Hey peoples!
I dunno why, but I find myself cringing everytime I get a review. Maybe its cause I've been getting quite a few criticisms about my plot and little details I didn't catch...Is it really that horrid ? ::lower lip quivers::
Anyways, despite having to nuture a bruised ego, I shall bless ye with more chapters. I am strong willed, my friends! LET NO MAN TAKE ME FROM MY QUEST!! ::brandishes a plastic sword and walks off galantly::
leiselmae: Was I really funny? Thats cool. I just don't find myself funny anymore. I've gone over my stories so many times I've become immune to its humor. But I'm more than ecstatic to hear its still got its kick. GO QUIDDITCH STARS!!!
HoofsTails Gal: Its ok, sometimes my vocabulary is lacking as well. This coming from an English Major, HAHA! But I'm glad your liking my story, its a little bandage to my wounded ego. Now, get to reading gal! Chop chop!
Harry blinked and ducked just in time to avoid a rather nasty collision with a bludger. He shot a venumous look at Andrew and soared up to meet him.
"What was THAT? You could've killed me!"
"Sorry, Harry. Nicked it the wrong way, " Andrew explained as nearby, Jack fought to disentangle his Quidditch robes from his bat.
Harry felt himself slipping into that place where he mostly wanted to plummet from his broom and hit the ground- HARD. It had been two weeks since he first recruited Jimmy as Chaser for his team, and for the most part, Jimmy was pulling his weight beautifully. He was a natural, given the fact that playing Quodpot for Dunlap Academy's team helped keep him in remarkable shape. Shifting from Quodpot to Quidditch was a simple task for his brother, and he brought a refreshing aspect to the team...Though it was starting to border on annoying.
"You really should watch where you're flying though, Harry. Its your own fault for flying anywhere near Kirke and Sloper." Jimmy commented with a hidden grin.
Harry glared at his brother, watching him share a good chuckle with Ron at his own expense. Sometimes Jimmy just got irritating. And it mainly happened when Harry knew he was right, which didn't lessen how irritating Jimmy was.
" Fine, whatever. Lets just continue, all right? And Andrew, will you PLEASE stop getting distracted?"
"Its not my fault, I swear. Tell Ms. Short-skirt over there to stop wearing to practice,well, short skirts ," Andrew rebuttled, glancing over with the others at Ginny hovering nearby.
Harry frowned. He had to admit, Ginny was dressing much more provocative lately and it was unnerving him. Not to mention distracting as well. Andrew wasn't the only one who was finding it hard to practice properly with the youngest Weasley zipping around in mini-skirts and legs that went on forever.
Jimmy glanced between them all and sighed. Turning to Ginny he hollered," Stop wearing skirts to practice! If we wanted to see your ass, we'd say so!"
Harry grimaced," Subtle."
Jimmy shrugged as Ginny turned even redder than her hair. For some reason, Harry had the distinct impression that Jimmy feared death nor pain nor embarassment. And everyone seemed to adore that about him, particularly little Ginny.
"All right, all right. Back to practicing," Harry commanded then faced his twin when everyone left. "Now, tonight's game against Hufflepuff will be pie, but I still want to see you doing your best. Not to bring anymore pressure to the table but they'll be expecting a great deal from you."
Jimmy raised a brow," What for?"
"Well," Harry started, shifting on his broom." You're a Potter. Modesty aside, I'm the best Seeker Hogwarts has had in awhile. Add on our father was incredible as well and you got alot to live up to."
"But I'm not a Seeker, I'm a Chaser. They're completely different. The tactics, skills and whole style of how you approach the game is vastly different from seeking...How can anyone compare me to you?"
Harry shifted yet again, noting the sudden straightening of his brother's body and the glint of challenge in his eyes. He'd have to choose his words carefully..." Well...they just will."
Yes, perfect.
Jimmy rolled his eyes and zoomed off, leaving Harry feeling quite stupid.
//---------
In the history of Quidditch games at Hogwarts, there have been a handful of outrageous games, most of them occuring in the past seven years. This proved to be one of them.Jimmy did indeed live up to the Potter name. He even excelled everyone's initial expectations when they heard he was to be a Gryffindor Chaser.
