Everything is J.K. Rowlings. I only claim the plot. Everything else is hers, all the characters and the magic, all of it. Please let me know what you think though, I encourage feed back, just be nice about it!
First Quidditch Match
"So Albus who are you cheering for at the game?" Scarlet asked as they started eating breakfast Saturday morning. It was a month and a half into a school and the first Quidditch game was this afternoon: Gryffindor versus Slytherin, always a crowd favorite.
"Slytherin of course," Albus said smiling as he buttered his toast. "Although, I won't hesitate to congratulate my family if they make a spectacular move."
Rose nodded in agreement from her place across the table. She and Scorpius were having a heated debate about whether tea or coffee was better. Albus didn't think they would ever reach an agreement. He had learned to stay out of the debates his two best friends had. He had learned long ago not to go against Rose in any argument but Scorpius seemed to hold his own in their debates. Albus thought that they secretly enjoyed the debates and had one almost daily. It annoyed Albus to no end and so he would typically tune them out. Instead, he would turn to Kathryn, Justin, or Eloise and strike up a conversation.
In all honesty, Albus couldn't wait for the Quidditch season to start. He had already talked to all the Slytherin players and was friends with some of them. They had talked strategies and from what he heard, he felt like the Slytherin team would have a chance. Albus and his friends had even watched a few practices already. Albus, Rose, Scorpius, and Kathryn were already dreaming of the day when they could make the team. They were lucky too because the entire team except for the beaters were Seventh Years and so that meant five open spots for next year's team. The four of them talked about practicing together over the summer to be ready. Kathryn wanted to be Seeker and Albus believed she would be good if just going off her build. She was tiny and he had seen her on a broom, she was fast. Scorpius, Rose, and Albus however wanted to be Chasers. They knew that if they wanted to make the team together they would have to practice hard together and get used to their movements. Of course, Albus hoped Gryffindor did well, but only because he had four family members on the team: James, Dominique, Roxanne, and Fred. He felt weird about cheering against them but didn't worry about it too much.
Kathryn was starting to read the Daily Prophet as she always did at breakfast, the group could always turn to her for news. Scorpius, Rose, and Albus tended to stay away from the paper because all it ever caused was grief.
"Oh Rose," Kathryn said causing Rose and Scorpius to temporarily put their debate on hold. "You've been disowned again. Apparently, this time you plan on dropping out and leaving the country. Do send me a postcard won't you?"
"Of course dear, where is it I am going this time?"
"Apparently you've decided to join your Uncle in Romania. I heard the summers are lovely there. I expect an invitation to visit."
"I wouldn't think of doing anything else," Rose said as Kathryn finally peaked over her newspaper and they shared a grin.
"Anything I need to be aware of?" Scorpius asked as he ate some bacon.
"Hmm….no still the same as last week. Father and mother still not allowing you to come home for Christmas, oh but this is new. Apparently, they plan on taking you out of school and sending you to Durmstrang. That will be a change, do bundle up, I hear the winters are dreadful."
"I'll make sure to pack extra layers," he said with a smirk.
"Oh and Albus, apparently your sister became so sick from distraught at you betraying the family that she wound up in the hospital. Please tell me this is a rumor?" Kathryn asked. The group of them had a great laugh about what the papers printed about them and Albus knew Kathryn didn't really believe what was said but since it sounded somewhat serious she was concerned.
"Only partially, Lilly is in St. Mungo's, but only because she fell out of a tree yesterday playing with Hugo and has a broken leg."
"Oh is she alright?" Eloise asked piping up for the first time.
"Oh yeah, a little fall like that won't slow Lilly down. She is really milking it Mum says, demanding all sorts of candies and sweets."
Rose laughed at the thought of Lilly trying to demand such things from her Aunt Ginny. Uncle Harry of course would supply anything his daughter asked for but not Aunt Ginny she was making sure her child wouldn't turn out spoiled by her husband.
Christmas was only a month away and Albus was looking forward to seeing his family again. He missed his parents and Lilly, he and James talked in the halls but they didn't see each other often. He hardly saw any of his cousins either, except for Rose. But he figured that was to be expected given his choice to be in Slytherin. Even still, he didn't regret the choice. He, Rose, and Scorpius were inseparable. And their plan was making progress.
After the second week, the entire school had heard about the three Slytherins who refused to use last names. This had caused mixed reviews. There were a lot of students who had congratulated them on their decision to be different and make a stand against family fame others had scoffed and said that it was a waste of time and that they couldn't change anything. They would always be the son and daughter of War Heroes or the son of a Death Eater. Some had gotten violent and attacked Scorpius in a deserted hallway, ending up in the hospital for a day. Rose had been furious. She tracked down the attackers and gave them a piece of her mind and they hadn't said anything since. The other Weasley-Potters hadn't said much about it either. Dominique and Roxanne had said that they approved of what they were doing and said that they understood why they wanted to do it. The rest of the family hadn't said much but they didn't treat them with hostility so Albus supposed that was a good sign.
