"We already were off on the wrong foot you see, Murphy. Mum Prewett, my adopted mother, has these two really stuffy sisters who come every holiday with their horrible mother and stiff father.
"Anyways so there staying here and Fabian and Gideon leave to go hang out with Bentley Wood, to get Quidditch advice or something. At least that's what they said so I had to spend three days with them! And when they got back they were sorta distant. I don't know, I just-I don't they care that much about me anymore it's-"
"Lina?" James Potter's incredulous voice reached her ears as he opened the compartment door.
"Hm?"
"What are you doing?" James asked, sticking his unruly head into the compartment. "Where are the twins?"
"Dunno. This is my new friend Murphy, Murphy Callaghan." Murphy was quite shocked, more shocked than when the Gryffindor had entered his compartment. He hadn't thought that she would've remembered his first name let alone his last name.
"Wotcher, kid. Lina, um did you know Fabian and-" James looked down at the floor guiltily.
"Shatter? Yeah I know." She said darkly suddenly glaring down at her feet.
"Listen you've gotta come see this! Wormtail fell asleep so we've been changing him different colors!" Sirius yelled excitedly as he ran down the corridor, followed by the sound of compartment doors opening. "Merlin, Prongs they've heard me!"
"You wanna come?" Messalina asked as she stood up, looking back at the lone first year.
"Um no thanks, I wouldn't want to intrude." Murphy picked up his book as if to punctuate his point.
"If you see us at breakfast tomorrow, you can come and sit with us if you want. I like you, Murph." And in a whisp of brown hair the skinny girl was gone.
"Oi Murphy!" Lina yelled as she and the Marauders walked down the corridor to the Great Hall. The small blond turned around as did the group of Ravenclaws he had been trailing slowly behind. Messalina laughed at the bugged out look most of the kids had as they looked at the older, popular Gryffindors. She jerked her head and smiled at the Irish boy. "You comin' with us?"
The boy nodded and hurried over to the brunette's side. "What're you lot looking at?" Sirius demanded and most scurried away glancing back at the older kids a few times.
"Guys this is Murphy Callaghan. Murphy this is Remus Lupin, James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew." Remus inwardly tried not to make a big deal out of it but he felt a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Fabe, stop it." Gideon hit his brother in the back of the head with his copy of The Daily Prophet. "You're the one who pushed her that way!"
Fabian didn't hear his brother he was too busy staring at where Messalina was sitting with a puny Ravenclaw first year and the Marauders. She threw her head back and laughed, leaning her head on Sirius Black's shoulder.
"Fabian!" Gideon hit his brother even harder with the newspaper finally getting his attention.
"What?" He murmured offhandedly, his gaze returning to the group of fifth years and the one first.
"You know why you pushed her away! She thinks of us as brothers, you can't go declare your love for her!"
"Don't remind me." Fabian growled, turning around to glare at his brother.
"But of all the girls in the school, why Shatter?"
"She's not Lina." Gideon's eyes widened in realization. Madeline Shatter was of average height with curves that made most guys drool over her, that was until she opened her mouth which never seemed to close. Messalina was tall and lean, not caring much about her appearance on a normal day. Lina didn't care about gossip all that much, Shatter loved it. Lina was smart, Shatter was dull. But most of all Madeline Shatter had light hair and blue eyes, Lina having dark hair and dark eyes.
xXxXxXxXx
Remus Lupin was confused to say the least. He hadn't talked to Messalina since the incident with Snape and all of a sudden she wasn't talking to the twins and was back in with the Marauders without getting so much as an apology from the four boys. Prewett was going out with Madeline Shatter, whom Messalina despised so the brunette had to have done something to the redhead to make him go out with the gossipy fifth year.
"Remus?" The werewolf's head snapped up at the sound of her voice and he noticed none of his friends were sitting by him anymore. "We have to go to class now."
Remus nodded and taking one last bite of his toast followed his friends out of the Great Hall.
In Ancient Runes, Messalina was oddly quiet, choosing to take detailed notes on the lecture instead of goofing off and copying Remus' later.
"Lina," Remus hissed when the professor gave them time to do their work. "What's wrong?"
Messalina tore off a bit of parchment and quickly wrote something down, passing it to Remus when she was done.
Nothing, why do you ask?
Remus glanced at her and raised his eyebrows before writing out his response on the other side.
What happened with the twins?
Is it because of Shatter?
Messalina merely nodded sullenly and put the parchment into her bag as class ended.
xXxXxXxXx
Messalina was quieter than usual as she walked with Remus back to the Common Room. Ancient Runes was their last class of the day and each groaned at the thought of all the work they had to do so early after break. "This has to be the most we've-"
Messalina abruptly stopped walking once she had made it inside the portrait hole. Remus ran into her making the pair stumble into the light. Madeline Shatter was lying on top of Fabian Prewett and they were groping each other. Giggling, Madeline stood up suddenly and grabbed Fabian's hand leading him up to the girl's dormitory, somehow managing to levitate him up the stairs. Messalina didn't move even after there was the sound of a high-pitched giggle and her dorm's door slamming shut.
"Lina-" Remus went to grab her shoulder but she was always moving forward towards a couch. About halfway there she seemed to realize that they had been together on it and chose to sink down into an armchair.
"Lina-"
"How could he?" It came out in a strangled cry and she turned to face the werewolf. "I hate her!" Before Remus could reach her, Messalina's lip began to quiver.
In a single stride he stepped over to her, sitting beside her. She put her arms around his shoulders and put her head into her neck. "How could he?"
And that was how the other three Marauders found the pair an hour later, Messalina having stopped crying but hadn't moved.
"How am I going to sleep in there?" She asked and as she sat up the redhead made his way down the stairs a content grin on his face. His clothes were messy and he was lacking a tie. He noticed Messalina's tear-stained face, the eyeliner that had made its ways down her cheeks and he stopped walking. He looked like he had been going to come over but Sirius and James each stepped forward and took out their wands. No had an answer to Lina's question and a few more tears ran down her face. "How?"
"Lina, we've still got dinner, go get cleaned up-" Sirius began but James elbowed him in the stomach.
"You can use our bathroom Lina." James gave the other boys each pointed looks and Messalina nodded, climbing off of Remus' lap.
"Thanks guys." She followed each of them up the stairs, ignoring the looks everyone was giving her. Carved into the wood underneath Fifth Years was The Marauders in Sirius' familiar scrawl. "Nice."
Upon opening the door Messalina almost took a step back. There was stuff...everywhere. Ties hung from the banisters of the bed, posters of muggle women were all over one bed's area, pictures moving on every inch of the wall. There were large piles of clothes lying on the floor along with parchment, shoes, and socks strewn everywhere.
"Merlin," Messalina breathed out, it was like watching a broomstick accident, terrible but mesmerizing. "This is um.."
"Impressive?" Sirius asked, the first one to enter the room his fellow Marauders behind him.
"Not sure that was what I was going for but okay." Messalina entered the room warily, looking as though she expected something to pop out at her. Shaking her head she entered the bathroom where wet towels were strewn onto the floor. She washed her face with only water, not sure that she wanted to touch anything in their musty bathroom. Once the black was gone she returned to find the boys lounging on their own beds talking in hushed voices.
When they turned to leave they heard footsteps coming down the stairs and a second before Messalina went to step out Fabian Prewett was standing in front of her.
"Lina, listen I've got something to tell you-"
"Sod off Prewett, no one cares." Messalina snapped coldly glaring at her best friend who stormed down the stairs without another word. She turned around, her voice light once again. "Dinner?"
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