A/N: G'day! Finally a new chapter - I said to myself at the beginning of this story that I would write ahead so that I could post regularly, but as always, I didn't listen to myself. So, from now on, I'm giving myself a ONE WEEK deadline - which means you should expect a chapter posted every week - unless something comes up, and I can't post/write. Um, this is a pretty long chapter, but I hope it covers more ground. Let me know what you think? :) x

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the brilliant Jo Rowling. :)

Chapter Four: Family Matters

Travis trained them every day leading to the big Quidditch match against Gryffindor. Dominique was now accustomed to waking up at 6am, doing some exercise at half six, and training with the team for an hour every morning before she headed to breakfast with her friends. She then had a full day of classes, and after an hour of homework (for keeping up with your education was very important), Travis got the team out onto the Pitch again to train. When he couldn't book the Pitch because one of the other houses had booked it, he took them to the grassed area behind the Herbology Greenhouses, somewhere his father used to go during his time at Hogwarts. They went back into the castle at six for dinner and then headed to the Common Room or the Library straight after to finish off some homework before trying to have an early night. So far, the earliest Dominique had gotten into bed was 11pm. That ensured at least a seven hour sleep...but once in bed, it didn't necessarily mean that she would sleep straightaway. No wonder she fell asleep in her classes.

"Dom, Dom, wake up!" Nathan nudged her elbow. Dominique stirred. They were in History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs, and Professor Binns, the only teacher at Hogwarts who was a ghost, had been droning on about the Middle Ages Goblin Rebellion. His monotonous voice and the slight buzzing of conversation in the classroom had sent Dominique off into a quick doze.
"What?" she yawned unintentionally loudly. Professor Binns paused and stared at her before continuing to drone on.
"Professor Slughorn wants to see us," Nathan told her.
"Why?" Dominique rubbed her eyes.
"I don't know," Nathan shrugged. He held out a piece of parchment for Dominique to have a look at it. She read it, and her eyes narrowed.
"It says to go see him after class," she said to Nathan, a little annoyed. "You couldn't have waited until after class to tell me? I was having such a nice sleep!"
Nathan laughed. "Bell's about to ring. I did you a favour."
Dominique scowled at him, and put her head in her arms. No sooner had she done that, the bell rang through the castle. She glared up at Nathan.
"Hate to say I told you so," he chuckled. "Come on, sleepyhead. Let's go see what Slughorn wants."

"I believe your mother was the Triwizard champion for Beauxbatons a while ago?" Professor Slughorn peered at Dominique through his spectacles.
"Uh...yes sir," Dominique said.
"And your sister is Victoire Weasley from Gryffindor?" Professor Slughorn pressed.
"Yes," Dominique gave Nathan a skeptical look.
"Very good," Professor Slughorn gave her another sweeping look. "She's in the Club too, so it's only fitting that I have the set."
"What Club?" Nathan spoke up.
"Ahh, Everton, you are Lucas's brother, are you not?" Professor Slughorn deliberately avoided Nathan's question.
"Yeah, I am," Nathan replied.
"An excellent Keeper he is," Professor Slughorn said fondly. "Slytherin haven't once lost a Quidditch match with him on the team..."
He drifted off, reminiscing.
Dominique gave a small cough, "What Club are you talking about, Professor Slughorn?"
"Ahh, my exclusive club, Miss Weasley," Professor Slughorn said. "Look out for an invitation to dinner on Friday night."
He turned away to shuffle some papers on his desk.
"Um, Professor?" Nathan spoke up.
"Yes?"
"Dom and I can't come to the dinner on Friday," Nathan told him. "The first game of the year is on Saturday, and Travis will definitely not let us go."
"Which means we're going to have to pass," Dominique added.
"Oh no, that's unfortunate," the professor frowned. "Next time…"

