Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty, Willow counted in her head.
She puffed out a warm breath that was visible in the chilly morning air. Her lungs were ready to go at this point, and she took off, her turnover faster than ever. Willow was so happy about the temperature drop that she decided to take a four-mile run instead of her usual two that November morning.
A mist was rolling over the fields, and a cloud of fog floated lazily over the lake. The Quidditch pitch lay wreathed in the thickest cloud of moisture. Willow's stomach did flips with excitement when she remembered that Gryffindor would be facing down Slytherin later that day. Harry was about to play his first quidditch game ever, and Willow was determined to cheer him on louder than anyone else.
Willow ran around the pitch, the spectator towers alternating in color. She was over the moon about watching a live game. Willow had tried to imagine it in her head, players racing to and fro, beaters cracking a bludger or two into a few opposing players, keepers making amazing saves, but she knew that it wouldn't even come close to the real thing. Any game that required flying on a broomstick would be fun to watch, Willow thought.
She didn't slow down at the three mile mark, which surprised her. She never had this much strength and energy. Willow thought it must be the cold air, which never failed to invigorate her. She ran alongside the Forbidden Forest, listening to the playing winged horses, reminiscing on the times she had spent in the place. Willow remembered that she had failed to ask anyone about the horses, and she had never returned with the map after that night she spent stargazing.
You should have done that, you big dummy, Willow scolded herself. What if it's important?
Willow promised herself that she would accomplish those two thing before Christmas.
When she had finished the final sprint at the end of her run, Willow still wasn't all that tired. She still went inside right away, not wanting to get in trouble for being outside too long in the early morning. The castle had cooled considerably over the past few days. Every hallway had a draft now, and only Willow could tolerate it. Even Draco, who acted tough about everything, was shivering to death when he walked from class to class. Willow made it to the common room without disturbance and slipped inside. She was shocked to find that a pair of twins was also up.
"Sally? Samuel? What are you doing awake already?" Willow whispered.
The twins jumped up, wide-eyed, then relaxed when they saw who it was.
"Sorry, Willow," Sally apologized. "We didn't know it was you."
"We couldn't sleep last night, so we came down here this morning," Samuel explained.
"The fire is nice and warm, isn't it?" Willow commented, adding another log onto the hot coals.
"Yes, it is," Sally agreed. "Thank you."
"So, do you always have trouble sleeping?" Willow asked.
Both twins uncomfortably shifted on their feet, then Samuel said, "Yeah, I guess so."
"You know, I have the same problem."
The twins glanced at Willow at the same time. "Really?"
"Yes. Nightmares are the worst, aren't they?"
Sally's mouth dropped to the ground while Samuel blurted, "How did you know?"
"I rescued you, didn't I?" Willow said. They nodded. "I saw your injuries. Although I don't know details, I know that whatever happened to you, it was absolutely horrible. That kind of stuff doesn't go away. It decides to stay a little longer as nightmares. I hate it, but it does give me an advantage over other kids when we all have to stay up late studying."
The twins stared at Willow, their eyes sparkling with wonder and the tiniest bit of hope. Willow smiled warmly , sitting down in an armchair.
"I wouldn't have known had you not told us," Sally said.
"How do you hide it so well?"
Willow shrugged. "The longer ago it happened, the easier it is to deal with. I'm guessing you guys went through a lot very recently."
The twins nodded. Willow sensed that they were still processing events that had occurred before they came to Hogwarts. The poor things were drowning in classwork and homework, trying to catch up on everything they had missed. Willow had only missed a few days from the troll attack and was still catching up on homework. She couldn't imagine being in their shoes at the moment.
"Hey, if you ever need anything, just ask," Willow offered. "My doors are always open to you guys."
The twins smiled at her. "Thanks, Willow."
"You're welcome."
Students began filtering out of their dorms, gathering in the commons for a pre-breakfast hang out session. Willow wondered why everyone was so zombie-like in the morning. It was the start of a new day; why would anyone not want to get a head start? Mornings were so exciting! Waking up late was wasting daylight to Willow, and it nearly killed her to sleep past nine. That was the only thing about Paige that Willow couldn't stand, as Paige would stay up all night and sleep all day if anyone let her. Willow and the Weasley twins drove her crazy by forcing her to go to bed at least some sort of hour of the night.
Speaking of Paige, she was storming down the stairs, dragging two redheads by their ears. They couldn't stop laughing. Paige threw them into the couch, causing Willow and the Smith twins to back up.
"What did they do this time?" Willow asked.
"It is not funny to wake me up this early," Paige growled, glaring daggers at the twins. They refused to meet her gaze, only stifling laughter.
"You know, Paige, it's called an early birthday present for a reason," Fred reasoned.
"That's it, you're both dead!"
Paige threw a pillow at the twins. They hopped up and chucked pillows back at the angry third year, causing it to escalate into an all-out cushion-throwing war. Willow joined Paige's side and pelted the twins with couch cushions. The Smith twins spectated the whole thing with rare smiles on their faces, even laughing a few times. Willow was so happy to get them in this state that she put more effort into making a fool of herself than winning the war, even letting herself be thrown into the wall by a combined throw from both of the twins. A painting fell down and hit her on the head before covering her whole body. Hysterical laughter reached Willow's ears, and she was glad to take the hit if it meant entertaining the pair.
"Willow! How did this happen?" Paige chortled, her mood having been lifted with the pillow fight.
"It just happened," Willow plainly replied. Paige groaned, lifting the first year up.
"You are so ridiculous sometimes, you know?"
"I'm well aware, and I don't aim to stop any time soon."
"God help us."
"Do I have a bruise on my head?"
"Oh, yeah, let me fix that."
