Chapter 8
“What are you thinking about, MacDonald?” Sirius asked as they all made their way to the dungeons.
Mary sighed. “I just can’t believe that it’s already November, and yet we’ve still not even heard a word about the Amortentia. I’m getting restless, honestly.” She complained.
“I know!” James sympathised. “You lot got my hopes up for nothing.”
“Why do you care so much about that, anyways?” Marlene inquired, burrowing her brows. “It’s not like it’s gonna make things any clearer for you; you don’t actually smell the person you’re infatuated with, you just smell things you associate with them mindlessly. It’s useless.” Marlene concluded.
“Of course you’re being sceptical about it, Marls.” Mary rolled her eyes fondly. “What, are you scared you’re gonna smell Meadowes in it?” She teased.
“Yeah, right. I’d rather scuba dive around the Black Lake, quite frankly.” Marlene scoffed.
It was sort of funny how perseverant she was when it came to denying any feelings towards her rival. Mary had started that as a bit of a joke, mostly, but it was becoming an actual possibility, with how much Marlene wanted to clear up that she didn’t fancy Dorcas.
“So, why do you care?” Marlene insisted, hugging her potions book to her stomach.
“I don’t know.” Mary responded.
She really didn’t understand her fixation on the matter, but it was nice to have something to look forward to. Over the years, Mary had found that she rather liked the anticipation before something big, maybe even more than the event in question, on some occasions.
Still, there was something different about this. Mary had had some flings here and there, and a bit of drunk making-out, but she’d never really had a meaningful and fulfilling relationship, romantically speaking. She wanted to know if she’d even be able to smell something, really.
Not that there was anything wrong with not having a partner, or not feeling the need for one, but Mary had always craved that, to have someone who she could count on wholeheartedly, who’d be by her side unconditionally, someone who made her feel at ease.
She knew she had her friends, but it wasn’t the same (plus, she’d come to find out she rather liked the things that were exclusively done between people in a relationship, if they felt like it, and that was certainly not something she was willing to do with many of her friends).
“Looks like today’s our lucky day after all, Mary.” James grinned, looking at the potions classroom they’d recently arrived in while Mary was lost in thought.
Indeed, when she looked up at the front, where the professor’s desk was located, Mary saw the unmistakable spiral-shaped steam coming from a gold cauldron.
Many of the students had started to get closer, crowding in front of it, and Mary and her friends soon followed (even Marlene seemed to be curious).
After a bit of jostling, using their elbows if needed, the four of them made their way to the potion.
Mary leaned down, peering at the liquid, with a distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen to it but, before she could properly take a whiff to see what she’d smell, professor Slughorn came bustling through the door, cloak swishing behind him.
“Settle down, now, students. Settle down.” He urged, getting behind his desk. Begrudgingly, the pupils backed away a bit, though they didn’t want to get too far away from the intriguing concoction. “Now,” the professor smiled, clapping his hands together, “who here can tell me what this is?”
A few hands rose up into the air (Marlene and Dorcas’ obviously included. And Snape’s, but Mary couldn’t care less about him). Even though she knew the answer, Mary didn’t put her hand up. She’d leave that to the people who actually had something they wanted to prove. If she knew something, then, great, but if she didn’t, it didn’t make her any less than her classmates. Plus, there were always those people who clearly had some kind of praise kink or unresolved issues, who didn’t waste any opportunity to exhibit their knowledge, just to get a “well done” from whoever asked. Frankly, Mary didn’t need that. She was quite happy being average in school, and she didn’t need more, because she knew her own worth. Sometimes, she wished Lily could see that for herself, too. The girl put way too much pressure on herself, until she eventually cracked, or broke, and then Mary was the one picking up the pieces and glueing them back together. She would gladly do it again and again, but she hated seeing her friend sad. Honestly, if Lily had the same amount of ego as James did, she’d be insufferable, because she had a lot to be proud of.
