Several weeks passed, September heat faded into the expecting repose of
October, and life at Hogwarts settled into its regular routine. In
preparation for our O.W.L.s in the spring (something the professors
constantly reminded us of), our workload had increased threefold from the
year before. It seemed we had essays each week in every single class,
including Care of Magical Creatures, and I was beginning to wonder just how
many essays Hagrid would be able to assign on Bane Wolves before he was
forced to move on to something else.
Despite the rather bad start to the year, Hagrid's class had actually gotten quite interesting. The man had built a pen for the wolves by our second lesson, and the creatures were much more docile when they were able to move about. However, this didn't keep them from growling and snapping at a few of the students. The wolves let the others come near them and maybe even touch them, but a handful, with Pansy included, had to stay a good distance away if they didn't want to risk losing a limb. I found this incredibly funny, but Draco informed me, by way of death glares and hissed threats to stop laughing before he hurt me, that I was wrong.
Quidditch was looming on the horizon, and the Slytherin team was determined to win the Cup back. With Montague at the helm and Crabbe and Goyle replacing the graduated Beaters, the season looked to be a good one. Our main obstacle, as usual, was the Gryffindor team, but Montague hoped that without Wood to beat them into submission, they might get lax. They also had to find a half-way decent Keeper, and, from what I heard, the Weasley they recruited wasn't nearly good enough to stop our Chasers.
Even so, the Slytherin team was practicing like mad in preparation of their first match against Ravenclaw. It wouldn't do to be crushed right away in the season.
"It's pointless, you know," said Ryan one evening in the library. We'd long ago given up the pretense of doing homework and were in deep discussion over the following week's match. "They can practice all they want, but there's no way they'll get past this year's team."
"You sound pretty confident for someone whose team hasn't even been in the running for years," I said with a smirk.
"Hey, we would've beat you last time if Flint hadn't dive-bombed our Chaser while the ref wasn't looking," Ryan repeated for the millionth time. "The whole team is full of bloody cheaters."
"We don't cheat, Ryan," I said flatly. "We simply bend the rules how we see fit."
"Well, whatever you call it, it's not going to help you next week. Ravenclaw is going to kick your ass."
"Oh? And what makes you say that?"
"Half your team is new," Ryan said confidently. "It'll take a while for them to start to actually work together. Our team, however, only lost one Chaser from the last season, and the replacement has been on the reserves since his second year. There's no training-in period for us."
"Maybe, but Slytherin has clocked in way more practice time. And besides, our Seeker is much better than yours."
Ryan glared at me as though I'd just insulted his mother. "Chang is the best Seeker we've had in a long time."
"Just because the rest sucked ass, it doesn't mean Chang is awesome," I said with a smile. "She couldn't catch the Snitch if it was roped to her wrist."
The Ravenclaw gaped, rather resembling a fish out of water, but quickly collected himself. "All right, if you're so sure you'll win, you won't mind partaking in a little bet."
I grinned widely. "Not at all. How much?"
"A Galleon?"
"Make it five."
"You're on." We shook on it. It had become something of a tradition for us to wager on the games, though why Ryan was so willing to part ways with his money was a mystery to me. I didn't rightly care, though, so long as it was me he was losing it to.
We both jumped as a black streak dropped onto the table with a soft /thump/.
My cat often prowled about the school, especially the library, as it was an ideal place for her to partake in one of her favorite activities: hunting first years and Gryffindors. She particularly enjoyed dropping onto their shoulders from atop a bookcase, but sometimes settled for borrowing small items and conveniently forgetting to return them, as was currently the case.
Athena laid a thin roll of parchment onto the table in front of me and settled herself on my open Transfiguration text. "Hey, girl," I said quietly, rubbing her under the chin. She closed her eyes, purring contentedly. "What poor sap did you rip this off of?"
