Quidditch in the Rain ( 4th years)

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass sloped up the steps to the common room in her overly soaked Quiddith robes. Why does it always have to rain when we have Quidditch practice? Don't the fates have anything better to do than to make my life a little more difficult? Cass thought to herself. Standing in front of the portrait hole, she watched as the Fat Lady's face took on a look of disgust after she said the password. " My, my, don't we know how to clean up after ourselves?" Cass looked behind her and saw a muddy trail up the steps behind her. Looking down, she saw that her Quidditch clothes were caked with mud up to her knees. No wonder why people were staring, she thought to herself.

" Please, could you just let me in? I know I look a fright, but it has been a long afternoon." The portrait hole swung open, and Cass stepped into the warm room. She was drenched from head to foot, and she knew that her brand knew Quidditch clothes were probably ruined. Seeing an empty chair by the fire, Cass collapsed, exhausted, into it. She saw several students crowded around tables studying transfiguration. They were apparently trying to get someone's pygmy puff to turn into a wine glass. " Ringo!" Cass exclaimed as her old cat forced his way into his lap. " When you want attention..." Cass began to pet the cat's back in a languid fashion while he purred. Knowing she wasn't going to be able to sit up for a bit, Cass leaned back and decided to enjoy the warmth of the fire.

[illiya]

A peal of thunder chased the sharp bright white of lightning across the afternoon sky. The storm stole any light away from the day; its heavy dark rain clouds covering any hint of the sun and casting all the grounds below in a chilly darkness driven home all the more by sheets of freezing rain. Most of the student body of Hogwarts had closeted itself inside as only the most daring would venture out in this weather, those seeking to play or watch Quidditch practice being the only ones who showed even remote interest in exiting the building. Several Gryffindors were steadily trying to coax a pygmy puff into changing its shape but Illiya took very little notice of them as she sat curled in a window seat, several books scattered about her and leaves of parchment left half curled and forgotten on the floor. Her Potions homework was almost done and Illiya perused it for the twelfth time, a worried frown creasing her brow as she desperately searched for any flaws in her theories and facts. Professor Snape had never seemed to care for her much, his dark eyes always boring into her head as she prepared her ingredients. She swore he was just waiting for her to mess up and his scrutiny always inevitably led to her doing something that would have blown up half the class had he not been around to yell at her. And, oh, did he yell at her. As far as Illiya could tell, Professor Snape was under the firm belief she would be the death of the school if she was left to complete a potion on her own.

As Illiya sat re-reading her homework, the portrait swung wide to allow another fourth year to enter. The heavy scrape of tired feet moved into the room, followed shortly thereafter by a whoomph as the girl dropped heavily into a chair by the fire. Illiya glanced up to see who had entered and recognized a bedraggled and very tired looking Cass slouching in her seat. Cass was soaked form head to toe and coated in so much mud, Illiya half-wondered if there was any left outside. She turned her eyes to the window next to her and could barely make out the goal posts of the quidditch pitch, gray and blurred in the distance, all but lost in the rain. Illiya could hardly believe that the other girl had dared to go outside and once more, the thought of how far some people go for sports, struck Illiya as very strange. Cass looked so very tired and cold. Illiya tried to ignore the whole situation telling herself that her homework and the impending doom of Snape deserved her undivided attention but the image of a tired worn girl she’d shared a room with for four years was now stuck firmly in her head. Cass was nice and while the two girls never really developed much of a friendship before, Cass was a Gryffindor and the welling need to protect her fellow housemates grew in Illiya once more.

Careful not to send her books and notes toppling to the floor, Illiya slid off the window seat and headed to towards the stairwell to the girl’s dorms. She pulled out her wand and aimed it up the stairs. “Accio towel.” She commanded in a fairly confident voice, one reserved, it seemed, only for casting spells. A large red, fluffy towel came shooting down the stairs only narrowly missing Illiya’s head. She would have to practice that spell a little more, she mused. Illiya bent down to retrieve the towel and headed towards the fire place. Illiya stepped up in front of the chair Cass was occupying and offered the girl a warm if shy smile. “Hi again. You look like you could use this. You should be careful out there, you’ll catch cold.”

