Chapter 11: Learning the Skills


The next morning, when Leila walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, she found Draco Malfoy confronting her brother. Leila groaned. This sort of scene seemed to be a regular occurrence these days and to be honest, she was getting quite tired of it. Why couldn't the annoying prat leave her prat alone? With a sigh, Leila looked over to Daphne, who stood beside her watching the same scene. Daphne gently shook her head, "Like I said last night, never again."

Leila nodded her head knowingly before glancing down the Gryffindor table. She spotted a rather suspicious looking package on the table in front of Harry and Ron. That package was likely the root of the problem, Leila assumed. The Potter girl debated getting involved on her own, something she really had no desire of doing. The only reason she would insert herself into that scenario would be because Harry was her brother.

As Daphne walked toward the Slytherin table, Leila stood there weighing the pros and cons of helping her brother...and there were definitely more cons in this situation. Thankfully, her decision seemed to be made for her as a disgruntled Draco walked toward the High Table to get Professor Flitwick involved in the situation...meaning that there was no reason for Leila to insert herself, especially if a teacher were involved. She breathed a sigh of relief as she took Daphne's lead and walked across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table.

The Slytherin, trio from the night before, reformed at the breakfast table with Leila sitting between Theo and Daphne. The Slytherin Potter poured herself a bowl of Pixie Puffs as Draco swaggered back over to their table, looking rather defeated. His cronies Crabbe and Goyle weren't far behind him. Draco pushed a space between Duncan Pike and Blaise Zabini before he roughly sat down on the bench, directly across from Leila.

Trying to avoid looking at Draco, Leila turned toward her right and spotted a disappointed Pansy Parkinson trying to reach across Zabini to get Draco's attention. Leila shook her head. Why would anyone ever want Malfoy's attention? The thought seemed absolutely ludicrous. So, Leila quickly diverted her attention back to her cereal.

"I can't believe Scarhead's still walking around here freely," Draco scoffed. "Last night, Filch should have sealed his fate."

"And if not Filch, then certainly the three-headed dog," Daphne muttered loud enough for Leila to hear.

"If not that, then certainly Peeves," Leila added, fake-coughing the word Peeves.

"Or Filch's stupid cat," Theo mumbled.

Leila looked at Theo with a puzzled expression. "Filch has a cat?"

Theo turned toward Leila with an expression that said the answer should be obvious. He took a bite of cereal and swallowed before softly responding. "Didn't you see her last night? She was chasing us down the dead-end corridor. I thought for sure she was going to give us away."

Leila thought for a moment and then shook her head. "No, I was too focused on our impending doom."

"I suppose impending doom is an acceptable excuse." Theo grinned at Leila and she smiled back knowing that he was joking around with her. Then a small giggle escaped her lips.

But there was someone watching across the table uneasily. "What are you two whispering on about?" Draco demanded with a scowl on his face.

"Nothing," Theo said innocently. Leila just nodded her head, agreeing with him.

Malfoy scoffed and rolled his eyes before he looked over his shoulder at the Gryffindor table. Leila had to admit, that she was curious what Harry did, this time, to get Draco's wand in a knot. It was then she remembered the package on the table. So, Leila shifted on the bench so that she could see Harry over Draco's shoulder. She saw Harry sitting with Ron, looking rather sheepishly at the package in front of him.

Leila felt a pang of something in her stomach. It wasn't a feeling she was used to feeling. Why was it that Harry got a package? Why didn't she get one? Ignore it, she told herself. Pretend that feeling isn't there. It isn't there. Leila slowly inhaled a breath, burying her feeling of jealousy and then looked back down to the table to grab her spoon, but it was missing. A voice cleared its throat. Leila looked up to see Draco twirling her spoon between his fingers.

"Can I please have that back," Leila grumbled as she stuck her hand out for Draco to give her the spoon back.

"It's a Nimbus Two Thousand, you know," Draco said hovering the spoon above Leila's hand. "That's what's in your brother's package."

