PLEASE READ: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. It's quite long
and therefore I divided it into to pieces. I made a few adjustment after
reading 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'. I realize that, at the
end of the story, Lucius Malfoy is thrown into Azkaban. Seeing as how that
would greatly collide with the plotline I have laid out for this story from
here on out 'Marrying Lucius Malfoy' will be slightly AU in that he was
never thrown in Azkaban. He was present that night, but he was not
apprehended, and therefore he is still rich, respected (by the Ministry of
Magic), and a DE in secret. Also, the pseudo-dimension scenes will be
explained in due time, as well as the Madame Rosemerta scene. Trust me on
this. Oh, and if you are so inclined, pleased do review. I always enjoy
critical advice. One last thing-thanks to my beta, Helena Malfoy! Her
critiquing was most helpful in developing this chapter. Read on, now, and
enjoy!!!
~*~
"I suppose we got picked because everyone wanted a rematch," Draco said nonchalantly to Riley as they made their way to the quidditch pitch.
"Say what?" Riley asked, snapping out of a firm concentration. And then, just so she wouldn't have to here him repeat whatever he had said, she nodded. "Oh. Yeah. You're right."
Behind them Selina and Pamela laughed. In the past hour-which they had spend finding a headquarters (the Hogwarts library), choosing a team name (Team Titan), and voting on a team captain (Riley)-it had become more and more obvious that Draco fancied Riley. Whether it was lust or a puppy-love crush, Selina couldn't yet tell. All she knew was that when Draco looked at Riley, he looked a little bit longer than necessary, and whenever Riley cracked a joke, which was often, he laughed a little too hard.
Riley and Lucius, in fact, were the only to not to have picked up on this, and that was probably because they were too busy arguing with each other. Either Lucius was calling Riley a dip, or perhaps Riley had just made a rude face at Lucius, but whatever the cause of the argument had been, the two of them had made life very hard for their teammates. Finally, when Mrs. Chang had exploded and told Lucius to "grow up and leave the poor girl alone" Lucius had turned his wrath on Snape.
Selina had wondered, and not for the first time, why Lucius had it in for
Snape. The Potions Master might be a rude sociopath, but she had the
feeling that Dumbledore would never hire anyone who was adherently cruel,
so what could he have done to make Lucius so upset? Just another mystery,
Selina mused, that she would have to dig to find the answer.
"I'm on the quidditch team, you know." It was Draco again, and he was trying to impress Riley, who couldn't have cared less. "I'm the Slytherin seeker."
Riley gave Draco a strained smile. "In the South we didn't play much quidditch. We played muggle games such as baseball. We rode horses too."
Draco seemed confused. "How could someone not want to play quidditch?" he asked.
Riley shrugged. "The only Southern state that's heavily into quidditch is Alabama."
Draco smiled in a way that might be perceived as handsome by some. "And what state were you born in, Riley?"
Riley shot a pleading look at Selina. "I was born in Georgia," she muttered. Pointing back to Selina she added, "But Selly comes from Alabama! Talk about quidditch with her!" In the split second that Draco looked back at Selina, Riley bolted ahead to the quidditch pitch. "I'm just going to see if the captains need to do anything special," she called over her shoulder. Draco looked hurt for a moment, but then he saw Selina and Pamela watching him, so he stood up strait and began walking stiffly.
It was then that the Weasley crew appeared. They were all laughing heartily, and Selina had a feeling it was her team that was being laughed at. She saw one of the boys shoot a pointed look between her and Lucius, and then they snorted. Pamela stood up, as if in defense to her mistress, but Lucius had taken no notice of him. He, instead, was sneering snidely at the head of the Weasley's, a balding redhead man.
"Well, Arthur," Lucius was drawling, "I see that we're going to be competing against each other quite a bit today."
The balding man, who must have been Mr. Weasley, gave Lucius a very tight smile. "May the best team win," he spit out before taking the arm of his wife and entering the quidditch pitch. Everyone else, including the professor on their team, staid behind.
"Let's make a little bet," Lucius said when Mr. Weasley was out of hearing range.
"Let's," one of the Weasley boys retorted.
When neither of the professors objected Lucius gave a small smirk. "Whichever of these two teams is eliminated first has to.I don't know.give up something of great value. I'm willing to offer you my cane." Lucius showed the whole group his prized cane, a Malfoy family heirloom. "What would you be willing to give up? Assuming, of course, that you have anything worth giving up.
The Weasley´s frowned for a moment, and then they formed a large huddle. Their professor, a tall woman with a tight, immaculate bun and thin pursed lips; whom Snape called McGonagall, was the only one who staid out. Instead of conversing with her teammates she glared at Snape, and he was only too glad to return the favor. Finally, after a good three minutes of debating, the Weasley's straitened up.
Their elected spokesperson, a tall, handsome man with a ponytail and a fang earring, stepped forward and cleared his throat. "In exchange for your cane," he said, "we're willing to bet our own little gem." Lucius looked expectant when the young man paused. "You see, Fred and George have been making a good deal of money with their business, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." The man ignored Draco's chortle of laughter. "Recently they visited our brother Charlie in Romania, where Charlie works with dragons. It turns out that, at the same time, a group of nomadic wizards was passing through the camp in which Charlie and all his coworkers staid. A few of them were merchants, and one had wandered throughout Europe and beyond, seeking areas in which dragons were kept. He specified in dragon-like products and the like, and he had a few trinkets for sale."
The spokesman then produced a sloppily written receipt and handed it off to Lucius. It had been folded many times, and the writing was in a foreign language. "We're willing to bet this if we can each have a kiss from the pretty young women." He motioned to Selina, Riley, Pamela and Cho, all of whom pretended to be greatly offended but were truthfully quite flattered. "What do you say, Malfoy?"
Lucius, who seemed to understand the strange language, folded the receipt and placed it in his coat pocket. "Well, I must say, I think we're all being fairly generous, but very well. It's a deal, but I must ask that my wife be eliminated from the lineup."
The spokesman seemed to sense that he had touched a nerve. His warm brown eyes shone with mischief, and he nodded. "She'll only have to kiss me, then. Is it a deal?"
Lucius glared at the young man, but he shook on it anyways. The Weasley guffawed and hooted as they moved off towards the quidditch pitch. They seemed fairly confident, and as soon as they had disappeared Mr. Chang began to yell.
"Bets, Malfoy?" Mr. Chang asked. "We're taking bets now?"
"It's just a little fun and games. I'm the only one who stands to lose." Lucius began walking, and everyone followed him at a reluctant pace. "Do you know what he's offering? Dragon Gems! Merlin knows how a Weasley managed to get a Dragon Gem, but there's enough so that each family could have one."
Mr. Chang frowned. "I don't like your style, Malfoy; let me say that right now. The Weasley's are a respectable wizarding family, and I don't want to become their foes just because of your gigantic ego."
Lucius frowned. "You would like them though, wouldn't you? Muggle lovers, aren't they?" Both he and Draco gave Mr. Chang a strange, berating look. "Your adopted mother was a muggle, wasn't she, Chang?"
Mr. Chang's eyes darkened. "You're one to talk, Malfoy," he growled. "Everyone knows about your parents too, and your sister." Mr. Chang looked at Selina, and then at Pamela, and then at his own daughter. "But due to the innocent ears we have present I won't choose to insult them."
Lucius had no reply to that. Their team resumed walking, but he lagged behind with Draco. They both whispered together, and every so often the word "mudblood" would drift into Selina's hearing range. Selina knew that Pamela could hear too, because she would turn light pink whenever they said it. It made her burn with anger too. Riley's mother was muggle born, and Bruce's father had been a muggle. Maybe the whole Riley and Draco thing wasn't such a good idea.
As soon as Selina and the rest of her teammates stepped into the quidditch pitch all arguments were left behind. A woman who introduced herself as Professor Sprout met them at the entrance and pulled them into a small tent that had been erected for the competition. Riley was waiting for them inside, and she jumped up when she saw them.
"Y'all just made it," she drawled, striding over to her team. "Professor Sprout here has been explaining me the rules of this Scavenger Hunt. It's real simple. All we have to do is go on stage, smile and wave, and get a slip of paper from Professor Dumbledore. Written on that slip of paper is a clue in the form of a riddle. The answer of the riddle will be a location, and once we reach the location we'll find a small coin and the next riddle. The eight teams with the most coins at the end of the hour win and go on to the next competition."
Prof. Sprout looked at them all critically. "That won't be too hard for you, will it?" she asked.
"Not at all," Riley said, giving her team a proud grin. "We'll do well."
Prof. Sprout nodded and pointed to the far side of the tent where a tent flap covered an exit. "Wait until the headmaster calls your team name. Then you go out and do as your captain said."
"And last but not least, Team Titan, led by Riley Bryce!"
There was a mixture of applause, mostly from Slytherins and Ravenclaws. A few loud-mouthed Gryffindors booed, but a severe glare from Snape shut them up. Riley strode proudly over to Dumbledore and took the piece of paper. When she walked back to join her team she made an effort to stay away from Draco, and she seemed thankful when Dumbledore began to speak in a magically magnified voice.
"Now, before the teams arrived, I explained the rules to you all! The eight teams with the most coins at the end of the hour will move on. The other two teams will join you." Dumbledore turned to the ten teams. "And once more," he said sternly, "there is to be absolutely no cheating! The courses are being monitored, and you have professors with you! Cheating equals an instant disqualification! Am I understood?"
There were nods from everyone but Lucius and Draco, both of whom stood proud and haughty. Dumbledore ignored the two, though he did give Selina a 'good-luck' glance.
"On your marks, get set, GO!"
Every team ran out of the pitch except Team Titan. Lucius looked as though he wanted to be one of the several pushing, shoving teams trying the leave the entrance at once, but Cho Chang spoke up.
"Let's go to the Ravenclaw shower rooms," she said. "There's an exit I know of that will put us right outside the quidditch pitch." She led them to a different, smaller exit and into the Ravenclaw shower rooms.
Draco looked rather impressed. "A steam room?" he asked, and Cho nodded.
"We strategize in there," she explained as she made her way to a large door. Leaning close to the doorknob she whispered a password and the door swung open. "It's a small drop," she warned everyone before jumping down about six feet and onto the soft green lawn.
The rest of the team was soon to follow, and when everyone was outside of the stadium they all formed a huddle. "Okay, Riley, read it!" Selina hissed.
