6. Twisted feelings taking jumps and dives

Twisted feelings taking dives and jumps

The next morning I was awake pretty early. I stayed in bed…thinking. Malfoy had been so sweet and tender yesterday, I actually believed he could be a sensitive partner. I felt his strong arms wrapped around me again, felt his muscular chest under my head again and had trouble not to give a sigh. Then I came to reality and realized I had done something terrible. “I kissed him again! And I said I wanted to! Oh what have I done!” I hoped Draco didn’t want to trick me which seemed more normal for him. But then again it felt so real, but it can’t have been. Wrestling with these feelings I was appalled from Hermione’s voice. “Morning!” she said cheerful.
“Hi”
“ You were pretty late yesterday, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, that bloody Snape”
While we got dressed Hermione wanted to find out what happened the day before. “So did you and Draco talk?”
“What kind of question is that?” I asked on a pretty blaming voice.
“Well? You were locked in a small room for four hours ”
“ Yeah Hermione, we were locked in a small room for four hours!” I kind of sneered, at which I rather quickly felt pretty guilty, she was my friend so I decided to go on. “ Snape did leave for five minutes, but that’s the only time we were alone.”
“ He did? He left you guys alone, what happened?” I already regretted I told her. Then I looked at her, I couldn’t lie to her: “ I’m sorry Hermione, but I’m…hungry”
“Right! Well.. Ok.. Let’s go get breakfast then.”
Ron and Harry were in the great hall already, as were the twins and Lee, I greeted them all and went sitting between George and Ron, so I would be away from Hermione. I cheered a bit up during breakfast. Fred was amusing himself with catapulting all of his food to Ron and Hermione got so mad she almost choked. “Wow Hermione I never realized you liked Ron so much!” George said with a big smile. Then the both of them made there way back as soon as they could to escape the furious Hermione. Lee and I decided to run after them because she seemed to be as mad to us, just for laughing along with them.
I had classes with the three boys the entire day and they were in a pretty good mood. They made fun at everyone around. The nice thing about them was they were really funny without hurting anyone. I once again had a lovely day and almost forgot about Malfoy.
The second hour that afternoon we had to stay with McGonagall. “Fred, George, Lee and Joan you can stay here for a second.” She said and so we watched the rest off our class leave. “Well” she said: “did you guys actually hear anything I said today?”
“Yeah!” we all four said. She looked pretty suspicious, raising her eyebrows. “So this isn’t yours?” She took a whole box with all kinds of funs stuff, which had flown trough the air during the hour class. A couple off feathers had caught fire, while others had chased there owners. The papers in the box, professor McGonagall was holding, had given directions to the feathers, it was a rather fun and new invention of the twins.
“Well that’s a totally different question, professor.” Lee said. McGonagall looked a bit angry, but then said. “Very well then, you can go and hurry, I’ll check how fast you got at your next class. Depending on that I’ll see whether you need detention or not.”
The four off us sprinted out off the classroom, down the stairs. Laughing at ourselves running as fast as we could. We jumped off the stairs, but at landing I dislocated my ankle. Fred turned around “Oh Joan, you really can’t use anymore detention! You do know that?”
“Oh Djees Fred didn’t think off that, next time I jump I wont dislocate my ankle on purpose!”
“Sorry” he said and got me back on my feet. I saw in a blink over Fred’s shoulder that Malfoy was looking at us. He didn’t look happy at all. “ Can you stand on it?”
“Yeah”
“Can you run?”
“ Doubt it”
“O crap Joan, come on” he grabbed my arm and laid it in his neck, giving me aid. So we hurried to class, leaving behind a disappointed Malfoy.
Next classes the boys behaved, not that they were afraid for McGonagall, but they blamed their selves for my ankle. I though didn’t mind there attention and had lots of laughs with them in the common room. I went to bed before Hermione got in the common room and pretended to be a sleep as she got in the room and stood up early next morning. By the time Hermione got up I was making homework in the common room, I knew she would appreciate me to make homework. And by the time she got back I joined Fred, George and Lee to the Great hall. “ You don’t like Hermione that much, do you now?” George asked.
“ Oh I like her alright, she just is a bit kibitzer sometimes.”
“ Ha-ha we know” the twins answered at the same time.