As the upcoming Gryffindor vs Slytherin match loomed, tensions between the two houses, which were already high, became much worse. The Gryffindors, who for some reason were holding a grudge against the Slytherins for having a Weasley in their house, weren't afraid to be aggressive in front of the teachers. Dominique supposed that this was because of their 'stupid bravery', as Alexandra had put it. The Slytherins, though sleek as their animal: the serpent, never retaliated in front of a crowd. They planned revenge, and executed it in the most cunning fashion. The Gryffindors who caused the most trouble, usually fourth-years, found items that they cherished - say a favourite book, a quill, Gobstones, chocolate frog cards, and in the most extreme case, a broom - went missing. Dominique found most of them to be quite hot-headed, and once they lost something that was dear to them, they tended to blame their own friends - who, she noticed, seemed to have the object last. The Gryffindors were so caught up that they didn't notice a group of Slytherins nearby, with a bunch of random objects, laughing as they watched the fighting ensue. This only stopped when the Head Boy, a Gryffindor himself, threatened to go to Professor McGonagall about it. The Slytherins don't respond well to threats, but thought to best let this one go, as Professor McGonagall too was in Gryffindor. They would get the Gryffindors back when they least expect it.

As Nathan had predicted, on Friday night, Travis sent them all up to bed straight after dinner. The next morning, they were the first faces in the Great Hall, along with the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, who, by the looks of it, were ordered to go to bed early the night before too. Naturally, the two teams ignored each other.
"Are you nervous?" Amy asked Dominique, who shook her head.
"They've been bullying me for too long, I can't wait to get out there and kick their butts!" Dominique said determinedly.
Travis made a funny face at her. Dominique didn't make much of it until after breakfast, when they were heading out to the change rooms, Travis had made an attempt to smile at her! She found this quite humorous, as it looked quite pained. However, as he usually scowled at her, this was a big improvement. After changing into their green Quidditch robes, Travis stood up for a quick pep talk before they had to be called out onto the pitch.
"Let's start the season with a win," he said, looking at each team member. His eyes landed on Dominique. "Weasley, catch the Snitch as soon as you see it. I don't want too many Gryffindor members to be knocked out by the Slytherin team, it'd get too suspicious." He smirked at them.

"And they're off! And it's Gryffindor in possession – Captain Sofia Thomas, passes swiftly over the top of first-time Slytherin Chaser Nathan Everton, to Caleb Robins who heads straight for the goal. No, no, wait a moment, he passes back to Thomas, who wasn't expecting it, but catches it anyway! Oh, this girl has skill!" Dominique looked towards the stands. Michaela Jordan, the daughter of one of Uncle George's friends (Dominique remembered that his name was Lee), was commentating. It seemed that she had learned her father's commentary skills and had taken up the role for herself, and she was doing a great job at it. The crowd booed and cheered as she made observations of the match.
"Oi, Dom, get a move on!" Amy yelled as she flew past her. Dominique pulled herself out of her temporary mid-air pause, and scanned the grounds for the Snitch, thinking to herself that this was a piece of cake.
"Thomas speeds towards the Slytherin goals, aims and –" the Slytherin crowd cheered. "A good save by Slytherin Keeper, Lucas Everton. He passes to Everton, who passes to Captain Travis Goyle, and they're off speeding towards the Gryffindor goals. Goyle passes to Henderson, but –"
"Ooooooh!" the Gryffindor crowd chorused.
"The Quaffle is intercepted by Gryffindor Chaser, Priscilla O'Brien. O'Brien was a new find for Thomas, this year, so this is her first game. Watch out Priscilla!"
Declan Bulstrode, the Slytherin Beater who had stood up for Dominique at the tryouts, had hit a Bludger Priscilla's way. She managed to swerve just in time, but dropped the Quaffle straight into the arms of Travis. The crowd roared in anticipation. Not a single point had been scored yet. Dominique was searching the skies, but found herself getting distracted by the crowd. She spotted Alexandra in the Slytherin crowd, sitting with Cass, Tess and Spencer. Callum waved to her amongst the Ravenclaws. She found Roxanne sitting with the Gryffindors. She couldn't find her sister though.
'Typical Victoire,' Dominique thought darkly to herself. 'Off making out with Teddy while you should be watching your sister play a game of Quidditch.'
Dominique was pulled out of her reverie when Jane sent a Bludger her way.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Jane yelled angrily at Dominique as Dominique flew over to her to find out what was going on.
"Looking for the Snitch," Dominique fired back.
"Well, act like it, or better yet, DO IT!"
Dominique made a face at Jane's back, which she knew was quite immature, but she didn't care. She didn't need to be told by a Beater how to do her job.
Michaela gasped, "Oh my, is that Holmes diving?" The crowd held its breath.
"WEASLEY!" Travis bellowed.
Dominique didn't need telling twice, she pointed her broom in the right direction and streaked after Zeke Holmes, the Gryffindor Seeker. Halfway through the dive, she caught up to Zeke, and smiled to herself.
'Oh, the perks of having a Firebolt,' she thought to herself. Zeke was riding a Comet Three Hundred, and though it was quick, it was still only travelling at half the speed of a Firebolt. Dominique easily pulled ahead, spotted the Golden Snitch, and reached out her hand. She pulled out of her dive near the Gryffindor goals, holding the Snitch tightly in her hand.
"Yes!" she pumped her fist in the air.
"And that, ladies and gentleman, is how you catch a Snitch in style. Dominique Weasley of Slytherin, everyone!" Michaela said loudly. "SLYTHERIN WINS! 150-0!"

