Chapter 7 ~ Making The Team
Muriel awoke in her own bed and stretched luxuriously. Then she sat up quickly. They had only hit her with a memory charm to erase her memory of what had happened since she entered McGonagal's office. She had to find out what she'd said! She dressed hurriedly and headed down to the Great Hall. Breakfast was over. Only a few people remained at each table. Severus was waiting for her. She rushed past the marauders and several people from her own house to sit down beside him at the Slytherin table.
"Are you all right?" she asked quietly. Severus was staring at the Gryffindor table. James, Remus and Peter had all stood and were heading to class.
"Of all the people in the world, those are the last I would have wanted to see me like that," he said quietly. "But it worked," he added, handing her the morning's Daily Prophet. She scanned the headlines and found mention of Mr. Snape, but nothing about her father.
"They used a memory charm on me. If you're up to it, I really need to know what happened."
"I can't do that." Severus looked over at her. There was a hard look in his eyes. "You know I can't." he whispered this last so quietly that she wouldn't have heard it at all if their heads hadn't been so close together. She put a hand over his.
"I understand. Better, maybe, than you think." She squeezed his hand once and got up to leave.
"Thank you," he said suddenly. She turned, looking puzzled. "For not looking for any extra information while you were in there."
"One day, Sev, you are going to have to tell me what you're hiding in those dark corners." She left then, and Severus couldn't fail to notice that Sirius Black got up and followed her out. He sat alone in the Great Hall, not willing to show up late for Herbology with the Gryffindors. Muriel could take care of herself. She was certainly a match for Black.
* * * * * * *
Muriel sat gazing into space as Professor Binns' voice washed over her. It had been over a month since her interrogation, and she still hadn't heard anything from her father. She hadn't asked Severus to break the memory charm again, but she was dying to know what she had said. Her father had been present for Severus' interview, so she assumed he'd been there for hers as well. She decided that tonight, after her tryout for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, she would try to contact him. It was dangerous. If someone else was with him, he wouldn't be able to talk, but she had to try.
She pulled out the letter Sirius had sent her that morning. She still hadn't told him that she was trying out for the Quidditch team, and he wanted to meet her tonight. They hadn't spent any time together at all so far this term, but she was thankful to see that he had at least calmed down a little. There had only been one incident where she was walking down the hall and was hit from behind with a dungbomb. She'd given him a set of house elf ears to teach him a lesson. It was then that she first noticed that the changes she'd seen in him hadn't disappeared.
The Sirius Black of 5th year would have immediately thrown a hex back at her. Instead, he caught his reflection in a mirror, and joined in everyone's laughter. She removed the ears so he wouldn't have to visit Madam Pomfrey, and he steered her into an empty room. It was the first time they'd been able to talk since he'd watched her torture Severus. She had been surprised by his first question.
"Why did you cry when I asked you to hit me?" he'd asked. It had been bothering him all month. He still had a hand on her wrist, and when she tried to walk away, he'd pulled her back to face him.
She sighed. "I'd already caused Sev so much pain. I guess I just couldn't stand the thought of hurting you, too."
She remembered how shocked he'd been by her answer as she dashed off a quick note to tell him she was too busy tonight, but tomorrow would be okay, then stashed it in her bag to give to Gypsy later. Then she wrote one to Severus to ask if he would come to watch her tryout. She didn't mention her plan to contact her father. After class she ran up to the owlery to give the notes to Gypsy. "Don't get them confused," she warned, although her owl had never failed her before.
* * * * * * *
The rain was pelting her head so hard that she couldn't hear anything else as she flew around the pitch, holding a stubby bat and trying not to feel annoyed. She'd had no intention of trying out for beater, and she was sure that Severus, sitting alone in the stands, was laughing at her. There was a chaser position open this year, but it looked like they had already decided who would fill it. Each time a bludger came toward her, she aimed it toward the undefended goal posts. It wouldn't do to practice her aim on her own teammates. She did her best. It was better to be on the team as a beater than not at all.
When the whistle finally blew, she landed in the mud and went into the locker room to dry her robes. She'd seen the others who tried out for beater, and wasn't surprised when Kyle asked her to be on the team. She ran out to tell Severus, carrying her broom. She found him leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, not even trying to stay dry, and threw herself at him. "I'm on the team," she exclaimed, hugging him hard.
