He watched her with indulgence in an attempt to, he assumed, play a role, somewhat understanding where she was coming from. He didn’t have the heart to laugh at Marlene and cut her off after she’d been fairly nice to him so far. It felt wrong, saying the generic mean thing to steal a smile off someone’s face. ‘’I suppose if God’s so powerful, He might already know of your scheme. But He won’t hear it from me if He doesn’t. I really don’t talk to Him, per se.’’ Muggles did and Greg had overheard that, but he couldn’t say he was fond of the idea even if he were in their shoes. ‘’Well, Miss, I have to be probably the first to turn you down. For now. I don’t agree to a deal unless it’s clear what we’re exchanging. I don’t even remember your name.’’ He gazed at her hand in the air without grabbing it for the moment.

“i suppose he does already know. maybe he’s letting me run around and scheme because even god likes a little chaos from time to time.” marlene knew what could be considered an unusual amount of information on muggle religion (and muggles in general), but it was mainly from her multiple nights spent with muggle friends, after sneaking out her bedroom window. it was nice to dance and drink and laugh with people who weren’t living in the ever-looming shadow of a war. “checking the contract before you sign it? it would appear i’ve found a smart one! well, if you have to know, i’ll give you access to nicotine - ” she waved the box of cigarettes with her other hand, “ and in return you’ll so graciously let me continue to use our little location. oh, and the name’s marlene, marlene mckinnon. forgive me, your name just slipped my mind too.”

he smirked but there was hidden anger in it, deep down. and her irritation was recognizable, she was nothing more than a sore loser and he didn’t need to let her ruin his good mood. “how childish of you mckinnon, not that i ever thought you lions would be anything less than sore losers. better luck next time, champ.” he was happy to walk away from her bitterness, her insult was barely above that of a five year olds. 

childish. marlene certainly did not have a reputation for maturity. she was never usually such a sore loser, but slytherin held a special place in her heart. “well, lestrange” (she never understood calling people by their last names, but if that was how he wanted to play..) “the word loser insinuates the winners were a worthy opponent. considering you were losing by 90 points until regulus caught the snitch - which, might i add, is entirely your fault, being the keeper and all, i wouldn’t consider your team at all a serious adversary. one swallow does not a summer make, my dear. the only slytherin with bragging rights is regulus.”

‘‘Red looks good on you. Don’t know if it’s the temperature of the water, or my personal charm, but let me believe the worst,’‘ Sirius spoke in a lowered voice he sometimes used without realizing, his own charming intuition which sometimes was an off compass. Yet, he couldn’t help but point out and score these potential small victories. ‘’I don’t think so. There’s always some nice blonde appearing out of nowhere with good hair you’re not related to. It’s not as closed of a circle. In all the ways, it’s a better purity to adhere to. Everyone can have good hair. They just have to fucking wash and brush.’’

the very blush sirius was referring instantly reversed any fading it had done, as if responding to its mention. marlene didn’t bother ducking under the surface this time. “actually, i think you’ll find its the physical exertion thats making my face red. swimming is very exhausting!” a lie. even if it was due to exercise, as an avid quidditch player and a proud beater for the gryffindor team, it would take a lot more than treading water to tire marlene out. “nice blonde is probably from norway or something. i swear, those scandinavian countries just churn out the golden locks. it‘s gotta be their biggest export.” marlene kicked her legs beneath her. god, they had been in here so long she could barely feel them. strange. it had felt like only a few seconds. time really did fly when you were having fun. “i couldn’t agree more! besides, it fits the definition of “purity” so much more than blood does - i mean clean? pure? synonyms! sooo, clean hair is technically pure hair anyway. but-” marlene gasped, “what about the bald people?”

Dorcas had turned in early for the night, lately she hadn’t been getting enough sleep with classes getting tougher and Quidditch ramping up.  She knew that if she kept spreading herself so thin it wasn’t going to end well.  Then sometime late in the night, she heard Mary calling to her and the other girls.  “Mary?  Are you alright?” She sat up in bed rubbing her eyes. “Marlene, Lily, c’mon get up.”

