Disclaimer: JK Rowling is an amazing woman. Who writes fantastic things, such as Harry Potter.
However, I am a mediocre writer, and I own only the plot in this story, as well as Verity, and other characters that have not made an appearance in the Ms. Rowling's amazing series.
I woke up to the sound of strong wind and rain bashing on my window… Or maybe that's what woke me up. Either way, I woke up on top of a pile of books, quills, parchment, and bottle of ink… And my god, did moving hurt!
I stretched out painfully, and rolled my neck while checking to see what time it was. I groaned, and rubbed my head. Four in the bloody morning.
"Why am I even awake?" I muttered to myself as I began picking the bottles out of the pile, and then shoving the rest onto the floor with my foot. I plucked the sticky quills from my hair, and threw them onto my side table. I slid off of my bed as quietly as I could, and grabbed the necessary items to take the shower I neglected to have yesterday night.
By the time I walked back into the dormitory, the wind picked up some more, and it was raining dragons. I sighed as I stared out the window, hoping that nothing bad would happen to our team today. I watched the Black Forest sway, and the black clouds turn into gray before I turned around to finish getting ready.
"Bloody hell!" I jumped nearly a foot in the air when I was met with Fred, George, and Oliver sitting on my bed in their Quidditch uniforms. I looked around quickly, making sure I didn't wake up the rest of the girls.
"What in the world are you three doing here? And smiling like you did something terribly horrible?" I whispered hastily as I yanked my scarf and sweater from underneath them.
"Well, lovely Verity-" Chirped Fred.
"We haven't exactly done anything horrible," George smiled wider.
"Yet." I finished for them. I eyed all three of them. Oliver and the twins all stood up, and I backed away towards the wall. Oh no…
"How about we do the 'first match' tradition?" I frowned. The boys were beginning to corner me, and the air was getting awfully stuffy.
"There's never been a trad- you guys!" I squealed as Oliver picked me up, and threw me over his shoulder. They started happily down to the common room as I squirmed to get out of Oliver's grip.
"Jeez, Verity, chill out. Don't even bother trying to get out, because I'm not letting you go." Oliver laughed as he crawled out the portrait hole. I crossed my arms and huffed.
"At least tell me where we're going!" I glared at the animated paintings and portraits as they laughed and giggled at the sight of the boys and me.
"Down to the Astronomy tower." George said as he checked the corridor for any teachers.
"And why, exactly? It has no relevance to Quidditch at all."
"Like we said, it's tradition!" Fred smiled cheekily. I sneered at him.
"I don't see how. You guys never floated into my room, and surprise attacked me for the first match in the last five years. It's not a tradition if it's new."
"Oh, stop being a sour tomato." Oliver jumped to reposition me on his shoulder, and I gasped for air when my stomach hit his shoulder. "Sorry Verity."
"I hate you guys." I mumbled as I rubbed my head after hitting the corner of the wall.
"Well, it's been tradition for the three of us. We come up here to try to see the stars and guess whether they're in our favor or not."
"You guys aren't centaurs, how can you possibly read the stars?" I grumbled as we began going up the stairs.
"We're taking Astronomy, duh." Fred laughed.
"Astronomy is the study of stars, not reading- oh never mind." I sighed when I noticed the boys weren't even listening to my inputs anymore. They were trying to race up the stairs of the astronomy tower… with me on Oliver's shoulder. I kneed him in the gut about four times, and he still didn't take notice that I wasn't a sack of potatoes.
"Hey, that's not cool." Oliver said when I slapped his butt to get him to stop running.
"Oh, shut up, Oliver. It's not like you didn't like it!" Fred jeered. Oliver and I blushed mad reds. George grabbed his brother by the arm, and pulled him to keep on scaling the stairs.
I hung limply over Oliver's shoulder as they began to walk towards the open tower, exhausted and sore from getting thrown around so much.
"I don't get why we're doing this. The sky is horrible, it's crying and having a tantrum." I grumbled as Oliver set me down next to the giant globe.
The three boys stayed quiet as they each stared out, up at the dark gray sky that screamed with thunder, and threw bolts of yellows, blues, and reds. The rain smacked the balcony violently, yet it never dared to slide into the open arched tower. I walked up to Oliver, and rested my head on his shoulder.
"We have to play in this weather, Verity." He said quietly as he gazed upward. I rubbed his arm.
"I know." I whispered back. He wrapped his arm around me, and I shivered as gust of wind passed.
