Hey everyone!!! Thanks to all you guys who reviewed my last chapter!!! You
guys are soooo awesome! I can't explain how much your support means to
me! *tear* Hahaha! Jk! Receiving your inspiring words usually doesn't
mean that the tears start flowing from my eyes. . . But it DOES mean a gi-
normous wad of confidence booster, and that's always majorly helpful when
writing a story! Please continue to review, and I will be forever grateful
and luv you all much!!! Hahahaha! Enjoy this chapter! Even I found myself
giggling furiously while I wrote it! = ]
OH! And sorry for not completely explaining something . . . Joey hasn't exactly made the quidditch team yet, James and she still have to talk to Weald about it and persuade him to let her on the team. That goes on in this chapter some. Sorry about the vagueness of the statement: "I think we've found a beater." James was simply stating that he was highly impressed with her skills and that she could definitely have a chance to make the team. Okie-dokie! Onto my next chapter!!! It's gonna be a looonnnng one! Oh, well! Hehehe! = ]
This is one of my favorite love quotes! It always manages to crack me up!
"Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house, you can never tell."
-Joan Crawford
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Joey gave Lily a rather uninterested look. She said coolly, "Lily, if you are seriously planning on talking to me about my ex-boyfriends new *fling*, I have to admit that I am completely uninterested."
"Oh, pulease, Joey!!!" Lily squirmed in her arm. "THIS you would like to know!" Joey, her expression not faltering from its blasé appearance, rolled her eyes over towards Lily's pleading look
"Alright," she sighed, "what is it?" Lily's face got really giddy looking as she leaned in closer to tell Joey her urgent news.
"Apparently, that bitch, Catrina . . . they call her Cat for short . . ." she said the name like it was a dirty word, ". . . she transferred here to Hogwarts just last week . . . she's an *American*" Lily sounded like the word 'American' made her want to vomit. Joey looked over at her like she had gone mad.
"Lily!" Joey began, sounding a little impatient, "why is it a bad thing to be an American?! You know my dad's an American don't you? I can't believe you would even thi-"
Joey didn't get a chance to finish her statement before Lily cut her off. "Oh, Joey . . . that's not what I meant. You didn't let me finish telling you about *Catrina*. . . I was just giving you some background on that chippie." Joey shut her mouth reluctantly. She wasn't really satisfied with Lily's cover, but she was still curious about what else she had to say.
"Well, go on, then!"
"Okay, so apparently, she just transferred here last week . . . and I have no freakin' clue how we didn't notice her, but she's a sixth year . . . in Gryffindor!" Joey just stared at her, mouth hanging open a bit.
"Wha-?"
"I know," Lily said flatly. "I'd expect something like that from a Slytherin, but who would have thought someone from our *own* house!!! Double-crossing bitch . . ." Lily trailed off. The two girls walked in silence for a few moments mulling over the thought.
"Is that all you wanted to tell me about this *Catrina-* . . . what did you say her last name was?"
"Strumpet. Catrina Strumpet." Lily spat out with a definite tone. Joey choked when she heard the name. She looked up into Lily's eyes which were beginning to water with laughter too.
"Strumpet?!! Strump-" Joey choked on the words again as she busted up into laughter. "Isn't that, like, slang for the word-"
"Prostitute?" Lily interrupted her. "Yup!" The girls giggled audaciously for a few minutes. Joey got serious again.
"So is that all you wanted to tell me about Catrina *Strumpet*?" she said the name with a little ring, trying her best to keep a straight face. Lily's face got that gossipy look to it again.
"No, actually . . . word has it that she's an unregistered animagus." Lily's eyes were aglow with excitement.
"Really?" Joey suddenly seemed a bit more interested in the conversation.
"Mmhmm . . . I heard she can turn into a Siamese cat." Lily's voice sounded highly secretive, though Joey was pretty sure that this 'undisclosed' piece of information had, most likely, already been passed around the entire school by now. "I guess that would explain her 'slinky' little ways . . ." Lily trailed off as the two friends entered the dining hall.
The two girls allowed for James and Remus to finally catch up in step with them as they sauntered over to the Gryffindor table. The four friends found Sirius, Flam and Peter already sitting at their breakfasts, eating away at their eggs and toast. Joey and Remus sat on the side of the table next to Sirius (he had Flam on his shoulder, who soon crawled onto Joey's shoulder as she sat next to him), and Lily and James took their seats on the side with Peter.
Just as Joey sat down at the table next to Sirius, he whispered "Good morning, Beautiful," as he leaned over and kissed her warmly on the lips. Just as he pulled away, he soon realized how bad that idea really was when he saw the stunned-looking Joey staring straight back at him. Practically, the *entire* Gryffindor table was gawking at them like they had just started macking on each other right in a spotlight.
Sirius' turned scarlet as he realized that the look Joey was giving him told him that she was really hoping for them to keep their relationship quiet. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head that he figured would cause everyone to believe his *actions* were completely irrelevant to anything that might be going on between Joey and himself.
In one swift movement, Sirius stood up, leaned over the table, and then to everybody's surprise, kissed LILY heavily on the lips. Just as he pulled away, he whispered, loud enough so that anyone around them could hear, "and a good morning to you, too, my other gorgeous buddy."
