Chapter Six

By Moonlight Rhapsody

Harry, Ron and I were the first Gryffindors in the Quidditch Pitch. Then came Malfoy. That stupid git. He started to tease Ron about having a Cleansweep Five for a broomstick. I felt sorry for him, and my blood curdled with anger because of what Malfoy told Ron.

"You call that a quality broomstick, Weasel?" he smirked at Ron, "Broomsticks like that are not suitable for flying. I think they should be given to Filch. They'd be great for sweeping floors." Malfoy's comrades howled with laughter. I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to slap Malfoy, but then I saw her. Evil Lara, staring at me. Her hair was down, held only by a green headband. She must be kidding. It's hard to play Quidditch with hair like that. She walked near me. She was about to say something (an insult perhaps) when Madame Hooch arrived.

"Welcome back to the first Quidditch Lesson of this term. We will have a small competition, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Each house will have two teams, team number one, and team number two. Gryffindor: Potter, Weasley, Brown, Thomas, Finnigan, Patil , and one of our new exchange students, Laplace, you will be team one. The rest will be team two. Slytherin: Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, Zabini, Moore, and the other exchange student, Nemesis, you will be team one. Like I said before, the rest will be team two. Team one of both houses will play first."

Team one, both Gryffindor and Slytherin. That means I have to play against Lara. All of team one mounted their brooms. We rose up into the air. As soon as we were in our positions, Madame Hooch let go of the Snitch and the Bludgers. She blew her whistle, and released the Quaffle. Gryffindor immediately took control of the Quaffle. Ron caught it. He was a chaser. He tried to shoot it in Slytherin's goal, and he scored! He passed the Quaffle to Seamus, but then Lara snatched it out of his hands and she headed straight toward me. She looked at me with that same evil grin she had the first day we met. She stared at me, probably to come up with a strategy. For a split second, I thought she saw my scar, but then again, I must have been mistaken.

"Ooh! Here comes The Tarot Girl!" I said loudly.

"Don't you have anything better than that? It's so lame," she replied

She suddenly zoomed toward one of the holes, but I blocked the Quaffle and passed it to Parvati. The game continued. Gryffindor scored 10 points while Slytherin scored no points yet.

Ha! I couldn't resist to smile when I saw the look on Lara's face when I blocked her shot. I did feel sorry for what happened to Lara… wait! What am I saying? Lara deserved what happened to her. She deserved it perfectly.

Let's go back to the game and forget talking about the devil. Parvati passed the Quaffle to Seamus, and Blaise snatched it away. She passed it to Pansy, who aimed at the hoops behind me. She snickered at me and gave it a good shot, but her miserable effort was no good against me. I did this back flip with my broom and hit the Quaffle towards Ron. He winked at me. I blushed so hard I could feel my face turning pink. Lara stole the Quaffle and she shot it behind me. I missed! She returned the annoying smile I gave her a while ago. So now, we're tied. 10-10. It took us about a lousy 40 minutes to get this far.

Just as the game was about to get climaxed, Madame Hooch blew her whistle. Our game was over. Well at least Slytherin was not better than us. And Lara is not better than me.

I took of my ponytail and let my hair flow, like always. I sat down in the grass, watching team two's competition. Harry sat beside me. I think he noticed me staring dreamily at Ron, who was at the other side of the pitch, talking to Dean Thomas. Or…maybe not. Then I started asking Harry questions.

"Ron likes Quidditch doesn't he?"

"Yeah. He loves it."

"So, what's his favorite team?"

"Chudley Cannons."

"Oh. How many siblings does he have?"

"5 brothers and one sister."

"Did they study here?"

"Yeah. Percy, Ginny and Fred and George are still here. Bill and Charlie graduated a long time ago."

"What's his favorite color?"

"Orange, I think. I've been to his house and his room was filled with orange posters of the Chudley Cannons."

"Really? He must be a really big fan of Chudley Cannons."

"Why are you suddenly interested in Ron?" Harry asked me, with a strange curiosity in his voice.

Oh no! What am I going to say?

"I…its…because….I…" I could not say anything! I wanted to speak, but I could not find my voice.

"I think you like him!" Harry exclaimed with a big smile on his face. "Go on, don't deny it! Admit it!"

I smiled at him and blushed.

