View Single Post
Old 02-22-2010, 07:10 AM   #111 (permalink)
veggie_potter
Gryffindor
Jarvey
 
veggie_potter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Pigfarts
Posts: 577

Hogwarts RPG Name:
Guenevere 'Gwen' Olivia White
Graduated
Gryffindor
♫ Gotta Get Back to Hogwarts ♫ | That makes me your Mama. | I'm Team Dumbledore! ♥

It's about darn time I finished this chapter! It's the longest chapter I've done so far, so bare with me! I hope you all enjoy it. Not sure how long the next one will be, but keep your eyes peeled! Thanks!
__________________________________________________ ________

Chapter 17: Ludomamie


Spring was in the air. The snow had long since melted. Summer was quickly approaching. A cool breeze made its way through the air, brushing the tree’s leaves lightly, causing them to whistle. The sun was warm and inviting; big, fluffy clouds floated idly by.

Clementine had been spending most of her time alone. She didn’t mind it much, but she was saddened by the fact that Rose and Albus still had not talked to her even though she broke it off with James. She was in a courtyard, making stones nearby hover. She was quite talented at the levitating charm, but she was not as good as Rose. A very pretty black stone rose higher and higher into the air, but fell immediately as Clementine lost her concentration. An owl swooped low over her head, and dropped a letter into her lap. She picked it up, eyeing it curiously.

“I wonder who this is from?” she asked herself. The front of the envelope had her name on it, written neatly in loopy cursive. She did not recognize the handwriting. Wasting no more time, she tore it open.

Dear Clementine,
I hope school is going well for you. I have been staying in your mother’s house since the funeral, and I’ve had quite a remarkable time. Unfortunately, I will have to leave soon, for I am being chased by policemen for avoiding a ticket. I offer you my deepest of sorrows, and I hope you will be able to find a comfortable place to stay. I wish you, Viktorya, and Torr much luck in the coming days, and I hope you have a wonderful summer.
Love,
John Orion (your father)


Clementine stared at the letter in disbelief. She didn’t know what was more odd; the fact that her dad was on the run, or the fact that he had managed to send a letter by owl despite being a Muggle. Dumbstruck, she left her place in the courtyard to find Torr and Viktorya.

Lucky for her, it was lunchtime, and most of the students were in the Great Hall enjoying their meals. She spotted Viktorya sitting next to Lorcan and Lysander at the Ravenclaw table.

“Vikki, come with me to the Gryffindor table. I have to show you and Torr something.”

She followed her sister to the table and they sat next to Torr.

“Look at this,” Clementine handed Torr the letter from John.

Viktorya read it with him. Their eyes moved swiftly across the parchment.

“He’s running from Muggle authorities? This is very fishy,” said Viktorya, looking perturbed.

“Yeah. I wonder what that’s about,” said Torr, who continued to gaze at the parchment as if it would reveal further information.

Someone tapped Clementine on the shoulder. She spun around and saw Rose and Albus standing behind her.

“Can we, uh, talk to you?” Albus asked.

Clementine rolled her eyes and stood up.

“I’ll be right back,” she told Torr and Viktorya.

She guessed what they wanted to talk about.

“Look,” said Rose, as the three of them walked out of the Great Hall and onto the grounds. Dark swirling clouds had formed overhead, casting shadows over the entire castle. They heard thunder as the sound ricocheted off of the mountains near by.

“Are you guys finally apologizing?” Clementine asked, after the thunder had dissipated. Several large raindrops had fallen on their heads.

“Us apologize? We’ve been waiting for you to apologize,” said Albus, looking at Clementine like he had never seen her before.

“What? What do I have to apologize for?” she said. She was flabbergasted.

“You mean you never thought once of apologizing to us?” Rose said, now just as flabbergasted as Clementine.

“Of course not! Why do I need to apologize? I did nothing wrong.”

Albus snorted loudly. Clementine scowled.

“Then tell me what I did wrong!”

“You didn’t trust us! Why couldn’t you have just told us you were with James? Why did you have to keep it a secret? We felt contaminated, betrayed. We’ve been best friends for a while but you couldn’t confide in us,” said Rose.

Clementine remained silent, staring at them. She had no idea that they felt that way. How could she?

“Why didn’t you tell me that? How was I supposed to know how you guys felt? You neglected me the second you found out!”

They stared back. Albus shifted guiltily, and Rose just looked at the floor.

“Well?” asked Clementine.

“We’re sorry,” said Albus.

“We should have realized that what we did to you was just as wrong. It took us a while, but after you never came up to us, we finally understood why. So, we’re sorry,” said Rose, and she and Albus moved toward Clementine to hug her.

