second year - makeup with marlene
7th September
"God this stuff is hard isn't it?" Mary was lying on her stomach, inspecting the eyeliner she had in her hand while Marlene was sitting in the middle of their room.
Small mirrors, lipsticks, eyeshadow palettes, eyeliners, brushes, and used makeup wipes were strewn every which way - they'd have a job cleaning up that was for sure.
Maybe Lily would do it for them. A little persuasion would be needed, more than a little really because Marlene had the feeling Lily would tell her to piss off and do it herself. But, she was the only one out of the three of them that knew cleaning spells and if Marlene didn’t know better she’d say that Lily Evans couldn’t bear to see something done wrong and so if they attempted to organise the mess without her she’d probably end up doing it herself anyway out of frustration at their incompetence.
They had been at it for a while now and were almost going to miss breakfast if they carried on with their morning experimentation for much longer. Once Marlene tried doing this eye makeup herself she'd go downstairs and scoff a piece of toast down or something before their lessons started for the day. However eyeliner was easier said than done, and never really getting the appeal of makeup, this was the first time even trying the liner out for herself.
A dull ache had started up in her back from hunching over, trying to get her face into the tiny mirror's view. She attempted to draw a crisp, straight line with the eyeliner, but it had turned out to be more like a smudgy, wonky, thick mess.
"You can say that again" she sat up straight, pulling her shoulders back, hearing a pop as she did so.
"Was that your shoulder?" Mary looked at her grimacing, apparently her eyeliner skills were a lot better than Marlene's.
"Yep" she reached over for a makeup wipe, and rubbed her face with it until the wipe was covered in black smudges; wiping off her mascara as well. It had been a mistake to put it on before the eyeliner, it had made Marlene's life a million times harder trying to navigate the pen with her now enhanced lashes in the way.
She then started again, the skin around her eyes stinging a little from the wipe, trying to draw a perfect line from start to finish. She was unsuccessful though as this time her hand had slipped causing an ironically straight and smooth black stripe to be drawn right down her cheek. In frustration, she almost dropped the pen, and in trying to save it from it's death, she accidently drew more lines across her face - these ones not so perfect.
What bullshit.
She'd been right before, makeup was overrated.
She looked into the mirror to see the damage.
It was like a toddler had stolen a black crayon and drawn all over the walls, but the crayon was eyeliner and the walls Marlene’s face.
"Babes you want me to help with that?" Mary snickered.
"Ugh yes please" the other girl crawled over to her, taking a makeup wipe on her way
Marlene couldn't help but think how grown up Mary looked with her pristine eyeliner, mascara and... oh god she was also wearing eyeshadow! Where had she found the time to get so good at it all?
"You're a big fat liar you know" the other girl wiped her face gently
"Excuse me?" she smiled chucking the dirty wipe away and taking the eyeliner from her hand
"Your make up is actually decent, you can't have found it that hard"
"Perfection is always hard"
"Did I say it was per-"
"God!" the door slammed open, interrupting their conversation with Lily storming in "I really....hang on what happened in here?"
Mary lowered the pen and Marlene turned to face Lily "Lily dearest h-"
"I'm not cleaning this up!"
"I wasn't gonna ask you to clean it up" Marlene lied, looking at her friend as sweetly as she possibly could
"Yes you were, don't lie"
"Lils once I've done Marls' makeup I'll do yours" Mary called over her shoulder as Lily went to sit on her bed
"Sorry Mary but not right now"
"Ok, so what's up?" Marlene could feel the other girl's breath on her as she leaned in to do her other eye
She felt as if she had to breathe as little as possible... of course it was because Marlene didn't want to be breathing in Mary's breath.
"It's just Sev, he's being annoying. Potter and Black too"
"What did he do?"
"Ugh, I don't even know. Potter made some comment on Sev needing a shower. Then of course Sev retaliated and hexed him making it... " she shuddered "long story short it made pus explode from Potters nose"
"God, Lily you didn't have to tell us that part" Mary had finished Marlene's eyeliner and sat back, meaning Marlene could breathe normally again
"Of course I did. If I've been put off my breakfast, so should you. And anyway as you already know wherever Potter goes, Black, Pettigrew and Remus go. So then Black hexed him right back with a horrible bat-bogey while Remus and Peter carried Potter to the hospital wing. I left after they started arguing. Was giving me a headache"
Of course the issue, came from Snape, Potter and Black. Lily loved to complain about them and honestly it gave Marlene a headache sometimes.
"Lily, why are you friends with Snape again?" Mary stood up and started gathering her things for the school day, stepping over all the makeup stuff scattered around
Why was Lily friends with Snape?
"I told you! I grew up with him! You guys just don't know him like I do"
"Hm makes sense... I guess"
"What do you mean I guess?"
"Well he's... he's not a really nice person is he?"
"He's a good person, really sweet, I promise you"
"You know Evans what he did wasn't exactly good or sweet" Marlene sighed, getting up to go the bathroom wanting to have a better look at Mary's work.
