Rule #13

Of all the thoughtless things Mary has done in her life, this doesn’t make the top ten. 

Sure, it’s not exactly wise to fuck a counselor while the parents are snoozing in tents and cabins around them, and it’s especially shit timing after Dumbledore’s tantrum over Marlene and Dorcas…But Mary desperately needed a little fun this parents’ weekend. And, well, Pandora wanted to help. 

She’s really helpful, that one. 

They made a game out of staying quiet, the thin cloth that serves as Mary’s door extraordinarily useless against Pandora’s hums and moans. She sounds like a goddamn siren in bed, Mary has discovered. Or as she likes to be called, a pagan fairy. 

They’re in Mary’s cabin in Ravenclaw, far from the sleeping campers in Gryffindor and Slytherin, waiting for the sun to rise or the energy for another round—whichever comes first. 

“You can’t seriously ask me that question and expect me to not pry?” Mary scoffs, rolling over in bed to grin at Pandora.

Pandora watches the cabin ceiling with a dizzy expression. “You like a little mystery, and I’m not betraying anyone’s privacy. Including yours.”

Mary sits up on her elbow and squints at Pandora. Her long hair is all mussed from sex, the thin sheet barely hiding her nude figure. It’s impossible not to slip a hand under and trace Pandora’s body, mapping her beauty marks and freckles, the tattoos and intersex wonders.

“It has to be someone else on the staff since you obviously don’t have time to leave camp for a fuck,” Mary works out. “And since you’re pan, the options are endless.”

Pandora smiles lazily. “Pan for Pandora.”

“And I’m guessing you told this person that you intended to sleep with me?” 

“They know I’m poly, of course,” Pandora says. “But I always ask before I take another sexual partner.”

“So this person is queer, reasonable, and likely non-monogamous…” Mary humphs and flops back onto the pillow. The issue is that most of the Hogwarts staff is unusually hot, in fact, Mary has never worked anywhere with such a beautiful group of people. Which makes this guessing game unreasonably difficult. 

So Mary starts listing names: “How about Dorcas?”

“I’m not telling you one way or another,” Pandora purrs into Mary’s ear. She distracts Mary with kisses, and not only the ones meant for lips. 

They play the game for a while longer, Pandora distracting, Mary guessing, until the sounds of life begin from outside—mockingbirds screaming, wind kissing trees, and parents grumbling about sore backs and the morning chill. 

“How about Remus—” Mary cuts off at the sound of Lily shouting outside. 

“Good morning, parents! We hope you’re excited for another day at Hogwarts. You’re kids have all been working so hard on the talent show. If you’ll spend the next half an hour getting ready for the day and then make your way up through Gryffindor and to the dining area for breakfast, we can get started on the fun!” 

Mary winces. Lily sounds like she’s talking to campers, not fully grown adults. 

Pandora slowly peeks her head from between Mary’s legs, the sheet sliding down her neck. “Should I stop?”

A wiser person would, but Mary just grins. “Nah.”

Lily’s voice as she makes her way through the tents and cabins outside, greeting parents and answering their many questions, is background noise in Mary’s brain as Pandora thoroughly, thoroughly distracts her. It’s unbelievable how quickly the heat builds in Mary’s belly, the tremble of her legs and arch of her back wild as Pandora works her magic—then Lily’s just outside the cloth door, blabbering on about the vegan options for breakfast, and Mary has to cover her mouth to stay quiet. 

She gasps and slumps, Pandora’s mouth diligent until the last of her orgasm abates. 

“Mary?” Lily’s feet are visible underneath the door. “You’re up, right? I need your help finalizing the schedule.”

Pandora crawls up back to Mary’s head with a smug smile and Mary whips the sheet over her as if that would hide her. 

“Some of the parents are complaining that there’s not enough sitting activities,” Lily’s voice continues. “They want more crafts, I guess, but there’s only one Pandora, unfortunately, but I know Sirius at least can handle some painting and…”

Mary’s hand is over Pandora’s, muffling her giggle. 

“Yeah, Red, I’ll be right out.”

There’s a long pause and Mary gives Pandora a look. Honestly, if Lily finds out about them it’ll be a pain in Mary’s ass—the shit she’ll get from Little Miss Perfect about breaking Rule #13…

“Mary,” Lily begins. “Is someone in there with you?”

“No.”

Lily sucks in a breath. “Well, I can see Pandora’s birks out here, so.”

Mary slaps a hand over her face but Pandora just keeps on smiling. “Hi, Lils.”

“Can I come in?” Lily sounds…strange. 

“No—” Mary says at the same time Pandora says “Yes!”

Lily steps inside, shoving the fabric closed behind her, and looks anywhere but at Mary. “Pan, I told you to be careful, all the parents are here and all it takes is one of them to tattle and Dumbledore will fire you.”

This makes Pandora sink into the sheet around her shoulders. “I—yeah, I’m sorry.”

Mary scoffs. “No, don’t make Pandora feel bad, this was my idea. Be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad,” Lily says quietly, still not looking Mary’s way. “Just worried.”

