Author's Note: As I said before, this chapter is going to be the first of a two-parter. I require reviews to update the second half of this chapter. (See author's note at end of chapter) And thanks to all of you who have been reviewing! It makes me so happy!
CHAPTER 43: Life Without You (Part 1)
"Now, the Dueling Club competition between quite nearly every magical academy in the world is only five months away," said Rose with an authoritative tone during the club meeting on Monday night. "So, now that the holidays are over and everyone is not running around like a headless chicken, it truly is time to perfect our skills in preparation for such an event. Likewise, I expect you all to be working extremely diligently and focusing," she emphasized this word to Sam, James, and Kellyn, who were deviously whispering in the background, "on improving your abilities, techniques, and tactics. Today, we will be discussing spells to protect and block your opponent. Professor Sharp," she said with a nod and joined her fellow classmates. "You lot are incorrigible," she whispered to her friends, angrily whipping her hair around.
Professor Sharp discussed the various techniques and introduced new spells that had only been skimmed over in her Defense Against the Dark Arts class. These spells were beyond the usual Protego, Protego Horribilus, Protego Totalum, Finite Incantatem, and Salvio Hexia: these new spells could be used to halt a spell in mid-air, if one's aim was excellent, provide a mobile shield, or even create shields with repellent or absorptive properties, enabling the caster to diffuse or redirect a spell. Kellyn found it all quite fascinating, but had trouble when it came time to practice these spells. The members paired up and naturally Kellyn stuck at Sam's side. They were supposed to take turns casting the stunning spell Stupefy and then proceed to either block, absorb, repel, or redirect the spell. Kellyn did so with hesitancy, not wanting to hurt Sam. Thus, she found herself conflicted when Professor Sharp, who was making his rounds to each partner, requested to see Kellyn redirect the spell straight back to the caster.
Kellyn knew that too strong a spell would surely knock Sam out, but if she went too easy, Professor Sharp would catch on. However, she did not have time to think of this as Sam quickly and powerfully cast his spell. She managed to cast her own spell to block him, but it was weak: she hesitated and stuttered while saying the spell. The stunning charm did not bounce back to Sam; instead, the spell was so strong it penetrated the shield and hit Kellyn. Although the spell was not as intense as it was originally cast because it met some resistance through her shield, Kellyn felt the impact. She stumbled back, dazed, light-headed, and with the air knocked out of her. Sam immediately rushed over to her rescue.
"Princess, weren't you ready?"
"Yeah," she wheezed, once she gulped in some air, "I just had trouble with the spell."
"You never have trouble with a spell," Sam said warily.
"A strong stunning spell, Mr. Malfoy. Miss Wood, you would do best if you were to take Miss Weasley's advice and focus on the task at hand instead of engaging in a battle of morals," sneered Professor Sharp, before turning on his heel and walking away. Sam raised an eyebrow to Kellyn, wondering if she understood what he was talking about. She side-stepped this gesture, decided not to answer it directly.
"I didn't think you would cast so strong a spell," she muttered.
"Princess!" Sam laughed, helping her up. "This is Dueling Club. I want to go to that competition well-ranked just as much as you do, so I'm not about to go soft. You wouldn't either," he added firmly. Kellyn laughed, but it was a bitter laugh. Of course he would not give up his ambitions for her, that was really no surprise to Kellyn, considering he was an ambitious Slytherin. However, the lingering thought that worried her was why would she ever compromise herself for him? "Now, I know my sexy body is extremely distracting, but your smile is disarming as Expelliarmus, so I have to deal with your charms too. Besides, the last thing I would every want to do is hurt you," he said, kissing her forehead.
"Malfoy! Five points from Slytherin for PDA! Kids these days cannot control their hormones…" grumbled Professor Sharp.
"Yes!" cried Kellyn. "Eight o'clock and I'm done with homework!" It was Tuesday night and Stella, Jay-Jay, and Shaylee were still feverishly working, quills scratching against the parchment.
"No, do your homework that is due Thursday," ordered Jay-Jay with a no-nonsense tone. "You're coming with us tomorrow."
"Where are we going?" Kellyn asked. Jay-Jay did not respond and moodily left the room. "Did I miss the memo?" Kellyn joked, but Stella and Shaylee remained stoic.
"Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Jay-Jay's mother's death," said Shaylee quietly.
"Oh… I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't," said Stella. "She never tells anyone. We had to figure it out on our own."
"I didn't even know her mum was gone."
"Have you ever heard her mention her mother before, Kellyn?" asked Shaylee logically. Kellyn shrugged, knowing Shaylee was right.
