The morning of the match, Aurora awoke to the sound of the lake pummelling the shore, and nervous eyes in the common room. "I can't believe the weather," Flint said briskly at breakfast. Aurora couldn't bring herself to eat. This was one of the biggest moments of her life as far as she was concerned. Her first proper Quidditch match. "Black, you had better win us this match. We can't play in this for nothing."
"I won't let you down," she said, feeling queasy.
"I'm just glad I'm not playing," Draco said happily, and Aurora flicked his uninjured arm. "What?"
"Stop bragging," she muttered, embarrassed by how squeaky her voice came out. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"You won't," Daphne assured her. "You'll be perfectly fine, Aurora." She frowned. "Just don't get blown off your broom."
"Eat some bacon," Draco suggested, but it tasted like cardboard in her mouth.
When the team headed out together, it was to loud cheers from the Slytherins and boos from everyone else, but Aurora determinedly held her head up high. She might be the smallest on the team, and the only girl, but she was not going to show any signs of weakness, even in the face of the storm outside.
"We know what we have to do," Flint grunted in the changing room. Aurora clutched her broom tightly. "Play fast, play hard, play sneaky. You all better know your rulebooks, because this is important and we don't want to give away any penalties. Black, let us do our work, don't get in the way, and catch the snitch as fast as you can. The longer we spend in this storm, the harder the game'll get." She nodded. "Beaters, aim for Potter. You saw the way the team always tried to protect him - exploit that. And go for Angelina Johnson too, she's their best chaser and if we can put her off her game we have a better chance." He smirked. "That said, I'm sure we can easily destroy them. Hands in."
They all huddled together, Draco putting in his uninjured arm with a pout. "To greatness!" Flint bellowed.
"To greatness!"
"To reclaiming the cup!"
"To reclaiming the cup!"
"To making Gryffindor cower like cubs!"
Aurora bit back a giddy laugh as she joined in the chant, "To making Gryffindor cower like cubs!"
They split, cheered, and ran out onto the pitch. This was it, Aurora thought, nerves gathering again. She was going to play against Potter, and she was damned if she was going to let him win. "I want a nice, clean game," Madam Hooch instructed as Flint shook hands with Wood, the Gryffindor Captain. Draco shuffled to the side bench to watch, holding an emerald umbrella over his head. He shot Aurora a thumbs up and a bright grin. She nodded briskly at him, and tilted her chin to look down her nose at Potter. Had he always looked so small? She smirked; raindrops were already gathering on his glasses, and it would be difficult for him to see accurately like that.
"Ready, Potter?" she taunted, and he glared back.
"Ready to beat you, Black."
She barked out a laugh. "We'll see about that. Don't get scared now. I promise I won't be too hard on you."
The hateful look on Potter's face only gave her more adrenaline. She was going to destroy him, she was going to prove she belonged on the Slytherin team, and it was going to be made all the sweeter when she saw the look on Potter's face as she swept the Quidditch Cup out of his grasp.
Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Aurora kicked off from the slippery mud, taking to the air with a grin. No matter the cold and damp, there were few feelings better being in the air on a broom, flying against the wind. The visibility wasn't great given the rain, but she knew Potter must be faring worse. She kept her ears open for Lee Jordan's - horrifically biased - commentary and her eyes peeled for any sighting of the golden snitch as she flew breathless laps of the pitch. It felt so wonderful to be up here, with the crowd below cheering every now and then. She soaked up that energy, and it made her even more alert, determined to be the best. To win.
She had to be careful though. More than once, a Weasley twin pelted a Bludger at her which she had to narrowly dodge. She'd only just caught sight of a glimmer of gold when a Bludger came straight towards her head, and she had to swerve sharply out of its way. The snitch disappeared into the grey clouds, and though Aurora gave chase, she couldn't see it now. With a grunt of frustration, she turned around, only to see Potter zooming towards her. She was about to wheel around and see what he'd spotted, but he stopped, face falling. He'd clearly seen her direction and speed and realised she'd seen the snitch. His eyesight wasn't too awful then.
"Sorry, four-eyes," she taunted, crossing her arms. "No snitch here."
He pulled a face. "Shut up, Black."
She smirked, realising she'd gotten under his skin. That could make him lose some of his focus. "Oh, but it's so fun, Potter. Your little face goes a lovely shade of red."
