Chapter 20: Quidditch
It was that afternoon that the four of us gathered in our old meeting place, allowing the familiars to get to know each other. It was a rather cold day, but not one of them seemed bothered.
The cub panther kept jumping around Serpen, observing him, meowing at him if you will. He was curled up, but had his head raised, moving it in accordance with the cub's movements, having his eyes narrowed in contemplation. Suddenly, the panther jumped at him, possibly meaning to hug him, but he was quicker, tilting his head to the side and having the baby panther fly past him, in a rather comical scene, not quite mastering the landing part of jumping, and landing, by means unknown to me, on his back, all four paws up in the air, sending his mistress laughing to the floor at the scene, rolling about, clutching her sides.
"They ….behave …like …us… Linds" she managed between fits of laughter, sending the two other girls giggling.
The panther seemed unhurt, merely getting back up on her feet and shaking her head, possibly trying to decide whether it was worth it to make another jump for it.
To be fair, mine and Arielle's familiar were not the only ones creating a comical scene.
Not long after the little jumping incident of Arielle's panther, my sister's falcon suffered from a similar misfortune.
As I have mentioned before, the bird resembled a ball of feathers and Claudia's marten seemed to agree with me. He had been eyeing the small creature, who seemed to be sunbathing, standing stock still in the middle of the small grassy area between our feet, and then promptly jumped up, running head first towards him.
The poor falcon had no time to react, merely opening one black eye, just soon enough to see the small fury creature charging at him. It was with a squeak that the falcon got thrown by the small marten, hitting him with his head and sending the poor bird rolling through the grass, wings flapping.
The marten seemed surprised that the little ball that she had been eyeing was alive, observing its desperate attempts to get on its feet with curiosity. Melody jumped to her feet immediately, helping her poor familiar.
It was fun, I hate to say it ,but it was, and once more, the golden trio decided this was the time to appear and ruin our fun.
"But Harry, maybe you should include some more serious offensive spells in our training" I heard the know-it-all say, a pleading note to her words.
I turned to observe Arielle, curious as to see whether she would react to her Golden Boy demonstrating his stupidity for all the world to see.
"I'm the one to have faced him Hermione!" exclaimed the little hero boy indignantly "I know what I'm doing!"
I felt a smirk stretch my lips at this, seeing Arielle get up. Our baby hero had seriously crossed the line.
"No, Harry, you don't know what you are doing." She said, walking up towards them.
I stood up promptly, calling to Serpen "Come along little snake, this will be fun."
He gave me a curious glance but approached me none the less, settling on my shoulder.
"Linds" spoke my sister, holding her little ball of feathers on her shoulder. I noticed that she was worried and I rolled my eyes at her, hurrying after Arielle.
"Don't worry, don't worry, I'll behave" I spoke offhandedly.
Arielle had already made it to the annoying trio and I walked up to them, Claudia and Melody on my heels.
"Don't flatter yourself Harry" spoke Arielle, and I noticed that she was serious, oh this will be good, "you are not the only survivor of the war. You are not the only one to have lost someone."
Said boy narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could make some remark, perfectly plausible, I am sure, his bushy haired friend spoke up, her eyes on my snake.
"You can't have those!" spoke she, indignation in her words.
"Actually, we can." Spoke my sister, giving her a kind smile.
"A falcon, a marten, a snake, and a … is that a baby panther?" exclaimed she with surprise.
"Yes, she is" responded Arielle proudly.
"In any case, you can't have them as pets! They're dangerous!" exclaimed the know it all once more, and I found it completely appropriate to interfere here.
"Familiars, Granger, not pets. These are familiars" I responded, having Serpen hiss in laughter on my shoulder.
"Familiars?" repeated Granger, not believing one single word out of my mouth. How funny.
"Yes." Spoke Clo, and from her tone I knew that we would have a full on lesson now. "A familiar is an animal that finds a wizard or a witch who has developed his or her magical core to its very limit, making such progress that it would be impossible for him to hold onto all that power. Therefore, he shares it with an animal who, although not magical itself…."
"Is capable of storing magic, yes, I know." Spoke Granger, annoyed that she, of all people, had to have a lesson.
"That's impossible!" exclaimed Ronniekins, once more displaying a baffling amount of stupidity. "Only wizards like Dumbledore can have familiars! It's impossible for the Snake to have one!"
