Sailor Witches 26
Hey, Where's Hagrid?
I do not own Sailor Moon or Harry Potter. I hope you guys enjoyed your Christmas Presents! NixiNox & Alfonso wanted some cat fluff. So I was able to write a flashback. Sorry for the late update. I made this chapter a bit long so make sure you've got time.
Raye's dream made another turn. Trying to get away from the strange man, she went outside of the castle. There was snow on the ground. She could see footsteps in the snow. Curious, she decided to follow them. Perhaps it wasn't the right idea, but she wondered whom they belonged to. She was following the tracks for a while until she heard a low roar. She gasped and looked around her. It sounded like the dragon. Looking back at the tracks, she followed them again. Then she reached a clearing of trees where a huge black shape stood out midst all the snow.
It was the dragon and its keeper. The dragon keeper was trying to get it to lie down and it finally did. He patted the dragon and it curled up. The keeper sat down and leaned against the dragon, patting its long arm. He put his hands behind his head and looked up at Raye. He waved at her to approach.
Raye shook her head and seemed frozen in the snow. Was he serious? Even if the dragon was asleep and she wasn't going to walk up to it.
"Come on," called the dragon keeper. "It's asleep."
"I don't care!" she shouted.
"I knew this dragon for years," he said. "It's used to humans. Come on."
"No way," she shook her head and turned around.
"Suit yourself."
The dream repeated a few times before Raye woke up. She groaned. After the nice night she had, why did she have to be bothered by this weird dream?
'Maybe if I find out what kind of dragon this is,' she thought, 'I might find out what the rest of my dream means.'
-
Random snores filled the room of the fourth year Gryffindor boy dormitory. Some mumbled in their sleep to their dates.
"Oops, sorry, Ginny…"
"Where'd all the butterbeer go?"
Then suddenly, just after eleven o'clock, there was a loud scream. "AAAAH! I'M LATE!"
The boys jumped or fell out of bed. Harry blindly ran his hand on his nightstand.
"Hey, who killed the music?" Dean Thomas demanded sleepily
Ron was jumping around trying to put on his clothes.
"What the hell is going on?" Seamus Finnigan shouted.
"Who yelled?" asked Neville. "What happened?"
"Late—late—late!" Ron grunted as he pulled on his shirt.
"Late for what?" said Harry. "Ron, it's Boxing Day! There're no lessons today!"
"I know that!" Ron barked as he tried to put on his tie. "I hate ties…I was supposed to meet Ami by the staircase seven minutes ago!"
"What for?" Neville asked as he fell back on his bed.
"So we can study together," Ron muttered.
"What?" Harry demanded, rubbing his head. "Ron…since when do you go off and study?" It was almost as if Ron and Hermione switched bodies.
"Since I went out with Ami last night," Ron said with a placid grin on his face.
"You sure are looking better today, Ron," Seamus said, holding his chin.
"Huh?" Ron looked over his shoulder. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you were saying you were feeling sick last night," Seamus stated.
"Oh, yeah, right," Ron said, with a nod, putting his books and things in his bag, "well, Ami said I just had to get some rest, yeah, and I feel better."
"Really?" Seamus inquired, raising his eyebrow.
"Really," Ron said and he flung his bag over his shoulder. "Much better, thanks, Seamus…well, sorry I woke you all up. Gotta go…Ami's waiting for me." Ron backed out of the room and ran down the stairs.
"I don't think Ron was really sick," said Seamus, putting his hands on his hips and looking at the other boys. "Do you?"
--
"Sorry, Ami!" Ron shouted as he ran to join her at the staircase. "Slept in."
"It's all right," she said and they began walking down the stairs to the library. "You probably needed the rest."
"Yeah."
"How do you feel?" she inquired.
"Much better, thanks," he replied.
They entered the library. Ron excitedly sat down at a near table and took his books out of his bag. "All right, what shall we study first? History of Magic? Potions?" As he took a belt off his stack of books, he did it too quickly and it slappe dhim in his eye. But this time, he didn't mean to hurt himself. "Ow!" He brought his hands to his eye and groaned in pain.
"Ron!" Ami gasped. "Let me see!"
"Be quiet!" Madame Pince hissed.
"Sorry!" said Ami, lowering her voice. "Ron, let me look at your eye." She pried his hands away so she could look. "Try rolling your eye to the left. Now to the right. Can you see okay?"
"Yeah…I think so, because there's pretty girl in front of me."
Ami blushed big time and cleared her throat. She quickly sat down. "Let's uh, start with History of Magic…"
A few tables away, Raye noticed how Ron was flirting with Ami. She grinned. "I bet he's trying to get her over her shyness of guys." She said quietly as she peered over her book. "Well, if anyone can, it's Ron!"
Raye looked down at her book, examining the descriptions of the dragons. She turned page after page.
'Definitely not a Hungarian Horntail…Not a Norwegian Ridgeback...nope…nope…nope…'
She then turned to the chapter on the Hebridean Black. There was a sketch on one page of the dragon flying over mountains. She looked closely at it. Black body. Ridges along its back. Arrow-spiked tail. Violet eyes.
Raye gasped. 'This is it!' she thought. 'The dragon in my dream is a Hebridean Black…but why is it a Hebridean Black?'
--
Harry and Serena were walking by the lake. There were a few people doing the same thing.
"People actually go to the beach day after Christmas, huh?" Serena asked as she pulled her cloak around her.
"Yeah," Harry said. "I know it's weird but people do it. Not sure why."
AN: It's true! I had a Scottish companion while I was in England during Christmas and she really wanted to go to the beach on Boxing Day. I thought she was out of her mind and she tried telling me that's what people do. So she talked me into it and that's what we did. Sure enough, there were people walking up and down the beach! And it was really, really windy that day too! I think she said they do it to burn all the calories they have for their Christmas Dinner.
"The lake looks frozen," Serena said, testing it gingerly with her foot. "Want to go ice skating, Harry?"
"Not really," he replied. "I've never done it before."
"Your uncle and aunt never let you do anything, do they?" Serena asked, turning to him.
"No," Harry answered.
"That's horrible," Serena mumbled.
"It's okay," Harry said, "I've learned to…"
"No, Harry," Serena said firmly, stepping closer to him. "It's not okay. Especially with what happened to your parents and the chance of Voldemort returning. The least they can do is give you some respect."
Serena began to remind Harry about Mr. Weasley the way she was talking about the Dursleys.
"You're a good person," said Serena. "You don't deserve to live with those kinds of people. I don't think anyone does."
"Well, hopefully my godfather's name would get cleared so I can live with him," said Harry as he started walking again.
"Have you heard from him lately?" Serena asked, following him.
"Yeah, before Christmas," he replied. "Congratulated me on how I did the first task."
"You were really excellent, Harry," Serena beamed.
"Er, thanks."
"What does he think of all this?" she inquired. "About you being in the tournament and everything?"
"He seems about as paranoid as Moody," he groaned. "I wish he didn't come. He could get caught."
"He's only concerned for you."
"I know."
"Does he have any idea who could've put your name in the goblet?"
