Simmer Down and Pucker Up

[Marlene Cox]

Walking through the corridors or sitting in the Great Hall and being such a mousy person allowed the Slytherin to collect certain tidbits to keep and share as she liked and it was always to her advantage. Marlene Cox was nothing if not resourceful and so on this particular morning she sat, only half reading and half listening to a conversation nearby when she heard a familiar name pop up. It was not common for there to be familiar names for the dark haired girl as she was somewhat of a recluse because she happened to be a quiet person and it did take a long time for her to come out of her shell. It was with her best mates that she became the outgoing, party-loving girl that no one could expect her to be. So upon hearing this particular name she did perk up slightly so that she could pay the entirety of her attention on this nearby conversation. Complaining about how there wasn’t a Slytherin Head Boy or Girl this year to which she could not help but roll her dark eyes. The loyalty people had to this house versus any other seemed ridiculous to the girl. Generations of families would be in this one house and disown anyone who valued intelligence, bravery or kindness over ambition. ‘Head boy is fit though,’ she heard, ‘Yeah Tybalt Archer is.’ Not thinking of how ‘fit’ this person was but only of how well they had gotten on and how nice he had been to her even when they had both thought the other was a muggle. It was such a rarity for wizards to treat muggles and their elk, which she had noted when her adoptive parents had gone shopping with her in her first year. Since that day she’d been certain to leave them out of that part of her life and ask her aunt for help instead. Unless a person had muggle lineage and even then maybe not, it was still hard for her to see people treat them as anything other than annoyances or second class citizens or even people who didn’t deserve to live on the extreme sides of things. It grated her deeply and so meeting a kind person felt like a treat.

Of course, the boy in the cafe had not been just a kind stranger or a muggle who happened to live in New Zealand while travelling Georgia. He was the Head Boy and recognizable to her now that she could place him in a Gryffindor uniform and so to surprise Tybalt after the Prefect meeting, which she knew the time and place of only because of her cousin, she loitered about the corridor. Marlene thought it would have been funny to see his reaction and if, by some chance, he couldn’t make it she knew that Ferdinand would have trouble being in the same room as his ex-girlfriend so she would wait it out anyway. His derailment was hard to see outside of school but she was not going to let this happen during his last year when he had a promising future and so with these two things in mind, the Slytherin took out a muggle book from her brown satchel and on a nearby bench she sprawled out. It was not the most comfortable thing ever and yet it was far more so than a few hostel beds she remembered so she stayed in her position with her normally pale skin not quite back to it's natural tone thanks to the hot Southern skies she looked not at all dissimilar to how she did in Georgia, only more put together and more studious. The Slytherin had only returned a few nights before the beginning of term, which she'd spent with Ferdinand rebelling against their family by getting belligerent and drunk as any two seventeen year olds should do. It was only lucky that on the first day back Marlene had not become a victim to a hangover although the majority of her memory was gone from those evenings as with one or two choices ones in America when they had come across a kindly stranger who understood how wrong it was that at twenty-one they should be considered legal adults in this country. Marlene would be keeping these things to herself when she did catch up with the Head Boy who was someone she could consider to be an unlikely friend. With NEWTs approaching perhaps she should be focusing on other things but she would be remiss if she did not at least say hello and so she read and waited to say just that.​

