Marlene's Mystery
Dear Mary,
Tonight Petunia made me watch the most awful movie called the Pom Pom Girls. I know you’re probably thinking what the hell am I doing telling you about a movie about cheerleaders and American football because one, it’s not like you enjoy real football and two, why the hell would I even watch it, but I swear on my Ma’s Bible it was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. You wouldn’t believe the social hierarchies, the mean girls, all of that stuff. It was absolute insanity! I’m going to need hours of Coronation Street watching and a soon and swift return to Hogwarts to recover.
In the meantime, do pray for me.
(P.S. Preferably with rosaries.)
(P.P.S. And many lit candles.)
In awful shock,
Lily Evans
---
Dear Lily,
Petunia should probably have her eyes checked, or something like a lobotomy, if you know what’s good for your family and future children who are forced to be around her. My immediate thought when reading your letter was basically exactly what you thought it would be (see how well you know me!) but I understand your panic. Compared to Hogwarts, American movies are sort of like an alien planet. The bad news I have got to share with you, however, is that there are certainly gaggles of mean girls at our schools. I am very horrified to inform you that me, you, and Marlene, are probably a very chief member of this elite club (me and Marls do the dirty work, I promise).
I’m praying now! Coronation street alone will most certainly not save you.
(P.S. I’ve dedicated a shrine in your honor.)
(P.P.S. It is a thousand feet tall.)
Tragically laughing at your horrible realization,
Mary Macdonald
Chapter 26
Mary began, in her daily travels, an interest in deep reconnaissance. With Lily she had reached a peaceful rhythm. They asked no questions and told no lies, in a sense, content to act as though that was what friends did with each other. This ease left Mary slightly rudderless in terms of Hogwarts. She was a fiend for gossip, and did not know what to do when she couldn’t get that from her own relationship.
At breakfast she, Lily, James and Sirius assumed their coupled-up positions as Peter attempted to secure his conquest of some seventh year Hufflepuff the next table over, Remus overseeing his efforts with his sideways charm. The latter three were enjoying a very relaxed morning before their slew of classes, and Mary was not having a bar of it.
“Where’s Marlene?” she asked energetically, shredding a muffin in her hands in preparation for violently slathering it with butter.
“I dunno,” James shrugged cheerily.
“Yeah, she never alerts us to her whereabouts,” Sirius agreed.
Mary glared at the two boys and reached for Lily’s hand across the table urgently, knocking her concentration from a particular mouthful of porridge.
“Did she say anything to you?”
Lily turned to her confused, “Something about going to the library, maybe? I wasn’t quite paying attention.”
“You’re always paying attention!” Mary protested. She had to get to the bottom of this.
“I know, but Marlene is always telling me things too! It’s hard to keep track.”
“She’s always off somewhere.” Mary set down her jam toast with an annoyed harrumph, flaking angry crumbs. “It confuses me endlessly.”
“Why does it matter, exactly?” Sirius patted her hand gently, absentmindedly. The boys were in the midst of planning some prank that took up long hours in the night. They didn’t have much energy to care about their girlfriends, which suited Mary just fine. It left her time for Lily, and to be wildly suspicious.
“I’m just saying, where could she always be?”
“Probably actually off studying,” James told her gently, always careful not to tick her off.
“Some people do find it important.” With a smile, Lily teased Mary gently, because she was allowed to.
“Oh come off it, I’m very studious!” she protested. “But no one studies as much as her, or practices Quidditch as much as her, or goes for runs as much as her.”
“So?” Sirius was beginning to get annoyed. He enjoyed his breakfast more than most boys, and hated it to be disturbed. Mary did not particularly enjoy her breakfast, or care at all.
She shot him a diagonal glare and continued on, “You all can’t possibly think it isn’t odd.”
“It’s best not to pry,” Lily shrugged. “I try not to think of it at all.”
Mary understood her friend well enough to know that she was telling her to drop it and pick it up at a later time.
“Fine then! I will allow Marlene to be a masked stalker, or whatever the hell she wants to get up to.”
“Sounds great, love,” Sirius teased.
She returned haughtily to her porridge.
***
Every other day, Mary and Marlene walked the long steps up to the Divination tower for what could possibly be called the most arse boring class ever offered at Hogwarts. Aside from their runs, which they were due to freeze through again in a couple days, it was their largest set block of alone time.
On this day, with the others out of her way, Mary relished it. She would divine something alright, and she meant to make that a promise.
“Jesus, but I’m out of shape,” she heaved as they walked up the last steps.
“Believe you me, I understand the feeling.” Marlene grinned at her and shook her head. “Whoever designed the castle was a right prick, eh?”
Mary nodded amiably, then began her line of question, “What with all your extra Quidditch training, I would think it wouldn’t bother you.”
“Of course, Macdonald, it doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers you!”
Proving her point, Marlene bounded up the rest of the steps with deft ease. Mary frowned. Marlene was a smug bastard when she wanted to be. No wonder her and James got on so well.
“So you studied this morning?” They took their regular seats, as far away from Professor Breckenwald as physically possible. All the better to sleep, obviously.
“Yeah, I was ridiculously behind in Transfiguration,” Marlene supplied smoothly.
“Interesting,” she murmured absentmindedly.
“Is it?”
“Er- no.” She frowned.
“Are you alright, Mary?” Professor Breckenwald had one of the Hufflepuffs passing out their teacups for the day, which they soundly ignored. Marlene was far more concerned with Mary’s annoyed expression.
She tried to smile, remembering herself. “Oh, oh yes, I’m sorry. Tired, I suppose.”