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

" Meow!" hissed Ringo as a girl walked up to the two of them. Ringo dug into her leg with his claws as he took off up the steps to the dormitory. Cass looked up to Illiya Jenkins, a girl in her dorm, offering her a fuzzy warm towel. Cass gratefully took the offering and began to wipe the mud off her leather boots. " Thanks. I really needed that. I was too tired to walk up the stairs. Plus, if I do, that potions essay will be staring back at me from the pile of homework on my bed." Untying the leather strings around her neck, she pushed the heavy red cloth that made up her cloak off her shoulder. Cass heard it drop heavily down around her on the chair. After wiping the thick mud off her boots, she removed them to reveal some very wet grey socks.

" Speaking of potion's essays, it looks like you have begun yours. Are you having trouble with it, or do you find it easy? I never find anything in Snape's class easy. Than again, I don't think any Gryffindor has it easy in his class." Cass took her thick black hair in her hands and wrung it out. Water trickled to the stone floor. Frowning, Cass took out her wand. " Now, I better not leave that for the house elves. Evanesco!" The water vanished.

Cass smiled at her dorm mate. " So, didn't feel like braving the elements like the rest of his die hard Quidditch people. I think a few of them are still out on the field, but I wasn't going to risk anymore time out there. I swear, lightning almost struck my broom twice.
Seriously, there is not enough tea in China to make me go back out there!" Cass giggled a bit. Standing up, her feet made sloshing sounds as she made her way across the Common Room. Getting a glass, she poured herself a glass of water out of a nearby basin. " God, with so much water dripping off me you would think I wouldn't be so thirsty. Anyways, you up for a game of wizard's chess? I haven't played in ages. If you don't mind getting the game, I will run upstairs and change right quick."

[Liam Angelus G5]

Sitting in the library, Liam could here the thunder and lightning strike every so often. Normally, he would have been on the grounds spending his time relaxing, but what with the storm, Liam had to find something else to do. He didn't want to be in the library, but he had nothing else to do, and he didn't want to spend his day looked in the dormitories or the common room.

The only time Liam spent in the library was to do his homework, and this time was no different. He hated doing his homework, but this one he had to do because he did not like having Snape mad at him. Liam did not even know what he was supposed to be writing his essay on, even though he had already wrote several paragraphs. As he sat there in the quite, another strike of lightning struck outside the window. With a deep sigh, Liam stood from his seat and packed his things back into his bag.

Liam walked out of the library and toward the stairway heading to the Gryffindor common room. Up the seven flights of stairs he went until he reached the Fat Lady's portrait. Liam quickly gave the password before the Fat Lady could even ask. Liam stepped through the portrait hole and saw several younger students playing with a pygmy puff, and two fourth year girls, one he knew kind of well, and another he recognized, but did not know well. Before he could say anything, he saw Cass go upstairs to the girls dorm. Liam walked over to one of the chairs by the fire.

Liam set his bag on the ground at the foot of the chair and rested his feet on it. Liam looked at the girl who had stayed in the common room. As he put out his hand, Liam politely said, "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Liam, Liam Angelus."

[illiya]

Illiya’s eyes tracked Cass across the room, following the loud squelching of wet socks on the floor. The towel, now so caked in mud it was hardly recognizable as red anymore, had been left on the arm of the chair Cass had just vacated. Illiya walked over to it and picked it up between two fingers only the only clean spot she could find. It wasn’t that Illiya minded mud, she’d grown up on a farm after all, but she really didn’t want to have to clean up again before she went to bed that night. With the towel held out before her like something vaguely offensive, Illiya marched over to the foot of the stairs and pulled out her wand once more. “Wingarduim Leviosa” she muttered as it was the only spell that came to mind, her wand twitching slightly as it guided the towel back up to the correct floor. She doubted she could get it in the loo upstairs and so settled for leaving it in the floor by her dorm door; she could grab it later when she went back up.

Finally, turning back to where Cass was now greedily downing a glass of water, Illiya tried to decide which question to answer first. “I’m almost done with my Potions homework,” she began with a reproachful look at her scattered papers by the window, “but I doubt it really matters much.” The last reply was grumbled half-under her breath, “and it’s never easy.” Illiya turned back to Cass with a new found smile and was glad that the other girl might be able to distract her from her homework for a while. If she stared at the line “Ash root when powdered correctly….” for any longer, she just might lose her mind. “I’d love a game of wizard’s chess,” Illiya stated quickly to silence the voice in her head that was screaming her home work wasn’t done properly and sounding suspiciously like Professor Snape. “As for quidditch…well….I like it and all, it’s hard not to, but I just never was much into sports I guess. Certainly not enough to go outside in this downpour.” Illiya walked over to one of the little cabinets spaced around the room and removed a well worn chess board. The figures had been shoved hurriedly into a large wooden box, the bottom of which was coated in the dust of broken pieces from games played many times before, and they stuck out at awkward angles. Illiya placed the box on top of the chess board to balance it and then headed toward the fireplace and quickly sat down to claim them a good spot, one that would catch most of the heat being radiated from the fire. Cass would probably start to get chilly if she didn’t change quickly and then dry off fairly fast.

