Fifth Year, September
Monday September 1st 1975
The front door stood ajar, her dad carrying the heavy weighted trunk towards the car boot, lugging it over the gravel. Their neighbour walked past, letting out the dog. He gave them a friendly wave before casting a curious glance at the gargantuan trunk and screeching owl.
`Mum, hurry up!` Lily called up the stairs as she stood in the narrow hallway, the cage with her owl resting at her feet. `I`ll miss the train at this rate!`
Her mum came prancing down the stairs, the steps creaking. `You won`t, love.` She stroked Lily`s hair. `We`ve got ample time.`
Lily nodded her head impatiently. `Yes, but I`m a prefect now - it comes with a lot more responsibilities. I should be there in time.`
`I know, and I`m so proud of you.` Her mother kissed the top of her head. `Want to say goodbye to Pet before we leave?`
`She didn`t want to see me.` Lily looked at her feet, avoiding her mother`s pitying look.
`Alright.` Her mother replied overly cheerful. `Then let`s get on with it, shall we?`
Lily knew her mother was overcompensating to distract her; it wasn`t working. Over the summer, Lily had tried her best to mend the broken bonds with her sister, however, Petunia was unwilling to budge even an inch towards civility. What hadn`t helped was that Severus had been hanging around the house a lot, trying to escape the hostile environment of his own home. Her sister and Severus had kept shooting dirty looks at eachother; Lily standing between the two.
During the journey to King`s Cross, she kept staring silently out of the car window; both her parents chatting animatedly in the front seats. She hoped that once she`d set foot on the platform that she`d be able to let go of the gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was upsetting to leave Petunia behind, especially since they weren`t on good terms. Lily wondered if they`d ever be able get along again.
King`s Cross Station was packed with students, all eagerly waiting to catch the train. Lily patted the pocket of her blazer, feeling for the letter with the number of the carriage she was supposed to get to for her meeting. Impatiently she tapped her foot on the stone slabs as she waited for her parents to catch up with her at the barrier. Her dad was pushing the trolley with her trunk and owl, his forehead beaded with sweat.
Immediately upon entering the platform she was ambushed by Mary and Marlene. Mary flung herself at Lily, squeezing her tight; Marlene doing the same, though more reserved.
`Hi.` Lily gasped as Marlene let go. `I don`t have much time.`
`Oh, that`s right!` Mary`s eyes lit up. `You`re no longer fit to sit with us mere mortals.` She smirked.
Lily grinned and nodded, thumbing the gleaming prefect`s badge on the lapel of her school uniform; she had been staring at it for weeks now, impatiently waiting for the day she could put it to use.
`Well, I`ll see you later.` She kissed her parents goodbye and gave a nervous wave at her friends before setting off towards the train.
The first thing on her agenda was to find Remus. He was the other fifth year Gryffindor prefect, and the letter had clearly stated that they were to operate as a pair at all times. Hurriedly she scurried along the hallway, shouldering her way past a couple of younger students.
`Prefect. Make way please.` she chimed, grinning satisfied, beaming with pride. This was the day she had been waiting for.
Luckily, trying to locate Remus was quite easy, seeing as she could hear Sirius` brawling laugh from a far distance. With force she wrenched the compartment door open.
`Evans!` James roared as he immediately locked eyes with her. `You found me!`
`As if it`s hard Potter.` Lily rolled her eyes. `You lot are always in the same car. Anyway, I`m not here for you. I`m here for you!` she grinned and pointed at Remus, who sat slouched down on the bench, his long legs splaying out.
`Me?!` Remus knitted his brow and looked befuddled for a moment, then he groaned. All eyes in the carriage were set on him.
Lily tapped her foot impatiently. `You go it, didn`t you?` she urged. `Come on we gave to go for a meeting in the-`
She was interrupted by Sirius. `Merlin!` he cried and theatrically clapped his palm to his head. `How did we forget?! Moony you are a…`
`A prefect?!` James yelled, jumping up and gaping at Remus.
`Yeah…` Remus looked at his feet, looking embarrassed and put out.
`And you didn`t tell us immediately so that we could rip the piss out of you?!` Sirius was practically bouncing off the walls.
Lily crossed her arms in front of her chest. `You`re just jealous.` she snipped, pointedly. She eyed Remus` uniform. `Come on Remus, where is your badge?` She couldn`t believe he wasn’t already wearing it.
