A/N: And I'm back! =) It's my winter break now, so I finally have time to update. First off, I'm so sorry for not updating for so long, but college is really crazy! But I'll be free for two months now, and so I promise the updates will come more frequently. =) Thanks to xhpduhx, prith, aDeathlyHallow, mytondeftiger, Nelli-5, nightDREAMERms, Shan84, chloi, PropertyOfFredWeasley, Sherbetsnitch, bluepseudonym, DiamontsandPearls, Lisa and padoryia for reviewing! Thanks so much for all the nice comments, I really appreciate them and they make me so happy. =) Once again, sorry for the delay in updating, but rest assured the updates will come speedily now! Also, I hope that the long lay-off didn't cause my writing to deteriorate, but just in case, I apologize if this chapter isn't as good as the rest. But I'll do my best to get back into that writing groove! Thanks once again and (hopefully) enjoy this chapter!
"Angelina Johnson, don't you have detention tonight?" Alicia asked rather icily.
"Yes, of course I do." Angelina replied gaily. "How could I ever forget? Why do you ask such a ridiculous question? And don't you have quidditch practice tonight?"
"You mean the one you're supposed to be attending?" Alicia snapped. "I asked you that because you don't look like you're going for anything vaguely resembling detention!"
"How do I look then?" Angelina asked as she scanned her reflection in the mirror.
"Like you're going on a date." Katie chortled, hugging her knees as she sat on her bed.
"Which I am." Angelina said triumphantly. "Be jealous, girls, because tonight's my night. Just look. A full moon, a lake, a gentle breeze, a castle in the background, Montague and I all alone. It's the perfect romantic setting."
Alicia did not say anything. She was too busy tearing her hair out.
"Well, you look gorgeous as ever, Ange." Katie said approvingly. Her friend had washed her hair (which seemed quite pointless, seeing that she was simply going to get wet in the lake and would need a shower again later) and let it flow loosely about her shoulders, put on light make-up, and had unbuttoned the topmost button of her school blouse and hung her tie loosely around her neck. Her school skirt also seemed suspiciously shorter than ever.
"And I'm sure the grindylows will add greatly to your romantic atmosphere." Alicia said sarcastically, having regained her power of speech and deciding that this was not worth her pulling out her precious tresses over.
"Of course." Angelina said. "Every fairytale has an ugly monster in it. How else is the prince supposed to shine?"
"Please tell me you're not going to play the helpless princess in distress." Alicia groaned, burying her face in her hands.
"It depends. I always make it up as I go." Angelina said. "Now I must get along to my um, detention. You two had better rush off to practice too before Wood combusts."
"Do you think Warrington will be there?" Alicia asked anxiously, forgetting Angelina's scheme for a while.
"So what if he's there?" Angelina asked irritably. "Anyway I don't think he will be. They're avoiding us at the moment in case you forgot, thanks to Cho's brilliant scheme."
"Well, you've managed to corner Montague." Katie said, smiling. And I've managed to corner Bletchley, with no help from love potions, outright rudeness to teachers or detentions with grindylows!
"So I have." Angelina said happily. "Now come on, girls, we're running late."
The three girls hurried from the dormitory; Alicia and Katie to the quidditch pitch behind the castle and Angelina to the front of the castle where the Hogwarts lake and Graham Montague awaited her.
Professor McGonagall and Montague were already there when Angelina arrived. McGonagall's mouth was the thinnest of lines and her face was sterner than Angelina could ever remember. Montague was lolling against a tree in that handsome way of his; his long legs crossed elegantly and his dark curly hair rippling slightly in the breeze. He was twirling his wand impatiently with his fingers.
