Disclaimer: I do not own SM or HP.

Hogwarts Secret Scandal 22

The Bigger They Are

Durmstrang became quiet again when Hogwarts and Beaxbatons left. Lavra and Martina found Angelica sitting on the steps outside the castle as she observed the staff taking down the paddock for the Beaxbatons horses and the rest of the games. It only took a matter of minutes yet Angelica remained outside, staring out to nothing.

"Hi Angelica," said Martina, "I want to thank you for saving my grandfather the other day."

"It was nothing," Angelica whispered.

"Nothing?" Lavra chuckled. "You're a muggleborn first year that knocked out a Death Eater cold! You saved the headmaster's life. Don't be so modest. What you did was amazing!"

"Well, I didn't know that the stunning spell would be so strong," Angelica admitted.

"You mentioned your father before you stunned Karkaroff," Martina said, "did he…?"

"Yes," Angelica said, "Karkaroff killed him."

Angelica took her eyes from the white snow and looked at the two girls. "My father was a muggle scientist. Sometimes I helped him with his experiments. When I was six years old, I was with him and a few members of his team searching for chemicals for some sort of formula my father was trying to make. Then we saw something appear in the sky. It was a giant green snake and a skull."

"The dark mark!" Martina gasped.

"Yes, I know that now," Angelica said, "but we had no idea what the Dark Mark meant. My father thought they were fireworks of some kind so we went to investigate. We found Karkaroff after he killed some people and because we were muggles and found what he did, he tried to kill us."

"I'm so sorry," said Martina.

"He killed my father first," said Angelica, "my father didn't do anything to him. My father only asked him if he was the one who put the mark in the air. Asked if they were fireworks….then Karkaroff just killed him. It frightened the rest of the scientists, he was going to kill them too and I don't know…something happened. I think that is when my magical powers started to surface."

"You know what you did?"

"I made him trip somehow," said Angelica, "but there was nothing for him to trip on."

"Tripping Jinx," Lavra murmured.

"I never forgot Karkaroff's face," Angelica whispered.

Martina put her hand on Angelica's shoulder. "Don't worry. Karkaroff is in Azkaban for good. He's never going to bother anyone again."

"That's right," Lavra said.

Angelica smiled feebly. "Yes, thank you."

"Hey, have you ever been to the oak tree on the grounds?" Lavra asked.

"No," Angelica smiled.

"I used to go there all the time," Lavra said, "there are so many things on the grounds you've just got to see."

"It's so cold out," Martina said, "maybe another time. Besides, I'm getting a bad feeling. I think we should stay inside."

"Not that again," Lavra muttered, "come on, let's go for a walk."

"A walk sounds nice," Angelica said, "I always wanted to have a look around but I was afraid of getting lost."

"You won't get lost with us," Lavra said with a smile. Though Martina disagreed about the walk, she tagged along. Lavra showed Angelica the oak tree she liked to sit under and all her favorite spots. They passed frozen ponds and walked up onto a hill where you could see forever.

"And in the spring time," Lavra said, "you can visit the pond. I used to fish in it."

"We should be heading back,' Martina stated, "it's almost sundown."

"Yeah, all right," Lavra muttered, "let's go. Well, I guess you were wrong this time, Martina. Nothing happened."

"I still had a bad feeling," Martina said, "it felt big."

They started down the hill and Lavra went on saying how paranoid Martina was. Angelica followed after them and then she saw that the trees were falling down. Lavra and Martina were too busy arguing to notice it.

"Hey, look at the trees," Angelica said, stepping up in front of them and pointing. "They're falling down."

"That's not normal," Lavra said thoughtfully. "Something's breaking them…something big."

"And it's coming this way," Martina moaned, "I knew something was going to happen!"

"Relax," Lavra hushed, "it's probably just some jarveys building a dam or something."

"Jarveys are ferrets," Martina said, "not beavers and they wouldn't be building dams!"

More trees fell down. The ground moved. Something definitely huge was coming towards them.

"It can't be the Beaxbatons horses," Lavra said, "they took off hours ago."
The trees on the edge of the forest broke in half as a twenty foot giant exited the forest. When it spotted the girls, it went after them.

"I hate it when you're right, Martina!" Lavra shouted.

