MAGICAL DAYS, open

[Marlene McKinnon]

Marlene didn't have any trouble admitting that she had just tumbled out of bed. Actually, she still would've been sleeping if it weren't for one of her roommate's obnoxious owl that kept tapping on the window, even when its owner was so obviously not there. If Marlene hadn't known better, she would've bet her whole monthly allowance that it had been sent as a prank to irritate her. And it had worked. For a little while, at least. Marlene was never one to hold on to a bad mood, especially in the mornings. She disliked people who snapped and grunted like Trolls with the early hour as an excuse for their poor behavior, an she refused to fall below that category. So she had taken a couple of deep breaths and proceeded to primp. There was no other way to describe what Marlene did as a morning ritual, staring at her reflection and trying to bring out her best assets while her flaws were easily concealed under well-practiced Glamours. It didn't matter how long it took her, when she stepped out of the bathroom, she was radiant, smile firmly in place and her eyes sparkling with some random Charm.

Her theory in life was easily applicable if you were focused enough. Her whole life depended on the looks. She knew people judged others by their looks, and that was one of the main reasons as to why she cared so much about her physique. You only had one opportunity at making a good impression, and she wasn't going to let it go to waste for such trivial things as disheveled hair or a plain face. Even Jane Doe would be able to be turned into the next Marilyn Monroe if you were observant enough to know where to modify. It all was simple, really. A flick of the wand here, a spot erased there, and before you knew it, you had another persona before you. It was quite gratifying, to say the least, to be able to view things with such a different perspective. Gratifying and refreshing. And Marlene always tried her best to be a good influence to her Housemates, even if some of them--a perfect example would be that chit, Brianna--were utterly hopeless. But a new day was a new day, even if it had started up in the wrong note, it was still worth living.

So with that thought in mind, Marlene was stepping down Gryffindor Tower with a bright and devious smile in her face, ready to face anyone who might dare intercept her. Her robes, even though they appeared to be casually hanging from her frame, had been meticulously arranged to look so, and her wind-swept hair and pink tinged cheeks that gave the impression she had just stepped down a broom were all products of a good swing of a wand. Humming to herself a random Muggle tune that had been advertised in the WWN lately, Marlene let the tips of her fingers of her right hand trail against the cold wall as she went down a set of staircases, set on going to the Great Hall for a decent meal, since she hadn't had that much of a dinner last night, with all the beauty sleep she required.

[severussnape]

((*waves* Hello! I finally got round to posting here. *copies nifty icon-at-beginning-of-post habit* Just for this thread. Bit of powerplaying here, I apologize, but I sort of guessed you'd be OK with it as we don't have any history for the two characters yet. ))

"Whistle for the choir..."

Today, an extremely abnormal occurrence was striding confidently along one of the first-floor corridors. The occurence? Severus Snape. The abnormality? The miserable bastard was actually feeling happy for once.
You see, even wizards like Sev wake up on some days feeling like everything is well with the world. An inexplicable assurance that today is going to be a good day. He had the vaguest remembrance of a dream still in his head, perhaps it was that that had set him in such a good mood. But with every waking moment the dream was slipping out of his brain, like smoke drifting away into the air after the fire has been put out. In fact, all he could remember at this point in the day, was a smiling face, a woman's face. Although, the most confusing detail by far was that the face had been crying. Aah - never mind, he thought, maybe it had been Iresol or someone distasteful like that. Perhaps I'd just punched her in the face. With that last thought, he grinned self-indulgently and continued to make his way up from his Common Room in the dungeons to breakfast in the Great Hall. Not really paying attention to the quieter voice in his head that whispered, Then why would she be smiling?

As his ponderings concerning the dream where naturally driven out of his brain, his mind began to wonder to other subjects that had been plaguing it over the last week. Of course, Lily was everything to him, and he suspected, with a sad smile, that she always would be. But he wasn't a monk for God's sake. It was like his mind was constantly punishing him for allowing his body to find other girls attractive. As though, in some weird and twisted way, he was being unfaithful to her. Ack - he really was turning into a bit of stalker. Ok, not literally, but he was certainly starting to develop some of the mentality. The hurt she had inflicted, if not knowingly, on him was always there; scar tissue that will never really heal. However, of late she was starting to fade out of his thoughts. Since their last big chat, he hadn't really spoken to her at all. At least they weren't on hostile terms, but it was just as bad.

