Chapter 1
The entire pitch had collectively held their breaths as Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had raced off at a break neck speed towards the tiny Golden Snitch. They were heading straight for the ground as if engaged in a Wronksi Feint. But they were after a very real prize, the Quidditch Cup, with each goal bringing their respective teams closer to the Cup.
The first through fifth years sat high up in the bleachers on the edge of their seats, wanting to race down to rush the fields, but nervous that if they did, they'd miss the big catch. The sixth and seventh years were already in position, however, much closer in their seats right near the steps leading onto the pitch.
As the two students approached dangerously near to the ground, the crowd began to stand, ready to rush the field, and nervous over whether the boys would be able to pull back into a vertical position. Luckily, they were able to, but not before Harry's fingers carefully closed around the Snitch. The older students from all four houses swarmed the Quidditch Pitch, although for different reasons. Gryffindor won, but by merely ten points.
The game had been rough. Ron Weasley had done a dismal job as keeper, allowing Slytherin to score a record breaking eighteen goals, one right after another, until Slytherin's beater, Gregory Goyle, had purposely aimed a Bludger at the redhead. Madam Hooch had only seconds to react, casting a Cushioning Charm quickly followed by the levitating charm just before he hit the ground. Harry quickly called a time out, to allow the back-up Keeper, Vicky Frobisher, to replace his fallen friend.
With Frobisher as the new Keeper, Slytherin couldn't get the Quaffle anywhere near the hoops. Harry couldn't believe how well she was doing, with no warm-up to boot. Gryffindor had scored four times in the last ten minutes. From far above the game, he could hear the Slytherins and a few Ravenclaws, who had bet against the Gryffindors, booing in the stands. Harry was smiling when a flicker of gold caught his eye. The quick jerk of his head in that general direction alerted Malfoy to the whereabouts of the elusive Snitch. The game ended only minutes later.
The Slytherins were furious. While most of the attention had been on the two rival Seekers, the rest of the players had continued the game. Just before Harry had captured the Snitch, one of Slytherin's Chasers, Robert Bole, had thrown the Quaffle toward the goals, only to be knocked away by a carefully aimed Bludger. While the defensive move was perfectly legal, the Slytherins saw it as enough of a reason to continue the battle in a more physical way. Bole was the first to act, sending a perfectly aimed finger-removing hex at one of Gryffindor's Beaters, Richard Coote.
All too soon, the stands were emptied of their anxious occupants. The older students were the first to rush from their seats to the field. The Gryffindors congratulated their housemates on the win, while the Slytherins contested their nemesis's victory. No one knew who started it, but before the teachers or students realized what was going on, the once green grass was covered by students casting hexes at supporters of the 'enemy' team. The younger students hurried to back-up their housemates, jeering and cheering them on. Curses flew and punches landed, causing broken noses, colorful boils and the occasional sprouting of new non-human appendages.
The Headmaster and his staff stood horrified as they watched the Head Boy and Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team charge the Captain of the Gryffindor team, while Millicent Bulstrode, the reserve Slytherin beater (who currently had giant bat shaped bogies bursting from her nasal cavity) sent colorful streams of light at the Gryffindor Chaser, Ginny Weasley, who had collapsed moments before from a Jelly-Legs Jinx. It was complete and utter pandemonium. And it was the last straw.
"Halt!" Dumbledore's voice rang in an amplified fashion courtesy of the Sonorous Charm. "All sixth and seventh years are to report to the Great Hall. Immediately."
All movement on the pitch ceased immediately, although not one wand was lowered. A sudden movement caught Hermione's attention. A few meters away, Harry relaxed his battle-tensed body and slowly lowered his wand.
"Ginny, Robbins, Coote, all of you; lower your wands." Harry commanded with all the authority his position as Captain afforded. One by one every member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and eventually the House itself, lowered their wands."Make sure everyone makes it to the Great Hall," he said before helping up a nearby housemate and turning towards the castle.
Heads hung in shame, the students began to help up their housemates. Hermione walked over to where Ginny was wobbling about, trying to stand.
"Finite Incantum," she said, releasing the redhead from the jinx. Ginny blushed sheepishly at not casting the spell herself.
"Sorry, Mione."
Hermione grinned at her best friend and offered her a hand up. "It's okay Ginny. You were just defending yourself."
Ginny's face turned even redder.
"Not exactly," she admitted, gesturing to the large Slytherin girl who was still fending off the effects of Ginny's hex. "I hexed Bulstrode first."
Hermione took a deep cleansing breath. "Now, Ginny," she started.
"Hey, you!" called an angry male voice. "Weaslette!"
Hermione let out the breath she didn't realize she was still holding. Malfoy.
"Fix her!" he demanded as he approached the two girls, a struggling Millicent in tow.
Ginny's fading blush of shame immediately darkened in anger at the blatant order. Hermione placed a hand on the back of her torn jersey, to remind her to calm down.
Instead of drawing her wand at the Head Boy, she responded with a calm, "No."
"You will reverse the hex, and you will reverse it now!" he returned in a voice that would have intimidated most students, but not Molly Weasley's daughter. There wasn't much that could cow Ginny, especially the Ferret.
"If you want it reversed, reverse it yourself," she replied turning her back on him, intending on going to help a nearby friend who was suffering from a jinx that was causing streams of orange jelly to shoot from his ears.
"I am Head Boy, you little blood traitor, and you will do what I say!" Malfoy demanded as he reached out to force her to turn back around and face him.
