Things Aren't What They Seem
"…Pomegranate juice will be added after the Salamander's Blood in order to complete your strengthening solution. You should allow three days for this potion to mature, or else the effects will be minimal," Professor Snape read aloud to the students sitting outside at a rather muggle looking picnic table.
A light bulb went off in Marissa's head and she quickly raised her hand, effectively getting Professor Snape's attention.
"Sir, can you add this potion to other liquids to counteract the balance? I mean if you were making…tea for instance and it wasn't strong enough could you add a few drops and have it automatically strengthen the flavor of the tea?" Marissa was making up the last half of her question as she went along, not wanting to voice her real thoughts aloud. `Could this be added to someone's blood, then put back into them in the form of a transfusion, so maybe you could stay off the Wizard Flu? Effectively making their blood stronger than the flu.'
"You can do that yes, but the natural flavor of the tea wouldn't come through, though Miss Malfoy, I hardly think that tea is your real question here," he said narrowing his eyes. She just gave a small nod, aware of many pairs of eyes on her.
Hesitating a moment, Professor Snape went on, "After this matures we will add it too the Skele-Grow potion you all brewed last week and we will attempt to re-grow broken animal bones," he held up a few bones he had procured from an unnamed source, "and see if we can make them stronger than they originally were. Can we make an unbreakable bone? That's the question, or rather experiment, we are trying to accomplish within the week. You may begin."
Marissa gathered up her potion bottles, laying them out in the order he had outlined earlier. Once she became engrossed in mixing and stirring, everything else ceased to exist around her, and it took Arnold saying her name three times, then finally a tap on her shoulder to bring her attention back to the class. She had been concentrating for over an hour trying to get her potion to look like Professor Snape's so it took her a few seconds to change gears and realize this part of class was about over.
"Yes Arnold?" Marissa saw many people begin packing up their cauldrons and noticed it was beginning to rain.
"In case you haven't noticed, it's raining. We should move everything into the storage building," he suggested pushing back his floppy brown hair then asking if she needed help moving anything.
"Ummm…sure, if you could grab those three bottles?" Marissa pointed to her right, and then managed to balance her cauldron and book in her hands while following Arnold to the storage shed. She had just finished and now needed to let her potion sit for three days. Her thoughts began churning about using this in the Wizards Flu and wondered exactly how much she would need to add to Skele-Gro, hoping she would have some Strengthening Solution left over so she could try it on blood…if she could find and get permission to use blood in her experiments. That meant going to Professor Snape and telling him what she was planning. The penetrating look he had given her earlier that class had her wondering if he hadn't already known what was going through her busy head.
"Arnold, when does the Professor get back from his daily meeting with the other professors?" Marissa asked standing under the porch, watching the heavy rain drip off the roof.
"I think around four…it's about an hour long. Why?" he asked, hands shoved into his pockets as he gazed out at the trees. He had been acting very mellow the past three weeks she had been at her internship and she wondered why, but didn't want to ask. Jennifer had told her she thought it was because he was jealous of the happy family she and Brian seemed to have. That made Marissa wonder if Arnold had talked to Jennifer about his actions; Jennifer didn't know the Malfoys or the Potters…and he had been spending a lot of time around Jennifer, though Marissa couldn't see anything beyond friendship.
"I just have a few more questions for him. I better run and clean up before dinner. See you." Marissa ducked out quickly into the rain before he had a chance to ask any more questions. By the time she entered her cabin her green t-shirt and jean shorts were soaked through. As she walked all six steps to the bathroom to dry off she saw two letters sitting on her cot, delivered by owl while she was out in class. Hurriedly drying and changing clothes she settled herself on the bed listening to the sound of distant thunder, being reminded of Brian and how he liked storms.
The first letter was from Janet, asking how she was fairing, then going into great detail about her vacation to Switzerland and all the cute boys and scrumptious chocolate she had seen and eaten. Slipping the letter back into its pink envelope she opened the second letter recognizing her brother's handwriting immediately.
