Tzipporah awoke the morning after her confrontation with Edward Potter to discover that Rosa was not in her bed.
“Her auntie came and took her home to Poland for a little while,” said a dispirited Clarice as she and Tzipporah walked to breakfast; they were both early risers, unlike Millie, who was still asleep. “I’m worried, Zip. What if in prison Rosa’s mum gets k “”
“Don’t say it,” Tzipporah snapped, her eyes squeezed shut. I know what it’s like to lose a mother, she thought, desperately hoping that she wasn’t about to cry. I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain upon my worst enemy. Well, perhaps Potter…
Tzipporah opened her eyes and saw that Clarice was looked at her cautiously, as though expecting her to lash out again. The remorse Tzipporah felt bubbling in her stomach did not help her mood much, and neither girl spoke until they reached the great hall.
“Why is Edward Potter staring at you?” Clarice asked hesitantly after several minutes of tense quiet. Tzipporah’s head whipped around, her eyes blazing; Edward was indeed watching her, but looked away hurriedly when she caught his eye.
“I’ve no idea,” Tzipporah said coldly, turning back to her untouched scone. “I don’t feel well, Clarice. I think I’ll go to the hospital wing.”
Before Clarice could speak Tzipporah was on her feet and heading for the entrance hall. But she had barely gone ten steps when a light hand fell upon her shoulder, forcing her to stop.
“Tzipporah, are you alright?” asked an irritatingly familiar voice.
“I’m absolutely fine, Potter. What do you want?”
Tzipporah glared at the thin, bespectacled boy in front of her; Edward, however, refused to be cowed, especially in front of an avid audience of Gryffindors.
“Look, I just wanted to say I’m sorry again about yesterday. But are you sure you’re feeling okay? You’re awfully pale.”
Tzipporah rolled her eyes and made to stalk off, but Edward blocked her path. Patience exhausted, Tzipporah pulled her wand from her robes, pointing it directly at Edward’s heart.
“Miss Stein!” exclaimed an angry voice from behind her. With a sinking feeling, Tzipporah turned to face Professor Bainbridge, the dour Astronomy teacher.
“Five points from Gryffindor for spellwork in the great hall,” said the professor to Tzipporah, who was glaring at the ground, struggling to control her fury. She couldn’t believe her ears when she heard Edward speak up again.
“But she didn’t even cast a spell, professor!”
Professor Bainbridge raised his eyebrows.
“Mr. Potter, I suggest that you and your friend go back to your table and sit down, before you get yourselves into any more trouble.”
As the professor walked away, Tzipporah rounded on Edward, her gaze so piercing that he actually took a few steps back.
“I don’t need you to look after me!” Tzipporah hissed. “Can’t you just leave me alone?”
“Fine!” Edward shot back. “That’s fine by me! Next time, I’ll let you get in trouble! But this wouldn’t have happened if last night you hadn’t been “”
“SHUT UP!” Tzipporah screeched in terror. Would he actually say ‘kissing a tree’ in front of the whole school? she thought, panicking.
“Miss Stein, Mr. Potter, detention!” said Professor Bainbridge; Tzipporah hadn’t even seen him come back over. “The both of you will come to my office tonight at seven o’clock. Now get back to your seats, or else leave the entrance hall if you cannot restrain yourselves.”
Tzipporah’s face went very, very pale. For a moment, Edward thought she might faint. Then she turned and ran out of the hall, her black curls bobbing behind her. As he watched her race up the stairs, Edward felt despondency overcome him. Now I’ve really botched it, he thought as he left the hall, deaf to the shouts of his friends still sitting, confused, at the Gryffindor table.
Madam Pomfrey could find nothing wrong with Tzipporah, but as the girl was very white and seemed close to tears, she thought it best to let her stay and rest. After the nurse retreated into her office, however, Tzipporah ripped back the sheets of her bed and began to pace the floor of the hospital wing, unable to banish her wild, tormenting thoughts.
First Potter catches me kissing that tree, and now I’ve got a detention with him! How did I get myself into this mess? I must be the most miserable girl at Hogwarts…
Tzipporah changed her mind on this last point when her friends came to visit that afternoon during break.
“What’s the news?”
Annika spoke stuffily, as though she had only just stopped crying. “Professor Dumbledore told us after Transfiguration that we haff no chance getting Rosa’s mother out of Nurmengard until Grindelvald has been defeated, and he is the most powerful vizard in the world! He is never going to be defeated!” Annika’s composure broke as tears began to flow down her cheeks. Clarice put an arm around her and tried to look brave, although Tzipporah noticed her eyes were suspiciously red.
“Rosa’s going to stay with her aunt for just a week, then she’ll come back,” Millie finished over Annika’s sobs. “She’s going to have to live with her now, during school holidays, because her father died in the Great War.”
