Chapter 5: Of arguments and detentions
"She did what?" Fred roared, jumping to his feet and glaring at the girl in front of him, his eyes flashing with rarely seen anger. "Angelina would never do that!"
"Normally, I'd say that you were right, but she's not acting normally, Fred!" Katie snapped, her patience wearing thin after nearly 10 minutes of arguing with her fellow quidditch player. Alicia had strode off a few minutes before and was now glaring at the lake and throwing balls of flame from the end of her wand, scowling as they hit the surface and died in a puff of swirling smoke and steam. "I've noticed that she hasn't been herself lately, but today –" Katie hesitated, drawing in her breath slowly, "-today I haven't seen even a shadow of our Angie. It's like she's become someone completely different and it scares me Fred! It really scares me that she can change so much so quickly…"
"Me too," Alicia said softly, not pausing from her flame throwing. "You didn't see the look on her face when she drew out her wand! There's no doubt in my mind that she would've-"
"What, Alicia? What would she've done?" Fred challenged her, tearing his eyes away from Katie to glare at her instead. "Cursed you?"
"Stop- all of you!" all 3 Griffindor's glanced over to see where the voice had come from.
"Angelina! Finally-" he growled, walking over to the trembling girl on the grass and putting his arm around her shoulders. "-Do you know that your so called friends are spreading rumours that you've been going around threatening people at wand point!" Angelina gulped, swallowing her pride and shrugging his arm off.
"They're not rumours-" she sighed, tears springing to her chocolate brown eyes as she stared at the moss-covered ground at her feet. "This morning I've done a lot of things that I regret, and some that I don't-" she said pointedly, glancing at Fred, who was looking as though the bottom of his world. She paused, gathering her wits before continuing. "- And I know that I owe you all an apology and an explanation, but I can't give one to you right now, at least not one that would satisfy what you want to hear. Please, just give me a chance and I promise you I will-"
"Are you trying to tell me that you DID threaten them?" Fred breathed, his eyes begging her to say it wasn't true.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm trying to say," she said timidly. "Fred? Fred where are you going?" she called as he spun on his heal and strode across the quidditch pitch, blasting a stick out of his way. Turning to her friends, Angelina looked at them with an almost fearful look in her perfect eyes.
"Why, Angie?" Katie whispered. "Just tell me why-" Angelina shook her head gently, tears sliding down her face unchecked.
"I- I can't, Katie, please understand-" she choked out.
"I'm sorry, Angie- I truly am," Alicia sighed, following Fred up to the castle slowly, dragging Katie behind her. Angelina sank to the ground slowly and buried her face in her hands, rocking backwards and forwards as she sobbed---
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Angelina sighed as she pushed the portrait to the commonroom open and stepped out into the abandoned corridor. All day she'd tried in vain to get the others to talk to her, but each time they'd look past her as if she didn't even exist. During transfiguration, when McGonagall told them to sort themselves into pairs, she'd moved automatically towards Fred, but he'd already partnered Alicia. When she turned towards Lee, George and Katie, they'd quickly moved into separate groups, George with Katie and Lee with a Ravenclaw, Josh McHanaghy. With tears threatening to make an appearance for the countless time, she looked around hopelessly before catching a dark haired girl's eye, who smiled and motioned for her to sit with her.
"Hey, I'm Cho. Cho Chang-" the girl introduced herself, offering Angelina her hand.
"Angelina Johnson," she smiled hesitantly, taking her hand and waiting to see her reaction.
"Hi- Wait, I know you!" Angelina held her breath waiting for her to continue. "You play quidditch for Griffindor – a chaser, right? I'm Ravenclaws seeker."
"I know-" the mindless chatter continued as they both flicked their wands and turned the feather in front of them into a duck first go. Both were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice Professor McGonagall standing over them.
"Ahem," she softly cleared her throat, glaring at them. Cho and Angelina stopped talking immediately, looking up slowly and looking at their professor. McGonagall wordlessly held up 2 ducks, which had apparently escaped from the desk.
"Uh, yeah, sorry about that Professor," Cho apologised, hastily turning it back into a feather.
