Author's Notes:

As I have promised to some of you, as soon as I finished writing the 15th chapter, I would be updating the story. And here it is – the seventh chapter.

Thank you for reading my story, putting it on alert, adding it to your favourites and reviewing.

Here are some things that were brought to my attention in your reviews and their explanation:

by NanaHassan – the story being rather detailed. The first year is the base for any further development, hence the details. As I wrote in the prologue, the story will describe the academic years of Al and co, inside and outside of Hogwarts. There will also be an epilogue; I have already got some thoughts about its contents.

by LillyMay77 – Ron's affair. Well, as I wrote earlier, he's not my favourite character, far from it. But neither do I hate him. Thus, at the moment he seems a bit of a bad guy, but in the end, everything will somehow be put into its right place. And here is a little hint: things will get worse before they get better. Life is like that…

Enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I make no profit from this work of art. However, I do own the plot and some OCs.


Chapter 7. Of exhausting matches and spontaneous plans

It was 18 November and the Great Hall was bursting with tension and excitement. The first Quidditch match of the year was to be held: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. A certain James Potter and his cousins, Fred and Louis, were rather pale and a bit green-ish at the gills.

"Potter, I told you to eat," chastised the team's captain, Gideon Truman. "I want you to have enough energy, so we can beat the Slytherins this year. You are very good on a broom, so what the hell are you trembling for?"

"Gid, give him some credit. The boy is 12 and it's his first match," Edeline Fleet tried to make him see reason.

The chaser's best friend, Dom, was nodding in agreement. "Gideon, take it easy on my little cousin here. Louis, stop sulking and have some pumpkin juice."

"Easy for you to say," mumbled Louis, "it is not you who's going to be playing in front of hundreds of students."

"My chasers are pussy-cats," complained the seeker to his best friend, Edward Kits. "I bet my sister hasn't got the same trouble with her chasers on the Hufflepuff team."

The team's beater shook his head. "Mate, your sister is scary, so even if she has got problems with them, one look from her and they're dead. Gabrielle is the harshest woman I've ever met."

"Edward, you do realise you're saying that you're scared of your own girlfriend and you are a Gryffindor. Where is your male pride?" wondered Gideon.

"Have you met your sister? If yes, that question of yours is irrelevant. But I do love her, and like a true 'puff, she's the most committed and giving person I've ever met. How you two are siblings, I'll never understand," said Edward. "Now, stop calling your players pussy-cats and good for nothing, and cheer them up."

"Alright, alright. James, you are really good, you've got Quidditch in your blood. Fred, the same goes for you," he tried to reassure the cousins. "Louis, you know what to do with a quaffle and boy, you don't need to think about the others watching. Look at those girls over there; they're admiring you as it is."

As he turned his head, Louis saw three girls, hurdled together, and indeed they were watching him. As he caught their looks, they started giggling and blushing. It seemed that the veela genes he possessed were enough to attract older girls.

"Yeah, I guess you are right," agreed Louis.

"Good, now, let's find our keeper," thought the captain out loud. He turned towards Dom and gave her an inquisitive look. "Where is that boyfriend of yours?"

"I do not know," she replied. "I'm not his assistant."

"You know I didn't mean it like that," said Gideon. "Oh. Hi, Tory!"

"Hello, Gideon," saluted the girl in response. "I came to wish good luck to my cousins and my brother."

"Thanks, Vic," said the latter and rose from the table to hug his eldest sister.

"Yeah, thank you, Tory," added Fred. James simply nodded smiling at her.

As Tory started asking them about the upcoming match, Paul and Karsten approached the group.

"Were have you been?" the Gryffindor seeker asked his keeper. "We've been waiting for you for ages!"

"I was just discussing some matters with our commentator, here," replied Karsten, pointing at the second year near him. "I asked him to put in a good word for us during introductions, you know, to enlighten the atmosphere and encourage us. I'm aware that it's going to be a bit tense."

"Good thinking, K," complimented his girlfriend, as she went to hug him. "Good luck and please, no more broken arms and ribs!"

"Alright, I'll pay more attention to those bloody bludgers," he promised.

"Language, Mr Wood," admonished the Head Girl teasingly, "you don't want me deducting points, do you? And don't forget that you're a Prefect, what kind of example are you setting for the younger generations?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, future Mrs Lupin," Karsten replied cheekily.

"I see you want to play dirty," said Victoire, "well, two can play that game. Want me to remind you of your face when you met our father this summer? I could make him come to a match to refresh your memory."

The boy's eyes widened and he madly shook his head. The well-built William Weasley and his scarred face made him tremble. He also understood what his girlfriend's father meant by saying that he was a third (and last) level curse breaker at Gringotts – if Karsten hurt his daughter, someone would hurt him, physically. "No need. I have a very good memory. I got the hint."

