"𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍!" Raya grinned, pointing at the screen Professor Sikander had set up.
She'd entered the class with Thomas, Elias, Kayse, and Emmet, only to see the projector out and displaying the opening scene of Madagascar. Raya clapped her hands excitedly, taking a seat in her usual spot.
Professor Sikander laughed at her excitement, giving the class a few minutes to settle down in their places.
It took a while, considering a lot of them had watched the movie as kids and were more than excited to watch it again.
"As you all can see, I have a movie set up for you all," Professor Sikander began once everyone had settled down. "For those of you who don't know this movie, the name of it is Madagascar, and it's a popular animated movie. There will be no test on this, but it's a Friday, there's a Quidditch match tomorrow, and I'm too lazy to teach anything. Enjoy the movie!"
He stepped back to press play, allowing the movie to begin.
"I love this class," Elias muttered from beside Raya.
"Ugh, it's so much better than Dumbridge and Snape," she agreed, her head still hurting from the other two classes she'd had that day.
In the morning, Umbridge once again had them reading chapters from their theory book, no one allowed to speak out of turn. Raya and her friends had been trying to sabotage her classes, but Umbridge had no hesitation to give out detentions. They'd settled on smaller things, like adding dye to her shampoo, and toothpaste in her cookies.
Snape on the other hand, had them working on multiple potions at a time, along with their Liquid Luck project still ongoing. Raya had begun the brewing process, but she needed to time everything perfectly otherwise it would all go to waste.
Those two classes were hell, but having her final class of the day used as a movie day instead made it a little better.
As always, Muggle Studies went perfectly, with most of the students thanking Professor Sikander for being such an amazing teacher on their way out.
The rest of Friday went by too quickly, and before Raya knew it, she was gearing up for her first Quidditch game as Quidditch Captain. She could hear the noise of the crowd from the changing room, cheers for and against Ravenclaw.
It didn't matter: they both fired her up.
Tying her fingerless gloves, she turned to address her team.
"Out of all the teams, we've got the newest one," she reminded them. "We need to make that work to our advantage. They've never seen us play, and we won't give them enough of a chance to find out. Play hard, play fast. Make Ravenclaw proud."
Her teammates cheered, banging their brooms and stomping against the floor.
"RAVENCLAW! RAVENCLAW! RAVENCLAW!" they cheered, making their way to the Quidditch Pitch in excellent spirit.
Raya stepped forward to shake hands with the new Hufflepuff Captain. Madam Hooch blew the whistle, and the players shot to the air.
Like always, the Weasleys managed to pull through with their 'RAVENCLAW'S TOP SEEKER' apparel. They even managed to make limited edition 'RAVENCLAW'S TOP CAPTAIN' apparel. Raya saw her face all throughout the stands — on t-shirts, on flags, on banners — different students cheering her on, cheering her team on.
Positioning her broom upwards, Raya shot to the sky. The wind nipped her skin, and the frost that was covering the ground had turned to a thin layer of snow.
Raya loved it.
The way the cold felt against her skin, mixed in with the adrenaline of playing her favourite sport in the world — it was absolutely unmatched.
Lee was commentating on the match, his voice echoing around the stands.
"And Ravenclaw's got quite a different lineup this year," he was saying. "The 'Three R's' we'd seen as Chasers two years ago are now 'Two R's and a C': Raven, Rico, and Cho. Jia, the Keeper, is back for another year. They've got two new Beaters, Ayden and Dorian. And of course, the team's led by a fan favourite, the wonderful Raya Newbrooke! Hufflepuff has the same lineup as last time, with the addition of Jaiden coming in as their new Seeker."
Raya flew upwards a bit, tilting her broom to the side to get a better advantage at seeing the full field. There was no sign of the Golden Snitch yet.
"And Jia makes a wonderful save!" Lee announced. "Jia to Rico, who dodged two Hufflepuff players, passing to Cho on the way — she's twisting and turning in the air, throwing the Quaffle up — and Raven's got it. She dodges a Bludger — which Ayden hits at the new Hufflepuff Seeker — and she shoots... SHE SCORES! Ravenclaw leads ten - nothing!"
