Chapter Nine
A few weeks later, things had improved more with Harry and Rachel was happy about it, but she still felt like there was an unusual uneasiness between them. It had only been three weeks but Rachel now sometimes sat with Harry and friends between classes. After classes she made sure she had something else to do. The last thing she wanted to do was to annoy Harry and hang around him all the time.
She also hadn't contacted Remus yet. A part of her wanted to immediately send him and angry letter asking why he hadn't told her anything but when she slowed down and thought it through she eventually realised that it wouldn't do any good being angry at him. Remus did what he thought was right at the time. Rachel still thought he should have been a little more open though.
She was also a little disappointed that she hadn't yet heard back from Charlie. She figured he must be busy with work or something. She was greatly hoping that she didn't make a fool of herself telling him that she would like to get to know him better. Maybe he already had someone special?
Things with Theodore though seemed to be getting weirder. Instead of talking to her, he would sometimes sit behind her in the library or stare at her subtly during class or something similar. She wasn't sure if it meant that he was interested in her or if he was just strange, or doing it for some other reason. They hadn't spoken since the day at Hogsmeade.
Rachel sighed as she sat up a little straighter. She rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. She yawned slightly. It was only her morning break and she was tired. She still had three classes left. She looked at her watch and gasped. She shot out of her chair and grabbed her things before running to the defence against the dark arts classroom. She made just in time. Everyone was walking into the room.
She walked in the classroom last and looked around. Her face fell slightly as she noticed that Hermione was sitting with Ron. She looked around the room and noticed that Harry was sitting alone. She walked over slowly. 'Do you mind if I sit with you?' she asked him smiling a little.
'Yeah, sure, it's Ok,' he said quickly.
Rachel thought he sounded a little nervous. Was it about sitting with her? 'Thanks,' she muttered as Snape walked into the room.
She sat down and everyone in the room went quiet as Snape walked to the front. He looked around at the students. 'Everyone take out your books and turn to page five hundred and thirty seven,' Snape said coldly.
The room filled with the rustling noise of books and pages and they were being turned. They turned to a page that contained information about the Chimera. Rachel first thought it was a lion but then she looked closer. She hoped she never had to face one of those.
'Tell me what a Chimera looks like, without looking down, Mr Thomas?' Snape asked looking in the Gryffindor's directions. Dean hadn't even opened his book yet. His face was full of confusion. Hermione was jumping in her seat with her hand in the air, wanting to give the answer.
Dean cleared his throat a little. 'Um, it looks like a lion,' he said hesitantly.
'What else does it look like, Mr Nott,' Snape asked then turning his direction to one of the Slytherin tables.
Rachel turned and looked at Theodore. For a moment, she thought he winked at her but it must have been the light. She shook her head a little and watched him, along with the rest of the class, answer the question.
'The Chimera has a lion's head, a goat's body, and it has either a dragon or serpent tail,' he answered confidently.
'Good, Mr Nott. Twenty points for Slytherin.'
Many groans that went around the room belonged to the Gryffindor's, Rachel felt the same. She did notice that all the points that Snape gave out went to Slytherin and not Gryffindor. Snape then turned back to the class and looked around for someone else to pick. He looked to the Gryffindor's again.
'What is their classification, Miss Patil?'
Parvati looked up at she heard her name called. She looked at Snape is surprise. She stayed quiet. 'Miss Patil, from now on, instead of playing palms with Miss Brown, perhaps you should concentrate on the class you are in right now.'
Rachel looked over at Parvati, her face was pink. She looked down at her lap, embarrassed. A few of the Slytherin's snickered to themselves but Snape acted like he didn't hear them. Rachel wasn't quite sure what to think. He was being unnecessarily cruel, just because he could.
'Mr Zabini, why don't you tell me the classification,' Snape said in an almost bored voice. Rachel frowned a little as she watched Snape. He was acting like he was talking to a group of five year olds.
'It has a classification of five x's,' he replied.
'Very good, Mr Zabini, another twenty points for Slytherin.'
