*(A/N)* So, how is everyone? Alright, enough of the small talk....hehehe, jk, I always tell you about my life, you can tell me about yours too!!! Oh gracious ::looks around, wondering where that came from:: I don't know where all this Chloe/Jack/Harry/Ron/Draco stuff is going, but I think we're in for a surprise in the next few chapters........
Chloe Patil at Hogwarts: Chapter 13
The next few days following the practice flew by in a blur. Chloe spent half of her time with Jack, and the other half with her so-called friends Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creature, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms and Divination. She began to feel guilty, realizing that she hadn't spent much, if any, time with her dorm mates. She began to miss them, but Jack and homework took up so much of her time!
"If I hadn't moved up to fifth year, I'd probably have more time for them!" She grumbled halfway through her Charms homework. Then she realized that she probably wouldn't have met Jack if she hadn't moved up. She looked up at the dorm ceiling. Why did life have to be so complicated?
Just as she was thinking this, Roz, Jessika and Sara strolled through the door, looking extremely satisfied with themselves.
Chloe smiled at them. "Hey guys!" she exclaimed. Then, noticing their smug expressions, she added, "What's going on?"
They just smiled secretly at her and didn't answer.
"Oh Chloe!" Roz began, "It won't be of any importance to you. Jack isn't involved!" Then the three girls began sniggering at the meager joke.
"Hey, don't be like that!" Chloe pleaded. "Look, I know I haven't been the best friend lately," the three of them rolled their eyes, and Chloe stuck her tongue out at them, "Alright, I haven't really been a friend, but I still want to do stuff with you guys, I've just been busy."
Her friends looked at eachother, then grinned at Chloe mischieviously.
"Well, we were strolling around, wandering towards the kitchens," Jessika began.
"Wait!" Chloe interrupted, "When did you guys find out where the kitchens were?"
"Never mind that, Chloe" Sara replied loftily, "Roz overheard some people talking about it once."
"Right." Jessika continued, "Anyhow, we were craving some éclairs, you know? The really good ones?" Chloe nodded. "Yeah, well, there we were, walking towards the kitchens, when we heard some voices."
"McGonagall and Dumbledore." Roz put in.
"Yeah," Sara continued the story. "They were talking to the House-Elves about food. As it turns out, there's going to be a huge party going on at Hogwarts. It's Cornelius Fudge's fifteenth year as Minister, and Dumbledore's holding him a party!"
Chloe looked at her in disgust. "Fudge? Why would we have a party for Fudge? My dad had been talking about Dumbledore and Fudge at home during the summer. They had a big fight, why would Dumbledore hold Fudge a party?"
Roz looked at her with annoyance. "Oh Chloe, who cares? Don't you know what this means? There's gonna be a Ball!" The three of them looked at her excitedly, waiting for her reaction.
"Well," Chloe responded thoughtfully, "Technically we don't know that. Who's to say that the students will be invited at all? Also, you guys might have missed a part of the conversation in the kitchens."
Sara sighed, exasperated. "Fine, don't believe us! Burst our good moods with your technicalities! Thanks a lot, Patil." Then the three of them left, leaving Chloe by herself, feeling like a fool.
"WHY does life have to be so COMPLICATED?" She repeated to herself. Then she returned to her homework. After that conversation, Charms seemed almost inviting.
Later that evening, Chloe headed out of the dorms, ready for Slytherin Quidditch Tryouts. It was nearly 7:30 Thursday evening, the night she'd been waiting for. A twinge of excitement passed through her as she exited the castle and crossed the grounds.
"Chloe!" A voice called from behind her. Chloe turned around to see Draco Malfoy running towards her. She found this to be quite odd. She hadn't imagined Draco to be the sort of person that would be so undignified as to chase someone down a grassy hill. Yet, there he was.
"So," he said breathlessly, catching up. "You are trying out."
"We've already been over this, what always makes you think I wasn't going to?" she asked haughtily.
"Oh, I don't know. I thought those pictures would throw you off, but you put an end to them." He responded, sounding slightly impressed. Chloe didn't know if she'd imagined it or not.
Chloe stopped, Draco following suit. They were just inside the entrance to the Stadium.
"Draco," she said with a bite of impatience, "I'm not trying to flatter myself or anything, but why did you keep trying to sabotage someone that could be good for your team? I don't get you. First you told me that the team would be superb now that you're captain, then you went out of your way to scare off a potential player. Can you explain that to me, because I'm tired of trying to figure it out for myself."
Draco looked at her thoughtfully. "Good Point." He replied, then turned away, much to Chloe's annoyance. She grabbed him by the arm. He wheeled around, looking at her with surprise.