"Not really," he said, "but he told me to keep an eye on Karkaroff."
"You should probably tell him about last night," Serena suggested, "when he was talking to Snape."
"Oh, I don't know," Harry mumbled. "He already knows Karkaroff's a Death Eater."
"Does he know that Snape is though?"
"No, don't think so." He was starting to wonder if asking Serena to go on a walk with him was a good idea. He didn't need another person worrying about him. He only wanted to get to know Serena more. He was thankful when Serena seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Sorry," said Serena, "I'm probably freaking you out, aren't I? I don't think anyone's trying to hurt you, Harry."
"I hope not," Harry said. "Because no one's tried to attack me so far."
As they continued walking, their hands brushed together. Serena stopped and glanced at their hands. Harry stopped too. Not knowing what to say, they looked into each other's eyes for a while. Then Harry smiled and grasped Serena's hand. Serena smiled back.
"Come on," Harry said quietly.
After walking around the lake a couple of times, hand in hand, they left the lake and went over by the Quidditch field, where they saw Mina with Cedric. Mina was flying level with Cedric at a slow pace. They were ten feet in the air.
"Don't try to accelerate yet, Mina," he said. "Try to get the feel of it."
"Nothing like riding a bike," Mina mumbled nervously.
"Hi, Mina!" Serena said, waving.
"Huh?" Mina whipped her head around and lost control of her broomstick. "Aaah!" She started for a nosedive.
"Oh no!" Serena shouted, bringing her hands to her mouth. "Mina, watch out!"
"Don't panic!" said Cedric, grabbing her broomstick, trying to make it level. "Just keep control…there you go…that wasn't bad, Mina." He coaxed her into a landing before she crashed into the snow.
"I'm sorry, Mina!" Serena cried as she approached them. "I didn't mean to startle you!"
"Good thing Cedric was here or I would've fallen off," Mina said, nodding to Cedric.
"How're you getting on?" Harry asked.
"Okay I guess," Mina mumbled.
"Mina, you're doing fine," Cedric said softly. "It's your first time on a broom. It takes a while for some people to get it down, right Harry?"
"Er, right," Harry replied, thinking of how he flew like a natural at his first flying lesson. "Yeah, you just need practice Mina. What position are you trying out for anyway?"
"Chaser," she replied. "I got my Quaffle over there." She nodded at her Quaffle in the snow. "I don't think I'm ready to toss it around in the air just yet."
"Come on, Mina," Serena said, patting her on the back. "You saw the chasers at the cup—it's kind of like volleyball, only you're in the air."
"What's volleyball?" Cedric inquired.
"Uh, oh, well," Mina smiled. "It's a muggles sport. Played it for a while before I went to Japan."
"Yeah, you're pretty good at it too," Harry said quickly.
"Thanks, Harry," said Mina.
"If you continue practicing," Serena said, "you should be all set by next year."
Mina looked from her broom to her Quaffle. "Yeah, I ought to be."
"You want to try out for Quidditch Serena?" Harry inquired. "We need a new Keeper."
"You kidding?" Serena demanded. "I'd fall right off my broom. I don't even have a broom."
"Come on, Serena," Harry insisted. "You won't have to fly as much as the other players. All you have to do is guard the hoops over there." He pointed at the three hoops at the end of the field.
"Yeah," added Cedric Diggory.
"Actually, Cedric," Mina said softly, "Serena's clumsy enough on the ground…I hate to see how she is on a broomstick."
Cedric and Harry looked at Mina to scold her but Serena sighed and clapped her on the back. "Thanks, Mina!"
"Sure," Mina said, grabbing her Quaffle. "Ced-senpai, how about a few tosses with the Quaffle?"
"Okay," Cedric said, he turned to Harry and Serena. "Bye."
"Have fun, Mina," Serena said and she left with Harry.
"You sure all your friends would think you won't stay on a broom for long?" Harry asked Serena when they were a ways off from Mina and Cedric.
"They wouldn't be my friends if they didn't," Serena said. "It's okay, Harry. I've always hated Physical Education and I nearly got sick watching the World Cup. They all moved too fast and was too brutal." She shivered.
Harry laughed as he took her hand in his. It was the first time he ever held hands with a girl and for some reason, he felt so at home at it. Maybe it was because Serena was so easy going. If he were to be holding hands with Cho Chang or even Hermione Granger he'd feel rather uncomfortable.
"Serena, Quidditch at school is nothing like the World Cup!" he told her.
"Yeah, probably you're right," she shrugged. "But I bet it gets close when Gryffindor plays Slytherin, huh?"
"Just a bit," he replied.
"Maybe I won't mind a school game so much," she said, thinking it over. "I mean, you fly pretty great and I'd like to see you fly in Quidditch. What position you play again?"
"Seeker," he answered. "Been playing since my first year."
"Wow." Serena breathed. "That's great! How'd you get the position?"
Harry explained the incident where Neville Longbottom injured himself at their first lesson and the deal Malfoy taking his Remembral. He ended up telling her about all the practices and games he played in and the team members.
"Wood sounds like a real determined player," said Serena.
"He was," Harry said. "You should've seen him when we won the cup last year. He was crying; he so overjoyed."
"Who do you think will become the new captain?" she inquired.
He shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe Fred or George. Maybe Angelina."
"Fred or George?" Serena asked, raising an eyebrow. "I hate to think what kind of hexed sweet they'd give you if you were late for practice."
--
As the girls were out of the dormitory, Lucky and Luna sat on Serena's bed, talking about the previous night.
"I think it turned out quite well," Luna said. "It was good for us to go and have some fun."
"I agree," said Lucky.
"How did it go with Minerva?" Luna inquired.
Lucky sighed. "Great. I really didn't want the evening to end…"
FlashbackMinerva and Lucky went for a walk after their fifth dance together. "You dance beautifully, Minerva," said Lucky.
"Thank you," Minerva smiled. "You are quite graceful yourself."
"Am I really?" he inquired. "Must be beginner's luck. I've never danced before."
"You haven't?" she seemed shocked.
He shook his head.
"Did we know each other before?" Minerva asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Before we saw each other as cats," she answered. "Did we go to school together? I can't remember."
"No," he said. "I've never been to Hogwarts before."
"Another wizarding school, perhaps?"
"No I haven't," Lucky said, starting to feel nervous. He should at least try and tell her the truth about him. "Minerva, I'm…not an animagus. I'm not even a wizard."
"What do you mean," she asked, laughing slightly, "You're not a wizard? What else could you be?"
"I'm just a cat. A cat…that can become human," he explained as they approached the fountain. He let go of her arm and sat down. "It's quite complicated. I can't change by will, something has to help me."
"Like what?"
"A very powerful object," he replied. "Like a talisman."
"I see," she whispered. "So…what kind of cat are you then? Does it have anything to do with the mark on your forehead?" She came down and sat next to him. She touched the rainbow birthmark on his head.
"Yes, it does," he sighed. "It is a long story, more like a legend. If you believe in them."
"I don't usually study legends," said Minerva.
"As a cat," Lucky explained, "I have human intelligence. I can even speak to humans."
"What?" she demanded. "Cats…speak to humans?"
