A/N: Hello everyone! I'm posting again! The reason why I'm doing this so slowly is so that Nightshades and Moonlight (part one of this series) gets ahead of this story! So expect the posts for the story to be widely spread out! Unless Nightshades and Moonlight gets more reviews! ;)
Disclaimer: Oh where, oh where have the copyrights gone? Oh where, oh where can they be? They're in J.K.R's hands and not in my own! They don't belong to me!
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Chapter 3
"Playing Rough"
Getting through 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' was a bit harder then Bella expected. She couldn't read her textbook properly without holding it about three feet away. After a while Moonfrey dismissed the class and Bella would start in her mission to find the boy she had bumped into that morning but how could she find someone she didn't see? She had heard his voice and knew it was a boy, so that was sadly her only lead. Meanwhile Percy seemed more vigilant that ever. He looked around for the black haired witch nearly everywhere and when lunch finally came, both Bill and Charlie were getting suspicious.
"Come on now, tell us who you're looking for?" said Charlie.
"I told you before, I bumped into a girl and she dropped her things on the floor. I just want to give them back," said Percy still scanning the surroundings.
"I don't know… you look like you want to find this girl for more reasons than giving her back her things! Do you have a secret girlfriend you're not telling us about Percy?" questioned Bill with a grin.
"I told you –" began Percy until he saw Bella walk along the corridor the far end and disappear near the staircase of the west tower. "Got to go!!" he added as he dashed off!
Bella was walking quite calmly with a load of blue robes, and a bat under her arm. Percy continued to run along but slowed down as she came into view. He straitened himself up a bit and even fixed his hair that was a bit messy, walked up to the girl and spoke.
"H-h-hello," Percy found himself stutter.
"Hmm? Oh, hello," she said quietly as she recognized who it was.
"You – you dropped your glasses this morning and, err – here's your book," he said quickly. Percy didn't understand why he felt so nervous.
"Oh! It was you? I - I'm sorry!"
"Don't think anything of it," he said quickly again.
"Thank you. I guess these are yours then," she said taking out Percy's glasses.
"And," he said as he reached into his bag. "These are yours,"
"Thanks," she answered unsettled.
"Well…" said Percy, "Now that…"
Percy stopped talking. He realized that he was totally ignoring his real reasons for wanting to talk to this girl so much. He had wanted to interrogate her on Bill. He wanted to know WHY she was looking at him so much and what she wanted with him. It was only this thought that brought him back to reality and let the strange nervousness vanish.
"Say, I want to ask you, what is it you want with Bill?"
"Bill?!" she said with a shudder.
"Yes, my brother? Why do you keep staring at him like that?"
"I – I -" she said as her face turn as red as Percy's hair. "I've got to go! Sorry about leaving so suddenly! I have practice soon! We'll talk later ok? What was your name again?"
"Percy," he said frowning.
"Right – Percy! Well, Percy I'll see you later!" she answered chokingly as she ran across the hall and towards the gates that lead to the Quidditch pitch.
As Bella stepped out of the castle she felt queasier then she ever had in her life. That boy… That boy probably knew what was going on. And this wasn't just any boy in school that Bill could have easily never met in the halls! No, it was Bill's brother! One of the very people he would be seeing everyday! One of the people that could let it slip that she liked to stare at Bill and he would obviously figure out the rest! How totally embarrassing! Had she really gotten so bad that Bill's own brother would notice her? As she made her way to the pitch these thoughts continually ran in her mind until awoken by a 2nd year shouting and jumping with joy.
"I made it! I made it!" said the young boy as he leapt into the air.
She was already at the pitch and she didn't even realize it. The boy was jumping in a group of older people, all draped in blue and bronze. Bella quickly took off her black school robes and put on her blue ones all the while walking. It seemed that her walk, which seemed so short to her, had actually taken her longer then she expected. She was supposed to be there early during the recruiting. The Ravenclaw Quidditch team was composed of mostly 6th and 7th year and she had happened to be one of the youngest players. However, there was a vacancy for a chaser and it seemed that this boy had just made the team.
