Chapter Text
“207. Where the fuck is 207?”
Lily stopped in the middle of the hall, furiously clutching her books to his chest. She debated turning around and going back home. This campus was impossible to navigate and at this rate, she would never make it on time. She heard a distant sound of footsteps from the floor above and knew she wasted time wandering around the building. She groaned, phoning Marlene.
“Is everything right, Cherry?” Marlene said upon picking up. “You missed class, again.”
“I’m literally lost,” Lily complained. “I’m in State Hall, and there’s no 207!”
“Lils, 207 is in State Auditorium.”
“Are you joking?”
Lily was new to Hogwarts University. In fact, she was new to the country. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland had been her home up until now. She applied for scholarship after scholarship and finally ended up getting a full ride. The only problem? She had to maintain an almost-perfect GPA, and at this point, she might’ve already set himself up for failure. It’s not like she wasn’t able to do it, she just… needed to prepare herself more.
Thankfully, the Dean, McGonagall, had introduced her to a foreign whom she connected with easily, as both of them were from the UK. Marlene and Lily got on well, Marlene was a rockstar who had enough energy to challenge the sun, and Lily was a witty, bold, fiery person who can handle her.
“Just stay there, my class is in that building, I’ll find you there?”
“Good luck, I have absolutely no clue where I am.”
“Just wait there, Cherry.”
When the two hung up, Lily sighed exasperatedly, wishing she had any luck with directions. This was going to be an excruciatingly long year.
——
Mary sat down, miserably shifting in her seat. Her head was throbbing, and it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse. Should’ve gone lighter on the drinks, she thought.
“Where are they?” She mumbled, twisting the rings on her fingers. This was one of the few classes she, Marlene and Dorcas had together.
She assumed Marls was helping out the new kid, Lily. She didn’t know much about her, besides that she was some sort of prodigy from Europe. She rolled her eyes. Some people were born with all the luck. She studied the clusters of students shifting into the room, trying to pick out at least one person she knew. Eventually, Marls, Dorcas and another very disheveled student wandered in. Mary blinked. She was about the same height as her; Red hair and pale skin, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail and wearing a red babydoll top and jeans. Not what she had expected at all. She turned away quickly so Lily wouldn’t see her staring.
“It’s about time you guys showed up,” Mary mumbled as the three sat down.
“Don’t start,” Marls shot back.
As Mary looked over, she noticed Lily looked… uncomfortable. Her hands were twirling a pen, and she stared at them as if they were the most interesting things in the world. She frowned, feeling guilty, but decided to not say anything.
Great first impression, she thought to herself annoyedly. She thinks you’re a dick.
——
Lily laid face-down on the couch, screaming in frustration, into her pillow, at the day’s events. Dorcas sat across from her, chuckling. Lily had to admit, she envied Dorcas. Dorcas always seemed unbothered, so effortlessly stylish and elegant.
“Cherry, it could not have been that bad.”
“Blade, I only made it to half of my classes,” She sat up, rubbing her face. “This campus is bigger than Edinburgh.”
Lily stayed in an apartment with Dorcas, who she met online some odd years ago. Dorcas was the one to tell her about Hogwarts and said if they both went, they could split living fees. One thing led to another, and they became roommates.
“Well, I know what will cheer you up.”
“Unless it’s the sweet embrace of death, I’m not interested.”
“Close,” Dorcas said. “A party this weekend at the Potter’s house. The biggest party of the semester.”
“I don’t know…” Lily frowned. “I have so much work to catch up on already-”
“-You need friends, Cherry. You need to get out, because I know you, if you don’t do it now, you never will. Besides, you might hook up with some girl there.”
Lily raised an eyebrow, to which Dorcas added,
“Or guy!”
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”
Dorcas smiled softly. “I’m only trying to help you out here, Lils. You can’t overwork yourself in the first semester.
Lily nodded once. “I won’t.”
——
By the time the weekend came, Mary was exhausted. School had barely been in session for a couple of weeks, and she was 101% done with it. She needed to get away if at all possible, but instead of her usual de-stress nights, she was being forced into a party.
“It will be fun!” Marls said, tugging on his arm. “Please?”
She and Marls shared an apartment, they have since the beginning of the semester to save money. They were fairly good friends, which was surprising as Mary didn’t make or keep them all that easily.
