Well, this started mostly as a joke between me and a friend on Deviantart. She's been conjuring up an universe that is a fusion of HP and DC Comics, mostly with DC Characters acting as mages, with opportune modified backgrounds and stuff, for months. In the end, I got the idea for this one-shot. I hope it's to your liking too. I certainly enjoyed writing it. Enjoy!
A Gut Feeling
"I told you, I'm fine!"
"Boy, you broke an arm, bruised three ribs and got a concussion. Stay still!" He groaned as he allowed the older woman to bandage his head. "There's no way you aren't feeling a strong headache, right now."
"Ok. You're right. Make it go away? Like you fixed the bones?"
"Not a chance. Maybe that'll teach to not pull stunts like that again. Stupid rowdy boy." She pulled a bit too hard for comfort on the gauze. He winced and then groaned. It seemed like it was a night in the infirmary, after all. She pulled up his sheets and then walked to the door, stopping with her right hand on the light's switch. "Now sleep. You need rest. If not for the headache, for the tiredness. There's no spell for that."
"... True." He conceded, also noticing that the infirmary beds were more comfortable than his own as the lights turned off. That may be because of all the stuff he slept with. Lately he always ended up falling asleep on a book, or a quidditch scheme which he would inevitably drool on and have to do from top once again only to later put it in the 'unused' bin like most of the others.
He shuffled around in his bed, wincing as his head pulsed with pain and he recalled the events of the day. A grin slowly ate away at his moping. "Jason."
Then he jumped in his bed at the sudden voice. He cursed as he laid eyes on her, trying to catch his breath, a hand on his heart. "Will you please STOP sneaking up on people like that?!"
"Sorry." She wasn't. She guessed that she was entitled to scare him a little considering how much he scared them all. She was slowly learning the subtle art of payback. "Jason."
"... What?"
"What were you thinking?" Now, that was the question, wasn't it? He slowly crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back on the bed till he was horizontal again, staring at the ceiling.
"... For the first time in years..."
-Break
Three Days Earlier
"First match: Griffyndor and Hufflepuff." The professor announced and the student crowd went wild, bewildered and surprised. The two fiercest contestants to the cup would fight on the first match of the year. It would be a sight to behold.
"... Darn." And yet Griffyndor's captain wasn't as excited as the Quidditch fans. The burn from last year was still fresh. The cup, victory, stolen from right under his nose with a huge final point difference.
All because of her. Well, he wasn't angry at her. How could he? But the point was that he had finally brought his team to a point where they could compete with Hufflepuff only for her to become their new Seeker which caused the balance to shift so quickly that he almost felt it. He doubted that over the summer his team had managed to better themselves to the point of being again able to compete.
He didn't fault them. He knew that they were always doing their best, that it wasn't easy having him as a captain and that Cass was just that good. A team of geniuses. He felt that bitter taste again. He tried to focus back on the book about Celtic rituals and their effective magical effects, but in vain.
"Here's our captain! Go Griffyndor!" Not because of his anger, though, but because of the energetic blonde that suddenly approached him and shouted out loud, earning glares from all the people in the library. She whispered a 'Sorry' before returning her full attention to him again. "So, the first game is actually the big game. You must be pretty eager to get back at them for last year's final, huh?"
"Stephanie... Trying to study, here."
"Liar. When you study you usually stay perfectly still, only moving your eyes. You're calm and relaxed. Now..." He turned around only to find the younger girl mock-imitating him, cheeks red and puffed, protruding lips and narrowed crossed eyes. His own eyes narrowed in reply and she grinned, poking his nose with her right index finger. "See?!"
"Very clever, cheermuggle. Very clever." He conceded before turning around again only to find that she had moved too and was now in front of him, pouting.
"Look me in the face and tell me that you wouldn't have liked it." He had to reign in a grin at that. Stephanie had proposed to create a cheerleading team for each house. The proposal was met with mixed reception but was discarded in the end. Not that he would expect anything different from a school that included scarfs, robes, knee length socks and skirts in the female uniform.
"Alright, you win. I would have enjoyed having to look at your fat thighs swinging around and gr-HCK!"
"WHO'S FAT?! REPEAT THAT AGAIN! JUST TRY IT!" As he struggled for air, he noticed the Ravenclaw responsible for the library coming their way with murder in her eyes. He mentally groaned.
-Breakline-
"You just had to go ballistic, didn't you?!"
"Your fault! I'll have you know that my body is fit and athletic!"
"And yet you suck at Quidditch, no matter the role." He saw the flinch and knew he had gone too far. Before he could even see a hint of sadness or hurt feelings he corrected himself. "Come on, so what? You're good at many other things."
"But Quidditch is the one thing I really want to be good at. It's my dream." Now that was a concept he couldn't really wrap his head around. It was like that most of the times Stephanie started acting or talking seriously, now that he thought about it. "You started Quidditch for different reasons than... Well, that I keep on asking for try-outs."
"... Sorry...?" He tried. He really wasn't used to being the one having it better than others. Stephanie just sighed and slightly punched him in the shoulder.
"It's fine, it's fine. It all comes down to me being awful, after all. You can't just magically make me an ace... Well, without incurring in penalties or disqualifications, at least." Then she smiled at him. "Also, you keep on giving me chances to humiliate myself. That's enough for me. You're probably the only one who still believes I will be passable, one day."
"Well, how do you think I became captain? It's not only raw talent that matters... It helps, but it's practice, conviction that makes winners. We had a shot because of that, last year, not because of any sudden appearances of geniuses in our team. That's Dick." He affirmed, lowering his voice towards the end and then turning to the female Gryffindor. "You have lots of that. If you were as good as you are tenacious, you would be a better seeker than Cassandra."
Stephanie observed Jason's face looking for any hint of a joke or 'something said just to say'. She found none. She sighed blissfully. "You always know what to say to make a girl happy, do you?"
"It's part of my charm." He replied with a grin and she nodded.
"I guess it is. You got to make up for everything else, after all." He snorted.
"Your words, right back at you. My body is athletic and fit, my looks are good..."
"And your hair colour is everchanging!" That voice. Jason froze in midstep, stiff to the point of his ears which, like the voice said, quickly changed from black to red. "There it is! Man, that's so cool! You do know that's an auror level trick, right?!"
"I do. That's the reason I wanted to learn it." And also the reason the whole thing backfired at him. The only part of his body that changed were his hair and not according to his will, but to his emotions. When he was irritated, like now, they took a bright red tint.
"Heh. That's my little brother. Always trying to outdo himself!" The blackhaired newcomer slipped an arm around Jason's shoulders, completely missing the angry vibes Jason was sending out like wildfire. Stephanie didn't miss the addition of the white lock to Jay's hair. That meant that the Gryffindor was at his maximum level of anger.
"Hey, Dick! Hands off!" She intervened and got Jason out of his older brother's grasp, hugging his arm to her chest. "I think your team is strong enough without trying to corrupt your brother into changing houses."
"Ah, too true." Dick admitted, laughing it off while Stephanie checked J's hair out. Still red but no white. She mentally sighed in relief. "Well, I just wanted to wish my little brother good luck."
"... Don't you mean 'may the best team win'?" Jason replied, and Jay blinked before laughing a bit uneasily.
