Chapter 1
Present day
"On your left, McKinnon," Lily whispered into the earpiece Marlene was wearing.
Marlene hid under one of the museum benches to avoid being seen.
"I told you this would be easy," exclaimed James, one of the girls' friends, laughing. "They're probably still arguing about whether they'll do it or not."
Both Marlene and Lily, along with Mary, who were listening to everything thanks to the microphones they all had for communication, had to bite their lips to hold back laughter. A few months earlier, they had graduated from high school and the boys had challenged them to a dare: steal Godric Gryffindor's medal from the Hogwarts Museum. At first, only Marlene wanted to do it, but after James said they didn't have what it takes to be Marauders like them, Lily and Mary were willing to join.
The girls immediately began to plan their strategy. Lily would handle surveillance through cameras and communicate any movements to the other two. Mary would start as a distraction for the guards and then join Marlene in the theft. They chose the date, September second, as it would be the opening ceremony of the school term and nobody would be paying attention to the museum. The problem was that, apparently, the boys had the same idea.
"Prongs, look at this painting, it looks just like Peter," said Sirius, pointing to a painting of a rat.
James laughed, and Remus shushed him.
"Stop making noise, we have an hour until the ceremony ends."
Marlene stayed hidden in silence until footsteps could be heard in the distance.
"It's time to hurry," Lily said in the girls' earpieces. "Mary, hurry up and find Marlene. Marls, have you prepared everything for the removal of the plaque?"
"Yes, everything's ready." Marlene responded, adjusting ropes in the ventilation. "Mary, I'm in zone 3, next to the founders' paintings."
"I'm heading in that direction. If you look at door three, you'll see me coming in three, two, one..."
Marlene and Mary became best friends on the first day of school after Marlene comforted Mary when she cried because she missed her family on the first night. From then on, they were inseparable, sharing beds and going from one place to another together. They spent their summers writing to each other and planning long get-togethers for sleepovers. It seemed that nothing could separate them, until something changed halfway through their last year. Marlene's endless laughter ended, trips to Hogsmeade only happened when Lily didn't have a date and all three could go, but despite Marlene avoiding one-on-one outings, Mary continued to act as normal as always.
"Did you miss me?" she asked, winking as she appeared through the door.
Marlene laughed and quickly looked away. She felt her heart racing and her palms sweating but there was nothing she could do about it. It would be a whole hour alone with Mary.
"The boys went to the left. We should go the other way to try to get there first."
Mary nodded and grabbed the map of the museus. She squinted to see it; Marlene knew she needed glasses but refused to wear them because she thought they made her head look too small.
"It's impossible, Marls. Our route is longer, and they've been on their way for at least five minutes."
"Lily will kill us if we tell her we’ve lost, and if we can't find a way to get ahead, we lose."
"Not necessarily..." Mary said with a smile that made Marlene forget for a second what that they were discussing and smiled too.
"What are you thinking?"
"We let them take the plaque, but once they have it, we set off the alarms. They'll be caught, and while they're being questioned and they think they have the ones responsible, we grab it," Mary exclaimed, grabbing Marlene's hand. "What do you think, Marls? One last try?"
Marlene pressed her earpiece. "Lily? Change of plans."
Both girls smiled.
---
September 1, 2022
Mary ran onto the train bound for Hogwarts, running late as she did every year. The upside was that this guaranteed that all her friends would already be there. Lily, who had been named Head Girl, greeted her enthusiastically at the entrance and mentioned that Marlene was in the third carriage of the train and would catch up with them after giving the new prefects a talk.
She quickly headed to the carriage where her friend was waiting and pounced on her without even looking. They both laughed as they hugged.
"I missed you so much, Marls. This is the last summer I let you go on a trip without me. It was two months of torture not seeing you."
Marlene stroked her back, and after a few seconds, they separated. But Mary wasn't ready for the sight that awaited her.
Her friend's long, dark hair was now shaved and completely blonde; her ear was filled with silver hoops. Instead of the typical skirt worn by Hogwarts girls, she had opted for gray dress pants. Upon seeing this, Mary stood still for a moment, staring at her with her mouth open.
"Um... over the summer, I decided to change my look." Marlene said as a rosy blush colored her cheeks. "I'm not sure if I like it 100%, but it's more comfortable than long hair."
Mary shook her head and looked at her again. Where there used to be only hair, now you could see defined cheekbones and the largest, most vibrant eyes one could find in the world. On one hand, Mary was disappointed because those were secrets only she knew, but on the other, Marlene looked more like herself than ever (for Mary, there was nothing better than being more Marlene).
"What do you say? You're crazy," Mary said, sitting down beside her and touching her head. "You look better than ever."
Marlene smiled from ear to ear.
---
Present day
"I like your new tattoo," Mary said, looking at Marlene's thigh.
She was only wearing shorts, and the large tattoo in her leg—a rose surrounded by cherries—was visible.
"It's not new. I got it over a month ago."
"I'm only seeing it now because you've been MIA for weeks. Before, you would have consulted me before making that decision," Mary replied, rolling her eyes. "Are you finally going to tell me what's going on, or do I have to keep pretending we're still best friends even tho you keep avoiding me?"
Marlene stopped in her tracks. Maybe because she truly believed Mary hadn't noticed the change, or more likely because her friend's hand was on her arm. They looked at each other for a while, maintaining the small touch that had been absent for the past few months. Mary was the first to break the silence.
"I'm not naive, Marls. Since February, we haven't spent time together, and that used to be all we did. I spent the whole summer counting the days to see you, thinking about where we would go out, what we would do, and after six months, you decided we wouldn't do anything together."
She gently removed her hand from Marlene's arm.
"I know something happened last summer, but I didn't think it would change us," Mary continued. "Was it me? Did I do something to upset you?"
Marlene sighed, knowing it was time to tell the truth.
"Girls?" Lily's voice came over the earpiece. "Sorry for interrupting, I swear it's the last thing I want to do right now. But the boys are about to reach the plaque."
Both girls looked at each other and started running.
---
October 5, 2022
The last days of good weather were approaching at Hogwarts, and everyone seemed to be taking advantage of them. When Marlene and Mary went outside to sit on the grass, they couldn't find a spot that wasn't surrounded by people.
"I have an idea," Mary said, taking Marlene's hand.
It was one of those gestures they used to have just between themselves, holding hands while walking. Marlene wasn't very touchy; maybe an occasional hug, but Mary was. She hugged everyone, kissed everyone, but she didn't hold hands with anyone else. That was reserved for Marlene. So, every time it happened, Marlene felt like the most special person in the world.
After running and laughing up what seemed like all the stairs in the school, they reached the astronomy tower, which was empty as classes had already ended.
"The sun hits here perfectly, and no one bothers us."
Mary lay down on the floor. The sun illuminated her brown skin in a way that made it look like a radiant bronze, matching the golden ribbons she used to tie her hair into two buns. Marlene leaned against the railing and observed her, thinking that not even the most beautiful golden sculpture could do justice to her friend.
"Come on, lie down with me, Marls."
Marlene approached and lay down next to Mary, who wrapped her arm around hee, hugging and gently stroking her arm. Marlene couldn't breathe or move; she was completely frozen even though it was something they always did.
"When we graduate, we have to live together," Mary said. "You, Lily, and me. I couldn't bear to lose you. Ever."
Both slowly turned their bodies to face each other, but Mary didn't break the contact. Marlene looked into Mary's brown eyes, which gazed at her through her long lashes, as if asking her to stay with, to always be friends.
"You're never going to lose us, Mary," she said, returning the hug. "Never."
Fuck. I’m fucked. Marlene thought.