Chapter VIII
Dungbombs
Charms class the Friday before the big game was a lot of fun for Karida. Though she was dreadful at difficult Transfiguration spells, she loved challenging herself with the Silencing spells that were tripping everyone else up. It wasn't long before she had successfully Silenced a cockatoo.
With all the birds flying around the classroom, it really wasn't a surprise when a particularly rambunctious eagle relieved itself on top of Pansy's head, causing the Ravenclaw section of the classroom to absolutely erupt.
Dinner had become one of Karida's favorite times. The Slytherins started to notice her disappearance from the Common Room, but didn't have a clue about her study sessions with Hermione in the library. Karida wondered if they had even registered her absence from the Great Hall almost every night, when she stopped by the kitchens to get her portion of the feast from Dobby. Every day that she saw him, the pile of hats on the elf's head and number of layers of socks on his feet had grown, and he had a new story to tell about Harry Potter.
His top story of the week had been the tale of how he fixed Harry Potter's owl, and…
"I helped Harry Potter find the – Oh, Dobby shouldn't say, miss."
"Shouldn't say what?" Karida questioned, curious.
"Dobby helped Harry Potter with something else as well, but Harry Potter wanted it to be kept secret, miss, and Dobby will do whatever Harry Potter tells him!"
With that, Dobby handed over that night's roasted ham and peanut brittle, and waved exuberantly as Karida backed into the kitchen hallway.
Whatever Potter was doing couldn't be too suspicious, she decided. He was the Boy Who Lived, after all.
"See, you're getting better already," Hermione encouraged, as Karida showed her the 'Acceptable' she had earned on her Arithmancy essay at the beginning of one study session.
"I guess… It really does help, having someone who knows what they're doing to work with. I was just doing a lot of guesswork before." Karida smiled, extremely grateful that the essay had not been returned emblazoned with a "T".
Eventually Karida didn't need as much help in Arithmancy. Hermione still practically lived in the library, especially with her two best friends at their team's Quidditch practice. Karida continued to avoid Malfoy's posse by talking with her new friend at any opening they both had.
One particularly stormy evening, Karida's description of the fight she had overheard between Pansy and Daphne the night before was interrupted.
"I swear, it's like Daphne finally got put up with Pansy ogling Malfoy all the time. They're both convinced he likes them the most, and it's ridiculous! How anyone could –"
"Thought we could find you here, 'Mione," Weasley said, coming up from behind Karida.
"How was practice?" Hermione asked carefully. Karida already knew Weasley hadn't done too great in his first practice since she attended herself, but by the information Hermione had supplied her, she knew he hadn't been improving.
Potter was quick to reply. "Really wet." He said, pointing to his soaking trainers.
Weasley nodded absent-mindedly. "I can't believe Angelina's still making us practice out there…" Suddenly, he and Potter both turned and saw who was sitting across from Hermione and sharing her books. "What's she doing here?"
Karida sank into her chair and found herself unable to speak.
"She's my friend," Hermione replied calmly.
This didn't help both of the boys stop their glaring. "Why are you friends with her? She's one of Pansy's lot!" Potter accused.
Karida slapped her hand to her forehead and grumbled, "I'm not one of Pansy's friends…"
"She's not one of Pansy's friends," Hermione repeated patiently. "She's one of mine."
"Whatever," Potter said angrily, sneering at Karida. "See you at dinner then." With that, he and Weasley started to storm out of the library. They were quickly confronted by a furious Madam Pince, who was enraged at them for wearing their soggy trainers in her library.
"They're just grumpy because they have Quidditch all the time…" Hermione tried to reassure Karida. "Honestly, I don't understand why they put the pressure on themselves…"
Setting off dungbombs in the library seemed to become a favorite pastime for Fred and George, and whether it was because of Hermione or Madam Pince's reaction, Karida did not know. Hermione eventually gave up on lecturing the twins endlessly, but would not stop her muttered disapproval.
"There's just no point," She said, sitting back down with a huff. "They just won't listen. And they're starting to sell their "Puking Pastilles" to the first- and second-years! I can't do anything about it… The kids have their right to buy what they want, but it's just wrong."
Karida noted a trend in Hermione's conversations as they became closer friends. She would always sit down in a hurry, stressing about how much work she needed to do. But she always calmed down, and talked either about her best friends, teachers, or her duties as a prefect. She spoke of Ron Weasley a lot, which was something Karida constantly detected. They seemed to get into a lot of quarrels, leaving Karida to be the one reassuring Hermione that she was in the right.
