Loss
By BlackPotterGrl
Chapter XX-Murphy's LawIt was a long time before anything out of the ordinary came about, but when it did, it didn't disappoint.
Harry had since learned the art of enjoying himself immensely. Quidditch had started, and Harry had decided that he would put all remaining energy into assuring Gryffindor the cup. Homework didn't go back on the low-priority list, but it did seem to pale in comparison to his time spent hanging out all over Hogwarts.
Sharing his owl with Sirius did have its benefits – in spite of watching his owl carry pink envelopes to his godfather. Not that he was too concerned, but Sirius seemed to be getting a lot of mail suddenly. Every once in a while, Hedwig would deliver envelopes that were fatter then normal to Sirius. They looked official, but Harry guessed that it was probably just taxes or something. Did Wizards have to pay taxes?
Besides that, Harry found entertainment in visiting Hagrid. They had talked for a while about him making up with Hermione, and having been at the funeral, told him that he had been stupid, yet noble.
Without Ron around, Harry had to find humor another source. Two other sources to be precise. The Weasley twins had turned him onto bothering Murphy using any possible means, without getting caught.
Although guilty about it at times, his justification was that if he wanted to be an auror, he would need to learn stealth, which he wasn't all that good at.
He hadn't done anything deadly… at least, not too deadly. The worst had been the cinnamon. He had learned from Fred and George that Murphy was allergic to that particular spice. It wasn't his fault that everyone's pumpkin juice was spiked with it. He had no idea how it had gotten there. He had only mentioned to Dobby that it tasted good, and that he should try it sometime.
Breakfast had been over before Murphy had broken out in nasty red hives, but History had to be covered by Sirius, who managed to make it look like he had no idea what he was doing while teaching History better then Murphy ever could.
He would have gotten away with it too had he not joked to Hermione that the house elves should serve his recipe everyday while winking. He had forgotten what a genus Hermione was, but most importantly, he had forgotten what little subtlety she had.
"You poisoned Murphy?" She had exclaimed with the wrong person behind her.
"You did what, Potter?" McGonagall's shrill voice came.
"NO! No, of course I didn't! I was merely referring to the- the bread and… butter… that we had at breakfast. I found it really made an improvement. Do you think so?" He really had to improve on his lying skills.
"Two detentions with me!" she scolded.
"Are you going to tell her it was me?" He pleaded. "She already hates me. Please?"
"No, Potter, I won't do that to your grade." She had said.
That hadn't been the reason of course, but knowing that bitch, she would tell Sirius all about it, and then he would be receiving the cold shoulder.
That hadn't stopped him of course. The next week, her clock was charmed to go off every hour, and twice once it was broken.
Quidditch returned to the top of his list of priorities. His teammates had dubbed him official co-captain since he and Angelina spent half their free time organizing plays and going over tactics. It was no surprise to anyone when they won their first match.
Of course, Harry had almost lost it for their team.
It had been a sunny, yet cold day outside, and the wind was pretty bad. Harry found it perfect though, because it would be the first true game of Quidditch he had played in about a year. After puling the new keeper's head out of the toilet, they mounted their brooms and took off, struggling not to be blown off course at the sudden weightlessness mixed with the wind.
The new keeper – Franks – had been lousy, but only compared to Wood. The team wasn't used to a beginner. He was light as a twig, and seemed to be having a tough time keeping himself from blowing away.
He flew by him and whispered, "Use the wind to your advantage." Franks' broom was about fifteen million years old, and much to the teams displeasure, they couldn't get it replaced. He needed all the help he could get, and the wind was blowing him about like a plastic bag. Thus the reasoning behind his enthusiasm for the weather.
The chasers preformed fabulously, as he knew they would. Fred had stationed himself by Franks, leaving George to rush around and protect the rest of team. By the time Harry had caught sight of something shiny, the score was Gryffindor: 100, Ravenclaw: 65.
He almost forgot where he saw it. He traveled towards the direction of what he thought was the snitch.
He saw Sirius – sitting next to Murphy, of course – ("UGH!") cheering loudly as Gryffindor made possibly the first save of the game. It was short lived of course, as Ravenclaw scored once again.
He noticed it again, but he took his mind off of it as he realized that Murphy was cheering for RAVENCLAW!!!
What a traitor! He couldn't believe that Murphy was cheering for his opponents. But then again…
No, the gold was just a ring on her finger.
