The Great War
It took eleven months for Marlene to finally listen to James Potter and reclaim her adventurous essence and free spirit—after all, she was part of the Marauders. Eleven months had passed since she started dating Fabian Prewett, and from day one, her best friend had warned her that he didn’t deserve her, that it was a huge mistake and that there were far better guys than “ a fake moralist who’ll deceive you, use you and discard you with the excuse that it’s about him and not you, but in reality, he just found a new skirt to chase ”. And in the end, James was right. It had been two weeks since she found out that Fabian was cheating on her with Dorcas Meadowes.
But Marlene wasn’t entirely innocent. She knew things weren’t going well in her relationship—and even less so in her mind. The convenience of being with someone for almost a year while still being unable to get someone else out of her head not only messed with her heart but also left her utterly confused. Confused because being completely in love with her best friend’s best friend was never part of the plan.
In fact, Marlene felt like a hypocrite. She used to get inside Lily Evans’ head for always claiming to hate James Potter while secretly wanting him to get on his knees and propose—yet here she was, stuck in a toxic, failed relationship simply because she couldn’t open her heart and take a chance on one of the most insufferable guys at Hogwarts. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she was scared. Scared that he wouldn’t just reject her, but that he’d mock her—simply because they shared the same group of friends. She couldn’t bear the thought of being friend-zoned by the mischievous, self-righteous owner of those grayish eyes and the attitude of a dog—no innuendos intended.
That’s why Marlene skipped Potions class to end her relationship while Fabian Prewett thought his girlfriend just wanted to sneak off for a quickie in some broom closet.
“Marlene, please!” Fabian Prewett’s tone was one of false pleading. “I love you so much! We’ve been together for a year, for Merlin’s sake!”
He gently grabbed Marlene’s arm. She didn’t pull away, but something twisted in her stomach. The same hand that was touching her at that moment had touched her ex-friend in ways she never imagined Dorcas would allow. But she was a hypocrite, so she would never tell Fabian that she wasn’t just breaking up with him because he cheated—but also because she was in love with someone else.
“Fabian, we’re incompatible and you know that.”
Marlene’s green eyes met Prewett’s dark blue ones. Both were hiding lies.
“I understand that your family is wealthy and mine isn’t, but I love you!” Fabian said, his fingers tightening around Marlene’s arm. “We can make it work—”
“This isn’t about money, Fabian, I just don’t want this anymore!” Marlene cut him off, her voice rising significantly.
“Then give me a reason!” he demanded, his grip heavy on her arm.
Marlene closed her eyes and sighed, licking her lips in frustration. The longer she took to answer, the tighter Fabian’s grip on her arm became. Her eyes burned. The tears wanted to fall, but she wouldn’t let them—not when she knew it was more about not being with the person she truly wanted than about the breakup itself.
“The reason is that I want to. That’s it. It’s over.” Marlene kept her tone firm, pulling away from his grip.
Fabian’s blue eyes darkened completely. He grabbed her arm again, this time yanking her aggressively toward him. His expression hardened, and his tone was nothing like it had been at the start of their conversation:
“This is about Sirius Black, isn’t it?” He exhaled sharply through his nose. “You fucked him like a whore, didn’t you? You know, Marlene, I always noticed the way that bastard looked at you, and I knew you were just a little slut who’d jump into bed with him the first chance you got—”
Hearing the words “I always noticed the way that bastard looked at you” made Marlene’s heart slam violently against her chest. Oh, how she’d love it if it were true. The next words flew out of her mouth like thunder, her tongue moving faster than her mind.
“Actually, Sirius Black fucked me better than you ever did!” Her sharp tone echoed in Prewett’s ears. “And Meadowes? She must not have been better than me if you had to screw her and now she’s chasing after you while you’re running after me.” Marlene smirked mockingly. “Or are you only chasing me because you need some money to run away with your pathetic little mistress?”
The shock on Fabian’s face was priceless to Marlene, and despite what happened next, she didn’t regret a single word. Prewett slid his hand down to Marlene’s wrist, twisting it forcefully as he yanked her closer.
“You’re going to regret this, McKinnon,” he growled through gritted teeth.
“So will you, Prewett,” she retorted with a sarcastic smile.
Fabian let go of her aggressively, turned on his heel, and marched toward the castle in the opposite direction of his now ex-girlfriend. A strange sensation washed over her—a mix of freedom and despair. The tears that had been burning the back of her eyes finally spilled over, rolling down her face as she both smiled and sobbed. Her hands trembled, and her body broke out in cold sweat. Marlene let her legs carry her to where she knew her best friends would be. All she needed at that moment was a hug—and a good gossip session with her best friend.
Marlene walked toward the Black Lake. As she approached, she spotted James standing and talking to Sirius and Remus, both guys sitting on either side of Lily, the three of them leaning against a large, old tree trunk. Mary was sitting beside Lily, reading a book. The first to notice Marlene approaching was Lily.
“Marls! Where have you been?” Lily stood up to greet her friend.
“Marlene? What happened?” she asked as she noticed her friend’s expression.
Marlene’s eyes were red and swollen, but the smile on her face didn’t match the distress in her expression. She didn’t answer Lily—she just hugged her and let her tears soak the back of Lily’s coat, while Lily simply held her tightly.
“Marlene, what the hell happened? What did Prewett do?” James asked, walking up to the two girls.
“I broke up with him, James!” Marlene smiled, wiping her tears away with Lily’s help.
James grinned widely—though he knew this wasn't the best reaction when someone came up to you with the words, “I just broke up.”
“Finally! How did it go?” he asked.
“I told him I didn’t want him anymore, he insisted, blamed Black for the breakup, I called him poor, called Dorcas Meadowes a cheap whore, and he lost it!” Marlene dropped all the information on her friends without warning, leaving them all gaping.
“Dorcas Meadowes?” James asked.
“Yeah, he cheated on me,” she stated as if it wasn’t shocking enough. “But it’s okay, I just wanted to be with you guys. I think I need to sleep! Too much information in too little time!”
“Mary and I will go with you, Marls!” Lily said, turning to Mary, who immediately agreed.
Marlene gave a weak smile, and the three girlfriends headed toward the castle after saying goodbye to the Marauders. James frowned and looked at Sirius.
“Did you do something?” he arched his eyebrows.
“No, man!” Black replied indignantly.
“Either way, thanks for getting her out of that shitty relationship!” James shrugged.
Remus laughed.
“But I didn’t do anything, Prongs!” Sirius defended himself.
“But you sure wish you had!” Remus teased with a grin.
Sirius smirked back.
“I hate seeing Marlene upset, but I can’t say I’m sad about the breakup.” He crossed his arms.
Despite the joking, Sirius was genuinely worried. He couldn’t help but notice the red marks on Marlene’s arm—light, but visible. He already knew Fabian Prewett was a piece of shit, but he could be twice as bad when it came to his friends, and worse: the girl he loved.
“I’m heading to the dorm to grab a jacket. See you guys later.”
Sirius hurried toward the castle. He still didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he already had a plan in mind. The fury inside him only grew at the thought of that bastard hurting Marlene McKinnon. Despite hating his family, Sirius was still a Black, and he would do justice to the name he forcefully carried.