Hello, please don't be mad, we've had a very rough year, and typing up this story took second place to life for a little while. Not to worry though, we have plenty more ready to type up, we just gotta take the time. I'm sure you all understand, so enough complaining, and on with the story!
Disclaimer: We do not own, yadda yadda yadda, do not sue, yadda yadda yadda, no money, yadda yadda yadda. Okie? Okie!
Chapter 10
"You okay?" asked Steph, concerned by his wide-eyed stare. She sat down where the mysterious figure had been sitting only instants before. "Draco? Can you even hear me?" she waved her hand in front of his face.
He shook his head and stared at her, "I'm fine," he finally said glaring.
"Look, I know you're pissed off, but I'll make you a deal. You can play the first game against each team, and I'll play the second games. Seeing as we play each house twice, we can each have a turn" he stared at her, "that way we also get an even amount of playing time."
"Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked slowly, "I thought you were trying to ruin me."
"That was never my intention. I just want you to realize that you're not better than everyone else because your dad is well known or because you have money" she explained, leaning back in the seat. Her shirt slid up slightly, giving Draco a view of her well toned abs. "I want you to be your own person, to earn the respect you crave through your own means. You may not realize it, but I'm trying to help you" she smiled kindly.
"Well I guess I gotta take back my Gryffindor comments from before. No Gryffindor would even try helping a Slytherin. You must be a Hufflepuff, or rather a huffleslut." He laughed at his own little play on words.
"Look, I'm a Slytherin, deal with it. Back in Canada I was in a house where the people had evil and conniving minds, kind hearts, brave and smart. Here, they'd have to split me four ways to put me in the right houses, so I got put in Slytherin. You're stuck with me, deal with it." She glared.
In the Gryffindor common room, Sarah was being confronted by the other members of her team. "Hey Sarah, nice job on the pitch today." One of them said to her.
"Umm…. Thanks" she replied as her cheeks turned a shade of red. Trying to get away from the crowd, she frowned when she noticed Harry trying to come towards her while Hermione attempted to drag him out of the common room. An idea hitting her, Sarah smiled innocently as she walked towards them.
"'Scuse me" said Sarah as innocently as she could as she tapped Hermione on the shoulder. Turning around, Hermione glared at her.
"What?" she growled. Rolling her eyes inwardly, Sarah pushed her aside and grabbed onto Harry's arm.
"C'mon" she ordered as her hand trailed down his arm; grabbing his hand she led him out of the common room.
Walking outside and stopping under a large willow tree, Sarah flopped down onto the cushiony grass and looked out at the lake. Joining her, Harry gave her a curious glance. "What?" she asked as she turned slightly to face him.
"What was that all about back there?" he wondered. Shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, Sarah replied.
"Wanted to get away and saved you from her-hiney?" raising an eyebrow at her nickname for Hermione, Harry grinned.
"My hero?" he asked with a chuckle. Faking a mock bow from her position on the ground, Sarah retorted.
"All in a day's work, 'specially for a damsel in distress." Laughing at his humorous expression, she started laughing even harder when he pounced on her and began to mercilessly tickle her. "Ack! Quit it! Don't do that!" she struggled to free herself.
"Oh you're doomed now; I have a weapon over you!" Harry said evilly. "better watch out or I can make you dance in Snape's class. I highly doubt your friend will be able to get you out of trouble a second time."
"Not unless she dances first" she laughed, finally rolling out of reach.
"That was really cool of her," admitted Harry, "You should have seen Snape's face. I don't think he's ever had a Slytherin tell him to give points to Gryffindor."
"She's not a bad person just because she's in Slytherin," defended Sarah "you people are so prejudice. You do realize that every person in that school has the trait needed for each house. It's the decisions we make that make us who we are, that place us in our houses."
"That's what Dumbledore told me in my second year." Harry said, thinking back, "but not everyone has a quality from each house, I mean look at Draco. He's pure Slytherin."
"But he's brave and loyal to his house, those are Gryffindor qualities are they not?"
"Well… yeah."
"And he's smart and uses his wits, ideals for Ravenclaw."
"True."
"And he's calm, quiet and caring." She finished, "just like the common Hufflepuff."
"I disagree with the caring part, but otherwise I see your point."
"He cares about how he is seen by people. It might be the most selfish kind, but it's still caring."
"I guess." He leaned back against the tree and put his hands behind his head, "You Canadians are so different from what I'm used to."
"Is that a bad thing?" she asked looking down sadly.
"Not at all, it's a great attitude, everyone should have it," he said hastily, hoping he hadn't offended her.
She smiled a little, "Canadians are known as the neutral people. We see everyone for who they are and not for what they are."
A small, comfortable silence ensued.
"So you're the new beater on our team huh…" said Harry, trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, cool eh?" she smiled happily.
"Do you ever practice at home or your old school?"
"I was actually a chaser on my old team, but I love hitting stuff, and in the muggle world we practiced a sport called baseball, I was on a team when I was younger."
