C H A P T E R S E V E N
BACK TO NORMAL
"The Quidditch season will start in two weeks. I suggest you start
practicing now!" Madam Hooch yelled out to the students gathering up the
many things scattered throughout the huge hall. They all stopped and stared
at her with wide eyes.
"You're JOKING!" Marclay yelled above the silence. She had a smile on her face from there to London.
"No, Miss Diggle she is not joking." Professor McGonagall said.
"Since it is Thursday, Ravenclaw, the Pitch is yours after lunch." Madam Hooch said. "Slytherin will practice tomorrow at two afternoon, as planned. And if Gryffindor and Hufflepuff feel they would like to practice, you can practice after the other two groups. I do not want any fighting, so Gryffindor you'll practice today with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tomorrow with Slytherin. That is if you want to." She raised her eyebrows and looked at the two team captains.
"Continue cleaning this place up. It's a mess." Professor McGonagall said. "Then bring your trunks and such back up to your dorms and do not come back down until dinner is served."
"Alright Capin'!" George said, turning around and throwing books inside his trunk.
Everyone hurried around the hall, picking up all of their items. Then as soon as they had come in, they were all gone, back to their dormitories.
Since classes were canceled for that day and had been for the last long while, they would be caught up with by having double hours for the next week. This disappointed some students, but others it made happy. This was because they had been out of classes for what seemed like too long.
As Marclay walked around, making sure that all of the Ravenclaw's had grabbed all of their things, she spotted Sinistra in the corner talking in a whisper to Professor McGonagall. "No doubt she's telling her about how we're all going to die within the month. The grounds are safe though, I can promise you that."
Marclay turned to look at Professor Snape. "If you're saying then it must be true."
"It is. We have charms all over the school that will alert us if there are any intruders upon the grounds." he said, looking down at her.
"Professor Flitwick put them up himself."
"No doubt on that." Marclay replied.
"Yes, now get back to your work. I'm sure you were planning on going up stairs to prepare for your Quidditch practice. I must admit Ravenclaw needs it." Professor Snape said. He then nodded his head and walked over to the few remaining Slytherins.
Marclay picked up a book that someone had dropped beside her trunk and put it on top with half of the other things she had found. She then closed her trunk, seeing nothing else upon the ground and picked it up. She walked out of the room, leaving Blake to finish cleaning up the various things left upon the ground. As she made it half-way up the stairs, she put the old trunk down and mumbled a charm to make it float ahead of her.
To her surprise, she didn't pass a single person as she made her way to the dormitory. Finally, as she made it to the Knight at the wall, she put it to the ground. "Bumble grains." she said, looking up at the Knight. Ravenclaws door appeared and she walked inside, carrying her trunk. She carried it up to her dormitory room and saw the other four sixth year girls inside, putting their things back where they belonged.
She walked over to her four-poster and set the trunk at the end of it. She opened it up and looked at them. "Is any of this yours? I figure that if any of this isn't a Ravenclaw's then I'll put it in Dumbledore's office or give it to Filch."
"Don't spare him the glory of it." Cho said.
"This is where it went." Alleika said. She pulled out a small horse shoe necklace and placed it around her neck. "Thanks for noticing it. I thought I had lost it forever."
"Look at all of this! It's amazing how people tend not to notice half of the stuff that they are missing." Nelly said, rummaging through the stuff on the top of the trunk.
"So I take it nothing else belongs to you guys?" Marclay said, watching Cho walk away from it all.
"Nope." Nelly said. She walked back to her four-poster and pulled out her dress robes. "Why I had these inside it I have absolutely no idea."
"I can't wait until lunch is over!" Cho burst out. She had a huge grin on her face as she brought out her practicing cloths.
"Me either." Marclay said.
"Who's going to replace Anna?" Nelly asked. Both Cho and Marclay suddenly regretted bringing up the topic. "Oh, sorry."
"It's alright. We'd have to think about it soon enough." Marclay said. "Might as well start planning now."
"We could ask who wants to be a Chaser. And then go from there. They can try-out today during practice." Cho offered, sitting on her bed and pulling out her broom care kit.
"We can do that then. I'm sure Flitwick will be calling all of us down to the common's room any time now. He'll be wanting to get a new prefect." Nelly said. "I bet he'll chose Carrie or Kevin. Both are, what would you call it? Prefect!" Alleika laughed.
"Maybe they are, but you never know." Bellina said. She threw her wand down on her four-poster and followed it by a book.
"Yeah, don't keep your hopes up. For all we know it could end up being little Morag McDougal. He's always kept up in his studies and gotten good marks." Cho said, polishing her broom stick. "Or Nathan Grints."
"Why Nathan? He's always causing trouble, tripping over things. The only thing good about him is his looks." Marclay stated. "They'll most likely reinstate Blake, thinking he can handle both jobs."
"They'd be wrong. I know he's having problems with being Head Boy." Bellina said. "Said it wasn't at all what Percy put it out to be."
"And who told you that?" Alleika asked.
"He did." she replied, rolling her eyes. "It's not like he doesn't talk to me."
"He doesn't talk to many people, that's for sure. Usually he just sits by and watches as everyone laughs at him behind his back. Doesn't say much to those who are causing trouble." Nelly said.
"Maybe he doesn't, but he does do a good job. Without him Quidditch would still be postponed." Bellina said. "He went and talked to Dumbledore and Hooch about it because he thought it might help with problems between the two of- I wasn't suppose to say that."
"What do you mean he said it would help with problems?" Marclay asked, staring at her with a look of death.