“McKinnon?” Slughorn prompted. Marlene smiled, glancing back at Dorcas smugly.
“It’s Amortentia, sir, the most powerful and dangerous love potion.” She informed.
“Correct. Ten points to Gryffindor for your knowledge, young lady. Now, Meadowes, if you’d be so kind as to tell us what effects this potion may have upon someone?” Slughorn said.
“If it’s simply ingested through the nose, which is to say, smelling it, you’d be able to smell what love is to you, and/or who, mostly romantic love, but not always. However, if you actually taste it, and…” Dorcas went on a rant about the potion’s properties and dangers, but Mary disconnected quickly, getting mesmerised by the swirly patterns the potion’s steam was creating in the air. If she could just… get a bit closer, and smell it…
“How much do you think would fit in this vial?” James whispered to her, holding a small glass bottle with a cork stopper. Mary raised a brow.
“Are you seriously going to try and steal a bit of Amortentia just to get the others to smell it?” She questioned. Honestly, what did she expect from James Potter?
“Of course not,” he smiled, “I’m also doing it for the thrill of it, obviously.” He winked, and Mary rolled her eyes.
“And how exactly do you plan to do that?”
“Sirius is gonna create a distraction,” James explained, “aren’t you, Black?”
Sirius turned his head to look at them. “Oh, yeah. I am fully on board with his plan.” He grinned. He looked at Mary expectantly.
“I suppose you want me to ask you why, so you can have an excuse to manifest your intentions?” Mary guessed.
“So glad you’ve asked, Mary, for I will tell you all you wish to know.” He declared dramatically. “You see, ever since I revealed to you that top secret piece of information, I’ve been thinking of ways to determine if he also… you know. So, when James came to me, the best prankster ever, looking for help to execute his plan, I was eager to assist him.”
“You know, you could’ve just said “I want Remus to smell it” and shut up.” Mary observed, shaking her head at him. “There’s truly no need for us to hear your annoying voice for so long, Sirius.”
“Oh, but you love me, really.” Sirius grinned. “Don’t be surprised if you smell my signature masculine musk when you take a whiff of the Amortentia.” He joked.
“Masculine musk?” Mary snorted. “Just when I thought you couldn’t get any worse.”
Sirius opened his mouth to retort but Slughorn’s booming voice interrupted them.
“Thank you, Severus. I couldn’t have said it better myself.” He smiled, looking down at Snape’s greasy hair, while the boy’s thin lips pursed. “Now, after that thoroughly informative round of questions, let us begin to smell, carefully, our love potion.”
Mary and James looked at each other excitedly.
“If you’d all be so kind as to form a neat line in front of the cauldron, please. And, remember, you do not have to share what you smell with us, but you most certainly can. In fact, I encourage you to do so.”
The students began moving around, shoving each other to be the first ones in line, so their little group ended up towards the end, not having enough energy to get into the thick of it when they’d all have time to smell it either way.
Despite her eagerness just moments before, Mary let all her friends get in front of her. She suddenly didn’t want to stand there, in front of all those people, and then realise that she couldn’t smell anything. Seeing the others get their whiffs of love would help her woman up and do it herself, she argued.
Most people stated what they’d smelled, because it was quite vague, unless you were the person they were in love with in question, or you knew them really well, so Mary tried to focus on the fact that all of them were smelling something, barely registering the mixture of scents they all got.
After an excruciatingly long while, it was finally James’ turn, the first one of the four.
He stood in front of the gold cauldron, bent down and sniffed, a relaxed smile settling in his lips.
“I smell….” He paused, getting a bit closer to the fumes. “Some kind of plant, or herb… I think it’s mint.” Pause. “Yeah, definitely mint. And, salt air. Like the sea. Oh, and also… iron?” He finished, unsure, before moving out of the way.