Sirius sat back down with a wide smirk across his face as he began gingerly eating his eggs again. He glanced over at Remus, who was sitting next to him, only to have his friendly smile returned with a disturbed gape that seemed to say 'don't even thing about it!'
James, who almost looked fuming at this point, shot out of his seat, and followed Sirius' example. He leaned right across the table and planted a big, wet kiss on Joey's unsuspecting lips. "Good morning, oh gorgeous, not to mention, completely platonic, friend of mine!" he said with a satisfied smirk.
He then sat back down and turned to Lily, who, by now, was laughing so hard, that there wasn't even a chance he could have kissed her. Lily's contagious giggles got the best of all six of the friends, and they all started cracking up beyond repair. They didn't know WHAT the rest of the Gryffindors were all thinking by now, but it couldn't have been something too wholesome.
Breakfast continued, and everyone began ravenously grabbing at bagels, croissants, toast, and eggs. There was little talk going on between the six friends after their little snog-fest. However, about half way through finishing her meal, Joey felt a very sharp kick on her shin that couldn't have been mistaken for any other shoe besides the heavy chocolate-colored clogs that Lily always loved and wore.
Glancing up at the blameworthy assailant, Joey noticed Lily giving a very weird head nod towards the left of her. Joey quickly got the gist of what Lily was trying to say, and nonchalantly took a glimpse of the row of students to the left of her friend. Joey almost gasped aloud when she saw, the one and only, Catrina Strumpet sitting down a few seats over.
Catrina was wearing an extremely provocative, crimson blouse that seemed to go *perfectly* with her incredibly undersized mini-skirt. Joey felt disgusted at seeing the little tart looking like a hooker while she was simply eating her Saturday morning breakfast. Joey found herself wondering if she was imagining it, but Catrina did seem especially interested in the very handsome, the very *unavailable* Sirius Black, who happened to be sitting right next to Joey. Sirius of course, was very much, unaware of this.
Joey looked back at Lily, and trying her best to do it without getting any of the boys' attention, began in a whole charade of head nods and eye shifts, to explain to her friend what she was thinking. Lily and Joey had just gotten into the confusing body-language conversation, just as James looked up at the two of them, clearly looking like he was about to say something. They abruptly ceased their frenzy of twitching and spasming, and James looked at the two girls with a very curious expression on his face. He shook his head amusedly at their weird antics, and continued on his thought process as he spoke to Joey.
"So, Joey . . . if you're going to try out for beater, you're gonna have to talk to Weald some time soon . . ." he began as he pointed down the long Gryffindor table at Captain Weald, who had situated himself at the end of it. ". . .preferably this morning so that we can get you on the team as soon as possible, and then try and purchase some quidditch supplies for you in a mail order." Everyone sitting around them suddenly perked up at what they had just heard James say. Sirius especially looked thrilled.
"You mean to say that Joey is going to be a beater for the Gryffindor quidditch team?" Sirius asked excitedly. Joey gave him a hopeful smile.
"Well . . . I *hope* so! I still have to talk to Weald about it . . . and I'm not too sure how that's gonna go . . ."
"Ugggg!" Sirius groaned loudly. "You have to convince Weald to get you on the team . . . Ha! Good luck!" he said sardonically.
"You'll just have to *persuade* him, Joey!" James said with a definite tone.
"What the hell do you mean by *persuade* him?" Joey was not sounding amused at all.
"You know . . . get on his good side . . ." James gave her a bit of a suggestive smirk. Joey gave an offended huff, while Sirius backed her up with a threatening growl.
"If he so much as even gives you a lewd expression tha-" Sirius began before James interrupted him.
"Don't worry, Padfoot!" he laughed as he reached across the table and gingerly patted his best buddy on his strapping arm. "I'll be there . . . I'm just trying to tell Joey, that if she wants to get on the team, she's just going to have to *get his attention* a bit." Joey rolled her eyes.
"James, I'm just gonna do my best to get him to see that I can play quidditch . . . not play around!" she said, much to Sirius' relief. "Besides, you said you guys were pretty desperate for some players . . . I'm sure he'll give me a try!" James shrugged.
"All I'm saying is that Weald has got a pretty much, two track mind: Quidditch, sex, quidditch, sex, quidditch, sex . . . he'll certainly be looking to intertwine those two obsessions of his if he considers putting you on the team!" Both Joey and Sirius gave him a dirty look when he said this, so he hurriedly tried to finish his thought, "All I'm saying is that you should keep that idea in the back of your mind when you're trying to get the position . . . it just might come in handy, you never know!" And with that, James brought his gaze back down onto his piece of toast, and left his friends to their thoughts.
Joey was suddenly wondering if she really wanted to still do this. But when she thought about how proud her friends and family would be with her, she had her mind set that she really wanted to give it her best shot. Just as she was contemplating all of this, she glanced back down the table where Catrina had been sitting.
Catrina had obviously been intently listening to what James and Joey had been talking about, because she was still looking over at them. To Joey's surprise, Catrina and her locked gazes, and both narrowed their eyes at one another. 'Bitch,' Joey thought to herself. Catrina quickly lost the staring contest and averted her eyes back onto her breakfast. Even a supposed Siamese cat couldn't beat down Joey's death glare. No way in hell.
