Chapter 2
Mary was tired.
After waking up with barely enough time to get to the platform to catch her train, because her father had forgotten about it; sitting in the same spot for hours, and getting through yet another tedious sorting ceremony, Mary wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed and sleep the day away, leaving all problems behind.
But, as soon as Mary, Marlene and Lily entered their dorm room, they both sat on the edge of Mary’s bed, clearly expecting an explanation for her mood.
“I’m only going to ask this one time, so really think about it before you answer.” Lily said, turning over to look at Mary softly. “Are you okay? Truthfully?”
Mary sighed. She knew she’d have to tell her friends sooner or later, and she’d probably feel a bit better after being able to talk about it, but she was already dreading what was to come.
There was no easy way to put it. Better to be blunt, and to the point.
“My parents got separated.” She said, trying her best to keep her voice neutral. “They’ll probably get divorced soon.”
“What happened?” Asked Marlene, earning a kick from Lily.
“I guess they just… fell out of love, or something. I wish I knew.” Mary said.
“So… Are they on good terms?” Lily asked her.
“They were, until my sisters decided to stir things up with the custody stuff, and now they can’t even talk to each other.”
“Sisters are the worst.” Lily complained. “What did they do?”
“Well, the twins, Daniela and Celia, got it in their heads that they just had to go with dad, and they convinced Amy, a literal 12-year-old, to choose sides, too. She obviously picked dad, too; she’ll basically do anything those two tell her to.” Mary explained, thinking back to those summer days.
When she should’ve been sunbathing on golden sand, she sat at the dinner table, listening to everyone in her family shout and argue, counting the days until she could return to Hogwarts, her home.
“It just escalated from there. They tried to make me choose, too, but I refused. I’m guessing they’ll take it to court when the divorce is finalised.”
“That’s fucked up, Mary.” Marlene said.
“That’s life.” Mary corrected with a sour smile.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about any of that here.” Lily assured her. “You can just have fun with us, and leave everything else in the back of your mind.”
“Yeah…” Said Mary. “Speaking of sisters, though, I can’t imagine your break was much better, Lils.”
Lily grimaced. “I don’t really wanna talk about it right now. It was basically just Petunia being a bitch.”
“And, once again, being an only child proves superior.” Marlene joked, trying to make light of the situation.
“Please, that is hardly the case.” Mary argued.
“Yeah, and you’re proof of it.” Lily said. “Remember, back in second year, when you and Peter tried to trick us into thinking you were siblings, because you were both only children and wanted to feel included?”
“Oh my god, I totally forgot all about that!” Marlene exclaimed. “The way we tried to do it after you guys all knew our last names, which were completely different.” She laughed.
“Honestly, I didn’t think anyone would fall for that, but I clearly underestimated James.” Mary said.
When Marlene and Peter pulled this stunt, Sirius believed it for about five minutes but, for James, it was almost two weeks before anyone actually had the guts to tell him that Marlene McKinnon and Peter Pettigrew weren’t actually siblings.
“We used to do so much dumb shit back then.” Marlene said, feeling nostalgic.
It was contagious.
They spent the next hour reminiscing about their first years at Hogwarts, back when they were just clueless children without a care in the world.
That time when Sirius accidentally scratched one of Remus’ records, and the latter spent about ten minutes lecturing Sirius while he silently begged any of his friends to help him. Obviously, they were too busy laughing to do anything.
The day Lily tried a spell on James, who could only speak in song titles until the effects wore off. Though, to be fair, to this day, Mary still listened to some of the many, many songs James spoke, because some of them were actual gems.
When the entire group spent months writing each other’s essays so teachers wouldn’t recognise any of their calligraphies (that ended when professor McGonnagall figured out the pattern and confronted them, but they were getting tired of it anyway).
It was honestly surprising how every single one of them stayed friends for so long without drifting apart or falling out, but they had somehow managed it, and Mary couldn’t be happier about it.
Those six people had become Mary’s family, the people she could always count on, no matter what, and she hoped they saw her the same way.
***
The first week back in school was, as always, a buzz.
People running from multiple directions through the castle, no doubt trying to find their next class, occasionally checking their timetables, which they obviously hadn’t had time to memorise yet.
