Here We Go Again! SD and PK Take on Hogwarts

-samuraiduck27 and PsychoKitty13

A/N: I have no excuses for not updating. Gomen nasai minna-san for the long break. (bows in shame)

DISCLAIMER: If it's familiar outside of this story, we don't own it. Duh.


Chapter 12- Flight and Freefall

There were some things, SD had concluded, that were just too weird to be true. Her new little group of 'friends' that was once her enemies-slash-rivals being one of them.

The Slytherin had stumbled groggily down the stairs that morning, surprisingly early. She had pulled herself out of bed on her own, on time, and upon seeing the almost empty dorm (Daphne was still sleeping) she shrugged, grabbed her books, and decided to head down for breakfast.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was to enter the Slytherin common room and be greeted genially by the same group of Fifth years that had snubbed her for the last few months. Pansy and Millicent gave small smiles to the blonde as she entered, while Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy sat on a couch nearby.

"G'morning! And we didn't have to send anyone up to go get you… please tell me this is going to be a regular thing?" Pansy greeted, laughing slightly at the look on SD's face.

"…Who are you and what have you done with Parkinson?" the girl muttered, sending Pansy a wary expression.

"Get off of it, SD. We've put everything behind us, remember? You're one of the group now," Malfoy chuckled from behind his Quiddich magazine, "So no need to be paranoid."

The platinum-blonde teen tucked the magazine into a robe pocket and stood up, "Now, let's go to breakfast," he said, clapping his hands together and beginning to walk towards the exit.

Pansy walked forward and clung onto Malfoy's arm, as was per usual of the girl; she smiled up at him before turning to SD, "You'll be joining us for breakfast, won't you?"

"I…uh…" the girl stuttered as six pairs of eyes turned to her.

'The hell am I supposed to say? …One meal wouldn't hurt, I guess…'

"Well, SD?" Malfoy prompted, raising an eyebrow.

SD sighed, biting her lip before nodding, "I guess… but it's not going to be a regular thing, Malfoy."

"How many times do I have to tell you, SD? It's Draco now."

"…Don't push it."


"What the heck… Ron, am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" PK muttered as Malfoy and his entourage, now including a slightly uncomfortable-looking SD, entered the Great Hall.

"I dunno… what are you seeing?" the red-head replied, looking in the general direction PK was, "I only see Malfoy walking in… so what?"

The brunette rolled her eyes and reached across the table, grabbing Ron's head and pointing it at the small group of Slytherins, "Look, you nimrod! SD's with them… why is she with them?"

"I don't know! And you're hurting my head, leggo!" Ron cried, feeling very uncomfortable as his neck was stretched to its limits.

"Oops. Sorry 'bout that, Ron," PK muttered, releasing him as she continued glaring over at the table filled with green and silver clad students, "But I wonder what's going on…"


PK didn't get a chance to ask SD about what was up with the new change in the rivalry-friendship status between her and Malfoy's pack of goons until the free period after lunch. The blonde had tried to weasel her way out of the group and sit with PK at lunch, but Pansy and Millicent had cornered her and practically dragged her off to the table with them.

'Geez… you'd think they're my babysitters or something- I guess once you become friends with Malfoy you're expected to stick to his side like glue or something…' she mused agitatedly as she picked at her dessert while the group around her chattered about the upcoming Quiddich game in two weeks.

"Well, I'm done!" SD smiled, wanting to get away from the group as soon as possible, "I'll see you guys in class."

She grabbed her things and exited the Great Hall, heading towards the library, where PK and her spent heir free study hour every other day. Walking down the corridors, she absently wondered what PK would think of the whole situation she had gotten herself into. Obviously it was suspicious that Malfoy of all people would call a truce,

'Maybe he's just tired of the tension in the house, the teachers are starting to really come down on us and all this hate-ness is distracting, after all…'

But in her mind, it was completely clear that it was not just because he wanted to be friends all of a sudden. How he got the rest of his group to go along with this was another thought tugging at the back of her mind as she entered the library and sat down at her usual table nestled in a corner of bookshelves near the windows. Pulling out her half-finished Herbology paper that was due the period after this one, she began to half-heartedly work on it while she waited for her friend to show up.

