The Chaser's Heart

Year 5: Slytherin

Things did get easier over the next couple of months. Once word got around quickly that I'd hit deBoer and why, people seemed a bit warier of me and I didn't care. They were leaving me alone which was just the way I liked it. Plus, Murphy and I were able to spend more time together and I was a lot more comfortable with him after dating for a couple months. I looked forward to seeing him in the common room every morning where we'd go to breakfast together, but ate separately. Skye was still a bit upset about everything, plus I didn't know his mates and he didn't know mine. We ate most meals together on the weekends and he even brought me up to the Commentary Box with him whenever we wanted a bit of privacy.

After the incident with deBoer, the entire school knew Murphy and I were dating. I didn't hear much about it myself, but Murphy told me he'd endured a great deal of ribbing from his mates and even other Quidditch players. I couldn't imagine why. I knew I was a troublemaker but apart from that, I didn't think there wasn't anything inherently wrong with me. We were sixteen. That was plenty old enough to be dating.

It became the new normal, this relationship with Murphy. I grew accustomed to having him around in the common room, the library and at Quidditch practise. I liked holding his hand while we studied together and he gave me tips for the OWLs, which I greatly appreciated. The exams seemed much closer now that we were on the other side of Christmas. We played a lot of wizard's chess, too. I didn't feel like I was improving, but he said I was, so I had to believe him. He was the expert in that regard.

I hadn't heard anything about any Cursed Vaults either, and Rowan always had her ear to the ground, more so than I ever did, trying to get information or clues on where the next one was. I was honestly relieved. I'd come to accept that Jacob had made his decisions and they may not have been the wisest. But he'd only been around the same age as I was while he was searching for the Vaults and a couple of years older than me when he'd gone missing. I may never know what became of him, but I also didn't want to suffer the same fate as he had. Plus, Dumbledore was paying Rakepick to search for the final two Vaults. Even if I didn't trust her farther than I could throw her, she was the professional and had far more experience than I did.

Maybe it was time to move on with my life. I would never forget about Jacob, but I could carry on without getting weighed down by the consequences of his decisions. Now I had someone who saw me as more than just a trouble maker on a mission to finish what my brother had started.

And I was starting to believe there was more to me than that.

***

I woke on the morning of Ravenclaw's match against Slytherin with an ominous, yet familiar churning deep in my stomach. I sat up slowly, gingerly, feeling like I would vomit if I moved the wrong way or too quickly. This had to be a nightmare.

I groaned when I slowly came to the understanding that I was very much awake and my symptoms were very real. No. Not today. My period wasn't due for another two days. Why on earth had it chosen today, of all days, to come early?

My stomach gurgled and I groaned. Maybe it wasn't what I thought it was, maybe I'd just had some dodgy chicken at supper last night. Almost as if on cue, the cramping started. It was dull at first, but intensified quickly. It was undoubtedly my monthly period. I'd suffered from debilitating cramps ever since it started when I was twelve. Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey had a potion I could take that relieved them. I just had to get to the Hospital Wing quickly to give it time to kick in before I was expected on the pitch.

Usually, it started early in the day with bloating and dull cramping, giving me time to get to the matron before it got really bad. I hated when it started in the night, by the time I woke up, the pain and nausea were already unbearable.