Renae stomped into the stadium with the rest of the students. Her jaw was clenched and her hand was gripped tightly around the handle of her broom, her nails digging into the wood. Once in the middle of the pitch, they all stood in a circle, looking at each other. Renae decided to take charge.
"Okay," she said to the other Slytherins. "Y'all can decide who wants to play what and go get whatever you need from the changing rooms. I guess we'll do the same."
The two groups split. Renae fiddled with the twigs on the tail of her broom as Harry split up the group.
"I'll be playing Seeker, of course," he said. "And then Ron's Keeper, Katie's Chaser… and I don't know what the rest of you play. Renae, don't you play Chaser?"
"Yeah," she said, squinting at the Sun. "Along with Beater and Seeker. You can put me anywhere."
"Dean and Seamus, you guys are Chasers?" Harry asked. They nodded in unison. "Well I don't know how well Hermione would do on Beater, so one of you guys might have to switch for her."
"I'll do it," Seamus volunteered. "Dean wants the spot on the actual team more, so I'll let him have the practice."
"All right then," Harry said, clapping his hands. "So Katie, Hermione, and Dean are on Chaser, Seamus and Renae are on Beater, Ron's Keeper, and I'm Seeker. Sounds good."
"Are you guys done yet?" Renae asked the others. They turned around from their circle and nodded.
For the other team, Pansy, Sara, and Millicent were Chasers, Crabbe and Goyle were Beaters, Blaise was Keeper, and Draco was the Seeker. Pansy grabbed four Beater's clubs from the locker rooms and Ron got the crate of balls. Everyone stood in a circle as Harry opened the crate. He released the Bludgers and Snitch first, then he threw up the Quaffle and yelled, "GO!"
Immediately, Katie grabbed the Quaffle and dashed towards the Slytherin end. She flew under Sara, who attempted to block her, threw the Quaffle into the left hoop, and scored ten points. Blaise chucked the Quaffle back at Pansy and flew at Hermione, who squeaked and shot out of the way. As Pansy was looking back at Sara and laughing, Dean sped past her and snatched the Quaffle out of her grasp. Now laughing at Pansy behind him, he passed the Quaffle to Hermione, who passed to Katie, who scored once more. Renae launched a Bludger at Draco with all her might. He ducked as it zoomed towards his head and flew in the opposite direction. She cursed and hurled another one at his back, but Crabbe shot it back at her. She flew downwards and continued to send as many Bludgers towards Draco as possible.
"Renae!" Seamus shouted. "Try taking out their Chasers instead!"
"Why don't you do it?" she yelled back, chucking another Bludger towards Draco. "I have my own things to attend to…"
A half hour later, the score was 90 to 40 in favor of Gryffindor. To Renae's much displeasure, she had still not managed to hit Draco at all with any of her Bludgers. Now, she was sending them wildly in his direction every few seconds. As she cursed loudly again as another attempt failed, a Bludger came shooting at her.
"Renae!" Seamus yelled. "Watch-!"
"DAMNIT!"
The Bludger had hit Renae, square in the mouth. Now, her bottom lip was swelling and bleeding profusely. Seamus called for a time-out and they all touched down and huddled.
"Renae are you all right?" Hermione squealed.
"Yeah I'm fine," Renae laughed, dabbing at her lip with the bottom of her shirt. "It hurt a little bit when I got hit, but I'm good now."
"Maybe you should sit down for a little bit," Ron said, looking at her lip uncertainly.
"I'm fine!" Renae yelled. "It's only a busted lip; nothing too serious. Just let me get back up there and beat the crap out of Malfoy!"
"Malfoy?" Harry asked. "But Goyle hit you."
"Yeah," Renae muttered. "I'll tell you later… Can we go already?"
They kicked off again and Renae continued shooting Bludgers off at Malfoy, swallowing some blood along the way. Yet, Crabbe seemed to be doing the exact opposite of Renae, who shot all of her Bludgers back. After fifteen minutes of fruitless Bludger attacks, Malfoy sped off towards the ground. Harry, seeing what he was doing, followed close behind. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch Harry and Malfoy. Katie and Dean scored five more times during the moment of intense focus. The score was 180 to 60, still in favor or Gryffindor. Malfoy's fingers were inches away from the Snitch as Harry crept closer. Renae, coming out of her daze, knocked a Bludger at Malfoy, which hit him in the shoulder and pushed him out of the way. With an almighty reach, Harry's hand closed over the golden ball and ended the game. Renae and Seamus cheered and hugged each other, still on their brooms, and flew down to congratulate every one.
