Wildflowers bloomed across the highlands, a bold, colourful indicator that spring was in session, but more importantly for the students of Hogwarts, it meant that the Quidditch Cup Semi-Finals were right around the corner.
All four Quidditch teams were diligent but impatient, hungry for the announcements of when they were supposed to play next, and the rambunctious house spirit that possessed the school whenever a game day was looming seemed to stick around like an overripe dungbomb, exacerbating the Quidditch teams' nerves. Ravenclaw had dominated the league two years in a row (Giselle was stunned but stayed definitively silent when she heard that Gryffindor came in second place twice whilst she was in France, the resentment in James' eyes told her to zip it before she could ask why they lost) and they certainly weren't shy when it came to boasting about their successes. Their smug comments rang through the corridors in between lessons in the hopes of diminishing their oppositions' victorious fantasies and establishing their superiority, but the Ravenclaws' vanity wore thin after Slytherin destroyed Hufflepuff with a hefty one hundred and forty point margin, securing their spot in the final without any major injuries or hurtful fouls. Giselle vividly remembered spotting Ravenclaw captain and good friend Edgar Bones through the crowds in the stands as Regulus caught the snitch and she flashed him a satisfied smile as he realised his team needed to smash Gryffindor to earn their spot in the final, and she could only laugh when James verbally theorised how many points they would need to kick Bones' arse.
"The cup is ours, it's impossible for us to lose this time!" cackled James, rubbing his hands together as the Gryffindor team left the stands, mentally windswept from the fast-paced game, "we mopped the floor with Hufflepuff, it'll be impossible for Ravenclaw to catch up to our overall score, especially after their loss against Slytherin last month. We only need to score two times to get through to the Final, the points gap is so small it's pathetic! This is perfect!"
"So does that mean we can stop with our early morning training sessions?" asked Toby Fawlkes earnestly, giddy at the thought of waking up after the sunrise for the first time in weeks, but he groaned when James replied with a disappointed scowl. His rigorous practices were vicious and almost debilitating, he was determined to push his team past their limits and he wasn't planning on stopping his hardcore training now they knew they could be playing Slytherin in the finals.
"Quite the opposite! Just because we only need two goals before Novak catches the snitch does not mean we're gonna play it safe," he assured the team, his voice spiking with his usual confident tone, "we're going to give the birds a show they'll never forget… Although, for some mysterious reason that I couldn't possibly explain, their captain has been very hostile lately so it shouldn't take much to antagonise them."
"Now that's what I'm talking about! We can rest after we win!" cheered Giselle, attempting to hype up the rest of her reluctant teammates with a few hand claps and loud whoops, but her festive spirit died when they glared menacingly at her.
Giselle immediately regretted supporting her captain's plans when he snuck into the girls dorm the following morning and woke her up with a rough shoulder shake. James was trying his absolute best to stay quiet as the sun hadn't poked its scalding head above the horizon yet but she woke with a start when she heard his heavy footfalls enter the room, subconsciously wary of an unexpected prank. The urge to shove him away and roll over was too tantalising, her bed was practically begging her to stay and keep her soft, warm duvet company, but the need to improve her form and practice with her flying partner was too strong to resist. If she slipped up during the game, she would think about this moment in time and curse herself for taking it easy.
"Get up now or else I will scream and they will attack you," hissed James, pointing at the dozing girls around them and Giselle stifled her provoked yells with her pillow, not doubting him whatsoever. His threats weren't empty and she knew the girls would blame her for the rude wake-up as she was the one who ardently agreed to James' ridiculous training schedule. It was still dark outside, her roommates would murder her without a second thought.
"Fuck you, Potter. Fuck you and your dumb Quidditch team," she groaned as she dragged herself out of bed, and he grinned at her, tussling her already messy hair.
"Our dumb Quidditch team," he corrected proudly, making her crack a small smile, "hurry up, I stole us some breakfast and your tea is getting cold."
Giselle's grumpy attitude melted like butter when they descended into the dimly lit common room and she noticed that the rest of the team were already awake and halfway through their portions of the stolen breakfast, she was the last to be woken up. Touched by James' favouritism, Giselle perked up and thanked him for the large mug of tea, glad of the small spikes of energy it brought.
"When did you wake up? This must have taken you a while to organise," she yawned, sleepily blinking up at James who was flicking through his newly scribbled plays, too focused on his plan to eat.
"It was nothing, I barely did anything," he confessed, dropping his voice in case the rest of the team heard. He was enjoying their mutters of appreciation and wanted to secure the title of 'most beloved Quidditch captain' before he relinquished his captainship, he didn't want them to know that he had nothing to do with the fresh spread of food.
"Then who…?" Giselle found the answer to her question when she realised that there were eight people crowded around the makeshift breakfast table instead of five. "Silly me, I should have known," she mumbled, rolling her eyes. "It must be exhausting being constantly glued to their sides."
