Marissa sat down on her bed, furiously reading a letter she had just received from her mother. She couldn't believe Gabrielle. How dare she tell Clarisse that she could spend the rest of the summer at Aleshire Manor without consulting her first? Gabrielle knew very well how Marissa felt about the manor and yet she told Clarisse that Marissa wouldn't have a problem with it. Sometimes Marissa just didn't understand her mother's methods and right now, she didn't want to. There was no way in the world she was going to allow Clarisse to spend the summer with Gabrielle. She had seen everything her mother had purchased for Clarisse the day before. The robes - which were far to grand for a child to wear in Marissa's opinion - had been monogrammed with the Aleshire crest. Marissa downright refused to allow her mother to brainwash Clarisse with all of her Pureblood mania. Her daughter had far too good a nature to believe in the superiority of Purebloods. Marissa reread the letter, just to make sure she was processing everything correctly.
Marissa,
I thoroughly enjoyed my outing with Clarisse yesterday. She is a charming girl and will go very far at Hogwarts. However, it is blatantly obvious that the child knows absolutely nothing about the Wizarding world apart from what you've told her. If she is to find her place in Slytherin (which is where I'm sure she will be sorted) she must at least appear as though she wasn't raised like some common Mudblood. Which is why she will be coming to stay with me at the manor until it is time for her to board the train. I assure you that Clarisse already knows of the plans and was more than open to the idea. Please owl me back so that your father and I know when to expect her. I look forward to seeing my granddaughter again.
Gabrielle.
Marissa threw up her hands in frustration. Why she hadn't taken Clarisse to Diagon Alley herself was beyond her. Why she had even bothered to tell Clarisse about the Wizarding world was a mystery to her as well. Now that she thought about it, Marissa didn't even remember flat out saying that Clarisse was a witch. At least not willingly...
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Marissa, it's Jonathan. Can I come in?"
"It's open, dear," she replied wearily. The bedroom door opened revealing the painfully thin, red haired, blue eyed man that was Jonathan Arnolds.
"I've just finished talking to Clarisse," he said. "She seems really excited about something." Marissa groaned and fell back onto the bed. "Is there something I should know about?" Jonathan asked. He had been extremely worried about his wife as of late.
"My mother wants Clarisse to spend the rest of the summer with her at the manor," she explained.
"That's wonderful," Jonathan said. "So what's the problem?"
"The problem," Marissa said, sitting up, "is that my parents are going to try and brainwash Clarisse into agreeing with their beliefs about 'keeping the Wizarding world pure.' Clarisse is too young to understand the seriousness of what they would be saying. She has too good a heart to believe them."
Jonathan considered his wife's words carefully. He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around his wife.
"If you know Clarisse wouldn't believe them, what's stopping you from letting her go? I personally think it's a good idea. Clairsse would write to us once a week, and if anything seemed unusual about her letters, we would bring her home straight away. The same would apply for Hogwarts."
Marissa sighed and nodded. As much as she didn't like it, it was probably best that Clarisse spend the summer with her grandparents. The child had, after all, believed her mother's parents long since dead until her birthday.
"Clarisse, can you come in here for a moment?" Jonathan called. "Your mother and I have something we need to discuss with you."
A moment later Clarisse was walking into the bedroom, her long black hair swept into a high ponytail, much like the night of her birthday. Her dazzling blue eyes looked from her mother to her father with a knowing gleam in the pupils.
"Yes?" she asked in a dreamy voice. Marissa sighed and without bothering to look at her daughter muttered,
"Pack your things. I'm taking you to the manor tomorrow." Marissa then left the bedroom to write to her mother, feeling as though every drop of simplicity she had worked for since Clarisse's birth would vanish the moment Clarisse stepped foot in Aleshire Manor.
Gabrielle and her husband, Odysseus, waited patiently by the gates of the manor for Marissa and Clarisse to arrive. Gabrielle had instruced her daughter Apparate by the front gates rather than Apparate directly inside the home, as she had been disowned upon marrying Jonathan.
Suddenly, with a faint pop, Clarisse and Marissa appeared before them. Immediately, Clarisse left her mother's side, with a smile on her face, to join her grandparents.
"So this is my granddaughter," Odysseus said, surveying Clarisse with an look of approval. "Well she certainly looks the part," he chuckled.
It was true. Like his daughter and granddaughter, Odysseus had sleek black hair, free of age telling grays. His chin was prominent, giving him an air of arrogance that certainly suited him.
"Come along, child," Gabrielle said fondly. "Get your things and follow us. You can go now Marissa," Gabrielle added as she and Odysseus steered Clarisse towards Aleshire Manor, leaving their only daughter standing outside the gates, wondering if there were some possible way to change Clarisse's mind.