"Marissa,
We're finally back home. America was great and I thought you'd want to know that dad took me to Nott's house at my insistence. I wanted to see what kind of hell hole you and Brian were kept in. Of course, there are new owners so we saw it from the outside and it's just as I pictured. It made me sorry all over again you had to go through that. Luckily we saved that "trip" to the second to last day of vacation as I became angry all over again (hate that Weasley/Malfoy temper you know). Other than that, a great time was had by all and mum is getting pretty big. She insists it's just one, but I don't know…she didn't like it when I asked if it was triplets again. Almost hexed off my nose so, don't mention anything about it when you come home next week.
The main reason I am writing is about a present for mum. Dad wants us to do something special and I have no idea what. I thought about a picture of all of us since the last one she has was before you entered Hogwarts. How does that sound? Cheesy, but she'd love it. I can contact that Colin guy if you give me the okay. Just let me know either way. Off to practice Quidditch with James and Jeremy who are spending the night. See you next week.
Love,
Your favorite brother"
Marissa closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her pulse racing from the mention of Nott and how Devon saw the house. She didn't think they would truly go back, but given Devon's curiosity about things and not liking to NOT know something it didn't surprise her as much as her reaction did. A few deep, cleansing breaths later she wrote a quick note to Devon telling him that the picture idea was great and she was proud of the way he actually followed through with what dad suggested. Usually, he tried to dump responsibility in her lap when it came to gift ideas for anyone but her. Writing Janet back, inviting her to her mother's party the following week, she set her responses on the desk waiting for the rain to stop before she found an Owl to deliver them.
Now she got to the charmed parchment finding a short note from Brian excitedly describing his day spent among plants and how he was sure he would be able to stay home having flown through many of the lessons in a short amount of time. She wrote him back in her small careful handwriting about her theory on the Strengthening Solution and flu, then closed with a count of the number of days until they got to see each other. They both were so busy with their internships they rarely had time to write "real time" like they had the first week and had to appease themselves with short notes once a day. As she thought ahead to seeing him at her mother's party (which would take place at The Burrow) she could feel nerves beginning to set in. She hadn't seen him in three weeks and in that amount of time she had obtained even more freckles, her hair was almost as blond as her father's and she had suffered a painful growth spurt, resulting in her mother owling her new clothes the previous week. She felt a big gangly and uncoordinated and sometimes didn't recognize the sharp featured, lightly tanned face that stared back at her in the mirror. Her thoughts about herself were interrupted as the rain and thunder stopped as suddenly as it started, spurring her to go find an owl, hunt down Professor Snape then meet her friends for dinner.
Trotting across the road, she formulated the questions in her head that she planned on asking Professor Snape…however those thoughts were cut off when she found him at the small, temporary owlery.
"Miss Malfoy," he greeted and Marissa said "hullo" as she tied her two letters to an owl, gave it a treat and a small push into the air.
"I gather your question in class wasn't about a general interest in the flavor of tea, am I right?" He walked around the perimeter of the room, finding the owl he needed and dropped a coin into the bag on its leg.
"Well, yes sir. I just wasn't comfortable putting my real thoughts out there for everyone else to hear," Marissa answered truthfully, watching him untie "The Daily Prophet" from an owl's leg.
"If I am correct with what your father has told me…and in just knowing your interest in Potions, you were wondering if the Strengthening Solution could be added to human blood to help with the flu."
`Man, he's almost as scary as my father when he knows what I am thinking,' Marissa thought to herself, but nodded in response her hands clasped tightly in front of her, waiting to see what he had to say on the subject.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try so I took the liberty of owling away for some blood with the flu virus in it. However, you aren't to do any of this without me, do you understand?" he looked pointedly at her and she nodded again, trying to quell her excitement.
"We don't need you contracting the flu…again," he finished rolling up the paper and sticking it under his arm.
"Thank you sir," Marissa managed to force the words past her lips, trying to sound grateful and note like an overly excited teenager.
"I will let you know when the package arrives. Now, you better go meet your friends for dinner." And with that he turned and walked out through the door, his black lightweight summer cape swishing behind him.
