Chapter 9: Old Friends
'Harry!' Courtney screamed. She dropped the Quaffle and flew as fast as her Firebolt would let her. Veronica ignored the ball and chased after her. Everybody paused and watched (or tried to) the two speeding girls. It wasn't looking good for Courtney. Veronica was catching up to her.
It was amazing to see Courtney try to shake Veronica off. After a few more minutes, Courtney sped off the field and to the Forbidden Forest. She dived into the trees and flew through the dense forest. She zigzagged and went all over the place. Courtney stopped, assuming she was well ahead of Veronica.
'What got her panties in a bunch,' Courtney muttered, breathing hard. 'And Harry thinks I'm the one with the problems. 'She flew down to the ground and landed gently.
After a few moments, Courtney was getting impatient. 'Oh, come on! Somebody come out here!' She groaned and kicked at a rock. 'Ooh, that wasn't one of my best ideas. Ouch.'
A bush rustled and she heard a man's snigger. A second later, her wand was out and she was advancing toward the bush. 'W-who's there? Come out or I'll..um..well.er, I don't know exactly what I'll do, but it won't be good!'
The guy in the bush burst out laughing and accidentally rolled out of the bush. It was Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. 'Sirius! What the blazes are you doing here? And where's Emma?'
Sirius couldn't stop laughing; He stood up and said, 'Hi Courtney! (Burst of laughter) Just (giggle) came to see (chuckle) Harry! Emma's a little (chortle) way's back!' He fell back on the ground again.
'Whoa, somebody's a little mental.' Courtney muttered. 'Oh, shut up already, will ya?'
'HAHAHAHA!!!'
'I don't wanna do this, Sirius, but you're forcing me to. Petrificus Totalus!' He froze, literally, and looked at Courtney. She smirked and said, 'Who's laughing now? Finite Incantato!'
He stood up and said, waving his finger at her, 'Now, now Courtney. Behave yourself!'
'Like she ever does,' came a voice from above them. It was Veronica.
'Oh, go away, you little snot-faced snot-head.' Courtney shouted up at her.
'Why should I? I-'
'Who's that?' Sirius interrupted.
'Veronica Riddle, Voldemort's daughter.'
He mouthed the words back at her and looked back up at Veronica. 'Oh, yeah. I can definitely see the resemblance' He had to duck a nasty curse from Riddle. Unfortunately, it hit him.
That about did it for Courtney. 'Okay, she is mine. She is SO mine!' She grabbed her necklace. 'By the power of this stupid, putrid milpreve- doohicky, SHOVE THE HECK OFF!!!' The last thing she remembered seeing was Veronica hanging by one hand off her broom and speeding away the opposite direction. Then Courtney blacked out.
*~*~*
'Courtney? Courtney are you all right?'
Harry saw Courtney open her eyes and groan groggily. When she saw who was standing over her, she squealed 'Emma!' and sat up quickly, only to lay back slowly with pain written all over her face. 'Ouch. Shouldn't have done that. I should not have that.'
'Oh thank goodness you're awake; we were starting to get worried.' Emma looked down at her best friend and hugged her.
Emma was Harry's twin sister. She wasn't 'long-lost' or anything; Harry had had her his whole life. Emma's personality was much like Hermione's, but only a little bit more laid back. But not by much. She had straight brown hair and retainer. She was an average 15-year-old girl except for one feature: she had a scar exactly like Harry's.
'Ew, too mushy for me. I think I'll head out.' Ron whispered in Harry's ear.
'I heard that!' Emma and Courtney said at the same time.
'Man, I seem to do that a lot with you Potters.' Courtney teased 'That's, what? The 3rd or 4th time this year.
'Yeah, it is.' Harry said sheepishly to Emma.
'So where have you been these last couple of weeks?' Cedric asked her.
'Oh, with Sirius.' Harry knew she couldn't go into detail; it was 'top secret.' Even he didn't know about it.
'Thanks for the in-depth report, we really didn't need to know all of that, Emma.' Courtney whispered. She still looked very weak.
