Day 5
St. Mungo's
Tuesday
Marissa hadn't seen so many of her relatives and Brian's in one room at the same time…ever. By the time she was awake and aware of what was going on there had been a steady stream of well wishers coming in and out. At nine in the morning, when her parents finally let her siblings in, the triplets immediately came over and hugged her, Erin crying and Derek swearing vengeance while Dixon told her everything he'd like to do to him…all whispered lest Amy hear.
Amy had been hanging back, unsure of what to do or say but when Marissa had beckoned her over they hugged and Marissa told her she wasn't mad. Amy had responded by saying that she was glad someone had caught her father and was sending him away, so that she and her mother could feel safe again. Pansy was on her way back from Romania where she had been staying with a friend, thinking that maybe Nott would try to come after her to get to Amy.; never thinking that he would go after Draco's child. Finally Amy stepped away, wiping at the tears on her face and excused herself to walk down the hall to a restroom.
Devon was the last one of her family to come forward and Marissa could see the same expression on his face that her
father had, one of anger and relief all at once. He had sat down and hugged her long and hard, not saying a word but
both were fighting back tears. All Marissa really wanted to do was break down and have a good cry…out of relief and out
of general tiredness, but she couldn't do that, not with everyone in the room.
To round up the joyful reunion Cassandra had come in with her boyfriend, Chad Hart, announcing they were now engaged. He had asked her before they left Hogwarts on Friday and Marissa was excited! They were only sixth years and her parents were thinking it was a bit early, but to Marissa she figured if they were in love and wanted to spend their life together then make the commitment now. Marissa was going to be in the wedding next summer. Her ring was beautiful, sliver with delicate ribbons intertwined around a nice sized diamond. Cassandra had said it was the first time she had ever seen her father cry; Marissa couldn't even think of her Uncle Charlie crying and refused to believe it.
But now, a bit before four in the afternoon, everyone had left. She convinced her parents to go back to the house and try to restore some order to their lives, cook dinner, come back later and bring her some shepherd's pie, because all she wanted to do was rest and have peace and quiet. Brian's parents were still in the room; Harry having come back after teaching his afternoon classes. Brian's bed had been moved back across the room and Marissa found it made her feel a bit lonely.
Not wanting to intrude on their conversation, she decided to take a walk; to go see the infamous Malfoy Baby Wing that her grandmother had built (not having been there since Derek, Dixon and Erin were born). She slipped on her shoes, ran a brush through her hair and walked out the door, briefly telling Hermione where she was going so no one would worry.
She was on the fourth floor of the hospital and decided that taking the stairs would feel good; get some exercise and maybe pump up her spirit a bit. She was feeling down, quiet and alone. Sure, she had smiled and nodded when every one of her relatives came in and hugged her, some bearing gifts, others just words of support. From the time she was alert until a half hour ago she was constantly talking. Even with all the people that had entered her room, no one had asked her "Do you want to talk about it?" It was mostly, "Tell us what happened!"
Taking the last flight of stairs she pushed open the door to the first floor and followed the signs to the Baby Wing. She couldn't shake this feeling of being sad and a bit guilty for everything that had happened. Everyone was making sure she was ok physically but no one had asked her if she was doing well emotionally. Brian seemed to sense she wasn't really as happy as she seemed, just from the few glances and words they managed to get in between visitors. But, there really wasn't time to explain to him how she was feeling; it would be hard to have done that when she wasn't really sure what she was feeling herself.
`I'm sure that mum and dad didn't want to bother me…and are waiting for me to say something,' Marissa rationalized with herself. `Maybe they figure I'll talk about it on my own time, but just having someone ask even if I didn't want to would've been nice. But, how am I feeling? I can't even put it into words.'
Sure, there was happiness and relief at being back home and not with Nott.
As she looked through the Nursery window at three small sleeping babies she tried to figure out what else was bothering her.
Sure, she was going to miss Brian when they went home in the morning. She figured, no she knew, that he would be having family time at home. His sisters were coming home for dinner from Hogwarts tomorrow evening and Marissa suspected the same thing would happen to her. They were slated to go back to school on Sunday and she hoped that getting back into the routine of her life would help her get back on course.
She silently watched a Healer pick up a baby girl and weigh her, change her diaper then put her back into a carrier and take her out and down the hall, probably to her mother's room. She felt someone come and stand next to her; she didn't have to look up to know it was her father.
