Chapter 10

Trinity was so embarrassed she hid herself in her room for the rest of the evening. She pulled the silver mirror out from under her pillow, closed her curtains and cast a silencing charm, she just hoped Kimberly was in her dorm, but was disappionted when the mirror gave a red glow after a few moments. She opened her curtains and decided to go and sit with the Weasley's. Hopefully they would've gotten over the mis-use of the common room password by now.
Trinity slowly descended the stairs and took residence in her armchair. Watching each of the Weasleys expressions before casting her gaze towards the floor. She started blushing.
"You've been thinking about him since lunch haven't you?" Ginny asked, smiling. Trinity's blush deepened and she shrugged. "You've been abnormally quiet - even for you."
Trinity couldn't sworn her blush was so red it'd gone purple. "Don't tease her." George scolded his sister, "we all know she's in love with Malfoy."
"Like you're in love with Lestrange!" Ron exclaimed.
Trinity couldn't help but chuckle, "how is Kim?" She asked, glad for a quick change of conversation.
It was George's turn to blush, "she's nice." He replied. "In Purebred today, Professor Umbridge told us that there's going to be a change in dorms."
Their mouths dropped open in shock. "What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"Well," George shrugged. "Apparently there are new dorms on the other side of the Black Lake. We'd be sharing a dorm room with our mates and use Floo Powder to get to and from Hogwarts."
"That's cool." Ginny said. "I like Floo Powder."
"Everyone likes Floo Powder." Ron stated, "who wouldn't like being immune from green fire?"
The conversation mainly centered around the new dormitories across the Black Lake and after next week, it would be the Christmas holidays'. When the soon-to-be twenty year olds' came back, they would be given their new dorms which they would share with their mate's.
As they all got to their feet and prepared themselves for their last lesson of the day (Ron and Trinity were heading to Astronomy), the Gryffindors' parted ways, telling each other to get a good night's sleep in preparation for their upcoming Quidditch match against Hufflepuff the next day.

As they walked up the stairs to the top of the Clock tower for their Astronomy lesson, Trinity blushed when she saw Draco. He was mid conversation with Blaize Zabini and Trinity couldn't help but examine his features. His jawline was clean-cut, he had broad shoulders with lean but muscled arms. His eyes were beautiful to her, steel grey, but in this light they shined silver, his platinum blonde hair - no longer combed over - was hanging loosely in his eyes, it was tousled and enhanced his 'bad-boy' vibe to a new level of extreme. Then there were his pale, slightly tinged pink lips. Which were soft against her own. Ron nudged Trinity and chuckled.
"What?" She whispered.
"You're staring at him." He replied. "Open-mouthed."
"No I wasn't." She replied, "I was...admiring the clockwork behind him."
"Miss Riddle and Mr. Weasley?" Professor Sinistra called.
"Yes?" They replied.
"Would you like to tell the entire class what you're discussing?" All the students turned to face them.
Ron shrugged, "not really, Miss."
"Well then, I suggest you had better pay attention." As the Professor began lecturing the students again, Trinity zoned out. The Quidditch images flashed across her mind again and Trinity opened her eyes a few minutes later with several faces peering over her.
She was in the infirmary. Did she black out?
"What happened?" She asked, sitting up.
Ron shrugged, "don't know really." He replied honestly. "One minute you were standing next to me in Astronomy and then...you weren't."
"She was probably swooning over Malfoy." Ginny giggled.
"I was not swooning!"
"Yes you were," Ron corrected, pointing at her. "I believe we were five minutes into the lesson and I caught you staring at him." He turned to face his siblings, "her mouth was practically on the floor."
"It was not!" She lightly slapped him on the arm.
"Whatever." Ron rolled his eyes.
"Put these on." George stated, handing her red and gold robes. Her Quidditch attire. Infact, now Trinity looked around, Ginny, George and Ron were wearing their Quidditch robes. "Are you alright to play?" He asked.
"Play?"
"It's Saturday." Ron replied. "You've been out all evening and all night. It's time for Quidditch."
