Crazy things happen to crazy people....
***
Chapter 11: Lovebird's Nest
I stood in fright as the person behind me chuckled lightly, softly enough that I couldn't tell who it was, but loudly enough I could hear.
"Guess who?" came the voice I knew only too well.
"Trunks Vegeta Briefs, don't scare me like that!" I tried to say, but with his hand over my mouth, I found it quite the impossible task. It came out more like "Mmf mmede biephs, ront ari wi at!"
"What's that?" he asked, struggling to keep from laughing. "I can't understand you!" A sudden idea came to my head and I used it with full force. I sank my slightly sharper-than-human teeth into his hand, causing him to let a muffled yell of pain as I pressed my hand over his mouth to keep him from waking the entire Tower.
"Jeez, Angel!" Trunks said, cradling his slightly bleeding hand. "You didn't have to bite so hard!"
"Yeah, I did," I said, giggling uncontrollably. "You deserved it after scaring me like that." He scowled upon this, but his furtive grin returned as he leaped on top of me like a tiger might its prey, landing me on the carpet roughly on my back. He pinned my arms above my head and my legs with his knees. He pressed his forehead to mine tightly so I wouldn't try butting him and I was completely trapped.
"Trunks!" I gasped in a hushed voice, not wanting to wake anybody up.
"Shush, Angel," he whispered in my ear. "You don't want to wake anybody up, do you?" He licked my ear lightly by accident and I squirmed under him, trying to escape his hold.
"No, but this is extremely uncomfortable," I told him, my face flushed with embarrassment and anger. He levitated into the air, pulling me up with him. I walked to the window and looked up at the stars, not really certain of anything. Trunks came up behind me and looked out as well before putting his arms around my waist from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder as we looked out at the stars together.
"I don't know what's going to happen now, Trunks," I whispered to him, but I knew he caught every word. "Voldemort was supposed to be the cause of everything that ever happened to Harry, but he's gone now. But Dirken's here and he's after the Sorcerer's Stone without a doubt now. He's obviously done some research on this world and knows that I know about it. I just don't know what he's gonna try now." Trunks squeezed me into a tight hug, bringing me closer to him. But the move made me feel more secure rather than scared.
"Don't worry about it right now, Angel," Trunks told me. "We've still got a long way to go before Dirken will be able to get to that Sorcerer's Stone."
"Just wish we knew who Dirken has taken for his host," I said bitterly. I turned about in his arms and wrapped my arms around his upper torso, burying my face into his nightshirt, which he had changed into. "I'm scared, Trunks, and I know I won't be unafraid until Dirken is gone."
"Just let it go, Angel, I'm here," he told me sternly. "I'll always be right here. And Dirken can't touch you when I am beside you. Can you hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear you," I sighed as I looked out the window at the stars again. I could feel his eyes on mine, begging me to look back at him, but I resisted the urge to look into his eyes. I didn't want him to see my weakness, my fear. The stars twinkled lightly in the sky as I finally turned back to him.
"Angel, he won't hurt you again, not while I'm here," he told me boldly. His hand reached out and caressed my cheek ever so lightly, just enough to send a shiver down my spine. I stared at the ground now, not wanting to meet his gaze. I felt his hand travel along my jaw line and lift my chin up to him so he could look right into my now-blue eyes. "And that's a promise." He looked me in the eye, his own staring intently, like a hawk's.
Without warning, I began to sob quietly into his shoulder, my hands curled against his well-toned chest. He brought his arms to clasp on my upper back and rocked gently to sooth my tears slowly away. He picked me up lightly and sat in front of the still-roaring fire, rocking slightly as if I were a child and he was my father in a rocking chair.
"Angel, it's all right, really, it is," he told me softly, brushing a stray lock of my black hair out of my face.
"How can you sit there and say that, Trunks?" I asked into his nightshirt. "You know everything is not all right and it won't be until Dirken is gone!"
"I know that everything will be all right as long as you've faith in yourself," Trunks said, taking my head in both his hands. "And that's a fact, Angel." He stared at me and my tears that fell gently off my cheeks. He used his hand and brushed the majority of them away, but some were still in my eyes that he didn't dare brush away in fear of cutting my eyes. He lowered his head to mine and licked the tears in my eyes away before giving me a soft kiss on my lips.
"Thank you, Trunks," I smiled meekly at him. "You always know the right thing to say to me." He smiled as well, both in relief and happiness. Trunks enveloped me in a hug once more, this time accompanied by a soothing kiss.