James smirked and abandoned his notes, too immersed in his adoration for his best friends to concentrate. "Only when we shower," he sighed lovingly, "but even then, they always manage to get the part of my back I can never reach."
Laughing away the awful image that popped up in her mind, Giselle wiggled her way towards the food and stole a piece of freshly buttered toast from Sirius' plate whilst he was distracted by beater Danny O'Reilly's dirty jokes, and she chuckled through her mouthful when Sirius turned back to his breakfast and snatched Remus' toast from his hand, assuming he was the thief. Once everyone had a decent amount of food in their stomachs, James called for his team to grab their brooms and follow him down to the pitch, and Giselle scruffily tied her hair out of her face, already thinking about the hot bath she was going to take after her body suffered for the art of Quidditch.
"Good morning star player!" greeted Remus, finally acknowledging her as the Gryffindor team dragged their feet out of the tower, sleepily nattering amongst themselves. He seemed refreshed and perky today, his eye bags were faint and the rosiness in his cheeks made him look like he had just woken up from the world's greatest nap.
"Don't let James hear you say that," giggled Giselle, sneaking another crumpet from the table before swinging Flash II over her shoulder. "You guys are up early? It's Sunday, you should be in bed. Who died?"
"No one but it's only six o'clock so ask again later," challenged Sirius, slipping into his leather jacket. Out of the three of them, he looked the most fatigued - the dark circles under his eyes gave the illusion that he had been punched in the face and the permanent frown line between his brows was stiff, but Giselle struggled immensely with pretending that she wasn't checking him out. Her eyes dropped to his lips and a sickly wave of guilt shook her out of her daze before he caught her.
"You don't look good, have you slept?" asked Giselle bluntly, losing her cool for a moment. She didn't mean to insult him but luckily he laughed.
"Thanks, and no I haven't," he admitted, ignoring the side glances from the boys beside him. Peter was clearly trying to say something with his pointed stare but Sirius' subtle elbow jab softened his expression and he turned back to Remus who was failing to hide his own smirk. Something happened, Giselle could feel it in her gut.
"And the reason for that is…?" she prompted when Sirius stayed silent, but he shook his head as a result, stubbornly refusing to go into the matter.
"Can't a guy stay up for twenty-four hours without needing an excuse?" he sighed, clearly growing bored of being the topic of conversation. His frown lines multiplied as he arched a brow and the irate expression on his face caused Giselle to bite her lip, mentally scolding herself for being attracted to him for the hundredth time. It wasn't her fault that he was exceptionally sexy and yet she pinched the skin on her palm to deter the scandalous ruminations, afraid that her feelings were being broadcasted on her face- she thought he looked his hottest when he was angry, she couldn't help it.
"Of course not but you can't blame a girl for being curious. What's wrong?" she said coolly, pretending that she was impartial to his answer. The corners of his mouth twitched and he shrugged, turning to leave.
"Then prepare to die with that curiosity, Elle. I'm fine," he said confidently before rushing to catch up with James, shouting about common courtesy. Blinking away the winded sensation from his abrupt departure, Giselle looked to the pair left behind for an explanation but they simply smiled.
"What's his problem? Why's he not sleeping?" she asked immediately, but Remus burst out laughing.
"Don't ask," he choked out between his wheezes, "trust me, you don't want to know."
"I do want to know," corrected Giselle, falling further into her pit of curiosity. "Don't be a cocktease, what happened?"
Remus chewed on the corner of his lip and weighed up his options in his head, calculating how much he could say without breaking his promise to his friend. Giselle knew he wanted to tell her and the clown inside Giselle whined and sulked, stamping its feet as though it were three years old. Clearly he chose to be an uncrackable vault full of secrets today so she switched her pouty gaze from Remus to Peter, the loose-lipped friend of the group.
"Pete?"
"Uh," Peter struggled to contain his own gaiety and caught Remus' eye, internally battling with his morals, "Moony, Sirius only told you and Prongs not to say anything specifically to Elle. He said 'don't tell anyone' to me so technically I could tell her."
"Tell her! She wants to know!" encouraged Giselle sweetly, her ink blue eyes glistening with hope. "She won't say a word!"
Remus scratched his chin, sizing up the consequences of his best friend's intentions. "I dunno Worm-,"
"Don't be cruel! I'm amazing at keeping secrets! You know that for a fact," groaned Giselle, glaring at him.
"For all we know, Marlene already told her and she's playing us to get information on him!" Remus justified, suddenly defensive on behalf of his boy, and Giselle paused. Oooh… maybe I don't want to know, she thought, her perseverance wilting like rotten weed. There was nothing like the private intel concerning the relationship of the boy she was falling for to ruin her mood.
But you do want to know, hissed her subconscious, they're spending less time with each other now. They've cooled off… maybe the cracks in their relationship are getting deeper?