“I don’t know, Marls. I don’t feel like I want to go out right now…”
“But you need to do something. Come on!”
Marlene tugged at her arm “Go put on a cute top and do your makeup. We’re going to look hot and make everyone there fall at our feet!”
Marls stuck out her lips to pout. Mary laughed, pushing her face away.
“Fine- fine just stop with the face!”
“You won’t regret this, Chaos. It will be fun!”
As Marls walked away to go get ready, Mary frowned, regretting her decision already.
“Right. Fun.”
Lily scanned the crowd, looking for someone- anyone she knew to talk to. The party had remained relatively calm, besides the typical groups of frat boys pounding pints of beer and the couples vanishing to other parts of the house. She rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall. She could’ve been catching up on work right now.
While Lily was escaping conversation with a man with greasy black hair, Dorcas approached, followed four people. “Hey, Cherry. I wanna introduce you to my friends.” The blonde girl to Dorcas’s left waved at Lily. “Hi, I’m Pandora. Dorcas has said so much about you.” Her voice was oddly calming. Lily smiled back “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”
“And it’s even more of a pleasure for me to meet you.” A boy with brown and green hair stood beside Pandora, grinning. Dorcas rolled her eyes, “Barty, don’t start your bullshit.” The guy, Barty, stepped back, his hands raised in surrender.
Lily narrowed her eyes at him, deciding to talk to the other two people. A blonde boy raised a hand as a greeting. “Hi, I’m Evan. This is Regulus.” The shorter boy next to Evan scowled. “I don’t need you to speak for me.” Lily smiled warmly “It’s nice to meet you all.”
Marlene suddenly appeared at her side, slinging an arm around her. “I see Dorcas is introducing you to all her friends.” Dorcas raised an eyebrow “Is there a problem with that, McKinnon?” Marlene grinned, “Just making sure they don’t corrupt our dearest Lily.” Marlene turned to face Lily, “Does this mean I can introduce you to my friends?”
Lily sighed. “Do I really have a say in this?” Marlene’s grin widened, “Probably not.”
And with that, Lily was pulled through a crowd of people.
Marlene stopped in front of a group of four boys. “Cherry, meet James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter.” The boy who Marlene pointed to as “James” grinned. “Cherry?” Marlene scoffed “Your nickname is literally ‘Prongs.’
Lily raised an eyebrow, “Prongs?” The boy with black hair, Sirius, appeared next to him. “It’s because he stabbed himself with a fork.” James elbowed Sirius in response.
Eventually, Lily found herself in a quieter corner, watching the people around her.
She talked to a couple more people, all of whom came and went. She was social when she needed to be, and a natural flirt which, combined, made for a lot of unwanted interest. She had ended up turning down three guys already that night. Thankfully, a mildly intoxicated Marlene stumbled over to her.
“Lily, what are you doing?” he asked. “You’re being a wallflower.”
“I’m just…. observing” she replied.
Her eye caught someone in particular across the room. While she and Marlene made small talk, she couldn’t help but keep looking at them. It was a girl, she soon figured out, who looked vaguely familiar. She had black curly hair, which was in a ponytail, and wore a flowy, navy blue top. She was talking to someone else, looking painfully uninterested in the conversation. When she looked back to Marlene, she noticed her grinning knowingly.
“Who are you eyeing, Cherry?”
“Nobody.” She responded quickly, too quickly.
Marls glanced back, then looked at Lily surprisedly.
“Mary?”
Lily frowned. “Maybe? Who is she?”
“Lily,” Marlene said. “She is in nearly all our classes.”
“Really? I’ve never seen her?”
“Well, you have now,” she said. “Actually, hold on,”
Before she could protest, Marlene had already glided away. She watched in horror as she went over to Mary and began talking. Mary looked over to her curiously, to which Lily looked away and took a swig of her drink. By the time she dared to take a second look, Marlene was leading her over, and she debated making a break for it.
“Lily, this is Mary. Mary, Lily, or as me and Dorcas like to call her, Cherry.” he said. Lily waved awkwardly.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” Mary said.
“I should be going to find Dorcas,” Marlene said. “Have fun!”
As Marlene strolled away, the two chuckled before ensuing in another awkward silence.
