Disclaimer: Regretfully, I admit that I do not own Harry Potter (sadly, the
series and all copyright privileges are the property of Miss JK Rowling),
but when I succeed with world domination I assure you that I will own Draco
Malfoy. Hehehe...ü This is post OotP, so, yeah... spoilers for those who
haven't read it. If you haven't, have you been living in a rock or
something!? Joking!ü Yeah, the only character I own is Caitlin and her
friends... for now.
A/N: I'm so happy! I actually got nice reviews! Wipee! To all of you who wrote me, thank you soooo much! You have inspired me to post again so soon.... Tee hee.ü To everyone who's waiting for the D/H parts, I promise, I just need to wrap the summer up in two more chapters and then they'll be back at Hogwarts and we can have more fun!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Papa?"
Caitlin pushed the door open and peered into the house, as if checking for anything dangerous. Satisfied, she turned back to her companion and motioned him inside. "Hurry before my dad notices-"
"Caitlin Cimmerian Moore, is that you?" a voice called from a room at the end of the long entrance hall.
The girl cringed as though hit. She managed a sheepish smile at the boy standing behind her then strode into the house with more confidence now that she was sure she wasn't waking anyone. She deposited her surfboard, sail, wetsuit and duffel bag in the hall and went on towards the room from where the voice had issued. Then, as if shocked that she had forgotten something, she turned around.
"You coming, Collin?" she asked with a slight smile playing on her pale- rose colored lips. She motioned with her hand for him to follow her.
Harry Potter jammed his hands into the pockets of his (though he would never admit it) hand-me-down jogging pants, wondering why in the world he was there at the moment. Half of him wanted to turn around and walk the whole way back to the resort where they were staying but one glance at the girl walking in front of him and all doubts were pushed to the back of his mind.
Caitlin bounced into the kitchen with a bright grin, her blond hair flashing in the early morning sun. "Mornin' Papa!" She swept past the counter and kissed the man in front of the stove on the cheek.
"Morning Maui," He swept her up into a one-armed hug and squeezed her.
"Papa, this is Collin. I met him..." she checked the wall clock. "46 minutes ago." She stuck out her tongue and smiled at Harry, her head cocked slightly to the side. "Collin, this is my dad. Well, step dad." She winked and peered over at the stove. "Ooh, breakfast. Collin's staying over to eat, all right?"
The man nodded, but not without another glance towards Harry, who nervously tried to flatten his hair without success. Then the man glanced at his feet.
"Shoobie, huh?" he asked his stepdaughter with a smile.
Caitlin's eyes went wide from nicking a piece of bacon from a plate. Then she turned a delicate pink. "Oh, yeah..." She chuckled feebly. "Well, we'd better go change now, Papito. I'm sure Spyke wouldn't mind lending Harry a few of his old stuff." She slipped past her father's glare, grabbed Harry's hand and ran back through the hall where they had come from. Once out of her father's earshot, she let go of his hand and looked at him.
"Are you all right? You haven't spoken much since we left the beach."
Harry shook his head, looking a bit lost. "I'm fine," he said, unconvincingly.
She suddenly reached out and brushed the hair off his forehead, so that she could see his scar better. His skin prickled where their skin had touched. "I think it's beautiful, Collin. I don't see it like I know you do." she whispered, answering all the questions and doubts that he had been thinking at the moment.
He stared at her. How had she known that he had been thinking about how horrid it was to have to wear that scar for the rest of his life and the burden he had to carry because of it? He opened his mouth to ask her but all of a sudden she smiled her dazzling smile and spoke before he could.
"I know what you need!" She spoke with such zeal that he knew it would be hard to contradict her if she suggested anything absurd. Nothing against her but sometimes she acted a bit queer, maybe even more queer than he knew he acted. It wasn't a bad thing – in fact, it was one of the things that made him want to be the one to make her laugh. "You need to take a long hot bath to chill out! I'll put on a Bob Marley CD and you can use my bath soaps and – oooh!"
