Hey Guys,
Sorry for the WAIT, but after the major plot change I made I had t go through and rework my plot. Anywho now I'm back in full swing and I will hopefully be updating more consitently now. Let me know what y'all think.
Love,
A.E
Chapter Nine
It Can't Be Real
It was a week after Louis had apologized to Maci and things had gone back to normal the way they always did. The members of N/A spent the next week training tirelessly for the first quidditch match of the spring season. Louis had the pitch booked at every available moment and since he had planned ahead the Gryffindor team was getting more field time than any other team. This was met with mixed reactions from its players, but no one dared to argue with Louis.
The Saturday of the game arrived quickly and before Maci knew it she found herself gearing for her first game since Louis had suspended her. Normally she would be excited gearing up for the next few hours on the pitch, but not today.
Of course there was the fact that she just plain tired from all the practices and school this week, but then there also the other thing, which was the fact that-
Maci's thoughts were cut off by the sound of changing room door banging open and a drenched Chase stepping in, quickly closing the door behind him, "Man it's coming down out there!" He exclaimed, not the least bit perturbed by his soaking wet quidditch robes.
That was the other thing. That morning it was like the sky had split open and rain poured forth. It had now been steadily raining for the past hour without any sign of letting up, but since there was no major winds the game hadn't been cancelled. Maci however wished it had been. She had never been good at playing in the rain. It always threw off her game, no matter how many water resistant spells she put on herself.
That in fact had been what Maci and most of the rest of the team was doing before Chase came bursting. Waving Chase over Maci clucked her tongue at him, "You forgot your charms again didn't you?" She asked him, even though the answer was obvious.
Swiping a hand through his hair Chase flushed and looked down at the ground, "Maybe." He mumbled and gestured to Maci, "Will you do them for me. I left my wand up at the room."
Quietly chuckling Maci started with a drying spell and then worked her way through the rest of the charms. When she done she nodded, "Okay. So this should keep the rain off of you. Won't help your vision, but you'll be dry when the games over."
Maci shuddered as the sound of the rain grew louder. Looking at Maci, Chase patted her on the top of her head, "You'll be fine Mace. Just focus."
"I hate playing in the rain." She told him in a firm tone and Chase opened his mouth to reassure her again, but Louis called for the team to head out.
Stepping onto the field Maci shivered, she hated the rain, really, really hated the rain. As the players all lifted off and into the sky, Maci gritted her teeth and plunged into the game. An hour or so into the game Maci was miserable, the game was going slow, and she could barely see anything.
As Maci hit a bludger that had been aimed at Chase, her hand slipped and the ball flew off in the wrong direction.
"C'mon Mace you can do better!" Chase shouted over the rain and wind. Maci could barely make him out through the downpour, but she shot him a glare anyways.
"Alright," Maci told him, as one of the other bludgers came flying towards her. With all her might she hit it in the direction of what she hoped to be one of the Ravenclaw players broom, "How's that for better?" She asked turning back to Chase and what she saw made her eyes widen, "CHASE WATCH OUT!" Maci screamed.
Chase's head snapped around just in time to catch the bludger full in the chest. Frozen in horror Maci watched as Chase tumbled off his broom and plummeted towards the ground, "CHASE!" She screamed again, but it was too late.
Pointing her broom down Maci flew fool tilt towards the ground only barely pulling up into time to meet the ground. She dropped her broom and fell on her knees next to Chase, "Please be okay, please be okay, God, Chase please be okay." Maci begged rolling him over to see his bloodied face.
He moaned in pain, his eyes fluttering, "Ahh Merlin that hurt." He groaned before he passed out, going limp in Maci's arms. By now the whole stadium had noticed the two grounded Gryffindor players. Teachers were streaming off the bleachers and the teams were landing on the ground. Soon hands were pulling Maci off of Chase, "Maci what happened?" Prof. Longbottom yelled at her, "What happened?" He asked again when Maci didn't answer.
