Chapter Six: The Weekend

Bangs and crashes awoke Hope that Friday. She fell out of her bed and ran out the door, followed by her Twyla and Rachel. They knew what these sounds meant. They meant someone was dueling.

Two people, fifth years, were standing in the center of the common room, wands pointed at each other. But something in the air felt wrong. True anger and hate shaped the features of the two fighters. Tension rolled off their bodies and betrayal sparkled in their eyes.

"Hogwarts is a home!" Nate Hawley, the taller one yelled, shooting a jet of green light at his opponent.

"Not to us! Us Slytherins have never been welcome here!" the other fighter screamed as he ducked. Standing quickly Tom Murphy cast a stunning spell, his glasses slipping down his nose. Nate was thrown across the room, a bloody gash coloring his white skin while he pulled at his dark hair.

"You can't abandon it for evil! That will just prove everyone right!" Nate cried out as he stood up.

"I'm sick of being treated like I don't matter! I deserve glory beyond my wildest dreams!" Tom screeched in response, his long limbs trembling with anger. He flung a spell across the room that made a sofa explode.

Other students were getting antsy, as if the two duelers were talking about something inappropriate. But Hope was intrigued. It sounded like Tom wanted to run away but Nate didn't want to. But where would they go? Hogwarts was the best and closest school of witchcraft.

"Alright, enough!" Maya Willing, the new Head Girl, ordered as she walked in between the fighters. Her blond hair was hanging, unwashed, and her green and silver tie was thrown around her neck like a scarf. "Duels are not supposed to be a way to settle an argument. They are supposed to be a way to prove your magical knowledge. You both are hereby banned from the duels for the rest of the month!"

"You can't do that!" Nate exclaimed.

"We won't listen to you!" Tom protested.

"Would you rather clean all the school's chalk boards with your tongue?" Maya asked, smirking slightly as the two boys shook their heads and ran off to class. Twyla, Rachel, and Hope started heading back to their room.

"What do you make of that?" Rachel laughed as she pushed open the door to their dorm.

"Where else would they go? Isn't Hogwarts the best school around?" Hope wondered seriously.

"Uh, I'm not sure," Twyla responded and shrugged as she rooted through her trunk for a robe.

"You're lying!" Hope gasped, stunned. Twyla never lied to her. She believed in honesty. Sure, she may tell half-truths sometimes but she never lied!

"Why would I lie?" Twyla demanded and ended their conversation by walking into the bathroom.

"Rachel, do you know where they would go?" Hope asked her other friend. The pale girl laughed as she pushed a curtain away. She had changed with lightning speed into her school robes and laced up her hiking boots.

"No idea," Rachel drawled as she sat her hat on her chocolate hair. She was lying. Obviously. "Have a nice day!" She left. Hope felt like screaming. Her two 'friends' were lying, keeping information from her. Although, what did she expect. This was Slytherin, the house of ambition. The ends always justified the means in here.

"Hope?" Twyla whispered hesitantly as she came out of the bathroom. "Are you okay? You look paler than normal."

"Fine," Hope lied and stormed into the bathroom so she could change, knocking Twyla aside. She didn't need lying fake friends. She could do just fine on her own. Because, at the end of day, wasn't that all you had?

"We need to talk," Hope told Rose as she arrived at Herbology. She had run all the way from breakfast to ensure that Twyla and Rachel wouldn't be around.

"Why?" Rose asked, not really paying attention as she leafed through her textbook. Hope slammed the book closed to gain her attention. She was rewarded with a sharp golden glare.

"Something happened today in my common room. And Twyla and Rachel won't tell me what it means," Hope informed Rose who nodded. Her eyes caught two girls entering the greenhouse.

"Speak of the devils," she muttered and reopened her book. "We'll talk at lunch in the library. I'll let the boys know."

"Hey Rose," Twyla said when she arrived at the table. "How was your summer?"

"Fine," the red head replied coolly just as Professor Longbottom entered.

"Silence, please, silence," he called. "Alright. Who can tell me what a mandrake is?"

