changing room
Classes have started and Dorcas finds out once again that although she misses Hogwarts every summer, the crippling anxiety and stress that come with it are not to her liking. They are barely a week in and the teacher are already talking about the N.E.W.Ts and other essays.
Regulus looks better, it is always a matter of time anyway. Still he seemed to be the only one who shared her stress. Barty and Evan were completely oblivious and bunked off most classes and Pandora, well she’s not sure she’s ever seen pandora stress about anything, most of the time she’s fluttering trough the exams with a few crystals stuffed down her bra.
“God we need to write another essay for charms, we are only a few weeks in and I’m already giving up.” Dorcas says as she sits down at the table with a thud.
“Again?! When is it due?” Barty asks with his mouth full, a little bit of mashed potato falling on the table.
“Why are you even asking, it’s not like you’re not going to hand it in late anyway.” Dorcas remarks looking at Barty, “How you are not utterly failing is still a wonder to me.”
“What can I say, I have a way with words.” He answers her with a smile.
“I bet you’re just sucking them all off after class and that’s why you’re not failing.” Evan says dodging the punch for his stomach from Barty.
“You jealous then?” Barty teases, coming a little closer to Evan.
Abandoning the conversation she looks around the great hall. It’s filled with people and the candles burn bright and light up the hall in a warm way. At the Gryffindor table she sees Marlene and her friends, they seem to be laughing about something, so hard that she’s almost falling of her seat.
She doesn’t particularly know her, but she has her own history with Marlene.
In their first year Marlene had been utterly obsessed with earning house points where ever she could. Always the first to raise her hand in class, even if her answer was completely wrong. Since potions was a shared class with the Gryffindors, Dorcas had seen this first hand.
But to Marlene’s dislike Dorcas did know the answers, and unlike others who shied away from Marlene’s energetic strategy, Dorcas also had a bit of competition in her and raised her hand just as fast as Marlene.
This was the beginning of years of rivalry, which only worsened when they both joined the quidditch team. But then again, there is nothing that Dorcas loves more than seeing other people lose, especially if she’s the winner. So that’s why she’s training extra hard for the next game, it’s not as important as the others, but it is about pride. She thinks that in another universe she could have been placed in Gryffindor just as well, maybe even in this universe if it wasn’t for her cunning side.
“I’m going to the pitch for a bit, get some training in.” Dorcas says after she finished her dinner and pushes herself from the table.
“Alright, be careful.” Pandora says grabbing her hand and squeezing it.
“I always am dora.” She says, squeezing back.
---
After a couple of laps around the pitch she goes down to the changing rooms again. She opens the door but stops when she hears the shower. Right then it stops and she hears footsteps.
“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t think anyo-, oh it’s you.”
“Well don’t be too excited.” Marlene says as she steps around Dorcas to where her clothes are throw on the bench, her shirt on the floor.
Not that Dorcas is very focused on that when a half-naked Marlene is standing right in front of her. Is she not self-conscious? Parading around here like that?
It is suddenly very hot, the steam from the showers already damped the mirrors in the room, Marlene showers very warm apparently.
“So it was you.” She says suddenly. It takes a moment for Dorcas to get her head out of the clouds.
“Excuse me?”
“The other night, it was you in the changing rooms wasn’t it?” Marlene is now looking at her, still in her bra.
“What were you doing there?” Dorcas remarks, as she is confused as why Marlene was and is here in the first place. If she’s asking questions, so is Dorcas.
“Well obviously, I came here to check on my potion.” Marlene says with an unimpressed look as she rolls her eyes, “What do you think?”
Dorcas decides not to answer that, she is actually the only person who’s allowed to be sarcastic, and Reg, but that’s his default personality so taking that away would leave an empty shell of a person.
“It’s not a crime to be out on the field in the night, I was just surprised is all.” Marlene says, deciding to continue conversation.
“Well I’m still going to have to shower, so are you just going to stand here or what?” Dorcas makes a swift motion with her eyebrows from Marlene to the door.
“No I was going,” but she stops right in front of the door and turns around with a little smirk ,“were you here to train because you know we are better and are totally going to beat you in the next game?”
“Oh get fucked Mckinnon.” Dorcas turns around and gives Marlene the finger.
“Alright, I’ll see myself out.”
---
The day of the game has finally come and the Slytherin team is not ill prepared. Dorcas herself has trained a lot and has pushed the others to do so too.
She has been captain for one year and although her team is known for playing dirty, she wants to win with technique and training, not just because of their obvious rough side. So she has focused more on that.
Looking trough her notes one last time, she suddenly sees a gold shimmering in the corner of her eye. She turns her head and smirks.
“Good luck McKinnon, you’re gonna need it.” Dorcas says.
“I don’t need your luck Meadows, we’ll be just fine.” McKinnon answers her head turned to her, also a smirk on her face.
She has a lot of confidence for a team who just got a new captain. Dorcas assumes this will be an easy game, the Gryffindor’s need to pull themselves together first. So she’s very happy they get to play first game with them, she doesn’t underestimate Potter. He’s what you could call a people’s person. Nobody hates him. Even Dorcas has no problems with him. But this makes him a really good captain, not to mention his flying skills. Still this game, they got in the bag.
“Really?” Dorcas turns to look at the blond and raises her eyebrow.
“What? You wanna bet on it?” She says affronted.
“You have nothing that could possibly interest me.”
“Let’s say that we win, Meadowes-“
“As if.” Dorcas interrupts her with a scoff.
“Let me speak.” Marlene says with an irritated tone, but smiles as she resumes. “But when we do win you have to wear an Gryffindor sweater for an entire day, with lion and all.”
“Do you take me for a stupid person Mckinnon? Why would I want to do this?”
“Well okay, what if, and if is a strong word here, because we are not going to lose, but if we do.. I’ll wear a green sweater for an entire day.”
“With a snake?”
“Of course! Gotta show off that house pride, right?”
“Right.”
“So do you agree with the bet?”
“Sure, but only because I’m confident in my ability to win and your ability to lose.”
“Now you’re just lying to yourself, you’ve seen me fly.” She answers back with a wink and then proceeds to walk away with a dramatic turn. The only thing Dorcas can do is roll her eyes.
When she sees Vanity she immediately walks towards her.
“I know you’ve got this one sided grudge against me, but if you’ll fuck up this game, there will be serious consequences alright.” She says while holding sharp eye contact.
Vanity looks shocked at first, especially because Dorcas is standing a little too close, not really caring,more concerned with coming over as intimidating, but Vanity pulls herself together and nods.
“Good.” Dorcas says with a bittersweet smile. Then she turns around to get into position.