Lisanna winced as her teammates carefully laid her down on a bed in the hospital wing. Damn that Bludger! She had almost scored! She was going to murder that Dragneel for sending that piece of hell her way. Screw being childhood friends, this time he was going to get it. Maybe she should sick Mira on him. Her older sister was a real devil in disguise. Anyway, ever since the two of them had been sent into different houses, they had turned more into rivals. But luckily Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were on good enough terms that their friendship still sort of worked out, in its own crazy way. But that didn´t mean she was going to forgive him anytime soon! Hufflepuff could have won this!
"Lissy please be alright! If anything happened to you…I…I couldn´t-"
"I´ll be fine Elf. Madam Porlyusica will heal me up real quick, it´s just a broken arm after all." Lisanna tried to sooth her older brother. He was really big and muscular for a sixth year but such a crybaby.
"Oh no, Lisanna! What happened?" Mirajane came rushing in, her black and yellow robes in unusual disarray.
"Natsu hit me with a Bludger. But don´t worry it´s nothing serious! By the way, I think I saw him and Lucy sneak off while they were carrying me here!" With a dangerous glint in her eye Mira turned without another word and left, probably in search of Natsu and his best friend. Grinning Lisanna watched her go. Revenge is sweet indeed! Mirajane Strauss was known and feared to be the most devilish matchmaker in all of Hogwarts.
"OH MY GOD, I AM SO SORRY LIS!" The doors burst open and Natsu Dragneel, still in his scarlet Quidditch robes ran in.
"Oh there´s no need", Lisanna said with a sweet smile, that looked exactly like Mira's. "You might wanna go look for Lucy though."
Horrified Natsu backed slowly away. "Why, what have you done to Luce?"
"Me? Nothing! What could I have done with my arm being the way it is? I only asked Mira-"
"YOU DIDN´T! I´M COMING LUCE!"
"Does he even realize that he is going to make the whole situation a lot worse?" asked Jet, another Hufflepuff chaser.
"ENOUGH OF THIS CHATTER! THIS IS THE HOSPITAL WING! OUT! EVERYONE OUT! RIGHT NOW! I HATE HUMANS!"
Ignoring the terrified students that were getting away as quick as possible, the old Witch turned to Lisanna.
"As for you, I have seen you here one time to many. Stupid brats, always playing that neck-breaking sport! I refuse to mend your bone with magic. I will set it straight, put it in a cast and give you some painkiller. Let the Muggle way of healing be a lesson to you!" And then she sauntered off, grumbling about reckless behavior.
Lisanna couldn´t believe it. She was going to be stuck in the hospital wing for god knows how long and Porlyusica never allowed visitors! She would be so lonely!
"So, you are stuck here too, huh? At least I´m not alone with that old bat anymore."
Shocked, Lisanna looked around. On a bed in the corner was a boy who was almost completely covered in bandages. Strangely there was a bunch of Tiki-dolls floating around him repeating 'old bat' again and again.
"Oh, sorry I didn´t notice you there. I am Lisanna, a Hufflepuff chaser and fifth year. Nice to meet you."
"Bickslow. Ravenclaw seventh year. Likewise."
"Um, what happened to you? Sorry to say this but it looks pretty bad…and what´s with those dolls?"
"Eh it´s not that bad. And my babies are kinda the reason I´m stuck here. You know, I tried to get them to shoot lasers or something and while I was trying to enchant the mechanism I built…well, the whole thing blew up on me. Happens frequently, that´s why the hag refuses to heal me with magic nowadays."
"Why would you want them to shoot lasers?" She tried to get a closer look at him. At what was visible of him at least. One of his eyes was covered by the bandages but the other glinted a curious red and there seemed to be a tattoo on his face. Some kind of stickfigure maybe? And wait a second! Was there another one on his TONGUE?
"Cuz it´s awesome! Besides, I couldn´t be Laxus´ bodyguard if I didn´t have the battlepower!"
"Laxus Dreyar? What does HE need a bodyguard for?" Laxus was a seventh year and the grandson of headmaster Makarov. He always got extremely good grades and was as muscly as her brother. Only that he could probably use those muscles a lot better. Really, that guy was the last person in the world that needed some sort of protection.
"Oh, you know Laxus?"
"Who doesn´t? But most things I know because one of my friends is crushing on him."
"Hope you´re not talking about yourself there, cuz Lax has the hots for that big-boobed Gryffindor fifth year, Lucy something. Also, I think you´re kinda too cute for him."
Blushing lightly Lisanna decided to ignore his try at flirting. He seemed like the type of guy to do that as some sort of joke.
"Actually, Lucy is that friend I was talking about." And she also hadn´t meant to tell her friends secret to a complete stranger. She felt bad enough already about sicking Mira on the poor girl! It wasn´t her fault that Natsu was such an idiot…
"No shit, really? Man, that guy is gonna flip if I tell him that! He´ll be so happy! Hey, what do ya think about partnering up? Let´s play Cupid!"
And for some reason she couldn´t understand herself Lisanna found herself agreeing. The next week was spent making plans on how to get their friends together and she found that Bickslow was actually really good company. He was completely off his rocker and would go on about his 'babies' for hours but he was also very funny and always managed to make her laugh. Even though his flirting was getting harder and harder to ignore.
