To Be Without Fault

To Be Without Fault

by Alicia78

Summary: In the McKinnon’s summer home in Messina, Italy, Charles McKinnon, his daughter, Marlene, Marlene’s friend, Lily, are there to stay for the summer. Charles’s good friends, Thomas and Katherine Potter, their son, James, their niece, Melanie, and James’s friend, Sirius, come to stay as well. Lily knows James as a self-centred jerk who didn’t date girls—he shagged them. James believes Lily to be an anal prick who believed she was too good to associate with any of the boys who attended Hogwarts. In an odd twist of things Sirius develops a fancy for Marlene. However, will Melanie’s determination to get back together prevent Sirius and Marlene from being able to date without Melanie interfering? Based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Rating: PG-13 for language and some sex-related discussions

Disclaimer: I own neither the characters and thematic elements taken from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, nor do I own any plot aspects taken from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Chapter One: The Guests

As the warm Italian sun set on the horizon and the waves broke softly on the shore, night came upon the small town of Messina. Charles McKinnon sat at his long dining room table and stared out at the water through the oversized windows that lined the entire wall of the McKinnon’s beach house dining room. It was a truly beautiful sight to behold. God, he loved spending summers here. The house had been passed down through his family for generations, and now, he was finally able to take his daughter and her friend here for the summer.

He cleared his throat suddenly and looked down the table at his daughter, Marlene, and her friend, Lily. “I’m not sure if I’ve told you this already, but we have a few more guests joining us here tomorrow. My esteemed friends Thomas and Katherine Potter, their son James, their niece Melanie, and James’ friend Sirius.”

Lily choked. “James Potter?” she asked, looking up from her guinea foul.

“Oh yes, I forgot you all must be acquainted from Hogwarts,” he replied contently.

“You can hardly call us acquaintances,” Lily laughed airily, “We took a few courses together and are in the same year, but we rarely speak outside of class.”

Marlene shot Lily a questioning look, which she chose to ignore.

“Well,” Charles said decisively, “this in an ideal way for you lot to get to know each other better.”

Lily grimaced, and continued to eat her dinner.

“Lily doesn’t care for James much,” Marlene informed her father.

“And Marlene fancies Sirius,” Lily replied quickly.

Marlene turned red and glared at Lily. “Why d’you have to go saying things like that?” she asked under her breath.

“Why do you have to go about telling your father I don’t get on well with James?” Lily muttered in reply.

“Father, may we be excused?” Marlene asked, glancing back up at her father.

“Certainly,” Charles replied, somewhat offhandedly, staring out the window yet again.

The two girls scurried up the two flights of stairs and into the large bedroom suite they shared. Their trunks lay still unpacked in a corner and clothes were scattered around each of their elaborately carved four-poster beds. The large walk-in closet was empty and unused, and their bathroom was a bit of a mess. Lily ran toward her bed and plopped down on it.

“I can’t believe he’ll be here for the entire summer,” Lily moaned, staring up at her lacy canopy.

“It won’t be so, so bad, Lily,” Marlene replied encouragingly.

“He just makes me feel so uncomfortable and nervous!” Lily exclaimed.

“I think you like him,” Marlene said knowingly.

Lily jolted and turned to her friend, “What gives you that idea?” she asked quickly.

“Just an inkling,” Marlene replied, shrugging.

“Well, I don’t!” Lily said defiantly.

“Alright, whatever you say.”

“I seriously can’t stand him!” Lily exclaimed.

“Sure you can’t.”

“What? I don’t like him.”

“If you say so.”

Lily sighed, “I’m going to bed!” She then leaned over and tapped her wand once to turn of the light.

.*.*.*.

“Dad, can’t we just rent our own place in Messina?” James Potter pleaded. “I hate staying with your friends. They always turn out to be anal pricks or boring as hell!”

“Why thank you, James. It’s glad to hear that you approve of the people I have spent my entire life amongst,” Mr. Potter replied.