'Maybe I'm just thinking too much into this business with Malfoy… maybe for once he's not trying to pull anything…'


"SD! About damn time I get to talk to you!" PK harshly whispered as she threw her bag on the table. SD looked up from her essay, now sporting a line of ink across the bottom half of the parchment, and glared venomously at the brunette.

"The hell, PK! Look what you made me do!" was the retort.

"What's up with you and the Ferret, huh? You… you were being friendly with that group of jerks earlier! Tell me what's going on!"

SD sighed, throwing down her quill and rolling her eyes, "Malfoy called truce last night in front of maybe half the house, I accepted, we shook on it, and now we're not hating each other anymore."

PK blinked, "But why? Why would he do that? Something's not right here, SD."

"You're telling me. But I decided to go with it anyway; it's hard enough being wary of the Twins slipping me something in my food or drink as well as watching where I step in my own dorm room. Truce was welcomed, actually."

"…As long as you know what you're doing, and you're not abandoning me, I guess I'll get over it." PK smiled after a moment.

SD grinned cheekily before waving her ruined essay in front of PK's face, "Now guess who's going to re-copy this whole thing for me in penance for indirectly ruining it, PK…"

"Ehehe… is it too late to say sorry?"


The following two weeks were rather uplifting for the Boy-Who-Lived. The knowledge that the first Defense Association meeting had gone as well as it did gave him some kind of glowing, satisfying feeling. It made it possible to live through Umbridge's classes, and even look her in the eyes with a bland smile- knowing that he and the rest of the DA were resisting her horrible restrictions right underneath her nose.

Every time he was supposed to be reading Wilbert Slinkhard's book during DADA, his mind was filled with memories of their most recent meetings. Such as ones of Neville successfully disarming Hermione, Colin Creevey mastering the Impediment Jinx, PK shooting off one of the strongest disarming charms he'd seen in a while, and Parvati reducing a table of Sneakoscopes to dust after a powerful Reductor Curse.

It was rather difficult to have a set day per week for the meetings, as there were members/captains from three of the four Hogwarts Quiddich teams, and the first game of the year was rapidly approaching. It was all most of the students could talk about. Harry however, was not set back by this fact, as Hermione had pointed it out that the ever-changing meeting times made it hard for anyone watching them to guess a pattern. Said bushy-haired witch had also made fake galleons equipped with a Protean Charm that, on Harry's command, would heat up and show the date of the next meeting on them, before fading away. There was slight amazement at Hermione's ability to perform a N.E.W.T. standard charm, but the group had opted to use the galleons in the end.

As the Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quiddich match- the first of the season, as it happened to be- drew closer and closer, meetings halted since Angelina called nearly nightly practices, and tension was up between the houses as the game approached. The students of the DA noticed for the first time how much each head of House truly cared about seeing their team win the Quiddich Cup. Snape was booking the pitch as often as possible, and ignoring the hexes his students cast of the Gryffindor team players. McGonagall had grown fond of the Cup sitting in her office and had even told Ron and Harry that she was not going to give it up any time soon. Harry felt optimistic about their chances though; after all, they had never lost a game to Slytherin. Ron still wasn't up to par half the time as Keeper… but the jet-haired boy had seen his friend make some great saves during practice, and Fred had remarked that Ron might just make him and George proud, something that the pair had been trying to deny for the past four years or so.


On the other side of the spectrum, SD was finding it harder and harder to accept the possibility that Malfoy and his goons were actually plotting something against her. The group had sort of grown on her, with their wacky yet conflicting personalities. Pansy, though betrothed to Malfoy, was a boy crazy flirt, SD noticed, who gushed over many of the 'dashing' 7th years in Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Blaise wasn't as quiet and reserved as she was in Arithmancy; she was actually second only to Malfoy when it came to being a sports freak and she was often caught arguing with the blonde boy about which Quiddich team was better.

