If Love is a Game...

Chapter Fourteen

Finder's Keeper; Loser's Deeper

It had been another hour since the encounter with Brandon, and Lorena was not happy. She walked on the other side of Mrs. Malfoy and did not speak to either Brandon or Lucius. After finding a peaceful café, they got an outside table, considering that for winter, it was quite warm and not snowing. Still, they did not take their jackets off, but found the seats warm. Unfortunately for Lorena, Brandon sat next to her and was determined to bug her the entire time. Lorena was just going to have to get use to it and ignore him completely, which she found rather easy.

As they waited for their food, Mrs. Malfoy saw one of her "friends" and sat at her table to chat with her and catch up on everything, leaving Lorena sitting at the table with Lucius and Brandon. It was rather awkward. They just stared at each other. Lorena rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you two start talking about Quidditch or boy stuff?" Lorena blurted in the silence, frowning at Lucius, who stared at her like it was the first time he'd ever saw her. "Go on, it's not like I'm going to join in on the conversation or anything."

She turned in her seat to put her back towards them and to look at the passing people. She put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands placidly. Brandon sighed and turned to Lucius, who was smirking.

"So, have you done any--?"

"Alright, I changed my mind," Lorena interrupted, turning back around to glare at Lucius, who was trying to look innocent and failing miserably at it. It was almost impossible for him to be innocent at any time in his life. "Don't talk about boy stuff."

"But you said--"

"My mistake," Lorena injected firmly. Lucius smirked at her and she continued to frown and glare at him lazily. "No, boy stuff, here at least. If you're going to talk about 'who you've done in', please, don't talk about it in front of me. Talk about it when I'm gone. And we're getting ready to eat. I don't want to lose my appetite now."

She looked away and shook her head as Lucius and Brandon started sniggering. Lorena chose to ignore them as she watched the people pass her by. It was always fun watching witches and wizards. There were some from far away and some near by. It fascinated her, even though she met with the Magical folk every day. Lucius and Brandon began talking about Quidditch. Hopefully, that's what they were talking about. Unless, they're use of the word 'broom' meant otherwise. Lorena tried to shake that thought out of her head and began questioning her own sanity.

Lorena's thoughts were quickly scattered as an owl swooped over top of her and dropped a letter right on her plate. Lucius and Brandon's conversation immediately stopped and they began staring at the letter on her plate. She gazed at it, her mind reeling in slow motion. She saw that it was addressed to her: Lorena Fawcett. And that the handwriting was somehow familiar...

"Who's it from?" Lucius demanded. Lorena looked up at him, as though she had just realized he had been sitting across from her.

"'Cuse me?" Lorena replied, not quite catching what her cousin had just said. He had interrupted her thoughts on her pondering of who the letter had been from. "What did you just say?"

"I asked who the letter was from," Lucius said irritably, slightly annoyed that she hadn't been paying attention the first time he'd said it. She nodded her head absentmindedly.

"Oh, I don't know..." Lorena murmured. Brandon raised an eyebrow.

"Ooh, is it from your boyfriend back at Hogwarts, hm?" Brandon asked teasingly. Lorena looked over to glare at him and shook her head.

"Sorry, but I don't have a boyfriend," Lorena replied moodily. He grinned.

"Ah, what a shame," Brandon sighed thoughtfully. "I would've figured a girl like you would've been taken. Ain't I a lucky one, eh, Lucius?" He winked at Lucius, who chuckled. She just glared at him and looked back down at the letter.

"Oh, and I'm just so darn dandy to have met a boy like you, Hemmingway," Lorena said sarcastically. She went to grab the letter, but Brandon took it before she could grab it. "Give me that, it's my letter, you nincompoop!"

She jumped to her feet and reached to snatch it out of his grasp, but he leaned back and took it out of her reach with a smug grin. She reached harder and leaned on him.