"What I was saying was that he thinks things are rough between you two. He wanted to make them smoother." Bellina winced.
Marclay huffed and threw her broom down upon the bed. "Why is he talking to you about this? Why not me? You are not part of our relationship, it is NOT a three-some."
"I guess that lately you just haven't been talking. He needed someone to talk to, didn't he?" Bellina argued, tilting her head and folding her arms. "You've been so busy with those stupid Weasleys."
"They aren't stupid and I haven't spent as much time with them as you think. I talked to them a few times. Other then that it's nothing," Marclay declared. She balled her hands up in fists and held them down to her sides, not wanting to cause a bigger fight. "If he wants someone to talk to I will talk to him whether or not I am doing something."
"Er- guys, Flitwick is down stairs, he wants to talk with you, Marclay," Carrie said, standing in the doorway. "If at all possible, now."
"Alright," Marclay said, turning away from Bellina and approaching Carrie. "Do you know what he wanted?"
"I don't have a clue," Carrie said. She cleared out of the doorway and allowed Marclay to pass by her.
She then left and went up the stairs to the thirteenth floor of the Ravenclaw tower. Marclay went down to the common's room and saw the small Professor sitting in a chair by the fireplace. She walked over to him and stood beside the chair, looking at him. "You wanted me, Professor?"
"Yes, yes," he squeaked. He looked up at her from the small flames and smiled. "Take a seat." She sat down and raised her eyebrow at him. "I was wondering, since the prefect position is open, I er- asked Mister Underwood who he thought would be the best candidate. He recommended you, which I wasn't very sure on. I guess, if you can manage it and want the job it's yours."
"Well, I don't know. I mean, it would mean a lot to me. I'm speechless that he would recommend me." she said, her mouth slightly hanging open.
"Is there no one better for the job? Someone who isn't going to be caught up in Quidditch this summer?"
"Well, yes, there are a few, but you're the most responsible one," he said. "I'm sure that if you need a couple days to think it over, we can manage it. I do not think anything will end up happening in a couple days. You- Know-Who knows he has made his threat and it is only time."
She sat back in the chair and looked down at the fire. The flames rose up, and then died down, only to repeat the process once more. "We were planning on having you as the House Prefect next year. This could mean that you would have an easier chance at being Head Girl."
"I don't want to be a prefect," Marclay finally said after a few moments of thinking. "I can't bear the responsibility right now. It would only make matters worse, I fear."
"Alright," Professor Flitwick said. He looked down at the floor sadly. "Do you know where I may find Jeffrey Niblin? He is the next person upon my list."
"Yes, I do. I'll go up and find him," She said.
She stood up and walked towards the stairs, listening to Professor Flitwick mumble, "It's for the best, for the best."
She went up to the eleventh floor and tapped upon the door. She then waited patiently. Not wanting to open it and take them by surprise if they were busy with something. A few seconds later, a tall black boy stood in the door, smiling down at her. "How can I help ya, Marclay?" he asked.
"I need Jeffrey to go down to the common's room, Berry. Professor Flitwick wants to talk with him." Marclay said.
"Who is it?" Xander Zinili asked, coming around the door to see her.
"Ah, hello there."
"Jeffrey, common's room, Flitwick!" Berry Fingly called. Moments later the brunette appeared at the door.
"What does he want?" he asked directly towards Marclay.
She motioned for him to lean in so that the others wouldn't hear. "He's taking you under consideration for House Prefect. Just to warn you about what to expect, of course."
"Thanks," he said. He walked passed her and started down the stairs.
"Want to come in and play a game of Gobstones? I just got a new set." Xander offered, wiggling his eyebrows. "Fresh juice."
"No thank you," Marclay said. "As much as I love to be squirted with disgusting liquid, I must resist the temptation. Plus, you're suppose to play games and such down in the common's room. I also have to find the owners of a few items before I do anything else. "
"Oh, do you have a set of self-shuffling cards? Turns out I left them down in the hall." Berry said.
"As a matter of fact I found three sets. Along with balloons, Belch Powder, and Hiccup Sweets."
"Oh, those would be mine." Xander said. "Mind if we come up and grab them? I'd rather get them now then later."
"Yes, but you can't stay. I've got to polish my broom and wand." Marclay said, walking away from their door. She went up the set of swirling stairs to her own dormitory room. "Wait here."
She left them outside the door, or intended to. They followed her inside with grins planted upon their faces. "Never been inside a girl's room, other then my sisters. And that is a mess." Berry said. "Has no sense of direction, I tell you."
"This is nice, compared to ours. We've got stains on our drapes." Xander said.
"It wasn't my fault. Why do you have to keep rubbing it into my face?" Berry demanded. "Nick was the one who pushed me."
"Shut them up, please!" Cho said, frowning. "Some people have work to do, unlike you. I bet neither of you have finished your Charms homework? How about Potions?"
"I er- I'm working on it." Xander said. "I just have to finish it up a bit. Almost done."
"Right." Nelly mumbled, reading through a Quidditch book. "If you were normal you would have it finished by now."
"If I had it finished I would be you." Berry said, grinning. "Which, I am very glad I'm not. You can drive people beyond insanity."
"Sorry, that's YOUR job." Nelly defended.
"Where's Bellie and Allie?" Xander asked, looking at the two empty four- posters. "Gone off to find those Hufflepuff boys again?"
"I guess." Cho said. "They just said they would see us at lunch."
"I hope not." Berry said. "I'll be sitting clear on the other end of the table."
"What if they sit in the middle?" Xander asked.
