Chapter 58: To what Irks Zoey
Zoey walked side by side with Bridgit as they looked around Hogsmeade. She figured she needed to catch up with her Death Eater friend and Echo would not mind as long as she didn't tell her who she was hanging out with. Zoey placed her hands in her pockets and looked around. She had heard from Hermione that Ron and Harry weren't on speaking terms. Apparently Ron had thought Harry placed his name in the Goblet and kept it secret from him. Also, Hermione supplied, Ron was jealous of Harry and sick of being his 'side-kick' and what not. Zoey found the argument stupid yet understandable at the same time.
She gave a sigh and looked straight ahead. She raised a curious eyebrow when she saw Hermione standing alone and seemingly talking to herself, a few feet behind her was Rita Skeeter. Zoey blinked a couple of times and saw that Hermione was still talking but with her mouth hardly moving almost as if she didn't want anyone to know she was talking at all. Zoey felt a little suspicious.
"Why's Hermione talking to herself?" Zoey asked Bridgit.
"Uhm… maybe because Ron and Harry are using her as an owl?" Bridgit answered. She looked at the scene and couldn't help but glare. "That Skeeter woman is following her, seriously what does she want to know?" Bridgit now asked.
Zoey looked at Rita Skeeter and raised her brow. "Well, seeing as Hermione is close friends with Harry she might want to interview her or something," she paused, "Did you read her article?"
"Hmm… which one? And I'm pretty sure I haven't because she writes about unimportant things," Bridgit answered, still glaring at the good for nothing reporter.
"Well, it was about Harry," she began, "But there's nothing much to say about it seeing as everything she wrote was wrong. She thought Harry was twelve! That and said he cries himself to sleep or something. Oh, look. Rita Skeeter left now and Hermione's entering The Three Broomsticks!" Zoey pointed.
"Wanna follow her in?" Bridgit asked, now turning to Zoey.
Zoey shrugged. "Harry's with her isn't he? Under the invisibility cloak, I mean. This is all a guest though," she took a breath and smiled, "And Ron's with Fred, George and Lee in there too. I bet it's very crowded"
"Wait, Ron and Hermione with Harry? Why am I expecting a war to occur?" Bridgit suddenly said, her expression turning into a worried one.
"I doubt that would happen," Zoey supplied, "I bet Harry would remain under his cloak the entire time that they're there. Oh look, Hagrid and Professor Moody's going in now," Zoey pointed at the teachers who just disappeared through the door. She then looked at Bridgit and took her hand.
"Besides," Zoey began, "I wanted to ask you some stuff that I couldn't possibly ask in there."
Bridgit looked back at the door the teachers disappeared into.
"Yeah, I guess its best we stay away," She said letting herself be dragged by Zoey.
Zoey readjusted her hold on Bridgit and began to walk the opposite way. She dodged the different passersby and looked at different shops before shaking her head and walking further down the road. She tripped a couple of times but brought herself together. She only let go of Bridgit's hand when they reached their destination, the fence separating them from the Shrieking Shack.
"Well, doesn't this bring back memories? Bridgit said, letting out a slight chuckle.
"Huh?" Zoey raised her brow at her friend but later shook her head. "Can we reminisce later? I wanted to ask you something"
"Sure, so what did your very jumbled brain want to know?" Bridgit asked, letting out a laugh.
"Well," Zoey let out her own laugh before turning a bit serious, "You seem to know a lot about the tournament seeing as you knew about before the rest of us because you're a – err – because of your 'connections'"
"Yes, well my connections are rather horrible aren't they, anyway… what did you wanna know about the tournament?" Bridgit asked, looking at Zoey questioningly.
Zoey took a breath . "Do you happen to know anything about the first task?" she paused, "I'm just worried for Harry and I want to know what he'll be put against."
"Yeah, I know about that. Romania actually was rather excited to bring them here," Bridgit answered, getting a playful smirk on her face as she recalled a memory.
"Romania?" Zoey asked and her eyes widened, "Doesn't Charlie Weasley work there? The Dragon Tamer… Dragon… Oh no... They can't do that!"