Riley produced the slip out of her pocket and began to read. "I happen once a year, twice a week, and never in a month. I am the beginning of every liar, and the end of every fool. You can find me in find, but never in seek. Put my together and find your next clue."
Lucius snorted. "Well, if that isn't the biggest piece of-"
"Put a sock in it, Malfoy!" Mr. Chang snapped. "If you weren't so thickheaded then you might be able to see that this is perhaps the easiest clue we'll get!"
Now Lucius looked confused. "I beg your pardon?" he asked.
"It might be a little clichéd," Cho agreed, "but it's all just logic. The clues all lead to letters, you see. E happens once in year, twice in a week, but never in a month. L is the beginning of the word liar, and it is the end of the word fool. Now, the last clue might be a little tricky, but I believe it's the letter F."
"Elf?" Draco asked. "The word 'elf'?"
"Of course! Elves! House-elves! In the kitchens!" Cho looked proud of herself.
As they began to make their way to the kitchens of Hogwarts Selina heard Mr. Chang take one last dig at her 'husband'. "You see, Malfoy," he said in a whisper, "if you use the brain in your head instead of the one in your trousers you can achieve so much more."
~*~
In the end the Chang´s were the only reason that Team Titan made it to the second round of the competition. All four had been and were in Ravenclaw, and their logical minds were able to get their team thirteen coins. The moment everyone entered the quidditch pitch again Prof. Sprout swept down upon them.
"May I have your coins?" she asked. Mr. Chang handed her all thirteen, and she pointed strait ahead. "Go right through that entrance and get onto the stage. You're the last team here again so hurry!"
The stadium began cheering when Selina and her team entered the quidditch pitch, but that was probably more out of impatience for Dumbledore to announce the winners than out of support. Team Titan took their place and Dumbledore stepped forward. Prof. Sprout had just handed him a gold envelope, and Selina could only guess that the envelope contained the eight teams.
"I understand that you're all anxious to learn which eight teams are going on to the next competition so I won't bore you with any announcements." The spectators in the quidditch pitch all applauded as Dumbledore opened the envelope. "And the eight teams going on are Team Toros, Team Red,"-loud cheers from the Weasley's,-"Team Cyrus, Team Serpens, Team Titan,"-even louder cheers from the Malfoy men,- "Team Lamborghini, Team Jade, and Team Sires!" Dumbledore turned to the two teams that had been eliminated. "Good job on making it this far, and thank you for participating."
Both teams left the stage, and Dumbledore stepped forward to announce the next activity. "It's ten-thirty right now. The teams will be allowed a half and hour of rest before they're required to meet down at the lake for a relay race." Beside her Selina heard Lucius gasp. "Stands will set up down by the lake, and everyone is invited to join us down there. That is all for now, and you're dismissed!"
As all the teams began making their way to the exits Selina couldn't help but notice how pale Lucius had grown in the past few minutes. He seemed terribly agitated, and he wouldn't look anyone directly in the eye. His state only worsened when they arrived back at the library and found that there were twelve black bathing suits awaiting them. As everyone rushed to claim theirs the usually proud nobleman staid back, his gray eyes darting around like a trapped animal. If anyone else besides Selina noticed his odd behavior they didn't voice their opinions, and for that Selina was thankful.
As everyone else headed off to remote areas in the library to change the young redhead hung behind. When everyone was gone she approached Lucius. He still hadn't gone near the swimsuits. "Are you feeling well?" Selina asked.
Lucius's head snapped up so suddenly that Selina stepped back a few feet. "Shouldn't you be off changing?" he asked in a way that made it seem like a command.
"Shouldn't you be?"
Selina knew that Lucius despised rhetorical questions, and his anger became evident as the creases in his brown multiplied. However, he did snatch his suit-which, to her amusement, was a sleek Speedo sort of get-up-and stomp off into the 'L' section.
Ten minutes, when everyone had gathered in the center of the library, Team Titan started off for the lake. Selina, Riley, Pamela, and quiet Cho all walked in a tight bunch. Lucius, who had made it early on that he wished to walk alone, was trudging dourly at the back of the group, and his son was just a little bit ahead of him. The rest of the Chang´s and the Duraford´s walked in a loose crowd, asking only the occasional yes-or-no question.
This time around they were the first team to arrive at the lake. Again, it was Prof. Sprout that greeted them, and she pointed in the direction of a line of stalls. "Slip out of your clothes in those and then join the Headmaster up on the stage."
As they stepped up onto the stage Selina could see two more teams approaching. Team Red was one of them. Within minutes the rest of the teams had arrived, and Selina noted that every team had a different color of swimsuits, though not all suits were in the same style. Fred had gotten stuck with a Speedo as well, but she kept her eyes only on Lucius, mostly because he looked as though he were about to faint.
His skin had gone pallid, and he was pacing behind his team. His hands were fidgeting spasmodically, and Riley nudged her. "Is he going to die on us?" her friend asked.
"I don't know. He looks like Death, though."
"Too true, too true! He had better buck up, though. Dumbledore's about to announce the competition rules." Riley jerked her head to the older man, and both women shut their mouths.
"Welcome, everyone, to the second competition! It is a Relay Race, as I before mentioned. The rules are simple, as always, and they require only that each team get their baton,"-Dumbledore produced a glowing baton from a fold in his robe,-"across the lake. Now, there are eleven fairly large platforms out on the lake. A member on each team will be on each platform, and the twelfth member will be on this shore. The beginner on shore will have the baton, and they must somehow swim it to their awaiting teammate on the next platform. The first six teams to the far shore win. Again, there will be not cheating, and magic of any sort is not allowed. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"
Riley smirked. "Crystal," she quipped, and Draco began another round of laughter. Everyone stared at the pale boy, and his father stopped pacing for a moment to give him a berating look. Draco straitened up and coughed into his hand, obviously embarrassed.
Dumbledore shrugged to himself and gave his next order. "Now, all the teams circle around. One of you from each team grab a baton and join Professor Sprout down by the water. The rest of you come and grab onto these portkeys. They'll take you out to one of the platforms, so one person from each team on one portkey."
Somehow everyone knew where to go. Riley was selected to be their starter, and she sidled up to a blue bag and snatched herself a baton. Then she walked slowly down to the lake. Selina went to one of the portkeys, and she bent down to grab a hold of it. Just before she was whisked off to one of the platforms she got a parting look at Lucius. He was facing the spokesman of the Weasley's, and his skin had gotten pastier since she had last looked at him.
"Gee, Malfoy," the Weasley man said with a chortle. "I hope you can swim!"
The look on Lucius's face bothered Selina, but she couldn't fathom why. It didn't matter, though, because the next second she was standing on a platform. It was the one nearest to the farthest shore, and she felt her stomach clamp unpleasantly as she considered the possibility that the race might come down to her swimming skills. Riley and she had always been good swimmers, of course, their old school having been on a lake, but she hated participating in races of any strenuous sort.
Across the lake the race was already in motion. Riley's powerful strokes put Team Titan in the lead, and when she passed it on to Draco they were put far in the lead. Though their efforts to win were slowed down by aging Mr. Chang and awkward Lindsey Duraford, the long graceful motions of Cho Chang and the powerful pace of Robbie Duraford assured them an almost sure first place.
However, as things neared Lucius, Selina began to feel the unpleasant clamp in her stomach again, and not because of her own silly fears. Her thoughts drifted back to the Weasley man's snide comment. The more she thought it over-"I hope you can swim!"-the more it seemed to make sense.
The reason Lucius was so nervous was because he didn't know how to swim!
It was just like him, too, to go proudly to his death rather than admitting he could not do something such as swimming. Of course, someone would jump in and save him.Or she could alert someone on the other shore.
But as the events began to unfold with surprising quickness Selina's hope began to diminish. Pamela had to baton now, but she was as slow a swimmer as her sister was, and three other teams, including a Wealsey, were hot on her tail. The race was picking up speed, and it was unlikely that anyone but herself would notice Lucius until it was too late.
"My husband can't swim!" The distressed Southerner called to Prof. Sprout, but the chubby woman had her back turned and couldn't hear. The other people on the platform looked at Selina confusedly. They would be of no use either.
Turning back to Lucius's platform Selina was just in time to see Lucius leap into the water. Her suspicions were confirmed when he began to thrash helplessly in the water, and her blood boiled when she saw a few people laughed at him.
~*~
Selina was in the water before she knew it. In the distance she heard someone scream angrily, but things had slowed down for her.
Lucius was still thrashing, but he had lost much of his strength by the time she neared him, and people were only just beginning to realize what was going on. Just a few strokes before she would have reached him he went under, and for a crazy reason unknown to her she dove after him. Luckily he hadn't sunk too far, but he didn't appear to be conscious, and his slackened heavy weight was dragging him down.
It was like some awful joke. The faster Selina tried to swim, the faster he sank. It was as if he was just a hair's width away from her reach. The glowing baton floated up past Selina, but she didn't stop to grab it. Now her energy was running low, but she knew better than to shoot for the surface. Should she turn back now she would lose Lucius and become a widow.
It was bad enough to be a bride so young, but being a widow was even worse.
Selina swung her hand out, and her hand caught a fistful of Lucius's long, white-blonde hair. Thankfulness shot through her, and she was able to grab a hold of his left hand. Her lungs had begun to burn with the need for air, but her journey to the surface of the lake was slow. Dragging Lucius up with her was a harder task than she would have thought, and his dead weight was a great handicap.
The daylight was becoming clearer now, though, but all her strength failed her just a few feet before she would have reached the surface. Selina closed her eyes despair overcoming her.But then a pair of hands had reached out and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders.
~*~
The world began to focus, and everything seemed to start moving normally the moment Selina breathed in. Cold air stung her lungs, but it felt wonderful in such an odd way. The redhead was dragged up into a sort of rowboat, and Lucius was thrown down beside her. Two men were crouched down beside the haughty pureblood, and they were doing such things as checking his pulse.
The moment the rowboat touched land Selina was hauled out of it and into a pair of thin arms. Riley was hugging her, and the young black woman was shaking all over. "Don't you ever scare like that again, you hear?" Riley hissed, and Selina coughed up a bucketful of water in response.
~*~
Idiot!
You prideful asshole!
How moronic could one be?
As Selina stalked down the hallway and to the library a million different insults tumbled around in her head. Once she caught up with that so-called 'husband' of hers then she would tell him every single one! In the twenty minutes in which she had been checked over by the Hogwarts nurse, Madame Pomfrey, her fear for Lucius's life had evaporated, only to be replaced by a fiery anger.
