Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
"Should we go see who he's talking to?" Sirius asked.
"I don't know…it looks pretty…private," Treasure said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Sirius shrugged, grabbed her bag and broomstick, and made his way over to where his friend was sitting, quite close in fact, to a girl. Treasure rolled her eyes and followed him, glad that he was in front of her so he wouldn't see the somewhat ridiculous smile that stretched itself over her face.
When they got there, Treasure beamed. "Hi, Remus," she said brightly. He smiled up at her, and gestured for her to sit down. She did, plopping herself down across the very pretty girl with long blonde hair and green eyes…No, wait, they were silver...no, now there were green. Treasure blinked and thought that she must have woken up far too early and that her mind was playing tricks on her, but Sirius seemed to be contemplating the girl's eyes as well. Treasure frowned slightly and observed the girl with a slightly colder eye.
She was very pretty, almost inhuman looking. Treasure, who besides having her very own secret unicorn (Not so secret anymore, though, she thought uneasily), was fascinated with Magical Creatures of all kinds, was reminded of a veela. Her frown deepened. Veela were the most fantastically beautiful creatures that magical world had to offer - right up there with sirens and succubae, though perhaps not quite as Dark. Treasure shifted uncomfortably at the idea that this girl was a veela but on closer observation she saw her chipped nail polish and glittering nose ring. Not a veela, then, Treasure thought. Not a full one, anyway. Greatly relieved, Treasure was beginning to feel a bit more friendly.
"Who's this?" Treasure asked, grinning at the way Remus's cheeks began to redden. Sirius gawped shamelessly at his friend, and then even more shamelessly, though with a big more charm, at the blond girl. Treasure poked him in the side, clicking her tongue.
"Er, this is Laurel. Laurel Lovegood. She's in Hufflepuff," Remus said, the tops of his ears turning a bit pink. Treasure's grin widened. "Yes but who is she to you?" she asked slyly. Sirius looked interestedly between Remus and Laurel, skeptical and suspicious.
"She's my, uh, girlfriend," Remus said, not looking at Sirius, but not looking embarrassed either. Treasure smiled at Laurel.
"Then I take it he's not as immature and insufferable as this one and Potter?" Treasure asked, indicating Sirius. Sirius scowled at Treasure and, evidently not placing his faith in Remus's ability to woo a female, regained the haughty, bored expression he so often wore to conquer the hearts of Hogwartian girls everywhere. Laurel shrugged nonchalantly, and the tips of Remus's ears grew even pinker. When it became clear that his efforts were not working, Sirius lapsed into a scowl again.
Treasure laughed gleefully, liking Laurel more and more by the minute. Sirius sat down next to Treasure, looking between Remus and Laurel. Treasure nudged him. "Quit staring, what's so weird about Remus having a girlfriend? What, did he get one before you?" she hissed. He shook his head. Treasure rolled her eyes.
"Moony, I'd thought you would have told us at least," Sirius said. Treasure snorted with laughter, admittedly looking a bit ridiculous next to the pristine beauty of the Hufflepuff, who managed somehow make sitting cross-legged on the ground look like sitting on the very finest of thrones.
"Good lord, Black, you are priceless. After how you and James and your little worm groupie act towards the opposite sex," Treasure said dramatically, "I reckon Remus would have rather been skewered by fire pokers and roasted alive than told you about Laurel," she said. "Besides, everyone knows what a skirt-chase you are. Maybe he didn't trust you."
Sirius looked rather offended. Remus looked sheepish, but endeavored to deny what Treasure had insinuated. Treasure nudged Sirius lightly again and laughed at his discomfort. Laurel tossed her hair, and Treasure noticed how Remus stared at her. She was less amused when Sirius seemed to be staring in much the same way. More to break the ice than anything, she said, "Laurel, I think you 'ave ze charm of ze veela.'"
Laurel smiled. "Actually, my mother was half-veela," she said.
"Veela blood is pretty obvious in you," Treasure replied, smacking Sirius, who comically shook his head as if coming out of a daze. Laurel laughed easily, her silver eyes dancing merrily into green. "Remus, you better watch your girl," Treasure continued. Remus shrugged and wore the same complacent smile on his face that she had seen that morning.
"So, where are you from?" Treasure asked Laurel.
Laurel shrugged. "I was raised in Prague until I was six, but my family travels a lot. My mother finds it hard to stay in one place for very long. She wanted me to go to Beauxbatons, but I didn't like them very much - a bit too stuck up for me, I think - and then I was supposed to go to the American School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where my father received his education, but I didn't want to spend all my time in America, where I live most of the time anyway…so I applied here," she said.
"So are you an exchange student then?" Treasure asked.
"Yes."