"Hmm, they have to if they want to win, but don't worry nothing's rigged in the competition if you're worrying about that," Bridgit then said, reassuring her. "Oh and yeah, Charlie brought the dragons here himself," Bridgit added, "I even recall seeing Ron talking to him, so he probably knows too"
"Ron? Charlie? You saw them? What were you doing around the dragons in the first place?" Zoey's curiosity moved from the tournament and onto the fact that her friend was hanging around fire breathing dragons.
"I was checking if the Death Eaters messed with the dragons. Probably do something to them. And yes I saw them," Bridgit answered. "And the worst dragon is the Hungarian Horntail so Harry has to look out to not get that," she added.
Zoey bit her lip. "So the Death Eaters know Harry in the tournament then?" she asked.
"Know? They planned the whole thing," Bridgit said, whacking her head. "I was not suppose to say that… Dumbledore is gonna kill me"
"He won't know if I don't say anything about it," Zoey gave a sympathetic smile before her expression returned to worry, "What do you mean planned?"
"Nothing, I can't tell you. It will ruin things. I'm really sorry Zoey," Bridgit said, bowing her head.
"I – It's alright. I understand. There's things that you can't really say," Zoey paused, "It's getting late. We should be getting back but I have one more question for you."
"What is it?" Bridgit asked, now turning to Zoey once again.
"Well… why do you bow your head when you apologize?" Zoey asked.
"Uhm… isn't it tradition to bow your head when you apologize, you know the shame? Actually, I really don't know… why do you ask?" Bridgit asked, now scratching her head at the question.
Zoey shrugged. "Just curious," she turned around, "We should be getting back to the castle"
"Yup, we should, but before I forget… you should also know that there's a ball on the way," Bridgit said, walking away with a smirk on her face.
"A ball?" Zoey asked, "…. That's why Mrs. Weasley got me that dress!"
"You already have dress robes? Hahaha, well I for one am not excited for it!" Bridgit shouted back, noticing that Zoey is yet to move from her spot.
Zoey shook her head, getting back to reality and caught up with Bridgit. "Figured you wouldn't be," she stuck her tongue out at her friend and began to run towards Hogwarts, leaving the Death Eater to eat her dust.
Zoey sat with her Gryffindor friends together with Echo when the most horrible thing happened. She was just innocently picking at her food when the Great Hall's doors slammed open, drawing everyone's attention to it and at the person who caused the disruptive sound. At the sight, Zoey's eyes widened. Mary Sue stood in the middle of the door frame with a flashing smile on her face and what seemed like butterflies flying around her. She gave a seductive sigh that made every boy stare as she walked down the aisle like a model. To whomever boy she found attractive she would either tap him on the shoulder or play with his hair, either way, she was flirting.
She made a spin at the middle of the room and flipped her hair. Zoey watched as one of her bracelets fell to the floor and Mary Sue gave a girlish sigh like picking the object up was the hardest thing to do in the world. Several boys stood up to pick up the bracelet for her but she got to it first. Mary Sue slowly bent down, her hand caressing her leg as she bent. She picked up the bracelet and quickly snapped back up; flipping her hair and making her breasts bounce at the action. Zoey looked away in disgust and listened to Mary Sue's retreating steps.
"There's something about that girl, Zwei," Echo stared at the aisle where Mary Sue strutted. Her eyebrows were still raised due to Mary Sue doing the most ridiculous things in all of the wizarding world.
"I know. She irks me too," Zoey gave a sigh. She then looked to the twins, Lee, Harry and Ron (who was sitting at the twins other side, avoiding Harry). Her eyebrows furrowed. She looked at the girls, Echo, Hermione and Ginny, and saw that they didn't like the way the boys were gawking. Zoey brought her hand up and began to snap her fingers. "Hey, shows over," she called to them.
"Probably, I think boys were much superior to the females," Echo held out her hand toward the boys still gawking, "This, girls, is why that statement – whoever made it – stands corrected"
"I really can't believe it," Ginny sighed, "And I thought they could do better"
"It's really pitiful," Hermione said with a shake of her head.