"Now you go to bed and get some sleep, Angel," Trunks told me sternly. "And I know when you're asleep and when you're not, so you'd better do it." I laughed and stood up, heading up for my comfortable four-poster bed. It was going to be a good night's sleep, I just knew it.
***
It was getting frigid as we entered the winter months, so much that Trunks put his arms around me in the hall just to keep the both of us warm. In just four days now, Harry and I would be having our first Quidditch match: Griffindor vs. Slytherin. I was extremely excited about this point and was doing my homework extra fast as the season progressed toward us. When Harry or the other Griffindors couldn't play or train for whatever reason, Trunks helped me.
Once I was certain I could get the ball past Trunks without powering up or throwing the ball too hard, I thought I was ready. Classes shot past quickly, as did homework sessions and I was still training for Quidditch with Harry the night before the match.
I had already finished my weekend homework when we went downstairs for our breakfast the next morning. I was nervous, and it was evident to anyone and everyone. I noticed Harry was not eating, but when I was nervous, I was hungry. I ate until I was full, but not so much I couldn't move, as some people often did at Hogwarts.
"Harry, please eat something, it's not good for your health, nor is it going to be very good when you're on your broomstick feeling hungry," I told him. He finally relented after everyone pressured him and ate some toast and a few sausages.
As soon as Harry and I had finished, Wood came by and led us to the locker room, where the other Chasers and the Weasley twins were waiting. The other two Chasers, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, were waiting uneasily as Wood prepared himself by clearing his throat.
"Okay, men," he said.
"And women," Katie put in somewhat sadly.
"And women," Wood added hastily, "This is it."
"The big one," Fred put in.
"The one we've all been waiting for," George added.
"Aw, hush up, you two," I told them sternly. "I want to hear Oliver's speech." The boys, all three of them, were surprised, to say the least, but Oliver, as I called him forever more, continued on.
"This is the best team Griffindor's had in years," he said, "We're gonna win. I know we will." He gave us each a look that meant "Or else."
"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you." He stood and walked into the stadium, carrying his broom. The Weasley twins followed close behind, followed again by Katie, Alicia, me, and Harry brought up the rear of our train of seven.
I looked out in the crowd and immediately spotted the others. Trunks' purple hair stuck out like a sore thumb in the Griffindor section, allowing us to find them quite easily. Hagrid sat alongside my boyfriend, laughing and waving at Harry and I. We saw a sign that said "Harry and Angel--Fly High!" in an arrangement of colors that I knew Hermione had made magically. I flashed them a thumbs up and waved up at Bill, Charlie, and Tom. I saw my sisters in the stands behind our half-giant friend (Hagrid, for those who haven't read book four), waving furiously with their new friends beside them. Jupiter sat beside Trunks, holding one corner of the banner and cheering wildly. I flashed her a great smile, then prepared for the match seriously.
Madam Hooch, as usual for a House match, was refereeing. She stood between the two teams, her own broom in her hand. I wore my scarlet robes, as did Harry, Wood, the Weasley twins, Katie, and Alicia.
The opposing team, Slytherin, were standing in their green cloaks.
"I want a nice, fair game, all of you," Madam Hooch told us sternly and I noticed she looked at the Slytherin captain in particular. Marcus Flint, the captain, looked quite like the troll in the movie, minus about six feet. "Mount your brooms, please."
I levitated onto my Nimbus Two Thousand and gripped the handle firmly yet gently. Madam Hooch released the balls and blew her whistle. We were off.
"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Katie Bell of the Griffindor House, an excellent player and rather attractive, too-
"JORDAN!" I heard Professor McGonagall yell at Lee Jordan, the Weasley twins' friend.
"Sorry, Professor. Bell passes the ball to Angel Galis, the newest addition to the team. Interesting history, that one, but she's got excellent speed! Just look at her go!"
Indeed, I was moving quite fast, though not even close to my higher standards. I dodged in and out of the Slytherin team and passed the Quaffle to Alicia when I couldn't get through.
"Alicia Spinnet has got the Quaffle now after a very smooth pass from Galis...um, I hope that her sisters don't get out there, I have a hard enough time telling the difference between Fred and George. Oh! A narrow escape from being hit by a Bludger, rebounded by George, it would seem."
I watched the Quaffle as it slowly (at least by my standards) went from person to person. Alicia tossed it to me and I threw it through the middle post, right past the Slytherin Keeper.
