Breathless: Chapter Two

The Potter household always seemed to be full, today even more so. The Finnegan family had arrived the night before, taking refuge in two of the five guest rooms that sat in Potter Manor. Chelsey and Jessica shared one room together, while Rory and Quinn took another. Their room was decorated in traditional Gryffindor colours, Red and Gold, and if she were honest, Quinn hated it. It made her feel sick. She was used to the cold dark colours of Slytherin, Green and Silver. She didn't like the bright, almost warm feel that the red gave to the atmosphere.

However, much to Quinn's distaste, they were not the only guests the Potters had taken in for the last week of Summer. Rose and Hugo Weasley and their parents, Ron and Hermione, were already at the house when Quinn had arrived. Ron and Hermione had taken another guest room while Rose and Hugo bunked with Albus and Lily respectively.

It got even worse, because even more Wotters were arriving that day. Quinn was dreading it. Ever since the incident between Albus and herself the Wotter clan had most definitely treated her differently. The only one who didn't really seem to care was Rory's girlfriend, Lucy Weasley, daughter of the infamous 'pompous' Weasley, Percy. Lucy wasn't anything like her father, however, Quinn had always hated Percy, but Lucy was kind and warm-hearted, always looking out for others. She had some kind of ability to make anyone like her. Often looking shyly up at others through curtains of her light brown hair with her big, brown doe eyes, it was hard not to find her completely adorable. Quinn was glad Rory had someone like Lucy for a girlfriend and not some slut like her idiotic older sister.

Quinn wasn't even sure why the Wotters even cared that she was a Slytherin, it wasn't like every single one of them were Gryffindors. Lily and Hugo were Hufflepuffs for Merlin's sake! Quinn thought Hufflepuffs were much worse than Slytherins.

Quinn was currently laying in her room, it was six o'clock on Saturday morning and she hadn't yet slept. She was lying on her back with Belle cuddled into her stomach, Quinn's hands matted into her light grey fur. She found it strange that she used to be more comfortable in this house than her own. Now, everything seemed foreign, unwelcoming, scary. She didn't like it at all. And so, here she was, the early hours of the morning, and she was becoming restless. She tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable but nothing made sleep come. She sighed and peeled Belle off of her body, sitting up in bed.

She watched her brother for a moment, surveying the way he was laying, on his side, arms under his head, legs curled into his stomach. She watched him breathe, saw his eyes flutter, suggesting that the boy was dreaming.

Sighing again, she stood up, changed into some joggers and a top and swept from the room. Quietly, she crept through the large, vacant hallways until she reached the bathroom. It was a small bathroom only containing a toilet and sink, the bathroom with a bath in it being further down the hall. She stood in front of the mirror that hung above the sink, large and glamorous it almost mocked her. As she stared at herself, she looked at all of her features carefully. Her small button nose? Stupid. Her eyebrows? Far too bushy for her liking. Her eyes? Far too plain. Her mouth? Too big and her teeth didn't really seem to fit into it at all. Her Hair? Her hair disgusted her. A tangled mess of long brown curls that stuck out in every direction. They managed to stretch all the way down her back, but they were all tangled within each other. Although her hair wasn't as bad as Hermione Weasley's it was still out of control. It simply wouldn't do. And as for her weight? Well, thought Quinn as she pinched a bit of fat on her hip, let's just say that I will be starting a diet very soon.

Now, some may say that Quinn was being very critical of herself. Some may even go as far as to say that Quinn was actually fairly pretty, but she daren't believe them. See Quinn wanted to be in show business. She wanted to be a star, have her name in lights. And the casting crew? They will be on her like a pack of lions closing in on their prey. And she needed to be ready for that. She needed to be perfect because casting directors won't go for anything less.

Quinn took one last look into the mirror, flashing her million watt smile at herself. After being sure that she smiled perfectly, Quinn nodded to herself and left the bathroom.

Down the stairs she walked, wincing every time a step creaked, in case she were to wake someone up. She wandered quickly into the kitchen, manoeuvring around it easily, it had the same layout it had had when she was a kid. Pulling out a glass, she carefully placed it on the kitchen counter, careful not to make a single sound. She found the fridge instantly, pulling out some milk and pouring it into the glass, cautiously.