"But I want to read it," Brandon replied. He began to slit it open, much to her protests. He pulled a short letter out of the envelope but only got as far as the first two letters. "Dear Lorena--"

The letter was ripped out of his hands before he could get any further. He looked over his shoulder to see that Lorena had the letter now in her hands. She walked away from them and headed for the closest shop, which just so happened to be the Quidditch Supply Shop. She walked in and leaned in an empty aisle to read the letter in some piece and quiet.

Dear Lorena,

I hope to hear that everything is alright with you and the beginning of your holidays, considering that you are trapped with the Malfoys. I give my deepest regrets for having you being sent there. I'll have you know, though, that Hogwarts isn't all fun and games as you would have suspected. I was stuck in the Infirmary all last night because of four rotten Fourth Year Slytherin boys; they decided to practically beat up and then proceeded to throw Charlie Weasley, that First Year we met on Halloween, into the icy cold lake. So, I had to leap in the water to save the poor boy. Madam Pomfrey made me come back to the Hospital Wing, can you believe it?

Well, Sara and Peter have gone missing, no surprise to that. I'm not sure what Sara usually does in the mornings, but I'll bet anything Peter's at lunch right now. So, I'm all alone with nothing to do and I figured that I would cheer you up a little, if possible.

Oh yeah, I was wondering what you might want for Christmas. I, being a complete idiot, forgot to ask you what you wanted before you left. So, if possible, can you please tell me because I'm absolutely clueless?

So, has anything terrible happened yet? I mean, has Lucius done anything to you? Or for the fact, has Marcus done anything to you? If he has, I want to know so I can kick his arse the next time I see him. But really, I am serious about this. If he has done anything to you, tell me, okay?

Merry Christmas, Lorena! Hope you have a good one and that doesn't mean that you have to get along with Lucius. By all means, hex him if you want. That would be a nice Christmas gift for him, turning him into a slug. Merry Christmas, again!

Respectfully,

Remus J. Lupin

Lorena chortled at the letter. Of course, she had so many questions to ask him. On a darker note, she wondered whether or not to tell him about Brandon. He hadn't said anything about other people. Maybe she shouldn't. She didn't want to get him all worried when she could take care of herself fine. She knew he didn't have to get her anything, but it was just the part that he hadn't forgotten her that made her feel all warm inside.

She must've been grinning funny when she came back to the table at the café because Brandon and Lucius were staring at her oddly. She sat down and then finally it registered to her that they were still staring at her.

"What?"

"Well?" Lucius prompted, staring at her.

"Well, what?" She was downright confused. Boys were so confusing and people like them were just bigger imbeciles. Would they ever explain anything out correctly?

"Who's the letter from?" Brandon demanded.

"Oh, it's from a friend." A friend, indeed. Although, she wondered what those words actually meant. She had said that before, right before the 'Choco Snogo Bar Incident'. She and Remus had still been reeling from that little fiasco.

"A friend, eh?" Brandon said thoughtfully. He leaned in on the table closer to Lorena. "Ya know, that can mean four things: a friend that is a girl, a friend that is a boy, a girlfriend, or a boyfriend. Your pick, Hun." She looked taken aback.

"Ew, a girlfriend, you're more twisted than I thought, Hemmingway!" Lorena exclaimed disgustedly. "I thought I told you not to talk about 'boy stuff' with me? Ah, sheesh, I think I'm going to be sick, now. That's it, I've lost my appetite."

"You didn't answer the question," Lucius pointed out. She took a deep breath.

"It's from a friend that is a boy," Lorena answered. "Are you happy now, both of you? I answered your stupid little question."

"From the tone of your voice, you're wishing that you were more with this... boy," Brandon quipped, glancing at Lucius, who was nodding his head. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please, get a grip on yourselves," Lorena muttered, disregarding what he had just said. "You are truly a twisted one, Hemmingway."

"So... who's this guy you're crushing on?" Lucius asked. "Please, don't tell me it's Potter."

