A Quest for Love: Chapter 2
I tapped my foot impatiently on the carpet. Neville was supposed to be here by now; I had told him to meet me in the library at noon, and he was already five minutes late. So like a Gryffindor. When he was mine, I would make him pay for this.
As I stood next to the bookshelf, growling to myself, I could hear the pattering of footseps approaching from behind. Neville tapped me on the shoulder. I whipped around, and Neville sprang back instinctively, as if I were a hungry beast. I reached forward, and grabbed him by the front of his robes. "Are you ready to work?" I asked sweetly. Neville gulped and then nodded. "Good. You take that shelf, and I will take this one. Now get to work!" I released him, and he scampered away to his appointed shelf. Good, very obediant. I grinned.
We worked away for half an hour or so. I really was looking; although I had planned on Cupid being transfigured into a pickle, I had forgotten to look for a countercurse. And despite my little act with McGonagall, I really was fond of my cat, and the idea of him being stuck forever as a pickle did not appeal to me.
Suddenly, Neville gave an excited yelp. "I found it!" he cried, dashing towards me. Madame Pince glared at us from over her glasses, but I took no notice. Quickly, I snatched the book away from Neville. The whole plan could have been spoiled if he had actually read the spell. Luckily, he had only had time to see the title and hand it over.
The book was named, "Feline Transfiguration". Perfect. I opened it to the page that Neville had marked, and sure enough, there was my countercurse. Naturally, I didn't show it to Neville.
"What does it say?" Neville asked. Now that he had gotten over his momentary excitement, his face had returned to its normal frightened appearance. I smiled, and pretended to consult the book.
"Well, it says hear that the person who transfigured the cat must first kiss the owner, and then they must chant together 'Retournum Felinus'." By my calculations, most people wouldn't fall for this. On the other hand, Neville was slightly duller than most people.I watched as his face went from a stark white, to an interesting shade of red. He looked like a tomato with his round scarlet face. I worked to supress my laughter, but couldn't keep a tiny snigger from escaping. Fortunately, Neville seemed to preoccupied with the "spell" to notice.
"W-wait," he stammered. "That means that I have to kiss you?"
I sighed. Honestly, I knew that the boy wasn't so sharp, but I had thought that he could at least understand English. "Yes, Neville," I said in a somewhat patient voice. "That means that you have to kiss me. I'm really sorry, but you did transfigure my cat into a pickle!"
"What's the matter with pickles?" he muttered, so low that I wasn't sure that I had heard him correctly. I bent closer.
"What did you say?"
"I said, you were the one who leapt across the desk to get in my way!" I would have been impressed with this show of bravery, if I hadn't been looking for a meek, timid sort of boyfriend at the moment. That too would have to be trained out of him. I was starting to forget some of the qualities that I wanted to change in Neville. Maybe he wasn't my soulmate after all. On the other hand, he was the closest one to it at the moment, and he would just have to do.
I grabbed Neville's wrist. "You know, you shouldn't have said that," I murmured. I began to twist his wrist in a rather painful manner. "It won't get you anywhere. You are going to kiss me, and my cat will once again be a cat. You understand?" Neville nodded; his eyes were tightly closed, and his wrist was starting to swell under my grasp. I let go of him, and his eyes opened. He immediately started rubbing his wrist tenderly where I had gripped it.
"Are you ready?" I asked him, calming down. He looked desperately around him one more time as if for a means of escape. Madam Pince was turned the other way, and the only other students that were in the library was a small group of first years. Most people had something better to do than study on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Reluctantly, Neville nodded.
I allowed myself a triumphant smile. Finally, after all of my efforts, we were getting somewhere. They don't say that Slytherins will do anything to reach their goals for no reason. I drew Neville closer to me. Once again, his eyes were screwed shut. He seemed to be gathering up the courage. And Gryffindors are supposed to be brave! But it didn't matter. I put my arms around him, and placed my lips on his. He had nice, soft lips. But just as I was starting to enjoy myself, I heard a voice from above.
"Er--excuse me." a girl's voice said. "We just need to get past you." Neville's eyes flew open, and he pulled himself away from me.
"Hermione?" he whispered. "Is that you?"