After every match, it is common courtesy to shake hands with the opposing team and to reassure them that it was a 'good game'. The Gryffindors looked crestfallen, while the Slytherins were overjoyed. They shook hands, though only briefly, and even then it was not a proper shake, more like a crush of the hand. When Dominique faced her cousin, Fred II, who was the Gryffindor Beater, she didn't know what to think. She had not seen him since the Welcoming Feast, and he had made no effort to see how she was. They stood there facing each other for some time before Dominique stuck out her hand for him to shake.
"Oh, come here, you," Fred pulled her into a hug.
Dominique looked up at her older cousin and gave him a small smile.
"I don't care that you're in Slytherin, and I don't care if we're meant to be enemies," Fred told her quietly. "You're still my beloved cousin and you're still a damn good Quidditch player. I am so proud of you."
Dominique tried to explain to Fred how much these words meant to her, but she couldn't. In the end, she opted for another hug.
"Go on, go celebrate," Fred pushed her away gently. "You deserve it."

While the Slytherins were busy celebrating their first win of the year, Travis had pulled Dominique aside.
"That's never going to happen again, do you understand me, Weasley?" he said seriously.
"What?" Dominique played the innocent card. She knew that she was going to be told off for her attitude. "I caught the Snitch, didn't I? We won?"
"Yes, but it was too close," Travis furrowed his brow. "You're lucky to have such a good broom, or else Holmes would have gotten the Snitch. He did see it first."
Dominique bit on her lip, tempted to ask Travis, 'So what?', but refrained from doing so, because he looked livid.
"Never again, Weasley. You need to concentrate, goddamn it! We totally had it in the bag from the beginning and you dawdled. You've got to pull yourself together."
"And who are you to tell me what to do?" Dominique snapped.
Travis raised his voice, "I happen to be the captain of the team, which means I am your boss."
"Nobody is the boss of me," Dominique stamped her foot and stormed out of the common room.
"Watch yourself, Weasley!" Travis yelled after her. "Or you'll find yourself off the team."
Dominique rolled her eyes.

The winter break couldn't come fast enough, and after a couple weeks putting up with Travis's constant reminders to concentrate, Dominique was glad to be in the comforts of her family home. Victoire locked herself in her room, only coming down for meals. Louis, who Dominique had always gotten along with, followed his older sister around, asking her questions about her life at Hogwarts, and telling her about life at Shell Cottage.
"It's very quiet here without you or Victoire," Louis said to Dominique on her first day back. She was curled up on her bed, and had just opened up a book when Louis came in.
"What do you end up doing?" Dominique asked him, wrapping her blanket around him too, so they were huddled together.
"I help Maman, and I play with all my toys," Louis said. "And sometimes, I visit Grandma and Grandpa Weasley, and on the weekend, Dad takes me to Quidditch games."
"Oh, I miss those," Dominique sighed, looking at her younger brother. "Tell me about them."
That seemed to put Louis in a very happy mood, as he launched into a story of how the Chudley Cannons lost a game twice in a row, both in which they scored not a single point.

