Told in First Person: Brooke-Lynne Lorraine Wright: First Day of The New School Year, beginning 5th Year
Brooke is my own character, used for role-play groups. Here is her "profile".
Name: Brooke-Lynne Lorraine "Brooke" Wright
Age: 15 (5th Year)
Birthday: August 8th
House: Gryffindor
Blood Status: Half-Blood (Muggle-born father and pure blood mother) Draco Malfoy calls her a Mudblood, despite her half-pureblood heritage.
Appearance: Brooke is a very tall (around 5'11) and thin witch with long, wavy, brown hair which has natural auburn highlights. She has large, round eyes with long lashes that seem to change from gray, to blue, to green depending on her mood, and pale, slightly sun-freckled skin. She has long limbs, and a very prominent collar bone. Brooke is actually clumsy on the ground, but graceful in the air on her broom. She is indeed attractive, but Draco Malfoy once told her that a boy had more curves than she (which is almost true, Brooke isn't particularly, er... "shapely"...LOL) Most people are slightly intimidated by her looks.
Personality: Brooke is a very emotionally strong and extremely intelligent witch (her best subjects are Transfiguration and Charms), though she tends to loose focus easily. None the less, she is very smart, and is always earning high marks. She is creative and cunning, as well, and always finding ways to get out of trouble. Brooke is, and has always been a tom-boy, by far preferring a good prank to gossiping, boys, and fashion. She's a jokester, and is a close friend of the Weasley twins (she happens to have a crush on Fred, though she won't admit it). She's always up for a laugh, and doesn't have much regard for the rules, though she knows where to draw the line. Even with her disregard for the authority, Brooke is still well liked by the Professors and students of Hogwarts. She is a very talented Chaser, and is a member of the Gryffindor House Quidditch team. She's been flying longer than she can remember. Due to her love for the sport, she is extremely competitive, and is very determined, confident, and hardworking. Her mother (A Muggleborn wizard) taught her to play piano, so Brooke enjoys both playing and listening to music. She is also very set on doing what's right, and will go to all odds for a cause she believes in. Brooke joined Dumbledore's Army and has always believed Harry when he said that Voldemort had returned. She has practically no fears, and will stand up for herself and her friends. She has a particular dislike towards Draco Malfoy, as he has been rude to her as long as they have known each other. Brooke is rather outgoing, but she tends to keep to herself and her friends. She can be nervous and shy at times, when she's in an uncomfortable situation. Brooke has built up a tough emotional "armor", since the death of her sister and father, and rarely talks about her feelings. She is brave, courageous, generous, trusting, optimistic, and very loyal, yet stubborn at times. She always wants to help people, and puts others before herself. She is a very kind and caring person, but Brooke is bluntly honest, gets flustered easily, and is known to have a short temper. Even with these traits, she still is extremely understanding, forgiving, accepting, and a great friend.
History: Brooke's mother is an American Muggle-Born witch (from New York, hence her name), and her father is a pure-blood witch from London. Her mother moved to England to work for the Ministry of Magic, where she met Brooke's father. Brooke was born on a hot summer day, August the 8th, and looks not like her mother or father, but her paternal grandfather. Almost all of Brooke's family have been sorted into Hufflepuff house, despite their pureblood heritage. Brooke, on the other hand, and her grandfather (whom she is very much alike, in more ways than just looks) are the sole members of the family to be in Gryffindor, and the only people in the family with a talent for Quidditch. Tragically, her father, brother, and sister were tortured and killed by Death Eaters after her father refused to support the Dark Lord. This is a fact that still haunts Brooke to this day, and is the reason she creates such a tough emotional "armor". She and her mother live on a farm in the English country side.
Interests: Pranks, jokes, Quidditch, reading
Wand: 13 3/4", Hazel wood, intertwined unicorn tail hair, phoenix feather, kneazle hair, and dragon heartstring core, made by Ollivander (yeah, kind of er... interesting core...)
Patronus: Fox
Boggart: Her father, brother, and sister's dead bodies
What she sees in the Mirror of Erised: Herself, holding the Quidditch and House Cups and an aced Potions test, surrounded by her full family (mother, father, sister, and grandfather), her crush Fred Weasley, and her friends.
Friends: Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Oliver Wood
Enemies: Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, really any Slytherin...
Fun Fact: She has a liking for Chocolate Frogs and has a barn owl named Yeva. She is also left-handed.
Author's Note: I am aware that things aren't canon-correct. In this story Fred, George, and the others are only a year above Harry, Ron, Hermione, etc.
I'm also aware that there was no Quidditch, due to the Triwizard tournament, but oh well.
I am also aware that the relationships are not right. In this fan fic, it is Lee/Angelina, Katie/George, and Fred/Brooke.
I don't own Harry Potter, JKR does!
Well, now that that's out of the way:
Enjoy the story! I hope you like the new character!
I ran through the barrier and onto Platform 9 ¾ , dragging my large wooden trunk and owl cage along behind me. It was a dreary day, the dark clouds blocking out all sunlight. I was sure it would be raining soon. Turning my attention from the sky to the people around me, I looked around at all the happy families saying good-bye to their children. My mother had bade me farewell this morning, and I had taken a Muggle taxicab to King's Cross Station. Mum never accompanied me, except for my First Year. She said it brought back too many memories. Memories of my sister, Maggie, my brother, Christopher, and my father. They had been tortured and murdered by Death Eaters. Death Eaters, supporters of him. Sick souls who enjoyed pain, death, devastation. I shook away these horrid thoughts as the warning whistle blew. I hurriedly boarded the scarlet steam engine, the Hogwarts Express, feeling both excited and slightly dreadful. I was eager to see my friends, but was not looking forward to the lessons and homework the school term brought.
As I walked the train corridors, I realized that every compartment was already occupied. I must have been one of the last to get on the train. I was about to turn around and try to find a place near the front, where I had seen a group of friendly-enough looking Hufflepuffs, when Draco Malfoy came out of a compartment and started walking towards me. After a moment he was just a few feet away.
"Out of my way," he snarled. I didn't move a muscle.
"I said move! Or are you too stupid to understand that?" Draco shouted. He pushed me backwards, and I momentarily lost my balance.
"Watch it, Malfoy. Maybe you should pick on someone your own size," I said, my voice filled with hate. I whipped out my wand and drew myself up to my full height; I was probably a head taller than him. Sure, being a tall girl had it's advantages. Several people were now watching the scene, and I was prepared for a fight. As Draco pulled out his wand as well, someone interrupted and called my name.
"Hey, Wright!" the voice exclaimed. I turned around to see the tall, thin, gangly frame and messy, bright red hair of Fred Weasley. "We all know you can kick Malfoy's arse, so why don't you save him the embarrassment and sit with us. There's space in our compartment, if you 'wanna be with George, Lee, and I," he said to me, flashing a bright, lopsided grin. I scowled at Malfoy, whispered "You got lucky this time" (which was returned with another shove) and quickly walked over to the fellow Gryffindor, gracious for the invitation. We stepped inside the compartment, and I recognized the faces of George, his twin, and Lee Jordan, their best friend. The Weasley twins and Lee were known for trouble, but I actually admired them; they're brilliant pranksters. I knew of them, but then again who hadn't? But I had never really spent any time with them. We were friendly to one another, and I had talked to the three before, but I didn't really know them very well.
