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Every year, Marlene had returned home to be with her family over Christmas. This year though, she and her friends had decided to stay at the castle together. It was their last year, and as much as they intended to stay friends after school they all knew that life wasn’t something they could be certain of right now. Even if they agreed now to reunite for Christmas, there were a lot of factors which could get in the way of those plans coming to fruition, but even if they did then it wouldn’t be the same. There would be no Gryffindor Common Room, no laughter as the boys returned from Hogsmeade with bottles of Butterbeer and Firewhiskey and tried not to get caught by McGonagall on the way. No matter what happened next year, things would be different. It was strange being away from her family for the holiday, but as Marlene stood chatting and laughing with her friends there was truly nowhere else she would rather be.
They had been through a lot together, especially in the past year. Lily had finally, finally stopped denying her attraction towards James and agreed to go on a date with him. That one date had led to several more, and the two were undoubtedly one of the cutest couples in the school. Well, perhaps Marlene was a little bias there given how much each of them meant to her, but she doubted many people would disagree.
Remus had definitely grown in confidence since that first day Marlene had met him on the Hogwarts Express, but it was more noticeable than ever over the past year as she and her friends had started spending more time with the self-named Marauders. Of course, that didn’t mean there wasn’t a slight blush on his cheeks as Mary made what Marlene could only assume was a rather flirtatious comment. Neither had admitted as much, but it was easy to see they liked each other, and bets had been placed on how long it would take for one of them to finally pluck up the courage to ask the other out.
Peter was, well, Peter. Sweet, funny, and currently less-than-sober as he danced with a rather amused Dorcas. There was no attraction there, at least not of the romantic kind, but the two got on well and would often spend time together both in and out of class.
And finally, there was Sirius. Her Sirius. After realising her feelings for him a little over a year ago, her friends had taken it upon themselves to play matchmakers. Marlene had thought it a waste of time, that Sirius viewed her as a friend and nothing more, but a conversation with him in the Astronomy Tower shortly before Christmas break of their sixth year had revealed that he had always been attracted to her. Yet, they hadn’t got together quite then. There had been things going on with his family that he’d needed to deal with, and so the two had remained friends until the start of their seventh year. Now free of his family and living with James, it seemed like he had wasted no time in asking Marlene on a date. The two had been together ever since, and as cliche as it sounded, she was pretty sure he could be the one.
“Marls.” She glanced up, a soft smile on her lips as the very person she had just been thinking of came to stand by the armchair she’d been sitting on. “Everything alright?”
“Better than alright,” she nodded, taking the hand Sirius had offered to help her to her feet. “You?”
“Definitely better than alright,” he grinned, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. He seemed to hesitate then, as if something was on his mind.
“Are you sure?” Sirius glanced at her, the smile returning as he nodded.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” His hand took hold of hers again. “Come with me.”
Marlene’s brow furrowed in curiosity, but she didn’t resist as she set her drink down and allowed Sirius to lead her towards the portrait and out into the corridor. The Fat Lady tsked at them for breaking curfew, but a quick wink from Sirius had her rolling her eyes and waving them off. She was used to him and his friends breaking curfew by now, and while she wouldn’t lie for them, she never told on them either.
“You know we only have a few minutes until midnight, right?” Marlene asked softly as she followed him through the hallways, and up and down several flights of stairs.
“I know. That’s why we’re going somewhere.”
That did nothing to help her confusion. She had been under the impression that they were all intending to see the New Year in together, though she had to admit she wasn’t too disappointed at being alone with Sirius instead.
As they made their way up yet another set of stairs, Marlene realised where they were going.
“The Astronomy Tower?”
“Figured it would be nice,” Sirius shrugged casually. “The moon glistening off the lake and all that.”
He was right. As they reached their destination and made their way over to the railings, the view almost took Marlene’s breath away. It was a classic winter evening, the sky clear and the air bitingly cold, but it was beautiful. Sirius’ arm wrapped around Marlene as they stood there, making she she stayed warm enough.
“You know,” he said suddenly, voice soft but still breaking the silence. “I didn’t just bring you up here to look at the view.” She turned her head, looking up at him questioningly. “I brought you here because... well it’s our spot, isn’t it? It’s where we used to find ourselves hanging out a lot, where we talked about stuff and... it’s where I realised how I feel about you.” It would probably surprise some people to see how soft Bad Boy Sirius Black could be, but Marlene had learned this side of him existed long ago.
“Yeah, it is our spot,” she agreed, twisting in his embrace so that she could stretch up and give him a soft kiss. He nodded, seemingly hesitant again for a moment before steeling himself.
“That’s why I wanted to bring you up here. Because I couldn’t think of a better place to see the New Year in with the girl I love.”
Marlene blinked, Sirius’ words echoing in her head over and over.
“The girl you...”
“The girl I love,” he repeated. “I love you, Marlene McKinnon.”
Tears pricked at her eyes as she reached up a hand and pulled his head down to hers, capturing his lips in a kiss. Their heads stayed close as they parted, foreheads resting against each other.
“I love you too, Sirius Black.”