"Then I'll join Slytherin." Berry laughed. "They're better then those two jabbering about this and that and who's liking who. Their jaws never stop."
"Yes, they do." Cho said.
"Don't mess with Slytherin. They may be a nasty lot, but some of them are human." Marclay said. "Here you go. Now leave. We don't need you in here."
"We?" Berry asked, looking at the other two girls.
"Yes, we." Nelly said. "I have things to do that don't need to be bugged by your likes."
"Oh, nice!" Xander said, going towards Marclay's four-poster. "When did you get a Firebolt? These are the best model yet!"
"Put it back down on the bed." Marclay said.
"Don't mess with the broom. You might lose your head with these two around." Nelly said.
"Sorry, I even thought of it." Xander said, carefully placing the broom back on the bed. "I'll remember next time."
"You had better, or else I will bind you together." Marclay warned.
"When did you get it though?" Berry asked.
"Last Christmas. Mum made me leave it at home though. Said I wouldn't be needing it any time soon since we had the Triwizard Tournament."
Marclay said. "Now, will you please go? I'm sure Jeffrey will have some good news for you."
"Fine then." Xander said. He threw his arms up in the air and walked out the door. Berry soon followed him, mumbling a good-bye.
Marclay went over to her broom and made sure he hadn't greased it up. "Those two are the most annoying boys in our year."
"Yes, well, we all know he likes you." Nelly grinned. She looked up from her book to catch Marclay's expression.
"Who does?" Marclay asked.
"No one," Nelly laughed.
"If you're going to bring something up you cannot just drop it like that. Now tell me who!" Marclay demanded.
"She's right, you know," Cho stated.
"Xander," Nelly said.
"No, he doesn't." Marclay stated.
"You're right. I just thought I would mess with you. I guess I was wrong in doing so, can't fool Miss Diggle, oh no. Nothing gets past her," Nelly laughed.
Cho mumbled something at Nelly, but then went back to polishing her broom. Nelly laughed and then went back to her book. Marclay took out her rag and oil and started to shine her broom, and cover up the few dings it had received on the train coming to Hogwarts.
Kellie sat on her four-poster, nose still buried in "Quidditch Through the Ages", still trying to memorize a play.
"I can't believe Quidditch is still on!" Pansy exclaimed.
"I know, but I have to say that I'm happy about it. Now we still have a chance to beat Potter and his stupid Firebolt to the ground!" Draco said with his usual sneer plastered on his face.
"It seems to me, Draco, that you're jealous of Harry," Kellie said, now putting her book down and standing up to face him.
"Jealous of what? A stupid scar? I wouldn't want a ugly scar across my forehead, thank you!" Draco said.
"No, I think you're jealous, because he's actually good at something!"
"Good? At what?" Draco replied.
"You're jealous because he's better at Quidditch than you and because he's actually liked by people!" Kellie was now shouting, defending Harry.
"Why don't you just join Gryffindor then if you love them so much?"
"I would Draco, but unfortunately I'm stuck here with you!"
Draco just glared at her before storming out of the room with Crabbe and Goyle right behind him.
Kellie smiled to herself and sat back down, obviously happy that she had stuck up for Harry. If Draco was just going to be rude and inconsiderate then Kellie didn't want anything to do with him.
Pansy Parkinson just stared at Kellie in awe. No one had dared to tell off Draco, much less succeed in doing so. Kellie felt Pansy's eyes on her so she sighed and put down her book once more.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Y-You told off Draco!" Pansy exclaimed.
"Yeah, so?" Kellie said, still not understanding what Pansy meant.
"I think you hurt his feelings!"
Kellie rolled his eyes. "Well if his attitude doesn't change soon then I'm going to hurt a lot more than that!"
Pansy looked like someone had just slapped her. "Well I'm going to comfort him!" she yelled.
"Fine! I'm sure he'll like that, too!" Kellie yelled back, tears brimming at her green eyes.
Pansy stormed out of the room after Draco and Kellie picked her book back up, face hot with anger.
Pretty soon it was time for dinner. The Slytherins headed towards the Great Hall, stopping to talk with people along the way. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, and his cat, Mrs. Norris, were walking about telling students to get a move on.
Kellie walked to the Slytherin table and sat down next to Selina Greingrass, a fellow 5th year whom she knew through Bree.
Dinner was soon served and Kellie placed a sandwich, some corn, and other various foods onto her plate. It felt good to finally be able to eat without worrying and things were beginning to perk up. The Weasley twins were back to their normal self, trying to trick Ron into eating a Canary Cream. He refused, of course, which was quite a shame because it would have been great fun to see him sprout feathers.
The teachers looked more rested than they had in days and Professor McGonagall was having a conversation with Dumbledore, about what, Kellie didn't know.
Most of the students were looking quite cheery. Maybe it was because they all knew that the Quidditch season was about to begin. Kellie knew she was surely excited for this would be her first year as captain of the Slytherin team. It also made her nervous. What if she was a bad captain? What if no one listened to her or practiced like she wanted them to? Kellie tried to shake these thoughts from her mind, but they still floated about, making her feel a little uneasy.
A loud hooting noise filled the hall and Kellie immediately looked up at the ceiling. Hundreds of owls had entered through the windows and were dropping small parcels and letters into their owners' laps. The mail had arrived for the students.
Kellie saw her owl, a snowy owl named Aiisha, flying down towards her with a rather large package in her talons. Kellie looked at it curiously as Aiisha dropped it into her awaiting hands. She gave Aiisha a pat on the head and a bit of corn, before she flew back up and out the windows. Kellie pushed her plate aside and placed the package on the table. It was rather long and a bit heavy.
