Chapter 10: More Marks
Seven more marks had been made over Christmas break. Nobody was any closer in figuring out who had put them there. The only measure that had been taken, was for Mr. Hall to make more sweeps than usual. Mr. Hall was the caretaker for Hogwarts. And according to James, he used to be an Unspeakable working in the Department of Mysteries until they had to use a memory charm on him, in which he lost more of his memory than intended. He was quite skilled in catching all troublemakers, and it was the only thing he still seemed quite capable of. But even he wasn't able to catch the culprit in the act. Albus began having nightmares of a witch in red robes running around Hogwarts, putting up more marks. Each time he was able to see her face - it was someone different. Piper Holly. Professor DeMontmorency. Even Professor Atlee. He often lay in bed at night wondering just how safe Hogwarts was. He also wondered if Lady Sinister were putting up the marks herself - or if it was one of her followers. Death Eaters in Hogwarts. That was the last thing that he wanted.
"I think the teachers are starting to get worried." said Rose, staring at the mark that had been made outside of the Slytherin Dungeon.
Albus didn't tell Rose about his nightmares. He didn't need her to worry too. He was doing enough of that for the both of them.
Once term started back, the nightmares became less frequent. Albus didn't have as much time to think about Lady Sinister, or her marks. Class had managed to distract him, at least a little. Even History of Magic managed to take more of his time than Lady Sinister. On top of classes, was Quidditch practice, which Keegan insisted on them having nearly every day. "We have to beat Ravenclaw. Or we'll be a laughing stock." he kept reminding them.
Wind nor snow nor freezing rain could stop Keegan from forcing them out to the Quidditch Pitch to practice. All of the team players were to be on their best behavior - getting detention and missing a practice now, would mean having to practice harder later. Donahue had once threatened to quit the team if Keegan didn't let him study for his test in Divinations, but Keegan wasn't going to let him hold the team hostage for some fortune telling. "Unless you predict we're going to win, we have to practice as much as we can!". Albus was one of the only ones who didn't mind the constant training. Even Kerissa seemed to want to get away. But for Albus, this was about redemption. After he let the team down against Gryffindor... If they could just beat Ravenclaw, they'd still have a chance at winning the Quidditch Cup.
As the match approached, things in Slytherin House grew tense. A loss knocked them out of the race for the Cup. And seeing as they hadn't won since the defeat of You-Know-Who, losing again would be demoralizing. Quidditch was about all anyone could talk about. Students began offering to do the homework of players on the team. But none of them took up the offer. Some felt it was too big of a risk, and that if they were caught, they'd be spending the game in detention. Albus and Kerissa on the other hand turned it down, because they knew they couldn't neglect their studies and still do well.
It was on a very snowy day, that Keegan came bearing bad news. When the team stepped on to the field, they stood shivering waiting for Keegan to explain just what the bad news was.
"I've got some bad news," he started. "Today is going to be our last practice for a while. Hufflepuff has found itself a new Beater, and has requested the field for the next couple of days in order to train him."
A couple of players on the team clapped. Albus and Kerissa did not.
"The worst part isn't losing out on practice... but that Hufflepuff already beat Ravenclaw. Sure, we need them to beat Gryffindor, but we've gotta beat them too."
"Relax." said Winchester. "We've got Balfour on our team. She can score on anyone."
Practice went about as well as anyone could hope. Keegan had pushed them harder than he ever had before. But everyone, including Kerissa, was seeing improvement.
At the end of practice, Albus and Kerissa stayed behind while the rest of the team went off ahead.
"We've gotta win." said Albus. "And I've gotta catch the snitch."
"You'll do fine!" Kerissa tried to assure him. But he wasn't confident in himself.
When they got back to Slytherin Dungeons, it was starting to get late. Albus and Kerissa sat with Rose and Scorpis, as they practiced turning a spoon into a shovel.
"Palaroto!"
Albus had managed to turn his spoon into a shovel, but the shape was off. It was more square than everyone else's. But at least it was the right size. Scorpius had managed a nice shape, but his shovel was small.
As they reverted their shovels back into spoons, Gideon stumbled into the common room. His face was covered in pimples, and it looked as if he had been crying.
"What happened?" Rose asked him, as she made room for him to sit next to them.
"David Hunt." said Gideon.
