Chapter Text
“Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landside,
No escape from reality
Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see,”
-"Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen, 1975
Saturday November 6th, 1976
“Marlene! Get your lazy arse up this minute or I’ll get Potter to wake you up!” Mary was shaking Marlene by the shoulders.
“Ugh, alright I’m coming.” Marlene swatted away her friend and pushed herself from her mattress. James would surely douse Marlene in water if it came down to it, and she didn't fancy starting the morning of the season's first quidditch match sopping wet. Through the nearby window, Marlene could see a dim grey patch of sky, it must have been barely dawn. But, as irresistible as a late lie-in sounded at that moment, Marlene had a quidditch match to win. It was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin and Marlene’s and in the end Marlenes excitement in combination with Mary's threat was enough to pull her up from her four-poster.
That morning, Marlene pulled on her quidditch kit quickly before following Mary to the Great Hall for a pre-match breakfast.
The exhileration of flying never got old, Marlene thought with a satisfied sigh. She always found herself craving this adrenaline that came as her broom first lifted off the ground; the nervousness and excitement all blending into an addicting energy. In childhood, she had been bored by quaffles, hoops, and the snitch, an added complication to the true joy of the sport: flying.
As the years went on, she found her way into playing beater partly by process of elimination. Searching for the snitch felt too isolated from the main action, being Keeper didn't allow for much real flying, and then when it came down to it, dealing with fiery, dangerous bludgers was just way more fun to Marlene. Simon and Russell, her older brothers, hadn't let her off easy when they had all played as children, and, by the age of eleven, Marlene was all too familiar with the process of having bones mended. Now, luckily, being hit with a bludger was a rare occurance for Marlene, who more frequently got to experience the satisfaction of watching a well-aimed bludger soar towards an opponent. Of course, any damage Marlene’s bludgers could do would be quickly remedied by Madam Pomfrey in rapid time: a fact that cured Marlene of any guilt for the injuries she caused.
But, since the beginning, a great deal of Marlene’s love for playing Beater had come from the feeling of pride she got when she was defending her teammates from the threat of incoming bludgers. It made her feel powerful, like the team protector. This was the feeling that never failed to sustain her passion for the game. Her team knew that between Marlene and Sirius they would be safe from the most dangerous ball in the game and could therefore focus on their own task. The Gryffindor team was had won first-place in the last two consecutive seasons and Marlene was determined to do her part in adding a third year to the winning streak. She wanted to polish off the season carrying the Inter-House Quidditch Cup Trophy.
Today, Marlene was fired up and determined to win. The match was against Slytherin, who had been Gryffindor's rival team for years, but had, in the last couple seasons, barely had enough players to compete, let alone win any matches. So this year, most of the Hogwarts quidditch community, the Gryffindor team included, was expecting another dismal series of performances from Slytherin. And, unlike James, who was always looking for a challenge, Marlene was more than fine with a landslide victory as long as she performed her best. So, Marlene made her way down to the pitch with her shoulders pulled back in confidence. She stepped in time with Mary, who's large smile suggested she too was anticipating a victory.
Before Marlene knew it, she was soaring through the air. The Slytherin beater had aimed a shot towards Alice Fortescue, who was in possession of the quaffle. But, Sirius got there just in time, whacking the bludger to Marlene, who sent it flying all the way down the pitch towards Hufflepuff’s keeper. This was a play they had been practising for weeks, combining Sirius’s powerful blows with Marlene’s swiftness and accuracy. The plan had the intended effect: the Hufflepuff keeper swung out of the way, dodging the bludger, but leaving the middle hoop open for just long enough for James Potter, who now had the quaffle, to score 10 points.
Marlene sped past Sirius, high-fiving her beaming teammate with enough force to make her hand sting.
Then she flipped her broom back towards the action of the game, but the next second she was knocked off balance.
“Hey, watch it!” Marlene snapped. Really, it was like Slytherin players were incapable of playing fair. She glanced back at the person who had collided with her, just in time to see the girl’s outstretched hand slice through the air, her thin, deep umber fingers sweeping around to grasp something Marlene couldn’t quite see. The girl, who Marlene then recognized as Dorcas Meadowes, wobbled on her broom, slowing down and trying to regain her balance. Then she spun around and looked Marlene directly in the eyes with a smug grin. Marlene could see the unmistakable glint of the golden snitch in the other girl's raised fist.