Paige took her wand out of her pocket and tapped it on Willow's forehead. Any bit of pain that had been in it before melted away in the blink of an eye. Paige half-smiled, satisfied with her work, and went back to her dorm to change.
"She would never have done that for us."
"Why does Paige like you better than us?"
Willow shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I have a better personality."
Fred and George scoffed. "I highly doubt that."
Breakfast came swiftly, and Willow was happy to scarf down inhuman quantities of eggs and toast. Her run from earlier had made her super hungry. All of Willow's friends were at the Gryffindor table at once, a rare occasion. She had a suspicion it was due to the quidditch match more than anything. Harry was picking at his food, Ron and Hermione trying to convince him to eat it. Dean didn't help matters by informing him that the Seeker always gets clobbered first. Poor Harry was white as a ghost and looked more stressed out than Willow had seen him in ages, possibly ever.
"Alright, Harry, listen up," Willow commanded, getting his attention. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I want to throw up."
"Perfect," Willow said, earning her a confused look from Harry. She elaborated before he could ask too many questions. "That's only nerves. That means you care a lot, which is a good sign, because you'll spare no effort to catch that snitch. You're a great Seeker, Harry, and absolute natural. If Slytherin hurts you, I will personally send your preferred amount of players to the hospital wing."
Harry half-smiled. "That sounds quite nice, actually."
"We've got your back, Harry. Don't sweat it. Whatever anyone says, don't listen- unless it's good advice from your teammates, of course. You'll do amazing Harry. I've got a feeling Gryffindor will win today."
"Let's hope you're right."
Harry seemed a little better after that, but he still excused himself from the table a half hour before breakfast ended, saying that he wanted to get ready early. Willow was left with her roommates, the rest of the first year Gryffindor boys, both the Smith and Weasley twins, Paige, and Lee. The third years were talking all about the quidditch match and all the bloodying up the twins would be doing to the Slytherins. Willow didn't understand enough about quidditch yet to talk about it with them, so she turned to her fellow classmates.
"We should do something for Harry to cheer him up," Willow suggested. "He seems awfully down and terrified today."
"Ooh! I know!" Lavender squealed. "We can make a banner!"
"I call making one for the Chasers!" Fay exclaimed.
"Me too!"
"Me three!"
"The rest of you, do you want to make one for Harry?" Willow offered. "I'll make one for the twins."
"Sure! We can all help each other. I know a few charms to make them even better," Hermione said.
"Perfect! Let's get to work after breakfast."
When breakfast ended, the Gryffindors rushed to their common room to make the signs before the big game. Willow wished the twins luck before running off with her classmates. They invaded the first year boy's dorm and ripped Ron's sheet off his bed.
"Scabbers ruined this one," Ron explained, pointing to all the holes in it. "We can make a huge sign this way."
The girls found some extra bed sheets and gathered some supplies for themselves, while Willow and Hermione stuck with the boys and found some bright red-and-gold colored paints. Willow grabbed a tiny bit of paint for herself and rummaged through her trunk back in her own room. She had brought some poster boards just in case for exam studying at the end of the year, but she thought that it would be better put to use cheering Fred and George on. Willow got started right away.
"Don't you dare use profanity, Willow," Hermione warned.
"How did you know?" she asked, not denying anything in the slightest.
"Gee, I don't know, maybe the fact that you tend to push the limits on every rule installed at this school?"
Willow shrugged, half of her mouth angled upward in a smirk. "Hey, as long as I don't get caught, it's allowed."
"You spend way too much time with those three."
"Four, actually. And who says that they rub off on me?"
"Now you're really starting sound like them."
Willow laughed, holding up her sign for everyone to see. "I am cheering them on, I guess."
Everyone snickered when they read it. "Only you, Willow, only you."
Willow grinned, knowing that the twins would appreciate her humor. "How is your sign looking?"
"Great, actually," Seamus replied, gesturing to where Dean was drawing on the floor. When Willow saw Dean's art so far, she blinked several times, hardly able to believe how realistic it was.
"Wow, Dean that's awesome!" she exclaimed. "You're an amazing artist! I wish I could draw like that, but the last time I tried, it ended up being squiggly lines all over the page."
Dean blushed slightly, not wanting to take his eyes off the lion he was drawing. "Thanks. I try my best."
It took a little while, but the lion was finished at last, and Hermione cast a charm on it that made the lion roar and move. The group was proud of their work.
"I can't wait for Harry to see this!" Neville squeaked.
"Hopefully it will give him a confidence boost," Ron said. "He better catch that snitch!"
"He will, don't worry," Willow assured.
The other girls joined her as the whole group of Gryffindor first years left the common room and made their way towards the quidditch pitch. It seemed like the whole school was heading there, flooding the hallways with their house colors, creating a sea of red and gold, blue and bronze, yellow and black, green and silver. Willow couldn't believe how all-out students would go for these games. She had never seen this much school spirit in her life. Glancing down at her pathetic excuse of Gryffindor clothing, Willow wondered where she could get all that merchandise.
"I have an extra scarf, Willow," Neville offered, as if reading her mind.
"Oh, do you have it with you?" Willow asked, surprised.
"Yeah, my grandparents have a few extras that they sent with me," Neville explained, handing her a scarf. Willow put it around her neck, now feeling much better about herself.
"Thank you, Neville!" Willow said, hugging him. Neville's cheeks burned red again.
Outside, the November air nipped at the students, causing many to start shivering right away. Willow, as usual, was in her element, full of energy from the moment the cold air touched her skin. She ran ahead of the rest of her friends, unable to contain the sudden spike in happiness. The Forbidden Forest swayed in the distance. A layer of frost was finally melting off of everything, and the clouds hung in the sky, suspended in front of the sun and creating a half-sunny, half-cloudy day. This was Willow's favorite weather all across the board.