"Still better than your face."
"Ouch." Aurora laughed at him and the proud look on his face. "You're hilarious, Potter!"
And then she swooped off past him, in search of the snitch again. Potter made a noise of frustration and swept in the other direction, taking his time to do another lap before he caught up to Aurora.
"What is it now, Potter? You haven't gotten lost, have you?"
"I'm doing my job."
She laughed. "Not very well, I have to say. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were following me!" He flushed and she smirked in response. "Don't be so embarrassed. I'm delightful company, really."
He rolled his eyes. "I beg to differ, Black."
"What exactly are you trying to get out of this?" She spied a dark Bludger hurtling through the air towards them and hid a smirk.
"I know you're up to something. You helped Black get in didn't you?"
"You really don't know me, Potter," she said, and ducked down to dodge the Bludger that caught Potter's shoulder. Grinning, she sped off again.
A minute later, Wood had called a time out, and Aurora took the time to check the score. 120-90 to Gryffindor, which wasn't ideal, but it wouldn't matter too much so long as she got the snitch. "What's got Potter's wand in a knot?" Flint said.
"He can't see," Aurora said chirpily. "Bit of a problem for a Seeker."
Flint grinned and the other boys laughed. "Good. You keep it up, Black. Montague, you have to get your act together, you're ruining our formations. Bletchley, for Merlin's sake, keep your eye on the Quaffle!"
"It's difficult to keep my eyes on anything in this!" Bletchley complained, and Flint glared.
"Shut it."
They took to the sky a few minutes later with Potter looking horribly cheerful. Thunder was starting up, and with it lightning which lit up the sky. Aurora was careful to watch it, and see if it could illuminate the snitch. She hoped the lightning wouldn't fry anyone, because this was downright dangerous now, but she was hardly going to admit that and forfeit her place.
She kept up her flying, eyes peeled for any glimmers of gold. But she kept her eyes on Potter, too. His glasses had had a charm put on them to stop water obscuring his vision, and it never hurt to follow the competition, so long as she was alert to feint tactics. But Potter didn't often play a tactical game, she had observed. If he streaked off, she was going to follow, and kept herself at a distance where she could easily catch up but where he wouldn't quite realise her tactics.
Every now and then, they passed one another. Aurora would purposefully nod to something behind his shoulder, or else wink at him, just to throw him off, and it was as she passed him for the fourth time that she caught sight of a shadow by the edges of the stands. In the stormlight, it appeared as a dog, stretched out over the grass. She couldn't see the eyes but still felt disconcertingly as though it was watching her. And there was another shadow, hanging in the clouds. It chilled her right to the bone, that reminder — the spectre of death, watching her.
She forced herself to wrench her gaze away. Potter had stilled in the air, watching her. He frowned back over his shoulder and it seemed his gaze caught on the same shadow upon the grass, before he turned back to stare at her. "What, Potter?" she asked, with the wind whipping her wet hair against her face.
He didn't answer, just made a low noise of annoyance and turned around, flying in the other direction. Aurora stared after him but after a yell from Flint, she soared upwards again in search of the Snitch.
She and Potter spotted it at the same time. He was closer though, and she knew she'd have to be tricky to get there first, while pushing her broom faster and faster.
"What, Potter?" she called over the thunder. "Can't see for the rain? It's a shame!" She was gaining on him now, they were almost neck and neck. "You sure that isn't the sun you're trying to fly into, specky?"
"Shove off, Black," Potter yelled. "Why don't you fly back down to the ground? Or the bench? You look a bit peaky up here."
"Sick at the sight of you!" she called back, adding on more speed as the pair of them climbed higher and higher into the clouds. She could see the Snitch now, just a few more seconds and she could push her broom to its limit and catch it, at the back of him. She was gaining on him.
"What is that?" His voice broke through the low rumble of thunder.
"What, Potter? I can't hear you over my victory chant!"
And then she felt it. Something cold crawling over her shoulder, as the ran battered icily against her and the wing howled. She heard the rattle of breath, and heard horrid words whispered in her ear.
Don't cry.
"Arcturus," she murmured, blinking away her tears. She felt heavy, leaden, but she forced herself to focus and push onwards. The shadow of a great dog flashed somewhere below her, and she was caught off guard, breath tearing from her chest. She couldn't be distracted. She had to keep going. The snitch was so close, and Potter was pulling away, she was going to win.
