Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. But if she's willing to share….
A/N: I'm so sorrrrrryyyy! It's been so long since I posted a new chapter. But here it is, and to make up for the long wait, this one is 13 pages. I'll try to write a little bit each night, or at least devote one night a week to writing this story so I can finish it this year! Anyway, enough chatter, enjoy! Oh, and reviews are always nice. They remind me that I have a story to write when things get all crazy.
If there was one thing that could distract even the most studious students from their work at Hogwarts, it was Quidditch. This Saturday before Christmas break started was the last game of the year. Spirits were already high when I entered the Great Hall.
"Wow," I said as I sat next to Mari. "You would think the match was today instead of two days from now."
"I wish the match was today. I missed the last match we played in, remember? I haven't had a chance to see how our team plays yet." The first match of the year, Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff, Mari was sick in the Hospital Wing. She had pestered me all day for a detailed description of the match, but my lack of Quidditch knowledge only put her in a worst mood.
"How can you not remember anything that happened? You just game back from the match and all you remember is the score? How did Roger do? How were the Beaters? Did anyone make any great saves?"
"Mari, I honestly don't know. Can't you just be happy knowing what the final score is?"
"Of course not!" She gave me the cold shoulder for the rest afternoon until she needed my help with a Potions essay. I'm convinced she's never forgiven me.
"We're going to have a hell of a time trying to keep focused in class. Potions, Flying and Charms today, right?"
"And History of Magic," she answered with an eye roll.
"Oh yes, so exciting. It's my favorite class," I answered with sarcasm. We ate breakfast in silence as we were listening to a conversation my sister and her friends were having about Roger. Mari and I had been following Ann's quest to snag Roger with great interest this term. So far, little progress had been made. She started dressing a little nicer, and it certainly got Roger's (and every other boy in her year) attention, but that was as far as it had gotten. Antheia was clearly frustrated at Roger for not having made the first move. I had approached her the previous week if she needed help with the whole situation.
"After all, Mari is Roger's sister. She can put in a good word for you if you ask her to."
"I don't need any help from a pair of first years!" she snapped. "I am fully capable of handling the situation myself!" With that, she stormed off into her dormitory, leaving me stunned and angry. She obviously couldn't handle the situation herself, as a stunt she had pulled the next day showed. When Roger entered the Common Room after dinner, Antheia called him over to sit next to her on one of the comfy couch's near the fireplace. "To study," she told him. She kept complimenting him on his writing and how cute he dressed. Being a boy, Roger took no notice of her compliments and started working like she had called him over to do. Ann quickly became frustrated with her lack of progress and ran off to her dorm. Since then, her schemes had become even more far-fetched. On the plus side, they were incredibly entertaining to listen to. The latest plan nearly had Mari and me in tears trying to hide our laughter. Her plan was, in a nutshell, to be his Secret Santa. She wanted to leave him little gifts anonymously and then reveal herself as the gift giver before we left for break, hoping that her thoughtfulness would make him realize that she was the girl of his dreams.
Mari and I were still in fits of laughter as we made our way down to the dungeons.
"How dull can she be?" Mari gasped. "Does she really think that Roger is going to like getting a bunch of little presents? It'll totally ruin his reputation as resident Tough Guy Quidditch Player!"
"She's going to go broke buying him all these things that he's just going to end up throwing in the rubbish bin! This is fantastic!" I felt a little guilty deep down for making fun of her. I knew that her intentions were pure and that she really did have feelings for Roger. But then I recalled how she reacted when I had tried to help her along. The guilt quickly ran away and I started laughing up again as I pictured her face when he pushed her aside to sit with his friends in a compartment on the way back.
As Mari and I took our seats in the back of the Potions classroom, Professor Snape stepped in, cape billowing behind him.
"Silence," he spoke in his usual low, near whisper, voice. All conversation ceased quickly as he explained today's lesson.
