Author's Note: Birthday gift sealed, delivered and approved. Mission accomplished. Hope you enjoy.
This chapter is for Katrina. It was her idea to use the "stupid boy" gene. With two brothers (and a brand-new brother-in-law), I know how it is...
- - - - -
Chapter 11
Into the Pale Light
- - - - -
The rest of the week passed without incident, unless you counted the minor scuffles in the hallways between warring factions. That's how Willow saw it anyway. There were people. They didn't agree. They used wands. And there was blood.
Keira was one of the most loathed people in her old House. She really didn't care, since her allegiance, should she call it that was with Willow and Harry. She wanted them to stay strong, so she volunteered to be the bodyguard. Aura, who was quite a bit taller and more vicious when it came to hexing, took up the rear somewhat reluctantly.
Blaise was slowly recovering under the watchful eyes of the rest of his House. No one from the pure-blood cult really wanted any tainted people around him. Even when Willow showed up out of pure sympathy, they gave her an earful, insulted her, and then turned her away.
She wasn't about to argue. Those damned dragons never played fair.
"Don't take it personally," Keira told her on Saturday as they were sitting on the grassy hill over the Quidditch pitch. It was a warm, glorious day, one of the few left of the year, Keira told her. "They're just a bunch of dopes."
Willow rolled her eyes and stared at her Potions work before her, rubbing her eyes warily. "I'm just getting sick and tired of their holier-than-thou 'tudes, you know? There's only so many times I'll take being called a Mudblood before I go postal and hex them all. Without my wand."
"That'd be pretty wicked, Wil," Keira said with a grin. "I'd love to see that slimy Malfoy get his."
Willow smiled her dark smile. "If he forces my hand... I'll do it. Just let me know when he comes after you, okay?"
"What?" Keira asked, nearly dropping her Potions book.
"I know that Draco and the rest of those morons are bothering you," Willow said with a testy look on her face. "You might as well get used to the fact I like protecting what's mine."
"I'm yours?" Keira asked, arching one eyebrow.
"You know what I mean," Willow said, sounding all flustered.
"I'm beginning to," Keira shot back.
"I don't like it when they mess with stuff that's mine," Willow said softly. "I'm not going to let them mess with your head like that. You're worth a hundred of those damned dragons."
"I can see this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Keira grinned, patting Willow's arm. "Now, let's go back to Potions before we both fail out."
This weekend was also a cause of celebration for many more; Quidditch season had sprung about, as their floor advisors had told them that morning before breakfast. Nearly everyone was talking about which team they'd try out for and gossiping about which the best moves were.
Harry found himself eagerly sitting down with Ron and talking Quidditch while Hermione sat next to Ron, looking bored. She was soon stopped by Parvati and Lavender. They were joined by some of their other old housemates, including Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein. They were starting to get into a really good discussion when the study room they were sitting in grew quiet suddenly.
Blaise Zabini had just walked in. His eyes were on Parvati, who straightened, suddenly looking nervous.
He wasn't alone. The rest of his group were by his side. Draco was smirking as though he owned the entire school, while Pansy clung onto his arm, looking positively excited about something. Her shiny dark hair fell into her eyes, but she made no move to brush it aside. There was a quiet hush that fell across the room. Many were looking between Blaise and Parvati, as though expecting something bad to happen
It did. Blaise stormed across the room, glaring at Parvati, who seemed to shrivel under his gaze. The rest of his group followed, expecting there to be sparkage. There was.
"You bitch," he said in a low voice.
"Excuse me?" Parvati asked in a dignified way.
"You are one worthless piece of trash, Patil," Pansy said with a breezy grin. "Had to resort to Potter's antics just to solve a little feud?"
Parvati's eyes narrowed and she stood up, facing Blaise head-on, which was quite unimpressive since she was at least a foot shorter than him. "And you're just a poor, pathetic excuse for a human being, Zabini," she said coldly, smiling at him. "When are you going to stop being such a useless lapdog and actually get a voice of your own?"
Blaise's eyes nearly bugged out in his rage as he reached a hand up as though to hit her, but her own hand went out and caught it. His other hand came quickly though and took her chin roughly so that she could see into his eyes.
"This isn't over, Patil... not by a long shot." He smirked suggestively at her. "As you were so convinced when we spent all that time together..."
Parvati shivered as he roughly let her chin go, grinning. "Leave me alone, you bastard."
"Seems like I touched a nerve," he said, bending over so that he could whisper in her ear. "I think I've touched more than that..."
She shoved him back, hard, her hands pressing against his chest. "You're sick! And disgusting!"
The rest of his group was laughing.