"That was awesome!" Dean yelled. "We should do this more often!"
"We should start an inter-house scrimmage league!" Hermione gasped. "That would be great!"
"Thanks for hitting Malfoy for me," Harry said to Renae pulling her into a bear hug and picking her up off of the ground. "I know this game didn't count for anything, but it still felt great!"
"Yeah, it did," Renae laughed. "I haven't played a real game of Quidditch since… training camp with my dad in Italy. I missed all of this."
The two teams shook hands, though rather tightly, and tramped back up to the castle. Renae, Hermione, and Katie began singing loudly about Quidditch, no rhyming at all. Seamus then picked Renae up and began to tango with her as they headed back up the front steps. They laughed raucously and parted to return to their common rooms.
"See," Renae said happily as the wall opened to reveal the Slytherin common room. "That wasn't too bad."
"Except the part where we lost," Draco replied darkly. "Why did you have to hit me anyway?"
"Because that's what Beaters do," Renae said simply as she picked at the scab now forming on her lip. "We hit people with Bludgers. Simple. And you're not even bruised, so you shouldn't even start complaining. I'm going to go sleep. Wake me up before dinner or something you guys."
She waved to everyone and trumped upstairs to her dorm. She put her broom back into her trunk, threw her sweater and shoes on the floor, and within five minutes, was passed out on her bed.
The following few weeks passed without many happenings. Renae became good friends with Katie and Blaise and scored perfectly on her first Charms test. She and Draco were odd in close contact, nonetheless, but still kind to each other. Try-outs for the Gryffindor Quidditch team were successful, as Ron had been named Keeper again, Ginny was Chaser along with Katie, and three new students had been added to the team. Renae wished she could had been there with them. Once again, she cursed to Sorting Hat. The first Hogsmeade trip was scheduled for Saturday, October 11. Renae's mother, of course, had signed her permission form to go. Friday afternoon, Renae sat in Herbology, her last class before the weekend. She was copying down the last of her notes on trimming the Venomous Tentacula before class ended. Renae had acquired numerous bites from this dangerous plant during the lesson and was wrapping the sleeve of her sweatshirt around a particularly nasty one on her arm. The booming bell was faintly heard as the students rushed out of the greenhouse, ready to enjoy the weekend. Renae met Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the beech tree and sat down as Ron did a sort of victory dance.
"I've been waiting for this moment to come all week!" he said loudly, spinning around in the shade of the tree. "I can't wait until Hogsmeade tomorrow. Renae, you're going, right?"
"Hell yeah!" Renae giggled. "I wouldn't miss it for anything!"
"Anything?" Harry asked, a smile playing on his face. "What about Seamus?"
"What about him?" Renae managed to get out, still giggling.
"He's crazy about you!" Hermione burst out. "Everyone knew that from day one! He's always tagging along with us just to be with you and acting all sweet and stuff… Oh, you two would be perfect for each other!"
"You think so?" Renae asked. "Because I had a feeling he liked me, but I didn't know if that's how he is towards everyone. And he's so hot… Omigod, this kicks ass!"
"So are you going to hang out with us or him tomorrow?" Harry asked her, flipping through his Potions book.
"Well, if he says anything about it, I'll probably go with him" Renae sighed. "I really don't feel like going through all the trouble of talking to him about it when I can just let him do it. You guys don't mind, do you?"
"Not at all!" Hermione gasped. "You two have to start doing stuff on your own soon, because before you know it, the year'll be over. This could be the beginning of the happiest couple ever! Renae, if he doesn't say anything by curfew, you have to. If you don't-"
"Jesus, 'Mione, I get it!" Renae laughed. "I'll go party with you guys in your common room so he doesn't have to go looking for me. Isn't he Irish or something? Fabulous mix… the hardcore Irish boy with the Italian girl… dude this is awesome."
"Well, do you guys want to go up to the common room now?" Ron asked. "Renae needs to find her man."