'What if a Gryffindor answered the question? You wouldn't give them twenty points,' Ron called out from his table angrily.
Snape's black eyes fastened upon Ron, they blazed furiously. 'Mr. Weasley, I think you should join me in here again later for a detention and we'll see if you can keep your mouth shut then,' he said dangerously.
The room went quiet and Rachel looked at Ron, as did Harry. Ron's ears were turning a deep shade of red. He looked back down at his text-book in disgust and muttered something incoherent. Snape's lip curled and he then looked around the room again.
'Since you're so eager to talk Mr. Weasley, perhaps you will be able to answer one of my questions,' he said clearing his throat. 'The Chimera's eggs are classified as...?'
Ron went to look at his book but Snape flicked his wand lazily and the book snapped shut loudly, the sound echoing the room. Ron seemed to turn redder, if that were possible. 'I don't know,' he mumbled.
'No, I didn't think so.'
Rachel turned as she heard Harry take a breath and she quickly kicked him in the shins, she knew he was about to say something back and get himself into trouble. He gasped loudly and Snape turned to them. 'Have something to add, Mr. Potter?'
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Harry shake his head. Snape's black eyes then met Rachel's. She looked back even though she knew he could use Legilimency right now. Snape seemed too paused for a long moment before walking back to the front of the room and looking around at everyone. 'So, who wants to give me the answer?'
No-one in the class moved. Hermione's hand was still waving around in the air but Rachel hesitantly raised her hand. Snape's eyes snapped back to her. 'Yes, Miss. Potter?'
'The Chimera's egg is classified as a Class A Non-Tradable Materials,' she said clearly.
Snape's lip seemed to curl again ever so slightly. 'That is... correct, Miss. Potter… five points for Gryffindor.'
All the Gryffindor's turned to face Rachel. She just shrugged; she wasn't sure why Snape would give her points and no-one else in her house. Maybe he liked her, though she couldn't imagine why. Rachel then just felt like cold water had been poured down her spine. Snape and her mother used to be friends and she looked just like her mother, well, except her hair. Maybe when Snape looked at her, he saw Lily.
She didn't know why she didn't think of it before. She was brought back to the class by Harry kicking her. She knew he only did it to get back at her. She frowned at him but said nothing. Snape finally looked away from Rachel, and looked to the rest of the class again.
He began to tell them more about the Chimera. When the bell rang throughout the school, he told them to write an essay about the Chimera, its description, its place in history and wizards who have fought it. Rachel knew that all people that tried failed, except one. She found it amazing that someone would kill it at all, but she didn't think it was worth it. The person died from exhaustion afterwards. Why go and kill it in the first place then?
She packed her bag and headed for the door. 'Miss. Potter, a word,' Snape said before she reached the door.
Rachel sighed softly and turned back into the room. She walked to his desk and waited. He was writing her a small late note for her next class. 'I think I should increase your Occlumency lessons,' he stated.
'Why?' Rachel asked moving closer.
'Because you are doing very well at the subject and the more lessons you do the more advance you'll become and it will happen quicker. The quicker you can learn this the better.'
'Why?' Rachel asked again.
'Because then it will give you more time to practice and get used to doing it. You could also devote some time to making fake memories twisted with a form of truth. I'm very interested to see if you can do it.'
Rachel nodded. 'Ok, when?' she asked quietly.
'I would like to make it twice a week. Keep Tuesdays and now Thursdays, it will start tonight. Be in my office at eight, the usual time. If it goes well, I'll extend it to three times a week but if it interrupts your schoolwork I will cut it down again.'
'It will be fine,' Rachel assured him.
'Good. Take this to your next class. I will see you at eight.'
Rachel nodded her head and muttered her thanks before leaving the classroom. She walked to the History of Magic classroom and entered. She walked over to a table and sat next to Hermione. Professor Binns didn't even notice that she was there. She looked at the small note Snape gave her. She had to admit, she liked his writing. It was small and slanted. It was quite elegant. She folded the note gently and placed it in her pocket before taking out her books for this class.
'Is everything alright?' Hermione whispered.