"Don't deny it, you little sleazy 'ho," Pansy said, adopting her newly-found street-speak. "You'll do anything to sleep with power. Wouldn't she... Harry?" Her eyes slid to the person standing behind Parvati.
Parvati jumped a little and glanced anxiously over her shoulder where Harry stood, white-faced with rage.
"I think you should leave now, Parkinson."
"Or what?" Pansy shrieked, laughing madly. "Are you going to hurt me? I thought that little heroes didn't hit girls."
"They don't," a cold voice said in her ear. "Doesn't mean I won't."
Pansy screamed as someone grabbed a fistful of her short hair and yanked it back. "Let go of me!"
Aura grinned as she spun around, dragging Pansy with her before flinging the smaller girl unnecessarily to the floor.
"I'm not afraid of a little white trash like you," Aura said in her heavy accent, grinning broadly at the indignant, sputtering heap that was Pansy on the ground. "Mind your own business, you little--"
"I don't think you want to finish that sentence, Starr," another voice said. Aura turned and smiled sweetly at Leo.
"Do you want me to break your nose again? I'm quite good at it... I might add a crushed skull while you're asking for it."
Leo immediately backed away.
Aura then turned her fury on Blaise, who just stared at her as though he'd never seen anything like her. "And you!" she shouted, walking right up to him and jabbing him in the chest with her index finger. "You are one disgusting, perverted pig! If you had any sense whatsoever, you'd castrate yourself!"
Parvati snorted behind the hand she'd cupped over her mouth.
Blaise seriously looked put out, glaring at Aura, who had enough height to her so that he wasn't looking down on her. He was looking across. She had to be one of the tallest women he'd ever met.
"Get the hell out of here. Now."
Blaise lifted his hand and walked away in disgust, the others slowly moving behind him. A small-boned blonde walked from the crowd and helped Pansy to her feet, throwing a sneering look at Aura and Parvati before storming off.
All that was left in their wake was silence.
- - - - -
"You should have seen her!" Neville was telling Willow and Keira that night at dinner. "She just put that Parkinson right in her place!"
"Aura!" Willow said in surprise, turning to the taller girl sitting across from her. "I didn't know you had it in you to be so... vicious!"
Aura grinned. "I happen to enjoy keeping the peace... and Blaise was being a total bastard."
"He has those qualities, doesn't he?" Keira murmured. She turned to Parvati, who was sitting snugly between Seamus and Dean. "I don't suppose we could trade him for some other poor misfit," she said, cocking her head in Willow's direction.
Parvati gave her a sweet smile. "It'd be nice, but I don't think we're that lucky. I already spoke with Professor Gabon. We're stuck with him. And he's still team captain."
"Damn it," Keira swore, earning a sharp jab in the ribs from the elbow of Willow, who was looking at her incredulously. "What? Like you've never heard me swear!"
Willow just rolled her eyes and went back to her steak-and-kidney pie.
"You doing all right?" Harry asked her quietly.
"Yeah," she said with a tight smile. "I'm good."
But she put her fork down and wiped her mouth on a napkin. Standing up, she lifted her small stack of books and stepped away from both Keira and Harry.
"Where are you going?" Keira asked her. "I thought we were going to--"
"I'm just... back to my room... it's a little... never mind." That said, Willow swept off.
Across the room, Draco Malfoy smiled triumphantly.
Willow was halfway back to the dormitory when a slow voice held her back. She turned to see Blaise Zabini sitting by himself on a bench underneath a bright torch light.
She suddenly found she couldn't speak.
"You're probably wondering what I'm doing here."
Willow nodded.
"I just felt like I should apologize."
Willow opened her mouth. He quickly put his hand over it. She glared daggers up at him, but still he ignored her.
"You're a nice girl, Willow, if such a thing ever existed."
She stopped resisting then; her jaw had dropped open.
"I think you and Potter make a great couple," he said sincerely. "Just watch your back around him. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Willow managed to force his hand away this time. "What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in polite bewilderment.
"He's not as innocent as everyone seems to think he is... Saint Potter, my ass." He gave her a rueful smile before bending down and kissing her cheek. "I heard you came to visit me."
"I'm sorry she knocked you out," Willow said, and she genuinely meant it. Blaise was about the only person from Draco's little throng of friends she could tolerate.
"Yeah, she's a feisty one... I have to give her that much." Blaise ran a hand through his hair and gave her a parting smile. "Keep your chin up, Little Red. Don't let Malfoy get you down."
"One more thing," Willow said as Blaise wandered away. He turned back to look at her. "If Draco uses you to play me again, I will make you both very, very sorry."
Inside the cafeteria, almost everyone was talking about the huge party being thrown that night on the Quidditch pitch. Tryouts for the new year were tomorrow and there were going to be six teams.
