drops of jupiter ♢ marauders era fanfic

16. Roses and Rain

Maisie, 1977

Sixth Year

Regulus and I sat patiently while the rain was bordering on torrential as we huddled in the Slytherin tent counting down the minutes to the match. Regulus let me hold onto his hand tightly, something he'd been letting me do since we joined the team. 

He knew it calmed me down but I was starting to suspect after all these years, it wasn't just me who was comforted by the small action. 

The match today was against Hufflepuff. As the captain, I had already given my remarks, with must disruption and dismay from Malfoy and his friends but equally with the support of Regulus, Liza, and Melody, our second Chaser and other Beater. 

"I should've forfeit," I muttered as our team began to make our way to the starting tent. 

"It's a little late for that now, Mais." Regulus teased but bumped my arm. "It's going to be alright, we've played in worse." He mused. I nodded, bitting violently at my bottom lip. The pit in my stomach that I got before every match settled as Madam Hooch called both teams to the pitch. 

I took a shaky breath as I greeted Mirren, the captain of the Hufflepuff team. 

"Ready for this, Fairfax?" She said with a bright smile. I did my best to return a smile which I think might have looked more like I was unable to get my face to move while nodding at her. We shook hands and the match began. 

I focused all of my attention on the Quaffle and getting it through the hoops. I did my best to ignore Sophia sending bludgers my way. We'd established a long time ago leaving our feelings and friendship at the door. To the best of our ability, there would be no hard feelings. And so far, it was successfully strictly business. 

The rain made it impossible to see even a few inches in front of me, I felt like a needle finding its own way out of the haystack. To my own comfort, I had gotten a handful of goals over the course of the match, at least proud of myself for that. 

I could hear in the back of my mind the scrutinizing voices of Malfoy and his friends creeping in. 

Our lovely captain only scored a few goals, huh? 

Bloody shame, she wasn't trying at all. Maybe we should give the job to someone qualified. 

Blithering git is what she is. Only made captain cause she's a mudblood. 

I grimaced, shaking the thoughts from my head and I raced after the quaffle. Amos Diggory was close on my trail going after the same goal. Time was quickly counting down as the snitch was released, pulling attention for just a moment. A bludge swung right over mine and Amos's heads, me ducking, and him being stunned at its presence. 

It gave me just the boost I needed to get the quaffle and sail it through the ring. 

"Slytherin has caught the Snitch!" I couldn't help the smile that broke onto my face, breathing in a sigh of relief. We were ahead in points and had just caught the snitch. A win for Slytherin!

I descended back to the soaked grass of the pitch, greeting my team. 

"Ah! We did it! Great job, all of you!" I exclaimed, smiling. Regulus, Liza, and Melody shared my excitement. It drained quickly as I watched Malfoy snickering with Rossier and Lestrange. 

"Yeah, and it was all because of us." 

"Nice thinking putting a hex on the snitch."

"Bloody brilliant." 

"What?" I snapped, whipping towards them.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, mudblood, we won didn't we?" Rossier spit.

"We didn't win if we cheated." I fired back. 

"Yeah? And who's gonna know?" Malfoy quipped. Heat flushed in my face, anger boiling over quickly.

"You are impossible." I grumbled, "Can't we have one match? Just one where we win honestly? Do you like being known as the team that cheats into everything?" I asked, crossing my arms. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, save it mudblood. We won. Now we're celebrating." They began to walk off, catching up with some of their other slimy friends. 

"You're benched! You will not be playing!" I yelled after them. If they'd heard me they didn't care nor respond. "Ugh!" I cried out. Regulus pulled me into his side. 

"You played well, Mais." He said. "So you did lot. It was a good game." Liza and Melody smiled half-heartedly. 

"You three are the best part of this team, I promise you that," I said, in a light tone but fully serious. 

"We wouldn't be the best without the best captain," Melody said, Liza nodding. I smiled brightly, face growing warm. 

"Thank you. Now, let's get out of this rain." 

~

A note had fluttered into my room through the cracked window as the rain slowed. It was a little wet and I hadn't seen the owl that dropped it off. I opened the folded parchment. 

Celebrating in the G. common room. Get your arse down here. 

S. 

I smiled, rolling my eyes as I tucked the note in my pocket and headed for the Gryffindor common room. 

When I'd arrived, Lily was waiting outside for me. "Ah! Perfect!" Whenever I had joined the festivities in the Gryffindor common room, I was given a hard time by the Fat Lady Portrait, so the group started sending out a proxy to collect me. 

When we walked in, it was our friend group, gathered around by the warm fire, a bottle of firewhiskey being passed around. 

"Maisie!" Sophia exclaimed, making my face break into a wide smile. 

"Hi," I said, quietly. I'd sat down in an open seat, conveniently right next to Sirius. 

"Hi Babs, how are you?" He asked. I turned to him and gave a small smile. 

"Tired. Cold." I replied, laughing a little. Playfully, he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. I knew it was supposed to be a joke but the instant warmth that I felt as he hugged me was staggering. 

"Merlin's beard you are freezing!" He exclaimed, dramatically. I laughed loudly as he made a show of getting a blanket and wrapping it around me before pulling me back into his arms. "What would you do without me?" Sirius sighed. 

"Die of hypothermia, I suppose," I replied. 

"Well, can't let that happen, who else will bring me muggle sweets." I laughed. 

"Right of course." 

"Congrats on the win, Fairfax!" James said, grabbing my attention. 

"Oh, right, thank you," I said, dejected. 

"Why the long face? You won!" Sophia added. 

"Not fairly," I muttered. 

"Malfoy?" Sirius filled in. 

"The bloody podges cheated. How is anyone going to take us seriously and think of us as trustworthy if they're going to cheat and drag us through the mud!?" I exclaimed. "I swear no one will ever trust us because of them." I sighed. 

"Well, at least the rest of you played brilliantly," Remus said. 

"Thank you," I said, smiling softly. 

"Well, you know what, let's forget those gits ever messed up your game, we'll celebrate like they weren't even on the pitch!" Sophia said, passing me the bottle of firewhiskey. I shrugged, taking it. What's the harm? 

~

cliffhanger vibes? i struggled with this chapter so im glad to have it done. update soon! dont forget to like/share/comment word count: 1225