"Y-Yes, of course! That too! Well, see you on the field in a few days! Ta-ta!" And with that, he was off. Stephanie blinked, confused. What could have made him suddenly...
"That son of a...!" Then she heard Jason slam his fist into a nearby wall. His hair were red with a white streak. "He doesn't believe we can win!"
"... But, do you?" To that question, Jason chose silence as an answer.
-Break-
Two days before
"Hmmm... This is quite the weird concoction." The young Ravenclaw wondered out loud as he read his book on potions, turning the page as it explained in greater detail the steps leading to the described potion's creation. "Drake's blood... Isn't it usually thought of as too potent for these kind of potions?"
"Tim! Timothy!" He stopped reading halfway through the page as he turned around to meet the expectant face of one of his Ravenclaw housemates, Darla. He rolled his eyes. He had almost forgot. "So?! Where is it?! Where is it?!"
"Payment first, Darla." The girl nodded and pulled a bottle out of her right pocket, containing a few plucked out feathers of a brilliant blue. He gathered the offered container and presented the blackhaired girl an envelope which she opened with haste but carefully before observing its contents and squealing in delight. "I take you're happy with the service provided?"
"Am I? This is a great shot!" The black haired girl hugged the envelope to her chest, her cheeks flushing. "Thank you again!"
"Just business, Darla." Tim answered before returning to his book, the girl understanding that it meant the end of the conversation. She walked away happily humming to herself, not noticing that she passed a student wearing another house's colours.
"Still up to that disgusting business of yours, Drake?" Tim huffed. It seemed that the book wouldn't be read, that day. He turned around to meet a more refined mini version of Slytherin's head.
"Why, Dam. Still touchy about that picture of you nursing a kitten finding his way out in the world?" He lowered his head to dodge a bright green spell. He chuckled. Getting Damian angry was always entertaining. Still a distraction, but an entertaining one. "By the way, how did you get the password for the common room?"
"Please, I'm the son of the head of Slytherin." Not really answering his question, Tim changed the subject, returning to the reason why he was there to begin with. "... You heard of the Quidditch drawings, didn't you?"
"Of course I did. The extra practice they put in this morning allowed me to take some good shots. Huhuhu..." Alright. That was creepy but he loved how Damian shuddered. He was not easily scared.
"... Do you think they will fight again?" Damian asked, catching Tim off guard. Damn. It was one of those moments.
"I think they already are..." He declared with a groan. Damian even if he didn't show it often, cared very much for his brothers and suffered whenever they had an argument and that also led him to come to Tim of all people for consulting. Last year Jason and Dick broke into a great one, even if it was Jason who did most of the shouting. His argument was that it wasn't allowed to add new members to the team so late into the year. The problem was that it was right but an exception had been made for Cassandra since she really needed something to latch onto, to make her feel like she belonged. Jason bit it down for Cassandra's sake but didn't talk to Dick or his father for weeks. The girl didn't know about it and hopefully never would. "Dick is the nicest guy I know but maybe too spontaneous and honest. Seriously, I think he's the most OOC in this story."
"That 4th wall breaking enchantment still didn't wear off, huh?" Damian observed. "Yeah. Dick may be too... Blunt from time to time. Or Jason can read too much between the lines..."
"Yeah. And before you ask, as usual, I'm not that close to them that I can do anything about it. The most I can do is observe and try to prevent permanent damage. Then again, you could do that better than me." That made the young Slytherin confused. There was something he could do that hadn't occured to him? He quietly observed as Tim balled his hands into fists, brought them to his eyes which were misting over and... Oh, no. You don't. "Jaaaason... Diiiick... Pwease stop fighting or I'll cwy... Weee-Woah! Your aim is getting better!"
-Break-
"So, I take you heard about the Quidditch arrangements." Barbara stated as she slowly floated right behind the towering black-clad man who was currently going through an inventory of his ingredients. "... You're not going to do anything about it, are you?"
"Counterproductive." He answered, not bothering to turn around or stop and stare at the bespectacled redhead riding a broom in his laboratory. He was perfectly able of multitasking.
"I guess so... Jason may hate the prospective of a doomed repeat of last year's final but he would resent any action to change the rotations since that would imply telling him what he already knows. Honestly, boys..." Barbara sighed as she floated to his left side. "... Are you at least going to talk to him?"
"To tell him what? 'Jason, please do not be so angry at the world and your brother in particular just because you can't beat him at Quidditch or anything else, for that matter'?" Bruce deadpanned and that made her winch. Yeah, that sounded harsh. "Jason is... Complicated."
"Not really. Complicated to deal with, maybe, but his line of thought is pretty easy to discern. Everyone pretty much acknowledges him only as 'Dick's younger brother'. He wants to step out of that shadow and he sees no other way to do so than to beat Dick at something." She sighed and Bruce finally stopped going through his potion ingredients as he laid down the book and quill he had been holding. "He wants to be the best in something. Anything."
"... That will only happen after Dick's graduation, I fear." The two didn't notice the light but hurried steps distancing themselves from the door because of the boiling cauldron.
-Break-
One day before
"Ladies and gentleman, we now officially open this year's Quidditch Tournament!"
"Bringing you the commentary live, Bart and my good man Garth!"
"Thanks, Bart! So, nice day for a Quidditch match, isn't it? The sun is shining, just a tiny liddle breeze and the snacks are a-flowing in the stands!"
"Iiiiindeed! Don't be cheap, give the chocolate goods a go!"
While the two idiots over the interphones kept on talking about food, Jason's focus was all on the ground as he held his hands joined in front of his face. His mind was a mess. As if that day wasn't bad enough, he now couldn't keep Bruce's words out of his mind. It was a nasty suspect that he had always had in the back of his mind, those kind of thoughts that you don't want to acknowledge, but to hear it coming from his own father's mouth was downright devastating. A turmoil of emotions had taken hold of him and he didn't know what to do with them. As if their situation wasn't bad enough. No one in his team believed they could win this. Even Conner was subdued. "... Jesus, this is f-"
"Cursing is bad."
"Yeah, well, go read a bible, princess." He replied automatically, used to Stephanie's timing in getting on his nerves.
"... I'd like that, but I can't." Then he noticed that the voice didn't belong to the sunny blonde unofficial member of his team. He gasped and his hair lost his white streak and turned a very deeo although bright shade of red.
"C-Cassandra!" He got up in a split second, his hands waving around in a desperate attempt to appear apologetic. "I'm sorry! I thought it was Stephanie! You know I would never tell you to go read a bible! I mean, it's not like you can't if you try hard, it's just I'd never, you know-"
"Jason... Calm down." He stopped cold when she gently leaned a slender hand over his mouth. He sighed and let his arms drop. Satisfied that his hair had gone back to black, Cassandra removed her hand and smiled at him. "I know."
"... Thanks." Still, guilt trip. It was incredible how he behaved around Cassandra. He was sure she was one of the toughest people she had ever met, what with her history growing up and all. At the same time, though, he was always walking on eggshells around her. His snark didn't have an on/off button and he could tell that while fights and pain didn't bother her, the desperate need to belong and acclimate herself with the family and the world in general made her more susceptible to other kind of 'attacks'. "So... Ready to kick our ass again?"