Zoey nodded in agreement. "Well, might as well bring them back to reality," she turned back to the boys, "You know, that woman you're gawking at broke into my house a little before school began right?"
"Woman?" Echo scoffed before finally nodding with her hands up, defending herself, "Oh wait. Isn't she a stupid empty-headed girl who just wants men to sleep with at night or perhaps have a look of her chest?" She let out a laugh, causing some to look her way. After that hoot, Echo muttered, "Merlin, it's so easy to get in the male mind"
"Actually, it looks like they have no mind left," Ginny offered, looking at the stunned Gryffindors, "Anyway; she broke into your house?"
Zoey shook her head. "Discussion for another day," she said, "I just mentioned it thinking it will get their attention. Sadly, I am mistaken."
"Now, going back to what Echo has just said," Hermione gave a sigh, "She's actually very smart. She's one of the smartest of her batch. Not empty headed at all. She got brains and looks. It's almost not fair"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Let me tell you what's not fair. She got brains, looks and athletics. She got an invitation to join one of the best Quidditch teams out there"
"That, and she's very social as well," Zoey jerked her head towards the direction of where Mary Sue was seated. She was surrounded by not only men but women as well. "She's not shy in the least. So now she has looks, brains, athletics and sociability."
"Now that you're saying those stuff about it, did you ever even wonder how come she hasn't got a boyfriend?" Echo shrugged and shot a distasteful look at Mary Sue.
"She's looking around," Ginny grumbled, "She claims she waiting for her prince but in reality she can't stick to one man. She's got to have them all. Like a collection."
"Ginny's right and the boys don't seem to mind. They just feel lucky to actually have gone out with her. She has a list you know," Hermione then pointed at George, "He's on that list. Why she just didn't have him and Fred, I don't know. Actually, I'm wondering if she could even tell the difference."
Echo, who's had her hands on the table, silently clawed it, pulling her nails down. "I'm going to kill him," she silently muttered, not knowing only Zoey could hear.
"Why him?" Zoey asked her and then paused, "I warned Fred about her the other day. He also told me that George isn't really interested in her"
It seemed that upon hearing that, the clawing sound made by Echo's nails and the table, stopped immediately. "Really? Wow, she must be getting hold of all the men here then; whether they like it, obviously, or not"
Zoey nodded her head and turned back at the boys. They were still frozen. "How long are they going to be that way?" she asked.
"Who cares?" Ginny said, "For all we know, she could have just petrified them when she did that spin."
"She didn't have her wand," Zoey pointed out.
"Doesn't matter. She can do wand less magic, though only from a short distance. She's that good. Top of the class in magic and studies"
"Athletics and sociability," Zoey continued
"Everyone likes her; she could do no wrong," Ginny huffed, "Utterly perfect, that one"
"In other words," Hermione sighed. "She fits her name. Mary Sue"
"Ew. Gross. Disgusting. Unpleasant. Repugnant. Mary Sue's flawlessness, it's absolutely abhorrent," Echo crinkled her nose up in disgust while she threw bits of toast at the twins.
Zoey watched in amusement as the twins began to brush away the crumbs and came back to reality. As they turned back to face the girls they bumped shoulders with Ron who bumped with Lee and Harry's shoulders were bumped by the other twin causing all of them to stop their drool-fest and return to the real world. Zoey watched as they looked at her, Echo, Ginny and Hermione and to their food rubbing their eyes which, by now, were dry from not blinking.
"Finally," Echo dramatically sighed before going back to pick on her food. "It seems that if I eat breakfast and looked at Mary Sue immediately right after, it'll just go back up," she pushed her plate away from her.
"That's a harsh thing to say. Only something disgusting and ugly would cause you to throw up. Mary Sue, she's different. She's gorgeous," Ron said with a dreamy sigh.
"Oh, Ronald, you seem to have dropped something," Hermione said.
"What is it?" Ron asked.
"Your dignity," she smugly replied. Ginny laughed and high-fived the brunette.
Ron glared at her and began to shovel down his food.
