Disclaimer: I'm not lucky enough to own Harry Potter & the gang—they all belong to the incomparable JK Rowling!
Mischief Managed
Ch. 8: Breakfast with a Side of Quidditch
"Look Alice, she's waking up," said a blonde-haired beauty with excitement.
"Oh will you two be quiet, let the poor thing sleep," demanded her very opposite, but nonetheless, close friend.
"Oh Meggie, would you please stop being so bossy!"
"Hello there! Did you sleep well?"
One of Ginny's eyes fluttered open. Where was she and who were these strange girls? More importantly, why were they watching her sleep?
"Good morning Sleeping Beauty!"
A chubby girl with a round face and mousy brown curls was standing practically on top of her.
"Need coffee. Must have coffee. Oh bugger, what time is it? Harry will be so upset if I miss Quidditch—" Ginny struggled to extricate herself from the tangled covers, rubbing her half-closed eyes in the process.
"Do any of you know where I can get some coffee? You do have it here don't you?"
"Of course we do, you silly goose," the round-faced girl said with a grin, "My name's Alice, and we've been standing here forever waiting for you to wake up. It's 9:30, and who's Harry?"
Alice, Ginny thought, a bit more awake than earlier. Then she suddenly remembered the events of the day before. She knew that there was no mistaking the distinct features of Neville's mum.
"Oh never mind. I'm not really awake yet. But why have you been waiting for me?" said Ginny curiously.
"Well she has," the tall blonde said in a rather condescending tone, "some of us have more valuable things to do with our time."
"Like stalking Remus Lupin?" the brunette said disapprovingly.
"Exactly," the blonde said with a grin.
"Well, I'm Meghan Gibbs, the sixth year prefect," the brunette girl said, shaking Ginny's hand and taking charge, "and the Princess over there is Alsatia Dumbledore."
"I resent that!" the blonde said as she shook her golden tresses, "Anyway, you must be the new girl that Sirius was telling us about."
"Yea," Ginny said groggily, "I'm Ginny Weas—I mean Weatherby."
"Well, let's not sit here with our tummies rumbling, waiting for the grass to grow!" Alice said happily, "We can talk on the way to the Great Hall."
In the Meantime…
Lily Evans had decided to take Draco under her wing. After all, Remus liked him all right, and the poor thing was forced to share a bedroom with Potter. That in itself, she imagined, would be enough to drive one mental for a lifetime.
"It must have been terrible," Lily said sympathetically as she examined Draco's quarter of an inch long battle scar from his encounter with a raging Hippogriff in his third year, "and to think that you saved all those people from that runaway Hippogriff."
"Obviously," Draco drawled, "it was a monstrous creature and all, but I showed it who was boss while the others just stood around like a bunch of mountain trolls, even our great oaf of a professor. The thing took a chunk out of me though, another minute or two and I could have lost my arm."
Draco was so involved with his morning conquest of the lady who, quite unbeknownst to him, would become Harry Potter's mother, that he didn't even notice that another striking redhead had entered the Great Hall with three other girls by her side.
"Good morning ladies," Sirius Black said jubilantly making his way toward the Gryffindor girls, "will you three lovely visions allow this humble Marauder join you for breakfast?"
"Marauder are you?" Alsatia Dumbledore said sarcastically, as if Sirius had used this tactic many times before.
"That's right, Alsatia. And I'd be your Marauder if you'd get over your ridiculous Remus obsession and go on a date with me. I mean, really Alsatia, are you the only one that doesn't see that Mooney's just not interested?"
"Sirius, let's review some very important information: One, he will be interested even if he's not already; and two, I am not 'obsessed' with Remus, and even if I was, which I'm not—"
"Stop lying," Meghan said bluntly, poking her head up from behind the book propped on the orange juice container, reminding Ginny very much of Hermione, "you've been in love with Lupin since first year."
"Ooohhh I'm gunna tell him," Sirius said a girlish voice, helping himself to the seat between Meghan and Alsatia.
"You wouldn't dare!" Alsatia gasped.