`The badge!` Sirius` peal of laughter racketed off the walls of the car. `I forgot all about the badge! Oh please, Moony, show us the badge!`
James and Peter joined in on the laughter, practically rolling around on the floor. Lily didn`t think it was funny by a long shot. Anxiously she kept tapping her foot, shooting glances at her watch. This was not the time for the marauders` theatre club.
`It`s in my trunk.` Remus said unenthusiastically.
`Well put it on!` Lily replied, now really starting to loose her tolerance. `C`mon, we have our own carriage and everything.`
`Hey Evans, I`m quidditch captain, y`know.` James tried to get her attention.
`Yes, Marlene said.` Lily said without any emotion. `Come on, Remus.` She was withholding herself from clapping her hands together like a primary school teacher.
`Ugh, ok. But the badge is right in the bottom of the trunk. I`ll wear it tomorrow.`
`Oh, no, we can look for it, if you want?`
`No, I can`t be bothered.`
`Oh, go on.` Sirius now pressed, already taking a hold of Remus` bag. `We want to see you in your nice, shiny badge…`
`No!` Remus suddenly snapped. Lily was taken aback by the force in his voice. `Silver isn`t really my colour.` As he said this he held Sirius` eye intently, narrow his own.
Apparently this was enough for Sirius to drop the subject and Lily towed Remus along without his badge. She wasn`t sure what had just transpired; for now she couldn`t be bothered to read too much into it.
The meeting was just as exciting as Lily had imagined it to be. She felt incredibly mature sitting with the other prefects and the head boy and girl. There was a real weight to the glistening badge she was now supporting. The four previous years of proving herself had finally paid off.
For the remainder of the journey to Hogwarts, she and Remus were supposed to patrol the corridors as to prevent students from doing things they weren`t supposed to be doing. Through one of the compartment windows she caught sight of Severus and waved at him. He hadn`t been made prefect.
During the feast and the sorting ceremony, their group was once again seated further away from the front of the hall than they had in previous years. The food was delicious, but the atmosphere felt pressed and grave. The war was noticeably creeping into the castle. Only a handful of first years were sorted into their houses; a meagre group. Neither Mary nor Marlene said something about it and Lily didn`t dare press the issue.
Since there weren`t that many first years to be lead to the common room, Lily towed Remus along to patrol the hallways. She really wanted to prove herself as a prefect; the older ones no longer seemed all that bothered. There was an official roster for patrols, though, it being the first evening, nobody was really paying attention to that yet.
Remus was less reluctant to join her this time than he had been on the train. She glanced at him as they strolled along the fourth floor corridor. They hadn`t really talked yet today. Remus had gotten even taller over the summer and his face looked more grownup; she had to crane her neck to look up at him.
`You`re still not wearing your pin.` Lily said pointedly, noticing the bare spot on Remus` robes. How hard could it be to put on that bloody pin?
`Yeah, sorry,` Remus stifled a yawn. `I`ll find it tomorrow. I promise.`
They turned a corner and started walking the length of the corridor again.
`So, how was you summer?` Lily asked, breaking the silence.
`Yeah, great!` Remus replied, beaming as if remembering something truly wonderful.
Lily smiled back surprised, there was a genuine cheer in Remus` voice. Something that was rare. `Oh, that`s lovely! What did you do?`
`Um…` Remus faltered. `Oh nothing. Loads of homework.`
`Weirdo.` Lily pocked him in his side with her elbow, frowning bemused. `Even I don`t like homework that much.`
Remus laughed and held up his hands apologetically. Though Lily didn`t press any further, she knew there must have happened something over the summer. She would find out some day, she resolved.
***
Tuesday September 2nd 1975
Their first day of classes was kicked off by Transfiguration; much to Mary`s dismay since it gave them little to no time to ease into the curriculum. Professor McGonagall opened the lesson by immediately launching into a lecture about their upcoming OWLs; her feline eyes peering over her glasses as she reminded them of their importance. Mary instantly wanted to cower back and hide; was it truly necessary to put the fear of God into them on the first day? If anything, being told how difficult this year would be, only demotivated her to even try to get good marks. On the contrary, Lily sat grinning on the edge of her seat, gazing up at McGonagall with ardent admiration, her green eyes large and shining. Marlene seemed to display the nerves for the lot of them, anxiously chewing on a loose strand of hair, her eyes unfocused and glazed over.
