A/n The romance in this fic will happen as you dictate. AS only the people and some of the situations in this fic are based off of real life, who ends up with who is completely up to you.
I hope you like this!!!! I am really enjoying writing it!!!!!!
Standard disclaimers, as always, apply.
Nothing Endures but Change
By marzoog
Chapter 2
"In the Need of Comic Relief"
Mari, Lauren, and Emily were up in the library studying for their Transfiguration test. Tabitha, Janice and Chat were at Quidditch, Tabitha was a chaser and Janice was a keeper and Chat was a beater. It was their first practice of the year. Alex and Ellie were trying to find the kitchens to get food. Lily Evans from Gryffindor was helping them.
Just as they were discussing their new classes Jane and Bobbie walked in. Mari, Lauren and Emily ran up to greet them. They looked very tired and slightly pale.
"What's the matter?" said Mari right as they got within speaking distance
"Jenny Branch in second year's family has just been killed by Voldemort." Bobbie said quietly
"Oh," said Emily if she couldn't say any more she was so chocked.
Mari felt a not grow in her throat. She knew the second year Hufflepuff well and had liked her a lot. She recalled all the times she had seen Jenny smiling at her as she passed her in the library. Or the times when she had seen Jenny get a letter from her family. And she would never get one again.
Mari stifled a sob. She could tell Lauren and Emily were doing the same thing. They were thinking the same thing: Who would be next?
Jane and Bobbie eyes were bloodshot, as if they had been crying hard. Mari didn't blame them. They had been friends with the friendly, happy little blond second year. Nobody could dislike her, except Slytherins, because she was muggle born. And she, one of the nicest people in the world, was now an orphan because she was a witch born to muggles. It wasn't fair. Why should someone who is so nice and good have their family taken away?
The group stood silent for a few minutes, each contemplating how this change would affect them and people they knew. It was depressing to think of it.
They then went back to their table and continued to study, with only half of their mind on transfiguration.
Finally when it seemed Mari's mind could absorb no more information about transfiguration she decided to go meet Chat, Tabitha and Janice as they left Quidditch. She bade goodbye to Lauren, Emily, Jane, and Bobbie, and walked through the corridors. It took her a good ten minutes to get to the entrance hall, and then she walked onto the Quidditch pitch.
She saw David Boot, a tall rather dark fourth year, coming out of the locker rooms and asked him if the others were done too.
"A few of the others stayed behind to practice. Who are you looking for? If you're looking for Andrew Gewstone I'd appreciate it if you didn't yell at him so loud this time."
"I'm not looking for him. I forgot he was even on the team this year. I was looking for my friends Tabitha, Janice and Chat."
"Oh, yeah, they are still on the field practicing their passing."
"Thanks David. See ya." She said as she walked on.
"You're welcome. Bye." He left to go to the castle.
She saw them all up in the air on their broomsticks practicing their passing skills. She waved to them and went into the middle of the pitch. All three zoomed down and waved to her.
"What's the matter?" Chat said first
"You know that second year Hufflepuff, Jenny Branch?"
"Yeah, she's nice, what's up with her?"
"Voldemort killed her family."
"Oh," Tabitha sounded very shocked and hurt, her broomstick wavered down a little.
All three got themselves on terra firma, and they went with heavy heads and hearts to the locker room. They then went into the castle and up to the common room. Mari thought that it never looked so wonderfully comfortable with its blue couches and carpets.
Then she heard the taunting voices of Andrew Gewstone and Peter Mc Greg.
"Hello, did you do your charms homework? Cause you know I just love charms." Rang Peter's annoying voice
"Well, at least I know enough about charms to do my homework." She sassed back. Never mind that she was on the point of tears.
"Yeah, well you still can't manage to beat me I see." Andrew threw out the insult as if it was all that mattered in his opinion of people, weather they beat him or not at grades
"Just barely, and soon you won't." she flipped her hair over her shoulder and stormed up the stairs to the dorm in fury, tears forgotten.
She saw Lauren and Tabitha sprawled out on the floor doing homework and Ellie and Alex were pillow fitting on the bed, and Janice, Chat and Emily were all having a powwow over a bowl of popcorn.
"There you are, doll," said Janice
"Get your not so petite butt over here" motioned Emily
Mari went over and sat down by Janice. She got some popcorn and put it in her mouth. Mari wondered how they had managed to get it.
"How did they manage to get your greasy paws on this popcorn?"
"Oh, it was easy. Alex and Ellie got it. Once they got into the kitchen, with help from Lily Evans, the house elves will give you anything you ask for. They wanted popcorn I guess, but are too busy with their pillow fight to eat, so we decided to."
At that they all laughed. Especially when Lauren got up and practically screamed
"BE QUIET! Tabitha and I are trying to do our homework!"
"Gee Lauren what do you have left after all that time in the library?" queried Emily
"Hey, I want to get an A+ on that Transfiguration test, and Tab had Quidditch, so we have our reasons."
"Yeah, well go to the other dorm if you want to study, we're having fun!" exclaimed Ellie
"But this is my dorm as well as yours and we have the right to study of we want." Tabitha objected in a calm, matter of fact voice.
