Sisters; Can't Live With Them, Can't Prank Without Them

Lione's fit

We were sitting in Defence against the Dark Arts waiting for Professor Delacour to arrive. Everybody was quietly chatting and the Slytherins were giggling over Michael Riper snoozing at the back. We were just sitting near the front, utterly bored, when Lione fell off her seat. Everyone laughed until she started shaking violently. Gregory threw himself to her side.

"Lione!" he cried, "Lione, are you okay?"

Jane Jordan and Gatrine Byway had been sitting right behind them and were paying Lione a large amount of bewildered attention. Lione's head turned towards them and her eyelids flung themselves open. Her eyes were flashing. Pale green, bright green, black, orange and blue. The two Slytherin girls jumped to their feet and cried out in shock, everybody else just stared dumbstruck.

"Oh my," gasped Gregory, the only person who seemed to have still his wits about him. He pointed in the direction of the Slytherins. "Quickly, go find Professor Delacour."

Gatrine and Jane rushed out the door, more in an effort to get away from Lione than to follow Gregory's orders.

Gregory looked at the remaining Slytherin girls. "Will someone fetch Madam Pomphrey?"

"Don't you think three should go?" Lucy insisted, "She'll need to carry stuff."

The three Slytherins left with, I should imagine, a distinct feeling that they were doing something they should have been doing earlier and they'd just been told off for not doing.

Gregory looked down at Lione, still shaking, in concern. "This is bad," he announced. He turned to the only Slytherins left. "Dumbledore will want to know about this."

Two boys departed. This left only sleeping Michael.

Five minutes later, five Slytherins accompanied by Professor Delacour and Madam Pomfrey entered the room.

"She fell over and went in to this kind of fit," Denise Holly was saying. "Then her eyes went all weird and started to flash. I think it was a reprise of whatever happened last year because her eyes went all weird," She slowed down as she realised all the class were staring at her. "Then..."

Professor Delacour looked around at the perfectly normal looking room. Lione glanced at Gregory, who shrugged.

"Who did you say was ill?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Lione Davies," said Jane.

"I could have sworn she was having a fit," Denise protested.

"Well," said Delacour. "How do you feel, Lione?"

Lione appeared confused. "I feel fine."

"According to these five," said Pomfrey. "You had a fit."

"Um, no. I think I would remember something like that."

"Yeah," Lucy added, "I think the rest of us would remember if anything happened like that. It's not something you could easily miss, someone having a freaky fit in the middle of the classroom, is it?"

"But... Her eyes were flashing."

"No they weren't. My eyes never flash. They're not flashy eyes."

Denise's voice had reduced to whining now. "But she really was having a fit."

Jane looked angry. "No she wasn't. It's them, they faked it. Those four are always up to something."

"Well the 'up to something' bit is hard to deny," Gregory confessed. "But we have no idea what you're talking about. Lione has not moved from her seat since she sat down. I know because we were having a very interesting conversation about the Quidditch tryouts until you interrupted it with these ridiculous claims."

Even I could tell that Jane was furious. "Then why did we all run out?" she protested.

"Don't ask us," I said, "You're the one who did it. How should we know why you do what you do?"

"Unless we had psychology degrees," Lucy pointed out to me. "Then we might know. Or at least have an idea."

Jane suddenly had an idea.

"Samuel!" she cried, "Sammy, tell them. You saw it."

"Um... no. Sorry."

"What?! Weren't you paying attention?"

"Not really. I suppose she could have had a little fit without me noticing. You know, without any noise."

"Laura! Back me up here."

Laura said nothing.

"Hang on," said Pomfrey. "Did or did not anyone have a fit here?"

"No," said Jane, "It was a trick, don't you see? Lione faked it to cause disruption."

"Then how did she make her eyes flash?" Lucy asked.

"Aha!" cried Jane triumphantly. "You did see it!"

"No, you said it. Well... Denise said it."

"No offence, Jane," I said, "but how could she fake her eyes flashing? I've read a lot of books and I don't remember any spell to make anyone's eyes flash.

"Maybe it was a real fit," Denise suggested.

"I feel fine," said Lione. "Plus, even though it's possible for me to have forgotten about it, since I was supposed to have had the fit, the fact that no one else seems to remember it kind of puts doubt on the situation. If you ask me, I think this is just a botched up effort to get us all in trouble. It's not exactly a secret that you don't like me, is it, Jane?"

Jane's mouth fell open and she was speechless.

"So let me get this clear, does anyone need medical attention?"

"No."

"Fine."

She left.

Professor Delacour decided to bring some order back to the class. "Right. Sit down class. I'm sorry I'm late but I was delayed. Now today we will-"

"We couldn't find Dumbledore. So we brought Snape instead."

