I’M DOING BOTH SETS BECAUSE THAT’S MAH SHIP. Hmph.
big spoon/little spoon: Elias/Marlene
favorite non-sexual activity: Honestly, I imagine cooking, thanks to Marlene’s new passion
who uses all the hot water: Definitely Marlene
most trivial thing they fight over: Elias’ age/their age difference
who does most of the cleaning: Elias does most of the old-fashioned cleaning, but Marlene’s been known to get sick of messes and just vanish them.
what has a season pass on their dvr/who controls the netflix queue: Probably would be Elias, since Marlene’s new to all that jazz.
who calls up the super/landlord when the heat’s not working: Elias
who steals the blankets: Marlene does, but not really in her sleep. More just to get him to cuddle with her.
who leaves their stuff around: Marlene.
who remembers to buy the milk: Marlene. She uses it in cooking, and usually has to remind Elias on his way home from work.
who remembers anniversaries: Both of them
who cooks normally?: Marlene
how often do they fight?: Almost never, unless Marlene has to go do something for the Order
what do they do when they’re away from each other?: Marlene likes to plan surprises, and Elias likes to plan how to spoil her.
nicknames for each other?: Hawky and Marley
who is more likely to pay for dinner?: Elias, although it annoys Marlene because she still has the McKinnon inheritance
what would they get each other for gifts?: Marlene would probably get him something related to his profession, or some kind of trip. Elias got her a cottage, so I really don’t know how he’s going to fucking top that.
who kissed who first?: ELIAS KISSED HER
who made the first move?: In the bedroom, Marlene
who remembers things?: They both remember
who started the relationship?: I believe Marlene?
who cusses more?: Definitely Marlene
what would they do if the other one was hurt?: Elias would comfort, and Marlene would worry obsesively.
Marlene just rolled her eyes. Ever since she'd told Elias she was pregnant, he'd gotten touchier; he always managed to find some way to be connected with her, and he'd started trying to get her to go wherever he'd gone. It was cute, she had to admit, but it was also a little annoying. She could take care of herself. She'd been in the Order for a little over a year. "Shower by yourself," she mumbled, swatting his hands away and settling herself back into the couch. She ran a hand over her stomach; she shouldn't have been showing already, she was only thirteen weeks pregnant. But she'd been so thin (from the stress of the war and just generally forgetting to eat) before that it seemed like her tiny child was already making itself known.
She heard him walk back into the back of the cottage and turn on the water, and Marlene let her head rest against the back of the couch. Dumbledore had taken her out of the field the second he'd heard about her pregnancy, and now she felt like she was just an honorary member. If there was one thing she hated, it was feeling useless. She loved Elias, and she couldn't be happier about their child, but... she just wished the timing had been different.
There was a small noise outside the cottage, but she paid it no mind. Ayo had taken to lurking right outside the windows lately, and besides, they'd put the best spells Dumbledore knew around the house to protect themselves. It was a pain having to reset them every week, but...
Her eyes shot open. Every week. It was Sunday; they were due to have reset them that morning. The cottage was unprotected. Malrene grabbed her wand, beginning to mutter the necessary spells, but the door opened slowly, creaking with every move.
"Good evening, McKinnon."
Marlene couldn't move; she couldn't even breathe. That voice... the voice that haunted every nightmare she'd had since sixth year. High, cold, and cruel; everyone knew that voice.
"You seem a little surprised to see me. That's surprising to me, since you should have been expecting me," Voldemort said silkily, almost cooing at her. "You killed Wilkes, didn't you? You destroyed one of my men; surely you realized that I'd come looking for you, McKinnon. It is still McKinnon, isn't it? You haven't married that dirty halfblood yet?"
"McKinnon," she croaked out, fist still curled around her wand, but it hung limply at her side. She couldn't even begin to fathom how to defend herself.
"Good. Where is he, anyway? Not rushing to your side to protect you?" He clucked his tongue. "Tsk tsk! Falling down on the job... or is he simply in the shower." The falling water had finally come to his attention, and he just grinned.
Marlene was suddenly able to focus; her life might have been done, but she could still save Elias. She blocked her mind, shaking her head. "No. I was about to get in the shower. Elias is out at his clinic."
Voldemort just laughed, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand straight at attention. "I see. Well, McKinnon, I see no reason for us to continue this much longer, do you?" It was a rhetorical question; it was almost like he was giving her time to defend herself, to see if she'd fight back. He raised his wand, smirking a little at her, and she had every opportunity to Apparate away.
But she couldn't. She couldn't leave Elias, especially when she wasn't sure if Voldemort believed her or not. So she did what felt instinctive: she hunched to the side, wrapping her arms protectively around her stomach as she watched him form the words, unconsciously trying to protect her unborn child. She closed her eyes to avoid seeing the flash of green light; she didn't want to scream and alert Elias.
Marlene felt her body get very, very cold, like she'd jumped into a pool of ice water. It started in her chest and spread quickly, consuming her. She waited for what felt like eternity, before all of a sudden she could see a very bright light behind her eyelids. Bracing herself for the worst, she cracked one open.
