Anything that rings a bell belongs to JK Rowing

Chapter Twenty: Support Trisula Chatsworth

I'm in love.

What size?

Ky, no, seriously, I'm in love.

Sure Lenzo, what size?

That doesn't matter….32C…. but that seriously doesn't matter….

Sure Lenzo, Runway?

What? I didn't say she's a model….

She's not a model?

I didn't say she's not a model either…. it's a secret…

You'redatinga Victoria Secret Angel!

Shhh Ky, Don't scream!

You and Linus seriously need to learn the difference between reading and talking, one of those can occur without the aid of sound.

What about sign language?

…. back to your Angel, what's her name.

I can't say, we're keeping it low profile. But it rhymes with Kiranda Merr

Wow, it's a proud moment when a younger sister finds out her brother is undergoing an illicit affair with Miranda Kerr

What? It's not an illicit affair Ky, we're two consenting adults...

That likes to play hide and seek under the sheets, I know. But that's not what makes it an illicit affair, the fact that one of the people playing has a playmate out of the covers.

What, you know I don't have a girlfriend!

Yes, I know that. But she does.

She has a girlfriend? Oh my god please let it be that Adriana chick she went to lunch with yesterday.

No doofus she doesn't have a girlfriend. She has a boyfriend. Orlando Bloom

Legolas?

YES!

I have to go…I love you, be good, toodles.

"Who's Trisula Chatsworth?" Ky looked up at the familiar voice that floated towards her in the empty corridor. She pocketted her Parch, still smiling at Lenzo's silliness. She did miss her brothers.

Apple was clad in casual clothes, he walked over to her and she noticed he had done something different with his hair, which she didn't notice had some bronze highlights hidden amid the neat locks.

"She's a girl."

"I figured. I don't know anybody by that name that goes here though."

"Oh, she doesn't go here. Actually, I don't know if she goes anywhere."

"Then how can she be the real Hogwarts Champion?"

"No idea, but the twins have sold like a hundred of these badges on my behalf."

He laughed, tearing his eyes away from her creation, the 'support Trisula Chatsworth, the real Hogwarts Champion' badge.

He leaned against the wall, "Too cool for Hogsmeade trips I see?"

She shrugged, "Yes, but that's not why I'm not going."

He shook his head at her, "You got detention again?"

"She did, one that she is very late for."

Ky turned at the strict voice and smiled widely, "Ten minutes isn't very late Zia Minnie."

"Ten seconds is very late." Ky laughed and was joined by Zia Mona, who exitted Minnie's office.

Mona's laughter was replaced by a huge smile, "Cedric! Why aren't you down in Hogsmeade?"

He gave his head of house a charming smile. "Had some things to take care of Professor Sprout. But I've done them and I'm on my way."

"Brilliant. I'm sure you won't mind escorting Miss Thornton down as well." Mona smiled at Minnie, "It seems her detention has been postponed."

"Postponed does not mean cancelled. And this by no mean justifies replacing Vincent Crabbe's ears with tomatoes." Ky leapt forward and hugged Minnie, and then Mona, who she knew was behind this.

"It was an improvement to his previous disposition. Thanks Zia Minnie."

"Don't thank me, thank Mona, she seems to think missing one frivolous day of social interaction with your peers will scar you for life."

"Watch out Minnie, you sound an awful lot like Sev. If I didn't know any better, I would think that he replaced Rosm- "

"Finish that sentence and I'll add another ten detentions to your already growing repertoire."

Ky laughed and grabbed Apple's elbow and walked away, turning to blow a kiss at the one chuckling, and the other fuming, ladies.

-x-x-x-

"I really think we should turn back; I don't think we're allowed back here."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, we just went through a door that said authorised personnel only!"

"Well jokes on you, I am authorised personnel."

"Of course you are, that's why we're sneaking around and whispering."

"Not to mention doing a poor job of it."

They both snapped around to the voice. It was a skinny girl who was almost Apple's height. She had shocking pink hair and seemed to have played 'construction yard' on her face with the amount of foundation she had on. She was also wearing a very yellow, short dress.

The girl was practically gorging Apple with her sharp brown eyes. Ky stepped forward, giving her a warm smile and she backed away in response.

"Dominique Maestro? Oh, I am so glad we found you. We were looking for ages. This is Chester…Cobain. And I'm his sister…Haley. We sent word last week about a meeting, it must have got lost in the…owlery."

She cocked her eyebrow at Ky, and then looked at Cedric. Taking him in from top strand of hair to shiny formal shoes; she knew it was safer to say he was her brother; she'd play nice if he appeared single.

She then spoke to him, "I'm not Dominic Maestro. That's my…father. He isn't in at the moment. I could help you though. Follow me." She looked at Ky and gave her a fake smile, "Why don't you be a good wittle girl and wait out here whilst I help your big bwuda out?"

Why was she talking to her like she was five… did Ky inhale too much of that age potion in Zonko's? Well, might as well make a quick getaway, she only came in to see Maestro.

"It's OK…we'll come back some other time." Cedric quickly said, walking towards the door, which lay behind her.

