Children of the Revolution: Year One

Chapter 1 - Marlene Williams

"MARLEY, time to wake up," a soft voice whispered.

Slowly opening my eyes, I found my mother perched next to me on my bed.

Gently bringing her hand up to my face, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, smiling cozily. "It's 8:30," she started quietly. "We must leave to get deliveries from Hogsmeade soon. Do you still wish to come along with me, love?" she questioned hushedly, her kind smile lingering on her face.

Godric, why can't I say no to adventures?

"Mum, can I please sleep in? For five minutes more?" I asked, voice still rough from sleep. "I finally get to leave this bloody house today and I'd prefer not to fall asleep on the Hogwarts Express." Slowly sitting up, I already began to feel awake, despite my heavy desire to close my eyes once more. Rather than making fun or pestering me, Mum just chuckled lightly and rested her hand on my knee.

Looking around my room, I spotted the sun hitting the wall in a single, straight line, bright and radiant despite the early hour and sleepy feeling hidden amongst my room. Though the room was particularly chilly this morning, I was grateful for that single ray of sunlight, for it meant the house would not be falling into the clutches of winter quite yet. Running a hand through my hair, I took in a deep breath, turning to look at Mum once more.

"I'd love it if you were to help me run some errands before I open later. Besides, it'll help you pass the time before we go to the station," she added after a moment, a playful grin growing on her face.

By opening, she meant opening up The Three Broomsticks for the day. The Three Broomsticks is our pub in Hogsmeade village. She purchased the place after the war and, since then, has dedicated all of her time to it. Of course, this meant I also dedicated all of my time to it (which, how could I complain? It always meant free butterbeer). It was a wonderful place, of which I loved greatly.

I sighed and gave her a stern look, but she remained unaffected. "Come on, up and out of bed now!" she demanded excitedly, "I already laid out your clothes. . . Oh! And don't forget your gloves and a hat. It's beginning to get colder in the village." she added, offering me one last look at her caring smile before she stood and started towards the door.

She opened it, but she stopped to look back at me. "I want you down in ten minutes, fully dressed and ready, with brushed teeth and your gloves, Marlene. There's no need to have a repeat of your last, quite memorable, outing in Diagon Alley, love." I rolled my eyes, frustrated by her constant mentioning of the single time I forgot my bloody gloves, but, nonetheless, nodded and began to get out of bed. Mum closed the door and I swiftly made a move to get ready, eager to get out of the house.

Upon further inspection, my mother had picked out a pair of jean trousers and a pink jumper. I never quite enjoyed this particular jumper, due to the color and style, but, luckily, a dear friend of mine let me steal some of his old jumpers he no longer wore (which were all soft and lovingly worn-in), so I couldn't complain much. Next to the jumper and trousers laid my brown coat and boots. Funnily enough, it was the same coat I wore when I had a particularly memorable, and explosive, incident at Zonko's. I never thought Mum would have been able to mend the beautiful coat after that, but she constantly astounds me with her abilities. I chuckled at the memory before I finally changed, quickly retrieving my hat and gloves from my dresser. I nearly burst out of the room, but stopped short to glance at the mirror.

I fixed my hair, patting it down and using my fingers to fix a few loose curls. I did my best to run a hand through the only slightly messy curls, trying not to make any unwanted frizz pop up nor leave any curl out of sorts. I made my last rounds within my room and the bathroom before I hurried down the hall, slipping on my gloves and doing my best to slip on my coat quickly.