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Marlene lived in a home that felt like winter.
She noticed first when she came home for Christmas hols. Powder blue furniture had been replaced with white. The walls, formerly an odd plum color, had been painted over to match the white furnishings. It wasn't a great surprise, given how often her mother switched out the furniture.
But it felt different this time, unsettling. Each room she entered, Marlene encountered sterile, frozen white that made the sprawling rooms feel more like St. Mungo's than a place of residence. It didn't help that the McKinnon home was absurdly large. With only the five of them in residence at any given time, there were over thirty rooms that were usually left unattended. The family rarely came together as a unit, unless it was to discuss Quidditch scores over dinner, or if their father had an occasion to deliver a proper scolding in the study.
Otherwise, they each pursued their own interests, mostly away from one another.
It wasn't until Lily came to visit that the house felt like summer.
As soon as she arrived, Marlene stepped out into the garden, really feeling the heat of the sun as it warmed her skin. Term had ended a month earlier with summer in full swing, but it was Lily's arrival that really made the house seem to thaw around her. Lily offered a huge grin, dropping the bag she clutched to throw her arms around Marlene, who returned the embrace, nearly lifting Lily off her feet as she held on and enjoyed the comforting warmth.
"Missed you," Lily pulled away and kissed Marlene's cheek, briefly.
Marlene made a dissatisfied noise in the back of her throat, and Lily laughed as the brunette leaned in and gave her a proper kiss on the lips.
"Missed you, too."
They started back toward the house, taking their time wandering through the garden, hands clasped loosely. Every so often, Lily would stop, cutting off what Marlene was saying to kiss her. Marlene was having a hard time as it was, distracted by the way the freckles stuck out against Lily's nose and cheeks, and hardly minded the interruption.
"Should we go in?"
They faced the door that separated them from the cool, nearly lifeless house, considering.
"We probably should. I have to meet your parents, tell them how nice their home is-"
Marlene gave in and snorted, turning so she could rest her chin on Lily's shoulder as she laughed.
"Well, it is nice-"
"Liar!"
Lily's lips twitched as she surveyed the house.
"Say it," Marlene teased.
"I know you're dying to-"
"Okay! It's a big, ugly house."
"Do you feel better?"
"Somewhat," Lily admitted, looping an arm around Marlene's waist.
"I'm a little nervous to meet them," she said, quietly.
"They aren't so bad. Really. I wouldn't have asked you here if they were."
"Promise?"
Marlene nodded solemnly, stealing a quick kiss before moving toward the door and pulling Lily along behind her.
"Promise."
The two weeks went by too quickly. Their days were filled with swimming, flying, laughing, kissing. Touching, whether it was their hands tangling together as they walked, or arms wrapping around one another as they allowed the sun to dry them off after a swim.
Lily wandered into Marlene's room each night. Both sixteen, Mrs. McKinnon had deemed them too old to share one room, making it so Lily would walk over from the guest wing to Marlene. She made a romantic gesture out of it, stealing a rose from one of the vases along the way and presenting it to Marlene with a flourish.
Most nights they retreated into the garden to watch the stars. It was colder at night and they would share a blanket, talking quietly, laughing, kissing. Touching, their hands finding each other in the dark.
Once Lily left for home to start her summer job, they owled often, making plans for another visit the following month.
That winter feeling never returned to the McKinnon home. In the space between visits, Marlene would wander through the empty rooms, remembering a quick kiss or the warmth of Lily's smile as they passed through the library and into one of the parlors.
Marlene would smile like mad at the ridiculous white furniture, feeling like she was standing in full sun.