Chapter 11
Marley's day out
Chamber of Secrets
Marley was probably giddy with excitement. Giddy wouldn't even come close to describing how the girl felt. At least Hermione was guessing. She herself felt more so nervous at how the girl would react to her boringly ordinary parents, the dentist pair having been spooked out of their damn minds when they found out about their daughter's magic abilities last year. So how would they react to her witch friend? And how would Marley interact with a non-magic environment? That was the sort of stuff going through her head.
Abruptly, the Gryffindor stopped combing her curls the moment she heard her standard British doorbell ring. No need to jolt up and rush down the stairs when it might just be the mailman. That's more of a Marley thing to do.
"Hermione?", came a voice calling upstairs belonging to her mother.
"Yeah?", the girl shouted back, her eyes dilating with excitement.
"Your friend is here!", came next, spoken like a melody.
Caution was thrown to the window as Hermione did end up jolting up like a sling, narrowly avoiding slamming her face against the door as she ripped it open, the sound of her footsteps pounding on the stairs painting quite a picture of youthful excitement.
Rather than exchanging words, both girls screamed with glee upon spotting each other, engulfing their counterpart in a panicked hug, spinning around as they giggled with joy. Next to them, dressed pertly minimalistic, stood Lorraine Granger, her black hair bound in an effective ponytail and her arms crossed as a satisfied scoff escaped her lips.
"Well... that's a rare sight to see our Hermione this... jumpy."
The girls finally separated and the Slytherin gave her host a polite grin, revealing the only notable change in her appearance besides a slightly longer pixie cut.
"Sorry for making this much noise. I'm just very excited to see Hermione again."
The moment her sentence was finished Hermione gasped slightly.
"You have braces?"
The aforementioned feature called out by name, Marley sheepishly closed her mouth in response.
"Yeah. I got them last month..."
Sensing that the girl experienced embarrassment, Lorraine thankfully stepped in.
"They're very pretty. Also, very well adjusted. Good work, whoever did those."
Marley's initial shame was quickly replaced by a mix of gratitude and confusion.
"Uh... thank you?"
"Mum and dad are dentists.", Hermione chipped in with the detail, her friend's mouth transforming into an O.
Which was then covered in a gasp, creating more of a zero shape.
"That reminds me!", Marley announced in a thespian manner before sticking her hand into an adorable shoulder bag, "Since your birthday is coming up, I thought about bringing you something."
While Hermione reacted somewhat overwhelmed, Lorraine found the gesture more than delightful.
"Oh Marley...", the Gryffindor winced, "You didn't have to. I didn't get you something for your birthday last year."
The Slytherin shrugged, presenting a newly purchased CD with a humbled grin.
"I'm not sure what I should've gotten you. But I heard this one's really good. This really nice girl working at the store recommended it to me."
First, Hermione accepted the gift, though she had no bloody idea who Sheryl Crow was, or if she would even remotely like that sort of music. Then, the girl gave her friend another hug, lasting longer this time.
"Thank you.", she spoke softly before separating again, "Mum, can I show Marley around the house?"
"Of course.", Lorraine responded with a smile, always impressed by her daughter's level of courtesy, "Just make sure to pop into the kitchen after. I need some help mashing those potatoes."
"Come on!", Hermione announced as she grabbed Marley's hand, pulling her with perhaps a bit too much force, "I want to show you my room first!"
"Yay!", is all her friend could add. The adult woman shook her head in a gesture of motherly love at the scene.
The tour of Granger Manor took longer than Lorraine would've liked, though she couldn't blame Hermione for being this excited about another person. Truthfully her daughter had spent much of her childhood in solitude, explaining that the other children at elementary school simply didn't get her. She and Fred obviously gave her the space she needed, still worrying a bit if maybe the other children were being mean to her. Hopes were high when Hermione was accepted into Smeltings Academy, an esteemed secondary school. Perhaps there the girl would find some equally minded peers with similar academic inclinations. Then they got that bloody letter delivered by an owl, forcing the pair of ordinary British folk to rapidly reorient their entire life from that point on.
And the rest was history.
With all of that in mind, Lorraine found the little witch helping her daughter peel potatoes more than intriguing, having been told by Hermione that the Slytherin came from a wizard family, yet the CD as a birthday gift hinted that maybe there was more to her. The girls finished with their task, Hermione having managed fourteen while Marley barely skinned five, they went on to their next mission, giving the mashed potatoes their signature name via squashing them to a delicious, yellow sludge.
Lorraine made herself known after switching the radio to a different station, something on the news apparently having upset her enough to cause her to grunt.
"Blair's a bloody idiot...", the woman mumbled as she seasoned the chicken strips in front of her.
