FIC: Dog Days Are Over [Sirius Black/Marlene McKinnon]
Title: Dog Days Are Over
Author/Artist: NERDZEWORD
Prompt: # 167 by digthewriter
Pairing(s): Sirius Black/Marlene McKinnon
Word Count/Art Medium: 1900
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): Minor swearing. Fluff
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Much thanks to my beta. She knows who she is.
Summary: The Marauders apparently don't understand the meaning of tradition, which means Sirius has to expand his friend group slightly.
Sirius loved the rain. LOVED it. It was a tradition with him. Every time it rained, he would pull on a pair of ridiculous rainboots and the bright yellow raincoat James had gotten him as a joke one year, and he would clomp out into the rain and run around, jumping into puddles and yelling his anger and frustration into the sky. It was a stress relief of sorts.
He used to do it alone, then, one by one, his friends started joining him. They never quite understood why he did it, and they never stayed out as long as he did, but they came with him anyway and chased each other around, splashing through the mud, laughing all the way. His friends were a stress relief of sorts too.
They weren’t with him this time. Peter was asleep, which meant no one would be able to move him for at least another three hours. Remus was studying for a test that was no doubt three weeks away, and James was off wooing Lily and ‘could not be bothered under any circumstances.’
Sirius sat on the steps of the castle and stared out at the rain. He wasn’t sure why it was bothering him so much that his friends didn’t want to come with him. He used to go out into the rain by himself all the time. It had been his escape from the horrible house he grew up in, and even after he had moved in with James permanently, it had been a reminder that some things could never change. No matter how many people the Dark Lord hurt and killed, even he would never be able to stop the rain.
He looked over as someone sat down beside him.
"Your best friend abandon you too?" Marlene Mckinnon was pretty, in a very non traditional sort of way. She had dark hair and even darker eyes, and skin that was nearly as brown as James’. Today her short hair was braided around her head, leaving little tufts and strands sticking up all over the place. Sirius loved her hair.
"They never seem to grasp the concept of ‘tradition’" he joked. Marlene sent him a searching glance and he realized he must not have hidden his bitterness as well as he thought.
"What kind of tradition is it?"
"The kind where we get really really wet."
"That explains why you’re wearing that ridiculous coat." Sirius gasped and gave her an appalled look. It occurred to him that this was the first time he had ever spoken to Marlene without Lily or James there as an in between. He was suddenly nervous, which made no sense because he was Sirius Black, he didn’t get nervous around girls. Ever.
But Marlene was just so- she was nice. She was the soft touch to Lily’s harsh bite, and yet, she was more stubborn than Remus during a full moon. She had this softness about her that made you want to trust her and tell her everything. But at the same time, she could be loud and obnoxious. She was one of those people that if anyone mentioned a topic that interested her she could talk for hours and hours, but if you needed someone to talk to, she wouldn’t say a word. Sirius liked when she talked though, he liked watching her wave her hands and her cheeks flush and her eyes light up.
Sirius would never admit that he had spent a lot of time goading her, just to see the red color her cheeks and her eyes sparkle.
"Well, would it fulfill tradition if I joined you?" she asked, a bit nervously. Sirius grinned and held out his hand. She took it hesitantly, but Sirius didn’t mind, he knew he was a hard person to trust. Reputations worked two ways after all.
He pulled her to her feet and out from under the awning so they were standing in the middle of the courtyard, in full force of the storm. She gave a little squeak of protest, but didn’t retreat back to the safety of the awning. Instead, she let go of his hand and spun around in a circle, arms wide. Sirius grinned, content to just watch her.
"Hey Black!" She yelled at him from across the courtyard.
"Yeah?"
"Race you to the lake!" She yelled, before taking off in the direction of the Black Lake. Sirius chased after her, slower than he was capable of, simply because he couldn’t help but admire her as she ran. What could he say, he was a bit of a scoundrel.
She made it there first of course, grabbing onto one of the trees on the edge in order to keep herself from falling in. Sirius skidded to a halt behind her, spraying mun in every direction. She looked back up at him and laughed.
"What?"
"You look like a wet dog!" She giggled. Sirius grinned wide enough to show his canines.
"Is that so?"
"Yup!" They both dropped the smirks that lined their faces and laughed. Conversation came easily after that.
That spring was the rainiest they had seen in awhile, but every day after classes, Sirius would find Marlene waiting for him by the courtyard so they could play in the rain together. She never asked him why he did it, just greeted him with a smile and a bit of playful banter. They talked as they played, about every subject under the sun. They talked about classes, about her family, about his adopted one. They talked about their hopes and dreams and what they would do if there weren’t a war.