Caitlin squealed excitedly, and before Harry could say anything she poked him in the small of the back and pushed him up the stairs. There were 5 closed doors around the place and she pushed him towards the one on his immediate right.
"Oh shoot!" She snapped her fingers. "I forgot my duffel bag downstairs. Get comfy and don't disappear, ok?" She grinned and ran back downstairs.
Harry sighed and messed up his hair, stopping in mid-gesture, remembering how his very own father had the same habit. The smallest of smiles tugged at his lips and, feeling a bit more like he had an hour ago, looked around the room Caitlin had pushed him in.
At one glance you couldn't tell if it was a girl's room or a boy's. Posters were plastered all over the ceiling, with space only for the fluorescent light in the middle and the black light bulb from the top of a carousel- shaped mosquito net with plastic butterflies clipped to it. The draping was also covering a black glittery beanbag in the farthest right corner. Blue and orange cloths were hung like a turret over the bed and the wall where the bed was pushed against was painted midnight blue and plastered with glow-in-the-dark stars and a crescent moon lamp was in the center, right over the bed. A drum set stood against the wall where the windows were, which were draped with plastic rings as a sort-of curtain. The effect was kind-of cool because the mid-morning sun was now casting little bubbles of light across to the other wall (painted like something you'd see in a museum), which was bare aside from a small desk littered with papers and half-open books.
"Like my room?"
Harry spun around, shocked. Suddenly, he felt like he was intruding into her personal space, but she just grinned at him.
"Like the pictures?" She dropped her bag and strode over to where he had been standing, looking at the pictures on the shelves of her TV console. She fingered the silver frame of one with her as a child and a man with the look of someone who had lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.
"He's my real father." Caitlin explained. "My mum remarried after I was born, so the only parents I knew for a while were her and George down there." She cocked her head towards the direction of the door. "But then I found this old letter from him to my mum when they were still in school together, and a few months later we visited him in prison."
"Oh. I'm sorry," Harry said lamely.
"Sorry for what?"
"That your real father was in prison,"
"He's dead now, so you don't have to be sorry about anything." She turned and walked towards a door that had been concealed with a large poster of a band called "The Rasmus". "Bathroom's through here, make yourself comfortable." With that, she turned and left.
Harry stared into the open door, wondering how he had gone from Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, to Collin Whatever-His-Last-Name-Is with the perfectly normal Muggle life.
*
"Does he know about you?"
"Not yet."
"Caitlin, he has so know. You're the one assigned to take care of him for the whole of summer-"
"And I still have no idea why granddad chose me."
"Because you're the one who knows everything about all this wiz-"
"Shh! Spyke, shut up or he'll hear you. I need to gain his trust first and being another guardian won't do that. And after what he's been through, I think he deserves a little fun, don't you think?" She grinned.
"No, I don't think so." He paused, staring at her. "But I will help you. Do I have to be nice to him?"
"Yes, you do big brother. Now go take those clothes to him, I have to get ready for tonight's little get-together."
*
Someone knocked on the door and a second later, someone's voice filtered through.
"I've got your clothes. Am I allowed to come in?"
Forgetting where he was at the moment and enjoying his bath far too much, Harry grunted in a sort-of "yes" and sunk his nose and mouth back under the bathwater. He didn't know what it was with the bath soaps and salts Caitlin owned, but they had a weird calming effect on his body. He closed his eyes and a small part of his brain was aware that he heard someone walk in.
"I put the clothes beside the sink, aiit?"
Harry shot up straight, taking a huge gulp of air and splashing water onto the floor. He checked if he could see – erm – anything. "What – who – how – when -?" he sputtered, green eyes wide in shock, his brain slowly registering that a guy was standing in front of him, gray eyes narrowed in unmistakable dislike.
"I'm Spyke, KC's older brother." His eyes were clear and deep, and currently appraising him as if he were a piece of meat. "You must be Collin," Spyke said the name as if it left a bad taste on his tongue. He glanced at a small black pile of clothes beside the tub and bent down to pick it up. Harry felt his face flush.
