Chapter Thirteen
Nymphadora (God, how she hated that name) Tonks desperately tried to concentrate as Professor Kettleburn began the day's lesson on Griffins; truth be told, Tonks didn't even have to be here, seeing as it was her last year at Hogwarts, and she didn't really need a N.E.W.T. in Care of Magical Creatures to pursue her goal of becoming an Auror.
But Tonks had signed up for the class anyway, at the last minute, after seeing the new teachers who would be joining the staff at the Start-of-Term Feast; they were an odd bunch, the whole lot of them, and Tonks couldn't help but wonder if Dumbledore had finally lost his mind as she viewed them for the first time.
Tonks was a Metamorphmagus, which meant she could change her appearance whenever she so chose, an amazing ability as it was rare in the Wizarding World, and for the longest time, Tonks thought that she was alone in the world.
That was until the Star-of-Term Feast when she saw Beastboy for the first time and learned from her housemates what he could do; according to those of Muggle descent, he was not only a superhero (something that she was familiar with thanks to her own Muggleborn father). But he also was a shapeshifter like her, granted he could only turn into animals, but still, for the first time, Tonks dared to hope that perhaps she wasn't alone and immediately signed up for his class, for no other reason than to see if what they claimed was genuine.
Tonks still remembered how shocked and amazed she had been when the claims turned out to be entirely accurate; Beastboy had been asked to transform into a Sphinx by Professor Kettleburn, and most of the class had laughed out loud at what Beastboy had claimed to be able to do.
Those sneers were almost instantly transformed into gasps of shock as Beastboy grinned mischievously for a moment before spinning on the spot and changing into a giant green Sphinx as the Muggleborn students cheered wildly.
Tonks had almost fallen to her knees as she saw the Sphinx; for the first time in her life, she felt as though she wasn't alone and immediately decided that she would learn all she could about the green boy who had invaded her thoughts so wholly.
She'd tried a few times to talk to him either after class or in the halls, but each time, he'd flashed her that mischievous grin, and she seemed to have lost the ability to speak until he had passed her by.
The longer this went on, the more pissed she became with herself; she was hoping to be accepted into the Auror program next year, for crying out loud, and Aurors did not get tongue-tied because of some boy, no matter how good-looking he was!
Today was proving to be just as difficult as every other as Tonks let her eyes drift over to the subject of her distraction. Beastboy was wearing a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans and appeared bored as he casually leaned against a nearby tree while he waited for Professor Kettleburn to call him over and transform into that day's subject.
Seeing Tonks staring at him, Beastboy flashed that infernal grin of his and winked at her; she was grateful for her abilities in that instant, for if she didn't have them, Tonks was sure that she'd be blushing so bright that they would be able to see it from space.
"Today's the day!" Tonks thought with determination, "Today's the day I speak to him! No more of this schoolgirl bollocks! I mean, I AM a schoolgirl but still!"
"Beastboy, could you come over here, please?" Professor Kettleburn said as she turned to the green boy to tell him they were ready for him.
"Sure thing, Professor!" Beastboy called as he swaggered over; behind her, Tonks heard a girl sigh softly, and Tonks had to fight back a growl at the sound.
"Don't even think about it, hussy!" Tonks thought quickly, "He's mine!"
"Now, as Beastboy shows us what a Griffin looks like, I want you all to pay attention to his claws!" Professor Kettleburn thunders, "That's the part of the Griffin you need to watch out for!"
Giving him a nod, Professor Kettleburn took a step back as Beastboy spun on the spot and transformed into a large, ferocious-looking Griffin that left Tonks momentarily stunned with awe.
The rest of the day's lesson was a blur to her as Tonks barely registered what the Professor was saying, Tonks' sole attention being on the green creature that stood proudly in the center of their class.
When the class was finally dismissed, Tonks nervously shifted from foot to foot as she waited for the rest of her class to head back to the castle so she could speak to Beastboy, who was talking to Professor Kettleburn about the next class that would be arriving soon.
With a final nod, Professor Kettleburn turned and strode away, leaving Beastboy and Tonks alone; as he turned around, Beastboy looked at Tonks in surprise for a moment before that damned grin appeared again.
"Hey, Nymphadora, right?"
"Yeah, but please don't call me that," Tonks said in annoyance, "I don't know what my mum was thinking when she chose my name. It's my belief that the pain potions were a contributing factor in my name choice."
