Yay! Another chapter! -dies- I know some of you are happy about it. And catherine5, thank you ssssssssooooooooooo much for sticking around! You are my favourite fan!
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, do you think Sirius would've... You know…
Chapter Three
It had come and gone. The month of October disappeared suddenly under the constant bickering between Harry and Devyne and the harsh Quidditch Practices where both of them were ready to murder one another. With the thirty-first just days away, Harry noticed that Devyne quit showing up at Quidditch Practices.
"Hey Hermione!" Harry called across the common room after Practice, his hair wind blown and clothes soaked with dirt from the many falls. "Is Devyne in the dorm?"
Hermione, who was just leaving her room shook her head, "I haven't seen her even enter the dorm since the night before last. Even then, she didn't stay long. I think something's wrong with her."
Harry's hand balled into fists and he gripped his broom, "If something isn't wrong with her, there will be."
"Harry, can't you just drop this stupid feud? There could be something horribly wrong!" Hermione snapped. "For once, quit being so jealous and only caring about yourself!"
The boy turned and stared at Hermione, his head tilted to one side, "Take her side all you want, Hermione, she'll stab you in the back one day."
Hermione let out a sudden scream of rage and stormed up to Harry so quickly that he couldn't react. Her hand was across his face with such fierceness that he was almost positive his face would be bruised permanently. "Harry, you have to quit this!" she shouted, her face boiling with anger. "You are not who you used to be and you are ruining friendships, even Ron is beginning to doubt your friendship!"
The girl stormed past him and out of the portrait hole; Harry thought he saw her eyes watering. The boy shook his head and felt a sharp pang in his chest. Maybe he was over reacting everything; maybe he should apologize to… Well, someone. He dropped his head and stared at the ground to avoid the glaring eyes that most Gryffindors gave him as he trudged up to his dorm to change.
---
The next couple of days went by quickly. Without any sign of Devyne and the first Quidditch match against Ravenclaw was crawling closer, Harry went about to found a new Chaser.
"Look Harry, Devyne may be gone but this doesn't mean you have to replace her," Ron said one day after Harry was finished talking to a fifth year boy that had tried out for Chaser a month ago. "Maybe she's doing work for The Order."
"She's missed five practices, Ron, ina row!I can't risk our team like that," Harry snapped as he made his way through the crowd of people in the Great Hall trying to make it to his dorm for money before Hogsmeade.
Ron shook his head and grabbed the back of Harry's cloak, snapping him to a halt, "Stop this Harry. Bloody hell, you're annoying me and everyone else with your jealousy and bossiness. Take the time in Hogsmeade to think about this, don't just automatically replace Devyne. She is a great Chaser and you know it, no one can replace her and we need her. Think about it." He let go of his robes and turned the other way to stand in line for Hogsmeade.
"He's right, Mr. Potter," an elderly, gentle voice spoke behind him. Harry turned around to find Dumbledore beaming upon him, his eyes sparkling behind the half-moon spectacles as always. "You haven't even tried to give Devyne a chance. She is a very unique witch and if you get to know her, you might realize more about life than anything."
Harry stared at Dumbledore like he was crazy. Was his Headmaster hinting at a relationship? "I have to get to the common room before the train leaves for Hogsmeade." He spoke quietly and walked around the clever wizard.
"Harry, one more thing," he called, Harry stopped without turning around. "Keep with your friends in Hogsmeade; you never know when you'll need them."
The boy nodded and continued his way up to the common room. By the time he reached his money and returned to the Great Hall, he was the last group to leave and stayed quiet in the carriage ride to the train.
Harry checked each compartment he strolled by, looking for his friends, he knew that they wouldn't be too welcoming towards him, but he had to do something. Finally, in the third to last compartment, there they were. Neville, Ginny and Seamus had joined them. The boy slid the glass doors open and gave the best smile he could to the glares of his friends.
"Might I join you?"
Ron snorted and Hermione shrugged, "I don't know," Hermione spoke. "This seat may be taken by someone more, non-selfish, and nice."
"More inviting," Ron added.
Harry dropped his head for the second time that day in shame, "I get your point. I'm sorry for being such a bloody fool these past couple of days."
