*(A/N)* Hey All, How's it going? This is gonna be a short A/N, so that I don't bore you out just before you read the story. Sorry it's taken me so long to get this part out, but I've been away (ringette tournement, we won gold! Yea!) NEway, Enjoy!!!
Chole Pail at Hogwarts: Chapter 12
Chloe sat by the fire in the common room, curled up in a humongous chair. On her lap rested her books for Herbology. She wasn't even looking at them, but instead into the fire. Time was dwindling away at a leisurely pace, and all the while she was longing for seven o' clock. It was only six and she'd already eaten supper and goofed around in the dorm avoiding homework. She'd given in at about 5:45 and headed down to the common room with her Herbology, and that was where she was now. She gazed down at her parchment that should've revealed to her all she needed to know (in 250 words or more) about Desiquik Vines, but instead it looked like this:
Monday, NOvember 19
Chloe Patil
Desiquik Vines: All you need to know (in 250 words or more!)
The rest was blank space. Chloe smiled at her printing, which had always annoyed her teachers at Beauxbatons. They seemed to think that hand writing was more acceptable. Chloe refused as her hand writing looked like a bunch of scribbles. She also smiled at the title, which should have read 'A Brief History of The Desiquik Vine', but she'd decided that she didn't like the given title, and had improvised. She'd just decided to really get down to work when someone began speaking to her.
"Aren't you going down to the practice?" she turned around, expecting to see Draco. She was pleasantly surprised when the speaker turned out to be Jack.
"Oh, yeah, of course!" she answered. "But it doesn't start until 7:00."
"Well," Jack replied, "I don't know how much time you need to get down there, but it is 6:45. Everyone who's going has already left."
"WHAAT??" Chloe screeched. She couldn't believe how much time had passed! She still needed to write an essay, redo her plait, grab her broom, etc, etc, etc.......
"Whoa, calm down! You'll make it, just hurry up." Jack reassured her. "Go on, get ready, I'll wait."
Chloe smiled at him warmly, then headed up the stairs, bursting through the door to her dorm. The rest of her dorm mates were there, and jumped slightly at her sudden entrance.
"Accio Broom!" she summoned her Nimbus. Then she grabbed a brush and hairtie, putting her massive amount of hair into the fastest plait ever. She pinned the loose strands down securely, pulled on some socks and shoes, then headed right back out the door.
"Bye." Jessika called weakly.
Chloe skipped down the stairs, hardly waiting to spend more time with Jack. She was pleased with all the attention she'd been getting from him today, he was such a nice guy. She then wondered why he hadn't mentioned that he was going to the practice earlier. She shrugged it off, assuming that he'd probably just forgotten to tell her.
"Hi!" she called brightly, emerging from the dorms. Jack whirled around, he'd been facing the other way.
"Hey, ready to go?" he asked.
Chloe nodded, and he smiled. Chloe could feel herself melt inside, he had such a great smile! They trooped down the halls towards the gigantic castle doors, and out onto the field. Making their way towards the Stadium, they laughed and joked about the Giant Squid (what was so funny about the squid, they still didn't know, but they sure did laugh!)
When they entered the Stadium, Chloe gasped. There must have been nearly 200 students out there!
"I think," she began, feeling rather nauseated, "I'm going to be sick."
Jack dragged her into the shadows, away from everyone.
"Listen Chloe," he began. Chloe still felt as though she was going to throw up, but she looked him in the eye anyway. "I'm one of the members of the Slytherin team." Chloe forgot about being sick and looked at him curiously.
"Thats good, why are you telling me now?" she asked.
Jack smiled at her. "I just wanted to let you know that even if you're feeling scared, I'll be there pushing for you the whole way."
Chloe blushed slightly, but couldn't hide her smile. Then Jack took out his wand.
"Rosano!" he called, pointing his wand upwards. Out of the end burst vivid colored roses. He scooped them up, then dropped them almost immediately, cursing.
"Ouch! I forgot about the thorns!" he said angrily, waving his stinging hand at his side.
Chloe began to laugh quietly. "It's alright, it's the thought that counts!" she said through giggles. Soon the two of them were laughing together. Jack scowered all the thorns off with a charm, then handed them to her. She took them gratefully, then headed over to a spectator bench and laid them down gingerly, not wanting to crush the velvety petals. She turned to him.
"Well, I guess I'd better start practicing. I feel so much better now, thanks."
"No problem." he replied sincerely, "I've got to go and meet up with the team anyway. Good Luck, although you won't need it!"
Chloe laughed and shook her head. She looked up at the flying people above her. "I don't know about that." she replied. Then, looking back down again, she noticed that Jack was already walking away.
"Jerk." she muttered to herself. Then, looking towards the roses, she reconsidered. That wasn't the word to describe him.