Tory smiled at the keeper's reaction. It was quite humorous watching just how frightened Dom and her admirers got when facing Bill Weasley. She vividly remembered the bright magenta colour her own boyfriend sported when her father gave him the 'dad to boyfriend' talk. It was something like "Ted, I really like you. I've known you since infancy and your parents for quite some time. Now, I do not care that you're practically family when it comes to my daughter's heart. If you as much as make her sad or, Merlin forbid it, cry, some physical pain will be inflicted. Am I understood?" Teddy's response was a quick nod and a prompt "Yes, sir" which still made her giggle. And of course, as a true gentleman, Ted kept his promise; she'd never been as happy.

About half an hour until breakfast would be finished, Al and Rosie approached their family at the Gryffindor table, Scorpius tailing after them.

"Hey, James! Good luck," Al wished his brother and then turned towards his cousins. "You, too. Break a leg!"

"Thanks, Alby. I'll make sure to wipe that smirk off of your housemates' faces," promised the older Potter.

Everybody rolled their eyes; James would always have a bragging syndrome. Rose went to Louis and hugged him and then did the same with the other two players. "As Al said, good luck!"

With that, the three first years left to join their housemates at the respective house viewing stands. The two Slytherins quickly found their friends and took the seats Liz and Ambrose had saved for them.

"Who do you reckon is most likely to win?" asked Cian seated in the row bellow Scorp.

"Well, of course I'd like us to win, our team seems really good. But I don't know what the Gryffindor one is like," replied the young Malfoy.

"I can vouch that my relatives are really good and Wood and Fleet, as well. They played with us during summer," Al informed everybody. "And according to Ted, Gideon Truman is a superb seeker. I've no idea about Kits."

"Well, Truman should be good at being a seeker; it seems to be a family trait or something," Ambrose pondered aloud. "I mean, his sister, is also a seeker and captain of the 'puff team. I've heard that the other Truman, Reuben or something, has tried for the beater position, but Gabrielle gave it to somebody else, who's supposed to be even better. Harsh, I'd say."

"I think that the no favouritism policy in Quidditch is one step closer to a better team," said Liz in a no-nonsense tone.

"Sensible words, Miss Nott," said a deep voice from somewhere behind them, "very true, I'd say."

Albus, recognising the voice, quickly turned his head and his eyes met their counterparts. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"Aren't you happy to see me, kid?" asked the Chosen One. Al grinned and those around him had their jaw hit the floor with astonishment.

"Of course I am! I just didn't expect to see you here," explained the boy, standing up and hugging his father, who was one row behind him.

"I would've never missed James' first match. And I thought that I'd enjoy the game with my other son than on my own," replied Harry. "I missed you, Al. Lily is also sulking that she has nobody to cause bedlam with."

The young Potter smiled at the thought of his sweet, but quirky sister. "Missed you too, dad. Tell Lily that she hasn't got much time to wait until coming here."

"She knows that. She's counting the days till her 11th birthday. And then you'll all leave your mother and me," he said petulantly.

"Oh, dad. Don't worry, we'll visit," tried the boy to make his father feel better.

"I'm joking, kid. Now, how about you introduce me to your friends before the match starts?"

Al remembered that his friends were still around him waiting for an introduction. Some of them seemed to be awestruck. "Well, people this is my father, Harry Potter. Dad, these are Scorp, Lizzy, Ambrose, Thea, Cain, Caoimhe, Trina, Lara and that is Zared Smith," Albus introduced his housemates pointing at each of them when mentioning their name.

"Nice to meet you. Al has told me lots of things about you," said the Head Auror.

"You're Harry Potter," said Thea with a daydreaming expression on her face.

Harry chuckled and nodded. "You were right, Al; Luna would love her."

"Nice to meet you, Mr Potter," said Lizzy, extending her arm. He shook her hand and smiled. Now he understood why his son was so taken with the girl. She was going to become a beautiful young lady, and her having a strong personality added to her charm.

"It's my pleasure, Miss Nott."

Following Elizabeth's example, Scorp and Ambrose also shook the former Gryffindor's hand and the others just politely nodded towards him. The young Malfoy felt a bit apprehensive when it came to his father's former rival, so he didn't really know what he was supposed to say, but the eldest Potter caught this and smiled encouragingly at the boy, as if to say 'everything is alright'.

"Dad, does James know that you're here?"

"No, he doesn't. If he knew I was here, he'd be even more nervous than I'm certain he already is," answered Harry. "It's going to be a surprise for him at the end of the match. I'm going to cheer for him, without him knowing."

