March 2012

On a nice but chilly Saturday morning, Gianah crossed the castle grounds with Lily, Teddy, Lynne and Tiana towards the Quidditch pitch.

"So, out of earshot of the two players of the group," said Lynne, "Let's be honest here: who will win today? Slytherin or Gryffindor?"

"Gryffindor, of course," said Lily with a smug smile, hand-in-hand with one of her boyfriends, "We have a better team and Sirius is an amazing Seeker."

"But he will have to be very fast catching that snitch today," said Lynne with a hint of a warning.

"Yeah, the longer he takes, more goals Stephen will be able to score," nodded Teddy, "And he's wicked fast."

"Yeah, I wish he never had the idea of asking Uncle Draco for help," said Lily.

"That was actually my idea," said Gianah, having been quiet so far.

"What? Why would you help him?" asked Teddy, surprised.

"He's playing for Slytherin, and I'm a Slytherin," she said as if that was obvious, "As much as I dislike him, I want my House to win!"

"Yeah, I can understand that," Teddy nodded, "Your brother is a great Quidditch player."

"And Sirius has his dad to help him," continued Gianah, "Harry Potter was the youngest seeker this school has ever seen. And Draco says he was indeed a decent one – considering my brother is not one to give compliments that probably means he was probably great."

"True," nodded Lynne, "I've seen Uncle Harry play and he's a brilliant seeker."

"So it's only fair Ste– Snape has someone to help him too," she quickly corrected herself on her slip of his name.

Lynne and Lily silently exchanged a knowing glance, letting that talk go as they continued walking to the Quidditch pitch.

At the Quidditch pitch

Stephen flew around the pitch a few times, warming up his muscles, watching as the stands filled up with students dressed mainly in reds and greens.

Gianah was there; he could not only sense her, but he'd seen her too, sat beside Tiana Nott, two green and silver dots in the sea of Gryffindor red.

Ever since the library episode he had been slowly building the courage to talk to her, but he never found the right time or place to do it, finding that avoiding her was easier than full-on confrontation.

He wasn't a bloody Gryffindor; he couldn't just go to her and blurt out his feelings – the fear of rejection and consequent humiliation stopped him right at the first thought of doing such stupidity.

She hadn't tried to approach him either, not even to demand an explanation for his abnormal behaviour.

Therefore, Stephen didn't know where he stood with her and that situation.

He flew by the Gryffindor stands, unable to stop the feeling of smugness from blooming in his chest; Gianah had gone there to watch him play– well, he knew she hadn't gone there to watch just him but still–, he was prepared to give her a reason to keep her blue eyes on him for the duration of the match.

Gianah could barely sit still; the game had started twenty minutes ago and she, who had never cared much about Quidditch, couldn't take her eyes off the match; to say the game that day had her full attention was an understatement.

Stephen on a broom, dressed in his chaser kit, moving across the Quidditch pitch in high speed, scoring points every minute or two, was just magnificent.

He made it look effortless, seeming to know where each one of his teammates were and who he could help. And he was a team player, never hogging the quaffle, happy to be both the one that scored and the one that assisted the other chasers to score.

He hardly remained in place but the moments he did, he seemed to have developed the habit of running a hand through his sweat-tousled hair, pulling it back, smiling at the stands as he did it.

Gianah eagerly waited for Hooch's whistle to sound so that the players stopped in the air, and she could watch him doing exactly what she most wanted to do: touch his luscious hair.

"For goodness' sake," she heard Lily huff beside her.

"What?" asked Teddy.

"Look at him!" exclaimed Lily, "Stephen's ego is getting so big that I'm surprised his broom is still in the air!"

"Yeah," agreed Lynne with a face of disgust, "Just look at the Slytherin girls– they are practically starving dogs looking at a roast... panting and drooling."

Gianah discreetly touched the corners of her mouth and was glad to see she at least wasn't actually drooling – even though she was close to panting.

Teddy looked at Sirius, flying near the ground many feet below them, "It's been twenty minutes, the score is ninety to thirty. If Siri doesn't get the Snitch soon, there's no way we'll win this game."

"Yeah," agreed Lily, sitting very close to Teddy, "Stephen is really good..."

"Has he cornered you again?" Lynne suddenly asked, making Gianah and the others look at her in confusion.

"Cornered me?" asked Gianah with a frown.

"Cornered her?" exclaimed Lily at the same time.

"Yeah, like he did in the library to warn you about Patrick."

"Oh– no," replied Gianah, "He's been blessedly avoiding me."

"Stephen warned you away from Patrick?" Lily looked from one redhead girl to the other.

"Yes. Apparently, he and the other two they hang with have been making disgusting comments about me."

"I thought he wouldn't..." Lily said in a soft voice, a smile on her lips as she exchanged a meaningful look with Lynne, "How come you didn't tell me anything?"

"I forgot," shrugged Lynne, "But he seemed pretty agitated when he told Gigi about Patrick."