"Cool," he answered, nodding his understanding of the similarities between baseball and beaters.
Another silence followed as Sarah lay back onto the cool grass and looked up at the sky. The sun had just finished setting and the first stars were glowing dimly in the pale sky.
"Hey, you wanna sneak into Hogsmeade?" he asked suddenly.
"We'll get caught. There's no way there." She said looking at him.
"I know a secret passage, and not even Filch knows about it."
"Umm… well can I invite Steph? I wanna celebrate with her."
He looked slightly disappointed but he nodded anyway, "sure, why not."
"K! cool, just give me a minute, I think she's still on the pitch." She kissed his cheek quickly in thanks and stood u, "I'll be right back," she ran off towards the pitch.
Steph was still sitting in the stands next to Draco when she saw Sarah running towards them.
"Oh look," growled Draco, "a little Gryffindor coming to rat us out for being out so late." He started to reach for his wand when Steph put her hand on his arm to stop him.
"Don't even think about it." She shot, "that's my friend. She came to talk to me, not to get us in trouble."
Draco looked down at the hand on his arm and was thankful for the fact that she wouldn't be able to see the faintest of blushes that he knew were covering his cheeks.
"Hey Steph!" called Sarah as she ran up the last few stairs to meet her. "And….Draco was it?"
He nodded slowly, though his disgusted stare was clearly visible even in the pale moonlight.
"What's up Sarah? Why are you out so late?" asked Steph, elbowing Draco in the ribs to signal him to behave.
"Just hanging out with Harry," Sarah smiled.
"Potter!" spat Draco, "that no good Gryffindor."
"Watch your tongue pal, you don't talk about any of my friends like that," she glared.
"Don't worry about him Sarah. Was there something you wanted?" interrupted Steph. She could sense a fight coming on, and she was too tired to deal with it.
"Oh yeah," she said, remembering the reason for coming to see Steph, "Harry wants to treat me to a victory butterbeer in Hogsmead. I wanted to know if you wanted to know if you wanted to come too."
"Potter's sneaking out?" asked Draco, finally interested. "perfect, I can finally get him in trouble for something."
"I'd love to come, Sarah. And I'll bring Mr. Malfoy along too, just to make sure that he can't get your friend in trouble without implicating himself." She shot Draco a look that could have killed.
"Umm… How do you expect to get him to go with you? I doubt he'd just tag along." asked Sarah.
"Easy, like this, ligaros (A/N: ligare is latin for bind). Now he goes where I go, and since I cast the spell he can't just pull me his way, he has to go my way." She smiled evilly at Draco who swallowed nervously.
"You won't get away with this Malefice." Draco added as Steph stood to follow, Draco being unwillingly dragged along, "I know the counter curse."
"Good for you," she smiled sweetly, "kinda useless without this though, isn't it?" she showed him his wand, which she had obviously taken from his pocket when he wasn't looking. "Now do us all a favor and try to enjoy this outing."
He muttered under his breath as Steph and Sarah led the way to where Harry was still sitting.
After a quick explanation of Malfoy coming along and many protests from Harry, the teens moved off towards Hogsmead. Harry decided to use the passage under the whomping willow instead of the one in the castle because it wasn't as secret. He didn't want Malfoy to know too much.
They emerged from the shrieking shack 20 minutes later and walked towards the Three Broomsticks. Sarah had looped her arm through Harry's and the duo led the way as Stephanie and Draco pulled up the rear. Draco was a lot more civil now, because Steph had threatened him with a number of different curses if he didn't behave in public. He decided to play along for now, after all, revenge is a dish best served cold.
The four teens walked into the Three Broomsticks and found a table in a secluded corner. Sarah went to buy drinks for everyone as Stephanie tried to keep the peace between Harry and Draco.
"What are you playing at Draco?" asked Steph angrily. Draco had begun to reach for his wand which was in Stephanie's belt on her right side. He, however, was on her left and his reaching attempt had led Harry to point out where his hand was headed. "Keep your hands off of me you perve!"
"Oh please, as if I'd want to touch you, I was simply reaching for my wand, which you hold captive." He said as innocently as he could. He turned to glare at Potter, "thanks a lot Potter" he spat, "trust you to stick your nose where it doesn't belong."
"As if I'd let you do anything where you need to sneak you low-life coward." Shot Harry.
"Coward? You're the one who runs to your precious Dumbledore and Gryffindors when something scares you!"
"Well at least I don't run to my father like you do!"
"At least I have a father, and a mother for that matter."
"At least my parents died for what they believed in. They actually cared enough for me to give their lives. I doubt your parents love you at all, especially with those looks of disgust on their faces when you're around. I doubt they'd die for you. They'd probably give you up the first chance they'd get."
"Why you!" Draco shot out of his chair.
Sighing in exasperation, Steph yanked on his soft, platinum hair.
"Ow! Hey, what the hell was that for?"
"Sit down, do you want to get us kicked out?
"Did you have to pull on my hair like that? It really hurts!"
