CHAPTER SIX

"Hold on for a moment" James couldn't believe what he had just heard as he held his hand to his mouth, completely astounded by Sirius' confession. The other guys were equally astounded, watching their friend who appeared completely humiliated after recounting the events.

"You fled," Remus said, emphasizing every word.

James chimed in, looking flabbergasted," You asked her out, and then you fled?" He slammed his cup of butterbeer on the table, his disbelief obvious.

"Did she reject you?" Peter inquired, taking a sip from his drink.

"No," Sirius mumbled, the word barely audible against the sound of his own humiliation.

James and Remus exchanged puzzled glances, both tilting their heads in confusion.

"Why did you run if she didn't reject you?" James prompted.

"Well, she just asked me why..." Sirius trailed off

"And you ran?!" James exclaimed, unable to believe his friend's actions.

"I panicked," Sirius muttered, his words barely audible as he attempted to disappear into the table beneath him.

James feigned deafness, shaking his head in disbelief, and exclaimed," I think my hearing just failed me. I can't believe what I just heard from you."

"Well it happened, and I got a front-row seat" The guys all jumped at the sound of Marlene's voice, and they swivelled around to see her with her arms crossed and a smirk plastered on her face.

Sirius groaned, his face reddening with embarrassment, as he exclaimed," You witnessed it?!"

Marlene confirmed with a nod, grinning widely, clearly enjoying the situation.

Marlene smirked, then stated casually," You know, I never imagined that the girl you've been crushing on was actually my sister."

She observed the shock and horror on Sirius' face as he sputtered, "How in Merlin's name do you know that?"

She leaned on Peter's chair and continued, "You lot seem to forget that you don't exactly have inside voices. It's not difficult to hear what you're discussing most of the time."

Marlene chuckled, watching the guys become increasingly conscious of their loud conversations.

Remus crossed his arms and demanded," Such as?"

Marlene let out a cheeky grin and responded," Well, there's the fact that James has his heart set on Frank's little sister, Tabitha – which, I must say, came as a total surprise, but good luck with that. And then there's Remus, and a particular twin Scamander – Evangeline, if I'm not mistaken."

Remus interjected with a slight correction," It's Evanie, her name is Evanie."

James leaned forward, a frown etched on his face, and muttered, "You know far too much, Marlene."

"I'm just observant—" Marlene mused, her eyes fixing on Sirius.

She continued, her voice turning stern," If you really are serious about my sister, you better not harm her in any way. Do I make myself clear?"

Sirius couldn't help but smirk and responded with a grin, "Well, I am Sirius."

Marlene rolled her eyes, exasperated by his retort. She shook her head and muttered, "And here I am questioning why anyone finds you attractive."

"It's the hair," he teased while running his hand through his tousled locks.

Marlene chuckled and responded, "Sure, I'll let my sister know. Just be prepared in case you irritate her—she might just shave it off."

Sirius looked mortified, his eyes widening in horror at the thought of losing his prized locks. Instinctively, he lifted both hands to shield his hair, which earned laughter from his friends and Marlene.

"No, please, you don't—" Sirius pleaded, his horrified expression still intact.

Marlene chuckled, thoroughly amused by his reaction," Don't worry Sirius, I'm only joking. She's not that crazy. I think."

Sirius relaxed slightly, his hands lowering from the protective stance they had taken. He let out a sigh of relief before speaking, "You had me scared for a moment."

Marlene chuckled, continuing with her teasing banter," She wouldn't actually shave it off—at least not yet."

His relaxed expression quickly reverted back to worry, his eyes widening again as he muttered," Yet?!"

Marlene let out another chuckle," Don't fret. But let's just say, if you were to mess up, I can't promise that she'll hold back."

He grimaced at her warning, knowing all too well that Marlene was capable of being quite fierce when protecting her sister.

"So, if you mess things up — and, let's be honest, there's a high chance you will—" Marlene paused, shooting him a knowing look.

He sighed deeply, knowing that she was right - he had a penchant for impulsive decisions that often landed him in trouble.

"Just know the consequences won't be pretty," she warned, her tone serious but with a hint of amusement.

