Chapter 9: The Quidditch Match
Tabitha and Matilda didn't know what was worse; people saying they'd be brilliant, or people saying they would be running under them with a mattress.
Most of those saying the latter were Slytherins, but some were concerned older students who actually though they might die. Percy, for instance. Their friends and fellow Quidditch members were sure they'd do great, but that didn't stop them from feeling queasy.
One day, three days before the match, several owls brought in a long, skinny package and dropped it in front of the twins. A letter fell on top of that.
"What do you think…" Matilda's voice trailed off. The others were speechless. Tabitha grabbed the letter and opened it first, which was a very good thing:
DO NOT OPEN THE PACKAGE AT THE TABLE!
It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand. We don't want the other students to know we're bending the rules for you, so open it in private and TELL NO ONE.
The friends glanced at each other, before they all got up as one and started for the door.
To their surprise, Pansy Parkinson, along with Odette Silverstein and Laura Jameson intercepted them at the door.
Pansy grabbed the package from Matilda before they could stop her and felt it.
"A broomstick, ah Potter?" she sneered, grinning. "You'll be in for it this time. First years aren't allowed brooms."
"Give it back, Parkinson!" said Millie, yanking the package roughly back.
"What seems to be the problem here?" squeaked Professor Flitwick, walking over to them.
"The Potter's have been sent a broomstick, Professor!" cried Odette gleefully.
"Ah yes!" said Flitwick merrily. "I heard about the special circumstances. I hope you two do well." He winked and left. Pansy looked like she had swallowed a lemon.
Once upstairs behind Koitleen's tapestry, everyone watched as Tabitha and Matilda ripped open the parcel.
Everyone gasped.
Shined to perfection, every twig perfectly in line, and, glistening on the handle, the words Nimbus Two Thousand in gold lettering.
"Wow," Ron breathed. "This match is in the cauldron."
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The morning of, the girls could barely force down some toast and orange juice. The Gryffindor first years had surprised them by making a banner that said, "Matilda and Tabitha for Minister" in ink that flashed different colours. Dean Thomas – a very good drawer – had drawn a picture of a Gryffindor lion chewing up a snake under it.
The twins heard nothing of Wood's pep talk as they changed into their scarlet and gold uniforms. They followed behind Wood, Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Fred, and George, one of them on either side of the Nimbus. Ron, Hermione, Euterpe, Neville, Aaric, Millie and Hagrid, who had come out to watch the twins, were sitting with the other Gryffindor First-Years in the stands.
Madam Hooch ordered them to play a nice clean game, and then had Wood and the Slytherin captain – Marcus Flint – shake hands.
They took off.
Once in the air, the girls relaxed tremendously. Perfectly coordinated, they took their spot far over the other players and watched for the Snitch. Lee Jordan was commentating, and was frequently yelled at by Professor McGonagall for being biased and talking about how beautiful Angelina Johnson was, rather than the game itself. The twins found it quite humorous.
Soon Gryffindor scored, and the crowd erupted. The girls did some loop–d–loops to let off their excitement, then focused on the Snitch again.
After a few minutes, there was a cry of outrage from the red and gold crowd, and a good portion of the blue and bronze and black and yellow houses as well. Marcus Flint had purposely flown into the twins, pushing hard into Matilda's shoulder and nearly knocking her off.
"Red card, ref! Send him off!" cried Dean. At Ron's, Neville's, and Euterpe's confused looks, Hermione had to explain what a red card was to the others, then tell Dean that players weren't sent off the field in Quidditch.
Alicia scored the penalty points, and the gamed continued. Then…
"Hey – what's wrong with the twins?" Euterpe suddenly said, grabbing Hagrid's binoculars.
Tabitha and Matilda gasped as their broom lurched.
"What was that?" Tabitha cried, holding on tight.
"I don't know…maybe the wind?"
But it wasn't the wind. The broom jerked again, nearly unseating the girls.
"There's something wrong with the broom!" cried Millie, who had stolen a pair of binoculars from a nearby student.
"Maybe something happened when Flint crashed into them," Hermione suggested.
"Nah," said Hagrid, squinting up at the two. "Nothin' but powerful Dark magic can interfere with a Nimbus Two Thousan'…no kid could do tha' to a broom."
All three girls suddenly gasped in realization, and quickly began to scan the audience.
