Harry Potter One Shots

The Moments Between Us: Part Twelve

Pieces

Marlene McKinnon was eleven years old. Her long, golden hair wasn't as long and golden as it would be in the years to come; instead it curved under her chin and was so blonde it was almost white. Her skin was tanned, a smattering of freckles splashed across her nose. She walked with her head held high, her arms folded, and a mischievous twinkle in her deep brown eyes. In the years to come, she would change from a short, button eyed little girl to a tall young woman with hair like spun gold and a tongue as sharp as a knife. She would be nicknamed Mar, known for her short skirts and the way she shrunk her white school shirts with magic to make them tight across the breast. But for now, she was just Marlene, still finding herself, still learning right from wrong, still desperate to fit in and cause trouble, and most of all, make friends.

"McKinnon, Marlene," the stern voice of Professor McGonagall called.

Marlene stood up with shaky legs, possibly flashing the boys sitting behind her, and stumbled up to the wobbly looking stool. McGonagall gave Marlene a tight smile - as far as Marlene remembered, it was her first smile of the night - and dropped the dirty, ragged Sorting Hat over her head.

The first thing Marlene noticed was the smell. As small as she was, the brim of the hat hit the top of her lips, and the smell of sweat and hair and whatever else had been inside this hat hit Marlene's nostrils, causing her to wrinkle her nose.

Marlene was silent as the hat "Hmm"ed and "Aaah"ed, trying to decide where to place her. Secretly, she was hoping for Hufflepuff. They seemed like a friendly lot, smiling up at her expectantly.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat roared, and Marlene almost fell off the stool.

She hurried to the table of red, blushing and tripping over her own feet. Taking a seat between a boy with long, dark hair, and a girl with red hair, she gave them both brief smiles and faced the front.

"Hi," whispered the girl, after another three students were Sorted, none of which were Gryffindors.

"Hi," Marlene whispered back, smiling nervously. "I'm Marlene, Marlene McKinnon."

"I'm Lily Evans," the girl said, and she was as red and anxious as Marlene.

"It's nice to-" Marlene was cut off by the boy on her right.

"Sirius," he said in a pompous tone. "Just Sirius. You have really pretty hair."

Lily caught Marlene's eye and shook her head ever so slightly. So Marlene, who wanted to make a good impression on her new friend, turned her nose up at that Sirius guy and resumed watching the Sorting.

Later, after a scrumptious dinner and a round of games in the Gryffindor common room, Marlene was sitting by the empty fireplace, running her hand through her hair and smiling slightly to herself as she remembered the evening's events. Lily was amazing. She was smart, and funny and knew just what to say to that James Potter when he asked her to kiss him.

"I would rather kiss Sirius than I would you, Potter, and that's saying something," Lily had said with a curl of her lip.

But Marlene had seen the sparkle in her eyes as she teased the messy haired boy, and she thought Lily could possibly be lying about the kissing thing.

Sirius hadn't changed since dinner. He was loud and laughed too much for it to be real, and constantly interrupted Lily to talk to Marlene.

"I think Sirius likes you, Mar," Lily had said in a serious voice.

"Really?" Marlene was wide eyed. No boy had ever liked her before. She'd looked over at Sirius, who was talking to James but glancing over at the two girls every few seconds.