'Ha ha, very funny.'
Courtney blew an old-fashioned razberry at Emma, who said, 'The feeling's mutual.'
'Can we go up to the castle now?' Ron whined. 'We skipped lunch and I'm hungry.'
'Ron?'
'What?'
'Stop thinking about your stomach and more about your friends,' Emma scolded.
'Oh, shut it, you.'
'Hey, I'm hungry, too! Being chased by a lunatic really worked up my appetite.' Courtney sat up slowly, and with the help of Harry and Emma, she stood up. Harry heard her stomach growl and she groaned. 'Why did we have to skip lunch?'
'We wanted to kick Malfoy's butt, don't you remember?' Cedric said sarcastically.
'Oh, yeah.'
'Whoa, whoa, wait.' Emma interrupted. 'What happened?' So, as they walked across the lawn, everybody took turns telling Emma about their Quidditch games. Just as Courtney was going to say something, Ron cut in, 'And the funniest thing about all this is that Malfoy has a girlfriend. Her name is- '
'Cozette is NOT my girlfriend, Weasley,' Malfoy's voice came from behind them and they turned around to face him. 'She's my cousin.'
'So that's why she looks so much like you,' Courtney sniggered. 'Not that that's a compliment.' She stuck her nose in the air and walked around haughtily while everybody burst out laughing.
'Haha, Granger. I feel sorry for your brother because he looks like the biggest loser on Earth: you.'
'Oh, you must mean second; surely you forgot that you're the first?' Courtney smirked as there was a chorus of 'ooh's' behind her. Then Malfoy spotted Emma.
'So Princess Potter's finally returned to her castle. Sorry if we didn't clean it for you; we didn't if you were coming back.' He sneered.
'Oh, don't worry,' Emma sneered back. 'We'll get rid of everything that's dirty. Oops, I guess we'll have to get rid of you. You are, after all, the dirtiest thing at Hogwarts. Didn't you know that? Blondies.'
Everybody laughed, but then Courtney stopped short. 'Hey, I'm a blondie!' she said.
'Yeah, you sure act like it,' Malfoy hissed. 'Nice talking to you, not.'
'Snob!'
'Geek!'
'Later!' Courtney turned around and everybody followed her suit. Harry could see that she was silently fuming. And, he still didn't know why she was unconscious when they had found her. He figured she would tell him later. 'Hey, Courtney?'
'Yeah?'
'Are you going to tell Emma about...Morgan?'
'Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I'm gonna tell her!' Courtney whispered. She didn't want the others to hear her. 'She might be able to help.'
'Good. And you'll tell me-us-why you were unconscious?'
'Yeppers.'
'Great.'
*~*~*
'Courtney, you cannot be serious,' said a shocked Emma later that night. 'Morgan le Fay and Merlin? No possible way.'
'Hey, look at her eyes if you don't believe her.' Harry said to his clueless twin. Emma looked at her eyes. 'Whoa. That is definitely not normal.'
'Really, ya think?' Courtney said sarcastically. 'So you are going to help me figure this stupid thing out, right Emma?'
'Of course!' Emma responded. 'Right after I finish all the schoolwork that I missed.'
'Alrighty then! Harry, get to work; who knows when Emma will get done?'
Harry chuckled. 'Yeah, exactly. So why were you unconscious? You didn't tell us yet.'
Emma and Harry listened intently to Courtney's 'incident' in the forest. When she got to the part where Veronica cursed Sirius, Harry jumped and shouted, 'Okay, where is she? She is so goin' down.' Before he could find her, Emma tugged on his shirt, gave him a look and he sat down muttering gibberish. Courtney wasn't interrupted through the rest of her story.
'Oh, she is such a prat!' Emma remarked.
'Yeppers.' Courtney agreed. 'And Sirius was only agreeing to the facts! It wasn't like he insulted her. Or maybe he was. I dunno. You never can tell with him, you know.'
'Too true,' Harry and Emma said together. 'Too very true.'
