A/N: Sorry it's late! It is very long though to make up for it. Make sure you review, that's honestly what gives me motivation, and I'm going on holiday this weekend so I'd like to have another chapter up before then!
Disclaimer: Not JK Rowling. Blah.
Chapter 14-Sordid Affairs
The first thing Marlene McKinnon noticed when she entered the Great Hall along with her friends, Lily, Alice, Emmeline and Mary was that there was a lack of buzz that she normally noticed. Granted, people were still conversing with their friends, but instead of the hall being filled with raucous laughter, everyone seemed to be letting out small chuckles, speaking in quiet whispers. It was like the summer had caused a change in everyone. The Slytherins were more closed off than usual. The Ravenclaws were working out where their loyalties lay. The Hufflepuffs were keeping the peace. The Gryffindors were ready for a fight. No-one could ignore the fact that outside the walls of Hogwarts, there was a war brewing, and it would only be so long before the war made its way inside the walls. The tensions were higher than ever, and Marlene already didn't like it.
"Have you heard the rumours?" Emmeline said, in a hushed tone, "They're saying Avery, Rosier and Mulciber have been branded with the dark mark over the holidays."
"No way!" Lily gasped.
"Yeah…and apparently, the other seventh years are following closely behind." Lily looked a little pale at this, and Mary rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.
"I'm sure he wouldn't," She assured the redhead, speaking of Lily's former friend, Severus Snape.
Lily sighed, "I wish I could believe that, Mary. Hey, have any of you seen Dorcas?"
Dorcas Meadowes was the final girl in their Gryffindor dormitory. She used to be Marlene's closest companion, but over their sixth year she grew very distant from almost everyone around her. She was completely shut off. She still sat with her dorm mates at mealtimes and in lessons but she was more subdued in class than Marlene had ever seen her. She never got involved in the gossip, and was always sneaking off out. It took Marlene the good part of a year to realise that her friend wasn't, in fact, going to the library, but she had still yet to solve where the girl had been going. Lily had suggested extra tutoring for classes. Dorcas was always a very clever girl, but her grades had been slipping recently, so Mary practically suggested that's why she as distant. Marlene knew it was something more than that.
"I don't know…she wasn't with us on the train. What with everything going on, I didn't even think…now I come to think about it, I didn't see her on the platform either," Alice said thoughtfully.
"Y-you don't think anything happened to her over the summer do you?" Lily looked slightly nervous. Dorcas was a muggle born like her.
"No…surely we would have heard something?" Marlene reassured herself.
"Who knows? She's been so distant lately…" Emmeline frowned, "She didn't write back to any of my letters over the summer."
"It's probably just the stress of exams," Lily said, "Perhaps she just wanted a compartment to herself on the journey? You know what Dorcas is like, she panics. I'm sure it's nothing. She'll walk through the doors any minute now."
Dorcas didn't walk through the doors.
Not after the sorting.
Not after the feast.
Marlene was beginning to worry. She was already wishing she'd maintained her friendship with the brunette, rather than letting it slip through her fingers, while trying to build a stronger bond with Lily last year. What if something had happened to her?
"McKinnonnnnn!" Black threw his arm round her shoulders, "Fancy stepping in for Prongsie in our game of Exploding Snap? Apparently, he's too busy being head boy to hang with us lowly peasants in the house common room, merlin forbid!"
"Not now, Black," Marlene shook his arm off.
"Why not? Never had you down as a bore, McKinnon!"
"I'm tired."
"It's only half past eight."
"Half past my bedtime," Marlene smiled sweetly.
"My arse," Sirius scoffed, "What's got you in such a hurry?"
"I just want to go to bed, Black, I'm tired. Besides I need to catch up with Alice…"
"Alright, alright," Sirius held his hands up, "Have a nice sleep McKinnon. Hope you have sweet dreams…which I know will be of me."
"You wish Black!" Marlene laughed, before heading to the girls' dormitory. Marlene's real hurry was to see if Dorcas' stuff had been delivered. She felt like such an awful friend for not thinking to look for her on the train. It suddenly dawned on her that she hadn't heard from Dorcas since her birthday, when she received the present. Marlene was nervous as she pushed open the door to the dormitory. If the case wasn't there, Dorcas hadn't boarded the train. To her relief, when she got in, Dorcas was lounging on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Dorcas!" Marlene said, "There you are. How come you didn't sit with us on the train? You didn't come to the feast-"
"Calm down, Marls," Dorcas sat up, a mixture of confused and startled, "I just had some…er business to deal with on the train…you know with that Ravenclaw boy, Gregory? Yeah, Gregory…and then I um…didn't really feel very hungry so I asked McGonagall for the password so I could come up early."