"Of course you are," he said solemnly. She looked up at him, still grinning. "You were the best one there. Beater, then?"
"Yep! Not what I'd planned, but at least I'll get to play!" She took his hand and swung it as she skipped beside him back up to the castle. They made a funny pair; Severus trying, as always, to look forbidding, and Muriel acting like an 8-year-old on her way to get ice cream. But he smiled in the darkness and held her hand a little tighter.
When they reached the castle, Muriel dropped his hand and shook out her hair before they went inside. "Has Lucius contacted you yet?" she asked casually. She'd been concerned for some time that Lucius might have told Sev that he'd seen Mur and Sirius in Diagon Alley. The first time she'd mentioned him, Severus had told her that he was no longer speaking to the arrogant blond, which had been quite a surprise. They'd been practically inseparable since the wedding last year, when Severus had spent all his time running interference between the groom and his bride.
A scowl came over his face almost instantly. "No," he replied shortly. Lucius had, in fact, sent him an owl not three days previous, but he'd decided not to reply just yet. They'd had a falling out over several things, and frankly both were wise enough to know that they were a danger to one another when angry. And Lucius' taunting, infuriating voice was still ringing in his ears.
"She wasn't in Diagon Alley alone."
"Well, who was she with, then?"
"I suppose you'll have to ask Bellatrix, she was the one who
actually talked to them."
"Sod off, Malfoy, I'm not asking Bellatrix about anything."
"Suit yourself."
It was here that Severus began the mistake that caused Lucius to
have him bodily removed from Malfoy Manor: "If I saw Narcissa with
someone else, I'd tell you."
"Narcissa would never be with someone else."
"Shows what you know." This last was grumbled convincingly enough
to send Lucius into a rage. Severus went headlong through the fire
and shooting out into his parent's sitting room before he'd even
quite realized what he'd said.
Mur felt the silence lengthen, and wondered what her best mate was thinking. She knew now was the time to ask him about using the mirror to contact her father, but he snapped out of his reverie and spoke first. "Congratulations on making the team. I suppose now you'll expect me to sit in the Ravenclaw section?" She laughed, dispelling the awkwardness, and pushed him playfully. "I'd better get back to my homework," he added, "That Potions essay is due Monday and I've barely started it." He clapped a hand on her shoulder distractedly and headed off for the Slytherin common room. Muriel felt like all the air had been let out of her lungs. She had wanted him to be there when she used the mirror.
She set off purposefully for the Ravenclaw dormitory anyway. Everyone greeted her as she entered the common room, and made a fuss over her new position on the team. It took nearly an hour to get through the crowd, and by the time she made it to her dormitory, Vanessa was already asleep. She let out a sigh of frustration and determined that she would try the mirror tomorrow night instead. This decided, she changed her robes and went back to the common room to celebrate.
But when the next evening came, Sirius was expecting to see her. She realized that she needed to tell him about making the Quidditch team before he heard from someone else. He really seemed happy for her, but she wondered how pleased he would be when she was in the air, knocking bludgers at James. She quelled the thought as they walked around the lake. This was the first chance they'd really had to spend time together and she wasn't going to spoil it.
Sirius did his best to keep the conversation on Quidditch. He hadn't told his mates exactly what Muriel had done to Severus, but he was pretty sure that James and Remus, at least, were aware of what it took to break though a memory charm. Remus seemed to understand, but James was a different matter. To him there was nothing that could justify using the Dark Arts. As a result, Sirius had spoken about it only with Remus. He had talked about it briefly with Muriel a few weeks ago, and come to the conclusion that she would never have done it if Snape hadn't had the idea in the first place. But Unforgivable curses were different from other spells. His cousin, Bellatrix, had told him when he was very young that he was far too nice to ever be able to use them, so he didn't need to worry. He'd been concerned that he might use one by accident and go to Azkaban. She had only laughed.
Seeing Muriel cast the curse on Snape, though, had brought home to him the idea that it wasn't only evil wizards who could do it. Still, he couldn't quite believe that the short brunette who was smiling up at him and chatting happily about Quidditch was the same girl who had stood over her best friend, crying as she made him suffer. He forced his mind back to Quidditch when he noticed her smile falter. They were on the other side of the lake now, and well out of sight of the castle. They still had half an hour or so before dinner, so they skipped stones on the water, laughing together as the giant squid caught some and threw them back, along with a great deal of water.
