Hey, it's me! Here's the next chapter in this new saga! Read and Review!
Chapter 11
The week before the Quidditch match, the excitement seemed to revenate through the school. The former Gryffindor Professors, such as Professor Marxis, even lightened on the homework. Piccolo even seemed to lighten up on the training. Tensions were also at an all time high. The team members often stayed in groups to avoid getting cursed or jinxed by overzealous fans of Slytherin, especially after Petra almost got nailed by a leg locker jinx by Jaina Warren, a 6th year Slytherin. Victoria even had to go to detention for hitting Ashley West with a disorientation Jinx. She didn't have a single regret.
"What happened to peace and brotherhood among houses?" James groaned the Saturday before the match while playing a match of Wizard Chess with Zane. Zane laughed with amusement as he moved his bishop, taking James' knight.
"Competition drives the best crazy. One of the only things to stay the same since your old man's day." Zane answered, getting roars of laughter from the other Gryffindors. When the day finally arrived, James felt terrified to the pit of his stomach.
"Bloody hell. You look awful." Teddy observed as they sat at the Gryffindor table. James, for one of the first times in his life, could not eat. Bardock didn't eat much either, just some toast.
"Nervous, huh? I felt the same way before my first game." Victoria chuckled as she ruffled James's hair. He yelped as he stared at Victoria, who simply giggled.
"In his defense, you were in third year." Jennifer smirked.
"Hey guys!" James frowned as a girl Victoria's age plopped into an empty seat to his left. She grinned as she pulled a notebook from her robes and a quill, which started to scribble by itself. She was actually really pretty, with black hair that had blue streaks in it, a Ravenclaw symbol on her shirt, and bright brown eyes.
"So, James Potter! Are you excited about this match? Continuing the Potter legacy? What do you think your parents would think about this? Your father must be proud!" James blinked in confusion at the girl.
"Wha?" he sputtered
"Hey! No interviews, Skyler!" she frowned in confusion as Robert stomped up to her, an annoyed expression on his face.
"Aw come on, Robby! The students want to know the facts!" she protested. He glared at her. After a few minutes, she lightly shrugged.
"Fine. You and Princess Son are so going into the gossip column." She smirked as she snapped her notebook shut and walked out the Great Hall with a smile on her face.
"Who was that?" Bardock blinked in confusion.
"Emily Skyler, 5th year Ravenclaw, and top reporter of the Hogwarts Prophet." Robby snarled.
"What's that?" Megan asked curiously.
"I've heard of it. Isn't that a newspaper organization here at Hogwarts?" Zane asked. Alice nodded.
"Oh yeah. Got founded twelve years ago. It's a volunteer program that you can do to get extra credit in Wizarding Journalism. Professor Watson runs it. Everyone gets them same time as the other papers, but you don't have to pay a thing. Really neat stuff. Just like the Prophet. Even a column like Skeeter. There's even a Wizard of the Month." She explained.
"Sounds neat!" Megan smiled.
"It is. I just got their latest issue. They did an interview piece with Professor Brown. Really well done." Stacy added.
"And, most of the reporters end up working at professional papers when they graduate. My sister's a reporter at the Prophet." Emily added with a smirk.
"Good to know." Zane replied.
"Not really a big fan of reporters." James shuddered. A roar of laughter made them turn to see Bulla stride up to them.
"Nervous, James? After all, this isn't a family friendly match where everyone plays for fun. This is the real deal. One wrong move, and you're in the hospital wing for a week." James gulped as his hands shook. Victoria rolled her eyes.
"If you're going to throw up, do it on Bulla's shoes. They're imported from Paris." Victoria smirked. Bulla sneered as she looked at Victoria, sneering with a smile on her face that eerily reminded James of Vegeta.
"That cup is staying with us this year." She smirked as she whirled and strode back to the Ravenclaw table with her hair flapping behind her.
"What was that about?" Megan asked with a confused expression on her face.
"Bulla wants us to lose so that they can go against Hufflepuff or Slytherin. She's scared, but doesn't want to admit it. Must be that saiyan pride that you lot are always going on and on about." Robert smirked.
"Like father, like daughter." Teddy laughed.
"Let's win and scare the bloody hell out of her." Robert smirked, getting laughter in response. James's fear did not fade as he got ready in the locker room, pulling on his Quidditch gear. The only difficult part was sliding his tail through the back of
"Listen up!" Robert called as he gathered everyone up in the locker room.
"This is the first game, and let's make it one to remember, especially since it's James and Bardock's first game ever!" Bardock laughed nervously as the players laughed and cheered, clapping them both on the back. James gulped nervously.
"Let's beat the hell out of Slytherin and show all of Hogwarts what we can do!" he grinned, getting cheers from the other players. James smiled as Bardock patted him on the shoulder. Then, they left the rooms and filed under the stands.
"I felt the same way before my first match, James." James nodded as Robert stood next to him, smirking as he looked around.
"How'd it go?" he asked.
"Well… a bludger broke my arm and put me in the hospital wing for a week." Robert frowned. Victoria punched him in the arm, causing him to yelp and look at her.
"Well, I wasn't a saiyan!" he defended nervously.
"Really? Another snide remark, you're not getting squat." She glared, getting whistles and cat calls. James sighed as he ran a gloved hand over his head. Then, he looked up at the sound of a whistle.
"Let's go kick some ass." Bardock grinned as they marched through the gates. James was a little overwhelmed at first at the gigantic stadium and the huge crowds of people. Sure, he had gone to Quidditch tournaments with his family as a kid, even the World Cup(which was much bigger.), but it was another thing entirely to be on the field itself. He gulped nervously as he saw the Slytherin team enter from the opposite side. He could even see the several groups of camera crews prepping to film the game. That was relatively new.