"Turn to page 57 in your books. On the right side of the page you'll see the ingredients needed to prepare a Sleeping Draught. You have the rest of the lesson to prepare this potion and leave a labeled vial of it on my desk. Clean up your cauldron's when you're finished and you may leave the class when you've finished." He took a pause to survey the class. "Well?" We all rushed to the ingredient cabinet to retrieve the necessary items. About a month after the start of term, we stopped working in partners and began working solo. I didn't have any trouble with this. My so called "beginner's luck" with Potions turned out to be a real talent. It seemed that my mum's talent at Potions skipped a child. Antheia was nothing short than devastated when she saw that my Potions grade had consistently been in the top percentage of the class and my year. Thinking about Ann made me upset all over again. I was crazy to think that Hogwarts would solve all of my relationship problems with my sister. If anything, it had gotten worse without Mum and Dad to break us up when our fighting got out of hand. Now it was left in the hands of Cheyenne, who hated being caught in the middle. When our fighting really got out of control, Cheyenne pulled me aside to tell me that publicly she would side with Ann on everything.
"But don't hate me for it. It's just, well, the only way it'll get your sister to calm down. Me trying to take sides just seems to make every situation ten times worse. But if you want to talk about things even further, just ask me when Ann's not around, yeah?"
Cheyenne was such a nice girl. I really couldn't see how Antheia had grabbed herself such a great best friend. The two were polar opposites, but I guess they somehow fit. Ann trusted her over all of her other friends, even the twins, who I had also grown somewhat close to.
Lost in my thoughts, I finished my Sleeping Draught in record time, only forty five minutes. Snape saw me gathering up my things and preparing my vial. He shot me a glare, as if my excellence in Potions bothered him, which it probably did. He cleared his throat, snapping the students out of their cauldrons for a moment.
"Your assignment over break is to write me a foot of parchment on the complexities of the Sleeping Draught and a minimum of five uses that it can be used in day to day life." He smirked slightly as the class groaned in unison. He looked at me again, almost as if to see if the news of the assignment would knock me down a peg. Yeah right. I whispered to Mari that I would meet her at Flying lessons and dropped off my vial on Professor Snape's desk. I quickly wished him a happy break and made my way to the library. It was quite empty when I entered; then I remembered that I was excused from class early and that, of course, it would be like this. A few students were scattered about since it was too cold to be outside lounging about. Madam Pince, the crabby librarian, stopped me before I could take a seat at an empty table near the back.
"And what exactly are you doing roaming about the castle at this hour? Don't you have classes to attend?" She peered at me over her glasses.
"I finished my potion early and Professor Snape said that when we were finished we could leave."
"Is that so? Well if that's the case, find a seat. I don't want anyone loitering in the entrance." I stared at her as she walked briskly to her desk at the front of the room. She was definitely not in my top favorite staff members at school. She was nearly as bad as Filch, though certainly better in the hygiene department; Merlin knows what he's doing in his room, but it certainly isn't bathing.
I took a seat in a corner with a view of the giant clock behind the front desk so I wouldn't be late. Most of the students here were older, fourth year and up, working on various projects that needed to be finished before break. I pulled out my Potions book to begin working on my assignment. I wanted to be homework free while I was home so I had been staying up late getting all of my work done. Mari laughed, but I told her I was the one that would be laughing when she was sending me owl after owl during break because she was stressed with the amount of work she had to get done. I had written out a couple of inches when a voice interrupted my work.
"Mind if I join you?" I looked up.
"Hey Mac, sure take a seat."
Cormac dragged a chair over to my desk and sat across from me. "What are you doing out of class? Don't you have Potions right now?"
"Yeah, but I finished early so Snape let me out."
"Genius Potion mistress finishes early again. I should have known!"
"What about you? What's your excuse?"
"I twisted my ankle on the staircase. There was a bit of water on the last step and WHOOSH fell right on my arse and my ankle was all messed up. Madam Pomfrey wrapped it up pretty nice though." He lifted his leg and pulled up his pant leg to show me his ankle wrapped tightly.
"That'll be good in no time. So are you excited for the match on Saturday? Mari is bouncing with excitement. It's getting quite annoying to tell the truth."
"I bet. Yeah I'm excited. I've been talking with Wood a lot this week and he said that they have a lot of stuff planned. So I'd suggest you tell Roger to bring all he's got to the field. You know Wood isn't playing around," he smirked.