“Aaaand it seems Meadowes has caught the snitch for Slytherin! That brings the final score to…” The announcer paused, and Marlene waited in anticipation for the announcer to look over at the scoreboard and calculate, “one-hundred-fifty to fifty, bringing Slytherin to victory!”
Marlene’s jaw dropped open. It couldn’t have been more than a half-hour since the match had begun. What sort of quidditch game lasted only a half-hour? And, while Marlene had been in a few classes with Dorcas Meadowes over the years, and had spoken with her a few times in passing, she had never talked about quidditch, nor had Marlene seen her on Slytherin’s team before that morning's match. Marlene felt a creeping suspicion that something wasn't right about Meadowes' shocking quidditch debut.
“What a surprising loss for Gryffindor!” The announcer continued, “And an incredible win for Slytherin! It can’t be easy to come back from last years season of nearly no victories, and to come back by winning a match in only thirty-eight minutes? Unheard of! What a way to humble the lions!”
Marlene was trying to channel all her anger into her white-nuckle grip on her broom stick, but she could feel a scowl seeping over her face as she looked over at the announcer. As she levitated back down towards the pitch, she noticed that Meadowes was waving to her crowd of adoring fans, all cheering in their bitter green attire. Merlin she was gloating! Marlene scoffed and glared at the girl's back, letting her frustration surface.
***
To add to the day's misery, the sixth-year Gryffindor boys had already stocked up on booze and the girls on snacks to prepare for their “inevitable” first-win-of-the-season party. So, the group was left with an excess of party supplies and no occasion to celebrate. And while the boys could just keep their stash of booze for a later date, Marlene, Mary and Lily’s dorm was stocked with platters of perishables, including cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, and even a large chocolate cake with crimson icing that Mary had somehow bribed the house elves for. How exactly Mary did this, Marlene had no idea, (though she had narrowed down her guesses about the method of bribery to clothing or drugs). But no matter, Lily, Mary, and Marlene lay slumped in their dorm, painfully party-less. Mary and Marlene had slept for a few hours, completely knackered after the game, but after getting their rest, the three girls were incredibly bored and couldn’t come up with anything meanwhile to occupy their time.
“I’m sure you’ll say no, Mary, but we could go to the library and revise a bit just for you two to get your minds off things,” Lily suggested, hanging upside down over the edge of her bed with her vibrant hair fanned out the floor. She had past the day reading and her book sat bookmarked and next to her head, half covered in hair.
“I think I would rather lose the match all over again Lily, no offense,” Mary quipped.
Marlene’s laugh was cut off half way by a yawn. She flipped her head over to face her roommates, “We could go bother the boys,” she suggested.
“Ugh,” Lily said, “Sirius and James are probably taking turns sobbing in the bathroom right about now. Do we seriously want to go over there?”
“Well, it sounds like their sorry arses could benefit from some cake then." Mary sprung up from her bed, suddenly energized, and made her way over the cake that had been levitating by the window via Lily’s magic.
Lily laughed and stood up, and tugged Marlene's arm, pulling her out of bed.
***
Lily’s expectation about the overall mood of James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter’s dorm turned out not to be far from the truth. While it seemed none off the boys were off crying in the bathroom, when Peter opened the bedroom door, Marlene could see that Sirius was curled up in a ball of Gryffindor quidditch attire, gazing blankly out the window, and the curtains to James’ bed were pulled completely shut. Peter made eye contact with Marlene, and shot her what seemed like a look of “please save me”. Only Remus seemed unbothered by the game outcome and the energy in the room: he sat calmly immersed in a book while sprawled out on his bed.
“Boys we bring cake!” Mary announced, much more cheerful now than she had been minutes before.
“Thank Merlin,” Remus sat up. “I dunno if those two have eaten all day,” he said, tilting his head towards the other side of the room where James and Sirius were each moping.
The girls walked further into the room. “Feels a bit like a funeral in here,” Lily pointed out. Marlene didn’t miss how James perked up the slightest bit hearing her speak.
Sirius yanked open his bed curtains, “Actually I think our whole team did just get killed by that Slytherin seeker, thank you very much. We deserve some time to mourn.”
“I mean it has been three hours…” Peter put in, shrugging apologetically.