I raised an eyebrow at him, hearing Serpen hiss on my shoulder. The cub panther hissed as well at Ronniekins, telling me that Arielle too was furious.
"You're very funny Ronniekins" I spoke, smirking at him "what do you know about Albus Dumbledore? Just what sort of a person do you believe him to be? Oh if I could only be bothered, I could tell you stories of that old man that would shake that illusion you harbour!"
I was about to say more, but Arielle stepped in front of me, saying :"That's enough Linds."
I was angry to have been stopped, but I settled for one final smirk their way.
"Look around you Harry" spoke Arielle, motioning with her hand at the students that were passing us. "you are their hope! The light at the end of the tunnel!"
The what now?
"You have to be smart about your teachings, listen to Hermy over there." Spoke she, and said bushy haired witch bristled. "Just, please, don't screw up."
What a foul tongue she had.
But she turned around at that, walking back to the castle, her panther in her wake.
I gave them one more malicious grin, Serpen hissing on my shoulder, before walking up to my sister, whose bird seemed to finally be awake, observing the scene with his onyx eyes.
Claudia was quick to follow, her marten climbing her shoulders in her anxiety.
As for me, I was just entertained, and so was Serpen, positively gloating. What a lovely creature he was.
I was always a person that upheld their promises, and the one I had made towards my sister and Daphne would be no different. That was not to say that , if I were so lucky as to be able to avoid a situation where I would have to abide my words, I would not be more than thrilled to accept it.
But luck was never one of the things I had been gifted with .
So that Tuesday evening, as Serpen lay in my lap and as I read a book, warm near the roaring fire, Zabini decided that it was worth his while once more to talk to me.
I knew that this was Daphne's work, and I wished she would not bother.
He sat down slowly beside me, immediately alerting me to a change in his behaviour. He was somehow more careful, guarded even in his approach, which was just as well since I would need to change mine.
"Hello Rosey" spoke he, giving me a smile. It was not his usual seductive self, and the smile was somehow restrained.
"Zabini" I spoke, feeling Serpen shift in my lap. I needed not turn to know that Daphne was observing the situation with a hawk-like precision to her gaze.
And with great reluctance, and a completely unnatural voice, I added "Good evening."
He turned his head sharply to me at these words, and I turned mine as well slightly in observance.
He had been staring in front of him with his eyes completely normal, but now he had them narrowed at me.
I would have thought more of it had I not felt Serpen move from my knees, slithering up to him.
I saw Zabini visibly stiffen at the proximity, and he almost jumped out of his skin as the snake moved up his knee, settling on his lap. He had his head up, swaying lightly from the side to side, observing the boy.
I could not feel any animosity from my snake, and he surprised me greatly by turning around, folding himself up in a circle and lowering his head on Zabini's knee, closing his eyes.
He was not scared of Zabini, he was not angry with him… he felt safe with him.
"You know Rosey" spoke the boy and I could sense the nervousness in his words "you tried using the Dark Arts, you tried hexing me, hurting in me in other, countless ways, but this is the first time you decided to use a snake."
He gave me a small smile, but I could see that he was generally scared. I supposed I would have been as well if I had a half a metre long , venomous snake napping on my knees.
"He is not attempting to end your life" I spoke, struggling with my tone and trying to make it as polite as possible. "he… likes you."
I observed as Zabini's eyes widened, rather comically at that, and he looked down at the snake in his lap.
"He is your familiar, is he not?" asked he, and I nodded in agreement "that's amazing Roseycheeks."
I felt anger flare inside me and I curled my fingers into a fist, hiding it form view and just barely restraining myself. Even when not physically present, the boy had an undeniable talent of embarrassing me.
"I suppose" I allowed, just barely keeping my voice levelled.
And then the boy managed to surprise me.
He reached one hand up, turning to face me.
"May I?" he asked and it took me a moment to respond.
"It's alright with him." I agreed, watching as the boy overcame his fear within moments, petting the snake and smiling lightly at the satisfied hiss.
"Are you angry with me Rose?" he asked after a while, and I noticed that he was still observing my snake, who seemed to fall asleep easily on his knees. The treacherous thing.
"Why do you ask?" I inquired, slightly curious.
He looked at me, tilting his head to the side.
"How cruel." Spoke he, giving me a smile. "You don't even know, do you?"
