Summary: Jenny Hansen has always known she's been different from other
children. Something powerful resides within her. She doesn't know who her
father is. All her mother remembers is a passionate green-eyed stranger.
When a mysterious letter appears for an enchanted school, Jenny wonders if
this is the answer to her questions.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; He belongs to the wonderful JK. Rowling, The story plot, Jenny, Eddie, Thomas, Jon, Salina, Genevieve and all other original characters are mine however!!! ^_^
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alec: lol...I already explained why Jenny always shocks and amazes to you... I've started latching onto some real plot/conflict, so watch out for that in the near future.
Kady Rilla Wholi: Hmmm... I never thought of Todd adopting Charlotte. It's a cool idea, but I think the problem of her dad is solved, as he is now completely afraid of Todd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heir of the Phoenix
Chapter 12: Quidditch
November swept in on the castle with a frost bitten fury.
"Damn, it's cold," remarked Jon as they made there from the greenhouses back to the castle bundled up against the wind with their scarves over their faces.
"I'll second that," replied Eddie, his teeth chattering.
"Hey! I have to have Quidditch practice in this!" remarked Jenny jokingly. Tucker was relentless, any weather, all weather, he'd have them out practicing for three hours straight. Not that Jenny didn't like it; she had fallen in love with Quidditch. Her obsession almost rivaled Eddie's, but not quite. She loved playing Quidditch, not following it.
Flying was the thing that she was best at, Charms coming up a close second.
Jenny loved being on her broom, a Nimbus 3000. Usually, it seemed like it wasn't even there and it was just her, the wind and sky.
Her instincts were so honed that Patrick often joked that she didn't need to train- she was born to fly.
Amanda, the sixth year chaser- usually agreed. At this, Tucker would roll his eyes and yell at them all to get back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At 4:30, Jenny snuck out of the castle with her broomstick. Tucker was still adamant that her being on the team was kept a secret and remarkably, it was still a secret- sort of.
"Hey Hansen! What's that broom you've got for?" yelled a loud drawling voice.
Jenny turned to the source of the irritating noise. Standing leaning against a tree was Derek Malfoy. For about two months, he had basically disappeared. Not that Jenny was complaining. But now he seemed to have forgotten the incident in the hallway and was back to his usual swaggering self.
"None of you business!" shouted Jenny back at him.
"Is it yours? If it is, you could get in trouble..." he drawled. Jenny fought the panicky feeling that was rising in her stomach.
Thinking quickly she irritably yelled: "It's Amanda McKinnon's broom, she asked me to fetch it for her, now go away or I'll hex you!" Jenny began to stride towards the direction of the Quidditch pitch.
"You, hex me? I think not you mudblood!" Said Derek scathingly.
Jenny's irritation grew.
"Well, it's not like you could hex anybody!" she yelled over her shoulder.
She had walked about twenty paces when she felt her instincts go on red alert and ducked.
There was a loud 'CRACK' as the spell missed her. She turned back to Derek, who was gaping at her in shock.
"You'll have to do better than that Malfoy!" She called, laughing. Derek's pale visage darkened.
From where she was standing, she could hear Derek muttering oaths under his breath as he stalked away.
Continuing to laugh to herself, she made her way to the Quidditch pitch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reaching the pitch, she found that the rest of the team was already there.
"Hey Jens!" called Amanda waving. Emma Wilson and Steven Sniggle, the two new chasers waved also. Emma was a quiet third year with light brown hair and a ready smile, while Steven was a tall dark haired fifth year with a knack for making anything funny.
"Hey guys!" called Jenny.
Tucker kicked open the case of balls and as one, they all mounted their brooms and rose into the air. Emma grabbed the Quaffle and streaked after Patrick (Jenny learned that he was called 'Flash' on the pitch, though she didn't know why), who was trying to make it to the goalposts before she did.
Steven and Amanda were hot on their heels (broomtails?) with the bludgers and Anthony and Tucker in hot pursuit.
Jenny eyed the snitch hovering a few feet away from her. It seemed to be teasing her. Jenny got the feeling as soon as she moved, it would disappear.
She shifted her broom towards it and in a nano-second it was gone. Jenny smiled, she couldn't see it, but she knew exactly where it was going. Wheeling around, she streaked after it. If the thing had been sentient, it would have been shocked. Within ten seconds, Jenny had caught up to the little ball that had been hovering around on of the goalposts opposite of where the rest of the team was and grabbed it out of the air.
