Our two enemy worlds - A Harry Potter Romance

Chapter thirteen : Snowball battle

Over the next few days, Daphne gradually felt her good humour returning. Harry had forgiven her and they were talking in a friendly manner again. However, she didn't know if this meant that Harry would agree to continue his defence lessons at the weekends. He would have every right to refuse after what had happened last week. Especially as winter approached, the teachers were doubling their demands and giving them new assignments all the time. Would it be better to wait a little longer before asking him, or would he agree to it now that things had calmed down between them ? Daphne didn't want to risk pushing things too fast and ruining their recent reconciliation. She could wait another couple of days before asking him after all.

The snow had been falling all week, so the opportunity for the Hogwarts students to enjoy it the following weekend was not missed.

After a good two hours of skating on the ice of the black lake, Daphne and her friends had now started a snowball fight in the school yard. The stone columns that lined the schoolyard made an excellent shield against the projectiles. Prompted by their competitive spirit, their group had split into two teams. On one side, Daphne, Adalinda and Millicent, and on the other, Pansy, Tracey and Lorella, a friend of Millicent who had joined them. The rules ? There weren't really any. All tricks were allowed. The only principle was that after being hit three times, you were eliminated.

After about thirty minutes, the game had become rather tight as Lorella and Millicent had both been knocked out of the game, taking the opportunity to chat on the edge of the fountain, and each of those who were still in the running had only one life left.

-You don't stand a chance," Daphne taunted them. I trained with Astoria all last winter !

-We'll see about that !" replied Tracey, throwing a snowball that passed within ten centimetres of her opponent's head.

All four of them were now in fairly strategic positions to be more or less out of reach of the others. It was therefore necessary to find a way out of this impasse.

-Well," Daphne began to whisper to her friend. I'm going to try a risky manoeuvre and you'll have to cover me.

The witch wedged three large balls into one of her arms and grabbed a fourth in her right hand.

-On the count of three, you divert their attention by throwing a flurry of balls at the spot where they' re hidden. They will try to take cover. And that's when I step in. I'll run towards them and bomb them both before they can look up and see what's happening to them. How's that ?

-Good !

Daphne had barely finished saying "three" when Adalinda turned into a human cannonball and started throwing snowball after snowball at the enemy team. Their ruse worked perfectly. Daphne didn't wait another minute to run as fast as she could and reach the wall behind which Pansy and Tracey had taken refuge.

-Gotcha !" she shouted as she leapt to their side and hurled her stash of balls at her two friends who had not seen it coming. She hit her targets in the chest.

-Aaaaah, they both protested.

-Victory !" rejoiced Daphne, making small jumps on the spot. Ady ! Ady, we won !

Pansy, usually a sore loser, had to admit that they had earned their victory this time.

-We'll have our revenge !" said Tracey anyway.

-We'll do it again whenever you want," she answered with a smile up to her ears.

Millicent and Lorella had now got up and joined them.

-Would you like to play something else ?

-How about a game of 'Witch Hunter' !

The rules of the game were quite simple. The witch hunter would blindfold themselves and call out "Who goes there !", and the other players, the witches, would respond by calling out the name of the famous witch the group had chosen. If the hunter caught one of the witches and was able to recognise her identity, that witch became the hunter and the game continued. Daphne didn't play it very often because it was more fun with more than one person and she and Astoria were only two.