"Do you mean Tony Blair?", Marley asked, Hermione's and her mom's eyes widening at the question, "He's the Muggle Prime Minister of Britain? Right?"
Lorraine gave the girl a cocky smirk as she crossed her arms.
"Yes. He is.", she spoke first, before her face formed a grimace, "Unfortunately..."
"Why? Is he doing something bad?"
The adult woman did seriously consider telling them about the possibility of an invasion of Iraq, though chose not to sour the mood for now.
"Lots of things. But that's boring adult stuff."
She returned back to her cooking as Hermione let out an exhausted gasp, Marley taking over mashing duty, something she was far better at anyways.
"Have you ever been to the movies, Marley?", Mrs. Granger finally uttered over the sizzling of chicken meat.
"Yes, but only once.", the girl responded with a uniquely well-spoken tone, "My older brother Finley took me when I was... seven or eight? I don't remember exactly. It was this really nice movie where the characters were all drawn.", she continued pulverizing potatoes as she elaborated further, "It was about this prince who was raised by the Pharaoh and his family. But he found out that he was actually a Jew the whole time. And that his god ordered him to free his people."
"Was it Prince of Egypt?", Hermione, an encyclopaedia of knowledge in her brain, concluded.
"Yes! That was it!", Marley announced, spoon covered with mashed goo in her hand, "Anyways, it was really nice. I liked the movie a lot, though I found the popcorn was way too salty.", a few seconds passed where Marley found the two Granger women sharing smiles, "Why did you ask?"
"Well...", Lorraine began, "...Hermione and I talked about what you two could be doing today. And since it's way too hot outside, I suggested I drop you off at the movie theatre later."
"Mum promised to give us a few pounds so we can play some arcades there! They have a whole bunch of games – it's super fun!"
What Hermione didn't mention is how she only ever played the arcade games on her own or watched other kids play them, so the thought of someone going there with her filled Lorraine with a mountain of excitement. Though still not as much as it excited Marley.
"Yes. Yes! I would love to do that!", she looked over to a satisfied mother, who was once again crossing her arms with a smile, "Thank you so much, Mrs. Granger!"
"No need to thank me. And please, call me Lorraine."
Inside the movie theatre's arcade section some American rock 'n' roll song was blasting all the way through a whole assortment of fun machinery. Marley would probably have corrected her friend on what genre it is and which artist it was, so Hermione thought it was best not to mention it.
"Oh, Springsteen.", the Slytherin mumbled with a smirk, cutting the Gryffindor's efforts short. Ultimately the girl gave her nerdy friend a smile as they entered.
Lorraine had driven them herself, though reiterated that Hermione's dad would pick them up after the movie. Marley waved rather energetically as the young Granger sounded very insistent that her mother would finally leave them alone.
"Alright", Hermione spoke with confidence, as if she herself had now assumed the position of legal guardian for Marley and her own person, "I'll store our tickets safely, if you don't mind."
The Slytherin girl nodded quietly, fully aware of how messy she'd oftentimes be.
"I'm really curious how this Scooby-Doo film will play out.", the Gryffindor continued as they entered the arcade section, "I watched a few episodes of the cartoon. I wonder how life-action performers are going to portray the animated nature of-"
"Oh – that looks fun!"
In the middle of her rant, Marley had spotted a game she very much wanted to try out, one whose name she had missed but one on which two pistol-shaped controllers promised plenty of shooting disgusting bug creatures.
"Are you sure?", Hermione inquired with a furrowed brow, "That looks really violent."
Having been swept up in her own excitement she failed to consider that her friend isn't too big on the animal violence.
"I forgot you don't like that sort of stuff. I'm sorry.", she apologized with way too much sorrow, causing Hermione to reassure her with a warm expression very similar to what Lorraine can conjure up.
"We can do one game. But I'm picking the next one."
The girls enjoyed their round of... Bug Blast, or whatever it was called, their POV characters traversing through some kind of ancient temple filled with quicksand pits and pre-coded sequences in which they were forced to shot rather gross aliens keen on slicing them open. Suppose with her and her friends having faced much scarier things in the real world, Hermione wasn't much spooked by anything, though her aim was surprisingly pretty terrible.
"Bollocks!", she groaned in upset, seeing as her character model died in a flood of monsters while Marley gave her a jolly smirk.
"It's okay. That was a pretty good attempt-"
"We're doing another.", the Gryffindor coldly announced as the second plastic chip rolled down the game slot, restarting another round and rekindling a sparkle of excitement within young Miss Verpe.