"What's that?" Leila asked, pretending not to care as she clenched her hand around her spoon and pulled it free from his grasp.

"It's only the fastest broom in existence, Leila. Best broom on the market. I told Father I wanted one. I'll have one waiting for me when I go back home for Christmas holiday. Although, Father did say that a newer, faster Nimbus is already in the works."

A broom? Harry got a broom? That pang in her stomach returned. Granted, she knew that Harry had made his House's Quidditch team, but he wasn't the only Potter interested in learning about Quidditch. No, Leila just thought that she had time to learn about it, especially since…Leila's brow furrowed as she looked at Malfoy, "Hey, I thought you told me that first years weren't allowed brooms."

"Apparently, exceptions can be made for Scarhead."

"Who did Harry even get the broom from anyway?" Leila wasn't doing so well in her attempt of trying to ignore Malfoy or her attempt to pretend to be disinterested.

Malfoy smirked at her before he plucked a piece of parchment from the pocket in his robe. "McGonagall. So much for her not having favourites."

With her brow still furrowed, Leila reached across the table and snatched the note from Draco's hand. She refused to look up at the smug expression on his face while she examined the note Draco had snitched from Harry.

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE

Leila looked at Harry again. The package appeared to still be wrapped, but it was obvious that Harry and Ron had been picking at the packaging a bit to sneak a peek. Leila shook her head before she continued reading.

It contains a Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everyone knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.

Professor M. McGonagall

Jealousy began to plague her again. Everything Draco had told her was true. Leila looked up at the staff table. She saw Professor Dumbledore looking down at Harry with a smile on his face. Why was he so pleased with Harry? Just for getting a broom? Honestly, Leila knew that she was better than her brother at many things, but yet he seemed to be getting all the glory. Jealousy was such a complicated emotion. She hated the attention, but she also hated not getting any at all. Leila tried to push back the thoughts of jealousy, especially considering things with Harry weren't all that bad right now. Granted, they weren't exactly good...but they weren't bad.

Leila sat up straight before she tossed the note back across the table at Malfoy. "I suppose that there's nothing we can do about it now," she said rather diplomatically.

Draco pocketed the note and looked at Leila curiously. "You mean to tell me that you enjoy watching him like this?"

She swallowed hard before saying, "I didn't say that." A hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes, which Malfoy must have noticed because he smirked.

"You didn't have to. Green suits you, Leila." Looking quite pleased with himself, Leila rolled her eyes at his statement before she stood up and announced that she was headed to class.

With that, Leila grabbed her book bag and marched out of the Great Hall. Daphne reached across the table and smacked Draco's arm, for being such a prat before she followed after Leila. Leila had just exited the Great Hall when Daphne managed to catch up with her and to Leila's surprised Theo was trailing behind. Neither Theo nor Daphne said anything as Leila continued to walk them straight for the Grand Staircase.

Leila took a few steps up the stairs, when Theo wheezed, "Hold up. I need a moment to catch my breath." Theo was leaning against the stair railing as Leila turned back to look at him, flipping her braids. "Merlin, you can walk fast," he continued.

"Believe me, I've had plenty of practice at escaping self-centered prats," Leila stated, toying with one of the braids that went down her back.

"I'm guessing you had some trouble with them in the Muggle world?" Daphne questioned.

"Yes. I'm related to one." Daphne nodded her head in response, but Leila knew right away that she probably didn't understand what she actually meant. "I'm talking about my git of a cousin, Dudley."

"Huh, I thought you were talking about Harry."

"I assumed as much. Granted, Harry can sometimes be a royal git."

Leila grinned when an unexpected voice came from the top of the stairs, "Talking about me, are you?" The Potter girl's eyes flashed to the landing of the first staircase, where Harry stood leaning against the wall.

"Would I do something like that?" Leila asked innocently with a small smile toying against her lips.

"Dunno," Harry responded with a shrug. "You've never had anyone else but to talk to before."