The second hour I had defence against the dark arts. Fred noticed I didn’t feel like it and suggested to walk with me. “ Thanks Fred!” As we got to the class all Slytherins and Gryffindors were already waiting at their teacher. “I guess it will work from here, right?”
“ Yeah I guess” I responded with a smile. Then I went to Ron, Harry and…Hermione, but I didn’t look her in the eyes.
I noticed that during class she tried to get my attention, but I pretended to be very concentrated. When we got out class I couldn’t escape “Why are you avoiding me?”
“I’m not avoiding you, Hermione” out of the corner of my eye I saw Malfoy looking at us.
“Oh please! You haven’t spoken to me in two days!”
“ Yeah well must off my classes…” I started.
“That has got nothing to do with it, I’ll find out what bothers you, Joan, I will. You can just tell me as well!”
“But..”
“I was right, wasn’t I?” she whispered: “ it is Malfoy, isn’t it?”
“I need to go to McGonagall, she has already dared with detention.
“Why don’t you ask Malfoy to join you? He would, gladly” she sputtered between her teeth, angry, but silent.
“HERMIONE! Never wondered this could be exactly why I am avoiding you?!”
She looked pretty shocked, but it wasn’t in her nature to apologize quickly, so I didn’t expect her to. I turned around and walked away, happy that I had to go the entire other direction.
I though didn’t walked fast, I didn’t feel like going to the three happy boys, I didn’t feel like being cheered up. So I slowly walked on the stairs. I heard footsteps and looked up. A group of Slytherins passed me, nearly each one of them “accidentally” pushing me. But when I thought they all were round the corner, a hand grabbed my arm. Draco’s grey eyes stared into mine, the seemed…worried. “Are you alright?” he asked. I was shocked, he wasn’t suppose to do this!! If anyone saw!.. But I quietly responded: “ Yeah, sure.”
“ That filthy little mud blood of a Granger.”
“Don’t!”
“I’m sorry, but I have the feeling she really hurt you..”
“ Yeah well she did”
“Was it you know..”
“ Yes”
“ How does she know?”
She’s my friend she knows me. But I really need to go now.. McGonagall...”
“Yeah ok, bye” and he quickly looked around and gave me a small, but tender kiss.

That evening in the common room Hermione came to apologize, I forgave her quickly. And went to Fred who was calling my name for the entire common room. “What?”
“Nothing I’m just helping you to get out of Hermione’s hands” he answered, grinning.
“Fred you’re amazing!”
“Thank you, thank you”
“No I mean really, you’ve been backing up for me all the time lately, thank you.”
“Well uhm, pleasure… O c’mon Joan what do you expect me to do? You do not deserve to be in pain.” I felt so much like giving him a huge but I didn’t, because we still were standing in the middle of the common room.
“Joan!?” a little voice sounded. “Yeah?”
“Uhm, professor McGonagall wants you to come to her office.” the entire common room was looking at me.
“What did I do?”
“I don’t know, sorry” he peeped.
I groaned and intended to leave the common room when Fred asked: “Do I need to walk with you?”
“No I’m fine thanks Fred.”
“Ok” It felt weird it was as if Fred expected something would happen to me, he was actually very protective the last time.
I knocked on the door of professor McGonagall’s office. “Come in! …Ah Miss Dhanes, come in.”
“Thank you”
“I wanted to talk to you. You see our Quidditch captain isn’t taking his job to seriously and I was wondering if you could fall in for him. Well, or actually take over his job. Because next month we have our first match and I can’t remember you’ve practiced that much.”
“Well now you do say so…”
“So would you?”
“Of course, yeah, I’d love to, just would you tell…”
“Yeah no problem.” she smiled at me and I felt relieved. “I hope, but I’m quite sure you will, you’ll do your very best for it” she continued.
“I sure will, thank you professor.”
“Thank YOU, Miss Dhanes. Now off you go.”
And so I came into the common room again a few minutes later. “What was it?” Fred, George, Lee, Harry, Ron and Hermione apparently had been waiting for me. “Uhm” I let my eyes go trough the common room as I spotted the Quidditch captain. George noticed I didn’t want to say it out loud in the common room and he pushed us all into the boys’ rooms, we went up to the twins and Lee’s room. “Now speak.”
“Well, she wants me to be the Quidditch captain.”
“What?”
“Yeah”
“That’s just good!” Harry said, “We nearly had five practices!”
The three Weasley brothers agreed.
“But that’s just great, congrats!”
“Well”, I continued: “since we’ve got five of our players here already, I can ask you guys: Which evening aren’t you free?”
“Not a single one!” they all cheerful answered.
“We’ve got some catching up to do, does Ginny have any busy evening?”
“No”, Hermione answered.
“ Well I’m not going to ask our ex-captain yet, but.. I’m looking forward to it.”