Then Pandora scoots off the bed, dressed in nothing but a bed sheet, and crosses the small room to hold Lily’s cheeks. “I’ll be fine. You can’t worry about everyone, you know?”

Lily’s eyes soften and Mary’s lungs stop functioning. 

“I can try,” Lily says with a small smile. 

When Pandora kisses Lily on the cheek, Mary’s jaw drops. The way they touch each other, look at each other, none of it’s platonic. It’s downright intimate. “Are you sleeping with Red, Pandora?!”

Lily’s eyes finally shoot to Mary’s. “Keep your voice down,” she snaps. 

“But—but you’re a rule follower, and Rule #13—” Mary stammers, her tongue thick with shock. 

Something flickers in Lily’s gaze, anger, definitely, but also something new. Something Mary hasn’t seen in her before.

“I have to go to work.” Lily turns, her red ponytail swaying. “I hope you’ll join me soon, Mary,  given it’s your fucking job.”

Pandora watches Lily stomp away and Mary stays frozen in bed, reeling. She thought she knew Red, she thought she was an expert on her particular brand of bitchiness and crazy but—

Shit, maybe Mary doesn’t know Lily Evans at all. 

******

It’s hard not to pull Lily aside at breakfast and confront her then and there. Steal her illicit coffee and throw it on the ground and grab her stupid shoulders and shake her senseless, because, honestly, what the actual fuck?

All the bullshit Lily spewed to Mary about setting an example as the two supervisors, how they had to demonstrate to both the staff and campers that “rule following is safe and fun”—it’s been two summers of Lily riding her high horse and turning her nose at Mary’s mediocre work ethic. Because god-forbid Mary didn’t want to do something outside of her job description, god forbid that, unlike Lily, she can set boundaries and tell Dumbledore no. 

For years Lily has been walking around like the goddamn queen of the Handbook, heir to Dumbledore’s regulatory throne. Well, she’s royally full of shit. 

If Sam were here, he’d point out that this makes Lily more human, less of a plastic robot reciting orders and something contradictory. Something real. 

Mary likes flawed people, she connects to flawed people, she is flawed people. 

But Lily pretended to be everything but—and that is why Mary wants to sneak into Lily’s cabin in the middle of the night and cut off her fiery hair and make a rag doll with it and use it for target practice, maybe even dabble in some dark magic. 

Perhaps that’s an overreaction. 

Or, as Mary justifies to herself, it’s completely reasonable given Lily’s bullshit. 

As the day continues, the shock of Pandora and Lily fades, replaced by a burning tempest, the kind of uncontrollable rage usually reserved for Red. Now it’s Mary who loses her cool. 

So when the parents are fully occupied by their kids and their activities, Mary grabs Lily’s wrist and marches them to her office. The second the door shuts, Mary attacks:

“You’re such a fucking hypocrite!”

Lily blinks, expression flat. 

“I can’t believe you’re on my dick 24/7 about all these different rules and the entire time you were breaking Dumbledore’s fundamental fucking commandment because, what, you’re better than us all? You’re just the perfect employee who never, never lets her personal life interfere with her professional, so screwing a counselor is absolutely fine, cause you’re Lily Motherfucking Evans,” Mary spits, her throat sore and hoarse.

“Are you done?” Lily says calmly, though her cheeks betray her own embarrassment. 

“No, not even fucking close—”

“I already got scolded by Dumbledore today, I’m not in the mood.”

That stops Mary in her tracks. “For what?”

Lily presses her back into the door, those bright green eyes lifting to the whirring fan above them. “He said I handled the incident with Mrs. Jones inappropriately, and I likely burned an important bridge for Hogwarts. Apparently she and her husband made up thirty percent of our donations.”

“You handled that perfectly,” Mary hisses. When she found Lily and told her about what Brad’s mom had said to Dorcas, Lily didn’t hesitate—she marched up to her and escorted her to the parking lot, smiling as she drove away. 

“I don’t disagree.”

Mary can’t help but scoff at Lily. “Seems like these days you and I agree only when it comes to Dumbledore.”

“Common enemy, perhaps.”

“You think Dumbledore’s the enemy?” Mary asks, genuinely curious. 

“No—no—” Lily scrubs her face. “He’s not malicious, I know he loves the campers and this camp, I think he just loses the vision in the stress of all the money. But he won’t let anyone help him with that so…”

“You have a kinder impression of the Camp Director than I do.”

Lily meets Mary’s eyes. “I know it doesn’t seem like it but…he’s the only adult that’s stuck around for me. Even after I got—” she cuts off abruptly. 

“You’re not the only one ashamed of your past, Lily.” 

Mary’s not sure why she says that, why she opens a door that she’s certain Lily will slam in her face. She prepares herself for battle, summoning up all the frustration from before like a shield, bracing herself for Lily’s animosity and distrust. 

But Lily’s next words are honest.

“When I was seventeen, I got pregnant. I don’t regret any of it…But I do wish I had been a little older, a little more ready so that I could have kept them.”

