CHAPTER 14: REVELATIONS AND A QUIDDITCH GAME
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never was. Never will be.
*~~~*
Dear Students, We regret to inform you that due to the need for the staff and student body's needs to recuperate, and with the events of last night, contact and/or visit their families; classes and all extracurricular activities are canceled for today, November 29, 1980. Should you need to speak with any member of the staff, they will be available all day in their offices. A student support system has been set up in the Hospital Wing, complete with psychologists. Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely, Professor Minerva McGonogall Deputy Headmistress
"Yes!" Shouted Sirius, punching his fist in the air, "Now I don't have to skive-off to go find Cailie." James was on the rug in front of the hearth in the Gryffindor Common room playing a game of Wizard's Chess half-heartedly with Pete, and Remus was sprawled on the couch reading the paper for the billionth time, brow furrowed. None of the Marauder's had made any move to go to class, even before McGonogall had come in frowning with the notice.
Sirius pushed Remus' feet off the end of the couch and sat down, lost in thought. "Dunno where she could of gone, though," He said thoughtfully. Remus just frowned from behind the paper, and James said dully to Peter,
"Check mate," and Sirius continued talking to himself,
"I mean, I know the paper was disturbing and its upset and scared us all but she didn't seem the type to just run off like that, she doesn't usually allow those things to get..." He was interrupted mid-ramble when Remus got up abruptly and gave him a glare, "Jeez, if looks could kill..." Sirius began huffily, but Remus silenced him with another look, and spoke quietly and slowly, voice trembling with rage, "For being Cailie's boyfriend and one of Smiley's best friends, you sure don't know a lot about them" At this James and Peter looked up, interested, and Sirius gave him a questioning look, "Firstly, you apparently didn't read the article very well, one of the attacks was in a village in Paris, France, where Cailie lives." Realization dawned on Sirius' face and James frowned darkly, "Well, did anyone she know, well, ya know...get...killed?" Remus rolled his eyes at him, "Her older sister was killed, Sirius, God you are so dense!" All three looked up at Lupin now, shocked and very bewildered, "B-but, Cailie...she's a..." Sirius trailed off, though rally confused, "Smiley and Cailie are muggle-born." Remus said shortly before storming towards the dorm. "Oh shit." "You can say that again, Padfoot old buddy."
*~~~*
Caitie sat in the far corner of the Hospital Wing in a chair next to two beds that had been pushed hastily to the side. Her hair was volcanic and frizzy, and bits stuck to her lip-gloss. Black tears, mixing with mascara ran down her face and she sat in fetal position rocking back and forth, her body heaving with sobs. The rickety chair looked in danger of tipping over every time she rocked backwards, and in her hand she desperately clutched a torn, worn, tear-stained edition of the Daily Prophet. With her free hand, she grabbed the limp hand in the bed. The girl in the bed was the sleeping version of Jessi, and in the bed behind her was Ashley. As no one really know what else to do with them, this was where they had ended up and where they would remain until they waked. She spoke softly to the angelic face, grief evident in her cracked, hollow voice. "I c-can't believe words...paper can bring on such horrors. I can't believe this is happening. How can p-people be s-so cruel? It's such a heartless t- thing to do. Killing people for no reason, other then blood. D-dirty blood, c-common blood, it's all the same in the end. M-magic is supposed to be deeper then that. People are supposed to be smarter then that, especially one's who c-can wave a wand around and make things that are so beautiful and amazing. How c-can someone hate another person so much without e-even knowing them? I...don't get it." With this she burst into tears again and sobbed loudly, tears flowing steadily from her face and onto Jessi's, who remained undisturbed. She looked down at the paper once more, hoping vainly that it would say something else. But it was no use, it had said the same thing all morning, and no amount of crying, talking, or re-reading would reverse it.
*~~~* Late last night the magic world in Europe suffered one of the deadliest, most un-provoked attacks and ruthless acts of terrorism ever. In two areas that are populated by witches and wizards as well as muggles, Olney, Britain and Paris, France, witches and wizards who had muggle spouses, as well as muggles who had witch or wizard sons and/or daughters were killed. Almost nobody was spared, and over thirty are dead. The Minister of Magic, James Gibbons, made a statement early this morning in which he said the two attacks were connected. Evidence shows that a gang of pureblood witches and wizards, who call themselves the Death Eaters are responsible for the attacks. If they are taking orders from anyone, or who this person may be is still unknown. For now, the Minister of Magic advises everyone to stay calm, but remain vigilant and cautious. If you have any information on the subject, please Owl the Auror Division at the Ministry of Magic. All personal information is kept private.