In just four days, Mary had had to give the Gryffindor common room password (recens caesus) to no less than 7 first-years, and she’d already lost 20 house points for getting lost on her way to class.
Mary thought professors should turn a blind eye on those kinds of things during the first few weeks, seeing as students were still getting used to the erratic rhythm of Hogwarts.
Despite that, Mary overall glad to be back at school. Sure, she was already running out of ink, and the homework seemed to just pile on and on in a ceilingless room, but at least she had something to do.
More importantly, she had other things to think about, rather than the mess that surely awaited her return home.
Mary had entered her sixth year with a clear goal in mind: to leave all her problems behind, partaking in any and all forms of partying whenever the opportunity arose.
Sirius, Peter and Marlene were clearly thinking along the same lines, because they’d already started looking for things to celebrate as an excuse to drink away their troubles.
Mary evidently had no issue with that.
Lily, though, seeing as she had been made prefect (along with James, who clearly didn’t seem to think much of his title), wasn’t as keen to the idea, but Mary was sure that, with a bit of persuasion from her part, Lily would be more than agreeable to a party, and it wasn’t like she didn’t need or deserve it.
Mary could tell that Lily was just as glad to be back at Hogwarts (and away from everything else) as she was, though Lily would hardly ever talk about it.
Even with their five years of friendship, Mary knew barely anything about Lily’s life when she wasn’t at school.
She knew Lily lived on the outskirts of London, with her parents and her older sister, Petunia, who she hated with passion.
Whenever Mary asked about her, though, Lily just seemed to shut down.
Mary saw she really didn’t want to think about that, not when she was so many miles away from said sister. She didn’t want her to tarnish the only place she felt she belonged in, and Mary got that.
Still, she couldn’t help but worry. Lily was her best friend, after all, but she was much more than that. They had spent so much time together, they could even, on occasion, anticipate the other’s actions, completely synchronising in a freakishly accurate way.
Once, in fourth year, Lily actually told Mary about a specific situation she’d been in with her family. It had been the first and last time.
They had just come back from Christmas break and, after eating their way through the ‘welcome back’ feast, they’d all gone back to their dormitories.
Mary was on the verge of falling asleep when her bed curtains slid open, revealing a teary-eyed Lily.
Mary had hugged and comforted her and, when Lily’s tears had run out, she’d told her about her Christmas day.
For the first time in years, the Evans family was having a big family dinner for the holidays. Lily had been excited, because she hadn’t seen most of her family members in years, but all her cousins ignored her, some even pretending they didn’t even know her at all.
Her older relatives looked at her with judgy eyes, all while Petunia received all their love and admiration.
Lily wasn’t stupid. She soon saw it was all her sister’s plan, using Lily’s absence as an excuse to manipulate not only the youngest relatives, but those older, too.
Because, if they only ever saw Petunia when they visited, while Lily was in boarding school, it was clear who’d get their favour.
On top of that, the statute of secrecy made it hard for Lily and her parents to explain to their family why she was away, and couldn’t go to the same school her sister went to.
Mary couldn’t even begin to imagine what kinds of stuff Petunia had said to make Lily’s family look at her with anything but affection in their eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to meet this entitled brat and put her in her place, but she settled for being there for Lily whenever she needed it.
After all, Mary’s family was far from perfect, too.
***
“You guys know it’s not allowed to leave school grounds without a teacher’s permission, right?” Lily said, exasperated, as the group was already scheming on how they’d get their supplies for the party they planned on throwing the next Saturday (a shit ton of alcohol and whatever they found while they went to get it, basically).
“Since when have any of us cared about what was allowed, Evans?” Sirius smiled, winking at her (Mary had the urge to punch Sirius in the face, for some reason, but she refrained from doing so).
“Actually, I’d like to think I’ve still got a bit of respect for authority.” Remus argued, helping himself to another serving of mashed potatoes.
“Haven’t you already paid for your portion of the alcohol?” Marlene retorted, smirking.
“As I said, a bit of respect, Marls.” Remus reiterated. “Plus, I’m not gonna be the one doing the real illegal stuff.”
“Yeah, tell me that again when you’re on your sixth firewhiskey of the night, Lupin.” Mary said, amused. It was just like Remus to act all self-righteous when he was just as bad as any of them.