“I—I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sure the kid has an incredible family, and I couldn’t give them that.” Lily looks at her hands. “It’s part of the reason I love this job so much, I think. I get to be a part of raising kids, loving them unconditionally.”

The air snaps and fizzles and Mary feels something kind tumble off her tongue. “I think you would be an excellent parent if that’s something you ever want to do.”

Lily meets Mary’s gaze. “You criticize me with the campers all the time.”

“True.” Mary smirks. “Doesn’t change my original statement.”

“Uhm thank you. That’s—that’s nice,” Lily manages to say. “I didn’t have a great example of parenting but this camp has taught me a lot about kids, so, yeah. One day. Maybe.”

It’s there that Mary realizes where they are, what they were doing no less than five minutes ago. She’s supposed to be chewing Lily’s head off for sleeping with Pandora, breaking Rule #13, not having a goddamn heart-to-heart about motherhood. But these days, Lily pushes Mary to every extreme in the blink of an eye, a roller coaster of highs and lows that never quite abates, never lets her catch her fucking breath. 

Well, maybe she doesn’t want to breathe.

“I’m sorry about, uhm, you know,” Lily says in the silence. “Pandora’s been a really really positive thing in my life but I hated breaking that rule. And after all that’s happened with Dorcas and Marlene—I’m gonna stop.”

Mary shakes her head. “God, Evans, sometimes you’re so dense. I’m upset because you’ve been telling the entire staff to stay away from each other while you’ve done the very opposite. Honestly, I’m glad you’re breaking one of Dumbledore’s rules.”

Lily sinks her teeth into an almost smile. “I was only warning them. I didn’t want anyone to get fired because of this. I can take that risk, and if Dumbledore ever caught me and Pan, I would have taken the blame, but I didn’t want anyone else to have to leave because of his…obsession with the rule. It’s why I had that panic attack the other day, I was worried Pandora would get fired.”

“You hear yourself right now, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I know. James gives me shit for this all the time.”

“Obviously you’re not listening to him. You keep taking on everything, and never worry about yourself, I mean, you barely let me help you—”

“—Because I can do it better—”

Mary, admirably, ignores this, and continues, “Much less let your friends help you, and you keep letting Dumbledore put more and more responsibilities on you without a promotion, much less a wage increase.”

“I’m not here for the money.”

“I know that, but I think he is.”

Lily shakes her head. 

“Fine, think what you want.” Mary stands her ground, crossing her arms. “But can we at least agree that you need to fucking trust me?” She adds after a second, “Professionally.”

Lily sets her jaw stubbornly and Mary can see the gears turning, the fight she’s waging underneath all that red hair. “For the campers, I’ll try.”

Mary grins. “I know exactly where we can start.”

******

It says a lot that Lily doesn’t fight Mary on this. She accepts they have to clear the air with Dorcas and Marlene, to do what Dumbledore won’t and make amends. Mary’s almost impressed with her coworker from hell. 

They find the two counselors by the Black Lake, packing up floaties and life vests while parents and campers in wet swimsuits walk back to the main camp. 

When they walk across the dock, Lily’s eyes squint in a thoughtful silence that Mary can’t read. 

“Red, are you nervous?”

She nearly says no, but then she pauses. “Ok, fine, yes. I am.” She bites her lip. “I really messed up with Marlene and I should have been there for Dorcas with Dumbledore.”

Mary takes Lily’s arm and tugs her forward. “Stop with the guilt and let’s just talk to them.”

“Dorcas, Marlene,” Mary calls. 

It only takes Mary a few seconds to realize something’s wrong. She’s been around the world, dabbled in a fair bit of people-watching, and no matter the culture, she can recognize disaster when she sees it. Right now, Dorcas and Marlene have the body language of a divorced couple forced to co-parent, or worse, a bad blind date. The kind where you realize you’ve got nothing in common, and your friends might not know you as well as you thought if they set you two up, and really, you ought to accept that you’ll never find love. 

Neither of them will look at the other, and while Marlene is standing tall, Dorcas’s spine is uncharacteristically slumped, as if sinking into her own skin. Mary’s not sure they’re listening as Lily apologizes on Dumbledore’s behalf, they don’t so much as nod or smile or even blink. 

“Despite my many warnings about the rule,” Lily pauses, sucking in a breath. “I don’t want you two to break up because of him. I know you both can be professional and mature about this, so as long as Dumbledore remains in the dark—” 

“We’re not together,” Dorcas says simply.

Lily frowns. “I know you convinced Dumbledore of that but you don’t have to lie to us.”

“They’re right,” Marlene cuts in. “We aren’t dating anymore so problem solved.”

Mary and Lily share a look. The lake’s surface is still and sunny behind Marlene and Dorcas, the picture of serenity. But Dorcas looks like they want to jump in and never get out. 

And Marlene, well, Marlene looks fine. 