@marlene-mckn·

sleep seemed to be something marlene avoided, what with her excessive coffee drinking and late night escapades. but when her head inevitably hit the pillow (or the closest chair), you could guarantee that she would be dead to the world unless sufficiently roused. mary’s attempt to pull her from the realm of slumber fell short, but somehow the call of her name from dorcas reached through. with a loud, audible groan, marlene peeled her eyes open, shoving hair out of her face. “eh?” the sound emerged from her mouth, a possible question? “m’ry wha-?” it would be a little while before she was fully awake.

“of course we won, are you actually surprised?”

“i’m absolutely gobsmacked, and more than a little impressed actually.” marlene feigned awe at the slytherin’s victory. “you simply must tell me where they bought all you snakes! it can’t have been a normal pet shop, you’re all much to well trained. can you do any other tricks, pet?” she simpered, as if talking to a small child.

            “  oh  no ,  no ,  no !  you  are  not  allowed  to  do  that .  when  you  wind  up  in  st  mungos  you  know  who  will  not  be  crying  at  your  bedside ,  ”  mary  started ,  both  denying  her  friend  permission  and  resigning  herself  to  the  fact  she’d  just  wasted  breath .  despite  her  claims  she  would  be  one  of  the  first  there  if  marlene  did  end  up  in  the  hospital .  “  have  i  ever  missed  a  match ?  you  know  my  money’s  on  gryffindor  every  match ,  ”

“i am wounded, mary, i truly am!” she placed a hand over her heart. “as if i couldn’t pull the stunt off, honestly, you have no faith in me” marlene giggled. the idea was growing more tempting by the minute, and honestly, if, on the off chance she did fall, surely one of the teaches could catch her? students must have fallen off during quidditch before. “rightfully so, you’ll make good cash that way. especially if we’re versing slytherin. although i must admit, i’m quite impressed a whole seven snakes learnt to fly a broom. i didn’t know animals could do that”

“Thought so myself,“ he pretended victory for guessing all about her good soul, all in a lighthearted and detached tease. The God bit made him halfway confused, but Greg knew enough about the muggle culture and has observed enough to know that God was their primordial wizard of some sort. “That sounds like a lot of pressure, but I’m sure you feel special,” he continued, a smirk lying lazily on his lips. “I don’t know close to anything about God, but I’m pretty sure I already prefer the devil. Sorry, God,” Greg spoke back, dragging from his cigarette with a passion that was nowhere to be found in his everyday life. “I’ll share the place if you’ll share the… how did you put it… work of the devil. It’s probably a bad trade for you since I don’t actually own this, but I say go for it.”

“oh i’m very special, i assure you. i’ll tell you why, but it’s top secret, so you have to promise not to tell anyone” she feigned solemnity, before leaning in close to the boy. “i’m actually a double agent!” marlene gasped, as if shocked by her own statement. “the agent of good was a ruse! i work for the devil, but remember, it’s a secret so shhh” she put a finger to her lips. “ah well, now that you know my secret, i can freely admit that your preference is good to hear. who knows, you might be our next recruit, oooh” marlene breathed deeply through her cigarette before letting the smoke out in little puffs. pff, pff, pff. “i think i can manage to part with a few of my cherished cigarettes, so - we have a deal” marlene held out her hand to shake his. “company policy, i’ve gotta shake on any deals i make. the devil’s picky like that.”

“No, babe, you’re a clown forever, even if that makes me a fool,“ Sirius spoke smoothly, in a faux affected tone that he overused in all teasing processes, tucking a hair strand of Marlene’s over her ear without any purpose at all other than to complete his act. It wasn’t even a hair gone odd because of the water. “Good thing, mortal. You just don’t mess with the challenge gods. You don’t,” he continued the dramatics, though at this point, the smile on his lips was threatening to stop him. After properly laughing at her being just as over the top and dramatic as him, Sirius hid for a second underwater, sinking, before coming back. “We’re awful. We don’t speak like actual humans!” And for the time being, it seemed like a existential problem. “But thank you, yeah, The hair above anything else. No, but seriously, have you ever felt it? It’s another world. Listen, blood purity is bullshit, but I could perhaps get behind hair purity, if we were picking smarter.“ Once again taking the joke too far and not realizing it, Sirius simply simpered at the end.

