Perched on the counter of Quality Quidditch Supplies Marlena felt decidedly out of place. Partly because of where she was sat – a position she had adopted purely so the spell she had cast on the broom meant that it wouldn’t batter her feet while it swept the floor, but did have the unfortunate side-effect of making her look like a purchase. But the bulk of her discomfort was the contents of the shop.

To say she was not at ease in the air was an understatement. Marlena had spent most of her time at Hogwarts in the library, had passed her apparition examination quicker than anyone else in her year and the question had never been whether she would pass her NEWTs, but rather, which branch of her academic prowess she would utilise in the future. She had achieved all of this while dodging flying like the plague.

Women’s troubles had been her constant companion.

“It’s nearly finished Vera,” she shouted to her sister in the back of the shop. She had arrived for tea just in time to help her oldest sister shut up the shop for the day and, despite her dislike of brooms and their various attachments, she had no qualms about waving her wand to assist. Marlena wasn’t sure of the last time she had actually used her mother’s household spells so it was nice to know she still had the knack. “Is there anything else?” She shouted, as an afterthought.

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022