Rachel nodded. 'Yeah, Snape just wanted to increase the lessons. Now have to go Thursdays too,' she whispered back.
Hermione gave her a sympathetic look before giving Binns her full attention. Rachel opened her own books to the right page and began taking notes too.
Later that night, Rachel walked to Snape's office once again. She knocked on the door and entered before he had much time to tell her to enter. She closed the door behind her and stood in front of his desk. She waited but Snape was quicker this time. He looked her over quickly before starting.
'Something wrong, Miss Potter?'
Rachel frowned slightly. She hated this subject sometimes. 'No, I just… I'm wondering if you're nicer to me because I look like my mother.'
Her statement seemed to shock Snape who went rigid for a moment before remembering to breathe. 'Miss. Potter, I will say that that is quite inappropriate. I do not treat you any differently to anyone else. Your mother has nothing to do with this.'
Rachel opened her mouth to say more but Snape cut across her. 'Now, I suggest you take out your wand and ready yourself.'
She sighed heavily and took out her wand. She kept in front of her and waited for Snape to attack her. It eventually came, 'Legilimens.'
Once again, Rachel could see her memories flooding her mind rapidly. When she felt the pressure released she realised she was kneeling on the floor with her hands over her ears and she had been screaming. She stood up and looked at Snape. He looked livid.
'I thought you were improving?' he said sharply.
She didn't know what to tell him. She shrugged. 'I don't know. Usually when we do this I'm free of most emotions but at the moment I'm… I'm… I don't know how I'm feeling.'
Snape turned his back on her. 'Is this to do with the friendship I had with your mother?'
Rachel shrugged. 'I don't know… maybe. I just want to know why you seem different to me, sir.'
He kept his back to her. 'I don't know either. I like said, I'm not treating you any differently. Perhaps from this you are the one seeing things differently.'
Rachel sighed again. 'Is there anything you can tell me? I will keep it to myself, I promise, sir,' she added.
This time, Snape sighed. 'I met your mother when we were children. I told her she was a witch but she didn't believe me until she got her letter from Hogwarts. She went to Gryffindor and I went to Slytherin. Despite that, we remained friends until our fifth year. I did something horrible.'
Snape paused. 'That is all I am telling you. If you breathe a word of it I may not control my actions.'
'Why does it matter though?' Rachel asked.
She didn't understand why people couldn't know. Snape turned to face her again and he placed his wand on his desk. He lifted the left sleeve of his robes and Rachel gasped a little. There was an inky black, Dark Mark on
his arms. After a few seconds Snape pulled his sleeve back down. She wasn't sure what to think after seeing that.
'Does Dumbledore know?' she asked quickly.
'Yes, I am a spy for the Order, though I am sure that some people do not believe it.'
Rachel remained quiet. She wasn't prepared for what was going to happen next though. She yelped in surprise and dropped her wand as Snape advanced on her swiftly and pulled her close to him. He placed his wand to her temple and drew a few memories out from her head. Rachel struggled in his grip for a moment before he released her.
He remained standing close to her. Rachel looked up at him. 'What did you do?' she breathed heavily.
Snape seemed to regain himself and he moved away from Rachel quickly. He placed the memories he had taken into a small vial and he placed it within his robes. Rachel watched it but she couldn't remember what the memoires were.
'I can't… remember,' she stuttered.
'I think that will be the end of the lesson. You may leave. Don't be late next Tuesday.'
'But you only did it once.'
'I know, Miss Potter, but it took a lot out of you. I think you should practice alone again,' he said moving to sit at his desk.
Rachel frowned heavily and picked up her wand and placed it back within her robes. She walked to the door and left, unaware that Snape's black eyes were following.
Half-way through the second term Rachel was starting to think of Hogwarts as home. She was still confused about her last lesson with Snape but she decided that he was right. She was too emotional for that lesson, though she had trouble remembering why.
She sighed a little and watched as Hermione looked up at her frowning. 'What?' she asked a little annoyed.
'Why are we doing this homework now, it's not due for three weeks,' Rachel said slowly.
