Sunday Girl

Mary sighed, leaning forward as she watched Marlene and James whizzing around on their broomsticks, Sirius hot on their tails.

She personally thought that watching them practice in the freezing cold in late November was stupid, but Lily and Peter had thought it was a good idea. She glared at Lily now, who was looking very cold, despite being wrapped up in an enormous scarf and having a bobble hat pulled low down over her red curls. She even had the audacity to shiver, despite being swaddled in layers. Remus was just as unhappy as Mary, by the looks of him. Though who could tell really, he always looked a small bit grumpy and fed up. He was bundled in a massive old grandfather jumper and he was wearing gloves. Peter had a coat that was buttoned up to his chin. Mary was feeling woefully unprepared for this cold weather, and she was suffering for it. Her floral string-tie up crop top, green jacket and flower trousers had seemed like a great idea when she had put them on but now she wished she had thrown away her pride and worn an ugly scarf or coat.

“Oi, Lily, gimme some of that scarf!” She insisted, trying to tear the scarf off Lily’s shoulders.

Lily yelped like a dying puppy who had felt the cold for the first time and tried to tug it back. “No it’s mine! Not my fault you didn’t bring one!”

“Screw you!” She hissed, pulling the first bit of the scarf over herself. “What sort of friend are you, letting me freeze to death?”

Lily glared at her for a second before tossing the scarf at her. Mary let out an overdramatic wail as the woolly green fabric smacked her in the face. She clutched her head and writhed.

Lily rolled her eyes but a grin tugged her lips towards shimmering eyes. “Piss off Mary, you were not injured by the scarf.”

“Don’t dismiss my feelings,” Mary wailed. “My pain is real!”

Peter snorted with laughter beside her.

Suddenly, she heard James yell. She turned her head to see Sirius score, right through the left hoop. She could practically hear Marlene's huff from here. Remus leapt to his feet and clapped enthusiastically. His eyes were bright and he seemed so fixated on the players in front of him. Mary raised her eyebrows. She had never once seen him be enthusiastic about quidditch in any way. Of course, she suspected it was less about the quidditch and more about the boy playing it..

“Can’t you just suck his dick already?” Peter said, sighing.

Lily laughed and Remus went red. He sat down very quickly, trying not to look humiliated and failing. Mary shook her head at him. He flipped her off, rolling his eyes as he sank back into his seat, as if he wanted to disappear into it.

“Honestly, Remus, this is becoming torturous,” she said, “Just go for it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Remus had apparently been waiting for that question. “He could be horrified or- or even worse, not feel the same way and feel guilty for not liking me back. Our friendship would be ruined and it would make the whole group awkward and I’d end up tearing the Marauders apart!”

Lily reached out and placed a hand on his arm. “That won’t happen. He’s head over heels for you!”

“Well, if he is, he’s got to make the first move,” Remus shook his head, “I’ve waited seven long years anyway, so what’s more waiting.”

“That is a truly depressing philosophy,” Mary snorted.

“As if you-“ Remus began furiously but after exchanging a look with Lily that Mary, frustrating only enough, could not decipher, he fell silent. He turned to the game and sulked silently and stormily, like a petulant child.

Lily leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I have an idea.”

Mary smiled and ignored the thought that informed her that Lilys mouth was so close to her right now. “Merlin, I love you.”

—-

It was a dark Tuesday they put their plan into action. Mary intercepted Sirius on his way out from his final class (an elective).

Sirius had two books held loosely in his left hand and a pen tucked behind his ear, almost completely hidden by his long curtain of black hair. He looked a little surprised at Mary seeking him out, but it wasn’t too unusual. They were friends after all.

“I’ve got to show you something,” Mary said breathlessly, grabbing his arm and tugging it. “Seriously, you’re going to want to see this.”

Sirius’s eyes widened and he grinned wolfishly. “What is it?”

Mary shook her head. “I can’t even- you’ve got to see it to believe it, Sirius, honestly.”