"So, if you want to study go to the Common Room! We want to have fun!" Alex reasoned
"Fine then!" exclaimed Lauren, with mock offence, "Let's go Tab."
"Ok, I need some quiet to do my homework."
"Lauren, don't be mad just cause we want to have some fun." Mari did her cute smile and everyone laughed.
She and Tab left to go to the Common Room, and the rest of the girls continued in their previous actives: Alex went back to hitting Ellie over the head with a pillow, Emily and Mari continued singing a funny song they had made up, and Chat and Janice keep eating the popcorn and talking.
Suddenly Jane and Bobbie burst into the room.
"Man you guys are making a lot of noise," Bobbie complained
"Really, could you be any louder?" Jane asked sarcastically
"Oh come on Janie? We weren't really that loud?" Mari did her cute look again and Ellie commented
"God, Mari, that cute look gets old after awhile."
"No I don't think it does." Mari did it again and everybody broke down laughing.
"Man did we need some comic relief!" said Jane, "I feel so bad for Jenny that I haven't laughed all day, or at least it feels that way."
"Well you have to laugh sometime! Life wouldn't be worth living if we couldn't laugh and see the humor in things." Cute looking again Mari said earnestly.
"Don't go being all preachy on us again Mari!" exclaimed Ellie.
"Sorry, couldn't help it, its just what I do."
"You can help it!" said Emily, "You can help everything."
"Are you asking me to not act like Marissa Irvine?"
"I'm saying that you can help preaching morals at the speed of light to us." Emily explained
"But I don't wanna! I like being me!"
"Yeah, she likes being herself, just let her herself." Bobbie said
"See Bobbie agrees with me and she is near the top of her year!" Mari was pretending to be very thankful. In reality she felt like an energizer bunny, hopping, hopping…. not able to stop…Fake under all her energy
They spent the rest of the night laughing and gossiping, anything to keep the subject off the death of the Branches. Lauren and Tabitha finished their homework and came up, they continued to have fun and gossip over recent events and then suddenly Chat looked at her watch:
"Crap, it's midnight," complained Chat, "We have to go to bed, or we'll be in it deep."
"Well, to bed I guess. I wish we didn't have to get up tomorrow, or today rather, morning," exclaimed Bobbie.
"Bye GUYS!" Jane and Bobbie left to go to their dorms.
"Yeah, we have to go too" said Janice, "Come on people, let's go." Janice pretended to act as a mother and shooed the girls in her dorm out.
"Goodbye!" each one called as they left. Janice was the last one to leave.
"Goodbye dolls!" she called as she left.
After Mari got in her pajamas and lay down in bed she thought about all the good times she had had at Hogwarts, how she loved it there, how she had never wanted things to change. They were certainly pleasant reflections…
The next day Mari started out the day in anticipation of breakfast. Sure enough, Dumbledore made a speech that seemed to try to help the students get over Jenny's loss, but it didn't. All Mari could really take in was poor little Jenny with her face in her hands. Mari's heart felt wrenched in two. She could have slain Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy with the glares she gave them, if they had seen them and had been able to die by looks. The only one who noticed was a tall girl at the near end of the table, who somehow too looked as though she was pained by the loss of Jenny's family…
Mari laughed as she saw Divination was first on her list. It was the first lesson of the year, and Mari was somewhat nervous. She had heard, however, that Professor Seajeff, the Divination teacher, was quite nice. She apparently gave no homework and that had been Mari's reason for joining Divination.
Janice and Emily were the only others in Mari's Divination class. They walked the long route from the Great Hall to the Divination Tower in a slow steady pace as they talked on. It was not in their best interest to be fast.
When they arrived at the Divination classroom, however, they saw a lovely cozy room with cushy chairs and round tables. There was a large gap in the center where Professor Seajeff was seated. This left some space in the center and made the room look rather larger than it was.
Professor Seajeff was a kindly looking stout lady with graying hair. She seemed too sympathetic, but, as Mari later discovered, had a large sense of humor.
Class proceeded with a long introduction by the Professor and many jokes and wise cracks of one Fourth Years, whom Mari knew as Jim Bones. He made so many interruptions that Mari couldn't help but feel sorry for Professor Seajeff as she tried to continue on with class.
"Well…that was interesting…" Janice commented to Emily and Mari as they walked out of class
"What was interesting about it?" Mari queried
"That Jim kept interrupting, and, if you noticed, Professor Seajeff spoke in a French accent, and when she talked to herself it was in French."
"Yeah…that's kinda weird. Do you think we'll have to speak French around her?"
"I don't know, I just noticed she was talking in French."
"Where are Ellie and the others?" Emily pondered.
"Don't know, probably going down. Let's see if we can meet them on the Grand Staircase." With that the three girls rushed off to find the other Ravenclaws.
After lunch was the Transfiguration test. Peter was being frowned at for it. The whole class seemed to have a lot of revenge to release in their countenances.
The test was pretty hard, Mari had to admit, but it wasn't as hard as the exam last year. Or maybe, she reflected, it was just easier stuff to them now. Either way Mari figured she could at least scrape up an A-.
Lauren was hyperventilating after the test.
