Author's Note:Welcome back readers! Enjoy this newest update!
Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter. That pleasure is reserved for the great JKR. I only get to take her characters out on play dates.
Oh boy, I thought to myself. So much for no drama this year. It's only the first day of class and already I have a creepy guy in my own house, I kissed one of my only friends, and one of my best friends best friend absolutely hates me. How can this possibly get any worse?
I turned back towards the Gryffindor tables, heading towards the table I had sat at for breakfast, only to notice that no one else was there yet. Looking at my watch, I realized that there was still another 20 minutes or so until lunch officially began. I sat down and pulled out a novel I had shoved in my bag that morning, on the off chance that I might have some down time during the day. Flipping it open to where I had left off, I quickly lost myself to the fictional world.
I was still completely immersed in my book when Fred and George came strolling in that I didn't notice them until I was suddenly squeezed between two hard male bodies, causing me to drop my book on the table. Looking up, I noticed smirking at me from either side.
"Fred, dearest brother, it appears that someone has taken our spot for our favorite meal of the day."
"It seems that way, George. I don't understand why someone would do that to us, especially someone we consider a dear friend," Fred replied, clasping a hand to his chest in anguish. It would have appeared more sincere, if his ever present smirk wasn't still planted on his face.
"It's really not very nice of said dear friend. I hope that she has thought up some idea on how to make this up to us," George murmured, a dangerous looking spark entering his eyes.
"Boys, whatever it is you have planned, please leave me out of it," I quickly stuffed my book back into my bag, noticing that the rest of the Great Hall was starting to fill up. "I know I said before that I would love to help you guys out with your pranks this year, but I just don't feel like doing it again this year, especially when I don't have my two partners in crime. It just won't feel the same."
The twins looked at each other for a moment before starting to laugh quietly.
"Well, it looks like I owe Lee a galleon now," Fred replied, a half smile on his face.
"Actually, Angie, we weren't even thinking about asking for your help on a prank."
"We really just need some help keeping a certain Gryffindor prefect distracted for a couple hours after dinner tonight."
"Think you can help us out?" George asked, both he and Fred turning their best puppy dog pouts m direction. I couldn't help but laugh at how those innocent looking pouts were completely offset by the mischievous glint in their eyes.
"What are you trying to hide from Hermione?"
"How did you know-?" Fred began.
"-we were talking about Hermione?" George finished.
"I saw her this morning looking a bit ticked off because of some poster in the common room. I could only assume it had something to do with you two."
"Very perceptive," George commented. Food began to appear on the tables, announcing the beginning of the lunch period.
"We just need to get a little bit of work done without the possibility of her walking in," Fred continued, beginning to pile food onto his plate.
I took a moment to gather food on my plate before replying. "Well, I guess that I can manage that. Maybe Ginny can help me keep her busy for a couple hours." At Fred and George's growing grins, I couldn't help but smile too. "However, you two will owe me for this."
"Name it," George promised, taking another bite of his Shepard's pie.
"Don't know yet, but I'll let you know when something comes to me," I smiled, digging into my own lunch as Angelina, Alicia, Brittany, Katie, and Lee made their way over to sit with us.
All of us sat around joking for the entire lunch period, hardly noticing that the Great Hall was slowly emptying. It wasn't until Angelina checked the tie that we realized that we were almost running late for Transfiguration. We grabbed our stuff and practically ran through the halls, even Fred, George, and Lee, strange though that may seem. Katie broke off from our group to make it Charms on the third floor, with a kiss for Lee and a glare in my direction. When we finally got to the classroom, it was with only moments to spare. Unfortunately, that also meant that most of the seats were taken. With everyone else in our group pairing off for the empty desks (Alicia and Brittany, Angelina and George, Fred and Lee), I was left to take the only empty seat left next to a Ravenclaw that I had never seen before.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked, slipping into the seat next to him at the back of the classroom and taking out my textbook, quill, and spare parchment.
"Not at all." At his deep voice, I looked up into his face, really noticing him for the first time. He had dark brown, almost black, shaggy hair that was slightly curly around the bottom. His green eyes twinkled a bit in the candle light of the room, while his half smile caused a subtle fluttering to occur in my stomach. Which was not something that I wanted to investigate further. "I'm Roger Davies. I don't recall seeing you around here before. Are you the new girl who transferred here?" he queried, giving his head a toss to flick a chunk of hair out of his face.