"Are you sure no one will notice our absence?" Hope asked Rose as they sat down at their usual table in the back of the library. Rose nodded and traced the carving SS had created on the last day of school. All their initials were forever immortalized in wood.

"If they do, just say you were getting a head start on your homework," Rose told Hope.

"I still can't believe our teachers would do that to us on the first day of school!" Hope cried out dramatically, flopping onto the table. Rose just rolled her eyes.

"You wanted to talk about something?" Rose prompted her diva friend. Hope nodded and sat up.

"Yeah. Today in the common room there was a duel," Hope started.

"I thought duels were normal in your common room," Rose interrupted.

"That wasn't the weird part. The weird part was that Nate, one of the duelers, was yelling that Tom, the other dueler, couldn't just abandon Hogwarts. But Tom kept insisting that he wanted glory. What I can't understand is how they would betray Hogwarts. And Twyla and Rachel know, I'm sure of it," Hope explained.

"Are you sure?" Rose asked her.

"Absolutely."

"Then I would just let it lie, until we have more information. We don't want to attract any negative attention, especially after last year," Rose suggested. Hope nodded in agreement. "But see if you can wheedle information out of them. They are your friends, so they might come around."

"Okay. I'll try," Hope assured her friend. The bell rang and the girls stood up. "Good luck in Astronomy!"

"Good luck in Transfiguration!" Rose called back and they ran their separate ways.

"Ferna, I can't do this," SS told his friend the next day as they walked to breakfast. The first week of school was over and all SS could remember was that he had a mountain of homework that he would need Rose's help on. But he couldn't work on it today. Because today was Saturday. Quidditch tryouts.

"Relax. You'll be amazing!" she declared and skipped into the Great Hall. But SS hung back. He could see Luff and Kim bragging to the other Gryffindors about their amazing abilities. And he didn't want to sit at that table and be mocked. Instead, he walked back to his dorm. Since everyone was at breakfast, it was blissfully empty. He changed into his Quidditch robes, the ones his father had bought him two years ago. They were a little snug, but they worked. SS then grabbed his broom, a Firebolt 2.0, and headed outside.

He walked onto the Quidditch pitch, pleased to find it empty. He hopped on his broom and took off into the sky. It was relief to be flying again, the wind in his hair, the freedom of soaring through the clouds. He laughed as he did flips and dives, enjoying the sensation in his stomach. Through his blissful enjoyment, SS heard someone yelling. He halted his broom and looked down to find a girl with glittering curly auburn hair pulled into a ponytail and skin the color of toast shouting at him. SS flew down and hopped off his broom. The tall girl approached him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. Although her height was intimidating, her brown eyes sparkled with laughter.

"Uh, flying," SS answered. The girl looked at him for a second before her lisp stretched into a smile a mile wide.

"You sure were! That was amazing! How'd you learn to fly like that?" she laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"Uh, my Dad taught me," SS told her. At the mention of his father the girl stopped giggling but kept her smile. However, now she seemed a little more guarded.

"I'm Roxy, beater and Gryffindor Quidditch Captain," Roxy introduced herself. Of course, how did SS not recognize her? She was George Weasley's son, one of Al and Rose's many cousins. "Nice to see someone here early. Shows dedication."

"Thanks," SS said. He started to hear laughter and looked over Roxy shoulder. Entering the pitch was the rest of the team. Freddy Weasley, Roxy's brother, was twirling his beater bat around, telling jokes to Louis Weasley, son of Bill and Fleur. He laughed as he strapped on his chaser gear. And one other boy followed them. James Potter. He sat down and began to polish his broom, also a Firebolt 2.0. His chaser pads were already cleaned up and strapped on.

"Hey guys!" Roxy called to them and ran over.

"Hey Roxy. Who's that?' Freddy answered and nodded at SS who looked at his feet.

"Shouldn't you be trying out for the Slytherin team?" James asked him. SS gripped his wand that was stashed in his pocket but Roxy intervened.

