Marlene sprinted down the corridor, her robes flying behind her and her book bag slamming against her side as she rounded a corner, her name echoing from the hall behind her. Grabbing the handle of the first door she saw, she flung it open and slipped inside, closing it behind her and resting up against it, panting as she tried to regain her breath. James could force her into 5AM runs and quidditch practice every day for the rest of the year, and she still wouldn’t be prepared to run away from Argus bleedin’ Filch and his hell cat.
Marlene moved away from the door, throwing her bag onto the nearest surface before drawing her wand out of her pocket and turning back. “Colloportus.” She muttered after retrieving her wand from her pocket, the door sealing itself with a squelch and her shoulder’s finally relaxing. It was only then that Marlene heard someone sniff and realised she wasn’t alone in the room.
Turning around, she had to move around the first couple of desks in the room before her eyes fell on Hestia, slumped against a wall with her head in her hands. Marlene was not a comforter; that was Lily’s area of expertise, even Mary was better than her at it, but the girl had looked up and seen her and she couldn’t back out now. Besides, this situation was still preferable to another detention with Filch for inappropriate activities in empty classrooms. Noticing a crumpled up paper in the girl’s hand, Marlene moved forward with her signature lack of tact and pried it away from her.
“Not you too.” She commented, shaking her head with a disgusted look on her face.
It took Hestia a several moments to process that Marlene was in the room and had locked the door. She didn’t understand the awkward look on Marls’ face or her disgusted emotions as she snatched the paper away from Hestia’s trembling hands. Realizing Marlene had spoken, Hestia opened and shut her mouth several times, trying to come up with a good response. Eventually, she just decided to close her mouth, aware that any sound she could make would either be a sob or a stuttering, failed attempt at an explanation.
She stared at Marlene for a few moments, debating whether or not to try to leave (although the odds of her getting past Marlene were slim to none). The sound of running footsteps came down the hallway, pausing for a moment before sounding off again. Hestia recognized the sound of claws scratching a nearby door and came to the conclusion that it was probably Filch and that demon cat of his. All of a sudden, Marlene’s panting and flushed cheeks made a lot more sense.
Simply looking down into her empty hands, Hestia managed to force the words, “Page f-f-four, second r-r-row d-d-d-down,” out before she collapsed in on herself. Pulling her knees to her chest, the Hufflepuff watched Marlene’s face through her tears, looking for any emotions that might appear on the other girl’s face.
stormborns
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