David Hunt was a trouble maker. He had caused as much trouble as Albus's brother James, and then some. He had spread rumors that Albus was the one who put up the mark in the halls on Halloween. Luckily nobody believed him. Nobody believed him when he said that Rose had used polyjuice potion to turn herself into another student either. Picking on Slytherin students was his favorite hobby.
"What did he do this time?" asked Albus.
"He told me that Alexa Moon wanted to talk to me. A lot of good that did though... I met her where he told me to... and she jinxed me!"
"You should tell Professor Pardayle!" said Rose.
Gideon shook his head. "I'm stuck in Slytherin. If I snitch on someone now... I'll have to live with that for seven years. Besides... it's not like that was even the worst of it."
Gideon grimaced. "Hunt had followed me, and was laughing at me. Said I wasn't even fit to be in Slytherin."
"Oh! That Hunt... I suppose he think's he's so great." said Rose with a scornful look on her face.
"That wasn't even the worst of it. Ramsay Gladstone said that I wasn't even fit for Hogwarts."
Ramsay Gladstone was a Slytherin student in his third year. Albus had ran into him a couple of times, and he had never seemed nice. Albus realized how awful it had to be for Gideon - even his own house was picking on him. Something Albus realized would be his fate if he failed to catch the snitch.
The day before the big match, Albus had too much on his mind to think about much of anything - including the marks. At lunch he practiced the mending charm that Professor Atlee had went over in class. She didn't expect them to perfect it in their first year, but it was a good charm to practice now. And he knew it'd come in handy if anything important broke.
In Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were learning about Werewolves. Professor Pardayle tread carefully with the subject, suggesting that some werewolves are able to lead perfectly normal lives. Gideon managed to earn two points by identifying the signs of a werewolf. And Albus had earned two as well for being able to explain what Wolfsbane Potion was. Wolfsbane was a potion that would help a Werewolf maintain it's sanity during the full moon. It was a very complex potion that they wouldn't be learning about until the NEWT Level .
After classes were over, Keegan had the Slytherin Quidditch team practicing one last time before the game.
"Alright. We can still win this." he said. Nobody else was convinced. "Turner... I want you to be careful with the bludger. Try to avoid hitting our seeker with it."
Turner looked a bit guilty. It had seemed the Keegan knew that he had done it on purpose. But it also seemed that Albus's chat with him had done some good.
"Balfour, Winchester, and I will be trying to score as many points as we can." he continued. "Albus, we'll need you to catch the snitch at just the right time. Wait until we're far enough ahead, and if Gryffindor loses just one game, we'll still be in the running. Then we just have to beat Hufflepuff."
It all sounded simple enough. But catching the snitch at the right moment was even harder than just catching the snitch. Albus hoped that Kerissa and Owen would score fast and often, so that he could catch the snitch the moment he saw it.
Practice went better than expected. Albus felt much more comfortable on a broom than he did back in October. And without his brother going up against him, he felt that he could try some riskier moves. He would be far less nervous, and much less likely to make a mistake.
The team headed back to the Slytherin Dungeon together. When they got back, everyone was very quiet. They all knew what was at stake. Keegan made sure the entire team went to bed early. He wanted to make sure that everyone got a good nights rest for the big game.
But it was hard for Albus to fall asleep. He lie in bed awake thinking about lots of things. About catching the snitch... about his charm work. And even, for the first time in a while, about Lady Sinister.
The next day, Albus woke up early. For once, he felt confident about the game. He put his mind off of his classes, and everything else. He was focused solely on Quidditch.
"You better catch the snitch today, Potter." scowled Peyton Pratt. "Or you'll be thrown off the team!"
Albus had managed to avoid Peyton for a while now. He had hoped he'd be able to go the rest of term without seeing him. But that was nothing more than wishful thinking.
"Don't listen to him." said Piper, standing behind him. "I don't know how he was named Prefect sometimes. Just do your best, that's what matters!"
Albus tried to smile. But he couldn't help but feel Peyton was right. If he didn't catch the snitch today, Owen would probably kick him off the team himself. There was always next year, of course. But he'd have a reputation as a poor seeker. It was a stigma he did not want to live with.
After lunch, Albus and Kerissa headed down to the Quidditch Pitch, where they changed into their Forest Green Quidditch Robes. As they walked on to the Quidditch Pitch with the rest of the team, they saw that almost the entire school was there.
"Only one Potter can catch the snitch at this school." said Hunt, who had walked over to the Slytherin boothes only to taunt them.