"James, shut up," she instructed, causing Louis and Freddy to laugh. Just then, the other Quidditch team hopefuls entered, along with other Gryffindor supporters. Ferna waved at SS as she climbed into the stands. Everyone gathered at one end of the field, near the goal posts. Luff and Kim glared at SS as they fell into line.

"Hope you got your bed in the Hospital Wing booked," Luff hissed at him. SS just swallowed and looked at Roxy who was standing in front of them.

"Alright, lions, listen up! We need three players to complete this team. One keeper, one chaser, and one seeker. So I want you all to divide into groups depending on what you want," Roxy told them all. Everyone began to shuffle around. SS headed towards the left side of the group where all the chasers were clumping together while Luff and Kim headed towards the seeker group. SS knew chaser wasn't a flashy position like the seeker but he liked it. That's when he realized that James was chaser.

"Okay," Roxy yelled once they had divided themselves. "I'll be testing out the seekers in the middle of the pitch. Louis will be run the keepers' tryouts at the other end and James and Freddy will be working with the chasers right here. And, break!" Everyone ran off, leaving SS with James, Freddy, and five other Gryffindors.

"Okay. First we're going to be testing your ability to dodge bludgers. Freddy will be hitting them at you and we'll be done when I say so," James instructed the group. He glared at SS for a moment before he nodded. The Gryffindors climbed onto their brooms and took to the skies. Before Freddy could join them, though, James whispered something in his ear and pointed at SS. That probably wasn't anything good.

Freddy flew up on his broom and James released a bludger from the box below. It flew up like a cannon ball and Freddy wacked it with all his might, straight at SS. He swerved upwards and the ball missed by at least five feet. Freddy flew around and hit the ball again, directing at SS for a second time. He dived out of the way. Freddy hit the ball again and again and again and every time he hit it, it came barreling towards SS. But he managed to dodge the ball every time. Finally, James got bored and yelled for everyone to come back to earth. The other five Gryffindors hadn't broken a sweat but SS was breathing hard.

"Alright, alright, not bad, not bad," James said as they all climbed off their brooms. He looked at SS and took in his sweaty robes. "Maybe the position's too tiring for you. I mean, that was just a warm up."

"James," Freddy started but his cousin cut him off.

"You obviously can't handle it. Give up," James continued but SS just glared at him. He took one last deep breath and then steadied himself.

"I could do that all day," SS replied. James raised a red eyebrow and glared for a moment before he moved on.

"Alright then. Now you'll be passing to each other while Freddy tries to knock you off your broom. Go!" James instructed and they all flew back into the air. James threw up the red Quaffle and a fifth year caught it. He passed it to a third year who tossed it to a sixth year who got nailed in the gut by a bludger. The sixth year groaned and dropped the ball. SS swooped low and caught it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a bludger flying toward him. He pushed his broom up and flipped himself so he was upside down. The third year flew beneath him with her arms outstretched. SS let the ball go and she caught it. On the ground, the sixth year was laying down with an ice pack on his gut. He clearly was out of the running. One down, four to go.

For the next ten minutes they swerved and dodged and passed and caught. Freddy managed to hit the fifth year who passed out and a seventh year whose nose wouldn't stop bleeding. When Roxy came over, already finished with the keepers, it was just SS, the third year, and a fourth year. The captain watched them for a few minutes before she called them down.

"I would love to watch you all play until sundown," Roxy told the remaining three, "But Hufflepuff is having their tryouts at noon so we have to be out of here by then. Luckily, I've already chosen our seeker and our keeper."

"Please don't Luff, please don't be Luff, please don't be Luff," SS muttered to himself.

"Our seeker will be Grace Miller and our keeper will be Andrew Ashley," Roxy announced and SS breathed a sigh of relief. Both were fourth years and both neither of them were Luff or Kim. "Now I just have to pick a chaser."

"Uh, Roxy. I would like to suggest Emily Ashley, Andrew's sister," James put in, gesturing to the third year girl who stood on SS's left. "She has amazing skills."

"Yes, I saw. Thank you James," Roxy said. Although her words were pleasant, you could tell she was annoyed. "However, I would like our new chaser to be SS Malfoy!"