“Err…sorry Dad, I didn’t mean it like that,” James replied quickly.

“Then how exactly did you mean it, son?” Thomas Potter asked. “Besides, this time there will be some people there you know. His daughter and her friend are in your year and house at Hogwarts. Your probably friends with them—Marlene McKinnon and Lily Potter.”

James nodded and waited for his father to leave before turning to his friend Sirius and muttering “Oh yeah, they’ll be anal pricks alright.”

Sirius sniggered.

“So whatever happened with her?” Sirius asked, “Did you two ever shag?”

“No, and I believe I have you and Remus to blame for that. She never quite forgave you lot for teasing her when she liked me in 1^st year.”

“Don’t sweat it mate, she’s not even that hot,” Sirius consoled, “What’s McKinnon like though?”

James shrugged, “Never got to know her all that well. But she’s best friends with Lily, so I’d assume she’s just as contemptible.”

“If I’m thinking of the right bint, she’s bloody good-looking though.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty,” James admitted, “but she never really says much.”

“Isn’t it best when they don’t?” Sirius asked, winking.

James laughed, “Now I can’t argue with that.”

Seconds later James and Sirius heard a knock on the front door which echoed throughout the front hall of the Potter’s Godric Hollow mansion. From the sitting room in which James and Sirius stood, they could hear their house elf, Yappy, say, in his loud, screechy voice, “Hello, again Miss Melanie. Master will be very happy to see you indeed.”

Melanie laughed, “Thanks, Yappy. It’s good to see you again!”

“And you, Miss Melanie,” Yappy replied, bowing.

“Do you know where James is?” Melanie asked.

“On the third story, in the front hall sitting room, the one that faces the mountains, I believe,” Yappy informed her.

“Thanks!” Melanie said smiling. With that she left Yappy and ran upstairs to the sitting room where James and Sirius were.

“Hey guys!” she called, smiling as she entered the drawing room.

“Hey cuz!” James replied, reaching out to hug his cousin.

Sirius merely smiled a half smile at her. The two of them had broken up at the end of last year, and it had not been a happy split. He had found out that she had cheated on him with the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Andrew Cole, and had immediately dumped her. Until now, he had managed to avoid any contact with her fairly well. However, she had continued to try and get back together with him ever since they had split up. Although he didn’t voice this opinion, Sirius was almost certain that her soul purpose for joining them in Italy was to try once more to resume their relationship.

“Hey, Sirius, do I get a hug from you too?” she whined looking up at him and smiling slyly.

Sirius merely grunted in reply and reached out to hug her stiffly. She held onto him a few seconds after he had already let go.

“So,” she said looking up at him, “how’ve you been?”

“Pretty good. Busy. How about yourself?” he asked impassively.

“Oh, I’ve been okay,” she replied, sitting down and spreading her legs apart, “kinda lonely though.”

Sirius didn’t respond, but instead looked out the window. He had never told anyone this, but he had never really intended to go out with Melanie. Granted, she was incredibly good looking, but he had never wanted her for anything more than a good fuck. However, after they shagged, Melanie immediately told James that they were dating. James seemed so keen on the idea that Sirius just kept on going with her. In truth, he had been kinda relieved when she cheated on him—he had been looking for an excuse to finish it with her for months.

“So, Melanie,” James said, trying to initiate some sort of conversation in the midst of the awkward silence, “What’ve you done so far this holiday?”

“Oh, nothing much. You know…” Melanie trailed off, “I sent you a letter earlier, Sirius. But I never got anything back.”

“Oh, I never got it,” Sirius lied quickly.

“Well, I assumed as much, so I sent another one,” Melanie said, matter-of-factly, “Did you not get that one either?”

Oh, shit! He really hadn’t gotten that one.

“No, I never got that one either,” Sirius attempted, although he knew he sounded ridiculous now. He could feel James eying him suspiciously, but ignored him.