marlene couldn’t help it, a faint blush chased its way over her cheeks at the teasing name and actions. she abruptly ducked under the water, under the guise of washing her face. hopefully her skin was back to its normal, freckly self (it wasn’t). “well then, actual humans are boring and we are just a step above everyone else” she almost couldn’t drop the act. sarcasm was just so much easier than being genuine in any way. at sirius’s question, she reached out and gave a small tug on one of his locks. “i have now” she couldn’t help but smile. “oh of course! down with blood bullshittery, up with hair purity! d’you think those people would turn to inbreeding for better hair? i mean they did it for pure magic blood, so i wouldn’t put it past them” marlene momentarily forgot that she was, in fact, speaking to a member of those very “inbred” pureblood families. surely sirius wouldn’t mind.

Sirius watched her with a head shake that was a raw translation of that is not how it works, there are no rules regarding this. Yet, at the sentence of being a fool, he lightened up, crazy about it already, by default. Bowing his head with mock solemnity, Sirius played her game and even nodded with a laughter, ‘’I’ll take it, I’ll take it. I’m quite talented at fooling. After all, you’re here and an official clown, are you not? I won’t let you forget this one soon.’’ The Gryffindor looked around with faux horror, as if making sure Severus Snape wasn’t around. ‘’I now fear for my life and hair. Save me, Marley.’’

“oh I don’t expect you will ever let me live this one down, but I shall be satisfied with the knowledge that you didn’t escape unscathed either, sir fool” marlene laughed, shaking her head. “i have learnt my lesson now, never to challenge the great sirius black” at sirius’ comment and plea for help, she spun around in the water with a splash, arms outstretch dramatically, as if shielding the boy behind her. her head whipped back and forth, scanning the lake, adopting the same tone as when she knighted him. “fear not! I see no sign of the great grease-smear in our vicinity, I do feel we are safe for the the time being. but I shall keep my watch, for we want nothing to harm your hair” marlene span back around for the last part and splashed water at the aforementioned locks.

‘‘It’s not my intention to,’’ he arched his eyebrows and shrugged lightly, playing her game for the moment being. ‘’Sorry to be crashing hopes and dreams. Maybe comedy just wasn’t for you. I’m sure you have other qualities like… I don’t know? A good soul?’’ Gregory asked, purposefully using the most cliche quality to have, for his own attempt of a joke. Greg’s smoking mirrored his personality. He didn’t bother making circles or puffing a certain way for it to look pretty in the air. His drags were separated by the same period of time, machine-like, inhaled deeply and then let go of at an alarmed pace. He was smoking with a hurry he couldn’t explain. Even the conversation wasn’t that bad. The question brought a muffled chuckle on his face. ‘’It’s not exactly a tourist attraction, no.’’ He took the cigarette to his mouth, dragged deep, and then shrugged, with a vague gesture of hand. ‘’I come here often. It’s my go-to when I need some thinking alone. Obviously, mission failed, this once. But yeah, go on with the jokes on how I need this place in order for my brain to finally function. At best, it’s cheesy, and at worst, I really am that stupid.’’

“oh yes, my soul is simply a beacon of light.” marlene shook her head and looked to the heavens before continuing. “god himself placed me on this earth to lead you mortals away from foolish sin” she held the s in the last word, drawing it out for emphasis before her face split in a grin. she then pointed at the cigarette in his hand. “see? that there is such an example! work of the devil!” marlene frowned dramatically. she took another drag of her own cigarette for ironic value. “oh well I’m terribly sorry for invading your spot, but I think you’ll find that it is, in fact, my go-to when I need some nicotine.” her words held little bite as marlene finished the sentence with a smile. “don’t worry, I can do my best to share”. she was more than a little surprised at herself for holding a civil conversation with a slytherin for so long. maybe it was the cigarette or maybe it was because they were alone but she felt none of her usual urge to snark and spit on the green and silver house.

