Seventh Year, September
Monday September 5th 1977
Craftily, Mary flicked her wand and levitated Marlene`s textbook, sneakily nudging it off the desk. It pounded to the floor with a thunderous boom. `I`m bored. Let`s bunk off Transfiguration.`
`Can`t do.` Marlene flicked her wand and undid the damage that Mary had done.
`Honestly, Mary,` Lily tutted. `It`s our first week - we can`t be skipping lessons.`
`But it`s our last year,` Mary rested her head on her hands. `We should be having fun. This isn`t fun. This is boring.` She yawned demonstratively.
`Well, flunking your exams isn`t fun either,` Lily said pointedly.
`But those are months away!` Mary rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. `You two are such swots.`
Neither Lily nor Marlene replied. Mary kissed her teeth and glared at her own textbook; it stared back at her with devilish intend. What was its problem?!
Everything was getting on her nerves. Either her period was due, or her new birth control prescription was messing with her hormone levels. Whichever way, there was a need to claw at everything in sight. The monotonous drone of the castle was not helping; she could swear that they put something in the air to keep the students sedated. Everything was so dull! Nothing happened! Well - nothing enjoyable or worth mentioning.
Mary started tapping her pointy fingernails against the side of the desk, letting her eyes wander around the library.
`Can you stop that?` Marlene bit. `Some of us are actually trying to revise.`
`Fine.` Mary stopped tapping her nails and started examining them in the light.
There was a Hufflepuff boy staring at her from across the room. As soon as she returned his gawk, he looked away, pretending that he hadn`t been looking at all. Coward. If he was going to stare, he should just acknowledge it and move on with his day.
In the final week of August, Mary had sent Roman a letter to tell him that she was breaking up with him. It might have been a tad unnecessary, seeing as she`d basically ignored him and his letters for the entire summer holidays. In fact, it was not unlikely that he`d already started seeing someone else; he hadn`t exactly kept his eyes from wandering when they had still been together. Maybe he`d started shagging himself; he was conceited enough for it. Granting, he`d probably been doing so already. Tosser.
It was nothing but a good thing that she`d dumped Roman. Yet - now there was this boy-less void. This abyss of nothingness. This obligation to sit with herself.
There was a Hogsmeade weekend coming up in a week or two, she`d better have a date before that time. Easily done. It wouldn`t be hard to find a boy to go out with her; there was always someone who was willing to step up to the job. As a matter of fact, Mary had already received some offers.
That reminded her! She`d been saving some of her waitressing money so that she could buy her girls proper birthday and Christmas gifts in Hogsmeade.
Mary scraped her throat. `What d`you want for you birthday, Marls?`
Marlene shrugged. `Erm…I don`t know. Don`t really care to be honest.`
`Oooh, but it`s your eighteenth,` Mary cooed. `We should do something for it.`
`Hm.`
`You`re being so moody.` Mary pouted.
Forcefully, Marlene slammed her book shut. `Aye, can`t help it, can I? With you yammering in my ear all day.`
Startled, Lily dropped her quill and spilled her inkbottle all over the table. Mary stared wide-eyed at Marlene, shocked by her violent outburst.
`Fer feck`s sake,` Marlene swished her wand to clean up the mess. `I`m going to the dorm. Need some peace and sodding quiet if I want to take these bleeding entrance exams.`
Marlene didn`t get angry often, but when she did, she swore like a sailor – probably a result of growing up with an older brother and playing years of quidditch. Her soft exterior seemed to dissolve and her rough core was given the light of day; it was the complete flipside of her nurturing character.
`See you in class, Lil!` Marlene called over her shoulder as she left the library, earning herself a spiteful look from Madam Pince.
`Yes…erm, see you…` Lily muttered, still looking stunned.
They had agreed that they wouldn`t travel through the castle on their own, though, Mary supposed that Marlene didn`t exactly want to be followed. Besides, if a Slytherin caught her in this state of mind, they probably should be the one who should be scared of her; not the other way around. That girl was a force to be reconned with. More than once, Mary had been glad that she`d never been on the receiving end of Marlene`s quidditch bat or one of her bat-boogey hexes.
`What was that about?` Lily asked breathlessly.