Melanie now felt hurt by Sirius’s blatant disregard for her feelings—if he had even tried a little bit, he could’ve come up with a better excuse than that. After all, Sirius was the king of excuses. He had been known for being the only one ever to get out of writing one of McGonagall’s papers.

A few moments later, Thomas and Katherine Potter came into the sitting room.

“Do you lot have your things together? We’re going to leave in a few minutes, so James and Sirius, I need you two to bring your trunks downstairs,” Thomas Potter directed.

James leaned his head back against the couch. His father’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect—he had grown tired of the awkward silences filling the drawing room.

“Melanie, darling!” Katherine Potter exclaimed. “How are you? Why don’t you come with your Uncle Thomas and me into the living room and catch up?”

Melanie smiled gratefully and followed the Potters out of the room.

As soon as she left, Sirius sighed heavily and said, “Blimey, this is going to be one hell of a long summer.”

“Cheer up mate,” James encouraged, “We’re going to be in Italy for Merlin’s sake. There’ll be plenty of hot bints to distract you. Besides, once Melanie catches you snogging some other girl, she’ll give up.”

“Yeah,” Sirius replied, feigning agreement. However, he wasn’t so sure Melanie would submit so easily, she could be quite determined.

To Be Without Fault

by Alicia78

Summary: In the McKinnon’s summer home in Messina, Italy, Charles McKinnon, his daughter, Marlene, Marlene’s friend, Lily, are there to stay for the summer. Charles’s good friends, Thomas and Katherine Potter, their son, James, their niece, Melanie, and James’s friend, Sirius, come to stay as well. Lily knows James as a self-centred jerk who didn’t date girls—he shagged them. James believes Lily to be an anal prick who believed she was too good to associate with any of the boys who attended Hogwarts. In an odd twist of things Sirius develops a fancy for Marlene. However, will Melanie’s determination to get back together prevent Sirius and Marlene from being able to date without Melanie interfering? Based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Rating: PG-13 for language and some sex-related discussions

Disclaimer: I own neither the characters and thematic elements taken from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, nor do I own any plot aspects taken from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Chapter Two: The Arrival

The following day, Thomas, Katherine, James and Melanie Potter, along with Sirius, reached the McKinnon’s house in Messina. A warm breeze blew James’s unkempt hair out of his face as he scurried up the stone steps leading to the elaborate front door.

“Good day to you good sirs and misses,” the McKinnon’s house elf, Fetch, greeted them. “Fetch thought you would be coming soon for Yappy has just arrived this morning.”

“Perfect,” replied Thomas Potter, “I’m glad to here he arrived here alright.”

“But you didn’t need to send him, sir, Fetch could handle the work all by himself, he has taken care of much more than eight guests before.”

“Nonsense,” James laughed airily, “what would Yappy do around the manor by himself if we weren’t there. At least here he can be made useful.”

As Fetch bowed in reply, James noticed Marlene McKinnon and Lily Evans come up behind him.

“See, didn’t I tell you they were here, Marlene?” Lily giggled, “I could recognize that arrogant tone from a mile away.”

“Glad to see you’re as observant as always, Evans,” James remarked sarcastically.

“Is that supposed to insult me Potter?” Lily questioned, “For I have never viewed my cognizance as a vice.”

“You wouldn’t,” James muttered, darkly.

“I’ve never understood why you mutter, Potter,” Lily mused, “did you or did you not intend for me to hear what you said?”

“I only meant,” James explained, “that your attentiveness to every particular detail of something, especially when it comes to sketching the character of a person you hardly know, is often mistaken for prying.”

“Or possibly not so mistaken,” Melanie added. It was common knowledge that Melanie and Lily did not get on well. While the two were so different in so many ways, they had one thing in common, their ambition. Both girls achieved the top marks in the year, were prefects in their house’s and were the top two candidates for Head Girl next term.

Luckily, at that precise moment, Mr. McKinnon came down the hall to greet his long-time friend.

“Thomas, how are you?” Charles McKinnon asked, reaching out to shake Thomas Potter’s hand.

