I'm a Slytherin in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments). This was written for Assignment #9, Home Economics & Domestic Magic, Task 12 - Write about someone and their hobby.

Note: In Marlene and Mary's dialogue, some words are spelled in a way that is meant to be read as having Scottish influence (including "they" for "they're," based on a dialect-related discussion when I was asking around). It's not perfect by any means, but for the sake of clarification, they aren't typos or misspellings. As for time frame, this occurs around their third/fourth year.

A Song for the Wind

"Do I need tae thump someain?"

By the time Mary had turned towards the source of the voice, Marlene was already plopping down on the grass. The crisp, late afternoon gust was ruffling her friend's golden blonde ponytail, giving her a messy, flyaway look, but it was probably still better than Mary's own hair. With a hand tucked against her scarf at the crook of her neck, Mary had been holding it in place—a swoop of inky black—but several windblown strands had still managed to whip her in the face several times since settling at the edge of the Black Lake some fifteen minutes ago.

"No mair than normal," Mary admitted, watching as Marlene tugged her guitar around from back to front to cradle it in her lap. "Do I look it?"

"Ye do," Marlene answered, pinching her thumb and index finger together, "a wee bit. Ye have that 'Slytherins are pure twatwaffles' look about ye."

A new day, a new colourful phrase. Marlene had probably picked it up from Potter at Quidditch practice—it seemed like the sort of thing he'd say—but she had hit the mark, even if it was a guess. Earlier that day, Rosier had called Mary a 'muggle freak' just for saying she wished the Beatles would come out with a new record. It wasn't the worst thing he or any of the others in that nasty group of theirs had done, but it was annoying, the way they wanted to turn every difference into a fight. Rosier probably didn't even know who the Beatles were. He was just being a… a 'pure twatwaffle' was sound.

"Are ye writin' any new songs?" Mary asked instead, reaching over to flick the strings of Marlene's guitar in an aimless strum.

"Nothing polite," came the response, but it wasn't Marlene's voice. Twisting around, Mary matched the remark with Lily, whose dark red hair was twisted in a braid to combat the wind. Just behind her, Emmeline's chestnut curls were cupping around her chin and ruffling more messily than usual, whipping up from around the blue and bronze scarf around her neck. Each time she swiped at them, the locks slipped around her fingers and back into her face. Windy days left little room for dignity.

"No' polite, but honest." Marlene's mouth turned up to a grin as Lily settled next to her, then Emmeline on Lily's other side to complete the circle. Shifting her guitar in her lap, Marlene gave it a lively strum. With a warm and lively tone, she started singing:

"Tae serpent's fangs are poison, an' they waitin' for a fight
Walk too close an' it'll sink its feared, unholy bite
But lead that serpent tae its tail, tae venom it would send
Sinks instead intae tae tail an' brings a bitter end."

When Lily gave Marlene a sharp look, Mary guessed it was probably because Snape was one of them. Lily still liked him, for some reason, even with his rubbish friends. Marlene added in a spoken—if still sing-song—tone, "In a me'aphor sort o' way," then punctuated with another strum.

"Are snakes jist a tail an' a head?" Mary piped in. "Should no' need much leadin'."

"Snakes do actually have necks, chests, even a pelvis," Emmeline pointed out. When they all looked at her, Emmeline shrugged and tucked a flyaway curl behind her ear. "The tail is relatively short."

"Emme is well reliable." Marlene nodded to Emmeline with a bright smile.

"I like the one about the beauty of the northern lights," Lily said, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on the the knees. A softer smile had pulled up the corners of her mouth. "We should go someday, just the four of us."

That smile spread around the circle with murmuring agreement, settling on Marlene last as she started to strum a slower, smoother tune. The notes melded into the wind, lingering for a moment before Marlene started to sing again:

"Tae bonnie northern waters stretch ahead
Dark as night wi' sparklin' stillness
Above tae blackest palette, we fin' aurora's light
A swirl o' vivid colours floatin' softly in tae sky
Like paint upon tae canvas, it will draw a lovin' sigh
Tae twinklin' arch o' stars is full o' brilliance…"

Her voice was comfortably warm, and however annoying the day had been, a bit of guitar-playing had a way of drowning that out, as far as Mary was concerned. For some time, they sat huddled in their circle, giving and taking requests, some from random students passing by. The late afternoon sun cast a burnt orange glow as it began to drop towards the horizon, and the autumn air chilled further in turn. Milling students thinned out on the Hogwarts grounds, heading in towards the promise of supper, and the little circle of friends wandered in as another day came to close.

The wizarding world's problems went deeper than a song, but those songs had a certain feeling to them, if nothing else. Mary would always prefer those feelings over a fight.

Additional Author's Notes

Applicable Hogwarts Prompts:

Assignment #9, Home Economics & Domestic Magic, Task 12 - Write about someone and their hobby.

Insane House Challenge - 923. (quote) "There are darkness in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights." – Bram Stoker, Dracula
365 Day Challenge - 146. (genre) Friendship
Marauders' Map Madness - 107. (character) Mary MacDonald, 102. (word) Freak
Chocolate Frog Cards, Beasts, Fwooper - Write about someone who can sing beautifully
Fortnightly Challenges, Princess Lessons, Ariel - 4. (trait) Musical
Fortnightly Challenges, Around the Board, Honeydukes - 20. Write fluff
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Billywig in Angola - 50. (word) Vivid, 5. (restriction) No characters over the age of 24
Writing Club, Character Appreciation, Sirius and Bill - 23. (house) Gryffindor
Writing Club, Lizzy's Loft, Markiplier - 1. Write about a good friend
Writing Club, Showtime, Fiddler on the Roof, Miracle of Miracles - 6. (color) Red
Writing Club, Lyric Alley, "You Don't Own Me" - 12. So just let me be myself
Writing Club, Ami's Audio Admirations, Adventure Zone, The Crystal Kingdom - 11. (color) Black
Writing Club, Em's Emporium, The chill of the air on your cheeks - 10. (word) Crisp (bonus)
Autumn Seasonal Challenges, Days of the Year, National Golf Day - Write about something that relaxes a character
Autumn Seasonal Challenges, Autumn Prompts - (weather) Windy
Autumn Seasonal Challenges, Colour Prompts - (colour) Burnt Orange
Autumn Seasonal Challenges, Air Prompts - (object) Scarf
Autumn Seasonal Challenges, Audrey's Dessert Challenge, Sponge Flavours, Birthday Cake - (character) Lily Evans
Autumn Seasonal Challenges, Ravenclaw Prompts - (trait) Creative, (object) Ravenclaw Scarf
Autumn Seasonal Challenges, Astronomy Prompts, Taurids Meteor Shower - (word) Beauty

Word Count - 844