in the cards | marlene mckinnon

02. amity

The Gryffindor common room sat unusually empty one January night. And in an effort to take advantage of the solace, the sixth year girls of Gryffindor house sat huddled up in front of the fire, gossiping and doing undone homework.

Lily, who always did her homework the same day it was assigned, sat braiding Marlene's blonde hair instead of writing, like most of the others. Marlene was the only other one not doing homework, not because she didn't have any, but because she just didn't feel like it. 

It had been an especially cold day, with never ending snow and howling winds, which might explain why so many students had elected to cozy up in their beds under their comforters instead of downstairs in the communal areas. 

"What do you think will happen next year, when we're seventh years?" Lily suddenly asked, breaking the comfortable silence the girls had surrounded themselves with.

After a moment of quiet pondering, Mary answered, "I don't know, maybe you'll finally say yes to James and put him out of his misery."

The comment prompted an offended gasp from the redhead before she chucked a pillow at Mary in retaliation. The girls around them only laughed, with Dorcas ducking to prevent getting hit.

"That will never happen, and I really cannot stress that enough," Lily muttered, resuming the braiding. "Besides, I might have considered it had he not been a bullying toe-rag who won't leave me alone for five minutes. I can't even use the loo without him thinking I'm dying."

The girls erupted in laughter that was abruptly cut short by Dorcas and Mary. Marlene and Lily who had their backs to where the brunettes were staring, eyes wide, were oblivious and confused as to what had happened. 

"What? What is it?" Marlene questioned, not liking being out of the loop.

"Oh, Lilypad, I'm so flattered that you talk about me to your friends!"

Lily's face went bright red, nearly matching her hair, eyes wide and mouth agape. Marlene turned around to catch a glimpse of the girl, only to start uncontrollably laughing the second she saw her. 

"You do realize she didn't say a single positive thing about you, don't you?" Marlene managed to get out between laughs, turning to face the boys.

How the Marauders had managed to get into the common room undetected by the girls was beyond them. They had simply been so engrossed in their conversation that all else just faded into nothingness, though as of late that seemed more common than ever.

"Yes, but she thinks about me when I'm not there," James said, the smile on his face only widening as he spoke. "This just made my night, honestly."

"God, your standards are low, Prongs," Remus laughed, clapping James on the back before making his way to the couch and sitting down beside Lily. 

Sirius immediately went to the oversized chair placed in front of the couch, as it gave him a feeling of superiority for some strange reason. Peter, who was quite good friends with Mary, went and sat beside her on the floor, close enough that they could talk but far enough for them to have their valued personal space.

James, taking after Remus' example, walked to the other side of Lily and sat down on the couch, only to be pushed off immediately by the girl. He yelped and frowned, flashing his best puppy-dog eyes, in an effort to change her mind.

"Remus gets to sit next to you, why can't I?" he whined, like a petulant child. Even the idea that James Potter could be sixteen whilst acting like a four year old besotted even the wisest of minds, including that of Minerva McGonagall who often had the misfortune of coming across his pranks and childish actions.