"Score! Griffindor scores!" Jordan's voice rang out below the intense cheers the Griffindors sent up to us. I grinned as we made our way around the playing field, passing the Quaffle between us again and again. The Slytherins didn't know what hit them as we dodged as one beneath them and the Bludgers, passing the red ball between us in a flurry of grace. The three Chasers of the Griffindor team were practically unstoppable.
I looked up to see how Harry was doing and suddenly spotted the Snitch flying right behind Fred.
"Harry!" I hissed up at him. He looked down at me. I mouthed Fred's name and Harry nodded, looking toward the red-haired boy. He immediately spotted the tiny, winged ball and flashed me a thumbs-up before diving for it.
The Slytherin Seeker saw Harry going for the Snitch and also followed. However, before either boy could reach it, Flint flew up between Harry and the Snitch, also blocking his own Seeker's view. Harry ran headlong into the huge boy and many Griffindors shouted "Foul!" at this crazed behavior. I recognized the jest from the book and began to wonder what Dirken was playing at.
Once the foul had been justified by a goal from Katie, we resumed game play.
"And Bell passes the Quaffle to Galis...and can that girl ever fly! Go, Angel, go!"
"Jordan, if you can't remain a neutral-"
"Sorry, Professor," Jordan said sheepishly and turned back to find me scoring another goal through the right-handed hoop. "And Galis makes a score for Griffindor!" I rebounded off the hoop with a loud whoop of joy.
The game started again with the Quaffle going every which way as one of the Slytherin Chasers took it from Alicia's hands. Just as I was about to intercept the ball as the Slytherin tossed the ball to one of her teammates, I felt a jolt go through my broomstick. I made it seem as if I had missed the ball by accident and tried to race after it. I looked up and saw Harry also having such difficulty with his broom.
Then it hit me. Dirken!
"Oliver, call a time-" I yelled, but was interrupted as my broom gave another violent jolt, making my words leave me.
"What is it, Angel?" he asked as he rebounded a Quaffle.
"Call timeout!" Harry yelled down.
"There's something wrong with our-" I began again, but my broom bucked again, this time even more violently. "-brooms!" I finished.
Oliver Wood didn't try to call a timeout, however, but flew up to us to aid Harry and me off our brooms. Every time he got near me, my broom bucked me up a little higher. I tried to levitate off my broom, but it was under me again before I could clear it. I couldn't even force it under me as Wood tried yet again to get me onto his broom or at least off my own broomstick, knowing I could fly myself to safety, but it did no good.
I looked over to see Harry having just as much difficulty with his broom as I was with my own. I looked down and saw Snape muttering under his breath. If this was the book, I knew he was saying the counter-spell, but with Dirken on the loose, there was no way to tell.
"Dirken, you let me off this broom this instant!" I shouted to the crowd loudly. I scanned the crowd, searching for anyone else who was muttering or looking up at me with peculiar fierceness, but I found not one. I saw a group of girls knock over an entire platform of people and felt my broom come under my control again. I didn't try to leave my broom, but instead told Oliver I was all right and went to see Harry.
My new friend had other plans, though. He dove steeply to the ground and I saw he was struggling to breath. I rolled my eyes as I saw that it was actually the Snitch that he was trying to get out of his mouth. The platform was replaced again into the stands and I sighed as I floated to the ground.
Whoever had been saying the curses to try and throw me off my broom had other plans, it seemed, for I began bucking wildly again on my broom, as though it were a bull in a rodeo instead of my broomstick. The game may have ended a while ago, but my peril had not. I saw Harry's frightened eyes as he too rose off the ground.
"Dirken!" I fumed from my broomstick, staring at the platform with fury written all over my face. "Either let me be or show yourself!" I felt my power over my broom return with a slightly grateful relief. I dismounted the broom in midair, using my ki to keep me in the air. I looked over and saw that Harry was still on his broom. "Harry too, you creep!" Instead of Harry just being released to his own devices, however, the boy rose off his broom with a terrified look on his face and he plummeted to the ground.
I dropped the broom from my hand, as I knew it would stay in the air now without aid, and flew after him. I caught the poor boy only inches from the ground and he let out an astonished cry as he found his voice again. The stands were howling with rage in green and overly joyful in red. I looked up and saw that Fred and George had our brooms with them as they circled down to Earth.
I turned back to the crowd.
"Dirken, I don't know which of these people you've taken over, but know this: We'll find you out!" I shouted up at the stands with fury written all over my eleven-year old face. I looked to my hand and saw that I was still holding Harry in the air by his wrist and set him down with a sheepish glance at him.
