A Thousand Thoughts

25/8/91

A THOUSAND THOUGHTS at once, and death consumed nine hundred of them. Marlene Potter lay awake that night, staring at the ceiling. Her vision was blurry and she had multiple scars from other nights, when she wasn't this peaceful. She had taken her medications like she was told, and waited patiently for death to come knocking at her door. She had been an orphan for as long as she could remember, apparently, her parents died in some car accident. She had no siblings, that she knew of. And absolutely no friends, this was certain.

Her room was like a prison cell, but it was pouring with rain outside so she had no other options on where to stay. There were metal bars draped along the narrow windows, plain concrete walls and dust, dirt and other things of the sort scattered across the floor. A cold breeze flew through the tight gap, and she shivered, her jaw clenching as she did so. "Fuck." She muttered under her breath, before thunder and lightning made her jump out of her skin. She hated storms.

Suddenly, the metal lock on the door undid itself, and it burst open, blowing dust in her face as it did so. She coughed loudly, her voice raspy and her throat itching. "Stop that, get up." A tall, thin woman with long, black hair was stood at the door. "The director requests you." Her nose was upturned and she had a defined jawline. She was not a pleasant woman to be around. Marlene hopped out of bed quickly, wincing as her bare feet touched the cold, concrete floor, setting shock through her entire body. "Don't be such a princess." The lady snapped.

"I'm not, it hurts," The lady laughed, and Marlene furrowed her brown and shot daggers at her with her eyes, "Which way is the office?"

"Third door to the right." The lady replied.

Marlene climbed the tall staircase, and followed her instructions before reaching a large, oak door with a silver plaque on it which read: Mrs K Miller. She hesitantly pushed the door open, and looked at the fragile lady sat before her. The director was an elderly woman with a slicked back, brunette bun. She hated children. That much was clear. An elderly man was stood beside her, he wore crimson robes with intricate golden details woven into it, had a tall hat which made him look like a wizard and had a defined posture. He smiled warmly at her, and offered Marlene a seat.

She sat down, confused. The director got up and exited the room, slamming the door firmly behind her. "What a dickhead." Marlene accidentally mumbled to herself, and the man chuckled, stroking his beard.

"Quite right." He said.

"Who are you?" She asked, bowing her head slightly.

"Excellent question, identity is a concept is it not?" The man continued stroking his silver beard, and Marlene gave him a shrug.

"Don't know."

"Well, my name is Albus Percival Dumbledore. I'm the headmaster at Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry." He spoke in a wise, knowledgeable tone. "Your parents, were wizards, and your brother, will be attending this year as well." Marlene went pale and found it hard to keep an even breathing pace.

"Witch? Parents? Brother?" She repeated these words under her breath until it made sense, but it never did. "I'm not a witch, I'm Marlene, just Marlene." She said, stammering over her words.

"That's exactly what Harry said." Dumbledore chuckled light heartedly, a twinkle in his eye. "I'll send over your books, equipment and wand. Everything you need. The first day of term is on September first, don't be late." He winked, and with that, disappeared into thin air with a crackle. Marlene was shocked. She sat there for a moment, digesting this information. She was a witch, a freak.

The director rushed her out, and she went back to her room, and continued staring at the ceiling, debating in her mind weather that bizarre interaction was a dream or not.

-

Pansy brushed her already straightened hair out, and looked down, staring at her new school uniform. She had received her Hogwarts letter a week prior to this, although it had been no surprise. Her parents gave her a long talking to about how to behave, and why Slytherin is crucial to success. "But mother, did you know that Harry Potter will be attending this year?" She asked, innocently. Pansy had heard stories about the boy who lived many times throughout her childhood, and now she would see him.

"Yes, Pansy. It's very exciting, isn't it dear? I do hope you know you shan't interact with him, though. We have a reputation to uphold." Her mother said, in a defined, prestigious voice. Pansy nodded, and excused herself to go to her bedroom.

She stared into the slightly cracked mirror and adjusted her blazer, practicing her smouldering yet inviting glare as she did so. Pansy just hoped that her childhood friend, Draco Malfoy, would be attending as well.