She was in a bedroom. It wasn't a familiar one to her, but she recognized a few of the personal items: a jewelry box her mother had given her, her father's old Wizengamot badge. Like it was furnished just for her. This made her smile a bit; if this was death, it wasn't so bad. She turned around just in time to see the archway shrinking away into nothing.
This was death. Marlene took another moment to glance around at her surroundings before walking over to the window. A giant smile formed across her face: she could see Doc working out and Benjy sitting by the tree reading. They looked up and waved. There was a knock at her door.
"Marls?" Marlene whipped around, her mouth falling open in shock as she stared at Mary for the first time in a month. She couldn't even speak, she just ran forward and embraced her best friend.
"Is this real?" she whispered, tears in her eyes. Mary just nodded, before a concerned look flitted across her face.
Marlene spun around once more, feeling slightly dizzy, just in time to watch the second personal item appear: an old, battered watch she'd given to Elias for his birthday the year they started dating. "No," she whispered, hand flying up to cover her mouth as the arch appeared, dropping Elias on the bed.
"Elias," she breathed, rushing over to him, brushing some of his hair away from his face. He opened his eyes, the blue eyes she loved so much, and cupped her hand with hers.
By the time Marlene woke the next morning, there was already sunlight streaming in from the window where they'd been so wrapped up they forgot to close the curtains. It took her a moment, in her sleepy haze, to figure out exactly where she was. This didn't look like her bedroom at the manor, certainly, and it looked nothing like the hotel room she'd been half-expecting to wake up to.
She felt someone shifting behind her and glanced over her shoulder, feeling a warm smile stretch across her face when she realized it was, in fact, Elias Hawkstern's bedroom, in Elias Hawkstern's house, and that it hadn't been a dream after all. He was still asleep, and Marlene quite liked the look of it on him. He looked so peaceful to her; so happy. None of the usual worry was obscuring his eyes, making him look older than normal. It was a sight that she could get used to, she realized, and her smile only grew.
But she was restless. Once she was awake, she didn't like staying in bed. So with a quick kiss to his forehead she wiggled out of his grasp, chuckling softly as he made a face at her in his sleep, before glancing around the room for the first time. It was rather tidy, just like she'd expected, and it felt so inviting, so lived in, unlike her bedroom at the manor. She took a quick glance down at herself, frowning as she realized that all of her luggage was at the hotel still. They'd need to go back and get it, but she didn't feel like wearing her dress again. So she grabbed one of his shirts, buttoning it quickly and trying not to laugh. Elias wasn't a large man, but his shirt hung rather loose over her thin frame. It was quite comical, really.
She crept into the kitchen, trying to make as little noise as possible. Wanting to do something for him, Marlene opened the refrigerator carefully, grabbing eggs other various ingredients. She knew he'd wake up the minute she started cooking (she wasn't exactly quiet), but she wanted to give him a few more minutes as she set to work, mixing everything together and using a combination of magic and her own handiwork to get things moving.
By the time she heard footsteps coming down the hall, she was nearly done with the bacon and pancakes. Just the eggs left, and she'd been waiting for him to wake up so they wouldn't get cold and soft. "Morning," she whispered to him, still standing at the stove when she felt his hands on her waist. She leaned up and kissed his cheek softly, pulling back with a smile. "I'm almost done."
Yes, this was something she could definitely get used to.
The moment Elias had asked her to spend some time with him at the cottage he was staying at for the wedding, Marlene had leaped at the chance. They'd not really gotten that much alone time... ever, really, without having to sneak around and constantly be alert for anyone approaching. She knew that most people wouldn't understand: he was a teacher, a little over thirteen years her senior. But he didn't seem it, and he never had.
But as the night went on, as Elias smeared cake on her nose and kissed her sweetly on the dance floor, she began to doubt herself. Despite knowing that he hadn't asked her solely to get her on her own to attempt to get her into bed, she wasn't exactly sure what would be expected of her. Would he expect her to willingly sleep with him? Was she supposed to be charming and witty and make him fall in love with her? Were they just going to sit around and drink tea and discuss little things?
It wasn't that she didn't want to shag him. She did, very much. But she also knew that immediately jumping into it could have the potential to ruin what they already had, and Marlene would rather hex herself than fuck up again. But if she didn't show an interest in the physical aspect of their relationship, would he think she didn't want him?
She'd never had to worry about this before. Elias was her first real relationship, the first man she'd ever actually 'dated.' These worries and fears were completely foreign to her, and they plagued her the entire journey from the reception to his little cottage.
Follow his lead, a little voice in her head encouraged. Funny how that voice sounded just like Mary. Go with whatever he does. It can't be that hard. If Barty Crouch can do it, you can do it.
And with that thought in mind, Marlene happily crossed the threshold, beaming around at the adorable little cottage.
It had been three months since Marlene had last spoken to Professor Hawkstern as Elias.
