A/N: Sorrrrrry for the late update! Bit overhelmed with school and more drama. And thank you for all the reviews/ favourites/ alerts. I usually respond to reviews but I lost track of which one I did or didn't respond to, so tell me if I skipped yours. And shameless plugging, I have a Hunger Games fic, which I don't know if I should continue or not. Thank you so much for leaving a review, they make me day, so review this too? And thanks for sticking with me. (: Btw, I did a tiny bit of foreshadowing here, something that suggests what she'd face later on. Care to guess? I won't tell if you're right or not, though.
Chapter Four.
The evening sun was shining on our backs, but it didn't do much to help us battle the cool weather. The clouds were taking on a darker shade every minute that passed and the wind made us shiver violently despite the jumpers and scarves we wore under our Quidditch robes.
"Pass the Quaffle, Alicia!" Wood strained to be heard over the roars of an oncoming rainstorm. "No, don't... over again!"
I leaned forward on my old Cleansweep, remaining my death-like grip on the polished handle as I flew back to my starting position.
Wood said the 'Parkin's Pincer' move was going to be difficult, and we were proving him right. On our third try, we were determined to get it right, however, on our sixth; we were just cold, wet and agitated.
Fred and George were beating Bludgers across the field to each other, zooming in to defend us from the Bludgers, hitting them away every once in a while.
"Harry," Wood called, balancing himself on the broomstick with one hand. "I'm letting the snitch out now."
Harry nodded, quickly rubbing his spectacles with his robes. I caught a quick glimpse of gold when Wood loosened his fist.
He turned his focus back to us, beckoning us over. We flew towards his slightly blurred figure and stopped a few feet away from him, swaying dangerously mid-air. Alicia struggled to keep her scarf from flying away, wrapping it tightly around her neck and stuffing the ends in her jumper.
"Slytherin will be vicious," Wood warned as if we didn't know that already. "And you have to watch each other's backs too.
The three of us nodded and I tightened the elastic band holding my hair.
"They always fight for the Quaffle, even among themselves. Most of them won't stick to their tactics, so we have the advantage of having strategies, but the loss of not knowing what moves they'd use," I said, my statement directed to Angelina and Alicia. Wood and I already agreed on what the other team's strengths and weaknesses after our long fight about team strategies last year.
"They would stop at nothing to get the Quaffle," added Wood.
"What about the snitch?" Angelina asked.
"Yeah, won't they focus on getting the snitch more?" Alicia said.
Wood replied after a moment, his wrinkled forehead smoothening over, "They'd want to score more points than us first, and Malfoy has his own dirty tricks, so they wouldn't be that bothered."
"Harry can handle it, he's has more skills than Malfoy," I said, trying to rest my weight on the broomstick handle. My broomstick dipped down and fell a few feet down but I recovered in the nick of time, the beat of my heart pounding loudly in my ears and a flush spread across my cheeks. I looked around to see if anyone noticed my carelessness and fortunately, Angelina, Alicia and Wood were preoccupied with watching Harry fly over with the snitch in his hand.
Thank Merlin no one saw. I'd have died of embarrassment.
But then again, out of the corner of my eyes, I could see one of the twins doubling over with laughter while the second mimicked falling off his broomstick. Prats, those two.
"Try it again, Weasley!" Wood yelled. "Maybe this time you'd actually remember what you're supposed to do!"
"I do remember them!" I screamed back, heading back to the starting point.
Okay, fine, so I did forget them. And I'm partially the reason we would be doing extra laps next practice. As though she could read my mind, Alicia looked over and exaggerated her shivers and pulled her robes closer to her.
Yes, it was mostly my fault.
Without warning, Angelina threw the Quaffle to me. I caught it deftly, moving forwards a little and passed it to Alicia –to me –Angelina –back to me. I lobbed the Quaffle with my remaining strength and it promptly sailed through the goal.
I shrieked with joy, throwing my hands up in celebration. "Yes! Take that, Wood!"
"It was only one goal," Wood yelled back with a small smile. "Hit the showers!"
In a blink of an eye, almost the entire team was back on the ground, lead by Alicia.
I found myself being lead into an abandoned classroom, Wood's hand tightly gripping my wrist as I resisted, my feet uselessly sliding on the smooth stone floors despite attempts to dig it into the ground.
