Chapter 13
“Hi, Mary, the most beautiful girl in the entire world.” Sirius started. “The smartest, funniest, most wonderful person that has ever lived, my dear fr-”
“What do you want, Black?” Mary cut him off, lifting her gaze from her sketchbook. She was feeling quite uninspired that particular day, opting to do a pencil drawing of various flowers. That seemed to be the most recurring theme for her, for whatever reason.
“Can’t I just compliment my very best friend in the world with no ulterior motive?” Sirius accused, even though they both knew those weren’t his intentions at all. Mary raised a brow to let him know she didn’t believe him for a second. “Alright, fine.” He sighed. “I need you to help me convince the others, especially Marlene, of doing something for me.”
“What’s in it for me?” Mary questioned, closing her sketchbook to give Sirius her undivided attention.
“You know, Mary, you can just do things out of the kindness of your own heart.” Sirius rolled his eyes.
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Black.” She crossed her arms.
“I hate you.” Sirius joked, finally ditching his absolutely nauseating compliments.
“Do you want me to help you or not?” Mary said, ignoring his comment.
Sirius groaned. “Yes.”
“So, what do you have to offer?” Mary wondered, already looking at her bare nails in anticipation. Everyone knew Sirius did the best manicures ever, and she could really use one at the moment. If she had heaps upon heaps of homework to do, she’d rather do it with long nails and pretty hands.
“What colour?” He sighed. Mary smiled innocently.
***
“Absolutely not.” Marlene declared later that afternoon, shaking her head purposefully.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Sirius assured her.
They were all in their usual spot in the common room, with loose ties around their necks and multiple assignments forgotten on the table.
Sirius had just explained his plan to bond with his brother, now that he was finally out of that ghost of a home. Apparently, he thought the best way to do that would be to have a full-blown hang-out session with Regulus’ friends and Sirius’ friends, so that they would all get along.
With her newly done nails (a wonderful wine colour), Mary nodded along enthusiastically, not even bothering to tell Sirius how disastrous his idea could be. When had Mary ever turned down an opportunity for chaos and/or drama?
Obviously, and given that Dorcas was one of Regulus’ closest friends, Marlene wasn’t the biggest fan of this idea.
“Back me up here, MacDonald.” Sirius demanded, elbowing her lightly.
“Alright, let’s see…” Mary started, trying to find something to convince her friend. “Well, we outnumber them, for one. Right?” She said, using her fingers to confirm that statement. It wasn't really something relevant, but you never know. Especially when it came to Regulus and his friends. They were all menaces, the lot of them.
“Yes.” Lily said, kindly, before Mary was even halfway through her calculations. Mary mouthed a quick “thank you” before turning back to Marlene.
“Er… You can see what her behaviour is when they’re with their friends, and even ask about what she’s like to them.” Mary continued. “Oh, you can spend the entire day annoying her!” She presented her most compelling argument yet, and that did seem to make Marlene consider it.
“Yeah, but they would also be annoying me.” She countered.
“Get over yourself and just do something nice for your friend, then.” Mary retorted, with no real bite to her words.
Marlene tilted her head, thinking. After a long moment, she said, “I’ll think about it.”
“It’s a yes!” Sirius grinned, lifting his arms up in celebration.
Marlene just rolled her eyes, too exasperated with him to even try to correct him. Mary knew the feeling.
“I’m assuming it’s a yes for all of you, too?” Sirius asked, looking inquisitively at all of them. Everyone murmured in agreement, though some were more eager than others.
James could barely contain his excitement at the prospect of getting to hang out with Regulus (the fact that Sirius would be there, monitoring their every move, had apparently slipped his mind), and Remus just seemed happy that his boyfriend was trying to mend his relationship with his brother.
Boyfriend. Mary was sometimes still as surprised as she had been the moment Sirius emerged from his room on New Year’s Day and happily proclaimed that he now had a boyfriend, taking Mary by the shoulders and shaking her repeatedly with excitement.
