CHAPTER 10: ICE TIME
O'Bannon just couldn't do it.
He had plenty of opportunities to hex Fred and George Weasley into the next century. In class, in the corridors, in the Great Hall, in the common room. But every time he just couldn't bring himself to draw his wand.
What the hell's wrong with me? Was he being too nice for his own good?
Was he a wussy?
He sat at his desk in his dorm room, trying to finish his essay on Graphorns for Care of Magical Creatures class. But coming up with all the ways the horned, humpbacked creatures could harm wizards, and why trolls would want to ride on them, proved difficult. Too many thoughts jumbled together in his brain. Getting back at the Weasley twins. Penny breaking up with him. Wanting to go back to Salem.
O'Bannon checked his watch. At this time his friends back at Salem would be just about wrapping up their morning classes. He also figured it would be another week or two before the sports seasons began there. Quidditch, Quadpot and hockey.
He sighed. God, he was going to miss playing hockey this year, more than he ever imagined.
His eyes wandered over to his hockey stick, which leaned against the wall next to his bed. It had been there since he first arrived at Hogwarts. O'Bannon leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. It had been almost a month and he hadn't even touched it. What the hell was wrong with him?
Tingles raced up and down his body. He kept staring at his stick, imagining himself streaking across the ice, rearing back and smacking the puck toward the neck.
The yearning grew inside him. He wanted to be out on the ice. Needed to be on the ice.
Then why not?
Forgetting all about his Graphorn essay, he got up and grabbed his stick, flexing his hands around. It felt so good to hold it again.
He went into his trunk and pulled out his skates and a bag of pucks. Then he paused. If you're gonna do this, do it right.
O'Bannon dug through his trunk until he found his replica Boston Bruins jersey and put it on. He then donned a Bruins cap, tied his skates together and draped them over his stick, which he rested on his shoulder. He took a couple deep breaths, looking over his jersey, gripping his stick tight. This felt so right.
He headed down the steps, ignoring whatever stares he got from the Gryffindors in the common room. Minutes later he was outside, at the banks of a small pond halfway between the castle and the lake. Taking out his wand, he cast a Freezing Spell, turning the pond into a sheet of ice. His heartbeat picked up. Anticipation surged through his veins as he laced up his skates. When he stepped on the ice, he skated as fast as he could from one end of the pond to the other. The rush exhilarated him. All his problems at Hogwarts vanished as he sped around the pond. Images of games with the Blazenrowe hockey team played in his mind. Then his imagination kicked into high gear. He saw himself in a real Boston Bruins uniform, with team legends Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito around him. Twenty-thousand screaming fans packed Boston Garden as they skated down the ice.
"Orr cross-ice to Esposito. Esposito back to Orr. Orr over to O'Bannon, down the middle. O'Bannon one-timer . . . SCOOOOOORES!"
He smiled wide. Wizard or not, he'd give anything to suit up for the Boston Bruins, just once.
Putting the pipe dream out of his mind, O'Bannon skated over to the bank, grabbed his bag of pucks and dumped them on the ice. He then took the bag and used his wand to transfigure it into a hockey net. After lining up the pucks, he drew back his stick and whacked the first little black disc. A burst of sheer joy went through him as the crack of wood on vulcanized rubber filled his ears. The puck sailed into the net.
He smiled, stared at the second puck and raised his stick.
Thwack!
Another goal, left corner.
He went down the line, most of his shots finding their mark. After firing the last puck past the net, O'Bannon used a Summoning Charm to bring back all his pucks. He caught a glimpse of the castle. Some of his anger at everything that had gone on over the past month leaked through his joy of being on the ice.
That was okay. He could use that.
He lined up the pucks again. He stared at the first one, and imagined it as a face. The face of that greasy-haired jagoff Professor Snape.
THWACK!
The puck clanged off the crossbar.
The next puck had McGonagall's face on it. He smacked the hell out of it.
Goal.
He continued down the line, picturing other faces on the pucks. Bernard Arnfelt. Simon Hurst. Draco Malfoy. Fred Weasley. George Weasley.
Even Penny Nichols.
This time more pucks missed the net than went in. He didn't care. It just felt good to take out his frustrations on something.
"Accio Pucks!" The pucks flew through the air and landed at O'Bannon's feet. He lined them up again and raised his stick when he heard a voice coming from the bank.
"Here, what's this then?"
