From the End to the Start
Chapter 14
Diaval had barely settled in the compartment his friends had chosen when Maleficent, Robert and Leila bid him goodbye, as it was time for the prefects' meeting. He watched them go, feeling a little annoyed. While he didn't really want to be a prefect, he didn't like the feeling of being left out.
He was about to open The Standard Book of Spells when the compartment door slid open.
"Alright, mate?" Diaval looked up to see Michael Goldstein, one of the Ravenclaw boys in his year.
"Hullo Mikey", he greeted without much cheer.
"Why so down? Is it because your girlfriend isn't around?" The intruder teased, seating across him.
"If you mean Maleficent, she's at the prefects' carriage with Rob and Leila. But she's not my girlfriend."
"Really", the boy said pointedly.
"Yes, really. We're just friends."
"Mate, you and I are friends. You and Halloway are friends. But you and the Slytherin princess? Whatever you may have, I refuse to believe it's simply platonic."
Irritated, Diaval countered, "Don't call her that. And she's my best friend, but still- friend."
"C'mon mate, you can do better than that!" Michael remarked, laughing. "If I were you, I'd get a move on."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, Moor is right fit, ain't she? I'm sure a lot of boys will be paying her attention soon enough."
Diaval's eyes narrowed and when he replied, his voice was terser than he intended it to be. "Describing Lefi as 'fit' would be doing her a great disservice, Michael. She's a lot of things, and to reduce her to a three-letter word that practically screams of objectification is incredibly crass of you."
Instead of being deterred, the boy's grin grew wider. "This is precisely what I'm talking about, mate. You're so moon-eyed over her! However, you're not the only one with eyes, and I'm sure a lot of people have taken notice of her, too, especially since she's become more popular with the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs since she's not the bigoted bitch everyone expected her to be. As I said, you need to get a move on."
Diaval doesn't understand why Michael's spiel made him want to strangle the boy. He was only telling the truth about Maleficent! She was beautiful, smart, cunning, witty and a lot of other things, and describing her as fit- as if her only merit was being desirable to hormonal teenage boys- aggravated him immensely.
"Shut up, Michael. We're just friends, and that's that." Diaval retorted succinctly, wanting to close the topic. Truth is, though, he's never thought that he and Maleficent were ever just anything. There was never anything just about her. She was the most amazing witch he's ever met, and to reduce her friendship into something that's 'simple' or 'mere' would be unacceptable, really.
Okay, maybe Michael's got a point- he was starting to sound like a ponce.
To take his mind off his befuddling thoughts, he said, "Want to play Exploding Snap?" Thankfully, his friend acquiesced to dropping their previous conversation in favor of some actual entertainment.
After about half an hour, the compartment door slid open again, this time to make way for the newly appointed prefects.
"Oi Mikey, what'cha doing here?" Rob said, quite boisterouslsy.
"Saw Diaval looking pathetically lonely, so I thought I'd cheer him up myself." Michael grinned, earning a glare from Diaval.
"Aww, missed us already?" Leila teased, giggling.
Before Diaval could reply, Michael exclaimed, "not you, just his girlfriend."
Maleficent, who settled down beside him, snapped her head up as she felt all eyes on her.
"I'm not his girlfriend." She mumbled.
"See, I told you!" Diaval glowered at his meddlesome friend.
"Well, I'm not buying it." Michael said proudly. Maleficent, for her part, remained silent, until Robert nudged her and started a conversation about Transfiguration Today, to which they were both subscribed. Gradually, Maleficent warmed up to the topic, and soon enough the two were practically ignoring everyone, Diaval included.
For the longest time he was the only person Maleficent could talk to so animatedly, and he felt… offended. He was irrationally mad that she was ignoring him, and he wanted to smack Robert in the face for being a prick, which was insane, since they weren't doing anything wrong.
For the rest of the trip, he vacillated between trying to drown out the duo's conversation and glaring at Michael, whose smirk seemed to say I told you so.
Fifth year was unforgiving, what with teachers treating every pop quiz as if it was the freaking O. . While Diaval liked to study, he didn't really like being forced to do so just for the grade. It does not help that he needed to practice for the quidditch tryouts and he couldn't even get 5 minutes on the broom because of all the schoolwork they're getting.