Christmas at the Burrow was always an eventful affair. The Weasley men would drink too much Firewhiskey, to which their wives would scold them. The Weasley women would sit around swapping stories of their time at Hogwarts, and the Weasley children would all gossip about who was dating who. Grandma Weasley would play Celestina Warbeck on the Wizarding Wireless Network, which made Fleur leave the room. Eggnog was passed around and presents swapped eagerly. This year would be no different, yet Dominique was not as excited as she had previously been. She thought that this may be because of her nerves at facing her family after being Sorted into the rival house, even though they had all reassured her that they did not have a problem with her.

The room instantly went quiet, a difficult feat what with so many people, as Dominique walked in. She paused, looking first at her younger cousins, then at Uncle Percy, who was sitting at the head of the tale with Grandpa Weasley. He shrugged at her, turned to his father and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened, for which Dominique was grateful. She didn't like being stared at. Everyone returned to their business, and soon the Burrow was as lively as ever.
"Hi Dom," James Potter gave his cousin a hug.
"Hi James, how are you?" Dominique asked him. She and James got on well because of their love of Quidditch. They had also grown very close because of her bond with Harry. Dominique supposed Harry had spoken to James about her being in Slytherin too, because he didn't mention it.
"Good! How are you?" however, before letting her answer, James moved on, "Did you hear how the Chudley Cannons -"
"Lost two games in a row without scoring any points?" Dominique laughed, and nodded.
James pouted, "Alright, who told? I wanted to tell that story!"
"Louis did," Dominique pointed to her younger brother.
"Did I hear Chudley Cannons?" Uncle Ron came over. "My favourite team, you know!" he told them proudly.
James laughed at him before going to join Fred for some more Quidditch talk, leaving Dominique alone with her uncle. To say the silence was awkward was an understatement. Thankfully, Aunt Hermione came to the rescue.
"Ronald, what are you doing? Just because she's in Slytherin does not mean you can pick a fight with her. Oh, and dear, keep an eye on your own children! They're running amok again."
Ron grumbled before slouching to the other side of the room to battle his daughter, Rose, in a game of wizard's chess.
"Don't mind him, Dominique," Aunt Hermione said kindly. "A House does not define who you are."
"I know," Dominique replied. "Thank you." Hermione smiled at her niece.
"Dinner's ready!" Molly called. Everyone hurried to the dining table.

"I don't know how the Minister will cover this one up -"
"- a Muggle fire was said to have caused it."
"Did you hear about that talented witch who won -"
"- the most beautiful dress. I would die for that dress!"
"And I'm only in sixth year, but they act like it's NEWT year for -"
"- Lorcan Scamander and Flora Longbottom -"
"Bill, you really need to cut your hair."
"No, mum! Fleur likes it like this, don't you, hun?"
"Lies! Flora is my best friend!"
"Chudley Cannons lost twice in a row -"
"- all you care about is Quidditch, James!"
"Ouch, Fred, that hurt!"
"Albus, behave -"
"Hugo and I are going to the Muggle cinema -"
"Ginny, do something!"
"Wow! Uncle George, do that trick again!"
Dominique didn't realise it, but she really missed the craziness of her family. She grinned like an idiot as she heard all the snippets of conversation. She was so immersed in her own bubble that she must have missed a question. She only realised when conversation died once again, and everyone turned to look at her expectantly.
"Um, sorry, what was that?" she said, a pink tinge appearing on her cheeks.
"I asked if you've made any friends in your House," Uncle Charlie repeated himself.
"Um, yeah, I guess. She's uh...actually...a Malfoy," Dominique admitted quietly. Ron, who had a mouth full of Butterbeer at the time, spat it out all over Ginny, who was sitting next to him. Ginny looked at her brother disgustedly and grabbed the nearest serviette.
"You're friends with a Malfoy?" he continued to splutter.
"She's actually a really nice person, I think the Malfoys have changed," Dominique defended her friend. She saw that Uncle Ron was about to say something, but caught Aunt Hermione's stare and decided against it.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," he shrugged at her.
"Ron! You can't say that to your niece!" Ginny threw the wet serviette at him.
"So Dominique, all that Seeker training paying off?" Harry asked proudly.
"Absolutely! I can't thank you enough, Uncle Harry," Dominique said, glad that there was a change in subject.

