Patchwork Trousers
Marlene was really fucking tired, she’d spent most of her night packing a comically large suitcase and panicking over every little thing she might need. The case was currently shoved into a corner so she didn’t have to think about leaving her home too much, her big sister Louise had been to boarding school and it changed her a lot. The timid girl that had left home became louder and bolder, swirling patterns around her eyes in a shimmering gold. Marlene looked at her in awe when she came home again until she plucked up the courage to ask Louise to teach her. Now she woke up in the early hours of the morning to take her own shiny silver lines to float around her eyes. When she did it the brush almost seemed to paint for her, flowing around her eyes in abstract and intricate designs that even her sister would be impressed with. Louise wouldn’t want to be up for a long time yet but Marlene had to share what the lessons of makeup had taught her.
She creaked her door open, avoiding the loud floorboard by the staircase banister and tiptoed to the door coated in posters of rockstars and bands. Her sister had recently added a new layer of posters with a singer called Bowie taking up most of the space, her friend Remus showed her some of the music and absolutely loved it, replaying it in her head day and night. She sharply knocked on the door and waited impatiently for entrance.
“Come in Marls!”
Louise sounded far more awake than she should be and Marlene was eager to see what she was up to. She slid the door half the way open so it didn’t scrape on the table and crept through. Louise immediately started talking to her,
“I know its early but you’re leaving today and I thought you’d want something to take with you so I got my suitcase record player, it might scratch a bit, and a few nice records so you can-”
Louise finally looked up in excitement, which seemed to grow considerably when she saw the metallic swirls encasing Marlene’s eyes.
“Yes! The eyeliner looks amazing, it hurts a little that you can do it so much better than me, but it suits you so well! Silver was definitely the way to go. You can take it with you if you want – I have enough.”
She stumbled over her words without a care in the world and looked at Marlene, grinning happily. A stack of records was balanced on her lap with a record player precariously leaning off the side of her bed. Half the bed she wasn’t occupying was scattered with colourful paints and an array of fabrics that looked suspiciously like one of their mother’s dresses and a pair of Louise’s own boots.
Marlene gazed at the brush and compact of silver glitter in her hand, grateful that Louise let her have it, since getting the letter she had been desperately clinging to all the time she had left at home.
“Marls you can say no but I thought I’d make you something to take with you,” she looked slightly sheepish now, embarrassment showing across her face, “these are just some trousers – you know like my ones with patches – but I painted things on them instead that I know you like about home, like the wee lake across from the Pine’s house and Mrs. Meryl’s flower beds or the-”
Louise was interrupted by Marlene launching herself halfway across the room to hug her big sister who had thought about all the things she loved and let Marlene take them with her. Tears sprung to her eyes, welling up and making her miss something that hadn’t gone yet.
She tried to get the words out to show her appreciation, “Thank you so much I love them and you. I’m going to miss it here so much. I’m scared Lou.”
“Oh Marls,” she sounded sympathetic, she definitely knew more than anyone how it felt to be leaving, “you’ll be alright, it feels big now but Remus is going with you, or at least he probably will, right? Deep breaths, you’ll make so many friends and one day you’ll see some people your age when you’re bigger and you’ll know all the corridors to take them down to lessons. You’ll be able to tell them which lessons are better and where all the best hiding spots are when you want some peace. It’s okay Marls.”
“Okay, if you say so. Thanks. And I am bigger! I’m off to a new school!”
“Of course you are Marls. Now go pack, knowing you the trunk is scattered with a few bracelets halfway across the room.”
Marlene nodded and gently picked up the trousers, which she had not given permission for Louise to take now that she thought about it, and swivelled round to tiptoe back to her room.
Once the sun had finally risen, which was taking a dreadfully long time, Marlene decided to put on the trousers Louise had made for her and get dressed, accessorising with little trinkets. A lightning bolt earring dangling from her left ear, a smaller silver butterfly swinging from the other, and a short necklace that her gran had given to her, adorned with a locket holding a small Phoenix feather. Marlene’s mum, Theresa, had confided in her that her own grandmother, had been magical too and had passed the feather onto her daughter, who passed it to Marlene herself. All the magical women in the family where given the charm and her gran’s annoyance at Marlene’s mum being a squib meant that it skipped her entirely.
Marlene glanced over at her trunk, accepting that she would in fact have to pack it. Her hands slid over the school books, filled with magic and enchantments. Her friend James told her that his mum could fly potions from one side of their house all the way to the other without even lifting her wand and Marlene was excited to try it. Effie’s parents moved to France from Punjab so that she could study at Beauxbaton where she learnt lots of tricks that Marlene had never even heard of. She moved to Edinburgh to be with Fleamont after writing owls to him throughout their school years. Marlene could listen to her stories for hours, Effie drew in the air with her wand and made shapes of bright colours that Marlene couldn’t help but follow along with.