“Have you guys started spreading the word?” Peter asked. “‘Cause I really need to find some new people to hook up with.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Mary said, even though her goblet was just filled with water. Truth was, over the last few years, she’d found that being with other people actually proved to be a much better distraction than anticipated, so she was definitely looking for someone to get with as soon as possible.
“Actually, Pete, I’m gonna go spread the word right now!” James said as his eyes found something in the distance. He got up decidedly. “C’mon, Mary.” He said as he took her arm, getting her out of her seat.
“What do you need me for?” Mary complained.
“Moral support.” James said simply, taking her by the arm as he got closer and closer to the Slytherin table, especially to Regulus Black and his crew.
“James.” Mary started. “Do not tell me you’re going to make a fool of yourself yet again trying to talk to Regulus.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.” James assured her. Mary wasn’t convinced.
“And what would that be?” She asked sceptically.
“I’m going to pretend I’m just talking to one of his friends, Evan, probably, since he seems to be the most approachable, and completely ignore him.” He said. “Then, I’ll be all like ‘oh, Regulus, I didn’t see you there. Well, bye!’ and he’ll see me as…” He faltered. “I don’t know, but something better. You’ll see.”
“This half-arsed plan of yours is clearly not gonna work, though, James.” Mary said.
“Why d’you say that?” James asks, brows furrowed.
“Well, for one, you’re clearly gonna fuck up, because you forget all rational thoughts when you’re around him, which is weird, because you’ve barely spoken to him, and you probably didn’t even know he existed until a few days ago.” Mary started. James opened his mouth to retort, but she wasn’t done. “Secondly, haven’t you considered the very real possibility that, seeing as Regulus clearly hasn’t shown any interest in you, he’ll just be relieved that you aren’t pestering him anymore?”
James went quiet for a few seconds.
“Well, it’s too late now.” He said as they arrived next to the Slytherins.
“Hey! Evan, right?” James started while Mary stood awkwardly by his side.
“Yeah?” Responded the blond.
“So, listen, me and my mates are throwing a party this Saturday, you know, kind of like a ‘welcome back’ thing, and every fifth through seventh year is invited.” James said, his public clearly not matching his own level of enthusiasm. “So, anyways, just thought we’d let you and your friends know.” James said, looking at the people surrounding them.
Barty and Dorcas, who were sitting side by side, were barely trying to hide their laughter, and Regulus just stared at his plate with a sort of resigned look on his face.
“Like…” James continued. “Dorcas, right? I remember you from the ride here. You’ll definitely want to check this out. And…” He moved his eyes from Dorcas to Regulus, as if he hadn’t noticed him earlier. “Oh, Regulus, hi!”
Silence.
Honestly, Mary was getting fed up with these idiots. James may be an idiot, too, but he was also one of Mary’s closest friends, and she couldn’t let him get humiliated like this.
“Yeah, I remember you guys, too!” Mary jumped in the conversation, talking only to those she knew the names of. “You’ve got to come. Marlene’s spent so much money on the alcohol, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to finish it if we don’t invite as many people as possible.” Mary sighed.
Dorcas immediately sat up straighter at the mention of Marlene, clearly interested. Mary had specifically dropped her name so she could give at least one of those people a reason to come.
In reality, Marlene hadn’t even paid her part yet, but Mary knew her rival would certainly relish the opportunity to make all her (although hypothetical) money go to waste, and maybe she’d drag James’ hopeless crush along.
“I guess we’d have to consider it, then.” Dorcas mused. “I mean, if McKinnon’s already paid for it…”
Regulus glared at her, clearly not very happy with the outcome of the conversation.
“Right, well… Bye!” James said. “See you all soon.” He waved, though it was clear his eyes were only set on Regulus.
When they got closer to their own table, Mary whispered, “You do know that Sirius is gonna kill you if Regulus comes, right? They haven’t spoken in months.”
“That,” James said, “did fail to escape my notion, now that you mention it.” He sighed. “Well, what’s done is done. Plus, it might even help them improve their relationship. Two birds with one stone.” He grinned.
“Right, except that, in this scenario, you’re the birds, not the hunter.” Mary smiled, rushing over to take her seat next to Lily again.