When Mary was about three seconds from vomiting, Sirius finally let her go, choosing instead to annoy Peter about it as well.
Mary was genuinely happy for him, and just a tad bit jealous. Not because she liked Remus or anything like that, but because every time she saw them together, she wondered what it would be like to have someone like that.
Sure, she’d had a few boyfriends here and there, but there were really none that she felt she belonged with; none she truly ever loved. What did that say about her? Was she just too shallow to care about someone that way? Was she uncapable of loving, and of being loved in return?
Mary wanted something like what Remus and Sirius had, but sometimes she wondered if that was even possible for her. Maybe she was destined to be alone.
At least she had her friends, she thought. The boys and Marlene, her best friend. And Lily. Her Lily. Lily would always stay by her side, no matter how insufferable Mary could be. Because Lily was kind, and considerate, and funny, and everything Mary wanted to find in someone special. If only…
***
After a bit of convincing, everyone agreed to meet up on Friday, after all their classes had finished. Apparently, the date had already been accorded on by Sirius and Regulus. The latter had demanded a formal invitation before agreeing to anything, so Sirius designed the most pompous card, with the exact time and place, and sent it to Regulus via James.
So Friday found Mary waiting in the boys’ dorm room, her head resting on Lily’s lap, legs sprawled out on top of Marlene.
“Isn’t this room a bit small for twelve people?” Marlene asked sceptically, looking around. They were all fine now, and there was even space for a couple more people, but maybe five was pushing it a bit, in Mary’s opinion.
“It’ll have to do.” Sirius shrugged, his fingers mindlessly tapping on Remus’ forearm. “What time is it?”
“Quarter to five.” Lily announced, checking her watch. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Sirius.” She reassured him. Even though Mary wasn’t able to see her face properly from her position, she was sure Lily was smiling that kind smile she always used to comfort someone.
“But-” He started, his tapping getting faster. “But what if he doesn’t come? Or his friends don’t like me? What if-”
“None of that will happen.” Remus stopped him, tugging a strand of Sirius’ hair behind his ear. “And, if it does, I’ll make sure to beat the shit out of him and his little minions.” He grinned before leaning over to peck Sirius on the lips.
Mary faked gagging sounds, for which Lily smacked her lightly on her forehead.
“What time is it?” Sirius asked again, completely ignoring Mary.
“Sirius, it has barely been two minutes since you last asked me.” Lily rolled her eyes, exasperated.
“So? What time is it?” He asked again.
“Can’t you do the very simple subtraction, Black?” Mary groaned, taking Lily’s left hand and drawing swirling patterns on it with her fingers.
“Lily, just fucking tell me what time it is.” Sirius complained, glaring at her.
“Nope.” Lily declared, grinning smugly. She should be confident more often, Mary thought. It looked good on her. Seriously, how was she even single? Who wouldn’t want to fall at her feet?
She probably had standards, at least. Good. Mary wouldn’t want her dating someone who didn’t deserve her. Was there truly anyone who did, though?
“Sirius, for Merlin’s sake, you’re literally a wizard. Figure something out.” Lily said, using her free hand to throw a pillow at him.
Sirius stood up straight, ready to retaliate, but Remus immediately reached out to stop him.
“We are not having a pillow fight ten minutes before people are meant to be arriving.” He declared.
“Still ten minutes to go?” Sirius complained, scrunching his nose.
“Just relax. I mean, Regulus’ friends can’t possibly be that bad, right?” Peter responded.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Marlene crossed her arms, still a bit bitter about having to waste her afternoon by hanging out with Meadowes. If only she could see what was in front of her very eyes, Mary thought. It was like some people enjoyed being blind to love.
***
“What time is it?” Surprisingly, it wasn’t Sirius this time, but James. Really, Mary should’ve been expecting him to be nervous about it, too, even if his motives were quite different from Sirius’.
