A Marauder's Guide to Falling Apart

Chapter Two

The summer had flown by and Marlene was left in a daze when she realized how quickly it had passed. It wasn't the way she had initially planned on spending it either - a lot had happened since graduation. Alice had asked both her and Lily to stand up with her at the altar as bridesmaids and the entire month of July had been spent in a panic with last minute preparations for their wedding. It seemed that Frank and Alice did not want a long engagement – something that they were quick to mention on numerous occasions when people questioned why they were in such a rush to tie the knot.

They had only been out of school for a week when the first piece of bad news came. Marlene had never bothered finding out what had happened to James's father but knew that he had been ill for some months. Sirius was supposed to meet her at her place in Godric's Hollow but when he failed to show up, and did not answer the two way mirror, she had gone searching for him. The Potters house was unnaturally quiet and she hadn't been able to reach anyone. It was later that evening when she got Lily's owl that she understood what had happened. Mr. Potter had been transferred into care at St. Mungo's and had passed away earlier that afternoon.

Sirius didn't talk to her for a couple of days after that. She tried her best not to be offended as she knew firsthand what he was going through. But finding out from Lily and not her own boyfriend had left a sour taste in her mouth.

When she did finally see him again he was acting quite peculiar. She knew that Sirius was great at repressing his emotions – something that the two of them shared in common – but the unnatural way he acted as if nothing had happened was unnerving. Of course it was a few weeks after that when she really started to notice the oddities in his behaviour. Uncle Alphard had left him a rather large inheritance – how much, she didn't know. But she knew that it was enough for him to start spending obscene amounts on frivolous purchases that seemed very much unlike the Sirius that she knew.

The motorcycle was by far the worst purchase. What was even worse was the fact that he seemed to love the inanimate object more than Marlene could consider healthy. After they had ridden in it to Frank and Alice's wedding she refused to ever go near it again.

The knock on her bedroom door pulled her from her thoughts. Marlene glanced over as it swung open and Lily's red hair came into view. Lily smiled half-heartedly as she stood in the door frame, her hand still resting on the knob.

"Still in bed are you?"

"Just laying here," Marlene mumbled. "I wasn't sleeping."

"I thought I'd pay you a visit. James and Sirius are off doing god knows what and I'm too afraid to ask."

Lily had been spending a lot more time in the Hollow since Mr. Potter's passing. Unlike Sirius, James had had a much easier time allowing his true emotions to show and he and Lily had spent the last few weeks together in mourning. Marlene had avoided the Potter's house as much as possible; she wasn't sure what sort of comfort she could provide, especially when Sirius was so unwilling to accept it. For that reason they hadn't seen each other in awhile.

"They're using the bike, aren't they?" Marlene groaned.

"Yes, Sirius sure loves that thing doesn't he? I imagine it will only be a matter of time before James wants one too – "

"I'm trying not to judge him too harshly," Marlene propped herself in the bed and Lily walked across the room to sit at her feet. "I know that he's dealing with this in his own way but I wish he'd just talk to me about it. He's been acting so strange."

"Honestly, this is sort of the way I would expect him to act," Lily shrugged. "Give him some time, he'll come around."

"Maybe," Marlene muttered. Her eyes drifted to Lily's hand and noticed a small envelope in her grasp. "What is that?"