Thank you cOOkieGirl1718 for this lovely poem inspired by my story!

For so long I have seen

For so long I have ignored

For so long I have been deprived

But one day

One fateful day

I decided I'd waited long enough

You see

Couriosity is a troublesome thing

It mean that one day you will

No matter how secure

You may one day fall

Into the trap curiosity makes

Whether it will give you joy or sorrow

Lose your footing once and you may just fall

Will you tumble to your demise

Or will you fall into some one's arm's

You will only know when you make your decision.

"What's wrong-"

"-you don't look too happy"

I tried to smile for the twins' benefit, but it was a pathetic attempt.

"Look here, this will cheer you up"

"our latest candy-"

"Guys, I don't think fever fudge is going to make me feel better. If anything, it will make me look worse"

"Not for you, for the first years-"

"-we're testing them out-"

"-advertising, he means. Like free samples!"

I rolled my eyes. "Unless you're going to give a "free sample" to that sadistic toad, then I'm not interested in helping you"

I hoped I hadn't just given them an idea.

They looked at each other, then back to me. "Don't worry your little head about it-"

"-well, we'll be off now!"

At dinner, Hermione complained about the twins and how they had been using first year students as guinea pigs. I avoided her gaze and focused on my meal. Her monologue, er, conversation sort of took over enough for me to avoid speaking altogether. I didn't even look at Harry. I don't know why, but I felt like I couldn't look at him right now.

"Harry!" Angelina Johnson approached us, "how could she give you detention? We have quidditch tryouts! That- that-"

"Sadistic toad?" I suggested morbidly.

"Yes," she huffed, exasperated. She calmed herself before continuing, "quidditch tryouts are open to anyone in Gryffindor. If anyone is going to try out, they should know they begin at 7:30"

I could have sworn she was speaking to me.

After dinner, Harry went to detention and I went to the common room to study. I pulled my books out and spread them about the table.

"You're spending too much time with Hermione," Ron said, collapsing on the couch next to me.

"You'd think she would have more of an impact on you," I sighed, sitting back so I could talk to him properly.

"You should go to bed"

"Jeez, who are you? My mother?" I refused to let the word get to me.

"I'm your brother," he wrapped his arm around me in some feeble attempt to comfort me.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I rolled my head back in attempt to get him to go away.

"It's midnight, you should go to bed"

"Harry's not even back yet," I noted.

"He'll be back soon"

"Then I'll go to bed when he gets back," I smiled. Ron mumbled something about me being stubborn and tottered his way up the stairs. "Good night," I smiled up at him until his door shut. When he was gone, I pulled the photo of the original Order out and watched my mother's cycle of movements. Just seeing her photo smile at me was enough to make me smile. It gave me a feeling I can't quite place.

The sliding of stone made my ears perk to new footsteps.

"How was detention?" I asked, knowing it was Harry.

"Fine," he said bluntly, making a beeline for his dorm.

"Hey-" I reached for his hand, but let it slip through my fingers when I saw it had red marks. "Harry-" I ran to catch him. When I took his hand he stopped and reluctantly let me take it. "Harry…" I ran my fingers over the smooth red bumps. I must not tell lies.

"I have to go," he pulled away and, avoiding any contact, went straight up the stairs. I went to bed in silence, my pity for Harry and hatred towards the sadistic toad growing as my sense of consciousness faded.

"Hey Ron," I greeted.

"Oh, hi," he seemed a little uneasy.

"What is it?"

"I'm worried about quidditch tryouts," he confided.

"You're going to try out? That's great!" I grinned. Ron was so infatuated with it, he would surely enjoy being on the house team.

"Well, yeah, but…" I could tell he was doubting himself, so I stopped him before he could say it out loud.

"You and me, right now," I stood with a confident grin across my face.

"What?" he looked at me with a blank gaze.

"We're going to the pitch, grab your broomstick"

By the time I was done with Ron, he was significantly better than in the Summer. Granted he could barely block a thing…

"Thanks for helping me, Jenny"

"No problem. Knowing something and doing it are totally different things. For example, you know everything there is to know about quidditch and I don't. I'm better at playing and-" I stopped myself when I realized what I was about to say.

"It's okay, Jenny. I know," Ron sulked.

"No! No, I didn't mean it that way," I sighed in frustration, "don't worry. By the time you tryout I'll have you prepared. You're going to be the star of the Gryffindor team, you'll see"

"I think you're forgetting Harry"

I pursed my lips. "You're making this difficult for me, Ron"

He laughed, "all right. If you try out, then I won't be worried"

"Wouldn't I just be more competition?"

"Nah. I'm going to be the star of the team, remember?" he grinned.

"Alright, you win"

I was dead scared for Chaser tryouts. Ron watched from the sidelines, elated that I was going before him. Keeper tryouts were later, so I had to go first. I didn't exactly know why I picked chaser. I suppose I wanted to make sure I didn't steal Ron's spot as Keeper, or Harry as seeker, or the twins' as beaters. What was left other than chaser?

I smiled hopefully at Angelina, but she only scanned the students for any promise of talent. When her eyes reached me she exhaled and held the quaffle out on front of her.

"Who knows what this is?" she asked as if she was in pain just being here.

"That's a quaffle, that is," Dean answered when no one else would.

"That's right, and what do we do with it?"

"We try to score it through those hoops," I answered, feeling like a child.

"Right you are, Jenny. We're going to start off easy. Just take the quaffle, fly up past the hoop, and shoot it in without stopping. The next person will fly behind the hoop, catch it, and shoot it. Got it?" she eyed us over, a crease forming on her brow. "Jenny, you're up," she tossed it bluntly at me. I caught the ball, thanks to my reflexes, and nodded. I swung my leg over my broom and shot into the air. I made my way towards the hoops and, keeping a good 20-foot distance, shot the quaffle through the highest hoop. Not waiting to see who, or if, anyone caught it; I pulled to the side and flew back to the soft grass where Angelina stood.

"Great job, Jenny," she nodded, her eyes never leaving the others. That did little for making her statement believable, but I nodded and stood beside her. One by one the others landed beside us. Of the people I saw, no one got it straight through the hoop. In fact, Ginny was the only one who caught the ball at all.

"Thanks for coming everyone, great job," for some reasoned, it sounded forced; like she was forcing herself to drink cough medicine. She wiped her brow before going to post the positions.

"How was it?" I asked, hurrying over to Ron.

"Bloody hell, Jenny. You were great! You and Ginny, it's like no one else knew how to even hold the thing!"

"Yeah," I frowned. Whether I made the team or not, the talent didn't look like it was very high this year. Ron and I walked up to the post, meeting Ginny and a few other people there.

"We made it!" Ginny pounced on me, her face lit up with glee. There it was; my name: Jennifer Bennett; chaser.