"the sound of her heels against the marble floor shook the devil up"

*

It felt like people were always running out of Marlene and Lily's apartment. They liked it that way, too. Between theirs and the one across the hallway, the life they led was a busy and bright one, full of familiar faces and quick hellos.

It was a warm place. While neither of them cared for the dated yellow wallpaper, they tried to cover it up as best they could. Photos hung all over the walls, as did a painting Eva made of their dormitory. In front of the brick fireplace sat a cushioned purple couch covered in mismatched throw pillows. A record player almost constantly rotated music selections between the Bee Gees and Fleetwood Mac. Above the mantel was a massive Gryffindor banner.  It wasn't as nice as James and Peter's flat or Sirius' apartment, but it was home, and more often than not, it was the place where their group gathered.

Living together as adults proved to be a challenge at first. While all three of the Gryffindor girls had strong and dominant personalities, Eva tended to be the calming force in their little trio. With her living across the hall with Kriss, it wasn't uncommon for flare-ups to occur. For example, the couch was actually a major argument, as Marlene wouldn't admit where she bought it, leaving the germaphobic Lily to believe she got it second-hand. She sat on the floor for weeks in silent protest until Marlene found her friends sprawled out on top of it late or night, a book covering her face. No one spoke of the dispute again.

Both witches possessed mediocre cooking skills at best and they rotated meal duty each week. Lily didn't care when her turn happened, thinking that if it ever worked out between her and James, he was a better cook than she'd ever be anyway, but Marlene used the time to actually improve her skills. She didn't plan on getting married for a long time, most likely never, and she refused to live off of takeout and boxed mixes for the rest of her life.

The morning after their first meeting of the Order, Marlene stood in front of the stovetop cooking eggs and bacon, humming Bee Gees songs to her heart's content. The smell usually drew Lily out of bed nose-first, but today, the redhead still lounged in her room, having hit snooze at least six times already.

The front door swung open and Marlene accidentally burned her hand on the pan out of shock.

"Shit! Remus! You could knock!"

He only rolled his eyes and looked around. No one ever knocked in their apartment. "Is Kriss here?"

"Why, are you looking for the past?" Marlene asked with a smirk. Remus shot her an exasperated look and she batted her eyelashes innocently at him, tilting her head to the side.

"Wrong apartment!" Lily hollered from her bedroom. Marlene suppressed a smile. So she was up. Just lazy. "She was in here this morning, though. All stressed out!"

Remus frowned. "Stressed out? What for?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Lupin, this one's not about you." Marlene shook her head and examined the burn on her finger. It didn't seem too bad, so she walked across the room and picked up her wand, healing it with a nifty spell Lily taught her. "She's meeting her childhood hero today. If her worries were a dog, you'd be nothing more than a pesky flea on its back."

"You really do know how to make me feel better," he said sarcastically, halfway out the door. "See you when I see you."

"Remus John Lupin!" He pokes his head back in at her yell. "Do you seriously think you're leaving for who knows how long without a hug?"

"I was hoping to." Even so, he let Marlene wrap her arms around him and hug him tightly for a minute.

"Stay safe. Don't be stupid. Don't be an arse. And if you feel the need to give her a snog, make sure you actually want a relationship again. No messing with her heart or I'll kill you."

Remus shot her a look. "We're on a mission. What do you think is going to happen?"

"I dunno. I do know that Dorset is really picturesque. The kind of place that you could sit under a tree and get lost in a good novel for hours while someone played with your hair. Very... romantic." She faux fanned herself as Remus rushed out the door. "I already miss you tons!"

"Oh, you too!"

A tapping sound drew her to the window and she let a snowy white owl hop onto the windowsill. Still grinning, she untied the small envelope from its legs and pulled out a letter.

Marlene,

I haven't had much time to write, so sorry about that. We've been training around the clock and July's always the busiest time for the team. I've got to keep this short, so I'll get to the point.

Your articles are the best kind of insane. Really! I mean it. All of the guys here love them! Everyone wants to meet you, at least until I remind them whose sister you are! Keep telling it like it is and don't let anyone bring you down. You're off to great things, trust me. Everyone who ever dared to break the status quo faced backlash.

Enough inspirational talk. You never were there when I was Quidditch captain, but I think my speeches were decent and blessedly short, anyway.

By the way, I'm also enclosing season tickets. You're welcome.

-Mitchell

She smiled and pocketed the envelope. Season tickets for her brother's team... that sounded perfect.

"Marls, did you burn something?"

The stench reached her nose the second Lily yelled. Marlene rushed back into the kitchen, coughing as she waved the smoke away from the pan so she could clearly see what used to be bacon. Now, it appeared to be nothing more than a few charcoal strips.

Lily ran out, a towel wrapped around her body, red hair dripping water onto the hardwood.

"What is that?"

Marlene held up the pan and took a proud bow. "Breakfast!"

"That is not breakfast, that is a health hazard," Lily said drily. She wrung her hair out over the sink.

"Laugh at me all you want. You're going to be late, by the way."