With speed that surprised Ky and caught him unaware, the girl turned and pushed Apple against the wall. An impressive feat considering she didn't even touch him but threatened him with close contact. He was pressed up against the wall so much he looked like he was trying to merge with it. Without looking at Ky, she said, "Go now, sweetie. Your darling brother and I have a lot of notes to record. Loud and long notes. Very loud and very long."

She simpered up at him and Ky thought she actually heard the boy whimper. She shrugged, and headed for the door. The guy looked like he deserved a bit of fun, and if she was willing, who was Ky to deny the love birds.

She entered the main shop, flipping through random vinyl records. She loved how everything in the Wizarding World was antique chic.

"The Pixies. You have a good eye for music, bella." Ky turned and looked at the huge man that entered the shop. He had a neatly trimmed black beard and black hair slicked back with copious amounts of gel. He stunk of cigars and his teeth were yellow. He wore a dull green suit and had a fancy cane.

"They are a muggle band."

"Presently yes, but a decade ago they were the Cornish Pixies and played at the Hogs Head Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays for a sickle. Not a bad band either but succumbed ..."

He sighed and shook his head, a look of mourning on his face. "It happens to the best of them. It happened to little Johnie and Paulie. I remember when those two were in here every other afternoon. Until they succumbed to it too."

"To what?"

"To the impatience. The impatience to go out and make it big. I heard those two went on to form some band that caused quite a stir in the Muggle world. Spiders or something like that. I choose to forget them once they leave the Resistance."

"The Resistance?"

"Yes. A little bambina like you won't know of course. It's been going on for years. I've headed it and my father before me."

"And what is it that you resist?"

"The Magical World of course and their take on the artistry that is music. Tell me bella, how many wizarding bands do you know. And I'm not talking about the Weird Sisters!"

Ky shrugged, "I actually don't know a lot of wizard music but that's because-"

"Such a painful thought, to live in such a world of magic and wonder but not take advantage of all its avenues. The young are not to blame though, what legacy have we left behind. So many of our greats leave this world to explore the much more fruitful world of music the muggles have. Frank, Elvis -"

Ky stuck out her hand and gave him a firm handshake, successfully stopping his rant.

"Ky Thornton, Mr Maestro. I do believe I have just the thing for your resistance."

Before he could reply, the door that she closed earlier burst open and Apple fell through, his hair messier than usual and his shirt sticking out from under his sweater vest. He was panting and was looking around like a runaway convict for an escape route.

Seconds later Pink-Hair Slut-Dress emerged with a predatory smirk on her face. She saw her victim and was about to pounce when Maestro interrupted her.

"Anna! What is going on here?"

Looks like someone has to sit down and have the talk with her dad. Wasn't it obvious, the lipstick stains on Apple's sweater and cheek were a perfect match to the one Anna was sporting?

Anna's face went as pink as her hair. "Dom, love…you're back! Ohhh, how I missed you!"

She lunged herself at the hulking man, but he only had eyes for Apple.

"You son of a-"

He used his seeker reflexes and dodged the man, grabbed Ky by the elbow and ran for the door.

Ky turned and waved at the red-faced Maestro, "Maybe we can talk again later?" She shouted but she doubt he heard; he was too busy throwing hexes at Apple.

He chased them right down the main street, they lost him when Apple pulled them into an alley towards the end of the street and hid behind a huge dumpster.

Ky watched Maestro walk off and dusted herself as she straightened up, looking down at Apple who was still crouched down hiding, "Well thanks for ruining my business meeting!"

He opened his mouth and closed it and then opened it again, "What! What! WHAT?"

"Well, you got caught frenching the Old Man's woman, didn't you?"

"I was not frenching that foul woman. I was being accosted by her. I was lucky to get away with my virginity!" He blushed slightly at the end, unwillingly confessing his sexual status.

"Well, you could have at least taken one for the team. Keep the minx busy whilst I persuaded big daddy to go halfsies on my pet music project. But No. I don't even know why I brought you."

"You didn't bring me! I accompanied you because I didn't want to leave you alone until you found your friends. Something, by Helga, I will never do again!"

"Oh, come now Apple…"

"Stop with that ridiculous name!" His face was red, and he looked exasperated. He got off the floor and pushed passed her. He was at the end of the alleyway, and he turned around, "Walk! I'm not leaving you in an alleyway! Where are your friends?"

He was so cute when he was angry, she couldn't help but burst out laughing at his red face and crazy eyes. That seemed to do it though, the snowflake that tipped him over the edge. He walked towards Ky with a determined look in his eyes; he stood in front of her for a second and then bent down and hoisted her onto his back caveman style.

Ky didn't resist, it was kind of fun. Her head was getting that pleasant buzz caused by the sudden rush of blood.

She stuck her hand out straight ahead of her, "To the potion store!" they moved a few steps and then she felt Apple move her from his shoulder and a heartbeat later she fell onto something soft.

Her nose was engulfed by a pungent smell. She looked up at him, actually shocked. Ky never knew Apple had it in him to toss her into a dumpster. She tried to stand up swimming in the dirt. She looked up at him, "Fine fine, you proved your point, now can you please get me out of here, something is crawling up my leg."