Hermione's eyes widened as though she were just offended. 'You're quite like Harry. He likes putting homework off too, maybe you should join them.'
'Relax Hermione, I was just saying. I'm sorry,' she added quickly.
'Fine. So, are you going to do this with me?' she asked stiffly.
Rachel nodded quickly. 'Yes, where are we up to?'
'Goblins in the thirteenth century. I know it's a long topic but the sooner it's done the sooner we can do other things.'
'Like more study?' Rachel asked smiling.
Hermione looked at her and her mouth twitched a little before she looked down again and starting writing. Rachel couldn't help it. She burst out laughing and didn't stop until Hermione gave her another stern look.
They both got to work but were disrupted not long afterwards. Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team came thundering into the room. Hermione looked at them in annoyance but no-one payed attention. Rachel looked over at them too. Most of them didn't look too happy.
'What happened?' Rachel asked.
Harry ignored her but Alicia Spinnet walked over and sat beside her at the table. 'They're not happy. Demelza was injured and we now need another chaser by tomorrow afternoon.'
Alicia stood up heavily and headed for the locker room. She wondered why they didn't go there in the first place. Before Harry could leave Rachel ran over to him. 'I heard you need a chaser,' she said slyly.
'Yeah, so?' he said annoyed.
'I could help,' she said softly.
She then had Harry's attention. 'You don't play Quidditch,' he told her frowning.
'Not here, but at Beauxbatons I did.'
'What position?' he asked still looking at her.
'Chaser,' she replied. 'I played seeker a couple of times but I lost and I played keeper once but I got knocked out half-way through the match.'
Harry seemed to do some quick thinking. 'Alright, but I need to see how you fly. I'll see you at the pitch before class tomorrow.'
Rachel nodded and smiled a little as Harry walked up to his dormitory. When she sat back down at the table she found Hermione looking at her in surprise. 'What?' Rachel asked looking confused.
'You didn't tell me you played Quidditch,' she said slowly.
Rachel just shrugged. 'I didn't tell Remus until the beginning of my fourth year there.'
'Why?'
'Well, he did ask me not to play. He thinks it's too dangerous and it can be but it's a school. I don't think someone will die during the game at school.'
'How did he take it when you told him you were the teams' chaser?' Hermione asked watching her intently.
She shrugged again. 'He wasn't too happy but he told me if I got hurt he would make sure I was off the team,' said Rachel.
Hermione smiled faintly and went back to her essay and Rachel joined her. When they finished it was almost three in the morning. She would have to be up again in a few hours. All she hoped was that she was still able to play like she could at Beauxbatons.
The next morning Rachel woke up with someone pushing her. It was Hermione. 'What?' she asked sitting up and rubbing her head.
'Harry's waiting for you on the Quidditch pitch. These are the robes, they're Alicia's, she said they should fit Ok.'
'Doesn't she need them?' Rachel asked still feeling groggy.
Hermione shook her head. 'No, Alicia said this was her spare or emergency pair. She said you could borrow them. She said there was no hurry to get your own,' Hermione added before walking back to her own bed. Rachel got out of bed and changed as quickly as she could before leaving the castle and running towards the Quidditch pitch.
As she ran towards the Quidditch pitch she wondered if they always wore the robes when it was just practice. When she reached the pitch she looked around. She saw Harry near a goalpost and she ran to him. She was panting heavily when she reached him.
'I'm sorry,' she gasped out.
'We only have forty-five minutes now,' Harry said quickly.
'It'll be enough,' Rachel assured him.
Harry didn't look impressed still but he said nothing. 'What broomstick do you have?' he asked looking at it frowning.
'It's a comet two sixty,' she replied.
'That will have to do,' Harry said moving a little.
Rachel looked at Harry's broom and noticed a firebolt. 'Did you buy that?' she asked her eyes wide.
Harry couldn't help but smile. 'No, Sirius bought it for me.'
'Lucky,' Rachel whispered.
She mounted her broom and took off into the sky and Harry followed. He threw the quaffle to her which she caught with one hand.