"Quick, we've got to get out of here!" Martina exclaimed.

But with the giant stomping toward them and causing the ground to move, the girls fell down every time they took a step. Gritting her teeth, Lavra stood to her feet with her wand raised.

"Lavra, no!" Martina warned.

Lavra paid no heed. She pointed her wand right at the giant's eyes and shouted, "Conjunctiva!"

The giant slapped his hand over his eyes and roared with pain.

"You shouldn't have done that," Martina said, "you made it angry—giants don't like magic used against them."

"I know but what would you suggest?" Lavra demanded. "Throwing my shoe at it?"

"We've got to go before the spell wears off!" Angelica cried.

"Right!"

The girls started running back to the castle though it was difficult to run through the snow. They were hours away. They wouldn't make it back in time.

"We should've taken…our broomsticks!" Lavra gasped.

Angelica glanced behind her. The shouts of the giant caused its comrades to come looking for him. Now there were roughly thirty giants standing near the wounded giant and more coming out of the forest.

"Um…girls… it looks like we've got a giant problem!"

Lavra and Martina turned back around and screamed. The giant army stormed to the girls. The Conjunctivas Curse was not enough for all of them. Even if they wounded a few, it would only anger the giants.

"What do we do?" Angelica wondered out loud.

"I think it's too late to give presents to the Gurg!" Lavra said in a panicked voice.

"Where charms and spells fail, scout power will prevail," Martina whispered, remembering the message with her mysterious Christmas present. She pulled out her Mars Renovation Rod. "Got these with you? Use them!"

Lavra and Angelica took out their Renovation Rods and raised them up high. As they did so, they felt as if they had done this many times before.

"MARS PLANET POWER!"

"JUPITER PLANET POWER!"

"SATURN PLANET POWER!"

Martina was in the middle of a battlefield with fires still ablaze. She was engulfed in an inferno yet the fire did not burn her skin. It felt rejuvenating. When the fire licked down her body, she stood as Eternal Sailor Mars. In place of her red high heels were white knee high boots with red lines on the top. She had no tiara but the planetary symbol of Mars glowed brightly on her forehead. A pair of red and gold wings, the wings of a phoenix, appeared on the war soldier's back. The battlefield disappeared and was replaced with the planet mars.

Lavra stood in a forest with a great thunderstorm. Lightning struck her repeatedly but she did not fall down. Leaves surrounded her and covered her whole body as lightning swirle around her. The leaves blew away to reveal Eternal Sailor Jupiter with the green wings of a Romanian Longhorn dragon. The planet Jupiter appeared behind her.

Angelica stood in a demolished city and waves of darkness swirled around her. Seconds later, a white gloved hand emerged from the darkness and waved the darkness away. The small first year now stood Eternal Sailor Saturn, glaive in hand and having the wings of a threstral. The planet Saturn took the place of the demolished city.

After transforming into sailor scouts, the three Durmstrang students felt as if a key inside their minds had been turned in and the door to their past had been opened. Their minds were flooded with memories and then they knew who they were. They had not always been witches—but a long time ago—they were sailor soldiers.

The giants paused from attacking, staring in shock at the three sailor suited soldiers. They had never seen such creatures.

"So, you guys don't like magic, huh?" Eternal Sailor Jupiter asked, her hands crackling with electricity. "Then let's see how you like scout power! SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"

Jupiter tossed a Frisbee of lightning at the closest giant. It grunted and backed up. Eternal Sailor Mars took her turn. "MARS FLAME SNIPER!"

She shot the same giant with her fiery arrow right in the stomach and he doubled over. The other giants became angry and encircled the sailor scouts.

"You know what they say," said Eternal Sailor Saturn, "the bigger they are…the harder they fall!"

"Let's bring 'em down!" Eternal Sailor Jupiter shouted, flexing her wings and taking off into the air.

Sailor Jupiter raised her hand and summoned the object of her newfound power: a staff with a stylized tin lightning bolt on the top and on the bottom a stylized symbol of Jupiter. Jupiter pulled on her staff and the bottom half of her staff moved up to reveal a chain.

(AN: for those of you who are familiar with Ronin Warriors, Sailor Jupiter's new weapon is a kusari-gama, the same weapon Anubis uses. Only difference is that Jupiter's kusari-gama mechanically changes into a staff, oh and the lightning bolt and styalized Jupiter symbol.)

