disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just Arabella. Hope you all like it!

Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw

It seemed as though Ron and Hermione's friendship was over. Each was so angry with the other that Arabella could not see how they would ever make up. Ron was enraged with Hermione never taking Crookshanks's attempts to eat Scabbers seriously and trying to pretend that Crookshanks was innocent by suggesting that Ron look for Scabbers under all the boys' beds. Hermione, on the other hand, maintained fiercely that Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron had been prejudice against her cat ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.

Arabella thought that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, and when both she and Harry tried to point out the evidence to Hermione, she lost her temper with them too.

"Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!" she said shrilly. "First your presents, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just leave me alone, the both of you! I've got a lot of work to do!"

Ron had taken the loss of his rat very hard indeed, and Arabella doesn't see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley getting him another pet anytime soon.

"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," said Fred bracingly. "And he's been off-colour for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly – one swallow – he probably didn't feel a thing."

"Fred!" said Ginny.

"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron," said George, "you said it yourself."

"He bit Goyle for us once!" said Ron miserably. "Remember Harry?"

"Yeah, that's true," said Harry.

"His finest hour," mumbled Arabella, looking idly at her textbook.

"Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory," said Fred, unable to keep a straight face. "Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat, what's the point of moaning?"

In an effort to cheer up Ron, Harry invited him to come along to the Gryffindor team's final practice before the Ravenclaw match, so that he could have a ride on Harry's Firebolt after they'd finished. This did seem to take Ron's mind off Scabbers for a moment so they set off for the Quidditch field together. He sat with Madam Hooch, who was still overseeing Gryffindor practices to keep an eye on Arabella and Harry.

Once they got on the pitch, the Gryffindor team gathered around Wood for his final instructions for tomorrow's match.

"Harry, I've just found out who Ravenclaw is playing as Seeker. It's Cho Chang. She's a fourth year, and she's pretty good… I really hope she wouldn't be fit, she's had some problems with injuries…." Wood scowled and then said, "On the other hand, she rides a Comet Two Sixty, which is going to look like a joke next to the Firebolt." He gave the Firebolts a look of eager admiration, and then said, "Arabella, now, I want you to look out for Roger Davies. He can be very sneaky and he the fastest on the team."

"That's why he's captain," added Angelina. "He's going to try and knock you off your broom, especially since this is your first year on the team. Just get him back and he'll usually leave you alone."

"That's if he can catch you," said Wood. "He rides a Cleansweep Seven, which has absolutely nothing on the Firebolt." He sighed as he stared at the Firebolts once again. "Okay, everyone, let's go –"

Arabella mounted her Firebolt and kicked off from the ground. It was an absolute dream. The Firebolt turned with the slightest touch ad it obeyed her thoughts rather than her grip. She began to have a race with Harry as they sped across the field at such speeds that the stadium turned into a green and grey blur.

"Wicked," Harry whispered to her as they went into a perfectly controlled dive.

"Arabella!" yelled Angelina, getting her attention as Wood called something to Harry.

Katie passed Arabella the Quaffle as Harry caught the Snitch in under ten seconds. Everyone cheered wildly and Arabella managed to score five times on Wood himself. It was the best practice they have had this whole year. The team was inspired by the presence of two Firebolts and performed their best moves flawlessly. By the time they hit the ground, Wood did not have a single criticism to make, which was a first, according to George.

"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow!" said Wood. "Not unless – have the two of you sorted out your dementor problem?"

Arabella made a face as Harry said, "Yeah."

"The dementors won't turn up again, Oliver," said Fred. "Dumbledore'd go ballistic."

"Well, let's hope not," said Wood. "Anyway – good work, everyone. Let's get back to the tower… turn in early –"

"I'm staying out for a bit. Ron wants a go on the Firebolt," said Harry.

Arabella joined the rest of the team in the locker room got changed quickly, and set off back towards the castle. When she got to the doors of the castle, she turned back to the pitch to see Ron in the air, letting out a gleeful shout.