"Yeah, that's me. I'm Angie Westermann," I answered, giving him a slight smile. He looked like he was about to say something else when Professor McGonagall swept into the room.
"Good afternoon class. Open your text to Chapter 1: The Art of Personal Transfiguration. As many of you can assume, this term will be focusing on personal transfiguration, which is the most difficult, and dangerous, transfiguration one can attempt. As such, this will require a great deal of self-discipline. If you feel like this subject is beyond your abilities, please see yourself out of my class." I could see McGonagall fixing her glare on the twins at this. I couldn't see their faces, but I could only assume that they grinned in response, since McGonagall's glare grew even more pronounced.
No one moved from their seats. McGonagall flicked her wand at the board behind her and notes began to appear while she began to lecture on the history and uses of personal transfiguration. Caught up as I was trying to take precise notes, I almost jumped out of my seat when I felt something brush by my hand. Looking down, I saw a small origami cat rubbing against my hand. As I picked it up, I threw a questioning look at Roger, but he was focusing on McGonagall, a hit of a smile on his lips.
The cat came apart the second I touched it, unfolding into a flat piece of parchment. There were only two words on it.
Favorite color?
I shook my head before writing back, sliding the parchment to the empty space between us.
Blue. Yours?
I saw Roger take the note before trying to focus back on McGonagall. It was hard to keep track of what she was saying when most of my attention was waiting for him to write back. When he slid the note back towards me, I waited a few moments before grabbing it, trying not to seem too eager.
Same. Why did you transfer here?
I worried my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to think of the best way to phrase an answer.
My parents were transferred from the US Ministry, so here I am.
It was only a minute until I got a response.
Huh. Well, that explains the accent. Do you miss it much?
Yeah. All of my friends are there. It's still weird to think of not being able to graduate with them. Oh, and I do not have an accent. That would be all of you.
After I slid the parchment back over to him, I heard him chuckle quietly before he responded.
Whatever you say. What other subjects are you taking?
Charms, Defense, and Potions. Seemed like a nice, light class load. Then I had Charms this morning. If all of my classes are like that, then so much for free time. What about you?
Same, minus Potions and add in Herbology. I can't believe you are taking Potions. If you thought Charms was tough so far, just wait for your first Potions period.
Is it that bad? I don't think I've heard anything about it so far.
Let's just say that there is a reason most of us don't go on to take it at N.E.W.T. level.
I've screwed myself over this time, haven't I?
A startled laugh burst from Roger's lips, which he covered with a cough when McGonagall's steely gaze turned on him. When Angelina turned her head to give me a questioning look, I just smiled and went back to making notes on what McGonagall was saying.
The rest of the period went by uneventful, though I knew that I would have to ask Brit to copy the notes that I had missed. Roger and I continued to pass notes back and forth, talking about whatever would pop into our heads. When the period was over, I packed up my supplies and was about to leave, seeing Brit and Alicia waiting for me at the door, when I felt a hand on my arm. Looking up, I saw Roger smiling down at me.
"It was nice to meet you, Angie. Maybe we can make this a permanent arrangement?" He asked, a slight smirk on his face.
"It was nice to meet you too. And maybe we can, as long as your laughing doesn't get us in trouble with McGonagall again," I laughed, returning his smirk. "But I have to get going. Brittany and Alicia are waiting for me. I'll see you around, okay?"
At his smile, I turned and walked towards Alicia and Brit, both of whom had wide grins on their faces. They reminded me a bit of the Cheshire cat.
"So, you and Roger Davies, huh?" Alicia joked as we left the room.
"We are just friends," I urged, letting them steer me across the courtyard. I still had no idea where I was going in this place. "Since all of you left me alone to fend for myself, that was the only seat left open. But he seemed nice enough."
"Sorry, we weren't thinking," Brit apologized, though she didn't appear to be too sorry about it. "But you two did seem awful close. And you would make a cute couple."
"Brittany!" I tried to stop, but the girls just pulled me along. "We just met each other, for Merlin's sake. I'm not even sure if I like him or not like that."
"Oh, don't lie, Angie," Alicia scolded with a smile. "I know that I saw you smiling at him more often than not during class, along with that nice blush you had going when you were talking with him after class."