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They had finally finished their breakfast when Joey stood up and made her way over to wear Weald was standing. James quickly grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
"You aren't going to go talk to him looking like that are you?" he sounded a little worried. Joey almost became offended, but then she looked down at the work-out clothes she was wearing. They were splashed with mud from the saturated quidditch pitch, and she could tell that her mud-streaked hair was everywhere, complementing the dirt smudges across her cheeks quite nicely. She certainly knew how to make a mess of herself! Joey almost laughed, but she wasn't going to let James get away with making that comment without feeling at least a *little* bad about it.
"What's wrong with the way I look?" she tried her hardest to sound hurt, and it seemed to be working judging on the fact that James had a apologetic look come across his face.
"Oh! . . . well it's just that . . . you know . . . I guess if you were going to talk to Weald . . . you might have a better chance of . . . getting him to listen to you if . . . you looked a little . . . cleaner . . ." His uncomfortable expression turned quizzical when Joey started laughing. She gave him a playful pat on the side of his arm and just turned and started walking out of the dining hall with Lily. She called over her shoulder as the left:
"I'll just go get cleaned up, then . . . meet you in the common room!"
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The two girls dashed up to the common room and up into their dormitory. Joey was really anxious about having to talk to Weald in order to get on the team. She was worried he would just shoot her down the second she even mentioned the word quidditch. Just as Joey hurried into the bathroom with a pair of clean underwear, Lily called over to her:
"While you shower, I'll pick you out something *suitable* to wear!" Joey stopped in her tracks when she heard Lily say this. The way the word 'suitable' rolled off that girl's tongue was NOT very comforting. Joey whirled around to face her best friend.
"Uhhh . . .Lily! I really don't think I want to wear something that's gonna make him think tha-"
"Don't worry! I'll pick out something suitable! I promise it won't be . . . *arousing*!!!" Joey narrowed her eyes at her best friend's innocent grin. She just rolled her eyes and closed the door to the bathroom. Uggg!
Joey got out of the shower and quickly changed into the clothes that Lily had picked out for her. While she was alright with wearing the sporty track pants that Lily had picked, Joey found herself to be a little hesitant to put on the short, black top that she only ever wore when running on a burning-hot day. It was a halter that was *very* form fitting, and, though there was no bust peeking out, Joey still wasn't quite so comfortable with showing off her chest with such 'unyielding' material. The hem of the shirt sat tightly just above Joey's belly button, and part of her softly shaped abdominal muscles could be visible, giving anyone who looked, a little glimpse of her well-formed body. Lily finally convinced her that it was a sporty ensemble that simply made her look . . . *approachable* . . . whatever the hell that meant.
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Thanking Lily for all her *help,* Joey grabbed Flam and hurried down the stairs to meet James who was waiting for her in the common room. He was waiting down there alone, doing some of his transfiguration homework to kill the time. Little did Joey know that he had forced Sirius to remain in the dormitory, in fear that the 'boyfriend jealousy rage' thing would take over and he would refuse for her to even talk to Weald.
Joey walked over to him and got his attention. James looked up from his work and his jaw hit the floor. Joey really did look hot, and even though James wasn't attracted to her like that, he certainly felt his pulse rising. He stood up and tried his best to keep eye contact, not letting his eyes 'break the horizon.' *insert authors compulsive giggles*
"Wha- . . . what are you wearing?" he managed to croak out. Joey looked at him like he had pumpkin juice spewing out of his ears.
"What's wrong? Oh, no! Does it give me a disinterested look . . . you know . . . like I'm not serious about the game? Because I can go change into someth-"
"NO! No . . . I just think we should hurry."
"Hurry?"
"Yeah . . . because if Sirius sees you wearing that, then first he's gonna drool all over himself, and then he's gonna hit the roof when he realizes you're about to go talk to Weald while looking like that!"
"Huh? What are you talking abou-?"
"Never mind!" he said quickly as he forced her out towards the portrait hole. "Let's go find Weald!"
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They were walking out to the quidditch pitch, since James had this gut feeling that Weald had to have been out joy-flying on the lovely Saturday afternoon that they were having. James found himself coaching Joey on what would happen and what she should expect when talking to Weald.
"Now leave all the talking to me," he said. "Weald will most likely refuse to let you on the team since you are a girl . . . and especially since you want to be a beater." He paused for a short moment. Giving Joey a sideways glance, he asked her, "Did I mention that Weald is the other beater on our team?" Joey shook her head no. James sighed deeply. "That's the main reason why it's going to be super hard to get the position. Weald is a superb beater who knows exactly what to look for in a replacement one." Joey didn't find much time to be angry with James at the fact that he kept this important information from her, because she soon found herself in the middle of the quidditch pitch, staring up at a few figures circling the skies above them.
It was easy to pick Weald out of the crowd of three fliers. He was by far the biggest guy up in the sky, shirtless, and baring enormous muscles that could have easily crushed Amos Diggory in a flash. He was almost intimidating, but then Joey didn't have quite an opportunity to judge his appearance very long before James was calling up to him.