“So, you study Law too?” Lily asked.
“Sort of, yeah.”
She frowned. “Sort of?”
Mary shrugged.
“Not really my choice. My father always wanted a lawyer for a son, so he sent me here. If he couldn’t have a son, he would have his daughter fill in the gaps. Drained his bank account, so I’m stuck with it.”
Lily nodded. She could tell Mary wasn’t overly eager to be studying law, which she couldn’t imagine because she adored her major.
“What do you want to do, then?”
“Be a teacher,” she laughed. “Work with kids, help them learn. Lame, I know but it’s something I’ve always liked. You’re new here, right?” She asked suddenly.
“Oh, yeah,” she twisted the rings on her fingers. “Scholarship.”
Mary nodded. There were a few seconds of silence, so Lily said
“This is a nice party, oddly enough?”
“I’m not a huge party person if I’m being honest,” Mary laughed. “I’m here for free alcohol and a reason to dress up.”
They talked for nearly half an hour, and with every passing minute, the connection between them grew stronger. Lily learned that Mary was from California and that her dad worked in the admissions office. He was the very same man who had helped Lily secure some of her scholarships and even let her enroll early. That connection had also brought Lily and Marlene together, since both had transferred from abroad.
As they spoke, Lily couldn’t help but notice the small details: the freckles that dusted Mary’s face like a constellation, the dark brown eyes that seemed endless, drawing her in with a warmth she’d never encountered. There was something effortless about Mary, something that made Lily feel both curious and at ease at the same time. After a few more minutes of conversation, Lily finally spoke,
“So, do you know anyone else at the party? Boys, maybe?”
Mary gave a dismissive shrug, and before Lily could speak, Marlene and Dorcas stumbled back toward them.
“Might wanna file out soon, the annual kitchen fist-fight is starting and Peter said that he might call the cops because that’s where the china case is now. Terrible decision on behalf of Mr and Mrs. Potter,” Dorcas said.
Lily chuckled, and couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable Mary suddenly had become. Before she had the chance to say anything else Mary said
“Hey, Blaze, wanna raid the beer with me before the cops show?”
“Don’t have to ask me twice!”
As the two disappeared into the crowd, Lily turned back to Dorcas.
“So, how do you know Mary? I mean, I never really see you guys talk.”
Dorcas blinked. “Cherry, she lives in the same house as Blaze.”
“What?” Lily said, nearly dropping his drink. “Blade, I’ve been to her house a million times and haven’t seen her once.”
“She’s usually… out.”
“Out? Out where?”
Dorcas glanced behind her, then back at a confused Lily. She sighed.
“I wish I knew. We agreed, if we leave her be to her life, then she leaves us to ours. She’s usually back by morning.”
Lily could tell Dorcas didn’t want to speak on the topic anymore, so she changed it and said,
“Is she… you know…straight? I asked her about guys and she seemed uncomfortable.”
“She doesn’t swing that way, well, we don’t think at least. She never talks about it because her family isn’t too…“ she paused thoughtfully. “Accepting.”
“Crashes and laughter rang out from across the house, and moments later Marlene and Mary came running out of the kitchen, grinning and clutching armfuls of beer.”
“We gotta go, we gotta go, we gotta go,” Mary said, running past the two. There was another loud crash, followed by the sound of breaking chinaware. Lily looked over at Dorcas and was in admiration at how unsurprised she was.
“We better leave,” she said. “I'll assume that they’ll be riding together.”
As they filed out, sirens could be heard in the distance. People were leaving now, some casually, others running as if their lives depended on it. One person even went so far as to jump out of the living room window. It was unlike anything Lily had ever seen. Lily stared out the window, not speaking the whole way back. She had one thing on her mind.
——
Shot after shot, hit after hit and nothing seemed to work.
Mary sighed, leaning back in her chair while the others downed drink after drink. She let out a quiet laugh—lightweights. Some of them watered their drinks, pretending they weren’t already done for.
By three in the morning, a few people decided the night wasn’t over yet and dragged the party a couple blocks down. The house was cramped and overheated, fairy lights sagging from the ceiling, music bleeding through the walls. Empty cups littered every surface, perfume and alcohol hanging thick in the air. It wasn’t falling apart—it was worn thin, like it had been used too many nights in a row.