Jenny let it go and waited for a minute. It was rather pointless, because she could tell where it was going anyways. She sped off after it when she heard a desperate yell.
"HANSEN! DUCK!"
Jenny reacted instantly, jerking her broom into a steep dive and rolled. Suddenly, she swerved to the right and the bludger shot past her and embedded itself in the ground.
"Bloody hell!" she heard Anthony yell from somewhere above and behind her.
Jenny didn't think much of it, it was a stupid bludger, not too hard to avoid.
After what seem like a half hour (but it was really three) Tucker called them too the ground.
"Awesome practice! We're going to beat those Slytherin scum for sure this weekend!"
This weekend?
Jenny shook her head... it was the...10th...oh, right...
Jenny swore to herself, she had forgotten that there was a match this weekend some how.
As they made their way back to the castle, Emma walked beside Jenny.
"How do you fly like that?" she asked.
Jenny shrugged.
"I don't know."
"But, it's like you can tell where the snitch is..." pressed Emma.
"I can," said Jenny shrugging again. Emma dropped her broom, her eyes like saucers.
"You can TELL where they are?" She demanded.
"Uh...yah, I don't know how though, I just know..."Jenny paused and thought a bit, "I think it's just something like ESP"
"Sweet," said Emma, not having a clue what ESP was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Saturday morning, Jenny was a bundle of nerves.
"You have to eat something" coaxed Arianna. Eddie nodded and offered her some of his toast. Jenny blanched and shook her head.
"You aren't the one who's worrying about throwing up your food all over the pitch!" muttered Jenny to them under her breath.
Some how, the fact that Jenny was seeker had remained secret. Neither Tucker, nor rest of the team knew how.
In fact, the entire school was wondering who was the Gryffindor seeker. Some eyewitnesses reported that she was small with brown hair, but had been moving so fast that they were unable to identify her. There was a general agreement among the Gryffindors and the rest of the school that she was good, who ever she was.
At 10:40, Jenny walked out to the Quidditch pitch with her broom. Some how, the rest of the team had gotten there before her. Silently, they changed into their Quidditch robes.
"Well," said Tucker, who was never partial to long speeches or tactic rants; "We know what were going to do, we know all our strategy, we know we are going to beat those Slytherins right out of the air!"
There was a chorus of "Ayes!"
Out on the pitch, they could here the crowd shouting and cheering.
"Now, since this our first game," explained Tucker to Jenny, "We do an exhibition lap of the pitch as they announce us, so everybody, get your butts on those brooms!"
Everyone mounted their brooms'. A magically amplified voice cut through the crowd.
"Now presenting the Slytherin team! McSwigan, Vornholt, Mancour, Warrington, Flint, Montague AND Avery!"
Cheers echoed across the pitch from the far end where Jenny could see a mass of green.
Jenny got ready to kick off.
"And now the Gryffindor team! Tucker, Martin, Sniggle, Watson, McKinnon, Wood AND Hansen!"
The cheering was deafening.
Jenny followed the rest of the team out of the narrow wings, out of the corner of her eye; she could see binoculars turning her way.
She could also see Colin, the fourth year Ravenclaw that she had played football with bellowing into the magical microphone from the teacher's box.
He was spouting off facts about the Slytherin team rather reluctantly. Then he turned to the Gryffindor team
"And now, we see that this year Tucker has put together a winning side, with three new recruits! Emma Watson and Steven Sniggle as new chasers and Jenny Hansen as Gryffindor's new seeker! She is the first first year seeker since the great Harry Potter graced the Quidditch pitch!"
Behind Colin, you could see 'The great Harry Potter' rolling his eyes.
Jenny spotted this as she flew past the box and laughed. The two teams set down in the middle of the pitch.
Madam Hooch was still there and still was the referee. Her yellow eyes still narrowed at the sight of the two team captains.
"Now, I want a clean game, unlike last year. Captain's shake hands!"
Tucker and a wide sour looking boy named McSwigan stepped forwards and shook hands. They appeared to be trying to break each other's fingers.
"On my whistle then...3...2...1!" The whistle blasted and Madam Hooch kicked open the ball case. The players and balls rose as one.
Jenny felt the wind rush through her hair, her new world of awareness returned. It felt fuzzier, less clear, but it was there. The crowd roared and faded into white noise.