"Hey, Weald!!!" James bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Get your beatin' ass down here!" The shirtless piece of male specimen slowly descended from the sky and landed with a thud, a few yards away from James. James walked over to him so that Joey was out of the picture, but not quite out of ear shot. Weald stood about an inch taller than James, and had quite a bit more muscle mass.
"Potter," he greeted him gruffly. There was a slight indication of an Australian accent in his voice.
"Hey Weald," James returned.
"What's up?"
"Well . . . I think I've found us a beater."
"Ha! James, that's practically impossible! We've talked to all the blokes in our year! Who could you have found?" Weald was looking at him intently.
"Well, I didn't talk to a bloke . . ."
"What?! You talked to a girl?!" Joey suddenly became very aware of the fact that Weald was now eyeing her suspiciously as he said this. Weald looked back down at James and lowered his voice a few measures so that Joey had to strain her ears to hear him. "Are you a complete drongo?! A girl?!!" he paused for a moment and then continued, ". . . well, is that her over there, then?" he asked as he motioned in Joey's direction. James nodded. Joey could see Weald sigh deeply and gesture to James to get Joey to come over and join in their conversation.
Within a moment, Joey was standing over next to James, having Weald eye her with curiosity and intrigue. He gave her a bit of a suggestive smirk and made it obvious that he was checking her out.
"'ello sweet'eart," he gave her a wink as he reached down and brushed his lips up against her smooth hand. "My name is Jason Weald . . . *Captain* Jason Weald, that is," Joey just stared at him blankly. 'Give me a break!' she was thinking. This guy was certainly a smooth talker! She was desperately resisting the urge to kick him very sharply in his tender spots just for calling her "sweet'eart."
"Joanne Atramentous," she responded coolly. This guy was not going to get a rise out of her! The suggestive smirk grew wider on Jason's face, and Joey could hear a low rumble from deep in his chest which was unmistakable laughter. Suddenly, Weald was yelling up into the sky, and before they knew it, the other two fliers were perched on either side of him, scowling curiously at Joey.
"Miss . . . - Atramentous, was it?" he said with an audible tone. He waited for her nod of recognition, and then continued, "Yes, well . . . Miss *Atramentous*, here, is planning on trying out for the beater position, boys." He was obviously addressing the two guys standing behind him, but his stare never left Joey as he spoke. Joey shifted uneasily under his gaze. The smirk across Weald's face showed that he was quite amused with himself that he could make Joey uncomfortable.
Weald continued to penetrate through Joey's unwavering, defiant stare as he went on: "These two blokes behind me are our keeper, named Robert" he gestured to one of them, "and one of our chasers, named Nick" he gestured to the other. "And in case you didn't know . . . *Joe* . . . I'm the beater on this team, so I'll get to decided if your beater-worthy material . . . do you get me?" Joey nodded.
Suddenly, Weald turned his head to the side so that he was looking, out of the corner of his eye, at the chaser, Nick, on his right, and barked out the word 'bat.' In one fluid motion, he outstretched his arm so that his hand was poised to catch the bat that was then tossed to him. Weald's eyes met back up with Joey's, and he forcefully shoved the bat at her. "Let's see what you can do," he said with a low voice that was barely audible.
Joey just stood there. She had no idea what Weald was about to do . . . or have her do. Glancing nervously over at James, she didn't gain much reassurance at his panicked stare that was focused directly in front of him. Joey followed his gaze and saw a big brown chest that Weald was walking over to and unlatching.
Before Joey knew it, there was a very hard-looking ball coming shooting at her face at an unbelievable speed. Her first reaction was to duck, and the cement-like sphere shot past her head and flew in another direction.
"You're gonna have to do better than Joe!" she could hear Weald bellow over the sudden commotion of balls whizzing around the sky. Joey straightened back up as the next bludger came swooping down towards her. She wound up and pounded the ball as hard as she could. The weight of the impact went crashing down her whole body, and she winced as she felt the awesome contact she had with the round object.
Apparently she had smacked the living shit out of the bludger, because it went zipping past Weald's ducked head, and smacked painfully into the side of the arm that belonged to the keeper, Robert, who was situated on the left side of Jason. The impact with the bludger sent the keeper spiraling backward, and James and the chaser went sprinting over to his side. Joey just stood there, a little shocked and breathless at what had happened. Glancing over at Weald, she noticed his mouth hanging open in surprise.
"Damn!" was all he said before he walked over to Joey and stuck his hand out for her to shake. "Welcome onto the Gryffindor quidditch team!" he said cheerfully. A smile crept over Joey's face as she shook his hand proudly. Then they hurried over to the un-hurt, but extremely shaken up, quidditch keeper.