`Beats me,` Mary shrugged nonplussed, hoping that she sounded convincing enough. `Probably just stressed about those healer exams.`
`Yeah…` Lily mulled, still staring at the door. `Could be.`
Silently, Mary opened her textbook and stared at the page. She felt guilty. It had been an incredibly insensitive thing to do; to remark on Marlene`s tone in such a crude manner.
Somehow, Mary hadn`t really stood still by the fact that Marlene probably still held some resentment towards her. Feelings like hers didn`t dissipate in a matter of minutes.
Obviously, it hadn`t gone unnoticed that Marlene hadn`t replied to her letters all summer. However, Mary had sort of reckoned that things would be back to normal once the new term would start. She hadn`t properly realised how hard all of this must be on Marlene.
When she broke it off with one of her boyfriends, she was allowed to stomp around as much as she pleased - without anyone questioning her motives. With embarrassment, Mary recalled the amount of hours that she`d winged about Roman.
Lord, did she ever think about how her words would affect those around her!
Still - it wasn’t her problem. Not really. Just like Marlene couldn`t help her own feelings, Mary couldn`t help it that she wasn`t able to return them. Often, she wished that she could. Not that it would be easy - certainly not! Though, at least she knew for certain that Marlene was a good person – as opposed to many of her male conquests. She was yet to find a boy who actually treated her like a real person; someone whom she could see as a friends as well as a lover. Darren had come the closest, though, they had still been kids.
Some would say she fell in love too easily - swooning at the merest hint of affection. Time after time, she fell for the same old tricks. The beginning stages of a dalliance were always the best; full of excitement and passion. Every one of them was the one – until he wasn`t, and he was just another boy. Mary craved the companionship and the trill of romance. Nonetheless, every time that a relationship had steered towards something more serious, she`d taken her leave.
The Hufflepuff boy was still staring at her. Mary adjusted her legs and noticed his eyes travel down their length. Being stared at was a second nature; she`d been stared at for as long as she could remember. At times, it was a mere guessing game whether her voyeurs were gawking at her because they were attracted to her, or whether they were looking at her with disgust and loathing. In these halls, either could be the case.
``Lo ladies,` James arrived at their desk, followed in his wake by Peter. `Ready for class?`
Instantly, Lily`s face brightened and she started shoving her books into her satchel. James hoisted it over his shoulder, not even giving her the chance to carry it herself. The two of them were honestly nauseatingly sweet. At times, it was hard not to be jealous.
`Coming, Mary?` Lily asked, hovering over the desk.
Mary cast a look at the boy again. Yes - still staring. He was kind of fit.
`Hm, no. You lot go ahead,` she mulled slowly. `I have other plans.`
***
Saturday September 17th 1977
The arrival of the Daily Prophet had turned into an anxiety provoking occurrence. There was hardly a day on which the frontpage wouldn`t be presenting news about the war. The gruesome headlines were enough to make one sick to their stomach. Disappearance. Corruption. Death. It wasn`t all that pleasant to read about during breakfast. Granting, it wouldn`t be any more pleasant at any other time of day.
Over the summer, there had been three more werewolf attacks and one arrest. It was becoming undeniably apparent that these attacks were in some way connected to the nefarious activities of this Lord Voldemort. Or, as most of them were calling him now: you-know-who. Marlene didn`t understand why the Ministry of Magic wasn`t taking grander safety measures. It seemed as though they were just letting it happen - sitting in their highly protected dwellings whilst the opposition ravaged the country.
Some of the muggle-born and half-blood students had not returned to Hogwarts after the summer. Luckily, none of her friends had been amongst those unfortunate ones whose parents deemed the school to be too dangerous.
Aye – the halls seemed to be crawling with wannabe dark wizards, though, it wasn`t necessarily her own safety which concerned Marlene. It was her family which worried her most. Hogwarts was said to be the safest place in the country; the same could not be said for Hollyhock. Despite of the various concealment and protection charms, it was still a more probable target. Hence, every time that Marlene saw her owl circle down with the post in its beak, she frantically hoped that she wouldn`t see a familiar name in print.