"I know," he said, "it is rather strange. But perhaps no stranger than Parseltongue, is it?"
"Perhaps not," Minerva said. "I wouldn't think having the power to communicate with cats would be considered the characteristic of a dark wizard."
"It isn't," he said. "I can communicate to anyone. To tell you more about myself, I would disclose information of other people. I cannot betray their trust."
"I think I understand," Minerva said, "but can we at least still see each other?"
"Of course!" Lucky smiled as he put his arm around her. "However, we could only see each other as cats until I can find a way to transfigure myself by will."
Minerva smiled back. "I might be able to help you with that. I am the transfiguration professor here, after all!"
Artemis and Luna were watching from a nearby bench. Artemis kept glancing at the castle.
"Oh, Artemis, look!" Luna said with glee.
"Don't you think we're spying on them?" Artemis inquired. "Luna, how about we try some butterbeer? I wonder if food tastes better when we're human…"
"Oh, we can have that later," Luna said, waving her hand. "I don't think Lucky will mind."
"He certainly did when I brought it up in front of the scouts," Artemis said. "Look at the size of his arms, Luna. He could kill me if he wanted to!"
"Don't be silly, Artemis," Luna muttered as she looked at him. "You're Lucky's best friend."
They watched Lucky and Minerva for a while and then they went to get some butterbeer.
--
End Flashback"Minerva said she might find a way for me to change into a human on my own," Lucky said to Luna. "Then I wouldn't have to rely on the crystals. Perhaps the three of us should go and see her in our cat forms."
"It might be easier to wake up Serena if I were a human," Luna said thoughtfully. "Though she does have a room full of girls to help her up."
--
"Well, that was fun," Ron said brightly after spending the whole day with Ami the library. "I really appreciate you studying with me Ami." He never had so much fun studying before. Maybe it was because he had different company and he didn't have to hear Hermione say, 'you should've known this already!' over and over again. Even though he was having tons of fun flirting with Ami and washing her blush all shades of red and pink, he did learn some things.
"Oh, you're welcome," said Ami. "Shall we study again soon?"
"Yeah!" Ron grinned. "That'd be great. How about we study every day until next term?"
"Okay," she said coyly.
Ron began closing his books and putting them away and he gave himself a paper cut. "Ouch!" He brought his finger to lip and sucked on it. "Ami, I hurt myself again."
"A paper cut," she said, "maybe we should put some ointment on it—I'm not sure where your books have been. You can catch a flesh eating virus with even the smallest cuts."
"You can?" he asked nervously.
"Let me take you to the hospital wing," she said, grabbing him by the hand.
A few heads turned as the shy blue haired girl take the funny ginger-haired boy out of the library. They would be seeing more of that as days go by.
--
That night Lydia decided to call a scout meeting and tell the others about what Madame Indigo told her the night before. They were down in the kitchens having a late snack.
"I didn't even know Madame Indigo came," said Mina. "Why'd she leave in such a hurry?"
"Moody told her to," Lydia explained.
"That's weird," Ami said. "Why didn't she tell the Minister of Magic first?"
"Maybe it's because they're partners," Lita suggested.
"So she said Bertha Jorkins arrived in Albania," Raye asked, trying to get all the facts straight. "Saw the second cousin she planned to see but was lost on her way to her aunt's?"
"Yeah," said Lydia. "Weird. Madame Indigo said that the bartender of some Inn told her Bertha Jorkins left with some strange man."
"Did he tell Madame Indigo if Bertha knew the man?" Ami inquired.
Lydia shrugged, "I don't know, but she thinks the many may have killed her. Bertha liked to gossip. Perhaps he was someone she angered and he killed her in revenge."
"But that doesn't really make sense," said Serena through a mouthful of biscuits.
"Serena, don't talk with your mouth full!" Raye scolded.
"Sorry." She swallowed, "well, when you compare it to the rest of the things that's been happening, the world cup and someone entering Harry in the contest. Maybe all these weird events are linked to each other."
"That's what I think," Lydia nodded.
"Yeah," Raye nodded. "So we've got to find out where this guy might've taken her. Oh, Madame Indigo should've taken us with her."
"But we were at school," Ami said. "Hopefully if she gets the ministry involved they can help her search for Bertha Jorkins."
"Let's keep our eyes and hears open for anything else that might go weird," said Raye, "because weird things started happening ever since we got here."
--
The rest of the winter holidays seemed to go by in a blur. Harry and Serena spent a lot of time walking around the grounds together and he even got to talk her into going on a short broomstick ride. She only fell off once and luckily for her she landed in the fresh powder. Harry seemed to forget all about the egg and Cedric's advice for his mind was more on Serena than preparing himself for the task. It seemed very strange for Harry. At the beginning of his fourth year of Hogwarts the girl that played more part in his mind was Cho Chang. Maybe even before that. Since the Yule Ball it has been Serena Tsukino. He didn't want to admit to himself that he had another crush. Was he really crushing on Serena or did he just happen to feel at home when he was around her? He didn't feel about Serena the way he felt about Cho. At least he thought he didn't. It made him confused just to think about it. But he couldn't help himself. They were in Gryffindor House together. The same year and their classes were the same. What was it going to be like now that there was a new term starting?
Harry thought Ron's situation was easy. Ron and Ami would spend hours in the library. While she was telling him the properties of a Shrinking Potion he was flirting with her to see how she'd react. There wasn't any chemistry between Ron and Ami, at least not yet. Not like it was for Serena and Harry—but was there chemistry? Harry's heart didn't seem to get caught in his throat whenever she passed him like it was with Cho.
He used Lydia and Seamus as an example. They would sit in the common room time to time talking. He wasn't sure what the deal was with them either.
Draco would make eyes with Raye across the Slytherin Common Room when Pansy wasn't around. News of Raye's moment in the magical spotlight seemed to spread like wildfire. The underclassmen—surprisingly some of her own house--that weren't at the ball begged Raye to sing the song for them and even asked for an autograph. Raye was impressed that the first and second year Slytherins wanted to become singers too and would ask for advice. It took her nearly five months but she made some friends within her house.
--
January fourth came, the holidays ended and it was another term. The Gryffindors were unsure what to think to start the term with Care of Magical Creatures.
"What left is there to do with the Skrewts?" Serena asked Lydia as they walked out to Hagrid's cabin.
"Ye got me," Lydia said.
The students approached Hagrid's cabin and instead of Hagrid waiting for them, there was an old witch. Serena looked curiously around the cabin. "Hey, Where's Hagrid? Where's Fang?"
"Dunno," said Lydia and she startled whistling for Fang. "Fang!"
"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank," the witch said. "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."
"Just how temporary?" Lydia asked as Harry asked where Hagrid was.
"He is indisposed," Professor Grubbly-Plank told the students and the laughter of the Slytherins crept up behind them.
"Oh, why," Serena muttered, cringing, "why must we share two lessons with the Slytherins?"
"This way, please," Professor Grubbly-Plank told them, leading them away.
'What's wrong with Hagrid?" Harry asked Professor Grubbly-Plank.
"Never you mind."
