A/N: Thanks to reviewers. No TMR-GAP in this action. Quite funny though. And Quidditch in this one. Enjoy.
A NOTE: I forgot to say this, and I think that I should, due to recent reviews – this is AU. About as AU as it gets. With no regard WHATSOEVER to the happenings of HBP and DH. Apart from the whole War thing.
ANOTHER NOTE: If you like Evil!Tom, then I'm sorry to say that this fic has basically slapped your opinion upside the head. Sorry.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Though I wish it was.
The Letter P
Chapter Twenty-Two: P is for Pyschopathic Behaviour
With one last burst of speed, Ginny was through the Entrance Hall, down into the dungeons, and then skidded to a halt before the bust of Salazar Slytherin. "Ophiuchus," she panted, adding, in Parseltongue, "and if anyone asks, you never saw me
She slipped through the door and scurried up to bed. Thankfully, none of her roommates had woken up. Changing quickly out of her twenty-first century attire, she laid her wand to rest on her bedside table, emptying her bag, kicking the contents under her bed, and slinging the bag aside, before hopping into her icy sheets, and curling up beneath them. However, as she lay there, she knew in her heart that she would not sleep tonight, as too many unanswered questions plagued her mind.
xxx
Ginny did not have nightmares that night. She dreamt of Greek girls with anagramic names and title-less books that gave no meaning.
"Oi, wake up, Sleeping Beauty!"
A pillow hit her hard on the head, and Ginny blearily opened her hazel eyes. "A'ight, m'up," she mumbled ungraciously, and stumbled out of bed.
"You're more tired than usual," observed Grace, though a frown crinkled her faint eyebrows. "Yet you didn't scream in the night."
Feeling embarrassed of her night-time shouting tendencies, Ginny headed into the bathroom to wash. "Er," she called back into the dormitory, through a faceful of soap, "just a rough night, I guess." Grimacing at the awful lie, she towelled her face dry, and returned to her trunk.
As she opened it, Ginny saw her one-entry diary, and her empty bag. She instantly remembered the books under her bed, and felt a twist of longing to sit and pore through them endlessly for clues. However, she had Arithmancy first period, and, as she had passed out previously, she was already behind on her lessons; she couldn't afford missing this next one.
Gr. I don't have a free period for two hours
"Coming to breakfast?" asked Flora, pausing in the doorway up to the Slytherin common room.
"Yeah," replied Grace; she jerked a thumb in the direction of Ginny, struggling into her black school-flats. "I'm waiting for her, though."
"Her has a name," said Ginny, pretending to glare. "And her is ready right now, thank you."
"Coolsville."
Inwardly raising an eyebrow at Grace's …interesting – vocabulary, Ginny cast one last glance at her unmade bed, and, more specifically, what lay beneath it, before continuing out of the door and up the winding stairs to the Slytherin common room.
"Tired?" sneered Claude as Ginny, Grace and Flora entered the room, her feline, almond-shaped, green eyes looking onto round, hazel ones.
Ginny shot the blonde a withering glare.
Calm down. She doesn't know what went on.
Right?
Flipping a rude-hand gesture at Claude just in time for Professor Slughorn to walk past and say, "Excuse me, Miss Peregrine? Five points from Slytherin for such vulgar attitude, and don't expect an invitation to the Slug Club."
Ha. In forty-eight years, dear Horace, you will be begging this feisty redhead to join your pathetic Slug Club.
Instead of voicing this thought and being deemed mad, Ginny said humbly, "Sorry, Professor", and left the common room feeling more jaded than previously.
"That was so mean of him!" Grace exclaimed. "I mean, honestly. He must, I reckon, see about ten people swear a day, and it's only you he tells off and deducts points from. I don't understand – you're one of the best at Potions, as well."
The redhead shrugged, and they continued up to the Great Hall, conversing merrily.
"-and then," said Grace dramatically as they entered the Entrance Hall, "I was like, WOOOOOO-" she spun around, very fast, so that her messy brown curls, black plaid skirt, robes, and arms flailed out, before –
Thud.
"Oops!" said Grace, looking up at who she had bumped into. A blonde boy gave them a haughty look of disgust, and then brushed past them. As he left, the brunette's cheeks flushed bright red. "Ohmigod," she hissed, "he was really hot, as well!"
Ginny giggled. "Well, maybe not such a good match," she advised.
"I know," said Grace, "I mean, seriously – did you see the look he gave us?" She put her hands on hips and did an over-exaggerated old-man frown.
"Gave us?" Ginny echoed. She shook her head, waggling her finger. "Gave you, Grace." Then, she flicked her red tresses over her shoulder like an auburn wave, and said coyly, "I'm still game."
Grace's mouth fell open. "You would not," she gasped as they pushed through the doors to the Great Hall, and walked across to their table, finding Alden.