Leila sighed, he did have a point there. She had never known any friends beyond Harry before. Now suddenly, she had friends and he had different friends. Then there was the fact that her friends didn't like his friends and his friends didn't like her friends. Not to even mention the fact that each Potter twins' friends didn't like the other Potter twin. It was all quite complicated.

Harry took a few steps down the staircase, scowling at Daphne and Theo. "I'd like to talk to my sister…alone."

"That's entirely up to her, Potter," Theo said.

Daphne folded her arms across her chest and retorted, "If it's what she wants, then we'll leave. We won't like it, but we'll leave. But if she wants us to stay here, then you're stuck with us, Potter."

An incredulous look spread across Harry's face as he looked at his sister and her friends. Leila sighed. She knew that Theo and Daphne were simply watching out for her, something she wasn't entirely used to...especially when the person they were trying to protect her from was her brother. Leila uneasily looked between her friends and her brother. Two things that were highly incompatible. While part of her wanted to stay with her friends, Leila also realized that moments with Harry were rare and far between...at least, when he wasn't upset with her. Besides, he was taking the first step. The least she could do was to meet him halfway.

"Go on," Leila said to Daphne and Theo. "He's my brother...I'll be fine."

Slowly, Theo and Daphne walked away from Leila. At the top of the stairs, Daphne looked over her shoulder at Leila to make sure she was alright. Leila simply nodded her head before Harry motioned with his hand for his sister to follow him. Together, they walked at a death march's pace toward their classroom. Every now and then, Theo or Daphne would turn to watch them. Harry shook his head, 'They don't like me much, do they?" he asked.

"No, not that they ever really did; but nearly getting them killed last night when they were trying to help me, help you, certainly didn't gain you any points," Leila responded.

"That whole thing was Malfoy's fault," Harry pointed out, waving his arm for emphasis.

"Oh, they know that he set you up. But they think you're rather thick for not figuring out what Malfoy was actually up to."

"How was I supposed to know that…"

Leila interrupted her brother, wagging her finger at him. "If I recall correctly, big brother, I told you not to do it. I told you to do exactly to him what he ended up doing to you." Harry looked at his sister and sighed. She certainly had told him...and he hadn't listened. Leila too sighed, before she changed the subject of the conversation. "Do you have any plans for this evening?"

"Nothing important," Harry responded with a shrug.

"You're sure?" Leila asked, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt of speaking before he really thought about what he was saying.

"I just said so, didn't I?"

The Potter girl looked at her brother with disbelief in her eyes. Having read the note, Malfoy had taken from Harry, she knew that Harry had Quidditch practice. He was lying to her. Why would he lie to her? They were family. They trusted each other with everything. Why wouldn't he tell her about his bloody quidditch practice? And when Leila looked at her brother, he didn't appear as if anything were wrong. He just stayed on focused on the corridor in front of them.

Something burned within Leila...and it wasn't indigestion. She stood a little taller and tugged her braids forward. She was going to get down to the bottom of this. "What was in your package this morning?" she asked, despite knowing full-well what the package contained.

"Wasn't mine-it was-erm-Ron's," Harry lied again. He looked to his sister and gave her a sheepish grin. Leila shook her head.

"So, Ron got a Nimbus Two Thousand then? Even though first years aren't supposed to have brooms? McGonagall sure must like him a lot."

Harry's eyes widened. He knew he had been caught, but he had a few questions of his own. "How do you know all that?"

"Really? You get caught in a lie and the first thing you wonder is how I found out? Honestly, Harry, I'm your sister. I thought that meant something to you."

"It does mean something, Leils. There are just some things I'm not supposed to tell people."

"Not even your own sister?"

"I dunno. I wasn't exactly given a rulebook on this. Besides, I'm sure there are things you're not supposed to tell me."

"The only thing I can think of is the password to my common room. Everything else I haven't told you because you've been a prat."

