A/N: this is the second chapter uploaded today; please read Ch. 30 first!
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June
Marissa sat staring at her father over his desk. He called her down to his office on that Sunday evening with two pieces of news.
First was that she had passed nine of her OWL exams, the same amount her mother had many years ago and was approved to take those classes in her sixth year totally bypassing her fifth. Her heart leapt as she heard those words come out of his mouth and it was all she could do to not jump up and hug her father.
The second piece of news was that the retired Professor Snape, who had taken up residency in Africa because of the numerous items he could get for many Potions, had offered to Draco an "internship" for Marissa. This would be a scaled down version of what training Draco had to endure when he became Potions Professor sixteen years ago.
"…you would be working with him and a few other students from different schools around the world. You'd be in Africa from mid-July to mid-August which means you would miss our trip to America, but I will leave the decision up to you," Draco watched his daughter for any visible reaction, but all he saw was a stunned look on her face.
"Ummm, well. Did he tell you what I'd be doing and why he is asking me?" Marissa thought that this would be a great opportunity to learn and would keep her occupied as Brian would be in Ireland for his Herbology internship around the same time.
"He heard about your diligence in finding the cure for the Wizards Flu and was impressed, well as impressed as Professor Snape can get, with what ingredients you found that might work so far. So, I'm thinking he wants to work with you on that aspect. He'd be showing you how to collect some of the more rare plants, what they can be used for; things that go beyond sixth and most seventh years. Are you interested?"
Marissa could hear a note of brightness in his voice and she had to admit it sounded like the perfect opportunity for her to advance her knowledge beyond the Potions book in the classroom.
"I think I would very much like to do that, Dad. And, truthfully, I wasn't really keen on going to America with what happened to Brian and I," Marissa admitted seeing her father nod along with her statement.
"Well, we just need to fill out some paperwork for the Ministry, especially since we will be out of the country for a portion of your internship. So, after you get back from school next week we'll sit down and fill it out, then Express Owl it back to Professor Snape."
"Alright…this is very exciting. Did you enjoy Africa when you went?" Marissa fanned herself with her folder containing her OWL results as it was unseasonably hot especially in the castle, or maybe it was just her excitement about everything that had been told to her in the past fifteen minutes.
"I learned more than I thought I would, but it's very hot and humid down there. You'll be in living pretty rustic like I was but with better bathroom facilities, but not the nicest. You'll take a lot away with you Marissa; it should help you in your quest."
"I would think so," Marissa smiled then clapped her hands. "Can I go? I need to go tell Janet…and Devon--does he know?"
Draco shook his head and watched her jump up out of the chair.
"Brian too…thanks dad. I'll see you in class on Tuesday," Marissa said and practically skipped down the aisle and out the door. She was intent on finding her closest friend and dragging her throughout the castle to wherever Brian was hiding to study for his last OWL exam he had left to take.
Later that night word made it around the castle that Marissa was skipping her fifth year which earned a snort from Arnold who quickly looked away when she cut him a look down the dining hall table.
"Can they make you a Prefect if you didn't go through fifth year?" Calvin asked and Janet shrugged, still a bit miffed at him for breaking up with her. Marissa had noticed that they had seemed to be a bit more distant, their relationship just naturally dwindling, but Calvin seemed intent on trying to stay friends.
"I have no idea," Marissa mused munching on a carrot and staring absentmindedly out the window.
"We had a boy skip fifth year at my old school and they allowed him to become Prefect for the first half of the year, then re-evaluated his grades after the holidays. He managed to do just fine," Claudia said from a few seats down and Marissa nodded at her, noticing the slight change in Claudia's demeanor over the past few weeks. She was making an effort to talk to people instead of about them. Devon said he had heard that the one year anniversary of their father's death was June 20th, four days earlier-not around Christmas like they all thought-- and he thought maybe it affected her more than they let on. Arnold just kept his distance; occasionally sharing a look with Brian but neither one said anything to the other.
"Are you ready for the House Cup on Wednesday?" Valerie asked and Marissa nodded. "What do you think it'll be like playing against Brian?"
"It's all about the snitch; that's what I keep telling myself. I hope we will win, and I know he wants to win so put us two competitive people together and it should be pretty interesting."
"Last time a Malfoy and Potter were Seeking, Potter won barely," Calvin said knowledgably.
