Light invaded the pre-dawn darkness of the bedroom; sunbeams bounced off the mirrors and reflected on the vaulted ceiling. Small beam touched Thalia's face, waking her up from a colorful dream. Thalia shivered, her toes were sticking under the blanket and she pulled her legs closer, curling up in the fetal position. A soft lump under her side meowed with displeasure and jumped out of bed. Marlene's cat got a taste for sleeping in girls' beds; alternately sleeping with Thalia and Mary, it stoically avoided Marlene's company.
Thalia got up and made her way to the windows barefoot, the coolness of the wooden floor tickled her skin. She opened the window leaf and frosty winter air hit her, chasing away the remnants of sleepiness.
The most amazing of views was on display: the treetops of the Forbidden Forest were covered with snow caps; footprints dotted the clearing in front of the castle, exposing the cracked surface of the earth, which from the height of Gryffindor tower seemed like some quaint pattern.
Thalia was glad she was sorted into Gryffindor for many reasons, and living in a tower with such beautiful sights was one of them. She lovingly touched the lion's emblem on her shirt and the memory instantly carried her to 3 three years ago.
The Sorting Ceremony was about to begin. Professor McGonagall took them to the hall and now Thalia stood among other first-years, her knees buckled slightly half from worries half from excitement. She could see how Marlene folded her hands in supplication, mumbling something of "please, not Slytherin" kind. Some boy in front of her, shifting from foot to foot, tangled in the flaps of his incredibly long robes and stumbled – "nervous" was written all over his face.
Was it really so important to be sorted into the precise house? She wanted to think no, but the possibility to study in the same house as Lily was definitely alluring. She sifted her gaze from the poor clumsy fellow to the center of the hall.
Four massive wooden tables with carved legs and corresponding house colors took up most of the space. Older students settled down on the benches, waiting for the new ones to join in.
Thalia could see Lily at the middle table: the scarlet tie in gold stripes loosened around her neck. Lily caught Thalia's glance, raised her hand and waved.
When Dorothy Vans was sorted into Ravenclaw, McGonagall finally called out Thalia's name.
"Evans, Thalia."
Thalia made her way to an unreliably fragile-looking old stool and put on the Hat.
"Well-well, what do we have here?" a high-pitched voice rang in her head. "Ambitious, but to principled for a Slytherin, aren't you? I see intelligence, a desire for knowledge, but also courage and daring heart. Better be…"
Thalia held her breath.
"Gryffindor!"
The second table from the right burst out in a storm of applause, James and Lily being the loudest applauders.
Her table was later joined by Marlene and a few other boys and girls, the sorting of which was welcomed with sincere smiles and loud whistles that students generously presented to the new-comers.
"Hey," Marlene's juicy yawn brought her back to reality, "turn off the light, for Merlin's sake. Let a girl enjoy her Sunday sleep."
"It's Monday, Marley."
"You have to be kidding me!" Marlene exclaimed, making it clear that she was utterly disappointed.
They made their way down to the great hall. Thalia sat down near Lily and filled her cup with tea.
Lily was fully gone in an attempt to explain Alice the laws of physics.
"And if you drop the book, it will fall to the ground, because of the gravitation," Lily gesticulated frantically, dropping her charms manual to the floor with a loud "bum".
"But I can accio it, right? And the gravitation won't work. So why do you need to learn the laws that aren't even working properly?" Alice, petite brunette with a pixy cut, pooled the book from the floor with a wave of her wand.
"These laws do function for muggles. And our parents think that we should be aquatinted with both worlds." Thalia said conciliatory. She filled her plate with oats and put some fresh berries on the side.
Alice made a face, clearly showing that all of that muggle stuff was of no use in her opinion.
"How do you manage to learn so much?" Marlene squinted. "My brain is exploding from the magic classes only."
"It's not that hard, really," Thalia took a sip of her tea trying not to burn herself.
"Said teachers' favorite," Eddie Miller, their fellow student, merged into the conversation.
Teachers loved Thalia, that was true. They expected her to be like Lily because her diligent older sister was the favorite almost in every class. "It has to be a family thing," Marlene noted. Thalia had her doubts about that.
"Talented girl!" professors said regarding her. But Thalia knew that the talent they praised so much went side by side with disaster.