"It's the easiest way to stop someone from doing something stupid using only one hand. Now will you both please pretend you like each other while you're here? I'd like a quiet night of sneaking out" she looked at both of them, aside from the glare they sent each other, they were otherwise acting civil. "Here comes Sarah with the butterbeer."
"Hey guys," said Sarah cheerfully as she set the tray of drinks down, "why the long faces? You look like someone stole your favorite toy and put it out of reach," she motioned to Harry and Draco's faces.
"I told them to play nice for the night. Don't think they're too happy," explained Steph, "let's just enjoy our night out, let them pout."
"Good idea," Sarah sat down next to Harry and Draco, keeping them at least one person apart.
"So, Sarah," snarled Draco, "what's a goody-goody Gryffindor doing sneaking off grounds at night."
"Who said all Gryffindors were goody-goodies?" she asked innocently, "maybe I just asked the hat to put me in Gryffindor."
"Doesn't work that way, the hat finds out what kind of person you are." He said haughtily as if he knew everything. Goody-goodies belong in Gryffindor with the rest of the saps.
"And who belongs in Slytherin? The snobs and dumbasses?" growled Harry.
"Hey!" yelled Stephanie, "you take that back, I'm not snobby or dumb, I could probably make your grades look pitiful."
"Well, there's an exception to every rule, I guess." Harry shrugged, "I don't even know what you're doing in Slytherin, you'd be better in Gryffindor, or even Ravenclaw."
"I'm in Slytherin because I wanted to be, I asked the hat to put me in it and it agreed."
"You hear that Scarhead?" smirked Draco, "she wanted to be in Slytherin, she knew which house was clearly the best."
"Actually, I chose it because I liked the house color," she blushed.
Sarah rolled her eyes and Harry laughed as Draco looked at her in shock.
"The hat let you in Slytherin just because you liked the color?" he asked wide-eyed.
"The hat places you where you want to go, it's our choices that make us get 'chosen' for the houses. And sure, those other things they talk about; bravery, cunning, brains, and caring, they influence it a little, but in the end it's your choice."
The teens stared at her in silence when finally Harry broke the awkward moment.
"Didn't I get that same speech earlier tonight?" he asked.
"Ok, enough about school, I snuck out for a reason, to get AWAY!" Sarah chipped in.
Harry laughed out loud and Steph smiled, slightly embarrassed to have rattled on like that. She took a long sip of her butterbeer and hiccupped. They all laughed at her as her face put the Weasley hair to shame.
A few hours passed and Draco began to relax, even with Harry present. It wasn't like he actually liked the guy, but he could bear to be in the same room as him now. He'd never tell anyone though, after all, he had a reputation to maintain.
"Hey guys, it's almost midnight, we have to get back." said Harry, suddenly breaking the moment, "we'll get caught sneaking in for sure."
"No we won't," scoffed Steph, draining her cup, "all major teacher patrols end at midnight, less security to get by. And if we go in by the woods, we can get into the dungeons without even crossing the grounds."
"How?" asked Sarah, stifling a yawn.
"A passage I accidentally found looking for a bathroom."
"Okay then," Draco drawled, stretching his arms over his head, "let's hope you don't get us lost." Steph poked him sharply in the ribs with her nail. "Oof, that hurts, you have sharp nails," he complained.
"I keep them sharp for a reason. Now, as punishment for your comment, you're paying for my drinks."
Sarah smirked, "What!" he cried, "but you've had like 10 of them!"
"You're supposed to be rich, now prove it and pay." He opened his mouth to comment, "and not a word out of you, or I'll leave you behind for McGonagall to find." He quickly shut his mouth, but his glare said enough, Draco was not a happy camper.
After they each paid for their drinks, Draco mumbling the entire time, they left the pub. The trip back onto the grounds was uneventful, Draco jumped every time there was a howl or a rustle in the bushes.
"A little jumpy are we, Malfoy?" grinned Harry.
"Unlike you, I don't live in here, Potter!"
"You're too chicken to even sleep outside for a night. You're just a mama's boy!"
"Would you two be quiet! You'll attract every beast around." Whispered Steph, "Do try to remember we're trying to sneak in, in order to do that you have to be quiet, so stop thinking with your cocks and start using your brains."
Harry and Draco glared at her but they kept quiet. It was barely 5 minutes later when Steph signaled them to stop. The edge of the forest could be seen through the trees. They had stopped in a little clearing, the moon shone through in a thick beam onto a flat rock in the very center. A small, clear river ran off to the right.
Steph walked up to the stone and placed her hand into the moonlight, she whispered a spell and the stone dissolved, revealing a stone staircase. She motioned for them to go down and the four teens disappeared.
There ya go guys, chapter 10 is up, I hope the cliffy isn't too bad this time, I know I can be a little nasty with those. I spent all day typing this thing up, yeah yeah, with distractions along the way of course. Hope you all enjoy it, I'll do my best to type up the next chapter soon. For now, a big dose of beauty sleep is what I'm aiming for.
Don't forget to review!
Ja ne
Aries and Kie