"So, it's just her and her da?" Shaylee nodded. "How long has…?"
"She died when Jay-Jay was five, five or six, I think," responded Stella.
"How did she…?"
"There are some questions that just aren't supposed to be asked," Stella said curtly. "Do your homework." Quiet fell over the group and Kellyn needed no further prodding.
On Wednesday they tiptoed around Jay-Jay, not wanting to bring any bad feelings up. Jay-Jay acted like nothing was wrong, but was noticeably quieter and snapped at people occasionally. The snapping was not unusual, but a few people caught on.
"I can't come to Transfiguration tutoring today," Kellyn said after class. She had not spoken to him since Quidditch the week before when she suggested he get himself a "distraction."
"Oh, is that so?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. Kellyn knew that Drew suspected Sam to be the culprit of this absence, but Kellyn did not feel the need to defend her decisions to him.
"Yes. I'm busy," she retorted simply.
"Is Jay-Jay well?" asked Drew.
"It's just not a good day for her," Kellyn said quietly. She felt awkward speaking to him, but he seemed to not notice him.
"Oh," said Drew, his eyes lighting up. Then with a lowered voice, "Is today her mum's…?" Kellyn curtly nodded. "One year it came on a day when we had practice," Drew explained. There was an awkward lull in their conversation as they walked from Transfiguration to lunch. "So, how have you been?"
"Well."
"Dating Malfoy?" Kellyn nodded, smiling to herself. "Sharon and I are dating now."
"Good for you," she said, forcing herself to smile. Jay-Jay's mood was rubbing off on her and she was not in the mood to deal with him. "Look about last Thursday after Quidditch…" His tone was apologetic, so Kellyn cut to the chase.
"Don't apologize. It's not necessary. I don't care." She honestly was not concerned with what he thought.
"But… but I get it. I'm… I'm so happy with Sharon." Kellyn looked at him for a moment, seeing his face soften and his eyes glaze over as he reminisced of some fond memory. "And you're happy with Sam?" Kellyn nodded. "So we're both happy. That's… that's good." Kellyn offered a smile and then Sharon bounded up, linking an arm through Drew's. He affectionately stroked her cheek with his hand and Drew and Sharon sat together for lunch in the Great Hall. Although Kellyn could honestly say that she was happy with Sam, she was far from happy at the moment. She just wanted the day to be over with.
After classes, they all dressed in black garb and met in McGonagall's office to be escorted off-campus to Apparate. The week had been surprisingly warm. The snow that had coated the school the week before was almost all melted away with the above-freezing temperatures and the occasional spats of rain. It was an overcast day, with dark clouds lingering above and threatening rain as they trudged through the field with thick winter coats on. Mr. Davies greeted the girls with weak smiles and was introduced to Kellyn, as she was the new face that made the trio of girls into a quartet. Jay-Jay did not look like her father, Kellyn noticed. Perhaps, she thought, she took after her mother.
They Apparated to a cemetery and walked quietly to a grave. They each conjured a bouquet of flowers from their wands and laid them down before backing away, allowing Mr. Davies and Jay-Jay to stand in front of the grave alone. Kellyn caught a glance at the gravestone. Natalie Davies, 1978-2011. A Life of Beauty, Faith, and Hope. She was 33 years old, extremely young to be taken from Earth so early. They stood there for a good half-hour before Mr. Davies squeezed his only daughter's shoulder and took a walk through the grounds. Shaylee, Stella, and Kellyn hesitantly stepped up behind Jay-Jay, whose back was toward her. Kellyn wondered how the woman could have died so young, leaving little Jay-Jay to be raised by a father who must have always held the slightest grudge against her for resembling his late wife.