This concern was a common thread within their friend group. Marlene could see Lily bite the inside of her cheeks and Mary fidget with her skirt as the owls swooped into the dining hall.
Lily`s owl almost dropped the newspaper into a bowl of porridge and settled down in the middle of the table, hitting Peter in the face with its wing.
`Can you hand me that?` Mary asked, indicating at a letter which had her name on it.
Marlene handed it to her and watched as Mary broke the seal and eagerly started reading.
`Any news from your mum?` Lily asked.
`Nah,` Mary shook her head, looking disappointed. `No baby yet - just boring stuff about how Ziggy gets to be an acolyte this month.`
Marlene grabbed her own copy of the Prophet and scanned the headlines. Nothing bad. Nothing good either.
At that moment, Remus and Sirius hurried into the Great Hall. Marlene had noticed that the two of them were spending a lot more time as a pair. Previously, it had always been James and Sirius – joined at the hip. Perhaps it was because James was spending so much time with Lily. Though, that didn`t explain why Peter wasn`t joining Remus and Sirius. It wasn`t as if he was spending that much time with Dorcas. As a matter of fact, the couple was once again entangled in a seemingly bizarre argument. One thing was certain: something had changed in the dynamic of the marauders. Most curious.
The boys hastily began cramming food into their mouths whilst the breakfast spread was being cleared away.
`I expect it of Black,` Lily remarked. `But it it`s not like you to miss a meal, Remus.`
`I was up late reading,` Remus began defending himself. `I can have a lie in on a Saturday, if I want…`
`Wasn`t saying you couldn`t,` Lily frowned and peered over the top of her newspaper. `I was patrolling with Christoper Barley yesterday evening. He mentioned you were going to Hogsmeade together today…`
`Mmph?` Remus looked at her, coming up for air between bites.
An impish smirk appeared on Lily`s lips. `Get along quite well, don`t you?` she stated, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
Oh Merlin; Marlene knew where this was headed. Out of sheer second-hand embarrassment, she wanted to hide her face in her hands.
Remus narrowed his eyes. `We do study group together…`
`Did he asked you, Remus?` Mary chirped.
Ok. Alright. They were really doing this. Tactfully, Marlene kept her gaze directed at her plate. They were not going to rope her into whatever this was.
If Remus had previously had any notions that he would be able to escape the dating escapades of this school because he was gay, those surely should have vanished by now.
`What`s that got to do with anything?` he asked warily.
`Oh, c`mon,` Mary smirked and rolled her eyes – as if he was being incredibly naïve. `Chris is definitely…you know; `that way`. He`s so camp.`
Quickly, Marlene glanced at Remus. He looked rather uncomfortable with the whole situation; one could hardly blame him. It was obvious that Lily and Mary were just trying to act supportive, yet it came across as incredibly forced. What a way to put him on the spot!
`Is he?` Remus asked. `I hadn`t noticed. We`re just buying quills, nothing else.`
`But,` Mary opened her mouth again. `If he fancies you-`
`Merlin, leave him alone will you!?` Sirius interjected unexpectedly. His eyes were shooting daggers at Mary. `Just because Christopher is…whatever, doesn`t mean Moony automatically has to go out with him. He`s not that desperate.`
Marlene gawked at Sirius – surprised by his outburst. Usually, Sirius was all for teasing and tantalizing his friends - especially when it concerned the ways of love.
`Oi,` Remus snapped at Sirius. `Who says I`m desperate at all?!` Despite of his frown, there was relieve shimmering through in his voice.
`Exactly,` Sirius agreed eagerly. `See? He`s not interested.` He said it in such a way as if he were seeking reassurance for himself.
`Oh,` Lily said, sounding a tad disappointed. `But Chris is really nice. I thought you`d make a good couple. Similar interests and whatnot.`
`Maybe Moony doesn`t want to go out with someone similar,` Sirius bit, slamming his mug down on the table rather fiercely.
Remus looked at Sirius; they seemed to exchange a loaden look. Then, Sirius` shoulders sagged and he stared silently at his plate.
Not being able to help herself, Marlene kept gawping at Sirius. Something in the way in which he was expressing himself was exceptionally familiar. It almost seemed as if Lily and Mary were bothering him about going out with Christopher. There was a defensiveness in his demeanour and maybe even a hint of… could it be…jealousy? Was Sirius Black…jealous?!