"Ooh, is that so?" Lily asked, looking from Gianah to Stephen flying his broom towards the goal posts again.

"Why would Stephen care?" asked Teddy, confused.

"I don't know," Gianah shrugged.

"Really?" asked Lynne, in a tone that let everyone know she didn't believe her, "You have no idea? Didn't you realise something that day in the library?"

Gianah blushed but the deafening shouts from he stands saved her from having to reply.

Sirius had captured the Snitch, but Slytherin won anyway due to their chasers having scored 210 points.

"Fuck," complained Lily, "If Stephen wasn't such a good player..."

"Yeah," agreed Lynne, looking at Gianah and noticing the girl's open smile, "Maybe you should go down there and congratulate him, Gigi."

"Nah," Gianah shook her head, but whispered next: "You think he'd like that?"

"YES!" Lynne, Tiana and Lily exclaimed excitedly.

"Okay," she replied with a smile, "I'll meet you back in the castle later, then."

"Yes, make it much much later!" said Lily, winking at her.

"As later as you wish," added Lynne.

And Gianah blushed redder before walking in the direction of the locker rooms.

Stephen was the last one to shower after the game, he had enjoyed celebrating his first victory as part of the team and lost track of time, finding himself alone in the locker room, thirty minutes after the end of the game.

He quickly dried off his body and got dressed, hearing his stomach grumble from hunger.

If the elves make roast turkey for dinner, then this day will be perfect!

That was when he felt it: her presence – Gianah was nearby!

Could she possibly have come here to congratulate me?

His heart pounded at the thought.

Even if she was there to tell him she thought he was the worst Quidditch player in history and that he looked ridiculous in his kit, he wouldn't care – she had gone there to talk to him (he hoped), and that was enough to have him excited.

He opened the door of the Slytherin locker room and walked out, seeing the shadow of a girl approaching him in the barely lit corridor, the moonlight filtering through the narrow windows shining on her red hair.

"Hello there," he said, smiling.

And then he found himself being pulled into a scorching kiss.

Gianah stopped three times on her way to the Slytherin locker rooms, needing to convince herself she knew what she was doing and that she should not let her fear talk her out of finally confronting him.

But what exactly was she going to say when she reached him? She wouldn't be able to be all sweet and soft spoken, not with him. He'd think she was taking the mickey out of him.

I should say: we both know you annoy me, Snape–

No.

Stephen. She'd call him by his first name – he seemed to have liked when she did so before at the library.

So I'm going to say: we both know you annoy me, Stephen, but... perhaps we may have misread our feelings for one another and... your actions let me know that you care about me and... I care about you too.

Yes, that was good enough. She only had to manage to say all of that and neither stammer nor add any insults.

And if he denied having feelings, she could just... what? Smack him? Obliviate him?

Kiss him?

She blushed at the thought, her hands itching to run through his hair, dreaming to feel how soft his dark locks would feel against her fingertips.

Gianah finally turned into the locker room corridor and saw that the door to the Slytherin one was open, shedding light on what seemed to be a couple snogging at the end of the long corridor.

She stopped dead on her tracks, her breath getting caught in her lungs.

She knew at least one of those two shadows; she knew Stephen was there, she could sense his presence, and like acid being rubbed on a raw wound, the lewd sounds of kissing and suckling left very little to the imagination.

She took a couple more steps forward, even though she knew she didn't need to, but she wanted to see with her own eyes; and then she did: Stephen had a girl against the wall, a Ravenclaw redhead. He had his hands under the girl's dress, grabbing her arse while she ran her fingers through his hair.

Gianah closed her eyes and turned, walking out of the corridor as fast as she could without making herself known, chastising herself for going down there.

What did she expect would happen? She thought they'd talk and suddenly solve all their years of squabbles with some kisses? Did she think it would be her between his body and the wall?

Yes. Her mind whispered.

She wiped her eyes many times on her way back to the castle, wishing she could forget what she had just seen.

Later at dinner

"Hey, have you seen Gigi?" Lynne asked Tiana when she sat beside her.

"No. She wasn't in the dorm when I went there to change after the game. I haven't seen any sign of Gigi since she left the stands to go to the locker rooms."

"Hm, I wonder what happened," Lily said with a concerned frown, "Stephen is at the Slytherin table already, and he looks happy."

"He looks thoroughly snogged," added Teddy with a grimace.

"Yeah, he does," nodded Lily, glancing at the doors again, "But where's Gigi?"

Tiana looked terribly uncomfortable as she said: "Stephen was snogging Bailey in the Common Room right after the game."

"WHAT?" exclaimed both Lily and Lynne, exchanging a concerned look.

"That's what I saw," continued Tiana, looking worried too.

Lily glared at her brother, shaking her head, knowing that her friend's disappearance had everything to do with him; she was going to demand an explanation out of him at first opportunity.