Leila moved to keep walking without Harry, but he reached out and grabbed her arm. He could tell that she was hurting as she looked at him, tightly biting down on her bottom lip. So tightly, that Harry thought her lip was going to bleed. Harry sighed, "I'm sorry, Leils. I really am. I was going to tell you, I promise."

"Only after you told Ron, of course," Leila spat.

"He was right there when I got it, Leila. It wasn't on purpose. Honest."

The Potter girl moved to walk away, still angry when she stopped herself. She looked down at the stone floor before she turned to look at her brother. "Harry, I don't want to fight with you anymore. We've never really done it before we got to Hogwarts and I hate it."

"Then, let's not fight," Harry suggested innocently. "I hate it too."

That was it? No explanation for the lies? Nothing else? Then again, that was more than she had gotten from him since they had arrived at Hogwarts. Leila sighed before she curtly nodded her head, letting him know that she agreed with him. No more fighting. She would certainly try, but she wasn't sure that it would be that simple to rid herself of the emotions that were toiling within her. But perhaps she was wrong. Maybe it was all simply happening in her head.

But throughout the day, the emotions proved to be harder to battle than she anticipated. During her classes, her thoughts kept turning back to the note she had taken from Draco...which he had taken from Harry. She didn't know why, but it bothered her and the jealousy ate through her. Why did Harry get to play Quidditch? Granted, she didn't know a thing about Quidditch, a situation she was determined to rectify.

When her classes were finished for the day, she left her fellow Slytherins and marched to the library to find some books on Quidditch. Theo mentioned the same book Daphne had earlier, Quidditch Through the Ages. Leila figured that if it was recommended to her twice, then it had to be a good place to start. She was much more confident on this trip to the library than she had been her first time. This time, she knew how the books were ordered and how to retrieve them. Now that she got the hang of things, it was a rather simple process.

Finding the right section, Leila scanned the shelves looking for the book, but when she came to the spot where she thought it should be located, the shelf was empty. Leila's brow furrowed. Perhaps she was wrong. It wasn't likely, but she sifted through the books near the one she wanted. But her navigational skills proved to be accurate. The book she wanted was gone. Leila groaned.

Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind her, "Well, well, we meet again."

Leila turned around to find the Hufflepuff boy from her first visit to the library behind her. She blushed. "Hi," was all she managed to gasp before she tripped over her own feet. She caught herself on the shelf and groaned, "I was trying not to fall for you this time." Realizing how awkward that sounded, she face-palmed her forehead before she managed to get herself standing upright again.

Cedric chuckled as he took another step closer toward her, looking up at the empty spot on the shelf. Thankfully, avoiding any awkwardness. "You do appear to be looking for a book again. Do you require any assistance?"

The Potter girl rested her hands on her hips and looked up at him. "Not unless you can figure out where the missing book is, but Granger probably checked it out just to spite me. I was just trying to learn about Quidditch, that's all."

A small smile played over his face as he slowly walked around her, looking down at her watching Leila curiously look back up at him. "Maybe I can help."

"How?"

"Well, lucky for you, I just happen to be on Hufflepuff's Quidditch team. You're looking at their Seeker."

Leila's brow furrowed. "Seeker. I should probably know what that is, but I really try very hard to not pay attention when Malfoy speaks."

Cedric looked at her curiously as he leaned against the bookshelf. "So you do or you don't want my help."

"I do. I definitely do. Anything is better than suffering through listening to Malfoy."

"Alright then, anything to save you from that, I suppose." He shook his head with laughter. Clearly, he hadn't heard enough about how utterly annoying Draco Malfoy could be. Cedric then shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled his feet. "So, when shall we start?"

"How about tonight?" Leila suggested innocently.

"So soon?"

The next step, she had learned from the Dursleys. If at first there was hesitancy, try to guilt them into doing it. "I mean, I understand if you can't because of homework…"

"No, it's not that."

"I'm very curious." Leila looked up at him sweetly with an innocent smile playing across her face and her hands folded below her chin, in a begging position. "Please?"

