Guess the Bott's and more Quidditch

The first person to notice me once I'm back at Hogwarts is Hermione. She smiles shyly and I walk over to her "Merry Christmas liar." I say before hugging her.
She frowns a little "I'm really sorry-"
"Hey, I'm joking. We're cool."
She smiles a little "Yeah?"
I nod "Yeah." I reach for the carefully rolled up poster "I thought since you're going to marry Mark Owen, you'd like this. Give the stupid Weird Sisters posters a run for their money."
She grins "Thank you." she hugs me again.
"Where's Harry?" I ask.
"Glooming somewhere, I suppose.
"Why?"
"Oh what do I know." shrugs Hermione "Something about a mirror."
"Did you have good holidays?" I ask her.
She nods "It's always lovely during Christmas. You?"
I smile "It was fantastic. Isaac taught me how to Rollerskate."
"And you didn't break your neck?" she laughs.
"Not quite. But there's still time."
"Well, you oughta teach me some day." she smiles.
"Will do." I grin "I'm gonna go look for Harry. Have a talk about that mirror."
She nods "See you later."
"Later." I smile.
"Hey, Harry." I say quietly once I spot him in the back corner of the library, his head resting on his hands staring into a book without actually reading it.
He barely acknowledges me, only looks up tiredly and mutters "Hi."
"So..." I sit down next to him "Something about a mirror, you wanna talk about?"
He frowns "You saw it?"
I shake my head "Mione told me. So what's up."
He raises his eyebrows "Mione? You made up?"
I nod "Yeah, it was never a big deal, was it?"
"I suppose not."
"So-" I drop the gift I got him in front of him "A mirror."
He stares at me and the package.
"Oh yeah." I say "Merry Christmas, again."
He turns a little pink "You got me something?"
I nod "You bet your ass I did. We went to Diagon Alley so it felt right to."
"I didn't ge-"
"Harry, I don't even like getting presents. Don't break your head about it. I just wanted to be nice." I laugh. "Now, tell me about the stupid mirror so I can get your depressed ass out of here."
Harry sighs "Dumbledore called it the mirror of Erised." he stares at the pages in front of him "A mirror to show a person their deepest desire."
"And you saw your parents?" I guess carefully.
He nods "My entire family, standing right behind me."
"Is it still there?"
He shakes his head "Dumbledore moved it... told me to not go looking for it. Maybe it's for the best. I've been having nightmares and all that."
"About what?"
"Them... dying. That green flash of light." he absently plays with the wrapping paper in front of him. "And I can hear him, I think."
"Hear who?"
"You know who..."
For a second I'm confused "Oh, Voldemort?"
He looks around "Yes. Him laughing. Killing my parents and laughing about it." his fingers finally tear open the small gift "What's that?" he asks curiously.
"Broom compass. Isaac said it's quite helpful."
He smiles and unwraps the snitch a little more eagerly "Does it actually work?" he asks.
I nod "Thought you might like it for practicing. You're pretty shit."
He laughs "Well not as bad as your Terence Higgs though, am I?"
"Please. You only won because you don't even know how to control your broom and nearly choked on it."
"Oh please." he laughs "I won, despite my broom being jinxed and heroically caught the snitch with my mouth."
"You are so thick." I laugh.
"Me?" he asks with a jokingly surprised voice "You're the one who thinks smelly Slytherin could ever stand a chance against the youngest Seeker of the century."
"Smelly Slytherin, eh?" I ask, laughing "When was the last time Mr, Potty here took a shower?"
He frowns "Like... a week ago."
"Case in point."
"Oh shut up Wilderwald." he looks at the quidditch themed candy "This is such a Muggle thing to do." he grins and hands me a small chocolate snitch.
"They had them in team colours." I say "But I didn't quite know what your team is."
"Well..." he looks at the ceiling "I'm going to be loyal to Ron and say the Chudley Cannons."
I roll my eyes "Of course. You do know the Weasleys have terrible taste, right?"
"Why, what's your team?" he screws open a small container in form of a Bludger and tries one of the Bertie Bott's every Flavor beans only to squint immediately "Ugh, soap."
