Chapter 23

Everything had steadily gone downhill. After getting back from the hospital, Atlas had found Hermione nowhere to be seen and that continued through the entirety of the week. Only in lessons did she get a glimpse of her but even then she would run away as soon as class ended. Though there was one time she had accidentally stayed out of habit but before Atlas could even get a word in, she was gone.

So, she had been hanging around Harry and Ron most of the time, considering Hermione was avoiding the two of them as well after the whole ‘Crookshanks ate Scabbers’ accident. It had been awful on Atlas, the girl continuing to mope all day long, not even Quidditch practise knocked her out of her state and if it kept on, Wood had openly feared she might not be up for the match against Ravenclaw which, unfortunately, was today.

The Gryffindor team sat at breakfast, most talking loudly and animatedly at each other and their fellow housemates, some marvelling at Harry and Atlas’s Firebolt’s, expressing their premature congratulations as if they knew they would win. A lot of people were certain of it, after all, Harry – who was known for his ability to catch the Snitch every game – was going up against Cho Chang’s Comet Two Sixty and Atlas was steadily making a reputation for herself as quite the capable Chaser who everyone went to watch during training.

A fair few though were eyeing Atlas cautiously. The girl was glaring into her bowl of porridge, as if it had personally been the one responsible for Hermione’s avoidance of her. She didn’t know what she had done wrong. What could she have done? What could Atlas do that would upset Hermione? There may have been some things but for Hermione to avoid her for so long, she must have done something terrible.

“Black!”

Atlas startled, looking up wildly and at Angelina and Katie, her two fellow Chasers staring at her worriedly. “W-what is it?”

“We’ve been calling your name for a while now,” Katie said, glancing down at the bent spoon Atlas was holding with a touch of fear. “You alright? You’re murdering that poor spoon…”

“Oh…” Atlas let go, feeling the fur on her hand disappear beneath her gloves. It was a good thing she was wearing them otherwise people might think she was a Metamorphmagi, which wasn’t exactly false, after all, Animagi aren’t supposed to be able to shift parts of themselves as Atlas could. However, at the same time, Metamorphmagi are born not made and she was certain she wasn’t born with the ability to shift. Wasn’t like she could shift into anything but a Dire-wolf either. Her case was a mystery that even Dumbledore had no idea how to solve or rather, he knew but didn’t want to share with the class. “I’m fine.”

“No…you’re not, you’ve been glum since the night…Ron lost his rat,” Angelina observed and Atlas noticed the hesitation, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly.

“It’s not your arm is it?” Katie asked this time.

“My arm is fine,” Atlas assured and then stood up, “I need a breather,” she turned and walked out of the hall, adjusting her gloves uncomfortably as she glanced over at Hermione who – shockingly – had her head buried in a book. A huff of frustration left her as she pushed her way out of the hall, ghosts and stray students alike wishing her luck for the match.

“Las!” A voice called but Atlas didn’t stop, instead, continuing until she was out of sight from the Great Hall’s doors and turning to meet Cedric when he came around the corner. “Atlas wait — woah!”

“What is it?”

“You’re angsty, you’re shoulders are tense, your eyebrows have been furrowed for so long I thought you might have been hexed, you were glaring at your porridge way too hard and you didn’t even eat it!” He exclaimed, pacing in front of her, “I mean…is this self-sabotage?!”

“Hermione’s avoiding me.”

“And you say you don’t have a crush on her.”

“Now isn’t the time,” Atlas gritted, “I don’t know what I did wrong and it’s been driving me nuts.”

“Maybe she feels guilty,” Cedric shrugged.

“Guilty?”

“Well…well, you said Hermione accidentally knocked the books over that messed up your arm again and then Ron yelled at her saying she’d done enough,” Cedric said, recalling the day Atlas and he bumped into each other and she’d been in a sling again. It had sent him into a momentary tizzy but when he came out of it they’d been able to chat and she’d told him all that happened. “I bet she’s been feeling guilty.”