"Mari, what if I didn't do well! I have to well in Transfiguration! It's so hard I told myself I'd do really well…" Lauren started panicking
"Calm down Lauren, don't worry, it was an easy test. I'm sure you did great!"
"But you're good at Transfiguration, I'm not!" Lauren exclaimed
"Yes you are Lauren, I've seen your Transfiguration grades, they're great!"
Lastly the Ravenclaws had Charms. Mari sat, with her hands folded and proper, and listened to the increasingly boring lecture. She was the only one probably, except maybe Lily Evans, taking notes. Nobody would have guessed she was doing this merely to keep herself occupied and not for an actual purpose.
Andrew Gewstone stared at her with a look of disgust on his face.
"You're pathetic, you know. Taking notes in class when Dix doesn't give a damn if we so much as give an ounce of effort in our work."
"If I'm pathetic, than you're beyond pathetic. At least I'll know the correct preparation for the cheering charm, and unlike some, I will be prepared." Mari hurriedly defended herself before running to catch up with her friends.
After class Mari headed off to the library and met Jane and Bobbie. They discoursed on the hard day, and after, typically Ravenclaw like, finishing her homework, they walked back to the Common Room.
Mari lazed around the Common Room (in her pajamas, as always) and finished going over her cheering charm notes. God…everyone could use a cheering charm now…
Mari had a dream that night. She was there in her dorm. Eating popcorn, drinking sprite and gossiping with her friends. It seemed wonderful, but not destined to last. It seemed as if a dark shadow had descended over them, over everyone. Like something dark had laid its hands on their lives. A dark shadow that would not recede until it had touched everyone.
Mari woke up with a shiver. Her dream had seemed so real, too real. It was just a silly dream, not real. Nevertheless, Mari couldn't help feeling that a dark cloud had descended over her life. Nah, it was just her imagination.
Mari crawled out of bed and picked up a thick volume of Les Miserables. She was known for being obsessed with the wonderful novel. Mari tipped toed out the room, almost waking Lauren, who was a light sleeper. She made her way down the cold stone stairs and down to the comfy couches of the Common Room. Mari often crept down here late o' nights and read. It calmed her in some way nothing else could. Reading was what she loved most.
Instinctively she knew she was not alone.
"Look, I'm sorry Pari, but I just don't think it will work out between us." She heard Peter Mc Greg's annoying Scottish voice say, and it almost seemed like he himself was on the verge of…. tears?
"Fine, if you don't care, I won't. Goodbye Peter." Pari's usually friendly, kind, voice almost seemed mean or cold or hard or…. some thing Mari couldn't define.
"Excuse me, but what is Pari doing in here?"
Peter looked up at her on the staircase, and Mari noticed he was alone.
"What the heck? I heard Pari's voice a moment ago, and you were talking to her!"
"I talked to her through the fire in the Hufflepuff Common Room."
"Oh…"
"Well what are YOU doing here at all hours of the night?"
"I'm reading."
"Ok, " his eyebrows rose, "well see you tomorrow morning."
"Goodbye." Mari's voice was cold, because she was annoyed. Peter Mc Greg interrupting her reading! And he had broken up with Pari! For what? Mari just couldn't understand, and at that time of night she felt she didn't want to.
Peter walked up the stairs leaving Mari alone in the blueness of the Common Room. She plopped down on her favorite couch, right in front of the fire, and picked up the large volume.
"Should we continue to look upwards? Is the light we can see one that will be presently extinguished? The ideal is terrifying to behold, lost as it is in the depths, small, isolated, a pin-point, brilliant but treated on all sides by the dark forces that surround it: nevertheless, no more in danger than a star in the jaws of the clouds"
Somehow that passage comforted Mari like no other; there was hope in the world…. Even with Voldemort there.
Somebody found her there at five in the morning, still with her book in her hand, asleep. And by peaceful look on her (they thought excessively pretty) face they could tell Mari Irvine was having a pleasant dream. There was no more need for comic relief.
A/N Mari is not, and will never, fall in love with Peter. The person at the end is not him. And yes…. that person is supposed to have romantic thoughts towards Mari…even thought I don't have an excessively pretty face. You can think whoever you like is that person. I know who I think it is, and you wouldn't know the character. Unless you're Jenny and have heard me ramble on about this fic forever.
Remember Pari and Peter's break-up…. IT WILL BECOME IMPORTANT
I will continue on demand. Reviews will inspire me to continue faster ::hint hint:: I also want your romance pairings so I can throw them in there. Keep in mind that in order to pair certain couples up I might have to change their personalities and if I don't want to do that I'll tell you why. I have one main couple already, and I'm sure (again, unless you're Jenny and we have spent HOURS planning this one on the phone ::giggles::) you won't know who.
Please note that I based Mari off myself, so she is not at all going to change in her character just to be paired with someone. That includes Zach, Katelyn!!! NO PEACHEYVILLE!!!! Sorry…. it's this thing where my friends think I'm going to live in a town called "Peacheyville" Minnesota and live a boring life married to this guy I hate.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For Now
Your Minnesotan authoress
@@@gnome girl aka marzoog@@@