We're back with another chapter and I must say it's probably my favourite so far :) I only own Michelle and Eve :)
Chapter 9 –Youngest Seeker in a Century
For the last two weeks around every corner there seemed to be a gaggle of students talking about Harry. I tried to block it all out, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult. I still hadn't figured out a way to talk to him and George lovingly told me to grow a pair and just introduce myself, but it wasn't that easy.
"Hey Shell" I looked up in time to stop before I ran into Cedric, who was bouncing from one foot to the other nervously.
"Hey where's the fire?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Did you hear who the new Gryffindor Seeker is?"
"No Why? Who is it?" I replied shaking my head.
"Harry Potter" he blurted out suddenly, then began taking deep breathes, as if he were expecting me to react angrily.
"Wait really? That's brilliant" In that moment I felt so proud. Normally first years aren't allowed to join the Quidditch team due to the brutal nature of the game and a few broken bones myself, I can tell you, it's brutal.
"Now we'll never win the cup" Cedric sighed and ran a hand through his messy mouse brown hair. My pride vanished and was immediately replaced with hurt. The Hufflepuff Quidditch team rarely won against Gryffindor and in our second year we were runners-up for the Cup, due to Gryffindor winning the final game of second year on a technicality. Which if I remember rightly, that was Cedric's fault.
"Do you really have that little faith in me?" I bit my lip and clutched my books tighter to my chest.
"Shell...that's not what I meant, you're a great seeker" He tried to back track and stepped forward to place a hand on my shoulder. I took a step back and tried to keep my expression neutral as he frowned at my reaction.
"Unbelievable"
"Shell...come on, I didn't mean it like that...I just meant...we really don't have a chance now" He was digging himself a deeper hole.
"I-I Can't believe you" my bottom lip quivered as I tried to hold back the angry tears that were threatening to fall. Before the situation could escalate any further, I made the decision to walk away. I didn't have a clue where I was going, but I just needed to get out of there. I was beginning to see why Cedric and I wouldn't work. I should've noticed the first time he tried to tell me that my Quidditch skills weren't good enough. However, it was just that, I could tell that my condition was a factor as well, I was just too naïve to admit it.
"Shell? What's wrong?" I heard footsteps running to catch up with me, followed by the unmistakable voice of one very concern Weasley twin.
"It's nothing"?
"Cedric again?" I felt George pull me into a hug.
"How did you guess?" I buried my face into his robe and tried my hardest to stop crying.
"Honestly Shell why are you still with him?" He sighed and rubbed my back comforting me.
"I don't know George, all we do is fight" I sighed and took a small step back to look up at him, my eyes sore and puffy from the tears.
"You need to do something Shell, I hate seeing you like this" He wiped a stray tear from my cheek "On another note have you spoken to Harry yet?"
"I wouldn't know where to start" I sniffled again.
"You'll figure it out Shell" He smiled and pulled me into another hug. This is one thing I could always count on George for, he considered me to be a sister and always treated me as such. He hated seeing me upset and would do everything in his ability to cheer me up.
"Yet I still can't figure out why Fred won't talk to me" I sighed, and we began walking towards Charms.
"He'll come around" He bumped by shoulder making me chuckle.
"You think so?" I asked timidly.
"I know so" he replied with a cheeky grin.
"I miss having my best friend around" I sighed and moved my bag to the other shoulder.
"You've got me" He smiled and reached into this bag. After rummaging around for a minute, he produced two sugar quills. Sugar quills were a guilty pleasure of mine and George knew that if he kept a few in his bag, there would always be something to cheer me up. I graciously accepted one and chewed on the end as we carried on walking.
"Thanks George" I mumbled and gave him a small smile.
"So, which first year are we pranking" I nearly choked on the quill as he made me laugh. By the time we reached Charms, I had forgotten about the fight with Cedric. We made our way into the room and took our seats. George on my right and Fred on my left, but he didn't even acknowledge me as I sat down. I sighed and placed my chin on my left hand, letting my hair fall between us to create a barrier.