What he really needed, as dear Lucius had taken to reminding him frequently, was a distraction. And as you can imagine from the one-track mind of Malfoy, this couldn't mean taking up Gobstones. Sure, there was always that underlying story with Von, but things were simply too complicated between them. I mean, come on - was anything actually going to happen between them? Ever? The fact of the matter was, Sev thought bitterly, no girl in their right mind would ever want anything to do with unpopular, lonerish Snivellus who was up to his eyeballs in all things dark. The depressing truth was, any girl who showed but the slightest bit of interest in him even as a friend (Cissy, Trix, Von, Anette) was already taken. Ther was no-one.

Just as he was closing the corner that took the corridor round to face the Great Hall, his eye was caught by a whip of red hair, and the Gryffindor lion emblazoned on black robes with the tie to match. He stopped dead in his tracks, hoping and dreading that it was Lily. Nope, Sev was to be disappointed and relieved - it was Marlene.

"Oi! McKinnon!"

Marlene and Severus' relationship was comparable to the one between you and that boy/girl that's always been in most of your classes, but you never got to know properly. All your friends hate them with a passion, and whisper bitchy little secrets between their hands. You laugh, but have yet to pass judgment on the said classmate, having never really spoken to them before.

In fact, the first time Sev and Marlene had really spoken in the seven years they had gone to school together, was when, in Potions, they had been paired up to do a project together. Both of them had been disgruntled, but had tried to be polite and agreed. Severus had been looking covertly for Marlene for a while, but he hadn't actually seen her until now.

[Marlene McKinnon]

[ooc: yeah, it's ok. We needed some background in the relationship anyway XD]

Her mind was already miles ahead, planning what she would be doing in the weekend, making mental notes on who to spend her time with later that evening, and wondering if perhaps her roommates had some sort of strong grudge against her. When she was in, almost no others were, and at first Marlene hadn't paid much attention to it, but now that it was a constant factor, the thought was beginning to cross her mind. It didn't bother her though. She was sure they would come around. It was just a matter of time, and that, she had. Shrugging the matter away, her bold steps took a pause as she heard someone call out to her.

The voice was vaguely familiar, and without turning around just yet, Marlene tried to remember who it belonged to. Frowning as she tried to place a face to it, she pouted prettily after a few moments. She really was no good with remembering, was she? Forgetful little thing, sometimes it frustrated her to no end, but there was absolutely nothing to do about it. Marlene was the epitome of forgetfulness, and even though she didn't like it, she'd come to terms without. Also, it gave her an excuse to be carrying a gorgeous leather bound journal around her at all times, jotting down things she had to do or had to remember.

Sighing in defeat and finally turning around, Marlene raised an amused eyebrow as she spotted none other than Severus Snape walking towards her. Now that was a bloke Marlene didn't mind seeing when she was looking her best. Their brief contact with each other in the past had been confined to being assigned as partners in a Potions assignment, and if truth was to be told, she'd been keeping a secret crush on the dark haired Slytherin ever since then. She'd made a perfect fool of herself in the assignment, showcasing her ignorance on the subject to a perfect T, but he'd been almost patient in his own way. Besides, on her opinion, his good looks didn't hurt either. But, after the project had been turned in, their contact had stopped. Marlene regretted that, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't even come up with a decent excuse to talk to him after that. Because she had to have an excuse to talk to him. Otherwise, she would just give herself away...right?

"Yeah?" she answered, her eyebrow still raised. She tried her best not to rake the guy with her gaze, but she couldn't help but let her eyes flicker over him in just a fraction of a second. She could always blame it on curiousity if he noticed. Or whatever. "May I ask what are you doing over here so early in the morning?" she asked, and it would've been perfectly pronounced, had it not been by the yawn that interrupted her ending. Blushing prettily, she covered her mouth and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, bad night." Which was a total lie. The only excuse was that she was a lazy bum, but she wasn't about to go and confess that to a guy she wanted to semi-impress.

[severussnape]

Severus watched the back of Marlene's head for a reaction. He half expected her to carry on walking but, to his surprise, she turned around to greet him with a raise of her eyebrow. Severus' hasty trot slowed to a walk, until he was right up in front of the Gryffindor. She was looking very pretty today, and Sev suddenly became very conscious of the fact his hair was a mess and a small spot was developing on the tip of his chin. Not really having thought about what he was going to say next when he had called her name, he stuttered slightly. However, he was relieved the burden of having to start the conversation when Marlene said,

"May I ask what are you doing over here so early in the morning?"

Sev grinned as he replied, "Bad dream, thought I'd get up and see if anyone was at breakfast. And then who did I find, but you!"