Angelina caught her breath. Damn, the guy was hot! With a smile, she noticed how similarly they both were dressed. He too, had loosened his school tie, and his school shirt was hanging out of his belt. Yet he did not look unkempt – instead he looked very fashionably and of course, handsomely, tousled and windswept. The fact that his tie was silver and green in colour and hers was gold and red only made him seem more attractive to her in some weird, twisted way. As she walked down the lawn towards him, she considered the both of them. Both were likely choices for the next quidditch captain once Wood and Flint had left. Both were very good chasers and either one almost always emerged the top scorer of the match. She realized too that they had rather similar personalities – they were both very determined people and neither liked to lose. Also, as was evident from her behavior today, both decidedly had a mischievous streak. Perhaps she was more Slytherin than she realized.
"You were almost late, Miss Johnson." Professor McGonagall said coldly. Angelina did not like this new unfriendly attitude from her Head of House, but then she couldn't really blame her for that.
"Sorry, Professor." she said contritely. After all, there was no need to continue with the rudeness now that her mission had been accomplished.
"You and Mr Montague will work together to rid the lake of Grindylows, or at least till the Grindylow population has dwindled to a low enough number to not pose a danger to the other magical creatures in the lake." McGonagall said, ignoring Angelina's apology. "I do not care what means you two choose to employ in doing this, but once they have been captured place them in that crate." She pointed to a large open crate beside the lake. "Professor Lupin would like to use them for his lessons on dark creatures. I have placed an Unbreakable Charm on the crate so that the Grindylows can't escape. Is that clear, Mr Montague and Miss Johnson?"
"Yes, Professor." Angelina said while Montague merely nodded coolly.
"Mr Montague, when I ask you a question I expect an answer. A verbal and audible one, I might add."
"Yes, ma'am." Montague muttered.
"Get to work now." McGonagall ordered, and swept off towards the castle doors.
Angelina waited till McGonagall had disappeared into the castle before turning to Montague.
"She didn't even say what time we could stop!"
"Are you deaf, Johnson?" Montague asked, sneering. "She said we had to clear this entire damn lake before we could leave."
"That's impossible." Angelina said. "That could take us till dawn, I don't know how many grindylows there are in this lake."
"Then let's get to work." Montague snapped. "I don't wish to spend more time with you than is necessary."
"Graham, why don't you drop that stiff manner?" Angelina asked playfully. She slipped off her shoes and socks and danced closer to the lake. When she was at the edge of the lake she turned and looked at Montague. "It's after school hours, no one is around, and we're at the lake. Just try to relax!"
Montague seemed momentarily stunned at the sight of Angelina dancing like a carefree child at the edge of the lake, the moonlight illuminating her silhouette with a soft glow. Angelina noticed his reaction, and smirked, which brought Montague to his senses at once. He shook his head as if trying to clear it of thoughts he did not want invading his mind. Whether consciously or not, Johnson was flirting with him, and he could not let himself be distracted. Remember what Warrington said. Don't be disturbed or affected and Wood's plan will fail for sure. Unfortunately, he could not even think of one suitable reply.
"I said, let's get to work." he said angrily. "I don't have time to play games with you, Johnson."
"Fine." said Angelina. She had all night to work on him anyway. With any luck they would be at it till dawn, and the morning sunrise could only enhance the romantic atmosphere. She stepped lightly into the lake's shallow waters and waded in till the water was up to her knees. Even then, her school skirt did not get wet, seeing how high above her knee the hem was.
Montague had slipped off his shoes and was rolling his trousers up to knee length. Then he strode into the water till he was next to Angelina.
"Now what?" he asked in a bored voice. "Where do we find those foul creatures?"
"Well, I don't think they'd come to us." Angelina said. "Hagrid says they live in the deeper waters of the lake and will only attack if they feel the stranger is a threat to their territory. Right now they probably don't know we're here so they won't do a thing."
"I didn't ask for a lesson on grindylows." Montague snapped. "I want to know what we have to do now! Do we have to swim down to get to them? I don't fancy being strangled by those creatures underwater, and anyway neither of us can just sprout gills to breathe underwater."
"Well, we'll have to summon them then." Angelina said composedly. No way was she swimming underwater to get to the grindylows either. Montague had to be able to fully appreciate her beauty, and the moonlight was essential for that.
"And let them all set on us at once?" Montague snarled.