Marlene wasn't buying it at all, "What kind of business?"
"Just you know…things. He's a family friend. Wanted to know how mum was doing. Did I tell you she was ill?"
"No you didn't. You haven't replied to any of my letters."
"You only sent one and that was just a thank you for the gift I sent."
"Yeah, well, I'm sorry…things have just been kind of hectic," Marlene felt a little guilty as she sat on her bed, which was next to Dorcas.
Dorcas' face immediately softened, "Oh god, Potter's dad. I only heard this morning."
"From Gregory?"
Mild confusion crossed the other girl's face, and then she nodded, "Yeah, from Gregory. How's he coping?"
"Not well. It really hit him hard. James was devoted to his dad."
"Yes of course," Dorcas said, quietly, "It's dark times."
"What about your family? You stayed safe over the summer?"
"Yes…there was a death eater attack in the next village, but we were lucky enough to not get caught up in it. You know Miriam Smith, the Hufflepuff? I heard her whole family were killed."
"Merlin's beard, that's awful," Marlene gasped.
"Yeah," Dorcas' lips were pressed into a grim line, "It's so hard as well, knowing I was right there and I couldn't do anything about it. Miriam is only a fourth year, she couldn't defend her family at all. The whole street was basically wiped out."
"That's terrible," Marlene sighed, "Did you hear about Mulciber, Rosier and Avery getting the mark?"
Dorcas frowned, "Marlene, you shouldn't go around spreading gossip like that. It's a broad accusation and it mightn't even be true."
"Come on, Dor, you know as well as I do that their fathers are all death eaters. And you know what they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
"You think Dumbledore would let them in the school if he thought they were death eaters?"
"He couldn't exactly prove it."
"It's Dumbledore. He'd find a way. It's completely ridiculous anyway…what happens if they get hot and take their jumpers off? The dark mark would definitely show through their white shirts. You Know Who isn't stupid. They'd be convicted before they graduated!"
"I'm just saying, Dorcas, you need to have your guard up, okay? We're all in danger, but what with you, Lily and Mary all being muggle born-"
"It doesn't make us any less capable-"
"-But it does make you more of a target."
"I appreciate your concern Marlene, but really it's unnecessary."
"I'm just worried about you Dorcas. I barely heard from you all summer."
"I had stuff going on."
"Like what?"
"Well, I was helping my mum at the garden centre she works at for a start. I'd completely forgotten what non magical plants were like! And then there was the death eater attack…you know I like to separate myself from the magical world when I'm at home. I don't even read the Daily Prophet."
"Still, you could've written to me."
"You would've been too busy with Lily."
"Lily? Is this what this is about? Me spending more time with Lily?"
"Marlene, you barely spoke to me at all last year. You were so focussed on making sure Lily was okay!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Dorcas, I've always been here for you. Lily needed us, and you were being so distant-"
"Ever thought that maybe I needed you too? Just because Lily finally saw sense and stopped hanging out with that Snape kid, doesn't mean the rest of the world is suddenly righted. She gets called the m word and suddenly the whole of Gryffindor house is rushing to be friends with the girl who had barely given any of us a second glance before then."
"It's not like that at all, and you know it. Lily always sat with us in class and at lunch when-"
"When she didn't have anyone else. Which briefly translates to when she didn't have Snape."
"What is wrong with you Dorcas?" Marlene demanded, "I've never known you to be like this. Ever. Have you ever thought maybe I got closer with Lily because you were always going off? You were always sneaking out at night, and no-one had a clue why."
"Because nobody bothered to ask why."
"So where were you? If the only reason you didn't tell us where you were going was because we didn't ask, you can tell me now."
"It's private."
"Exactly! We figured you didn't want us to know…but Dorcas, you're...you're not in any trouble are you?"
"No!" Dorcas said quickly, "Well…no."
"You don't sound sure."
"It's complicated Mar. I wish I could tell you, but I can't."
"Alright."
"That's it?"
"I'm not going to ask questions, Dorcas. How many nights have I snuck out over the past seven years? Granted, it's not exactly characteristic for you, I never did have you down as one for a sordid affair. In fact, I didn't even know you'd had your first kiss, but hey, you never asked me questions so I won't ask you any. But I'm here."
"He's not like that," Dorcas said quietly, "He's not like one of your men. What we have isn't sordid."
