Chapter 25: The Price of Envy (2)

The mid-September at Hogwarts has always been met with a lot of excitement because it was usually then when the Houses scheduled their Quidditch teams' tryouts. Gryffindors were particularly thrilled because that year they needed to select a new Chaser, a Seeker, and a Keeper. The result was an exceptional volume of applicants and more than twice their number watching from the stands, supporting a friend or just being curious. Catherine and Remus were sitting together with Peter, who took out a large cardboard sign, where he had written with bright red paint 'Go James!'. 

"Neat, right?" – beamed the boy – "And look at what Fabian Prewett taught me!"

With that he tapped the cardboard with his wand and a new writing appeared, forming the words 'Go, Sirius!' 

"Great, Peter!" – said Remus with a forced smile, glancing at their classmates who were laughing, pointing at them. 

"I'll go to the last row so I can see better." – chirped Catherine and left the now desperate Remus to keep company with the overexcited Peter. 

The Gryffindor's team captain, the sixth-year Patrick Blackwood, was giving instructions to the team and the applicants before they got on their brooms and flew into the clear blue sky. 

It seemed that they were first to pick the new Chaser. From what Catherine could see, there were at least eight candidates for that position. Even though, Sirius was the youngest one, he was already as tall as the fourth-years, and he was also strong and agile. The young witch had to admit that he did have a gift for flying, despite the fact that James was probably better. Among the other applicants, however, Sirius was definitely the quickest. The only person who could even compare to him was Callista Bones. It was a close competition, and both of them scored four goals with the Quaffle. Next, the applicants attempted a combined attack together with the rest of the Chasers. Catherine thought that Sirius looked more in sync with the team, but she was not sure that was indeed the case. Eventually, Patrick decided to award the position to Sirius, and Callista was kept in reserve. 

The Seeker's trials were much more one-sided. James was the quickest, the most skilful, and without a doubt, the person with the best overall strategic thinking among all of the four applicants. The crowd on the stands also showed appreciation, admiring how the second-year didn't miss the Golden Snitch even once. He landed happily near his teammates and waved towards the stands, clearly enjoying the reaction. 

Catherine stood up, wondering if she should go down and congratulate her friends or wait a little bit till the crowd disperses, when her attention was caught by the next applicant for the Keeper's position. Not only did he stop every attempt for scoring, expertly guarding all three goalposts, but he also performed a blind save which earned a wave of 'awws' from the spectators in the stands. Patrick looked ecstatic, and it wasn't a surprise that he chose that player to fill in the last open spot. At that point, Catherine had already joined her classmates on the fresh grass, and she was about to go to Sirius and James when the new Keeper landed skilfully next to her and removed his headgear. 

"Greg?!" – Catherine exclaimed in awe. 

"Hi, Flame." – he smiled – "Have you seen me up there?"

"Yes, that was truly amazing! I didn't know you were that good." – she complemented her brother, who looked at her with an unreadable face. 

"Well, you've never shown much interest in my hobbies." – he said softly.

Catherine felt upset. She wanted to say something snarky, but for once she was not sure what it should be. The truth was that Greg was absolutely right, and she knew deep inside that her behaviour towards him was far from the best. Despite harbouring strong opinions about her, the girl couldn't deny that her brother had consistently shown her kindness, even when she didn't reciprocate. Even though, he was overprotective and bothersome at times, Greg was also the person who cared the most about her in their family. While she couldn't force herself to like the boy and not envy him, she should have at least repaid him for the efforts he had invested and the times he had suffered because of her. 

"I'm sorry." – mumbled Catherine, lowering her head. 

"Don't be." – she heard Greg's voice in her ear and quickly lifted her head in surprise. 

His handsome face relaxed into a smile, and he playfully ruffled her hair. 

"If you want some private lessons, I'll be happy to teach you anything you want." – he said charmingly. 

"Ah…thanks." – answered Catherine, confused, noticing that people were looking at them. 

"What are big brothers for?" – Greg whispered, bending down towards her and planting a quick peck on her cheek, still cold from the breeze on the stands.

*** 

"What were you and Greg McMahon talking about so intimately at the pitch?" – asked Sirius during dinner that night, while all the Gryffindors were loudly discussing the results of the tryouts. 

Catherine almost choked on her baked potato and had to take a long sip of water to swallow it. 

"Nothing really, I just congratulated him for getting a spot on the team." 

"You seemed pretty close out there." – insisted Sirius gloomily. 

"Well, it was rather loud, so it was the only way we could hear each other." – said Catherine, mentally cursing her lack of discretion in front of so many people. 

