"𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄, 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔?" Hermione asked.
Sirius had once again called through the Floo to talk to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. At the news of their Defense classes, he seemed beyond excited. Though, Hermione had noted that he seemed excited about breaking the rules, rather than actually learning magic. He disappeared right before Umbridge could catch him, but it was an extremely close call.
Now, Hermione was worried about the Defense classes. She'd mentioned to the boys that it seemed Sirius had grown more reckless, like he was trying to live through them. They'd both gotten mad at that, and Hermione had hunted down Raya in the library to try and get her to agree with her.
"Well, I get your point," she told her. "He's — well he's been cooped up in that place for way too long. Si — he's always been a little reckless, but with everything in the recent weeks... Hermione, I see your point."
"Thank you!"
"But," she added quickly, "I still think the Defense thing is a good idea. Snuffles wants to do it because it's rebellious, but even if it wasn't, we'd still have to. We've got to be more prepared, we've got to actually learn things this year. It's a good idea, don't back out on it now."
Hermione sighed, even though she looked much happier now that Raya had agreed with her.
"I suppose you're right," she muttered, packing away her books. "I think you should send Snuffles a letter, try to convince him to calm down a bit. You had some luck with it last year. You're the only one he seems to take seriously."
Raya hesitated, wondering whether Sirius would even listen to her. Honestly, she doubted it. He'd probably put her letter to the side and never read it.
"I think you'd have better luck with Harry trying," she told her. "Maybe then he'll actually realize what he's doing isn't safe."
"Mail's being watched," Hermione told her. "I thought you might have a way around that. But it's alright. I'm sure he'll pop up sometime soon."
Raya hummed noncommittedly, waving to Hermione as she left. She turned her attention back to her Potions assignment — she was almost ready to start brewing Liquid Luck. While she was checking her notes for the twelfth time, Kayse had come in to sit next to her.
"Hey," he kissed her forehead.
"Hi," she grinned at him.
"Ugh, you're doing the Potions assignment," he groaned. "I don't want to — I've been trying to forget about that for way too long. Are you far along?"
"I'm about to start brewing it very soon," she told him. "I've gone through my notes way too many times, and I feel like if I read them even once more, my brain will explode."
"That'd be a shame," Kayse muttered. "I rather like your brain."
Raya laughed, shaking her head. "Stop being smooth, we're already dating. Work on your potion."
"It's your fault for giving me such perfect set-ups," he poked her. "If you don't give me the amazing set-ups, then maybe I wouldn't be so smooth."
Raya rolled her eyes, "To be fair, you really only grew smooth after we started dating. Before that, you were horrible at it."
"I thought I was good at flirting," he made a face. "There were a bunch of kids who used to flirt with me."
"Honey, they flirted with you because you're hot, not because you knew how to flirt," she patted his hand.
"Says the girl who fell for me," he rolled his eyes.
"You liked me first," she argued.
"Yeah, it's not really a surprise," he told her. "I mean, come on. You're pretty, you're funny, you're smart, and you're the best damn Quidditch player I've ever seen." He grinned widely, "I think I'm the winner in this relationship."
Raya shook her head to herself, taking a minute to just... admire him. And not only his wavy hair that he was beginning to grow out, or his dark grey eyes that always had a glint of amusement, or even his mischievous grin that had slowly become endearing to her.
But the way he acted around her, like she was worth it. He made her feel wanted, needed. Around him, she never felt like she was the second choice. It was always the smallest things — like kissing her forehead whenever he saw her, or complimenting her outfit when she bought something new, or calling her pretty on days she felt like shit — but they made her heart swell up with joy and happiness and warmth... and a little bit of something else.
Sometimes, she thought it was more than she deserved.
"What's going on in that brain of yours, love?" he rapped his knuckles on her forehead.
Raya swatted his arm away, trying not to blush as he merely laced their fingers together and brought her chair closer.
"What'd I tell you about being smooth?" she glared at him.
He shrugged carelessly, "I like seeing you blush. Also, the distraction's not gonna work. What's got you staring at me like I'm a brand new pack of Fizzing Whizbees?"
Raya groaned, the thought of those candies slowly morphing into a need. "I wasn't thinking anything," she muttered.
"Liar," he coughed. His permanently plastered grin turned into more of a smirk, "You were checking me out, weren't you?"
Raya ignored the heat rising to her cheeks. "First of all, I'm allowed to check you out. You're my boyfriend. But, I wasn't," she added quickly as his grin grew more cocky.
"Sure," he nodded to himself. "Then what were you thinking about?"
