So I want to reassure everyone that I will not give up on this story. I realize my updates are farther in between but I still have a plan and am dedicated to see this through. There is still a long way to go so I hope everyone will stick with me and be patient.
Also, I am in love with this chapter and have been gearing up for this for a while. I hope it doesn't disappoint and know that I already have a template made for the next chapter. My upcoming schedule is supposedly more open so hopefully this will give me more time to write.
I can't thank everyone enough for reading my story and following Marnie along as she navigates through her life at Hogwarts.
Until next time!
XXXX
"Marnie, wake-up!" Alicia hollered as I was unceremoniously whacked with a pillow.
"Oi, I am awake!" I retorted, aiming the pillow back in retribution.
But it was gameday and I was up against a chaser; I had no chance of hitting any of them. I also knew everyone was pretty high strung since they were playing in the final game of the season and had to win against Slytherin by 210 points or more. Oliver Wood had been a nutter all week and the stress was wearing down on my friends.
I hopped out of bed and tried to remain as non-descript as possible to avoid any further targeting from my friends. I knew they were just nervous and wanted to make sure I was awake to escort them everywhere. Slytherin had been outright aggressive against the Gryffindor players over the past couple weeks, and Oliver had since made it a rule that none of the players go anywhere unaccompanied.
I was ready ten minutes later with my damp hair put up in a loose bun. By this point Angelina and the other two weren't talking as we walked down single file to the common room where the other players were already assembled. Oliver was mumbling to himself and seemed to be blurting out random tactics which went widely ignored by the boys who had probably been hearing it all morning. I noticed the twins defensively standing around Harry who looked utterly pale and almost sick. There was a lot of pressure riding on him for when he could catch the snitch.
"Shall we go downstairs?" Ange asked, breaking the silence amongst the team.
Oliver gave an affirmative nod which caused the rest of the team to assemble in a tight formation as they left out the portrait hole.
"Alright Harry?" I asked as I had made my way into the inner circle of the team where Harry was.
He only shrugged which caused me to put my arm reassuringly over his shoulder. I knew nothing I could say would make him feel any better.
As we entered the Great Hall it was if someone had muted the volume. Conversations were paused as the entire school turned to look at my friends with an array of nervous expressions and jovial excitement. It was only the Slytherins who continued with their murmured discussions and withering looks. I swear some of them even hissed.
"Excited for the big game?" I heard Cedric ask from behind me.
He must have seen me enter with the rest of the team.
"Have a seat Ced, and don't mind everyone else. They have their game faces on," I replied as I shuffled over to make room for Cedric to sit down.
I noticed my friends did not have their usual grins as Cedric sat down beside me, but I knew their competitiveness on game day probably swayed their perception from mate's boyfriend to Hufflepuff rival. At least they were all being steely, so I knew they wouldn't say anything.
"Have a good sleep Marnie?" Cedric asked politely, not phased by the cold reception from my peers.
I thought back to the dream I had been having on repeat about Sirius Black betraying my mother and stifled my look of disgust. I hadn't yet confided in Cedric about my frequenting nightmares and I didn't want to start worrying him now.
"It was alright," I answered.
Fred looked over towards Marnie and was surprised and amused that it seemed she wasn't telling Pretty Boy about her nightmares. He was glad that she didn't seem to have this inclination to protect Fred from her secrets much like she was doing with Cedric.
"Should we go out and get a good seat?" Cedric asked after he had finished his plate of eggs.
"Sounds great," I answered approvingly.
I knew the rest of the school would be anxious to get out to the stands for this particular game and I wanted to make sure we got a good seat.
I hugged each of my friends, including Oliver, before heading out to the pitch with Cedric. I knew Hermione and Ron were also heading out but were keeping a slight distance, probably at Hermione's behest. I would really have to do something nice for her after everything she has been doing and for always having my back.
We made it out before most of the school and took some seats in the second row. Cedric had refused to allow me front row seats after my big fall during the Hufflepuff/ Gryffindor match. I couldn't argue his point after having spent an entire weekend in the hospital wing. Although, I did hope the dementors wouldn't make an appearance.
We sat on the stands for about ten minutes before we saw the two teams file out onto the field. The reception from the crowd was enormous as the entire school started to shout and applaud. Cedric and I rose to our feet as we hollered along with the crowd and eagerly awaited the start of the game.
Once everyone was in the air, it didn't take long for the plays to get dirty. I rose to my feet again when I saw Angelina get mowed over by Flint. Thankfully she was able to shake it off and Fred brought his own justice by tossing his beater's bat at Flint's back. This brought a grin to my face.
