marmalade → g. weasley

one

"I'm sure we'll be fine, El." Marigold reached to shut the door before opening Spider's carrier: the black and white cat leaping gleefully out onto Winslow's lap.

Winslow began scratching him behind the ear before Diego swatted his hand away from the cat.

"Hey! Focus on the game." The Wizard's Chess Board trembled dangerously from the motion of the train.

Marigold took them in for a moment. The last time they'd all been together like this was at Cedric's memorial.

The six had them had gone down to the Black Lake and buried his Captain's jacket under the tree where they used to sit in the summer. She couldn't remember much of the rest of that day.

A warm hand on her knee pulled her back to the train, it was Angelina's. She didn't say anything but offered Marigold a concerned glance. Marigold placed her hand over Angelina's and shook the look off, "I'm fine."

"Where's Bernie?" Elin asked before taking a sip of her multivitamin juice.

Marigold nodded, "Yeah ... where's she?"

Angelina huffed, "Merlin's beard, if she's found another boyfriend we'll have to disown her."

"I saw her this morning," Diego interjected without looking up from the board, "But she was gone before I could catch up to her."

Bernie didn't show up for the rest of the train ride, but she was sure they would find her when they reached Hogwarts.

Marigold tried to busy herself, not allowing her mind to wander where she knew it wanted to go: something she'd been doing for nearly three months now.

She played Angelina and Diego in games of Wizard Chess, she beat Angelina but Diego was just too good. Elin spent most of the ride reading facts off the packets of Droobles Best Blowing Bubblegum and popping bubbles. Winslow was preoccupied by Spider for the most part, but when Marigold lost to Diego for a third time, she slid over to where he was sitting by the window.

"He must be cheating," She declared and Diego grinned triumphantly.

Winslow chuckled, "I wish he was."

Spider curled into the space between them, rubbing a patch of black and white fur into the seat. There was quiet for a moment.

"You barely wrote, Goldie." He said quietly.

Marigold froze, but then nodded. "I know, I really am sorry." She said, avoiding looking at her friend directly in the eyes.

Before he could reply, there was a rap on the compartment door, "Anything from the trolley?"

Marigold jumped up before Winslow could reply, "Can I get you a pasty?"

Winslow sighed and shook his head.

__________

By the time the Hogwarts Express rolled to a stop at Hogsmeade Station, the sky was dark and their trunks had long since dissaparated from the train to their dormitories up in the castle. The only things Marigold had left to carry was Spider and her broom.

"Is it just me or are they breeding first years more irritating each year." Diego complained after a first year ran head first into his owl cage as the child chased down the platform.

"They sure seem to be getting smaller each year..." Marigold mumbled in reply as they passed a group of them.

Angelina found them a carriage and soon they were unloading at the Hogwarts steps.

They left their things near one of the classrooms before following each other into the Great Hall. Marigold was convinced that she would never get over it's beauty and she felt high off the giddiness in her stomach.

"Well," Diego announced as people filed past them to find seats, "It is time for the very final round of Table Wars!"

When their group of friends had originally formed in first year, it was always an argument of which table they all sat at together. With houses dividing the members of the group, the only way to make everyone happy was to choose one house table and sit there the whole year.

Winslow had taught the group a muggle game called "rock, paper, scissors" and it had since become the ultimate test of which house table was most worthy.

First year, Hufflepuff won. Second year it was Gryffindor. Third and fourth were Hufflepuff, fifth was - by some freak accident - Ravenclaw (Winslow, while the teacher of the game, was notoriously bad at it - though not nearly as bad as Elin was) and sixth was Hufflepuff.

In contrast to Winslow, Cedric had always been quite good and held Hufflepuff as the group table for four out of six years.

"But Bernie's not even here!" Elin whined.

"We have to sit soon, El. If she snoozes, she loses." Angelina replied.

Diego grinned, "Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor first."

Winslow stepped forward, Angelina grinned as she brought up her hands.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

Paper to Scissors. Winslow lost. "Bye, birdie." She smirked.

"Alright, alright." Diego interjected, loosening his red tie. "Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff."

Marigold exchanged glances with Elin. Cedric wasn't there anymore.

Elin almost stepped forward when Marigold grabbed her by the arm, "I love you El, but you couldn't win a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors if you were playing against a rabbit."

Angelina laughed and threw her arm around Elin's shoulder as she pretended to sulk.

Diego grinned menacingly at Marigold.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

Paper. Rock.

"Damnit!"

"Aha!" Diego yelped, "The ultimate winner of Table Wars is Gryffindor!" He high-fived Angelina.

Marigold looked back at Elin with a sheepish smile.

Elin rolled her eyes, "If only Diego were a rabbit, hm?"

Marigold laughed, "Yeah, alright. I'm sorry. It's not so bad though. At least it's not Ravenclaw again, I always feel so stupid sitting there."

Before they could bicker any more, Dumbledore's voice carried over them.

"First dinner is always at your own table," Winslow reminded them, "I'll see you guys after."

Winslow retreated to the Ravenclaw table alone and Diego walked with Angelina to the Gryffindor table where they would no doubt find Bernie.

Marigold took Elin by the hand, they exchanged glances. They both felt it, that feeling that there was something, someone, was missing. Neither mentioned it.

"Let's go." Marigold said softly and Elin nodded, squeezing her hand tighter.

__________