Holy cow, okay, just so everyone knows, how many times I've updated this story has never happened before. Just know that haha anyways, read on.
Chapter Quote:
"Why is it always me?"
~Neville Longbottom
Chapter 7
Elliot
Elliot groaned awake as she rolled over onto her back… well, she thought she was. She hadn't realized how close she had been to the edge of the bed and promptly fell out with a loud thud. Jade jerked up into sitting position before she realized her best friend had caused the racket. She started cracking up while Elliot stuck her tongue out at her.
The racket woke all the other girls, except for Ziva, up as well. Therefore, Jade and Elliot took it upon themselves to wake their friend by jumping on her. Ziva flipped, kicking the girls off of her and onto the floor.
"Bloody hell!" Ziva groaned, falling back onto her pillow. "What was that for?"
"We were waking you up," Jade said.
"Could you not have done it in a more conventional way? Besides, I don't need to be up. You're the ones who need to take a shower."
"No, miss grumpy pants. We'll wake you up later," Elliot told her.
"Next time in a more conventional way so I don't injure you!" Ziva yelled at them as they entered the bathroom. Elliot and Jade just laughed. The two of them took quick showers and quickly dried their hair. Jade's hair always did whatever she wanted which always pissed off Elliot who had to fix her hair for ten minutes just to tame it, and then another five minutes to style it. When they went back into the dorm, Ziva was already up and ready to go. She smirked at them, silently saying, "Looks like you don't get to wake me up after all."
The girls headed downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast. They discussed their schedules. They had History of Magic first. Jade said it would be a miracle if they made it to their next class. Professor Binns and morning did not mix will for Jade, Ziva, and Elliot who were not morning people. The girls claimed they'd be dead by the end of the lesson.
After A History of Magic was Defense Against the Dark Arts, something Ziva really seemed to be looking forward to, yet at the same time dreading. She wouldn't elaborate but Elliot figured it had to do something with the new teacher.
Next was Potions; Jade groaned and banged her head on the table while Elliot grinned and played 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' with Ziva to see who would be the unlucky person to be seated next to Jade and her explosive tendencies. Elliot lost much to her dismay while Ziva grinned from ear to ear.
Last class of the day was Transfiguration which Jade looked forward to immensely since it was her best class. As the girls finished their breakfast, she caught Ziva looking over her shoulder. Elliot turned around to see who her best friend was looking at but no one was glancing that way. Elliot dismissed it as a student doing something interesting, entertaining, or stupid.
Once finished, they got up and reluctantly trudged to A History of Magic. Jade and Elliot both dozed off periodically, while Ziva doodled in her notebook; although, she did listen and took notes, something her friends would later use for homework.
Arriving at the classroom for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Elliot nearly gagged at the unsightly, ghastly pink suit the teacher was wearing. Jade and Elliot sat in a middle desk while Ziva sat in the one next to them. A Slytherin student was next to her; Elliot and Jade were seriously waiting for the best friend to deck him because he kept insulting Gryffindor. The class itself was agonizing; Umbridge's voice annoyed the girls to no end and if a Slytherin spoke without raising their hand, that was okay; but if a Gryffindor spoke without raising their hand, ten points off. It was outrageous.
At one point during the lesson, Ziva raised her hand. Surprisingly, Umbridge allowed her to speak. "Excuse me, professor, but did you say we're not going to be using actual magic in the class?"
"That is correct. We must progress in a safe and contained environment. What if one of the spells went wrong dear?"
"Previous professors have taught us the incantations, taught us the correct wand movement, shown us the spell in use, and then let us try. We've had two incidents, one because of a faulty wand and the second because my friend has a certain penchant for exploding things."
"So silly of me, but it sounds like you're questioning my teaching practices?" Umbridge countered sharply.
"No professor, just trying to figure out how we can use a spell at maximum effect without even being able to practice it. It's not as if we're going to use all this knowledge to build up an army."
The toad looked stunned temporarily at Ziva; Elliot guessed it had to do with the latter part of her friend's statement. "Are you hinting to me that you are building up an army?" Umbridge questioned with an avid interest.
"No, professor. I'm not insinuating that at all. The students here would not have even have time to do such a thing nor, do I think, any of us could create an army to defeat such a great witch as yourself. It was merely an example."
Nice compliment Ziva. Ginger thought to herself. She knew her friend knew that she was treading on thin ice and needed to get out of this quickly. Amazingly, the professor accepted it, reinforced the idea no magic would be used, and continued on with her lecture. After the lesson, with the girls walking down to the Great Hall, Jade said, "Ziva, I cannot believe you talked to Umbridge like that."
"It's ludicrous that we can't use magic. Fudge is completely off his rocker," Ziva muttered, weaving in and out of people. Elliot and Jade were right behind her.
"I can't believe she didn't give you detention," Elliot mused.
"Thank god. Witch with a 'B' that one."
Elliot and Jade laughed at their friend's statement as they took their seats in the Great Hall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting next to them. Seamus and Neville quickly sat next to Jade and Elliot.
"She's awful," Hermione said.
"Who is?" Elliot questioned between mouthfuls of chicken.