"I'm worried." Oliver pulled me tighter. I looked up at him, and placed my hand on his cheek. My thumb grazed along the slight bit of stubble than began to grow on his chin.
"Why? You guys will be fine. It's not like you haven't played in weather like this before. Remember your fourth year? You guys played against Ravenclaw in this mess, and still won."
"Barely. We were losing before Charlie caught the snitch."
"Oliver, really, why are you so worried?"
"This is going to be a tough match, Verity. Cedric is bigger, he can't be thrown around as much as Harry can. And the team hasn't been taking this seriously enough. You can already tell we're losing focus." He nodded over the twins, who were pushing each other onto the balcony, getting soaking wet.
"Ol, don't worry so much. You can't control the weather, and you can only take care of your own performance. You can't change how anyone else does theirs. It's all up to them. Besides, everyone has their own different ways of relieving tension." Lightning struck a tree in the Black Forest, and the thunder blared across the lake.
"Why are you always so calm?"
"I'm never calm, Oliver. It may seem that way on the outside, but on the inside… it's not pretty. It's a hurricane in there." I hugged his chest. "I just wish I could have a sunny day. I'm too conflicted; there's too many things."
"If you're like that all the time, why don't you ever tell me?"
"No one knows about any of this. I haven't told anyone of my problems, it's too hard. This is just how I feel inside."
"Well, let me be the first." Oliver whispered in my ear. "Let me give you that sunny day. Let me bring spring."
I smiled softly at him. "I don't know if that's possible. It's been winter in my head for four years. I've tried, and it never worked." I looked out to the landscape again, and watched as the Black Lake turned and splashed in the wind.
"I'd rather you don't try. I'll be able to fix it somehow." I kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going now. You should start heading down to breakfast. The sun's starting to rise. Remember, this is about the match now, not me."
"But, Verity-"
"I'll be watching. And make sure nothing bad happens, take care of yourself. Well, if something does happen to you, I'll be there." I winked at him, and twirled my wand.
"Bye lovelies!" I called to the twins. They turned to me, grinning and soaked.
"See ya later, Ver!" They ran and tackled me.
"Ugh. Gross! Now I have to change. You two are horrible." I laughed, and pushed them off. I waved as I began to descend the stairs.
"Verity, why were you up so early? You were making so much noise." Angelina said as she fixed her bed, already dressed in her quidditch robes. I looked around to make sure Lynette wasn't in the room.
"It wasn't me! It was the twins and Oliver, the kidnapped me!" I said as I grabbed a new sweater and changed.
"Of course it was them. Who else would it have been?" Alicia laughed. I rolled my eyes, and fixed my hair into brown curls. I rummaged through my trunk for the knitted beanie my mother made me last year.
"I'm going down for breakfast, would either of you care to join me?" I asked as I fixed myself in the full length mirror on the door.
"No, sorry Ver. We're waiting for Katie. We'll see you down at the pitch though, right?"
"Yeah sure. I'll be there." I walked down to the common room, and slipped out into the hallway.
"Oh! George, stop." I heard a girl giggle. I furrowed my eyebrows. George? No, it couldn't be George Weasley. He has a match to get ready for…
"I'm not, -" Oh. That is George's voice.
I heard the girl trill a laugh. "George, come on!"
Curiosity got the best of me, and I turned the corner, looking for who he was with. My hair turned blonde when I nearly ran straight into George and the girl. She had her arms wrapped around his neck. It was Elenna Heartsteelth, from Ravenclaw in our year. I remembered her from Herbology class last year.
He stared at me in shock, and I stared at the two with the same face expression. I recovered quickly, and composed myself in the quickest way possible.
"Verity! I didn't... This isn't… I mean -"
"I-I'm sorry for intruding…" I said quickly, and began to walk away, before I turned around. I heard his footsteps stop when I looked at him. "George?"
"Yeah, Verity?"
"Make sure you're at the field on time. I don't want Oliver to worry anymore." I said in the most flat tone I could muster. I turned briskly on the balls of my feet, and speed walked into the Great Hall. I sat down next to Lynette, and stared at my plate.
How could I have been so stupid? Of course George would go for another girl! I had half the mind to think he liked me? Obviously Oliver and he were fighting about something else, not me. And to think that I actually started to know what they were arguing about all the time. How could I have been so wrong? It's silly of me to think that either of them liked me. A few kisses and holding hands means nothing to them, apparently. Besides, they have girls crawling the floor for them, why in the world would they like me? I'm Verity Love, the book worm, the studious girl who got misplaced into Gryffindor when I should be in Ravenclaw. I'm the metamorphagus who's feelings are hidden behind glass. I'm Verity Love, their best friend.