O'Bannon turned toward the voice to find Fred and George Weasley standing near the pond. He shut his eyes tight, face twisted in anger. Can't I get one friggin' moment of peace at this damn school.
One of the twins tilted his head. "Whacking little black objects that look like Cauldron Cakes with a stick? These Americans sure find interesting ways to amuse themselves."
O'Bannon scowled and struck one of the pucks as hard as he could. He missed the net by ten feet. "What the hell do you two want?"
Shocked expressions came over the faces of the twins. They turned to each other.
"Rather rude, wouldn't you say, Fred?"
"I agree, George. And here we went through all the trouble to brighten his day by giving him a new chair in History of Magic."
"A Sit-And-Scratch Chair." O'Bannon's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, real funny. You know what'd be even funnier? Me taking these pucks and cramming them up your asses!"
"Ouch! Hostile."
"Violent even."
"Perhaps the Sorting Hat should have put him in Slytherin."
"Now, George, don't insult the poor Yank like that."
O'Bannon clenched his teeth and felt his hand move toward his wand. Anger built and built as he stared at the smiling, laughing twins.
I'd call this provocation.
His hand hovered just above his pocket, and stayed there.
C'mon, O'Bannon. Just take out your wand, hex the hell out of 'em, and you get a one-way ticket back to Salem.
His hand would not obey his brain.
Dammit, do it! Get yourself the hell out of here!
But the more he stared at the twins, the more he took note of their smiles, their tone of voice. Not malicious, but more light-hearted, like when he and Jared ripped on one another back at Salem.
His shoulders sagged. His hand fell to his side. He just couldn't bring himself to attack them.
That's when the twins took out their wands.
O'Bannon tensed and went for his wand.
He stopped when Fred and George pointed their wands at their shoes and said, "Nullus Lapsus."
They pocketed their wands and walked across the ice as easily as walking across the lawn.
Again O'Bannon tensed as the twins approached him. What the hell could they be up to?
"Don't be so sore about the Sit-And-Scratch Chair," said one of the Weasleys, Fred he thought. "It was just our way of breaking the ice. Besides, you've been having a rough go of it here."
"So nice of you to notice."
The twins looked to one another, then back at O'Bannon.
"Well, we probably should have done it sooner," said George, "but we've been rather busy preparing for the Tri-Wizard Tournament."
O'Bannon's brow furrowed. "I thought you weren't of age. How can you enter the tournament?"
"Well that's what we're trying to figure out, Jimmy Boy," Fred told him.
He raised an eyebrow. Jimmy Boy? He wasn't sure how he felt about that nickname.
"Don't worry about it," George said. "We'll find a way to get ourselves entered in that tournament. We can even try to get you entered, if you want."
"Ha!" O'Bannon barked. "Yeah, right. Like anyone here would want me representing Hogwarts."
"Ah, right," said Fred. "You aren't exactly the most popular Gryffindor, are you?"
"But you're in luck." George beamed. "Because we can fix that."
"And why do you care?"
"Because we feel bad for you," said Fred. "And because you seem like a decent enough chap."
"I thought everyone in Gryffindor thought I was a psycho, especially after what I did to Arnfelt."
"Oh, Arnfelt's a wanker." George gave O'Bannon's comment a dismissive wave. "He's just hacked off because he doesn't have a quarter of the skill his father does. Makes him rather unpleasant to be around."
"We really can't blame you for wanting to smash him through a wall," said Fred. "There's a fair share of Gryffindors who'd like to do the same."
"Maybe," O'Bannon responded. "But what about all this crap between you and Slytherin House?"
"Oh that. Well, our House and their House basically hate one another."
"Yeah." George nodded. "Making friends with a Slytherin, not the best thing to do."
"Though Hadar Gilbourne isn't the worst of the bunch," said Fred. "I think he just goes along with the rest of the snakes because his dad works for Malfoy's dad. Hadar probably feels he hacks off Malfoy and his dad's out of work."
A frown tugged at O'Bannon's mouth. He started to feel bad for Hadar. Still, how could anyone live by letting someone else have so much power over them?
"Just a few misunderstandings," Fred continued. "Perfectly understandable, you being a new student here. Nothing that can't be smoothed over, if you'll let us."
Fred stuck out his hand. "What'd you say, Jimmy Boy?"
