-//-
(Saturday Sun//Vance Joy)
"This is it," Frank huffed, facing his team. Andrea bounced her leg up and down excitedly, anxious to start the game.
"We're gonna wipe the pitch with those bozos," James cheered. Frank gave him a stern look. "Easy. Our spies have informed us that Ravenclaw has been pushing it hard." He nodded to Andrea and Marlene, and they shared a grin.
"Their Keeper isn't all that because their old left last year, but their Chasers and their Beaters are pretty quick and strong," Marlene explained. "Luckily," Sirius interrupted, "no one has anything on our Seeker," he smirked, winking to Andrea.
She rolled her eyes. "Please, Sirius. I don't need my head to be as big as James'." "OY!" "Enough!" Frank called in a proper Dad voice only he could master. "Focus up. Come on, huddle."
"Who's turn is it for the chant?" Malik asked the group as he slung his arms over Andrea and Benjy. "Sirius," Marlene grumbled.
Sirius grinned at his teammates. "Fuck shit up but don't die." Everyone looked around each other confused. James sniffled loudly, wiping away fake tears. "I'm so proud."
Frank rolled his eyes loudly, and yes, you could definitely hear it, and he turned to Andrea for help. "Russo, take over." Andrea put on her game face and started bouncing from one leg to the other, soon everyone joining in.
"Huh, huh, huh, huh," she started to chant. Everyone chanted together, the energy and excitement erupting in their huddle. "CAN'T TAME-"
"THESE LIONS INSIDE!"
"CAN'T TAME-"
"THESE LIONS INSIDE!"
Andrea smiled through her chanting, loving the energy and the atmosphere. "Now, roar lions!"
"ROAR" Whooping and cheering, everyone grabbed their brooms, tapping them to the door frame and marching onto the field.
"A-and, here come the lions!" Frankie Weasley's voice boomed through the speakers surrounding the field. "Front and centre we've got the new Captain of the year, Frank Longbottom. Frank has been a successful Chaser since he started in his second year. Behind there, we've got Keeper Malik Jordan, looking good as ever." Everyone screamed along as Malik sent a wink to the stands, waving to his fans.
"Then we've got our other Chasers, Frank Longbottom, James Potter and for the first time ever, Marlene McKinnon!" Screams popped everyone's eardrums before he could even finish the new Chaser's name.
Following his tradition from last year, James searched the Gryffindor stands for a certain redhead. As they made eye contact, he sent a kiss, earning squeals and giggles from the surrounding girls who thought it was meant for them.
"Beater's Sirius Black and Benjy Fenwick. And last but certainly not least, our star Seeker, Andrea RUSSO!" The cheers reached new highs as the Gryffindor and half of the Hufflepuffs stands, even some Slytherins cheering and whooped loudly. Andrea blushed and set herself in game mode.
The Ravenclaws marched out and Frankie announced them with slightly less enthusiasm, getting scolded by McGonagall for doing so. Andrea looked up to the visiting stands and waved to Fleamont and Euphemia, earning excited waves back.
Her parents had to work so they couldn't make it, but she was happy the Potters were there to see her and the boy's play.
Since James had joined the team, they hadn't missed a single match.
Andrea and James stood beside each other in the semi-circle, doing their ritual handshake before the game. "Catch it fast," James grinned at her. Andrea rolled her eyes. "Just try and get the ball through the hoops, little man. Let me worry about the rest."
The whistle went and they all kicked off the ground.
Ravenclaw were coming in hard from the first second and the Chasers had to work harder to try and intervene their skilful plays. But as soon as Frank got the Quaffle, the tables turned. Him and Marlene were synchronized to the letter, to such a point Andrea almost forgot herself and was watching the game more than searching for the Snitch.
"And the first goal is scored by the new Chaser McKinnon! GO BLONDIE!" Frankie cheered loudly. Andrea turned around in the sky to see James and Marlene high-fiving as they flew past one another. James managed two goals more and the Ravenclaws managed to get their own goal in before Andrea saw the golden flicker of silk thin wings reflecting the afternoon sunlight.
"Holy shit is that-" "WEASLEY! No cussing while you're on the microphone!" McGonagall growled at him. "Sorry Professor M, but look! Andrea's spotted the Snitch already! Crouch doesn't stand a chance!"