Amanda spurted forward and seized the Quaffle.
"And they're off! With Gryffindor in possession, yes Amanda McKinnon in possession, one of the best chasers that Hogwarts has seen in awhile if I do say so myself, She's heading for the Slytherin goalposts- ARGH! No- intercepted by Montague- Montague of Slytherin tearing up the pitch- HA! - That must of hurt, some bludger work by Anthony Martin of Gryffindor..."
Jenny watched as Emma grabbed the Quaffle and streaked down the pitch, weaving in and around Slytherin team members.
Jenny rose high above the game, a little ways off; she could see Avery- the Slytherin seeker- searching on his own. Jenny sensed something small and jerky move near the Slytherin goal posts, the opposite end of the pitch from where Avery was searching. She was debating whether to go investigate it when-
"YES! SNIGGLE HAS BEATEN THE KEEPER! 10-0 TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Jenny watched as Steven circled the pitch punching his fists in the air. The Gryffindor supporters screamed their approval.
The Snitch, or what Jenny had presumed to be the snitch, disappeared. There was too much movement on the pitch for Jenny to sense where it went.
Then she saw it. It was hovering just below Mancour's ear. Turning her broom, she pulled into a dive.
"Watson has the Quaffle...she's streaking up the pitch...OUCH-Watson is hit by a bludger- Slytherin in possession- Vornholt has the Quaffle-Now Montague- Vornholt- Flint- Montague- IS THAT THE SNITCH?"
For Colin had seen Jenny go into her dive. Mancour looked up in horror to see Jenny barreling towards him. Jenny felt the wind push her forward- She was so focused that she almost missed it coming towards her.
That was when she noticed that Avery wasn't looking at her, but something behind her.
Jenny upended the broom almost vertically and shot towards the ground. A split second later, a bludger shot through the place where her head had just been. She pulled out of the dive a good five feet from the ground and rose up to playing level. The snitch had disappeared.
Cheering and gasps of amazement came from the crowd. Colin continued yelling into the megaphone so excitedly that Jenny wondered whether he was going to wet himself.
"And Jenny Hansen narrowly avoids being hit by a bludger! And Gryffindor is in possession...Chaser McKinnon with the Quaffle, passes to Sniggle, Sniggle swerves around Vornholt, Sniggle passes to Watson, Watson dodges bludger...
Jenny watched out of the corner of her eye as McSwigan, the Slytherin keeper flew out to meet Emma...
"WATSON BEATS THE KEEPER- 20 POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor supporters roared and cheered, faintly, you could hear the Slytherins boo-ing. Jenny didn't care, Gryffindor was 20 points ahead and they had been playing for less than ten minutes.
Off at the far end of the pitch, she could see Avery. He was still searching for the snitch himself.
Well, Jenny thought dryly to herself, I'd better get searching, my damn senses are clouded with all these people zooming around...
"And Slytherin in possession, Oh! Now Gryffindor- No- Slytherin again- Vornholt has the Quaffle...attempted intercept by Sniggle...ARGH! Slytherin scores. 20-10 Gryffindor, McKinnon in possession, she's streaking down the pitch, dodges one- No- two bludgers, McSwigan moving into position- and YES!"
Amanda scored. Colin continued to bellow happily into the magical mega- phone.
Jenny rose higher into the air and searched for the snitch. She watched as Amanda and Steven scored another four goals, bringing Gryffindor's total to 60-10.
"Nice score by Sniggle, Montague in possession, He's heading for the Gryffindor goalposts...He shoots...and MISSES! HA! Watson in possession..."
Then she felt it. Wheeling around on her broom, she saw the snitch flit past Emma. Emma had stopped in surprise; any person would after nearly colliding with something like the snitch.
Jenny dropped and sped after it.
"Watson pausing for an odd reason, MERLIN! It's the Snitch!"
Jenny could see the confounding little ball less the five feet ahead of her and winging it away fast. Weaving around Warrington and Anthony, she dove after it.
"She's closing on it!"
Jenny had the faintest warning when...
WHAM!
Jenny plummeted to the ground, reeling and quickly recovered.
It was Avery- tailing the snitch.
Cursing, she sped after them.
Quicker than she expected, she advanced on Avery and the snitch.
It felt like she was in a middle of a whirlwind, the eye of the storm, yet not quite. The wind had risen to her need and was pushing her forward, she could feel it. She was at Avery's broomtail- waist- shoulder- within a few seconds she was level with him.
