Marlene beamed at him, and started laughing when he said he didn’t twinkle. “Sirius,” she said, still giggling, “I hate to break it to you, slick, but you’re definitely a twinkler.” It was quite ironic that she was saying this, seeing as her eyes were probably dancing with amusement right now, but she couldn’t help it. “It’s okay,” she said in a hushed tone, leaning slightly closer to give the air of secrecy. “I don’t think the rest of them have worked out that you twinkle—I’ll keep your secret,” she finished, sealing the deal with a wink.
Marlene laughed when he concurred about being the brightest star in the sky, and absent-mindedly furrowed her head into his hand, making it easier for him to play with her hair. She was pretty sure he was a little tipsy, but that was okay—Sirius Black was good at making her smile, no matter his sobriety, which was kind of surprising, given how hard his life was. She mused on that when he made his comment about stars—his family was full of stars. They were all dark stars, though, and she had no doubt that on some level, being surrounded by dark stars would only make the brightest seem brighter, but she worried, sometimes, about how hard it must be for a bright star to try shine when it was alone amidst the dark ones. She brushed that off right now; he seemed happy, right now, and she didn’t want to take that from him. Usually, she would push the blunt option if she thought it was best to confront, but she didn’t want to do that to Sirius. Not when seeing him just content wasn’t such a common thing. “Oh yeah?” she asked, in response to his comment about being surrounded by stars. “You reckon some of us could be your stars?” she asked, small smile playing at her lips as she faced him.
Marlene shifted as he did, to get more comfortable, so now most of her body was nestled beside his, instead of perpendicular to it. She listened intently as he talked. “It sounds hard,” she said simply, looking at him intently. “I—my mother hasn’t spoken to her family since she married Dad,” she told him. “And that was just because, you know, she was a Rickett, a Slytherin legacy, and she married a McKinnon. She left so she could be with dad, but you—you left because you believe something different. And what Mum did was hard,” she said steadily, because it was, “but what you did is even harder, and more important. And I’m so proud of you,” she finally said. Marlene practically lived at James’ in the summer—or at least, she and James alternated between their homes—so she had known Sirius had moved in literally within a day of him having done so, and ever since he had walked out, she had felt so unbearably proud of him, but she wasn’t sure if she’d ever told him. She wasn’t much for talking about her feelings—even though they ruled her every action; she kind of reserved those talks for when she felt like a friend needed it, but she found herself genuinely wanting to tell Sirius how proud of him she was, even if this was slightly out of the realm of her general conversations. Then again, Sirius wasn’t just anybody. "I’m glad you have them," she informed him, referring to his uncle and cousin, "and us. And you’re totally right—the world isn’t black and white, and these people asking everyone to choose a side aren’t being fair, because sometimes you can’t pick.” Marlene looked him in the eyes, and said, laying her hand over the one of his that was holding her, “but the world is full of impossible choices, and we can’t avoid them all. What we can do, though, is make sure we don’t have to go through them alone. And I won’t let you,” she said, and her tone was fond, but also fierce, because she meant it with all her heart. “I have no intention of leaving you on your own to make that choice.” She would always have his back, though she wasn’t entirely sure that it was that particular friendly instinct that had inspired her words.
Marlene gave him a startled smile. “Well,” she responded, “I’m glad I’m here too, if I can.” She shot him a wicked grin. “I guess you kind of make me feel better too, Sirius Black,” she returned, her tone slightly teasing but her words completely sincere.
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