He rushed off in another direction not wanting to have to look at her again.
When the realization hit him, it hit him pretty hard. Almost like a bludger. OH, wait. It was a bludger.
Lucky he was pretty much numb. His arm was sticking out a pretty odd angle, but couldn't even feel it. His mind was a bit hazy at that point.
When he realized that the ground was rushing towards him he pulled out of the dive successfully without hitting the ground. Everything was blurry. He wavered on his broom about five feet from the ground. He saw something gold in front of him. It was Murphy's ring. "Snatch it off of her finger!" He told himself deliriously. He tried to reach out with his bad hand but couldn't manage to move it. His other arm managed to reach out and grab for it, however. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was, "He's caught the snitch! Ladies and gentlemen. With a broken arm, he managed to catch the snitch!"
In the weeks to come, a lot of possible solutions came to mind for why, exactly, Murphy had a ring on her finger.
He awoke in the hospital wing to find Hermione and Sirius sitting by his bed. "So, I actually caught it, huh?"
He looked down and noticed that the snitch was still clutched in his now clammy hand. "You wouldn't let go of it, even in sleep."
He moved the injured arm to notice it wasn't broken any longer. He sat up to noticed to uncomfortable things. His back hurt like hell, and he had a headache fit to fry his brain.
"I feel like I have a hangover."
"No, but I'm pretty sure that Fred and George do." Sirius replied, seeming a bit unpleasant.
"What the heck happened out there?" Hermione asked him.
"I'm still not sure. Everything went blurry after I broke my arm."
"You were flying, and then, all of the sudden, you just get this glazed look in your eyes, and then you got hit with the bludger."
"I thought I saw the snitch."
"But the snitch was on the ground. Remember, you fell like, fifty feet, and it was floating in front of you."
"I did say, thought, didn't I?"
Maybe her mother had died and she got her engagement ring. Or maybe she was already married. Maybe Sirius was just having an affair with her. That was why he was keeping everything so secret. He could almost mentally scratch that one off of the list. Maybe it was a friendship ring. She hadn't gotten close enough to see it. He couldn't imagine her having friends, but he couldn't imagine her having a fiancé either.
"Is that a ring on your finger?" He asked Sirius, noticing it, just then.
"Yeah. You'll get one too when you graduate." He replied.
He entered the teacher's wing hesitantly. So far, Sirius had never requested that he come… well, not in so many words at least. He wondered if he should be nervous, though it had been quite a while since Sirius had seen him… sort of. Maybe he just wanted to visit.
He said the password uncertainly. Why was he so anxious? What was the big deal? He shrugged it off, entering the door, and he realized exactly what the big deal was. He had sensed the smell in the air. It wasn't an all-around bad smell… he didn't mind the smell of perfume. But he hated it for which it represented. It was Her smell.
She was sitting on the couch. Sirius's couch, and she was smiling. In that moment, every other time… any other moment, was miniscule compared to the terror that ran through him at that moment.
He realized that the fear that ran through him equaled, or even surpassed any situation he had ever encountered before, including that of last year with Voldemort. He would rather be facing any form of the dark lord without a wand than be standing where he was then.
He had never had a worse urge to vomit, but he knew he had to suppress it.
"Hey Harry." Sirius smiled cheerfully.
Cheerful? Harry currently didn't understand the emotion. Why would Sirius ever have a cheerful smile on his face while sitting next to this bitch? He could have his arm around Snape without Harry feeling as much disgust.
"Can you sit down for a moment?" Sirius asked pleasantly. There was another unidentifiable sensation.
He would have sat on the floor at that moment had there not been a chair behind him. He replied with something of a squeak.
"I- we, have great news." He turned toward Murphy, smiling adoringly.
Harry prayed that the deafening sound of his heart pounding out of his chest wasn't evident to the entire room.
His drew his breath, wishing his heart would just stop and he could die at that moment. "What?" He asked struggling to try to look like he was curious.
The words vibrated in his ears. Even though they were said calmly and softly, they seemed to reverberate over the entire room! With a force that Harry himself didn't know he possessed, he had flown from the chair, torn out of the door and speed to the bathroom on practically the opposite side of the castle. But the words had chased him there.
