I stumbled over something at the top of the stairs to the girls' dormitories and tripped the rest of the way down the stairs. It was going to be one of those days.
Already this morning I had gotten tangled in the covers on my bed fallen and gotten tangled in the hangings around my bed and then hit my head on my trunk as I managed to untangle myself. I dragged myself up off of the floor and managed to stub the big toes on both feet on various trunks on the way to the bathroom where there was no hot water for my shower (you'd think I could do something magic to fix this, but no) and them all the hot water came pouring out as I tried to wash my face and I successfully burnt my face and hands. I had no clean robes so I had to charm one so it would appear clean and then my last hair tie broke so I had to tie my hair back with a pink ribbon. Finally I managed to get out of my dorm and out to the hallway where I tripped and fell down the stairs, but you already know that. Yes, it was going to be one of those days.
I sighed, "Bloody staircase."
"Don't take your anger out on the poor staircase," Oliver teased.
"Shut it, I'm not in the mood," I replied making my way carefully to the Portrait Hole and out where my robes got stuck and I fell on the floor with a WA-THUMP!
"Poor Kat," Oliver said sympathetically as he helped me up off the floor, "Not having a good morning?"
"Ollie, 'not having a good morning' is not getting hot oatmeal for breakfast, this is worse than 'not having a good morning'." I sighed, "It's going to be one of those days."
"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Oliver said, catching me before I slipped down the stairs, "You just need some coffee or something."
"I, oof," I exhaled loudly as someone pushed past me violently, "Oliver, I'm going to come the closest to death today that I ever have in my life; I can feel it! And we have our bloody exams all day! I've got Charms and then finish off with Potions!"
Oliver rolled his eyes as he helped me up, "Just try to focus on staying upright, I'm sure that if you can do that you won't get trampled."
"I'm not sure," I replied as some Slytherin tripped me, "See what I mean, it going to be one of those bloody days!"
"You'll be fine," Oliver assured, "Don't worry about it."
"Bloody Hell!" I exclaimed in my charms exam when the feather that the girl next to me was supposed to be levitating and then charming to write her written exam with went up in flames. Being the stupid person that I am I had set my elbow rather too near to her feather and my robes caught on fire. I whipped my wand around and squirted water on my flaming sleeve but it was some sort of magic fire that water only made grow larger.
"Miss Bell, strip your robes off right now, or you'll be barbequed," Professor Flitwick squeaked.
So a second later I stood in the middle of the classroom in my knickers because my robes were under 30 foot tall flames. The class roared in laughter and some kind soul tossed me their cloak. I quickly pulled it on and knew my face was absolutely burning in embarrassment. Damn, why couldn't Oliver have been right this one time?
"Katie, nice outfit," George taunted as I came into lunch in my old private school uniform.
"What happened," Fred asked sympathetically as he punched George rather hard in the arm.
"Katie, I'm glad to see you found something to wear other than your knickers!" a Slytherin boy called to me.
I was about ready to punch his lights out when Angelina restrained me. Or she tried to anyway; Fred and George both had to help her keep me in check.
"Katie, calm down!" Alicia ordered, "Come on; back up to the Common Room."
I was half carried half dragged back to the Common Room. When we got there I was thrown unceremoniously onto the couch and sat upon to hold me down.
"Talk," Angelina ordered, "Where are your robes? Why are you wearing that hideous ensemble? And Why the Hell was that Slytherin talking about your knickers?"
I started at the beginning of the day and left out nothing, absolutely nothing that had gone wrong. When I had finished lunch was nearly over.
"Come on, you can borrow some of my robes," Alicia said sympathetically as George rolled on the floor in laughter.
"Go ahead and laugh Fred," I sighed and Fred too burst out into hysterical laughter.
"Sorry Katie, but that's hilarious," Fred gasped from somewhere around my knees, "What a rotten day you're having!"
All of a sudden I started to laugh too. I fell on the ground and clutched Fred for support.
"God, Katie, you have to breathe eventually," Alicia said, eyeing Angelina who was crying because she was laughing so hard, "Do you want those robes or not?"
"Yes, please!" I managed to gasp as Angelina pulled me off the ground.