`Yes! Yes, yes yes yes yes!' Marissa thought to herself with every step she took to the small dining "hall". Her heart was pounding and her brain was working overtime, excited that she was about to run her first trial on a cure for the wizard flu…and as she sat through a quiet dinner of cold chicken and potatoes, she tried to put together the steps she would do to concoct this potion that could make her name famous in the wizarding community.
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Marissa carefully extracted a small amount of blood with her wand and placed it on the slide, listening to Professor Snape's instructions on how to view it under the microscope that resembled the Muggle type, but could magnify to a greater extent and with much more clarity.
"Now, take one drop of your Strengthening Potion, add it to the blood and watch through the eyepiece," Professor Snape said with unusual patience. Marissa did exactly as she was told then leaned down towards the eyepiece watching the two liquids mix.
"Well?"
"I see the potion attaching to the flu virus, not the blood cells…damn," Marissa said the last word quietly under her breath.
"You just need to find something that when added will attract the potion to the blood cell, not the virus," he said just as patiently as if he knew this would happen.
"Professor," Marissa said straightening up, "Brian said he found a plant that slows down Dragon Pox. What if I mixed that together with the blood, it might slow down the flu so when I add the strengthening potion it will gravitate towards the blood cell…."
"That's not a bad idea, and I assume he is talking about the Finnacle Plant found in the waters around Ireland," Marissa nodded at this and he continued, "but if you want to try ,you could probably find some in the storage room here. Why don't you go check?"
Marissa didn't need any further prodding. She only had three days left in their internship and she wanted to finish her project before she had to leave. She would love to be able to come home with news about a breakthrough. Thankfully, Snape had labeled the bottles clearly and positioned them in alphabetical order on the shelf so she found "FINNACLE" very easily and just grabbed the whole bottle, running back to the picnic table.
"Try with a fresh slide," her teacher said scourgifying the previous slide and pushing it towards her. Marissa slowly added a drop of blood, then added a small, pin head size of Finnacle Plant to the slide then looked through the eyepiece again, her heart pounding. Slowly, she watched the virus envelop it, bringing it into the center of itself, then as if by magic (which it partially was in her mind) the cells movement slowed down to an imperceptible flowing movement.
"It worked, Professor! Holy sh---crap!" Marissa yelled clapping like a child, then quickly stopping seeing his stony look. She then reached for the Strengthening Solution and added a drop. She looked through the eyepiece again and saw that it didn't want to bond with the red OR white blood cell.
"Well…I got half of it down. I don't know what to use to make the Solution want to bond with the cells so the immune system can get a boost," Marissa said a bit dejectedly, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. Merlin, it was HOT!
"I would suggest reviewing your father's book or even looking at a few other plants. I don't know of any other plants that help slow down illnesses, so I can't help you there," Professor Snape admitted and with a wave of his wand cleaned off the second slide.
"You've been at this for about two hours, Miss Malfoy. Why don't you go join the others for dinner, take down some notes. If you can't finish this here, you have your father's Potions classroom when you get back to school."
"I know, I was just so…hopeful," Marissa sighed gathering up her supplies and walking back to her cabin, a bit depressed that it didn't work. She reasoned with herself the whole hour during dinner when she wasn't talking idle chit chat with everyone.
`I'm only fifteen and a half; I'm still young. Other people have worked for years and haven't found a cure.'
"Hey, Marissa," Arnold trotted up to her after dinner as they all went their separate ways to go write letters, read, sleep, play games or take a walk in this hot humid climate.
"Yeah?" Marissa kicked a pebble watching is skitter half way down the road towards her cabin.
"Ummm…can I talk to you for a few minutes?" his voice betrayed his nervousness and it was all Marissa could do to ask "Why?", so she just nodded and led him up her sidewalk, transfiguring a rock into a chair for him to sit on .
"Nice job," he said admirably and she shrugged, but a genuine smile touched her mouth as she sat down in the existing chair.
"Thanks, Arnold."
They sat in silence for a minute, swatting at flies and other annoying gnats, both saying Hi to Jennifer who was running down the road-- "jogging" she called it. They both thought she was crazy and told her as much. She just laughed and said she had to keep in shape somehow. Marissa thought all the lifting and walking was enough, but apparently Jennifer liked to work out more.