Tzipporah stood silent, feeling horrible. I can’t believe I’ve been so selfish. All day I was thinking about Potter, when I should have been praying for Rosa!
Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Annika behind to administer a Calming Drought, so Millie, Clarice, and Tzipporah were forced to set off for Astronomy without her. Tzipporah prayed quietly as she walked, chanting prayers for the strengthening of Rosa’s soul and the protection of her mother. Millie and Clarice whispered “amen,” then continued to walk in silence.
Upon reaching the classroom they took seats and dutifully opened their books, but Tzipporah knew that her friends, like her, had minds too full to listen to Professor Bainbridge’s dull discourse on the constellation Sagittarius.
It is almost as bad as losing my mother all over again, thought Tzipporah. Almost.
Edward could not fail to notice the despondent expression upon Tzipporah’s face that night in the Gryffindor common room. He himself wasn’t very pleased about that evening’s detention “ it meant he was missing Quidditch practice “ but he could tell that the first-year girl was much more upset than he was. She and her friends sat isolated in a dark corner, quills hanging listlessly over their untouched homework as they spoke in gloomy murmurs.
As Edward watched the dreary group Millie caught his eye, and for a moment Edward thought she was going to whip out her wand and curse him, so deep was the hatred in her eyes. Steeling himself, Edward got to his feet and walked over to the enemy camp.
“It’s about time for our detention,” he said lamely. Tzipporah nodded, not looking at Edward, and got to her feet.
“We’ll bring your things upstairs for you, Zippie,” said Clarice.
“Good luck,” offered Millie, before glaring pointedly at Edward, who tried to look unfazed.
“See you tonight,” Tzipporah muttered. Without waiting, she walked out of the common room through the portrait hole, forcing Edward to run to catch up with her in the corridor.
“I’ll bet you a galleon she’ll jinx him before the night is out,” said Millie as the portrait hole closed.
“Oh, she wouldn’t!” Clarice exclaimed, biting her lip. “Would she?”
“Vot are they fighting about, anyway?” Annika wondered aloud.
Millie shrugged. “Who knows? It hardly matters. I’m just glad she seems to have finally figured out that he’s an evil toerag.”
Simultaneously the three girls looked to the portrait hole, all of them wishing they could see Tzipporah and Edward through the thick stone walls.
“Ah, good. You’re on time,” said Professor Bainbridge, barely glancing up from the stack of essays on his desk. “You will be polishing the telescopes in the Astronomy tower as your punishment. I will inspect your work in the morning, so be sure that you are thorough.”
Professor Bainbridge pulled a bottle of Magical Mess Remover and a pair of rags from a desk drawer and handed them to Edward and Tzipporah.
“I expect you will finish by midnight at the latest,” said the professor, already looking back at the essays. “Now get moving. And I don’t want to hear any more shouting matches.”
Tzipporah left the office hurriedly, Edward right behind her.
“Whew, Bainbridge is a right old codger, isn’t he?” said Edward as they walked; the silence was becoming excruciating. Tzipporah gave him an empty, detached look and did not respond. It seemed to Edward that even her curls had lost some of their bounce. Did I really cause this? he couldn’t help asking himself.
“Look, Tzippor “”
“Potter, I’m not in the mood for more apologies, okay? Let’s just get this detention over with.”
“Alright.”
The two Gryffindors reached the Astronomy tower and made their way to the cabinet containing a hundred or so large brass telescopes. Edward tried the cabinet door. It was locked.
“Alohamora!”
Tzipporah’s spell sent the door banging open; it hit Edward squarely in the nose, knocking his glasses to the floor.
“Sorry! I’m sorry! Here, let me,” Tzipporah gibbered, dropping her wand in shock at what she had done. I didn’t mean to hurt him, the stupid git…
Edward put a hand to his sore nose, rubbing it as though he couldn’t believe what had happened. Then, to Tzipporah’s amazement, he smiled.
“I think that was plenty of revenge for my spying, wouldn’t you say?”
Tzipporah crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows at Edward. I just hit him in the nose and he’s smiling? The boy must be crazy.
“Well, we’d better get started on these telescopes,” said Edward lightly, retrieving his glasses and Tzipporah’s wand, which she took without thanking him. Edward picked up a telescope from the cabinet and carried it to a table. Tzipporah made to do the same and felt her muscles protesting against the weight of the telescope; she could not lift it.
“Need a hand?” Edward offered from his seat at the table.
If I don’t let him help me we’ll be here all night, Tzipporah thought resignedly.
“Yes, please,” she grumbled, and watched as Edward lugged a second telescope to the table and set it down beside his own. Then they picked up their rags, sprayed Magical Mess Remover on their respective telescopes, and began to polish.