-

Mattheo flopped out of bed with a grunt, landing on the cold, oak floor. "Mattheo, come downstairs." His uncle beckoned, and he hesitantly obliged. "Your Hogwarts letter has arrived." Uncle Lucius handed him the letter, and Mattheo ripped it open excitedly. He had been looking to escape this house, and this was a perfect excuse to do just that. Mattheo had always loved pranks and causing trouble, and it got him multiple harsh punishments, but he liked the risk.

His mother had been sent to Azkaban for use of unforgivable curses when he was a few months old, and his father, nobody knew what happened. He attempted to murder a baby, and that boy somehow defeated him. Mattheo knew he had to meet this boy, whom saved him from a life of neglect. He was still abused occasionally, when he pulled a prank or stunt that affected the Malfoy's. His cousin, Draco, was his only friend. They weren't particularly fond of each other, but Draco was all that he had.

They both had received their letters on the same day, Draco was sat on his seat at the grand dining table when his owl came in, whereas Mattheo had still been asleep upstairs. They were polar opposites.

-

Draco opened his letter with excitement, careful not to show it too much. He grinned widely as he read it, but that was soon faded when his Father gave him a lecture on how, he shouldn't be friendly with mudbloods, of course, Draco had already known that. It's how he was raised. His sloppy cousin came down the stairs a few minutes later, his brunette fluffy hair was an utter mess.

"Hey cous!" Mattheo yelled, and Draco smiled accordingly. As much as Draco hated to admit, he did love his cousin. They were best friends, and they had been since they were three. His father gave him a death stare from across the table, and his smile fell immediately. Lately, his father had been extremely stressed. Draco didn't blame him, he just needed something to let it out on, and apparently, he picked his family.

-

Theodore was sat at the grand dining table, his mother next to him along with around twenty guests surrounding him. Theodore pulled the collar of his Slytherin jumper, it was practically strangling him. "Don't be so dramatic." His mother snapped, hitting him on the leg to discipline him.

"Mum it's itchy!" He wined, and she rolled her eyes, groaning.

"I don't care, we have guests over. Act like a proper Nott."

"I'd like to nott be apart of this family." He mumbled under his breath.

"Be quiet!" She screeched, and the guests at the table turned their heads immediately. "Sorry, please continue." She changed her tone to address her guests. He knew she was this manipulative, but it was still shocking to see how quickly she switched up. "Go up to your room, I'm done dealing with these shenanigans." He nodded and stood up, scraping the chair against the floor as he went. It made a horrible sound, but he didn't care. He stormed up to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

He ripped off the ghastly green and black jumper, and threw it on his bed. Theodore stormed over to the window, and opened it with a grunt. The fresh air was like a refreshing ice bath on his skin, and he basked in the feeling for as long as possible. Suddenly, an ear splitting screech awoke him from his daze. An awfully confused-looking owl slammed into his window, before recovering and flying in fully.

It had a letter attached to its leg, and so Theodore carefully unwrapped it, careful not to harm the already injured bird. The letter was his Hogwarts invitation, and he tore it open immediately, grinning ear to ear. He sighed happily, and jumped onto his bed. "About damn time."

-

Marlene approached platform nine with the Director, the ticket said nine and three-quarters, but that didn't make the slightest of sense. "Wait here, I'll go get someone to help. Try not to look too obvious, you vermin." She spat as she walked off, leaving Marlene stood there with an old, worn out suitcase full of wizarding things, including a wand. Suddenly, a brunette boy with minuscule yet intricate scars etched across his delicate face and piercing green eyes tapped on her shoulder.

"Hey, you lost?" The boy said, in a slightly alluring tone. Marlene nodded, shyly. He gestured her over to the brick wall between platforms nine and ten, and ran headfirst into the wall. Marlene screeched in horror, as he made impact, but it was as if he disappeared. She shrugged it off and decided to follow after him, running directly into the wall, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

She felt the atmosphere change around her, and she opened her eyes before gasping in awe.  "Holy shit." She breathed lightly, and the boy from before giggled, making her jump.