"I do mind though," said Harry angrily. "What's up with him?"
"So, er, what're we studying?" Serena asked.
She got her answer when they came to the edge of the forest where a single unicorn was roped to a tree.
"Looks like we're doen with Skrewts," Lydia mumbled, gazing at the unicorn.
As the girls huddled around the unicorn, the boys huddled around a copy of the Daily Prophet. As Serena petted the unicorn it nestled her shoulder softly.
"Look at it, Lydia!" Serena cried. "It likes me!"
"This is more like it," said Parvarti, "I was getting sick of those Skrewts!"
Lydia looked over her shoulder as Harry pulled down the Daily Prophet and started arguing with Malfoy. "What's going on?" she wondered out loud.
--
Lydia and Serena walked with Hermione as they left the lesson. Hermione and Serena were talking about unicorns and all the stuff they learned. Harry showed them the article on Hagrid.
Serena gasped and was totally speechless. Hermione looked up at the boys and Lydia started to rip up napkins in anger.
"If she's got a problem with our gamekeeper then she ought to be fed to Fluffy!"
"Lydia, that's horrible!" gasped Hermione..
"It's no more than she deserves!" she growled. "I don't give a damn if Hagrid's a half giant or not. He is really cool, even if our fingers were burning off when we worked with those Skrewts but I don't want to spend the rest of term petting pretty horses either! I'd like to study something exciting once in a while!"
"I wonder how she found out," said Hermione.
Serena turned to Harry, "hey, Harry I think she might have overheard him talking to Madame Maxime at the Yule Ball."
"What do you mean?" Harry inquired.
"Right after we bumped into Snape and Karkaroff," she explained, "I saw Hagrid with Madame Maxime. If he's half giant, she must be. Maybe they were talking about being half giant."
"But I didn't see Rita," said Ron, "she's not even supposed to be on the grounds."
--
"Welcome, children to another term of divination!" Professor Trelawney said to her fourth year Slytherin class. "We shall continue our study of the stars. I feel there will be some interesting things for us."
Raye sighed and tapped the table. She already knew enough about astrology. It was her dreams she needed figuring out. They kept getting weirder and weirder. Then without warning, Professor Trelawny came up into her face.
"What the!" Raye gasped. "Professor!"
"Forgive me, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, "but I sense a strong force of the planet Uranus in you."
"You mean Mars," Raye muttered.
"No, I am quite sure it is Uranus!" Said Professor Trelawney. "The tarot symbol of Uranus—the star—I can see that you long for it, my dear! You long for the air of Uranus!"
"Professor, I was born under dealings of Mars!" argued Raye. "My birthday's April 17! I am an Aries—it's a fire sign! I know I am not a water carrier! I'm a Ram! Ram! Ram!"
"Yes, yes, I know you are, dear," said Professor Trelawny impatiently. "The symbol of the ram—yes of course I know but the water carrier stands at your side! Uranus is waiting for you, my dear. It has been waiting for you for a long time!"
'Is she talking about Sailor Uranus?' Raye thought as her dramatic divination teacher went on and on.
"The great fire of Mars inside you is growing weaker, my dear."
"Weaker?" Raye inquired. "I don't follow, Professor." 'Does this mean I'm losing my sailor powers?'
"The water carrier is looking for it's true one," said Professor Trelawny excitedly. "It attracts many but it cannot find the one it is looking for, until it meets the Ram!"
"What is this, a compatibility report or something?" Raye demanded.
"Yes, my dear," said Professor Trelawney. "The Aries and Aquarius are quite compatible. Before this month is over you will know. You will understand."
"Know what?" Raye leaned forward, ignoring the looks from her housemates. "What will happen at the end of this month? Do you have a day?"
"Oh," Professor Trelawny touched her head. "The twenty-fifth…perhaps the twenty-seventh. I believe it will be in the last week."
"It? It what?" Raye said nervously. "What will happen?" She was now starting to think Professor Trelawny was predicting her death.
"Fire needs air to burn," Professor Trelawny told her, taking her palm and patting it as she looked into her violet eyes. "Yes, the fire in your eyes and soul is fading away. Slowly, slowly burning out unless you welcome the air Uranus waits patiently to give you. Do not push it away, my dear."
"What's going to happen to me, Professor?" Raye inquired.
"It depends on what you decide, my dear," Professor Trelawney tapped her dark head. "If you welcome the air of Uranus your fire shall become a raging inferno. However, if you dismiss it your fire may be as if a candle whose flame just went out. Welcome the air, my dear! Embrace the air!"
"What air?" Raye asked. "I don't get it!"
"Wait, my dear," said Professor Trelawny, "wait for the last week of this month. It will happen!"
"What will happen?" Raye demanded but Professor Trelawney just shook her head and turned to the class. "Now, my dears…"
Raye groaned and put her hands to her head. What will happen at the end of the month? Would her powers disperse and she would no longer be able to transform into Sailor Mars? And this air, what is it and how is she supposed to welcome it? Everything Professor Trelawney said made absolutely no sense. It didn't even seem related to her dream.
--
Raye pondered what Professor Trelawney said in Divination Class that night in bed. How come Professor Trelawny was able to predict this so suddenly when she seemed more like an actress than a diviner?
'Maybe Professor Trelawny isn't such a fraud after all,' Raye thought as she turned onto her side.
Professor Trelawny did seem to sense Raye was a psychic as Raye was doing better in Divination than anyone in her class, and she could even correct some of Trelawney's errors.
'But what does it all mean?' Raye thought desperately, sitting up and fixing her pillow. The other girls were already fast asleep but Raye couldn't go to sleep yet. Her mind was too busy and the dormitory was too cold.
'I hate sleeping in the Slytherin dormitories,' she thought grudgingly as she shivered and pulled the covers more around her. 'I hate it!'
She looked over the room and frowned—seeing that the girls were sleeping peacefully, except for the fact that Pansy was snoring and muttering in her sleep. Another reason that made it difficult for Raye to get any sleep.
'I wonder if everyone's out of the common room now,' she thought as she got out of bed. Maybe she could get some wisdom if she consulted the common room fireplace. It was worth a shot. Raye tiptoed to the door and up the stairs to the Slytherin Common Room. Seeing that it was empty, she let out a sigh and went to the fireplace.
Raye knelt in front of the fire and began chanting. "I am flame. Flame is light. I am fire. Fire is sight."
The fire cracked. It was difficult for her to get anything out the fire after using the fire from her Grandfather's shrine. But the Slytherin Common Room had to do. She wasn't able to see anything for about fifteen minutes and she was lost in a trance.
"What is the air I'm supposed to welcome?" she asked the fire. "What is it that I must do?"
Slowly, the fire began showing scenes from her dream. She watched closely though she wasn't quite happy with what the fire was showing her. She already knew about the dragon, the castle and the man following her around. What did that have to do with Professor Trelawney told her in Divination?
As Raye watched the visions inside the fire, her hair flew around her head. Someone walked up from the boy's dormitory. It was Draco Malfoy.
