Chapter 7
Zannah
September 10th, 2013
Tyriana was starving when she awoke the next morning. She got ready quickly and then hurried down to breakfast. The divine smells of food wafted up the staircases as she descended, tantalizing her nose. When she arrived at the Great Hall, she recognized a few more faces at the Gryffindor table thanks to the previous day's Quidditch tryouts. She wanted to get to know her new players so she forewent sitting with her usual cluster of friends and instead approached Lydia, who was sitting with her own group of fifth year friends.
"Hi. Do you mind if I sit here?" Tyriana nodded to an open space next to Lydia.
"Go ahead," said the freshly appointed Keeper. "How are you?"
"Starving." Tyriana piled toast on her plate and started applying a generous helping of peanut butter and jam to each slice.
"I can see that," Lydia chuckled.
Tyriana glanced up at her new Keeper. Lydia was a foot taller, and a lot of that height came from her torso. She was easily the biggest of her friends. Tyriana had seen the previous day that Lydia had a lean and athletic build. Her raven black hair was long, smooth and sleek and her skin was pleasantly tan, indicating that she had spent a good amount of time outside. Her jaw had a pleasant heart shape and there was warmth in her brown eyes.
"You did great at the tryouts yesterday," Tyriana said.
"Thanks. I'm really excited to get started. When's our first practice?"
"I'm looking to book the Quidditch pitch early next week," she said. "I'd book it this week but the other houses have their tryouts. Hufflepuff's today, Ravenclaw tomorrow and Slytherin's Thursday."
"That leaves Friday open," Lydia pointed out.
"True. I'll see what I can do." Tyriana took a few bites of her toast. "Female Keepers are rather rare, you know. What got you interested in the position?"
Lydia considered the question. "Well, I played goalie in football as a kid — my parents are Muggles, you see — and I really liked it. When I got here I fell in love with Quidditch. I would've tried out in my second year but I didn't think I had enough experience on a broom. I couldn't practice over the holidays, so I practiced after classes when the Quidditch field wasn't booked. My friend Eva helped me by acting as a Chaser." Lydia pointed to one of her friends.
Eva blushed and waved.
"Then, this summer," Lydia continued, "I spend a month at her house and I was able to practice every day against her older brothers, who were in town. Really, I have Eva to thank for helping me become the Keeper. I'm sure she can tell you that I was singing her praises all last night. It was those practices against her brothers that convinced me that I was ready to try out."
"Wow," Tyriana said. "That's a great story. I can relate to some of it; I'm Muggleborn too. When I got here I felt like I had to prove myself and the only thing that felt right to me was flying on a broomstick. It was so difficult to find time to practice, though! Do you feel like there's a pressure on Muggleborns to make a name for themselves since they don't have a distinguished lineage to fall back on? I certainly do."
Lydia nodded vigorously. "I couldn't have said it better myself."
And that might be part of why Zannah seems to hate me, Tyriana thought. She patted her Keeper on the back. "We think so alike. We'll get along brilliantly, I think, and trust me when I say that you'll prove yourself on the Quidditch field. You're going to do great. Bloodlines don't really mean anything. As my friends put it last weekend, talent is talent."
Later, that day, Tyriana had hardly sat down with her friends for lunch when Brielle glanced down the table and said, "Uh oh. Beckett's coming."
Tyriana spun around and found herself looking up at him as he stopped next to her. He seemed a bit nervous and jumpy; the complete opposite of the person he'd been under the influence of Liquid Luck.
"Hey, uh, Tyriana?"
"What did McGonagall say?" She stood up so that the height difference between them wasn't quite so outrageous. She could sense her friends watching closely.
He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, she didn't expel me, at least. I got a week of detention but you were right; it would have been a lot worse if I'd stuck to my plan. I guess I owe you a thank you and an apology."
She waved him off. "I appreciate the gesture. I'm curious, though: why did you spend six months of your life brewing Liquid Luck for that?"
