a/n See? Look how quick that update was! Anyway, lots going on in this chapter, another roller coaster ride for Ascella, so hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Nope don't own, that would be JK Rowling
October 1993
And what a day it had been, filled with fun and friends. The sort of day Ascella wished very much she could go back to as September slipped into October, bringing with it colder weather and more of Malfoy's dramatics. While it was obvious to anyone who really noticed that Malfoy's injury had long since healed, he was still insisting it was sore. In addition to that he was still reveling in the fact that he'd finally found successful ammunition with which to goad Ascella, but she wasn't the only one growing annoyed with the Slytherin.
Ascella had been shocked one day in Herbology when even Blaise Zabini had apparently had enough of Malfoy's melodramatics. Malfoy had been doing a bang up job of playing up his "injury" in between saying nasty things to Ascella about her dad, when Zabini had said, trying to sound bored, but with an edge nonetheless, "Oh give it a rest Draco. Like your father's much better. He was just able to bribe his way out of trouble." It shut Malfoy right up.
Ascella didn't know whether to thank Zabini or gawk at him. Catching sight of his face she decided to just ask, "What was that for?"
"Not you, if that's what you're implying," came his sneering response, turning back to the puffapod they were de-seeding.
"Well - I wasn't," Ascella stuttered out. Zabini gave her a tight lipped smile like he didn't believe her. Ascella decided then to just be grateful and never mention it again. Oh and immortalize forever the look on Malfoy's face at Zabini's words. The rest of Herbology passed rather well, all things considered. Zabini was quiet after shutting Malfoy up but it was evident he was glad of it. Or he was just glad Kevin was back this year as he had someone who was at least passable at Herbology once again to help out.
Unfortunately this momentary break from Malfoy's taunts, while grateful, wasn't enough recuperating time for Ascella to be able to stop herself from hexing him in the corridor between lessons after he made another snide comment about her father. This of course was seen by Minnie McG and Ascella landed herself in detention for a week. Ascella had been both surprised and delighted though to find that Minnie was assigning her to detention with Lupin.
The shabby Defense teacher had fast become a favorite among the third year students, Ascella included. She had to figure detention with him couldn't be all that bad, certainly a step up from one with Filch or shudder, Snape, who had been absolutely revolting this year, worse even than ever before. Ascella wasn't sure if his particular nastiness stemmed from the news of the boggart incident or because he'd been passed up once again as the Defense teacher but whatever the reason he was worse than ever, especially towards Harry. He even seemed to have an open loathing for Professor Lupin that he had never expressed towards any of their previous Defense professors.
Whatever the reason, Ascella found herself off to her first detention with Lupin, not dreading what was to come nearly so much as she might have.
The first night they didn't talk much at the beginning beyond the usual polite greeting, but that might have mostly had to do with the fact that they both wore masks covering their mouths as they sprayed down an old tapestry Lupin had found on the fifth floor that was riddled with doxies. It was actually quite fun, the little buggers coming alive as they realized what was happening and trying to spring out at them until Ascella or Lupin hit them with a face full of doxy spray.
After, as they gathered them up and dumped them into a bag, Ascella couldn't help but ask, her mask pulled down and hanging about her neck, "So what do you need these blighters for then?"
"First years need a practical," Lupin explained. "Won't need quite so many as all these but Filch needed this tapestry cleaned up anyway." Then grunting as he lugged one of the brown sacks over his shoulder he asked, "Would you mind helping me lug these back to my office? Then you will be free to go."
"Of course," she replied with an easy grin. "But I won't be 'lugging' anything." Then with a wave of her wand, the other bag of doxies was floating along in front of her. She couldn't help but give Lupin a raised eyebrow look as they started off to emphasize how much better her method was. Lupin only chuckled though, shaking his head as if her actions reminded him of a fond memory.
Back down in Lupin's office, he grunted as he wiped some sweat from his brow, "Drop those in that corner." He half pointed, half threw his bag to the corner he meant. Ascella easily and effortlessly guided her bag there and let it down easy before ceasing the spell. Lupin looked up at her then, more than a little impressed.
"You can do non-verbal?" he asked.
"Only for easy charms, like that," she replied uninterested in this turn of the conversation, instead surveying the rest of the room. She'd only seen the office when Lockhart had been there as she'd served such a lovely detention with him doing lines the previous year. She was glad to say that Lupin was a much better decorator. If relatively bare and devoid of personal items it was at the very least devoid of thousands of smiling photos of himself on every available inch of space.
Lupin appeared to want to talk more about her Charms abilities but Ascella interrupted him pointing at the smoking goblet on his desk and asking, "What's that?"
Lupin looked at it and his face paled a bit.
"Oh that, that is nothing. Just been feeling a bit under the weather so I had a potion brewed for me."
"Why didn't you just go to the Hospital wing?"
"Alright nosy," Lupin said trying to use his body to prevent Ascella from stepping closer to inspect the potion - it smelled awfully familiar but she couldn't quite place it - "Just a perk of being a professor - room service."
"Ooh do the House elves come up too with food?" Ascella asked letting Lupin think she'd forgotten about the potion. Under the weather he might be feeling but with the way he was acting she bet that potion was a little more than a simple Pepperup. But she supposed she could let Lupin think he'd kept his secret from her. For now at least.
The next day's detention found them once more in Lupin's office. This time Ascella was helping to grade a quiz he'd given his fifth year students ("Honestly these tossers are right morons! Who doesn't know that you can't use that spell to fend off a banshee? Ah, this is Montague's. That makes more sense, Slytherin git." "Ascella!" Lupin tried to berate. "What? He is.") and drinking tea that Lupin had provided, while he wrote up lesson plans for the following week.