"I wish I would have let you carry on, Malfoy wouldn't have stood a chance. That would have been bloody amazing. But I can't let you get expelled before even getting to Hogwarts, can I?" said Fred. I took it as a compliment, and gave him a small smile.
"Thanks, Fred," I said.
"How'd you know it was me, Wright?" he asked with a boyish grin. It was true, Fred and George Weasley were absolutely identical, about as close as it gets, even for twins. But I couldn't tell Fred the reasons I could tell him and his twin apart. What was I supposed to say? That his eyes were a slightly warmer shade of chocolate brown? His hair was always a bit more messy and windblown? He had four freckles on the bridge of his nose where as George only had two, or that he was just a bit taller than his twin? What can I say, I'm an observant person. But no, I'd sound like a complete nutter if I told him that.
"Lucky guess, I suppose," I replied, knowing full well it was a lie.
I hoisted my trunk up onto the luggage rack, and Fred took my owl and put it up there as well. I took a seat next to Fred and silently mouthed another thank you, giving him a sheepish smile. After a while he, George, and Lee began talking about Quidditch, and much to their surprise, I joined in the discussion. When they looked at me funny after my comment about the Irish Team, I simply said:
"What, a girl can't talk about Quidditch?" We all chuckled and I was glad to be in on the conversation. My shyness disappeared, and for the rest of the train ride we rambled on about Quidditch teams, talked about Fred and George's jokeshop ideas, pranked first years, and ate a vast variety of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. By the time we were twenty minutes away from Hogsmeade station, I had laughed more than I had in years, and couldn't believe how fast time had flown.
"We should probably change now," Lee said. "We're just about there." I began getting my robes out of my trunk, but the three boys eyed me skeptically.
"You should see your faces," I said with a grin. "Do you honestly think I'm going to change right here?"
"By all means, go ahead," joked Lee, his dark eyes searching my body. I felt my cheeks burn, and Fred punched him in the shoulder.
"God, Lee, you're such a git," I said with a laugh. I slid open the compartment door and headed to the bathrooms. I changed out of my Muggle jeans and t-shirt, and slipped on my Hogwarts uniform and robes. Before leaving, I glanced in the mirror. I frowned slightly at my appearance. I was tall and slender, but too much so. I was just a bit shorter than Fred, who was probably the tallest person in school. I was skin and bones, not shapely at all. My certain er… womanly attributes had never really developed. I looked at my face, but I suppose that was pretty enough. My skin was as pale as porcelain and slightly freckled from the sun, and my big round eyes were a blue-gray color today. But they were always changing between emerald green, ocean blue, and stone gray. My long, wavy brown hair draped over my shoulders and glinted with red and gold in the light. Convinced this was about as good as it was going to get, I smoothed my skirt, straightened my Gryffindor tie, and headed back towards the compartment.
I knocked on the door, which was met with a "Come in!" from George. I entered, and Fred, George, and Lee were dressed in their robes, still joking around, as they had been all day. I sat down, amused with their conversation.
"Fred, you look simply dashing today," said George with a smile.
"As do you, George. I like what you've done with your hair," Fred replied. It was ironic since his mane of flaming red locks looked almost exactly the same, if not a bit more unkempt.
"But we all know that I'm the most handsome bloke here," Lee chipped in.
"You three are mad, absolutely mad," I said with a laugh.
"But you still love us, don't you?" Fred asked.
"For now, I suppose," I joked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I had gotten to know these three so well over the train ride, how could I not?
For the remainder of the trip, which was only a few minutes, I stared out of the window. Rain drops clung to the glass, and the sky was dark. I frowned, hoping that the weather would improve soon. There were only a few short months left before the temperatures would plummet and snow would cover the grounds. After just a few moments, I felt the train slow and jerk to a stop. We had arrived at Hogsmeade Station. We gathered out belongings, and Fred helped me with my trunk.
"Thanks, Fred," I said.
"I'm not Fred, I'm George!" he exclaimed.
"Hmmm…" I said, giving him a curious look. I stepped a bit closer, placed my hands on his shoulders, and looked him over. I swore I saw his cheeks turn red. Did I just make Fred Weasley blush? The Fred Weasley, one of the most confident people I know? Just by touching him? I continued; "No you're not. You're definitely Fred."
"God, you're good," he remarked.
"I know," I said, smiling.
We clambered through the train corridors, pushing past the hoards of students. I stepped out into the cool night air, the slight breeze blowing my hair. The familiar sight of the Hogwarts castle, with its glowing windows, was visible in the far distance. The twins, Lee, and I dropped our trunks off at the luggage cart, and went to go find a carriage. I grimaced at the strange creatures pulling the carriages. Thestrals, they were called. I started to go into a flash back, but quickly cleared my thoughts.
We hopped into a carriage with Fred and George's younger brother, Ron, younger sister, Ginny, and their friends Harry and Hermione.
"Everyone, this is Brooke," announced Fred.
"Hi," I said with a small wave.
"I'm sure you've seen her around the common room, she's in 6th year like George, Lee, and I," Fred stated. I recognized the foursome, but I wasn't sure if they recognized me. I forgot that it must be weird for them to see their brother/friend with someone they've never met. "She got into a bit of a tousle with Malfoy on the train, so of course we figured she mustn't be half bad. 'Cause you know, any enemy of Malfoy's is a friend of ours! So she sat with us on the train ride, and turns out she's actually really cool. Who would've though?" he joked.
I heard Ginny murmur something to Hermione, and they burst out in a fit of giggles. I blushed, thankful for the dull lighting that hid my burning cheeks. I was usually quite confident, but for some reason I felt nervous and shy. I hoped they weren't laughing at me.
The rest of the carriage ride was rather uneventful. We absentmindedly chatted, and bits of whispering and laughter was heard from the corner where Ginny and Hermione sat. The four of them seemed nice enough, but I was thankful when we finally reached the castle. The carriage ride was a bit awkward, with Ron and Harry glancing at me uneasily every few seconds and Ginny and Hermione giggling to no end.
Finally we reached Hogwarts, and everyone gathered in the Great Hall. I wasn't exactly sure what to do now. Did Fred, George, and the rest of the gang expect me to sit with them, or would they rather I go back to my other friends? As if he had been reading my mind, Fred asked:
"You're sitting with us, aren't you?"
"Sure, if that's okay," I replied.
"Great," he said, and led me down to the end of Gryffindor table. We proceeded to watch the annual sorting of first years.
"There's a god awful number of Slytherins this time around," I mumbled to Fred. He suppressed a chuckle. It was true, there was an abnormally large amount of students sorted into the house of Slytherin this year. Now that I thought about it, there were barely any first year Gryffindors compared to the rest of the houses.
But after the Sorting, Dumbledore made an announcement about something new happening this year.