He chuckled. "Well, first of all I didn't brew it. I bought it pre-made because I didn't trust my potions skills and I didn't have six months to spare when I conceived of the plan."
"I see."
"As for why, well I guess there's a few reasons." He sighed. "Truth be told, my hand-eye coordination is pretty awful and I've never found anything that I'm genuinely good at."
"So you were looking for a purpose and something people could know you for?"
"I suppose you could say that. People always tell me that I look like a Beater, so I guess I wanted to play the part, so to speak. And then, of course, there's finally beating Slytherin." He nodded up and down the line of Gryffindor students. "Everyone here wants to see that happen."
"You're damn right," she said. "We're going to massacre Slytherin this year. They won't know what hit them."
"Did you end up finding some good Beaters?"
"Yeah. If they're half as thirsty for Slytherin blood as I am then they'll do well."
Beckett chuckled. "You're beginning to push the line between competitive and murderous, I think."
She laughed. "I keep the Slytherin Head Boy in a constant state of fear."
Beckett squinted over at the Slytherin table. "He's their Seeker, isn't he?"
Tyriana nodded. "I can't wait to catch the Snitch in front of him."
"Assuming he makes the team in their tryouts on Thursday."
"True," she admitted. "I hadn't thought about it that way. Maybe he'll get kicked off the team. It'd be nice to see the arrogant smirk get wiped off his face."
He chuckled again. "Alright, well I've got to go. I'm sorry about yesterday and I'm glad to hear that the tryouts turned out well."
"Thanks. Bye, Beckett."
"Bye."
Tyriana sat back down with her friends. "No comment," she said before they could interrogate her.
"You're no fun," said Delaney.
"That's what every boy she's ever spoken to has told her," Alara giggled, earning herself a glare.
"Just because I don't flirt with every other sentence doesn't mean I'm no fun," Tyriana countered.
"Since when did you flirt with anybody?"
"Yeah. How's it going with Caden?" Alara asked.
"Uh… I haven't talked to him yet," she admitted.
Delaney groaned. "How do you expect anything to ever happen?"
"I don't expect anything to happen. Besides, the main reason I haven't talked to him is because I haven't run into him yet. How can I talk to someone I haven't seen?"
"Tyriana, he's forty feet away," Alara said, pointing down the Hufflepuff table. "For a Seeker, you're pretty blind."
"Oh, be quiet."
"Go talk to him right now," Delaney urged.
"And say what? 'Hi, my friends told me that we should shag!' Something like that?"
Her friends snorted with laughter. "You had better be joking."
"Of course I am. I wasn't actually going to say something that awful. It's about as ridiculous as this whole idea of yours, though."
"Say something about how you enjoyed meeting him on the train — be specific about whatever you actually did together — and suggest that you two hang out after class. Go on a walk down to the lake or something," Brielle suggested.
Reluctantly, Tyriana stood and started making her way down the aisle towards Caden. As she approached, he stood up with two of his friends and began making his way out of the hall. The three boys' long legs quickly left her in the dust. Tyriana didn't feel like scampering after them and devising a way to separate Caden from his friends. They seemed to be engrossed in some kind of conversation anyways and she didn't want to rudely interrupt.
Feeling her friends' eyes on her, she shamefully returned to her seat.
"Seriously?" Delaney groaned. "That was lame."
Tyriana shrugged. "My heart wasn't really into it."
"It's a fling," Alara pointed out. "Feelings aren't required. He's hot, you're hot, you have some fun together with no strings attached. The end."
"Alright. Next time I see him I'll make a move," Tyriana conceded. She recognized that her body was pretty excited at the prospect of some action even though her brain wasn't. Maybe some meaningless fun was what she needed.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"Hey, Tyriana?" Brielle said from across the table.
"Yeah?"
"There's a Slytherin girl giving you a death glare over there."
Tyriana turned to look. "That's Zannah. Hawkins invited her over last night to shag but she said the M word to me and he had to kick her out."
Her friends exchanged glances. "He must be pissed." Alara concluded.
"Actually, he didn't seem very mad at me."
