A Hogwarts Tale (Year 1)

#5 - Exploding Snap & Exceptions

M A R L E N E M C K I N N ON

"Woohoo! I'm sharing a dorm with you!" Alice Prewett pumped a fist into the air, whooping loudly, and her voice travelled quite the distance. Sitting cross-legged on one of the beds, Alice bounced up and down in her position, humming a happy song under her breath.

Lily was starung in shock at the bags sitting by the beds. Her name was hammered into a gold plate, similar to the names on the dorm door, which was placed above one of the beds. Her baggage was already neatly placed by her bed, a sight that marvelled her. After all, she was a Muggle-born, so magic was probably something new to her.

To be honest, Marlene had found it strange that she had not needed to collect her luggages. "How did our bags get here so fast?" she wondered out loud. Marlene rolled her eyes, still chewing on a piece of gum, as she replied, "Magic, duh."

Marlene could tell Lily was appalled by her supposedly rude behaviour. Lily reminded Marlene of the goody-two-shoes in her old Muggle school. always the perfect student and constantly sucking up to the teachers. Having to share a room with someone like that would be a complete nightmare.

Glancing to the side, Marlene cast a small smilr at Dorcas Meadowes, who was currently her only friend. Dorcas was as quiet as a mouse, the complete polar opposite of Marlene.

An uptight goody-goody, a talkative chatterbox, and a silent mouse. What great dorm mates Marlene had been granted with! Do note the sarcasm.

Dorcas muttered some incantations under her breath as she tapped her wand on her suitcase, probably reciting some spells her pureblooded family had taught her. The belongings in her bags whizzed out and arranged themselves neatly in the cupboard beside her bed.

"May...first...room?" Dorcas mumbled something softly. Lily cupped her hand around her ear, gesturing for Dorcas to speak louder. "May I be the first to use the bathroom?" Dorcas repeated in a quiet tone, still very much like a mouse. Marlene shrugged, so Dorcas gathered a stack of clothes in her arms and padded into the toilet.

After Dorcas was out of earshot, Alice immediately burst out, "She's a quiet one, isn't she?" Lily clamped a hand over Alice's mouth, hissing, "Oi! She could hear us!" Marlene nodded, "You just realised? I thought Dorcas was mute the first time I met her on the train! For goodness' sake, that girl needs to pipe up a little!" Lily and Alicenodded in agreement.

"We should be getting to bed, it's getting late," Lily yawned, stretching her arms and stood up. Almost instantly, Marlene yanked her down to sit on the floor. "It's our first night at Hogwarts, sleepyhead. We ain't 'gonna sleep!"

Lily protested, "But we have classes tomorrow! We won't be able to concentrate and we may do badly for assignments, then we'll fail exams, then we'll get terrible grades, then in O.W.Ls we'll..." Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Don't be such a stick in the mud. Have a little fun, Lils! C'mon, let's play Exploding Snap. I'll teach you guys," Marlene complained, drawing out a stack of smoking cards. As in, the cards were literally smoking and steaming. "Hey, I'm not a stick in the mud!" Lily said indignantly.

Marlene challenged, "Then prove it." She taunted Lily, dealing out four stacks of cards for the four girls to play. Determined to prove Marlene wrong, Lily snatched up a pile and listened intently for Marlene's instructions.
••••••• T I M E      S K I P •••••••
"Basically, there are three variations of the game. Classic, Patience, and Bavarian. Classic is similar to the version played by Muggles. When two cards have an identical picture, they must both be tapped with one's wand to earn a point, and the cards are collected by the first person to do so." After Dorcas returned from showering, it required much persuasion for Marlene to convince her to join in the Exploding Snap. Marlene cast a glance at the books by Dorcas' bedside table, and Dorcas unfolded her arms immediately, scurrying to join the circle.