Chapter 6
Confessions and a Rogue Bludger
Vera leaned her broom against the wall and opened up her locker, taking out the few textbooks she had left in there. She heard soft footsteps at the entrance to the room and Vera couldn't help but smile. "I said I'd catch up with you Oliver. Do you-"
She cut off as a hand roughly turned her around and shoved her against the wall. Flint stood there, grinning devilishly. Vera glared at him and opened her mouth to yell at him when he moved forward and covered her lips with his own.
Vera froze for a second, hardly believing what was happening. She then gave a muffled scream and tried to push him away, but Flint just grabbed her wrists. Vera struggled harder, hating the feel of his lips on hers.
Wood entered into the locker room and took in the whole scene in moments. With barely contained rage, he stalked over to Flint and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him away from Vera. With one great swing, he punched Flint.
"Get out of here," growled Wood. "Or I'll give you more than a black eye."
Flint stood up and looked like he was going to advance on Wood, but thought better of it. With a smirk directed at Vera, still against the wall, he skulked out of the locker room and out of sight.
Vera sighed with relief once the Slytherin was out of sight. She moved to go to Wood, but stopped as he turned to her, hands on his hips. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly.
Vera looked at him. "What kind of a question is that? You know who I am."
Wood shook his head. "No I don't. Fred and George have told me that there is no Control of Muggle Knowledge department. They also told me that there is no one by the name of Shields working at the Ministry. Who are you really?"
Vera stood still, her eyes downcast. "I am Vera Shields, like I've said."
"Then what about your parents?"
"I can't tell you about my parents," she replied softly.
Wood's temper flared. "You can't or you won't? I can't believe that you don't trust me!"
"Oliver, I do trust you!" said Vera, taking a step towards him. "You're the first person I've trusted in a long time. But I just can't tell you about my parents."
"So you're just going to keep on lying to me!" shouted Wood.
"I don't want to lie to you!" yelled Vera, blinking back the tears.
"Then why won't you tell me?" Vera was silent and Wood growled. "Fine. I'm out of here."
"You really want to know?" screamed Vera at his retreating back. "My parents are Death Eaters!"
Wood froze and slowly turned around. "What?" he asked in disbelief.
"My parents are servants of You-Know-Who. When I was a child, Lucius Malfoy would come over and they would talk about what crimes they committed, what they had done in the Dark Lord's service. My parents taught me about the Dark Arts. And they told me tales, tales about the Chamber of Secrets.
"Why do you think I was so scared at the attack on Mrs. Norris? It was because I've heard of the horror stories and I know this is only going to get worse before it gets better. I also know that my parents are going to try to get to Hogwarts.
"When I was a child, my aunt found out what my parents were and what they were teaching me. So she took me away and took care of me. My aunt is the closest family I have; I even named my cat after her. When You-Know-Who lost power, my parents came looking for me, but my aunt wasn't giving me up.
"That's why I've been constantly moving, so my parents wouldn't find me. I've gone to a different school each year, but they always manage to figure out where I was. My aunt made special arrangements with Dumbledore so that I can stay here. The problem is, my parents have found me already, they said so in the Howler they sent me. So for most of my life I have been hunted with no one to care about me. Does that answer your question?"
Wood had stood stock still as Vera talked, hardly doing more than blinking the whole time. "You don't think you could have trusted me with this?"
Vera shook her head, her back hitting the wall. "Would you have listened to me if I did tell you?"
Wood turned and bitterly said over his shoulder, "You didn't really give me a chance now, did you?" He stalked up to the castle, passing Vera's cat that had been listening.
Vera slid down to the ground, not bothering to wipe away the tears that fell down her face. Athena walked over and sat next to Vera, where she absently stroked her cat's head. "Well Athena, it seems I've managed to chase away the first guy who actually cared." She laughed bitterly and petted the black hair around Athena's neck, where white spots had appeared several months ago.
Vera choked back a sob. Standing up, she gathered up her books and looked down at her cat. "Let's go Athena. I do still have to play Quidditch tomorrow, whether Oliver will talk to me or not."
~*~*~*~
Vera had risen early the next morning, having been awake most of the night. She petted Athena and headed into the Great Hall where few students were. The rest of the Gryffindor team soon filed in and they huddled together for breakfast. Besides Harry, Wood was the last to arrive. He surprised nearly everyone by sitting on the opposite end of the table as Vera.
Soon, the whole school was making their way to the Quidditch match, and the Gryffindor team made their way to the locker room. Wood was silent as they pulled on their scarlet robes, which wasn't abnormal; but Vera hadn't said a word, something quite out of the ordinary.