About half way through the stack Ascella glanced up at Lupin. They were sharing his large desk, her on the front side, a bottle of ink between them. He really did still look a bit peaky, she supposed.
"Yes?" Lupin asked, having caught her looking at him. Ascella started. He hadn't lifted his head to catch her but catch her he had; it was like he had some sort of heightened senses but whatever she supposed she did have a question for him.
"Did you ever serve detention in your time at Hogwarts, Professor? You and any of your friends?" she asked casually, dipping her quill into the ink pot as she asked.
Lupin, who'd just been about to take a sip of tea, choked on it, and spilt it too in haste to set it down. Vanishing the damage with a wave of his wand he answered not quite meeting her gaze.
"Oh yes, more than a few times. But my friends were there far more than I ever was."
"Ha, so you were the good one. See I'm the one that's always in detention of my mates. Between Harry, Ron and I, it's definitely me. Harry says it's 'cause I can't keep my mouth shut. Or a rein on my temper. I tell him, that more often than not, I am merely doing the world a service by helping rid it of stupidity."
Lupin choked on his tea again, but this time because he appeared to be trying not to laugh.
"What?" Ascella asked dubious, a half smile coming to her face.
"Oh nothing," he replied his eyes sparkling just a bit. "You just reminded me of someone."
"What someone?" Ascella asked curious despite herself.
Lupin's eyes grew pained then. He looked away, out the window, the waxing moon streaming its light through the panes.
"Just someone I thought I'd once known," he finally said. And Ascella gathered enough from his tone to know to drop the subject.
The next day in detention they were back at it, this time Ascella was grading 7th year quizzes ("Flint? Marcus Flint? Isn't this his second year as a 7th year? You'd think he'd do better the second time, sheesh!") and Lupin was cleaning an empty tank he said would soon house a grindylow.
"You know I'm beginning to understand why you requested to oversee my detentions," Ascella started. Lupin looked up, rag in hand his face betraying his bemusement. "To do all your grading," she said pointing the end of her quill at him. He laughed.
"You've found me out!" Ascella grinned and turned back to grading Flint's truly atrocious quiz. "Truth is I actually rather enjoy the grading," he admitted, coming back over towards her. He gathered up the tea tray from a side table and brought it over to the desk where Ascella was working. Tonight she was in his chair a place she had shamelessly flopped down in when he'd told her he would be cleaning.
"But I had a feeling you might not." Ascella glared but she didn't really mean it. He was certainly right about her not enjoying it (making fun of idiot Slytherin's aside), it was just that she barely did her own homework let alone someone else's (and yes grading is a teachers homework, Ascella had concluded, their punishment for trying to educate a bunch of young and ungrateful witches and wizards)
"Well la dee da," she said with a soft eye roll. Lupin only smiled, no doubt knowing he'd been right.
"Tea?" he asked a moment later.
"Yes please."
"I'd been meaning to ask," Lupin said, sitting down across from her, as if he were the student not she, his hands wrapped around the cup of warm tea, its steam floating up in front of his face. "The black dog you used to tackle the boggart" (Ascella had stiffened when he'd begun this question but relaxed when he didn't say her father or even his name) "The one that made everyone laugh with it's antics?"
"Ye-es," Ascella drew out, hardly knowing where this was going. Lupin tried to smile in encouragement, but Ascella couldn't help but notice the sudden intensity in his eyes.
"Well, its just it was rather a clever way to deal with your fear. I was only wondering if he's your dog from back home?"
"No," she said, shaking her head and biting into a biscuit she'd snatched off the tea tray, while Lupin's hands had been busy pouring her tea. She found it a bit strange that Lupin was bringing this up, especially as he was trying to make it out like the answer didn't matter to him. "Just some stray I played with over the summer
"So you'd never seen this dog before this summer?" Lupin asked, with an intensity that hadn't been there before.
"Oh I'm sure I've seen it before. Strays are always coming 'round to my place. Meda says it's cause I'm soft and am always giving them treats. Ted says it's because of my sunny disposition." Here Lupin was supposed to snort, all of her mates would have, but he was too busy looking relieved. Ascella narrowed her eyes.
"Say, why do you ask?"
"Just curious," he said before changing the subject and asking her about her friendship with Harry.
"Oh! He's the best mate there is! Only don't tell him I said so, don't want him getting a big head now do we?"
"No, one big headed Potter is enough for a lifetime I think," Lupin murmured, so softly Ascella almost didn't hear it, a smile on his lips.
"What was that?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
Lupin opened his mouth then to explain but at that time Snape walked in with a steaming goblet exhuming the same blue smoke as the one from a few days previous.
For once Snape seemed delighted to see her, as he swept in. He set the goblet down on Lupin's desk and told him to drink up, his eyes turning to Ascella. Ascella felt her stomach plummet, no, it couldn't be, she thought recognizing the potion, no doubt why Snape seemed so chummed to see her. Ascella looked away from his gleaming eyes as Lupin politely thanked Snape for the potion. Her eyes found the moon outside, so close to full.
She was silent for long after Snape had left and well after Lupin had choked down the potion. She didn't know what to say, didn't really know what she was feeling but she had to say something.
"You're a werewolf."
"Wha - what makes you say that?" a pale faced Lupin stuttered.
Ascella's gray eyes flicked to the potion and back to his face.
"That could be anything-"
"No, it's Wolfsbane," she cut him off. "I should know, Meda spent a month this summer brewing it and experimenting with it, trying to get it to taste better, and I was helping until I got distracted by other things." Other things being her father's escape. "And only a werewolf would consent to drink that everyday before a full moon." She looked back up into her professors eyes, saw the panic growing there. "Don't worry," she said with sincerity and a small smile, starting to understand how she was feeling about this revelation; angry but not at Lupin, no for Lupin she only felt sadness. "I won't tell anyone, not even Harry. If Snape is making you Wolfsbane then Dumbledore obviously knows. And he still hired you so that's good enough for me. Mind you, doesn't make me think of him as being any less loony, but I have other reasons for thinking that. Many other reasons."
