above alliteration
"What a lovely evening to uh-stargaze?"
His voice dripped with sarcasm, but Marlene very well knew that Sirius Black did not intend to make conversation.
They were right in the middle of winter. Her nose was pink, blond hair dusted in snow, and if she were to stand there another ten minutes or so, she could potentially lose her toes. To Marlene, it was worth it. She needed her weekly getaway. It was time to herself, as it was different from being in the library, or having the dorm room to herself. She liked night time for its quietness, and she liked being outside for the fresh air. Sneaking up to the Astronomy Tower was her sanctuary, and she had been secretly doing it since first year.
A cough.
"What a lovely evening to stargaze."
"I heard you the first time," Marlene sighed, frowning that the Gryffindor had not left her alone. "What do you want, Black?"
"Nothing. I'm admiring the skies. Is it wrong to stand by a fellow stargazer?" He gestured above them. "The source of my blasted family's origins. It's fitting, isn't it? My lineage believes that we're above everybody else."
"So you like looking at the sky to nurture your ego?"
"Very much so." Marlene noted his tone was bitter, although he was disguising his words with a smirk. "But I didn't exactly choose my name. I would have rather been named after a rare species of dirt."
"Something tells me you're never going to be grounded, Black."
Sirius chuckled at her reply.
"But I understand you. I hate my name too," she admitted. "Marlene Marie McKinnon. Three 'm's."
"Don't you fancy a bit of alliteration? Does anybody call you 'Em'? I think that nickname suits you."
A new nickname is the last thing that she needed.
She stared at him dryly.
"What?"
"Go back down there, Black," Marlene mumbled.
He blinked, uncertain by her words.
"I know you were sent here to distract me." Marlene continued, "I don't know why you suddenly noticed that I'm outside tonight, but I've been 'stargazing' enough to know what you are up to."
Sirius paled. "What do you mean? What do you know-"
"Enough," Marlene cut him off. "Now go back down to help Lupin out with his werewolf issues. Scoot, scoot."
He gaped at her as she nudged him away from her. His neck craned towards while she proceeded to push him down the staircase. "You won't tell on us, will you?"
"No." Marlene rolled her eyes. "I would have done that eons ago if I wanted to."
"How long have you known-"
"Bye Black."
She gave him one last shove.
When he disappeared down the spiral staircase, Marlene finally let out a sigh. She was glad that Sirius would no longer bother her that night.
Little did Marlene know that Sirius would end up bothering her on future nights to come…