Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor

(Book: B3, 269 There are signs of increased security, such as Filch boarding up every hole in the walls— from tiny cracks to mouse holes. Professor Flitwick teaches the doors to recognize Peter Pettigrew)

Hermione, Ron, and Siria sat by the fire of the otherwise empty common room. Tonight, she would have her talk with Sirius.

"It could have been someone else" Ron continued his previous argument with Hermione on if Peter Pettigrew had broken into the dorm.

"Honestly, Ron!" Hermione rolled her eyes "How many people go around Transfiguring Siria's bed into a cage?"

"I'm just saying that maybe Flitwick ought to teach the doors to recognize other Death Eaters."

Siria groaned and covered her ears. She'd grown tired of them having the same argument since Thursday morning. It didn't matter if it was Pettigrew or not. Any minute now, Sirius's face would appear in the fire… probably. He hadn't been clear on that, but, if he wanted her to wait here, it only made sense.

Hermione shouted and pointed into the fire. Dancing in the flames was the outline of Sirius's face. Siria smiled at him. "How are you?" Siria asked.

"Sirius?" Hermione seemed caught between startled and curious. They had finally found something she had not read about. He smiled at them.

"I wasn't expecting an audience." The flaming figure of his face told them.

"You love your drama," Siria grumbled. She crossed her arms.

"I honestly expected you to be more excited when you figured it out." Said Sirius.

Siria slid from her armchair to the spot of the carpet in front of the fireplace. Hermione picked Crookshanks into her lap while Ron looked from the door of the boys' dorm to Sirius's face in the fireplace. Sirius gave Siria half a smile while the flaming face's forehead wrinkled.

"So, I was just supposed to find out that you're Padfoot by myself because I'd be excited?" Siria asked. She looked into his flaming eyes with such disbelief that his half smile fell.

"I used to love finding things out— not school things, but like secret passages and anything someone didn't want to tell me. There was a specific satisfaction to finding the truth myself" Sirius confessed. Siria rose to her feet.

"Then find the truth about Regulus!" Siria exclaimed.

"Regulus?" he asked in reply, but she was already marching up the stairs to her dorm.

Hermione and Ron looked from each other to Sirius and shrugged. "She's just on edge" Ron told him.

"You'd be too, if someone did that to your bed!" Hermione lifted Crookshanks and carried him as she hurried after Siria.

"What?" Sirius asked Ron. "What is Merlin's name is happening?"

When the new term started, Siria was still fuming. For three years, Sirius had kept his job a secret because he thought it'd be good fun for Siria to find out on her own. She wasn't just angry; she was furious. Sirius's hand of her watch would occasionally tick to four o'clock, but she could only glare at it. Even if he were here on the grounds, she didn't want to talk to him.

Part of Siria knew she was petty. Sirius loved fun and, to him, going off to solve the case was fun. He had meant well. Sirius always meant well. She just wondered if he didn't answer her about who he liked because he wanted her to figure it out "because it's fun." Siria glared up from her plate of eggs, at Wood. Her anger had her boiling over to the point she had not heard a word he said.

"Did you, Potter?" Wood asked her.

"Did I what?" Siria snapped back.

"Get a broom! The match is Saturday! As in two days from now." Wood smacked his forehead. "You haven't said anything this whole time because you don't have one?"

"I have a broom." she replied in a dry tone.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" He asked.

"Wood— shut up." She told him and looked back to her eggs.

Saturday was upon her in the blink of an eye. Siria stood on the Quidditch field, still lost in her own mind. Over and over again she told herself it was silly to be upset about it. The same voice that told her it was silly would then cry "but three years!" It would launch into how long she could have gone without knowing, if Fred and George hadn't shown her the Marauder's Map. If they had kept it to themselves, as she felt they should have, then she may have not figured it out for years.

Madam Hooch called for them to kick off and Siria did so, her head still spinning. It wasn't until they were in the air that time hit her. A week. Siria had been mad at Sirius for a week. She dove out of the way of a Bludger and looped back up. If Dobby had bewitched a Bludger to follow her on the Firebolt, she would have been fine.