“And, I dunno about you, Sirius, but I’d rather mourn with some chocolate cake.” Marlene added, “And maybe get a bit pissed too. But sadly, I don’t happen to have a hidden stash of booze so...” Marlene smirked and feigned a disappointed shrug, hoping one of the boys might pull something out once she brought up the alcohol.
Her idea proved successful and Sirius waved his wand lazily to vanish a pile of clothes strewn next to James' bed and to slide a bowl of red punch out from underneath. Meanwhile, Mary placed the cake platter down on top of the stack of books on Remus' bedside table and started to cut slices. Marlene followed Mary over, carrying a stack of plates, then plopping down on Peter's bed, which was next to Remus'. Peter sat down in between her and his pillow and was the first to receive a piece of cake from Mary. Sirius came over too with the punch and settled on the Remus' bed. He had his wand out, likely to send the bowl up to float nearby, but Remus interrupted.
"No wait, Sirius let me." Remus fished his own wand out of his back trouser pocket and smoothly brought the bowl up to suspend in the air. Sirius looked a bit offended. "Sorry mate, but your levitation spells get wonky sometimes. Didn't wan' it to spill."
James was still sulking by the window, and Lily went over to talk to him. Mary immediately shot Marlene a smug look when she noticed, and every so often adjusted her position to get a view of the pair by the window without Remus obscuring her view. Mary was always trying to get Lily to give James a chance. Marlene usually tried to persuade her to let it go, so now Mary's glances at Marlene practically shouted "Mary - 1, Marlene - 0" (though if you counted all of the times Lily had turned down Potter already, Marlene would have at least fifty points, which she would have to remind Mary later if she brought it up).
Lily was still adamant about hating Potter, but in the end, she could never resist the chance to comfort an upset peer, even if it was James. That was just who Lily was. After a few minutes, Lily had coaxed James back in with the group, and once there was some music on the record player and James had been served a slice of cake and some Gryffindor-red punch, the messy-haired boy lightened up.
Soon, each of them had a drink in hand, about half of the cake was gone, and Marlene had settled into conversation with Remus about their recent reading for Care of Magical Creatures. Marlene had always wondered why she had never heard of Vampires campaigning for more present roles in wizard society, considering their equal mental capabilities to witches and wizards. But, Remus had brought up a good point that maybe the Vampires could not feel safe in the larger magical society with all of the limitations on their rights that had been instituted by the Ministry of Magic over the years.
A bit later, Mary addressed the whole group after having had a drink or two, cutting off the side conversations, “D’ya know what?” she said, “I’ve been thinking and I think that snitch was rigged. Like, it's Slytherin! Dorcas Meadowes always seemed like a quiet nice one, ya know, and I kinda always thought she was better than the rest. But, now I think I was wrong.”
Marlene hadn’t fully thought about it, but Mary was right: a thirty-eight-minute snitch catch was incredibly suspicious. And, with that match being Meadowes’ first match on the team, the validity of the record-breaking time became more questionable.
Lily had her arms crossed and a somewhat concerned expression on her face. “Oh Mary, let's not get into this, I’m sure the girl trained really hard for that. Besides, I’m sure you lot will have another chance at Slytherin. You always beat them.”
“Yeah, all of you are amazing quidditch players, really,” said Peter. This was especially kind, because, though the boy hadn't made Gryffindor's team himself, he was a bit of an expert in quidditch strategy and sometimes even helped James and Frank to plan plays for matches.
“Thanks, Pete, I do see where Mary’s coming from though,” Marlene admitted, “I didn’t even know Dorcas Meadowes played quidditch, and then she just goes out there and catches the snitch like that? It’s suspicious really.”
“Yeah but this is Dorcas Meadowes we’re talking about,” Remus pointed out while twirling his wand between his fingers, a look of concentration on his face, “I honestly could not imagine that girl going out of her way to cheat in Quidditch.” It seemed to Marlene that Remus knew more about the Slytherin seeker than he was saying.
"Well, I think Mary's completely right. Slytherin is always up to something foul." Sirius said, looking bitter, "We should get them back."
“We could talk to Madam Hooch about it in the morning, but we still have to train harder to make sure it doesn’t happen again in case we really did get bested fairly,” James said, almost to himself. Then he smirked a bit, "Though, I wouldn't be against some light-hearted revenge."
