𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎

𝟶𝟷𝟸-𝚀𝚞𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

┌────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┐

The next several weeks went on with the members of Dumbledore's Army in higher spirits than they had been in all year. The meetings continued, but they were unable to find a regular time to meet, so it was at random times. Hermione had come up with a rather brilliant way of communicating the times for the next meeting to everyone during the fourth meeting as well. She had enchanted fake galleons for everyone with the Protean charm so the etchings along the sides would say the date and time for each meeting when Hermione changed them on hers. Needless to say, Marilyn was growing more and more approving of Hermione as time went on.

Marvolo was quite pleased that his sister had made an effort to interact with people that year. She seemed to finally be breaking out of the indifferent shell she had stayed in the previous years of Hogwarts and she found it rather enjoyable. Who knew interacting with people other than Marvolo, the Dumbledores and Turner could be so beneficial? The answer; Everyone but Marilyn.

As the year continued on, Marilyn also began getting flashes of death, not that it hadn't happened before, but she wasn't pleased it had started up again. The flashes only showed up when something terrible was coming and she could sense an endless countdown in her head of the days left until whatever horrible thing occurred. 

November came quickly and Marilyn found herself, for once, at ease in Hogwarts. She also found endless entertainment in teasing Marvolo about Katie, to whom he had grown closer to. She found it adorable, even if they weren't actually dating. Yet. 

The Quidditch match everyone had been waiting for arrived bright and cold and Marilyn found herself seated at the Gryffindor table surrounded by red. Even she, in an unusual display of school spirit, had braided a blood-red ribbon into her hair which she twisted into a braided crown. Besides that, she was wearing black jeans and a scarlet jumper Marvolo had given her for Christmas the year before. 

She sat next to Marvolo and Katie who were staring dreamily at each other. Marilyn herself was eating a bowl of fruit while looking absently around the hall. She jumped slightly when she noticed that Luna Lovegood, a girl in her house from two years below, had drifted over to the table as well. Marilyn's lips twitched when her eyes landed on the gigantic life-sized lion hat perched precariously on her head.

"Hello, I'm supporting Gryffindor," said Luna, pointing unnecessarily at her hat. "Look what it does..." 

She reached up and tapped the hat with her wand. It opened its mouth wide and gave an extremely realistic roar that made everyone in the vicinity jump. 

"It's good, isn't it?" said Luna happily. "I wanted to have it chewing up a serpent to represent Slytherin, you know, but there wasn't time. Anyway...good luck, Ronald!" 

"I can do that if you like, Luna," Marilyn offered, making the younger girl turn to her with a dreamy smile.

"Would you really?"

Marilyn nodded and pointed her wand at the hat and muttering a spell under her breath. Instantly, there was a snake being eaten by the life-like lion on the hat that made everyone around them roar with laughter. Marilyn grimaced inwardly, eyeing the snake. She already regretted it, she was still a Slytherin by blood and it made her slightly uncomfortable to see the snake getting eaten.

"Thank you, Marilyn," said Luna dreamily before drifting back to the Ravenclaw table. 

Once the entire quidditch team had disappeared down to the pitch, Marilyn managed to drag Marvolo down the hill to the pitch. He had been too distracted sulking because Katie had left to change, but he brightened when they found their seats in the Gryffindor section.