Chapter 2
Several whoops and cheers sounded around the Hufflepuff table as Laura, Perry, and Kirsch took their seats at their house table, each receiving a few slaps on the back from both their housemates and several Slytherins that sat at the table beside them. Laura blushed furiously at the congratulations, while Kirsch all but basked in it, and Perry humbly brushed it off. Laura had never really gotten the hang of taking compliments as gracefully as Perry.
The three took their seats and were soon joined by LaFontaine, Danny, and Carmilla, the latter being less than thrilled by the seating arrangement after the gargantuan redhead settled down next to her, but the feeling dissipated when Laura’s hand slid into her own as the little Hufflepuff began heaping pot roast and mashed potatoes onto her plate.
“Uh, hey D-Bear? Mel is giving you the evil eye, dude,” Kirsch said, looking over at the Gryffindor table.
Everyone except Carmilla, who was far too busy cutting herself a piece of steak and kidney pie, looked over to the Gryffindor table, where, sure enough, Mel was shooting daggers at Danny.
Danny rolled eyes. “Just ignore her,” she said with a wave of her hand, and then reached for her goblet of pumpkin juice.
“I thought she liked us,” Laura said, confused.
“Oh, she does,” Danny said, turning back to her dinner. “she’s just very into house team pride or whatever and probably thinks I’m a traitor by siting with you guys. It’ll blow over by tomorrow,”
“Is that why she only made the team this year?” Perry asked, taking a bite of shepherd’s pie.
Danny nodded. “The other two captains didn’t liker her attitude, but she was the best beater I saw of the hopefuls. I’ll take someone with an attitude over someone who might not be able to defend my players well,”
“She is quite good,” Perry agreed, “even if her behavior is sometimes...unsavory,”
“Relax, Perr, there’s always sore losers in sports,” LaFontaine said, waving their fork and accidentally sending a drop of chicken gravy flying.
“Hey LaF? How’s JP?” Laura asked, absently running her thumb along the back of Carmilla’s hand as she ate.
“He’s doing better,” They said, “the horns are gone, but he’s still got a pretty gnarly collection of boils on his arms,”
Laura wrinkled her nose as Carmilla chuckled. “That’s what happens when you experiment,” The Ravenclaw sighed, disentangling her hand from Laura’s just long enough to reach for the string beans. “How did you get him to agree to help you, anyway?”
“He was as interested in the results as I was,” LaFontaine said with a shrug, though they still looked a little guilty. “Oh, and he said congrats on winning the match, L, and that he’s sorry he couldn't make it,”
Laura blushed a little. “Thanks,”
“No offense Laura, but I’m a little torn,” Danny said, leaning forward to look at Laura around Carmilla. “That was an impressive save, but I’m also not so happy with our seeker,”
“What? You’re not happy that Owens didn’t throw Laura from her broom?” Carmilla bristled, raising an eyebrow as she turned to look at Danny.
Danny glared at Carmilla. “No,” She snapped. “I just expected a little better technique from him,”
Carmilla opened her mouth to say something, but Laura cut her off. “Guys, relax, okay?” She said. “He was playing fine, it was actually kind of an accident that I caught the snitch. He rammed into me but all it did was propel me forward enough for me to catch it,” Laura shrugged.
“That kind of makes it even better. He unintentionally helped you win,” LaFontaine snickered, though they stopped quickly when they caught sight of both Perry and Danny’s scowls.
Laura bit back a laugh and looked to Danny. “No hard feelings, right?”
Danny’s face softened. “‘Course not, Hollis,” She said. “everything aside, it was kind of funny,”
Laura didn’t hold back a laugh this time. “Leave it to me to catch the snitch by getting knocked into it,”
“Hey, at least you didn’t almost swallow it like Harry Potter,” Kirsch said with a lopsided grin.
“Huh?” Laura asked, looking across the table to him.
“Oh yes, I remember reading that in an article,” Perry said, looking up from her pie. “he stood up on his broom--I don’t know what he was thinking, that is so beyond dangerous--and fell forwards. The snitch went right into his mouth,”
“Whoa,” Laura said, sitting up a little straighter with wide eyes.
Carmilla watched Laura with an amused smile as she ate, their fingers still tangled together under under the table.
“Please don’t get any ideas, sweetie,” Perry said, looking at Laura with pleading eyes.
Laura sighed, rolling her eyes. “Fine,” She grumbled, slumping in her seat and stabbing a chunk of beef with her fork. “I won’t try to stand on my broom during a match,”
“Oh come on, That would be so cool!” Kirsch said excitedly, “Little ner--Laura could totally pull it off,” he stabbed an entire sausage with his fork and bit off the end, earning himself a rather disgusted look from both Danny and Carmilla.
“That’d really surprise Slytherin next time you guys play them,” LaFontaine grinned.
------
After the last of the pudding dishes vanished from the tables, students slowly began to filter out of the Great Hall and towards their respective common rooms. Laura and Carmilla parted ways with the rest of the group in order to take their time walking towards the Hufflepuff common room--Laura had walked Carmilla back to Ravenclaw tower the night before--hand in hand.
“I think I have to agree with the puppy,” Carmilla said after a few moments of silence. “I think you could pull it off,”
Laura looked over to her, a smile creeping across her face. “You do? I thought you asked me only a few hours ago to be more careful on the pitch,”
Carmilla shook her head. “Careful, yes,” She said, “but I don’t want you to limit yourself, either. I think you should try it. Merlin knows I’d love to watch the look on my idiot brother’s face when you stand up on that broom of yours,” She smirked, a glint in her eye.
A mischievous glint sparked to life in Laura’s eyes as she grinned. “I just might,” She said thoughtfully.