"The question is not, Kellyn," said Jay-Jay without even knowing Kellyn's thought, "'how did she die?' but 'how did she live?' It is a question I can answer better. She was a mom, beautiful and warm. She was always on my side, persuaded me to wear dresses and kept my hair out of my eyes. She was a fixer: she always wanted to make things better, whether it be cookies, the post system, or the world. I was her little girl," Jay-Jay's voice cracked. "But shit happens, you know. Shit happens and not everything lasts forever. I was six and it sucked. And although there are moments when I wish she could be here, I know… I know that the people who truly matter never really leave us. Not forever, anyway." Kellyn crept forward as Jay-Jay spoke, finally peering to look at her friend's face. There were tear tracks on her face and tears lingered on her cheeks; she was not red or blotchy, the tears falling quickly on their own accord. Jay-Jay, the sarcastic one who was intense, forthright, and candid, whose life was dictated by cool logic, was crying. It was almost too much for Kellyn to bear; she was not one to cry over much herself, but this did not stop her from grabbing her friend and holding her tight. Jay-Jay let herself be held, be carried for a moment before she relinquished herself from her powerful grip. "Could I have a little time alone?" The girls nodded and walked away, but not before Kellyn could hear Jay-Jay say, "Hey Mum. I know, I just saw you at Christmas, but a lot has happened since then…"
When Jay-Jay joined her father and the girls again, they all Apparated back to Hogwarts, where it was growing dark. They changed out of their dark clothing and went silently to dinner, unconsciously walking very closely to one another, as if protecting each other. They did put a few final touches on their homework, showered, and lounged about until going to bed early. Kellyn finished her work and could not bring herself to sleep, instead creeping down the stairs toward the Slytherin common room. She sent her Patronus through the door and waited for Sam to let her in. She hugged him tightly as a greeting and he, laughing, picked her up and carried her to the couch. When he collapsed on top of her and realized her somber expression, he adjusted himself to sit alongside her.
"What's eating at you, princess?"
"We're going to die."
"If you mean by this load of homework we have, I am going to have to agree," he said with a cheeky grin.
"Sam, Scorpius," she implored. He caught his proper name and frowned in confusion and annoyed. "We're going to die," she said more earnestly. Sam looked into her eyes; he knew that her eyes were an open book. In those pools of hazel, nothing could be hidden. In her eyes, she saw a fear of leaving too soon, of leaving people behind, and leaving a life unlived. So, he wiped the grin off his face and gave her a meaningful look.
"I know." Then, he held her tightly and fiercely until Shelby, looking particularly daunting, interrupted them.
"If you are planning on going back to Ravenclaw tower, curfew is in a few minutes."
"Are you better, princess?" Sam asked his girlfriend.
"Much," she nodded and reluctantly pried herself from his arms after a short kiss.
"I'll walk you back," said Shelby to Kellyn, not looking as intimidating as she did before. Kellyn said thanks and the girls walked in silence. When she walked into the common room, she saw Drew and Sharon curled up on the couch, Drew fast asleep with his arms wrapped around Sharon. Sharon was awake to notice Kellyn enter the room, smiling to her before closing her eyes. The light from the fire flitted across the room, but lingered on Drew's lips, which were still curled into a blissful smile, even in his peaceful sleep. When Kellyn collapsed on her bed, she imagined Sam's strong arms wrapped around her and fell asleep, knowing that Jay-Jay was right: the people who mattered never really left you.
"What do you mean you won't be at my match on Saturday?" Kellyn bemoaned later that week. "It's against Gryffindor!"
"I know, princess, but father insists I come home for the weekend, some fancy dinner all for show, or something of the sort. There is no saying no, I have to. The show must go on!" he declared. Kellyn pouted. "Look, maybe I can come back here early but I can't ask him now. I'm leaving Friday right after classes. We'll see, righto?" Kellyn nodded, but was not thrilled with the situation. It would be their first time apart since they had begun dating and Kellyn dreaded the thought of not being able to see him.
Things were still the same between them. Kellyn vaguely wondered if after sharing a serious moment together, they would begin to settle down their teenage antics, but this proved untrue as while walking to class, Sam yanked her into a broom closet and trailed kisses down her neck. He was always full of surprises, that one; he always kept her on her toes, which she enjoyed. So, she was rather fretful on Friday when he gave her a kiss good-bye and left.
"Relax, princess," he murmured. "It's only for a weekend, you'll live." Kellyn frowned at him. "If it's any consolation, I'd rather be here with you."
"Yeah yeah, whatever," she shrugged and turned away. Sam pulled her back and gave her a searing kiss before grabbing his trunks and leaving.
On Saturday morning, Kellyn woke up to rain pounding on her window. She groaned: it would not be pretty playing Quidditch in the rain. She did not feel like getting up at the moment, as her bed was warm and she knew the stone floors would be cold, but a sound perked her interest. Coming from Sharon's bed was a series of hacking coughs.
"Sharon, are you well?" Kellyn asked, walking to her teammate's bed.
"No," she pouted, "I have been up coughing this morning for a few hours and I have a monster headache." Indeed, Sharon did not look well: her face was flushed with the exception of her red ski-slope nose. Kellyn saw the culprit of this ruddiness at Sharon's bedside, where a trash can filled with used tissues sat.
"Are you feeling any better?" asked Shaylee softly, creeping up to the girl's bed. "I know you weren't looking your best yesterday when you went to bed so early."