Sirius was next. He told the class he smelt pinewood, old books (honestly, how much more obvious could he be?), and something like fur? Mary didn’t quite get that one, but she supposed it had something to do with Remus.
Next up was Marlene, right before Mary.
“I can smell lemons.” She started. “And the smell of the grass, and the street, when it’s just rained. And… varnished wood, I think?” And she moved away.
So.
This was it. It was Mary’s turn.
With shaking hands, Mary took three steps before stopping in front of the potion.
She leaned down, nervous, waited about two seconds, and took a whiff.
First, she was hit by the strong scent of cinnamon, engulfing her. It took her a few seconds to find the second smell, which was far softer. The floral scent soothed her. There were hints of roses and pansies in the background, but the main one came from a flower Mary couldn’t quite place the name of, and she wouldn’t be able to describe the scent either way. And, lastly, ink. Plain and simple ink, the one they all used to do their homework, and take notes, and write letters. Something so simple, so mundane, that it went practically unnoticed in her daily life, not even noticing the way it smelled when she used it. Lily always said she loved the way ink smelled, and Mary had seen her bring her nose to the inkpot every time she opened it to take a whiff. Lily would certainly like the smell of Mary’s idea of love, she thought.
She quickly told the class what she’d smelled and went to the back of the room, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her chest.
“So, Marl-” Mary started, but the girl shushed her.
“It’s Meadowes’ turn.” She stated. Mary chuckled under her breath. Honestly, how could people be so oblivious?
To Dorcas, the potion smelled of strawberries (Mary commented that Marlene used strawberry shampoo), nail polish (Mary took Marlene’s hand, smirking at the chipped black nail polish on her nails), and misty air (Mary didn’t really know what they meant, but she thought hard about it for a few seconds and told Marlene that she played Quidditch, an outside sport, and the climate at Hogwarts was mostly foggy and misty, which you could feel more up in the air).
Of course, Mary also had to tell Marlene how in love she was with Meadowes, giving her detailed explanations and reasons why, based on the things she had smelled, while the other girl made disgusted noises in the background.
As the practical part of the class came to an end, professor Slughorn made the students go back to their seats so he could continue with the theory, but all of them were too distracted to listen to what he had to say.
Mary kept stealing glances at James and Sirius, trying to guess when they would put their plan into action, and how they intended to do so, but the two boys seemed to be, for once in their lives, quite immersed in their notes. Obviously, it was a ruse, and Mary could see right through them, but she supposed it could look quite convincing to someone who didn’t know them like she did.
Right when Mary thought they actually didn’t have the guts to do anything at all, she heard a loud noise, glass shattering against the stone floor.
She turned around, seeing a smashed empty bottle that had supposedly fallen from its shelf. She looked at Sirius, who was muttering something under his breath, not tearing his eyes from the shelves for a single second.
Another vial fell.
And another. And another. They kept breaking noisily, in intervals of four seconds, Mary noted. Slughorn practically ran to the ledges, waving his wand frantically to try and stop the disaster, but it was no use.
Meanwhile, Mary saw James levitate his own glass vial until it was right on top of the cauldron filled with Amortentia, and he carefully filled it up while all their classmates were distracted by the scene happening on the other side of the room.
It didn’t take very long for the bottle to come flying back to James, who took it slowly and plugged it.
Mary smiled, and wondered what Lily (and the others, she supposed) would smell when she got her chance. She didn’t know why, but her stomach fluttered at the thought. She probably just wanted her friend to be able to smell the things she loved the most, and maybe relate them to her special person, Mary thought to herself, but that last part didn’t make her feel great, for some reason. Maybe, she argued, she’d turned into those annoying best friends who couldn’t fathom the idea that their friends could be with other people. She would hate that. More importantly, Lily would hate that. Mary had never been like that, so, why now?
“Whoever is responsible for this must stop, now!” Slughorn shrieked, as the last bottles fell to the floor, leaving glass shards all over the place. “Don’t doubt for a second I won’t find out who you are,” he continued, “and the consequences will be dire.”