This year, they would be starting with concealment charms. It struck Mary as peculiar. Before, they had mostly done transformation charms. Which were silly, harmless, and, in Mary`s humble opinion, completely useless. Concealment charms felt like they touched base with Defence Against the Dark Arts; more practical for everyday life. Maybe it was the war that had brought on this shift in curriculum.
Luckily, things started to look up as lunch rolled around. It hadn`t escaped Mary`s attention that Sirius had been paying her a lot more consideration ever since she had broken things off with Darren. She liked to talk about it like that; broken things off. It sounded a lot more mature than being dumped. She tried her best to remain cool and unfazed under the situation, though, secretly she was elated. Being without an admirer wasn`t something she cared for, hence the fact that Sirius had gladly applied for this position was no concern of her.
The summer had provided her with ample time to put Darren behind her; he was now a thing of the past. She didn`t need him; she could have anyone she wanted. This she had already proven by snogging a random lad at the dance hall one night when she`d gone out with a couple of girls from her flat. It hadn`t really meant anything; it had been more a test of if she could actually do it. And as it turned out, she could.
She had shredded all of the letters that Darren had sent her; ridding her life of any reminders of him. This year, she would focus on doing things that made her happy, and if that meant making Sirius go after her again, so be it.
`Oh Petey, you`re so gorgeous. There is no one in the world I love as much as I do you.` Sirius cooed, batting his eyelashes. `Oh no, Dessie, I love you more.` he squeaked as his own reply.
Mary giggled and Marlene snorted, almost chocking on her pumpkin juice. Mary slapped Marlene`s back, but Marlene gestured her to stop. Sirius started making kissing noises and rubbing his own back, making Mary giggle even harder, her face flushing hot. Near them, James was sitting stony faced, not saying anything, though, watching Sirius intently. Mary wondered what had gotten into him.
Sirius, clearly very pleased with himself, smugly tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and grinned at Mary, his blue eyes twinkling impishly. Mary held his gaze boldly, her stomach alight with flames, her pulse quickening. Marlene coughed again and reached between them for the toast, grabbing a piece which she began to lather with marmite. Their eye contact was broken, but the sensation in her body lingered. Sirius began his Peter and Desdemona impressions again, making them break into fresh peals of laughter.
Not after long, Remus joined them, sliding onto the bench. He exchanged a meaningful look with James, which left Mary puzzled. Throughout the rest of lunch, Sirius kept them entertained, taking on his rightful place as star of the show, babbling on and continuously tucking his hair behind his ears.
When it was time for them to go to their next class, Sirius hastily jumped up first; his face contorted as he did so and a hand shot to his leg, though, within a split second he had composed himself again and grinned down at Mary. James looked like he was about to say something and an uneasy feeling washed over Mary. However, Sirius gave neither one of them the opportunity to say something as he extended a hand towards Mary.
`M`lady.` he said, bowing. `May I have the honour of accompanying you to our next lesson?`
Mary giggled and shyly cast her eyes down before taking Sirius` hand and letting him help her off the bench. His hand was cool to the touch and his skin soft, his slender fingers folding around her own. Their eyes locked and Mary was once again overcome by summersaults in the pit of her stomach.
`Coming Marls?` Mary asked, turning around and smoothing down her skirt after she`d reluctantly let go of Sirius` hand.
Marlene was staring at her with a vacant expression in her eyes, her face slack. She blinked a couple of times and looked from Sirius to Mary, her mouth tightening.
`No, you two go ahead.` she said, her voice devoid of emotion.
`Are you sure?` Mary frowned. `Think it might be better not to wander the halls on our own. And Sirius doesn`t mind protecting us, right?` she added teasingly, looking cheekily at Sirius.
Sirius puffed out his chest and grinned chivalrous.
`No, I`m fine.` Marlene bit. `I don`t need protecting.` She jerkily rose from the table, almost tipping over her goblet.
Mary frowned and exchanged a confused look with Sirius.
`I think I`ll go look for Lily.` With that Marlene grabbed her satchel and stalked away from them.
Momentarily, Mary was left befuddled as she started after Marlene, her friend`s straight ponytail swinging as she manoeuvred her way through the hall. Mary had no idea what had suddenly gotten into Marlene; moments ago they had all been laughing together.
`Shall we?` Sirius said, tearing Mary out of her musings.