"I…but…we…it's just…ugh!" I could feel myself turning bright red. We had reached the other side of the courtyard and I saw a bench off to one side. Breaking away from the girls, I walked quickly over to it, threw my bag on the ground and sat down, head in my hands. I heard Brit and Alicia laugh as they joined me, one on either side.
"No reason to be embarrassed, Angie," Brit consoled, rubbing small circles on my upper back. "So what if you're attracted to him? Doesn't mean you have to do anything right now, or ever for that matter."
"But," Alicia added, "I think it was fairly obvious that he is at least attracted to you too. He had that stupid dopey grin on his face every time I saw him looking at you."
"But I don't even know him that well. I mean, we just talked for what, 10, maybe 15 minutes? How do you think that I could possibly want to do anything with him after knowing him for so short a period of time?" I turned my head to glare at Alicia. "And he does not have a dopey grin. I think it's quite….nice," I replied, struggling to find the right word.
Alicia just laughed. "Angie, you two were passing notes for almost an hour. I'm honestly surprised that McGonagall didn't catch you."
"Really?" I was honestly surprised. It certainly hadn't seemed like we were talking for that long. "Well, I mean, he did ask me to sit next to him from now on," I offered.
"See! That definitely means that he likes you," Brittany gushed.
"And besides, you know that he has to have a great body under those robes," Alicia smirked.
"Alicia!" Brit and I exclaimed at the same time, though it was rather nullified when we both started laughing.
"What? I was only going to say that he's the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. And if he is anything like Oliver, he has a wonderful body," Alicia supplied, quirking her eyebrows. All of us laughed at that, before gathering our things and heading out of the courtyard.
"By the way, Brit. Could I borrow your notes from last period? Mine are surprisingly incomplete," I added with a wry grin. This just started another round of laughter.
Brit had Ancient Runes right after Transfiguration and had to rush off in order to make it there on time. That left Alicia and I with a free period until dinner. Since it was so nice outside, we decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to go down to the Quidditch pitch for a quick ride. After dropping off our bags in the dormitory, we changed out of our robes and into more comfortable riding clothes before grabbing our brooms and heading for the pitch. Once we were there, Alicia transfigured a rock into a Quaffle for us to throw around. It felt wonderful to be back in the air again, even if it was only for a game of catch.
It was starting to get close to dinner when Alicia decided to call it a day. Not wanting to leave the skies just yet, I waved her off to the castle, promising that I would be able to find my way back. I flew lazy circles around the stadium, just enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping through my hair. I probably spent another 30 minutes outside before I touched down, ready to head inside. Carrying my broom over my shoulder, I made my way up the path towards the castle.
As I walked, my mind kept thinking back to Transfiguration and my conversation with Roger Davies. It seemed also silly to me to already have feelings for him. I had really only known him for about an hour, yet it seemed like every time I thought of him I would get butterflies and my face would start to flush. I couldn't even lie to myself and say that I wasn't attracted to him. He was an attractive guy, one that I could very easily picture myself with, no thanks to Brit's comment about us making a cute couple.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't realized that I had already reached the Entrance Hall until I heard the sounds of laughter and conversation. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I walked into the Great Hall. I noticed Fred and George holding court with the rest of the Gryffindor seventh years, where most of the laughter was coming from. Smiling to myself at their antics, I was about to make my way over to sit with them when I noticed Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron sitting a bit further up the table.
Fred and George's request suddenly popped into my mind, making up my mind for me. I walked past Fred, George, and everyone, giving them a smile and a wave, before sitting down next to Ginny further up the table.
"Hey Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Ron," I greeted, leaning my broom against the table next to me.
"Hey Angie! What are you doing down here? Thought you would be hanging out with my brothers," Ginny asked, while the others murmured their greetings.
"Seemed a bit noisy down there. Besides, I spent all day with them. I talked to you since yesterday. How was your first day?" I started filling my plate with food, realizing that I was quite hungry after all that flying.
"Quite uneventful. But then again, that's what happens when you have History of Magic and Divination on the same day," Ginny shuddered. "But how was yours? Are you starting to get used to Hogwarts, even a bit?"
