Chapter 3: Hypocrisy
The week passed quickly. Sarah found herself being shaken awake at the crack of dawn on Saturday. Katie Bell was standing above her, looking absolutely disheveled. Sarah moaned before rubbing her eyes.
"What's going on? Why are you waking me up?"
Katie made a small yawn. "Wood's making us get up for training. Get your broom and your robes. We'll be down at the pitch."
Sarah pulled herself from bed and trudged down to the pitch. She bumped into Harry, who was being tailed by a first year named Colin.
"Please tell me this isn't how training usually starts," Sarah groaned.
"It wasn't like this last year," Harry replied. "Oliver had better have a good reason for this."
They entered the locker rooms and listened as Oliver began his lecture. He began talking about how they didn't manage to win due to uncontrollable circumstances and how they'd train harder this year and win for sure. As he droned on, Sarah zoned out. Fred Weasley began snoring on Alicia Spinnet's shoulder, and Sarah fell asleep on his. She woke with a start when Fred jerked his head up. They followed the others, grabbing their brooms and marching onto the field. Sarah caught sight of Lee, Kaede with Hermione and Ron. Hermione and Ron had some toast and marmalade, making Sarah's stomach grumble.
"Aren't you finished yet?" Ron asked Harry.
"We haven't even started," Harry answered.
Sarah mounted her broom and kicked off from the ground. The sudden rush of wind made her wake up just a little. They kept circling around and drilling the new moves Wood had told them. They stopped when they saw the Slytherin team marching onto the field. Oliver seemed furious. They all landed..
"Flint!" Wood bellowed at the Slytherin Captain. "This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"
Flint had a look of troll-ish cunning on his face as he replied, "Plenty of room for all of us, Wood."
Everyone on the team seemed to be gathering behind Oliver.
"But I booked the field!" Said Wood, practically foaming at the mouth. "I booked it!"
"Ah," said Flint. "But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. 'I Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the quidditch field owing to the need to train their new seeker.'"
Wood quickly asked who the new seeker was and it was revealed to be Draco Malfoy. When Marcus mentioned how the brooms were a gift from Lucius, the pieces clicked in Sarah's brain. The little weasel bribed his way onto the team!
"Oh, look," said Flint, "A field invasion."
The others had come down onto the field to investigate. Lil' Nine was at Lee's heel.
"What's happening? Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?"
Ron was looking at Malfoy, taking in his quidditch robes.
"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," Malfoy replied smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father bought our team."
Ron gaped at the broomsticks. Lee thought he would let in a few flies and discreetly gestured for him to close his mouth.
"Good, aren't they?" Malfoy said smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."
Lee whipped her head around to glare at Malfoy while the rest of the Slytherin team howled with laughter. She would love to snap all of those brooms!
"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," Hermione stated sharply. "They got in on pure talent."
The smug look on Malfoy's face disappeared, replaced with a sneer.
"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat.
Lee stormed towards Malfoy, a dangerous glare across her face. Alicia shrieked, "How dare you!",Fred and George would've pounced on him had Flint not jumped in front to shield him. Before Lee could get to Malfoy a loud bang echoed around the stadium and there was a jet of green light. Ron was thrown back and was now puking up slugs!
"Ron! Ron, are you all right?" Hermione squealed.
The Slytherin team was frozen with laughter. Malfoy was on all fours. Their laughing made her livid with anger, and she stood right in front of Malfoy.
"Get up!" Lee ordered.
He stood up, and the laughter on his face faltered when he saw Lee's scowl. Sarah could tell Lee was going to do something. Before she could go forward to stop her, Lee acted. She raised her hand and smacked Draco as hard as she could across the face.
"Don't you ever use that insult on my friends!" Lee practically shouted.
"C'mon Lee, you know I wouldn't use it with you," Draco defended.
Lee's eyes flashed with fury. "I don't care if you use it with me or not you little hypocrite! You'd better hope that the next time I hear you say it that I don't have my wand out!"
Everyone stared at Lee with wide eyes. None of them had ever seen her this mad before. Sarah stepped forward and pulled on Lee's arm.