Willow waited for her friends to catch up once she got to a tower near the middle, but raced ahead again once they climbed the stairs. She was bouncing up and down by the time everyone was up in the stands.
"Jeez, Willow, what is up with you today?" Dean asked.
"I'm crazy!"
"We noticed," Seamus chuckled.
The wind was stronger up in the stands than on the ground. It whipped the flags around, piercing through everyone's jackets within seconds. Willow was only beginning to feel cold in her fingers and toes. The Slytherin players were already out on the field, warming each other up. A rather nasty brute was guarding the three hoops. Willow bit her lip, noticing that all of the Slytherin players were large and strong-looking. She desperately hoped that Harry would stay away from them.
"Hello there, Willow," Hagrid boomed, appearing at the top of the stairs.
"Hagrid!" Willow exclaimed. She noticed the pair of binoculars hanging around his neck. "Are you here to watch Harry?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Willow, along with all the other first years Gryffindors, cheered loudly as their team stepped out of the locker room and took to the field. She saw Harry glance at the banner, smile, then mount his broom and do a few practice sprints. Fred and George also turned her way and high-fived each other after reading the banner. Willow couldn't have been prouder of the way the whole Gryffindor team took their encouragement to heart. It seemed that way for the rest of her friends, too.
"Did you see Angelina?"
"They loved us!"
"I hope they make us popular after they win!"
Willow grinned, shaking her head at how crazy her friends were acting. Then again, she was crazier, they were what passed as normal girls. Willow had never been very girly, taking a liking to sports and toys that were typically for boys from an early age. She had always hated make-up and playing dress-up. The only thing that remotely resembled normal about Willow was that she loved singing and playing the piano, something her parents had taught her from when she was young. Willow had always wondered what it would be like to be a Lavender or a Mia for a day. But she was perfectly content to be a total tomboy and let other girls handle making her a beauty witch. Popularity and drama usually ruined a person's modesty, she found, and Willow was bound and determined to never get an ego.
A familiar dark-haired girl emerged from the steps, wrapped in Gryffindor blankets. Despite her hatred of the current weather conditions, she was rather bright-eyed and giddy.
"You'll never believe who's announcing the games this year," Paige said.
"Who?"
"Lee."
Willow almost laughed. "That's a joke, right?"
Paige shook her head. "Nope. I'm not kidding. McGonagall was ready to kill Dumbledore for allowing it, but he's already up there, getting the mic ready."
Willow followed her gaze to where the scoreboard was attached to a tower. A small figure was shuffling around in red and gold attire, a microphone in hand, McGonagall in the nearest spectator's tower. Willow snickered.
"This is going to be good."
"With Lee, how can it not?"
Paige sat down in front of Hagrid, shivering in the harsh wind. Willow's friends found seats, too, pinning down their signs with the textbooks they had brought. Hagrid may have been wide in girth, but he sure didn't make a very good wind blocker. Willow moved so that the wind was pounding on her back instead of Paige's. The third year tried to hide a smile.
"Here we go!" Ron exclaimed.
The game began. Chaos erupted everywhere as the stands were filled with cheers and chanting students while the players hacked away at each other. Bludgers zipped around, narrowly missing players. The quaffle was thrown from chaser to chaser faster than Willow's brain could process. So far, the snitch had yet to make an appearance, and Harry hung out in the air. McGonagall was on her feet and shouting at Lee within the first minute.
"Lee's already getting yelled at," Willow giggled.
"Let's hope he stays biased," Paige grumbled. "Look how dirty those Slytherin slugs are playing."
As Willow examined the game closer, she realized that the Slytherins were, indeed, throwing cheap shots at the Gryffindor players. An elbow here, a small shove there, just enough to imbalance the play, but not enough to get noticed for a foul. Willow found herself glaring daggers at the players, too.
"Now I see why everyone hates them," Willow said.
The game raged on, Gryffindor passing the quaffle. Willow was thankful for Lee's commentary, for she wouldn't have been able to keep up with all the names and all the plays at once. Gryffindor passed the quaffle around with such ease that it looked like the simplest game in the world from a spectator's point of view. Then Slytherin knocked the quaffle out of their hands, instantly on the offensive. Willow, along with her entire viewing section, stood up and gasped when Slytherin chucked a hard shot at the posts.
"No!" Willow breathed.
Then Wood was there, seemingly from nowhere, making an amazing save and putting the quaffle back into Katie Bell's hands. Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor erupted into maniacal cheers.
"That was amazing!" Ron shouted, his eyes glazed over with awe. Willow had a feeling he looked up to Wood more than he let on.
Katie Bell dashed down the field amid a roaring crowd, only the Slytherins booing. Two Slytherin players closed in on her. She let them get closer and closer, keeping a steady course towards the opposite end. Right before they sandwiched her, Katie dove, the two boys crashing hard into each other and nearly falling off their brooms. Willow thought Lavender must have snapped her vocal chords with her high-pitched screaming.
"GO KATIE!"
Lavender, Maia, and Fay all held up their signs, standing up and hollering for all they were worth. The three Chaser girls for Gryffindor did some fancy passing, avoiding the Slytherins by mere centimeters. Katie Bell had the quaffle in her hands and was about to go one on one with Keeper Bletchy.
"I LOVE YOU KATIE!" Lavender shrilled.
Suddenly, a bludger crashed into the back of Katie's head. She dropped the quaffle as she wobbled and fell of her broom. Slytherins cheered while their chasers quickly grabbed the discarded ball and raced towards the opposite end, everyone else groaning. Alicia Spinnet caught Katie and got her back on her broom. Fred and George were furious, readying their clubs for any chances to give the Slytherins a good whack. Willow hoped they would get that chance and soon.