As they headed to Gryffindor tower, Sirius and Remus marched out in front, seemingly in some sort of argument. They were just out of earshot, thus Marlene sadly couldn`t catch a single word of what they were saying. It did look rather heated. Curiosity was eating her alive!
Lily caught up with the boys. As she did so, Sirius shoved his hands into his pockets and strode ahead of them.
`I hope Black isn`t being a prick to Remus because he`s…` Mary checked to see if no one was walking behind them. `Gay.`
Marlene hummed pensively. Gradually, she was starting to suspect that that wasn`t the case. Not exactly. Something else was going on. Yet – she wasn`t one to make assumptions.
Back in their dorm, both Lily and Mary began to get ready to go to Hogsmeade – trying on outfits and doing their make-up in the tiny bathroom. Lily was going with James and Mary had a date with her latest boy-conquest.
Marlene had gravely underestimated the amount of effort which would go into preparing herself for those healer entrance examinations. However, for once, she was glad to have a heap of revision to do. It gave her the perfect excuse to miss out on Hogsmeade. Quite frankly, she didn`t really fancy being a third wheel to a bunch of couples. She would much rather sit in the library and end the afternoon with an hour of flying. The weather conditions were perfect for it.
It had been far too long since the end of the previous quidditch season and Marlene could hardly wait to get started again. Next weekend, they`d have their try-outs; James was already collecting a surprising amount of applications. This year their team would triumph! She felt certain of it.
***
Saturday September 17th 1977
It had been a while since Lily had been able to enjoy a day out in Hogsmeade without having to bear the responsibility for a group of younger students. Whilst being Head girl certainly came with its trials and tribulations, she was no longer doing the smaller – frankly more annoying – tasks which came with solely being a prefect. Now, she could happily outsource those.
`Where d`you want to go?` James asked, braiding his fingers with hers as they ambled through the cobbled main-street of Hogsmeade. The Tudor houses leaned against and away from eachother as gapping teeth, basking in the golden sun.
`We could go straight to the Three Broomsticks? Or…oh, I do need some ink actually,` Lily replied pensively. `Maybe we could pop into Scrivenshaft`s real quick?`
`Or…` James said slowly. `We could do something more fun – I mean, it is sort of our first proper date.` He wriggled his eyebrows playfully.
Even though they had essentially been a couple since Cornwall, they were yet to go on an actual date. They could hardly count doing patrols.
`Yeah…` Lily mulled and looked behind them. `I`m not so sure about that.`
Behind them was Peter, looking eternally bored, traipsing his feet and pouting. He was supposed to be with Dorcas, but the pair was in a spat – yet again.
James also cast a glance of his shoulder. `Oh, for Merlin`s sake,` he muttered. `What`s he doing here? I thought Sirius would hang out with him – where is that bugger?`
They halted in the middle of the street and let Peter catch up with them.
`Where`s Padfoot?` James asked, frowning deeply.
`How should I know?` Peter asked. `Just disappeared down a street a while back.`
Lily could feel James tense and she gently rubbed his arm. It was becoming more and more apparent to her that James felt some sort of responsibility for Sirius; he appeared to see himself as his keeper.
`We should just go to the pub,` Lily said. `Remus and Chris are already meeting us there anyway after they`re done shopping. Black will show up if he wants to.`
James let out a slow exhale, clearly annoyed and ready to protest. Yet, he didn`t get any time to do so, for Peter had already made the decision for them and hobbled in a straight line towards their destination.
It wasn`t as if Lily didn`t feel annoyed at the fact that this date was once again turning into a group-outing, but more so that she didn`t want Peter to feel any worse than he already did.
`Can`t bloody believe this,` James mumbled, looking glum. `I`m so sorry about this, Lily. I really thought we`d have the afternoon to ourself.`
Lily shrugged. `That`s alright. Besides…` she went to stand on her tippy-toes and whispered something in his ear – her lips lingering near his neck. `We can do something fun when we`re back at the castle.`
That seemed to brighten his mood instantly. James blushed and his lips curled into a lopsided grin. `You just tell me what to do, Evans.`
At TheThree Broomsticks, each of them ordered a butterbeer as they settled down at their usual table. In her periphery, Lily spotted Mary and her new boyfriend at the far end of the pub - more so ravaging eachother than their cauldron cakes. For goodness sake! At least she and James had the decorum to find a private spot whenever they couldn`t keep their hands off eachother.