Cedric looked at her for a moment. Her charm was too much for him. He ran his fingers through his hair before he nodded and chuckled. "Fine, tonight will work. I haven't got that much more homework. How about…"

"Seven o'clock at the Quidditch pitch?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "That's oddly specific." But she just smiled and he shrugged it off. "But I suppose there's no better place to teach you about Quidditch than where the game is actually played. I'll meet you outside the Great Hall a little before then so we can walk down to the pitch together."

"Thank you," Leila grinned as she bounced away from him down the aisle. She didn't even notice the whir of platinum blonde hair from the other side of the bookshelf.

Knowing that she had plenty of homework that needed to be done for tomorrow, Leila sat down at a nearby table and took her things out of her book bag. She definitely would have preferred to procrastinate on her homework, but that wasn't an option until she and Granger were on level playing fields. Leila cracked open one of her textbooks and started to read about levitation charms, but her lack of sleep from the night before quickly caught up with her.

The last thing she remembered was reading about wrist movements and next thing she knew, she was asleep. Her face resting on her Charms textbook and drool slipping from her mouth. Leila wasn't sure how long she slept there, but she didn't awaken on her own. No, she awoke because someone pulled her textbook from underneath her face, causing it to slam against the hardwood table.

She quickly lifted her head up and groaned, bringing her hand to her face. Her book was still in front of her, but the culprit who had pulled the book out from beneath her was nowhere to be found. Leila couldn't help but wonder if it was Peeves, still trying to get his dues from the night before.

The clock began to toll. Leila listened carefully: one..two..three...four...five...six...seven. Seven chimes. Her eyes widened. She was supposed to meet Cedric a little before seven. She was late! Leila quickly crammed her books into her book bag and took off in a sprint out of the library, ignoring Madam Pince's yelling that there was no running in the library.

In her mad rush out the door, Leila managed to knock down fellow first year, Aubrey Williamson. Leila didn't stop running. Instead, she shouted her apologies behind her because she didn't have time to stop running if she were to catch-up with Cedric. She needed to learn about Quidditch. Granger already had a leg up on her in most areas and there was no way in hell that she was going to allow her brother to surpass her in something...not if there was anything she could do about it.

Leila was practically wheezing by the time she reached Cedric outside the Great Hall. Although her momentum almost got the better of her, but Cedric held out his arms to keep her from crashing into the stone wall. She breathed heavily as Cedric looked at her curiously. "I almost thought you weren't going to show. That Leila Potter was going to stand me up."

"No, nothing like that," Leila said, still trying to catch her breath. "I-I was still in the library and lost track of time." Granted, it was only partially the truth, Leila decided to leave off the part about falling asleep because she didn't want to explain why she had fallen asleep.

"Well, come on then." Cedric motioned for Leila to follow, so she did. Together, they walked out of the castle, albeit, there were whispers and stares. Leila wasn't sure whether it was because a Slytherin was with a Hufflepuff or the fact that Leila Potter was walking with Cedric Diggory. Perhaps, it was even both. But she tried to ignore them and focus on the questions Cedric was asking her as they walked along the path to the Quidditch pitch. "So, tell me, what do you know about Quidditch?"

"Well, it obviously involves a broom," Leila answered innocently. "And you said something about being a Seeker...so I'm assuming that's a position on the team. Erm-I can see hoops from here…" She pointed to the hoops high in the air inside the pitch. "So, you need to throw something through it. How was that?"

"Huh, that's just about everything you need to know. So, I suppose you don't need me after all."

"Really?" Her tone was full of surprise.

Cedric then chuckled. "No, not really. You gave it a good try, but honestly, there's a lot more to it than that."

Leila smiled up at him when some twigs snapped behind them in the forest. Feeling slightly paranoid, Leila turned to her right and looked directly into the forest. "Leila, what is it?" Cedric asked.

With dusk settling in, she could hardly see anything. Leila sighed and responded, "Nothing." So, she and Cedric continued to walk down the path.

