"Oh wow! I haven't seen this thing for ages!" Harry smiled as he flipped his stick over into position. Hermione noted that he had excellent grip; he held it exactly right and when he flipped it he was in total control. "You have very good grip, Harry," she told him, as he beamed. He, in response, hit a scrunched up piece of parchment on the ground and hit it to her. She hit it back and soon they were rallying, running across the common room joyfully. They had caused quite a commotion, everyone half wondering what on Earth they were doing and half being shocked that Hermione Granger was causing this much of a ruckus. Hermione knew this, but she didn't really care; she was having fun.

"Hey! We want in on the fun too!" laughed Ron, bouncing over to join them.

"Why don't we have a proper game?" Hermione asked happily, cheeks pink. "We can transfigure some stick-like objects - maybe some firewood? Let's make them into hockey sticks and get a ball and play a game outside!" She turned to Harry. "We can teach them, can't we?" Harry high-fived her and yelled across the room. "Who wants to play hockey?" Neville and Ginny came bounding over immediately, and Dean and Seamus joined them. The people who were already crowded around Harry and Hermione (Fred, George, Ron, and Lee) nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Wood!" shouted George.

"Over here! Come play hock-ee!" yelled Fred.

"So that's…eleven of us. That's barely enough for one team! We need teams of at least eleven, but if we want substitutes - which would be useful - we need way more people," explained Hermione.

"Let's go bug the Ravenclaws to play!" And with that unnecessary shout from Ron, everyone ran straight to the Ravenclaw Tower.

Hermione sighed and ran after them.

When the storm of people had got out of Ravenclaw tower with the necessary amount of people, Hermione, Harry and Ron transfigured a bunch of firewood into hockey sticks. Hermione took charge, teaching everyone to hold a stick, going over the basics, and eventually giving everyone a position. Dean Thomas was pleasantly surprised to find that all the positions were the same as football ones and most quidditch players very annoyed to find that they weren't good at all sports.

"Listen, just because you're good at Quidditch doesn't mean you're a born athlete. I'm really quite awful at Quidditch, I suppose," Hermione said, sighing at the prospect of admitting she wasn't good at something. "But I'm rather good at hockey. It's about practice and, well, talent. Some people are good at some sports, and some are good at others. That's one of the reasons muggles have so many sports - everyone's got one that they're at least okay at."

Soon she had divided everyone into teams and positions. She appointed herself midfielder along with Ginny and Ron. Fred, George and Lee were defenders, rushing about in a very ungraceful manner, excited for the ball to come their way. Luna was going to be the goalie, but Hermione thought she better stay more focused and in on the action before she went off in a daydream, so Hermione put her forward with Cho Chang and Michael Corner, insisting that the teams needed to be a mix of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. The team goalie was Harry, who was darting about gleefully, waving his stick in the air. And finally, the sweeper was Marietta Edgecombe. On the other team, Padma and Parvati Patil were up front with Oliver Wood, the twins giggling and whispering to each other, eyeing him carefully. Neville, Dean and Seamus were playing midfield and Terry Boot, Penelope Clearwater and Lisa Turpin were defenders. Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbott, who had joined them as they left Ravenclaw Tower were playing as goalie and sweeper.

Hermione walked forward, placed the ball in the middle, and blew her new whistle.

"Begin!"