"I - thank you," Lupin breathed, looking relieved and more than a little grateful.
"Don't mention it. You're the best teacher we've had yet and I can't imagine you hurting a fly. Anyway, enough of this touchy feely stuff am I free to go?" Ascella asked.
Lupin laughed.
"Yes, you are. See you in class tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, Professor L."
And Ascella did keep her promise to not tell, even as the secret burned a whole within her and she wanted nothing more than to share with Harry the injustice that such a nice man could be so afflicted, to have to suffer so much. It just raged within her, so much so that she knew she had to do something. It wasn't until the first Charms club meeting that Friday that she realized what it was she could do.
She and Terry had been getting ahead after the main part of the meeting, practicing cheering charms on each other when the idea of how to help just floated into her mind.
"Professor Flitwick?" she asked an hour later, hiking her bag up higher onto her shoulder. She waved Terry on, when he drew back to wait for her; she didn't want anyone to overhear this conversation.
"Yes m'dear?" Flitwick squeaked, turning from putting away the matchboxes they'd been charming to give Ascella his full attention.
"Sir, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to get permission to have access to the N.E.W.T level student potion stores? I know I should be asking Professor Snape but I don't know that he'd approve of my reasons for it and I thought maybe with your backing... well that perhaps it would help my case."
"And what is your reason?"
"Er - " Ascella started, not really knowing how to proceed, how much she should reveal she knew. She supposed Flitwick probably knew about Professor Lupin but she didn't know for sure. Best to play it safe so she decided on, "Well you see this summer, Meda and I were trying out that new Wolfsbane potion - for fun - you see we like to try hard potions and see if we can make them and then experiment a bit and well I've recently found I really want to continue experimenting and make it taste better. I mean it's already awful enough that wereworlves have to transform once a month and feel awful but then when we finally have a potion to make them harmless it tastes so very awful."
Flitwick blue eyes softened and Ascella could have sworn she saw tears well up in the corners of her head of houses eyes. He cleared his throat and removed his glasses to wipe at them.
"I think that's a marvelous idea," he said thickly replacing his glasses. He'd clearly seen through her evasive reasons to see her motivation stemmed from wanting to help Lupin but he followed her lead and didn't mention what they both knew aloud. "Yes, I will talk to Professor Snape and get you the permission you need. In the meantime let me write up a permission form that let's you check anything out from the restricted section you might need to aid you."
"Thank you Professor," Ascella gushed, with a wide smile, as he rummaged around his desk for the proper form and signed off on it. She took the form from her head of house a bubble of joy in her chest. She just knew she'd be able to do it.
"And Miss Black," Flitwick called as she made to leave. Ascella turned back expectant. He smiled at her. "Your mother would have been very proud of you."
It was Ascella's turn to get choked up. Eyes unexpectedly watering a bit she ducked her head and smiled.
"Thank you," she managed to get out and then she left a lightness to her step she hadn't felt in long time, not since her father's escape that was for sure.
"Come on Ter! We need to get to the library!" she said upon spotting her friend still outside the classroom waiting for her.
"Why am I suddenly nervous that you are excited to go to the library?" the boy asked, looking at her with deep skepticism, eyebrows raised high. "On a Friday evening no less."
"Oh hush. Are you coming or not?" Terry sighed. She batted her eyes at him. "You know I can't get into Ravenclaw without you..."
"Fine," he groused, like he was actually put out, but Ascella could tell he was only pretending.
"Come on!" she said grabbing his hand and dragging him along at a run; they had less than an hour til curfew.
The library was even more quiet than usual at that time on a Friday evening, only a few tables occupied by studious students, most of them fifth and seventh years. Ascella marched past them all, dropping Terry's hand to lead the way, barely noticing the Hufflepuff fifth year retrieving a book who she breezed right by, with a brief nod as she headed for the restricted section.
"We can't be in the restricted section," Terry hissed at her, his voice pitched low, lest someone over hear. He slunk along behind her, eyes casting furtively around as though at any moment a prefect or Madame Pince would appear to reprimand them. He was right to be nervous as the fifth year Hufflepuff Ascella had blown by was indeed a prefect. Lucky for them he was more curious about what the third year Ravenclaw's were up to than getting them in trouble.
Ascella, meanwhile, did not copy Terry's efforts to keep them from being detected, speaking at a normal volume, and confidently leading the way.
"Come on Boot. Live a little," she said, looking at the shelves for the books she might need. There was the book containing the potion that was a must, but there were also theory books she would need on how certain ingredients react when mixed.
Terry glared at the back of her head. "There is 'living a little', 'Cella and then there is being blatantly stupid. We are just asking to get in trouble."
"Not with this," Ascella said airily, handing Terry the parchment Flitwick had given her and going back to her perusing. Terry held the parchment in both hands and read it, his eyes widening in disbelief as he got to the bottom.
"Any book?" he said, finally rising his eyes to focus on her.
"Any," she grinned at him.
"Well, what do you need then?" he asked relieved of his previous concerns, handing the parchment back to her, so she could tuck it into her bag.
"Could you see if 'Monkshood, Wolfsbane and Aconite: The Deadly Truth' is available? Should be in the A's of the Potions section."
Twenty minutes later both her and Boot were laden down with books Ascella might need. She nearly dropped one as she made past the same Hufflepuff prefect as before - who now looked positively amused and impressed though Ascella didn't notice - before she decided she was being ridiculous and reaching into her pocket she withdrew her wand and with a wave hers and Terry's books were now floating in a nice stack before her.