As they approached the stadium, Leila couldn't help but be in awe. The place looked huge. Cedric couldn't help but chuckle at Leila's response. He knew the feeling. He had the same expression the first time he had approached it too. When they came to the entrance, Cedric stopped for a moment and motioned inside with his hands. "Ladies, first." Leila shook her head and blushed as she crossed the threshold with Cedric quickly behind her. He then took the lead again. "It's this way to the pitch itself, c'mon."

Leila suddenly stopped. There was a reason she had picked to come at seven o'clock. Harry was supposed to be on the pitch at seven. Leila nervously twisted her braid, "How about we start somewhere else?"

"I thought you wanted to learn about Quidditch."

Leila bit her bottom lip before she continued. "I do. I do. But I was just thinking…"

Suddenly, Cedric looked around curiously. There were voices. He quickly placed his hand over Leila's mouth and took a step closer toward her. "Did you hear that?" Cedric asked. Leila shook her head. Cedric's expression turned quizzical. "There it is again."

The Potter girl looked at him curiously. "I-fink-er-earring-fings," Leila mumbled with Cedric's hand still covering her mouth.

Finally realizing that his hand was still over her mouth, Cedric removed his hand and quickly apologized. He took a few steps away from her before saying, 'There's definitely someone on the pitch already."

"Maybe we can just watch?" Leila suggested.

Cedric sighed. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? But I'm not so sure."

"Please? Have I ever told you that I was raised by Muggles which is why I know nothing about Quidditch? I hate looking like a complete idiot about things. I really need to learn about Quidditch. You'd be helping me out...bit time...and I'd owe you." Leila gave Cedric her best puppy-eyed dog look accompanied by her bottom lip sticking out and quivering a bit.

He cracked. "Oh, come on then."

Cedric led her up the stairs to the stadium seating. Leila couldn't help but grin at her victory. Harry would never have given into her like that...not that easily. Then again, Harry had known her, her entire life. Cedric, on the other hand, had only known her a few weeks.

Leila sat down beside Cedric on one of the benches. He began explaining about who sat in which section of the stands. Right now, they were seated where the Ravenclaws usually sat. You could tell because of the blue and bronze colors surrounding them. "And that's where the Slytherins usually sit," Cedric started. "Unless, they're playing of course. Then you're down…"

His eyes squinted to see who was on the pitch...information Leila already knew. She pretended to be looking anywhere but down on the pitch until Cedric tapped her arm. "Isn't that...your brother?"

"I'm sorry. Please don't be angry," Leila pleaded. "I don't know a thing about Quidditch and I just really wanted to know about it. I didn't see any harm in watching my brother because, well, you know, he's my brother. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Cedric watched her carefully as Leila hung her head. "If you want to leave now, I'll understand."

She did feel bad that she had misled Cedric, but she couldn't possibly tell him everything. Especially when she herself didn't even fully understand all the emotions that went into this. Cedric looked Leila in the eyes, her emerald eyes that looked on the verge of tears. He must have seen something in her eyes that he needed to see because he simply nodded his head.

For a moment, Leila thought that Cedric was going to get up and leave, but he readjusted himself on the bench and then pointed down toward the pitch. "That's a bludger," he said as a black ball rose into the air. It zoomed right for Harry's face. Leila gasped and threw her hands over her mouth. "I think you can see their purpose," he softly chuckled.

"To kill the Quidditch players?" Leila asked.

"Not quite, but close. They're more meant to maim...or severely injure...but mostly to distract. You see, as long as your team has a pair of decent Beaters, they're the blokes who keep their team safe from the bludgers...and hit them at the other team...Well, anyway, if you have decent ones, then you don't have to worry about bludgers...much."

"That's not very comforting."

Cedric looked over at Leila, whose face was still a little white from having watched her brother almost get knocked out by a bludger. He just smiled. "Now, for the other three positions. There's one Seeker. It's their job to catch something called the Snitch. Catching the Snitch will end the game. It gives the team 150 points, which almost always wins them the game."

