Chapter Text
When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon classes, Marlene and Lily hurried to the North Tower, where Professor Vablatsky's classroom was located at the top of a narrow spiral staircase. The sweet familiar scent spreading from the fire flooded their nostrils as soon as they emerged in the circular room, and they quickly went to their usual table, in hope that yet another delay wouldn’t be noticed. The teacher sat in a large and eccentric armchair in front of the fire, her pupils anxiously waiting to know what the first topic of the year would be.
"Dear students, as we have satisfactorily completed the review of previously learned concepts, I believe it is time to turn our attention to the stars," she announced. "The movements of the planets and the mysterious omens revealed only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance are the basis of human destiny, dictated by the planetary rays and ..." before Marlene's thoughts could drift, the woman was abruptly interrupted by two newcomers, who were still giggling at something they did in the corridors. James Potter and Sirius Black were a strange duo but from their early days at Hogwarts they proved to be inseparable and together with Remus Lupin, a lonely scholar in poor health, and Peter Pettigrew, a classmate of theirs who could’ve easily been mistaken for someone from the first year, they formed the group that earned the most detentions since twins Fabian and Gideon Prewett graduated. The whole school, or at least a good part, couldn't wait to know what their next stunt would be and the four friends basked in the fame they had earned among their classmates.
"As I was saying, human destiny is dictated by planetary rays and the primary influence of a specific planet. Take Mr. Potter, for example: Mars’s influence is so evident in his impetuous energy and spontaneity he couldn’t hide it even if he wanted to. Who wants to guess which planet most distinguish his companion? "
Many hands, mostly female, were raised. Marlene rolled her eyes, wondering how stupid you have to be to desire the attention of someone who had no intention of seriously commit even for a second date.
"Miss McKinnon, why don't you test your skills if you consider it such a silly question?" the teacher asked, making her regret having reconfirmed her presence at the course. Switching for fifth grade would be hard, sure, but never as hard as putting up with half the class flashing lightning in her direction.
"I suppose Mercury is the planet that most influences Mr. Black: he likes to have fun and make people laugh, but I think he does it to hide a certain sensitivity, which otherwise would prevent him from being so comfortable in the crowd," she replied, without looking at him. She didn't like meddling in other people's business, but she knew if she made a good impression, the Professor would leave her alone at least until the end of the lesson and the detailed analysis even earned Gryffindor five points. Lily tried to stifle a chuckle at the sight of Sirius's face, but all hilarity died away when each was given a complicated circular chart they had to fill with the planets’ position at the time of their birth. It was boring and required a lot of calculations and consultations, but if Lily seemed to be doing it easily, Marlene noticed she had two Neptunes and was forces to ask for the teacher’s help.
"That's Uranus, my dear," the woman patiently explained, then moved on to the next student in need.
"Can I take a look at Uranus too?" Sirius whispered once the Professor was no longer within earshot. Refraining from the urgent desire to slap him, and praying her cheeks hadn't turned the same colour as Lily's hair, Marlene took a deep breath and to her friend's extreme surprise, she didn't scream in his face he was a filthy pig but just asked if jokes like that ever worked with anyone.
"With all of them,” he replied, looking at the girls who previously raised their hands with a sly smile on his thin lips. “And they’ll continue to do so, even if you don’t want to admit it.”
“Awfully confident, aren’t you?” she challenged him, without moving an inch as not to give the impression of being uncomfortable. She had never been so close to him, so she never gotten to notice how smooth his angular jaw was, not even the slightest hint of beard in sight, or that his eyes weren’t just black as his surname but an intense dark gray, like storm clouds. He smelled of pine, the pungent autumn air and smoke, but gave off a halo of warmth, as if his skin was hot with fever.
“I mean, history says I kind of have the right to be,” he replied with a shrug, making her see red. Who did he think he was to act like such a brat? Did he think he could act so arrogantly only because some slut fell at his feet in the past? Whatever the answer was, Professor Vablatsky had to believe she could find it in the next month, as she selected them as partners for the longest project she ever gave them. As much as she would’ve liked, Marlene knew it would be useless to protest, but she left the classroom with a gloomiest mood, muttering insults against the teacher.
“You know how long a month can be?” she vented to Lily on the way to the Great Hall. “And Sirius doesn’t care about his grades, he just wants to party as much as possible before his family name grants him a position at the Ministry, while I have to work hard to get an enviable resume. What do you suggest? Please help me, because this time I don’t think there’s a way out.”