Marlene smiled sympathetically, laying back on her bed, "Keep telling yourself that honey. At the end of the day if it has to be kept a secret, it's sordid."
Lily Evans was nervous. It wasn't often that the firey red head felt nervous, but it wasn't often that she was put in a position where she would be sharing living quarters with James Potter for a year either. If you had told Lily at the end of her sixth year that she would be nervous at the prospect of being the head girl to James Potter's head boy, she would've done two things.
First of all, she would've laughed in your face. After all, there was no way in hell that James Potter, Hogwarts' resident troublemaker, would be made head boy. And then, after you had convinced her that you were actually being truthful, she probably would have started crying. Yes, she did hate him that much.
But now things were slightly different in Lily's head.
She didn't like him exactly, they were barely even friends, but she had definitely seen a different side to him over the summer, which was favourable to the side she often saw of him (the arrogant, insensitive toerag). James Potter made her nervous and for once in her life, as they were walking to the Head Students' Quarters in an awkward silence, Lily wished he was being an arrogant toerag.
"Do you want to do the password, or shall I?" Lily said, as they reached the painting.
"You can," James shrugged, indifferently. Lily tapped the portrait with the wand pattern McGonagall had shown them both, and the portrait slid to the side revealing a door. James held it open for her and she walked in. Lily barely had time to marvel in the beauty of the lounge area before James' voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Er…I think I'm going to go straight to bed Evans. So...night."
"Night Potter," Lily nodded but as he turned to go she called out, "Potter?"
"Y-yeah?" James ruffled his hair.
"Um. What are we?"
"Humans? Magical people? I always knew you were stupid Evans but-"
"No. I mean, me and you."
"Oh!" James frowned, "Well I don't really know. Friends, I guess?"
"Yeah," Lily said softly, "Friends. Or work partners. Whatever."
"Thought it would be a bit familiar but it was worth a try," James grinned slightly, "Night Evans."
"G'night Potter."
It took less than a week for things at Hogwarts to be back to normal. It seemed like the tensions of the torturous summer had long been forgotten. There had been no incidents which were any cause for concern. It seemed like a normal year. Deep down though, both the students and staff knew that something was different. It would only be so long before something clicked. But maybe, just maybe, if they pretended there wasn't an impending war looming outside the walls of the school, it wouldn't be there.
"Alright class, good work!" Professor Flitwick said in dismissal, "Spectacular Charms work today Miss. Evans as always, very impressive. The same goes for you Miss. Meadowes! Don't forget to hand in the essay I set last lesson on your way out." The students-a Slytherin and Gryffindor class-filed out of the room. Marlene was arm in arm with both Dorcas and Lily. After her chat with Dorcas on their first night back, she'd made a considerable effort to rekindle the friendship. Alice, Mary and Emmeline were all waiting behind to discuss their essays with Flitwick so the other three girls had agreed to meet them for lunch.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't McKinnon and her mudbloods," Alexander Mulciber sneered, flanked by a laughing Evan Rosier and Selwyn Avery, with Snape lurking in the background, "The McKinnons could've been such a strong pure blood family. Shame they turned out to be blood traitors."
Marlene bristled, "Are you finished Mulciber or would you like to continue?"
"Tell me McKinnon, how is your dear old mum? Have you heard from her recently?"
"What do you know?"
"Marls, don't," Lily tugged on her sleeve, "He just wants you to bite," She spoke loudly, "Are you going to move along Mulciber or do I have to deduct points?"
"Why would I listen to a mudblood?"
"A week of detentions and 20 points from Slytherin, that's why. Move along now."
"It really aggravates me that a mudblood thinks she has power over me," Mulciber sneered, "If you knew what was good for you, you'd pipe down Evans, before your pretty little mouth gets you into trouble. Your kind don't want to be drawing attention to themselves."
"Heart-warming piece of advice," Lily rolled her eyes, "But in case you haven't figured, I'm not scared of you. So I suggest you move along before you get yourselves into trouble."
"Lily, stop," Dorcas said quietly, "There's no point fighting."
"The other mudblood has a voice!" Avery jeered, "Who would've thought it? She always seemed so quiet, don't you think Rosier? Shy even."
"Yeah," Rosier said half-heartedly, "Behaves how a true mudblood should."
"Do you know what makes me laugh?" Marlene frowned, "It's that you, Rosier, are actually pretty smart. Yet you follow Mulciber and Avery like a little lost puppy, when those two don't have a brain cell between them. You're probably the most powerful, but you don't act on it…why's that?"