Mary didn’t know why he was making such a big deal out of something that could be easily fixed with a few “reparo” spells, but Slughorn had never really been the brightest.
***
“But, isn’t Amortentia, like, really dangerous?” Lily questioned later that day, when James and Sirius had summoned all their friends to their dorm so they could smell the potion.
Mary was sitting next to her in Peter’s bed, their thighs slightly touching.
“What’s life without a little danger, Evans?” James grinned, looking at the shiny liquid. “Now, who wants to go first?”
To no one’s surprise, Peter offered to do it. Lily and Remus were much more reserved with… everything, basically, and Peter seemed more than willing to break the ice.
James passed him the vial, smiling, and let him have a whiff.
“Go on, then, tell us!” Sirius urged him.
“Okay, er… I smell poppies, I think, or something like that, and… mmhmm, fresh bread.” He smiled. “Oh, and… burnt sugar?”
“Doesn’t sound like anyone we know.” Sirius shrugged, mildly disappointed.
“That’s ‘cause Amortentia doesn’t necessarily give you the smell of a person or things that remind you of them. It can also smell like what love is to you, in a way, or a combination of different people.” Marlene rolled her eyes. It looked like her extensive potions knowledge might work for something, after all.
“Okay, who’s next?” Mary asked, excited. She really only wanted to know what Lily smelled, but didn’t want to make it obvious.
Remus, here you go!” Sirius grinned, ripping the bottle from Peter’s hands and handing it to Remus. Mary smiled fondly at his lack of subtlety.
Remus looked like he’d rather be anywhere but there, but he took the vial nonetheless and sniffed.
“Erm, there’s chocolate.” He started, rubbing his neck absentmindedly. “But, like, as in chocolate cake, or something, and… What the fuck? Hair mousse, are you kidding me?” Remus scrunched his nose, and Mary turned to look at Sirius, who touched his own hair, which was currently carrying a bit of the very same product. His cheeks turned pink, and Mary laughed silently. “Oh, and, like, night. I don’t really know how to explain that one, just how night feels.” He shrugged, standing up to hand Lily the potion.
Lily took it with a grimace. Mary squeezed her thigh reassuringly.
“Isn’t it a bit unfair that we have to tell you guys what we smell, but you lot haven’t told us?” Lily questioned, glaring at them.
“Yeah!” Remus agreed, crossing his arms expectantly.
“Fine.” Sirius rolled his eyes. “I personally smelled pinewood, old books and…” He faltered. “And, like, fur.” He said, looking away. Mary wondered, once again, what it was about fur that made his crush on Remus so obvious.
James, Marlene and, finally, Mary, all shared what they had smelled, too, and Lily eventually sighed and brought the bottle to her nose, much like she did with her inkpots.
“So?” Mary asked after a few seconds, looking at Lily with bright eyes.
Lily blushed. “Er… I smelled pumpkins, oranges, I guess… toasted marshmallows, and something… spicy? Like, spicy, but also a bit like fire? I don’t know.” She shrugged, nervous.
Mary wondered if she knew someone who smelled like pumpkins and oranges, but she was stumped. She supposed the pumpkins could also be a reference to Lily’s love for Halloween. The oranges, though… Maybe someone used orange soap? Mary recalled she had a bottle of orange-scented shampoo in their shared shower, so it wasn’t so crazy to think Lily had smelled it on someone. Mary genuinely had no idea what the rest of the scents meant, but they would surely be good, because Mary absolutely loved spicy food, and who didn’t enjoy toasted marshmallows every once in a while?
No one else seemed to recognise those smells, so Mary didn’t worry too much about Lily having a crush. Because, surely, she would’ve told her, right?
“I’m tired.” Lily murmured, dropping her head on Mary’s shoulder, something that was quite familiar after all those years, but Mary still smiled everytime it happened.