“I—that’s none of our business, honestly, but if we can support either of you in any way, please lean on us,” Lily stresses. She turns to Marlene and rushes out an apology, “I handled your check-in horribly, I really do want to help but I’m terribly jealous of you and that got in the way of it all so I lashed out and—I don’t believe that you’re jeopardizing camper safety, I was reciting lines, and I’m sorry.” Lily grimaces. “That’s not the kind of supervisor or friend I want to be.”

“Why would you be jealous of me?” Marlene asks, dumbfounded. 

“And of course you’re humble,” Lily mumbles. “Besides the obvious things, like you’re beyond gorgeous and clever, I guess I just wanted to be as capable as you seem to be. Flawless, honestly.”

“It sounds like you’re flirting with her, Red,” Mary can’t help but tease. 

“NO!” Lily squeaks. “I’m definitely not doing that.”

Dorcas doesn’t acknowledge Lily’s panicked stare, just looks at their nails. 

“I’m not flawless,” Marlene eventually says. “Nowhere close.”

Mary shakes her head. “Good. You don’t have to be, neither of you should be. The point is we’re all meant to help each other in the face of Dumbledore’s bullshit, yeah?” She looks at all three of them. 

Marlene and Lily mumble their agreement but Dorcas only nods.

“Dorcas?” Mary says. 

She looks up slowly, eyes blank. “What?”

“How can we help?”

Dorcas turns to Lily. “If my mom calls, hang up.”

“Done.”

“Did your mom call you again?” Marlene looks at Dorcas with concern, the first time her face has shown a sign of anything. 

“She showed up here last night, actually.” Dorcas tugs on one of their cornrows. “Tried to drag me back to training.”

Something crosses Marlene’s face, understanding, perhaps. Then Dorcas continues, “Doesn’t matter. I’m only here for another month and then I’ll be back home swimming laps, making her happy.”

“So you decided then,” Marlene says.

“Obviously.”

“Obviously.” Marlene jerks her head back to Mary and Lily. “We done here?”

“I mean—I guess,” Lily begins but Marlene’s already walking off. 

And before Mary can say a thing, Dorcas is too.

“I’m going to say something you won’t like,” Lily turns to Mary.

Mary rolls her eyes. “That’s usually the case.”

“That right there is a part of the reason Rule #13 exists. I’m not saying that Dumbledore handled any of this appropriately but…I don’t know, the campers are going to notice something’s up between them.”

“I think Marlene can put on a show.”

“But Dorcas can’t,” Lily finishes. 

“No. No, they can’t.”

******

The talent show was intentionally scheduled for the early afternoon. That way, the parents have enough daylight to drive the fuck away from Hogwarts without spending another night, much to all the staff’s relief. Like everyone, Mary’s itching to be rid of them. Though she’s avoided the soccer moms and finance dads for the most part, she’s had more than a few run-ins with wealthy jackasses. One dad even pulled her aside to express his concern about Peter’s pit bulls, you know, the ferocious dogs that were lying all over Luna and kissing her face. Super dangerous. 

But, for the most part, Mary and Lily have handled the parents without any hiccups, or on Mary’s end, murders. Remus was a big help—turns out he has quite a lot of experience dealing with hysteric adults in the ER room, so he played mediator at activities and meals, his nurse voice soothing and gentle whenever a parent inevitably got worked up. His good looks help too, of course. Mary’s fairly certain half the moms, and a few dads, are risking Sirius’s wrath and trying to get into Remus’s pants.

All in all, the past two days haven’t been the purgatory Mary feared they would be. A part of her can admit that it’s because ever since their little chat, Lily has been less…demanding, suspicious, uptight, do-gooding, intrusive—well, Mary’s list for Lily is quite long. 

She slips up quite often, however, like when she glared at Mary for double-booking Gilderoy’s circus activities, or right now, when she huffs because Mary put one fold-out chair too many in the audience.

“I said 15 per row, not 16.”

Mary just smiles at Lily and waits. 

After a moment, Lily purses her lips and tries again: “While I appreciate your help, will you please take that chair away, Mary?”

“Good girl.” Mary nods and moves the chair, pretending not to notice Lily’s bright cheeks. 

By the time they finish setting up the campfire circle with a makeshift stage by the aerial silks, the parents and campers are filing into the rows with cones full of Evan’s homemade ice cream. Mary grins when she spots Harry in between James and Sirius, his temporary parents for the weekend since his couldn’t come. 

Mary finds it strange, actually, how little Harry’s parents have communicated with the camp, though it seems like they’re the neglectful sort generally.

“Hi, Harry!” Mary holds out a high-five and he slams into it. “So did you decide if you’re going to perform? I can always add you to the sheet last minute.”

Harry gives Mary a gummy smile. “Nope, I’ve dedicated myself to my role as an audience member and cheer on Draco so loud that he gets all red and glares at me.”

“That’s a great plan.” 

Sirius bumps their hip with Harry. “Definitely.”

“Prongs and Padfoot aren’t performing either.” Harry shakes his head dramatically. “Mary, you have to convince them to!”

“You know, James, your fans will be so disappointed if you don’t throw some knives or something,” Mary teases. 

James laughs. “Alas, the talent show is for the campers, not the counselors.”

