Following behind the shorter woman Lena allowed herself a moment of looking her new friend over. She was very pretty – Marlena was nothing if not a fool for a pretty face – but she was also in possession of a slender frame with delicate fingers and moved with the sort of confidence Lena adored seeing in women. It made her feel as though her own strengths would not be dismissed as being unladylike and she strode after Winnie to the booth with something akin to springs beneath her feet.

“Unspeakable things,” Lena replied mysteriously as she took her seat on the opposite side of the booth, sipping her gin delicately. Any attempt to flirt was mostly accidental but Marlena had decided, following the incident earlier in the year, that she ought to try being a little more open about herself. Having a fumble with a Quidditch player and a woman she was still reasonably sure was a prostitute would open one’s eyes somewhat to the notion that other women were in fact just like her – of course it was a harder task to find one but Marlena had never been one to turn from a task!

“I work for the Department of Mysteries,” she explained, a wry smile coming to her lips. “I promise we’re not all oddballs.”

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