in the cards | marlene mckinnon

18. what makes us girls

It was quiet as Nora woke up with her cheek pressed to the plush of her arm, the rest of her leaning against the uncomfortable surface of the library tables. 

It wasn't as bright as when she'd entered the library, which wasn't exactly surprising as she and Lily had gone there in the afternoon. That and the dark October sky where the sun went down earlier than the day before, casting only a dim light across the bookcases. 

She tilted her head toward the wall, where a clock stood ticking: 5:30 pm. Dinner had already started and she'd missed her last lesson. She was lucky if she was even to pass half of the exams on her N.E.W.T's, though most students must have had the same outlook on them as her, she thought.

"I thought you'd never wake up."

The voice startled Nora, and she was forced to look up, finally raising her head. And in doing so, it cracked in an uncomfortable way that hurt more than she'd have liked to admit. "Fucking Hell, Marlene. You can't scare people like that."

The blonde only laughed with her entire chest, the apples of her cheeks lighting up as she smiled. "S'not my fault you're unaware of your surroundings. That's really dangerous nowadays, y'know."

"Where's Lily?" Nora asked instead, rolling her eyes as she ignored her friend's earlier statement.

"She had transfiguration last period, so she asked me to keep watch. Can't exactly leave you all alone, asleep somewhere in the castle, can I?"

"Why didn't you wake me?" Nora pouted, as her brain finally started catching up to what was happening around her. "I missed potions. Again. Slughorn's going to drown me in assignments."

"You hate potions."

The brunette only threw her a deadpan look, trying to ascertain if she was being serious, even if she knew she was. "Still."

"Hey, I skipped charms for you, you should be grateful," the blonde talked back, narrowing her green eyes at Nora. "Plus you seemed like you really needed that nap, so. It felt wrong to disturb you." 

"What, am I supposed to thank you? You skip classes all the time, it hardly makes me any special," Nora scoffed. She felt a bit bad about being so mean, but she had never been the type to wake up in good spirits. 

"Well, I could've just left you here alone, with your guard down. Merlin knows what could've happened," Marlene furrowed her brows, she was starting to get annoyed at Nora's attitude; she had never known her to act so standoffish, not like she was right now. 

"Nothing! It's a fucking library!" Nora snapped, a headache beginning to form. How had their seemingly normal conversation escalated without a catalyst? "Not even Peeves would've cared."

"What is wrong with you today?" 

"Excuse me?" Nora turned her head, an offended look in her hazel eyes as she stared Marlene down. 

"You heard me. You're acting like a child, completely unprompted," Marlene continued, voice seemingly unbothered and detached from any emotions as her jaw locked.

"That's just rude."

"I'm right, so it doesn't really matter, does it? Now, either your mum's died, or Sirius got dog hair in your bed again. Either way; suck it up."

"Can't I just have a shit day in peace? I came here with Lily because she knows not to ask unwarranted questions. You being here and derailing my week further is just fucking comical, at this point."

"Well, in the spirit of Halloween," Marlene clapped her hands together, a sly smile spreading across her face. "You get a once in a lifetime opportunity to either tell me what's wrong, or I annoy you to the grave."