She started unwrapping the brown packaging that was tied together with bits of string. Her eyes widened when she had the gift fully unwrapped. Some people gasped while other merely stared in awe.
Lying before her, on the dinner table, was a Firebolt, the one she had seen in the sore in Diagon Alley.
"Kellie's got a Firebolt!"
"Whoa!"
"Look at it!"
"It's magnificent!"
Many people began to shout out with excitement and Kellie began to smile broadly. Slytherin surely had a better chance at beating Gryffindor now!
Kellie looked down the table at Draco, who was sitting with his pale blue eyes wide in shock, and smirked. Everyone knew that Draco had practically bought his way onto the team by having his father buy the whole Slytherin team Nimbus 2001's. Kellie didn't even know why he was on the team in the first place. He wasn't a bad Seeker, but there had been better one's on the team.
Kellie didn't even notice that there was a note lying beside the broom. She picked it up and unfolded it. Kellie read it.
Dear Kellie,
We hope you like this gift! We knew you wanted it so we decided to buy it for you as an early Christmas gift. Good luck during the school year and happy flying!
Love,
Mum and Dad
Kellie smiled to herself and folded back up the note. She knew that they knew she wanted this broom. When they had been in Diagon Alley buying Kellie her new books for the year it was the only thing she had talked about. Her father had just smiled and said, "Start saving your money!" and her mother just gave a small laugh. Never in Kellie's wildest dreams did she actually think her parents would actually buy it for her.
She was happy though, of course, and couldn't wait until practice tomorrow to try it out. There were only few students at Hogwarts who had Firebolts and they were extremely lucky to have them. She looked over at Harry and saw that he had a big grin on his face. Kellie smiled back at him and returned to her eating.
After lunch, the students went back up into their dormitories. Classes for the rest of the day had been canceled and would resume tomorrow. Kellie had finished all her homework that she needed to finish so she sat in a chair by the fire in the Slytherin common room. Draco was prancing around telling anyone who would listen about how he was going to catch the Snitch before Harry in the upcoming game.
"You just wait! I'll catch it so fast that Potter won't even know what hit him! I don't care if he has that stupid Firebolt! I have more brains than he'll ever have and I'll catch the Snitch in the fastest time ever!" he was saying.
Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were the only ones who would listen to him. Kellie rolled her eyes and joined Selina in a game of Wizards' Chess.
After Kellie's castle had destroyed Selina's king, she decided that it was time to start studying for tomorrow's classes. She headed up the stone stairs and into the girls' room. She opened her trunk and pulled out, "Standard Book of Spells: Grade 5" and began reading. She knew that she had to refresh her memory if she wanted to do well in class.
Halfway through a difficult levitation spell, the Slytherin girls came bounding up the stair, chatting away about the Quidditch season.
"I just know we'll win the Quidditch Cup this year!"
"We have to! Kellie just got a Firebolt!"
"It's the fastest broom yet! We just have to win!"
Kellie rolled her eyes and continued reading. When she couldn't concentrate anymore, because of the noise and chatter, Kellie put down her book and walked down the stairs and into the common room. Draco was sitting on the couch talking to Crabbe and Goyle in a low whisper. Noah Alexander, the prefect for Slytherin, was sitting in a chair away from everyone reading something. Kellie could make out only bits and pieces of what Draco was saying even though she wanted to know.
"Perfect Potter and his stupid Firebolt!" Draco was saying.
"Well, it's for her own good."
"It'll teach her a lesson."
"Maybe then I'll get her back."
Kellie tried to walk away slowly, but tripped over a rug and fell backwards, causing a loud thud.
Draco leaned over the couch to see what happened.
"What the matter, Jasc? Can't stand on your own two feet?" he said as Crabbe and Goyle laughed.
"No, what's your problem, Malfoy? Scared that Potter might beat you in Quidditch? I heard you three talking and if you even try to hurt Harry I'll- "
"You'll what, Kellie? I highly doubt that you're even close to a match against me!" Draco said in a rude tone.
"Well, if you think I'll come crawling back to you you're wrong!"
Kellie yelled before storming out of the common room and into the corridor. She wandered around for a while, just wanting to get away from Draco and his gang. Her eyes filled with tears of anger, but she wiped them away with the sleeve of her black robe.
As she was walking down a flight of stairs it started to move. Kellie gasped and held onto the railing. When it stopped moving, she got off them quickly and entered a door.
The room was dark with the exception of a few lanterns hanging on the walls; there were no windows. Stacks of old, dusty, books lay about in small piles.
Kellie was looking through one of them when she heard a loud scratching noise coming from one of the corners. Feeling curious, she stepped closer to where the noise was coming from. When she was about a foot away from the corner, two red eyes appeared in the darkness followed by a cold, eerie laughter. Kellie screamed as loud as she could and ran from the room. She slammed the door behind her and raced through the halls and down stairs. She found herself back in front of the entrance of the Slytherin common room and quickly gave the password ("Pure-bloods"), for fear that whatever she saw was right behind her. She entered the common room out of breath and panting hard. Her heart was racing and her hair had started to fall out of its ponytail.
No one was in the common room; Kellie figured they had all gone to bed. She climbed the stone stairs and into the girls dormitory. She changed into her pajamas and placed her robes on top of her trunk. She lay in bed thinking about her adventure that night and wondered what it was. Maybe it was Mrs. Norris, lurking about in the shadows just waiting to catch a student. But the eyes were too big to be cats. Perhaps it was a student playing a joke? No, it couldn't be. No one just entered a room like that on purpose.