"You ever play Quidditch?" Harry asked Keira as he started in on his apple tart.
Keira shook her head. "I'm really not all that coordinated on a broomstick. You should ask Wil, though. She's got herself a nice racing broom."
Parvati brightened from across the table. "That's what Padma said!"
As one large, chattering group, they went down to the party.
Willow sat in her room, staring at the empty space, listening to the sounds of laughter and singing on the grounds below. She really wasn't in any mood for any party, whatsoever. For some odd reason, Harry's defense of his ex-girlfriend got to her. Maybe it was because she shared a room with Parvati's twin sister.
She rested her head on the pillow, feeling a little depressed. It had been nearly a month since she'd last seen Buffy and Xander. It would be awesome to invite them up for a trip, but would they visit?
They might actually like some of her newer friends. Buffy would get a kick out of Keira, that was for sure. They had a lot in common. Both were determined and a bit strong when it came to their language and their methods. It'd be a great pair. Xander would more than likely get along better with Hermione or Padma, the two bookworms of the floor. His goofy charm could win all of the girls over, including Keira.
Willow was thinking a lot about Keira lately. Not in a real weird way, but in a friendly way. She was the closest thing to a true friend in England. And this new thing with Harry was just beginning, but as soon as it began, another torch was lit somewhere else. She knew she shouldn't feel jealous, but she did.
Willow had always been the underdog. She'd always lost to the more popular girls. Losing Xander to Cordelia had been that dagger in her heart, and she'd carried a torch for him for a very long time. How hard was she going to have to fight to keep someone like Harry central in her life?
Buffy's voice came floating back to her. "Why waste time being all shy and worrying about some guy, and if he's gonna laugh at you. Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead."
Willow smacked her thighs with her fists and sat up. It was time to stop the pity party. Willow Rosenberg wasn't the type of girl who just sat in her room dreaming of adorable guys at her beck and call. She was the type of girl who acted rashly, at times. Well, within modest reason.
She pulled open her wardrobe, grinning when she finally found it. It was the outfit from the Halloween party two years ago. She quickly pulled off her blouse and trousers and stepped into the form-fitting skirt and top. This could potentially push all thoughts of modesty one trip too far.
Slipping on a pair of accompanying boots, Willow surveyed herself in the mirror. It sniggered appreciatively. Willow kissed the mirror, and then turned around, playing with her hair.
Twenty minutes later, Willow was walking onto the Quidditch pitch, glancing around the stands of the enormous stadium. "Wow," she breathed.
A hundred people were flying on broomsticks above her, tossing the quaffle back and forth. Obnoxious music pored from the large speakers set up on the six towering pedestals that she knew housed fans. A hundred more people were on the green and in the pure white sand, dancing, talking, drinking and having the time of their lives.
Keira was sitting on the grass with a few of the other girls, including Padma Patil, when her eyes caught someone moving towards them. Her jaw dropped. "Whoa, Potter... check out your girl."
Harry turned. His eyes widened and a deep red flush crept to his face.
Hermione gasped from next to him. Even Ron looked amused.
"Merlin's beard," Neville choked from Harry's opposite side.
"Hi," Willow said, walking up to Harry and looping her arms around his neck, drawing his face to hers and capturing his lips.
It took Harry all of one startled second to respond.
After a moment, they broke apart and Willow grinned at Keira's flabbergasted face. "Hey, Keir... what's up?"
"Uh..."
Willow grinned at her. "Like it?" She twirled a moment. She was beginning to gain more attention by the moment. "It was a Halloween costume."
"Oh, good," said Keira, looking immensely relieved. "Here I thought you were just dying to be a village tramp for a night."
Willow stuck her tongue out as she dropped down next to Keira. Harry was still staring at her, until Hermione elbowed him. "Get her a drink?" she whispered.
"Oh... right." He hurried off.
Hermione eased herself onto the grass on Willow's right-hand side. "Nice outfit," she commented dryly. "Just when I thought you didn't have anything that could surprise us."
"Look at them!" Padma shrieked, pointing to the stunned look on Pansy's face and the faces of her friends surrounding her. "They look like they've seen a ghost!"
"Funny you should mention that," Willow said, choking slightly as Harry returned, handing her a plastic glass that kept changing colors. She took a sip of juice and moved over so that he could sit next to her.
Across the pitch, Draco Malfoy touched down, setting his Firebolt aside. He'd seen her walk onto the field looking so devilishly delicious... and yet she wasn't his to play with. He would have claimed her in a second if she'd just done what she'd do to Potter. He would have put her on the ground right then and there...
She was sitting next to Isley again. Damn it. Did those two have to be joined at the hip?