Crabbe and Goyle were their usual selves that SD had observed, though she had to admit that they were a bit smarter than she had given them credit for- they were actually quite adept in Transfiguration, which SD's skills were still lacking heavily in. She also noted that Malfoy treated them as good friends of his rather than bodyguards a good amount of the time, usually when the Trio wasn't around. As for the weasel-like Slytherin himself, well…

He was still a sneaky prat. But decent enough to his friends, SD concluded. He was, to her, the annoying elder brother figure that loved to mess with his siblings' minds when she compared him to the others. The group rather reminded her of the bunch of friends she had back home… and she found herself warming up to them considerably when this thought touched her mind.

But she wasn't the only one to notice she had become a bit closer to the tight-knit group. PK had also noticed as well, and tried to talk the blonde out of it, saying that while they may seem to be friendly with her now, that could all change suddenly, like the way the whole arrangement had begun.

But SD wasn't willing to hear PK's warnings and shrugged them off. Her guard was still up, she had told the brunette, and just because she was letting it down a fraction or two didn't mean that she was going to become one of the lackeys of Slytherin house that followed around the 5th year like lap dogs.


Meanwhile… In the Real World…

Lilyfelt as though it had only been yesterday that two of her best friends had been standing next to her. With SD using her as a shield from the wrath of a provoked PK, and the other yelling obscenities at the girl hiding behind her, knowing that within the next few minutes, anything wrong would have been forgotten and the pair back to scheming.

Katie stood next to the tall girl, a blank expression on her face as she stared straight ahead at a tree a little ways off. Roxy was there also- arms crossed and eyes shut as if she were holding back tears.

'It's been four months and a day…' she thought morosely as her gaze shifted from her friends to the rest of the large group gathered around her, 'Even though the courts gave up after three… we kept searching, kept hoping…'

"…As we say our final farewell, let us pray…"

The group of people gathered at the cemetery, paying their respects to two empty graves, all bowed their heads collectively as their thoughts drifted to the pair of girls that they finally accepted were gone.

'But I guess even hope runs out after a while…'

The courts had declared them legally dead over a month ago, so even if by miracle the two appeared now… to the rest of the world, it wouldn't matter.

"Amen."

'Guys, wherever you are… I hope you're happy…'


"Holy mother of hell… that's a freaking huge hat!" PK muttered, admiring the huge lion's head perched upon Luna Lovegood's head, "…Oops. Not meaning to be rude or anything; I really like it. Where'd you get it?"

Luna turned misty eyes to PK in slight surprise, "I charmed it myself actually," she shrugged, "I really wanted it to be chewing a snake, to represent Slytherin you know, but this was the best I could do."

The brunette smiled, "Still awesome. I just hope you don't lose it in the stands because of all the wind."

"As do I… it would be a shame to have all my hard work to go to waste because of the wind."

Indeed, the day of the long-awaited Quiddich game had arrived in full-blown blustery force, November had finally arrived, and it was cold, windy, and rainy. Harry was totally excited about the game, while Ron on the other hand was looking very green and very nervous.

"Geez, Ron… you look like hell warmed over." PK noted as the redheaded boy sat down at the table.

"…I must have been mental to do this…" he squeaked, looking at the breakfast spread and turning away, "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Nonsense, Ron." Harry sighed, grabbing a piece or two of toast and putting it onto Ron's plate, "You just need some breakfast, that's all. Don't be thick; you're going to be fine."

"Yeah! It's normal to be nervous, right SD?" PK asked the blonde, who had just sat down at the table, sporting a red and gold scarf she had swiped from PK.

"Nervous about what? I'm lost…" she replied, looking around the table and grabbing a bagel.

"About the game, Zephyr. … And why aren't you wearing Slytherin colors?" Harry butted in; noticing that she was totally decked out -besides the scarf- in red and gold, once again probably swiped from her Gryffindor counterpart.

SD gave him a 'duh' look and rolled her eyes, "Because I'm supporting you guys, baka! I mean, my house's team's good and all… but you guys are better, I have to admit; or at least, that what I've heard from all the tales of the last few years of games, that is."

"Oh."

Ron, however, was still panicking and had upped a level in nervousness and was now muttering to himself on how he sucked at the game. Harry rolled his eyes and sighed, "Get a grip. Look at that save you made with your foot the other day! That was brilliant, even Fred and George said so!"

