NEXT CHAPTER
"Everything alright, Katie? You have all your stuff?" Mr. Johnson asked Katie as she prepared to use the floo network to go home. Katie nodded, resting a hand on her bag full of clothes. "Don't worry about explaining what happened to you parents, I'll speak with your mother and I'm quite sure your father will recieve a full report from the ministry."
Alicia and Angelina waved a small farewell to Katie as she stepped into the fireplace which now emitted green flames. Waving and smiling weakly, Katie stepped into the fireplace and stated clearly, "The Bell Quarters."
The flames swallowed her whole and she felt herself moving in a spinning motions, until she finally slowed and found herself standing in the fireplace of her own home. It appeared that Mrs. Bell was awaiting her arrival. Moments after Katie stepped out and was scooped up into a tight hug, Mr. Johnson appeared in the fireplace.
Katie was shooed off to her room while the adults spoke about the events that had occured the night before.
The minute Katie arrived in her room, she collapsed onto her bed in hopes to catch a few z's, but was unable to. The events of the night before played vividly in her mind. the good and the bad. The last thought she had before sleep finally claimed her was that she and Lee were going to kiss.
Stupid dark mark, she thought before turning over and gently closing her eyes.
"Another year of Hogwarts is just what I need to get over a horrible summer," Angelina muttered as she pushed past a few people to board the Hogwarts Express. Alicia and Katie followed behind her, dragging their heavy trunks behind them. "I never thought Grandma Johnson would leave." Alicia let out a small giggle before finally stopping at the first empty compartment she came across. "I swear, if she made us do emergency drills one more time--"
She turned to Katie and began to explain, "She made us crawl out the windows, into the garden and then into the secret chamber hidden beneath the shed." She slung her trunk into the compartment, Katie followed suit. Angelina collapsed into the seat closest to the window, "May we never have to endure that drill." She closed her eyes and leaned back, waiting for the train to start up, though she knew it probably wouldn't for another half an hour. She opened a single eye and allowed it to drift over to Katie, "What about you? How was your, what I'm sure was a very, hectic summer?"
Katie only shrugged and looked out the window, settling herself across from her dark skinned friend, "My mum and dad treated me kind of funny. For three days she couldn't even stay in the room for five minutes without bursting into sobs and hugging me, saying how I could have been one of the people attacked. So all in all my summer was rather decent."
"That sounds wonderful," Alicia commented, seating herself next to Katie and propping her feet up on the space next to Angelina. A small sigh of content escaped her and she crossed her arms over her chest. "We're here!" Came the unmistakabls voices of the infamous Weasley twins. They had burst into the compartment across from them. They were obviously talking to someone else. The girls didn't bother to move to attract their attention, instead, Alicia stretched her arm out and closed the compartment door. This year's train ride would be one strictly for the girls.
Yeah, that sounded good.
"Hey ladies," Lee poked his head into the compartment, but quickly retreated when he was completely ignored by all three girls. It seemed that their mind was else where, and he didn't bother to diturb them from their thoughts. After fifteen or so minutes longer of waiting, the train finally began to move. Large white clouds of smoke emitted from the engine, seeming to create flawless fluffy pillows. As Katie continued to watch, she noticed how they began to take different shapes. At first they were simple, such as circles, squares and other such polygons, but as the trip prolonged, the shapes became more complex.
"Is that a rabbit?" Alicia muttered, pointing to a steam of smoke that went hopping into the sky before vanishing. Angelina nodded and Katie let a small giggle.
"Oh!" Angelina said suddenly, sitting up straight in her seat, "I think that one is a dragon! Check it out!"
Now the three girls gaped openly at the variety of shapes that had formed in the sky. At one point they were absolutely positive that they had seen Dumbledore dancing with Hagrid, which only caused them (yes, even Angelina) to dissolve into giggles for a legnthy amount of time. And time seemed to pass in a quick blur because the next thing they knew, they were seated in the Great Hall marveling, yet again, at the magnificent feast that had been prepared for them.