"Ew, that's my best friend's boyfriend, I can't fancy him!" Lorena shrieked loudly, her hands up to her cheeks. "That's sickening, Malfoy!"

Lucius sighed deeply. "Well, I can rest tonight," he said lowly. Then, he stared at her oddly and went wide-eyed. "Unless... It's not..." He trailed off and she gaped at him.

"Hello, I can't read minds, so unless this is important, tell me now because our food is here, numbskull," Lorena chirped. A large salad was sat in front of her. Mrs. Malfoy was still chatting with her friend at the other table. Their food was sat in front of them and the waiter left.

"I thought I was seeing things back on Halloween--"

"What about Halloween?" Lorena demanded, her eyes snapping at Lucius. She wondered if he'd seen that little incident. She was going to ring James's neck if he did. Wait; he was Lily's boyfriend, she couldn't do that.

"I was passing by Honeydukes"--Lorena's eyes started to burn as she stared at him avidly--"and I thought I saw someone snogging someone so I went to get a better look and I saw bright blond hair, just like yours."

"Narcissa Black has the same type of blond hair, it was probably just her being the prat she is," Lorena dismissed offhandedly as she poured the dressing over her salad. Brandon watched her impatiently.

"No, no, I don't think she'd be caught dead snogging that boy," Lucius replied quickly. She rolled her eyes and sat the cup down.

"You never know with that idiot," Lorena mumbled. "Who was the boy, anyways?"

"He was in Gryffindor"--Lorena tried not to think of the person that came to her mind so quickly as she ate her salad--"I don't get along with him"--that narrowed it down to about the entire Gryffindor House--"he's a Prefect"--okay, that narrowed it down to three boys, she was burning up--"he had brown hair"--she was on fire, that narrowed it down to two boys--"and he's friends with Potter, Black, and Pettigrew."

He knew who it was. Still, she remained her calm.

"So... that only leaves one out of the bunch," Lorena yawned, as if she was bored with the conversation. She wanted off of it so badly.

"Yes, the letter was from that Lupin boy, wasn't it?" Lucius whispered acidly. Lorena looked up to only to glare at him. She looked back down at her salad to eat. Brandon, who did not go to Hogwarts, wasn't familiar with the name or person. Lorena was quite glad he wasn't.

"Lupin? I've never heard of the name before," Brandon noted confusedly.

"Be glad you haven't, Brandon," Lucius replied coldly.

"Oh, will you shut up about him, Malfoy?" Lorena snapped crossly. "He's wonderful and unlike you, Hemmingway, he's not a narking perverted prat!"

"Who is this Lupin?" Brandon asked Lucius. She was obviously not in the mood to talk about this guy and he wanted to know who this guy was.

"His name's Remus Lupin and he's a dodgy bloke that hangs out with James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew," Lucius explained. Lorena didn't take too well to his description of Remus. "He's a Prefect that gets on my nerves and has Krystyna Melanie against me at all times. He's helped prank Slytherins countless times and did I mention that he's an idiot." Brandon chortled.

"He is not an idiot, Malfoy!" Lorena growled furiously. "He's brilliant--a level of genius you'll never be able to reach in your entire life time--that goes for you too, Hemmingway." She grabbed her salad and moved to a different table, irate with both of them she had to settle down. Hopefully, Krystyna would be having a better time than she was.

~*~

Krystyna walked out of the store with Mrs. Melanie, Marlena, and Andrew, who was still looking longingly at the Quidditch Supply Store. Krystyna seemed to be on his same thought of track. She was also starting to get hungry and from the looks of it, so was Andrew; his mouth almost began to water as they passed the Ice Cream Shop. Krystyna grinned, but it soon faded away when they passed it up. They entered a shop filled with priceless--and pointless--objects.

"Since you obviously have stressed it so much, go find your friend a present," Mrs. Melanie told Krystyna. She grinned and immediately walked to the opposite side of the store.