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt Archer had just finished up in the prefect's common room, well was finishing up. He'd lingered a little longer than most, getting things to be back in order. He felt like he had rather large weight on his shoulders. He had to help lead, and while he was sure that between him and Rosie they'd more than manage it, he was still feeling a weight on his shoulders. He was sure it was just part of dealing with the stresses and the changes of a challenging year. He had a number of others things on the side. More than just being head boy. As well as that, he still had his club, he still had his quidditch team, the NEWTs, he still had other commitments, but he was really looking forward to it. He felt like these first few days were the way the world chose to be difficult, until things became easier. Easier to manage. He just needed the time to get to grips with it. Which was why he spent a little time just tidying things up in this room. He was thinking about the summer he'd just past, despite it being winter break, since he'd spent the time in America, in his home town, he'd started referring to it as summer. It had been a shock to his system when he'd turned up again in New Zealand, and the cold had hit him heard. Although the boy showed all the signs of someone who'd spent the holidays somewhere nice. The tan, the relaxed way he held himself. For someone with so many things to do, he was still incredibly calm. He'd spent the time in America doing a good many things. Visiting his family, his cousin's family, his brother's grave. It hadn't all been great, or happy, but he'd had a good time. It had really been what he'd needed. Most might've waited until they had graduated, but he'd needed it before this seventh year. Needed the time to let his mind reset, for a year that would be incredibly difficult. He'd likely need to reset again after this year, but that was a far distant thing at this point. He had to first get through this year, then he could focus on the next. The year outside of school. That one would be strange, after so much time spent in school. But he was looking forward to that, as much as he was looking forward to this year.

With the final bit and pieces done, Tybalt Archer left the prefect's common room, but as soon as he stepped out, he noticed a girl, who looked very familiar sat outside. Marlene, the girl he'd met in Georgia. So, it had been a lot of coincidence then. He smiled at the thought. He liked her, she was nice, a little different from what he was used to admittedly. Most of the people he knew were pretty loud or talkative. He had a good number of friends but no one that he was that close to anymore. He could almost feel like this would be possible with Marlene. She was a friend that he'd discovered in the strangest place. Back home, where he'd honestly never expected to meet anyone that he knew from here. "Marlene" he said, his thick southern accent still not faded from his time in Georgia. His tone held a little bit of surprise, but it was mostly just friendly. He was happy to see her. Happy that she went to the same school as him. and that was in fact where he knew her from. "Were you waiting for me, or someone else?" he asked as he approached her, they might've met in passing but he wasn't sure if that made them anything other than sort of friends. Perhaps she was waiting on someone else, and he just happened to run into her at this point. Tybalt wasn't overly sure. "Most people have left" he added, knowing that most, if not all of the prefects had left. Thankfully, it had been much easier than the last. Tybalt was open to complaints and making everyones lives easier. It suited them, as well as suiting him. He was patrolling alone, since there was an odd number, but he figured that he'd be fine. It wasn't like anyone usually targeted the head boy, so he knew he'd be fine. Sergei wouldn't do anything, they might not be friends, but he was sure that they had at least some form of mutual respect, and he hadn't exactly placed the boy with the guy he hated, so surely it would be fine. He gave Marlene a warm smile, "So I was right, I did know you from somewhere" Tybalt gave a small laugh.
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[Marlene Cox]

Normally one might have sensed or heard approaching people but Mars was lost within the novel and so she hadn’t noticed any of the passing students while she was sprawled out, reading word for word in a way she had not been whilst the Slytherin had been sitting in The Great Hall because she was no longer attempting to gather information for her benefit. Instead the girl was enjoying herself and procrastinating on the wand work she had been told to practice for transfiguration class. Her long legs tucked and untucked under themselves every few moments and she would tap her feet soundlessly on the corridor ground and with each movement her knee sock threatened to fall further down her legs which she would periodically pick back up before continuing her reading.