I gave him a blank stare, choosing not to show my surprise. I felt rage bubble in my mind. If he was calling me stupid, I was going to lose it, by Merlin I was.
"Never you mind Rose." Spoke he "It matters not."
We were silent for a moment more, and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. I did not know of which topic to speak, nor did I have any wish to talk to him.
"How are you feeling Rose?" asked he , once more turning to stare at the fire, still petting the snake.
"Very well." I responded and he snapped his head to the side.
"Don't do that Rose, just don't." spoke he, but before I could inquire as to what he meant he continued, "I don't want you to fake niceness, I want you to be yourself. Just don't… please don't make an effort to hurt me."
I observed him for a few moments, but then closed my eyes, deciding.
Perhaps his solution would be easier on both sides.
"I accept Zabini" I spoke, and he gave me a wide grin.
"I am glad you do Roseycheeks" spoke he, gently moving the snake who hissed in protest, getting up and saying "sweet dreams Rosey, little snake."
He was gone quicker than he had appeared, leaving me relieved. I had kept my promise and managed to make a compromise with the devil. Definitely progress, I concluded as the little traitor that thought of himself as my familiar settled once more on my knees.
Perhaps the best testimony against house bigotry happened in the most studious of houses, in the house of most knowledge, most wit and apparently, least house unity. I was not the least bit surprised, having experience with various kinds of people hailing from various houses, but it saddened me that Claudia had to be left with a sour taste in her mouth as a consequence.
As it happened, she was the centre of the storm that devastated the reputation of the entire house.
She had been reading a book in her common room, as I was later on told, holding a wand in her hand. It was a good habit to hold your wand close to you in times of war, of that there is no doubt, but a seventh year of her house found this position of reading completely inappropriate and proceeded to taunt the poor girl about it. Claudia was always a good soul with a quick mind, but she never had learnt to stand up for herself.
And yet, as a positive side to being a good soul with a quick mind, she had a true friend. A friend who stood up for her when no one else was present to defend her, and a friend who paid the price. Apparently that same Ravenclaw seventh year boy who had been taunting Claudia cast a stunning spell that sent Luna Lovegood flying through the air and hitting the wall opposite Claudia, hurting her head in the process and earning herself a lengthy stay in the hospital wing.
Now, being the good friend that I was, I had offered to punish the boy myself. My offer was turned down though, perhaps wisely so, and Arielle had taken it upon herself to show the boy the worst imaginable time.
So one rainy November morning found us having breakfast at the Hufflepuff table when a scream, a male one it must be known, turned all our heads to the Ravenclaw table. There we found Noah Hart, screaming his unnecessarily large mouth off.
On the other hand, I supposed I would be screaming as well if I had suddenly began sprouting cactus needles from every pore of my skin. The boy resembled a sewing kit remarkably by the time he had managed to run out of the Great Hall, presumably headed for the Hospital Wing. I couldn't help but smirk at his misfortune, satisfied that Arielle, who had surely put one of her own concoctions into the drink, had done a good job.
The boy was followed by professor Flitwick, running as fast as his short legs would allow and some of his mates, while professor McGonagall immediately materialised next to Arielle who had been laughing her head off. Claudia seemed by far too worried, a sentiment I could understand, but even my sister had smiled a bit at the scene.
Of course, McGonagall knew it had been Arielle who was responsible for the boy's misfortune, but she had no way of proving it, making it enough for Arielle to give her a charming smile to avoid all consequences.
As entertaining as the event was, there was a matter of most annoyance that appeared not long after.
I had hoped that the initial companionship that had appeared between my familiar and none other than Blaise Zabini would subside, only to find that I had been hoping in vain.
Not only did it not subside, it seemed to be growing unstoppably, the snake slithering away from my side the moment Zabini walked into the common room. He'd slide up to his shoulders, enjoying the ride for the boy was by far taller than me.
And there I was, playing chess with Daphne, who was once more trying to distract me by telling me this story or that so that she could win, with my familiar on the other side of the room, sitting comfortably on the shoulders of none other than Blaise Zabini, much to the chagrin of Draco who had been unfortunate enough to be talking to him.
Serpen was observing Draco with interest, his view much better, I was sure, than what it had been when he still deemed it worth his while to sit on my shoulder. Bloody treacherous snake.
I gave Serpen a glare across the room, and he raised his head, observing me.