"Dad told me about that. He ended up with some broken ribs when Harry's shoulder smashed into him. But, if that is what it takes to win," Marissa winked to Devon to show she was kidding but she saw the look on Claudia's face-an uncertain one wondering if Marissa was kidding about a no holds barred Quidditch Match.
"Do you want to go out and practice a bit?" Devon asked polishing off his dessert in record time.
"That'd be fun to watch," Janet said glancing at Devon then Marissa.
"Sure, why not? Let me finish up here and change. I'll meet you down there in thirty?" Marissa looked up at Devon who announced he was done.
"Alright. Tell Potter to stay back. I have an idea for a great move," he said patting his sister on the shoulder.
"I'll see if he wants to play chess with me and James," Calvin offered and Marissa thanked him finishing off her dinner.
"Do you mind if I watch?" Claudia asked and Marissa shook her head. How could she say "No" to someone in her own house?
"I should be there in a half hour or so," Marissa scooted back and caught Brian's eye across the room. "See you all later," she called making her way towards Brian.
"You look like you're up to something?" Brian commented, resting his arm around Marissa's waist as she waved to her cousins at the other end of the table.
"Malfoys always are," she teased leaning against him. "I'm going to the pitch with Devon. He wants to show me something. How's studying?"
"Taking a break tonight…I think James said something about beating me in Chess, so," he sighed melodramatically his hand rubbing her hip, "I guess I'll have to show him how to put his money where his mouth is!"
Molly, who was sitting next to him broke out in laughter then quickly covered her mouth as James shot her a look. Brian, who looked more relaxed than Marissa had seen him over the past few weeks nudged Molly who giggled, then turned towards Marissa.
"Let me know when you get back?" he said quietly and Marissa nodded, bent down and brushed her lips across his. She felt him pull on her shoulder and he moved his lips to his ear.
"Room of Requirement around eight, if it's not taken up?"
Marissa felt shivers down his spine and nodded and pulled away studying him. He had a neutral look on his face but his eyes were dancing with something she could only describe as mischief.
"See you all," Marissa squeezed Brian's hand and made her way out of the hall to change into her practice robes.
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"You know I'm not going to be able to fake Brian out by pretending I see the snitch," Marissa said to Devon as they took a breather on the pitch. The sun was setting and she had another half hour before she should head inside and meet Brian.
"Yeah, I know that. But I think he'll probably stick close to you at points throughout the match. If there is a way we could get him to notice me, or Shelby, or even Calvin nodding or making some type of non-verbal communication in the direction they think they see the snitch, then maybe you can head that way, he'll follow then you lose him. Or, better yet," Devon continued, mounting his broom and swinging back and forth like a kid on a swing, "if you do see it and Brian doesn't, you could give US a signal and we could "point" him the opposite direction, leaving you open to get it snitch."
"All this during the game? I'm not sure if I could break my concentration long enough to let you all know that I see it. We might just have to duel it out like our fathers did way-back-when."
Devon crossed his arms and looked miffed she didn't like his plan.
"Look, Dev. I know you want to win this as much if not more than the whole of Ravenclaw, if that's possible, but Brian is smart. Look who his father was when he played Quidditch. I honestly think there is no way to trick him. Unless…," Marissa's eyes lit up and she turned around in a circle, looking up as if trying to envision herself up there.
"Remember what mum and Harry did one game? She told us that they traded spots…maybe we could do something like that, confuse him for a bit."
"Hmmm…that might work, but who'd you have in mind to trade with?"
"Calvin's broom is a bit faster since he just got his for Christmas and it's the newer Firebolt version. We could ask him, or switch brooms."
"Well, we'll have to run this by Shane anyway," Devon said having momentarily forgetting that their captain had the final say.
"Why don't you find him and talk to him about it? I need to go get a shower and do some other stuff," Marissa hopped onto her broom and they flew side by side back to the castle, chatting about possible plans to win the cup.
A bit after eight that evening, Marissa made her way to the Room of Requirement, her bag on her shoulder and her hair damp from her shower. All it took for the door to appear was her thinking of Brian and wondering what he wanted to do. She walked in quickly and stopped short.
"Brian?" she called as she looked around the room which resembled a very comfortable living room, complete with two sofas, a fireplace, carpet on the floor and a bowl of fruit on the coffee table.
"Here," he said, his head popping up above the sofa. "I was just reading, waiting for you." His eyes followed her around until she was standing in front of him gazing at the magazine lying on his chest.
"What's up? Did you want to study or something?" Marissa sat down by his feet and he placed them on her lap watching her settle down into the cushions.