"That's odd."
"Why did he kick her out if he was okay with saying the same things to you in second year?" Brielle wondered.
"He said he wanted to save her from getting beaten up by me and he keeps implying that he regrets calling me a Mudblood back then." Tyriana said.
"Did you ask him about that? Maybe if you two can talk about that a lot of the bad blood would disappear." Siobhan was always so reasonable.
"He's put that conversation off twice now."
"Why?"
Tyriana shrugged, "Last night he said he didn't want to discuss such a sensitive subject when I was already pissed off about Zannah."
"What's her deal?"
Tyriana shrugged. "She's probably just a spoiled pureblood. Who knows?" Glancing over at the Slytherin in question, she saw that the girl looked absolutely furious. "Other than the fact that I'm Muggleborn, I only have a few ideas. I wasn't that nice to Hawkins at first when I got back last night and I dissed Slytherin a few times. She was yelling at me about not deserving anything that I have. Maybe I make her insecure about her own sense of superiority?"
Having already classified Zannah as an enemy, Tyriana decided that it couldn't hurt to play some mind games. She flashed a smile and a wink in the direction of the Slytherin table.
"Careful, Tyriana. She looks murderous," Brielle said.
She chuckled. "And what's Zannah going to do about it? Scream at me? Throw her makeup? The moment I walked towards her yesterday with my hands balled into fists she tried to hide behind Hawkins. I'm not scared of her."
"Just keep an eye out. She doesn't have to be in your face to hex you." Siobhan pointed out.
"Don't worry. I'll be careful."
Tyriana sat through her afternoon classes, the last of which she shared with Brielle. Her friend asked to see the Head Boy/Girl residence after class, and she agreed.
They had just finished climbing a staircase on their way to the fifth floor when a familiar voice behind Tyriana compelled her to turn around. Brielle hastily followed suite.
Zannah was stalking up the stairs towards them, flanked by two very large and mean looking Slytherin girls who appeared to be twins.
Brielle swallowed. "Should we… um… run?"
Before Tyriana could respond, Zannah yelled a string of insults that included the words "Mudblood," "bitch," "worthless," and "midget" about as frequently as the Slytherin girl could possibly grammatically incorporate them.
The other students in the corridor and on the stairs had frozen, watching the confrontation. A few scrambled out of the way as Zannah reached the top of the stairs and stepped up to face Tyriana, her huge friends flanking her like bodyguards. Zannah had about seven or eight inches of height on Tyriana, but she wasn't intimidated. The other two Slytherin girls were more worrisome.
Tyriana did her best to keep her expression neutral — her parents would have called it her poker face — as Zannah continued to insult her blood status, height, skills on the Quidditch field, and desire to prove herself. She figured, as Head Girl, it was her responsibility to set a good example for her peers. Punching Zannah was hardly appropriate, although her fist was itching to make solid contact with the Slytherin's face.
Zannah's cheeks were bright red and spittle was flying from her mouth as she seemed to have an enraged meltdown. She was now shouting something about teaching Tyriana a lesson and sending her back to the stupid Muggle family from whence she came. Tyriana's refusal to react seemed to only drive Zannah further over the edge. "Say something!" she finally screamed.
Forcing herself to display an unperturbed demeanor, Tyriana asked, "Are you done? I hope so, because if you say one more derogatory thing to me I won't hesitate to take fifty points from Slytherin."
If it was possible, Zannah's face contorted further with rage. She gave Tyriana a firm shove into Brielle, and both of them staggered.
If Zannah's burly friends hadn't been present Tyriana doubted that the Slytherin girl would have been willing to get physical, despite her height, reach and weight advantage. She didn't seem like the type to get her hands dirty. Tyriana, on the other hand, was happy to.
She lunged forward, ducking low and slamming her shoulder into Zannah's gut. She powered forward, pushing the Slytherin girl past her two massive goons and towards the yawning staircase. Tyriana stopped just short of the top and let momentum send a startled Zannah tumbling down the stone steps in a tangle of flailing limbs.
