Wow people really hate my story. So many bad reviews. And I know this sounds fake, but I really do appreciate them because even though they're bad they help my writing. I'm working on two other stories right now, a Gilmore Girls one and a Twilight one, hopefully they will be more original. I'm trying. But I hate to do things halfway, so I'm still going to try hard on this one. Keep the reviews coming the good and the bad.
Ron stopped in the portrait hole. A muffled "Ow" told Roxie that Hermione was right behind him. Ron's mouth was open and he was staring right at Roxie and Harry. "What is so important that you feel the need to stop right in the doorway?" Hermione demanded. She stepped around Ron and she too saw the scene before her. A smile of understanding emerged on her face. Roxie looked at Harry nervously. He was attempting to avoid eye contact. Roxie stood up quickly.
"Wow it's been a long day. I'm kind of tired. I think I'm going to go to bed. Good night everyone," Roxie announced. She ran up the stairs to her dorm with Hermione close behind her. From downstairs she heard Ron's voice ask, "So, mate, what were you two doing?" Harry did not reply and Roxie smiled, thinking about how nervous he probably was right now. I bet he's doing that cute little shuffle from one foot to the other. He probably has that nervous little smile plastered on his face. He's so cute when he's nervous. Roxie shook her head. She wasn't allowed to like him, that much was clear.
When Roxie arrived in her dorm she gave a huge, fake yawn. She sank down onto her bed and pulled the curtains around her. Just as she was about to fake sleep, the curtains were pulled open. "Oh no you don't. I know for a fact that you aren't the least bit tired. I want to know everything that happened down there. Don't leave out a single detail." Roxie opened her mouth and attempted to tell Hermione that she was tired, but Hermione cut her off. "I'm not letting you go to sleep until you explain. If you don't want to talk, well then I guess we'll be here for a while." Hermione sat down on the edge of Roxie's bed and folded her arms determinedly across her chest.
"Ok so basically Snape was being a humungous bastard to me and Harry was just trying to cheer me up," Roxie said in a flash. She hoped that Hermione would leave her alone, so that she could attempt to sort out her feelings. Hermione, however, was not satisfied with Roxie's brief explanation.
"First of all, no matter what Snape said to you he is a teacher and I don't approve of you calling him a...a… well that. What did he say to you by the way?"
"He insulted my mother!"
Hermione gave a gasp of shock. "He wouldn't! I mean how does he even know your mother?"
"They went to school together and he liked her. She knew that he liked her so she…" but Roxie didn't want to finish her sentence. She loved and admired her mother. How could she do anything like that? She knew perfectly well that what she was doing was wrong, but she did it anyways. Maybe Snape is right. Maybe she is nothing more than a slut. Maybe she's cheating on my father right now. Maybe she has whole other families out there in the world. No, my mother loves me. She would never do that to me and my dad. Would she? "Well she did some things that I don't exactly agree with, but still they don't justify him calling her a slut!" Hermione gasped again. Apparently she thought that all teachers were saints and didn't even know what those things were, much less use that kind of language.
"Maybe you heard him wrong!"
"Do you really believe that?" Hermione gave a reluctant shake of her head.
"All of that aside though, you and Harry seem to be getting kind of close now. He's the one that's there for you when you're sad and he comforts you. Not to mention, that's the second time in two days that Ron and I have caught you two sitting together on the couch, alone."
"I told you, he was just trying to get me to stop crying. That's what friends do."
"Oh so you two are friends now? That will make meals so much better! I'm glad that you finally came around! Harry's a great guy and he would make a good boyfriend to you." Roxie gave Hermione a scornful look. "I meant a friend that was a boy."
"Sure you did. I really am kind of tired though. So if you're satisfied with my explanation now, I'm going to bed!" Roxie waited. Hermione pulled herself up off Roxie's bed and made her way across the room. They didn't say anything else to each other for the rest of the night, but Roxie swore that she heard Hermione whisper, "I always thought that you two would be perfect for each other." Roxie was about to retort when she realized that she had nothing to say. In fact, she was almost glad that other people thought that they would go good together. It gave her encouragement. Roxie fell asleep thinking about what people would say if they found out that Roxie and Harry were dating.