“Er… James?” Sirius said as soon as they had sat down. “What the fuck were you doing talking with my brother?” He said, an edge to his voice. James cleared his throat, trying to find a way out of the situation that wouldn’t end with him having several broken limbs.
“Just trying to get people to come to the party.” He explained. “Figured a few Slytherins would add a bit of diversity.”
“Did it really have to be those ones in particular?” Sirius complained.
“They were just the first ones we stumbled upon, right, Mary?” James lied.
Mary murmured in agreement, though she clearly didn’t want to be involved in any drama, especially if it involved Sirius, who was an absolute menace when he got angry. Mary would like to live a bit longer, thank you very much.
“Plus, they’re better than Snivellus and his mates.” James argued, munching on a piece of bread.
Sirius shrugged, still not convinced, but he didn’t push the matter further.
Mary felt Lily tense up beside her at the mention of Snape.
According to Lily, they had been friends for a while, seeing as they were basically neighbours in their hometown. Snape was the first wizard Lily had ever encountered, and their friendship quickly grew.
That was, of course, until they went to Hogwarts.
When Snape started mixing with all the pureblood wizards, terrorizing muggleborns and “blood traitors”, Lily didn’t waste any time breaking their bond. She’d rather be alone than surrounded by someone so hypocritical as Severus.
But she wasn’t alone. From the beginning, Mary and Lily became best friends, and it didn’t take very long for them to meet other people who would actually appreciate and respect them.
Still, Lily had a hard time accepting her and Snape’s falling out. After all, he was possibly the first “real” friend she’d ever had, so Lily clearly hadn’t been happy when she discovered he was a shit person.
Mary had wanted to kill that twat the first time she saw Lily crying over him, and the feeling hadn’t subsided at all, as of that moment.
***
Marlene McKinnon had never been the smartest girl. Obviously, she wasn’t stupid, and she always managed to pass all her classes, but she was no Lily Evans.
She didn’t feel the need to drown herself in her studies, when there were many more important things in life, such as Quidditch.
She’d never felt the need to prove herself academically, because she knew her strengths, and her grades weren’t anyone’s business but her own.
That was, of course, until Dorcas Meadowes came along in her potions class, when Gryffindor and Slytherin were paired together for their lessons down at the dungeons.
The two of them quickly started a rivalry, seeing as they were the best students in class, apart from Severus, as Slughorn had put it (Lily had dropped the class as soon as she could, probably because of her ex-friend, Snape, Marlene suspected, and she wouldn’t ever admit it, but it was the one subject in which she didn’t excell quite as easily; and the boys were too set on pulling pranks and having a laugh to actually put the effort in. And Mary… Well, she was just Mary. She didn’t care about things like that. In any case, it wasn’t as if they could’ve surpassed Marlene, she thought, especially given that she wanted to pursue healing as a career path.)
Of course, both Marlene and Dorcas had taken that as a challenge, dedicating all their energy to surpass one another constantly.
Marlene had thought that would be over by the time sixth year rolled around, because their timetables usually changed a lot every year, so as to have students of all houses interact with each other, instead of keeping their friendships all in one place.
Apparently, though, the headmaster had deemed it fit to keep the two houses with possibly the most rivalry and hated between them together in potions, which meant keeping Marlene and Dorcas in the same class, too.
Marlene obviously wasn’t too happy with that, but she supposed it might actually help her throw herself into her work, always pushing herself to do her best to prevent Dorcas from getting above her.
So, when Marlene entered the dungeons, she was determined to pick up where they left off.
The Slytherins, whose common room was closer to the classroom, had already appropriated the left side of the classroom, so Marlene, Mary, James, and Sirius, who were the only ones in their friend group to continue with this class, chose their seats on the right side, down the back.
Dorcas had already taken their seat, choosing the third row. They’d secluded herself in a corner, away from her fellow housemates.
Marlene suspected she didn’t have many friends, apart from the fifth years she was always with, meaning Sirius’ brother and his crew. Marlene wasn’t really fond of them, but she could recognise that they were some of the good Slytherins, much better than that git, Snape.
Still, most people were.
There were still a few minutes left before class started, and professor Slughorn was usually late anyway, so Marlene just sat there, staring at Dorcas. Her rival.