"No…just visit. It's felt like ages since we have talked or been together since we have both been taking our exams. And, since we are done next week then I leave for Ireland a few days later I wanted to spend some time with you."
Marissa felt her face heat up for automatically thinking that he wanting to see her was school related. As soon as he
finished talking she felt the same way and realized it had been a good three weeks or so since they had last talked
outside until the stars were shining above them.
"Alright," Marissa said. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Anything that doesn't include the word "exam" or the word "owl"." He set his magazine down on the table and placed his hands under his head watching her.
"Well…I talked to Jillian the other day and she said that Cassandra and Chad plan on going to Italy for their honeymoon."
"But, that's like…thirteen months away right?" Brian raised an eyebrow, not understanding why the plans were made so soon when the wedding wasn't until the following July.
"They're excited and apparently, this magical resort off the coast, books very fast and they wanted a honeymoon suite," Marissa scrunched up her face. "I can't even think about them doing…that."
"Well," Brian laughed and nudged her with his foot, "You aren't supposed to think about other people doing "that"…just yourself. It's bad enough that when your mum starts to show, you'll be reminded of what she and your dad did."
"Brian…eww…," Marissa kicked him and he grabbed her foot before she could hit his ribs again, "But, I guess I will miss most of my mum's pregnancy." She proceeded to tell him about the offer Professor Snape bestowed upon her and when she was finished he was hugging her, all excited that she was going to be doing something similar with her summer.
"That's great! You'll only have to be at home for three weeks or so, then back here. Then, you'll get an…a note," he said winking at her in response to almost saying "owl", "saying you've had a baby brother or sister added to the family."
"Sister," Marissa said and sat back visibly surprised she said that.
"You know already?" Brian asked, pulling her against him. She settled her head onto his shoulder and shook her head slightly.
"It just came out. Maybe I'm becoming a seer," she joked.
"Well then, what do you see in my future?" Brian asked and Marissa turned her head and looked up at him.
"Oh…well, I think I see a very…enlightening snog coming your way." Marissa said her words slowly as she moved and straddled his lap, feeling his arms go about her waist.
"I think I like what you see. I know I like what I see," Brian said a bit more bold than usual. She bent down and touched his lips and gave him what she said she had seen in his "future".
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The morning of the House Cup dawned rainy, gray and dreary. Not the weather the players were hoping for, nor the spectators. Shane had said he would prefer not to change Seekers, but if they could find a legal way of getting Brian "off task" then go for it. He knew they were up against some of the best players in Hogwarts and just told his team to do their best, get the goals and let Marissa worry about the snitch.
So, that's what Marissa was doing thirty feet in the air and at the edge of the stands. Diligently she looked around and slowly whirled higher and higher looking for the elusive snitch. She could see Brian on the other side of the pitch, just from the fact there was a blur of red robes and he was almost as high as she was. The announcer's voice echoed faintly off the stands and she thought she heard that Ravenclaw was ahead by twenty points. Not bad for playing in this weather for the last hour. Pulling her hood up to give her some warmth, even for the brief moment that it stayed on, she thought she caught a flash of light directly below her. Slowly she inched her way back from her spot, intent on making it look like she was fiddling with her hood, but in reality she was staring about eight feet below her trying to see the flash between the rain drops.
There it was again, but this time it was higher, but more towards the middle of the field.
Brian saw it too and in the quickest move of her life, she laid flat on her broom and streaked down towards the pitch.
She could hear the yells from the stands gradually getting louder and louder; she could see the snitch just hovering
minding it's own business and she could also see Brian streaking towards it as fast as she was.
Then, being the snitch it was, it took off over her head and she and Brian pulled up before they collided, both hearing the wind whistling in their ears as they chased after it.
Marissa thought she heard her name paired with Brian's down in the announcer's booth and was sure by now that
everyone knew they were tearing after it. As suddenly as the snitch took off above their heads, it shot back down at a
one hundred eight degree angle, forcing Marissa and Brian to execute sharp U-turns and both muttering under their
breath about the snitch.
Neither one could hear the other though with the wind, rain and the every growing volume of the crowd below them.
The green, wet pitched loomed below and Marissa could see a few players scatter as they came racing down towards them, turning towards the Slytherin side of the stand where the snitch was hovering, mocking them.
She and Brian were a mere foot apart, not breaking their concentration, each intent on getting the snitch and winning the house cup away from the Hufflepuff's who had won it last year in an upset.