Beastboy laughed at that, and Tonks felt herself blush, which was thankfully hidden by her abilities,
"Could be worse," Beastboy said when he finally stopped laughing, "You could be named Garfield."
"Oof," Tonks said in sympathy, "Guess both our parents had it in for us."
"Suppose so," Beastboy chirped, "So what can I do for you?"
"Um…..well, you see, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out sometime after….after class, I mean."
Beastboy looked at Tonks for a moment in surprise before a wary look came over his face, making Tonks suddenly nervous.
"I don't mean any disrespect, but I don't think that's a good idea," Beastboy said at last, "I'm a teacher's aide here, and you're a student. People might get the wrong impression."
"I'm not asking you on a date!" Tonks scoffed, rolling her eyes to sell the ruse, "I want to hang out, maybe get to know you if you're alright with it. You see…. I'm a Metamorphmagus…."
"A what?" Beastboy asked as he cocks his head in confusion,
"A Metamorphmagus," Tonks said again slowly, "It means I can change my appearance at will."
"That's so cool!" Beastboy replied enthusiastically, making Tonks cheer internally as his response; she had been worried he would react differently, and to be shown otherwise made her almost giddy.
"Yeah, and it's a really rare ability," Tonks continued, "I think I'm the only one in all of Britain, and then you show up, and you've got abilities like mine, albeit a bit different, but still, I'd like to get to know you a bit better if you're alright with that?"
Beastboy ran a hand through his hair and sighed for a moment, making Tonks mentally frown as she prepared for him to decline again; after a moment of tense silence, Beastboy finally flashed another of those infernal grins that she's come to love.
"Sure, why not," Beastboy said warmly, "As long as it's just as friends, deal?"
"Deal!" Tonks replied, desperately trying not to show how deliriously happy she was, "So, I'll see you around, then."
Without another word, Tonks turned around and hurried away; once she was safely back in the castle, she issued a screech of excitement as she jumped toward the ceiling, eliciting looks of alarm from those who passed her by. Still, she paid them no notice; she got what she wanted.
X.X.X.X.
Raven's knee bounced nervously as she sat in the stands with the rest of Gryffindor house and waited for the game to begin; Harry's first Quidditch game against Slytherin was set to start in five minutes, and though she had told him that he would do great, she couldn't help but worry.
As the two teams made their way onto the field, Raven winced as the stands came alive with shouts and cheers; the boys of Harry's dorm had used one of the sheets Ron's rat had ruined to create a large sign that read "POTTER FOR PRESIDENT!" Hermione had then used an impressive bit of magic to make the words change color, and seeing it seemed to calm Raven if only a little bit.
As the two team captains shook hands, Raven glanced over at Beastboy and noticed that he had a very mischievous grin on his face, the same one that he wore whenever he and Harry would pull some prank, and Raven internally groaned as she tried to figure out what the two of them had planned this time.
Her answer comes almost immediately after the game begins. Harry suddenly stands up as if he's riding a skateboard instead of a flying broomstick and seems to snap his fingers; for a moment, nothing happened, and Raven wondered if whatever Harry had planned didn't work.
Seconds later, music began filling the stands, and Raven noticed what looked like speakers strategically placed through the stadium where they would have the best output; turning to Beastboy, Raven stared at him with a raised eyebrow for a moment, making her fellow Titan's grin grow even more prominent.
"Took Harry and me all night to get it set up," Beastboy said simply as the bass grew in intensity while the stadium roared with cheers.
"How?" Raven asked, "Electricity shouldn't work at Hogwarts, and unless I missed my guess, a stereo works on electricity."
"Cyborg and Jinx figured it out," Beastboy replied happily, "Took them forever, but I think the result speaks for itself, wouldn't you?"
Raven smiled and shook her head as she turned back to the game and her little brother, who was standing on his broom and waving his arms as though conducting a symphony as the stadium rang out with music and cheers in equal measure.
X.X.X.X.
Harry felt like his face was going to break as he stood on his broom and smiled; his plan had worked, his first game, and already he was sure that the whole school would be talking about it for years.
As the lyrics began, Harry began soaring around the stadium, standing straight up as though he were riding a skateboard; unknown to anyone else, his tentacles had come out of the bottom of his pants and were wrapped around his ankles and holding him to the broomstick. Still, it looked like he was standing on it effortlessly to everyone else.
"STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!
FOR WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE!
WE ARE THE DEALERS!
WE'LL GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED!"