She had almost died trying to save him! How stupid could one be, jumping into a lake when they couldn't swim? He had only made himself into a bigger fool than he would have been had he told people that he couldn't swim.
Riley wasn't too happy with the man either. If Lucius had not been whisked away to the Hospital Wing with Dumbledore and Snape then Selina was sure her friend would have attacked the arrogant aristocrat. However, her anger had only served to spark Selina's, and in the end the young redhead had been sent to the library to wait while Dumbledore returned to the lake and announced the six teams that would be moving on.
"I don't know the results of the race," Riley whispered as Selina got up to make her way to the castle, "but don't count on us making it to the next round."
And that brought her to the present. She was entering the library now, but she stopped short when she heard to low voices-men, the both of them- whispered somewhere near the center of the room. They were arguing, but Selina wasn't fully intrigued until she heard her name.
"You prideful fool! Have you any idea how you endangered your wife's life?"
Snape.
"Of course I know! But I never would have jumped in had I known that she would try to save me!"
.and Lucius! But why were they back at the library so soon?
"Why did you jump in at all? We haven't been on friendly terms for a long time, but even I know how you despise swimming!" Snape snapped in a mocking tone.
"Oh, so I should have admitted to my son, my wife, and all my friends that I couldn't swim?"
"Well, everyone knows now!" Snape scoffed.
"Screw off," Lucius muttered, and Selina heard the sound of a chair being dragged across a hard surface. She wanted to continue to listen in on their conversation, but before anyone could say anything else the doors to the library burst open and the other nine members of Team Titan streamed in. Everyone was talking loudly and laughing, and it wasn't long before Pamela found Selina lurking behind a bookshelf.
"Miss Selina?" she asked. "Why aren't you with Mr. Malfoy and the professor?"
Selina shook her head. "I'll tell you later, Pamela. Just tell me why everyone is so happy!"
Pamela's face broke into a wide grin. "Because, Miss Selina, we came in third!"
"What?"
Pamela steered Selina over to where the rest of their team had gathered. "Well, due to the.incident.out on the lake not every team finished. Only Team Red made it all the way, and Team Jade stopped swimming at the last platform. No one else bothered swimming past the spot where you went under, so we were third place."
Riley, who had taken her position as captain very seriously, nodded. "Next all of us will be competing in a sort of art thing." She shrugged. "Dumbledore was vague."
Any talk of the competition was put on hold when a house-elf appeared, bearing food and drink. No one spoke much during the next fifteen minutes as they were all eating their sandwiches and gulping down nice, cool Pumpkin Juice. Selina did notice, however, that everyone with the exception of Draco sent Lucius at least two scalding looks. When Lucius finally took a hint and left to eat his food in another area of the library Selina decided that she couldn't be angry with him anymore. Riley alone was doing enough of that already, and besides, she could tell by Lucius's fleeting glance at her that he was indeed a sorry man. It was in his every gesture, and the young redhead almost pitied him.
Almost.
~*~
Everyone who had come to watch the third competition tittered excitedly as Team Titan strode into the quidditch pitch. All the nosey witches craned their necks to get a good look at the new Mrs. Malfoy, and many young wizards made crude jokes at Lucius's expense. No one was more obvious in their amusement than the Weasley's, though the women of Team Red all smiled kindly at Selina, as if pitying her for being saddled with such a horrid man. Their pity only made her insides burn, and she glared at them all until they glared back. By the time the last team arrived things on the stage were reaching a breaking point, and Dumbledore seemed very glad to get started again.
"Well, that was quite something down at the lake!" the old headmaster said jovially. "I have had a talk with Mr. Malfoy, and he won't be swimming anytime soon." He gave Lucius, who was doing his best to still look prideful, a stern look as if to clarify what he had just said, and Selina had a feeling that Dumbledore had given her 'husband' and earful on her account. "But now, onto more important things! When we last met I told you all that this next competition would be involving art. Now, you'll have an hour and a half to do this, and it will have some guidelines, but other than that you can use any form of art you wish-painting, sculpting, etcetera.
"You're all to create something with your provided materials that represents the most beautiful thing you've ever known. It might sound easy, but let me explain more clearly. You'll be judged on two things-quality of the work and quality of the subject. In other words, how well you present it and what it is being presented. How much thought goes into this piece of art?" Dumbledore pointed to a six tents in the middle of the pitch. "Each team will work in one of those. Don't worry-each tent is heavily charmed so that nothing that you're saying will escape. As always, cheating means getting thrown out of the games, so play clean! Teams, you have exactly ninety minutes until you present your finished work, so I suggest you get started!"
He gave a loud clap and the six teams rushed off to their tent. Riley led everyone to a black tent decorated with bright red and yellow stars. Lucius sneered at the exterior, but he entered all the same. The materials that Dumbledore had mentioned were a large canvas, a whole set of paints, charcoal, chalk, small costume jewels, and other things of the sort. As soon as everyone had sat down around the small table in the center of the people began saying their ideas, and Riley shot them all down.
"Cho?"
"How about a pretty sunset?"
"No, I'm sure someone else will think of that.Lindsey?"
"A unicorn?"
"Same as I said before! Unicorns are so pretty that someone else is bound to do one.What is it Malfoy?"
"I've always thought myself to be beautiful-"
"Oh, be quiet you! Selina, tell me you have a better idea than your husband!"
"Well, when I was growing up I always knew what the two most beautiful things in the world were." Riley nodded expectantly. "The first was the South."
"Can't argue with that one.And the second was?"
"My mother, of course."
Riley breathed in very quickly before nodding. "Isn't that true of everyone?" she asked. Everyone nodded, and a few even smiled appreciatively at Selina. Lucius looked a little wary, but no one, not even his wife, was about to pay him any attention.
Things ran smoothly after that. Riley assigned everyone a good-sized chunk of the canvas, and they all began to draw. Each person had a different style, and they were all rather skilled, but one artist stood out from them all. Where her teammates were somewhat talented in the way of drawing Pamela was gifted! Her hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it zipped around her corner of the canvas. She, of course, was working with her younger siblings, but early on they began to let her take over, and soon the mouth, and then the eyes, and then a long, pointed nose appeared. Pamela's mother was a kind looking woman, plump and grinning with the smile of someone who truly loved life.
Soon to follow were the rest of the mothers. Selina knew well the face of gorgeous, serene Mrs. Bryce, and she pretended not to notice the cold, perfectly featured beauty of Narcissa Malfoy. Lucius had inherited his blonde, pale looks from his father, apparently, for his mother had dark, rich black hair, equally black eyes, and a prominent nose. Mrs. Chang, of course, was drawn by her daughter and son, and both she and her husband drew Cho's grandmothers. Snape's mother was much like him with pallid skin and dark, boring eyes. Everybody became so enthralled in their own mother and doing her justice on the canvas, that they lost track of time. In fact, Dumbledore himself came to fetch the twelve of them.
"Your time is up," he said, and Riley nodded.
"We're done enough, aren't we?" she asked, grinning at her team.
"Sure," Pamela agreed, standing up. "Coming, Miss Selina?"
Selina nodded and trotted after her friends. She would really have to ask Pamela to stop calling her "Miss Selina". Lucius would probably disapprove, and Ms. Laverne might have a few choice words, but Selina really would rather have Pamela as a friend than a servant. Before she could speak to Pamela, however, she ran smack dab into an object-or was that a girl?
"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry! I really wasn't watching where I was going! It's just that my team finished late and I-" The girl stopped speaking abruptly. "Oh," she said softly. "It's you. Mrs. Malfoy." It was only then that Selina recognized the girl as the bushy haired brunette that was on Team Red. The girl had been on the arm of one of the Weasley boys all day, and she had been regarding Selina and Riley rather nervously.
"Ms. Julliard," Selina said. When the girl raised her eyebrows she added, "It's my maiden name." This only made the girl look more curious. Knowing all too well that she would just be firing the fires of gossip Selina explained in more depth. "It was an arranged marriage, and I don't wish to be called 'Mrs. Malfoy'"
The girl's eyes closed, as if processing the information, and then she twirled a bit of her fluffy hair, as if she were deep in thought. "So your husband and you aren't that.close?"
Selina frowned. "I don't see how that would be-"
"Miss Selina hurry up! We're all waiting on you and.Oh, I see.You were talking with a.friend?" Draco had found Selina, and he was staring at the girl with unabashed disdain.
"No. She ran into me, literally." Selina could tell there was a past relationship between the two that would come pouring forth quite soon. Draco looked quite upset as the girl mumbled some excuse to leave and make her way back to the safety of her friends, and if the boy were anything near being similar to his father then he would be venting. Sure enough, as they walked briskly back to stage; Draco began telling her off.
"That girl was a mudblood, for Merlin's sake! My god, don't you know what being seen with someone of her stature could be like?" He looked at her, obviously expecting a long and ashamed apology.
Well, no such thing came.
"You're really something, aren't you?" Selina asked. She was too disgusted with her stepson to display any true emotion. "You think you're some big man because you're a pureblood!"
Draco actually stopped walking. He stared at Selina. "You don't feel the same way?" he asked, rather cautiously as well.
"Riley's mother is muggle-born, and my cousin Bruce was half-and-half. People in America are generally more easy going about each others bloodlines," Selina snapped shortly before striding forward and up to join the team. She ignored Riley's curious look, and she pretended that Lucius didn't exist. She kept her eyes trained on the tall, elderly headmaster and tried to forget exactly what had transpired in the past fifteen minutes.
"Well, now that Team Titan has finally joined us, we can begin the judging! Professor Sprout and I will be judges, and we will each focus on one of the two areas."
As Riley had predicted most teams did stereotypic subjects. By the time Dumbledore and Prof. Sprout were thru viewing the first four "works of art," she had grown sick of unicorns and moonlit nights. Team Red's painting was impressive-everyone but Lucius and Draco admitted it. A blend of reds, oranges, coppers, yellows, and touches of gold combined to make a beautiful, almost burning inferno.
"The fire here equals inner strength and passion," one of the Weasley boys crowed, "and nothing is more beautiful than those things!"
Dumbledore and Prof. Sprout agreed. Team Red got full marks, causing Riley to grumble angrily. She smiled brightly, though, as the two professors approached, and she drew the thick white tarp off the canvas, revealing their painting with just as much pride as the Weasley's had. However, not even she could mask her surprise upon seeing the finished article. No one could.
The subjects of the portrait had begun to move!
