In this chapter, Mary will play Quidditch…in weather that isn't exactly sunny.

It's probably not a good idea. Would you play football during a thunderstorm?

I suppose those broom sticks are insulated, however.

They are magical. So it wouldn't surprise me.

On that subject, Mary is going to get an awesome present after the game.

It's a broomstick that Draco Malfoy himself doesn't have.

Chapter 34: Under the Weather

Despite the Dementors creating a gloomy atmosphere at Hogwarts (it was starting to feel like a funeral in the castle), the games of Quidditch would still go as scheduled.

Perhaps it wasn't considered as big of a crisis as the Chamber of Secrets being opened.

The Serpent of Slytherin was dead, anyway. Mary had killed it herself. Who would have thought that she would be able to pull a sword out of a Sorting Hat?

Perhaps she should do that if another beast attacked Hogwarts. The acromantulas seemed to be calm now that the Serpent of Slytherin was gone, however.

Since it was Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff, she would be playing once again.

She would be playing against Cedric Diggory. Could she win? He had experience. After all, he was older than she was.

But there was more to Quidditch than winning, as the Chudley Cannons would attest.

"I have to admit, I'm looking forward to playing with the Hufflepuffs." noted Mary.

After all, they were the fairest sports ever.

It was more than could be said for the Slytherins.

Perhaps it was fortunate she wasn't playing against them.

"Well, Cedric Diggory didn't use his wealth to get on the team, that's for sure." spoke Ginny.

He got on the team using his charisma.

Was it any wonder he was the team captain?

Everyone at Hogwarts liked him. He was the school idol.

"I wonder what my school life would be if I were part of Hufflepuff." questioned Hermione. She would be living a different school life, that was for sure.

Then again, if she were part of Hufflepuff, she wouldn't have won the House Cup last year…and the year before that.

People would undoubtedly be happy if they did win though.

She had to admit, the weather was stormy today.

It wasn't sunny like it had been before.

But nevertheless, Hagrid was there, rooting for her.

It wasn't a big surprise, considering she had acquitted him last year.

She narrowly dodged a Bludger.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Mary.

Luckily, she had developed fast reflexes.

She searched for the Golden Snitch.

However, the occasional lightning bolt was…distracting.

It was harder to play the game during this kind of weather.

However, as the game continued, Dementors suddenly began to fly around the field.

Perhaps they had wondered why they hadn't been invited.

For some strange reason, being around the Dementors made Mary relive some memories. Not so happy ones.

She remembered the time she had realized what Professor Quirrell was hiding, and when she encountered Slytherin's Monster. And when she had listened to her discussing her evil intentions.

Both of these times were scary. Though the basilisk was probably scarier than Quirrell. The basilisk threatened the lives of everyone at Hogwarts that had Muggle parents.

She also witnessed who appeared to be Voldemort breaking into the house she used to call home.

Was that the guy?

Now that she thought of it, she heard what appeared to be her parents screaming. And they did mention that somebody had sold them out.

A tear exited her eye.

Suddenly, she fell off her broom.

"Oof!" shouted Mary.

Luckily, nothing was broken this time. She hadn't been far from the ground when she lost her grip.

Though it helped she didn't get hit by a Bludger.

She remembered what happened last year.

However, Dobby wasn't using magic to mess with any of them.

To her knowledge, he was working in the kitchen.

Fortunately, Dumbledore repelled the Dementors.

Mary was grateful for him for that. Her nose was starting to feel runny.

"I got the Golden Snitch!" exclaimed Cedric. The wind had ended up blowing it towards him.

That was 150 points for Hufflepuff.

It looked like Gryffindor wasn't going to win today.

However, it was rather impressive how fast he caught it.

"Congratulations!" cheered Mary.

It looked like Hufflepuff won today. Though Gryffindor had done a decent job themselves.

No doubt this would go a long way to winning the House Cup.

Considering how friendly the Hufflepuffs were, a lot of people would argue that would be great.

But you never knew for sure who was going to win. People expected Slytherin to win during Mary's first year, but Gryffindor managed to pull a last minute victory.