"Marlene, we're leaving," Dorcas said firmly.
"Oh no we're not, I'm just getting started. I'm waiting, Rosier."
Mulciber was now toying with his wand, "Now, now, McKinnon, I don't want to spill pure blood, especially if it comes from a pretty girl such as yourself, but you're giving me no option…"
"You want an answer McKinnon?" Rosier suddenly spoke, "Look at yourself. You're a talented witch, with lots of potential and what are you doing with it? Wasting your time on friends who'll be dead before their twenty first birthdays. It's not too late for you to save yourself you know."
"You see, that's where you and I are different. I'm not a coward. Now are you three-" She spotted Snape and corrected herself, "Sorry, four, morons going to let us pass, or would you like to give me a taste of what life will really be like for you outside these gates?"
"Is that a challenge, McKinnon?" Mulciber licked his lips threateningly, as he drew his wand, "Because little girls shouldn't challenge men."
"Men?" Marlene laughed, "You're not men! You're monsters…except, not even the scary kind. You're the kind you convince yourself are under the bed when you're five years old, until you realise it's just the shadow of a sock."
"Alexander, let's move on," Rosier's eyes flickered to something behind Marlene, "We're outnumbered and you've already got yourself a week worth of detention, you can't afford to get anymore." Outnumbered? Marlene glanced behind her and saw Remus, Sirius, James and Peter had joined the party.
"You actually think that mudblood has any authority?"
"If you're referring to the head girl, then yes she does actually," James spoke from behind her. He smiled at the Slytherin, "Been a while since we last had a run in, hasn't it Mulcy? I can't quite remember…were you in the hospital wing for one week or two?"
"Awwww, isn't it sweet, Potter jumping to the defence of his little girlfriend again! The blood traitor and the mudblood. Adorable," Avery grinned.
"Let's just walk away," Dorcas pleaded.
"Walk away? It's only just begun!" Mulciber laughed, "Levicorpus." Dorcas found herself being flung in the air by her feet, as she hastened to keep her skirt from turning inside out.
"That was a low blow, Mulciber," James said furiously, as Marlene tried to undo the curse on her friend. Sirius hexed Mulciber and soon there was a full on duel between the Gryffindor and Slytherin boys.
"Potter stop," Lily was pleading, grabbing James' arm, "Black! Bloody hell, Remus do something! Make them stop!"
"I can't!" Remus held his hands up, as Peter egged James on.
Stamping her foot in frustration, she used her knowledge of non-verbal spells, to disarm James and Mulciber who were doing the majority of the fighting. Lily was about to reprimand them when McGonagall stormed out of the classroom, with a face like thunder.
"What is the meaning for all this commotion?"
"It was Mulciber Professor," Marlene said quickly, as McGonagall flicked her wand and Dorcas came crashing to the floor, "He was incredibly rude to Lily, Dorcas and I so-"
"So you retaliated with violence Miss. McKinnon?"
"Not me but-"
"It was me," James said guiltily, "But Mulciber threw the first spell."
"That makes it acceptable does it Potter? Not the kind of behaviour I expect from the Head Boy," McGonagall said dryly, "I expect to see you all in detention every night for the next week. And Mulciber, you can serve two."
"All of us?" Lily gasped, "But Professor, we did nothing wr-"
"No arguments Miss. Evans. I must say I'm incredibly disappointed. I expected a lot better from you."
"Professor, Lily, Marlene and Dorcas didn't do anyth-"
"Enough with trying to play the hero Potter, my word is final. Now get off to lunch. All of you." And then she was gone.
"This isn't over," Mulciber spat, before turning round and walking off, Avery and Rosier hurrying to follow him.
"Potter you shouldn't have-"
"I need to go, Evans," James walked off quickly.
"Dorcas are you okay?" Marlene turned to her friend concerned.
"I'm fine…but er, I'm not coming to lunch."
"What? Why?"
"Potions homework…yeah, I forgot to do my Potions homework!" Dorcas hurried off.
Lily frowned, "What was that all about?"
"Potions homework."
"But we haven't even had Potions yet!"
Marlene hesitated, "It's not really my place…"
"Marlene."
"Dorcas is seeing someone."
"What? Who?"
"I'm not sure….she wouldn't tell me."
"That's strange," Lily frowned, "Why wouldn't she tell you?"
"The only thing I can think of is it's someone she shouldn't be seeing. But who could that be?"
"God knows," Lily sighed, linking her arm through Marlene's, "But I'm hungry so let's not dwell on it too much. I need lunch."