A Younger Generation of Keepers

Chapter 6: Winds of Change (Part 4)

Jessica's pov

The initiation ceremony felt like the perfect opportunity to get closer to Garreth and collect information about his recent breakup with Mia.

"Why the bad mood Garreth? Are you sad that Cressida's not here" I used some sarcasm as I approached him with a cold drink in my hand.

"I couldn't care less about her, or what she's up to" Garreth let out with disgust and then added " I want Mia back!"

"Well, it's not really my place to get involved, but I think you should let her go" I tried to sound as polite as possible for the sake of our old friendship.

"She's not happy with Eric, Jess, I see it in her eyes" Garreth expressed.

"No, you're just saying that because your ego got hurt" I really wanted to hold back, but I could not; the words kept coming out of my mouth uncontrollably.

"I will get her back!" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Garreth!" I raised my voice "I will not just stand there and let you play with her emotions again...Mia is my friend"

"So was I" Garreth sighed and walked away. It was indeed true; we alienated him as a group after he broke up with Mia, but we had a legit reason to do so. It was entirely his fault that he left her.

"Hey there, Jess" Imelda emerged, cutting me off from all these thoughts. She looked stunning in a green strapless dress that complemented her hazel eyes.

"Hello Imelda, how are you? Feeling good about the new Slytherin team, I suppose?"

"Definitely, we're going to win this cup in no time!" Imelda replied with pride.

"Haha, let's see how it goes" I laughed.

"Anyway! Have you heard the latest gossip?" Of course she would not be able to keep a secret for longer than 5 seconds.

"Oh! Enlighten me!"

Her eyes shined bright at the sound of my words. Imelda's second favourite activity, after Quidditch, was gossiping about other students' business.

"George and Grace have done it in the Prefects Bathroom! And possibly more than once" Imelda gave me a cunning look.

"Shut up!" I exclaimed, unable to contain my surprise.

"Grace told Nerida Roberts, who told me all about it" Imelda explained.

What a bomb did Imelda just drop? George and Grace screwing each other in the Prefects Bathroom? That's why Poppy was under the impression that George was seeing someone. How should I deal with this information now? Do I tell Mia or not?

"So Jess...is there any drama between Garreth, Eric and Mia?" Imelda questioned, hoping that I would leak any new information.

"I actually have no idea! I need to go find Sebastian, I'll see you around" I ended our conversation since I had no desire whatsoever to reveal anything about Mia's private life.

Grayson's pov

I was hanging with Ominis on a desk nearby the room's entrance, not leaving his side, in case any unwanted visitors wanted to make an appearance again.

Hector and Poppy had independently opted to join us, but they were not really talking or interacting with each other, ultimately creating an awkward atmosphere between the four of us. Fortunately, the silence was drowned out by the loud music produced by the enchanted instruments.

Things only got worse once Adelaide came to our desk and sat next to Poppy. The two Hufflepuffs had a not-so-friendly chat, which resulted to Poppy having an angry look on her face. She walked away, almost bumping into Jessica, who evaded her with a swift reaction.

"What's up with her?" she asked me, whilst looking back at Poppy, who had already moved to the other side of the room, followed by Adelaide.

"Adelaide said something that made her upset, or so it seemed" I answered.

"Whatever, I can't bother dealing with Adelaide right now" Jessica rolled her eyes.

"Hey Jess" Hector chimed in, greeting her kindly.

"Hello Hector! Congratulations on becoming the new Ravenclaw team captain" Jessica smiled.

"Thanks! I've been trying to get your friend, Grayson here, to join the team" Hector tapped me lightly on the shoulder "but...he's more interested in singing".

I simply chuckled without saying anything, I knew Hector believed I was going to be a good Chaser, but Quidditch was not my really my cup of tea. Watching it was entertaining enough, but participating in it as a Ravenclaw member was something entirely different.

While we were all making small talk, Ominis stood up and slowly left. I waited a few seconds to avoid raising suspicions before following him. I finally caught up to him near the drinks table.

"What's wrong?" I asked him as he was pouring some juice in his cup.

"I can't stand your friend Hector, he's arrogant and sounds constantly flirty, even though he knows Jess is with Sebastian" Ominis expressed his annoyance.

"That's how Hector speaks, maybe you shouldn't be too judgemental with people you don't know". I was not defending Hector's actions, but in my opinion Ominis was overexaggerating, Hector was being friendly with everyone.

"Do you? You've only met him last year!" his tone was rather aggressive.

"So? It's not like you ever got to know him! You might've been to Hogwarts for a long time, but you've only had two friends until last year, Sebastian and his twin sister" I was practically shouting since the instruments were kind of covering our voices up.

Ominis' face turned somewhat crimson, and even though he turned around and started to walk away, I could clearly see the wrath building within him.

"Seriously?" I let out, but he was already too far away to hear me.

George's pov

After observing a heated conversation between Grayson and Ominis from afar, I made my way back to the desk, where Jess and Hector were sitting. Whilst taking a sip from my drink, I noticed Grace moving towards me with a smile.

"Hey" she raised her cup.

"Hello Grace" I greeted her rather distantly.

"Would you like a drink?" she asked with a seductive tone.

"I'm good, thanks, just got one" I scanned the room without looking at her. She got the message, as she stood up visibly annoyed and walked away.

Don't get me wrong, Grace is pretty awesome, but I wanted to keep things casual between us.

Suddenly, Sebastian approached me from behind, his arm around my shoulder. "What's going on?" he asked, his gaze drawn to Jessica and Hector.

"Don't worry, they've just been talking about Quidditch" I reassured him.

With a satisfied glance in my direction Sebastian made his way to Jessica, interrupting her conversation with Hector and kissing her passionately. In an attempt to avoid all this love that Jessica and Sebastian were radiating throughout the room, I turned around and spotted a blonde Ravenclaw girl smiling at me, standing next to Astoria Crickett, who was pouring her a drink.