Selina knew that most wizarding portraits moved, but she had forgotten how they were given the ability to move about in the first place. She stopped trying to remember how and stared at the portrait. There was her own mother, giggling girlishly with Mrs. Bryce and both Mrs. Chang´s. Narcissa Malfoy stood in the far corner, looking disgusted at the whole affair, while Mrs. Duraford and Mrs. Snape whispered quietly. Mrs. Malfoy, Lucius's mother, had wandered off, and so the picture was incomplete, but Dumbledore didn't seem to care.
"I am assuming these are all your mothers?" When he received a few nods, he grinned delightedly. "To a young child who could possibly be more beautiful than their mother? Brilliant choice, Team Titan! Professor Sprout and I give you full marks as well as a few bonus points for creating a moving picture." Dumbledore smiled softly. "Only a portrait in which the artist- or, in this case, artists-poured their heart into can be caused to move."
Lucius's trademark smirk was back on his long, pointed face. "Ahead by about ten points, I reckon," he muttered to Draco. Draco nodded and sneered at Team Red. Selina noticed that he purposely skipped over the brunette girl.
"Now for another break! This one lasts forty minutes! The next competition will be a quidditch match-Draco looked very pleased,-"so make sure you've chosen who plays each position! And, of course, we'll all reconvene here!"
As the teams broke apart there was an excited buzz about the crowd that had not been there when past events had been announced. As Team Titan made their way back to the library Lucius and Mr. Chang swarmed around Riley, each trying to make sure that their child was made the Seeker. Riley managed to escape the two, middle-aged men, but only to run into Draco. The young Seeker was warier of her now, and Selina could only guess it was because he had found out that she was muggle-born. Instead of going back to the library, however, Riley stopped in front of the school. Her expression was one of pure business, and the young Southerner eyed her team with critical preciseness.
"Let's see now.Who would best fit each position? All right, Snape, you're the Keeper." Snape scrunched his face up in a sinister sneer. Riley, however, didn't see, for she was eying Pamela, Cho, and Selina herself. "Now you three will be the Chasers. Don't look like that, Mr. Chang, it doesn't suit your face.Malfoy-no, not you, I meant your father-you and I are going to be the Beaters, and Draco here will be the Seeker." Turning to the three remaining Chang´s and Pamela's younger siblings she said, "You five will make sure we don't mess up. Robbie, you're our backup Seeker, and Lindsey, if anything happens to one of the Chasers then you'll play, okay?" Everyone nodded. Riley smiled. "Well, I don't think we have anywhere to practice, but we might as well make some strategies!"
The next forty minutes were spent going over plan after plan. Riley had always been the perfect strategist, so she made an excellent captain, but even that couldn't quell the nauseous twinges that had been bothering Selina ever since Riley had announced that she would be a Chaser. Selina would be the first one to tell anyone that she wasn't at all athletic, and she felt betrayed in a way that Riley would expect her to do something as big as ride a broomstick in front of hundreds of strangers. Everyone else seemed to be confident in her-Lucius might have even gone so far as to be proud-so she couldn't exactly let them down.
Even so, it was too late to throw in the towel. It was just five minutes until the quidditch game started, and Selina was pulling on the last of her gear. After striating her black shirt once more, the young redhead made her way through the muggy locker rooms to find Riley. Her friend was talking very quickly with Pamela, and it took a few moments before Selina found a pause in their conversation so that she could speak.
"Both sets of teams play at once, right?" Selina asked.
"Yes," Riley confirmed. "We play Team Jade, and Team Red plays Team Sires. From what I've heard one set of teams will play in this normal quidditch pitch and the other set will play in this pseudo-dimension pitch."
"Which one do we get?" Selina asked.
"The pseudo-dimensional one," Pamela replied. "Team Red didn't want to travel so far or something.You know, Harry Potter is on that team!"
Selina couldn't conceal her interest. She wondered to herself why exactly she hadn't been told that before, but she didn't say anything. After making a mental note to get a good look at the all-famous Boy Who Lived Selina followed an equally interested Riley out the doors. The four women on the team met up with the three men, and after everyone had double-checked whether or not they were dressed properly, they went in search of Prof. Sprout.
The tubby, kindly woman was rushing about when Team Titan found her, and she made wild motions for them to join her. "Come now, dears, you haven't much time! Take this portkey, and it'll make sure you get to the other quidditch pitch." She extended a bag to the twelve-team members-the remaining five had joined the others during their search for Sprout-and Riley dumped the clock-portkey onto the grassy ground.
"Brooms are supplied, I assume?" Cho asked as everyone leaned down to grab the portkey. "I left mine at home."
"Cleansweaps, the lot of them," Prof. Sprout said, nodding. "But please do hurry! I'd hate to see you all be disqualified for being tardy!"
Well, that got everyone moving.
In a surprisingly synchronized moment, all twelve team members of Team Titan leaned down and grabbed the portkey. Selina felt an unpleasant jerk behind her navel, and then she was hurtling through space. She landed with a thump on top of a soft patch of grass. It wasn't until the soft patch of grass moved that she realized that she had landed on a person. Snape, to be more exact. With a surprised 'meep' Selina jumped off the Potions Master, but not before Lucius saw. He gave a disgruntled snort and "accidentally" hit Snape's head with his Beater's club as he stomped past. There was an awkward silence after his departure in which Snape fidgeted uncomfortably and Selina's cheeks flushed. Riley broke the silence by telling them to both hurry, and as they entered the pseudo-reality quidditch pitch neither person would meet the others eyes.
As Selina began to walk farther into the quidditch pitch, she began to notice various peculiar aspects about her new surroundings. The colors, for example. Everything was so vibrant, so effervescent. The sky, grass, and even the flowers were all electric shades. The white clouds in the sky swirled into actual shapes, and the woodwork that made up the stadium had constantly swirling and changing shapes moving about the surface. There were countless other things too, but Selina's attention was drawn back to quidditch match.
Riley was talking quickly with a tall woman with spiky gray hair and large, catlike hazel eyes. The woman pointed to one side of the quidditch pitch, and Riley nodded before turning back to Team Titan. "Madame Hooch says that that's our side of the pitch," she called. "I trust you can all remember that?"
"Let's just get the brooms!" Lucius snapped irritably. Selina highly suspected that all the bright colors were disturbing him.
Team Jade was getting antsy, and the captain-he was chubby, red cheeked, and had a laughable look about him-strode up and said something to Madame Hooch. The woman waved her hand at the young man-"The git's name is Ernie Macmillan," Draco whispered-and then made a motion for everyone to gather round.
"Let's keep this game clean, shall we? The rules are as always-team with the most points in the end wins! And be careful now!" Madame Hooch eyed the landscape and everything within it with distaste. "Make extra sure not to upset anything." Something in her voice was definitely agitated, if not frightened.
There was an atmosphere throughout this odd dimension that was putting everybody on edge.Lucius, Madame Hooch, even Snape.Yes, everyone here was uneasy, and everyone wanted to go back home.
Everybody but Selina.
As the young redhead mounted her broom, she couldn't help but feel bothered by her peaceful feelings. When it was so obvious that all her friends and teammates were dying to get away, it seemed wrong that she would be so at ease. However, as soon her feet left the ground, Selina managed to push aside those feelings. All her concentration went in to staying in sync with Pamela and Cho.
It wasn't easy at first. She might have known Pamela well, but Cho was pretty much a stranger, but even then getting adjusted to another's rhythms was difficult. And if there was any quidditch position that required a total fined tuned beat it was the Chasers. Finally, after a good thirteen minutes, the three girls began to get it together. Cho even scored a goal, causing Riley-who was across the field, chasing Bludgers-to let out a victorious whoop.
The game picked up from that point. Team Jade, which Pamela had whispered was comprised mostly of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, fought back with a ridiculous ferocity. Their Seeker, a Gryffindor, Selina assumed, spent more time following Draco and making snotty faces, than looking for the Snitch, but their Beaters, also Gryffindors, were ruthless. They actually flew at the Bludgers and hit them as hard as they could in whatever direction. Pamela gave a terrified shriek as one of the bludgeoning balls hurtled past her head and dropped the Quaffle. One of the Team Jade Chasers caught it, and they scored just moments later. The score was now thirty to ten in Team Jade's favor.
The aforementioned Chaser fumbled the Quaffle when it came into his possession not five minutes later. He dropped it, and in a lucky dive, Pamela was able to grab it. She soared off towards the goal hoops, her jaw set in a determined fashion, when a Bludger came hurtling her way yet again. As had happened before Pamela screeched and threw her arms in front of her face. Lucius flew in front of her in time to hit the Bludger off towards a Team Jade Beater, but the Quaffle was already falling towards the unnatural grass. It was falling slowly, as Quaffles were enchanted to do, but a Team Jade Chaser was shooting towards it and would be able to grab it with ease. Without even considering the humiliation she might cause herself Selina dove for the scarlet ball.
She reached it a few seconds before her opponent would have, and she managed to maneuver her broom properly so that she shot up and towards her goal posts, but suddenly things were happening so fast that it was difficult to do anything else. Players of all positions were circling around her, eyeing her cautiously, and Beaters tried to hit Bludgers towards her in attempts to make her fumble as Pamela did. Someone from above took pity on her, though, and Selina raced towards the goal hoops.
A rush of adrenaline shot through her veins as the wind ruffled her hair. Cho flew above her, arms outstretched, and despite her wishes to score the next goal Selina tossed the Quaffle to her teammate. Cho winked and passed the ball on to Pamela. All three Chasers were within scoring range of their three goal hoops, and in the last moment, the Quaffle was passed back to Selina. The Keeper of Team Jade, a petite blonde girl, who had been expecting Pamela to score, was taken by surprise when Selina threw the ball towards the middle hoop. She had no time to block the red ball, and Lucius, in a rare moment of pride, swooped by his 'wife' and blew her a kiss.
The kiss did not go unnoticed, and, even as Pamela and Cho giggled childishly at Selina's embarrassment, they could not guess that she was mortified not because of the public display of affection but because she had actually thought it to be sweet! Selina shot a look at Lucius-he and Riley were doing their best to work together, so he didn't notice her long and questioning gaze-before going off in pursuit of the Quaffle.
Twenty-five minutes and seven scores later (four for Team Titan, putting them well in the lead) Selina was actually starting to admit that she was enjoying the sensations of playing quidditch. The adrenaline, the camaraderie between teammates, the sheer exhilaration of flying.If she had known that quidditch could be so pleasant she would have taken it up years ago. Her mood was further improved when she saw her stepson make a dive for what could only be the Golden Snitch.