Ange and I held onto each other for support as we followed a rather irritated Alicia up to our dormitory. I finally managed to stop laughing before Potions, which was my next class, and my least favorite and we had exams.
"You are to brew a Shrinking Solution from memory in half an hour, go." Professor Snape instructed, "Oh, and write down all the steps."
The class normally would have groaned, at least the Gryffindors, but it was an exam and we were all going into panic mode at the moment. I took a deep breathe and wrote down the ingredients and went to get them. Then I began to write down the steps as I performed them.
"Time is up!" Professor Snape bellowed, "Nicely done, as usual, Mr. Flint. Miss Bell, I am pleasantly surprised, now don't drop it on your way to putting turning it in."
I flushed at this remembering how I had failed Potions last year due to my clumsiness. Actually I think Jeremy Mattson tripped me. I was determined not to drop the potion this time or trip and managed to turn it in successfully. I had just dumped out my potion and finished cleaning up when Jeremy Mattson knocked over the entire rack of Gryffindor potions; mine was the only one that he didn't manage to catch.
"Looks like another failing grade, huh Miss Bell?" Professor Snape asked coldly as I slammed my head into the table, "You may all go."
"Jeremy," I growled menacingly once we had gotten out into the bright sunlight, "You are the biggest, argh!"
I let out a battle cry as I threw down my bag and tackled Jeremy. He flew to the ground and I hit him in the eye. I then was about to hit him in the nose too, and hard so that it would break, when three pairs of arms yanked me off of him and pinned my arms firmly to my side.
"You're lucky they were here!" I raged at Jeremy, jerking my head madly to indicate Fred, George, and Oliver, "This is the second year in a row you've made me fail Potions!"
"Sorry Bell, it was an accident!" Jeremy protested, nursing his eye.
"It wasn't when you tripped me last year!" I screamed.
"I think that's enough out of you," Oliver hoisted me up and over his back, "Fred if you would kindly grab her bag and follow me, I think Miss Katie here needs a little dip in the lake."
"Oliver Wood, put me down," I pounded his back, "Don't make me use your middle name."
"Fine, if you insist," Oliver took me off of his shoulder and tossed me into the lake headfirst.
I came wading out of the lake, surprisingly calmer than before. I shook my hair out of my face and pulled my sopping wet shoes off of my feet. The twins laughed heartily at me and Angelina and Alicia, who had just walked up, looked thoroughly confused.
"I can't let my players go around beating up members of our own house and getting kicked off the team right before the final game, now can I?" Oliver said shrugging.
"I guess not," I said, still somewhat sulky.
"Now what was this about Jeremy Mattson making you fail Potions again?" Oliver asked as I cast a drying spell on my borrowed robes and then my hair.
"You really don't want to know how bad my day has been," I said frowning as Fred, George, and Angelina broke out into hysterics.
"Go on Katie, tell him, I could use another laugh after that Transfiguration exam," George said trying to regain his breath, as well as his balance.
So I told Oliver the story of my day, omitting, once again, nothing humiliating, embarrassing, or discouraging. It took a whole quarter of an hour to tell him everything. When I had finished Oliver collapsed on the ground in laughter and Fred, George, and Angelina starting crying in mirth. Just then Jeremy Mattson walked up warily.
"Sorry Bell," Jeremy apologized, "I really didn't mean to make you fail again. I'll take a failing grade if you want. What's the matter with them?"
Jeremy had just noticed the four rolling around on the ground laughing and crying and Alicia giving them looks as if they were mental.
"I told them about my day," I replied grinning, "Not my best, I assume you witnesses Nancy's charm going wrong?"
"Yes, I did. Sorry you've had such a rotten day. But I think you looked splendid in your knickers. Now, about that grade…"
"Mattson you pervert!" I roared and chased him off laughing, "Oh, and don't worry about the grade!"
"As you wish, Lady Knickers," Jeremy bowed like a lord to a lady and walked off.
"I'd watch it, Mattson, or you might find yourself wearing only your knickers in class someday!"
Sometime in the wee hours of the morning I had a sinking feeling that something was wrong on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. So I did the only thing any self respecting Gryffindor Quidditch team member would do, I went to spy on the others. Sincerely hoping that nothing was wrong with Harry, who I had come to think of as a younger brother, I got down to the Common Room and saw a very exhausted and beat up looking Ron and Hermione come in followed by Professor McGonagall.
