Autumn Leaves- marylily

Late

"SHIT MARY WAKE UP"
Mary quite literally jumped awake to the sound of Marlene screaming in her ear.

"WHAT THE FUCK MARLENE?"

"MARY WE'RE REALLY LATE.... ON THE FIRST DAY. MINNIE IS ACTUALLY GOING TO KILL US!"

"NO, NO, NO! WE HAD A PLAN, WE WERE GOING TO WAKE UP EARLY AND ACTUALLY EAT BREAKFAST FOR ONCE!" Mary screamed back to her, mumbling to herself about the lengthy plan they had devised, since their lateness on the first day had become an annual occurrence.  

"YES, WELL CLEARLY THAT DIDNT HAPPEN!"

"WELL NO SHIT SHERLOCK! SHUT UP AND GET READY!"

It was quite the sight, both girls scrambling around the room trying to get ready in the space of 10 minutes. Of course, neither of them had unpacked, but rather thrown everything out on the floor when searching for their pyjamas the night before. So they had resorted to tumbling around the floor, digging through their piles of clothes.

Somehow though, or perhaps just due to years of practice, they arrived just two minutes late to transfiguration. So instead of scolding the girls, McGonagall just gave them a somewhat dissatisfied stare.

The girls had managed to snag the last two seats next to each other, but in a very unfortunate place. Their desk was directly next to Lily Evans and Alice Fortescue's , much to the girls dismay.

"Girls, try not to keep a late streak again this year, okay?" Said McGonagall, trying her best not to look amused at the girls antics.

"Minnie it wasn't our fault I swear!!" Said Mary, though McGonagall simply smiled and walked back to the front of the classroom. 

"It wasn't your fault you were late when everyone else was on time?" Lily giggled.

"Oh fuck off Evans, not now!" Mary bit back.

"You have a mouth like a sewer, Macdonald."

"Brilliant observation mate." Marlene nodded, sarcastically smiling.

McGonagall started talking about some kind of transfiguration spell, something they'd already covered in fourth year, but the girls always got decent grades. They didn't care enough to listen- the first week had never been important anyway. Instead, they had resorted to whispering to each other about  something or other, leaving Lily very obviously irritated.

They didn't bat an eyelid to Lily's snarky mumbling though, since Mary was just as annoyed at Lily already. It was the first day, did she have to start so soon? What business of hers was their being late? To Mary, she was nothing but a teachers pet.

Mary had always been more affected by her bickering with Lily than if she bickered with anybody else. She'd always brushed it off with others, gave them a dirty look and went on with her day. But with Lily it felt different. It angered her more, and Mary, for the life of her, never could figure out why.
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For the rest of the day, Mary was walking around in a mood, and it showed. She wasn't being rude per-say, just far more tense that usual.

"What's wrong with her?" Whispered Emmeline.

The three girls were walking a bit behind Mary, so that they could discuss her without upsetting her even more so than she already was.

"I don't really know, I mean, her and Evans were arguing this morning?" Marlene replied.

"That'll be it then, I'd be in a bad mood as well if I had to deal with her first thing in the morning." Dorcas snorted "She really is irritating."

"I can hear you guys you know." Mary said, spinning around. "But 'Cas is right, she is extremely irritating- but I'm just tired. I hate the first day and you know that."

They left it alone after that. They weren't fully convinced though. Neither was Mary if she was completely honest with herself, but she was too tense to think too hard on it.

They kept talking about how annoying Lily was. None of them liked her, it was basically an unwritten rule within their group group. If one person doesn't like someone, neither do the others. It's the way it worked, they were practically pack animals- and always ready to protect one another. That's just the way they worked, it was natural for them.
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Mary had free period now, whilst all her friends were in class. She had no homework and nothing to do. So she chucked a book in her bag and set off. She didn't really know where she was going to go, but she was never opposed to a walk to she didn't mind.

She found herself walking through the hallway that opens up near the far end of the black lake. She headed outside, walking under one of the ancient, carved arches surrounding the outside of the first floor. The effects of Autumn could be seen early this year, it was only the beginning of September and the trees were already changing.

Mary loved Autumn, she always had. She loved how it turned everything orange or brown, how it made everything look set ablaze with those gorgeous shades of burnt orange. She loved how comforting that colour really was, how she felt she could get lost in it. How she could look out her bedroom window and the grounds beneath looked like a sea of flames.

Perhaps it reminded her of something- something special. Whatever the reason, she found an unmatched comfort in the colours that the season brought with it.

She headed down a gravelly path to a quiet little wooded area, just before the lake. Slumping down to the grass beneath an uncharacteristically tall Elder tree, she pulled out her book, one of her childhood favorites in fact, Anne of Green Gables. The leaves fell around her, one or two landing in amongst her now messy head of curls as she felt herself get lost in it's pages.