That news shocked her, but still, she was the teams Seeker. She quickly and got out of bed, still dazed about why she had passed out, she'd heard a lot of whispering voices and cursive spell enchantments, it frightened her, and green fog had clouded her vision, it was eerie.
"Of course I can play." She hesitated before drawing the curtains around her bed. She quickly undressed before pulling on her Quidditch trousers, jersey, boots and gloves. She carried her cloak with her as George handed her a broom whilst they left the infirmary and headed towards the Quidditch pitch.

As they readied themselves for the game, Trinity could hear the rest of the school cheering for their chosen teams. She pulled on her cloak and pulled her hair into a ponytail before mounting her broom and standing upfront with George.
The gates opened and Gryffindor flew around the pitch with Hufflepuff before taking their positions in the air opposite the opposing team.
Madam Hooch strode onto the pitch and set up the box of Quidditch equipment. George and Dean swung their bats and once the Bludgers and the Snitch were released and the Quaffle was thrown into the air, the game began.
Trinity flew around the pitch, trying to distract the Hufflepuff Seeker from finding the Snitch. He tailed her the whole time giving her evil glares as he did so.
George swung his bat and sent the one of the Bludgers soaring towards the Hufflepuff Chaser with the Quaffle. One he was disarmed, Ginny zoomed in and snagged the wooden ball before passing it to Whitney who was flying past.
Trinity avoided the Slytherin tower and flew higher into the air, spinning upside down as she caught sight of the Snitch.
She went in for the kill - picking up speed as she soared through the air.
"It looks like, Riddle's got her eye on the Snitch!" Zacharias informed the spectators. "Will Gryffindor take the first Quidditch match? Or will Hufflepuff have this in the bag?" George appeared beside Trinity and gave the Bludger an almighty beating - sending it flying across the other side of the pitch.
Nathanael aimed the Quaffle at the goal post and Gryffindor cheered when the ring echoed the sound of a gong. "Gryffindor score ten points!"
The Hufflepuff Beater swung his bat and the Bludger flew through the air towards Trinity. Dean soared past the raven haired Seeker and sent the Bludger flying in George's direction who managed to aim the Bludger directly for the goalposts.
"Twenty points for scoring the Bludger!" Zacharias announced.
The Hufflepuff Seeker - Harper - had also seen the Snitch, and was riding beside Trinity. She glanced at him before pulling upwards - leaving him to chase the Snitch by himself.
"What's Riddle doing?" Zacharias exclaimed, "is she going to let Harper get the Snitch?" The Hufflepuff Seeker was directly below Trinity now, and the raven haired girl gained momentum, as she began flying straight down. Just before Harper grabbed the Golden Snitch, Trinity soared directly infront of him - elbowing him in the shoulder as she did so. Harper lost sight of the Snitch and control of his broomstick, almost falling off.
"Nice one Riddle!" Zacharias exclaimed as all the Gryffindor spectators errupted in cheers. Trinity followed the Snitch around the pitch, speeding up as she flew past the Slytherin tower, she soared right over their heads - causing most of the students to duck. She soared past the Professors' tower and pulled upwards to follow the Snitch. It was in her sights, and she reached out for it - but it darted downwards. Trinity followed the Snitch, getting closer and closer to the ground - causing the audience to cry out. She grabbed the Snitch tightly in her hand before pulling upwards sharply and holding the Snitch above her head, the toes of her boots almost scraping along the gravel.
"Riddle caught the Snitch! Gryffindor recieve one hundred and fifty points!"
"Gryffindor wins!" Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signifying the game was over. The final score was fourty points to Hufflepuff and two hundred and ten points to Gryffindor.
Trinity dismounted her broom and was embraced by Ginny and Whitney.
"Yeah!" Ron and Dean high-fived each other whilst George and Nathanael shook hands, cheering along with the crowd of Hogwartians.

The Gryffindor students stumbled back to their common room in a congratulatory heap of excitement. They'd won the first Quidditch game of the year and they were revelling in the happiness.
Trinity pulled her hair out of her ponytail. "I'm heading upstairs for a shower."