Lily took one look at the clock and shrieked "Merlin's beard!" before rushing back to the bathroom, almost slipping in the water she left behind.

Marlene grinned to herself and scooped the mostly-yellow eggs onto a plate before sitting down at the small table in their kitchen. She skimmed through The Daily Prophet, finding nothing of interest except her latest article, before setting it down and switching to Witch Weekly.

"Lily? I've got a really important question about life and morals and deep stuff like that!"

Lily poked her head out of the bedroom. Only half of her hair was braided. "What?"

"Red or pink lipstick today?"

"You're bloody impossible." She slammed the door, leaving the apartment in silence for approximately twenty seconds. "What color are you wearing?"

"Um, dark blue and black. As in flared jean skirt and black top."

"Go for the red."

"Thanks!"

After doing her very best to digest the somewhat edible breakfast she'd prepared, Marlene snagged a mirror and applied the bright red lipstick, rubbing her lips together and then popping them for fun. There. Perfect.

Not that she based her personal worth off of her looks, but others did. Instead of taking offense, she used her beauty to destroy anyone who thought she was nothing more than a pretty face.

Marlene McKinnon could end a man with nothing more than a sharp quill to expose the truth and a bloodred kiss goodbye.

Perhaps it was wrong of her to manipulate people in this way, but she enjoyed it too much to change her ways. Toying with boys was fun. At the Ministry, her reputation had grown to one that reminded her of Sirius' back at Hogwarts before he fell for Eva. Her love affairs were flings, butterbeer and flirtatious kisses at a bar, then walking by the man the next day at work and pretending like she'd never spoken with him in her entire life.

There was something so terribly exciting about it all.

Lily emerged from her room, pulling her wet hair into a messy bun as she downed a cup of coffee. "I can't believe I'm going to be late again."

"You slept in," Marlene pointed out. "Dreaming dirty dreams about your dear Jamesie?"

That comment earned Marlene a whack in the head with The Prophet.

"You're going to mess up my hair," she mumbled, smoothing it back.

"Serves you right," Lily retorted with a smile. "I wasn't dreaming about James."

"Keep telling yourself that, honey. You talk in your sleep."

"You shouldn't be spying on me while I sleep!" Lily sputtered, beet-red in the face.

"I don't. You're just not quiet." Marlene took her voice up a few notches. "Oh, James! Oh James, you're so dreamy! Hold me, James! Snog me, James!"

That impersonation earned her another whack.

"Aren't you late?" Marlene asked bluntly, pointing her wand at the clock hanging on the floral-papered wall.

"Right!" Lily grabbed her bag and ran over to the fire. Scooping a handful of Floo powder into her hand, she stepped into the fireplace and clearly said, "St. Mungo's!" before the emerald flames engulfed her.

Marlene considered her options for the day. She could go into the office, but she'd already met her deadline for the week. She could go home to visit her parents, but they always smothered her in understandable concerns to her outspoken articles. Not everyone thought she was so wonderful. All of her friends worked nine-to-five style jobs, a fate she gratefully escaped. Stay within the same walls each day, each week, each month, each year?

No thanks. She was going to change the world. 

She stood up and glanced at her reflection before picking up a messenger bag hanging on one of the kitchen chairs. She walked over to the fireplace and gathered a handful of Floo powder herself.

"Diagon Alley!"

She emerged on the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley, brushing the soot off of her skirt. The July sun beat down on her neck, so she found an empty picnic table outside of Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor underneath an umbrella and made herself comfortable. She pulled a notebook, inkwell, and quill out from her bag.

The world, she wrote, is on edge. I feel it in my soul. It vibrates around us, like the humidity of the air before a storm. I can see it, too. Around me, fewer people stop to chat. Diagon Alley used to be a place of socialization. It's different now. People don't want to linger anymore. It's July, and the world feels... oddly cold. Life just isn't shared as much as it used to be, and that scares me. Me, the one who said that she wasn't afraid of anything. I'm not afraid of the things you'd expect.

She skipped a line and started a new paragraph. Her journal was full of these random thoughts. More than anything, she wanted to write a book. About what? She didn't know. Maybe someday, though, these scribbles would turn into something. Maybe someone would come across her words and think differently.

James and Lily are properly in love, maybe as much as Eva and Sirius. I think James hasn't asked Lily to marry him yet just because he's afraid it's too early. Not that he comes to me with his relationship problems. We were never that kind of close. We're all good friends, but Sirius has Eva, James has Lily, and Remus has the other Marauders. The only boy who confides in me on a regular basis is Peter because he's perhaps the only completely pure person I know. He doesn't see me as someone who twists hearts for the fun of it. He sees me as someone who gives good hugs and laughs too loudly. We go out to bars together sometimes. I'm his wingman. It usually ends in both of us dead drunk, laughing our heads off, and no dates whatsoever. Either way, it's good for us. Keeps us loose.

And finally, the most honest paragraph of all.