I laugh "The Montrose Magpies."
As if summoned Fred Weasley sticks hi head in from around the corner "What did I tell you, Wilderwald? You become a Magpies fan, our friendship is over."
"Well, turns out I've always been a Magpies fan." I grin and throw the soft package with the Cannons Jersey inside in Fred's face "And that's really too bad, because I come bearing gifts."
"Oh really?" he asks sliding around the table to steal one of Harry's licorice Beater clubs before sitting down and taking a bite. He unwraps the jersey and stares at me "Well, all is forgiven."
I roll my eyes "You're such an idiot, Weasley."
"I know." he whispers and lets a small package fall into my lap. "Now, I was quite surprised, when you were nowhere to be found, because apparently you left for the Christmas holidays without telling your absolute best friend ever, so here ya go, happy late Christmas."
Harry raises his eyebrows, absently chewing on one of the licorice clubs "Absolute best friend ever?"
"You didn't tell him?" asks Fred dramatically "Well that just breaks my heart."
I sigh and say jokingly "Weasley, I merely tolerate you."
"She's in love with me." whispers Fred to Harry "Just won't admit it. Knows I'm too good for her. Tragic."
I punch him in the arm "Don't be a dick."
He laughs and points at the package "What are you waiting for? Open it already, goddammit."
I open the soft package to find a dark red hand-knitted sweater with a golden H in the centre.
I blush heavily and Fred says "Maybe mom confused you two."
Harry stands up a little, to reveal that the emerald green sweater he's wearing has a large H on it as well, with the only exception of his being a silvery white. I just keep blushing "Your mom made this? For..."
"For you?" laughs Fred "Pretty much. She didn't confuse you though." he grins "I just knew I could piss you off with Gryffindor colours."
I shake my head "No... this is really, really sweet, honestly." I can't help myself but stutter a little.
"Yeah, well... seems like my mom is planning on adopting Harry and since you and Harry are basically brother and sister to her... well, welcome to the Weasley family." grins Fred.
Harry and I both stare at each other, pink in the face.
I put on the soft, warm sweater and suddenly it really looks like we're a family with rather odd genetic distribution, sitting around the table.
"Hey Fred..." I ask carefully "Is George a Cannons fan as well?"
Fred smiles "He might be. Why?"
"Just asking."
"You got him one as well, didn't you?" his points at the jersey and smiles even wider.
I shrug "Well... I mean..."
"He's a Cannons fan." nods Fred. "I bet he'll appreciate it."
Harry tries to hide his smile by staring at his book, which he hasn't turned a single page of the entire time, even more intensely.
"Oi, Harry." says Fred "Pass me one of those Bludgers. We're going to play the most disgusting game known to man kind."
My worried look follows the Berties Bott's Bludger being passed on to Fred.
"Wilderwald, Harry, you take one too. Each." he grins viciously.
"Fred, I don't like where this is going." I frown.
"Good." he grins "You're not supposed to like it. It's called 'guess the Bott's'. Now, the rules are simple." he says "We each chug the entire Bludger of beans and try to write down as many of the flavours we can taste, as possible. Careful chewing is essential. The one to have the most flavours by the end wins."
"How do we know, none of us are cheating and just writing down random flavours?" I ask.
"Oh right.." says Fred "Forgot we're playing with a Slytherin."
"Oh please." I roll my eyes "I'm asking because we're playing with a Weasley."
He laughs "Well, we could just trust each other's word. In the end nobody really wins either way because we will all be too busy wanting to throw up."
"Great game." mutters Harry staring at the Bludger.
"Yeah Weasley, you are a genius."
"I know." Fred leans back in his chair with a smug grin on his face. "Well, go on! Get a quill and some paper and let's go." he places his own quill and parchment on the table.
Harry and I quickly do the same. "Now." says Fred "On my count. Three... two... one!"
We all fill our mouths with the beans. Oh god. OH GOD. Half a second after beginning to chew by entire mouth is filled with hell. How is anyone supposed to recognize anything? The boys both grab their quills with disgusted faces.