That question was soon answered as a rather flustered Ginny Weasley appeared from behind a bookcase. She froze when she spotted Athena lounged atop the table, her eyes traveling from the cat to the parchment beside her, and finally resting on me. "Hello, Blaise."
I couldn't help but grin. "Ginny, darling," I drawled, noting how the girl paled slightly as I picked up the roll of parchment and turned it over slowly in my hands. "How are you?"
"Great, until a certain creature decided to take a certain item from my possession," she said, eyeing Athena reproachfully in case I didn't catch what she meant by 'certain creature'. Athena meowed innocently, but hopped off the table in search of less hostile company.
"Oh, you mean this parchment is /yours/?" I asked, feigning a look of surprise. "I had no idea!"
"Blaise, just shut up and give it to me."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Gin." At her frustrated sigh, I explained. "It could be cursed, or from some perverted stalker out to kidnap you. I simply /can't/ let you see it until it's been checked over."
"I appreciate your concern, but I'll take my chances," Ginny said, making a grab for the parchment.
I quickly pulled it out of her reach and gave her a pitying look. "You poor, brave soul," I said, shaking my head. "What could be so important that you're willing to risk life and limb to see it?"
"That, good sir, is none of your business." Ginny stepped my other side, trying to snatch the parchment, but I switched it to my other hand and held it away from her. "Come on, Blaise. Give it back."
"Not until you tell me who it's from," I said with a wicked grin.
Ginny rolled her eyes, but conceded. "Fine, if you must know, it's from Michael Corner."
"Aha! I told you it was from a sick, twisted pervert." Ryan let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like laughter, but quickly attempted to compose himself when I glanced sharply at him. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Ryan?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing important," Ryan said in a would-be casual voice. The effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that he broke out in a fit of giggles immediately after he finished speaking. Most undignified.
I turned back to Ginny, who seemed torn between being offended and amused. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something?"
"Because you are." Ginny allowed herself a small smile. "Michael is my boyfriend."
Oh dear. What can a person say to that? I suppose the decent thing would be to apologize, but really, where's the fun in that? "But Gin," I said, feigning a shocked and hurt expression. "I thought /I/ was the only one for you. Or was that all a lie?"
"I'm sorry, Blaise," Ginny said sadly, patting me comfortingly on the shoulder. "It's not you; it's me. I'm just not ready for a long-distance relationship right now."
"Long-distance? We live in the same castle!"
"Yes, but it's so far from Gryffindor Tower to the dungeons," she said, trying very hard not to grin and not altogether succeeding. "Really, when would we ever see each other?"
"Fine, be that way," I said, shoving her note into her hands, which she quickly slipped into her robe pocket, and turning away in a huff. "I know when I'm not wanted."
Ryan cleared his throat loudly, once again reminding us of his presence. "As much as I hate disrupting this /touching/ conversation, I must admit I'm slightly confused."
"Oh, forgive me. I seem to have forgotten my manners." All pretense of anger disappeared in an instant. "Ginny, this is Ryan Schultz. Ryan, Ginny Weasley."
Ryan shot me a quizzical glance before standing and offering his hand to her. "It's a pleasure."
Ginny smiled and returned the gesture. "Likewise."
"Have a seat, Gin," I said cheerfully. "I haven't talked to you an /ages/."
"Well, I'd like to but..." She trailed off, not sure if she should continue.
"But?"
"I came here with Luna--"
Ryan and I didn't bother trying to contain our laughter. "Luna? /Loony/ Luna? That girl who wears butterbeer caps around her neck?"
"The one and only. Anyway, she'll be wondering where I got off to." Ginny smiled wryly. "I mean, the last she saw of me, I was chasing a black cat."
I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture. "She's probably got her nose stuck in some conspiracy theory magazine or something. She won't even notice if you're gone a bit longer."
"Well..."
"Come on, she can survive without you for another ten minutes."
Ginny watched me thoughtfully for a moment, then pulled up a chair. "All right, but only for a bit."