"Raye, what're you doing?" he asked, staring at the back of her dark head. He chuckled and took a few steps to her. "Oh, keeping warm at the fireplace, aren't you? I hope you don't mind if I join you then?"
Raye did not reply. She didn't even know he was in the room.
"Raye?" Draco said. "Ignoring me again, I see." He sat down next to her and touched her shoulder. "Raye?"
He looked into her eyes. They looked glazed and they were staring into the fire.
He waved his hand in front of her face. "You don't even know I am here, do you?"
Raye was still too far in the trance to hear Draco's voice. Draco sat back, watching her and then he turned his eyes to the fireplace.
"She's in a trance," he whispered. "So she's not ignoring me on purpose."
Draco watched her for a while and ran his fingers around his mouth in thought. He could do all sorts of fun and twisted things without her knowledge. It was all most as if she were under the effects of the Imperious curse. He could sit here and poke at her or tease her or if he really wanted to he could do something more…
Then Draco sighed. No…he wouldn't do anything to her. He couldn't. Maybe his father would do something but not Draco. It was a perfect time for him to take advantage of her but Draco just couldn't. He felt kind of stupid.
'What's the matter with me?' he thought. 'Why don't I just do it? She wouldn't even know."
But would she? Raye was a psychic and what if she woke up when Draco was…No, Draco couldn't. Raye would never talk to him again. Raye's hair soared around again, hitting Draco in the face and nearly missing the fire. He sat back and took hold of her hair.
"We can't have hair this beautiful catching fire," he said quietly.
Draco settled himself behind Raye and combed her hair with his fingers. Then slowly, he sectioned her hair off in thirds and began braiding it. When he finished, he looked around the room to find something to secure her hair with. His wand was by his bed so he couldn't transfigure anything. He looked at the sleeve his satin dark green pajamas. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do it—perhaps his feelings for Raye—but he tore off a piece of the fabric with his teeth and fastened it around her hair. Then he put his arms around her, kissed her on the cheek and sat down on the sofa to continue watching her. Within five minutes he fell asleep.
--
As Raye saw scenes of her dream with the dragon, the mysterious man, she felt a cold air around her. Then the scenes stopped but she still felt so cold and she was brought to outer space. Now she was in the form of Sailor Mars. She flew around in a red sphere and saw a star up ahead, fighting hard to stay aglow. The star shone brighter as Sailor Mars got closer to it. As it blinked, she heard a voice.
"That is it…closer, come to me. Come to me. Please, hurry."
Then Sailor Mars started to feel warmer as she got closer to the star. Her red sphere became a ring of fire swirling around her.
"Closer, closer." Said the voice. It sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn't remember where from.
The fire burned hotter and grew larger to where Sailor Mars was nearly consumed in it. It did nto burn her but it made her feel great and more alive than every before. She came to the star and she could see some poor soul beaten and tied up in it.
"You must set me free," the person said. "I have waited for so long. Please…set me free…please."
"How did you get in there?" Sailor Mars inquired.
"They trapped me," the person said angrily. "They have me trapped me in here!"
"Who?"Sailor Mars asked as she flew around to examine the figure. The person looked to be a poor, young and defenses little boy. "Who did this to you?"
"Awful people…bad…evil! They could be back any moment. Please, you have to get me out of here!"Sailor Mars reached her hand through the star to untie the victim but she felt a sudden sharp pain. Sailor Mars screamed and flew backward, grabbing her hand.
"What happened?" she demanded. "How come I can't get through?"
"They put some kind of force field around me," the boy said.
"Then I'm bringing it down!" Sailor Mars shouted. "Cover your eyes!"
Sailor Mars turned around in the air, summoning all the power she could muster. She had no idea who was in the star but she had to get him of there somehow.
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" she sent her attack sailing to the star, creating large amounts of flame and smoke, but it did not break the barrier around the child. "No! No, I don't believe it!"
Suddenly, Sailor Mars began to feel cold all over again. She shivered. "I'm c-cold—what's happening!"
"They are coming!" the boy cried. "They are coming!"
Against her will, Sailor Mars was thrown away from the child in the star.
"No!" he cried, "No, don't leave me! Please don't go!"
Sailor Mars fought as hard as she could against the unknown enemy but she couldn't' break free. She just wasn't strong enough. She was thrown back toward Earth and turned back to defenseless, powerless, Raye Hino.
The vision closed, the flames gave a crack and Raye gasped in shock. "Oh my!" she cried. "That star and boy is new to the dream…but I doubt if it has anything to do with what Trelawney said in class." She rubbed her sweating forehead from sitting in front of the hot fire and from the anxiety from her vision.
"Wait…Professor Trelawny did say something about a star," Raye said softly. "It's the tarot symbol of Aquarius. I wonder when we start learning Tarot cards…"
Raye sighed and looked down, shaking her head. She felt none the wiser to what her dream and what Professor Trelawney's prediction meant. Then Raye saw her braid sway in front of her shoulder.
"Huh? I don't remember braiding my hair." She examined her braid closely and looked at the ribbon tied around her braid. "Looked like it was ripped off of something."
Raye heard soft breathing behind her and she turned around suddenly. She gasped. "Draco!"
'How long as he been sitting here?' she thought. 'How much has he seen?'
Raye wasn't sure whether to rouse him and demand what he was doing down here or to just go straight to bed. Then she noticed his sleeve was ripped and the fabric of his pajamas matched the one around her braid. 'Did…Draco Malfoy braid my hair?'
Draco let out a soft moan as he began to stir. He pushed himself up, yawned and focused on Raye. "Interesting this night has been, isn't it?"
"Draco," she muttered, "what, what are you doing down here."
"Couldn't sleep," he replied with a shrug. "Had some weird feeling that I should come to the common room. Usually I just stay in my bed and read something."
"Did, you see me?" she asked, glancing at the fire. "Flame scrying?"
"Flame scrying, is that what it is?" Draco inquired. "Well, yeah, I saw you talking to the fire. You were out of it. I thought at first you were ignoring me as usual…"
"It helps me focus," she muttered. "Did you braid my hair?"
"Yes I did," he replied. "I couldn't just let all that beautiful hair burn away could I?"
Raye couldn't believe what she was hearing. Draco could've done anything to her while she was lost in her trance but he chose not to because of the feelings he had for her. She started to realize that he wasn't just a big jerk with one thing on his mind when it came to girls. He must've really, really cared for her. But why? He was the son of a Death Eater after all. But not just any Death Eater—he was Lucius Malfoy's son—probably the foulest of all Death Eaters whose hobby was to torture poor muggles. Some of that badness Draco had inherited from the Malfoy bloodline seemed to be disappearing and Draco didn't now what to do about it.
"You really should keep your hair tied back, you know," he muttered, staring at the floor. She could notice a bit of color in his pale cheeks.
Raye thought back to the time Chad gave her the tie from his kimono for her to tie her hair back with. She smiled at the memory. It was so strange. Draco was being sweet like Chad always was.
"Yes, I should," Raye said softly. "I usually do when I do fire readings but I forgot. Thank you, Draco."
Draco lifted his head and smiled faintly, "sure…well, why were you awake? Couldn't sleep either?"