There were many objects that made Krystyna fathom the way the world works. For example, there was a miniature version of a waterfall with rocks beside the flowing water, except the water was falling up instead of down; there was an everlasting-flame candle that changed to any color you wanted; a deck of cards that danced in circles when you won a game; a pink chair that shook and threw anyone you disliked off of it; and a foggy crystal ball-type thing that allowed you to see any person in the entire universe you wanted to.

Krystyna stopped looking and gazed at the crystal ball. She would've walked right up to it, but there was a person standing in front of it, looking inside of it. She waited patiently for the woman to move away from it. She watched as the woman smiled at a man her age and then walked off. Krystyna immediately walked up to the crystal ball, but then realized that she didn't know what to do. So, she just placed her hands on the foggy glass ball and thought of whom she wanted to see again.

Immediately, Krystyna felt as though she was bolting through a portal of some sort when her hands touched the glass ball. There was gray fog surrounding her. She tried to pull her hands away, in fear that she did something wrong, but they seemed to be glued to it. She became very worried.

Suddenly, she stopped and she looked around herself; her mouth dropped. She was no longer in the store, but was outside in foot deep snow in...a Muggle city? She closed her mouth politely and gawked at the place. Her legs were in the snow yet she wasn't cold at all. There looked as if there was a breeze in the air, but she felt no wind. She began hearing some laughter and shouts. As she walked closer, she began to hear them more clearly and soon realized that the voices were familiar sounding. She ran to see who these people were; she saw some dark figures in the snowy-white yards. She thought her heart might stop when she saw the people standing in front of her and their voices heard.

Sirius, James, and Lily were huddled behind a handmade snow-fort as large snowballs pelted against their fortress, weakening it. A few other Muggle teens were on the opposite side of them. Sirius leaped to his feet and chucked two overly large snowballs at them and fell to the ground as some passed right over his head. The Muggles squealed and scattered in fear of getting hit by the large snowballs. A few of the girls were hit and fell to the ground; one boy got conked on the head, but kept running until he trip over a stick in the snow. James and Sirius high-fived.

"Nice one, Sirius!" James exclaimed boisterously.

"It was nice, wasn't it?" Sirius said smugly, grinning largely. The two friends laughed while Lily rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face. A snowball hit James in the back of the head, knocking his snow cap right off of it and into the snow. He looked shock. Krystyna snickered and then suddenly put her hands up to her mouth. What if they could hear her? However, they did not show any sign of hearing her laughter and continued to rebound snowballs at them.

She walked closer, guessing that they couldn't see her either. She sat in the snow and watched them from the sidelines, gazing at Sirius closely. He had a large grin on his face as he proved that Muggles weren't as good in snowball fights as wizards were. She watched as his black hair straggled in the wind and as he ran, his eyes glimmering with sheer joy of beating them. He had always been so competitive, but not nearly as much when compared with James, who was launching snowballs every chance he got. Lily was having too much fun giggling at James as he shot back and joked with her; she, too, was having a ball. Oh, how she wished she could be here in reality, throwing snowballs along Sirius's side and having happy fun.

Krystyna stood up and walked over to Sirius, who was taking a breather behind their small snow packed fortress. She sat beside him and leaned against the wall, gazing at him closely. He looked pretty happy and breathless to her. But there was something in her eyes that made her worry. She scooted over that she could sit on her knees directly in front of him, watching him avidly. Was it concern? She felt a wave of worry overcome her, but it disappeared when a snowball flew over his and her head. She smiled contently, but it still resided in her mind. He looked back to take another breather, relaxing his shoulders and hanging limply. She raised her left arm in the air.

"Sirius, I wish I were here with you," Krystyna whispered. She touched his cheek with her hands, but was immediately jerked away from him so quickly that there was no time for a good-bye.

Krystyna suddenly found herself back in the shop, her hands in the air in front of her, off of the crystal ball-type thing. She gazed at it for a second, the fog swirling around. She found herself thinking more and more of Sirius. He was sure having a good time, unlike her. And then, she began to wonder what her friends were doing. She thought of another person and grabbed the glass.