They chatted for a while, and Treasure found out the Laurel was probably one of the most interesting people she had ever met. She had every right to be a snob - rich, beautiful, and quite a talented witch - but she was, it seemed, down to earth and soft-spoken. Her father was Muggle-born and worked for a popular Wizarding magazine, her mother was, of course, half-veela and wholly extravagant. Laurel's life was a blur of fabulous places, rich vacations and a mad grandmother who was one-hundred percent veela, but it seemed that Laurel had quite simple tastes herself. The longer she spent watching Remus and Laurel together, the more obvious it became how easy they were around each other as if it were the most natural thing in the world to sit and chat on the Quidditch pitch one cold October morning.
It got warmer as the day wore on. Treasure got up and stretched. She looked up and saw the bright gray sky. "I'm sorry, but I have got to do some flying," she declared. Sirius got up as well, and handed Treasure her broom. "Thank you," she said cheerily, her good mood quite restored after a morning of open air. Sirius narrowed his eyes at her as if suspicious, and Remus chuckled.
"Why don't you guys summon your brooms and we can have a scrimmage Quidditch match," Treasure suggested eagerly, frisking about like a puppy. Sirius grinned, his momentary skepticism about Treasure's good mood vanishing. It seemed, however annoyed or angry with him she was before, things were back to normal now. He rather liked how boundless her energy was invigorating rather than oppressive now that her mood had changed.
Laurel bounced up and whipped out her wand. "Accio broomstick!" she said, and Remus did the same. Treasure jogged over to the side of the field and opened the trunk that was there and took out a Quaffle and one of the two Bludgers.
"We're not gonna use the Snitch, 'cause Madam Hooch will kill us if we lose it, and we don't have a Seeker. And we'll only use one Bludger, because the two of them together might actually end up in murder," Treasure explained. Laurel expertly conjured up a Muggle golf ball and Charmed it so that it would zoom around the pitch and act as the Golden Snitch.
They began to play, Treasure and Sirius against Remus and Laurel. Treasure zoomed by, the self-proclaimed Seeker of their scrimmage game. She shrieked as she whizzed by, spiraling on her broom and clearly ecstatic to be flying again. Sirius sped to catch up to her.
"Bet I'm a better Seeker than you!" he teased. Treasure sped up and whipped around so she was facing him. She lowered herself down over the broomstick and shot forward, so that he had to roll over in the air to avoid being knocked off.
"You are supposed to be watching the goals," she said.
"Well, if we catch the Snitch, we'll win anyway." She glared at him and sped up again, looking for the Snitch.
He matched her speed, and she finally pulled back. "You are insufferable, Sirius Black!" she yelled after him, frustrated, and then hightailed it back to the goal posts to play Keeper. Remus had gone chasing after Sirius, trying to find the Snitch first. Laurel was facing Treasure, hovering with the Quaffle tucked safely under her arm.
She inched up and then let jets of speed propel her forward. Treasure zig-zagged back and forth, her eyes on the Quaffle. Laurel threw the ball as hard as she could, faking left then throwing right. Treasure anticipated this, and knocked the ball back to Laurel with the tail of her broom. Laurel caught the ball, and this time when she shot, it went in.
"Ten points!" she cried. "We're winning!" she called, but Remus and Sirius were in a dive, going after the golf ball that appeared to be losing some of its magic. "We must have been out here longer than I thought," Treasure murmured, amused. She had her broom hovering next to Laurel's both were watching the guys in a dive with rapt attention. Remus was pulling ahead, and then he shot up out of the dive with his fist closed over the Snitch.
"Got it!" he called. Laurel laughed happily and zoomed over. In mid-air, she leapt from her broom and onto his, reveling in the look of alarm that her boyfriend gave her. They were still at good thirty feet above the ground.
Treasure crossed her arms over her chest. "You should have caught that, Sirius," she growled. Sirius looked uneasy. Treasure shoved him playfully. "Just kidding, you git," she said.
They went back to where Remus and Laurel had been sitting. Remus picked up the blanket, and offered to hold Laurel's broom. Treasure couldn't help but utter an, "Awww," when she saw that, but Sirius had already taken her broom from her and was holding it with his over his shoulder.
"You don't act like a veela, you know," Treasure said thoughtfully. Laurel raised an eyebrow, her eyes were silver. "What are veelas supposed to act like then?" she asked. Treasure shrugged.
"Aloof, I've always heard. A bit cold," she said. Laurel cracked a smile. "Well, I'm only a quarter veela, I suppose, and you just described my mother, half the time," she said.
Then she added, "And my grandmother, all the time."
Treasure laughed as they headed back to Hogwarts to get some well-deserved breakfast.