"Well, I only had Charms and Transfiguration today, so it wasn't too bad. But I still feel as if I can't find my way around this place without getting lost," I admitted. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "Ginny, I don't suppose you and Hermione would want to help me out tonight. I was thinking about just walking around the castle, trying to better familiarize myself with it."
Hermione looked up when she heard her name. "Sorry, what was that?"
"Angie was wondering if we wanted to walk with her around the castle to help her get more comfortable finding her way around," Ginny replied. "I know I don't mind. Hermione, what about you?"
"I don't know," Hermione said, a frown pulling at her lips. "I was planning on camping out in the common room and working on all my homework. I have star charts for Astronomy, practice vanishing spells for Transfiguration, work on the problems Professor Vector assigned in Arithmancy, and then I have to start studying for O.W.L.S., otherwise I will fall behind in my study schedule."
"Um, Hermione?" I asked, once she was finally finished. "You do realize that it is only the first day of classes. Is any of that due tomorrow?"
"Well, no. But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't have it finished well ahead of time," she huffed.
"Do you think you can push it off just for a few hours tonight?" I pleaded. "I know that I'm asking a lot, but I would really appreciate it. Think of it as a personal favor to me."
Hermione seemed to think for a moment, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, before she let out a sigh. "Fine. But only for an hour, two tops. I don't want to fall behind after the first day." She turned back to her food and the open Arithmancy book she had next to her.
I turned to look at Ginny, who just shrugged. I guess that was how Hermione just was. I went back to eating, listening to Harry, Ginny, and Ron, along with some other younger Gryffindors I didn't know, go on about the new Defense teacher. She sounded positively awful. Once I was finished eating, I stood up and grabbed my broom, before turning to look at Ginny and Hermione.
"I'm going to go put this away before we go for our walk. I'll meet you guys back down here?" I asked. At their nods, I turned and made my way down to where Fred and George were still sitting, though now they seemed to be in deep conversation with Lee. At my approach, George nudged both boys and they sat back, turning to face me with smiles that were just a tad too innocent looking.
"Angie! To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?" George asked, winking in my direction.
"Oh, knock it off George. I don't even want to know what you boys are up to, as long as it doesn't involve me. I just wanted to let you know that you have an hour tonight, two tops, of Hermione-free common room time. Might want to set someone as a look-out to let you know when we are heading back. She didn't seem too pleased with me for pulling her away from her study schedule," I added.
"Wicked." Fred and George looked at each other, matching mischievous grins on their faces. "We owe one."
"Don't mention it," I said, waving it off. "I'll let you know how you can pay me back later. I'll see you boys in the common room later. Don't get into too much trouble," I smirked, before turning and walking away.
I felt much more comfortable with finding my way around the castle after my guided tour. Ginny and Hermione walked me through the entire place, it seemed, showing me the quickest ways to get to certain parts of the castle, handy short cuts (more from Ginny than Hermione), and which portraits to ask if I got turned around and needed help. When we had gotten back to the common room, Fred and George had already cleaned up whatever it was they were up to while we were gone and were relaxing in front of the fireplace with Angelina, Alicia, Lee, and Katie.
"Oi! Angie!" Fred called from across the room. "Come over here!"
Hermione left us to head to an empty corner table to spread out her homework, Ginny and I went to join the group by the fire.
"What's going on, Fred? Forget how to sit in a chair?" I joked, noticing that he was splayed sideways across the armchair, with one of his legs tossed over the back. George was leaning against one arm of the couch, Angelina curled against him, while Lee and Katie were in a similar position at the other end. Alicia as curled up in the other armchair. I sat on the ground in front of her, while Ginny took up a similar position in front of Fred's chair.
"You mean this isn't the correct way?" Fred asked in mock horror, while everyone laughed.
"Angie, Angelina was just telling us that she's having Quidditch tryouts this Friday," George stated. "Fred just wanted to let you know in case you were still interested in trying for the team."
I saw Katie stiffen a bit on the couch. "What position did you play, Angie?" she asked.
I blinked in surprise. This was the first time she had said something to me since Oliver's party. I'd almost forgotten what her voice actually sounded like. Mentally shaking myself back to the present, I tried to remember what she had just asked me.
"Well, um, I was one of the Chasers on grade's team, along with my two best friends."
