A/N: Happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans! Hope it was a good one!
Chapter Seven
Passing As A Muggle Isn't Easy
I was so bored. I'd been staring at the same standard book of spells book for over half an hour, not able to focus.
Remus had seemed to think that reading the first years' standard book of spells book would help me understand all the different, easy spells. He figured since I liked to read, I'd be able to connect better with it then hands-on. To me, that made no sense, since I learned best both ways, but nooo, HE's the teacher, not me. So I got told to shut-up and sit my ass down and open the damn book. Well…he said it nicer than that, but that's what I heard.
But today…I had more pressing matters on my hands. The game was in five—five!—hours, and I was stressing. Not because I feared we were horrible, but because I was afraid somebody was going to forget and use magic in front of the muggles. Honestly, that was the last thing we needed to happen.
On top of all that, we had a gig coming up soon, and everyone was counting on me to come up with a smashing new song. How the hell was I supposed to be able to do that when I had so much depressing thoughts on my mind?
Worse…I hadn't seen that jerk, Flynn Rider, anywhere for a few days. That was a bad thing because I couldn't keep an eye on him and his shifty ways. The Slytherins he undoubtedly had following him around like little lost puppy dogs didn't bother or even worry me in the least, it was him himself that scared me and had me watching my back.
I sighed, leaning back against the tree, staring out at the Black Lake. I shook my head and laughed humorlessly.
Black. Of course I was at the Black Lake. The one thing, more than anything, that I'd ever wanted, was to belong in a family. My family. With my real first and last name, my real parents, and my real siblings. No more hiding, no more lying. But that was never going to happen…my parents hated me and I hated them, so there was no way I would ever go back to their family, even if they let me. I could go by my last name, but that wouldn't be the smartest move in the game of my life. And as for Reg and Sirius… I shook my head. I didn't even want to think about that. It broke my heart to think of what had become of us, the three who had been so inseparable, so close. We had been a real family, and it was the greatest thing in the world…while it lasted.
A shadow fell over me, and when I looked up, there stood Rider, alone. He seemed to be preoccupied, but it was a look that suited him well. It made him look…thoughtful.
Shaking any remotely good thoughts about him away, I tensed and waited for what was to come. He just stood there, gazing out at the lake, acting like he didn't know I was there.
Finally I grew impatient and snapped, "What the hell d'you want, Rider?"
His eyes met mine. "Nothing."
"Right, and I'm a unicorn. One's as real as the other."
He gestured at the ground next to me. "May I?"
"May you what?" I demanded, a little suspicious and weirded out by his odd behavior.
"Sit. On the ground. Next to you." He looked at me innocently. "From what I've heard, you're supposed to be really beautiful and smart. So far, one has proven to be correct. The second, I'm beginning to doubt."
I scoffed at him, and he sat. "What game are you playing?" I growled, turning to face him head-on.
"No games. Just business," he said matter-of-factly. "Listen, we started off on the wrong foot—"
"Gee! Wonder who's fault that was!"
"Well if you hadn't stuck your nose in where—" He took a deep breath. "Listen. I want to start over, have introductions, and maybe get something worked out. I see no reason in killing you."
"Aw…it always comes back to that, doesn't it?"
"Why are you so god-damned difficult?" he yelled at me, glaring.
"It comes naturally, so it's not like it's something I can just do away with."
He took another deep breath, and seemed like he was counting to ten. Then, he smiled brightly and said, "Hi! I'm Eugene Fitzherbert. It's lovely to meet you Miss…"
I stared at him. "Man, you've got some serious issues," I said, ignoring his outstretched hand.
"Well maybe that's one of the things we've got in common," he whispered. I sat there for a moment, then stood up quickly. I had to get out of here. This side of him…I liked it too much. He wasn't a total jackass, and his personality…it just clicked.
My book fell on the ground when I stood up, and as I bent over to get it, he reached over to grab it, and our hands brushed. I jumped back, hitting a tree, and rolled my eyes at the smirk on his face. He held the book out to me, and I snatched it from him, stomping away.
I needed to keep my distance from that man. There was something not right about him… He seemed…divided, like there were two sides to him. He was a mystery, one that called to me. The way he was acting…it made me start to doubt all of my previous opinions of him, and I couldn't let that happen.