It was true. As soon as the reflective light had caught Andrea's eye looping around the Gryffindor goalposts, she had zoomed off, leaving Barty Crouch Junior clueless in the sky high above her.
Opposed to their last Seeker, Crouch was very lean and light, matching all of Andrea's usual advantages. And when the Snitch decided to fly up along the goalpost, Crouch was closer. But he wasn't as good a flyer, and not as confident in his moves.
He was slowing down a while before Andrea pulled back from the goalpost, they were mere inches away from, which led to her being the one clutching the small ball in her fist instead. She raised her hand high and turned her broom to -
BANG!
"HOLY SHIT! THAT'S GOTTA BE A FOUL!" Andrea flew backwards on her broom and went sailing for the ground. The Bludger had hit her right in the face and with the force of it, knocked her clean off her broom. Andrea could only hear a ringing in her ears, but the entire crowd was screaming as she sailed towards the ground for a rough landing.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Andrea didn't see when James and Marlene flew underneath her and managed to catch her between them. As she felt their touch, she opened her eyes and quickly helped the two manoeuvre her onto the back of James' broom.
They were close to the ground now and James gently landed, dropping his broom and quickly setting Andrea down on the grass. Marlene turned around, still gripping her broom and stormed towards a horror-struck Dorcas. "WHAT THE HELL MEADOWES?! She had already caught the Snitch, you dingus!" Dorcas glared at her girlfriend.
"It was an accident. I wasn't trying to hit her in the face, McKinnon!" "Then what were you trying to hit? Because your aim must be terrible if-"
"Ladies, save it for couples counselling," Sirius tried to calm them down. Dorcas and Sirius rushed over to join James' side. "A, I am so, so sorry," Dorcas pleaded, tears gathering in her eyes.
Andrea grinned to try and tell her it was fine, but the blood smeared all around her nose and bloodying her mouth sent the wrong message. "Who cares? I got the Snitch," she said happily. James shook his head exasperatedly. "You also look like you caught the ground with your face going 50 mph," he laughed.
Andrea dabbed under her nose. She pulled her hand away to see it was covered in blood. "Oh. Bummer."
"That looks broken," Malik Jordan groaned when he joined his teammates on the ground. "Oh, I know a spell for that," Kingsley said, pushing through the circle gathered around the injured player. Kingsley crouched beside a skeptical looking James and pulled his wand out.
"This might hurt," he warned her. She waved her hand impatiently. "Get on with it then." "Episkey," he said, and everyone could hear the crack of bones as her nose was reset. Andrea groaned and clutched her nose. "Ow. Bitch, that hurt!" she cried, smacking Kingsley's arm.
He laughed as he stood again. "I told you it would, Dummy." He held out a hand and helped her up. "Might wanna wash your face though. You look absolutely ghastly." Andrea grinned again, showing off her blood covered teeth.
"Still look better than you, King," she teased back. Rolling his eyes, Kingsley dragged an apologizing Dorcas away with him, letting the Gryffindors celebrate their victory.
And they definitely didn't let a silly little injury stand in the way of celebrating their first win of the year. So, carrying the blood-covered Andrea on Frank and Sirius' shoulders, the team marched to their dressing rooms to clean up and get ready for the celebratory party.
But the hardest challenge was to convince James and Euphemia Potter that Andrea was alright and wouldn't need to spend the night in the Hospital Wing. "You fell ten feet!" Mia huffed as Andrea tried to wave off her concerns. "And I was caught, my landing was softened, so no problem."
"Yes problem," James went on in a strict tone, "You lost like half your blood." Andrea gave him a blank look from her hospital bed. "You're exaggerating." James shook his head defiantly. "Nope. Tiny house-elf body like yours, probably only a couple of ounces going through the whole of you."
"Yeah? Move a little closer, we'll see what this house elf's fists can do to your face," she threatened, holding up said fist. "Now, now, children," Monty chuckled from his seat next to Peter. They had ignored everyone's fighting since they got there and were instead playing a game of Exploding Snaps. "Can't we all just be friends?"
"No," Andrea and James both said with the stubbornness of two bulls. As her visitors dispersed, Andrea lay in her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She wanted to celebrate with her teammates, but no way was Madam Pomfrey going to let her leave after Mia Potter told her not to.