Slowly, she moved the cup to the kitchen table drinking it as she sat in total silence. Quinn didn't like silence. It reminded her that she was alone. Especially now. She may have friends like Narcissa, Scorpious, Theodore, Kazia and Becca, but they didn't understand. They were wizards for Merlin's sake! Wizards never understood her love of muggle theatre. Grandpa Weasley sort of understood. He loved muggle artefacts, but then again, for him it was just a hobby. Quinn was a fair witch, but she wasn't anything special. The theatre was all she had anyway.

Just as she was about to take another gulp of her milk, the kitchen light flipped on. Quinn jumped violently, whirling around to see Albus Severus Potter, in all his glory, smirking back at her. "What the bloody hell are you doing up!" He said.

Quinn just turned around, "It must've just been the wind," she said to 'herself' determined to keep from talking to the boy.

"Ah, so you're still doing that, I see." Albus spoke, his back turned away from Quinn as he fixed himself his own drink. He sat down opposite her, right in her line of view and she held his gaze pretending that he hadn't sat down at all. "You'll have to speak to me eventually," He whispered."

Quinn didn't react, she hadn't spent her summer at theatre school for nothing you know. She pretended he wasn't there. Drank her milk nonchalantly, as if he hadn't even spoken.

Albus shook his head at the girl with a grin, he leant forward, over the table, so that he was practically right in front of her face, "You wanna know what'll happen if you don't talk to me?" He paused dramatically knowing that Quinn's interest had peaked, even if she didn't show it. "Bad things. I don't take kindly to being ignored." Albus sounded almost sinister as he spoke. He smiled sweetly at the girl, he moved back again slowly, keeping eye contact with Quinn all the while, almost daring her to break it.

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence. The last time they were alone in this kitchen they'd been baking cakes, laughing and joking around. As Quinn could remember it, they'd ended up wearing more of the ingredients than they had put into the cakes. Quinn fought back the urge to smile at the memory as she sipped at her milk.

After what seemed like hours, Ginny walked into the kitchen and by the look on her face she wanted to walk right back out again when she saw the two teens at the table. Eyes still locked. Albus smirking, Quinn glaring. The tension was almost unbearable.

Quinn's eyes snapped to Ginny, "Good Morning Mrs Potter." She said with a curt nod, finally finishing the last of her milk. "I was thinking of going for a run, know any good places I can go?" She asked politely, washing her cup in the sink and putting it away. Quinn was still operating as though Albus wasn't around and she knew that Ginny had noticed that.

Ginny blinked, "Well, if you go down to the bottom of the garden there's a pathway through the woods? None of us have ever been in there but-"

"Great!" Quinn cut her off, faking a smile at the woman she used to consider a second mother. She put on her shoes, and tied back her hair with the hairband she kept on her wrist at all times and left as quickly as possible.

Ginny looked at her son once the girl was out of earshot, "What…was that?"

"She digs me," Albus smirked, and his mother just shook her head and laughed.

zzz

Quinn took off running as soon as the door shut behind her, she could see the path Ginny was talking about, so she made a beeline for it, wanting nothing but to get that horrid house out of her sight. She'd been running for a while now, the fitter she was, the easier she would find it to hit high notes and hold them. But she also couldn't pretend that she didn't need to lose a few pounds. She'd let herself go over the summer, eating quite a bit more than her usual diet, so now she had to work even harder to burn off the excess calories.

She got to the pathway in the woods and didn't even stop, she just carried on running. As she ran, she thought. She thought about many things that often ran through her mind but she hadn't really thought about until that moment. She thought about Scorpious and Narcissa, the two people she thought most unlikely to receive her friendship. Throughout the wizarding media, Narcissa and Scorpious and their parents had been depicted as something that only their grandfather ever really was. Deatheaters. The media often made out that Draco was a secret deatheater, still willing to do the Dark Lord's bidding, even after his death in the Second Wizard War. It wasn't true, of course, but most believed it. Anyone would believe anything written in the papers, in fact, Quinn's own father, Seamus, had been very sceptical about her friendship with the twins. Even now, he still had a problem with them because, well, the Malfoy family scared him. Quinn couldn't at all tell why, she found the family quite loving. Sometimes she liked them even more than her own family. Not that she'd tell them that, wouldn't want to boost their egos even further.