Jupiter started swinging the lightning bolt of her kusari-gama around her head. The faster she swung it, the darker and thicker the clouds became. "JUPITER THUNDER STORM!"

A hundred bolts of lightning came from the sky and struck the giants down, creating an avalanche. Jupiter gasped. "Oh no!"

Sailor Saturn took air but Sailor Mars stayed on the ground.

"Mars, move!" Eternal Sailor Jupiter hollered.

"I can take it, trust me!" Sailor Mars shot back, her whole body glowing red. The snow covered Eternal Sailor Mars up. A moment later, jets of fire burst through the snow and melted away. Sailor Mars had a shield on her left arm with a red flame on it. In her right hand she held a spear. (AN: The reason why I chose a spear and shield for Mars is because the symbol of Mars is supposed to be made up of the shield and spear of the God of War, Mars. The arrow is the spear and the circle is the shield.)

"Sailor Mars!" Eternal Sailor Jupiter gasped.

"It's going to take more than an avalanche to get me down!" Eternal Sailor Mars cried, walking toward the giants. With each step she took, the snow melted away. "Now let's heat things up!"

"MARS FIRE WALL!" Sailor Mars pointed her spear at the ground and drew a line. A ten foot wall of fire flared up, burning nearby giants into a crisp. The other giants backed away from the fire in fear.

"Saturn, your turn!" Sailor Mars cried. "Finish them off!"

"Very well," said Sailor Saturn, swinging her glaive. "SATURN DEATH TOLL!"

Violet blasts of light came down and consumed each giant, killing them in an instant. When the light disappeared, so did the giants.

"They're gone," said Sailor Jupiter.

"Just as well," said Mars, "they should know nobody gets into Durmstrang without consulting the headmaster first!"

"Speaking of Durmstrang," said Saturn, "we should be heading back now. Everyone would be wondering where we were."

"Right."

The three sailor soldiers flew back to their school changed back to the three witches they were before. Immediately, they embraced each other in a group hug.

"We're back!" cried Lavra. "Rei!"

"Makoto!" Martina said. "Hotaru!"

They remembered their old names, their old lives, everything as if it was yesterday.

"This is incredible," said Angelica, "how is it that we are still alive? How did we get here? The last thing I remember, we were battling Galaxia."

"Yeah," said Martina with a nod. "We all died, didn't we?"

"Sailor Moon must've defeated her and somehow," Lavra guessed, "we were all sent here."

"But why?" Angelica wondered.

"Not sure," Martina said, "but I have a feeling it was Queen Serenity."

"How?" Lavra asked. "Queen Serenity died when she sent us to Earth after the Moon Kingdom was destroyed."

"She did it once," said Martina, "who's to say she can't do it again. Even if she's only a spirit, she still had a lot of power. She took us to the moon when were fighting Malachite."

"That's true," said Lavra.

"What about Serena and the others?" Angelica asked. "Should we tell them about this?"

Martina shook her head. "Hogwarts and Beaxbatons may just be returning to their schools now. We don't know if they've transformed or not. We can't tell them everything. It would confuse them."

"Well, I'm sure they'd like to know that our transformation rods at least work," Lavra said, "so they don't have to be afraid to use them."

"Yes," Martina said with a smile, "we know for sure now that there are no curses on them. I'll send Serena and Ami a letter. I'm sure Serena will tell Mina the news."

"Who do you think sent us our Renovation Rods?" Angelica asked.

"I'm pretty sure it was Luna," said Martina, "she gave us our very first transformation sticks when she learned we were sailor scouts."

"Yes, that makes sense," Lavra said with a nod, "and she and Artemis are trying to find us."

"I wonder when we meet everyone again," said Angelica, "I really miss them."

Lavra dropped her hand on Angelica's shoulder. "Hey, we will see each other when the time comes."

"That's right," Martina stated, "we'll be brought back together soon."

Angelica smiled and nodded.

"All right," said Martina, "let's get inside before grandfather sends a search party for us."

Though Serena had not transformed yet and had her mind flooded with lost memories, she was already missing her new friends. As soon as the busses got to Hogwarts, reality hit Serena and she felt miserable. When would she see her friends again?