He noticed the expression on Pansy's face then; grudging respect. He had to laugh at that. He knew she didn't really like Willow because of the fact the redheaded vixen preferred to spend her time around Keira. And Pansy despised Keira. She didn't care much about Aura, either, since their catfight that afternoon.
"Check out Potter's girl, Malfoy," Pansy said, dragging her small crowd of girls over to him. He noticed one of them staring hard at him and sneered at her. She brushed aside her mane of wild blonde hair and returned the sneer.
"Who's that?" he asked, nudging Pansy and pointing to the sneering girl.
"She's Roz from Oz," Pansy said, rolling her eyes. "Technically, she's Rozalynn from Brisbane, but she seems to think she's some kind of comedian. She lives across the hall from me."
Draco turned his eyes to the girl and met her piercing blue ones.
"What's she do?"
"Sings, I think," Pansy said with a slight frown. "At least, we think it's her bellowing in the shower every bloody morning." She threw a scornful look in the girl's direction. "She's about as sweet as a pit viper... so watch your back around her."
"I think she likes playing your shadow," Draco smirked.
Pansy glared at him before smacking the back of his head with her hand. "Clean out your thoughts Malfoy, or I'll have to do it for you."
Draco noticed that most of his gang of friends were turning their attention to the new blonde of the group now. Roz was taking ample opportunity to flaunt the attention by showing off her well-placed curves.
"I hate comedians," Draco said coldly. Blaise was giving the girl an appreciative glance, and it wasn't one Malfoy really liked.
"Hmmm," Pansy said, threading her arm through his. "I think you have a thing for redheads though."
"It used to be blondes," Draco sneered, glaring at the girl who just danced up to Blaise and Leo looking rather suggestive. "Does she have to be that obvious?"
Pansy rolled her eyes and tucked a lock of short, dark hair behind her ear. "She's as open as they come... considering the traffic around her room."
"Really..." Draco mused, his silvery eyes sliding over the many heads to settle on a certain redhead and her scarheaded potential boyfriend. "Think she'd go for someone famous?"
"And pull such an obvious Aura?" Pansy asked with a shrill laugh. "I suppose it's worthy of a try..."
"You're actually warming up to the fact I like Willow?" Draco asked her in surprise.
Pansy gave him a pretty shrug, her eyebrow lifting comically. "I got over you a long time ago, Drake."
"With who?" Draco smirked, glancing around their circle of friends. "Who could possibly share the one bed I've been so privileged to own these past two years?"
Pansy grinned at him. "You'll find out soon enough, pet." She patted his arm and threw a glare at Roz, who was trying to get the others in the group to dance. Little did she realize that by playing with a dragon, you played with fire, and most of Draco's friends stared at her as though she had two heads while remaining as immobile as statues.
"Get rid of her," Draco said to Pansy. "She doesn't belong in our group. She's probably a little pick-me-up for Keira."
"Speaking of pick-me-ups," Pansy said with a slight giggle, "look who is coming this way." She gently nudged Draco forward. "Go on, silly. Make her pay for ever turning you down."
Draco felt as though his voice couldn't work as he noticed Willow standing by the punch table, which was nearly twenty feet away. Strands of red hair were falling into her face, making her seem much more innocent than the thoughts he was having about her.
"Hi," he managed to choke out as she gasped, straightening, her punch spilling all down the front of his robes and her top.
"Oh... crap!" she muttered, quickly setting the glass down and turning to find something to wipe up her mess with. "I'm so sorry, Malfoy... I didn't see you coming..."
"It's all right," he said with a sigh, finding a towel and quickly wiping away the traces of the strawberry punch.
"I'm such a klutz," she said, taking the towel from him and setting it aside.
"Is there a problem here?"
Draco turned and flushed a slight shade of pink when he realized it was Potter and Weasley. The two of them were double-teaming Willow, probably to prevent what Draco had been about to do.
"If I had one, you'd know about it," he shot back before turning away.
"You're all wet," Harry said, chuckling as Willow glanced down at herself with a wail.
"I know!" she said with a sniffle. "I'm sticky strawberry grossness!"
Ron gave Harry a sharp look and Harry, not really understanding, turned to Willow with a cough. "Uh... want me to walk you back to your... room?"
She glanced up at him so quickly Harry just about ran away from her. "Would you?" she asked softly.
Ron practically had to shove Harry at her. As the two walked off, Hermione came up beside him, handing him a glass of firewhiskey. "That was a far nobler thing you did than I think she would ever realize," she said quietly.
"The guy's too chicken to do it himself," Ron said dryly.
"I never knew you were the romantic type."
"Me? Yeah, right... shows how well you know me."