Everyone turned to look at the door where two Slytherins and Professor Snape had just entered and were now looking round at the perfectly calm classroom in a look of pure bewilderment. Lucy couldn't suppress a small giggle. At the back of the class Michael Riper finally woke up.

"I'm here, I'm here," he looked around at the class and his own head of house. "Did I miss anything?"

***

The Gryffindor second years walked back to the common room.

"Wasn't that Defence against the Dark Arts class really strange?" Robert announced.

"Yeah," said Lione, "I mean, I've never had a fit in my life. Fainted a few times, but never a fit."

"It's amazing what lengths those Slytherins will go to just to get us in trouble," I said.

"Definitely," agreed Laura.

"I can't believe that Snape got so mad at being interrupted during his free period that he took thirty points from Slytherin," said Lucy. "His own house! Colubra is not going to be very happy about this."

"Especially when he finds out you're involved," said Samuel. "Or at least accused."

"Incidentally, Samuel," said Gregory, "here's that money I owe you. Thanks for sticking up for us."

"He gets money!" cried Anya, "How come he gets some and we don't?"

"You didn't say anything."

"Exactly."

"How did you get Lione's eyes to flash, by the way?"

I grinned. "We didn't," I replied, "Like I said, there's no spell that any of us have seen that can make someone's eyes flash different colours. But there are plenty of spells to make something else flash."

"What?"

Lione, Lucy, Gregory and I just smiled knowingly. That night we placed a box of colour flashing contact lenses in the Prankster storeroom.

***

The one thing I wished was that we could have tried that trick out on Melanie. Imagine her going to the bathroom in the morning and putting in her contacts only to find that when she looks up again her eyes are flashing different colours. It would have scared her half to death. Maybe all the way or so I wished. The thing that was getting on my nerves was that we had been back at school for nearly a week and we hadn't yet pulled a prank on Melanie. Every time I raised the question the guys would just change the subject. Usually they changed it to the subject of the Quidditch tryouts. The issue of 'The Hogwarts Gazette' revealed it's article on who was trying out and for which positions and Lucy and Gregory spent most of the morning they saw it pointing excitedly to their names and squealing a lot.

"It's only a school newspaper," I pointed out.

"Yeah," Gregory responded. "So?"

"It's just I've never seen my name in print before," Lucy explained. "It's exciting to think that everyone in the school will know my name. And this won't be the last time, you know." She was staring in to space with a dreamy tone to her voice. "I'm going to be big some day. Everyone in the world will know my name and they'll all love and respect me." Lione was already disproving this; her shoulders were shaking with held back laughter. "And people will be proud to say 'I knew Lucy'. And copies of this newspaper will be worth thousands because it will be my first appearance in the media."

"Wow," said Lione, trying not to snigger. "But what will you be famous for?"

Lucy appeared to descend from whatever cloud she'd been inhabiting. "I don't know."

"Famous Quidditch player?" Gregory suggested. "Harry Potter was the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team when he was at Hogwarts. It was how he started. He had never even heard of Quidditch before he came here."

"No offence, Greg, but you are so not likely to be the next Harry Potter."

"Well everyone has to start somewhere."

Lione rolled her eyes and gave me a look she expected me to decipher. Of course, I couldn't.

***

Monday evening in our second week, we all went down to the Quidditch grounds. Lione and I sat on the stands while Lucy and Gregory lined up for their turn to try out. Lione had the sense to bring a book to read while we waited but I hadn't so I examined the line up. It seemed that Lione, Anya and I were the only Gryffindor second-years not trying out. Everyone was eager to make a bid for the team. There were people from other years that I didn't know. I did recognise Robin Little and Arry Shunpike when they arrived late. Lione waved to them and I couldn't help noticing Gregory's deadly glare. The try-outs were starting late and not even Gregory, deep in his suspicions, could fail to notice why. Laura and the captain, a seventh year called Thomas Wood, were having a loud argument. Laura was trying to persuade him that she was trying out for one of the two Beater positions and didn't want to be a Seeker even if her father was one. When she finally got it in to his head the tryouts started and the Seekers lined up for their turns. Lione put down her book and watched Lucy do her bit.

To be completely honest, if Harry Potter had a grave he would be turning in it to think that Lucy was going to take up his old position. It wasn't that she wasn't a good flyer. She was and she was quick too. Once she spotted the Snitch it would be safe in her hand in no time. Once isn't a good word. If. If she saw the Snitch. Which wasn't very often. I'm no Quidditch expert but even I know that a Seeker has to have the attention span of more than a few seconds. She never looked for the Snitch properly, merely looked around. A bird caught her attention, so did Lione and Gregory. True, she pulled off some impressive flying while she looked around, but I completely agreed with the captain when he told her, "thanks but no thanks."