Renae threw her shoe at him. Laughing, they gathered their things and headed up to the castle. Renae, now used to their usual routine, closed her ears before Hermione directed and then followed them through the portrait hole. They took their seats around the fireplace and put their bags down. Renae, warmed by the fire, removed her robes, sweater, and shoes. She let her tie hang loosely around her neck and curled up in her chair. Harry and Ron began to talk animatedly about the new Quidditch team. Hermione, however, rolled her eyes and started to work on her Arithmancy homework. Renae listened to the boys discuss tactics for the upcoming match and, slowly, she drifted off to sleep.
She dreamed of little clones of her and Seamus, running around the Quidditch pitch wildly, painted half red and half green. Some of them grew lion manes or fangs and began to battle. Blood spurted everywhere; in the grass, on the children, and on the full-size Renae and Seamus, who were holding on to each other. Renae silently cried as she watched her children rip at the others' throats, tried to block out their blood-curdling screams. Somewhere, somebody was shouting.
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU'RE JEALOUS! STOP BEING SO BITCHY AND LET IT GO!"
"I CAN'T! I CAN'T JUST LET YOU LEAVE ME HERE TO WATCH THE TWO OF YOU! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? WHY IS SHE BETTER?"
Renae lifted her head. The entire common room seemed to have stopped to watch Seamus and Lavender's shouting match. Seamus's expression was crimson with rage and tears were streaming down Lavender's face, her mascara running.
"JUST LEAVE IT! I DON'T WANT YOU HANGING OVER ME LIKE THIS! CAN'T YOU GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD? I LOVE RENAE-!"
"What?"
All heads snapped to Renae's direction. She stared at Seamus with wide eyes, who stared back. Lavender looked back and forth between the two of them, let out a wail of despair, and rushed up the stairs and slammed the door. No one said a word. Everyone was staring at either Renae or Seamus. Her hair was untidy and fell over her face it soft waves. Slowly, she stood up and walked over to him. Still gazing intently at his astonished face, she breathed in the intoxicating smell of his cologne.
"What did you say?" she asked again.
"I-I think I love you," he stammered.
"You think, or you do?" Renae inquired.
"I… don't know," he whispered.
There was another moment of silence. Renae stared quizzically at him, his face blank. Then, she took him by the hand and led him out of the room, still in her socks. There was an outburst of noise as the portrait hole closed, including Hermione shouting "I knew it! I told her he liked her!" Renae found an empty classroom and pushed him inside. He leaned back on one of the tables, looking awkward. She sat on top of the table across from him, looking intently at his embarrassed face.
"Tell me what happened," she said flatly.
"Well," he began. "I came in the common room when you were sleeping and I couldn't help but say how absolutely gorgeous you looked. I was with Dean, Parvati, and Lavender, who had been flirting with me all afternoon. She got really pissed and started saying all this shit about you and… I cracked. I started yelling at her for being jealous and she completely broke down in tears. Then, you woke up and…"
His voice drifted away. He looked at the floor, avoiding her penetrating gaze. They sat there in utter silence. Renae then hopped off the table and stood in front of Seamus, who still refused to look at her. She lifted his head and smiled. Laughing, they pulled each other into a warm embrace.
"So have you figured it out yet?" Renae giggled.
"Figured what out?" he asked. "Oh! That…"
He looked down again. Renae's brows furrowed in confusion and she cupped his face in her hands.
"What is it?" she asked, concerned. "You can tell me, whatever it is…"
"I know I can," Seamus sighed. "It's hard to explain… I think you're the most amazing, beautiful, and absolutely perfect girl… but love is such a strong word. It's hard for me to say those three words to some of the girls I've gone out with. I can never tell if it's love or not. Sometimes, it's just a desire to be with someone, or an obsession or something like that… I think I love them, but I just want myself to think that I do, that they're the one. I don't want to disappoint myself, or, even more, I don't want to disappoint you."
"You won't," Renae said reassuringly. "I think you're a wonderful, sweet, talented, bright, and gorgeous guy. We're even. They only way you could possibly disappoint me is if you stop being that way. You don't have to love me, or anyone in fact. But, if you stop being like that, I might just have to kick your ass."
"Thanks," he laughed quietly.
He kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer. She smiled into his chest, glad that she had met such a fantastic guy.
