Closed Please, Don't Let It Be Sandpaper

[Aine Thompson]

As much as Aine hated to admit it, Celia had been right. Most of what she'd written for the paper had been disingenuous fluff pieces that were embarrassing to look back on. Nothing about them felt authentic, or helpful. It seemed like it was what had been wanted for the paper at the time. But it was all so pointless, and insulting to her own intelligence and the general intelligence of the school. Which had to be lower than she thought if she had somehow got top points, but she wasn't going to admit that at all.

She wasn't too upset about admitting she wasn't up to date on Quidditch, though. She knew her muggle sports, at least football and netball and cricket, and she had gained a basic understanding of Quidditch from what she'd seen. But the games ended so quickly she hadn't had a chance to really get it, she was too afraid of flying to ever play it, and all she'd gathered was that the games were supposed to be interesting and competitive. Notepad at the ready, she hunched over the case in mild consternation. "How are you meant to pick up on any tampering? Do people physically tamper or is it like an actual curse thing?" She traced a finger over the case, not having even been thinking of the magic element until now.

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia could not believe she had been stuck on an assignment with Aine. It was bad enough that she'd been passed over for the editorship. But now she had to babysit a 14-year-old amateur poet? The universe was clearly conspiring against her. Celia had considered abandoning the assignment altogether — she was a columnist, not a reporter — but she genuinely was curious about the snitch. As a captain, she had a vested interest in making sure it hadn't been tampered with. Normally that would have constituted a conflict of interest, but the Monthly wasn't exactly a bastion of high-quality, ethical journalism.

They had barely started their investigation, and already it was going poorly. Aine was for some reason stroking the Quidditch chest. Why was the girl so weird? "Move," Celia said brusquely before kicking the case open. "And hold this." She shoved a brand new snitch, which she had purchased over the break, towards Aine. Celia knelt and examined the school snitch as it struggled against its restraints. "If someone placed a curse on it, then we should be able to detect it. Magic always leaves traces." She withdrew her wand and pointed it at the snitch. "Specialis Revelio."

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine awkwardly shifted back, not really wanting to give Celia more reason to hate her than she already had. Aine looked back at her second and third year with embarrassment. In fairness, she usually looked back at what she said five minutes ago in embarrassment. If she looked back at her articles from second year especially, she'd probably have just asked someone to hit her with a killing curse then and there. She very gingerly held the snitch Celia shoved at her, regarding it with curiosity. "Weird to think this thing's causing so much trouble," she muttered. She didn't really get Quidditch, it felt like a hybrid of so many other sports and with the fast games, not especially entertaining. "...maybe the chasers? could start taking airborne speccys," she muttered, more thinking out loud than actually communicating.

Realizing belatedly she was probably annoying Celia, she focused her attention on what the older girl was doing. If she understood magic more, she'd be able to ensure that Celia wasn't tampering in turn, but regardless of what she thought of her attitude Aine could see that she had a desire for journalistic integrity. "Guess physical tampering would probably just hamper the uh...trajectory. There's nothing wrong with the wings making them fly badly, is there?"

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia rolled her eyes at how delicately Aine held the snitch. "It's not going to hurt you." It wasn't like she'd handed the girl a bludger. As she studied the school snitch, Celia tried to ignore Aine's muttering, which was difficult because she found the girl's voice (and general presence) incredibly grating. "Speck-ies...? Never mind," she added, deciding she didn't care. She had more important things to worry about, like the school snitch, which was currently glowing. Celia realized a little belatedly that she didn't really know how to interpret the results of her spell. It was clear there were enchantments on the snitch, but were those the normal enchantments that powered every snitch or something more sinister?

"Give me the snitch," Celia ordered, ignoring the fact that she'd just told Aine to hold onto it. At the girl's question, Celia gave her a look of disbelief. Aine was a top points earner, so surely she couldn't be that stupid. "Of course there is," she answered, wondering if she'd misunderstood the question. "If the wings don't work properly, then the snitch won't fly as efficiently, and it'll be easier to catch." That would certainly explain why all of the recent matches had ended so quickly.

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine shook her head. "Yeah, well, I don't want to be the one causing the snitches to start acting up even more than they already are," she explained, rather unnecessarily. It would've been so much easier just to stay quiet and not say inane things, or ask questions that came across as commonplace. Even if they were things she just didn't understand, not living in the magical world. Even in her fourth year, she still felt the general sense of 'you should just get it by now' for things that just weren't obvious to someone who didn't have a magical family. It made her feel rather stupid, and she was sure people around her weren't sure whether she was a complete idiot or a freakish nerd. Perhaps both. Whatever Celia thought of her, it wasn't pleasant. And most likely justified. And yet she couldn't help but have a flash of steel in her eyes and a coldness to her tone as she felt the need to go on the defensive once more. "Obviously. I'm asking you if you can see anything that's wrong with them, since you play Quidditch and obviously know more about it." Fear seemed to grip her as she did. Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut?

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia did not understand what Aine's deal was. One second, she was a meek weirdo who stumbled over her words and flinched every time someone looked at her. The next, she was a rude brat who always had something snarky to say and picked fights over matters that didn't even concern her. Making things more confusing was that Celia was pretty sure she'd never actually done anything to Aine. It was like the Hufflepuff had woken up one day and just decided to hate her. "Right. I play Quidditch, which obviously means I must have a supernatural ability to tell at a glance if there are any imperfections to a moving snitch's wings," she said sarcastically. The school ball was still fighting its restraints, and its wings were a blur. She could barely even seen the wings, much less any potential flaws. However, Celia didn't want to stun it before trying the Specialis Revelio spell on the snitch she'd brought with her. Then she could compare the two. Speaking of that snitch... "Are you going to give me that or not?" she asked impatiently, gesturing at the snitch Aine was holding. Why couldn't the girl just shut up and follow her very simple orders?