She smiled happily as she lined the bottom of her suitcase with a layer of books and new school uniform. She normally got Louise’s hand me downs so the fresh clothes were a nice bonus of the new school. Apparently the robes would change colour once she got sorted into her house, her gran had a set of blue robes hung proudly in her wardrobe from her first year. Marlene had heard about the great Ravenclaw tower, filled with quick wit and pride. On clear nights the students would make their way to the astronomy tower to find constellations around them and use telescopes to see the muggle inventions that they would float up there with explosions.
From Fleamont she heard about crimson tapestries that hung from the roofs, record players that were enchanted to parade around the castle and be twice as loud around quidditch matches. She heard about bravery in every form being spread around the castle from the courageous Gryffindors. Effie would usually remind him at that point that the other houses were just as great even if they didn’t hear as much about them.
Marlene reckoned she might turn out to be a Hufflepuff. Her gran said the house was boring but loyalty didn’t seem all that bad to Marlene. It sounded better than being in Slytherin anyway. Everyone, except Remus’ dad Lyall, told them to be cautious around Slytherin. It had a bad reputation for turning out evil witches and wizards so Marlene decided to steer clear of it.
Once she had recounted all the stories she could think of, he suitcase was finally packed with the year’s school supplies and she decided that paying Remus a visit was her next mission. Dumbledore had put him on a waiting list for Hogwarts, saying he had to clear some things up first. She couldn’t think why, Remus was one of the most clever people she ever met, and that was saying something since Marlene noticed boys had a habit of finding it extremely difficult to be clever. This theory was proven when James decided he had a crush on her when they were seven (she made sure he got over it quickly) and when he confessed to her she pushed him out of the tree they climbed. The push was more out of shock than anything and James was fine but Marlene decided at that point that boys simply couldn’t be trusted to do things correctly, so she appreciated having Remus around and really didn’t want him getting left behind when she went to Hogwarts.
She left her house quickly and strolled along the road which was filled with holes and bumps, some of which Marlene had created, so even walking along it was a tripping hazard. The followed the path right up to the dead end in front of the woods. Marlene loved that Remus’ house was in the woods it felt cosier than her house in the town which always had people bustling around it. She walked until she arrived at the treehouse she and Remus had created, with a lot of help from Lyall and Hope. It was meant to be just theirs but Remus had brought along a muggle girl called Lily Evans from a few streets away when they were nine who Marlene vowed was her sworn enemy from that day forward.
When Marlene got there she found Remus was already up in the branches clambering around, “Marls!” he shouted, a smiling tugging at corners of his mouth and making his eyes crinkle. Marlene liked his smile even though he didn’t do it often. They would joke that his smile was reserved just for her but Marlene knew he smiled just as widely around James even though he tried to hide it for some reason, maybe he agreed that boys shouldn’t be given the time of day.
He jumped down from the branch he was on (Marlene could jump down from one even higher). He nodded with a grin on his face and stepped aside to let her up the ladder. He was far too cheery for someone who was anxiously waiting for news about his Hogwarts application and Marlene didn’t want to remind him of it when he seemed happier than he had in a while but he plan was quickly halted when he pulled a piece of paper out his pocket and shoved it into her hands.
Marlene looked at him in confusion and scanned the paper,
REMUS JOHN LUPIN
The headmaster would like to inform you that your application to Hogwarts has been accepted and you are expected to make your own way to Platform 9 ¾ on September 1st. Please make sure you have the the expected equipment, if you need help acquiring these you are expected to contact the school immediately. If you require help with any aspects of life at Hogwarts, speak with your head of house once you have been sorted.
Yours Truly,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headteacher
Once Marlene had finished reading she looked up excitedly to seem Remus looking down at the floor shyly.
“They’re letting me in Marls, I can go with you.”
Instead of answering him Marlene found it suitable for the situation place the letter on the ground and jump on him to give him a hug. He made a groaning sound, no doubt embarrassed at the affection she was showing but she didn’t care, Remus could go to Hogwarts. As much as he pretended he didn’t care about it, the letter was eating away at him and seeing the acceptance felt like the breath of life. She let go of him and smirked, “These are going to be the best years of out lives.” she said. Certainty in her voice that made Remus’ eyes light up as he nodded eagerly.
Somehow she knew it was true.