Avery looked over his shoulder in shock to find Jenny staring him in the eye.
Neck to neck they zoomed after the snitch.
Jenny leaned forward and put on a burst of speed. Reaching out her hand, she felt her fingers close over the little snitch...
The roar of the crowd suddenly stopped being white noise.
"AND GRYFFINDOR WINS WITH A SPECTACULAR CATCH BY GRYFFINDOR SEEKER JENNY HANSEN!"
Jenny sank to the ground looking in wonderment at the snitch in her hand; She almost had not caught it.
Suddenly she was being bowled over by Emma and Amanda, "You did it, you did it, we won!" shouted Emma hoarsely as they hugged her. Two more collisions announced the arrival of Eddie and Salina. Jon and Thomas waved from a distance, because they could not penetrate the crowd surrounding the Gryffindor team.
Off in the distance you could see the Slytherin team standing in a huddle with their fans and scowling at the rest of the school's celebration.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That was such a cool match, maybe I'll try out for the Ravenclaw team next year." Said Thomas grinning.
Jenny looked at him in horror.
Thomas and the rest of them collapsed on the floor laughing at Jenny's expression.
"Trust me Jens, I wouldn't...my ego would be able to stand it" He said, doubled over and wheezing.
They were sitting on old couches in a vacant classroom on the fifth floor. Being best friends in different houses made it hard to find somewhere to hang out. They couldn't exactly go into others common rooms and waiting for someone coming in or out to fetch the person they were waiting for was frustrating.
"You know," said Jon thoughtfully, "we could ask our head of houses if we can go into other houses common rooms...I mean, we've stood out side of all of the entrances waiting for somebody and we already know each others passwords, because we hear them so often..."
"You know what Jon? Sometimes I wonder why you're not in Ravenclaw," remarked Salina.
"I know the hat had a hell of a time figuring me out,..." said Jon laughing, "It had no idea where to put me!"
Salina snorted.
"It wasn't you who set the record for the most time spent underneath that hat! That was me!" she said.
"Why did it take so long for you Salina?" asked Thomas curiously.
"It was torn between my family history and my values, We had a long argument," said Salina in an odd tone of voice halfway between yelling and whispering, "It wanted to put me in Slytherin, because that was 'where my blood ran' and all that pureblood crap, I'll be damned before I turned out like my family, they're evil heartless gits, the lot of them!"
"That's what the hat told me too" Said Jenny quietly. She looked up to see the four of them staring at her. Thomas and Salina looked bemused; Eddie and Jon had odd looks on their faces.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Salina.
"I mean, it said 'should I put you in Ravenclaw, where your mind will be accepted, or Gryffindor, where your blood runs?'"
"It said that?" said Thomas looking thoughtful, "But your muggleborn like me, how could it be 'where your blood runs'?"
"I have no idea," said Jenny shrugging, "I wish I knew"
"All the hat said when I put it on was 'Ah, another Weasley!' and put me in Gryffindor," said Eddie sullenly.
"That isn't too bad...is it?" asked Thomas.
"No, I guess not, but it was a little depressing if you know what I mean, apparently, it was worse for my aunt, she was the last of seven..."
"Oh, right...that must have sucked."
"Jenny, you said that you never knew who your father was, right?" Jon piped up suddenly.
"Yah...My mum doesn't even remember him- what's that got to do with anything?"
"Lots...did you ever think that your dad, whoever in the world he is, might have been a wizard?"
The expression on Jenny's face told him that, No, she had not thought of that.
Neither had the others.
"If he's a wizard..." said Eddie, trailing off.
"I think should owl my mum,..." said Jenny slowly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MWAHAHAHA!!! They're starting to figure things out!!!! But it will be awhile yet before either of them knows!! Teeheehee!
Thank you too all of you who reviewed! *Distributes large quantities of e- chocolate to reviewers* ^_^ :D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; He belongs to the wonderful JK. Rowling, The story plot, Jenny, Eddie, Thomas, Jon, Salina, Genevieve and all other original characters are mine however!!! ^_^
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alec: lol...I already explained why Jenny always shocks and amazes to you... I've started latching onto some real plot/conflict, so watch out for that in the near future.