“You should go hurry and get out of all that before you catch a nasty flu.” Illiya called back to Cass. She laid the board gently on the low table that squatted between the couch and the darkly charred bricks of the fireplace itself, clearing a few miscellaneous toys that had been left behind. Illiya was not too terribly good at wizard’s chess but she found the game vastly entertaining as she was a muggle born and the sight of the little figures roughly smashing one another in various stages of brutality was not something she had encountered until she came to Hogwarts. As she sat quietly, biting her lip in thought while trying to remember which figures go where, the portrait hole swung open once more. Illiya didn’t pay much attention until the person’s shadow crossed the board she was studying. The newcomer eased himself into a chair next to the couch Illiya was sitting on and dropped his bag to the floor. His feet went promptly on top of the bag and Illiya glanced up at him in curiosity.

Then, she froze. Illiya’s eyes went a little wider as she stared up at Liam Angelus who was even at that moment offering his hand out to her in greeting. A smile had alighted upon his face and as she spoke Illiya was sure her heart had just stopped. “We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Liam, Liam Angelus.” Of course she knew his name, how could she not? It was doodled in various forms with hearts all around it on most of her notebooks. Illiya managed a choked “uh..” before she felt the burning of a thousand suns fill her cheeks. She was sure her face had just gone as red as the towel she’d given Cass and she quickly looked back down at the chess set as her thoughts found them selves caught in a race with her heart rate. Think. Think! What do I say??? What do I say? Say your NAME stupid! Illiya looked back up at Liam and managed a somewhat awkward grin. “Illiya. Jenkins. Illiya Jenkins.” The words seemed to rush out of her before she could stop them and she was absolutely sure she was going to die of embarrassment. Illiya hadn’t meant to act like a complete fool and of course this meeting wasn’t going quite the way she had planned it to, mind you she hadn’t quite thought through why Liam would ride up to her in potions class on a black steed, but that was the way she had hoped things would go. Now she was sitting here, in front of him, sounding like some kind of moron, all the while hoping Cass would suddenly apparate in to save her from herself. “S’nice to meet you.” She managed to say before casting her eyes back down at the chess board.

Suddenly she couldn’t remember what the board was for or why she was trying to put the pieces on it. All she could think of was that Liam Angelus was sitting in the chair next to her and he’d talked to her.

[Liam Angelus G5]

As he sat there, Liam noticed that the girl had gotten out a chessboard. As he stared at it, he made sure to keep one eye on the girl he just introduced himself to. Liam was not really that into wizarding chess after he had gotten hit in the eye when one of his pieces was destroyed. He kept reminding himself that he should make sure he doesn't get his eyes too close when the girl started playing whomever it was that she was going to play.

When the girl replied to his greeting, Liam gave a slight grin before he spoke. "Well, Illiya Jenkins, its a pleasure to meet you." Liam turned his attention back to the chessboard. He realized that Illiya had forgotten what she was doing and was about to offer her some help when he noticed that Illiya had left some schoolwork on a window sill.

"So I take it you have been working on your schoolwork," Liam said motioning toward the window. "I've been down in the library taking care of mine, bloody Snape, I hate his class, and him." Liam kicked his schoolbag at his feet.

Liam looked at the chessboard once again before he realized that it still had not gotten set up and that some of the pieces were still broken. "Why don't I help you with that," Liam said as he took out his wand and aimed at the pieces. "Repairo," Liam said before the pieces began to fix themselves. Liam thought a moment before he continued. "Hmm, lets see if I can remember what my grandfather taught me," Liam said as he made a movement with his wand and focused on putting the pieces where they belonged. Once he was sure that they were in the proper place, Liam said, "That should do it. So who are you going to play with anyway?"