"Good one 'Cella!" Terry said. "Should've thought of that sooner." And they made their way to check out with Madame Pince, leaving the now open-mouthed Hufflepuff behind.
At first Pince was loath to let Ascella have all the books, but after thoroughly reading over Flitwick's permission form she finally relented.
On the way back to Ravenclaw Tower, which she couldn't help but note, seemed closest of all the houses to the library, she was so cheerful that Terry commented she must still be feeling the effects of the cheering charm they had been working on for fun earlier. She just smiled and let him believe that was the reason but her smile got stuck as they turned a corner and she caught a glimpse out an east facing window of the full moon rising over the Forbidden Forest. She felt her heart go out to her Professor, locked away in his office, but she felt heartened to know that at least with the Wolfsbane potion he would keep his mind. If anything the sight of it buoyed her drive further and when she got back to Ravenclaw she set up camp in what was as close to a corner in the circular room as it got and stayed up late into the night reading.
She spent the rest of the weekend similarly disposed, not even leaving Ravenclaw tower for meals, simply conning her friends into bringing her food. Padma always played like she wasn't going to but she still did, Then again Ascella wasn't sure if that was just because Aaron and Terry were always sure to bring her back food that made Padma bring her back food too; the girl had been acting very strangely this year. Terry even sat with her at her table (which was rather brave of him considering the table was covered in stacks of books and parchment with which Ascella was taking notes, she'd even pulled over one of the many blackboards on wheels that littered the common room and she'd never used before, now covered in her ideas and thoughts and acting as a screen that shielded her from view of the rest in the common room; she had never looked more like a Ravenclaw and yet never cared less) and helped her by looking through some of the books she'd already read and making sure she hadn't missed anything (which she hadn't).
It was late Sunday evening, as they were doing this, that Terry, shutting a book casually, mentioned that Harry had been looking for her at dinner. Ascella looked up at him then, a bit of chalk and ink smudged on her face, her long wavy blond hair pulled into a messy ponytail, wisps of it framing her face in that effortless way most girls tried desperately to achieve, despite her not having washed it for a few days, her eyes blinking into focus as she comprehended what Terry had said.
"Oh!" she finally said, her mind letting something other than her research enter it for the first time all weekend. Then she looked at the clock to see if she had time to rush over to Gryffindor Tower. "Oh," she said again, dismayed. It was well after curfew and the only way she'd get back into Ravenclaw would be if Terry came along, which he wouldn't, rule follower that he was, and she couldn't leave her research all night. She bit her lip. "I'll just have to see him at breakfast I s'pose," she said. "Did you tell him I was alive at least?"
Terry laughed. "No 'Cella, I told him the truth; that you'd gone bat crazy mad and were actually acting like a true Ravenclaw."
Ascella gasped pretending to be very offended.
"No you didn't? Whatever will he think of me now?" she said with mock concern, her hand on her chest in an 'oh my' gesture.
Terry leaned in, as if to share a secret. "Don't worry. I'll still be your friend."
"Well thank Merlin for that!" she laughed.
It was then at that noise that Aaron poked his head in.
"She lives!" he cried upon seeing her. Ascella rolled her eyes, but did decide that perhaps a little break would do her some good, so she agreed to join Aaron, Kevin and a few of his brother's friends in a game of Exploding Snap when he asked (and no not just because Kevin was playing), missing the way Terry's face fell in disappointment at being interrupted. One of the combatants was Roger Davies, who informed Ascella with a smile that the first Quidditch practice would be later that week. After Ascella had creamed everyone she used some quick wand work to pack up her research and she headed to bed.
Early Monday morning she stopped by the Owlery to use her barn owl Esmeralda, stopping to pet Hedwig as she went, to write to Meda asking for a copy of her Wolfsbane research notes from the summer - Meda always had the best notes - before heading down to meet up with Harry in the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Where've you been?" he greeted her, half amused, half concerned when she'd slipped in next to him and put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"I'm simply exhausted, Harry. So much reading. So many notes. So much research."
Harry scrunched up his face as he reached for a roll.
"Research?" he asked. "Research for what?"
"Can't say my dearest Potter," Ascella intoned rising from his shoulder to make up her own plate of food. "But I can assure you it is very important!"
"Whatever you say 'Cella," Harry said with a smile and a shake of his head. They spent the rest of breakfast joking around and catching up, apparently he was starting Quidditch practice soon too.
"You nervous?" he asked her.
"I don't know," Ascella mused. She hadn't really thought about it. "Should I be?" Harry shrugged.
"I'm sure you'll be fine. But it is different than when we muck about at the Weasley's in the summer."
"I'll keep that in mind," she said and then it was time for lessons, Harry off to Herbology, Ascella to History of Magic. She bid Harry good bye and caught up with Aaron and Kevin. Aaron and her's bet was still very much in place, and was still unbeknownst to Kevin and Ascella was still winning even as Aaron was much more amused at his loses this year than in the past. Ascella had found that while she was saddened that Kevin still slept all through the lesson as it meant he couldn't join her and Aaron's games of hangman and general chit chat, it was rather nice to steal glances at him as he slept; he was so very cute, she found.
It was just as they were ascending the marble staircase that from behind a squeaky voice called to her, pushing his way through the crowd.
"Miss Black! Miss Black!" It was Professor Flitwick. Ascella stopped and turned, both boys stopping with her.
Her Head of House finally reached her, quite out of breathe and clutching a form in his small hands.