*~~~*
Cailie sat on the stone ground in the Astronomy Tower, staring blankly into space. Her eyes were unfocused, and her face showed no sign of tears, nor did it display any type of emotion. If it weren't for the fact that she moved her head and took a deep shuddering breath every once in awhile, Sirius would've questioned if it was actually Cailie, or just a doll replica. After watching her for quite some time, he sat down next to her, and she jumped a little and made a squeal-like noise.
"Hey, girlie, how you doing?" He knew it was a completely stupid and redundant question, but he really didn't really know what else to say. Cailie promptly shushed him though, and grabbed his hand and held onto it for dear life. He tried to loosen her grip a little, but she only gripped his hand harder. His face contorted with pain, he began to tell her she was hurting him, but she only shushed him yet again. Taking the hint, he fell silent and looked at Cailie's face, taking in her creamy skin, and her large brown doe eyes, that were always searching, always searching for something. Knowledge? Love? Friendship? He wasn't sure he'd ever know. They sat like this for quite sometime until Cailie said quietly,
"My sister always said if you sat quietly enough, close to the sky, you'd hear the wind blowing, and it would sing to you, a beautiful song. I never really knew what she meant, and I never was able to ask her to explain properly..." she trailed off and her eyes filled with tears. She buried her head in Sirius' chest and tears rolled down her face, almost silently. This was all quite new to Sirius, and had not a clue as to what to do. Finally he settled on putting one arm around her waist and with his other hand he ran his fingers through her long brown hair.
*~~~* On Thursday, two things happened. Ashley and Jessi woke up, and Cailie went home. Classes resumed and the world kept on turning, leaving a few people behind, stuck in its wake. Saturday morning Cailie came back with a brave smile, and although the other girls made motions to want to talk about what had happened to her, she ignored them whenever they brought the subject up. They didn't really have time to dwell on the tragedy, though, because Saturday was the first Quidditch game. Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. It was highly anticipated because it was well known that the two heads of the school, Caitie Roark and James Potter would be going up against each other. Oh, and it would be interesting to see who killed the other first, Sirius or Jessi. 'Course, they didn't really know how much pain these two groups had been going through, and were expecting a good match, and the four had to give there audience what they wanted. It was called acting, and in there years at Hogwarts, they had become quite skilled at it. Remus, Peter, Ashley, and Cailie sat next to each other in the stands, talking and laughing politely, not daring to delve beneath the surface, pretending nothing was wrong. Caitie gave a "whoop!" from her position on her broom and did a quick handstand on the broom to show off and let off positive energy as she saw one of the Ravenclaw Chasers, Elisa Zulrino scored. The score was 60-40, Ravenclaw. Now she just catch the Snitch and she'd be home free. She quickly rolled over on her broom to avoid being hit by a bludger and stuck her tongue out at Sirius, and then giggled at the sight she saw. He had that goofy smile on again, but his nose was bleeding freely and Caitie couldn't see how he could even concentrate, let alone laugh and joke with his teammates as if they were at a rather boring social event. His nose was bleeding, well, because him and Jessi had both game to hit a bludger but her swing was off and she had hit him right in the nose forcefully. She had immediately apologized and had been apologizing profusely until she let a bludger go directly by her and the Captain, (who was also a Chaser, Jay Chang) yelled at her to stop flirting with Black. Turning a deep shade of crimson, she'd quickly went back to slamming bludgers into the opposite end of the pitch. Caitie's stomach quickly gave a little flip-flop as she saw a golden glint near the other end of the pitch and she groaned inwardly, realizing James was already hurtling towards it. Putting on a huge burst of speed, she became a tiny blue blur as she made her way towards the snitch. Her eyes watered as the wind blew against her fiercely. Trying her best not to blink, shield her face, and still catch the tiny, golden snitch, she was soon neck and neck with the stunned James.
"How the hell did you catch up with me that fast?" He growled, but Caitie noticed there was a glint in his eyes. She shrugged her shoulders,
"Honestly? I have idea." They both reached there arms out, making fruitless grabs at the ball which was darting back and forth, and suddenly dropped itself down about twenty feet. They both went into steep dives almost immediately, and they both moved there feet on top of the broom, still clinging to it in a squatting position in order to keep up the speed of the dive without toppling off. Once again they both reached there arms out, and knowing they were both going to hit the ground at breakneck speed in a millisecond if they didn't do something they both jumped off at the exact same time, arms reaching out towards the golden snitch. Hitting the ground with an "Oof," Caitie somersaulted over out of sheer force and James went sliding on his stomach along the grass, grinning triumphantly. Once Caitie realized he did indeed have the snitch she stood up and helped him up, grinning and shaking her head. "Nice game Potter." "You too, Smiley."