"No he wouldn't dare, Alsatia," Meghan said smugly, "because I happen to know who he really fancies: Cassandra Chang. And yes Sirius, I have a knack for spreading information about Hogwarts quite quickly."
"Well Gibbs, that's an empty threat; everybody who knows me wants me."
Meghan ignored him, "Also Alsatia, I'll be sure to include how she turned him down for the Halloween Ball. So, Sirius would be wise to keep his bloody big mouth shut!"
"That hurts, Gibbs! Honestly Alsatia, you know I wouldn't say anything!" Sirius said as sincerely as he was capable of being.
Ginny raised an eyebrow. He really was quite cute (especially when he's cornered)…she'd have to remember to buy a camera in Hogsmeade so she could show Harry.
"So Ginny," he grinned sheepishly conceding his previous argument, "did you sleep well on your first night at Hogwarts?"
"I did," she smiled back. Then she caught sight of Draco chatting up Lily Evans.
"Is this seat taken?" she said quickly as she made her way to their table.
"Good morning Ginny!" Lily said with a smile, "Draco's just been telling me about his run-in with a hippogriff. He's so brave!"
This isn't good, Ginny thought to herself. Lily was staring at Draco with the same worshipful admiration that was in James's eyes. And even worse, Draco was just sitting there, clearly reveling in the attention. Couldn't he see the great alteration in history that would take place if he helped to but anymore distance between Lily and James than there already was: there would be no Harry. Ginny had to fight to hold back the tears and regain focus.
"Did he also mention the time our Professor turned him into a beautiful bouncing ferret?"
Draco glared at her, but Lily only smiled indulgently.
"Find the bathroom okay Pansy Boy?" James Potter remarked as he and his band of admirers descended upon the table like a pack of ravenous wolves. Much to Draco's amusement, Lupin was hidden behind a giant book. Draco thought to himself, yes, no wonder, it had been a full moon the night before; he knew he couldn't miss this golden opportunity.
"Hiding something there, Prefect?" Draco said cheekily, causing Sirius to give him an evil glare.
"I can't eat," James announced in an effort to stall Draco, "I'm picky about company. Evans, why are you rubbing shoulders with that when you could have a class act, like myself?"
Draco wasn't about to let Harry Potter's father get off that easily.
"Those are some nice glasses, Potter. They help take some of the attention off your hair. And that Chudley Cannons jacket's pretty sweet too, is it vintage? It looks like something my grandfather would have found fashionable."
"Well—" James sputtered, unused to being insulted.
"How's it feel when someone fights back, Potter?" Lily glared at him, relishing James's loss for words.
"What's the matter Potter; you can dish it out, but you can't take it?" Draco was enjoying himself thoroughly now. Potter Sr. didn't have the benefit of the witty Granger by his side, as Black was still scratching his head, Lupin was hiding behind that book, and Pettigrew was busy playing with a spoon.
"Now Lily," Draco said smugly, "where were we?"
"Hey Pansy Boy," James said after a few minutes of thinking, "what say you to a contest?"
"A duel?" Draco said inquisitively. He was sure that he'd easily be a match for Potter's father.
"Nah," James grinned evilly, "the real man's game. Quidditch, of course!"
"What an excellent idea," Ginny said brightly, "Draco is a Seeker on his Quidditch team at Durmstrang."
"How amusing," James smiled, "I am a Seeker as well, and quite a good one at that. So it's settled…we'll have a nice round of Quidditch. Ok Draco. You take Peter and Remus. I on the other hand, will have Sirius, Longbottom, and Shacklebolt."
"I do not play Quidditch," Remus said darkly from behind Hogwarts, a History.
"I'll play with him!" Alsatia interjected, "Meghan will too."
"What!" her friend said with a scowl.
"Two girls?" Draco said quizzically. Not that he was complaining, but he hoped that the two girls would equal Black, and the unseen Longbottom and Shacklebolt in skill.
"Have you ever played Quidditch before?" the blonde Alsatia whispered to Draco, "—because I've been on a broom twice in my entire life."
Draco stared at her with horror…He was in trouble.