I grinned triumphantly. "I knew you'd come around."
"Don't get too smug about it, Blaise," she said. "My brothers will kill me if they ever find out I'm talking to a Slytherin."
"You can tell them you were talking to me and Blaise just /happened/ to be there," Ryan said with a grin. "Or do your brothers have something against Ravenclaws, too?"
"Not at the moment, but that could change very quickly," she said, smiling in spite of her words. "But enough about them. How's life been treating you, Blaise?"
I shrugged. "What can I say? Life's a bitch."
Ginny laughed. "That good, huh?" I just smiled in response. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, it's not much better where I'm sitting."
"Well, of course not. You're only about a foot away from each other." Ginny and I both rolled our eyes at Ryan, who simply smiled innocently. "What? What did I say?"
I rubbed my temples. "Ryan, what did I tell you about saying stupid things in public?"
"Well, /technically/ we're not in public, so anything you may or may not have said doesn't apply."
"Anything I may or may not have said now applies to any and all potentially embarrassing situations and statements, regardless of whether it's in 'public', per se, or not," I said flatly. "You can take your technicality and shove it up your ass."
"/Technically/," Ryan drew out the word just to annoy me, "it's not physically possible--"
"Does it look like I care?"
"You should."
"Well, I don't."
"Well, you should."
"Well, I don't."
"Well--"
"Oh, /honestly/," Ginny said with a laugh. "How old are you, five?"
I gasped in mock outrage. "That's /insulting/! How can you even /say/ that?"
"No kidding!" Ryan chimed in, acting appropriately offended. "I turned six two months ago."
Ginny dropped her head into her palms. "I give up. You're worse than my brothers."
Ryan's eyes widened. "Now that really /is/ insulting."
"Really now, Gin. That's hardly how you should speak to friends."
Ginny looked up with raised eyebrows. "Oh, so we're friends now, are we?"
I smiled. "Well, what would you call it?"
"I don't know. It just seems... weird," she said hesitantly, as if embarrassed she was admitting this. "I mean, we hardly know each other." /And you're a Slytherin./ She didn't need to say it, but it was obvious she was thinking it. I decided to ignore that little detail.
"Well," I said, sending her my most winning grin. "That's something we'll have to remedy, then, isn't it?" Ginny blushed slightly, much to my amusement. "But we'll have to save that for another time," I added with a glance to my watch. "I was supposed to be back in the Common Room fifteen minutes ago." I opted not to mention that I was supposed to be helping Draco with his Transfiguration. Somehow I didn't think that bringing him up would do much for our relationship.
"Well, I'll see you later," said Ginny, sounding slightly disappointed. Not that I could blame her; I'd rather be in the company of one Hermione Granger than spend any measurable amount of time alone with Loony Luna. "I /will/ be seeing you later, right?" she added with a sly smile as Ryan and I stood to leave. "You're not going to disappear into thin air for a month again, are you?"
"Come on, Gin. Would I ever do that to you?" I smiled again and strolled out of the library.
Ryan, to his credit, managed to control himself until we were a safe distance down the hallway, at which point he began chuckling softly. "You are so /whipped/!"
"I--what?" I gaped at him like he'd just sprouted a second, third, and fourth head. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come off it," Ryan said, practically skipping with mirth. "You like her, admit it." I entertained the idea of knocking that stupid grin off his face, but one doesn't do that to his friends. Stupid friendship rules.
"She's a /Gryffindor/, Ryan, and a Weasley to boot," I said, trying to get him to see reason. "Even if I /did/ like her--which I'm not saying I do-- it'd be impossible."
"Blaise, we are the masters of impossible situations," Ryan declared with conviction. "We specialize in things no one is stupid enough to try, and we usually come out of top, somehow. So who's to say you can't see a Weasley?"
"Only the whole bloody school," I grumbled as we slipped into a side stairway. "And besides, who said I wanted to?"
