Cleo Chestra and the wizards of America: Chapter 14
"Its game time!"
The replacement game was only a matter of days away. The Slytherin team insisted that it be the next day, but Madam Hooch allowed them more time to train Cleo. Slytherin just said they were cowards. Lindsey took part on this by taunting Cleo every time she came close to her.
"Are you sure you weren't the one hit by the Bludger? You must be crazy thinking you could play Cleo!" Cleo was fingering her wand then but Hermione took her by the arm and led her to their History class.
Threw out all of this Angelina requested extra practices…EVERY NOON AND NIGHT! But who's mad? By half way in the week Cleo was a real prow at her job, and wouldn't let a Bludger slip threw her fingers. Angelina had no doubt in her mind that they were gonna win. And not to toot her own horn, but Cleo agreed, and for the teams sake they had to!
The only problem they had was that Cleo was still in need of a broom. She had been trained on Harry's Firebolt but the very idea of using the school's broom during the game made Cleo sick! Harry assured her that they would give her one soon enough but as the days passed and the game drew closer Cleo was beginning to loose faith.
She was sitting at breakfast, re-playing plays in her head when mail came. Stephanie flew in as usual and started picking at her bacon.
"I swear you're the fattest owl in the inter school!" Stephanie hooted proudly and went back to Cleo's breakfast.
"You know, instead of pigging out you could try bringing me my broom." Stephanie encored her except for a sarcastic hoot when a large bran owl flew over her and dropped an enormous sick of wood.
"Oh! I see how it is! Lay all the hard work on another owl!" Cleo pet Stephanie and opened her package for Hermione, Ron and Harry to see. There it was, gleaming gold was her own personal Firebolt 2!
Harry gasped.
"A Firebolt 2! Cleo I hate you!" Ron laughed.
"Finally someone with a better broom than Harry!" Harry sneered at Ron. Ron kissed Cleo and Hermione scram out…
"I don't think you should ride that broom yet!" Cleo ended the breathless kiss quickly and turned to look at her.
"What's the matter with the broom?" She laughed at Cleo and looked at Ron.
"Well look at him, why would you wont to ride that!" Ron grew extremely red at the comment.
"Oh, no you did not!" He said girlishly as he lifted himself from the seat to Hermione but Harry pulled down his arm.
"Put a lid on it Ron! Come on, spontaneous practice, were going to try that thing out!"
"And let you have a spin on it hu?" Cleo asked with a laugh. Harry nodded vigorously.
The broom was a dream! Not only did it look better than the original Firebolt, but it flew better. The trickier point of the other broom, such as turning and spinning were abolished. All Cleo really had to do was think it and before she was aware of it, she was turning! Quite a large improvement.
Harry awoke her brutally on Monday by shaking her. Cleo smacked him in her sleep and sat up.
"Get your uniform on and get on the field, its game time!"
"How the hell did you get in here?"
"Hermione showed me how, little trick with the want, common, were gonna be late!
"At 5:15?" Cleo spat savagely.
"Come on! I've got you up earlier than this before! I just never told you." He muttered. Cleo leapt from her bed and started pummeling him with her pillow.
"Get out of my dorm!"
"Good, I can see your arms in shape!" Harry said while he reached for the door.
"OUT!"
She was out on the field a half an hour latter.
"Now team," Angelina said importantly "One of our members aren't with us today, but I'm positive that this new team will do just as well. We've worked hard over the past few weeks and were going to win! Right?"
"Right!" The team shouted loud enough to echo in the empty stands.
"Right! Now lets go and win!" They went into the locker room and waited, mostly talking over plays and things before the game started.
It started at 10:00 on the dot, announced beautifully by Lee's voice boomed over the chatter of the crowed.
"Ready team?" Angilina asked. Cleo felt the excitement rise in her chest. Harry grinned down at her.
"Alright, here we go!" The door to the locker room banged open. Cleo mounted her broom and flew out with Gorge.
"After the injury of Grifonder team's Fred we have a new replacement beater, CLEO CHESTRA!" Cleo grinned when the Grifonder crowed roared. She spun around in honor and flew back along side Gorge.
"Although Fred can't come to the game he will be watching the game from a transmission in the hospital wing." Lee announced "Give him a wave Grifonder!" Cleo waved hard with her club. The crowed made letters with their wands that said Hi Fred! Cleo could just imagine his smiling face.