“Oh…that makes sense,” Atlas nodded slowly.

“It does?”

“Yeah.” Noise and bustle came from down the hall and Atlas peeked round to see the Gryffindor team, followed by a great crowd of people exiting for the pitch. “I gotta go.”

“Alright,” Cedric looked over at them too before turning back to Atlas and pulling her into a quick hug, kissing her forehead when he pulled away, “you better win this thing.”

“Bet you said the same thing to Cho,” Atlas smirked and waved, jogging over to Harry who was carrying both of their Firebolts. He saw her and grinned, seeing that she was in a less befuddled mood than before.

“You look better,” he then handed her an apple, “eat this.”

“Right, yeah, thanks. I’ve just figured out why Hermione might be avoiding me, thinking up a plan as we speak,” Atlas told, taking a huge chunk out of her fruit and grasping her broom back. Harry eyed her amusedly as they continued their walk to the Gryffindor locker rooms. The weather was much different from what it had been in their match with Hufflepuff and Atlas had a rather good feeling about it. 

It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time, and Atlas, though a little tired and a slight bit anxious to speak to Hermione, was starting to feel quite a bit brighter. She got changed quickly, pulling off her shirt and jumper in a single move and exchanging it for the scarlet uniform that was the sign of her house. The gloves Hermione had gotten her – which had already been put on that morning – fit nicely underneath the arm guards of her gear. Professor Flitwick had personally enforced the charm on her right brace to save the arm beneath from getting damaged again.

Clattering and cheers were heard out in the stadium beyond the tent they had gathered in and Atlas set off to do some last-minute checks of her broom. Luckily – even though she had neglected to take care of it the past few days – it was in the best condition it could be so she needn’t worry. 

“You know what we’ve got to do,” Oliver said as they prepared to leave the locker rooms. “If we lose this match, we’re out of the running. Just — just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we’ll be okay!”

“Aye captain,” Atlas saluted idly, earning grins from Fred and George who looked to be in the middle of scheming, though Atlas didn’t pay attention to them and shook her arm around, feeling only a twinge of pain when she did.

They walked out onto the field and were greeted by a cacophony of applause, Atlas actually winced at the sound. It was her first time really experiencing such a thing, considering the first match she played, there was a storm going on and she could barely hear the sounds of her heart let alone the stands. She smiled to herself and adjusted her gloves again before looking up and catching the sight of the Ravenclaw team, already stood in the middle.

Harry next to her seemed to flush when Cho Chang – Ravenclaw’s Seeker – smiled at him, to which she laughed at, doing up her hair in a half-tail as she usually did. This time she was the one to catch Cho’s eye and remembering Cedric’s confession she winked, sending her a curt wave.

“You know her?” Harry whispered and Atlas nodded, noting how Cho waved back with a slight flush in her cheeks.

“Yeah, Cedric introduced me a few weeks back, after the Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw game,” Atlas told and Harry nodded mutely, eyes still fixed on the girl who was a good head shorter than the rest of her team and possibly a head shorter than himself too and at least a foot smaller than Atlas. “She’s quite pretty, no?”

“Shut up,” Harry flushed, punching her in the side, she laughed heartily and went back to paying the Captains attention.

“Wood, Davies, shake hands,” Madam Hooch said briskly, and Wood shook hands with the Ravenclaw Captain.

“Mount your brooms … on my whistle … three — two — one –“

Both Atlas and Harry were the first in the air, Atlas just that bit quicker as she had ridden her broom a lot longer than the Seeker. She got possession of the Quaffle and darted for the goal, leaving Harry to go on in search of his Snitch. Roger Davies – the Ravenclaw Captain – moved to intercept a pass Atlas threw in Angelina’s direction but fell short when Atlas snatched it back from the air and instead tossed it over her shoulder to Katie.