Sev searched for something to say. In truth, he had called her to ask about the Potions Coursework they had to do together. But now, researching Antidotes seemed like such a stupid and geeky reason to talk to somebody he hadn't the heart to mention it. So he just stood there awkwardly - why was he so bad at this? He envied Lucius greatly for his ability to 'smooth talk'. Whenever Sev tried this tack, he ended up looking like a prat. He wanted to say something complimentary, so he tried.

"Bad night? Well, you're lucky then - you could never look rough even if you stayed up 'til morning." Sev smiled automatically, but it quickly vanished.

What the hell was that? You are literally a moron. Just walk away, try and reduce the embarrassment.

But he couldn't, he wouldn't. His friends were right, he needed to learn how to get a girl he liked. Otherwise there really was no hope for him. But he couldn't just stand there - say something, say something!

[/blockquote]

[Marlene McKinnon]

Would it be blamed on her, the guilt for not being able to look away from his face as he talked? Well, duh. But she couldn't help it. And perhaps she didn't care if Snape noticed it. What was he going to say? "Stop staring"? Right. Marlene knew life didn't work that way. At least most of the boys didn't. But she didn't know Severus Snape that much, and it would be a bit controversial for her to place judgment on him so soon. What with them being in rival Houses and all, her opinion would seem biased. Even if she wasn't going to say anything bad about him. How could she? In the shallow world of Marlene, there was never anything wrong with attractive people. And certainly nothing at all with attractive Slytherins. You see, Marlene had always been drawn toward the 'bad' side of things. Whether they be petty issues that had yet to be settled, or a huge rivalry (such as the one that run hot between the Houses), she had to be part of it, to taste it, in some way or another. It was too much to turn her back on it.

And so thinking, she sent the flustered Severus a dazzling smile. She knew it was dazzling because she spent hours in front of the mirror practicing it. You had to achieve just the right tilt of the lips. It wasn't something easy, and for Marlene to conquer it had made her proud for a whole day. Yes, that was how Marlene's world worked. Uncomplicated and simple, based on appearances alone.

"And do you consider yourself lucky for finding me?" Merlin, she was almost purring. But she couldn't help her playful tone of voice. There was hardly anyone nearby to be capable of passing decent judgment and she sincerely hoped Severus didn't find her open personality un-attractive. Otherwise, Marlene would find herself with a serious case of incomplete caprice, pouting all day and crossing her arms in front of her in an innate defensive gesture. Also, she would, for certain, be frowning in no small amount of time, and Morgana knew what that did to your brows! That was enough to set her mind. She would have a decent chat with Severus Snape, even if it took the best of her shining social star to get him to be at ease with her, as he obviously wasn't. Had she been too forward? Mentally frowning at that possibility, she was about to reassess the situation when Severus spoke up.

"Really?" Marlene asked, perking up immediately at the compliment. She gave a little twirl to show off her robes and smiled winningly again. "Well, thank you," she said, obviously pleased. There was nothing better to spark up a woman's mood than a good compliment in the morning. Especially if it came from a secret semi-crush. "You don't look half-bad yourself," she declared, both of her eyebrows raising as she inspected Severus brazenly. "Indeed you don't, Severus. You don't mind if I call you Severus, do you? I mean, you don't have to worry, I won't go prancing around calling you Sevvy, or something of the sort. Just Severus. No offense, but your last name is barely trust-inducing, so perhaps you won't mind?" And off her mouth went. Marlene secretly smiled. She could always count with her mouth having a mind of its own and carrying a conversation while she thought about other things. It was automatic. Having grown up with four male cousins, you had to be able to multi-task: snapping a biting retort while your mind was already churning ahead to all the possibilities, and keeping an eye out for any sudden movements that could indicate strong physical contact (aka tussling) about to come up. Oh yes, it was a joy she was a woman.

[severussnape]

((Sorry for the delay! I've gone round updating all my threads since I've finally got on top of all my adminship. I promise I'll update this thread regularly from now on.))

Perhaps Sev wasn't that much of a moron after all. What he had thought was a cheesy chat-up line had come out her end as positively flattering. Sev surprised even himself. I mean, girls weren't really his forte. He had a kind of rugged attractiveness about him, and he certainly stood out from the crowd, but he was nowhere in the same league as the studs of Hogwarts. In fact, this was probably the first time he had actually engaged in a flirtatious conversation - with anyone. This settled it, it was time to drive Lily out of his mind once and for all. So what if his patronus had changed shape? That was probably just an infatuation thing. Besides, if anything, Marlene was prettier than Lily. And definitely seemed a lot more fun. Now Sev, don't get excited, she's probably just looking at you curiously because you look bad - don't get your hopes up too soon.