"Oh, you think you're team is just so great because you have him on the team."
"Well, yeah! Haven't you seen him play? If he doesn't go pro when he's done here, he's mental."
"All I'm going to say is, don't overestimate him. And don't underestimate our team either. I don't know much about Quidditch, but from what I've seen of Roger, he's not that bad."
"I hope you don't mind if I don't take your uneducated word on that particular matter Len."
"Not at all. How's Rod doing with his work?"
"Alright I guess. He spends every waking moment studying or triple checking his homework. I blame you for that."
"You should be blaming him, he's the one that started this whole competition!"
"Shh! I can hear you're conversation from here!" Madam Pince whispered angrily. "One more word and you'll both be out of library!"
"Yikes lady, take the broomstick out of your—"
"Cormac!" I nudged him under the table, holding in my laughter. "Not in here, wait till we're outside at least!"
"Fine, fine. But you can't say I'm wrong in saying it," he smiled. "So how are things with you and Rod anyway? Aside from the academics."
"Pretty good. We get together and do some homework with Mari and Angela sometimes."
"What? Without me? I'm shocked. Leaving poor old Mac and Antony out in the cold with nothing but our mediocre grades to keep us warm," he trailed off.
"Not our fault you don't apply yourselves. If you want to spend your time using your charm to lure in innocent girls, that's up to you."
"That it is Lenny. I can't help it that I have this extremely athletic body and good looks. It would be a waste not to use them to my advantage."
"You know, if it weren't for the fact that you make me laugh, I'd call you a jerk."
"And if one of my friends wasn't mildly attracted to you, I'd call you hot."
My jaw dropped. "Who…thinks I'm attractive?"
"Like I'd tell you!" he laughed.
"That's IT! I see no work getting accomplished in this corner! Out of my library! OUT," Madam Pince was right in front of us, fuming. She picked us up from the back of our robes and we scrambled to get all of our belongings before she could drag us to the door. Some of the older kids were laughing in silence. My face turned a bright red, but I could see that Cormac had a wide, smug smile on his face.
We were dropped (rather rudely I might add) on our bottoms right outside the entrance.
"Well that was an experience we'll laugh about later," Cormac said, picking himself up.
"No it won't!" I got myself up faster and kicked him in his twisted ankle. He gave a small cry of pain before falling back to the floor.
"What the hell Len? That was my ankle!"
"THAT'S for getting me kicked out of the library! I'll never be able to show my face in there until after break! Do you know how much work I have left to do?" I turned on my heel and stormed down the hallway towards the main entrance.
"The infamous Eddy temper," I heard him mutter as I walked away. "They're not kidding what they say about it."
****
It was the day of the big match. Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. That morning at breakfast, the entire school was decked out in support of their favorite house, even the Slytherin's. Naturally, they were supporting the Ravenclaw's and were proudly sporting blue pins and anti-Gryffindor buttons. One of the older Slytherin's had charmed the buttons into screaming "GRYFFINWHORES!" but Professor McGonagall quickly took them all and gave the creator a week's worth of detention. Mari and I took our usual seats at the insanely loud Ravenclaw table. Supporters from other Houses kept coming up to the Quidditch players and wishing them luck. I gave Mari a nudge when I saw that my dear sister was sitting next to Roger. She kept telling him that he was going to do great, and that she would be the one in the stands shouting the loudest. The best part was that Roger didn't seem to notice; he was a light shade of green and kept looking in the direction of the loo.
"Uh, Mari? I think your brother is in desperate need of a pep talk from his loving sister." I took another look at him before I added, "And quick before he shows everyone what he ate for breakfast!"
"I see what you mean. I'll be back in a second. Save me a few pieces of bacon!" She took off and ran to the other side of the table. I saw as she tapped him on the shoulder and beckoned him to follow her to just outside the loo. She wanted to play it safe, and he definitely was starting to look worse. I was a bit jealous of the relationship between Roger and Mari. They weren't together often, but they really did love each other. They were never truly mean to each other, just the joking type of mean jokes. Then there was Antheia and me, who said thinks with the intention to hurt the other's feelings. It hurt, but we really did love each other deep down and it was such a shame that we didn't do a better job at showing each other just how much we did love the other. The feelings of sadness disappeared as I thought to the way she treated me when I offered my help. Anger filled up again and I remembered how all of our fighting was her fault in the first place and if she wasn't so stubborn, maybe we wouldn't fight at all.