She shook her head. "No, I couldn't. I have too much on my mind and it's too cold down here." She wrapped her arms around herself. Even though she spent the last hour sitting in front of the fire she got a sudden chill.
"Yeah, it gets cold down here sometimes," Draco said simply. "Here, sit down." He grabbed her by the arms and began pulling her to the couch.
"Draco, I--,"
"It's okay, Raye," he said as he pushed her down into the couch. "Just sit down."
"What're you doing?" she demanded, watching him go to a chest by the wall.
"Sometimes I come up here when I get cold," he explained, withdrawing a long flannel Slytherin decorated blanket from the chest. "Or when Goyle and Crabbe's snoring gets to be too much." He smiled as he flapped the blanket, wrapping it around them as he sat down next to her.
"Er, um," she mumbled nervously.
"Shh," he whispered, putting an arm around her. "It's okay. You can fall asleep here if you want to."
"Someone can see us," she said, her eyes glancing at the stairs.
"You think I care about that?" he demanded. "You look like you could use the sleep anyway."
She looked up at him for a good long minute. Words seemed to fail her.
"What?" he asked.
"You can be really surprising sometimes," she said softly. "You can be a big creep to everyone else, the way you tease Harry Potter about Hagrid and trying to get the man fired at every class but now you're acting like a real…well…I guess gentleman is the word for it."
"You want me to act like a creep to you, Raye?" he inquired.
"No." She replied quickly.
"Good," he said. "Because I don't want to." He took her hand in his and held it on his chest. His eyes turned to the fire. Raye thought he was going to ask more about fire reading but he didn't. It felt really odd to be sitting with Draco Malfoy like this. She wasn't sure what to think of it. It reminded her of the time she was dancing with him. Even though Draco Malfoy was bad company, she felt quite comfortable sitting on a leather couch in front of the fire wrapped up in a blanket next to a handsome boy. Her eyes began to feel heavy and she let out a yawn.
"Sorry," she said sleepily.
"It's all right," he told her, pulling her head to his shoulder. "Have a sleep."
Draco's shoulder felt rather comfortable and she felt his head touch hers. Draco's fingers ran through her hair and a soft humming escaped his lips to lull her to sleep. Raye automatically lifted up her legs on the couch and laid more into Draco so she could be more comfortable. Moments before she fell asleep, Draco kissed her on the forehead.
"Goodnight, Raye."
He watched her for about an hour and he went back to the dormitory, feeling warmer than he ever had before.
--
The eighteenth of January was approaching and everyone seemed to have a date to Hogsmead after the Yule Ball. During a boring Magical of History class, Harry Potter was passing notes and Ron was jotting notes. He took Ami's advice to heart and he often raised his hand to ask Professor Binns to repeat things or to answer his questions. Besides Hermione, he was the only who seemed to be paying attention.
Harry on the other hand, was thinking of all the fun he had with Serena before term started. Though they had the same class schedule, they sat in different seats in some classes it wasn't the same as walking around the grounds and talking about themselves. Since the Hogsmead weekend was close, he thought it would be a perfect opportunity to spend more time with Serena. Harry dipped his quill into his inkbottle and began scribbling another message to Serena. She had just told him that Binns put the 'dead' in dead boring.
Serena,
Yeah, no kidding. I hope we're getting a new teacher soon. You want to come with me to Hogsmead this Saturday?
He folded the parchment, turned around to give it to Sean so he can pass it to Seamus, who handed it to Lydia so she could give it to Serena.
"Thanks," Serena said to Lydia as she unfolded the letter. She up at Harry and he was looking at her with a hopeful look on his face. She grinned.
'Does he even have to ask?' she thought as she picked up her quill and wrote down, of course, Harry!
She folded the parchment and passed it back up to Harry. When he read her answer, he felt happy but slightly stupid. He knew she'd say yes anyway. Why did he have to ask her? Maybe he just wanted to make it official.
He wrote down another message and the paper was passed to Serena again. Some of the students became angered, as it was a distraction. Serena smiled as she read the message.
Good. I can't wait.
She had to agree with that. She wrote something down and passed it to Harry.
"Harry, pay attention!" Hermione muttered.
Harry ignored her and read what Serena wrote.
Me neither.
Harry glanced up at Serena and they smiled.
"Now, can someone tell me," Binns said dully, "what Creaotceann is?"
Ron's hand went up a second faster than Hermione. He gave her a smug look. "I know, Professor!" he said rapidly. "It is an ancient Scottish broom sport where the players catch rocks with cauldrons strapped to their heads!"
Binns hovered quietly as he processed Ron's information. "Er, correct, Mr. Weebly…"
"Weasley, sir." He chuckled to himself and continued to write down notes. "Wait until I tell Ami…"
--
Hand in hand, Serena and Harry strolled to Hogsmead together talking about where they wanted to go first. "How about we go to Three Broomsticks?" Serena asked. "I miss the taste of butterbeer!"
Harry laughed. "Serena, you had five at the Yule Ball and that was less than a month ago!"
"I know," she said excitedly. "Isn't it weird? I guess I just love butterbeer as much as the next person." She shrugged and sighed.
"Sure," said Harry. "I love it too. Three Broomsticks it is then. Maybe we'll see Hagrid there."
"He still won't let you in his cabin?" she inquired as they approached Three Broomsticks.
"No," he replied.
"Poor guy," Serena mumbled.
Harry grasped the door handle and pulled the door open for Serena. Serena chirped a thank you and they walked in the warm pub. They looked around the pub and approached the bar.
"He doesn't look like he's here, Harry," Serena said gloomily.
"Maybe he's in the Hogshead instead," Harry suggested as he ordered two butterbeers. Serena noticed Ludo Bagman in the mirror.
"Hey, it's Mr. Bagman," she said. "What's he doing here?"
"Huh?" said Harry.
"Look," Serena said, pointing at the mirror. Harry raised his eyes and saw Ludo Bagman speaking with a group of goblins. Seeing Harry up at the bar, he said something to the goblins and approached Harry and Serena.
"Harry! How are you?" he said inquired. "Been hoping to run into you. Everything going all right?"
"Fine thanks," Harry answered.
Bagman looked at Serena. "Could you give a me a moment with Harry?"
"Sure," Serena said, trying not to sound suspicious. "I'll go get us a seat, okay Harry?"
"Yeah, sure, Serena."
Serena left the bar and found an empty table near Lydia and a group of Gryffindors. Not far from them sat Raye with a gillywater silently as she wrote down notes from her dream.
'Right,' she thought as she looked at her notes. She had drawn the symbol of Aries and Aquarius side by side on her parchment. She tapped her quill on her lip and drew an arrow from Aquarius to Aries. 'Aquarius wants to give me air to my fire, but according to what I saw in the fire' Raye drew a star at the top of the page, 'the tarot symbol of Aquarius wants me to free it…but I can't unless…I accept the air from Aquarius, right?' She drew an arrow from Aries to the star and circled the arrow from Aquarius to Aries. 'This is so confusing…'
Raye let out a sigh of frustration and took a swig of her gillywater.
