/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟐.𝟝.𝟣

~

"the whole mad swirl of everything that was to come began then." ~ Jack Kerouac

~november 1972~

"It's like she doesn't even want to be our friend," Marlene said in a low voice, her angry gaze cast towards Artemis, who was talking to Remus and Peter on the other side of the common room. "I mean, at some point she's going to have to pick a side- are you listening to me?"

Mary looked up from her sketchbook, wide-eyed. "Ummm- yeah. Wait- why does she have to pick a side?"

"Because we don't like the boys," Marlene said impatiently.

Mary still looked confused. "Why?"

Marlene let out a long, dry sigh. "Because we don't, Mary. They're annoying and immature and-" She cut herself off and gave Mary a hopeless, almost pitying look. "Listen, it's just how this works. Lily doesn't like James, so the rest of the boys don't like Lily. And Lily's our friend, so we don't like the boys because they don't like Lily. But Artemis-" She gave Artemis another pointed nod. Artemis didn't look up from her conversation. "-Artemis seems to not understand that. She keeps hanging around the boys and messing things up."

"Hmmm," said Mary, going back to her drawing.

Marlene glared at her, but her attention was diverted by a commotion on the wall that held the notice board. She looked up to see her brother, Mitchell, posting a sheet of paper on the board and a large group of people crowding around him to get a look at it. Sirius and James were the first in line. "You got in!" Sirius half-shouted as soon as he read the list. He pounded James on the bag and disentangled himself from the crowd. He quickly found Marlene and sat down on the armrest of her chair. "Hey... you should go check the list," he said in a suggestive voice.

Marlene gave him a curious look and stood up, crossed the room, and joined James by the list. "Congrats," he said, pointing to where it said, "M. Mckinnon - Keeper."

Underneath that, the list read;
J. Potter - Chaser
F. Longbottom - Chaser
A. Fortescue - Chaser
G. Prewett - Beater
F. Prewett - Beater
M. McKinnon - Seeker.

She'd made it. Marlene felt a rush of pride in her chest as her older brother pulled her into a sort of half-hug. "Keeping up the family legacy, Marley," he said proudly before letting her go and turning to talk to the Prewetts.

"Did you get in?" Mary squealed, jumping up from her seat. Marlene nodded. "Oh, Marlene! I knew you could!" she ran over and pulled Marlene into a tight hug.

Only then did Artemis look up. When she caught James's eye, he gave her a thumbs up and she immediately got the message. "Hey!" she said happily, jumping out of her seat to join the group. Marlene let go of Mary in anticipation of Artemis's hug, but it never came. Artemis had thrown her arms around James, knocking him backwards and making him blush slightly. "Congratulations!" she said happily, not noticing his embarrassment. Then, she turned to Marlene to do the same. "I knew you'd do it," she said, giving Marlene a hug that was only half-heartedly returned. As soon as she let go, Marlene turned to walk away, shooting Artemis an annoyed look over her shoulder. Artemis caught James's eye and shrugged, having no idea what she did to deserve the cold shoulder.