The rest of the team made their annoyance clear, dragging their feet as if it was a taxing task to lift it for another step. They trudged forwards, muttering complaints loud enough for us to hear. They were putting up a good fight, their voices nearly drowning out the twins and Harry's dramatic conversation at his not being able to go to the Hogsmeade trips.
"I'm not going!" I huffed out, trying to rip my hand out of his grasp. "I smell and I have homework to do."
"I know you smell," Wood swatted the air in front of his nose and I scowled at him. "And our homework is due the day after tomorrow, so you can do it tomorrow."
"Mine's due tomorrow," Angelina muttered, pushing the door open.
"Do it tonight, then," retorted Wood, dumping me unceremoniously on the floor.
"Imagine, Harry," Fred started, looking around the dusty classroom.
"We could be off pranking misfortunate souls," George continued, plopping himself on a wooden chair.
"Wrecking havoc," Fred clutched the left side of his chest, closing his eyes as if in pain.
"-and we're here instead," George shook his head, patting Harry's back.
"For team bonding," Fred grinned at Wood who rolled his eyes.
"We have these so we can be closer and then we can communicate better on the pitch," Wood pointed out, carrying a chair for himself, arranging his chair in between Alicia and Harry.
I snorted, "We communicate well enough." I sat down on his chair and he scowled.
"Not as well as Diggory and his team," he replied as he got another chair, earning giggles from Angelina and Alicia. "What?" he asked irritably.
"He's a looker, isn't he?" asked Angelina.
"And he's single," Alicia said ruefully. "Too bad I'm dating."
"Daniels won't be too glad to hear that," Harry commented.
Alicia waved him off, her lips lifted into a smile, "He knows I'm already mental about him."
"Yeah," I sighed, leaning on the back of my chair. "He does look attractive."
Alicia widened her eyes, turning to look at me. "Are we still talking about Diggory?"
Fred laughed gleefully as the others looked on with gaping mouths except a confused and bemused Harry who studied us with interest.
"What?" I asked, my gaze flickering from Fred to Alicia. "Can't I just say that someone looks nice?"
"She's interested in Cedric Diggory," George stated in disbelief. "Diggory."
"I'm not," I cleared my throat, looking at Angelina for help. "Tell them I'm not."
"Are you?" Angelina asked with a raised eyebrow, leaning forward.
I stiffened under the expectant gazes, my answer on the tip of my tongue. I didn't like Diggory, I was sure of that; he was the enemy after all. He looked nice, I had to admit but I had no feelings for him. But there was this nagging feeling, as if I was missing something. I was feeling nervous.
What the bloody hell was I nervous of?
No, it's obvious I wasn't nervous; it must be something I ate that didn't agree with me.
"Well," Wood said curtly, snapping my attention back to him "Let's begin the game then."
"Let's go with the cliché Muggle game," Alicia said.
"'Truth or Dare'?" Harry asked, a sceptical look on his face.
"Yes, Harry," George said.
"What else? We always play that, since Wood's and my first year in the team. It's tradition," I pointed out.
"Boring, but still a tradition," Wood agreed, looking a little irked.
"So I'll begin," Fred declared, pointing a finger at his own chest. "Angelina!"
Angelina cussed under her breath while Alicia laughed, her shoulders shaking and hand over mouth in anticipation.
"Is it the one we planned, Gred?" asked George, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
My mouth fell open and I laughed unbelievably, shaking my head. It was definitely the one they planned all summer long, the top ten of the list of dares and truths they listed down. Although they pretended to detest our sessions, they really were happy about it, when else could they prank other Gryffindors without suffering the consequences?
"Angelina, the mission that you must carry out –since we'd have proof if you didn't- is to draw a lion on Snape's forehead."
Alicia fell off her chair while Harry looked dumbstruck.
"What?" Angelina roared, her face paling. "Do you reckon I'm suicidal?"
"No, we don't," George threw an arm over Fred's back with a grin.
"Wood, Weasley!" Angelina pleaded. "Tell them I'm not mental."
"She's not mental," I said nonchalantly.
"If it doesn't disturb our Quidditch practices, I'm alright with it," Wood offered.
"Merlin's wrinkly right br-"
"Yes, yes, the next person," Alicia said hastily. "Ange, as planned?"
"Yes," she said through gritted teeth. "But after that, the twins will get it."
