“GINOSUS! GINOSUS! GO GINOSUS!”
“ANATINUS! ANATINUS!”
Everyone in the crowd cheered for their own house’s Quidditch team. The deafening roars of the spectators made my eardrums throb, but I didn’t mind at all. I loved every minute of it.
I tilted the broom’s handle up sharply and soared skywards, ducking and swiftly taking turns around the bookshelves all around me. I concentrated on only one thing. All the thunderous cheering in the background seemed faint right now, like murmurs.
“I’m gonna get you, Quaffle, just watch me!” I hissed through gritted teeth. I was frustrated beyond relief “ actually mad would probably be the right word.
I accelerated on the broom, searching for the big, red ball. My black hair flew into my eyes, but I carelessly brushed them away. I had no time to stop and whine about it.
“We have to win this game. We just have to…ouch! Stupid bloody Snitch… somebody get that!” I shouted back as the little golden ball ricocheted off my forehead. Where was the Merlin-damned Seeker when you needed him?
I weaved in between the bookshelves; the Quaffle would definitely be there. If I could only get it! Snitches, brooms and Bludgers zoomed by me. Books were flying everywhere, their yellowing pages fluttering in the wind. I could hardly see the floor, but I didn’t have time to notice any of these things. I was concentrating on my one last goal, as if getting the Quaffle was the only thing that mattered in the world.
“Tash! Tash!” shouted a voice. I whipped around, looking everywhere to find the source of the voice. It sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t see anyone.
“Tash, get up!” echoed the voice again, louder and closer this time. I swerved the other way on my broom and suddenly, out of nowhere, a bright red Quaffle materialized in front of my eyes.
“Tash, wake up for heaven’s sake!” the ball said.
I reached out. “Almost there!” I mumbled. There was the stupid red ball, dancing in front of my eyes, as if daring me to lunge at it.
The ball was gone again, but I was quicker. I rocketed upwards, tailing the Quaffle. I stretched out when I felt I was close enough… when suddenly a book appeared out of nowhere in front of me, stopping me dead in my tracks.
“NO!” I yelled, frustrated. Why the hell did it have to come now? “It’s mine!”
I sprung forwards, my hands finally managing to close around the Quaffle. I grabbed it“ hard.
“You’re not getting away this time!” I said with a grin. I felt euphoric; all the hard work was worthwhile. I, Natasha Osborne, had finally caught that elusive Quaffle.
“NATASHA! Get off, you berk!” the voice screamed. It seemed pretty ticked off.
All hopes of sleep were abandoned when a hand smacked me across the face. I opened my eyes immediately, but my blurry just-woke-up vision kept me from being able to see clearly. I could feel something struggling in my hands, and after blinking away the sleep a bit I noticed that it was not a Quaffle but a head. I let go immediately.
“Tasha, you bloody idiot! What’s your problem!” asked the girl whose head I’d been holding agitatedly as she fixed her slightly messed-up blonde hair.
I was still half asleep, so I couldn’t quite tell who it was. Someone with blonde hair…she was pretty and tall as well. Her eyes were a strange shade of blueish green, and they were glaring at me in a way that was all too familiar.
Realization dawned on me. Oh, Merlin… I sat up and a guilty smile spread across my face. I tucked a few strands of my hair behind my ears and said sheepishly, “Oops! Sorry, Bri. I was dreaming.”
My best friend glared at me. This was a look that could send shivers down one’s back - Bri was infamous for it. However, having been on the receiving end of this look since forever, I was used to it. For such a pretty girl, Briallen Warwick could still be a little jerk. Not that I minded of course. She was my best friend, after all.
I jumped out of bed, yawned and stretched. “I thought you were a Quaffle,” I said apologetically.
“A Quaffle?” Bri asked skeptically, “So I'm a Quaffle now, am I? Can your dreams get any weirder?”
“Hopefully, no,” I replied. “I was playing Quidditch against the library! Books were zooming all over. I wonder why I saw that…the library and books, I mean. Hmm…”
“Maybe I know,” she said, raising her perfectly arched eyebrows and folding her arms in front of her chest. “It’s because you forgot to return your library book, again. And Madam Studd was looking for you all over school. And as always, I had to search for it and return it with your sincere apologies, while you dreamed of going to the library, like the Bludger you are.”
Merlin, not again. Madam Studd already had grudge against me; I’d be dead the next time she saw me in her perfect library. This was the third time I’d forgotten to return a book this month.
“I’m sorry, Bri,” I said, sighing and deciding not to tell her that calling me a Bludger was practically a compliment. Bri hated Quidditch with a passion. “I…I forgot. I can’t help it, I’m just…forgetful!”
“Unlucky you,” she said coldly.
“Okay, I said I was sorry, and thank you. I owe you big time again.”
Bri grinned. She had been my best friend for seventeen years, so apparently she was used to my clumsiness.
I grinned too, glad to see that she had accepted my apology. “What time is it?” I asked as I walked into the dormitory’s bathroom. “Did I miss brekky?”
“No, but we’re definitely going to miss our train home. It leaves in fifteen minutes and guess what…you’re not ready again!” she sighed in annoyance. “I hope you have time to fix that mess you call hair; people will be staring at us as it is, we’re so bloody late. You do this to me every time, Tash…I don’t know why I don’t just leave you here sleeping and get on that train without you.”
“Because you’re my best friend, and you love me. And by the way, not every time. It just happened last year, you know,” I said, sticking my lower lip out in a pout. That usually did the trick with everyone, so why not try my chances with her?
“And the year before,” Bri snapped, raising her eyebrow.
I opened my mouth to give a witty reply, but before I could even start she said, “I don’t care! Hurry up now, or you’ll see the consequences.” she said the last bit in a sinister whisper and flicked her ever-perfect wavy blonde hair in my face as she stormed away.