She shrugged lightly, half wondering if she should just change her mind and sat that she was checking him out. That felt less embarrassing.
"Ahem," Kayse poked her. "I'm waiting."
"You're so annoying," she muttered, pushing his hand away. "I was... I was thinking about how you make me feel. Okay? I wasn't checking you out. I was actually doing something very cute."
He seemed to blush, "And how do I make you feel?"
"Nope," she shook her head, hiding her face with her hair. "That's enough embarrassment for one day."
He laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"You make me feel giddy," he told her. "Like sometimes, I'll have to pause and tell myself that this is real, and that we're together and it's not a dream. Because it feels like it. But you also make me feel... peaceful, and so, so, happy." He nudged her, "It's your turn."
Raya ducked her head against his chest. She was silent for a moment, before she spoke, "You make me feel warm. Like... like I'm deserving of everything you give me. Like being with me is a choice you made, and not something you're just going along with. It's a little scary how much you make me feel."
Kayse pulled her a little closer, playing with her hair. He didn't say anything, he didn't need to. The small touch, the action, that was his way of agreeing with her, of showing her love.
He was teaching Raya that a relationship was more than words.
Raya and her friends made their way to the seventh floor, meeting up with Kayse outside a large door that definitely wasn't there the last time Raya passed it.
"You haven't gone in yet?" Nathaniel asked Kayse.
"Honestly, I'm a little terrified," he answered. "This door wasn't here before, was it?"
"Never seen it in my life," Elias said cheerily. He was more cheery than usual — Raya wondered if it had to do with a Goldstein kid he'd been hanging out with. He linked his arms through Kayse's and Raya's, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go in!"
They entered the room, Raya's eyes widening at the sight. It was a spacious room lit with flickering torches like those that illuminated the dungeons eight floors below. The walls were lined with wooden bookcases, and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the fa rend of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors, and a large, cracked Foe-Glass. The walls were lined with hundreds of defense books, all considered to be from the greatest ever written. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and a few others were already settled on the cushions.
"This is so cool," Raya muttered, taking a seat.
"How'd you guys even find this place?" Kayse looked around the room.
Harry began to explain, but every time he was getting somewhere, more people would just enter. Once everyone was seated, he grabbed a large brass key and closed the door.
"Well," said Harry, slightly nervously. "This is the place we've found for practices, and you've — er — obviously found it okay—"
"It's fantastic!" said Elias, and several people murmured their agreement.
"It's bizarre," said Fred, frowning around at it. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then..."
"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" asked Dean from the rear of the room, indicating the Sneakoscopes and the Foe-Glass.
"Dark Detectors," said Harry, stepping between the cushions to reach them. "Basically they all show when Dark wizards or enemies are around, but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled..." Harry turned back around to address the students, "Well, I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and — er—" He froze. "What, Hermione?"
"I think we ought to elect a leader," said Hermione.
"Harry's leader," said Anthony Goldstein.
"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," said Hermione, unperturbed. "It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So — everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?"
Everybody put up their hands, even Zacharias Smith, though he did it very halfheartedly.
"Er — right, thanks," said Harry. "And — what, Hermione?"
"I also think we ought to have a name," she said brightly, her hand still in the air. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"
"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Angelina Jones — the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain — hopefully.
"Or the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group?" suggested Fred.
"Would that be MMMG or MOMAMG?" Raya asked.
"Definitely, MMMG," George nodded solemnly, trying to pronounce three m's in a row.
"I was thinking," said Hermione, frowning at the three of them, "more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings."
"The Defense Association?" said Cho. "The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"
"Yeah, the D.A.'s good," said Ginny. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"
There was a good deal of appreciative murmuring and laughter at this.
"All in favor of the D.A.?" said Hermione, kneeling up on her cushion to count. "That's a majority — motion passed!"
She pinned the piece of paper with all of their names on it on the wall and wrote DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY across the top in large letters.
"Right," said Harry, when she had sat down again, "shall we get practicing then? I was thinking, the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic but I've found it really useful—"
"Oh please," said Zacharias Smith, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"
"I've used it against him," said Harry quietly. "It saved my life last June."
Smith opened his mouth stupidly. The rest of the room was very quiet.
"But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave," Harry said.
Smith did not move. Nor did anybody else.
"Okay," said Harry, his voice slightly shaky, "I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice."
The group started pairing off immediately, excited for their first real dose of dueling.
"Let's get going, partner," Kayse grinned cheekily.
