Ablaze

[Belladonna Metzger]

Belladonna Metzger approached the empty Quidditch Pitch with a worn looking quaffle tucked underneath her skinny arm. Belladonna knew she should probably be cooped up in the library studying for her exams right about now, but after an hour or two in, she just couldn't bring herself to concentrate anymore. Studying just wasn't she had an easy time with! Sure she did her best to make sure she studied when she needed to, but she was never the type to just buckle down for hours and look over notes or a book. Setting the quaffle onto the ground for a moment, Belladonna snatched a red hair ribbon from the pocket of her jeans and quickly braided her hair into a messy braid to keep the wind from throwing it in her face later. Once her hair was out of her face, Belladonna picked the quaffle back up and continued making her way onto the pitch until she was in the center. Because of the upcoming exams, the field was pretty quiet right now, which Belladonna was pretty thankful for. Right now she needed a little bit of fun to clear her mind. Otherwise she'd get no more studying done tonight. She wasn't going to practice either, she made sure not to bring her broom with her to keep herself from even trying to. Nope, she was just going to enjoy herself and relax for a little bit. Or so she hoped. As long as a couple of certain individuals kept themselves off the pitch, it'd be more than relaxing for the young Gryffindor.

Belladonna threw the quaffle into the air as high as she could before opened her arms again and caught it. Since she had a pretty decent arm, her throws were a lot higher than she once remembered them being. "Eh, this still kind of feels like I'm practicing or something. Oh well, it beats the hell out of studying!" The thirteen thought to herself again as she threw it again. The wind sort of blew it to the side, which made it a bit more exciting for Belladonna to catch since she actually had to move around some to catch it. It was so nice and peaceful outside, and the only sounds that could be heard apart the quaffle landing in her arms was the loud chatter of the birds. Belladonna focused on the winged creatures for a moment, admiring how high they were able to go. "Ugh, I need to stop watching the birds before someone comes up with more birds jokes about me." Belladonna thought to herself as she threw the ball up again, and caught it seconds later. Belladonna decided that one more throw would do it, then she could go back inside. Only this time she would up throwing the ball a little too hard. Mentally cursing when she saw it fly across the pitch, Belladonna bolted after it with her arms outstretched. As it neared the ground, Belladonna tried to push her legs further so that she was right under it. But instead of being where she needed to be to catch the darn thing, her body collided with another figure, knocking her to the ground instantly. ​

 

[Vladimir Zhefarovich]

Vladimir Zhefarovich found himself at the pitch once more, with a broom in his hand. He had this overwhelming urge to go down to the pitch today and he had no idea why he was feeling like that. He just felt like he needed something to do. He offered Blaine to come and join him, but Blaine seemed to have other plans, which was weird. He extended the same offer to Zinaida, and she too had other plans. Well, Vladimir did not connect the dots there, but he did not think it as a possibility at all. Of course, why would Vladimir ever think of something like that? He was a second year, and he was ready to become a third year by now. He was the beater for Slytherin still, but the captain would be graduating. Their chaser was banned for attacking Sergios Romanes, though he often wondered what happened. Did the guy go after Belladonna? What if he did? Vladimir grew somewhat worried over that, but it could not be from the fact that they used to be friends. He did punch her lights out. But he did give her a fair warning. Though, for some reason, nothing angered him more than that sixth year trying to go after Belladonna. He just hoped that no one else had noticed what subtle hints he gave when he did that. He barely noticed them himself until it was too late. He hated his instincts from time to time, like now, when he felt like he just had to be at the Quidditch pitch. He often did as he felt, or yearned for, but some things just did not make sense for him to want.