Then she heard a yell, and saw Potter slump over, his broom falling from underneath him. Shock hit her and her mind reeled as the boy seemed to fall in slow motion, slipping past her, limp.
She reached out her arm and grabbed the Snitch triumphantly from the sky.
The explosion of excitement and adrenaline as she felt its wings against her palm. Warmth ran through her and she beamed, but it was broken in a second by the flash of lightning, the cold wind running through her hair, and then — the sound of a woman screaming. Her head spun.
She had to get back to the ground. She had won. It was over, but her breath was stuck in her throat and she could feel the warmth draining from her cheeks.
Aurora wheeled around and plummeted into a steep dive downwards through the tearing wind and the freezing cold. It tore at her robes and at the bristles on the back of her room.
People were gasping and screaming in the crowd. The rain plastered Aurora's hair to her face and got in her eyes, but she could see Potter's forlorn form some way below her. He was falling fast and she realised he had no control over his broom at all. He had fainted, and was just barely hanging onto his broom. Panic struck her suddenly, the realisation that she should have seen what was happening.
For Merlin's sake, he was going to hit the ground soon. People were screaming, completely losing it in the crowd, and her sense of triumph faded as suddenly as the warmth in her body. She knew exactly where the finger was going to be pointed.
"Potter!"
The Dementors pressed at her back, as she forced her broom to fly faster and faster. Don't cry, Arcturus' voice rang in her head again. But she was losing control of her broom too; she was diving too steeply, and it shuddered beneath her as though it could sense her fear.
That is not who we are. That was her grandmother. You do not cry. You are weak, just like your father.
There was a scream then. Her mother's voice.
"Sirius, go, just go! Don't you dare, they'll kill her! This is because of you — I told you!" She could hear the sob in her voice. "Just go! You have to run, you have to tell them — just take her!"
"Marlene!"
That voice seemed to cut her to the bone. Her father's voice. Fury coursed through her.
"Marlene — Marls, no, don't—"
"Go!" The lightning flashed around her, red and blue instead of white. "Sirius, no! They'll kill her, Sirius, please! Please, stop! Stop!" The sky lit up green. Aurora's ears rang and her cheeks burned against the wind. "Sirius you have to go! Now!"
"Marlene — Marlene, I love you! Marlene — no!" That sound tore through the air.
The lightning seemed to flash scarlet around her, and then green. Phantom pain ran around her neck. Her head spun and her ears filled with white noise. She wasn't sure she could breathe, and was only vaguely aware of the world around her. It felt like something was trying to pull her back, the Dementors grasping at her even as she fell. She was only conscious enough to grip her broom and realise that Potter, the stupid git, was about to crash into the ground from a hundred feet.
Heart racing, she reached out and grabbed Potter from where he was plummeting through the air. He was heavier than she'd expected, and the weight of him almost blew her from her broom. She held on tightly, thighs wrapped around the handle and clinging for dear life, but she was falling too now, and she could feel the cold presence of the Dementors around her.
Don't cry.
She heard the patter of rain on an umbrella and the sound of crying, and then a woman's scream, a man's yell of fury, and with Potter limp against her side, she stumbled onto the grass. Her legs gave out and her vision went dark, but her hand was still wrapped firmly around the Snitch.
-*
She woke in the Hospital Wing in the bed next to Potter's. The two Quidditch teams had gathered around their respective Seekers' beds, along with Weasley and Granger for Potter, and Pansy, Daphne, and — somewhat surprisingly — Gwendolyn and Theodore for Aurora.
It was Pansy who grabbed Aurora first when she woke up. "You absolute idiot!" she cried. "What were you thinking, trying to save Potter?"
"We were pretty high up," she croaked from Pansy's crushing hug. "I thought the game would be forfeited if my other Seeker died, and it would be a bit of a waste of the victory." Granger glared over at her. "I caught the Snitch, though." Pansy released her and her head spun. She felt faint and weak, and she didn't like that at all. There was also a numb pain in her legs.
"They wouldn't have let Potter die," Flint scoffed. "At least you won for us though."
She grinned. "For definite? Excellent."
"Yeah," Gwendolyn said, "and you absolutely terrified me in the process."