She brushed Lily’s hair out of her face to look at her, and she frowned when she got a whiff of something distinctively flowery. She wouldn’t have paid it much attention, but it was startlingly similar to what she’d smelled in her Amortentia.
“Did you put on a new perfume, or something?” Mary asked quietly, tracing patterns on Lily’s cheek.
“Huh?” She asked, confused. “No, this is what I always smell like.”
“Oh.” Said Mary. “What is that smell, anyways?” She asked, just out of curiosity, really.
“Lilies.” Lily smiled. “Figured I might as well play into it.” She shrugged, looking up at Mary with wide green eyes. “Why?”
“No reason.” Mary responded. What a coincidence, right?
***
After that, the days went by quickly, slipping out of Mary’s grasp, until days turned into weeks, and it was suddenly December.
Having entered the holiday season, and with a trip to Hogsmeade on the near horizon, Mary found herself in high spirits, even with the ever growing pile of assignments they were assembling for their break.
It had started snowing in late November, but it hadn’t stuck to the grounds until mid-December, when the students had numerous snowball fights while professors ran after them, begging them to be careful.
Mary loved these times, when everyone was happy and having a great time, without much stress, induced by family or school.
Still, she couldn’t help but worry about going back home in a few weeks, and having to face her family falling apart. She’d tried to convince them to let her stay behind at Hogwarts this year, but her parents hadn’t budged and, either way, none of her friends would stay at the castle, so she’d be bored out of her mind.
She tried to avoid thinking about it too much, and prefered to stay in the moment, planning what they’d do in Hogsmeade with Lily and Marlene.
***
“Where shall we go first?” Marlene asked as they arrived at the magical village, adorned with Christmas trees and colourful lights. Mary’s face immediately brightened at the sight.
Bustling crowds were gathered all around, with scarfs around their necks and numerous bags in their hands. Mary sighed contently, watching the puffs of air coming out of her mouth.
“Honeydukes!” Lily demanded, pointing at the candy shop to their right.
The three of them went that way, trying to avoid stepping on anyone, given that this was quite a tourist attraction for wizards all over the country and foreigners, especially at this time of year.
After doing a full lap of the shop, grabbing whatever their hearts desired (and their pockets could afford), they moved onto the other shops, occasionally finding someone they knew and stopping to chat with them a bit before continuing with their itinerary.
Mary kept her eyes open for possible presents she could gift her friends, and she knew the others were doing the same. No one had ever proposed the idea of getting everyone gifts, but it soon became a tradition. Mary didn’t even care what she got, as long as she knew that her friends had thought about her, and gotten her something they thought she’d like. It made her feel loved and, because she wanted the others to feel the same, she never lost an opportunity to look for presents.
“Let’s go in there!” Lily asked, looking at a little bookshop near them. Mary smiled fondly. Typical.
Mary watched as Lily broke into a grin at the sight of the books, running her hand carefully through the spines, tilting her head to read the titles, and leafing through the pages of some of the volumes.
As Lily thoroughly enjoyed herself, Mary and Marlene stood a few metres behind her, patiently waiting for her to be done.
***
Marlene shook her head when she saw Mary practically ogling at Lily while the other girl travelled through the shelves.
She’d never really thought about Mary and Lily being a couple, because it had never occurred to her that it was even a possibility. She thought they were best friends, and that there was nothing else there but, ever since Lily came to her for a bit of advice (she didn’t really know what to call it, honestly), Marlene had started noticing things she had overlooked before.
“Hey,” Mary said, “I’m gonna go grab a book for Lily’s Christmas present, can you make sure she doesn’t see me?” She asked Marlene, who nodded, and went wandering around the bookshop.
As Marlene patiently waited for Mary to get back, she saw a boy approaching Lily, looking at the book she now held in her hands, and striking up an easy conversation.
The guy wasn’t much older than them, probably a seventh year, in Marlene’s opinion, and he seemed just as enamoured with literature as Lily was.
