"So, how exactly are
we going to pull this off?" Sierra asked, looking around the
group.
"Well," said Remus slowly, "maybe we should have
a practice pair. You know, so if—"
"So if Anna
accidentally kills the practice pair, well, at least it wasn't Lily
and James?"
"No," said Remus, glowering at her. "So if
it makes a big bang or something then we'll have some warning. Also
we can see exactly how well it works."
"I like that,"
said Anna. "So.......how about Bailey and ...Sirius?"
"Great,"
said Sierra. "I like it."
"Don't ask our permission
first or anything..." said Bailey, annoyed. Everyone laughed. If
James were there he would have told Bailey that she really didn't
care that she was to be part of the practice pair. But he wasn't
there, so he didn't.
"Ok, Bailey, Sirius, do you consent
to being the guinea pigs?"
"Well," said Sirius, looking
at Bailey, "I guess."
"Alright," said Bailey.
Anna
was studying a complicated diagram depicting the correct wand
movement for the spell. After about fifteen minutes she looked
up.
"I've got it," she said.
So she took a strand
of Bailey's red-brown hair and Sirius's dark hair. After
switching them she tapped them on the shoulder and did an intricate
wand movement, muttering,
"Serendipitious!"
A
thin, light mist hovered over the pair's heads. It was pink and
silver and if the group weren't looking for some sign that the
spell had been completed, they wouldn't have noticed it. The mist
formed a heart, then vanished.
Anna slumped onto a
couch.
"That spell was difficult," she said. "It
required a lot of concentration."
"Well, my fellow guinea
pig," said Sirius, looking at Bailey, "I guess we'll be seeing
more of each other."
I've decided that I'm going to put a
space between each paragraph. It's easier to read and it also makes
posts look longer.
Bailey rose much earlier than she normally
did on the following Saturday. The first Quidditch match of the
season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, was today. She figured, being on
the team as a Chaser, that she'd get in some extra practice time.
Bailey was also the most athletic of the four girls and was the only
one on the team.
She dressed quickly and headed down to the
pitch, broomstick in hand. When she got to the locker room, however,
she wasn't alone.
"Hello, fellow guinea pig," said a
voice from the corner of the locker room. Bailey turned to see Sirius
sitting on a bench, clipping stray twigs out of his broom.
"What
are you doing here?" Bailey asked, taken aback.
"I
might ask the same thing of you, but unlike you, I am not stupid.
Serendipity, remember?"
"Oh. Yeah."
"You seem
happy about it," Sirius said sarcastically.
"I—I just
remembered how—how the charm is ended."
"Well, my fellow
guinea pig, we'll just either have to fall in love (I mean, that is
the charm's point, isn't it) or keep meeting up for the rest of
our sad, measly lives. Sound like a plan?"
Bailey laughed.
"Sure," she said. "Want to practice?"
The two headed
out into the early morning sunshine. The leaves of the trees had
recently begun to turn all sorts of gorgeous reds, oranges, and
yellows. Bailey kicked off and flew in and out of the goalposts, her
hair sparkling in the autumn light. Sirius caught up with her and
they began to throw the Quaffle back and forth. Finally, they decided
to go to breakfast.
When they arrived in the Great Hall, James
met up with him. He seemed to have momentarily forgotten Lily in the
thrill of the upcoming match.
"Were you guys just
practicing? Great. Get a good breakfast, alright?"
The two
nodded and headed to the Gryffindor table. A moment later the rest of
their friends stumbled in, each of them looking extremely sleepy.
"Goodness, Lily, its not that early," said Bailey,
pushing her friend's sleeping head off her shoulder. She was about
to prod Lily in the back when a sudden thought came to her. She
gently pulled out one of Lily's dark red hairs and ran over to
James, who was staring transfixed at his plate as though it was tap
dancing. She roughly ripped out one of his hairs, but he didn't
even notice. After quickly switching the hairs, she ran over to Anna.
A couple of minutes later, the pink and silver mist was hanging over
their heads, and no one saw it. Bailey was very pleased with herself.
"We're lucky we have such an infinitely creative mind
such as mine to help us in these matters," she said jokingly to the
part of the group that wasn't sleeping. They rolled their eyes.
"Don't get cocky," Remus said, chuckling.
About
a quarter hour later, the school was piling into the stands
overlooking the Quidditch field. The commentator, a Hufflepuff sixth
year named Austin Van, was holding a giant megaphone to his
lips.
"And today's match—Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!
Should be a good game, folks, Ravenclaw's recently made a few
changes in the lineup... and here they are, Gryffindor and
Ravenclaw!"
The crowd burst into applause and cheers.
"For
Ravenclaw: Sidney, Aston, Burton, Sinclair, Furndon, Shabb, and
Wheats! For Gryffindor: Mitchell, Black, Picone, Westfield, Wakely,
Thrifter, and Potter! And the game begins!"
Madam Brinkley
threw the Quaffle up into the air. Bailey caught it and passed it to
David Westfield, who threw it back. She streaked towards the goal,
took a shot, and—
"Picone scores! Ten to nil to
Gryffindor!"
The game continued in the same manner, with the
Gryffindor Chasers dominating the whole time until finally James
snatched the Snitch right under Ravenclaw Seeker Wheats's nose. The
Gryffindors trudged up to castle, celebrating.
In his good
mood, James decided to go to the Owlery to say hello to his owl,
Mercury. When he got there, James found Lily, staring out of the
glassless windows. She didn't notice him come in. James snapped and
Mercury came down and perched on his outstretched arm. Lily turned
around.
"Why are you here? Did someone tell you I
was here?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously.
"No!"
said James innocently. "I just came to pay my owl, Mercury, a
long-overdue visit."
She continued to look at him
skeptically. James threw up his hands, sending Mercury flying. The
tawny owl squawked and returned to the top of the room. "Really!
There's no need to look at me like that. Besides, what are you
doing here? You didn't look like you were sending a letter."
"I
don't know what I'm doing here," she admitted. "I just wanted
to be up high and look at the grounds. They're so pretty! I love
autumn."
"I could take you on my broom, if you want,"
James offered. "We could ride over the forest, and the lake and the
Quidditch pitch."
"No thanks," said Lily. "I like
heights when they're safe."
"Oh, but it is safe!
You know I'm a good flyer, I wouldn't drop you or anything, come
on Lily, let's go!"
"I think I'll go to the common
room. 'Bye, James."
"Wait!" James called, but Lily had
already left.
Thanks for the reviews! They are very heartening.