Next morning

Stephen sat at the Slytherin table feeling good with himself, the day before had been really good – he had won a game with the team, had snogged not just one but two girls, and his housemates now considered him a hero.

Only one thing could've made it perfect– but he quickly dismissed that thought, he knew he'd never have it.

He raised his head to check if Gianah had arrived for breakfast but was taken aback by the sight of his twin sister walking towards him looking furious instead.

"What happened yesterday?" demanded Lily, sitting beside him.

Stephen raised an eyebrow at her rude behaviour but replied anyway: "Your boyfriend caught the snitch, but I made sure he didn't win the game."

"Yes, I was there," she kept glowering, "And then?"

Stephen frowned, "And then I snogged Skye Robertson from Ravenclaw in the corridor by the locker rooms. And when I got to the common room, Brittany jumped me, so I kissed her too–"

"Gross," spat Lily.

He scoffed, "Says the girl with two boyfriends."

She glared at him, "In a committed relationship, Stephen, not tongue-hopping around the school!"

"They both jumped me!" he raised his hands as if he had nothing to do with that, "In fact, I wasn't expecting Quidditch to be so rewarding. I sure had hoped–"

But Lily's anger morphed into a concerned frown, "So you didn't see Gianah last night?"

"No," it was his turn to frown, "Why? Why would I have seen her?"

Lily let out a sigh, "She went after you. To congratulate you. She–"

Stephen stopped eating and stared at her, "Are you for real?"

"Yes," she nodded, biting her lip, "We told her to go. After you warned her about Patrick– like I said you should– Gigi was touched by it and... well, Lynne and I thought that, maybe, if she talked to you after the game that instead of fighting you two would... you know... snog all that tension off."

He was gaping at his sister, feeling cold as he realised what most likely had happened: "Bloody hell, Lily, if she went to the locker rooms, she certainly saw me with Skye and– shit!" he gasped, closing his eyes briefly.

"What?"

"Gianah was in the common room when Brittany jumped me," he said barely audibly, the regret clear in his voice.

"Ooh no," Lily whispered, "So she went after you and instead of talking to you... she saw you snogging two girls last night?" she gaped at him, shaking her head in incredulity, "How can you fuck this up so royally Stephen?"

"Me?" he exclaimed, "That wasn't my fault!"

"Sure," she huffed in annoyance, "I bet you begged both those girls to stop!"

"Well... no," he admitted.

Lily stood up, shaking her head as she walked back to her House table, leaving Stephen sitting by himself with a hole the size of Britain on his chest.

Gianah had gone after him– he knew he had sensed her presence, that was the reason he had gone to the corridor in the first place. But then Skye Robertson appeared and...

Fuck.

He rested his elbows on the table and held his head in his hands, knowing there was no way out of that hole he had dug himself into.

When Gianah walked into the Great Hall that morning, she glanced at the Gryffindor table and then at the Slytherin one, deciding to sit at the one in the middle.

"Hi," she approached the only Ravenclaw she knew, "Can I sit with you, Sophie?" she asked Lily's older sister.

"Of course, Gigi," replied Sophie politely, not hiding her surprise.

"Thanks," Gianah sat beside her and began eating.

"So," said Sophie, lowering the book she'd been reading, "I can see why you don't want to sit at the Slytherin table; my brother is there harvesting the attentions of yesterday's win."

"Yes," Gianah nodded curtly, "I don't want any part of that."

"But why not sit with the others at the Gryffindor table? Not that I'm kicking you out..."

"I can't," Gianah let out a sigh, "They'll have questions that I don't want to answer."

"Oh, I see," Sophie whispered, patting her arm in solidarity, "I won't ask any more questions then."

"Thanks," Gianah looked around them, noticing no one sat beside Sophie, "You're usually alone in here," it wasn't a question.

"Yep. And I don't mind," Sophie shrugged, "I got used to it. I don't feel very comfortable around people my age anyway – which might explain my current predicament, actually..." she finished in a near-whisper.

Gianah nodded, deciding not to pry, "You look sad."

Sophie gave her a small smile, "So do you."

"Yeah," Gianah exhaled, finishing making herself a sandwich and taking a sip of her latte, "I'm closing a chapter of my life, and as much as that hurts me... I know I must."

Sophie snorted, "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh but... you're not even thirteen yet, Gigi, how can you be closing a chapter of your life?"

"I know... but I am," she squared her shoulders and admitted in a quiet voice: "I'm putting an end to the Stephen Chapter."

Sophie's eyes widened and she nodded, "Oh, ok. I don't blame you. But... something has to have happened for you to do that."

"Something did happen," Gianah nodded, her eyes hardening, "Twice. But I'll accept that as a sign and... enough is enough, right? So, chapter closed."

Sophie nodded and raised her glass of orange juice towards Gianah, "Welcome to the heartbreak club."

Gianah returned the gesture by raising her own cup and they shared breakfast in silent camaraderie.

Note: Yes! YES! The drama is here! Oooh, I love it!