rita

“Getting hurt is a risk you have to be willing to take. It’s part of the sport.” One just had to be careful and focused and then the chance of an accident was smaller. “There’s always a chance of something happening, be it in the air or on the ground. You’re not up there hoping not to fall off, you’re up there, feeling the wind in your hair and practically tasting the freedom it brings. It’s something you have to experience to understand.” Emma shrugged. “Please stop comparing broom ball to an actual sport.”

         “ i don’t see your name transcribed in blood across the walls, either. ” his voice remains even as it always does, regardless of his level of annoyance or lack thereof. her voice is reminiscent of a buzzing fly, and he feels inclined to counteract the noise by rapping his ringed fingers against the tabletop that she occupies. he’s disinterested in her crumpled papers and mandrake root —- he’d simply been looking for a spicier version of his usual solitude, and she’d gotten in the way of it. her potion-related endeavours were not nearly close to being on his radar. “ it’s more mine than it’ll ever be yours. this room used to be where salazar slytherin took his hookups. ” it’s very much in evan’s character to joke with a straight face, no trace of mirth detectable in his features.

          evan hasn’t haunted the dungeons half as much since he’d stopped brewing the elixir to induce euphoria —- and returning to the scene of the crime isn’t the rush of blissful nostalgia he’d imbecilely hoped it would be. he kicks open the door to the potions classroom unceremoniously and with the toe of his shoe, not expecting company. “ ew —- ” he starts, tone dry, “ get out. ”   @petrificusstarter​

“what, like, on skates? easy. consider it done.” raising an eyebrow, she settled a hand on her hip, looking back at rita. it’d sounded very challenge-like, and ivy, for one, loved an opportunity to show off a little.  it wasn’t her fault that rita didn’t seem to know that hockey already existed… or that she was more than a little familiar with it. “i’d love a little extra pocket money. of course… if you don’t think I can prove you wrong, I mean.. I totally understand your skepticism. i mean… i’m a beater. what do i know about scoring, right?”

“Are you serious? The appeal is the sport itself.” If there was one thing Emma did not get was how people didn’t like quidditch. She understood that some didn’t like to play it, but not to even enjoy watching it? It was an unfamiliar concept to her. “Everyone can run around on ice.”

as someone who tended to be on the giving end of being reprimanded, it was odd to be the one receiving it, but it was rita and they were different. she wanted nothing but the best for him and he could feel it, he always could, “i can’t promise anything, but i’ll try?” he offered, and it was true, quidditch came with countless injuries - look at wood or even mckinnon, they were a bunch of masochists because some how the love for the sport, it made it worth it. 

“one time was all it took – rita, we had a mini bloodbath on our hands–” he teased, in hindsight – it had been HILARIOUS. he had never seen her on edge before then and it was definitely something, “you’re welcome – i’m glad i can save your next patient” he chuckled. “is the sale truly worth it? everyone raves about it, but much chocolate does one person need –”

SHE WOULD NEVER UNDERSTAND the sport, could she appreciate it? sure, but understand why people were willing to risk life and limb over it? not at all. rita gave frank a grateful smile, satisfied that he would at least try not to get injured any more than he already had been. while things had been over between them for a while, he was still someone looked out for, having found his way to the softer center of her heart and staying there. pursing her lips in an attempt to hide her smile, she shook her head at his reminder, “i’m never having any patients ever, st. mungo’s would dump my application so fast.” her eyes traveled back to his shoulder and she grabbed his good arm dragging him with her to get him to start walking towards the infirmary. “it’s not about how much chocolate you get, it’s just the fact that it’s less expensive than usual. you don’t need a lot to make you happy.”

“just popped my shoulder – it’s okay. injuries are normal in quidditch, right?” he knew he needed to be more careful, he had already heard about mckinnon and he didn’t want to follow suit. “no, it’s alright – i’ll head over” he didn’t want her to go to all that trouble and it was fine, he got this. 

“oh no, you remember when you were trying to fix my paper cut?” he mused, somehow he shed more blood in the repair than he did from the start, “well, valentines day would do that to you – i always thought it was weird, one special day to show your appreciation. we should be doing that all the time, right?”

RITA SIGHED AND GAVE HIM a pointed look. “they are normal but now they’re becoming a tradition. which is something i’d feel better if you avoided partaking in.” she shook her head at him, a smile quickly replacing the faux stern look. “it was one time and i know how to fix it now!” rita gasped in defense, it was only one of the most panic filled moments of their entire relationship, with frank frantically trying to correct her and rita trying not to pass out. “thanks to you i’ll never forget how to heal paper cuts.” 

agreeing with him, she shrugged, “i can’t argue with you there, it makes for great between class entertainment. i guess it’s more of a muggle holiday? personally i like the day after when everything is half off.”

