"This is such a bad idea."

"I know," Harry said, sticking his hand out from under the invisibility cloak. "Now, get under here."

"Is there even enough space for both of-" he grabbed her wrist and pulled her under the cloak before she could even finish her sentence. She ended up falling on him, and as he let go of her wrist, she straightened her back to stand at his height. With their faces now inches away from each other, she looked down at his lips, biting her own. He went silent at once, leaning in to kiss her. She instantly pulled away, a smirk forming on her face. "If you step on my toes, I will break your nose."

The pair stood outside the Slytherin Common Room, staring at the entrance to the room with unsure looks on their faces. The dinner of the day was ending in a few minutes, and she knew that the Slytherin fifth-year students would go straight to the common room to relax afterward. She only hoped that Snape would not enter the room with them...

"Merlin," Marina let the password to the room slip off her tongue and watched the stone door open.

"Are you serious?" Harry said, shaking his head. "Your password is literally just Merlin?"

"I'm not Sirius, Harry, that's my uncle and your Godfather," she answered with a smile, trying her best not to burst into laughter because of her own joke.

With extremely short steps, the two found their way into the common room. Harry soon began shivering because he was not used to the cold dungeons, but desperately tried to cover it by crossing his arms and biting his shivering lip.

"I expected a bigger reaction than that, Potter. Normally people faint when they see this room."

"I've seen it before."

"You have what, now?"

"I've- look, it's a long story."

The door to the room opened again, and Marina and Harry ran to hide behind a leather couch. Draco and Pansy came stumbling in, and Marina sent a 'thank you' to Merlin for not sending in Blaise.

Pansy had her arms locked around the Slytherin prince's shoulder, giggling loudly. As soon as he realized that there was no one else in the room, he pressed her up against the stone wall.

"Who knew you could be so bad?" Draco asked the brunette a split second before connecting their lips. Marina had to clasp a hand over her lips to not throw up her lunch.

"Harry, now, Harry," Marina hurried in a low tone, trying to reach into his pocket to get the green ball so that she could throw it at them. However, Harry only laughed and pushed her away.

"I think I love you, Draco-poo!" Pansy blurted after pulling away from the kiss.

"Yeah, well, who doesn't?" Draco rolled his eyes, turning away from her to find his way to the couch. He threw himself onto it, a pile of dust flying out of it.

It didn't take long before Pansy had joined him on the couch, sitting on his lap and batting her eyes. Marina and Harry took several steps backward, nearly crashing into a bookshelf.

"Do you see how much better you are without her?" Pansy pouted, running a hand through Draco's hair.

"Pans, I've told you not to talk about her when we're together."

"How can I not?" she whined, strands of her hair getting caught in her lipgloss. "You're a new person now!"

Draco was just about to open his mouth again when the door shot up. Pansy jumped off his lap at once, pulling her skirt down to her knees and standing up. She brought a hand to fix her loose tie as she watched her Head of House march into the room, instant darkness falling over them.

Marina turned her face to look at Harry, finding him wearing a smirk she had never seen before. The boy had reached for the green ball, and was playing with it with his fingers, eyeing Snape with determination in his eyes.

"Professor!" Malfoy shot up, reaching for the buttons of his shirt. The man only looked down at him, his lip twitching.

"Fools," Snape muttered under his breath, putting a new note from Umbridge upon the Slytherin notice board. Black immediately shifted her weight and leaned over the back of the couch, trying to see what it said, which resulted in her nearly falling over. She grabbed a pillow, desperately trying to hold on to it. It fell to the floor, making Snape turn his head her way. "Were you alone here, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Parkinson?"

Marina cursed under her breath, getting back on her feet. Draco and Pansy nodded in response, but the dark and intense features on the professor's face only increased. He reached out an arm and stepped forward; Marina reacted within a second, snatching the green ball from Harry's hand and throwing it at Parkinson with immense power, her pale hand sticking out of the invisibility cloak.

It hit the girl's head, and a grunt escaped her lips. The ball fell to the floor, splitting into ten pieces. A green fog immediately spread out over the room, making it impossible for anyone to see. Harry grabbed Marina's shoulders and pushed her to the floor with him, pressing the ends of his cloak to the floor so that the smoke would not get to them.

A look of horror crept upon Snape's face as Pansy let out a scream that could break glass. The green smoke turned to liquid once it hit their skin, making their whole body a disgusting shade of green. Draco, being as quick-witted as he was, brought a pillow to cover his face - though he simply had to accept that his clothes were getting ruined by the minute.

"My robe!" Pansy let out a horrible shriek. "Make it stop!"

Marina felt panic spread; she looked at Harry, and gestured toward the door. He nodded, and so they began crawling toward the exit.

"This is not funny, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said in a harsh voice.

"Wasn't me!"

The smoke that had not hit anyone rose to the roof, creating a broken W over Snape's head. Marina and Harry were just able to stumble out into the hallway before the man was able to see them. Throwing off the Invisibility Cloak, they grabbed each other's hands, running to hide behind a corner.

Marina let her back hit the wall they hid behind, throwing her head against it. "I did not expect him to enter the room."

"This is not funny, Miss Black," Harry lowered his voice, trying to imitate Snape. Marina looked at him in silence for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"Never do that again," she pressed out in-between laughter, clutching her stomach.

Without thinking twice, Harry pressed his hands against the wall, leaned in and connected their lips.

A burning sensation took control over her, making her wrap her arms around him and pull him as close as she could. Feeling his body lean on her, she ran her fingers through his hair, wishing that the moment would never end.

He was the one to pull away from the kiss, his eyes still closed and his eyebrows furrowed.

Marina clicked her tongue, a smile forming on her face. "You kiss on the first date, Potter?"