"Well, isn't that nice?" Katie sneered. She got up from where she was sitting on the couch with Lee and stormed off towards the girls' dormitories. Everyone stared after her, questioning looks on their faces. Lee finally turned to face me, still looking confused.
"What the bloody hell was that about?"
"She hasn't liked me since we first met," I sighed, leaning back against the bottom of Alicia's armchair. "It seemed to me like she thought I've been hitting on you since we first met. And now I guess she doesn't like that I play Quidditch too?"
"Well," Alicia offered. "I think it might be more than just jealousy, though that is definitely a part of it. Katie, Angelina, and I have been the Gryffindor Chasers since our third year, her second year. I think she might be worried that if you try out, you would replace her as a Chaser."
"Shouldn't she be mad at me, then? Not Angie?" Angelina asked. "After all, I'm the one who is putting the damned team together, not Angie."
"Well, it doesn't matter," I stated. "Angelina, do you have reserve positions, in case one of your normal players gets injured or sick or something?"
"Well, yeah. I don't normally name them, but I do have people in mind in case that happens."
"Well, as much as I love Quidditch, I would be more than happy in a reserve position, instead of being on the actual team," I offered Angelina and the rest of the group a wry smile. "I really don't want to come between any friendships. And if you three have been Chasers together for four, almost five, years, you guys have to be fantastic together."
"Angie, that isn't your decision to make," Angelina argued. "I'm going to put together the best team possible, and if that means you instead of Alicia or Katie, that's the end of it."
"After tryouts, if you offer me a Chaser position instead of a reserve position, I will turn it down," I promised. "Well, I'm feeling quite exhausted. Think I'll turn in for the night," I stood up and made my way over to the girls' staircase. "See you all in the morning."
After Angie was out of sight, Angelina huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"She is so bull-headed," Angelina swore.
"Are you talking about Angie or Katie?" Fred joked, readjusting himself on his armchair.
Angelina let out a low chuckle. "I don't know. Probably both." She fell quite for a second. "Maybe that's why they don't like each other. They are so similar that they only see what they don't like about themselves in the each other."
"Angelina, it is getting way too late for you to start trying to be so philosophical," Alicia complained, causing everyone to laugh as Angelina threw a pillow at her.
After talking together a bit more, everyone left to head upstairs to bed, leaving the common room almost empty. The only two to stay behind were Fred and Alicia. Both were staring into the fireplace, seeming happy with the companionable silence.
"You know," Fred jumped at the sudden noise, not expecting Alicia to start talking. "If you want to make a move, you better do so quickly. She has already caught the attention of a few others."
"Alicia, what are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about Fred." Alicia turned to him, a sad smile on her face. "However, if you want to sit back and watch her go out with someone else, that's fine too. But I've seen the way you look at her when you think no one is looking."
Fred groaned, leaning his head against the back of the chair. "I barely know her, Alicia. I hardly think she wants some bloke to ask her out after being in the country for less than a month."
Alicia nodded, before standing up. "I wouldn't be so sure of that." When Fred's head popped up, she smiled and made her way over to the girl's staircase. Looking back at him, she added, "Brit and I were talking to her after Transfiguration. I think we might have convinced her to give this guy a chance. He was flirting with her fairly obviously."
Fred felt a rather unpleasant tightening sensation in his chest. He was almost afraid to hear the answer to his next question, but he needed to know who his competition would be.
"Who is it?"
"Roger Davies."
If you found the note conversation between Angie and Roger confusing, everything that Roger wrote was just in italics, while everything Angie wrote was in bold italics. Hope that clears up any confusion.
Author's Note: Sorry about the major lapse in updates. I wish I could say that life got in the way, but it wouldn't be the whole truth. I really lost my passion for this story and no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get it back. While I am writing again, and even somewhat happy with what is coming out on paper, I don't have the same feelings for this story that I did at the beginning. I'm working to get that back, and with graduation just around the corner, I will be able to dedicate more time to both writing and getting back those feelings.
Thank you to everyone who is still following this story, though I completely understand if you have written it off as never being finished. Also, a big thank you to those who continued to message me and remind me to come back to this story.
I have put a poll up on my profile, asking about that characters you all want to see in this story. If you vote, and possibly even leave a little review, it could encourage me to write faster.
~Clumsy~