"Well, you did something to deserve me, right?"
"Hell, after six years of fighting and bickering, I earned you."
She smacked his shoulder, rolling her eyes. "Ronald Weasley! Sometimes I don't know why I bother--"
He cut her off by kissing her so hard it nearly threw her off balance. Her drink fell to the grass as he dipped over her, finally pulling her up with him so they could both breathe.
And, for once, Hermione was at a loss for words.
The walk back to Willow's dormitory was relatively quick. Ten minutes after, she walked out, wearing something that made Harry's mind fog out all over again.
"Want to take a walk?" she asked him, wrapping a light black shawl over her shoulders. He nodded, since he couldn't trust his voice to work properly. She took his hand and led him towards the bank of elevators. A few minutes later, they were strolling through the gardens.
"You looked amazing tonight," Harry finally said once he'd un-stuck his throat.
"Thanks," Willow said with a giggle. "That was my Halloween costume two years ago... when I was a ghost. A real ghost."
"You turned into a real ghost?"
"Living where I did turned me into one, so, yeah. Evil magic." She grinned at him and he felt the heat rush back into his face. "I don't suppose you'll be trying out for Quidditch tomorrow."
"It's in my blood," Harry said. "Besides, it's my last chance to play before I work for the rest of my life."
"I suppose," Willow said slowly. "Two sports sounds like an awful lot of work though. You probably won't be having much time for other things..."
"I don't suppose I will," Harry said quickly, thinking enthusiastically about playing Quidditch again and completely missing the hurt look on her face. He looked up at her in surprise as she pulled her hand out of his and walked a few paces away, looking sad. "What? Are you all right?"
"I'm going to be honest with you, just this once," she said, turning to face him. He was startled to see that she was crying. Was something bad about to happen? Oh, Merlin, how little experience he'd had here! Hermione would know what to do, but even then he'd have to run for it...
"I like you, Harry," she said with a sad smile. "But I've fought wars with my heart before. I'm not going to try to win over your heart when it belongs to someone else or something else... like Quidditch. So, I think it might be best if we just end it here and go away before I do something I'll completely regret."
"What are you talking about?" he asked as she brushed a few tears away. "Willow, we've been seeing each other maybe six days."
"I know how much you love the sports, Harry. I don't want to compete with that. I can't. I'm nothing special. I don't know how to compete on that sort of level," she said, the tears flowing a little more rapidly now.
Harry just stared at her, completely flabbergasted. "I didn't... I don't... that's not what I meant!"
She reached out a hand and touched his face. "I don't know why I keep doing this to myself," she said with a sad chuckle as she kissed him. Then she pulled back and disappeared into the night.
And Harry still had no idea what had happened.
- - - - -
Quiddich tryouts were to be held at eleven on Sunday. Harry and Ron were there by nine, along with a rather large queue of other students. Since at most forty two would be chosen, having two hundred there to compete for coveted spots was exhilarating.
In Willow's dormitory, the air wasn't that of excitement or thrill. Willow hadn't been able to sleep much, finally falling asleep around daybreak. She looked terrible when Padma woke her at a quarter to eleven.
"I just thought you'd want to come with us and watch the tryouts," Padma said quietly.
Willow gave her a tight smile. "Sorry... I think I'll just camp out here and do homework."
"Homework? Above Quidditch? You must be mad!" Padma said, aghast. The door burst open and Parvati and Lavender came in with Hermione at their heels. Aura was towering above all three of them, dressed in their House's colorful scarves and hats.
"Ready?" Aura chirped excitedly. "We didn't have much chance to play Quidditch where I came from... so this is exciting!"
Hermione saw the look on Willow's face and frowned. "Go on, guys."
"You sure?" Lavender asked.
"Yeah, shoo!" Hermione said with her motherly smile. Once everyone else, including Padma, had left, she turned to look at Willow, her eyes darkening in concern.
"Are you okay? Are you sick? Can I get you some breakfast?"
"I'm all right," Willow said quickly, pointing at the window. "Just go, Hermione. Please?"
"All right," Hermione said slowly, rising. "But I'll be back later to check up on you, okay?"
Willow nodded, not really trusting her voice. Hermione gave her a quick smile before disappearing.
Reaching over, she grasped the framed photograph of Xander, Buffy and herself and held it lovingly. She had never missed her best friends more. And whatever there was with Harry had been over before it even started. She had been foolish to think she could compete with his athletic responsibilities. He was a hero, for crying out loud. She didn't deserve that. She didn't need it, either.
It still made her miserable though.
By two o'clock, the last twenty spots were being filled, since Seekers were the hardest positions to fill. Harry had his in the bag, as did Draco, but their competitiveness had reached a ferocity unbeknown to any of the foreign students.