"Well, alternatively, my dear Graham, we could just go back up to the lawn, sit down and enjoy the moonlight, and when Professor McGonagall comes to us in the morning, tell her straight in the face that we simply couldn't be bothered to do the job."
The corner of Montague's mouth twitched before he could help it. "Like you'd ever say that to your Head of House, Johnson."
"You saw and heard what I said today to both Flitwick and McGonagall." Angelina said lightly. "Why do you think I wouldn't say that?"
Montague smirked at the memory. "I heard rumours of your bizarre behavior with Flitwick all right. And I wonder how much of it is true."
"Then you're lucky, Graham, because the girl in question is right before you and can confirm those rumours. If what you heard was that I sauntered into class ridiculously late and ignored Flitwick, then yawned at everything he said, blew up my raven about three times and finally Engorged his head to about three times its size, then yes, all of it is true. Every word."
Montague could help it no longer. The smirk broke into a grin, and he could barely contain his laughter. It sounded so…so…like himself. It was pure devilry. And her tirade at Potter in the Great Hall? How he loved to see someone finally shout at that brat. Everyone else practically worshipped at his shrine. Even if it was the first time Johnson had raised her voice at him, it was immensely satisfying to see the shocked look on the kid's face. The fact that Johnson had used a most favorite word of the Slytherins on him made Montague want to howl with glee.
Noticing the change in Montague's expression, Angelina decided to fan the flames while they were hot. "Want to know why I Engorged his head, Montague?"
"Why would I be interested in that, Johnson?" Montague asked, trying to retain some of his old sneering self but quite failing. He was in fact bursting with curiosity on that point. What had made Johnson behave so mischievously?
"Because he's such a tiny little dwarf that I thought some enlarging would be good for him." Angelina said, grinning at Montague.
Montague could not control himself any longer. He burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Why, that statement sounded pure Slytherin, if someone else had told him about it but had not said who that statement belonged to, he would have thought it was Flint, or Warrington, or those two goons Bole and Derrick. How often had he and his gang of Slytherins poked fun at their tiny Charms master? In fact, he might even have mentioned once or twice himself that Flitwick sorely needed an Engorgement charm, except that he had been referring to a different body part from the one Johnson targeted. Warrington had roared in laughter and clapped him on the back. Montague chuckled at the memory. Who'd have thought Angelina Johnson, a goody-two-shoes Gryffindor, would have appreciated such distinctly Slytherin humour?
Angelina was laughing too, and this cut into his thoughts. Turning, he looked at her; her dancing eyes and smiling lips. Suddenly, he felt a weird sensation around his midriff. Before he could remind himself to take control of such emotions, Angelina spoke.
"Well worth a detention with Grindylows, definitely." she said, a twinkle in her eye. "That was the best fun I've had for a long time."
"I always said you Gryffindors were too tightly wound up." Montague said smirking, before he could control himself.
"It seems we really do have something to learn from you Slytherins, huh?" Angelina said playfully. "I never knew being naughty could be so much fun."
Damn, the girl's hot! The thought flashed across Montague's mind before he could stop himself. Subconsciously his fist curled tighter around his wand, and he drew a sharp intake of breath at her comment. I never knew being naughty could be so much fun…oh Johnson, the things I could show you…He suddenly felt himself remembering the day she ran into him outside the Great Hall, how she had landed squarely on top of him, how it had felt to have her body pressing against his…
Splash!
Montague was jerked violently out of his thoughts by a handful of lake-water in his face. Spluttering a little, he dragged his sleeve across his face, wiping the water off before looking straight at Johnson, who was laughing at his reaction. She had splashed the water at him so violently that some had landed on her too; droplets were clinging to her face and hair.
"Angelina Johnson, you're learning this much faster than I'd like." he said in a mock threatening voice.
"I've past the point of no return so I can be as naughty as I like now, Graham." she replied tauntingly.
"I'm the last person you'd want to mess with, so be warned."
"Wrong. You're the first." Angelina dipped down and before Montague could say another word, she brought another wave of water crashing down on him.