She missed him dearly. She always kept a close eye on him, of course, because that's what she did. There were a million little eyes, dozens of spies she'd had doing her bidding for those last three months (eighty-seven days, technically, but she wasn't counting. Absolutely not). She'd slept with Gilderoy in an effort to lift her spirits and get her back into the game, but her heart just wasn't in it. She missed Elias too much.
So when the owl came tapping at her window, too early for the sun to have risen and the rest of her roommates to wake up, baring a note in an unfamiliar scrawl, Marlene wasn't expecting much.
Hawkstern resigned.
That's all it said. Two words, no signature. Nothing but scratched ink and torn, ratty parchment. But it was enough to give her hope.
If Elias had resigned... if he really had, and this wasn't just some cruel joke (most likely played by Bellatrix or one of her minions), that meant she stood a chance. She was seventeen now, of legal age to date him, and without the student/teacher barrier hindering them, there was nothing to stop them.
Unless he didn't feel the same.
She didn't even glance at the clock as she pulled on her cloak and stumbled into the first pair of shoes she could find. If she had, she would've realized just how early it truly was, and how socially unacceptable it was to call on someone that early (4:26am), and she would have lost her nerve. As it was, she was shaking the entire way down to his office, although she attributed it to the cold. Wrapping her cloak tightly around her, smiling slightly at the small sliver of firelight flooding out from under the door, Marlene knocked twice, chewing anxiously on her lip as she heard him shuffle around before opening the door.
"Miss McKinnon!" he exclaimed before pulling her inside quickly. "What... what are you doing here?"
"You resigned." It wasn't a question, and from the look on his face, it wasn't a joke either. "Did you really?"
"I did." Quietly, as though saying the words cemented the reality of them, he responded to her, not looking in her eyes. It lessened her certainty just a little, but not enough to stop her from going on.
"Are you officially no longer a professor, or do you have some kind of severance period?"
This time, he merely pointed at a small envelope on the desk, not bothering with words. Marlene picked it up quickly, scanning through it. Dumbledore was sad to see him go, but he understood that the position was too taxing and demanding for someone with emotional issues, and that he'd be happy to welcome him back whenever he decided to return. And that he'd pay him the rest of his salary.
Letting the parchment fall from her hands, she spun to face him, a little startled to discover that he'd moved closer. She stared at him, first in confusion and then in hunger before quickly closing the space between them and throwing her arms around his neck.
She kissed him softly at first, getting reacquainted with the feel of it and waiting for his response, and then quite deeply when he gave in with a groan and wrapped his hands around her waist.
"I love you," she whispered, breaking away for a small breath of air. Her entire body was tense, having never actually said those words to him before. He paused, just for a beat, and just as her body began to wilt in disappointment, he muttered them back to her.
The best thing about being stuck in the hospital with James (and Sirius, now that he was awake) was that Marlene was rarely bored during the day. They were quite the amusing duo, and even if she was just a spectator to their antics, it made her feel normal. They joked and fought and pretended to be lovers, and Marlene just watched and smiled. It was like a vacation with two of her best friends, except she was trapped instead of free.
But they didn't have the nightmares.
Night after night, Marlene woke up in a cold sweat with a scream stuck in her throat. She could still feel the pain aching in her bones, even now, days later. Her hand served as an almost constant reminder of what had happened to her, and she almost couldn't stand it anymore. It wasn't fair; she, James, and Sirius were good people. It didn't make sense.
She woke up for the sixth night in a row, much as before, with tears streaming steadily down her face and cold beads of sweat slowly running down the back of her neck. She glanced over at James and Sirius' beds, pulling her knees tightly to her chest when she realized they were still asleep. It was just like them; go hard during the day, sleep like rocks at night, she thought with a small smile.
She watched the moon dance across the sky for what seemed like eons, thinking about her injury and wondering what had happened. What had she told her attacker? She was certainly keeping a lot of secrets lately, and ones that could get other people in trouble at that...
Elias was right. They couldn't possibly last, not through her next two years of school if he stayed on as a teacher. But even knowing that, Marlene couldn't bear to let go. She'd gotten a taste of what everyone said she could have, and she wanted to keep it; it was selfish, but she secretly believed that he needed her right now.
He needed to know he wasn't damaged beyond repair.
Quietly, so as not to wake her hospital mates, Marlene pulled a piece of parchment and a quill from her bedside table and began to scribble.
Elias,
I'm fairly certain you're done with me by now, seeing as how we left it. But I just wanted you to know that... that I'm here. That I will always be here.
I'm not Cecilia, although I sort of wish I could be for you. I'm Marlene, an impulsive, idiotic girl who can't control her own tongue or temper. And I care for you. A great deal, actually; so much so that it scares me.
You don't have to suffer alone.
Yours,
Marlene
It was short; it was brief. It wasn't the long, drawn out love letter she'd been planning. But she was satisfied. She folded it up carefully and stuffed it under her pillow. The owlery would be open in the morning, and she'd send it then. For now, she needed to sleep. She could already see the sky beginning to lose the deep black of night.
For the first time in days, Marlene McKinnon was able to drift back to sleep until morning.
