flowy blue top, both muggle clothing, which Sirius thought looked nice. He'd worn his jeans, obviously, because he wanted to look cool, and a plain black t-shirt he liked, because it matched his hair.

He let Marlene choose where to sit, and produced a blanket for them to sit on. His mother had always told him to be chivalrous when he started courting. He wasn't sure he wanted her advice, but he didn't have much else to go on. He twisted his Black family ring round his finger, just for something to do with his hands.

"Thanks for saying yes," Marlene said as they sat down, blushing a little. "This is nice." She was wearing more make-up than usual, Sirius noticed, and there was black stuff around her eyes, which looked quite cool.

"Yeah, it is," Sirius agreed.

An awkward silence appeared, and Marlene gave a little laugh. "So, have you figured out the Underground yet?" she asked.

Sirius grinned. "It sounds completely bonkers, I'm half convinced that it's made up."

The awkward air evaporated, and they spent the rest of their meal laughing about the craziness of the Muggle world they were learning about. It was fun, and Marlene was funny to talk to, and it felt just like when they were sitting together in Muggle Studies. Sirius forgot it was supposed to be a date until they finished eating, and Marlene scooted over until she was right next to him. Their arms were touching, and his heart started to beat very hard in his chest.