They sat down to listen to Wood's usual pre-match pep talk. Both Angelina and Alicia kept glancing from the energetic Wood to the despondent Vera, trying to figure out what was going on with no luck. They shrugged at each other as Wood turned to Harry.
"It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."
"So no pressure, Harry," said Fred, winking at him.
The Gryffindors soon walked out onto the pitch to resounding cheers. Wood glared at Flint as they shook hands, the Slytherin sporting a black eye. Everyone mounted their brooms and took off as Madam Hooch started the game.
The speed of the Nimbus Two Thousand and One was immediately evident as the Slytherins sped about. As hard as Wood tried, he was hard pressed to stop every Quaffle that came to him.
It had soon started to rain, but most of the players were too focused on the game to really care. The score was before long sixty to zero, Slytherin in the lead. Every time one of the Gryffindor chasers managed to get the Quaffle, they were stopped by another player or a Bludger, Fred and George nowhere in sight.
Right when Angelina was about to score, a Bludger hit her in the stomach and her shot went wide. Moments later, that same Bludger hit Vera in the head as she tried to stop Adrian Pucey, sending stars into her field of vision momentarily. All were thankful when Wood finally called a timeout. Everyone sped to the ground at Madam Hooch's whistle and huddled together.
Vera rubbed her head as the Gryffindor team argued about what to do with the rogue Bludger attacking Harry. She could see Flint, looking smugly in her direction as the rest of the team jeered at them. Shaking her head slightly, she turned back to the heated argument before her.
"This is all your fault," George said angrily to Wood. " 'Get the Snitch or die trying,' what a stupid thing to tell him-"
Madam Hooch joined them and asked Wood, "Ready to resume play?"
Wood looked at Harry. "All right," he said. "Fred, George, you heard Harry-leave him alone and let him deal with the Bludger on his own."
Play resumed with the rain coming down harder. Harry sped off alone, dodging the Bludger as he went. The Weasleys focused on the other Bludger, occasionally watching Harry. Angelina, Alicia, and Vera set off after the Quaffle as Wood did his best to keep Slytherin from gaining any more points.
A yell from the crowd drew all of their attention to Harry. He was headed straight for the ground, gripping the broom with only his legs, his right arm hanging at an awkward angle and the Snitch clutched tightly in his left hand.
He hit the ground and the rest of the Gryffindor team flew towards him, cheering. Professor Lockhart rushing onto the field to stoop over Harry as he regained consciousness, while the ever present Colin Creevy took pictures. Professor Lockhart insisted on helping Harry.
"Why can't I just go to the hospital wing?" said Harry through clenched teeth.
"He should really, Professor," said a muddy Wood, who couldn't help grinning even though his Seeker was injured. "Great capture, Harry, really spectacular, your best yet, I'd say-"
As the Weasleys wrestled the rogue Bludger into the box, Professor Lockhart attempted to mend Harry's broken bones. He only managed to remove them. While Hermione and Ron led Harry off to the hospital wing, the rest of the Gryffindors took a few moments to celebrate with the crowd.
The team then left, muddy and wet, to go see Harry. Fred and George got some food from the kitchens and they started to celebrate their victory. They were just getting started on what promised to be a good party when Madam Pomfery came storming over, shouting, "This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow! Out! OUT!"
The Gryffindor Quidditch team said their final good-bye's to Harry before heading off to the common room, still deep in conversation. Angelina and Alicia frowned as they looked at Vera and Oliver: they were walking on opposite sides of the hall and certainly weren't holding hands.
"So Vera," began Alicia loudly, causing the guys to stop talking. "What are you going to do now?"
"Got to bed," responded Vera. "I've got a headache from that Bludger that hit me. I also really didn't sleep that much last night, I could use the rest."
"Why didn't you sleep?" asked Angelina. Whatever had happened between Vera and Oliver had happened after practice last night and before breakfast.
Vera seemed reluctant to answer, but said, "Just bad dreams."
Oliver tensed at the answer, but kept walking. Both Angelina and Alicia sighed inwardly, their curiosity peeked but knowing they wouldn't get much else out of either of them at the moment.
Speaking the password to the Fat Lady, the Gryffindor team entered the common room to much cheering. Oliver and Vera retreated to their separate dormitories, several curious stares following them.