“It’ll be time in…” Lily started, gently removing her hand from Mary’s to look at her watch. Mary frowned. “In three, two, o-”
A knock interrupted her. Of course, Regulus would be there literally the second it turned five o’cock. He was probably waiting by the door for the last few minutes while Sirius was freaking out, just to arrive exactly on time.
Sirius practically jumped up at the sound, running to open up for them. And in came Regulus, Pandora, Evan, Barty, and Dorcas, all still in their school uniforms except for their tunics, probably left carelessly on their beds. Mary’s was, at least.
“Hi.” Sirius smiled nervously. “Er… Make yourselves comfortable.” He said, gesturing to the room with his arms.
Regulus smiled back at him politely, going to sit by Peter, but Pandora and Barty quickened their pace to get there first. Sighing, Regulus turned to go sit by Remus and Sirius but, again, he was beaten to it by Evan, who almost fully laid down on the bed to not leave him any space. Obviously, the third bed was already occupied by Mary, Lily, and Marlene, so Regulus had no choice but to go sit by James, who looked immensely pleased about it.
Mary snorted. Even Regulus’ friends were rooting for romance, it seemed. Mary had to respect fellow meddlers, as a “celestina” herself.
Begrudgingly, Regulus sat as far away as he could from Potter, which meant he was basically crushing Dorcas, who was sitting by one of the bedposts.
Mary finally incorporated, sitting down between her two friends, partly out of politeness, partly (mostly) because Dorcas had been glaring at her legs on Marlene’s lap as if they had personally offended her. It was honestly hard for Mary to repress her laughter at that. Seriously, how much more obvious could they be?, she thought as she rested her head on Lily’s shoulder and interlocked their fingers again.
Sirius cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, I’m assuming you all know each other? I mean, not know-know, but you at least know each other’s names, right?” They hummed in agreement. “Okay, why don’t we do a bit of an ice-breaking activity?” He offered.
“Sirius, this isn’t the first day of class, we’re just people hanging out. No need for any of that.” Regulus said. He even sounded… kind?
“Right, right.” Sirius nodded. “So… what do you want to do?”
Regulus just sighed as he shook his head, more exasperated than anything.
“Oh, I know!” James jumped in, turning to face Regulus now that he had an excuse to stare at him. “Why don’t we play a game?” He proposed excitedly.
“How is that any different from an ice-breaker?” Regulus asked sceptically. James just blinked.
“Just try it, it’ll be fun!” Peter came to the rescue.
“We should play spin the bottle.” Barty said cheekily, a smirk spreading out on his face.
“Absolutely not.” Marlene crossed her arms. Mary agreed. She could kiss some people in their group without throwing up, but some lines should not be crossed at all.
“What about never have I ever?” Pandora joined the discussion, grinning. Sometimes, Mary wondered if that girl even had the capacity to be angry.
“I need to be extremely drunk to subject myself to that kind of torture.” Remus retorted.
“Truth or dare?” Dorcas shrugged.
“What are we, twelve?” Marlene rolled her eyes, purely to avoid siding with her, Mary was sure.
“Shut up, McKinnon.” Dorcas said simply, eyeing her with a look of disgust on their face.
“Well, I think it’s a great idea.” Mary proclaimed, mainly to annoy Marlene, though she did enjoy the game from time to time. Getting to unveil other people’s secrets? Getting them to do stupid things? Yes, please.
“Fine.” Sirius said. “I’ll start.” He declared, immediately turning to Remus, smiling. “Moony,” he said, “truth or dare?”
“Dare.” Remus grinned.
“Okay. I dare you to kiss me.” Sirius said, feeling proud of himself for coming up with that.
They were so cute. Mary wanted to puke. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one because, in little to no time, a pillow went flying across the room, hitting Sirius right in the head. Regulus laughed, sticking his tongue out at Sirius when he gasped.
“What is it today with people and their desperate need to throw pillows at me?” Sirius wondered, fixing his hair vainly.
“Maybe you should try being less annoying.” Mary suggested teasingly.
“MacDonald, you are officially my favourite.” Regulus stated.