Clementine didn’t know how long she stood there with them in silence. After seeing several others make their way onto the grounds, they decided it was time to go back inside.

“We don’t want to be rained on,” said Rose.

“Oh, by the way, there is something I have to tell you guys,” said Clementine.

“What is it,” said Albus, as the reached the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

The found Torr and Viktorya still sitting together with the letter on the table. James had joined them, and he looked at Clementine, Albus, and Rose as if he had never seen them together before.

“Finally apologized, huh?” asked James, eyeing them angrily.

Rose and Albus ignored him. Clementine shrugged. They sat down opposite Viktorya, Torr, and James.

“What was it you wanted to tell us?” asked Rose, looking at Clementine curiously.

“Well, I was outside this morning, practicing my levitating charm. An owl swooped down because I wasn’t in here to receive it. It dropped this letter into my hand,” she said, as she snatched up the letter John had sent, and handed it to Rose and Albus.

They read it, and then looked up with complete shock etched in their face.

“But, how did he get an owl? How’d he know to send it here?” asked Rose.

“Never mind that! Why is he running from them? I thought when Muggles got a ticket they just had to pay a fine,” said Albus.

“Well, I guess we’ll never know. I wish I didn’t give him our house key, though,” said Torr, shaking his head and finishing his pumpkin juice.

“It is quite odd,” said Viktorya.

“I don’t think you guys are going to find out anything more about it. Especially when he is on the run, and he is a Muggle. Our news source doesn’t report crimes in the Muggle world unless they are directly associated with the wizarding world,” said James.

“I suppose you’re right,” said Clementine. She was longing for James to hold her. Quickly pushing the thought from her mind, she said, “Do you want to visit Hagrid?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” exclaimed Rose.

“Torr and I have Quidditch practice. We won’t be able too,” said James, frowning. He hoped to spend some time with Clementine while the others were preoccupied.

“Oh, that’s right! The final is tomorrow! I can’t wait! Good luck, you two,” said Clementine, as she, Albus, and Rose left the table.

The made there way out of the Entrance Hall once more, but found that the rain had started to pour in the bucket loads.

“Maybe we should just hang out in the common room, for now,” suggested Albus.

The girls nodded in agreement, and they swept up the grand staircase and into the common room.

“We should start working on our study guides. Finals are coming up soon,” said Rose.

Clementine and Albus rolled their eyes. Clementine missed these moments with them.

“We’ve got at least a month. Lets just talk,” said Albus.

“The finals are in a month! You can just put off studying until the night before,” said Rose.

“We won’t, but what’s the difference between today and tomorrow?” Clementine asked, knowing full well what Rose would say next.

“The Quidditch final, that’s what! You know that you won’t want to do anything but celebrate our victory tomorrow,” Rose said, sitting down at the table in front of the fireplace and pulling out her school items.

Clementine and Albus sat next to her, but abandoned their school things.

***


Saturday arrived in what seemed like no time at all. Clementine and Rose woke up early in the morning, and dressed hurriedly. They were anxious to get down to the Great Hall and eat and make their way to the Quidditch pitch.

When they got to the common room, they found it packed. They had to wind their way through excited people to find Albus, who was squashed between Torr and the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Alan. James was talking to the three of them about different strategies.

“You could spiral once you reach Hufflepuff’s end. They’d probably get confused, think you lost control of your—“ said Alan, but stopped talking when he noticed Clementine and Rose appear. “I don’t want to spoil the game for spectators,” he laughed, and then walked off, allowing Albus to have room.

“Good luck today,” said Clementine, hugging both James and Torr. Rose and Albus eyed her as she embraced James, thinking that they would start to kiss while in front of them.

“Thanks,” said Torr.

“Should be a good game today. If we lose, oh well. But, I’m on the team, so there is no way we could lose,” laughed James. He and Torr said goodbye, and they left to eat breakfast.

“This should be an exciting game,” said Albus, as they made their way through the crowded common room and out of the portrait hole. “They have all kinds of tricks up their sleeves! Just wait.”

They arrived in the Great Hall. The Quidditch players had finished their meals and they were all making their way up to the Quidditch pitch.

“We should hurry,” Albus suggested.

They all loaded their plates with food. As they were shoveling it down their throats, Blake Snape, Scorpius Malfoy, and Erin Zabini walked up to them.

“Hey Weasley. We’ll be rooting for the Gryffindor’s today. Would you like to sit with us?” Snape asked, looking at Rose longingly.

Rose blushed slightly, and then looked at Albus and Clementine, who shrugged.

“I’m sorry, Blake, but I’ll be sitting with them today. We’ll probably see each other,” she said.

