The next morning, most of the Gryffindor table was a bit sluggish at breakfast. The triplets were obviously suffering from a hangover. Daisy was already sitting at the table with a book when they shuffled in, Chris and Godrick following them.
"Ehm, look, Pixie," Jamie said as he sat across from her. She took a bite of eggs, not taking her eyes off her book or even acknowledging his presence.
"Morning Godrick… Chris," she said, her eyes flickering up to the tall blonde.
"Morning," they both said. Chris flushed slightly, still remembering their kiss from the night before and prayed that Jamie was more focused on Daisy's mind than his. This was going to be a hard secret to keep. He only hoped that Daisy was better at hiding her thoughts than he was.
"You can't ignore us forever," Jamie said. Daisy said nothing, just turned the page of her book. Jamie sighed and stood, walking farther down the table. After they had sat and started eating, Lucy and Toby walked in. Lucy sat next to Daisy while Toby sat across from her.
"Where's Sarah, Eliza and Lisette," Daisy asked, finally putting her book down.
"Still sleeping. They got into the rum a bit too much," Lucy said. "Where'd you go so late?"
"Common room," Daisy said. "Found a quiet corner."
"You didn't stay up too late, did you? You were still there when I went up around 1 a.m.," Toby said, slightly concerned. Daisy shrugged.
"It was around 3 a.m., I think," she said. Lucy gawked at her cousin.
"And you were up before any of us," she murmured.
"You didn't stay up that whole time drinking alone, did you?" Toby asked. Daisy glanced down the table at Chris, who smiled discreetly before turning back to the triplets.
"I had some company," she said, turning back to her food. Toby and Lucy shared a look then glanced down where Chris was attempting to console Remus, Alan and Jamie about something. No doubt the current silent treatment Daisy was giving them. They then stared at Daisy. Feeling her eyes on them, she looked up. "What?"
"Did this someone happen to be a certain blonde chaser?" Lucy asked, barely holding back her grin. Daisy shrugged.
"Maybe," she said. Lucy squealed and started clapping her hands while Toby looked at her oddly. Daisy quickly tried to quiet her, her cheeks turning pink.
"Hush! You're going to get everyone's attention!" she whispered viciously.
"So did it happen?" Lucy asked quietly, finally regaining a sense of discretion. Daisy rolled her eyes and turned back to her food. But her hair started turning purple. Lucy's eyes widened as she grinned. "It did!"
"Told you to hush!" Daisy said again, glancing down the table. Thankfully, her brothers were still preoccupied.
"What's going on?" Toby asked, leaning closer to the girls. Lucy turned to him.
"Daisy here has a crush on Chris and said she'd like him to be her first kiss. And it looks like it finally happened!" she whispered in glee. Toby looked at Daisy, eyebrows raised. She refused to look up, but her hair was now changing pink, belying everything.
"How did that happen?" he asked. "I thought you weren't interested in dating." Daisy huffed and got her hair color under control.
"It wasn't like I planned it… we were just… talking. And then before I went up to bed, well, it just… happened," she said, a small smile gracing her face.
"Is that a smart thing to do? Getting involved with your teammate? He's also your brothers' friend and roommate. You know Jamie's going to find out and then he probably will punch him," Toby said.
"Come off it, Toby. Don't ruin the moment. Our Daisy finally had her first kiss! And possibly her first boyfriend," Lucy said grinning.
"Well… I don't know about that. Toby is right in a way. It's not like we can just parade around Hogwarts together," she said, her face falling slightly. "And we didn't talk about… that… it was just a kiss."
"A secret affair… sounds so romantic," Lucy continued, not listening to the second half of what Daisy said. Before Daisy could respond, a group of sixth year Gryffindors walked up.
"Heard about last night. Seems you got a mean right hook, eh, Wood?" a tall one said.
"Don't, McGregor," Toby said with a sigh.
"Not taking the mickey. The Ravenclaw deserved it from what I hear. Just wanted to say, I'm impressed," he said.
"That was Jamie," Daisy said, glancing down at her brother.
"Not from what we hear," another said, with a grin. The group of boys laughed and continued on their way, glancing over at the Ravenclaw table.
"Bugger, what sorts of stories do you think are going around?" Daisy asked, concerned. They glanced over and watched a group of Ravenclaws walk in, staring at the Gryffindor table. Prentiss was in the middle of them, his nose repaired, though he still had a dark bruise under his right eye.
"At this school, who knows?" Toby said.
"She'll come around. You know Pixie. Gets all fired up for a couple weeks and then she'll calm down," Remus said half-heartedly.