“Hey, that’s not fair!” Marlene complained. “I bully Sirius plenty, thank you very much.”
“Not as much as me.” Mary assured her.
“Anyway...” Remus interrupted, just as Marlene was about to add something. “Er… Mary, truth or dare?”
Mary paused to think about it briefly. She looked down and her hand in Lily’s. Picking a dare would probably mean having to get up, and she was quite comfortable right where she was.
“Truth.” She decided, snuggling up even more with Lily.
“Fuck, I did not think that far ahead.” Remus groaned. “I’m so bad at this.” He said, looking at Sirius for assistance.
“Oh, can I ask it?” Peter demanded. Remus gestured with his hand as if to say “sure, go ahead”, and so Peter did. “How many people have you snogged this year?”
Mary felt Lily tense up against her. Of course, Mary knew Lily wasn’t really that experienced, and she didn’t like talking about it, as Mary had found out fairly recently, but Lily could seriously have anyone she wanted, with her hair, and her smile, and her mind, and-
Well, to summarise, Mary just thought Lily had nothing to worry about when it came to relationships, because who wouldn’t want her to be their girlfriend? A madman, surely.
“Um… I’d say about 13, probably?” Mary shrugged. She wasn’t really sure, but she certainly knew her way about all the broom cupboards in Hogwarts by now.
“But it’s only March!” Evan exclaimed, genuinely gasping. Barty, instead, leaned in to high-five her as she chuckled.
“It’s the end of March, actually.” Mary specified.
Lily let go of her hand, leaving it cold. Empty. Lily cracked her knuckles, and then her fingers. She only did that when she was nervous. Why was she nervous?
“How come you didn’t tell me?” She asked, her voice barely even a whisper.
“I thought you didn’t want to hear about it. Plus, it’s not like any of them were important.” Mary defended herself, fingers aching without Lily’s soft touch, which lingered like a phantom on her.
“Right.” Lily said, looking away. If Mary was a candle, a gust of wind had just extinguished her fire. The world turned dark and icy. Where was the green? Where was it? Where was she?
Why couldn’t Lily look at her? What had she done wrong? It was like she could never get it right with her. If she told her, Lily didn’t want to hear about it. If she didn’t, it was betrayal? What could Mary do?
“Lily.” She pleaded. Lily didn’t react. She just stared straight ahead, eyes empty. Deforestation.
“Erm… Who do you want to ask, Mary?” James asked, trying to break the awkward silence that had taken the room hostage.
“Peter.” Mary said, trying her best to put on a brave face. It probably looked like a grimace, but it was the best she could conjure up at the moment.
“Dare.” Peter chose quickly, barely bothering to think about it.
“I dare you to do the splits,” Mary began, trying to ignore the ache in her heart. “For twenty seconds.” She added, making Peter groan. Others chuckled. Lily just sat there, unmoving.
What have I done?, Mary wanted to ask. But, really, fuck that. Why was she always the one who had to apologise? The one to admit she was wrong, to seek Lily out and make her feel better? Maybe Mary hadn’t really done anything wrong. Had she?
She was perfectly free to kiss whoever she wanted, and tell or not tell whoever she wanted, and it was really no one’s business but her own. Why did Lily act like it was a personal attack against her? Maybe, this time, Lily had to be the one to reach out, to say she was wrong. Just this once.
Lily clearly had some things to work through and, when she did, Mary would be waiting for her with open arms, but it had to be Lily who made the first move. Just this once.
Just this once.
And so Mary laughed, and got to know everyone, and laughed some more, and did her very best to ignore Lily. Not because she didn’t care, but because she needed Lily to care, too. More than anything, she wanted Lily to care. To care enough to say she was sorry. Just that. Just this once.
And, yeah, maybe it hurt a little when Lily was dared to kiss the prettiest person in the room on the cheek, and she got up to reach Pandora, when Mary had just been there, by her side.
Maybe it stung a bit when Lily laughed, too, and she let go of her inhibitions, getting comfortable with the new people there. The way she should’ve been comfortable with Mary.