"Good morning, everyone, if you would like to open your books to Chapter 6, we will carry on our study of the Charm Aguamenti" Professor Flitwick's voice echoed around the classroom. He was about three feet tall, with jet black hair, and small round spectacles that were perched on the end of his nose. I flipped to Chapter 6 in my book and began reading, trying to ignore Fred and Angelina giggling next to me. For the next half an hour we practised casting the spell, but nothing seemed to be happening. Each students became increasingly frustrated as nothing, but little drops escaped their wands. I took a deep breath and concentrated of the fire in front of me.
"Aguamenti" I whispered and moved my wand in a small figure of eight motion. I grinned as a jet of water shot out and extinguished the fire.
"Well done, Miss Evans, well done" Flitwick clapped enthusiastically, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at being able to cast the spell. Defence against the dark arts was more my forte but Charms came in at a very close second.
"I can't believe I actually did it" I laughed as George, and I made our way out of the classroom.
"You really need to start giving yourself more credit" He laughed with me. We made our way towards the next class laughing and joking as we went.
The rest of the day passed by smoothly, I avoided any interaction with Cedric, so he knew that I was still upset with him. George invited me to sit at the Gryffindor table at lunch which I accepted. What came as a real surprise was when Angelina included me in the conversation she was having with the twins.
"So, what do you think Michelle?" She smiled at me warmly.
"I'm so sorry I kind of zoned out" I laughed nervously and tucked some hair behind my ear.
"No worries, I was just asking what you thought about the Quidditch teams this year" She smiled again, and I glanced at George. He seemed just as shocked as I was.
"Oh, erm I think it's going to be tough this year, I mean Oliver has you guys out on the field every other day and Malcolm is working us to the bone" I rambled unsure as to whether that answer her question.
"Wood has been working us really hard, especially since Harry joined the team" George grumbled as he bit into a pumpkin pasty.
"How did that even happen?" I asked curiously.
"During flying class, apparently Malfoy stole something of Longbottom's and Harry managed to catch it when he threw it, McGonagall saw the whole thing" Angelina explained, and I couldn't help but once again feel that sense of pride for my brother.
"That's crazy!"
"It makes him the youngest seeker in a century" George grinned and nudged my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and carried on laughing and joking with them. Every now and again I would catch Fred's eye and he'd offer me a small smile. There was something in that smile that gave me some hope. Hope that we could go back to how we were.
"So, Michelle, where's Cedric?" Angelina asked and I could feel the whole atmosphere change.
"We're not talking at the moment" I mumbled, pushing the last piece of banana cream tart around my plate. I saw Fred raise an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye and a look of concern cross his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that" she said sympathetically.
"It's okay" I smiled a small smile and quickly tried to change the subject "So Gryffindor's first game is against Slytherin right?" It seemed to do the trick as George animatedly began talking about how they were going to wipe the floor with them and that they didn't stand a chance.
"Hey Shell, how's the transfiguration essay going?" Fred asked.
"Transfig-oh erm good, I think it's going to be an easy one this time" It took me a moment to realise what he was saying, but it eventually sunk in. We used Transfiguration as a cover for my little once a month, running around in the forbidden forest, problem whenever there was someone who didn't know about my condition.
"Well, if you need any help, I'd be happy to go over it with you" He smiled, the smile that was mainly reserved for me and I knew in that moment that we would be okay.
"Um sure, that'd be great" I grinned and turned back to the conversation with George and Angelina. Fred was talking to me again, only briefly but I was happy to take baby steps if it meant getting my best friend back.
As lunch ended, we grabbed our bags and started making our way to our next lessons. George and Angelina made their way to divination, while Fred and I headed to Care of Magical Creatures. I know what you're thinking, a werewolf taking a class about magical creatures, couldn't have called it right? But when I chose the class, I was thinking about my life after Hogwarts and decided that I wanted to be either a magizoologist or an Auror. We made our way to the class, which was situated in a little pocket of trees just on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. This was easier for Professor Kettleburn as it meant that he could not only teach us about the creatures but in some cases show them to us as well.
"It took you a moment to get my message at lunch" Fred kept stride with me as we made our way down to the forest and for a moment, I found it funny as normally I had to jog to keep up with him.
"I've been a bit out of sorts lately and well I was surprised that you were talking to me again" I replied softly hoisting my monster book of monsters over my shoulder. I had never known a book try an attack you as much as these do, but if you don't treat it correctly it will cause some serious damage. If anyone ever asks how to read the books, simply say stroke the spine and ninety percent of the time it works.