[illiya]

Liam began speaking once more and Illiya was clinging to every word as she sat staring at the chessboard. He said it was a pleasure to meet me! Hesaiditwasapleasuretomeetme!!!! a little voice screamed excitedly in her head. Illiya’s face, if possible, got even redder and an idiotic grin began to spread across her features. She still couldn’t bring herself to look at him though until he mentioned her discarded homework. Daring a glance up at the window seat she had been occupying earlier, (and a small glance at Liam as well) Illiya sighed heavily. The thought of Professor Snape ripping apart all her hard work tomorrow brought Illiya back down to earth for a few moments. She’d spent several hours on it already, the rest of her homework having been done long before she began her essay. “Yeah, I hate him too. He’s such a git.” Illiya giggled softly, almost afraid that somewhere Snape’s head had just popped up in suspicion that someone was talking about him. “He always gives me bad grades no matter how long I spend.”

Illiya turned back to the chessboard, fighting the silly giggle that was rising in her throat. She giggled when she was nervous, a habit she’d had since birth apparently, and Illiya didn’t want Liam to think she was laughing at him. Biting her bottom lip so hard it hurt, Illiya concentrated on the board and pieces in front of her. As she sat there, Liam spoke up once more, offering this time to help. He pulled out his wand, aimed at the pieces and cast his spell with little effort. To Illiya, it was turning out to be the best night she’d had so far this year. Liam pondered the board for a few moments and Illiya took the opportunity to look up at him from time to time. He was positively dreamy when he was thinking and Illiya placed her elbow on her knee and her head in her hand as she sat there watching him. Illiya only gave a half-hearted glance over at the pieces on the board as Liam put them all where they needed to go, then her eyes wandered once more up to look at him.

Liam asked who Illiya was playing once he was done setting up the board and it took her a few moments to register that he wanted an answer. She blinked quickly to rouse herself from what ever daydream had suddenly claimed her and then smiled sheepishly. “Uh…Cass. Cassandra. Blackfire.” Illiya rushed to answer. “She was wet so she went upstairs to change. So….your…um…your grandfather played a lot of wizard’s chess?” All the poetic and beautiful lines she’d written for herself in her own mind had fled every time Liam smiled or looked at her, leaving Illiya scrambling to come up with something she could say.

[Liam Angelus G5]

Liam rolled his eyes at the thought of Snape. It was no secret that he hated everything to do with him, and despised all of the Slytherin students. He could not stand the way they treated other witches and wizards, whether they were pure-blood, half-blood, or muggle-born. Liam himself was pure-blood, just like most of the Slytherins, but he was raised to be excepting of others, no matter the purity of their blood. With an almost angry voice, Liam said, "Snape is an idiot. Those in his house are idiots. And those who think like them are idiots. I mean come on, just because a person isn't pure-blood, doesn't mean they are less than you. I'm pure-blood, but I'd rather spend time around those who aren't, maybe thats why I can't stand the Slytherin's."

Liam looked the board over once more as the pieces began to be set in their place. He wasn't one to rush into playing wizard chess or even setting the piece's in their place, but he found himself doing it anyway. He thought that perhaps it was because of the way he was raised. When he heard Illiya reply, Liam looked at her and said, "Oh, that would explain why I saw her heading up to the dormitories. I must say I don't envy her, I wouldn't want to be out in this weather." Liam began took a glance at the watch he had gotten for his birthday and said, "It sure is taking her a long time, isn't it?"

"My grandfather? Yeah, he plays a lot of wizards chess. He's played all over the world," Liam said like it was no big deal, because to him it wasn't. He had grown up with his grandfather playing the game. "Personally, I stopped playing after i got hit in the eye by a broken piece."

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass headed up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. She could actually hear the water squeak in her boots every time she stepped down. Entering the fourth year girl's dormitory, she threw her wet clothes to the stone floor with a resounding *slap* and opened her closet. Surveying her clothes, she shook her head at every piece she had. She was getting picky with her clothing especially when guys were around. Now, she didn't particularly fancy Liam, but she was going to make sure that she looked her best in front of him. Finally settling on a pair of blue jeans and Green Day tank top, she rushed down the stairs to see her two friends.

Cass walked in about the moment Liam mentioned he as a pure blood. She hadn't shared with many people about her new found pure bloodiness, but she found it interesting that Liam didn't look at muggles like dirt. Unfortunately, Liam was the only person besides her that believed that way. " Sorry it took me so long, guys. I always get a bit confuzzled around my wardrobe. You know, what matches with this and does this boot cut go with this robe. Oh, lovely, I see that you got the board ready. Oh, and I see that you have already made the appropriate introductions." Cass giggled a bit to see Liam put together the chess set. " Wow, Liam. I never pegged you as a chess kind of guy." Cass sat off to the side of the board, " So, who goes first? Did we ever decide?"

