Fanfiction: Are We Doing This Right?
Title: Are We Doing This Right?
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Zacharias Smith and Cho Chang
Prompt: Weeks/well, if you put it that way
Word Count: 1412
Rating: PG
Summary: In which Zacharias Smith experiences Loser's Lurgy.
Author’s Notes: Part eleven of Swan and Snark.
Even though he knew he would regret it later, Zacharias couldn’t help but put aside his O.W.L. studies in favour of spending more time with Cho. News of them had turned into gossip by those who cared, and he noticed more whispers from nameless faces whenever walking the halls. He couldn’t have cared less if anyone approved or not, but the giggles and stares started to grave his nerves so much he almost preferred being universally hated by the Gryffindor House.
“It bothers you, doesn’t it?” Cho asked him as they walked outside the castle grounds. Tightening his scarf against the gusting wind, Zacharias rolled his shoulders back. Would it matter if it did? “It can be frustrating, having them think your personal life is the most important thing happening in the world. I hate it, actually. It’s like they don’t even think about You-Know-Who anymore.”
Although he had no interest in playing Devil’s Advocate for stupidity, Smith reluctantly countered, “Well, what good would it do to think about him all the time?”
“I still think about him, about…what happened.” Maybe it was because she had seen the worry in his eyes, the worry that she was going to bring that subject up then and there, that Cho quickly said, “Not all of the time, of course. But sometimes I miss the D.A. It felt like we were doing something important, especially against that fowl Umbridge. Don’t you ever wish the meetings would start again?”
His mouth twitched into a frown, and Zacharias mulled over the question for a minute. “Sometimes, maybe. It got me good marks in Defence, but really what was the point of it? I still wouldn’t want to be looking down You-Know-Who’s wand.”
A gleam of pride flowed through Cho as she admitted, “I never felt as clever a witch as when I was part of the D.A. Can you imagine, people our age being able to cast the Patronus Charm?”
“Can’t really now, can I?” He never learned to master the difficult spell. His wand never ended up producing more than a few little puffs of smoke, and eventually he’d just given up on it all together. Like he would ever face a dementor, anyways.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said with sincerity. “I forgot. I could help teach you, if you would like. It would be awfully impressive on your O.W.L.s; even Professor Snape couldn’t find fault in it.”
Zacharias smiled at the thought of leaving Snape speechless. He’d have a better chance of shouting adoration of Umbridge from the Astronomy Tower than Snape actually approving of any work of his. Snape had no respect for his House, or anyone in it.
Stepping aside to let a group of third years by, Cho asked, “If you were to guess, what form would your Patronus take?”
“Ernie placed a bet with Susan it’d be a skunk. Justin thinks I’m more of a chicken. Can’t say I approve of either.”
As days turned into weeks, Cho was devastated to see a notice announcing the cancellation of the upcoming trip to Hogsmeade. Zacharias was disappointed, too, until he heard that she had planned to escort him to Madam Puddifoot’s. He tried explaining, for the third time, that he didn’t care to visit the teashop, but Cho kept insisting he would love it if he would just give it the time of day.
Maybe Hogsmeade’s cancellation was for the best. He had more important things to worry about than some teashop.
After hearing of the accident that sent Ron Weasley to Madam Pomfrey’s, Tamsin called late practices for the entire week leading to their match against Gryffindor. They’d never played against Cormac McLaggen as Keeper before, and Applebee drilled him and Cadwallader so many times that he was tossing Quaffles in his sleep.
More than anything, the thought of Harry Potter being back put the team on edge, although after seeing his performance against Harper at the Slytherin game, Zacharias had no idea why. Merlin only knew how Summerby managed through the week without a Calming Draught, because the Seeker came close to nervous breakdowns more than once during the practices.
“He’s just nervous, I bet,” Cho suggested over breakfast at the Ravenclaw table. “Harry’s a really good player, and has the best broom here.”
The Hufflepuff Chaser ignored the glares he was on the receiving end of, especially Marietta’s. “A good player doesn’t rely on his broom,” he declared, like a self-proclaimed expert. “Summerby just can’t catch the Snitch.”
“Even if he were riding a rocket?”
“A what?”
On the day of the match, Zacharias was disappointed to see Cho not wearing any yellow and black colours or waving any badger banners. “You are going to be cheering for Hufflepuff, right?” After all, just the previous year she’d been applauding Gryffindor, even after Umbridge disqualified Potter from the team.
She smiled, telling him she’d be in the centre stands, and wished him a good game. But she didn’t answer him, and that left him restless, the coil in his gut tightening again.
Defining what a good game exactly was became increasingly complicated as the match progressed.
Cormac McLaggen was a prat, and so completely absorbed in how the others on his team were performing that Cadwallader and Applebee were able to catch an early lead against the opposing players. Smith wanted to take credit for leading the team in victory, but by the time they were thirty points ahead, he’d dropped the Quaffle every instant he managed to gain possession of it.