As Quinn rounded a corner on the trail, her mind wandered into dangerous territory. Albus' prank. She pondered for a long while on just what it could possibly be. A whoopee cushion? Too simple. It would probably include some kind of magical mess, knowing Albus. A semi-permanent change of colour to her skin, perhaps, or a lot of spells placed on her that would make almost incapable of doing anything! No. Albus had already done all that. This prank had to be spectacular, he knew that Quinn was anticipating this, he wouldn't be half hearted about it. But then again, would it have to be remarkable? After all, pranks were very unpredictable, and a prank of that magnitude would be extremely hard to control. Maybe he would just go simple. Simple, but effective.

Quinn shook her head, why was she even thinking about him anyway? He was not important. And she wasn't going to let his stupid prank get to her either. She refused to waste another single second thinking about either that boy or his imbecilic prank.

She ran for a while, not thinking of anything, concentrating hard on her running. Finally, she decided to stop and rest in a small clearing in the trees. She liked it out in the clearing. It was calm and peaceful, yet hectic and loud. Animals seemed to be gathered around. For some strange reason, not even paying Quinn any attention, just going about their own business. Quinn made a mental note in her head to bring her camera with her the next day, as she lay down on the grass. "Narcissa would just die seeing all of these animals,"Quinn said quietly to herself as she watched two squirrels chase each other across the small patch of land. As Quinn gazed up to the branches in the trees, she started humming the theme tune to Little Shop of Horrors, one of her favourite musicals.

She laid there for a long time, content, in her own little world. Humming to herself, watching the animals frolic around the field, lost in her thoughts, it didn't matter what she was doing. The most important thing, was that she was away from the Wotters, and the house that harboured so many memories for her.

It was beginning to get dark when Quinn finally decided she should probably leave. As she set off for her run back, she mentally prepared herself for what was going to greet her when she got back to Potter Manor. The rest of the Wotter family would be there by now, or, at least arriving, and Quinn just didn't think she could deal with the over the top happiness that came with the large family. The smiles she'd have to fake, and the equally fake greetings she'd get in return. She hated it at Potter Manor. She wished she could stay at the clearing forever but, sadly, that was never going to happen.

As she entered the Potter's kitchen, she was greeted by the sweet scent of Mrs Potter's homemade strawberry crumble, her family's secret recipe. In the kitchen itself, stood Ginny Potter, Lily Potter, Hermione Weasley and Grandma Molly Weasley. The three women smiled as Quinn entered the room whilst Lily stayed passive. "Lovely to see you again dear!" exclaimed Grandma Weasley, pulling Quinn in for a bone crushing hug.

Awkwardly, Quinn leant out of the hug, "Nice to see you too, mam." Quinn said politely, "Terribly sorry if I'm late back Mrs Potter." "Not at all Quinn, you've only missed Fleur, Bill, Louis, Dominique and Mum and Dad come in!"

Quinn's face brightened at the mention of Grandpa Weasley, "Arthur's here?" She asked with a wide smile.

"Yes dear, he's in the living room." Grandma Weasley smiled as Quinn rushed out of the room to greet her husband.

zzz

"Grandpa Weasley!" Quinn cried, pulling the aged man into a hug. Arthur Weasley was a kindly old man, obsessed with everything muggle, much like Quinn herself. Because of this, Quinn and Arthur had formed a special bond over the years before Albus and Quinn stopped talking. Quinn still visited Mr Weasley every so often, even though she cut all ties with the rest of Albus' family members. "It's so great to see you!" He was sat in an armchair in the corner of the Potters' rather spacious living room. It had to be big to fit in the enormous family. Albus, Chelsey, Jessica and Louis were sat on the floor in the middle of the room, playing a game of exploding snap. Harry, Ron, Bill and Rory filled up some of the other armchairs in the room, Rory watching the game of snap, and the adults having a seemingly important conversation. None of them paid Quinn any attention, they didn't even look up.

Mr Weasley blinked, a little startled at the sudden appearance of Quinn, "Ah, how nice! I trust you are doing well."

Quinn pulled away from Mr Weasley and balanced herself on the arm of his chair, "Of course, sir!" She said with a grin, "And yourself?"

"I am doing well, Quinnberly." Ah there it was. Quinn's full name. Yes, Quinnberly, Quinn was sure her parents were drunk when the named her 'Quinnberly Ann Finnegan' just wasn't that great. However, Arthur insisted on calling Quinn by her full name, he was rather fond of it, himself. "Have you got any new muggle things for me?" Arthur asked, getting straight to the part of the discussion the two really wanted to get to.