"I don't know…I don't know…the bludger came out of nowhere…and then he just fell…is he okay…is he going to be okay?" Maci cried, trying to yank herself out of Prof. Longbottom's grasp to see Chase, but the teacher held strong, "Let me go I need to see if he's okay, let me go!"
"He'll be fine Maci he's just unconscious. Louis, take her, take her up to the school now." He ordered Louis who had appeared at Maci's shoulder, his face pale and taught with worry.
"Yes sir." Louis pulled a still struggling Maci away from Prof. Longbottom, "Maci we have to go to the castle. Stop it! Stop it!" He yelled as she pounded on his chest.
"Let me go Louis! Let me go!" She screeched finally wrenching herself free of his grasp and sprinting towards the crowd of people surrounding Chase, "Let me through!" She yelled at them struggling through the mob. When she reached the center she saw Prof. McGonagall there, waving her wand, performing a spell Maci wasn't familiar with.
"He's got a broken arm and a concussion at the least. We need to get him to the hospital wing." Someone said and Maci could feel the tears streaming down her face. But even as the sobs tore through Maci's body, she could feel the relief begin to grow in her stomach. As she tried to push closer to him Maci felt someone lift her up, holding her shoulders trying to guide her away.
"No I have to stay with him…I have to…" She cried, trying to break free of whoever's arms were holding her.
"Listen to me Maci Chase is going to be fine! There's nothing you can do right now, but if you don't get out of this rain you're going get sick or hurt yourself. So stop struggling with me. Damn it, do you understand me?" James shouted at her shaking Maci by her shoulders.
At those words all of fight left Maci and she crumpled into James, "Okay, okay." She murmured, the tears still silently sliding down her cheeks.
"Okay." James whispered lifting Maci into his arms and carrying her back towards the castle. When they reached the castle infirmary James layed her down gently on the bed and when she tried to sit up he pushed her back down, "Stay." He ordered firmly and for once Maci listened.
Now that they were out of the darkness and rain Maci could see James' face clearly. He was covered in mud, but even through the layer of dirt his face looked pale and sad. Maci didn't even care to imagine what she must look like covered in mud in her hair and drenched from the rain. Not that it mattered, not that any of that mattered right now
Suddenly Louis burst through the infirmary doors, his eyes full of worry "Oh thank God." He exclaimed upon seeing Maci. Rushing toward her he pulled her into a fierce hug, "I was so worried when you go away from me and I couldn't find you." He murmured, resting his forehead against hers and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, "Thanks James." He added turning to his cousin.
"Don't thank me."' James said in a pained tone.
Seconds later the infirmary doors burst open again and this time it was Madam Pomfrey and an assortment of other teachers. Chase's limp form floated next to them on a stretcher and Maci gasped.
"Lay him down there…yes there is fine." The old nurse was gathering bottles in her arms, her face pinched with worry. When her eyes fell on the three muddied teenagers huddled on one of the cots, her lips thinned, "I suppose there's no point in telling you three to leave?" Maci, Louis and James all shook their heads, "Oh alright fine, but make yourselves useful. One of you boys, go get some gauze from my office and the other go get a blanket and a calming draft for Mrs. Morton here."
Louis was up and halfway to Pomfrey's office before she had finished the command, leaving James to find Maci a blanket and a calming draft. When he came back to her bedside Maci waved him off, "It's fine I don't need that."
Sitting down next to her James picked up one of her hands at the wrist, "Maci you're shaking. You're not fine." He said softly.
"I'm fine." Maci repeated her tone clipped.
"No you're not." Holding the calming draft to her James gave her a pleading look, "Please Mace. Just take it."
Maci looked up at him to say for a third time that she was fine but when she saw the desperateness and worry in his eyes she took the potion. Slowly drinking half of it she handed the bottle back to James who sat it on the nearby night stand, "Thank you." She said, giving a tight smile.
"Anytime," James smiled fondly at her, but there was hesitation in his eyes. Mac attributed it to worry about Chase and turned to look towards the bed their friend was lying on. Currently it was obscured from view by a curtain that had been pulled around it.
