The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part Two

It's Alright Darling

"SIRIUUUS BLACK! SIIRIUS BLAAAAAACK!!"

The door was banged upon with double fists and a great deal of laughter.

"SIRRI!! Open the doooor you mother fucker!!!"

Peter Pettigrew pulled the curtain in the window of the door to one side, standing on tip toe, then backed up and opened the door, just as Marlene Mackinnon went to bang on it again. She nearly fell into the apartment she threw herself forward with such velocity, and Peter ducked out of the way as she stumbled forward, cracking up.

"Oh its you Peter - hullllo," she said, seeing him, and trying at sobering her tone a bit. "Hullo, Peter. I'm looking for Sirius Black. Is'e at 'ome?" She snorted, and laughed again, doing an exaggerated little curtsy type motion. "I have very important news to tell him?"

Peter stared at her, "Are you drunk?" he asked.

Marlene's mouth spilt into a grin. "Oh you were always soooo good at divination. I remember that about you!" she wagged her finger at him as though accusing him of some naughty secret behavior, then promptly tripped and nearly fell down. 

Peter caught her this time and kept her upright. "I didn't need divination to tell, Marlene."

"Is it that obvious?" she asked, sounding rather devastated, then she laughed again and said, "Ol' Ernie on the Knight Bus must've thought me a right fool!" 

Her eyes were dark with smudged eyeliner and her mascara seemed to have melted down onto her cheeks and her hair was all sort of puffy on one side only and her lipstick was faded but smeared a bit so that her features appeared blurry. Not to mention that she was wearing a pair of red boys sweatpants and an old, faded t-shirt with the band Deep Purple on it under her wool coat. 

Peter didn't know what Ol' Ernie might've thought, but he knew he thought she looked a right fool. "You should go home," he said, and though the words were sort of smart, his tone and intention was kind, "And take a nap. Perhaps a shower, too. You look like you rather could use one." 

Marlene shook her head, "I need to talk to Sirius."

"He's not here," Peter said. "He's at work."

"Who the hell needs degnoming done in the winter?!" Marlene said, frustrated. "The gardens are covered in snow!"

"A lot of the clients set charms to keep their backyards summer all year 'round," Peter said, repeating what Sirius had said to him the first time he'd asked Sirius that very same question a month ago. "He said Bilius reckons they should give the gnomes a break for winter or else provide them with winter coats at least when they kick'em out." 

Marlene laughed, "A gnome with a coat on. Why that's what I feel like right now! Some warty old potato-shaped thing with a coat on."

"You look a fair deal prettier than a gnome, Marlene," Peter stammered. 

"You're a doll," she answered, and she ran her hand through her hair - or tried to, there was a fair amount of tangling that stopped her from getting it all the way through. "Is he gone the entire day, then?" 

"Yeah," Peter answered. "Sorry."

Marlene closed her eyes, and her face crumpled like a little kid not getting her way, and she said, "Why's he never been there when I needed him? Even when we were dating, he was never - never there... Nobody's never there." She started crying.

Peter looked bewildered. "I - I - um. What about - what about Emmaline? Maybe she would like to talk to you about - whatever it is you need to talk to Sirius about?"

"Nooo, Peter! That's the point isn't it? Emma doesn't want to talk to me unless we get married and I don't want to get married because it's not the right time and I want to die because now she doesn't want me at all!" Marlene sobbed.