Re-acclimatization was easy enough for Marlene Cox after doing it for the last few years, when she and her friends had first decided to take control of their holidays and enjoy their youth in travel and yet she sadness she felt after returning was always so palpable. The dark haired girl seemed to feel it so much worse this year but that might have been because of the upcoming examinations she knew would force her to slave over text books and notes just for this. Her stomach sank at the thought of it so she tried to dwell on happier things as she got lost within the book she was reading until her name was said, telling her that maybe she had gotten a little too lost in her book as she had not been able to see her cousin due to her distractions. The tanned girl sat up, somewhat shaken but she quickly perked up. “Tybalt,” she answered as her cheeks burned enough to contest even the deepest blusher she had in her make up collection. The girl shrugged her shoulders as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes while she said, “Well… you but my cousin is a Prefect too.” If anything her concern for Ferdinand would be a good exercise in helping her save face in front of the Southern boy who she could consider a friend but perhaps might have discomforted at the thought of her waiting for him. Perhaps he might have thought that she had some sort of deep affection for him like some needy girl but she was nothing of the sort, just surprised and curious to see if the rumour was true - that he was Head Boy but most of all that he was actually here. It seemed that his suspicion had been correct and that her guess had been extremely lucky despite her denial of it at the time. “Oh. I’ll see them later,” Marlene said, not sounding disappointed at all, of her adoptive cousin because she would, especially with the extreme lows he had sunk to as of late. She might not have expected to see Tybalt but she sure had expected his amused comment to which she chuckled at and said sarcastically, “I knew you went to Hogwarts - it was a test to see how well you knew the rest of the student body. Congratulations you passed.” An amused grin found it’s way onto her pink lips although she had a feeling that it wasn’t very funny at all just as she was certain most things she said were not important, astute or witty enough either but there was no need for her to share her feelings of inadequacy just as she was not going to share with the world her feelings about her adoption. Certain feelings were better left tucked deep, deep inside so that someone could live their life. For Mars that meant conversing with people on a semi-regular basis and somewhat more frequently studying.​

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt smiled at the girl, Marlene. He had been sure when he'd met her that she had been incredibly familiar. But, obviously he'd been unable to place it. Which was why he had planned when he'd gotten the chance to see if he could find her, in some of the yearbooks or something like that. He was a photographer for them, so he not only had access but, it would also explain when he had thought she looked familiar. Though, Marlene had apparently found him first. He smiled as she remembered who he was, had she not, it would've made his second question all the more forward, even if it had been fairly forward first time around. Happily Tybalt gave the girl a warm smile. He knew that if RHI would see this interaction they'd likely accuse Ty of having a crush, but really, he like Marlene, but this was the second time they'd met and he was just a little more interested in just being friends with people. Not that he didn't have friends, but that he just needed more. Needed something a little more solid than what he'd had previously. Which was why he was glad that at least in part that she'd been waiting for him. A good sign that perhaps she too desired a little bit of friendship. "Whose your cousin?" he asked thinking about the meeting and wondering who it could be. He couldn't really think who she looked like, but he didn't give it much further thought.

However, knowing that she knew someone else, made him question if she would want to stick to talk to him, or if he was more interested in talking to them. He smiled slightly and then his smile grew ever so slightly when she said she'd be able to see them later. This meant that she actually wanted to spend time with Ty. At what she said following, he gave a small laugh, sensing the small amount of sarcasm in her tone. "Thank goodness I passed" he replied grinning slightly, "I had been sure I would fail" Tybalt knew the student body relatively well. As head boy he was sure it was supposed to be something he knew pretty well. "Though you'd think with all that I do around the school that failure would not be an option, not even a little bit possible" he was pretty good at remembering people. He didn't struggle all that much with it. Though he did occasionally, but that was mostly down to his eyesight. If it wasn't for the yearbook he knew that he wouldn't know most people. "Although, if it wasn't for the yearbook stuff I do, I definitely wouldn't be half as good as I am in knowing the student body" he said brightly. "What were you reading, before I you know interrupted you" he asked brightly, smiling slightly as he did so. He was a reader too, though his life was stuck much more in the reading for school than for pleasure. He had a lot of classes which he had to study for. None of which he could really afford to leave behind. Winter break was the only time he ever really got to read for pleasure. But despite that, he still loved hearing about books and learning about them. Putting them mentally in a read later pile.
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Sorry this is a) awful and b) so late

 

[Marlene Cox]