"Molly and Lucy Weasley, get down from there right now!" Percy barked out the window. Everyone sitting in the living room stopped what they were doing to see what Percy was yelling at. His twin daughters were climbing up a tree, and throwing acorns at the gnomes in the garden.
George roared with laughter and smacked Percy on the shoulder. "Let them be, Perce. They're just acting like kids."
"They could get hurt," Percy pointed out.
"Don't you remember all the mischief Fred and I used to get up to when we were their age?" George asked, staring out the window, with a big smile on his face.
"Didn't you run about the house chasing Ron with a gnome painted in black?" Ginny recalled.
"He was convinced that it was a spider," Charlie added, chuckling.
"I'm never going to forget that," Ron added, making everyone in the room laugh. Dominique laughed with her cousins.
"Fancy a game of Quidditch anyone?" she stood up and looked outside. It was a really nice day, and she didn't want to spend all of it indoors. Molly and Lucy were still dangling off the branches of a nearby tree.
"I'm in!" Harry said. He and Dominique managed to get a few other family members off their lazy backsides. They all headed to the broom shed to collect their brooms before heading out onto the familiar large paddock surrounded by trees.
"I shotgun being on your team, Dominique," Harry said aloud. Everyone else groaned.

The train ride back to school was very short but also very tiring, so by the time Dominique reached the Slytherin Common Room, she couldn't wait to be in bed and asleep. Without waiting up for anyone, she headed to the girls' dormitories. The next morning, she awoke to an empty room. It seemed like everyone had gone down to breakfast without her. She dressed and made her way to the Great Hall. As Slytherins passed her, they reduced their voices to a whisper. This didn't faze her as much as she didn't get along with that group anyway.
"Hey guys! How was your Christmas break?" Dominique found her friends after scanning the Slytherin table. They were sitting at the far end today.
Without looking at her, and mumbling to themselves, they stood up and left her standing there. Tessa looked back at her, but Alexandra nudged her on.
"So it's true then? What they were saying on the train," Travis said, from the other side of the table. "The Weasleys have got a disease, and since you're a Weasley, you've got it too. Is it contagious?"
"What!" Dominique asked loudly, taken aback. Where was this coming from? "I have not got a disease!" she stated angrily.
"Fine, deny that, Weasley," Jane said, wrinkling her nose. "But I wonder…" she looked up menacingly. "Do you deny going into a second-floor ward at St. Mungo's?"
Dominique's eyes widened. How did they know about that?
"I didn't think so," Jane replied smugly, adding, "Psycho."
"I –" but Dominique found herself lost for words. She spun on her heel and walked out of the Great Hall, sobbing.

She cleaned herself up before Potions, and walked through the school with her head held high. This was one of the things she had learnt to do ever since she was a small child, as people tended to stare at their family, and especially at her father and his scarred face. People skirted around her in the corridors, avoided her eyes and made fun of her from a distance. She managed to get through half the day without speaking to anyone, though she of course, was not to blame. It got much worse, however, when she visited the girls' bathroom after lunch. Locking herself up in a cubicle to have a good cry before Charms (for she had learnt that one should never bottle up their feelings), Dominique overheard some girls talking.
"Scrofungulus, wasn't it?" one of the girls said, not bothering to lower her voice. "I heard it was that."
"I heard differently," another girl replied. "Something to do with Dark Magic."
"Godric, I wouldn't be surprised if she had both," the first girl sniggered. "Who's your source?"
The second girl hesitated before replying, "You first."
"Well, I heard it from Bronwyn, who heard it from Georgia, who heard it from that weird boy in Hufflepuff, what's his name again? Samson, that's right. He heard it from someone else or something, but what does it matter? Who'd you hear it from?"
Again, the second girl hesitated before replying, "Straight from the source itself, Roxanne Weasley."

A/N: Until next Wednesday then! Ciao x