✔️ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎 → ℎ. 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

18 | S E T B A C K

at some point I started looking at the
ground more than the sky.

 
  "THAT'S NOT WHAT I said!", Ember scoffed, rolling her eyes at Hannah and Susan. "It's no control. No, I didn't call it control. But I — I somehow can — can hold it back now."

   "But that's gorgeous! I don't even get why you don't see this as a success", Susan replied in excitement. "It's exactly what you wanted, isn't it? No sudden outbursts, and Umbridge won't detect your little gift!"

   It was. But on the other hand it wasn't. It wasn't satisfying at all, and Ember wanted more. She wanted awareness, she wanted control. Because — and it hurts to admit it — Draco Malfoy had been right; Ember's gift was controlling her, not the other way round, and it sucked. Just imagining what she could actually do if she would be able to control this darkness was overwhelming!

   "See, I know this is exhausting, but —", Hannah started, but Ember cut her off by shaking her head wildly.

   "It's not that", she replied. "It's just not enough!" Susan and Hannah had been so delighted when Ember told them that she could surpress her outbursts now, and Ember didn't understand why. "You read the same books I did, did you? All those possibilities! Hiding, traveling, — fighting! I could punch Voldemort's nose with darkness!"

   "Letting out the aspect that he doesn't have a nose, your argument is invalid", Susan dryly answered.

   "But you know what I mean!" Ember threw her hands up in despair. "I could — I could make Umbridge's life a living hell! I could give her the sweetest revenge for what she did to Harry. And Fred and George. Everyone! No one would ever dare to mess with us! I —"

   "Okay lady, that's enough!", Susan snapped. "You're getting a bit high on all of this, I fear. Revenge? Spreading fear?" She narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me, but who are you? Weren't you always afraid of that this power would hurt someone?" Ember blinked at her. "You're aware that this is what you're planning right now, are you?"

   Face growing cold and pale, Ember felt like being slapped. A part of her was complaining, yelling that Susan and Hannah had no idea, that they didn't understand; the other part was highly alarmed about her own words, and even more about the feelings they gave her.

   "Sorry, got dragged away", she muttered, sighing. "It's — it's just —"

   "Frustrating, yes", Hannah said with a soft smile on her lips, rubbing Ember's back. "Everything will turn out fine, you'll see. Once you can control it, those thoughts will go away."

   And hopefully she was right.

·

   "It was not your fault. You were great. You were fabulous!" Fred patted Ember's back; the girl herself had her head buried in her hands, still dressed in her canary yellow Quidditch uniform. That was how Fred and George found her sitting by the lake, shivering in the first thin layer of snow, about an hour after Hufflepuff had been defeated by Ravenclaw. "It was just bad luck, Emmie, c'mon!"

   "Oh, you didn't hear Smith", Ember growled, her voice muffled in her palms.

   "Please, who ever listens to Smith?", George snorted, and even without seeing it, Ember knew he was rolling his eyes.

   "It wasn't easy to be overheard when he called me an insufferable, talentfree wastrel in front of the whole school ..."

   "Ember, the Snitch appeared right in front of Chang's head!", Fred exclaimed with a groan. "She literally just had to stretch out her hand for it! There's no way you could have done anything to prevent it."

   "Well, then I should have seen it sooner!", Ember snapped, jerking up in a sudden move, and Fred's hand flinched back in surprise. Ember looked into his startled face, shaking her head. "I'm sorry", she muttered. "It's just ... I wanted to make him proud ..." The lump in her throat she hadn't felt for a while was way too present again, causing Ember to swollow hard.

   "He is proud, Emmie", said Fred. "He's never been anything less of you.  Even ol' Diggory didn't win every single match. You did a great job out there."

   "Plus, you haven't been banned", George added, ruffling her raven black hair. "That's a bonus. Seems like Umbridge grew a liking in you!"

   "Or maybe she didn't whip Smith's arse after the match", Fred suggested, scoffing.

   "What doesn't mean that he wouldn't deserve it", George concluded with a shrug. "Okay, that's enough sulking for today. It's time for lunch, and I promise you, you wouldn't want to miss it."

   "Oh great Helga, what have you done?!", Ember muttered, but both the boys just winked at her, before they grabbed her arms and lifted her to her feet.

   "Don't know what you mean", Fred said, "we're the personification of innocence."

   "And as such we would never do anything inappropriate", George added.

   "But if I was you, I'd take a seat far away from Zacharias Smith during lunch." Fred threw a suggestive gaze at George, who wore his most mischievous smirk as he explained, "Think he got a bit — erm — flight sick. Bit pale around his nose. Wouldn't wonder if he might puke a little."

   "Or vomit over half of the Hufflepuff table", Fred said, his voice ridiculously innocent.

   "You haven't put Puking Pastilles in his food, did you?"

  "That's ridiculous, Emmie!", Fred said, chuckling. "How could we do that? The plates only fill in about twenty minutes, and even then we don't know where Smith's about to sit. Even for two geniuses like us this is absolutely impossible!"

   "Good", Ember muttered, as they started making her way back to the castle.

   Back in the castle, they pushed the door to the Great Hall open, just in that moment a greenish skinned Zacharias Smith stormed out of the hall, pushing his way through Fred and George, a hand pressed on his mouth, panic in his eyes ...

   "But you said you didn't —"

   "We didn't", Fred shrugged, having Ember to fall silent, grinning devilishly, but then George added with a squeaky, high voice, "But Dobby would do everything for Ember Potter! Nobody's allowed to be mean to Ember Potter! Of course Dobby will help!"

—