Severus smiled at the compliment, and ran his fingers unconciously through his hair.

"You don't mind if I call you Severus, do you? I mean, you don't have to worry, I won't go prancing around calling you Sevvy, or something of the sort. Just Severus. No offense, but your last name is barely trust-inducing, so perhaps you won't mind?"

It was all very well done, the hesitation, the care. Her mouth moved almost inperceptibly as she wove her tapestry of compliments. Screw getting his hopes up, Severus now began to entertain the possibility that Marlene McKinnon might have a teensy weensy thing for him. And, as Sev was developing more than a teensy-weensy thing for Marlene, this revelation could open up all sorts of possibilities. Crap. What if she expected him to ask her out? Surely a coffee at Madam Puddifoot's was the next step. He could say that they could talk over the Potions project there - or would she not get his intentions? Would she just think he as more interested in Potions than actually talking to her? Oh, why were girls so complicated? A boy would get the hint ASAP, all romance thrown to the wind. A girl, however, was a complex creature - unpredictable and volatile - he was so scared he would break his winning streak and she would lose interest completely. Now, she was expecting him to reply - say something...!

"Oh well, I would of taken a bit of offence if you'd started calling me by my surname anyway, so - more good than harm done." Severus smiled, showing all his teeth. He needed to plan what he was going to say next very carefully. "So, hate to bring it up again, but I think we need to discuss this project of ours pretty soon. Perhaps we could drop into Madam Puddifoot's sometime and work it out over a coffee?" Was it too much?

"Always best to approach these things when you've got a bit o caffeine in your system."

[Marlene McKinnon]

"Brilliant." Marlene beamed sunnily at Severus' acceptance of her calling him by his first name. "Severus it is then." So maybe this was the way to take it with him? Baby steps, one thing at a time? It was difficult, trying to measure someone as reclusive (to her) as Severus Snape, one of those mysterious Slytherin blokes who just won't see what's right in front of their eyes. So blind, these snakes were. Pardon her, she wasn't stereotyping anyone, but you had to admit that sometimes they were kind of aloof. Which was part of their allure altogether, but still. It had happened to her before with this bloke, and it had gotten beyond the point of exasperation. In the end, Marlene had had to break it off. A clean cut. Which had been such a shame. Guys like him weren't easy to find nowadays: educated, refined, good family, good money, all the basics. But he was oh so clueless, it had been physically painful for Marlene to stand him the three weeks they had dated. And so it had ended. Gracefully and graciously, like Marlene was prone to do. Bad breakups never made for a good historial. She would know. She'd had enough of those to last her a lifetime. But they had been when she was young and stupid, and, well, reckless. She still was. Her cousins knew all about that. The guys she dated too. She was prone to be open about it all. Rather good or bad, she left that for people to decide. Reputation was based solely on the word of mouth. Your actions, no matter how harsh, how soft, how bold, how ignorant, they were always distorted. So yes, reputation is such a fickle thing.

"So, hate to bring it up again, but I think we need to discuss this project of ours pretty soon."

Oh.

Way to burst a bubble, Snape, she thought childishly, her eyes narrowing infinitesimally. It was hard to not let her face fall as Severus mentioned the Potions project. Seriously, she understood and accepted his obsession with the subject, and yes, he was rather good at it too, but did he have to bring it up? It was something Marlene wasn't good at, and she didn't like topics she couldn't participate actively in without sounding like a fool. So no, Potions wasn't her favorite topic of conversation. Hex her for it. Besides, they had been this close to have a nice flirt. How could he just ruin it wi--

"Perhaps we could drop into Madam Puddifoot's sometime and work it out over a coffee?"

Now, that was more like it. Showing her pearly whites at the Slytherin boy, Marlene agreed efusively, her nod completely enthusiastic as one of her small hands reached for his arm in an excited gesture. "Definitely sounds like a good idea," she agreed, her dimple showing. Yes, she hadn't put up much of a fight with him, because she never, never, agreed on the first try. It was an unspoken rule of hers. It was a way of saying "No, I'm not that easy", even if she really was. But somehow, it managed to make guys even more interested. How did that work would always remain a mystery to her, but what she did know, was that if she blew Severus off, there was no chance (approximately zilch) of him ever approaching her again. Sure, he'd brought up the project, but who cared right now? It was a semi-date. Not really a date, because who talks about school in a date? Certainly not her. But it was still Madam Pudifoot's. Even if it wasn't her favorite place in the world, it was still one of the most popular dating locales of Hogsmeade, so it would do no harm.

No harm at all.