“But Gilderoy is performing,” Harry whines. 

Mary has to stop herself from laughing at Sirius’s dark expression. Gilderoy is generally insufferable but now that he has his sights set on Remus, Sirius can’t stand him. 

“Soooooo did you perform when you were campers?” Harry asks James and Sirius. 

“Of course!” Sirius put her hands on their hips. “I always sang an original song with—” he breaks off, expression falling. 

“With who?” Harry asks.

James cuts in, “With the entire camp, really, Sirius would always have a sing-along section. By the end of the summer, we would all know the lyrics by heart.”

Harry nods. “Come on, we have to sit with Draco’s mom and her girlfriend!”

As Harry tugs Sirius and James to the front, Remus comes up to Mary, smiling fondly. “Harry was so stressed about finding something to do at the talent show. I wonder what made him change his mind.”

Mary shrugs. “Probably Sirius.”

“Yeah,” Remus says quietly. “Sirius.”

Though it’s killing Mary, she decides not to interrogate Remus about whatever the hell is going on between him and Sirius. They don’t have enough time, the talented youth await their fifteen minutes of fame. 

“Welcome to the 2023 Hogwarts Talent Show!” Mary announces on the make-shift stage, bowing at the round of applause and cheers from campers. “As most of you know, my name’s Mary, I’m the Activities Director, and I’ll be co-hosting tonight’s show with Lily Evans, our Counselor Manager.”

At Lily’s name, Sirius and James screech “FIREFLY” so loud that parents shoot them dirty looks. 

“Our first act tonight is the one and only Hermione Granger, who is performing on the flute!” Mary beckons Hermione on the stage, winking at her for luck. 

While Lily talks to the other performers in the Lodge, Mary watches Hermione nail “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, her parents in the audience grinning with teary eyes. 

“She’s talented, huh?” Remus says beside Mary.

“God, she reminds me of Sam.” Mary breathes. 

“How so?”

“Dangerously clever.”

Remus nods. “Ah.”

A beat, then. “This was Ty’s karaoke song.”

“No way.” Mary chuckles. “That’s such a good choice.”

“It would be if you could sing.” Remus smirks. “Ty definitely couldn’t.”

“Ah.”

Mary and Remus share a look, not quite a happy one, but not sad either. The two of them have been sharing little details about Sam and Ty, moments and memories that they usually have to hold onto themselves. 

It’s terrible grieving alone, Mary knows. She’s spent the past few years doing just that—running around the world and slipping through friendships, connections, homes. 

Now, she’s finally standing still. It’s better than she feared. 

“How are those headaches by the way?” Remus asks Mary. 

Lily overhears on her way out from the Lodge, holding hands with a younger camper named Mei. “Headache?” she whispers. “Mary, are you alright? Do you need to lie down? I can totally handle this myself if you’re not feeling well and don’t just say you’re fine to placate me, I’ve got Remus or I can call Padfoot up to me co-host—”

“I’m fine, Red.” 

“Promise?”

Mary almost smiles. “Promise.”

Lily finally listens and pulls Mei to stand with the other campers on the side of the stage. Mei’s a shy kid in Dorcas’ cabin, but with Marlene’s help, she worked on a skit with a couple of friends.

As Lily announces the next act, Remus gives Mary a strange look. “What?”

“Nothing,” he says smiling. 

“We’re just trying to be amicable colleagues. For everyone’s sake.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Good.” Mary purses her lips. “Cause then I would have to say something about you and Sirius, and I’m certain you don’t want that.”

Remus turns. “Oh look, I think someone needs me in the Lodge.”

Mary watches him go with a smirk. 

The rest of the show goes smoothly, some of the acts as remarkable as Hermione’s, like Draco’s performance on the Lyra which has his mom standing and clapping, and Harry inexplicably crying tears of joy. Others are less successful, like Ginny who tries the aerial silks and almost falls on her head—luckily, Regulus is a careful spotter and catches her easily. Gilderoy’s monologue is so bad that Mary has to go into the Lodge to keep from laughing, but the highlight of the night is when Peter leads a couple of campers onto the stage with a bucket of fuel, and they each wow the audience with fire poi. 

Lily grips Mary’s arm the entire time, terrified that someone is going to get burned even after years of watching Peter play with fire. 

It almost doesn’t feel real when Mary and Lily give one last speech to the parents at the end of the show, and politely, but firmly tell them to get the hell out. After an hour, they’ve managed to get all but one parent to leave. 

“I don’t want you to go!” Draco hugs his mom tighter. 

“I miss you as well.” Narcissa’s voice is short and clipped, strangely formal, but Mary can see in her expression that she’s worried. “We talked about this, Draco. You need to focus on enjoying yourself at camp, not for my sake, but for yours.”

Draco pulls away to frown at his mom and whispers something that Mary can’t hear.

Lily and most of the other counselors are with the campers in the dining area, handling the crying kids, and distracting the others with games until dinner is ready. 

“What’s going on?” Sirius asks, coming up to Mary on the edge of the parking lot. 