“Who the fuck is that?” Mary questioned sharply, startling Marlene as she came up behind her.
Marlene smirked, sensing the jealousy in Mary’s tone.
“I don’t know. I think his name is Benjy, or something.” Marlene shrugged, watching the two of them with Mary fuming by her side.
“That’s a stupid name.” Mary rolled her eyes, glaring at the boy. “What do they even have to talk about?”
“Books?” Marlene suggested, amused. “Why do you care so much, anyways?”
“I don’t.” Mary crossed her arms, though her demeanour clearly stated otherwise. “I’m just curious.” She justified herself.
“Uh-huh…” Marlene smiled.
It was honestly sort of funny to her that Mary could be so fucking oblivious to her own feelings while those were burning inside of her.
After a bit of debating, Marlene decided she would just let things run their course, instead of getting involved. If they were meant to work out, they would, without needing her interference.
“How much longer could they possibly talk for? They don’t even know each other!” Mary scoffed.
They stayed silent for a little while, until Mary apparently decided she’d had enough, and went over to Lily, putting her hand on the girl’s arm as if she was making sure she wouldn’t run away with the bloke, or something.
“Hey, Lily,” Marlene heard Mary say, “I think we ought to get going. Remember how we said we’d have a drink with the lads?” She reminded her, completely ignoring Benjy.
“Oh, yeah.” Lily smiled, her eyes flicking to Mary’s hand for a split second. “Well, it was nice talking to you, Fenwick, but I must away.” Lily winked, waving at him before joining Marlene once again, with Mary by her side.
***
The Three Broomsticks was absolutely packed when they arrived. All the tables were full of chattering people, sipping their beverages in the stuffy environment and ignoring the bell that chimed every time someone entered.
Fortunately, the boys had arrived there before the multitudes, and they’d reserved a spot with a large enough table for all seven of them, keeping their eyes on the empty seats they were saving for the girls.
Marlene also noticed they had already ordered butterbeers for all of them, and she effusively thanked them before claiming her spot at the round table and downing half of her drink in one go.
“That bag of yours looks quite full, MacDonald.” Sirius observed, nodding at the paper sack the girl had been putting all her purchases in. “Any possibility that my gift is in there?” He asked jokingly.
“I doubt the dose of humility you so clearly need could fit in here.” Mary teased.
“Hey!” Sirius complained. “I thought that was James’ fatal flaw.”
“Fatal flaws are hardly exclusive, Sirius.” Mary rolled her eyes.
“Why do you always put me in the middle of things?” James sighed, sipping his beer. Sirius just shrugged.
“Anyways,” Remus started, “what are everyone’s plans for the holidays?” He asked.
Marlene and her mum were meant to go visit their relatives in Ireland for a few days, to take part in their annual Christmas supper, using the opportunity to catch up on everyone’s lives, given that they didn’t see each other much because of the distance.
It wasn’t particularly exciting, but Marlene didn’t really mind it, either. She’d never had a close relationship with her cousins, because they saw each other twice a year, if they were lucky, but they were nice enough.
After that, her mother and her would spend some quiet holidays in their flat, watching TV and baking, which was what Marlene was really looking forward to. Of course, she’d also planned to write to her friends quite a lot, and there also was, unfortunately, all the homework she’d have to do.
Obviously, James and Sirius were going to spend their time together, seeing as they now lived together, but they’d also informed them that Remus and Peter would be joining them for about half of it because, honestly, they’d actually combust if they had to spend more than two weeks without seeing each other.
Mary and Lily didn’t look very excited at the prospect of their time away from Hogwarts, so none of them insisted, though Marlene was worried. She knew Lily’s relationship with her sister was… rocky, to say the least, and that Mary was having her fair share of family drama, too. Sometimes, Marlene just wished she could pick them up and bring them home with her, to spare them of all the problems they didn’t deserve.