"What!" James roared. The other Gryffindors were stunned. Ferna's wild clapping could be heard very clearly over the silence. After a moment, others joined in and some even clapped him on the back in congratulations. Emily shook his hand.

"Great job," she told SS. "You were amazing."

"Thanks. You weren't too bad yourself," SS replied and she grinned before she ran to her friends in the stands.

"Alright team! Practices are every Monday and Wednesday at five! Be there!" Roxy yelled then headed back to the school for lunch. SS was suddenly tackled from behind.

"You did it, you did it, you did it! I knew you could!" Ferna cried out as she hugged him. SS laughed and pried her off of him.

"Thanks Ferna," he said.

"Come on," she insisted and dragged him over to Kim and Luff who were sulking with their other friends. Ferna halted in front of them, standing tall, wearing a smirk. "I won the bet. That means you guys leave us alone and you have to admit to SS that you're better then him!"

"You're hilarious," Luff declared and Kim rolled his eyes.

"What are you talking about? I won the bet," Ferna demanded, her smirk disappearing, anger filling her eyes.

"What bet?" Kim laughed.

"The bet we made at the Welcoming Feast," Ferna reminded them. Luff tilted his head, as if he was struggling to remember something.

"No, I don't think we made a bet," he replied, smirking slightly. Ferna's hands were balled into fists.

"We did! And everyone at the table can tell you we did!" Ferna yelled. Kim turned to one of the boys standing behind him.

"Do you remember that?" Kim asked him. The boy shook his head. The entire group did. "Guess it's all in your head, Ferna."

"You little, evil, slimy, cockroach!" Ferna shouted and lunged at him. SS grabbed her around the middle and pulled her back as she clawed at him. "You don't deserve to wear those colors! You don't deserve to be in this house!"

"Ferna, can it," SS whispered in her ear as he dragged her out of the pitch. Once they were out he released her and she began to pace. "It's fine, really. I don't care what they think."

"We had an agreement! We all agreed to the terms. Gryffindor's honor their word! How could they?" Ferna ranted. Just then, a group of Hufflepuffs approached, ready for their Quidditch tryout. And this particular group contained Al.

"Hey SS. Hey Ferna," Al called as he ran up, but paused when he sensed the hostility rolling off of Ferna. "What's wrong?"

"Those stinking cowards are a bunch of cheating, lying scumbags!" Ferna declared, her copper colored hair raging in the wind. Al looked at SS with confusion.

"Luff and Kim had a bet with Ferna that I couldn't get on the Quidditch team. I did, and now they won't honor their word," SS explained in a very dry tone.

"They don't deserve to wear the colors of Godric Gryffindor," Ferna hissed.

"Do you want me to talk to them? Or Hope? Hope would probably straighten them out real good," Al suggested. But SS waved his hand.

"No, that's fine. I don't care what they think," SS sighed and ran his hand through his white blond hair, ruffling it even more.

"Alright. I'll see you later?" Al asked. SS nodded and Al took off towards the pitch.

"Good luck!" SS called after his friend. Ferna was still steaming. "Ferna, will you please just let it go?"

"Fine," she groaned. "But only because you asked me to." Then she stomped back into the school with SS following, shaking his head.

"Al, you're trying out for Quidditch?" James gasped when he walked into the stadium. He nodded once at his brother before he jumped on his broom and took off to the sky. He took a deep breath and fought to keep the broom steady. Ever since his broom had bucked him off last year he had become even more fearful of riding one. "Good luck!"

Al grit his teeth as James cackled below with his friends. Al knew he may not be the best flier but at least he was trying. That was all he could do. Try.

Soon the air was full of Hufflpuffs. Their Quidditch captain was tossing a Quaffle back and forth with a small pod on one side of the pitch and some other Quidditch hopefuls were tossing a ball towards the goals against the team's keeper. Another group was searching for a snitch someone had released and the two beaters were hitting bludgers everywhere. It was kind of just a free-for-all.

