KNY: Wahoo! The next chapter has landed! Now SGS won't eat me! Happy face

HP Cast: Woo hoo…

KNY: Meanies…

Ron: Nah, you're just too sensitive.

KNY: You… you… Gets up and then collapses back into chair It's too hot to chase you around.

Harry: What's wrong, KNY?

KNY: My whole summer. At my dad's house, the air conditioner broke. THEN the washer. AND we had to get new tires for both cars. So of course, our family vacation is shot because we had to spend the money on replacing everything.

Hermione: Ouch.

KNY: I'm not done. THEN the air conditioner went out at my Mom's so I'm sitting here sweltering in the ALABAMA summer heat in the middle of freakin' JUNE! Okay, I'm done ranting.

Ron: That still doesn't excuse the late chapter.

KNY: Don't push me, Weasley. I worked hard on this chapter!

Ron: Yeah, well, it probably still sucks. I mean, I'm only in one little part!

KNY: That's because the readers like Harry better. Right Harry?

Harry: Blushes I wouldn't know…

Disclaimer: Albert Einstein once said "insanity is doing the exact same thing over and over and expecting different results" … I agree, so do we get the point? I don't own Harry Potter. I do, however, own Cat and this plotline.

I Must Not Chase the Boys

Chapter 5: Thoughts on a Quidditch Game and the Evils of Morning

Here comes the cliché beginning whenever morning so happens to arrive in a fanfic. Golden beams of sweet sunlight peeked up over the horizon, casting a soft light across a certain tomboy's bed. Oh so slowly, they inched toward her eyelids with the intent of giving her a gentle wake up call to greet the day. The beams reached her eyes, causing her to shriek and tumble out of bed, landing hard on the wood floor.

Okay so it wasn't as cliché as we thought but who can tell? Moving on, she jerked her head up, long red hair tangled together in the morning condition all women suffer from known, as bed-head. She blinked her sleep-fogged blue eyes several times in an attempt to clear her bleary vision.

Cat yawned, arms stretching toward the ceiling. It was then that she noticed something was amiss. She froze, listening hard. She heard nothing. That was bad. Where was everyone?

She stood up shakily and looked out the window. She saw quite a crowd gathering outside the Qudditch field. 'What's with the mob?' It was then that she remembered.

"We have a game today! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

Doing the two-minute get together that only tomboys seem to be able to pull off, Cat ran out of her room, stuffing her hair into her hat as she ran.

"Sooooooooooooorry!" She yelled upon approaching the stadium.

"There you are!" her captain cried. "You're late."

"I-gasp-I know," Cat panted, her hands on her knees as she tried to regain her breath.

"As long as you got here. Okay people!" Alicia said, addressing the room. "The game begins in 15 minutes! Be ready!"

Cat sat on the bench with a soft plop and let out an exaggerated gasp for air. Then, she heard the sound of someone entering the locker room. She opened one eye to see who had entered and wished she hadn't.

"Miss Chang," said Alicia, "Shouldn't you be with your team?"

"I merely came to wish the opposing team good luck." The intruder glanced at Cat and sniffed disdainfully. "They'll need it."

Enter Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw beauty queen of only 17. Cho seemed to live to pick on Cat since she didn't follow Cho's example of striving to the socially acceptable standards expected of a teenage girl.

"Still riding a Comet Two Sixty, Skyler? That's kind of sad," Cho sneered raising a perfectly waxed eyebrow at Cat's broom. One of her little cronies, Lauren Edwards, sniggered from behind her.

"My Firebolt's getting repairs right now, and I happen to like my Comet. We've become very close over these past few years," Cat said cheerily, sitting up and turning to her broom which lay on the bench beside her, "Haven't we Comet?" she said in a baby voice to her broom.

"Talking to your broom now, huh, Cat? You're more of nutter than I thought!" Ron laughed walking over and sitting down beside her.

"Yup! You should try it some time Ronald, it's quite entertaining!" she said with a bright smile.