When classes resumed, Serena did not feel like working. The workload seemed to have doubled. Snape was not only teaching potions, but he was also teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons until Darien returned to Hogwarts. Darien was still at the ministry handling the issue with Karkaroff. Serena couldn't believe it, but she was missing Darien. He was a much better teacher. He didn't yell and the other students and make them feel insignificant like Snape did. One class with Snape was more than enough.

Darien didn't mind being away from Hogwarts for awhile. It was refreshing to do his duty as an Auror instead of teaching a boring class. For those few days while he was helping the Ministry, he was not Professor Shields. He was Darien Shields, Auror. He couldn't wait until he could do more Auror duties. Darien returned to Hogwarts about a week after the Winter Wizard Olympics finished.

"I wonder when Professor Shields is coming back," sighed Parvarti at breakfast.

"Yeah, Snape is really getting on my nerves," Serena agreed as she sprinkled sugar over her cornflakes. "I'm starting to wish I stayed in Durmstrang. Lavra Molinya told me their teacher is pretty cool."

Serena frowned at mentioning Lavra's name. When she was going to see her friends again? When was she going to hear from them?

The mail owls soared into the room. Serena glanced up hopefully. A brown owl came down to her with a message attached to its foot.

"For me?" Serena asked. "Yay!"

Serena grabbed the owl in embrace, causing feathers to fluff everywhere.

"Thank you Mr. Owl!" Serena said, giving it a kiss and spitting out feathers. "pew! Pew! Um, here, you can have the rest of my cornflakes as a thank you."

Serena removed the message and let the owl finish her breakfast. The owl seemed to prefer food over kisses. Serena squealed when she saw who the letter was from. She bounded over to the Slytherin table and grabbed her cousin's hand.

"Mina, come with me!"

"But, I—I," Mina said, "my breakfast—my boyfriend…"

Serena did not let her cousin finish her breakfast or whisper sweet nothings to her boyfriend. Mina waved pathetically at Draco.

"See you, Draco!"

"Yeah," said Draco, engrossed in a letter from Lavra.

"What's up, Serena?" Mina asked once she and Serena were out of the Great Hall.

"Got a letter from Martina," Serena said, "she says that those Renovation Rods really work!"

"Are you kidding me?" Mina questioned.

"See for yourself!" Serena said, holding the letter up.

Mina took the letter and looked it over.

Serena,

I hope you and Mina arrived at Hogwarts safely. Shortly after your departure from Durmstrang, Lavra, Angelica and I had some giant visitors. We were walking around the grounds and we were attacked by a bunch of giants. We remembered about the Renovation Rods and they gave us the ability to stop them. I don't know if the giants were coming to Durmstrang or if we were in their territory but I think we're safe for now. We just wanted you to know that the Renovation Rods are really curse free and they work. Whoever sent them to us really trusted us so it's very important we take good care of our presents.

Sincerely,

Martina Rei Oleg

"Hey, I didn't know her middle name was Rei," Mina murmured.

"Me neither," said Serena, "maybe it's just a nickname or something. But they were attacked right after we left! If we had stayed just a day longer we would've been able to use those things all together!"

"Yeah, it really is weird," Mina said, "well, don't worry Serena, we'll get our chance. At least we know they work and they just don't look pretty."

"Yup," said Serena, touching the brooch that she kept on her sweater. "But I still think it looks good on me."

"Yeah, it does," Mina agreed.

"Hey, Reenie," said Rose Parkinson as Rose entered their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "Did you have a good holiday?"

"Oh yeah," Reenie said with a slight smirk. "I had a howling good time…"

Rose chuckled and then Darien emerged from his office. Rini gasped.

"Professor Shields, you're back!" she cried happily.

"Yes," he said, "I just got back this morning."

Students started to ask him questions about Karkaroff and the ministry. They were speaking so quickly Darien had to tell them to calm down.

"There isn't much I can tell you," said Darien, "but I am sure as you've heard from everyone else, Karkaroff came to Durmstrang and tried to kill the new Headmaster. He was stunned and then I took him to the Ministry."

"Were you the one who stunned him?"

"No," said Darien, "it was one of the students. I heard Karkaroff in the school and I was looking for him with the Durmstrang Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Karkaroff is in Azkaban now and there is nothing he can say to the ministry that can get him out this time."