Whatever it was had Kellie frightened. She fell asleep thinking about who or what it was and wondering if it was Voldemort.
"You're JOKING!" Marclay yelled above the silence. She had a smile on her face from there to London.
"No, Miss Diggle she is not joking." Professor McGonagall said.
"Since it is Thursday, Ravenclaw, the Pitch is yours after lunch." Madam Hooch said. "Slytherin will practice tomorrow at two afternoon, as planned. And if Gryffindor and Hufflepuff feel they would like to practice, you can practice after the other two groups. I do not want any fighting, so Gryffindor you'll practice today with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tomorrow with Slytherin. That is if you want to." She raised her eyebrows and looked at the two team captains.
"Continue cleaning this place up. It's a mess." Professor McGonagall said. "Then bring your trunks and such back up to your dorms and do not come back down until dinner is served."
"Alright Capin'!" George said, turning around and throwing books inside his trunk.
Everyone hurried around the hall, picking up all of their items. Then as soon as they had come in, they were all gone, back to their dormitories.
Since classes were canceled for that day and had been for the last long while, they would be caught up with by having double hours for the next week. This disappointed some students, but others it made happy. This was because they had been out of classes for what seemed like too long.
As Marclay walked around, making sure that all of the Ravenclaw's had grabbed all of their things, she spotted Sinistra in the corner talking in a whisper to Professor McGonagall. "No doubt she's telling her about how we're all going to die within the month. The grounds are safe though, I can promise you that."
Marclay turned to look at Professor Snape. "If you're saying then it must be true."
"It is. We have charms all over the school that will alert us if there are any intruders upon the grounds." he said, looking down at her.
"Professor Flitwick put them up himself."
"No doubt on that." Marclay replied.
"Yes, now get back to your work. I'm sure you were planning on going up stairs to prepare for your Quidditch practice. I must admit Ravenclaw needs it." Professor Snape said. He then nodded his head and walked over to the few remaining Slytherins.
Marclay picked up a book that someone had dropped beside her trunk and put it on top with half of the other things she had found. She then closed her trunk, seeing nothing else upon the ground and picked it up. She walked out of the room, leaving Blake to finish cleaning up the various things left upon the ground. As she made it half-way up the stairs, she put the old trunk down and mumbled a charm to make it float ahead of her.
To her surprise, she didn't pass a single person as she made her way to the dormitory. Finally, as she made it to the Knight at the wall, she put it to the ground. "Bumble grains." she said, looking up at the Knight. Ravenclaws door appeared and she walked inside, carrying her trunk. She carried it up to her dormitory room and saw the other four sixth year girls inside, putting their things back where they belonged.
She walked over to her four-poster and set the trunk at the end of it. She opened it up and looked at them. "Is any of this yours? I figure that if any of this isn't a Ravenclaw's then I'll put it in Dumbledore's office or give it to Filch."
"Don't spare him the glory of it." Cho said.
"This is where it went." Alleika said. She pulled out a small horse shoe necklace and placed it around her neck. "Thanks for noticing it. I thought I had lost it forever."
"Look at all of this! It's amazing how people tend not to notice half of the stuff that they are missing." Nelly said, rummaging through the stuff on the top of the trunk.
"So I take it nothing else belongs to you guys?" Marclay said, watching Cho walk away from it all.
"Nope." Nelly said. She walked back to her four-poster and pulled out her dress robes. "Why I had these inside it I have absolutely no idea."
"I can't wait until lunch is over!" Cho burst out. She had a huge grin on her face as she brought out her practicing cloths.
"Me either." Marclay said.
"Who's going to replace Anna?" Nelly asked. Both Cho and Marclay suddenly regretted bringing up the topic. "Oh, sorry."
"It's alright. We'd have to think about it soon enough." Marclay said. "Might as well start planning now."
"We could ask who wants to be a Chaser. And then go from there. They can try-out today during practice." Cho offered, sitting on her bed and pulling out her broom care kit.
"We can do that then. I'm sure Flitwick will be calling all of us down to the common's room any time now. He'll be wanting to get a new prefect." Nelly said. "I bet he'll chose Carrie or Kevin. Both are, what would you call it? Prefect!" Alleika laughed.
"Maybe they are, but you never know." Bellina said. She threw her wand down on her four-poster and followed it by a book.
"Yeah, don't keep your hopes up. For all we know it could end up being little Morag McDougal. He's always kept up in his studies and gotten good marks." Cho said, polishing her broom stick. "Or Nathan Grints."
"Why Nathan? He's always causing trouble, tripping over things. The only thing good about him is his looks." Marclay stated. "They'll most likely reinstate Blake, thinking he can handle both jobs."
"They'd be wrong. I know he's having problems with being Head Boy." Bellina said. "Said it wasn't at all what Percy put it out to be."
"And who told you that?" Alleika asked.
"He did." she replied, rolling her eyes. "It's not like he doesn't talk to me."
"He doesn't talk to many people, that's for sure. Usually he just sits by and watches as everyone laughs at him behind his back. Doesn't say much to those who are causing trouble." Nelly said.
"Maybe he doesn't, but he does do a good job. Without him Quidditch would still be postponed." Bellina said. "He went and talked to Dumbledore and Hooch about it because he thought it might help with problems between the two of- I wasn't suppose to say that."
"What do you mean he said it would help with problems?" Marclay asked, staring at her with a look of death.
"What I was saying was that he thinks things are rough between you two. He wanted to make them smoother." Bellina winced.