"Uh, Chloe, I kind of have to get tryouts started." He told her.
"Um, yeah, about that. DoyouthinkIhaveanychanceofmakingit?" She blurted out, not being able to stop herself. She felt quite uncomfortable, throwing herself into such a vulnerable position before Malfoy, and prepared herself for the snide comment from him that would wreck her confidence.
He looked at her uncertainly. "Probably" he began, "just try to stick to your own position this time, Patil!"
She rolled her eyes at him, and he walked off. She grinned, the captain thought she had a chance of making it!
A few minutes later, she, and an enumerable amount of other Slytherins, gathered around Draco and the rest of the former team from two years ago.
"Alright everybody," Draco began in his lazy drawl, "Let's see if you can even compare to the team we've had over the last couple of years." (A/N: I know they haven't beaten Gryffindor, but he still thinks he's the best!) "Now, we have a few open positions. They're Keeper, Beater and Chaser, all those who play Seeker, forget it. I'm the Seeker, and there's no way that you can come close to replacing me."
Chloe looked around, noticing a few dejected faces. One girl even picked up her broom and left. Chloe didn't know what she played, but she had an idea that it wasn't Seeker. She didn't care if she never touched another Snitch again.
"Right then." Draco said promptly, giving off more instructions. Chloe didn't listen, and looked around at the former team lined up behind Draco. Burly boy, burly boy and Jack. Jack caught her eye, and Chloe waved at him. He didn't wave back.
"Wonder what's going on with him." She thought. Then she noticed people around her were moving. She looked around bewildered, they seemed to be separating into distinct groups. She wondered if maybe they were teams, but decided against it as there were too many people in each group. Suddenly she noticed she was the only one left.
"Waiting for something, Patil?" Draco addressed her sarcastically.
People around her began to snigger and she blushed.
"Um, no," she stammered, "what are we doing again?"
Draco rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Chasers over there," he said pointing to the first group, "Beaters, Keepers and Unknowns." He finished, gesturing towards each one as he said it.
Chloe walked hurriedly towards the Unknowns. She didn't know which of the positions she'd like to play. Beater had been fun, but she wasn't sure if she liked it that much. Maybe she'd like, or be better at, one of the different positions.
"Right then." Draco continued as soon as Chloe had stepped into the group. "Uhh, Lawson, take the Chasers, Uhnix, the Beaters, Homare, the Keepers, and I'll take the Unknowns." He instructed. Chloe watched the other groups wander off with one of the players. She watched Jack and the Chasers until they reached their respective spot on the pitch. She could've sworn that she saw him glance her way then look back abruptly. Chloe sighed, and listened to Draco.
"We'll be working on each of the positions so that you can decide which one you like and then join that group." He told them lazily. "So then, let's begin with Chaser. Mount your brooms." He did so, and the rest followed suit. Chloe had no problem, but she noticed that some had some trouble and stumbled a bit, taking off shakily. As soon as they were all up in the air, Draco began giving them instructions, beginning the first drill.
They all lined up, going one at a time. As they flew past Draco, he'd throw them the red Quaffle, and they'd have to catch it, then throw it back. Chloe, being in the middle of the line, watched as some kids took off at full speed, becoming quite coordinated and fumbling the Quaffle. Others looked like naturals at the position, while some looked as though they'd never learned how to fly properly before this.
Suddenly she realized it was her turn. She took off at moderate speed, going a bit faster as she went along. She saw Malfoy bring his arm back, then throw the Quaffle at her with all his might. She was slightly taken aback from the speed of the ball, and watched it near, holding out her arms and waiting. Then she realized that it wasn't coming at her arms, it was headed straight for her face! She covered her face with her hands, causing the ball to ricochet off, and fall down. She dove and caught it, barely managing to hold on. Then she realized that she was supposed to throw it back and did a sudden half-turn, facing Draco.
Malfoy looked slightly amused, a smile playing upon his lips. She threw the Quaffle back at him, which he caught with ease. Her face began to burn when she saw people pointing and whispering, trying to hide their smiles. She began to wish desperately that someone she knew had decided to try out with her. She got into the line of people that had already finished, still slightly embarrassed.
"Good dive." Someone said from behind her. She turned, facing a girl with dark auburn hair. She would've thought it to be brown, but when the light hit it at a certain angle, it seemed to glow red. This had been one of the girls who's excelled at the drill.
"Um, thanks." She replied, taking her eyes off the girl's hair. "You did really good, I saw you."
The girl smiled back at her. "Thanks!" she replied. "My name's Michale, how about you?" (AN: pronounciation: Mik-Ale)
"Chloe." Chloe answered, smiling.