( Sorry it took me so long to reply. I've been really busy, but I will keep up with it now.)

[illiya]

((It's ok, I got a virus on my PC and have spent the last week posting sporadically when I could. ))

Illiya managed a few shy glances up at Liam as the boy talked, and though she was listening to (and storing for future day dreams) every word he said, the majority of her attention was riveted to the way his hair curled just a little on his forehead and around his ears. Illiya’s heart sank when he mentioned being pureblood and soared when he said he didn’t care about blood-lines, even preferring those who weren’t pure. Illiya had to bite her lip all the harder to keep from blurting out that she was muggle-born. Their conversation was going quite well and Illiya’s confidence was growing to an extent. She allowed her eyes to linger on his features for longer periods of time and tried very hard not to look too much like she was swooning.

Illiya laughed when Liam said he didn’t play anymore after being hit in the eye with a broken chess piece, then quickly clamped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you.” She tried to explain quickly, afraid he would be offended, but she couldn’t keep the mirth from her eyes. “I hope it doesn’t stop you from playing ever again. The game is quite enjoyable.” Illiya blushed a little and looked back to the little pieces all set out on the board. “Even if I am horrible at it.” She added with a smile. “I guess your grandfather must be famous to have played all over the world. I..um…I’m afraid I’ve never heard of him. I’m muggle-born and I don’t know who’s who in the wizard world.”

Just then, Cass come back down the stairs and joined them at the fire. She seemed to know Liam pretty well and for a moment, Illiya hoped they were just friends. A small spark of jealousy rose in Illiya’s heart, she wanted to be as comfortable around the boy as Cass was, but it was quickly squashed as Illiya looked at her dorm mate. The other fourth year had shared a room with her for all of their time at Hogwarts and though they never really interacted much till now, Cass had always been nice to the ever clumsy and never popular Illiya. She deserved better than to be the subject of Illiya’s own insecurities. Illiya offered her a warm smile and nodded to the board. “I don’t think we decided yet who makes the first move. You can go first if you want.”

A feeling of comfort and happiness stole over Illiya as all three sat by the fire, huddled around the low table and its chessboard. She had spent so few of her nights just relaxing like this. The storm continued to rage outside, bringing home the idea of relative warmth and safety among friends and as Illiya glanced at both Cass and Liam, she wondered how much longer their safe little world could withstand the larger storm brewing outside these walls. A storm that had already spilled onto the Hogwarts express and struck hard in Diagon alley.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

" Great!" Cass positioned herself on the white side of the board. " You know, I haven't played Wizarding Chess in a long time. I played against my older brother a few days before I left for school, but he's absolutely horrible at it. Of course, I was so busy going to hospital charity events and such this summer I didn't have much time to do anything else. I did spend some time with Dana and Pyro. Pyro is turning into the worst type of Slytherin, and that is starting to worry me. Last year, before we even knew we were cousins, he treated me like I was a normal person. Now, he keeps talking about how I'm good blood and how he is still allowed to talk to me, but he won't even talk to a muggleborn." Cass sighed. She really wished she hadn't veered on the topic of her family life, but it just kind of came out. It was nice to sit here with Illiya and Liam, but sharing her family drama with them was an entirely different thing.

Cass twisted the green stoned ring with the Blackfire crest on her right hand nervously. She didn't want them to think badly of her since she was one of the notorious Blackfires. Cass threw her eyes down to the chess board, and moved her white pawn to the space in front of it. For some reason, she seemed to be losing her interest in chess. " Sorry," Cass said embarrassedly, " You probably didn't want to hear about my personal drama, even though everyone in the school knows about it." Cass changed the subject quickly, " So, have your terms started well? I know I'm excited about Transfiguration, but I'm always excited about Transfiguration. McGonogall and I will be starting my animagi lessons again here soon, and I won't have much free time after that. I have to make some progress in my transformation this year. Speaking of which, do you think we are having a ball this year? I am absolutely not going to the ball with a Slytherin. I went last year with Pyro for Valentine's Day, and I refuse to do that again." Damn, why did all of her conversations revolve around her family. Finally thinking about what she said, she turned bright red. " Now, don't think I actually went to the Valentine's ball with my cousin. Well, I did, but I didn't know he was my cousin till the end of last year." Cass' face turned an additional three shades of red. " Damn, I'm sorry guys. My family situation is really complicated." She said this even though she knew she didn't have to explain it to Liam and Illiya. They were both there last year when it all began.