The Slytherin Chasers flew down the field, Angelina Johnson darting between them as they played a game of keep-away with her. She was keeping up surprisingly well. Willow marveled at the brave girl as she dodged several close attempts to knock her out of the air, flip her broom, or straight-up throw the quaffle at her head. Her roommates were going crazy by this point. Alicia and Katie were catching up quickly.
"Wow, looks like we missed quite a lot already," a quiet voice said.
Willow's attention was broken from the game as Sally and Samuel Smith sat down on either side of Willow. She gave them a quick overview of what had happened so far before they could even ask.
"No sign of the snitch yet?" Samuel double checked.
"Nope. And a darn good thing, as Harry's the smallest one out there, and those Slytherins are extra vicious today."
A battle between all six chasers had broken out. Each chaser was fighting with another from the opposition, Angelina on Adrian Pucey's tail, who had received the quaffle. Alicia was facing down Marcus Flint while Katie was showing up Graham Montague. The boy's facial expressions were quite comical to watch as they went from arrogance to surprise to complete and utter fury, the girls flying in an intricate pattern that had the boys going in circles. They didn't even try to chase down the girls by the time they were through with them, probably too dizzy to move, and possibly too afraid to do anything other than sit there and feel queasy, they were so disoriented. This prompted a bout of laughter from every house except Slytherin.
"The great oafs, don't they know they'll never out-fly our Chasers?" Paige snickered.
"I don't think they believe girls can play quidditch at all just by looking at their roster," Willow observed, seeing that even their reserves were all male.
"It helps on the field, though. They're too arrogant going in. Our girls kick their sorry arses every time."
Willow couldn't disagree, watching as the girls chased after their teammate to help her stop Adrian from scoring. It wasn't necessary, though, as George had found a bludger. He swung his club with all his might, redirecting it straight towards Adrian. The bludger slammed into the boy's back, prompting him to drop the quaffle, and Angelina was right there to scoop it up and whiz in the opposite direction. Harry's banner roared, the lion changing into fiery colors. Willow made a mental note to ask Hermione about that spell later.
"GO, GO, GO!" Fay yelled at the top of her lungs.
Angelina rocketed down the pitch, spinning to avoid the Slytherin beaters, her deft skills with the broomstick shining through more than ever. She dodged a bludger, now within range of the goals. Every Gryffindor was on their feet when she pulled back her arm and fired a shot at Bletchy. He dove, but the quaffle slipped underneath his arm. Paige hugged Willow and dropped her blankets in excitement. Even the Smith twins were acting like complete hooligans.
"That's ten points for Gryffindor!" Seamus informed the rest of them.
Slytherin received the quaffle at the center of the pitch, and the war continued.
Harry did a few loops in the sky with his broom to celebrate the goal. Hagrid cheered, spoke with Hermione and Ron a bit about how Harry was doing, then sat down and pulled out his binoculars again to see what was going on. Slytherin was starting to get really ticked off by that point, purposely knocking everyone within ten feet off course. Angelina Johnson took the brunt of most of these offenses. One of the Slytherin beaters got a hold of a bludger and beat it towards Harry, who was directly in its path, prompting all the first years to gasp.
"Harry!" Hermione squeaked.
Thankfully, Harry saw it coming out of the corner of his eye and flipped just in time. Fred was already on the trail, beating the bludger towards one of the Slytherin chasers. Willow let out a breath she realized she had been holding.
"That was close, wasn't it?" Hagrid said. The rest of them noiselessly nodded in agreement.
A bludger took out Alicia Spinnet and Marcus Flint, who were practically punching each other over the quaffle. The quaffle dropped directly into the hands of Adrian Pucey while they frantically regained control of their brooms. He raced off down the field, effortlessly avoiding being cracked in the face by both bludgers. The Weasley twins tried to get in his way, but Adrian was far more skilled than Willow previously thought, executing a fancy maneuver that had Slytherins on their feet and the other houses in a stunned silence. He purposely flew so close to Katie that the padding scratched her across the arm. Willow had to bite her tongue hard to keep it silent.
Adrian was now in shooting range, no one within twenty meters of him. Wood confidently kept his eyes locked on the quaffle. Willow could tell that Wood was faking the confidence, that he was actually shaking in his boots, as this was Adrian, after all. She could barely watch as Adrian pulled his arm back and prepared to hurtle the ball through one of the posts.
Suddenly, a flash of gold caught Willow's eye. She whipped her head in that direction, her stomach jolting as she did.
"Is that the snitch?" Willow whispered to Paige.
"Where?" Paige asked, her eyes still glued to Adrian.
"Over there!"
By this time, Lee had noticed it too, and now everyone was gazing at the golden orb, including the quidditch players. Adrian stopped mid-throw to watch as Harry and Terence Higgs darted after it.
Harry and Terence were right next to each other, both laser-focused on the snitch. Their descent was so fast that Willow could have missed fifty meters in a single blink. Harry's Nimbus started to get ahead, though, and Terence's face contorted in rage. Willow's throat seized up when she realized what was about to happen.
"Harry's going to get hit!" Willow choked out.
Despite the warning, there was a collective scream from her viewing tower as well as all others as Terence veered to the side and roughly checked Harry into the nearest tower, nearly unseating him. There was an uproar of fans booing and calling for disqualification. Willow and Paige were both booing the loudest, Madam Hooch actually glancing their way before blowing the whistle and flying up to the two seekers. Dean shouted something about giving him a red card. Hagrid grumbled in agreement, eyeing Terence with a fiery anger that Willow didn't want to be on the receiving end of.
"Have you ever gotten a red card, Dean?" Willow asked, trying to lighten the situation.
"No," Dean huffed. "But I would loved to have gotten thrown out from this one game I played. The other team gave our goalkeeper a concussion, and in the next play I hit him so hard that he had to be carried off the field. It was a hard decision to give me a yellow card instead of a red."
