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eleven, ࿐tis the damn season
"READY?" MARLENE ASKED, handing Stevie the camel colored coat she had left draped over an armchair. It was windy, and incredibly cold, Stevie had returned home from the ministry with red cheeks, bundled in wool uniform robes, gloves, and scarves, yet still freezing.
"To have dinner with your family? Absolutely not," Stevie grimaced. "I'm going to make a fool of myself."
"Oh- shut up," Marlene laughed. "Leon, Cheryl, Elaine, and my parents are going to love you. Elaine is the younger one, sixth year, and Cheryl is always in a dragon hide jacket, she works with dragons, so she should be wearing that unless mum made her change. And of course, Leon, the oldest, is the only boy, so easy to spot."
Without any warning, Marlene grabbed Stevie tightly and disapparated on the spot. She could feel the freezing air on her cheeks, and when she looked up, she saw the Mckinnon household, a quaint cottage painted a pale yellow, with a garden that seemed to be using magic to keep the plants alive in the freezing winter.
"Oh, hello!" Mrs. Mckinnon greeted, immediately bringing Stevie into a hug. "It's so nice to meet you Stevie, Marlene cannot stop talking about you, and I can see why!"
They walked inside, Marlene and her mother chatting animatedly as Stevie walked alongside them, smiling and nodding when prompted. The house was on the smaller side, but extremely cozy. Marlene definitely had a loving family, and it sent a pang through Stevie's heart. She was so young when her parents died that all she remembered of them was screaming, green light, her mother's gentle voice and gardenia perfume reassuring her everything was going to be okay, and the thud of their bodies as they hit the floor.
Cheryl seemed to realize her hesitance, and smiled brightly. There was no other word to describe her, but as an older, more athletic version of Marlene. Her hair was the same shade of golden, and braided into a single plait that fell down her back. She was wearing a dragon hide jacket, just as Marlene had said, over denim trousers and boots, a necklace with what looked like a dragon tooth as a pendant dangling from her neck. "Hello, I'm Cher. It's nice to meet you," she beamed.
"Stevie Monroe," she smiled back, as Cheryl shook her hand. Elaine waved shyly from where she was draped over the end of the couch, in a cream jumper and emerald green corduroy pants. There was a copy of Anna Karenina in her hands, and her glasses looked like they were about to fall off her nose. "You must be Elaine."
"You're hot," Elaine smirked. "I don't know how my sister managed to bewitch your info to dating her."
"Laney!" Marlene protested, ruffling her younger sister's hair, causing the girl to look up in annoyance. "Don't scare her off already."