But Mary would be damned if she folded first. She’d had enough of that. Just this once, let her be the one to forgive, not to be forgiven. Let her have the high ground. Just this once.
So she just let it sting. “Si pica, cura”, her father had always told her. Let her be healed, just this once.
***
Marlene wanted to bang her head against a door. Actually, scratch that. She wanted to bang Mary and Lily’s heads against a door. Or against each other, alternatively.
Oh, and Peter wasn’t any better. After all, he’d asked the question that made them get mad at each other. Again.
Seriously, how did Dorcas manage to become the fourth person she most wanted to scream at?
Speaking of, it was their turn to pick either truth or dare. Marlene wanted her to choose truth, so she could hear one of her dirty little secrets, and use it against her somehow, but none of her friends would ever ask them something so revealing.
Either way, she chose dare. Barty was meant to give it to them. Barty was a menace, as far as Marlene could tell. She was fairly certain the boy was hiding some dung bombs in his pockets, and possibly a bottle of alcohol somewhere.
“I dare you… to kiss who you think is the prettiest person in the room on the cheek.” Seriously, a reused dare? How original, Marlene thought, shaking her head.
“Damn, that means I can’t choose myself.” Dorcas joked, given that it was physically impossible for someone to kiss their own cheek. Could they be any fuller of themselves?
So, they got up, walking over to where Marlene was, getting closer and closer. Could it be? Was she really going to-?
But no. Dorcas stopped right in front of Marlene, looking straight at her, before promptly turning to the left and leaning down to kiss Mary’s cheek, holding her chin in their hand.
“You know,” they told her, “thirteen’s an unlucky number. Let me know if you want to change it.” She winked, making their way to their spot again.
Oh, Marlene was going to kill them. She was fuming. She knew it was a bad idea to hang out with Dorcas, she just didn’t know she’d literally be tempted to rip the hair out of their scalp in the most painful way possible.
Why did she have to pick Mary? Mary was her friend. It was obviously just to annoy Marlene, right? Not to mention how jealous Lily was going to get. It was bad enough before (if they thought they were being discreet about their little fight, they were very wrong), but now? Oh, now, it was rock bottom.
And that was definitely all there was to it. Just Marlene worrying about her friend. She certainly wasn’t bitter about who Dorcas had chosen for any other reason. Why would she be?
“Lily.” Marlene heard Dorcas say. What, so they were just going to target every one of her friends except for Marlene herself? “Truth or dare?”
Lily stayed silent. Marlene knew she was trying her best to be normal, when she really wanted to punch Dorcas as much as Marlene did. It certainly didn’t help that Mary had turned to look at her. Well, Mary and everyone else, too. Lily never did like attention. Marlene wanted to rip everyone’s eyes out if it meant Lily would feel just a little bit better.
“Truth.” Lily finally said, looking down at her hands. They were interlocked with each other, but her thumbs were constantly moving. Either tapping against the other, or putting a fingernail under the other one, switching it up quickly. She was nervous. Stressed.
Dorcas’ gaze darted to Mary for a fraction of a second, then back to Lily. With a smirk. Marlene hated her so much.
“Have you ever had a crush on a girl?” Marlene wanted to kick her in the face. Sure, maybe Dorcas was absolutely fine with being vocal about their sexuality, but that didn’t mean everyone was. Especially when it came to someone as reserved as Lily. Lily talked about her life like anyone would, so people assumed she didn’t really have secrets. Marlene thought that was exactly why Lily did it. She had no problem telling people about certain aspects of her life, so she could keep the ones she didn’t want them to know to herself. It was a foolproof plan, really.
Except that, now, Dorcas fucking Meadowes had just asked her to reveal what was possibly her biggest secret. She barely even knew the people in the room, and Dorcas expected her to admit that in front of them all?
Marlene wanted to interrupt, to do something, anything to save Lily from that, but that would certainly be more telling than if she just didn’t do anything.