'Harry!' Courtney screamed. She dropped the Quaffle and flew as fast as her Firebolt would let her. Veronica ignored the ball and chased after her. Everybody paused and watched (or tried to) the two speeding girls. It wasn't looking good for Courtney. Veronica was catching up to her.
It was amazing to see Courtney try to shake Veronica off. After a few more minutes, Courtney sped off the field and to the Forbidden Forest. She dived into the trees and flew through the dense forest. She zigzagged and went all over the place. Courtney stopped, assuming she was well ahead of Veronica.
'What got her panties in a bunch,' Courtney muttered, breathing hard. 'And Harry thinks I'm the one with the problems. 'She flew down to the ground and landed gently.
After a few moments, Courtney was getting impatient. 'Oh, come on! Somebody come out here!' She groaned and kicked at a rock. 'Ooh, that wasn't one of my best ideas. Ouch.'
A bush rustled and she heard a man's snigger. A second later, her wand was out and she was advancing toward the bush. 'W-who's there? Come out or I'll..um..well.er, I don't know exactly what I'll do, but it won't be good!'
The guy in the bush burst out laughing and accidentally rolled out of the bush. It was Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. 'Sirius! What the blazes are you doing here? And where's Emma?'
Sirius couldn't stop laughing; He stood up and said, 'Hi Courtney! (Burst of laughter) Just (giggle) came to see (chuckle) Harry! Emma's a little (chortle) way's back!' He fell back on the ground again.
'Whoa, somebody's a little mental.' Courtney muttered. 'Oh, shut up already, will ya?'
'HAHAHAHA!!!'
'I don't wanna do this, Sirius, but you're forcing me to. Petrificus Totalus!' He froze, literally, and looked at Courtney. She smirked and said, 'Who's laughing now? Finite Incantato!'
He stood up and said, waving his finger at her, 'Now, now Courtney. Behave yourself!'
'Like she ever does,' came a voice from above them. It was Veronica.
'Oh, go away, you little snot-faced snot-head.' Courtney shouted up at her.
'Why should I? I-'
'Who's that?' Sirius interrupted.
'Veronica Riddle, Voldemort's daughter.'
He mouthed the words back at her and looked back up at Veronica. 'Oh, yeah. I can definitely see the resemblance' He had to duck a nasty curse from Riddle. Unfortunately, it hit him.
That about did it for Courtney. 'Okay, she is mine. She is SO mine!' She grabbed her necklace. 'By the power of this stupid, putrid milpreve- doohicky, SHOVE THE HECK OFF!!!' The last thing she remembered seeing was Veronica hanging by one hand off her broom and speeding away the opposite direction. Then Courtney blacked out.
*~*~*
'Courtney? Courtney are you all right?'
Harry saw Courtney open her eyes and groan groggily. When she saw who was standing over her, she squealed 'Emma!' and sat up quickly, only to lay back slowly with pain written all over her face. 'Ouch. Shouldn't have done that. I should not have that.'
'Oh thank goodness you're awake; we were starting to get worried.' Emma looked down at her best friend and hugged her.
Emma was Harry's twin sister. She wasn't 'long-lost' or anything; Harry had had her his whole life. Emma's personality was much like Hermione's, but only a little bit more laid back. But not by much. She had straight brown hair and retainer. She was an average 15-year-old girl except for one feature: she had a scar exactly like Harry's.
'Ew, too mushy for me. I think I'll head out.' Ron whispered in Harry's ear.
'I heard that!' Emma and Courtney said at the same time.
'Man, I seem to do that a lot with you Potters.' Courtney teased 'That's, what? The 3rd or 4th time this year.
'Yeah, it is.' Harry said sheepishly to Emma.
'So where have you been these last couple of weeks?' Cedric asked her.
'Oh, with Sirius.' Harry knew she couldn't go into detail; it was 'top secret.' Even he didn't know about it.
'Thanks for the in-depth report, we really didn't need to know all of that, Emma.' Courtney whispered. She still looked very weak.
