troubled - the marauders

Chapter 5

„Black, stop being snarky and just give me the camera." There was the unamused tone he had heard by the carriages the day they arrived.

„What do I get for the camera?", Sirius asked still grinning.

Marlene took Sirius by surprise by punching him in the stomach. He groaned and she used the moment to take the camera out of his hand.

„You deserved it. Now get up there on the staircase we have to take pictures."

'Did she just hit me?', he thought while climbing up the stairs. 'What a girl'

„Now at least try to look good", Marlene gave him a sign to get a few stairs up.

„I don't have to try, love!"

(PoV Sirius)

5 September 1975

She hesitated to take the picture for a moment, and of course Sirius took the opportunity.

„There's no need to drool McKinnon, you can just take one of the pictures with you."

He winked at her and expected her to blush in response. But she just looked at him, holding the eye contact for uncomfortably long. Her blue eyes were almost intimidating and she didn't look away, challenging him to stand up to her gaze. When he finally looked away, she let out a little laugh.

„Wow you are so smooth Black. If you're going to flirt with me, at least do it right."

He grinned at her.

„I love a challenge."

„Just cut the comments and move your hands up, theres a stroke of sunlight right there."

She took the picture and Sirius came up to her. He purposely got a little closer than normal and watched how she would react. She tried to not show any response but Sirius saw a shiver running down her neck. 

This type of flirting had almost become natural with girls, he and James did it all the time and it was almost like a game at this point. But in a way they went about it really differently. James tended to compliment girls and open up to people while Sirius was more playful and didn't really give any information about himself. 

Marlene was not what he was used to, she didn't react the way girls usually did and it was strange but exiting at the same time. 

The picture was white and Sirius was confused.

„Where is the picture, what is this thing?"

„It has to develop, that takes a while."

„I don't get this muggle stuff." Sirius took the camera. „Your turn!"

„We could go to the library I guess", she said. They started walking and she tried to make some conversation.

„So, earlier you said Muggle Studies pissed off your parents. Are your parents like pureblood obsessed?"

Sirius hesitated to answer the question for a moment, he wasn't used to speaking about personal stuff with anyone but the marauders. She seemed to notice and didn't say anything more.

„I guess I just grew up with a lot of misconceptions about halfbloods and muggleborns. My family is pretty strict about who they associate with."

„Yeah I get that. My grandparents are pretty conservative as well in that sense. But they are starting to come around, especially after they got to know Lily in Diagon Ally. They almost didn't believe me when I told them she was muggleborn afterwards. Sometimes you just need to give people time."

„I think my family is a little more complicated that yours."

He quickly changed the topic. „So walk a few steps ahead of me then I can take like a walking shot." 

„You just wanna look at my ass", she said, raising her eyebrows.

„I mainly wanna take a picture for our class, but I'm not denying that it might be a contributing factor."

She just rolled her eyes and walked a little faster. The camera clicked and the picture came out.

„See, there we go, love."

-

Sirius slipped into the Gryffindor common room and saw Remus and Peter sitting there.

„Hey, is wheres Prongs?", he asked them.

„I don't know he's just taking his time I guess. If he's lucky he is talking to Lily after class."

„I doubt that", Sirius answered, laughing.

James had been after the redhead since their first year but it had gotten a lot more present for about half a year. Her comments towards had always been only hateful but since spring she had seemed to despise him less and less. Sirius thought that her change of mind must be connected to Snivellus having more and more future deatheater friends.

Remus took out some parchment and after a closer look Sirius noticed the map.

„Remus, are you crazy someone could see", Sirius said and quickly put his bag on top of the map.

„Sirius do you see anyone sitting on this couch except us?" he asked rhetorically.

Then he took the map out from under the bag.

„I wanna figure this charm out but I get more and more complicated the bigger the area that the map covers so I'm starting with our common room."

After that Remus fell into a deep hole of chanting and trying to perfect the charm. Sirius was getting bored and played a round of wizard chess with Peter. After he lost, like always, he went up to the dorms and changed out of his uniform into black jeans, a black button up which he left the first few buttons at the top undone and a leather jacket. 

He noticed something falling out of his robes as he tossed them in his suitcase and realized it was the picture that they'd taken earlier in Muggle Studies. It had finished developing and showed Marlene from behind walking through a door. Her hair was wavy and looked golden in the dim light of the castle. He caught himself looking at it for a little too long and then put it into his Muggle Studies book so that he wouldn't forget to hand it in next lesson.

He didn't like this girl taking up so much space in his head.