"You know, when you were born I thought you were the smallest thing ever," he said softly without greeting her. "Then came Devon and I thought he was huge, being almost eight pounds…then Ginny told me he was normal sized. Along came the triplets and they were even smaller than you were, something I never thought I'd see."
Marissa wasn't too sure what to say as she stared into the Nursery, her eyes roaming around all the strange looking machines.
"I guess we never cease to amaze you," she responded.
"No," he said even softer, "You don't."
Now she turned and faced him, he was still in his teaching robes, having taught his NEWT level class then came back to
the hospital. He was looking forward through the glass and slowly she turned back to the two babies in the room.
"I guess I amazed you at how stupid I was to touch something so…foreign," Marissa began not being able to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
"What?" Draco now turned and looked at her, surprise apparent on his face. "No, Marissa. No one is blaming you for anything and you definitely weren't being stupid…," he began but Marissa interrupted him, still gripping the railing below the window and refusing to look at him.
"I was. I should've known a cat wouldn't have sat that still just waiting for me to touch it. Brian tried to stop me. He tried to pull my arm away…but," she gave a small colorless laugh, "he was too late and I ended up getting him into this situation too."
"Marissa! This is not something you can blame yourself for. Nott had his house elf put it there and just waited for you to touch it. She had been at the castle all day and when she heard that there was a baby unicorn. So, Millie went to see and saw Hagrid write you the note. She knew then exactly where to place it to carry out her master's orders."
"I shouldn't have touched it, dad! You and mum taught me to be aware of my surroundings, to watch for things that were out of place…I should've known!" Marissa said angrily, feeling the tears pricking the back of her eyes. Her mind hurt from everything she was keeping inside. She never tried to feel sorry for herself while she was locked in the room with Brian-- being too busy plotting their way out of there and caught up in whatever relationship they had started to establish.
But now, it was hitting her that she could've prevented this and it was gnawing away at her that she got Brian into it. Another thought trickled in that maybe Harry and Hermione wished Brian hadn't been walking with her at the time.
"You said yourself it looked like a real cat. And witches and wizards have real cats on the grounds, so there was nothing strange about it. Don't blame yourself." Draco saw her wipe her arm across the back of her eyes, then let them fall dejectedly to her sides.
"I---I just don't know what to do now. I go back to school and people are going to think all sorts of things and all I want to do is get back to my normal life!"
Draco gently took her arm and steered her into an empty room, shutting the door behind him and turning on the light. He didn't let go of her arm but drew her to him and felt her wrap her arms around him now crying openly.
"What do you think people are going to think? They know the true story and trust me, no one at all blames you," he explained rubbing her back. She just shook her head and felt like she couldn't stop crying.
All the stress she felt, the anger, the blame just poured out of her onto her father's chest. She didn't mean to melt down; she wanted to remain strong, to let everyone know that Nott didn't beat her or bring her down but her plan wasn't working.
"I'm sorry…so sorry," Marissa cried and all Draco could do was hold her tight. She wasn't listening to logic or reason at the moment and he knew she just had to let it all out. Brian had told his parents that Marissa had remained strong, never really cried and seemed upbeat most of the time. So, he knew that this was going to happen at some point.
He sat with her on the bed until she cried herself out and waited for her breathing to return back to normal, before he pushed her back a bit, looking down into her eyes.
"You have to believe us when we say we don't blame you, Brian or anyone at Hogwarts. Your mother and I are so proud of how you two handled yourselves during this ordeal and know its taken a toll on you emotionally and physically. Which is why you're going to have a few days rest at home; Brian can come visit if he wants too. We can have everyone over for a dinner or keep it to just our immediate family. Whatever you need to do to recover, okay?"
And the way her father said it and the feeling that she received from him she knew he truly believed none of this was her fault. Lowering her eyes, finding a tissue in her hands she used it and nodded slightly, whispering in agreement to her father.
"Let's get you back to your room." Draco guided her off the bed and out the door, taking the stairs to give her more time to get her emotions under control. He noticed she didn't shrug his arm off her shoulders like she once did and she even let him guide her back to her bed. Brian, Harry and Hermione were gone, probably downstairs getting something to eat since he constantly seemed to be hungry now.
"I think you should rest and if you want, we can bring some Shepherd Pie back around dinnertime." Draco pulled up the covers over her legs and tucked them in around her ribs like he used to do when she was younger.
"That'd be great. Bring some for Brian…he'll probably be hungry again by then anyway." She gave her father a small smile and he patted her arm.