"Still, I wasn't expecting Dementors. They really are making the weather stormy, aren't they?" asked the teenage boy.

"Yeah. Why did they attend the Quidditch match? They don't have eyes." noted Mary. It wasn't like they could watch the game for themselves.

"Beats me. But they make it harder to cheer, don't they?" questioned Cedric.

They made people feel like crying.

And they hadn't brought tissues.

"Yeah. Why did they have to ruin my day along with everyone else's?" asked the girl. People were expecting to have fun.

"I'm sorry you didn't win. Maybe we can have a rematch when the Dementors have left?" asked the teenage boy. No doubt that would be more fun for everyone.

It would make the players feel more motivated, that was for sure.

"That's a very generous offer." remarked the girl. Maybe if the Dementors hadn't gotten involved, she wouldn't have won.

"They really ruin someone's day when they gather in large numbers." admitted Cedric.

"I know what you mean." nodded Mary.

Even someone as cheerful as her wasn't immune.

Was there a way to stop the Dementors from making her cry?

If so, she would like to know.

But on the lighter side of things, the dog she had encountered earlier licked her in the face.

It made her feel happy after her encounter with the Dementors.

"I appreciate what you're doing…but you always seem to follow me wherever I go. Ah well. I don't mind your company." noted the girl.

The black dog panted happily.

"I could take you up as my pet…but you're kind of already my pet already." remarked Mary.

He had gone with her to Hogwarts, after all.

The dog nodded.

"Still, maybe I could introduce you to my friends." noted the girl.

It seemed like a good idea.

Not long afterwards…

"I'm sorry you didn't win. If it makes you feel better, somebody gave you a present." noted Ginny.

"Really? What is it?" asked Mary.

"It's a Firebolt. It's an extremely powerful broomstick!" exclaimed the redhead.

Not even Draco Malfoy himself had one, as much as his parents spoiled him.

Mary could rub it in Draco's face…but she didn't want to be like him. And she had the joy sucked out of her recently. People didn't envy you when that happened.

"Really? That's a really awesome gift!" remarked the bespectacled girl.

She wondered how much money it costed. Probably a lot.

"Although…this could be a trap, couldn't it?" questioned the redheaded girl. Some things in life seemed too good to be true. And Gilderoy Lockhart had turned out to be one of them.

She was aware as to what was going on in Mary's life. She had her similarities.

"Huh? It does seem too good to be true, now that you mention it." admitted Ginny's close friend.

She had read the Sorceror's Apprentice. What if it gathered its broomstick buddies and tried to drown her? Considering it was a Firebolt, she couldn't rule out the possibility of it turning her into barbecue.

The Weasley girl didn't want Mary sleeping with the fishes…or being burnt at the stake.

"We should get it tested first. Check for hexes." noted Ginny.

"Well, we don't want history to repeat itself. I remember when Quirrell tried messing with my broom." remarked Mary. How many servants did Voldemort have, anyway?

"Yeah. That's why I'm giving this to Lupin." explained the redhead.

"He is our Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, after all." spoke the bespectacled girl. If anyone would be able to find any jinxes, it would be him.

Lupin investigated curiously.

"Do you think…Sirius Black gave this to you?" asked the man.

"Well, Ginny thinks so." spoke Mary.

"Did the package say who it was from?" questioned Lupin.

If not, then they should be suspicious.

Ginny handed Mary the package.

"From a family friend…that's pretty incriminating, isn't it?" asked the bespectacled girl.

"Exactly." nodded Lupin. He was well-aware of Sirius Black's history, seeing as they had gone to school together. No doubt that would help with auror investigation.

He decided to use his wand to scan the broomstick…with magic.

"Hmm, I'm not seeing anything yet. But I'll let you know if I find any hexes." informed the teacher.

He had read all about them. It helped him prepare for his role as Defense against the Dark Arts teacher.

You couldn't be too careful when one of Voldemort's servants was hunting you down. Even if Mary had Dumbledore herself on her side. Though he heard that Voldemort himself was afraid of Dumbledore. Maybe it was because of the magic power that he possessed.

"Of course." nodded Mary.

The two of them left the office.