Every time the pair was forced to evacuate the building because of the horrid smell of the Weasleys' trademark dungbomb, Hermione was seen by someone she knew and the girls had to separate.
The only other place Karida could study was the Slytherin Common Room, which was almost always occupied by Malfoy and the lot. Every time she sat down, they would still bully her into sitting near them, which she thought was odd. It was weird to think that none of them had asked about or even noticed her blatant avoidance of anywhere they happened to be.
As soon as she would get close, Karida was sucked into whatever conversation they were having, or forced to laugh at Malfoy's terrible imitation of Weasley dropping the Quaffle. Whenever she would try to focus, Malfoy would pry at her until she was completely exasperated again.
Although Karida loved seeing Fred and George's striking faces around the library, she hated the fact that whenever she'd see them, she was sure to not get any work done for the rest of the night.
The first Quidditch game of the season fell on the day of one of the first frosts of the season. Even though she'd switched her trainers for boots and her velvet cloak for a few layers of sweaters, Karida couldn't stop chattering her teeth while waiting for Hermione by the Owlery.
Hermione's friend Luna Lovegood (coincidentally the Ravenclaw Karida had met on the train at the start of the school year) passed, wearing her ostentatious lion hat. It could be heard roaring up the path every few minutes.
Eventually, Hermione finally arrived. "It's rather cold, isn't it? At least it's not windy…" she observed. "Here, I brought you a Gryffindor scarf, so you can kind of blend in," she said, handing over a maroon and gold bundle.
"Perfect," Karida breathed, glad for another layer in the icy chill.
Hermione started leading the pair to the Gryffindor entrance to the stadium. "Ron and Harry were so nervous, well Harry not so much, but Ron really was, he was practically green, and he didn't even talk to me!" She blurted, yanking on her gloves.
"He doesn't mean to ignore you," Karida reasoned. "According to you, stress doesn't suit him well. Hopefully after this game he'll calm down…"
"That's not likely though, what with the little surprise the Slytherins –"
Karida coughed.
"Sorry, some of the Slytherins planned." Hermione smirked.
The pair sat in the topmost Gryffindor stand just in time for the game to start.
Montague shook hands with Angelina briefly before Madam Hooch blew her whistle and released the balls. "And it's Johnson, Johnson with the Quaffle," Lee Jordan shouted into his microphone, as the crowd immediately started cheering rambunctiously. "What a player she is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me –"
"JORDAN!" Professor McGonagall interrupted angrily.
Karida tried her best to listen to Jordan's biased commentary of the match, because in all honesty she wasn't watching it at all. Through her pair of Omnioculars engraved with the Irish Quidditch Team's crest, Karida intently watched one of the flashes of red hair soar around the stadium with his bat. Her stomach sank as a familiar tune started crossing the pitch.
"Spinnet dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger – close call, Alicia – and the crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?" Jordan paused just long enough to listen to the first two verses of the song Karida had the pleasure of reading a month prior.
Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That's why Slytherins all sing;
Weasley is our King.
Weasley was born in a bin,
He always lets the Quaffle in,
Weasley will make sure we win,
Weasley is our King.
"- and Alicia passes back to Angelina!" He shouted quickly, trying to drown out the noise of the terrible song.
Hermione groaned. "Already? The Quaffle hasn't even gotten near Ron!" She moved her binoculars to point at the Slytherin section of the stands. "Do you see Pansy?" she squawked. "She's actually CONDUCTING them; this is awful," she shifted to watch the Slytherin Chasers advance on the Gryffindor goalposts, "Ron! Get-it-get-it-get-it! Aw…" Hermione whimpered sympathetically as Ron took a wild dive and missed Warrington's shot entirely.
WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN
HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN…
"- and Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell tanking up the pitch – " Jordan attempted to make himself heard above the song.
"Well, the Chasers are really good…" Hermione reasoned. "I bet they can keep it away from the Gryffindor side until Harry catches the Snitch, which should be really soon…"
Karida only paused her watching to nod fervently at Hermione, since she was feeling just as awful inside.
WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN
WEASLEY IS OUR KING…
" – and it's Warrington again, who passes to Pucey, Pucey's off past Spinnet, come on now Angelina, you can take him – turns out you can't – " Lee shouted, obviously wincing. " – But nice Bludger from Fred Weasley, I mean, George Weasley, oh who cares, one of them anyway –"
Karida had seen George swing at the speeding Bludger, and cheered loudly. She was too busy using her Omnioculars to replay his shot to notice Hermione looking at her funny. After seeing George's hit, Karida was able to tell the twins apart for the rest of the game. Both had different strategies and approaches to the Bludgers – Fred seemed to be defending the Gryffindor players from oncoming Slytherin assaults while George was taking an aggressive stand.