Cheers exploded from the stands, Ravenclaw chants drowning out Hufflepuff boos.
"And Ravenclaw's got the Quaffle again — Cho to Rico — back to Cho — and oh! She just dodged a Bludger right there! — anyways, she's twisting and turning in the air, the other two Ravenclaw Chasers freeing up some flying room for her — she shoots — SHE SCORES! The Ravenclaw women are a force to be reckoned with!"
A streak of gold appeared at the edge of Raya's vision, flying near the Ravenclaw goalposts. Raya looked towards Jaiden, who was watching the other end of the field. If Raya made her way to the Snitch, Jaiden would get notice, and he was closer. The odds were in his favor. But if she pulled him away from it...
Deciding to play it safe for now, Raya angled her Firebolt the opposite direction, towards the Hufflepuff nets. Angling herself low to pick up speed, she bolted off, flying over the heads of the other players.
"And Raya's off!" Lee was saying into the microphone. "She's speeding towards the Hufflepuff goalposts as her teammates pass the Quaffle to each other. Has she spotted the Snitch? Jaiden's left his post on the opposite end of the field, following her, but there's no sign of the Snitch. If it was there, it's gone now."
Raya slowed once she heard Jaiden had decided to follow her. She angled her broom upwards, going a little higher in the air, before stopping somewhere above the field.
Below her, play continued.
"Raven to Rico — back to Raven — who passes it on to Cho — who gives it back to Rico — Lemrock's on his tail," Lee spoke, referring to a Hufflepuff Chaser. "And oh! Ayden whacks the Bludger right at him, nearly knocking him off of his broom. That play gives Rico some space, and he manages to throw the Quaffle to Raven, who throws it back to Cho, who SCORES! RAVENCLAW IS LEADING FIFTY - NOTHING!"
Raya kept her eyes peeled, focusing only on parts of Lee's commentary to learn how the game was going on. Jia managed to make a few epic saves, not letting a single Hufflepuff goal in.
Suddenly, a streak of gold flew past and Raya's hand flew out on instinct, trapping the golden Snitch.
She laughed a little to herself, mostly in disbelief. But there it was, the golden ball fluttering in her fist. She raised her hand to the sky, the crowd cheering as she brandished the small ball as confirmation that they had won.
"AND RAYA CATCHES THE SNITCH!" Lee roared. "RAVENCLAW WINS: TWO HUNDRED TO NOTHING! Oh Merlin, this is the greatest victory ever! And to think it was only Raya's first game as Quidditch Captain."
"This is Ravenclaw Quidditch!" Raya shouted at anyone who would listen. "This is what it's about!"
"We're here to win!" her teammates agreed.
People congratulated her, thanked her, asked her to sign their 'RAVENCLAW'S TOP SEEKER' apparel on her way to the change room.
But the adrenaline she felt during all of that, it didn't match the sense of accomplishment she felt when a dark haired boy — usually wearing silver and green — decked out in blue and silver for her game, gave her a smile and told her how proud he was.
Raya couldn't wait for the term to finish. There were only a few days left and most teachers were in good spirits. Snape had cooled off on the amount of work he gave them, even managing to fit a lesson on how to make eggnog with butterbeer after Nathaniel somehow convinced him it counted as a potion.
The only teacher who seemed to go harder on them was Dumbridge.
She'd been appalled that Harry and the Weasleys left early — after being informed that Mr. Weasley had been injured — right under her nose and that she had no say in it. Nowadays, she'd been giving detentions to anyone who breathed too loudly.
"I hate that bitch," Nathaniel muttered, scratching his hand as he left her class.
Nathaniel had been on the receiving end of her bad temper, and had landed in detention for tapping his foot during class. Raya was the one who headed down to help him after it was over.
"Stop touching," Raya slapped his hand away. "You know that only makes it worse."
"She's such a pain," he groaned, following Raya up to the Ravenclaw common room where the rest of their friends were waiting for them.
Cho immediately took his hand and sunk it in a bowl of Murlap essence that Cierra had gotten ready.
"Is it just me or has she gotten worse?" Thomas asked, one eye on Nathaniel's injured hand.