Raya rolled her eyes, taking his outstretched hand and finding a spot to stand against each other. They took their wands out — Raya from charm form, Kayse from his arm holster — and leveled them.
"Right — on the count of three, then," Harry said. "One, two, three—"
The room was suddenly full of shouts of "Expelliarmus!"
Scarlet light flooded from both of their wands, Raya's just a bit stronger than Kayse's. His wand slipped out of his grasp, and flew across the room.
"Raya - one, Kayse - zero!" Raya grinned as she used the summoning charm to call back his wand.
They went again and again, Raya at an advantage due to her demigodly heritage. Kayse took it in stride, taking the chance to gloat even more at disarming her three times. Raya was tempted to go easy on him, but knowing Kayse wouldn't like that, she decided not to.
They went back and forth, occasionally taking a break to watch the other students. Raya laughed as Cho misfired, setting Meredith's sleeve on fire.
"It was an accident, I swear!" Cho scowled at Raya, apologizing as Meredith put out the fire.
Meredith made a sour face — clearly not wanting to be here, but waved it off.
Time flew by, and before Raya knew it, Harry was blowing his whistle, calling for an end to today's meeting.
"Well, that was pretty good," said Harry, "but we've overrun, we'd better leave it here. Sametime, same place next week?"
"Sooner!' said Dean Thomas eagerly and many people nodded in agreement.
Raya, however, said quickly. "The Quidditch season's about to start, we need team practices too!"
"Same here!" Angelina Johnson added.
"Let's say next Wednesday night, then," said Harry, "we can decide on additional meetings then. Come on, we'd better get going."
Harry pulled out a little map, letting them all return to their common rooms in small groups. Kayse broke apart from their group once they reached the stairs, heading down to the dungeons.
Raya waved as he disappeared, already excited for the next D.A. meeting.
The D.A. meetings were going smoothly, with all of the members learning new spells and defense techniques.
Dumbridge had begun to forget about Raya, giving the girl some breathing space. Raya still kept the charade of a good student on in Dumbridge's class, dropping it the second she could. Just because Dumbridge was giving her space didn't mean Raya should relax too much.
With the Quidditch season looming, Raya was finding it difficult to pay attention in all of her classes, the D.A., and run the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team.
"I can't believe you left me alone!" Cierra groaned.
"Once again," Nathaniel muttered, "I'm still in your class."
Raya, Cierra and Nathaniel were hanging out in the Ravenclaw Common Room, working on assignments for their various classes.
Raya smiled sadly at Cierra, "I'm sorry. I just couldn't handle Ancient Runes anymore. It's too much dude. With Snape having us do the Liquid Luck Potion and literally everything else going on, I'm too tired for this."
Cierra groaned again, dropping her head back. "Well now you're making me feel bad for being annoyed at you for leaving me alone in Ancient Runes."
"Am I talking to myself or something?" Nathaniel asked, looking between the two of them.
"Don't feel bad," Raya told her friend. "Besides, you're the one always helping me in that class. You got this Cie!"
Cierra laughed, shaking her head, "I thought you were Quidditch Captain, not a cheerleader."
"Who said I can't be both?"
"The Slytherin and Gryffindor match is about to start," Thomas said as greeting, coming towards his friends. He turned to Raya, "Elias is saving our spot. You coming?"
"No shit Sherlock," Raya muttered, whisking away her work and giving Loki a quick ear-rub.
Kayse had managed to make it on the team as Slytherin's Chaser once again, and even though he would never admit it, Raya knew it meant a lot to him. Quidditch meant a lot to him.
She waved goodbye to Cierra and Nathaniel, following Thomas out of the Common Room and towards the stands. Catching sight of the green and silver Quidditch jerseys, she made a quick decision.
"Hey, go on up to the stands. I'll catch up," she told Thomas.
Thomas nodded, noticing the Slytherin team heading out of the change room. "Alright. Elias and I are sitting where we normally do."
Raya jogged over to Kayse, smiling lightly as she neared him.
"Hey," she grinned.
"Hi," he smiled back, looking Raya up and down. His grin widened at the streak of colour on her face. "Nice outfit."
Raya laughed, "Thanks. I usually go Gryffindor, but I'm supporting my boyfriend today. Thought it'd be a nice little change."
Kayse scanned her outfit again, taking in the Slytherin sweatshirt, dark green pants, grey converse, and green and silver facepaint.
"Well, you're boyfriend's a lucky guy," he grinned, taking Raya's hand in his.
"Not really," she shrugged. "I mean, once the Weasleys see me, they're gonna wanna destroy him."
