. . . quiet, undemonstrative.
Mary had just arrived at her dormitory when she realized that she had forgotten her bag. She waited half an hour to make sure that James and Sirius were no longer lurking around there. She thought about how mad Sirius made her. She felt a million different emotions at once: irritation, pleasure, tenacity, weakness, anger, desire. . . . They buzzed in her head like a bee.
She made her way back to the niche, and as she rounded the corner where the niche was, she did not just find her bag.
"Looking for this?" asked a snide Slytherin—Mulciber, a friend of Severus Snape—who held her bag with his index finger and thumb as if it was some dirty rag.
She wanted to yell at him that it was hers but "Er. . . ." was what came out.
"Says 'Mary Macdonald. Gryffindor,'" Mulciber said.
Mary stared at him but did not utter a word. She really wasn't sure what to do. She had heard rumours of Mulciber and his gang. None of them were good stories.
"You're a bit thick, aren't you?" he said. "I know you're Mary Macdonald. You hang out with Lily Evans." He continued after she still did not speak, taking steps closer to her. "You know, you'd almost be not ugly if you weren't a Mudblood." He smiled, probably thinking himself clever.
"I want my bag," Mary finally said.
"What'll you give me for it?" he asked quietly. He was only a couple feet away from her.
Mary began fumbling for her wand. She wanted to run, she wanted to scream, to back away from him, but she couldn't.
He smiled greedily.
Mary struggled to pull her wand out of her pocket. It was stuck and she couldn't free it, not in time. She was trembling; he was almost to her—
"HEY!" shouted a male voice from down the corridor.
Remus Lupin and Lily were striding towards them, wands pointing at Mulciber. Lily's red hair rippled behind her like a banner.
"GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU CREEP!" bellowed Lily. She looked livid.
Mulciber leaned toward Mary and whispered, "I'll see you later, Mary. Maybe we'll invite your filthy mother along."
And then he was gone, and Remus and Lily were making sure she was alright, and it was an hour later.
"You're sure you're alright?" asked Lily for the umpteenth time. "I'll stay with you the whole time if you want to go to the Hospital Wing."
Mary sighed. "I've told you and McGonagall a thousand times that I am. And I am not going to the Hospital Wing," she added firmly. She could imagine Mulciber's pleasure at her being put on bed rest because of him.
"I know, I know," said Lily putting an arm around Mary when she sat on the bed beside her. "It's just, the image of him—" Lily shuddered.
Mary didn't say anything, thinking the same thing Lily was. If Lily and Remus had not arrived any sooner. . . . Mary couldn't think about it any longer.
"I'm starving, Lil," said Mary abruptly standing up and making Lily's arm plop onto the bed. "What time is it? Is dinner over?"
"Er, yeah," answered Lily, "but . . . I think I know some people who can get us some food."
Mary hid a smile. When Lily said "some people," she meant the Marauders.
"Well, let's get it over with and go ask them then," said Mary.
Right as Lily reached the door, Mary stopped her and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, Lily," she murmured. "I don't know what I would do without you."
Lily patted her back and didn't say anything. Mary suspected she was on the verge of tears. They held hands like two little girls as they made their way down the stairs and met an unexpected sight in the common room. Remus, peaceable and good-natured Remus, was standing over James and Sirius speaking so vehemently that his voice sounded even more hoarse than usual.
"—wand out and pointing straight at him, I tell you!" he almost yelled.
"Alright, Remus," said James holding his hands up, palms out, "we believe you. We all believe you."
Sirius snorted. "Remus is telling us that Mary mousy Macdonald stood up for herself when she couldn't even say two words to you and you believe him? C'mon, James—"
Lily cleared her throat loudly, and the Marauders and everyone else whipped their heads in her and Mary's direction. Lily opened her mouth to say something, but Mary spoke instead.
"Let's go see McGonagall for some dinner, Lil," she said. Her quiet voice seemed to echo throughout the whole of the room. "I don't think anyone else can be bothered."
And without another word, Mary and Lily climbed through the portrait hole and left the common room to their gossiping.
A/N: First of all, this chapter is dedicated to T-Stone01, who encouraged me to continue this story. Thank you so much!
On a similar note, I just don't think that James and Sirius are all that nice. Sure, they stand for the right things, but that doesn't automatically make someone a good person. Plus, they are fifteen-year-old boys. As we learned in Order of the Phoenix, they are still very much bullies at the end of their fifth year.
The title of the chapter comes from "True bravery is quiet, undemonstrative." It is by Sir Philip Sidney.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for reading. Thank you for the alerts and favorites. Please continue to read. I really believe in this story. Let me know what you think or any questions you may have. Do you think it's heading in the right direction? Do you like Mary? What do you think of Sirius and James? Anything, I want to know anything :)