"I'm a pleased to inform you that Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament for the first time in years," said Dumbledore's strong voice. He did not elaborate much, but said more would be explained in October. Fred and George both gave me questioning glances, but I just shrugged my shoulders.
After this, Dumbledore gave his usual announcement of "tuck in", and the plates in front of us began to fill with food. The heavenly aroma of chicken and potatoes drifted to my nose, and I gratefully took a few servings. After a delicious meal, Fred and I left the others and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. I spotted a poster on the wall announcing Quidditch tryouts.
"You and George are on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, aren't you?"
"Yep," he replied. "Beaters, the best in years we've been told. Unbeatable, human bludgers." I laughed at his large ego, but even I had to admit that they were very good.
"You play Quidditch," he said to me, more of a statement than a question.
"Erm, a bit, I'm not that great though," I answered. I was actually an extremely talented player, but I decided to remain modest.
"Chaser, right?" Fred questioned.
"Yeah," I replied. I was surprised he remembered all this.
"How come you've never tried out?" he asked.
"What is this, Twenty Questions?" We both laughed, and I continued to answer. "I wouldn't have made the team. Even if I did, I wouldn't want to break up Katie, Angelina, and Alicia, they're amazing together."
"You know, I think Alicia's on holiday in France with her parents. So now there's an opening for Chaser. I'll put a good word in with the captain," he said with a wink.
"I don't know…" I said nervously. "I'll probably make a fool of myself."
"No you won't! You should try out, you really should," he pleaded. He continued to try to convince me as we walked through the corridors. After he gave his millionth reason why I should take Alicia's place as chaser, I finally I gave in.
"Fine, I'll do it," I said, crossing my arms against my thin chest.
"Great! Tryouts on Tuesday evening. The whole team will be there. Be on the pitch after supper, around six-thirty," said Fred. We continued walking until we heard footsteps behind us.
"There you are," said George, catching up to us. He accompanied us the rest of the way to the Gryffindor Tower, and we chatted about the upcoming day.
"Are you two dreading lessons as well? Snape will be giving us loads of work, I'm sure of it. All the teachers will, being it's O.W.L. year. Charlie and Bill say they work you to death. Not that you have to worry about it, Wright," remarked George.
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" I asked, my voice jokingly snappy.
"Just that you're the smartest person we know," said Fred. "And you don't flaunt it around like Hermione. Don't get me wrong, Hermione's great, but sometimes she's got to give it a rest! Like you, Brooke, you don't seem to give a care about school yet you probably have the best marks in our year."
"Thanks, you guys. But I'm nowhere near as skilled as you in Charms, and you're probably better in Transfiguration and Potions, too. Those jokeshop inventions are brilliant," I replied.
"Well, that's the point. We're not brilliant in lessons. We're only brilliant unless it involves something hilarious and/or destructive," Fred said.
"That's the only time that matters," I said with a silly laugh. We had now reached the Fat Lady, and I wasn't at all anxious to leave my new friends. We climbed through the portrait hole and stepped into the warm common room. I would have been content to spend the rest of the evening with them, but Professor McGonagall was in the room, and was telling students to go the their dormitories and unpack. So we went out separate ways. I climbed the stairs up to the girl's dormitory, and stepped into the hall. Before I could go in to any of the rooms, I was stopped by a slender, dark witch; Angelina Johnson.
"Oh, hello, Brooke!" said Angelina. "You've been assigned to my room this year. Along with Katie Bell. Come on in," she said, leading the way down the hall and through one of the doors. I was relieved that Angelina was being so nice. I hadn't really talked to her much over the years, but I was looking forward to getting to know her and Katie. I stepped into a relatively small space with several four-poster beds. I saw the one that had my luggage at the foot and plopped down, exhausted from the evening.
"So, I hear you've met the twins and Lee," said Angelina with mischievous smile.
"Yep," I said with a laugh.
"They're great, aren't they?" she said.
"Oh, they're amazing. Absolutely hilarious," I replied.
"Just watch it, Lee is mine," Angelina said in a jokingly menacing tone. We both laughed. I was flattered that she trusted me so easily.
"That shouldn't be a problem," I said with a chuckle. Katie entered the room and sat down next to me.
"George is off-limits as well. Fred, on the other hand…" she began, and I felt my cheeks blush.
"No way, Katie. My love life is completely Weasley free, I swear," I said with a smile.
Although I'm usually not too fond of talking about boys, I felt very comfortable around the two girls. They began gushing over the boys, and I laughed at the two girls and their crushes. But at heart, we were all tomboys, so after a while we changed the topic to Quidditch. I already knew that Angelina and Katie were both chasers for the Gryffindor house team, and so was Alicia Spinnet. But as Fred had told me earlier, it turns out that Alicia was on holiday with her parents in France, so there was a spot open on the team.
"You should try out!" said Katie encouragingly. I had already told them that I played chaser.
"But I'm not very good," I lied. Actually, I was very talented, but I didn't like all the attention being a Quidditch player brought. I preferred the blend in with the background, yet something told me that this year would be different. You couldn't just blend in while hanging around with the school's top pranksters.
They lightly argued with me, and I gave in and said.
"I've already had this conversation with Fred! You guys are relentless. Somehow he convinced me to try out, and now that you've talked to me as well, I guess there's no way out of it," I said with a laugh.
We chatted a bit more while unpacking, and before curfew I went up to the owlery to write a letter to my mother, as she had requested. I sat down on the window ledge, and took out the quill and parchment I had brought. I began my letter, the quill scratching at the parchment.
"Mum,
You told me to write as soon as I got to Hogwarts, so here it is. Everything is great, I've actually made a lot of new friends. I'm going to try out for the Quidditch team this year, those new friends convinced me to. How lucky is it that there is an opening for Chaser? O.W.L.'s are this year, I'm a bit nervous. Anyways, I hope you are well. I miss you. I promise I will write again soon.
Love,
-Brooke
I enticed my barn owl Yeva down from where she was perched and attached the letter to her leg. I gave her a loving pet on the back, and she flew out of the room and off into the distance.
I started heading back to the Gryffindor Tower, and once I was back up in my dormitory, Angelina and Katie were already preparing for bed. We went to bed early, anticipating the next day. As I began to drift to sleep, I realized what an interesting year this would be.
The next morning I lazily pulled myself out of bed and got ready for the first day. Dressed in my uniform, I headed down to the Gryffindor common room, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I plopped down onto a sofa, and after a few minutes Fred came down from the boy's dormitory and came over to me.
"Tired?" he asked.
"Just a little," I said jokingly. He ruffled my untidy brown hair and pulled me up.
"Come on, let's go get some breakfast. George and Lee are already down there. I think Angelina and Katie are too."
"Alright," I said, feeling a bit more excited. We walked through the corridors, and Fred showed me a short cut I had never known about before.
"You're amazing, you are," I said to him.
"All in a days work," he said, flashing me his lopsided grin. We entered the Great Hall and spotted the others at the end of the Gryffindor table. We sat down with them, but where not there long before Professor McGonagall began passing out schedules.
"Weasley's, there you are," said the professor, coming over the Fred and George. "Here are your schedules," she said, handing them a piece of parchment. "Here is yours, as well, Wright."
