We Were Forever

Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas were huddled together in the corner of the common room, chattering excitedly over what looked like some sort of fancy box.

"It's a record player," Remus explained to his confused pureblood friends. "It's a muggle device that plays music. Lily must have figured out a way to make it work. Normally muggle technology won't work within the walls of the castle. The magic makes it go all wonky."

There was a scratching noise and some static and the whole common room fell silent as they waited to see if the girls had been successful.

The common room cheered and the girls squealed with excitement at their accomplishment. Sirius, who was sprawled across the couch with his head on Remus' knee, sat up looking thoughtful.

"This is muggle music?"

Remus laughed. "This is the muggle music. The Beatles."

"Is all muggle music like this?" Asked James, equally intrigued.

"Of course not. There are different genres and groups. It's just like wizard music. Though, personally, I think muggle rock is way better than wizard rock."

James and Sirius instantly became obsessed. Most of their free time was spent flipping through the collection of albums that were now permanently being kept in a trunk in the common room. By mid-October, they knew nearly every song by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Sirius' favorite, by far, was David Bowie.

People stared at the makeup on his face.

Laughed at his long black hair, his animal grace

The boy in the bright blue jeans

Jumped up on the stage

And Lady Stardust sang his songs

Of darkness and disgrace.

It was a full moon, so Remus was away and James and Peter had gotten detention for hexing Mrs. Norris. Sirius sat on the floor of the common room, cross-legged and surrounded by records.

"Well, isn't this a rare sight!"

Sirius glanced up and saw Marlene standing over him, grinning.

"What are you on about?" He frowned. Marlene shrugged and sat down beside him.

"Sirius Black, alone and quiet…" She laughed. "Just doesn't happen that often. Where're your friends?"

"James and Pete have detention and Remus… he's visiting his mum. What about yours?"

"Lily is tutoring a first year in potions and Dorcas ran off with Dylan Abbott."

"Abbott?" Sirius' eyebrows shot up.

Marlene hummed. "She fancies him, and I suppose he fancies her back…"

They both fell silent and Sirius busied himself with the records once more. He knew they were teenagers and that they were meant to start having interests in each other- James hadn't stopped talking about Lily's increasing beauty since they had gotten back to school, and Sirius himself would be lying if he said he didn't notice the way girls would giggle and blush when they saw him coming through the corridor. Thinking about it too much made his head spin a little and he tried to focus on David Bowie's voice instead. Marlene reached over and took Aladdin Sane's album cover out of his hand.

"I kinda love that Bowie wears makeup. It's very… 'devil may care,' y'know?"

"So that's the sort of bloke you like, McKnickers?" He said with a sly smirk. Marlene shoved him playfully.

"Not quite as much as Bowie. But some blokes look nice! A lot of rock stars wear eye shadow," her hazel eyes lit up and she gasped. "Sirius!"

"Huh?" He blinked at her and then jumped away. "Whoa! Hell no! I'm not wearing makeup!"

"It'll be fun! No one's around! No one will ever know-"

"I'll know! I'm not getting all dolled up like some bird!"

"You won't be 'all dolled up like some bird'! I think you'll look really good!" She scooted a little closer and threw on a pout, fluttering her lashes at him. "Please?"

Sirius' eyes narrowed for a moment, but he sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Marlene squealed with girlish excitement and jumped up. "I'll be right back!" She hurried away.

Sirius briefly considered running off, but he did genuinely like Marlene even if he found her and her friends insufferably annoying at times. But as far as girls went, Marlene was alright. Before he could come to his senses, she was back and clutching a small black bag.

"That looks like a lot more than just eyeliner, Mckinnon," Sirius said wearily as she sat down once more, folding her legs beneath herself. She rummaged through her bag for a moment and plucked a long, thin, black pencil out.

"Ready?"

"No," grumbled Sirius.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Just open your eyes, Black… a little more… a little-"

"That's as open as they get!"

"Alright, alright!" She raised the pencil and moved even closer so he could feel her breath on his face. "Don't flinch," she warned.

"Get on with it!"

"Sorry," she bit her lip, taking a deep breath. Sirius held his breath as she brought the stick up to his eye. The seconds seemed like hours and he had to remind himself not to move when it finally touched his bottom lid. It was very strange, he decided. Not painful, but certainly not pleasant and he couldn't fight the annoyed whine that escaped his throat.

"Oh stop it, Black! It's not that bad… Almost… done…" She sat back on her heels and smiled proudly.

Sirius bit his lip. "Er… How does it look?"

Marlene dove back into her bag, emerging with a small silver compact. Sirius jumped back slightly. 

"What is that?"

She laughed. "Relax, it's only a mirror!" She popped it open and turned it to face him. "Very punk rock."

Sirius carefully took the mirror from her and held it closer to his face. It was very subtle, but the dark black liner made his eyes pop and he resembled some of the artists on the covers of the albums he had grown so fond of. "Hey… That's pretty cool."

She nodded. "It is…"

He wasn't sure what exactly came over him in the next few silent, awkward moments. But suddenly his voice seemed to be working without any instruction from his brain and he asked, "So, Marlene… Do you fancy anyone?"

A pink tinge suddenly fell across the girl's face and Sirius had to admit, she was very pretty. Whether he had closed the distance between them or she had, he wasn't quite sure. Her lips were very soft and she smelled like vanilla and spices and… what on earth was he meant to do with his hands? Oh well…

As quickly as it started, it was over and the two thirteen-year-olds stared wide-eyed at each other as the record scratched and came to an end.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something and was more relieved than he had ever been when he heard the distinct sound of the portrait swinging open. He and Marlene jumped apart as if they had been electrocuted as Lily Evans climbed through.