The redhead gave Harry a pained and sheepish look, "That was an accident- I didn't mean to save it at all! I slipped off my broom while none of you were looking and I was trying to get back on when I kicked the Quaffle on accident…"

Harry blinked, surprised at this information; "Well… uh… a few more accidents like that, and this game's in the bag, hmm?"

Just then, Hermione and Ginny appeared- decked out in scarves and rosettes of red and gold. They spotted Luna's hat roaring at the table over and both shook their heads before taking a seat.

"How are you feeling, Ron?" Ginny asked her brother, who was staring at his cereal bowl intently. PK noticed this and muttered something to the redhead about the bowl not being deep enough to drown him in.

Hermione shrugged, "Well, that's good to hear. I never feel you perform as well on exams without feeling a little nervous, after all."

Before Ron could retort on that, a dreamy voice greeted them from somewhere behind the girls. Luna Lovegood and her huge lion hat had drifted over from the Ravenclaw table to say hello.

"I'm supporting Gryffindor," she said, pointing to her hat, "Have you seen what it does yet?"

Harry and the rest opened their mouths to say yes and avoid the loud roar that would come from the hat, but PK beat them all to it and yelled out an enthusiastic, "Nope! What does it do, Luna? I wanna know!" that caused the other occupants of the group to give slight glares to the girl.

Luna gave a small smile and raised her wand, pointing it to her head and tapping the hat with it. The lion's mouth opened and an ear-splitting roar that was extremely realistic came out of it, frightening the majority of the students directly around Luna.

"It's good, isn't it?" Luna smiled, "It's not exactly what I wanted it to be… but anyways, good luck Ronald!"

"My ears…" SD muttered, trying to block out the ringing as the group sat there, slightly shocked as Luna drifted away to go show off her hat some more. Angelina walked over, along with Katie and Alicia, and told the two boys to hurry up so that the team could go down to the pitch.

"We'll be there in a bit; Ron's just gotta have some breakfast first." Harry assured her.

"As long as he doesn't try to drown himself in it, you mean." SD snickered.

The boys gave up after ten minutes of Ron not eating anything other than what he had already nibbled at, so the duo headed down to the changing rooms, passing a small group of second year Slytherins, who were sporting something small, silver, and crown-shaped on their coats or robes. Ron was too nervous to notice them, but Harry groaned inwardly as he noticed that the badges bore the legend "Weasley is Our King".

He didn't know what they meant by it, but knowing the Slytherins… it couldn't be something good.


They arrived at the pitch to find out that Angelina had already changed into her uniform and was talking with the rest of the team; the two pulled on their robes and met up with them in the locker room, where their new captain was discussing Slytherin's new lineup.

"Okay, last year's beaters have been replaced, it seems," Angelina said, looking over a piece of parchment, "Derrick and Bole graduated, and it looks like Montague has pulled up a pair of gorillas to take their place. Some blokes called Crabbe and Goyle… never heard of them."

Harry spoke up, Ron as well. "We have," they muttered.

Angelina shrugged, "They don't look as though they're too bright- not even enough to tell one end of the broomstick from the other; then again… I said the same for Bole and Derrick and was surprised."

The green-eyed boy shrugged, "These two are from the same mold, don't worry."

Angelina continued with the roster, and by the time the girl was finished they could hear the hundreds of footsteps climbing up the stairs in the pitch and the roar of voices as an eager audience appeared. They were obviously about as revved up as the players were- itching in anticipation for the first game of the season. Harry thought he could hear some people singing, but he couldn't make out the words. Angelina smiled at her team, anxious to get out there, and gave them a thumbs-up.

"Well… it's come," she muttered in a soft voice, "Good luck."

The team grabbed their brooms, and Harry gave Ron a quick squeeze on the shoulder as they walked out onto the field. In single file they marched out onto the sunlit pitch, seeing a team dressed in robes of green and silver waiting for them across the field. Roars from the crowd greeted them and Harry once again heard that same singing, though it was slightly muffled from the cheers and applause.

Walking towards the middle of the pitch, Harry noticed that the Slytherin team, too, were wearing those odd crown-shaped badges. The new captain, Montague, was of similar structure to Dudley, Harry thought. Crabbe and Goyle stood next to him- blinking confusedly and sporting a pair of new beater's clubs. Malfoy was off to the side, and smirked when Harry caught his eye. The blonde tapped his silver badge as the team captains walked forward to shake hands.

"Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch announced, the players doing so as soon as 'mount' had been said, "I want a good, clean game as always."

The silver-haired woman put the whistle in her mouth and blew; immediately the fourteen players flew into the air and the game begun. Lee Jordan sat in the professors' box, announcer for the Quiddich games as always. And of course, Professor McGonagall was sitting right next to him, ready to yell at the poor boy…

"And it's Johnson with the Quaffle… what a player this girl is! I've been saying that for the last five years of course, and she still won't go out with me-"

"JORDAN!"

SD sat with PK in the Gryffindor stands, cheering on the house team just as well as any Gryffindor…

"C'mon, Angelina! Bash that Montague! He hit you, so hit the bloody git back!"

Well… maybe not just like the Gryffindors…

"And Montague catches the Quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch- ooh! Nice Bludger there from George Weasley… or was it Fred…? Whatever; and that's a Bludger to the head for Montague, Spinnet catches the Quaffle, passes to Katie Bell…"

Jordan's commentary rang through the stadium; Harry listened as hard as he could as well as watching for the Snitch. 'There's that singing again…' he mused as the chanting grew, and seemed to be coming from the Slytherin section.

"-dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger, and that was a close one, Katie, and the crowd's going wild, just listen to them! What's that they're singing though, I wonder…"

It seemed like Harry wasn't the only one to notice, then. And as if fueled by Jordan's comment, the singing grew in volume until it rang clear in Harry's ears high above the students.

Weasley cannot save a thing;
He cannot block a single ring.
That's why Slytherins all sing-
Weasley is our King!

Weasley was born in a bin,
He always lets the Quaffle in.
Weasley will make sure we win-
Weasley is our King!


"Why those horrible little… argh!" Hermione muttered as the green and silver-clad students continued their chant.

The response was the same throughout the Gryffindor stands, though SD remarked that the tune was rather catchy… and almost got mobbed for that. She decided to keep her mouth shut from then on when it came to that song…

"They're creative, I have to give them that…" PK muttered, "They're trying to psyche Ron out- and it seems to be working…"

"Slytherin score!" Lee yelled as the Quaffle, thrown by Montague, soared right through Ron's outstretched arms and into the middle hoop. The stands erupted and the chant began anew.

WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN
HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN

"So that's ten-nil to Slytherin. Good try Ron, you'll get'em next time…" Lee said, "And Gryffindor back in possession of the Quaffle-"

WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN
WEASLEY IS OUR KING!

"SHUT UP, DAMN IT ALL!" SD yelled, PK voicing her complaint as well. The rest of the house took their example and soon the pitch was drowned in a sea of roaring voices, louder than it had been since the start of the game. The blonde was wondering absently why the teachers weren't putting any effort in to stopping the Slytherins from their little mind game…


"HARRY! Hurry up and GO!" Angelina roared at the teen as she rushed passed him, Quaffle in hand before she threw it to Katie. The boy realized he had been immobile for about a minute, sitting in mid-air as the Slytherins chanted all around him.

There was no sign of the Snitch anywhere he looked, and it seemed that Malfoy was having a hard time as well as he was circling the pitch slowly from above him- eyes sharp as a hawk's as he searched for any sign of the elusive golden ball.

WEASLEY IS OUR KING…
WEASLEY IS OUR KING!

'Where the hell is it…?' Harry wondered as Gryffindor missed scoring once again below him. A loud groan from the Gryffindor stands broke his concentration for a moment and he looked over to the Slytherin side, where Pansy Parkinson had stood up like a conductor and was leading the house in another round of their demeaning chant.

WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN…

"And it's Warrington again," Lee bellowed, trying to be heard over the roar of the students, "who passes to Pucey, who's off past Spinnet- come on now, Angelina! You can take him! …Turns out you can't, but oh well and another nice bludger from Fred Weasley! That's George? Oh, who cares, it's one of them anyways…"

WEASLEY CANNOT SAVE A THING…

"- and Pucey's dodged Angelina again! And he's heading straight for… stop that ball, Ron!"