Roxie sat up in bed. She was covered in sweat. Her sheets were twisted around her. Hermione was looking at her anxiously. "You were thrashing around like mad. Is anything wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"No, I just had a bad dream that's all," Roxie explained.
"Anything you want to talk about?"
"No. Not really." The truth was that Roxie couldn't tell Hermione. Her dream had shown the awful truth. It had showed what would happen if she did complete the task successfully. Roxie shook herself. She knew that she had to do the task. People's lives were at stake. But how can I do that to him? Hermione was still looking at Roxie with a puzzled expression. Roxie gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile and then jumped out of bed. The two of them dressed in silence and then made their way down to the Great Hall.
"Hey you two!" Ron called from the middle of the Gryffindor table. Hermione gave a satisfied smile and then sat down next to Ron. The only other place for Roxie to sit was next to Harry. Thanks Hermione. Roxie sat down and gave Harry a smile. He returned it and then they both turned to Ron and Hermione. Roxie swore that she saw the two of them exchange a knowing smile. She could feel Harry next to her. She could feel the warmth of his body and could hear his breathing. She was pulled from her thoughts by Harry himself.
"So I thought that today would be a good day to do Quidditch tryouts."
"Yeah, but I've already got a spot on the team as Keeper, right mate," Ron said expectantly through food. Harry gave a chuckle.
"We'll see about that. You need to try out and if you're the best then of course you can be Keeper, but if someone's better than you…" Harry trailed off.
"You would do that to your best mate?!?!" Ron asked, shocked.
"I'm captain and I've got to do what's best for the team," Harry gave a small shrug. Ron just shook his head and continued eating.
"So what's the team look like now?" Hermione asked, obviously trying to get involved in the conversation.
"Harry's Seeker. I'm Keeper. Katie and Ginny are Chasers. We've still got to find one Chaser and two Beaters," Ron said, swallowing his food.
"So that's the team, huh. And what's this 'we have to find people'?" Harry chuckled again.
"Oh c'mon mate we all know that you're going to let me on seeing as how I'm your best mate. Katie's been on since before you got here. And Ginny's going to get on because we all know that the two of you have had a little something going on. Or at least you did before Roxie got here. Ow!" Hermione had obviously stomped on Ron's foot very hard. Ron had once again showed that he was oblivious to other people's feelings. So there's nothing to worry about Roxie. He has a girlfriend already.
"There is nothing between me and Ginny except friendship," Harry stated forcefully. The four of them fell silent. It was Hermione who broke it.
"Well, Roxie said that she was a Beater. Maybe she could make the team."
"Yeah, you should come down and try out," Harry said brightly to her.
"Um, sure. I mean maybe if I have enough time," Roxie stuttered. She was still a little hurt that Harry had a girlfriend and didn't tell her. He played you just like your mom played Snape.
"It's Saturday. What could you possibly have to do?" Ron asked.
"I've got homework and a lot of studying!"
"You're worse than Hermione!" Ron laughed.
"I'm going to go now," Roxie said, "I might see you later, or maybe not." She got up and tried to stop herself from running out of the Great Hall. She didn't want to draw attention to herself. Once she was outside the doors, her face fell. Now I know how Snape felt. If it was anything like this, I don't blame him for calling my mother what he called her. It makes it easier on me though. I don't have to worry about whether or not I should like him. As much as Roxie tried to calm herself, she began to cry. This is so stupid. We weren't even dating. But that wasn't because we didn't want to. We were just never given a chance. Footsteps behind her told her that someone had come after her. She wiped away her tears and turned around. She was half hoping that it was Harry, but it wasn't. Hermione stood there, looking at Roxie. She grabbed Roxie's hand and dragged her to the nearest deserted corridor. The two of them sat on the cold floor together, Roxie crying silent tears and Hermione patting her back. Finally Roxie stopped crying and Hermione spoke.