Marclay huffed and threw her broom down upon the bed. "Why is he talking to you about this? Why not me? You are not part of our relationship, it is NOT a three-some."
"I guess that lately you just haven't been talking. He needed someone to talk to, didn't he?" Bellina argued, tilting her head and folding her arms. "You've been so busy with those stupid Weasleys."
"They aren't stupid and I haven't spent as much time with them as you think. I talked to them a few times. Other then that it's nothing," Marclay declared. She balled her hands up in fists and held them down to her sides, not wanting to cause a bigger fight. "If he wants someone to talk to I will talk to him whether or not I am doing something."
"Er- guys, Flitwick is down stairs, he wants to talk with you, Marclay," Carrie said, standing in the doorway. "If at all possible, now."
"Alright," Marclay said, turning away from Bellina and approaching Carrie. "Do you know what he wanted?"
"I don't have a clue," Carrie said. She cleared out of the doorway and allowed Marclay to pass by her.
She then left and went up the stairs to the thirteenth floor of the Ravenclaw tower. Marclay went down to the common's room and saw the small Professor sitting in a chair by the fireplace. She walked over to him and stood beside the chair, looking at him. "You wanted me, Professor?"
"Yes, yes," he squeaked. He looked up at her from the small flames and smiled. "Take a seat." She sat down and raised her eyebrow at him. "I was wondering, since the prefect position is open, I er- asked Mister Underwood who he thought would be the best candidate. He recommended you, which I wasn't very sure on. I guess, if you can manage it and want the job it's yours."
"Well, I don't know. I mean, it would mean a lot to me. I'm speechless that he would recommend me." she said, her mouth slightly hanging open.
"Is there no one better for the job? Someone who isn't going to be caught up in Quidditch this summer?"
"Well, yes, there are a few, but you're the most responsible one," he said. "I'm sure that if you need a couple days to think it over, we can manage it. I do not think anything will end up happening in a couple days. You- Know-Who knows he has made his threat and it is only time."
She sat back in the chair and looked down at the fire. The flames rose up, and then died down, only to repeat the process once more. "We were planning on having you as the House Prefect next year. This could mean that you would have an easier chance at being Head Girl."
"I don't want to be a prefect," Marclay finally said after a few moments of thinking. "I can't bear the responsibility right now. It would only make matters worse, I fear."
"Alright," Professor Flitwick said. He looked down at the floor sadly. "Do you know where I may find Jeffrey Niblin? He is the next person upon my list."
"Yes, I do. I'll go up and find him," She said.
She stood up and walked towards the stairs, listening to Professor Flitwick mumble, "It's for the best, for the best."
She went up to the eleventh floor and tapped upon the door. She then waited patiently. Not wanting to open it and take them by surprise if they were busy with something. A few seconds later, a tall black boy stood in the door, smiling down at her. "How can I help ya, Marclay?" he asked.
"I need Jeffrey to go down to the common's room, Berry. Professor Flitwick wants to talk with him." Marclay said.
"Who is it?" Xander Zinili asked, coming around the door to see her.
"Ah, hello there."
"Jeffrey, common's room, Flitwick!" Berry Fingly called. Moments later the brunette appeared at the door.
"What does he want?" he asked directly towards Marclay.
She motioned for him to lean in so that the others wouldn't hear. "He's taking you under consideration for House Prefect. Just to warn you about what to expect, of course."
"Thanks," he said. He walked passed her and started down the stairs.
"Want to come in and play a game of Gobstones? I just got a new set." Xander offered, wiggling his eyebrows. "Fresh juice."
"No thank you," Marclay said. "As much as I love to be squirted with disgusting liquid, I must resist the temptation. Plus, you're suppose to play games and such down in the common's room. I also have to find the owners of a few items before I do anything else. "
"Oh, do you have a set of self-shuffling cards? Turns out I left them down in the hall." Berry said.
"As a matter of fact I found three sets. Along with balloons, Belch Powder, and Hiccup Sweets."
"Oh, those would be mine." Xander said. "Mind if we come up and grab them? I'd rather get them now then later."
"Yes, but you can't stay. I've got to polish my broom and wand." Marclay said, walking away from their door. She went up the set of swirling stairs to her own dormitory room. "Wait here."
She left them outside the door, or intended to. They followed her inside with grins planted upon their faces. "Never been inside a girl's room, other then my sisters. And that is a mess." Berry said. "Has no sense of direction, I tell you."
"This is nice, compared to ours. We've got stains on our drapes." Xander said.
"It wasn't my fault. Why do you have to keep rubbing it into my face?" Berry demanded. "Nick was the one who pushed me."
"Shut them up, please!" Cho said, frowning. "Some people have work to do, unlike you. I bet neither of you have finished your Charms homework? How about Potions?"
"I er- I'm working on it." Xander said. "I just have to finish it up a bit. Almost done."
"Right." Nelly mumbled, reading through a Quidditch book. "If you were normal you would have it finished by now."
"If I had it finished I would be you." Berry said, grinning. "Which, I am very glad I'm not. You can drive people beyond insanity."
"Sorry, that's YOUR job." Nelly defended.
"Where's Bellie and Allie?" Xander asked, looking at the two empty four- posters. "Gone off to find those Hufflepuff boys again?"
"I guess." Cho said. "They just said they would see us at lunch."
"I hope not." Berry said. "I'll be sitting clear on the other end of the table."
"What if they sit in the middle?" Xander asked.
"Then I'll join Slytherin." Berry laughed. "They're better then those two jabbering about this and that and who's liking who. Their jaws never stop."
"Yes, they do." Cho said.