"Sorry, Harry," I told him with a small smile. "I had to let Dirken know he couldn't beat us."
"Not a problem, Angel," Harry panted, "You saved my life, didn't yeh?" He gave a toothy grin as Trunks flew down from the stands and held me tightly.
"Are you okay, Angel?" he asked me seriously as he pulled back.
"You know I am, Trunks. Our bond would've let you know long ago if I was anything but angry," I snickered slightly.
"Yeah, should've known," Trunks said as he patted me on the shoulder. He glanced around him and tried one of the English accents. "Jolly good show!" I giggled as he made an entirely horrible impression of an Englishman and he blushed as he simply read my mind. Pan flew down as well, carrying Chee with her.
"Sarah Angel Galis, I hope you are all right after a stunt like that!" Chee told me, her adult side taking over for only a few moments.
"Chee!" I hissed.
"Oops." She blushed and rolled her eyes. "Are you quite all right now?"
"Of course I am," I sighed as I looked at her. Bill, Charlie, Hermione, Ron, Tom, Hagrid, and Jupiter were all trying to get to me, without much luck. I waved at them, giggling at their predicaments as they sat back and waited for the stands beneath them to empty.
"Well, after several frightening encounters with this demon named Dirken, whomever holds his spirit, that is, Harry Potter has caught the Golden Snitch and reached the ground safe and sound. The scores stand as follows: 210 points for Griffindor and 50 for Slytherin." Lee Jordan said with whatever was magnifying his voice. (Probably a Sonarus, but I can't be sure)
"Harry, you got one good aspect I can see, and that's your flying capabilities," Tom said as he came down out of the stands, finally. "I've never seen such a show. Angel, too. Well, come to think of it, I've never seen a Quidditch match before, well, as far back as I can remember, anyhow." Harry beamed at his luck and I smiled at him.
"That was always your best aspect, Harry, and those of your inquisitions as well," I told him. "Now all you knew is far behind you and you've started anew."
"All part of that wonderful little concept you came up with, Angel," Trunks told me while he draped his arm around my shoulders. "That Yin-Yang Theory's getting more and more true as far as I'm concerned."
"Yin-Yang Theory?" Harry questioned. "I know what a Yin-Yang is, but what's this about a Theory about it?"
"Its legend," I shrugged. "I made it up. It says that good has a little evil and evil has a little good, and they are both connected in every way. That little group of words there saved my little brother's life after Dirken finished with him." Suddenly, Bill started laughing. "What's so funny?"
"It's like every few minutes we find out something new about you," Bill said, calming down. "It's weird, ya know?"
"Yeah, I sort of know the feeling," I looked at Trunks pointedly. "I may have watched Trunks and his family and friends on TV all the time, but there's only so much you can gather from watching from the outside."
"Just like Pan can laugh every time she sees Gohan and Videl kiss," Chee smiled at her sister. "There's little you can gather from seeing from the outside. It's not until you find your one before you really understand." She sighed a little. "I'm lucky Goku doesn't affect me like Trunks does Angel. If I were even a little bit Saiyan, I wouldn't be alive right now."
I sighed as we made our way to dinner in the Great Hall. Albus walked over to Trunks and I, singling us out in the group. He gave a small signal and we followed him, leaving the others to their stomachs first.
"I don't know which one of the teachers that demon is in, Angel," he said as we followed him to his office. "But we will find him. I figured out his goal, and I want you to aid me in preventing him from reaching it."
"The Sorcerer's Stone?" I inquired.
"Indeed," he said seriously. I sucked in my breath sharply.
"If Dirken gets his claws on that stone, then I won't be able to kill him," I hissed softly. "And then we won't defeat him. Then he'll have me. Dragon will be born and all will be lost."
"Can you indulge me on my strategy in this book you're speaking of?" Albus asked softly.
"Yeah, because if you use it, Dirken can't get to that stone, even if he wanted to. Or the lack thereof," I grinned.
"Tell me of it, and I will put it into effect immediately."
"The Mirror of Erised," I said simply. "Put a Charm or Spell or whatever it was that prevents the owner from getting the Stone. From getting it only if they want to find it, find it-"
"But not use it," Albus finished with an astonished glance on his face.
"Indeed," I smiled, "My, you catch on quick." My smile turned quite coy.
