Trouble → Fred Weasley

Chapter Twenty: The Peacemaker

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ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Sweet Dreams

"You're like the mist in the morning.

You're a moment, body warming"

To Sapphire's delight, the firebolts weren't cursed and Andromeda had been happy to hand them back to her while warning that she still didn't know who they were from or why they were sent. Alex was wary of it but Sapphire didn't care...she had a firebolt!

Upon getting back, Sapphire hadn't told anyone about it other than her friends and the golden trio; she didn't want the whole school to know about it just yet. She wanted it to be a surprise when she showed up with it on the field and watched the other team's faces drop.

Okay, that was a little mean but she was just so excited about it.

She had found out that Harry had also been sent the same broomstick and Hermione had given it to Professor McGonagall. Ron and Harry were angry at the girl for doing so but Sapphire understood.

"You don't need to be mean to her, she'd just trying to help," Sapphire insisted as she scribbled.

She was sitting with Ron and Harry while completing her Astronomy homework. She had been asking them how Christmas in the castle had been and had gotten a rant from Ron about Hermione's cat instead.

"It's not just her as well, it's her cat!" Ron raged.

"Ronald, it's not Hermione's fault that you have a rat and cats like rats."

"Well, I—"

Luckily, Ron had been interrupted by the arrival of Oliver Wood.

"Had a good Christmas?" Wood said, and then, without waiting for an answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, "I've been, doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you know. If the Dementors come to the next one...I mean...we can't afford you to — well—"

Wood broke off, looking awkward.

"I'm working on it," said Harry quickly. "Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward off the Dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he'd have time after Christmas."

"Ah," said Wood, his expression clearing. "Well, in that case — I really didn't want to lose you as Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a new broom yet?"

"No," said Harry.

"What! You'd better get a move on, you know — you can't ride that Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!"

"He and Sapphire got Firebolts for Christmas," said Ron.

Sapphire glared at Ron; she hadn't wanted many people to know about it and by the sounds of it, he planned on telling the whole school. She wished she kept it to herself.

"A Firebolt? No! Seriously? A — a real Firebolt?"

"Don't get excited, Oliver," said Harry gloomily. "I haven't got it anymore. It was confiscated. " 

And he explained all about how the Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes.

"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?"

"Sirius Black," Harry said wearily. "He's supposed to be after me. So McGonagall reckons he might have sent it. "

Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was after his Seeker, Wood said, "But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on the run! The whole country's on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?"

Wood looked at Sapphire, who gave him a shrug.

"Mine wasn't jinxed if that means anything, I have mine!" Sapphire replied as she tried to finish her homework.

"Good!" Wood looked slightly relieved. "Harry—"

"I know," said Harry, "but McGonagall still wants to strip it down --"

Wood went pale.

"I'll go and talk to her, Harry," he promised. "I'll make her see reason... Firebolts...real Firebolts, on our team...She wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do...I'll make her see sense. A Firebolt..."

"Oh and Oliver, Alex has one too so just...I've warned Angie and Cia considering we're the ones scoring against him." Sapphire called before he left.

He gave her a short nod before leaving. Sapphire glanced at Ron, slightly annoyed he'd give away her surprise but carried on with her homework nonetheless.

"Are you doing well with the patronus charm?" Sapphire asked Harry. "Remus is a great teacher."

"It's getting somewhere but it's so frustrating!" Harry groaned as smiled at him.

"You'll get there and Alex and I can help as well...it's just not the same as having the boggart to practice on," Sapphire replied honestly. "It took us a little while to learn it as well but we haven't completely mastered making it into an animal yet but it does the job."

"Yeah, but you're you!" Harry replied with a huff. "You just get magic in a way none of us do, it's insane."

"Oh and you'd know, would you?" Sapphire raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! I see the duels you have with people for fun and you tutor the first years," Ron replied in agreement with Harry.

"If only that could be said for written work," Sapphire sighed. "That stuff will be the death of me, I don't know how Alex does it."

"He's like Hermione but meaner!" Ron added.

"He isn't that mean, just a little cranky from time to time," Sapphire grinned as she packed her things away.

Admittedly, Alex could be very blunt from time to time and for a lot of people, that was considered 'mean'. Sapphire had grown up with him so she didn't see it that way, he just communicated differently. Not to mention, Alex was also sly (a trait Slytherin valued him for) and he liked to use his bluntness to his advantage.

"Being like Hemrione is a good thing and that's why you need to stop being mad at her," said Sapphire pointedly.

"But—"

"Ron, that girl had been through hell and back with you two. You're not going to lose her because you are mad with her cat and her caring about Harry's life!"  Sapphire argued.

Sapphire gave the two boys a pointed look before she placed the quill in her backpack and headed up towards the girls' dorms. It was important to Sapphire that the trio remained friends because she wasn't sure what trouble Harry would find himself in without them. He needed them and he knew that.

"What's got you in a bad mood?" Angelina questioned, sitting on her bed.

"Drama," Sapphire sighed, running a hand through the top of her hair.

"Ah, is that why you're included then?"

"Hey! I'm not included in all the drama—" Sapphire argued. 

"Just most of it," Angelina teased.

"Okay, I'm included in most of it."