But, unfortunately, there are less pleasurable aspects of playing quidditch. Such as Bludgers flying at your unprotected belly. Selina never saw the ball come hurtling towards her, and by the time the others had it was too late. Selina had tumbled off her broom and was heading in a quick, spiraling descent.
~*~
"I suppose we got picked because everyone wanted a rematch," Draco said nonchalantly to Riley as they made their way to the quidditch pitch.
"Say what?" Riley asked, snapping out of a firm concentration. And then, just so she wouldn't have to here him repeat whatever he had said, she nodded. "Oh. Yeah. You're right."
Behind them Selina and Pamela laughed. In the past hour-which they had spend finding a headquarters (the Hogwarts library), choosing a team name (Team Titan), and voting on a team captain (Riley)-it had become more and more obvious that Draco fancied Riley. Whether it was lust or a puppy-love crush, Selina couldn't yet tell. All she knew was that when Draco looked at Riley, he looked a little bit longer than necessary, and whenever Riley cracked a joke, which was often, he laughed a little too hard.
Riley and Lucius, in fact, were the only to not to have picked up on this, and that was probably because they were too busy arguing with each other. Either Lucius was calling Riley a dip, or perhaps Riley had just made a rude face at Lucius, but whatever the cause of the argument had been, the two of them had made life very hard for their teammates. Finally, when Mrs. Chang had exploded and told Lucius to "grow up and leave the poor girl alone" Lucius had turned his wrath on Snape.
Selina had wondered, and not for the first time, why Lucius had it in for
Snape. The Potions Master might be a rude sociopath, but she had the
feeling that Dumbledore would never hire anyone who was adherently cruel,
so what could he have done to make Lucius so upset? Just another mystery,
Selina mused, that she would have to dig to find the answer.
"I'm on the quidditch team, you know." It was Draco again, and he was trying to impress Riley, who couldn't have cared less. "I'm the Slytherin seeker."
Riley gave Draco a strained smile. "In the South we didn't play much quidditch. We played muggle games such as baseball. We rode horses too."
Draco seemed confused. "How could someone not want to play quidditch?" he asked.
Riley shrugged. "The only Southern state that's heavily into quidditch is Alabama."
Draco smiled in a way that might be perceived as handsome by some. "And what state were you born in, Riley?"
Riley shot a pleading look at Selina. "I was born in Georgia," she muttered. Pointing back to Selina she added, "But Selly comes from Alabama! Talk about quidditch with her!" In the split second that Draco looked back at Selina, Riley bolted ahead to the quidditch pitch. "I'm just going to see if the captains need to do anything special," she called over her shoulder. Draco looked hurt for a moment, but then he saw Selina and Pamela watching him, so he stood up strait and began walking stiffly.
It was then that the Weasley crew appeared. They were all laughing heartily, and Selina had a feeling it was her team that was being laughed at. She saw one of the boys shoot a pointed look between her and Lucius, and then they snorted. Pamela stood up, as if in defense to her mistress, but Lucius had taken no notice of him. He, instead, was sneering snidely at the head of the Weasley's, a balding redhead man.
"Well, Arthur," Lucius was drawling, "I see that we're going to be competing against each other quite a bit today."
The balding man, who must have been Mr. Weasley, gave Lucius a very tight smile. "May the best team win," he spit out before taking the arm of his wife and entering the quidditch pitch. Everyone else, including the professor on their team, staid behind.
"Let's make a little bet," Lucius said when Mr. Weasley was out of hearing range.
"Let's," one of the Weasley boys retorted.
When neither of the professors objected Lucius gave a small smirk. "Whichever of these two teams is eliminated first has to.I don't know.give up something of great value. I'm willing to offer you my cane." Lucius showed the whole group his prized cane, a Malfoy family heirloom. "What would you be willing to give up? Assuming, of course, that you have anything worth giving up.
The Weasley´s frowned for a moment, and then they formed a large huddle. Their professor, a tall woman with a tight, immaculate bun and thin pursed lips; whom Snape called McGonagall, was the only one who staid out. Instead of conversing with her teammates she glared at Snape, and he was only too glad to return the favor. Finally, after a good three minutes of debating, the Weasley's straitened up.
Their elected spokesperson, a tall, handsome man with a ponytail and a fang earring, stepped forward and cleared his throat. "In exchange for your cane," he said, "we're willing to bet our own little gem." Lucius looked expectant when the young man paused. "You see, Fred and George have been making a good deal of money with their business, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." The man ignored Draco's chortle of laughter. "Recently they visited our brother Charlie in Romania, where Charlie works with dragons. It turns out that, at the same time, a group of nomadic wizards was passing through the camp in which Charlie and all his coworkers staid. A few of them were merchants, and one had wandered throughout Europe and beyond, seeking areas in which dragons were kept. He specified in dragon-like products and the like, and he had a few trinkets for sale."
The spokesman then produced a sloppily written receipt and handed it off to Lucius. It had been folded many times, and the writing was in a foreign language. "We're willing to bet this if we can each have a kiss from the pretty young women." He motioned to Selina, Riley, Pamela and Cho, all of whom pretended to be greatly offended but were truthfully quite flattered. "What do you say, Malfoy?"
Lucius, who seemed to understand the strange language, folded the receipt and placed it in his coat pocket. "Well, I must say, I think we're all being fairly generous, but very well. It's a deal, but I must ask that my wife be eliminated from the lineup."
The spokesman seemed to sense that he had touched a nerve. His warm brown eyes shone with mischief, and he nodded. "She'll only have to kiss me, then. Is it a deal?"
Lucius glared at the young man, but he shook on it anyways. The Weasley guffawed and hooted as they moved off towards the quidditch pitch. They seemed fairly confident, and as soon as they had disappeared Mr. Chang began to yell.
"Bets, Malfoy?" Mr. Chang asked. "We're taking bets now?"
"It's just a little fun and games. I'm the only one who stands to lose." Lucius began walking, and everyone followed him at a reluctant pace. "Do you know what he's offering? Dragon Gems! Merlin knows how a Weasley managed to get a Dragon Gem, but there's enough so that each family could have one."
Mr. Chang frowned. "I don't like your style, Malfoy; let me say that right now. The Weasley's are a respectable wizarding family, and I don't want to become their foes just because of your gigantic ego."
Lucius frowned. "You would like them though, wouldn't you? Muggle lovers, aren't they?" Both he and Draco gave Mr. Chang a strange, berating look. "Your adopted mother was a muggle, wasn't she, Chang?"
Mr. Chang's eyes darkened. "You're one to talk, Malfoy," he growled. "Everyone knows about your parents too, and your sister." Mr. Chang looked at Selina, and then at Pamela, and then at his own daughter. "But due to the innocent ears we have present I won't choose to insult them."
Lucius had no reply to that. Their team resumed walking, but he lagged behind with Draco. They both whispered together, and every so often the word "mudblood" would drift into Selina's hearing range. Selina knew that Pamela could hear too, because she would turn light pink whenever they said it. It made her burn with anger too. Riley's mother was muggle born, and Bruce's father had been a muggle. Maybe the whole Riley and Draco thing wasn't such a good idea.
As soon as Selina and the rest of her teammates stepped into the quidditch pitch all arguments were left behind. A woman who introduced herself as Professor Sprout met them at the entrance and pulled them into a small tent that had been erected for the competition. Riley was waiting for them inside, and she jumped up when she saw them.
"Y'all just made it," she drawled, striding over to her team. "Professor Sprout here has been explaining me the rules of this Scavenger Hunt. It's real simple. All we have to do is go on stage, smile and wave, and get a slip of paper from Professor Dumbledore. Written on that slip of paper is a clue in the form of a riddle. The answer of the riddle will be a location, and once we reach the location we'll find a small coin and the next riddle. The eight teams with the most coins at the end of the hour win and go on to the next competition."
Prof. Sprout looked at them all critically. "That won't be too hard for you, will it?" she asked.
"Not at all," Riley said, giving her team a proud grin. "We'll do well."
Prof. Sprout nodded and pointed to the far side of the tent where a tent flap covered an exit. "Wait until the headmaster calls your team name. Then you go out and do as your captain said."
"And last but not least, Team Titan, led by Riley Bryce!"
There was a mixture of applause, mostly from Slytherins and Ravenclaws. A few loud-mouthed Gryffindors booed, but a severe glare from Snape shut them up. Riley strode proudly over to Dumbledore and took the piece of paper. When she walked back to join her team she made an effort to stay away from Draco, and she seemed thankful when Dumbledore began to speak in a magically magnified voice.
"Now, before the teams arrived, I explained the rules to you all! The eight teams with the most coins at the end of the hour will move on. The other two teams will join you." Dumbledore turned to the ten teams. "And once more," he said sternly, "there is to be absolutely no cheating! The courses are being monitored, and you have professors with you! Cheating equals an instant disqualification! Am I understood?"
There were nods from everyone but Lucius and Draco, both of whom stood proud and haughty. Dumbledore ignored the two, though he did give Selina a 'good-luck' glance.
"On your marks, get set, GO!"
Every team ran out of the pitch except Team Titan. Lucius looked as though he wanted to be one of the several pushing, shoving teams trying the leave the entrance at once, but Cho Chang spoke up.
"Let's go to the Ravenclaw shower rooms," she said. "There's an exit I know of that will put us right outside the quidditch pitch." She led them to a different, smaller exit and into the Ravenclaw shower rooms.
Draco looked rather impressed. "A steam room?" he asked, and Cho nodded.
"We strategize in there," she explained as she made her way to a large door. Leaning close to the doorknob she whispered a password and the door swung open. "It's a small drop," she warned everyone before jumping down about six feet and onto the soft green lawn.
The rest of the team was soon to follow, and when everyone was outside of the stadium they all formed a huddle. "Okay, Riley, read it!" Selina hissed.
Riley produced the slip out of her pocket and began to read. "I happen once a year, twice a week, and never in a month. I am the beginning of every liar, and the end of every fool. You can find me in find, but never in seek. Put my together and find your next clue."
Lucius snorted. "Well, if that isn't the biggest piece of-"
"Put a sock in it, Malfoy!" Mr. Chang snapped. "If you weren't so thickheaded then you might be able to see that this is perhaps the easiest clue we'll get!"
Now Lucius looked confused. "I beg your pardon?" he asked.
