200 Characters in 200 Days: Marlene McKinnon
Quidditch Pitch: One last time, that was all she asked. (sentence)
Drabble Club: blanket (item)
Greek Mythology Category Competition: Antilochus: Write about a sacrifice.
AN: This is an Orphanage!AU.
Marlene smiled at Mary, tugging at her hand. "Duck," she whispered, pulling Mary down with her before she could hit the low-hanging branch. Mary looked around, pressing her shades against her eyes harder.
"Is the magician here?" she asked, running a hand through her bronze hair. "Is he here?"
"Not yet, Mary," Marlene said. She still didn't understand why Mary wanted to come to the magic show when she wouldn't be able to see anything.
"Can he really do magic?" Mary tilted her head, unaware that she was staring right at Marlene's eyes.
"Yes, Mary, he can do magic," she said, even though she knew it wasn't true.
A smile slipped onto Mary's lips. "He'll be able to make my wish come true?"
Marlene sighed. "Yes."
She didn't know if it was cruel or nice to let Mary hope.
They sat down in the front row, with Marlene explaining everything that happened to a happy Mary. At the end, Mary insisted on meeting the magician.
"Excuse me, sir," Marlene called out, Mary following her as she ran over to him. The magician turned around, slipping a smile on his face as he pulled off his white gloves.
"Yes?"
"My friend—Mary—wanted to ask you something," Marlene said, pushing Mary forward. "Go on, Mary."
Mary wore a serene smile as she began to talk. "Sir, if you can do magic, you can make my wish come true, right? Marlene said you can."
The magician laughed. "What do you wish for?"
"I want to kiss my mother on the cheek, sir. Just once." Mary's bottom lip trembled. "Please, sir. Just once."
Marlene stared at her friend, squeezing her hand. "Not those kind of wishes, Mary," she whispered. "Not this."
The magician pursed his lips and turned away. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."
"Please, sir, please. I want to give my mother a kiss, just once. Please," Mary said, a tear making its way down her cheek.
Marlene swiped her hand across her eyes, clenching her jaw. "Mary, let's go."
Mary started sobbing as Marlene pulled her away from the grave expression of the magician. "Why can't he make my wish come true?"
Marlene shouldn't have let her hope.
The matron, a stern woman by the name of Minerva McGonagall, shook Marlene awake, wearing an unusually elated smile. "Marlene! Wake up!"
Marlene opened an eye, pushing her blanket off herself. "What is it?"
Minerva pulled her out of her bed. "Quiet! I'll tell you when we get to my office."
Marlene yawned, stretching her arms before following Minerva down to her office. She sat down with a sigh. "What is it?"
"Your.. your parents are coming."
Marlene thought she had never smiled and cried so much.
She laid awake in bed, running over what Minerva told her.
"You were taken away from them at birth. They've been looking for you all these years, and now, they've found you."
She turned to her side, glancing at Mary's sleeping figure. With a pang, she remembered her wish.
"Please, sir, I want to give my mother a kiss. Just once."
One last time, that was all she asked.
Marlene closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She steeled her heart for the tears that would inevitably come.
She would make it more that just one last time.
Marlene watched as her parents walked forward, crying. With a strangled sob, she pushed Mary in front of her.
She watched as they hugged Mary and showered her with kisses. She watched as they called her daughter and said they loved her. Against her will, Marlene wished so much she could be the one in their arms.
Marlene turned away, only to see Minerva's shocked face. She stared at her, and without a moment of hesitation, buried her face in Minerva's dress, unable to hold back the tears any longer.
She watched as they drove away with a happy Mary. A happy Mary that should've been a happy Marlene.
There was only one thing that made her happy, though. And she valued it so, so much.
She had given Mary more than one last time.