"Wonderful," Katie said after setting down her fork and knife, "The begining of the year feast gets better every single year." She smiled at Angelina who was nodding her agreement, mouth full of whatever it was.
Lee, Fred and George were several seats down from the girls. Fred and George were obviously extremely pissed about something, and were explaining things to Lee, who by the end of the feast, felt the same way the twins did. The attention of all the students was claimed by the headmaster when the old man stood. All conversation stopped, including that between the twins and their best friend.
"No Quidditch! Can you bloody believe it?"
"But you have to admit, Triwizard Tournament? That's got to be unltimately the highlight of the year! Students from other schools? How-- Wonderful!"
The six friends came together as the entirty of Hogwarts School broke up into their respected houses. Fred draped his arms over Alicia and Katie's shoulder, "Hello ladies, pleasure to see you all tonight. Oh! And Angelina, I saw something while I was school shopping and got it for you. I'll give it to you once we're in the common room."
Angelina grinned and nodded, "Alright, Fred."
"So what do you girls think about this Triwizard Tourny thingy?" Lee asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as they began to ascend the staircase. "I hear foreign girls are--" Katie pinched Lee and smiled when the boy let out a satisfying yelp. "I mean, it's a new, cultrual experience, right"
The twins glanced at Lee then Katie, then each other, and nodded, "Whipped."
Lee glared at the two of them, "Am not, but anyway. Triward thoughts anyone?" "Like you said Lee," Alicia commented softly, "I think it'll be a great cultural mix. I've always wanted to meet someone from another country."
They approached the Fat Lady's portrait, which was already opened, and entered. "Well, I'm full, and not looking forward to my schedule tomorrow," Katie muttered, yawning and stretching to her fullest. "I'll see you bloody bloke tomorrow." She turned around and headed toward the girls' dormitory. Alicia yawned her agreement and followed the blonde up the stairs and vanished behind the door.
"I'm going to go get that gift for you," Fred grinned and wiggled his eyebrows before dashing up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. George and Lee lagged behind, though they didn't have the intention to return like Fred. While she waited, Angelina took a seat on the couch at the heart of the common room. Just as she had made herself comfortable in just the right spot, Fred came hurrying in with a small box. He dropped down to one knee and presented the box to Angelina. She grinned and took it from him and began to open the small package. Before she was able to open it all the way, George had emerged from the dorm, "Hey Fred, have you seen Lee's--" he glanced from his twin to Angelina and cocked his head to one side. "Are you proposing to Angelina? For Merlin's sake Fred, we're only sixteen! You really need to plan ahead man. Not that far ahead, but you know I'm--"
"Good night, George," Angelina and Fred said, a subtle hint for the red head to go away.
Now where were they? Oh yes, the package. Angelina opened it slowly, expecting something like elaborate jewlery or something that a boy would get his crush. Though her grin remained firmly intact and didn't faulter, it was somewhat glued on and not quite genuine. From the box, Angelina picked up a--
"Wow, Fred. Just what I always wanted, a thing of Misty Mystic's hair spray to," she turned the small bottle of hair ointment to read the backof it aloud, "-to beautify my hair for those special occasions, or just to make me look and feel better." Angelina's terribly flase smile remained plastered to her face as she slowly lowered the bottle.
Fred was grinning like an idiot, "I just had to get for you." He leaned back, crossing his arms and nodding like an idiot.
He apparently thought nothing of the gift, but Angelina's mind was racing a million miles a minute. Was he trying to tell her something with this ridiculous gift? She cleared her throat, "So, why did you just have to get this for me?" Her smile remained bland, however forced it was.
"Well, you never really do anything with your hair, and I thought that you might want to."
"Oh! So there's something wrong with my hair?" Angelina's smile had completely faded in the time span of two seconds, and her hands were clutching the small bottle tightly, "Well you know what? I don't care what you think about my hair!"
"I'm just saying you never do anything with it," Fred began defensively, "Because you're always wearing it back in a stupid ponytail"
Angelina stood up and began to head toward the girls dormitory, but before she climbed the stairs she turned to Fred, "My ponytail is not stupid you-- you--"
"Come on, Angie, what am I?" Fred challenged glaring at her. He thought she would have liked a little change. Merlin, were girls wierd.