Laughing harder, Ginny grinned, "Hey Alden," and helped herself to a croissant. "Did we have any Arithmancy homework?"
"You two geeks," jeered Grace teasingly, immediately munching her way through several blueberry muffins. Then, with a high-pitched, mocking voice, "Oh, look at me, I take Arithmancy and Astronomy and Divination and -"
"I don't take Divination," Ginny pointed out, taking a slab of butter for her croissant.
"You do," replied Grace.
"Want to check my timetable?" asked Ginny, drawing it out and waving it in front of her friend's face.
Scowling and grumbling to herself, Grace sank lower in her chair and returned to her muffins, while Alden chuckled appreciatively from the sidelines. "Shut it, you," she growled at him, "or I'll strangle you with a muffin."
What??
Alden stared at her incredulously. "Grace, you can't strangle me with a muffin."
My thoughts precisely! Thank you, Alden, thought Ginny triumphantly as she served herself baked beans.
"Wanna bet?" said Grace darkly, holding up the muffin in the palm of her hand, her voice so quiet and calm that it was actually terrifying.
Okay, screw Riddle. It's Grace I should have been worried about! She's a freaking PYSCHO!
Alden rolled his eyes, seemingly unfazed by this pyschopathic behaviour. "Grace, put the muffin down," he said boredly, and collected his copy of the Daily Prophet from one of the many owls swooping in.
How the hell is he not frightened by that – that – GRACE
I guess it's sort of normal for him.
Chasing her baked beans idly around her plate with her fork, Ginny's mind was free to wander away from her friends' bickering, and her mind pursued the books under her bed. The first probably held significant details that had to be read thoroughly to gain realization of their importance, and the second…
Well. She wasn't even sure if she had grabbed the right book.
xxx
"- six inches on the Babylonian numerology system by next week, please. Detentions for those of you who fail to hand it on time. I do not care if your limbs have been removed or if you are brain damaged. The only excuse I will accept is death," finished Professor Wiskunde, in his thick Dutch accent.
Cheerful sod.
Ginny sighed, swept her things into her schoolbag, and then slung the bag over her shoulder. She and Alden left the classroom discussing what they had learnt in the lesson, but their conversation was cut off when Ginny suddenly recalled:
"Slytherin Quidditch team try-outs!" she gasped.
Alden frowned. "What about them?"
"They're today!" she groaned. "In my only free period!"
GAH! I can't read the books if I want to be on the team… Mfhdkfnsdg. FINE. I'll read them later
The short dark-haired boy peered at her. "What's wrong?" he asked, surveying her features. "That wasn't an 'oh-no-I'm-so-nervous'. That was an 'oh-crud-now-I-can't-do-whatever-it-was-I-was-planning-to-do'. What's going on?"
Honestly, Ginny said, "I got a new book from the library and I'm really keen to start reading it."
Disbelieving, Alden furrowed his brows further into their frown. "Okay," he said, before moving on and asking, "did you do your Defence Against the Dark Arts homework?"
"Of course." It was her favourite class. She had gotten an 'O' in it, for her OWLs, and memories of Dumbledore's Army with all of her friends flooded back to her – the root of discovering her talent. "I wasn't sure about question seven, that could have been the Disarming Spell or a mild Stunning Spell," she said thoughtfully as she descended the stairs to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
xxx
Fastening a second-hand flying cloak around her neck, Ginny hurried down the steps, into the Hogwarts grounds, and ran towards the Quidditch stadium. Slughorn had kept her in, so she was late.
Damnit! PLEASE don't let them have already chosen the chasers!
"Sorry!" she howled as she came racing through the doors, grabbing a broomstick from the wall. "Am I too late for Chaser?"
"No," said Jack Swithin, eyeing her suspiciously. "We've selected a second Beater and we're on Keeper try-outs."
"Jack!" hissed a feline voice, as Claude sashayed up to him. "You can not seriously be considering letting her on the team!" she glared at Ginny. "She's a Mudblood, Jack – think of the Slytherin team's reputation!"
The beefy blonde-haired boy turned to his girlfriend. "I don't give a damn about reputation if she's good enough to help us win. I'm sick of falling second-best to those Ravenclaw poufs," he said angrily.
Claude's emerald eyes glowed with anger. "Fine!" she spat. "Forget about the Slytherin team! Forget about me! And," she hissed, "you can forget your Christmas present, too!" With a huff of fury, she swirled away, patted her golden halo of curls self-consciously to check that they were still perfect after her rather vicious swirl, before storming away.
Shooting an apologetic look towards Jack, Ginny pulled on gloves, to protect her from the harsh wind, and waited for her turn to try-out for chaser.
Finally it was time. Ginny was the last of seven to try out. First was Abraxas Malfoy – he scored one, two, three… thirteen goals in the two minutes allowed. Ginny had to admit that he was a fabulous shot, and she hoped that this wouldn't lose her a place.