As he touched down after his final flight, he saw Ron standing next to Hermione, his head bent to hers, looking confused.
"That was wonderful, Harry!" Keira said, waving their House flag at him as she joined them, looking around. "Where's Willow?"
"She didn't come?" Harry asked in surprise, looking about.
"She looked terrible," Hermione said quietly. "She looked really bummed about something."
"What did you say to her last night?" Keira asked suddenly.
Harry explained what he'd said and how she reacted. He wasn't exactly expecting both Hermione and Keira to clasp their hands over their mouths in horror and exchange a dark look.
"That was so the kiss of death, Harry," Keira said in an undertone.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused. Even Ron looked slightly perplexed.
"You're an idiot!" Hermione blasted. Harry turned to her in shock. "I mean, no you're not... well, really you are! You just broke up with her!"
"I... I did?" Harry asked, feeling his heart start to sink.
"You told her you didn't think spending time with her was worth all of your extracurricular activities!" Keira said, stamping down her foot. "Damn it, Harry! Why'd you do that for?"
"I didn't know I had," he said faintly.
"You'd better go and clear this up quickly before she does something stupid," Keira said, looking really worried now. Was this why Draco was so happy around them all today?
"You wouldn't want Malfoy to move in," Ron agreed, looking as worried.
Harry didn't know what to think. He'd basically just turned away from her coldly without even considering how this would hurt her feelings... damn! He wish he had some ounce of sensitivity, but even that seemed to be asking for too much.
He tore away from his friends, running as fast as he could toward their House. Once he reached Willow's room, he opened the door. He was expecting her to be there, but the room was quite empty. Pulling out his wand and stripping off his Quidditch robes, he grinned. He was going to surprise her.
Willow, it turned out, had finally come to Quidditch tryouts after all. She was just leaving the stands when Pansy Parkinson walked over to her. "Hey, Rosenberg! We heard what happened with Scarhead. Don't shed too many tears."
"What... what do you mean?" Willow asked, feeling lost. She looked like a little lost puppy dog with her sad eyes and vacant expression.
"I'm just saying you could do so much better than that clueless git."
"Like what?" Willow was starting to get agitated now.
"Draco," Pansy said with a triumphant smile. "He doesn't know what happened... or at least I think he doesn't know. He's got the biggest crush on you."
Willow sighed. "I thought he might."
Pansy's smile widened. Merlin, this redhead was clueless, even if she was quite a dish. "Come on, Willow. You're coming with us tonight. We're going to make you forget such a pathetic scarhead ever existed."
"What do you mean?" Willow asked apprehensively.
"You'll see," Pansy said, her smile broad and genuine. "You'll see."
- - - - -
After her fifth shot of alcohol, all bets were off.
For some odd reason, sitting in Keira's old dorm room with her detested roommate and the rest of her gossiping bunch was a bit of a relief. She found that they didn't grate on her nerves as much as Parvati and Lavender did about their brainless gossip. No, Pansy was made of tougher stuff than that.
The first person she noticed though was Rozalynn. She had been jeered and leered at enough by Pansy's group, so Willow automatically took a liking to her. It was a bad move on her part, especially since they were playing some sort of Wizarding shot game. All the rum was going straight to her head and it was making her feel sleepy and stupid.
They were also staring at her, waiting for her to contribute her own answer to their version of Truth or Dare, only the penalty was two more shots of rum and possibly a third of firewhiskey. Willow turned slightly pink as she looked away.
"Werewolf," she muttered with a grin.
Pansy shrieked and the other girls exchanged wild high gives and high-pitched laughter.
"Was he your first?" Pansy asked casually as she bit into an apple slice she'd dipped into chocolate.
Willow was bright red now, but for some reason, her mouth had separated itself from her brain. "Aye," she said dolefully, before bursting into giggles. "Oh... their stamina..."
Millicent Bulstrode, a tall, square-shouldered girl with dark blonde hair and hazel eyes, choked into her own rum and set her shot glass aside. "Kind of makes Professor Lupin look more..."
"Available?" Pansy asked delicately as she swallowed her bit of apple. "Hardly."
"Ignore them," another dark-haired girl said with a chortle. She poured herself another shot of firewhiskey before tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. "I think werewolves are kind of... sexy. In that really evil, devilish way."
Willow grinned at her. "Exactly how I feel."
The game went on well into the night. Finally, Willow was so tipsy she forced herself to walk downstairs, only to fall down a half flight.
"What have they done to her?" a voice asked in mock horror.
Willow tried to open her eyes, but the light was far too bright. She tried to speak, but it was obviously too much to ask her numb lips to move.