"You're a big dumbie head and I hate you!" She shrieked before sticking her tongue out and retreating into the girls' dormitory where she would finally be able to get some shut eye. Fred blinked. He was a what?
If Angelina's and Fred's stupid fight was not bad enough, the next day was worse.
"Angelina," Fred called, trying to catch his friend's attention as they made their way to the Great Hall. "Angelina, will you just let me talk to you? I don't know what I did last night, but--"
"Fred," Angelina began, "Listen, I'm sorry I overreacted and all and I--"
"Well yeah you overreacted! Seriously, you must have been PMSing last night or something because your outburst was totally uncalled for, and--"
Angelina narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm sorry that you're a big dumbie head, now leave me alone and don't speak to me. Ever!Again!" She stormed off a few yards to the right, before realizing that the Great Hall was the other way, and quickly turned herself around and stormed passed him once more.
George and Katie had witnessed the whole thing with wide-eyed, opened mouth expressions. Katie had been able to speak at seeing the scene, but George took the words straight from her mind, "Who's wand is stuck up their butts?"
"I'm fairly shocked to see certain students that are in here. I believe it is safe to assume that you passed your O.W.Ls, and with what you've learned from me last year, I want you all to concoct a sleeping drought. Once that is complete, you may use your text books to write a twenty inch scroll on the drought's multiple uses," Snape snapped the moment each student was seated and all were accounted for. "Now, as to who you will be working with--"
There weren't the usual chorus of groans, only because the chances that a student would be partnered with a Slytherin were very slim. Many Slytherin students hadn't been successful in achieving high O.W.Ls when it came to potions, Unsurprisingly, the class was mainly comprised of Ravenclaw students.
Snape's small eyes scanned over the class, wondering how he could torture his students, but seeing the lack of Slytherins in the dungeon, he decided against it. "I suppose I will be nice. Chose your own partner, but only one other to be your partner, and begin."
Katie and Lee looked at each other then to the students in the dungeons who were moving to those who would best benifit their marks, or best benifit thier social lives. Alicia had seated herself with Angelina, and George with his twin, leaving Katie and Lee to just sit there and work on their assignment for the day.
When they were released from the potions master's evil clutches, they strolled out, though not together. George and Fred had their heads bent together, and hurried through the crowded corridors, toward their next class. Alicia and Angelina were talking about something that obviously upset Angelina. Every now and then Alicia would nod or shake her head, depending on what was said. Again, Lee and Katie were alone together.
This process repeated throughout the day whenever the six friends had classes together. It seemed Angelina needed to be with her step-sister and Fred needed his twin, leaving Katie and Lee alone every single time. Even at lunch and dinner, the six were seperated from one another. Fred and George hadn't even come to dinner.
"Wow," Katie mumbled as she and Lee retreated to the Gryffindor Common Room from the Great Hall after a third night of not being seated with the rest of the gang. "Things are really kind of wierd with Angelina and Fred not talking."
Lee nodded his agreement, placing his hands into his pockets as they continued to walk, "But if it's as stupid that I think it is, it shouldn't last too much longer."
Katie sighed, "I hope it doesn't. Angelina can hold a serious grudge." She lowered her gaze to the stone flags that made up the castle's flooring. "But anyway, let's talk about something else."
"Ok," he said slowly, his eyes glancing upward, as if trying to think up something to say, "Talk about your home life. I never really hear you talk about it." His gaze rested on her expectantly as they approached the stiracase that led to the Gryffindor Tower. "So, talk about it."
A small laugh escaped her and she stopped at the staircase and seated herself on the first stair, "Well, there's nothing too special about home. There's my mum and my dad, me and my cat. That's about it."
Lee smiled and shook his head, "Come on, you have to have a funny story or something." When Katie only shook her head, he rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "You are absolutely no fun, Miss Bell"
"Thank you." Katie beamed.