"Her Kicks, you're zoning out again! You alright there mate?" Cormac's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. We had made up yesterday at lunch. I told him I felt bad for kicking his ankle and I offered him a chicken wing as a peace offering. He gratefully accepted my apology (and food) and said it was his fault in the first place for being and arse.
"I should have known better than to get a brainiac kicked out of a library," he said. "That was a good kick though, I'll give you that. You should play that Muggle sport you were telling us about the other day, footieball or whatever. You know, I'm going to call you Kicks from now on. Yes, Kicks Eddy, just flows right off the tongue doesn't it?" I kicked him again in the shin, but the name stuck.
"Yeah, I'm alright, just looking forward to your team getting demolished by mine!"
"Oh, we want to play that game do we? Well—"
"Hey, hey, save the taunting for the match, yeah?" Angela broke in. "Len, where's Mari at? I have her Transfiguration notes."
"She's talking to Roger, she'll be back in a sec. Here, I'll hold them for her."
"Thanks!" she exclaimed as she passed them across the aisle. "Wow Lenny, even you're dressed up for the game. I never took you as a Quidditch supporter."
"What's good for my House is good for me, you know?"
"You mean Mari made you dress up?"
"Exactly."
She laughed. "Good for her. Nothing wrong with a little House pride! I'm going to head back up to my dorm, I left my jacket in there. I won't see you during the match, so see I'll see you and Mari after. May the best team win!"
"Thanks for the support, we will!" I shouted as she walked out of the Great Hall.
I turned around and saw Rod sitting in her place. He was looking at me curiously. "Interesting Len, very interesting."
"What is?"
"You seem very confident in your grades that's all. I would have assumed that you would be in the library doing some more studying in a sad attempt at beating my grades," he said shoving a piece of toast in his mouth.
"How ridiculous. I've already beaten your grades Rod, you should know that already. Or have you not seen the results from Sprout's last exam that she posted this morning?"
I watched with amusement as he almost choked on his toast. "What?! Already?" He took off to the greenhouses where Professor Sprout had posted the latest exam results this morning.
"Did she really post the scores from last Friday?" Antony, who had been paying attention to this whole conversation, asked.
"Indeed she did. I'm the one that begged her to do it this morning instead of after the match."
"What did I get?" both Cormac and Antony asked. Being close friends and all, we had all shared our numbers (we were each given a number for class so the professors could post exam results publicly without putting student's names on the paper) so only one person would have to check the grades for the group.
"Mac, you got a high A and Tony, you got an E. So not bad at all."
"Let me guess Kicks, you got an O, top of the class?"
I said nothing, but my huge smile told them that yes, I had come out on top this week.
"Does that mean you beat Rod this term?" asked Tony.
"Depends. We didn't start this till around the middle of the term so it all depends on who scored higher back in the beginning when we weren't keeping track."
"For our sakes, I hope he wins this. He'll be unbearable to be around if he lost to you."
"I second that. We'll have to kick him out of the dorm, he'll spend all night complaining."
Mari returned from her pep talk with Roger (who was looking considerably better) and joined in the conversation. We chatted for a few minutes before Dumbledore stood to announce that the two teams needed to head down to the field.
"I wish both of our House teams luck in what is sure to be an exciting way to end the term!" There was a large yell from the students as the teams left the Great Hall. Mari gave a Roger a reassuring thumbs up as he walked past. After the teams had cleared the room, the rest of the student body was dismissed to go down to the field. Before we were separated in the crowd, Cormac and Antony shouted "RAVENCLAW SUCKS!" at Mari and me and disappeared. We looked at each other before we burst out with laughter.
"It's going to be so much sweeter when we end up beating them!"
"Cormac will die!"
"Oh, before I forget, Angela gave me the notes that you lent her back. I'll keep them in my bag until after the match so you don't lose them or something."