"... Jason if you w-"
"Don't even think about it." He immediately interrupted her, raising a hand. "No sense in playing if the opponent isn't at his best, and that's you and Dickie. Besides..." He smiled at her. "Think I don't remember your face when they let you lift the cup last year? You live for being the golden girl and since you're way cooler than Dickie-why, I could say you're almost as cool as me-I can stomach it, no worries."
"... Thanks, Jason." She smiled warmly at him and bowed slightly. "I wish you good luck."
"It's either that or you suddenly switch houses. Now shoo. No spying on the opponent." He beckoned her with a hand while he turned around, back now to her. He felt soft footsteps becoming farther and farther before louder not-as-elegant ones became louder and louder.
"Hey, cap. What was Cassandra doing in here? Also, she had the biggest smile ever-well, not ever since, you know, she always smiles like, carefully but-"
"Your timing is way off." He simply told her, not bothering to turn around to meet who was absolutely Stephanie, this time.
"... So... How do you feel?" Cassandra had made him feel a little better, being 'the' big brother for a change did that to him, but Stephanie, curse her locks, had to bring him back to reality.
"... Not good." He answered, noticing that she had just anticipated the referee who called the teams to the field. "And I don't think it's going to get better anytime soon..."
-Break-
"Well, seems like Gryffindor is holding up, but barely. Hufflepuff is currently leading 80 to 50."
"Seems they still feel the effect of last year's defeat, when Seeker Cassandra Caine ended the match in a few minutes by grabbing onto the Golden Snitch. They learned their lesson though. Cassie Sandmark is focusing solely on disturbing her direct opponent, though that also leaves her unable to go for the Snitch."
"I don't think she's gonna be able to keep up with her to the end, though." Tim observed, sitting side by side with Bruce and Damian. "She's gonna slip up or get tired. Cassandra is leading her around, biding her time."
"Good observation." Bruce stated, the game bringing him mixed feelings, knowing the circumstances surrounding it.
"... Where's miss Gordon?" Damian simply said, not really up to talk about the game.
"And there's the time out called by Gryffindor's captain, as expected."
-Break-
"How are you holding up, Cassie?"
"Not... Really good, Jason..." The blonde haired seeker wiped the sweat off her forehead. The ones who thought that Quidditch wasn't that tiring of a sport should try and stay anchored at any high speed object with only their hands and legs, and sometimes not even that for at least eighty minutes like they had been doing. "She's leading me around... At this rate..."
"... I know." Jason greeted his teeth and grabbed the offered bottle of water.
"Come on, nothing's lost yet! The match isn't over!" Stephanie tried to encourage the team while handing over the beverages. "Try and get some rest while our captain comes up with a winning strategy!"
"No pressure, of course." Jason muttered under his breath as he opened the bottle and stuffed it in his mouth, walking towards the locker room. He needed to unwind. He had been batting way too much, most of the time in Dick's direction. That played havoc on their match, and he knew it. His arms didn't, though. Closing the door behind him, he slammed a fist into a nearby locker. "Damnit all..."
"Language, Jason. I'm a teacher AND a lady, you know." He turned around in a flash only to find a very familiar redhead floating inside the room on a broom.
"Babs." Jason sat down on a nearby bench. "Shouldn't teachers be somewhere fancy to watch the game?"
"Not much to watch. You're playing horrendously." She stated nonchalantly earning a glare and red hair from Jason.
"You've been practicing with the bluntness spell or something, red?" He snarled, throwing he bottle to the ground. "You and dad both."
"So you WERE eavesdropping. Well, I wouldn't calli bluntness on Bruce's part then but spying on yours, Jay." His glare didn't relent. "And of course, you didn't hear the other half."
"What other half? More disappointments and acknowledging that I'm a permanent second-stringer?"
"First, he never said anything of the sort. Second..." Barbara produced her wand out of her dress, waving it around and placing it on Jason's forehead before he could oppose any kind of resistance. "You need to see for yourself."
-Break-
"Bruce... Thats an awful thing to say."
"That's not what I meant." Bruce corrected her, understanding that she didn't get the meaning behind his words. "Jason can and will be better than Dick... In certain areas. Just like Timothy and Damian will. The problem is that because of Dick's shadow he can't focus on himself. Only on his brother. That also brings Jason to challenge him in areas that are Dick's territory."
"... Oh." Babs quietly said, now understanding. "Then, you mean..."
"I mean that with Dick gone, Jason will finally be free to be himself. He's gifted like all his brothers but he has to focus on himself to refine those gifts and not always compare himself to Dick."
"... And I bet you never told him this, right?" Bruce stared at her for a few seconds before going back to his potions.
-Break-
"... That..." Jason took a step back as Barbara pulled back her wand hand, slightly confused and at the same time... Suddenly light. Empty. Hollow in a good way. He slowly sat on the bench again. "... He really said that?"
"He did. The idea to show you was mine... Maybe. You know how manipulative he can be." Barbara answered as Jason thouht about those words, his hair now black again.
"... Focus on myself. Things I'm good at... Better than Dick." Jason thought about it for a few seconds only to find out that he had no idea. "... Shit. Wish I had more time to think about... Huh." He stopped. Then he smiled. Then he grinned.
-Break-
"Time-out's almost over... Where's Jason?"
"Right here, you miscreants!" The rest of the team plus Stephanie turned all around. And paused.
"Jason... Your hair..." It was a new colour. She had never seen that shade... Well, shades. Black wih a huge white lock. But she liked his smile. The fire in his eyes. If she had to take a guess...
"Forget about the hair, cheermuggle! We're about to turn this around!" That hair colour meant serious business.
-Break-
"Well, break's over. Let's go back in, team!" Dick cheerfully beckoned his friends as they noticed Jasons team going back onto the field. The Hufflepuff captain was maybe the first to notice Jason's brand new hair color. "Huh. A new style.
"... He seems..." Cassandra on the other hand focused on his body language. His whole body screamed confidence, from the smile to the way he walked onto the field. As she climbed onto her broom, though, she noticed his team-mates were pretty nervous. Just what had happened? What did he have in mind that put this pressure on his team-mates? Heck, Cassie Sandmark was a wreck.
-A couple minutes before-
"Ok! First, roster change!" That surprised everyone in the room. "Cassie, switch with Stephanie!"
"WHAT?!" Cue everyone's jaws going slack. The most surprised one was, of course, Stephanie. "A-Are you serious?! But why?!"
"Cassie is too tired to continue. Also, there's no one else I can do this with, blondie." Jason declared. "It has to be you."
"N-No one... B-But why?! Even deadly tired, Cassie is better than me! I have trouble on staying on the broom, damn it!"
"You have the eye/hand coordination to catch the damn thing. You just need to stay put. I'll take care of the rest." Jason continued but Stephanie, although silent, was still down-right terrified. She wanted to be part of the team, yeah, but this was not what she had in mind for her first official...
"Wait! I'm not part of the team! I can't-"
"As of five minutes ago you are." Jason smirked. Knowing teachers came in handy, much to Stephanie's further shock. ôCome on, blondies! Swap clothes!ö Conner grinned. ôIn the locker room, of course.ö Conner pouted.
-Back to the game-
As the game progressed, Cassandra noticed that Jason had really gotten in the mindset for it. Just like last year. He wasn't aiming for Dick only anymore and that kept her team-mates from scoring more while his own team-mates were slowly gaining confidence and had already scored twice, bring the point difference to just ten points.
