CHAPTER I:
the ditzy duo and the marauders
( September 1977 )
IT WAS A STRUGGLE TO FIND AN EMPTY COMPARTMENT WHILE THE TRAIN CHUGGED ALONG THE TRACKS. At the end of a five-minute search, it was a very long five minutes for Marceline in her three-inch platforms, and with the idea to take up a Ravenclaw compartment just to see their fuming expressions for a laugh, she and her best friend, Mayleen, found themselves crashing the carriage with the self-acclaimed Marauders.
They were a quartet of Gryffindors who claimed themselves to be the best of the best pranksters to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Sirius Black was sat in the middle, Peter Pettigrew on his right with one knee to his chest and Remus Lupin sat to his left smooshing himself against the window leading to the view of the shimmering waters.
"Ah, the Marauders!" Marcy waved her arms theatrically while she perched herself down on a seat and crossed one leg over her knee. The boys, minus their ringleader, James Potter, all stared at the duo with contrasting dumbfounded faces to the girls' cheshire grins. Sirius Black didn't do so, the girls quite intrigued him in a way he couldn't put into words.
Sirius was the first to speak after Marceline spoke, "Ah, the Ditzy Duo!" he put his hands up just as Marcy did before, only a sarcastic teasing grin decorating his sculpted features. The boys beside him bit their tongues to hold in their laughs while the girls in front of him scowled at the nickname that had followed them their entire life of education at Hogwarts.
With an intake of air, they spoke in unintentional synchronization, "don't call us that!" The boys looked between the girls with incredulous looks while they briefly glanced at each other.
"They're like a pair of siamese twins." Peter Pettigrew was the one to speak up this time while his voice was laced with concern for his safety. Mayleen leaned back in her seat with a huff and crossed her arms and legs over one another, Marceline, on the other hand, advanced in her seat creating a tense feeling in the boys' chest that made him scoot back in his seat.
She squinted at him, "I will shove my three-inch platform boot right up your dainty a–"
"Anything from the trolly dears?" The trolly lady stopped by their compartment with an ironically sweet smile on her face, Peter smiled sheepishly at the old woman hoping she didn't hear any of the conversations that had commenced in the carriage. Marcy kept her gaze on the boy and it seemed like the only thing that broke her gaze was the sight of Acid Pops and Drooble's, the girl exclaimed an "ooh!" and hopped out of her seat losing balance when she almost ran into Sirius, but she steadied herself in her boots and got in line with the Black heir trailing behind her.
From the seats left by the two teens, Mayleen sat with a small pout on her lips, it briefly disappeared when she asked for Sherbet Lemons and two Sugar Quills. When she went back to her sitting back in her seat she was met with a pair of green eyes. He stared at her with a hearty curve of the corner of his mouth, she fought the smile creeping onto her lips but eventually failed and rolled her eyes and turned her head to hide it.
When his green eyes met her black ones once more, he was looking more amused as they silently flirted.
Peter, unfortunately still in the compartment, looked back and forth the hopeless teens with furrowed eyebrows and his upper lip pulled up, suddenly he found a remarkable interest in his nails, cuticles, and shoelaces and began fidgeting with anything that could make him forget how painfully gross the duo were.
They continued their agonizing flirting some more and caused a fit of giggles that made the poor Pettigrew boy snap and curse his way out of the compartment leaving with a sharp "bloody fucking hell, I just might vomit."
"Can I get a pack of Drooble's, two Sugar Quills, Sherbet Lemons, and Acid Pops?" Marcy requested from the trolley. The trolley woman began to take out the sweet treats she requested while she leaned down to take her change out of her platformed boots.
"Woah, Mars, if you wanted me behind you like this you could've just asked," Sirius divulged into the opportunity to get a reaction out of the girl who had innocently bent over to retrieve money from her shoes who's bottom end was centimetres away from touching the boys' crotch area.
She gazed behind herself, still leaning over trying to shimmy some of her allowances out of the gogo boots, Sirius smirked at her seemingly in a dreamlike state of being in this oh so familiar position that he'd been in with so many other girls, Marcy huffed and stood up straight. The Gryffindor boy still seemed to be in his delusional state and the trolley woman still seemed to be adding up the sum of the treats so she used this time to her advantage.
She leaned down to his ear level- seeing as the boots on her feet made her taller than him. "Care to repeat that, Peach? Would you wanna make this more realistic?" she teased him with the nickname trying not to crack a smile as she backed away innocently to pay for the candy.
His eyes widened and darted around the hall of the trolley to see if anyone had heard, no one did of course because they were the last of the students getting treats, but it was still alarming that someone could've easily heard.
"I wouldn't mind that." He watched her pay for the candy and take it in her hands.
She glanced at him carefully through half-lidded eyes and responded, "I bet you would." She then turned on her heel and made her way back to the compartment. Sirius opened his mouth to counter something back but was knocked off course by a shove to the side.
"Shut it, I need this candy more than your three cavities do," it was Peter's turn to leave Sirius with a dropped jaw. The boy was kindly asking for different sorts of sweets from the cart with small sighs in between every other request.
"What's got your tail in a twist, Wormsy?" Black questioned through furrowed eyebrows, his rat of a friend had given him a slight glare and took the candy into his hand. "Please don't ask. He's going to be paying for this," the last bit was spoken towards the Trolley Lady who nodded at him as he walked away. The raven, who hadn't even processed the two conversations he just had, blinked and shuffled forward to pay for a pack of Drooble's and all the things Peter had taken.
He made his way back to the compartment while shoving his money into his pockets and began mumbling to himself shaking his head on what the hell just happened and why Marceline had to be to confusing.
MARCY AWOKE IN HER SCHOOL ROBES LEANING HER FACE AGAINST THE WINDOW OF THE COMPARTMENT. She peered her eyes out of the window to see the fog blanketing over the black lake that covered the reflection of the moon, she sighed looking at how peaceful the lake looked through the glass.
"Make sure to wipe the drool off of the window," A low groggy voice commented about the fog on the glass that Marcy had created in her sleep, she jumped at the sound but relaxed at who it came from.
The Slytherin glared at him through half-lidded eyes, "Black, don't make me threaten you, I'm barely awake." He let out a soft laugh as the train came to a halt and the remaining three friends all stirred awake.
Mayleen rubbed her eyes and groaned, "please let this be a normal school year."
Marceline lightly scoffed with a small smile gathering herself to stand and exit the compartment, "while being friends with me? No way."