"Lee, just step back and take a breath," Sarah suggested. "You know it's bad if I'm telling you to calm down."
Sarah steered Lee away from the pitch. As they were leaving the field, Lil' Nine nipped at the Slytherin team's ankles. They stopped at the lakeshore where Lee picked up a stick and threw it as hard as she could into the lake.
"Feeling better?" Sarah asked.
"No," Lee huffed. "I swear, that pig has got some nerve, telling people off for calling me a Mudblood and then turning around and using it on Hermione!"
"You're really ticked about this," she stated.
"Yes, I am," Lee confirmed. "Does it really surprise you? If I heard him call you or Harmony or Kaede that believe me, I wouldn't just slap him."
"What would you do to him?" Sarah prompted.
Lee took a moment to think. "I'd probably have Peat strangle him."
"You're really defensive of us," Sarah commented.
Lee didn't meet Sarah's eyes for a moment. "Old habits tend to die hard. Let's just say I'm still not used to this."
"Just take a deep breath," Sarah instructed. "You know what tends to happen when you're tense."
"I have better control of it now," Lee stated quietly. "Granted, they still shout in my head."
Lee slumped against the trunk of the tree on the shore. She stared off across the lake and Sarah could tell she was thinking. It seemed that their luck for the day only got worse as their new professor came strutting over toward them.
"Hello ladies," Professor Lockhart said gaily. "I see that you've been at the quidditch pitch. Did you know I would've played professional quidditch but I instead chose a path in the Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"I'm going to get my stuff from the locker room," Sarah announced quickly. "I'll be back in a moment."
With that, she vanished down the lawn and back toward the pitch. Lee moaned internally.
"She's such an odd girl," Lockhart stated.
Lee rounded on the professor, trying to hide the venom in her voice. "Sarah's not odd. She's one of the best witches you'll find in this school. Besides, you barely know her."
"She hardly ever pays attention in my class," Lockhart disagreed. "Which I really can't see why."
"It's because she knows that you're a completely incompetent teacher," she muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
While they were distracted, Lil' Nine jumped into the shallows of the lake, splashing water over the two of them. It clearly didn't sit well with Lockhart as he observed his robes. Sarah came walking back up the lawn in her normal clothes and smirked at the dragon.
"Oh no, they're ruined!" Lockhart cried.
Lee whistled at the tiny dragon. "Sorry about that. Lil' Nine is very playful, but he gets really messy."
"I thought you trained the dragons," Lockhart stated, small bits of anger evident in his voice.
"She trains them to be safe around humans," Sarah stated coldly. "What did you think 'train' meant? That they'd sit around like drones?"
"Never in a million years," Lee replied. She leaned closer and whispered to Sarah, "You're timing is impeccable."
Lee went back over to the tree and started pulling out her riding equipment. The two girls promptly forgot about Lockhart's existence.
"Going for a flight?" Sarah asked.
Lee nodded, scratching Lil' Nine's chin. "Yeah. Jewel and Aero Shield need their workouts. Peat can come out and watch Lil' Nine."
Lee released the said dragons and mounted Jewel quickly. Sarah sat against the tree and pulled out her sketchbook. Lockhart seemed agitated that he was being ignored and left. Sarah watched as Lee did loops and flips with her dragons. Peat and Lil' Nine were content to play in the shallows and Sarah doodled across her paper, sketching her own little creature to play with. It was like this for hours. Kaede and Harmony came out looking for them and joined Sarah on the lakeshore. As the dragons got tired, Lee landed next to them, leaning against Aero Shield's body.
"So, how was practice?" Kaede asked.
Sarah grimaced just a little, "It didn't go well. The Slytherin team raided the field, Malfoy called Hermione a Mudblood and Lee slapped him across the face."
"You slapped Malfoy across the face?!" Harmony exclaimed.
"He ticked me off," Lee stated defensively. "He had it coming from a mile away."
"How hard did you hit him?" Kaede asked.
Lee thought for a moment, "Hard enough to leave his face red for at least a few minutes."
"You do realize they could get you into serious trouble," Harmony pointed out.