************************************************************************************
Harry stood on the edge of the field, answering the questions of some first years.
"Hey, why are you guys here anyway?" he asked, suddenly realizing something. "You can't try out, you're not even allowed to have brooms!"
They looked at him thoughtfully, then seemed to have realized the same thing. They shrugged, and headed towards the benches to watch instead.
Harry picked looked up at the students flying above him. "Honestly!" he muttered, still thinking about all the time he'd wasted with the first years. Then, he gazed around the empty benches of the vast stadium. (Besides the ones now filled by the silly kids.) A movement in the shadows caught his eye, and he squinted to see what was going on.
"Nice Face, Potter!" A familiar voice catcalled from up ahead. Harry didn't have to look up, it was Draco. Malfoy landed down beside him, waving his hand in front of Harry's face.
"Screw off, Malfoy." Harry said, without a sidewards glance. Malfoy, for once, obeyed, and he too began looking in the direction that Harry was staring in.
"There's someone moving in the shadows." He observed.
"Oh! Well Spotted!" Harry said sarcastically. "I didn't see that, I was just squinting in that direction for the fun of it!"
"Shut up, they're coming out! It's, it's...."
"Chloe?" The two of them said at the same time. She was laughing and giggling with some guy.
"What's Lawson doing with her?" Draco questioned.
"Lawson?" Harry replied.
"Jack Lawson, Chaser on our team." Draco explained. Then the two of them looked at eachother, realizing they were actually conducting a civil conversation. A look of disgust spread across their faces, and they hopped another foot away from eachother. They then resumed staring at Chloe and Jack.
"Flowers?" Harry said out loud, noticing the objects in Chloe's arms. "Why'd he give her flowers? They aren't, you know....."
"Not that I know of." Draco replied. He then shrugged, and remounted his broom flying off. Harry had one last look at the two of them, then he did the same. Neither Harry nor Draco knew this about eachother, but inside they were both seething with jealousy.
***********************************************************************************
Chloe mounted her broom and took off into the sky. She soared around those that were already up there. Some looked nearly professional, while others looked as though they were going to either throw up or fall off any second. She began to feel nervous again, regardless of what Jack had told her. Suddenly a whistle blew from below. It was Madam Hooch.
"Could we have everyone on the field now please." She stated, her voice magically magnified. Chloe dove down, but landed gingerly, afraid of crashing into someone. When her feet were both planted firmly on the ground she picked up her broom and began to listen.
In no time, the "Coach" had them all doing warm up laps (Chloe did them, but couldn't help but wonder what on earth they were actually warming up....) Then she showed them each of the balls that would be used in a Quidditch match one by one. She then began to explain the rules of the game. Chloe had already seen them, and she knew the rules of Quidditch already, so she let her mind wander during the discussion. Then she separated them into groups, appointing positions. In Chloe's group were 3 Ravenclaws, a couple Hufflepuffs, another Slytherin and herself. Chloe was appointed Beater, along with a timid looking Ravenclaw. After several other groups began the 'drill' which turned out to be nothing but a practice Quidditch game, Chloe's group was up.
She took the club that she was to use reluctantly from the boy that had used it before her.
"Ready?" Bellowed the voice of Madam Hooch, "Go!" Chloe's team took off, along with another group that held primarily Gryffindors. The game was slow, as it was new to most. Chloe flew around, looking for a Bludger to hit. Instead, one came hurtling towards her. Fear, along with anticipation, began to build up around her as she watched the ball near. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and swung with all her might. When she felt nothing contact with her club, she opened her eyes and gazed around. The bludger she'd attempted to hit was now peeling off in the direction of the timid Ravenclaw, Chloe's fellow Beater. She watched as the girl wound up and pounded the Bludger out of her sight. Chloe could feel her face turning crimson, and wished with all her might that nobody had seen her.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, her eyes caught the sight of the tiny golden snitch. She looked around hurriedly, knowing that it would only stay in one place for mere seconds. The Seeker of their team was flying in circles round the posts of the other team on the opposite side of the field.
"I wonder...." Chloe thought to herself, but acted instead of finishing the thought. She flew over in the direction of the Snitch, and gripped it in her hand. She began to smile triumphantly, when the Snitch became hot, burning hot in fact. She let go of it quickly, and gripped her stinging hand. Looking at it, she discovered that it wasn't blistered, just a deep red.