"What did Karkaroff do when you got him there?" a student from the back.

"Not much—he was out for a long time," Darien said.

Darien knew that the students wanted to hear the whole story of Darien capturing Karkaroff but he did not want to repeat himself for every class. He was now teaching the first years and some of his details were complicated and he didn't want to scare the class—especially Reenie. He'd save the details for his seventh year Gryffindor class. He knew Harry and Ron would be interested to hear his story as they were aspiring Aurors and it would give them something to look forward to.

"Now, it's time to start the lesson," said Darien and everyone groaned. Nobody felt like having a lesson, including Reenie. She loved learning things from her father but just like everyone else, she wanted to hear more what happened at Durmstrang.

"Today we will learning treatments for werewolf bites," said Darien, flicking his wand at the projector and images of bite wounds appeared on the white screen.

"Oh gross," Rose said, covering her face, "that person was bit on the neck!"

"Yes," said Darien with a nod, "werewolves mostly go for the neck, like regular wolves."

Darien continued on with the lesson and a few students commented on Greyback's attack on a child and his capture. Reenie kept her eyes on her desk. She was the unlucky prey Greyback was seeking. It was strange though. Why did Greyback seek her out? He had just attacked random children. How did Greyback know who she was? Reenie was reminded about her talk with Ashton the bounty hunter. She had to find a cure to werewolfism and send it to Ashton. Who better to ask for help than her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?

When the class was over, Reenie stood up but did not join her friends.

"Coming, Reenie?" Rose asked. "We have to get to Herbology."

"I'll catch up," said Reenie, "I just need to speak to Professor Shields for a minute."

"Okay," said Rose and she left the room. Reenie approached Darien's desk.

"Professor Shields, can I talk to you?" Reenie asked.

"Of course you can, Reenie," Darien smiled, "what is it?"

"I've got a question about werewolves," Reenie said, "but I didn't feel comfortable in saying it in the class."

"Reenie, it's good to ask questions during class so others can learn," Darien told her softly.

"Yes…I know," Reenie murmured. Typical Darien. He did not know he was Reenie's father but he was scolding her gently as always. Reenie smiled. "I'll remember next time."

"What's your question?"

"Well, silver can kill a werewolf," Reenie stated, "but if silver was in a different form, could it kill the werewolf but spare the human?"

"How do you mean?" Darien queried.

"Well, say, crystallized silver," Reenie suggested, "can it cure someone from werewolfism?"

"Hmm," Darien cupped his chin, "I think so. I've never came across any crystallized silver before."

"Yes, I suppose it's rare," Reenie said.

"However, there is already a remedy to werewolfism," said Darien, "Damocles Belby has invented the Wolfsbane Potion. When a person drinks it before the full moon, they still transform but keep their human mind. They're nothing more but a mere wolf."

"When do we get to make that?" Reenie asked eagerly.

"It's a difficult potion," Darien told her, "Professor Snape might not introduce the potion until your fifth year."

Reenie frowned. She couldn't wait that long.

"Oh, okay," said Reenie, feeling defeated. "Thanks."

"Why are you so interested in remedies for werewolfism, Reenie?" Darien asked with slight concern.

"A friend asked for help," Reenie explained. "I should get to my next lesson now."

"All right," said Darien.

"Thank you professor," Reenie nodded and she left, nearly bumping into a third year Hufflepuff for Darien's next class.

During lunch, Serena was watching her cousin and Draco acting all cozy together. Serena knew just like everyone else at school that Mina was head over heels for Harry Potter. Now that Draco and Harry weren't enemies anymore, Serena thought that Mina would dump Draco and go for Harry. Strangely enough, Mina and Draco were still together. Serena couldn't stand it and she was sure that Harry wasn't happy about it either. He too was glancing up at Draco and Mina and he was cutting up his lunch with a scowl. Serena grinned as an idea entered her mind. It was perfect. Perhaps the only way for Mina to go for what she wanted was to make her jealous.

"Harry," said Serena, "I know my cousin likes you."

"Who doesn't?" Harry said with a sigh.

"And I've got the feeling you like her too."

"Of course I do," said Harry, "ever since she started dating Malfoy last year."

"It took you that long to notice her!" Serena exclaimed. "She liked you since you were first years!"