Harry sat poised high above the game, keeping an eye on both a hint of gold and his team's fantastic playing. It was barely ten minutes in and already they were 80 to 0. Jimmy and Ginny seemed to be telepathic, each anticipating the other's movements. Combined with Seamus' newly found confidence in actually catching a pass ,it seemed they were unstoppable. Harry didn't even let the fact that they WERE playing Hufflepuff and they didn't tend to be too assertive or,well, GOOD, get him down. He knew his team was playing fabulously, even for such an easy match.
A pandemonium erupted from the crowd, knocking Harry from his gloating. Jimmy had scored them another ten points. He would keep on scoring them points until Harry caught the Snitch, and the possibility of being ahead so many points for the Quidditch Cup was absolutely intoxicating. Now Harry knew how gamblers felt. Another uproar escaped the scarlet and gold clad part of the stadium, letting Harry knew Jimmy had made yet another goal.
A sudden glitter of gold shot past his nose, whisking around his head and darted for the stadium behind him. Harry shot off after it like a slingshot. He would've prefered to have let Jimmy get them very much ahead in the matter of points, but it was already getting ridiculous. Poor Hufflepuff would get humilated come tomorrow morning. So, like he'd done so many other times, Harry outreached his hand and let his fingers linger fractions away from the Snitch's flittering wings. It wasn't really necessary to prolong the capture, a little burst of speed on his Firebolt and the Snitch would easily scoop into his palm, but Harry couldn't resist stalling when he saw Jimmy, Ginny and Seamus tear towards the Hufflepuff goal posts. Once he saw the brown dot that was the Quaffle get launched through the right hoop perfectly, Harry leaned forward and smoothely snatched the gold ball in his fist.
The cheering that ensued was positively infectious. Harry landed besides his team and gave Jimmy a hearty hug. As they grinned at eachother, a chant made itself louder than the general hub-bub.
"POT-TERS! POT-TERS! POT-TERS!"
//---------
"Glorious..Absolutely GLORIOUS!"Jimmy smirked and glanced at his brother through the corner of his eye. Harry hadn't been able to sit still since their game that afternoon and his pure joy was starting to become infectious. Jimmy looked back to the journal in his lap and went back to writing," So, I guess I lived up to the ol' Potter name, huh?"
"And then some..I mean, AH! You were FABULOUS!" Harry exclaimed, wringing a Gryffindor banner around his hands.
Jimmy smiled and shrugged, dancing on the inside.
"So, we're going to The Three Broomsticks in about twenty minutes and-"
Jimmy stared at his brother," The WHAT?"
"The Three Broomsticks..Oh. Its this pub in Hogsmeade, the ONLY fully wizard village in Britain," Harry explained rather proudly.
Jimmy nodded," And why are we going there?"
"Well, to celebrate of course! I mean, it wasn't much of a challenge to beat Hufflepuff, but MAN! We SLAUGHTERED them! Dean talked it over with Madam Rosmerta and managed to get her into letting Gryffindor celebrate there. Professor McGonagal and some other professors will be there of course, but still. A party in HOGSMEADE!" Harry practically burst from beneath his skin with excitement.
Jimmy shrugged and continued to write.
"What? Aren't you excited?" Harry inquired, unwrapping the gold banner from around himself.
"I suppose, its just..."
"What?"
Jimmy closed his book and faced his brother," How about a REAL party?"
Harry frowned. This didn't sound good." What party?"
"I say, we ditch the champeroned shin-dig and crash a nightclub in London."
Yep, defintely not good." We can't, Jimmy."
"And why not?"
Harry walked over to his brother slowly," Well, for starters, this party is for US-"
"All the more reason to go someplace exciting and new and JUST for us."
Harry pressed on, ignoring Jimmy's comment," Secondly, the professors will be monitoring who leaves and who goes. Its a Quidditch team party, we'll be EXPECTED."
" Then we can just do a simple Illusion Charm and be on our way," Jimmy stated simply and stood up.
"Illusion Charm?"
"Course. We'll ask the team who wants to go and then tell everyone that we're all tired from the game. After the party starts, we perform the charm to make people believe they see us in our beds then BAM! We're off," Jimmy said as he rumaged through his things.
