Marlene Mckinnon
I look at the starry night sky displayed on the ceiling of the Great Hall and sigh as our headmaster Dumbledore leaves the room for an urgent meeting in London. I had gotten out of 6th year hoping for so many things: that the attacks would stop, that people would finally stop calling my friends Mudbloods , that I could be headgirl, that I could become Quidditch captain... I now realize it was foolish to hope, hope is dangerous, it makes you disappointed... The attacks have been multiplied by five, I'm fearing for my family's life every day... I've only been at Hogwarts for two hours and I've already gotten calle blood traitor and various other taunts three times. At least I'm not alone in this, Lily understands and my friends will always be here for me. However Lily got headgirl. I can't blame her but now I have to pretend to be happy for her when I wanted to the position so badly. I got 8 Outstandings in OWLs and I tutored 2nd years last year. Some girls do get all the luck... I'm sure she'll be a great headgirl, Dumbledore never makes mistakes while picking prefects and heads. Still, James Potter? Sometimes I think the headmaster's gone a bit mad with his old age... The worst is that Potter got headboy without even trying and he's Quidditch Captain! I know Potter's a better player than I am but he wants to work in the ministry when he leaves Hogwarts whereas I want to play Quidditch professionally... Being Captain would have looked good on my resumé... James and I are actually good frinds too, and I know that if he tries , he'll be a good headboy, but for now, he has a stupid michevious grin planted on jis face and I can tell he and his friends are going to start their start-of-the-year prank. I look at the rest of my best friends and realize they all have amazing qualities that somewhat outshine mine. I'm nice but Tanya's nicer, I'm pretty but am nowhere close to the beauty Lily and Mary achieve. I'm funny but don't make people laugh the way Alice does. I play Quidditch well but not as well as James and I'm smart but... Lily startles me out of my rather depressing thoughts as she's staring at me intently, trying to figure out what's going on in my mind. She won't be able to, I like to think I have a very private mind. I turn myself to her and stare at her back. Her long fiery red hair is draping behind her shoulders and her green eyes are sparkling more than ever as she begins to talk to Tanya and her boyfriend, Thomas. Her choker covered in diamonds and emeralds compliments her pale neck. Wait a minute, what choker? I'm sure she didn't have a choker in the train...
"Lily, where did you get that choker?" I ask, suspicious
She blushes and pretends to not have heard my question. I ask her again and this time she has no choice but to answer. Looks like I was right to be suspicious.
"Oh... If you really must know... Severus gave it me..." she says softly, like a child getting caught doing something they know is wrong.
"So he's back to Severus now?" I ask angrily. That guy is bad for Lily, what was she thinking, accepting his present? It could be cursed for all we know!
"Marlene, I know you think it's wrong but he was really sweet and he looked really sorry. He asked me to forgive him..." She says
I'm scared now, I really hope Lily was a sensible person and told him to stay away from her. Knowing Lily, she could have said yes. That girl is so quick to believe the best of everyone!
"What did you say?" I ask sharply
"I said I'd think about it." She says, fingering her new choker nervously
I sigh in relief. I had been scared there. What is Lily playing at, leading Snape on when the only thing he needs to do is to stay far away from her?
"Good, now after this meal you'll corner him and give him back the choker and say you don't forgive him." I say sternly, not wanting to be contradicted
"Marlene, I know you think he's a bad person but he's good, you just need to know him better..." She pleads
"He called you a Mudblood in front of the entire school and you're saying he's a good person? Why didn't you tell us before?" I say
Lily cringes at the memory and replies, ignoring my questions:
"Can you not tell the others yet. I promise I'll tell them if I forgive him but I don't want to tell them right now." She pleads
I roll my eyes. Lily didn't want to tell any of us before she had forgiven him so that we would have been too late. She knows we all share the same opinion: Snape is a horrible person.
"Please Marlene?" She says desperately, with a face she knows I can't resist.
"Fine, but he isn't good for you, Lily, you know that. I really don't think you should forgive him." I allow
"Oh thank you so much Marlene! Besides, it's been since 5th year that I've been holding a grudge!" She says with delight
I frown, is this girl trying to make me go back on my decision?