Kayse gulped, "I... completely forgot about that."
She laughed at the face he made, "Don't worry. I'll keep them in check." Standing up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to Kayse's cheek, she whispered, "Now, go out there and don't make me regret wearing this."
A stupid grin took over his face, and he saluted. "Aye, aye, capt'n!"
Raya rolled her eyes to herself, laughing as he joined the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team on the pitch. She made her own way to the stands where Elias and Thomas were arguing about something.
"Hash browns are so underrated!" Elias was saying.
"Okay, but that doesn't mean they beat french fries," Thomas shrugged.
"Yes they do!" Elias argued back.
"Okay!" Raya said quickly, taking her spot between the two. "I'm going to sit here so you don't cause a mini-war."
"We weren't going to cause a mini-war," Thomas rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, it would've been full scale if this bitch kept going," Elias muttered.
Thomas raised his brows, opening his mouth to say something to Elias, but Madam Hooch blew the whistle at the right time.
The balls were released and the fourteen players shot upwards. Raya took note of all the players, keeping a close eye on Draco and Harry. They were the Seekers for their teams, and they would be the ones Raya would have to go against. She needed to make sure she was ready.
The rest of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team — except Cho — was also in the stands, trying their best to make notes on the different players. Since Gryffindor had a completely new Keeper, and Slytherin had some new players, Raya wanted her own team to try and get a heads up on them.
Lee began commentating over the speakers, "And it's Johnson — Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me—"
"JORDAN!" yelled Professor McGonagall.
"—just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit of interest — and she's ducked Warrington, she's passed Montague, she's — ouch! — been hit from behind by a Bludger from Crabbe... Montague catches the Quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch and — nice Bludger there from George Weasley, that's a Bludger to the head for Montague, he drops the Quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor reverse-passes to Alicia Spinnet and Spinnet's away—"
Raya strained her ears to listen to the commentary — nearly impossible with all the yelling and booing.
"What're the Slytherins singing?" Elias yelled in Raya's ear.
"I don't know!" she yelled back.
The two of them strained their ears, Raya magically amplifying the voices to try and listen.
"Weasley cannot save a thing, He cannot block a single ring, That's why Slytherins all sing: Weasley is our King. Weasley was born in a bin! He always lets the Quaffle in! Weasley will make sure we win! Weasley is our King."
"Damn, that's tough," Elias muttered, wincing. "It's the kid's first game. I don't understand why they can't cut him some slack."
"Do you cut your favourite soccer players slack?" Raya asked. "Even if they're just making their debut?"
Elias made a face, realizing that Raya had a point.
"But you're right," she continued. "He's just a kid, and it's only an interhouse match. They're just being stupid."
"—and Alicia passes back to Angelina!" Lee shouted, continuing his commentary. Raya knew him well enough to know that he was trying to drown out the sounds of the Slytherin fans. "Come on now, Angelina — looks like she's got just the Keeper to beat! — SHE SHOOTS — SHE — aaaah..."
Bletchley, the Slytherin Keeper, had saved the goal; he threw the Quaffle to Kayse, who sped off with it, zig-zagging in between Alicia and Katie; the singing from the Slytherin stands grew louder and louder as he drew nearer and nearer Ron.
Raya watched the scene, it almost looked like it belonged in a movie. A lone figure at the far end of the pitch, hovering before the three goal hoops while Kayse twisted and turned in the air, pelting towards him.
"—and it's Pierce with the Quaffle, Pierce heading for goal, he's out of Bludger range with just the Keeper ahead—"
A great swell of song rose from the Slytherin stands: "Weasley cannot save a thing, He cannot block a single ring..."
"—so it's the first test for new Gryffindor Keeper Weasley, brother of Beaters Fred and George, and a promising new talent on the team — come on, Ron!"
But the scream of delight came from the Slytherin supporters: Ron had dived wildly, his arms wide, and the Quaffle had soared between them straight through Ron's central hoop.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Raya whooped, cheering for Kayse's goal.
"Slytherin score!" came Lee's voice amid the cheering and booing from the crowds below, "so that's ten - nil to Slytherin — bad luck, Ron."
The Slytherins sang even louder: "WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN, HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN..."
Raya took a moment to focus on the soundwaves, doing her best to suppress them without making it obvious.
"—and Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell tanking up the pitch—" cried Lee valiantly, though the singing was now so deafening that he could hardly make himself heard above it.
"WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN WEASLEY IS OUR KING..."