Ryan smirked. "Who said you didn't?" When I declined to answer, he just laughed.
Something brushed against my leg, and I looked down to see Athena gazing up at me imploringly. "This is all your fault you know."
"What?" Ryan asked in confusion.
"Not you, you idiot," I snapped. "/Her/."
He followed my gaze to where Athena was trotting beside me, then turned back to me. "You realize you're talking to a cat, right?"
"No, /really/? I thought I was talking to Snape."
"I'm sensing an outrageous amount of sarcasm coming from you, Blaise, and I don't entirely appreciate it."
"Goody for you. I don't entirely care."
"You slay me, Blaise. Really, you do."
*******
A/N: Have you ever had one of those days where you keep getting injured? Well, I've been having one of those weeks. My back's been seized up for the past three days so I can hardly move, and I somehow managed to burn my hand on a TV dinner. I'm just talented like that. And you know what else? It's frickin' hot! Yes, I realize it's July, but really, does it have to be so humid when it's already 90 degrees? I work in a restaurant, and the grills completely void out the effect of air conditioning and then some. I didn't even know we /had/ air conditioning until one of the managers said something about it. GAH!
Anyway, I apologize again for the last chapter, which has been shot and is now burning in the nether regions of the underworld. I really am not sure what I was thinking. I would truly appreciate it if you forgot everything I wrote in there. For the love of all things holy, PLEASE forget it. As for this chapter, I have no idea if British people use the term 'whipped', but I do, so you'll just have to deal with it.
And also... you people are really obsessive with Ginny, aren't you? Pretty much every one of you was begging for more of her. Sheesh! There will be plenty of Ginny later on, though I can't say exactly how far the relationship will go. It's not that I won't tell you (though I wouldn't anyway, mwahaha), it's that I honestly don't know. My method of writing is basically shoving the characters into a situation and seeing what they do. Not exactly an art, but it works. We'll find out what happens together, I suppose. Wow, that sounded like a Blue's Clues episode or something. *shudder* Moving on...
Thanks for all your reviews. I'll try and get the next chapter out sooner, but I'm not sure if that'll actually happen... it's the thought that counts, right? Right? Well, maybe not...
Despite the rather bad start to the year, Hagrid's class had actually gotten quite interesting. The man had built a pen for the wolves by our second lesson, and the creatures were much more docile when they were able to move about. However, this didn't keep them from growling and snapping at a few of the students. The wolves let the others come near them and maybe even touch them, but a handful, with Pansy included, had to stay a good distance away if they didn't want to risk losing a limb. I found this incredibly funny, but Draco informed me, by way of death glares and hissed threats to stop laughing before he hurt me, that I was wrong.
Quidditch was looming on the horizon, and the Slytherin team was determined to win the Cup back. With Montague at the helm and Crabbe and Goyle replacing the graduated Beaters, the season looked to be a good one. Our main obstacle, as usual, was the Gryffindor team, but Montague hoped that without Wood to beat them into submission, they might get lax. They also had to find a half-way decent Keeper, and, from what I heard, the Weasley they recruited wasn't nearly good enough to stop our Chasers.
Even so, the Slytherin team was practicing like mad in preparation of their first match against Ravenclaw. It wouldn't do to be crushed right away in the season.
"It's pointless, you know," said Ryan one evening in the library. We'd long ago given up the pretense of doing homework and were in deep discussion over the following week's match. "They can practice all they want, but there's no way they'll get past this year's team."
"You sound pretty confident for someone whose team hasn't even been in the running for years," I said with a smirk.
"Hey, we would've beat you last time if Flint hadn't dive-bombed our Chaser while the ref wasn't looking," Ryan repeated for the millionth time. "The whole team is full of bloody cheaters."
"We don't cheat, Ryan," I said flatly. "We simply bend the rules how we see fit."
"Well, whatever you call it, it's not going to help you next week. Ravenclaw is going to kick your ass."