The next morning, Arabella went down to breakfast by herself. Just as she was about to enter the Great Hall, someone stopped her.

"What are you doing?" demanded Seamus. Dean, Neville, Ron and Harry were right behind him. "The Firebolts must enter together!"

Arabella looked at Harry, who merely shrugged and said, "I… I didn't bother fighting them."

It seemed as though Seamus thought that the Firebolts deserved some sort of grand entrance, and the other boys believed him. Arabella and Harry entered the Great Hall after Seamus, promising to wait a couple seconds before following him. As they entered, heads turned and many craned their necks to get a good look at their new brooms. There was a great deal of muttering and the Slytherin team were looking thunderstruck.

"Did you see his face?" said Ron gleefully as Arabella and Harry took their seats beside him. He turned to look at Malfoy. "He can't believe it! This is brilliant!"

Wood was basking in the glory of the Firebolts. "Put it here, you two."

He laid the brooms in the middle of the table and carefully turned them so that its name faced upward. People from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were soon coming over to look at them. Cedric Diggory came over to congratulate Harry on having acquired such a superb replacement for his Nimbus, and Penelope Clearwater asked if she could actually hold one of them. A couple of the Slytherin first years came and reported back to the older students.

Arabella smiled at Penelope when a cold, drawling voice arrived from behind her.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Black?"

Malfoy stood behind her with Crabbe and Goyle flanking him.

"Sure," said Arabella, shrugging.

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it, Potter?" said Malfoy, eyes shining maliciously. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute – in case you got too near a dementor."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered as Arabella rolled her eyes.

"Pity you can't attack an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," said Harry calmly. "Then it could catch the Snitch for you."

Orange juice shot out of Arabella's nose as the Gryffindor team laughed loudly. Malfoy narrowed his eyes and stalked away. They watched him rejoin the rest of the Slytherin team, who put their heads together, as though in conspiracy.

At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the locker rooms. It was a clear and cool day with very little breeze. There would be no problems like their previous game and Arabella started to feel excited, with much anticipation building in her chest. She could hear the rest of the school moving towards the stadium. Arabella changed into her Quidditch robes and tucked her wand inside her t-shirt.

"You know what we've got to do," said Wood as they prepared to leave the locker rooms. "If we lose this match, we're out of the running, just — just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!"

They walked out onto the field to riotous applause. The Ravenclaw team was already standing in the middle of the field. Arabella looked from the teacher's stand, trying to find Remus, and then towards the captain of the Ravenclaw team, Roger Davies. He had a small smile as he shook hands with Wood.

"Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch said briskly. "On my whistle… three – two – one –"

Arabella kicked off into the air and her Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than any other broom, besides Harry. She soared around the Ravenclaws as Katie got the Quaffle.

"They're off," called Lee Jordan's voice. His commentary was always very exciting. "And the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter and Arabella Black are flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship –"

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" interrupted Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Right you are, Professor — just giving a bit of background information — the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and—"

"Jordan!"

"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor, heading for goal…"

Arabella flew in the opposite side of Davies, making him snap his head towards her. She turned her head to give him a smile when she saw a Bludger aimed in her direction. Fred whooshed past her in pursuit of the Bludger as Angelina passed her the Quaffle. Gripping the Quaffle very tightly, she kept her eyes on every Ravenclaw Chaser as she pelted towards the opposite end of the pitch. They were all trying their best to get towards her and Katie had a wide opening.

Arabella's Firebolt went faster and she passed the Quaffle with relative ease. Just as Katie succeeded in scoring the first goal of the match, Harry made a dive towards one of the barriers. Arabella turned to see Cho Chang tearing after him, but he was gaining speed –

Then a Bludger came out of nowhere and Harry veered off course, avoiding it by an inch. There was great disappointment by the Gryffindors and much applause from the Ravenclaw side. George vented his feelings by hitting the second Bludger at the Ravenclaw Beater, who was forced to roll right over in midair to avoid it.