'So, what do you want me to do?'
'I want you to fly over here to the goalposts and see how many you get past me. We'll have thirty attempts,' Harry yelled over to her.
Rachel steadied herself on her broom and licked her lips. It has been a while since she played or practiced her Quidditch game but she was sure she could still play well enough for a school team. She shifted on the broom slightly; she found the Hogwarts Quidditch robes a little bulky. Didn't they find them hard to play in?
She moved quickly and went forwards on her broom. She swerved from side to side and she noticed how intensely Harry watched her. She threw the quaffle towards the left hand hoop but Harry reached it and caught it before it flew past him. Rachel felt annoyed by that.
'I'm not impressed yet,' Harry yelled as he threw the quaffle back to her. Rachel flew away a little with her back to Harry and she gathered her thoughts into a single coherent though. She knew she had to do something to shake Harry a little. She wondered if she could do it.
She turned back around and flew towards Harry moving side to side once again and she pretended the throw the ball to the left hoop again, which Harry fell for. Rachel moved quickly and threw the quaffle into the right hoop instead. Harry stopped and tried to turn quickly but he was too slow.
'How'd you do that?' he asked frowning.
'Well, I pretended to the throw it that way but I didn't let the quaffle go.'
'That's mean,' Harry said as he went to retrieve the quaffle. Rachel smiled as she waited. She just then realised how much she missed this. Soaring into the air without a care and feeling the wind through your hair and on your face. It almost felt like being at Beauxbatons again. She sighed and shook those thoughts from her head as Harry came back.
After another twenty-eight attempts they landed on the ground and walked up to the castle together. 'So, how did I do?' Rachel asked looking at Harry.
He shrugged. 'You got most through and even the ones you didn't were quite good attempts.' Harry stopped walking and so did Rachel when she noticed. She looked at Harry who seemed to be making a difficult decision and he sighed. 'Ok, I'll let you play chaser later this afternoon, and after that I'll keep you as a reserve but I will have to make sure everyone knows that I chose you fairly.'
He started walking again and Rachel did too. 'Who else did you have in mind for this?' she asked slowly.
'Well, I had a couple of Gryffindor's in mind. Dean was one, and Cormac, even though he can be quite big-headed.'
'What do you mean "quite big-headed"? He is big-headed, everyone knows it. Though some people will argue that he's just passionate about Quidditch,' Rachel said smiling.
Harry laughed. 'I wouldn't call it passion, I would call it rage.'
Rachel then laughed herself and Harry laughed harder. She stopped for a moment as she held her side. She did watch the last Quidditch match and she did notice Cormac in the stands; he seemed a little more than enthusiastic about Gryffindor winning. Rachel found it quite funny, though Hermione thought it was stupid. Rachel knew that Hermione wasn't fond of Quidditch like Harry, Ron and a lot of other people in the school were.
They both went to the locker rooms and showered before going back to Gryffindor Tower. Rachel spotted Alicia in one corner talking to a couple of friends. She approached her slowly. Alicia and her friends turned to her and watched. Alicia smiled a little.
'Did Harry let you on the team?' she asked still smiling.
Rachel nodded. 'Yeah, then he'll keep me as a reserve.'
'That's great,' Alicia said beaming.
'Um, what about your Quidditch robes?' Rachel asked slowly. 'Do you want them back?'
'Oh, you can keep them. Do they fit Ok?'
'Yeah, they fit great.'
'Good, like I said you can keep them. I do have another spare pair. The ones I gave you are a little bit older, and I'm sure you could get some new ones if you wanted,' she said kindly.
Rachel smiled. 'Thanks.'
Rachel walked up to her dormitory and placed the robes on her bed. She grabbed her books and walked to her first class. Harry had informed her that Quidditch matches were not usually held on Fridays but they had a game to make up for and now Rachel could feel pressure on her. She was new to the team and she didn't want to let them down.
She also knew that Ginny was now on the team. In a way, Rachel didn't like it. She didn't want Ginny to get in her way. She knew Ginny didn't like her and would love to humiliate her. She already didn't believe that she was Harry's sister. For a short moment she wondered how far Ginny would go.