"Oh? And what makes you say that?"
"Half your team is new," Ryan said confidently. "It'll take a while for them to start to actually work together. Our team, however, only lost one Chaser from the last season, and the replacement has been on the reserves since his second year. There's no training-in period for us."
"Maybe, but Slytherin has clocked in way more practice time. And besides, our Seeker is much better than yours."
Ryan glared at me as though I'd just insulted his mother. "Chang is the best Seeker we've had in a long time."
"Just because the rest sucked ass, it doesn't mean Chang is awesome," I said with a smile. "She couldn't catch the Snitch if it was roped to her wrist."
The Ravenclaw gaped, rather resembling a fish out of water, but quickly collected himself. "All right, if you're so sure you'll win, you won't mind partaking in a little bet."
I grinned widely. "Not at all. How much?"
"A Galleon?"
"Make it five."
"You're on." We shook on it. It had become something of a tradition for us to wager on the games, though why Ryan was so willing to part ways with his money was a mystery to me. I didn't rightly care, though, so long as it was me he was losing it to.
We both jumped as a black streak dropped onto the table with a soft /thump/.
My cat often prowled about the school, especially the library, as it was an ideal place for her to partake in one of her favorite activities: hunting first years and Gryffindors. She particularly enjoyed dropping onto their shoulders from atop a bookcase, but sometimes settled for borrowing small items and conveniently forgetting to return them, as was currently the case.
Athena laid a thin roll of parchment onto the table in front of me and settled herself on my open Transfiguration text. "Hey, girl," I said quietly, rubbing her under the chin. She closed her eyes, purring contentedly. "What poor sap did you rip this off of?"
That question was soon answered as a rather flustered Ginny Weasley appeared from behind a bookcase. She froze when she spotted Athena lounged atop the table, her eyes traveling from the cat to the parchment beside her, and finally resting on me. "Hello, Blaise."
I couldn't help but grin. "Ginny, darling," I drawled, noting how the girl paled slightly as I picked up the roll of parchment and turned it over slowly in my hands. "How are you?"
"Great, until a certain creature decided to take a certain item from my possession," she said, eyeing Athena reproachfully in case I didn't catch what she meant by 'certain creature'. Athena meowed innocently, but hopped off the table in search of less hostile company.
"Oh, you mean this parchment is /yours/?" I asked, feigning a look of surprise. "I had no idea!"
"Blaise, just shut up and give it to me."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Gin." At her frustrated sigh, I explained. "It could be cursed, or from some perverted stalker out to kidnap you. I simply /can't/ let you see it until it's been checked over."
"I appreciate your concern, but I'll take my chances," Ginny said, making a grab for the parchment.
I quickly pulled it out of her reach and gave her a pitying look. "You poor, brave soul," I said, shaking my head. "What could be so important that you're willing to risk life and limb to see it?"
"That, good sir, is none of your business." Ginny stepped my other side, trying to snatch the parchment, but I switched it to my other hand and held it away from her. "Come on, Blaise. Give it back."
"Not until you tell me who it's from," I said with a wicked grin.
Ginny rolled her eyes, but conceded. "Fine, if you must know, it's from Michael Corner."
"Aha! I told you it was from a sick, twisted pervert." Ryan let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like laughter, but quickly attempted to compose himself when I glanced sharply at him. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Ryan?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing important," Ryan said in a would-be casual voice. The effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that he broke out in a fit of giggles immediately after he finished speaking. Most undignified.
I turned back to Ginny, who seemed torn between being offended and amused. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something?"
"Because you are." Ginny allowed herself a small smile. "Michael is my boyfriend."
Oh dear. What can a person say to that? I suppose the decent thing would be to apologize, but really, where's the fun in that? "But Gin," I said, feigning a shocked and hurt expression. "I thought /I/ was the only one for you. Or was that all a lie?"