"Not going to join the party?" Ron asked.
Trinity shook her head. "I'm not very comfortable in crowds." She replied, casting her gaze to the stairs; longing to use them.
Ron nodded in understanding. "I suppose you're going to the library afterwards then?" He asked.
Trinity nodded, "yeah. I have an extra assignment from Professor Slughorn." She said.
"Alright, I'll see you later then, okay?" Trinity smiled before jogging up the stairs to her dorm room. She kicked off her boots and pulled off her gloves before shrugging out of her cloak. She stepped into the bathroom and locked the door before shredding off her trousers, jersey and underwear before turning on the water.
She scrubbed away the sweat and dirt and washed her hair, happy and content with the peace. Her thoughts wondered to Draco and she unconciously smiled when she imagined his lips against hers. As the water ran cold, Trinity turned off the faucet before stepping out of the shower and wrapping herself in a towel, she then pushed open the bathroom door leading to the girls' bedroom.
Trinity pulled a brush through her tangled locks before pulling out some underwear from her trunk and putting it on. She pulled on her tights and skirt before slipping into her shirt and jumper. She put on her shoes whilst tying her tie and then pulled on her cloak. Trinity cast a drying charm on her hair before pulling the brush through it once more and then headed downstairs with her bag.
She past a lot of Gryffindor students, and as the excited cheers and shouts seemed to grow louder and louder with the amount of people crowding around her, Trinity felt her breathing going ragged, she quickened her pace and finally made it to the portrait hole.
Outside the common room, Trinity sighed with relief as the corridor was empty. She walked slowly and silently along the corridor towards the library, and it wasn't long until she found herself putting her bag ontop of the desk infront of the window of the stained glass butterflies.
She took a seat and pulled out her Potions work, a piece of parchment, her quill and ink. She struggled with the questions for ten minutes before pulling out her textbook and skimming the contents page. She flipped through the book and scanned through the parragraphs looking for anything that might help her.
"Don't fret, Riddle. Your tutor has arrived." Butterflies formed in her stomach at the sound of Draco's voice. He took the seat beside her and smirked. "Impressive skills today on the pitch." She nodded and mumbled a quiet 'thank you'.
He looked over her shoulder at her work. "That's wrong-" He pointed out "-and that...and that."
"Alright," Trinity sighed.
"And this."
"Okay." She put a line through her work and threw her quill down in defeat.
"That's not the way to go about things, Riddle. You should know that." Draco picked up her quill and handed it to her before pointing out the first question, "we did that yesterday. How did I cut the Valerian Roots?"
"Chopped them?"
"Yeah." He nodded, "what about the Sopophorous Bean?"
"Crushed it."
"With what?"
"The side of the knife."
"There's the answer to your first question." He shrugged and looked around the library while she scribbled on the parchment.
"Question two." He pointed out. "The answer is the name of the potion." He looked at her expectantly, "what was the name of the potion?"
"Something about the Dead Living?"
Draco rolled his eyes, "Draught of Living Death."
He helped her with her assignment for the next thirty minutes until the main piece of work was finished. "It wasn't that hard was it, Riddle?" He smirked. "We'll have to make a potion to do the other sheet."
Trinity shook her head, "thank you."
"That's alright." He replied, "what're you doing in the library? Don't you have the Quidditch win to celebrate with your House?"
The raven haired Gryffindor shrugged, "I don't like crowds." She replied.
Draco searched her face, "why is that?" He asked.
Trinity looked up. "I don't know." She replied, "I just...don't."
They sat in silence for a few moments until Draco turned around to fully face her. "So...why can't you do Potions?" He asked, "isn't that what your family's good at? I heard the Dark Lord talking about how it was both his and his sisters best subject once."
Trinity cast her gaze down to the table and felt her eyes tingling again. She was going to start crying. In the library. Right infront of Draco Malfoy. Couldn't someone just come along and kill her right there and then? Before she had time to stop them, tears began to fall down her porcelain cheeks. She looked away from the platinum haired Slytherin beside her and wiped her eyes.