"I don't much like it when she's like this," Alan replied sighed. "I don't even feel like going out on my date tonight." Jamie looked down at her. She was staring off at the Ravenclaw table, a look of worry on her face as a group of sixth year Gryffindors walked towards the triplets, laughing. He glanced over and saw the looks coming from Ravenclaw, then looked back at her just in time to see her shoot him a dirty look before she leaned in to talk to Lucy and Toby.
"Dunno… I think she might draw this one out," he said, turning back to his food, though he wasn't that hungry between his hangover and the situation.
"Maybe if you had just stayed out of it," Chris said offhandedly. All three triplets turned to glare at him.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have a little sister," Remus said. Chris shrugged
"But I do have an older brother. You remember what it was like for me until he graduated. And we weren't even in the same house. You know it can't be easy for her… having you three for older brothers," he said, before stuffing his mouth full of eggs. The three triplets stared at him, open-mouthed. Jamie sighed and looked at his plate.
"I suppose you're right," he finally admitted. "But we couldn't just do nothing. It's our little sister. We'd do anything to protect her." He glanced over at Chris. "Anything." Chris gulped down his food.
"Hey, Woods, heard about your sister. Seems she made right work of that Ravenclaw last night. Doubt any bloke would go near her now," a sixth year - McGregor - said with a laugh as he passed by the triplets. Remus and Alan glared at him, but didn't move or say anything.
"I suppose that's a good thing," Alan finally said after they had passed by. "And that Ravenclaw will no doubt leave her alone."
"Let's hope everyone else in this damn school does as well," Jamie said without looking up. Chris glanced down at Daisy and watched as she propped her chin up on the table in her tiny hand, looking a bit distraught. Her brow was wrinkled as she frown slightly, her green eyes flashing. Her red hair was pulled back from her face.
He quickly turned back to his food, banishing the thoughts of how she had looked in the firelight, her red hair seeming as though it was on fire. Her face lost in thought. How soft her lips were. He was toeing a dangerous line. Especially after the triplets had just nearly beat up another guy for almost kissing her. But at the same time, he hoped he would have a chance to talk to Daisy. He was even more drawn to her after their conversation.
His silent brooding was interrupted just a few moments later by the arrival of the Wood family owl, dropping off a little red envelope in front of the triplets. They all froze as they stared at it.
"Muster your courage, lads. We knew this was coming," Alan said as he reached for it.
"Best get it over with quickly," Remus said. Alan flipped it open and the envelop exploded with noise.
"JAMIE FREDERICK, ALAN HAROLD AND REMUS ALBERT! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU THINKING GOING AFTER A DAMN FIFTH YEAR!" their mother's voice boomed, reverberating throughout the hall. Everyone went silent and was staring at the three. "YOUR FATHER WOULD LIKE ME TO REMIND YOU THAT THIS COULD LOOK BAD WITH THE SCOUTS, BUT I'D LIKE TO REMIND YOU THAT I WILL NOT TOLERATE FIGHTING!"
"I almost wish Da would have been the one to send it," Remus muttered.
"AND JAMIE, I'M MOST DISAPPOINTED WITH YOU. WHAT SORT OF EXAMPLE ARE YOU SETTING FOR YOUR BROTHERS!" Iris continued. "YOU GOT EXTREMELY LUCKY THIS TIME! I KNOW YOU WERE TRYING TO PROTECT YOUR SISTER, BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE WOULD YOU USE YOUR BRAIN AND REPORT THE BLOCKHEAD TO A PROFESSOR NEXT TIME!" Several students looked at Prentiss, who was slumping down in his seat, feeling as though he were the one receiving a Howler. "YOU LOT ARE ON THIN FU-" there was a garbled sound as though the paper were being torn away.
"Your mother would like to say that you are on thin ice. We will be watching you and you will be grounded during Christmas break - no family quidditch tournament," their father's voice said. "While I don't approve of violence, your intentions were good, so it's only the first week. But keep out of trouble or your mother will be forced to pay a visit to Hogwarts." All three gulped. "This is not the year to botch things up." With that the red envelop went quiet, leaving a resounding silence throughout the hall. The triplets looked at each.
"Well, that could have been worse," Remus said.
"You reckon Mum was about to go on one of her muggle curse word tirades before Dad cut her off?" Alan asked.
"No doubt," Jamie responded.
"Well, now I know where Daisy gets her temper," Chris said.
Here is the next chapter! Getting into some of the fun stuff coming up... Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!