Ginny seemed to take particular pride in humiliating him in front of everyone, flying circles around him. At least Cadwallader washed the smirk from her face after he stole the Quaffle, again.
Turning every so often to see how Cho was reacting to the game, Zacharias wanted nothing more than to disappear after Luna Lovegood suggested aloud that he was suffering from something subtlety called “Loser’s Lurgy.”
After McLaggen effectively bludgeoned Potter, removing him from the game, it didn’t take Hufflepuff long to completely degrade Gryffindor across the field. The team was jubilant. Herbert was screaming his lungs blue, and Sullivan was practically hopping from the walls, finally having caught the Snitch for the first time. But while Tamsin and Cads were paraded around like some sort of heroes, Zacharias kept his distance outside of the changing room.
What was wrong with him?
He was angry and frustrated, his chest heaved at just thinking about how he’d performed during the match. Whenever someone stifled laughter as they walked by, muttering Loser’s Lurgy, he’d gather the motivation to give a two-fingered salute. The last person he wanted to speak with was Cho, but after the stands had cleared, she’d managed to find him.
With caution, the girl sat down by his side. Her eyes were wide with sympathy, and that made him even angrier. “It was a tough game.” Zacharias shrugged, as he always did, but concentrated on staring at the spare broom that leaned against a stand. “You’re upset.”
“I don’t feel like playing State the Obvious,” he snapped. “Cads thinks I should be replaced. Tosser….”
Cho narrowed her eyes, and her voice turned crisp. “Hufflepuff won. You should be celebrating, or at least happy about it.” A scoff escaped through his teeth as Zacharias rolled his eyes, but he didn’t reply with any snide or snipe. The longer he stayed silent, the more concerned Cho became. “Weren’t you the one who told me that snivelling over something like this was pointless?”
He turned his head away, hiding the humiliation on his irritated face. “Yeah. Yeah, I did, and it is.” They both could have called it all gobshite, but it still wouldn’t stop him from feeling like the joke of Hogwarts Quidditch, and all because the Gryffindors couldn’t take criticism. So much for that chivalry.
With a discouraged sigh, Cho scooted closer and leaned against him. Warily running a finger through a curl in his hair, she said, softly, “They’re still angry. You did kind of humiliate them during the last match.”
“Oh please. You’re going to side with them? I don’t think that’s the way this is supposed to work.”
From the corners of his eyes, he found it impossible to not see the uneasiness fixed on Cho Chang’s face. She stood on her feet, and Zacharias expected her to leave him there. Instead, she offered a hand, and announced, “I don’t think you’re a loser.”
--
I apologize for any Americanisms and grammatical errors. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Zacharias Smith and Cho Chang
Prompt: Weeks/well, if you put it that way
Word Count: 1412
Rating: PG
Summary: In which Zacharias Smith experiences Loser's Lurgy.
Author’s Notes: Part eleven of Swan and Snark.
Even though he knew he would regret it later, Zacharias couldn’t help but put aside his O.W.L. studies in favour of spending more time with Cho. News of them had turned into gossip by those who cared, and he noticed more whispers from nameless faces whenever walking the halls. He couldn’t have cared less if anyone approved or not, but the giggles and stares started to grave his nerves so much he almost preferred being universally hated by the Gryffindor House.
“It bothers you, doesn’t it?” Cho asked him as they walked outside the castle grounds. Tightening his scarf against the gusting wind, Zacharias rolled his shoulders back. Would it matter if it did? “It can be frustrating, having them think your personal life is the most important thing happening in the world. I hate it, actually. It’s like they don’t even think about You-Know-Who anymore.”
Although he had no interest in playing Devil’s Advocate for stupidity, Smith reluctantly countered, “Well, what good would it do to think about him all the time?”
“I still think about him, about…what happened.” Maybe it was because she had seen the worry in his eyes, the worry that she was going to bring that subject up then and there, that Cho quickly said, “Not all of the time, of course. But sometimes I miss the D.A. It felt like we were doing something important, especially against that fowl Umbridge. Don’t you ever wish the meetings would start again?”
His mouth twitched into a frown, and Zacharias mulled over the question for a minute. “Sometimes, maybe. It got me good marks in Defence, but really what was the point of it? I still wouldn’t want to be looking down You-Know-Who’s wand.”
A gleam of pride flowed through Cho as she admitted, “I never felt as clever a witch as when I was part of the D.A. Can you imagine, people our age being able to cast the Patronus Charm?”
“Can’t really now, can I?” He never learned to master the difficult spell. His wand never ended up producing more than a few little puffs of smoke, and eventually he’d just given up on it all together. Like he would ever face a dementor, anyways.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said with sincerity. “I forgot. I could help teach you, if you would like. It would be awfully impressive on your O.W.L.s; even Professor Snape couldn’t find fault in it.”
Zacharias smiled at the thought of leaving Snape speechless. He’d have a better chance of shouting adoration of Umbridge from the Astronomy Tower than Snape actually approving of any work of his. Snape had no respect for his House, or anyone in it.
Stepping aside to let a group of third years by, Cho asked, “If you were to guess, what form would your Patronus take?”
