101 Ways to ditch the Date | SIRIUS BLACK

No. 48

With her thick, dark hair tied into a chaotic ponytail and a pair of large, circular glasses perched on the top of her head, Marlene reminded Emmeline of an eclectic villainess, especially as she sat cross-legged on McGonagall's desk, her eyes gleaming manically. Although Marlene did have a lesson, she'd casually brushed it off as piss easy and joined Emmeline in her free, the two of them occupying an empty Transfigurations classroom which was only adding to her chaotic vibe.

Across the room, feeling a lot less eclectic and a lot more confused lay Emmeline. She was confused in more ways than one but the most pressing issue to her right now was how Ora found desks comfortable to make out on. She'd had her head resting on it for only five minutes and already she was getting a neck crick.

"Okay," Marlene said, brushing the end of her feathered quill against her chin, "So I don't think we can leave this down to chance anymore. Ora and Louise don't want to talk, so we're gonna have to make them talk. You can work on Ora but she seems to be observant as fuck, so I say we antagonise Louise, she's bound to still hold a grudge against him, most of us do ... Emmeline, are you listening to a word I'm saying?"

Slowly, Emmeline looked up, "What?"

"Exactly my point," Marlene replied, opening her mouth to continue before stopping midway. In one agile movement, she skipped off the desk and made her way over to Emmeline, taking a seat at the desk, "What's bothering you?"

At this, Emmeline sat upright, "Nothing's bothering me, I'm fine, you've clearly misread my face."

Marlene simply raised an eyebrow, "You sure. You look like you have something very big on your mind, anything you want to confess? I've been told I'm a good confidant mainly because quite often, I don't care that much."

There was an awkward silence before Emmeline folded her arms, "I was just wondering ... like, what do you think Ora sees in him? I don't really get it at all."

Marlene cocked her head to the side, a few loose tendrils of hair in front of her face, softening her villainess look, "I see what she likes in him, he's ridiculously gorgeous - "

"She's still out of his league," Emmeline replied.

"He's very witty and cocky in a cute way, we used to do schemes together," Marlene said, her lips curving into a mischievous grin, "Plus, he's not trying to break up her relationship - "

"Help her see the truth!" Emmeline said, her brows furrowing a little, "That's what you said this was, you said it was for her own good.... right?"

Marlene let the silence linger for a little longer before shrugging, "Yes, allowing her to make a fully informed choice, that's what it is to me anyway."

"And me too," Emmeline added firmly, "I just want to make sure she knows fully because he's not right for her."

"Mm hmm," Marlene replied, standing back up again and casually strolling back over to the desk.

"What? It is!" Emmeline replied, her voice suddenly going increasingly shrill, "I just ... I don't know, I just don't want him to ditch her."

"Is that all?" Marlene pushed, "The whole truth and nothing but the whole truth as they say in court?"

"It's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," Emmeline corrected, "Ora knows the entire sworn testimony even though she doesn't need to. She used to tell me all her law things but I bet she tells him them now - "

Although Marlene wanted to press further, the two girls were suddenly interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. Marlene hastily scrambled up, standing on her tiptoes to see through the small window, "Crap, I hope it's not Professor Castor, he did once come looking for me although the lesson is almost over so it's unlikely ... nevermind, it's your best friend."