O'Bannon just stared at Fred's hand. The debate raged in his mind. Should he accept Fred's offer? He was looking to get out of this school, not make friends. And his previous attempts at making friends with Hadar and Hermione proved disastrous.
Still, something about Fred and George struck him as sincere.
What do you have to lose, O'Bannon?
He took Fred's hand and shook it, then did the same with George.
"There," George smiled. "Now that we're all friends, maybe you can tell us what it is you're doing."
"It's called hockey."
"Hoe-key?" George mangled the word.
"Hockey. It's a Muggle game invented during the Nineteenth Century."
"And all you do is stand there and smack those little discs into a net?" asked George.
"Well, no. I mean, you play with five skaters to a side, and a goalie in the net. You gotta skate up and down the ice, pass the puck and try to get it past the goalie."
"Hm!" An impressed look came over Fred's face. "It sounds a bit like Quidditch, only on ice instead of in the air."
"Actually, it is. The center and the wingers are like Chasers, where it's their job to score. The defensemen are kinda like Beaters. They try to break-up any offensive opportunities for the other team. Then the goalie's just like the Keeper."
"Any special discs . . ."
"Pucks," O'Bannon corrected George.
"Any special pucks in this game? Like Bludgers or Golden Snitches?"
"Nope. All you've got is one puck, and you just get it into the net as many times as you can."
"Sounds like an interesting game," Fred said. "You are Muggle-born, right?"
"Yup."
"You played on hockey teams before you found out you were a wizard?"
"All the time."
"You miss playing?"
"Actually, I still play."
"What, during summer holiday," asked George.
"Actually, Salem has its own hockey league."
"No way!" Fred looked shocked. "They play a Muggle game at your school?"
"How did they manage that?" George wondered.
"A couple Muggle-borns put it together back in the 1950s. Back then, Salem had a pretty progressive Headmaster who thought having a Muggle game at the school would help promote better understanding between Wizards and Muggles. Like you said, hockey's the closest game Muggles have to Quidditch, so a lot of witches and wizards at the school really enjoy it."
"Cool." Fred smiled. "Think you can show us how to play?"
"Yeah," George jumped in. "Our dad is crazy about Muggles and Muggle stuff. Even works for the Ministry's Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."
"I can only imagine how he'll react when he hears we played a Muggle game."
"Um, sure." The whole scene felt surreal for O'Bannon. Up until a few minutes ago, he was trying to convince himself to hex these two. Now he was about to show them how to play hockey.
Actually, even more surreal, someone at this school actually wanted to be his friend.
First he used his wand to cut down some branches from a nearby tree and transfigure them into hockey sticks. He then showed Fred and George the proper way to hold a stick, and the proper form to shoot the puck.
Both twins whacked the hell out of the pucks. Each one put a few pucks into the net. The rest went flying around and above the net. More than once their blades caught the ice before the puck, sending the little disc bouncing across the ice. A couple of those shots went in the net. O'Bannon knew that wouldn't have happened in an actual game with a goalie in net.
"Not bad for a couple first timers." O'Bannon nodded, impressed.
"Well we do like hitting things," George told him.
"Absolutely. We're Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
"Not that we're having Quidditch this year."
"First no Quidditch, then Dumbledore says we're too young to enter the Tri-Wizard Tournament." Fred scowled. "It's like he's deliberately trying to make this year miserable for us."
"We may have to do this hockey thing more often," said George. "Just to give us something sporty to do."
O'Bannon's eyes widened. My God, did they really enjoy whacking pucks that much?
A smile spread across his face. It seemed hard to believe, but finally, he had actually met some decent people at this school.
XXXXX
The three of them spent the next half-hour shooting pucks before they called it quits and headed to the castle for dinner. They walked to the Great Hall together, O'Bannon noticing some of the Gryffindors giving them curious looks as they entered.
"All right, Jimmy Boy." Fred slapped him on the back. "Time to start making some more friends around here besides us."
"Not that we're not charming company," added George.
"But you don't want to spend all your time around us."
"We'd start to drive you barmy."
"Then you'll want to kill us."
"And that wouldn't make for a very pleasant day, now would it?"
O'Bannon couldn't help but chuckle. And he thought Jared had a sense of humor that had no off-switch. He also couldn't get over the weird twin way they talked, like each of them took turns on the same sentence.
How do they do that?
"C'mon, then," Fred said.