"Does it look like I care?" Lee asked rhetorically. "People in our house are trying to get me into trouble all the time, and I don't care about the stupid house points or detentions."
"You could try keeping your head down and not be so confrontational," Kaede suggested. "Maybe you wouldn't be so miserable in your house."
Lee relented with a sigh. The four sat by the tree before returning to the school for lunch. The rest of the day passed without much incident. The time passed quickly and October soon spread over the grounds. Madame Pomfrey was kept busy in the infirmary with cases of the cold popping up all over the castle. Sarah's constant visits for climbing injuries didn't help. Rain was pounding the castle for days, sending Lee into a depression, as she wasn't allowed out on her dragons during the storms. Sarah regretfully stated that Wood's spirit for the upcoming quidditch season had not been dampened by the rain.
"Wood's gone crazy!" Sarah groaned in frustration. "He'll be lucky if the entire team doesn't get sick with how much he's been having us practice in the rain!"
"At least you get to fly," Lee grumbled. "I swear, Aero Shield and Jewel look like their dead. If the sun doesn't come out soon, all three of us might fall asleep and never wake up."
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Kaede pipped, bringing her head up from her homework. "It's just a little rain."
The two girls gave Kaede dead stares.
"It is not just a little rain," Lee moaned. "It's the very bane of our existence."
"Besides, you're content to stay here and do homework," Sarah added. "We need to be doing something active."
"You have been doing something active," Kaede countered.
"In good conditions," Sarah responded.
Lee flopped out of her chair and groaned. "Doesn't anyone at this school know a spell that makes the rain go away?!"
"Maybe I could draw it," Sarah suggested.
"Yes! Please!" Lee begged, her eyes lighting up.
"Absolutely not!" Kaede chided. "You two have very powerful, very strange magic that needs to remain secret. You can't just go and use it for such trivial purposes."
"It's not trivial! I need to get outside on one of my dragons or I'm gonna die!"
Kaede merely rolled her eyes before rebuking Lee again. "You're being overdramatic. You won't die. You, Aero Shield, and the others can last another day of rain."
Kaede wouldn't let Lee or Sarah moan about the weather any longer and buried her head back in her homework. Lee's head suddenly perked up when she remembered something they did last year.
"That means you have an idea," Sarah said sitting up quickly. "What is it?"
"Follow me," Lee ordered cheerfully.
The two went running down the corridors and up several flights of stairs. Lee didn't let up for a second. Sarah nearly ran into her when she suddenly stopped. There was nothing in front of them except a blank wall.
Sarah's eyes widened in realisation. "Oh. Why didn't we think of this earlier?"
"No idea, but we thought of it now," Lee replied, walking in front of the wall three times.
A large door appeared as Lee paced in front of the wall. They slipped in quickly to avoid any students or staff walking along the corridors. The room seemed to go on forever. There were climbing walls everywhere with ropes already set up. Lee let out Jewel and Aero Shield and mounted the Hashnat before Sarah could blink.
"Race to see who can get to the top of that wall first?" Lee asked, pointing to one of the climbing walls.
"You're on a dragon, you have an unfair advantage," Sarah pointed out.
"Please," Lee scoffed. "You climb faster than humanly possible. I'm sure you'd give Jewel a run for her money. Aero Shield would be a completely different case. C'mon Sarah! I'll even give you a ten second head start."
Sarah finally agreed and hooked herself into the ropes. Lee and Jewel sat at the side of the wall, waiting for her to start her ascent. She grabbed the first handhold and began internally counting. There was a whoosh of wings as soon as she reached ten. Sarah glanced below her and saw Jewel flying up fast. She began climbing even faster, trying to keep her lead. As soon as her hand reached the top she swung herself up, beating the dragon by a second.
"See?" Lee chuckled. "Told ya it would be a run for her money."
"I probably wouldn't have won if we started at the same time," Sarah stated.
Lee paused to consider Sarah's point before shaking her head. "Nah. You'd just climb faster."
Sarah rolled her eyes as Lee took off. Lee's depressed mood went away almost the second Jewel began doing twirls between the climbing walls. Sarah kept climbing up and down the pillars, occasionally hitching a ride from Lee before jumping onto the next one.
