Tabitha Kate Potter has always been talented at keeping the peace. Whether it was between her parents or her brothers, she always knew how to end the fight in a way that satisfied both people.
But it was another thing entirely when she was part of the fight.
Being the offspring of two extremely head-strong people, Tabby was never one to apologize first, no matter how threatened she was.
Once, in her second year of school, she turned the then Transfiguration teacher into a dinner platter. Although the headmistress was rushed into the situation immediately, and the teacher was soon back to normal, Tabitha was told to apologize.
She didn’t.
“It wasn’t my fault,” she insisted. “Professor Worthington shouldn’t have been teaching us to turn pieces of cloth into dinner platters in the first place. If I didn’t know the spell, it wouldn’t have ricocheted off of the chalkboard and hit him.”
She was sentenced with two weeks of helping Filch muck out the dungeons for that.
For the remainder of the year, Professor Worthington pressured her into apologizing, threatening her with more detentions, but she never gave in. At the end of the year, Worthington quit teaching and taught at a small school in Russia for the rest of his days.
But Tabby never did apologize. She got to know Filch better than anyone else wanted to that year, but she held her head high. Wendy threatened to turn her hair blue if she lost Gryffindor any points, but she stood her ground.
In her third year, the incident was forgotten. Filch favored her now, but other than that, her life didn’t change. Professor Cook replaced Worthington, but Tabby like it better that way. The fight with Quinn was quite similar, with only one difference:
Tabby really missed her friend.
“Line up!” Trent called. What was left of the Quidditch team from last year stood behind him, completely dressed in their red and gold uniforms. Before Tabby lined up with the rest of the potential new Quidditch team members, she said to Nikki, noticing how pale she was, “Did you take your potion? So the sun doesn’t kill you?”
“No,” Nikki said through gritted teeth. Tabby opened her mouth in horror, earning her a glare from her friend. “Of course I did, Tabs. If I didn’t, I’d be a pile of bones and dust right there. Now go stand with the other kids trying out, before your brother decides to not let you join the team because you can’t follow instructions.” Nikki gave Tabitha a sad smile. “Be careful. He’s going to be harder on you than anyone else.”
“I know.” Tabby sighed and walked over to join the rest of the Gryffindors trying out.
“Now,” Trenton began. “You will start out by flying around the pitch. We”- he gestured towards the three members standing behind him- “will see how well you can handle a broomstick. Those of you who aren’t up to standards to call yourselves members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team will be eliminated.”
Tabby gulped as she mounted her broom. “Now, FLY!” Trent yelled, and Tabby took off into the air. Her red hair flew behind her like a cape. Her take off was a bit messy, which Tabitha told herself it was caused by a split on one of the broomstick twigs, not by her own fears or lack-of-talent.
But being up in the air soothed her. Tabby’s father always said that flying was some of the best times of his life, and she knew why. Being up in the air gave her a feeling of power, like she owned the world“ all vulnerability gone.
When she was younger, her mother always made her fly around the house after a bath, because it was the only way to dry out her thick hair; the wind more effective than a towel. She would try to see how fast she could go to dry her hair quicker.
She flew well; that she knew for certain. Flying around the pitch was no problem, and when Trent told everyone to land, Nikki gave Tabby a thumbs-up, and she felt the air rushing out of her lungs in a relief-filled sigh. After a bit of arguing with his team members, Trenton excused more that half of the people trying out, for they just weren’t “up to scratch.”
But Tabby wasn’t one of them.
Trent eyed her appraisingly, and Tabby grinned back at him. “All right, feel lucky that you made it this far, because it only gets even harder,” Trent growled, and everyone around him took a step back. “We’ll try out the Chasers first, then Beaters, and lastly, the Seekers. As you all know, we only need one of each. If you aren’t chosen, I’ll keep you in mind if we need replacements. Now, I need all of my potential Chasers to step forward and mount your brooms.”
Three girls and a tall, gangly boy stepped forward. Tabitha didn’t pay much attention to the Chaser tryouts, because she was much more absorbed in looking at the other three members remaining. Maybe they’re all trying out to be Beaters, Tabitha thought giddily. Maybe I will HAVE to be the new Seeker, because no one else is interested.