Diaval can't understand why, but he's also irritated most of the time. His friends tell him it's because of the constant stream of boys finally plucking up the courage to talk to Maleficent, but why should he care? She was free to be friends with whomever she pleased! He never had a monopoly on her, and he sure as hell didn't own her- he knew anybody who would dare suggest they own her would be hexed to oblivion, anyway. But he was annoyed, and it wasn't helping his performance at all.
Soon enough, quidditch tryouts were upon them, and Diaval found himself on the quidditch pitch listening to Ravenclaw captain Ivan Renshaw explain what they were supposed to do. He was second to the last among the list of those vying to be Chaser, which left him able to observe the other competitors. His friend, Robert, was the first, and when he was done Diaval greeted him with a "Well done, mate!"
"Too bad I failed to make that final point." Robert said, not sounding all too bothered. "By the way, you're girlfriend's come to watch!"
Diaval looked at where Robert was pointing and saw Maleficent on the quidditch stands, holding her ground despite the strange looks the Ravenclaws are giving her. Diaval couldn't control the grin that made its way on his face, and he saw her respond with a smile to his enthusiastic waving.
She was there to support him.
Suddenly, all his frustrations melted away, and he was ready to fly and claim his rightful place in the team.
Finally, Renshaw dismissed the students that have gathered on the pitch with the announcement of this year's team: Renshaw, Lynch, Ivanovich, Moran, Murley, Farley and Blanchard. Diaval almost whooped with joy, and he was greeted with cheers from other students.
"If it couldn't be me, at least it was you." Robert patted him on the back genially. "Now go, your girlfriend's waiting for you."
"She's not my girlfriend." Diaval protested ineffectively, as he was grinning from ear to ear when he said it. Mounting his broom, he flew to where she was seated in the stands.
"I was brilliant, eh?" He said, when he was hovering a few feet away from her.
She tried to suppress a smile. "You flatter yourself too much. But congratulations on making the team."
"I bet you're real worried now for Slytherin's chances at the cup."
Rolling her eyes, she huffed. "Oh please."
Before he could think about it, he asked, "Want to fly?"
"I don't have my broom."
"Climb on."
She blinked in surprise. "With you?"
"Why not? I'm not going to let you fall."
Her smile turned into a smirk. "Smooth line, casanova."
To his embarrassment, he spluttered. "I- You- I wasn't hitting on you!"
She laughed, a sound that has always sounded pleasing to him. "Merlin, I was only joking. You sure you can take me?"
"Of course."
Tentatively, she swung a leg over the broom, behind him, and lightly touched his shoulders for support. When she was settled, Diaval directed the broom upwards, slowly gaining altitude.
"Have I ever told you that I like flying?" Maleficent whispered, mouth near his ear. He shuddered. Sensing this, she asked, "are you cold?"
He knew full well it wasn't from the chilly winds. To cover up, he shook his head and made her continue with what she was sharing to him.
"The manor is big enough that I can fly around it. My parents disapproved, but my uncle somehow convinced them that if I was allowed a small freedom, I'd be more likely to bend to their will. Uncle can be quite cunning when he wanted to be. Anyway, I used to fly around the manor before Hogwarts and during vacation days, but when my parents learned about us, they locked my broom away together with my owl. That was the last time I've ever been able to fly."
He didn't have to look at her to know she had her eyes closed in wistful remembrance. In a burst of inspiration, he directed the broom slightly downwards. At the pause, Maleficent began to question what was the matter, when the inquiry died from her lips as he hurtled them toward the ground at a tremendous speed.
"What the hell was that?!" She shouted when he had pulled them up again to soar past the castle turrets. Because of the sudden change in speed, her arms had wound around his waist tightly. He decided he liked that.
"That was flying, Lefi", he replied cheekily.
"Bloody show-off", she muttered, half-amused, half-annoyed. "But I bet I could do better."
Raising a brow at the challenge, he landed and offered to switch. Happily, she took the helm with him behind her, and merlin's beard- she could fly. She easily controlled the broom as if it was a part of her. It didn't matter how long she hasn't flown- the skies were hers to take and explore and reign over.
She's never looked more beautiful than she did while flying- eyes sparkling, hair windswept, a bright smile on her face.
With his hand on her waist and her laughter in his ears, Diaval felt something stirring inside his chest.
A/N: I finally, finally, got to this point. Originally, I planned on getting to the romance around 6th year, but I didn't have anything for 5th year so I changed my initial plans and so I'm beginning to push this story arc now.
Cheers!