"I hate you."
"Morning, Ol!"
"I'm just letting you know before we get out there. Most days, you're a brilliant friend and you're great to train with. But today I hate you."
"Awesome." Kadin grinned at Oliver Wood and indicated a platter of scrambled yellow substance in front of him, "Does your table have any eggs left?"
Oliver levelled her with a glare, "I've ordered my team to hate you as well for today, so you won't be getting anything out of the twins or Potter or Bell."
She stared for a second before pointing down the table, "Can I ask Ron for some eggs then?"
It was a pointless venture disliking Kadin Bell, as Oliver and his entire Gryffindor Quidditch team had discovered on the morning of their every match against Hufflepuff. This unwavering brightness in the face of hostility had, however, so far failed to stop Jade Wood's oldest child from trying.
He turned away from Kadin very deliberately, facing his team again, "It's going to be a tough one if the weather keeps up."
"Stop worrying, Oliver." Alicia patted his shoulder, shooting Kadin an apologetic glance, "We don't mind a bit of rain."
"Ronny?" Kadin called up the table, to where the Weasley boy was sat next to his dark haired friend. He started at the attention, almost choking on his porridge, "Could you pass the eggs?"
"Eggs. Right. Yeah." Ron's face burnt as red as his hair. He passed Kadin a platter without meeting her eyes.
George grumbled, "You could've asked us."
"Oli said I'm not allowed to talk to anyone on the team." Kadin answered, happily shovelling scrambled eggs off the platter and into her mouth without bothering to put a plate in between.
Hermione Granger appeared decidedly unimpressed, "All the inter-house rivalry about this Quidditch thing is ridiculous."
"Probably." Kadin shrugged, "But it's fun. So we do it anyway."
"This is my last chance to win the cup." Oli was muttering feverishly, letting Alicia and Katy rock him slightly forwards and backwards, "We have to win."
"Shhh, Ol." Katy soothed, pressing a mug into his hand, "Have your soup."
Hermione observed Oliver Wood sipping mechanically from the cup with a raised eyebrow, "Well, it certainly looks fun."
"Kadin!" A voice called from a table over. Cedric Diggory, "We're heading down to the pitch."
The girl grinned at her Gryffindor friends, "See you later, guys. Don't stop any murderers without me."
Rain thrashed down on the Hogwarts students. They hunched forwards and battled through the cold and the wet as wind sought out all the gaps in their clothing. Kadin pushed a hand over her head, revelling in the dampness.
When it got that wet, her hair almost looked like it had before she'd dyed it. It had been jet black, just like her father's. Black being the complete and total absence of any kind of light. So she'd grabbed her wand and searched up some spells and turned it every kind of brightness. Every patch a different colour, a different hue, until her whole scalp was an unbridled mess of eccentricity.
By the time she reached the changing rooms, Kadin was out of breath. Her team was already assembled. She changed quickly and fell into line.
"Right." Cedric faced his team, "Remember, neither side wanted this match. Slytherin dropping out is just as much a hit for Gryffindor as us. We're playing on raw talent today, and we're going to win on raw talent. That means McManus, no beating Weasleys around the head when they annoy you-"
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ONCE BOY |2| Remus Lupin
Fanfiction'Grown up' has never been more foreign. Kadin Bell is the daughter of a disgraced murderer and a practically perfect war hero. The hero is dead. The murderer has escaped. It's a classic story. But something's wrong. The adults are keeping secrets, a...