Hogwarts, November 1941


A burst of sunshine greeted Minerva and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team as they exited the Great Hall. The sun shone brightly and nary had a cloud flown about the clear blue sky. Excellent Quidditch weather, Minerva noted. As if reading her mind, their captain (and Seeker) David O'Hare, pointed out the great conditions as they made their way towards the Quidditch pitch.

Their captain sounded optimistic and Minerva could not help herself but be in the same positive disposition. Despite three new members to their team (McKinnon as Beater, Crouch as Keeper and Fenwick as her fellow Chaser), the Gryffindor team has never been stronger.

With her prefect duties and the pressure of O.W.L.'s, she was worried she would be too busy and tired to even contemplate playing Quidditch. But something about it always pulled her back. During the summer, she seldom had the chance to play - her father was a Muggle minister and it would be too scandalous for anyone to see her flying at top speed on her broom all over the Scottish countryside. Being a proper individual mattered highly for her father, as it did to her. Around Hogwarts, she was known as a no-nonsense girl and a highly gifted student. So maybe it was the freedom of Quidditch that made her like it so much, she could let herself go for a just a little bit.


They finally made their way to the locker rooms and changed into their scarlet robes. Fenwick kept asking her for advice and she patiently answered his questions. She still remembers her first ever Quidditch match, unlike Fenwick she could hardly speak anything to her teammates and was hit by a Bludger five minutes into the game.

"First game of the season, now eh, lads?" O'Hare began with his typical Irish drawl. David looked over at Minerva and gave her a wink. "And lass, of course," he continued, with a cheeky smile plastered on his face. Minerva gave him such a scowl that a bit of his grin disappeared and the others had to chuckle for a spot.

"Ah, yes where was I? " David fumbled, timidly stroking his neck before going on. "First game of the season, against those Slytherins," some of the boys booed and the captain motioned with his hands for the boys to settle down. "Not a nice way to start the year, I know. They don't have new players in their team, meaning that they are more senior than us in terms of experience. However - " he grabbed their three new members and raised their arms in the air. The boys looked a bit shocked by David's behavior, it is clear they have not been briefed in the O'Hare style of pep talks. "We've got new blood on our side!" David declared, pumping his fist into air straight into the air full of his classic bravado. The other boys clapped and cheered along with David, though Crouch looked uncomfortable with all the attention.

Come to think of it, Crouch had looked very peaky since this morning. Then Minerva remembered all about the library incident. Why Crouch would go against those Slytherin brutes, she had no idea. Maybe they had been giving him a hard time and was incredibly nervous about the upcoming match. Poor fellow.

"All right, everyone. Let's head out and make sure to kick those Slytherins a –," but whatever it was David wanted them to kick, they never found out as Madam Twonk, the Quidditch mistress of Hogwarts burst into their locker room and ushered them out onto the playing field.


The match kicked into high-gear the minute all their brooms flew up into the air. Madam Twonk's whistle had barely made a sound when the Slytherins started to make their move. The Slytherin Seeker bolted to the sky so quickly that David had a hard time catching up with him. The Chasers for Slytherin moved really rapidly as well, gaining possession of the Quaffle first. Minerva let out a sound of frustration and blamed her lack of concentration for missing the Quaffle. She urged her fellow Chasers to follow her lead and they flanked the Slytherin Chaser in possession. From the corner of her eyes, she can see the Slytherin Beaters ominously hanging above them.

Black Bludgers zoomed around Minerva as she tried to take the Quaffle. They moved nearer and nearer the Gryffindor posts and as the Slytherin threw the Quaffle to score, she grabbed the ball midair. But as soon as she did, she saw a flash of black fly past her right shoulder. A Bludger narrowly missed her! She breathed a sigh of relief but she did not have any time to relax. She urged her broom to move forward towards the Slytherin goal posts and scored the first ten points of the game.


It was strange. Very strange. Minerva could not put her finger on it but there was something off about the match. Gryffindor had already scored a hundred points to Slytherins nil but it did not feel as though the Slytherins were not playing as hard as they were. On the contrary, the Chasers always tried to gain control of the Quaffle and they did not waste time in trying to score a point They were never near the goal area when they try to score though and whenever Gryffindor takes the Quaffle, those brutish Slytherin Beaters made sure that a Bludger would zip past them. She scanned the sky and saw the Seekers weaving in and around everything on the pitch in very high speeds.