“Did you not sleep well?”
Mary gritted her teeth, remembering the night before. How she’d held Lily and they’d dozed off together. The whole reason she was so suspicious in the first place.
“Yeah, just can’t shake the exhaustion.” She narrowed her eyes, waiting for Marlene to mention that she hadn't been in bed when she’d gotten home, anything like that. She did no such thing. “You must have gotten in late, eh Marls? Lily and I were both asleep before you even got back.”
Marlene looked taken aback at the remark, her eyebrows flying under her blonde bangs with pinpoint reaction. Naturally, it didn’t take her long to recover with a slick grin.
“The lads kept me up, James and Peter will talk about Quidditch for hours if you let ‘em.”
“Makes sense.” She smiled knowingly.
“You sure you’re quite alright?” Marlene continued to look puzzled. She was quite the oaf, apparently.
“Perfectly sure,” Mary simpered sweetly. Finally, she was back in her element.
“Good then!” Marlene reached out for her teacup and swirled it around a bit. “Now should I guess how your break was based on the hieroglyphics that appear before you, or should you just tell me?”
“I’ll tell you,” she laughed, and swiftly realized her next angle. “Actually, I have a little bit of a secret to tell.”
“Ooh, finally! You and Lily and your lads have been getting quite boring lately.”
Agreeing with a simple smile, Mary told the story of Julien in a more audience friendly manner. She left out the gay bar, and how their shagging had made her feel about as pristine empty as throwing up her breakfast, and included only his charm, his good looks. This would sus out whatever boy she must be leaving them all for, she knew it perfectly.
“Merlin, does Sirius know?” Was the first thing that Marlene mustered up to respond with.
“Not yet.” Luckily, there was enough actual anxiety about the whole thing to make her performance rather believable. “But maybe soon, if nothing goes well.”
“Merlin,” Marlene repeated, shell shocked. “I’ll take boring Mary and Sirius back now.”
“What about you, then? Will that satisfy our boring quotient?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Marlene turned down her face to her teacup and stirred around the dregs with a finger.
“Oh come on, any lads for you? A nice Liverpoolian fellow.”
“Not quite, Mary,” she shrugged. “I don’t do much at all, to be true.”
“Interesting,” she shrugged again.
“You keep saying that like it’s going to change anything,” Marlene teased.
“How very philosophical of a thing to say!”
“Oh, shove off and go shag some other lad, eh?”
They both dissolved into laughter, the hearty kind, the exact kind someone needed after a huge amount of interrogation. Mary smiled through the whole rest of their Divination lesson, a practically unheard of achievement for all of the sixth years.
Thank God she had a goal again, something better than simply waiting for Lily to roll off of James. Thank God for Marlene, and whatever the hell she was up to.
***
Nights later, after days and days of sleuthing, Lily and Mary laid in the same bed they always did, opposite each other in the same positions. They’d finished doing whatever it was they always did a long time ago, and the situation always felt too precarious to do anything other than sit, stare, and breathe.
Of course, Marlene was gone. ‘Quidditch practice.’
“I can see you think, you know,” Lily murmured, reaching out to brush away a dark curl. The silence shattered, making Mary nearly jump. “What’s going on, Sherlock?”
“Oh shut up.” She frowned intently.
Lily’s eyes softened, kind, “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I’m only wondering where Marlene is, of course.” She rolled her eyes at herself, still unable to shake her pure embarrassment.
“It’s alright, Sherlock. I knew you’d be wondering.”
“She’s really practicing Quidditch? Again?” Lily gently traced circles onto her cheek, slow and smooth. Mary nearly could’ve slumped over and fallen asleep like that.
“James practices all the time too, you know. The whole team is wholly obsessed with winning.” They both nodded knowingly, absentmindedly. It was absolutely insufferable the lengths everyone went to win.
“Yeah but Marlene isn’t insane like him, see?”
“I suppose-”
“So what is she doing!”
“Maybe studying, dear, or maybe with a boy, or maybe she has an embarrassing project to work on.” In Lily’s attempts to be soothing she only made Mary want to kiss her, which was distracting and painful.
“I suppose,” she shrugged sadly.
“Hey, at least it gives us time.” Lily moved closer on the bed, coming to linger right over her, mouth slightly open.
“What’s that supposed to mean, eh?” She smiled mischievously, holding to Lily’s hips.
“You know what it means.” They were no closer to saying it out loud than they had been weeks ago, months ago even. They came at the subject head on now, sure, always talking about things in the abstract. Of course, of course, of course, they always knew what it meant. Mary was sick of not saying it.
Lily kissed her hard and Marlene was forgotten, a thing of the past.
For the second night in a row, they fell asleep in Mary’s bed, and neither of them woke up until far later.
The sound of the door creaking, gentle and we certain. The sound of hollow footsteps, and the sight of Marlene creeping through the darkness to her bed.
Mary nudged Lily awake and murmured, “Look.”
They were careful not to shift around, nothing to call attention to Mary’s absence from her four-poster. Marlene fell into bed without changing from her uniform and fell fast asleep.
Finally, finally, Lily looked absolutely shocked.
“You see what I mean!” Mary whispered fervently.
“Jesus, you weren’t kiddin’.” Lily replied under her breath, half asleep and disbelieving.
“She’s up to something.” Mary layed back down, determined. “And I’m going to figure it out.”
“Alright then Sherlock, first thing tomorrow morning.” Returning her fiercely muttered promise, Lily took Mary’s arms and wrapped them around herself. “Help me sleep now.”
And honestly, who the hell was Mary to say no to her?