At dinner that night, Professor Dumbledore announced that there was to be a Halloween ball again this year. Sirius, sitting in the midst of his friends, turned to look at Muriel, who appeared to be very interested in her plate. He turned around again in time to see James getting up and hurrying down the table. He turned to Remus. "Lily?" he asked. Remus grinned and nodded. "Who are you asking?" Sirius asked him.
"Me? I'm going with Peter." Peter kicked him under the table.
"I MIGHT get a date this year, Moony!" he exclaimed. They all looked up as a girl from Hufflepuff, who Sirius thought was named Aurora, approached cautiously and asked Sirius if he'd like to go with her to the dance. There was an uncomfortable silence. The same thing had happened last year - he'd gone with the first pretty girl who'd had the guts to ask him. He'd even made a huge scene in the middle of the Great Hall and fussed over her for an entire week. But today he just looked at the ground. He could feel James staring at him as he resumed his seat.
"Er - I really can't go with you, I've – er - already got a date." He hoped as he said this that it was true, or he'd never live it down. She left looking disappointed and Sirius was rather alarmed to see two other girls approaching from different directions. James, Remus and Peter were all staring at him. "I'd better get going," he said desperately, exchanging a glance with Remus. He hurried out of the hall.
"How could he possibly have a date, he didn't get up from the table at all after the announcement!" James was looking after his friend in exasperation. "And since when does Padfoot turn down a girl who looks like that?" He gestured toward Aurora, who was laughing a little too loudly and tossing her golden hair. Peter was shaking his head, but Remus was smiling down at his plate. This seemed very suspicious to James, who was about to ask him what he knew.
He was interrupted before he could begin, however, when Remus looked up. "So what did Lily say?"
James did an awful parody of a female voice. "When your head has shrunk enough that we can walk through the door together, I'll consider it."
Remus snorted. "Better than the flat out 'NO" you got last year," he said diplomatically. James looked disgusted and grabbed a plate of chicken. Suddenly he didn't feel much like talking.
Muriel awoke in her own bed and stretched luxuriously. Then she sat up quickly. They had only hit her with a memory charm to erase her memory of what had happened since she entered McGonagal's office. She had to find out what she'd said! She dressed hurriedly and headed down to the Great Hall. Breakfast was over. Only a few people remained at each table. Severus was waiting for her. She rushed past the marauders and several people from her own house to sit down beside him at the Slytherin table.
"Are you all right?" she asked quietly. Severus was staring at the Gryffindor table. James, Remus and Peter had all stood and were heading to class.
"Of all the people in the world, those are the last I would have wanted to see me like that," he said quietly. "But it worked," he added, handing her the morning's Daily Prophet. She scanned the headlines and found mention of Mr. Snape, but nothing about her father.
"They used a memory charm on me. If you're up to it, I really need to know what happened."
"I can't do that." Severus looked over at her. There was a hard look in his eyes. "You know I can't." he whispered this last so quietly that she wouldn't have heard it at all if their heads hadn't been so close together. She put a hand over his.
"I understand. Better, maybe, than you think." She squeezed his hand once and got up to leave.
"Thank you," he said suddenly. She turned, looking puzzled. "For not looking for any extra information while you were in there."
"One day, Sev, you are going to have to tell me what you're hiding in those dark corners." She left then, and Severus couldn't fail to notice that Sirius Black got up and followed her out. He sat alone in the Great Hall, not willing to show up late for Herbology with the Gryffindors. Muriel could take care of herself. She was certainly a match for Black.
* * * * * * *
Muriel sat gazing into space as Professor Binns' voice washed over her. It had been over a month since her interrogation, and she still hadn't heard anything from her father. She hadn't asked Severus to break the memory charm again, but she was dying to know what she had said. Her father had been present for Severus' interview, so she assumed he'd been there for hers as well. She decided that tonight, after her tryout for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, she would try to contact him. It was dangerous. If someone else was with him, he wouldn't be able to talk, but she had to try.