"Whenever Marlene talks to me about her relationship it's all sunshine and rainbows, she doesn't tell me about their arguments. She acts like everything is fine between them so I can confidently say I'm not her spy," Giselle explained, irked that she had to bring this up. One major standout in the Gryffindor girls evening gossip sessions was Marlene's refusal to discuss the lows of her relationship, she acted as though they were the most perfect couple in the world - a clear lie considering how often Giselle, Lily, or Mary stumbled upon the apparently lovesick couple in the middle of a petty bickering match. The onlooking trio of girls discussed their concerns in length whenever Marlene was absent from the tower and Lily was the most vocal about her disapproval of Marlene's lies.
"She needs to grow a backbone and be honest with us, we can't give her the advice she obviously wants if she doesn't admit to herself that she and Sirius aren't very compatible," Lily proclaimed angrily one evening as the girls got ready for bed. "I'm trying so hard to be on her side but she's making it so bloody difficult!"
"I'm not surprised, especially since her and James have been less than friendly recently," commented Mary under her breath, and Lily shrugged.
"That's not the sole reason why I'm annoyed with her but I won't deny that James' point of view has swayed my opinion," she muttered, avidly avoiding Giselle's prying eyes, "at least she's letting Sirius hang out with his friends now."
After the wonderful James vs Marlene showdown, Sirius made a conscious effort to divide his time equally between his friends and his girlfriend in what Giselle assumed to be his attempt at standing up for himself, however Marlene once again took his actions personally and consistently argued back every time Sirius declined her invite to hangout - they found this out through James. Marlene told her roommates that them spending less time with each other was a joint decision and she adamantly assured them she was content with the resolution but her pearly white smile looked too forced and her right eye persistently twitched. Giselle knew Marlene didn't want to hang out with the girls, it was so obvious.
Remus and Peter stared at Giselle, their expressions a perfect mix of perplexity and hilarity, and she squirmed on the spot, feeling hot under the collar.
"What?" she spat.
Remus shook away his incredulity and rushed to cover his tracks. "No, it's nothing. It's just… we thought Marlene told you girls everything?" he questioned, and Giselle rolled her eyes.
"Clearly not," she grumbled, fiddling with the broom in her arms. She didn't want to talk about this any longer and she was late to practice, James was going to go apeshit. "Whatever, I'll see you later. Thanks for the breakfast."
"That wasn't us, that was all Sirius," Remus blurted out as Giselle headed out and he grinned when he saw her stop in the archway. "We were down in the kitchens last night when Marlene joined us. It was fine until they started arguing again so we left them to it. Marlene came back at about one but he never came to bed, he was down there all night."
Giselle let out a shaky breath and spun on her heel, the dark whispers inside her craving more, but she remained neutral and tried to ask her question as objectively as possible.
"What were they arguing about this time?" She asked.
But Remus couldn't get it out. He was frozen, the muscles in his face obstructed his ability to talk and he gulped. He couldn't break his promise to Sirius, his body was physically stopping him - but it seemed like Peter had no problem.
"They were arguing about their intimacy issues," he confessed, taking great pleasure in Remus' splutters. "We all assumed Marlene had told you girls about his problem."
Giselle's heart started to pound, cursing herself for prying.
"His problem?" she heard herself ask and Peter nodded. Remus didn't stop him.
"For a few weeks now Sirius hasn't been able to cum," he said frankly, and Giselle's jaw dropped.
Merlin's fucking ballsack! Every part of her being was speechless, she didn't know how to react. No wonder Marlene didn't say anything, this was an issue she didn't need to stick her nose into and yet here she was getting involved again, but it didn't take Giselle long to work out the reason why Marlene never mentioned it. It was never explicitly said out loud but Giselle knew Marlene resented her for her past relationship with Sirius. The enmity was subliminal but it was always there; in her voice, in her actions, in the way she perfectly left out certain pieces of her tales when Giselle was in the room, but she purposefully ignored the implications and wrote it off as sensitivity. But this… Marlene was right to keep this to herself.
I wonder why…? The hiss in the back of her mind fought against her, determined to win.
"You're right, I shouldn't have asked," Giselle managed to spit out before she fled from Gryffindor tower, flushing madly from second-hand embarrassment.
She tried to forget about what Peter said but she couldn't, every time she saw Sirius his confession swirled around in her brain and the blush was back brighter than ever, lighting up the freckles in her cheeks like a neon sign, notifying everyone in her vicinity that she was thinking about something tawdry. Her Quidditch practices were derailed multiples times due to Sirius' presence and she earned a couple of black eyes from the Quaffle smacking into her face, their shared classes dragged on longer than before and she swore time slowed down to further provoke her into acting on her urges, and his friendly suggestions to hang out during their free periods stirred the insatiable creature locked up in her. The more he was around her, the harder it was for her to pretend that she didn't know why he was spending less time with Marlene - all she could do was reflect about his sexual setback. There was hope...
