Crimson Rivers

Chapter 38

James is not prepared for someone to be courageous enough to interrupt him and Regulus as they dance, so it takes him by surprise when he feels someone tap him on his shoulder. Regulus slowly raises his head with murder in his eyes.

Marlene seems unperturbed. "Simmer down, Reginald, this won't take long. I need to borrow your boyfriend for a few minutes, and it'll be quick. I fucking hate dancing anyway."

"Well, aren't you in popular demand?" Regulus mutters to James, scowling as he steps back.

"Oh, don't—" James groans as Regulus swivels and marches off in a clear tiff, heading right for Sirius, who is gawking over at Marlene and James in disbelief. James heaves a sigh and looks at Marlene. Flatly, he says, "Thanks for that."

"He's a fussy one, isn't he?" Marlene asks, amused. She steps forward and awkwardly braces her hands on his shoulders, quite literally keeping them at arm's length.

"Very volatile, like his brother," James says dryly, then clears his throat and reaches out to carefully lay his hands on her hips. She glares at him, so he panics and slips his hands up higher, but her glare only becomes more pronounced, and she's strangling his shoulders now, so he snatches his hands away entirely. "Er, sorry. I thought you wanted to dance."

"I don't want to, but...I'd like to speak to you, and I can understand why you and the pocket-sized Sirius might want to stay on the dancefloor." Marlene heaves a sigh and glances down at his hands. "Go ahead, put them back. It's fine."

James pauses. "Would you rather I hold your shoulders? We can swap, if you want."

"I—" Marlene blinks. "Actually, yes. Less...invasive that way."

"Sure," James says simply, because he gets what she means, he thinks. They swap quickly, with his hands resting on her shoulders as she settles hers on his waist. They're not close, and it's a bit amusing because she's shorter than him, but it puts her at ease. "Also, pocket-sized Sirius? He's, like, an inche shorter than him."

"Yeah, but I bet Sirius never lets him forget it, so I can't either in solidarity," Marlene muses. "Besides, I bet I could break him like a twig easily."

"No?" James replies slowly. "I mean, no offense, but it definitely wouldn't be easy."

Marlene clicks her tongue. "You poor thing. You're hopeless. I could break him if I wanted to. It's honestly sort of funny, since it doesn't look like it'd be simple to do, because he's always glaring at things."

"Yeah, he's cute," James murmurs, lips curling up fondly. Then he frowns. "He does actually have muscles, and he's stronger than he looks."

"No, I know that. I know better than most that looks can be deceiving, and I did see him pick you up once when you were passed out and carry you up an incline," Marlene admits.

James opens his mouth, closes it, then says, "He did that? Wait, when was this? In the arena, I know, but—but I have no memory of that."

"Yeah, because you were passed out." Marlene rolls her eyes at him. "It was after that whole mess with Mulciber. You weren't doing well, so Regulus scooped you up. How exactly do you think you got back to the cave?"