O'Bannon followed him and George along the Gryffindor table. Nervousness bubbled inside him, wondering if the twins could smooth everything over between him and the other Gryffindors. He figured it would take a lot more than some jokes and smiles to accomplish that.
"How goes it, Lee?" George said to the black boy with dreadlocks. "I believe you know our resident Yank. Don't worry. You don't have to pry him off anyone this time."
"Not that you could do it before." Fred shot Lee a wicked grin.
"Come off it." Lee looked to O'Bannon. "Bloody hell, do you have a supply of Strength Enhancement Elixir?"
"No, I just do a lot of lifting."
"Well, do me a favor. Don't get into any more fights when I'm around." Lee lowered his voice and leaned closer to him. "I don't want to look like a wimp in front of the ladies, you know?"
O'Bannon smiled. "Deal, man."
The two shook hands. His smile grew wider. Things were starting to look up.
"What's he doing here?"
He turned and saw Angelina Johnson sitting across the table from him. Two other girls flanked her. Alicia Spinnet to her left, and the brown-haired girl he first met at King's Cross. Katie Bell was her name.
"Oh, come now, Ang," Fred said. "Don't be so hard on the poor boy."
"Do you know how many points he's cost Gryffindor?" she fired back.
"Look at all the points we cost Gryffindor." George glanced over at his twin. "But you still love us."
"Yeah, cut him a break," Fred said. "He's just made some mistakes that any new kid here would make."
"And it's not like we've been very welcoming to him, either," George added.
Angelina folded her arms and aimed a harsh gaze at him. O'Bannon just snorted.
Nobody said this would be easy. He also had to assume there would be some Gryffindors who wouldn't forgive him no matter what. It seemed Angelina Johnson would be one of them.
"I think Fred and George are right," Katie spoke up.
Angelina swung her head toward her. "Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am. I remember running into him at King's Cross. He was actually very polite, let me go onto Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters before him. Just like a gentleman."
That sent a shot of joy through him. Glad someone here thinks I'm a nice guy.
"We were all of us new here at one point," Alicia said. "Remember our First Year, when those older students dared me to go into the Forbidden Forest? Remember all the points I lost for Gryffindor when I got caught? You forgave me for that."
"Well, in our case, we knew you couldn't help yourself," Fred interjected.
"Yeah," George jumped in. "You never could take direction back then."
"Still don't, if you ask me."
"Isn't that the reason you fell into that bed of Blue Dreariums in the first place?"
The twins laughed.
"Sod off, you gits." Alicia scowled at them, but tacked on a quick smile.
Angelina's scowled deepened. "Then maybe he should have asked someone here what to do to not get points taken away from Gryffindor, instead of being moody and anti-social all the time."
"Well what about all the times people like you rode my ass when I got in trouble?" O'Bannon responded. "Maybe you could have offered me some advice instead of jumping down my throat."
Angelina's eyes blazed with anger. Had her skin not been the color of dark chocolate, her cheeks would no doubt have a crimson glow to them right now.
"He really is a good guy."
All their heads turned in the direction of the small voice. A few seats down, Dennis Creevey sat next to his brother Colin, looking very nervous.
"Where do you get off butting into our conversation?" Angelina snapped at him.
"Ang, c'mon." Fred sounded like he was scolding her. Even though O'Bannon had only really gotten to know him over the last hour, the tone sounded so out of place coming from him.
"Creevey, isn't it?" George asked.
"Yes."
"I heard about you. You're that Firstie who fell in the lake before the Welcoming Feast."
"Yeah, I did. And Jimmy almost jumped in to get me."
"Almost?" Fred turned to him. "What, did you have second thoughts about saving a First Year? Or can you just not swim?"
"I can swim, but that giant squid in your lake hauled Dennis out of the water before I could dive in."
"Really?" asked Alicia.
"It's true." Dennis leaned across the table, trying to get closer to them. "Stewart Ackerly and Laura Madley told me all about it the next day. They said Jimmy took off his backpack and was all set to jump in after me when the giant squid saved me."
Katie's eyes bulged. "I saw the lake on our way up to the castle. The water looked rough. You could have drowned."
O'Bannon met her gaze, thinking back to that night. That thought hadn't even crossed his mind as he was set to dive in after Dennis.
"Why did you do it?" asked Angelina. "Why did try to save this kid?"
O'Bannon shrugged. "Because I didn't see anyone else about to do it."
Angelina didn't say a word. She just stared at him, though her face did seem to soften a bit.