An unmistakable laugh brought Marlene out of her musing, and she turned around to see none other than Dorcas Meadowes, making their way to a recently empty table with all her friends.
Her locs fell down to their ribs, framing their face and brushing her shoulders. Their Slytherin scarf was wrapped carelessly around her neck, giving a bit of colour to their mostly black outfit.
Just when Marlene was about to turn around, Dorcas looked up and saw her staring, shooting her a smug smirk. Marlene felt her body heat up as she turned back to her table (a side-effect of witnessing Dorcas’ stupidness, she told herself), and she quickly took off her coat.
“Getting a bit flustered there, McKinnon?” Mary teased, poking her belly.
Marlene rolled her eyes. “You’re delusional.”
“I think you meant delightful, Marls.” Mary smiled. “I can see that going to a school that only teaches magical subjects has affected your vocabulary.”
“It also means that I can curse you in English and in Latin which, as you know, have very different effects.” She winked.
The pun flew right through Mary’s head. “I can also curse you in Spanish, pendeja.” She said, as if to prove her point. Marlene just shook her head.
“I can curse in French!” Sirius added excitedly before proclaiming he had to go to the restroom.
Marlene looked at James, whose gaze was fixed upon the other Black brother, to no one’s surprise.
“I bet you’re wondering whether Regulus can speak French, too, right?” Marlene said, whispering a bit so as to not be overheard.
“Obviously.” James said, as if it offended him that she’d even doubted it. “It’s the language of love.”
“Seriously, James?” Remus chuckled. “You’re a lost cause.” He declared.
“What, don’t act like you wouldn’t cream your pants the second Sirius started speaking in French, Remus.” James grinned, making Lupin get all flustered as he tried to deny it.
“I wish I knew another language.” Peter mused, resting his head on his fists.
“I feel you, Pettigrew.” Lily agreed.
“Potter.” Marlene said sharply, startling him. “Get out of your bloody daydream and join the conversation.” She ordered.
“At this point, I think I’d better return your present and give you a framed picture of him instead.” Lily rolled her eyes.
“Honestly, I think I wouldn’t be opposed to it, really.” James said.
“I hate people in love.” Marlene complained teasingly.
“I never said anything about being in love!” James clarified.
“Just you wait, Marlene.” Mary said at the same time, making her groan.
“No. You know what, Mary?” Marlene said, feeling quite confident all of a sudden. “You wait, because I can guarantee you that, before the school year ends, you’ll be such a lovesick fool.” She retorted because, frankly, she was quite confident in the fact that Mary would realise the feelings she had, or was developing, for Lily in much less than a year.
“And who would I be in love with, exactly?” Mary inquired, looking at her like she didn’t believe her at all. That was alright, though, because Marlene was sure that she’d find out soon enough.
“You’ll see.” Marlene winked, trying to look mysterious.
“Well, I think we’ve all had enough talk about love for today.” Lily exclaimed loudly, trying to change the subject away from Mary’s love life.
“No truer words have ever been spoken, Evans.” Remus agreed, raising his glass as if he was toasting to that.
***
The rest of their evening passed by nicely. They stayed in the pub until it was starting to get dark outside, and then they decided to go see all the lights in action.
Throughout the day, Marlene was content with observing her friends, deciding to be more attentive, because she still couldn’t believe that it took her that long to piece together the fact that Lily and Mary might fancy each other.
With that in mind, she noticed small things that were overlooked by all the others. Like the way Lily blushed when her hand touched Mary’s as they were walking, or how Mary went out of her way to make that happen. Like the fact that, whenever Remus couldn’t match the other’s quick pace, due to his injury, Sirius always slowed down to walk by his side, and Remus looked down at him with such adoration in his eyes that almost made Marlene want something like that for her. Or how James’ eyes were searching for Regulus everywhere they went, a smile spreading on his face when he finally spotted him. And the way Regulus stared at him, too, when he thought no one was looking, though that didn’t happen as often. Maybe there was hope for James, after all.