On their third attempt the Hogwarts gals got the farthest, Marley reaching the outskirts of some green area reminding her of Devil's Snare. It took a lot of nice words to convince Hermione that fourth on the score board was good enough for now. As for the displayed nickname they chose "HMHR", a part of their friendship quartet now immortalized in this machine. At least until nine other duos would surpass them.
Still some time to kill until the movie stared, they briefly split up and tried out some individual arcades, Marley stepping on a virtual motorbike while Hermione tried her luck on a pinball machine, one which was funnily enough Scooby-Doo themed. After she had secretly beaten her own high score from two months ago, she rejoined Marley successfully winning at the claw machine, gaining herself some gasps and envious looks from surrounding children.
"Did you win?", Hermione blurted out baffled.
"Uh... yes?", her friend responded sounding confused, "It looked way harder when that little girl did it."
She pointed to the aforementioned loser of this contest, the six-year-old on the verge of tears as she gazed upon the prize held in Marley's hand. Thankfully the Slytherin quickly realized this, approaching the little girl and getting on one knee.
"Hey there. Don't cry. You can have it."
She offered the box containing a strange Muggle toy and the preschooler lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Really?", came from the little thing wearing her hair in braids.
"Really. I don't even what a Game Boy is. Or a... Mario Kart."
"Thank you", was her final response before an excited girl rushed back over to her father, the adult with glasses and a chequered shirt tossing Marley a nod and a deep "Thank you so much.".
Their final stop in arcade madness was a game of air hockey, Marley dominating her friend as Hermione's anger once again bubbled to the surface a bit. Under her breath the Gryffindor slipped out a curse word for which she apologized right after.
"That was very sweet of you.", another slightly deeper voice sounded from behind Marley, this time belonging to a much older teenage girl, one with lots of eyeshadow, died hair, and piercings, besides what was arguably a very different outfit to what the suburban witch or her friend wore.
Marley's eyes widened after a few seconds, allowing Hermione to score the final goal.
"Hey... it's... it's you." The Slytherin turned to her friend right away and explained in excitement, "She works at a CD store. She helped me pick out your gift."
"Sheryl Crow is an icon. I'd say you have good taste for listening to me."
In that moment Marley melted into a giggling puddle of embarrassment, her cheeks flaring up as red as a tomato.
"Oh... you're being silly..."
"Well...", the older teen spoke with crossed arms, "What are you girls watching?"
Seeing as her friend was incapable of responding, Hermione took the lead.
"We're watching Scooby-Doo"
"Oh, nice.", the girl spoke, "I would much rather go and see that. My boyfriend is forcing me to watch that new Star Wars film..."
In that moment it clicked for Hermione why Marley was acting so strange, spotting her Slytherin friend reacting rather disappointed at the mention of a boyfriend.
"Either way, it was nice chatting with you two. Go have fun with your movie."
She waved them goodbye as she returned to her clique of friends plus partner.
"Thanks! We will!", came exploding from Marley, Hermione keeping her thoughts on this to herself for now.
Finally, with all the games and excitement passed, the two girls actually went ahead and saw their motion picture presentation. Their reactions were very similar, finding it at times confusing, though overall exciting and fun. Hermione rolled her eyes at an extended scene in which Scooby and Shaggy engaged in a fart contest, a scene which got Marley to laugh so hard she almost fell from her chair. In a scene revealing an important plot twist the Gryffindor leaned over to her friend confidentially and whispered, "I knew it."
Both girls together could only afford one drink and one sweet popcorn to share with, as the rest of their Pounds had been spent on the arcade machines, though neither minded, as Hermione wasn't particularly hungry and fully condoned Marley devouring the bag of crunchy goodness.
The Gryffindor later explained that her favourite part was all the scenes with Rowan Atkinson, whom she knew from the telly as Mr. Bean, whereas Marley's favourite part was the friendship and mystery solving. She did also like it when Fred and Daphne kissed at the end.
For the first half of the car ride Marley couldn't stop smirking at the fact that Hermione's dad, much like the scarf-wearing himbo of the Mystery Gang, was also named Fred, a fact young Miss Granger had failed to realize until now. The man was a dentist much like his spouse, visually representing that occupation much stronger with a button-up shirt, a bushy moustache, and a set of thin glasses to go alongside a side comb very cleverly hiding a receding hairline.
"I never had any luck with those claw machines. You're probably the first person I ever met to actually win at one of those, Marles."
The Slytherin girl smiled humbly at that, the adult man's funny accent, and the fact that, much like her good friend Ronald, he called her Marles.
Part two of the car ride felt much different, Marley fiddling with her fingers after Mr. Granger asked an otherwise very mundane question.
"From what Lorraine told me your parents will pick you up at ours, am I right?"