Gaining confidence... Except for Cassie. She didn't understand what had happened but not only was she nervous but she seemed to be more tired than she thought. She moved ever so slowly around the field except for a few sudden jerking motions that threatened to throw her off the broom.
ô... Nevermind.ö She sighed. She needed to do her job. She was the Seeker. She needed to... The Snitch. ôThere.ö She moved and rocketed forward, following the small winged golden globe.
Up above, Jason noticed her movements. ô... Attagirl.ö He started moving above her, swatting away a Bludger as he went.
Stephanie in turn noticed his moving and then thought of his words, and still couldn't make sense of them. How was she supposed to help if... She gasped. ôJASON?!ö
-Break-
She had figured a pattern to the movements of a Golden Snitch. It wasn't a really sentient being, after all. It was a magical object with two wings with movements that had to obey rules. Otherwise it would just stay hidden all the time if they gave him a real prey instinct. It was supposed to move in certain patterns to challenge the seekers but at the same time give them a chance to catch it.
It was a bit more difficult that with a person but she had managed to learn to read his 'body language' or better to foretell its movements. They were at a limit of the ring and it had made a sharp turn for the exact opposite end. There. For the next ten seconds it would only progress in a straight line. She started increasing the speed. She would quickly catch up, grasp it and end the game.
She focused only on the Snitch and her immediate surroundings as she started protruding her right arm, ignoring everything else, including the collective gasp and sharp shrieks the stadium suddenly gave. There were also a few cries of 'Jason'. A flinch was the only reaction. What had just... And then she saw him.
With no broom, falling towards the ground at high speed, right in front of the Snitch and her, giving her a grin and saluting her with a hand, arm holding the bat flexed, summoning power from his muscles. ôGame over.ö He simply said and began turning on himself and then she heard a sharp 'crack' and a streak of golden light shooting upwards. She instinctively followed it with her eyes as Jason disappeared from her field of vision.
-Break-
He followed the Snitch with his eyes till it reached Stephanie and the girl didn't disappoint, understanding what he had been doing and catching it swiftly out of air. ôGood girl. Now...ö He moved his eyes and found the ground getting closer and closer. ô... How do I roll to a stop to limit damage, again?ö
-Break-
Current day
ôFor the first time in years, I wasn't thinking at all. Rationally, that is. I followed my gut.ö Jason declared as he smirked again. ôAnd it felt good... By the way, what happened after I passed out?ö
ôStephanie caught the Snitch and they ended the match. He caught you barely on time with a spell.ö He didn't need a spell to understand what she was referring to when she said 'he'. He was so going to get it, but damn, wasn't it worth it. ôThere was quite the discussion if the move was valid or not. In the end, since you didn't really 'touch' the Snitch, they gave the victory to Gryffindor. They changed the rules right after, of course.ö
ô... Sweet.ö He grinned and suddenly he wasn't grinning any more. Cassandra had suddenly jumped on top of his bed, and he could see her pretty angry face only at a few centimeters from his own. ôC-Cass?ö
ôPromise me.ö She started, using her no-nonsense tone. ôPromise me you'll never do anything like that ever again.ö
ôEhm, I can't really ass-ö
ôJASON!ö He almost jumped out of his skin. He could positively say that Cassandra had never, ever, been so loud in anyone's presence before. She suddenly moved her hands and grabbed on the front of his night clothes, pulling him off the mattress. ôThis is not a joke! You almost died!ö
ôI-I was sure that dad would-ö
ôHe's not god, Jason! He barely, BARELY caught you in time! You... You almost... Hic...ö And there was his second guilt trip in two days. He had just made Cassandra cry. He. Had made. Cassandra. Cry. She probably had cried once or twice in her life and he had made her cry. As she removed her hands to cover her face, his mind went through thinking of what would the others do to him.
ôHey. Heyheyhey.ö He got into a more comfortable position and hugged her, putting one hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head. ôI'm still here, am I not? I didn't go anywhere.ö
ôBut... Sniff... You...ö
ôLook, Cassandra.ö He broke the hug and gently moved her hands away. Damn it. Red puffy eyes, tear streaks. She was a mess. ôI can't promise I won't do anything dangerous or that I won't act on my guts ever again, but I promise you this: I will always come out of it okay.ö
ô... How can you be sure of that?ö That seemed to calm her down a bit, if only because she knew at least another person who could make that proclaim and not make it an empty boast.
ôCassandra, I currently feel like the biggest ass in the world and the others are gonna wipe the infirmary with me if they ever know that I made you cry. If I die and I make you feel even worse, I WILL be the biggest ass in the world AND they will find a way to resurrect me only to kill me again. That's not something I want to go through any time soon.ö Despite herself, she found herself laughing. He sighed in relief and started cleaning her face with the covers, before cupping it softly. ôThere you go. All better.ö
ô... Jason.ö This time, she grabbed his own hands. Wasn't it weird. Soft slender hands grabbing his own big and calloused ones-She kissed his forehead. ôYou're an idiot.ö That declaration hanging in the air, she got off his bed and left after straightening her clothes and whispering a 'Good night', stopping at the door for a few seconds to stare at his bewildered face before disappearing in the darkness again.
ô... Did she just... I mean...ö He brought a hand to his forehead, still feeling the heat from the black haired girl's lips, his headache suddenly gone. ôDid she just kiss my forehead, lingering her lips in place for a few seconds?ö That was true. Then another question came up in his mind. He shook his head. ôNononono, don't go there, Jason.ö He threw his covers over him and shut his eyes. ôJust get some sleep and...ö
ôYOU FREAKING IDIOT!ö
ôOh, for the love...ö He turned around at hearing the annoyingly loud voice only for another female weight to land on him, without a trace of Cassandra's grace, though. ôSPEURGH! ACK!ö
ôWHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!ö Stephanie also immediately began strangling him. She wasn't the type to cry in anger. No, she was more prone to kicking his ass. ôI SHOULD RIP OFF YOUR LEGS SO THAT YOU CAN'T RIDE A BROOM AND THROW YOURSELF OFF IT EVER AGAIN!ö
ôCan't... Breath...ö
ô... But still...ö She suddenly stopped strangling him and he found himself trapped in a bear-hug next. ôYOU DID IT! WEWONWEWONWEWON! AND I CAUGHT THE SNITCH! YEEEEES! Yes, it was all thanks to you, but still I felt like a heroooo! YEEEES! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!ö She suddenly started kissing him all over his face, no delicacy or anything in the gesture. Too rude. He was about to throw her off when suddenly he grabbed both sides of his face... ôHMMMMMMM!ö And planted the most forceful kiss yet straight on his lips. When she let him go, his lips were bruised. ôThank you, captain!ö She continued, while he had just lost track of the universe. She laughed at that and threw him back on the bed before patting him on the right shoulder and getting off. ôI'll see you later! Good night!ö
She actually skipped away. He was left staring at the ceiling, unable to process anything till his brain rebooted. ô... Dick? D-Man? Ravenbitch? Anyone else?ö He stared at his surroundings, waiting for a reply or something. He got none. Satisfied, he slowly turned on his side and closed his eyes. Then he moved his tongue over his pulsating lips. ô... Lip-gloss. Strawberry.ö That statement in mind, he decided to just go to sleep and think of what just transpired as delirium.