--
As for the rest of the girls, Lita was buying sweets from Honey Dukes with a few Hufflepuffs, Mina was talking with Pierre in Madame Puddifoot's and Ami was with Ron in the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop.
"I've never used so much parchment in such a short time," said Ron as he looked over the different notebooks. "I was down to five rolls…"
"Good thing it's Hogsmead Weekend," Ami said, looking over the quills. She picked up a red-feathered quill. "Self-proofreading, very good for essays."
"Really?" Ron inquired, nearly dropping the stack of notebooks. He frowned when he saw the cost. "Oh…"
"I'll get it for you," said Ami quickly.
"Are you sure? No, Ami, that's okay…"
"Late Christmas present," she shrugged. "You said how you hate essays, right?"
"I can pay you back later," Ron said.
"It's no bother, really," Ami insisted as she continued looking at things either she or Ron might need.
"I'll have my mom make you a sweater next Christmas," Ron said quickly.
"Can it be in blue?" she asked.
"You can have it in any color you want."
"Great," said Ami. "Should we go to Dervish and Bangs next? I think they sell homework schedules…"
"Homework schedules?" Ron gasped. "Sounds like something Hermione would buy."
After buying schedules and other things that would help them in their studies, Ami and Ron walked on to Madame Puddifoot's for tea and another study session.
"I've never been in here before," said Ami as they walked in.
"Me neither," Ron said. "I've heard of it though. My brother Percy took his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater of Ravenclaw here all the time last year…"
"What?" Ami gasped, glancing up at Ron and looking around the teashop. The place was decorated in snowflakes and couples sat at tiny tables, leaning toward each other and kissing. Ami saw Mina with Pierre and walked over just as Ron tried to take her hand.
"Hi Mina!" said Ami, "Hi, Pierre!"
Mina looked up. "Hi! What're you doing in Madame Puddifoot's?"
Ron walked over, said a quick hi to the couple and took Ami's hand. Mina grinned as Ami's face went a little pink.
"Ami, there's a table right over here." He said as he dragged her away.
--
"Bagman wanted to help you on the next task?" Serena inquired after choking on her butterbeer. Harry made a mistake of telling her when she was in mid gulp and sprayed their table with butterbeer. Harry helped clean the mess. Serena had a feeling that was what Bagman wanted to talk to Harry, but she didn't expect it. She picked up her napkin and dried her mouth.
"Yeah," said Harry. "He said he's taken a liking to me."
"Because he thinks you'll make him rich," Serena muttered under her breath.
"What?"
Serena sighed and pushed her butterbeer to the side and leaned over the table. She rubbed her forehead in thought. She really had no choice but to tell him. "H-Harry, maybe I should've told you this earlier but…I think Bagman was the one who put your name in the goblet."
"Are you serious? Bagman?" Harry asked with a slight grin. Serena had to be joking. "Why would Bagman put my name in the goblet? He's a judge."
"Exactly!" Serena told him. "He knows what's happening in all the tasks so he can tell you how to prepare for them."
"But why?" Harry inquired. "If he gets caught he'd be in loads of trouble."
"He likes to gamble, right?" Serena asked and Harry nodded. "Maybe he put your name in the goblet so he can help you win and make money off of you!"
"Yeah, but--,"
"Listen, Harry," Serena continued, urgently, "you told me after the champions were picked that Bagman seemed excited about an extra champion—he offered you help to get passed the dragon, he gave you a ten even when you got hurt and now he's offering you help on the egg. It can't all be coincidence!"
Harry sat there for a moment, confused at what he just heard. Since his name came out of the goblet he was convinced someone did it hoping to cause him harm and he wasn't the only one who thought so. He tapped the table nervously.
"I'm sorry, Harry," Serena whispered. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
"Mad?" Harry glanced up. "What makes you think I'd be mad at you, Serena?"
"That I didn't ell you sooner?"
Harry shook his head and Serena breathed a sigh of relief.
"You really think it was Bagman?" Harry inquired. "If he wanted a Hogwarts victory to bet on he could've betted on Cedric Diggory."
"Yeah, that's true," said Serena. "Is he helping Cedric too?"
"No."
"Well, there you go," said Serena with a laugh. "It's got to be Bagman. Out of everyone that's offered you help, Bagman seems like the most possible person."
"Who else did you think did it?"
"Hagrid," she replied, "but I'm sure he would've told you if he did."
He nodded. "Yeah, he would."
"Maybe Bagman told Hagrid to show you the dragons that night," Serena added, "and talked to Professor Moody about flying."
"Yeah, so he wouldn't get caught," Harry whispered and leaned back. "That sounds a lot better than someone doing it so they could kill me."
"Maybe we should tell Dumbledore?" Serena inquired.
"I don't know," said Harry.
"Mina's mom can talk to Bagman," Serena said. "See if he confesses."
"Maybe," Harry said.
"So have you boiled that egg yet?" Serena inquired as she reached for her butterbeer.
"Sorry?"
Serena laughed. "The golden egg, silly! Did you work out the clue?" She began to take a swig.
"Oh, that." Harry mumbled, tapping the table nervously again. "Actually, no."
For a second time, Serena choked on her drink and sprayed the table with butterbeer. A few heads in the pub turned around and Madame Rosmerta looked at her as if to say, 'What's the point of me giving it to you if you're going to spit it out on my tables?'
"You okay, Serena?" Harry inquired.
"Ghuh—ack—yeah," Serena gasped. "Yeah. Fine." She took a deep breath and looked at Harry. "What do you mean, you haven't worked out that egg yet? What's keeping you, Harry?"
Harry started to think that Serena and Hermione switched bodies. "Well, I--,"
"All you have to do is take a bath with the darn thing," Serena muttered. "Is it because it sounds so easy or do you think Cedric was lying?"
"Well, no," Harry groaned. "He seemed like he knew what he was talking about. I just…haven't got around to it."
"Harry, you've got four weeks to prepare for the task!" Serena grunted. "What've you been doing?"
Harry felt his face grow warm. He couldn't just tell Serena the reason why he didn't get started on his egg was because he was thinking about her ever since the Yule Ball. He thought she'd probably leave him alone until the whole tournament was done and over with.
"Well?" Serena demanded.
"I uh, well," he fought to come up with something but he couldn't with the look Serena was giving him. Then Serena's face went from furious to confused, even a little tickled.
"Is that a walking banana?" she inquired, pointing at what just walked in the pub.
"Huh?" Harry turned in around as saw Rita Skeeter with her fat photographer. Serena seemed right to think Rita was a walking banana at first as her robes were the color of bananas and her blond hair topped it off.
"It's Rita," he muttered.
"Oooh!" said Serena.
"Reckon something's up? Think we should do a bit of digging?" Rita was saying to her photographer. "'Disgraced Ex-Head of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman…' Snappy start to a sentence, Bozo—we just need a story to fit it--,"
"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" Harry demanded.
When Rita saw Harry, her eyes widened and an excited smile appeared on her big mouth. "Harry! How lovely! Why don't you come and join--?"
"Like hell he will!" Serena shouted, jumping to her feet. Some nearby people looked up at them. Hermione who sat just a few tables away, looked as if she was going to break her butterbeer with her hand.