She remembered how all the pots in the cabinet exploded to smithereens when the potion she was brewing turned out wrong and she got upset. Or that case when Mulciber called Marlene a savage and his voice suddenly turned to sheep bleat. There were a whole lot of other incidents, some more … destructive and unexpected than others, and Thalia didn't even raise her wand. Professors told her it will stabilize over time, and her control management became somewhat better over the years, but her magic still had a character of her own.
"There is loads of magic inside you," Severus once told her. She caught a subtle note of envy in his cracking voice.
"Some just spend more time in the library than In front of the mirror, Edie," Marlene cut off.
Eddie turned away resentfully, straightening his already perfectly styled her.
Marlene wanted to add something else but was interrupted by a group of noisy boys energetically discussing something on their way to the Gryffindor table.
Marauders.
"I can outfly anyone in Hogwarts," James boasted arrogantly.
"You could easily shove his broomstick up his bu…" Thalia hissed, not letting Marlene finish her tirade.
"What, is it not true? You are the best flyer this school has ever seen!" she stopped butchering her stake (honestly, a stake for breakfast?) and turned full attention to Thalia.
Thalia loved flying, it was no secret. When she rushed into the air, everything else was left behind, the same spot her foot got off the ground. It was not the adrenaline she enjoyed the most if you ask her. At least not in a common sense when you experience something scary and dangerous and it makes your brain produce that strange hormone so many people try to find jumping with parachute or diving with sharks, or whatever else they did try to fill their lives with. Well, she was never afraid of heights, so it was not her case anyway. What really made blood pump through her veins with the strength of Gulf Stream current was the wild sense of freedom. There was nothing to worry about, nothing to constantly hold in the corner of her mind: no unfinished homework, no parchment scrolls to be done, and no nasty bugs to butcher for a potion. She loved everything mentioned, don't get her wrong (maybe except for the bugs), but it was nice to clear the head once in a while. Thalia genuinely didn't understand how someone could hate it, but she knew for a fact a lot of people did. Lily was not fond of flying, to say it gently. And Marlene, her reckless best friend, (out of all people!) with starling consistency refused to even touch the broom. In the first lesson, madam Hooch wrote it off to the lack of confidence, but when the same scene repeated over and over again, the professor stopped trying to instill in her any flying skills.
'Suicidal tendencies' Marlene called them. When the first year of compulsory flight classes was finished, Marley was in heaven.
"Well, we don't know that. Besides, I want to be as far away from Marauders' circle of awareness as possible when it comes to flying. Remember when Sirius challenged James once? They were flying 5 hours nonstop."
In truth, Thalia wanted to be as far from their circle of awareness as possible when it came to everything. James was charming and funny, but in his pranks, he saw no boundaries. He was a brave person, idealist, and didn't know how to condone people's weaknesses. And what bothered Thalia the most, is that he just turned out to be somewhere near her all the time. Of course, they lived in the same dorms, and seeing one another was inevitable, but sometimes she could feel his gaze on her back and it gave her shivers. ("At least he is not offering you to date him every single time you talk," Lily signed helplessly.)
Her relationships with Sirius were ruined during the first ride. After the episode in the cabin she rethought the conversation and wanted to apologize for the rather sharp words she said. But when she approached him, he acted nastily and mocked her. Sirius' pride was hurt, and now their communication came down to one scenario: Thalia tried to avoid him, Sirius tried to annoy her.
Remus, the boy who bumped into her once, seemed like a nice and timid person. But he never stopped the two from the evil jokes, even though she doubted he took part in any of them.
The last one of the group, chubby boy with flaxen hair named Peter, in his aging to imitate everything James and Sirius did made Thalia feel sorry for his lack of individuality and self-confidence.
All and all, she felt pretty uncomfortable around the quartet.
"Just saying," Marlene put a huge piece of roasted beef in her mouth, "that it would be great to cut his wings once in a while."
"I would rather let Lily do that, she is pretty handy with him lately."
Lily wanted to protest, but they all saw how the redhead "gifted" James horns the last time he bothered her.
"They are going to see you at the qualifiers any way," Alice put aside the fashion journal she was reading.
"Who said I am going to participate?" Thalia said calmly.
"But you are 15 now; your parents don't have to sign permission."
Mrs. and Ms. Evans shared Marlene's believes regarding flying. And quidditch, which was flying multiplied by the broken bones and dislocated limbs, were off-limits for both Evans girls. At least for as long as parents could control it.
"Oh, I could easily forge their signatures if I wanted to play."