I opened the folded schedule, and glanced at my classes.
Student Name: Brooke-Lynne Wright Year: 5 House: Gryffindor
Schedule:
Breakfast: 6:00 AM-7:00 AM
7:00 AM Hour 1: Charms- Flitwick
8:00 AM Hour 2: Defense Against The Dark Arts- Moody
9:00 AM Hour 3: Herbology- Sprout
10:00 AM Hour 4: History of Magic- Binns
Lunch: 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
12:00 PM Hour 5: Arithmancy- Vector
1:00 PM Hour 6: Ancient Runes- Babbling
2:00 PM Hour 7: Transfiguration- McGonagall
3:00 PM Hour 8: Potions- Snape
Dinner: 6:00 PM-7:00 PM
Curfew: 5th Years 10:00 PM
Every Wednesday 12:00 AM: Astronomy- Sinistra
Every Thursday 4:00 PM: Care of Magical Creatures- Hagrid
I groaned, and Fred asked; "How bad is it?"
"Absolutely horrid," I replied, throwing the parchment at him. His smile turned to a grimace as he read on.
"I don't think you're taking enough classes, Wright," he said with a laugh.
"Oh, shut up. My mum wanted me to take all of them," I said.
"Look on the bright side! We have the Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creature, Transfiguration, Potions, and Astronomy together, plus Quidditch," Fred said in a mock-cheerful voice.
"Great," I muttered, and he laughed again. I didn't bother to tell him I hadn't even made the Quidditch team yet.
"Did you notice the new Defense teacher?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, ex-Auror," I replied. "He's up at the staff table now."
Sure enough, the bright, blue, unnatural eye of the professor was seen rolling around in it's socket, surveying the room. He was a tough, burly man who had various scars and chunks of skin missing from his face.
"Disgusting…" muttered Fred, watching the eye uneasily while taking a bite of toast.
After breakfast, we hurried off to Charms and were met with the usual 'this is O.W.L. year so you had better do well' speech and mountains of homework. Fred and George's brothers were right; teachers really were a lot tougher during O.W.L. year. Even mellow old Professor Sprout was cracking down. Professor Moody had been as weird, if not weirder, than expected, and Fred and I caught each other's glances throughout the class and tried not to laugh.
Throughout the day I went to my classes, feeling utterly bored and unfocused. My mind kept drifting to the twins, and I wondered how we could have not known each other for so long. I felt like we had been close friends for years, not just a few days.
During lunch everyone was complaining about the homework that had been assigned, and I couldn't help but laugh at how flustered everyone was on only the first day. Things would be getting ugly as the exams drew nearer.
After multiple uninteresting classes, I arrived at Transfiguration, which just so happened to be on of my favorite classes.
"Today we will be working on transfiguring feathers in to teacups," said the strong voice of Professor McGonagall. I wasn't particularly paying attention, but mindlessly twirling my wand around in my fingers, as I had been all day. A nasty habit of mine. I was thinking about the summer, and wasn't too thrilled to be back at school. At least it was the second to last class of the day, I was dying to get back to the Gryffindor common room. Teachers had already given me loads of homework to do.
Professor McGonagall was lecturing us on the lesson and a charmed piece of chalk was magically floating around the blackboard and writing instructions. I was drifting off into a day dream when her voice caught my attention.
"You will be working in groups of three, practicing the incantation plumavas."
"Yes, groups," I thought thankfully. Working with friends sure beat listening the professor drone on and on. I glanced over at where Fred and George were seated, and they gave me a smile.
"Don't move into groups just yet," she said, eyeing a boy who had began to look around the room at his friends just as I had. "I'll be assigning you your partners alphabetically." This was met with a groan from the class.
"Abbott, Hannah, Bell, Katherine, and Boot, Terry, you three, come over here," said the professor, while ushering the three students over to a corner of the room. She continued to call out names, I still was not paying her a bit of attention, but the sound of my name snapped me out of my daze.
"Weasley, Frederick, Weasley, George, and Wright, Brooke-Lynne over here." I grimaced as she said my name. I was named after some silly Muggle city in America where my mother grew up (she is Muggle-born). Not that I have anything against my mother, but my full name is horrid. I stood up and strode over to the corner where Professor McGonagall had assigned us to work.
"Brooke-Lynne," said one of the twins with a curt nod. I smirked at him.
"Fredrick," I replied, a slight tone of annoyance in my voice. A smile slowly spread over the ginger-haired boy's face.
"Our own parents can't even tell George and I apart. You've got a knack for it, you do," he exclaimed.
"Well, stop the chattering you two, lets get to work," said George. I was surprised. He and Fred usually weren't the ones to take lessons seriously. I knew it was too good to be true, because instead of working on transfiguring the feather in front of him, George pulled out a piece of parchment, and began to fiddle with it.
"What's that?" I asked, genuinely curious. The Weasley twins were known for their amazing jokeshop inventions.
"None of your business, Wright," George called back jokingly.
"Well, now that you say that," I said, and reached over and pulled the piece of parchment from his hands.
"What is it?" I questioned.
"Secrecy Parchment, a new idea of ours," replied Fred. I looked at the parchment, it seemed to be blank. But suddenly words were appearing.
"Brooke-Lynne Wright, you are uglier than a troll," it read. I laughed out loud.
"Sorry, it's a bit, er… rude," said Fred.
"Don't be sorry, it's brilliant, absolutely genius," I replied, smiling at him.
"Well, it may be brilliant, but there's still a few bugs," said George, taking the parchment from me. "You see, the Secrecy Parchment was designed so that the owner is the only one that can read what's written on it. If anyone else tries to read it, the paper insults them. But the problem is, relatives of the owners can still read the parchment. See, this one here is Fred's, but I can still read it, and so can Ginny and Ron."
"Have you used the uniek spell on it?" I asked.
"What's that?" asked Fred.
"It's a spell that recognizes individual uniqueness of a person. Here, put your hand in the middle," I said, taking Fred's bony hand in mine and placing it in the center of the parchment.
I took out my wand and muttered the incantation. The parchment turned as black as soot, but slowly began lightening, until it was the same, blank piece of parchment it had been before.
"Now, give it to George," I said. George took the parchment, and read aloud "George Weasley, you are duller than a house elf." We all suppressed laughter.
"Wow, we never thought of that, thanks Brooke," said Fred. I noticed he called me by my first name. He rarely did this, for as long as I had known him he's always called me "Wright".
"But if you think that's great, take a look at this," said Fred in a hushed whisper. He glanced around the room, and pulled another blank piece of parchment out of his school bag. He muttered something that sounded like "I solemnly swear I am up to no good", and the parchment began to come to life. I leaned in closer towards Fred, trying to get a better look, my wavy brown hair falling over my shoulder and shining with red highlights in the sun. My face was just an inch or two from his, and Fred blushed, turning the same scarlet color as his hair. I breathed in deeply. Fred smelled faintly of explosives, and a deep, woody, almost earthy scent I did not recognize. Focusing again on the parchment, I realized it was a map.