I chew, holding back tears as I recognize the first taste... vomit. Again. I write it down, shivering. There's a nice bit of cherries, hidden somewhere in the back of disgustingness. I taste some earwax, lemon... grass I guess, the black pepper makes me shiver again. There's definitely some blueberry in there... some... dirt? I don't know is dirt even a flavour? Is that what dirt tastes like? I write it down.
After ten more seconds of torture Fred punches the table heavily and moves his hand in a slicing motion. We all put out quills down and rush to the bin to spit the mix of means out.
"You will burn in hell for this, Weasley." I cough.
Harry just shivers heavily and says "Yeah."
Fred grins with tears in the corners of his face "Totally worth it." he says with a forced voice "To see you kids all disgusted... so worth it." he sticks his tongue out and shakes a little.
"Well, let's see then, shall we?" I say as we sit down.
"No way." cries Fred "Oh Wilderwald, don't tell me you won."
Vomit, cherry, earwax, lemon, grass, black pepper, blueberry, dirt, watermelon, marshmallow, rotten egg
"You call that winning?" I ask, weakly pointing at the parchment.
"Well, all Harry's got is liver, booger, cotton candy, earwax and cinnamon and I've got one less than you." Fred shakes his head "That's just embarrassing."
"Oh, it's okay Weasley." I say calmingly "We already knew you were a massive loser."
He laughs "You're one to talk. Can't even win a Quidditch math."
I raise my eyebrows "Oh you mean like that time I totally beat your ass on Halloween?"
"Oh you mean blah blah blah." says Fred with a mocking voice "How about that time Gryffindor won against Slytherin only a month ago."
"I'll remind you, I wasn't playing then. Just you wait until I make the team next year. Slytherin will make you all eat dust."
"Sure." grins Fred. "You'll get hit in the head by a Bludger in the first minute and then hallucinate the winning portion."
"Maybe of you were to hit me with that Bludger." I say "But I doubt you could aim that well."
"You wanna test that theory out, Wilderwald?" he raises his eyebrows.
I tilt my head "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"
He grins deviously "Gryffindor versus Slytherin. I get Harry, you take someone from your team and we have a nice pre term match."
"Wait, I didn't agree to that." says Harry, suddenly looking up.
"Are you in?" asks Fred.
"Sure." nods Harry.
I sigh "Midnight?"
"Midnight." nods Fred "Choose your Seeker, Harry and I will pick you up."
Harry frowns "You two are trying way too hard to be caught by Filch."
I get up "I'll go say hello to the other Barons. See you at midnight."
"Barons?" ask Fred and Harry in unison.
I nod "You said we needed a name, Weasley. The Bloody Barons seemed rather fitting."
I finally drop my heavy bags next to my bed. Nia and Lorinda are nowhere to be seen but Pansy is reading on her bed.
"Have a nice Christmas, Pixie?"
"Nicer than yours." she mutters not looking up to greet me.
"Well... happy new year, or whatever."
"Yeah, you too."
I put up all of the posters from my old room and put the tapes and books into my shelves. The leathery notebook seems an awful lot like a diary. Mostly because the golden inscription says diary, but also because it's pages are all worn out.
If I were to read it I would probably find out a lot more about everything. The things Isaac is keeping from me. At this point there's really no doubt that my father used to hurt me. Maybe quite a lot. But what if it's as bad as Isaac makes it look? What if I really shouldn't read it. At least until I'm a little older...
I decide to just let it be. For now.
"Look who's back!" says Lorinda entering our dorm, closely followed by Nia.
"Wilderwald." Nia smiles and hugs me.
"Good to see you both." I grin "Good holidays?"
They nod "Fantastic. And you."
"Quite fantastic as well. Got some of my old stuff back." I point at the posters and books.
"Because that's what we need." sighs Pansy "More of your Muggle trash polluting our walls."
"Thank you for the feedback, Pixie." I turn back to Nia and Lorinda "Anyways, I don't really know how to do the whole gift thing but I got you guys something." I give each of them the packages.
Nia grins once she's done unfolding the Magpies banner "Oh that's perfect." she runs over to her bed to hang it over her headboard.