She pulled out the letter Sirius had sent her that morning. She still hadn't told him that she was trying out for the Quidditch team, and he wanted to meet her tonight. They hadn't spent any time together at all so far this term, but she was thankful to see that he had at least calmed down a little. There had only been one incident where she was walking down the hall and was hit from behind with a dungbomb. She'd given him a set of house elf ears to teach him a lesson. It was then that she first noticed that the changes she'd seen in him hadn't disappeared.
The Sirius Black of 5th year would have immediately thrown a hex back at her. Instead, he caught his reflection in a mirror, and joined in everyone's laughter. She removed the ears so he wouldn't have to visit Madam Pomfrey, and he steered her into an empty room. It was the first time they'd been able to talk since he'd watched her torture Severus. She had been surprised by his first question.
"Why did you cry when I asked you to hit me?" he'd asked. It had been bothering him all month. He still had a hand on her wrist, and when she tried to walk away, he'd pulled her back to face him.
She sighed. "I'd already caused Sev so much pain. I guess I just couldn't stand the thought of hurting you, too."
She remembered how shocked he'd been by her answer as she dashed off a quick note to tell him she was too busy tonight, but tomorrow would be okay, then stashed it in her bag to give to Gypsy later. Then she wrote one to Severus to ask if he would come to watch her tryout. She didn't mention her plan to contact her father. After class she ran up to the owlery to give the notes to Gypsy. "Don't get them confused," she warned, although her owl had never failed her before.
* * * * * * *
The rain was pelting her head so hard that she couldn't hear anything else as she flew around the pitch, holding a stubby bat and trying not to feel annoyed. She'd had no intention of trying out for beater, and she was sure that Severus, sitting alone in the stands, was laughing at her. There was a chaser position open this year, but it looked like they had already decided who would fill it. Each time a bludger came toward her, she aimed it toward the undefended goal posts. It wouldn't do to practice her aim on her own teammates. She did her best. It was better to be on the team as a beater than not at all.
When the whistle finally blew, she landed in the mud and went into the locker room to dry her robes. She'd seen the others who tried out for beater, and wasn't surprised when Kyle asked her to be on the team. She ran out to tell Severus, carrying her broom. She found him leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, not even trying to stay dry, and threw herself at him. "I'm on the team," she exclaimed, hugging him hard.
"Of course you are," he said solemnly. She looked up at him, still grinning. "You were the best one there. Beater, then?"
"Yep! Not what I'd planned, but at least I'll get to play!" She took his hand and swung it as she skipped beside him back up to the castle. They made a funny pair; Severus trying, as always, to look forbidding, and Muriel acting like an 8-year-old on her way to get ice cream. But he smiled in the darkness and held her hand a little tighter.
When they reached the castle, Muriel dropped his hand and shook out her hair before they went inside. "Has Lucius contacted you yet?" she asked casually. She'd been concerned for some time that Lucius might have told Sev that he'd seen Mur and Sirius in Diagon Alley. The first time she'd mentioned him, Severus had told her that he was no longer speaking to the arrogant blond, which had been quite a surprise. They'd been practically inseparable since the wedding last year, when Severus had spent all his time running interference between the groom and his bride.
A scowl came over his face almost instantly. "No," he replied shortly. Lucius had, in fact, sent him an owl not three days previous, but he'd decided not to reply just yet. They'd had a falling out over several things, and frankly both were wise enough to know that they were a danger to one another when angry. And Lucius' taunting, infuriating voice was still ringing in his ears.
"She wasn't in Diagon Alley alone."
"Well, who was she with, then?"
"I suppose you'll have to ask Bellatrix, she was the one who
actually talked to them."
"Sod off, Malfoy, I'm not asking Bellatrix about anything."
"Suit yourself."
It was here that Severus began the mistake that caused Lucius to
have him bodily removed from Malfoy Manor: "If I saw Narcissa with
someone else, I'd tell you."
"Narcissa would never be with someone else."
"Shows what you know." This last was grumbled convincingly enough
to send Lucius into a rage. Severus went headlong through the fire
and shooting out into his parent's sitting room before he'd even
quite realized what he'd said.
