Disclaimer: All recognizable characters/places are owned by J.K. Rowling and her publishers, and I do not claim ownership over them or their world. No copyright infringement is intended; this piece leads to no financial gain and it is written for the purpose of personal enjoyment and skill development. OC's and plot do belong to me.

Chapter 10 - Flabbergasted

It hadn't stopped raining since mid-October and the weather was getting worse. The Slytherin common room was beneath the lake and I didn't have to put up with the never-ending thunder. Instead, we got wonderful updates on the state of the outside world by how many grindylows the current carried away.

"Queen to E4," I said, leaning in, my fingertips touching in a mocking evil gesture. Adrian was propped against the green leather couches, a wide grin on his face as he tsked my move.

"Knight to E4," his knight decapitated killed my Queen.

"What! How?" I squealed; Adrian laughed. I sent my tower to kill his knight, but a stupid pawn killed my tower. "I hate this game."

"Incorrect," Adrian said, moving his queen to mate my king. "You just hate losing."

I shrugged, moved my king sidewise only to have it be in check again. "Pray tell, isn't there a Quidditch practice going on?" I watched a gryndilow trying to hold on to some weeds before being washed off with amusement.

Adrian shrugged, checkmated my king and watched with glee as the black piece surrendered. "I think Flint might've mentioned something about it, but I doubt anyone can fly in these conditions."

Just then the door of the common room opened. Six figures in mud-covered robes rushed in, dripping water and mud as people scattered out of their destructive path. Adrian snickered.

"Quidditch meeting, now!" Flint screamed, pushing some second years away from the fireplace and taking their seat. "Pucey, get your arse over here!" Adrian threw me an amused glance and walked over to stand at the back of an armchair, well out of reach of Flint's fists.

I chuckled, tucked my feet beneath me and waited to be entertained. The entire common room had gone quiet. "There is no way we're defeating Gryffindor in these conditions," Adrian looked behind him to show me a roll of his eyes. I replied in kind.

At once, all the players (and some of the other students) started to whine. The beaters had apparently hit each other in the face in the confusion that was the maelstrom outside. Flint even collided with the other chaser, Montague, but it was little Draco Malfoy's comment that got everyone to shut up.

It is quite clear the little toad can't stand not being the centre of attention for more than sixty seconds. "And with my broken arm… I won't be able to catch the snitch even if I see it…," he wailed. Several third year girls sniffed and nodded in approval. One tried to hug him, but he shrieked and scooted over.

I exchanged another look with Adrian.

Flint, however, jumped from his chair looking like he could've snogged his seeker. "That's it!" he said, pumping his fist into the air, his face illuminated in evil delight. "Get up you lazy bunch of girls, we need to speak with Snape!"

"What for?" Adrian asked letting his voice drawl and checking his nails.

Flint stared at him with a demonic glint. "Our seeker is injured, you dim-witted flobberworm. We can't play."

Half the team agreed with the captain's genius idea, the rest was dubious about it. Adrian was in the second half. "What are you suggesting then, cancelling?" he asked, "Gryffindor played without a seeker two years ago. Wood is not going to go for it."

"You can always postpone," I said looking at my nails and deciding they needed a manicure.

Flint spun around to stare at me, "Don't you have to go drool over a book?"

I told him where he could go, and decided to make it a French manicure.

"Postponing doesn't sound so bad," one of the beaters said. He looked quite hopeful.

"Wood's not going to agree to it," Adrian argued. "He's played without a seeker before."

"There is no reason Gryffindor shouldn't play this Saturday," Flint stood up. "It is us who can't."

"What are you suggesting we do then, captain?"

A wolfish grin marred his features. "Cheat."

"You knew about this, didn't you?" I lifted my eyes from my textbook and came face-to-face with the Gryffindorcaptain who was as red in the face as his Quidditch robes. There was smoke coming out of his ears, and I wondered if he'd taken a pepper up potion or if he was trying to become an angry bull animagus.

I pushed my reading glasses down on the table and placed a quill in between the pages to make my place in the book. "You mean the pop quiz we got the last week? Woody, I may like gossip but I can't know everything that goes on in this castle."

"Don't play stupid with me, Sarah."

I put the book down and stared at him for a few moments. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I said in what I hoped was a sincere tone; I wasn't too familiar with what honesty sounded like.

He glared at me one more time but didn't reply. Thinking the subject dismissed I grabbed my bag to find an ink bottle when his fists hit the table. I jumped in my seat, breaking my ink bottle over my skirt. It was my turn to return the glare. "Did you take some extra steroids-potions with your morning tea?" I grabbed my wand and cleaned my legs and skirt.