"It might be a little clichéd," Cho agreed, "but it's all just logic. The clues all lead to letters, you see. E happens once in year, twice in a week, but never in a month. L is the beginning of the word liar, and it is the end of the word fool. Now, the last clue might be a little tricky, but I believe it's the letter F."
"Elf?" Draco asked. "The word 'elf'?"
"Of course! Elves! House-elves! In the kitchens!" Cho looked proud of herself.
As they began to make their way to the kitchens of Hogwarts Selina heard Mr. Chang take one last dig at her 'husband'. "You see, Malfoy," he said in a whisper, "if you use the brain in your head instead of the one in your trousers you can achieve so much more."
~*~
In the end the Chang´s were the only reason that Team Titan made it to the second round of the competition. All four had been and were in Ravenclaw, and their logical minds were able to get their team thirteen coins. The moment everyone entered the quidditch pitch again Prof. Sprout swept down upon them.
"May I have your coins?" she asked. Mr. Chang handed her all thirteen, and she pointed strait ahead. "Go right through that entrance and get onto the stage. You're the last team here again so hurry!"
The stadium began cheering when Selina and her team entered the quidditch pitch, but that was probably more out of impatience for Dumbledore to announce the winners than out of support. Team Titan took their place and Dumbledore stepped forward. Prof. Sprout had just handed him a gold envelope, and Selina could only guess that the envelope contained the eight teams.
"I understand that you're all anxious to learn which eight teams are going on to the next competition so I won't bore you with any announcements." The spectators in the quidditch pitch all applauded as Dumbledore opened the envelope. "And the eight teams going on are Team Toros, Team Red,"-loud cheers from the Weasley's,-"Team Cyrus, Team Serpens, Team Titan,"-even louder cheers from the Malfoy men,- "Team Lamborghini, Team Jade, and Team Sires!" Dumbledore turned to the two teams that had been eliminated. "Good job on making it this far, and thank you for participating."
Both teams left the stage, and Dumbledore stepped forward to announce the next activity. "It's ten-thirty right now. The teams will be allowed a half and hour of rest before they're required to meet down at the lake for a relay race." Beside her Selina heard Lucius gasp. "Stands will set up down by the lake, and everyone is invited to join us down there. That is all for now, and you're dismissed!"
As all the teams began making their way to the exits Selina couldn't help but notice how pale Lucius had grown in the past few minutes. He seemed terribly agitated, and he wouldn't look anyone directly in the eye. His state only worsened when they arrived back at the library and found that there were twelve black bathing suits awaiting them. As everyone rushed to claim theirs the usually proud nobleman staid back, his gray eyes darting around like a trapped animal. If anyone else besides Selina noticed his odd behavior they didn't voice their opinions, and for that Selina was thankful.
As everyone else headed off to remote areas in the library to change the young redhead hung behind. When everyone was gone she approached Lucius. He still hadn't gone near the swimsuits. "Are you feeling well?" Selina asked.
Lucius's head snapped up so suddenly that Selina stepped back a few feet. "Shouldn't you be off changing?" he asked in a way that made it seem like a command.
"Shouldn't you be?"
Selina knew that Lucius despised rhetorical questions, and his anger became evident as the creases in his brown multiplied. However, he did snatch his suit-which, to her amusement, was a sleek Speedo sort of get-up-and stomp off into the 'L' section.
Ten minutes, when everyone had gathered in the center of the library, Team Titan started off for the lake. Selina, Riley, Pamela, and quiet Cho all walked in a tight bunch. Lucius, who had made it early on that he wished to walk alone, was trudging dourly at the back of the group, and his son was just a little bit ahead of him. The rest of the Chang´s and the Duraford´s walked in a loose crowd, asking only the occasional yes-or-no question.
This time around they were the first team to arrive at the lake. Again, it was Prof. Sprout that greeted them, and she pointed in the direction of a line of stalls. "Slip out of your clothes in those and then join the Headmaster up on the stage."
As they stepped up onto the stage Selina could see two more teams approaching. Team Red was one of them. Within minutes the rest of the teams had arrived, and Selina noted that every team had a different color of swimsuits, though not all suits were in the same style. Fred had gotten stuck with a Speedo as well, but she kept her eyes only on Lucius, mostly because he looked as though he were about to faint.
His skin had gone pallid, and he was pacing behind his team. His hands were fidgeting spasmodically, and Riley nudged her. "Is he going to die on us?" her friend asked.
"I don't know. He looks like Death, though."
"Too true, too true! He had better buck up, though. Dumbledore's about to announce the competition rules." Riley jerked her head to the older man, and both women shut their mouths.
"Welcome, everyone, to the second competition! It is a Relay Race, as I before mentioned. The rules are simple, as always, and they require only that each team get their baton,"-Dumbledore produced a glowing baton from a fold in his robe,-"across the lake. Now, there are eleven fairly large platforms out on the lake. A member on each team will be on each platform, and the twelfth member will be on this shore. The beginner on shore will have the baton, and they must somehow swim it to their awaiting teammate on the next platform. The first six teams to the far shore win. Again, there will be not cheating, and magic of any sort is not allowed. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"
Riley smirked. "Crystal," she quipped, and Draco began another round of laughter. Everyone stared at the pale boy, and his father stopped pacing for a moment to give him a berating look. Draco straitened up and coughed into his hand, obviously embarrassed.
Dumbledore shrugged to himself and gave his next order. "Now, all the teams circle around. One of you from each team grab a baton and join Professor Sprout down by the water. The rest of you come and grab onto these portkeys. They'll take you out to one of the platforms, so one person from each team on one portkey."
Somehow everyone knew where to go. Riley was selected to be their starter, and she sidled up to a blue bag and snatched herself a baton. Then she walked slowly down to the lake. Selina went to one of the portkeys, and she bent down to grab a hold of it. Just before she was whisked off to one of the platforms she got a parting look at Lucius. He was facing the spokesman of the Weasley's, and his skin had gotten pastier since she had last looked at him.
"Gee, Malfoy," the Weasley man said with a chortle. "I hope you can swim!"
The look on Lucius's face bothered Selina, but she couldn't fathom why. It didn't matter, though, because the next second she was standing on a platform. It was the one nearest to the farthest shore, and she felt her stomach clamp unpleasantly as she considered the possibility that the race might come down to her swimming skills. Riley and she had always been good swimmers, of course, their old school having been on a lake, but she hated participating in races of any strenuous sort.
Across the lake the race was already in motion. Riley's powerful strokes put Team Titan in the lead, and when she passed it on to Draco they were put far in the lead. Though their efforts to win were slowed down by aging Mr. Chang and awkward Lindsey Duraford, the long graceful motions of Cho Chang and the powerful pace of Robbie Duraford assured them an almost sure first place.
However, as things neared Lucius, Selina began to feel the unpleasant clamp in her stomach again, and not because of her own silly fears. Her thoughts drifted back to the Weasley man's snide comment. The more she thought it over-"I hope you can swim!"-the more it seemed to make sense.
The reason Lucius was so nervous was because he didn't know how to swim!
It was just like him, too, to go proudly to his death rather than admitting he could not do something such as swimming. Of course, someone would jump in and save him.Or she could alert someone on the other shore.
But as the events began to unfold with surprising quickness Selina's hope began to diminish. Pamela had to baton now, but she was as slow a swimmer as her sister was, and three other teams, including a Wealsey, were hot on her tail. The race was picking up speed, and it was unlikely that anyone but herself would notice Lucius until it was too late.
"My husband can't swim!" The distressed Southerner called to Prof. Sprout, but the chubby woman had her back turned and couldn't hear. The other people on the platform looked at Selina confusedly. They would be of no use either.
Turning back to Lucius's platform Selina was just in time to see Lucius leap into the water. Her suspicions were confirmed when he began to thrash helplessly in the water, and her blood boiled when she saw a few people laughed at him.
~*~
Selina was in the water before she knew it. In the distance she heard someone scream angrily, but things had slowed down for her.
Lucius was still thrashing, but he had lost much of his strength by the time she neared him, and people were only just beginning to realize what was going on. Just a few strokes before she would have reached him he went under, and for a crazy reason unknown to her she dove after him. Luckily he hadn't sunk too far, but he didn't appear to be conscious, and his slackened heavy weight was dragging him down.
It was like some awful joke. The faster Selina tried to swim, the faster he sank. It was as if he was just a hair's width away from her reach. The glowing baton floated up past Selina, but she didn't stop to grab it. Now her energy was running low, but she knew better than to shoot for the surface. Should she turn back now she would lose Lucius and become a widow.
It was bad enough to be a bride so young, but being a widow was even worse.
Selina swung her hand out, and her hand caught a fistful of Lucius's long, white-blonde hair. Thankfulness shot through her, and she was able to grab a hold of his left hand. Her lungs had begun to burn with the need for air, but her journey to the surface of the lake was slow. Dragging Lucius up with her was a harder task than she would have thought, and his dead weight was a great handicap.
The daylight was becoming clearer now, though, but all her strength failed her just a few feet before she would have reached the surface. Selina closed her eyes despair overcoming her.But then a pair of hands had reached out and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders.
~*~
The world began to focus, and everything seemed to start moving normally the moment Selina breathed in. Cold air stung her lungs, but it felt wonderful in such an odd way. The redhead was dragged up into a sort of rowboat, and Lucius was thrown down beside her. Two men were crouched down beside the haughty pureblood, and they were doing such things as checking his pulse.
The moment the rowboat touched land Selina was hauled out of it and into a pair of thin arms. Riley was hugging her, and the young black woman was shaking all over. "Don't you ever scare like that again, you hear?" Riley hissed, and Selina coughed up a bucketful of water in response.
~*~
Idiot!
You prideful asshole!
How moronic could one be?
As Selina stalked down the hallway and to the library a million different insults tumbled around in her head. Once she caught up with that so-called 'husband' of hers then she would tell him every single one! In the twenty minutes in which she had been checked over by the Hogwarts nurse, Madame Pomfrey, her fear for Lucius's life had evaporated, only to be replaced by a fiery anger.
She had almost died trying to save him! How stupid could one be, jumping into a lake when they couldn't swim? He had only made himself into a bigger fool than he would have been had he told people that he couldn't swim.
Riley wasn't too happy with the man either. If Lucius had not been whisked away to the Hospital Wing with Dumbledore and Snape then Selina was sure her friend would have attacked the arrogant aristocrat. However, her anger had only served to spark Selina's, and in the end the young redhead had been sent to the library to wait while Dumbledore returned to the lake and announced the six teams that would be moving on.