She didn't stop to savor the look of terror on the Slytherin girl's face since the two bigger girls were the real threat. Turning, she saw both had turned and were now advancing towards her. Tyriana knew that she now had the staircase to her back; this was a perilous position to be in. While the Slytherin goons' backs were turned, Brielle pulled a textbook out of her bag and charged to attack them from behind.
One of the big girls squinted, her piglike eyes noticing that Tyriana was looking just past her. She turned and saw Brielle approaching. Her meaty fist slapped the book out of Brielle's hand.
Tyriana didn't get to see much more since the other girl was practically on top of her at this point. Her parents had given her enough training that she knew how to defend herself. Tyriana ducked a sweeping punch and tried throwing a front kick into her opponent's gut.
The strike landed and the heavyset girl grunted but didn't falter. Her pudgy hands clamped around Tyriana's shoulders and threw her bodily against the stone wall.
Tyriana caught herself with her hands and successfully softened most of the impact but, while she was distracted, she couldn't stop her opponent from landing a heavy-handed punch across her face. Tasting blood, she used her short height and agility to her advantage as she ducked under the hulking Slytherin's next strike and danced out of reach.
A quick glance showed her that the other Slytherin had knocked Brielle to the ground. Seeing that her own opponent was only just now turning around to face her, Tyriana used the opening to rush to her friend's aid. As Brielle's assailant bent over to continue her attack, Tyriana came out of nowhere and punted her in the face.
Tyriana was rewarded with a crunch, a shriek of pain and a splatter of blood. Brielle's attacker reeled, clutching her face and staggering away. For all of her size and brawn, she couldn't take a kick to the nose.
Tyriana turned to face her original opponent and immediately realized that she was in trouble. The huge Slytherin girl was charging like a bull, rapidly closing the short distance between them. Most people wouldn't have had enough time to react but Tyriana's Seeker reflexes saved her — mostly.
She dived left, but the Slytherin's leg clipped her trailing feet. Tyriana's body was so light that she was spun by the force of the impact and she landed hard on the stone floor in a disoriented tangle of limbs.
On autopilot at this point, Tyriana scrambled to her feet. The Slytherin girl had barely avoided tripping over Brielle after mostly missing Tyriana. She'd stopped herself before running into the wall just beyond and was now bearing down on Tyriana again.
Brielle was rolling away, reaching for something in her robes.
Tyriana didn't have enough time to escape this time. She braced herself for what she knew was going to be a devastating hit.
"Petrificus Totalis!" That was Brielle's voice.
The monstrous Slytherin's body froze, but momentum was momentum. She plowed into Tyriana like a freight train.
Tyriana's whole body folded around the primary point of impact in her abdomen. She hit the ground hard, and was immediately crushed by the weight of the frozen assailant, who was at least twice as heavy as she was.
She tried to breathe — for some reason her body was telling her that breathing would relieve the pain in her belly and her tailbone (the latter being where she'd taken the brunt of the impact with the stone floor) but the weight on top of her was too much and the pain was too great. There was something sharp digging into her stomach that felt like an elbow.
Suddenly, the paralyzed body was heaved off of her and she saw the light of day again. She sucked in a desperate breath of oxygen. Her instincts were wrong (breathing hurt terribly) but she knew that she had to do it.
Her eyes focused on the towering figure who'd saved her from suffocating underneath her massive assailant. It was Caden.
"What the bloody hell were you doing, just standing and watching?" he was yelling at the bystanders. "No one thought to use their wands?"
Many of the onlookers, who were mostly second, third, and fourth years, looked sheepishly at their feet.
Caden knelt down next to Tyriana and was joined a few seconds later by Brielle, who had a bloody scratch above her eyebrow but otherwise seemed fine.
"Are you okay?" They both asked her almost simultaneously.
Tyriana tried to speak but could only cough. Her whole torso hurt. She wondered if her ribs were broken.