ôHey, winner!ö But karma had something else in mind for him. It was going to be a long night, he guessed.
A Gut Feeling
"I told you, I'm fine!"
"Boy, you broke an arm, bruised three ribs and got a concussion. Stay still!" He groaned as he allowed the older woman to bandage his head. "There's no way you aren't feeling a strong headache, right now."
"Ok. You're right. Make it go away? Like you fixed the bones?"
"Not a chance. Maybe that'll teach to not pull stunts like that again. Stupid rowdy boy." She pulled a bit too hard for comfort on the gauze. He winced and then groaned. It seemed like it was a night in the infirmary, after all. She pulled up his sheets and then walked to the door, stopping with her right hand on the light's switch. "Now sleep. You need rest. If not for the headache, for the tiredness. There's no spell for that."
"... True." He conceded, also noticing that the infirmary beds were more comfortable than his own as the lights turned off. That may be because of all the stuff he slept with. Lately he always ended up falling asleep on a book, or a quidditch scheme which he would inevitably drool on and have to do from top once again only to later put it in the 'unused' bin like most of the others.
He shuffled around in his bed, wincing as his head pulsed with pain and he recalled the events of the day. A grin slowly ate away at his moping. "Jason."
Then he jumped in his bed at the sudden voice. He cursed as he laid eyes on her, trying to catch his breath, a hand on his heart. "Will you please STOP sneaking up on people like that?!"
"Sorry." She wasn't. She guessed that she was entitled to scare him a little considering how much he scared them all. She was slowly learning the subtle art of payback. "Jason."
"... What?"
"What were you thinking?" Now, that was the question, wasn't it? He slowly crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back on the bed till he was horizontal again, staring at the ceiling.
"... For the first time in years..."
-Break
Three Days Earlier
"First match: Griffyndor and Hufflepuff." The professor announced and the student crowd went wild, bewildered and surprised. The two fiercest contestants to the cup would fight on the first match of the year. It would be a sight to behold.
"... Darn." And yet Griffyndor's captain wasn't as excited as the Quidditch fans. The burn from last year was still fresh. The cup, victory, stolen from right under his nose with a huge final point difference.
All because of her. Well, he wasn't angry at her. How could he? But the point was that he had finally brought his team to a point where they could compete with Hufflepuff only for her to become their new Seeker which caused the balance to shift so quickly that he almost felt it. He doubted that over the summer his team had managed to better themselves to the point of being again able to compete.
He didn't fault them. He knew that they were always doing their best, that it wasn't easy having him as a captain and that Cass was just that good. A team of geniuses. He felt that bitter taste again. He tried to focus back on the book about Celtic rituals and their effective magical effects, but in vain.
"Here's our captain! Go Griffyndor!" Not because of his anger, though, but because of the energetic blonde that suddenly approached him and shouted out loud, earning glares from all the people in the library. She whispered a 'Sorry' before returning her full attention to him again. "So, the first game is actually the big game. You must be pretty eager to get back at them for last year's final, huh?"
"Stephanie... Trying to study, here."
"Liar. When you study you usually stay perfectly still, only moving your eyes. You're calm and relaxed. Now..." He turned around only to find the younger girl mock-imitating him, cheeks red and puffed, protruding lips and narrowed crossed eyes. His own eyes narrowed in reply and she grinned, poking his nose with her right index finger. "See?!"
"Very clever, cheermuggle. Very clever." He conceded before turning around again only to find that she had moved too and was now in front of him, pouting.
"Look me in the face and tell me that you wouldn't have liked it." He had to reign in a grin at that. Stephanie had proposed to create a cheerleading team for each house. The proposal was met with mixed reception but was discarded in the end. Not that he would expect anything different from a school that included scarfs, robes, knee length socks and skirts in the female uniform.
"Alright, you win. I would have enjoyed having to look at your fat thighs swinging around and gr-HCK!"
"WHO'S FAT?! REPEAT THAT AGAIN! JUST TRY IT!" As he struggled for air, he noticed the Ravenclaw responsible for the library coming their way with murder in her eyes. He mentally groaned.
-Breakline-
"You just had to go ballistic, didn't you?!"
"Your fault! I'll have you know that my body is fit and athletic!"
"And yet you suck at Quidditch, no matter the role." He saw the flinch and knew he had gone too far. Before he could even see a hint of sadness or hurt feelings he corrected himself. "Come on, so what? You're good at many other things."
"But Quidditch is the one thing I really want to be good at. It's my dream." Now that was a concept he couldn't really wrap his head around. It was like that most of the times Stephanie started acting or talking seriously, now that he thought about it. "You started Quidditch for different reasons than... Well, that I keep on asking for try-outs."
"... Sorry...?" He tried. He really wasn't used to being the one having it better than others. Stephanie just sighed and slightly punched him in the shoulder.
"It's fine, it's fine. It all comes down to me being awful, after all. You can't just magically make me an ace... Well, without incurring in penalties or disqualifications, at least." Then she smiled at him. "Also, you keep on giving me chances to humiliate myself. That's enough for me. You're probably the only one who still believes I will be passable, one day."
"Well, how do you think I became captain? It's not only raw talent that matters... It helps, but it's practice, conviction that makes winners. We had a shot because of that, last year, not because of any sudden appearances of geniuses in our team. That's Dick." He affirmed, lowering his voice towards the end and then turning to the female Gryffindor. "You have lots of that. If you were as good as you are tenacious, you would be a better seeker than Cassandra."
Stephanie observed Jason's face looking for any hint of a joke or 'something said just to say'. She found none. She sighed blissfully. "You always know what to say to make a girl happy, do you?"
"It's part of my charm." He replied with a grin and she nodded.
"I guess it is. You got to make up for everything else, after all." He snorted.
"Your words, right back at you. My body is athletic and fit, my looks are good..."
"And your hair colour is everchanging!" That voice. Jason froze in midstep, stiff to the point of his ears which, like the voice said, quickly changed from black to red. "There it is! Man, that's so cool! You do know that's an auror level trick, right?!"
"I do. That's the reason I wanted to learn it." And also the reason the whole thing backfired at him. The only part of his body that changed were his hair and not according to his will, but to his emotions. When he was irritated, like now, they took a bright red tint.
"Heh. That's my little brother. Always trying to outdo himself!" The blackhaired newcomer slipped an arm around Jason's shoulders, completely missing the angry vibes Jason was sending out like wildfire. Stephanie didn't miss the addition of the white lock to Jay's hair. That meant that the Gryffindor was at his maximum level of anger.
"Hey, Dick! Hands off!" She intervened and got Jason out of his older brother's grasp, hugging his arm to her chest. "I think your team is strong enough without trying to corrupt your brother into changing houses."
"Ah, too true." Dick admitted, laughing it off while Stephanie checked J's hair out. Still red but no white. She mentally sighed in relief. "Well, I just wanted to wish my little brother good luck."
"... Don't you mean 'may the best team win'?" Jason replied, and Jay blinked before laughing a bit uneasily.
"Y-Yes, of course! That too! Well, see you on the field in a few days! Ta-ta!" And with that, he was off. Stephanie blinked, confused. What could have made him suddenly...