~*~*~*~
A/N: Well, there is the chapter. Vera certainly had a few skeletons in her closet. Anyway, thanks for all of the reviews, keep it coming! The next chapter I think is called Realizations, but I might change that. *shrugs* Thanks again, I hope you are enjoying it! ~ Alexandra
Confessions and a Rogue Bludger
Vera leaned her broom against the wall and opened up her locker, taking out the few textbooks she had left in there. She heard soft footsteps at the entrance to the room and Vera couldn't help but smile. "I said I'd catch up with you Oliver. Do you-"
She cut off as a hand roughly turned her around and shoved her against the wall. Flint stood there, grinning devilishly. Vera glared at him and opened her mouth to yell at him when he moved forward and covered her lips with his own.
Vera froze for a second, hardly believing what was happening. She then gave a muffled scream and tried to push him away, but Flint just grabbed her wrists. Vera struggled harder, hating the feel of his lips on hers.
Wood entered into the locker room and took in the whole scene in moments. With barely contained rage, he stalked over to Flint and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him away from Vera. With one great swing, he punched Flint.
"Get out of here," growled Wood. "Or I'll give you more than a black eye."
Flint stood up and looked like he was going to advance on Wood, but thought better of it. With a smirk directed at Vera, still against the wall, he skulked out of the locker room and out of sight.
Vera sighed with relief once the Slytherin was out of sight. She moved to go to Wood, but stopped as he turned to her, hands on his hips. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly.
Vera looked at him. "What kind of a question is that? You know who I am."
Wood shook his head. "No I don't. Fred and George have told me that there is no Control of Muggle Knowledge department. They also told me that there is no one by the name of Shields working at the Ministry. Who are you really?"
Vera stood still, her eyes downcast. "I am Vera Shields, like I've said."
"Then what about your parents?"
"I can't tell you about my parents," she replied softly.
Wood's temper flared. "You can't or you won't? I can't believe that you don't trust me!"
"Oliver, I do trust you!" said Vera, taking a step towards him. "You're the first person I've trusted in a long time. But I just can't tell you about my parents."
"So you're just going to keep on lying to me!" shouted Wood.
"I don't want to lie to you!" yelled Vera, blinking back the tears.
"Then why won't you tell me?" Vera was silent and Wood growled. "Fine. I'm out of here."
"You really want to know?" screamed Vera at his retreating back. "My parents are Death Eaters!"
Wood froze and slowly turned around. "What?" he asked in disbelief.
"My parents are servants of You-Know-Who. When I was a child, Lucius Malfoy would come over and they would talk about what crimes they committed, what they had done in the Dark Lord's service. My parents taught me about the Dark Arts. And they told me tales, tales about the Chamber of Secrets.
"Why do you think I was so scared at the attack on Mrs. Norris? It was because I've heard of the horror stories and I know this is only going to get worse before it gets better. I also know that my parents are going to try to get to Hogwarts.
"When I was a child, my aunt found out what my parents were and what they were teaching me. So she took me away and took care of me. My aunt is the closest family I have; I even named my cat after her. When You-Know-Who lost power, my parents came looking for me, but my aunt wasn't giving me up.
"That's why I've been constantly moving, so my parents wouldn't find me. I've gone to a different school each year, but they always manage to figure out where I was. My aunt made special arrangements with Dumbledore so that I can stay here. The problem is, my parents have found me already, they said so in the Howler they sent me. So for most of my life I have been hunted with no one to care about me. Does that answer your question?"
Wood had stood stock still as Vera talked, hardly doing more than blinking the whole time. "You don't think you could have trusted me with this?"
Vera shook her head, her back hitting the wall. "Would you have listened to me if I did tell you?"
Wood turned and bitterly said over his shoulder, "You didn't really give me a chance now, did you?" He stalked up to the castle, passing Vera's cat that had been listening.
Vera slid down to the ground, not bothering to wipe away the tears that fell down her face. Athena walked over and sat next to Vera, where she absently stroked her cat's head. "Well Athena, it seems I've managed to chase away the first guy who actually cared." She laughed bitterly and petted the black hair around Athena's neck, where white spots had appeared several months ago.
Vera choked back a sob. Standing up, she gathered up her books and looked down at her cat. "Let's go Athena. I do still have to play Quidditch tomorrow, whether Oliver will talk to me or not."
~*~*~*~
Vera had risen early the next morning, having been awake most of the night. She petted Athena and headed into the Great Hall where few students were. The rest of the Gryffindor team soon filed in and they huddled together for breakfast. Besides Harry, Wood was the last to arrive. He surprised nearly everyone by sitting on the opposite end of the table as Vera.
Soon, the whole school was making their way to the Quidditch match, and the Gryffindor team made their way to the locker room. Wood was silent as they pulled on their scarlet robes, which wasn't abnormal; but Vera hadn't said a word, something quite out of the ordinary.