"Don't joke with me," he said through gritted teeth. His body was shaking and I was certain his eyelids were twitching. "I know you know… you probably came up with the bloody idea too."

"Read my lips Wood: I have no effing clue what you are talking about," I willed myself not to show him how much he was unnerving me.

He chuckled like a maniac before bringing his face inches away from mine. "The match, Sarah," he hissed. His face was close enough to mine that I could feel his warm breath on my skin. "The sodding Quidditch match, the one that should've been between my team and yours but you bunch of-"

Hmm… Quidditch… why does that ring a bell?

"What about it?" I asked, pushing his face away with both my hands, not at all surprised at how hot his skin was. Wood was known for running hot.

He groaned, tangled his hands in his short hair and began pacing back and forth. My eyes followed him like they would an indecisive bird. "You knew that Slytherin was going to cancel, didn't you?"

Oh… that. "Did they now?"

"It seems your seeker is too injured to play. That's bollocks and the entire school knows it."

"I don't think they heard you in Australia quite yet, Wood, mind repeating it?"

"You knew they were going to force us to play against Hufflepuff," that wasn't a question.

I leaned back against the chair, beginning to enjoy this little scenario. "Might've heard something…. In any case," I added seeing how the bull here had spotted my red hair tie, "I don't see what you're complaining about. You get an easy game."

"Easy?"

"Easy."

"Do you have any idea of how much this will complicate the game tomorrow?"

This was the second time in ten minutes I was being honest. That's some sort of record. "No, I don't. Hufflepuffs are pushovers and, let's be frank Wood, would you rather go against Slytherin in this weather?" I pointed my thumb towards the window, where right on cue, a thunder fell.

All the colour drained from his face; he seemed tired, exhausted. I almost pitied him (quote: almost). He dropped into the chair next to mine and buried his face in his hands. I looked over him towards the people were starting to come into the room.

When he spoke, his voice sounded beaten. "It's just… Hufflepuff changes everything…"

"Wood, it's Huff-n-puff you're talking about," I said, patting his shoulder. "You are giving them way too much credit."

He shook his head "That's what my team is going to think. You shouldn't underestimate them, Sarah."

"And you shouldn't overestimate them, Wood."

"Diggory put a good team this year…" he mumbled something I didn't catch A small sigh escaped my lips as I pictured Cedric Diggory getting changed into his uniform for the game. Maybe after Gryffindor slaughtered his team he'd be in need of a little pick me up? "Don't tell me you fancy him too."

I shrugged. He just shook his head and went back to moaning. Although I think I heard him say something that sounded an awful lot like "women."

"I'm so glad we don't have to play today," Montague said, rubbing his hands together and blowing hot air into them.

Malfoy, who had decided to sit behind me, moaned. "If only my arm wasn't injured…"

I rolled my eyes and snuggled further against Adrian's chest, focusing my sight on the goalposts and refusing to look down. "Ten galleons Wood is the first one to go down"

"I raise that to twenty, Derrick."

"You have yourself a deal, captain." Bets and comments came and went while we waited for the match to start. No one bet on the result, just on the possible misfortunes.

Terrence, who was sitting beside me, kept throwing me furtive looks. In the past, when there was a Quidditchgame it was his arms that draped over me. But today I had kidnapped Adrian to keep him away. I had avoided him for the last month, and yet he still didn't get the message.

"Hufflepuff is on the pitch!" Darlene yelled; my ears rung. Rain was pouring down with the same speed and ruthlessness of a wayward Bludger. It was hard to see two feet in front of you and I didn't envy any of the poor lost souls in the pitch.

"And there is Gryffindor!" Jordan's voice echoed, but the wind drowned it out. "The whistle is blown - and the game begins! Gryffindor has possession of the quaffle, one of the exceptionally talented and beautiful chaser but honest to Merlin, I can't tell them apart!"

Blurs of canary yellow and scarlet red raced over the pitch, hampered by the relentless weather. Jordan's commentary kept us aware of what was happening, but it was becoming difficult to even tell the teams apart as the storm worsened. "And that was a Bludger sent by the Gry- no wait, by the Hufflepuff beater to try to stop a Gryffindor chaser. Or so I think. The Quaffle is lost and back in possession of Hufflepuff - back in control o fGryffindor, how the hell they managed to catch that with-"

"Jordan!"

"Yes, yes, sorry, professor McGonagall. I was commentating on Gryffindors chasers' skill, catching the Quaffle in this … Now Quaffle still in Gryffindor possession - that must have been a Bludger or the Gryffindor chaser has a thing for pirouettes-"

"Jordan…"

"And… Yes! Gryffindor scores!"

Cheers erupted on the other side of the pitch, but were only half-heard by us. I heard Adrian swear before handing me two galleons.