"You don't have to – those are just my old clothes." He said in a rush, hoping that his thoughts would happen. Please let go of my boxers. Please oh please oh please oh please let go of them right now and close the door before Caitlin comes in and -
"Don't worry about it." A ghost of a smile passed across his handsome features. "I'll throw these in the wash for you." He took two long strides towards the door and Harry almost sighed in relief, but then he paused at the last moment. "You should hurry. Everyone's arriving."
Harry opened his mouth to ask who 'everyone' was, but the door closed, leaving him alone once again. At a loss, he looked at the clock shaped like a crescent moon above the mirror and jumped again, realizing that two hours had passed since he'd gotten into their house.
*
After he'd pulled on the clothes Spyke had lent him and thought "What kind of a father names his son 'Spyke'?", he made his way downstairs to look for Caitlin and politely excuse himself from staying any longer.
"Oh hey, Collin!" Her bright smile greeted him as he entered the kitchen again. And again, he had to bite his lip to keep from staring at her. She was wearing a short khaki shirt and a sleeveless top that read "In your dreams." She swept past him, tray full of food in one hand and the other reached for his and pulled him towards a room beside the kitchen.
There was a sunken pit in the center of the room with pillows all around. A whole wall had been dedicated to the television alone and the wall beside it opened up into the backyard. Three guys were sitting in the pit with another girl, who, curiously enough, had a tattoo of a scorpion on her neck.
"Hey KC!" one of the guys yelled in greeting. He had short brown hair and golden brown eyes and was wearing a leather bomber jacket.
Caitlin put the tray down on a small coffee table and kissed him on the cheek. "Andrew! I'm so glad you could come! How's Berkeley?"
The boy named Andrew shrugged. "S'all right. How's MSA?"
"Still a hell-hole." Everyone laughed.
Caitlin pulled Harry in front of her and put an arm around his neck. Harry felt the heat rise up to his face and tried vainly to push it down. As if he wasn't used to people staring at him. The only difference this time was he actually wanted their approval. "This is Collin, my new friend,"
"Sounds like preschool all over again, chica," the girl with the tattoo said in a rough voice, and for some reason everyone laughed.
"That's Serena, the queen of LA." Caitlin said, rolling her eyes.
The girl stood up and bowed regally, giving Harry a generous view of her stupendous cleavage. "Serena Rodriguez at your service," she said with a laugh. The boy with brown hair grabbed the hem of her baby T and pulled her back down into the cushion they were sharing.
"And this is Andrew Carson," Caitlin smiled.
Andrew stretched out his hand and Harry shook it., trying to follow along with the complicated little hand gestures he was doing. "Nice to meet you, Collin." he said with a nod.
Caitlin let go of his hand and sat down on the lap of a guy with dreadlocks. "This is my teddybear, Aaron Wilson." She pinched his cheeks. "Isn't he gorgeous?" She giggled and winked at Harry, who had now sat down on a cushion beside Spyke.
Aaron looked at him with dark eyes and finally nodded, as if he had deemed him all right to be friends with them. Caitlin, seemingly happy that no one had fought so far, stood up and took a seat beside Harry.
"So are you all set to get the hell out of here?"
*
Draco Malfoy raised a gloved hand and brushed his silvery blonde hair out of his storm blue eyes, which were currently scanning the Quidditch pitch for any speck of gold. A blur flew past him, making him fly to the left, almost slamming him into one of the empty stands. He glared at the blur, which was now recognized as Nicolas Finch as he stopped in mid-air, looking for someone to pass the Quaffle to.
Why I'm forced to play with these prats is beyond me, he thought sourly, glancing down at the ground where his mother was standing, looking like she couldn't care less. He gripped the handle of his Silver Bullet (the latest broom that had been released) and sped through the rest of the players, wanting to finish the game as soon as possible.
A second later something feathery flew past his nose and he did a cartwheel in shock. That had been no easy feat on a broom, and the immediate rush of blood to his head made him woozy, but not so that his instincts didn't kick in. With a final glance, looking for where Chang, who was playing Seeker for the opposition, was, he sped after the Snitch, hell-bent on finally getting it back to where it belonged: in the box.
