Chapter 12: Quidditch and White Light

Emilia jerked awake and sat up quickly looking to the side she had just been lying against, the warmth quickly evaporating from her right side. Lucius sat there with the content smile one might see on a cat after catching a mouse. She scurried up in alarm and around the couch backing up toward the girls' dorms. He sat up stretching.

"You woke just in time! I was about to have to break your relationship with sleep seeing as I need to get to the Quidditch field," he said with a sly smile that she fairly wilted under before he left for the boys' dorms. After he left, Emilia's mind registered his words.

"Quidditch! Lily!" she exclaimed rushing up the stairs into her dorm and throwing her clothes about looking for something warm to wear.

She was sure whatever she had thrown on didn't match but she could care less, Lucius being in the back of her mind in her rush to make sure they didn't meet up in the common and allow him to insist they go to the field together.

She ran head long down the stairs into the commons wrapping her green and silver scarf about her neck and ran into something rather solid. The force took them both out and it took a moment for Emilia to be able to shake off the blow and look down at what she lay on top of. Elliot was there rubbing the back of his head and looking at her with raised eyebrows. "Good morning, Emilia," he said a small smirk forming on his lips as she shot up from the floor.

"Sorry, Elliot!" she stammered quickly and made a break for it.

"Wait, Emilia!" he called after her but she had already melted through the wall and moved swiftly out of the dungeons, pretending she hadn't heard him.

The Great Hall had already emptied and Emilia's stomach grumbled unhappily but with a sigh she turned to trudge out to the Quidditch field, her heart growing a little lighter with each step outside. She could hear the roar of the students and she quickly scurried up into the stands looking for the Gryffindor crowd.

When her Slytherin garbed self started to wade through the Gryffindors, a few whispers went about her ears but she ignored them. 'I am a Gryffindor,' she thought to herself, 'at least at heart.' She smiled at the thought and it broadened when she spotted a tall, rather gangly looking first year with light brown hair. Jumping over to him, she wrapped an arm about his shoulders bringing him down to her height briefly before letting him go.

"Hey Remus!" she chirped. He looked startled at first before he smiled warmly at her.

"Good morning, Emilia."

"Where is Lily?" she asked looking for her auburn haired friend. She heard him chuckle and she looked at him curiously to see he was standing beside James and Sirius and that other boy… oh yeah, Peter. Realizing that James was there brought forth a small pout. Apparently she couldn't expect to stand beside Lily and Remus. The black haired boy looked thoroughly put out and she had a feeling he and Lily must have had a run in not too long before her appearance.

She looked back up at Remus who nodded covertly in the way Lily had gone. She grinned with a shake of her head and spun about to go to Lily, her silver sheet of hair waving freely behind her. Emilia finally found Lily at the very front of the crowd and noticed that she stood on the border of Slytherin and Gryffindor, Severus standing beside her. She smiled brightly and slipped her hands over Lily's eyes.

"Guess who?" she trilled and Lily laughed calling her name and turning about to hug her. "Alright, what have I missed?" she asked as she looked to the pitch.

"They just explained the rules," Lily said, a frown on her lips as she looked at the two teams intently, "I didn't understand a thing they said." Severus smirked at her confession and Emilia laughed assuring her that she would explain everything.

The game was actually relatively quick, leaving Emilia grumbling with the rest of the Gryffindors after the Slytherin's seeker had caught the Snitch. She was more upset at the fact that she knew the seeker…it was Elliot Mosley. Before Emilia could ask if she could spend more time with Lily, she was pulled along with her fellow Slytherins.

"Ack! Lily! Avenge me...!" she cried dramatically and Lily gave her one of her long suffering smiles, with a shake of her head, and walked away with the Gryffindors. She tripped a few times in the throng of silver and green clad fans and almost lost her footing altogether before someone caught her elbow. Emilia's brown eyes looked up quickly and she felt relief wash through her.

"There you are, Sev," she said gratefully, standing closer to him as they were pulled along with the tide that was swiftly disappearing into the dungeons.

He sighed slightly annoyed. "You are useless, you can't even stay safe for a few minutes," he complained. She looked up at him a little hurt by his words and she jerked her arm from his hand.

"I never asked you to worry about me," she said in a small voice and she missed the brief shadow of apology in his face before they were in the commons and she shied away from the volume of the celebrating Slytherins. She tried to escape into the dorms but there were too many bodies to wade through—something she didn't realize until she was entirely lost from Severus' side and among a rather thick grouping of older guys. Her heart was hammering, and her nerves were beginning to fray. She felt like the bird Sev was always accusing her of being and she was surrounded by asps.

She nearly shrieked when someone grasped her arm and she looked up into the strange face of who she vaguely recalled was one of the Beaters on their Quidditch team. She felt a shiver of fear roll through her, as she felt more than saw the possible evil within. She fought to make him let her go but this only caused him to grab her other arm, kneeling in front of her. "Hey it's okay," he tried to soothe through the noise of the room. She couldn't understand what was happening. What she felt and what he conveyed through his voice were two completely different things, and she was starting to hyperventilate. "It's Emilia Pendragon, isn't it?" he asked, again gently as if she could take flight if she didn't calm down. She hiccuped as she nodded and she jumped again when one of his hands cradled her head carefully as he seemed to admire her hair. He smiled and it was disarming, "Everyone has heard about the strangely beautiful girl, even though she is just a first year," he elaborated, but she hardly heard him as the press of the bodies became too much and she felt something pulse within her and she was lost in light.

Her brown eyes snapped open and she looked about her slowly. She sighed, screwing her eyes shut. She was in the infirmary…again. She ground her palms into her eyes before sitting up and looking around her. The window to her left showed that it was early afternoon but with her previous experience, she was willing to bet that it was not the same day as the Quidditch match.

Her conclusions were confirmed when Madam Pomfrey showed up from behind the curtain and said it was about time she woke up whilst handing her a draught of pumpkin juice. Emilia thanked her quietly before drinking the cup entirely. It felt good on her throat that felt raw as if she had screamed for a very long time.

"How long this time?" she croaked and even the strict Madam Pomfrey chuckled with a shake of her head.

"Only a day this time," she smiled down at the half Veela. "Why not try for just a couple hours next time?" she suggested and Emilia shrugged in exasperation at herself. The nurse gave her a spare change of clothes. "Get dressed quickly and I will take up to Professor Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?" Emilia asked, with a furrowed brow.

Madam Pomfrey didn't respond as she clicked briskly away leaving her to dress and deep in thought.


It would seem I have only received one new Review but I would like to thank Pirayan01 very much for taking the time to give it!

C.B.