"That's what you are, right?"

"Yeah," Cedric said with a nod of his head and a slight beam of pride. "Then there's one Keeper. It's their job to defend the hoops. And…" his voice trailed off.

"And what?"

The Hufflepuff boy pointed down to the pitch and Leila's eyes followed. "I think Wood's just spotted us and he definitely doesn't look happy." He pointed at the boy who was teaching Harry. The boy was marching toward them and Harry just stood there.

"Spying on us, are you, Diggory?" the boy from the pitch called. "I would have thought such things were beneath you?"

Cedric quickly pointed to Leila, who waved and tried to innocently smile. The boy seemed caught off guard for a moment at the sight of Leila, but the unpleasant look didn't leave his face. Leila wasn't sure whether the boy was going to rush into the stands and chase them away or whether he was going to stand there and yell at them some more. Cedric leaned over and whispered to Leila, 'I'm going to go tell Wood that we weren't spying on him." Cedric paused for a moment. "Not that he'll actually believe that thought."

"I-I didn't mean any trouble," Leila apologized. "Honest."

"I know that, but I'm sure Wood sees things differently. I mean, I can see where he draws his assumption from and it isn't that far-fetched. I do play the same position as your brother, but I don't need to cheat to win. I'll be right back."

Cedric stood up and was a few feet away when Leila called his name. "Cedric."

"Yeah?" He asked looking over his shoulder.

"Thank you."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "For what?"

"For not making me go down there and talk to him."

Cedric chuckled as he looked down to the pitch. "Wood does look intimidating, doesn't he? Don't worry, though, his bark is usually bigger than his bite."

With that, Cedric walked down the stairs from the spectator stands and disappeared below. His footsteps seemed to grow fainter and fainter. But then there was a rather loud creak from the stairs...too loud to be Cedric. Leila hung against the railing and looked down the stairs, but she didn't see anything. So, she turned her attention back to the pitch. Wood was pacing the pitch, saying something to Harry. Whatever it was, it didn't sound happy.

Suddenly, a voice drawled from the shadows. "You know, I told you that I would have helped you."

Leila was too angry to be frightened by the surprise. Instead, she groaned and looked at the stairs which revealed her platinum-blonde haired Housemate. "I knew you were following me," Leila whispered to herself. She attempted to ignore the boy as he sat down beside her, on the exact spot Cedric had occupied only moments before.

Clearly annoyed by his presence, Leila moved up a bench. But Malfoy only followed her. She then walked to the other end of the bench. But again he followed her. "Will you stop it?" Leila hissed looking directly at him.

But he only took the acknowledgment of his presence as an opportunity to engage her in conversation. "What are you doing with him?"

"Learning about Quidditch," Leila retorted.

"But I offered to do it first."

"Yeah, well…" Leila paused for a moment to come up with a decent response. "Cedric isn't annoying, unlike you."

Draco scowled. "I'm not annoying."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes. You. Are."

"No. I'm Not," he said mimicking Leila's tone.

"You're doing such a wonderful job convincing me otherwise," Leila said in a clipped sarcastic tone. She then stood up from where she had been sitting and stomped down the benches to get away from him. But on the last bench, she lost her footing and went crashing to the floor, landing flat on her arse.

She screamed in shock and Malfoy couldn't help but laugh at her expense. She shot him an angry look of disgust, but this only made him laugh harder. It made Leila angry that he was enjoying himself...at her expense. But she was also angry that he didn't even offer to help her up from her awkward position on the floor. So with an annoyed expression on her face, Leila pushed herself into standing position before she began to walk away.

But footsteps quickly followed behind her. "Diggory's the wrong person to be asking," Draco blurted out as he stood leaning against the railing looking down at Leila on the stairs.

"So you've already said. Now please leave me alone!" Leila stomped her foot on the stair before she continued her descent.