Focus, Minerva, focus, she told herself. You're just anxious, that's all, nothing to worry about –

Minerva turned her eyes to the Gryffindor goal posts and her heart sank. Crouch flew around the goal posts in an alarming fashion. She distinctly remembers the speed and precision Crouch displayed the week before in practice; his father had just given him the newest Cleansweep model in time for their first match. He might have started a bit green but he promptly proved his worth, Crouch played efficiently and was an asset to the team. But now, Crouch looked like he barely had control over his Cleansweep and it did not look brand new anymore. A huge chunk was missing in the tail end and the handle was bruised and battered. His hair was severely windswept and a trickle of blood flowed from his nose.

The Slytherins again had possession of the Quaffle, but this time Minerva did not try to interfere. Fenwick did though, and as another failed attempt of the Slytherins to score happened, he swooped down to get the falling Quaffle. Sure enough another Bludger 'missed' him, barreling towards…

"Barty!" Minerva cried. The Bludger hit him straight in the chest, sending him spinning around the goal posts. She expected him to fall but against all odds, he stayed afloat but just barely.

"McKinnon, guard Crouch. They're trying to take him out!" she bellowed at Gordon. McKinnon gave a quick glance at Crouch's direction and his eyes grew in horror. He nodded and flew towards his friend. Those sneaky bastards, she realized. They were intentionally missing those Quaffles so that Gryffindor would try to capture the ball, giving them an excuse to send a Bludger in their way. The Bludger would miss them and hurtle towards their intended target, the Keeper.

She hoped it was not too late. They had a hundred point advantage over Slytherin. Surely, that meant something.


They lost the game, 330 – 250. When the Slytherins saw McKinnon looming around Crouch, they realized their game was up. Minerva had not seen Slytherin play as aggressively as they did that match. They scored so many points with their Chasers (Crouch had been helpless against them) that it did not matter that David had caught the Snitch. They played for well over two hours and the Gryffindor team made a bee-line for the hospital wing after the match.


Crouch had a bed set-up for him while the rest of the team huddled around him, all nursing ice packs next to their aching muscles. Crouch suffered a fractured forearm and bruised ribs. He had been made to drink a vicious looking potion right after he entered the wing. He grimaced as he took a sip of the potion but fell asleep shortly after he drank everything. While he slept, Minerva discussed the strategy she thought Slytherin had used against them. Everyone looked angry and heated, their jaws clenching.

"Dirty, cheating omadhauns," cursed David. "That was pretty low, even for Slytherins." He chucked the ice pack he had been holding in disgust.

"They really had it in for him, you know," Gordon mumbled darkly. "Avery and Lestrange, in particular," he shuddered, closing his eyes for a bit. "They hit those Bludgers, really, really hard. Merlin, I should have guessed what they were doing…"

"Don't blame yourself Gordon," a muted voice spoke.

It was Crouch. He got up from his bed gingerly and turned to face David, remorse filling his eyes. "If anything, it was my mistake. I should've dodged those Bludgers sooner and I –," his voice cracked as he spoke. "David, I can understand if you want me out of the team, I'm afraid I haven't been of much use…" He hung his head in shame and would not look at anyone.

"You bloody fool!" exclaimed David sharply. "Those Bludgers must've knocked you harder than I thought. I wouldn't kick you out of the team, Crouch! Wouldn't dream of it," he playfully hit Crouch on the shoulders and a bit of David's humor came back to him. "Don't be too hard on yourself mate," David faced the rest of the team and continued. "This goes to all of you as well. So what, we lost the first match… We can always try and win the other ones, right?"

"Erm, excuse me."

The whole team turned in unison towards the source of the voice. A tiny girl in the shadows was making her way to them. When the light from the windows fell on her willowy frame, Minerva recognized her as Sophia Smith, a fourth-year Hufflepuff.

"Hello, I am, uhm, I'm here to see if Barty's doing fine," she explained as she looked at David. She stood at the end of Crouch's bed, as if afraid to go nearer. A sense of awkwardness hung in the air; Minerva thought that maybe Sophia expected to see Barty alone and had not counted on having the whole Gryffindor team hanging about.

"Well, I guess I better head back," Sophia turned her head towards the door. She moved her foot to go but then Crouch spoke.

"Wait," he said, his voice pleading. "Sophia…" Barty stared intently at Sophia. She in turn looked at him as closely.

"I'm sorry!" The two of them spoke at the same time and looked surprised as they did. Sophia laughed nervously and Barty bit his lip stifling a grin.

"I shouldn't have made such a fuss back in the library," Crouch shook his head and stared at his lap. "I didn't know what came over me, it was all very confusing…"

"No, no – it was my fault. I shouldn't have let Tom read your paper. It wasn't mine and I could've said no…" protested Sophia, waving her hands around.

Oh, Minerva had to smile to herself. "I think we should better be going. Don't you think so, O'Hare?" Minerva announced as she got up and collected her things. She looked at David and arched an eyebrow. David furrowed his brows trying to understand what Minerva meant. Really, was it obvious only to her?