He was curious as to why I was angry, finding it perfectly natural to be seated where he was. I sensed that he was slightly confused as to my behaviour, unsure why it would be wrong to be sitting on Zabini's shoulder. He was apparently very, very thick.
He lowered his head sadly, giving a little hiss I was sure, and earning the attention of the dark skinned boy who was playing host to him. He turned his head, observing the snake and then followed his line of vision, seeing me glaring at them across the room.
A grin appeared on his lips and he winked at me across the room, turning to the snake and whispering something.
Serpen did not want to do whatever the boy asked of him, and I looked away in anger. How could my own bloody familiar feel so bloody safe with the boy?
I was brought out of my thoughts by a burning sensation on my wrist. I looked over to it momentarily, as subtly as I could, finding the bracelet I was forced to wear as a means of communicating between the Children of Merlin. There, blazing hot but without a single change in its appearance, on a small silver plate, appeared three words.
Only three words, but powerful enough for me to feel my blood chill in my veins, cold sweat appearing on the nape of my neck.
"Black lake. Now. " was the message awaiting me, and I jumped to my feet, pulling out my wand momentarily . Daphne seemed surprised but I could not spare her much thought as I marched across the room, trying very hard not to run, making my way out. I noticed that Serpen was watching my departure, also alerting Zabini, but I was by far quicker, disappearing behind the doors that led to the dungeons.
I broke out in a run the moment I knew that I was out of sight, dashing through the barren dungeon halls and slowing down once I reached the main entrance, hearing other students. A thousand scenarios passed through my head, imagining every and any scene that could be awaiting for me. This wasn't a large scale battle, for there would surely be panic already, but a small force may have broken through the castle's defences, however unlikely that appeared.
Perhaps it was not wizards at all, perhaps some dark creatures acted out the will of the Dark Lord.
I walked through the entrance hall with a calculated pace, observing the students that passed me. My wand was stashed away inside my robe, my hand prepared to pull it out in a second.
But there was no need, nothing seemed amiss.
I walked through the doors of the castle, not that surprised to find that there were no lights, no clashing of spells to illuminate the sky. That could also mean that we already lost, and that thought alone had me run through the dark, the moonlight providing the barest hint of light to illuminate my way.
There was no one to meet me, no student to come across my path, and I could just barely make out a single, bluish light at the edge of the black lake.
It was too dark to see, and I pulled out my wand, knowing that I could not see black against black, the Death Eaters would be hidden from my eyes.
I stopped a long way from the wizard on the lake, standing in my duelling stance, my heart beating furiously.
"I have a wand aimed at your heart" I spoke, knowing he could hear me "state your name or I will state a curse!"
There was a moment of silence before I heard a blessedly familiar voice say: "It's just me!"
I sighed, lowering my wand. My sister would get an earful for scaring me this badly.
"Lumos!" I spoke, having the light of my wand illuminate my way, something I would have not dared do before I knew who awaited me.
I approached my sister, and as soon as she figured that I was within earshot, she yelled.
"She's using Dark Arts!" she yelled at me, pure rage distorting her features "Blood replenishing quills!"
For the second time that night, I felt my blood chill in my veins. If she dared spill one drop of my sister's blood, I'd surely kill her.
"On whom?" I spoke, hurrying my pace and stopping a step away from my sister." Show me your hands!"
She did so immediately, and I sighed in relief when I found that there was not a trace of dark magic on them.
"A fourth year of my house!" yelled Melody, completely unnecessarily as I was a step away from her.
There was a moment of silence, and she narrowed her eyes at me.
"Wait just one moment. " spoke she, and I knew that she had caught up. "You're not surprised."
"I was aware." I spoke evenly, preparing for a lecture.
"Why didn't you stop her?" exclaimed my sister indignantly. "Merlin, Linds!"
"Why would I?" I asked, and saw rage once more flaring in her eyes, this time directed at me "I assured that she would not harm you, Arielle, Claudia or any member of my house."
"But you could have saved everyone!" she spoke, using the tone of voice one normally employed when addressing a particularly stubborn child.
The thing was, I was not a child, and I was perfectly aware of what I was doing.
"Unlike Potty dearest, I have no time or patience to play hero." I snapped, annoyed at her naivety "This is no business of mine, rather, it is the business of this school. I had much bigger, more important things to worry about than a Hufflepuff student who got himself a detention!"