"Okay, I admit it." I mumbled with total embarrassment. I felt my face turn into a dark shade of pink.

"Hey, you know what?" Harry told me, "Ron likes you too…"

"He what?!" I could not believe what Harry told me. "Did you just say that Ron likes me?!"

"Yup. That's what I said. He's been talking about you a lot. Plus, he told me personally that he likes you."

"Oh my gosh Harry! Oh my gosh!" I squealed with extreme delight. I could not get the smile off my face. I stood up, and Harry stood up too. I hugged him. Just then, Madame Hooch called me. Uh-oh. Did I do something wrong?

"Callista, I am impressed by your great Quidditch skill as a keeper. Our Gryffindor keeper, Oliver Wood, just graduated last year. I was wondering, if you would want to try out for keeper, come here tomorrow at 3:00 PM sharp. We will have auditions for a Gryffindor keeper."

"I would love to, Madame Hooch!" I exclaimed.

"Great! See you later then." She told me.

"This ends our class for today, see you next week. Goodbye." She announced to all the students.

"Goodbye Madame Hooch." We all said in chorus.

I went to my dorm and I rested on my bed. I started to think of Ron…again. I remembered how Malfoy teased him for not getting a good broom. Let's admit it. Cleansweep Fives were created ages ago. Then I had a brilliant idea. A perfect idea. Then I got a piece of parchment and a quill loaded with ink, and began writing.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Please order the new "Nimbus Excel" broomstick for me, and deliver it to Mr. Ronald Weasley, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please charge it to my Gringgots account and deliver it as soon as possible.

Your Loving Daughter,

Callista

P.S. Please don't let the addressee know who sent the broomstick. Thank you!

I can't wait to see Ron's face when he receives it! I got my Gold whistle and blew it. This is a very special whistle. Mom gave it to me just after Dad gave me Artemis. The whistle makes no sound but Artemis hears it. I use the whistle to call her whenever I need her. Then Artemis zoomed inside the dorm and rested on my shoulder.

"Deliver this to Mom and Dad as fast as you could okay?" I told her. I was about to tie the letter, when I saw that she was wearing a letter carrier. (A letter carrier looks like a small pouch for letters)

"Did Dad buy you a new letter carrier?" she nodded. "That's good! I wont have to tie my letters to your leg anymore!"

Her eyes sparkled. She's no ordinary falcon. She's intelligent. I had her since the first time I entered Beuxbatons. And she had always been there for me. She's special.

"Wait a second, I'll add something to the letter." I told her. I took the letter out again and scribbled something at the bottom:

By the way, thanks for the letter carrier! Artemis is so pleased!

"Okay, here you go!" I said while placing the letter inside the carrier.

She zoomed out of the window and disappeared into thin air. After 10 minutes she was back with a reply:

"Now that's what I call fast!" I praised her while opening the letter.

My Dearest Callista,

Okay. I will send the broomstick tomorrow or the day after. Don't worry, every detail on your last letter will be granted. You're welcome for the letter carrier. I felt like Artemis needed it. Take care always and we love you.

Love,

Dad

"Thanks Artemis!" I cuddled her and gave her a kiss. Then she flew out of the window, perhaps to look for food.

I wanted to relax in the Common Room. I opened the door, but even before I could step out, I heard an argument.

"You know I like her Harry! You know it!"

"Look Ron, it's not what you think it is!"

"I saw it with my own eyes Harry! Don't deny it!"

"What did you see?"

"She hugged you! Don't act as if I were blind! I saw it! We all did!"

"No Ron, you don't understand! Callista---"

"Oh enough Harry! I've heard just about enough!"

I could hear Ron walk away, leaving Harry inside the Common Room. Ron must have thought that I liked Harry! What have I done?

I finally gained the courage to go down and talk to Harry.

"Look, I overheard your conversation, and I'm sorry." I told him as I sat down beside him.

"No, it's not your fault. Ron's just stubborn sometimes."

"Did he really think we have a relationship?"

"Yeah. He thought I stole you from him even before he could make a move."

"I am so sorry Harry, I'll talk to him about this, I promise."

"No. Don't. He'll get over it sooner or later. And don't apologize, it's not your fault."

"Okay. I'm sleepy. I better go. Goodnight."

"Yeah. Goodnight too."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~