Just lie, Marlene thought helplessly. Fuck the rules. Lily should be able to come out when and how she wanted to, and no one, especially not Meadowes, should take that away from her.
Lily’s finger tapping became faster. More desperate, like, if she did it enough times, she’d be able to magically get out of that one. Marlene wished it was true.
Deafening silence. And then:
“Yes.” Lily answered with a small voice. Wide eyes. Raised eyebrows. Even a few gasps.
Shut up, Marlene thought. Just stop. Just shut up.
“I knew it.” Dorcas whispered.
Marlene got up calmly, walked up to them, and slapped her in the face.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Marlene said sharply, flexing her fingers. Dorcas looked up at her, stunned.
“What’s your bloody problem?” Dorcas exclaimed, cupping their cheek. Marlene hoped it hurt.
“My problem? My problem!?” Marlene scoffed. Unbelievable.
Dorcas stood up, but Marlene could still look down on her. Very fitting. “Yes. You just slapped me, you bitch!” Dorcas accused.
“Yes, I did. Your point?” Marlene replied, unbothered. Dorcas deserved it. She wasn’t gonna feel bad about it.
“Oh, I’m going to fucking kill you.” Dorcas declared, rage in her eyes. Marlene got ready. Slapping Dorcas once had been quite therapeutic, actually. Maybe she’d get to do it again.
“Cas, just stop.” Regulus murmured, reaching out to take their wrist. Dorcas scowled at him, but Regulus didn’t budge. He shook his head lightly, the way a let-down parent would, and Dorcas backed off, sitting down beside him again. Marlene was only mildly disappointed.
“Marls.” It was Lily, coming up behind her. Marlene turned around, still a bit mad.
“What?” She asked. Lily gestured to the bathroom door with her head, urging Marlene to go with her. Marlene did.
“Are you mental?” Lily scream-whispered once they were inside, away from everyone else. Marlene blinked, confused.
“What are you on about, Lily? They literally-” Marlene started, trying her best to keep her voice down. “She fucking outed you! How are you so calm about it?”
“But they didn’t. I know you hate them and, personally, I’m also not her biggest fan at the moment, but they truly didn’t. I answered because I wanted to, not because I felt forced to do so.” Lily explained.
“But-” Marlene began, about to disagree. Couldn’t Lily see it?
“I was gonna tell them all anyway. I wanted them to know. Well, maybe not Regulus and his friends, ‘cause I barely know them at all, but I was ready. If anything, she even did me a favour.” Lily stated.
“Are you sure?” Marlene asked, softening. Lily usually had that effect on her.
“Yes.” Lily insisted. “But, frankly, seeing you slap Dorcas did cheer me up a bit, so thank you.” She joked. “I mean, who do they think they are?” Lily continued, getting that glint in her eyes back, just a bit. Lily might not look like it, but she actually quite enjoyed talking shit. “Thirteen’s an unlucky number.” She imitated mockingly. “If that’s their best pick-up line, I feel bad for anyone who has to suffer her flirting.”
“Ugh, I know.” Marlene giggled. There she was. Lily again. “Should we go back out?” She asked. Lily shrugged.
“I should apologise.” Lily said. Marlene frowned. “To Mary, I mean.” She clarified.
“Yeah, probably.” Marlene agreed.
“I wish I didn’t care. I don’t like feeling this way.” Lily confessed.
“I know, Lils. I know.” Marlene said, hugging her friend tightly. “Let’s go out, yeah? You’ll work it out. You always do.”
***
They did, in fact, work it out. Just five minutes after Marlene and Lily came out of the bathroom, her and Mary were basically sewed together, arms around each other like they were scared one of them was going to run away if they didn’t keep a firm grip. Seriously, Mary needed to figure her shit out soon, or they would both be the death of Marlene.
Dorcas also found time to apologise to Lily, too. Much to Marlene’s demise, Lily assured them it was okay, and everything was forgotten (though Marlene was glad to see Dorcas rubbing her cheek every once in a while, surely still feeling the stinging sensation Marlene had left there).