"Wicked." smiles Lorinda at the spell-book "Thanks Wilderwald."
"Yeah, thanks." grins Nia and they both throw me their packages. Nia's contains a small set of beautiful crystal phials and Lorinda's contains a wide variety of different potions ingredients.
"Thanks, you guys." I smile and put the new supplies next to the rest of my potions set. "I have something else, but that's for you and the boys. Are they in their dorm?"
Nia shrugs "We left them in the common room."
We quickly go down to the common room where Aidan and Theodore seem to be fighting about Quidditch while Elijah is just chewing on a Pumpkin Pastie closely listening to Christian telling him about his holidays in Amsterdam.
When they see us they quickly get up to greet me "Long time no see." smiles Aidan "Where were you the entire day? We were looking for you."
I shrug "Mostly in the library." I look around "I gotta talk to you guys somewhere where Malfoy won't get ideas."
We climb all the way up to the astronomy tower and sit down at the edge, pulling our coats closer to our bodies.
"This better be worth it." mumbles Elijah with a shivering voice and red nose.
"I doubt it." I laugh "I just wanted to ask you guys something. Aidan thought this was smart."
"Just light a fire." mutters Aidan in response but I shake my head.
"It will be quick. I just found something at Diagon Alley, I thought you might like. I pull out the five necklaces from my pocket and give one to each of my friends.
"They are so beautiful." says Lorinda, carefully stroking the tiny snake's head.
"Absolutely fantastic." smiles Nia, carefully placing it around her neck.
"What is supposed to be in the phials?" asks Aidan twisting it around between his fingers.
I shrug "Whatever, I guess. I just thought they were fitting."
"They are." says Elijah while Nia helps him with the closure.
"Now-" I say "Another thing-"
Aidan chuckles "Of course."
I roll my eyes at him "When I was in the library, Fred, Harry and I decided to have a little Quidditch match tonight. That's why I didn't want Malfoy around." I look at Nia "I need a Seeker, I was thinking you'd like to do it but if not I'm going to need someone else stepping up."
Nia's eyes glisten "Of course. I've been wanting to play Quidditch."
Aidan raises his eyebrows "What if you told Fred to get his brother involved as well? I feel like you could need a Beater, no?"
I laugh "You as a Beater, Hubbard? That's news."
He shrugs "I've played a few times. I'm good enough."
"Well... I guess it would be more fun if we were more people. Any of you wanna join as well?" I ask Lorinda and Elijah who both eagerly shake their heads.
"Thanks but I'll be perfectly happy with quietly cheering you on from the sides." says Lorinda.
"Yeah... the whole Bludgers flying at me thing, isn't really my style." mumbles Elijah.
Aidan frowns "Well, I'd be there to keep you safe, wouldn't I?"
Elijah shivers "I've seen the Weasley twins play. You're not exactly who I'd pick to protect me from those two."
More frowning from Aidan "This is insulting. I'm more than capable-"
I interrupt him "You guys sort that out. I'm going back inside before my fingers fall off."
The others nod in agreement and follow me back down the stairs.
Unfortunately I can't find Fred anywhere. Instead I run into George on the way back to his common room. "Have you seen Fred?"
He glares at me for a second, inspecting the sweater his mom made me with great displeasure "Probably in our dorm." he says coolly before continuing to climb the stairs.
I sigh and say quietly "Well... could you er- I need to ask him something."
"Would you like me to deliver a message?"
"Well... I- actually it's kind of about you? I don't know... also about him though."
He exhales sharply the annoyed expression on his face growing even stronger "Would you like to come along?" he forces the words out from between his teeth.
"I don't know... I mean, yeah, I guess so." I have never felt so self-conscious as I do under George's disapproving stare.
"Fantastic." he mutters and keeps walking after a short wave with his hand, signalling me to follow him. "I'll go get him." he says, leaving me at the bottom of the staircase, making sure I won't hear the password to the Gryffindor common room.
I awkwardly smile at the portrait of the fat lady guarding Gryffindor house "How's it going?"
She raises her eyebrows at me "Same old, same old. Improving my singing each day."
"You sing?"