Of course it was perfect, like everything Mary did, she seriously needed to get better at doing it for herself because it looked cool (maybe makeup wasn't entirely useless) but she did not want to rely on her friend for that.
Her appearance would have to come from herself and herself only.
"I know that" she snapped and Marlene visibly rolled her eyes at her, because honestly no matter how many times Lily insisted on Snape being a likeable person, she had never seen him like that with her own two eyes. Why should she believe Lily's word?
"People make mistakes all the time. I'm going to talk to him, but what Potter said wasn't exactly nice either. He should've expected some retaliation"
"Yes Lily but..." her stomach rumbled loudly "Ok you know what I'm not getting into this now. I'm starving and I want breakfast."
"Still?" Mary grinned at her cheekily as she headed towards the door
"Yes, still" she laughed back
Marlene didn't exactly agree with Lily on Snape. That boy was the most... how could she put it nicely? The most vile, slimy, creepy snake she's ever had the displeasure to meet. Even though James' comment was true, she could see how it could've hurt Snape's feelings. So yes, maybe some retaliation was to be expected, but not a full on hex for God's sakes!
Marlene knew that they talked and met up on a weekly basis, to be specific it was every Monday at the clock tower courtyard one and a half hours before curfew ended and according to Lily they’d chat, but Marlene had spoken about this with Mary in one of their occasional Snape bashing sessions (coinciding perfectly with the Monday’s where Lily was gone) and they had both agreed that they didn’t see Snape as a chatty type of person - in fact he was quite rude, and Mary knew this first hand from having to share a telescope with him in astronomy lessons.
Whenever they had seen him talk, it was all snarky comments or sly arrogant boasting. And he didn’t boast in the way James and Sirius did, no, this was a more subtle, more silent type of boasting, all through the body language really, the facial expressions, it was especially bad in Potions. Mary and Marlene despised him in that lesson because he’d act elusively smug about every question he answered and every thing he brewed acting as if he was some sort of potion God.
Actually even Lily had complained about it once.
Honestly Severus Snape in a potions lesson was just as bad as James Potter flying on the quidditch pitch.
And Marlene had seen James fly a lot. In first year he’d constantly be showing off in lessons, practically doing pirouettes on his broom just because he felt like it. Now, a week into second year, she had been going to the quidditch pitch with Mary, who seemed to quite like watching 3rd year Callum Wilson fly around, so Marlene went along for some support but mostly to seek out her competition.
Quidditch trials were coming up and she needed to be prepared, not for this round, but for next time, because unfortunately Captain Donnelly had decided to keep his previous team and so there were only two chaser positions open and Marlene had always hoped to be a beater. It was the only thing she actually ever liked doing in the sport, and she didn't care if that said something about her as a person, because getting to wield a bat and actually use it with permission was a high high privilege. She just simply loved the thrill of being able to bat away a dangerous bludger shooting toward her.
"Hey Marls look at that blonde beater! He's no where near as good as you are" Mary exclaimed, hitting her on the shoulder to get her attention just as the beater missed the easy shot completely.
"I know. I've been watching" her eyes looked to where the captain was bollocking the blonde for his innacuracy.
"And Blimey I swear he's in sixth year too"
"Yup, I should wrench that bat from his hands and show him how its done"
"I love it when you get violent"
Marlene snickered, finally turning to face her friend
"Want me to strangle you with my scarf or something?"
"At least I'll be going out with some Gryffindor pride"
She rolled her eyes "House pride at its greatest"
It was quite likely that the rejected chasers were going to trial again but for a different position and so Marlene watched people practise, taking mental notes as she did so for when a beater position would eventually open up. And she wasn't going to be arrogant and say for absolute certain she'd secure a place on the team because life happens, shit changes. But something Marlene knew she would be doing when the time came to it, was trash everyone speechless at how much hidden talent she had, because unlike a lot of people, Marlene saved her showing off for when the time was right.
And of course amongst the quidditch players she had watched over the past week was Potter who, to his credit, practised hard, but then at the same time he acted like he owned the whole field, especially as soon as he finished his session and strutted across the pitch to the changing rooms.
But really, Marlene wouldn’t be surprised if he’d be put on the team because to anyone with eyes you could see that James Potter was not wrong in his confidence for flying - he had been like that ever since Marlene had known him.
Anyway.
She was now at breakfast and since her friends were too disturbed by the pus-filled incident and had left her to go alone, she decided that for the morning she'd sit next to the boys that called themselves the marauders - surprised that they were even there after the early-morning fight.
If Marlene had been James, she’d just use it as an excuse to bunk off all her lessons for the day.