———————————————————

it’s that time again! you know how much i just love to keep you in the know on all the things happening around the halls of hogwarts, so it’s only fair we have a post valentine’s day recap! 

in all of valentine's day glory i guess there has to be some heartbreak, huh? it seems like our resident jock couple is on the outs... again. what a snooze, but it's not like many people were rooting for them after their twentieth try. what is interesting though was that R.L. was seen getting particularly cozy with one L.E. i always thought there was a girl code about that, wonder how M.M. feels about it!

now i guess there isn't a story book ending for M.F. and A.C. after all. it wasn't hard to see the end coming, with trust paper thin. can't say we didn't warn you! now he’s standing here asking if he could get any lower but a certain M.B. seems to be making the moves he couldn’t. oh honey... you’re worried about the wrong going down.

it looks like one couple has gotten back together though! but does A.B. love P.P. or just love the idea of love? we all saw how much she pined after V.G., it was only a matter of time before she gave up and took the first available one she saw, yikes! 

this one’s a fun one, but rumor has it D.U. acts like she’s slytherin royalty and better than everyone else, but if you look closely you’ll find that her blood status isn’t what you expect it to be.

i’m gonna leave it short and sweet like our little holiday! try not to miss me too much, i’ll be back soon.

you hate to love me, 

B.

“got distracted on the pitch –” he admitted, keeping it as honest as he could, she wasn’t kidding, rita skeeter had arguably one of the most infuriatingly accurate bullshit detectors – dating her had been both eye opening to say the least. “dorcas meadowes, right? that would still involve me getting a bit too close to the wing, not sure how i feel about that –” 

“boredem and you, don’t really go well –” he teased, “what have you set your sights on? there must be something you’re interested in” 

HE WASN’T LYING but she could tell he did leave out a piece of information. But because it was him, she let it pass, not interrogating any further. “is everything okay?” she asked with a tilt of her head, only slightly worried that he was upset about something. after both octavia woods and marlene mckinnon had fallen off their brooms and gotten hurt, the last thing she needed was for frank to follow suit. “if you want i can try to convince her to leave the infirmary and meet you somewhere else? i’d offer to fix you myself but healing charms aren’t really my thing.” 

when he called her out, a flush of pink rose up to her cheeks, “i’d be lying if i said i was interested in the residual valentine’s day drama, i heard a few people arguing in the hallway the other day.”

all the boy could do was muster a weary smile at the girl, “not doing so hot, love –” he joked, “how are you?” he questioned, choosing to focus on her till he could sort how who could put his shoulder back in place  – pomfrey would look for a reason to keep him overnight.

SHE MET HIS SMILE with one of her own, except hers was less weary and had a twinge of teasing behind it. “so how’d you do it? and don’t lie, you know i can tell when you’re lying.” rita stopped him before he could brush off her question with a vague answer. she was genuienly concerned though, which is why she adds, “you know, there’s a gryffindor girl that helps pomfrey from time to time, if you’re refusing to go see her.” she offered up the information, seeing as he hadn’t gone yet, it seemed like he was leaving it for a last resort. with a shrug she answered his question, “i’m alright, bored, but that’s not unusual.” 

finger in trunk? it wasn’t that dorcas hadn’t heard that before but it was normally from first years who either just wanted a chance to see the chaos of the hospital wing and see behind the curtains or they had, in fact, slammed their finger in their trunk. it’s not something she would expect from a - well she looked at least like a fifth year if not older. “mmhmm” doe narrowed her eyes at the other for a moment before pointing to the ice chest that was just off to the side, no where near the back or any one with some serious issues. “help yourself but once you’re done, i do have to check you in. madam pomfrey keeps meticulous records of whoever comes to the hospital wing, even if it’s just for some ice.”

RITA BEAMED AT THE OTHER GIRL, knowing she had an air of suspicion around her. it wasn’t going to be easy to find exactly what she wanted, but she only needed a glimpse of the people and she’d be able to tell what had happened right away, this was the only missing piece of her puzzle. “thank you, i’ll come find you when i’m done.” she promised halfheartedly. on her way to get the ice she only pretended to need, she skimmed around, already gathering a few clues. she wasn’t about to let a volunteer get her in trouble though, so she kept mostly to the path she was instructed to stay on, not wanting to gain a reputation of being a brown-noser. with a little sigh to herself, she turned around and went back to wherever the other brunette had moved to. “i’m done, but you seem like really busy so if you need me to wait i really don’t mind.”