It was honestly sort of funny, the way Lily’s arms tightened around Mary when Dorcas approached Lily to make up for her question. After that, everything went back to normal, for the most part. Marlene was even having fun, but she wouldn’t be caught dead admitting it.
Barty and Mary had really hit it off, and Evan and Lily seemed to be warming up to each other. Pandora talked to everyone the same, really, and they were all falling in love with her a little, honestly. Marlene didn’t want to see who Dorcas was talking to, but it was clear that Remus and Peter certainly favoured her. Regulus mostly kept to himself but, as the day progressed, he started letting go a bit, bantering with Sirius and even talking with some of the Gryffindors.
Personally, Marlene liked him the best. Not only did he insist on calling her Stevie Nicks and nothing else, but he was also genuinely funny. Having Dorcas as his best friend was about his only character flaw, but Marlene was willing to overlook it. James alternated between trying to get to know everyone and staring at Regulus like he would die if he didn’t see him every five seconds. Marlene even noticed Regulus staring back a few times, and immediately looking away once he’d been caught.
Sirius was happily oblivious to all that, too busy drinking Remus’ saliva directly from his mouth like it was water.
Truth or dare had been forgotten long ago, and everyone was just getting to know each other. It was getting late but, apparently, Sirius had already anticipated it, and revealed a huge stash of food, so they wouldn’t need to go down to the Great Hall to have dinner.
“Now, I remember something about Lupin only playing never have I ever when he’s drunk?” Barty said, taking a bottle of fire whiskey out of his sleeve.
“That is not nearly enough alcohol.” Remus commented, though he was a bit surprised. Not everyone could be as observant as Marlene was. It truly was a curse; she was destined to be the best at everything.
“Believe it or not, I’m actually not stupid.” Barty said, showing a second bottle. Next to Remus himself, Evan revealed two more. Pandora did the same. Well, Marlene hadn’t seen that coming.
“Well, if you put it like that…” Remus said, amused. “I suppose a few rounds wouldn’t hurt.”
***
“Oh, I know, I know!” Pandora exclaimed, drink in hand. Lily and Sirius had transfigured some glasses for them, and they were all properly drunk (apparently, there were a few more extra bottles up someone’s sleeve (literally)). “Never have I ever wanted to kiss someone in this room.” She said, smirking, and took a drag of fire whiskey.
It was genuinely comical how everyone drank.
“Who?” Dorcas gasped, looking at Pandora.
“I’m sorry to say it, but not you.” She replied. Dorcas faked betrayal (seriously, why were they so full of herself?). “What? Lily’s really cute, and I just found out she likes girls, so…”
Honestly, Marlene should take another sip, because she wanted to kiss Pandora right that second. What a genius.
Marlene turned to look at Lily and Mary. The former was blushing so much, Marlene would be surprised if there was any blood left in any other part of her body.
Mary, on the other hand, looked about two seconds away from getting up and spitting on Pandora. If she just opened her fucking eyes…
“Yeah, I would also want to kiss Lily, to be honest.” Barty added. Oh, Marlene’s muscles practically ached from smiling so much. “Any chance you like blokes, too?” He asked offhandedly.
“Not in the slightest.” Lily grinned. Marlene did, too. She was so happy Lily felt comfortable enough to reveal that about herself. She didn’t even look nervous about it.
“What a shame.” Peter said lightly, clicking his tongue.
Honestly, Mary was her best friend, but Marlene was quite enjoying seeing her absolutely lose her shit the moment someone expressed romantic interest for Lily. However, she doubted Mary would even begin to explore why exactly she felt that way. She would probably just assume it was a “best friend” thing and go on with her life as if she wouldn’t set the world on fire if Lily asked her to.
“Alright, moving on.” Mary said sharply, her arm around Lily’s waist. So subtle. “Never have I ever wanted to punch someone in this room.” She took a swig to further her point. Again, everyone followed.