After that, Marlene sat hoping James didn't follow through with his idea of adding even more practice time to the team's already rigorous schedule. She envisioned herself having to wake up even earlier for morning practices. Looking over at how Mary was chewing her lip, it seemed she was having a similar line of thought.
After that, the group eagerly abandoned the topic of quidditch. Mary, Marlene, Remus and Peter were laughing about Mary's recent boy-related misadventures, though Peter had a wide-eyed expression plastered on his face that Marlene found a bit comical. She thought to herself that he might not be so used to girls talking to him.
It occurred to Marlene then that she liked spending time with the boys like this. Outside of mealtimes or events like parties or quidditch matches, the whole group of sixth year Gryffindors didn't usually spent time together, typically separated by gender. The two sections of Gryffindors mixed of course, like when Marlene studied in the library with Remus and Lily, or went to quidditch practice with Mary, James, and Sirius, but it wasn't often that the entirety of them spent time together. It was nice, Marlene thought.
All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door, and everyone went quiet. The group sat frozen for a few seconds before the person at the door knocked a second time.
“Quick, hide the punch!” Lily whispered urgently.
No one needed to be told twice. Sirius took the bowls and hastily slid it under Peter's bed, spilling a puddly of the sticky substance in the process.
"Fuck." James swore, as he waved his wand and disappeared the mess. Everyone else stashed their cups under Remus’ bed as Lily went to get the door. They all sat back down rapidly, just in time for Lily to pull it open, revealing Professor McGonagall, standing straight-backed, with an impatient expression on her face.
“Marlene McKinnon, your presence is required in the headmaster’s office immediately. You should know I’ve had to look all over for you, and Professor Dumbledore is waiting.” She stated in her crisp, Scottish accent.
“Of course Professor,” Marlene responded, standing up to follow the Professor. At the door, Marlene threw a final wide-eyed glance behind her at the group. Mary gave her an encouraging nod, Sirius looked far too impressed for Marlene's liking, and Lily grimaced. Then, Marlene pulled the door closed behind her.
Professor McGonagall did not explain the reason for Marlene being called for at eight o'clock on a Saturday, so Marlene’s thoughts were racing the entire walk to Dumbledore’s office, which was starting to feel incredibly long. Had she done something wrong without knowing it? Marlene’s breath caught in her chest at the thought that maybe her mum, dad, or one of her three brothers had died suddenly and she was being brought to the headmaster’s office to be told the tragic news. The brief image of her youngest brother, Tobias, lying lifeless on the ground snuck into her thoughts before she shoved it out desperately. Maybe the headmaster needed a favour from her, though she couldn’t think of what the man could possibly want. To make matters worse, Marlene was overly conscious that though she was not quite pissed, she wasn’t entirely sober either, and was therefore putting great focus into walking in a straight line and acting as normal as possible.
McGonagall led Marlene past the password-locked threshold of Dumbledore’s office into an open, stone room, with an intimidating high-back chair in the centre in which the headmaster sat in purple robes. To his right, Professor Slughorn stood with his arms crossed, and on his left Madam Hooch was somehow managing to look more stern than usual. Her eyes studied the final person in the room who sat with her back to the door. Marlene recognized Dorcas Meadowes' long dark locs, which draped over the back of the armchair she was sitting in. As Marlene and McGonagall entered she turned to view them, an emotionless veil cast on her face.
“Marlene McKinnon, how very nice to see you, though I do wish it could have been under better circumstances. Please sit,” he addressed Marlene, gesturing to the open chair next to Meadowes.
She sat, and the headmaster continued. “According to Madam Hooch, you would have been closest to Miss Meadowes when she caught the snitch in this morning’s quidditch match. Is this correct?”
“Erm, well yes, I think so.”
“Wonderful. Would you describe for all of us here, the moment in which Miss Meadowes caught the snitch to end the match?”
“Yes Professor,” Marlene began, glancing over at Dorcas quickly before continuing. The girl gave her a sharp look. “Well, she sort of knocked into me, and by the time I regained my balance, I saw Meadowes reaching out and grabbing the snitch.” Marlene wasn’t sure what other information they were looking for. But, the conversation with Mary from earlier echoed in her head. It seemed the sixth year Gryffindors weren’t the only people in Hogwarts who found Dorcas’ performance suspicious.
