𝖆 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖉 𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖌

hullo  ,  it’s  ME  ,  bri  (  she/her  ,  23  ,  est  tz  )!!  this  is  my  trash  daughter  ,  marlene  ,  but  don’t  tell  her  i  said  that  because  she  will  bully  me.  any  who  ,  you  can  find  more  about  miss  mckinnon  under  the  cut  including  wanted  connections  (  at  the  way  bottom  so  feel  free  to  skip  the  about  bit  if  it’s  too  long  )!  and  feel  free  to  check  out  her  ABOUT  PAGE  &  PINTEREST.   

“the twins like looking at the pictures, so that’s probably the best,” molly said as she laughed and took the daily prophet from marlene. “thank you, love.” she put the paper into the nappy bag draped around her shoulder. “i think the biggest form of birth control is having to carry all of your kids things while pregnant,” she said as she laughed again.

     MARLENE  ADMIRED  MOLLY  ;  the  girl  thought  herself  courageous  but  in  truth  ,  nothing  made  her  want  to  run  off  with  her  tail  between  her  legs  more  than  children.  and  here  molly  was  raising  a  whole  brood  of  them  whilst  fighting  for  the  order.  

   His family’s beliefs. John was about to roll his eyes when he noticed her tightening fist - would she really punch him? If her tone and expression were anything to go by, John hardly doubted she would. 

   He tore his gaze away from her hands and up to her face, where he confronted her with a quizzical if not challenging furrow of his brows. “The pureblood circle is small, and if I’m not very much mistaken, the McKinnons are part of it.” If there was anything true about John, it was that the facts never upset him. Both of their families had married only witches or wizards going back generations.

   John’s eyes narrowed slightly, but there was an undeniable willingness to humor her in the friendly upturn at the corners of his mouth. His family - his cousin in particularly recent memory - had a well-earned reputation that John wasn’t about to deny, whether he strictly agreed with it or not. “I’ve never seen a McKinnon at any of the usual parties, so I wouldn’t figure you for a gossip like all the other purebloods. Tell me what a Rosier is like, then, since you know us so well. “

     AT  THE  MENTION  OF  HER  FAMILY  ,  her  anger  was  only  further  ignited.  “  the  mckinnons  ,  ”  she  began  ,  eyebrows  knitted  together  and  lips  curled  into  a  scowl  ,  “  don’t  run  in  that  circle  anymore.  we  have  the  sense  of  not  rubbing  elbows  with  blood  purists.  can’t  say  the  same  for  the  rosiers.  ”  she  would  defend  her  family  until  her  dying  breath  —  as  her  family  before  her  had  done.  

     “  you  don’t  need  to  be  a  gossip  to  know  about  your  family.  ”  her  fingers  moved  to  grip  the  edge  of  the  bar  ,  better  break  the  wood  than  start  a  fight  and  get  kicked  out  of  one  of  her  favorite  pubs.  “  pompous  ,  selfish  ,  cruel.  ”  she  let  her  gaze  drift  over  john  ,  judgement  lit  in  her  dark  eyes  as  she  concluded  with  “  cowardly.  ”   

fiona nearly dropped the container of flowers she was taking back to the fridge, the familiar, yet unexpected voice of her friend causing her a friend. she cursed quietly under her breath, face quick to turn red as she caught herself and managed to straighten back up. no spills, nothing dropped, a relief. she took a breath, exhaling slowly before placing the container down and turning to marlene with a smile. “ ya really managed to catch me off my guard, ya nearly scared me half to death. “ shaking her head she managed to brush it off, a laugh escaping her.  “ — i haven’t seen ya in how long? and now ya come in here asking me to piss off of work? i mean i suppose i can do that, i do make my own hours after all. “ her lips pursed, foot tapping slightly as she thought it over. “ what else ya have planned up in that ol’ noggin of yours for us to get up to? besides eating that is. “

     HEAD  COCKED  TO  THE  SIDE  ,  a  smirk  playing  on  her  lips  —  marlene  was  the  image  of  danger  in  the  making.  “  glad  i  didn’t  ,  would  have  defeated  the  whole  purpose  of  coming  down  here.  ”  

‘ ME ? ’he can’t help but exclaim , entirely flabbergasted . ‘ why would you think i had something to do with this ? ’ truth be told , it could be either of them . or just , both of them in general . bram feels a headache splitting across his head , and he mirrors marlene’s massaging with a free hand . he sighs , eyeing the red envelope with a suspicion and maybe a touch of fear . ‘ do you think it’s gonna be bad ? ’

he nearly falls off his bed , body starting awake at his sister’s violent awakening . bram lays still for a moment , gathering his breath . but he doesn’t like his sister’s tone , nor the mention of a problem . he pulls on a shirt as he trudges out of his room and into the parlor , expression torn between annoyance and apprehension . ‘ what , in merlin’s great shaggy beard , did you have to yell ? ’

     marlene  shoved  the  howler  at  her  brother  ,  massaging  her  temples  with  her  free  hand.  “  what  could  either  of  them  be  mad  at?  ”  worry  turned  into  suspicion  ,  “  better  question  ,  what  have  YOU  done?  ”  it  was  not  the  first  time  marlene  had  shifted  blame  onto  her  brother  and  it  would  not  be  the  last.        

