It had become their little game, or at least that's how Marlene thought of it. 

Quick and fleeting glances across classrooms and the Great Hall, smiles ranging from shy to sly, and the increasingly frequent times they "coincidentally" crossed paths in the hallways. 

Marlene wasn't entirely sure how it had started, well, it started with her hopelessly crushing on Dorcas; she just had no clue how she'd gotten Dorcas to notice her. Dorcas who was surely used to being stared at, being admired from afar, being sought after by nearly the whole fucking castle. Dorcas who could have anyone she wanted and was for some inconceivable reason always making eye contact with Marlene that felt more than just friendly. 

Eye contact that felt curious, intrigued, searching. Eye contact that left Marlene feeling hot all over and made her want to break into a ridiculously huge grin and skip down hallways and giggle as if she was 5 years old and this was the first girl she'd ever liked.

So when Dorcas had approached her in Herbology and asked if Marlene wanted to be partners for some project she didn't hear the details of because she was staring at the back of Dorcas' head and daydreaming, Marlene didn't expect to feel sick— as if hundreds of butterflies were wreaking havoc in her stomach —and increasingly sweaty. What was wrong with her? She'd talked to girls before, she was good at talking to girls. So why was she now forgetting every sentence, every word, every letter as Dorcas stood in front of her— Merlin she was so close— waiting for an answer.

"Yes!" It shot out of Marlene slightly too quick, slightly too loud, but it was salvageable and the smile beginning to spread on Dorcas' face filled Marlene with a giddy sense of confidence.

"Yes I'd love to be your partner."