"Hey, Marls," she smiled at her friend and eyed Sirius with slight disdain. "Black."

"Evans," Sirius matched her tone, but kept his eyes down, hoping she wouldn't notice that he was wearing eyeliner or the sign he felt he surely must have written across his face that read 'I just kissed your best friend.' He stood hastily, "Night, Marlene. Er… thanks," and he ran off to his dorm.

His face felt like it was on fire as he plopped down on the closest bed (Remus') and stared up at the ceiling. So he kissed Marlene. His first kiss had to happen at some point, he supposed, but he didn't expect to feel so strangely panicked by it. He turned on his side, opening Remus' bedside draw and stealing a piece of Honeydukes' best chocolate. Was Marlene his girlfriend now? Is that what was expected? He wasn't sure he liked the idea of being anyone's boyfriend… He looked out the window, it was very late and he was tired from the night's weird happenings. He wondered for a moment why James and Peter weren't back, but figured they got caught up with something and that was the last conscious thought he had.

—-------

Sirius was woken very rudely by a pair of hands shaking him.

"Sirius, wake up!"

"I'm sleeping…"

"Well wake the bloody hell up! We figured out how to sneak into the kitchen!" James whisper-shouted excitedly. Sirius' eyes snapped open.

"You what? How?" He sat up, slightly disoriented as he realized the bed he was in wasn't his.

"We were heading back from detention and we-" Peter stopped short, staring at Sirius in confusion. "Er… are you wearing makeup?"

James burst out laughing and had to cover his mouth so he wouldn't wake Frank. Sirius glared, "Bowie wears eyeliner."

"Yeah but Bowie is Bowie," Peter said, grinning from ear to ear. "You're just you."

"Well, McKinnon certainly seemed to like it," Sirius said smugly. "Right before we snogged!"

The laughing stopped abruptly and the two of them gaped at Sirius through wide eyes.

"You snogged McKinnon?!"

"Yep," Sirius sat up a little straighter. "And she said, and I quote, 'it's very punk rock'. So unless either of you has been getting any action, I suggest you shut your mouths about my style choices. Now, you were saying something about the kitchens?"

Even though it was closing in on four in the morning, the boys threw the cloak over their heads and Sirius followed James and Peter down to the kitchens.

"Tickle the pear?" Sirius hissed, eyeing James. "What on earth made you even think to try that?" He asked once they were standing in front of a giant painting of a bowl of ordinary-looking fruit.

"Right place at the right time," James shrugged. "We happened to spot a house elf doing it and followed him in." He reached up on his toes and tickled the pear and the painting swung open.

The house elves swarmed around them, eager to serve and happy to see them. Much happier than Sirius' own house elf had ever been. They served them cakes and cookies and hot chocolate and Sirius suggested to James and Peter that they bring some back to the form for when Remus got back.

"I ate some of his stashes anyway."

"You've got to stop stealing chocolate from him. He nearly strangled you the last time," Peter reminded him. 

"That's why I suggested replacing it," Sirius defended, wrapping a few pastries up in a napkin and stuffing them into his pocket. Their stay was short, as it was nearly five in the morning, and they sleepily said their goodbyes and thanked the house elves once more before slipping the cloak on and starting back towards Gryffindor Tower.

They were nearing the stairs when they heard the clicking of shoes walking fast-paced down the corridor and a mix of hushed voices.

"Poppy, he's lost a lot of blood. There's got to be something else we can do to help him."

"Not much we can do, Minerva. Poor dear. All we can do is make him comfortable and heal him back up…"

Sirius, James, and Peter ducked into the shadows, holding their breath so they wouldn't be heard as Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall rushed down the corridor in the direction of the Hospital Wing followed by a figure that looked like a student floating on an invisible stretcher. The student, they realized immediately, was Remus.

They stayed still and silent until their head of house and the healer were gone.

"We need to follow them," Sirius whispered urgently.

"They'll never let us see him," Peter shook his head.

"We need to try. He's our best friend. We need to see that he's alright," James said, nodding in agreement to Sirius. They threw off the cloak and ran as fast as they could to the infirmary where all three of them began to pound on the door until a startled and disheveled Madam Pomfrey came and opened it.

"Boys! Keep it down! I have patients! Is something wrong? Are any of you hurt or ill?"

"We have to see Remus!" James insisted.

Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened and she looked flustered but she quickly composed herself. "I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. I'm afraid I can't allow you to see him right now. He's very ill and-"

"But we know he's a werewolf!" Sirius burst out in a whisper. 

Pomfrey gasped and looked around to be sure there was no one else within earshot. "Mr. Black! I don't know how you boys know about Mr. Lupin's condition, but since you do then I assume you are aware of exactly why I cannot allow you to see him at the moment. Now, unless one of you has fallen ill or been injured, I must ask you to leave."

"We're not leaving," Peter said bravely. But when Professor McGonagall appeared over Pomfrey's shoulder, that bravery faded slightly and he shrunk back behind James and Sirius.

"Boys," McGonagall said calmly. "Now is not the time. I'm not going to ask you what on earth you're all doing out of bed at this hour, but I'd like all three of you to return to your dormitory at once. It's barely sunrise. After breakfast, assuming that Madam Pomfrey approves, you may return to visit Mr. Lupin. Is that clear?"

The three boys deflated. "Yes, Professor…" they all murmured, and they turned to head back to Gryffindor Tower.

—-------

"Did you see how pale he was?" Peter whispered once they were back in the dorm.

"Pomfrey said it's only getting worse," James mumbled miserably, climbing into his bed and setting his glasses on his bedside table.

Sirius lay on his bed, staring at Remus' empty one and chewing nervously on his lip. "...We've got to do something."