Immediately, Krystyna was jerked around again in the gray portal-like thing and found herself sitting on a table in the café not too far away from here. She took a deep breath and looked up to see Lorena sitting on the opposite side of the table alone, eating a salad. Lorena looked rather disgruntled and angry as she stuck the fork in the salad. Soon, Krystyna saw her calming down and taking deep breaths. Then, a boy she didn't recognize sat at the table next to her, smirking stupidly.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked, though, it sounded as though he was going to sit there even if it was taken or not. She didn't look up.

"Yeah, can't you see that my invisible friend, Toby Macs, is sitting there?" Lorena snapped dryly. She ate and he smirked.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, though, it sounded as though he wasn't going to move if she didn't or did. She didn't look up at him still.

"Yes, I don't want to be seen with you," Lorena replied coldly. "People might start thinking things like: I like you or I'm going to start acting like an idiotic nark. So if you don't mind, do me a favor and leave me alone, Hemmingway."

The boy's last name was Hemmingway and she referred to him as an 'idiotic nark'; he had to be a Pure-Blood wizard. Krystyna looked across her shoulder to see Lucius Malfoy snickering loudly as he watched the two tangle. She cringed and looked back at her unhappy friend.

"I'm deeply hurt, Lorena," Hemmingway said sarcastically, putting his hand to his heart and sniffing his nose. She ignored him completely. "Anyways, I was just wondering... This Remus Lupin guy, on a rate to one to ten, how much would you like to be dating him right now and for him to be sitting in the place I am right now?"

Krystyna gaped at Lorena. How did Remus get involved in their conversation? And what was this about Lorena wanting to date Remus? Did she overlook something when she was at Hogwarts? Were all those moments when she'd joke around and hanged on Remus really mean something? Or was she really blowing things out of proportion right now?

Lorena looked up at him. "I don't want to date him, but I'd give him a ten for him to be switching places with you right now!" she exclaimed crossly, but rather quietly compared to her normal screaming that would've erupted. Hemmingway stood up and walked over to Lucius. He sat back down next to him calmly. Lorena grabbed the remaining of her food and left to throw it away.

"A ten for both of them," Hemmingway told Lucius, who nodded his head. "She denied it angrily and gave him a ten for the second one; a perfect notation that she likes him a lot."

Lucius grinned evilly. "Finally, I have some dirt on my cousin that I can use against her," he sighed rather graciously. "You don't know how much I need something like this on her."

They laughed together and she looked back at Lorena, who was now sitting on the curb alone with her hands combed in her hair, a sign of frustration for her. Krystyna stood up and sat down on the curb next to her, watching her as she took a few deep breaths. She looked up to reveal a form of angry sadness in her eyes; Krystyna had seen that a lot before.

"Don't worry about it; we'll be seeing each other real soon," Krystyna said soothingly, although she knew perfectly well that she couldn't hear her. She put a friendly arm around her and was jolted back to the store immediately.

Krystyna stared at the foggy glass sphere. She had just seen Lorena in a place not too far from here. Maybe if she was fast enough, she could catch up with her and comfort her for real before they left. That sounded nice. But first, she wanted to see what this thing was. She looked around and finally saw a tag for it. She picked it up gently and read it. It read:

Finders' Sphere- Look into the lives of those you miss and wish to see at this very moment. See if your boyfriend is cheating on you or find a person that you have been split apart from. Escape your own life and delve into another place to hide or to relax with people you miss. Whether your cause is happy or sad, it'll show you who you desire to see the most!

Krystyna found that she liked this for a gift for Lorena. It would be perfect for her. She would be able to escape life at the Malfoy Manor and relax without having to be so angry and afraid and depressed. She liked this. She found a box with one in it and walked to where she heard her mother's voice. When she found her, they had their things in their hands ready to pay for them.

"What's that?" Marlena asked curiously.