Her first lesson today was Charms. She entered the classroom and sat beside Hermione. Rachel actually like Charms class. It was usually fun and entertaining. She looked around the room and her eyes locked onto Theodore's and she looked away quickly. She took a few notes before looking up again. For some reason, she couldn't concentrate.
She kept thinking about Charlie. She couldn't imagine why he hadn't written back to her. She knew he was in Romania and he probably had plenty of work to do but still, she wanted to know if he was interested in her at all. He was eight years older than her; she could understand if he wasn't interested at all. Maybe she read the signals wrong. Maybe he was just being friendly and nice to her. Every time she thought back over the letter she wrote him the more embarrassed she felt. He must think she's the biggest idiot.
She sighed a little and got back to work quickly and tried to forget it. Her next lesson was Astronomy. She walked there with Hermione, but nothing was said between them. Hermione looked at her every now and then but she remained quiet. But somehow, Rachel knew she wanted to say something. There looked to be something bothering her.
The lesson after that was Herbology. Rachel was never good at this subject. She wondered why she chose to do it though. She wasn't sure if she would need it. Her last class of the day was Potions. She was starting to enjoy this class. She did find Slughorn quite overwhelming but she was sure that it was just his personality.
During this lesson she couldn't help but look over at the Slytherin's. All of them were working. Her eyes wondered over Draco, Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle but then came to rest on Theodore who was looking back at her. She didn't look away this time, she held his gaze. He smiled lightly but Rachel just kept staring. After a moment she heard someone clear their throat and it was Slughorn. Rachel quickly looked back down into her cauldron and kept making her potions.
Thoughts ran through her mind again. She felt like things were unravelling and there wasn't anything she could do to stop it right now. She was learning new things about Remus, Harry, her parents, and it was starting to become a lot to take in. She now realised that she didn't really know anyone that well. She wanted to talk to Remus, but she would wait until the Easter holidays. She wanted to talk to him in person. It was the best way to do it.
Later that afternoon Rachel stood in the Gryffindor locker room and she was breathing funny. It had been a few months since her last match. She kept having thoughts of falling off her broom in front of everyone, or dropping the quaffle or something worse. The last thing she wanted was to make a fool of herself. She shook her hands as they began to shake and she took a few deep breaths.
She looked around her quickly as Ritchie and Jimmy sat beside her and Alicia stood in front of her. 'Relax, you'll be fine.'
Rachel tried to smile but only managed to lift the corners of her mouth. Questions ran through her mind with her fears. What if I fail? What if I let the team down? What if I play badly? What if they won't want me on the team anymore?
Rachel moved her head side to side and looked between Ritchie Coote and Jimmy Peakes, who were sitting on either side of her. They were looking at her as though wondering if she were real. 'I'm sure you'll do fine,' Ritchie said smiling.
'Yeah,' Jimmy agreed. 'I'm sure you have natural talent like Harry.'
Alicia walked over to them again quickly. 'Ok, you two move away.' Alicia began shifting Ritchie and Jimmy away from her. 'She's nervous enough without you two talking about Harry's natural talent.'
They moved away quickly and Alicia sighed then walked to her locker to tie her hair up. Hearing that her brother had natural talent didn't make Rachel feel any better. It doesn't mean it would run in the family. She has played before but she felt no pressure there.
Rachel sighed herself and stood up. She looked in the mirror and moved her head a little. Her green eyes were bright and she had already tied her long black hair up into a high ponytail. She closed her locker door and picked up her broom. She looked it over. She was ready, but she was still nervous. She looked up as she heard someone giggle. It sounded a lot like Ginny.
She looked over near Harry's locker and saw Harry and Ginny standing there together. They were both ready for the match too, but Rachel thought Ginny had her mind on something else right now. She moved to stand closer to Harry and he smiled slightly.
'Are you going to wish me luck?' Ginny asked him quietly.
'Why? You should wish it to me,' Harry said smiling.