"We're getting married Harry!" Chapter XX- Murphy's LawNotes: Okay! Well, here it is. *Smiles stupidly in spite of rotten fruit being chucked at her head*. And yes, I do realize that it is about half the size of any previous chapter. I do have good reason. This chapter is the start of a succession of events that are probably going to really make you gasp, growl, or cry. I'm betting on the first two. But I can only guess how many more chapters are going to be in this story. I'm guessing around five or six more, but I really have no idea.
IF anyone cares, I have a new story out called 'You've Always Known'.
I now have a Live Journal, which you can find in my bio.
(I wonder if I should mention this) I have two new stories out under another Pen Name you may have read. I wanted to keep it secret, but oh well. I'm also known as HP-KD, so check out, Bitter, and The Price of Love, if you feel like it.
So without further ado, I will do the responses. Oh, and you can thank SarahPeach for forcing this chapter out.
Responses:
SarahPeach: Sort of Ironic, huh? If you don't remember, you mentioned that "it seems like you're just trying to drag out the story, which is what I did in "In Need of Sirius Help" when I suddenly decided to quit". No, it wasn't from lack of motivation, just lack of computer, which I've probably mentioned fifteen million times, and need to quit saying. Flufflessness, huh? Yup, I've noticed that too. The next two chapters should have yelling, screaming, hugging, maybe even some crying. I don't know. I've planned this out in my head for almost six months. I can't wait to write it. I just hope that I can write it as good I have in my mind.
Sailoranime: Oh, I find it a very good sign. Of course, I've stayed up for very long periods of time reading your story, even though you aren't big on long chapters, so it's probably my own fault anyway. Hmm, never gotten that response. Laughing through a funeral. I have that problem. I was talking to my friend once, and I was like, "So, how is your aunt? Still in the hospital?" And he was really solemn, which is totally uncharacteristic and said "The funerals Thursday", and I started laughing. Then I wanted to cry because I realized how insensitive I was being.
When you mentioned that you thought it was funny about the last scene, I got really self-conscious, and thought about re-writing it, because it was suppose to be solemn. Then I realized that you're just weird. (You know I'm just kidding around, right?)
Are you happy? I included pranking. And put the Weasley's in there too. Thanks for the compliment. Calling him Voldy could do that. That last part made me laugh and shudder at the same time. Yeah, it does make you wonder, doesn't it? But since the whole thing's secret, they wouldn't be seen together right? And Harry wouldn't exactly go looking for them.
Felinity: Well thank you for reassuring me. And things are going to get a lot more interesting anyway. And Hermione was just teasing him. She was just annoyed with the attention he was getting. Thank you.
Blueberrie: Thanks for mentioning that my writing hasn't declined, and for your review.
Blackenedsoul: Oh, you'll see exactly what happens. ; )
MalletWeilderofDoom: You wish. You think? I still think Harry's pretty reserved when it comes to things like that.
A.Dee: Well, I'll give you a hint (But a suppose you'll probably have to go back and read the review you posted) It's one of the two. ; ) I'm sorry to say that I lost your email again. I'm sorry! I'll get back to you later though.
Cierra: You're welcome. And thanks for reviewing.
Lily Skylo: Thanks for reading the whole thing in such little time. It was pretty long, I think. And thanks for your review. I'm glad you like the way I write my characters.
Katini Petitedra: Thanks a lot. Um, congratulations in doing well in hockey. I'm glad you liked that. I was hopping it wouldn't be too cheesy.
Alastormadeymoody51: Thank you. I will. Actually took me all day to write this.
Issy: Thanks. That's a good plan. I'm glad that's helping you, like it has me. I'm happy you like how I write him.
Eternally*Mine: Crackin? Hmm, my head against the wall trying to write this next chapter. Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't that happy with it, but it makes me feel better to know that someone liked it! I got the biggest kick out of you review! Reciting it in class? I do that all the time. The teacher will be rambling off Algebraic expressions, and I'll be thinking of things to write about in Loss. (I guess that's why I'm taking it again next year, huh?) 80 zillion times? I don't think I've read it that much. Thanks a lot.
Oceanjewel: Thanks for your review. Here it is.
Questionmark applies: Thanks a lot. I'm sorry for the wait.
FroBoy: Thanks. Here it is.
Savoy Truffle: Here it is.
Notes: So thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I really appreciate them a lot! I hope you all enjoyed it and I don't get a bombardment of hate mail.