"It's Hogwarts," I said in awe. The castle was drawn out, and there were hundreds of black dots, and I saw each one was labeled with a name. Some were moving, some were stationary. "And all the people."
"Yep, the whole castle, everyone single person inside or on the grounds is shown on this map, plus secret passageways and all," said Fred proudly.
"So this map shows...?" I began. "Everyone," finished Fred. "Everyone?" I questioned. "Everyone," George stated. "Where they are," Fred said. "What they're doing," said George. "Every minute," said Fred. "Of everyday!" said George. I loved how they could finish each other's sentences.
"Amazing…" I whispered. "There's us," Fred said softly, pointing a finger to the cluster of three black dots in, what I recognized to be the back corner Transfiguration classroom.
"And there's McGonagall," I said, looking at the black dot labeled as her. It was moving… right towards us. George mumbled something under his breath, and stowed away the map. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to hide the Secrecy Parchment.
"Ah, hello there Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Wright," she said. "And what is this? I don't think there is any need for parchment to be out, you're not taking notes" she said, picking up the seemingly harmless piece of paper.
I glanced up, and saw the words spreading across the paper… "Minerva McGonagall, you're a git who gives out too much homework!" it spelled out. I tried desperately not to laugh. Surprisingly, instead of giving us all detention, a grin spread across her face, and she said:
"That's a right fine bit of magic there. Just save it for after classes, will you?"
"Yes Professor," we all said.
"Now, show me your plumavas spell. Ms. Wright, you first," said McGonagall sternly.
Even though I hadn't practiced at all when we were supposed to be doing group work, it seemed like an easy enough spell. I pointed my wand at the feather, focused on the incantation, and it instantly quivered and turned into a china tea cup.
"Excellent, excellent! You did the spell Nonverbally as well, very impressive Ms. Wright. Five points to Gryffindor!" exclaimed the professor. "Now let's see you try, George."
George wasn't as successful. He muttered plumavas and swished his wand. His feather began to shake violently, but did not turn into a cup.
"Hmm, keep working on that, George. Maybe if you had practiced…Now Fred, give it a go," said McGonagall. Fred concentrated on his feather, and it began to morph into the desired cup. The only problem was, the handle of his teacup was made of the feather. I had to laugh at this one.
"Almost there, Fred, keep trying," said McGonagall with a smile. She tapped his unsuccessfully transfigured cup, which changed back into a feather, and walked away, looking for other groups of students to assess.
"Nice one, Weasley," I said. I took my successfully transfigured tea cup and muttered a charm under my breath. It sprouted legs and began to march about the table. I began twirling my wand in my left hand again, and the cup walked around in circles.
"Show off," he joked, looking at my tea cup. "I'm not that smart," he added.
"Fred, you're one of the brightest people I know. You just don't, er, apply yourself in lessons, I guess that's the phrase I'm looking for," I said with a laugh.
Fred tried the transfiguration once again. He furrowed his brows in concentration, muttered plumuvas at his feather, and it turned into the desired form. He gave me a triumphant grin, which I returned enthusiastically.
After about five more minutes, class was dismissed, and I headed down to the dungeons for Potions. I hated Potions… The subject in general, but having class with the Slytherins made it even worse.
I strode into the room, and a damp, rancid smell filled my nose. The dungeons were dismally dark, lit solely by a few candles overhead. A drastic change from the Transfiguration classroom, which had several windows that flooded with space with sunlight. I was eager to leave already, but at least this was the last class of the day.
I took a seat near the back of the room, an empty chair beside me. I began twirling my wand again, out of pure boredom. A few minutes later, I saw the twins come in with their friend Lee Jordan. George and Lee took a seat at a table near mine, but since there were only two chairs per table, Fred was left to find his own place. Much to my dismay, (or was it delight?), he chose the empty seat beside me.
"Long time, no see, Weasley," I muttered. Yeah, I hadn't gone more than an hour all day without him grinning goofily at me.
"Hello to you too, Wright," he replied in a hushed whisper. "You better stop spinning your wand like that, you'll take someone's eye out." He smirked at me and laughed as I disregarded him and kept at it. I did stop eventually, though, when Snape, the potions master, had entered the room.
"Today we will be brewing the Oculus potion, which counteracts the Conjunctivitis Curse. Instructions are in your textbook, pages 91 through 95. This potion is due at the end of the hour. You may begin," Snape said in his dreary, monotone voice.
I took out my copy of Advanced Potion Making and began flipping through the pages. I glanced over at Fred, and I met his warm, brown gaze. With a blush, I turned back to my caldron and began brewing the potion, putting in the instructed amounts of stewed mandrake and crystallized water and stirring the concoction. After about half of the allotted time, I had finished my potion. I filled a small bottle with the shimmering orange liquid and corked it, ready for grading.
I quietly nudged Fred, and he looked up from his potion, which had definitely gone awry. Instead of the carrot red color the brew was supposed to be, his was a putrid shade of green.
He watched curiously as I deliberately ruined the remaining potion. I added a few sprigs of fluxweed, some beetle juice, four rose thorns, and gave the mix a few stirs, which then turned dark magenta. I already had my sample ready to be marked, so why not have a little fun with the leftovers? Fred looked at me questioningly, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Spike someone's pumpkin juice with this, and they'll be in the Hospital Wing for days," I whispered to him.
"Don't mind if I do," Fred said with a laugh, putting a bit of the new potion into another bottle. "Are you done?" he asked, eyeing my finished vial of orange liquid.
"Would I be doing this if I weren't?" I replied, pointing at the bottle of my new concoction. "Do you need any help?" I asked him, my eyes wandering over to his caldron full of green fluid.
"I'm thinking so," he said, laughing at his disaster of a potion.
"It's an easy fix," I said reassuringly. "You added too much wormwood, so we'll have to put in a moonstone to balance that out. Plus, you forgot the lionfish spine, so add that. Then stir clockwise five times and counterclockwise two."
Fred did as I said, and with the last stir, his potion became the desired shade of orange. He beamed at me, and said; "God, Wright, that's the second time today you've helped me out. Speaking of that, I never really properly thanked you for the guidance on the Secrecy Parchment, I think it's perfect now. George and I have been trying for weeks to fix that. Thanks for helping me with this, too," he said, with a gesture to his caldron. "And whose juice are we slipping this interesting potion into?" he questioned, holding up the bottle full of my make-shift elixir. "By the way, what does this even do?"
"We'll be giving it to Malfoy, who else? You'll just have to wait to see the side effects," I said.
"Tonight at supper we'll have a little laugh," Fred replied with a snicker. "I'll add this into the git's drink-"
"You mean we'll be adding it into his drink," I added.
"If you insist," he said teasingly. "So we'll give it to him-"
"Then sit back and enjoy the show," I finished.
"Exactly," said Fred. He looked at me admiringly. "It's about time a girl enjoyed a good prank. Meet me in the common room at six."