“This is the last parent, Narcissa. Draco doesn’t want her to go.”

Sirius watches the blonde pair carefully. “They seem to be really close.”

Narcissa stands up slowly, her hand caressing Draco’s cheek, and then she’s walking away. Draco’s shoulders jerk up in sobs and Mary goes forward to collect him. 

When Narcissa gets into her car she looks back, not at Draco, but at Sirius. Mary doesn’t have time to think about it because Draco is a blubbering mess, his palms digging into his eyes as he mumbles, “Don’t look at me, I’m not crying.”

“It’s alright to miss your mom, Draco.”

“Stop, I said I’m not crying.”

“Draco!” someone squeals from the dining area. Then Harry is running across the woodchips, Zemlya at his heels, and nearly topples Draco over. 

“I finally won Go Fish against Hermione! Ohmygod I can’t believe you missed it, now I have to do it again so you can see it, but it was really hard—wait, why are you sad?”

Draco wipes his face and glares at Harry. “Not now.”

Harry’s eyes dart to Mary and Sirius, who are both watching the two with barely concealed smiles, then nods. “Ok. We’ll talk about it later. Come on!”

They run off to the dining area, and Mary turns to Sirius, both of them breaking into laughter. “Fuck, those two are cute.”

Sirius smiles. “Harry talks about Draco non-stop and did you know that they coordinate their schedules so they have most of the same activities? I did the same with the Marauders back in the day.”

“The Marauders,” Mary repeats, stopping herself from rolling her eyes. She’s not sure if she’s horrified or jealous of Sirius, James, Lily, and Peter’s bond. The way they operate like a unit, with their strange nicknames and a lifetime of friendship—sometimes it’s sweet, but most of the time it’s ridiculous. 

“You know, the other two make sense, but I can’t picture you and Lily as friends back in the day.”

Sirius’s eyes lit up. “Oh, we got on each other’s nerves all the time. Still do. We’re both too proud and stubborn, James always says our personalities are so big that we just have to bicker. But we’re also deadly loyal. If I ever killed someone, she’d be the first person I’d call.”

“Sounds like you know from experience.”

“Not with murder,” Sirius laughs, shaking his head. “But Lily’s the first one I called after I overdosed.”

Mary blinks. While she and Sirius have discussed their addictions many times before, she hadn’t expected Lily to play any real role in Sirius’s recovery. Not after the conversation she and Lily had at the Beauxbaton River excursion.

“Addicts should be able to stop for the people they love.” 

Lily had said the words so flippantly, a cruel simplification of all the pain and struggle wrapped up in addiction. 

It’s further evidence that even if they’re getting along at work, Mary and Lily could never truly understand each other. And that’s for the better. 

“Honestly, Lily’s half the reason I made it through rehab,” Sirius says. “Even at my worst, and trust me, I fucking hit rock bottom, she never gave up on me.”

“That’s…I have to admit that’s surprising.”

Sirius frowns. “Look I know you and her have some sort of…let’s call it a feud, but Lily Evans is one of the best humans I know. If not the best.” 

A part of Mary understands that. Though she hasn’t experienced it firsthand, she knows that Lily is kind and caring and generous with her friends, not to mention the campers. 

“Guess I bring out the worst in her,” Mary realizes with a scoff.

“No.” Sirius smiles sadly. “I actually think that’s Dumbledore.”

******

By the time the stars come out to play and the sun takes its well-deserved nap, Mary is desperate to go to bed. From Pandora and Lily, to Dorcas and Marlene, to the parents, today has offered her nothing nice. 

That’s not true, Sam’s voice rings in her head. 

Mary scoffs, falling into one of the empty benches by Peter’s work shed. She tries to list the good things the way that she used to make Sam. 1) A night with Pandora. 2) Somewhat of a truce with Lily. 3) Hermione’s performance. 4) The parents are gone!

“Fine, you’re right, Sam,” Mary concedes. “Not the worst day.”

No, she’s definitely had much, much darker days. Days that she can’t quite remember because she swallowed too many pills, and washed it down with too much tequila. 

Mary’s never been a night person, she soaks up sunlight like a goddamn plant, so she blames the moon for her shit mood. Or maybe it’s the conversation with Sirius that brought on the doom and gloom. Either way, she pulls her head back and talks to her dead brother until the tightness in her chest eases.

 “Who are you talking to?” Lily sits beside Mary. 

“Um,” Mary blinks her eyes open. “Myself, I guess.”

“Oh, nice. I do that too sometimes.”

Perhaps because of their truce, perhaps because Mary’s too tired, she doesn’t find an excuse to leave Lily, and settles into the quiet sounds of an almost sleeping camp. Down the slope they can see Gryffindor cabins filing in and out of the bathroom, James and Sirius playing tag as they wait for their campers to finish brushing their teeth. 

“Dumbledore’s in his office,” Lily begins. “Are you up for talking to him?”

Mary turns to look at Lily, finding her expression serious. “I really thought you would chicken out.”

“Nope.”

“Alright then.” Mary stands. “After you.”