He worked for Voldemort. He'd killed tons of innocent people and had stolen prized possessions from thousands more. In fact, if I gave him half the chance, he'd probably kill me, or worse… I shuddered, not able to stand the next thought. What if he found out about my abilities and took me to Voldemort? I couldn't let that happened. Not only had I sworn to Dumbledore…I hated the man and everything he stood for with every fiber of my being.
From then on, whenever Rider tried to pull anything, anything at all, I wouldn't hesitate. I would kill him.
"Whoa! What is this?" Ian asked as we all piled into the van parked right outside the train station.
"Well, it's a car," Lily said, getting in the driver's seat.
"Cool…" he muttered, looking around in amazement, as were several others who hadn't seen muggle objects before.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Areana asked for the umpteenth time.
Lily was getting slightly irritated. "Yes. As I've said before, I know exactly where we're going." She ground her teeth together as she started the car.
I went to sit in the passenger seat, but James beat me to it. I glared and he gave me puppy dog eyes. "Please Sozo? You never know…this could be my lucky day!"
"Potter! Brochevska! Get your asses in this damned car now!" Lily yelled.
"You owe me big time," I hissed. "Lily doesn't yell at me for anything."
He grinned, but I ignored him as I climbed into the very back of the van, where Ian moved over so I could squeeze in between him and Sirius.
"Thanks," I said, smiling at him. Then I looked at Lily in the rear-view-mirror. "Did Slughorn ever tell you when, or better yet, how, he was going to get there?"
"Nope. I'd thought he'd told you," she replied, locking eyes with me. The same thought passed through both of our heads; This was not going to be good…
The muggle field was huge; there were several fields that were for our age group, and many others for age groups below us. It looked as if the fields were freshly painted, and it smelled as if the grass had been cut recently. The sidelines were packed, the air filled with excitement and anticipation for the game to begin. A couple of other games were already going, taking the attention of most waiting.
We walked onto the field, me n the lead with Sirius, James, and Lily flanking me, the rest filling in behind. It gave me the strangest feeling of walking into battle. I swore all eyes were on us, and I could tell that the team as a whole was uncomfortable by all the unwanted attention. I knew the spectators were all interested in the new meat and what we could bring. They all started whispering, and I had the feeling they weren't impressed with what they saw.
As we took our spot at our benches, I heard laughter from a couple feet to the left of us. I looked up as I set the ball-bag down and saw the other team, a bright neon orange color, pointing and talking, as if we were the funniest thing they'd ever seen. I also noticed that there weren't any girls on that team, despite this being a co-ed league.
One boy caught my eye, tall, blonde, and muscular. He smirked and mouthed to me, "You're dead."
I turned my back on him and said, "Guys! I've made a very important decision." They all looked up at me.
"And what would that be?" Hugh asked.
"We need to kick ass today." They all chuckled nervously.
"We're the underdogs here, aren't we?" Stuart asked, looking around.
"You could say that," I replied honestly. "Look, I don't want any of you out there warming up. Just sit on the ground and stretch. I want to catch these pig-headed toe-rags by surprise, but I don't want any of you getting hurt."
"Great idea," Lily said.
"Hey! Kids! Where's your coach?" a bald man with a yellow jersey and a whistle around his neck asked, coming over to us.
Lily, Rowland, and Mikael (our only muggle-borns on the team) all looked up, and I could see in their faces they already had a perfectly normal muggle excuse ready.
"He's running late because he got caught in traffic," Rowland lied, shrugging like it was no big deal.
"He asked our team captain to look over everything til he got here," Lily added, pointing at me.
The ref nodded, but he didn't look any more friendly. "Traffic's killer today; it's why I always try to leave thirty minutes earlier than I normally would. Your coach should take note of that."
Mikael nodded, he and the other two being the only ones who actually did understand what he was talking about. "He's not used to the city and didn't take me seriously when I warned him," Mikael said. "He'll learn next time."
"Well, captains in five," he told me, "then we'll start shortly after. If your coach isn't here, you forfeit."
"Oh trust me, we won't let that happen," I said, giving him a defiant look.
Ian cursed. "Where the hell is Sluggy?" Just then the air turned static and popped, and behind our bench stood a really fat man dressed in 18th century styled trousers and tunic, fit with a ridiculous curly white wig and brown buckled shoes.
My eyes widened and I almost fell over at the sight of him. Areana squeaked and Sam yelped while Sirius and James burst out laughing, as if this was just as good as one of their pranks.