And with that, class was let out, and we turned in our corked vials of Oculus potion. As Fred and I walked back to the common room, my heart soared. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a mirror on my way back to the tower. My eyes were a sparkling shade of deep, ocean blue. My eyes were always blue when I was happy, and correspondingly green when I was angry, and gray when I was depressed, nervous, or uncomfortable. It was always something people found enchanting, and I really didn't know why my eyes were the way they were. But what I did know was that Fred and I were going to have some fun tonight, and poor old Draco Malfoy didn't see it coming…
Once we reached the Fat Lady, I murmured the password, "Banana Fritters", and climbed through the portrait hole. The coziness of the common room was inviting after a long first day, and despite the summer heat, a fire was crackling in the hearth. Fred and I immediately settled ourselves onto a plump sofa. I folded my long legs underneath me, and pulled out my Charms textbook, a roll of parchment, and a quill, and began my essay on the Aguamenti charm that was assigned that day. After only writing a few inches of the essay, I found myself loosing focus. I pulled out my wand and attempted the charm, and a burst of water spewed from the tip. Fred laughed as a first year slipped in the puddle it had produced on the floor, and I reluctantly cleaned up. After this, I had been finishing homework for about two hours, completing the Charms essay, studying for a Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, and making a sketch of a Snargaluff plant for Herbology, when I checked the time.
"Is it six o'clock already?" I wondered. I glanced up at the clock positioned above the fireplace, and sure enough, it was five minutes to.
"Ready?" asked Fred, who had also looked up from his homework.
"Yeah. Have you got the potion?" I questioned, while shoving my textbooks into my bag.
"Of course I do. Now lets go cause some mayhem," he said with a mischievous smile.
We walked out of the common room together and down to the Great Hall. As we entered, we saw Draco Malfoy and his usual gang seated at the Slytherin table.
'What's the plan?" I whispered to him.
"There is none, just go with it," he said. He grabbed my hand and led me towards Malfoy, shoving the vial of magenta potion into my palm.
"Hey there, Malfoy," Fred said in a mock-friendly voice.
"What do you want, Weasel?" Draco replied tartly. He stood up from his table, and his friends followed suit.
"Oh, nothing, Malfoy," he said in an innocent voice. "I just thought I'd tell you that your git of a father…"
I blocked out the rest of the conversation, thinking of how we were going to pull this off. Fred winked at me, and I took it that that was the signal for action. I crept around the scene and headed towards the other side of the table. Draco and his gang had their backs to me, and I discretely poured a bit of the potion into his evening pumpkin juice. Realizing that there was plenty more left over, I added a bit to all the abandoned drinks at the table. I smiled to myself, and walked back over to Fred.
"Do you know who my father is? How dare you talk about my father like that, you blood traitor. Get out of here, Weasel, and take your filthy mudblood friend with you," Malfoy growled, gesturing towards me. "Or I'll hex you both," he finished, advancing on Fred with his wand drawn, he and his friends cackling. Fred tensed, his fists were clenched at his sides, but said nothing.
"Come on Fred, it's not worth it," I said soothingly. I whispered quietly in his ear; "We'll see whose laughing in a few minutes." He seemed to relax a bit, and I grabbed his arm, led him away, walking quickly back towards the Gryffindor dinner table.
"I can't believe he said that about you. I should have punched him until he couldn't see straight," Fred snarled once we were a safe distance away.
"It's fine, Fred. He's going to be sorry once he takes a drink. But thanks, anyways," I mumbled. I looked down and realized I was still holding his arm. I quickly let go and looked away, embarrassed.
"So I'm assuming you got the potion in?" he asked.
"Are you kidding? I put some in Malfoy's drink, and all his little cronies', too," I replied with a smile. We were now at the table, and I took a seat with an excellent view of the Slytherins.
"Brilliant! But what does this do exactly? I'm curious," Fred asked. I didn't have a chance to answer him, as it seemed Draco and a few of his friends had already taken a sip of their altered drinks.
"Look," I said, pointing towards the other end of the hall.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's tongues were now swelling in size, they must of weighed a pound or two by now. I laughed, my eyes watering, as they tried to keep their heads up straight, their necks desperately trying to support their heads. Their tongues lolled out of their mouths, continuously growing, and started changing colors. Malfoy's tongue was changing from a deep purple to bright yellow, and Crabbe's was blue. The whole Gryffindor table had noticed the scene, and Fred and I were laughing so hard that tears were streaming down our faces.
Evidently Snape, the head Slytherin House, had noticed the scene too, and he hurried over to the trio. His face was contorted in rage, making the prank all the more sweeter. Snape rushed the three away from gawking eyes, out of the Great Hall, and presumably up to the Hospital Wing.
"That… was… great…" said Fred, gasping for breath. He was beaming at me.
"Not half bad," I said with a smile, the scene replaying in my head. All of a sudden, George rushed up to us.
"Was that you?" he asked Fred.
"Not me, her," Fred answered, pointing towards me.
"He helped, it wasn't all me," I interrupted.
"Don't be modest, it was all you! I was merely the distraction. She made the potion, put it in their drinks, everything. I just kept Malfoy talking. Wasn't it amazing?"
I felt my cheeks flush from all the compliments.
"I'm disappointed you didn't tell me about your little prank, Fred, but it was bloody amazing! You should hear what people are saying on the other end of the table. Well done, Brooke. I see us three going to be getting along very well this year," said George.
"I couldn't agree more," said Fred with a smile.
Fred and I replayed the scene all throughout dinner, remembering the look on Malfoy's face and how his tongue had turned violently purple. As supper came to a close, we started going back to the common room.
Once we were through the portrait hole, he bade me goodnight and hurried up to the boys dormitory, and I collapsed on a couch in the common room. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.
The next day, I was greeted by Fred, George, and a few other various Gryffindors at the breakfast table. My eyes had turned an ominous shade of grey, which greatly resembled cold stone, a clear sign that I was uncomfortable. I was too nervous about the Quidditch tryouts to eat anything this morning. I knew I was a decent player, but how I would do while everyone was watching I did not know.
"Toast?" asked a kind voice. I turned to look at the speaker, realizing it was Harry. The Harry Potter was offering me toast?
"Oh, no thank you," I said quietly. His emerald eyes looked at me, genuinely concerned.
"Fred told me you were trying out for chaser," he said after a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "Is that why you're nervous?"
"Um, yeah, I guess that's why I'm a bit off today. You're on the team, aren't you? Seeker?" I asked.
"Yep. But don't worry about the tryouts. I'm sure you'll do fine. There's not much competition, so I've heard. Good luck," he said. "If you eat a bit I think you'll feel better."
"Thanks," I said with a smile. "I think I'll take that toast now." I laughed and nibbled on the piece of warm, crunchy, buttered bread. After a few bites, my mood lightened a bit and I turned back to Fred and George.
"Malfoy's not at breakfast," Fred said with a sneer. I was thankful he did not bring up the subject of Quidditch. "Madame Pomfrey must not have fixed his tongue yet."
"Oh god, that was great last night," I commented.
"What are we planning next?" asked George. I felt flattered by him including me in their jokes.
"Maybe we should wait 'til after the first week of term for another prank? Wouldn't want to give poor McGonagall a heart attack, she already has to deal with the first years, plus the Triwizard Tournament," chipped in Lee.