But as the game went on, I began to watch it from the gaps between my fingers. I had to cover my eyes as each of my friends were attacked by the Slytherins. I had to admit though, the Gryffindors were doing all they could to fight back, making the game ruthless.
All eyes were on the scoreboard as most of the school waited for Gryffindor to be up sixty points. Lee's commentary was completely biased and was downright disgusted with all the illegal plays made by the Slytherin team. Wood had recently been hit by two simultaneous bludgers which had left him momentarily immobilised.
Gryffindor, along with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were all screaming now just as Alicia scored Gryffindor's seventh goal. Gryffindor was now up by sixty points.
In a flurry of movement, Harry soared upright towards the shimmering snitch. Diabolically, everyone also watched as Malfoy leapt forward to grab onto Harry's broom.
"That's an outrage!" Cedric shouted from beside me.
I clenched my hand around his as I waited anxiously to see who would catch the snitch. The Slytherin beaters sent both bludgers towards Harry which he expertly dodged before diving down towards the ground. Moments later Harry wrapped his hand around the golden snitch and soon dismounted from his broom. Gryffindor had won the match!
XXX
That night Gryffindor had an outrageous party in their common room. Copious amounts of fire whisky and butterbeer had been shared amongst the students and I was now being spun on the makeshift dance floor by Cedric. All the other players were close by, participating in their own celebratory dance. Lee was paired with Katie, who were now at least not denying their attraction for one another, Angelina was with George, which made me raise an eyebrow in their direction. They had just waved me off, but I knew I would have to revisit that conversation when I was sober. Fred and Leesh were also dancing, but only for the fast songs and it didn't seem as intimate as the rest of us. I knew they only regarded themselves as friends.
I loved the feeling of Cedric's arms around me. I always felt safe when I was around him, and he always made it so easy. He was respectful of everything and seemed to wait for me to make my own decisions about our relationship.
I tightened my grip around his neck and brought my lips to his ear.
"Can we get some fresh air?" I asked with as much charm as I could muster.
Since the game had been early, curfew was still a few hours away.
Cedric nodded and took my hand to lead me out of the common room.
"Any place you want to go?" he asked courteously.
He still had his hand clasped over mine.
"Yup," was all I answered as I started leading him towards the Divination tower. I knew no one ever went there outside of class times since it wasn't close to any dormitories and not many students liked running into Professor Trelawney on their days off. It took us several minutes to get to the swirling staircase where I had been leading Cedric. But, once we were at the base, I stopped abruptly, causing Cedric to bump into me.
"You okay Mar?" he asked concernedly.
I had wanted to be alluring and come off as expert at this sort of thing. But the reality was that I was under the influence of alcohol and had zero experience flirting with boys. Even though Cedric and I had been dating since September and had been friends for a year before that, I felt we hadn't had a courtship where I had been all that flirtatious.
Cedric was looking at me with concern and I didn't want to mess this up anymore than I already had so instead I inched forward and met my lips with his. Instantly, it felt like I was melting.
I felt his hands squeeze on my shoulders before he moved back, as if it was a struggle for him to detach his lips from mine.
"Marnie, what are you doing?" he asked more playfully.
"Snogging my boyfriend," I replied smartly.
He grinned and continued to look into my eyes.
"Merlin, you are so beautiful Marnie," he whispered gently.
I started to inch back closer and I could hear the struggle in his sigh.
"Mar, I don't want to take advantage of you. I know you've drank tonight," he said more definitively.
I opened my eyes fully to see his caramel ones looking flustered against his willpower.
I straightened my shoulders and met his eyes with a challenge gleaming from them.
"My name is Marnie O'Hara. I was sorted into Gryffindor five years ago even though the hat thought about putting me into Hufflepuff. My brother and best mates just won the Quidditch cup against Slytherin by ten points and I want to celebrate by snogging my boyfriend, Cedric Diggory," I finished my speech which hopefully would convince Cedric I knew what I was doing; and what I wanted.
His smile met his eyes as he started to laugh. He brought his hand up to my face and ran his thumb across my cheek. Shivers ran up my spine and butterflies flew rampantly in my stomach.
"I love you Marnie O'Hara," he whispered, causing my breath to catch.
I continued to look into his caramel eyes which were swirling with happiness.
"I love you too Cedric Diggory," I happily replied before reaching up and crushing his lips into mine.
XXX
I had unsuccessfully tried to keep my make-out session from my friends, but they had all been waiting up for me and squealed when they got me to confess. The boys had taken it less jovially, but none of them had said anything negative which I took as a win. It was nice to think that the twins respected my relationship enough to know how seriously it meant to me, even if they didn't approve of whom it was with.