"We told her she didn't have to come," Pansy said, but Aurora was immensely grateful for Gwendolyn being there.
"How do you feel?" Draco pressed. "You are very pale. We weren't sure if you'd fainted or fallen or if it was just Potter's weight dragging you down."
"A bit of everything," Aurora admitted. She tried to get up, though when she did she realised her ribs were sore, and she couldn't move her legs without feeling pain. "Ouch."
"Yeah, Pomfrey said you dislocated your knee," said Warrington.
Aurora winced. "Shit."
"You should be able to walk soon enough with a bit of rest," Flint told her. "I'm sure you'll be fine."
"My rib feels broken."
"She's being dramatic," Flint said, rolling his eyes. Aurora hid her scowl. She was in the Hospital Wing, for goodness' sake! She deserved a little bit of sympathy from her captain. "You played decent though, Black, I'll admit. Malfoy and Higgs never managed to beat Potter during a storm. You should watch your back, Malfoy," Flint said. "The way Aurora played today, she could wind up taking your spot."
"What?" Draco's face was priceless. "But that isn't fair!"
"Maybe you should have played and beaten Potter then." Flint chuckled. "Life isn't fair, get used to it. Black, take this." He chucked a chocolate frog towards her and she caught it. "Eat. Try and make it back for the party tonight, we can't have a win and not get the Seeker hammered." She grinned, though she had no intentions of getting intoxicated beyond tipsy. People who did were so often inelegant, and rarely had true control of their actions, something she was not going to give up. "Or else we'll see you at practice tomorrow morning. Come on, boys."
They all traipsed out in a line after their captain, and despite how cold she still felt, and the pain in her ribs, Aurora was sure she couldn't have been happier. "I won," she said giddily once the team had left. "I actually did it, I actually won! That's shown Flint all right, they'll have to take me seriously now!"
Draco looked sullen, but the others were all beaming for her. "I told you you were brilliant," Gwen said, grinning. "You played great, even when you were being attacked by Dementors!"
"I can't believe you won," Draco muttered. "I could have beaten Potter today."
"But you didn't," she sang in a reminder. "I did!" She opened her chocolate frog and but the head off in celebration. "Morgana, lovely."
Later, she had an awful row with Madam Pomfrey, who insisted Aurora could not go to the Slytherin celebratory party and certainly should not be drinking anything stronger than pumpkin juice. "Slytherin hasn't had a proper party since I was in first year!" Aurora whined. "It'll make me feel so much better to get to go and be with my friends!"
"Absolutely not," Madam Pomfrey snapped. "You might do your knee another injury!"
"But it's fine! It doesn't even feel sore!"
"That wasn't what you said earlier, Black. Now sit still and eat your dinner."
She pulled a face but could tell Madam Pomfrey was not going to relent. Instead she entertained herself with glaring at Potter, who looked unnerved. "What?"
"Nothing."
He shook his head. "I can't believe you, Black."
"What've I done now?"
"That was not a fair catch and you know it."
She sneered. "I won fair and square, Potter. Stop sulking because you've never heard of losing before."
He pursed his lips. "You know the Dementors were there."
That threw her. Aurora stared at Potter for a moment, completely bewildered. "What?"
"You did, didn't you? I'd bet it was you they were there for."
The way he said it ignited fury in her chest. "Don't talk to me, Potter."
"And you saw that dog, too. I know you did — the Grim."
"That one was there for you," she said flippantly, and then cursed herself when she saw the look on his face. "That wasn't a threat, Potter, no need to look like that."
He narrowed his eyes but dropped into blissful silence for a few moments. Aurora thought that was the last of the awful conversation, but then he decided to add, "Hermione said you grabbed me onto your broom."
She glared at him. "And?"
"Why?"
"Well, it's like I said, Potter, I think letting your opponents break their necks is generally frowned upon, even in Quidditch. And I'd already won." She smirked, but Potter was far from amused.
"What are you up to, Black?"
"Nothing," she told him, quite honestly. "It's not me you ought to be worrying about, Potter, trust me. Just stay off my case, alright?"
"Or what? You don't scare me, Black."
"Are you sure? Because you do keep accusing me of being an aspiring murderer, and I can't think of any other reason given your complete lack of evidence." She made a sound of disgust but avoided his gaze. "At least you're consistent, Potter, if stupid."