Sometimes the other Marauders or Lily would join them and they would all participate in mud fights and rainy games of tag. But Sirius found he liked it best when it was just him and Marlene, lying in the wet grass on their backs, letting the cool water tap patterns on their upturned faces. He liked the camaraderie that he had with Marlene, they didn’t feel the need to muddy the air with useless words, they could just let the silence do the talking.
Sirius thought he might love her. He could never be sure if what he felt was actually love though, his parents had never been in love, and they certainly hadn’t loved him. He knew he loved James, but that was infinitely different than what he felt for Marley. And even the love that James held for Lily felt different. He didn’t want to say anything until he was sure.
Slowly the rain eased and the school year trickled to an end. Sirius was still wrestling with his feelings when the last storm of the season came rolling in. Marlene met him out in the courtyard, as per tradition, but Sirius felt something was different about this time. It was like the air itself was charged with electricity and Sirius just knew that everything was going to change.
Marlene didn’t seem to feel it, as she greeted him as usual and they proceeded to walk down to the lake, which was a frequent spot of theirs. Sirius ignored the electricity in the air and laughed with her over their latest prank, and whined about the outrageous amount of homework they had, seeing as the end of the year tests were coming up.
Sirius had nearly relaxed completely when the worst came to happen. Marlene had been hopping from stone to stone on the edge of the lake, when her foot slipped and she went crashing into the water. Sirius was after her in an instant, transforming himself into a dog and splashing into the water behind her. Marlene was not the best swimmer, and the lake was deceptively deep, meaning she was having a hard time keeping above the water. Sirius grabbed her by the collar and started dragging her back towards shore, all four of his legs working overtime.
When he finally got her back to shore, he dragged her up onto the grass before turning back into a human and rolling over onto his back beside her. She let out a few shuddering gasps before speaking.
"I cannot believe you are an animagus. How did you even-" Sirius rolled his eyes and rolled over so he was leaning over her.
"You Ravenclaws always think too much." he stated before leaning forward and kissing her. Part of him was trying to convey all of his different emotions, his fear, his guilt, his relief- his love. The other half just really liked kissing her. When he pulled away, she was staring up at him with her brilliant hazel eyes.
"You okay?" He asked her. It occurred to him that he should probably have asked her that before he kissed her, but then again Sirius had always been known for two things: lack of tact, and terrible timing, so he thought she’d probably understand. She let out a shuddery laugh.
"Okay is a word."
"Do you have a better word then?"
"Several. Exhilarated, disoriented, alarmed, apprehensive."
"I only know what a couple of those are, but I know what you mean. I think."
"No you don’t. But that’s okay. How long have you been an animagus?"
"We learned last year. It’s a lot harder than it sounds." He didn’t specify who ‘we’ was, he didn’t have to.
"I can imagine."
"Can I kiss you again?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, are you asking me now?"
"I just did, didn’t I?" he stated indignantly.
"Oh for fucks sake Black! Just shut up and kiss me!" Sirius gave her a wolfish grin, then followed her orders.
The problem, Sirius decided, with acquiring a girlfriend the last month of classes, was that there was very little time for them to sneak off and snog. To make matters even worse however, Sirius had chosen to fall for a Ravenclaw, and not even one of the ones who were smart without trying. No, he had to go and choose the one Ravenclaw girl who was determined to be the top of their class. Which meant she never stopped studying. It took Sirius a full week and a half before he finally snapped.
"Marley, you’re running yourself into the ground with all of this studying. Come play with me."
"Sirius…"
"At this rate, McKinnon, you’ll have burnt yourself out before the first test even starts. When was the last time you’ve eaten?" She opened her mouth to respond, then just sighed and closed it again, finally giving into his plea to take a break.
Sirius dragged her out onto the grounds, a safe distance from the lake, where he had already set up a picnic blanket full of food he had charmed off of the house elves. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"What would you have done if I hadn’t agreed to come with you?" he grinned back at her.
"Failure was never an option." She rolled her eyes, but Sirius could tell she was secretly pleased.
"Bit full of ourselves are we?"
"You? Never!" She laughed and sat down on the blanket he had brought down from his dorm. Sirius sat down next to her and proceeded to hand feed her grapes, determined to make it the most cliche date ever, since the likelihood of being able to see her over summer break was minimal.