Mary nodded and Sirius took both their bookbags to carry. She said goodbye to James and Remus, both of whom were wearing stony faced expressions. Though she could have easily imagined it, it appeared that Sirius had a hitch in his gait, as if something was bothering or hurting him. The uneasy feeling appeared again, but she tried to shake it off, not wanting to impose.
These days, muggle-born students were moving throughout the castle in flocks. Nobody dared to venture out on their own anymore. The Slytherins were ruthless when it came to ambushing unsuspecting students. When walking from one place to another, Mary was on her guard, clutching her wand inside her robes, ready to pull it out at a moment’s notice. It worried Mary that Lily was sent out after curfew to patrol the dark corridors. Fortunately, she had Remus with her; that was something at least. She hoped Marlene wouldn`t be reckless and start wandering around on her own.
As the week bore on, it became evident that Transfiguration wasn`t the only course that had altered its curriculum. Potions, it appeared, was heavily focused on the identification of various poisons and the brewing of antidotes. In Charms they were veering into the territory of Defence Against the Dark Arts; practicing their disarming abilities, something that Mary was easy to pick up on. In the latter class itself they were simulating attack and defence. There was a heaviness to their school work, one that hadn`t been there before. It wasn`t purely OWLs that had brought this on.
Nobody was fooled about what these changes were about. They were preparing for war.
***
Mid-September
`Oi, wait up!`
She jogged over the muddy pathway, her boots being sucked in by the wet soil, sharp pieces of gravel pricking though their soles.
James turned around and grinned as he saw her approaching, slowing his stride. `Alright, McKinnon.` He tipped two fingers to his head as a way of greeting.
Marlene caught up with James and sided next to him, matching his pace. Today, they were holding try-outs for the quidditch team, filling in the gaps that the school-leavers had left. For the first time since being on the team, she was allowed to help decide which of the aspiring players would make the cut.
Out of all the quidditch captains that she`d had the pleasure of playing under, James was quite possibly the most driven of them all. They`d barely been back at Hogwarts for two weeks and already they were training every morning. Team practices were officially still on Saturday, however, every day before dawn, James would be waiting on the pitch for whoever had been able to conjure up the motivation to roll themselves out of bed before classes. Sirius would almost always be joining him, though, Marlene was sure this was not on his own accord, since he didn`t keep quiet about his dismay.
Marlene fidgeted with a piece of loose skin next to her nail, building up to what she wanted to ask. The words were burning in the back of her throat, but she didn`t seem to get them out. It always felt like she had to rehearse everything she was going to say in her head before she actually did it.
`Erm,` she started, unsure. `Do you…do you know if there`s something wrong with Sirius` leg?` She glanced at James, trying to gage his response.
James looked out in front of him, his face not giving anything away.
`It`s just that Mary said she saw him limping a couple of days ago or something. And he was a wee bit slow last-`
`Look,` James cut in. `It`s really not a concern to you. We`re dealing with it.`
`…alright.` Marlene nodded. This confirmed her suspicions that it probably had something to do with his family; the only thing that Sirius didn`t like to boast about.
They kept silent as they started to ready the pitch for the try-outs, pulling the supplies out of the shed. James was visibly tense, his jaw clenched and his eyes hard.
`So…` Marlene offered, feeling bad about having brought up Sirius. `Ready to exercise the power of your new position?`
Instantly James seemed to soften and he grinned, straightening the glimmering badge on his red flying kit. `More than ready.`
Marlene laughed and started spacing out pawns on the sand. `I wonder how many people are going to show up.`
`Yeah,` James replied. `Do you think Evans will come?`
`Lily?` Marlene snorted. `Don`t think she`d want to be on the team.`
`No, of course, I mean to watch? From the stands?` James swept a hand through his messy hair.
`Probably.` Marlene shrugged. `Haven`t really asked her; she was still in bed when I left.`
`Cool, cool.` James raked a hand through his hair again and he grinned, his glasses slipping off his nose.
Marlene shook her head in amusement. It was quite endearing to see how absolutely enamoured James was with Lily. A shame that Lily felt the complete opposite; James really wasn`t as bad as she thought. It would be so easy to fall for someone like James if Marlene actually could. It would be a hell of a lot easier; that`s for sure.