They sat down to listen to Wood's usual pre-match pep talk. Both Angelina and Alicia kept glancing from the energetic Wood to the despondent Vera, trying to figure out what was going on with no luck. They shrugged at each other as Wood turned to Harry.
"It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."
"So no pressure, Harry," said Fred, winking at him.
The Gryffindors soon walked out onto the pitch to resounding cheers. Wood glared at Flint as they shook hands, the Slytherin sporting a black eye. Everyone mounted their brooms and took off as Madam Hooch started the game.
The speed of the Nimbus Two Thousand and One was immediately evident as the Slytherins sped about. As hard as Wood tried, he was hard pressed to stop every Quaffle that came to him.
It had soon started to rain, but most of the players were too focused on the game to really care. The score was before long sixty to zero, Slytherin in the lead. Every time one of the Gryffindor chasers managed to get the Quaffle, they were stopped by another player or a Bludger, Fred and George nowhere in sight.
Right when Angelina was about to score, a Bludger hit her in the stomach and her shot went wide. Moments later, that same Bludger hit Vera in the head as she tried to stop Adrian Pucey, sending stars into her field of vision momentarily. All were thankful when Wood finally called a timeout. Everyone sped to the ground at Madam Hooch's whistle and huddled together.
Vera rubbed her head as the Gryffindor team argued about what to do with the rogue Bludger attacking Harry. She could see Flint, looking smugly in her direction as the rest of the team jeered at them. Shaking her head slightly, she turned back to the heated argument before her.
"This is all your fault," George said angrily to Wood. " 'Get the Snitch or die trying,' what a stupid thing to tell him-"
Madam Hooch joined them and asked Wood, "Ready to resume play?"
Wood looked at Harry. "All right," he said. "Fred, George, you heard Harry-leave him alone and let him deal with the Bludger on his own."
Play resumed with the rain coming down harder. Harry sped off alone, dodging the Bludger as he went. The Weasleys focused on the other Bludger, occasionally watching Harry. Angelina, Alicia, and Vera set off after the Quaffle as Wood did his best to keep Slytherin from gaining any more points.
A yell from the crowd drew all of their attention to Harry. He was headed straight for the ground, gripping the broom with only his legs, his right arm hanging at an awkward angle and the Snitch clutched tightly in his left hand.
He hit the ground and the rest of the Gryffindor team flew towards him, cheering. Professor Lockhart rushing onto the field to stoop over Harry as he regained consciousness, while the ever present Colin Creevy took pictures. Professor Lockhart insisted on helping Harry.
"Why can't I just go to the hospital wing?" said Harry through clenched teeth.
"He should really, Professor," said a muddy Wood, who couldn't help grinning even though his Seeker was injured. "Great capture, Harry, really spectacular, your best yet, I'd say-"
As the Weasleys wrestled the rogue Bludger into the box, Professor Lockhart attempted to mend Harry's broken bones. He only managed to remove them. While Hermione and Ron led Harry off to the hospital wing, the rest of the Gryffindors took a few moments to celebrate with the crowd.
The team then left, muddy and wet, to go see Harry. Fred and George got some food from the kitchens and they started to celebrate their victory. They were just getting started on what promised to be a good party when Madam Pomfery came storming over, shouting, "This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow! Out! OUT!"
The Gryffindor Quidditch team said their final good-bye's to Harry before heading off to the common room, still deep in conversation. Angelina and Alicia frowned as they looked at Vera and Oliver: they were walking on opposite sides of the hall and certainly weren't holding hands.
"So Vera," began Alicia loudly, causing the guys to stop talking. "What are you going to do now?"
"Got to bed," responded Vera. "I've got a headache from that Bludger that hit me. I also really didn't sleep that much last night, I could use the rest."
"Why didn't you sleep?" asked Angelina. Whatever had happened between Vera and Oliver had happened after practice last night and before breakfast.
Vera seemed reluctant to answer, but said, "Just bad dreams."
Oliver tensed at the answer, but kept walking. Both Angelina and Alicia sighed inwardly, their curiosity peeked but knowing they wouldn't get much else out of either of them at the moment.
Speaking the password to the Fat Lady, the Gryffindor team entered the common room to much cheering. Oliver and Vera retreated to their separate dormitories, several curious stares following them.
~*~*~*~
A/N: Well, there is the chapter. Vera certainly had a few skeletons in her closet. Anyway, thanks for all of the reviews, keep it coming! The next chapter I think is called Realizations, but I might change that. *shrugs* Thanks again, I hope you are enjoying it! ~ Alexandra