Ron snorted again, "Weeks, maybe?"
"Months, really," Hermione pointed out.
"For the past while," Harry corrected himself and lifted his head, "Will you forgive me?"
"I'll think about it," Ron mumbled and motioned to the empty seat next to him. "For now, just sit down."
Harry kept from grinning, for he could see the bright side of Ron, and the hidden smile from the red head. The train ride was quiet for a little bit when finally everyone fell in to a debate about the best Ministry professions until they reached Hogwarts. Neville, Ginny and Seamus separated from the trio at Honeydukes because Ron was taking forever choosing his candy.
"Just get the ice mice and let's go!" Hermione complained, pulling out a bag for Ron. "I want to have time to go to the bookstore and get a Butterbeer."
Harry agreed, "Seems like forever since the last time we had a Butterbeer together."
They exited Honeydukes (to Ron's dismay) and into the light snow that begin to gather quickly on the ground. Before they were even two stores from Hermione's bookstore, screams suddenly echoed throughout the alleyway. Witches and wizards, young and old were running for their lives past the trio, Harry became extremely curious, and maybe a bit reckless when he begin running into the crowd of frightened people, towards the danger.
"Harry!" he heard Hermione and Ron's voice in the distance but he kept running, he wanted to help whoever against whatever it was that was scaring everyone. Without warning, Harry's chest grew heavy and he began to slow down and shiver as the temperature dropped to freezing in seconds. He heard distance screams, but these were different, they were in his head.
"Oh no," he breathed when the falling snow slowed down to reveal the most horrible creature that walks the earth. Harry finally realized why everyone was running; you don't see a Dementor everyday.
The hooded creature glided towards Harry lazily as if expecting him to run away like the others, and when he stood his ground, the Dementor became intrigued. His glide became faster and Harry slipped out his wand from his cloak, "I'm not as bad as I used to be." He spoke to the creature which refused to stop. The boy raised his wand and opened his mouth to say the incantation when suddenly, something freezing cold dropped on his shoulder. Another Dementor was just behind Harry and pushed the boy too his knees, something that Harry's never seen, nor heard of, in his life. More Dementors crept out from between the buildings and down the alleyway, surrounding Harry who could feel everything being sucked out of him, all his happy thoughts disappeared.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" a voice bellowed and Harry looked up to find a massive wolf come bounding through the creatures, snapping at their cloaks and growling fiercely. The Dementors glided away from Harry and he began to feel livelier; the thoughts of his first flight, his parents, leaving the Dursleys', everything that made him happy flowed back into his body and filled him with immense warmth once again. He sighed with happiness and took the hand offered from his saviour and looked into the dark blue eyes of Devyne. "You alright, Harry?"
The boy, with his hand still gripping hers, stared deep into her eyes. They showed true concern and it almost frightened him, he'd never seen that in her before.
"Mr. Potter! Miss Rose!" a voice squealed and Harry snapped back to reality, jerking his hand from Devyne and shooting a glare before turning around to face Professor McGonagall. "What were you children thinking, running straight to the Dementors! Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger informed me that you, Harry, sprinted straight for them!"
"Ma'am, the Dementors had surrounded me," Devyne spoke quietly too her, as if she was scarred for life, "My Patronus was too weak and Harry saved me with his own. Please, he only meant to aid me."
Professor McGonagall glanced back and forth between the teenagers a couple of times when Professor Dumbledore came hurriedly behind her with a couple of other wizards. "Mr. Potter, Miss Rose, are you two alright?" he spoke deeply concerned for their health.
"We're fine, Al—Headmaster," Devyne corrected herself quickly and McGonagall broke in to tell the tale.
---
"I didn't need you to cover up for me," Harry whispered while staring at the ceiling of the Hospital Wing where they were sent for the rest of the afternoon. The two 'saviours of Hogsmeade' had to endure Madam Pomfrey shoving chocolate down their throats every thirty minutes and lecturing them on what could've happened to them.
