Chapter Three: Still Sorting....it out

Hermione just couldn't stand it, the tension was excallating way to much for comfort. It had been a week since the famous "wicked scar* incident. She really wanted to know what was going through Annie Whiting's head. For the most part it gave her a huge headache, not knowing what the girl was thinking. Finally she had had enough.

Annie could see Hermione fidgeting out of the corner of her eye. She lay on her stomach reading the last few pages of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and thinking about what to write in her Defense of the Dark Arts Essay about Vampire Curses. She had begun to let her hair grow, so she let the longer clumps of hair shroud her face. She was waiting for the ball to drop.

"What is with you?!" Hermione snapped.

Annie made her dark eyes level with her brown ones.

"I don't understand." But Annie knew what she was talking about.

"You're...you're..."

"I am, what?" Annie fixed her eyes on Hermione as she fumbled for words to say.

"You're so different...and that whole thing with Harry."

So that his name...

"What can't take something different." Annie had wished more out of her, at least some understand, but what did she expect, a miracle.

Hermione didn't say anything, her lips were stretched thin as if she was trying to push herself to say something.

Annie had, had enough. It just was stupid to think she could actually make friends here. Annie slammed her book shut, slid off her bed and left.

Annie didn't know where she was going, she just wanted to be a loner for awhile. She had to admit it, Life sucked and she wanted Toni and because she couldn't have him, she was being a complete and total egotistical bitch.

Never hurt anyone to be nice, did it? Her own voice said inside her head.

But...Ah well, I'll try, she heard herself respond.

That's my girl.

Soon, she found herself at the Quidditch pitch watching her own house, having their first practice of the season. She watched them and wished she was up there. She loved flying, it gave her a thrill that she had never gotten anywhere else. Even the times she was with Toni could be rivaled by it. She noticed something strange about the setup. There was only six. They needed one more.

"Well Ron, not bad, not bad, this being your first day an' all." Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Thanks for you vote of confidence mate.' Ron couldn't believe when Harry had asked him that morning to come to Quidditch practice for something, but he never dreamed of actually being on the team. He almost laughed at himself for being thinking so badly of himself.

"All right team, locker rooms, we are done for the evening." Harry said, his emerald eyes twinkling. He was the captain like his father, Voldemort was no where in sight, life was great.

Ron was looking at something in the dark, near the stands.

"Harry," he whispered hesetently.

Harry turned to his friend and then tried to see what he saw.

Just above a whisper Ron's voice cracked, "She's staring at us."

"What?" Harry sagged against Ron, taking off his glasses and wiping the trickling sweat off his brow.

"Ron you're seeing things? Great I'm down a chaser just cause of the dark."

But something moved in the shadows and came out on the brighter Quidditch Pitch. It was Annie Whiting. She was wearing her Hogwarts uniform except she was wearing pants instead of her skirt.

She gestured to the field, "There's only six of you and I was wondering..." She said shortly, flicking her obsidian hued hair out of her dark eyes.

"Wondering what?" Ron snapped.

She laughed to herself before answering, they were so skeptical of her.

"I was a chaser at my old school and there is a space open for one, right? I was wondering, if I could join the team?"

Harry looked at her again, maybe she wasn't all that bad, and they desperately needed a chaser. Harry worst nightmare was having to use Neville.

"Are you any good?" Harry asked wanting to know what was in that head of hers.

"You can see for yourself, if you'd like to." She replied flatly.

She muttered under her breath and her broom appeared out of thin air. She mounted her Nimbus 2000, all the while, Ron hissed, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah," Harry muttered, not really sure himself.

Ron and Harry managed to get the Quaffle and the Bludger out, while Annie flew around. Ron turned on the outer lights while Harry mounted his Firebolt, making sure the Bludger didn't hit him.

"All right, Whiting, lets see what you got!" Harry called throwing the Quaffle into the air.

In less than a second she was whipping passed him, a dark blur, the Quaffle under her arm. Damn, she's fast. She spirited to the other end of the field, Harry chasing after her, as she played a loose game of do-si-do with the Bludger. By the time Harry had reached her at the goal, she had put the Quaffle through the hoop about ten times, ten different ways. The last time, she threw it into the air and scored by hitting it with the tail of her broom.

"Well, your fast enough."

She just smiled, her eye alive with passion and a semi malicious spark.

They say 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going'. Harry fully understood that quote now. He felt a little sore from practice it had been their first one this years, but what really was bothering him, what had shaken him up was their new chaser, Annie Whiting. At the end of her showing off some amazing talent and defensive tactics (that only Slytherins would use but which she performed with more finesse), she had asked him if she was good enough, since she'd been out of practice. Hood, she was better than good. A smile encroached on his face, he couldn't wait till Malfoy and his gang, saw what card he had, The Queen of Spades