Okay! That was a long chapter, but I certainly hope you guys enjoyed it! Go Joey! Yeah! Hahaha! Okay, well, I'm sure you're anticipating some new problems coming up with all the new characters I've planted into my plot! *grin* This is gonna be fun! And if you guys were a little confused about anything that went on in this chapter, don't hesitate to ask!!! Please review! I'm starved for your input! Hahaha! = ]
Oh, and just for the record: I do not have a potty mouth! A few of you commented me on my . . . *vulgar* language, and I just have to say that I do not have a f**kin' potty mouth! I mean, what the F***KING SH*T?! Hahaha! JKJK! I'm just playin'! Oh, who the hell am I kidding! I AM a potty mouth! Excuse me while I go wash my tongue with soap! Hahaha! JkJk! I really don't type as many cuss words as I would like to, you know . . . *cheesy smile* (you guys know I still love ya ; )
OH! And sorry for not completely explaining something . . . Joey hasn't exactly made the quidditch team yet, James and she still have to talk to Weald about it and persuade him to let her on the team. That goes on in this chapter some. Sorry about the vagueness of the statement: "I think we've found a beater." James was simply stating that he was highly impressed with her skills and that she could definitely have a chance to make the team. Okie-dokie! Onto my next chapter!!! It's gonna be a looonnnng one! Oh, well! Hehehe! = ]
This is one of my favorite love quotes! It always manages to crack me up!
"Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house, you can never tell."
-Joan Crawford
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Joey gave Lily a rather uninterested look. She said coolly, "Lily, if you are seriously planning on talking to me about my ex-boyfriends new *fling*, I have to admit that I am completely uninterested."
"Oh, pulease, Joey!!!" Lily squirmed in her arm. "THIS you would like to know!" Joey, her expression not faltering from its blasé appearance, rolled her eyes over towards Lily's pleading look
"Alright," she sighed, "what is it?" Lily's face got really giddy looking as she leaned in closer to tell Joey her urgent news.
"Apparently, that bitch, Catrina . . . they call her Cat for short . . ." she said the name like it was a dirty word, ". . . she transferred here to Hogwarts just last week . . . she's an *American*" Lily sounded like the word 'American' made her want to vomit. Joey looked over at her like she had gone mad.
"Lily!" Joey began, sounding a little impatient, "why is it a bad thing to be an American?! You know my dad's an American don't you? I can't believe you would even thi-"
Joey didn't get a chance to finish her statement before Lily cut her off. "Oh, Joey . . . that's not what I meant. You didn't let me finish telling you about *Catrina*. . . I was just giving you some background on that chippie." Joey shut her mouth reluctantly. She wasn't really satisfied with Lily's cover, but she was still curious about what else she had to say.
"Well, go on, then!"
"Okay, so apparently, she just transferred here last week . . . and I have no freakin' clue how we didn't notice her, but she's a sixth year . . . in Gryffindor!" Joey just stared at her, mouth hanging open a bit.
"Wha-?"
"I know," Lily said flatly. "I'd expect something like that from a Slytherin, but who would have thought someone from our *own* house!!! Double-crossing bitch . . ." Lily trailed off. The two girls walked in silence for a few moments mulling over the thought.
"Is that all you wanted to tell me about this *Catrina-* . . . what did you say her last name was?"
"Strumpet. Catrina Strumpet." Lily spat out with a definite tone. Joey choked when she heard the name. She looked up into Lily's eyes which were beginning to water with laughter too.
"Strumpet?!! Strump-" Joey choked on the words again as she busted up into laughter. "Isn't that, like, slang for the word-"
"Prostitute?" Lily interrupted her. "Yup!" The girls giggled audaciously for a few minutes. Joey got serious again.
"So is that all you wanted to tell me about Catrina *Strumpet*?" she said the name with a little ring, trying her best to keep a straight face. Lily's face got that gossipy look to it again.
"No, actually . . . word has it that she's an unregistered animagus." Lily's eyes were aglow with excitement.
"Really?" Joey suddenly seemed a bit more interested in the conversation.
"Mmhmm . . . I heard she can turn into a Siamese cat." Lily's voice sounded highly secretive, though Joey was pretty sure that this 'undisclosed' piece of information had, most likely, already been passed around the entire school by now. "I guess that would explain her 'slinky' little ways . . ." Lily trailed off as the two friends entered the dining hall.
The two girls allowed for James and Remus to finally catch up in step with them as they sauntered over to the Gryffindor table. The four friends found Sirius, Flam and Peter already sitting at their breakfasts, eating away at their eggs and toast. Joey and Remus sat on the side of the table next to Sirius (he had Flam on his shoulder, who soon crawled onto Joey's shoulder as she sat next to him), and Lily and James took their seats on the side with Peter.
Just as Joey sat down at the table next to Sirius, he whispered "Good morning, Beautiful," as he leaned over and kissed her warmly on the lips. Just as he pulled away, he soon realized how bad that idea really was when he saw the stunned-looking Joey staring straight back at him. Practically, the *entire* Gryffindor table was gawking at them like they had just started macking on each other right in a spotlight.
Sirius' turned scarlet as he realized that the look Joey was giving him told him that she was really hoping for them to keep their relationship quiet. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head that he figured would cause everyone to believe his *actions* were completely irrelevant to anything that might be going on between Joey and himself.
In one swift movement, Sirius stood up, leaned over the table, and then to everybody's surprise, kissed LILY heavily on the lips. Just as he pulled away, he whispered, loud enough so that anyone around them could hear, "and a good morning to you, too, my other gorgeous buddy."
Sirius sat back down with a wide smirk across his face as he began gingerly eating his eggs again. He glanced over at Remus, who was sitting next to him, only to have his friendly smile returned with a disturbed gape that seemed to say 'don't even thing about it!'