"Don't mess with Slytherin. They may be a nasty lot, but some of them are human." Marclay said. "Here you go. Now leave. We don't need you in here."
"We?" Berry asked, looking at the other two girls.
"Yes, we." Nelly said. "I have things to do that don't need to be bugged by your likes."
"Oh, nice!" Xander said, going towards Marclay's four-poster. "When did you get a Firebolt? These are the best model yet!"
"Put it back down on the bed." Marclay said.
"Don't mess with the broom. You might lose your head with these two around." Nelly said.
"Sorry, I even thought of it." Xander said, carefully placing the broom back on the bed. "I'll remember next time."
"You had better, or else I will bind you together." Marclay warned.
"When did you get it though?" Berry asked.
"Last Christmas. Mum made me leave it at home though. Said I wouldn't be needing it any time soon since we had the Triwizard Tournament."
Marclay said. "Now, will you please go? I'm sure Jeffrey will have some good news for you."
"Fine then." Xander said. He threw his arms up in the air and walked out the door. Berry soon followed him, mumbling a good-bye.
Marclay went over to her broom and made sure he hadn't greased it up. "Those two are the most annoying boys in our year."
"Yes, well, we all know he likes you." Nelly grinned. She looked up from her book to catch Marclay's expression.
"Who does?" Marclay asked.
"No one," Nelly laughed.
"If you're going to bring something up you cannot just drop it like that. Now tell me who!" Marclay demanded.
"She's right, you know," Cho stated.
"Xander," Nelly said.
"No, he doesn't." Marclay stated.
"You're right. I just thought I would mess with you. I guess I was wrong in doing so, can't fool Miss Diggle, oh no. Nothing gets past her," Nelly laughed.
Cho mumbled something at Nelly, but then went back to polishing her broom. Nelly laughed and then went back to her book. Marclay took out her rag and oil and started to shine her broom, and cover up the few dings it had received on the train coming to Hogwarts.
Kellie sat on her four-poster, nose still buried in "Quidditch Through the Ages", still trying to memorize a play.
"I can't believe Quidditch is still on!" Pansy exclaimed.
"I know, but I have to say that I'm happy about it. Now we still have a chance to beat Potter and his stupid Firebolt to the ground!" Draco said with his usual sneer plastered on his face.
"It seems to me, Draco, that you're jealous of Harry," Kellie said, now putting her book down and standing up to face him.
"Jealous of what? A stupid scar? I wouldn't want a ugly scar across my forehead, thank you!" Draco said.
"No, I think you're jealous, because he's actually good at something!"
"Good? At what?" Draco replied.
"You're jealous because he's better at Quidditch than you and because he's actually liked by people!" Kellie was now shouting, defending Harry.
"Why don't you just join Gryffindor then if you love them so much?"
"I would Draco, but unfortunately I'm stuck here with you!"
Draco just glared at her before storming out of the room with Crabbe and Goyle right behind him.
Kellie smiled to herself and sat back down, obviously happy that she had stuck up for Harry. If Draco was just going to be rude and inconsiderate then Kellie didn't want anything to do with him.
Pansy Parkinson just stared at Kellie in awe. No one had dared to tell off Draco, much less succeed in doing so. Kellie felt Pansy's eyes on her so she sighed and put down her book once more.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Y-You told off Draco!" Pansy exclaimed.
"Yeah, so?" Kellie said, still not understanding what Pansy meant.
"I think you hurt his feelings!"
Kellie rolled his eyes. "Well if his attitude doesn't change soon then I'm going to hurt a lot more than that!"
Pansy looked like someone had just slapped her. "Well I'm going to comfort him!" she yelled.
"Fine! I'm sure he'll like that, too!" Kellie yelled back, tears brimming at her green eyes.
Pansy stormed out of the room after Draco and Kellie picked her book back up, face hot with anger.
Pretty soon it was time for dinner. The Slytherins headed towards the Great Hall, stopping to talk with people along the way. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, and his cat, Mrs. Norris, were walking about telling students to get a move on.
Kellie walked to the Slytherin table and sat down next to Selina Greingrass, a fellow 5th year whom she knew through Bree.
Dinner was soon served and Kellie placed a sandwich, some corn, and other various foods onto her plate. It felt good to finally be able to eat without worrying and things were beginning to perk up. The Weasley twins were back to their normal self, trying to trick Ron into eating a Canary Cream. He refused, of course, which was quite a shame because it would have been great fun to see him sprout feathers.
The teachers looked more rested than they had in days and Professor McGonagall was having a conversation with Dumbledore, about what, Kellie didn't know.
Most of the students were looking quite cheery. Maybe it was because they all knew that the Quidditch season was about to begin. Kellie knew she was surely excited for this would be her first year as captain of the Slytherin team. It also made her nervous. What if she was a bad captain? What if no one listened to her or practiced like she wanted them to? Kellie tried to shake these thoughts from her mind, but they still floated about, making her feel a little uneasy.
A loud hooting noise filled the hall and Kellie immediately looked up at the ceiling. Hundreds of owls had entered through the windows and were dropping small parcels and letters into their owners' laps. The mail had arrived for the students.
Kellie saw her owl, a snowy owl named Aiisha, flying down towards her with a rather large package in her talons. Kellie looked at it curiously as Aiisha dropped it into her awaiting hands. She gave Aiisha a pat on the head and a bit of corn, before she flew back up and out the windows. Kellie pushed her plate aside and placed the package on the table. It was rather long and a bit heavy.
She started unwrapping the brown packaging that was tied together with bits of string. Her eyes widened when she had the gift fully unwrapped. Some people gasped while other merely stared in awe.