Kady Rilla Wholi: Hmmm... I never thought of Todd adopting Charlotte. It's a cool idea, but I think the problem of her dad is solved, as he is now completely afraid of Todd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heir of the Phoenix
Chapter 12: Quidditch
November swept in on the castle with a frost bitten fury.
"Damn, it's cold," remarked Jon as they made there from the greenhouses back to the castle bundled up against the wind with their scarves over their faces.
"I'll second that," replied Eddie, his teeth chattering.
"Hey! I have to have Quidditch practice in this!" remarked Jenny jokingly. Tucker was relentless, any weather, all weather, he'd have them out practicing for three hours straight. Not that Jenny didn't like it; she had fallen in love with Quidditch. Her obsession almost rivaled Eddie's, but not quite. She loved playing Quidditch, not following it.
Flying was the thing that she was best at, Charms coming up a close second.
Jenny loved being on her broom, a Nimbus 3000. Usually, it seemed like it wasn't even there and it was just her, the wind and sky.
Her instincts were so honed that Patrick often joked that she didn't need to train- she was born to fly.
Amanda, the sixth year chaser- usually agreed. At this, Tucker would roll his eyes and yell at them all to get back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At 4:30, Jenny snuck out of the castle with her broomstick. Tucker was still adamant that her being on the team was kept a secret and remarkably, it was still a secret- sort of.
"Hey Hansen! What's that broom you've got for?" yelled a loud drawling voice.
Jenny turned to the source of the irritating noise. Standing leaning against a tree was Derek Malfoy. For about two months, he had basically disappeared. Not that Jenny was complaining. But now he seemed to have forgotten the incident in the hallway and was back to his usual swaggering self.
"None of you business!" shouted Jenny back at him.
"Is it yours? If it is, you could get in trouble..." he drawled. Jenny fought the panicky feeling that was rising in her stomach.
Thinking quickly she irritably yelled: "It's Amanda McKinnon's broom, she asked me to fetch it for her, now go away or I'll hex you!" Jenny began to stride towards the direction of the Quidditch pitch.
"You, hex me? I think not you mudblood!" Said Derek scathingly.
Jenny's irritation grew.
"Well, it's not like you could hex anybody!" she yelled over her shoulder.
She had walked about twenty paces when she felt her instincts go on red alert and ducked.
There was a loud 'CRACK' as the spell missed her. She turned back to Derek, who was gaping at her in shock.
"You'll have to do better than that Malfoy!" She called, laughing. Derek's pale visage darkened.
From where she was standing, she could hear Derek muttering oaths under his breath as he stalked away.
Continuing to laugh to herself, she made her way to the Quidditch pitch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reaching the pitch, she found that the rest of the team was already there.
"Hey Jens!" called Amanda waving. Emma Wilson and Steven Sniggle, the two new chasers waved also. Emma was a quiet third year with light brown hair and a ready smile, while Steven was a tall dark haired fifth year with a knack for making anything funny.
"Hey guys!" called Jenny.
Tucker kicked open the case of balls and as one, they all mounted their brooms and rose into the air. Emma grabbed the Quaffle and streaked after Patrick (Jenny learned that he was called 'Flash' on the pitch, though she didn't know why), who was trying to make it to the goalposts before she did.
Steven and Amanda were hot on their heels (broomtails?) with the bludgers and Anthony and Tucker in hot pursuit.
Jenny eyed the snitch hovering a few feet away from her. It seemed to be teasing her. Jenny got the feeling as soon as she moved, it would disappear.
She shifted her broom towards it and in a nano-second it was gone. Jenny smiled, she couldn't see it, but she knew exactly where it was going. Wheeling around, she streaked after it. If the thing had been sentient, it would have been shocked. Within ten seconds, Jenny had caught up to the little ball that had been hovering around on of the goalposts opposite of where the rest of the team was and grabbed it out of the air.
Jenny let it go and waited for a minute. It was rather pointless, because she could tell where it was going anyways. She sped off after it when she heard a desperate yell.
"HANSEN! DUCK!"
Jenny reacted instantly, jerking her broom into a steep dive and rolled. Suddenly, she swerved to the right and the bludger shot past her and embedded itself in the ground.
"Bloody hell!" she heard Anthony yell from somewhere above and behind her.
Jenny didn't think much of it, it was a stupid bludger, not too hard to avoid.
After what seem like a half hour (but it was really three) Tucker called them too the ground.
"Awesome practice! We're going to beat those Slytherin scum for sure this weekend!"