Today was her first time on the Firebolt. There was something about it that made her feel liberated, like someone breaking into the dorm over the holiday didn't matter. Even as the wind spun around her, she felt like she could to anything. Siria launched into a loop around the field, looking high and low for the Snitch. She watched Angelina vault a goal past the Keeper in canary yellow robes. Siria had been so unfocused, she hadn't even realized they were playing against Hufflepuff.

"Gryffindor scores— 40 to 10!" Lee Jordan's voice called over the magical megaphone. Then, she saw it, a small, twinkling, spot of gold by the Hufflepuff goal. Siria pressed herself to her broom and felt the Firebolt rocket her toward the Snitch.

"No!" Siria cursed. Three hooded figures in black, flowing robes floated onto the Quidditch field and into Siria's line to the Snitch. She looked from the dementors to the Snitch and bit her lip. Siria dove her hand into her boot, withdrew her wand, and turned it to the dementors. She squeezed her eyes closed and remembered, not how she had been mad at Sirius the past week and half, but the warmth she felt when she hugged him in the doorway of the room he had designed for her at Grimmauld Place— of the thundering of his heart, of how loved she felt, and how loved she still felt from it.

"Expecto Patronum!" Silver like never before erupted from her wand. It wasn't the meak, silvery shadow she usually produced. This was a force of silver. It charged at the dementors like a bull. Siria pulled her broom straight into the air, shooting herself for the Snitch, but she'd been too late. All the joy and rush she'd felt from the Patronus seemed to dissipate. Wide eyed and just as shocked as her, Cedric Diggory looked to her. His hand was wrapped around the fluttering, golden ball.

She sank to the ground and, upon landing, fell to the snow. Her wand in one hand, broom in the other, and the Snitch in Diggory's. Gryffindor had lost. Siria's eyes fell shut in a shame far greater than when Malfoy had teased her about fainting on the train. Her fear of the dementors had cost them the match.

"Siria," Fred nudged her with his foot, while she laid, face down, in the cold.

"Don't beat yourself up," said George.

"Yeah. You've caught the others." said Fred. The twins pulled her to her feet.

"There had to be one time you didn't get it" said George (B3, 180). Siria couldn't lift her head. She felt like the stands were filled with a mountain of disappointed faces.

"We just lost the cup." Siria choked out. She blinked furiously to try and keep the tears back. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to hold in the sobs that wanted to escape her.

"Not even close!" Fred shook his head.

"We just have to win the next two" George patted some mud from Siria's robes.

"Wood'll do the math," said Fred.

"Once he gets over himself" said George. They linked elbows with Siria to stop her from falling back to the ground.

(Book: B3, 263 the three dementors were not dementors at all. Malfoy on Goyle's shoulders, Crabbe, and Marcus Flint were dressed as dementors. Professor McGonagall is furious, the four of them have detention, and she'll be speaking with Dumbledore about it)

Siria's head hung low as she dragged her feet beside Hermione and Ron, to Hagrid's hut. On his doorstep was a large, shaggy, bear of a dog, wagging its tail. Hermione patted Siria's back "Look!" She told her, "Sirius sent Snuffles! Isn't that great?"

"Yeah!" Ron nodded, "You love Snuffles!" Siria gave a very small nod and sat down on Hagrid's porch, beside Snuffles. The other three continued to try and cheer Siria up, before Hagrid said Snuffles looked like he could use a walk and Siria ought to get some air.

They walked silently some distance toward the ground's entrance, as a girl and her dog. Siria was more disappointed over her loss than anything. She didn't even have enough energy to be angry at him anymore; she felt like she didn't have any energy. Siria sighed and sat in the cold, white snow. Hagrid's cabin was a small dollhouse in the distance. Snuffles laid down and Siria rested her head on his stomach.

"To you, finding stuff out on your own may be fun, but it isn't to me. I don't want to find it on my own. I want to find it out together. You used to bring me all the answers and, even though you knew them, you'd act really interested as I learned them myself…" Siria gave a hearty sigh.

"You don't have to pretend to be interested, but I don't like learning things on my own." She took a sharp breath as the fluffy, shaggy fur beneath her turned to a smooth, fine tailored jacket. Sirius crossed his arms and placed them beneath his head.

"After learning about Regulus… I'd have to agree with you. You don't have to learn on your own. If I know, I should be happy to help you learn and, if I don't, then I hope we can learn together."

