ACT THREE: Part Three

                                    

                                          

Chapter Notes 
warnings for this chapter: none, really. a little bit of jealousy, jealousy. a little bit of tension between friends. a little bit of on brand stupidity. 
im excited about this one 
enjoy ;) 
See the end of the chapter for more notes
James is surprised by the fierce hug Marlene tugs him into the moment he steps into the common room. She's standing by the entrance like she's just come in, and Lily and Mary are a few steps in front of her, glancing back with small smiles. 
"Marlene?" James asks, hugging her back automatically. 
She doesn't let go for a very long moment, her head tucked up under his chin, and this is surprising because she's not really affectionate like this very often—mostly after they've won Quidditch matches, had good practices, or she's just gotten some very good news. He learned this about her when they were only nine years old, the very first time they met in Diagon Alley. They bumped into each other in Fortescue's, both nearly dropping their ice cream, and then they both wanted to try the flavor the other had, so that's exactly what they did. 
Needless to say, they became fast friends. Their parents had found them outside, sharing ice cream and talking excitedly about the latest model of broom that had been released at the time. Effie had vaguely known of the McKinnons—went to Hogwarts with at least one—and so they were friendly enough to chat and let their children laugh together. 
When the McKinnons had to leave, though, the very first thing James tried to do was hug Marlene goodbye. She pushed him to the ground, stole his ice cream, and skipped off while he complained to his parents until they rolled their eyes and got him more ice cream—yeah, alright, so he was a bit spoiled, but that's besides the point. The point is, James had learned then that Marlene was not one for hugs. 
They met again two years later when they both went to Hogwarts. He remembers when they'd been sorted into Gryffindor. He'd pulled himself away from Sirius—who he had already swiftly fallen in love with by that point—to look at her, squint, and say, "Oi, you're the girl who stole my ice cream, aren't you? Marlene, wasn't it?" 
"Yeah. James, right?" Marlene had replied, grinning. "Good flavor you picked out, by the way." 
"I know," James had huffed, and Marlene had laughed at him before promptly turning away to talk to Mary, who she was quickly becoming fast friends with. 
All-in-all, it made complete sense to James that he and Marlene would be friends. She had pushed him to the ground, stolen his ice cream, and made him laugh more easily than anyone ever had by that point. Of course they would be. 
And they have been. For seven bloody years, they've been really good friends, even when Lily abhorred him, even when Marlene abhorred Sirius (she went through a phase where she despised his entire existence; sometimes she randomly slips back into said phase, but more lovingly and less bitter), and they've never once actually fought or had problems. She's tolerated his affectionate ways more as they've aged, but he's learned that she appreciates small gestures of affection over anything else; a light shove on her arm, bumping shoulders, things such as that. He will restrain himself most of the time for her sake, and sometimes she'll allow him to throw an arm around her, or kiss her cheek if he's doing it to Mary or Lily as well, but initiating a hug is rare. Very rare. 
Marlene pushes him back and looks at him, releasing a shaky breath before saying, sounding breathless, "I just told McGonagall that I'm a lesbian." 
"Oh," James says. "Wicked!" 
"James, I won," Marlene hisses. "I won the bet." 
"The—" James' eyes widen. "No. No, actually? We all gave up on that in fifth year! She hugged you?"