"I'm sorry, Blaise," Ginny said sadly, patting me comfortingly on the shoulder. "It's not you; it's me. I'm just not ready for a long-distance relationship right now."
"Long-distance? We live in the same castle!"
"Yes, but it's so far from Gryffindor Tower to the dungeons," she said, trying very hard not to grin and not altogether succeeding. "Really, when would we ever see each other?"
"Fine, be that way," I said, shoving her note into her hands, which she quickly slipped into her robe pocket, and turning away in a huff. "I know when I'm not wanted."
Ryan cleared his throat loudly, once again reminding us of his presence. "As much as I hate disrupting this /touching/ conversation, I must admit I'm slightly confused."
"Oh, forgive me. I seem to have forgotten my manners." All pretense of anger disappeared in an instant. "Ginny, this is Ryan Schultz. Ryan, Ginny Weasley."
Ryan shot me a quizzical glance before standing and offering his hand to her. "It's a pleasure."
Ginny smiled and returned the gesture. "Likewise."
"Have a seat, Gin," I said cheerfully. "I haven't talked to you an /ages/."
"Well, I'd like to but..." She trailed off, not sure if she should continue.
"But?"
"I came here with Luna--"
Ryan and I didn't bother trying to contain our laughter. "Luna? /Loony/ Luna? That girl who wears butterbeer caps around her neck?"
"The one and only. Anyway, she'll be wondering where I got off to." Ginny smiled wryly. "I mean, the last she saw of me, I was chasing a black cat."
I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture. "She's probably got her nose stuck in some conspiracy theory magazine or something. She won't even notice if you're gone a bit longer."
"Well..."
"Come on, she can survive without you for another ten minutes."
Ginny watched me thoughtfully for a moment, then pulled up a chair. "All right, but only for a bit."
I grinned triumphantly. "I knew you'd come around."
"Don't get too smug about it, Blaise," she said. "My brothers will kill me if they ever find out I'm talking to a Slytherin."
"You can tell them you were talking to me and Blaise just /happened/ to be there," Ryan said with a grin. "Or do your brothers have something against Ravenclaws, too?"
"Not at the moment, but that could change very quickly," she said, smiling in spite of her words. "But enough about them. How's life been treating you, Blaise?"
I shrugged. "What can I say? Life's a bitch."
Ginny laughed. "That good, huh?" I just smiled in response. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, it's not much better where I'm sitting."
"Well, of course not. You're only about a foot away from each other." Ginny and I both rolled our eyes at Ryan, who simply smiled innocently. "What? What did I say?"
I rubbed my temples. "Ryan, what did I tell you about saying stupid things in public?"
"Well, /technically/ we're not in public, so anything you may or may not have said doesn't apply."
"Anything I may or may not have said now applies to any and all potentially embarrassing situations and statements, regardless of whether it's in 'public', per se, or not," I said flatly. "You can take your technicality and shove it up your ass."
"/Technically/," Ryan drew out the word just to annoy me, "it's not physically possible--"
"Does it look like I care?"
"You should."
"Well, I don't."
"Well, you should."
"Well, I don't."
"Well--"
"Oh, /honestly/," Ginny said with a laugh. "How old are you, five?"
I gasped in mock outrage. "That's /insulting/! How can you even /say/ that?"
"No kidding!" Ryan chimed in, acting appropriately offended. "I turned six two months ago."
Ginny dropped her head into her palms. "I give up. You're worse than my brothers."
Ryan's eyes widened. "Now that really /is/ insulting."
"Really now, Gin. That's hardly how you should speak to friends."
Ginny looked up with raised eyebrows. "Oh, so we're friends now, are we?"
I smiled. "Well, what would you call it?"
"I don't know. It just seems... weird," she said hesitantly, as if embarrassed she was admitting this. "I mean, we hardly know each other." /And you're a Slytherin./ She didn't need to say it, but it was obvious she was thinking it. I decided to ignore that little detail.