Harry did a barrel roll as the lyrics echoed throughout the stadium; as he swung by one of the Weasley twins, who was beaming at Harry's prank, Harry raised his hand and gave a passing high-five before performing a three-sixty spin that caused more than a few people to gasp in fear that he might fall off.
"HAIL! HAIL TO THE GOOD TIMES!
CAUSE ROCK HAS GOT THE RIGHT OF WAY!
WE AIN'T NO LEGEND, AIN'T NO CAUSE, WE'RE JUST LIVING FOR TODAY!
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK!
WE SALUTE YOU!
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK!
WE SALUTE YOU!"
The stadium echoed with the chorus as the Muggleborns shouted it as loud as they could while those who didn't know the song copied what was being said by those close to them. Only the Slytherins seemed to find the whole thing ridiculous, and Harry laughed as he passed them, their boos appearing so silent compared to the rest of the stadium.
"WE ROCK AT DAWN, ON THE FRONT LINE,
LIKE A BOLT RIGHT OUT OF THE BLUE!
THE SKY'S ALIGHT WITH THE GUITAR BITE,
HEADS WIL ROCK AND ROLL TONIGHT!
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK, WE SALUTE YOU!
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK, WE SALUTE YOU!
By now, the whole stadium was echoing with the chorus (minus the Slytherins, of course), and Harry couldn't help but laugh with happiness at how well his prank had gone. Truth be told, he had been terrified as the day of his first game approached; (though he would have died before he admitted it). He knew that his dad had been on the Gryffindor house team and had been amazing if what his professors had told him was anything to go on. The thought that he couldn't measure up to James Potter's image made Harry more than a little nervous.
Deciding that it was time to stop fooling about, Harry had his tentacles release their hold on his broomstick before performing a backflip that made the stadium gasp in awe and landing comfortably on it.
As the song finally ended, Harry gripped the broomstick tight with one hand and raised his fist into the air, eliciting a roar of approval from the crowd before tearing off across the stadium in search of the snitch.
X.X.X.X.
Raven shook her head in exasperation, even as she fought the grin that was trying to spread across her face; around her, the Gryffindors around her screamed out their exaltations for her little brother, and Raven couldn't help but agree that James Potter would have very much approved of the way his son had begun his first ever Quidditch game.
As a bludger sent from one of the Weasley twins slammed into a Slytherin chaser, Robin let out an audible groan of disbelief,
"I can't believe that this game is allowed to exist. This is an emergency room's wet dream!"
"When magic can heal you in literal seconds, you don't really have to worry about things like getting too badly hurt," Raven replied, wincing as another bludger was sent from one of the twins at the same chaser, who luckily managed to dodge it this time.
"I find it quite enjoyable!" Starfire cried enthusiastically as she jumped up and down in her seat,
"Yeah, dude!" Beastboy added, "This is awesome!"
"I think Harry's spotted the snitch!" Hermione shouted excitedly, causing many to cast their gaze toward the sight of Harry and the Slytherin seeker racing side-by-side toward the ground at breakneck speed. At the same time, Raven watched and nervously chewed her lip.
A moment later, a groan echoed throughout the stadium as the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, cut Harry off just as he was about to capture the snitch, causing Harry's broom to spin out of control.
"Foul!" Screamed the Gryffindors.
"Cheating prick!" Beastboy shouted, "That can't be legal!"
"It's not!" Ron barked, "But what else do you expect from a Slytherin!"
Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goalposts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, the snitch was lost; down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling,
"Send him off, ref! Red card!"
"This isn't football, Dean," Ron reminded him, "And what's a red card?"
As Dean explained, Raven watched her brother with narrowed eyes; something was wrong, Harry's broomstick was behaving oddly, jerking erratically, and from the look on Harry's face, it was not him doing it.
As Raven watched, the broom suddenly began to buck like a wild horse as Harry held on for dear life,
"What the hell's going on?!" Raven cried as the crowd watched in horror,
"Did something happen when Flint blocked him?" Seamus asked.
"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking, "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful dark magic; no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand!"
At these words, Raven tore her gaze away from her little brother and began scanning the crowd with laser focus, searching for anyone who might be the cause of what was happening to her brother's broomstick.
Suddenly, Raven's eyes landed on Professor Quirrell, who she saw looked muttering while staring at Harry with an almost obsessed intensity; looking over at Robin, Raven saw that he too was staring at Quirrell, and he quickly nodded at her before turning and disappearing, into the crowd.
X.X.X.X.