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never was. Never will be.
*~~~*
Dear Students, We regret to inform you that due to the need for the staff and student body's needs to recuperate, and with the events of last night, contact and/or visit their families; classes and all extracurricular activities are canceled for today, November 29, 1980. Should you need to speak with any member of the staff, they will be available all day in their offices. A student support system has been set up in the Hospital Wing, complete with psychologists. Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely, Professor Minerva McGonogall Deputy Headmistress
"Yes!" Shouted Sirius, punching his fist in the air, "Now I don't have to skive-off to go find Cailie." James was on the rug in front of the hearth in the Gryffindor Common room playing a game of Wizard's Chess half-heartedly with Pete, and Remus was sprawled on the couch reading the paper for the billionth time, brow furrowed. None of the Marauder's had made any move to go to class, even before McGonogall had come in frowning with the notice.
Sirius pushed Remus' feet off the end of the couch and sat down, lost in thought. "Dunno where she could of gone, though," He said thoughtfully. Remus just frowned from behind the paper, and James said dully to Peter,
"Check mate," and Sirius continued talking to himself,
"I mean, I know the paper was disturbing and its upset and scared us all but she didn't seem the type to just run off like that, she doesn't usually allow those things to get..." He was interrupted mid-ramble when Remus got up abruptly and gave him a glare, "Jeez, if looks could kill..." Sirius began huffily, but Remus silenced him with another look, and spoke quietly and slowly, voice trembling with rage, "For being Cailie's boyfriend and one of Smiley's best friends, you sure don't know a lot about them" At this James and Peter looked up, interested, and Sirius gave him a questioning look, "Firstly, you apparently didn't read the article very well, one of the attacks was in a village in Paris, France, where Cailie lives." Realization dawned on Sirius' face and James frowned darkly, "Well, did anyone she know, well, ya know...get...killed?" Remus rolled his eyes at him, "Her older sister was killed, Sirius, God you are so dense!" All three looked up at Lupin now, shocked and very bewildered, "B-but, Cailie...she's a..." Sirius trailed off, though rally confused, "Smiley and Cailie are muggle-born." Remus said shortly before storming towards the dorm. "Oh shit." "You can say that again, Padfoot old buddy."
*~~~*
Caitie sat in the far corner of the Hospital Wing in a chair next to two beds that had been pushed hastily to the side. Her hair was volcanic and frizzy, and bits stuck to her lip-gloss. Black tears, mixing with mascara ran down her face and she sat in fetal position rocking back and forth, her body heaving with sobs. The rickety chair looked in danger of tipping over every time she rocked backwards, and in her hand she desperately clutched a torn, worn, tear-stained edition of the Daily Prophet. With her free hand, she grabbed the limp hand in the bed. The girl in the bed was the sleeping version of Jessi, and in the bed behind her was Ashley. As no one really know what else to do with them, this was where they had ended up and where they would remain until they waked. She spoke softly to the angelic face, grief evident in her cracked, hollow voice. "I c-can't believe words...paper can bring on such horrors. I can't believe this is happening. How can p-people be s-so cruel? It's such a heartless t- thing to do. Killing people for no reason, other then blood. D-dirty blood, c-common blood, it's all the same in the end. M-magic is supposed to be deeper then that. People are supposed to be smarter then that, especially one's who c-can wave a wand around and make things that are so beautiful and amazing. How c-can someone hate another person so much without e-even knowing them? I...don't get it." With this she burst into tears again and sobbed loudly, tears flowing steadily from her face and onto Jessi's, who remained undisturbed. She looked down at the paper once more, hoping vainly that it would say something else. But it was no use, it had said the same thing all morning, and no amount of crying, talking, or re-reading would reverse it.
*~~~* Late last night the magic world in Europe suffered one of the deadliest, most un-provoked attacks and ruthless acts of terrorism ever. In two areas that are populated by witches and wizards as well as muggles, Olney, Britain and Paris, France, witches and wizards who had muggle spouses, as well as muggles who had witch or wizard sons and/or daughters were killed. Almost nobody was spared, and over thirty are dead. The Minister of Magic, James Gibbons, made a statement early this morning in which he said the two attacks were connected. Evidence shows that a gang of pureblood witches and wizards, who call themselves the Death Eaters are responsible for the attacks. If they are taking orders from anyone, or who this person may be is still unknown. For now, the Minister of Magic advises everyone to stay calm, but remain vigilant and cautious. If you have any information on the subject, please Owl the Auror Division at the Ministry of Magic. All personal information is kept private.