"Ron, are your ears defective? I just spoke out words, synonyms to the word disgusting about Mary Sue! I mean, who wouldn't be absolutely revolted by her perfect-princess like figure? Oh wait, I know someone. It's you, and probably the rest of the male population," Echo put her chin on the table and sighed once more.
Zoey looked at the boys and saw that they did not object nor did they support Echo's views. "You lot don't honestly think she's all that, do you?" she asked.
"Well, she can't be that bad," Lee said.
"She seems pretty alright," George added
"Nothing wrong," Fred nodded
Zoey's face read disbelief and she turned to Harry. "You can't possibly think that do you?"
Harry swallowed hard and rubbed the back of his neck. He took a breath and looked everywhere but his god sister. "I say we should give her the benefit of the doubt"
"One, she can't be that bad because she's much worse. No one can be that perfect. It's not normal. Two, you only think that because she was all over you the other day. Three, Fred I thought you listened to my warning and Four, Harry, that's not going to save you from anything. You obviously think she's all that," Zoey rubbed her temples.
"Men," Echo sighed.
Hermione and Ginny stood up from the table and Zoey and Echo followed in suit. They turned away from their friends and walked out of the Great Hall without another word. The moment they left, the bell rang.
A few days had passed since the Mary Sue incident and it was time for the First Task. Everyone from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had gone to the arena to watch and Zoey was just about to join them but she got a little caught up. It was not like Zoey was and narcissist but on that particular day she had found herself looking in the mirror. She stared at her reflection and began noting different parts of her face and body.
Her skin was its usual pale-ish color yet it still had a rosy tint on her cheek area. The hair on her head was still its normal brown and the color of her eyes were as gray as ever, just like her father's. The clothes she wore were normal, it was a bit bigger than her original size and her posture was the same. Nothing was different. Everything was the same but Zoey didn't feel the same.
She looked harder at her reflection but no matter how intensified her stare became nothing changed. She still appeared to be the same girl. But why didn't she feel that way? Zoey looked around the room and noted that all of her dorm mate's things were tidy yet hers seemed to have exploded on her bed. Her dorm mates didn't mind, hell no. They hardly knew she was there in the first place. Zoey figured as long as she kept her things to herself she wouldn't bother them and vice versa.
Zoey gave a sigh and looked back at the mirror. Ever since Hermione told her about her, Zoey's, gift and the effects, Zoey never truly felt the same. Sure, she looked the same and acted the same. Nothing different there but what wasn't the same was what she felt inside. She couldn't help but feel paranoid. Both of the end results of having her power made her scared. She was afraid that she might keep herself from the outside world yet at the same time she was afraid that she would do something reckless.
"Then again," she muttered to herself, "I'm not the type to do reckless things… that's the twins' job"
She turned away from the mirror and left her dorm and Common Room. She headed towards the arena. "No use in worrying about being secluded. I'm going to be kept away from the world after a graduate anyway," she spoke to herself as she felt the wind in her hair and she climbed up the stairs to take her seat beside Echo. She gave the Ravenclaw a smile before looking around. Not too far away, she saw Ron standing alone with a space beside him. Probably for Hermione, Zoey found herself thinking before looking at the area above him where Fred and George were taking bets. Zoey shook her head at the two of them and saw Ginny standing a bit lower with her own friends. From a distance she could catch sight of Bridgit as well.
Zoey looked to the center to the arena and her eyes widened at the sight of the chained dragon and the egg situated near it. She gave a frightened jump when a cheer erupted from her peers. She squinted her eyes towards a tent and saw Cedric walk out of it, his wand at the ready. Her hands were instantly brought to her mouth when the dragon gave an angry roar.
Fifteen minutes passed and Zoey felt like she could breathe again. Cedric had passed and the judges were holding up their score cards. Zoey patiently watched as he walked into the medical tent to get his burns treated. She looked back at the other tent and saw Fleur Delacour walk out of it. She, Zoey, turned her attention back to where the dragon was and saw that it was replaced by a new dragon, in the place of the Swedish Short-Snout now stood the Welsh Green. Zoey brought her attention to the golden egg and wondered how Fleur was going to get it.