"Um- hello there Clean Sweep, how are you doing today? Good? Oh well that's good, I'm fine myself. You know I'd really appreciate it if you flew a bit faster today, see this psycho chick named Catrina keeps out flying me and we can't have that can we?" Ron said to his broom.

"Oh Ron, stop encouraging her!" Cho snapped getting fed up with the whole situation.

"Don't listen to her Sweep, she's just a bitter old seeker" Ron cooed stroking his broom.

"Arrgh!" Cho yelled in a mix of annoyance and frustration before grabbing Lauren's wrist and marching her out of the locker room.

"What did you two do this time?" Harry asked suspiciously as Cho stomped past him. His emerald eyes landed on Cat and hardened slightly. A lump formed in Cat's throat, but she quickly swallowed it down.

"We were just having an innocent chat with our brooms and she got all 'Arrgh'" Cat said with a shrug.

"It's true mate!" Ron declared.

Harry chuckled and shook his head at the two of them before walking over to his locker mumbling something that sounded like "bunch of nutters" under his breath.

"Alright, team!" came Alicia's captain's voice, "Let's give Ravenclaw all we got!"

Cat grinned to herself. Today she'd show Cho what she was made of.

"Alright, I want a nice clean game from both teams," said Madam Hooch. "Ready? Go!" She tossed the quaffle into the air and blew her whistle.

Immediately, Cat darted in and grabbed it, as smooth and confident as a jungle cat. This was her element. Time to focus on the game, nothing else mattered at the moment. Not Cho. Not Harry. Just Quidditch.

"And Skyler snags the quaffle from the Ravenclaw chasers once again, leading them in circles around the field! Isn't she clever folks? Skyler's really on fire today!"

Harry watched Cat dash around the field, her blue eyes smirking as she nimbly dodged the Ravenclaw chasers. He couldn't help but admire her skill as she scored again and again. A stray red curl slipped out of her cap, reminding Harry of the last encounter they had had involving her hair.

He felt a blush stain his cheeks. He remembered how she looked that day, with her hair falling down around her, the strands caressing her bare shoulders revealed by her half-buttoned shirt. Her eyes had been all bright and shiny with anger while her face was flushed in anger. She had never looked prettier.

Even now, there seemed to be some kind of sparkle surrounding her as she sped across the field. Some aura of pure energy and enthusiasm that made her glow with natural beauty.

He shook his head in frustration and confusion at his own thoughts. He couldn't afford such thoughts about his best friend. Especially when she was behaving so strangely herself.

Harry was still a little cross about her refusal to open up to him and tell him what was wrong. She had seemed hurt by the look he gave her in the locker room. He didn't want to behave so coldly to her, but he had no choice! At least until she decided to stop being silly and just tell him what was up.

"And a Bludger plummets towards Potter who seems to be just floating there. Wake up Harry!"

Harry was shaken out of his disturbing thoughts as a Bludger attempted to take his head off. 'Gah! Gotta pay attention!' He turned his gaze from the redhead he had been following to look for the snitch.

Spotting it, he immediately went into a dive, racing towards the small golden ball. Suddenly, his path crossed with Cat's as she sped in front of him, chasing the quaffle.

As they locked gazes, Cat's face turned red for some unexplained reason. Harry just had time to open his mouth to say something, before she flew ahead, leaving him alone. He spared another glance towards the retreated redhead before he turned back to the front, only to realize the snitch had slipped out of his vision.

'Shit!'

Cat glanced behind her at the Boy-Who-Lived as she flew away. To her shame, she felt her face flush with embarrassment. She stopped in her flight and floated there in midair, just watching him. He caught her eyes again and she blushed, looking away quickly. God, she could barely stand to look at him after the dream she had the night before.

"You should tell him, you know."

Cat blinked and looked up sharply. Hermione. 'Crap, did she catch me staring?' "What?"

"Harry," Vanessa, a soft-spoken fourth year, added quietly, "you should tell him."

"Tell him? Tell him what?" Cat asked, plastering a confused expression on her face. Thoughts raced through her mind as fear clutched at her heart. 'They…know?' The idea sent a burst of red to her cheeks.