"That son of a...!" Then she heard Jason slam his fist into a nearby wall. His hair were red with a white streak. "He doesn't believe we can win!"
"... But, do you?" To that question, Jason chose silence as an answer.
-Break-
Two days before
"Hmmm... This is quite the weird concoction." The young Ravenclaw wondered out loud as he read his book on potions, turning the page as it explained in greater detail the steps leading to the described potion's creation. "Drake's blood... Isn't it usually thought of as too potent for these kind of potions?"
"Tim! Timothy!" He stopped reading halfway through the page as he turned around to meet the expectant face of one of his Ravenclaw housemates, Darla. He rolled his eyes. He had almost forgot. "So?! Where is it?! Where is it?!"
"Payment first, Darla." The girl nodded and pulled a bottle out of her right pocket, containing a few plucked out feathers of a brilliant blue. He gathered the offered container and presented the blackhaired girl an envelope which she opened with haste but carefully before observing its contents and squealing in delight. "I take you're happy with the service provided?"
"Am I? This is a great shot!" The black haired girl hugged the envelope to her chest, her cheeks flushing. "Thank you again!"
"Just business, Darla." Tim answered before returning to his book, the girl understanding that it meant the end of the conversation. She walked away happily humming to herself, not noticing that she passed a student wearing another house's colours.
"Still up to that disgusting business of yours, Drake?" Tim huffed. It seemed that the book wouldn't be read, that day. He turned around to meet a more refined mini version of Slytherin's head.
"Why, Dam. Still touchy about that picture of you nursing a kitten finding his way out in the world?" He lowered his head to dodge a bright green spell. He chuckled. Getting Damian angry was always entertaining. Still a distraction, but an entertaining one. "By the way, how did you get the password for the common room?"
"Please, I'm the son of the head of Slytherin." Not really answering his question, Tim changed the subject, returning to the reason why he was there to begin with. "... You heard of the Quidditch drawings, didn't you?"
"Of course I did. The extra practice they put in this morning allowed me to take some good shots. Huhuhu..." Alright. That was creepy but he loved how Damian shuddered. He was not easily scared.
"... Do you think they will fight again?" Damian asked, catching Tim off guard. Damn. It was one of those moments.
"I think they already are..." He declared with a groan. Damian even if he didn't show it often, cared very much for his brothers and suffered whenever they had an argument and that also led him to come to Tim of all people for consulting. Last year Jason and Dick broke into a great one, even if it was Jason who did most of the shouting. His argument was that it wasn't allowed to add new members to the team so late into the year. The problem was that it was right but an exception had been made for Cassandra since she really needed something to latch onto, to make her feel like she belonged. Jason bit it down for Cassandra's sake but didn't talk to Dick or his father for weeks. The girl didn't know about it and hopefully never would. "Dick is the nicest guy I know but maybe too spontaneous and honest. Seriously, I think he's the most OOC in this story."
"That 4th wall breaking enchantment still didn't wear off, huh?" Damian observed. "Yeah. Dick may be too... Blunt from time to time. Or Jason can read too much between the lines..."
"Yeah. And before you ask, as usual, I'm not that close to them that I can do anything about it. The most I can do is observe and try to prevent permanent damage. Then again, you could do that better than me." That made the young Slytherin confused. There was something he could do that hadn't occured to him? He quietly observed as Tim balled his hands into fists, brought them to his eyes which were misting over and... Oh, no. You don't. "Jaaaason... Diiiick... Pwease stop fighting or I'll cwy... Weee-Woah! Your aim is getting better!"
-Break-
"So, I take you heard about the Quidditch arrangements." Barbara stated as she slowly floated right behind the towering black-clad man who was currently going through an inventory of his ingredients. "... You're not going to do anything about it, are you?"
"Counterproductive." He answered, not bothering to turn around or stop and stare at the bespectacled redhead riding a broom in his laboratory. He was perfectly able of multitasking.
"I guess so... Jason may hate the prospective of a doomed repeat of last year's final but he would resent any action to change the rotations since that would imply telling him what he already knows. Honestly, boys..." Barbara sighed as she floated to his left side. "... Are you at least going to talk to him?"
"To tell him what? 'Jason, please do not be so angry at the world and your brother in particular just because you can't beat him at Quidditch or anything else, for that matter'?" Bruce deadpanned and that made her winch. Yeah, that sounded harsh. "Jason is... Complicated."
"Not really. Complicated to deal with, maybe, but his line of thought is pretty easy to discern. Everyone pretty much acknowledges him only as 'Dick's younger brother'. He wants to step out of that shadow and he sees no other way to do so than to beat Dick at something." She sighed and Bruce finally stopped going through his potion ingredients as he laid down the book and quill he had been holding. "He wants to be the best in something. Anything."
"... That will only happen after Dick's graduation, I fear." The two didn't notice the light but hurried steps distancing themselves from the door because of the boiling cauldron.
-Break-
One day before
"Ladies and gentleman, we now officially open this year's Quidditch Tournament!"
"Bringing you the commentary live, Bart and my good man Garth!"
"Thanks, Bart! So, nice day for a Quidditch match, isn't it? The sun is shining, just a tiny liddle breeze and the snacks are a-flowing in the stands!"
"Iiiiindeed! Don't be cheap, give the chocolate goods a go!"
While the two idiots over the interphones kept on talking about food, Jason's focus was all on the ground as he held his hands joined in front of his face. His mind was a mess. As if that day wasn't bad enough, he now couldn't keep Bruce's words out of his mind. It was a nasty suspect that he had always had in the back of his mind, those kind of thoughts that you don't want to acknowledge, but to hear it coming from his own father's mouth was downright devastating. A turmoil of emotions had taken hold of him and he didn't know what to do with them. As if their situation wasn't bad enough. No one in his team believed they could win this. Even Conner was subdued. "... Jesus, this is f-"
"Cursing is bad."
"Yeah, well, go read a bible, princess." He replied automatically, used to Stephanie's timing in getting on his nerves.
"... I'd like that, but I can't." Then he noticed that the voice didn't belong to the sunny blonde unofficial member of his team. He gasped and his hair lost his white streak and turned a very deeo although bright shade of red.
"C-Cassandra!" He got up in a split second, his hands waving around in a desperate attempt to appear apologetic. "I'm sorry! I thought it was Stephanie! You know I would never tell you to go read a bible! I mean, it's not like you can't if you try hard, it's just I'd never, you know-"
"Jason... Calm down." He stopped cold when she gently leaned a slender hand over his mouth. He sighed and let his arms drop. Satisfied that his hair had gone back to black, Cassandra removed her hand and smiled at him. "I know."
"... Thanks." Still, guilt trip. It was incredible how he behaved around Cassandra. He was sure she was one of the toughest people she had ever met, what with her history growing up and all. At the same time, though, he was always walking on eggshells around her. His snark didn't have an on/off button and he could tell that while fights and pain didn't bother her, the desperate need to belong and acclimate herself with the family and the world in general made her more susceptible to other kind of 'attacks'. "So... Ready to kick our ass again?"
"... Jason if you w-"
"Don't even think about it." He immediately interrupted her, raising a hand. "No sense in playing if the opponent isn't at his best, and that's you and Dickie. Besides..." He smiled at her. "Think I don't remember your face when they let you lift the cup last year? You live for being the golden girl and since you're way cooler than Dickie-why, I could say you're almost as cool as me-I can stomach it, no worries."