Willow grinned. "That sounds like something I'd do."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, except I never got carded." Willow's expression became more mischievous than anything. "I always go for the ball and the player at the same time. You see, as long as you play for the ball without intentionally hurting the other player, it's legal. I would simply go into the challenge as hard as I could with all that extra anger, and the other team would be down a player for the rest of the game."
Dean nodded, impressed. "I'll have to use that next time I play. Thanks, Willow."
"Don't mention it."
Madam Hooch called for a penalty, and the Gryffindors all stood up, whooping with elation as Alicia Spinnet was given the quaffle. She stared down Bletchy, Willow noticing that there was a bit of sweat forming on his forehead. He was mortified of Alicia. Willow had noticed that most of the Slytherin players seemed to avoid Alicia if possible. She wondered what it was about that girl that kept the Slytherin's sharp tongues silent and their cunning asleep.
Alicia drew back her arm, massive muscles tensed, and hurled it at the far left post. Bletchy barely had a chance to react before the ball fell through the hoop. Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor exploded into cheers. Slytherin fans were beyond mere disappointment at that point in time. Willow caught sight of Draco throwing his hat on the ground. Gryffindor had the quaffle again and was fighting with the now bloodthirsty Slytherin players, Harry doing his best to avoid all the violence.
Willow's senses suddenly fired. She had a sudden absolute dread about something. Her brain, for some reason unknown to Willow, was subconsciously telling her to look up, as she realized later. Willow's eyes were dragged up until they were fixed upon Harry, her head hurting from all the signals burning through her brain at once. Dread fell like a stone in Willow's stomach.
"I think something's going to happen to Harry!" Willow hissed to Paige.
"What are you talking about?" Paige said, this time glancing at Willow with a confused expression.
"I mean- Oh no!"
Harry's broom was moving in irregular, jerky patterns, Harry's surprised expression more than enough to tell that he was no longer in control of his Nimbus. It bucked wildly, randomly zig-zagging in odd increments, Harry barely managing to hold on. The whole pitch stopped and stared as Harry's face turned white with fear. Lee stopped commentating, Harry's broom wildly ascending.
"Someone's jinxing that broom!" Paige said.
Neville started crying, desperately yelling at Harry to come back. But Harry could do no such thing. Willow sensed that something dark was going on here.
Why am I so aware about what's going on? Willow wondered to the voice.
It's a part of who you are, Willow. More on that later.
You sound like one of my teachers!
I am technically going to be your teacher, am I not?
Willow abruptly ended the conversation when Harry's broom turned over and he lost his grip on it. A collective scream ruptured Willow's sensitive eardrums. Harry managed to hold on by a single hand, suspended hundreds of meters over the quidditch pitch. Her stomach lurched.
"He's going die!" Neville sobbed, burying his face in Hagrid's jacket.
Hagrid didn't seem to notice. He, like everyone else, was hypnotized by Harry's predicament. Hermione caught Willow's eye and they exchanged a silent message. Willow nodded, and Hermione grabbed Hagrid's binoculars, adjusting them to find the teacher's section. Harry's broom gave a wild jerk and almost threw him off. Willow was about to ask Hermione what was going on when she found herself not facing Hermione, but several anxious teachers.
"What...?" Willow said out loud.
Although she was standing right in front of the teachers, none of them seemed bothered by her, a handful even looking right through her. Willow furrowed her brow. She wasn't invisible, as she could see herself. What was she even being shown?
Are you doing this? Willow demanded.
I've done absolutely nothing. This is all you.
How can I do something without even thinking about it? Willow fumed.
Oh, but you have.
Willow glanced at the surroundings, frustrated beyond belief, when reality doused her in cold water. She started violently when she saw herself from across the quidditch pitch, standing as still as a statue. The commotion over Harry continued. He flipped in the air again, his grip on the broom lessening. Willow's heart leaped into her mouth at his precarious position. Frantically, Willow cast around for the source of Dark Magic, anything that could possibly be harming Harry. But all she saw was Professor Quirrel and Professor Snape focused in on Harry's broom, both unblinking, whispering incantations.
Willow did a double take. Her eyes burned as she glanced over Professor Quirrel, her brain's electrical signals searing her head. What was she sensing? Professor Quirrel had never done her any harm, and why would he hurt anyone else, for that matter? He and Snape both seemed like they were trying to help. But when Willow checked again, turning to each man with a lengthy pause in between, only Quirrel was causing the signals. She wondered what that could mean.
A slight movement beneath the stands caught Willow's eye. She saw a little frame with bushy hair sneaking up the stairs, wand drawn. Hermione had her eyes fixed on Snape's dark cloak. Willow's throat seized with panic. She knew that Harry, Ron, and Hermione frequently complained about Snape, and had discussed the possibility of him trying to cause harm to Harry, maybe even possessing Dark Magic. Willow always listened and nodded during these grumblings, but never took them seriously. She liked Professor Snape underneath all of that brooding and anger- it was merely a wall that he used to shut people out, similar to Willow. He was really a good man. Now, Hermione and Ron had gotten the wrong idea and were going to stop Snape from whatever he was doing.
Willow tried to think of something before it was too late. She tried calling out, but her cries went unnoticed. Her attempts to get the attention of Hermione were also ignored. Willow knew that if she returned to her body from whatever she was doing, she would lose the opportunity to see close-up what was going on between the professors and Harry, and she would never get there in time to stop Hermione. All she could do was watch.