She began to walk quickly down the corridor, pulling Sirius along with her. He looked excited, following her obediently. She knew he was the sort of person to get swept up by things so much he forgot to think, forgot to question. He was like a tennis ball, always in motion, always whizzing from one thought to another so quickly he failed to catch on to them, decipher them. She’d often longed for that kind of unawareness, but she’d since learned it came with a price for Sirius. Thinking things through wasn’t such a bad idea.

“You’ve got to tell me what it is, Mary. How good is it?” He laughed as she turned a corner, pulling him by his shirt sleeve.

“It’s amazing,” she laughed, like the thing she’d seen was the funniest thing in the world. “Lily and I saw it walking back from class.”

She turned down a corridor, pulling Sirius along enthusiastically. A portrait on the wall waved to him, trying to indicate he was being set up but Sirius didn’t even notice. Mary picked up her pace slightly, keen to distract him. She could not let this plan fail on account of a painting. She tugged his arm sharply and he stumbled, forcing him to focus on regaining his balance. They moved past the portrait without incident. She breathed out an inner sigh of relief as she spotted their trap.

She pointed to a broom closet that the door was ajar to. “It’s right there!”

Sirius didn’t even look suspicious, he didn’t even stop to wonder. He didn’t ask a single question, only hurried over to the closet with bright, curious eyes.

And Sirius, that handsome fool, raced right in. The moment he stepped foot in the place, he seemed to register two things: 1. It was just a broom closet 2. Remus was in it, stacking things on a shelf. However, she didn’t get to see his reaction because Lily, who had been hiding behind the door, slammed it closed. Mary immediately pressed her full weight against the wooden door as Lily locked it.

Sirius thumped on the other side of the door and she heard Remus yell.

“I’m going to kill you!” He said angrily.

Lily dissolved into laughter and Mary couldn’t help but giggle.

“Talk to each other, you utter twats!” She called out to them.

Lily couldn’t stop laughing, running a hand through her tousled red hair. She looked a little bit tired and a little bit relieved. She had given the easy bit to Mary, getting Sirius in the closet. The trick was Remus. Lily had to spill potions all over the closet and tell Remus that, as part of their prefect duties, they had to clean it up. She’d walked out the second she’d seen Sirius and Mary and hid behind the door. Remus was so preoccupied with his cleaning, he wouldn’t have noticed. It wasn’t the perfect plan, but for those two fools, it didn’t need to be.

Marlene rushed down the corridor to them, tailed closely by James and Peter. They all shared an elective. Mary was slightly confused at how they knew where she and Lily were, but decided not to question it.

Marlene jumped on top of Mary and she stumbled a bit, but managed to hold her by her waist. Marlene threw her arms around her.

“If you get them to kiss, I actually will leave Dorcas for you,” she said, grinning.

Mary laughed.

Lily frowned. “How’d you know about this?”

“We have our ways,” James and Peter exchanged a sneaky look and Mary wanted to bash their heads together, fondly.

Mary laughed. “We ought to leave them to this, shouldn’t we?“

“YOU’RE GOING TO LEAVE US HERE?” She heard Remus say in horror.

Lily shook her head, before realising they couldn’t hear her through the door. She blushed with embarrassment. “Nope. We’ll return in about half an hour. Or an hour, depends on how stubborn you two are about this.”

“Mary MacDonald, I am going to push you down a staircase!” Yelled Sirius.

Mary rolled her eyes and began to walk away. “Good for you, Sirius.” She nodded her head at the others. “I have to collect my homework from the transfiguration classroom, I’ll meet you lads in the common room.”

The others nodded and began walking the other way.

As Mary walked to collect her books, she couldn’t help but shake her head with fondness about how foolish her friends were. How could they be so unaware of their own feelings? They were all so painfully obviously in love. Mary was so happy for them all.

It was only natural for her to be a bit jealous too.

It made her feel like a terrible person sometimes anyway. She couldn’t help but feel burning envy when she watched Dorcas and Marlene curl up together or watch James and Lily flirt. Why couldn’t she have something like that? It wasn’t as if she wanted them to be unhappy but it was upsetting sometimes watching them be so romantic and cute and knowing she had nothing like that.