"What the hell is wrong with this thing!" Harry snarled as his broom rolled and bucked interminably to throw him off; it had been fine a few moments ago, but now it seemed to have gone completely out of control and was beginning to piss Harry off.
As the broom performed another barrel roll, Harry saw below him the glint of gold; the snitch was hovering a hundred feet beneath him, there for the taking.
"Screw this!" Harry snarled as he let go of his broom handle and dove out into the open air; screams echoed around him instantly, and Harry had to fight not to laugh as he realized that no one knew he could fly and probably thought his broomstick had finally thrown him off.
As the air rushed past him, Harry flattened himself out so that he looked like an arrow and dove straight toward the snitch; as the ground grew closer and closer, Harry could hear screams echoing around him and couldn't help but smile.
At the last possible second, as his fingers closed around the object of his attention, Harry felt someone grab hold of his robe and jerk him back, momentarily choking him before the two crashed into the ground hard and rolled several feet.
As Harry lay gasping on his back, he turned his head to see that it had been Katie Bell, one of his teammates who had grabbed him and was now sporting what looked like a broken leg and arm while her broom lay several feet away.
"Are you okay?" Harry gasped out, causing Katie to laugh weakly before gritting her teeth in pain,
"Am I okay?! You just fell about a hundred feet! Are you okay is the real question!"
"I'm fine!" Harry replied though he felt anything but, "Takes a lot more than that to kill me!"
"Good for you!" Katie replied sarcastically as the rest of the Gryffindor team descended upon them.
"Are you both okay!" Wood asked as he landed and quickly landed and kneeled between them,
"NO!" Harry and Katie answered in unison, making the other team members chuckle.
"That was brilliant, Harry!" Fred cried out,
"Never seen anything like it!" George added.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" Raven roared as she descended on her brother, who winced slightly, "YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! WHY THE HELL DID YOU JUMP OFF OF YOUR BROOM!?"
"The stupid thing was about to throw me off!" Harry defended, "I couldn't hold on much longer, and in case you forgot, I can fly!"
"Then why didn't you!" Raven demanded as she stared down at Harry, her arms crossed in anger.
"I was about to when Katie grabbed me!"
"So it's my fault?!" Katie screeched, making Harry wince at his poor choice of words,
"No! I didn't mean it like that; I'm sorry, Katie." Harry replied, looking suitably abashed,
"We need to get the two of you to the Hospital Wing," Wood said quickly as the rest of the stadium descended upon the fallen players.
"Indeed!" Professor McGonagall added in a harsh tone, "Never in all my years have I seen anything so idiotic as a student jumping off of their broom, Mr. Potter! You're lucky to be alive!"
"You and I are going to be having a very in-depth discussion later," Raven growled, making Harry gulp slightly as Professor McGonagall raised her wand and began to levitate Harry and Katie toward the castle.
Once they were gone, Raven turned towards Robin, who had just managed to fight his way through the crowd to her,
"Guess you didn't make it in time?" Raven snapped,
He was gone by the time I got there," Robin growled back, "Must've taken off when Harry jumped from his broom."
"Then let's get after him!" Beastboy snapped, his eyes turning into feline-like slits,
"Dumbledore will never believe us!" Robin retorted, "He can barely stand us as is."
"So we just let this pass!?" Raven snarled, "He tried to kill my brother!"
"I know!" Robin retorted, "But we have no proof, and until we do, all we can do is watch him and hope he slips up."
"Guess this proves you were right," Beastboy sneered, "The dude really is the one we're looking for."
"I want him watched at all times!" Raven growled, "If he so much as looks in my brother's direction in a way that feels threatening, his ass is mine!"
"I'm next in line after you," Beastboy growled as the group made their way towards the castle.
X.X.X.X.
Author's Note:
For those about to rock was written by AC/DC; as such, I claim no legal ownership over the song whatsoever. 600 follows! Holy crap! I had no idea when I was writing this that so many people would enjoy reading it; I'm honored that you all like it so much, and I hope I can continue to keep you all entertained with my story. The pressure is on to keep up the momentum now, lol.
I apologize for how long it's taken me to update lately; life has been getting in the way recently; I hope this will sate your appetite for now. Unfortunately, I didn't put the midnight duel and finding Fluffy part where it should be. That's because it's my story, and I'm writing it differently than J.K. Rowling did; don't worry, it's coming. Reviews are always welcome as they help me plan what comes next, what to continue, and what to drop. I hope ya'll like it!