She stared down at the table for a few seconds before looking back up at him. "So what now? Are we supposed to automatically become friends?"
He flexed his jaw, thinking. "All I'm asking is that you give me a fair shake, and I'll do the same in return. And . . . and I'll stop being an anti-social prick around here."
"And what about all those points you lost us?"
"Help me understand this whole point system thing and I'll do my best to get those points back. If I stick to my end, you can make up your own mind whether you like me or think I'm a . . . wanker, or whatever."
He sore a smile flashed across Angelina's face, but it was so brief he couldn't be certain.
"Oh c'mon, Ang." Katie nudged her shoulder. "Show him you can actually be a nice person when you want."
She sent Katie a quick glare before turning back to O'Bannon. A few moments of silence passed before Angelina drew a slow breath. "All right, then. You do what you say, and I'll give you a second chance."
"Sounds good to me."
The two shook hands.
For the first time since coming to Hogwarts, O'Bannon was actually part of a conversation throughout a meal time. They explained the concept of the points system and the House Cup, which teachers tended to award points liberally – Flitwick and Sprout were two of them – and which ones were very stingy. That would be Snape, unless you happened to be in Slytherin. Trelawney also fell into that category, but only because she was so "flighty" she simply forgot to do it.
He also got an earful on the Slytherin House.
"It's got a reputation for producing dark witches and wizards," Alicia told him. "There's more than a few kids in that house whose parents were Death Eaters."
"They're also obsessed with blood purity," Lee said. "Just like ol' Salazar Slytherin was."
"He was one of the founders of Hogwarts, right?" asked O'Bannon.
"That's right. Thought only pureblood witches and wizards should be allowed at Hogwarts. When the other three founders told him they weren't for it, he left."
"Most of them also aren't fond of Muggle-borns," Katie mentioned. "A couple of years ago our Quidditch team was on the way to the pitch for practice and we ran into the Slytherin team. Do you know Draco Malfoy?"
"Unfortunately."
"Well, Hermione Granger said something to take the mickey out of him, and he called her a . . ." Katie checked around, then lowered her voice. "A Mudblood."
He sneered at the word, a favorite one of the racists in this world for Muggle-borns, since, in their warped view, such witches and wizards possessed "dirty blood." He'd heard that word a few times at Salem, even directed at him. Though the assholes who called him that never did it more than once.
"Poor Ron, though." George shook his head. "He came to Hermione's defense, tried to curse that little plonker Malfoy. But he had a busted wand then and the curse backfired. Spent the rest of the day puking up slugs."
"Ugh!" O'Bannon's face scrunched in disgust. "Well, I guess I can see why you have so many problems with that House. What about the other ones? Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff?"
"Not too many problems with them," Fred answered. "Lots of decent blokes in both Houses. Katie's older sister was actually in Hufflepuff."
"Definitely the nicer of the two Bell sisters, if you ask me." George wore a Cheshire Cat grin.
"Well no one did, you git," Katie snapped. "So get stuffed."
The Brits then asked him questions about Salem, what the campus was like, how the teachers were, what sort of activities they had. Fred and George also brought up how O'Bannon showed them how to play hockey. The others looked rather interested in it, Katie especially. The more he talked, and the more Fred and George and the others talked, the more O'Bannon felt his anger vanish. Something else also vanished.
His desire to bolt from Hogwarts.
Once they finished eating, Fred and George introduced him to a few other students. Some he made amends with. Others would probably need time to accept him as something other than a point-losing American psycho.
One student made him speechless when Fred introduced him.
"Harry. Don't know if you met our resident Yank. This is Jimmy O'Bannon from the Salem Witches Institute. Jimmy, I'm sure even you Americans have heard of Harry Potter."
XXXXX
O'Bannon walked in stunned silence back to Gryffindor Tower. I met Harry Potter. I actually met Harry Potter. This was even more exciting than the time he met Ray Bourque. While he admired the outstanding defenseman for the Boston Bruins, the guy never took down the most infamous dark wizard in history like Harry Potter. He shook the kid's hand, and he seemed like a cool guy.
Oh man, is everyone back at Salem gonna be jealous of me.
Speaking of which . . .
He hurried back to his room, sat down, and wrote a letter.
Dear Rosa, Jared and Artimus,
You're not gonna believe this, but today was actually a good day at Hogwarts.
TO BE CONTINUED