          the autumn was so very long   ,  this winter has been fruitless. the summer  ,  drenched in drought   &.  nothing more. the spring this year was plague             the year itself was endless. the doubt crept in   &.  stained the wooden floors like the wine stains his lips.    ❝  if you want the bottle so bad   ,  why dont you just take it from me?   ❞           &.     he is fallow in this park    ,  bare in the dawn lighting like lucifer falling from the heavens. there is white wine in his veins rather than blood now. the years to come are going to cut him open  &.  his blood will fill bottle after bottle. as he takes his final drink   ,   the wine slips past his lips   &.   down his chin     ,   catching the coat that he is wearing. most of his clothes smell of wine   &.   the after    -    scent of vomit      ,   his sanity nearly gone.    ❝  come on   ,   get it.    ❞   clumsily he lifts the bottle above his head   ,  as if that were to stop her from her conquest. his mind was far past restless before the honey    -   suckle soothing of the wine. last week he had lost his voice shouting in the half   -   war with fate. 

     EVEN  IN  HER  DRUNKEN  STUPOR  ,  marlene  could  not  resist  a  challenge.  clumsily  she  lifted  her  body  ,  limbs  heavy  and  aching  from  whatever  the  pair  of  them  had  gotten  up  to  that  night.  personal  space  between  will  and  marlene  had  been  lost  the  moment  they  first  hooked  up.  now  marlene  felt  no  qualms  draping  herself  over  will  —  arm  reaching  out  for  the  bottle  hanging  over  his  head.  “  give  it.  ”  teeth  gritted  ,  scowl  heavy  ,  marlene  leaned  up  and  grasped  the  bottle  —  pulling  it  and  will’s  hand  down.  she  shook  off  his  grip  and  let  the  wine  spill  over  her  lips  ,  the  determined  set  to  her  lips  fading  after  a  gulp.  “  i  win.  ”  the  declaration  of  a  child  ;  to  her  the  world  was  split  into  wins  and  losses  ,  good  and  evil  ,  black  and  white.  she  tipped  the  bottle  once  more  and  smiled  cheekily  at  will  ,  “  say  i  won  ,  william.  ”                  

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒  :  for  BRAM  MCKINNON  /  @fulminations

     “  OH  ,  SHIT.  ”  a  red  envelope  dropped  into  marlene’s  outstretched  hand.  she  had  opened  the  window  to  collect  the  mail  from  the  mckinnon  owl.  a  distinguished  old  bird  ,  he  gave  marlene  a  pretentious  hoot  before  shooting  back  into  the  sky.  there  was  no  DOUBT  what  the  envelope  enclosed  :  a  howler.  it  was  certainly  from  her  mum  or  dad  ,  but  she  couldn’t  quite  place  what  they  could  be  mad  about.  “  BRAM  !!  we  have  a  problem!  ” 

   Her shift sparked obvious surprise in John. He didn’t expect her to know who he was - had they even spoken in school? - let alone sound so disappointed about it. But that was just it, wasn’t it? Rosier. John’s grin faltered, trading up pleasant happiness for a cautious expression that had his lips pressing into a flat line.

   He nodded, “Yeah… John. John Rosier.” McKinnon, McKinnon… his brow furrowed slightly as he searched her face for something else he might recognize, some memory or other that might explain her sudden frigidity. Coming up empty, John grew more certain as the seconds ticked by that they’d never so much as had a conversation before.

   If anybody in the Rosier family had a reputation that might warrant this, it was his cousin Evan. He was…well, John preferred not to think about it. Perhaps, for some, the last name alone could explain it. But he was so unused to being met with such obvious iciness that he couldn’t stop it from bothering him, and rather than choosing to give up on a new acquaintance, John chose to plow on. “I’m sorry.” He paused as mild annoyance flickered across his face, not quite sure what he was apologizing for, not quite sure he meant to apologize at all- “I mean, did I do something to offend you? I don’t think that we’ve ever…spoken….right?”

     HER  ANGER  WAS  QUICK  TO  SURFACE  ,  or  perhaps  it  was  her  distaste  for  those  like  rosier.  these  days  it  was  hard  for  marlene  to  separate  the  two  ,  one  always  feeding  into  the  other.  more  often  than  not  it  was  easy  to  summon  either  ,  especially  when  she  had  been  at  school  where  the  scions  of  pureblood  elitists  ran  amuck.  marlene  had  done  plenty  of  damage  to  her  reputation  and  the  faces  of  death  eater  sympathizers.  in  the  years  since  graduation  ,  her  temper  only  worsened  (  the  alcohol  she  had  consumed  did  not  help  it  either  ).  