[Liam Angelus G5]

Liam noticed Illiya keep looking at him. He felt a little embarrassed that she would keep staring at him. He could not understand what made some people act that way around him, he never considered himself to be all that attractive. But here this girl was, always looking up at him, trying not to let him notice. When he heard Illiya laugh at him and quickly apologize, Liam smiled and said, "It's alright, sometimes I laugh at it too."

"I don't know, I may play sometime in the future," Liam said with a shrug. Truthfully, Liam had been wanting to play for some time now, but he could never bring himself to find somebody to play against. Liam thought for a moment when Illiya spoke about his grandfather. With a small chuckle, Liam replied, "No, he's not famous, he just has a lot of friends in a lot of places. To be honest, I'm not really sure what he did when he still worked. My aunt says he did something for the ministry, but she's been known to blow smoke."

When Liam heard Cass come back down the stairs, Liam turned to face her and said, "Well, hello, Cass. How's practice been going?" Liam watched as she walked around to the white side of the board and took a seat. "Actually, I'm not much of a chess guy. I just grew up watching my grandfather play." Liam listened to Cass carry on about her family. He personally could not stand the fact that she was related to a Slytherin student, but he was not going to let that affect the way he acted towards her. After all, she was a Gryffindor and not a Slytherin.

Every time she mentioned Pyro, Liam had to fight himself not to say something rude. "You know Cass, there is no reason to be sorry or embarrassed. You can't change the family you were born into, or what they've done, all you can do is be the best possible you," Liam said with a soft smile. "You know I was raised to despise anybody who is a Slytherin, and technically anybody related to them, and I don't feel that way about you, I know you are better than they are. So I know exactly what you are going through."

[illiya]

As Cass and Liam conversed about their families, Illiya sat quietly staring at the chessboard, trying to consider her first move; thoughts of what they were saying, though, kept shattering her concentration. Illiya of course knew about the whole Cass/Pyro thing last year. She shared a dorm room with Cass and remembered the girl being upset. Until then, Illiya hadn’t really figured out that Cass’s family was from such a well known blood-line; truth-be-told, Illiya hadn’t really known any of the well known families of the wizarding world. She had been told by every Gryffindor who met her upon her arrival here about the Slytherins and that most of their families were upper class but as crooked as they come. Illiya had agreed with the later after her first Slytherin encounter, when two Slytherin girls had placed a charm on her small bra so that it pulled back and smacked her over and over. By the time she’d gotten to a teacher to have the charm removed, a nice sized red welt had risen on her back. The girls got off with little more than a slap on the wrist and had quickly hunted her down for revenge. Illiya suppressed a shudder even thinking about it.

Being muggle born had some small advantages, she had to admit, as Illiya never had to worry about accidentally dating her own cousin, but now she felt a little out of place among these two. They lived in a world she was only still trying to understand. Illiya couldn’t think of anything she could add to the conversation that would be helpful. No one in her family hated anyone, and she had never been taught to be prejudiced. It was true Illiya didn’t like most Slytherins but she tried very hard not to hate them all just based on general principle. To Illiya, that would make her a true hypocrite. At Liam’s last statement, Illiya reached forward and advanced one of her pawns toward Cass. “I…uh…well, I won’t say I know how you feel, because I don’t.” She paused thoughtfully to re-arrange her words. “My family is very important to me so I can understand that you want to still love your cousin, Cass. I imagine if one of my little brothers did something or said something horrible, but still treated me nice, I couldn’t just turn my back on them.”

Illiya shrugged as if trying to decide what right she had to even interject. She glanced up at Liam for just a second and then looked back down at the table. “Why do you hate all the Slytherins so much?” she asked softly. “If it’s because someone taught you to or because they seem to hate muggle borns, well…..” Illiya bit her lip as she watched the board for Cass’s next possible move. “You shouldn’t hate all of them. If they do wrong to you, then it’s ok. But otherwise….well, they were taught to hate people they had never gotten to know. If you don’t know a Slytherin, you can’t hate them or you become no better than them. Not all muggleborns are worthless the way some Slytherins seem to think, maybe not all Slytherins are as worthless as we’d like to think they are.”

Illiya looked up at Cass for a moment. “I don’t know your cousin and I doubt he’d talk to me, but I can’t hate him till he actually does something to prove he’s worth my dislike.” Illiya turned her eyes back down to the table, her last remark came out as almost a whisper.