“Did you happen to notice whether Miss Meadowes was in possession of her wand at this point?” Dumbledore asked, leaning in, his voice low.
Marlene looked over at Meadowes again as the girl sucked in a deep breath. Marlene figured that Meadowes was probably guilty of the suspected foul play. She thought for a second before speaking.
“No, I did not see a wand, Professor.”
Marlene met headmaster's milky blue eyes. He nodded with a thin-lipped smile. Marlene looked over at the other professors across from her. Slughorn stood straight-backed, with a smug look on his face, and both McGonagall and Hooch were unreadable.
She was allowed to leave after that and was walking down the dark hall away from the headmaster’s office when someone called out after her.
“McKinnon!” the voice called, and Marlene turned to see Dorcas Meadowes running towards her, many bracelets jingling on her wrists.
“Meadowes,” Marlene nodded in recognition.
“Thank you, Marlene.”
Marlene gave the other girl a small sportsmanlike smile. “I only said the truth. I didn’t see a wand,” she said, then started to turn away.
But, something in Marlene’s voice must have stuck out to Dorcas because the next second, she caught Marlene’s hand and pulled her back.
“I mean it really, thank you. You really helped me out back there. Not everyone would have.”
Marlene looked at Dorcas, who had withdrawn her hand from Marlene’s, suddenly appearing uncomfortable.
“So how’d you do it then?” Marlene asked.
“Do what?”
“The snitch,” Marlene gestured, looking at Meadowes for an explanation.
The other girl's eyes darted around, looking at the floor, and sighed. Then Meadowes met Marlene’s eyes, and Marlene could tell the other girl was deciding whether or not to trust her with the truth. Clearly not a fair player then, Marlene figured smugly.
"What do you mean?" She said finally, the poshness of her accent made noticeable, "I caught it fair and square."
Bloody liar, Marlene thought to herself. She scoffed, "Alright then. I guess I'll see you in Potions on Monday."
“Yeah," Meadowes responded, "See you then.”
This time when Marlene turned to leave, rolling her eyes with her back turned, the other girl didn’t stop her.
***
Marlene hadn’t been sure if Lily and Mary would have stayed in the boys’ dorm while she was gone, but she went there first anyway and sure enough, they had stayed there waiting.
“What did you blow up?” was the first thing James asked her as soon as she opened the door. The boy was clearly kidding, but Marlene laughed to herself thinking about how if it were the other way around the question would be entirely plausible.
“What happened then? Some of us have spent the last half hour coming up with wild stories about you,” Remus said, with a pointed look at James and Sirius.
Marlene stood leaning against Peter's bed post; (Mary had taken her seat). “Turns out we weren't the only one who suspected foul play in today's match,” Marlene began, “They wanted me to tell my perspective because I was the closest to Meadowes when she caught the snitch.”
“And?” Mary nudged her.
“Well I didn’t see anything unusual, so I told them as much.”
“Didn’t see anything unusual? Everything about that was unusual!” Sirius exclaimed.
“Well, like, I didn’t see a wand or anything like that.”
“Sirius, what else would she have said? It’s the truth; if Marlene didn’t see a wand would you have wanted her to say that she did?” Lily said.
“Well, she could have said something!”
“Sirius I wasn't going to lie." Marlene said sternly, "I trust Dumbledore will figure it out the truth for himself.” But, as Marlene said this, she realized she wasn't so sure anything would come of any of it. Unless she could present the headmaster with some sort of incriminating evidence, Marlene supposed her suspicion wasn't enough to base a punishment on.
As the group talked casually for a few more hours, Marlene's thoughts drifted away from Dorcas Meadowes and the quidditch match and it ended up being past curfew by the time the girls retired to their dorm, pulled away by a tired Lily.
As Marlene lay in bed that night though, her confidence that Dorcas Meadowes was guilty lingered in her head. She thought again about incriminating evidence. There had to be some way to prove that Slytherin had cheated, right? The one thing Marlene McKinnon hated more than losing had to be being beaten unfairly. Marlene resolved then that she must find a way to have Gryffindor's loss overturned. She had to find just the right piece of evidence to take Meadowes down. And she would do it, she decided with satisfaction. Marlene craved a Gryffindor Quidditch Cup victory after all.