"If anything, I feel worse," Sharon moaned. "Drew's going to kill me."
"No, he's not going to kill anyone. If anything, he'll worry—you know him."
"Well, I don't want that either!" Sharon said sulkily, growing more frustrated.
"Take a deep breath," said Shaylee calmly. "Stress will do you no good. Now, you are definitely running a temperature," Shaylee declared with a hand on Sharon's forehead, "and I could give you something to bring the temperature down and alleviate some of your cold symptoms, but you will still be very exhausted. Can you sit up?" Sharon pushed herself up with difficulty. "You are really weak right now, Sharon," said Shaylee morosely, stroking the girl's hair to comfort her, "and your balance is probably off from the fluids in your head and we don't want you passing out on a broomstick. You need to rest today, no Quidditch for you." Sharon weakly protested, but Shaylee would have none of it, announcing that she was going to tell Drew the news and Sharon was to stay in bed.
Kellyn crept down the stairs after Shaylee and attempted to overhear their conversation. However, this was the kind of conversation kept quiet: it beheld news that not even the other Ravenclaws could find out about, let alone their enemies for the day, the Gryffindor lions. They were talking in hushed tones and although Kellyn could not hear what they were saying, Drew's expressions spoke volumes. He frowned, his brow furrowed as his brain churned with thought, obviously worried about what would be done. He and Shaylee seemed to debate: Drew was the type to create a pro and con list to every minute decision when it came to Quidditch. Fingers and hands pointed and directed everywhere as they attempted to shuffle players around. Finally, with a heavy sigh, a decision was made. Kellyn leaned forward to try to hear this and instead stumbled down the last two steps. Shaylee and Drew both looked at her, Shaylee with a glare and Drew piqued sigh.
"Want to fetch your brother?"
"Why?" Kellyn breathed, trying to contain her hope building up in her stomach.
"Because today is his big début." Kellyn grinned with pride and dashed up the stairs, pounding on the third year boy's room door. Fortunately, Declan opened the door with sleepy eyes.
"Wake up!" she cried, shaking his shoulders. "It's Quidditch Day!" Declan seemed unmoved by this declaration. "Sharon's sick and you're in, so you best get ready!"
"I… what…?" he asked slowly, his eyes going wide. "I…me…?"
"Yes, you! Now hop to it, brother! Get dressed, Drew's downstairs, he will probably going to want to talk your ears off about strategy…"
"I… me…?!" he repeated, more excitedly now.
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Declan shook his head like a wet puppy, now wide awake and thrilled down to the tip of his toes. He quite nearly shut the door on his sister as he frantically ran about the room. Kellyn trotted down the stairs, a happy smile still plastered on her face. Drew was in the common room, deep in thought.
"He's absolutely thrilled; Declan's just getting dressed right now and he'll be down in a moment. I figured you would want to talk to him… Drew, are you listening to me?"
"Oh, yes, sorry."
"A Sickle for your thoughts?"
"How to keep up appearances. I don't want the Gryffindors finding out about this until we step on the pitch, but we always have breakfast together and it will seem weird if we don't show up or go without Sharon. Do you think she is well enough to sit through breakfast?" Kellyn looked at him gob-smacked.
"Probably, but seriously, all you are thinking of is Quidditch? Your girlfriend is sick!"
"I know that," he growled, then spoke more quietly. "And don't think for a second that I'm not worried as hell, because I am, she's my girlfriend and she's always on my mind, I just… she doesn't want to be a distraction, my distraction. She would want me to be thinking about the game, she's too good like that, so I'm just doing what she wants even though I'm not partial to it…" his voice trailed off and Kellyn could see how genuine he was. He was rather fretful and Kellyn melted: he really cared about her. "Is your distraction coming to the game?" he asked, his tone now light and joking.
"No, he is home for the weekend. Family stuff," Kellyn explained, her good mood slightly dampened.
"Too bad, it will be a good match, regardless of…" he sighed deeply. "I wish I could see her."
"Your wish is my command," said a soft voice from the stairs. Sharon stepped carefully, supported by Jay-Jay and Shaylee. Drew's face lit up with affection.
"You should be in bed," he said, rushing to her side.
"We have appearances to keep up," she said meekly. With a rush of affection, Drew scooped her up princess style and carried her that way to the Great Hall for breakfast, as the rest of the team trailed behind the happy couple with little smiles on their faces.
