Dorcas and Marlene Stare Lovingly into Each Other's Eyes
Marlene McKinnon was having a very bad day. Only a week into the school year and she had already overslept. She had just barely made it to breakfast and was now rushing to not be late to Transfiguration. McGonagall would have her head if she was late. Problem was, in her hurry she wasn’t really looking where she was going so when she abruptly turned the corner, she smacked straight into the person on the other side. Who happened to be Dorcas Meadowes. Meadowes didn’t exactly hate her, but they weren’t friendly. Rivals, you could say.
“Watch where you’re going!” she says, glaring at Marlene.
“Sorry, sorry! Didn’t see you,” Marlene hurriedly apologizes as she gathers her things and rushes way, not before hearing Dorcas scoff and mutter “obviously.”
Marlene slides into her seat right before class starts, face flushed and very out of breath. She’s sat next to James, who had to be moved away from Sirius after one too many interruptions.
“Alright?” James asks, watching her catch her breath with an amused look on his face.
“Yeah,” she replies, sounding as annoyed as she can manage while struggling to breathe. “Overslept.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it, Marls. Happens to the best of us, even me,” he grins, “you made it on time.”
“Yeah, cheers.”
During lunch Marlene found her eyes wandering to the Slytherin table, where she found that Dorcas was already looking at her. That’s why she was looking at the Slytherin table, because she could sense Dorcas’s gaze, not because she wanted to look at Dorcas. Dorcas was staring at her rather intensely, though. Marlene felt strangely exposed. But she did not break eye contact. They sat staring at each other until James said something to her at the same time baby Black apparently said something to Dorcas, and they both turned away. It was a strange encounter, and it happened again during Herbology the next day. As Professor Sprout explained something about whatever plant they were dealing with, Marlene hadn’t been paying attention, she and Dorcas stared each other down from across the room.
“What’re you staring at Meadowes for?” Mary muttered under her breath.
“Not sure,” Marlene replied, somewhat distractedly. She thinks Mary rolled her eyes, but she didn’t look away from Dorcas to see.
That evening was Quidditch practice and Marlene spotted a group of Slytherins down in the stands. Strange because Slytherin didn’t practice for another hour, but even more strange because Dorcas was in this group of Slytherins, staring straight at her. Her friends were laughing and mucking about, but Dorcas was staring with the same serious expression as she had the other two times. Marlene was so distracted by her presence she almost flew straight into James, who had stopped to stare at the group too. Although he had a bit of a different reason. One of the boys, Barty Crouch, was pointing up at them, at James, while another one, baby Black she realized, covered his face with his hands.
“Slytherins don’t practice ‘til after us,” James mutters, confused. “You reckon they’re stealing secrets?”
“Maybe baby Black,” she laughed, “although he seems to be looking anywhere but up, so I reckon not.”
“Hmm,” was the reply.
From somewhere behind them Sirius called, “What are you two doing! Get a move on!”
“Right. Let’s fly!” Marlene says before soaring away from James.
She spends the rest of practice trying to ignore Dorcas’s presence, until she looks down and sees that the Slytherins are no longer there.
“I don’t know what’s up with her! Why does she keep looking at me? What does she want?” Marlene rants to Lily and Mary after practice.
“Marls, it’s not a crime to look at someone,” Lily sighs.
“I know that! But you don’t get it. She is staring. And I don’t know why. It’s not normal looking.”
“Maybe it’s because you stare at her. You were doing it in Herbology.” Mary suggests.
“But she’s always staring first!”
“Sure she is, Marls.” Lily giggles. “You’re probably just overthinking it. Anyways, have either of you seen my blue sweater? I can’t find it anywhere!”
“Umm, no! I’m sure you just misplaced it” says Mary, who Marlene knows for a fact was wearing that sweater yesterday.
“Misplaced it in your trunk?”
“Marlene!”
“What?”
“Again, Mary? Keep your thieving hands off my clothes.” Lily sounds annoyed, but Marlene can see the blush and smile on her face. She secretly loves that her friends want to take her clothes. She marches over to Mary’s trunk and rifles through it until she finds her sweater, then flips Mary off.
Laughing, Mary says, “It’s really more of a group sweater, Lily. I’ve seen Marlene wearing it too.”
“No you haven’t!”
“You’re literally wearing it there.” She points to a picture of them and the boys from 5th year, where Marlene is indeed wearing Lily’s blue sweater. “You’re just as bad as me, Marls.”
“Whatever.”
‘Both of you leave my clothes alone!”
“Our clothes,” Mary corrects.
“Fuck off!”
“I bet you’d let Pandora take your sweater.” Mary sounds very bitter.
“I thought you liked Pandora?”
“I do like Pandora.” Lily frowns at her and Mary looks back, without blinking. It’s scary she can do that, Marlene thinks.
Very suddenly she can feel the tension between Mary and Lily as they stare each other down. “Okay! Should we go down for dinner? I am starving.” They both blink and look at her. “Potter worked us hard at practice today. Everyday really. I feel like I could eat all the food in the Great Hall and still be hungry.”
“Yeah, alright.” Lily sighs.
“Oi, McKinnon! Up for an early morning practice?” James asks once they sit down.
“Absolutely not, Potter. You are mental if you think I’m getting up early tomorrow after practice today. Take Sirius.”
“No can do, McKinnon. I need my beauty sleep.”
“Yeah you sure do Black. Lots of it.” Lily chimes in. Everyone snickers while Sirius looks absolutely scandalized.
“How dare you, Evans! You take that back!”
“Sorry Black. I’m not in the business of lying.” Everyone laughs even harder at this.
“Well if that’s how you feel…”
Her friends insulting each other, the boys saying some dumb shit, Mary and Lily acting like normal again, Dorcas not looking at her, everything is just the way it should be.