     “  your  family  has  spoken  on  their  beliefs  enough  for  me  to  know  what  you’re  like  ,  conversation  or  not.  ”  her  hand  resting  on  the  bar  tightened  into  a  fist  ,  knuckles  whitening.  no  ,  they  hadn’t  spoken  before  but  marlene  had  never  cared  to  mingle  with  the  likes  of  a  rosier  ...  the  mckinnons  drew  a  deep  and  wide  line  between  themselves  and  the  other  pureblood  families.  for  that  reason  ,  she  didn’t  care  about  his  confusion  or  whatever  he  was  feeling  for  that  matter.  marlene  had  caught  aflame  in  the  spark  of  recognition.  

“i didn’t think you would drag me out to a bar and even worse, have me socialize.” kingsley says defensively he has been out of the loop recently about so many things he felt like. he barely has time to keep up with work, how would he keep up with quidditch? “i know what a snitch is, i’ve had to read an extensive book about bowman wright unfortunately…” kingsley says arching his brows at the ‘fond’ memory that had nearly made him fall asleep– possibly the only book that binns had him read on the side that made kingsley have such a boring response to when he was still at hogwarts. although he himself was a good flyer, he never did quite understand quidditch and never got into the whole fangirl side of it like marlene appeared to be. ‘okay, okay, i’m a magpies fan tonight, is that convincing enough?” he asks raising his hands up in the air defensively. 

     “  YOU’D  REALLY  RATHER  STAY  SHUT  UP  IN  THAT  OFFICE  OF  YOURS  THAN  COME  OUT  WITH  ME?  where  did  i  go  wrong  with  you?  a  friend  of  mine  shouldn’t  be  so  boring.  ”  what  began  with  a  serious  twist  to  her  lips  faded  into  old  familiar  teasing.  she  meant  it  in  all  good  fun  ,  though  sometimes  marlene  had  a  tough  time  softening  her  bluntness  around  her  friends  ,  even  those  she  had  known  as  long  as  kingsley.  

The worst part about working somewhere like this was that he was CONSTANTLY coming face-to-face with familiar faces from school which was usually the very last thing Tommy ever wanted when he made it his life mission to avoid pretty much everybody. A little sigh erupted from his lips then he nodded, knowing he had to remain somewhat polite considering he was working and couldn’t afford to lose this job. “No, I don’t work here, I just wear a uniform and name badge for fun,” he responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He’d like to say he TRIED being nice but really there was absolutely no effort made whatsoever. “Do you NEED anything or have you come here to glare at me instead?” 

     ROLLING  HER  EYES  WAS  INSTINCT  AT  THIS  POINT  ,  whenever  she  crossed  paths  with  a  vanderbilt  her  annoyance  was  bound  to  flare  up.  she  crossed  the  rest  of  foyer  ,  making  the  final  decision  to  stay.  a  step  away  from  the  counter  ,  marlene  stopped  ,  emitting  a  humorless  snort.   

     “  i  am  a  master  at  multitasking  ,  vanderbilt.  i  can  easily  ask  for  your  help  while  glaring.  ”  marlene  stated  matter  -  of  -  factly  ,  a  brow  raised  in  challenge  ,  “  do  you  have  anything  on  a  —  ”  marlene  paused  ,  reaching  into  her  pocket  for  the  note  she  wrote  herself.  “  cyprian youdle?  old  quidditch  ref  ,  someone  offed  him  in  the  middle  of  a  match?  that  shouldn’t  be  too  hard  for  you  ,  yeah?  ”     

“i had history of magic lessons less boring than that,” florence admitted, happy for a moment to stop and chat with marlene. they hadn’t had much time to talk recently, not now with… well, everything that was happening. in the early days of the order, they’d often been assigned to missions together, but now that florence was pregnant, albus and alastor had decided that it was better for her to stick a bit closer to home. not that she’d minded, at first. but it was starting to get frustrating, watching her friends go out and risk their lives when she was stuck at home. 

“you’d think it would be impossible to make war briefings boring, and yet somehow albus manages.” it was still a bit weird to call him albus, and not professor dumbledore, but she refused to call him professor like she was still back at hogwarts. that just felt odd.

     MARLENE  SNORTED  ,  wondering  if  binns  would  have  taken  that  as  a  compliment.  their  ghostly  professor  had  a  way  with  putting  them  to  sleep  —  marlene  got  the  best  sleep  of  her  life  in  his  classroom  ...  but  still  ,  florence’s  statement  rang  true.  these  days  marlene  had  a  tough  time  keeping  her  focus  ,  even  in  order  meetings.  ever  antsy  and  on  the  move  ,  the  only  time  when  marlene  felt  herself  relax  was  out  on  missions.  she  would  hate  to  give  that  up  ,  like  florence  had  —  though  ,  it  was  hard  to  stay  in  the  field  in  her  situation.  

     “  if  the  man  didn’t  speak  in  riddles  ,  i  reckon  the  meetings  wouldn’t  take  as  half  as  long.  ”  out  of  habit  ,  marlene  cast  a  look  down  the  corridor  ,  thinking  her  old  headmaster  would  appear  to  scold  her  —  him  or  mcgonagall  ;  the  latter  far  more  terrifying.