"Oh, that does it!"
Angelina shrieked in laughter as she turned to one side to avoid the splash of water that Montague sent her way. She was now drenched from head to toe, but that did not make Montague stop at all. He continued splashing her with water, while at the same time moving closer and closer to her to increase the effect.
"All right, all right, I give up!" Angelina laughed, spluttering and choking at the same time. Her hand shot out and grabbed Montague by the collar (he was that near to her by then). "Did you hear me? I give up, you win, stop that!"
Montague, determined to get another shot in before he spared her, scooped up a handful of water and without really thinking, poured it down her partially open blouse.
Angelina gasped as the cold water hit her bare skin, then she turned and looked Montague straight in the eye. Her fist was still curled in his collar, and he stared down at her, half-defiant, half-confused, as if he wasn't sure what he had just done.
"Why, Graham Montague." she whispered silkily. "That was a very very naughty thing you just did." She dragged him down a little closer to her and looked deep into his eyes. Although she was trying to act the part of the seductress here, she couldn't help but feel her heart racing. She was excited, she was thrilled, and goodness, she was scared! The fact was that she was in extremely close proximity with a supremely hot guy whom she had been fantasizing about for years, and although it was her mission to hook him, she couldn't help but feel that she was being hooked herself. Control yourself, she told herself firmly.
Montague, in turn, was looking straight back into her eyes as if seeing her clearly for the first time. She was so unbelievably gorgeous; perhaps there was a small, hidden part of him that had always thought so, but had been forced under by his overwhelmingly competitive spirit and the strong Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry. But now it was close to impossible to not give way to those feelings. She was so close to him that from the edge of his eyes, he could glimpse her bra beneath her unbuttoned school blouse, and even when he ignored that sight, he could see her chocolate-brown eyes, so playful and alluring, and the wet locks of dark hair that clung to her face. His heart beat faster as she suddenly pulled him down so close that their lips were inches away from brushing…
And then she pulled back.
As Montague sputtered in confusion and indignation, Angelina smirked as she turned her back on him. Nice one, Ange. She mentally congratulated herself. She was close, that close, to kissing Montague, but had held back at the last moment. Initially that had been what she was working towards, but something told her that for a player like Montague, it was wiser to leave him wanting more. Let him feel a bit more of that desire and frustration, and he would be hooked for sure.
"Johnson, tell me – what th- what the hell – was that for?"
Angelina's smirk grew wider. "Come, Graham." she said silkily. "We have Grindylows to catch."
It was pitch-black before Wood finally released his team. Alicia groaned as she landed on the ground and dismounted her broom. Her muscles were seizing up and she ached all over. With Angelina absent, she had had to do much more passing and goal scoring than ever, with the result being that she could barely move her scoring arm.
Katie landed smoothly beside her. "You ok, Alicia?"
"Wood is mad." Alicia snapped. "And Angelina's mad too. I'm going to kill her for this. Thanks to her the two of us had to work our bones off today. How are you feeling?"
"Oh, I'm fine." Katie said, shrugging. Having practiced with Bletchley every day, her arm had gotten quite used to such torture.
"I don't believe it." Alicia grumbled.
"Come on, let's get you up to the dormitory." Katie said soothingly. "I've got some ointment which is excellent for muscles aches." After all, she had been in severe need of that after her sessions with Bletchley.
"Do you reckon Angelina's done by now?" Alicia asked. "We could go walk up with her."
Katie chortled. "If I know her she's probably stalling for time so that she can spend more time with Montague. I doubt she's done yet."
"Let's go check anyway." Alicia said. "At least we can be sure she hasn't been eaten by a Grindylow."
The two girls set off for the lake. "Not that she doesn't deserve it, though." Alicia added darkly.
Montague cursed as he wrestled with the foul creature. The stupid thing seemed to have made it its mission to gouge out Montague's eyes before the night was over. Fuming, he reached out and grabbed its fingers, or at least what he assumed were its fingers. To his surprise, they broke at once, and the Grindylow howled with rage and pain. Its other hand started flailing wildly, scratching Montague's face in the process.