After ten minutes, Zoey watched Fleur head to the medical tent while the judges held up her score. She was faster than Cedric but Zoey didn't mind. They were both equally talented and got the egg. That's Zoey, Team All and Team Neither. The Welsh Green was then replaced by the Chinese Fireball and Krum exited the tent. Zoey's eyes widened when Krum made a daring move towards the dragon making it emit a horrible roaring shriek making her draw breath in shock. In a matter of minutes, maybe seconds, she didn't know, Krum had gotten the egg.
When Krum retreated to the medi-tent and his dragon replaced, Zoey felt like her breath was once again taken away from her. It was now Harry's turn and from what Zoey guessed, he got the Hungarian Horntail. Bridgit had told her about it and Zoey wondered if Harry getting it was a coincidence or just horrible luck. Probably both.
Zoey watched in panic as Harry left the tent and came face to face with the dragon. She watched as he looked at the dragon and raised his wand in the air. She looked at him curiously and couldn't comprehend what he had exclaimed seeing as the crowd's cheering and yells muted Harry's yell. Her brows furrowed and wondered what Harry had done seeing as he lowered his wand and nothing had happened. The Hungarian Horntail looked at Harry and took a deep breath before breathing out a large ball of fire. Zoey let out a surprised scream and saw Harry dodge the fire and take refuge behind a large rock.
She then heard a sort of zooming sound. Zoey turned away from Harry and looked up at the sky. She saw his Firebolt fly towards him and Harry held it in his hand. He mounted it and began to fly around the arena. Zoey watched him with wide eyes and tuned out everything else. She ignored Bagman's commentating and the crowd's cheer. All her focus was directed towards her god brother and praying that he'll live to see the next day.
Zoey pushed through the crowd and made her way towards the medi-tent. Harry had just survived the dragon and was able to get the golden egg. Heck, he was the youngest and the fastest to get the egg. This; however, did not matter to Zoey. All she cared about was getting to Harry. She made her final push and entered the tent. She looked around and saw Cedric sitting on one of the beds. He didn't look that injured but had some of his burns being treated. She saw Harry sitting on the bed next to Cedric's, being separated by a curtain. Zoey caught sight of Madam Pomfrey and heard her say "Dragons!" in disgust. Zoey took this as her chance to make herself known. She approached Madam Pomfrey and tapped her shoulder.
Madam Pomfrey whirled around in surprise but got herself composed when she saw that it was just Zoey. "Miss Emeraude! What are you doing here?" Madam Pomfrey asked in a rush, "Oh never mind. It's good that you're here. Please tend to Mr. Potter. I have to get back to Mr. Diggory," she said before hastily making her way to Cedric.
"So how are you feeling, Harry?" Zoey asked with a friendly yet professional tone as she opened the curtains further and even made it longer with a wave of her wand and with a flick made it bend a bit so she and Harry were enclosed within a curtained box.
"Fine," Harry replied, "On the count that I just took on a dragon"
Zoey offered him a smile before taking a look at his shoulder and arm. He hardly had any burns on him but his was whacked by the dragon's tail and that fact alone was worrisome. She told Harry to remove his shirt so she could get a better look at his shoulder and arm. Harry blushed at her request and Zoey rolled her eyes.
"Come on, this is for medical purposes," she said to him, "And besides. We're practically siblings. Nothing to be embarrassed about here"
"But – you – fine," Harry sighed and swiftly removed his shirt and tossed it to the side. Zoey bit her lip and took a look at his shoulder. The wound wasn't as bad as she thought it would be but it wasn't merely a scratch as well. Zoey knew no spells to heal it nor could she think of any potion that would work. She thought about getting Madam Pomfrey but she didn't want to interrupt the process of her caring for Cedric. Zoey gave a sigh. She was about to do something she didn't plan on doing for a very long time.
"And here I thought I wasn't reckless," she muttered to herself though an annoying voice at the back of her head told her it wasn't that reckless.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked
Zoey shook her head and began to remove her scarf and her sweater. Harry's eyes widened at her actions and was about to ask what she was doing but Zoey threw her sweater at him, covering his face and muffling his questions. She rolled her neck and crossed her arms over her chest; she was still wearing a plain white shirt. Harry threw her sweater to the side and looked at her questioningly.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Harry asked in a hushed tone, why he was whispering he didn't really know.