"He was telling the truth. There really is nothing between him and Ginny. Meet me at the Quidditch pitch when you're ready." Hermione gave her a quick hug and then left Roxie alone in the corridor. Hermione would know if they were dating. If she doesn't think that they're dating, then they probably aren't. But it doesn't matter anyway because I can't like him much less date him. Roxie brushed the last of her tears away, gave a smile, and stood up. At least I've still got Quidditch.
When Roxie arrived at the pitch with her broom tucked under her arm, students were already in the air. She was a little worried. Great now I don't even have Quidditch. Then she spotted Hermione running toward her. Hermione must have seen the worried look on Roxie's face because she explained. "They're just warming up, don't worry. Tryouts haven't started yet. You have to go sign in with Harry over there." Hermione indicated a small table set up halfway down the edge of the pitch. Roxie made her way over.
"I'm here to try out for the Beater position." Harry looked up and grinned.
"Name please," Harry joked.
"Ha, ha very funny," Roxie smiled. Harry's lame jokes were part of the reason that she liked him so much.
"I thought so. Anyways, Beaters are the last position that we are trying out, so if you could just sit in the stands that would be great." Roxie walked over to where Hermione was sitting. Ron joined them two minutes later.
"I can't believe he's going to make me try out!" Hermione and Roxie just laughed. The first position was Chaser. Katie and Ginny flew very well and made it on the team. Picking a third Chaser was a little more difficult because the rest of the people were pretty bad. Harry chose the person who was the least awful, a small blonde girl named Kayla Raymond. Keeper tryouts were next. The three new Chasers were instructed to throw the Quaffle at the hoops The Keepers had to try and block them. At first Roxie and Hermione were not worried for Ron, the potential Keepers were really bad. Most of them were only blocking one hoop, making it easy for the Chasers to score. Ron performed spectacularly. He blocked all but one of the Quaffles. Then a surly seventh year tried out. He blocked the first few of the Quaffles and Hermione began to get nervous. She gripped Roxie's arm very hard. Thankfully he missed two of the Quaffles, making Ron the best to try out. He made it on the team. Now it was Roxie's turn. As she walked by the table she heard Harry whisper, "Good luck!" but when she turned around he was looking intently across the field. He gave her a small wink and then turned his head down to the papers in front of him.
"Each of you will take this club in turn and try to hit the Bludger at that tree over there," Harry pointed to a tree at least six feet away. Roxie was confidant. She had played Beater on a team for five years and had developed very good aiming skills. She became even more confidant when every one of the people that tried out before her missed by at least ten feet. When it was her turn, she grasped the club, and swung at the Bludger. The Bludger made a clean arc and hit the tree. Harry gave a small smile, but then went back to being nonbiased. The people after Roxie were no better than the people before, although one boy did hit the tree branch. "Ok Roxie and Derek, welcome to the team," Harry announced happily after everyone had tried out.
"That's so not fair. You only picked Roxie because you're dating her," one of the other boys grumbled.
"First of all, I am not dating her and secondly you didn't even hit the tree," Harry glared at the boy who gave a small "Hmph" and stormed off the field. "There will always be some sore losers." Then he turned to his new team. "First practice is tomorrow at noon. Congratulations to you all." Harry smiled at Roxie and then he and Ron walked off the pitch together. Hermione ran over to Roxie and Ginny.
"I'm so proud of the two of you," she squealed.
"It was no big deal. We didn't really have much competition," Ginny explained. All of the other students had filed out, leaving Ginny, Hermione, and Roxie alone. Ginny dragged her foot across the grass. "So what that kid was talking about…is it true?"
"What?" Roxie was confused.
"Um you and Harry. You're not dating are you?"
"Well no. No we aren't." Could this be? Is Ginny really jealous of me?
"Oh," Ginny smiled. She seemed a little bit nicer towards Roxie after that.
"So are you two ready to go in yet?" Hermione asked. The other two girls nodded and the three of them trudged into the castle. The rest of the day was spent talking about Quidditch and the new team. After Roxie grew tired of talking about Quidditch, she, Hermione, and Ginny went up to the common room and sat around the fire talking about nothing in particular. An hour later they were joined by Harry and Ron. The five of them killed many hours talking and playing wizard's chess. Roxie was awful at it, but she kept playing because she thought that Harry was really cute when he won. Roxie went to sleep a few hours later, for the first time happy about how her day had gone.
