Picture If You Will

"Picture If You Will"
Part One

The afternoon was the sort that made even the most dismal of indoor spaces appear cheery by comparison. The wind cut through layers of clothing like a razor blade, requiring fresh warming spells every few minutes. Sleet fell intermittently from the leaden sky and there was a strange feel to the air. Altogether it was a miserable afternoon, but the weather was not so awful for Roger Davies to cancel practice for the Ravenclaws.

Usually quite a few Ravenclaws collected in the stands to chat and watch their friends fly. Davies sometimes invited observers to play opposite the team, a strategy that had found him a new Chaser and Beater and allowed him to better consider future prospects as well as benefiting his team. Today, however, Lisa Turpin and Terry Boot were the only observers huddled in the stands. No one else was quite willing to freeze simply for the pleasure of watching seven blurry figures move about in the sleet.

Lisa's blue eyes tracked the moves of the Seeker with an ease that Cho herself might have envied had she noticed. Of course Cho was concerned with the snitch and the rain obscured details such as the focus of those in the stands. When Davies invited other Ravenclaws to play against his team, Lisa was usually the Seeker. It was almost a given that when the reserve Seeker left, Lisa would assume his place.

As Cho executed another dive, Lisa absently twirled the flimsy blue umbrella that was keeping the slightly frozen rain off her. Water droplets that had accumulated on the surface of the umbrella flew in all directions, including onto Terry Boot.

"Please don't do that," Terry grumbled as he stared down at his now wet cloak. The smell of wet wool filled the air. "You just move the water from your brolly to my body. And I'm damp enough thank you."

"Sorry, Terry. I was distracted." Lisa apologized without removing her eyes from the pitch. "There are spells that would keep you dry, you know."

"That is bloody obvious."

"Be nice, I'm doing a favor sitting out here with you." Lisa reminded him. "I could be inside, studying, warm and dry."

"I do appreciate it, Lisa."

"I know you do," Lisa said with a Cheshire cat smile. "Pity you have to drag a partner with you. Shame you can't just admit to Mandy that you fancy her."

Terry opened his mouth to deny that he fancied Mandy, but the certainty in Lisa's gaze stopped him before he could utter a syllable. He forced his mouth to close. "She's my best friend. I don't want to loose her unless I'm certain she feels the same way."

Lisa shrugged. "I wish I could tell you Mandy shares you're feeling, but she is very close to the vest when it comes to boys she fancies."

"Jumper," Terry corrected. "Mandy doesn't own a vest."

"Just an expression."

High above them, Mandy bypassed the keeper, but her aim was a little off. The quaffle hit the rim of the goal hoop without going through.

"Aim, Brocklehurst!" Team captain Roger Davies shouted from below. "We have to be in top form for our match against Slytherin."

"Small chance of that," Lisa quipped.

"What do you mean?" Terry demanded, plucking a stray thread from the Ravenclaw patch sewn onto his cloak. "We have an excellent team with good prospects for the cup."

"Our team is good, but two of our players are not at their best. Davies wants to win so much this year and have the best NEWT scores that he is tearing his hair out from the stress he has put upon himself. He needs a diversion. Our seeker, on the other hand, lost her boyfriend to murder. Did you see her against Hufflepuff last month? She caught the snitch but her heart wasn't in it."

"I thought that was a one-off, being the first game without Cedric and all." Terry said. "And as for Davies, he needs romance."

Lisa shook her head. "You have romance on the brain. Davies and Chang..."

Then Lisa's hand flew up to her mouth. "Of course! Davies and Chang. They'd be brilliant!"

"Brilliant?" Terry echoed.

"Yes! Cho needs someone to remind her that Diggory wasn't the only boy on Earth, Roger needs someone to keep him from being consumed by his own demands. They both like Quidditch, they'd make a wonderful couple."

"You cannot mean playing matchmaker for Davies and Chang?"

"Why not?" Lisa demanded.

"You know nothing of romance!"

Lisa arched an eyebrow. "And you do, Mr. Unrequited love?"

Terry decided it was best not to respond to that.

Lisa changed her tactic. "Look at them they're miserable. I just want to help them be happy."

Terry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was going to regret this. "I'll right, I'll help."

* * *

To Terry's surprise, Lisa insisted they go to the library. Of course, to be fair, he usually collaborated on projects with Mandy, who preferred to brain storm over mugs of steaming hot chocolate before venturing to the library. Lisa wandered through the stacks pulling out books she thought might be useful while Terry laid claim to a table in the back. When Lisa could no longer see over her collection of materials, she moved toward him, tilting her head around the books in her arms so that she could see where she was going.

Terry helped her put the books on the desk, noting the titles with some amusement. "Magical Aids For the Lovelorn? Must have been on the Daily Prophet bestseller list for at least a day back in...1967 when it was published. Oh, look, a tips section."

Lisa pulled parchment and quills from her bag and set them on the table.

"We need a strategy," she said.

"I agree, but can we skip over the love potion and sending trite and obvious anonymous love notes options. I wish to retain some of my integrity." Terry said without looking up from the book.

"I would never lower myself as to suggest such a thing. We simply need to give Cho and Roger a common goal to work towards together, a chance to see each other in a new light."

"Please tell me that you are not suggesting locking them in a room together until they start snogging."

"I will hit you with this unless you start supplying viable ideas," Lisa snarled. She held the thickest of the books in her hand.

Terry offered her a weak smile. "Are you trying to get me to fancy you? I love it when witches throw things at me."

Lisa startled, then laughed. "No wonder you fancy Mandy. If I had a knut for every quaffle she has thrown at you I could retire to a country estate immediately upon leaving Hogwarts."

"Besides Quidditch, what does Roger like?" Terry asked. The previous topic was starting to become a bit too personal for him.

"Fleur Delacour." Lisa said promptly. She wrinkled her nose in a way that reminded Terry vaguely of Samantha on Bewitched. He thought it was a cute gesture.

"She's part Veela," Terry said dismissively.

"Photography. He has a really nice camera. Took about a thousand pictures of Fleur during the Yule Ball."

Terry wrote this down. "Cho likes to take pictures, doesn't she?"

Lisa laughed. "Yes, but she's terrible. Always gets her fingers in the way"

"Maybe, Cho just needs help."

"Tell me genius, how to you mean to get Cho to take lessons from Roger."

Terry grinned. "I have an idea."

"Hey Roger!"

Roger looked up from his Herbology text and spotted Terry and Lisa coming toward him. Terry had his camera in hand.

"Boot, anything I can help you with."

"I was trying to take some pictures, but they keep coming out too dark and blurry."

Roger put down his book to examine Terry's camera. "You are using the wrong kind of film for this camera. Your flash needs to be respelled and there is dirt on the lens. Have this serviced at the shop next Hogsmeade weekend."

"Thanks."

When Roger was out of earshot, Lisa turned to Terry with a perplexed look.

"What good was that?"

"When I take my next pictures, you will show them to Cho. Make sure to mention Roger's aid with my photography problem."

The light of understand clicked on in Lisa's eyes. "Cho takes terrible pictures. She is certain to seek Roger out."

"And our happy-couple-to-be won't have to suffer the embarrassment of having been fixed up." Terry concluded.

"That just leaves one problem: what will you photograph?"

Terry favored his fellow Ravenclaw with his most winning smile. "The Quidditch team, of course."

Lisa groaned. "Include a certain Chaser. I see your ulterior motive."