With both girls in the backseat Hermione had the correct instinct to grab her friend's hands and whisper in a soft tone.
"Are you alright?"
Young Miss Verpe let out a hefty sigh before giving her an answer.
"I'm fine. Just... upset that the day went by so fast."
Leaghon made herself known for a second via vibrating like a phone.
"Well, you're welcome to visit any time you want, Marley.", is what allowed some inner strength to resurface, much like almost a year ago when the Slytherin comforted her friend in the girl's bathroom.
"We should discuss that permanent invitation with your mother first, Hermione."
"Dad!"
"Sorry, love.", the man mumbled back, Marley finding her friend's exchange with her parents absolutely hilarious.
Upon reaching their designated street and recognizing the Granger residence's rooftop, Fred's brow furrowed just ever so slightly.
"Who's that bloke?"
Upon the Toyota entering the gateway and with both girl's staring out the window, Marley's chestnut-coloured eyes widened with more excitement than anything else today.
"Finley?!"
Hermione had no time to inquire any further, Marley already having bolted out the car and into the arms of the much taller person.
"Aren't you in a rush, little doll?", the boy cackled as he looked down at his sister. In a humorous contrast to the girl's very boyish, short hair, Finley possessed a long, rather messy mane, much closer in comparison to Hermione, who, alongside Fred Granger, finally joined the scene.
"Well, isn't all of that a big surprise?", Lorraine exhaled like a sigh, Fred greeting her with a boring peck on the lips. Once the siblings were finally separated, the nineteen-year-old finally took note of the Gryffindor girl's presence.
"Might be a shot in the dark here but... you're Hermione. Am I correct to assume that?", he spoke with a kind of street vendor confidence.
"Uh... yes.", she answered, not quite sure if she should be flattered or repulsed. Based on Marley's excitement she chose to at least try the former.
"I suppose you're her older brother then.", Fred Granger sort of grunted.
"You are spot-on, sir. How did you guess?", Finley gave back.
"Well, you are both Asian."
An uncomfortable moment of suburban silence overcame the yard for a moment.
"Fred!", Lorraine finally criticized in a harsh tone.
"Huh? Oh. Right. Sorry.", Mr. Granger mumbled. Thankfully Finley handled the little affair like a champ.
"He is an honest one Mrs. Granger, I'll give you that."
"I'm so sorry about that. And please, call me Lorraine."
With all of that settled, the children finally made themselves known.
"Are you picking me up instead of mum and dad?", Marley inquired with the frightened voice of a puppy.
"Yes. Well... I was supposed to. See...", he turned to address everyone, Lorraine already filled in on the details, "...our parents were called for an emergency business trip to Hong Kong. Some irregularity over there, heaven knows." He finally turned to Marley while getting on one knee, speaking slightly quieter, "I asked Susan to come over for tonight and uh... how do I say this? The uh... two of us would like some privacy. For uh... various reasons."
"Oh.", Marley commented on the issue, shaking her head in disgust as she knew exactly what her brother meant, "That's okay but... where am I supposed to sleep?"
With a flick of the brow and a sassy gaze over to a smirking Lorraine, Hermione was first to comprehend the meaning of this, gasping with excitement as she turned to her mother.
"Can Marley sleep here?"
The aforementioned Slytherin girl's jaw dropped at this.
"I said yes. Unless Fred has any objections...", which he did not, mainly due to her drilling stare daring him to contest this.
"Uh... no. I don't mind.", Mr. Granger agreed.
It took both girls a few more seconds to implement the situation into proper joy, after which they jumped and screeched like rabid fans at a Beatles concert.
"I already went ahead and brought your stuff.", Finley spoke as he presented a small travel bag meant for Marley. His sister, instead of taking it, engulfed her brother in a hug so tight that she almost knocked him to the ground.
"Woah! Careful, doll!"
"You're the bestest brother ever!"
Before the two kids could storm up Hermione's room, Marley made sure to earnestly thank Mrs. Granger as well.
"Thank you, Lorraine! You're the best!"
Satisfied, the mother chuckled at her earnest voice.
"You're welcome."
Some time later, with the girls back inside and Fred groaning at the aspect of needing to prep a mattress for Marley, Finley was close to his departure as Lorraine stopped the boy.
"You didn't mention that stuff to me about a Susan.", she poked him, semi-inquisitive.
"Yeah...", he began, "...Susan and I are on a bit of a rough patch at the moment. Thought it'd be more interesting to her than 'I want the house for myself tonight', you know?"
Beeing able to see right through him, Lorraine merely smirked with her arms crossed.