Lavender rolled her eyes in Cat's direction. "Jeez, give us some credit here! We're not blind! We see the way you stare at him. We see the way you practically swoon when he talks to you. Hell, we also see the way you undress him with your eyes during class."

If Cat wasn't blushing before, she certainly was now. "H-hey! I do not," she defended indignantly. "And I definitely don't stare at him – much less undress him with my gaze!"

The others stared, unconvinced.

"…You guys…"

Hermione frowned. "There's no use denying it. We know you're head over heels for him."

"Yeah," Lavender added, "if you'd just go get a spine and confess to him, you'd save us all the trouble of watching you, watching him with those googly eyes of yours. It's distracting, especially when you have that lovey-dovey-freshly-in-love face on all the time."

The others nodded.

"Bunch of conformists," Cat muttered.

Hermione nudged Vanessa, and she stepped forward, staring down at her entwined fingers timidly. "It's just that… It never… You never really…" She blushed. "You stare…a lot now," she finished with a nervous laugh.

Lavender stepped up next to Vanessa and stared down at Cat, resolved. "What Vanessa, here, meant to say is that this sexual tension between you and Harry is pretty damn annoying. It's thick enough to strangle a herd of cattle. If you like him so much, tell him and go get a room or something. Leave us civilians out of whatever you two are doing."

Cat gaped. "What the-? What the hell are you talking about? There's no sexual tension! And I never even said that I like him!" Tugging a few strands of her hair that had come loose from her hat in annoyance, she glared at her 'friends'.

Too bad they were just as obstinate as her. With a sigh, the three surrounded Cat and began whispering in hushed voices. "Look, there's no need to lie to us. We see. We hear. We know." They turned to stare at the object of her affection, who was chatting with Ron, the decoy. As if sensing their stares, Harry craned his neck towards her location and waved.

Cat grinned and waved back meekly, registering the heat rushing up to her cheeks and hating the knowing looks around her.

"…All right… So I do… It's just a little crush…"

"Little?" Lavender grabbed Cat's shoulders and shook her roughly. "You look like you're ready to grab that idiot over there and elope! If that's what you call a 'little crush,' I'd hate to see you in love!"

The other two gave Cat sympathetic stares. She sighed and slumped her shoulders in defeat. "Fine. It's not just a crush. I've liked him for a while now. Hell, if I could get myself alone with him, I'd profess my undying love for him. And even if he's unwilling, I'm going have his babies!"

The group stared at her, shocked into silence. Lavender looked unusually pale…and green. "Vanessa, hold me," she gasped out, stumbling into the equally stunned girl behind her. Cat silently patted herself on the back.

She blew her a raspberry. "I was just joking."

Hermione mumbled something under her breath, and Cat could've sworn that it sounded suspiciously like, "Like hell you are." Cat ignored her and turned to the other two.

Then, the scene had shifted to by the lake.

Cat sat under the willow by the lake that the Professor had put in, a much calmer version of its 'Whomping' cousin. She watched the water turn red as the dawn cast its rosy glow over Hogwarts. She didn't question what she was doing up that early as she normally would have done. That should have been her first clue that this was a dream. She always slept as long as she could.

"Cat."

The deep dusky, tone in his voice sent delicious thrills up her spine. "Harry."

He sat beside her and her heartbeat quickened. His arm slid around her waist, pulling her close. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Cat, there's been something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Y-Yes?" she answered nervously. She examined his hand on her waist studiously, trying to ignore the racing of her heart. The fingers bore calluses on the pads from his years of Quidditch playing. His fingernails were cut short and clean, though one appeared to have been nibbled on a little bit.

That hand grasped her chin and gently guided her head toward him until his gorgeous emerald blue locked with her own blue. Slowly, he tilted her head up while Cat's heart lept into her throat. Keeping his eyes looking deeply into her own, Harry brought her face closer to him until their mouths were mere centimeters from each other.

"Cat." His breath brushed across her lips in a sweet caress. She trembled in anticipation. Anticipation of what she couldn't place. "God, Cat." He breathed. "I've been dying to ask you this, and I've finally worked up the courage to."