On the morning of the long awaited Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match, Giselle found herself once again fixating on Sirius and Marlene and she hated herself for it. She couldn't let this insignificant piece of information consume her any longer and the urge to do something about it was getting worse, like a festering stomach ulcer she couldn't ignore it anymore. Lingering on their problem gave her time to strengthen her own opinion of their relationship and she couldn't lie to herself anymore - she wanted them to break up, she needed him.
"Attention team!" cried James from the main chamber of the changing rooms, itching to start already, "it's time!"
"Fuuuuck," complained Giselle, incensed at her own muddled mind. She didn't feel like flying today, her nerves were shot and she couldn't feel her toes in her boots. She tugged on the end of her messy braid and stepped out of the changing rooms behind their chirpy seeker, and James stood before the entrance to the pitch with his spine straight and his best smile on his tanned face. The sight of his pride was rather endearing but her emotions whipped her senseless when she realised Sirius had stopped by to wish them luck. For crying out loud, I can't breathe!
"Weather conditions are great, perfect cloud coverage, apparently Bones is quaking in his boots - quite frankly, this is going to be piss easy so just have fun out there guys!" said James, eyes twinkling as he gave them a sweeping look.
"Aye, aye captain!" barked Fawlkes, saluting James with an extra flourish and the team laughed, copying him with their own cheers of encouragement.
"You got it, boss!" called out their bulky fourth year keeper Tobias.
"I've never felt this confident, I usually go to the bathroom at least three times before a game but I've only been once!" laughed Samuel Cooper, playfully prodding his teammates with his beater's bat and Melissa Novak pulled a face, staring at him in repulsion.
"We really didn't need to know that!" she exclaimed.
Giselle tried to keep out of the conversation as much as possible, her eyes stayed firmly on the floor and she traced the muddy prints smeared against the canvas, wondering who the culprit was, when her ears pricked up at the sound of his deep voice.
"You're awfully quiet, Elle. Dog's got your tongue?" he called out, and the weight of every pair of eyes smothered her. Ugh, don't do this to me Black!
"I haven't got anything to say," she shot back, bravely meeting his eye and the throbbing in her abdomen was back, glad to be in his presence.
"That's a first," he teased, actively trying to hold her shaky gaze.
"Bite me," she drawled, a slither of vulgarity sneaking through the cracks of her willpower, and she immediately blushed, regretting her bold comment, but the wriggling compulsions in her gut went berserk when she saw Sirius's face burst with colour. He liked that… he really liked that. Maybe you should bite him first? purred her wicked subconscious, aroused by his abstruse reaction, but her thumping heart went into meltdown when she saw him tenuously lick his lips.
The referee's shrill whistle pierced the steamy silence, James stopped gawking at the pair and jumped into action, leading his team onto the pitch and Giselle shook some sense into her brain with a rapid pep talk, furiously ignoring Sirius' existence. Sirius, on the other hand, had other ideas.
"Good luck out there, Giselle," muttered Sirius, coming closer as she walked past him, and she shivered at the sound of her first name. "Not that you need it, your arse always steals the show."
Oooooh! He wants you! He wants you so badly you have to-
"Stop staring at my arse, Sirius. From what I've heard you're already in deep shit with Marlene," she purred, pausing at the tent's entrance to stare at him one last time, and his gaze darkened. For a moment, Giselle wished that they were the only two people down at the Quidditch stadium so she could finally enact on her deepest desires and she knew he was thinking the exact same thing; at last he was an open book and he gave her permission to read him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he breathed, barely audible as the raucous cheers from the stands outside pulled them out of their intense daze, but his face said otherwise. Devilish and dangerous, he looked more troublesome than ever and his eyes dropped from her face before he left the canopied changing rooms, leaving her to revel in her heat. Giselle couldn't breathe, her eyes never left the canvas flap he had disappeared behind.
"Universe? If you can hear me, please put me out of my misery!" cried Giselle out loud, glaring at the translucent cream ceiling but she jumped out of her skin when a voice replied.
"I may not be the universe but I'm the next best thing," replied James, shoving his face through the tent's entrance to beam at her, "lets go Elle, the crowds are waiting for your show-stealing arse-,"
Giselle covered her face and slumped over to her captain, following him out onto the field with her head hung in shame.
"You heard that?!" she whispered, mortified.
But James merely wiggled his brows and mounted his broom, zooming off to meet the ever impatient Madam Hooch and Edgar Bones who were waiting to start the game, keeping his opinions to himself for the first time in his life.
The first half of the game was a blur, Giselle's head was all over the place and she couldn't concentrate no matter how hard she tried, all she could think about was Sirius. Again. She was sick, virtually feverish from her incessant obsession with him and the fear of being publicly called out for her lack of attentiveness made her palms slippery - in her frustrated haze she had forgotten her gloves. Her throws were off, her blocks weren't as strong as they had been in practice, and during one of her loops she absently searched the nearest stand for his silver gaze and almost collided with the commentor's box.
