mckinnon ;

marlene didn’t do much for a costume- she just went as a dalmatian- because she thought she was funny to an extent; so as she was nursing her drink- her eyes roamed around the room. of course she was looking for roz. she always was looking for roz. and when she caught sight of the princess look the other chose for herself and the way she just fit perfectly as a princess, she melted and she almost forgot she was in front of her until her feet stopped to a halt and she awkwardly smiled at the other. ‘ roz! hi. you look stunning like so stunning. you decided to come as yourself, then? a princess?’

It had been two days since Sebastian had woken Mary up and the only person she’d seen was Fabian. There were many reasons for that; partly because she didn’t want to risk people seeing through her brave face and figure out she was hiding the truth, and partly because she just didn’t feel up to seeing anyone else.  But after two days of sitting in a hospital bed with nothing to do but recall the events of what had happened, she knew it wasn’t doing any good and she needed to be surrounded by people that loved her, even if it meant acting as if everything was okay.  Pomfrey took a little bit of convincing but eventually agreed to discharge her if she promised to check in regularly and continue to drink her potions to ensure she healed as best she could, with minimal scarring.  She stopped off at her dorm first to throw on some pants and a baggy sweater to hide the majority of her bandage and took a deep breath before entering the party, trying to not let the eyes and whispers have too much weight. She caught the eye of a familiar face and smiled softly.  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, and I’m not talking about the fourth year in the corner covered in a bedsheet.”

‘ because you are a fucking ghost, mac!’ marlene screamed as she saw the other and she took a look at her- she was quick however to run to her and wrap her arms around her in a hug- it’s not tight and it’s not too long because despite her excitement, she knows the other is somehow more fragile now.

“I didn’t think so.” she hoped that hadn’t come out sarcastic - she just knew that words couldn’t be much help right now. Everything was a bit of a mess: First Hogsmeade, then Mary.. what was next? “No, please, don’t be sorry.” Andie shook her head. She wasn’t going to shame Marlene for her rant, of course not, even if some of it struck a little too true. “You’ve every right. Our house does kind of suck sometimes. Are you okay?” 

“Darling, I’m always the first to know. Always. I didn’t get this reputation by coming in last place, now did I?”

“Of course, I will be at the next game!” Roz always enjoyed watching Marlene play, whether her team ended up winning or not. She loved supporting her friend - or crush - or love of her life - in anything she did. “I - I can definitely do that.” Her voice stammered the same as her heart, feeling like it might beat right out of her chest. The idea of wearing Marlene’s sweater made her swoon and she could swear her face was turning red and her smile had grown ten times in size. 

“Feel better?” Andromeda looked at her roommate with a sly smile. She knew - or, at least, hoped - that none of those comments were directed at her, and she didn’t blame Marlene for them even if they were. The actions of many members of her house were no secret to her; she had already scolded several third years she had caught in the common room making jokes about Mary Macdonald and her mystery attacker (though Andromeda had a short list of suspicion regarding said mystery). At least Marlene seemed to be handling everything well. “Where were you going to stick a wand? I don’t think you finished.”

While Nova made no effort to be sneaky, her lack of need to talk mostly made her invisible to others. And she had no problem with that. A regular person would be amazed by the amount of talking people did if they weren’t participating in the event but for Nova, it was fairly normal and she could occupy herself with the trivial worries of others whenever she needed to detach herself from her own thoughts. 

She was currently sat on the edge of a fountain on the courtyard, smoking without a worry of a professor, when she heard Marlene Mckinnon start talking. People bashing the Slytherins weren’t new - especially coming from someone like Marlene’s political views - and she wasn’t even offended. That is, until the other one made the mistake of mentioning family issues. Now that hit closer to home.

She stood up and walked towards her until she was almost in her personal space. Her face was still a blank page, not reflecting any thoughts or emotions until she raised a brow, in a silent threat. “Talking about Slytherin families is not a good idea, Marlene.” She took a drag out of her cigarette and blew out the smoke, it hitting Marlene’s face in a toxic cloud.

marlene let out a huff when she saw who was approaching her- she didn’t care much about who heard her really, but the other always got on her nerves with her nonchalant ways as if she didn’t care about anything which of course she knew to be a lie.

“So even if I was to find out who’s responsible for the attack, you wouldn’t want to know? Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Yes, Queen Marlene. My wish is your command. Although if I hear anything more about Macdonald, I’m afraid I’d be unable to share it.”

“So titchy. I can’t do anything right. Sounds to me like she might not heal, how unfortunate for us all.”

‘I don’t think anyone expects you to do anything right. Listen here, bitch-I did not ask your opinion about this. And I couldn’t care less. Just shut it.’

“Ratty. That’s a new one, how endearing. And yet somehow I’m the one exposing what the teachers are hiding about your darling Mary. How terribly unhelpful.”

“Or what? You’ll mope some more?”

“Why, sugar? Where’s your usual bite? Don’t tell me you’re moping about Macdonald.”

‘I am not cruel as you clearly seem to be, sugar. Turn your butt around and leave me alone, yeah?’