"I never said you had to forgive Snape." I threaten
But Lily laughed and motions zipping her lips. I roll my eyes, looks like Lily had already forgiven him… I spot Black staring at our group, notably Mary so I motion him to cut it out. The last thing I want is that Mary finds out Black might like her. They would be the most obnoxious couple ever! But dating's not really Mary's thing, just like Black. They both know they're too beautiful for their own good, and will flaunt themselves to everyone, never actually committing to anything. I guess Mary wants to avoid drama, but boys all around say she's their girlfriend after having gone on one date with her, leading to a lot of fights. Mary just likes change too much. She should try speed-dating. I chuckle. I look back to the Marauder's spot at the table and am not surprised to see that it's empty. That means that their start-of-the-year prank is coming soon. We tried to guess what it would be in the train, but they surpass themselves every year, so it's hard to predict. I nudge Alice and tell her this. She brightens up considerably and proceeds to tell the rest of our group. Soon, it's all anyone can talk about. I don't mean to be mean, it's just a fact, but Alice couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it. Oh well, people were bound to notice, the group is all girls can stare at. Suddenly I hear Potter's voice from above and look up warily. Potter's on his Nimbus 1000 and is currently pelting everyone with filled water balloons, aiming especially for the Slytherins. Sirius and Remus come after him and do the same thing. People are shrieking in delight, mostly girls, as they try to dodge the rain of water balloons. Poor Tanya gets drenched and is trying to protect her belongings. I cast a Impervius on myself and I'm good to go. I can see several students doing the same thing. Looks like this year's prank wasn't so foolproof. In fact, this is pretty bad on Marauder standards. They finally dismount their brooms and sit back into their seats as if nothing happens. I can see Mrs. Mcgonagall stomping towards them in anger, but she's not too angry because this prank was really mediocre. I can see some people looking around in surprise and annoyance as they contemplate how bad the Marauder's prank this year was. Maybe they decided to tone things down a little. I can see most people, myself included, sit back down in their seat in relief. We start our conversations once more and I forget about all my troubles.
Then the door opens with a bang, making all of us jump in our seats. Behind it are the Marauders grinning proudly like there's no tomorrow (how did they get over there that fast?) behind them an army of thirty short, furry animals with claws I immediately recognize. Nifflers. Oh no. I can see some people recognize them at once like me and are in a state of shock and fear. Then the Great Hall breaks out of a stunned silence as the nifflers are set loose.
"Get rid of your shiny belongings!" I cry as loud as I can, throwing my bracelet across the room. Sadly, not a lot of people seem to remember that nifflers love shiny things and are just running away. The young kids are crying as the nifflers tear open their bags and clothes. I can see one 4th year shrieking in pain as a niffler attempts to wrench a sparkly pin from her hair. I see that the Slytherins like Mulciber and his friends have a lot of shiny belongings, I'm sure that the Marauders slipped shiny things into their bags to target them. Stricken professors attempt to control the nifflers but they too are wearing their nicest robes, some shiny. Tables are thrown and everybody is running around in a terrified frenzy. I hear Mary shriek next to me and see a niffler trying to take her necklace.
"Petrificus Totalus!" I cry, aiming my wand at the niffler. The spell doesn't hit him but scares him away.
"Thank you so much!" says Mary, sobbing in pain
The Marauders look horrified at their prank so badly gone wrong. They try to help but it's no use. Where's Hagrid when you need him? I think desperately for Hagrid is the only one that can control them. I catch Snape's eye and am confused to find him horrified, searching for someone across the crowd. I don't have time to be confused though, as yet another niffler is scurrying to me. I spot Black as he runs out.
"Coward." I say savagely
This is a horrible prank, they should never have done it! This is the first prank where that many people actually get hurt. I can see a group of 3rd years huddled around a classmate of theirs who seems to be bleeding a lot. I bump into Lily and see that she's concentrated on helping the 1rst years who don't know what to do. She's a mess, but we all are. If only Dumbledore and Hagrid were here. I watch as Lily hurries away, her shiny choker glinting in the moonlight. My heart skips a beat and my eyes go as round as saucers. Her choker, glinting, nifflers everywhere changing course, they suddenly look even more ravenous is all I can think of. I come back to my senses but it's too late. At least ten nifflers have noticed her new choker and are letting go of students, watching and coming towards her. Lily appears to be oblivious until a 3rd year screams. Lily whips her head around and turns as pale as a sheet. I can see her fumbling with her choker but it can't come off. People are casting so many curses but they're hesitant because they might hit Lily and the nifflers are too fast. All of this takes place in the matter of seconds but it goes in slow motion for me. I watch as Snape's expression is replaced by sheer terror. I don't think, all I can do is throw myself toward her but it's too late. A part of my mind notes that Hagrid just banged the door open, followed by Black, but I'm too concentrated on Lily to understand what it means. In the distance I can hear someone shouting but I don't pay I can register is that around fifteen nifflers are throwing themselves at her pale neck.