“Ernie placed a bet with Susan it’d be a skunk. Justin thinks I’m more of a chicken. Can’t say I approve of either.”
As days turned into weeks, Cho was devastated to see a notice announcing the cancellation of the upcoming trip to Hogsmeade. Zacharias was disappointed, too, until he heard that she had planned to escort him to Madam Puddifoot’s. He tried explaining, for the third time, that he didn’t care to visit the teashop, but Cho kept insisting he would love it if he would just give it the time of day.
Maybe Hogsmeade’s cancellation was for the best. He had more important things to worry about than some teashop.
After hearing of the accident that sent Ron Weasley to Madam Pomfrey’s, Tamsin called late practices for the entire week leading to their match against Gryffindor. They’d never played against Cormac McLaggen as Keeper before, and Applebee drilled him and Cadwallader so many times that he was tossing Quaffles in his sleep.
More than anything, the thought of Harry Potter being back put the team on edge, although after seeing his performance against Harper at the Slytherin game, Zacharias had no idea why. Merlin only knew how Summerby managed through the week without a Calming Draught, because the Seeker came close to nervous breakdowns more than once during the practices.
“He’s just nervous, I bet,” Cho suggested over breakfast at the Ravenclaw table. “Harry’s a really good player, and has the best broom here.”
The Hufflepuff Chaser ignored the glares he was on the receiving end of, especially Marietta’s. “A good player doesn’t rely on his broom,” he declared, like a self-proclaimed expert. “Summerby just can’t catch the Snitch.”
“Even if he were riding a rocket?”
“A what?”
On the day of the match, Zacharias was disappointed to see Cho not wearing any yellow and black colours or waving any badger banners. “You are going to be cheering for Hufflepuff, right?” After all, just the previous year she’d been applauding Gryffindor, even after Umbridge disqualified Potter from the team.
She smiled, telling him she’d be in the centre stands, and wished him a good game. But she didn’t answer him, and that left him restless, the coil in his gut tightening again.
Defining what a good game exactly was became increasingly complicated as the match progressed.
Cormac McLaggen was a prat, and so completely absorbed in how the others on his team were performing that Cadwallader and Applebee were able to catch an early lead against the opposing players. Smith wanted to take credit for leading the team in victory, but by the time they were thirty points ahead, he’d dropped the Quaffle every instant he managed to gain possession of it.
Ginny seemed to take particular pride in humiliating him in front of everyone, flying circles around him. At least Cadwallader washed the smirk from her face after he stole the Quaffle, again.
Turning every so often to see how Cho was reacting to the game, Zacharias wanted nothing more than to disappear after Luna Lovegood suggested aloud that he was suffering from something subtlety called “Loser’s Lurgy.”
After McLaggen effectively bludgeoned Potter, removing him from the game, it didn’t take Hufflepuff long to completely degrade Gryffindor across the field. The team was jubilant. Herbert was screaming his lungs blue, and Sullivan was practically hopping from the walls, finally having caught the Snitch for the first time. But while Tamsin and Cads were paraded around like some sort of heroes, Zacharias kept his distance outside of the changing room.
What was wrong with him?
He was angry and frustrated, his chest heaved at just thinking about how he’d performed during the match. Whenever someone stifled laughter as they walked by, muttering Loser’s Lurgy, he’d gather the motivation to give a two-fingered salute. The last person he wanted to speak with was Cho, but after the stands had cleared, she’d managed to find him.
With caution, the girl sat down by his side. Her eyes were wide with sympathy, and that made him even angrier. “It was a tough game.” Zacharias shrugged, as he always did, but concentrated on staring at the spare broom that leaned against a stand. “You’re upset.”
“I don’t feel like playing State the Obvious,” he snapped. “Cads thinks I should be replaced. Tosser….”
Cho narrowed her eyes, and her voice turned crisp. “Hufflepuff won. You should be celebrating, or at least happy about it.” A scoff escaped through his teeth as Zacharias rolled his eyes, but he didn’t reply with any snide or snipe. The longer he stayed silent, the more concerned Cho became. “Weren’t you the one who told me that snivelling over something like this was pointless?”
He turned his head away, hiding the humiliation on his irritated face. “Yeah. Yeah, I did, and it is.” They both could have called it all gobshite, but it still wouldn’t stop him from feeling like the joke of Hogwarts Quidditch, and all because the Gryffindors couldn’t take criticism. So much for that chivalry.
With a discouraged sigh, Cho scooted closer and leaned against him. Warily running a finger through a curl in his hair, she said, softly, “They’re still angry. You did kind of humiliate them during the last match.”
“Oh please. You’re going to side with them? I don’t think that’s the way this is supposed to work.”
From the corners of his eyes, he found it impossible to not see the uneasiness fixed on Cho Chang’s face. She stood on her feet, and Zacharias expected her to leave him there. Instead, she offered a hand, and announced, “I don’t think you’re a loser.”
--
I apologize for any Americanisms and grammatical errors. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.