Her rival, who also looked unfairly good, given that it was the first class of the day, and most people were still sleepy, having barely had time to have breakfast before dragging themselves to their lessons, dead on their feet.
Dorcas gave no indication of tiredness; quite the opposite, in fact.
She was alert, her deep brown eyes scanning the room, as if they were challenging their classmates to even dare look her way for a split second.
They were twirling and untwirling their green and silver tie around her fingers, leg bouncing slightly under the wooden table.
“Oi, Marlene!” Mary said, snapping her fingers in front of Marlene’s face, taking her out of her daze.
“Huh?” She asked, tearing her eyes away from Dorcas, whose manicured nails were now tapping the table in a constant rhythm.
“I asked if you’d be my partner for the year, but you were much too distracted by your supposed ‘arch-rival’.” Mary said, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers.
“Why’d you say it like that?” Said Marlene, imitating her gesture to let Mary know what she meant.
“Well, it’s just that, to me, it seems that, rather than a rivalry, you’ve got a crush on them, judging by the way you’re staring at her.”
“Ew!” Marlene exclaimed, pretending to throw up. “As if. For your information, it was a hate stare.” Mary looked at her, unconvinced, her lips tugging up as she helplessly tried to hide her amusement.
“People say there’s a fine line between love and hate, y’know?” Mary stated as she took out her writing supplies from her bag.
“Oh, yeah, who said that? Aristotle?” Marlene mocked. “Oh, no, wait! Was it Shakespeare?”
“Ha, ha.” Mary said, her face blank. “Anyways, you just wait, and you’ll see that I was right.” She assured her. “I always am.”
“Not this time, MacDonald.” Marlene said, completely convinced that would be the case, because there was no way, in this or any other universe, that she, Marlene McKinnon, would ever have a crush on Dorcas Meadowes.
The thought alone made her nauseous.
“Despite your stupidity, though, yes, I’ll be your partner, Mary.” Marlene said, suddenly remembering that was the whole point of the conversation.
Right at that moment, Horace Slughorn, their potions professor, bust through the door, his green cloak swishing behind him.
He had clearly not had a good night’s sleep, judging from his dishevelled hair and purplish eye bags.
Still, he managed to put a pasty smile on his face as he told the class that they’d start off by reviewing last year’s contents before moving on to their new syllabus. The class collectively groaned, but Horace seemed to ignore it.
“Man, I really wanted to have the amortentia lesson soon.” Mary complained to Marlene, careful not to raise her voice too much so as to not be overheard by Slughorn. “Alice told me they smelt it in their sixth year, the first week, but it’s already Friday.”
“Yeah, Frank told me the same thing, so I suppose we won’t have to wait long.” James said, joining their conversation.
“I guess…” Mary said. “But I still wanted to smell it today. I’ve already imagined several scenarios of me doing it.”
“So, what do you guys think you’ll smell?” Marlene asked, feeling curious. She, for one, had no idea what she could feel in the potion, seeing as she wasn’t really interested in anyone at the moment.
“Well, I’d like to smell-” James started, no doubt about to say something sappy and cheesy about his new crush on Regulus, but clearly caught himself in time before saying something stupid in front of Sirius. Their brotherly bond was clearly damaged, and James really shouldn’t put salt in the wound. “Er… Something nice, like… chocolate, or roses, or something like that. Nothing stinky.” He managed to salvage it somewhat, though both Marlene and Mary could see right through him.
“Yeah, chocolate would be really good…” Sirius said, his eyes already so far away.
Marlene and Mary exchanged a look, clearly thinking about why Sirius had said that, whether it was subconsciously or not. It was no secret Remus had earned himself the reputation of being a chocolate enthusiast and, while the theory was not unfounded, it wasn’t as common as one would think. Still, though, every Christmas and every birthday, without fail, Remus received at least one gift which consisted of some sort of chocolate (not that he minded it, though.)
“D’you think we could nick a vial to make the rest of the gang smell it, too?” Mary said, her voice going even lower.
“Mary!” Sirius exclaimed. “How blasphemous! The horror!”
“Honestly, with Slughorn as the only guard to it, I think we’d be able to get it quite easily, actually.” James commented.