"GODDAMNIT!" Montague roared, letting go of the thrashing creature. It fell at his feet in the shallow waters and continued jerking around wildly. Montague reached for his wand in his robes, pointed it at the Grindylow and performed a quick Banishing charm, sending the Grindylow flying into the crate at the edge of the lake.
"Are you alright?" Angelina yelled from the other side of the lake. She was busy casting spells here and there, as Grindylows flew at her from all directions.
"Bloody creature almost took my eye out!" Montague snarled angrily.
"You've got to be quick, Montague, you can't let them near you, hit them with a spell before they can!"
"Easier said than done, Johnson!" Montague yelled back, as he blasted a Grindylow away. Another one grabbed at his robes from below. Cursing, he sent the Grindylow flying with a kick, and it landed back into the water.
"Graham, we're supposed to be putting them into the crate, not sending them back to the lake!"
"Oh, I'm sorry but I can't be too fussy about what to do with them when they're trying to maim me!" Montague roared back.
"Think about it, Montague, if you want your revenge on them you'll have to screw them real bad, not send them back to freedom!"
What? Revenge on Grindylows? That was about the stupidest thing Montague had ever heard, really, only a Gryffindor could come up with that kind of crap, but…
Reluctantly, a grin tugged at his lips. The situation now seemed funny as opposed to irritating, and he felt more cheerful as he Banished an oncoming Grindylow. Who knew he could actually feel cheerful in the presence of Grindylows and a hated rival? But then, was she really a hated rival after all? Before they had performed a Summoning charm which triggered the onslaught of Grindylows arising from the deep waters of the lake, he had almost been…having fun. It was ridiculous, he could not possibly be enjoying the company of Angelina Johnson, Gryffindor and rival Chaser, but…
Montague shook his head. He could leave such thoughts for another time, preferably one in which there were no Grindylows trying to gouge his eyes out.
From far, Alicia and Katie watched speechlessly.
"Well." Katie said finally. "It seems like they're too busy to chat."
"Let's just leave." Alicia said. "I doubt they'll be done till sunrise."
Katie agreed.
The orange sun was glowing brightly against the sky by the time Angelina dropped the last paralyzed Grindylow into the crate. Montague was cursing as he examined some cuts on his arm.
"Well, we did it!" Angelina said happily as she stepped back from the crate.
"We sure did." Montague muttered. He looked up at her. How could she possibly be so happy after such a night? They had had no sleep at all, breakfast was due to start in an hour's time, they still had a whole day of lessons ahead of them, and they were both scratched and cut all over. "Johnson, why the hell do you look so happy?"
"Well, Graham, we've actually survived a night of getting attacked and clawed by Grindylows, and on top of that, we've got all the foul things trapped in that crate over there, awaiting a fate in which they'll see no further than Lupin's office, and get peered at for hours by pesky little third-years. I think that's enough to put a smile on my face."
Montague felt a smile growing on his own face. Damn, Johnson could be really funny when she wanted to. She's smart, gorgeous, sexy and funny…
"Anyway, it's been a nice time, Graham." Angelina continued, walking towards him. "I look forward to doing it again."
"Surely not, Johnson. I've seen enough of those foul creatures to last me a lifetime."
Angelina laughed. "To be honest, same here. But it was fun spending time with you, despite the Grindylows. Something tells me we should do it again." Her heart began to beat quickly. Now was it, now was the time to ask him to the Ball.
Montague took a step back, staring at her in amazement. Could she actually be trying to ask him out? He opened his mouth to say something to encourage her, but stopped almost at once. What the hell was he thinking? This was Angelina Johnson, a Gryffindor.
"So I was thinking, we should-"
"Johnson, I'm dead tired. I'm going up to rest before breakfast." Montague said, cutting her off abruptly.
"Wait, I-"
"Goodbye!" Montague practically fled the lake, leaving a stunned Angelina behind.