Rita looked at Serena and then to Harry.
"And who might this be, Harry?" she asked excitedly.
"Leave her alone," Harry muttered. "What did you do that to Hagrid for, eh?"
"Our readers have a right to the truth, Harry. I am merely doing my job--,"
"Oh please," Serena groaned as she rolled her eyebrows and Harry raised his voice.
"Who cares if he's half giant?" he roared. "There's nothing wrong with him!"
Now they had gotten everybody's attention. The pub became as quiet as a graveyard.
Rita opened her crocodile-skin handbag and pulled out her Quick-Quotes Quill, her smile looking even more eager and devious. "How about giving me an interview about the Hagrid you know, Harry?" she inquired but she didn't get to finish as Serena stormed over her.
"You stay away from Harry! You stay way from his friends and you get yourself a new job!"
"Or what?" Rita hissed.
"Or I shall punish you!" she seized Rita's quill, snapped in half and tossed it at her.
"Serena, no!" Raye muttered, angrily. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"
Rita glared at Serena. Harry seemed to be in shock. He kept trying to open his mouth and Serena ran out of the pub.
"Serena, you idiot," Raye groaned as she got up from her table and left.
"Serena, wait!" Harry called after her. He attempted to leave but he heard Hermione shout at Rita.
"You deserved that, you horrible woman!" Hermione yelled. "How dare you? Anything for a story and anyone will do, won't they? Even Ludo Bagman—"
Rita's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "Sit down, you silly little girl, and don't talk about things you don't understand. I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl…not that it needs it—,"
Hermione glared at Rita for a while and turned to Harry. "Come on, Harry. Let's go."
"What?"
"Let's go and find Ron," she said and she pulled him out of the pub. Everyone watched them leave and the place was still quiet and tense. Lydia nudged Seamus.
"Quick, Seamus!" she said. "It's too quiet in here—the Butterbeer toast!"
"Uh, right," he lifted up his butterbeer. "Butterbeer is sweet!"
"A wonderful treat!"
Dean and some others joined in. Rita growled as she watched them.
"Drink at home! Drink at play! Drink at work! Drink at school! It won't make you drunk. So it's okay!"
People applauded and picked up their drinks. "Here, here!"
"Oh, please," Rita muttered, looking around the pub. "Let's go, Bozo."
"Put that in your next article, Skeeter! You little insect!" Lydia snapped as Rita left with her photographer and the atmosphere in the pub went back to normal.
--
As Serena crossed the tracks and headed back to the school, she heard a voice behind her. "Serena, wait up!"
"What?" Serena demanded, turning around to see Raye. "Oh, what do you want, Raye?"
"You great Meatball Head!" Raye snapped.
"Don't call me that!" Serena hissed.
"Why'd you yell at Rita and break her quill?"
"Isn't it obvious? She's making trouble!"
"She's a reporter," Raye groaned. "It's her job. Now you've made her mad and she'll write something on you!"
"Oh no she wont!" Serena muttered. "I'm not letting her do an interview with me!"
"She won't have to, Serena," Raye said. "She's an unregistered animagus!"
"Aniwha?"
"Animagus, you idiot!" Raye spat. "Rita can turn into a water beetle and listen in on private conversations. What if she crawls in during a scout meeting?"
Serena gasped. "Are you serious? When did you learn this?"
"During Christmas holidays," she answered. "I saw Malfoy talking to the water beetle. He told me who she was."
"Wait…water beetle?" Serena gasped, her eyes widening. "I saw a water beetle on one of the statues at the Yule Ball. I tried to smash it!"
--
"Oh, I'm already bored with this," Ron groaned, pushing his books to one side. "Let's play chess."
"Okay," Ami said. "I think we deserve a little break."
Ron pulled out his chess set and placed it on the table. "You want to be white or black?"
"Hmm," Ami said as she leaned over to look at the chess set, "I think I'll be--,"
"Ron! Ron!" Hermione yelled as she ran in the teashop. Every head turned and couples' locking lips pulled apart. Harry laughed at the sort of place he just walked in. Did Ron really take Ami in here? They looked all over Hogsmead for him.
"Hi Hermione," said Ami as Hermione and Harry approached them.
"Hi," said Hermione quickly and she looked at Ron, "Ron, we've got to go!"
"What?" Ron demanded. "Hermione, I didn't come into Hogsmead with you, I came with Ami!"
"I know that!" she growled. "Rita Skeeter came into the Three Broomsticks—we've got to go to Hagrid."
"Now?" Ron said, gesturing to the chess set he had on the table. "Ami and I were about to play chess!"
"What happened?" Ami inquired.
"Well, Serena and Hermione got angry with her," Harry replied.
"What did Serena do?" Ami asked.
"Broke her quill."
"She did what?" Ami gasped.
"Well good for Serena," Ron groaned, turning his eyes back to the chess set. "Then maybe Rita will stop writing lies about people. I think I'll be black; Ami and you can be white. Ladies first, you know."
"You can play chess later!" Hermione cried as she slammed the chess set shut.
"Hey!" Ron shouted. "Hermione!"
"Get your stuff and let's go now!" Hermione commanded.
"But—but, Hermione!" he looked from her to the chess set to Ami. He groaned in defeat and began putting things into his bag. "Sorry, Ami. We'll take a rain check okay?"
"Sure, Ron," she said softly. "See you later then."
"This couldn't wait, could it?" Ron snapped as they were out of the teashop.
"This is more important than a silly chess game, Ronald Weasley," Hermione spat.
"Silly? It may be silly to you but Ami and I happen to like chess and we haven't been able to play a game!" he exclaimed.
"Not my fault," Hermione said. "You certainly spent enough time with her in the library, you could've played chess with her then."
"She was studying with me!" he snapped. "Helping me bring my grades up, something you never did!"
"Don't be silly, Ron," Hermione groaned as they walked out of Hogsmead. "Of course I have."
"Why'd you take Ami in that place for?" Harry inquired.
Ron shrugged. "Dunno. Wanted to go someplace different I guess."
"That's a place for couples, Ron!" Hermione said.
"No it isn't," Ron argued. "It's just a teashop."
"Did you see all those couples in there?" Hermione demanded. "I'm surprised Ami went in there with you."
"What's the problem? We were only studying."
"Ami's afraid of boys," she replied.
"What?"
"She lacks self confidence," she continued. "She's too shy around them."
"She told you this?"
"Yeah, sort of," Hermione explained. "The rest I figured out myself. She doesn't want to get hurt."
"What makes you think I'd do that?" Ron demanded. "I happen to like her! Maybe I can help her get more self confidence and I could've if you didn't drag me out of Madame Puddifoot's!"
TO BE CONTINUED
Sorry for the late update people! I've been trying to find a job.
serenemoon92:
pairings:
Serena/Harry
Seamus/Lydia/Fiore (eventually Lydia will see Fiore but she'll end up with Seamus)
Ami/Ron
Draco/Raye/Vladimir
Mina/Pierre
Lita will continue to crush on Cedric Diggory. I'm not sure who I'll pair her up with.