Willow wanted badly to turn away, but her eyes were glued to the scene. Hermione scrambled up the last few steps and knocked over Professor Quirrel on her way to Snape. Willow's senses yanked her head back so that she could see Harry, cursing at whoever or whatever was controlling her body movements. But her mouth was frozen shut when she saw that the broom had suddenly stopped moving. Harry was still clutching the broom with white knuckles, not trusting it to stay still for even a second. Her head was snapped back into a normal position and she saw that Hermione was currently lighting Snape's cape on fire. Willow noticed that Professor Snape was still muttering incantations, although the broom was still. The lack of screaming alerted Willow to the fact that Harry was now back on his broom. So what was Snape still doing to the broom?
She never got the chance to find out as Hermione slipped her wand into her pocket and fled the scene before she could get caught. Snape finally noticed the flames on his cape and broke his concentration with Harry's broomstick, pulling out his wand and putting the fire out. When he finally returned his gaze to the pitch once more, Willow could have sworn he had a strange mix of two emotions she had never seen in his eyes before: worry and regret.
Suddenly, Willow was back in her own body, falling into Paige, who caught her in surprise.
"Willow, what the he- !"
Paige was cut short by the sudden onslaught of cheering. Both she and Willow scrambled to their feet and screeched for Harry as he dove after the snitch with Terence Higgs way behind him. Victory was imminent.
"Neville, look! Harry's got control of his broom again. He's almost got the snitch!" Willow exclaimed.
Neville removed himself from Hagrid's jacket after Ron persuaded him, too. His pudgy freckled face red and slick, it suddenly changed to that wonderfully pitiful combination of laughing through tears. Neville stood up on his own two feet and clapped for Harry as he zoomed by their tower. The golden snitch's hummingbird-like wings were fluttering as quick as a jackhammer. Willow marveled at how Harry could keep his eyes on such a tiny, whirring object and catch it at the same time. He was getting dangerously close to the ground by that time. Willow covered her hand with her mouth, stifling a yelp as Harry began losing the grip on his broomstick.
What happened next seemed to unfold in slow motion to Willow. Harry completely disconnected from his broomstick, his jaw dropping as he did. A flash of gold, and the snitch's wings folded up, forming a neat ball. It disappeared into Harry's mouth. The dark-haired boy tumbled head-over-heels into the grass, the crowd falling silent at this point. Even the wind held its breath at this point. Harry slowly rose to his feet, clutching his stomach. Willow could hardly contain herself as Harry gagged, coughed, then spat out the snitch into his hands, his eyes flying wide open. Harry triumphantly held up the golden ball, proclaiming victory for Gryffindor. The sun chose the perfect moment to peek out from behind the clouds, casting its rays onto the snitch, making it glow even more golden-bright than before.
"I- I guess that means Gryffindor wins!" Lee's voice boomed. "Harry Potter, Gryffindor seeker, has caught the snitch! One hundred and fifty points to Gryffindor!"
The stadium was silent a moment, then exploded. Slytherin booed dramatically, while the other three houses screamed their approval. All the Gryffindor players surrounded Harry and carried him off the field.
"Gryffindor one hundred and seventy, Slytherin sixty. Gryffindor has won! Slytherin's streak is broken!"
Willow hugged everyone in sight, excited beyond belief for Harry. They happily celebrated with all the other houses and joined in poking fun at the Slytherin house for their loss. Hermione was very proud of herself for helping contribute to their win and happily tested the boundaries by embracing the taunting, even taking part in some well-placed words against the slimy team. The Slytherins, dejected and used to this barrage, ignored the world and stormed into the dungeons.
Willow allowed Paige to drag her into the locker rooms, barely saying goodbye to her other friends. The Gryffindor team had just finished changing. Fred and George were out to greet them within seconds.
"What did you think of that bloodbath, Willow?"
"Still think you can handle it?"
"That was bloody awesome!" Willow hollered. "I can't wait to try it!"
George raised his eyebrows. "Impressive. Hope you weren't trying out for beater, or Fred might be out of a position."
"Hey!"
"You two were perfect," Paige interrupted. "Do me a favor and hit Bletchy with a bludger next time, will you?"
"Don't worry, they're all getting it next time," Fred promised.
"Let's go hatch a plan to drive that win home, shall we?" George suggested.
"You know me too well," Paige smirked. "You coming, Willow?"
"Why would I miss a chance to get back at the biggest gits in the whole school?"
"I'll take that as a yes."
The four made their way through the castle, blowing past everyone and rushing up the stairs to the third year boys dorm. Paige flopped on one of the twins' beds while they rummaged through their closet. Willow couldn't wait to hear their next greatest scheme. She hoped it would involve her managing to infiltrate the Slytherin common room. Willow would love to see the look on Draco's face!
"Scheming without me, are you?" Lee said, entering the room.
"Who says we're not scheming against you?" Paige questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Point taken."
"Come off it, Paige," George commanded. "We've got some pranking to do."
"What are we going to do? Break stuff?" Willow asked.
Fred chuckled. "Possibly, but that's not the main goal."
"We've taken inventory of all that we've got, and there's a good bit to work with."
"Plenty of dungbombs and stink pellets."
"Some spawning soap."
"Sugar quills."
"A few nose-biting teacups."
"There's a few other things here, and I don't know what they are, exactly," Fred chuckled, rummaging through their closet. "It's kind of sad, really. I should know what all of this is..."
"I'll gladly try them," Willow offered.
"So, who's going to get into the Slytherin common room?"
"Willow and I can do that no problem," Paige volunteered.
"Alright. This is going to be a rather loose plan, an as-we-go kind of thing. The end goal is definitely to cause a disturbance and yes, Willow, possibly demolish a few things as well."
"YAY!"
"Lee, Freddy and I will help deter any prefects or teachers that have decided to lurk around the dungeons this time of day."
"Perfecto," Willow spoke with a Spanish accent.
"That's the first time you've spoken in Spanish since I've met you, Willow." Lee raised his eyebrows. "First time for everyone else, too?"