Siria linked her fingers over her stomach. She nodded and stared at her fingers. The air was so cold, she could see her breath escape her. Sirius, who was completely in the snow, said nothing. Not a word about how he had misunderstood Regulus, how Siria had lost, or about how she'd produced a Patronus. They laid in the cold, quiet snow until they were almost too cold to move.

Sirius dusted the snow off the back of Siria's Quidditch robes with his wand before doing the same to himself. He patted her messy, damp hair with a smirk. She opened her arms and looked up at him. They each pulled the other into a hug.

"I'm sorry I was mad!" She exclaimed. He rubbed the back of her head.

"Oh, Siria" he soothed. "Don't ever be sorry for how you feel— no matter how you feel. If you're mad, be mad. If you're sad, be sad. They're your feelings and there is never a wrong way to feel."

"Urh!" She groaned and nestled her head into his chest. "You swallowed a parenting book!"

"Excuse me," Sirius rolled his eyes, "I swallowed several!"

He laughed and hugged her tighter, so he could mess up the back of her hair without her escaping. She shouted and tried to knock his hands away. Ultimately, she dropped to knees to slide from his grasp. Siria scooped up a handful of snow, patted it, and chucked it at him. He laughed and collected a larger handful. "It's on." Sirius warned her. They threw snowballs until Sirius ended it, by picking her up around the waist and tossing them both into a pile of fresh powdery snow. She was still laughing when he helped her up.

"Really though, be mad if that's how you feel. As long as you're not getting into fights because you're upset, do what you need to do to let it out." Sirius told her.

"What if I'm so mad, I want to run into battle with a bed sheet?" Siria asked with her eyebrow raised.

"At least select something more tasteful than a bed sheet— I hear you've got someone with great taste on your side." He raised his head in a smug tilt. Siria tsked him.

"About that, I want the details— from you."

"Another time." He tapped her watch. "I'll be keeping an eye here from now on. Fudge thinks I'm back at my Muggle job, since we haven't made progress on Peter, but Snuffles" he winked at her "will be staying with Hagrid. After what happened on Christmas, which I learned from Ron, mind you, I think he's nearby."

"You do realise I'm going to practically live at Hagrid's, right?" Siria asked.

"I certainly hope you'll visit, but maybe still live at the castle."

February's first Sunday's study group had another batch of new arrivals. Hermione opened the door then looked apologetically at Siria. Siria pushed the door open further and saw: Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff Seeker and Captain, having an argument with Oliver Wood. Travers and Warrington were in a corner with Daphne, a new Slytherin addition, and Lily Moon at the table closest to them. Astoria and Colin were at the table behind them, playing with the rabbits they were undoubtedly supposed to be turning into slippers.

Lavender and Parvati were trying to read Fay's friend, Mandy Brocklehurst's palm, but Luna Lovegood was countering everything they said with her magazine's article. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were looking over Ernie MacMillan's Muggle Studies essay. Terry Boot was at the front, right most table with what looked like half their Arithmancy class. Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones were spread out over a table with their homework behind Terry Boot's.

Wood and Cedric Diggory were arguing so close to the door that there was no way to get near any of the various people inside without either crab walking along the wall or walking into their argument. The door creaked open wider and Hermione, Ron, and Siria could see that the entire Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Quidditch teams were there as well. Professor McGonagall had stopped chaperoning them outside of opening the classroom and shooing them out.

"THERE!" Wood shouted and gestured to Siria. "You're late!" He told her.

"I can't be late— we don't have an official start." Siria defended. Even Neville had stopped shouting about being late. People came when they wanted, which was anywhere from first thing in the morning to half an hour before Professor McGonagall came to kick them out.

"It's your club, tell him he has to leave!" Wood told her and gestured, with a short wave of his arm at Diggory.

"Um," Siria clicked her tongue and placed her bag on her desk. "It's not a club, it's a study group, and no one has to leave." Hermione shot Siria a look and she quickly added "unless they're being disruptive to the studying."

Wood placed his hand on Siria's shoulder. He looked her square in the face. "Look, Potter, I've been telling you this for awhile, but they aren't here to learn— none of them are. It's about—"

"Wood, I swear, if you say 'Quidditch', I will jinx you." She pulled her Potions book out of her bag. "If you aren't here to study— you can leave."