The anticipation builds in Mary’s chest, waking up her sleepy thoughts and bewitching them into something alive, something that makes her want to put on some boxing gloves and punch a bag until it rips apart. 

Neither of them speaks as they enter Dumbledore’s house, and Mary can tell Lily is hyping herself up in her head, she’s got that determined glean in her eyes, which is sort of cute, actually—no, not cute. That’s not right. 

“Dumbledore?” Lily opens the door, snapping Mary out of her thoughts. “Do you have a second?”

They do the usual polite niceties, though Mary doesn’t offer anything more than a hello, and then they’re sitting in the chairs in front of Dumbledore’s desk. 

“Well, how can I be of assistance?” Dumbledore prompts. 

If he feels the taught tension in the room, his expression doesn’t betray it. He leans back in his chair and watches them with an easy smile. 

In response, Lily’s smile grows sharp. “Dumbledore, I think we both can acknowledge that I’ve been running this camp for years. Besides financial matters, I’ve overseen every single department, stretching myself thin because I believe in Hogwarts, in the campers, and I’m not going to see any of it neglected.” She takes a long breath. “And when I propose reforms, much-needed change, you brush me off—”

“That’s not—”

“Let her finish,” Mary cuts Dumbledore off shortly. 

Lily looks at the pile of papers on his desk. “The Sex Education proposal Mary and I composed? You haven’t so much as read it. My concerns about one of the scholarship kid’s homelife? You’ve done no investigation into Harry’s parents. And then, when one of our employees faces outright racism from a parent, you dismiss it and scold me for overreacting.” Lily’s face is poised, her voice venom, and Mary has never seen something hotter. 

No, not hot. God, no. 

“I’m not overreacting.” Lily shakes her head. “Besides the donors, the only thing you seem to care about is Rule #13.”

“I’m deeply sorry you feel that way,” Dumbledore says. 

“I’m certain that every single staff member will agree with Lily, Dumbledore,” Mary pipes up. “She’s performing your duties and more. You are incredibly lucky to have an employee this dedicated and selfless.”

Mary’s words are honest, and she can feel Lily staring at her, smiling at her. It feels good to be on the same side. It feels right. 

“It was my impression that you enjoyed your responsibilities,” Dumbledore addresses Lily. “I would gladly take on more of the burden if you communicated this to me before.”

Lily chews on the inside of her cheek, looking down. 

“You should be more involved.” Mary tries to keep her tone even, but she’s done this too many times before. Different bosses but always the same shit. “Your check-ins should actually be an evaluation of your employee’s workload, not mere updates on camp operations.”

“Perhaps we can both agree to communicate more openly in the future,” Dumbledore suggests as if that will fix everything.

 Lily takes in a breath. “I think there’s quite a bit we have to change. And I think we can start with the structure of the camp itself.”

“What do you suggest?” 

“As my detailed notes from the counselor check-ins have explained, there is a serious clique problem amidst the two houses, one that I’ve seen every year I’ve worked or attended camp.”

Dumbledore nods. “It’s natural that there’s a little house rivalry.”

“But your philosophy is about creating community regardless of background or identity, no?” Mary points out with an innocent smile.

“Yes, that’s true…” Dumbledore trails off, his eyes returning to Lily’s. 

They have his attention, and for once, he might just listen. 

“Mary and I propose that we reorganize the cabins.”

It’s shocking that Lily includes Mary in the statement—as if they were a team. But they are a team. For now, at least. 

Dumbledore folds his hands on his desk. “While I understand your intentions, neither the parents nor the campers would like this idea, I fear. We would essentially be pulling apart friendships and ending comfortable cabin dynamics.”

“Actually, I don’t think all of the cabins are succeeding, and with a careful reorganization, Mary and I can work with the counselors to find something that supports all of the campers.”

“It’s impossible to prevent discord completely.”

“Yes, but we can work to mitigate it with a little more planning on our part.” Lily leans forward. “And it’s our philosophy to challenge these kids. Maintain a safe space while also getting them out of their comfort zones. This does just that.”

When Dumbledore doesn’t reply, Mary tries another angle. “I think, for once, you should listen to Lily. We’ve worked hard to make this parent weekend happen for you, and now we’re asking for a favor in return.”

“Quid pro quo?” Dumbledore’s lip twitch. 

Mary bites on her tongue before she says something like, No, that would mean you actually paying us appropriately for all that we do. “Sure, Dumbledore.”

Dumbledore’s gaze flicks between Mary and Lily, perhaps wondering how the strange alliance formed. Then he sighs and says, “I will agree to this plan given recent developments in the camp’s finances.”

“What—what does that mean?” Lily asks.

“Once I have a clearer picture, I will tell you both.”

“If there’s something I can do to help—”

“You’ve done enough, Lily.”

Mary sucks in a breath. “Lily did exactly the right thing with Mrs. Jones, in fact, that should be a camp policy. Is there some reason that you would condone racism, Albus?” 

It’s quite satisfying watching Dumbledore squirm for once. “You’re right, of course, Mary. Lily, I apologize for my tone. It’s been a long day.”