"Neville!" she exclaimed in surprise and horror. "What are you doing with her?" Hermione stared at us in disbelief. "Wait, I must be seeing things. You can't possibly have been kissing."
"Thank God!" Neville murmured, almost inaudibly. He seemed to be a bit too grateful at Hermione's sudden appearance. I pinched his arm. He shut up.
"Granger, in case you couldn't tell, we were busy. Now would you please leave?" She looked as though she was going to obey, but at that moment, her dear friends Potter and Weasely showed up. Hermione took them aside and started to consult them in a whisper, no doubt about Neville and me. It looked like she was going to take awhile. I pulled Neville back into my arms. "Now, where were we?"
Potter and his crowd reappeared on the scene. Potter seemed shocked, but Weasely's freckled countenance looked purely revolted. As one would expect, Potter took charge of the scene. "What's going on here?" he asked.
Before I could reply, Neville opened his mouth. "I was helping her research how to turn that pickle there back into a cat. I found the countercurse, so I gave the book to her. She said that in order for it to work, first we had to kiss."
Hermione started laughing. "But Neville, all you have to do to turn the pickle into a cat is say, 'Retournum Felinus'. You don't have to kiss anyone! Why, that's ridiculous." She managed to contain herself, although she still let out an occasional giggle.
Neville was blushing again. "I didn't know! I was only doing what she told me too!" He shot me what would be a venemous glare if it had been from anyone else. Neville was too small and plump to make it seem anything but slightly irritated.
I, on the other hand, am a master at venemous glares. Right now, I was giving the whole Potter group the evil eye. They didn't know how much planning they had just upset. Because of them, I would have to wait until another day before Neville would become my boyfriend.
I still had one more trick up my sleeve, one more strategy to force Neville to submit to my charms. It was fool-proof; there was no way it could go wrong. These Gryffindors should have known better than to try to deter a Slytherin from reaching her goal. They might have disrupted my plans, but eventually, Neville would be mine.
Please Review! It would make me very, very happy. There will be one more chapter after this one. I will probably make an effort to get it up faster if people will tell me their opinion of the story so far.
I tapped my foot impatiently on the carpet. Neville was supposed to be here by now; I had told him to meet me in the library at noon, and he was already five minutes late. So like a Gryffindor. When he was mine, I would make him pay for this.
As I stood next to the bookshelf, growling to myself, I could hear the pattering of footseps approaching from behind. Neville tapped me on the shoulder. I whipped around, and Neville sprang back instinctively, as if I were a hungry beast. I reached forward, and grabbed him by the front of his robes. "Are you ready to work?" I asked sweetly. Neville gulped and then nodded. "Good. You take that shelf, and I will take this one. Now get to work!" I released him, and he scampered away to his appointed shelf. Good, very obediant. I grinned.
We worked away for half an hour or so. I really was looking; although I had planned on Cupid being transfigured into a pickle, I had forgotten to look for a countercurse. And despite my little act with McGonagall, I really was fond of my cat, and the idea of him being stuck forever as a pickle did not appeal to me.
Suddenly, Neville gave an excited yelp. "I found it!" he cried, dashing towards me. Madame Pince glared at us from over her glasses, but I took no notice. Quickly, I snatched the book away from Neville. The whole plan could have been spoiled if he had actually read the spell. Luckily, he had only had time to see the title and hand it over.
The book was named, "Feline Transfiguration". Perfect. I opened it to the page that Neville had marked, and sure enough, there was my countercurse. Naturally, I didn't show it to Neville.
"What does it say?" Neville asked. Now that he had gotten over his momentary excitement, his face had returned to its normal frightened appearance. I smiled, and pretended to consult the book.
"Well, it says hear that the person who transfigured the cat must first kiss the owner, and then they must chant together 'Retournum Felinus'." By my calculations, most people wouldn't fall for this. On the other hand, Neville was slightly duller than most people.I watched as his face went from a stark white, to an interesting shade of red. He looked like a tomato with his round scarlet face. I worked to supress my laughter, but couldn't keep a tiny snigger from escaping. Fortunately, Neville seemed to preoccupied with the "spell" to notice.