"Ahh, thanks a bunch Lenny," she said as she threw her arms around me. She threw her arms off and she pointed a few people ahead of us. "Look! It's Logan! Do I look alright? And is that? I can't believe what he's wearing!"
I tried to look up casually to see what she was talking about. Sure enough, he was decked out in Gryffindor red. But what I noticed more was his eyes, his hair tossed about like he just got out of bed…
"C'mon! Stop dragging your feet!" I was being pulled through the hoards of people by my right arm.
"Hey there, watch the arm! I write with this one! Where are you taking me?"
"I told you already Len, we're going to confront him about his traitorous clothing choice. A line was drawn and he decided to cross it. He's chosen his side."
"I hope you're joking."
"Of course I'm not, but in that 'Haha, I'm mad at you, but I'm really flirting with you so it's okay and we're all going to joke about this later' sort of way."
"Oh, well now that it's all cleared up, I understand perfectly now," I muttered under my breath. I didn't really want to go confront him. I really didn't want to talk to him. Actually, I didn't even want to see him. It goes against the rules Cheyenne set for me! Avoid the crush of your best friend like he has spattergroit. That's what she said. Not tag along while your friend foolishly flirts with him right in front of you! Today luck wasn't on my side and before I knew it, Mari and I were standing there talking to Logan and his mates with a bunch of pissed off students behind us.
"Really Logan?" I heard Mari ask. "You chose to support Gryffindor? I never expected this from you."
"Hey, I've got to support my cousin. He said that if I wore Ravenclaw he'd stop helping me with Potions."
"Oh come on! Why would you take Rod's help when you have a certified Potions genius right here?" referring to me. This startled me. I had no intention on being involved in this conversation at all! I was just supposed to stand off to the side and wait. Now I was expected to say something.
"Is that true Len? Would you help me with Potions?"
"Of course I would," I forced myself to say. "Anything to get you to support the winning team." I even threw in a smile!"
"Well I'm sorry to disappoint but the decision has been made. Now excuse me, I have to watch some lions beat a bunch of ravens in a Quidditch match. Later!"
"I can't believe it!" Mari exclaimed as he left.
"I know, he's so stubborn."
"No, not that! I got through another conversation with him without acting stupid! Best. Morning. EVER!" A dreamy look came over her face.
"Alright lovergirl, let's get going to the Quidditch field. Linger any longer and we're going to be stuck in the back of the crowd."
She nodded her head but I knew she was lost. Hopefully the loud crowd would bring her back to Earth. Fortunately, we were able to find a great seat in the front. Since there were only two of us, we managed to squeeze ourselves next to Cho and the others. Sure enough, the roaring Ravenclaws snapped her back to reality and she started to scream her support for our House.
"COME ON RAVENCLAW! KICK SOME LION ARSE!"
At that moment, our team was announced by the commentator, an older Hufflepuff boy. I watched in awe as our team flew out from the lower right side of the field. Yes, me, in awe of Quidditch. Shocking, I know. But the way they flew with such ease was amazing. I could see Roger in the middle of the formation as they flew around the field. Even my untrained eyes could see that Mari flew exactly like her brother. She followed him like a hawk, shouting words of encouragement. She would definitely make the team if she ever tried out; her skills on a broom and her House spirit would earn her a spot on the team for sure. I turned my attention back to the field as the Gryffindor team was announced. A loud cheer from the crowd and an almost louder "BOOOOO" from our side of the stadium welcomed the team. I squinted across the field to see that Rod and the others had painted their faces red and were screaming like wild men.
The two teams met in the center of the field on the ground. Madam Hooch unlocked the chest containing the two bludgers and the Golden Snitch. With a blow of her whistle, she threw the Quaffle in the air and the match began. I had no idea what was going on and split my time listening to the Hufflepuff commentator and Mari.
"THROW THE QUAFFLE THROUGH THE HOOP, HE'S NOT EVEN GUARDING THE RIGHT ONE, PAY ATTENTION!"
"THE SNITCH! RIGHT THERE! DON'T YOU SEE IT HOW CAN YOU BE SO BLIND?"