"Wow!" scoffed James, joining Giselle's side as they raced towards Ravenclaw chaser Hector Boyle who was struggling to fend off one of the gharly bludgers, "I mean, wow! I've never seen anyone this flustered before!"
"Shut up," growled Giselle, scowling at the players ahead of them when saw him grinning in the corner of her eye. The cold winds cooled her rosy cheeks, her blush wouldn't betray her this time.
"Lily told me you still liked him but I didn't believe her, but now?! Wow!" he cackled freely, exuberant at the good news and Giselle went to snap at him to stop when a deep, dull vibration shuddered the fresh air around them. The lovesick flutters in her stomach transformed with dread, and the sensitive goosebumps along her arms hardened with fear when she heard it again. It was faint, but it was there.
"An outstanding save by Lima, Gryffindor aren't letting anyone near their hoops today-," but the commentary of the game fizzled out when the ground shook and the sturdy goal posts wobbled. Giselle slowed down and frantically searched the crowds for some sort of disruption, a trick played by the opposition to throw them off their game or possibly something worse, but when nothing unusual stood out among the confused faces of the audience she shot up into the sky, needing a wider perspective. Scotland never had earthquakes.
As she breached the top of the pitch's trembling towers, she felt her heartbeat on her swollen tongue and she held Flash II as tight as she could. The Quidditch game didn't matter anymore, it seemed so childish in perspective. Spikes of adrenaline started to course through her body as she stared blankly at the fearsome outline of a giant barreling through the Forbidden Forest. Reality didn't seem real as she took in the sight of the terrifying humanoid, the scene before her had been ripped right out of her Care for Magical Creatures textbook and she couldn't comprehend that it was actually here. It wasn't an earthquake, it was an attack.
Suddenly feeling jumped into Giselle's body again and tunnel vision carried her through the uncontrollable pulses of panic. She had to stay calm and help, she knew it was the right thing to do. Within seconds she was hovering above the staff box, panicking as she searched for the headmaster's eyes. She found him at the stairwell, preparing to leave and investigate the increasing ground shakes but he froze when she screamed at him to listen.
"Giant! It's a giant! Forbidden Forest! Bad! Very bad!" she squealed, looking only at him, and his face fell from shock, his own demeanour changing from apprehensive to defensive. Those nearest to them gasped and began to mutter preposterously, rather offended that a student would joke about something like this, but Professor Dumbledore believed her undoubtedly.
"Minerva, alert the Ministry," he called out calmly, revealing his intricate wand from his sweeping pocket, "Filius, protect the stadium and instruct everyone to remain seated."
His words of wisdom were a boost to Giselle's confidence, validating her decision to help. Too pumped up from adrenaline to listen to any instructions, Giselle jetted off to grab James who was desperately trying to continue the game but the tremors had gotten worse, the stands' beams creaking as it swayed, disturbed for the first time in centuries.
"Elle, what the fuck-," he shouted over the confused buzzing of the crowds and she shook her head, stubborn in her tunnel vision ways.
"There's a giant heading this way, we need to do something!" she screeched, prolific with panic as she urged him to fly higher so he could see the oncoming figure in the distance, and his tanned face paled to a ghastly shade of curdled cream.
"What?! I don't have my wand on me!" he cried, patting his robe pockets just in case he was wrong, and Giselle jumped into action.
"Neither do I but we don't have time. You're the fast one, you go and fetch our wands and I'll meet you over there," she barked orders and he nodded, suddenly determined to get involved. She knew he would join her absurd quest, he would have been very upset with her if she didn't give him the chance to share the glory.
"That sounds insane, let's do it!"
Professor Flitwick's announcement went in one ear and out the other, it was white noise compared to the roars of the giant's cosmic footsteps and she zoomed through the sky, shooting towards the threat with a million and one ideas of how to take it down flashing before her eyes. The shimmering leaves of the trees beneath her looked like rolling fields and the giant was swimming through the lush grass, submerged up to its leather-clad waist as it stormed the grounds of Hogwarts. Giselle knew she had a chance to get up close and personal with the collosal being as they were known for their poor eyesight; she didn't want to pass on the opportunity to face the elusive species.
"Dumbledore…" groaned the giant, it's moans louder than the howling wind, and Giselle flinched, starting to feel slightly out of her depth. It was well-known that Lord Voldemort had coerced the giants into doing his bidding and the realisation that the Dark Lord could penetrate the protective barriers of Hogwarts was more frightening that she wanted to admit. She really wished she armed herself before the game.
"The cavalry has arrived!"
Her pendulous optimism skyrocketed when James finally arrived and her cautious smile grew tenfold as she caught eyes with the boy sitting behind him, her beech wand in his hand. Sirius winked and tossed it towards her, blindly trusting her chaser reflexes, and Giselle thanked the universe for giving her the strength to remain calm and collected in his presence. The boys had suffered a beating from the wind, their hair was all over the place and their faces glowed with perspiration, but they seemed way more prepared than her.