"Well," I said, sending her my most winning grin. "That's something we'll have to remedy, then, isn't it?" Ginny blushed slightly, much to my amusement. "But we'll have to save that for another time," I added with a glance to my watch. "I was supposed to be back in the Common Room fifteen minutes ago." I opted not to mention that I was supposed to be helping Draco with his Transfiguration. Somehow I didn't think that bringing him up would do much for our relationship.
"Well, I'll see you later," said Ginny, sounding slightly disappointed. Not that I could blame her; I'd rather be in the company of one Hermione Granger than spend any measurable amount of time alone with Loony Luna. "I /will/ be seeing you later, right?" she added with a sly smile as Ryan and I stood to leave. "You're not going to disappear into thin air for a month again, are you?"
"Come on, Gin. Would I ever do that to you?" I smiled again and strolled out of the library.
Ryan, to his credit, managed to control himself until we were a safe distance down the hallway, at which point he began chuckling softly. "You are so /whipped/!"
"I--what?" I gaped at him like he'd just sprouted a second, third, and fourth head. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come off it," Ryan said, practically skipping with mirth. "You like her, admit it." I entertained the idea of knocking that stupid grin off his face, but one doesn't do that to his friends. Stupid friendship rules.
"She's a /Gryffindor/, Ryan, and a Weasley to boot," I said, trying to get him to see reason. "Even if I /did/ like her--which I'm not saying I do-- it'd be impossible."
"Blaise, we are the masters of impossible situations," Ryan declared with conviction. "We specialize in things no one is stupid enough to try, and we usually come out of top, somehow. So who's to say you can't see a Weasley?"
"Only the whole bloody school," I grumbled as we slipped into a side stairway. "And besides, who said I wanted to?"
Ryan smirked. "Who said you didn't?" When I declined to answer, he just laughed.
Something brushed against my leg, and I looked down to see Athena gazing up at me imploringly. "This is all your fault you know."
"What?" Ryan asked in confusion.
"Not you, you idiot," I snapped. "/Her/."
He followed my gaze to where Athena was trotting beside me, then turned back to me. "You realize you're talking to a cat, right?"
"No, /really/? I thought I was talking to Snape."
"I'm sensing an outrageous amount of sarcasm coming from you, Blaise, and I don't entirely appreciate it."
"Goody for you. I don't entirely care."
"You slay me, Blaise. Really, you do."
*******
A/N: Have you ever had one of those days where you keep getting injured? Well, I've been having one of those weeks. My back's been seized up for the past three days so I can hardly move, and I somehow managed to burn my hand on a TV dinner. I'm just talented like that. And you know what else? It's frickin' hot! Yes, I realize it's July, but really, does it have to be so humid when it's already 90 degrees? I work in a restaurant, and the grills completely void out the effect of air conditioning and then some. I didn't even know we /had/ air conditioning until one of the managers said something about it. GAH!
Anyway, I apologize again for the last chapter, which has been shot and is now burning in the nether regions of the underworld. I really am not sure what I was thinking. I would truly appreciate it if you forgot everything I wrote in there. For the love of all things holy, PLEASE forget it. As for this chapter, I have no idea if British people use the term 'whipped', but I do, so you'll just have to deal with it.
And also... you people are really obsessive with Ginny, aren't you? Pretty much every one of you was begging for more of her. Sheesh! There will be plenty of Ginny later on, though I can't say exactly how far the relationship will go. It's not that I won't tell you (though I wouldn't anyway, mwahaha), it's that I honestly don't know. My method of writing is basically shoving the characters into a situation and seeing what they do. Not exactly an art, but it works. We'll find out what happens together, I suppose. Wow, that sounded like a Blue's Clues episode or something. *shudder* Moving on...
Thanks for all your reviews. I'll try and get the next chapter out sooner, but I'm not sure if that'll actually happen... it's the thought that counts, right? Right? Well, maybe not...