"I don't know, Jim...None of us has performed such a complicated spell, let alone even heard about it."
Jimmy grinned," I figured you'd say that. I can just do it for everyone."
Harry watched as his brother changed into jeans and a black t-shirt," And you're sure we won't get caught?"
"Well, unless you decide to be a nitwit and show up at the Hogsmeade party while the charm is still going, then no, we won't get caught." Jimmy replied, running gel through his short raven hair, making it even more messy than the Potter gene already made it.
Harry sighed, twirling the banner in his hand as he observed his twin. So confident. Cocky even. Jimmy had more in common with James Potter than Harry ever dreamed for himself. They were more twins than Harry and Jimmy. Harry would've never imagined going someplace else for a party aside from the time when he met Cienna, and that was Dean's doing, not his. Harry was hardly spontaneous like Jimmy or Dean or his father. He lacked the style and grace Jimmy and James had in spades. Remembering the game from earlier and the past month at school with him, Harry knew Jimmy was more adapted to this life than Harry ever was. Jimmy just...fit. From the way he quickly made friends with everyone he met to aceing every subject to simply being able to make the chaotic Potter hair look so incredibly cool, Jimmy was fit for this place. Harry had only dreamed he'd ever feel as comfortable as Jimmy obviously did....He wanted to belong too...
"Harry? You all right?"
Harry blinked, shifting his eyes to Jimmy's puzzeled face." Huh?"
"Where'd you go?"
Harry shook his head," Nothing...Nowhere..I'll go ask the team if they want to go..."
"And ask Dean, he seems to know where all the cool spots are." Jimmy called as Harry started out the door.
Harry nodded and disappeared out of the room mumbling," Course..Everyone but me seems to know..."
//-------
The music that emitted from the small, plain looking building that brandished a simple neon sign 'Mixed Intuition', took Harry right back into a memory. He half expected to see himself and Cienna perched on the curb, sharing a drink and a laugh. His heart ached briefly before Jimmy caught his elbow and dragged him in the back way. All of the team plus Dean had agreed to this outing and Harry knew if they were caught, HE'D be to blame. The responsible captain inside him was fighting to break out but the anxious teenager won out as they snuck inside the club.Lights throbbed in the darkness, outlining the people dancing there. It was much smaller than the other club he had been in. A few round tables were clustered in a corner next to a meager bar. The rest of the space was used for the dance floor, which was suprising packed.
Dean leaned over and shouted into Harry's ear," Like it?"
Harry nodded a bit, surveying the scene. It'd be almost impossible to be spotted in this darkness and chaos, so he allowed himself to relax in the matter of getting caught IN the club.
Harry jumped as he felt his arm being grabbed. Jimmy grinned at him and dragged him out to the dance floor, tailed closely by Dean. Jimmy and Dean immediately began to move to the beat before they even reached a patch of open space. Ginny disappeared with Ron and Andrew while Jack and Seamus headed straight for the bar to test their newly made ID cards.
As the 3 boys found a decent spot, Harry moved a bit to the song which he recognized as a remixed version of a Yaz song. The remix was obviously intended for clubs like this, since the original didn't really have a fast beat to dance to. Either way, Harry found himself liking the song and trying to notice the differences between the two.
"Stop being such a louse and enjoy yourself!" Dean shouted above the music.
Jimmy grabbed hold of his brother's shoulders and shook them," I COMMAND YOU TO HAVE FUN!"
Harry laughed and shoved his brother away," I can have fun."
Jimmy and Dean exchanged a skeptical look.
"I can!" Harry yelled defiantly.
"Whatever you say," Dean called just before a dark-skined girl waltzed up to him and held out a silver tray of bright blue, green and pink drinks in slender viles.
Dean took one and passed another to Jimmy. The two downed them in a single gulp, then glanced at Harry. Harry was determined to show them he was not a party-pooper. He was going to have as much fun as his body could handle if it killed him. So, he snatched up a green drink and swallowed it hastily. It burned down his throat and into his gut, making him cough and choke.
Jimmy slapped his back and helped straighten him out." Maybe you should lay off that stuff.Its MUCH stronger than Fire Whisky."
"I can handle it if you can," Harry replied through the fire in his throat.