He nodded, his eyes now reflecting a mix of determination and trepidation. He silently vowed to himself that he wouldn't mess things up with her sister, even if it meant curbing his mischievous nature for a while.

"Understood," he said firmly, straightening his shoulders as if preparing himself for the task at hand.

Marlene watched him for a moment, a small smirk forming on her lips as she saw his resolute expression.

A sigh escaped Marlene's lips as she spoke, "You know what? The one good thing that came out of me and you having that fling was that I finally realized what I truly wanted."

Curiosity flickered in Sirius' eyes as he noticed the smile that formed on her face. He followed her gaze to a nearby table, realizing that she was looking at another female.

"I just kept passing up on it—" she continued, her eyes still fixed on the table where the object of her affection sat.

Sirius looked back and forth between Marlene and the girl who had caught her attention, his curiosity piqued even further.

James leaned forward, his eyes narrowing mischievously and a grin on his face, "Oh~ Dor-"

Marlene quickly cut him off with a stern glare, silently warning him to keep quiet. He chuckled at her glare, raising his hands in mock surrender but keeping the knowing smile on his face.

"Why don't you just admit it already?" Remus spoke up, trying to conceal his amusement.

"Yeah, it's obvious as a day at this point," Peter chimed in, a smirk on his face.

Sirius remained silent, his eyes flickering between them all, waiting for Marlene's response.

Marlene tried to divert the attention back to the original subject, her annoyance evident in her tone, "We are not turning this onto me! We're talking about Sirius!"

The others chuckled, clearly enjoying the momentary distraction before James, Remus and Peter all turned their gazes back to Sirius.

Sirius felt all eyes on him again, the attention shifting back to him. He shifted uncomfortably under their gaze, not expecting the spotlight to return so soon.

Sirius grumbled in response, "Yeah, how about we drop the whole Sirius thing?"

James, ever the opportunist for a good pun, eagerly chimed in, "But it is a serious thing."

Sirius groaned at the pun, rolling his eyes but unable to hide a small smile at their endless banter.

"Real mature, James," Sirius retorted, his response laced with sarcasm.

James simply laughed, not at all ashamed of his childish sense of humour.

"Hey, maturity is overrated," James replied cheerfully, "Besides, laughter is the best medicine, right?" He added, winking at Sirius.

"Yeah, tell that to McGonagall," Remus chimed in with a smirk, "I'm sure she'll love your maturity level."

Sirius chuckled at the comment, picturing McGonagall's stern expression as James tried to convince her of the benefits of immaturity.

"I'm sure she'd find it charming," he said dryly.

"Charming, or downright ridiculous?" Remus responded.

Peter chimed in with a grin, "Probably both."

"Definitely both," Sirius agreed, his smile widening as the others joined in with their banter.

"But hey, we wouldn't be us without our ridiculous antics, right?" James said cheerfully.

James' cheerful tone was met with nods and chuckles all around. Despite their differences, they were indeed a group known for their antics and pranks.

Remus smirked, "Oh, we'd be far too boring otherwise."

"Yeah, we'd be the most boring group in Hogwarts history," Peter agreed, playing along.

Sirius mock cringed, dramatically covering his ears. "No! Anything but that!" he exclaimed exaggeratedly.

Marlene, having given up on the previous topic, chimed in with a slight eye roll.

"No," she said pointedly, "You guys should be labelled as the biggest idiots in Hogwarts history."

The guys feigned offence, faking their hurt feelings by putting their hands over their hearts.

"Ouch," Sirius feigned hurt, dramatically clutching his heart.

James chuckled, putting on a sad expression, "You wound us, Marlene."

"How could you say such a thing?" Remus joined in, pretending to be deeply hurt.

Peter mock sniffled, "I am devastated."

The guys continued dramatically acting as if they had been deeply offended by her comment.

"I don't think we'll ever recover," Sirius said, shaking his head.

"Our fragile egos will never be the same," James added, putting on a pitiful look.

"Yes, our poor souls are utterly shattered," Remus played along, a theatrical sigh escaping him.

Peter added, "We'll never be the same after this."

Marlene gave up, as she walked away, she turned back one last time to send them a playfully annoyed look.

The guys chuckled, amused by her reaction.

"I think we managed to annoy her," Sirius said, a grin on his face.