After a half hour of scrubbing Edward could no longer keep up his smiling façade. Tzipporah refused to be cheered by his constant stream of merriment, barely allowing herself to laugh at his jokes and stories. To make things worse, the large tower windows looked out upon the Quidditch pitch, where his team was practicing without him. It made him wish he had never tried to help Tzipporah. Why did I even bother? She obviously hates my guts, like her friend Millie. Edward sighed, gazing longingly out the window, and abandoned his attempts at cheeriness. He continued to sigh at intervals for the next few minutes, something that Tzipporah could not fail to notice.
It’s my fault he’s here in the first place, she thought a bit guiltily. It was his fault as well, but mostly mine. I shouldn’t have lost my temper. And he really is trying to apologize, in his own way. The least I can do is do the same.
“I’m “ I’m sorry I made you miss your Quidditch practice,” she said quietly, making Edward jump in surprise.
“Um, thanks. But it wasn’t your “”
“I shouldn’t have been “”
“Really, it was all my “”
Edward gave an embarrassed laugh and looked at his feet. Tzipporah could feel her cheeks reddening as their mumbled apologies fell off into an awkward hush. Then “
“Is Quidditch…I mean, is it fun?” Tzipporah asked.
“Fun?” Edward grinned. “Quidditch is wild, amazing. The feeling of being up there, in the air, free in every direction “ it’s the best feeling there is.”
Tzipporah smiled; it reminded her of those nighttime flies she’d used to take above Vienna in her sleep, before she’d known she was a witch.
“Flying must be really hard, though.”
“Yes, I guess so,” said Edward. “Learning the moves is difficult at first, but once you get them it’s all about flying without thought, because you don’t have time during a game to think about executing a turn or a twist. You have to be watching out for the other players, and the Bludgers, and the Snitch “”
“Hold on, what are Bludgers and Snitches?” Tzipporah interrupted. Edward looked aghast.
“Haven’t…haven’t you seen a Quidditch match before?” Tzipporah shook her head. “You mean you haven’t come to one single match this year? There have been four already, and two with Gryffindor playing!”
Tzipporah looked away from Edward’s indignant eyes, feeling foolish. She had, in fact, spent the time during the matches studying with Clarice; she had never liked Muggle sports much, and hadn’t thought Quidditch would be any different. She was quickly reconsidering that, however.
“Well, I’ll just have to explain it to you, then.” Having gotten over his shock, Edward now seemed quite keen on telling Tzipporah everything he knew about his beloved game. “We’ll start with the seven players and their positions…”
And so the detention passed, the number of telescopes left to be polished slowly deteriorating until they were all spotless and gleaming on the shelves. But Tzipporah and Edward were still talking as the sun set outside the window and the candles around the walls lit themselves, bathing the tower in a warm yellow glow.
“And then the seeker, Thompson, caught the snitch from right under McCafferty’s nose, and won the Cannons their first ever World Cup!” Edward finished with a victorious grin as though he, not Thompson, had achieved this miracle. Tzipporah laughed out loud, as unabashedly delighted as Edward.
At the same moment, Edward and Tzipporah seemed to realize that their chore was done, and so they locked up the telescopes and left the Astronomy Tower, heading for the Gryffindor portrait hole without breaking off their conversation.
“Quidditch sounds incredible,” Tzipporah sighed as they passed a portrait of a fat gray pony. “If only…”
“If only what?” Suddenly Edward wondered if he had gone too far “ for the past few hours they had been discussing Quidditch, the way friends might have done. But would Tzipporah really confide in him?
“I…” It looked as though Tzipporah was having the same qualms as Edward. Can I really trust him? Are we friends now, or was this just for tonight? Does our camaraderie end the moment we reach Gryffindor Tower?
“I’d…I’d kind of like to play Quidditch myself now, after hearing so much about it,” Tzipporah admitted, taking a chance. “But I don’t have a broom, and besides, I’d never make the team.”
Edward thought for a moment, then said, “I could help you.”
Tzipporah frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I could give you Quidditch lessons. You could borrow my friend Prescott Longbottom’s broom. That is, if you want to.” Edward looked as though he had just bowed to a hippogriff and was waiting to see if it would bow back.
This is the only way I’ll ever get to play Quidditch, thought Tzipporah, weighing her options. I can tell Edward no, and we’ll stop talking, stop being friends, if that’s even what we are…or I could say yes, and learn to fly…
“How’s Wednesday?”
“What?”
“I said, how is Wednesday, for the first lesson?”
Edward shook his head vigorously before replying, as though to clear it.
“Wednesday’s perfect. Six o’clock then?”
They had reached the deserted common room. Somewhere above my head, Millie is asleep. What will she say when she finds out that I’m learning Quidditch from the son of Admiral Potter?
“Six o’clock it is,” said Tzipporah, and skipped up the stairs to her dormitory, leaving Edward standing below her, grinning, it seemed, for no reason at all.