"Fancy seeing you here, Black," Giselle called out, turning back to the approaching giant in order to hide her blush.
"I couldn't leave him behind, he gave me those damn puppy eyes!" defended James, eyeing the giant warily as he trembled. "I can't believe it's real! Why is it here? We haven't seen a giant in Britain in decades!"
"Did you really think I was going to let you two tackle a giant by yourselves? Besides, it's no troll on a boat but it's close," Sirius scoffed, catching her eye again as she joined them. Guilty pleasure surged through her and she dared to bite her lip, fighting against her perversions to remain cordial.
"I'd love to see you try and take this giant on by yourself, although I'll give you extra points considering it was a half-troll and this is a fully grown giant," she mused seriously, twirling her wand between her fingers as she assessed how long they had until the giant reached their resting point, it was mere seconds away, "you're too cocky for your own good."
"You love my cockiness. Five galleons says I land the critical hit," challenged Sirius, narrowing his eyes in jest, and Giselle's abdomen throbbed, intoxicated by his words.
"In your dreams, mate. Five galleons, I take it down first," she purred.
"I'd love to see you try, Princess-,"
"WILL YOU STOP FLIRTING FOR ONE SECOND AND FOCUS ON THE FUCKING GIANT COMING TO KILL US PLEASE?!" yelped James, frightened for their lives. The giant slowed and let out a tumultuous, ear-splitting holler when it eventually spotted the two airborne pests ahead of him. Frazzled by the giant, James' ludicrous statement, and Sirius' old pet name, Giselle swallowed her pounding heartbeat and gave the boys one final nod.
"Aim for the eyes and the legs, let's go!"
"Do you have any idea how stupid that was?!"
Giselle bit her tongue and tolerated the belligerent berating from her head of house, not daring to break their awkward eye contact as she continued to yell.
"Stupid? No. Selfless? I would say so," sighed Sirius, quick to defend his actions and Giselle had to drop her gaze to the floor to strengthen her chances of holding in her laughter. She missed how cocky he could be when he was being punished and it transported her back to the good old days when she and Sirius would attempt to talk their way out of detention.
"Now is not the time for your insolent backchat, Black. The three of you could have died! I cannot fathom what idiotic, brainless thought was running through your heads when you decided to take on a bloodthirsty giant!" spat McGonagall, red in the face from her excessive shouting.
They were standing in the Gryffindor changing rooms, surrounded by concerned staff and their fellow teammates who were swapping perspectives on the giant's attack as journalists from the Daily Prophet rushed about, itching to find the best point of view for their stories. Horrified at the turn of events occuring at the school, the Ministry arrived in record timing to tend to the emergency but the aurors received a shock of a lifetime when they found a trio of students half-way through a wrestling match with the giant using a simple piece of unyielding rope, hooting in celebration as they tried to knot the rope around its gargantuan, scarred legs. Many ancient trees were sacrificed for the cause and the sound of the immense trunks snapping clean in half as the giant fell was mind-blowing, Giselle had to cover her ears as crushed the thicket in the giant's path. The aurors that greeted them were in awe of their feat and praised them for their bravery but the reception they received from the staff was less than warm.
"We were only trying to help, you know that giant would have killed everyone in that stadium by the time the Ministry showed up," Giselle blurted out like word vomit, following in Sirius' footsteps, "and the aurors said we did a fantastic job-,"
"SILENCE! PLEASE!" exclaimed McGonagall, removing her spectacles so she could massage her heavy eyelids. "There is no excuse! Do you honestly think that Professor Dumbledore would have allowed that giant to go anywhere near the stadium?" She sounded wounded, genuinely hurt that her students would risk their skins in this ridiculous fashion.
"We understand, Professor, really we do. We didn't mean to show Dumbledore up," added James, hoping his own input would help, "but stopping You-Know-Who's little friend was vastly more important than saving our own skin. Besides, as Head Boy, I should be setting an example!"
"Yes! By obeying instructions! You left poor Miss Evans to deal with your responsibilities by herself!" tutted McGonagall, scrutinising James with a stern frown that highlighted her age, but James looked unperturbed.
"And she did a wonderful job, as I knew she would. She handles the important groundwork because she's the pretty, likeable one and I deal with the gritty, practical jobs because I'm stubborn and less valuable than her - we make a great team and I'm not sorry for getting involved," he surmised proudly, unfazed by his head of house's unreadable expression.
"It's not often that I am speechless but I truly do not know what to say to that, Mr Potter," said McGonagall wearily, giving up.
"That's not true! I've made you speechless loads of times!" argued Sirius, getting offended for all the wrong reasons, "and, not to steal your glory mate, but Elle and I were the ones who actually took the giant down-,"
"BLACK! ZIP! IT!" cried McGonagall, her wispy flyaways quivering as she glared at him, and Sirius clamped his mouth shut and simply smiled back, not wanting to push his luck too far.