"Oh!" Quinn cried, she reached into her pocket, pulling out a flyer that had been there since her trip to London weeks ago. "There's a new muggle television being designed." The flyer was from Curry's and showed an image of a 3-D TV and some 3-D glasses. She handed it to him and he smiled. "It has a new function which allows Muggles to see regular TV in three dimensions!"

"Amazing!" Arthur cried in awe, "these Muggles!" He smiled, "They never seize to amaze me, Quinnberly!"

Someone snickered from behind Quinn and she turned to see James and Dominique standing behind her. Dominique was probably the source of the snicker as she sneered at Quinn. A sneer was something certainly not unusual to be found on the face of Dominique Weasley, she was a naturally bitter person, but she was also very loyal. She had dyed her naturally blonde hair dark red, the exact shade of the Gryffindor house colour, in an attempt to show her 'house spirit' It actually turned out that red suited her much better than blonde ever had. Her mother had not, however, been leased with the colouring, and so, Dominique became known somewhat as the 'rebel' of the family.

"Problem?" Quinn asked turning to Dominique and James with a sickly sweet smile.

Dominique smiled at James, instead of looking at Quinn, "I don't have a problem…do you, James?"

James smirked, "Certainly not, Dom, certainly not!"

Dominique snorted then spoke loudly, catching the attention of the other occupants of the room, "Well then, Quinnberly, I do not believe we have a problem." At the use of Quinn's full name, snickers could be heard all around the room(mostly from Albus).

"Good." Quinn spoke loudly, "would hate to see what would happen if you did. Then, after a sinister smirk, she turned back to Mr Weasley, "I've also found a new website for making holiday cards! It's called, ' '." Dominique huffed and she dragged James away to the group on the floor.

Arthur smiled, as if nothing had happened, "Sounds interesting…"

"I'll make you a card and you'll get it for Christmas," Quinn said softly with a small smile. Somehow the old man always made her happy, she had a rather large soft spot for the man.

"Hey guys!" spoke a voice from the door, and everyone looked up to see Teddy Lupin, Harry's godson, his heavily pregnant wife, Victoire Lupin-formerly Weasley- Bill's daughter, and their three-year-old son, Remus Lupin II. Remus was the one who had spoken, from his perch in his dad's arms.

There were shouts of "Teddy!" "Victoire!" and "Remus!" from various people around the room as the Wotters got up to greet the new arrivals.

"Oi!" Teddy yelled, "Gi's some space, you might hurt the baby!"

"Yeah," said Remus cheekily, "Gi's some space!"

Victoire mock glared at her son, "Remus!" she scolded, "Don't be cheeky!" Remus just stuck his tongue out at his mother.

"Don't forget about us!" Cried a voice from the door.

"Yeah, we just got here too!" Cried another voice.

In the doorway stood Lucy and Molly Weasley, their parents, Percy and Audrey behind them.

"Luce!" Rory hollered, getting up to greet his girlfriend with a smile.

Molly faked a pout, "Aw, I don't have anybody to do that to me!"

"It's all right Mols," said Louis with a wink, "S'not like you're a virgin anyway!"

Percy's eyes widened, and Molly turned to him quickly reassuring him, "He's kidding!" Before screeching, "LOUIS TIBERIUS WEASLEY! YOU ARE DEAD!"

Louis laughed maniacally and ran from the room, Molly sprinting after him. Quinn watched the scene with half a smile. She had forgotten what it had been like to be with these people. They were so crazy, but it was kind of, well, endearing or heart-warming.

Ginny, Hermione, Grandma Weasley and Lily came in from the kitchen and the whole family had suddenly become much more bubblier. "Where's George?" Ginny complained. "He was supposed to be here a half hour ago!"

Hermione shook her head, "I swear he and Ang, they're always late!"

"Oi! I resent that!" said George with a smirk as he walked in, hand in hand with his wife, Angelina. "It's Roxanne," he complained, "Always takes too long getting ready!"

"Whatever." Said Roxanne as she walked in her big brother, Fred walking in after her.

"Don't be cheeky!" reprimanded George with a wink, and Roxanne rolled her eyes.

Quinn just watched on, no emotion on her face, because she couldn't help but feel like she'd been missing out on this for six years.