"Thalia Jasmine Evans!" Lily indignantly gulped, choking on her soda.
"In theory," Thalia added imperturbably. "The point is, quidditch, at least playing it, is not of any interest to me. I personally think the game rules limit the freedom of action, don't leave enough space for improvisation. Don't you agree?"
"Is it me you are asking?" Marlene arched her light brows, implying 'I have never held a broom in my arms, girl'.
"Yep, never mind."
"Hey, there you are, Brody."
Brody, her owl, swooped down on the table next to Thalia, a pile of newspapers was tied to his sinewy brown paw. The owlet smacked, pecked the rest of the porridge from her plate, and only then allowed the mail to be taken.
She skimmed through the lines, hoping for the good news.
"The tension in the wizarding world grows", "Death eaters: a flock of bandits or a threat to the magical community?", "Group calling themselves the Death Eaters promote purebloods to unite" was written on top of every single magazine.
She put the newspapers and the magazines aside, turning them headlines down only not to see the hated words.
She had long got used to the 'Mudblood' following her everywhere. But that was a word, an empty insult from insecure, narrow-minded Slytherins. She didn't let it hurt her. A slight inconvenience in the wonderful world of magic she had to endure – that what it was. Establishing a group that propagandized the persecution of Muggle-borns was a different matter entirely.
"What does your father say?" She noticed how Marlene flinched at the sign of the black-covered figure on the front page. Charles McKinnon, broad-shouldered man Thalia met the last summer, has been running the head of Major Investigation Department.
Marlene knitted her brows together, revealing her concern.
"Not much. They spotted their last shelter, but they got away. Dad thinks they won't last long."
"They are just a bunch of sadist. Ministry will put an end to this, don't worry." Lily assured her.
Thalia wished she had as much confidence as her sister. She genuinely considered buying the sneakoscope for her parents. And no, she was not paranoid, just cautious.
"Girls," James approached the group, pretending not to notice how Lily immediately turned away. "What all the arguing is about?" James messed his hair and leaned closer to them over the table.
"I was just saying that Thalia could easily tear you apart on the broom."
Oh, you are so screwed, Marlene McKinnon.
"Really?" he smiled, his mocking stare flickering between the girls. "What about a competition then?"
"No," Thalia merely looked up from her breakfast, unwilling to succumb to provocation.
"If you are as good as Marlene says, you don't have to worry, right?" he questioned cheekily, trying to lure her further into a trap.
"I am not getting myself in any jokes of yours, James. Attempts to dare me won't work, though I applaud the effort."
"What if not a challenge, but a wager?" Thalia blinked, waiting for him to continue. "If I lose in a race, Marauders will cancel the karaoke nights for a month."
"The drunken moans the whole common room has to listen to every single Friday you call karaoke?" Thalia tried to suppress an urge to smirk, but James' offended expression confirmed that she failed. "What will you get if I lose?"
"The most valuable prize of all – information. I will ask you one question that you will answer truthfully."
"Will I have to drink a Veritaserum or something?"
"No, just swear, that will do. Come on, Tasha, that's a great deal!"
Her consciousness screamed her to stop. "Danger" small hammers were clattering inside her skull. Of course, she didn't listen.
"Thursday. Meet you after the sunset at Hagrid's," she agreed, ignoring Lily's protests on the background.
"No spectators, Marlene," Thalia warned in a tone that allowed no objections. "And no support group either."
James followed her gaze in Marauders' direction.
"Pinky swear," he held his hand for a deal-binding handshake.
That night, after having an exhausting library experience full of Lily's lectures about betting and "messing with unwanted individuals", Thalia felt drained. She laid on thin sheets, feeling every spring of the mattress cutting into her skinny teenage body, on which the curves of breasts and hips have recently become looming... (An explicit reminder that her fifteenth birthday was approaching)
Flashbacks of today's conversation flooded Thalia's senses, one question on her mind:
What the hell has she gotten herself into?
Notes:
Sooooorry guys! I didn't want to make a cliché, but if Thalia doesn't belong in Gryffindor, I don't know who does.
Stick with me to find out who is going to be the winner of the bet.
Also, isn't Marlene adorable?
Pls, let me know your thoughts on this chapter))
p.s I update on Arrchive of Our Own a little bit faster (usually 1-2 days), so if you don't want to wait, my working AOO profile is RoryK75 and the story name is the same.