"She's started doing…well whatever the hell it is she needs to do." Louis announced coming back over to the bed, "It's going to be an hour or so before she's done, so we can go shower and change if we want."
Maci gave him an incredulous look, "How can you even think about showering and changing when Chase is lying over there unconscious!" She exclaimed in disbelief.
Letting out an exasperated puff of air Louis rolled his eyes, as if she was being silly, "Look at yourself Maci you're covered from head to toe in mud. Don't you want clean clothes?"
"Not until I know if Chase is okay." Maci snapped her tone frigid and her eyes glaring daggers at Louis.
After a moment Louis just sighed again and turned towards the doors, "Fine do whatever the hell you want. I'm going to shower." And with that he was gone, leaving his girlfriend to wonder exactly what kind of guy she was dating.
Maci stared after him, her mouth open in outrage or in a failed attempt to call him back she wasn't sure. Next to her she could feel James, but she didn't turn to look at him and thankfully he didn't say a word to her. Instead they just sat there, in their own worlds, until after what seemed like an eternity Madam Pomfrey came over.
"He's going to be fine." She announced, pulling the two teens out of their thoughts, "Just a broken right arm, a fractured tibia and a severe concussion, along with a few other minor injuries. But with a few weeks rest he will be as good as new."
"Thank you." Maci breathed, closing her eyes in relief, "Can we go sit with him?"
The nurse gave her a wry smile, "Could I stop you?"
For the first time since Chase had fallen Maci smiled, really smiled. Rising from her place on the bed she rushed over towards Chase and slid into the chair next to his bed, "Chase?" She murmured quietly, "Chase can you hear me?"
His eyes fluttered and then opened halfway, "Maci?" He asked, his voice hoarse.
Tears of relief flooded down Maci's cheeks, "Yeah?" She answered, trying to control herself.
"I…I was just…I was just wondering if…" He trailed off, his eyes looking a bit glassy.
"Yes Chase?" She questioned, holding onto his hand a bit tighter.
"I was just wondering have you finished the Herbology essay Prof. Longbottom asked for last week?" He asked in a hopeful tone of voice.
James let out a snort of laughter and Maci glared at him, "Yeah. Why?"
"Well I just haven't started it and seeing that I'm probably going to be here for a while, judging by how much pain I'm in, I was wondering if I could look over yours, just to get an idea of what to do."
For a moment Maci just stared at him and then she started to giggle, which soon turned into full blown laughter. After she had composed herself Chase, who was smiling, asked, "So can I?"
Shaking her head Maci sighed, "You Chase Albion Reed are the most manipulative person I know, but yes of course I'll help you. You can look at my text book the passages and chapter you need are marked and remember my essay is-"
"Is a guide not a cheat sheet for me to copy word for word from," Chase finished her sentence, a grin spreading across his face.
"Exactly," Maci smiled softly, "I am so glad you're okay. She murmured her tone serious.
"So am I." James piped up and Chase smiled at both of them.
"You guys are the best." He told them.
The trio stayed for a while talking quietly. Finally Chase insisted that they go shower and change quickly, assuring them that he would be fine and they could come right back. Which is exactly what they did, but by the time they arrived Chase had already drifted off to sleep.
Slipping back into the chair she had vacated Maci curled into a ball, looking one last time at Chase sleeping peacefully before dozing off to sleep herself.
James on the other hand didn't fall asleep right away. Instead he got up quietly, taking a pillow and blanket from a nearby cabinet. Gently lifting up Maci's head he placed the pillow under her and then laid the blanket on top. For a moment he stood over top of her, marveling at how beautiful she looked when she was at rest. Then he stepped away, reminding himself that she wasn't his to marvel at.
Sitting back down in his chair James pulled his knees to his chest, staring out the infirmary windows into the dark night sky. At some point during the night he must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew there were voices filling the infirmary. Familiar voices.