Slowly but steadily the first students for the try-outs started to trickle into the stadium, filing out to the changing rooms. A group of younger girls kept lingering outside the squat stone building before scampering up the stands, their heads bent and giggling among eachother. Marlene supposed they were just here to watch.
The members of the already existing team huddled together on the pitch, all exerting a mingling of nerves and excitement. The overall turn-out was quite grand, though, rather disappointing when it came down to abilities. As it turned out, a lot of students had solely signed up because they wanted to be close to James and Sirius. Their first task was to send away all the first years, everyone who couldn`t tell the difference between a quaffle and a bludger, and those who couldn`t sit straight on a broom for the life of them. After that they were left with a meagre, but promising number.
During the break, Marlene scanned the stands, trying to locate her friends. Lily was nowhere to be seen; probably away on prefect duties. However, Mary was sitting close to the pitch, a shawl draped around her shoulders. Before Marlene could even consider going up to her, Sirius was already strutting Mary`s way, his dark ponytail bouncing. She stared at the two of them; the way that Sirius whispered something in Mary`s ear, making her laugh, the sound of it carrying. Marlene`s stomach twisted sourly as Mary pushed her palm flat against Sirius` chest, her eyes lowered, the shadow of her long eyelashes casting down on her cheeks.
Someone tapped on her shoulder and she startled. As she turned around she came to stand eye to eye with the group of girls she`d seen earlier.
`Hi?` she said, befuddled.
`Are you Potter`s girlfriend?` one of them asked, the tallest and boldest.
Marlene snorted. `…no?`
`I saw you two coming here together. It certainly looked rather cosy.` the girl smiled sweetly.
`We`re on the same team.` Marlene replied. `What am I s`posed to do, ignore him?`
`But you do fancy him?` another girl asked, peeping out from behind her taller friend.
`No,` Marlene replied again, frowning and annoyed now. `I don`t fancy him.`
`Why not?` the girl cocked her head. `We all think he`s rather gorgeous.`
Marlene swallowed, nervously. `Reckon he`s just not really my type.`
`Of course he`s not her type.` a heavyset girl with a thick plait piped up, sneering. `My mummy says that girls that play sports are all a bunch of queers.`
`Emma!` the tall girl gave her friend a reprimanding look.
`I bet she`s one of them.` the girl held on, staring intently at Marlene. `One of those filthy poofs.`
Instantly her throat turned dry and her head got feint. Marlene laughed nervously. `Well, that`s just pure gobshite.` She refrained herself from picking at her nails. A cold trickle of sweat was making its way down along her spine. She wished James would call the team to assemble.
`Oh, yeah?` Emma crossed her arms, looking interrogatingly at Marlene, her eyes narrow. The others were looking at the ground, or tinkering with the buttons on their school uniform. It was truly baffling how mean teenage girls could be when it came down to it.
Marlene`s heart was hammering inside her chest as a caged bird, beating its wings against the bars. Her pulse was beating inside her ears, drumming a panicked rhythm. She recognised that she was trotting on thin ice. If she wanted to keep her secret safe she`d need to form a firmer alibi. Just telling people she didn`t fancy anyone was no longer going to cut it.
`Actually,` she said, straightening her back. `Black`s more my type.` This was a bold move, but one she thought she could get away with; nobody would expect her to pursue Sirius if he was entangled with Mary.
`Is that so?` Emma looked unconvinced, glancing over Marlene`s shoulder at Mary and Sirius.
`Aye.` Marlene felt more secure now. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other.
`Is that why you were staring at them, just now?` the tallest girl asked, taking the lead again, pushing her friend aside.
Marlene swallowed; had it been that obvious?
Luckily, at that moment, James blew his whistle and Marlene was excused from her interrogation.
`Can you tell James I think he`s gorgeous?` one of them called after her as she turned on her heel to stalk towards the middle of the pitch.
Marlene glanced over her shoulder at Mary. Sirius was still lingering, one leg up on the bench as he leaned nonchalantly against a wooden beam. Merlin, how much she wanted to smack him. Did he have to be so enchanting; Mary`s words, not hers.
She picked a quaffle off the ground and thrust it forcefully at James. `Can you tell your fan club to have their meetings somewhere else?` Marlene grumbled. `Before I bash their heads in.` she mumbled; more to herself than to anyone else.
`I have fans?` A grin split across James` face and he peered over Marlene`s shoulder at the stands. If he`d had a tail he most certainly would start wagging it now.
///