"How can you be so cruel?" demanded she, but I felt a note of resignation to her voice. She knew that she could not stop Dolores on her own, her name carrying less weight than mine did, as I was the heiress, and feeling that she could not get me to cooperate.
"I cannot risk firing Dolores for a transgression I have no means of proving with her power soaring daily." I responded, my voice turning ice cold.
"You can." Spoke my sister sadly "With your connections, you could have her out of Hogwarts in the span of an hour. You simply won't."
"You are right Melody" I spoke, not feeling up to explaining the exact consequences of every move I made on dozens of people, I'd rather have her see me as the foul, wicked person that she must have assumed I was. "I could, and I won't."
I turned around at that, calling "We're returning to the castle."
I walked without looking back the entire way, passing her common room and turning to see her give me a sad look before entering. Things were getting so complicated.
I entered the common room to find it half empty, and after making two steps found Serpen waiting for me, still seated on Zabini's shoulders.
Draco had left and Daphne had assumed his place, accompanied by Alphonse.
The three of them looked over at me , worry evident on Daphne's face.
"Is everything alright Linda?" she asked, standing up.
"It is" I responded "there was simply a matter I had to attend to."
Serpen slid over to me, wrapping himself around my shoulders. So I was good enough for him now, was I? A long, sad glance was my response.
I made a couple of steps away from them and I heard Zabini call.
"We could have helped." he spoke and I turned to see him smiling. "It is only right for a Queen to ask her legion for help is it not?"
"The lives of my legion, Zabini" I spoke, giving him a tired glare "are by far too precious to involve in matters this bothersome. I would think twice before involving even you, as expendable as you are."
This earned me a glare from Daphne, but I simply shrugged my shoulders at her, walking up to the stairs leading to my dorms.
Suddenly, Zabini appeared before me, observing me carefully.
"Don't assume that I wouldn't come Rose, for, as worthless as I may be to you, which in itself is a lie, you are… precious." He whispered, so that only I could hear, his tone rather serious, but a smile on his face as he said "sweet dreams."
I walked past him, too tired to argue. I knew well that I was fine on my own, with Serpen, as treacherous as he could be, resting on my shoulders.
Things seemed to settle down for a while, and two weeks had gone by in blessed peace. There were no attacks, no duels to death awaiting me, and I could pretend for this short while that this was still my first year, where the most dangerous thing awaiting me was a duel with a pompous seventh year.
For the shortest while, I was safe.
That is not to say that there were no matters requiring my attention. For example, my own familiar.
Serpen seemed to be sharing his time evenly between me and Zabini, a fact I was most displeased about. I was his mistress, who in the name of Merlin was the boy to him? Someone he liked apparently, for the absolute favourite place for him to reside seemed to be the shoulders of the aforementioned boy.
Admittedly, the boy was a good twenty-five centimetres taller than me, so I could see why my snake, a lover of heights, would wish to be friends with him. My 1.60 metres must have been dwarfing compared to the boy's 1,85 centimetres of height.
And my apparent displeasure was obvious to the boy as well, and he seemed to gather that sitting next to me with Serpen on his shoulders would make for a wonderful compromise. As soon as he sat down, I would respond by scooting away from him, sometimes even patient enough to stand ten minutes of his presence. Usually, this was when Draco was also present, so that I could try and get to know him a bit better. Other times, when Zabini came alone, I'd promptly get up, Serpen hissing in confusion to my anger.
It would seem that he simply could not see what he was doing wrong.
It was a cold, early November morning that I got out of my bed, walking up to my window and glancing out. The wind had picked up and the ominous dark grey clouds that loomed on the horizon bore promise of certain rain. It had to be on this dreary day that the match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw was to take place.
Usually not a fan of Quidditch, I would still be attending the game today. It was the Slytherin team playing, and it was my duty to go and watch. Were it to be some other team playing against Ravenclaw, I would not have bothered.
I felt Serpen slide up my arm and to my shoulder, a soft hiss his demand for my attention.
"I know, the weather is simply awful." I spoke, reaching up and petting him "but I'll cast a charm so that you stay warm, is that okay?"
He gave a hiss in agreement, and I walked over to my closet, preparing my clothes for the awful day.
So there I was, climbing behind my sister up the countless stairs leading to the Hufflepuff cheering booths, with her falcon , whose name apparently was Merlin, observing Serpen, who was now resting around my shoulders, with curiosity.