"Sure, if you mean Albus." said Gideon, trying to earn some points with his fellow Slytherins. It seemed to work, as a couple of fourth years behind him agreed with him.
Once again River Jordan was commentating the game. Madam Bell blew the whistle, and they were off.
"Ravenclaw pretty much has this one in the bag. All they have to do is beam a bludger right at Slytherin's Seeker!"
Professor Atlee gave him a stern look.
"Ravenclaw has the Quaffle... intercepted by Winchester! Winchester passes it to Balfour, and Slytherin scores!"
Albus forewent clapping. He was looking closely for the snitch. He wanted to prove himself. Not just to sSytherin, but to himself as well.
Practice had seemed to pay off for Slytherin. Donahue was blocking everything Ravenclaw threw at him, and Keegan scored quickly, raising the score Twenty to Zero. But still, Albus had no sign of the snitch.
"...And Slytherin scores again. Slytherin Thirty, Ravenclaw Zero." said River, as Winchester managed to get the third shot in for the team.
Slytherin had once more gotten off to a good start. It wasn't too much unlike the last game. But that one had ended in disaster, and Albus had hoped that this one would be different. Kerissa and Owen scored once more each, making the score fifty to nothing. This gave Albus plenty of room to find the snitch. But it was nowhere in sight.
Donahue kept blocking shots, buying time for Albus. Ravenclaw seemed unable to score. But Albus knew that he couldn't keep it up forever. The faster he caught the snitch, the better.
"Kent passes it to Johnson... Johnson shoots... and misses! Slytherin has the Quaffle again. Can Ravenclaw score, or is it all up to their seeker?"
River had avoided insulting Ravenclaw too much. With Professor Atlee watching, he knew it was best he keep his mouth shut. But most people were thinking the same thing he was - Ravenclaw's chances were dropping. And their chasers weren't looking good at all.
The game continued on, still with no sign of the snitch. Albus began to feel sick at his stomach. He felt like he'd never find the snitch.
"Any sign of it, Potter?" asked Keegan.
Albus shook his head. "Just keep lookin'. You'll find it."
But Albus wasn't so sure.
Ravenclaw finally scored, as the crowd began muttering. Everyone was pointing up in the sky, and not in the direction of where Ravenclaw scored. Albus glanced up quickly to see what everyone else had saw. In the sky.. in red smoke... was the mark of Lady Sinister. Albus couldn't believe it. How had she done it? He then took a look at Kerissa. Her hair was as white as it ever had been, and her broom had suddenly caught on fire.
"Oh no!" shouted Rose, pointing towards her friend. "Is there anything we can do?"
"I'll go get Professor Pardayle!" said Piper, running off to find the head of house.
"Oh... and that's rough luck for the Slytherin team, as it looks like their best chaser goes down for the count."
It was then that Albus saw the snitch. Floating only a few feet above the ground. He looked over to Ravenclaw's seeker. He went into a quick dive, but Hawkins had seen him and began diving for the snitch as well.
"Hardy beams a Bludger right at Slytherin's seeker. This could be it folks! Can Potter dodge a bludger that's not from his own team?!"
Albus saw the bludger heading right for him. He swerved right, and kept heading straight for the snitch. He took a deep breath... reached out... and in an instant, he had grasped it in his hands.
"Potter catches the Snitch! Slytherin Wins! Two-Hundred to Ten!"
Cheers came roaring from the Slytherin side. Everyone was excited to see them win. Albus couldn't believe it. He had caught the snitch. He turned around to see Ravenclaw's seeker swerving upward to miss colliding with the ground. He had won the team the game. And by the points necessary to stay alive in the standings.
On the ground, Kerissa was cheering him on. "You did it Albus!" she said. "I told you that you could!"
"Yeah... but your broom."
"It'll be alright." she said. "It just needs a little servicing. But..."
The rest of the team landed near them, to celebrate their victory together.
"I knew you had it in you, Potter." said Keegan. "We all had faith in you."
Winchester laughed. "That was a right dirty trick of someone to set Balfour's broom on fire. But we still won, didn't we?"
"Yeah. Usually it's Slytherin that does the dirty tricks." said Keegan. "Mind you, nobody on this team would do anything like that. Any idea who might want to do this to you?"
Albus and Kerissa looked at each other. They both had wished they could read each other's minds. Should they tell the team? Was it safe to?