"I think I'm going to heal that wound of yours," Zoey said and looked down seeing the mist begin to form at her feet, "And watch your language"
"And how does stripping help heal anything?" Harry ignored her request.
Zoey blushed at his choice of words. The mist was now above her knees. "I'm not stripping. I still have a shirt on –"
"But why did you need to remove your sweater?"
"Because I'm going to heal you," Zoey winced and felt the mist wrap itself around her. Through teary eyes she could see Harry's shocked expression. She felt the wings break out on she quickly brought a hand to Harry's mouth to keep him from yelling and what not. She gasped and felt the back of her shirt ripping. In a matter of painful minutes her wings were out and stretched. She took in a shaky breath and dropped her hand.
"Those wings," Harry breathed out.
"They can heal you," Zoey whimpered. She could never get used to it.
"I know," Harry whispered, "I haven't seen them since my second year"
Zoey's eyes widened. "You know?" she paused, "You've seen them?"
"Back in the chamber. Volde – Tom – Whatever said something about them being able to bring those from the brink of death back to full health and what not… I just… I guess when you said that you can heal me I sorta put the pieces together that they could do more than save lives," Harry blinked.
"Healing people could save lives, Harry," Zoey said, "But good that you know. Less explaining for me"
"You mean there's more?" Harry's eyes widened.
"Better ask Hermione on that one. She told me all about them," Zoey placed a hand on one of her wings and plucked out a feather. A tear left her eye. It was painful to do it. She then placed the feather on Harry's wound and watched with awe as it began to glow and seep into Harry's skin.
When the feather disappeared, Zoey was in so much awe that she didn't even feel the wings retreat back into her body. This was for the better for she might have screamed out in pain. She heard the curtains being pushed back and the footsteps of Madam Pomfrey but she paid no mind to that. She was still shocked at what she had done. She had healed Harry but in doing so gave a small part of her soul.
"I see you've healed Mr. Potter's wounds, Miss Emeraude," Madam Pomfrey said as she inspected him, "Very good job, not a single scratch. You can put your shirt back on Mr. Potter. The judges would be announcing your score now"
Harry vaguely heard her but got his shirt and placed it on. He was still in shock but was able to maneuver himself off the bed and out of the tent. Zoey, who wasn't any better, took her sweater and held it in her arms. She felt a hand touch the skin on her back.
"What on earth happened to you, Miss Emeraude?" Madam Pomfrey asked, picking n the ripped shirt, "It looks like the dragon had attacked you"
Zoey shook her head. "Just an old shirt is all. Nothing to worry about," she smiled at her mentor.
"Nothing to worry about? How is this old? It looks brand new! How did you get this scratch? Did someone attack you?" Madam Pomfrey bombarded her with questions.
"It's nothing, really. It might have gotten ruined in the washer and I just didn't realize," Zoey lamely said before inching towards the exit of the tent.
"The washer –" Madam Pomfrey began but was no longer heard for Zoey ran out of the tent and swiftly placed her sweater back on. She didn't care to stay any longer. She was guessing Gryffindor would be celebrating in their Common Room and vaguely wondered if Hufflepuff would do the same.
And Chapter end!
Hope you enjoyed this one!
I want to thank ZoomSkater14 and HayleyParadox for helping me out
Also, I want to thank all of you who reviewed and the like!
LOVE YOU GUYS!
That little picking up thing Mary Sue did was none other than the "Bend and Snap" from Legally Blonde. If you didn't know that, check it out if you like :D
Hm... what else to say? I don't really know. I'm extremely tired. I had to help take care of my cousins today. I enjoyed doing it though. I had fun :D
Anywho... hmm...
Razbash: If I can't say "We'll see" or "Maybe" to answer your question then I really can't really answer it then since it would really spoil everything. Just... well... stay tuned
Okay then. I don't think there's a lot to say now so
Don't forget to review and the like
Stay tuned for the next chapter
Sorry for any typos and the like
and
I only own what I own