Blinking James sat up and looked around. Maci was still curled in her chair fast asleep and it looked as if Chase had not moved since the night before. The voices James had heard grew louder and he turned to see the people coming out of Pomfrey's office.
"Dad?" James called, his face filling with confusion, "What are you doing here?"
Harry looked down at his son, sadness was written on the older man's face but all he said was, "I came out here to see one of your friends."
"Chase is fine." James said bewildered.
"I'm not here to see Chase." Mr. Potter's eyes fell on Maci who was only just starting to wake up.
As they watched Maci stretched, blinking her eyes against the light that was filling infirmary. When she saw Mr. Potter standing next to James her nose crinkling in a cute frown, "Mr. Potter what are you doing here?" She asked in a confused tone, rubbing her eyes.
Crossing the room to where Maci sat Mr. Potter looked down at her with sad tired eyes. James could see the worry beginning to grow in Maci's expression, just as he could feel the worry eating away at his own mind.
"Maci," Harry began in a grim tone, "I'm so sorry to tell you this, but yesterday your father was hit in the line of fire while we were working a case. I am so sorry Mace."
There was a long silence where Maci just stared at Mr. Potter, "Is he alright?" She asked in a voice so quiet that it was barely audible.
Mr. Potter hung his head, "Maci he died on transport to St. Mugo's."
It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. Maci stared up at Mr. Potter her face white as a sheet. She didn't say a word just stared up at Mr. Potter her eyes wide and shocked.
After a moment James cautiously spoke, "Maci?"
She didn't turn to look at him or even acknowledge that she had heard him, Maci just continued blankly staring. Finally she whispered, "No."
"What?" James asked, raising up out of his a chair a little.
"No." Maci repeated, now her eyes which had been full of shock were now filling with tears, her lower lip beginning to quiver, "No, no, no, no, no!" She cried, her shoulder beginning to shake.
Mr. Potter reached to embrace her but she shoved him away, instead folding in on herself, doubling over as if she had been hit. In a moment James was by her side, pulling her out of her chair and trying to holding her. Maci fought him the whole way, pushing at him crying words that were unintelligible to James. Mr. Potter just stood there staring sadly at the ground. James thought his dad was probably thinking of all the terrible news he heard in this room.
The infirmary doors swung open at that moment and Louis and Dom walked in. Both were carrying plates heaping with food and laughing, but upon seeing Maci both stopped in their tracks. Louis was the first to react, dropping the plate of food on an end table and crossing to Maci. When she saw Louis Maci pulled out James arms and collapsed into him. Her sobs had slowed now, but tears were still pouring out of her eyes.
His cousin looked awkward holding the sobbing girl and James had to stop himself from reaching out and taking her back. He knew Maci wasn't his to hold, so he let her go and let Louis ineptly comfort her.
Dom was there next to them to. Patting Maci's hair and whispering what James could only assume were soothing words. Backing up a little James stood next to his dad, "How did it happen? She's going to want to know."
Mr. Potter sighed, a long sad sigh that made James wonder how bad the assignment had really gone. "You know I can't tell you that Jamie." He murmured, "I can't even tell Maci's mom." James said nothing just stared at Maci and Louis, "She's going to be okay you know?' His dad murmured.
James nodded, even though he didn't know. He couldn't imagine losing his dad or anyone he loved for that matter. A moment later Mr. Potter spoke again, "I have to go. But when Maci calms down can you tell her that Prof. Mc- I mean the Headmistress will let her flew home from her office whenever she's ready."
"Okay." James said quietly, his eyes flickering from the now silent Maci to his father, "I'll see you at Louis' graduation?" He asked.
"I'll see you then." Harry answered, hugging his son tightly before walking out of the infirmary. James stared after him, stared at the infirmary doors as they slammed shut, stared at Chase stirring on the cot, stared at Louis as he guided Maci towards her chair, stared at Dom as she looked at her broken best friend with a worried look and he found himself wanting to cry. When did their lives become so confusing?