"Yes, yes, I remember!" cried McKinnon. Apparently he got the message too and shot a sly gaze at Barty. "Let's go, let's go everyone," he said as he ushered the other boys up their chairs, guiding them to leave. McKinnon whispered something to the other boys and a look of comprehension spread across their faces. They all now hurried to leave and Minerva rolled her eyes. Finally, she thought.

Sophia though found their sudden interest to leave puzzling. She told them they could stay but Gordon was having none of it.

"Barty would rather you stay, I'm pretty sure," Gordon teased and for somebody who had a broken forearm, Barty hit Gordon pretty hard with his ice pack. This little exchange seemed to confuse Sophia further.

"Well, if you all really have to leave, I'll stay behind here then," said Sophia despite her misgivings. "Oh yes, before I forget. Professor Slughorn asked me to give you these," Sophia took something out of her pocket and handed it to Minerva. It was a pumpkin shaped card with her name monogrammed in gold. Sophia handed David a similar card as well. "When I said I was going to visit Barty, he told me I might see the two of you."

Minerva thanked Sophia and put the card in her pocket. And as she reached the door, Minerva could not help but look back at those two. Sophia was chatting away merrily with Barty looking at her in rapt attention. Nobody could have guessed that he had been pummeled at the Quidditch pitch by the way his face lit up.


Minerva opened the card and saw it was an invitation for a Halloween party for Slug Club. She had forgotten all about Halloween, with her attention focused on the match that day. She really did not feel excited about the party, Professor Slughorn was the House Head for Slytherin and some Slug Club members were from the Slytherin Quidditch team. They were sure to gloat about their win that day and Minerva was not keen on having to listen to that all night.

However she chose to swallow her pride and decided to attend anyway. It would be rude not to come and Slughorn's parties always tend to be rather exciting. He had probably invited someone particularly important for this Halloween party and Minerva could not help but be curious.

When Professor Slughorn invited her to join Slug Club a year ago, she could hardly believe it. She had always thought he was very partial to his Slytherins – and he was. But Professor Slughorn did give other promising students in other Houses a chance. He handpicked certain students to become part of the Slug Club and those who had been members tend to be successful in their careers outside Hogwarts. Minerva had to admit she liked the idea that Slughorn thought she would be an important person one day, and despite being a proud Gryffindor she desired to be in Slughorn's good books.


Instead of joining the other students in celebrating Halloween at the Great Hall, she headed down the staircase towards the dungeons. The way to Slughorn's offices made her nervous. During the day it was not as uncomfortable but walking the corridors to the dungeons at night was a different matter all together. She had asked David (who had also been invited) if he would come with her. But David thought she meant differently. She brisked at his reaction and put him down straight that she did not mean what he thought he meant. However David said he would not be coming and even though he did not say why, Minerva knew. David may not admit it but he did feel badly about losing the match. It was David's last year after all and of course winning the House Cup would mean a lot. He had to lick his wounds to heal, metaphorically speaking and being in the company of those Slytherins so soon is not a good idea.

As Minerva turned a corner, she saw a small figure at the end of the corridor. She initially thought it was a ghost but actually it was the blonde head of a girl. The girl looked familiar and as she turned Minerva saw it was Sophia Smith. She called out to her and Sophia stopped walking then smiled and waved.

"Heading to Slughorn's office?" Minerva asked as she caught up with Sophia. Sophia answered yes as they made their way onwards. Minerva felt slightly better now having somebody walk the corridor with her.

"It's my first time being invited to one of Professor Slughorn's parties. I wonder what it's like?" spoke Sophia, more to herself rather than a question to Minerva.

"Well, Slughorn starts by asking us about our day then we discuss various topics. Whatever our interests are, we talk about it," Minerva said. They do a lot of talking at the Slug Club, she had to confess. "The conversations do get really interesting; there are very bright students in the Slug Club."

"Is that so? Then I wonder why Barty was so cross at not being invited. I told him Slughorn would not mind him dropping by, I think," Sophia pursed her lips. "If that's what happens at Slug Club parties, I don't think he's missing out on a lot."

Sophia did not sound interested about the prospects of Slug Club but probably accepted the invitation out of politeness, she did seem to be of that sort of personality. Minerva shrugged her shoulders and accepted that Slug Club may not be everyone's cup of tea. They reached the door to Slughorn's offices and made their way inside.


Author's Note : It was fun writing a story based on the POV of my favorite Hogwarts prof, McG! Writing a Quidditch-themed fanfic was a bitch, though but I kinda liked the end result :D Next story - Abraxas' POV! And the Knights of Walpurgis, woot woot!

P.S. Big shout out to nekochan354 my first ever follower :D