AN: I'm dedicating this entire anthology to elphiegranger2508. Thank you so much for all of your reads, reviews and votes! I really do appreciate it! You're the best!
A young Elphaba took a reluctant, young Galinda out to her secret Quidditch pitch in the hopes of teaching her how to play the game.
"Do we really have to?" Galinda whined as Elphaba dragged her along under the cover of darkness.
"Yes! You promised!" Elphaba replied. For once, she was not swayed by her friend's pitiful pleas or whimpers. "You promised that if you could give me a makeover, I could give you a Quidditch lesson!" she reminded, and Galinda was forced to concur.
Once the duo reached the pitch, Elphaba brought Galinda over to a particularly large shrub where she had hidden two broomsticks and the four Quidditch balls. She wasted no time in explaining the rules to Galinda and as soon as she was finished, she all but dragged Galinda into the air by the ear. Galinda had to physically shove Elphaba off of her in order to fly properly.
"I have been on a broom before you know!" she pouted, but Elphaba didn't hear her, already too busy doing loop-de-loops to notice.
A few minutes later, their little game began. Because it was only the two of them, however, a few of the rules had to be modified. In their first round, their little Snitch was not used at all, and it was solely them, a Quaffle and the two Bludgers. What made the game difficult when played like that was that each girl had to try and defend herself from a Bludger while also trying to keep the Quaffle and get it through the enemy "goal post", which was really just a fork in a tree. It was during that first little match of trying to protect herself and her goal from the Bludgers and Elphaba that Galinda thanked Merlin that Elphaba had made these Bludgers nothing but a ball of enchanted sticks and leaves. Only being little children, barely the age of eight, neither of them had access to a real set of Quidditch balls. Because of that, they were improvising.
Elphaba managed to win that first match, and the next few after that. Finally, though, she dared to add in their little Golden Snitch.
"You ready?!" Elphaba sounded like she was about to burst from excitement.
"I guess," Galinda sounded like she wanted nothing more than to go to bed. Although Qudditch had been kind of fun, it really was late and Galinda was tired! Besides, Elphaba kept beating her. It wasn't exactly fun to play like six consecutive matches and lose every single one.
"Alright! Cover your eyes!" Elphaba commanded. Although this was not a real rule of Quidditch, she was adding it in so that neither she nor Galinda would know where the Snitch went. Galinda obeyed Elphaba's command and, once both of their eyes were shut and covered, Elphaba tossed their little Snitch up into the air. After counting down from 10, both pairs of eyes opened and began to scan the moonlit horizon for the Snitch. Faster than the blink of an eye, Elphaba suddenly yanked her broom upward. Galinda needed no other indication to know that Elphaba had spotted the Snitch. Embarrassed, but lacking any other formal plan, Galinda veered right up after Elphaba and kept hot on her trail.
After what felt like an eternity of seeking and then losing and then seeking again, Elphaba and Galinda finally both noticed their Golden Snitch hovering towards the lower end of their secret little Quidditch pitch. The two of them exchanged one look before both of them shot after that little glowing ball, both of them fighting hard to go faster than the other. It was intense three and a half seconds as both Elphaba and Galinda hunched over their brooms and urged them onward, shooting at the ground with an alarming speed. The Snitch continued to idle there, as if unaware of the two young girls narrowing down in on it. At last, though, Elphaba retreated. After getting too close to the ground, she pulled out of her nosedive at the last second. Galinda, however, kept on. Foolish and dangerous as that type of stunt was, she was so tired of being beaten and battered about like the leaf in a windstorm that she dared to deepen her nosedive and keep on going. Her bravery and risk-taking paid off a quarter of a second later when she suddenly, sharply, turned back upward from her nosedive, the Golden Snitch clasped tightly in her hands.
"WOO HOO!" she cheered, waving her trophy around like a madwoman.
"Wow! Amazing!" Elphaba applauded Galinda as she flew a few victory laps around the perimeter of the pitch. As she continued to wave the Snitch around in triumph, Elphaba wore her own smile of victory. Success! She had managed to get Galinda hooked onto Quidditch! And for many nights to follow, the two little girls would sneak away from their houses to come out here and play their secret little rounds of Quidditch!
Only a few short years later, the two girls were both admitted into Hogwarts.
"How splendid this will be!" Galinda hopped excitedly from foot to foot.
"Just imagine! A real and proper Quidditch match!" Elphaba agreed, just as excited. But their joys were short-lived, because not long after arrival to those hallowed halls and vine-draped walls of Hogwarts, something tore the two girls apart.
"Hmmm. Brave, intelligent, hard-working and ambitious!" the Sorting Hat muttered as it was placed on Elphaba's head. "Difficult, very difficult!"