"Sorry, I'll try to not speak Spanish."
Paige's lips turned upwards. "No, it's fine. Exotic is sexy."
"Paige!" all three boys scolded. Willow simply returned the expression on Paige's face and gathered some supplies into two separate bags, handing her one of them.
"Let's get going."
The boys shook their heads and followed the two girls out of the dorm, making sure not to draw too much attention to themselves. Once through the portrait hole, they made their way across the school, eventually reaching the dungeons. There was very little light streaming through the mosaics at the end of the halls, as it was noon. The boys broke off when the passed by the kitchen and promised to keep their word. Willow glanced over her shoulder several times, making sure that they were indeed roaming the halls. She hoped her eyes weren't tricking her when she saw the group split in three directions.
"So, any idea what all we're going to do?" Willow whispered to Paige.
"Follow my lead," Paige replied. "This is about to get messy."
Willow abided by Paige's commands and waited with her when she stopped in front of a large boulder. Furrowing her brow, Willow watched as Paige shuddered, then said, "Mudbloods- Mudbloods suck."
The boulder crumbled away at her words to reveal the Slytherin common room. Paige closed her eyes for a moment, sighing, then stepped into the somehow well-lit room.
"I hate their passwords," she muttered.
"Me too."
Willow had the sudden urge to cause as much damage as possible to these awful pricks. She knew for a fact that there were half-bloods in Slytherin, and maybe even a few Muggle-borns. Willow was absolutely certain that they were hated on and bullied 24/7 by their fellow housemates. McGonagall had been right when she said that their houses would be like their families- there were all kinds of families, and Slytherin was that one with so many fighting adults that the children didn't know where to look for advice on growing up. No wonder all of them turned bad by their seventh year.
"Alright, I've got an idea for the ultimate prank," Paige said. "Come here."
Willow stayed on Paige's heels as she went to the large table in the middle of the room. They set their packs down, being careful to not make any noise. All the Slytherins were in their dorms, fuming over the quidditch game, likely plotting revenge against Gryffindor. They were about to hate Gryffindor ten times more than before.
"Take their teacups and replace them with ours," Paige ordered.
The two girls quietly placed their charmed teacups on the table, then stuffed the regular ones in their bags. Paige beckoned Willow to come by the window that allowed students to view the fish in black lake. Willow hurried over, liking where this was going.
"Okay, we've got some fireworks to work with," Paige began. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Willow grinned. "Let's set up some explosions, shall we?"
Paige returned her expression. "Where have you been all my life?"
Willow grabbed some invisible string and tied it to a hammer, then attached the other end of it to where Paige was setting up the fireworks.
"These fireworks are the type that will fly without lighting anything," Paige explained. "If we position these correctly, when they pick up the hammer, it will pull the tab in them that sets them off, and they'll explode perfectly into the window. They'll flood instantly."
"Ooh! I have something to add!"
Willow grabbed ten frog-spawning soap bars and placed them under the window. Paige couldn't contain her giggles as Willow returned to her side.
"We're going to flood their common room and plague them with frogs?"
"Why not?' Willow shrugged.
"Seriously, you need to come with us more often."
The two girls were just about to leave the common room when a familiar voice shouted, "Hey! What are you doing here?"
"Run!" Willow hissed.
Paige guided Willow out of the Slytherin common room and into the hallways. Draco Malfoy was on their heels, employing profanity to try and get them to stop. They ignored him and dashed around a few corners.
"Quick! In here!" Paige panted.
Willow was yanked into a small closet, then sealed into the darkness when Paige shut the door behind her. The two girls held their breath and listened. Draco's footfalls stopped not far from where they were hidden.
"You Gryffindor arseholes!" he roared. "I hope you get eaten by werewolves!"
The two girls let out a heavy breath after Draco's footfalls became inaudible. Paige was laughing a bit.
"What a prick."
"I can't wait to laugh in his face when he gets soaked later!" Willow squealed.
They were silent for a while after that. The closet was rather small and cramped, Paige and Willow unable to give each other personal space. Their breathing returned to normal far before Paige spoke again.
"You know, I meant it when I said exotic is sexy."
"Ay caramba," Willow said.
"Please speak in Spanish more often."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Quit joking and get us out of here. I don't care about appealing to guys."
"Who said I was joking?"
Willow was struck speechless, that thought actually entering her mind. Was Paige really joking? The older girl opened the door, the smirk on her face visible in the torchlight.
"Come on, Guerrero," Paige urged. "Let's get back to the common room before we have to serve more detentions together."
Willow shook her head to clear her mind as she tagged along behind Paige. They had certainly become friends over the course of the last few days, and gotten to know much more than the ordinary passerby would know about them. Willow had come to like Paige's grumpy attitude and constant mood swings. Sure, it was annoying as all get out every once in a while, but it was something new and fresh for Willow's monotony life. Paige was always keeping her on her toes, especially when she was joking around, like she had just been doing in the broom closet.
"There you are!" George greeted.
"We thought Filch had gotten you."
"If you thought that, why didn't you come find us?" Paige questioned, raising her eyebrow accusingly.
The twins put their hands up in defeat. "You always seem to handle yourself plenty well. Willow included."
"When will we find out if it worked?" Lee asked.
"Whenever the Slytherins decide to have a cup of tea," Paige replied, a mischievous expression on her face.
"I can't wait to see what happens," Willow said.
Later that evening, during dinner, only half of Slytherin dared to show up, and those brave souls that did were at least damp, if not soaking wet. Most had cuts and bruises on their noses, and several of the girls were acting like they had post-traumatic stress disorder from the frogs jumping around. Since no one could be identified for the crime, no points were lost. Draco glared accusingly Willow from across the room, his shoes squishing wherever he walked.
"Serves the git right," Harry mentioned.