"She's gotten worse," Elias agreed. "It's because the Weasleys left to see their dad without informing her."
"Power hungry psycho bitch," Nathaniel muttered, wincing as he pulled his hand out.
"Will you stop doing that?" Cho swatted his arm and stuck his hand back in the bowl. "You need to let it heal properly, and then you can bandage it."
"He's not wrong though," Cierra said, pointing at Nathaniel. "I mean there's literally no reason why they shouldn't be allowed to leave a few days early to see their injured father. It's just a power thing with her."
Raya and her friends nodded, all in agreement.
The last few days were agony, with Dumbridge handing out twenty three detentions in her last few classes. Raya was lucky not to be a part of them. After her first detention, she'd cleaned up her act in front of Dumbridge. With the Order running out of her house, there was no reason to give Dumbridge a reason to suspect Raya's involvement.
When the Hogwarts Express arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters to drop off all those returning for the Christmas holidays, she and Kayse bid goodbye to her friends who were also going to their homes for the break.
"Merry Christmas!" she waved at them.
"Happy Christmas!" they said back to her.
Raya rolled her eyes, slipping her hand in Kayse's as they made their way to Raya's dad, Alphanso.
"Hey kiddos," he pulled the two in for a hug. "Leave your bags with Rosie. She'll send them back to the house. C'mon now, I heard everyone needs help with the Christmas decorations."
"We're not going to Godric's Hollow?" Kayse asked, looking around as Alphanso led them out of the station.
"No, we won't be going there," Alphanso told them. "I've got to leave soon, and you two can't stay in the house all by yourself. Besides, most of the other kids are there too."
Raya nodded to herself, knowing there referred to 12 Grimmauld Place.
"But you'll be home for Christmas, won't you?" Raya asked. "Like, you're leaving after Christmas."
Alphanso laughed, patting Raya's head as they settled into the Goblin-driven taxi. "Yes, I'll be home for Christmas. I'm leaving the day after though, and I don't think I'll be back by New Year's. You'll probably be heading back to school without seeing me."
"Aw man," Raya muttered, slumping in her seat.
She was hoping to spend some more time with her dad over the break. Ever since he'd joined the Order, she hadn't been able to see him as often.
"What about Marybeth?" Kayse asked, referring to Raya's mom. "Is she going to be visiting?"
"Mar's going to be staying in Canada for the holidays," Alphanso answered. "She's got a new business proposal for her café and needs to stay back to finalize it."
They arrived near the top of Grimmauld street shortly after, stepping out as Alphanso paid the Goblin.
Whenever they visited Grimmauld Place, the Order Members had drilled it in their heads to make sure they get out of the vehicle somewhere else before making their way over. Stopping in front of a nonexistent house could cause problems.
The three of them walked down the street, stopping outside number twelve Grimmauld Place. Alphanso stepped forward, pressing his wand against the door, leading to a series of clicks and clangs before it swung open.
"C'mon, hurry in," he ushered the two kids inside before closing the door behind him. He whispered, "Remember not to be too loud, and not to knock over the umbrella stand."
Kayse winced at the reminder of Walburga Black and her tendencies to blast the eardrums of everyone nearby.
Alphanso left them at the end of the hall so that he could find Mrs. Weasley, telling the two kids to go around on their own.
"Are we all in the same rooms as last time?" Kayse asked, walking towards the grand living room.
"I'm pretty sure," Raya told him. "Even if this place acts as headquarters, I don't think many people spend the night."
The two of them froze at the sight that greeted them in the living room.
Loudly singing Christmas carols while wrapped in tinsel, was Sirius. Around him, the other Weasleys were trying to put up decorations, laughing at Sirius' abysmal singing. Fred grinned at the sight of Raya and Kayse.
"Welcome to the chaos that is this ugly ass house — no offense Raya."
"None taken."
"Grab some tinsel or lights or ornaments, and help us decorate!" he told them, motioning to a large bin on the side.
Sirius paused his singing to see what had caught Fred's attention, freezing momentarily at the sight of Raya. She tried to ignore the way his happy expression fell, but before she could comment on it, her uncle had turned away and was back to singing.
"Let's get to work," Kayse grinned, grabbing some Christmas lights from the bin.