Al kept his eyes peeled for the little golden ball. Even though he normally played chaser, he knew his father would want him to play seeker. So that was why he was flying all over the pitch, his worry increasing as time went on and he still hadn't found the allusive snitch.

Suddenly he heard yells and shouts. Al turned around too slow and was hit in the head by a bludger. Black spots danced in his vision and his body slipped off the thin broom. Someone screamed and Al began to fall. He vaguely wondered if James was still watching him. Then he blacked out as his body hit limbs.

"Al," a distorted voice called to him through the haze. "Come on Al, wake up."

"Uh," he moaned and his green eyes blinked open. SS and Rose were standing over him. When they saw that he was awake they breathed a sigh of relief. Rose sank into a chair and placed a hand on her chest to steady her breathing. SS stayed standing, biting his lip in worry. Hope sat in a chair at the end of Al's bed, munching on a box of chocolates that had been in the stack of candy sent by well-wishers.

"Glad to see that you're awake," Rose sighed.

"What happened?" Al croaked and he struggled to sit up. A wave of dizziness hit him straight between the eyes and he moaned at the pain.

"You got smacked in the face by a bludger," Hope replied casually and picked out another chocolate. "Ooh, toffee."

"Are you eating my chocolates?" Al groaned and sank back into the pillows, eyeing his dark haired friend.

"Only the ones you don't like," she answered simply.

"Al, what were you thinking? You're rotten at Quidditch!" Rose demanded, eyes angry and worried.

"I…I just needed to tryout," Al forced out and closed his eyes, hoping his cousin would stop. Of course she didn't.

"Why? Everyone know you stink so why did you insist on putting yourself through this pain and humiliation?" Rose continued.

"What do you think Dad would say if I didn't? He was the youngest seeker in a century. Or Mom? She was the Holyheaded Harpies MVP for five years straight," Al sighed. "I needed to at least try. For them."

"I get it," SS muttered. "You just rest."

"Can we go down to dinner now?" Hope put in. "We skipped lunch, remember?"

"Why'd you guys skip lunch?" Al wondered and he glanced at his friends. Rose and SS both looked away but Hope rolled her eyes.

"We needed to visit our idiot friend in the Hospital," she replied. Rose shot her a look but Al laughed weakly.

"Go to dinner. I'll be fine. I'll probably just sleep some more," Al told his friends. SS frowned.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "We don't mind staying."

"Go. I'll be fine," Al insisted.

"Thanks. And for what's it is worth, that was pretty gutsy for you do, going to Quidditch tryouts," SS told his friend then left the Hospital wing. Rose and Hope followed and Al was left alone.

He groaned and laid back down, his eye heavy eye lids beginning to fall. Before he drifted back to dream land, though, he had one thought. James was going to tease the crap out of him about this.

Dear Rose,

I found these books of records that will probably help you. Let me know if you need anymore. I also found a book on advanced Healing Potions and new edition of 'Quiddich through the Ages.' I've sent them along as well. I do hope you like them.

Your father says to tell me that he'll send you whatever he wants because he's in charge of you. Don't worry, I won't let send you anything to embarrassing. Your brother sends his best wishes, as do I.

Lots of Love,

Mum

Rose tore open the package her mother had sent on Monday along with the letter. Five musty old books filled with records along with the extra books her mother had sent her laid on a bed of fresh paper. Rose pulled them out and slipped them into her bag. Then she dashed out of the Great Hall where she'd just finished breakfast and headed to her dorm room to hide them.

She slipped the books into her desk, promising herself she would look at them after her classes were over. As she was walking back out of the common room she saw The Gray Lady.

"Hello," Rose called softly to her. The pearly women turned, her hair floating on a nonexistent breeze.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" The Gray Lady asked, eyebrow raised. Rose nodded.

"Yes, I should. I just wanted to thank you for telling me about your sister," Rose answered, a small smile on her lips. Helene looked at her for a moment before she smiled softly and drifted through a wall, out of the tower. Rose jumped as she heard the bell ringing for first period. With worry in her steps, she raced to class.