His teammates frowned at him as he floated back to the ground, the struggling Snitch in hand. Mikael Despido flew past him, hissing "finally." Not that he had been expecting them to cheer, but a little appreciation would have been nice. Draco tossed the golden ball back into the open casket and glared at his mother, who was now gloating to the rest of the parents.
Disgusted, he made his way back to the mansion, wanting to avoid anyone else. For some reason all the heads of the Pureblood families had come to their house today and his cousins had invited him to a game of Quidditch. Obviously, it had ended badly. He dumped his broom into the shed along with all the other ones he'd collected over the years, all top-line of course, and, skirting the bushes, made his way into the forest.
"Draco? Draco! Oi, MALFOY!"
Draco jumped and, whipping out his wand, scanned the trees savagely.
"You idiot, open the compact thingy I gave you!"
Confused, he dug into his pockets and pulled out a sleek black square.
"Open it, stupid!"
Irritated, he snapped it open then threw it to the ground. Whoever it was, he was majorly fucking around with him at a very bad time.
"Finally!" an exasperated voice cried. Something flashed and a girl with long dirty blonde hair was suddenly standing in front of him. "Miss me?" she added with a playful grin.
Unfazed at her sudden arrival, he crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "Not really," he replied slowly, taking her in. It had been more than a year since he'd seen her and it still gave him a kick.
The girl cocked her head to the side in a surprisingly innocent sort of way. "Then why are you carrying the gift I gave you around?" She wouldn't admit it but she praised herself for her timing. It gave her a strange twinge in her stomach to see him in his Quidditch gear again, and she mentally slapped herself for it. Not a good time to reminisce about an ex boyfriend.
"Cut the bull." He sat down on a patch of leaves and stared up at her projection. "Why are you suddenly showing up like some... some...-" Angel? Vision? "bitch who has extremely horrid timing?"
She raised her eyebrow. "Still have that silver tongue, huh?"
"Only difference is that it's not playing with yours this time." He smirked again and set about removing the gear from his forearms. His wand had been tucked away safely back into his robes. He was confident that her almost- ghostly presence could do no harm to him.
The girl's projection sat down as well so that they were at eye-level again. "Fine, I'm actually talking to you again because I need your help."
"With what?" he asked, mildly interested.
"You have to join us." She stated simply, blue eyes boring into his. "You know you don't want what your father had, Draco. And I'm as sure as hell you don't want to end up like him." Now she was speaking over his grunts and objections. "Please, Draco. We really need you on this."
"We? You and that vigilante group? Sorry to be the one to bust your bubble, bopkin, but you have no chance against him. Not even with that delusional grandfather of yours. And I heard from Mother that that stupid git is being trained to actually join you!"
She paused, staring at him. Then she smiled wryly. "Does that pouting thing you do with your mum still work?"
For some reason this made him laugh, which was an incredibly hard thing to do. "You have a short attention span: Did anyone ever tell you that?"
She nodded. "All my professors." Then her face suddenly turned serious. "Draco, you owe me this. Please? At least just say you'll think about it." Her eyes were pleading.
He sighed and leaned into the tree behind him. "What do you need me for in the first place?" he countered.
"You're his enemy, hence, and equal. I hate to say it but you know a lot more than he does, and you can help him, Draco. I know switching sides isn't best for your well-being, but please?"
He regarded her thoughtfully. "I'll think about it," he said finally. The girl gave a loud whoop but he added, "if you give me a kiss the next time we see each other."
She stopped in mid-jump and stared at him in surprise. Then her eyes suddenly turned sad. "Draco, you know it's really over between, you know.... So..."
"Caitlin, all I'm asking for is a kiss." He stood up and looked at her straight in the eye. "What's so wrong about that?"
"What's so wrong is that I know you've been in love with that Muggle, what's her name? Granger, the whole bloody time. You can't lie to me anymore, Draco. I know you as well as I know myself." she replied coldly.
