Somewhere In The Between
Marlene's a very skilled witch, particularly in defensive strategies. She might not have all her theory memorized, but she's quick on her feet. I hear she's planning to become an Auror… I think she'll be good at it. She doesn't shy away from danger, from what I've seen…
-Remus Lupin. 1976. (ever the sweetheart, aren't you, Lupin…)
Marlene? She… doesn't really talk to me much, I guess. She doesn't talk to me at all, actually… except for the time I spilled orange juice all down my front at breakfast. She laughed then. But I guess she's smart and stuff. She knows her hexes well.
-Peter Pettigrew. 1976. (who?)
Oh, yeah, Sirius's real good friends with her. Think they might've dated at some point, actually… She's friends with Evans, too – same dormitory. I'd say she's nice-looking for a blonde, yeah… no offense to her, but she can be kind of a slag sometimes. I guess Padfoot doesn't mind. She's not someone you want on your bad side, though – she's got a dozen ways up her sleeve to stick you to the ceiling or hex your toes off. Not that we don't, mind you… but she's someone to watch out for.
-James Potter. 1976. (yeah, offense taken, Potter, but don't tell me you don't like it.)
Marlene McKinnon… Isn't she a Gryffindor? Blonde ringlets, loud voice, red lipstick? She's always reminded me of a fish, to be honest.
-Mary Macdonald. 1976. (says the horse-faced one…)
Marlene is such a dear! Oh, she's friendly to mostly everyone, really, but I like to consider myself one of her better friends – me and her and Lily Evans, we've been friends since first year. Perhaps she can be a bit lazy at times – right slob, you know, always leaving everything around our dormitory – and maybe she can get a bit angry sometimes, but she's got a good heart, really. Oh, and don't the men just love her – she can be such a flirt sometimes… well, all the time, actually – lots of boys, she's got. She's strong, too – only seen that girl cry once, and she had every right to, you know… broke her arm in three places, poor thing! And only twelve years old at the time… That's not to say she's never sad, of course. I'm sure she is at times. She just kind of handles it better than most, y'know?
-Emmeline Vance. 1976. (em, you're such a nice person. i don't understand you.)
I'd say Marlene is one of my best friends, no matter how stubborn or disagreeable she can be. She's stuck with me for all this time, and I hope she continues, because I don't know if I could manage without her (or if she could keep herself out of trouble without me! Honestly, that girl does not know when to shut up sometimes). She's a bit too friendly with them for any healthy level of sanity, though. How she can stand hanging around with Sirius Black is beyond me… She dated him, you know, and for a long time by her standards. Too long, if you ask me – that meant I had to sit by them at meals, and let me tell you, neither of them is shy in the slightest about PDA… She's a half-blood, I think, and she's got three older brothers and a sister, so she's pretty tough. They've all graduated already, though. Anyways, yeah, Marlene is a great person. She may not be the best at being sensitive, or turning in homework on time, or doing her homework… but I wouldn't trade her for the world.
-Lily Evans. 1976. (and you, lils.)
Marlene McKinnon, hm? Well… let's just say we made a splash in the prefects' bathroom.
Kidding. Neither of us is good enough to be a prefect, and it's not like Moony would ever give me the password. Hah. Maybe I should ask him, just to see his reaction.
…Okay, okay. Marlene. Nice body on that one. She's real polite to people when she wants to be, but believe me, she's not afraid to speak her mind (or give you a good slap, if she feels like you deserve it). Excellent snog, too. Oh, and I'd say she's pretty smart – not quite all the way to Remus-smart, but more James-smart when he pays attention.
Prongs said that, did he? Yeah, I guess we've become pretty good friends. She probably knows me the best out of anyone besides James and Remus, now that I think about it… a few drunken confessions here and there, and suddenly we know a bunch about each other. Funny how that works sometimes.
-Sirius Black. 1976. (password's beethoven… i think abbott's still making them up. midnight tonight?)
It's a real pity, what they've done. Her whole family, gone overnight… I hope their deaths will not be in vain.
-Remus Lupin. 1981. (twenty-one years old and writing like a professional… times haven't changed.)
She was a brave person… I remember once, back in third or fourth year, when a couple of us had found a decent-sized acromantula in Hogsmeade, but after it nearly bit someone and started chasing us, we ran. And Marlene McKinnon just happened to show up then and save our arses – just pulled out her wand and threw a Stunner at it, like none of us were smart enough to think of. She was a pretty great person, and I'm really sorry to hear about what happened.
-James Potter. 1981. (getting sentimental, are we, potter? has lily finally gotten to you?)
Marlene McKinnon will always be remembered in our hearts.
-Mary Macdonald. 1981. (apology not accepted.)
I-I can't believe it… Marlene, after all this time… [muffled sobs] She fought, I know she did. Marlene fought against all those D-Death Eaters with all of her heart… n-not like me, oh, I know, not like timid little me in the Charms corridor against Mulciber… Marlene, you fought, right? You resisted… you did…
-Emmeline Vance. 1981. (calm down, ems. you'll get on just fine without me.)
She's… she's really gone. And I can't believe it. I can't believe that just yesterday, she was absolutely full of life; we were talking about our plans for after all this passes over, and… and now she won't get to fulfill any of that, because she's dead. I won't ever get to see her again, or her amazing family… She's still alive in my mind, you know, still the same, wonderful Marlene… the poor angel. I hope she didn't suffer.
-Lily Potter. 1981. (you too, lils.)
Let me tell you something about Marlene McKinnon.
She was not a great person. She wasn't even always a good person. She was just an average human being that lived at the wrong time and in the wrong place. And now she's gone.
Okay, but most of us knew that already. We all lived with her for seven years. We know she had her friends, and she definitely had her enemies. But here we are, telling each other how beautiful and how good she was – and just because she's dead. Her personality didn't change in the last seconds of her life, and if it did, none of us were there to see it. She was Marlene her whole life.
And if you knew that, too, then why the hell are we acting like she wasn't? Why do people find the need to glorify the dead and turn them into something they're not? I don't know about you, but I want to be remembered as exactly who I am, no matter if I become a serial killer or an Auror.
…I may have loved her at one point. I don't know. I'm not sure anymore, because her image is already starting to twist itself in my mind. I guess it's only human, then, because I'm resisting it the hardest and the lines between fact and fantasy are already blurring.
Merlin, I'm starting to sound like some sort of sap. C'mon, I'm leaving.
-Sirius Black. 1981. (aww, look, he does care. it's just a bit too late.)
[Peter Pettigrew was not available for comment.]
A/N: For Budapest All Over Again in the Yuletide Fic Exchange. I hope you had/have a fantastic holiday! :)
Gosh, I'm feeling really iffy about the quality of this, but I've redone it about 29384798 times so far and procrastinated until the last minute… DX Extensive editing will probably take place sometime soon. Also, the "1981" takes place before the death of the Potters and Sirius's imprisonment, obviously.
Happy New Years' Eve, everyone!
~Ebaz
P.S. The title is from Streetlight Manifesto's song "Somewhere In The Between," which sparked this fic with the line "we all just idolize the dead." Go listen to it; it's pretty awesome :D