"And... you know... she talks about her friends all the time. Our parents are a bit stuck up about her only companions being Gryffindor, so they were already hesitant about letting this happen. I just... wanted to give her a bit more."
For a few more seconds Mrs. Granger just stared at the kid, before finally letting out a very warm scoff.
"You're a great brother."
He nodded, taking a few steps behind some inconspicuous bush before apparating into thin air.
Their sleepover proved to be the longest Hermione had stayed up in a while, at least on an occasion that didn't involve studying. Gummi bears were eaten, crisps were crunched, girl's magazines were read, and the album gifted to Hermione was played somewhat quietly in the background.
"Can I ask you something?", Hermione asked at some point past midnight.
"Sure.", Marely joyfully gave back as she skimmed one of her friend's astrology books that looked like it was barely touched.
"That girl earlier... who sold you the CD... did... did you like her?"
Having walked on eggshells with how she asked, the Slytherin felt more than obligated to respond honestly.
"Hm. I did think she was pretty. And she smelled very nice. So, I think I did, yeah."
Having answered this so casually, a delayed reaction of discomfort is what followed.
"Are... are you mad at me for that?"
"No. No-no-no!", Hermione said as she slid forward on her knees, Marley sat in a crouch.
"I wanted to ask because... I want you to know that... I support you. Whoever you are and whoever you like, you are still my friend."
Those words having been spoken with such grace and compassion, a warm sensation in Marley's stomach almost brought the girl to tears.
"Thank you."
Hermione slid back again as the CD-player hummed with a groan-like sound, indicating that all the tracks had been played. While on the topic, and since she had only ever shared these things with Finley, the Slytherin girl felt comfortable opening up a bit.
"I've known for a while now that I like boys and girls.", she began, Hermione storing the CD into its case before sitting down across from her friend, "I... haven't told this anyone besides my brother. I feel like if I tell other girls... they'll think I'll act like a boy towards them. You know what I mean?"
"I think I do.", Hermione responded, "Don't worry though. I don't think of you as anything else."
A warm smile was tossed before Marley continued.
"You're too kind. I never thought of you in that way, by the way."
"That's okay. I didn't assume."
Satisfied, Marley nodded.
"I don't see Harry or Ron in that way either. Well...", her tone shifted to a sudden sombreness out of nowhere, "...it wouldn't matter with Harry. I... I think he doesn't like me anymore."
In response to this thought, Hermione hit her friend with the sassiest of looks.
"Has he not responded to your letters?"
Marley's eyes widened, as if a fortune teller just correctly guessed her birthday.
"H- how- Yes. Yes, how did you know?"
"He hasn't responded to Ron or me either. We think it has something to do with his mean uncle and aunt."
A massive sigh of relief escaped Marley's lungs, the girl closing Hermione's book as she giggled at her own insecurity.
"Of course. I feel so stupid. Of course Harry doesn't hate me!"
They laughed off the thought pretty quickly, spending a bit more time on some other topics, Marley sharing who she has found attractive before while Hermione admitted to having had a very short-lived crush on Dean Thomas last year.
As both girls started getting very sleepy, though Marley more so than her friend, Hermione decided to indulge her in some Muggle classics, showing her VHS tapes of the famous Mr. Bean, whose actor appeared in the Scooby Doo movie earlier today.
"Oh yeah. He was the rich guy who was actually a little dog robot.", the Slytherin spoke.
Deep into the night, as Mr. Bean steered his iconic, green car on top an armchair on the lowest volume, Marley and Hermione were both lying on their stomachs, the Gryffindor still wide awake while her Slytherin counterpart leaned halfway on her pillow stack and halfway on her shoulder.
In that moment Hermione let her shared time with Marley pass in review. How the girl was originally only interested in being friends with Harry, but then stood up for the girl and spoke unforgettable words of compassion. The many times the two girls were forced to carry their male friends in terms of academic achievement, Hermione more often, but Marley still helped out quite a lot. The Slytherin was in fact a lot harsher towards Ronald whenever the boy failed to comprehend very simple concepts. She remembered her bravery, her compassion, her loyalty, her charm. And now, how she told her a secret that, outside of Finley, no one has ever heard before it.
With all of that in mind, asking her seemed like the most natural thing on Earth.
"Marley?", she whispered. It took the other girl a few seconds but, with closed eyes, she did respond.
"Mhm?"
"Do you... you want to be my best friend?"
Some more unsettling seconds passed as Hermione's heart was beating practically out of her chest.
"Of course.", a tired Marley mumbled, "Only if you want to be mine."
Hermione hugged her and the issue was settled. Minutes later, after what was one of the most exciting days of her life so far, Marley finally fell asleep on the floor.