She was a very intimidating woman when she wanted to be.
Around midnight, the door to the Hospital Wing crept open. Andrea lifted her head and looked to see who the intruder was. But there was no one there. At least, no one visible to the naked eye. But a second later, Remus pulled the Invisibility Cloak off himself and his friends.
"The blanket to the rescue!" Andrea cheered quietly. "It's a Cloak. And now you're making me regret wasting it on you," James grumbled. She grinned at him.
"You love me," she smirked. "You bug me," he responded. Peter rolled his eyes and bounced onto Andrea's bed. "Would you two stop it for five seconds? I need sleep," he grumbled, snuggling into her side.
James leapt over them, making room for himself on her other side. Sirius curled up at the foot of the bed as a dog and Remus covered him with a blanket. He then grabbed a pillow and a blanket and made himself comfortable in the bed next to them.
"Remus, we can make room for you here, you know," Andrea chuckled, feeling squished between Peter and James. "Ha! No, I'm good. Not really into the stuffy sleeping with people close to me."
"But Sirius said you're a cuddler," James argued. Andrea choked on her breath as he said it and Sirius froze on the bed.
"GOODNIGHT!" Everyone chimed together, all eager to stop this conversation from continuing.
-//-
12th of December, Thursday, 1974
"Okay. I think I've got it," Andrea said with a yawn, joining James' side at the table for breakfast on Wednesday morning. "Itching powder."
"That's - actually not a bad idea," Sirius said, taking in her words. "I aim to please, Black," she chuckled, getting herself some breakfast and coffee. "But where do we get itching powder from?" James questioned, biting into his toast.
"Ah. That's where you guys come in. I'm just the plotter, I don't have the brains to come up with actual ways to do it."
"Itching flowers," Peter said excitedly, swallowing his mouthful of scrambled eggs. "Those flowers Sprout is always telling us to never touch without gloves. Their seeds itch like crazy."
"Huh, so that's why we should pay attention in Herbology," Andrea said with a giggle. "No, you should pay attention, so you don't get Troll on every OWL," Remus said back. Andrea rolled her eyes and waved a dismissive hand at him. "Technicality. Besides, why should I pay attention when Peter knows enough for all five of us?"
Peter's ears went pink at the compliment. There weren't many things he excelled at over the others, but Herbology was definitely his subject. Not to say that if Sirius gave five per cent more effort in all lessons, he would be on his way to being Head Boy someday. If he fixed his behaviour.
"And how are we going to get the seeds to the Ravenclaws? Now that Andrea isn't snogging Kingsley anymore, she doesn't have easy access."
James stopped mid-chew and glared at Sirius for the comment. He swallowed slowly and cleared his throat. "She never snogged Kingsley, right?" He sounded a lot less sure of himself as he turned to Andrea questionably.
She could feel her face grow hot and her usually warm hands went clammy. "Right," she mumbled. James studied her.
"You kissed Kingsley?" he hissed. Andrea's head shot up and she looked at them all in alarm. "What? NO! Why would you say that? I just agreed with you," she protested, feeling flustered.
Andrea still valued his friendship a great deal, but she still wondered what he had meant that day of their date. And the prank wars were a perfect way for them to keep their friendship going without any awkward pause. The Gryffindors had started slow, water balloons in the corridors, and the Ravenclaws had responded with cockroaches in their common room. Now it was Gryffindor's turn again, and they were gonna hit harder than the blue skin potion.
"Then why are you getting all flustered?" James questioned, tearing Andrea away from her thoughts. She rolled her eyes and tried to continue eating her porridge.
Sirius leaned in very un-covertly, so it was quite obvious to everyone they were either gossiping or plotting. "Did he try to kiss you and then you burped in his face?" he asked quietly. Andrea and the other boys stared at him quizzically. Sirius shrugged and sat down again. "Happened to a friend of mine," he mumbled.
That made Remus even more confused. "What friend? We're your only friends," he chuckled. Sirius shot him a scowl. "I have other friends," he grumbled back.
Remus looked around them sarcastically, making Andrea and James have to stifle their laughter. "Where are these friends?" Remus asked sassily. "Other than Lily, Dorcas and Marlene, you don't like anyone else," he explained.