"Potter—" Siria slammed the book, as hard and loud as she could.

The heads of those that weren't listening before turned to listen now. Siria's green eyes glared at Wood. She had half a mind to lift the book off the desk just to hit him with it, but Sirius had just spoken with her about fighting yesterday.

"I love Quidditch!" Siria shouted at him. "I know I let you down and I'll practice harder than ever, but don't you dare make this about Quidditch— you, you Quaffle-Head!"

"Potter! It isn't just about Quidditch" Wood gestured wordlessly to the Slytherins. Siria crossed her arms and raised her head.

"Then what's it about, Wood?" She asked through gritted teeth. "Educate me, my dear senior. As you've the time to talk Quidditch from first breath to last, you're no doubt ready to take your N.E.W.T.s or else have helped everyone here with the questions you can answer."

With a few jerks of his head, Wood motioned for Siria to go into the hall. She shook her head and, rather forcefully, sat down in the chair beside her. Siria crossed her arms and continued to glare at Wood. He looked around the room. "Fine, Potter, but you better give practice a hundred and ten percent!"

"Count on it!" She shouted as he turned away. Siria slammed her book open, placed her elbow on the desk and threw a curtain of her hair between her face the rest of the room.

Not even fifteen minutes passed before Astoria brought one of the rabbits over. She poked the rabbit's head over the top of the desk. "Siria!" She sang in a soft voice, waving the rabbit's small, white paw. "Lop that frown around!" Astoria peered over the top of the desk. She had a large smile and a merry blush in her cheeks. "Get it?" She asked in her own voice. "It's lop, like flop, but" she pointed to the rabbit's ear "like the bunny's ears." Siria smirked and let out a chuckle.

"Yeah." She nodded and pet the rabbit's forehead. "Thank you, Astoria." Astoria positively beamed at Siria, as Colin often did, before she hurried back to her table.

Hermione excused herself from the Arithmancy table and leaned onto Siria's. "The thing I needed to use your trunk for is there. I'll take the note off, once it's out. Okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." Siria told her.

"Siria, is that a regular notebook?"

"And this is a pen" Siria said and raised the Muggle writing tool. "Look, I ought to be able to outline my work however I want. I'm tired of a quill & ink bottle, 'Mione. Besides, this one's so little I can carry it in my pocket and check my notes whenever." Hermione looked from Siria's book to her pocket sized notebook.

"Well, I suppose, as long as you're turning your work in the proper way…" Hermione clicked her tongue, but returned to the Arithmancy table.

Ron sat down beside Siria the moment Hermione turned away. He watched her sit back down. "I've been wondering for awhile, but Ernie Macmillan said that Hermione's been to every Muggle Studies class (B3,244) " He told her. Siria raised an eyebrow. "Half of them are the same time as Divination and she hasn't missed one of those either! They're both at the same time as Arithmancy and Terry Boot says she's been to every class, and Lily Moon said Hermione's at every Ancient Runes class, but it happens when Care of Magical Creatures does and she's been to all of those. How do you suppose she's doing it?"

"I don't know," Siria shrugged, "Magic?"

"What kind of magic lets you be in two places?" Ron asked.

Siria lifted her wand off her desk, gave a quick, sharp flick and called "Gemino!" which doubled her notebook. She slid the copy to Ron. "That doesn't work on people!" He exclaimed.

"Maybe there's something that does— look, rather than asking how Hermione is making it to all her class, ask how we're going to train to flatten Ravenclaw!" Siria snapped and pulled the second notebook back toward herself. Just as she couldn't focus on the magical properties of Chizpurfle fangs, Ron couldn't focus on any subject.

February brought Slytherin's match against Ravenclaw, where Slytherin won by a full one hundred fifty points. Gryffindor was to face Ravenclaw the following Saturday, but people were still talking about Gryffindor's loss to Hufflepuff. It was as if they had forgotten that Hufflepuff had beat Slytherin as well.