"I'll let your mum know." He kissed her forehead and knew she was asleep before he even had her door shut all the way.
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St. Mungo's
5:35pm
Marissa awoke with a start, lying on her side facing the window. She had awoken from a dreamless sleep, feeling much refreshed after her therapeutic cry and nap.
Her eyes fell on the back of Brian who was standing looking out the window. His hands were on the windowsill and he was leaning forward like he was looking down at the street below. For a moment she studied him quietly. Starting with his wavy almost-black hair then her eyes moved across the shoulders (she decided these were her weakness…she was a shoulders girl) and down his torso to his feet which were in a pair of brown leather slippers. He looked as if he was deep in thought, pausing only a moment to scratch his shoulder.
A moment later he turned around slowly, immediately seeing she was awake and observing him. His eyes promptly changed from whatever serious thought he was having to a bright, happy look.
"Have a nice nap?" he asked pleasantly, walking over to where she was now sitting up in bed, running her hands through her hair.
"I did. Everyone tired me out I guess. Did you have a nice meal with your parents?"
Brian shrugged and sat next to her, both of them swinging their legs over the side of the bed.
"It was food."
She noticed he didn't say anything about his parents and asked where they were.
"Went home for a few. Said they'd come back before visiting hours were over. How was your walk?" he looked at her as if he knew it wasn't the best one she ever had.
"It was a walk," she said giving him a small smile.
"Touché," he smiled back at her. "We ran into your father after he brought you back here. Did you two talk?" he reached over and took her hand gently, letting her know she could trust him and tell him what really transpired. He seemed to know that the walk was not uneventful.
So, Marissa told him, clamping a hand over his mouth as he insisted he didn't blame her, then went on to explain
she just cried everything out, had a nap and felt better.
"Soooo, it was more a cathartic cry then?" Brian asked a few worry lines touching his forehead and mouth.
"Precisely. And my father said something that kind of shocked me…that you can come over to visit whenever…while I'm at home this week." She felt him squeeze her hand for a moment.
"My parents said the same thing."
They were quiet for a few minutes each thinking about what that meant, wondering what their parents were thinking about THEM and how deep their relationship was now.
"Hey," Brian reached out and turned her head towards his. Moments later she was enjoying a long, soft, slow kiss, hands cradling each other's necks bringing forth some warm, happy feelings until Marissa pulled away knowing if it continued she'd be pulling him down into bed with her.
"What brought that on?" she whispered noticing her hand was gripping his with more force than usual.
"I just wanted to…is…that okay?" His brown eyes roamed over her face watching a smile light it up. She was happy that he felt he could do that, felt comfortable enough to kiss her when he felt like it.
"'Course," Marissa responded feeling him stand up and tug her towards the window. Sliding off the bed she followed him.
"Check out the sunset," he pointed straight out of the window and Marissa involuntarily sucked in her breath. There was an array of oranges, yellows and reds streaked across the sky like someone painted them there with a wide bristle brush. Wispy horse tail clouds were placed randomly through the rainbow of colors and she let her gaze take in the pure, beautiful sunset. Brian wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she leaned towards him a bit, wrapping her arms around her waist eyes roaming the horizon and the traffic down below.
She was happy that they didn't feel the need to talk, that their silence was comfortable, companionable, enough to be lost in their own thoughts and enjoy the sunset out their window. She felt safe and secure again in his arms and that's when the reality of her feelings hit her.
The whole time she and Brian had spent locked up by Nott had brought out her vulnerable side. The side she never wanted anyone to see and only when she was WITH him did she feel safe and back to the self she was used to. The thought that she was going to be going home tomorrow, Wednesday, and they would be in separate houses filled her with a strange empty feeling. Laying her head on his shoulder she tried to think of why she was feeling so strange about the time they were going to spend apart. Her mind raced in all different directions but before she had time to grab any one theory she heard the door open and before they turned around she felt Brian squeeze her shoulder.
Ginny was standing there with a bag in her hand, watching them with mixture of surprise and amusement. She had seen
Brian's arm around Marissa and saw how they both jumped when she walked in. But, it was the first physical touch
she had seen between them and it wasn't looking like a casual one.
"I have Shepherd's Pie for both of you…hungry?"
"Yes!" Marissa walked quickly to her bed, drawing over her table.
"Brian, I have some for you too. Draco relayed the message from Marissa that you might POSSIBLY be hungry," she smiled at him as he nodded and spread his hands in a helpless gesture.