"And hears the Slytherin team." Lee groaned. After all the commotion over Fred Slytherin didn't get all nice of a welcoming. The ones happy writing in the stains turned into BOOOOOO! Cleo laughed good and hard so that the disgruntled Slytherin team could hear her. Madam Hooch flew up and called them to gather around her.
"I wont a clean game, from all of you!" Cleo sneered over at Derrick and Bole, the two nasty looking beaters of Slithering team.
"Be careful Mam, wouldn't wont to brake a nail." Derrick said.
"Same to you young lady." She taunted back. He spat on the ground and focussed back on the ground. Gorge patted her on the back. The snitch brushed passed her ear and zoomed off some where, Cleo decided to leave that business to Harry. Next came the Qwoffle. The chasers dashed after it, leaving Fred and Cleo to dart them to get the Bludgers that came up last. One Gorge went for right away, the other had disappeared. Panic grew in Cleo's stomach, she just lost the Bludger, what would happen if she couldn't find it!
Suddenly Cleo found it! But not where she wanted it. It was currently attempting to pin Alisha as she grew closer to the goal posts. The primal defense built up in her little body and like an animal, went after it with strength imaginable. She thrusted the club up against the ball, only secents after speeding towards it and smacked Derrick upside the head with it.
"Oh! Do you won't some powder for that?" Cleo laughed at him.
"Alisha is taking that Qwoffle to the Slytherin goal post, might wont to get her Slytherin Chasers! NO! NOT QUICK ENOUGH! SHE GOT IT IN! 1 to 0 Grifonder." Cleo let a whoop out before she hit the Bludger out of her way. Whats that? The Bludger came back to her, with Charon's face grinning on it as if it had been printed on to it. She laughed.
"HA! You picked a bad time show up buck-o!" She battered that Bludger so hard it went speeding into the ground and got stuck there! "TAKE SOME OF THAT!" she screeched down at it. The Bludger wriggled to free its self hopelessly from the sticky mud ground. Fred hit the other Bludger out of the way and gave Cleo a high five.
"Nice!"
"Like wise!"
"And what's this? Potter's making a brilliant dive!" Cleo saw a squint of gold flay passed her and Harry just inches away from it.
"Get it Harry! Get it Harry! Cleo barked viciously. Suddenly a blur of green came up Harry's tail.
Ooooooh! Malfoy! The same Bludger Fred had just gotten rid of was flying around over her head so quickly she came level to it and swung hard in the direction of Malfoy's glistening white head. Missed! It flew in front of Malfoy, but it did stop him long enough to brake his eye contact with the snitch. Cleo took a deep breath in relief.
Just as Malfoy got the clue that he should keep going Harry caught the snitch and there was a tremendous roar!
"Harry Potter caught the snitch! Grifonder wins the game!" Cleo screamed and flew over to Harry who had his hand up high in the air. She drove her broom into the ground and with a thud stumbled into his heaving chest. He rapped his arm around her waist, helping her up with a grin. Cleo laughed as her feet properly made contact with the ground, and let the roar of the crowed sink into her.
"We did it Harry!"
It crumbles
Her victory was still fresh in her pride. It took hours for them to get the Bludger out of the ground and now every time they took it out it still seemed to be dizzy. Cleo would laugh about that often, she only hopped Charon felt that!
Now that the school year was drawing closer to spring the teachers were working them harder than ever for O.W.A.L.S. Hermione did her usual study planners for them, although Harry, Cleo, and Ron completely ignored them. Cleo had gotten a refreshing boost of confidence and felt she could take on the world, much less O.W.A.L.S! Some people she knottiest weren't as confident.
Hermione had started getting quieter and more solemn than normal. She was often bitter, especially when Harry would be gone some place. (He had been strangely busy lately.)
Cleo was getting ready for bed when she confronted Hermione on this.
"What's up Hermione? You seem a little down lately." Hermione was silent.
"Well?"
Hermione blurted it out quickly, although the way she said it, it sounded painful.
"I'm worried about Harry and Me." Cleo turned around in her seat to look at her.
"Why do you say that?" Hermione frowned
"His eyes just seem more distant now. And we don't hug or kiss or anything like that like you and Ron do!" Cleo tilted her head.