"Umbridge. The woman's a nightmare! Already gave Harry detention for saying You-Know-Who is back," Ron explained.
"She's insane, just like the rest of the ministry," Ziva stated vehemently.
"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so," Harry grumbled. Then Seamus engaged the three girls and Neville in an amusing story of him creating an exploding blob in Potions which of course had ticked off Snape but Seamus could really care less if the git liked or disliked him. Jade started griping about how she was probably going to blow up the entire school because she didn't stir the potion correctly.
"My kind of woman," Seamus declared, grinning at her. Jade flushed, her cheeks matching the hot pink shade of her hair.
Reluctantly, after lunch, the girls went to potions. Sure enough Jade managed to create an explosion although it wasn't big enough to burn down the entire school while Elliot and Ziva managed to create successful potions much to their friend's annoyance.
Transfiguration went much better for Jade and she was the first to manage the spell of the day. Elliot and Ziva weren't far behind.
The girls walked up to their dorm room to freshen up before dinner. Elliot and Jade were reapplying makeup while Ziva sat on her bed, writing something. Curious, her friends snuck up on her.
… Or at least they attempted to. Ziva hid it from their prying eyes immediately, laughing as she told them, "You'll have to be a lot quieter than that to see what I'm writing."
"Who are you writing to?" Elliot whined.
"A friend from Beauxbaton Academy."
"How long is the letter? I'm counting three pages! Honestly, how much do you have to write?" Jade prodded.
"A lot! Besides, a lot is happening in France. Dark magic and all. We're just talking about that and trying to find more exciting things. Now, save me a seat at dinner. I need to run to the owlery." Ziva jumped off her bed and dashed out of the room. Jade and Elliot stood up, staring at the doorway their friend had just went out of.
"Is it just me, or do you think she's hiding something?" Elliot queried.
"Looks like we're going to need to do an interrogation."
The two girls looked slyly at each other.
Ziva
Ziva walked quickly through the school and outside to the owlery so she could get the letter to Draco as soon as possible. She felt horrible for keeping her friendship with him secret from Jade and Elliot but they'd never let her continue seeing him and Ziva wasn't about to stop their meetings. She enjoyed his company, as strange as it sounded. He was a lot more human acting, more emotional and down-to-earth with her than he portrayed himself publicly. It intrigued her.
She made her way out of the Clock Tower Courtyard and across the Covered Bridge and all its unevenness. The hike up to the owlery was a workout, at least going up to it. The hill, although not steep, was consistent; then there were the hundreds of steps to get up to the actual tower. As Ziva finally reached the door, two Slytherins came out. One was Zabini, the other was a guy named Pike. Both of them were fifth years, both were friends of Malfoy.
"Get out of the way you filthy Mudblood lover," Pike ordered.
"Pike, hate to break it to you but I'm not like most fourth years. You don't scare or intimidate me. Now, if you would be so kind as to move out of the doorway, I would like to get on with my business and not care about what yours is."
She tried to push her way past them but they stopped her. Zabini said, "Let's see what you have here."
He tried to snatch the note out of her hand, the one meant for Draco, but quicker than she realized she could, Ziva pulled out her wand and zapped his hand. Pike and Zabini hurriedly drew their wands, pointing them at her.
"You really want to pick a fight with us?" Zabini demanded pompously.
"You really want to find out how stupid you are?" Ziva countered. Her statement provoked him immediately; he yelled "Stupefy" but she blocked it with wicked fast reflexes. The spell rebounded off her protection charm and hit Zabini, sending him sprawling back into the cold stone wall of the owlery. Ziva looked at Pike and queried, "What about you? Want to be as stupid as your friend?"
Pike went to help Zabini up but quickly moved out of the way as his friend sent three spells in rapid succession at Ziva. She blocked them all but the force of them sent her toppling over the wall. She plummeted towards the stairs, barely managing to straighten her body out so that she landed on her feet. A sickening crack came from her leg along with an accompanying scream from pain. Ziva tumbled down the remaining steps, only stopping when she hit a barricading wall. Zabini and Pike came rushing down the steps. She barely heard their voices; her head was swimming and their conversation sounded distant.
"What did we do?" Zabini hissed.
"We?" Pike demanded indignantly. "You're the one who hurt her! Let's get out of here! You know Malfoy will kill us for hurting a Pureblood. You remember what he said. Let's go!"
Their rapid footsteps faded quickly, leaving Ziva alone. She couldn't move; her whole body ached, but she knew she had to. In agonizing pain, she sat up, surveying her leg. It made her sick and she hastily turned her head. Her leg shouldn't be at that angle nor should she see any part of the inside of her leg.
In other words, her leg had completely snapped in half and the bone was showing. Ziva edged towards the stairs; one by one, she moved herself up, every once in a while taking a break so she could catch her breath and to stop the incessant dizziness. She vaguely wondered, as she reached the first landing, if Jade and Elliot were wondering where she was. Probably not. She'd only been gone hardly ten minutes. It'd have to be about thirty minutes before they started to worry.
She was on her own. Ziva knew a spell that might work but with an injury as severe as hers, she trusted Madame Pomfrey to fix it with her experienced hands than her own.