For the first time in months, he didn’t wish for rain.
Author/Artist: NERDZEWORD
Prompt: # 167 by digthewriter
Pairing(s): Sirius Black/Marlene McKinnon
Word Count/Art Medium: 1900
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): Minor swearing. Fluff
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Much thanks to my beta. She knows who she is.
Summary: The Marauders apparently don't understand the meaning of tradition, which means Sirius has to expand his friend group slightly.
Sirius loved the rain. LOVED it. It was a tradition with him. Every time it rained, he would pull on a pair of ridiculous rainboots and the bright yellow raincoat James had gotten him as a joke one year, and he would clomp out into the rain and run around, jumping into puddles and yelling his anger and frustration into the sky. It was a stress relief of sorts.
He used to do it alone, then, one by one, his friends started joining him. They never quite understood why he did it, and they never stayed out as long as he did, but they came with him anyway and chased each other around, splashing through the mud, laughing all the way. His friends were a stress relief of sorts too.
They weren’t with him this time. Peter was asleep, which meant no one would be able to move him for at least another three hours. Remus was studying for a test that was no doubt three weeks away, and James was off wooing Lily and ‘could not be bothered under any circumstances.’
Sirius sat on the steps of the castle and stared out at the rain. He wasn’t sure why it was bothering him so much that his friends didn’t want to come with him. He used to go out into the rain by himself all the time. It had been his escape from the horrible house he grew up in, and even after he had moved in with James permanently, it had been a reminder that some things could never change. No matter how many people the Dark Lord hurt and killed, even he would never be able to stop the rain.
He looked over as someone sat down beside him.
"Your best friend abandon you too?" Marlene Mckinnon was pretty, in a very non traditional sort of way. She had dark hair and even darker eyes, and skin that was nearly as brown as James’. Today her short hair was braided around her head, leaving little tufts and strands sticking up all over the place. Sirius loved her hair.
"They never seem to grasp the concept of ‘tradition’" he joked. Marlene sent him a searching glance and he realized he must not have hidden his bitterness as well as he thought.
"What kind of tradition is it?"
"The kind where we get really really wet."
"That explains why you’re wearing that ridiculous coat." Sirius gasped and gave her an appalled look. It occurred to him that this was the first time he had ever spoken to Marlene without Lily or James there as an in between. He was suddenly nervous, which made no sense because he was Sirius Black, he didn’t get nervous around girls. Ever.
But Marlene was just so- she was nice. She was the soft touch to Lily’s harsh bite, and yet, she was more stubborn than Remus during a full moon. She had this softness about her that made you want to trust her and tell her everything. But at the same time, she could be loud and obnoxious. She was one of those people that if anyone mentioned a topic that interested her she could talk for hours and hours, but if you needed someone to talk to, she wouldn’t say a word. Sirius liked when she talked though, he liked watching her wave her hands and her cheeks flush and her eyes light up.
Sirius would never admit that he had spent a lot of time goading her, just to see the red color her cheeks and her eyes sparkle.
"Well, would it fulfill tradition if I joined you?" she asked, a bit nervously. Sirius grinned and held out his hand. She took it hesitantly, but Sirius didn’t mind, he knew he was a hard person to trust. Reputations worked two ways after all.
He pulled her to her feet and out from under the awning so they were standing in the middle of the courtyard, in full force of the storm. She gave a little squeak of protest, but didn’t retreat back to the safety of the awning. Instead, she let go of his hand and spun around in a circle, arms wide. Sirius grinned, content to just watch her.
"Hey Black!" She yelled at him from across the courtyard.
"Yeah?"
"Race you to the lake!" She yelled, before taking off in the direction of the Black Lake. Sirius chased after her, slower than he was capable of, simply because he couldn’t help but admire her as she ran. What could he say, he was a bit of a scoundrel.
She made it there first of course, grabbing onto one of the trees on the edge in order to keep herself from falling in. Sirius skidded to a halt behind her, spraying mun in every direction. She looked back up at him and laughed.
"What?"
"You look like a wet dog!" She giggled. Sirius grinned wide enough to show his canines.
"Is that so?"
"Yup!" They both dropped the smirks that lined their faces and laughed. Conversation came easily after that.
That spring was the rainiest they had seen in awhile, but every day after classes, Sirius would find Marlene waiting for him by the courtyard so they could play in the rain together. She never asked him why he did it, just greeted him with a smile and a bit of playful banter. They talked as they played, about every subject under the sun. They talked about classes, about her family, about his adopted one. They talked about their hopes and dreams and what they would do if there weren’t a war.