"Couldn't have put it better myself," He replied smugly, "My name's Mattheo Riddle. What about you?" His smile was warm and inviting and Marlene felt safe, secure.

"Marlene Potter." She replied, calmly. The look on Mattheo's face was something she wished to take a picture of and keep forever fresh in her memory. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped open forming an 'O' shape. He then blushed madly, and she looked at him with a mix of confusion and  humour. "Do I have something in my teeth?" She joked, but he didn't reply, he just continued staring at her, as if she was a scientific discovery or a failed experiment. She suddenly felt very aware of her scars, freckles, chipped tooth, scruffy hair and cheap uniform. She looked down at her feet, struggling to hold back tears.  She thought he would  finally feel normal around wizards, but she'd never felt so out of place.

-

Mattheo stared at Marlene in shock, the way her short, black hair was scruffy but in a delightful way, the way her gorgeous blue eyes looked up at him innocently, the way silver scars danced on her face, which had the ghost of a smile etched on it, her smile lines being proof of that. She had freckles blotched all over her face, and her tanned skin only complimented her ethereal beauty even more. Mattheo knew in that moment exactly what he should do. "Will you marry me?" He blurted out.

Marlene shot her head up, staring at him in confusion before she burst into a fit of laughter. Her genuine laugh was so beautiful, the way her chipped tooth was on display, it was so adorable. Suddenly, somebody tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around to see his uncle stood there. "Hey uncle. Greasy as ever." He winked, shooting finger guns at Lucius.

Marlene shifted uncomfortably, and Mattheo grabbed her hand, and ran over to the train, "Sorry uncle! Really must go!" And with that, they boarded the train.

He scanned the hallways for an empty compartment, but had no such luck. They did, however, find one with another first year sat in it. She had short, straightened, black hair and a very intimidating gaze. "Hiya, this seat taken?" Marlene said, grinning, and the girl inside gestured for them to enter. Merlin, Marlene was breathtaking.

"My name's Pansy Parkinson." The girl beamed with pride at the name, and Mattheo realised she was apart of the sacred twenty eight.

"I'm Mattheo Riddle, and this is my soon-to-be wife, Marlene Potter." He grinned as Marlene elbowed him fiercely in the ribs.

"Holy Salazar, Potter? As in Harry Potter?" She asked, eagerly, before looking back at Mattheo, "And Riddle? As in Tom Riddle?" Mattheo nodded, smirking.

"Um, who's that?" Marlene responded, looking utterly lost.

-

Pansy looked in utter astonishment at the sight before her. "They did say that Mrs. Potter had another unregistered child in the Daily Prophet, I'm guessing that's you?" Mattheo gasped and started playfully hitting Marlene, whom giggled and shrugged him off of her. They're going to fall in love, Pansy predicted.

"I thought that was a conspiracy?" Mattheo asked in awe.

"Clearly not." Pansy said, gesturing towards the stunning girl in front of them. Suddenly, the compartment door swung open, and a boy the same age of them with slicked back, platnium blonde hair and a spiteful expression on his face walked in.

"Matt, where did you run off too with this girl?" The boys' gaze softened and he sat opposite Mattheo, before glancing around the compartment and inspecting both Pansy and Marlene. There was something familiar about him, but Pansy couldn't quite place it. "Who are you." He demanded.

"Pansy Parkinson, that's Marlene Potter. I assume you already know Mattheo Riddle?" The boy nodded and glanced discreetly over to Mattheo, although Pansy noticed this.

"He's my cousin." The boy said flatly, "I'm Draco Malfoy." Pansy felt her heart race, and her eyelashes flattered uncontrollably. She must've been having a fit, because Marlene had to shake her for her to return to reality. "Did you say Potter? Was that scandal in the daily prophet true then?" Draco glanced over to Marlene, and she just shrugged, seemingly unbothered. He then looked back to Pansy, and she awkwardly smiled at him, earning her a smile back.