Her eyes widen with joy "Would you like to hear it?"
"Sure, why not."
Her smile grows wider before a shrill scream fills the hallways. For a second I think, someone must've fallen down the movie staircases before I realize it's the Lady singing.
"Wow, that sure was something." I force myself to be polite once she's done singing.
She smiles proudly "Would you like to hear more?"
"Oh, it's alright. I don't mean to bother you."
"But I'd love to. Not many people take their time to listen to me."
I wonder why. Luckily the the door and with it, the fat lady swings open and the twins stick their heads out with a troubled look "What was that sound?" asks Fred "Did someone get hurt?"
"That was me!" shrieks the lady "I was singing."
I nod seriously "Seriously guys. Have some appreciation for the finer arts."
"So, you couldn't even go a few hours without seeing me?" asks Fred with a smug smile.
"Honestly, Weasley." I laugh "You're way too full of yourself. I just had a suggestion."
"What would that be?"
"I have a Seeker, but I also found a Beater, you see. So I thought maybe..." I carefully glance at George "Maybe you'd like to expand a little and add a third player to each team... such as your twin brother who happens to be... a Beater."
"Hm" Fred turns to look at George "I think that would be a great idea. George, how do you feel about a little midnight quidditch against a bunch of Slytherin first years?"
"I suppose it could be fun. Even though I don't really see the point in having a match with a bunch of unexperienced children."
I clench my jaw a little but luckily Fred is the one to speak "Completely ignoring that last part here, but glad you're in."
I carefully smile at him and mouth a small "Thank you."
"So?" asks Aidan back in the common room "Got George to play?"
"It wasn't really hard."
"Then why do you look frustrated?"
"Because-" I let myself fall onto the sofa "George is a dick."
"What's new?"
"Haha. I just really hoped we could finally get along. But he still hates me."
"Have you tried... communicating?"
I glare at him "Multiple fucking times."
He raises his eyebrows "You sure abou that?"
"What do you mean?"
"From all I've seen you only ever talk to Fred. I mean, he seems to do his best to get his brother to like you but really, why should he?"
I stare at him turning a little pink "That... whatever. I'm gonna go take a nap. See you at midnight."
"You're going to miss dinner again?"
"What about it?" I ask stepping onto the stairs.
He wraps his fingers around my wrist "I'd say you need it more than anyone."
I feel my face grow red "Fuck you, Hubbard."
"What?"
"Just, shut up. Fuck do you care?"
He looks confused "I was just saying-"
"Well, it's none of your business, is it. See you later. Night."
I slam the door behind me the heat in my chest building up. I quickly lock myself in the bathroom before any of the other girls notice and stare at the tears filling my eyes. If there's one thing I hate it's when people comment on my eating habits or eating in general. Even the word makes me feel like I've got puffy cheeks and fat legs.
I lay down on my bed and close my eyes, simply ignoring Nia and Lorinda bickering over some stupid book and slowly fall asleep.
"Get up, it's almost midnight." Lorinda shakes me softly.
I blink a few times and yawn heavily. "Already?"
She nods "You slept for seven hours, it's time."
Those seven hours sure felt more like three minutes. I definitely had a dream but I can't remember any of it except for a large spider fighting a dog.
The two girls are already wrapped in multiple layers of clothing and wearing gloves and I follow their example.
Elijah and Aidan are waiting by the door of the common room, nervously looking around.
"What took you so long?" asks Elijah quietly.
"Haven slept like a stone." giggles Lorinda "Impossible to get her up."
I ignore Aidan's weird look and carefully open the door of the common room. The corridor is still completely empty. "What time is it?"
"Two minutes before midnight." Elijah steps next to me "Should we go to the pitch already?"
I shake my head "No, we're meeting them here."
"That you are." appears Fred's voice out of nowhere and suddenly him, Harry and George stand directly in front of us, all carrying brooms and proper Quidditch attire. Harry is fumbling with a piece of fabric he just pulled off their bodies.
"How did you do that?" asks Elijah wide eyed.
"Uhm... invisibility cloak."
"Wicked." Elijah looks at them and goes to shake Harry's hand "I'm Elijah, by the way."