"Wait!" Draco shouted, but Leila kept going. "I said wait! Didn't you hear me?"

"I heard you perfectly fine. I just chose to ignore your request."

"But I know something Diggory doesn't know. Something about your family." Leila immediately halted. Draco knew he had her there. Slowly, she turned around and raised her eyebrows, as if ordering him to spit it out. "Quidditch is in your blood."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Leila asked as she folded her arms across her chest defensively.

Pink crept onto Draco's face. "Your father. He-erm-he played...a little."

Leila bit her lip. If her father played, she definitely wanted to know about it. But she had to ask Malfoy...as much as she hated the idea of it...she did want to know. "Fine, you have my attention. What do you know about it?"

The surprise was clearly written on Draco's face. He had been anticipating more of a fight with her. But he wanted to prove that he had control over the situation. "I-I'll show you...only if you come back with me to the castle now."

Leila stood there with one of her eyebrows cocked. Was this his idea of forcing her to comply? Because it certainly wasn't going to work. She scoffed under her breath and shook her head. Draco walked past her, but she stayed put. He descended a few stairs before he turned to her. "Are you coming or not?"

"I think I'll pass. Besides, it's probably just another one of your lame attempts to get my brother expelled."

"It wasn't. But fine, be that way then. I won't tell you." Leila narrowed her eyes at the annoying prat in front of her. He simply shrugged. "You know where to find me when you want to know more. After all, it's only a matter of time before you come to me."

"I wouldn't hold your breath," Leila muttered before looking back at him. "Actually, on second thought. Maybe you should."

"You'll be coming to me. You'll see." Draco swiftly turned on his heels and disappeared into the shadows once more.

Leila rolled her eyes before walking back up to the spectator's booth. "I most certainly will not," she muttered to herself. There was no way she would ever be going to him for help. Never. Ever. Back upstairs, she plopped herself on a bench and waited for Cedric to return.

While it seemed like forever until he returned, it was only a matter of minutes. Cedric looked rather vexed as he approached Leila. "That didn't go so well," he said. "Just as I thought, Wood accused us of cheating. He thinks you're spying for Slytherin. I tried to tell him that you didn't know anything, but he wasn't having it.

"I'm guessing we need to leave then?" Leila asked.

"That's probably for the best. I'm sure there will be other times when I can teach you. Just be sure next time that we won't be accidentally spying on your brother, alright?" Leila nodded her head. Not wanting to end on a harsh note, Cedric added, "Besides, you can't expect to learn everything in one lesson. It just isn't reasonable."

Leila smiled. She looked at Cedric. He seemed very knowledgeable about Quidditch. Maybe, he actually did know what Malfoy was trying to tell her...and Malfoy was trying to fool her, much like he had done to Harry the night before. "Cedric?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you know that my father played Quidditch?" Leila asked hopefully.

Cedric's brow furrowed. "No. I can't say that I did. Do you know what position he played?"

"I-I don't know. That's all I knew and I was hoping you could tell me more."

"I'm sorry, Leila. I haven't a clue. But on the bright side, there must be someone at Hogwarts who can tell you more."

Leila nodded her head, but to herself, she muttered, "Just not someone I'm interested in asking." And so she continued back to the castle with Cedric. He walked her down to the corridor where he knew the Slytherin common room to be before they parted ways. Leila went inside and directly up to her dormitory where she worked on her studies until she fell asleep.


Author's Note: Wow! Another chapter so quickly? I guess having a day off of school pays off, huh? Haha. Leila's starting to bond with Cedric and Draco has something she wants...dun dun dunnn...Again, thank you so much for all the love and support for this story. It truly means the world to me. I wasn't sure anyone wanted to hear this story, so was more or less writing it for myself, but all ya'll are just the cherry on top! Next chapter is Halloween! Wonder what will happen? Haha. (ok, I know, but still :)


Thanks for reading friends! As always Leila has a tumblr (leilapotter) Feel free to stop by! :)