'Ha ha, very funny.'
Courtney blew an old-fashioned razberry at Emma, who said, 'The feeling's mutual.'
'Can we go up to the castle now?' Ron whined. 'We skipped lunch and I'm hungry.'
'Ron?'
'What?'
'Stop thinking about your stomach and more about your friends,' Emma scolded.
'Oh, shut it, you.'
'Hey, I'm hungry, too! Being chased by a lunatic really worked up my appetite.' Courtney sat up slowly, and with the help of Harry and Emma, she stood up. Harry heard her stomach growl and she groaned. 'Why did we have to skip lunch?'
'We wanted to kick Malfoy's butt, don't you remember?' Cedric said sarcastically.
'Oh, yeah.'
'Whoa, whoa, wait.' Emma interrupted. 'What happened?' So, as they walked across the lawn, everybody took turns telling Emma about their Quidditch games. Just as Courtney was going to say something, Ron cut in, 'And the funniest thing about all this is that Malfoy has a girlfriend. Her name is- '
'Cozette is NOT my girlfriend, Weasley,' Malfoy's voice came from behind them and they turned around to face him. 'She's my cousin.'
'So that's why she looks so much like you,' Courtney sniggered. 'Not that that's a compliment.' She stuck her nose in the air and walked around haughtily while everybody burst out laughing.
'Haha, Granger. I feel sorry for your brother because he looks like the biggest loser on Earth: you.'
'Oh, you must mean second; surely you forgot that you're the first?' Courtney smirked as there was a chorus of 'ooh's' behind her. Then Malfoy spotted Emma.
'So Princess Potter's finally returned to her castle. Sorry if we didn't clean it for you; we didn't if you were coming back.' He sneered.
'Oh, don't worry,' Emma sneered back. 'We'll get rid of everything that's dirty. Oops, I guess we'll have to get rid of you. You are, after all, the dirtiest thing at Hogwarts. Didn't you know that? Blondies.'
Everybody laughed, but then Courtney stopped short. 'Hey, I'm a blondie!' she said.
'Yeah, you sure act like it,' Malfoy hissed. 'Nice talking to you, not.'
'Snob!'
'Geek!'
'Later!' Courtney turned around and everybody followed her suit. Harry could see that she was silently fuming. And, he still didn't know why she was unconscious when they had found her. He figured she would tell him later. 'Hey, Courtney?'
'Yeah?'
'Are you going to tell Emma about...Morgan?'
'Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I'm gonna tell her!' Courtney whispered. She didn't want the others to hear her. 'She might be able to help.'
'Good. And you'll tell me-us-why you were unconscious?'
'Yeppers.'
'Great.'
*~*~*
'Courtney, you cannot be serious,' said a shocked Emma later that night. 'Morgan le Fay and Merlin? No possible way.'
'Hey, look at her eyes if you don't believe her.' Harry said to his clueless twin. Emma looked at her eyes. 'Whoa. That is definitely not normal.'
'Really, ya think?' Courtney said sarcastically. 'So you are going to help me figure this stupid thing out, right Emma?'
'Of course!' Emma responded. 'Right after I finish all the schoolwork that I missed.'
'Alrighty then! Harry, get to work; who knows when Emma will get done?'
Harry chuckled. 'Yeah, exactly. So why were you unconscious? You didn't tell us yet.'
Emma and Harry listened intently to Courtney's 'incident' in the forest. When she got to the part where Veronica cursed Sirius, Harry jumped and shouted, 'Okay, where is she? She is so goin' down.' Before he could find her, Emma tugged on his shirt, gave him a look and he sat down muttering gibberish. Courtney wasn't interrupted through the rest of her story.
'Oh, she is such a prat!' Emma remarked.
'Yeppers.' Courtney agreed. 'And Sirius was only agreeing to the facts! It wasn't like he insulted her. Or maybe he was. I dunno. You never can tell with him, you know.'
'Too true,' Harry and Emma said together. 'Too very true.'