Snape did not look happy, but he stood up straight and marched off with his companions without another word.

“Are you ever going to explain to me what that’s about?” asked Clementine.

Rose frowned. “Of course. Well, the day you confronted Dane about his affliction, Albus and I were eavesdropping because we thought you’d want to tell him what happened to you. Instead, Albus found out he was part werewolf, and he was mad at me for not telling him. You and Albus stalked off and I was alone with Dane, and he kissed me.”

“I was wondering when he was going to make a move,” Clementine laughed. Rose stared.

“Well, I don’t like him like that! It was so embarrassing and awkward. Blake happened to be walking by at the exact same time, and he whisked me away.”

“Do you like Snape?” asked Albus incredulously.

Rose blushed.

“Ah ha!” yelled Clementine. “You were mad with me because you were angry with yourself!”

“What are you on about?” asked Albus.

“Well, isn’t it possible that Rose was mad with me for being secretive only because she was mad at herself for secretly liking Snape? It makes perfect sense,” said Clementine, looking from Rose to Albus.

“That’s mad,” said Rose. “We should head out soon.”

“You’re right,” said Albus, leaving Clementine to her own thoughts.

They headed out to the pitch. On their way there, an owl swooped down and dropped a large roll.

“Oh yeah, we should have waited for post to arrive,” said Rose, unfurling the Daily Prophet, and stuffed it in her robes.

“Hey, can I have a look at that now?” asked Clementine.

“Sure,” said Rose, taking it from her robes and handing it to Clementine.
Clementine skimmed the first page. She had to do a double take. She stopped walking and fell behind. Rose and Albus didn’t notice until half way to the pitch.

“Clem?” asked Albus.

He and Rose turned around and spotted Clementine a few paces behind.
Clementine stared at the paper. She could hardly believe her eyes.

“What’s up, Clem?” asked Rose.

Clementine handed them the paper and wait for their reaction. Rose finished first.

“Oh my goodness. But, how could that be?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but I better let Viktorya know. You guys go to the game without me. I’ll meet you in the common room later,” Clementine said.

“Isn’t she going to be at the game?” Albus asked.

“No, she wanted to get ahead on the exams,” Clementine said.

She left, and headed back toward the castle. She found her way to the library, hoping that Viktorya would be in there. She entered the library, passing book stack after book stack. In the very back, she finally spotted her sister.

“Vikki!”

Viktorya looked up from the book she was reading, startled.

“Clem! I thought you’d be down on the pitch. What are you doing in the library?” Viktorya asked. “It can’t be good. Your hair turned again.”

Clementine’s hair was once again the coppery red that was associated with disturbance.

“You have to see this,” she said, thrusting the newspaper into her sister’s hands.

Viktorya scanned the page.

“I must say, this doesn’t surprise me, as much as it disturbs me. He isn’t really our dad. We may have his blood, but he didn’t raise us,” Viktorya said.

“But we thought john was a Muggle. He’s a wizard! A wizard on the run!”

“Well, they caught him. I’m sure we’re all safe now,” said Viktorya.

“But, the article said he tortured Muggles. I mean, our father! Don’t you feel dirty? Contaminated?” Clementine said.

“Not really. He may have contributed to our existence, but I feel no emotional attachment to this man. Therefore, I don’t feel contaminated,” Viktorya said.

“It’s horrible, isn’t it? After everything with Voldemort, there are still wizards that want to harm Muggles?”

“It is. Lucky for them, though, that the ministry’s Auror team is beyond superior now,” said Viktorya, returning to her book.

“They said they took him to the penitentiary Ludomamie. I’ve never heard of it,” said Clementine, knowing that her sister would know about it.

“Oh yes. It’s about as old as Azkaban. It was hardly used though, until very recently. They would only hold extreme cases there. Now it’s just a house for loony people” said Viktorya.

Clementine sat in silence, watching her sister copy spells and their meaning from her book. What seemed like hours later, she decided to head back to the common room to see if the game was over.

As she entered the common room, noise met her. It was much more packed than it was in the morning. She had to wind her way through, pushing people left a right, trying to find Rose and Albus. She spotted them near their usual table in front of the fireplace, which was completely blocked by people. Torr and James were sitting with them as well, with girls flirting with them. Clementine sat next to Rose, eyeing James with a pang of jealousy as a girl she had never seem hugged him and then kissed him on the cheek.

“We won,” he called out to Clementine, red in the face and hoping she didn’t notice. He could tell by the look on her face that she did.

“Congratulations,” she called out to Torr, ignoring James. James would not take his eyes off of her.

__________________________________________________ ______________
Thank you for reading! Comments always appreciated!
veggie_potter is offline