Harry didn't have time to look but the resulting groan from the red and gold clad supporters versus the cheers from the opposite side were more than enough to tell him what had happened.

THAT'S WHY SLYTHERINS ALL SING:
WEASLEY IS OUR KING!

"This is getting kind of ridiculous…" PK muttered, sitting down on the wooden bench.

"I need an aspirin…" SD sighed, holding her head as she joined the brunette, "Or one of Madam Pomfrey's headache cure charm things…"

"Who do you think'll catch the Snitch?"

SD rolled her eyes and leaned over to talk to PK in a conspiratorial whisper, "It'll be Harry, stupid… then he's gonna punch the crap outta Malfoy, remember?"

A wicked grin creeped up onto PK's face, "Oh yeah… speaking of Malfoy… aren't you gonna be on his bad side when he finds out that you weren't part of his little cheering squad?"

The Slytherin shrugged, "Nah- he probably knows since I wasn't there last night when he put together the song and badges."

"So it was him, eh?"

"I know- I didn't think the ferret had a creative bone in his body."

"GET IT, HARRY!"

Hermione's yell drew the Duo's attention back to the game; both Seekers were in a desperate dive for a small object just out of reach. Harry was ahead by a fraction… and he was just about to grab it when WHAM!

Harry went tumbling off his broom onto the pitch a few feet below as a Bludger caught him right in the small of the back. Angelina swooped down beside her teammate and offered him a hand up as the crowds erupted.

"You all right?" she asked.

Harry smiled and nodded, showing her the Snitch enclosed in his hand, "Course I am," he shrugged, pulling himself up and dusting off the grass on his robes.

"And Gryffindor wins! 160 to 60! Gryffindor wins!"

Madam Hooch zoomed past them towards the Slytherin team and started yelling at them, though they couldn't tell what was being said. Angelina grimaced, "It was that thug Crabbe- he hurled the Bludger straight at you the second her realized you were about to catch the Snitch. But we won, Harry! We won!"

The rest of the Gryffindor team swooped down upon the pair, patting Harry on the back for a job well done and smiles were all around… until Malfoy and his goons showed up, that is.


Up in the stands, the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs… well, basically anyone not betting on or in favor of Slytherin House's team winning were cheering their butts off. The Duo was jumping with the rest of them, but kept their gaze focused on the pitch as Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle strode over towards Harry and the others.

"Those guys are such sore losers," Hermione grumbled as the platinum blonde started talking to the red-clad players, a smug smirk on his face, "Whatever he's spouting off now, it can't be good. Just look at Fred and George's faces…"

Indeed, the two elder Weasley brothers looked pissed off at something that Malfoy was apparently saying towards Harry. Angelina was holding one of the twins back by the robe, while the other looked ready to punch Malfoy in the face.

"Looks like Harry beat Ron and the boys to it…" SD cackled as Harry, holding George's robe back, suddenly let go at the last thing Malfoy had taunted them with and the two boys, along with the twins, began beating on Malfoy all at the same time.

Needless to say, the crowd loved it. After all, seeing a fight's just one of those things you get entranced by and have to watch…

"Bash his face in, George! Give 'em the old one-two!" PK yelled, leaning over the stadium railing and shouting down to the boys below.

SD sweatdropped, " 'the old one-two'? What the hell, PK?"

Hooch and McGonagall ran onto the pitch to break it up; the silver-haired referee shouting out "INPEDIMENTA!" as her Impediment Jinx knocked the boys off of Malfoy. The two were restrained by their teammates and dragged off the pitch, and Malfoy just lay there on the ground, nose bloody as well as the corner of his mouth. Harry felt a small surge of triumph at this, even as he was escorted off the grounds and up to McGonagall's office along with George.


"In!" the stern-faced professor hissed as the two boys and her reached the Gryffindor Head of House office.

George and Harry did as told, McGonagall bringing up the rear as they filed into the room. She sat down behind her desk, a look of livid fury upon her face as she addressed the three miscreants.

"Well?" the woman growled, "I have never seen such an abominable display of character! Fighting on the ground, two against one! And like Muggles as well! Explain yourselves!"