Mur felt the silence lengthen, and wondered what her best mate was thinking. She knew now was the time to ask him about using the mirror to contact her father, but he snapped out of his reverie and spoke first. "Congratulations on making the team. I suppose now you'll expect me to sit in the Ravenclaw section?" She laughed, dispelling the awkwardness, and pushed him playfully. "I'd better get back to my homework," he added, "That Potions essay is due Monday and I've barely started it." He clapped a hand on her shoulder distractedly and headed off for the Slytherin common room. Muriel felt like all the air had been let out of her lungs. She had wanted him to be there when she used the mirror.
She set off purposefully for the Ravenclaw dormitory anyway. Everyone greeted her as she entered the common room, and made a fuss over her new position on the team. It took nearly an hour to get through the crowd, and by the time she made it to her dormitory, Vanessa was already asleep. She let out a sigh of frustration and determined that she would try the mirror tomorrow night instead. This decided, she changed her robes and went back to the common room to celebrate.
But when the next evening came, Sirius was expecting to see her. She realized that she needed to tell him about making the Quidditch team before he heard from someone else. He really seemed happy for her, but she wondered how pleased he would be when she was in the air, knocking bludgers at James. She quelled the thought as they walked around the lake. This was the first chance they'd really had to spend time together and she wasn't going to spoil it.
Sirius did his best to keep the conversation on Quidditch. He hadn't told his mates exactly what Muriel had done to Severus, but he was pretty sure that James and Remus, at least, were aware of what it took to break though a memory charm. Remus seemed to understand, but James was a different matter. To him there was nothing that could justify using the Dark Arts. As a result, Sirius had spoken about it only with Remus. He had talked about it briefly with Muriel a few weeks ago, and come to the conclusion that she would never have done it if Snape hadn't had the idea in the first place. But Unforgivable curses were different from other spells. His cousin, Bellatrix, had told him when he was very young that he was far too nice to ever be able to use them, so he didn't need to worry. He'd been concerned that he might use one by accident and go to Azkaban. She had only laughed.
Seeing Muriel cast the curse on Snape, though, had brought home to him the idea that it wasn't only evil wizards who could do it. Still, he couldn't quite believe that the short brunette who was smiling up at him and chatting happily about Quidditch was the same girl who had stood over her best friend, crying as she made him suffer. He forced his mind back to Quidditch when he noticed her smile falter. They were on the other side of the lake now, and well out of sight of the castle. They still had half an hour or so before dinner, so they skipped stones on the water, laughing together as the giant squid caught some and threw them back, along with a great deal of water.
At dinner that night, Professor Dumbledore announced that there was to be a Halloween ball again this year. Sirius, sitting in the midst of his friends, turned to look at Muriel, who appeared to be very interested in her plate. He turned around again in time to see James getting up and hurrying down the table. He turned to Remus. "Lily?" he asked. Remus grinned and nodded. "Who are you asking?" Sirius asked him.
"Me? I'm going with Peter." Peter kicked him under the table.
"I MIGHT get a date this year, Moony!" he exclaimed. They all looked up as a girl from Hufflepuff, who Sirius thought was named Aurora, approached cautiously and asked Sirius if he'd like to go with her to the dance. There was an uncomfortable silence. The same thing had happened last year - he'd gone with the first pretty girl who'd had the guts to ask him. He'd even made a huge scene in the middle of the Great Hall and fussed over her for an entire week. But today he just looked at the ground. He could feel James staring at him as he resumed his seat.
"Er - I really can't go with you, I've – er - already got a date." He hoped as he said this that it was true, or he'd never live it down. She left looking disappointed and Sirius was rather alarmed to see two other girls approaching from different directions. James, Remus and Peter were all staring at him. "I'd better get going," he said desperately, exchanging a glance with Remus. He hurried out of the hall.
"How could he possibly have a date, he didn't get up from the table at all after the announcement!" James was looking after his friend in exasperation. "And since when does Padfoot turn down a girl who looks like that?" He gestured toward Aurora, who was laughing a little too loudly and tossing her golden hair. Peter was shaking his head, but Remus was smiling down at his plate. This seemed very suspicious to James, who was about to ask him what he knew.
He was interrupted before he could begin, however, when Remus looked up. "So what did Lily say?"
James did an awful parody of a female voice. "When your head has shrunk enough that we can walk through the door together, I'll consider it."
Remus snorted. "Better than the flat out 'NO" you got last year," he said diplomatically. James looked disgusted and grabbed a plate of chicken. Suddenly he didn't feel much like talking.