"Hey guys," Alicia's voice greeted them cheerily. "It really sucks that we haven't been sitting together lately, but Angelina refuses to sit with Fred, because he's being such a prat and--"
"Excuse me?" The three of them looked up the staircase to see George descneding it. Katie rested her head in her hand and sighed. Something told her that she would not be having a headache and things between her friends were falling apart.
Alicia rolled her eyes, "Did Fred tell you what happened?"
"Yeah he did, and Angelina was ungrateful for his gift, and on top of that, she was the one that was PMSing." George leaned against the stair rail, standing just behind Katie.
Lee tried to derail their arguement, "Did you know that people have no idea how this castle was accuired by the founders?"
No one answered.
"Did he tell you what he got her? First of all, if anything that was something that should be given to someone like-- Someone like--" Alicia struggled to find a word for a minute, but eventually continued, "Someone that's not like Angelina! And how can you take up for him anyway?"
George stepped around Katie and passed Lee so that he was face to face with Alicia, evermind the fact that Alicia only came up to his neck. "Well why are you taking up for Angelina? You know better than everyone else that she can be psycho crazy!"
They glared at each other, reguardless of how stupid their arguement was. Once again, Lee tried to bring light into the atmosphere, "And the funny thing is, that of everything people don't know, they do know that the lake wasn't there when Hogwarts first started, which makes me wonder--"
"Shut up, Lee!" Both of them growled, turning their heads and now glaring at Lee who shrunk to the size of something very very small.
Katie stood up and grabbed Lee's arm, pulling him up the stairs, "Come on, it's too cold down here anyway." She threw a glare to George and Alicia, but they didn't notice, being that they were too busy glaring at each other and possibly preparing to battle it out right then and there.
That night, Katie pretended to sleep while Angelina and Alicia joked amongst one another, making sure not to mention the Weasley twins. And the blonde was quite sure that the Weasley twins were doing more or less the very same thing over in the boys' dormitory.
And as time passed, the six drifted further and further apart, to the point where Katie was confronted by Angelina.
"You have to chose, Katie. Us? Or them?" She threw a nasty glace to the twins who were on the other side of the common room, heads bent low over something.
"Come on Kaite, girl power!" Alicia encouraged the blonde energetically. Katie shook her head and returned her attention to the magazine she had been browsing through. The article about Gilderoy Lockhart's not so speedy recovery. Something about his not remembering his name, but remembering that he has adoring fans all over the world.
Perhaps the endless stream of fan mail and sympathy letters jogged his memory on that note.
Angelina sighed and shook her head, "Come on Kaite."
Katie put the magazine and fixed Angelina with a dark, unnerving glare, before returning to her reading. After a while the two girls finally backed off. The twins had never even approached her. She really getting fed up with them and their stupid little fight, what ever it was about.
Alicia and Katie were seated in the library. The great rivalry between the twins and Angelina and Alicia had been holding strong for a straight month already, and niether side seemed to want to apologize first. It was rather pathetic. Katie flipped a page to a book entitled Defensive Spells That Can Kill You. (How comforting, she thought when picking up the book.) Alicia scratched the side of her neck as she proof read her own work, shaking her head slighlty as she did so, noting the many mistakes she had made. "I'm going to fail History of Magic this year. You know, I think my grammer is getting worse each year."
"And you're just realizing this?" Katie grinned, not looking up from the book infront of her.
There was s short moment of laughter, then silence once again resumed between the two.
"Guys! The most wonderful of wonderful things has just happened to me, not even five minutes ago!" Angelina called out loudly as she went skipping into the library, ignoring Madam Pince's disapproving look. She seated herself on the table, smiling brightly. "What happened?" Katie and Alicia chorused together.
Angelina's grin only widend, "Just guess."
"I don't know," Alicia said with a small hint of annoyance in her voice, "Could you just tell us please?"
"You guys know Roger Davies right?"
Remembering their small encounter with the self-absorbed Ravenclaw boy, both girls nodded, but it was Katie who spoke, "What about him"
Angelina shifted slightly, still grinning, "He asked me out today! Isn't that awesome?"
