the cadence of part time poets

Chapter 47: Band of Marauders

Johnny told his Mama,
"Hey Mama, I'm goin' away;
I'm gonna hit the big time,
Gonna be a big star someday;"

Mama came to the door,
With a teardrop in her eye;
Johnny said, "Don't cry Mama,
Smile and wave goodbye..."

- "Shooting Star" Bad Company, 1975

Remus liked kissing Marlene. She was tall enough that he didn't have to bend down and risk neck injuries the way James always seemed to be doing with Lily (not that he ever complained of course). She was also honest about the things that she liked and disliked; for example she liked it when Remus greeted her with a kiss on the cheek but didn't when there were enough people around to draw attention, and she enjoyed holding hands but always preferred to let go before things got too clammy. She always smelled good—like fabric softener and mint toothpaste—and even when they were so close that her face blurred together like an Impressionist painting, he always found her pretty.

The actual dating part turned out to be easier than he'd expected too. Perhaps it was just an upside of finding a partner within the same friend group, but hanging out with Marlene as boyfriend and girlfriend didn't feel all that different from how they'd hung out before. Living at school full-time meant they couldn't just pop off to the cinema or ice cream parlour for a casual date, so like the rest of the couples at Hawkings, they had to find other ways to preoccupy themselves outside of homework or music or Marlene's football practices. After playing matchmaker for most of first term, Remus had expected Lily to put her efforts to rest once it came out that he and Marlene were indeed an item, but she'd always been an overachiever.

"I just think it's so cute!" She would gush—often. It was a taxing affair, but luckily he and Marlene were alike in more ways than one.

"We're not golden retrievers, Lils. Why don't you give it a rest already?" She would complain—equally as often.

The boys were just as bad, though their preferred method of teasing tended to involve betting on how many times he and Marlene had bunked up already. Remus finally knew how Peter was always feeling.

"C'mon, Moony! Four times? Five times? At least tell me if I'm getting close! Am I really that far off the mark?"

"You're so far off you might as well be floating in space, you arse!"

"You mean it's more than that? Ooh, you slag!"

"Oh piss off," Remus grumbled, kicking his leg up on the coffee table in front of him. Sirius smirked from across the common room and leaned forward to continue his rag-fest but James beat him to it;

"If Lupin wants to share then he will. Not everyone's as ripped-and-ready as you, Black. Sometimes people like to take care with... special matters like this."

"Nah, Moony's sneaky. Bet he's got the leg over twice as many times as you and Evans since term started."

Lily threw a couch pillow at Sirius from her spot next to James, and he snatched it out of the air. "It's lucky for McKinnon really," he started. "For a while there it was beginning to look as though she wasn't going to be able to find a bloke who could see over her head. And you, Moons—with that grumpy attitude of yours—I was beginning to think I was going to have to set you up with one of my cousins. Although I'm not sure how they'd take to dating a tree."

"Get a haircut, hippy," Remus quipped.

"Beanstalksaywhat?"

"What?"

"HA!"

"I'd date Remus," Lily surmised, barely glancing up from the day-timer she was flipping through. Her omission instantly sobered Sirius of his laughter and he coughed a bit before clearing his throat.