“And there it is ladies, gents and noble folk! Atlas Black’s air snatch! We previously saw it in the match against Hufflepuff but to see it without the storm in the way really is something!” Lee Jordan, one of the Weasley Twins friends commentated. Atlas allowed herself a laugh, she was glad she could hear the commentary this time round without thunder crashing every time a word was said.

Katie scored the first goal of the match and flew over to Atlas, giving her a high-five as she flew by. The Gryffindor quarter of the field went mad. It carried on like that, Atlas fully immersed in scoring goal after goal, point after point until she was panting and sweating. Every so often Harry would catch sight of the Snitch, only for Cho to distract and redirect him.

Honestly, Atlas had to hand it to the girl, she was good, especially considering the difference in broom power between the two Seekers. Atlas, dare she say, had thought fleetingly, that if Cho was also on a Firebolt, this match would drag way into the night if it had to.

Right now, she was in possession of the Quaffle and was darting for the hoops, only, before she could get in the striker zone, a body came hurtling towards her and she was flung off of her broom, rolling a few times in the grass of the grounds. It was only a few foot drop and the grounds had been enchanted to be quite soft if someone fell off their broom so the hit only left her slightly winded.

The whistle blew in the distance and Atlas sat up, grimacing as she fully pulled herself to her feet and Madam Hooch came running over to her, whistle between her lips. “Miss Black! Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Atlas waved off, readjusting her shoulder guard, “yeah I’m alright…” she could hear Lee Jordan calling for a ‘foul’ in the background, the rest of the Gryffindors booing the Chaser who had knocked her off of her broom – she hadn’t seen who.

“Are you alright to take your foul?”

“Uh…” Atlas glanced over at Katie who had dismounted her broom to check on her, “Katie!” she called and the girl nodded, stopping in front of her and Madam Hooch, “Can you take my penalty?”

“Of course! Er…are you alright though?”

“Yeah, just know how much you like taking penalties…” Atlas grinned, clapping her shoulder and quickly recovering her broom, she mounted it and flew back into the sky, Katie following her as Madam Hooch called the foul. The Ravenclaws scowled but moved out of Katie’s way as she got ready to take her shot. Of course, with a well-practised aim, Katie made it, earning cheers from the Gryffindors and boos from the Ravenclaws. The rest of the houses were a mix of both – well, a majority of Slytherin mainly kept quiet for once.

The match renewed with even more vigour, Atlas scoring point after point, smirking over at the nearby Ravenclaw Chasers whenever she did just to pour some salt in their wounds. George and Fred were doing their part and after Atlas’s attack and the Beater who had wacked a Bludger at Harry just as he was about to catch the Snitch, they seemed even more eager to hit the Ravenclaws off of their brooms. It was frightening, honestly.

Katie and Angelina put one of their practised combos into play, Atlas retrieving the Quaffle after they’d scored and instantaneously scoring another one. That earned a roar of celebration from the Gryffindors who had been getting steadily louder in Atlas’s head throughout the game.

“Gryffindor leads by a hundred points to forty and look at those Firebolts go! I said it in the Gryffindor v Hufflepuff game folks but the way Black handles her broom is nothing short of professional! Potter’s really putting his through the paces now, see it turn — Chang’s Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt’s precision — balance is really noticeable in these long –“

“Jordan!” Minerva’s voice rang and Atlas grinned, tapping the wood of her broom as she watched Angelina score them another goal, “Are you being paid to advertise Firebolts!? Get on with the commentary!”

Too focused on her mission as Chaser, Atlas wasn’t at all in the know as to what was going on around her and continued throwing Quaffle after Quaffle through the hoops, sweat cascading down the side of her face. She took a moment to pull up her shirt, wiping away the uncomfortable wetness that made the hairs on her head stick to her skin.

“You doing a striptease or what?” Angelina called and Atlas flushed, bringing down her shirt quickly to glare over at the girl, “What? The crowds enjoyed the show!” she laughed heartily, “nice abs, you always wear such baggy clothing I never noticed.”