Harry smiles "I know." but shakes Elijah's hand "Harry."
"Yeah, I know."
"Well, should we get going?" asks Fred "I heard there's a secret door right down there?" he points down the right corridor and I nod.
We quietly sneak towards the exit and Harry politely talks to the other Barons who all seem rather excited to finally be talking to the Harry Potter.
"So, you lived with Muggles your entire life?"
"Yeah."
"And you didn't even know you were magic?"
"Pretty much... I mean there were weird things happening but I had no idea what they actually were."
Harry seems to be getting on especially well with Elijah.
"No, I'm not scared of him. I just think he's a mean prick." says Harry talking about Snape.
"I don't know man, there's something about his eyes... it's like he's staring directly into my soul."
"Just look at his greasy hair instead."
Elijah laughs a little "Really though. Do you think that man knows what a shower is?"
Harry shakes his head "I doubt it." and they both grin at each other.
Fred hands his broom to George "Haven and I are going to go get some brooms. You guys make sure everything is set." he says once we arrive at the broom shed. And we quickly part ways with them.
"Would you like to do the honours?" he asks me pointing at the lock.
"Alohamora." I move my wand like he taught me and the door swings open.
"Wow, all that tutoring from Diggory is really doing something, eh?"
I blush heavily "It was a misunderstanding at first. But he really is helping."
"I bet he is. I mean you were absolutely clueless, terrible mumble, no idea how to hold a wand-"
I hit him in the arm and grab three brooms "Stop being annoying and be helpful." I point at the Quidditch set.
Back on the Quidditch pitch Fred and George explain the rules.
"We play with the Snitch, each team has a Seeker a Beater and a Chaser who also functions as Keeper."
"We play with all balls, including both Bludgers, so the Beaters better do their best to keep their teammates safe."
"Now, the game is won, either when the snitch is caught or, when a team has scored a total of twenty goals because we do have classes tomorrow and can't stay up all night."
"But I doubt that'll be a problem because we do have the youngest Seeker of the century on our team."
Harry's ears turn a little pink at Fred's comment and so do Nia's, who suddenly seems a little unsure of herself. "You'll kick his ass. No doubt." I whisper to her.
"Some important things-" continues George "No blagging."
Fred nods "No matching."
"No Blurting."
"No Cobbing."
"No-"
"We get it." I interrupt Fred "A normal, fair game. No fouls."
"Alright then." says George "Mount your brooms. The game begins once... Lorinda is it?"
Lorinda nods.
"The game begins once Lorinda throws the Quaffle."
We all mount our brooms and fly to our sides.
"Alright, Nia." I say "Stay down, stay out of trouble until you see the snitch. Harry is fast but you're faster, use that to your advantage. He's had more training than you."
She nods.
"Aidan... you know what to do."
He swings the club in his hand "Make sure neither of you is killed by a Bludger."
"It's really dark. mutters Nia "Make sure to score, Wilderwald, I have no idea if I'll even see the snitch with this darkness."
I shake my head "You'll be phenomenal."
"Alright!" shouts Lorinda from the ground "On my count 3...2...1!" she throws the Quaffle in the air and Elijah sets the Bludgers and the Snitch free.
Fred and I immediately speed towards the Quaffle, while Nia and Harry let themselves fall towards the ground. Fred catches the Quaffle and immediately races towards our hoops. I let myself fall and fly beneath him, popping up in front of the hoop, just as he's about to score and catch it.
I quickly pass it to Aidan and fly past Fred before he gets a chance of attack. A second after passing me back, Aidan blocks a Bludger zooming straight towards my face. "Thanks." I say quickly before continuing to race towards Gryffindor's side.
From my left I can see George hitting a Bludger in my direction but I dodge it quickly and Aidan sends it flying towards Harry. Fred pops up next to me and hits me in the side as an attempt to make me lose the ball but I quickly throw it with all my force towards and... past the hoop. Of course. I can hear Fred laugh as he follows the Quaffle. "Incredible!"
"Shut up!" I laugh and dodge the Bludger, missing my face by an inch.