“And you’re meant to be the prefect, Mr. Potter?” Marlene said, smiling as she tapped the silver pin with a “P” on it James had to wear.
“Yeah, well, let’s just say that me and Lily definitely balance each other out.” James winked.
The rest of the lesson passed quickly, with a few witty comments exchanged between the four of them, though Marlene tried to pay attention, lest Dorcas should have more knowledge of the subject than Marlene did.
“Now, wait up, class!” Slughorn said as the Hogwarts bell sounded, indicating the class had ended.
The students sat back down, huffing and sighing, resigned.
“As I’m sure most of you know, I’ve got this little club, called the Slug Club, in which I only accept the best and finest of my students, and I see a lot of potential in this class.” He started.
Marlene obviously already knew about this, and she’d made it her goal to get in (simply because there was no way of preventing Dorcas from getting in, so she’d have to settle for being there with her).
“Those who I’ve deemed fit to partake in such activity will receive a letter someday between today and Wednesday, so be alert, just in case.” He winked, which quite frankly repulsed Marlene. “All details will be displayed on the invitation. Now, get going.” He urged them, and they didn’t need to be told twice as they rushed to the door, the long day still ahead of them.
Dorcas smiled smugly as they passed by Marlene, as if she already knew they’d get in.
“Good luck.” She said in a fake-sweet voice. “You’re obviously going to need it.” She said, eyeing her down with a judgy stare.
Marlene glared at her, resisting the urge to punch her in the face.
“See,” Mary said as they went to their next class. “The sexual tension is already there, feelings are sure to come by, sooner or later.” She teased.
“For fuck’s sake, Mary, you’ve woken up extremely annoying today, haven’t you?” Marlene said, though there was a smile on her lips as she did so.
“It is my sole purpose in life, my dear friend.” Mary answered, grinning back at her. “You just wait a year, and we’ll see who’s laughing then.”
“It’ll still be me.” Marlene said, crossing her arms.
“Whatever you say.” Mary responded in a sing-song voice.
Marlene hated when people said that, making it seem like they agreed with you, when they were really being condescending. She was sure she was right so, if she had to wait a year to prove it to Mary, so be it.
***
Marlene hadn’t yet gotten used to being back at school, so the days were unbearably long to her.
Really, the only thing that had gotten her through the day was the light of hope that was the party they were organising for the next day.
Practically the whole school had found out about it by now, and Marlene was sure even some of their professors knew, but they decided to let the teenagers have their much needed fun.
Even the day before, as Marlene entered the common room, she could already feel the buzz of energy and anticipation in the air. Damn, she loved parties so much.
Marlene had been put on decorating duty, along with Peter, Mary, and Lily, which basically consisted on hanging banners with the Gryffindor emblem and colours (as well as at least one for each house, so as to not make anyone feel left out).
It was pretty easy and quick, considering they had magic on their side, so Marlene was soon free to roam around the room, jumping from group to group.
Remus and James were in charge of the music, and they would also be DJ-ing during the party. Remus was the music expert, and James was basically there because, although he barely knew anything about it, much less when it came to muggle music, Remus was so snobby with music he wouldn’t let anybody make any suggestions, and he’d put the most depressing and undanceable songs on.
Sirius, along with James, had already done his part, which was sneaking out to Hogsmeade to get some drinks (mostly firewhisky, Witch’s Brew and some butterbeer for the younger students, but Mary and Lily had pestered them to buy some muggle alcohol as well, saying that it didn’t hit the same and, of course, they obliged).
At the moment, he was just hanging around, much like Marlene, looking around with a chocolate frog in his hand.
Well, “looking around” was really a generous way to word what he was doing, because he just wanted to stare at Remus, honestly, but he tried to refrain from doing so, or at least doing it so obviously, and instead pretended to take in all the room, and Remus with it.
Honestly, it’d be sad, if Remus didn’t look up every once in a while to meet his eyes, smiling slightly before going back to his records.
Idiots, Marlene thought fondly.
“Hey, Sirius!” Marlene greeted, forcing Sirius’ eyes to look elsewhere. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Er… Nothing much.” Sirius shrugged, though Marlene could see a faint flush creeping in to his cheeks and ears.