"W-wait," he stammered. "That means that I have to kiss you?"
I sighed. Honestly, I knew that the boy wasn't so sharp, but I had thought that he could at least understand English. "Yes, Neville," I said in a somewhat patient voice. "That means that you have to kiss me. I'm really sorry, but you did transfigure my cat into a pickle!"
"What's the matter with pickles?" he muttered, so low that I wasn't sure that I had heard him correctly. I bent closer.
"What did you say?"
"I said, you were the one who leapt across the desk to get in my way!" I would have been impressed with this show of bravery, if I hadn't been looking for a meek, timid sort of boyfriend at the moment. That too would have to be trained out of him. I was starting to forget some of the qualities that I wanted to change in Neville. Maybe he wasn't my soulmate after all. On the other hand, he was the closest one to it at the moment, and he would just have to do.
I grabbed Neville's wrist. "You know, you shouldn't have said that," I murmured. I began to twist his wrist in a rather painful manner. "It won't get you anywhere. You are going to kiss me, and my cat will once again be a cat. You understand?" Neville nodded; his eyes were tightly closed, and his wrist was starting to swell under my grasp. I let go of him, and his eyes opened. He immediately started rubbing his wrist tenderly where I had gripped it.
"Are you ready?" I asked him, calming down. He looked desperately around him one more time as if for a means of escape. Madam Pince was turned the other way, and the only other students that were in the library was a small group of first years. Most people had something better to do than study on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Reluctantly, Neville nodded.
I allowed myself a triumphant smile. Finally, after all of my efforts, we were getting somewhere. They don't say that Slytherins will do anything to reach their goals for no reason. I drew Neville closer to me. Once again, his eyes were screwed shut. He seemed to be gathering up the courage. And Gryffindors are supposed to be brave! But it didn't matter. I put my arms around him, and placed my lips on his. He had nice, soft lips. But just as I was starting to enjoy myself, I heard a voice from above.
"Er--excuse me." a girl's voice said. "We just need to get past you." Neville's eyes flew open, and he pulled himself away from me.
"Hermione?" he whispered. "Is that you?"
"Neville!" she exclaimed in surprise and horror. "What are you doing with her?" Hermione stared at us in disbelief. "Wait, I must be seeing things. You can't possibly have been kissing."
"Thank God!" Neville murmured, almost inaudibly. He seemed to be a bit too grateful at Hermione's sudden appearance. I pinched his arm. He shut up.
"Granger, in case you couldn't tell, we were busy. Now would you please leave?" She looked as though she was going to obey, but at that moment, her dear friends Potter and Weasely showed up. Hermione took them aside and started to consult them in a whisper, no doubt about Neville and me. It looked like she was going to take awhile. I pulled Neville back into my arms. "Now, where were we?"
Potter and his crowd reappeared on the scene. Potter seemed shocked, but Weasely's freckled countenance looked purely revolted. As one would expect, Potter took charge of the scene. "What's going on here?" he asked.
Before I could reply, Neville opened his mouth. "I was helping her research how to turn that pickle there back into a cat. I found the countercurse, so I gave the book to her. She said that in order for it to work, first we had to kiss."
Hermione started laughing. "But Neville, all you have to do to turn the pickle into a cat is say, 'Retournum Felinus'. You don't have to kiss anyone! Why, that's ridiculous." She managed to contain herself, although she still let out an occasional giggle.
Neville was blushing again. "I didn't know! I was only doing what she told me too!" He shot me what would be a venemous glare if it had been from anyone else. Neville was too small and plump to make it seem anything but slightly irritated.
I, on the other hand, am a master at venemous glares. Right now, I was giving the whole Potter group the evil eye. They didn't know how much planning they had just upset. Because of them, I would have to wait until another day before Neville would become my boyfriend.
I still had one more trick up my sleeve, one more strategy to force Neville to submit to my charms. It was fool-proof; there was no way it could go wrong. These Gryffindors should have known better than to try to deter a Slytherin from reaching her goal. They might have disrupted my plans, but eventually, Neville would be mine.
Please Review! It would make me very, very happy. There will be one more chapter after this one. I will probably make an effort to get it up faster if people will tell me their opinion of the story so far.
