Broken Wings (Marlene McKinnon girlxgirl, Marauder's Era)

Chapter 1: December '77

note: please keep in mind that this is my first ever fanfiction. this feels like a rather boring start but oh well, here goes nothing I guess
I do appreciate constructive criticism by the way :)

tw: mentions of body image issues and disordered eating

"Miss Selwyn, how nice of you to join us today." Professor McGonagall greeted the girl, an unimpressed expression on her face as the Ravenclaw seventh-year entered the Transfiguration classroom.
"You know me, I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Lee grinned as she all but strutted on her way to an empty seat in the second to last row, next to her best friend and housemate, Isabella Morton.
"Where were you?" Issi whispered after McGonagall turned back to continue writing on the blackboard.
"Out and about," Lee shrugged nonchalantly. Issi would have been irritated if she had not been friends with Lee for more than five years and had become quite used to her antics.
"Selwyn and Morton, I see you have volunteered to demonstrate. Go on then, Selwyn, show us how well you can change the colour of Morton's eyebrows."
Lee and Issi took Transfiguration at NEWT level. Recently, their course had moved on to general human Transfiguration spells.
"Crinus Muto," Lee pointed her wand in Issi's face. In the blink of an eye, the colour of her friend's eyebrows had changed from a natural shade of brown to a bright red.
"Satisfactory, Professor?"
"5 points to Ravenclaw." McGonagall turned away from the two of them but not fast enough for Lee to miss the small smile that had crept onto her professor's face.

After Transfiguration, the two girls headed to the Great Hall for lunch. Issi chose not to comment on the fact that Lee ate no more than a few blueberries, although she was concerned for her friend.
"Look who it is, my favourite raven girls!"
"Ben," Lee and Issi groaned in unison as the boy almost crushed them in a hug.
"Isabella, Juliette, thrilled to see you."
"Yes, yes, we are delighted too. Now are you going to sit down or are you going to keep pestering us with our miles-long birth names?" Issi scooted over a little to make room for the Hufflepuff. Benjy shot her a look as he too noticed Lee's plate, which was empty except for a few berries.
"Black Lake after class?" Issi asked her friends.
"Sure!"
"Can't, Lupin made me meet him in the library for that Potions assignment." Lee sighed, not too keen on spending her afternoon with the Gryffindor - not necessarily because of him, but more because of his group of friends. Or rather, one particular person within that group that she tried to avoid whenever possible. But knowing him, he would never set foot in the library anyway.

"Okay, can we agree to be done here? I'd rather leave before your friends barge in because they can't plan their pranks without you."
"Sure thing, Selwyn. I know you and Sirius haven't managed to have a healthy talk yet. If-"
"Don't. I know you're there for me if I ever want to talk about Sirius, my chequered past or whatever, and I appreciate that, I do - but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your offer again."
"That's all right, I'm used to emotionally unavailable friends."
"Well, I have to go, I'll see you later for more character criticism. Bye, Remus."
"Bye, Lee, have a chocolate frog. Promise there's no hot sauce in it today."
"Thank you."
Remus shot the girl a genuine smile. The two had become friends in second year, meeting at night at the North Tower. They had first met there by chance, and later because they enjoyed the quiet conversations they could have up there, unbothered by the rest of the students and their respective struggles.

It was a cold day in mid-November, the sun had long set and Remus's dorm mates had gone to bed. Remus, however, could not fall asleep. The full moon was only two days away, leaving him restless and worried. He suppressed a sigh and got out of bed quietly. There was no point in lying awake when he could take a little walk around the castle to calm his nerves.
He reached the top of the North Tower a few minutes later, being careful not to run into Argus Filch, the intimidating Caretaker, and not to wake Professor Beriam, the Divination teacher. After climbing the ladder, hidden in a small chamber resembling a broom cupboard, he felt a sense of calm wash over him - until he sensed the presence of another human being. His gaze shot up to meet the grey eyes of Juliette Selwyn, a rather intimidating Ravenclaw girl in his year.
"Well, hello, Remus Lupin."
Remus couldn't help but feel surprised that she knew his name. Of course, he knew who she was, being a member of one of Britain's most famous wizarding families and one of the smartest pupils in his year - but Juliette knowing him?
"Er, hi, sorry. I didn't think anyone would be here at this hour. Do, do you want me to go?"
"That's all right, you can stay."
The two of them shared a few minutes of surprisingly comfortable silence. Remus looked up at the night sky, avoiding the direction of the almost full moon, while Juliette kept her eyes on the forest.
After a while, Remus decided to speak: "So, what brings you out here in the middle of the night?"
Juliette raised an eyebrow. "The same intentions you have, I suppose?"
"And what do you assume that to be?"
"Finding peace and quiet and all that?"
Remus could not suppress a small grin at her demeanour. He guessed that no matter how carefree and unencumbered the girl tried to appear, she was troubled by some dark thoughts. He tried to organise what he knew of her. Ravenclaw. From a noble pureblood family. Part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Sirius knew her from the Pureblood gatherings. Almost always had a profound and clever answer to the teachers' questions in the classes they shared, but otherwise didn't seem to talk much. Friends with Isabella Morton and Benjy Fenwick (who did the talking). It was not too much.
"Do you want to talk about it, Juliette?"
"Will you stop calling me that? It's Lee."
"Okay, Lee. Now stop deflecting my questions."
"Why should I, Remus?"
Remus rolled his eyes. "Okay then, an easier question for you: What's your favourite colour?"
"That's not easy at all," Lee exclaimed. "How do you expect me to choose just one out of the abundance of beautiful hues everywhere? Do you really have a favourite colour?"
Remus started to say burgundy, as he always did, but the girl's words stopped him. "Hmm, I guess I can't pick a favourite now either. Thanks for that Lee."
The two continued talking until they were both too tired to keep their eyes open. Remus made sure to accompany the girl back to Ravenclaw Tower, slightly impressed by how quickly she had solved the riddle to get into her common room. He walked slowly back to the Gryffindor dormitories and went to bed, falling asleep with no thoughts of the moon and how it affected him, but rather of the girl he could now call a friend.