With Fred back in possession of the Quaffle I make my way back to our own side, when a tiny golden ball flies past me. I try to grab it but it quickly changes direction. "Nia!" I point into the snitches direction "Go!"
She nods and speeds towards the direction, quickly followed by Harry and a Bludger.
Fred winks at me before flying a huge loop around me and throwing the Quaffle at our goal and can only grab it in the last second, leaning so far after it that I almost slide completely off my broom, which takes the new positioning as an invite to speed towards the ground. "No, no no." I mutter trying to move back whilst not letting go of the Quaffle.
"Wilderwald!" shouts Aidan and I quickly throw the Quaffle in his direction, grab the broom behind me, and with a quick jump and swing I land on the back of my broom only seconds before hitting the ground and quickly pull it back up to catch the ball.
If I want any chance at actually scoring I have to get an awful lot deeper into the scoring area. George isn't missing any chance to lunge a Bludger at me but luckily Aidan blocks almost all of them, except when he has to speed after Nia to keep the other one from getting to her. Her and Harry both seem to have eye on the snitch but Harry, even on his Nimbus 2000, barely stands a chance to keep up with her. However he is a better flyer than Nia, so whenever the snitch changes direction, Harry is the first to do the same.
Aidan buys me some George-free time when he, with an incredible Bludger Backbeat, fires the Bludger straight towards Harry who only barely dodges it. I fly through the free zone, constantly having to shake Fred off and... "SCORE!"
Lorinda and Elijah cheer from the side line "Score for Slytherin! Ten to zero!"
"I can't believe it!" teases Fred "You actually aimed in the right direction!"
I flip him off, grinning proudly "Time for you to try the same thing, Weasley."
He grins and goes to catch the Quaffle. Clearly provoked Fred flies towards our scoring area with a speed I've never seen before and punches the Quaffle through our hoop before I even get a chance to reach it. "Score." He grins.
"Score for Gryffindor!" shouts Elijah from the ground "Ten to ten!"
The game goes on for thirty more minutes before Harry and Nia both fall to the ground with a surprised shriek from each. They roll over the ground, weirdly entangled their hands moving quickly.
We all stop to look at them until we spot the golden shimmer. The snitch is trapped between both of them and they're each trying to catch it without having it escape again.
Suddenly Nia's eyes go wide and she raises her hand, two wings peeking out on each side of her fist "I caught it!" she yells in total ecstasy "I actually caught it!"
Aidan and I both land next to her and quickly lift her onto our shoulders cheering. "Slytherin wins!" yells Elijah "Two-hundred-and-ten to forty!" Him and Lorinda run onto the field to high five us and hug us, cheering especially loudly for Nia.
The sweaty and beaten Gryffindors nod respectfully "Good game." says Harry, shaking Nia's hand.
"Not again!" shouts a voice behind us and we all turn to see a fiery McGonagall shining her wand at us "Are you serious?" she desperately shakes her head "The term hasn't even started yet and you kids are already-" she seems at a genuine loss of words, especially when a Bludger smashes into the ground a few inches from her feet.
I'd do very good just turning into a rabbit and jumping away, right about now. The second Bludger hits George in the chest and sends him falling to the ground. He quietly crawls over to the wooden box and forces the Bludger into it, making sure to not take an eye off of McGonagall.
"This is it. All of you come with me at once!" she shouts, moving the Bludger next to her into the box and securing it all with a flick of her wand.
"Oh... this is bad." mumbles Elijah next to me.
"What makes you think that?" whispers Lorinda sarcastically, as we slowly follow McGonagall.
She leads us to a classroom "You all stay here." her voice is still angry and very strict and we all quickly sit down at the tables not even thinking about crossing her.
"So... is she going to expel us?" asks Nia carefully wiping the sweat and dirt of her face.
Harry nervously plays with his sleeves "No way, right?" he looks up to Fred and George, who, even though a little intimidated don't seem remotely as nervous as us.
Fred shakes his head "Definitely not. I mean, we've been caught a billion times, nothing bad ever happens."
"We'll probably have a negative amount of house points after this." mutter Lorinda.