"Malfoy provoked us!" Fred protested.

"He provoked you?" was McGonagall's scoffed reply.

The redheaded teen nodded and snarled out a reply, "He started insulting our parents… and Harry's mum."

"But you decided you had to take matters into your own hands and start dueling like Muggles instead of having Madam Hooch take care of it? Why I-"

"Hem, hem."

The trio turned to see Umbridge standing in the doorway, a less-than-pleasing smile on her face as she strode in and addressed the other professor.

"Perhaps I might be of some help?" she asked.

McGonagall repressed the urge to roll her eyes, and kept her tone barely in check as she would have liked nothing more to hex the woman standing in front of her, "Help? What makes you think I need help, Professor?"

Umbridge shrugged, "I just thought you might be grateful for the little extra authority."

"You thought wrong," she replied shortly, turning back towards the two boys, "And as for you two, I don't care what Malfoy said, or what provocation he offered you; I am ashamed of your display today and I am giving you a week's worth of detentions for it. Do not look at me like that, Potter- you know full well that you deserve each and every last one of them!"

Umbridge piped up then, deciding to add her two cents to the argument. "Actually, Minerva… I was thinking something a little more drastic than that…"


"SHE WHAT?"

"Yeah… don't remind us…"

"But… but… she can't do that! Dumbledore will have something to say about this!"

George sighed, "Unfortunately, because of that bloody Decree stuff Fudge has been throwing out, she can…"

Harry, Hermione, the twins, PK, and the rest of the Gryffindor Quiddich team were gathered in the common room as George and Harry broke the news to them. The party that usually came after a win such as that day's had been canceled for obvious reasons, and the assembly of students were now angsting over the fact that their star Seeker and one of their top-notch Beaters had gotten themselves banned from ever playing Quiddich again.

Stupid Umbridge. And we all know that that's an understatement if you ever heard one.

Ron came through the portrait hole suddenly, looking sopping wet and still in his Quiddich robes, pale as snow and even having some of the white flaky substance stuck in his red locks.

"Ron!" PK said, "The heck you've been? You look like an ice cube!"

The rest of the group turned to face him and the teen shrugged, taking a seat near the fire at Hermione's insistence. He refused to look at anyone, and only mumbled "walking" as an excuse to where he had been.

After a few minutes, the redhead looked at Harry and muttered out a "Sorry."

"What for, Ron?" he replied, looking rather confused.

"For thinking I could play Quiddich. I'm resigning tomorrow."

"If you do that, our team'll be out three players." Fred muttered, watching as Ron blinked in confusion. Fred explained the news, and Ron's frown grew deeper.

"This is all my fault…"

Harry's forehead creased, "Hey! You didn't make me punch Malfoy!" he said angrily.

"- If I wasn't so lousy at Quiddich-"

George rolled his eyes. "-It's got nothing to do with that-"

"- It's the song that got me wound up!"

PK sighed, "It'd get on anyone's nerves."

Hermione got up from her seat and left the arguement, going to look out the window. Harry stood up and gave Ron an exasperated and angry look, "Just drop it will you? Stop blaming yourself for everything! Things are bad enough as is."

Hermione's mouth twitched into a small smile, only seen through the slight reflection of the windowpane.

"Well, I think I know something that would cheer the both of you right up…"

The two both looked at her boredly, "And that would be what?" Ron snipped, a dry hint of sarcasm lacing the sentence.

PK snorted at the tone and Hermione rolled her eyes, but didn't comment on it; instead she pointed out the window to a figure walking across the grounds towards a small hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Hagrid's back."


A/N: Yeah. Don't kill me for the lateness. Play practice, DDR competition, and new anime obsession combined with the laziness that is SD are my only excuses.

Basically, it's the usual b.s. on why I haven't updated.

But I'm on Spring Break now! So… I hope to give you guys ANOTHER new one by the end of break.

PK13: (scoffs) Like THAT will happen…

(sighs) I'll try… and I mean it this time. But now I'm tired and hurt-y and need to sleep... and this was supposed to be out on Friday night, but the site wouldn't let me upload anything for some reason. SORRY!

Oyasumi nasai, minna-san.

SD27 and PK13