I've had this written for a long time... and given that I've had a lot of work recently and I'll be gone and into the world of no internet for a couple weeks soon I decided to post what I had. Originally this chapter was going to be SUPER long. Like 3 times as long as it already is. Yeah... that didn't happen cause I couldn't keep you waiting.
Any who... enjoy and PLEASE review! I love 'em! Also tell me what YOU think should happen! I'll seriously try to work with it! This story is for me AND YOU!
"C'mon, let's go," I mouthed, nudging Lily to slip through the crowd before there was a mad rush to the field. At any moment the majority of the student population would storm James and his team. It would start with cheering here and then it would lead to late-night, firewhiskey induced party taking total control of the Gryffindor common room. I made a mental note to find some place else for Lily and I to sleep for the night. The last thing the two of us needed was room full of Gryffindors, especially after a win.
My fiery haired cousin zoomed down the stairs; I sailed down right behind her. By the time we had touched the grass the thunderous sound of our classmates stampeding down the stairs was evident. Without hesitation, Lily and I picked up our pace and hightailed it towards the Slytherin locker room.
"You're late!"
"Oh, bite me!" Lily teased, sticking her tongue out at Lucy.
I closed the door and nudged Lily towards the benches where the rest of the team had been waiting. Looking around the room, I raised my eyebrow in surprise. "Where's Scorpius? He's the one running this meeting."
Nott yawned, stretching his arms into the air before casually letting one fall onto Lily's shoulders. He smirked, "Mate said he was going to be late. He had someone to bother."
"Great," I replied sarcastically. I wrung my hands thinking of how to kick things off. "Well, um… As you all should know the Kenmare Kestrels have made the semi-finals, along with us. Uh, and the next two matches should be over and done with before we set off for vacation. The Appleby Arrows, Louis Weasley's team, and the Falmouth Falcons, Mariela Flint's, compete three weeks from tomorrow. There's really no way to tell who we will go up against, but I want you all to study them. Find their weaknesses and learn how to face them. Lily and I just spent some time dissecting James's team. We'll go over that if and when we make it to the finals."
"Which we will," Chryson said, adding his input.
I sighed, "As much as I appreciate the confidence, Nott, we don't want to jinx ourselves. Now, uh, back to the topic at hand. I can only assume that the Kenmare Kestrels are locked in for the final. Neither the Holyhead Harpies nor the Wollongong Warriors seem prepared enough to defeat them. Does anyone disagree with me?"
The room was silent. No one did.
"Good. Now, on to our final note. Since Scorpius made the choice to evict Warrington from the team—"
"Smartest decision he's ever made," Lucy interjected.
"—we're in need of another keeper. So, given that, if any of you know of someone to fill his place please inform Scorpius or myself. We need a keeper and I think I speak for all of us when I say that the sooner we find one the better."
"Uh, there's one problem," Michael said.
"Yeah," Nott nodded, "no one likes us!"
"That's not true," I argued. "We're liked… well enough!"
Lucy frowned. "Are you mad? Well enough? People swerve to avoid us in the hall! And just last week Rennison got locked in the girls' bathroom by a gaggle of first years!"
"That's not too bad," I replied hesitantly. "It could have been worse…"
"It was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."
"Oh."
"Yeah," Michael nodded
I bit my lip. All this time I had thought it had only been me and Lily who were being ostracized by our schoolmates. It never occurred to me that the problems sunk beyond the Gryffindor common room. I felt selfish and oblivious.
"Okay, so we're not exactly popular with our classmates at the moment," Lily jumped in, "but that doesn't mean we won't be able to find someone."
"Michael, do you know if there are any Ravenclaws who'd be willing to step in and join the team?"
He shook his head violently side to side, "No. They've made it perfectly clear that their loyalties stay with Louis."
I glanced between Nott and Lucy, "Slytherin?"
"Forget it, Red. Asking the Slytherins would be a lost cause."
Crossing my arms, I pouted. "And why is that?"
"Trust me."
I scoffed, "Trust? Don't you think you're asking a bit much there, Scorpius?"
"Well," he said looking taken aback, "someone's a bit grumpy today, aren't they?"
"I think I'm allotted to have a few bad days, Malfoy. Especially given the fact that we'll all be dealing with bigheaded Gryffindors for the remainder of the evening."
Malfoy smirked, "I can fix that."
A blonde boy jumped out from behind the lockers. "Tada!" He exclaimed Lorcan Scamander stood before all of us, a lopsided grin spread across his face.
"Lorcan!" I giggled. "You're going to play keeper?"
"Hence my presence," he grinned, curtseying to the group.
"I didn't know you could play," I admitted. And honestly I didn't. I'd know the boy since we were in nappies and not once had he mentioned any skills on the pitch.
Lorcan shrugged, "One too many summers spent training with Lysander I guess."
"I'd say just the right amount of summers. Happy to have you on the team, mate," Scorpius welcomed as he gave Scamander a pat on the back.
"Yeah," Lucy strode over towards her shaggy haired housemate, "I'd prefer you over Warrington any day."
As the lot of them rose to congratulate Lorcan for joining the team, I stepped towards Scorpius. He looked at me skeptically as if waiting for me to offer some sort of critique or comment. "Good job."
"What was that?" Scorpius asked placing a finger behind his ear, "I couldn't quite hear you."
I smacked him. "Don't be an arse, Malfoy. You know what I said."
"Yes," he admitted, "but it's not every day that I earn a compliment from Miss Rose Weasley. This is truly a special occasion."