"Yeah, sorry," Angelina echoed, muttering the spell under her breath. Professor McGonagall looked at the feathers in her hand, speechless.
"Miss Chang? Miss Johnson? How long have you been practising this spell?" she asked incredulously. The whole class paused; looking on silently as Cho and Angelina glanced at each other.
"Well, you only gave it to us at the beginning of the lesson, Professor-" Cho pointed out gently, her already soft voice barely audible as she quailed slightly under McGonagalls gaze.
"Both of you see me after the lesson, please-" she ordered under her breath, and, when she turned around, the rest of the class was concentrating on their feathers as though the conversation between their professor and the 2 students had never taken place. Smiling to herself, McGonagall made her way over to George and Katie
"What do you think she wants to talk to us about?" Angelina said, the sense of dread in the pit of her stomach growing with each passing second.
"Dunno," Cho replied gloomily. "But I'm willing to bet that it won't be to give us a lolly." The rest of the lesson passed uneventfully, unless you count the small explosion that occurred when Fred had 'accidentally' muttered the wrong spell, causing the feather to fly around the room before settling back onto his desk and bursting into flames. Angelina conjured another 2 feathers from thin air and she and Cho spent the rest of the lesson making them trace messages to each other in the air over their desk. When the bell in the astronomy tower tolled, signalling the end of class, they reluctantly dissolved the feathers and gathered up their quills and parchment. Finally, the room emptied of their peers and, with one more glance at each other, Cho and Angelina headed up to McGonagalls massive oak desk at the front of the classroom. Looking up at them, McGonagall put down her quill, studying the 2 students before her.
"Never-" she began. "-In my entire life at Hogwarts, have I seen one student perform that spell perfectly the first time they attempted it. And yet, today, both of you managed to do one of the most complex spells I have ever given you as though it was a simple charm." Puzzled, Cho glanced at Angelina, who was gaping at her professor. Of all the possible scenarios they'd thought up, this was not among them. "Therefore, I would like for both of you to begin doing Advanced Transfiguration, starting tomorrow."
"What?" Angelina squealed, quickly covering her mouth and blushing the colour of Fred's hair. "Sorry-"
"It's quite alright, Miss Johnson-" McGonagall smiled. "Well, I'll see you both in class tomorrow-"
"Uh, yeah-" Cho murmured, nudging Angelina out of her reverie and running for the door. "Thankyou!" she called over her shoulder.
"Ohmigod!" was all Angelina could manage as they raced along the corridors to the great hall. Stopping suddenly in the foyer outside the Great Hall, Cho turned to her, her almond eyes twinkling merrily. Under her breath, Angelina started chanting-
"I'm in advanced Tranfig. I'm in advanced transfig." Cho squealed and grabbed both of Angelina's wrists, dancing around the bustling foyer.
"Can you believe it?" she screamed, pulling back and grinning like a maniac. "Every year, I've come top of my Transfiguration class, but I never – not even in my wildest dreams- imagined that this would happen!"
"Me neither!" both hugged, completely oblivious to the strange looks they were getting from passing students.
"Angelina? Cho?" an incredulous voice asked. Both glanced over and burst into peals of laughter at the look on Harry's face as he watched them. "Uh- "
"Harry, move would you? I'm getting- what the-?" Ron and Hermione arrived at Harry's side, both wearing the same look as Harry.
"Angelina? What-"
"Excuse me, but we have Advanced Transfiguration to attend to-" Cho said evenly, linking arms with Angelina and skipping down the corridor.
"Mad, that one is-" Ron grinned, staring after them.
"Which one?" Hermione giggled, watching as the two ecstatic girls parted the crowds of bustling students.
"Did I say one? I meant two-" Ron said, rolling his eyes playfully, before offering Hermione his arm. "Shall we?"
"Of course!" Hermione replied in an overly pompous voice.
"Yeah, and you say that they're mad-" Harry muttered as he followed them into the hall for dinner.