“Fairly good, yourself?” Thomas Potter replied grasping Mr. McKinnon’s outstretched hand.

“Oh not bad, you know,” Charles considered.

“So this must be your beautiful daughter?” Thomas asked, gesturing towards Marlene.

“Yes,” Charles replied proudly, “or so I am told, at least. She grows up so much every year that I hardly recognize her every time she comes home for summer holiday.”

“I know the feeling,” Katherine laughed. “It’s good to see you again Charles.”

“And you, Katherine,” Charles said, reaching out to hug her. “But enough chit chat, come inside! Fetch will show you to your rooms.”

.*.*.*.

“What did you think of the McKinnon girl?” Sirius asked James, lying back on his mahogany in one of the many guest suites of the McKinnon’s summer home.

“To be honest, I didn’t notice her much, I was more occupied with Evans’s annoying remarks,” James replied, waving his wand to make his clothes magically fly into his wardrobe.

“She was making eyes at me,” Sirius explained.

“Then fuck her,” James said, matter-of-factly.

“I don’t just want to fuck her, as you so eloquently put it.”

“You can’t want to date her?” James asked, not daring to believe it.

“You were pretty keen about me going out with Melanie.”

“Yeah, but that was different,” James clarified.

“How so?”

“You and Melanie weren’t exclusive,” James replied.

“I was,” Sirius said darkly.

“Really?” James asked, baffled.

Sirius nodded.

“That was a bit daft of you, eh?” James asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

“Honestly, what’s the point of calling something a relationship if you’re not even going to have a real relationship?”

“You see, that’s were you go wrong, Black,” James said, “You need to realize to label it whatever she wants to label it—it doesn’t matter. It’s all for the sake of the shagging.”

“What if she wants marriage?” Sirius asked.

“Merlin, mate! We’re only seventeen! If she wants marriage she’s a fucking loony. And please, never shag one of them, they’re horrible in bed.”

“No, I mean later,” Sirius clarified, continuing with the serious topic of the conversation, not wanting to know how James new that insane people were horrible in bed. “When we’re older, what if they want marriage then?”

“When were older, the rules will be altered, as fit. But for now those are the steps to elation. And if you want happiness, mate, you better damn well follow them,” James explained absolutely.

.*.*.*.

A/N: Sorry it’s kind of short, and sorry it took a bit longer (a week) than I expected for a new chapter. I’ve been extremely busy. But here’s the new chapter (as promised). And to make it up to you, I will have a new chapter posted TOMORROW NIGHT, if I get at least 5 reviews on this chapter!

To Be Without Fault

by Alicia78

Summary: In the McKinnon’s summer home in Messina, Italy, Charles McKinnon, his daughter, Marlene, Marlene’s friend, Lily, are there to stay for the summer. Charles’s good friends, Thomas and Katherine Potter, their son, James, their niece, Melanie, and James’s friend, Sirius, come to stay as well. Lily knows James as a self-centred jerk who didn’t date girls—he shagged them. James believes Lily to be an anal prick who believed she was too good to associate with any of the boys who attended Hogwarts. In an odd twist of things Sirius develops a fancy for Marlene. However, will Melanie’s determination to get back together prevent Sirius and Marlene from being able to date without Melanie interfering? Based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Rating: PG-13 for language and some sex-related discussions

Disclaimer: I own neither the characters and thematic elements taken from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, nor do I own any plot aspects taken from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Chapter Three: The Break-Up

The next morning, Lily and Marlene woke up with initiative to clean their room. After all, they had been in Italy two weeks already—they were past the “just moved in” stage. Furthermore, Mr. McKinnon had informed them last night that James and Sirius’s room was cleaner than their’s, and they couldn’t live with that. As Lily was hanging up the last of her dress robes with her wand, the two girls heard a knock at their door.

“Hey, can I come in?” came a voice as Melanie’s face crept through the small opening in the door.

“Yeah, sure,” Marlene replied indifferently.