"Uhhhh, excuse me? Sitting right here," Elphaba snarked.
"Ah! And feisty too! A silver tongue, a golden heart, an iron will and steel nerves! Spirited girl, aren't you?" the Hat cackled.
"I can't tell if those are compliments, or insults," Elphaba replied.
The Sorting Hat only laughed again before falling silent, analyzing Elphaba's heart, mind and soul once more. This was what had made Elphaba so guarded towards the Hat. It made her uneasy to think that this thing, whatever it really was, could read her thoughts and heart so easily! She didn't like thinking that there was some sort of weakness or vulnerability that was being displayed so openly to anyone! She was a bit intimidated by the Hat, to be quite honest. But then at last, it came to a verdict.
"You fear being open and weak and vulnerable," it mused, and Elphaba silently cursed herself for forgetting that it could read her mind, regardless of whether or not she was directly addressing it at the moment. "And this is because you like to see yourself as a strong, proud, resilient woman. You do not like following orders and you have a strong drive for justice and equal rights. I think you would do best in... GRYFFINDOR!"
Suddenly, the power of sight returned to Elphaba as the Sorting Hat was lifted from her head again. The table that was decked in red and gold banners, residing on the far right side of the dining hall, began to clap and cheer, hooting and hollering as she bashfully made their way over to them. But then, remembering the Sorting Hat's words, she forced the sheepish little grin to turn into a shining smile of confidence and her steps became bolder as she took her place amongst the lions of Hogwarts. Once she sat down, though, a small trace of the girl she used to be bled through the cracks in her tough façade as she eagerly watched Galinda head up next for her own sorting.
"Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor!" Elphaba whispered hopefully as the Sorting Hat was placed upon Galinda's head.
"Another difficult young witch! Ah! Today must be my lucky night!" the Sorting Hat remarked as it was lowered onto Galinda's head.
"What do you mean?" she asked in return.
"That green girl, your best friend, who was sorted only seconds ago, she was another difficult one," the Hat explained.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Galinda asked again, voice taking on a new edge. "I can't if this is a compliment, or insult."
"Ha!" Galinda felt the Sorting Hat shake with laughter. "She said the very same thing to me as well!" and, despite herself, Galinda felt a glow of pride rising up in her heart. She greatly respected and admired Elphaba, so to hear that they were very much alike made her feel quite proud and pleased. Besides, she figured, the more similar she was to Elphaba, the more likely it was that they would make it into the same house!
"Ah! Don't be too sure of that!" the Sorting Hat warned, and Galinda cringed, having forgotten that it could see all of her thoughts.
"But what do you mean?" she asked for a third time.
"Similar as you are to Elphaba, I can still sense a very big difference between the two of you. I have no words to qualify it yet, but you two are very different at your cores. Perhaps you have courage, wit, loyalty and resourcefulness just as much as she does, but yours is a different type. I can sense that your destiny will ultimately take you in a very different direction from Ms. Thropp and, therefore, I think it would be best that you were placed elsewhere. Your true self lies in a different house, but this is not a bad thing. No, you are most definitely a ... SLYTHERIN!"
Galinda wasn't sure what to feel as the Sorting Hat was lifted off of her head again. On the one hand, she was quite pleased and proud to have made it into the ranks of such a powerful and distinguished house, but on the other, there was a small part of her that regretted not being able to be sorted into the same house Elphaba was in. She worried that, somehow, it was her fault for not being Gryffindor enough. Because of that, and the fact that all the Gryffindors had since started to boo her for being sorted into the "bad, evil" house, she found herself unable to look over at the Gryffindor table, for fear of what she might find upon Elphaba's face if she did so.
Instead, she forced her own expression to become steely and resolute and she walked with a straight back over to the green and silver table on the far left of the dining hall. The applause and cheers she received were loud enough to rival the applause and cheers Elphaba had received from the Gryffindors. Their shouts of affirmation and affection easily drowned out the disgusted hisses from the other tables. And as a few of the Slytherins personally congratulated Galinda, shaking her hand, she couldn't help but smile a little, already feeling a bit better about her placement...
"Cat fight!" a student suddenly crowed, and every other head in the hall turned in the direction of the fight with eager eyes. Yes! Once again, it was that little blond princess and the lanky green... thing... arguing again. These fights had grown increasingly fierce and common within the past few months and the end of their bout of loathing did not appear to be anywhere in sight. If anything, their hatred for each other only grew even worse with each passing day. Ever since their separation at the sorting, Elphaba and Galinda had grown farther and farther apart. They had become the perfect stereotypes of their houses. It had since become a popular source of entertainment to watch the green Gryffindor girl find the sassy Slytherin sorceress. Sometimes, the fights were only verbal, but other times, sparks literally flew...