"I suppose you're right," agreed George, rather sulkily. Frowns appeared on Fred and my face as well.
"Way to spoil all our fun, Lee," I joked.
"But when have I ever steered you guys wrong?" he joked.
"Well… there was that one time…" Fred began, and we all laughed as he retold various experiences where Lee had hit him in the head with a bludger and added the wrong ingredient to a potion, which ended in an explosion.
My mood lightened considerably, and for the rest of the day I was in reasonably good spirits. That was, until I got to dinner. After a particularly long and difficult essay on Acromantula venom for Snape, I was already feeling horrible, not to mention the looming Quidditch tryouts. I headed into the Great Hall, glancing down the Gryffindor table. I spotted Angelina and Katie and sat across from them.
"Hi," I said to them, trying to keep my voice steady. I unconsciously fiddled with sleeve of my sweater, distracting my attention from Quidditch momentarily.
"Ready for the tryouts?" asked Angelina.
"Um, yeah, I guess," I replied. I knew I was lying, and they knew it, too. I wore my heart on my sleeve, like most Gryffindors, but had the added disadvantage of my eyes. They were a murky gray, a give away that I was nervous.
"Come on, Brooke, I always got the feeling that you were this confident, determined person!" said Katie encouragingly.
"You're right, I'm being stupid," I said, shaking off my nerves.
"Don't worry, Oliver would be mental not to choose you," said Angelina. The feeling of sickness came back to me. If anyone was hard to impress, it was Oliver Wood. I began to think that if I vomited right there I might get out of this…
"There's my favorite Chaser!" said Fred enthusiastically, striding over to where we were sitting. I thought I heard Angelina mutter 'Thanks a lot…', but my mind went a bit fizzy as Fred snaked his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in closer to him.
"You'll do fine," he whispered in my ear. I noticed his breath smelled strongly like peppermint. "How're you feeling?" he asked. I looked into his deep brown eyes, and could honestly answer.
"Great," I said, regaining consciousness. "Thanks." Fred gave me another squeeze, and I felt considerably better. After leaving dinner, without eating much, I grabbed my old Cleansweep and George, Fred, Angelina, Katie, and I headed out to the pitch, and Harry caught up with us after a few minutes.
The weather was relatively warm, and there was a clear sky. As we came closer to the pitch, I saw the captain, Oliver Wood, and several other students that were trying out. As we stepped onto the field, Oliver called over to his teammates and, after Fred wished me good luck, they headed into the middle to discuss. I lined up with the other students who were trying out. There were several young kids, most of them looking to be second years. I felt strangely out of place, as my tall frame towered above everyone else's.
"All right everyone," shouted Oliver. He paced back and forth in front of us. "Give me your names," he said, stopping in front of a timid looking boy with pale hair.
"Na-Nathan Crabgrass, sec-second year," said the boy in a high pitched, stuttering voice. Oliver went down the line and came to the last person in line; me.
"And you?" he asked.
"Wright, 5th year," I replied in the strongest voice I could muster.
Oliver tried out each of us individually. I felt sorry for the boy named Nathan, he had failed miserably. He could barely stay upright on his broom, let alone catch a quaffle at the same time. A few others did poorly, yet some were decent. As the time passed, Oliver came to me.
"Well, let's see how you do, shall we?" he asked in a casual voice. "You've certainly got the build," he said. It was true. I was very tall and thin, which made me agile up in the air.
"Show me what you've got, then," said Wood, and I distinctly thought I heard a Weasley chuckling in the background. Way to make an innocent comment sound sick, Fred.
I mounted my old broomstick. Sure, it wasn't the best, but I would never get rid of it. It had been my father's. My father, who was now buried in the earth miles away. I physically shook my head to clear my thoughts, and as I pushed off from the ground, the familiar sensation of the wind whipping my hair and whistling in my ears greeted me.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yep," I called back down to him. He threw the quaffle up into the air, and I quickly and easily retrieved it. Oliver mounted his broom and leveled with me.
"Alright, now let's work on some passing," he instructed. I did as he said, expertly throwing the quaffle back and forth, not missing a beat. I saw Wood, and the rest of the team below smiling, and I thought I might have a chance. We worked on a few more drills. Oliver played Keeper and I attempted to score goals on him, and every single attempt was successful.
"Well done," he said as we touched back down. I walked over to the other player that had done the best out of the group. He was a short and stout boy with dark hair and eerily contrasting pale eyes, that seemed to be no older than third year. He smirked at me, and I resisted the temptation to wipe it off his face.
"Now, we scrimmage," said the captain matter-of-factly. I was put on a team with Katie, and Angelina and the boy (whose name was Ryan) were on the other. Fred and George had their beaters bats ready, Oliver was playing Keeper, and they would release the Snitch for Harry.
The quaffle was thrown into the air, and I easily caught it and started zooming down the pitch. I ducked a bludger and threw a perfect pass over to Katie, just far enough out of Angelina's grasp that she couldn't intercept. We raced down the pitch, traveling faster than I thought was possible. Katie tossed the quaffle to me, and I caught it without trouble. I saw Ryan coming up behind me, but I accelerated and went for the goal- aiming precisely where I knew Oliver wouldn't be able to reach.
I smiled as the red ball sailed through the hoop, and I heard Ryan swear loudly from above.
"Cheater!" he screeched. "She bewitched that quaffle, the filthy git." I merely hovered there for a moment, not sure of what to say. Before anyone could respond, Fred had sent a bludger Ryan's way, and I heard a distinct thunk as it hit its target.
"Nice one," I said to him.
"Why thank you," he said with a smile, but before we could talk anymore, Oliver was shouting at us. He had raced over to Ryan, bringing him down to the ground and trying to support the boy's heavy body, as it seemed he was borderline conscious.
"Tryouts are over, I've got to take this kid to the hospital wing," he shouted angrily, leading Ryan away. But I thought I saw a smirk spread across Oliver's face.
"Wait, am I on the team?" I called out to him.
"Do you even have to ask? Of course, I haven't seen a better chaser. Well done, Wright. Fred will tell you the details about practice schedule, I've got to go."
The rest of us came back down, and Fred playfully punched me on the shoulder.
"What do you mean 'you aren't very good'," he said, quoting me from the night before. "Bloody hell, that was amazing! Even Angelina and Katie aren't as good as you."
"I don't know about that, but thanks," I said, beaming. The Quidditch tryouts hadn't been so bad, after all.
The semester dragged on, and I became closer and closer to the twins, Lee, Katie, and Angelina. It's weird how you can get know someone so well over only a month. We were practically inseparable. Quidditch practices were going great, and my marks were excellent as well. Even Snape was pleased, or about as pleased as that man could get, with my potions. It was all too good to be true. Everything was wonderful as the leaves on the Whomping Willow turned golden and autumn came upon the castle.
Then, the day I had been nervously anticipating came; Gryffindor's opening match against Slytherin. I walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, wearing my Quidditch sweater, feeling rather pleased. I had proved myself, and I knew that I needn't fret over the Slytherins. As I had expected, my presence was met with shouts of 'boo' from the table of green, but I just blocked them out and took my seat. The words Oliver had spoken yesterday resonated in my mind.
