𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐀 | 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

✧ chapter 50 ✧

1977

"Sirius, you absolute twunt head! I could kill you!" Aurora yelled, standing up from the couch she had been sitting on, now covered in a sickly yellow coloured slime of some sort.

"You wouldn't! Baby, nobody makes you feel like I do." Sirius joked, sending Aurora an exaggerated wink. James, Remus, Peter, Marlene and Lily all let out disgusted groans while Aurora just narrowed her eyes.

"And how is it that you make me feel?" Aurora challenged, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Sirius smirked at the boys then leant in, whispering something unsavoury in Aurora's ear. Aurora's eyes widened with each word and she grabbed the nearest cushion, whacking Sirius in the face with it.

"The only way you make me feel is nauseous. Honestly Sirius that was disgusting, even for you."

"What did you say?" Peter asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Don't answer that!" James snapped as soon as Sirius's smirk widened and he opened his mouth to respond.

"I don't think any of us could survive the gruesome details." Marlene grimaced, Lily nodding in response and stared at Sirius with a look of disgust.

"That's it. Sirius, go sit in the corner and think about what you've done." Aurora instructed, pointing to the far corner of the common room.

"You're not seriously sending me to time out, are you?" Sirius asked incredulously, taking in Aurora's serious expression. A large blob of yellow goop slid down her face and landed in her lap. Aurora just raised an eyebrow as if this emphasized her point. Sirius pouted, but did as he was told, sitting in the corner cross legged like a petulant child.

Aurora then waved her wand over herself in an attempt to rid herself of the yellow sludge. Once she was clean again, she resumed her spot on the sofa with Lily and Marlene.

"I've never seen him respond like that to someone before." Lily mused, giggling as Sirius sat pouting in his corner of shame.

"It's like you have some kind of hold over him." Marlene added, also laughing as Sirius sent her the finger.

"It's called love, Marley." Lily joked, shoving her gently. A sad expression flitted across Marlene's face and Lily regretted her joke, but the expression was gone as soon as it had arrived. Marlene knew that Sirius did love her, just not in the way she wanted him too. She had come to terms with it a while ago and as the days passed it became less and less painful to think of him with someone else. She was genuinely happy that two of her best friends were happy and it would have been selfish to resent them.

Remus was very much in the same boat as Marlene. For a time, Aurora had loved him the way he wanted her too, but they fell out of love, as often happens with young relationships and he was beginning to be okay with that. It just wasn't their time. He was lucky they managed to remain such good friends without it being awkward and it was nice to see people being happy again. He hadn't realised how much he missed hearing genuine laughter.

"Rory, can Sirius's time out be over now? Look how miserable the bloke is!" James asked, gesturing to Sirius still sitting in his corner. Sirius pretended to cry for added emphasis, only making the others laugh harder.

"What, experiencing separation anxiety, Potter?" Aurora shot back, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes!" James and Sirius yelled in unison, both of them adopting a pout.

"Well maybe he should have thought of that before he blasted me with goo!" Aurora said pointedly to James, speaking loud enough for Sirius to hear.

"It was an accident!" Sirius yelled back, still pouting.

"People in time out don't get to speak." Aurora stated, still not facing Sirius. At this, Sirius began frowning and muttering under his breath.

"Are you his girlfriend or his babysitter?" Lily laughed, observing the scene unfolding before her.

"A bit of both I reckon. Half the time I'm his girlfriend, and the other half Remus and I are playing mummy and daddy to the three stooges." Aurora sighed in exasperation.

"I resent that." Peter piped up, being the only one of the three Aurora referred to as a stooge to actually know what they were properly. Despite Aurora explaining the concept of the three stooges to Sirius in sixth year it didn't quite have the same effect on a non-muggleborn wizard.

"Resent it all you want, Wormtail, you know she's right." Remus replied, smirking at Peter and ruffling his hair up.

The three boys not in time out began wrestling playfully on the floor in front of the girls, James announcing that he was fighting to defend the honour of Lily Evans. At this Lily rolled her eyes, but she didn't call him a prat or a toerag, and the other girls definitely saw a blush creep across her cheeks.

"So, how are things with Sirius?" Lily asked, glancing at the man-child still sitting in the corner of the room, now entertaining himself with a piece of parchment he had folded into a paper plane and charmed to fly around. Aurora glanced at him too and, noticing the paper plane, sent a quick hex causing it to burst into flames. Sirius's expression morphed into one of mock horror as he pretended to be devastated.

"No fun in time out." Aurora snapped, turning back to Lily and Marlene who waited expectantly. "If I'm being honest, it doesn't really feel any different from before. Neither of us are really equipped to deal with the whole 'relationship' thing. Collectively, we don't exactly have a stellar track record. Things are just really easy with Sirius. We're basically best mates who snog sometimes. That's the best way I can put it." Aurora struggled to put her thoughts and feelings into words. It was true that the two of them both had pretty disastrous dating history. For Sirius, this was his first proper relationship and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to act or the new responsibilities he had to take on as a boyfriend. For the time being they both felt that it would be best to just keep everything the same and see how it turned out.

"I think it's sweet. All the best muggle magazines advise you to date your best friend. For once, something is going right." Lily gushed, not even bothering to hide how excited she was that Sirius and Aurora were finally together. She had seen it coming for a while but was concerned it would destroy their little group due to Remus and Marlene. Lily couldn't have asked for a better outcome in all honesty.

"Maybe we should date then, Lils?" Marlene joked, blowing Lily a kiss and very obviously snaking an arm around her shoulder. Lily laughed and swatted Marlene's arm away.

"Don't be dim, Marley, Lily is obviously going to end up with James." Aurora stated, earning a snort from Marlene and a glare from Lily.

"Oh, not this again. I thought we'd moved past it all." Lily huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and slumping further into the couch cushions.

"Odds on when James and Lily will finally go on a date?" Aurora asked Marlene, ignoring the protests from the angry redhead between them.

"I was going to say by the Halloween Ball, but that's not a thing anymore on account of the shenanigans pulled by these muppets last year." Marlene replied, throwing a balled-up piece of scrap parchment at the three still wrestling on the floor.

"Definitely before Christmas." Aurora chimed in, stroking her chin thoughtfully.

"Ten sickles they go on a date before Halloween?"

"Ten sickles it's after Halloween but before Christmas?"

"You're on, Faulkner." Marlene reached out and shook Aurora's hand, both of them laughing. Lily just glared at the two of them as they shook hands right in front of her nose.

"I am right here!"

a/n good grief chapter 50 already !! just want to say a big thanks to everyone who has been reading from the beginning and showing constant support by voting for every chapter and commenting, y'all know who you are ily xo