"I can't say that I feel any differently," Ron agreed.
Willow finished up the last of her mashed potatoes and sat back, her stomach stretched. "I hope I never lose the ability to down massive quantities of food ever again."
"Hermione, do you mind explaining what happened to Harry?" Neville asked from across the table.
"Well, here's what I know so far, Neville," Hermione began. The boys and Willow listened in. "Professor Snape was jinxing Harry's broom, which was why Harry nearly fell out of the sky."
"Why would he do something like that!" Neville exclaimed, then turned red. "I mean, he's terrifying, but even he wouldn't stoop so low as to try and kill Harry Potter."
"That's why we're so confused," Hermione continued. "We went to Hagrid and had a few cups of tea with him after the quidditch match. He let something slip about a certain Nicolas Flamel."
"Never heard of him before," Willow said. "I wonder where we could find more about him?"
"We've already started a search of the library," Harry informed. "Hermione, Ron and I are searching row by row for anything that could relate to him. So far, nothing."
"I'll help you as much as possible," Willow promised.
"Good. We're going to need it."
Changing the subject, Willow said, "I have something to tell you guys after dinner." She lowered her voice. "Something happened during the quidditch match today, and I need help talking it over and figuring out what it was."
"We'll hold you to it," Neville promised. "At least, I will."
The dinner carried on, the Slytherin girls complaining loudly about how their favorite clothes were ruined by all the flooding. Paige, the twins, and Lee poked fun at them with Willow, who found it rather refreshing for the Slytherins to be down in the dumps for a change. She didn't hate all of the house, only disliking those whom she had met and had not returned her respect, which happened to be the whiny girls present. Willow was almost sad to head back to the common room for the night. She was about to head into her dorm, where all of her roommates were, when Hermione and Harry dragged her into the boys' room.
"We're all here. Spill," Hermione commanded.
"Wait, how do Dean and Seamus know?" Willow questioned.
The two boys shrugged. "All part of being friends with you, I guess."
"We only overheard it once. No one directly told us."
"You aren't allowed to tell anyone about me, okay?" Willow said much to fast, her pulse quickening. "My father warned me that it's dangerous information in the wrong hands. Heck, I could be dangerous and not know it. Please, can you keep it a secret?"
"Of course, Willow," Seamus promised.
"Since I technically owe you for giving me soccer tips, I guess I can keep just this one..." Dean trailed off.
Willow playfully threw a stray shoe at the boy. "Soccer boys, I swear."
"Um, you had something to tell us?" Ron prompted.
"Oh, yeah." Willow straightened herself up, addressing the whole room. "While Hermione took Hagrid's binoculars and was looking for Snape, I somehow...sort of...left my body."
"You what?" Neville squeaked.
"Shh!" Hermione shushed.
"My real body was frozen in its last position, and I was suddenly transported across the quidditch pitch to where the teachers were sitting. They couldn't see me. I, on the other hand, was watching everything in real time. I watched Harry fight his broom and saw Hermione throughout the whole setting-Snape's-cape-on-fire thing. It was rather unsettling, seeing myself from across an entire pitch."
Willow was about to mention something about Professor Quirrel when some unknown force sealed her mouth shut. Her jaw felt heavy and locked in place, unable to move. Stomach flipping, Willow wondered why that bit of information was refusing to be let out into the open, concealing itself as a secret. Why shouldn't her friends know? When she asked the voice in her head what was going on, there was only silence.
"Okay, that's super creepy," Ron commented.
Willow stored the information away for later, forcing herself to look normal. "Yeah, it was. I thought that the shape-shifting powers were crazy, but this is the craziest of the now three things that have happened to me."
"Wait, three things?" Harry interrupted.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you about another thing," Willow said. "So, you already know about the animal powers, but I'm starting to be able to sense things that I shouldn't, like emotions, danger, and other things some animals can't even sense. It's rather odd. Sometimes I swear I can hear people's thoughts jumbling around inside my head."
"Willow, you should really go to Professor Dumbledore about this," Hermione urged. "He'll know what to do. Maybe he'll even find some way for you to talk to your father- "
"No," Willow rejected. "He somehow discovered everything about me already. I don't know how, but it's scary. When he talked to me in his office after I recovered from the troll incident, he warned me about my powers. I think he knows more about me than I know about myself!"
"Still, he might be able to help you, Willow," Harry insisted. "This is super important. We don't want you to get hurt, or worse."
Willow bit her tongue, willing herself to hold back anything about the woman that spoke to her. So far, she had only worked up the courage to tell her friends about transforming into animals and what she had just spilled. But something inside her prevented her from telling about the voice, as if it wanted to stay hidden. Willow decided not to test the boundaries on uncontrollable parts of her mind.
"I've gotten along fine up until this point. I can take care of myself."
Everyone eyed Willow with hints of suspicion and worry. Willow sighed, wishing she could spill everything.
"As long as you're sure," Hermione relented. "Be careful, okay?"
"I'll try."
The first years dispersed, Hermione heading into the girl's dorm, the boys filtering into the common room to have some fun before bed. Only Neville was left, awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot in Willow's presence.
"Oh, Neville, I never gave you this back," Willow remembered, unraveling the scarf from her neck. Neville's face lit up.
"No, you can keep it, I've got plenty," he insisted.
"Are you sure?"
"It's a- a gift, I suppose."
Willow smiled, both of their cheeks turning red. "Thank you, Neville."
Running over to Neville, Willow enveloped the smaller boy in a hug. She pecked him on the cheek before separating herself from him and walking away. Glancing over her shoulder, Willow saw Neville staring after her, mouth slightly agape, touching the spot where Willow had given him a small thank-you kiss. She cursed the butterflies in her stomach and fled to her dorm before she could make a fool of herself any more than she already had.