Jimmy grinned and handed him another green drink. The three boys emptied all the glasses the girl offered from her tray over the duration of about two hours, each having about six. By the third,the effects were sinking in for Harry, having never had such strong alcohol before in his life.
His fingertips started to go numb before long, along with his toes. His stomach tingled and his chest burned. He felt as if he were in a bubble, all sounds and sights being distorted by its irredescent surface. He ran his touch along his bubble barrier and enjoyed the cool, slick feeling it left on his fingers. His inhibitions were lost somewhere outside of his new sphere and they couldn't get back to him. Harry grinned lazily as he saw them fight to enter his illusion.
After their seventh round of neon drinks, Dean got distracted by a girl grabbing him to dance with her. Harry looked over at his brother and watched him dance. He seemed to be in a world of his own, eyes closed and body moving of its own accord. Harry liked how that looked, it seemed quite fun. So, he closed his own eyes and let the intoxicating effects of the drink and music take control.
Never before had he felt so free. So alive. It was like his veins were live-wires, shooting electricity to every pore. It came crackling out of every orface, singeing everyone around him. Pain was a distant memory and nothing existed outside his silvery bubble.
Suddenly, a warm body come incontact with his own. It rubbed up and down his front, causing more frictious electricity to spark out. He allowed himself to dance with the stranger awhile before his mind suggested he find out who exactly he was dancing with. Curiosity won over the trance he'd found himself in and opened his eyes.
He blinked in a full head of flaming red hair, made deep burgundy by the lack of pure light. Looking up he found himself staring in the drunken eyes of his brother. A tiny thought weasled its way through his barrier and twinged his thoughts; Young Ginny Weasley was dancing between him and his brother.
For some reason, this didn't seem to bother him. His mind couldn't register anything properly and he really didn't care. He let his hands slip onto the redhead's exposed waist, dipping and grinding with her slender body. He felt Jimmy's hand brush over his own, finding their own bare patch of Ginny's skin to explore. The girl was almost completely lost inbetween the two boys' bodies, but she held her own.
And before Harry could summon the wits to protest, his mouth was brought to hers in a single hot kiss.
The floor trembled beneath his feet and the walls thumped with the beat of his heart. His mind whirrled faster and faster before her lips left his sharply. He watched numbly as she turned and gave his brother the same quaking kiss. There seemed to be no thought left in his head that he could sort out right, which was leaving him confused and frustrated. He wanted something, wanted to do anything, but he couldn't seem to figure it out.
Before he knew what was happening, he stumbled backwards into someone and watched puzzeled as Jimmy fought his way out of the dancing crowd. He looked at Ginny who looked equal parts shocked and bored. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Harry took off after his brother, getting significantly slowed down by the tightly packed dancers.
He hastily shoved past Jack in a desperate attempt to catch up with Jimmy. Giving a burst of speed once he cleared the dense crowd, he roughly grabbed Jimmy's arm and tugged him to a stop.
"Jimmy, whats wrong?"
"I want to go," Jimmy replied flatly.
Harry struggled to process these words, oblivious to Jimmy's striken face and tense body posture.
"I-want-to-GO," Jimmy repeated slower, jerking out of Harry's grasp and storming out the backdoor.
Ron, Andrew and Jack caught up with Harry, giving him confused looks.
"We got to go," Harry said in response to their questioning faces.
Ron nodded, frowning with confusion, and left to find Ginny, Dean and Seamus. Before long they all met up with Jimmy who was waiting by the far corner of the street. Without another word said, they apparated back to the edge of Hogsmeade.
As they made their way down the main road of the village, it was obvious the party at the Three Broomsticks was still going strong. In one swift movement, Jimmy pulled his wand out from the back of his jeans and flicked it, muttering something.
"I'm going to the party, see you guys later," He blurted, then set off for the brightly lit pub down the road.
The team exchanged looks between themselves before Ron called," Wait up!" and ran to catch up with him.
Harry watched as if from inside a distorted glass window as Draco met with Ron and Jimmy at the door and laughed as they went inside. Jack and Seamus took off after them while Ginny disappeared somewhere, but Harry was much too exhausted to care where. Harry and Andrew quietly snuck into the castle and into their dorms...Harry fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.