"Okay, Arianna?" Alicia said hesitantly. "I know you'll be furious but-"
"My wrath, they will feel my wrath," muttered Angelina, glaring pointedly at the twins who both grinned nervously.
"-it's all for fun," she flashed an uncertain look at someone. "All for fun."
"Out with it," I crossed my arms, aware of the fast beat of my heart pounding loudly in my ears.
"Quickly," Wood mimed a yawn. "It's getting boring."
"Snog Diggory," Alicia breathed out, shielding her face as if I was going to slap her. Though I was considering punching her.
"We should've thought of that," Fred told George.
I gawked at her, slowly shaking my head, "No, no way, I'm not going- how old he is even? Fifteen? Wouldn't that be rape?" My voice sounded shrill, like Wood, when he sang in the showers.
"Technically, sixteen, his birthday passed," Angelina chipped in, the corner of her lips now quirked.
"And that wouldn't be rape! I'm the same age as him and I'm dating a seventh year, and it is certainly not rape," Alicia huffed.
"Oh, but isn't it obvious? She doesn't dare to," Wood shook his head patronisingly. "A cowardly Gryffindor, what a surprise." His words hit me like a brick to the head and I turned to him at a snail's pace, stiffening.
"Hey, Oliver," George said, his eyebrows creased. "Isn't that too much?"
"No, no, it's okay," I said, my voice wavering dangerously. " Let's hear what he wants to say."
"Um, can I leave?" Harry asked meekly. He was ignored.
"Are you afraid to do it? Or are you afraid he'd reject you, since you're more of a lad than you are a girl. Since no sane bloke would see you as a girl?" He added, rubbing salt into the wound he created. He might as well have Crucio-ed me multiple times and slit me with a dagger.
"Wood," Fred warned.
"Oliver, stop, you've gone too far," Angelina added softly.
A flush spread over the back of my neck and the tip of my ears were burning with heat. "Fine, a coward, am I? Where's Diggory now? He's probably in the library?"
"Arianna, you don't have to prove anything, we kno-" Alicia began.
"Library?" I asked curtly.
"Yes, obviously, he's almost always there," Wood crossed his arms over his chest.
"Follow me then," I stood up, not bothering to pick my chair up as it fell back.
I trudged out the room, ignoring the rest of the lot scurrying behind me as I stomped my foot against the floor as hard as I could. How dare he call me a coward? And as much as I acted like a violent, Quidditch and sport obsessed guy, I was a girl, for Merlin's sake, and I definitely did not like being called a cowardly girl, but oops, no sane bloke would see me as a girl!
The flames flickered, casting shadows that danced endlessly on our figures. The rest were trying to keep up with me as I was so nearly sprinting to the Library. What was it she said, I didn't have to prove myself? But I did need to. I needed to.
I kicked the door open, nearly shouting as pain shot up my leg. Madam Pince stood up, her seat scraping against stone like cutlery dragged across a plate.
"I will have no kicking of my doors-" she shouted, her hair stuck all over the place as if the strands of her hair where buzzing with electricity.
"Diggory. Diggory, where the bloody hell are you?" I demanded firmly, paying no attention to the whisperings and the curses from the Gryffindor Quidditch team. My eyes landed on the table where he sat, his friend stopped mid sentence, his Hufflepuff scarf tied around his forehead.
"Uh, I'm here," he stood up. His sentence ended with his voice raised a few notes higher, like he was asking a question. His friends sat scattered around him nudging each other, one even daring to comment out loud ("'ell, Diggory, what did'ya do?").
I marched towards him, a determined glint in my eyes, halting directly in front of him. "I apologize for what I'm about to do."
"Wha-?" I stopped him, pulling his tie so that he bent down to reach mine (sixteen and taller than me, wasn't that bloody unfair?) and crashed my lips to his. He stiffened, and started to relax as my lips moved against his. He just began to put his arms around my neck as I pulled away.
"I apologize again," I said awkwardly, avoiding his eyes. "It was great by the way." I gave a thumbs up and strode towards Wood, the rest of the team blurring out of my sight.
"Still a coward?" I sneered, and at lost of what to do next, I stomped on his foot with a grunt.
As I tried to fight the traitor tears that threatened to come out for no reason that I knew at all (I wasn't hurt, I wasn't sad, it was only Wood, who cared about him), a statement from George made my day.
"Way to go, Wood."