He quickly moved forward; she could see he was already regretting his rash decision.

Ahhhh, Hufflepuff…. Ky pulled hard on his proferred hand and he toppled into the Dumpster face first.

"Don't try to school the Professor newbie!" Ky laughed and tried to scramble to her feet again, but he was doing a good job of pulling her deeper into the pile of dirt.

"Fine fine, Apple we had our fun. The attack and counterattack have concluded. Let us wave the white flag of cowardice and be of." He gave her a quizzical look. Ky shook her head at his stupidity.

"That means stop pulling me down and lets both get out."

Apple continued to look at her in confusion, his left hand picking out the potato peel from his hair whilst his right searched for more debris on his person. The realisation that something else was pulling her down dawned on them simultaneously.

They scrambled for the edge, and she thought sheer adrenalin hoisted them over, and they fell to the ground.

They paused for a second, eyes fixed on the dumpster. Then suddenly there was a loud bang to their left, they snapped their heads like alert owls and saw a figure emerge from the nearby door, a black bin bag in his hand.

The only thing that could be made out in the dim light that seemed to unknowingly descend on them as the sun set was that the man had a silver beard, not as impressive as Nonno's though. He started towards them swearing and swatting them away and for the second time that day they made like bananas and split.

They ran back the whole way, not realising that it had gotten dark already and Filch would be closing up shop in a few minutes. Ky was running up the pathway to the Castle when an idea struck her, she quickly turned to her right and raced down the hills. She finally reached her destination and hopped into the Black Lake with a satisfying splash.

Ky plunged up screaming, "I don't skinny dip! I chunky dunk!"

She ducked down in the water again. She heard another splash, and all was silent for a few minutes. She did a few laps, not going in too deep and then circled back to the shore. She jumped out and Apple followed.

He had the good sense to take off his shirt and shoes before jumping into the lake. A weird sensation passed over her at the sight of his naked chest and water-soaked hair and she quickly averted her eyes. He walked over to her, shaking his head.

"You really just do, Kid. No thinking."

"I think. I just do as well. I don't re-think."

He chuckled softly at her. "It did get rid of the stench."

She looked up at him, "Us being in a dumpster is my fault?"

"Well, you did get us chased by a jealous curse throwing Italian."

"Only because you were loving it up with his piece of meat."

"Only because you threw me off like a piece of meat to a dog to distract."

"Well, if you played nicely this whole thing wouldn't have happened." He knelt down behind her and started siphoning out the water from her hair with his wand. She started with her shirt.

"Well forgive me if I think it's wrong to…indulge in such intimacies with strangers."

Ky could feel his breath on her neck as he worked on her hair, and she understood what he meant by trust being one of those things that was above the physical realm. She could feel his sincerity, know that she was safe. He let go of her hair which wasn't dripping anymore and helped her up. He held out his navy blue jumper to her and when she didn't take it, he looped it over her head. She slowly slipped it on; it was huge and enveloped her, only snug at her chest. It smelled of nice cologne, something she now realised Apple always smelled of. She folded it a bit at the bottom and pulled her hair out the collar and it spilled out around her. Apple had been giving her a deep stare, and she returned it in kind.

"Well, if I knew we were going swimming, I would have carried my trunks."

Ky looked up at the sarcastic drawl which could only belong to one person. Apple tried out his charming smile which washed off Sev like water off a duck's back.

Sev cocked his head at Ky which she knew was his equivalent of dragging her away. She rolled her eyes and followed, waving at Cedric as they walked away, he returned it with a salute, and she smiled. Who would have thought he had a sense of humour in him. Ky jogged a bit and fell in step with Sev.

"I found that Valerian Essence we discussed in adding to the-"

"He is seventeen."

"Erm…OK…yeah and I just bought an ounce for now-"

"Seventeen-year-old boys want just one thing from naïve fourteen-year-old girls."

She rolled her eyes, "And boys of other age groups want something else, is it?"

"You're not helping your case."

"There's no case to help Sensei. Cedric is just a friend. We went down to Hogsmeade, and I couldn't find Mi, so he stayed with me. And you said it yourself, he's seventeen, I'm practically a baby in his eyes."

Sev actually rolled his eyes at this. "Sure, that's what he thinks. Please think of your position in this school before you jump fully clothed into lakes with random boys."

"Oh, and you would prefer the alternative to fully clothed? "Ky laughed at his stern side glance.

"I would prefer no jumping in the lake at all. It's not behaviour befitting…you." He looked like he was going to say something and changed gears halfway. "You're passed curfew by the way. You both will be serving detention. Separately of course and far away from any bodies of water."

"Whatever you say Sensei. Whatever makes you sleep better at night. By the way, is Nonno around?"

"He's up in his office. Don't think I won't tell him about your little stunt."

"Don't worry Sensei, I'll be glad to be the storyteller tonight. Toodles."

Ky skipped up the stairs to her grandfather's office, her neck considerably warm opposing the night's chill.

A/N: I hope you're enjoying this so far! Thank you for reading!