A/N: In a hurry, I hope you enjoy reading it as much I I enjoyed writing it
-Coolchick
"She did what?" Fred roared, jumping to his feet and glaring at the girl in front of him, his eyes flashing with rarely seen anger. "Angelina would never do that!"
"Normally, I'd say that you were right, but she's not acting normally, Fred!" Katie snapped, her patience wearing thin after nearly 10 minutes of arguing with her fellow quidditch player. Alicia had strode off a few minutes before and was now glaring at the lake and throwing balls of flame from the end of her wand, scowling as they hit the surface and died in a puff of swirling smoke and steam. "I've noticed that she hasn't been herself lately, but today –" Katie hesitated, drawing in her breath slowly, "-today I haven't seen even a shadow of our Angie. It's like she's become someone completely different and it scares me Fred! It really scares me that she can change so much so quickly…"
"Me too," Alicia said softly, not pausing from her flame throwing. "You didn't see the look on her face when she drew out her wand! There's no doubt in my mind that she would've-"
"What, Alicia? What would she've done?" Fred challenged her, tearing his eyes away from Katie to glare at her instead. "Cursed you?"
"Stop- all of you!" all 3 Griffindor's glanced over to see where the voice had come from.
"Angelina! Finally-" he growled, walking over to the trembling girl on the grass and putting his arm around her shoulders. "-Do you know that your so called friends are spreading rumours that you've been going around threatening people at wand point!" Angelina gulped, swallowing her pride and shrugging his arm off.
"They're not rumours-" she sighed, tears springing to her chocolate brown eyes as she stared at the moss-covered ground at her feet. "This morning I've done a lot of things that I regret, and some that I don't-" she said pointedly, glancing at Fred, who was looking as though the bottom of his world. She paused, gathering her wits before continuing. "- And I know that I owe you all an apology and an explanation, but I can't give one to you right now, at least not one that would satisfy what you want to hear. Please, just give me a chance and I promise you I will-"
"Are you trying to tell me that you DID threaten them?" Fred breathed, his eyes begging her to say it wasn't true.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm trying to say," she said timidly. "Fred? Fred where are you going?" she called as he spun on his heal and strode across the quidditch pitch, blasting a stick out of his way. Turning to her friends, Angelina looked at them with an almost fearful look in her perfect eyes.
"Why, Angie?" Katie whispered. "Just tell me why-" Angelina shook her head gently, tears sliding down her face unchecked.
"I- I can't, Katie, please understand-" she choked out.
"I'm sorry, Angie- I truly am," Alicia sighed, following Fred up to the castle slowly, dragging Katie behind her. Angelina sank to the ground slowly and buried her face in her hands, rocking backwards and forwards as she sobbed---
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Angelina sighed as she pushed the portrait to the commonroom open and stepped out into the abandoned corridor. All day she'd tried in vain to get the others to talk to her, but each time they'd look past her as if she didn't even exist. During transfiguration, when McGonagall told them to sort themselves into pairs, she'd moved automatically towards Fred, but he'd already partnered Alicia. When she turned towards Lee, George and Katie, they'd quickly moved into separate groups, George with Katie and Lee with a Ravenclaw, Josh McHanaghy. With tears threatening to make an appearance for the countless time, she looked around hopelessly before catching a dark haired girl's eye, who smiled and motioned for her to sit with her.
"Hey, I'm Cho. Cho Chang-" the girl introduced herself, offering Angelina her hand.
"Angelina Johnson," she smiled hesitantly, taking her hand and waiting to see her reaction.
"Hi- Wait, I know you!" Angelina held her breath waiting for her to continue. "You play quidditch for Griffindor – a chaser, right? I'm Ravenclaws seeker."
"I know-" the mindless chatter continued as they both flicked their wands and turned the feather in front of them into a duck first go. Both were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice Professor McGonagall standing over them.
"Ahem," she softly cleared her throat, glaring at them. Cho and Angelina stopped talking immediately, looking up slowly and looking at their professor. McGonagall wordlessly held up 2 ducks, which had apparently escaped from the desk.
"Uh, yeah, sorry about that Professor," Cho apologised, hastily turning it back into a feather.