It was very amusing to watch the redness of his cheeks. "Well," he said thickly, leaning back against his pillows. "Suppose we're even."
"Even?"
"I let you win, you... Helped me."
She had to laugh at that. "Let me win? I don't think so, Potter. No, I saved your neck, at great personal risk, might I add."
"I'm not the one who made you faint."
"I didn't faint," she lied through gritted teeth but he saw right through it. "You're welcome, anyway, Potter — a thank you wouldn't go amiss."
He ground his teeth and muttered a very sarcastic, "Yeah, thanks a lot."
She smirked as she leaned back. "Though, I would appreciate a little less glaring across classrooms, all your hatred isn't good for my ego."
He snorted. "I don't think anything could put a dent in your ego, Black."
"You could be right." She smiled, tapping her jaw as she tipped her head back and examined the Hospital Wing ceiling. It occurred to her that she should say something more, but she had no idea what. "Started that essay for Snape yet?"
"No."
She smirked. "Finally, something we have in common, Potter."
She could have sworn he was trying not to grin, or maybe that was wishful thinking. It was funny watching him struggle. "I bet you loved your detention."
"Oh, your pal Weasley and I had a right old chat."
"I still don't trust you."
"I don't know why you said still, Potter. Frankly I don't care if you don't trust me or not, and I'm hardly trying to make you my friend."
"You saved me though."
She gave him a piercing glare. "You really want to be something special, don't you? I would have saved anyone I thought was going to die crashing into the ground from a hundred feet. If anything, you're the last person I would have helped." She laughed and tidied her hair around her shoulders, sitting up straight and prim. "Now if you don't mind, I have a meal to eat."
They didn't speak again.
-*
Much to Aurora's displeasure, they were both kept in the Hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. She insisted to Madam Pomfrey that she was perfectly alright, because she did feel fine except for weird knees, but the nurse insisted that she had to rest and that if she protested any further then she would be having pepper-up potion for her dinner, so she had to grudgingly agree. She and Potter didn't speak again, which suited Aurora just fine. She worked steadily through her homework, and wrote a letter to Dora telling her all about what had happened and how, ultimately, she had been the clear winner of the match. Aurora left out the part about what she had heard. Her mother screaming for her father to run, to take Aurora because someone was going to kill her. How it was her father's fault, all her father's fault. Every time she thought of it, she felt sick.
And her mind went back to that black dog. She told herself she'd imagined it, in the heat of the game and her fear of the Dementors, but she'd overheard Potter whispering to his friends about it. He'd been scared, from the sounds of it, and the fact he wasn't even trying too hard to hide it from Aurora was strange to her. On his way out, Weasley had looked over her with a smirk. "Guess you're not feeling so big now, are you, Black?"
She snarled back, "I can still hex you sitting down."
On Sunday evening, Cassius Warrington made his way in to the Hospital Wing, earning himself a disapproving stare from Madam Pomfrey and a hard glare from Potter. Aurora sat up straight, frowning. She hadn't had a proper bath since yesterday and felt very self-conscious of it.
"Warrington," she said as brightly as she could. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Flint wanted me to tell you about practice today," he replied, drawing up one of the chairs beside her bed. His frame and broad shoulders dwarfed the back of the chair. "And reckoned Malfoy would get too distracted by your company." His eyes darted over to Potter, and he scowled. "I hate eavesdroppers. Suppose they have to compensate for not being able to see the Snitch."
Aurora stifled a laugh and reached up to draw the flimsy Hospital Wing curtains around her bed. Once they were concealed, Warrington reached into the bag he'd brought with him and revealed two bottles of Butterbeer.
"Since you missed out on the party last night."
"Thanks," Aurora replied, finding herself oddly flattered that he'd bothered. Warrington opened the bottles and handed one to her. She sipped it slowly, grinning. Much better than the medicines Madam Pomfrey had been serving her. "So. Flint? What did he have to say?"
"Well, Beaters got a right beating. Apparently they didn't take full advantage of the situation. Us Chasers couldn't take orders enough, which is bullshit. None of us could hear over that wind anyway." Aurora grinned.
"Well, Flint doesn't shy away from bullshit."
"Touché," Warrington said, and tapped his Butterbeer bottle against hers.
"What did he say about me?"
