Disclaimer: Sad as it is, Warehouse 13 and Harry Potter don't belong to me. I'm just playing around.
Author's Note: Here's my story for AU Week. It was meant to be a Bering and Wells Harry Potter AU, but I ended up throwing everyone in and having way too much fun. I'll mess around some more with this AU as soon as possible!
Huge thanks to GunBunnyCentral for being a wonderful beta reader, and to belisaria hald for giving me a prompt and being the first to read and enjoy the story.
There were no Seekers today, and no Snitch, just a game of three against three with two Chasers and a Chaser/Keeper. Bludgers roamed freely around the six players, all of whom were girls, driven by two Beaters who did their best to try and hit them from the sidelines.
Claudia swapped glances with her two teammates, all just as focused as she was. Gwenog Jones herself was there to referee, the better to observe them all - she would be picking three of the six players to join the Holyhead Harpies.
Her hands tightened on the broomstick as she hovered in midair, waiting for the Quaffle to be released. She was nervous and sweaty in spite of the cold weather - everyone was watching her, she was starting to doubt herself...
"Go for it, squirt! You're the best!"
Claudia's head whipped to the left. On the very front rows of seats, Pete was waving like mad and shouting encouragement. Myka and Helena were on his left, giving her smiles and a thumbs-up, and Steve was on Pete's other side, smiling with such pride that she felt herself blushing. Even Artie and Leena were there - all her teachers and friends, all there for her big day.
Claudia suddenly felt a sting in her eyes. She blinked, then grinned and waved. "You bet on it!" she called back.
She caught Gwenog Jones watching her and smirking a little, but a handful of seconds later she released the Bludgers and prepared to toss the Quaffle into the air.
All of Claudia's anxiety left her at once. This was her element, her life. Her eyes followed the ball on its ascent, waiting, waiting... the whistle finally blew.
She shot forward, snatched the Quaffle from a dark haired girl on the other team, then dodged a Bludger and set off towards the goal posts. Now she was playing, and nothing else mattered.
...
They were all on their feet jumping and screaming by the time Claudia scored the final ten points and Gwenog Jones whistled to end the game - even Artie, who had apparently forgotten his usual dignity and tendency to grumble.
"They won, she did it, she won!" Pete couldn't stop himself from shouting it over and over.
They filed down onto the pitch as soon as the players started descending. Claudia caught Pete's high five while still in flight, then practically jumped down from her still moving broomstick, almost knocking Steve over.
The young Astronomy teacher managed to keep them both on their feet and just laughed when Claudia's hug almost squeezed the life out of him.
"IdiditIdiditOhmyGodIdidit!" she screamed.
The next thing she knew they were all around her, and she was being passed from hug to hug as they all congratulated her.
She finally came to a stop in front of Myka, who put her hands on the girl's shoulders with a warm smile. "Well played, Miss Donovan. Very well played."
She blushed and smiled, hugging her former teacher fiercely. "Thanks, Mykes."
"I must say, though, you need to work on that Reverse Pass of yours, Claudia. It went quite astray, if you ask me, darling."
Claudia winced in mock outrage. "Oh, shut up, HG."
Helena somehow managed to look properly horrified by such familiarity. "That's Professor Wells to you, young lady."
Claudia jumped on her and proceeded to nearly crush her ribs. "Love you too, HG. But if you think I need more practice, feel free to grab your broom."
Helena merely laughed and hugged her back.
...
"Myka Bering and Helena Wells," someone said suddenly from behind them.
The group turned around, Myka and Helena exchanging matching perplexed glances as Claudia released the latter from her hug.
Gwenog Jones was coming towards them with a grin on her face.
"Yes?" Myka answered hesitantly.
"Both Chasers, like this little one," the Harpies' Captain said, eying Claudia fondly before turning back to the two women. "Ravenclaw and Slytherin teams respectively. Quite a few heated matches between the two of you, if I recall right."
Myka blushed and Helena smiled somewhat shyly. "You came to see us?"
"That I did, some eleven years ago... such a shame neither of you ever intended to play professionally."
"You mean you would have considered us, Miss Jones?" Helena asked, not quite able to keep a huge grin off her face.
"Definitely. I'd have liked to see the two of you on the same team for once... still would like to, actually."
They all stared at her as the sudden silence stretched on.
"Oh, come on, you can't be that out of shape. As I understand it, at least some of our new reserve's ability comes from the two of you taking summer time to practice with her."