"We're really sorry, Professor," said Giselle sweetly, summoning her saddest expression in the hopes of earning some sympathy points, but the wind was knocked from her lungs when she noticed the man who had just stormed through the entrance of the changing rooms, whipping their head around as though searching for someone, and her voice died in her throat. Bartemius Crouch finally caught sight of his daughter and hesitated, trying his best not to explode with rage. The dark glint in his eye made her wince - she fully expected him to attack her on sight but his lack of reaction to her presence was way worse. What was he going to do?
Struggling to process her impending panic attack, Giselle watched her father storm over to their little group at the back of the busy room, naturally clearing a path through the crowd with his usual intimidating demeanor. He was dressed in his best robes - he was in the middle of something at work, she knew how much that ticked him off.. His appearance sparked new rounds of whispers and the camera flashes from the press aggravated the protruding vein in his temple, noticeably pissed off that his daughter was once again drawing negative attention from the media. She noticed pairs of eyes flicking between the Crouches, curious to see if Junior's rumours were true, and she absently grazed her fingers across her eye socket as she thought of the last time they were face to face.
"Here we go," she grumbled, fixating on her father as though she was scared he would pounce if she looked away, and the professor stole a glance over her shoulder before huffing, her nostrils flared. Sirius craned his neck to see who they were staring at, but he immediately latched onto Giselle's arm when he realised who had arrived and sneered at Bartemius, personally offended by his presence, but James' look of warning forced him to stay quiet. His physical contact invigorated her, it brought a strange sense of serenity over Giselle and she used it to fuel her confidence, she needed to keep her chin up in front of Barty. She couldn't let him hurt her again.
"Minerva," growled Crouch, barely glancing at the professor as he joined them, his eyes trained on his daughter, "may I cut in and steal my daughter? This won't take long."
Professor McGonagall paused, genuinely considering turning Crouch down, and she flicked her gaze to Giselle. She was irked, her narrowed eyes flashing formidably as she thought back to the night her student came back to Hogwarts with a busted face, but the gleam vanished and she smiled softly when she looked back at Giselle.
"Not at all, Barty, but I would prefer it if you both stayed here," she replied stiffly, refusing to look at the man beside her, and Crouch's horseshoe moustache quivered as he frowned. Clearly this wasn't a part of his plan and he went to snap back at the professor when he realised that Giselle wasn't alone.
"You!" hissed Crouch, enraged that Sirius was still alive, and Sirius grinned.
"Me!" he said cheerfully, and without hesitating he slid his hand down Giselle's arm and snatched her hand, interlocking their fingers, and her heartbeat jumped into her eardrums, deafening her with her own pulse. She couldn't breathe. His large hand was so hot and rough in hers, it swallowed up hers and she couldn't control her manic heart flutters when she felt his thumb methodically massage her palm, it was the most comforting sensation in the world and she tried not to look at him. What was he doing?! She didn't want him to stop.
Crouch's glare shifted from Sirius' smug face to his hand wrapped around Giselle's and he simply shook his head, crushed.
"I don't believe this," he spat, working himself up into a rage, "you were doing so well, Giselle-,"
"Don't talk to her," barked Sirius suddenly, baring his teeth at the man before him, "don't talk to her ever again."
"Sirius, don't," Giselle muttered half-heartedly. She couldn't deny that she was a little bit curious to see if the pair started a real fight and the shame she felt from the onlookers around them dissipated surprisingly quickly. She didn't care if Barty attacked them in front of everyone, maybe the Prophet would catch it on camera.
"I thought I told you to stay away from my daughter," threatened Crouch, keeping his voice low and gravelly to emphasise his loathing, and Sirius rolled his eyes.
"I told you before and I'll tell you again, you have no power over me and I will never listen to you," he chuckled, standing up to the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, "and just in case you hadn't heard, we did a fantastic job taking on that giant! You should be thanking us!"
Merlin's arse crack! Get him, Sirius! jeered Giselle's subconscious. He doesn't give a shit! That's so fucking hot...
"Don't test me, boy," said Crouch suddenly, taking a step forward as he dropped his volume, "just because my aurors were impressed by your dangerous antics doesn't mean I am. It's an awful shame that giant didn't do us all a favour and squash you like the cockroach you truly are."
"Aw, really? And I was trying so hard to earn your approval," said Sirius, exaggerating his pout with a heavy sigh. Giselle had to chew on her bottom lip, her father's face was a masterpiece and she didn't want to ruin the glorious expression of hatred, she could never get sick of seeing him look at someone else the way he looks at her. She instinctively tightened her grip on Sirius' hand, silently thanking him for his kind words.
James and McGonagall stayed silent, watching with bated breath.
"Why are you here?" spat Giselle, desperate for her father to leave. "If you're here to punish me then please hurry up, I have journalists waiting to congratulate me on my amazing feat for once."