He took a deep breath. "Cat. Will you-"

Then, she woke up. Evil Sun.

Cat sighed. It may have just been a dream, but she wanted to know what he had wanted to ask her.

A sharp pain sprouted from her head as the quaffle made contact. "Ouch!"

"Pay attention, Cat!" Alicia chastised the redhead. "This game is important!"

Cat caught Cho's smug smirk and she flew by and her eyes narrowed. Pulling a move she had seen in the game between Puddlemere and Bellycastle, she darted in between two Ravenclaw chasers, snagged the quaffle, and, for a little extra flare, flew by Cho at a speed that made her broom go into a tailspin. Only her deathgrip on the handle prevented her from going headfirst into the stands.

"Damn you Skyler!"

Cat just smiled sweetly. "Been there, done that, Chang." Then she looked at Harry again and nearly dropped the quaffle. He was floating by the stands, talking to the redhead from earlier. He hadn't seen. He wasn't even paying attention to the game! He was too busy flirting with her!

Her vision began to blur as tears fought to be released. Harry looked up and met her gaze before she looked away and flew to the goal as fast as she could. Arching her arm back, she threw the quaffle hard enough that it nearly flew out of the stadium.

She played the rest of the game as if under a spell. Every move carefully calculated as if someone else was controlling her. The passion was gone.

Her numb mind barely registered when Lee Jordan cried, "And Harry catches the Snitch! Gryffindor wins, 180-70! It's been a good season for Gryffindor, with the new addition of Catrina Skyler as a chaser, I swear the girl's a bloody genius, and Harry Potter as Seeker. Gryffindor may be in for an easy taking of the Quidditch Cup this year! Watch out!"

As she landed, she regained control of her senses as Ron attacked her.

"You were awesome today, Cat! Wow, I've never seen you that vicious with the quaffle before." His blue eyes were wide with awe in his freckled face. "I mean, it was like it had insulted you or something."

"Cat. Harry." Cat turned to Alicia as she was summoned. "I noticed a serious lack of concentration out on the field today. Now I want you both to solve whatever is wrong between the two of you, or leave it off the field, got it?"

Both she and Harry murmured their assent as Alicia nodded in satisfaction and left them.

Without so much as a glance at Cat, Harry started off the pitch. Cat ran to him.

"Harry."

He turned but didn't smile. His look seemed to be saying 'Say what you have to say and leave me alone'.

She tried her hardest to keep emotions in check, and damned if she'd let him see her cry again. Though, she couldn't stop her eyes from watering.

"I just wanted to say that I wanted to be your best friend again."

"How, Cat, when you can't even tell me what's wrong? We're supposed to have mutual trust."

"Harry—"

"Cat," he said with force. "You asked me the other day, 'Is my nose too big?'. Now you being... you, it confused me to death. And I wondered 'What the hell is she talking about?'. Then you got all uppity and started crying and for God sakes Cat, I had never seen you cry that easily. I mean you didn't even cry when you broke your leg last month. I was worried and you couldn't even tell me. I don't need you to tell me everything but when it's something that I cause or am around to see, you can't just hide. So it's up to you Cat."

Cat took a deep breath.

"Harry, I can't tell you. It's very, very personal. What if I promised, that when I get my head together, and I'm settled, I'll tell you what I've been afraid but anxious to tell you? I hope what I will have to say won't end our friendship. I just need some time."

Harry sighed. "Okay. All right? But I am not waiting forever for you to tell me so start building your strength."

A tremulous smile filled her face. "You're alright, Harry."

"Not too bad yourself Cat. Now I've got to go, I'm meeting this hot Ravenclaw chick up in the tower." He grinned at her, "I'll see you later."

And if he would have looked a moment longer, Harry would have seen on lonely tear fall down her unsmiling face.

Oh God! What was she going to do?

That question answered itself. Pray that Malfoy was good on his word.

KNY: Phew! One of the reasons it took me so long to get this out, was because originally, it was much longer than this. I just couldn't find a good stopping point. On the plus side, I have a good bit of the next chapter already written!