-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-
"Maci you need to eat something." Mrs. Morton said her tone soft and pleading from the other side of Maci's bedroom door.
It had been five days since her dad had…since he had…it had only been five days and in those five days Maci had not left her room. Around noon on the second day she had taken to magically locking her room door. Leaving Mrs. Morton to stand outside her daughter's bedroom door, begging her to get up and just eat something.
Rolling over in her bed Maci squeezed her eyes shut, as if maybe blocking out the sight of the world would make it go away altogether. But no, when she opened her eyes her room was still there and she could still here her mother begging for her to leave her room. Eventually however Mrs. Morton gave up, creeping away from Maci's bedroom door as she always did.
A rap on her window caused Maci to look up, her eyes finding the offender that had made the noise. There on her window sill was an owl, with yet another letter tied to its leg. Standing Maci opened the window and untied the letter, waving at the owl as it flew off back into the evening air.
Throwing the letter onto the pile that had been growing on her desk Maci climbed back into her bed, pulling the covers tight around her. The letters had been arriving since the moment she got home. Some were from her friends still at Hogwarts, some from James and the other Weasley's, but mostly they were from Dom and Chase. Each time one arrived it would go onto the pile on her desk. The only ones Maci would read were the ones from Louis, or she would have read them if he had bothered to send any.
Sometime later Maci found herself drifting into a restless sleep. This was how she had been going through the past two days, falling asleep only because she couldn't force her eyes to stay open any longer. And when she finally lost the battle, her eye lids fluttering closed, images of her dad reaching out for her fluttering through he dreams
A knock on her door startled Maci awake, her eyes fluttering open and blinking in the bright light spilling in through her window, "Mom go away, I just want to be alone." Maci moaned into her pillows. There was silence from the other side of the door and then Maci heard a click and the sound of her door knob turning, "Grant just because you can unlock the door and mom can't, doesn't mean-" She began, rolling over to look at..."James?"
The word came out like a question, not only because of the shock of seeing him, but because the boy standing in her doorway looked nothing like the James Potter Maci knew. Sure he was still tall and lanky and his hair still stuck up at odd angles, but now there were shadows under his eyes that were almost as dark as his hair and his skin looked gaunt and sickly. Still Maci knew she shouldn't judge, she certainly didn't look much better.
"Hey. I'm not your brother or your mom so can I come in?" He greeted quietly and Maci hesitantly nodded. Crossing over the threshold, James looked over Maci's room, "I've never been in your room before, it's nice. I like the bright green against the dark wood and silver. That hanging chair is also-"
"What do you want James." Maci cut him off her tone clipped and terse. There was a reason she was shut up in her room: She didn't want to talk to anyone.
James was quiet for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the stack of letters resting on Maci's desk, "You haven't written me back." He finally said in a quiet tone of voice.
"I haven't really felt up to it James."
"You haven't written anyone back." He amended his statement, still looking at the pile of letters and not her, "No one's hear a word from you and they're starting to get worried. I was starting to get worried
"I'm just trying to recover." Maci told him, taking a deep breath and forcing back the tears that had been threatening to spill over for the past five days, "I just need time. It's only been five days."
"This," He began, gesturing to Maci lying in her bed, "Is not recovering. Locking yourself away from everyone is not recovering."
Maci looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears, but still he didn't look at her, "He's…he was my Dad James. You don't understand. I'm just trying to cope James."
"I don't understand Maci," James told her his voice cracking, "I won't pretend I do, but I want to. I want to help you, we all do."
Looking away from him Maci shook her head, but didn't say anything. Slowly James crossed over to her bed and sat down on the edge, "It just hurts all the time. Like this big gaping hole has been torn in my heart and I won't even be able to fill it. There is just so much I will never be able to do with him. He won't be there when I graduate, he won't be there to walk me down aisle, he won't be here and I don't know how I will live with that.
James stared at her, trying to comprehend how she must feel, but he couldn't. So he just sat there with her and grieved for her and for what she had lost.