These days, there was a whole channel on WIZ-TV just for the Hogwarts Quidditch Games, which he was pretty sure his dad was partially responsible for. He wondered if Albus and Lily were watching from home. They probably were. And Lily would nag his butt like crazy during the holidays. James blinked as the Slytherin team strode out from the opposite side of the field, amid a mixture of cheers and boos. Professor Finnigan strode out onto the field and stood between the two games, the box containing the quaffle, bludgers, and Snitch.
"Shake hands, you two." She stated. Robert rolled his eyes as he shook hands with the Slytherin Captain, Eric Magnus. Ashley smiled as she looked at James gave him a playful wink, causing him to blush. Bardock snickered.
"I want a clean game today! No low hits, no fouls, no cheating in general! Of course, none of you will listen, I remember what that's like…" Katie muttered the last part softly, but could still be heard by the players. Victoria sneered as she looked at Ashley. She countered with a smirk.
"Players, mount your broom!" James gulped as he mounted his broom and rose into the air with the other players. Then, Professor Finnigan released the bludgers, followed by the Snitch. Finally, she blew a whistle as she tossed the Quaffle into the air. Victoria shot out first and snatched the Quaffle a second before one of the Slytherin chasers, and quickly flew towards the goal, Bardock at her side. James quickly took off, searching for the bright flash of the Snitch. After a few minutes, a loud roar made James turn to see Victoria hurl the Quaffle right through the Keeper's hands. She laughed as she pumped her fist and swung around. James gritted his teeth in frustration as he flew around the pitch once again, still not seeing the Snitch. Another roar made him whirl to see Bardock snatch the quaffle out of the air
"Nothing yet?" Robert called out as James flew by him. James snarled and shook his head.
"Keep looking. But make sure we have a large enough lead first, at least by fifty points. Vi and Bardock seem to be keeping us strong!" He grinned. James nodded as he took off down the pitch.
Bardock was having the time of his life, flying through the air. He shot next to Victoria, who nodded as she hurled the Quaffle at him, snagging it right out of the air and hurling it through the hoop for another ten points, getting a roar from the crowd.
"You are a natural!" Victoria laughed as she high-fived him. Bardock grinned, but quickly yelped as a bludger missed him by an inch.
"Way too close!" he shuddered before shooting off after the quaffle, which was currently wrapped beneath the arm of one of the Slytherin chasers. Robert snagged it and hurled it to Bardock, who smirked as he grabbed it and shot down the pitch. When Slytherin called a time-out an hour later, the score was 80-30, Gryffindor. Emily had knocked out one of the Slytherin Chasers, while Petra had gotten hit on the side by a wayward bludger. Robert had also gotten hit in the shoulder. The Snitch hadn't been seen yet by either side.
"Great job so far, you guys! Bardock, Vi, Morganstern, great hustle! How's the side?" Petra winched as she slid the side of her shirt up, where a purple bruise was already forming.
"Ouch." Bardock shuddered.
"I should get Marron." Victoria frowned.
"You should sit this one out, Petra." She shook her head.
"I'm fine. I'll go to the Hospital Wing the minute James is holding that Snitch." Petra smirked as she slid her shirt down. Robert rolled his eyes as he quickly kissed Victoria, getting laughter from the rest of the team.
"There's our favorite lovebirds!" the commenter yelled, getting whistles and cat-calls. He ignored them as he looked at the rest of the team.
"Nice shot with the Bludger, Wood!" she beamed. A warning whistle snapped them all back to reality.
"Keep up the pace, guys, game's not over yet! Chasers, keep adding up the points. Beaters, keep the Bludgers away from the Chasers and James, and try to take out West! Taking out Slytherin's seeker will make this a whole lot easier. I'll keep the quaffles out of the goals, and don't get knocked out." The next whistle made them quickly mount their brooms and fly into the air. A half hour later, the score had gone to 110-50, and James was getting frustrated as he flew around the pitch yet once again.
"Having trouble, James?" he whirled to see Ashley West hovering behind him with a smile on her face
"Same as you. But we're winning." He countered. She chuckled.
"Not till the snitch is caught." She grinned. At that moment, a yellow flash darted right across her face, causing them both to stare for a split second, then at each other, before shooting after the Snitch.
"And it looks like the Seekers have seen the Snitch!" James ignored him as he weaved through the air, never taking his eyes off the darting flash of light, desperately reaching out for it. At the same time, he could see Ashley reaching out, her fingers just skimming the Snitch. Her arms were longer, so that was helping. In a last ditch maneuver, he threw his arm out wildly. A loud scream echoed through the area, and James yelped as he felt his broom shatter and flip through the air, getting shocked screams as he saw a Bludger shoot off. Then, he felt himself slam into something soft, with a shocked yell. He sputtered as he slammed into the ground, although it was softened by whatever was beneath him. He groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head.
"I'd appreciate it if you got off of us." He looked down to see Bardock glaring at him. Ashley was lying several feet away.
"Sorry." James grinned as he pulled his cousin up. Another groan made him look to see Ashley stumble to her feet, winching as she wiped blood from her head and fixed her dishelmed robes. James frowned as he felt his hand twitch. He opened it to see the Snitch fluttering in his hand. Bardock grinned as he clapped James on the back.
"Nice!"
"Oh yeah!" James roared as he thrust his fist into the air, getting cheers.
"POTTER GOT THE SNITCH, POTTER GOT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" James grinned as the rest of the team swooped down, cheering. Ashley glared at him for a moment, but then smiled and strolled off towards the exit.
"Way to go, James!" Victoria grinned. James smiled. This was turning out the be a pretty great year after all!
Great, right? Sorry it's been so long. Read and Review!