"Cool. Can you believe some of the kids out here? I mean, E for effort people, but honestly, learn to fly first! Oh, they should be proud for trying and all, but still."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "I know what you mean, if I hadn't known how to fly before this, I'd have been to scared to even try out!"
The two girls talked some more, interrupted finally by Draco, who announced that the drill was over.
"Some of you guys who did really well at this drill should probably consider joining the actual Chaser group." He suggested. "For those of you who did bad, come with me." He added, grinning evily. "Is there anyone interested in going to join that group?"
Chloe looked around. Various people had raised their hands, Michale included.
"Alright, they're over there." Draco told them, gesturing over his shoulder. "Tell Jack Lawson that I've sent you." They all nodded, then flew towards the group.
"Ok then, let's try Beater. For those who weren't too great at Chaser, you probably won't like Keeper too much either, but we'll see."
The drill he had them do was basically the same thing as that of the Chasers, only a lot harder to control as the Bludgers moved around at will. This resulted in the need for aim, something many of them didn't possess. Soon enough there were Bludgers flying all over the place, and dirty looks were being shot Malfoy's way as others ducked and dodged them. Malfoy flew down to the groud and picked up all the spare Beater clubs, handing them out to some of the better players. Chloe was astounded when he gave one to her.
"Wha-you want me?" she asked with amazement.
"No," said Malfoy, exasperated. "I just want you to examine it! Yes, get out there and hit some Bludgers!" He yelled.
Chloe looked at him with disgust. "Geez, grumpy or what?" She said out loud to no one in particular. Then, feeling slightly elated and nervous at the same time, she flew off, keeping an eye out for the Bludgers. She wondered where she was supposed to hit them once she saw one. She hadn't had any time to think this over, when one came hurtling her way.
"Malfoy, hit it at Malfoy" she said to herself, gritting her teeth. He was the team captain, he'd know what to do. She took her club and beat the Bludger fiercely, sending it flying away. She turned to see where it was going, but heard a loud bellow in pain before she'd completely turned. Draco Malfoy lay crumpled on the ground.
Chloe widened her eyes in disbelief, and flew over in his direction. He must have been talking to someone on the ground, as there was a single witch knelt down beside him, trying to shake him awake. Chloe got there, and shoved the silly witch away, turning Draco over.
"Draco?" she shouted "Are you alright?" There was no answer, and Chloe began to feel very worried. She couldn't believe she'd practically killed the team captain. Then she looked down, wondering if he was dead. A lump began to rise in her throat. She saw his chest rise and fall, and felt incredibly relieved that he was breathing.
Suddenly a crowd of people were around her, shouting instructions.
"Somebody go get Snape!"
"Forget Snape, get Dumbledore!"
Everyone was worried about Draco, and Chloe was surprised to find that she was one of them. Sure, he was a jerk, but she didn't really want to hurt him. Chloe looked up and came face to face with Jack Lawson.
"Jack, what happened?" She asked, feeling slightly hysterical. "Is he alright? Jack?" Jack looked up, but gave her no reassurance, and instead just looked at her coldly. Chloe was taken aback by his reaction and stood up, her hand over her mouth. Instantly, Michale was at her side.
"Chloe, are you alright?" she asked, "What happened?"
"I think I knocked him unconcious." Chloe told her, not taking her eyes off of Draco. Seconds later, two figures began pushing their way through the crowd. It was Dumbledore and Snape, each of them looking concerned. Dumbledore knelt down beside Draco, checking his pulse and breathing, then turned to Snape.
"He appears to be alright, unconcious, but surviving." Dumbledore assured him. "I think you should use the Revitaserum."
Snape nodded, then bent down, pulling a small bottle from his cloak, uncapping it, and then wafted it under Malfoy's nose. Draco began to stir. Suddenly his eyes popped open and Chloe saw him attempt to focus. If the circumstances had been different, she'd of thought it to be quite funny to see Malfoy so disillusioned.
Draco looked straight at her. "Good aim. You're on the team." He said groggily. Chloe was taken aback. Was he serious, or was it just some crazy psycho babble as a result from being unconcious? She couldn't help but smile a bit, hoping that Draco knew what he was saying.
*(A/N)* Hehehe, poor Draco. I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Well, technically I never said it, but you know what I mean!! Anyway, please review for me, I love em'! Hehehe, I'm gonna go now, the Santa Clause is on TV. I love that movie, I can't wait for Christmas!! ::does a little dance:: hehehe!
Well, thanks for reading! Sorry this part took so long to put up!