Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. Any characters, items, places, etc. that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. Everything else is a figment of my own whacky imagination.
Come What May: A Story of Realizing the Inevitable
Chapter Four: Brethren, of a Sort
Holly and Rosaline walked through the oaken front doors of Hogwarts and into the courtyard. The trees shone emerald in the bright light of the September afternoon. Birds flitted about the castle walls, chirping and chattering and the fountain in the center of the court bubbled loudly. The sun glinted off the crystalline lake in the distance. Holly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"It's so open here. So refreshing."
Rosaline nodded, "The school grounds are one of my favorite places. I spend as much time out here as possible."
As the girls walked Rosaline gazed longingly at the Quidditch stadium.
"Have you ever played before?" She asked Holly, nodding to the playing field.
"A little," Holly replied, "but never for my school."
Rosaline smiled brightly, "Really? We'll have to play sometime. You should come down to one of our practices when they start. We'll see what kind of skills you've got."
Holly had to keep a quick pace to stay even with the longer-legged Rosaline. They were almost to the edge of the courtyard when they heard someone calling them.
"Rosie! Holly! Wait up!"
They stopped and turned around to see James Potter jogging after them. When he caught up he doubled over, out of breath, "Thanks…Are you…going…to Care of…Magical…Creatures?"
"Have you gotten out of shape, Potter? That's no good for a Quidditch captain." Rosaline teased James who smiled at her through his wheezing.
"I supposed I could…use a little…conditioning."
The small group resumed their walk, heading for the edge of the forest on the border of the school grounds. A number of students from other Houses were also heading the same way. A striking young Slytherin boy pushed past them and Holly narrowed her eyes curiously. He was vaguely familiar somehow, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She shrugged and resumed gazing about at her surroundings.
The Hogwarts grounds were truly beautiful. The hilly landscape was lush and green, speckled here and there with various shrubs and trees. A line of hedges were trimmed into topiary shaped like dragons, unicorns and other magical creatures. On a flat area of grass she spotted a large group of first years gathering for their first flying lesson.
She smiled to herself as she recalled her father teaching her to fly. Her first broom ride had been on an ancient CleanSweep 2 and she had barely been able to hold on. They had zoomed about the British countryside of Fittleworth in the giant yard of her first home. Her father had laughed when she cheered after touching back down, then hugged her and told her how proud he was of her. She suddenly felt a pang of guilt remembering she hadn't written her parents and told them about her Sorting. Holly made a mental note to write the letter tonight when she returned to her dorm.
When she turned her attention back to her friends; they were still discussing Quidditch.
"Sirius may miss a practice or two if we start early. He's got four detentions to serve with McGonagall." James was saying.
"You're kidding! That little tiff got him four detentions? I've seen worse fights between third years!"
James grinned lopsidedly, "He's pretty sore about it. I don't think Snape's getting off any easier either. They'll probably have to serve the detentions together."
"A fate worse than death," Rosaline rolled her eyes. "If he wants to play this year he's going to have to reign in his temper. He can't just go about picking fights whenever he pleases. It doesn't reflect well on us."
"You're not going to kick him off the team, are you?" Holly interjected.
Rosaline smiled, "Why? You interested in the spot?"
"What?" James raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you know?" The taller girl linked arms with Holly, "Holly here plays Quidditch."
"Is that so? We'll have to get a match going sometime!" James' eyes danced.
The small troupe entered a grove of trees on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. In the center was a clearing with benches and a podium. A number of students were already sitting so Holly and Rosaline seated themselves at the nearest bench.
"Looks like Alvin Hamilton over there," James said, looking at a Hufflepuff seventh year, "Think I'll go have a word with him about practices. Pardon me, ladies." He set his schoolbag on the mulch that covered ground and swept off across the clearing.
"That boy's mind has two settings," Rosaline muttered, "Quidditch and Lily."