"And Captain Wood calls for a time-out, probably wants to change into a pair of dry knickers the-"

"Jordan!"

"Aye, aye, go on with the commentary. While we wait, let's recap: Gryffindor is in the lead 50 to 10. And everyone here, myself included, is hoping one of the two seekers will catch the snitch in the next five minutes - preferably Potter."

"If they can see the snitch in this weather, then I am a Hufflepuff," Terrence muttered.

"And they are back! Don't know why Wood called a timeout, but his team seems to be playing with renewed vigour- or at least I think that is Gryffindor…" lighting flashed across the sky every couple of minutes, coupled with deafening thunder. The winds had picked up force, out-roaring even Jordan's most audacious attempts at keeping track of the score.

The cold had chilled me to the bones, and Adrian and I were hanging each other tighter. My teeth began clattering, and my body shivered uncontrollably. The rain had turned the pitch into an abstract picture of grey. My eyes glazed over as the roar of thunder faded back. The pitch had grown darker. "Is it me, or is it getting much colder than it should be?" Adrian's question sounded far away, as if he was yelling all the way from the Astronomy Tower.

Terrence yanked my sleeve; his face was pearl white and he was pointing downwards. There, by the edge of the pitch stood a couple dozen Dementors, approaching. I forced my head to lean back on Adrian's shoulder and stare at the downpour - anywhere but down.

"What is that?" Willow whispered beside me. I flicked my head back down to catch a glimpse of a huge silver bird chasing the Dementors away.

"A Patronus…"

Everything began to clear, my vision was no longer blurry and the cold retreated back. Jordan's words came back into focus, "Gryffindor seeker is down and - yes, Diggory catches the snitch! Hufflepuff wins, 160-50!"

I was growing impatient. I decided to wait another five minutes for the idiot to show up. I could hear the few people who were still eating dinner in the Great Hall and considered, more than once, approaching one of his team mates and demanding to know where he was.

Alas, there are reasons why I wasn't sorted into Gryffindor.

I checked my watch again and cursed just when the doors of the Entrance Hall opened, and in came Wood. He was as soaked as if he had gone skinny dipping with the Giant Squid. I wanted to let him know what was on my mind but he resembled a broken doll so accurately that I bit my tongue. He stopped walking just in front of me, lifting his head with an effort and sighed and went back to stare at the floor.

I tapped my shoe where he could see it. "Didn't succeed in drowning yourself in the shower, did you?"

He didn't reply; instead, he put a hand in his pocket and withdrew a handful of silver which he then offered it to me. I arched an eyebrow before grabbing it. "This will sound stupid but Wood, are you alright?"

"Best day of my life," he took an awkward step to the side, avoiding my gaze. In a burst of compassion, I placed a hand on his shoulder and poked his cheek with a long nail, forcing him to look up.

"You played a good game. The odds were against you."

"I told you we should take Hufflepuff seriously."

I poked his cheek, grinning. "Like to see that getting your hopes crushed didn't take the cheek out of you."

He grinned and straightening up, his brown eyes twinkling again and making me want to gauge my own out. "Wouldn't want to disappoint, would I?"

I shook my head, giving him another squeeze to the shoulder before walking off. There was a warm fuzzy feeling in my belly that I attributed to the extra hot French onion soup I had for dinner. I was unsure what was causing the marble floor seemed made of jelly. I made my way towards the common room in a drunken stupor; in fact, the corners of my lips turned upwards. That was, until I saw the most revolting image to ever grace human eyes: Adrian surgically attached to some bird's mouth, his body pressing hers against the cold stone wall. I felt my onion soup wanting to get out. My mouth was hanging open, no doubt. Whoever said bravery is the kindest word for stupidity sure as hell was right. Gryffindors really weren't clever.

"Oh- my - God."

That caught Abigail Williams' attention.

Author's note: I hope you all liked that little reveal. And is Elizabeth beginning to soften up?

This took ages and I apologize. Last week was absolute hell, but I won't bore you with all the details. I re-read this a little bit more carefully than normal, so hopefully I've kept the typos to a minimum. I'm hoping once school is done I may be able to have time to go over all the published articles and polish them (but that may just be an empty promise, we'll see).

Big hugs/kisses/cookies to everyone who reviewed 3 gracedkelly (constructive criticism is always the best, so thank you), bigblue88112, Crazy anime chick since 1993, Lola loves Marcus (Lizzie and Adrian are quite the team - I'm sure you'll like next chapter as Lizzie gets over this new incident) and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx (It's funny, I actually thought of making him gay lol) and to everyone who reads/favourites/follows this :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving (even though it was a month ago here in Canada!)