"Then you must not know me very well." He cut in, matching her glare.
"Think about it." And then the projection flickered and disappeared, leaving him staring at nothing with too much to think about.
A/N: I'm so happy! I actually got nice reviews! Wipee! To all of you who wrote me, thank you soooo much! You have inspired me to post again so soon.... Tee hee.ü To everyone who's waiting for the D/H parts, I promise, I just need to wrap the summer up in two more chapters and then they'll be back at Hogwarts and we can have more fun!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Papa?"
Caitlin pushed the door open and peered into the house, as if checking for anything dangerous. Satisfied, she turned back to her companion and motioned him inside. "Hurry before my dad notices-"
"Caitlin Cimmerian Moore, is that you?" a voice called from a room at the end of the long entrance hall.
The girl cringed as though hit. She managed a sheepish smile at the boy standing behind her then strode into the house with more confidence now that she was sure she wasn't waking anyone. She deposited her surfboard, sail, wetsuit and duffel bag in the hall and went on towards the room from where the voice had issued. Then, as if shocked that she had forgotten something, she turned around.
"You coming, Collin?" she asked with a slight smile playing on her pale- rose colored lips. She motioned with her hand for him to follow her.
Harry Potter jammed his hands into the pockets of his (though he would never admit it) hand-me-down jogging pants, wondering why in the world he was there at the moment. Half of him wanted to turn around and walk the whole way back to the resort where they were staying but one glance at the girl walking in front of him and all doubts were pushed to the back of his mind.
Caitlin bounced into the kitchen with a bright grin, her blond hair flashing in the early morning sun. "Mornin' Papa!" She swept past the counter and kissed the man in front of the stove on the cheek.
"Morning Maui," He swept her up into a one-armed hug and squeezed her.
"Papa, this is Collin. I met him..." she checked the wall clock. "46 minutes ago." She stuck out her tongue and smiled at Harry, her head cocked slightly to the side. "Collin, this is my dad. Well, step dad." She winked and peered over at the stove. "Ooh, breakfast. Collin's staying over to eat, all right?"
The man nodded, but not without another glance towards Harry, who nervously tried to flatten his hair without success. Then the man glanced at his feet.
"Shoobie, huh?" he asked his stepdaughter with a smile.
Caitlin's eyes went wide from nicking a piece of bacon from a plate. Then she turned a delicate pink. "Oh, yeah..." She chuckled feebly. "Well, we'd better go change now, Papito. I'm sure Spyke wouldn't mind lending Harry a few of his old stuff." She slipped past her father's glare, grabbed Harry's hand and ran back through the hall where they had come from. Once out of her father's earshot, she let go of his hand and looked at him.
"Are you all right? You haven't spoken much since we left the beach."
Harry shook his head, looking a bit lost. "I'm fine," he said, unconvincingly.
She suddenly reached out and brushed the hair off his forehead, so that she could see his scar better. His skin prickled where their skin had touched. "I think it's beautiful, Collin. I don't see it like I know you do." she whispered, answering all the questions and doubts that he had been thinking at the moment.
He stared at her. How had she known that he had been thinking about how horrid it was to have to wear that scar for the rest of his life and the burden he had to carry because of it? He opened his mouth to ask her but all of a sudden she smiled her dazzling smile and spoke before he could.
"I know what you need!" She spoke with such zeal that he knew it would be hard to contradict her if she suggested anything absurd. Nothing against her but sometimes she acted a bit queer, maybe even more queer than he knew he acted. It wasn't a bad thing – in fact, it was one of the things that made him want to be the one to make her laugh. "You need to take a long hot bath to chill out! I'll put on a Bob Marley CD and you can use my bath soaps and – oooh!"
Caitlin squealed excitedly, and before Harry could say anything she poked him in the small of the back and pushed him up the stairs. There were 5 closed doors around the place and she pushed him towards the one on his immediate right.