"Come on, Bixy!" Lisanna laughed while dragging the older boy through the busy streets of Hogsmead. Bickslow was cackling like a maniac, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and drawing strange looks from the other students.
"Did you see his face? He is totally hooked!" He shouted gleefully.
"That was the best idea EVER! Elf and Evergreen, priceless. And to think it worked too! Who would have thought my big bro would fall for a Slytherin."
"And that they would go to that creepy ass lovers' café of all places!"
"Wow, never thought there was someone else who thought of that place as creepy. I am not alone in this world after all!"
"Oh, you are making me so happy thinking that! But nevertheless, for you I would endure all the pink cushions and dainty teacups in the world, if you asked for it!" She just laughed at that. He was so dramatic!
Ever since their meeting in the hospital wing Bickslow and Lisanna had spent most of their time together, playing pranks on their friends and trying to get big bad Laxus and lucky Lucy to admit their feelings for each other. Their newest victims were Elfman and Evergreen, Bickslows cousin, after his glorious idea to annoy the hell out of both of them by setting them up. The two of them were polar opposites so everyone was extremely surprised when the burly Hufflepuff and the haughty Slytherin actually started sneaking around with each other. Lisanna and Bickslow were less successful with Laxus and Lucy though. Mostly because the girl had some serious problems with her self-esteem and Laxus was just plain awkward, even if him being aware of Lucy´s feelings helped him a little. The fact that Lisanna had set her matchmaking devil of a sister to believe Lucy and Natsu should be a thing did not help much either. But there was still hope for them in the future.
Bickslows and Lisannas friendship was a surprise to everyone. No one really believed it until they actually saw it, since he was borderline insane and she was just sweet and innocent. Well, no one thought that about her anymore and she preferred it that way. But she couldn´t help but dislike the fact that they were just 'friends'. He had never really stopped his constant flirting and it really got to her. She never showed that though, because she knew that that was just another part of his crazy personality. But no matter how hard she tried to fight it, she fell in love with him anyway. He was such a funloving guy, he managed to bring her crazy and wild side to the surface and kept it there. She even thought it was cute that he had flat out refused to get his tattoos removed, even if that had brought him the worst detention ever and made him responsible for Ravenclaws spectacular loss in the run for the house cup that year. Losing two hundred points had not exactly raised his popularity and he still only had two friends in his own house, namely Laxus and a very bookish boy named Freed who seemed to think of the former as some sort of god.
"So where do you want to go now?" Bickslow asked still snickering slightly once they had stopped running.
"What about the Three Broomsticks? I haven´t had butterbeer in ages!"
"It´s a date." He winked at her with a lopsided smile that made Lisannas breath hitch.
"Yeah right. As if anyone would want to go out with you, freak." A boy with light blonde hair and a Ravenclaw uniform sneered.
"What do you want Eucliffe?" The humor in Bickslows eyes had disappeared completely. It confused Lisanna, that had never happened before, even if he got taunted by his housemates sometimes.
"From you? Nothing, I have no interest in Dreyars lapdog." The boy turned to Lisanna. "Hey there, cutie. I am the great Sting Eucliffe, as you probably already know. I am quite popular you know? But I am willing to take you on that 'date' instead of…that." He leered. It was quite obvious that he was confident that she would immediately flock to him.
"How did someone as delusional as you get sorted into Ravenclaw? I always thought intelligence was a requirement for that." Both of the boys stared at her. They had never seen a Hufflepuff lash out like that. "Also, YOU are supposed to be popular? Don´t make me laugh, that just now was just sad. Really sad."
"Lis-" Bickslow was cut off immediately.
"And what do you think you know about me? I would pick Bix over every other guy anytime!" Lisanna ranted. She was so angry, she did not even realize what she had just said. Sting had begun backing away slightly, he had not expected this. The girl was just a cute HUFFLEPUFF, and they never seemed to get angry at anything!
"I simply hate people like you, who always have to belittle others to make themselves feel less pathetic! Can´t you find another way to compensate for your tiny dick?"
Sting turned and fled. Never in his life would he piss off another Hufflepuff. Bickslow on the other hand was beside himself. He would never have thought that Lisanna could actually be mean to someone, no matter how much of an asshole the other was. He almost burst out laughing at her muttered "Never hurt a Hufflefriend". That was something he was sure Eucliffe never forget.
"Wow…that was extremely impressive! I am so proud of you. By the way," He turned serious "did you mean what you said? About choosing me over every other guy?"
Lisanna blushed furiously. She had not meant to say that at all. Damn that Sting for making her lose control over her mouth like that! Now he knew what a naïve little girl she was, unable to cope with his teasing without falling in love like a fool. He would probably be uncomfortable with her friendship now.
"Because I sure mean it. Every damn time. I know you think I just joke around and granted, I do have troubles staying serious. But I…I really…damn, I suck at this." He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated.
"I meant it. I really like y-" Before Lisanna could actually finish her confession he had swept her off her feet, shutting her up with a kiss. And she really couldn´t complain about that.