NOVEL SIMPLE The quest of Mary
Unfortunately, I couldn’t do much to ease the tension for Gryffindor House, but that wasn’t what concerned me. No, what worried me was whether my little brother was suffering from some form of silent harassment, and fortunately, nothing had happened.
After my talk, most of the students stopped focusing on Hermione, and she was able to start earning points again.
Honestly, isolating someone as important as Hermione is foolish because she’s a key point earner.
"Remember, you earned 100 points last year."
"Yeah, I know, and I’m sure I can do even better."
It took me a moment to realize that Marie had spoken to me, and I had responded as if it were normal.
"Since when do you know how to read people’s minds?"
"Since I fell in love with you, so accept my feelings, and I’m sure we’ll be the most powerful couple in the school."
"It's not a competition, and I've already told you that love shouldn’t be forced but should come naturally."
"I think this is the 100th time you’ve said that."
According to Marie, this kind of light conversation keeps her calm and stress-free before a Quidditch game.
"I just want that if I win, you take a bath with me."
"That doesn’t bother me, but if you try anything, I can guarantee you that when you wake up, it’ll be in a bed at the infirmary."
He swallowed nervously before she accepted his condition.
The Quidditch match was very interesting. Marie blocked the Quaffle effortlessly, without attempting any dangerous acrobatics.
In fact, she was so motivated by my words that she threw the Quaffle toward the opposing goal and scored 10 points.
I enjoyed the game, remembering that I had received a response, and there’s a chance the Quidditch rules will change by next year.
Of course, the rules will be tested in charity matches before being applied later in professional leagues.
All the details will be worked out during the holidays after the famous thesis contest.
Back to the match, our team won and was close to being 150 points ahead of Slytherin before the Golden Snitch was caught.
As agreed, I took a bath with Marie, and to reward her for her beautiful performance, I let her hold me in her arms.
"I feel more like a little sister than a love interest. When are you going to grow up and reveal your mature appearance?"
"I think I’ll do that in the fifth year. I'll take on a look that’s about 16-17 years old, then freeze my age and stay like that for at least 10 more years."
I would have liked to age normally like everyone else, but I don’t want to create another parallel thought when I already have so many.
"I may not have your intelligence, but I promise you that I will find a way to remove this curse from you."
"There’s a good chance I won’t be able to age or do anything else, so could you please remove this curse when I’m at my best?"
"Of course. Even though I love you very much, I don’t want to have a relationship with someone who’s either a child or a hundred years old."
This conversation, which seemed normal at the time, would later mark the beginning of Marie's quest.