I am everything people told me I couldn't be. Some people tell me I'm insane. Why? Because I don't give a damn about what others think? Because I place more value on my friends than my love life? Lily asked me the other day why I don't pick a good guy and try going steady for a while. Why? Because the guys I meet aren't good. They're nice, and nice is different than good. No one wants a real relationship with me. I'm Marlene McKinnon: the blonde heartthrob who curses in her newspaper articles. To most of them, I'm a prize to be won. I retaliate by making them seem like fools, which is a small form of revenge. Besides, everyone is trying to grow up too fast. I'm the only one living in the moment. Come on, I'm nineteen! I don't want to get engaged or married. I want to kiss boys and drink firewhiskey and dance! We have our whole lives to be boring. I'm exactly where I need to be: living my best life with my friends, writing the truth that no one else will reveal, and fighting for a cause I'd die for. My greatest fear? Not being remembered at all.

"Miss McKinnon! What a coincidence."

Marlene's quill slid across the paper in surprise, splattering ink all over her new page. Her head snapped up and she fixed the source of the voice with a stern glare.

"Professor Wicker."

The mustached man chuckled. "Not a professor anymore."

"Oh?" She started to doodle idly in her notebook, hoping that he would get the message and leave her alone. Just looking at him made her blood boil.

"Haven't you heard? I left Hogwarts and I'm working at the Ministry again. Surely Miss Taylor would have told you. She files my paperwork quite often."

"You left? Good for everyone at Hogwarts." She gave him a sugary sweet smile, tasting the hate on her lips. "They won't have to deal with you anymore."

"Oh, my dear, you were always so stubborn. I told you it would get you into trouble and yet, it seems to be serving you well." He smoothed out a copy of The Daily Prophet and pointed to an article on page two. "Very outspoken. Very bold."

"Well, thank you."

"Have you kept in touch with your friends from school?"

"Yes." She didn't think he was a creep, but he hated her and she never trusted him. His mere presence made her skin crawl. Why won't he just leave? "We're all very close."

"There you are!"

Both Professor Wicker and Marlene looked to see one of the Prewett twins leaning against Fortescue's shop with crossed arms, an easygoing grin on his face. Gideon, the quieter of the pair, the boy she almost fell on top of last night at the meeting. She wasn't particularly close to the family, but there he was, greeting her like they were the closest of companions. He walked up to them, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Marlene, you were supposed to meet me for breakfast twenty minutes ago, darling. Remember?" he continued. Marlene tried to keep her face neutral through the confusion. The redheaded Auror leaned down and kissed the side of her head, whispering, "play along" into her hair before straightening out.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, a grin spreading onto her face. "I must've lost track of the time. This is Alexander Wicker. He taught Defense last year. He works for the Ministry now."

"Wicker, huh?" Gideon wrapped an arm around Marlene's shoulders and held out the other hand, eyebrows raised. "Nice to meet you. I'm Gideon Prewett. You work at the Ministry? So do I. I'm an Auror. I work with Moody."

Marlene nearly doubled over in laughter at the casual flaunt of his occupation. She nuzzled her head into the crook of Gideon's neck, a move that most boys melted for, and flipped her ex-professor off. His expression soured.

"Hm. Fascinating. Well, you two enjoy yourselves. You seem to suit each other. Careful with that one, Mr. Prewett. She's got a mouth about her."

Once he was gone, Gideon released Marlene and grinned. "Sorry about that. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything, but he seemed like a classic a-hole."

"I could have managed it myself, but thanks anyway." She gathered up her supplies and dumped them back into her bag. Slinging it around her shoulder, she asked, "How come you're in Diagon Alley?"

"Work. I'm on patrol. Moody has us all over London, it's bloody crazy. But hey, war is war. I've got to help out however I can." He shrugged, then glanced up and down the bustling streets. "What about you?"

"I didn't need to go in today, so I was trying to enjoy my day off before that stupid mustache of a man came up to annoy me."

"I forgot to tell you yesterday, but I loved your entrance to the Order meeting. Way to make an impression, McKinnon." He winked. "I think you'll fit in just fine."

"Heels are hard to run in!" She exclaimed, laughing. Gideon joined in, his own laughter free and warm.

"And Dumbledore fixed the plates and the wall, so no harm, no foul." He bumped her shoulder with his, and she returned the action. "You want to get a drink?"

His request didn't exactly surprise Marlene. She tended to have that effect on men even when she wasn't trying. "Not that I don't love martinis at any hour of the day, but isn't it a bit early for drinks? It's nine-thirty in the morning."

"No, not like that. I just thought we could grab some coffees or something. Nothing's happening right now, and as long as I'm outside, I'm not technically deserting my post. I'm just bored, and you're a fun person to talk to."

This time, though, he did surprise her, and in a good way. Maybe, just maybe, she could have coffee and an honest conversation with a man who wasn't ogling her, who wasn't aiming for something she'd never give him. She'd met many similar men, Gideon Prewett didn't seem like one of them.

A new friend would be good.

"Yeah, okay."

Hi! Marlene POV in the books! Let me know what you think!