"And then why did you write that?" Lily said, tapping yet another spot on Marlene's essay. "Professor Slughorn clearly said that it was four pigeon feathers, not three."
"I dunno, okay, Lily?" Marlene threw her hands up and dropped her quill. "I just don't get potions, alright? It's not my thing, it's yours."
"I get it, I get it!" Lily said. She realized that maybe she was being too hard on Marlene. "Do you want to take a break? We can keep going later. I don't mind," Lily said.
"No, I want to finish now. Sorry." Marlene said. She pulled her chair back to be right up against the table and picked her discarded quill up again. "Okay, four pigeon feathers, got it. What's next? Is this part right?" She tapped on the next paragraph of her essay.
"Let me see..." Lily twisted the essay towards her and read it carefully. "The first part is right, but what's with this? About the stirring? It doesn't make sense, Marlene."
"No, it doesn't. That's 'cause I have no idea what it should be."
Lily helped Marlene to fix the next paragraph, and the one after that, until they were finally nearly finished.
"Why does every thing has to be 100 percent perfect, Lily?"
"Because, that is how you get top marks, Mar."
"But it's Slughorn. He gives Peter good marks. I don't think he's really checking that we have every fact straight."
"Marlene!" Lily laughed.
"What? It's true," Marlene said with a smirk.
"Yes, but you don't have to be mean about it." Lily pointed out.
"Well, no, but- Ow!" Marlene jumped up with a yelp.
"What?' Lily stared at Marlene.
"Bloody ow!" Marlene said. "Something bit me."
Lily scooted her chair back and they both looked under the table. "What's that?" She pointed her wand under the table. The table was backed up into the corner of the common room and against one of the curtains hanging from a window, making it dark and shady.
"Lumos." Marlene lit the space under the table just in time for the two to see the bottom of the curtain rustle as a tail disappeared underneath it.
"Was that a rat?" Lily asked.
Marlene shrugged. "Whatever it was, it is an evil little creature. Trying to take a chunk out of my foot..."
A/N
Just another one-shot, written on a whim.
Comments and crit are greatly appreciated! Suggestions are welcome, too!