"This is for you," he said handing it to her. "Permission to use the private N.E.W.T level potion stores and the attached room which you are free to use whenever to brew your potions. The password is written there" he pointed to an area near the bottom of the parchment, "and magically encrypted so only you can read it."
"Oh a concealing charm," Ascella said fascinated. She'd read about them and how they were used on high security documents, they behaved much like the Fidelus charm only on parchment. Flitwick's eyes shone with pride at her knowledge of what it was.
"Exactly! Now you are all set to get to work. And keep me informed!" he said before walking away with a smile.
"What was that about?" Kevin asked as they continued on to History of Magic.
"Nothing," she said, still unable to keep the smile from her face. She couldn't wait to get started.
Later that day she was in a decidedly less cheerful mood. She was down on the Quidditch pitch, at her first Quidditch practice, and freezing. The longer she was there the more she was wondering why she'd even bothered trying out. Apparently being a reserve meant she didn't get to practice with the team; she wasn't much more than a water girl. She'd been there over an hour and had yet to get on her broom. After she'd been introduced to the rest of the team: Chasers in addition to Roger Davies, Randolph Burrow and Jeremy Stretton, the beaters, Jason Samuels and Duncan Inglebee, keeper, Grant Page, and seeker, Cho Chang, she'd spent the practice on the ground, being ordered about by Davies. Chang was the only one who smiled and looked genuinely pleased to see her; the rest either smirked at her and whispered to each other or ignored her completely. Chang was also the only other girl on the team aside from Ascella. Ascella might have thought all reserves were treated like her if it weren't that the other reserve, a skinny 2nd year, was currently shadowing Chang on seeker drills.
She finally got up in the air with only five minutes left and she had a feeling it was only to help track down the balls to put them away. Only Chang smiled in sympathy and offered to help her wrangle the blighters into the chest.
Ten minutes later, both girls were sweating and breathing heavy as they slammed the lid closed on the bludgers they'd finally wrangled in. They caught eyes then and busted up laughing, the relief at the effort bonding them.
"Thanks," Ascella said to the older girl, going to the left side to carry the box. Chang took the other side and they heaved it up.
"No problem. I know how the boys can be," she said.
"Oh yeah you were a reserve last year right?" Ascella asked.
But before Chang could respond Davies came out, freshly showered and grinning at the sight of them.
"Ladies," he winked. "Black, great practice. You looked great out there." Ascella was too stunned to respond, she hadn't done anything, except act like a servant, but Chang wasn't too stunned to respond.
"Bugger off, Davies. Leave the girl alone." she said, tone confident and sure. Davies just winked at her but he did move off.
"What is with him?" Ascella finally asked once they'd finally put the chest away. "Why have me make the team if he's not even going to let me practice?" Ascella knew she wasn't the greatest Quidditch player but how did he expect her to get better if he never played her?
The small Asian girl smiled in sympathy as they began their way back up to the castle. Only once did Ascella pull her attention away from Chang when she could have sworn she'd seen a large four-legged animal moving across the shadowed lawn near them, but when Chang spoke again, all thoughts of what it could be were pushed out of her mind. "Don't worry," Chang said "The same thing happened to me last year. Davies isn't a complete prat but..." she trailed off, as if looking for the best way to describe him. "He's also a teenage boy," she settled on.
Ascella hurumped. She knew what 'teenage boy' stood for; big-headed, think-boys-better-than-girls-at-sport, and pretty-girls-are-made-for-their-viewing-pleasure.
"So I only got on the team 'cause I'm pretty?" Ascella asked, more annoyed at this than she wanted to let on.
Chang made a face and nodded. "Most likely. I was reserve last year and it started out just like you this year," she said. "Come on," she added then in the Entrance Hall, nodding towards the Great Hall. "Main dinner is over but Davies has talked the elves into keeping a bit out on our Quidditch practice nights. And I'm starving!"
Ascella wasn't hungry but she did join the girl, just glad that it looked like the boys on the team had already been through. In the mood she was in she didn't want to know what she might do or say to them. She might have been surprised by the amount of food Chang was pilling on her plate - surely the no more than 100 pound girl wasn't going to eat all of that - but she was too focused on the injustice of it all. She'd rather have never made the team if this was the real reason she'd made it on. Then she remembered that Chang was the starting seeker this year and she turned to the older girl to ask "How'd you get onto the team for real, then?"
Chang swallowed a particularly large bite and said, "I practiced. After practice, before school, on the weekends, on holidays. That way when I got my opportunity I was ready for it and was able to beat out everyone else." Ascella was impressed. That sounded like a lot of work and she wasn't sure how badly she actually wanted to prove herself. She'd never really had to work for anything in her life, save Herbology but even with that, her superior memorization skills kept her afloat if her ineptness kept her from excelling in practicals.
The girls spent the rest of dinner in companionable silence and when it came time to head back up to Ravenclaw tower Ascella split off from Chang on the 5th floor telling her she was headed to Gryffindor Tower not Ravenclaw.
"Oh," Chang asked curious, "do you go to Gryffindor common room often?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Probably there more than Ravenclaw to be honest. It's more fun over there. And easier to get into." Ascella leaned in and finished in a conspiratorial tone, "They only have a password!" Chang giggled.
"But I like the riddles," she did protest with a smirk.
Ascella made a loud noise of disbelief, adamantly shaking her head.
"Chang. I don't know if we can be friends anymore. At first I thought you were cool but now..."
"Oh shut it," she said with a warm smile. "Just go on your way. And say hi to Potter for me - he is why you are going there right?" she asked the last sounding for the first time a little less self-assured than before. Interesting, Ascella thought.
"Yes, Harry is the reason I'm off to Gryffindor," she said. "But I am curious - how you know him?" she added, watching Chang's face.