It didn`t take long for not only Sirius, but Remus and Christopher as well, to turn up at the pub. The latter looked rather frightened, whilst Sirius looked angry, and Remus mildly concerned.
`My darling brother is once again being a complete and utter arse,` Sirius announced as he plonked down on a chair.
He started to recount how Regulus and a couple of his mates had cornered Remus and Christopher. How he, himself, had ended up at the right spot at the right time was information he didn`t divulge.
`I can`t believe he`s still allowed to be a prefect,` Lily said hotly. `He`s been worse than ever this year – and don`t get me started on the Crouch kid, he gives me the creeps.` She felt a chill crawl up her spine at the recollection of the first day of term and the fight on the train. James, sensing her discomfort, put a protective arm around her.
Christopher shrugged meekly. `It`s fine. I can handle those two idiots.`
Sirius clenched down on his jaw, still with an indignant glint in his eyes. `Ought to teach them a lesson.` He signalled at Rosmerta, the barmaid, to bring them another round of drinks.
`Another one?` Remus mumbled wearily.
James, on the other hand, seemed to brighten. `What sort of thing were you thinking Pads?` he asked, leaning readily across the table. Lily could feel a buzz of excitement radiating in the air around him.
`I`d need to think very hard,` Sirius pursed his lips and theatrically began stroking his phantom beard.
Peter had started wriggling in his chair, looking more childlike than Lily had seen him in a while. It had almost gone unnoticed, but even the most cherubic of the marauders had grown into a boy teetering on the edge of adulthood.
`We haven`t done a prank in ages,` Peter chirped. `Not since…er…`
`The Bubotuber-pufballs,` Remus offered, taking a gulp of his butterbeer.
Poor, innocent Christophers` eyes had widened to the size of saucers and he looked at Lily for reassurance.
`It`s best if you just cover your ears, Christopher,` Lily said, pursing her lips. `There`s no stopping them once they`re in planning mode.`
This remark earned her a teasingly ugly face from Remus. But it was true: in all the years that she`d known them, she`d never once been able to put a halt to their marauding.
`You wouldn`t hurt anyone…would you?` Christopher asked nervously - his eyes flittering between James and Sirius who were exchanging a wordless conversation with their eyebrows.
`What are you looking at us for?!` Sirius spat, then shot a sly wink at Remus. `Moony`s the dangerous one.`
`How dare you,` Remus said mock-indignantly. `Everyone knows that you three lead me astray. Anyway, it`s seventh year, and we`ve done everything there is to do.`
`Have some imagination!` James exclaimed, affronted. `I can`t believe I`m hearing this from the boy who once literally changed time just for a laugh.`
The boys started to exchange some recollections of the various pranks that Remus had concocted. Whilst Lily had already been aware of most of them, others were still a surprise - even for her. It did feel a bit treacherous to sit there, as Head girl of all things, and hear the myriad of ways in which her boyfriend and his friends had broken school rules – and even the law on some occasions.
Eventually, after some convincing, Remus relented and agreed to help them with another prank. Apparently, they had been thus convincing that even Christopher had caught the impish bug which had infected the marauders. `I`ll help too!` he yapped, grinning from ear to ear.
James looked pleadingly at Lily; it was really hard to say no to those eyes. Lily groaned defeatedly. `Oh for goodness` sake. I suppose someone had better monitor you lot, if only for health and safety…` she sighed once more. `I`m in.`
`Excellent.` James grinned and squeezed her thigh.
Even though Lily would never – ever – admit to it, she was actually ecstatic to be involved in a prank for once. Some mischief from time to time didn`t hurt anybody. Moreover, she supposed that everybody could use something to lighten the mood. And - seeing as she already was the girlfriend of one of Hogwarts` most notorious bandits, she might as well claim her throne as pirate queen.
///