As soon as he arrived to the pitch, his onyx eyes looked around the pitch and saw someone else there. Not just someone else, but Belladonna Metzger herself. Really? He had to come when she was there? He let out a sigh before he was going to turn around to leave, that is, before she was running toward him. Vladimir then felt her collide with his body, and a couple seconds later, he caught the quaffle in his hand. It took a lot to get him to fall down, and he had to really force his ground on that one. His eyes fell onto Belladonna while she was on the ground, before he raised an eyebrow. She looked okay, but then again, she was actually running around while throwing a quaffle, so maybe she had some sort of brain damage or something. He could not really imagine. Finally, his lips curled into a subtle smirk as he said in a cold voice, "How's the view from down there, Metzger?" With the hand holding the quaffle, he tossed the red ball up and down in his hand, but not too high since he was not confident on catching with just one hand. Vladimir did not even try to help her up, but his hands were full. Surely, she did not expect anything more than that. This was Vladimir Anton Zhefarovich. Nothing could faze him. Vladimir wondered why she was not flying though, since she was at the Quidditch pitch. Normally, players used brooms to practice.​

 

[Belladonna Metzger]

Of course. of course it was him. It was always him. Every single time she even attempted to have a good day, Vladimir f*cking Zhefarovich seemed to find his way into the picture. Did she have a magnet that attracted jerks stuck to her or something? How else would he manage to always be around whenever she was looking to avoid confrontation the most? Belladonna's skinny fingers dug into the ground as she worked up the courage to look at the one she had run into. Vladimir didn't seem like the type to come out to these places, so Belladonna had figured that she would be able to avoid his presence for a day. Guess not.She could tell by the sound that escaped the boy when she ran into him that it was Vladimir, and the words that came out of his mouth next only confirmed that it was him. "Was a lot better till you got here." Belladonna's pink lips curled into a smirk of her own as she finally lifted her head to stare up at him. Who were they kidding, neither one was happy to see the other so they might as well start the rude comments early. In fact, Belladonna was surprised that he hadn't approached her earlier about the whole Quidditch incident. Sure he was pleased by the fact that she had almost gotten her ass kicked by an older student the other day. The blonde had been so concerned with the fight that she didn't notice how Vladimir had reacted. Not that she needed to, she already knew.

The blonde got herself off the ground, and made sure to wipe the excess dirt and leaves from her pants and shirt. Her bright blue eyes drifted to the ball that Vladimir was tossing up and down and frowned. He had her ball, and she doubted that he was going to be nice about giving it back. Belladonna watched Vladimir toss it up and down a couple of times before she decided to try and be civil about getting it back from him. "Can I have my ball back?" She questioned, keeping her voice void of any emotion. if he knew that she was annoyed with him having the ball, he'd probably keep it. But some time passed and it became painfully obvious that he had no intention of giving her ball back. Belladonna glared. Her hands went out and tried to snatch the Quaffle from his grasps, but not only was he taller, but he was quicker than she was too. "Seriously?! Just give me my freaking ball back!" Belladonna was quickly losing her patience and her temper with this boy, and if she had to she would take drastic measures to get her precious ball back. Then it happened, her line of patience broke and that impulsive nature she loathed so much took over. Not even thinking, Belladonna jumped on Vladimir with all of her weight, hoping to get her ball back. Sadly, all she successfully managed to do was knock both of them to ground as her ball rolled away. ​

 

[Vladimir Zhefarovich]

Vladimir thought for sure that Belladonna would have shown some sort of gratitude that he was here when she managed to lose the ball while tossing it to herself. There was nothing more pathetic than that, and when she said that it was better before he got there, Vladimir merely smirked slightly. This was entertaining. She must have hated him at last. It was better that way. Then, she would not feel the need to use her Veela charms on him anymore. He was good at resisting it now. Well, from what he thought might have been the charms that is. He just wondered how that one boy that hung around her could handle it. He just knew that he did not like it. The charms, not the fact that Belladonna had a little friend that was a boy. "I disagree. I make everything a lot more exciting," the Slytherin replied, pure sarcasm oozing from his lips. Vladimir was often sarcastic when he was not in one of his worst moods. One would even say that he was in a good mood, if he ever smiled that is. He would have, if he was trained differently. However, it was a shame that he was not like the other normal Slytherins. He did not wish it though.