"Is she drunk?" It was a sharp female voice, completely unfamiliar.
"Ugh," Willow moaned, trying to sit up. A gentle pair of hands steadied her and she found herself squinting into a pair of silver eyes. "Dragon?" she muttered foolishly.
"She's drunk," Draco said with a sigh. "I should probably take her back to her room..."
"You should," said another familiar male voice. Willow turned her head and saw a blurry brown head. She smirked, giggling nonsensically. Before she could begin to protest, she felt strong arms lift her into the air. The giggles died and she swooned, trying to wrap her arms around her hero's neck, but failing miserably as she almost tipped backwards out of his arms.
"You'd better hold onto her tight," came a voice heavily accented in Russian. "She looks like she could keel over at any moment."
Willow felt her body moving as though she were floating on a cloud. She didn't really come to until she heard a sharp female voice and felt her body slowly sinking. Opening one eye, she saw a dark-haired girl shouting at the blonde-haired boy. He must've been the one who'd carried her to... she was in the study room. It was far too big to be her own room.
She started giggling again as she sat up. She found herself being dragged to her feet and moved impishly towards the staircase.
"Where was she?" the voice on her left asked.
"Malfoy said something about a game," the voice on her right replied bitterly.
"Poor Harry."
"Poor Harry? Poor me! I have to deal with a drunk roommate!"
"Well, he did sort of break up with her last night," the voice on her left said gingerly.
"Scarhead stupid," Willow slurred, grinning.
"Oh, crap," the voice on her right said with a sigh.
A door in front of them opened and Willow pitched face-first onto the fifth floor of their dormitory.
"What's going on?" another voice asked as Willow heard the sound of a door open far away.
"Is Harry still in our room?" Padma Patil's voice asked.
"You'd better get him out here," came Keira Isley's voice.
A few moments passed. Then, "What the bleeding hell happened to her?"
"You don't want to know," Padma said darkly.
Willow felt herself being lifted in the air again and started giggling, humming tunelessly under her breath.
"She's kind of drunk," Keira said sadly. "Although how or why, I don't--"
"That bitch."
"What?" Everyone was speaking now, and the voices were giving Willow a headache.
"Pansy Parkinson," came another familiar female voice. "She swooped down and dragged our Willow away. I bet she got her drunk and then sent her on her merry way."
"We'll take care of Pug-face later," Keira said firmly. "Harry, could you?"
Willow was moving again, and felt herself being gently set down on a warm, comfortable surface. "Scarhead stupid," she muttered under her breath as she reached up her arms and threaded them around a very masculine neck.
She felt hands tugging at her arms, trying to loosen the grip, but Willow pulled the neck towards her and felt in the darkness with her lips. After she finally met a pair of very masculine lips, she started kissing them, until she heard shrill laughter from the doorway and dropped her arms. "My Scarhead," she mumbled, before passing out.
Harry was rather pink as he closed the door behind him. He turned to Aura, who stood there, her arms crossed, looking angry.
"What happened?" Keira asked delicately.
"She's not really herself right now," Harry said, trying to brush the matter aside.
"I hope she doesn't remember too much tomorrow or there'll be hell to pay," Aura said angrily. Keira silently agreed with her.
"What's going on?" Parvati asked, walking down the hallway, wrapped in a thick woolen blanket.
"Never mind," Hermione said quickly, trying to clear the hallway so that people could sleep. It was nearly midnight as it was. "Just go back to bed."
But Lavender was walking into the hallway, blinking under the bright lights.
Harry, looking extremely uncomfortable, bade them all a good night and quickly ran towards the sixth floor, where he lived.
It had been a very unusual night.
- - - - -
Willow woke up the next morning to the sound of something screeching in her ear. It took her about a minute to figure out it was their alarm clock, signaling that Potions began in just one hour.
Rolling over, she pulled a pair of robes to her face and snuggled into them. They just smelled so delightfully warm... and... robes? What was she doing with a set of robes?
Willow sat up straight, regretting her decision almost immediately. Her head ached with the effort, and her stomach gave a great jolt. These were Quidditch robes on the bed. And she was dressed in the same outfit she'd worn yesterday when she...
Holy crap, Willow thought to herself. How much did she drink?
Enough, she realized as she stumbled onto the floor, clutching her comforter. It was enough to make her nauseous.
The door opened and Padma stepped through, carrying a small white bag and a white paper cup. "I brought you some tea and a muffin," she said, setting the food aside and helping Willow get back into bed. "If you want to cut Potions, one of us can take notes for you. It looks like you had a hell of a lot of fun last night."
"I don't know what it was," Willow said, massaging her forehead. "Damn."
