Disclaimer: the characters, well some of them, some plots and minor detail, and large details are not mine, they belong to JK Rowling.
Warnings: Erm, language, suggestiveness, and that's about it.
Authors Note: Thanks to all you reviewers and thanks to the special someone whose helping with major plot decisions. Oh, and sorry this one took so long. Enjoy!
Chapter Four: Dirty Little Secrets
"Marina!" called a tousle-haired blonde boy. He walked up to her and asked, "You going out for Quidditch this year? We need you, you know."
"Well, I am a sucker for flattery… alright," she said hesitantly, even though she would have gone if he hadn't asked.
"Thanks," he said, smiling at her with relief. He was Tristan Ollivander, grandson of the old coot that made wands in diagon alley.
She flapped her hand, and then went to get dressed for Quidditch.
As she walked down the dungeon corridor, she heard a loud shriek. She turned to find Chloe, looking horribly worried, bursting out of one of the broom cupboards. Chloe turned a shade of pink, and smiled weakly.
"Hi?" Chloe said lamely, in an almost hopeful way.
"Hi. Having a nice time?" asked Marina sweetly.
"Err, yeah, I guess," said Chloe uncomfortably.
"Your lucky, Chloe Black. I have somewhere to be, but I have a strange hunch that I know exactly what I would find if I looked in that cupboard," she said pointedly, and turned on her heel.
When she reached her room, she was fuming. How could Chloe go around with her brother like a slut? And how could Nick let her? That was just… nasty. Nick had to stop, and Marina was pissed. Her twin hadn't uttered a word, or she wouldn't mind, but he hadn't. And neither had Chloe.
She shook her head to clear it, and put her hair up into tight French braids against the wind. She pulled on the tight canvas pants, and laced all the laces on them. She pulled on an under shirt, before donning the green shirt with her name on it. She put on her shoulder pads, and put on the arm pads. Her hands were jammed into the fingerless leather gloves, and she pulled on her thin, leather, lace up Quidditch boots. She grabbed her dark colored broom, and looked herself over in the mirror, satisfied. Her green shirt accented the green in her eyes, and the white pants hugged her agile legs. She turned and trotted off to the quidditch pitch. Her shirt didn't have her name in silver, only in white, as this was her practice jersey.
"Now, all seven of you, try and score on me," said Tristan, looking bored. He had chosen the same seeker and beaters as last year, and himself as keeper. He had Picked Marina, and six others to try out for the final decision on chasers. She hoped the other two would be Proudfoot and Canterbury, like last year. Finally it was Marinas turn. She took the brilliant red ball in her gloved hand and sped towards the left goal post. He darted in front of her, but she pivoted to aim at the right goal hoop. He shot across again, and she tossed it into the left one. He darted to catch it, but it went through. She easily caught it again, and soared towards the middle hoop. She braked and pelted it towards the hoop. She had used all of her strength, and the quaffle went whistling through his hands, and dead into the hoop. Her third one was caught by him, but the fourth one went in unmarred.
"Alright, gather around. I've decided. Malfoy, Proudfoot and Macnair, you'll be our Chasers. Practice is on Tuesday's, Thursday's, and Sunday's. Don't miss them," said Ollivander, before he turned around, and walked into the showers. Marina grinned at Proudfoot in a way that she only did in Quidditch. She smiled at Macnair, but inwardly sighed. She had worked quite well Canterbury, and had only talked to Macnair once. But she would just have to deal.
As she undressed, Marina yawned. The prefect's bathroom was quite warm, and she was sweaty and tired. She flipped on a few random taps, and trotted over to where the showers were. She shut the shower door, and turned it on. She let the steaming water run over her, and she rinsed her hair with shampoo and conditioner. Then she pulled on a bathing suit, and wandered back into the main bath. This was a special swim suit, only used in the bathes. Two years before Marina had come to Hogwarts, they had issued the rule that nude bathing was not allowed in the co-ed bathrooms anymore. No one would have paid attention, but the two caretakers, Filch and the younger woman, Taint, had an annoying habit of popping in every now and then to make sure no one was breaking that rule. An ongoing joke had been that since most of the sixth year of Slytherin used the bathroom anyway, that the school had realized Sam, Will, Nick, Nat, and Tom were coming.
She lounged in the pool for quite some time, until she decided it was homework time. Grudgingly she got out, and pulled on a thick green robe.
As she walked past the Charms classroom, she heard some yelling.
"-could you!"
"How could I not? You do!"
"But! You could have told me!"
"We weren't talking, remember?"
"There's someone at the door," one of the voices said suddenly. They sounded vaguely familiar, but Marina couldn't place them. Then she scrambled away, up the staircase. She ducked into the transfiguration classroom. She waited for almost half an hour, wondering if they were gone yet. Who had it been? What had they been talking about? She shivered, and though 'screw them, I'm leaving,' before trotting down to the dungeons.
"I'm tired," announced Marian as she sauntered into the common room, clean.
"And wet," retorted Sam, looking up from his arithmancy homework.
"Where have you been? Some of us need help, and Toby is possibly the least patient person I have ever met. And he use words a mile long," complained Nat, doing the same homework. Tom and Chloe were also looking at her hopefully, but Nick and Will were doing their best not to crack up.
Marina eyed them warily, and went to get her bag. And clothes other than thee bathing robe she was wearing.
Back in the common room, she heard Nick laughing and Sam sputtering. She stalked back into the stone room to find Nat and Sam glowering at Nick and Will who were laughing helplessly. She raised a brow and said, "Shall we start with arithmancy? Or are you going to laugh without me some more?"