*~~~*
Cailie sat on the stone ground in the Astronomy Tower, staring blankly into space. Her eyes were unfocused, and her face showed no sign of tears, nor did it display any type of emotion. If it weren't for the fact that she moved her head and took a deep shuddering breath every once in awhile, Sirius would've questioned if it was actually Cailie, or just a doll replica. After watching her for quite some time, he sat down next to her, and she jumped a little and made a squeal-like noise.
"Hey, girlie, how you doing?" He knew it was a completely stupid and redundant question, but he really didn't really know what else to say. Cailie promptly shushed him though, and grabbed his hand and held onto it for dear life. He tried to loosen her grip a little, but she only gripped his hand harder. His face contorted with pain, he began to tell her she was hurting him, but she only shushed him yet again. Taking the hint, he fell silent and looked at Cailie's face, taking in her creamy skin, and her large brown doe eyes, that were always searching, always searching for something. Knowledge? Love? Friendship? He wasn't sure he'd ever know. They sat like this for quite sometime until Cailie said quietly,
"My sister always said if you sat quietly enough, close to the sky, you'd hear the wind blowing, and it would sing to you, a beautiful song. I never really knew what she meant, and I never was able to ask her to explain properly..." she trailed off and her eyes filled with tears. She buried her head in Sirius' chest and tears rolled down her face, almost silently. This was all quite new to Sirius, and had not a clue as to what to do. Finally he settled on putting one arm around her waist and with his other hand he ran his fingers through her long brown hair.
*~~~* On Thursday, two things happened. Ashley and Jessi woke up, and Cailie went home. Classes resumed and the world kept on turning, leaving a few people behind, stuck in its wake. Saturday morning Cailie came back with a brave smile, and although the other girls made motions to want to talk about what had happened to her, she ignored them whenever they brought the subject up. They didn't really have time to dwell on the tragedy, though, because Saturday was the first Quidditch game. Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. It was highly anticipated because it was well known that the two heads of the school, Caitie Roark and James Potter would be going up against each other. Oh, and it would be interesting to see who killed the other first, Sirius or Jessi. 'Course, they didn't really know how much pain these two groups had been going through, and were expecting a good match, and the four had to give there audience what they wanted. It was called acting, and in there years at Hogwarts, they had become quite skilled at it. Remus, Peter, Ashley, and Cailie sat next to each other in the stands, talking and laughing politely, not daring to delve beneath the surface, pretending nothing was wrong. Caitie gave a "whoop!" from her position on her broom and did a quick handstand on the broom to show off and let off positive energy as she saw one of the Ravenclaw Chasers, Elisa Zulrino scored. The score was 60-40, Ravenclaw. Now she just catch the Snitch and she'd be home free. She quickly rolled over on her broom to avoid being hit by a bludger and stuck her tongue out at Sirius, and then giggled at the sight she saw. He had that goofy smile on again, but his nose was bleeding freely and Caitie couldn't see how he could even concentrate, let alone laugh and joke with his teammates as if they were at a rather boring social event. His nose was bleeding, well, because him and Jessi had both game to hit a bludger but her swing was off and she had hit him right in the nose forcefully. She had immediately apologized and had been apologizing profusely until she let a bludger go directly by her and the Captain, (who was also a Chaser, Jay Chang) yelled at her to stop flirting with Black. Turning a deep shade of crimson, she'd quickly went back to slamming bludgers into the opposite end of the pitch. Caitie's stomach quickly gave a little flip-flop as she saw a golden glint near the other end of the pitch and she groaned inwardly, realizing James was already hurtling towards it. Putting on a huge burst of speed, she became a tiny blue blur as she made her way towards the snitch. Her eyes watered as the wind blew against her fiercely. Trying her best not to blink, shield her face, and still catch the tiny, golden snitch, she was soon neck and neck with the stunned James.
"How the hell did you catch up with me that fast?" He growled, but Caitie noticed there was a glint in his eyes. She shrugged her shoulders,
"Honestly? I have idea." They both reached there arms out, making fruitless grabs at the ball which was darting back and forth, and suddenly dropped itself down about twenty feet. They both went into steep dives almost immediately, and they both moved there feet on top of the broom, still clinging to it in a squatting position in order to keep up the speed of the dive without toppling off. Once again they both reached there arms out, and knowing they were both going to hit the ground at breakneck speed in a millisecond if they didn't do something they both jumped off at the exact same time, arms reaching out towards the golden snitch. Hitting the ground with an "Oof," Caitie somersaulted over out of sheer force and James went sliding on his stomach along the grass, grinning triumphantly. Once Caitie realized he did indeed have the snitch she stood up and helped him up, grinning and shaking her head. "Nice game Potter." "You too, Smiley."