"Yeah, sorry," Angelina echoed, muttering the spell under her breath. Professor McGonagall looked at the feathers in her hand, speechless.
"Miss Chang? Miss Johnson? How long have you been practising this spell?" she asked incredulously. The whole class paused; looking on silently as Cho and Angelina glanced at each other.
"Well, you only gave it to us at the beginning of the lesson, Professor-" Cho pointed out gently, her already soft voice barely audible as she quailed slightly under McGonagalls gaze.
"Both of you see me after the lesson, please-" she ordered under her breath, and, when she turned around, the rest of the class was concentrating on their feathers as though the conversation between their professor and the 2 students had never taken place. Smiling to herself, McGonagall made her way over to George and Katie
"What do you think she wants to talk to us about?" Angelina said, the sense of dread in the pit of her stomach growing with each passing second.
"Dunno," Cho replied gloomily. "But I'm willing to bet that it won't be to give us a lolly." The rest of the lesson passed uneventfully, unless you count the small explosion that occurred when Fred had 'accidentally' muttered the wrong spell, causing the feather to fly around the room before settling back onto his desk and bursting into flames. Angelina conjured another 2 feathers from thin air and she and Cho spent the rest of the lesson making them trace messages to each other in the air over their desk. When the bell in the astronomy tower tolled, signalling the end of class, they reluctantly dissolved the feathers and gathered up their quills and parchment. Finally, the room emptied of their peers and, with one more glance at each other, Cho and Angelina headed up to McGonagalls massive oak desk at the front of the classroom. Looking up at them, McGonagall put down her quill, studying the 2 students before her.
"Never-" she began. "-In my entire life at Hogwarts, have I seen one student perform that spell perfectly the first time they attempted it. And yet, today, both of you managed to do one of the most complex spells I have ever given you as though it was a simple charm." Puzzled, Cho glanced at Angelina, who was gaping at her professor. Of all the possible scenarios they'd thought up, this was not among them. "Therefore, I would like for both of you to begin doing Advanced Transfiguration, starting tomorrow."
"What?" Angelina squealed, quickly covering her mouth and blushing the colour of Fred's hair. "Sorry-"
"It's quite alright, Miss Johnson-" McGonagall smiled. "Well, I'll see you both in class tomorrow-"
"Uh, yeah-" Cho murmured, nudging Angelina out of her reverie and running for the door. "Thankyou!" she called over her shoulder.
"Ohmigod!" was all Angelina could manage as they raced along the corridors to the great hall. Stopping suddenly in the foyer outside the Great Hall, Cho turned to her, her almond eyes twinkling merrily. Under her breath, Angelina started chanting-
"I'm in advanced Tranfig. I'm in advanced transfig." Cho squealed and grabbed both of Angelina's wrists, dancing around the bustling foyer.
"Can you believe it?" she screamed, pulling back and grinning like a maniac. "Every year, I've come top of my Transfiguration class, but I never – not even in my wildest dreams- imagined that this would happen!"
"Me neither!" both hugged, completely oblivious to the strange looks they were getting from passing students.
"Angelina? Cho?" an incredulous voice asked. Both glanced over and burst into peals of laughter at the look on Harry's face as he watched them. "Uh- "
"Harry, move would you? I'm getting- what the-?" Ron and Hermione arrived at Harry's side, both wearing the same look as Harry.
"Angelina? What-"
"Excuse me, but we have Advanced Transfiguration to attend to-" Cho said evenly, linking arms with Angelina and skipping down the corridor.
"Mad, that one is-" Ron grinned, staring after them.
"Which one?" Hermione giggled, watching as the two ecstatic girls parted the crowds of bustling students.
"Did I say one? I meant two-" Ron said, rolling his eyes playfully, before offering Hermione his arm. "Shall we?"
"Of course!" Hermione replied in an overly pompous voice.
"Yeah, and you say that they're mad-" Harry muttered as he followed them into the hall for dinner.
A/N: In a hurry, I hope you enjoy reading it as much I I enjoyed writing it
-Coolchick