Maybe someday, Marlene would find her special person, and she could blush and look away, embarrassed, when they caught her ogling at them. Maybe she’d stumble upon someone who accepted all of her, whose face lit up whenever they saw her. Someone who she’d want to spend her whole life with, and who would want to do the same with her. She wanted someone.
What she knew for sure, though, was that that could never, would never, be Dorcas fucking Meadowes, so Mary could just shut the hell up.
***
Much too soon, their last day at Hogwarts for that year had ended, and Marlene found herself on the train that was meant to take her back home but, to her, it was doing quite the opposite.
They were filling up on candies and pastries from the trolley, reminiscing about their time together or sitting in comfortable silence, each of them lost in the infinite confines of their minds, enjoying their friends’ company without the need to do anything more. A token of true friendship, to Marlene.
“Alright, so…” James started, clapping his hands once to gain everyone’s attention. “Sirius and I have been thinking, and-”
“That’s never a good thing.” Lily said jokingly, and James shot her a playful glare before continuing.
“And, we thought it would be great if we could all get together for New Year’s Eve, to celebrate.” He explained, waiting for their reactions, which were almost overwhelmingly positive.
Surprisingly, none of them had plans yet, or at least not major ones that they couldn’t get out of, so they excitedly started planning their next party (James insisted they didn’t call it that, because they wanted something more “chill”, in his words, with just them, but Marlene couldn’t care less what it was called, she just wanted to be there and have fun).
Their enjoyment was short-lived, though, because they noticed London’s buildings passing through the windows, which meant they were almost there.
This time, the silence felt heavy. Loud. None of them wanted to say goodbye.
They waited until the train arrived at the station, delaying the inevitable, until they could postpone it no more.
Marlene came up to Peter first, engulfing him in a tight hug.
“I expect at least a letter from you, mister. Don’t think you can get away with it this time.” Marlene said, recalling the summer, in which she’d gotten a paper (because it could hardly be called a letter) with a total of five lines in it for the entire time they’d spent apart.
Peter agreed begrudgingly, and Marlene went to find Remus, who rested his chin on her head when they hugged.
“Don’t get any taller, Lupin.” She joked, because she’d burst into tears if she didn’t.
Next came Sirius (who obviously had to annoy Marlene one last time by ruffling her perfectly combed hair), and James, who made her promise they would practice Quidditch together when she came to his house (as if they hadn’t had ungodly amounts of practise at school already, Marlene thought).
Marlene waited to say goodbye to Lily and Mary, who were still gripping each other as hard as they could, whispering in each other’s ears, and Marlene was sure they were already crying.
After a few minutes of standing around, Marlene got tired and cleared her throat soundly, making them spring apart.
She opened her arms widely, and it was Lily who hugged her first.
“I don’t want to go.” She whispered, her voice quivering slightly.
“I know, Lils. I know.” Marlene said, because she couldn’t really do anything else. Lily’s parents insisted she came home, because they hadn’t seen her in months, so she couldn’t stay at Hogwarts, or at a friend’s house. “I’ll see you on the thirty first, alright?” She tried to sound reassuring.
Lily nodded before letting go of her, and Marlene gave Mary her last hug.
“You gonna be okay, Mary?” She asked, holding her hand.
Mary shook her head slightly, barely noticeably, but Marlene felt it.
“I suppose we shall see.” Mary shrugged.
When they’d finished, Mary gave Lily a kiss on the cheek, clearly trying to be comforting, but she probably over-thought about how it could be interpreted, and kissed Marlene, too, to make it less suspicious.
Even with tears welling up in her eyes, Marlene chuckled at that, shaking her head fondly. She wondered what they’d all do when they were saying their goodbyes at the end of seventh year, if they were already breaking down over a few weeks without contact. She didn’t even want to imagine it.