in the cards | marlene mckinnon

19. bite the bullet

The day had come when hell finally froze over; Dumbledore allowed the students to have a free day. There were no extracurriculars, no tests, no detentions or practices, absolutely nothing.

Apparently, the professor had felt that morale had gotten far worse the last few months, something he was for once completely correct in thinking. And since the students couldn't leave the premises for an excursion to Hogsmeade, a free day roaming around the castle's grounds would have to do.

With the end of November approaching, made clear by the chill in the air, it was also one of the last days the students could be outside without proper outerwear to protect themselves from the impending snowfall.

Most of the leaves had already fallen, leaving the ground looking like a mosaic masterpiece of orange, yellow and red. Something that the Gryffindors, to everyone else's dismay, took far too much pleasure in. They never missed an opportunity to remind everyone about how even Mother Nature herself seemed to favour them over everyone else.

Regulus Black was just convinced they'd all collectively lost their minds the second the sorting hat yelled 'Gryffindor'.

Lydia had decided to set her plan in motion the second she heard of the day's changed plans. She grabbed Marlene as she was exiting the dining hall following breakfast.

"Marlene, can I grab you for a second? I promise I won't keep you."

"Yeah, of course," Marlene nodded, quickly waving her friends goodbye, telling them she'd join them outside later. "What's up?"

"Well, since any possibility of Hogsmeade has been effectively crushed, I thought I'd cash in that promise of a date today. That is, if that's alright with you, of course," Lydia assured, struggling to keep the smile off her face.

Marlene thought it over for a minute, even if it in reality lasted only a mere second or so. She thought of how fun she would have with her friends, burying Lily in leaves and hiding Sirius' stuff under piles of leaves and branches. And then she thought of the prospect of a date, and the insinuations that came with it.

And since it was an everyday freedom to hang out with one's friends, but only once in a blue moon one to be asked out, by Marlene at least, she opted for the latter. "I'd love to. But I don't see how you're planning on getting any privacy anywhere since the dorms and classes are completely empty."

"Who cares about everyone else? We can easily ignore them from where we are."

"And where exactly would that be?" Marlene asked, lifting her blonde eyebrow in opposition. "Can't go where you wanna go without knowing where it is. That's just basic logic."

"Ye of little faith," Lydia smiles, tilting her head to the side to examine Marlene's sculpted face further. "Just meet me in the courtyard at seven, I'll lead the way after that."

"Fine," the blonde relented, much to the joy of Lydia.

────────────

Nora had, along with her odd little group, Pandora, Regulus, Rowan, found a somewhat calm spot beneath a dwindling sycamore tree.

As Rowan braided Pandora's smaller platinum braids into a bigger one, Nora napped soundly against Andy's thigh, Regulus' coat draped over her as a makeshift blanket. Regulus sat reading some potions textbook, annotating and mumbling words aloud every now and then.

"I think I might join the war after school ends," Rowan said out of the blue, breaking the comfortable silence like a bullet through a pristinely cleaned window, shattering everything into chaos.