James, who almost looked fuming at this point, shot out of his seat, and followed Sirius' example. He leaned right across the table and planted a big, wet kiss on Joey's unsuspecting lips. "Good morning, oh gorgeous, not to mention, completely platonic, friend of mine!" he said with a satisfied smirk.
He then sat back down and turned to Lily, who, by now, was laughing so hard, that there wasn't even a chance he could have kissed her. Lily's contagious giggles got the best of all six of the friends, and they all started cracking up beyond repair. They didn't know WHAT the rest of the Gryffindors were all thinking by now, but it couldn't have been something too wholesome.
Breakfast continued, and everyone began ravenously grabbing at bagels, croissants, toast, and eggs. There was little talk going on between the six friends after their little snog-fest. However, about half way through finishing her meal, Joey felt a very sharp kick on her shin that couldn't have been mistaken for any other shoe besides the heavy chocolate-colored clogs that Lily always loved and wore.
Glancing up at the blameworthy assailant, Joey noticed Lily giving a very weird head nod towards the left of her. Joey quickly got the gist of what Lily was trying to say, and nonchalantly took a glimpse of the row of students to the left of her friend. Joey almost gasped aloud when she saw, the one and only, Catrina Strumpet sitting down a few seats over.
Catrina was wearing an extremely provocative, crimson blouse that seemed to go *perfectly* with her incredibly undersized mini-skirt. Joey felt disgusted at seeing the little tart looking like a hooker while she was simply eating her Saturday morning breakfast. Joey found herself wondering if she was imagining it, but Catrina did seem especially interested in the very handsome, the very *unavailable* Sirius Black, who happened to be sitting right next to Joey. Sirius of course, was very much, unaware of this.
Joey looked back at Lily, and trying her best to do it without getting any of the boys' attention, began in a whole charade of head nods and eye shifts, to explain to her friend what she was thinking. Lily and Joey had just gotten into the confusing body-language conversation, just as James looked up at the two of them, clearly looking like he was about to say something. They abruptly ceased their frenzy of twitching and spasming, and James looked at the two girls with a very curious expression on his face. He shook his head amusedly at their weird antics, and continued on his thought process as he spoke to Joey.
"So, Joey . . . if you're going to try out for beater, you're gonna have to talk to Weald some time soon . . ." he began as he pointed down the long Gryffindor table at Captain Weald, who had situated himself at the end of it. ". . .preferably this morning so that we can get you on the team as soon as possible, and then try and purchase some quidditch supplies for you in a mail order." Everyone sitting around them suddenly perked up at what they had just heard James say. Sirius especially looked thrilled.
"You mean to say that Joey is going to be a beater for the Gryffindor quidditch team?" Sirius asked excitedly. Joey gave him a hopeful smile.
"Well . . . I *hope* so! I still have to talk to Weald about it . . . and I'm not too sure how that's gonna go . . ."
"Ugggg!" Sirius groaned loudly. "You have to convince Weald to get you on the team . . . Ha! Good luck!" he said sardonically.
"You'll just have to *persuade* him, Joey!" James said with a definite tone.
"What the hell do you mean by *persuade* him?" Joey was not sounding amused at all.
"You know . . . get on his good side . . ." James gave her a bit of a suggestive smirk. Joey gave an offended huff, while Sirius backed her up with a threatening growl.
"If he so much as even gives you a lewd expression tha-" Sirius began before James interrupted him.
"Don't worry, Padfoot!" he laughed as he reached across the table and gingerly patted his best buddy on his strapping arm. "I'll be there . . . I'm just trying to tell Joey, that if she wants to get on the team, she's just going to have to *get his attention* a bit." Joey rolled her eyes.
"James, I'm just gonna do my best to get him to see that I can play quidditch . . . not play around!" she said, much to Sirius' relief. "Besides, you said you guys were pretty desperate for some players . . . I'm sure he'll give me a try!" James shrugged.
"All I'm saying is that Weald has got a pretty much, two track mind: Quidditch, sex, quidditch, sex, quidditch, sex . . . he'll certainly be looking to intertwine those two obsessions of his if he considers putting you on the team!" Both Joey and Sirius gave him a dirty look when he said this, so he hurriedly tried to finish his thought, "All I'm saying is that you should keep that idea in the back of your mind when you're trying to get the position . . . it just might come in handy, you never know!" And with that, James brought his gaze back down onto his piece of toast, and left his friends to their thoughts.
Joey was suddenly wondering if she really wanted to still do this. But when she thought about how proud her friends and family would be with her, she had her mind set that she really wanted to give it her best shot. Just as she was contemplating all of this, she glanced back down the table where Catrina had been sitting.
Catrina had obviously been intently listening to what James and Joey had been talking about, because she was still looking over at them. To Joey's surprise, Catrina and her locked gazes, and both narrowed their eyes at one another. 'Bitch,' Joey thought to herself. Catrina quickly lost the staring contest and averted her eyes back onto her breakfast. Even a supposed Siamese cat couldn't beat down Joey's death glare. No way in hell.