Lying before her, on the dinner table, was a Firebolt, the one she had seen in the sore in Diagon Alley.
"Kellie's got a Firebolt!"
"Whoa!"
"Look at it!"
"It's magnificent!"
Many people began to shout out with excitement and Kellie began to smile broadly. Slytherin surely had a better chance at beating Gryffindor now!
Kellie looked down the table at Draco, who was sitting with his pale blue eyes wide in shock, and smirked. Everyone knew that Draco had practically bought his way onto the team by having his father buy the whole Slytherin team Nimbus 2001's. Kellie didn't even know why he was on the team in the first place. He wasn't a bad Seeker, but there had been better one's on the team.
Kellie didn't even notice that there was a note lying beside the broom. She picked it up and unfolded it. Kellie read it.
Dear Kellie,
We hope you like this gift! We knew you wanted it so we decided to buy it for you as an early Christmas gift. Good luck during the school year and happy flying!
Love,
Mum and Dad
Kellie smiled to herself and folded back up the note. She knew that they knew she wanted this broom. When they had been in Diagon Alley buying Kellie her new books for the year it was the only thing she had talked about. Her father had just smiled and said, "Start saving your money!" and her mother just gave a small laugh. Never in Kellie's wildest dreams did she actually think her parents would actually buy it for her.
She was happy though, of course, and couldn't wait until practice tomorrow to try it out. There were only few students at Hogwarts who had Firebolts and they were extremely lucky to have them. She looked over at Harry and saw that he had a big grin on his face. Kellie smiled back at him and returned to her eating.
After lunch, the students went back up into their dormitories. Classes for the rest of the day had been canceled and would resume tomorrow. Kellie had finished all her homework that she needed to finish so she sat in a chair by the fire in the Slytherin common room. Draco was prancing around telling anyone who would listen about how he was going to catch the Snitch before Harry in the upcoming game.
"You just wait! I'll catch it so fast that Potter won't even know what hit him! I don't care if he has that stupid Firebolt! I have more brains than he'll ever have and I'll catch the Snitch in the fastest time ever!" he was saying.
Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were the only ones who would listen to him. Kellie rolled her eyes and joined Selina in a game of Wizards' Chess.
After Kellie's castle had destroyed Selina's king, she decided that it was time to start studying for tomorrow's classes. She headed up the stone stairs and into the girls' room. She opened her trunk and pulled out, "Standard Book of Spells: Grade 5" and began reading. She knew that she had to refresh her memory if she wanted to do well in class.
Halfway through a difficult levitation spell, the Slytherin girls came bounding up the stair, chatting away about the Quidditch season.
"I just know we'll win the Quidditch Cup this year!"
"We have to! Kellie just got a Firebolt!"
"It's the fastest broom yet! We just have to win!"
Kellie rolled her eyes and continued reading. When she couldn't concentrate anymore, because of the noise and chatter, Kellie put down her book and walked down the stairs and into the common room. Draco was sitting on the couch talking to Crabbe and Goyle in a low whisper. Noah Alexander, the prefect for Slytherin, was sitting in a chair away from everyone reading something. Kellie could make out only bits and pieces of what Draco was saying even though she wanted to know.
"Perfect Potter and his stupid Firebolt!" Draco was saying.
"Well, it's for her own good."
"It'll teach her a lesson."
"Maybe then I'll get her back."
Kellie tried to walk away slowly, but tripped over a rug and fell backwards, causing a loud thud.
Draco leaned over the couch to see what happened.
"What the matter, Jasc? Can't stand on your own two feet?" he said as Crabbe and Goyle laughed.
"No, what's your problem, Malfoy? Scared that Potter might beat you in Quidditch? I heard you three talking and if you even try to hurt Harry I'll- "
"You'll what, Kellie? I highly doubt that you're even close to a match against me!" Draco said in a rude tone.
"Well, if you think I'll come crawling back to you you're wrong!"
Kellie yelled before storming out of the common room and into the corridor. She wandered around for a while, just wanting to get away from Draco and his gang. Her eyes filled with tears of anger, but she wiped them away with the sleeve of her black robe.
As she was walking down a flight of stairs it started to move. Kellie gasped and held onto the railing. When it stopped moving, she got off them quickly and entered a door.
The room was dark with the exception of a few lanterns hanging on the walls; there were no windows. Stacks of old, dusty, books lay about in small piles.
Kellie was looking through one of them when she heard a loud scratching noise coming from one of the corners. Feeling curious, she stepped closer to where the noise was coming from. When she was about a foot away from the corner, two red eyes appeared in the darkness followed by a cold, eerie laughter. Kellie screamed as loud as she could and ran from the room. She slammed the door behind her and raced through the halls and down stairs. She found herself back in front of the entrance of the Slytherin common room and quickly gave the password ("Pure-bloods"), for fear that whatever she saw was right behind her. She entered the common room out of breath and panting hard. Her heart was racing and her hair had started to fall out of its ponytail.
No one was in the common room; Kellie figured they had all gone to bed. She climbed the stone stairs and into the girls dormitory. She changed into her pajamas and placed her robes on top of her trunk. She lay in bed thinking about her adventure that night and wondered what it was. Maybe it was Mrs. Norris, lurking about in the shadows just waiting to catch a student. But the eyes were too big to be cats. Perhaps it was a student playing a joke? No, it couldn't be. No one just entered a room like that on purpose.
Whatever it was had Kellie frightened. She fell asleep thinking about who or what it was and wondering if it was Voldemort.