A Marauder's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter Twenty Four

She hadn't really thought about what she was doing until she was already halfway down the fourth floor corridor, ducking quietly in and out of the shadows. The fact that she had not had time to put shoes on was immensely helpful in ensuring that her soft footsteps were undetectable.

The adrenaline was back and she was feeding off of it hungrily. Sirius had managed to spend most of his time sheltering her from things that she probably had no business being involved in in the first place, but that didn't stop her from the maddening curiosity that was driving her out onto the grounds after them.

She had grabbed the map out of both selfish reasons and out of courtesy for the boys who she knew would be devastated to learn that it had fallen into the wrong hands. It had come in quite handy as she was able to avoid running down the usual pathway straight into the sights of Filch and his cat Mrs. Norris.

She had noticed that Remus had disappeared off the edge of the map and it didn't take long for Snape's to vanish after it. She had noted that the three boys had made it to the willow in remarkably speedy time and she would be lucky if she were to make it to the great hall before they had returned.

She had underestimated her agility though and she was pushing through the doors and into the cold of the spring breeze before long. She was only wearing a pair of light jogging pants and a loose t-shirt so the weather was a lot colder than it would have had she been wearing the proper clothing. She ignored the chill that coursed through her body and she dashed out across the grounds towards the forest edge.

She could hear some shouting in the distance and she hesitated before slowing her pace to a standstill in the middle of the field. Her bare feet were soaking wet from the dew in the grass but the coolness didn't bother nearly as much as the thought of not knowing what she was walking into. The adrenaline was starting to dissipate as she realized that nobody was aware of her presence. She scolded herself for not thinking straighter and contemplated heading back towards the tower when a loud shout captured her curiosity once again.

"You tried to KILL me!" it was slightly muffled but it was clear enough for Marlene to pick out what the figure was trying to say. She inched closer slightly and had to squint her eyes to get a better look.

It appeared that James was tugging on a resistant Snape who was trying desperately to move away from him. Marlene realized quite suddenly how vulnerable her position within the field was and she took a sharp turn to the right towards the far edge of the forest and into the safety of its shadows. She mentally reprimanded herself for not thinking to be more discreet but her presence had gone unnoticed by the two boys that were moving slowly away from her new position and towards the castle.

"We didn't try to kill you," the figures were struggling with each other slightly and Marlene noticed that Sirius and Peter were not with them. "It was a horribly misguided Prank Severus, Sirius wasn't thinking straight when he told you – "

"Don't you dare try to charm me with your nonsense Potter! I know you had a hand in this." Snape was sneering.

"If you don't get moving I'm going to be forced to knock you out and take you into the castle myself, you saw with your own eyes what happened. I know you are smart enough to know what will happen if we stay out here much longer," James was being stern and urgent. Marlene couldn't figure out why.

The Whomping Willow had been thrashing around violently after James and Snape had moved away from its vicinity. She could see now that the two boys had an urgent step in their pace as they jogged swiftly towards the castle entrance but they were too far away now for her to hear any more of their conversation. The tree had grown calm and silent for only a brief moment before it started whipping around again in such a fierce violence that Marlene jumped back slightly into one of the trees she was taking shelter by.