"I don't get it…why would Sirius Black set such an obvious trap for Mary?" asked Lupin. It didn't make a whole lot of sense. He knew Sirius (though part of him wished that he didn't), and he knew that he was smarter than that. So he would come up with something different.

Given that Firebolts cost a lot of money, he wouldn't be surprised if he were responsible. He knew that Sirius's family was rich, though he assured him that money would not buy him happiness.

This made him feel better about his low income. He appreciated that, though he can't say he appreciated what Sirius did to his two friends and his practical sister-in-law.

And of course, there was also the fact that Azkaban drove people crazy. Though he had a clean criminal record himself.

But on the other hand, Fudge explained that the Dementors hadn't driven him crazy.

What was going on?

Well, he could ponder it later.

He needed to make sure Mary's next broomstick ride wouldn't be her last.

Though considering what had happened during her Quidditch match, she might not be planning to ride one anytime soon.

Perhaps it would be best if he taught her how to use the Patronus.

It was the best means of defense against these creatures.

Admittedly, it wasn't the simplest spell to cast in the world.

But any defense against the Dementors was welcome.

After all, they were gathering at Hogwarts. Why Cornelius Fudge thought this was a good idea was anyone's guess.

And if no action was taken, the phantoms could end up killing somebody. Particularly someone who was living an unhappy life.

He had heard of it happening before.

Luckily, Dumbledore had provided him with a steady source of income, so he wasn't feeling too unhappy right now.

That way he didn't have to worry about becoming a criminal…and by extension running the risk of going to Azkaban.

So, he decided he would teach Mary the spell…when he felt the time was right.

But for now, he figured he would teach his class about boggarts.

They would be helpful in teaching people to fend themselves from dark wizards.

Specifically, Death Eaters.

After all, nobody would deny that they were scary. Even if the First Wizarding War was over.

And he knew that they were still out there. He expected some of them were lurking in the Ministry somewhere.

Luckily, he had tamed the boggart that he intended to use.

Personally he wondered what the class was afraid of.

No doubt he would get answers after this class session.

Mary decided to read about Dementors.

She might as well since they had showed up during the Quidditch match. And people tended to talk about them at school.

They were rather scary, to say the very least.

"Wait…what's this about the Dementor's kiss?" asked the girl.

Apparently, though they were usually content to feast on your happiness, a Dementor could suck out your soul if it was feeling particularly famished.

When that happened, you would forget who you were.

And when that happened, you were basically a walking corpse. Even though eating brains wasn't one of the side effects.

"That doesn't sound good." noted Mary. She could only hope she didn't suffer such a horrible fate. Being killed by the basilisk's eye gaze would be preferable…though of course, she herself was immune.

According to the book, this was used to execute prisoners that escaped Azkaban.

"I guess that's what's going to happen to Sirius Black if the Dementors catch him. Maybe he should have stayed in prison." remarked the girl. He had better hide pretty well if he didn't want the Dementors giving him mouth to mouth.

Having the happiness sucked out of you wasn't so thrilling, however.

Well, hopefully the dementors would leave her alone for the rest of the school year.

Her life would be happy that way.

She decided to tell Cedric about her present.

"You have a Firebolt? That ought to come in handy in a future match." noted Cedric.

Personally, he thought Mary was a very good seeker.

"Yeah. It's being tested at the moment. Lupin is making sure Sirius Black didn't booby trap the broom." explained the Gryffindor seeker.

"I can only hope that they find him soon." noted the Hufflepuff seeker.

"Me too." agreed Mary.

She decided to go to her dorm for the time being.

That way she could relax.

Being swarmed by Dementors was an unpleasant experience.

Why did Fudge employ them, anyway?

It didn't seem like a good idea to her.

Oh dear, it looks like Mary didn't win. I'm sorry, but I can't make her invincible. That would make the story kind of boring. So she can't always win games of Quidditch. She didn't break her leg this time, however.

I might as well make her win against Voldemort though. If she does nothing, nobody is safe from his wrath.

Muggle-borns are on top of his hit list though.

But nonetheless, she will be getting points to her house.

And she won't be kissed by Dementors. Having a Dementor be your first kiss would be horrible.