"The Slytherins will mess with you. They'll try to get inside your head. Just ignore them."
Before long, Katie bounded up to me, full of energy and excitement. Angelina and George sat down as well, and Fred came shortly after. We started to talk about the upcoming match, and Harry, Ron, and Ginny joined in, and Hermione even piped in a few times. As George and Fred reminisced about their first Quidditch match, I was surprised to hear Ginny talk to me. We hadn't spoken much. She was nice enough, but she and Hermione seemed to whisper and laugh whenever I was around.
"Hey, Brooke," she began, flipping her Weasley-red hair off her shoulder.
"Oh, what's up, Ginny?" I asked.
"I just wanted to apologize," she said.
"For what?" I asked. She hadn't really ever done anything wrong.
"You know, just we never really got off to a good start, with Hermione and I giggling at your every word."
"Don't worry about it, it's fine. Teenage girls tend to do those things," I said with a laugh.
"But, yeah, sorry about that. I hope we can be friends." she said. "Congratulations on getting on the team, too."
"Sounds good, and thanks," I replied with a smile.
Feeling even better after my conversation with Ginny, we headed out to the Quidditch pitch. As I stepped outside my brown hair fluttered behind me in the breeze. It was a beautiful day, and the sun warmed my pale, freckled skin. The sky was a brilliant blue, as were my eyes, and I felt amazing surrounded by my friends. I was confident that the team would do well.
After we had changed into our uniforms, Oliver gave us the usual pre-game speech. His eyes had the usual maniac gleam as he talked about strategies and gave us motivational words.
"Just go out there and do your best. And your best had better get us the win. Luckily we have our secret weapon," Oliver said with a wink towards me. "Everyone ready? All right, let's go."
We stepped onto the pitch and a deafening roar greeted us. Oliver and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin captain, shook hands, and we all got into our positions. Madam Hooch released the snitch, bludgers, and last but not least, threw the quaffle into the air.
Following what we had practiced, Angelina went for the quaffle, and Katie and I covered the wings. She easily got there first, and we headed down the pitch, ready for a pass. Angelina quickly handed the quaffle off the Katie, and Katie to me. As the hoops came nearer, I threw the ball and then a loud ding resounded as it passed through Slytherin's keeper, Bletchley's, topmost ring.
"Ten points to Gryffindor!" yelled Lee from the commentators box.
Slytherin started out with the quaffle now, but I easily intercepted the pass and regained control. I passed to Katie, and then she passed back to me. I aimed for a goal, and watched Bletchley swear in frustration as Gryffindor earned another ten points.
The game went on, and both Katie, Angelina, and I scored multiple more times. Slytherin managed to get a few past us, but not much. As I scored my eighth goal of the game, Lee made yet another comment.
"Wright is on fire! Fredrick Fabian Weasley can't take his eyes of her, and neither can we! Blink and you'll miss a goal," shouted the dark-skinned Gryffindor boy. I turned around to see Fred's face and ears turning bright red. I smiled at him, and he only blushed deeper. I knew Lee would get it once the game was over.
All was going well. That was, until the Slytherins started playing rough. I knew they cheated, but I never knew to what extent. You only see so many things from the stands. As Gryffindor gained more of a lead, it got worse.
I was going down the pitch with the quaffle, looking for an open team mate, when all of a sudden I saw Montague tailing me. I tried to accelerate and avoid him, but there was no way I get out. He rammed into the side of me, causing me to loose control of my broom and fumble. Luckily I was able to retrieve the quaffle, but not without him purposely knocking into me again. Finally I saw Angelina and quickly passed to her. I heard Lee complaining about the foul below, but apparently Madame Hooch hadn't seen a thing. Everyone on the team was getting ruffed up, but I found myself getting the worst of it.
I avoided several bludgers (Crabbe had even tried to hit me over the head with his bat!) and out flew Slytherins as they deliberately tried to crash into me. After multiple fouls that were not called, Fred began getting furious. I heard him muttering to himself and saying something along the lines of 'It's a wonder Brooke's not dead.'
But not even the Slytherin's cheating could stop us, though. Our team seemed almost unbeatable. The score was 130-50, and the stands erupted in cheers as we scored more and more points.
"Potter's seen the snitch!" shouted Lee. Sure enough, I saw the raven-haired boy streaking down from the air. Malfoy, the Slytherin seeker, seemed to have noticed as well, and he was closely following Harry. I saw a glint of gold in the distance, and Harry reached out and grasped the snitch, which was met with a great roar from the crowd.
"And Potter of Gryffindor catches the snitch!" bellowed Lee. "Gryffindor wins, 280-60! Ouch, that's a blow to the Slytherins. A wonderful game played by the Gryffindors, especially their new chaser Brooke Wright!"
We touched down to the ground and the team began congratulating one another. Fred came running up to me.
"You were amazing!" he said, giving me a hug, his long arms wrapping around me.
"Thanks, you too," I replied, smiling.
"God, get a room you two," sneered an all too familiar voice. It was Malfoy, backed by his usual gang. Fred and I broke apart, and I laughed at the Slytherin boy with his white-blond, slicked back hair, remembering the prank we had played on him that left him in the Hospital Wing for three days.
"How's your tongue, Draco?" I asked in the sweetest voice possible. He didn't reply, but merely scowled at me.
"Obviously your team was carried by Wright," said Draco, gesturing to me.
"Oh, Malfoy, I know you're a bit slow, but let me tell you a little something; I play chaser. I didn't stop the goals. I didn't hit the bludgers. I didn't catch the snitch. Even if I wasn't on the team, Gryffindor would have still won," I said to him. I heard Fred laughing behind me, but Draco seemed to ignore both of us.
"It would be rather unfortunate if she were to have a bit of an accident, and was not able to play," he said thoughtfully.
"You do anything to her and you've got us to deal with," Fred snarled, and the rest of the team seemed to have overheard the conversation and nodded in agreement.
"Very well, just don't expect us to be so lenient next time," Draco scoffed, and then walked away.
"God, he annoys the hell out of me," I muttered. "Lenient? What was that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, don't worry about it," said Fred, starting to walk back to the castle. "Malfoy will always be a git. But look on the bright side, we won!" he said excitedly.
"Did you have any doubts?" I joked.
"Well, no, of course not! But it just feels so good to kick Slytherin's arse in the first match," he said. As we continued to walk, Lee caught up with us. "Speaking of kicking arse," began Fred. "Was that comment really necessary?"
"For your information, Frederick Fabian Weasley, I was merely reporting what I saw," said Lee with a snicker. "If you didn't stop watching her soon I thought you'd get hit by a bludger."
"Very funny Lee, that would be rather ironic, since after all, I am a beater. But what can I say, Brooke's amazing," joked Fred. "Plus, she's one of us now, I had to keep my eye on her. Just next time, don't report it to the whole school," said Fred in a fake-stern voice. We all laughed and came back into the castle, but I couldn't forget what Lee had said. Frederick Fabian Weasley couldn't take his eyes of me.
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