Currently, Rose, Albus, and Scorpius were working their way through the First Years. They planned to make friends with them all, or at least close acquaintances. The Hufflepuffs were more than willing to make friends, but the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors seemed split in the decision. Half the house would be willing to be friends but the other half wouldn't. The approaches varied for how the disapproving Gryffindors and Ravenclaws reacted to the Slytherins, it was either completely ignoring them or glares and snide comments. Albus wasn't worried though. They still had the rest of the year, and they already had a full house and two halves of the other. So all in all technically it was really like three full Houses on their side.
After breakfast, the six friends made their way to the library to study before the game. With Christmas fast approaching, midterms were as well. And Rose, Scorpius, and Albus had to do well in order to be the top students. Albus had heard stories from his dad, mom, and Uncle Ron about how Aunt Hermione would become during exam time. All stressed out and hardly ever leaving the library, Albus didn't want to get like that but he wanted to do well. Rose, Albus, and Scorpius had discussed it, as they did everything, a month ago about how they would go about studying and had agreed not to let each other become like Hermione. They had a good study routine though. They studied one subject for roughly two hours and then took a break, usually to go to the kitchens or play a game in the Common Room and then they would move onto the next subject. They also had to help Justin and Eloise with most of the subjects but the three looked on it as extra study time. Kathryn was usually pretty good with her studying and if anything would only ask a few clarification questions.
"Come on guys! We've got to go get good seats!" Eloise said thirty minutes before the game started.
"Alright, let's go drop off our things and bundle up before we head out," Kathryn said.
Dropping off their books and donning their scarves, gloves, and warm cloaks the six walked towards the Quidditch pitch huddling close together for warmth. It hadn't started snowing yet but it would any day now. By the time they reached the stands, their cheeks and noses were already turning pink. Claiming their seats, they saved three for Scarlet, Michael, and Thomas. The Quidditch was a sea of green and red, silver and gold. The Ravenclaws were cheering for Gryffindor while the Hufflepuffs supported Slytherin. The crowd cheered as the players flew onto the field and Albus felt a surge of adrenaline just watching. The excitement was contagious as Coach Long blew his whistle and the game began.
Albus wasn't sure who was announcing but it was entertaining, the boy would say "Weasley's got the Quaffle and passes it to Weasley who dodges a Bludger that was hit by Weasley! Damn you Weasley's, why did you have to take over Quidditch!" The stands were laughing as they watched the boy try to announce the game with three people having the last name. Albus couldn't wait until he and Rose were playing against his cousins, that would make it even more confusing.
The game was good; the two teams evenly matched. Slytherin had the better Beaters and Keeper, while Gryffindor had the better Chasers. Albus felt bad slightly because Slytherin had the better Keeper, even though James was Gryffindors' Keeper. It would come down to the Seekers. Two hours later it was 230 to 200 for Slytherin.
"They've seen the Snitch! Macmillan and Crowley have spotted the Snitch!" the announcer screamed into the microphone thirty minutes later. Everyone in the stands were on their feet even Justin and Scarlet looked invested in the game. It was neck in neck. There were no fancy moves; it was simply a race. A race to to the small golden orb flying just feet in front of the Seekers outstretched hands. Rose was squeezing his and Scorpius' hands but neither of them really noticed. All eyes were on the little ball of gold. Albus was afraid to blink for fear of missing the catch.
"He's done it! He's caught the Snitch! Crowley's caught the Snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" There was a deafening cheer on the other side of the field as the Gryffindors cheered, Albus and his friends simply dropped to their seats in defeat. It had been such a close game. Slowly, the Slytherins made their way out of the stands.
"We aren't going to hear the end of this are we?" Rose asked quietly.
"Nope, we'll be hearing replays of it all break."
"Hey if it gets too bad you can always come hang with me, I can assure you there will be no talk of this game at my house," Scorpius offered.
"Yeah same here," Kathryn agreed.
"Speaking of break, I guess now is a good time to start hinting at the folks to let us hang out and meet the other family," Albus said.
"Yeah we can write them next Friday," Scorpius agreed.
"But hey, there is still a chance for us to win the Quidditch Cup. We could still make it to the final game," Thomas pointed out, totally oblivious to the change of topic. The group just nodded and walked back to the dungeons.
It was depressingly quiet in the Common Room that night. It wasn't just that the team lost, or even that it was such a close loss. It was that they lost to Gryffindor.