"If I may remark, Harry Potter, sir, won't it be strange for you to cheer for a Gryffindor from the stands of the other playing team?" asked Lizzy, quirking a perfectly shaped dark-copper eyebrow.

"Oh, I haven't thought about this," he responded, "but who cares? It's more fun this way."

"I like your way of thinking, Mr Potter," said the girl with a pondering look and the turned towards Albus, "Al, your dad is cool."

The boy in question wanted to say something in return, but he didn't have the chance to, for the commentator, Paul Jordan, started greeting the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, today the Hogwarts Quidditch season has officially begun!"

A big roar of cheering and clapping followed the second year's statement. Some pupils even let out from their wands sparks sporting the colour of their house.

"The first match is between Gryffindor and Slytherin," he continued, "and here they are. This year representing the proud lions are captain and seeker – the incredible Gideon Truman, beaters – fierce Edward Kits and Fred Weasley, chasers – fast as the wind Edeline Fleet, Louis Weasley and James Potter, and keeper extraordinaire – Karsten Wood. I'd say some of them are already famous."

As each person was introduced, they would fly on the pitch on their new Thunder-light brooms accompanied by the hailing crowd. As luck would have it, most of them had their own high-performance brooms, the only one who didn't was Edward, but two days before the match he received one from his friends on his birthday. Kits was quite certain that it was Gideon who proposed the broom as a gift, and he loved his present.

"And here comes the Slytherin team," Paul went on to introduce them, "with captain and seeker Tony Higgs, keeper – Pierre-Henri de Conoiseur, beaters – Maude and Derek Pucey, and chasers Randolph Hilliard, Ansel Montague and Leticia Higgs."

The lack of description for the second team wasn't lost on anybody and the Deputy Headmaster, who was supervising Paul's comments, threw him a warning look.

Harry shook his head smiling. 'Like father, like son. Some things never change.'

Madam Hooch then made the captains shake their hands, reminded them of the games' rules and highlighted twice that she expected a fair game. She proceeded to let out the bludgers and the golden snitch. After that, she threw the quaffle into the air signalling the start of the match.

"And the match begins! The quaffle is caught by Fleet, she passes by Montague, the quaffle is Weasley's, and again Fleet's, -Weasley's, - Fleet's; they're going to the hoops. She is going to throw, but no- Potter takes it and he throws, Conoiseur caught it, Slytherins are cheering," said Paul, whilst those from the scarlet and gold stands were making disappointed noises.

"The quaffle is Hilliard's, Higgs', Montague's, it's the Hawkshead Attacking Formation," announced Paul. Karsten knowing what to expect from such a move went in front of all three goal hoops, however in the last moment – "the Formation disbanded, Higgs has the quaffle, she's throwing it, Wood advances to catch it, but Hilliard's intercepts and to Montague – GOAL!" The frenzied crowd roars, while the lions shook their head with dejection. "That was an unexpected move, the Slytherins seem to have some tricks up their sleeves; you have to give them that. 10-0 for Slytherin."

Scorp was really impressed with the chaser's thinking and the team's strategy. He knew that the HAF was a typical Slytherin move, but the captain seems to have played on everybody's presumptions; spontaneity was the key.

"Potter has the quaffle, he's going for the hoops, Hilliard tries to take it, Potter avoids him, it seems like he's going to throw it, he does throw it but over his shoulder to Fleet and she SCORES! It's 10-10 now. Nice reverse pass, Potter," complimented Paul, and Harry agreed that his son was really good.

The time flew by even faster than the players on their Thunder-lights. One hour had already passed and no sight of the snitch. The score was 90-70 in Gryffindor's favour; Wood was an excellent keeper indeed.

"Higgs is reaching for the quaffle and oh, that must've hurt like hell!" – the bludger almost ripped her arm off – "Fred, if I were you, I'd look out, her brother doesn't seem too impressed," Paul advised his best friend.

Al looked at the Slytherin captain and the seventh year had a murderous look on his face. Anybody who knew Tony Prentice Higgs would know not to mess with his beloved younger sister, not that she needed protection. Although her arm was in a great deal of pain, she did her best to ignore it and continued playing with even more force, from where she took the energy to do so was an enigma to Albus.

"Higgs has the quaffle, another bludger her way, but no, she performs the Sloth Grip Roll! The quaffle is Hilliards and he SCORES! It's 90-80 for Gryffindor."

After another two hours or so, the score was 210-130, Slytherin in the lead. Seven out of the last 13 goals were because of Leticia's fierce playing; Karsten wasn't prepared for the ferocious harpy's attacks, he didn't stand a chance. After her seventh goal, he remembered his mother once saying never to underestimate a girl's power, especially when she was pissed off.