Cedric Diggory of the Hufflepuff team had also not let go of Gryffindor's loss. At Sunday's study group he apologized to Siria, again. She had hoped that sitting in between Travers and Warrington would scare him away, but Cedric came with his head held high. He even moved Astoria and Colin onto conjuring butterflies, which he insisted on showing Siria when he learned she didn't know how yet.

Monday afternoon, on the way to Care of Magical Creatures, Siria found herself knocked to the ground. Before she saw who had fallen over her, she heard "Cheer up your girlfriend!" and "Give her a kiss!" A group of Slytherin sixth years had pushed Draco Malfoy, of all people, into her. She was about to push him off when she remembered being told that Travers's cousin was being teased of liking Siria. How anyone could think he liked her, after the sunt he pulled during her match against Hufflepuff was beyond her.

Though she still wanted to push him off her or otherwise refute their claim of "girlfriend" with disgust, it would make him look worse. As Siria screwed up her face, the way she'd seen Dudley do at least a hundred times, she convinced herself that she owed him this: he had tried to save her life. Dramatically, she let out a large, mournful gasp. "He turned me down!" She shouted while she and Malfoy rose to their feet. With her face so screwed up it looked like she was fighting back tears, she swept the few items that had fallen from her bag into her arms. Then, Siria turned face to the Slytherins "JERKS!" she barked before running toward Hagrid's hut.

Siria let her things drop into her bag and wiped her face with her sleeve. If that didn't shut them up, it would be Malfoy's job to solve his own problems. Hermione and Ron rushed to Siria's side. "What was that?" Ron shouted.

"I don't actually like him!" Siria exclaimed and rolled her eyes so hard she rolled her head. "It's me repaying him for trying to save me."

"You could have been fine." Ron told her, as he'd insisted before.

"Or I could have died— thanks to Malfoy, we'll never know." Siria looked to the large, fluffy black dog that was charging toward them. "Snuffles!" She grinned and dropped to her knees to pet him. "Be chill" she whispered into his ear. "I don't like Malfoy, but…"

After a week of back breaking, long, and exhausting Quidditch practices, the Gryffindor team stood on the field, ready to face Ravenclaw.

(Book: B3, 258-261 The Quidditch match starts. Cho Chang tails Siria and blocks Siria's path to the Snitch, when she realizes Siria's broom can't be beat. Lee Jordan's commentary is more about Siria's Firebolt than what's happening in the game.)

Cho Chang dove back into Siria's path to the Snitch, again. Siria dove under her, but, when she rose on the other side of Cho, Siria had lost the Snitch. "SIRIA, NOW'S NOT THE TIME TO BE A LADY!" Wood roared, "KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM!" (B3, 261). Siria continued to rise up and Cho followed behind her. When she was high enough above the field, Siria steadied and her broom to a hover. Cho hung beside her.

"Just going to follow me around, then?" Siria asked as she scanned for the Snitch. Cho smiled at her. Lee Jordan announced "Gryffindor scores! Sixty to forty!" If she got the Snitch now, they'd win with two hundred ten points and they would be one Snitch away from catching up with Hufflepuff, but still behind Ravenclaw. She watched Katie Bell rocket past a Ravenclaw Chaser and pelt the ball toward the goal.

"Gryffindor scores! Seventy to forty!" Lee Jordan called. Siria placed the nail of her thumb between her teeth. If Ravenclaw stayed at forty points, then they would only have two hundred thirty points toward the cup. Hufflepuff had three hundred sixty points, so she would just need to catch the Snitch in their rematch against Slytherin and Wood would have to block even better than he was today. Siria cocked her head.

From up here she could see the beautiful, dark hair of Travers and the golden Snitch. She dove down, toward the stands, Cho on her tail. Siria spun to Cho's left side, keeping herself facing Travers, but looking to her own left. Then, thirty feet from Travers and the collection of Slytherin students in the stands, Siria jerked her broom so harshly to the left, she had to lean right to stay on. Siria saw the Snitch pull up and followed suit. She pulled the Firebolt up and raised one hand to reach for the Snitch. Finally, her fingers closed around the familiar cold, fluttering ball.

The roar of the crowd was so loud that it was deafening. Wood nearly tackled Siria out of the air in his excitement. "That's my Seeker!"

(Book: B3, 264 The Gryffindors have a party. Fred & George get some sweets from Honeydukes "thanks to Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.")