"BLOCK IT! BLOOOOOCK IT! OH COME ON, EVEN I COULD BLOCK THAT! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?"
Even though Mari was screaming at the team, our team was doing an incredible job. Twenty minutes into the game, we were up seventy to twenty. We still needed to catch the Snitch though; as Mari explained to me, if the Gryffindor's caught it first, they would still win the match.
The Gryffindor's called a time out and there was a brief moment of calmness.
"I'll give it to Cormac," Mari said. "That Oliver Wood guy, the Keeper, isn't too bad. He's blocked some great shots by Roger and the others. Actually, the whole team is pretty good. It's just that the other teams are doing much better."
"Yeah, even I could tell they were good, but our team is crazy great. It seems your words of encouragement really worked on your brother, eh?"
"Thank goodness! He was ready to blow before I got to him."
Another blow of the whistle signaled that the match was ready to start again and we focused on the field once more. It was ten minutes of intense playing. The Gryffindor's were getting much more aggressive, but our players would outmaneuver them every play. A loud cry from the Slytherin side drew the attention of everyone in stadium to the center of the field. The two Seekers had gone into a deep nosedive, chasing after a tiny ball of gold. There was a moment of silence as the crowd held their breath, before every person stood up and started yelling at the top of their lungs. Even the staff got involved! I could see tiny Professor Flitwick hopping up and down on his chair. Mari was almost hanging off the rail she was so into the moment.
"GET THE SNITCH! GET IT, DON'T LET ME DOWN OR I SWEAR I WILL JINX YOU WHILE YOU'RE SLEEPING! GET THE SNITCH FOR MERLIN'S SAKE GET. THE SNIIIIIIIITCH!"
The Seekers were almost at ground level. If they didn't pull up soon, there was going to be a huge mess.
"Wait for it…wait for it…WE GOT THE SNITCH!"
A loud cheer went through the crowd (at least our side) as he took a victory lap around the field. Flitwick was jumping joyously in his seat while Professor McGonagall looked thoroughly upset, but tried to put on a blank face. I looked across the stadium to see what the boys' reaction to the match was.
"Oh my Merlin, Mari, look at Mac!"
I pointed them out to her and waited until she could see them clearly. She squinted and burst out laughing as she saw them.
"No way! Oh my gosh, this is great! Definite blackmail material right there!" She was right. While Rod and Tony looked upset, they weren't showing nearly as much emotion as Mac; he was angrily slamming his hand on the rail with angry tears streaming down his face. Even from here, I could tell that he was shouting a string of words that I was forbidden to say by my parents.
"If only we had a camera…"
****
The victory high of the Ravenclaw win over Gryffindor lasted all day, into the night, and carried on to the next morning. Breakfast had been a loud affair, particularly from our table as we kept replaying the highlights of the match. The Gryffindor's were dealing with the loss rather well, except for a few students. By few, I mean Cormac. He refused to face Mari and me after the match, or all day yesterday. Rod and Tony laughed it off and were in good spirits.
"I've got to admit, even I took his reaction by surprise. Tears! There were actual tears!" Tony laughed.
"Yeah, he's locked himself in the dorm. He said he's 'packing.'"
"Oh, poor him. Will he gather up what's left of his manhood and join us in a compartment on the train?" I asked. "I would at least like to say goodbye before we leave for the holidays."
"I can probably talk him into it. Hey, I've actually got real packing to finish up. Meet you guys at the station?"
"Yeah, definitely. If we get there first, we'll save a compartment for the five of us."
"Six you mean. Logan's going to be sitting with me since we're going to the same place."
Mari choked on her bacon. Rod shot her a crazy look and he and Tony left the Great Hall for their tower.
"What is wrong with you? You almost blew your cover!"
"Lenny! I can't sit in a compartment with him for a long period of time! Not anymore!"
I was thinking the same thing, but I had to keep her focused or she would ruin it for both of us. "Alright, just calm down. If it gets too intense for you, just pretend to fall asleep on the train. I'll cover for you."
"Yeah…okay, that could work. That could work…just pretend to sleep. That's easy."