"To not get too used to being on the team."
"How nice of him."
Warrington cracked a grin and leaned forward. "He said your flying technique requires work. So do your dives. You need to brush up on tactics and feints. Apparently it got repetitive — I didn't know, I didn't pay attention — but you still won. Maybe he didn't want to criticise you too much since you were in the hospital."
"Hm, maybe he does have a heart."
"Oh, don't make that mistake." He grinned. "He just needs to pretend he does for the team. Still. You did well. Most of his notes were about formations and the Chasers. He still wants to play Malfoy next game but you should see it anyway."
She grinned as Warrington slid over the sheafs of parchment upon which Flint had drawn out diagrams of the Quidditch pitch, complete with notes. Most of it did focus on the Chasers and keeper, as Warrington had said, but there was a good few inches of notes about feints on the back of one diagrams. "Wronski," Aurora muttered. "Funnily enough, I didn't want to actually crash into the ground with that low visibility."
"How did that go for you?" Warrington teased, but Aurora silenced him sharply with a glare. "Sorry." He winced. "Those Dementors — they're no joke. I don't like them either."
"I'm not sure they were made to be liked," she muttered, drawing the parchment closer. "That's an interesting formation — Seeker up top with the Beaters."
"A three-three game."
"I know what it's called, Warrington."
He flushed beneath his pale hair. "Yes, course. I know. He says we should have played that yesterday — it confused opponents, and obviously it's best in stormy conditions. It could come in handy against Hufflepuff though."
Aurora allowed herself just a small grin. "He can't underestimate Hufflepuff," she told Warrington. "They did alright against Ravenclaw last year and Diggory's meant to be decent — he's in your year, isn't he?"
Warrington scowled. "Pretty boy Diggory."
"Pretty?" She smirked. "Suppose he is. But is he good at Quidditch?"
"He does have some talents, unfortunately." He rolled his eyes. "Other than getting all the fifth year girls to fall over him."
"All the more reason to crush them," she said.
"You sound like Flint."
"Ah, but I have a heart."
Warrington laughed. She wasn't sure she'd heard him laugh before. "Yeah." Silence fell for a second and he broke it with a cough. "Anyway. The formations, I think this one — the five cross — is the best."
"It does leave the Seeker exposed to attack though. The most important player needs to be protected."
Warrington laughed lowly. "You think you're the most important player?"
"I think the Seeker is the most important position," she corrected. "One hundred and fifty points usually wins the games." She grinned. "I suppose Chasers come in handy too, though."
Warrington shook his head. "Only if we play right. And we weren't that good yesterday. but hey, if you're not going to play Seeker, you could be subbed in as a Chaser now Flint knows you can play. You need to learn these."
"I might get subbed in?" Her voice caught in excitement. "Really?"
He shrugged. "Flint pretty much said so."
That was the first thing to truly lift her spirits that day. She beamed, and took a long swig of Butterbeer, imagining Potter's face when she next showed up on the pitch, the memory of his defeat still lingering.
"Show me these formations again, then," she said. "I suppose I had better make sure I'm on top form if we want to take the cup back this year."
-*
Once Warrington left, the wing fell into a lull. Pomfrey has opened up the curtains that had been put around her bed, meaning she had to look at Potter's stupid face across from her all evening. On Monday morning, she was just glad to get back to classes and away from Potter. He kept looking at her, and she didn't know why, which made her exceedingly uncomfortable.
The Slytherins welcomed her back with great cheer. "There's our champion!" Derrick Bole yelled over the din. "Well done, Black!"
She beamed with pride as she was swept along, to sit in the cluster of her friends on their usual couches. "Well?" Pansy demanded. "How do you feel?"
"Fine," she said with a shrug. "I don't really know what happened."
"I can't believe you fainted," Draco said in a whisper.
"I did not faint," she snapped at him. "I only fell because the Dementors were pushing us both down, and I thought I should try and stop Potter from breaking his neck."
Pansy looked dubious. "You looked like you fainted."
"I hit my head on the landing." She scowled. "It's Potter's fault anyway."
"I did say you shouldn't have bothered saving him," Draco said coolly.