"There you are Bella!" said a Ravenclaw boy who was obviously the captain.
"Sorry I'm late… I ran into… err… setbacks," she said trying to force a smile.
"It's ok. Well, let me introduce you to Roger Davies, our new chaser," said the captain as Roger waved enthusiastically.
Bella smiled but looked around. For a try-out, it seemed that there was no one around. She suspected that Davies' run didn't take longer than a few minutes… considering he had no competition and that he had gotten the spot. However she knew her captain better than that, Andrew Miller wasn't just going to let anyone get into the team without a good look at what they could do.
"This was far shorter than expected. I guess we could use the rest of the time to practice a bit and then head off to lunch," said Andrew.
"Yeah!" said the rest of the famished team.
"But… you told me just to bring my bat… the brooms?"
"That's one of the good things about being captain Bella, all broom access," said Andrew he tossed a mesh of his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes
Another Ravenclaw player groaned silently in the background arms crossed. His expression was contorted in a way that seemed almost painful. Bella gave him a quick glance then looked away.
In moments, Miller had gotten out of the storage area of the changing room with extra brooms and the whole team mounted up. He had made a second trip to get the balls, however they were missing. Miller returned utterly confused and mounted the last broom on the floor and flew up to see his team.
"Strange… The balls are gone. Any clue to –" he began until suddenly he could see in the distance an outbreak of deep red.
Bella turned around to see the Gryffindor Quidditch team flying in from atop. Miller looked somewhat upset and flew in to confront his opposite. Charlie was hailing for everyone to come around him as the Ravenclaw captain stood out like a speck of blue paint. She couldn't discern much from the crowd but if there's one thing Bella did notice it was that that captain, whom she new to be Charlie, had the wooden box that had all their Quidditch balls. Bella also noticed a girl walking into the pitch on foot and placed herself right in the middle.
"Weasley? Why are you here? This is our time on the pitch," he said
"I know Miller, but I heard that only one player came to the try-out… I figured that-"
"Come Weasley. It's still our time on the pitch,"
"But… well, how about a friendly game then? PLEASE!"
"Weasley! You've had your practice already,"
"Come on Miller… just 1 pre-game? Let's make this year's house cup run a real competition! You know that it's either yours or mine," he said winking.
"That's true, just because Slytherin has to deal with loads of novices and Hufflepuff still hasn't found a decent captain,"
"So come on, for old time's sake, you're gone after this year and I want this to be a real challenge!" said Charlie now excited.
"You're crazy Weasley you know that?" he said following with a laugh. "Ok, you win. I'll tell everyone else and this is a good chance to test our new chaser too. See you in a few minutes," he added as she flew back to the blue crowd.
When Andrew returned with the news Bella got very nervous. Bella had never had so much contact with the Weasley family in one day. What if that Percy boy told Charlie about what he knew? What if he'd take this opportunity to interrogate her somehow? Sure, she had been playing against Charlie for the last 3 years but never did she really talk to him. She had no idea what he was really like or if he would ram her with questions and a friendly game seemed very odd to her. What did that mean exactly? If there was one thing Bella knew, it was that when she got into her Beater "State of Mind" she was anything but friendly.
Everyone got into position in the middle of the pitch. They only had until the end of lunch to play and for the Ravenclaws, the sooner they ended this match, the better. Charlie descended and gave the Quidditch box to the girl. Both captains were soon in their seeker position. Bella gripped her bat tightly…
"Ok, Jaycee! Let them go!" shouted Charlie.
"Ok! Snitch up!" she said as the snitch was released. "Bludgers out!" she yelled as the black rock like bludgers zoomed to each side. "Game START!" the Quaffle was released!