Second and third were under-fourteens. One scored two goals and, the other, six. The redhead's palms grew sweaty and she clenched them underneath her gloves.
Four was a weedy third-year who flew fast, but fumbled every time the quaffle was passed to him; he dropped it three times, but scored eight times. Five was a dark-skinned boy who crashed into the Hufflepuff sidelines within seconds, and a feeling of panic grow as the penultimate try-out chaser flew onto the pitch.
One… two… three… four… OUCH. That looked painful
As would-be chaser number six was levitated down from the middle goal-hoop, Ginny mounted her broom.
It's okay. All I have to do is score more than eight, more than that scrawny kid. Should be a piece of cake.
Flexing her gloves, Ginny kicked off the sand and rose into the air. She hovered for a moment while Jack inspected his pocket-watch, and then, with a toot of a loud whistle, someone hurled the quaffle down the pitch, and the time started.
The redhead powered forwards. She hadn't felt a broomstick under her fingers for so long. It was incredible to be back. The broom she rode was a Heryres 1250, and didn't move as fast as the brooms that she was used to, but it was quite swift for the time period, and she hurtled across the pitch after the quaffle.
Stretching one arm forwards, she snatched the maroon ball from the air, tucked it in the crook of her elbow, and sped towards the goals. Manoeuvring around the many floating obstacles that zoomed around the pitch, she flew determinedly towards the goal hoops. She pulled her arm back as far as possible, and then lobbed the quaffle as hard as she could.
In the air… through the sky… score.
A triumphant smile streaking across Ginny's face, the ball was tossed back to her by Abraxas Malfoy, waiting behind the hoops. It was an unfair throw to her, veering sideways with a spin on it, but she stretched out, and caught it in her fingertips.
"Aha," she muttered to herself, and flew on.
Two goals!
Three goals!
Four!
Five!
Six!
DAMNIT.
Seven!
Eight!
Nine! – I'm on the team for sure now!
DAMNIT. DAMNIT. DAMNIT.
Ten!
"TIME'S UP!" hollered Jack, shaking the pocket-watch at Ginny. Grinning, she flew back down, the quaffle tucked under her arm. She tossed it to the burly Captain, and watched in anticipation for her results as he locked it into the Quidditch box. The blonde boy looked up at her. "You did all right," he grunted.
Unable to keep the beam from her face, Ginny returned the borrowed broom that she had ridden to the broom cupboard. When she returned, the Seekers had played, and Jack was calling the new team players.
"Okay. This year's Slytherin Quidditch team. Keeper – Celem Magnus. Beaters – Jack Swithin and William Nomens. Seeker – Palmer Vegrandis. Chasers – Abraxas Malfoy, Rupert Flax, and…" he grumbled audibly, before reluctantly muttering, "Ginevra Peregrine."
"JACK!" yelled Claude, marching towards her boyfriend.
Sensing danger, Ginny moved away, and was swept into a bear-hug by Alden, Grace, and – Ginny was pleasantly surprised – Flora.
"You got in, you got in, you got in," they chanted.
Ginny grinned.
xxx
A/N: I hope you liked the Quidditch try-outs scene. It wasn't very good. And yes, this fic is going to start to get VERY AU. Thanks to my beta SilvanXan. Review! Your only other option is being eaten.
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XxRandomHeartxX: Yay! Marshmallows! Yeah, I hate when fics are like: 'Ginny woke up. She was in the past. She walked downstairs and Tom Riddle was there. He was hot. She started to kiss him'. –shiver- Lol. Sugar highs rock. And aren't we all a softy at some point? I got so pissed with my brother last year because we were on a hike and he deliberately stood on a slug. Lmao. Thanks!
lady darkness: coofromancoofce?? Is that a word? Oh well. I like it! Thank you
BDSanta2001: Yeah. It's like: "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" And this skunk comes out and sprays you. "WRONG WAY, DAMNIT!" Lol.Yeah, I told you that the plot twists were arriving.
o00bubbles00o: Yeah, it's REALLY AU. And I'm not going to answer your theory or anyone else's, because that'll just basically screw up the story. Thank you!
storm-brain: Lol. That's the point. It's supposed to be confusing for you, because it's confusing for Ginny. But all will be made clear soon.
megs06Thanks! Interesting theory. I'm not going to say anything about it, though. Sorry.
creative-writing-girl13-giggle- Of course. But I didn't just tell you that.
Leah: o0 Salazar's dead, remember? Lol. Well, it's a cool theory. But… blah blah blah, can't tell you anything, etc. etc. Lol.
Hermione W. Cullen: Oh, thank you!
AppleC0RENot saying anything. –zipped lips- Thank you!
La Brujita: Um. –clears throat- This story is kind of going to destroy your opinion entirely. Sorry. Thanks for following it, though.
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I had the weirdest dream last night. I was playing Duck Duck Goose with the principal of my school and Tom Riddle. Weird.