Will immediately sobered, and handed over his blank chart.
"You've made an amazing amount of progress," she said dryly.
Toby rolled his eyes from the other couch where he was sitting reading. He was done with his homework, and Marina shot him a glare. He smiled smugly at her, and she threw a balled up chunk of paper at him. It bounced off his head, and didn't hurt him, but all the same he looked at her sourly.
"Want to do my potions essay?" she asked, looking at him. She never pleaded, but he always did it. He shook his head, and grumbled, but held out his hand for the blank parchment. She smiled at him, and then turned back to the charts.
"Okay. Now we all set it up. Then multiply, and subtract. And please don't forget to carry the four…" she began.
"Okay. So we've done charms, arithmancy, history of magic, potions, well at least I have, and transfiguration. Oh, and we did divination, even if it was in our own special way, and astronomy. And what else have we got? Not care of magical creatures, that's for sure," smirked Marina, after three or four interminable hours. Homework was actually rather fun when your whole house did it. Plus that was how Slytherin had so many inside jokes.
"Um, nothing else. And now we have dinner. Yum," said Chloe brightening up, and getting up to wash her hands under one of the stone fountains in the common room.
"Oh, and I've got Quidditch tomorrow, so wait to start homework," she said, knowing they would. Toby, Nick, Marina, and the twins were all on the team. Sam was the seeker, Toby and Nat were the beaters, and Nick was a backup, and he went to all the practices. Marina was back up keeper and seeker, and Nick was back up chaser and beater.
Tristan and Proudfoot nodded. The other boy, the new one, Macnair was also nodding hesitantly. He was a third year and the youngest player by far.
"Well, it's not like we could start without you. Marina, Toby, Tristan, Proudfoot, all the geniuses gone, and you think we'll do our homework? Riiight,"' sneered Will.
"The teachers would be astounded by your responsibility," said Marina dryly, earning herself laughs from over half the common room.
"I'm hungry," whined Will, taking a leap to another subject.
"You always are," sighed Chloe, sitting back down, among the thick books her teachers forced on her.
"Oy! Firsties! And the rest of you midgets! Form a line," called Tom waving his hand towards the blank wall that would become the door. When they hesitated Will stood up.
"MIDGETS! LINE! NOW! Some of us are hungry you know," he roared, and the smiled sheepishly as Marina, Chloe, and Andromeda burst out laughing.
"Yeah, gosh midgets," said Nick playfully offended.
When the Slytherin house had finally reached the dinner table, they had calmed down a little. Enough to act like civilized people, that is.
As soon as dinner was over, just before dessert, the headmaster, Remus Lupin rose.
"Ugh! Just before dessert too!" complained Nick looking mournfully at his empty plate.
"Poor baby!" crooned Marina, sneering. Sangres Snape, Toby's father, and head of Slytherin gave the entire table a chilling stare that ensued silence.
"The time has come for there to be a change in head masters," began the old werewolf, his gaze sweeping the room. "It is time for my old bones to rest in peace, and to have a change in headmasters. There were many people I could choose from, as my dear deputy headmaster has decided to retire in unison with myself. After some thought, to much though to be frank, I have settled on Gabrielle Delacour," he said, smiling at the woman sitting at the end of the table. She had taken over Transfiguration from the retiring McGonagall woman. She was also, not to mention, an aunt of Marina and Nick's. Her sister, Fleur, however had been recently disowned because of a certain marriage she had insisted on taking up. With a Weasly. To avoid being related to them in anyway, her father had warned her that if she accepted the engagement she would be disowned. Thinking that he would never do it, she accepted, finding herself kicked out of her wealthy family, and slumming it with the Weasly's of all the ungodly people she could choose.
The transfiguration teacher nodded and rose gracefully to her feet. She began to speak her voice throaty and flute like.
Marina began to examine her nails, until movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked up sharply, and saw Chloe hurry down the hall, and away. Her head flicked over to her twins empty seat, and she got up as well, walking out into the hallway. She smirked knowingly, at the Gryffindor table. A Ravenclaw had been made headmistress, and the days of the dunces were over. She swept out of the hallway and whisked down the passage to the dungeons silently.
She stopped when she heard voices.
"Nick… why?" whiny voice that could only be an annoyed Chloe.
"Because. Come on, my sister would be pissed off if she knew we were going out, and also-" began Nick. But before he could finish the door swung open.
"Too late Nicholas. She's pissed. Oh you were right when you said she would be. So goddamn right," hissed Marina in a cool, venomous voice.
Nick stared at her shocked. Chloe watched her, her mouth open. Marina surveyed them and said nothing. She simply stared at them, her eyes dangerously pale.
If it was almost any other girl Marian might not be so angry. But Chloe was… a slut and too high for her brothers standards. That and the small fact that her father had gotten Marinas Grandfather in Azkaban for three years, until he had pleaded innocent under the imperious curse. It was a complete lie, of course, but getting out of Azkaban had been more important than his non-existent morale at the time.
Her eyes glittered silver and she spun on her heel. Some key things had been revealed that night, but was that all that was to come? Then there was the more important fact of whether Marina actually cared or not.
"What's up?" asked Sam, as Marina stalked back into the hall, indignant.
She was about to say something to him, when something clicked in her mind. Her eye narrowed as she thought about the anonymous conversation she had overheard. It sounded an awful lot like Nat and Sam; she had been thinking it was a person yelling at themselves. She gave him and inquiring look, before helping herself to some of Will's lemon pie.