A mixture of blue and red invaded all spaces at once. Bella cracked her knuckles as she held her bat under her arm. As a beater, she usually had no mercy. Her time on the pitch was the only time she could just cut loose, let her shyness fade and become a whole different person. SMACK!
"First bludger of the year!" she said as she twirled her bat with delight.
"First lucky hit you mean! Lucky you didn't hit any Ravenclaws this time!" sounded a voice from the distance.
Bella looked up and saw Oliver Wood who had a smirk spread across his face. Bella growled. She had totally forgotten about him! Wood had made fun of her performance last year when she accidentally sent a Bludger into her own chaser. The boy kept looking at her with an evil grin but Bella answered back with something different. "SMACK" a Bludger was sent his way at a furious speed. He dodged it but looked at her angrily, that last hit could have knocked him out. "SWOOP" went the Quaffle as Roger Davies proved to be an excellent player after all! Wood was upset and Bella was sticking out her tongue… it seemed that they wouldn't be getting along any better this year then the last.
Meanwhile, Charlie and Andrew were flying so fast that it looked like their robes were going to rip off. Twisting and turning they went, whether upside down, backwards or in tight circles the two were head-to-head. Charlie's skill was really impressive. His flying was very coordinated and he never lost sight of the snitch once it met his glance.
Bella, as she continually swooped around 'beating' left to right, saw that Charlie had no interest in her at all. She even sent a bludger towards him and he simply dodged it without looking at her. This was a good sign and she could finally concentrate on the match fully. Time went by very quickly and before they knew it lunch was nearly over, everyone one playing didn't seem to notice this however. Jaycee was raptly watching the match on the ground, counting the points in her head. She didn't even notice forest green robes pass by her until the wearer spoke.
"Now everyone, that's enough! It will be time for classes soon so I suggest you end this now," said Professor McGonagall.
Everyone stopped moving with the exception of Andrew and Charlie who had to catch the snitch anyways. After Charlie had his hands proudly gripped onto the golden ball, all the players flew down to land… well, almost everyone…
As the teams descended, Bella had the opportunity to hit one of the remaining bludgers back towards the ground so it could be caught. She decided that she was going to do the same to the other one and had remained in mid-air. She then noticed that Oliver Wood was still flying as well. He was apparently taking the time to look for it himself. Bella was curious as to why he would help her but figured that she need to be on the look out for the remaining, black, zooming ball then the loud mouth Gryffindor Keeper.
"Hey, four-eyes! It's coming your way!" he yelled suddenly as the Bludger zoomed inches away from her head.
"Four-eyes!" she repeated frustrated, quickly glancing behind her to see how far it flew.
"Oh? Did I offend you? I mean, nerd-ball!" he said, still bitter from the bludger she sent him earlier.
"WHAT?!"
"I guess your eye sight isn't the only thing wrong with you huh? Your hearing's going too!"
"Both are good enough to take you on Wood!" she said as she removed her glasses and secured them in her pocket.
Bella could hear the buzz of the bludger behind her and decided to try a new move that would definitely make a lasting impression on Wood. Forgetting anyone was there, she hurled herself in a backwards position and hit the bludger with the momentum of her swing and body motion. The black ball suddenly gained five times its normal speed and force and flew with this extra thrust right into Oliver Wood. "SMASH"! The boy got the direct hit and fell off his broom.
"Miss Nightshade!!" shouted Professor McGonagall angrily from the floor. "What in heaven's name are you doing!?"
"I… well…" she was trapped. She lost her temper and now she wasn't getting away with this one.
The rest of the Gryffindor team huddled around Oliver to see if he was all right as the teacher ordered Bella to land immediately. The Ravenclaw team looked very nervous. Sure Bella played rough but she was their best Beater. What if she couldn't play anymore?
"That was crude and immature of you! I never thought that a young lady like you could be so… so…" the professor was at a loss for words as she looked at Oliver, he was knocked out. "10 points from Ravenclaw!! And you will be serving detention next week for this travesty!" she said as she huffed away with the Gryffindor team, trying to carry Oliver to the hospital wing.