They escaped through breakfast without any whispers; all was going well, as it seemed the Gryffindors did not seem to suspect a thing, other than finding it a little odd Drew gave his girlfriend a piggyback ride out of the room upon finishing breakfast. Declan was too excited to eat, but Kellyn forced him to eat his toast and drink tea for warmth. Back in their rooms, the girls pulled their hair back and scavenged for rain gear. The team snuck down early for warm-up, trying to hide Declan and avoid staying in the rain for too long. They finished before the Gryffindor team showed up and then huddled in the team rooms in the stadium, keeping warm and tossing Quaffles around as Drew talked strategy. Privately, Drew gave Declan a little pep talk and the team was ready to go when Rose told them that the match would be starting soon.
"Now, you may tell Tigris of the line-up change," said Drew to Rose, speaking of the announcer for the games. Rose muttered something about boys and their secret Quidditch plans and walked off. The team did a cheer and flew outside as their names were called. Outside it was dark and rainy; visibility was pretty bad, but Kellyn could still make out the frantic expression followed by a scowl on James Potter's face when he realized how woefully unprepared he was for the Ravenclaw substitution.
"And it looks like there will be a last minute substitution for the Ravenclaw teams, with 3rd year Declan Wood, Kellyn Wood's younger brother, taking the place of Chaser Sharon Tabor while she is out ill. This should be an interesting game," said Tigris. "It is obvious that captain Indovinello has high hopes for this young player to put him in such a big game." Declan grinned on his broomstick and Kellyn only wished that her parents were there to see him play. However, they had some function that prevented them from attending the game.
Kellyn was confident Declan would do very well: after all, she had only been playing Quidditch with her little brother all her life; they knew each other's moves all too well. As they lined up, Kellyn saw Stella cheering in the stands, looking a little conflicted: half of her face was painted red for the Gryffindors in support of her boyfriend and the other half was Ravenclaw blue in support of her House and best friends; in one hand she had a lion sock puppet and on the other she had an eagle sock puppet. Kellyn smiled, then cleared her mind and prepared herself for the whistle to blow. She was hungry to score and planned on eating the Gryffindor Keeper—who was probably trembling, and not because of the cold weather—for lunch. She subconsciously licked her chops and shot off like a rocket when the whistle blew. Kellyn received the Quaffle, passed it to her brother, who carried it before he was close to a defender, and then passed it back to Kellyn, who promptly scored and put Ravenclaw on the scoreboard. The passing sequences between Declan and Kellyn were beautiful; even the usually biased Tigris commented positively.
"They play so prettily together! Brother and sister, it's all quite sweet. I mean, we have the Potter trio," Tigris boasted, "but they're all in different positions. Imagine if they were all Chasers. Oh, and Gryffindor intercepts the Quaffle!"
After awhile, things began to break down and the Gryffindors began to poke holes in their offense. Although Kellyn and Declan worked well together, Declan had not played too much with Seb, so there was some hesitation and confusion. The Gryffindors excitedly used this weakness to their advantage and scored a few goals themselves. With the rain pounding on them, the game seemed to go on forever. However, this did not deter the Gryffindor fans, who still cheered for their team as if their lives depended on it; likewise, the Ravenclaws, in a stubborn streak, hung on and cheered, although they wistfully thought it would be much warmer inside and they could squeeze in a little more study time…
Both teams managed well in the rain: the Ravenclaws had devised a clever charm to keep them warm as they played and both teams wore goggles with the Impervious charm on them to keep the rain at bay. Nonetheless, it was exhausting playing in the rain and fighting the wind that left their faces numb and raw and made their passes fall short, go long, or veer to the side. Keepers and Beaters found the wind troublesome for this reason, as easy saves became blundering goals and the Bludger slipped off bats and in undesirable directions. They had been playing for nearly an hour, with the score at 110-50 Ravenclaw, when the unthinkable happened.
Kellyn was on the other side of the pitch when she saw it. Jay-Jay directed a Bludger toward the unsuspecting Helen, who was busy looking for a pass from James. However, Albus caught sight of this and came to her rescue. He flew with his body tucked in tightly and got to her just in time. It was such a narrow save that when Albus reached out to redirect the Bludger, he hit it out of Helen's vicinity, not minding where it went. Helen had an appreciative smile lingering on her lips until her eyes followed the Bludger. Declan, who had been guarding Helen, hadn't seen the Bluger and did not even turn when he heard the crack of the bat. There was a terrible crunching noise as the Bludger collided with the back of Declan's; his eyes glazed over, his body went limp, and then, he fell.
Author's Note: I require at least five reviews to update. So unfortunately, leaving you all such. Hmm, my sympathy goes out to you all. (Not really.) So, REVIEW!
