authour's note: written for tumblr's blackinnon week. i don't own any of this, yo.
She was taller than him when they were eleven. She was actually taller than most people in their year, and her legs went up to her shoulders. She hadn't grown into it though, not yet used to how long her limbs were, and her long blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail, because she couldn't be bothered to do anything with it.
"It's just school, Mam!" she'd moaned when her mother tried to plait it that morning, "It's not like it's a wedding or anything, I don't have to look nice!"
"I just thought-"
"Well don't."
They did not meet on the platform. She lived in Edinburgh, in one of those long spindly houses tucked in a cobbled streets, and it was only two grates away from the school. Her father thought it ridiculous that they should go all the way to London just to come back again. She Flooed in about an hour before the rest of the school arrived, and sat by Professor McGongall's fireplace, twiddling her thumbs. McGonagall was friends with her parents, but she sat in silence and, although not intentionally, allowed Marlene to feel stupendously awkward.
Sirius, meanwhile, caught the train like the rest of them, and on it made a friendship that lasted longer than forever. It was the first time in a while (the first time in ever, even) that he felt he could breathe, that he could say what he thought and felt and not get a slap or a barbed comment in return. He would later describe it as the first day of the rest of his life.
They were all crowded in the Entrance Hall, him and James stood on each other's feet and craning their necks to see what in Circe's name was going on.
The doors of the Great Hall swung open and McGonagall appeared, dressed in sparkling green robes and with her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Marlene was by her side, but Sirius did not notice her. He was trying to think of as many jokes as he possibly could about McGonagall's nose. It was of vital importance to him that James thought he was funny.
"Go on now," the professor pointed Marlene in the direction of a scrawny brunette girl with chipped nail polish and tiny hooped earrings. Marlene shuffled over to the girl, cheeks burning under the heat of everyone else's stares. As McGonagall began her speech, Marlene made a decision that would affect her entire life and eventually lead to her death; I am a McKinnon, she thought, I have a lion's blood and I will not let a bunch of snotty nosed, short arse eleven year olds make me feel bad about anything. They can stick their gazes where the sun doesn't shine.
As McGonagall began her speech, Marlene locked her gaze on the Hogwarts emblem above the doorframe, and pulled herself up to her full height. She was not going to be shuffling anywhere anymore.
She did not notice him, and he barely noticed her. But in their case, the beginning was not as important as the middle, or even the end.