"Oh shoot!" She snapped her fingers. "I forgot my duffel bag downstairs. Get comfy and don't disappear, ok?" She grinned and ran back downstairs.
Harry sighed and messed up his hair, stopping in mid-gesture, remembering how his very own father had the same habit. The smallest of smiles tugged at his lips and, feeling a bit more like he had an hour ago, looked around the room Caitlin had pushed him in.
At one glance you couldn't tell if it was a girl's room or a boy's. Posters were plastered all over the ceiling, with space only for the fluorescent light in the middle and the black light bulb from the top of a carousel- shaped mosquito net with plastic butterflies clipped to it. The draping was also covering a black glittery beanbag in the farthest right corner. Blue and orange cloths were hung like a turret over the bed and the wall where the bed was pushed against was painted midnight blue and plastered with glow-in-the-dark stars and a crescent moon lamp was in the center, right over the bed. A drum set stood against the wall where the windows were, which were draped with plastic rings as a sort-of curtain. The effect was kind-of cool because the mid-morning sun was now casting little bubbles of light across to the other wall (painted like something you'd see in a museum), which was bare aside from a small desk littered with papers and half-open books.
"Like my room?"
Harry spun around, shocked. Suddenly, he felt like he was intruding into her personal space, but she just grinned at him.
"Like the pictures?" She dropped her bag and strode over to where he had been standing, looking at the pictures on the shelves of her TV console. She fingered the silver frame of one with her as a child and a man with the look of someone who had lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.
"He's my real father." Caitlin explained. "My mum remarried after I was born, so the only parents I knew for a while were her and George down there." She cocked her head towards the direction of the door. "But then I found this old letter from him to my mum when they were still in school together, and a few months later we visited him in prison."
"Oh. I'm sorry," Harry said lamely.
"Sorry for what?"
"That your real father was in prison,"
"He's dead now, so you don't have to be sorry about anything." She turned and walked towards a door that had been concealed with a large poster of a band called "The Rasmus". "Bathroom's through here, make yourself comfortable." With that, she turned and left.
Harry stared into the open door, wondering how he had gone from Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, to Collin Whatever-His-Last-Name-Is with the perfectly normal Muggle life.
*
"Does he know about you?"
"Not yet."
"Caitlin, he has so know. You're the one assigned to take care of him for the whole of summer-"
"And I still have no idea why granddad chose me."
"Because you're the one who knows everything about all this wiz-"
"Shh! Spyke, shut up or he'll hear you. I need to gain his trust first and being another guardian won't do that. And after what he's been through, I think he deserves a little fun, don't you think?" She grinned.
"No, I don't think so." He paused, staring at her. "But I will help you. Do I have to be nice to him?"
"Yes, you do big brother. Now go take those clothes to him, I have to get ready for tonight's little get-together."
*
Someone knocked on the door and a second later, someone's voice filtered through.
"I've got your clothes. Am I allowed to come in?"
Forgetting where he was at the moment and enjoying his bath far too much, Harry grunted in a sort-of "yes" and sunk his nose and mouth back under the bathwater. He didn't know what it was with the bath soaps and salts Caitlin owned, but they had a weird calming effect on his body. He closed his eyes and a small part of his brain was aware that he heard someone walk in.
"I put the clothes beside the sink, aiit?"
Harry shot up straight, taking a huge gulp of air and splashing water onto the floor. He checked if he could see – erm – anything. "What – who – how – when -?" he sputtered, green eyes wide in shock, his brain slowly registering that a guy was standing in front of him, gray eyes narrowed in unmistakable dislike.
"I'm Spyke, KC's older brother." His eyes were clear and deep, and currently appraising him as if he were a piece of meat. "You must be Collin," Spyke said the name as if it left a bad taste on his tongue. He glanced at a small black pile of clothes beside the tub and bent down to pick it up. Harry felt his face flush.