I was not too thrilled to be in the Hufflepuff cheering booths, and my presence was not welcomed either, the row bellow us and the row above us being left completely barren. But this was the safest solution, since I utterly refused being in the cheering booths belonging to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, and brining the three of them to the Slytherin one was out of the question.
Still, the sight of terrified faces as I allowed Serpen to slide down my shoulders, resting on the bench in front of us was rather funny.
"This is going to be an interesting match" spoke my sister, gently prompting her falcon to flutter down to the bench next to Serpen. The baby bird seemed tired already, wobbling over to Serpen, who had coiled himself up in a small circle. Serpen opened one eye, seemed to give a sigh and uncurled himself so that he could curl himself around the baby bird, serving as a pillow.
Claudia's marten jumped down from her mistress's arms, observing the scene curiously, only to be tackled down by Arielle's panther, who had appeared suddenly, a few paces in front of her mistress.
"Yes, Ravens have a good chance of winning, they've been doing well this season." Spoke Arielle, plopping down next to me, grinning at me, taunting me.
"Absolutely impossible." I deadpanned, giving her a raised eyebrow. "They do not stand a single chance."
"That's mean." Chided my sister and I turned to see Claudia reading a book, not that interested in the match. Well, it hadn't started yet, the players had not even walked out in the field.
"Going to cheer for your team Roseycheeks?" asked Arielle, giving me a wicked grin.
"I am." I responded "It is expected of me."
She frowned at that, saying "Party pooper."
I rolled my eyes in response, watching as her panther chased the poor marten around the cheering booth. Melody's falcon seemed to have fallen asleep on Serpen, and he turned his head slightly to give me an exasperated look.
Finally, the players walked out on the field, loud cheering and booing in turn accompanying both teams. It was only curious to me to see how popular the Ravenclaw team became when facing the big bad Snakes. How very primitive.
I laughed outright as the captain of the Slytherin team gave a firm handshake to the captain of the Ravenclaw team, watching through my binoculars as the Raven boy's face twisted in pain.
"Cheating already Roseycheeks?" asked Arielle to the side, also observing the scene.
"He's going to break his hand!" exclaimed Melody, but just as soon as she did, Flint let go of the boy's hand, a malicious smirk appearing on his face. I was generally not fond of the boy, but he got the job done.
"No, he's not." I responded, smirking as well, "merely bruise it a little."
A bit of advantage never did cause much harm, to us that is.
"This is going to end bloody" spoke Arielle once more, and neither of us knew how right she would be proven to be later on in the game.
Madam Hooch blew that stupid whistle of hers and the players shot up in the air, the Quaffle somehow immediately ending up in Ravenclaw's possession. What were those idiots doing?
Arielle naturally cheered, along with Melody as the chasers of the Ravenclaw team threw the Quaffle amongst themselves, darting for our rings. The Slytherin chasers were on their tail, forming an arrow like structure, but they didn't seem to be going fast enough. I noticed that Crabb and Goyle, our beaters, kept swinging those bloody bats around, completely missing the target and once almost taking down their own bloody chaser. Morons.
But just as they neared the goal, Zabini flew in out of nowhere, crashing into the Chaser of the Ravenclaw team that currently had the Quaffle, snatching it away from him and speeding across the field. The chaser was half Zabini's size, a third year, and almost lost his grip on his broom.
By the time he had recovered, Zabini had scored the first goal in the game, causing the Slytherin booth to below with cheers.
The moron swooped past us, somehow immediately noticing me, and winked in passing.
Had he not scored a point just then, I would have charmed the bloody Bludger to chase his lump of a head.
The game was rather interesting, with the Slytherin house in constant lead, as I had predicted, when Draco suddenly caught sight of the snitch, diving for the ground, chasing it alone as the Ravenclaw seeker waited on the other side of the court. By the time she, for it was a girl, had caught sight of the snitch, it was already in Draco's firm grip.
My face broke out in a smile, satisfied that we had won with Serpen hissing in delight when I noticed a ray of bright light heading straight towards us. I had time only to pull out my wand before the light passed by me, hitting to my left, and I heard a yell of surprise coming from Claudia.