"Do we have our plan set?" She nodded. "Okay, let's get back up to the dorm. I have to somehow manage to stuff my Potions, Transfiguration, and History of Magic books in my luggage."
"Ugh, work over the holidays. Must they torture us so?"
We hurried up the staircase to Ravenclaw tower. There was a group of us all rushing to last minute things before the train left, so we didn't have to answer the riddle to get in. Throughout the whole term, Mari and I had only had to answer the riddle five times. The group quickly dispersed as we entered the blue room. The next two hours went by in a flurry of tossed clothes, flying quills and loose bits of parchment. Finally, it was 11:30 and it was time to head down to Hogsmeade. On the way down the stairs to the entrance hall, I passed my Ann. I figured it was time we made up, at least for the holidays. It was not a good time to be in a fight, not at such a happy time of the year. She saw me approach her in the corner of her eye and sped up her walking. Cheyenne kept up with her, but shot an apologetic look at me when she Antheia wasn't looking. Cheyenne knew how I felt about the whole situation since I had been having more secret talks with her during the term. She wanted a happy reunion as much as I did and had been trying to convince my sister to see things right. Obviously her attempts had been thwarted. As we went down the path that would lead us to the Hogwarts Express, we met up with Logan. Mari had a mini internal freak out (I could tell by the way her eyes grew wide and her breathing became very quick, very funny to witness in my opinion) and I tried to keep things normal. Ha, I was having a hard enough time keeping myself normal. Oh well, I thought to myself. Better start now since you'll be on the train with him for a few hours.
"So, how'd you like that match yesterday?" I started off.
"See, I knew you would bring that up. Low blow, Eddy."
"Oh, come one, you're not even in Gryffindor. If it was Hufflepuff that got destroyed, then yes, that would be a low blow."
"Fair point. It was a good game. Mari, your brother is pretty good."
"Thanks," she managed to get out. I gave her a small kick in the shin to get her to pull herself together.
"Where are you and Rod spending the holidays? He said you were staying at the same place."
"We're going to his mom's house, my aunt's. Their house is a bit bigger so it can hold more people. You two doing anything special?"
"Not really. Just the same old family celebration."
"Yeah, same."
"That's cool. And there's the train."
A large, scarlet steam train awaited us at the bottom of the path. Students were already boarding the train so we hurried down to make sure we could get a large enough compartment. Mari got on first and Logan followed. As my luggage was heavy, Logan offered to take it up for me. As I handed it over, our hands touched again and that same spark went through my body. I looked to see if he would react to it; he showed nothing on the outside, but his eyebrows bunched in the middle in confusion. As if to test it out again, he stuck his hand out to help me board. I hesitantly grabbed his hand and the result literally felt as if a thousand little sensors were going off inside me. Before he let go of my hand, I felt him squeeze it, just the tiniest bit. Shocked, we both released our hands like they were burning hot. I hid my blushing face behind my hair and took off behind Mari who was sticking her head in every compartment looking for an empty one. Could this be a more awkward start to my holiday?
"Found one!" she called. Before I could enter, a hand gripped my forearm tightly. I thought it was Logan and my heart started pumping fast.
"Hey, we need to set a few things straight, got it?" Ann's voice said.
"Oh, it's just you." How disappointing.
"Mum and Dad are not to know anything about what's going on between us, alright?"
"You mean, I can't tell them how you've been incredibly rude to your little sister when she did absolutely nothing wrong? Dang, that would have made a great story to tell."
"First, you know what you did. Second, you will not—"
"Wait, I know what I did? I did nothing!"
She pulled me in her compartment, never letting go of her grip. "Yes you did! You think you're so great being fantastic at Potions don't you? Just rub it in that the one thing I can't get right is the one thing you're brilliant at."
"I never—" She cut me off before I could defend myself.
"You did! And on top of that, you tried to interfere with me and Roger. I can handle things myself, I told you that!"
"Then why aren't you two together yet?"
"Shut up Helen! Listen, we'll keep civil when we have to be together, but I do not want to be around you more than I have to! So stay away!" She pushed me out of the compartment.
Confused and angry—what a fantastic way to start the holiday.