"Do you remember me, Malfoy?" She asked, innocently, struggling to keep her gaze with Draco.

"Call me Draco, and yes, we were friends as kids, right?" He answered, perfectly. Pansy nodded enthusiastically, and everybody in the compartment giggled lightly. She figured they would all become quick friends.

-

Marlene talked to the group about Hogwarts, and they educated her on the different house options. After Hufflepuff, she must've fallen asleep, because it was all a daze. The next thing she knew, she was being shrugged awake by a very excited-looking Mattheo. She yawned and stretched, before hopping up to her feet. Marlene could barley contain her excitement, but none of the others could figure out why.

Somebody tapped her lightly on the shoulder, and she turned around to see a Very tall giant with a brown, busy beard. stood before her. "Woah." She said, smiling whilst Mattheo pulled her away from the massive figure.

"Didn't you ever hear, curiosity killed the cat." He winked, clicking his tongue as he pulled her towards him. The giant led them onto boats, but Pansy and Marlene were split from the rest of the group. Apparently, boys and girls were to be separated. They ended up riding with a girl named Hermione Granger and another named Lavender Brown. She chatted amongst them, and learnt that Hermione was 'muggle-born', whatever that meant. Hermione was awfully knowledgeable,and Marlene felt slightly insecure next to her.

"Are you perhaps related to Harry Potter?" Lavender asked, looking nervously up at Marlene. She was a sweet girl, but slightly invasive, Marlene noticed.

"Um, apparently I was his unregistered sister," they all looked expectantly at her, for some sort of deep and tragic backstory, "I grew up in a Children's home, though." All the girls, including Pansy, sighed and they all began searching the boats, for her long lost brother.

After a few minutes of no luck, they finally arrived at the castle. It was gorgeous, surrounded by a deep, mysterious forest and coated in the magical blanket of the night. The night stars danced in the skies above the castle, and they shimmered like the sparkles inside of Mattheos' eyes. Marlene cringed, why had she just thought of him? They were guided inside by a shrivelled up witch with beady eyes. She explained the sorting process, and Marlene was officially intrigued.

When they entered the dining hall, more commonly knows as the Great Hall, the first years were greeted by a buzzing haul full of students. The ceiling was bewitched, as Hermione said, to make it look like the nights sky. Marlene felt a familiar tap on her shoulder, and she turned around to see Mattheo again, "You found me." She joked.

"All these students, all the stars in the nights sky, and yet you shine the brightest." He said, poetically. Marlene pushed him away by his forehead, and stuck her tongue out.

"You're pathetic." She said with a giggle. Secretly, she adored his stupid flirt attempts. There was no undeniable undertone in them, after all, their only eleven. She figured that he had just never hung out with girls as a child, or had any as a friend, for that matter.The first one to be called up was Hermione, and her sorting took quite a while. It was around six minutes when the old, raggedy hat finally declared Gryffindor. The hall erupted into cheers, the first student being sorted was apparently a big deal. Draco was next, he walked up smugly, and was immediately sorted to Slytherin. Mattheo cheered for him, and his voice cracking made Marlene giggle.

A few more people were sorted, a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Afterwards, the first in their group was next. Pansy was next. She was obviously shyer than the others, but was nonetheless sorted into Slytherin. After her, a boy she did not recognise was called. "Theodore Nott." Mcgonagall bellowed loudly, and a boy shoved past Marlene, knocking her off of her feet slightly. Mattheo helped her to stabilise her balance, and she scowled at the boy walking towards the stool.

He had dirty blonde hair, and a grin plastered on his face. He certainly wasn't obese, but he wasn't exactly a twig. He was also sorted into Slytherin, and that wasn't a surprise for once. When Mattheo was called, the hall went dead silent for a moment, before it erupted into nervous whispers. Marlene was confused as ever, and she glanced around for answers. Somebody tapped her on the shoulder, it wasn't that inviting tap from before, it was still familiar though.