I noticed from the corner of my eye that she had been hit, her face already forming horrendous boils. I was up on my feet in a second, side to side with Arielle, our wands drawn and aimed in front of us, scanning the horizon for black hoods or the Dark Mark while Melody jumped in the row behind us, approaching a whimpering Claudia behind her back and attempting to help.
But I could not find a single sign of Dark magic, Death Eaters or the Dark Mark in the sky, ground or cheering booths around us, and as I recognised the curse as the boiling hex, a rather well cast one, I knew that the caster had to be a student.
"I can't see them, are they here?" asked Arielle, squinting her eyes in her attempt to see better. Binoculars were out of the question, we would look by far too suspicious with the game already having ended.
"No. There are no Death Eaters here" I spoke, observing as the students milled around, finding no trace of them. "This was a student."
And a Slytherin one, we both knew.
I turned around at this, certain that there would be no more attacks, seeing my sister helping Claudia to her feet, trying to be as careful as possible as boils erupted on every surface of Claudia's skin.
Serpen slid up my leg and to my shoulder, resting there, him too angered by the incident. Nobody touched one of our friends.
"I'll handle this, you get them to the hospital wing." I spoke, turning to Arielle. She had her jaw clenched, and her grip on her wand was tight.
"Fine, but I'm coming back to see what you did to the jerk. Make an effort Linds, I want him to pay." She spoke, walking forward and helping Merlin to Melody's shoulder. The marten and the panther followed their mistresses as we descended the stair, turning left, while I turned right, making my way to the Slytherin changing rooms. Someone had hell to pay.
I waved my wand, slamming the doors of the Slytherin changing rooms open, hearing as the laughter and chatter of a dozen voices suddenly died down. All eyes turned to me, fear immediately making itself known on their faces. All except one.
"Did you come to congratulate us Rosey?" asked Zabini, putting away the protection he had strapped to his elbows.
"Oh yes, " I responded, a malicious smile appearing on my lips "I came to personally congratulate the idiot who thought it would be a good idea to hex my friend. What do you say to a congratulatory Cruciatus curse? Or maybe the skin boiling curse?"
I watched as all colour left their faces, the only one remaining unaffected being Zabini, who had not done it surely, despite being completely mental.
"But, my snakes" I continued, twirling my wand with a hissing Serpen on my shoulders. It seemed he was amused." I shall go against my policy- hex now and ask questions later, so feel privileged."
All eyes were focused on my wand, which I was twirling casually in my hand.
"If you step forward now, I will be as kind as to refrain from using the Dark Arts." I spoke, looking each member in the eye,
"It wasn't us." Spoke Draco as his turn came around, and I could tell that he was not lying.
"Who was it?" I replied, slightly surprised at the news. To think that the Ravenclaws would use force amongst themselves, how very surprising.
"I know who did it Rosey" spoke Zabini, and as I finally turned to see him, he gave me a smirk, taking off his shirt.
It is imperative to mention that not one other member of the team had even entertained the thought of undressing before me, even taking off their elbow protection, and Zabini saw it fit to strip.
At the very least, the sight that he had to offer was not entirely unpleasant, not that I would ever tell him that. He had strong arms and equally strong, firm chest. I allowed myself but a fleeting glance and then focused on his face, the knowing grin on his lips making me itch to curse him.
"Who was it Zabini, and do hurry up, I don't have all day to spend on your taunting!" I snapped , annoyed at the smug expression he was sporting.
"The Ravenclaw beater" grinned he, coming closer to me.
"Which one?" I snapped, not backing up one step. As if I'd allow myself to lose to his taunting.
"Hart" grinned he down at me, now merely a step away.
I spun on my heel ,not wasting a single word on them more, furious beyond words.
"You're welcome Roseycheeks" I heard him call after me with Serpen hissing in laughter. Bloody traitor.
What I found in the Ravenclaw common room surprised me greatly. There, suspended in mid-air, yelling his mouth off was Noah Hart, held up by a wand of none other than George Weasley.
"Oh look who it is" spoke Weasley "the Slytherin Queen. Shall I let her take over?"
The boy's face turned ashen, and he turned to George, begging.
"Please no." called he, swinging frantically and trying to get away.
"By all means Weasley, continue on, I'll merely watch." I spoke, smiling.
Arielle was the next to appear, not the least bit out of breath despite surely having run here from the hospital wing. It was a rare moment of agreement between the two of us, that George Weasley truly made for a creative opponent.