"We should take her to the hospital wing," Brielle panted,
"I've got her," Caden said, scooping Tyriana up in his arms. As he carried her down the stairs, she saw Zannah lying at the bottom, clutching the pieces of her snapped wand. Blood was fountaining from her nose but the Slytherin's sole focus was on the splinters of wood cradled in her hands.
As Caden carried Tyriana to the hospital wing, she had a number of thoughts. For one, this was not the way she wanted to be seen by her peers. She fully expected that she'd be teased for looking like a broken doll in Caden's arms when she was released from the infirmary. For another, this was not how she'd intended to meet Caden again. It was hardly the time for seduction, although she was enjoying the expression of concern on his face and the feeling of safety she got from how carefully he was carrying her. She hoped her promise to her friends that she'd pursue him the next time she saw him didn't apply under these circumstances because she was not feeling up to it.
Breathing was becoming a bit easier, thankfully, and the moment she could do more than croak she gasped, "Fifty points from Slytherin, five points from Gryffindor."
"What're the five points from Gryffindor for?" Caden asked.
Tyriana nodded in Brielle's direction. "No magic in the corridors."
"But I saved your ass with that spell!" Brielle protested. "Are you seriously going to—"
"—I am. I did. And my ass hurts pretty bloody bad even with your 'saving.'"
Brielle changed the subject. "Um, what's our story for what happened? I don't think the Head Girl getting in a fist fight is going to ingratiate you to the staff, Tyriana."
"They made extremely derogatory remarks, made us fear for our safety, and attacked first. The story is that we were defending ourselves. Paint it in a respectable light." Every word hurt to say.
"What about Zannah's motive?"
"I have no idea what's going through her psycho head. Tell the teachers the story I told you at lunch. That's what happened last night… Oh, and Brielle?"
"Yes?"
"Am I off the hook this time?"
"For what?"
"That promise I made at lunch."
"Oh, that promise." Brielle smiled wickedly. "No, I think not."
"Bloody hell," Tyriana groaned. "Why?"
"That's what you get for punishing someone who just helped you."
Caden broke his silence, entirely oblivious to the true nature of the conversation. "What in the world are you girls talking about?"
Brielle snickered. "Tell him, Tyriana."
"Screw you, Brielle. This is not the right time. At least wait until he's not carrying me like a sack of flour."
"Wait, this promise has to do with me?" Tyriana could almost see Caden's brain working, putting the puzzle together. Why am I surprised that he's at least decently smart? He's a prefect, for Merlin's sake, so his grades have to be good.
"Yes, it does," Brielle said before Tyriana could deny everything.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Tyriana bit the bullet. "I really appreciated how you helped me on the train. Even small gestures can mean a lot, you know."
Brielle's expression was priceless. She was beaming, her eyes urging Tyriana on. She seemed oblivious to the fact that the way her eyebrows were up was causing fresh blood to seep from the scratch on her forehead.
"What're you saying?" Caden asked.
"Well, um, I was thinking that we should hang out sometime and get to know each other."
Some kind of satisfaction flared in his eyes for a brief instant but, before Tyriana could read more into it, it was gone. "Sure," he said. "But how does this relate to this promise you made?"
"She promised that she'd ask you out the next time she saw you," Brielle explained.
"This is not how I wanted it to go," Tyriana groaned. "I shouldn't have hesitated at lunch."
They were giving Caden a lot of information pretty fast, and decent amount of it was implied, but he caught on pretty fast. "So this is the romantic kind of hang out, huh?"
"The sexy kind, actually," Brielle sniggered.
"Hey! This is about us, not you," Tyriana growled. "We'll do whatever we want to do, thank you very much." She was a bit alarmed to find herself referring to Caden and herself as if they were together. She hardly knew him, after all. How did I end up in this situation? Hopefully I'll get to know Caden a bit better soon. As much as Brielle seems to want this to be all about sex, I'm still looking for someone to be more than just a casual fling. So far, Caden seems like a pretty nice guy. Maybe he's the one? The thought of dating him certainly wasn't unpleasant.