She turned around to see Lavender looking shakily at her. "Um, why are you friends with a Riddle?" Her voice cracked slightly, and her face was pale. "You do know his father killed your parents? Right?" Marlene felt the world stand still, she looked up at the innocent boy who she had grown so close to, before she sighed and decided to end a scene, she had to cause one. Marlene jumped on top of the Hufflepuff table, and shouted for the first years' attention. Surprisingly, she successfully caught the whole hall, including Dumbledores' attention.

"Um, Im really fucking- sorry um I mean bloody nervous," she looked around at the expectant faces around her, and cleared her throat loudly, "Mattheo isn't a psychotic baby murderer, so what if his dad did some messed up shit? He lives with his uncle, he doesn't even know the guy. If I can forgive him for killing my parents, then maybe you can all stop spreading rumours about a boy who most of you have never even taken the time to have a chat with!" Her volume was increasing unintentionally as she went on. She didn't even know how she coughed up the courage for that. Marlene looked over to Mattheo, who was grinning like a crazy person. He blew her a kiss and Marlene hopped down, using Lavender as support.

Mattheo was inevitably sorted into Slytherin, although it looked like he was begging for it. Next up, was Harry Potter. The hall erupted into whispers, and Marlene immediately recognised him. His black scruffy hair, his sun-kissed skin, his ocean blue eyes, everything was identical. Except for his glasses, and a scar on his forehead. The boy looked shaken up, his robes were a few sizes too large, and he tripped over his feet on the way up. Marlene felt a tinge of guilt, did he come to the same conclusion as she did? Is that why he looks like he'd seen a ghost?

He was sorted into Gryffindor, and the table erupted into the loudest roars of applause that had occurred all night. Afterwards, it was finally Marlenes' turn. She nervously walked up to the stool, avoiding the death stares she was receiving on her way up. Someone tried to trip her up, but she jumped over their shoe and flipped them off. When the dirty hat was placed on top of her head, she cringed. "Ambition I see, courage and loyalty as well. Very interesting indeed. Guilt? Now what's this? Ah, you blame yourself for something you couldn't control. A bit selfish? Is that not? Well then, it'll have to be...Slytherin!" Her heart was beating out of her chest, she immediately glanced over to Hermione and Harry, who were whispering to each other, looking disappointed. Although, it was hard to feel guilty for not being in the same house as her brother whom she had never met, when she was in the same ones as her new family.

-

Mattheo cheered loudly when Marlene was sorted, but she looked as if she was fighting a mix of emotions as she staggered over to join them. She sat next to Pansy, and immediately slammed her head against the table. "I just met my brother and I'm a hundred percent sure he already hates me!" She whined, and as Pansy placed an arm around her shoulder, Mattheo felt a tinge of jealousy shoot through his body.

"I'm sure he doesn't, you can probably catch up with him after this." Pansy suggested, but Draco scoffed.

"After this? I'll do you one better." He smirked deviously as he conjured up a loose piece of parchment, an ink pot and quill. He scribbled something onto it, and enchanted it to fly in the form of a paper dove and land infront of Harry. Mattheo grinned as his cousin pulled such a trick. He blew the paper dove away with a kiss, and Mattheo burst into a fit of laughter.

"Careful, someone'll think you fancy him." Mattheo choked out, and Draco slapped his thigh. "Cmon Dray!" They joked around until Marlene gasped loudly, causing their group to all turn towards the Gryffindor table which she was staring at. The boy who looked almost identical to Marlene was smiling right in her direction, and Mattheo felt a warm feeling inside. He was happy for her.

Harry nodded at her, and Marlene grinned happily, bearing all her teeth in her smile. "I can't believe it!" She squealed excitedly, and they all (yes, including Draco), we're grinning along with her. Mattheo was now even more determined to take her hand in marriage, and protect her from any kind of hurt, including heartbreak. He would not let this interaction go terribly.

-

Theodore looked down the table, to see Marlene Potter smiling like an idiot with her friends. He wondered how she had accepted finding out she had a brother so quickly, of course, everybody knew she hadn't grown up with Harry. Word spread quickly, after all. Theodore grunted and rested his cheek on his hand, staring down at the empty plates.