"Go away James, I'm fine" she heard Sirius say as Marlene approached them
"No you're not. Tell me what happened to your l-"
"Hey! It's Marlene" Sirius drowned out James' voice and beamed up at her "My favourite girl in the world! Take a seat, take a seat"
"I'm everyone's favourite girl in the world" she snorted and plopped herself between Remus and James, smiling
"Sirius.." James glared at the pale boy opposite him
"Yes James, that is my name"
"I heard about your little fight with Snape this morning” she said, deciding to side with Sirius and save him from whatever awful conversation James looked to be trying to have with him. She had already interrupted by sitting down, why not take it a step further? ”And I must say Sirius bravo" Marlene then grabbed herself a bowl, the jug of milk, and a box of pixie puffs
"Thank you! Someone who finally appreciates my hexing skills. Admittedly I was disappointed when Minnie didn't congratulate me"
Remus snorted into his tea beside her, making Marlene raise an eyebrow to say that the specks of tea landing on his mouth and nose had not gone unnoticed.
"And you James” she turned to face the opposite direction where a solemn-faced boy sat “someone needed to tell him to wash his hair, so thanks for that"
"Yeah.. thanks" he repeated back to her absent-mindedly
"Are you ok though? heard about your nose"
"Yeah, I'm alright" James finally focused his gaze on Marlene, a small smile on his face "Wasn't too disgusting"
"For you maybe" Peter mumbled and sipped some of his juice, his face looking abnormally green
"Aw Pete. You know a bit of pus never hurt anyone"
"It can when there's that much and you have to carry the person it's coming from" he closed his eyes taking a heavy breath, probably trying not to be sick at the memory.
Marlene then remembered something that had happened a few years back, Peter had never fared well around injuries.
“Remember that time when I cut open my knee and tried to show you the next day, but you absolutely refused, but then I still peeled my plaster back anyway?” Marlene then took great delight in watching Peter’s face turn to one of pure horror “You remember Pete?”
“Go on Marlene” Sirius urged, listening in eagerly “What happened?”
“James can tell you”
“I only know how it ended”
Marlene then gave a teasing smile in Peters direction, knowing he wouldn’t try to stop her from telling the story because Peter, especially when he wasn’t feeling himself, could be a bit of a pushover.
“He started off by running away, where he tripped over my cat and fell half way down the stairs, but that's only just the beginning" Marlene snickered at the memory "so at that point I had gotten up to follow him and see what the commotion was about, but then the door rang, and who else was it but Euphemia Potter coming to drop James off with a box of cookies held in her arms. Now Peter decides to get up, dust himself off and answer the door, and I follow behind him because the blessing of a woman that is Effie is holding perfectly edible cookies” she stressed this last point, smiling widely at the nauseous boy sat in front of her
“Marls…” Peter groaned
“I’ve already started Peter, too late to go back now” she smirked “As Peter opens the door, he looks at me, and then he makes a mistake and looks down at my knee, my wound still out in the open for all to see the thick yellow substance oozing out of my cut, and what happens next? Well poor Peter here promptly throws up into Effie's box of cookies”
“Peter!” Sirius gasped, looking astounded “How could you do that to poor Effie?!”
Peter just grumbled something along the lines of “I had a really weak stomach”
"It was just a bit of pus!"
Peter grumbled and James just looked at him with an ‘ah well’ kind of look
And then there was Remus looking highly amused, a teasing glint in his eye as he looked at Peter who was now taking another sip of juice.
Marlene then turned to the brown haired boy "What about you Remus? Not squeamish?"
He looked slightly startled at being addressed and then replied with a short and simple "Nope”
"How come?"
“Not everything has a reason”
She shrugged in reply, drank the last of her milk and the few cornflake stragglers left in it and then got up from her seat saying her farewells and thinking about all the lessons she had today
Her first lesson was Herbology, which although boring, was a nice lesson to hear a bit of gossip in, plus Marlene didn't mind Professor Sprout all too much even if people thought she was mental for planting that crazy tree - her lessons were quite chilled out if they weren't doing anything hands-on.
People weren't wrong about the tree though. It was insanely cool to look at, but it was also the craziest and most dangerous thing she'd ever seen, which honestly was a part of what made it so cool.
Lily was vehemently against it, and according to Mary she'd been like that ever since Dumbledore had announced it in their very first feast where the two had become friends through their shared concern about the newly planting whomping willow. Marlene hadn't been there of course, she had only become friends with them when she got chucked into their dorm, but the rational part of her definitely agreed because although it was cool, what the hell was it doing at a school full of teenagers?!
After that, they then had History of Magic which was the most awful lesson of them all especially if you weren't able to zone out easily. She had a feeling it was going to be one of those days, Marlene didn't have much on her mind. Maybe she'd have to settle for the usual noughts and crosses game she played with the person next to her. But honestly that method of distraction was getting a bit out of date.
Then they had double potions. Nice. Great. Fantastic.
Although she was partnered with Mary so it wasn't all that bad - at least they could moan about Snape together. Plus something entertaining always happened in double potions with the Slytherins - always a recipe for disaster, amusing disaster at that.