"... Thanks, Jason." She smiled warmly at him and bowed slightly. "I wish you good luck."
"It's either that or you suddenly switch houses. Now shoo. No spying on the opponent." He beckoned her with a hand while he turned around, back now to her. He felt soft footsteps becoming farther and farther before louder not-as-elegant ones became louder and louder.
"Hey, cap. What was Cassandra doing in here? Also, she had the biggest smile ever-well, not ever since, you know, she always smiles like, carefully but-"
"Your timing is way off." He simply told her, not bothering to turn around to meet who was absolutely Stephanie, this time.
"... So... How do you feel?" Cassandra had made him feel a little better, being 'the' big brother for a change did that to him, but Stephanie, curse her locks, had to bring him back to reality.
"... Not good." He answered, noticing that she had just anticipated the referee who called the teams to the field. "And I don't think it's going to get better anytime soon..."
-Break-
"Well, seems like Gryffindor is holding up, but barely. Hufflepuff is currently leading 80 to 50."
"Seems they still feel the effect of last year's defeat, when Seeker Cassandra Caine ended the match in a few minutes by grabbing onto the Golden Snitch. They learned their lesson though. Cassie Sandmark is focusing solely on disturbing her direct opponent, though that also leaves her unable to go for the Snitch."
"I don't think she's gonna be able to keep up with her to the end, though." Tim observed, sitting side by side with Bruce and Damian. "She's gonna slip up or get tired. Cassandra is leading her around, biding her time."
"Good observation." Bruce stated, the game bringing him mixed feelings, knowing the circumstances surrounding it.
"... Where's miss Gordon?" Damian simply said, not really up to talk about the game.
"And there's the time out called by Gryffindor's captain, as expected."
-Break-
"How are you holding up, Cassie?"
"Not... Really good, Jason..." The blonde haired seeker wiped the sweat off her forehead. The ones who thought that Quidditch wasn't that tiring of a sport should try and stay anchored at any high speed object with only their hands and legs, and sometimes not even that for at least eighty minutes like they had been doing. "She's leading me around... At this rate..."
"... I know." Jason greeted his teeth and grabbed the offered bottle of water.
"Come on, nothing's lost yet! The match isn't over!" Stephanie tried to encourage the team while handing over the beverages. "Try and get some rest while our captain comes up with a winning strategy!"
"No pressure, of course." Jason muttered under his breath as he opened the bottle and stuffed it in his mouth, walking towards the locker room. He needed to unwind. He had been batting way too much, most of the time in Dick's direction. That played havoc on their match, and he knew it. His arms didn't, though. Closing the door behind him, he slammed a fist into a nearby locker. "Damnit all..."
"Language, Jason. I'm a teacher AND a lady, you know." He turned around in a flash only to find a very familiar redhead floating inside the room on a broom.
"Babs." Jason sat down on a nearby bench. "Shouldn't teachers be somewhere fancy to watch the game?"
"Not much to watch. You're playing horrendously." She stated nonchalantly earning a glare and red hair from Jason.
"You've been practicing with the bluntness spell or something, red?" He snarled, throwing he bottle to the ground. "You and dad both."
"So you WERE eavesdropping. Well, I wouldn't calli bluntness on Bruce's part then but spying on yours, Jay." His glare didn't relent. "And of course, you didn't hear the other half."
"What other half? More disappointments and acknowledging that I'm a permanent second-stringer?"
"First, he never said anything of the sort. Second..." Barbara produced her wand out of her dress, waving it around and placing it on Jason's forehead before he could oppose any kind of resistance. "You need to see for yourself."
-Break-
"Bruce... Thats an awful thing to say."
"That's not what I meant." Bruce corrected her, understanding that she didn't get the meaning behind his words. "Jason can and will be better than Dick... In certain areas. Just like Timothy and Damian will. The problem is that because of Dick's shadow he can't focus on himself. Only on his brother. That also brings Jason to challenge him in areas that are Dick's territory."
"... Oh." Babs quietly said, now understanding. "Then, you mean..."
"I mean that with Dick gone, Jason will finally be free to be himself. He's gifted like all his brothers but he has to focus on himself to refine those gifts and not always compare himself to Dick."
"... And I bet you never told him this, right?" Bruce stared at her for a few seconds before going back to his potions.
-Break-
"... That..." Jason took a step back as Barbara pulled back her wand hand, slightly confused and at the same time... Suddenly light. Empty. Hollow in a good way. He slowly sat on the bench again. "... He really said that?"
"He did. The idea to show you was mine... Maybe. You know how manipulative he can be." Barbara answered as Jason thouht about those words, his hair now black again.
"... Focus on myself. Things I'm good at... Better than Dick." Jason thought about it for a few seconds only to find out that he had no idea. "... Shit. Wish I had more time to think about... Huh." He stopped. Then he smiled. Then he grinned.
-Break-
"Time-out's almost over... Where's Jason?"
"Right here, you miscreants!" The rest of the team plus Stephanie turned all around. And paused.
"Jason... Your hair..." It was a new colour. She had never seen that shade... Well, shades. Black wih a huge white lock. But she liked his smile. The fire in his eyes. If she had to take a guess...
"Forget about the hair, cheermuggle! We're about to turn this around!" That hair colour meant serious business.
-Break-
"Well, break's over. Let's go back in, team!" Dick cheerfully beckoned his friends as they noticed Jasons team going back onto the field. The Hufflepuff captain was maybe the first to notice Jason's brand new hair color. "Huh. A new style.
"... He seems..." Cassandra on the other hand focused on his body language. His whole body screamed confidence, from the smile to the way he walked onto the field. As she climbed onto her broom, though, she noticed his team-mates were pretty nervous. Just what had happened? What did he have in mind that put this pressure on his team-mates? Heck, Cassie Sandmark was a wreck.
-A couple minutes before-
"Ok! First, roster change!" That surprised everyone in the room. "Cassie, switch with Stephanie!"
"WHAT?!" Cue everyone's jaws going slack. The most surprised one was, of course, Stephanie. "A-Are you serious?! But why?!"
"Cassie is too tired to continue. Also, there's no one else I can do this with, blondie." Jason declared. "It has to be you."
"N-No one... B-But why?! Even deadly tired, Cassie is better than me! I have trouble on staying on the broom, damn it!"
"You have the eye/hand coordination to catch the damn thing. You just need to stay put. I'll take care of the rest." Jason continued but Stephanie, although silent, was still down-right terrified. She wanted to be part of the team, yeah, but this was not what she had in mind for her first official...
"Wait! I'm not part of the team! I can't-"
"As of five minutes ago you are." Jason smirked. Knowing teachers came in handy, much to Stephanie's further shock. ôCome on, blondies! Swap clothes!ö Conner grinned. ôIn the locker room, of course.ö Conner pouted.
-Back to the game-
As the game progressed, Cassandra noticed that Jason had really gotten in the mindset for it. Just like last year. He wasn't aiming for Dick only anymore and that kept her team-mates from scoring more while his own team-mates were slowly gaining confidence and had already scored twice, bring the point difference to just ten points.