Devyne smiled and rolled over to look at him, "What was your story going to be, Harry? 'Well Professor,'" she mocked in a high pitched voice, "'I became incredibly curious at what everyone was running from and ran straight for it. Suddenly, I was encircled with the Dementors and Devyne, a girl, conjured a better Patronus than I could and saved me.'"
"Shut up," Harry snapped and turned away from the witch who sniggered softly to herself.
The two were quiet for a few minutes before Devyne spoke again, this time, her voice asserted the most sincere ness, "By the way, I'm sorry for missing so much Quidditch Practice. But I promise I'll train hard to make up for the missed practices to be ready for our first game if you promise you won't replace me anytime soon."
"Sure," Harry mumbled and watched the curtains on the windows wave with the cold wind from outside.
"Thanks," Devyne whispered and rolled over once more and sighed.
Harry stared at the curtain in front of him and cursed himself softly.
---
The night before the Quidditch Game, Harry's mind was racing as he watched the canopy of his four poster ripple with the bitter, night air. He had a thought to close the window at one point, but it became almost suffocating in the dorm so he left it open.
Tired of running over the endless Quidditch plays in his head, the boy wrenched the blankets off the bed, grabbed a couple of books and parchment and quills then hurried out of the dorm before the cold wind could paralyze him. He descended the stairs to find the common room temperature a lot more comfortable. He dropped his items on a table nearest to a window and pulled out the chair to sit down himself when he heard rustling coming from the couch close to the dead fire. Harry changed his mind on sitting and cautiously made his way to the couch and walked to the end of it and breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't know what he expected it to be, but Devyne was lying, asleep, on the couch, her robed wrapped tightly around her tall frame and a white cast held tight to her left wrist. Her wrist hung over the side of the couch and Devyne breathed deeply and her eyes were scrunched up as if she was having a nightmare. Harry kneeled next to her wrist, wanting to take a look at it when her arm went flying at Harry, who had to fall backwards to avoid being hit. Devyne just rolled over in her sleep and her dark red hair covered her face up as she slept on. The wizard walked back to the table and sat down for good this time, and started to work on Transfiguration as the cold night bore on silently.
---
"For next class, an eighteen inch essay is due on transfiguring live creatures into stationary objects," Professor McGonagall stated as the class groaned loudly, most of the Slytherins complaining even louder. "Class dismissed, except Ms. Rose, please stay after."
Harry glanced over at Devyne who hastily shoved her stuff in her pack as if she could feel that she was in trouble. He watched her when sudden her face twisted into pain when she lifted the books with her left hand. The boy scanned both her wrists this morning to find no markings or anything of a cast being on it over night. He couldn't figure out if he dreamt it or what. Harry took his time packing up his things and Devyne headed up to the Professor's desk just as the wizard was walking out, yet he took a sharp left and hid against the wall next to a large, Gryffindor tapestry, listening to the conversation.
"Dumbledore informed me that your wrist was broken," Professor McGonagall held out her hand, waiting for Devyne to hand her something. "Let me see."
Devyne snorted, "It's not broken; I nearly twisted it when I fell to the ground the other day."
McGonagall took off her glasses and stared at the girl acutely, "And how exactly did you fall?"
The girl remained silent.
"Devyne Rose!" Professor exclaimed quietly, "You informed me that this was no longer happening!"
"Intriguing conversation, Mr. Potter?" Harry heard a snide voice whisper next to him; he turned to see Professor Snape glaring down upon. "Thirty points from Gryffindor for eavesdropping, now leave."
Harry gave him a nasty look and stormed away, wishing he had hidden himself behind the tapestry. A loud crash was heard just behind him and Harry spun around to see Devyne was holding her wrist and behind her was a vase lying in pieces as she raged out of the classroom.
"Bloody hell, Harry," she snapped. "Don't you have somewhere else to fucking be?" She glared as she almost ran past him, heading for the stairs.
"STRAIGHT TO THE HOSPITAL WING, MS. ROSE!" McGonagall bellowed from behind Harry. "Sorry dear," she apologized to the boy. "Don't you have another class to go to?"
Harry nodded and turned back around, heading towards his Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. And the whole way, he thought of Devyne, what makes her think that she could talk to him like that and still intend to play in the game?