Ziva then conquered the next flight of stairs, allowing her to get to the owlery door. She was afraid to stand for fear she'd get so dizzy she'd fall back over the wall. Instead, she bore the pain of dragging her broken leg across the floor. Ziva managed to get inside, next to a table where extra paper and feather pens were kept.
"Accio paper! Accio pen!" Ziva whispered. The two items came to her instantly. She wrote a quick note to Jade and Elliot saying: "Come to the owlery. It's an emergency."
Ziva whistled and Thor flew down onto her shoulder. He gave a small hoot, as if asking if she was okay.
"I'm okay Thor. Take this and fly it to the Great Hall. Give it Jade and Elliot. Get there as fast as possible, okay?"
Thor took off at an amazing speed towards the castle as she waited patiently for help to come.
Draco
Zabini and Pike came rushing into the Great Hall, taking seats across from Draco. They looked suspiciously guilty. They'd done something, just what, Draco wasn't sure. He intended fully to ask them later. Perhaps they'd injured another student. He would've had high hopes it was Hermione Granger had he not been able to see her bushy hair across the room.
"What's up with you two?" Draco asked.
"Nothing. What did we miss? Anything good?" Zabini replied too quickly although he tried to act casual.
"Nothing good. You will tell me later by the way, about what you two have done. Your expressions are dead give-a-ways you idiots."
Movement above the Gryffindor table caught his eye; looking up, he saw an owl, recognizing it as Ziva's massive Eagle Owl, Thor. He was carrying a note that he dropped in front of Jade and Elliot. Draco's heart started pounding. What if that note was meant for him and the owl had messed up by giving it to them instead of him? But if it was about him, they ignored that part. The two girls leapt out of their seats, charging out of the Great Hall. Seamus and Neville watched with curious looks. Draco saw Seamus take the note and look at it before he showed Neville. The two boys went chasing after the girls.
Curiosity was eating at Draco; what had made them get up so suddenly like that? Had something happened to Ziva? That would explain a lot. For one, she wasn't in the room. Draco had, admittedly, been looking for her. Why, he couldn't explain. He just wanted to know where she was. Ziva seemed to have an aura that told him she got into trouble easily. Not trouble with teachers, more like troublesome situations.
That's when the worry set in. Determined not to think of anything happening to her, he trained his attention on the conversation at his table, but she was never far from his mind.
Elliot
Elliot and Jade's feet pounded on the ground as they ran as fast as they could to the owlery. Somehow, Neville and Seamus caught up to them. Elliot realized she must've left the note on the table and they must've looked at it. She made a mental note to chastise them for being so nosy later. The group ran up the stairs and into the owlery. Jade and Elliot tripped over a leg. Someone let out a short, excruciating scream.
"Bloody hell!" Seamus breathed, kneeling down. Ziva was propped against the wall; hardly any color was left in her face.
"Ziva!" Jade gasped, dropping next to her best friend. "What happened?"
"We need to get her to the infirmary," Neville insisted. "We'll find out what happened later."
"Two Slytherins," Ziva murmured as Neville and Seamus each took one of her arms and wrapped it around his shoulders. They gingerly stood up with her. Elliot didn't understand how Ziva was still conscious from all the blood loss and the grotesque sight of her leg. Jade and Elliot trailed Seamus, Neville, and Ziva as they carefully went down the stone steps. Once on solid ground, the boys were able to move much quicker and swifter. In no time, they were in the hospital wing with Madame Pomfrey flitting around for Dittany and other healing potions. Ziva was white like the pillows. Her injured leg was propped by some blankets.
"You four, leave. I need to tend to her leg; come back up after dinner. Alert Professor McGonagall about what happened," Madame Pomfrey ordered the Gryffindors. Elliot was hesitant to leave but with a small smile from Ziva and Neville taking her hand and slightly pulling her away, she left.
"Whoever did that to her is going to die," Jade growled.
"I can't wait to see what Professor McGonagall does once she gets a hold of those bastards," Elliot added. The girls, along with the boys, went up boldly to the teachers table in front of the entire Great Hall. Unfortunately, the toad was sitting next to Professor McGonagall, and when Jade whispered to her what happened, it was obvious to Elliot that Umbridge was trying to eavesdrop. The Transfiguration professor stood up, whispered to Dumbledore what happened and excused herself from the table. Surprisingly, Dumbledore followed. What was so important about her injury that he was getting involved?
A shrill "hem-hem" made Jade and Elliot turn around. Umbridge had stood up. Looking at the girls with a fake sweetness, she questioned, "What did you whisper to McGonagall?"
"Madame Pomfrey needed to speak with them," Elliot said. Then she grabbed Jade by the hand and darted down the steps away from the annoying professor.
"She is honestly one of the most annoying people I've ever met," Jade said heatedly.
"If she gets word about what happened to Ziva, she'll find a way to make it her fault and not those bloody Slytherins. Come on, let's go finish supper and then go see her."
Injuring Ziva was completely unplanned BUT I thought up of the idea and couldn't resist. Hope you guys enjoyed! Please review :)