"Are you crying?" Draco asked. Trinity began to get up when his hand shot out and gripped her forearm. "That's it isn't it." He said. "Potions."
"He's disappointed that I'm a Gryffindor. He's angry that I'm not good at Potions."
"What did he do?" Draco asked, although he could probably guess.
Trinity sniffed and wiped tears from her eyes, "used the Cruciatus curse on me." She cleared her throat. Keeping her eyes glued to the table.
"That's why you dropped the book in the library." He stated, "your arm's were aching. It was too heavy to hold." Trinity nodded again and got up to leave, she shouldered her bag and walked out of the library, not sure of where she was going to go, Hagrid's hut maybe? She could go and see Norbert? She walked silently along the narrow bridge, occasionally looking over the edge to see the long drop below.
As she reached Hagrids hut, she heard the giant talking, to who she did not know, but when Fang replied with a playful bark, she knocked gently on the door. Within seconds, it opened and Hagrid smiled welcomingly towards her.
"Hello!" He beamed, "it's Fang's birthday today - I made him a cake...you don't have another detention do you, Trinity?" He chuckled. Trinity shook her head and smiled kindly. "Come in," Hagrid stood aside and allowed the Gryffindor to step over the threshold. He closed the door behind her and gestured to the kettle. "Tea?"
"No thank you, I...I came to talk to you about dragons." She stated, patting Fang on the head and grimacing at the castle shaped tower of dog food.
Hagrid chuckled, "I can tell you a lot about Norbert if you'd like?" He asked, pouring himself a big mug of tea and taking a seat in the chair opposite Trinity, who nodded eagerly to answer his question.
"He's friendly really," he began. "I think he sees me as his mummy. I'd like to think so aswell." He chuckled. "He eats Flamed Meat - and a lot of it, I can tell you!" Hagrid told Trinity that Norbert liked plants and wildlife, drizzling rain and sunshine. "For some reason though, he doesn't like flying."
"Can..." She hesitated and twiddled her thumbs.
"Yes?" The giant encouraged her.
"Can you speak Dracore?" She asked.
Hagrid shook his head. "I'm a giant, Trinity. Not a wizard." He chuckled and then frowned in suspicion. "How do you know about Dracore? That language died out a long time ago."
Trinity cleared her throat and looked at the giants beard when she spoke, "well, when Draco and I went to see Norbert. He could kind of understand what I was saying." She looked down at the table, "and Professor Snape thinks that instead of inheriting Parseltounge from my family, I can speak Dracore from an ancestor."
Hagrid beamed, "this is amazing!" He stood up, "do you want to go and see Norbert with me, after dinner on Monday?"
Trinity nodded eagerly and walked to the door with Hagrid, "thank you for coming." The giant smiled kindly.
"It was nice to talk to you Hagrid." The raven haired girl smiled before jumping down the steps to his hut. "Happy birthday, Fang." She smiled at the giant dog, who was wagging his tail.
"I'll see you Monday!" He smiled and waved before closing the door, leaving Trinity to walk back up to Hogwarts.
Something cold and wet landed on her nose and Trinity looked up to see a few speckles of snow starting to fall from the cloudy white sky. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face as she walked back into Hogwarts.
She walked to the Great Hall and sighed when she saw the Weasley's and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team still celebrating. She sat on the bench away from everyone else and ate quietly. She sighed when she felt the eyes of the first year Hufflepuff's on her back again. Ignoring them, she continued to eat, and when she was content with her hunger she stood up and headed towards the library, planning to spend at least another hour or two there.
There was a group of Slytherin's up ahead, and as Trinity walked past, she could hear them talking about the unforgivable curses. More specifically, the cruciatus curse.
"I wonder if the Headmaster uses it as punishment?" One of the Slytherin's asked.
"We better be good this year." One of them chuckled. Trinity ran the rest of the way to the library in fear. She pushed open the door and ran to an isle which was empty. She huddled herself on the floor in a corner beside the bookcase and began to read her Potions textbook. Silent tears trickling down her cheeks.

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