The Girl Who Vanished

Chapter 8: "Take Them, Blondie"

Getting thrown into a wall by a teacher might've been the most beneficial beating Ana had ever received, because the twins never bothered her once. She was surprised; she figured they would have gone harder on her since her guard was down. But anytime the twins had ever given her a speck of attention, all they did was give her a cheeky wink and point to their wrists, signifying that she was on borrowed time. She'd take what she was given.

With the weight lifted off her shoulder she was able to focus on things that she had been neglecting. She had been spending more time with Professor Sprout in the greenhouses and even had seen Professor Snape about a few of the spells she read about in the book she borrowed. Of course Alex and Calista weren't going to know about the latter; they would have given her a hard time about being so invested in the book. Snape wasn't the most cheery person to talk about, but even Ana had to admit that the man knew what he was doing when it came to defense against the dark arts.

But one of the biggest events that Ana was able to focus on was the Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw match that Lucian had ben hounding her for days on. The last game Ravenclaw played resulted in the loss of one of their players, the boy that Ana say in the hospital. She got released far before the injured boy did, and from what she could see of his damage, he wasn't going to be leaving the infirmary anytime soon. Because of that, the stand in for their keeper was rumored to be pretty terrible on the broom.

"I've seen this kid before!" Lucian hollered in excitement as he scrapped at the bacon and eggs on his plate. "First year, he could hardly stay on his broom and now he's the alternate? We've got this game in the bag. And when we win, we'll be in the finals!"

The boy took a big gulp of his pumpkin juice looking awfully proud of himself. But none of the girls were convinced. It wasn't like him to be bragging about winning a match, especially before the match even begun.

"Lucian, you need to cool it or else your big head is going to cost you the game," Alex laughed at him. Calista and Ana exchanged similar looks, meanwhile Lucian glared at his sister with a dirty glare.

"Look, I'm just excited," he justified, his excitement dwindling to zero so he began to take it out on his food. His knife was nearly cracking the plate in half as he was attacking his breakfast with a sudden burst of irritation. "You guys would be too if you knew you were about to win a game."

Alex and Calista huffed loudly at the boy, which didn't make his expression falter. If anything he looked more upset. Ana remained quiet though; whatever high Lucian was on was bound to end one way or another.

"Just, don't try to jinx it," Calista brought to his attention while she took a spoonful of her extremely sugary cereal. "We want you to be excited, but not conceited. Sure, the Ravenclaw player may not be good, but you can't guarantee a win."

Lucian's downtrodden look only got worse as he got up from his seat, leaving his meal half eaten. With a sad glance at his friends, he left them alone without another word, stomping loudly out the Great Hall. Ana, Alex, and Calista all looked at each other guiltily. Ana hated seeing the usually upbeat and cheery boy look so dejected.

"Guys, I'm gonna go talk to him," Alex said as she grabbed her waffle in her bare hands and began to stand from her seat. "I don't want him going into the game upset."

Both the girls agreed, knowing that Alex would probably be the best person to talk him down from his high horse. That or she'd make it worse by instigating him even more. Either option seemed possible at the moment. All Ana knew was that she hated seeing Lucian so upset; what they said was honest but she understood why he took it to heart. "Want us to come with you?"