Marlene was shy and generally a person of few words so it was natural that her group of friends were small, monumentally so. It didn’t upset her in anyway but she did not want to have her muggle friends think to throw her a party and have her cousin Ferdinand show up because she knew that Carla, the girl that she sometimes sat beside during meals but said nothing to would in no way be joining any sort of party - not now and possibly not ever. As she rose to match Tybalt, the Slytherin straightened her skirt as much as the pleats would allow her and she shrugged, “Ferdinand.” The two looked nothing alike for very clear reasons if one were to know but since the pale girl didn’t feel the need to lay everything down on the table for someone who could become a friend rather than simply a coincidentally met acquaintance she had hope that it would be brushed past because as much as she did care for her cousin, she didn’t wish to really speak with or about him at the moment. “He’s not going to get into some sort of trouble for telling me when the meeting was, is he?” She said and added with a slight humour to her attitude, “I promise I don’t have any stink pellets or fake wands I plan on planting in the Prefect lounge.” As if she could ever, anyway. There were many secrets she knew but the password to the lounge was simply not one of them as she had no intention of ever spending any time inside it. She didn’t like the idea of power and interacting with the masses of unruly students daily and so if the position had been offered to her so long ago, she would have been quick to turn it down and her position was much the same now.

“It’s good you didn’t, I would’ve been required to take away your badge and give it to someone of my choosing,” quipped the girl who had a book almost permanently under her arm and her eyes normally casted to the floor whereas now she looked into Ty’s own. It was only for a moment before she glanced away briefly and then back as she said, "There is a small margin for error when it comes to metamorphagi but otherwise..." Marlene smiled, she had not actually known that he was part of the yearbook staff as he had never been one of the people taking photographs of her as they were in the same year but she was impressed at how busy he was and how he also managed to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She had to admit that they were quite formidable even if she wished her own house to win, not because she was actually interested in Quidditch but because she had a bit of pride in her house as any Slytherin would. "A muggle book called Gone Girl." She raised and lowered the book so that the cover was showing for Tybalt to see and shrugged. It was quite the book and not one that Marlene would often go for but she was enjoying it very much anyway. "Have you read it?" she asked, curiously.


THIS WAS CRAP SORRY.​

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt had had little luck with friends over the past few years. It seemed that while he was friendly, and now had next to no problem talking to people, but, despite this he didn't actually have that many friends. He just had people he knew, so he hadn't really expected Marlene to be waiting for him, since while they knew each other, he didn't really have any friends that would do that for him. it was strange to say the least. The girl told him who she was related to, and it took Ty just a small moment to remember who that was. Ferdinand, the Hogwarts Monthly guy. Tybalt didn't know him, but, through the Yearbook and the fact he was sure they were in the same year, he knew at least of him in passing. In passing was all Tybalt pretty much knew about most people. That was all. He looked at Marlene as she spoke. He shook his head and gave a small smile. Marlene continued and Tybalt found himself laughing, he could only imagine how that would go down with the other prefects, he was sure that Sergei would have none of it, and likely blame Ty. "No, he's not, I never thought the meetings were secret." Ty replied he didn't think that the prefects meeting was much of a secret. It was just a small meeting between students who needed to organise who was patrolling where. It was not more than that really. What did it really matter if some of the other students knew when it was happening, they wouldn't be able to get into the room, so it changed nothing. He liked Marlene's humour. It was a nice change from the usual serious business that Tybalt usually had to deal with. He'd matured a lot over the years. Less of the hyper young teen, who just lived to his hearts content, now he was thinking of his future, of others, of not letting his house down.

When Marlene threatened his badge he faked a gasp of surprise and then laughed lightly. "Thank goodness then" The head boy gave Marlene a smile, "All my hard work would've gone to waste after a small mistake on one question. My life would've been ruined" He felt at ease, and able to just be normal in a way with Marlene. He laughed lightly at her statement, that was very true. He'd not come across any as far as he knew, but that was perhaps a statement that could not be verified. As much as the teen remembered people, he had a little more trouble remembering the name that went with the face. He looked down at the book she was holding, as she showed him the cover, he hadn't read it. Tybalt was a big read yes, but he had been doing so many classes that read for pleasure of fiction books had been left behind. "I haven't, no" he replied with a smile, "I don't have much time to read muggle books. What's it about?" Tybalt imagined it was about a girl who was gone, to some extent considering the title. But, the title could be wrong, it might be wrong about it. Which could happen. Though it looked like the book was one of those books where the indication in the title was really something to do with what was written. "Is it any good?" he added, knowing that come the end of the year, he'd likely have more time to read for pleasure, it seemed right to start thinking about books that he could read during that time.
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