"You don't have to – those are just my old clothes." He said in a rush, hoping that his thoughts would happen. Please let go of my boxers. Please oh please oh please oh please let go of them right now and close the door before Caitlin comes in and -
"Don't worry about it." A ghost of a smile passed across his handsome features. "I'll throw these in the wash for you." He took two long strides towards the door and Harry almost sighed in relief, but then he paused at the last moment. "You should hurry. Everyone's arriving."
Harry opened his mouth to ask who 'everyone' was, but the door closed, leaving him alone once again. At a loss, he looked at the clock shaped like a crescent moon above the mirror and jumped again, realizing that two hours had passed since he'd gotten into their house.
*
After he'd pulled on the clothes Spyke had lent him and thought "What kind of a father names his son 'Spyke'?", he made his way downstairs to look for Caitlin and politely excuse himself from staying any longer.
"Oh hey, Collin!" Her bright smile greeted him as he entered the kitchen again. And again, he had to bite his lip to keep from staring at her. She was wearing a short khaki shirt and a sleeveless top that read "In your dreams." She swept past him, tray full of food in one hand and the other reached for his and pulled him towards a room beside the kitchen.
There was a sunken pit in the center of the room with pillows all around. A whole wall had been dedicated to the television alone and the wall beside it opened up into the backyard. Three guys were sitting in the pit with another girl, who, curiously enough, had a tattoo of a scorpion on her neck.
"Hey KC!" one of the guys yelled in greeting. He had short brown hair and golden brown eyes and was wearing a leather bomber jacket.
Caitlin put the tray down on a small coffee table and kissed him on the cheek. "Andrew! I'm so glad you could come! How's Berkeley?"
The boy named Andrew shrugged. "S'all right. How's MSA?"
"Still a hell-hole." Everyone laughed.
Caitlin pulled Harry in front of her and put an arm around his neck. Harry felt the heat rise up to his face and tried vainly to push it down. As if he wasn't used to people staring at him. The only difference this time was he actually wanted their approval. "This is Collin, my new friend,"
"Sounds like preschool all over again, chica," the girl with the tattoo said in a rough voice, and for some reason everyone laughed.
"That's Serena, the queen of LA." Caitlin said, rolling her eyes.
The girl stood up and bowed regally, giving Harry a generous view of her stupendous cleavage. "Serena Rodriguez at your service," she said with a laugh. The boy with brown hair grabbed the hem of her baby T and pulled her back down into the cushion they were sharing.
"And this is Andrew Carson," Caitlin smiled.
Andrew stretched out his hand and Harry shook it., trying to follow along with the complicated little hand gestures he was doing. "Nice to meet you, Collin." he said with a nod.
Caitlin let go of his hand and sat down on the lap of a guy with dreadlocks. "This is my teddybear, Aaron Wilson." She pinched his cheeks. "Isn't he gorgeous?" She giggled and winked at Harry, who had now sat down on a cushion beside Spyke.
Aaron looked at him with dark eyes and finally nodded, as if he had deemed him all right to be friends with them. Caitlin, seemingly happy that no one had fought so far, stood up and took a seat beside Harry.
"So are you all set to get the hell out of here?"
*
Draco Malfoy raised a gloved hand and brushed his silvery blonde hair out of his storm blue eyes, which were currently scanning the Quidditch pitch for any speck of gold. A blur flew past him, making him fly to the left, almost slamming him into one of the empty stands. He glared at the blur, which was now recognized as Nicolas Finch as he stopped in mid-air, looking for someone to pass the Quaffle to.
Why I'm forced to play with these prats is beyond me, he thought sourly, glancing down at the ground where his mother was standing, looking like she couldn't care less. He gripped the handle of his Silver Bullet (the latest broom that had been released) and sped through the rest of the players, wanting to finish the game as soon as possible.
A second later something feathery flew past his nose and he did a cartwheel in shock. That had been no easy feat on a broom, and the immediate rush of blood to his head made him woozy, but not so that his instincts didn't kick in. With a final glance, looking for where Chang, who was playing Seeker for the opposition, was, he sped after the Snitch, hell-bent on finally getting it back to where it belonged: in the box.