Claudia went comically wide-eyed as the meaning of those words slowly sank in. "You mean I... I passed?" she asked, half choking on the words.
"That you did, Miss Donovan. Very well played." Claudia squealed again and improvised a victory dance which was cut very short by Gwenog's next words. "Too bad for that Reverse Pass..."
The young redhead seemed to deflate a little, then snorted as she elbowed Helena in the ribs for muffling a laugh. Everyone else laughed aloud.
"So... would you accept the offer of a friendly game?" Gwenog went on, still looking at the two Hogwarts teachers. "Three on three, just like the last one. I was going to ask Miss Donovan if she was interested in a rematch..."
Claudia squealed again. "Oh my God, I get to play with them? On the same team? Really? That's awesome!" she resumed jumping around, too excited to stay still.
"Well, that implies playing against me, but if you wish to do so it's fine by me." This time, Gwenog's smile had a definitely nasty quality about it. Claudia swallowed but didn't change her mind.
Myka still seemed hesitant, but a look from Helena was enough to convince her.
"Well... I guess we're not that out of shape, are we, darling?" Helena pointed out, winking.
Myka laughed. "Fine, fine, let's do this. It might be nice not to have to kick your ass, for once."
Pete, who had been staring in wide-eyed silence at Gwenog since she'd approached them, finally seemed to get his voice back.
"Okay, Jinksy, looks like you're with me."
"Me? Why?" Steve, caught off guard, seemed confused.
"Well, if it's three against three, then they're short two players, right? We were both on school teams too!" he added, daring Gwenog to object.
She eyed them both, focusing on Pete. "Pete Lattimer, right? Hufflepuff? I remember you... quite a nice Beater. I don't usually play with men but... you up for a Chaser's work?"
Pete smirked. "Since I was born."
Steve had no choice but to follow them.
…
"Okay, I'll play Chaser/Keeper," Claudia said with finality.
Myka and Helena exchanged glances.
"It doesn't seem fair, darling. This is your rematch after all, and you should-" Helena began.
"Nope, no discussion!" Claudia interrupted. "There's no way I'm missing the two of you working together as Chasers, okay? We can always swap roles during the game, or I can join you and then run back to the rings if need be, but I totally want to see you two go at it!" she finished enthusiastically.
Helena stared at her for a beat with one eyebrow raised. Claudia grimaced and went almost as red as her hair.
"Ewww... definitely didn't mean to have it sound so dirty... Anyway, back on track! I've played Keeper before, too, so it's fine, really."
Myka bowed her head to hide a smile, pretending to fasten the strings of her blue Quidditch uniform's cape, courtesy of one of Helena's Transfiguration spells. Helena herself was now garbed in a green uniform identical to Myka's, while Pete and Steve wore yellow - just like old times.
"Righty-ho then!" Helena exclaimed, adjusting the cape on her shoulders and mounting her broomstick. "Shall we?"
With an enthusiastic shout, Claudia shot up in the sky ahead of them.
"Those young ones, always so eager..." Helena sighed dramatically, watching her.
Myka moved in close and brushed Helena's cheek with a soft kiss. "So what, you suddenly think we are too old for this?"
Smiling, Helena turned to look at her. "Not at all, darling, not at all." She stole a quick kiss from the taller woman's lips, then lifted from the ground, followed closely by her companion.
"Hey, that's not fair! You just want to dazzle me so I'll play badly!"
"Don't be silly, darling, I never resorted to such low expedients. Unlike someone I know..."
"Oh shut up, we're on the same team today, remember?"
"Very clearly. How could I not?"
"Hey, you two, will you stop bickering like old ladies?" Claudia's shout cut into their affectionate arguing, making them laugh as they flew towards the center of the pitch. Their younger teammate stayed behind, taking her position near the rings.
"You ready to get your ass kicked?" Pete hollered from his side of the pitch.
Myka caught Helena's eyes and smirked. "Bring it on, Lattimer! I'm ready when you are!"
Gwenog Jones, in her full Harpies uniform, looked back and forth between them all, smiling fondly.
"You set back there, Jinks?" she asked Steve, who was playing Chaser/Keeper for them.
"Ready whenever you want, Ma'am," the young man answered, every trace of uneasiness gone from his twinkling blue eyes.
"Very well, then... let's go!"
The Quaffle flew up of its own accord, a whistle blew... and they began.
Myka got the ball first. She dodged a Bludger, dodged Pete, then flew right under Gwenog. Pete came back to intercept her.