Hermione's hand shot out and tightly gripped his wrist just as it touched the back of Ginny's top. "Are you attempting to physically assault a Prefect, Malfoy?" Hermione asked coolly, her grip tightening on his wrist.
Draco's eyes flashed silver in anger. "Let go of me, you filthy Mudblood," he hissed as he twisted out of her grip as if her touch burned his skin.
"What?" she shot back at him. "Is the great Draco Malfoy afraid of a Mudblood's touch?"
Draco didn't immediately respond to the taunt and the girls took the opportunity to finish getting the rest of their housemates to the Great Hall.
"What about Bulstrode?" He yelled at their backs.
Ginny turned and faced him, and amused grin on her battered face. "You are Draco Malfoy, the Prince of Slytherin, and Head Boy. Use your superior pureblood power and fix it yourself." She turned back around, "After all, it is just a blood traitor's jinx. How hard can it be?"
Twenty minutes later, Professor Dumbledore stood at professors' dais. Behind him stood the four Heads of House; Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Filius Flitwick, and Pomona Sprout. Each adult's face was a mask of anger, disappointment, disgust, and irritation as they looked on at the scene.
Before them stood the bedraggled group of students who, even after three explosion charms to get their attention, had continued to brawl. Composed of sixth and seventh years from Gryffindor and Slytherin, with a smattering from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, they were covered in mud, blood, and severely torn clothing. Many were still passing murderous glances at their opponents.
"I am shocked and disappointed in all of you!" His normally calm voice boomed and echoed against the walls of the Great Hall. "What did you hope to accomplish by pounding on your classmates and hexing them?"
He stepped down from the podium and started to walk amongst the students.
"Zacharias Smith."
"Yes, Headmaster," the boy replied with his head bowed.
"What made you hex Anthony Goldstein?" The old man asked indicting the boy whose hair now looked like wildflower had sprouted in place of his normally black hair.
Smith blushed in shame. "I…hexed him because he was trying to back out of our bet, when Harry caught the Snitch."
"How much was the bet?"
"Six Galleons to the winner."
Dumbledore looked at the other students. "Six Galleons." He shook his head. "Six Galleons."
Hermione frowned when she heard a snicker, cutting her eyes towards Millicent Bulstrode.
"You find this funny, Miss Bulstrode?" The large girl stiffened, though Hermione couldn't tell if it was from the Headmaster's question or the icy glare the Head Boy was shooting her.
"No, Headmaster."
"Oh, I thought I heard otherwise." His frown deepened. "Would you please explain to your peers why you chose to hex Ms. Weasley?"
Millicent's face looked like a fish out of water. "I…I…She-" She stopped, realizing pointing fingers would get them nowhere. "I was sore because we lost."
Dumbledore looked around him again. There were a lot of sour faces, notably a Ravenclaw, who looked incensed.
"Duncan Inglebee, you look perturbed. Care to explain? Care to explain why your nose is broken and you feel wronged?"
"I felt Slytherin was cheated," he said arrogantly. "And would you explain why you have so carefully not criticized any members of Gryffindor house?"
Filius Flitwick walked up behind him and smacked him in the back of the leg with a rather thick copy of the Daily Prophet for his disrespect.
"It was, Mr. Inglebee, because I was disappointed in them the most. I had to watch as the Head Girl stupefied as many students, from all four houses, as she could to keep them from fighting."
Hermione felt she had done nothing wrong, but was forced to reconsider as she noticed Malfoy looking at her in a condescending manner.
"I had to watch one of my prefects send a Bat-Bogie Hex at another player in spite, not self-defense and then continue to jinx other students, while the team captain from my house dueled with the Head Boy."
Hermione watched Malfoy's eyes fill with hardly concealed delight as he looked to Harry as if he himself had done no wrong.
"I watched every member of the Gryffindor team curse, jinx, hex, and physically attack members of other houses. I watched as the 'brave' members of my house attack their peers when their backs were turned."
He faced the sneering Slytherins. "Just as Professor Snape had to watch similar events as the members of his house went far past 'self-preservation' and attacked other students for the sheer pleasure of it."
Shaking his head, he looked at the cluster of Ravenclaws. "I watched the disappointment on Professor Flitwick's face as he watched the charms he so lovingly taught to each and every one of you were used by numerous members of Ravenclaw house to hurt other students.
His hurt expression deepened as he addressed the Hufflepuffs. "I watched tears flow down Professor Sprout's cheeks as she watched 'loyal' Hufflepuffs curse members of their own house."
Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "By mutual agreement between your Heads of House, Quidditch is cancelled for the remainder of the school year. "
Gasps of shock and outrage rose from the students. From somewhere in the back a muffled, "You can't do that!" was heard.
"I can and I will," Dumbledore bellowed. "I am also removing every house point for all four Houses. You are lucky each and every one of you isn't being expelled!"
"This has been going on for far too long. Madam Pomfrey has barely slept a wink in the last month, dealing with the consequences of your inter-house rivalry at all hours of the night. Did any of you even stop to think of the ramifications of your actions are?"
He pointed towards the huge double doors. "I want all of you to head straight to your dormitories. Don't stop, don't even speak. I want you to wash up and go to bed. Your Heads and I will decide what is to be done about your behavior. You will be notified of your punishment tomorrow after breakfast."
With heads bowed the students trudged off silently, as if in exile.