"And you said no right?" Alicia asked, eyes narrowed in slight confusion. Why would being asked out by Roger Davies be a good thing?
"I said yes, which makes my day this much better!" She extended her arms to her side as far as they would go. Katie had to duck her head to avoid being slapped in the face by Angelina's right am. Angelina quickly brought her arms back to her side and looked to Alicia, "You can't tell me old man, got it?"
Alicia sighed and nodded, though it was against her better judgement. Katie couldn't help but think that Angelina was acting oddly, she didn't know how exactly to put it, but Angelina was acting oddly girly. It was quite unnerving and a bit annoying as well.
The second month to the Great Divide was coming to a close, and entering it's third. Katie was constantly drifting between the twins and the girls, but spent most of her time with Lee, who was also drifitng to and fro. Lee complained that the twins were being far too mysterious about whatever it was they were doing, and would only tell Lee that it was something of great, finacial importance. Nothing more nothing less.
"It's November," Lee muttered, collapsing onto the couch and throwing an arm over his eyes to sheild them from the night. "I don't think they're going to be talking anytime soon and on top of that Angelina's dating that Davies prat, which is driving Fred nuts, even if he doesn't admit it."
Katie shook her head and sighed, "I'd rather not talk about their issues." She was sprawled out on the plush armchair at the common room's center. "We'll just have to let them come to their senses on their own." Inwardly she was hecing every last one of them for their stupid little problems that prevented her from having a normal teenage life at Hogwarts. She just wanted to enjoy watching the Triwizard Tournament like everyone else, but no! Angelina and Fred had to go all psycho and get mad each other and then invite their sibbling into the fray, leaving poor Katie and Lee to brood about the whole situation!
The two sat in silence for a while, ignoring how cliche things had ended up. Lee decided to ask a question that had been nagging him for quite some time, "Taking advantage of the silence and all, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me when there's a free or non-hectic moment available." He didn't look at her as he spoke and he shrugged slightly, "You know. Like my girlfriend or whatever."
Katie wasn't looking at Lee either. It seemed it was easier for them this way, but of course if they did start dating, they would have to actually look at one another. "Sure, sounds great."
"Good."
"Fine."
"Slendid."
"Wonderful."
They glanced at each other after forever, and instead of the awkwardness that usually followed such a conversation, the two grinned before laughing.
It wasn't a nervous laugh, only a natural one.
They're laughter ceased when the twins came into the common room. They were grinning brightly at one another and exchanging congratulations of sorts. "No," Fred was saying, "I must admit, you handled everything like a professional."
George grinned and waved the compliment, "Oh brother, dear, you're making me blush."
Katie shook her head at the two of them, "So what are our resident trouble makers up to now-a-days? You guys have been spending an awful lot of time at the owlery."
The twins simply wiggled their eyes brows and tipped their imaginary hats. George spoke first, "Answer will soon come to you, dear Miss Bell"
"Yeah," Fred went on, in a less professional manner, "But don't worry, it's nothing dangerous," he paused, "Nothing extremely dangerous anyway"
After a quick farewell, the twins retreated up to the boys' dormitory to continue whatever mischief they were up to. Katie glanced at Lee, who simplyh shrugged, "Don't ask me. They've been wierd all year so far."
TooSweet4Words - Glad I'm doing well and even gladder if that's eve a word that you're still reviewing, reading and enjoying!
Lala - I actually had to read your review out loud because it was so funny to me.. Am I really tortuing you that much? I'm sorry! But you know what? I hope this chapter answer a lot of your questions but keep in mind that I will be writing a sequel... o.O If you think this one's just crazy wait til you see what else I've got up my sleeve. Hehe..
Alrighty Kiddies--
Oliver: I think we'll say goodbye to everyone this time around, Richi..
But..
Katie: Yeah, you hog all the attention!
But I wrote this--
Oliver & Katie: Don't care!
Oh.. Ok..
Oliver: Anyway..
Katie: Later days everyone!