She only half registered seeing a short, blonde-haired girl getting accepted and joining the rest of the team. As Trent asked her several questions (“What is your name?” “Is that Mandy with a ‘Y’?” What year are you in?” “Yes, thank you. I do work out.”) Tabitha sized up her opponents. One was a young brunette, who spoke to loudly in her high-pitched, raspy voice. Another a head taller than Tabby (and Tabby was the tallest girl in her year) and looked like if you even asked him the time of day, he’d lash out. The last was another bloke, who seemed to be staring at Tabby.
She turned around, and no one was behind her. Tabby looked at the boy and stuck her tongue out at him. Then she pulled at the corners of her lips, giving him a horribly childish face. The boy turned away abruptly, and Tabby felt a odd satisfaction in the pit of her stomach.
“Beaters, up in the air. Let’s see what you can do!”
As her brother’s voice rang through her head, Tabby saw the girl and the boy that stared at her stepped forward. She faced her large opponent and gulped. He was quite tall, and had startling purple eyes. His eyebrows were dark and furrowed in concentration. He cocked his head to the side, studying Tabitha who was studying him.
He grinned, lighting up his eyes. Tabby immediately decided he was handsome“ in a tall, dark, and mysterious way.
“I’m Anthony. Gareth Anthony. And you are?”
Tabby was surprised at this. Everyone knew her name. Her parentage. She squinted at him, trying to recognize the face.
She didn’t.
He’s too old-looking to be younger than me, she thought impatiently. Yet if he’s older than me, I would’ve known him through Trent. The thought that maybe he wasn’t friends with Trent crossed her mind, but was soon erased. Trent was friends with everyone.
Tabby tilted her head back to its normally straight position. “I’m Potter. Tabby Potter.” Gareth’s smile vanished as realization hit him.
“Related to-” he started, but was cut off by the annoyed-sounding voice of Tabby.
“Yes, yes. Harry and Ginny Potter are my parents, and Trent is my brother.” She glared at him. “I get this a lot, mind you.”
Gareth smiled at her outburst. “No. I meant was if you were related to Chris. I see him in the library a lot.” One of his thick eyebrows was raised. “He’s a good kid. Fun to talk to.”
Tabby tilted her head to the side, once again. This had never happened before. Not many people spoke about Chris that way. He was usually “the weird smart kid with big glasses” or the “brainy bloke I always see in the library.” Hearing someone other than family refer to her little brother as “fun to talk to” brightened her outlook on life a bit.
“Yes. He’s my brother,” she responded after a moment.
Gareth grinned again. “He talks about you a lot, you know. Talks about all of his siblings a lot, actually. But mostly you.” Tabby flushed and reminded herself to thank Chris the next time she got a chance to.
Tabby didn’t have anything to say to this, so she just mumbled, “What year are you in?”
“I am in my sixth year.”
The same year as Trent, she thought. When Tabby didn’t say anything, Gareth said, “You fly pretty well. Your takeoff was sloppy, but you made up for it. It’s good to know that you made it past the first test not just because you’re the captain’s sister.” He said it casually enough, but Tabby caught a note of concern in his voice.
He was worried she’d get in because Trent was her brother.
She couldn’t help it; she started giggling. She snapped her mouth shut, her eyes closed, trying to restrain herself, but the laughter took over. Gareth stared at her, not believing her outburst. “Y-you’re afraid I w-will get the position b-because I am Trent’s sis-sister?” She was panting heavily, and a shiny sheet of perspiration crowned her head.
Gareth fidgeted slightly before replying. “Well“ yes.”
“Don’t worry. My brother has informed me thousands of times that he won’t go easy on me. Says that just because I’m his sister, he won’t go easy on me.” She slouched her shoulders and gave a grim smile. “No need to worry, Gary.”
He stiffened a bit. “Don’t call me that.” He spoke politely, but Tabby had enough experience from her father and brothers (no... mainly her father) to catch the iciness in his voice.
Trent walked over, a satisfied smile on his face. “So. Our two potential Seekers. Up in the air, please.”
Gareth straddled his broom and was up in the air before Tabby had a chance to reply. She took off quickly, so her brother wouldn’t have a chance to yell at her for not listening to instructions.
The air was dry that morning, and the breeze light. It was good conditions to be flying in, and Tabby couldn’t have been happier. “All right,” Trenton called from the ground. “This is going to be rather simple. I release a Snitch, and whoever captures it first makes the team. Understand?” Gareth and Tabby nodded in unison, and Trent went off to get the Snitch.