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They had finally finished their breakfast when Joey stood up and made her way over to wear Weald was standing. James quickly grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
"You aren't going to go talk to him looking like that are you?" he sounded a little worried. Joey almost became offended, but then she looked down at the work-out clothes she was wearing. They were splashed with mud from the saturated quidditch pitch, and she could tell that her mud-streaked hair was everywhere, complementing the dirt smudges across her cheeks quite nicely. She certainly knew how to make a mess of herself! Joey almost laughed, but she wasn't going to let James get away with making that comment without feeling at least a *little* bad about it.
"What's wrong with the way I look?" she tried her hardest to sound hurt, and it seemed to be working judging on the fact that James had a apologetic look come across his face.
"Oh! . . . well it's just that . . . you know . . . I guess if you were going to talk to Weald . . . you might have a better chance of . . . getting him to listen to you if . . . you looked a little . . . cleaner . . ." His uncomfortable expression turned quizzical when Joey started laughing. She gave him a playful pat on the side of his arm and just turned and started walking out of the dining hall with Lily. She called over her shoulder as the left:
"I'll just go get cleaned up, then . . . meet you in the common room!"
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The two girls dashed up to the common room and up into their dormitory. Joey was really anxious about having to talk to Weald in order to get on the team. She was worried he would just shoot her down the second she even mentioned the word quidditch. Just as Joey hurried into the bathroom with a pair of clean underwear, Lily called over to her:
"While you shower, I'll pick you out something *suitable* to wear!" Joey stopped in her tracks when she heard Lily say this. The way the word 'suitable' rolled off that girl's tongue was NOT very comforting. Joey whirled around to face her best friend.
"Uhhh . . .Lily! I really don't think I want to wear something that's gonna make him think tha-"
"Don't worry! I'll pick out something suitable! I promise it won't be . . . *arousing*!!!" Joey narrowed her eyes at her best friend's innocent grin. She just rolled her eyes and closed the door to the bathroom. Uggg!
Joey got out of the shower and quickly changed into the clothes that Lily had picked out for her. While she was alright with wearing the sporty track pants that Lily had picked, Joey found herself to be a little hesitant to put on the short, black top that she only ever wore when running on a burning-hot day. It was a halter that was *very* form fitting, and, though there was no bust peeking out, Joey still wasn't quite so comfortable with showing off her chest with such 'unyielding' material. The hem of the shirt sat tightly just above Joey's belly button, and part of her softly shaped abdominal muscles could be visible, giving anyone who looked, a little glimpse of her well-formed body. Lily finally convinced her that it was a sporty ensemble that simply made her look . . . *approachable* . . . whatever the hell that meant.
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Thanking Lily for all her *help,* Joey grabbed Flam and hurried down the stairs to meet James who was waiting for her in the common room. He was waiting down there alone, doing some of his transfiguration homework to kill the time. Little did Joey know that he had forced Sirius to remain in the dormitory, in fear that the 'boyfriend jealousy rage' thing would take over and he would refuse for her to even talk to Weald.
Joey walked over to him and got his attention. James looked up from his work and his jaw hit the floor. Joey really did look hot, and even though James wasn't attracted to her like that, he certainly felt his pulse rising. He stood up and tried his best to keep eye contact, not letting his eyes 'break the horizon.' *insert authors compulsive giggles*
"Wha- . . . what are you wearing?" he managed to croak out. Joey looked at him like he had pumpkin juice spewing out of his ears.
"What's wrong? Oh, no! Does it give me a disinterested look . . . you know . . . like I'm not serious about the game? Because I can go change into someth-"
"NO! No . . . I just think we should hurry."
"Hurry?"
"Yeah . . . because if Sirius sees you wearing that, then first he's gonna drool all over himself, and then he's gonna hit the roof when he realizes you're about to go talk to Weald while looking like that!"
"Huh? What are you talking abou-?"
"Never mind!" he said quickly as he forced her out towards the portrait hole. "Let's go find Weald!"
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They were walking out to the quidditch pitch, since James had this gut feeling that Weald had to have been out joy-flying on the lovely Saturday afternoon that they were having. James found himself coaching Joey on what would happen and what she should expect when talking to Weald.
"Now leave all the talking to me," he said. "Weald will most likely refuse to let you on the team since you are a girl . . . and especially since you want to be a beater." He paused for a short moment. Giving Joey a sideways glance, he asked her, "Did I mention that Weald is the other beater on our team?" Joey shook her head no. James sighed deeply. "That's the main reason why it's going to be super hard to get the position. Weald is a superb beater who knows exactly what to look for in a replacement one." Joey didn't find much time to be angry with James at the fact that he kept this important information from her, because she soon found herself in the middle of the quidditch pitch, staring up at a few figures circling the skies above them.
It was easy to pick Weald out of the crowd of three fliers. He was by far the biggest guy up in the sky, shirtless, and baring enormous muscles that could have easily crushed Amos Diggory in a flash. He was almost intimidating, but then Joey didn't have quite an opportunity to judge his appearance very long before James was calling up to him.
"Hey, Weald!!!" James bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Get your beatin' ass down here!" The shirtless piece of male specimen slowly descended from the sky and landed with a thud, a few yards away from James. James walked over to him so that Joey was out of the picture, but not quite out of ear shot. Weald stood about an inch taller than James, and had quite a bit more muscle mass.