"Sure, that's why he kissed you on the cheek." – chimed in Gwyneth Jones and giggled, elbowing Mary who blushed. 

"He did what?" – shouted James. 

"Don't be daft!" – Gwyneth scolded him – "He's so handsome, not to mention that he's a rich aristocrat. I envy you so much!" 

"It's not like that!" – cried Catherine desperately – "He just thanked me for congratulating him. I guess it's common to do it this way among his people." 

"You don't need to make excuses. Just enjoy your luck. I doubt he would show you favour for a long time. Boys like him are social butterflies." – Gwyneth concluded and left the table laughing. 

Catherine quickly finished her dinner and walked out of the Great Hall. 

'Damn you, Greg! You did it on purpose, didn't you?' – thought the girl, climbing the stairs towards the Gryffindor Common Room. 

What an annoying situation that was. Now everyone would be convinced that she liked Greg McMahon and tried to earn his attention. Setting aside the disturbing nature of such insinuations, now various girls from every house would look at her as a potential rival.

'And he's only thirteen.' – she thought distractedly – 'Sometimes I forget he has as much Slytherin blood in his veins as I do.' 

"Crimson Velvet." – the young witch said to the Fat Lady and entered into the Common Room, where a few Gryffindors were playing exploding snap, and immediately went silent upon seeing her. With a groan, Catherine swiftly got to her dormitory and threw herself onto the bed. 

"What's with people and gossips?" – she mumbled to herself before falling asleep. 

The answer to this question became apparent during the next few days when tales about the Gryffindor's new Quidditch players spread, together with the juicy addition of Catherine Plantier congratulating Greg McMahon with a kiss. How Greg's innocent peck on the cheek turned into Catherine being the one kissing him was not clear. While the young witch did try to elucidate the misunderstanding, the more she explained, the less people believed her. Greg also reprimanded a few people who gossiped about them, but it didn't seem to help either. This whole situation put Sirius into a notoriously bad mood, although he did sympathise with Catherine, and he shouted at a few Hufflepuffs who were gossiping loudly in the hall as they passed by.

"I'm so tired of all this!" – complained Catherine while Gryffindors were waiting for their Potions class. 

"Don't mind them. They don't have anything bad against you, so they started making up things." – James tried to console her. 

"Easier said than done." – groaned Catherine, looking at the Slytherins arriving for their shared class. 

"Look at that!" – said Snape when they joined Gryffindors in front of the Potions classroom – "The new Quidditch stars and their fan club." 

"Envious much, Snape?" – chuckled James – "Didn't see you among the new Slytherin players." 

"I have better things to do than flying around on a broom." – snapped Snape, but Catherine noticed red spots appearing on his pale face. 

"I'm guessing, washing your clothes is not one of them." – laughed Sirius.

"Well, Black, you keep practicing, and maybe one day you'll also receive a kiss from Plantier."

"Don't involve Catherine into this." – growled Sirius and took out his wand. 

"Oh? Did I strike a nerve?" – sneered the Slytherin boy – "Come on, Plantier, pet your dog, or he might end up running around to other people." 

"What exactly is your problem, Snape?" – asked Catherine, who had had more than enough drama for the week. 

"My problem? I'm just using the opportunity to chat with the local celebrities." – Snape answered sarcastically. 

"Ah, so that's what this is all about." – smiled Catherine coldly – "You're so envious that people pay attention to James and Sirius for their athletic abilities that you're hardly able to keep this snake tongue of yours in your mouth." 

"Envious?" – laughed Snape – "About Quidditch? A wizard's power is not determined by how well he flies on a broom, making a fool of himself." 

"Sour grapes!" – chuckled James – "You wish you could be in our shoes." 

"Not if this one is to kiss me, thank you very much." – said Snape, gesturing in disgust towards Catherine.

"I warned you, Snivelly!" – hissed Sirius and pointed his wand at Snape – "Engorgio!"

Snape's already sizeable nose started swelling, and in just several seconds, it was comparable to an aubergine. Gryffindors burst into laughter, and quite a few Slytherins joined them. Apparently, Snape was not very popular among his classmates either, or they just used every opportunity they got to diminish and humiliate someone. Snape looked at Lily in horror and ran away, swearing profoundly. By the time Professor Slughorn arrived, the second-years managed to calm themselves, but Snape didn't return until the end of the class. 

"I wonder how big his nose got." – Peter contemplated as they were leaving the dungeons. 

Catherine chuckled loudly. Laughing at other people's misfortune was not considered kind or compassionate, but there were some rare individuals who deserved it, Severus Snape definitely being one of them.