She often worried they would prioritise their partners over her, which she knew was silly. Everyone knew that the people you loved were more important than your friends. Mary knew that and she hated it. She hated feeling forgotten.

Would Lily one day forget all about her? Marry James and forget to meet her? Let her fade away? She hated the thought. She hated James. She felt like he was in the way.

She shook her head. No, of course he wasn’t. She was being too protective of her Lily- of Lily, because she wasn’t hers. Lily wasn’t anyones. And she didn’t hate James. James was nice and funny, she was just being protective. She wanted Lily to have the best boyfriend anyone could have. She only wanted the best for her.

She walked into the transfiguration classroom, quickly spotting her small stack of books. In her haste to meet Sirius, she’d left it behind. She put her wand down to get them. She walked over, plucking them off the table and holding them to her chest.

The classroom was empty. Mary found it almost eerie. Writing from today's lesson was still up on the board. It had been basic revision, which Mary was thankful for. She was very bad at transfiguration.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Mary would have recognised that voice anywhere. It haunted her nightmares. Mulciber. Her heart skipped a beat, before plummeting to the bottom of her stomach. She dropped her books as she turned around quickly. She swallowed and her throat was dry.

Mulciber walked in, followed by Avery. He was grinning, which was so unnerving Mary couldn’t look at his face. She swallowed, fear and anger rising in her chest. She felt like a rat dropped into a snake cage for food.

“What do you want?” She forced the words out.

Mulciber didn’t answer, just grinning as he pointed his wand at her. Avery had Mary’s wand in his hand. He must have taken it off the desk while Mary was turned away.

Mulciber approached her slowly, as if he was relishing every step. Mary walked slowly backwards, her eyes unable to find any way to the exit with Mulciber and Averys wands pointed at her. Her hands curled into fists.

“Come here,” Mulciber taunted.

Mary didn’t move. Didn’t think she could. Shit shit shit shit.

Mulciber scowled, his mood turning from triumphant to stormy. “Imperio!”

Mary stared at him in horror, finding herself completely unable to move all of sudden. Her heart started beating faster and she felt treats pricking the corners of her eyes. She wanted to flee but she couldn’t do anything.

“Come here,” Mulciber ordered.

Mary found herself walking towards him, even though every fibre of her being screamed at her to run. She couldn’t fight it. Mulciber grinned, running a hand through his dark hair.

Avery laughed nervously, looking around. He was scared of McGonagall appearing, she guessed. He feared getting caught. Pussy, she thought venomously.

And then Mulciber punched her in the face. It knocked the breath out of her, and she could hear the crunch as her nose broke under the impact. She wanted to scream but she couldn’t- she couldn’t do anything-

Blood flowed down from her nose into her mouth and she couldn’t react, only let it dribble on to her tongue. She wanted to retch. The pain was all consuming and the spell was the only thing stopping her from crying out.

Mulciber paused for a moment, thinking of something to do. His eyes lit up. “Open the window, MacDonald.”

That got her attention, alright. She found herself walking to the large windows and opening one. A fresh breeze blew her hair out of her face. It made her nose hurt even more.

Avery wandered over. “Um, Mark?” He hissed. “Whatever you’re about to do, I suggest you do it quickly. What if a teacher comes?”

“Don’t piss your knickers, Angus,” Mulciber snorted.

Mary had rarely ever heard them be referred to by their first names. It was disconcerting.

“So what are we going to do?” Avery said impatiently.

Mulciber scowled and pointed his wand at Mary, muttering a spell under his breath. She started to levitate. Upside down. The blood from her nose trickled down her face. Despite the light headedness, she could at least say this wasn’t too bad. Her skirt was hanging down, which was a little embarrassing, but it was better then having another bone broken. Her eyes widened in horror as he moved his wand out the window.

Mary watched as she was slowly levitated out the window and over the courtyard below. She hated heights. It’s why she’d never started quidditch. The students below were tiny dots. It was dizzyingly high. They were going to drop her- she was going to die- fuck she was going to die. She tried to scream but she couldn’t move-

and she-

and-

Mulciber’s laughter was the last thing she heard before she blacked out.