It was tradition for the headmaster to make a speech before they ate, but it was taking longer than his brother, Alexander, had suggested it usually took. Finally, the hall was deafened by the loud clink of Dumbledores' spoon against his goblet, and all attention was diverted to the front.

"Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts. I do hope that you all acknowledge our rules, and if you have not read over them yet, then I suggest reading Hogwarts: A History," A bushy haired Gryffindor first year whispered something, looking awfully proud with herself after that comment. "And, please note, that the third floor corridor is off limits, for anybody who does not wish to die a most painful death." Theodore rolled his eyes at this, and his attention was immediately drawn to the feast which had suddenly appeared on the plate in front of him. About damn time.

-

Draco giggled at Marlenes' reaction to the food, she did swear a lot, he noticed. "Holy fuck! Have you ever seen food like this? I'm used to one meal a day, I'm gonna be so obese after I graduate!" She rambled on a lot, until Mattheo finally changed the subject.
They chatted about classes, teachers, and all the boring school things.

Marlene clutched her forehead in with a hint of pain, but clearly not agonising. It looked as if she was being stung. "You alright, Marlene?" Draco asked, feeling slightly worried.

"Yeah, just a migraine I guess." She shrugged, but Draco still felt concerned for her, and as he glanced around, he noticed that Mattheo had the same reaction as him. They continued chatting amongst themselves, Mattheo devoured his food within the first five minutes, whereas Pansy and Marlene would only take the occasional nibble every few minutes. Draco didn't touch his at all, though. He simply wasn't hungry. Pansy checked the humongous clock which was behind the teachers' table, and smirked.

"Five minutes until dinner ends, better go meet your brother." Pansy nudged Marlene, and she giggled, leaving excitedly. "Let's listen in." Pansy whispered loudly, and Draco and Mattheo hesitantly agreed.

-

Marlene ran outside the hall, awaiting her long lost brother. After what felt like years, but what was in reality only a few minutes, a familiar figure exited the Great Hall. It truly was like looking in a mirror. "Hi," he said, looking like he was feeling a mixture of both eagerness and nerves, "Um, I'm Harry." He fiddled with his fingers anxiously and Marlene chuckled light heartedly.

"Marlene." She smiled widely, and he pursed his lips together whilst smiling as well, "So, where did you grow up?" She felt like she did something wrong, because he cringed slightly and looked down at his raggedy shoes.

"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon took me in, what about you?" Harry looked up expectantly, and Marlene blushed happily, she felt embarrassed that she was getting along with him, she knew it was weird, but it was like bonding with a complete stranger.

"I grew up in a children's home, I don't think I was there when..." Marlene stopped herself from finishing that sentence, which took a lot of self restraint, mind you, and swallowed the lump which had formed in her throat. "I only found out about magic like a week ago! When I got here though, I was lucky enough to meet Mattheo, Pansy and Draco." She smiled happily to herself before she frantically apologised for rambling on.

"Me too, I met Ron and Hermione on the train." He smiled softly and Marlene recalled her interactions with Hermione briefly. Harry averted his gaze to just over Marlenes' shoulder, which signalled to her that he was avoiding something. Only in this case, she assumed that he was avoiding asking about something.

"Um, about Mattheo," she started, and Harry immediately turned his head sharply towards her again. So that guess was correct. "He's a good guy, really. I mean, he's proposed to me a few times, for goodness sake. He's an idiot, but he's really sweet. I like him, not in that way, he's like," she struggled to grasp the words, they felt like they were just out of reach, "he's alright." She happily sighed to herself at what she had settled on. When she studies Harry's expression again, she noticed his gaze had softened slightly.

"It's alright, I'm not in any place to judge." His smile was slightly crooked, and it was so adorable, in her opinion. He really did mirror her, perhaps they could've been twins. Maybe, in another life. After a few minutes of small talk, the prefects began leading the first years out the Great Hall and towards their dormitories, so the siblings said their goodbyes, and joined their separate houses.