"Duck!" another student yelped as a jet of pink light soared through the hall and towards Elphaba. Elphaba quickly deflected the spell before retaliating with her own. In the foreground, people were running for cover. In the background, students were placing bets on who would win.
The worst fights between the two ex-best friends did not happen in the Hogwarts halls, though, they happened on the Quidditch pitch.
"Who's the mean, green, disaster machine?" Galinda asked her team loudly as the latest Quidditch match began.
"Elphaba!" the other Slytherins laughed in reply. They all raised their fists and made loud hooting noises as they flew circles around the green girl. Elphaba responded by hurling the Quaffle as hard as she could at Galinda. It struck her square on the head and ricocheted off, landing safely in the hands of one of Elphaba's fellow Gryffindors.
"Ouch!" Galinda snapped, rubbing her head as the other Gryffindor flew towards the Slytherin goal posts.
"Whoops! I guess I'm just a disaster today!" Elphaba shrugged innocently, then she went zooming towards the Slytherin goal posts as well.
These sort of sly stunts were commonplace on the pitch. How many Quaffles had Elphaba sent in Galinda's direction? How many times had Galinda tried to knock Elphaba off her broom (both with magic and normal means)? The curses, verbal and nonverbal, flew faster than the brooms. But although it was the Quidditch pitch where the two fought hardest, it was also where the two were reunited. During one particular game, Elphaba ended up getting knocked off her room. It was not because of Galinda, but rather, because of a rogue Bludger. It struck Elphaba right in the stomach and she sank like a stone. The sight of Elphaba falling woke something up within Galinda and she cried out in dismay as she watched Elphaba fall. Without even thinking, she went into a nosedive, aiming not for the Snitch, but for Elphaba, her best friend.
"And another amazing save by the Slytherin Seeker, Galinda!" the announcer's cry woke Galinda up from her little blackout and she was suddenly aware of a heavy weight across her shoulders. Elphaba. She was slumped up against Galinda, eyes glazed over in pain.
"Oh! Elphie! No!" Galinda murmured, not even realizing that she'd just called Elphaba by her pet name for the first time in a long time. She was also unaware of the staff below who were trying to get her to come down to the ground, and she was also unaware of the students who were crying out with a mix of anger and awe at the little blond who had just interrupted (and ended) the whole game just because she left the pitch. Galinda was too worried about Elphaba's safety to care about any of that at all. All that mattered was getting Elphaba to the hospital. All else was secondary...
"How are you feeling, Elphie?" the first thing Elphaba was aware of was a throbbing pain in her abdomen. The second was of this question. The third was the realization of who it was that was asking.
"Galinda?" she asked.
"Hey," Galinda's voice was tender and as Elphaba's eyes flickered open, they were met with a gentle light and an old familiar face. "How are you feeling?" the face repeated, genuine concern written upon it.
"Like I got run over by a Hippogriff," Elphaba replied with a groan. Galinda's concern deepened and she reached out shyly to touch Elphaba's hand. That seemed to jolt Elphaba up a bit and she cleared her throat awkwardly, but she didn't pull away.
For a moment, there was only an awkward silence before Elphaba spoke again.
"Thank you, by the way, for saving me," she said. Although she'd been half knocked out at the time, Elphaba had still been aware enough to realize that it had not been one of her teammates who saved her, but the Seeker of the enemy team, who had been her personal rival for the past few months. It had been a strange thing to realize, but Elphaba was already ready and willing to let bygones be bygones in exchange for what Galinda had done. And it wasn't even just the kind gesture that Elphaba latched onto, it was the speed with which Galinda had done it. Galinda had caught Elphaba fairly quickly, implying that it had, ultimately, been a reflex for her to protect and care for Elphaba.
That spoke far more about Galinda's feelings for Elphaba than the act of actually catching her did. It was something Elphaba was not able to forget, and she didn't want to either. For all of their quarrels, the two always had each other's backs when it mattered most. After all, even the Gryffindor Seeker hadn't had as reflexes fast as Galinda when it came to Elphaba being in trouble. It was nice to know that even after all they had done to each other, it was still first nature for Galinda to try and save Elphaba's life, no matter the context or circumstance. And the nosedive had been pretty impressive too! She was definitely a natural Seeker!
"Ah, don't thank me," Galinda murmured bashfully. "I couldn't just let you... I mean... well... you know..." Galinda twiddled her thumbs before speaking up again. "I'm sorry I've been such a jerk to you," she admitted finally. "I let house pressures get the best of me. I had no right to turn on you the way I did, but I did, and I'm hoping that you might one day be able to forgive me. Or at least be willing to make peace?"
"Done," Elphaba replied the split second after Galinda finished her apology.
