Newsies came out today! In honor of this, I'm planning on writing a short fic revolving around what would happen if the newsies went to Hogwarts. If you want more background on the characters in this au, check out my tumblr saber-dragon! All of the musical Newsies will be making an appearance in some way or another, and I even snuck some of the movie newsies in as well! Anyways, please enjoy!
Jack was known to be a bit of a troublemaker, but being called to the headmaster's office the first day of school was a new record for him. Seeing Wiesel was never the highlight of his day, and this little meeting he had arranged was causing all of the teachers and underclassmen to give him knowing looks. Of course Jack Kelly would get called down on the first day of school. So much for putting his best foot forward for his seventh year.
He turned to corner only to find Wiesel's door still closed. Jack would've figured that he should just walk in if it had not been for a lanky Ravenclaw boy standing patiently by the entrance with a book in his hand. Jack rose his eyebrow in confusion and scanned the area before starting up a conversation," What, were you called down too? I didn't know that Ravenclaws got into trouble."
The boy looked up from his scripture with a polite sense of what Jack could only assume was fear," We don't," He stated defensively," I'm assuming that Headmaster Wiesel called me down to talk to me about my duties as prefect this year," He pointed to the shiny badge Jack hadn't noticed before," Maybe he's giving us an explanation together?"
Jack choked out a laugh," Me? As a prefect? I think I'd be the last person they'd choose."
"Oh, I dunno about that, Jackie," Said boy visibly brightened when he turned to see his favorite Hufflepuff hobbling down the hall," If you took school as seriously as you took quidditch, the Gryffindor house would be in great shape!"
Jack and Crutchie went way back. It had been Crutchie's first year going to Hogwarts, and he was so nervous that he didn't notice that his pet rat had escaped. The creature somehow ended up in Jack's compartment, so he gave the first year his pet back and welcomed him to sit with him. To say the two hit it off would be an understatement.
Crutchie turned to the Ravenclaw and sent him a warm grin," Heya Davey! I hear you're captain this year! Congrats!"
The Gryffindor did a double take as he looked from his best friend to this Davey kid," Oh, you gotta be kidding me. This kid is the new Ravenclaw captain?"
"He's Sarah's little brother," His redheaded friend pointed out," I hear he's pretty good at coming up with strategies."
"Thanks Crutchie," Davey sent the Hufflepuff small smile before turning back to Jack. His brow was furrowed as he observed him, his confused look only dissipating because it had transformed into anger," Hold on, I know who you are! You're Jack Kelly! You're the kid that dated my sister three years ago!"
Jack felt his stomach dropped as he was forced to relive the stupid decisions fourth year Jack had made. He was a co-captain that year and was head over heels for the new Ravenclaw Captain, a pretty girl who was great at her craft. They had flirted a little bit back and forth until he finally asked her on a date to Hogsmeade. Things went really well for a month, but Jack had closed up in fear of getting too attached. It was a decision he regretted to this day," Yeah...that was me..."
Crutchie, sensing his best friend's discomfort, changed the subject," So why do you think we're all here?"
"Don't look at me, Davey's the Ravenclaw," Jack nudged said boy," Think up an answer."
"Well, isn't it obvious?" When he was met with the two boys' blank stares, Davey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose," We're all captains this year. It probably has something to do with Quidditch."
Jack ran a hand through his curly brown hair and thought through the boy's theory," If that was true, wouldn't the Slytherin Captain be here too?"
"Oh, I've been here," The three boys practically jumped out of their skins when they were met with the sight of a Slytherin girl primly sitting on the bench on the opposite wall," Headmaster Wiesel wanted me to come ten minutes early, but it looks like he didn't hold up his end of the bargain," She tilted her head towards the still closed door and frowned," If I have to miss my lunch for this, I'm going to send in a formal complaint."
While neither Jack nor Davey seemed to recognize the girl, Crutchie's face lit up with another smile," Heya Katherine! I didn't know you were Captain this year!"
"Jordan nominated me," She replied proudly," He said he admired my work ethic and the way I still played through the game last year when that bludger broke my arm."
Davey's eyes widened, his curiosity grabbing a hold of him," Hold on, you won that game last year! How on earth did they let you keep playing if you broke your arm?"
She glowed with pride as she explained the event," The referee didn't seem to take notice of my injury, so I continued to play through the game. It was only after Slytherin had won that I finally went to the hospital wing."
Suddenly, Jack knew exactly who this girl was. He was brought back to the week before during his mother, Medda's, show. He had climbed up into the private box to keep the pretty girl company, and while she had given him quite the cold shoulder, something about her drew him in. What were the odds that she was not only a wizard like him, but also a quidditch player? Jack felt a grin sneak it's way onto his face," A girl captain on the Slytherin team? That's pretty impressive, seeing that they usually don't even let girls on the team."
Katherine pursed her lips at his comment," Is that sarcasm, Mr. Kelly?"
"Nah, I just think that girls who play quidditch are hot."
"You think that anyone who plays quidditch is hot," Crutchie joked, earning an elbow to the side from his friend. Davey snorted in agreement, but didn't speak up.