Ginny brought out two containers and conjured up some forks hearing a chorus of "thank yous" then the sounds
of eating.
"I'll be back later. You two got the first helpings, now I have to go make sure Draco left some for me." Ginny kissed Marissa's cheek and squeezed Brian's arm before she left to go back home.
"This is great," Brian said taking a drink of water then shoveling more food in his mouth.
"It's hot and not a soup or sandwich," Marissa agreed, blowing on her fork cooling her food down a bit. "I got a nice hot shower, had a nice cry, a refreshing nap and now a home cooked meal…what else could I ask for?" Marissa asked aloud, not really expecting an answer.
"Getting back to normalcy?" Brian mumbled through a mouthful of food; Marissa nodded and they continued their dinner in silence.
The rest of the evening went by pretty uneventfully. Janet, Calvin and Mark managed to sneak in a visit and stayed for an hour. Janet had actually cried when she saw her friend; how thin she was and just the fact that she was in the hospital. Between Marissa and Brian they managed to get out the whole story to their friends, answering questions, not mentioning the fun they had in bed which Marissa had to admit seemed to have happened years ago.
Mark had to leave before everyone else and Brian walked him down to the entrance of the hospital giving Marissa and her friends some private time. Of course, Janet ended up asking the inevitable, "What's up with you and Brian?"
"What do you mean, Janet?" Marissa asked eyes flicking to Calvin who just shrugged as he sat there on the sofa with his arm around the back of Janet.
"Well, just watching you two tell the story you guys seemed to finish each other sentences and when the other was talking you'd be looking at him, not us. Did you two come to any realizations about your friendship?"
Marissa fidgeted a bit as she sat cross-legged on the bed. She stared at her school books Janet had brought for her trying to formulate a response in her mind.
"I--," she sighed and started again, looking at her friends across from her. "We talked a bit and I'm pretty sure our priorities have changed with what has happened to us."
"Like you realized school isn't the most important thing in life?" Calvin said in a kind way. She nodded a bit and looked up as Brian came walking in and without hesitation sat down next to Marissa on her bed nudging her with his shoulder.
Janet raised her eyebrows at Marissa as if to say, "I knew something was up with you two." Marissa just gave a tiny shrug as if to say, `Who knew? You're right.'
"What're you two going to do when you get back to school? So many kids are going to want to know the whole
story," Janet asked looking at Marissa who had now stretched out her long legs, letting them swing freely over the
bed.
"I don't know. I don't want to relive it," Marissa started.
"I'm sure something will be in the paper. They can read it there," Brian answered at the same time. "There isn't much to say really. Four nights, almost, in one room, one meal a day, two bathroom breaks. We managed to get out two notes to our parents via house elf, writing a description of what we saw out the window-," he continued with Marissa jumping in.
"And that combined with magical traces from the port key, and a bit of help from Salem I. led our parents to us. Nott was taken by surprise, we were brought here. The end."
"Exactly." Brian squeezed Marissa's shoulder then let his hand drop between them.
"You know the Prophet will want more than that. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with," Calvin surmised watching Janet who started giggling.
"I can only imagine…after they get a hold of the story you'll have been locked up in a cell without any sustenance or outside communication."
"Blindfolded." Brian grinned and Marissa slapped his arm. He swatted it away but not before he managed to squeeze her fingers a bit, a bit of personal communication just between them.
"It'll be interesting," Marissa agreed and listened to Janet tell her about everyone who was asking about them, even the teachers.
Finally, a bit after 7:30 Janet and Calvin left as the parents came back, causing Marissa and Brian to take up residence in their own bed talking with their own parents. Marissa got the distinct impression that her father didn't mention anything to Ginny about her crying jag. And she was grateful. Her mother wouldn't have fawned over her, but probably tried to question her a bit more about how she felt during the whole ordeal, and she didn't want to relive it a half hour after telling Janet and Calvin. She found she felt better after talking with her friends and the thoughts she had before he cry seemed to be moot at this point.
`I'm an emotional mess,' she said to herself, smiling at her father who was watching her, taking in her mood and was relieved to see she was feeling better.
Visiting hours ended at 8:30 and after receiving hugs and kisses from their own and each other's parents they left. Marissa had to convince her mother that she was fine with them leaving, that she wasn't truly alone as Brian was in the same room. She could see how tired all four parents were and hoped that for the first time since Friday that they would get a restful, good night's sleep.
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