Bad Blood

Secrets

Secrets

Tehillah was more nervous than she cared to admit. She did not get nervous, she hated it. She saw it as a weakness and she did everything in her power to combat her nerves. Nerves made her clumsy and sloppy; she could not afford to be either of those things. She wanted nothing more than to be a professional quidditch player; unfortunately, Slytherin didn't have much of a team so she couldn't practice as often as she would like. She needed to teach herself and work on her own skills and to do that she had to be focused. There was no time for nerves. She never allowed herself to be nervous, but right now she couldn't help it.

The Three Broomsticks was packed, students from Hogwarts as well as the locals were enjoying the sunny Saturday afternoon. Tehillah was sitting with her back to the crowds, her hands wrapped around a butterbeer. Her legs were bouncing as she waited. She had to resist the urge not to look at her watch; she wasn't late, not yet. She had picked this secluded booth for a reason, but today she wondered if she shouldn't have picked a more secluded place for them to meet instead of the Three Broomsticks. No one could see her, but she was still on edge. She wasn't ready for the whole world to know yet.

Tehillah's mother was a pureblood American witch and her father was a muggleborn from Britain. Her father died when she was just a baby and mostly servants and maids raised her. Her mother only made enough appearances to make it clear to her that she was not to disgrace the family name. Tehillah had to behave like any respectable pureblood should, and that also meant getting into Slytherin. Tehillah was smart, the Sorting Hat had wanted to place her into Ravenclaw, but she insisted on Slytherin. Her mother was an intimidating woman, Tehillah had to fight just to go to Hogwarts. Her mother wanted to send her to Salem, but she wanted to go to Hogwarts instead.

Tehillah was glad she did go to Hogwarts.

"Sorry I'm late," a voice said as another student slipped into the booth next to Tehillah.

"You're not late baby," Tehillah smiled as she leaned over, brushing Clarissa's hair out of her eyes before leaning in to kiss her lips softly.

Clarissa Carter was a seventh year like Tehillah and a Ravenclaw, and Tehillah's girlfriend. They were keeping it concealed for now as Tehillah didn't want her mother to find out just yet. They just had to finish school and then they were planning on going to America to get away from her mother.

"Really?" Clarissa pushed her blonde curls out of her face before she leaned into Tehillah's kiss. "I thought I was, I had to rush over from quidditch practise. Gareth is going crazy now that you guys are in the competition."

Tehillah couldn't help but smile, Gareth was the captain of the Ravenclaw team, last year's cup winners, so it meant a lot that he thought the Slytherin team was competition.

"I don't think you guys need to be scared," Tehillah said as she leaned back, wrapping an arm around Clarissa's shoulders and pulling her in close. "We're not much of a team and we're still waiting for Gryffindor to tell us if we can borrow a player."

Clarissa leaned into Tehillah, resting her head on Tehillah's shoulder. "I think Gryffindor will borrow you a player, and I also think it'll be a good thing. You can finally mend the gap between pureblood and muggleborn." Clarissa was a muggleborn and she knew what Tehillah and her friends were going through right now. It was as if the roles were reversed now. "And now you can finally play quidditch."

Clarissa and Tehillah met for the first time in their third year. Tehillah was out in the rain, watching the Ravenclaw's practise for their match against Gryffindor. Clarissa was the youngest one on the team then and Tehillah admired her for her technique and her dedication. She could watch Clarissa fly around for ages. Tehillah thought no one would see her out in the rain, but Clarissa did. After practise, Clarissa went over to her and they started talking. It turned into a weekly thing and pretty soon they were friends. They bonded over quidditch and their mutual love for Jelly Bellies.

"I know, I need some practise," Tehillah laughed and kissed the top of Clarissa's head. "I need to compete with you now don't I?"

Clarissa was much better than Tehillah, when she had time Clarissa would help Tehillah out, but mostly Tehillah was on her own. She knew that she would always have Clarissa's support, but both of them wanted to make a career out of this and they had to focus.

"Don't be silly beautiful, you're just as good as I am. Marcus is brilliant as well and he'll teach the little ones. You need to gain some confidence. You guys can actually win this if you try."

Tehillah couldn't help but smile as her heart jumped a little. She was so grateful for Clarissa.

Two years ago Clarissa was going through a horrible time, her grandmother had just passed away. Her grandmother raised Clarissa and meant the world to her. Her grandmother was her rock, her protector and the person she trusted the most in the world. Clarissa's world fell apart when her grandmother died and she came close to losing everything. Clarissa started failing her classes and her relationship with Gareth fell apart. Tehillah could not watch her friend suffer like that anymore; Clarissa needed someone to help her out of the darkness.

Tehillah wasn't perfect either. She was going through some hard times herself, but nothing compared to Clarissa. Tehillah became Clarissa's comfort and one night Tehillah just leaned up and kissed Clarissa.

They were scared, they had never experienced these feelings before. Tehillah didn't know what she was thinking, but for some reason Clarissa kissed her back that night. Their relationship wasn't perfect, but they saved each other. Most people never knew a love like theirs. Clarissa saved Tehillah and Tehillah saved Clarissa. All they needed was each other.

"We'll see what happens love. Right now I don't want to talk about quidditch. I've missed you."