"Potter," he greeted him gruffly. There was a slight indication of an Australian accent in his voice.
"Hey Weald," James returned.
"What's up?"
"Well . . . I think I've found us a beater."
"Ha! James, that's practically impossible! We've talked to all the blokes in our year! Who could you have found?" Weald was looking at him intently.
"Well, I didn't talk to a bloke . . ."
"What?! You talked to a girl?!" Joey suddenly became very aware of the fact that Weald was now eyeing her suspiciously as he said this. Weald looked back down at James and lowered his voice a few measures so that Joey had to strain her ears to hear him. "Are you a complete drongo?! A girl?!!" he paused for a moment and then continued, ". . . well, is that her over there, then?" he asked as he motioned in Joey's direction. James nodded. Joey could see Weald sigh deeply and gesture to James to get Joey to come over and join in their conversation.
Within a moment, Joey was standing over next to James, having Weald eye her with curiosity and intrigue. He gave her a bit of a suggestive smirk and made it obvious that he was checking her out.
"'ello sweet'eart," he gave her a wink as he reached down and brushed his lips up against her smooth hand. "My name is Jason Weald . . . *Captain* Jason Weald, that is," Joey just stared at him blankly. 'Give me a break!' she was thinking. This guy was certainly a smooth talker! She was desperately resisting the urge to kick him very sharply in his tender spots just for calling her "sweet'eart."
"Joanne Atramentous," she responded coolly. This guy was not going to get a rise out of her! The suggestive smirk grew wider on Jason's face, and Joey could hear a low rumble from deep in his chest which was unmistakable laughter. Suddenly, Weald was yelling up into the sky, and before they knew it, the other two fliers were perched on either side of him, scowling curiously at Joey.
"Miss . . . - Atramentous, was it?" he said with an audible tone. He waited for her nod of recognition, and then continued, "Yes, well . . . Miss *Atramentous*, here, is planning on trying out for the beater position, boys." He was obviously addressing the two guys standing behind him, but his stare never left Joey as he spoke. Joey shifted uneasily under his gaze. The smirk across Weald's face showed that he was quite amused with himself that he could make Joey uncomfortable.
Weald continued to penetrate through Joey's unwavering, defiant stare as he went on: "These two blokes behind me are our keeper, named Robert" he gestured to one of them, "and one of our chasers, named Nick" he gestured to the other. "And in case you didn't know . . . *Joe* . . . I'm the beater on this team, so I'll get to decided if your beater-worthy material . . . do you get me?" Joey nodded.
Suddenly, Weald turned his head to the side so that he was looking, out of the corner of his eye, at the chaser, Nick, on his right, and barked out the word 'bat.' In one fluid motion, he outstretched his arm so that his hand was poised to catch the bat that was then tossed to him. Weald's eyes met back up with Joey's, and he forcefully shoved the bat at her. "Let's see what you can do," he said with a low voice that was barely audible.
Joey just stood there. She had no idea what Weald was about to do . . . or have her do. Glancing nervously over at James, she didn't gain much reassurance at his panicked stare that was focused directly in front of him. Joey followed his gaze and saw a big brown chest that Weald was walking over to and unlatching.
Before Joey knew it, there was a very hard-looking ball coming shooting at her face at an unbelievable speed. Her first reaction was to duck, and the cement-like sphere shot past her head and flew in another direction.
"You're gonna have to do better than Joe!" she could hear Weald bellow over the sudden commotion of balls whizzing around the sky. Joey straightened back up as the next bludger came swooping down towards her. She wound up and pounded the ball as hard as she could. The weight of the impact went crashing down her whole body, and she winced as she felt the awesome contact she had with the round object.
Apparently she had smacked the living shit out of the bludger, because it went zipping past Weald's ducked head, and smacked painfully into the side of the arm that belonged to the keeper, Robert, who was situated on the left side of Jason. The impact with the bludger sent the keeper spiraling backward, and James and the chaser went sprinting over to his side. Joey just stood there, a little shocked and breathless at what had happened. Glancing over at Weald, she noticed his mouth hanging open in surprise.
"Damn!" was all he said before he walked over to Joey and stuck his hand out for her to shake. "Welcome onto the Gryffindor quidditch team!" he said cheerfully. A smile crept over Joey's face as she shook his hand proudly. Then they hurried over to the un-hurt, but extremely shaken up, quidditch keeper.
Okay! That was a long chapter, but I certainly hope you guys enjoyed it! Go Joey! Yeah! Hahaha! Okay, well, I'm sure you're anticipating some new problems coming up with all the new characters I've planted into my plot! *grin* This is gonna be fun! And if you guys were a little confused about anything that went on in this chapter, don't hesitate to ask!!! Please review! I'm starved for your input! Hahaha! = ]
Oh, and just for the record: I do not have a potty mouth! A few of you commented me on my . . . *vulgar* language, and I just have to say that I do not have a f**kin' potty mouth! I mean, what the F***KING SH*T?! Hahaha! JKJK! I'm just playin'! Oh, who the hell am I kidding! I AM a potty mouth! Excuse me while I go wash my tongue with soap! Hahaha! JkJk! I really don't type as many cuss words as I would like to, you know . . . *cheesy smile* (you guys know I still love ya ; )