"Harry's not a very touchy person, most guys aren't."
"Yeah, well we still seem to be drifting."
"He's been preoccupied lately, it might just seem that way because you haven't seen him as much." Cleo compromised. Hermione still looked doubtful, leaving Cleo option was to sigh.
"Listen, why don't you try getting some sleep. It may seem better in the morning. I'll see myself if theirs and obvious differences in him K?" Hermione nodded woefully and slept.
The next morning Cleo helped Hermione straiten and curl her hair. (She put her own hair in a loose braid so her natural curls hung over her fore head.) And they went down to breakfast.
Ginny and Harry were already down there, eating waffles and conversing with each other. (Ron was still sleeping, being the weekend.) Cleo smiled and skipped over to Ginny.
"Hay girl, haven't seen you much!" Ginny's little brown eyes smiled when she hugged her.
"Hi."
Hermione waved to her. Harry glanced over at Hermione and smiled awkwardly.
"How have you been?" Cleo inquired. Ginny's eyes were dancing.
"Perfect! Just splendid!" she said breathlessly.
"Oh yeah? How So?" Ginny's smile faded when she turned around look at Harry questionably. After some telepathic talking to Ginny, Harry nodded and asked Hermione to come over next him. Hermione's eyebrows twitched in a confused manner when she went over to sit beside Harry. Don't worry! It will be alright! Cleo's thoughts ushered Hermione. Harry spoke quietly; to Hermione so that even Cleo's sharp ears couldn't catch it.
She wished she had, because the next second Hermione looked simply horrified and turned a bright red. Tears steamed down her cheeks when she leapt from her chair and ran from the Hall. Ginny bit her lip and looked at Harry.
"Wha…?" Cleo rambled. Harry looked up sadly and shook his head. Cleo turned, then swiftly skirted over to go get Hermione.
When she found her she was curled up under her covers crying.
"Hermione! What happened sweet one?" Hermione kicked off her covers and sat up.
"He dropped me for Ginny!" Cleo sat silently. Ginny? Well, she had preferred Ginny going out with Harry while she was reading the books, but she never wonted to have Hermione be hurt!
"Oh Hermione, I'm so sorry!" Cleo rapped her arms around her; Hermione's tears soaking into Cleo's black Pokka dot dress. It almost seemed hours as Cleo rocked her then at last her tears subsided.
"I just don't understand Cleo! What did I do?" She sobbed.
"Nothing! Don't think that!"
"Then why has this happened!" She demanded. Cleo starred at her hopelessly.
"It just wasn't meant to be I suppose." Hermione shook her head and continued crying. That's when the hart breaker himself appeared. He was slipping threw the door and Cleo tried to motion to him to leave but he didn't.
"Hermione?" She lifted her head slothfully and spotted him. Her eyes flared and she looked away.
"Your not supposed to be here, you could get in trouble."
There wasn't much talk between Harry and Hermione after that. Ron was informed that day of the brake up and the only good that came out of the silence between Harry and Hermione was it gave Ron and Cleo more time to strategize.
"We can't let them go on like this! It will brake up our friendship!" Cleo said to Ron. He nodded agreeably.
"I know, they're both just so miserable! I don't think Harry meant it to be so hard on her."
"I know! Hermione isn't usually this emotional, but I'd probably be the same way if it happened to us!" Ron shook his head.
"That wont happen." Cleo smiled at him.
"How dose Ginny feel about this?"
"Well she sure isn't singing! She feels just as bad, been crying too."
"Well why didn't she think of that? She knew Harry and Hermione were going with each other!" Ron scowled.
"Cleo! She can't help how she feels!" Cleo breathed deeply.
"I'm sorry…I just wont us all to be happy again."
Hermione came downstairs with red eyes and cheeks. Cleo jumped up and hugged her.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione looked up at her and frowned.
"Hermione, Harry didn't wont this to happen this way." Ron spoke desperately. Hermione's eyes got soft and moist again.
"Oh, please don't cry Hermione, it will be alright!" she nodded and sat down. Harry was about to come down the stairs, but took one look at Hermione and turned around.
So went on for weeks! Harry and Ginny would sit together, then Ron, Cleo and Hermione on the end.
There was no speaking.