A Marauder's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter Sixteen

Marlene had awoken on the same damp and filthy floor of the second floor girl's lavatory, still entwined in the embrace of a pair of strong muscular arms. Her neck was slightly stiff from having rested at a less than ideal position but it was pressed firmly against the chest of her companion. She could feel his chest rising slowly with each breath and the sound of his heart beat was soft and soothing to her. She counted the beats silently in her head for a few moments before opening her eyes and lifting her gaze upwards.

Sirius was leaning against the wall behind him. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be at ease in what she could only assume was the most uncomfortable position possible. She allowed herself to stay curled in his lap as she rested her head back against his chest.

"Hey," he said quietly. Marlene felt her lip tremble slightly but she did not open her mouth to reply. She felt his hand reach up to stroke her hair once more in a comforting gesture and she felt herself pull him closer at his touch.

"I'm so sorry Marlene," he continued. A new wave of realization for what he was referring to brought fresh tears to her eyes. She felt her vision go momentarily blurry as the tears pooled but she refused to allow herself to lose control over her emotions again. The task seemed relentlessly unmanageable for her even if she wanted too as she was completely depleted of strength.

"Thanks," she finally managed to choke out. His grip on her tightened and she allowed herself to feel appreciative of the comfort he was trying to provide her. His hold was warm and welcoming and Marlene felt no desire to pull away but she knew that they had been hiding away in the bathroom for an immeasurable amount of time and she would need to face reality sooner rather than later.

"There's no rush," he said soothingly as if knowing what was going on in her thoughts. "I'm sure Lily has told Professor McGonagall where you are and they'll be expecting you when you're ready."

"I'm never going to be ready," Marlene managed to reply almost bitterly. Sirius gave her an empathetic squeeze. It appeared that he did not know how to respond to her.

"How long have we been in here?" she finally asked him once the silence had finally gotten to her. She pulled away from him slightly to look up into his face and noticed that he looked extremely tired.

"Quite a few hours I imagine," he said simply. "Classes are probably ending shortly."

"You didn't need to stay with me this whole time!" She felt guilty that, because of her, he had missed an entire day of school.

"Don't think for a minute that that nonsense is more important than your well-being," he looked alarmed that she had even suggested it. She felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude as she recognized his genuine concern.

"I don't want to face everyone," she didn't really know who 'everyone' was. Surely she would be fine with seeing her friends but even at the thought of Lily and Mary hovering over her shoulder, asking her if she was alright, their heightened emotions triggering a reprise in her emotions made her feel a wave of nausea flood over her. It was bad enough that Sirius had witnessed her in her weakest moment; she dreaded the thought of living it all over again amongst the rest of her peers.

He nodded his head in understanding. For a brief moment their eyes connected and she could detect a trace of pity in them before he looked away guiltily. "If we hurry we should be able to get there before classes let out."

Leaving the bathroom was a much harder task than Marlene had bargained for. Standing from the floor where they had been positioned for hours suddenly made Marlene aware of how uncomfortable she had been. Her entire body was aching and she concluded that part of it was in fact due to the extreme mental exhaustion that she had endured.