While everyone stumbled around, crossfaded and laughing too loud, Mary stayed tucked into the corner, watching, wishing she had more on her. Eventually, she slipped outside, the sharp cold of the night sobering her instantly. She hated how far she lived. Now she’d be alone with her thoughts the entire walk home.
——
Classes proceeded uneventfully for the next week. The first days, Mary had seemed completely normal. Lily felt like she stared far too much, scanning for any sign of her night activities. Maybe she was a part of some sort of club? A cult? (Though, Lily could never imagine it). For the rest of the days, she ended up forgetting about it completely. That is, until that following weekend. She was seated on the couch, typing a paper for his psychology class while Dorcas made pre-class coffee when her phone rang. At first, she thought nothing of it.
“Hey Blaze, what’s up? No, I haven’t, why do you ask? She what? Hey, hey, calm down-”
She perked up. Dorcas sat her cup down, walking from the kitchen into the living room.
“Did you call the police? Oh God, oh fuck- no listen, you need to call. When did she leave?”
Dorcas was growing more frantic with every word. Who was ‘she’? Lily had a fairly good idea, though she didn’t want to believe it.
“I’ll be there in five, okay? Hang tight. Alright- alright bye,”
When she hung up, she ran a hand down her face.
“What’s going on?” Lily asked, looking up from her laptop.
“It’s Mary. She didn’t come home.”
Lily paled.
“What do you mean?”
Dorcas threw her bag over her shoulder, grabbing her car keys off the countertop.
“Mary always comes home by morning, or at least lets someone know when she won’t. This time there’s been nothing. Her phone’s off, Blaze is panicking. This isn’t normally like her.”
“Normally?”
Dorcas frowned.
“It happened one other time when she…” she trailed off. “We can talk later, want me to drop you off at class?”
“Don’t you want me to come?”
“You can if you want,” Dorcas shrugged. “I know how you are with your classes.”
Lily scoffed.
“Compared to this, classes are the least of my concern.”
——
When the two got to Marlene’s house, Lily could hardly believe the state she was in. Her eyes were red, and her hands were shaking in a way that she’d never seen.
“I should’ve known something was up,” she said. “She’s been acting so different, I should’ve told someone, I should've-”
Lily listened silently from the couch. As the two talked, Dorcas tried to calm down Marlene. What are they talking about? She wondered.
“Do you think she did anything?”
“God, oh god I hope not. I thought she was okay after that!”
After what?
Their voices quieted for a moment to a hushed whisper.
“Should we tell her?”
“She’s barely been here for a month, Blade. I don't want to unload more onto her…”
Lily furrowed her brows, her mind jumping to conclusion after conclusion, hoping that Mary was alright.
——
As the day broke, Mary’s mind wandered. The same images flashing in her mind like a broken television. The night had gone as planned, she would meet up with her friend to seal the deal on a somewhat large drug deal on the southside just out of town. What she hadn’t anticipated, however, was the move her friend would make on the other two people.
“Three hundred, take it or leave it,” the biggest of the two said. Her friend, Andy, sighed.
“Listen, man, I only got one hundred.”
“I thought we had a deal.”
Mary had looked over at Andy who grinned smugly. It was at that moment she knew what he was up to, and she didn’t like it.
“Dude, what are you-?
Andy held up a hand.
“I don’t want any trouble here, good men,” he said cooly. His hand reached for his belt, and, quickly, all hell broke loose. There were deafening gun-shots, and Andy had disappeared into the night. By the time Mary had gone to run, one of the other girls grabbed her by the collar and threw her to the ground.
“You think you can finesse us, huh?”
“I didn’t,” she gasped “I didn’t have anything to do with this!”
Naturally, they didn’t believe her. They had beaten her, kicked, punched, thrown her against the wall even after she stopped fighting back. Even though blood was dripping from her mouth from repeated punches to her stomach. After they felt she had enough, they left her lying on the ground in the back of the alleyway, and there she laid there all night. When the sunlight was just visible at the end of the alley, she tried to call out, but there was nobody to hear her.
She propped herself up against the cold cement wall, externalizing whatever strength left she had in her. Her entire body was sore, and her wounds subsided to throbbing, dull pain. When she finally managed to get herself to her feet, she sighed. This was going to be a fun walk home.