Dorcas burst into the Great Hall. Where the hell was Marlene?!
She swung her head around the room. At two o'clock on a Sunday, it was bustling with a mix of breakfast and lunch eaters milling about, depending on one’s sleeping pattern.
Mary Macdonald’s silky curls peeked out amongst the Gryffindors, along with her trademark yellow dress. Without a second thought, Dorcas ran over to speak with her.
“Hello, Macdonald,” Dorcas blurted out breathlessly. “Have you seen Mar–McKinnon?”
“Blimey, you two are hard at it over the weekends already? Sprout said the project’s not due for months!” Mary looked up, incredulous. “Good luck trying to convince Marlene to come down to the greenhouses on any Sunday, but she’s in a right state at the moment. Lily’s with her in our dormitory.”
Dorcas nodded, her mind racing as she forced down the bile threatening to rise at the thought of Lily having Marlene all to herself in an empty dorm on a Sunday afternoon. “Well... I’ve got a lot of similar assignments, you see, long ones. Thought I’d get a head start on this to lighten my load a bit.”
Marlene laughed, her curls bobbing in sync with the melodic sound. “We’re NEWT students, Meadowes; we all have a mountain of schoolwork. I’ll tell Marlene you were looking for her, but I doubt it’ll make much difference. She’s got Quidditch practice tonight and tomorrow, so you probably won’t get to chat until Herbology on Wednesday.”
Dorcas knew this. She knew all of this. She’d had Marlene’s entire schedule memorised for an embarrassingly long while. More often than not, she found herself wandering around the Quidditch pitch, lurking in the shadows, arriving earlier and earlier as winter approached just to catch a glimpse of blonde hair soaring through the sky.
What Mary didn’t know was that this Sunday, Marlene had promised to meet her in the Room of Requirement for an afternoon that could very well include some much-needed shagging, if Dorcas was lucky. After two hours of waiting without so much as a poorly worded apology from Marlene, Dorcas was starting to feel the frustration bubble up inside her.
“All right, thanks,” Dorcas mumbled, doing her best to keep her expression neutral while her insides churned.
Marlene could have come to her if something was amiss. They were meant to meet, for heaven’s sake. And even if they weren’t, she knew Dorcas spent her Sundays alone—Marlene herself kept bringing up the importance of making friends.
Dorcas meandered her way back up to Gryffindor Tower, lingering in front of the Fat Lady, the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. By her second year, she’d figured out all the entrances to the Hogwarts houses, as well as the one to the Kitchens. Honestly, the founders had gotten lazy with their secret passageways.
“What are you doing here?” a voice behind her suddenly asked as Dorcas continued along the corridor. She turned her neck so abruptly it twinged.
Marlene’s head poked out from behind the Fat Lady. She stepped out and faced Dorcas, her eyes red-rimmed and her hair sticking up at odd angles, evidently untouched by a brush.
“I was just out for a stroll, seeing as there’s not much else on today,” Dorcas replied, harsher than intended.
Marlene opened her mouth and closed it again, a pained expression flitting across her face.
“Are you really upset?” she asked, looking genuinely surprised. “If you couldn’t tell, I’ve had a pretty rubbish day, to be honest.”
Dorcas let a silence hang between them as she took Marlene in, partly to assess her and partly because she just wanted to. She hadn’t been able to admire the girl properly in ages.
“Marlene…” What could she say? What could she possibly say when the girl she cherished stood before her, clad only in a Quidditch jersey and purple pyjama shorts? Tears pricked the corners of Dorcas’s eyes.
She shook, the way a tree does, in fierce wind. Dorcas wrapped the two arms she had for branches around herself.
She couldn’t quite recall how Marlene crossed the distance between them; one moment, she was standing there, and the next, Marlene’s soft hands were cradling her face, her voice a gentle murmur. “I’m so sorry I made you wait, my love. Will you come up to my dormitory? Lily’s with James, Em’s off in Hogsmeade with some Hufflepuff bloke, and Mary is…”
“In the Great Hall,” Dorcas replied instinctively. Marlene dropped her hands from Dorcas’s cheeks, giving her a knowing smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners, a reminder of laughter and joy that Dorcas felt so far removed from. Dorcas was just a sprinkle on Marlene’s cupcakes, while to Dorcas, she was the whole fucking cake.
It felt uneven, and the more Dorcas reached out, the further away Marlene seemed to float.
Dorcas had never stepped foot in a Gryffindor dormitory before. Marlene’s room comprised four large four-poster beds, all adorned with rich, red velvet hangings for privacy. As Marlene opened her curtains, Dorcas felt it was an invitation into a new part of Marlene’s person, a level up from where she had stood before.
Dorcas sat first, cross-legged on the rumpled blankets of Marlene’s bed. Marlene sat second, crossing her legs as well, touching knees.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come,” Marlene whispered.
“Don’t be. I’m sorry I came here and made such a big deal about it.”
“Oh, shush. You have the right. I’m a pretty awful girlfriend, hardly speaking to you all week, then playing truant on our date.”
Dorcas’s face grew warm. So it was a “date”, then?
“I was still mad, even after I asked Macdonald where you were and she said you were upset.”
It was Marlene’s turn to keep quiet. Her eyes widened, staring into Dorcas, her expression impreceptible. She leaned in, and for one silly moment, Dorcas thought she was going to slap her, but she cupped her chin delicately between her fingertips and planted a soft kiss on her lips.
“Missed me?” Marlene smirked.
God, she had no idea. Dorcas closed her eyes again and smiled. “I don’t know. Kiss me again so I can make up my mind.”
Marlene’s turn to blush. Her fingers still clutching Dorcas’s chin, she pressed their lips together once more, into a deeper kiss. Marlene pushed Dorcas gently onto the pillows behind her, lying her full body on top of the latter’s. Dorcas opened her mouth to suck in a breath and Marlene pushed her tongue inside, tracing every inch of Dorcas’s mouth with it.
“I missed you more than I’ve ever missed anything,” Dorcas whispered, tracing her tongue down Marlene’s neck, relishing in the little noises coming out of the girl’s mouth.
Marlene quickly pulled off her jersey, revealing her bare chest. Dorcas’s tongue moved downward, eyes and mouth both absorbing every inch of skin in sight.
Without warning to Marlene, Dorcas pulled back, looking up to the blonde’s face.
“Dorcas, don’t stop,” Marlene whined.
“If you ever want to, you can tell me if something happens…” Dorcas muttered, feeling rather dimwitted making that statement at this time.
“Yes, okay, I know, darling, but not right now,” Marlene replied, and Dorcas giggled.
“As you wish.”