Silvanna Snape {Marauders}

Chapter One-Hundred-and-Forty-Three

A happy chapter for a happy Easter (to those who celebrate)! :)

When she got back to the common room, the festivities were in full swing with a very chilled-out party going on. Music was playing, but no one was really dancing, instead people were huddled together chattering and laughing over bottles of butterbeer and mountains of food.

The seventh years' tradition was catching on.

She saw her friends and bowed her head to avoid their stares, biting the inside of her cheek as she walked past. "Silvanna!" Marlene's yelp was unexpected, and she turned to see her speeding towards her, hiccupping as she did. Extremely drunk, and before Silvanna could stop her, she threw her arms around her neck and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Love you," she said. "Love you, love you, love you!"

"Right," said Silvanna, removing her arms. "I think you've had a bit too much to drink."

"There's no such thing," she slurred, swaying on her feet.

Lily came up behind her. "Marlene, come and sit down."

She didn't look at Silvanna right away. "I'll put her to bed if you like?" she offered. Lily looked up and narrowed her eyes but nodded. Probably thought she was going to try and smother her or something.

"Nooo," whined Marlene, "It's party time!"

"Yeah, upstairs," she said, steering her away from Lily, who had her arms crossed as she watched them leave.

They climbed the spiralling stairs, and Marlene began to chatter as she usually did. She suddenly gasped, remembering something. "James got a Halloween snog earlier!"

"Really?" She didn't think she'd ever cared less about her gossip.

"Yeah from Lily."

"Really?" Silvanna asked, immediately retracting her previous disinterest. "Was she drunk?"

"Nope, me and Mary found them."

"A secret snog?"

"Nah," said Marlene as they reached their dorm. "Just a regular one I think. I think she was surprised too." She let out a laugh before flopping down on her bed. Silvanna folded some of her clothes that were strewn on the floor and placed them on her chair. "Thing is," she continued, staring at the hangings above her bed, "I want a Halloween snog too."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, losing interest once more. Here come the tears about Dorcas.

"Mm-hmm," she hummed. She leapt to her feet again, and while Silvanna turned around to stop her, she gasped as Marlene threw herself into her until her back was against the wall.

For a second she thought she was being attacked, and realised her wand was on her bedside table across the room.

Then Marlene kissed her.

Even drunk, she was a good kisser.

In shock, she let it happen for one second. In the next, she'd pushed Marlene off her. "You're drunk," she reprimanded. "Go to bed."

Mouth hanging slightly open, and lipstick smeared around her mouth, she stepped back. "Sorry," she mumbled, crossing her arms and hugging herself.

Silvanna softened. "It's alright," she assured, "but go to bed."

She obliged, curling into bed as she was and drawing her curtains across. Ten minutes later, Silvanna was in bed too. She tried to read her book, but had a terrible, gnawing feeling in her chest. She tried planning her essay instead, or completing the questions Flitwick had set. No such luck. So she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. It took a while, but she managed it.

*****

In Transfiguration the next morning, it was fair to say that most people were nursing hangovers, sipping what was probably coffee or pumpkin juice out of their water flasks. Marlene in particular was looking very pale, but that hadn't stopped James from dragging her out to practice quidditch for an hour that morning.

She'd thought she'd forgotten about it, and she was happy to forget it too, but Marlene followed her into the corner of the library after Defence that afternoon. She was carrying her bag still and indicated the spare seat at the table. "Can I join?"

She wanted to say yes, and enjoy the afternoon like they had when she'd tutored her, but they had no excuse now. "Sorry, I'm really busy. Are Lily and Remus not around?"

She shrugged. "Told them I wasn't feeling well." She nodded and turned back to her essay, but she could still feel Marlene's presence. "I'm sorry about last night," she said. "I know you're not-"

"No, I'm not." She didn't look up as she said it.

"Right, sorry. Yeah - I'm sorry. I was really drunk."

"I know," she said. "It's fine. Really."

"See you then." She didn't reply, but listened to her shuffle away. She got back to work, writing up her paragraph on the effects of moon phase exposure to the Hartford method via the L'Ampfort Method, and Marlene's lips were so soft, she could've kissed them all day long-

She stopped herself, the back of her neck hot with embarrassment. That wasn't her, it was just because it was surprising that she was thinking about it.

But was Marlene really sorry?