Holly grinned slightly while surveying the other students. She again spotted the handsome Slytherin boy and watched him. His pitch-colored hair was neatly kempt and his robes spotless and orderly. He sat amongst some older members of his house--he appeared to be a year or two younger than Holly--and was looking around rather self-importantly. He held himself in a dignified manner and when he reached up to brush his hair from his face Holly noticed a gleaming silver ring on his hand.
"Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures!"
Holly's attention snapped immediately to the podium where a burly man stood, beaming. He had blond hair and a short beard that seemed to have a bit of food trapped in it from his lunch. He rubbed his hands together as he looked over the crowd of students.
"My name is Professor Farron. It's good to see a lot of new faces here this year. Tell me, is our new exchange student in this class?"
Timidly, Holly raised her hand. Rosaline grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her to her feet. All eyes turned to her and the teacher smiled. She felt her cheeks burning and shot Rosaline a dirty look. The other girl was struggling to hold her mirth inside.
Farron gave Holly a friendly smile, "A very special welcome to you, lassie."
"Thank you, professor." She fell back onto her seat and pinched Rosaline's arm.
"Alright, no sense in wasting our time. We've got a lot to cover this year. Today we're going to start with Jarveys. Who can tell me what a Jarvey's special talent is? Anyone?"
A Slytherin sixth year raised her hand and was immediately called on, "The Jarvey is an obnoxious ground dwelling rodent with the ability to talk. It is often insulting when it chooses to speak."
Farron nodded approvingly, "Good job, Ms. McCullen, and it's good to see you again this year. Who here has ever seen a Jarvey?"
A spattering of hands.
"Well you go ahead and get your textbooks out and find chapter nine and I'll see if I can find our specimen."
Farron trotted off as the students thumbed through their books. Holly held the heavy, leather-bound text on her lap as she watched the Slytherin boy again. She nudged Rosaline with her elbow.
"Who is that? He looks really familiar."
Rosaline followed Holly's gaze across the clearing, her eyes landing on the young Slytherin.
"Oh…that's Regulus."
"Regulus? Regulus who?"
"Black."
"Black?!" Holly exclaimed loudly. She clapped a hand over her mouth and looked around. No one had paid her any notice. "Is he related to--"
"Sirius? Yeah, they're brothers."
"Why didn't anyone tell me he had a brother?"
"You didn't ask."
Holly narrowed her eyes at Rosaline. She smiled slightly.
"Well you didn't! Besides, what does it matter if he's got a brother or not? It's not like you really know him yet anyways. No one's keeping secrets from you, Holls."
Holly watched Regulus intently. He didn't smile or joke with his companions. Instead, he distracted himself with keeping a haughty expression and glaring daggers at anyone who held his gaze for more than a moment.
"He looks enough like his brother…but he doesn't seem to act much like him." She said quietly.
Rosaline shook her head, skimming over the pages of her book, "They're complete opposites."
"How so?"
"Well, for starters, one is in Gryffindor and the other is in Slytherin. I don't know how you get much more opposite than that," Rosaline said without looking up. "They're from one of the oldest Wizarding families in Europe so Slytherin was to be expected. It was when Sirius was Sorted into Gryffindor the family got a real surprise. They weren't particularly excited about it either."
"Rosaline," James said suddenly from behind them. His face was set and his eyes looked a bit sad. "That's enough."
Rosaline looked up and pressed her lips together, "Sorry…"
"What? What's wrong?" Holly looked back and forth between her friends.
James shook his head as he seated himself next to Holly, "It doesn't need to be discussed."
"What are you keeping from me?" Holly's voice was concerned.
James' face was hard, "Sirius' family life is of no concern to you."
Holly opened her mouth but could find no words for James. She looked to Rosaline who shook her head. No help there. Professor Farron had reentered the clearing bearing a heavy looking cage with a sheet draped over it.
"Let me out you great buffoon!" a screeching voice came from under the sheet.
Farron laughed heartily as only a large man could do. He set the cage down and grabbed the corner of the sheet, "Are we all ready now?" He whipped the sheet from the cage, exposing a skinny, furry creature about the size of a small dog. It was dark colored with alternating patches of black and brown. It scurried around inside its enclosure, muttering to itself. Its beady amber eyes darted around.