Tabby held out her hand. “Good luck,” she murmured, while wishing him to be the worst ever. She liked him just fine, but she wanted the position more. Gareth shook her hand with a tight grip.
“Ow,” Tabby muttered, rubbing her hand fiercely. Berk, she thought to herself venomously. Probably did that on purpose so I couldn’t catch the Snitch.
Trent held the Snitch in his hands, which was saying something because it so desperately wanted to break free. “On your mark, get set...” He opened his hand and the Snitch took off. “Go.”
Gareth and Tabby took off at the same time. His Eraser was nothing compared to her Hummingbird, but he was a powerful flyer and could keep the pace with Tabby like it was nothing. This, admittedly, scared her. He purposefully bumped into her, shoving her sideways and taking the lead. Tabby decided something then and there:
It was time to play dirty.
She may have liked him, but everything was different in Quidditch. Even the people she respected most could turn into her worst enemies, and vice versa.
She put all of her energy into catching up to him, and when she did, she roughly bumped into him, pushing him out of the way slightly. Damn it, she muttered in her head. Because of his large size, he was a lot harder to push away.
Something gold caught her eye, and she knew right away that she had spotted the Snitch. She glanced over at Gareth, who had caught up to her by now, and saw with satisfaction that he didn’t see what she saw.
Or he could be trying to lead me away.
See the Snitch but lead her away from it. She didn’t even know him for an hour, yet she already knew that this was the kind of thing he would do.
It’s the kind of thing I would do.
She swerved in the direction where she last saw the Snitch, and Gareth swerved too, confirming Tabby’s thoughts. She tried to take him by surprise with that sudden move, but he must have been watching her closely, because in a second he was once again flying next to her.
They both followed the Snitch closely. Gareth had better speed, but Tabitha could make sharper turns. For several minutes it went like this- both of them were not looking for the Snitch, but racing, comparing themselves.
Tabby spotted a glint of gold, and, without thinking, she dove towards the ground like lightning. Gareth didn’t notice this right away, and he flew a bit farther before diving down too. But he was too late. In seconds, Tabby held the warm, glittery Snitch in her left hand.
Nikki slugged Tabby in the shoulder, grinning as they walked towards their table in the Great Hall. “I knew you’d make it, Tabitha! I knew you would.” She held Tabby’s hand tightly as they swerved around other students, who were discussing something. Leaning forward, her ears perked slightly, Tabby heard them mention something about the Defense teacher, Professor Rhodes, taking a leave of absence for the rest of the year. Tabby smiled; She didn’t care much for Rhodes, who was the Hufflepuff Head of House, and only treated his house with respect.
Tabby’s grin disappeared, though, when she spotted Gareth sitting in a corner, his face hidden behind The Daily Prophet. She broke her hand free of Nikki’s grasp and walked towards him. She said, “Hello. Do you mind if I sit here?” before slamming her Potions book down in the empty seat across from him.
Gareth looked slightly surprised as his head peered over the top of the paper. “Hello. Don’t mind me, I was about to leave.”
“You flew well.” Even though Tabby didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty over winning the position, she figured that flattery was appropriate at the moment.
Gareth raised both of his heavy eyebrows. “If I flew well, then I would’ve beaten you. Good job, by the way.” Tabby didn’t know how to reply, so she beckoned Nikki- who was standing in the middle of the hall, her mouth agape- with a single finger, and he friend obeyed.
“Gareth,” she said quietly, “this is my mate Nikki. You should remember her from Quidditch tryouts.” Gareth’s eyebrows exceeded their limit and disappeared underneath his hair as he took in the sight of Nikki, who, with the sun shining behind her, looked radiant.
“Nice to meet you.”
AN~ So here’s the chapter you have all been waiting for, for at least a month. This chapter is dedicated to WannaBeMrsRonWeasley, for leaving me a review that knocked the breath out of me, and to RampantMuggle, for just overall being a good reviewer and for putting “Tabby/Decimus” in his list of favorite ships.
Also, a bit of a riddle... Sorta... I finalized the name Tabitha when I looked up it’s meaning and origin at babynamesworld.com (where I go for all my names :]). In case you don’t know, it means “gazelle; roe-buck.” This immediately reminded me of Harry’s patronus; his stag. But I got the name Tabitha from another bewitching show that my mom and I used to watch a lot. The first person to name the show gets a chaptered dedicated to them! Have fun!
And a big round of applause for butterflykisses, who is my most excellentest beta =]