Marlene chuckled as she sipped. Dorcas glared at her.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Marlene told them. “I slapped you, not punched. There’s a big difference.” She said, smirking.
Dorcas drank again, as if to say, “I want to punch you right now”. Marlene just rolled her eyes, completely unbothered. Dorcas was all empty threats. Marlene had actually done something about it.
***
“I dare you to take off your shirt.” James said sloppily, way too drunk to think clearly. He was obviously talking to Regulus.
At least drunk James wasn’t an absolute idiot (though he was close to it), because he’d waited to shoot his shot when Sirius was quite occupied with his boyfriend. Honestly, it was bordering on cannibalism by that point.
“We’re not even playing truth or dare anymore, Potter.” Regulus observed.
“So?”
“The only time I would ever take off my shirt in front of you would be to asphyxiate you with it.” Regulus replied.
“Is that meant to make me not want you to do it?” James asked. Marlene shared an exasperated look with Dorcas, shaking their heads.
Wait, Dorcas? What was Marlene doing, being civil with her? James’ fault, surely. And alcohol. Yeah, that must be it. She was just drunk.
So drunk, in fact, that she found herself sitting next to Dorcas a few minutes after that.
“How’s your cheek?” Marlene asked teasingly.
“Ha, ha.” Dorcas laughed dryly. “How’s your forehead?” They asked. Marlene’s hand immediately went up to it, remembering her encounter with a certain wall a few weeks ago. She’d had a bit of a lump until some days ago but, luckily for her, her fringe hid most of it.
“Shut up.” Marlene mumbled half-heartedly.
“Make me.” Dorcas replied. Were they… flirting with Marlene? Surely not, right? It couldn’t be, or the entire universe would have imploded in on itself. And yet…
“I don’t think you could handle it if I did.” Marlene countered. Just to play Dorcas’ game, nothing more. Obviously.
“You’d be surprised.”
“Would I?”
Oh, this was dangerous. Very dangerous. But Marlene had always lived for danger. Who wanted a boring life, anyway?
“Certainly.” Dorcas confirmed. Was she getting closer, or was it just Marlene’s imagination? Had they always smelled like lemons?
Marlene observed Dorcas like it was the first time. Their full lips (was that lip gloss? What did it taste like?). Their braids. Oh, her braids. They drew a heart shape on both sides of her head, and how was that even possible? And how did they make it look so good? Their dark eyes (were they naturally dark, or was that Dorcas’ pupils expanding?). Her snub nose. Marlene wanted to run her finger along it, tracing it. Their slightly crooked teeth (how would they feel against her neck?).
Marlene was going crazy. That was the only possible explanation. Because surely, surely she couldn’t be having those thoughts about Dorcas Meadowes. Right?
But here she was, mind swirling with those thoughts about Dorcas. Seriously, alcohol should come with a warning that one may start to feel attracted to one’s nemesis.
“Well?” Dorcas whispered. They were so close that Marlene could swallow their breath. She never wanted to stop doing that. She was a plant, taking in Dorcas’ air like it was her only source of nutrition.
“What?” Marlene asked, confused. Was she meant to do something?
“I don’t see you making me shut up.” Dorcas commented. “Actions speak louder than words, you know?”
Marlene knew that quite well, actually.
But, what was she doing? She didn’t like Dorcas. Not just in a romantic aspect, but simply as a person. They despised each other, in fact. And yet…
And yet, there Marlene was, her left hand reaching out to cup Dorcas’ cheek, the one she’d slapped just hours ago. Funny how things change, huh?
Dorcas’ breath hitched. Did they want it just as much as Marlene did? Were they aching for it? Did she feel a million burning suns crashing against each other inside their stomach? Marlene did.
“Shut up.” Marlene said again, breathlessly this time. Their foreheads collided softly. Marlene wanted to feel Dorcas’ eyelashes brush against her own.
“Make me.” Dorcas whispered again. But it was much more serious now, wasn’t it? Marlene could just close the distance between them and… And…