"Ugly! Stupid! Foolish! Fat!"
Students giggled which seemed to fuel the rodent's frenzy.
"Hideous creatures. Failures!"
Farron smiled broadly, "Who thinks they're fast enough to catch a rogue Jarvey? I've got two brooms here, how about we see who can get him first. Twenty-five House points to the winner."
"Ooh!" James jumped to his feet, "I can catch it, professor!"
"Then come on up, boy. Any other takers?" He handed James a broom.
No one volunteered.
"Alright then, Mr. Potter, I'm going to release the creature and you'll--"
"Wait."
Everyone turned their attention to the far right side of the clearing. The dark haired Slytherin was on his feet.
"I'll catch the beast before Potter. I usually get the Snitch faster than he does anyways." The boy sneered. James narrowed his eyes as Regulus strode forward and accepted the broom Farron handed him. He eyed it with disdain before turning his attention to James. They exchanged icy stares.
Rosaline tensed beside Holly. She leaned sideways, not taking her eyes off the boys who were now mounting their brooms, "This is going to get ugly."
"Why?" Holly asked.
"James is going in angry. His head isn't clear, he's going to make mistakes."
"Why is he angry?"
Rosaline set her jaw, "We nearly lost the House Cup to Slytherin last year when Regulus beat James to the Snitch. Luckily, while they were in their dive for it, Jonathan and I were both able to score. Regulus got hold of it just after I scored. We barely pulled ahead by ten points."
"If you won then why is he still angry?" Holly asked, perplexed.
"In case you haven't noticed, Quidditch is James Potter's life. He's got a reputation for being virtually unbeatable and he's relying on that reputation to carry him into a professional career. But it's little foul-ups like that which could destroy his reputation and eliminate his chances of going pro."
Holly studied James and Regulus' expressions. They scowled at each other with something deeper than rivalry. It was apparent that there was more to their animosity than a simple Quidditch match. Farron released the Jarvey and it darted off in a zigzag pattern. James and Regulus kicked off the ground and hovered, giving the creature a head start.
"What else is making him angry?"
Rosaline was silent but her face was a mix of emotions.
"Stop it!" Holly turned on her, "I can tell there's more to it than that! Stop hiding it!"
"GO!"
The boys shot off into the trees and out of the class' sight.
-----
Trees whizzed past as James and Regulus flew skillfully through the outer fringe of the Forbidden Forest. The Jarvey was ahead, its quick legs allowing it to keep a distance between the students and itself. It turned sharply every few moments in an attempt to shake it's hunters but they were far too talented in flying to be tricked so easily.
James executed a series of barrel rolls, coming up on the other side of Regulus. Black merely ducked lower to his broom and edged ahead. James tucked his limbs close to his broom and moved even with Black.
They flew side-by-side, neither able to gain the lead. Black snarled and rammed into James, sending him reeling sideways. His shoulder scraped against a tree as he caught himself but he paid it no mind. James narrowed his eyes and struggled to catch up.
"That was a dirty move!" he called.
Black didn't spare him a second glance. James growled and pressed himself as flat as possible, letting the air rush past him. He ducked around low tree branches and dodged brush. Gradually, he caught up to Regulus and they closed the gap between themselves and the Jarvey.
Sunlight hit them suddenly and they pulled back slightly, their eyes adjusting painfully. The Jarvey had lead them onto the school grounds and was making a mad dash for the lake. The ground there would be rocky and it could easily duck under a rock or in a hole. It scampered across the open grass but the lack of trees enabled the pair of Seekers to catch up to it quickly.
They broke through a first year flying class. Children squealed and ran and the instructor was shouting at them.
"Sorry!" James called over his shoulder.
He turned around in time to see a wand pointed at his face.
"Bloody--"
"Inflictus!"
James pulled up to avoid the stream of red light. He pulled his own wand from his robes and charged after Regulus.