"I liked her then too," Harry insisted, "but it wasn't until I saw her with Malfoy when I wanted to date her. I was too busy trying to stay alive."

"Oh, good point," Serena said thoughtfully. "I guess it's hard to think of romance when someone's constantly trying to kill you…"

"You've no idea," Harry sighed.

"Well, I've got an idea," said Serena, "to get Mina to be serious about you."

"What?"

"Well, what if we start going out?"

"You and me?" Harry set down his knife and turned to Serena.

"Yeah," Serena nodded. "It will make Mina jealous."

"I don't know," said Harry. "I'm not sure if I want to make her jealous, and beside, who knows if it will work? Malfoy might not like it, but then again, it might make things interesting."

"So?"

Harry grinned. "Let's do it."

Serena looked at her watch. "If you're done, shall we go to Potions?"

"Of course," said Harry, he and Serena stood up, grasped hands and left the Great Hall. Mina saw the couple out of the corner of her eye and blocked out the words of her boyfriend. Why was her cousin walking hand in hand with the boy of her dreams? Mina grabbed her boyfriend by the hand and pulled him up.

"Mina—I'm not done!"

"Yes you are," she said, following Harry and Serena. Draco chuckled when he saw they were holding hands.

"Look, Mina, I think Potter's going out with your cousin!"

"No, he's probably just…helping her to class."

"Oi, Potter!" Draco called and Mina bit her lip. She wanted to spy on Harry and Serena, not get noticed. "Potter!"

Harry looked behind him, grinned and Serena and the new couple turned around. "Hello, Malfoy."

"You and Serena are looking cozy all of a sudden," Draco said, "have you found yourself a girlfriend?"

"You can say that," Harry said, smiling at Serena.

"Really?" said Mina.

Serena nodded. "Yup, don't we look cute together?"

"Yes," Mina said forcefully. "Adorable."

"You're not mad, are you?" Serena whispered, holding her hand by her mouth as Draco and Harry started talking about Quidditch. Typical boys.

"Mad?" Mina said. "Why would I be mad?"

"Well, I'm seeing your crush," said Serena, "I know how much you like Harry. If you don't feel comfortable about me dating him then I'll break things off."

"Oh, no, no, no!" Mina flapped her hand. "It's all right, Serena. I'm not mad. I'm so, so, so happy for you! You certainly bagged yourself a good one! Besides, I've got my Dwaky-poo!"

Serena sighed. "Oh, good, I'm so glad you're cool with it."

"Super cool, actually, I think we should go on a double date together!" Mina said and she elbowed Draco in the side. "Draco, how about the four of us go to the next Hogsmeade weekend?"

"Hmm, I don't see why not," said Draco, "you up for it, Potter?"

"Sounds good," said Harry, "I'm afraid I can't say no to that."

"I'll see if I can make some reservations at the Three Broomsticks," said Draco in his 'I'm so important I can get whatever I want' sort of voice. "It can get crowded you know."

"No kidding."

"If I can manage it, we might just get a table all to ourselves."

"Wow!" said Serena, elbowing her cousin. "I take it all back; I'm starting to like this guy!"

Besides Mina, there were a couple other people that did not like Serena's new relationship. Darien couldn't teach his lesson without looking at the couple. He saw them enter the class holding hands, leaving holding hands and they were always together. Darien decided against telling his class about Karkaroff. If Harry Potter was serious about becoming an Auror then he was going to become one on his own. Darien was also angry that he was even upset over it. So what if Serena was going out with Harry Potter? It was none of his business. He may have liked Serena but the reality was that he was a teacher and she was a student. Serena was free to date whoever she wanted. Yet still, Darien couldn't help but be jealous. He wanted to give Harry detention or something. It was hard catching Harry at rule breaking because he wasn't breaking any rules. He didn't talk back to Darien. He came to class prepared, he asked good questions, did the assignments and he came to class on time. The only thing he did that Darien had a problem with was that Harry was dating Serena. He couldn't punish him for that. His students might find out about Darien's infatuation with Serena.

Reenie also had a problem with Serena dating Harry. Her parents should be back together by now! What was taking them so long? Reenie couldn't talk to Serena since they weren't in the same house so Reenie bothered Mina about it all the time.