-

"Did you hear that? I'm alright." Mattheo grinned widley, feeling overly proud of himself. The girl that he was sure to grow old with, didn't hate him. That was a first for him. Draco had described him as insufferable, but he didn't really mind.

"Follow me please." A tall, pale boy with bushy, blonde hair and glasses called over to the Slytherins, and when they exited the hall, Marlene soon joined the group.

"That went amazing!" She smiled at them, then recalled every single detail, even down to eye contact timings. "I really hope that I'm in the same dormitory as Pansy, but I hope that incase I'm not, my dorm mates will be nice. How do we know who we're dorm mates with? My last dorm mate was crazy and he tried to strangle me in my sleep, so I had to get the blade which was tucked under my tongue and cut his hand open, I wasn't allowed a roommate after that. Or anything other than plastic cutlery, for that matter." She ranted like this a lot, and Mattheo loved it.

"Merlin, Marls. That's dark!" He said with a chuckle, and Marlene giggled along with him. Everybody surrounding them, excluding Pansy,Draco and another boy, Theodore Nott, had taken a few steps back after hearing her story.

"Wait, you had to share a room with a boy?" Pansy asked, sounding more astonished at that part then the whole knife fiasco. She always did notice details like that, things that other people didn't.

"Yeah, it weren't a single sex orphanage, and they didn't care about separating us. God, the amount of boys I've scrapped with is mad." Her natural accent and wordings came out slightly more when she got comfortable with a situation, although she always instantly regretted it. Whenever she did this, she would get embarrassed and her face would flush and Marlene would turn as pink as a fresh tulip.

"You sure do talk a lot, don't you?" Draco said, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. His slicked back hair had way too much gel in for Mattheos' taste, and it made him snicker to look at for too long.

"I love hearing her talk." Pansy said before Mattheo could, and she stuck her tongue out at Draco. Mattheo chuckled and stuck his tongue out as well, and they continued teasing each other like this until they reached the dorm. To Mattheos' utter delight, he had to share a dorm with Draco, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini and Timothy Krate. He only knew Draco, and he had a brief, unpleasant interaction with Theodore, but the other boys were complete strangers. Just great. For the next six years, he would be sleeping with strangers.

-

Marlene strutted up to her dorm room with Pansy. Thankfully, they would be together. When they entered, there was already a blonde girl perched on one of the beds, whilst the other three were still empty. The blonde girl had long, wavy hair and she was breathtaking. Her eyelashes were perfect, and her skin was fair and clear. She had a sort of glow to her, and when Marlene read the trunk, she decided to befriend her. "Daphne Greengrass? Hi, I'm Marlene Potter." She put her hand out for Daphne to shake, and the girl warily shook it back.

"I've heard, which bed are you in?" The girl looked over to the empty beds in front of them, Pansy had already taken refuge on the one which was closest to the bathroom. Marlene glanced around for her pathetic excuse of a suitcase, and when she finally laid eyes on it, she felt extremely judged.

"The one next to Pansy," Daphne smiled and nodded, "How are you finding Hogwarts so far?" Marlene asked the gorgeous girl politely, and Daphne smiled softly, tucking her hair behind her ears, blushing as she answered.

"Well, there's this boy I have my eye on." She started, and Pansy suddenly came up from behind Marlene, and gasped from over her shoulder.

"Already? Dish." She said. It seemed as though Pansy was slowly dropping her prestigious act already.

"Well, he's called Draco Malfoy, I think he's your friend?" She said, biting her lip nervously, and Pansy giggled like a maniac.

"You? Fancy Draco?" Marlene asked, in astonishment.

"Am I not his type?" Daphne innocently asked, her smile dropping. Marlene panicked and waved her hands in the air frantically.

"Oh it's not that! It's just you're so gorgeous, I just figured you'd fancy somebody more like Mattheo." Marlene had said it so casually, she didn't realise how off that had sounded. "Not like I think he's gorgeous, I'm only eleven, I don't know what I'm saying! Ignore me!" Marlene turned around and grabbed a pillow from her own bed to scream into, and she heard Daphne giggle from behind her.