When Belladonna asked if she could have her ball back. He said simply, "How about no." Vladimir would definitely try not to give the ball back to her. This would be really fun, and he was not about to give her the ball back. It was annoying her, and he knew that he would want to keep it. And keeping it, it was. She tried to snatch it, but he easily moved his hand up and away from her grasp. However, it seemed like Belladonna was losing her patience, and her temper. It only made this even more enjoyable for the second year Slytherin. However, something odd happened. Belladonna literally jumped on him, and all of her weight managed to throw Vladimir off balance. He went crashing to the ground and the ball rolled away. He groaned as he looked down to see Belladonna laying on his chest. If someone were on the field, they would think that Vladimir and Belladonna were snuggling or something. "Belladonna, do me a favor and get the hell off of me." Vladimir didn't know what he needed to do in order to fix this except ordering her off of him. He didn't want to physically move her though, that was awkward enough.​

 

[Belladonna Metzger]

When Vladimir threw in that he made everything more exciting Belladonna couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him. "He's so freaking arrogant!" The blonde thought to herself snidely. He must have been insane if he actually thought that Belladonna enjoyed his presence. He made her life a living hell, and he knew damn well that it got on her nerves. In fact, she was ninety percent sure that making sure she was miserable was the best part of his day. Why else would he go out of his way to bother her all of the time? "Such arrogance for someone who's nothing but a giant pain in the ass. I'd probably like you more if you didn't keep calling me a bird every time I pass you in the corridors. Just saying!" Belladonna held her hands up after she said the last part, mostly to emphasize the fact that it was his owl fault that she didn't appreciate him being around. "Honestly, I'd prefer to hang out with a fire breathing dragon than be around you." Belladonna retorted a few minutes later. Though he probably knew this already. It was obvious to almost every single person in this school that neither one of them could stand to be around the other. In fact, Belladonna still prayed for the day when Vladimir would transfer off to Durmstrang or fall of the face of the earth. Then she could have a day in peace.

Although it wasn't in Belladonna's best interest to knock that life sucking dementor over, she was really glad that she had. Mostly because she soaked in every moment that he was miserable. Once the air was back in her lungs and Belladonna was able to breath again, she sat up and brushed some hair out of her face. "Quit whining, Zhefarovich!" He whined a lot. Every time he threw a fit about her touching him or looking at him, it made her want to lean over and smack him. He was lucky that she didn't out of fear of being punched again. "Maybe next time you'll give me my damn ball when I tell you to!" Belladonna rolled her eyes and crawled away from Vladimir and over to her ball. Once she had it in her arms she inspected it closely for any damage. Still sitting on the ground her eyes traveled to Vladimir. "Why are you out here anyways? Don't you Zhefarovich's fear the sun or something?" An insult to the paleness they all seemed to have. It suited them, but Belladonna refused to let Vladimir feel like anything he did or said was okay. He'd never let her live it down if he found out such a thing. ​

 

[Vladimir Zhefarovich]

Vladimir rolled his eyes and he wondered how in the world could someone really put up with Belladonna for more than a few seconds. She was beyond irritating. Especially when she managed to make situations a lot more awkward. "Oh, so you tend to like arrogance then. I assume you are after the bad boys. Typical for a blonde, Gryffindor female. Almost like reading one of those godawful romantic books I hear a lot about." He shook his head and brushed the hair away from his face. There was something odd about Belladonna, and not the Veela within her. Vladimir sighed and he did not know what it was. When she said that she preferred to hang out with a fire breathing dragon than be around him, he couldn't resist the opportunity. "I didn't think you liked Pandora that much. Frankly, she gets on my nerves and thinks we are friends just because of Blaine or something stupid like that." Vladimir insulted Pandora by doing that, but he couldn't resist. A fire breathing dragon just suited her personality so very much. He did not know why she acted the way she did, or her personal vendetta against Belladonna, but he would make it known that the only one that can bully Belladonna was him.