Sirius pouted at the tall Gryffindor and quickly got out of his seat, storming away from the breakfast table. Remus turned to the others with wide eyes.
"I was joking," he protested. James made a noise. "I know that. You know that. Even he knows that. But you know how he gets." James started to get out of his seat to go and check on Sirius, but Remus quickly got up. "I'll go. Was my fault anyways," he rushed out, quickly hurrying off in the direction Sirius had gone. As James sat down again, Andrea smirked to herself.
A blind person could see that.
James turned to her with furrowed brows. "What are you smirking at?" he asked her. Andrea raised her hand and held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?" "Two?" James asked, more than answered.
"Hm. Hoping you were blind. I guess not everyone can see it then," she giggled.
James leaned in closer. "Are you on some Euphoria Elixir shit?"
-//-
19th of December, Thursday, 1974
Andrea crossed her arms. "You know, I'm older than you. I should really try to be a better influence," she explained to Reggie.
He rolled his eyes and guided her in the opposite direction of her History of Magic classroom. "Sirius is older than you. Do you ever do anything he tells you to do?" he challenged her.
Andrea scoffed. "Of course not." "Exactly. So come." Andrea let him drag her along the empty hallways, heading towards the Astronomy Tower. "It's the last day of classes. Do you really think you're gonna miss anything important?" he challenged her.
Andrea shrugged. "Nah. Guess not. I just didn't picture you as the skipping class type," she said, climbing the spiral staircase behind him. Reggie stopped mid-step and turned to her with a pout. "Why not?"
Andrea crossed her arms and looked up at him. "Really? Because you're obsessed with your grades, you care way too much about what the teachers think of you, and you have not ever lost a single house point."
Regulus thought this over. "Oh my God, you're right. I'm a total goodie-two-shoes," he exclaimed, horrified. "Well, no more! Come on." He grabbed her hand and jogged up the stairs with her. Even with James' intense extra training, Andrea still hated cardio.
As they reached the landing, she heaved a heavy breath, panting from their run up the stairs. Reggie smirked at her. "Figured you'd be in better shape, Miss-Star-Seeker." Andrea glared at him. "Quidditch is on brooms. In the air. There is no point in running and jogging to get better at that!" she defended.
"Now why did you bring me up here?" Reggie grinned like a kid on Christmas morning.
"It stopped snowing this morning and I wanted you to see this." He led the way to the railing of the Tower and Andrea let out a gasp.
Hogwarts was beautiful during any season. And with the constant snow, they'd had since November, the Marauders had been making every second count with snowball fights, snow wizards and sledging. But when the snow was that heavy, it was hard to see it all and take it in.
But what she was seeing now was the most magical thing she had ever seen.
From the Tower, you could see far across the lake to the horizon, the early morning sun dancing across the calm waves. Along the castle's tall spires, snow rested along every roof tile and windowsill, the warm glow from inside every window casting a yellowish glow. The grounds were completely white, all the snowflakes glistening like a pile of diamonds. And every single tree in the Forbidden Forest was covered heavily with snow on every treetop.
"Woah," she breathed out, taking in the magnificent view. "You know, when we're up here, we only look up at the sky, at night. But this, this is amazing." She gripped the icy railing and leaned out, letting the frosty air blow through her loose curls. "Thought you might appreciate this," he said happily, joining her side.
"I come up here a lot. It's off limits when class is out so I never need to wrestle anyone for the space." As Reggie rested his elbows on the railing, he matched Andrea's height a lot better.
She leaned her head to the side, resting it on his shoulder. "Why do you come up here all on your own?" she asked gently. Reggie heaved a heavy sigh. "To get away from it all. I mean, school, classmates, silly house rivalries. It's just ridiculous. And so petty," he grumbled.
"Amen."
"You're one to talk," he chuckled. Andrea pulled back in the offence. "Excuse me, I have never hated on Slytherin. I hate on people who happen to be in Slytherin. Not my fault they're in that house," she defended herself.
Reggie nudged her arm with his elbow. "Relax. I'm teasing. Trust me, I'm in no rush to defend those jerks." Andrea studied Reggie's expression. "Did something happen?" Reggie hung his head, shaking it slightly.
"A lot of people in my house have noticed I hang around you a lot. And because they see my brother and the rest of his friends as Slytherin haters, they look at me like a traitor."