Lily glared at him and hissed, "Professor! I told you to be normal!"
Slugghorn grinned at us. "But, my dear students, this is the normal attire."
More laughter was starting to bubble up from everywhere, and I felt the team's confidence and self-esteem drop like an anchor from a boat.
"Yeah, maybe a thousand years ago," Maria moaned.
A whistle blew and the ref yelled, "Captains!"
Thank Merlin, I thought, hopping up and jogging to the center of the field, ignoring the stares and sneers. The blonde boy whose hair fell into his eyes got to the center of the field at the same time I did.
"Shake hands," the ref said, and the boy smirked again, offering me his hand. I took it, but only because I had to.
"David," he said, shaking my hand firmly, squeezing it tighter than necessary. Jackass.
"Sozo," I replied, crushing his fingers in return, to which he narrowed his eyes in pain and smiled. I returned the smile in satisfaction, as if to say, "You really don't way to play this game".
"We all know the rules by this age, I would hope," the ref was saying. "So no trying to hurt anyone, no cursing, remember good sportsmanship, yadda-yadda, et-cetera, et-cetera," he said, in a bored tone, rolling his eyes. I was kind of alarmed by this, and I had a feeling he and the other refs weren't going to be very fair or open-minded.
He pulled out a coin and turned to look at me. "Call it in the air." He tossed it up and I said,
"Tails."
"Tails it is," he said. "Do you want to choose which side of the field or kick-off?"
I took note of where the sun was and how the wind was blowing. "We want that side of the field," I said, pointing to the left, the opposite side from our bench.
"We start in two minutes," he said, dismissing us.
"Your coach made quite the entrance," David said to me as we walked back. "He always does," I replied curtly.
"It's a wonder he wasn't an hour late, the way he looks."
"Why don't you just shut your pie hole."
He laughed, but he looked ticked. "You don't stand a chance," he said, glancing over at me. "Especially you and the other three girls. I'd save myself the embarrassment and pack up and go back to the dump you so obviously came from."
"You go do that for me. Good-bye now," I said, and walked away. "They've got kick off," I told my team, not in the best of moods. I pointed at the side of the field we'd be on. "So if you don't get to start this game, don't worry because it has nothing to do with your skill because everyone is equal in their abilities, hence why you're here today. With that being said, any objections to me starting?"
Nobody spoke up, so I said, "Thanks. I need to burn off some steam. Anyways… Lily; goal! Areana, Hugh, Edmund; defense! Rowland, Maria, and James; forwards! Josh, Sirius, and I will be midfield. You know where you're supposed to be, so put your hands in and go!" I barked. "Oh, and Professor?"
"Yes?" he said, smiling.
"Don't sub anybody until I give you the signal to. All you have to do is stand over here and look authoritive. They know when they're supposed to sub, so don't worry about trying to figure it out."
"Yes ma'am." The twinkle in his eye reminded me an awfully lot of Dumbledore, making me wish he'd been the one who'd volunteered for the job.
I took a gulp of water, put my hand in with the others, and on three we all yelled our team name, "Phoenix!"
"Good luck, team!" Sluggy yelled as we ran out on the field, causing the muggles to laugh.
Once the other team assembled, the ref yelled to each of the goalies to see if they were ready, to which each gave him a thumbs up once their gloves were on.
The whistle blew, and the game began.
A/N: Alrighty! So, sorry this is SOO late but I'm just having a hard time with where I'm going. I mean, I know how I want this story to end and what's going to happen and whatnot, but I'm just having a SUPER hard time trying to figure out how to get there. So if any of you guys have anything you might wanna see, just let me know through a review or PM me. Thanks again guys for putting up with me!
Okay, so here's my thank-you's:
Azalia Fox Knightling: Yes, he certainly could! But isn't that why we all love him? :) Thanks for the review!
Eon Rain: I know, details always add something special, but I just didn't think it really fit in either of the places you talked about. See, she's there quiet frquently, therefore everything isn't new to her, so she doesn't pay that much attention to the way everything looks now. Also, in the prologue, you have to remember that she was eleven, and she wasn't exactly the type to pay attention to what her surroundings looked like because of how young she was and what all had been going on in her life. Thanks for the review; I hope you like the descriptions I've been using in other chapters.
Okey-dokey! R&R guys!
Nike