"It's not serious or anything, I just find him fit- I mean physically appealing." She flustered at her slip of words, and playfully stuck her tongue out at her error. Suddenly, the door burst open, and another girl entered. She had long, elegant brunette hair and it shimmered in the sunset. Her emotionless hazel eyes reflected the ghost of her past, and she calmly sat on top of her assigned bed, without so much as batting an eye to her surroundings. The girl immediately pulled up her trunk, and began unpacking. She pulled out a massive pile of muggle books, an ink pot, quill, parchment and a blanket of some sort - Marlene assumed. She folded the blanket up and tucked it towards the end of her bed, before placing all of the other things she had removed on her bedside table. The mysterious girl looked up, meeting eyes with Marlene. She suddenly straightened herself up and smiled calmly.

"I'm Laura Vassal, sorry for my intrusion," Laura had an inviting aura surrounding her, and Marlene felt at ease.

"No worries, I'm Marlene Potter, this is Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass." She gestured to each of her newly made friends as she said their names, and Laura smiled happily at them as well.

"Um, I know Slytherin has a reputation of hating muggle-borns, so I should warn you, I'm not a pure-blood. My mum was a squib, and my dad was a muggle." She said, nervously. Although Marlene hadn't a clue what a muggle or a squib even was, so she just replied the answer which she saw fit.

"No judgement here, but if you don't mind me asking, what is a squib and a muggle?" Everybody in the room looked baffled by the question, but Pansy spoke up to answer nonetheless.

"Well a muggle is what we call non-magic-folk. People who haven't a clue what that magic is real unless they have a magic child," Marlene nodded in understanding, "And a squib is somebody with magic parents but has no magic themselves, pretty sure the caretaker here is one as well." Pansy had explained it so well, and Marlene showed her appreciation in the form of a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Pansy giggled as she wiped it off with her sleeve, and they both began getting into their pyjamas.

Once all the girls were laying in their own beds, Daphne finally decided to ask the question which had been lingering on their minds since the moment that Laura had unpacked her luggage, "What's that purple blanket thing?" She questioned, innocently, and Laura looked overjoyed to answer.

"Well, it's an invisibility cloak. Was passed down in my family for generations." Laura said happily, looking to see the looks on everybody's faces. Marlene noticed her gaze linger on Marlenes' own face for far too long, so she tried to pretend like she knew what it meant, but that just earned her a giggle from the brunette. "It means when you put it over yourself, that part of your body becomes invisible." Marlene gasped, it was like a puzzle piece being put into place at last.

"That's wicked!" Marlene said, overjoyed, and Laura hesitantly agreed. Around an hour later, Pansy and Daphne were gossiping about boys and Laura had fallen asleep. They probably assumed Marlene was asleep as well, because of what she overheard.

"What do you think of Marlene?" Daphne asked, sounding shy. Marlene couldn't see her face, but she assumed that Daphne was probably tucking some lose strands of hair behind her ears.

"She's so pretty, and so sweet! Don't you think her and Riddle would make a cute couple?" Pansy said, her voice lined with excitement.

"My thoughts exact!" Daphne squealed, and at some point, Marlene had to of actually fallen asleep listening to them making up cute double date ideas for Daphne, Draco, Mattheo and Marlene because she woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside of her windows, and the sunlight beaming onto her face, shining through the tiny gaps left between her curtains and the room.

She stretched, yawned, and stepped onto the floor, barefoot. It was a familiar feeling, not pleasant, but familiar. The way her freezing feet stuck slightly to the wood was not an enjoyable sensation, but nonetheless, Marlene just had to grin and bear it. She waddled into the bathroom, careful not to wake any of her sleeping dorm mates. As she crept up to the sink, she looked up into the mirror, and physically recoiled at the sight. She hated her scars. They ruined her face, which was already bad enough, in her opinion. They were very noticeable as well, so Marlene was surprised when nobody brought them up on the train ride, let alone at the table. She turned on the tap, and splashed her face with cold water, before creeping back into the room, and flopping onto her mattress. She loved it at Hogwarts. It already felt like home.