fatal love

Chapter 29

Not breaking up with Marlene was one of the best decisions Sirius had ever made. They spent the next couple of weeks acting even more obnoxiously couple-y than before, shoving their tongues in each other's mouths constantly, just to spite Regulus and every other disapproving Slytherin.

Snogging wasn't all they did though. Two or three times a week they'd take some food from the Great Hall, and eat in an empty classroom. They'd become much closer since the Howler and their subsequent conversation, which was probably the opposite of what Sirius' mother had intended. But now, Sirius knew how Marlene struggled with her identity, feeling unwanted by both the muggle and wizarding world. And Marlene understood his family wasn't just strict, but certifiably insane.

He was lucky to have her as his girlfriend. She'd never treated him as the Heir to one of the most powerful families in Britain, to her, he'd always just been Sirius, even when they were eleven. She talked to him about his falling out with Lily - the day after the fight, she'd walked straight up to him and said she wasn't choosing sides, and that they didn't have to get along, but he wasn't to bad-mouth Evans in front of her. Sirius had agreed easily.

It wasn't all serious conversations either. He took her up to his dorm one afternoon and did her hair for her, and she cut the sleeves off some of his t-shirts, telling him that it was punk-rock in the muggle world.

The 29th of October was their one-month anniversary, which was quite the achievement for two thirteen year olds. James had told him he should have a bouquet of flowers delivered to Marlene to mark the occasion, but Sirius knew Marlene couldn't care less about flowers. Marlene liked Quidditch, and feminism, and pissing off blood supremacists.

It took quite some doing, but Sirius poured through ads in the Prophet until he found a gift shop that was run by a muggleborn woman, and he wrote her with his request. It cost him a lot, but she told him she could get it, and Sirius couldn't wait to see Marlene's face when she opened her present.

He had it in his bag that morning when she came down to breakfast. "Happy anniversary," he grinned, and she smiled and gave him a kiss. "I have something for you."

"You didn't have to do that," she said, surprised.

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes and gave her the present, wrapped, and she opened it with interest.

"OH MY GOD! HOW DID YOU GET THIS?" She squealed with excitement, holding the magazine, with the goddess Kali plastered on the cover.

"You like it then?"

"I love it! This is amazing, thank you Sirius."

"What is it?" James asked.

"It's the first ever issue of Ms! Gloria Steinem's magazine!"

"She's an American feminist," Sirius told James. He knew all about Gloria Steinem, thanks to Marlene.

Marlene carded her fingers through his hair, kissing him hard. "Thank you, I'm going to read this a million times, and then frame it and keep it on my wall forever," she whispered.

They walked out of the Hall holding hands, on their way to Muggle Studies. Some Slytherins hissed at them as they passed the Slytherin table, and Sirius didn't even have time to react before Marlene was flipping them off, not even turning her head to look at them.

"Any plans for Halloween?" she asked mildly.

As it happened, none of the Third Years needed to make plans for Halloween. The Sixth Years were throwing a party in the Common Room, and Third Years were allowed to come. Halloween fell on a Wednesday, but that wasn't going to stop the Gryffindors - they weren't Ravenclaws.