Sometimes the other Marauders or Lily would join them and they would all participate in mud fights and rainy games of tag. But Sirius found he liked it best when it was just him and Marlene, lying in the wet grass on their backs, letting the cool water tap patterns on their upturned faces. He liked the camaraderie that he had with Marlene, they didn’t feel the need to muddy the air with useless words, they could just let the silence do the talking.
Sirius thought he might love her. He could never be sure if what he felt was actually love though, his parents had never been in love, and they certainly hadn’t loved him. He knew he loved James, but that was infinitely different than what he felt for Marley. And even the love that James held for Lily felt different. He didn’t want to say anything until he was sure.
Slowly the rain eased and the school year trickled to an end. Sirius was still wrestling with his feelings when the last storm of the season came rolling in. Marlene met him out in the courtyard, as per tradition, but Sirius felt something was different about this time. It was like the air itself was charged with electricity and Sirius just knew that everything was going to change.
Marlene didn’t seem to feel it, as she greeted him as usual and they proceeded to walk down to the lake, which was a frequent spot of theirs. Sirius ignored the electricity in the air and laughed with her over their latest prank, and whined about the outrageous amount of homework they had, seeing as the end of the year tests were coming up.
Sirius had nearly relaxed completely when the worst came to happen. Marlene had been hopping from stone to stone on the edge of the lake, when her foot slipped and she went crashing into the water. Sirius was after her in an instant, transforming himself into a dog and splashing into the water behind her. Marlene was not the best swimmer, and the lake was deceptively deep, meaning she was having a hard time keeping above the water. Sirius grabbed her by the collar and started dragging her back towards shore, all four of his legs working overtime.
When he finally got her back to shore, he dragged her up onto the grass before turning back into a human and rolling over onto his back beside her. She let out a few shuddering gasps before speaking.
"I cannot believe you are an animagus. How did you even-" Sirius rolled his eyes and rolled over so he was leaning over her.
"You Ravenclaws always think too much." he stated before leaning forward and kissing her. Part of him was trying to convey all of his different emotions, his fear, his guilt, his relief- his love. The other half just really liked kissing her. When he pulled away, she was staring up at him with her brilliant hazel eyes.
"You okay?" He asked her. It occurred to him that he should probably have asked her that before he kissed her, but then again Sirius had always been known for two things: lack of tact, and terrible timing, so he thought she’d probably understand. She let out a shuddery laugh.
"Okay is a word."
"Do you have a better word then?"
"Several. Exhilarated, disoriented, alarmed, apprehensive."
"I only know what a couple of those are, but I know what you mean. I think."
"No you don’t. But that’s okay. How long have you been an animagus?"
"We learned last year. It’s a lot harder than it sounds." He didn’t specify who ‘we’ was, he didn’t have to.
"I can imagine."
"Can I kiss you again?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, are you asking me now?"
"I just did, didn’t I?" he stated indignantly.
"Oh for fucks sake Black! Just shut up and kiss me!" Sirius gave her a wolfish grin, then followed her orders.
The problem, Sirius decided, with acquiring a girlfriend the last month of classes, was that there was very little time for them to sneak off and snog. To make matters even worse however, Sirius had chosen to fall for a Ravenclaw, and not even one of the ones who were smart without trying. No, he had to go and choose the one Ravenclaw girl who was determined to be the top of their class. Which meant she never stopped studying. It took Sirius a full week and a half before he finally snapped.
"Marley, you’re running yourself into the ground with all of this studying. Come play with me."
"Sirius…"
"At this rate, McKinnon, you’ll have burnt yourself out before the first test even starts. When was the last time you’ve eaten?" She opened her mouth to respond, then just sighed and closed it again, finally giving into his plea to take a break.
Sirius dragged her out onto the grounds, a safe distance from the lake, where he had already set up a picnic blanket full of food he had charmed off of the house elves. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"What would you have done if I hadn’t agreed to come with you?" he grinned back at her.
"Failure was never an option." She rolled her eyes, but Sirius could tell she was secretly pleased.
"Bit full of ourselves are we?"
"You? Never!" She laughed and sat down on the blanket he had brought down from his dorm. Sirius sat down next to her and proceeded to hand feed her grapes, determined to make it the most cliche date ever, since the likelihood of being able to see her over summer break was minimal.
For the first time in months, he didn’t wish for rain.