"Oh- well everyone knows who he is don't they?" Chang hedged. Ascella raised an eyebrow at her. Chang sighed, pursed her lips as if annoyed but the faint tinge of pink in her cheeks said otherwise, and not meeting Ascella's eyes continued. "Well he's an ace Seeker, isn't he? Never seen someone fly like him." She said the last with a far off look in her eye. Ascella was silent, before she burst out laughing.
"Oh just wait until I tell Harry!" she crowed. Alarmed, Chang turned to her.
"Oh don't you dare! Please. It's not like I'm crushing or anything. Well maybe a Quidditch crush but even you must admit he's bloody brilliant!" Ascella only laughed harder but did eventually promise to not mention why Chang wanted her to say hi to Harry.
Up in Gryffindor common room, Ascella found Harry attempting to write an essay for Snape that was due the next day. He looked up upon seeing her and smiled.
"How'd it go?" he asked. She slumped down in the chair across from him at the table.
"Davies only let me on the team 'cause I'm pretty."
"What?" Harry asked, speaking slowly as that information worked its way through his brain. "But that's - that's sexist!"
"Yeah. I know."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Dunno. Quit I s'pose."
Harry put his quill down with so much force it smeared ink over his half-finished essay. Ascella waved away the damage with her wand before it had a chance to sink into the parchment and really ruin his work.
"No," he said with as much force as he'd set the quill down with, his eyes intense behind his glasses, as they bored into her. "You can't quit."
"Oh? And why not?" Ascella challenged.
"You have to show him you can do it, that you deserve to be on that team."
"But I don't! I'm not gifted at Quidditch like you! I'm not even passable really."
"No," Harry conceded. "But you could still be a decent player, even a really good player; you are smart, not nonathletic and let's face it you have a competitive streak in you."
"I do not!"
Harry raised an eyebrow at her and said, "I've played Exploding Snap with you 'Cella."
"Right. Point taken." Ascella sat back in her chair and sighed. She didn't feel like arguing about this more so she tried for a compromise. "Alright I'll keep with it through the week at least and then I'll decide."
"Good," Harry nodded with the air that he was sure she would be see sense and come around to his way of thinking. He turned back to continue his essay when Ascella decided it was the opportune moment to bring up Chang.
"So Cho Chang asked me to say hi to you for her," she said in an offhand sort of way. She'd waited until Harry was dipping his quill in his ink pot. At her words Harry jerked his hand and knocked over the whole pot. Alarmed he quickly tried to blot it up, while Ascella laughed.
Harry tried to cover himself by glaring at her and casually asking, "Oh? Chang is Ravenclaw's new seeker, right?"
"Yes," she said, finding immense joy in how suddenly uncomfortable her friend was. She dropped the topic though because Hermione and Ron came in then, loudly arguing about how it was she was managing to go to all her lessons, in between Ron complaining about Crookshanks not leaving his rat Scabbers alone.
Ascella sent Hermione a look of sympathy when they joined them at their table. Hermione had finally gotten around to showing Ascella her Time Turner a few weeks ago and Ascella had been thoroughly impressed and nerded out, even if Hermione refused to give her a demonstration or let her try it out herself.
Ascella bid her friends good night shortly after as they all were going to be finishing up their homework. When Hermione asked why she wasn't finishing up her Runes translation, Ascella had scoffed and told her breakfast would be an excellent time to finish that up, if she bothered as she'd already verbally translated it upon being assigned the translation. No what she wanted to do was get back to her research.
She'd made it all the way to the entrance to her common room before she realized she hadn't really thought this through; she was standing in front of the Ravenclaw door knocker and she was alone. Sighing she reached forward and knocked the metal ring. The bird opened it's mouth and said, "Though by your craft I be constrained / And heart's desire thou each hast gained / Strive as ye will to hold it fast / To me ye must return at last."
"Well fuck me," Ascella swore. But then she thought for a minute, not on the riddle per say but on where she had heard it before for it sounded familiar. And then she remembered; it was a riddle from the children's tale The Three Brothers.
"Death!" she said triumphantly.
"Very good. You are getting better. I see I will have to have harder ones from now on," the bird said to Ascella before opening the door. Ascella's joy at getting the riddle right deflated at those words though and she glumly entered the common room. She glanced around once, but didn't find any of her friends awake and so she went into her corner and set up camp, not going to bed until the early hours of the morning.
This pattern continued for much of the rest of the week and before Ascella knew it she was at her last Quidditch practice of the week. She'd suffered through two others since the first and was more determined than ever to quit, despite how well she was getting on with Chang, but on Friday's practice that all changed. The day had been sunny and unseasonably warm for mid to late October and she had just returned with another refill of the water jug. She lugged it along and was sweating so profusely that she had long since removed her pullover and was in a formfitting tank top, one she usually never wore in public as it left little to the imagination of her growing curves. She had been so focused on her task that she hadn't been aware of all the stares she was recieving and wolf-whistles even from the guys who had previously only ignored her presence. And even all that she might have been able to handle but then Davies "accidentally" knocked the jug of water onto her shirtfront and the cold water slashed across her chest and stomach, making her shirt almost see through. At the resulting laughter Ascella lost it. She pulled her wand out and spoke, hexing all the laughing boys with a tongue gagging spell, before she marched up to Davies and told him if he didn't let her practice like a normal member of the team then she'd make their lives miserable and finish out with going to the school and making sure he was stripped of his captaincy and right to play Quidditch at all for harassment.
He was gagging and spitting around his tongue so much that Ascella could barely hear him concede to let her practice, but concede he did, a pleading look in his eyes. When she lifted the curse, he mumbled, "Sheesh, only trying to have a bit of fun." She gagged his tongue again.