The next morning went by in a blur. Before Roxie knew it she was headed out to the Quidditch pitch with Ginny. They were the first to arrive, so they flew around until the others arrived. When everyone else made it to practice the team started to do drills. They would fly around, throwing the Quaffle to each other and try to score. Everything was going great; Harry seemed to be pleased with his choices. The team worked so well together and then it happened. Roxie felt a white hot pain on her arm. She clutched her arm. She fell backwards, off her broom. The air rushed around her, she could practically feel the ground beneath her. And then she stopped falling. She had fallen into a pair of waiting arms. She didn't have to look to know who had caught her. He had a pair of arms that she recognized and a familiar scent. She looked up into Harry's green eyes. They looked back with a hint of concern. They reached the ground and Harry carried Roxie over to the stands. The rest of the team landed and walked over to where Harry and Roxie were sitting. "What happened?" Ron demanded. He had grabbed Roxie's broom and laid it down beside the bench.
"I…I was flying and then my arm hurt and I let go and then I fell," Roxie stammered.
"Maybe we should look at your arm," Harry said, reaching for her sleeve.
"No! It's fine now. Nothing to worry about." Roxie pulled her arm away. She looked up at him. "You caught me."
"Well I turned around and I saw you falling. I couldn't let you crash to the earth and kill yourself, now could I?" Harry smiled at her and Roxie smiled back. Then she stood up.
"Let's get back to practice."
"Do you think that's a good idea?" Harry asked, looking at her hesitantly. The rest of the team had already mounted their brooms.
"Absolutely. We need to kill the Slytherins in our match." Roxie grinned mischievously. With a hard kick on the ground, she was once again in the air. When she was alone she had time to think about things. Why did it hurt now? Does he know? The rest of practice went by smoothly, without any more accidents.
The team made their way up to the castle for dinner. "You guys go on. I'm not that hungry. I'm fine though," she added at the look on Harry's face. She was happy that he was so concerned about her. She smiled and waved, then turned the opposite way, towards the Gryffindor tower.
When she got into the common room, she looked around, making sure that no one was there. She ran up to her room. Roxie rifled through her trunk anxiously. At last she found what she was looking for, a small vial of orange powder. She threw some on the ground in a ring. She corked the bottle and then stepped into the ring. She rolled up her sleeve and pressed her index finger onto her left forearm. She closed her eyes and felt a rush of air around her.
Her feet hit solid ground once again and she opened her eyes. She looked around and saw a rat-like man and the back of a chair. A fire was crackling in the corner. A snake was curled up in front of it. A snakelike voice hissed, "So tell me Roxie, why is it that you have not returned to me before now?"
"I'm sorry Master. I had nothing to report," Roxie bowed low.
"You little liar!" the rat-like man spat.
"Now, now Wormtail, let me be the judge of that," the hiss-like voice soothed. A man emerged from the chair. He had red-eyes and snake-like nostrils. His spindly, white fingers wrapped themselves around the back of the chair. "You may get up now my dear."Roxie stood. "Roxie, Roxie, Roxie. What a mistake you have made. You have let your senseless teenage emotions run away with you. I can sense that you like the boy."
"I have no feelings for him. This is my plan, Master. I make everybody believe that I like him, including him. Then when he least expects it I can bring him to you."
"I underestimated you my dear. I would have never believed that you were capable of such brilliance. Now go, make the boy fall for you." Roxie turned to leave, but the man had one last thing to say. "Oh and make sure that you start reporting to me a little more often. Lord Voldemort does not like to be kept waiting."
"Yes my Lord." Roxie gave another low bow. When she pulled out of the bow she was back in her bedroom. She heard footsteps on the stairs, but she wasn't in the mood to talk to Hermione or anyone. She lay down on her bed and pulled the curtains around her. Tears fell from her eyes, soaking her pillow. How can I do this? But she had to. Roxie cried herself to sleep that night.