Raya kept one eye on the match and one eye on Harry — though he'd been suspended midair for the past few minutes, without moving. She suspected he was too distracted by the singing to search for the Snitch.
She watched Angelina fly by him, yelling at him to keep his head in the game.
With a quick expression of horror, Harry went into a dive and started circling the pitch again, staring around, looking for the Snitch.
"—and it's Pierce again," bellowed Lee, "who passes to Pucey, Pucey's off past Spinnet, come on now, Angelina, you can take him — turns out you can't — but nice Bludger from Fred Weasley, I mean, George Weasley, oh, who cares, one of them, anyway, and Pucey drops the Quaffle and Katie Bell — er — drops it, too — so that's Pierce with the Quaffle, Slytherin Chaser Pierce takes the Quaffle and he's off up the pitch, come on now, Gryffindor, block him!"
Raya watched Harry straining not to look towards Ron, trying his best to keep his focus on the game. Some of the Slytherin players were now singing along with the crowd.
"WEASLEY CANNOT SAVE A THING..."
"—and Pierce dodged Alicia again and he's heading straight for goal, stop it, Ron!"
Once again, there was a terrible groan from the Gryffindor end, coupled with fresh screams and applause from the Slytherin supporters.
"THAT'S WHY SLYTHERINS ALL SING WEASLEY IS OUR KING."
Raya cheered for Kayse, ignoring the sounds of the fans around her.
She knew that twenty - nil was nothing. There was still time for Gryffindor to catch up or catch the Snitch. But that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy cheering for Kayse while she could.
He ended up scoring two more goals, the Slytherins cheering louder whenever he scored.
Since she was keeping an eye on Harry, she could see that his search for the Snitch was becoming frantic. He wasn't trying to hide his next moves, mainly focusing on Draco to see if he had gotten a lead. His play was quite sloppy.
It changed once Gryffindor scored another goal. Now only thirty points behind, Harry's search for the Snitch was becoming more calculated. Raya of course, spotted it a few times, though neither of the active Seekers had seen the small ball.
"—Pucey throws to Pierce, Pierce to Montague, Montague back to Pucey — Johnson intervenes, Johnson takes the Quaffle, Johnson to Bell, this looks good — I mean bad — Bells hit by a Bludger from Goyle of Slytherin and it's Pierce in possession... again."
"WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN, HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN! WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN!"
But Harry had seen it at last: the tiny fluttering Golden Snitch was hovering feet from the ground at the Slytherin end of the pitch.
Raya watched the boy dive, Draco hot on his heels.
The Snitch skirted the foot of one of the goal hoops and scooted off towards the other side of the stands; its change of direction suited Malfoy, who was nearer; Harry pulled his Firebolt around, he and Malfoy were now neck and neck.
Raya and Elias gripped each other's arms, leaning forward to see the way this match would go. Thomas stood on the other side of Raya, stretching his arms and looking mildly bored.
Feet from the ground, Harry lifted his right hand from his broom, stretching towards the Snitch. On his right, Malfoy's arm extended too, was reaching towards it.
Harry got it first.
He pulled his broom upwards, holding the struggling ball in his hand and the Gryffindor spectators screamed their approval and the Slytherin fans groaned.
Raya gasped as a ball hurled towards Harry, knocking him off of his broom and towards the frosty ground. Luckily, he was only a few feet off the ground, so it wasn't a bad fall.
One of the Slytherin Beaters, Crabbe, had whacked a Bludger at Harry the second he'd caught the Snitch. Technically, that was a foul, since the Snitch was in Harry's hand.
"Wait, what's going on over there?" Thomas asked, looking more interested than when the actual game had been going on.
Raya and Elias leaned forward, trying to make out what was happening on the Quidditch Pitch. Harry and George had lunged towards Draco, while multiple members of the Gryffindor team were holding Fred back.
"Shit bro," Elias muttered, trying to get a better look.
Madam Hooch appeared out of nowhere, blasting a spell towards the group, sending the three boys flying back. Not willing to fight with them, Madam Hooch sent them off to their Head of House, watching them stomp away, before she chased the teams off to get changed.
"Draco had no idea what he was getting into," Elias muttered. "That kid's all bark, no bite."
"Dumbridge's gonna cause a fucking riot, watch," Thomas shook his head. "This better not effect our meetings."
"It won't," Raya told him, trying to convince herself.
It wasn't working.
REY WRITES!
shitty ending, ik, but i literally had no idea
how else to end it, sorry !
at least the update's on time :)
thoughts?
comments?
questions?
headcanons?
theories?