Raya laughed tightly, grabbing some tinsel as she tried to ignore Sirius' attitude. If he wanted to pretend there was no relation between them, he could pretend.
Raya could pretend as well.
Christmas morning was rather uneventful. After opening presents from her friends, Raya made her way downstairs where Rosie was cooking breakfast.
"Rosie made waffles!" Alphanso grinned, already sitting at the table and digging in.
Raya smiled to herself, taking her seat and placing a few waffles in her place.
Harry, Kayse, Ginny, and Hermione were seated on the table, eating their waffles happily and talking to each other about their presents.
"Kreacher hasn't been helping you?" Raya asked the house elf.
"Oh no, Kreacher is most unhelpful," Rosie shook her head to herself. "This house is a mess, and it is only because Master Newbrooke has Rosie here that the place is still functioning. Rosie cannot believe Kreacher kept the house like this for so many years."
"Rosie, when's the last time you saw Kreacher?" Harry asked her, abandoning his conversation with Ginny.
"Um... Rosie is not sure," the house elf answered. "Kreacher is very old and often hides from Rosie."
"Him and Mumpty together would be something," Ginny muttered under her breath.
Rosie gasped at that, shaking her head quickly and going back to her waffles. Raya couldn't disagree, there was no way that would end well.
"Why're you asking, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Well... the last time I saw Kreacher was when Sirius was getting mad at him when we first arrived," he looked around nervously. "And we went to his room under the boiler, so that Hermione could give him his present, and I don't know — it looked weird. I was just wondering where he'd gone."
Raya furrowed her brows, but she hadn't seen Kreacher since she arrived. Of course, she could say his name and he'd appear, but she didn't want to disturb him in case he was brooding again.
"He did this all throughout the summer too," Kayse told Harry. "Don't worry about it. He'll turn up."
The rest of breakfast passed quickly, and the Weasleys left with Harry to meet Mr. Weasley at St. Mungo's. Raya would've joined them to meet Cedric, but she wanted to spend a bit of time with her dad before he left.
"What's the assignment Dumbledore's got for you?" she asked, trying to sound uninterested.
Her dad wasn't fooled.
"You know the rules, Rye," he sighed. "I can't tell you about it. I can't even talk about it."
"I know, I know," she sighed, trying to sound more dejected than she really was.
Her dad managed to keep it together for about five seconds.
"Can't believe I'm being emotionally blackmailed by my own child," he grumbled to himself, pushing back from his chair and getting to his feet.
He looked around for a second, pulling out some pots and glasses and other things he could find.
"What's he doing?" Kayse asked, leaning over to whisper to Raya while he watched Alphanso rush around the kitchen.
"He's acting the assignment out," she answered. "Well, he's looking for props to act it out. Or... at least to act some of it out. He can't reveal the full extent of the mission, but he can give us hints."
"So charades," Kayse clarified. "That's fun. Oh look, he's ready."
Raya turned back to her dad to see him wearing a pot over his head and holding two glassing in his hand as if he was going to stab someone — or something — with them. He began to move his arms and legs as if he was climbing a ladder.
"You're climbing a ladder?" Kayse asked, thinking the same thing.
Alphanso shook his head, continuing the same motion. It was almost like he was doing some mountain climbers, but while standing.
Wait—
"You're climbing a mountain!" she shot to her feet. "The pot's a hat because it's gonna be cold, and the glasses are... I don't know what they are."
"An ice axe?" Kayse supplied, much calmer than Raya. "You're gonna be climbing a snowy mountain."
Raya's dad grinned, taking his wand out of his arm sheath and letting every thing go back to it's original place. He sat back in his seat with a satisfied grin on his face.
"Yeah, that's all you'll be getting out of me, so don't even try to do anything else," he warned, the smile on his face taking away from his threat.
Raya merely smiled innocently, "I would never."
"Sure," her dad scoffed, causing the three of them to break out into laughter.
Sirius Black stood in the back, watching his niece laughing as if there was nothing wrong with the world.
Good, he thought. Let her stay innocent. Let her stay a Newbrooke. Merlin knows the Blacks are nothing but a curse.
REY WRITES!
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