Either she didn't hear Crutchie's comment or decided to ignore it, because Katherine turned her attention back to the matter at hand," So, does the administration have a meeting with all of the captains every year, or is this something new?"
Jack frowned and shook his head," I've been captain three years now, and this has never happened."
Before they could ponder what the circumstances of their get together was, the door opened and headmaster Wiesel stepped forward," Good afternoon, Mr. Morris, Mr. Jacobs, Miss Plumber, Mr. Kelly," He opened the door to his office wider and waved them in," Please find a seat."
"Afternoon to you too, Weasel," Jack snickered, earning a glare from the Headmaster. To say the two didn't get along well would be an understatement. It started off with Jack being a reckless first and second year, but one could argue that he was a kid and couldn't know any better. However, the grudge that Wiesel seemed to hold against Jack held firm. He seemed to like getting the Gryffindor in trouble for the littlest things at this point, which only pushed Jack to annoy the man more. It was a lose lose situation that both were too stubborn to give up.
Davey gave him a pointed look that warned Jack to shut up before he got them all in trouble, but Katherine beat him to commenting on it by grabbing him his tie and yanking him down to level to hiss," If you ruin this for us, I'll make you regret it."
Jack chuckled," I didn't know you were this forward, Ace."
She glared at him and pushed him into the office, following behind and closing the door. Crutchie had settled himself in one of the chairs and Davey, being the gentleman he was, had left the other one open for Katherine. She sent him a thankful smile, but waved for the Ravenclaw to take it. Jack didn't seem to catch this exchange and took the seat for himself.
Headmaster Wiesel sat himself down at his own chair and looked from one captain to the next, reading each of their curious expressions before finally speaking up," I assume that you've all read the Daily Prophet as of late?" Jack and Crutchie shared blank looks with each other, Davey's polite smile shifted into a frown, and Katherine's face paled. Wiesel smirked," Well, I'm sure that you can't read, Mr. Kelly, but everybody else seems to be aware of the situation at hand."
"Hey, no need to get-" Crutchie nudged his friend before he said something he would regret later. Jack clenched his jaw in annoyance, but continued in a more civil manner," I can read, thank you very much, but I don't read the papes. Maybe if I was your age-" He received another elbow from Crutchie,"...Fine. What was in the papes?"
"In light of an article written near the end of summer detailing just how dangerous Quidditch can be, Hogwarts has decided to place a brief ban on quidditch until the wizard court can decide whether or not to permanently terminate Quidditch-"
He barely finished his sentence before the room exploded. Jack had shot up from his seat so fast that the chair he was sitting in tipped over, Crutchie's jaw had dropped open so wide that a baseball could fit through it, and even the level-headed Davey had taken a few steps forward to protest," Sir, you cannot make that decision without consulting us first-"
"I can, and I already have," Wiesel responded calmly," It's for the safety of the students-"
The Headmaster was interrupted when Katherine quickly spun on her heel and hightailed it out of the room without a word to anyone. A tense silence finally settled over what was left of the group, prompting Jack to speak up," Okay, that was a fun joke an' all, but I think you've taken it too far."
"I assure you that this is no joke, Mr. Kelly," Wiesel folded his hands neatly before looking at the clock on the wall," But unfortunately, I must ask you to leave my office at this time. I have another meeting in a few minutes. Inform your teams and return to class before the end of lunch."
Crutchie shook his head in disbelief," But that ain't fair! I have kids who were really looking forward to playing!"
Jack suddenly felt a pain of sympathy for his friend. Quidditch was one of the only things Crutchie could do that didn't interfere with his leg, and he knew that a good portion of the Hufflepuff team were misfits in one way or another. He knew without a doubt that they'd be crushed when they heard the news," Can't you at least let us play in our freetime?"
"That is out of the question."
"How? Are you saying that you're banning flying altogether?!"
Wiesel chose not to respond to Crutchie's frantic question and waved the boys out," I don't like repeating myself. Get out or I'll give you all detention."
Davey placed his hands on the boys' shoulders," Come on, there's nothing we can do. Let's get out before we get in trouble."
With the air of defeat, the three turned to exit the room. Could quidditch really be over? Why would they take it away? For Crutchie, quidditch was the one thing that he could be normal at. Nobody thought of him as the lousy crip, but instead the amazing seeker that once ended a game within five minutes. For Davey, Quidditch was his chance to finally prove himself. As much as he loved Sarah, he wanted to make his own legacy. He would be lying if he said he hadn't heard the rumors circulating about how he only recieved his position out of favoritism. This was supposed to be the year that he finally proved them wrong. For Jack, quidditch was the only reason he was still in school. Quidditch captains of the past had taken Jack under their wing and taught him not only to stand up for himself, but for what he believed in.
And there was no way in hell that he was going to let that be taken away.
Jack turned on his heel and glared at the Headmaster, causing the other two boys to look at him in confusion," This isn't the last you'll hear of this, Weasel. I'm not giving up until we've got quidditch players back on the pitch."
So do you guys have any predictions for this story? There hasn't been mention of a strike yet, but knowing Jack, it will come up very soon. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to add them below! I will have more regarding the story in later chapters, but since today is the first one, I don't have much to say yet. Thanks for reading!
-uprisingdragon