"Do you think Harry will be alright?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"I'm sure the boy will wake up and recover eventually." Professor McGonagall answered, "Miss Bell, what are you doing up?"
"I had a bad feeling that something was wrong," I said truthfully, "What's wrong with Harry?"
"I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but Harry is like your younger brother, is he not?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Yes he is," I replied honestly, hadn't I just been thinking about that?
"Very well, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, I think you should be getting to bed. Miss Bell, would you kindly go and wake Mr. Wood and the Weasley twins?"
"What about Alicia and Angelina?" I asked.
"We're right here," Alicia said from behind me, I jumped five feet into the air.
"I'll just go and wake them then," I said a little shakily as I hurried up the stairs to the boys' dorms behind Ron.
"Oliver," I shook my Quidditch Captain trying to wake him up, "Oliver wake up or I'm going to have to dump water on you."
"Kat, what do you want?" Oliver muttered sleepily.
"Professor McGonagall wants to talk to us. Something horrible happened to Harry, I think he's unconscious."
Oliver sat straight up in his bed and knocked me onto the floor. He helped me up and sprinted out of the room. I went to wake Fred and George.
"Oy, you two get up!" I said smacking George and giving Fred a small pinch. They both jumped right out of their beds.
"What's on fire?" Fred bellowed in alarm.
"Where's the presents mum?" George called out loudly.
"Shut up you two, we're having a meeting with McGonagall, Harry's in bad shape," I filled them in quickly.
"Why didn't you say so?" George asked loudly as he raced out the door with Fred right behind him.
I sighed and raced after them sliding down the rail instead of running down all of the stairs. I flew off the bottom of the rail but managed to stay on my feet. I ignored McGonagall's lecture about the dangers of banister sliding and took a seat on the floor and looked at her expectantly.
"Miss Bell, did you have to wake Mr. Wood first? He's been pestering me the whole time to tell him and then fill you three in later," Professor McGonagall sighed, "Oh well I'm afraid your Seeker will be unfit to play in the match on Saturday. Even if he was to wake up I don't think Madam Pomfrey would allow him to participate."
"Professor," I protested, "Aren't you going to tell us the basics about what happened? After all, he is my adopted brother."
"Your parents adopted him?" Alicia asked; I rolled my eyes praying that she was only acting so ditzy because she was tired.
"Very well, I do not know very much and Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger don't know anything more than I do, so don't go pestering them for more of the story. From what we know Professor Quirrel had been possessed by He-who-must-not-be-named. He tried to steal a very important object that was hidden in the school for protection called the Sorcerer's Stone, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger went on their own to stop him. That is all we know, and will remain all we know until Mr. Potter regains consciousness. Mr. Wood, I suggest you all get some sleep and then start looking for a Seeker. Good night."
"Professor," I clambered out of the Portrait Hole after her, "Can I visit Harry later?"
"Miss Bell, there is no use visiting an unconscious person, but I suppose you may. Tell your teammates that any gifts must pass through Madam Pomfrey's inspection. Good night!"
I turned to the Portrait Hole to go back into the tower but the fat lady was off somewhere.
"Bloody Hell, it had to be one of those days!" I exclaimed sitting outside the Portrait Hole and waiting for one of the others to get worried and come find me.
AN/ I know, I said I wasn't going to post anything until next year, so sue me! I had better get lots of reviews between now and New Year's. Keep Writing and, of course, please review! I love you all and hope you are safe in your travels! Happy Holidays!
Hope you enjoy the next chapter, it will include the rest of the year, I think. Itdefinately will include that infamous Hogwarts toilet seat that the twins bring Harry as well as the Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor match where Gryffindor gets flattened due to Harry's unconcious state. Oh, bummer, poor team thought they had the cup in the bag and then their Seeker goes off to save the wizarding world again, how depressing. Grab the pitchforks team! Just Kidding, I think they entirely forgive him, except maybe Oliver... He seems to bea tad disappointed but I think he doesn't blame Harry, somewhere, erm, very deep down. Oh well,
Happy Holidays,
Love From,
MotherCrumpet