Cho sent her a large smile and said, "Nice one!" which made Ascella feel better. She released the rest of the boys from the spell then, if reluctantly, it was rather entertaining to see a bunch of 'teenage boys' spazing out and hacking and spitting on their tongues, and alternatively glaring at her/throwing fearful looks her way instead of leering.
After practice, she and Cho headed up to the castle, laughing and reenacting what had gone down on the pitch. The girls had grown close over the last week, bonding over Quidditch - they'd discovered after the second practice that they were both vehement supporters of the Tornadoes - and being the only girls on the team.
"And his face!" Cho said, hands gesturing wildly. "He was shocked. I don't even think he knows that spell. And if he does he couldn't put it on that many people at the same time!"
"Bloody git deserved it! They all did!" Ascella laughed with her, as they entered the Great Hall. That night Ascella was for once starved just like Cho. Ascella had learned that for a small girl Cho could still pack it away and now she knew why; Quidditch really did work up an appetite.
"So what are you going to do now?" Cho asked, once they'd worked about halfway through their overflowing plates.
"Don't know," Ascella said scooping up some more mashed potatoes onto her plate. "Probably need to figure out which position I'm any good at and then work at that, 'til I can prove I'm good enough to be on the team for real. Like you did."
"As long as that position is not seeker," Cho threatened, pointing at Ascella with her streak knife. Ascella laughed.
"I don't think seeker is for me but I'll still give it a go. Maybe Harry can help me out with it tomorrow..." Ascella trailed off, making a note to mention the idea to her friend when she saw him later that night.
"Oh Potter? Why don't you ask me?" Cho asked.
Ascella raised an eyebrow.
"Do you want to help me out? Or get a chance to check out Harry's flying ability?" she asked.
"You of course!"
"*cough* - bullshit - *cough*."
"Oh shut up," And so that was how Ascella found herself making her way down to the Quidditch Pitch at midday the following day with Cho to meet up with Harry, both of their brooms over their shoulders.
When they arrived Harry was already there, circling the Pitch and performing effortless moves as he darted after the snitch. They watched him catch the snitch a few times, unknown to him, Cho with her mouth slightly open and saying things like, "Wow! How does he do it? It's so effortless for him. Was that a Kellan Feint? That's a really advanced move!" until Ascella finally shouted "Oy! Potter!" and waved her friend down.
He landed, windblown and smiling, his hair even more disorderly than usual. Ascella had side french braided her own hair to keep it looking nice.
"Alright 'Cella?" Harry said to her.
"Oh can't complain," she said, before turning to introduce Cho. "Harry this is Cho Chang. She wanted to help out today too."
The minute Harry turned to the pretty fourth year though Ascella knew they were in trouble. Cho smiled widely and said "Hullo Harry. Nice to finally meet you. Your flying is really something!" and Harry just stared down at her, his mouth slightly open. He stared so long Cho was starting to shift like she was worried she'd said something wrong when Ascella decided to take pity on her friend.
"Harry's a bit tired," she explained. "He got beat thoroughly last night by moi in Exploding Snap. It's still smarting."
"Is not," Harry protested, mouth snapping shut, and breaking him out of his revere. After that they were able to practice with some semblance of normalcy. Harry only stuttered once or twice while he and Cho explained to Ascella the basics of seeker, but once he was on his broom, it was like he was a whole new person, confident and normal again. The three of them had fun, Harry even giving Cho some pointers, while Ascella quickly found that no seeker was not her position. Cho had to leave around three to meet with a potions study group but Ascella and Harry stayed out until the sun started to set. They may have determined that Ascella wasn't going to be a seeker but she still needed to get better at flying too so Ascella had talked Harry into running her through some flying drills to help her out with that.
When they finally landed Ascella found she was tired and sore in places she hadn't even known could be sore, but feeling hopeful and accomplished all at the same time.
"Keep at it and you really will prove yourself!" Harry told her as they made their slow way back up to the castle.
"Yeah? Well tell that to my bum, will ya? I think it's bruised," she pouted, rubbing it gingerly. Harry just laughed.
"You'll get used to that. Like riding a bike. The more you do it, the less sore you are."
"A what?"
"Oh. Muggle thing."
"Right. So what do you think of Cho?" Ascella asked changing the subject. His flaming cheeks and ducked head said it all; Harry had a crush!
"Oh. Well she's quite nice, isn't she?" Ascella couldn't hide her grin.
"Yes. Nice. And quite pretty too, don't you think?"
"Very!" Harry all but sighed before catching himself. "I mean, yes. If you notice that sort of thing."
Ascella's only response was to smile mischievously to herself.
"What?" Harry asked, catching her smile, eyes narrowing, suspicious.
"Oh nothing," she said. She was going to continue when she cut off and stopped walking at the sight of something large looming in the shadows. "What was that?" she asked her hand grabbing Harry's arm.
"What?" Harry looked around and froze too, his face going pale. She swore she caught sight of a pair of eyes glowing in the rising moonlight and then it was gone.
"That - that dog?" she questioned, looking at Harry.
"Oh you saw it too!" Harry said, sounding far too much relieved at this news.
"Yes... I've been seeing it all week on my way back from practices."
"Me too! I'm so relieved you've been seeing it too. I thought I was going crazy."
"Why?"
"I thought it was -" Harry shifted uncomfortable here and cleared his throat. Lowering his voice he continued. "Well truth be told, I saw something like it near Private Drive and well - I thought it might be the grim."
Ascella stared open-mouthed at Harry. For a second, then five, then she burst out laughing.
"Oh Harry," she said through her laughter, moving off for the castle.
"What?" he said, struggling to keep up.
"You are not going to die anytime soon," she explained as they entered the Entrance Hall.