Robin tried out as well and did it really well. He was, by far, the best of the group and I was certain that he got it. Lione looked rather impressed. I was beginning to formulate this theory that Lione quite liked Robin.

Then came Gregory's go at Beater. Gregory obviously wasn't born with the same arm as his father. According to Gregory his Father and Uncle were Beaters while they were at Hogwarts and had been the greatest Beaters Hogwarts had ever seen. Gregory didn't fall in to the same category. He got up in the air and was allowed to fly around for a bit and show off his skills in the air before they let out the Bludgers. Those Weasleys seemed to have Quidditch in their blood because both Lucy and Gregory were brilliant flyers. Then again, Gregory's Mum was an international Quidditch player and Lucy had a Quidditch grounds pitch might be a better word choice.>in her back garden so maybe the skills came from the other sides of their families. The trouble came when the Bludger was set loose. Gregory got in to position, held back his bat and waited. The Bludger came and Gregory hit it full on... with his chest. He had to duck it when it came around again and dived towards the ground before it realised he was the only person in the air and came back for him. Next to me, Lione had burst out laughing. She clapped loudly.

"Whoo! Go Gregory."

He joined us on the stands, clutching his chest. "Ha ha," he said. "Can we leave?"

"Not yet," Lione said, "I want to see Laura."

I'd never seen Harry Potter in action but apparently he's a brilliant flyer. Laura seemed to take after him. Laura ruled.

"Look at her go!" Lione cried.

"I can fly just as well as her," said Gregory sulkily.

"True," said Lione. "But look at that. She can hit the Bludger. With the bat. See, that's what you're supposed to do. It's what we call, not getting injured. Then again it's an amazing talent you have, being able to bump in to things mid air. You'll have to show me how you do that some day..."

"Yeah yeah."

"No really. It seems an essential skill to learn. I only wish I could do it half as well as you."

"Well you don't have to because you could just jump off your broom," Gregory snapped.

Lione looked shocked and went red. Gregory must have noticed, he's always the first one to catch on to something. But that didn't stop him.

"Feeling light headed?" he asked nastily. "Feel the urge to kill yourself again? Like last time? At that Flying lesson."

Lione had a look I'd seen only once before. Once, when Caitlyn was tiny, I'd taught her this game. It was my smart idea to teach her to count. First I would sit her on my knee and bounce her up and down while counting. She loved that. It was the 'Bouncy' game. Then, when she had got hold to a few of the names of numbers, though she was still going "Two, six, five, ten, eight, one, tee (three), sen (seven) four, nine" in that or a very similar order, I moved her up to the next stage. I told her a number, for example five, and sat her on my knee. I would bounce her five times (with her counting along "Ten, six, eight, sen..." etc) but on the fifth times I would open my knees as she fell down so she went further down on to a stack of cushions I had strategically placed there. So she got a fall but didn't get hurt. Caitlyn loved that game and never tired of it. I loved to see her face when she giggled and she giggled a lot, especially when she fell. I would change the numbers every time so soon she was counting like a pro. I even made an attempt to teach her French that way but she just got muddled and we were back to the "Sen, six, eight, two, tee, one," situation. Except "Sen, two, sept, dix, deux, un, ten, five".

Whenever Caitlyn wanted to play that game she would pull at my trouser leg, put up her arms to be lifted and cry "Bouncy bouncy!" One day I got home from school in a real mood. It felt, to me, as if the world was against me. Everyone was doing everything they did just for the pure purpose of getting on my nerves. I could tell you about it but it would take too long and I've already strayed off the matter in hand, Lione's expression. I'll get to that. Anyway. I got home and I'd already damaged some things on my way home by hitting them with my bag. And I had hurt myself when I punched a post-box. Caitlyn came up to me and cried,

"Bouncy bouncy! Up up!"

"Will you shut up?!" I yelled at her. "Can you not see I'm busy?! I am not in any mood to play your silly games so will you just go AWAY!"

Caitlyn looked shocked. She looked hurt. She was ready to cry. But, even though I saw that, I didn't stop.

"Just go in the corner and grow up."

That's when I saw that expression. I can't describe it. I guess it's the expression you get when you feel you've been hurt by someone you thought would never hurt you. That's how Lione looked. And even though I had nothing to do with it I felt as guilty as I had felt when Caitlyn ran away crying. As I watched Lione pick up her book and walk away I could almost see Caitlyn, face buried in my Mother's shoulder and tears running down her cheeks, looking back at me.