"At least you're not expecting them," I smiled. Someone tapped my shoulder, causing me to whip around to face them. Lily placed herself in front of me, grinning like an idiot. "Don't look at me like that!" I warned.
"Like what?" Lily sang.
"Is something wrong with your cousin?" Scorpius asked, tickling the back of my neck when he leaned down to whisper in my ear. Goosebumps spread, starting on my shoulders and working their way towards my arms and legs.
I bobbed my head up and down. "Lily is special."
"I resent that," She glared, though lacking the intimidation factor needed to make it at all effective. "But seriously. I think it's time to leave! We're going to be late," She dictated.
"For what?"
"Something…"
"Lily, can't you see I'm busy?" I sighed. I bobbed my head in Scorpius's direction, hoping she'd get the hint that we had captain duties to attend to.
My cousin nodded, "Yes, I can see that. But you can canoodle with Scorpius another time. Right now we've got to go!"
"Lily!" My jaw hung open in shock. I wanted so badly to examine Malfoy's reaction but my body went stiff and I couldn't peel my narrowed eyes off of Lily due to fright. "It's nothing like that!"
"Code Red."
"Are you serious?" I asked, completely dropping my anger to focus on the issue at hand.
She nodded.
I stepped away from my co-captain and took Lily's hand. "Got to go!" I called over my shoulder as the pair of us exited out of the locker room door. The second we were out of earshot I turned towards Lily, firing questions. "What's wrong? What did Hugo do this time? Is he okay?"
"Oh nothing," Lily crooned.
"What?" I exclaimed. "Why'd you call a Code Red then?" Ever since Hugo had started taking after our older cousins and his drinking increased Lily and I created a Code Red to rescue him from his drunken escapades. It became mandatory after Hugo was found ballroom dancing with the house elves in the kitchens.
"I have something to tell you!"
I groaned, "Lily, not now!" I stomped past her, on a trek back to the team.
"Rose, wait! I just wanted to say—"
"What the hell!"
Lily huffed, "Rose, I understand that you're upset but I think you're overreacting a tad."
"Not you. Look over there," I nodded towards the goalposts.
Lily followed where I was gesturing to and at the sight her jaw hung open. Whether it was from shock or disgust was unclear. Underneath the hoops, James was surrounded by rabid fans. The fifth year girl currently capturing his attention was twirling a lock of her chocolate hair as he signed a broomstick. "He isn't!"
"He is."
"No, he couldn't possibly be—"
I shook my head, "But he is."
"What kind of person signs autographs?" Lily cried, emphasizing her point by frantically throwing her arms about. "He's not even professional!"
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. "He's despicable."
"No," Lily shook her head, "he's an egotistical prat!"
And at that moment James took that time to hand that giggling girl her broom back and look our way. A mischievous grin adorned his face. He turned to wave goodbye to his beloved fans before sauntering slowly over towards the two of us. We greeted him with our arms crossed, frowns on our faces, and equally vicious death glares.
"Potter."
"Weasley. Sister. Enjoy the game?"
"Yeah," Lily smirked, "my favorite part was when you nearly got clobbered by those bludgers. It's a shame they missed you, though. Might've made an improvement on your face."
James stuck his nose up in the air cockily. "Sorry to disappoint, little sister, but I was too busy winning."
"We know what that's like. But unlike us you won't get to experience victory again. Pity."
"Really, Weasley? Cause, um," James dug in his pocket, retrieving a crumpled up letter, "your father doesn't seem to think so. Says he'll be rooting for us in the finals."
My stomach dropped. "W-what?" I stuttered.
"Here, take a look."
I snatched it from his hands and scanned the page, Lily peeking in to read it over my shoulder. And there it was…in my dad's handwriting… clear as day. I mumbled his words under my breath, "Dear James, your father tells me that you've entered yourself in this Quidditch tournament. I know you're going to win. I haven't seen a better beater in all my life. Just make sure not to hurt the other players too badly. With an arm like yours I wouldn't be surprised if you sent a few players to St. Mungo's before the match even ends. Can't wait to see you in Chudley Cannons robes. I'm very proud of you. Uncle Ron."
"Hurts doesn't it."
Lily reached for her wand and waved it dangerously in her brother's face, "You arsehole!"
"He didn't even mention me," I whispered mainly to myself, struggling to grasp that truth.
"I'm going to hex you so hard!"
"Oh," James quipped, "you don't scare me, little sister."
Lily stepped closer, allowing the tip of her wand to graze the underneath of his chin. "I'd leave while I had the chance if I were you," she snarled. "You wouldn't want to let your adoring fans see your face after I'm through with you."
He laughed, "Whatever. See you two around."
As my cousin strutted down the pitch, I stared at the piece of parchment in my hands. I hoped that magically the words would disappear and reveal something else. Anything else.
"Rose," Lily comforted, placing an arm on my back, "I'm sorry."
I shook my head, "No… it's- it's fine."
"Don't lie to me, Rose."
"I've been through so much. I'm too numb for this to mean anything." Letting the letter slip through my fingers I glanced towards Lily. "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?"
"Right," Lily nodded before pulling me into a hug. "I kissed Chryson."
I pulled back from our hug and wiped at my cheeks. "What?"
"Well, that's what I wanted to tell you. And I thought it might perk you up. Bad timing?"
"A little bit," I nodded, offering a weak laugh.
Good? Bad? Review-worthy? Indeed!
Next- Owlery, butterflies, and confrontation...
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK SHOULD HAPPEN! OR WHAT YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN! TELL ME! please?