"I don't know the results of the race," Riley whispered as Selina got up to make her way to the castle, "but don't count on us making it to the next round."
And that brought her to the present. She was entering the library now, but she stopped short when she heard to low voices-men, the both of them- whispered somewhere near the center of the room. They were arguing, but Selina wasn't fully intrigued until she heard her name.
"You prideful fool! Have you any idea how you endangered your wife's life?"
Snape.
"Of course I know! But I never would have jumped in had I known that she would try to save me!"
.and Lucius! But why were they back at the library so soon?
"Why did you jump in at all? We haven't been on friendly terms for a long time, but even I know how you despise swimming!" Snape snapped in a mocking tone.
"Oh, so I should have admitted to my son, my wife, and all my friends that I couldn't swim?"
"Well, everyone knows now!" Snape scoffed.
"Screw off," Lucius muttered, and Selina heard the sound of a chair being dragged across a hard surface. She wanted to continue to listen in on their conversation, but before anyone could say anything else the doors to the library burst open and the other nine members of Team Titan streamed in. Everyone was talking loudly and laughing, and it wasn't long before Pamela found Selina lurking behind a bookshelf.
"Miss Selina?" she asked. "Why aren't you with Mr. Malfoy and the professor?"
Selina shook her head. "I'll tell you later, Pamela. Just tell me why everyone is so happy!"
Pamela's face broke into a wide grin. "Because, Miss Selina, we came in third!"
"What?"
Pamela steered Selina over to where the rest of their team had gathered. "Well, due to the.incident.out on the lake not every team finished. Only Team Red made it all the way, and Team Jade stopped swimming at the last platform. No one else bothered swimming past the spot where you went under, so we were third place."
Riley, who had taken her position as captain very seriously, nodded. "Next all of us will be competing in a sort of art thing." She shrugged. "Dumbledore was vague."
Any talk of the competition was put on hold when a house-elf appeared, bearing food and drink. No one spoke much during the next fifteen minutes as they were all eating their sandwiches and gulping down nice, cool Pumpkin Juice. Selina did notice, however, that everyone with the exception of Draco sent Lucius at least two scalding looks. When Lucius finally took a hint and left to eat his food in another area of the library Selina decided that she couldn't be angry with him anymore. Riley alone was doing enough of that already, and besides, she could tell by Lucius's fleeting glance at her that he was indeed a sorry man. It was in his every gesture, and the young redhead almost pitied him.
Almost.
~*~
Everyone who had come to watch the third competition tittered excitedly as Team Titan strode into the quidditch pitch. All the nosey witches craned their necks to get a good look at the new Mrs. Malfoy, and many young wizards made crude jokes at Lucius's expense. No one was more obvious in their amusement than the Weasley's, though the women of Team Red all smiled kindly at Selina, as if pitying her for being saddled with such a horrid man. Their pity only made her insides burn, and she glared at them all until they glared back. By the time the last team arrived things on the stage were reaching a breaking point, and Dumbledore seemed very glad to get started again.
"Well, that was quite something down at the lake!" the old headmaster said jovially. "I have had a talk with Mr. Malfoy, and he won't be swimming anytime soon." He gave Lucius, who was doing his best to still look prideful, a stern look as if to clarify what he had just said, and Selina had a feeling that Dumbledore had given her 'husband' and earful on her account. "But now, onto more important things! When we last met I told you all that this next competition would be involving art. Now, you'll have an hour and a half to do this, and it will have some guidelines, but other than that you can use any form of art you wish-painting, sculpting, etcetera.
"You're all to create something with your provided materials that represents the most beautiful thing you've ever known. It might sound easy, but let me explain more clearly. You'll be judged on two things-quality of the work and quality of the subject. In other words, how well you present it and what it is being presented. How much thought goes into this piece of art?" Dumbledore pointed to a six tents in the middle of the pitch. "Each team will work in one of those. Don't worry-each tent is heavily charmed so that nothing that you're saying will escape. As always, cheating means getting thrown out of the games, so play clean! Teams, you have exactly ninety minutes until you present your finished work, so I suggest you get started!"
He gave a loud clap and the six teams rushed off to their tent. Riley led everyone to a black tent decorated with bright red and yellow stars. Lucius sneered at the exterior, but he entered all the same. The materials that Dumbledore had mentioned were a large canvas, a whole set of paints, charcoal, chalk, small costume jewels, and other things of the sort. As soon as everyone had sat down around the small table in the center of the people began saying their ideas, and Riley shot them all down.
"Cho?"
"How about a pretty sunset?"
"No, I'm sure someone else will think of that.Lindsey?"
"A unicorn?"
"Same as I said before! Unicorns are so pretty that someone else is bound to do one.What is it Malfoy?"
"I've always thought myself to be beautiful-"
"Oh, be quiet you! Selina, tell me you have a better idea than your husband!"
"Well, when I was growing up I always knew what the two most beautiful things in the world were." Riley nodded expectantly. "The first was the South."
"Can't argue with that one.And the second was?"
"My mother, of course."
Riley breathed in very quickly before nodding. "Isn't that true of everyone?" she asked. Everyone nodded, and a few even smiled appreciatively at Selina. Lucius looked a little wary, but no one, not even his wife, was about to pay him any attention.
Things ran smoothly after that. Riley assigned everyone a good-sized chunk of the canvas, and they all began to draw. Each person had a different style, and they were all rather skilled, but one artist stood out from them all. Where her teammates were somewhat talented in the way of drawing Pamela was gifted! Her hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it zipped around her corner of the canvas. She, of course, was working with her younger siblings, but early on they began to let her take over, and soon the mouth, and then the eyes, and then a long, pointed nose appeared. Pamela's mother was a kind looking woman, plump and grinning with the smile of someone who truly loved life.
Soon to follow were the rest of the mothers. Selina knew well the face of gorgeous, serene Mrs. Bryce, and she pretended not to notice the cold, perfectly featured beauty of Narcissa Malfoy. Lucius had inherited his blonde, pale looks from his father, apparently, for his mother had dark, rich black hair, equally black eyes, and a prominent nose. Mrs. Chang, of course, was drawn by her daughter and son, and both she and her husband drew Cho's grandmothers. Snape's mother was much like him with pallid skin and dark, boring eyes. Everybody became so enthralled in their own mother and doing her justice on the canvas, that they lost track of time. In fact, Dumbledore himself came to fetch the twelve of them.
"Your time is up," he said, and Riley nodded.
"We're done enough, aren't we?" she asked, grinning at her team.
"Sure," Pamela agreed, standing up. "Coming, Miss Selina?"
Selina nodded and trotted after her friends. She would really have to ask Pamela to stop calling her "Miss Selina". Lucius would probably disapprove, and Ms. Laverne might have a few choice words, but Selina really would rather have Pamela as a friend than a servant. Before she could speak to Pamela, however, she ran smack dab into an object-or was that a girl?
"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry! I really wasn't watching where I was going! It's just that my team finished late and I-" The girl stopped speaking abruptly. "Oh," she said softly. "It's you. Mrs. Malfoy." It was only then that Selina recognized the girl as the bushy haired brunette that was on Team Red. The girl had been on the arm of one of the Weasley boys all day, and she had been regarding Selina and Riley rather nervously.
"Ms. Julliard," Selina said. When the girl raised her eyebrows she added, "It's my maiden name." This only made the girl look more curious. Knowing all too well that she would just be firing the fires of gossip Selina explained in more depth. "It was an arranged marriage, and I don't wish to be called 'Mrs. Malfoy'"
The girl's eyes closed, as if processing the information, and then she twirled a bit of her fluffy hair, as if she were deep in thought. "So your husband and you aren't that.close?"
Selina frowned. "I don't see how that would be-"
"Miss Selina hurry up! We're all waiting on you and.Oh, I see.You were talking with a.friend?" Draco had found Selina, and he was staring at the girl with unabashed disdain.
"No. She ran into me, literally." Selina could tell there was a past relationship between the two that would come pouring forth quite soon. Draco looked quite upset as the girl mumbled some excuse to leave and make her way back to the safety of her friends, and if the boy were anything near being similar to his father then he would be venting. Sure enough, as they walked briskly back to stage; Draco began telling her off.
"That girl was a mudblood, for Merlin's sake! My god, don't you know what being seen with someone of her stature could be like?" He looked at her, obviously expecting a long and ashamed apology.
Well, no such thing came.
"You're really something, aren't you?" Selina asked. She was too disgusted with her stepson to display any true emotion. "You think you're some big man because you're a pureblood!"
Draco actually stopped walking. He stared at Selina. "You don't feel the same way?" he asked, rather cautiously as well.
"Riley's mother is muggle-born, and my cousin Bruce was half-and-half. People in America are generally more easy going about each others bloodlines," Selina snapped shortly before striding forward and up to join the team. She ignored Riley's curious look, and she pretended that Lucius didn't exist. She kept her eyes trained on the tall, elderly headmaster and tried to forget exactly what had transpired in the past fifteen minutes.
"Well, now that Team Titan has finally joined us, we can begin the judging! Professor Sprout and I will be judges, and we will each focus on one of the two areas."
As Riley had predicted most teams did stereotypic subjects. By the time Dumbledore and Prof. Sprout were thru viewing the first four "works of art," she had grown sick of unicorns and moonlit nights. Team Red's painting was impressive-everyone but Lucius and Draco admitted it. A blend of reds, oranges, coppers, yellows, and touches of gold combined to make a beautiful, almost burning inferno.
"The fire here equals inner strength and passion," one of the Weasley boys crowed, "and nothing is more beautiful than those things!"
Dumbledore and Prof. Sprout agreed. Team Red got full marks, causing Riley to grumble angrily. She smiled brightly, though, as the two professors approached, and she drew the thick white tarp off the canvas, revealing their painting with just as much pride as the Weasley's had. However, not even she could mask her surprise upon seeing the finished article. No one could.
The subjects of the portrait had begun to move!
Selina knew that most wizarding portraits moved, but she had forgotten how they were given the ability to move about in the first place. She stopped trying to remember how and stared at the portrait. There was her own mother, giggling girlishly with Mrs. Bryce and both Mrs. Chang´s. Narcissa Malfoy stood in the far corner, looking disgusted at the whole affair, while Mrs. Duraford and Mrs. Snape whispered quietly. Mrs. Malfoy, Lucius's mother, had wandered off, and so the picture was incomplete, but Dumbledore didn't seem to care.