"Wh-what?" Galinda was surprised by how quickly Elphaba had agreed to her offer.
"Because you aren't the only one who succumbed to house stereotypes and you aren't the only one with a lot of forgiveness to earn," Elphaba answered with a rueful smile. "And I owe you double for saving my life," she added.
"You don't owe me a thing," Galinda replied, voice just as affectionate and soft. "Friends?" she asked, extending a hand.
"Friends," Elphaba agreed, taking the hand and shaking it happily.
From that day on, although both witches continued to play on their respective Quidditch teams, their banter was far more fun and playful than before and they were always incredibly proud whenever the other did something amazing during a game. It was the first time in Hogwarts history that a Gryffindor would congratulate a Slytherin on a Quidditch win and vice versa. It gained Elphaba and Galinda a lot of distaste from the rest of the student body, but now that they had each other again, neither of them cared in the slightest. Let the other Gryffindors and Slytherins engage in their petty rivalries. They could slander Elphaba and Galinda as detractors to their houses all they wanted, none of that seemed to matter anymore. All that mattered was each other.
"Do you want to play some Quidditch?" Elphaba asked Galinda one day after class.
"Do you have to ask?" Galinda replied with a massive smile.
That evening, in the setting sun, several Hogwarts students could see two brooms flying around the Quidditch pitch, one rider cloaked in red and one in green. Between them, a little golden ball fluttered about in a tizzy. Both of them flew after it, laughing in delight. It was the most fun match either of them had played in quite a long time, but luckily, there were many more to come just like it from that day forward.
AN: Mostly just Hogwarts Gelphie fluff with a Quidditch backdrop.
I made Galinda a Seeker because the books say that Seekers are typically the smallest, lightest players and they have a very keen eye.
I made Elphaba a Chaser just because it felt too bland and cliché to make her a fellow Seeker. That type of rivalry has already been done (Draco and Harry). Keeper felt too boring for her (I think she would want to be someone out in the field and really flying around) and she's always sounded too lithe and bony to be a Beater. That's not me saying I think she isn't strong enough, I just feel like the descriptions of her build place her as a Chaser.
In regard to the Hogwarts houses, I am totally up for debate about that.
I've seen a lot of people put Galinda in Hufflepuff and while I see the logic in that, I strongly disagree. In my eyes, Galinda is far more a Slytherin than a Hufflepuff. She is proud, arrogant, haughty, showy, ambitious and a bit deceptive, cunning and manipulative. Good and sweet and cute as she is, Galinda is far too wily and bossy to be a humble Hufflepuff (seriously, Galinda is NOT humble. Even in her lowest moments, she can be quite flashy and fierce).
But personality aside, I want Galinda as a Slytherin because we could use some more good, non-stereotypical Slytherins in the world. Just because she likes all things pink and glittery doesn't automatically exclude her from Slytherin house. She doesn't have to be a physically dark character to fit in with other snakes. And just because she becomes "good" doesn't rule her out as a Slytherin either.
I've always seen her character as a mix of Slughorn and Regulus Black's. She's the good Slytherin who started off a bit bad and insensitive, but came to realize her mistakes and ultimately became fully good. Her natural sweetness and cuteness do not count her out as a Slytherin, but instead actually allow her to defy house stereotypes and really grow as a person!
It's easy to listen to "Popular" and place her as a silly little blond Hufflepuff who just wants to help her friends out, but if you think about it, the lyrics of "Popular" (and other songs she sings) are not always as nice, sweet and innocent as we think. There's a lot of biting truths and cunning remarks in some of Galinda's songs about how to be successful in life and even if she's wrong, it's a very Slytherin way of thinking. Funny and ditzy as Galinda is, she definitely has a mean streak (and it never ever fully goes away, even after Elphaba enters her life and becomes her friend).
Similarly, I've seen a lot of people put Elphaba in Ravenclaw. I'm more open to debate for that one. I feel like, in the same way Hermione admitted to tying between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, Elphaba has the same "problem". She has traits of both houses and I can see her doing excellently in either. I mostly only chose Gryffindor for some good old-fashioned Gryffindor/Slytherin fun (again, Draco and Harry).
But I can still back up my claim about Elphaba being a good Gryffindor. In book and musical both, she spends her whole life working for equality and social justice (Animal rights stuff). That's a very Gryffindor thing to do. It takes nerve, daring, chivalry, courage and honor to want to stand up for the little guy, and that's exactly what Elphaba does. Though, like I said, I can also easily see her being a Ravenclaw instead. I only just put her in Gryffindor to accent the relationship between her and Galinda.
But anyway, feel free to discuss what you think about the characters' houses! I'm up for debate!
(Personally, my house is always torn between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and I've taken multiple tests multiple times over, so I've done my research).