A Marauder's Guide to Falling Together

Chapter Twenty

The curtains around her bed were thrust open, allowing an unwelcome stream of sunshine into Marlene's eyes.

"For goodness sake, Lily, I just got over a near death experience; are you trying to kill me?" she managed to grab hold of her pillow, pulling it from underneath her head in order to take refuge behind it.

"That's not funny Marlene, and besides, it's almost eleven o'clock," Lily said with irritation. "I think I've been more than fair allowing you to sleep this long."

"It's Saturday," she groaned, "explain to me how that's fair?"

"It's not my fault you were up all night doing who knows what with Sirius," she sounded smug. Marlene peered at her from behind the pillow and noted the look of triumph on Lily's face.

"Is that why you've decided to wake me up? So you can tease me?"

"Of course not," Lily said with a small laugh but her smile revealed her deceit. "Sirius has been asking about your whereabouts. He was ready to send a search party for you."

"Right," Marlene rolled her eyes before bringing the pillow back up over her face.

"Is Marlene finally awake?"Alice's voice suddenly joined the conversation. "I thought I heard you talking to someone, Lily."

"She's up."

"Unfortunately," Marlene groaned into the pillow but it came out muffled and indecipherable.

"Time to get up," Lily's hand reached forward and grasped the pillow, ripping it away from Marlene's face.

"Merlin, Marlene," Alice's voice gasped. "You look terrible."

"Good to see you too Alice," Marlene blinked a couple of times to allow her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room. Alice's figure was standing a few feet behind Lily in the doorway.

"I didn't mean it like that," Alice muttered apologetically. "It's good to have you back Marlene. I'll go let the boys know that you're finally up."

Marlene dragged herself into the bathroom with Lily closely on her trail. "Your hair looks completely impossible. How did you even manage to get it like that?"

"Luck I guess," she offered sarcastically. Lily wasn't lying though; a glance in the mirror revealed that her normally misbehaving hair was worse than usual. "Where's a brush?"

Lily helped her comb out her hair in silence. Apart from the few exclamations of pain omitted by Marlene when Lily worked through an exceptionally difficult knot, neither spoke until her hair was neatly braided and she had dressed for the day.

"Did you get a chance to read Mary's letter?" Lily was sitting at the edge of Marlene's bed when she had emerged from the bathroom. Marlene glanced towards the letter that was sitting neatly on her nightstand and she recalled that she had intended to read it in the morning.

"No not yet," she admitted guiltily. "I was too exhausted last night to even think about it."

"I know she'll want to hear from you," Lily said simply, "she's been writing me weekly to get updates on you."

Marlene nodded her head. "I'll read it now then. Meet you downstairs?"

"Don't be too long," Lily shook her head with a smile playing on her lips, "Sirius is getting impatient down there. I'm sure he'll come looking for you personally if you don't hurry up."

"You and I both know he can't get up here," Marlene laughed.

"Doesn't mean he won't try." She left the room as Marlene was tearing at the edges of the manila envelope, being careful to close the door quietly behind her as she exited. Marlene settled at the foot of her bed, folding her feet beneath her, and allowed her eyes to scan the page hungrily.