But the excitement from Cedric's proclamation and Gryffindor's win were immediately replaced by the overwhelming amount of homework and examination preparation. Each exam was gruelling in its own way. Potions had us brew a wolfsbane potion which was extremely difficult and highly suspicious. I knew that Professor Snape and Remus did not particularly get along and was worried Snape would say something so that Remus would have to stop teaching. On the other hand, the exams were given and supervised by ministry officials, so Snape couldn't have anything to do with the exam's content.
For Defense, we had to individually face our boggarts again plus transcribe an entire paragraph written in Mermish. History of Magic required a full account of the Troll wars whereas Astronomy required a detailed star map of a February sky; which was extraordinarily difficult given it was May. I didn't fret too much about Herbology since we were required to make a Restorative Draught from matured mandrakes as well as Care of Magical Creatures where we had to properly groom a unicorn's foal; thankfully we didn't have to do anything else with flobberworms. Muggle studies was also a breeze where we had to explain how to use a kettle to properly make tea and Charms where we had to disarm the instructor. Surprisingly, I did it on the second attempt. The ministry official had been very impressed.
The only exam I truly struggled with was Divination where I was supposed to describe and interpret the swirling colours in my crystal ball. I couldn't help remembering how Cedric had somehow interpreted the colours I had foreseen for him earlier on in the year, something about eternal youth and his soul bonding with another. I tried to remember what Cedric had prophesized for me and rambled on about somehow being two people and being loyal. The exam supervisor didn't look that impressed.
By the end I was exhausted but relieved that my OWLs were over. I had promised that once I finished, I would go debrief with Remus since he had wanted to know how well I did. I knocked on his door and heard his footsteps approaching. He gave me a tired smile once he opened the door and beckoned me into his office.
I sat down in my normal chair and noticed that the map was placed out on the table. He must have been looking for any traces of Sirius Black. When he had confiscated it, Remus had stated it would probably be useful for surveying the school.
I waited for Remus to come back with the tea he was making and scanned my gaze over the map. I smiled when I noticed Ron, Hermione and Harry walking together. I knew they had had some stressful times together this year, especially with Hermione taking all her classes.
Then I saw his name…
Peter Pettigrew.
I jumped out of my seat and almost caused Remus to spill the tea.
"Marnie, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
I just pointed at the name, unable to say anything else. I heard the cups crash onto the floor as Remus noticed the name as well.
"That's impossible," he muttered, mostly to himself.
"Remus, what does this mean?" I asked anxiously.
"The map doesn't lie," was all he said in an even tone.
"Oh Merlin," I said, even more anxious as I moved my finger over to another approaching name.
Sirius Black.
And of course, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger were in the middle of it all.
Remus abruptly straightened and was already headed towards the door. I immediately followed, neither of us saying anything. Remus knew he could never convince me to stay and there was no time to waste. Harry was in danger.
By this time, it was almost nightfall as Remus led us towards the Whomping Willow. He was carrying the map in his hands and brazenly approached the tree.
Before I could object, I saw him pick up a stick and tap a particular knot on the roots which somehow immobilized the otherwise aggressive tree. I continued to follow him down an eerie, underground tunnel with my wand already up. He wouldn't get away this time.
The farther we went down the tunnel, the louder the shouts became. By this point Remus and I were running and came into an old, creaky house.
"The Shrieking Shack!" I thought to myself as I mapped where we must have gone in my head.
We ran up the stairs, following the voices from Harry, Ron and Hermione. I had my wand ready, trying to anticipate any horrors we would encounter behind the door. Once I was inside, I spotted Ron in a bad way, probably with a broken leg. Hermione was standing beside him protectively while Harry squared off against a bedraggled looking man, Sirius Black.
"Expelliarmus," I heard Remus say a moment after we entered the room.
I was expecting him to square off against Sirius as well, but frighteningly he had disarmed Harry.
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, outraged at the man who I called my uncle.
He had been helping to raise me and Harry for years, and now he was standing beside the traitor who had a wand raised towards Harry.
"Marnie," Remus said gently but I was beyond consoling.
"Marnie?" Sirius turned and looked at me with surprise.
Obviously, he hadn't seen me follow Remus into the room.
The look on his face was filled with emotion but I didn't have time to interpret any of it.
"Crucio," I sobbed as the hatred I had felt all my life bubbled over.
"Marnie!" Remus said as he stared at me in utter shock.
I locked eyes with Sirius and waited for his own pain to take over, but he remained still with very sad eyes.
"Marnie, stop!" I heard Remus say but I easily blocked him out after being frustrated by his own actions.
How could he join forces with the man who killed James and had his wand pointed at Harry?