"Says you."
"Please. Says everyone. You are The Boy Who Lived. It'll take more than a grim to kill you."
"Thanks 'Cella," Harry said, entering for dinner in the Great Hall, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You really know how to reassure a bloke."
"Your welcome!" she responded cheerily. Harry rolled his eyes but he did look better, at least he wasn't worrying about his mortality and she'd kept him distracted enough to not bring up Sirius Black, the man hunting him that he seemed to be convinced might succeed. Ascella had been too distracted recently between research, detention, and Quidditch practices that she'd been distracted from thoughts of her father. He hadn't left her thoughts completely but at least she'd stopped being consumed by it. Staying up late doing her research ensured she fell asleep immetiately and was too tired to dream, though she still jolted awake at least one night a week from a nightmare about her father.
She was further distracted from any thoughts of her father by the announcement of the first Hogsmeade visit the following week; it was to be on the Saturday of Halloween. While she was sad that Harry couldn't go, she was looking forward to the break and the chance to get out of the castle. Harry not being able to go, though, offered up the opportunity to catch up with Kevin. Between her research, hanging with Harry, and Quidditch, she and Kevin hadn't had a chance to talk, the last time they'd spoken intimately had been before her first Lupin detention at the beginning of the month when he'd asked how she was doing with her dad and all. It had been a very brief conversation but it meant a lot to her that he'd cared enough to ask.
She ended up leaving a downcast Harry behind with a promise to bring him something back, before bundling up and heading out of the castle with Kevin and Aaron. Ascella had originally imagined it being just her and Kevin but of course in reality she knew that wasn't feasible, that where Kevin was, Aaron was never far away. It was much like Harry and Ascella between lessons and at night, though she and Harry still had time apart.
The three of them were having a good time as they braved the windy fall day on the walk to the village, mucking about and laughing when as they grew close Ascella asked what they wanted to do.
"Don't know," Aaron mused. "Best check out the joke shop I bet. Oh! And the Three Broomsticks! Everyone's bound to head there at some point and maybe we'll run into Megan Jones," he teased with a look at Kevin. Ascella narrowed her eyes.
"Who in Merlin's name is Megan Jones?" Ascella asked more perturbed than she was willing to admit.
"This Hufflepuff Kevin thinks is fit!" Aaron crowed.
"Do not!" Kevin protested but his tone and the faint blush on his cheeks said otherwise.
Ascella forced a laugh with Aaron at Kevin's expense, while inside her stomach was tying itself in knots.
Ascella didn't know who this girl was but she suddenly hated her. She didn't want it to but this news took much of the lightness and color out of the rest of the day for Ascella. She was able to laugh a bit and enjoy the day, picking up some sweets and joke prank items for Harry, but she was unable to recapture the high hopes she'd had for the day leading up to it.
Returning to the castle, Ascella didn't waste a minute in leaving Kevin and Aaron behind and going in search of Harry. She found him at the Gryffindor table with Ron and Hermione.
"Ascella!" he greeted her with a smile.
"Alright Harry?" she asked. "What did you get up to?"
"Just had tea with Lupin and..." and Harry went on to describe what had happened in Lupin's office when Snape had shown up. She about spat out her swig of pumpkin juice when he told them about the goblet Snape had brought in.
"Did he tell you what it was?" she asked.
"No. Why?"
"Oh just curious," she replied and then effectively changed the subject by dropping in his lap all that she'd bought for him.
The rest of the feast passed with the usual festivity and cheer. It wasn't until after that everything got interesting. Ascella was on her way, sleepy and full, back to Gryffindor Tower with Harry when they met with a huge group of Gryffindors crowded up outside the Portrait hole.
"What's going on?" Ascella asked Harry.
"Dunno," he replied trying to see above the crowd. Ascella didn't know what good that would do, she was still taller than Harry, if only just, but it soon became apparent what had happened even without being able to see.
The Fat Lady wasn't in her frame, the front of the portrait ripped. Professor's Dumbledore and McGonagall soon arrived as well as Peeves. It was Peeves that finally told them all what had happened; the Fat Lady had been attacked by Sirius Black.
Ascella's knees gave out at that news. If Harry hadn't been right next to her she don't know what would have happened. She knew she wouldn't have been able to make it back down to the Great Hall. As it was she didn't know what was going on around her. She was numb to the world, paralyzed with fear. Sirius Black, her father, had made it into the castle, had attacked the Fat Lady in an attempt to get into Gryffindor Tower. How? Why?
She became aware of her surroundings sometime around midnight, finding herself in a sleeping bag, in a corner with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It seemed that Harry had done what he could to shield her from the scrutiny of the rest of the school, who even now were throwing glances her way as they whispered to each other for which she was grateful. Ascella leaned into Harry's shoulder as he, Hermione, and Ron whispered about what had happened. He put his arm around her and she buried her face into his chest.
"You okay?" he whispered to her after Ron and Hermione had grown silent, finally falling asleep.
"I don't know," she mumbled. He gave her a squeeze and then he too fell asleep, not waking until around 3 when the teachers and prefects came back and said that Black hadn't been found. She was glad he got to sleep because she didn't sleep at all, staring at the cloudy covered sky above of the Great Hall. Black had gotten into the castle, she could have seen him; she doubted she'd get a good night's sleep again, not until he was caught.
a/n: poor 'Cella; sexist Quidditch players (don't worry Davies'll grow out of it), an unrequited crush :.(, and now her deranged (but not really) father decides to get into the castle. Life just isn't going well.
Drop me a line to let me know how you think 3rd year is going so far (I'm starting to realize I'm trying to pack a lot into this year so let me know if you think some story line or friendship isn't getting the attention it should) and thanks to all of you who review!