"Yes, thank you," Albus spoke mystically. He looked at Trunks and me together now, a small smile tugging at his mustache-clad mouth. "You do realize, Angel, that the reason I knew that you had some thoughts along the lines of protecting the Stone was that I had access to the common rooms through an eye placed in the room? There are eye just like it all over the school and in the grounds as well." I looked up sharply at this. My face suddenly turned a bright shade of pink upon realization as to what he was getting at. He had seen Trunks and me playing that night.
"Yes?" I urged him on.
"Well, the staff had reason to believe that you two would rather be together than apart. You seem to be much more comfortable that way, as I've noticed you have nightmares without him with you." Trunks looked up at me sharply and shrewdly upon this information. "We normally would not do this, but under the circumstances, I think it's a rather necessary move. We've a room that's been quite near abandoned that the house-elves clean up and keep tidy, but there's been no one in that room for nearly three years. It's a room specifically for couples that have fallen before their graduation, which I can honestly say is true for the two of you.
"As I recall, by your race's standards, you two are practically married. Am I right?" I nodded numbly, my head spinning at this new information. "The room is connected to the Griffindor common room, as I said before, but the entrance has a password that must be considered by the couple. Do you wish to occupy this room?"
I observed Trunks' neutral reaction and felt panic rise within myself. Was this right at all? After all, we were only eleven, fifteen if you considered our old world's age. Albus looked from me to him and back again. Trunks turned to me.
"It's up to you, Angel," he told me seriously. I glanced at my hands, then up into Trunks' eyes, then back at Albus, my mind made up.
"Yes."
"A good choice," Albus smiled, "I've already transferred your things to that room, no worries there. Go on, the party is just beginning in there." He led us to the Fat Lady's portrait. "The opening is that portrait just as you enter the room, to your right. The password is 'lover's quarrel', but you have to change it before you enter the room." We nodded and told the Fat Lady the password, heading into the room with practiced ease. Then we were bombarded with questions, comments, and friends, as well as plenty of food Fred and George had managed to take from the kitchen.
When everyone but our friends had left, we told them what Dumbledore had said.
"No way!" Charlie squawked in delight. "He actually gave the two of you the lovebird's nest?"
"Lovebird's nest?" I questioned.
"That's what the nickname for it is," Bill told me. "I'm a bit surprised myself, he usually waits to make sure that the couple is in love first."
"We are in love, or have you forgotten that?" I told him heatedly. "We're stuck for life, I told you. A Saiyan bond never breaks." He looked slightly disgruntled for a few moments before heading off to bed in the upper tower.
"See ya in the morning, Angel," Jupiter said as she too headed up the stairs. Everyone waved or said good night before they broke off into the separate rooms.
We walked up to a pretty portrait of a handsome young man and a beautiful lady, both wearing the most gorgeous shade of pale blue I'd ever seen. The man's tuxedo tails and the woman's slightly flowing dress were the same length.
"Password, child?" the young lady asked in a voice fit for music.
"Lover's quarrel," I told her.
"Young man, please, tell us the new password you two will be using to enter this room?" the gentleman asked kindly.
"Lilac Petals," Trunks answered, using my attack name for our password. I smiled at my boyfriend for his thoughtfulness, but it was immediately cut short when I saw what was in that bedroom. Two beds, both with drapes and a canopy, were sitting at the end of the long room. A bath with a wall and door surrounding it sat in one corner and a rather large section of the room was devoted to a fireplace that was most beautiful. A closet sat behind the beds, where our cloaks, robes, and other things had been placed.
"Wow," I breathed as I walked in, observing everything with the greatest of care. Trunks wasn't nearly so impressed, mostly because he'd grown up around such conditions, with his grandfather and everything, but he smirked as I looked around at all the furnishings with a careful eye. The one thing that caught my eyes totally out of the whole room was the ceiling, which was bewitched just like the ceiling in the Great Hall to look exactly like the sky outside.
"What do you think, Angel?" Trunks asked as he stared at the ceiling. Even he was awed by such a sight.
"I'm glad the beds have canopies," I told him softly as I picked out the North Star easily. He chuckled at this and sank onto one of the beds with a sigh. He kicked his shoes off and began to prepare for bed and I noticed that he still had some Muggle clothes underneath his robes. I was glad that I'd done the same as I also tore the scarlet robes over my head. I sat down onto my bed with a white T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants on, my shoes gone. I hung my Quidditch robes carefully on a hanger and placed it inside the closet next to Trunks'.
I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
***
I'm gonna load up the next one anyway.