"Aidan." I say quietly "You're bleeding a bit..."
"Oh right." he says, carefully touching his cheekbone where a Bludger luckily only scraped him.
"You're one hell of a Beater." says George suddenly to him before looking at Nia and me "You're all pretty good, actually."
I raise my eyebrows. A compliment from George Weasley directed at a group of people that includes me?
"You guys aren't bad yourself." I say.
Fred looks at Nia "You already tried out this year, right?"
She nods "Yeah but Flint doesn't want first years or.... well, girls on his team."
"Complete idiot, if you ask me." mutters Elijah.
"Been saying that for years." grins Fred "But definitely try out again. Not as a Seeker maybe but as a Chaser. I mean you're obviously a good Seeker but you could give us all hell as a Chaser."
Nia blushes "Thanks."
With fast steps McGonagall returns with the company of Snape and Dumbledore.
Snape flashes hateful looks at al of us and keeps it lingering on Harry.
"Well, what have we got here?" asks Dumbledore with a dragging voice. He must've been ripped from his sleep, his eyes are red and tiny and his face seems to relaxed to be looking at a bunch of kids who had a Quidditch match in the middle of the night.
George and Fred seem to try their hardest to keep themselves from laughing even though I genuinely can't find anything funny in this situation.
McGonagall sighs desperately "I don't even know what to say anymore, Albus. They snuck out and had a Quidditch match. They didn't even try to be quiet."
Dumbledore's sleepy eyes inspect us closely "I see Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Wilderwald are expanding their teams."
"I say we put them in detention until they graduate." fires Snape.
McGonagall nods eagerly "We would do best locking them up."
"That will hardly be necessary." Dumbledore shakes his head "They're all very fine students, aren't they?" he asks both the professors.
"Well, Mr. Potter lacks severely in potions." denies Snape.
"That is false." I fire back at him "You're just way too hard on him."
Dumbledore raises his hand to quiet me "Not the point. Severus, is it true that the Slytherin captain Marcus Flint won't allow girls on the team?"
Snape shrugs "Maybe. How is tha-"
Dumbledore raises his hand again, silencing Snape just as effectively "As far as I can see, we have a few kids who don't want to miss out on the fun of Quidditch, a few kids who'll take every chance to practice for the upcoming games and known trouble makers with perfectly fine grades."
We all, and I mean all, stare at him with our mouths wide open.
"Albus, I'm sorry but some sort of punishment is severely needed." says McGonagall.
He nods calmly "Of course, Professor." he inspects us once more "They will all spend the coming weekend in detention. I have a few textbooks that need careful copying. As for the house points I feel it appropriate to take, let's say thirty from each house."
"I really hope you meant to say thirty points from each student?" asks McGonagall with a desperate tone but once again Dumbledore shakes his head.
"That would hardly be fair." he glances over to the Weasley twins "Considering there were older students present who should've known better than six first graders. And I'd even bet my left shoe that it was one of their ideas."
For once McGonagall seems just as frustrated with the lack of punishment as Snape who's been staring down Harry for the entire time.
"Severus, I trust you will make sure, they behave during their detention?" addresses him Dumbledore.
Snape nods with a bitter grin "Of course."
"Well then, off to bed with you kids." Dumbledore dismissed us with a wave of his hands and we stagger out of the room, still in disbelief of how easy he was on us.
Fred and George let out a laugh as soon as the door closes behind us. "Did you see how blazed out of his mind he was?"
"As a kite, I'm telling you mate."
"What are you talking about?" asks Lorinda.
They both shake their head and say in unison "Nothing."
If this experience had one positive outcome it's that Harry, Elijah and Nia all seem to be getting along gloriously and George seems to quite enjoy talking with Lorinda.
Once we part our ways at the second floor staircase Harry and Elijah exchange a quick handshake and the Gryffindors wish us a good night.
"Well that was incredible." says Nia.
"Best game of Quidditch I've ever played." Aidan jumps down the last few stairs "Honestly, we've got to do this again."
Lorinda stares at us with disbelief "Sure, maybe we can leave a little note for the teachers so they'll have an easier time busting us again."