“I give very little room for resistance.  I don’t like hostile take overs so I make sure I have a sound strategy first.” Dorcas laughed as Marlene pushed her things into her bag. “Saviour, Marlene, you’re going to give me a bigger head than I already have.” She hooked her arm with her friend’s as they headed out. “What were you studying for anyway? You looked deep in it,”

“oh god, I’ve managed to absorb so little information, I feel like I shouldn’t even know what subject it is” marlene shook her head and sighed with a small smile on her face. “no but it was for charms. who knew there was so much to know about charms? it almost makes me want to pay more attention in class.”

“  well  that’s  …  reassuring ?  ”  mary  laughed ,  only  slightly  at  her  friends  expense .  “  sure ,  tha  fun .  but  it  also  removes  the  leading  cause  of  broken  noses  in  marlene  mckinnon  —  so  you  win  some  you  lose  some .  i  think  i’ll get  plenty  of  ‘  fearing  for  my  life  ’  just  from  multitasking  on  a  broom ,  ”

“I must admit, I have always wanted to try and stand on a moving broom. now that would be multitasking on a broom.” marlene gave a wild grin, only half-joking. “you’ll be coming to our next game against slytherin, I assume? keep an eye out, who knows what you’ll see.” marlene leant in to nudge mary, shoulder to shoulder.

“Marlene, you are a clown!“ he whispered in utter shock, as if the sentence she’d just spoken was brand news and he was just now realizing it. As if it was her confession without context. “Merlin, your nose even reddened.” The tone was similar, not breaking character to laugh until he got her reaction. Sirius seemed collected as he swam around, frowning lightly a few times and hmm’ing before opening his mouth. “No, you’ve seen the squid,” he countered with a matter-of-factly voice. “It’s not a childish tale. Severus Snape truly exists and he’s in our Potion class. Don’t worry. He’s probably washing his hair with vaseline at this time of the day anyway, so you’re safe.”

“as the current holder of the title clown I have acquired the ability to bestow upon others their own titles!” marlene adopted a regal air about her. “and so, sirius black, I now pronounce you a fool” she swam over to him and reached out to tap him on both his shoulders, as if knighting him. “you may rise, sir fool” marlene couldn’t hold character for much longer and snorted out a laugh, which turned into chortling at his description of snape. “oh god, you are so correct, I completely forgot about severus squid.” marlene furrowed her brows in mock concern before continuing. “has the school got regulations and restrictions in place stopping him from entering the lake? we really don’t want an oil spill on our hands”

“You weren’t so obvious before. But you’ll want to hide better if you want to hide. It was a shit decision. You literally had it in your hand. And it smelled,“ he tipped her, all matter-of-factly, revealing a little bit of both wanting to be helpful and nice and wanting to be smart. “No, we can, don’t worry. It just wasn’t very funny,” he spoke neutrally, shrugging. “I know they are muggle, but I doubt that will kill me.” Other things about cigarettes might, but that was another discussion he knew close to nothing about. Looking at her pack, he hesitated before taking one, but nodded gratefully once he managed to take one out of there. “Incendio,” Gregory whispered gently as the pointy part of his wand met the end of the cigarette between his teeth. A drag. Exhale. Another drag. Exhale. Only afterwards did he turn to Marlene to thank her. “Much appreciated. Cheers.”

marlene gasped dramatically. “not funny? you wound me!” she placed her hand over her heart. “I was under the impression I was hilarious” marlene snorted lightly at her own antics and then slid down the wall until she was sitting with her knees against her chest. she breathed in through her nose, appreciating the smell of smoke in the air. marlene knew, in the back of her mind, that cigarettes would never end well health wise, but she had been smoking for so long now, she couldn’t stop and, to be honest, she almost didn’t want to stop. they calmed her down, relieved her of her stress. she lifted the cigarette to her lips and inhaled another lungful of smoke. she paused this time, letting it linger in her mouth until her throat seemed to burn, before tilting her head back and releasing it into the air above her. “what brings you to this-” she gestured widely at their surroundings, “part of our wonderful grounds? it’s not really a popular spot, or at least, that’s what I thought”