Unforeseen Consequences ☞︎ A James Potter Fan Fic

{3} An Innocent Mistake

Holly had left the Quidditch pitch earlier then the rest of the house. She dragged herself back through the castle until she got to the entrance to her common room. She couldn't help but be distracted by everything that had happened.

She couldn't help but replay the entire quidditch game in her head. How did they go wrong? What could they have done? How did Gryffindor outsmart them?!

Holly Hutton couldn't help but be distracted. She was so distracted in fact that she— a Hufflepuff— failed to knock the correct rhythm on the barrels. The top barrel opened and dumped vinegar all over the distraught girl before she had time to move.

Hollys mouth dropped in shock, vinegar dripping off of her body. She cried out before quickly twisting her face in disgust as some of the vinegar dropped down into her mouth. She cried out again. This time, she focused as she knocked on the correct barrel, with the correct rhythm. The barrels opened and she walked into the room. No one was in the room at the moment. She ignored the happy plants and moved quickly to the showers.

Once she was done and clean, Hollys depressed mood had returned from its previous one of disbelief. She trudged over back to the common room and plopped onto one of the cushy couches. She sinked into it and basked in the warmth the fireplace was emitting.

At this time, a few of the Hufflepuff students were walking around or talking to their friends. All of them looked at the girl; worrying about her. Holly never took it well when Hufflepuff lost. There was one time in third year when they were so close but lost the house cup... Her closest friends joked that the girl had to be closely monitored for the remainder of the upcoming summer.

Eventually, her three closest friends walked into the room. Brie instantly locking her sights down on the saddened girl. The girls walked over and gently placed their hands on her shoulders. Holly didn't move.

"How're you holding up, hun?" Mary-Anne asked softly. Holly sniffled and moved her knee to rest under her chin. Her gaze did not break once from the crackling fire.

"Come on, doll. We'll win the next one." Brie tried to assure.

"Indeed. We'll even win the house cup this year. I can feel it." Mary-Anne stated encouragingly. Holly didn't respond, though her frown grew deeper. The two girls removed their hands and turned to look at a worried David as they both shrugged in seemingly perfect sync. David sighed; he gestured the girls to step back.

David walked up to the girl and slid his arm around her shoulders, moving to lean over to couch and rest his chin on her left shoulder.

"Listen here, girl. I am just as disappointed as you are. We have all worked tirelessly for weeks, just to lose to a cocky fellow like James Potter and the rest of those mangy sods," David tried to get her to smile. Anything and he would accept it. But she merely kept her gaze on the fire. Davids face suddenly twisted strangely. He leant down closer and sniffed her. "Holly... Why on merlins tortoise do you smell faintly of... vinegar?" David asked, sniffing her again. They didn't see it, but both Mary-Anne and Brie lifted their hands and sniffed before their own faces twisted in disgust. Holly didn't answer but sniffed again before she wiped her hands on her pants and stood up. She faced her friends.

"Off to bed. I'm completely knackered." Holly grumbled. She turned around and entered the door to the hallway that led to her shared room.

That night, Holly was unable to go to bed. She had lied earlier. She wasn't tired, she was sad. She actually felt wide awake and she just couldn't turn her mind off. She couldn't stop thinking about the game. She quickly turned angry thinking about the Gryffindor team.

'That was the very first game of the season! They worked their arses off for weeks!'

Then, Hollys mind trailed off to what David had said in the common room.