"Er- actually, I've been meaning to ask you something," he took a step back, opening his eyes and scratching the back of his head. "Would you- maybe- if you want to- be my girlfriend?"

Marina felt her face go warm. The boy didn't meet her eyes - he was busy looking at his shoes and mumbling to himself.

"Take me on a second date, and I'll consider it." she brought a hand to his chin, tilting his face upward and meeting his eyes. She pressed her lips against his again, the fireworks coming back. "I should probably get back to the Common Room and pretend I know nothing."

Marina spun around, biting down on her lip to avoid screaming - the boy gave her so many butterflies that she nearly couldn't take it.

"Tomorrow - Valentine's day - it's the first trip to Hogsmeade this year. Will you join me?"

"Meet me at The Three Broomsticks at one'o'clock," she answered quickly.

The echoing sound of her footsteps clung trough the hallway as she headed back to the house of the serpents. She let her smile die slowly out, getting ready to pretend to be worried for Draco.

"Seems like you and Mr. Potter have a lot of fun," a dark voice said from behind her as she reached for the stone door to the Slytherin Common Room. "Would be a shame to lose your Perfect Badge so soon."

Snape emerged from the shadows, his face a light shade of green. Marina let out a giggle.

"Would you look at this? Green surely suits you, Professor." She took a step forward, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "If you ever threaten me again, Severus, I will send father after you. Would not like a little visit from the Dark Lord now, would you?"

Snape gulped. Though it hurt Marina to call Voldemort her father, it surely made her days as a Slytherin easier.

"No, Dark Lady." He let his shoulders sink.

"Thought so." She looked him up and down, letting her hands fall to her side before muttering the password to the Common Room and marching inside it.

The next day, Marin woke up with her heart pounding out of her chest. For the first ten seconds after opening her eyes, she felt completely clueless, looking around the dormitory.

Millicent Bulstrode was jumping on her bed, a teddy bear with a pink heart on its cheek gripped tightly in her arms, screaming as loud as she could. "Wake up everyone!" She fell on her butt before sliding off the bed, running around in circles. "It is Valentine's Day!"

A very grumpy Parkinson shot up in her bed, letting a groan escape her lips. Marina had to clasp a hand over her mouth to not laugh - the brunette witch was completely green.

"Woah! My, my, Pansy. I know you're proud of being a Slytherin and all that, but this-"

"Shut your gigantic mouth, Black!"

Millicent let the teddy bear fall to the floor once she saw the grumpy Parkinson. Looking at her face, Marina was unsure if she was about to laugh or cry.

"I thought the Quidditch game was next week..."

"Fuck! I am going to jump off the Astronomy Tower if you speak another word, you idiot!"

Pansy collapsed on her pillow again, making noises that Marina wasn't even sure if humans could make. Millicent picked her teddy bear up from the floor, skipping out of the room.

Marina got ready for the day in no time. With a flick of her wand, her dark curls fell down her back like rivers. She pulled on her favorite trousers quickly, found herself a dark sweater (and mentally cursed herself and Narcissa for not buying anything light-colored for her fifth year), and wrapped a cloak around her before finding her way out of the castle.

Stepping out into the snowy Hogsmeade, she was sure her legs were about to give out at any moment. Harry still made her nervous, and his smile still gave her butterflies, though she constantly tried to hide it using sarcasm and overwhelming confidence. She tucked her hands into her pockets, cringing at how sweaty her palms were, and headed straight for The Three Broomsticks.

Madam Rosmerta was running around tables with her hands on her hips when Marina entered the inn. She threw her cloak off, feeling the warmth of the room wash over her. It was as crowded as always, with a group of old wizards joking and laughing loudly at the table in front of her. Harry was sitting in the corner, a butterbeer in his hand, smiling a shy smile.

"Good morning, handsome," Marina sat down beside him, reaching to kiss his cheek.

"Morning?" he let out a laugh, "it's one'o'clock!"

"It was absolute chaos in the Common Room all night: Draco was screaming about how his dad would flip out once he saw the hideous color on his suit."

"Was it that bad?" Harry asked, and Marina made a horrible grimace to answer his question. He went to cover his face with his hands. "God, if anyone finds out it was us, we're going to be screwed!"

She let out a loud sigh, pursing her lips. "True."

Harry let his hands fall to the table, as he looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Then, a gigantic grin spread across his face. It didn't take long before the pair collapsed into laughter, nearly knocking over his butterbeer.

"Oh, I have something for you, by the way," Harry reached his hand into his pocket once he had caught his breath, finding a box wrapped in a red bowtie. "I was supposed to give you this over the Christmas break, but..."

Marina took the box out of his hand. She gently removed the bowtie and opened the box in silence. Inside it lay a small, framed photograph of them, taken right before the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Both were smiling at the camera, dressed up in their Hogwarts uniforms.

"I remember this!" Marina's face lit up. "Skeeter's photographer took this in the tent before the task. Do you have any idea how scared I was?"

"It was how we met," Harry said calmly. "Well, we had taken classes together for years, and we had talked before, but that was when I really got to know you. If it hadn't been for that stupid tournament, we'd probably not be sitting here right now."

"I love it," she clutched the photograph in her hands, the butterflies in her stomach only increasing.

"Can I get you anything?" a gentle voice spoke from behind them, making Marina snap out of her trance. Madam Rosmerta hovered over them, smiling wide.

"Er- a butterbeer would be nice."

"Coming right up," the tall woman spoke before turning her back to the pair. Marina turned back to Harry, placing the photograph on the table.

"I feel like you know nearly everything about me, Potter - especially after Christmas. How come I know so little about you?"

"What do you want to know?"

She let her hair fall in front of her eyes.

"About my boyfriend? Everything."