Meanwhile, Matilda was trying desperately to hang on to the tail of the broom while Tabitha tried not to slide of the end and fall into her. The game was completely on hold; Marcus Flint grabbed the quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing. Fred and George were flying near the twins, trying to pull them to safety on their brooms, but every time they got close, the broom jumped up another few feet. After a few minutes, they settled for circling under the twins, obviously intending to catch them if they fell.
"There!" cried Hermione and Euterpe at the same time.
"It's Snape!" Hermione said, "He's staring at them, mumbling, and he's not blinking! He must be cursing them!"
"But Quirrell's doing the same thing!" Euterpe protested. "Look!"
Indeed he was.
"Well, one must be trying the counter-curse!" said Hermione.
"We need to stop them!" yelled Ron, who was gingerly patting Neville on the back while the boy sobbed into Hagrid's large cloak.
"Leave it to us!" Euterpe and Hermione cried in unison.
The broom was now vibrating; Tabitha was straddling it, hanging upside down as she tried to reach her twin's hand without falling. Matilda was barely clinging to the last inches of the tail.
Two Gryffindor girls ran through the stands to the other side of the field, Euterpe going to crouch behind Quirrell, Hermione behind Snape. At the same time, they both murmured a spell and two jets of blue fire went shooting out of their wands.
At the same time in the air, there was a gasp and several screams; Matilda's fingers had slipped. Letting herself slide down the broom until only her knees were clasped around the twigs, Tabitha barely managed to grab Matilda's hand. At that second, the curse broke and the girls were able to clamber back onto their broom amidst cheers throughout the crowd. Neville was still sobbing, Millie was green, and Ron and Aaric were paper-white. Up in the air, the twins were both shaking from adrenaline, clutching each other tightly and trying to breathe deeply.
The game resumed with Gryffindor still in the lead. After just a few seconds, Matilda cried out in Tabitha's ear, "The Snitch! I see it!" she pointed down at the bottom of the Gryffindor goal posts and they dived, just scraping the ground as they grabbed it at the same time, one wing in each of the twin's hands – Tabitha's left, and Matilda's right.
The twins couldn't remember being this happy in a long time – though part of that may have been the adrenaline from their near death experience. After being hugged and kissed by everyone on the Gryffindor team – Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were all crying – they saw their friends.
"I can't believe you're alive!" Hermione exclaimed, nearly sobbing as she tackled the twins with Euterpe and Millie right behind her. Hagrid thumped them on the back roughly, and Neville congratulated them thickly through Hagrid's table-cloth sized handkerchief.
Once everyone went inside for lunch and the twins were just putting their broom away, they noticed Snape walking quickly towards the ForbiddenForest. The others had told them what Snape or Quirrell had been doing, so Matilda said, "Should we follow him?"
"That wouldn't be very nice…" Tabitha said slowly, before adding with a slight grin, "Definitely."
They hopped back on the Nimbus for speed and followed Snape into the forest, landing silently over him in a tree.
He wasn't alone.
Professor Quirrell was there, and it seemed like Snape was threatening him to find out what Quirrell knew about the three-headed dog and how to get past it. Quirrell stuttered that he didn't know anything, and Snape said he would be watching him, before he swooped away.
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During lunch Tabitha and Matilda told their friends what they had heard.
Hermione spoke first. "Well if we know what the dog is guarding already..."
"More or less, at least," broke in Aaric.
"Then we should try and find out what the dog is." Euterpe finished.
"Right," agreed Euterpe. "Let's think: who in Hogwarts is most likely to know about the dog?"
"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would know," said Ron. "He knows everything."
"But we can't ask him," said Millie. "That would be too suspicious."
The children sat for a moment, thinking. After a few minutes, Hermione snapped her fingers.
"I know!" she cried. "Hagrid! He knows all about magical creatures."
"Great idea Hermione!" said Matilda. "We can go to his house after lunch."
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"How'd you lot find out abou' Fluffy?" demanded Hagrid.
"Fluffy?" said Ron in disgust.
"Never mind that," said Tabitha. "Is he yours?"
"Yup," Hagrid said proudly. "I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the–"
"Yes?" Euterpe prompted.
"Never mind," he said quickly, "Tea?"
"Hagrid, we know he's guarding something," said Millie.
"That don' concern you," he insisted. "What's under that trap door is between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."
"Oh, so there's someone named Nicholas Flamel involved!" cried Aaric.
Hagrid looked furious with himself.