***
Well, things didn't seem to be looking up at all. Bella was shakier then she ever had been. With Percy and Detention on her mind, nothing seemed to cheer her up until she managed to meet up with one of her fears face-to-face. After the end of the day she was walking up to her common room with Sandra as Percy caught up to them.
"Hey!" yelled Percy from far.
"Oh, hi Percy," said Sandra happily.
"Hi Sandra. Err – Can I talk to Belladona for a bit?"
"Oh, you two know each other?" asked Sandra.
"W-we met today," she said nervously, "Wonderful. What next?" she thought.
"Oh! Wait! Didn't Winter say something about anoth-"
"Sandra!!! Don't you dare repeat it!"
"Ok, ok! I guess knocking out that keeper has made you rowdy Miss Nightshade?" she said smiling.
"Oh! Is Wood alright?" Bella asked Percy.
"Yes, his pride is still bruised but a side from that he's ok. So… can I talk to you Belladona?"
"Well, he's memorized my name, that's nice," she thought sarcastically as she told Sandra she'd be back later.
Sandra couldn't help but smile and give her a wink. Bella sighed, why was everyone getting the wrong idea? She walked silently with him until he stopped. She was curious as to why he told her friend he wanted to talk to her yet wasn't talking at all. He finally turned around and looked right at her. It was very uncomfortable.
"Belladona-"
"You can just call me Bella if you want. It's shorter,"
"Oh. Ok. Bella… I want to know what you want with Bill. I don't know why but it's driving me crazy,"
Bella blushed a deep red as Percy spoke. Did she really want to reveal her deepest secret to the very person that might sabotage it all? Percy kept looking at her as if he was holding her hostage. She felt the pressure of his gaze bore into her until she couldn't stand it anymore.
"I… I… I like Bill," she said while closing her eyes.
"That's it?" said Percy.
"What do you mean that it??" said Bella furious. "How would you feel if someone made you tell them that you liked a person that you couldn't possibly be with huh?" she said moving her face closer to Percy's until their noses nearly touched.
Percy moved back in surprise and alarm.
"Sorry! I just thought it was something more than that. I didn't mean to make you mad,"
"I… I'm sorry. I just keep loosing my temper today," she said returning to her timid self.
"And why are you saying that you can't be with him?"
"What? Percy, look at me! I'm – I'm so… plain. I have nothing to offer PLUS he's in 7th year and I'm just a 4th year and well… I've never even talked to him before," she said shamefully.
"But, you're pretty and -" Percy tensed up! Did he just say that?
"Thanks but pity compliments will get me nowhere," she with a bit of a laugh.
"Well, what I meant was: It's not impossible. You're not a hag," he said looking to his side.
"I feel like one sometimes but that's enough I think. I'm sorry you're disappointed that you discovered that all I had was a crush," she said with a grin.
Percy couldn't help but smile too. She was nice. She wasn't some freak chasing after Bill for some abnormally strange reason. He liked her and he found out that he like the way she laughed too.
"How embarrassing…" she sighed.
"What?" he asked.
"Well, that Bill's own brother found me out. Please don't tell him Percy. If you do then -" said Bella as she grabbed his hand.
"I-I-I won't," he said nervously.
"Thank you,"
The rest of the week went on and Bella found out that knowing Percy wasn't such a bad thing at all. He was nice, that was true, but he also had tons of fun stories to tell her about Bill. Things she might never had known if it wasn't for Percy. Bill wasn't the only thing they talk about either; she enjoyed talking to him about her favorite classes: DADA and Care of Magical Creatures, of which she told him about the Kneazle. Percy was very impressed and glad he decided to meddle in his brother's affairs. He was even happier that he didn't decide to tell him about her at all. He'd have a new friend all to himself this way.
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A/N: Review this and N&M too! Look for Part one in my Profile!!!