“Shove off it!” Atlas shouted, chucking the Quaffle Katie had just passed her right at Angelina’s face, she caught it – luckily – otherwise she might have been knocked off her broom.

“Hey! I’m complimenting you!” Angelina roared with laughter, diving down to score another goal. Atlas sighed and shook her head. All she’d wanted to do was wipe the sweat from her face but instead, she’d gotten ogled.

A scream came from the lower levels of the field and Atlas looked down to see Harry blasting away three tall, black, hooded Dementors with a Patronus, only, she noticed, they weren’t Dementors at all. They were Slytherin’s. Slytherins she’d come to know all too well and instead of three, there were four. 

She dove down and jumped off of her broom, her Firebolt hanging stationary in the air as cheers erupted around the stadium, Harry had caught the Snitch but in that moment she didn’t care, in that moment she slugged Draco Malfoy across the nose. The boy went tumbling backwards, blood spewing out of his broken nose and both Crabbe and Goyle lunged for her. She ducked a punch from Crabbe and landed a blow to his jaw, taking a hit of her own from Goyle who she promptly kicked in the chest, spitting a little clump of blood to the side of her as she went to do more.

Unfortunately, Angelina and Katie rushed over to hold her back, “Come on Atlas, they’re not worth it!”

“Hold on, let me get the last one, I promise I’ll be gentle!” Atlas yelled, glaring daggers at Marcus Flint – the Slytherin team Captain – who seemed to stumble over himself to get away from her. Malfoy was cradling his nose, curled in on himself on the floor, Crabbe was knocked out cold and Goyle was groaning about his stomach.

“You’ve done enough, Atlas!” Katie tried this time, though there was a hint of glee on her face and she looked more than happy to let her go.

“What happened?” Harry asked, running over with the Snitch in his hands. He saw the four Slytherins and then looked up at Atlas, seeing blood falling from her busted bottom lip. “Brilliant!”

“Not just brilliant!” George grinned.

“Absolutely fantastic!” Fred finished as a few teachers and students pooled into the grounds, one of those Professors was Minerva McGonagall herself, whose face was morphed into one of fury, “Oh, here Mad McGonagall comes…”

“An unworthy trick!” she was shouting. “A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!” And then she turned to Atlas, shaking her head once at the girl’s appearance, “And you! I expected better, Atlas!”

“Aw come on, I thought they were Dementors!” Atlas refuted and then grinned maliciously at a cowering Malfoy, “you know I can’t use the Patronus Charm and their little costumes are just so convincing! There were no alternative motives I assure you, Professor McGonagall!”

“I don’t want to hear it, ten points from Gryffindor and you’re banned from practise for the next few weeks!”

“Fine by me,” Atlas scowled, spitting at the ground by Malfoy and turning to her broom, grumbling profanities to herself. The rest of the Gryffindor team followed her, laughing at the image of Draco Malfoy and his goons cowering under Atlas’s glare. Harry ran to catch up with her, still laughing with Ron soon following.

“Atlas that was brilliant!” Ron cheered, clapping her shoulder. “He looked like he was going to wet himself!”

“Come on everyone!” George shouted behind them, “Party! Gryffindor common room, now!”

“Excellent, I need a butterbeer,” Atlas muttered, touching at her split lip and wincing, “or a firewhisky.”

“Your wish is our command!” Fred cheered and Atlas grinned, “What do you say, George!?”

“If the lady wants a firewhisky! The lady’ll get a firewhisky, Fred!”

***

The party went on for the rest of the day and well into the night. Fred and George had disappeared for a couple of hours and returned with armfuls of bottles of butterbeer, pumpkin fizz, several bags full of Honeydukes sweets and, of course, Atlas’s ordered firewhisky, which she had been drinking non-stop since the twins had come back. It was a wonder she hadn’t dropped dead yet and though Percy – ever the goodie two shoes – had told her on countless occasions to stop, she showed no signs of doing so.