`Closer,' Marissa mentally told the snitch, willing it to fly right at them. She could see the blur of the wings now as it flew along the Slytherin stands. Then suddenly it stopped. So suddenly that Marissa and Brian didn't stop in time, their hands outstretched they got tangled and flew off their brooms, landing in a heap in the fourth and fifth row in the Slytherin side.
Marissa felt a bench smack her in the back of the head and she felt a familiar starry pain reminiscent of the concussion she got in the trip to Nott's. She briefly saw Brian slam into the bench above her and before she could even check her hands to see if she had the snitch, Amy and Reggie's faces were above her asking if she was hurt.
Marissa blinked feeling a sharp pain when she took a deep breath, closing her eyes she took inventory of her body and noticed that her ribs hurt, her head hurt and her hands felt empty.
"Marissa…say something!" Amy said urgently moving to the side.
"I don't think I got the snitch," Marissa said, wincing as her rib felt like it was a hot poker in her side. She heard someone call Brian's name and heard his voice answering.
"Did Brian get it?"
"I don't know," Reggie said peering over the bench above him. "I can't tell."
"Is he okay?" Marissa rolled to her side and felt a pair of hands settle on her shoulders, gently pushing her back down.
"I think he hurt his arm, but he's awake," Reggie's hands held her firmly down. "Don't move. We should probably get you to the hospital wing."
"I need to see if he got the snitch. I don't hear anyone saying that we or Gryffindor won," Marissa looked up at the shock of red hair that fell across Reggie's face.
"I haven't either, so McGonagall is probably trying to make her way over here to see how you two are and see if the snitch is here. You two crashed into the stands pretty hard."
"Marissa? You okay?" Brian called above the noise.
"I'm alive. Did you get the snitch?"
"If I did, it's not in my hands. You didn't?"
"No," Marissa saw her father and mother's face above her and saw Reggie sit back.
For the next few minutes she answered her mother's questions about how she felt, and heard Hermione and Harry asking Brian similar ones.
"Who won?" Marissa asked and her father shook his head.
"The game is on hold until we see if you two have it," Draco helped her sit up and Marissa grabbed her side gasping in pain.
"Look at that…," Draco said softly and reached behind her. She looked at his outstretched hand and there was the snitch.
"Does that count that I fell on it?" Marissa moved her arm slowly to take it and held the fluttering ball in her hand.
"Well, you have it now," her father said slyly and she smiled.
"I found the snitch, Brian," she held it up then quickly brought her arm down as she realized that hurt too much. She saw Harry help Brian up into a sitting position but Professor McGonagall came into view and settled herself between them, peppering them with questions about how they were feeling.
"I fell on the snitch, Professor," Marissa opened her hand and McGonagall smiled, then turned to say something to Shane, Ravenclaw's captain and Scott, Gryffindor's captain. Within minutes, as Marissa was escorted carefully and slowly down the steps, she heard the announcement that they had captured the snitch and won the match, therefore the house cup.
It was bittersweet. Her competitiveness was thrilled she had one the cup for her house. Her emotions were a bit unhappy that Brian didn't win, but she knew that they both had known that only one of them would win.
Moments after she was settled in the hospital wing her team came in, bringing the cup so she could see it. Madame Pomfrey tolerated it for five minutes then commanded everyone back to the hall as she needed to bandage Marissa's two broken ribs and check her head for any abnormal swelling. Marissa told her parents she was fine and that they didn't need to hang around her and with a few more rounds of "I'm proud of you" and careful hugs they left her to the care of the elderly healer, meeting Brian coming in with his parents.
"Congratulations," Brian said as he carefully lowered himself down onto the bed, holding his arm tightly against his side.
"Thanks. Sucks that we both got hurt...and if makes you feel any better, I fell on the snitch. I didn't even catch it properly." Marissa watched him as the healer examined his arm and declared it broken, then left to get the bone repair potion and a sling.
"Doesn't matter. You still got it…along with what? A few broken ribs?"
Marissa nodded carefully, her head feeling heavy.
"You ok?" Hermione asked after seeing her son settled in the cot.
"Sure. Bittersweet win, that's all," Marissa said almost to herself, but Hermione heard it and leaned forward so only Marissa could hear her response.
"Real life and love is like that," Hermione winked at her, patted her shoulder then turned back to Brian, leaving Marissa to doze on the cot waiting for the pain medicine to take effect.
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