𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖 .

@macdonalsd​

Mary dug deeper into her trunk, finally grasping the puzzle that she’d been searching for, one she’d magically concealed in a small compartment at the very bottom of her trunk for safekeeping. She knew the area around her looked a mess - because it was, her tights draped over the end of the trunk, button up spread eagle on her bed with her sheets crumpled, posters hanging barely on the wall and two of her ties looped around the bedposts in alternating styles, but that was hardly something she cared about as she scooped up the assorted snacks she’d pilfered from the kitchen in preparation. She cast a quick assorting spell behind her as she moved to clamber down the stairs, knowing it would do nothing but reorganise the mess. 

Orion was sat in the Hog’s Head waiting on his drink to arrive. Despite taking advantage of this free time at the festival, Orion needed someplace to go and be alone. Or as alone as he possibly could without actually leaving the grounds. He sat alone in his seat and smiled at the person who brought his drink, sipping slowly while watching the other patrons. However, his alone time was shortly lived after hearing someone call out to him. The boy decided against ignoring the person and just smiled at them as they approached. “Enjoying yourself.”

Mary had taken full advantage of all her free time at the festival - going through the Gladrags maze twice, spending an inordinate amount of money on Honeydukes treats and testing out the joke products despite the Prefect badge which she thought was burning all the way back up at the castle. The Hog’s Head was the last place on Mary’s to do list, and she relaxed the minute the door swung shut behind her. “Orion!” Her arms came up and around Orion from sideways of their own accord, and she grinned at him. “Well, you could say that.”

“MacDonald.” Gryffindor. Lesbian. Dating anyone? Ooh – he didn’t know. But he wasn’t shameful when it came to his digging. And as much fun as it was poking at Potter, Mary might be more entertaining. Besides she had real world problems to be facing while James was crying over a girl. 

Mary leaned against the counter, drumming her fingers on the surface as she tried to avoid picking off her nail polish - her leg jumping in time with the music of chair scrapes and sloshing glasses. Her shoulders tensed at the sight of Lockhart, who she knew had already been pestering James. 

Her eyes brightened over the sight of a familiar face. Mary MacDonald. A girl who she naturally befriended amongst the other girls who wouldn’t nor couldn’t understand what life of a muggleborn student was like. Especially in a school like Hogwarts where hatred was easy to spread. Immediately she rushed over to the lioness, excitement evident from her beaming smile. “You came! I bought you something,” the blonde was quick to hand her friend a pink lollipop. The puff had a sweet tooth. “Who’d you come with?” 

Mary’s lips were spread into a smile as she glanced up at the Honeydukes storefront. She’d been through the robe maze already (having tagged along with a group of Ravenclaws) but hadn’t seen anybody that she really knew, something she thought about as she counted the knuts and sickles in her pocket. It wasn’t much of a surprise when she glanced up and spotted Charity heading straight for her, though her lips quirked into a grin regardless. “Charity! Of course I came, you think I’d miss any sort of Hogsmeade trip? Thanks,” her smile brightened as she took the pink lollipop, eyebrow raised for a second. “Oh, alone. I was going to come with the girls but then Lily got a date and everybody else was planning on meeting up with people, so.”

Lily walked with the souls of her feet digging into the cold ground harder than usual as she walked away, furious with what she just witness.

Mary furrowed her brow as she spotted Lily’s red hair swinging behind her as she stalked off, anger evident in the shoe prints she left behind. She’d just finished catching up with Orion and chatting with Remus after catching him when she was buying herself a caramel apple.

“ ── I’m not drunk, but i think we should go harrass some mermaids.” Dorcas says to the person next to her as she handed them the bottle she had been drinking from all night.

“ ── Mmm. Sounds like someone is drunk, and that sounds like an idea that’d surely get us detention, babes. What exactly would be your plan? ” Mary shifted, her smile widening as she takes the bottle and takes a sip. 

“I swear the things Dumbledore comes out with every year gets weirder and weirder.” Sirus chuckled as he nibbled away at the feast in front of him. He was in an exceptionally good mood for a change. His summer had been fun. Though it being the first where he didn’t need to see his parents at all was probably the biggest contribution to that. So he was in high spirits even if most of the time the opening feasts tended to drag on a bit. “Though the sorting took forever.” He said and glanced over at the person closest to him. “Almost made me fall asleep.”

“I swear I heard a rumour about him telling his phoenix that he’s like a miniature Buddha but covered in feathers. I’m not entirely sure I don’t believe it.” Mary grinned as she spooned the mashed potatoes onto her plate. Her summer had been mostly uneventful, apart from her spectacular trip to Cokeworth and then to the training practices of the Holyhead Harpies. Her eyes kept being drawn back to her newly minted Prefect badge, which, in all honesty, made very little sense to her - of course someone needed to take up the mantle of Prefect now Lily had been granted the inevitable (for her) honour of being Head Girl. Still, a smile remained plastered on her features. “The sorting always takes forever. There must have been more hat stalls than usual this year. Strange... That and the Sorting Hat’s song...” She trailed off, suddenly realising how close this conversation was to something serious. Her lips spread into a wider smile, tinged by the effort of making it genuine, and she shrugs, tone teasing. “Never mind - wouldn’t McG have loved that, hey? One of her favourites showing her up by falling asleep during the Sorting? I can almost feel the rage from here.” 

James Potter did not freak out. Never. But he did feel a bit nervous.

Mary had spotted James’s entirely-not-a-freak-out freak out from across the table and four seats down.