times up // 15 July 79
@witticisms-of-a-wolf
it was late afternoon and even as the sun was setting, the air was thick and muggy. it was the kind of heat that made a persons clothes stick to them uncomfortably. marlene mckinnon wore black hotpants and her usual ratty boots. her shirt was white, loose fitted with a red neckline and the words ‘i’m a pepper’ stamped crookedly on the front. her hair was loose, sticking to the back of her neck as she made her way down the crowded sidewalk. people were hurrying in all directions as the clouds rolled in, but marlene wasn’t paying them any attention. her golden hues were scanning the shop windows for a particular pair of roller skates she’d been trying to find for weeks now. summer just wasn’t right without wheels on her feet these days.
quite suddenly, however, marlene found herself stock still in the middle of the walkway. she glanced around, brow furrowed, as she wondered absently where the hoards of people had all disappeared to. she was suddenly and terribly alone. for the briefest moments, she felt panic ceasing her. was this about to be her first death eater experience? certainly not, she thought. she was on an inherently muggle street. as if the sky was answering her question, the bottom fell out. the rain was viscous, coming down in hard, heavy streams. she was soaked to the skin in a matter of seconds, but she remained still. her face turned up to the sky and her eyes closed. for the first time all week, she let her brain wander down that forbidden path.
marlene hated letting people come to her. she hated the waiting for a response, the hoping they’d make the first move, all of it. she much preferred doing the acting herself, that way the timing was in her own impossibly controlling hands. she didn’t have to wonder what someone was thinking when she made them talk. but exactly a week ago, she’d decided to give him space. remus lupin had been called out in a way that was empowering to her as an onlooker, but obviously traumatizing to him as the subject of conversation. she left that meeting with every intention of giving him the space he needed. surely he was going to be bombarded with more than his secret-keeping brain was used to. the shock to his system had to be paramount. so she left with the hope that eventually he would approach her.
naturally as the week wore on, it occurred to her that he would never come looking for her. it wasn’t in his nature, it wasn’t something he had ever done. he was probably terrified none of them wanted anything to do with him. marlene understood it, but she also knew that she was brought up on morals of acceptance and kindness. he couldn’t help who he was. and marlene knew enough about wizarding history to know that unless his father was a wolf, he was likely turned against his will long before they met at hogwarts.
it was a split second decision when she ducked under an awning and pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. scrawled there in her friends familiar hand was an address. taking a deep breathe, marlene closed her eyes and turned on the spot.
apparation wasn’t one of her better abilities, but she supposed she was in the right neighborhood. dingy-looking flats lined the road on either side of her. they looked as if they were painted white once upon a time. marlene looked down at the number on the paper, smeared by her wet, shaking hands. deciding that it was hopefully an eight and not a three, she put the paper back in her pocket and made her way down the street until she found the front door she had been looking for.
marlene turned her face to the rain again and took a deep, steadying breath. she had no idea what she was going to say if he was even home, but she couldn’t wait anymore. she took the steps two at a time and rapped her fist against the door. marlene took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest, a frown forming of her face as she waited. as the seconds ticked by, she bounced impatiently on the tips of her toes. “oi,” she called out over the sound of the rain. “open the door, you walloper.”