“Great! So, what’s up?” Melanie asked merrily, coming over to Lily’s bed, much to Lily’s demise, and sitting cross-legged on it.

“Oh, nothing much,” Lily replied impassively, pushing her now empty trunk under her bed rather aggressively. “What are the boys up to?” she asked, wondering why she couldn’t go bother them. After all, Sirius and she were dating.

“Not sure,” Melanie said, looking around the room. “I get the feeling they don’t want me around—Sirius especially.”

“You two finished then?” Marlene asked, her eyes tearing away from the socks she was magically folding with her wand.

“You didn’t know that?” Melanie asked, genuinely surprised, “I thought the entire bloody school had heard about that…”

Lily shot Marlene a pressing look, causing Marlene’s bronzed cheeks to have a bit of a pink tinge to them. Melanie looked between the two girls suspiciously.

“You fancy Sirius, Marlene?” Melanie asked inquisitively.

Marlene hesitated.

“It’s okay if you do,” Melanie assured her. “We’re finished—neither of us fancies the other anymore.”

“A little bit,” Marlene confessed. “I don’t really know him that well though.”

“Oh…well that explains it,” Melanie nodded knowingly. “I didn’t know him that well when we started going out either. But I knew he was James’s best friend, so I assumed he was alright. Then he cheated on me and I told him we were finished. A few months later he caught me snogging Andrew Cole. You know Gryffindor’s old Quidditch Captain? Well, anyways, he claimed that we were still going out and then proclaimed to the entire school that we were through because I cheated on him.”

“Seriously?” Marlene asked, “He always seemed so sweet though.”

“I know, right?” Melanie confirmed, “He always seemed so much more sincere—but let me assure you, he’s much worse. Anyways, I better be going. I promised my Aunt Katherine that I’d take a walk with her this morning, and it’s almost eleven. I’ll talk to lot later.”

Marlene unenthusiastically watched Melanie’s retreating figure as it left the room—her mood having dropped sufficiently

That sucks

Don’t think too much of it. Or, at least, try to look at it from a different light.

What do you mean by that? What other lights are there to look at it from? He fucking cheated on her and then told the entire bloody school that it was her fault.

“And you believe that?” Lily asked, her eyebrows raised.

“What else can I believe? It’s the only account I’ve heard—and, let’s face it, I really don’t know Sirius that well. He probably is the complete prat Melanie described as.”

“Or, you could take into account that Melanie was obviously very hurt by the way Sirius broke up with her in front of the entire school when he caught her cheating on him. So she decided to spread a rumour around that he had cheated on her first,” Lily explained.

“What reason would Melanie have to lie to us though?” Marlene asked.

“My goodness girl! Where does your brain go during the summer?” Lily asked, exasperatedly. “She obviously wants to get back together with Sirius. So she’s jealous that you fancy him and she also sees you as a threat, so she’s trying to make you despise him.”

“How could she expect to get back together after one of them, not matter which one of them it was, cheated. Isn’t cheating kind of like a final point in a relationship? No going back after that?”

“Don’t expect me to decipher the inner-workings of that twisted girl any further!” Lily replied, “I’m telling you one thing, if she still makes head girl after that being caught shagging Andrew Cole in the broom shed, she better not make Head Girl.”

“Don’t worry, Lils,” Marlene encouraged, “you have that position in the bag. You’d be perfect for it—everyone knows it.”

Lily smiled. “Thanks,” she replied sincerely.

“Hey, it’s almost noon though, do you want to go grab some lunch?” Marlene suggested. “There’s a great sandwich place by the pier.”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Lily agreed.

.*.*.*.

A/N: I’m sorry, but this is literally all I have time to write tonight. I’ll try to put more up tomorrow night, but can’t promise anything. However, I promise that the next chapter will be much, much, much longer. Please review, I love your reviews—and thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! Also, look out for another “Dangerous Liaisons” chapter to be up later tonight. (I already have those pre-written!)