"Avis!"
A flock of enchanted birds materialized just ahead of Regulus. He sat upright as he crashed through them, using his arm to shield his face. He was forced to slow down as James shouted Oppungo which in turn caused the birds to begin attacking Black.
James seized the opportunity to speed ahead and reach out for the Jarvey. He was forced to dive low and weave around rocks as they reached the lakeshore.
The Jarvey began taunting him, "Slowpoke! Slug!"
"Shut up, you little bugger, or I'll have you for my supper!" James let it get the better of him.
He lifted a hand from his broom handle, reaching out to snatch at the rodent, but it managed to evade him, leaping just out of his reach. He picked up speed and lowered himself ever-closer to the rocky beach. He was almost upon the creature when it dove into a crevice. James swiped at it and lost his balance, tumbling off his broom and onto the craggy lakeshore with a crunch. He rolled for a good distance, stopping when his momentum wore off. His glasses flew off and landed somewhere out of reach but James couldn't make himself move to look for them. Gradually, he blacked out.
When he came to the face of the flying instructor was hovering over him. His glasses had been placed back in their rightful place, though the lenses were a bit scratched.
"I sent your friend after your professor," she said, helping James sit up.
"Thanks," he blinked dizzily. In the distance he could see his class coming towards him from the woods.
He looked at the ground beside him and saw a few splintered shards of what used to be a Comet 260. James frowned and reached up to readjust his glasses. A sharp pain in his shoulder halted his motion. Bones ground together with his movement and he inhaled sharply at the discomfort.
"Looks like you've broken your collarbone. An easy fix."
Professor Farron reached him first, closely followed by Rosaline and Holly. At the back of the crowd James could see Regulus smiling smugly. He had small scratches on his cheeks and forehead from the enchanted birds and James grinned, satisfied.
"Are you alright, Potter?" Farron kneeled beside him.
"Yes, sir. The Jarvey got away, I'm afraid."
Farron smiled, "Eh, that's alright. Always good to have a few around the grounds. They'll keep pests under control." He paused. "Let's see your arm, boy."
James extended his right arm as much as he could stand and Farron examined it.
"Well that's intact, seems you sustained only minor injuries in that fall, however nasty it was."
"Can't say so much for the broom…" James mumbled.
Farron looked over his shoulder, "Ms. Bufford, can I trust you to get your co-captain to the Hospital Wing?"
Rosaline stepped forward to help James and Holly chimed in, "I'll help."
Farron nodded, "You may as well, class is nearly over."
He turned to address the other students as Holly and Rosaline stepped up on either side of James to help keep him balanced. The journey to the Hospital Wing was slow as James was sore from his crash.
"You're lucky it was something easy to fix and not your skull. That'd take weeks to heal properly and we need to start practice soon." Rosaline said to James.
"You know you don't need to worry about my skull, it's the sturdiest part of my body." He grinned cheekily through his pain.
"You're hopeless."
Holly giggled softly.
The trio entered the Hospital Wing and a stout, friendly-looking woman bustled over to them.
"Mr. Potter, I should have expected you to be the first patient of the new year." She smiled slightly at James.
"Good to be back, Madame Pomfrey." James wheezed as he climbed onto a bed.
Holly stared, wide-eyed at the bed. A flash of a memory ran through her mind.
Rosaline noticed her expression, "What's the matter, Holls?"
Sirius stood in what looked like a cavernous hospital room facing away from an occupied bed, his head hanging sadly.
"I-I…" She choked.
"Leave it! Let it scar…"
"I've seen this before…"
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Author's Note: I'm much slower at this than I intended to be, and for that I apologize. Alas, one must live in real life at times. I've been doing a lot of working and writing for other things (Newspaper, Creative Writing class, other various fan/fictions). Spring break has ended, and not uneventfully I might add. Carpe Diem, as they say...and I've been Carpe-ing a lot of busy Diem's :) Thanks for reading and check back for CWM 5 soon...maybe.
