i solemnly swear

Marlene McKinnon felt very nostalgic as she walked down the streets of Diagon Alley to shop for her yearly school supplies. This was the last time she would be here to shop for things relating to Hogwarts and it was crazy for her to think that. Seven years had come and gone in what felt like the blink of an eye. So many things had changed in the last seven years it was honestly hard to keep up anymore. There were times when she wished they could all go back to when they were merely 11 years old preparing for their first year all over again. Things were much simpler then. Everyone was happier, most people her age weren't worried about the war that back then as it was just beginning. Now though it was all people could talk about. Everywhere around people were talking in hushed tones about The Dark Lord, how he was taking over, how scared they were. And while Marlene knew very little about The Dark Lord personally, other than he was what her parents described as pure evil, she knew that the moment she left the security of Hogwarts at the end of this year she would have to join the fight against him. How could she not though?

"Marly! I finally found you!" Lily Evans called as the redhead ran up to her and pulled her into a hug.

Marlene smiled and hugged her friend back. "I'm glad you could make it today Lils," she replied wanting to simply enjoy their day in Diagon Alley together with the boys as well before they all did head off to Hogwarts two weeks later.

"Did your parents say it was okay for you to stay with us for the rest of summer?" She asked hoping her parents would be okay with Lily spending her last two weeks before Hogwarts away from home.

Lily nodded, "have you seen the boys yet?"

"No, but I would put all my galleons on them being at Quality Quidditch Supplies. All they've talked about in their letters all summer is how excited they were for the new Nimbus racing broom to come out. So I'm sure they are currently trying to charm someone into getting the best price. And of course wherever they go Remus and Peter are right behind them," she said as she took off in the direction of Quality Quidditch Supplies to try and find their friends.

It would be nice to actually see her boyfriend at least once before the summer ended. With how busy she had been with her travels with her family, then of course working with her mum at St. Mungos she'd barely had enough time to squeeze Diagon Alley in. Marlene also had hopes of getting him alone at least for ten minutes if possible because she had rather big news that she wanted to share with him.