"I know, George told me I was being an idiot" He chuckled and ran a hand through his flame-red hair. Anyone would have thought we were from the same family, but we quickly squashed that rumour back in first year after some Slytherins decided to play a game with us. Charlie and Tonks were on hand to back us up thankfully and they managed to leave us alone after that.
"I just didn't understand why you weren't talking to me" I sighed and glanced at him. I'd always felt something else towards Fred more than just a friend or a brother, but I never knew if he felt the same way and well, I guess that's the reason I never acted on it.
"I wanted to give you your space" He reached to take my book off my, noticing that it was becoming too heavy for me to carry "That and you know how I feel about Cedric".
"I know, I just felt like I was losing my best friend" I reached up to play with the end of my braid and bit my lip.
"I'm sorry Mickey, but you're not getting rid of me Evans, I made that promise to you first year" He bumped my shoulder with his, making me giggle.
"Wouldn't dream of it Weasley" I smiled my first genuine smile of the year. We carried on chatting and before we knew it, we had reached the class. Professor Kettleburn was perch on a fallen tree, his prosthetic leg propped up beside him. He had a slender frame, white hair and only one arm and leg.
"Good afternoon class, take a seat and open your books to page 26" He spoke in a gruff Edinburgh accent. We each took a seat upon the trees that had been fashioned into chairs and began coaxing the books into letting us open them. Almost every lesson one student forgot to stroke the spine of the book and ended in the hospital wing, and it just so happened that this time it was Eve Matthews that was the victim.
"Miss Matthew, leave your book and make your way to the hospital wing" Kettleburn rolled his eyes and dismissed her with a wave. I did my best to cover my laugh as she huffed and wandered back up to the school, it couldn't have happened to a nicer person.
"Moving on, in today's class we will be learning about the Niffler" Kettleburn spoke clearly, his wrinkled eyes watching us closely "Now this little creature may look cute, but it is a menace, it will steal anything shiny or of value, so please try to keep any jewellery or valuables out of sight"
The lesson proceeded without any other incidents, or at least it did until the Niffler decided to try and steal a student's watch. Kettleburn managed to bribe it with some food, and it eventually gave up its loot. To my surprise the creature took a liking to me and spent most of the lesson curled up on my knee.
"I see you've made a new friend Miss Evans" Kettleburn chuckled.
"It would seem so Professor" I smiled and scratched the Niffler's head, resulting in an almost cat like purr.
"Okay that is the lesson for today, I would like to see 4 sides of parchment on my desk on the Niffler, it's habits and why they are considered a pest. We began packing up our bags and I try to hand the Niffler back to Professor Kettleburn, but it squeaked and buried itself inside my bag.
"Come on little guy, it's okay" I tried to coax him out of the bag, but he buried himself underneath my books.
"Miss Evans, if you would like as part of your essay, you can care for the Niffler and document your observations" Kettleburn offered, handing me a bag of food and another book on how to care for a Niffler.
"I would be honoured Sir" I smiled and reached into my bag to give the Niffler a piece of food. He took it and immediately scoffed the food, letting out a little squeak of appreciation. I chuckled and finished picking my remaining books up. Fred once again relieved me of my monster book of monster, and we began walking back up the castle.
"Only you could befriend a Niffler, Mickey" Fred laughed as the Niffler poked his head out of my bag to watch where we were going.
"He's a sweetheart and just needs the right care, don't you little guy" I stroked the Niffler's head, and he once again purred like a cat.
"I think you should name him" Fred suggested.
"What do you call a Niffler?" I bit my lip and began thinking. Names weren't really my forte, I mean I called my Snowy Owl, Snowy which I thought was cute at the time and it does suit her but not very original.
"What about Nugget? As in a nugget of gold" Fred chuckled as the Niffler squeaked in agreement then looked up at me for confirmation.
"Nugget it is then" I grinned as Nugget curled up in my bag and sighed in contentment. I didn't know how Snowy was going take the new addition, but he was cute nonetheless, my only real challenge was going to be keeping him out of trouble. That is going to be a lot easier said than done.
Aww Fred and Shell are talking again :) and bring on the chaos with Niffler...please read and review :)