The Slytherin chanting took another swell as Ron missed another goal.
THAT'S WHY SLYTHERINS ALL SING:
WEASLEY IS OUR KING…
It took until Karida's feet had gone frozen and her nose was red, for Gryffindor to finally score. The goal seemed to rejuvenate the spectators and the Gryffindor team; a lion roar erupted through the stadium.
" – Bell's hit by a Bludger from Goyle of Slytherin and it's Pucey in possession again…"
WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN,
HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN,
WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN…
Hermione pounded on Karida's back, not tearing her eyes away from the game. "Harry's seen the Snitch!"
It only took Karida a second to refocus her Omnioculars on the red and green blurs that were diving to the ground – because of the enchantments on them, the Omnioculars followed the play without Karida having to try; she slowed the picture down and saw Harry catch the Snitch - Malfoy scratched Harry's hand desperately, and his face was horrified.
The Gryffindor crowd roared and screamed, but Karida and Hermione were bent over laughing – Omnioculars were wonderful. They replayed the hysterical look on Malfoy's face continually, not able to get over the way he had scrabbled Harry's hand. It took the whole stadium to be in chaos before the pair detached themselves from the play and realized that one of Hermione's best friends was splayed unnaturally on the ground.
"What happened?" Hermione said frantically, recovering her binoculars to watch the pandemonium on the pitch.
"Crabbe hit a Bludger at Harry!" Neville supplied.
"Yeah, after the whistle!" Dean said angrily. "Quidditch needs red cards, they're really effective in –"
But what "red cards" were effective in Karida did not find out, as the crowd erupted in tumultuous booing and drowned out any indication of Dean speaking.
"Something's going on down by Harry," Hermione said, scanning the pitch. "He's gotten up, but I can't zoom in close enough to see who else is there! Can you see?" Hermione asked, putting down her binoculars disappointedly.
Hermione pulled a face.
"Malfoy's yelling something at Harry; he's such a sore loser…" Karida groaned, turning to look at Hermione. "One time I beat him at Wizard's Chess, he wouldn't speak to me for a week –"
Hermione laughed quickly but looked desperate, so Karida refocused. "Harry looks awfully angry – I wonder what he's saying? – and it looks like George and… Merlin's beard!" She exclaimed as the Chasers and Harry had to restrain the twins from strangling Malfoy. Hermione could finally see this through her binoculars, and was whispering "Oh no, oh no no no…"
Malfoy laughed maliciously and said one last inaudible thing.
In a flash of upturned grass and mud, Harry and George were on top of Malfoy, attempting to pummel the daylights out of him. Though Karida had definitely wanted to be the one inflicting the punch George gave Malfoy, she whimpered with Hermione, knowing that there'd be an absolutely dreadful punishment waiting for him and Harry.
A blast from Madam Hooch's wand shot the three boys apart, and though she had just been yelling at Crabbe, she was going purple as she reared on Harry and George. The pair turned and stormed off the pitch, evidently going to someone's office to receive castigation. The Omnioculars showed the mutinous faces both the boys were wearing, and how the back of George's neck was starting to be indistinguishable from the Quidditch uniform he was wearing.
As soon as the pair disappeared under the stadium, Karida looked back to Fred, who was yelling at Gryffindor's three Chasers, evidently livid that he wasn't able to brawl Malfoy as well.
The crowd was riotous, never having seen such a show after a match. Everyone stayed put, possibly hoping another fight would break out, until both teams had retreated into their respective locker rooms. The stands emptied; Karida and Hermione exchanged few words as they exited with everyone else.
With a wave, Karida left Hermione to jog to the cackling Slytherin majority of the crowd, hoping to look like she had been with them the entire time.
Pansy and Daphne must have forgotten their vow of silence toward each other; both sprinted past Karida with pained expressions to wait outside the Slytherin's locker door.
Karida pulled a face. No wonder Malfoy was so horrid. If she'd had to deal with these girls doting on her, she'd probably want to insult everyone too.
It feels SO long since I've posted last... Sorry :I
Thanks again for reading and reviewing! I love you guys ^_^
I'll try to get the next chapter faster.
I hate the format uses, it makes it hard for me to read at least - If you want, I can email you the word doc I have it saved on :)
I'm about halfway through OotP as the timeline goes, and Fred and George leave about 3/4 of the way through. I'm not sure what I'm doing after that :I Hope you're still enjoying!