The next day, Teddy was fidgety and anxious. He actually saw Madelyn at breakfast, but when she caught his eye she slowly shook her head and gave him a fierce look of warning, then turned back to her friends like nothing happened. He tried not to think about it, about her, about anything. And it worked for part of the day.
"Students, please. It's time to start our lesson. Wands at the ready, please. Yes, Mr. Finnigan, we know you're anxious, please be quiet and stop throwing papers at your neighbor. It's time to start practicing casting a spell without speaking." The students were nervous at starting this, because it always seemed so hard. Most of the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were dreadful, but a rare few caught on quickly. Books and quills were flying around the room, hair was standing up straight, and scarves were coiling like snakes. Victoire and Teddy had paired themselves together, and their cheeks were red from trying to keep from saying the spell out loud. Finally one Hufflepuff girl levitated her friend's pet rat, and she hadn't moved her lips an inch. She was quite proud of herself, but her cheers were not taken well by the rest of the class. They all rolled their eyes at her, except for her friend who was trying to grab her poor rat, hanging in midair. Liam was giving Hana a hand, gently teaching her the proper way to flick her wrist. Teddy thought for a moment that he saw a blush rise on Hana's cheeks, but he wasn't quite sure.
Later that day Hana, Teddy, Liam, and Victoire took a walk down to Hagrid's hut. He greeted them with open arms, his huge silver beard shaking from his laughter. They nibbled on some rock- hard biscuits, sipped some tree root tea, and said goodbye. They walked down to the Quidditch pitch where Liam went to practice. The friends watched Liam fly through the air, duck from the fast- flying balls and smack the bludgers with his bat. As a beater, he had to have balance and strength, and Quidditch was something Liam was naturally gifted with. Victoire nudged Teddy and they looked over at Hana, who was watching Liam with dreamy eyes. She soberly blinked and saw the sly smiles of her new friends, and her cheeks grew hot pink.
"Oh please don't tell him, I don't want him to know!" she pleaded. Her big eyes flicked from Teddy to Victoire, her small mouth quivering. "Your secret is safe with us," Victoire promised. "Now let's go swimming!" The half- veela loved to swim, but the Black Lake was the only water source at the castle. The boys had warned her hundreds of times not to go in, but she loved the thrill. Hana gave Teddy a confused look as they walked to the lake, but he shrugged and shook his head. Victoire threw off her robes and jumped in the freezing water. Her smooth laughter resounded through the air as she flipped and dove, Teddy just rolling his eyes at his friend. "Vi, you're going to get hypothermia."
"So what?" she called back. Ten minutes later, she swam back to land. Her denim shorts and black tank top were dripping wet, and she rang out her hair with a smile. "I've missed that," she said to herself. Teddy waved his wand over her shivering figure and she was dry. She put her robes back over her head and winked. "Thanks, Ted." He smiled back. She slipped her shoes on and they walked to the Great Hall for dinner.
After the feast of hot soup, pork chops, and corn on the cob, the Gryffindor students were all laying on their backs on the common room floor, soaking up the warmth of the fire like cats. Victoire stretched and arched her back, yawning. "Today was perfect." Liam looked at her. "Why's that?"
"Because you were gone at Quidditch practice," she laughed. He punched her shoulder and she fell over in giggles. Teddy shook his head and focused back to his DADA essay. Three feet on how to protect yourself from the Unforgivable Curses and he had only finished one foot. A few hours later, he rolled up the finished parchment and fell on his bed. Liam had something on his mind, and Teddy was deciding on whether he was too tired to ask him about it or not. Finally, "Liam, what's wrong?"
"What? I'm fine," he shrugged.
"Come on, mate. You've got something bothering you. Is it Victoire?"
"Actually, no. I don't think I like her anymore," Liam said casually. Teddy sat up.
"Really? How come?"
"Uh…I like someone else," he said sheepishly. Teddy laughed and shoved him.
"Who's the lucky lady? Oh, I know. It's Hana, isn't it!" he burst out laughing when Liam put his hands up in surrender and sighed.
"Yes, okay? Yes, it's Hana. She's gorgeous. Those blue eyes, her long hair…I don't know. I can't resist."
"Well, can I tell you something?" Teddy grinned at his friend. Liam nodded, telling him yes. "She likes you too."
"She does not."
"Hey, I swear it. Today she couldn't stop staring at you in Quidditch. She told us."
"And you weren't gonna tell me?!"
"No! She told us to keep quiet. She didn't know you liked her." Liam fell back on his bed, thinking.
"Well what should I do?"
"Uh, you should tell her." Teddy sighed. "I swear, you're so dim sometimes."
The next week was the first Quidditch game of the season. Liam had decided if they won, he would ask Hana out, if they lost, he would wait. Victoire and Teddy thought his idea was simply ridiculous, but he was set on it. The morning came, and he was so nervous his hands were shaking.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the very first Quidditch game of the year! Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor! My name is Fred Weasley and I will be your announcer for the season!" the crowd cheered, for Fred was well liked by the students. He and his sister Roxanne were foul pranksters, and caused laughter and trouble wherever they went. Victoire waved at her cousin from the stands, and he waved back. "Hey cuz, how's your sixth year going?" she laughed and gave Fred a thumbs up. "Good, good. Now the coin is being tossed…Ravenclaw first!" the blue and bronze robes were soaring through the air, and the Gryffindors were trying to keep up. "Looks like the Gryffindor seeker Lily Potter has her eye on the Golden Snitch already! She's my cousin, you know. Anyway, she's speeding! She's zipping! Ooohh, she's lost it. Over to the left side of the field, we have Ravenclaw keeper Lucy Weasley- she's also my cousin- letting TWO quaffles get past her! Two points for Gryffindor, sorry Luce!" The game went on for what felt like hours, and everyone was exhausted. It was Gryffindor 238 points and Ravenclaw 291, but if Lily caught the Snitch it would be a win for Gryffindor. The sun was setting and the wind was picking up. "A smashing hit for Liam Fink, haha! See what I did there, folks?" It was getting bad when even Fred Weasley couldn't get the crowd cheered up. "Ravenclaw keeper Rory Williams with an excellent save…Oh! And the Ravenclaw seeker Jack Harkness is chasing the Snitch! Lily, get your tail over there!" The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were cheering and whooping for their team. Lily Potter's fire engine red hair was fast as a bullet through the air, and her broomstick almost hit the Ravenclaw seeker in the face as she dashed ahead of him. "Jack Harkness is revving up, look at that! Lilly, come on! You can do it!" Everyone was screaming and calling Lily's name. Her fingers reached out in front of her, she was almost fifty feet above the ground… "LILY POTTER HAS THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE MATCH!" Cheers erupted through the stands, and the Gryffindor players patted each other and their faces lit up. Ravenclaw looked angry, but they were always in a foul mood. Liam was spinning around on his broom, pumping his fist in the air. He smiled at Hana, and she blushed at him. It had been a good day.