James wasn't prepared for this. More than three hours of flying back and forth, dodging bludgers and all the tricks they had been using to score was way too much, not to mention that it was cold. He felt one of his legs go numb, while his knuckles turned white from gripping the broom's handle so tightly. Also he was thirsty and even a bit nauseous; he knew he shouldn't have eaten at breakfast. He prayed to the Heavens for the game to end. Even some of the more experienced players were quite exhausted and Paul's voice turned a bit hoarse due to all the yelling and commentaries he'd been making.

'This isn't good. James and other players seem really tired,' thought Harry. 'Where is that bloody snitch?'

Most of the viewers were wondering exactly the same thing. Al thought he'd seen it once or twice, but he might have mistaken it for something else.

Gideon caught the snitch's glimmer behind the Gryffindor's goal posts, but he was on the other side of the pitch. So, as to not let Higgs notice it as well, he started slowly advancing towards his team's scoring area, giving the impression that he was simply perusing the territory. As he did that, the snitch was going in circles around the goal posts and it seemed that his prayers had been answered, for it started moving in his direction and then towards one of the stands.

'The score is 230-140, so if I do catch it now, we will win,' thought the seeker. And with all his might he lunged for the golden snitch. Higgs was too far away, but he still went for it. After chasing it for about three minutes, Gideon finally caught the problematic tiny winged ball as Hilliard scored once again, taking opportunity of Karsten's distracted attention.

"Gryffindor wins with 290-240! Congratulations!" exclaimed Paul bouncing in his seat with joy. And he wasn't the only one; all the Gryffindors were jumping up and down. However, the oddest thing was a cheering grown-up person amidst the sea of green and silver. Still in the air, James noticed it was his father and made his way towards the Slytherin stands.

"Dad! You've been watching me!" he exclaimed.

"Of course James! You were brilliant, son!" said the oldest Potter, and it seemed to be the right words to say, for James was beaming with joy at being praised by his father.

"Yeah, yeah. James was good, but we lost," complained his brother.

"Do not worry, Al. Next year, you'll try out for the house's team and believe me you'll wipe the floor with all the other ones," said Lizzy confident of Al's seeker abilities even if she had never seen him play; Rose's praising words were all the evidence she needed. The girl's statement made Al a bit rosy in the cheeks.

"Right!" commented James sarcastically. "Dad, I'll see you later, won't I? I'm knackered."

"Of course, James. You should check your right elbow as well," suggested his father. "That bump you'd got must hurt a lot."

"Yeah… See you!" With that, James flew away towards his team's changing rooms.

Everybody started leaving the Quidditch stands for the Great Hall, where warm and delicious food would be waiting for them. Al was trailing behind with his father emerged in a conversation, so Scorpius had to leave with the other Slytherins. As he went to the castle, he saw Rose and other Weasleys approach their uncle, all of them talking loudly and sometimes laughing. He wished he was a part of such a big and warm family. His own family was quite loving and doting, but his cousins weren't as supportive or welcoming. Dione hadn't talked much to him since the start of the term, one of the occasions being her birthday and more than two months had passed since then.

About 20 minutes later, Al joined his housemates at the Slytherin table. "Hey, I've talked to my dad and guess what? He gave me the permission to have you stay at my house, while James is at nana's with Fred and Paul. It's going to be from 26 till 30 December. So do you want to come?" the delighted boy asked Scorpius, Lizzy, Ambrose and Thea. "Rose is going to be there, so Tristan, Amorette and Sierra could also come if they want to."

"I'd like to," said Lizzy, "just let me write to my parents and ask them, I'm sure Tristan won't mind going."

Next to her, Ambrose and Thea nodded, saying that they would have to ask their folks.

"That would be awesome, Al," replied Scorpius. "I'm sure father will be alright with it. But is there going to be enough space for all of us?"

"Of course! If the entire Weasley/Potter clan could fit in there, why won't we?" responded the green-eyed boy, his eyes full of excitement.

'Some wishes do come true,' thought Scorp and smiled at his friends.


Explanation of some things that might be confusing:

1. I know that parents aren't allowed to come to Hogwarts when they please. They need special permission from the staff of Hogwarts. However, they can attend events like Quidditch and the seventh year students' graduation. In the second book, Lucius Malfoy was present for his son's first match, so I can't see why Harry wouldn't do the same.

A quick poll for entertainment purposes:

Who is your favourite character out of the Golden Trio?

A) Harry
B) Hermione
C) Ron. Let me know!

My own answer to the previous poll: I would like to have a panther for my animagus form. I know it's not too practical, since you don't see panthers wandering around UK, but it's still my favourite animal.

Please review!