“How can you hate somebody you don’t know anything about?”

[Liam Angelus G5]

Liam sat thinking about what he had said. He knew that some would consider him to be prejudice. But the truth was that it was people in Slytherin who'd been responsible for him being miserable. They were the reason his parents were taken from him when he was a child. If it hadn't been for them, he'd probably have a loving home with siblings instead of having to live with his grandfather. Liam slumped down in his chair as he started to feel like he was prejudice.

Liam listened to Illiya for a while before he straightened back up in his chair. "I hate them because they are the reason I was orphaned and sent to live with my grandfather," Liam said trying to hold back a tear. Liam had never told anybody how his parents died, and so didn't know how he would react. "If it wasn't for people who'd been in Slytherin I'd still have a family, a whole family, with parents and everything."

Liam was finding it difficult to hide his feelings on the subject. He wanted to cry, but at the same time he wanted to see the ones responsible for his family punished. Liam could feel a tear form in his eye as he thought about what had happened to his family. The mother he never knew, but could remember singing to him, and the father he wanted to be like, and that he already looked like. Thinking about them caused him to have terrible stomach aches, knowing he will never get to see them.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass turned to answer Illiya's question. " It's easy to hate someone you don't know, Illiya. I hate the people who caused my father to run away from the wizarding world, I hate the people who were to inept to care for him before he died, and I definitely dislike most of the Slytherins in this school. I was the first Blackfire placed in a house other than Slytherin, and I am paying for it. I don't know the right people, I don't know the proper introductions, and I sure as hell can maneuver through the various forks at a fancy dinner party, and because of that, I will never be good enough for part of my family." With her tirade over, Cass moved her pawn forward another space.

Cass felt a slight pang in her chest as Liam told his story. She never knew that he lived with his Grandfather, and she didn't even know that he was orphaned. Suddenly, Cass felt a sudden kinship to her fellow Gryffindor. Liam understood! He understood what it was like to lose family over ideals. If her father had been still living in the wizarding world, he never would of died from the awful cancer that had taken over his body. He would of gone to St. Mungo's, been treated by their fabulous healers, and would of kissed her goodbye as she loaded the train to go to Hogwarts this year. Seeing Liam break a few moments later was more than Cass could bear. Jumping up, she ran over and grabbed a tissue from the nearby box. Walking over to Liam, she knelt down beside him and handed him the token. " It's okay, Liam, I understand. My father and uncle were both slytherins, and my father is now dead because my uncle couldn't understand. In fact, my whole family is in danger because he is nothing more than a muggle hating chauvinist." Cass placed her hand on Liam's shoulder, and looked him in the eye. " We both have our animosities with that house, but I know that my uncle will pay for what he is doing to us. If the time comes for retribution for you, I will be there for you."

[illiya]

Illiya looked almost heart-broken at seeing Liam upset and immediately regretted her words. She regretted all the more when Cass chewed into her with her own problems and troubled history. Illiya’s family wasn’t what she considered perfect but it was a lot better than what these two apparently went through. Illiya averted her eyes and mumbled something that sounded like “’M sorry. I didn’t know all of that. I guess I’d hate them too if I were going through all that.” The words were murmured softly and Illiya was sure she’d just opened her big mouth and, as usual, blown any hopes of a close friendship with either of them. They both shared many things Illiya couldn’t grasp.

Illiya wasn’t from some family tormented by dark wizards. No one had died as a direct result of the actions of some Slytherin. Illiya’s mother had passed when she was fairly young but her father had done his best to raise his three children. She wasn’t pure blood, not even half, and so she knew so very little about the wizarding world. Illiya had just hoped that just because every bad person went into Slytherin that it didn’t mean every person who went to Slytherin was bad. After all, she was here in Gryffindor and she had never felt particularly brave.

Illiya half-heartedly nudged another pawn forward but she had long since dropped any pretense of strategy, she just needed to do something with her hands at that moment. Part of her wanted so much to hug Liam and chase away the bad thoughts but she didn’t know him well enough, and after what she’d just said, she couldn’t imagine either of them would want much to do with her. Illiya even felt the same about Cass. She wanted very much to be able to give them both the security and comfort she had known growing up. She ached to have the strength to chase away all the bad things that gave both of her fellow house-mates nightmares; but Illiya was fifteen years old and not a very talented witch. She couldn’t begin to fathom how she could do anything to help.

