"How did your lesson with McGonagall go?" Mari asks, sitting beside me on my bed.
"It was good," I tell her, "the book she gave me was about the guy who discovered gillyweed. He could do this too. He just didn't talk about it because he thought he was crazy." Mari chuckles.
"Do you think you're up for more past memories?" she asks, "Regulus wants to show you more tonight." I smile and nod.
"I've got a questions for him anyways." We go to the library and find Regulus before going to the Shrieking Shack.
"Before we begin, this is Christmas of our first year," Regulus says, "we both had to stay at Hogwarts for whatever reason, I don't really remember." I nod and smile at him.
"Ooh, I remember this! Your cousin were gone, but you and Sirius were stuck at the castle and my parents had to work all of break." He smile at her.
"Alright, come here," Regulus says, sitting down and taking my hands. I sit across from him and close my eyes.
1...2...3...
Small Regulus is staring out the window in the Transfiguration room. Snow is dusting the ground and Mari sits down next to him with a grumpy thump.
"I have to stay here for holiday," she complains, "my parents have to work all of break so Lily and I have to stay here." Regulus smiles softly to her.
"Perhaps it won't be to bad," he tells her quietly, "Sirius and I are stuck here too." Mari smiles and wipes at her teary eyes.
"Really?" she asks, smiling, "are your cousins staying too then?"
"No, they're going with their family, but my parents said that we had to stay here for the holiday."
"Well you can hang with us!" Mari says, putting her arm around him.
"Can you and I just hang?" he asks, shyly, "Lily's okay too, but Sirius is kind of overwhelming."
"He means well, Reggie," she scolds slightly, "but you and I will probably be alone together most of the time because Sirius' friends are all staying and one of Lily's is too." Regulus smiles.
"Thank Merlin."
~time skip~
"Happy Christmas, Reg!" Mari shouts as she gets into the Great Hall and runs towards the lonely Slytherin.
"Happy Christmas, Mari!" he says, as she hugs him and ruffles his hair. He giggles as she sits down besides him. She pulls out two presents from her robes and sets them on the table. Regulus smiles and also puts two slightly bigger presents onto the table. They exchange them and look at the other for them to go first.
"Open yours first," Regulus begs, "I've never been good at gifts." Mari nods and takes one of them and slowly starts to unwrap it. The box is full of multiple magical candies.
"Woah," Mari says, "that's a lot of candy... now open this one. Please, you'll laugh." Regulus smiles and unwraps the present she gave him. Muggle candies are filling the box to the top and they both laugh.
"I guess great minds think a like." Regulus' cheeks turn a light pink as Mari grabs the second present. She unwraps it and finds a copy of 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'.
"You always ask me about the stories that I am referencing, so I thought I would just get you the book so you could read them for yourself." Mari smiles.
"Thank you, Reggie," she says, pulling him into another hug, "now open your last one! I think you'll really like it." He unwraps it and also find another book.
"Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NYMH," he reads out, "is this the book that you keep telling me is the best thing you've ever read?" Mari nods.
"It is absolutely incredible."
"Thank you, Mari," he says, "I can't wait to read it."
"Once we eat we should go outside and walk around in the snow," Mari suggest as the both start in on breakfast, "maybe make a snowman?"
"Make a snowman?" Regulus ask quietly, "what's that?"
"You've never made a snowman? What about a snow angel?"
"No," he replies softly, "But we can if you'd like. I'm sure it's fun."
~time skip~
Now we are outside, ankles deep in snow. I shiver, absolutely not dressed for this weather. Mari and Regulus are both dressed in heavy coats and heavy pants. Regulus is watching Mari make large spheres for her snowman.
"Come on, it's not hard," she says, excitedly, "just make a really big snowball." Regulus kneels down and starts to make the bottom part of his snowman. He starts to roll it closer to Mari's and finally sets it down besides hers.
"Now make one a little smaller than that one," she instructs him, "Then put it on top of the first one. Regulus nods.
"Okay... seems easy enough." He follows her instructions and rolls the second ball over to the first and tries to pick it up.
"Here, let's do it together," Mari says, running over and picking up with him. He smiles and runs to help her with hers. They get it on top and they both laugh.
"Just a small on now!" They both finish it up and then they use rocks to make faces and twigs for hands. After they were done, they both stand back and smile at eachother.
"You're right... that was fun!" Regulus says.
"I told you!" The both laugh right before Regulus gets nails in the back of the head with a snow ball.
"Nice one, Sirius," James shouts, as Regulus angrily wipes snow from his hair. A snowball goes flying right back at the group, but it hits James not Sirius.
"Mari," Regulus whines, "come on, let's just go inside."
"If you knock our snowmen down, I will send Lily and Marlene on you four!" James and Sirius look at each other while the other two just laugh.
I get sucked back to the present where Regulus and Mari are both smiling at me.
"That was really cute," I tell them," We'll have to make snowmen at the house when it snows." Regulus smirks and ruffles my hair softly.
"You should get to bed," he says, "and don't forget to ask Severus if you can mentor that poor Longbottom boy." I nod and smile.
"I won't... I'll see you guys later."
YOU ARE READING
What If? Year 2
FanfictionMarigold Potter is back for her 2nd year at Hogwarts. She technically a third year, after passing all of her exams, but it still feels weird for her to say her third year. With Tom Riddle 'out of the way', she is free to have a normal schooling expe...