"But you're not a traitor! Hell, my best friend is in Ravenclaw and the only one who calls me a traitor for it, is that dramatic brother of yours." Reggie chuckled. "He told me about that last time we met up. I asked him all summer about why he was so interested in this religion thing. He said he needed more ways to insult and guilt-trip people." Andrea giggled, hearing Sirius speak those words very clearly in her head.
"You guys meet up then?" Reggie nodded, smiling to himself. "Yeah. It started after Christmas last year. Every Thursday after dinner we meet up in the Transfiguration classroom. Catch up, tell stories, and talk shit about our family. It's good."
Andrea couldn't help but smile. Last year, after Christmas Break, Andrea had encouraged Sirius, not so gently, to show more appreciation for his brother. Not make him feel left behind.
She was glad he was working on it. "Christmas soon. You excited?" Andrea went on, feeling giddy about the holidays that would start tomorrow. Regulus snorted. "Christmas is not anything to look forward to in our house," he scoffed.
Andrea turned to him with sad eyes. "How'd you mean?" Reggie sighed, running a nervous hand through his black hair. "Screaming at Sirius for being a disappointment, screaming at me for not having perfect grades, rambling about the way we need to act because people have their eyes on us. A lot of bull about a lot of things that don't matter at all." Andrea rested her head on his shoulder again, looking back at the beautiful view.
"Well, if you ever need someone to join you up here on your visits, I'm only an owl away." Reggie rested his head on top of hers.
"Thanks, Andie."
-//-
21st of December, Saturday, 1974
"What about this one?" Sirius asked Remus, holding up a green Bertie Bott's bean to the werewolf's nose. Remus turned his head tiredly and gave it a sniff. "Green apple," he said lazily.
Sirius chucked the bean in his mouth happily, only to spit it out on the carpeted floor a second later. "Ew! No, it wasn't! It was lime!" he cried. Remus angled his head at the boy. "I know," he smirked.
"This. This is why I have trust issues," Sirius said, sending Remus an accusatory look. James quickly grabbed the box of beans out of Sirius' hand. "Remus, stop torturing Sirius. Sirius, stop being such an easy target," he said, searching for another lime jellybean.
The Marauders were all heading home for Christmas Break and the boredom and irritation within their train compartment was growing by the second. "Damn it, Sirius you've wasted all the good ones," he groaned, passing the box onto Peter. Sirius crossed his arms and placed them on top of Andrea's legs that were across his lap.
"I get the blame for everything," he sighed wistfully. No response. He nudged Andrea's legs. Still not a twitch. He turned to her top half, only to see her curled up in Sirius' jacket, sleeping soundly.
"How does she do that? We're all talking, pretty loudly. Yet she falls straight asleep." "It's a gift," James chuckled, looking at the sleeping Andrea too.
"Freaky gift," Peter mumbled, studying Andrea's peaceful face. As another hour ticked by, Andrea woke up, lunch was brought around and the mood between the friends was lightened. About an hour before they reached London, Andrea and Remus were in a deep discussion on vampires.
"All I'm saying is, if vampires are dead, that means they don't have a heartbeat. Meaning, that they won't have blood coursing through them. So a werewolf wouldn't want to eat them." "But they're still magical creatures, so they'll smell like magical creatures, meaning a werewolf will want to eat them."
"An Animagus is a magical creature, but they only smell of their animal form!" Andrea countered quickly. Remus raised a lazy eyebrow, smirking as he saw himself winning this argument. "Shapeshifters are an entirely different thing. You can't even put that in the same box as vampires."
"Werewolves are shapeshifters, yet they're put in the same box as vampires all the time!" "Not the same you have to think -"
Their never-endless arguing came to an abrupt stop when the compartment door slid open.
"Well, well, well, look at this. It's the whole freak show!" Avery mocked loudly. Andrea's fists clenched and her jaw tightened as she saw their spiteful looks. "What do you want?" James spat at them, standing up from his seat. Snape smiled spitefully.
"We wanted to see the freaks one last time before Break started. The mama's boy," he said, looking at Peter. "The arrogant, spoiled bitch," Snape spat, looking James up and down in disgust.
"The poor half-blood who's never owned anything new," Avery added, casting a wicked smirk at Remus.