Ginny shrugged. 'You don't need it.'
Harry smiled but said nothing. Ginny put her arms around Harry and she placed her hands on the back of Harry's head. She pulled him to her and she kissed him gently on the lips. Rachel was still watching them. For a split second she felt angry. Ginny was throwing herself at Harry and Rachel knew it. She continued to watch as Harry stroked Ginny's cheek gently with his hand.
They broke apart quickly when the announcement was called about the match starting. Harry looked at Rachel but he said nothing. His face went a little pink. Rachel looked to Ginny then but she just pouted at her, as though saying, I won.
Rachel shook her head and stood beside Alicia, who looked at her and smiled encouragingly. She still felt nervous but she decided to hold it in. She looked over to Ron quickly who was the keeper and he was glaring at Ginny still. Rachel wondered if he liked the idea of his best friend and his sister together. She thought he looked almost green.
The whole team moved to the entrance and hoped on their brooms. When the horn sounded they all kicked off the ground and fly into the air onto the pitch. Rachel followed Katie and they all got into position. Alicia sat in the middle of the chasers. Rachel was glad to stay away from Ginny. She looked across from them at the Slytherin team. She had learnt that the three chasers were Urquhart, Vaisey and Warrington. The three of them were big and looked mean. She didn't think this game was going to go well.
Madam Hooch flew around them when they were all in position and she yelled to the two captains to keep the game clean, but Rachel didn't think that was likely. She looked to the Gryffindor stands and saw Hermione wave at her. She waved back and smiled nervously. She turned back and watched Madam Hooch and within a few seconds she blew the whistle and the game began. The students around the pitch became loud and boisterous and were shouting out for their team.
The quaffle flew into the air and Alicia moved forwards and caught it before Urquhart could take it. Both Rachel and Ginny followed and they passed the quaffle to each other a few times before they reached the goalposts and Alicia stopped and threw the quaffle towards the middle hoop. The Slytherin keeper had panicked and moved the wrong way.
Gryffindor went up by ten points and the Gryffindor students got louder. The next few points were once again scored by Alicia. Rachel managed to get a couple in, as did Ginny. When they score had become sixty-forty in favour of Gryffindor, Rachel looked around quickly to see where Harry was but he was still in the same position, evidently he hadn't seen the snitch yet.
She looked back just in time to catch the quaffle and she headed towards the Slytherin's goalposts. She kept going even though two Slytherin chasers appeared beside her. Rachel tried to look around for help but she didn't find it. Alicia was back at their posts and was trying to catch them but she couldn't see Ginny anywhere. She yelled out as Warrington grabbed the quaffle from her and almost pushed her off her broom as well. However, it didn't go unnoticed by Hooch who blew the whistle and everyone stopped flying for a moment.
She flew over to them. 'Gryffindor gets one free shot at goal,' she announced.
The Slytherin chasers weren't happy to hear it and they moved closer to Hooch. 'What the hell for?' Vaisey yelled in Hooch's face.
'One more outburst and it will become more,' she said firmly. 'Warrington almost pushed Potter off her broom and that is not allowed,' she yelled back to him. She took off and blew the whistle again. Rachel took the quaffle and moved into position. She wished Alicia could take this shot. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Rachel threw the quaffle as hard as she could towards the right hoop. To her amazement it went in.
She smiled broadly to herself but she still felt a little shaken. She had been almost pushed off her broom, that had never happened before. It scared her, she could have fallen to the hard ground and cracked her head open. She flew back into position and the game started again.
Suddenly, Rachel saw what looked to be a blur whiz past her, but then she realised it was Harry. He might have seen the snitch. Rachel didn't think she would be able to play seeker, the small ball seemed too swift for her. She didn't turn back quick enough though as a ball came towards her and hit her on the side of the head. She swayed on her broom and her head began to spin. Everything looked fuzzy.
Rachel looked to see what it was that hit her. She looked to the ground and saw the quaffle lying there. She must have been close to the ground. She felt her leg slip from the broom and she felt it disappear, like it melted.
Then everything went black.