Padma quickly moved to her train case and tipped two small pills into her hand before giving them to Willow. "It's just a basic Muggle remedy," she explained at Willow's skeptical look. "I'm not trying to poison you."
Willow gave her a grateful smile before taking the pills and opening the bag, letting out a tiny squeal. "You're the best, Padma."
Harry was waiting for Willow outside of Potions a half hour later. He looked extremely surprised to see Padma and Keira in conversation as they approached him.
"She's not coming," Padma explained when Harry asked where her roommate was. "She's sort of... hung-over. Big time."
Harry gave them both an impatient look. Before he knew what he was doing, he was running out of the hall and back outside, in the fog, towards the dormitories. He reached Willow's room at exactly five past nine.
Knocking, he opened the door and found her standing there in nothing but a bright red towel. She turned and gasped, clutching the towel even tighter to herself.
"For the love of God, Harry, close the door!"
He tried to make a coherent noise, but nothing came out. He just closed the door and tried to calm his thoughts. He had to talk to Willow. He wanted her to know just how much he liked her.
It took another five minutes before she opened the door, dressed in her plaid robe. She looked exhausted, with dark rings under her eyes and she was rather pale.
"You might as well come in. If one of the floor advisors catches you here, it's both of our necks."
Harry walked in, feeling almost foolish.
"Are you okay?"
She gave him a tight smile. "I'll live." She sat down on her bed and reached for the tea her roommate had brought her. "You don't have to keep checking up on me... I'm okay. I've been through break-ups before. I'll survive. Really."
He put up his hand to quiet her, yet she kept rambling on, until he spoke over her. "Willow, stop, please? You're making me feel guilty about being such a prat."
She closed her mouth and glared at him.
He opened his mouth and continued to speak. "I really wasn't thinking when you asked me that question Saturday... what can I say? I'm an idiot, Willow... I really like you, and I feel awful about what I said..."
There was a hopeful glint in her eyes. "Are you saying that you don't want to... end things?" she asked softly, a slight smile on her face.
"No," he said with a grin, edging closer to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I want to see where it goes from here. You are the sweetest thing since strawberries... and it's just making me..."
"I may have trashed you last night," Willow said, wincing slightly. "Wasn't exactly my fault, though. I think I slept in firewhiskey last night." She put a hand to her head and chuckled harshly. "I'll get over it."
"You sure?" he asked as he pulled her closer. She snuggled into his sweater and breathed in his scent before pausing and giggling.
"I think you left your robes here," she said, pointing to the haphazardly folded robes on Padma's neatly made bed. "I was sort of using them as a cuddle buddy this morning." She gave him an appraising sort of look then. "But I like the real version that much better."
He laughed and kissed the top of her head, feeling quite a bit better. He'd been edgy and snappish that morning, mostly to Ron and Hermione who had borne the brunt of his moodiness for the past seven years.
"Do you think we'll get into trouble if we skip Monday?" Willow yawned beneath his chin.
"I think we should get you dressed so Weasley doesn't come and kill the both of us," Harry said with a laugh.
"Do I have to?" she whined.
"I'll make you a deal," he said. "If you go to your Intro to Magic class... I'll take you out after practice tomorrow night."
She straightened and looked up at him. "You mean, like a real date?"
"Like our first date," he replied with a steady smile, crossing his fingers on the backside of her neck.
"It's a deal," she said, grinning up at him sweetly. "But that's only if you go to Practical Defense."
"You can count on it," he said, leaning down and kissing her softly.
"I think I'm going to like this deal," she grinned. "A lot."
- - - - -
Chapter 12... Willow and Harry have their first "real" date; Pansy gets what's coming to her.
Author's Notes:
This was one of the last things I wrote before leaving for Jamaica Thursday. It was sent to Grace for beta-reading. She returned it while I was gone. It's being posted today, Monday, because I wanted to get it out before it got lost.
Cow as White as Milk -- I really do love your handle! I think this was the last of the goofy chapters, though.
Lisa -- Not next chapter, but soon enough. Buffy shall be visiting, and there will be laughter and really weird hormones running around. Typical mixing of friends stuff. I don't really know who I'd hook her up with... too many males to go around.
mary4angelus -- Wish granted :). This was the last chapter that Draco actually hits on Willow.
lost angel92 -- thank you dear :)
aBeckyboo -- Buffy, yes. Oz, maybe.
In parting... the vacation was fantastic (and there are MANY funny stories to be told), and my nice writer's break was well-needed and enjoyed. I'm waiting to post other stuff for another few weeks yet BECAUSE there's still far too much going on. But this chapter was done... so it's out of the way. The next update is probably going to be two weeks.
Also, in true parting, this story does move rather fast. It'll slow down some, I promise.