𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎

𝟶𝟶𝟹-𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚋𝚢𝚎

┌────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┐

For her first two years of going to Hogwarts, Aberforth got Marilyn to ride the train like the rest of the students, but after her second year, she refused to ride it. It was just pointless in her opinion. She lived in Hogsmeade, so she could just wait for the carriages and ride up to the castle from Hogsmeade Station. She had already packed, and she didn't have a pet, so she really had nothing last minute or important to do on September 1st. 

She had decided to take a walk around Hogsmeade and was now wandering through the familiar streets of the town. She paused at Honeydukes and deliberated for a moment before stepping inside. The smell of baking sweets hit her nose and her lips turned up fractionally as she looked around the shop. She browsed through the shelves for a few moments before settling on peppermint toads and several bars of Honeydukes' Best Chocolate. 

"Hello, Marylin." said the woman at the counter. "Heading off to Hogwarts this evening?"

"Yes," she replied, "Just getting some sweets to last until the first Hogsmeade weekend."

Mrs Flume laughed and handed her the parcel of sweets.

"Have a great year." She said kindly.

Marilyn allowed the woman a very small smile as she nodded.

"I'm sure I will, and you'll be getting more customers soon." She said matter-of-factly.

Mrs Flume chuckled and nodded.

"Go on now, you'd best change into your robes soon enough. The Hogwarts Express will be here in an hour." She said.

Marilyn glanced at her watch and nodded, taking note of the time. Apparently, she had been walking around the town for longer than she thought.

"Thank you." She said and then strode out of the shop with the bag of sweets around her wrist.

She arrived back at the Hog's Head quickly enough and tucked the bag from Honeydukes into her trunk at the top. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips as she stared down at her trunk, running through the list of things she needed internally as she tried to see if she was missing anything.

"You aren't missing anything," came a familiar voice from behind her.

Marilyn nodded absently, glancing at Tom who was sitting in a chair a few feet from her. His legs were crossed and his hands were folded across his lap as he looked at her.

"I know, I was just making sure." She replied and Tom nodded, a smirk dancing at his lips.

"So, Marilyn. Will you be speaking to people besides your brother this year?" He asked, dark eyes glittering with amusement.

Marilyn huffed and turned to face him with a scowl. "I talk to people." 

Tom raised an eyebrow at her, obviously not believing her.

"Right, sorry, alive people." He corrected and Marilyn scowled at him, knowing he was right.

"Fine. If I find anyone deserving enough for me to talk to, I'll let you know." She said with minute amounts of sarcasm laced in her voice.

"Just like me," chuckled Tom under his breath.

Marilyn rolled her eyes and walked past him out of the room to find Aberforth. He was behind the bar as usual, while his favourite goat stood next to him. He turned around when he heard her coming and his normally hard face softened at the sight of her. Immediately, he opened his arms and Marilyn hugged him tightly. Apart from Marvolo, and possibly Turner, he was the only person she felt remotely comfortable enough with to allow physical contact.