I decided not to say anything and went towards the bathroom to freshen up. The moment I saw my reflection, I understood what Bri was talking about. My usually neat and flowing black hair was tangled, sticking up at odd angles here and there like the twigs of a broomstick. My hazel eyes were still droopy. Sighing at my stupid luck, I put a bit of toothpaste on my brush. No one would ever have that perfect face and body of Briallen Warwick. No wonder all the girls (except me, of course) hated her. I was brushing my teeth when I saw her reflection on the bathroom mirror. Her face was a mixture of amusement and annoyance.
“Whafft?” I asked, my mouth full of toothpaste.
“Nothing, nothing… just hurry up and spit already. You take hours just to brush your bloody teeth…”
I obeyed and continued getting ready. I showered and dressed as Bri tapped her foot impatiently on the wooden floor in the dormitory.
“All set!” I declared when I came out of the bathroom. “And in only five minutes!” I added triumphantly. Bri would never be able to beat that. She took hours in the bathroom every morning.
“Wow, what a record,” she muttered sarcastically, walking towards the door. “Let’s go!”
We ran out of our dormitory, racing downstairs to catch the train, which was waiting for us in a small station nearby the school. I looked longingly at the dining hall as my stomach growled at the whiff of pancakes, but Bri pulled me away from there.
“It’s all because of you, you know. We’ll miss the train if we stop for food!” Bri said when I continued to look wistfully at the hall.
We raced out of the school, almost stumbling into the other late-risers who were rushing past us. I looked back at it longingly, still running. It would be three months before I’d be able to see my school and sleep in my comfortable dormitory again.
There was something special about Eduvene School of Sorcery, though it was hard to tell exactly what. After all, if you drove past it, it would be impossible to tell that it was a school of magic; it was practically indistinguishable from any other old-ish private school in Australia. Built on top of a small hill, the three-storied building was built in the shape of a large rectangle, with a huge courtyard in the middle. The structure was dotted with big windows. Three flights of stone steps led out of each of the three entrances, the largest of them in the middle. Just above the mahogany front doors, a stained glass bore the school’s coat of arms: a kangaroo, a koala, a kookaburra, a possum and a platypus, all congregated around a large “E”. The school looked as brilliant as ever.
We reached the train almost as it was leaving. I was still looking backwards at the school, so I didn’t see the tall figure in front of me. I bumped into him, hard.
“Ugh! Can’t you watch where you’re going, you crazy witch?” asked an exasperated voice.
Bri helped me up. I groaned as I recognized who I had bumped into. Someone with dark, spiky hair and cold grey eyes.
“Sorry, Shaun,” I apologized. Shaun Richton used to be one of my biggest crushes. I was head over heels for him, until I found out he was nothing but an arsehole. Since then I’d been avoiding him, and I was less than happy to see him right before we left.
“Whatever, just watch where you’re going,” replied Shaun agitatedly. His thin face was etched with annoyance, and he was smirking at me.
“Hey, don’t talk to her like that!” snapped Bri.
“What’ll you do?” he asked with a sneer. “Use an Unforgivable? I doubt it, Wazza.”
“Listen, Richton, I don’t want to spoil my mood now, so get lost, or else “”
“Or what?” he asked, coming forward. He was taller than Bri, who didn’t seem intimidated at all.
“Guys, stop it!” I yelled loudly. Bri and Shaun stopped arguing immediately.
“Listen, Shaun, I don’t give a damn about what you think of me, so rack off,” I said angrily. I’d had enough of this bloody idiot. He had hurt me enough. “I don’t want to have anything to do with you, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be on my way.”
“Be my guest,” Shaun drawled, stepping aside and gesturing towards the train. Bri and I walked away from Shaun, though I think Bri was tempted to turn around and punch him. I was holding her arm tightly, practically dragging her away from him instead. If she punched him now, all it would achieve was her starting next year with a detention. It’d be better if we just ignored him.
We quickly got on the train, found ourselves a compartment, put our luggage in the rack above and sat down.
“That Shaun,” I grumbled once we were all set. “I don’t understand what the hell his problem is.”
“Why do you even bother?” asked Bri. “Just ignore him.”
“Yeah, I will. I can’t believe that he’s the same bloke I had a crush on a couple of years ago. He was so nice then.”
“That’s what boys are like,” Bri said with a scowl on her face. “And that’s exactly why I don’t date.” Bri wasn’t exactly short of guys falling for her, though she never looked back at any of them.
“He was so nice earlier,” I continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “He started acting like this after I beat him in the exams in fourth year.”
“He’s obsessed with being the best at everything,” Bri said. “That’s how you understand that he’s not a good guy. He stopped being nice to you after you got better grades than he did. What type of friendship is that?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“I always am.”
“That’s why you’re my best friend.”
“Hey!”
I grinned. Shaking my head a little at Bri, I looked out of the window. I was a little reluctant to go home, though I was glad to see my parents again. It was fun at school…except for the schoolwork. And home was so…lonely, with just my parents (when they were even home) and I. Only Bri was any company, and that was only when she came over. It was a little pathetic, really, that I liked my school better than my own home.
Hours later when the train pulled into Sydney’s Central Station, I had no idea that I’d receive news that’d change my life forever.
The Hidden Truth by majestic_ginny
Chapter Notes: Thanks a lot to my loveliest Beta, emck (Emily), without whom this fic would be in my recycle bin.
I am not JKR. If you thought that I was, I'd set a Basilisk on you. Just kidding :).
Ginosus and Anatinus are houses, by the way.
Chapter Endnotes: Please review, people. They make my day. I'd love to receive some feedback.
--Nadia