"Is he good?" Ginny whispered to Lily.
"Potter?" Lily uttered his name like it was a curse word, "he's rubbish."
"See you on the pitch at one, Draco. And do try to be on time won't you?" James said nonchalantly as he left the table.
"Wait," said Draco matter-of-factly, "I want this show to be man on man. You and me, or nothing Potter."
"Fine, then. It'll take less of my valuable time," James grinned over his shoulder as he walked away.
"Good idea," said Remus and Meghan in unison.
1:00 PM The Quidditch Pitch---
It seemed that the entire student body had gathered to see the undefeated James Potter teach the new boy how things were done at Hogwarts. Draco was shaking in his borrowed Quidditch robes. He had never even beaten Potter, so how the blazes was he supposed to beat his legendary father?
"I didn't sign up for this, Weasley!" he snapped at Ginny as they made their way to the pitch.
"Well, you had to go provoking James Potter. You deserve what you got, and I hope he knocks you off your broom and shoves it up your—"
"NOT HELPING WEASLEY!"
"Well I don't know what to tell you Draco. You aren't that bad of a flier, and he's going to be feeling overconfident. Just keep your eyes open, and maybe you can pull it off."
Not even five minutes into the face-off, Sirius and Alsatia had already gotten into a huge argument about which ball was the Quaffle.
"No Sirius, it's the fucking gold one. I would know. I'm the one taking advanced classes here."
"That's a load of codswallop, Alsatia. Just because you're in other advanced classes doesn't mean you know advanced Quidditch!"
"There's NO such thing as advanced Quidditch, and YOU bloody know it, Black!"
"SHUT UP! I have a splitting headache—" Remus started to yell
"Oh don't mind him everyone!" Sirius addressed the crowd loudly drowning poor Remus out, "he's just PMS-ing"
Alsatia decided not to even ask.
So there they were, Draco vs. James. Both boys circled the skies in search of the Snitch, which had somehow been let loose before either of them had mounted their respective broomsticks.
"Training for the ballet, Potter?" Draco smirked as James did his fourth back-flip.
"See you around the bend, Pansy!" James gleefully put his broom into high speed: he had seen the Snitch!
Draco whirled his broom around. God this thing was poor quality! It could never touch the precision and speed of his perfectly polished Nimbus. Potter was on top of the Snitch. His hands were almost on it. Draco swallowed hard, it was his last chance.
He rammed into James at full speed, almost knocking him off his broom.
"Fuck!" he heard James yell from above.
Draco now saw the Snitch, its new direction favoring him. He extended his hand, and grasped the soft gold wings—then BANG! The goalpost had gotten in his way.
He rubbed the lump on his forehead gingerly as he regained consciousness. That was going to leave a mark, he just knew it! Potter was flying above his head, obviously still looking around for the Snitch.
"Draco!" Ginny yelled, making her way toward him with Lily and Lupin close behind.
"Are you okay?" Lily said with fear in her voice, "you fell about fifty feet."
"Here," Lupin said taking a half-eaten candy bar out of his jacket pocket, "eat this, you'll feel better. It's all right, it's just chocolate."
"Is he hurt?" said Sirius with pure admiration, wishing that someday, he too, would hit the goalpost.
James was still circling, looking for the Snitch.
Draco couldn't feel a bone in his body. It hurt him everywhere.
"What's in your hand dear?" Alice said kindly, prying apart his fingers.
Inside of Draco's perfectly manicured fingers lay the little Golden Snitch.
"Blimy, he bloody caught it!" Sirius laughed, "Hey Prongs get down here. You won't believe this, mate!"
"I can't believe you!" Ginny subconsciously hugged Draco, "you beat James Potter!"
"What's going on?" James said furiously, "why did we stop playing?"
"Well generally, Potter, when the Snitch is caught the game is over," Lily said with a smirk.
"But I didn't catch it," James said, looking quite bewildered.
"He did though," Remus said pointing at Draco, who by this time, had completely passed out.
"That's right Potter. You've actually been beaten. You must accept it." Lily said smiling from ear to ear.