"So does this make us like… an item now?" Seamus asked.
"I suppose," she giggled. "Do you know what I've noticed? We're like… an odd mix. Slytherin and Gryffindor… Italian and Irish… it's funny."
"Yeah, it is," he chuckled. "But odd is good…"
"It's very good," Renae said. "I love odd things."
"Do you now?" Seamus said, raising an eyebrow.
"Very much, indeed."
"Hmm…" he said, twirling her hair around his finger. "Are you going into Hogsmeade tomorrow?"
"Of course!" she said. Here it comes…
"Do you want to hang out with me?" he asked. "I can show you around and stuff. It'd be just you and me."
"Perfect," she replied, smiling.
They stood there, in the middle of the classroom, holding each other. It wasn't until Seamus glanced at his watch and realized that dinner was already half over that they exited the room, holding hands. Renae knew that this was going to be an amazing year…
Renae skipped through the secret opening to the Slytherin common room. She had spent the rest of the night outside with Seamus, simply talking about anything: everything. Minutes before curfew, he had walked her back to the entrance to her common room and kissed her goodnight. Renae was so giddy. Singing a cheery tune, she hopped onto the couch where Blaise was seated, finishing some of his homework. He didn't look up, but gave her a small wave.
"You seem happy," he said, writing feverishly.
"Very happy!" she giggled. "I just hung out with Seamus for a few hours… Damn, he's awesome…"
"Who?" Blaise asked, wrapping up his last sentence. "Isn't he that Irish bloke who follows you around everywhere?"
"Don't make him seem so stalker-ish!" Renae cried, angrily. "He's the greatest guy I've met here! Every other guy just thinks I'm hot…"
"But you are!" Blaise laughed. "Dude, the two of us together; our kids would be gorgeous."
Renae looked at his handsome black face. She smiled and put her head on his shoulder, beginning to laugh.
"Blaise, you self-centered bastard," she chuckled.
"What's so wrong about that?" he said, hurt. "At least I'm confident."
"You're not confident, you're cocky," Renae said plainly, poking him in the shoulder. "There's a difference."
"Well I'm not as bad as Draco," Blaise said in an undertone. "You have to give me something for that."
"True, very true," Renae said airily. "As cocky as you are, he's just downright stuck-up."
"He's not usually like that," Blaise explained. "He's really only trying to impress you. Did I tell you that he likes you?"
"Twice," Renae groaned. "Are you supposed to tell me?"
"Not really," he said simply. "But you know me… I can never keep my mouth shut with stuff like that."
"You and Sara should talk more," Renae sniggered. "Has Draco mentioned anything about his mother and me?"
"Only that she wouldn't let him see you," Blaise said, thinking hard. "Other than that, he hasn't said much about her. I think he's kind of ashamed of his family now that everyone knows they're in league with the Dark Lord."
"I heard about that," Renae said conversationally. "We don't hear much about Death Eaters and stuff in Italy. It's really just the basic news about the wizarding world and what's going on where we are. Well thanks any way Blaise."
"You going to bed?" he asked as she stood up.
"Yeah."
"You can always go up to my room," he said enticingly.
Renae shook her head and muttered "Horny bastard…" and walked up the stairs to her dorm. As she opened the door, the giggly chattering coming from inside stopped. Sara, Pansy, and Millicent all looked at her.
"What?" Renae asked, going over to her bed and changing into her pajamas.
"Not much," Pansy said simply. "Only there's this ridiculous rumor going around that you're going out with some Gryffindor boy. Of course, that couldn't be true."
"Why not?" Renae said as she brushed her hair.
"Because he's a Gryffindor!" Pansy laughed. She stopped suddenly. "Wait. You're seeing him, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I am," Renae said fiercely. "Just because we're in two different houses doesn't mean that we can't be with each other."
"But its not just any two houses," Pansy said with wide eyes. "It's Gryffindor and Slytherin! It's… unheard of!"
"Not anymore," Renae replied. "So you guys have never gotten along with them; that doesn't mean I can't. If there weren't any houses or groups and stuff, everyone would get along SO much better. Goodnight then."
She turned over in her bed and pulled the sheets up over her head. Pansy, Sara, and Millicent all looked at her worriedly, but followed suit. The lights went out, and no one spoke again.