Vladimir had to question Belladonna's sanity when she told him not to whine. His voice never carried a tone that would signify that he was whining, nor did he ever. It was beneath him to whine about anything. If something bothered him, he mainly handled it in a more dignified manner. "Excuse me? In my family, we are taught not to whine. Try finding another way to describe such things otherwise you really look like you have a bird sized brain." Anyone in his family, especially the ones to hold certain positions, were heavily punished if they were even suspected of whining. He did not let this information out. At least she was off of him now. He ignored the part about the ball. No one could ever tell him what to do unless it was a family member with a higher label. She asked why he was out here, and if his family feared the sun or something. "I happen to play Quidditch as well, in case that little brain of yours forgot. If you were to compare my family and myself to vampires, well, that's almost true to some of us. Oh, and one more thing..." Vladimir pulled out his wand and quickly, and verbally, used a banishing spell to send the ball flying into the air and away from the pair. "Fetch."​

 

[Belladonna Metzger]

Belladonna found herself becoming embarrassed that she accidentally revealed her love for arrogant men. It wasn't something she wanted to admit because it could be such an unattractive in general. Mentally slapping herself for saying anything, Belladonna attempted to do some damage control. "You wouldn't understand a thing about romance you heartless butthole." In the end she decided not to try and cover up the whole thing about her liking bad boys because she knew it wouldn't do her any good. Vladimir was pig-headed enough to the point where she knew that he was going to believe what he wanted to believe. Plus she wasn't very good at lying, so Vladimir would likely catch her in a lie real quick. Belladonna was also very surprised to hear that Vladimir wasn't as fond of Pandora as Belladonna had thought he was. A part of her was comforted by the fact, but she knew better than to feel too comfortable with him around. "And here I thought that you guys were bonding over torturing me." It surprised Belladonna to know that there was a rift in her bullies alliance. They always appeared to be very much together on their plans. Especially the ones that involve torturing Belladonna and making her life miserable. Perhaps it was true that Slytherin's weren't very loyal, even to each other unless it benefited them somehow.

Belladonna didn't have time to focus on the thought of Pandora and Vladimir though, because he finally began to react to her statement about him whining. A smirk made itself visible on Belladonna's lips. "You know, some birds are actually really smart. Like crows and parrots for example. So calling me stupid like a bird really makes no sense." Belladonna was really sick of that bird insult. Supposedly veela's were able to sprout feathers and claws when upset, but Belladonna asked her father and he stated that since she was only one quarter veela, she wasn't able to do that. Belladonna opened her mouth to retort back to Vladimir but stopped short when Vladimir banished her ball away from her grasp and into the air. He even had the guts to tell her to fetch the damn ball too. Belladonna narrowed her eyes and glared at the Slytherin boy. "I'm not a freaking dog!" She hissed. After a moment though she got worried that something might happen to her ball and found herself getting up to go after it anyways, the whole time she muttered obscenities about Vladimir under her breath too. He could be such a pain in the ass! ​

 

[Vladimir Zhefarovich]

Vladimir almost twitched his lips in a smirk but held his current attitude. Concealing everything made things easier. The family really drilled it into his mind, and it was not like he had much of a choice but to obey. It was either obey or be killed nowadays. His grandfather was the harshest man on the planet, in his eyes. “Of course not. No second year in their right mind would.” He rolled his eyes, knowing that people in the same age as they were would not know a thing about the mature aspect of romance and love, something someone like him would never understand. It was practically beat out of him. Having a partner was too risky. It could slow someone down, depending on the will and the strength of Vladimir. He was warned a while back about women from Rayna. That might be why he was not warming up to Pandora. She seemed too demanding and bossy for him. He was not kind to people like her. “Actually, the opposite. I have told her to leave you alone, but she won’t listen to me or Blaine. One day, she will learn to obey my words if she knew what was good for her. Either that or karma will get her.” He knew about her mysterious hate for Belladonna, but he hoped that she would fall for another part-bird.