“It has for us too. We’ve been entertaining almost a hundred parents.”

“Well then we should conclude this meeting and get some rest,” Dumbledore says with a tight smile. 

Lily stands and smiles sweetly. “We’ll have the new cabin reorganization on your desk tomorrow morning. I suggest you read it promptly.”

******

They walk out of Dumbledore’s house and neither of them really stops, nor speaks, so they continue walking aimlessly. Another rule broken, in fact, since they’re not supposed to wander campgrounds at night, but Mary doesn’t comment on it. 

When they reach the edge of the Wayward Woods, Lily stops. “Why does it feel like we lost?”

“Cause Dumbledore was trying to guilt-trip you.”

“Do you think he meant…do you think without that donor Hogwarts will have to close?”

Mary shrugs. “I can’t imagine the camp is that dependent on donations, we’re not a non-profit.”

“I honestly don’t know, he doesn’t let me go near the accounting.” 

“A battle for another day.” Mary knocks elbows with her. “Why don’t we just celebrate this win.”

Lily shakes her head out, laughing. “Yeah, yeah.”

They both turn back to the woods as if waiting for something to crawl out of the darkness and greet them. 

“You said that you were ashamed of your past too…” Lily trails off. “I’m not trying to guilt-trip you or anything, but I did share my deepest darkest secret so it’s only right you do the same.”

“That was your mistake,” Mary says with a smirk. 

Lily’s voice turns serious. “I don’t think it was, actually.”

Mary hates that she cares, that those words lodge their way into her chest and settle in her heart. “What happened to calling me rash, sloppy, and impetuous? The bane of your existence?”

“Oh don’t get me wrong, Macdonald, I still hate you.”

For some reason, that makes Mary shiver. She ignores this. 

“But I’m starting to realize that you’re not as useless in a professional capacity as I once thought,” Lily says. “I think today proved that.”

“Wow. I’m overwhelmed by your praise,” Mary deadpans. 

Lily laughs, knocking back her head, her messy bun dropping with it. “I’m serious though. I’ll do better, I promise to trust you. And…you can trust me.”

Heaven help her, but in that moment, Mary does. She can almost taste the loyalty that Sirius had claimed defined Lily, and fuck, Mary wants it for herself, she’s greedy for something, anything from Lily that isn’t disdain. 

So she takes a breath and trusts. 

“My brother passed from a fentanyl overdose. He was an addict.”

Lily’s eyes widen. “Oh, Mary—”

“I’m one too, actually. I’ve been clean for quite a while but his death was really hard on me. I’m still trying to figure out how to live without him.”

“The shit I said that day.” Lily squeezes her eyes shut. “I was talking about my own experience with my dad and I was unfairly generalizing, I’m so so sorry, Mary.” 

Her words are rushed and unsteady, and Mary can tell that she means it.

“Sirius told me about how you helped her through rehab.”

Lily blinks, taken aback. “Oh, well, Padfoot’s one of my best friends, of course I helped.”

“Not everyone sticks around for the dark parts.” Mary laughs dryly. “It’s good of you that you did.”

“And yet I still said those things that day. Listen, I know addiction’s not simple, it’s not anywhere close to easy and it was wrong of me to characterize it as such. I can’t apologize enough, Mary.”

“Stop with the sorries. First Pandora, then Marlene, and now this, honestly, Red, you’re growing soft.”

Lily’s cheeks bloom into a deep red, and Mary can’t help but ask, “What—what are you thinking about?”

“It’s just…I’ve only now realized that you and I are both sleeping with Pandora.” She shudders. 

Mary cocks her head. “You didn’t think anything of it before you knew it was me, I’m guessing?”

“Well, no, I know Pandora’s poly, I was just worried about her getting caught.”

“So it bothers you?” Mary pushes, she doesn’t know why she’s pushing, she really shouldn’t break this careful truce they’ve fallen into. But it’s Red. It’s her Red. And her favorite thing to do with Red is push her buttons. 

“Yes—okay, it does bother me!” Lily throws up her hands. 

“Let me guess, you don’t think I deserve Pandora, is that it?”

“Stop putting words in my fucking mouth—”

“Then why on earth would it bother you that I’m the one—” Mary’s sentence crumbles into a kiss. 

Because Lily Evans is kissing her. 

Holy fucking shit. 

Mary blames her body’s instincts, a primal urge to kiss back, to lick her lower lip and bite, to wrap her arms around her small back, to slide up and tangle her fingers into her unraveling bun and fuck, to kiss in all the ways they shouldn’t. 

When they come up for air, Mary still can’t think, won’t think, all she wants is more of that. More of Lily. 

They kiss again, a slower one, and Lily murmurs onto Mary’s lips, her breath as shaky as her heartbeat and she digs her fingers into Mary’s skin like she wants to latch and never, never leave. 

Then she does. 

She rips away from Mary, blinks twice, then runs away. 

And Mary’s body nearly follows, until her brain finally functions, her thoughts catching up to her limbs and—“What the fuck just happened?”