A Marauder's Guide to Falling Together

Chapter Four

She didn't see Sirius or James for the remainder of the summer. This normally would have been a welcomed sentiment but since her encounter with Sirius, she was no closer to feeling closure about their standing than she had been at the beginning of the summer. She normally would have taken the opportunity to talk to Lily or Mary about her predicament but since neither girl were fond of Sirius for reasons that weren't actually true, she didn't know how she could possibly seek out their advice without giving something away that she shouldn't.

She had once again holed herself up in the confinement of her bedroom for days on end and even her diminished appetite seemed to have peaked at its highest. By the time September first rolled around and she managed to shrug on some muggle clothes instead of the regular sweat pants and oversized t-shirts she had become accustomed to wearing around the house, she had noticed that all of her clothes were between one and two sizes too large for her.

She knew that she wasn't at a healthy weight and the thought only briefly concerned her as she wondered what Lily might say when she saw her. Her hollowed cheekbones were the most easy to spot from a distance but the clothing covered up the rest of her frail figure. Her jeans were just too big that they slid off her hips so she resorted to a pair of leggings that hugged her body a little better and didn't risk dropping down to her ankles when she walked. She purposely chose a looser fitting shirt but even with her attempt at hiding the significant weight loss she had experienced she knew that anyone who had seen her a few months ago would immediately notice the difference.

On the morning of September first she hastily threw any remaining items into her trunk at the last minute. She hesitated when her eyes caught site of the package on the dresser that contained the necklace she had received for her birthday but she tossed it carelessly into the trunk as an afterthought along with Sirius's sweater, knowing that he may ask for them back eventually. Uncle Tom helped her pack up her school trunk in a van that he had rented for their trip into London and the two of them set off for Kings Cross station with plenty of time to spare.

"Did you want me to help you onto the platform?" he asked from the driver's seat when they had pulled up to the station.

"No that's okay," Marlene smiled politely at him.

"Will I be seeing you before next summer?" he asked curiously and Marlene wasn't sure whether or not she was supposed to feel obligated to spend her holidays with him or not.

"I think I might just stay at Hogwarts this year," she said hesitantly. He didn't seem too put off by it but she added "just because it's N.E.W.T.s this year and I'm sure I'm going to be swamped with studying."

"I get it," he chuckled lightly. He illegally parked the car at the front of the station long enough to help her unload the trunk from the van before giving her a brief hug goodbye. "Don't hesitate to owl me if you need anything at all, okay?"

"Thanks," she said appreciatively. She waved him goodbye as he hopped back in the van and pulled out into the busy traffic, disappearing from view.

When she stepped through the barrier separating platforms 9 and 10 she was immediately relieved to see the magnificent scarlet steam engine. She realized with slight disappointment, that this would be the last time she would be facing it on her way to school. It was a bittersweet moment that was short lived as she was joined almost immediately by Lily.

"Marlene!" Lily exclaimed happily from the side of the platform from which she had been standing with her parents. Marlene smiled politely at Mr. and Mrs. Evans before enveloping Lily in a much anticipated hug. "What in Merlin's name have you been doing to yourself?"

The later part of her exclamation was indicating to the fact that her already naturally small frame was even more fragile than it had been previously. She knew that she wouldn't have been able to avoid Lily noticing but she shrugged it off like it wasn't anything to be concerned about.