Harmony and Kaede sat in the library quietly, doing their homework; well, Kaede was, while Harmony was peace was interrupted when Malfoy came over to them and tapped Harmony on the shoulder.
"What do you need?" Harmony asked lazily.
"Do you know where Lee is? I really need to talk to her," Malfoy answered.
"Why? Did she not smack you hard enough the first time?" Kaede snapped, venom oozing from her voice. "Sarah told us about what happened."
"Lee's probably working off energy somewhere with Sarah," Harmony interjected. "We don't know where, but you should probably leave her alone."
Malfoy sulked off. Harmony raised a questioning eyebrow at Kaede. She was normally more level headed than that.
"What?" Kaede asked.
"That was very out of character for you," Harmony stated. "You sounded like you were ready to murder someone."
"Well he's got some nerve trying to get Lee's attention after what he said to Hermione," Kaede huffed. "Honestly, he deserved that slap and even more."
"I never said he didn't deserve it, but you're usually telling the others off for being mean," Harmony countered.
Kaede didn't have a response and just went back to her homework. Harmony glanced at her for a quick moment before attempting her own homework. Madame Pince had to kick them out as dinner rolled around. They trudged down to the Great Hall and met Sarah and Lee by the door; both seemed to be in much better spirits.
"I'm assuming you found out how to get some flying in," Kaede said with a small smile.
"Yeah. We went to the Room of Requirement," Lee replied. "Did you get all your homework done?"
"More or less," Harmony answered. "Though Draco came looking for you. Kaede bit his head off as soon as he said he was looking for you."
"You snapped at Malfoy?" Sarah asked in disbelief. "I never thought it would be possible for you to snap at someone."
"In Lee's words, 'he had it coming a mile away'," Kaede stated. "I don't regret what I said."
"Why don't we talk about this later," Lee suggested. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."
The four entered the Great Hall and left for their house tables. Dinner seemed to be like any other day. Harmony and Lee were ignored by the other slytherins, Sarah and Kaede were chatting at the house tables and the ceiling still reflected the stormy weather outside.
"Halloween's coming soon," Harmony stated, trying to start conversation.
"Yup, I'm hoping it's not as chaotic as it was last year," Lee replied casually. "It'll be nice to spend it with the gang."
Harmony paused for a brief moment before she happily squealed. "The day after Halloween was when you got Jewel! It'll be like an anniversary!"
"More like a Gotcha Day," Lee said with a smile. "Please don't squeal again, that hurt my ears. Besides, why are you so excited? It's my dragon."
"I don't know. I guess because that's the day you started your family," Harmony answered. "Also, anniversaries mean cake."
Lee rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the food on her plates. Harmony's last statement rang through her head. The day she started her family...Lee had to admit that that was what her dragons were to her. They were her family. She glanced back up at Harmony then her brow creased.
"Harmony, are you okay?" Lee asked warily.
Harmony couldn't say anything. She was trembling like she was having a seizure! Lee placed a on Harmony's arm only to flinch in pain. Harmony's skin was burning! No one else seemed to notice. Lee resisted the urge to scream for Professor Dumbledore. No one was paying attention, maybe she could risk it and hope it would work. Lee took one last glance at everyone. Her eyes turned completely white and a silver mist appeared in her hand. Lee pressed her hand to Harmony's arm and felt the heat pass. Harmony's shaking stopped, and she seemed to be shaken out of a trance.
"Harmony, are you okay?" Lee asked again, her eyes returning to normal.
"What happened?" Harmony replied, shaking her head.
"You were shaking, and your skin was burning," Lee explained. "You weren't saying anything."
Harmony's eyes darted to other places in the Hall besides Lee's gaze. "I'm fine. It shouldn't happen again."
"Say that and look me in the eye," Lee ordered.
"I'm fine," she replied defiantly. "It's nothing to worry about."
Before she could push any further, Harmony stood up from the table and left the hall. Lee turned toward the Ravenclaw table and caught Kaede's gaze. Something wasn't right and the both of them knew it.