“So, you’re gonna do my makeup for the party tomorrow, right?” Marlene asked.
It had become sort of a tradition during the past few years for Sirius to do Marlene’s makeup, and she did his in return.
It was nice and, though it had started out as a competition to see who could do it better (obviously their judge, James, was way too soft-hearted to determine an actual winner, so it ended up in a draw), it was now just another bond between the two of them.
“Only if you do mine, McKinnon.” Sirius winked. “Ooh, do you think you could steal some of Mary’s eyeshadows? She’s got some pretty cool colours.” He said.
“Or,” Marlene said, “I could just ask her, you know, like a normal fucking person, because she’s my friend.”
“Sure you could, but where’s the fun in that?” Sirius asked, smirking.
“Shut it, Black.” Marlene laughed, shoving him lightly.
It was right that instant that a snow-white owl appeared in one of the windows, tapping it with its beak.
James went to open it, clearly bored out of his mind, waiting for any opportunity to distract himself.
“Letters for Miss McKinnon and Mister S. Black, from one Horace Slughorn.” James announced with a posh accent, not that different from the one Sirius had when Marlene had first met him.
James gave them to them. Marlene opened hers, already knowing what she would find: an invitation to join the Slug Club, and all the information of the first event they were to attend: a dinner party at late September.
Marlene smiled, feeling proud of herself. If she could, she’d ask Dorcas if she’d gotten her letter yet, but she would rather die than talk to her willingly.
James frowned. “How come you got an invitation and I haven’t?” He asked Sirius. “We basically do the exact same every lesson!” He complained.
“This dude doesn’t actually care about my abilities or any of that shit.” Sirius explained, brows furrowed as he looked at his own invitation. “He just wants the last name, and I don’t think yours works quite that well, you know, because your family are actually decent people.” He said bitterly.
“Yeah, guess the whole “blood traitor” thing doesn’t really help his status, huh?”
Sirius murmured an agreement. “And, judging from the envelope, my dear brother Reggie must’ve gotten one, too, or he wouldn’t have put the “S” in there. Not surprising, honestly.” Sirius observed.
James perked up at the mention of Regulus, but kept quiet. Honestly, Marlene wouldn’t be surprised if he came up with a stupid plan to push Sirius and Regulus together agian, just to be able to like the latter without feeling guilty or having to hide it from Sirius (not that he would be too happy with it either way, but it’d certainly be better).
“Well, given that I’m actually not a pureblood, I got in for my talent alone, losers.” Marlene mentioned, showing them her middle finger teasingly.
“Hey, you guys got your invitations for the sluggish gang or whatever?” Mary asked from across the room.
“It’s called Slug Club, and you know it.” Marlene shouted back slightly so she could hear her.
“I bet you’re already wondering whether Meadowes got it, too, aren’t you?” Mary grinned, showing her her tongue.
“Simply from a rival’s point of view.” Marlene clarified. “I’ve got to know if I’ve won or if we’re still pretty much at the same level.”
“Hey, Pete, aren’t you friends with Pandora?” Mary turned to the boy, who was beside her. He nodded. “You could ask her if Dorcas got their letter, right?”
“I guess…” Peter said, trying to turn his hand back to its normal colour, because he had somehow managed to dye it bright blue.
“I didn’t know Pandora was part of that group.” Sirius commented, though it was clear what he was really saying: I didn’t know Pandora was friends with my brother.
“Yeah, we saw her with Dorcas and…” Lily started, debating whether she should say his name or not. “... and Regulus, when we split up for the carriage ride. They seemed pretty close.”
Sirius grimaced with distaste, but said nothing.
“Didn’t James invite them to the par- Ouch!” Peter said as Lily kicked him harshly, muttering something under her breath along the lines of ‘way to have some tact, Pete, why did you have to bring that up?’
“Well, I invited a lot of people to the party, Peter.” James justified, nervously fidgeting with his hands. “Plus, it really didn’t look like they were gonna come, so you’ve got nothing to worry about, Sirius.” He assured him.
“Anyways…” Marlene said, eager to change the subject. She really didn’t like to talk about serious things. It left a weird atmosphere around, one which she wasn’t fond of at all. “Mary, you know how you have this really cool eyeshadow palette?”