"You have to mean it," Sirius said sadly, not at all angry with the anguished girl.
Sirius continued to look at how angry and betrayed Lena's daughter looked. Just as Lena had when he had walked away from her that one day in their sixth year. Just as she had when she had learned the truth on the day James and Lily had died.
"I do mean it!" I cried, feeling the tears flow down my face.
Suddenly, I felt a hand clasp my arm and was then coaxed out of my intent to cast an unforgiveable curse.
Harry looked at me with sad eyes, took my hand, but returned his gaze to Sirius and Remus. In our moment of hesitation, I was disarmed by Remus causing me to look upon the men with a heightened fury.
"How dare you!" I screamed, boldly taking a step towards the mass murderer.
"Lena," he said softly.
"DON'T YOU DARE USE MY MOTHER'S NAME IN FRONT OF ME!" I bellowed, disgusted that her name had crossed his lips.
"Marnie," Remus said more confidently. "You don't understand, we need to explain."
"That you betrayed us?!" I spat back at him.
I saw him flinch at my accusation, but I continued to bore my gaze into him.
"Marnie, we saw his name on the map," he tried again, causing me to think back to the moment before we had run out of the castle.
"But it can't be true," I replied, hesitant in my response.
"The map doesn't lie!" he reiterated.
"The Marauder's Map?" Harry cut in.
"Yes, I helped write it. I know it has to be true," he explained while Harry's and my jaw dropped.
I had had that map for five years and had never understood the obvious nicknames that had appeared under the title. Then I remembered my dream where my mother had used those names; Moony… and Padfoot.
"Padfoot?" I whispered quietly, trying to decipher everything in my head.
"Yes," Sirius replied softly, but I ignored his answer.
I still refused to look at him.
"Prongs and Wormtail?" I asked, remembering the other names on the map.
"Wormtail, a rat," Remus replied more vehemently.
"You were all animagi?" Harry asked bewildered.
"Yes, Peter, Sirius and James became animagi when they found out I was a-" Remus paused.
"A werewolf," Hermione interjected.
I knew Harry hadn't told either Ron or Hermione about this, we had both kept Remus' secret.
"You are the cleverest witch of your age. I assume it was Snape's essay," Remus replied while Hermione nodded.
"Snape," Sirius spat which inadvertently caused me to move my gaze towards him.
"Yes, he's a professor at the school," Hermione continued.
"Indeed, I am," a silky voice came from the doorway.
I hadn't heard his arrival, but our Potion's master stood there with a righteous looking expression before disarming Remus and Sirius.
"I tried to warn Professor Dumbledore you weren't to be trusted," Snape sneered at Remus.
My anger roiled up as I hated the way Snape was addressing Remus, even if I was mad at him myself.
"Snape, we don't have time for this!" Sirius bellowed impatiently.
Obviously, the arrival of our Potions master and their once school-boy nemesis was hardly a hinderance to whatever Sirius had planned.
Snape turned sharply towards Sirius and aimed his wand, so it was touching Sirius' chest.
"Give me a reason, I beg of you. I will end this now," Snape said viciously.
All the facts I had heard in the last five minutes, plus my dreams and Hagrid's heed of Sirius all came rushing back and I was suddenly conflicted about the situation.
Ron was whimpering in the corner, no doubt from his broken leg. I reflexively turned to look at him and instead noticed that Hermione's wand was sticking out of her back pocket. I gently grabbed for it and put my finger to my lips when she noticed my movement. She gave me a tiny nod before I turned the wand towards my professor and the mass murderer.
"Stupefy!" I shouted.
Instantly, Snape was knocked out at Sirius's feet.
"Marnie!" Hermione said in a horrified voice.
I continued to hold her wand towards Sirius.
"You have one minute to confirm what I already think it true," I said evenly.
Sirius met my gaze with a flash of something behind his eyes but covered it immediately before going over towards Ron.
My wand followed him as he made his way over and Ron started to whimper again.
"Give him your rat Ron," I said insistently, having worked out the bizarre scenario in my head.
"Marnie, what are you talking about?!" Ron said hysterically.
"Just do it," I said, leaving no room for negotiation.
Ron reluctantly took the rat out of his pocket and handed the squirming rodent over to Sirius. Sirius grabbed the rat while Remus also held his wand to the animal.
"Marnie, this man killed my parents," Harry said angrily from beside me as my gaze followed Sirius.
"I'm not so sure anymore," I replied.
"Marnie, he betrayed your mother!" Harry insisted.
Remus and Sirius cast a spell simultaneously and at the end, the once tiny rat was now a chubby looking man.
"No Harry, he did."