The Search For Shirley
A/N: A HUGE thank you goes out to Zequist, Athena, and Lizzie for being my betas! You guys rock! The origin of this ship is from a simple quote in Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone (page 305) that says "Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight." All credit for creating the ship goes to Athena. She's the greatest!
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Everything else belongs to me. 'Nuff said.
Harry Potter arose early on Saturday morning. He had a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff that afternoon, and had lost sleep the night before due to his nervousness. Their new Seeker, a second year named Mark Walters, was no match for Harry, but the rush that an upcoming game gave him caused him to toss and turn all night. After lying awake for ten minutes, Harry gave up on the possibility of going back to sleep, and rose from his bed. He discovered that Ron was still sound asleep in the next bed over, and decided not to wake him. Ron needed his energy for the game, as it was his first year playing as Gryffindor's Keeper. Harry decided to go to the Great Hall alone and eat something for breakfast. He hoped a bit of food in his stomach might help to calm his pre-game nerves.
The Great Hall was relatively empty. Colin Creevey and a few of his friends sat at the Gryffindor table, and Dennis seemed to be tagging along with his older brother. Colin did nothing to stop him, and Harry pondered how they could stand each other. Most siblings would push their younger brothers away if their friends were present. Perhaps, Harry reasoned, Colin and Dennis were equally annoying, and therefore unaffected by each other. A few Ravenclaw first-years were giggling at their table and Mark Walters sat at the Hufflepuff table with two friends, both of whom played Quidditch as well. Harry was relieved to see that he wasn't the only athlete nervous about the upcoming game.
Draco Malfoy sat all alone at the Slytherin table, and appeared to be engaged in a deep conversation with his goblet. This was not unusual behaviour for Draco. As Harry and several other students had noticed, he had taken a liking to his goblet in the past few weeks. Harry sighed and sat down at the Gryffindor table, as far away from the Creevey brothers and their obnoxious friends as possible. However wise Harry's seating choice may have seemed, it ultimately proved to be a most unfortunate mistake. He had chosen a seat directly across the Great Hall from Draco Malfoy, with no one else sitting at any of the tables between them. Harry could hear Draco's one-sided conversation a bit too clearly.
"Oh, Shirley, you are the most wonderful Goblet in the entire school. No Goblet could ever live up to your magnificence."
The goblet stared blankly back at Draco. He had always been a somewhat disturbed student, but only recently had he begun banging his goblet on the tables in the Great Hall.
"Today, My Precious, we will find the Common Room empty. I can bang you on every table there! The time will be most endless…"
Harry suddenly felt quite nauseous. Leaving his toast and porridge nearly untouched, he headed back up to the Gryffindor Common Room, trying to erase the conversation he had just overheard from his mind.
***
A feeling of excitement was in the air. A Quidditch match was scheduled that afternoon, and the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were full of House spirit. Draco, on the other hand, was disgusted. I'll skip the Quidditch match, he decided. My Goblet and I have better things to do.
"Accio Goblet!" Draco cried. He was feeling particularly antsy this afternoon. The Goblet did not come. Draco concentrated on the Great Hall. "Accio Shirley!" he tried again. It would be a shame if he were forced to retrieve Shirley the Muggle way. At last, Draco sighed and stood up. He left the Slytherin common room in search of his goblet, or any goblet, for that matter.
The hallways were eerily empty, as the Ravenclaws and Slytherins were all attending the game as well. The atmosphere of a Quidditch match was always pleasant, even if the viewer was not concerned with the outcome.
But Malfoy had better things to do with his Saturday afternoon.
He approached the Great Hall and began to search for Shirley, his wonderful, sparkling silver Goblet. She was nowhere to be found. Feeling desperate, Draco picked up an arbitrary Goblet and stuck it in the pocket of his pants. He proceeded to the empty Slytherin common room, where he placed the Goblet on a table.
"Hello, Love," Draco said, stroking the rim of the Goblet affectionately. He showered it with very one-sided kisses. "Oh! Gobby! How do you do it?" Soon, Draco placed the goblet on the table and began banging it.
Much later, Draco realized what he was doing and decided it would be best to begin getting himself together. With Potter playing, the Quidditch match was sure to be over soon, and he didn't want the rest of Slytherin house entering the common room with him in this condition. A sudden burst of anger took over Draco. "You just aren't the same!" Draco cried, as he chucked the Goblet out the window. He turned away as it soared onto the Quidditch pitch.