Kerissa shook her head. "No... I have no idea."
They couldn't explain Lady Sinister to the rest of the team. They just weren't sure who they could trust. And it wasn't like they could be of much help, either.
Just then Professor Pardayle approached the team.
"Well done, Potter." said the Professor. "Well done, indeed. Ms. Balfour, are you alright?"
Kerissa nodded.
"I think... we need to have a chat. In my office. You too, Potter."
Professor Pardayle then left. Albus and Kerissa knew what it was he wanted to discuss. But both of them were very nervous. They left the team to go see Professor Pardayle in his office.
"Ms. Balfour, I'm afraid that it's gotten far too dangerous for you to play Quidditch."
"But... Professor!" Kerissa protested.
But it was no good. "I'm sorry, but for your own safety I am banning you from Quidditch until we sort out this Lady Sinister."
"But we'll never beat Hufflepuff without Kerissa!" said Albus. "And I doubt that..."
"Your father agrees with me, Potter." said Professor Pardayle sternly. "With this attack, it's become clear. Lady Sinister will do anything to accomplish her goals."
Albus and Kerissa both sighed.
"You may go now. And Ms. Balfour? I'll be needing your broom. I'll inform Keegan that he'll have to find a new chaser."
Albus and Kerissa walked back to the Slytherin dungeons depressed. "Banned from Quidditch..." said Kerissa. Her hair was a light blue now.
"I'm sorry, Kerissa." he said. "If I had caught the snitch sooner..."
But Kerissa assured him that there wasn't anything he could do.
"I... should write to my uncle." she said. "I really should thank him for the gift. And he'll probably want to know that I can't play Quidditch now."
That night, Slytherin celebrated harder than it had in a very long time. Even Peyton Pratt seemed to be nice to Albus. But he had a hard time celebrating. They couldn't bare to tell the team that Kerissa wasn't allowed to play Quidditch. It would break their spirits. For one night, he felt, they should all be able to celebrate.
The next day, Keegan found out about Kerissa's ban.
"This is ridiculous!" he said. "We have a winning team, and now our head of house wants to ban our best player from playing!"
The rest of the team seemed none too happy either. They all wanted an explanation. They felt that Kerissa was being punished for being attacked. Several students stood up for her. It was a bit inspiring for Albus to see.
He wanted to tell them why it was dangerous for Kerissa to be out there. He wanted to tell them what the mark meant. And for the first time, he felt like he could. But he had decided against it. He had no idea how deep Lady Sinister had penetrated Hogwarts. He just couldn't take the risk.
Keegan eventually named Marlowe the temporary new chaser for the team. But everything about him was a downgrade from Kerissa. He had missed a number of shots in practice. His broom was an X12. And he didn't seem to have as much heart as Kerissa did.
The week went by, as Kerissa felt worse and worse about not being able to play Quidditch. Albus and Rose tried to cheer her up. But nothing seemed to do the trick.
On Saturday, Hufflepuff managed to beat Gryffindor. That had only made matters worse, as Kerissa knew that the team needed her more now than ever.
"I feel like I'm letting the team down." said Kerissa.
"It's not your fault. It's... hers." said Albus, trying to comfort her.
But there wasn't much he could do. Unless Lady Sinister was caught, Kerissa would have to sit out their game with Hufflepuff.
Albus tried thinking of how to convince Professor Pardayle to let Kerissa play. Keegan had put even more effort into it than he had. But there seemed to be no solution. No matter how much they had begged him, he refused.
Then, something had dawned on Albus. If he could find Lady Sinister, then Kerissa could play Quidditch again. If he could catch her... then Slytherin would have a chance at winning the Quidditch Cup.
"I have to catch her." said Albus to Kerissa and Rose.
"But that's dangerous!" Rose told him. But Albus wouldn't listen.
"I'm doing this."
"Then I'm going to help you." said Kerissa.
Albus wanted to say no. But he couldn't. It was Kerissa's life that was at risk here. She had every right to be involved in the hunt for Lady Sinister.
"But," said Rose. "Where do we start?"
Albus thought for a minute. Rose had a point - none of the school staff had been close to catching whoever it was making the marks. And it was obviously a high priority after the mark appeared above the Quidditch pitch in the match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw.
Then another idea dawned on him.
"Let's go see Hagrid." he said. "We need to ask him about Kerissa's parents. If we can find out why they targeted them, then we'll have a better idea of what to do."