"I thought you were crazy about Harry Potter!" she told Mina once Mina entered the common room. "Why is your cousin dating him?"

"I'm not the only one who has good taste in men," Mina said, "I'm happy for Serena. If I can't be with Harry then Serena can." It twisted Mina's heart to say that. She was relying on Serena to live her dream for her?

"You've got to break up with Malfoy and ask Harry out!" Reenie yelled.

"No, I still love Draco," Mina insisted.

"Oh please," Reenie rolled her eyes. "You can't love two guys at once."

"Yes I can!" Mina yelled. "I know all about love! What do you know? You're just an ickle first year! How dare you question my feelings? Who do you think you are?"
Reenie opened her mouth but Mina ranted on.

"You're too young to understand," Mina said, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Reenie. "I can't just break up with Draco because my cousin's dating someone I like! I don't even know if Harry feels the same way about me. Serena looks happy with Harry and I'm not going to mess up things for her. It's none of your business anyway!"

"Yeah it is!"

"No it's not!" Mina barked. "You don't even know Serena. You don't know what's best for her. So stay out of it!"

Mina trekked down to the girls' dormitory, pulled out her Quidditch robes and broomstick from her trunk and left the common room. "I need to clear my head."

Flying and throwing the Quaffle around usually cheered Mina up but not this time. All she could think about was her failed romances. She felt her relationship with Draco falling through the cracks. He seemed really distant since they returned to Hogwarts. He still treated her with kindness and he gave her a hug every now and then but their relationship just wasn't what it used too. They couldn't be drifting apart. Mina felt that he really loved her. He even said so. What would happen if they ever broke up? Would Mina ever find true love?

"Hopeless!" Mina said as the Quaffle missed the hoop by a mile. "I can't even play quidditch! You're hopeless, Lovegood!"

Mina floated down to the ground and chucked her broomstick away. It was cold and windy but she really didn't feel like going inside. Slytherin was going to play Ravenclaw soon and she had to prepare. Tears flowed down Mina's cheeks and she slumped down into the snow.

"Mina?"

"What?" She looked through the falling snow to see her boyfriend running up to her.

"There you are!" Draco cried. "I was looking all over for you!"

"I just," Mina said, wiping her tears away hurriedly, "wanted to practicing my Quaffle throwing. Guess I lost track of time."

"Mina, it's after nine," Draco said, helping her to her feet. "If Filch finds us we'll be facing detention."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Mina said, picking up her broomstick and Quaffle. "I was going to go in a bit, really."

"Look, love," said Draco as he put his arm around her and led her back to the school, "I'm glad you're taking extra time to practice on your own but Quidditch Practice is tomorrow. You could've waited then—besides—we both know you're the best Chaser on the team."

"Oh Draco," Mina dropped the Quaffle and hugged her boyfriend. "You really are the best! I'm so glad I…I have you!"

Mina sobbed fresh tears as she held onto Draco's neck. Taken back, Draco stood in shock. It wasn't unusual for Mina to tell him things like that. She told him he was the best all the time, but she never cried when she said it. She'd giggle, or say it in baby talk, bat her eyes, do something sexy but she never wailed pathetically on him. Draco didn't know what to say. In truth, it frightened him.

"Mina, what's wrong?" Draco asked, patting her head. "Why are you upset?"

"Nothing, Draco," Mina lied, "I'm just so happy to have you."

Draco pushed her away and looked at her with the 'I'm not buying it' look. "You're not all right with Potter dating your cousin, are you?"

"What? Of course I am!" Mina cried. "I think they're cute together."

"Really?" said Draco, "you're not in the least bit upset?"

"Well, I'm a little surprised," Mina said with a small smile, "I didn't even know they liked each other. I'm okay with it, really."

She shivered and leaned against him. "I'm sorry for scaring you like that Draco…I just…I just had a lot on my mind lately. Can we go inside now?"

"Yeah," Draco put his arm around his girlfriend and they entered the school. Mina tried to focus on the good things. She still had Draco, she still was on the Quidditch team and…she was an average student in school. It may have been her dream to go out with Harry but if Serena could live that dream for her, then that was good enough. Mina was just too scared to go for it herself. She had to face the truth that Harry Potter did not want her.

TO BE CONTINUED