"I am assuming these are all your mothers?" When he received a few nods, he grinned delightedly. "To a young child who could possibly be more beautiful than their mother? Brilliant choice, Team Titan! Professor Sprout and I give you full marks as well as a few bonus points for creating a moving picture." Dumbledore smiled softly. "Only a portrait in which the artist- or, in this case, artists-poured their heart into can be caused to move."
Lucius's trademark smirk was back on his long, pointed face. "Ahead by about ten points, I reckon," he muttered to Draco. Draco nodded and sneered at Team Red. Selina noticed that he purposely skipped over the brunette girl.
"Now for another break! This one lasts forty minutes! The next competition will be a quidditch match-Draco looked very pleased,-"so make sure you've chosen who plays each position! And, of course, we'll all reconvene here!"
As the teams broke apart there was an excited buzz about the crowd that had not been there when past events had been announced. As Team Titan made their way back to the library Lucius and Mr. Chang swarmed around Riley, each trying to make sure that their child was made the Seeker. Riley managed to escape the two, middle-aged men, but only to run into Draco. The young Seeker was warier of her now, and Selina could only guess it was because he had found out that she was muggle-born. Instead of going back to the library, however, Riley stopped in front of the school. Her expression was one of pure business, and the young Southerner eyed her team with critical preciseness.
"Let's see now.Who would best fit each position? All right, Snape, you're the Keeper." Snape scrunched his face up in a sinister sneer. Riley, however, didn't see, for she was eying Pamela, Cho, and Selina herself. "Now you three will be the Chasers. Don't look like that, Mr. Chang, it doesn't suit your face.Malfoy-no, not you, I meant your father-you and I are going to be the Beaters, and Draco here will be the Seeker." Turning to the three remaining Chang´s and Pamela's younger siblings she said, "You five will make sure we don't mess up. Robbie, you're our backup Seeker, and Lindsey, if anything happens to one of the Chasers then you'll play, okay?" Everyone nodded. Riley smiled. "Well, I don't think we have anywhere to practice, but we might as well make some strategies!"
The next forty minutes were spent going over plan after plan. Riley had always been the perfect strategist, so she made an excellent captain, but even that couldn't quell the nauseous twinges that had been bothering Selina ever since Riley had announced that she would be a Chaser. Selina would be the first one to tell anyone that she wasn't at all athletic, and she felt betrayed in a way that Riley would expect her to do something as big as ride a broomstick in front of hundreds of strangers. Everyone else seemed to be confident in her-Lucius might have even gone so far as to be proud-so she couldn't exactly let them down.
Even so, it was too late to throw in the towel. It was just five minutes until the quidditch game started, and Selina was pulling on the last of her gear. After striating her black shirt once more, the young redhead made her way through the muggy locker rooms to find Riley. Her friend was talking very quickly with Pamela, and it took a few moments before Selina found a pause in their conversation so that she could speak.
"Both sets of teams play at once, right?" Selina asked.
"Yes," Riley confirmed. "We play Team Jade, and Team Red plays Team Sires. From what I've heard one set of teams will play in this normal quidditch pitch and the other set will play in this pseudo-dimension pitch."
"Which one do we get?" Selina asked.
"The pseudo-dimensional one," Pamela replied. "Team Red didn't want to travel so far or something.You know, Harry Potter is on that team!"
Selina couldn't conceal her interest. She wondered to herself why exactly she hadn't been told that before, but she didn't say anything. After making a mental note to get a good look at the all-famous Boy Who Lived Selina followed an equally interested Riley out the doors. The four women on the team met up with the three men, and after everyone had double-checked whether or not they were dressed properly, they went in search of Prof. Sprout.
The tubby, kindly woman was rushing about when Team Titan found her, and she made wild motions for them to join her. "Come now, dears, you haven't much time! Take this portkey, and it'll make sure you get to the other quidditch pitch." She extended a bag to the twelve-team members-the remaining five had joined the others during their search for Sprout-and Riley dumped the clock-portkey onto the grassy ground.
"Brooms are supplied, I assume?" Cho asked as everyone leaned down to grab the portkey. "I left mine at home."
"Cleansweaps, the lot of them," Prof. Sprout said, nodding. "But please do hurry! I'd hate to see you all be disqualified for being tardy!"
Well, that got everyone moving.
In a surprisingly synchronized moment, all twelve team members of Team Titan leaned down and grabbed the portkey. Selina felt an unpleasant jerk behind her navel, and then she was hurtling through space. She landed with a thump on top of a soft patch of grass. It wasn't until the soft patch of grass moved that she realized that she had landed on a person. Snape, to be more exact. With a surprised 'meep' Selina jumped off the Potions Master, but not before Lucius saw. He gave a disgruntled snort and "accidentally" hit Snape's head with his Beater's club as he stomped past. There was an awkward silence after his departure in which Snape fidgeted uncomfortably and Selina's cheeks flushed. Riley broke the silence by telling them to both hurry, and as they entered the pseudo-reality quidditch pitch neither person would meet the others eyes.
As Selina began to walk farther into the quidditch pitch, she began to notice various peculiar aspects about her new surroundings. The colors, for example. Everything was so vibrant, so effervescent. The sky, grass, and even the flowers were all electric shades. The white clouds in the sky swirled into actual shapes, and the woodwork that made up the stadium had constantly swirling and changing shapes moving about the surface. There were countless other things too, but Selina's attention was drawn back to quidditch match.
Riley was talking quickly with a tall woman with spiky gray hair and large, catlike hazel eyes. The woman pointed to one side of the quidditch pitch, and Riley nodded before turning back to Team Titan. "Madame Hooch says that that's our side of the pitch," she called. "I trust you can all remember that?"
"Let's just get the brooms!" Lucius snapped irritably. Selina highly suspected that all the bright colors were disturbing him.
Team Jade was getting antsy, and the captain-he was chubby, red cheeked, and had a laughable look about him-strode up and said something to Madame Hooch. The woman waved her hand at the young man-"The git's name is Ernie Macmillan," Draco whispered-and then made a motion for everyone to gather round.
"Let's keep this game clean, shall we? The rules are as always-team with the most points in the end wins! And be careful now!" Madame Hooch eyed the landscape and everything within it with distaste. "Make extra sure not to upset anything." Something in her voice was definitely agitated, if not frightened.
There was an atmosphere throughout this odd dimension that was putting everybody on edge.Lucius, Madame Hooch, even Snape.Yes, everyone here was uneasy, and everyone wanted to go back home.
Everybody but Selina.
As the young redhead mounted her broom, she couldn't help but feel bothered by her peaceful feelings. When it was so obvious that all her friends and teammates were dying to get away, it seemed wrong that she would be so at ease. However, as soon her feet left the ground, Selina managed to push aside those feelings. All her concentration went in to staying in sync with Pamela and Cho.
It wasn't easy at first. She might have known Pamela well, but Cho was pretty much a stranger, but even then getting adjusted to another's rhythms was difficult. And if there was any quidditch position that required a total fined tuned beat it was the Chasers. Finally, after a good thirteen minutes, the three girls began to get it together. Cho even scored a goal, causing Riley-who was across the field, chasing Bludgers-to let out a victorious whoop.
The game picked up from that point. Team Jade, which Pamela had whispered was comprised mostly of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, fought back with a ridiculous ferocity. Their Seeker, a Gryffindor, Selina assumed, spent more time following Draco and making snotty faces, than looking for the Snitch, but their Beaters, also Gryffindors, were ruthless. They actually flew at the Bludgers and hit them as hard as they could in whatever direction. Pamela gave a terrified shriek as one of the bludgeoning balls hurtled past her head and dropped the Quaffle. One of the Team Jade Chasers caught it, and they scored just moments later. The score was now thirty to ten in Team Jade's favor.
The aforementioned Chaser fumbled the Quaffle when it came into his possession not five minutes later. He dropped it, and in a lucky dive, Pamela was able to grab it. She soared off towards the goal hoops, her jaw set in a determined fashion, when a Bludger came hurtling her way yet again. As had happened before Pamela screeched and threw her arms in front of her face. Lucius flew in front of her in time to hit the Bludger off towards a Team Jade Beater, but the Quaffle was already falling towards the unnatural grass. It was falling slowly, as Quaffles were enchanted to do, but a Team Jade Chaser was shooting towards it and would be able to grab it with ease. Without even considering the humiliation she might cause herself Selina dove for the scarlet ball.
She reached it a few seconds before her opponent would have, and she managed to maneuver her broom properly so that she shot up and towards her goal posts, but suddenly things were happening so fast that it was difficult to do anything else. Players of all positions were circling around her, eyeing her cautiously, and Beaters tried to hit Bludgers towards her in attempts to make her fumble as Pamela did. Someone from above took pity on her, though, and Selina raced towards the goal hoops.
A rush of adrenaline shot through her veins as the wind ruffled her hair. Cho flew above her, arms outstretched, and despite her wishes to score the next goal Selina tossed the Quaffle to her teammate. Cho winked and passed the ball on to Pamela. All three Chasers were within scoring range of their three goal hoops, and in the last moment, the Quaffle was passed back to Selina. The Keeper of Team Jade, a petite blonde girl, who had been expecting Pamela to score, was taken by surprise when Selina threw the ball towards the middle hoop. She had no time to block the red ball, and Lucius, in a rare moment of pride, swooped by his 'wife' and blew her a kiss.
The kiss did not go unnoticed, and, even as Pamela and Cho giggled childishly at Selina's embarrassment, they could not guess that she was mortified not because of the public display of affection but because she had actually thought it to be sweet! Selina shot a look at Lucius-he and Riley were doing their best to work together, so he didn't notice her long and questioning gaze-before going off in pursuit of the Quaffle.
Twenty-five minutes and seven scores later (four for Team Titan, putting them well in the lead) Selina was actually starting to admit that she was enjoying the sensations of playing quidditch. The adrenaline, the camaraderie between teammates, the sheer exhilaration of flying.If she had known that quidditch could be so pleasant she would have taken it up years ago. Her mood was further improved when she saw her stepson make a dive for what could only be the Golden Snitch.
But, unfortunately, there are less pleasurable aspects of playing quidditch. Such as Bludgers flying at your unprotected belly. Selina never saw the ball come hurtling towards her, and by the time the others had it was too late. Selina had tumbled off her broom and was heading in a quick, spiraling descent.