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four, ࿐couple of kids
"YOU'LL VISIT YEAH?" Marlene laughed, perched on the counter with a banana yellow telephone pressed to her ear, the cord stretched across the kitchen. "No, mum, I'm being safe. Give my love to Laney, is she ready for sixth year?"
Marlene hummed as her mother began to ramble about her work schedule, her father's job at the Ministry, and her sister Elaine. She hung up at half past noon, sending her love once again, and flooing back to the Ministry. She spotted just the person she needed right outside. "Monroe!" she called out, giggling as the familiar head of dark hair whipped around, hazel eyes lighting up.
Stevie managed to push through the chaos of hundreds of ministry officials returning from their lunch breaks, greeting Marlene with a smile. "Hey, stranger," Marlene smiled. "I haven't seen you around."
"Been busy," Stevie replied, running a hand through her dark hair. She was dressed neatly as always, in navy auror robes, and with trousers and a button down layered underneath. They were sensible, and practical, like all aurors were. "I had more examinations. What about you?"
"Just training," Marlene smiled. "Listen- there's a small get-together, at my place tonight around eight, if you'd like to come? It's mainly just us younger ones."
Stevie seemed to ponder on that thought for a second, before breaking out into a smile at the realization of something. "I'm free tonight, so I'll be there."
"Great! See you then!" Marlene grinned ecstatic, as Stevie waved shyly and disappeared into an elevator that shut almost immediately, as if it had been waiting for her. Marlene waited for a free one, mary-jane clad toes tapping at the floor.
By the time she had reached the Department of Mysteries, she was five minutes late, but her boss didn't even bat an eye. Angie Moon had always been lost in her own head, a dreamscape of her own creation clouding her material eyes, but enhancing her visions and prophecies.
Marlene sunk into her favorite, cushy chair, and dipped her quill in ink to begin categorizing prophecies by date once again. Others might have found the work tedious, but she rather enjoyed it. There was something soothing about perfectly organizing everything in her neat, loopy cursive, bringing some sense of normalcy to the most imprecise branch of magic.
Yet today, she wasn't focused. All she could think about was Stevie, and her expressive eyes. The way she nervously ran her tongue over her lips when anxious, and played with her sepia strands was captivating. She blushed, quite a bit, and always had a bite to her words. She was quite shy, but definitely not a pushover; she just knew when and how to wage her battles.
And she was not like the other women she had invited over to her flat. They usually left in a hurry in the mornings, and Marlene slept in without a care in the world. She hadn't wanted relationships with them because she had been afraid of the damage that would splinter her soul in the wake of a heart-wrenching break up. Stevie was the only one she trusted enough to not stomp on her heart and leave it in a million pieces.