"Verity, are you okay? You're acting like how Oliver was earlier." Lynette asked me, and shoveled food onto my plate.
"Oliver was brooding?" I stared at the food she put on my plate. She began cutting the eggs and sausage before starting to spoon feed me. Lynette really knows how to act like my mother sometimes.
"Well, he seems more a bit scared than brooding, and he definitely didn't need me to spoon feed him, but yeah, sort of."
"Why are you spoon feeding me?" I asked her through a mouthful of eggs. She laughed, and handed me a napkin.
"Because I know that if I don't, you're going to go anorexic." I swallowed, and frowned at her.
"I'm not going to go anorexic, I eat all the time!"
"Sorry, I'm just scared you will again. I'm not sure if you've fully quit the disease."
"When was I ever malnourished?" I took the silverware from her, and began feeding myself. Lynette looked at me seriously.
"When school started. Honestly, Verity, you looked like a zombie. What happened? You didn't even touch your plate then. The boys tried to feed you, but you never took a bite of anything."
"I don't like talking about it." I glanced at the ring on my finger, and then took another bite.
"Very well then. If that's the most you'll tell me." Lynette shrugged before popping a chocolate frog in her mouth. "When are you heading up to the match?"
"In a little bit. I have to return a book to the library first."
"Oh, alright. I'm heading over there now. Do you want me to save you a seat?" I chewed over the idea. The stands did get pretty crowded during quidditch matches…
"No, it's fine. I'll find one myself. Thanks for offering though." I smiled at her as she left the table. I got up after finishing the food on my plate, and grabbed my bag.
I entered the library, and sighed as the wind rattled the windows. I gave my book to Madame Pince, and looked at a few French books before I was about to leave the library.
"It's a scary day to be flying, huh?"
"It really is…" I replied. "Hello Terence." I looked up at him, and smiled back.
"Are you going to watch the match?"
I laughed. "I think I'm sort of obligated to."
"Obligated?" Terence scrunched his mouth.
"You know, like I kind of have to go watch it?"
"I know what obligated means, Verity. I'm not stupid." I raised my eyebrows, and set the French book back in its shelf.
"Well, then." I fixed my bag on my shoulder, and started to walk out.
"I didn't mean it in that way. I just… Why do you have to watch the game?" Terence grabbed my wrist.
"My three best friends are playing, that's why." I pulled my hand away from his.
"Verity, come on. I didn't mean to be so mean. Marcus just isn't happy right now."
"What does he have to do with any of this?"
"He's mad and it just rubbed off on me. I'm sorry, Verity." I raised one eyebrow at him, and then sighed. "Please, I was looking for you, just so I could ask you to watch the match with me."
"Alright. I'll watch it with you." I said, and studied him as his smile grew wider on his face. He was wearing a dark green long sleeve with a thick black jacket. I fixed my beanie as we walked out of the library together.
The stands were full, despite the horrible weather. I sat in the middle of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin sections, and watched the game with Terence next to me.
"I though Hufflepuffs were supposed to be nice?" I yelled at him over the noise. One of the beaters just slammed Katie off of her broom.
"Me too!" Terence laughed. I looked at him before returning back to the game.
"Oliver, look out!" I yelled just before a bludger hit him in the face. He rubbed his nose, which was pouring out blood. A time out was called for him and Katie to get fixed up.
"This weather is absolutely frightening." I said to Terence, rubbing my jar of blue fire. My hands were freezing.
"Mhmm." He nodded, fixed on the game as the players flew back into the air.
"Look! It looks like Harry's seen the snitch!" A Ravenclaw pointed up to a red dot flying into the sky. Cedric Diggory wasn't far behind. Soon the stadium started to get quieter as the sky darkened, and the lightning picked up. The thunder began to fill the stadium every time if sounded, bringing jumps from the first years. The temperature began to drop at least five degrees per second.
"Terence, what's happening?" I whispered to him. He looked at me, wide eyed after staring at a shape that formed in the clouds.
Then it came. A loud scream from the other side of the stadium, and everyone stood up, looking upwards at the sky.
Harry Potter was falling, and Dementors were flying right on his tail.
