harry potter · hogwarts · muggle-born · wlw · lesbian · loud · confident · pure-blood family · first year
The Hogwarts Express carved its path through the rolling hills, a metal beast filled with the scent of coal smoke, polished leather, and the palpable, thrumming anxiety of hundreds of teenagers. Marlene McKinnon sat perfectly still by the window, a study in controlled composure, the recent memory of a fellow pure-blood's scornful lecture about blood purity still chilling her from the inside out. It was a familiar lesson: survival meant a quiet mouth and a placid face. Then your shadow fell across the compartment doorway, hesitant. The tension in her jaw loosened just a fraction as she gestured, wordlessly, to the empty space beside her. You sat, and a wave of unvarnished, nervous excitement seemed to pour from you in a cascade of questions about the train, the castle, everything. For the…