"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn — Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision — balance is really noticeable in these long —"

"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"

Arabella paused in midair for a moment, something in the corner catching her eye. She turned to see three dementors, three tall, black, hooded dementors standing near the Ravenclaw end. Arabella reached towards her wand when she was knocked off her broom.

The crowd gasped as she dangled off her broom with one arm. Arabella felt her breath stuck in her throat. She looked down at the ground for a second before deciding that it was a bad idea. She was very high off the ground and everyone looked like ants from where she was. She looked around and saw Roger Davies smiling and circling her.

"Guess you can't handle that Firebolt, can you, Black?"

Arabella narrowed her eyes at him while Fred aimed a Bludger at Davies's head. She wished she had Fred's bat to swing at Davies. She then stared determinedly at her broomstick and reached her other hand for it. She began to swing her legs back and forth and managed to clamber back on her broom. But the damage was already done as Ravenclaw scored three goals. Arabella growled and glared at Davies.

Arabella accelerated towards him, focusing on his head, as George did the same from the other side. If Davies wanted to target Arabella, then he will have to deal with the consequences. She went faster than a bullet and as George wacked a Bludger towards Davies, he dropped the Quaffle, shocked by her speed. Arabella dodged the Ravenclaw Beaters and made her way straight for the Keeper. Just as she was about to score by his left shoulder Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

Arabella cursed very loudly and turned her head. Harry was on the ground, the Snitch in the air, and her irritation was gone. She aimed her broom towards the ground and sprinted towards the team. The roars of the Gryffindors deafened her as she joined the huddle. Wood was yelling, "That's my boy!" Angelina and Katie kissed Harry's cheeks, Fred gripped Harry tightly while laughing loudly while Arabella engulfed George in a tight hug. Before any of them knew it, the field had been overwhelmed by the cheering crowd with Ron in the lead.

"We did it!" George yelled in Arabella's ear. "We did it!"

"Ruddy brilliant!" boomed Hagrid over the heads of the milling Gryffindors.

Fred laughed even more loudly and shook Arabella with all his might. She looked around them and spotted Harry near the edge of the field with Remus. She ran towards them and yelled, "Harry!"

Arabella threw her arms around him and squeezed tightly. He immediately reciprocated, his arms around her shoulders while laughing in her ears.

"We did it!" Arabella shouted. She then drew back her head and said, "You did it!"

Her eyes then caught what was going on behind Harry. Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground were Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Marcus Flint, all struggling to remove themselves from long, black, hooded robes. It looked as though Malfoy had been standing on Goyle's shoulders. Standing over them was Professor McGonagall with fury written all over her face.

"An unworthy trick!" she shouted. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"

Arabella looked from Harry and Remus. "Those weren't dementors? It was… them?"

Remus nodded, smiled, and said, "Harry produced a good Patronus and gave Mr. Malfoy quite a fright."

Ron then fought his way to Harry's side and doubled up with laughter as they watched Malfoy fighting to extricate himself from the robes.

"Unbelievable," whispered Arabella, watching Goyle's head get stuck inside the robe.

George made him way over through the crowd and grabbed a hold onto Arabella's arm. "Come on, you lot! Party! Gryffindor common room, now!"

Arabella held onto Harry's arm as George dragged them towards the castle. She felt happier than she had in ages. With the crowd thick, the team still in their scarlet robes, Arabella, Harry and Ron had their arms around each other, laughing and cheering with the rest of them.

The party went on all day and well into the night. The celebrated as though they had already won the Quidditch Cup. Fred and George disappeared for a couple hours and returned with armfuls of butterbeer and several bags of Honeydukes sweets. George started to throw Peppermint Toads into the crowd as Arabella snuck out some Chocolate Frogs from their bag. The only person who wasn't joining in the festivities was Hermione. She was sitting in the corner of the room, attempting on reading an enormous book entitled Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles.

Arabella was about to go over towards Hermione when Ron said very loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them –"

Arabella was sure that Hermione had burst into tears as she ran towards the staircase and out of sight.