Crouch's eyes twitched, his purple face glowing like an iris flower. "I don't think I have the mental capacity to go through this again, young lady. Your level of disrespect towards your own blood is repugnant and I can't describe how embarrassed I am-,"
"Excuse me, Barty," interjected McGonagall, her voice shaking, "but what Giselle did here today was outstanding! She demonstrated her exemplary skills in tackling and subduing a giant and your staff clearly have more sense than you - you should be rewarding her, not berating her for her bravery!"
Ignoring the hypocritical fact that her head of house was scolding her not five minutes ago for the very thing she was praising, Giselle flashed McGonagall a broad smile and sighed, proud to have gotten some recognition for her fast-thinking. It was like everyone wanted the giant to attack the school!
"Thank you professor! I couldn't have put it better myself!" she said with a smile, and McGonagall immediately shook her head, muttering about her lack of humility.
Crouch didn't know how to react. He was apoplectic, almost frothing at the mouth, and he shot McGonagall the dirtiest look for turning back to the pair before him. Giselle had seen her father through many rampages, but never had he looked so tired. His fury had transformed his features and she almost didn't recognise him, he was staring at her as though she were a stranger, but Sirius continued to stroke her palm and she focused on her breathing. She had Sirius with her this time, Barty wouldn't hurt her.
As though remembering he was public, Crouch softened his lour and straightened his wrinkled robes, assuming a more suitable facade for the press behind him.
"I'm deeply disappointed, Minerva," muttered Crouch quietly, hardly looking her in the eye as caught his breath, "I thought as a well-respected member of the community you would understand that the harm Giselle inspires shouldn't be rewarded-,"
"I DON'T INSPIRE SHIT!" Giselle couldn't stop herself, it came up like vomit. "STOP TREATING ME LIKE I'M THE DEVIL!"
"THEN STOP MEDDLING IN DEVILISH ACT, GISELLE! STOP WITH ALL THIS CHILDISH NONSENSE, ACT YOUR AGE AND FOLLOW THE RULES! YOU WERE INSTRUCTED TO STAY ON THAT PITCH AND YOU DIDN'T! IT'S THAT SIMPLE!" he roared, and the changing rooms fell silent, mesmerised by the expected outburst from the Crouches.
"This is the first time I've broken the rules this year! I'm behaving!" Giselle defended, but Barty laughed mercilessly.
"And isn't it funny that the moment you're back with him," Crouch refused to look at Sirius, "I find you in the centre of a scandal?"
"I'm not back with-," Giselle started to say but Sirius, as always, was on a different wavelength to her.
"So what?!" he taunted, "so what if she is back with me? What are you going to do about it? There aren't any letters for you to steal this time, you can't lock her up, and don't even think about touching her again because that will be the last thing you ever do!"
"Are you threatening me, Black?" hissed Crouch, rather stunned by the boy's prowess. Sirius stood up taller, growing with his confidence, and he refused to look away.
"I don't know, am I?" he hissed back, his luminous eyes wide with sincerity. Giselle almost fainted, utterly besotted with the boy holding her hand. She never thought he would defend her like this, especially in front of all these people. For a second, Giselle thought her father was going to commit a murder right then and there, but his fidgeting wand hand fell to his side and he took a deep, calming breath in an attempt to lower his blood pressure. He couldn't react, not here.
"Just leave, I have nothing to say to you," said Giselle quietly, tired of displaying her family problems for everyone to see. Crouch's top lip curled and he locked eyes with her one last time, using his infamous stoicness to remain unfazed by their audience.
"But I have something to say to you," he shot back, and he leant forward so he could look her straight in the eye. "I mean it this time, Giselle. One more slipup and you are out. Disowned. Gone."
Giselle smiled widely, effervescent at the news, and held her hand out for him.
"Deal."
Crouch looked down at her in shame before walking away, refusing to seal the deal he never wanted to make. The whispers spreading throughout the room grew louder the second he left the tent and Giselle deflated, breathing heavily as she recovered from the brash interaction with her father, but the hiss in the back of her mind cheered for having made it through without another injury. Suddenly she realised that Sirius was still holding her hand and she dropped it as though he had electrocuted her as she actively avoided James' fascinated expression in the corner of her peripheral.
Sirius stayed silent, lost in his own thoughts as he stared at the changing room entrance, but before Giselle could rouse him from his daydream McGonagall cleared her throat and gave the trio one last piercing stare.
"...Seventy-five points to Gryffindor," she said softly, finally cracking a the small smile, "but for heavens sake please stop trying to kill yourselves, you graduate in less than four months!"
Hiiii! I just want to say thank you to everyone whose favourited/followed/reviewed, I appreciate every single one of you and I hope you are enjoying the madness! This story just keeps getting longer and I'm not sorry (I'm a little sorry) so I hope you stick around and see what absolute shite I type next :) lots of love xoxo