Marlene

13- Erica At Hogwarts

"Erica, promise that you will be good, and that you'll learn lots!" David hugged Erica on Platform 9 3/4.

"Lenie, you'll look out for her?" Sarah asked Marlene.

"Of course I will!" Marlene laughed and ruffled her younger sister's hair.

Erica made a face, which made her parents laugh.

"Okay, in that case I won't then," Marlene told her, "see how you like it!"

"Well, I'm going to find somewhere to sit," Erica said, "don't feel like you need to sit with me Lenie."

"I don't feel like I do!" Marlene assured her sister with a laugh. She turned back to her parents and hugged them both quickly. "I'll see you at Christmas!"

"Do look out for Erica though, won't you. She's not as good at making friends as you are," Sarah looked in the direction Erica had gone anxiously.

"Oh, Erica will be fine," David assured his wife.

"I'd better go get on the train," Marlene said as the train let off a hoot, indicating that it was about to leave, "I'll see you soon, I love you!"

Marlene hurried away and climbed onto the train. She struggled to dragged her trunk down the rather packed corridors. She was determined to find Lily.

The two girls hadn't spoken all summer and Marlene missed her best friend greatly. She wanted to make up with Lily as quickly as possible. But when she eventually spotted the girl's red hair, it was to see her sitting in a compartment with Severus Snape. Lily was smiling and talking to the boy animatedly.

Marlene huffed and hurried past the compartment. She was not going to talk to Lily with that boy around.

She continued down the train until she spotted a compartment with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all inside. She slid the door open, stowed her trunk in the overhead rails and sat down beside Sirius, without a word to any of them.

"Here she is, the life and soul of every party," James grinned at her.

"It's good to hear that you had a great summer Marlene, woa, stop talking you're going to overload us!" Sirius grinned as well.

"Yeah!" Giggled Peter, "I can't hear when you speak that fast."

Remus merely rolled his eyes and laughed at his friend's antics. Marlene continued to sit in silence. Her arms were crossed tightly a crossed her chest, and she glared at the opposite wall as if trying to set it on fire.

"What wrong Lenie?" Sirius asked after quite a long time of Marlene saying nothing.

"I hate him!" She exploded, "he's horrid and Lily absolutely refuses to see it!"

"You mean Snivellous?" Sirius' face darkened.

"Yeah, I keep telling Lily that he's poison! But she refuses to believe me. You should hear how he speaks to me! You'd think I was dirt on his shoe!" It seemed that once Marlene had started she was going to vent everything she had been feeling over the summer, "'get out of my way Blood Traitor!' 'Oh look, the blood traitor has an opinion!'" She did quite a convincing impression of Snape's haughtiest tone.

"Don't worry Lenie," Sirius patted her shoulder, "well wipe that smug little smile off of his face."

********

"Hufflepuff!" The hat yelled at the top of its voice. Erica slid off the stool and hurried towards the Hufflepuff table, she found Marlene's eyes when she sat down, grinning widely. Marlene gave her little sister the thumbs up, which made Sirius (who was sat beside her), laugh loudly.

Lily and Marlene sat as far apart as they could at the Gryffindor table. Marlene did not have the chance to speak to Lily until they made it into their dorm.

"Lily, I-" Marlene began when she entered the room, as usual she was the last to arrive.

"Don't." Lily had clearly been waiting for her to arrive, "don't Marls, I don't want to argue anymore, I just want to forget that it ever happened,  can we just be friends again, it's been killing me not talking to you for this long."

"I was going to say the exact same thing," Marlene grinned. The two girls rushed forwards and hugged each other tightly, "I still hate Snape though." Marlene murmured. Causing Lily to whack her arm, not at all in a friendly or light fashion. The expression on Marlene's face made Lily bust into laughter.

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~Em xx