"So," Arnold started and Marissa turned towards him meeting his amber gaze.
"Yes?" she had a feeling what he was about to say was going to be important. He didn't seem like the kind of person to be sensitive and spill his innermost thoughts out to other people, let alone Marissa Malfoy.
"Did you find out anything about my mother?"
"I totally forgot to ask my father, so no…," Marissa let her voice trail off and heard him sigh.
"Well, to make a long story short, she turned in your mother and Harry when they were in some group back when Voldemort was around and wasn't very well liked afterwards. Went around with something written on her forehead until she found a healer to break the charm; she didn't have to put makeup or a scarf over it everyday after that. After school she moved to Germany to study languages and met my father, then had Claudia and I. Before we moved back here, but after my father was killed, she told us how she joined this group "DA", I can't remember what it stood for. She was in it for a bit then got scared for breaking rules and told the headmaster, ummm, mistress I guess at the time. Anyway…she had mentioned your father who actually wanted to catch this DA group at one point, and mentioned Harry and Hermione who were really upset that she turned the DA in."
Marissa was nodding, not at all familiar with this story but wanted to keep him talking.
"So, I did some research on Hogwarts when I found out we were moving and was quite surprised to see Potter and Malfoy were teaching there. I thought they would know who my mother was from the application to transfer, me not knowing that she signed it Mari E. Bosse, and decided I was doomed from the moment I set foot in there…just because of something my mother did as a teen."
"Well, we had no idea and I still don't about this DA group," Marissa interjected and he sighed, then nodded.
"I know now, but not when I came in. I figured I would just act like what I thought people would want me to act. Hogwarts is smaller than my German school so I figured once someone found out who I was, then it would run through the school. I thought Harry wouldn't like me because of who my mother was. I was wrong. Then, seeing your relationship with your siblings and father, and same with Harry, I realized I truly did miss my father and just kept on being an arsehole. It was easier to be that than to try and go back to being the real "me". I guess what I am trying to say-," he paused for a moment and Marissa picked up the end of his thought.
"Is that you're sorry?"
"Yes, exactly. Seeing you and Brian over the summer on your date made me realize that I'd never end up dating anyone worthwhile if I kept acting like…like I did. Then I met Jennifer who asked me what the hell was wrong when I made some smart comment the first day we were here and for some reason I spilled everything to her. She should really be a Medi-witch or something. She has a knack for pulling stuff out of you very easily."
"Yeah, she does," Marissa agreed, remembering the talk she had about Brian and how long it took them to announce their relationship. "I admit you did act like a…well, you know, and it was pretty stupid of you to automatically think that we were going to treat you differently. Hopefully, your sixth year will be different."
"So…do you accept my apology for acting stupid? Claudia was just following my lead…and I'd apologize to Potter too, but I don't really want to write him," Arnold mumbled, shifting uncomfortably on the chair.
"Yes and I'll let him know. But, you still might have to apologize-."
"I know. I said some pretty rude things…I'm sorry," he said even softer and Marissa actually felt sorry for him. He seemed so lost, having suddenly lost his father in a car accident and then being uprooted from the only home he ever knew.
"Maybe…I don't know…but my father lost his father back in his seventh year. He might have some advice on how to deal with that-," Marissa offered a bit awkwardly, biting her lip wondering what his response would be.
"Thanks, but mum put us both in therapy for awhile and I think we dealt with it fine. But…thanks," he said just as awkwardly. Someone called his name and he glanced up to see Trent, the student from Canada on the road.
"Want to play Gobstones? Michelle has them back in her cabin," Trent asked both of them, referring to the student from France.
"You go Arnold. I need to write Brian," Marissa said in a friendly voice then stood up and glanced at Arnold and meeting his gaze. She gave him a small smile and the one he replied with was genuine.
"Thanks…again," he said and practically skipped down the step and out to the road. Marissa waved to Trent and Arnold then proceeded inside to write Brian what would probably be the longest note yet.
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