Choice's Curse {d.m.}

Is Being Saved By Your Enemy Worth Having to Thank Them?

-slight content warnings for brief depiction of minor injuries-

I was standing at the bathroom sink, looking at my reflection, trying to calm my nerves before my first Quidditch match of the year. I supposed I looked a bit different than I did last year. My body had filled out, giving me the tiniest bit of curve, though nothing like Cho. My dark hair was now down to the middle of my back, and it was a lot more controlled than it had been in years past. My face had grown more sharp, my nose being the only rounded feature I had now. My eyes were dark, and I wondered if sometimes people could see the pain I hid there. Every time I blinked, my dark lashes flashed and I had the faintest hint of tan freckles kissing my nose. I was nearly all skin and bones, like I was every two or three months after the summer ended, and looking at the way my collar bones protruded or the way my fingers seemed like they could break at any moment made a sour taste permeate my mouth. I saw Cho approaching in the mirror, and I turned around to greet her.

"Admiring yourself, Adler?" She joked, smiling at me.

"Something like that." I shrugged nonchalantly, and turned to fix my hair into a ponytail, smoothing back the unruly hairs that kept popping up, ignoring the way my arms groaned with the effort.

I could see Cho looking at me in the mirror, a look of slight confusion on her face. "What?" I asked, a hair grip slightly warping my speech.

"You mean you seriously can't see it?" Cho asked, stepping closer so she was just over my shoulder. "I can name at least six boys who can barely keep their eyes off you."

I flushed. Ever so casually, I asked, "Anyone in particular?"

Cho gave me a look, and said, "I thought you didn't fancy anyone." Her eyes held a gleam of humor even as her face was inquisitive.

I shook my head, finishing up my hair. "I don't, but I dunno, kind of nice that someone might like me. Who ever says no to attention?" I joked, turning around to face her, my arms dropping down to my sides.

"You're ridiculous," Cho said, poking my side and making me yelp. "C'mon, we've got a match to go to if you're done admiring yourself."

I snorted and followed her out of the bathroom, adrenaline beginning to course through my veins.

I had never seen so much rain in my entire life. I could barely see three feet ahead of me, and my hair was already soaked and dripping freezing water down my back as we waited for the match to begin. I glanced at Cedric, who gave me a wicked grin, then over where Malfoy was gripping his broom, his pale hair slightly curling from the water. His robes clung to his broad shoulders, and down his torso, outlining his firm body that lay underneath. Last I had seen Malfoy, he still had a boy's body, and not that I was looking now, but it seemed that over the summer he had developed lean muscles, finally filling out his draping robes. As my eyes traveled up to his, I saw him staring right at me staring at him. Fuck.

I quickly moved my gaze anywhere else. He's a dick, I reminded myself as revulsion filled me at the thought of him. I furrowed my brow, and Cedric elbowed me, mouthing, You alright? Nodding in response, I gripped the handle of my broom fiercely, and with the blow of a whistle, the match was underway.

We shot into the air in a blur of blue and green, and Malfoy and Cho immediately peeled away to search for the Snitch. The rain felt as hard as ice as it pelted me and the thirteen other players now dancing in the air, my hands already having gone numb and making the grip on my handle slippery with moisture. As a beater, my job was dangerous, and as the only girl beater, even more so as there tended to be a massive target on my back regardless of who we were playing. Adding on the lovely note Malfoy had given me yesterday, my heart was racing much faster than usual, though the feeling of adrenaline, of excitement, was nearly addicting. I had never shied from danger, because at least it actually made me feel something.