"A gift for my friend," Krystyna simply said, ignoring to go into detail about it. Andrew looked at it curiously and walked out to sit on the bench outside of the store.

"Are you going to bother telling me what it is?" Marlena asked rather irritably.

"No," Krystyna said truthfully. Marlena harrumphed and crossed her arms across her chest as she watched Krystyna set it on the counter so they could pay for it. They did so and she took it in her own bag. They walked out of the store. As they were walking, a shrill screeching noise was made. Krystyna stopped and looked in the air just in time to duck as an owl swooped over her head. A letter fell at her feet in the snow and they all stopped to gaze at it.

"Well, don't just stand there and stare at it stupidly, Krystyna; pick it up!" Mrs. Melanie hissed, as though it was a crime to leave a note on the ground. Krystyna picked it up slowly, still gazing at it intently. She wondered who could be writing to her. It looked like familiar handwriting, but it was certainly not Sirius's.

"Who's it from?" Marlena asked. She suddenly realized who it was from and got very anxious. She looked up, red in the face.

"It's from a friend," Krystyna said quickly. Mrs. Melanie eyed her angrily. "My Pure-Blooded friend, it's from her!" Mrs. Melanie stopped and sighed calmly, flattening her hair. Marlena rolled her eyes. Andrew grinned mischievously.

"Oh, no, it's from her boyfriend!" Andrew exclaimed loudly. He snatched the letter right out of her hands and she began to panic. Marlena thought she might faint.

"Andrew, give that back to me!" Krystyna shouted furiously. "It's my letter! Give it back to me or I'll hex you!" He disregarded her words and continued to romp around in the walkway, slitting the envelope open hurriedly.

"Not until I've read all your nasty little secrets!" Andrew laughed exuberantly. He pulled the parchment out of the envelope and let the ink fade in. Krystyna tried to grab it, but he dodged her easily. She was getting very angry.

"'Dear Krystyna'--ooh, it's even a boy's handwriting--'I hope that the beginning of your holidays have been good and'--what have you been telling your friends about this family anyways--?"

As she did not want to let Mrs. Melanie or Marlena hear anything that Remus had to say in the letter and she didn't want Andrew reading it, Krystyna whipped out her wand and pointed it at her one year younger brother unexpectedly.

"Expillimarius!" Krystyna cried out hastily. The letter and envelope flew out of Andrew's hands and soared gracefully into the air. Andrew shouted something, but Krystyna was too busy catching the two things to hear him clearly. She pointed her wand at him again. "Petrificus Totalus!" He froze up like a rigid board and fell to the ground in the snow. Mrs. Melanie squealed with concern.

"Oh, it's nothing, mother, don't have such a hissy-fit," Krystyna blurted while she read the letter quickly. She suddenly realized how Remus had gotten in Lorena's conversation with the Hemmingway boy. And now she knew why he was so keen on knowing if she wanted to date Remus or not. She was glad to know that he remembered her too and couldn't wait to see him and everyone else--including Sirius a lot--again at Hogwarts. She folded the letter up and placed it in her robes pocket so that Andrew couldn't get it. She pointed her wand at him again.

"Finite Incantantum," Krystyna said calmly. Immediately, the hex was lifted off of Andrew and he relaxed quickly, taking a deep breath. He sat up in the snow to gape at Krystyna, who was putting her wand away.

"When you said that you'd hex me, I didn't think you were being literal!" Andrew exclaimed.

"Well, now you know to take me more seriously when I say these kinds of things," Krystyna said snappishly. Andrew started laughing and he stood up, still laughing. Krystyna rolled her eyes and found a glare from her mother. She smiled apologetically and walked ahead of them.

"I'm hungry, mum; can't we get something to eat now that we're all done with everything?" Andrew whined longingly. There was silence.

"Of course, there's a nice little café up here we can eat at," Mrs. Melanie answered. Krystyna's heart raced; maybe she could still catch Lorena there after all. She quickened her pace to get there.