“What a pessimist! You've got by even in worse situations, I don't think a slacker can really ruin your career,” replied Lily, her expression halfway between amused and maternal. Although her friend's words were as wise as ever, she wasn’t sure she would’ve been able to go very far without her partner’s collaboration, so she decided to sit next to him at dinner to instil some common sense in his empty head.
"I knew you couldn't resist," he teased as she took a seat. Peter laughed, like the wingman in need of approval he was, while James and Remus didn’t comment, mindful of the loud slap she have Snape just days ago, after he called Lily a Mudblood. Marlene knew her friend still suffered, but when she saw her cry so desperately she let herself be carried away by emotions, and even if it wasn’t very wise to face him in front of Mulciber and Avery, she didn’t regret it. After everything Lily did for him, knowing he treated her in such a vile way made her blood boil; she was kind, selfless, intelligent, popular and one of the most beautiful girls of their year so Snape must’ve been grateful for her platonic attentions, instead he made friends with the worst kind of Slytherins, the ones who valued race purity more than the wizards’ abilities.
“Funny, but I'm not here for the little pleasure you seem to give girls. After dinner, we’ll go to the library to start Professor Vablatsky’s homework, no excuses,” she decreed, and with that she didn’t even look at him anymore, concentrated on the large portion of potato casserole she served herself.
"Are you serious?" he whispered, about halfway through dinner, deliberately invading her personal space. He seemed genuinely worried about her boring plans. “Do you really want to study on a Friday night? Don't you have better things to do? "
Marlene pretended to think about it for a second, then said no. She had to admit it was fun to catch him off guard, to see how the charismatic Sirius Black approached someone who didn't have the slightest intention of earning his favours but didn't even openly oppose him, like his brother's friends. It was like peering behind a curtain at the theatre, discovering something about the actors who brought on stage characters capable of breaking hearts and making the audience laugh breathlessly.
“You finished?” she asked, looking at the empty plate.
"Even if I didn’t, your plans killed my appetite,” he muttered, the face of a distraught child after being denied an encore of dessert. She was sure it wasn’t such a big deal, after all he could always catch up with his friends after curfew, a though that seemed to console and persuade him to follow her. In no time, the countertop lit by the flickering candlelight was filled with papers and notes, but despite their efforts, they didn’t seem to make much progress on predicting how their signs might affect each other in the following month. The librarian already warned them a couple of times it was time to go, but Sirius’ stubbornness and Marlene’s dedication clashed with the depressing conclusions.
"See you here tomorrow, right after breakfast," she snapped, angered by her own ineptitude, and nearly tripped over her chair from the haste with which she wanted to get away from what she perceived as a personal failure. Entering her bedroom, she noticed Lily already drawn the thick dark red curtains, and although she was sure she wasn’t really asleep, she left her to her voluntary isolation, aware sometimes is good to allow yourself to be sad even for those who don’t deserve it. The weekend passed without incident, except a spell James Potter put on Frank Longbottom's cauldron, but neither Sirius nor Marlene saw him sprinkle stinking black ichors all over the Common Room, locked in the library finishing homework. Professor Vablatsky didn’t particularly appreciate their fatalism, she was convinced the search for stability typical of Tauruses and the litigiousness of Scorpios were more complementary than incompatible, but she still rewarded them with a good grade, enticing them to write weekly self-analysis so good they were used as examples in class. From that moment, even if their relationship could be defined strictly professional, the number of subjects for which they decided to study together grew dramatically and their grades were close to excellence.
"Do you mind if I don't come to the library tonight?" Sirius asked on a cold afternoon in mid-December, as they came back from the last Herbology class of the year. Although it hadn't snowed yet, the air was freezing and the cold clung to their bones like a parasite. In normal conditions, Marlene would’ve objected more fervently, but as she was trying to survive and Sirius seemed more distracted than usual, as if dreading some bad news, she just asked what he was going to do with Professor Jigger’s homework, a whole sheet of parchment about the difference between the various curses.
"I was hoping this time you could help me," he began, but given the perplexity on the girl's face, he hastened to add that it wouldn’t become a habit and swore to carry her books from class to class for the entire first week of lessons after the Christmas break.
“I’ll do it,” she gave in with a sigh, “but you owe me.”
“You know you’re my favourite, right?” he asked before kissing her cheek and running fast up the hill covered in slippery frost.
“I better be, I’m going to face a sleepless night just for you”! she yelled, but she couldn’t hide a smile when she saw him jump on his best friend’s back. Maybe Professor Vablatsky was right, maybe the influence they had on each other wasn’t that bad.