Their next Potions class was an utter disaster. Draco, in some sort of confused defence of Aurora's own dignity, had taken to making fun of Potter again, doing spirited imitations of his fainting now that he decided he could use both his arms again. These were so exaggerated and apparently upsetting that Weasley took it upon himself to launch a slimy crocodile heart at Draco's face and lose himself fifty points for Gryffindor.
Draco was appalled, and Pansy shrieked in indignation. "You're a beast, Weasley!" she cried. "A horrid beast! How dare you attack Draco, as if he hasn't been through enough this term!"
Weasley scowled. "He's been through nothing and he knows it. Bastard."
Aurora tossed a horned slug at his shoulder and Weasley launched forward like he was about to hit her, but Potter got in the way. Aurora thought it would have been interesting to slap Weasley in his stupid face, but unfortunately the fates would not have it that way, and she knew Snape would have given her at least a fortnight's worth of detentions. "Simmer down," he told the class, while Neville cowered in the corner beside Aurora, frightened of a fight breaking out next to him. "Now, Weasley."
"Didn't you see your little pal," Weasley hissed at Draco as they left. "She fainted just the same, but I don't see you being a prick to her."
Draco merely raised his eyebrows. "Weasley, Aurora did not faint. She, as I'm sure you recall, saved little Potter's life, and I think you owe her quite an apology."
When Weasley said nothing else, Aurora took it upon herself to step forwards. "I don't mind if he doesn't apologise to me," she told Draco. "However, I do suggest that he stops his childish actions, or else I might just have to get some revenge."
Weasley scoffed. "You said that last year, Black. You're all talk and no actions."
She smirked. "That you know about, Weasley. I know you don't quite understand subtlety, but have a little think and know that I do not let people get away with wronging me." She stepped closer and smiled sweetly in his face, looking down her nose. "Understand?"
"You're a bitch," he said, and within an instant had four wands on him - Draco, Pansy, Daphne, and Aurora herself.
"Take that back, Weasley," Pansy snarled. "You foul little blood traitor, you take that back about Aurora right now."
"Oh, Ron," fretted Granger, kneading her hands together. "Stop it, just leave it." She glanced anxiously at Aurora. "Stop this, won't you?"
Aurora raised her eyebrows. "I won't stop anything I didn't start, Granger. Tell your little boyfriend to shut up and stand down."
"Ron, please," she pleaded, and grudgingly, Weasley stepped away.
"Come on," Potter muttered as they slouched off. "She isn't worth it."
Aurora huffed. "I do hate them."
"Likewise."
They still had to contend with the Gryffindors in Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Aurora didn't know if it was this time made better or worse by Lupin resuming his work. Her class loudly protested the essay assignment they'd been given, which Aurora was glad for, because she hadn't completed and honestly had no intentions of handing it in to Snape; to do so would have been to acknowledge him as an authority, and she was not going to do that.
"It's not fair," Parvati Patil said. "He was only filling in, he can't give us homework!"
"And we don't know anything about werewolves!" put in Dean Thomas. Aurora rolled her eyes.
"Two rolls of parchment!" Weasley protested, and she had to hide her laugh. Two rolls wasn't that bad. She dreaded to think what he would be like when it came to his O.W.L.s.
"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked with a frown.
"Yes, but he said we were really behind-"
"But he wouldn't listen!"
Lupin sighed and smiled around at them. "Don't worry, I'll talk to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay." Aurora grinned, catching Lupin's eye. Snape had no right to give them homework for Lupin's class, and they all knew it.
"Oh no," Granger said from across the classroom. "I've already finished it!"
Aurora laughed, and Pansy whispered, "Insufferable know it all."
At the end of the class, Aurora debated hanging back. She didn't like that she might be weak to the Dementors, and that everyone had seen that exposed. No matter how she tried to cover it up, everyone knew she had fainted. Everyone thought she was weak and she could not stand for that.
But she couldn't ask Professor Lupin. Just when she thought she had the courage to go over and ask if he knew how to protect against Dementors, he called Potter to speak to him, and that turned Aurora away instantly. She would have to ask someone else, she decided, leaving the classroom in a rush with Draco, Pansy and Blaise. Someone who knew what they were talking about and who did actually seem to like her.
She was going to have to ask Dora. Very nicely, because she wasn't sure exactly how much Dora was allowed to divulge about Auror training... But she needed to learn, and fast. She could not be seen as weak. And especially not if Potter saw it, too.