Only a few short weeks later, the Hogwarts Express was ready to take the students home for the summer. Leo and Marisa weren't sitting with their usual group: instead Draco, Vincent and Gregory had invited them both to join them.
Marisa's social status within Slytherin had risen dramatically from the moment she'd "revealed" she wasn't Muggle-born. She was still a half-blood, Muggle-raised, but those were defects that could be overcome and by this time everyone knew that she was not one to be messed with.
(Except the Weasley twins. She had yet to manage a successful prank on them, but had been attacked by Peeves on their orders with humiliating results. Still, she was sure she'd have a better plan by September.)
She was going out of her way to be nice to Draco: they seemed to have come to a truce and she wasn't going to break it without good reason. After all, Draco was the de facto leader of Slytherin house for a good reason, and if she could get him on side her own power would be greatly increased.
Plus, her being nice to Draco annoyed Leo. Which was a nice bonus.
Right now, they were munching their Chocolate Frogs and talking about Quidditch. Draco supported the Tutshill Tornadoes, while Leo followed the Appleby Arrows although he wasn't a massive fan.
Marisa had been following the professional Quidditch league, but she hadn't particularly supported any team until now, when she felt a strong urge to become a Tornadoes fan. She discovered a sudden admiration for the perfect Wronski Feint their Seeker, Emily Harper, had pulled off in their last match against the Chudley Cannons.
"The Chudley Cannons? What kind of a stupid joke team are they? They've never won the league since last century. Only losers like Weasley support them!"
Leo supressed a sigh at this, wondering how Marisa would react.
"Yeah, exactly," she said, nodding eagerly. "I mean, did you see that thing their Keeper did where he practically fell off his broom?"
"It made me laugh, at any rate. I wonder, have you ever considered playing Chaser? The Slytherin team needs a new one next year."
"Never really tried before, but I reckon my flying's good enough. Maybe I should try out." She bit the head off her third Frog.
"Yeah, you definitely should," said Leo, beginning to feel a bit left out of this conversation. "Between you and Draco, Slytherin will be unbeatable!"
"Careful," said Marisa. "Don't jinx it. Whatever your opinions on Potter, you've got to admit he's a pretty good flyer, and Ravenclaw have a strong team too."
"Since when were you the pessimist in this group?"
"Since it gave me an excuse to disagree with you," replied Marisa with a grin.
"Of course," muttered Leo, rolling his eyes. "Hey – is that Cliodna?"