"And the boy whose family wished he was never born." Remus jumped up from his seat, his patience worn too thin already. But James quickly jumped in front of him, placing a hand on his chest and stopping him.
"Cool off, Remus. They're not worth it," he grumbled, hatred in his eyes. Rabastan Lestrange's eyes fell on the much shorter Andrea who had also stood to defend her friends.
"And then there's our foreigner," he said in a condescending tone.
"You come in here just to make yourselves feel bigger? Well congratulations, your dick is massive. Now piss off," she seethed through gritted teeth. Snape looked past her to the restrained Remus.
"Feeling a little angry there, Loopy-Lupin? Needing to let a little bit of that anger out?" he mocked, his expression almost gleeful as he taunted him.
"Yeah, I am. So why don't you remove yourself before I rearrange your face for you? Free of charge, of course," Remus growled back."Let's go," Lestrange grumbled, pushing the other two out with him. After his fight with Remus in their first year, he was still a little scared of the Gryffindor boy.
"And fuck you too!" Sirius called after them, slamming the door shut. He dusted off his hands and turned back to the others with a smile.
"Game of Wizards Chess anyone?"
-//-
"You know you could carry your own trunk, right?" Remus huffed as he and James pulled along Andrea's trunk. She turned around with a sweet smile, swinging her and James' backpacks around from her shoulders.
"Gee, I would honey, but my hands are full." Chuckling, Regulus appeared and joined Andrea's side and let her step onto the platform first, followed by him, his brother, Peter and the two boys dragging along three trunks.
"Papi!" Andrea squealed, spotting her dad immediately. She abandoned her friends and ran for her father.
"Ah, cocca! Mia dolce ragazza!" he exclaimed, hugging her tightly and spinning her around. "Don't mind me. I just birthed you," her mother sassed beside them. Marco let go of his daughter and Andrea leapt on her mother, hugging her just as tightly.
"Oh, I missed you guys!" she smiled, finally releasing her mother from the bone-cracking hug. "Ci sei mancata anche tu," Marco chuckled, kissing the top of her head. Which was becoming difficult because Andrea was soon reaching his height.
"Russo!" James cried out behind her. He dropped his own and Andrea's trunk heavily onto the ground and nudged Andrea out of the way, hugging her parents. "Marco, ciao. Che bello rivederti," Sirius greeted smugly. James huffed and gave his friend a look.
"No need to show off, Sirius. My parents already love you more than me. You can leave me with some grown-ups who prefer me to you, you know," he joked, pouting. "Ah, of course, we love you, James. You're like our very own son," Aisha smiled, patting his cheek.
"Miss Russo, a pleasure as always," Sirius said in an overly posh tone, bowing and kissing her hand. "Well, isn't he a charming boy," Aisha grinned like a teenager. "Oh yeah. A real charmer that one," James glared. Andrea sensed James was ready to grab Sirius into a headlock, so she quickly looked for a distraction.
"MIA! MONTY!" She called out loudly, spotting James' parents.
The other Potters came over and quickly greeted everyone, hugging and kissing Remus and Peter goodbye before they left with their parents. Marco and Andrea were sure to remind them at least four times for the Christmas party at their house on the 24th.
As Sirius and James chatted with their parents, Andrea's eyes fell on Regulus again. He was leaning against the platform wall, seeming to be hiding from the two people coming down the platform dressed all in black. Andrea recognized the tall, intimidating couple as the Black parents. Before they spotted their son, she ran over to him and pulled him into a tight hug.
"Merry Christmas, Reggie," she whispered, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. It took him a minute, but soon Regulus relaxed and hugged her back. "Merry Christmas, Andie," he said quietly, squeezing her middle. Andrea released him, placing a kiss on his cheek.
"See if you can make the party, yeah?" Reggie gave a half-hearted smile and nodded.
Andrea headed back to her parents, hugging Sirius one last time before he needed to head off to his parents as well. With the Russo's and the Potters all accounted for, they grabbed hands and Apparated together back at Potter Cottage for the first stop, like always.
-//-
Translate:
Mia dolce ragazza - My sweet girl
Ci sei mancato anche tu - We missed you too
Marco, ciao. Che bello rivederti - Marco, hello. Nice to see you again.
– ACE
Xx