Even now, she was stood on the table, a whole bottle of firewhisky in her hand as those around her chanted her name, the liquid steadily draining into the stomach of their star Chaser. The one who knocked out Crabbe, sent Goyle to the hospital, gave Malfoy a broken nose and had made Marcus Flint piss himself. She grinned maniacally and tossed the empty bottle into the bin across the room, the shot earning a roar of approval from the crowd.

With a triumphant smirk, she jumped down from the table and collected her payment from a wide-eyed Seamus Finnigan, “I should’ve known better than to challenge the girl who’s gone through five bottles of firewhisky already.”

“Yeah,” Atlas agreed, stuffing the three chocolate frogs he had given her in her pocket. Many clapped her back as she spoke, congratulating her for the victory, for punting those Slytherins, for anything notable she had done in the past week. It felt good to be the receiver of good attention rather than the bad attention she had always grown up with.

“If Scabbers hadn’t just been eaten,” Ron said loudly from across the room and Atlas sighed, rolling her eyes as she licked her still split lip absentmindedly. The firewhisky had really burnt it, “he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them.”

Somewhere by the couches, Hermione burst into tears and Atlas watched as she gathered her stuff and retreated to her dorm, sobbing while she ran. Atlas immediately went after her, apologising to those she pushed past and nodding goodbye to others who noticed she was going to her room. She came to the door and knocked politely, entering when she realised Hermione wasn’t going to respond. The girl was sat at her desk, silently sniffling to herself as she fiddled with the quill Atlas had given her for Christmas.

“Hey, you,” Atlas smiled and Hermione startled, wiping her eyes quickly as if Atlas hadn’t just heard everything. “Are you–?”

“Go enjoy the party, Atlas,” Hermione said quickly, standing up from her chair and moving over to her bed. 

“I’d enjoy it much more if you were there,” Atlas said smoothly, sitting down so her back was touching Hermione’s, the girl laying faced away from her. “Come on…you’ve been avoiding me for ages. Don’t you think you should give it a break…even if it’s just for tonight…”

No response.

Atlas sighed and stood up, taking off her Gryffindor jacket and trousers to change into her pyjama bottoms and tank top before she went back to Hermione, stared at her silhouette for a moment, and climbed into bed with her.

“What are you–!?”

“Sleeping,” Atlas replied, wrapping her arms around Hermione’s middle, Crookshanks padded over to them, laying himself across the both of them. “Look, even Crookshanks wants in.”

“Why are you sleeping in my bed?!” She sounded quite cross but Atlas didn’t move to leave. “Atlas, I’m serious!”

“If you were Sirius I wouldn’t be laying with you,” Atlas replied and then a length of silence followed it, until, Hermione snorted first and then broke out into a fit of laughter. 

“I hate you!”

“No, you don’t,” Atlas grinned, “come on…tell me why you’ve been avoiding me.”

Hermione fell silent and then sighed, tentatively running her fingers along the grooves in Atlas’s arm, “I just…I thought you were mad at me…when I dropped the books on your arm and then Ron…well, he said some things and I got a bit scared. I don’t know, it’s stupid.”

“You? Stupid? So pigs can fly now can they?” Atlas smiled and Hermione chuckled, turning to face her in the darkness, Crookshanks sent them a short meow in protest at the movement but soon fell back asleep. “So…will you stop avoiding me now that you know I’m not mad at you and have actually been pretty moody without you around?”

“I suppose…” Hermione muttered. Atlas grinned and snuggled closer. “What are you doing now? We’ve made up so you can go back to your own bed, can’t you?”

“I wasn’t aware we fell out and no, I’m comfy, you’re warm, connect the dots, Mione, you’re smart enough,” Atlas mumbled, closing her eyes and letting out a soft yawn.

“I’m not going to be able to sleep…”

“Why’s that…?”

“…because you smell sweaty and your breath reaks of firewhisky.”

“Ouch,” Atlas hissed but didn’t move, “guess you’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Unfortunately.”