His teammates frowned at him as he floated back to the ground, the struggling Snitch in hand. Mikael Despido flew past him, hissing "finally." Not that he had been expecting them to cheer, but a little appreciation would have been nice. Draco tossed the golden ball back into the open casket and glared at his mother, who was now gloating to the rest of the parents.
Disgusted, he made his way back to the mansion, wanting to avoid anyone else. For some reason all the heads of the Pureblood families had come to their house today and his cousins had invited him to a game of Quidditch. Obviously, it had ended badly. He dumped his broom into the shed along with all the other ones he'd collected over the years, all top-line of course, and, skirting the bushes, made his way into the forest.
"Draco? Draco! Oi, MALFOY!"
Draco jumped and, whipping out his wand, scanned the trees savagely.
"You idiot, open the compact thingy I gave you!"
Confused, he dug into his pockets and pulled out a sleek black square.
"Open it, stupid!"
Irritated, he snapped it open then threw it to the ground. Whoever it was, he was majorly fucking around with him at a very bad time.
"Finally!" an exasperated voice cried. Something flashed and a girl with long dirty blonde hair was suddenly standing in front of him. "Miss me?" she added with a playful grin.
Unfazed at her sudden arrival, he crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "Not really," he replied slowly, taking her in. It had been more than a year since he'd seen her and it still gave him a kick.
The girl cocked her head to the side in a surprisingly innocent sort of way. "Then why are you carrying the gift I gave you around?" She wouldn't admit it but she praised herself for her timing. It gave her a strange twinge in her stomach to see him in his Quidditch gear again, and she mentally slapped herself for it. Not a good time to reminisce about an ex boyfriend.
"Cut the bull." He sat down on a patch of leaves and stared up at her projection. "Why are you suddenly showing up like some... some...-" Angel? Vision? "bitch who has extremely horrid timing?"
She raised her eyebrow. "Still have that silver tongue, huh?"
"Only difference is that it's not playing with yours this time." He smirked again and set about removing the gear from his forearms. His wand had been tucked away safely back into his robes. He was confident that her almost- ghostly presence could do no harm to him.
The girl's projection sat down as well so that they were at eye-level again. "Fine, I'm actually talking to you again because I need your help."
"With what?" he asked, mildly interested.
"You have to join us." She stated simply, blue eyes boring into his. "You know you don't want what your father had, Draco. And I'm as sure as hell you don't want to end up like him." Now she was speaking over his grunts and objections. "Please, Draco. We really need you on this."
"We? You and that vigilante group? Sorry to be the one to bust your bubble, bopkin, but you have no chance against him. Not even with that delusional grandfather of yours. And I heard from Mother that that stupid git is being trained to actually join you!"
She paused, staring at him. Then she smiled wryly. "Does that pouting thing you do with your mum still work?"
For some reason this made him laugh, which was an incredibly hard thing to do. "You have a short attention span: Did anyone ever tell you that?"
She nodded. "All my professors." Then her face suddenly turned serious. "Draco, you owe me this. Please? At least just say you'll think about it." Her eyes were pleading.
He sighed and leaned into the tree behind him. "What do you need me for in the first place?" he countered.
"You're his enemy, hence, and equal. I hate to say it but you know a lot more than he does, and you can help him, Draco. I know switching sides isn't best for your well-being, but please?"
He regarded her thoughtfully. "I'll think about it," he said finally. The girl gave a loud whoop but he added, "if you give me a kiss the next time we see each other."
She stopped in mid-jump and stared at him in surprise. Then her eyes suddenly turned sad. "Draco, you know it's really over between, you know.... So..."
"Caitlin, all I'm asking for is a kiss." He stood up and looked at her straight in the eye. "What's so wrong about that?"
"What's so wrong is that I know you've been in love with that Muggle, what's her name? Granger, the whole bloody time. You can't lie to me anymore, Draco. I know you as well as I know myself." she replied coldly.
"Then you must not know me very well." He cut in, matching her glare.
"Think about it." And then the projection flickered and disappeared, leaving him staring at nothing with too much to think about.