The Quaffle flew from her hand to Helena's waiting one. Helena dodged a Bludger herself, but the second one nearly got her and she passed the ball back to Myka...
Gwenog intercepted, but Myka was hot on her heels. Pete received the ball, tried his hand with Claudia at the ring...
"Yes!"
Quaffle triumphantly in hand, Claudia threw it back to Helena. Both sides carried on much the same way from there, zapping between Bludgers and adversaries, the Quaffle passing hands so quickly it was hard to follow...
It was a friendly game, yes, but not a quiet one.
Gwenog was a professional and it showed. Her experience helped compensate for Pete's lack of accuracy, him being a Beater and all, and his and Steve's eagerness made up for any other lack.
On the other hand, Helena and Myka... well, they were like one brain split between two bodies. Even though they'd never played on the same team, they were so attuned to one another that after just the first few minutes they seemed to know exactly what move the other would make. They hardly ever made eye contact, and yet their Quaffle swapping was pretty much perfect.
Claudia couldn't help cheering madly as she watched Helena perform a flawless Reverse Pass, and again when Myka dodged a Bludger with a perfect Sloth Grip Roll.
All in all, the two teams were evenly matched. And most of all... they were definitely having fun. Even Gwenog seemed more interested in enjoying herself and showing off her skills than in winning the match itself.
After a while they switched places, Helena in Claudia's place and Pete in Steve's, and then switched back again. And they flew, and flew some more, and threw, and parried, and scored, and shouted at each other... and laughed. They all laughed a lot.
It was a close match, with both teams keeping fairly even, until Gwenog stole the winning 10 points for her team when Claudia couldn't stop her Quaffle.
Pete's victory shout could probably be heard several miles away - but they were all quite pleased, really. Stepping back on solid earth after that match felt like waking up from a dream, or maybe a memory of Quidditch matches from old school days gone by. Pete, Myka and Helena exchanged fond smiles, while Steve went to compliment an exhausted but happy Claudia one last time. Gwenog was positively beaming.
"Thank you all. Very much." she said. "Quite a match. And I'm even more pleased with the new recruit, now."
Claudia answered her smile with one of her own. "Best game ever, if you ask me."
"I must agree." Helena said, her arms around Myka. "Thank you, Captain, for the chance," she added, speaking for all of her colleagues.
Pete, of course, had to waste a perfect opportunity to keep his mouth shut: "Awww, best game, uh? You'll admit it even if you lost? And we won? 'Cause, oh yeah, we wooooon..."
Myka, leaning back into Helena's embrace, lazily opened one eye.
"Pete?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up or I'll curse you."
Pete shut up.
…
Back in their normal clothes after a much-needed shower, the four teachers were ready to go back to Hogwarts. Leena and Artie had left much earlier, and Claudia was staying behind to take her place at the Harpies' training camp.
"See you, squirt. Keep up the good work, huh?" Pete's goodbye, and one last high five.
"Bye, Claud. Make sure you write, okay?" Myka's farewell, and a hug.
"We'll be here for the next match, darling, be sure of it. You'll be absolutely glorious." Helena's soft voice, and a blush.
"I'll miss you, Claud." Steve's smile, and a longer hug.
"I'll miss you too."
And then they left, feeling no sadness despite their goodbyes. Well, maybe a little bit of sadness, but they all knew Claudia would come back to Hogwarts in due time – and what an amazing Flying teacher she would make when she did!
They Apparated just outside the School's gates and crossed through them at a leisurely pace.
Walking slowly hand in hand, Myka and Helena let the two men go on ahead.
"Quite a day, don't you think?" Helena murmured, looking up at the castle silhouetted against the darkening sky.
"Oh, yes."
"Nice way to get back in action, too," Helena went on. "Do you think we should start practicing again?"
Myka looked at her in confusion. "Why should we? I mean, I'd like that, but-"
"Really, darling, you think Claudia isn't spreading the tale of this afternoon's match between her friends right as we speak? Before long, the students will either be demanding a demonstration or challenging us outright..."
Myka looked horrified. "Oh, crap..."
Helena laughed and kissed Myka, brushing some stray curls from her face. "You never know... it could be fun," she whispered before kissing her again.
"Mmmh..." Myka answered Helena with a noncommittal noise, deepening the kiss.
It could be fun, yes - Quidditch always was, after all. Right now, though, Professor Myka Bering had something else in her mind for her colleague. And that could be fun, too.