#marlene 2

“I just don’t understand,” Pandora said, not for the first time that morning. She was staring, shellshocked, into her cup of tea; the warmth seeping through the china felt entirely inadequate.

That was the last of them. The last of her pilfered family relics, bartered for Muggle money. Andromeda did not like hovering around Diagon Alley — her sister’s threats still rang in her ears, and she came and went only at odd hours — but she had a room at the Leaky Cauldron, and so she needed gold, not paper. And gold could only be purchased during Gringotts hours. And so here she was. But she could not bring herself to enter. What if, against all odds, one of her relatives was here, today? 

What if, what if, what if she would never truly be safe?

When a familiar face appeared, though, it wasn’t her mother’s. It had been silly to think she’d never run into a Hogwarts student, but the sight of Marlene brought back a life that felt horribly distant. Transfiguration Club meetings, and Great Hall meals, and Quidditch matches spent covering her eyes with her hands. She felt ill. 

But even queasy and numb, Andromeda was nothing if not practical. She summoned a smile and said, “Marlene, hi.”

The 85 meter long self-propelled tanker barge ran aground on the Elbe River near Hollerwettern, Germany.  The Marlene 2 was en route to Hamburg from Lauenburg when it was driven onto the shore near a popular beach area.   The water police responded to the scene and found the master of the vessel intoxicated.  Two tugs arrived later the same day and refloated the Marlene 2 on the following high tide.  No reports of damage or pollution released.  The Marlene 2 was towed to Glückstadt for further inspection.