Gaining confidence... Except for Cassie. She didn't understand what had happened but not only was she nervous but she seemed to be more tired than she thought. She moved ever so slowly around the field except for a few sudden jerking motions that threatened to throw her off the broom.
ô... Nevermind.ö She sighed. She needed to do her job. She was the Seeker. She needed to... The Snitch. ôThere.ö She moved and rocketed forward, following the small winged golden globe.
Up above, Jason noticed her movements. ô... Attagirl.ö He started moving above her, swatting away a Bludger as he went.
Stephanie in turn noticed his moving and then thought of his words, and still couldn't make sense of them. How was she supposed to help if... She gasped. ôJASON?!ö
-Break-
She had figured a pattern to the movements of a Golden Snitch. It wasn't a really sentient being, after all. It was a magical object with two wings with movements that had to obey rules. Otherwise it would just stay hidden all the time if they gave him a real prey instinct. It was supposed to move in certain patterns to challenge the seekers but at the same time give them a chance to catch it.
It was a bit more difficult that with a person but she had managed to learn to read his 'body language' or better to foretell its movements. They were at a limit of the ring and it had made a sharp turn for the exact opposite end. There. For the next ten seconds it would only progress in a straight line. She started increasing the speed. She would quickly catch up, grasp it and end the game.
She focused only on the Snitch and her immediate surroundings as she started protruding her right arm, ignoring everything else, including the collective gasp and sharp shrieks the stadium suddenly gave. There were also a few cries of 'Jason'. A flinch was the only reaction. What had just... And then she saw him.
With no broom, falling towards the ground at high speed, right in front of the Snitch and her, giving her a grin and saluting her with a hand, arm holding the bat flexed, summoning power from his muscles. ôGame over.ö He simply said and began turning on himself and then she heard a sharp 'crack' and a streak of golden light shooting upwards. She instinctively followed it with her eyes as Jason disappeared from her field of vision.
-Break-
He followed the Snitch with his eyes till it reached Stephanie and the girl didn't disappoint, understanding what he had been doing and catching it swiftly out of air. ôGood girl. Now...ö He moved his eyes and found the ground getting closer and closer. ô... How do I roll to a stop to limit damage, again?ö
-Break-
Current day
ôFor the first time in years, I wasn't thinking at all. Rationally, that is. I followed my gut.ö Jason declared as he smirked again. ôAnd it felt good... By the way, what happened after I passed out?ö
ôStephanie caught the Snitch and they ended the match. He caught you barely on time with a spell.ö He didn't need a spell to understand what she was referring to when she said 'he'. He was so going to get it, but damn, wasn't it worth it. ôThere was quite the discussion if the move was valid or not. In the end, since you didn't really 'touch' the Snitch, they gave the victory to Gryffindor. They changed the rules right after, of course.ö
ô... Sweet.ö He grinned and suddenly he wasn't grinning any more. Cassandra had suddenly jumped on top of his bed, and he could see her pretty angry face only at a few centimeters from his own. ôC-Cass?ö
ôPromise me.ö She started, using her no-nonsense tone. ôPromise me you'll never do anything like that ever again.ö
ôEhm, I can't really ass-ö
ôJASON!ö He almost jumped out of his skin. He could positively say that Cassandra had never, ever, been so loud in anyone's presence before. She suddenly moved her hands and grabbed on the front of his night clothes, pulling him off the mattress. ôThis is not a joke! You almost died!ö
ôI-I was sure that dad would-ö
ôHe's not god, Jason! He barely, BARELY caught you in time! You... You almost... Hic...ö And there was his second guilt trip in two days. He had just made Cassandra cry. He. Had made. Cassandra. Cry. She probably had cried once or twice in her life and he had made her cry. As she removed her hands to cover her face, his mind went through thinking of what would the others do to him.
ôHey. Heyheyhey.ö He got into a more comfortable position and hugged her, putting one hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head. ôI'm still here, am I not? I didn't go anywhere.ö
ôBut... Sniff... You...ö
ôLook, Cassandra.ö He broke the hug and gently moved her hands away. Damn it. Red puffy eyes, tear streaks. She was a mess. ôI can't promise I won't do anything dangerous or that I won't act on my guts ever again, but I promise you this: I will always come out of it okay.ö
ô... How can you be sure of that?ö That seemed to calm her down a bit, if only because she knew at least another person who could make that proclaim and not make it an empty boast.
ôCassandra, I currently feel like the biggest ass in the world and the others are gonna wipe the infirmary with me if they ever know that I made you cry. If I die and I make you feel even worse, I WILL be the biggest ass in the world AND they will find a way to resurrect me only to kill me again. That's not something I want to go through any time soon.ö Despite herself, she found herself laughing. He sighed in relief and started cleaning her face with the covers, before cupping it softly. ôThere you go. All better.ö
ô... Jason.ö This time, she grabbed his own hands. Wasn't it weird. Soft slender hands grabbing his own big and calloused ones-She kissed his forehead. ôYou're an idiot.ö That declaration hanging in the air, she got off his bed and left after straightening her clothes and whispering a 'Good night', stopping at the door for a few seconds to stare at his bewildered face before disappearing in the darkness again.
ô... Did she just... I mean...ö He brought a hand to his forehead, still feeling the heat from the black haired girl's lips, his headache suddenly gone. ôDid she just kiss my forehead, lingering her lips in place for a few seconds?ö That was true. Then another question came up in his mind. He shook his head. ôNononono, don't go there, Jason.ö He threw his covers over him and shut his eyes. ôJust get some sleep and...ö
ôYOU FREAKING IDIOT!ö
ôOh, for the love...ö He turned around at hearing the annoyingly loud voice only for another female weight to land on him, without a trace of Cassandra's grace, though. ôSPEURGH! ACK!ö
ôWHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!ö Stephanie also immediately began strangling him. She wasn't the type to cry in anger. No, she was more prone to kicking his ass. ôI SHOULD RIP OFF YOUR LEGS SO THAT YOU CAN'T RIDE A BROOM AND THROW YOURSELF OFF IT EVER AGAIN!ö
ôCan't... Breath...ö
ô... But still...ö She suddenly stopped strangling him and he found himself trapped in a bear-hug next. ôYOU DID IT! WEWONWEWONWEWON! AND I CAUGHT THE SNITCH! YEEEEES! Yes, it was all thanks to you, but still I felt like a heroooo! YEEEES! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!ö She suddenly started kissing him all over his face, no delicacy or anything in the gesture. Too rude. He was about to throw her off when suddenly he grabbed both sides of his face... ôHMMMMMMM!ö And planted the most forceful kiss yet straight on his lips. When she let him go, his lips were bruised. ôThank you, captain!ö She continued, while he had just lost track of the universe. She laughed at that and threw him back on the bed before patting him on the right shoulder and getting off. ôI'll see you later! Good night!ö
She actually skipped away. He was left staring at the ceiling, unable to process anything till his brain rebooted. ô... Dick? D-Man? Ravenbitch? Anyone else?ö He stared at his surroundings, waiting for a reply or something. He got none. Satisfied, he slowly turned on his side and closed his eyes. Then he moved his tongue over his pulsating lips. ô... Lip-gloss. Strawberry.ö That statement in mind, he decided to just go to sleep and think of what just transpired as delirium.
ôHey, winner!ö But karma had something else in mind for him. It was going to be a long night, he guessed.