Instead, Illiya sat there lamely staring at the board, at an utter loss for words. Opening her mouth had already caused enough harm. “Jus’ ignore me.” She began softly before she could stop herself. “Professor Snape is right sometimes. He said everything that comes out of my mouth should be considered automatically to be catastrophically ignorant…or something like that.” Illiya tried to chuckle lightly at the self inflicted joke but a little voice of doubt chided that it wasn’t much of a joke if it was true. Illiya offered one last lame smile at Cass and Liam as the two sat comforting each other.

[Liam Angelus G5]

Liam was grateful that Cass tried to comfort him. He knew she didn't have to do it for him. He also knew that it wasn't either Illiya's or Cass's fault that he broke down. He had kept everything about himself locked deep inside of himself, telling nobody what he felt. he knew it was only a matter of time before something broke in him and caused his reaction.

Shaking off the feelings as best he could, Liam stood and walked to the fire. As he stood there, he did not turn to face the others until he was sure he could control himself. "It's not your fault, Illiya," Liam started softly. "It's my fault I broke down. I've never told anybody what has happened, or what I felt. I kept everything bottled up inside, and it was just a matter of time until something snapped inside of me."

Liam turned his head to the side, causing his face to be cast in shadow's before he spoke again. "And Cass, your uncle will get his, I promise. People like him always do," Liam said with honesty. "When the time comes, I will be happy to know you are there for me, both of you. I will always be in need of friends like you."

Liam walked around the room before he returned to his seat. When Illiya spoke of Snape, Liam quickly replied, "Pay no attention to that fool. He is a Slytherin after all, and no good can come from listening to remarks like those."

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass' face registered surprise at Liam's words. He seemed deadly serious about what he was saying about Slytherins, and she could completely understand his words. Cass watched Liam roam around the room in silence for a few moments, and then took her que to return to her game. She no longer had her heart in it any longer. This conversation had been deep, and it had taken all jofulness from the air. Not only was Liam depressed, Illiya was feeling left out, and Cass....well, Cass didn't know what Cass was. All she knew was that something had changed, and she could not put her finger on that something yet.

Cass moved a rook forward. " You are not an idot, Illiya. I'm pretty sure you are one of the most intelligent people in our year if not in this room. I've always been impressed by your thinking and how sometimes you can get through homework I haven't even begun to figure out. For example, look at our potion's esssay. Your done with it and I haven't even been able to figure out the first paragraph in the textbook." Cass stood still as she waited for Illiya to move. " We are not going to ignore you, Illiya. I think both of us probably value your opinion and take on things than most people."

[illiya]

Illiya looked up at both Liam and Cass, her eyes glistening with tears she refused to shed as a feeling of helplessness washed over her. These two people were being very kind to her, perhaps more so than most had before, and Illiya, who had known so few friends during her time here, was all the more grateful for this display. Cass’s words bolstered a flagging ego and Illiya smiled gratefully to the girl. As Liam re-took his seat, Illiya turned her head back toward his despondent figure. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she said earnestly, “I can’t imagine losing both my parents. My dad is so important to me.” Illiya shook her head sadly, wiping idly at the moisture that had slipped unbidden down her cheek.

As she sat there staring at the board, the little swell of anger and protectiveness rose in Illiya’s chest once more like the proverbial lion that acted as her house’s mascot. Illiya was steadily growing more used to this feeling and even began to welcome the strange emotion as it came over her. When Illiya looked up at Liam and Cass again, the timid nature that was usually in her eyes was gone and for a short moment, a confidence and strength all but radiated from her small frame. Illiya met their eyes one after the other and when she spoke, the uncertainty was gone from her soft words. “I don’t know what I could possibly do against everything that has happened to you both so far but I promise you this,” Illiya’s voice held a surety she wasn’t quite able to put her finger on and the words she spoke next would echo through her mind for quite sometime to come, striking her as the oddest thing she’d ever said, “anyone looking to hurt either of you will have to go through me first.”

Illiya looked back down at the board and even before she had moved the knight, the overwhelming protectiveness had fled, leaving Illiya reeling over what she’d just declared, yet she couldn’t really deny the truth of it. She wanted to protect them. Cass, Liam, Gary, Maryn. The people she had gotten to know in this eventful and short year, which was only just beginning. Illiya once more began to unconsciously chew her lip as she sat staring at the board. “um…so,” she began a little less confidently, “what are our chances for winning the Quidditch cup this year?” The weight of their conversation seemed to be all but smothering Illiya and she reached desperately for a topic she figured anyone would jump on.