"Can't you just give her a break, already?" Arabella asked Ron hotly.

"No," said Ron flatly. "If she just acted like she was sorry — but she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on vacation or something."

Arabella pursed her lips and said nothing. There was a small part of her that agreed with him.

The Gryffindor party ended only when McGonagall turned up at one in the morning with her dressing gown and hair net, insisting that they all go to bed. Arabella climbed the stairs to her dormitory with Lavender and Parvati behind her, discussing the celebrations. Entering the room, she saw Hermione already fast asleep, her hair fanned on the bed and her eyelid puffy. Arabella brought Hermione's blanket closer to her face and climbed onto her own bed. She stretched her arms for a moment and pulled the hangings of her bed shut.

Thinking back on the game, Arabella smiled and almost instantly drifted off to sleep. She had a very strange dream. One second, she was flying on her Firebolt with the wind hitting her cheeks furiously, and then she was suddenly in a close area. Trees were surrounding her and they seemed to be inclosing on her, the branches moving closer and closer towards her face and she could head a sort of high pitched scream –

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Arabella woke up with a start, as though someone had dumped cold water over her face. She fumbled with her sheets for a moment before sitting up. Hermione, Lavender and Parvati started to sit up, each as sluggish as the next.

"Whatsgoinon?" mumbled Hermione incoherently, rubbing her eyes.

"I'll go check," said Arabella, her heart racing against her chest.

She left the dormitory quickly and sprinted down the staircase. The common room was lit with a roaring fire as Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville stood near the boys' staircase.

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?" asked Dean, groaning.

"I'm telling you, I saw him!" said Ron, a look of utmost terror on his face.

"What's going on?" asked Arabella, rubbing her arms.

"Professor McGonagall told us to go to bed!" said Neville frantically.

A few more girls had come down the staircase, pulling on dressing gowns and yawning, as more boys reappeared, running their fingers through their hair and mumbling under their breaths.

"Excellent, are we carrying on?" asked Fred, looking more bright than anybody else.

"Everyone back upstairs!" said Percy, hurrying into the common room with his Head Boy badge pinned to his pajamas.

"Perce – Sirius Black!" Ron said faintly. "In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!"

Arabella was very aware of the many stares the back of her neck was getting. The common room went very silent and she was sure everyone could hear her heart beating deafeningly against her ribcage.

"Nonsense!" said Percy, startled. "You had too much to eat, Ron – had a nightmare –"

"I'm telling you –"

The portrait door swung open and Professor McGonagall returned with a scowl. She slammed the portrait behind her and stared furiously around. "Honestly, enough's enough! I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" said Percy, puffing himself up indignantly. "I was just telling them all to get back to bed! My brother Ron here had a nightmare —"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron yelled. "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"

McGonagall stared at him and then said, "Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?"

"Ask him!" said Ron, pointing a shaking finger at the back of Sir Cadogan's picture. "Ask him if he saw —"

Glaring suspiciously at Ron, McGonagall pushed the portrait back open and went outside. The whole common room listened with their breaths held. "Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"

"Certainly, good lady!" cried Sir Cadogan.

There was a stunned silence, both inside and outside the common room. Many of them gaped at their neighbours, unable to comprehend what was going on. Arabella hoped that her ribs would pierce her heart and she wouldn't have to stand in the common room much longer. She was well aware of the silence and the stares and the accusations they were already forming towards her. She would give anything to not be near them right now.

"No," Arabella whispered lowly, her voice cracking and her eyes blurry. "No, please…."

"You — you did?" said Professor McGonagall. "But — but the password!"

"He had 'em!" said Sir Cadogan proudly. "Had the whole week's, my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!"

Professor McGonagall pulled herself back through the portrait hole to face the stunned crowd. Her face was pale and her lips trembling as she said, "Which person, which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?"

There was utter silence, broken by the smallest of terrified squeaks. Neville, trembling from head to fluffy slippered toes, raised his hand slowly into the air.

Thank you so much for reading! Tell me what you guys think!