"Ow.." she whimpered, then pulled herself together and flew off again. That was two blunders on her part. She began to feel useless. Suddenly, the same Bludger flew her way again. She smacked it as hard as she could, powered by her anger. It spun off course, aiming straight for the Gryffindor player that had the red Quaffle in his hands. It hit the boy in the arm, and he dropped the Quaffle abruptly. Chloe imagined that getting hit with a heavy Bludger would make her drop the ball too. A player from her team, one of the better Hufflepuff's, flew underneath, catching the ball. He sped towards the giant golden hoops, and scored the teams first goal! Chloe cheered triumphantly. The practice game ended there, and they were all called back to the ground.
She began walking away, towards the crowd of waiting students, when her arm was caught by Madam Hooch.
"Excellent play, Ms. Err...." she began.
"Patil." Chloe finished for her.
"Right, you do bear a resemblance to your sisters." Chloe scowled at this, she hated being compared to those two. Then Madam Hooch turned over her hand.
"Hmm, not too bad. It's a good thing you let go that quickly." She muttered to herself. Chloe blushed, so someone had seen her mistake.
"Yeah, I didn't know they did that." She said sheepishly.
"Well, now you do." Madam Hooch said, a little more gruffly. "Just don't do that in a real game." Chloe brightened. Madam Hooch thought she was good enough to play in a real game!
An hour had passed since Chloe had played. She sat silently with the rest of the teams that had already gone out, bored to the point of sleep. She probably would have drifted off, if it weren't so cold out! She shivered once more, longing for the cloak she'd left in her dorm. Suddenly she felt a heavy weight land on top of her.
"Here," someone said behind her, "you look like you need this more then I do." She turned around, not surprised that it was Jack. He'd given her his cloak. He was such a gentleman, she loved it!
"Thanks so much!" she replied gratefully, turning around so she could face him.
"No problem, I've got to get back." He smiled at her, although it was rather mischievious. She wondered what was up. Turning back around to face the pitch, she noticed that there were only two teams left to play, and sighed with relief, itching her arm. Suddenly, her back began to itch, along with her stomach.
"What's going on?" she wailed, scratching all over, trying to relieve the persistent itch. She threw off the cloak, then picked it back up. The itching calmed down, although it was still there. She spotted Jack in a crowd of Slytherins, and marched down to confront him.
"What's going on with this cloak?" She asked the minute she saw him.
"Nothing Chloe, why?" He asked, trying to look angelic, but failing miserably.
"What did you do to it?" She asked curiously, wondering whether this was a joke, or if he was a jerk.
"Oh, I dunno, I did have a little itching powder in the pocket..." he replied, grinning maliciously. His eyes danced with amusement at his little joke.
"Ohhh, Jack..." she began, "You shouldn't have done that! You know I'll have to get you back for this, don't you?"
He smiled back at her. "I look forward to seeing you try!" he answered. Chloe just walked away, shaking her head in disbelief. Some gentleman he was turning out to be!
She was halfway between the bleachers and Jack when she heard the whistle once again.
"Good job everyone!" the brusque voice of Madam Hooch rang out. "Hufflepuffs, remember to come tomorrow for tryouts! You're free to go now."
Chloe began walking away, cold, itching and tired. She thought about how to get Lawson back when he showed up beside her.
"Figured out how to get me back yet?" he questioned teasingly.
Chloe shook her head no. "But don't look so dissapointed," she added, "It'll come. I ALWAYS get people back, nobody gets away with that kind of stuff when it comes to me!"
"Awww," Jack replied, "can't you just forgive me?" He stopped beside the lake, his arms spread.
"If you expect a hug," she began, "You've got something else coming to you!"
"I promise, nothing funny." Jack said, crossing his heart.
"You're so stupid!" Chloe relented, giving him a small hug.
"Now see, how hard was that?" He asked.
"I'm sorry." She said to him, smirking at his bewildered face.
"Sorry for what?" he asked.
Just as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Chloe gave him a great heave, pushing him into the lake. She giggled as he sputtered in the shallow water by the bank, looking up at her with surprise.
"Sorry for that!" she replied sweetly. "Told you I'd get you back!" He clomped out of the lake, water dripping off his robes.
"Here," she said, sounding concerned, "take this, you'll freeze!" she added, handing him his cloak.
He took it gratefully, wrapping it around him. Chloe giggled, and he looked at her. Suddenly, he tore it off, realizing that it was still covered in Itching Powder. He began scratching his shoulders, as Chloe clutched her stomach laughing.
He looked at her venomously, "Oh, now you're going to get it!" Then he pulled her towards him, attempting to soak her as badly as she'd soaked him. She shrieked, and tore out of his grip, then began running towards the castle, screaming with glee, Jack following closely behind.
*(A/N)* hehehe, I like this part. I wonder what really happens when you try to grab the snitch when you're in a different position.....oh well. Anyway, I hoped you liked this part, I never expected Jack would do that to her, but what do you know. I just write the stories, I don't control them! Anyway, please review!
*S~B*