The Gryffindor Malfoy

Chapter 14

Summary: Because of Draco, Gryffindor will no longer be playing against Slytherin, but against Hufflepuff.

For the next few days all everyone can talk about is Sirius Black, the school has practically no other talk. In place of the painting of the Fat Lady is the portrait of Sir Cadogan, and I probably never thought I'd miss a painting as much as I do now... Whenever someone wants to enter the Gryffindor common room, Sir Cadogan challenges them to a duel. What's more, he has a habit of changing the room's password at least twice a day.

"He's a complete lunatic," says Seamus Finnigan, a third year boy. "Can't we get anyone else?"

"None of the other pictures wanted the job," answers Percy. "Frightened of what happened to the Fat Lady. Sir Cadogan was the only one brave enough to volunteer."

Great...

What I'm most excited about as the days go by is the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin that will take place next Saturday, but the joy is short-lived, unfortunately. I walk in the Gryffindor common room and Fred and George come to talk to me. 

"That git of a brother of yours made Saturday's game change." says Fred. 

I raise my eyebrows in surprise at this information. I have no idea what they're talking about. 

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously. 

"Flint managed to swap the games." says George. "On Saturday, instead of playing against Slytherin, we'll be playing against Hufflepuff."

I look from one to the other, confused. "Why?"

"Because Malfoy was able to use the excuse that his arm hasn't recovered yet..." says Fred. "All this to get them out of playing during the storm."

"But there's nothing wrong with his arm!" I say. "It's all drama and pretence..."

"We know!" they both say. "I'm going to use one of those dungbombs the next time I meet that son of a..." George adds, but I hurry up to my dorm before I hear him finish his sentence.

This makes me go after my brother during dinner on Friday. I enter the Great Hall determined, walking straight to the Slytherin table. Many heads turn towards me and I feel a lot of stares from the Slytherins when I get close to where Draco is sitting. Goyle, who is sitting next to my brother and sees me first, nudges him to get his attention, and then Draco turns round, looks at me, flashes a cynical grin and stands up.

"What's up, Rina?" Draco greets me. "I guess you heard about the change to the game tom..." he can't finish the sentence, because I'm so annoyed that they've managed to find an excuse not to play on a stormy day that I slap him on the back of the head. "OUCH! What was that for?!"

"Your arm is fine!" I say through gritted teeth. "You're a bunch of cowards, aren't you? You're going to see Gryffindor win, that's for sure..."

"Sibling rivalry, always fun to watch..." I hear Blaise whisper to Theodore. 

In the same week as this sad news, it seems that things can't get any worse, but that's where I'm wrong: for some reason, Professor Lupin is absent from class, and Professor Snape takes his place. I was enjoying DADA so much... Not to offend Snape, he's a great teacher, at least in terms of his lessons, they're usually very good, difficult but good. However, if you're particularly a Gryffindor, don't expect to be treated with sympathy or kindness by him, he hates us. At first I thought that the fact that he and my parents knew each other, maybe even considered each other friends, might help me to be treated better, but he doesn't really differentiate between us Gryffindors, well, at least all of us except Harry, who is treated worse than everyone else. 

I can't deny that my competitive spirit rises on Quidditch match day, and seeing the Slytherins join the Hufflepuffs (even if part of me is happy to see them finally trying to interact with people outside Slytherin), and some even boldly wearing Hufflepuff colours, certainly makes me more competitive and angry with Draco for having managed to switch the matches. 

My Gryffindor friends (Ginny, Amber, Beatrice and Lydia) and I join other Gryffindor students such as Hermione and Ron, as well as several Ravenclaw students who also support our team. The match begins, but it's difficult, almost impossible, to follow the game due to the heavy rain. After the first flash of lightning since the start of the match, Madam Hooch's whistle blows, signalling for time-out.

I can see the Gryffindor players huddling under an umbrella on one side of the pitch, while the Hufflepuff players do the same on the other. 

"Isn't he cute?" I hear Beatrice say next to me. 

I frown, confused that I don't know who she's talking about. 

"Who?" I ask. 

Beatrice points to the pitch, more precisely to the huddle of Hufflepuff players. 

"Cedric Diggory, of course!"

I roll my eyes. Oh, obviously she was talking about Diggory... Most girls have a crush on him, but I can't understand what's so special about him, especially considering that Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson are also playing... But at the same time I can't judge them, I've only had eyes for Hermione lately. I even make a point of watching the match alongside her, occasionally causing our hands to touch (not unintentionally). 

A few minutes later the game starts again, but not for long. As soon as I manage to spot Harry with the magic binoculars I've brought, I see that a dementor is approaching him. 

"What's a dementor doing in this area of the school?!" I say, actually shout, my eyes widening at the scene. 

"What?!" shouts Hermione next to me. I quickly hand her the binoculars so she can see for herself. 

Seconds later Harry falls off his broom and plummets from an absurd height. Thankfully, the headmaster acts quickly and, with a spell, prevents Harry from breaking all over when he hits the ground. Hermione promptly throws the binoculars back at me and runs out of there, towards where Harry is lying, apparently unconscious. Seeing that he's probably going to get assistance from Madam Pomfrey and nothing more serious has happened, I turn my attention back to the game, which soon ends when Cedric catches the snitch. Bloody hell! I can already imagine my brother making fun of me for Gryffindor's defeat... 

A few days after leaving, I end up visiting Harry with Ginny, in fact she dragged me along with her (she was embarrassed to visit him alone) more than anything. Not wanting to go empty-handed, Ginny makes a singing card with her bare hands. I don't particularly know if it's a good present for Harry's recovery, since the card won't stop singing.