RECKLESS FUN | Blaise Zabini | Au

8- OH, DUCK

***

IN NO TIME AT ALL, DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS had become most people's favorite class. Zoe even bothered to do her homework very properly for every DADA class since her uncle rewarded them with practical lessons.

Professor Lupin's next few lessons were just as interesting as the first.

Somehow, as impossible as it would've seemed, Potions had become even more terrible than it ever had been. Snape was in particularly revengeful mood these days, and no one was in any doubt why. The story of the Boggart assuming Snape's shape and the way Neville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes had travelled through the school like wildfire. Snape didn't seem to find it funny. His eyes flashed menacingly at the very mention of Professor Lupin's name, and he was bullying Neville worse than ever.

Zoe got Neville off the hook for one lesson as she became the number one target of Snape's harassing when she commented a little too loudly to Harry, "Not all of our worst fear can be a shampoo bottle, am I right?"

She didn't get detention, since Snape had no proof that she had meant him. But it didn't stop him from giving her such hard time that the lesson was definitely the most horrible lesson she had ever been on.

Divination and Care of Magical Creatures were not too much fun either. Zoe was starting to regret picking both of them.

To Zoe, Divination seemed nonsense and she didn't care for it. Professor Trelawney predicting death omens to Harry was beginning to be really dull and made Zoe wonder what were the acquirements to be able to teach at Hogwarts.

Parvati and Lavender were starting to be even more annoying after spending time during their lunches at Professor Trelawney's tower, they acted as if they knew something others didn't. It wouldn't had been a problem if Zoe wouldn't had had to share a dormitory with them. Zoe noticed they also had started using hushed voices whenever they spoke to Harry, as though he was on his deathbed.

In Care of Magical Creatures, they were spending every lesson learning how to look after Flobberworms. Harry and Zoe came into an agreement that Flobberworms were the most boring creatures in existence. Hagrid didn't seem to have much confidence left after the action-packed first class.

At the start of October the Quidditch season was approaching, which was why Oliver called a meeting one Thursday evening to discuss tactics for the new season. Zoe had detention with Professor McGonagall that night, so the boy explained the whole training situation to her after they met later in the common room. What Zoe understood was she would be in their every other practices and would train different places in turns.

Full of determination (Zoe was sure Oliver had kept a motivational speech to them, which was then confirmed by Fred), the team started practicing, three evenings a week.

The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights darker, but no amount of mud, wind or rain could have brought Zoe's mood down. She had fun in every training session she went.

She loved being a Chaser, and was good at it too. Being Fred or George's Beater partner wasn't too bad either, hitting the Bludgers were fun. Zoe enjoyed doing impressions of the twin whom place she was playing, until Oliver had to tell her to focus on the practice. Playing the Seeker was definitely the hardest one for her. Zoe had always had trouble in concentration, and when she had to concentrate on spotting a small golden ball it could turn frustrating.

"Harry, I'll promise you I will become your own personal bodyguard if it means I don't have to play a Seeker in match." Zoe said, after she had chased the Snitch into a mud pit on the Quidditch pitch one evening.