The Slytherin resumed his cold stature as he heard how she mentioned that some birds were actually smart. He sighed and he explained, “I did not call you a bird this time. I called your brain to have the size of a bird’s which indicates your intelligence. Thanks for proving my statement true.” Vladimir figured out by now that she might not be able to transform or else she would have by now. He angered her, pushed her buttons but still failed to sprout feathers. Now she claimed that she was not a dog, but she went after the ball regardless. He did not put away his wand, but as soon as she was close enough to the ball, he summoned it back to him, and he whistled for her attention, while holding the ball in one hand, without the wand. A cold smirk cross his lips, as she might not have claimed to be a dog, she really obeyed like one. And she even played fetch, to some degree. He was being a royal ass, and he knew it.​

 

[Belladonna Metzger]

Belladonna shrugged, he had a point. What did either of the know about love and romance, except that it made adults do the weirdest things. There were many times when she saw her uncle or her dad go above and beyond for the loves they loved. "I think romance drives people crazy, so it's probably best that we don't." Why was she talking to Vladimir about this? The two of them had nothing in common and felt nothing disdain for one another so why were they holding an actual conversation about something other than their dislike for one another. "So if she's not allowed to bully me, where were you the day she dumped bugs in my bag, or threw jelly on my brand new dress. OR even the time she wrote me a fake love letter-and....why isn't she allowed to bully me. I thought you Slytherin's would want to work together on making me miserable?" He might have claimed that he didn't want Belladonna to be bullied by Pandora, but she wanted to know why he didn't. Pandora was pretty good at making her life miserable and if he hated her as much as he claimed he did, it shouldn't bother him to know that someone else was helping him when it came to making Belladonna miserable.

"Shut up! I'm probably smarter than you." Belladonna spat back, wanting desperately to reach over and smack that boy upside the head. Now the fact that she was out in the field chasing the ball like some dog had nothing to do with her intelligence, because she really just wanted to make sure that he didn't keep her ball in the end because he'd probably destroy it or something like that. Suddenly her ball disappeared. "Wha?-" Then Vladimir caught her attention by whistling, and her blood began to boil. God she hated this kid. Belladonna ran forward and lunged at Vladimir, knocking him, the ball, and herself onto the ground. Once on the ground Belladonna attempted to wrestle the ball from Vladimir's grasp, but he was stronger than she was so she was having a bit of trouble getting him to let go. "Let go, Zhefarovich!" Belladonna tried to pry is ugly little fingers off but it was like they were glued on. Belladonna tried to tug once more before she considered biting the boy, sure he'd get pissed but she wasn't all that good with thinking rationally when she was mad. ​

 

[Vladimir Zhefarovich]

Once she said that romance drives people crazy, Vladimir actually agreed with it. Amazingly, he was agreeing with her. Then he thought about what he was thinking about, and it was making him feel a little nauseous but he brushed it off. Why was he even talking to her about something so stupid as romance? He was a bloody teenager, a young one at that. He wondered what in the world he was thinking. Vladimir raised an eyebrow when Belladonna told him about what all Pandora had done to her. "She took time to actually touch bugs and put them in your bag? She must be miserable by your very existence to do something as low as that. I don't watch you twenty-four seven. I have no control over that pathetic girl. And not all Slytherins would want to. Blaine isn't. And your brother is in my house." He didn't know the details about Erik, but he knew that he was related to Belladonna. Thus, Vladimir gladly stayed away. Belladonna spat that she was probably smarter than him which made him roll his eyes. He didn't have much time to retaliate when Belladonna lunged at him. She fought but he continued to hold on to the ball, which brought him some amusement while he was on the ground. With his arm, he shoved the Gryffindor to the side before jumping up onto his feet. He threw the ball as hard as he could away from Belladonna before he said, "You know, you claim not to be a dog, but you sure love to play with balls. Oh, and play fetch." Vladimir smirked slightly before he dusted himself off. "See you around, Metzger." Vladimir walked off from the pitch, leaving the Gryffindor to go stew some more.​

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Fin​