2 – Swords Clashed

The school break was a much welcomed distraction from my row with Oliver Wood and my parting ways with the entire quidditch ordeal. My parents had planned out a wonderful vacation to the United States, where we visited my grandparents in Florida. My whole family was made up of non-magical folk so I was well accustomed to their habits, but I still posted my mail by owl instead of using muggle means of transport.

Throughout my rather uneventful but pleasant vacation, which I spent reading and sketching (hobbies I hardly had time to pursue in Hogwarts, thanks to homework and quidditch) most of the time, I exchanged several letters with my friends.

The most recent ones I had received were from my Gryffindor roommates and a Ravenclaw acquaintance of mine. Since our return to Hogwarts was only a week away the letters had two main topics: the first being my birthday, the second being the very thing I had come close to forgetting.

Dear Rina,

First of all: Happy birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day, lots of presents and fun in the sun in Florida. Dana and I are meeting up on Thursday in Diagon Alley and we were hoping you could make it to (there will be presents). I'm looking forward to it!

Don't fret about the new school year. I know it hurt you to quit quidditch and Oliver, of course, wasn't very sensible about it, but look at the bright side: we'll have much more time to spend together.

My holidays were uneventful here in London, except that my little brother has proven he's magical. He accidently blew up his broccoli at the dinner table. My mum had to scrub the ceiling clean for hours.

Hope to be seeing you soon.

With love, Leila

Leila Molten was a sweet girl with blonde curls that went to the middle of her back, dark grey eyes and a slender figure. I couldn't help but smile at her words. She was very lovable indeed and always knew what to say to make people feel better.

Dear Rin,

Congratulations on turning 15! Definitely sounds more mature than fourteen. Leila probably already filled you in on our meeting the second I suggested it. She's quite excited and over-the-top as usual. Still, we haven't been out and about together for ages.

Romania was very interesting. We saw some dragons that you would have enjoyed as well. I'll tell you more about the encounters when we see each other.

By the way, I said it like a gazillion times on the train ride to London but: Wood is a git.

Don't mope around, you'll be fine.

Miss you, Dana

A laugh escaped my lips as I read the cool brunette's harsh words and her clumsy attempt at cheering me up. It worked anyway. We were quite similar in character and appearances. Her hair was longer than mine, about shoulder length, her eyes an exquisite dark blue hue and her body a bit more on the curvy side.

I looked forward to our meeting in three days and smiled at the fact that I would finally be able to spend more time with my friends the next year around.

Dear Katrina,

Happy 15th birthday and I hope you enjoy the small gift I sent you. I hope that Artemis didn't lose it on the way.

I asked George about the team situation when I was at the Burrow to meet up with Percy.

He says. "We all love you and Oliver can go to hell, if he doesn't come around." His wording, not mine of course. I think you were quite considerate to quit before the break. You could have just left the team after the term started, which would have left Oliver Wood much more at loss than he is now. It will all work out.

Congratulations on your decision to become a healer. You're perfect for the job and I'll help you study if you want to, now that you have time.

Sincerely,

Penny

Penelope Clearwater had helped me with most of my last minute studying in the last year and had become a very reliable friend of mine. I smiled as I picked up the sugar quill attached to the letter.

I had made use of her yet to be defined relationship to Percy to find out what the team was thinking about my actions since a good portion of it lived in the Burrow. Her message relieved me a bit and she was right: I had been trying to be considerate by quitting before the break. I could have tried studying harder whilst still being on the team, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't be enough and I would soon collapse from exhaustion so I left beforehand. Searching for a decent replacement mid-term would have been horrible for Wood.

Not that he noticed my efforts. That thought was maddening and depressing at the same time. I tried to push it from my mind but I didn't quite manage and found myself pondering the Gryffindor captain's reaction again throughout the day.


After an exhausting day spent flying back to the United Kingdom, I spent the next two days unpacking and packing my bags and fighting off my jetlag in our flat in London.

I woke up on Thursday and got dressed in simple jeans, a black top and a dark green cardigan to meet my friends in Diagon Alley to get our equipment for the next school year.

After saying goodbye to my parents, I walked a couple of blocks down to the Leaky Cauldron, where I would be meeting Dana and Leila. The musky smell of the pub was familiar to my senses and I felt relieved to find that some things always seemed to stay the same.

As usual, I was the first to arrive, fifteen minutes prior the time we had agreed on. So yeah, I was a bit obsessive with punctuality, but anything else would be disrespectful towards the person you are meeting. While I was waiting, I ordered a bottle of butterbeer and observed the people around me.

Over in a corner was an illegal betting agency that was supposed to be secret. But like with so many things everyone knew and nobody cared. If it wasn't here, it would be elsewhere. At the bar, there were the usual drunkards downing one firewhiskey after the other. The other tables were occupied by other magic folk that was enjoying a hot meal and, much like myself, a nice butterbeer to go with it. Overall, the Leaky Cauldron was a shabby place, but it had its charm nonetheless.

Just as I was pondering that this was also the last place any person would suspect to be the border between the non-magical and magical world, Dana entered through the door and spotted me at the offside table I was sitting.

She walked over briskly and pulled me into a hug.

"It's great seeing you. How was Florida?" She asked with a reserved, but lovely smile. A smile I had missed over the summer.

"Well, let's just say the bottom line is that Florida at least has a real summer, other than that it was quite uneventful, but enjoyable."

"Touché. We had two days without rain here, it was pure bliss. But Romania was almost too hot for me. Yet the dragons were extraordinary. I'm telling you, Rin, you would absolutely love it. You've never seen anything like it. Dragons in real life are magnificent." The awe in her eyes made me laugh heartily.

"Wow, Dana, you sure are stoked." She blushed and shook her head as if to clear her mind. "No, no. It's nice, no need to be abashed. I have always wanted to see dragons. You're so lucky you've already experienced something so wonderful."

"It was." She said with a small smile, pointing to my bottle with a questioning look. I just nodded and she took a swig. "Hn – there she is, five minutes late as usually." Dana placed the bottle back on the table. I chugged the last sip and hugged Leila after Dana had done so.

"Sorry, Rin, know you hate people being late." She said, flustered.

I waved my hand dismissively. "It's okay when it's you. I'm used to it." I grinned lopsidedly knowing this was the truth.

"Okay. So let's go!" Leila whooped enthusiastically and threw her arms around our shoulders. I could see Dana frown, though she was fighting a smile just like me. Leila would never change.

As we walked down Diagon Alley, I was able to laugh without a care in the world, thanks to the wonderful girls at my side. I hadn't done that for a while. But just as I thought things were going as well as they possibly could, I caught sight of a person. The guy was marveling at the new Nimbus 2000 in the display, but as soon as our gaze met he turned and walked into the direction we came from, anger seeping from his being.

Oliver Wood wasn't going to be allowing me to live this down any time soon.