This weekend?
Jenny shook her head... it was the...10th...oh, right...
Jenny swore to herself, she had forgotten that there was a match this weekend some how.
As they made their way back to the castle, Emma walked beside Jenny.
"How do you fly like that?" she asked.
Jenny shrugged.
"I don't know."
"But, it's like you can tell where the snitch is..." pressed Emma.
"I can," said Jenny shrugging again. Emma dropped her broom, her eyes like saucers.
"You can TELL where they are?" She demanded.
"Uh...yah, I don't know how though, I just know..."Jenny paused and thought a bit, "I think it's just something like ESP"
"Sweet," said Emma, not having a clue what ESP was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Saturday morning, Jenny was a bundle of nerves.
"You have to eat something" coaxed Arianna. Eddie nodded and offered her some of his toast. Jenny blanched and shook her head.
"You aren't the one who's worrying about throwing up your food all over the pitch!" muttered Jenny to them under her breath.
Some how, the fact that Jenny was seeker had remained secret. Neither Tucker, nor rest of the team knew how.
In fact, the entire school was wondering who was the Gryffindor seeker. Some eyewitnesses reported that she was small with brown hair, but had been moving so fast that they were unable to identify her. There was a general agreement among the Gryffindors and the rest of the school that she was good, who ever she was.
At 10:40, Jenny walked out to the Quidditch pitch with her broom. Some how, the rest of the team had gotten there before her. Silently, they changed into their Quidditch robes.
"Well," said Tucker, who was never partial to long speeches or tactic rants; "We know what were going to do, we know all our strategy, we know we are going to beat those Slytherins right out of the air!"
There was a chorus of "Ayes!"
Out on the pitch, they could here the crowd shouting and cheering.
"Now, since this our first game," explained Tucker to Jenny, "We do an exhibition lap of the pitch as they announce us, so everybody, get your butts on those brooms!"
Everyone mounted their brooms'. A magically amplified voice cut through the crowd.
"Now presenting the Slytherin team! McSwigan, Vornholt, Mancour, Warrington, Flint, Montague AND Avery!"
Cheers echoed across the pitch from the far end where Jenny could see a mass of green.
Jenny got ready to kick off.
"And now the Gryffindor team! Tucker, Martin, Sniggle, Watson, McKinnon, Wood AND Hansen!"
The cheering was deafening.
Jenny followed the rest of the team out of the narrow wings, out of the corner of her eye; she could see binoculars turning her way.
She could also see Colin, the fourth year Ravenclaw that she had played football with bellowing into the magical microphone from the teacher's box.
He was spouting off facts about the Slytherin team rather reluctantly. Then he turned to the Gryffindor team
"And now, we see that this year Tucker has put together a winning side, with three new recruits! Emma Watson and Steven Sniggle as new chasers and Jenny Hansen as Gryffindor's new seeker! She is the first first year seeker since the great Harry Potter graced the Quidditch pitch!"
Behind Colin, you could see 'The great Harry Potter' rolling his eyes.
Jenny spotted this as she flew past the box and laughed. The two teams set down in the middle of the pitch.
Madam Hooch was still there and still was the referee. Her yellow eyes still narrowed at the sight of the two team captains.
"Now, I want a clean game, unlike last year. Captain's shake hands!"
Tucker and a wide sour looking boy named McSwigan stepped forwards and shook hands. They appeared to be trying to break each other's fingers.
"On my whistle then...3...2...1!" The whistle blasted and Madam Hooch kicked open the ball case. The players and balls rose as one.
Jenny felt the wind rush through her hair, her new world of awareness returned. It felt fuzzier, less clear, but it was there. The crowd roared and faded into white noise.
Amanda spurted forward and seized the Quaffle.
"And they're off! With Gryffindor in possession, yes Amanda McKinnon in possession, one of the best chasers that Hogwarts has seen in awhile if I do say so myself, She's heading for the Slytherin goalposts- ARGH! No- intercepted by Montague- Montague of Slytherin tearing up the pitch- HA! - That must of hurt, some bludger work by Anthony Martin of Gryffindor..."
Jenny watched as Emma grabbed the Quaffle and streaked down the pitch, weaving in and around Slytherin team members.
Jenny rose high above the game, a little ways off; she could see Avery- the Slytherin seeker- searching on his own. Jenny sensed something small and jerky move near the Slytherin goal posts, the opposite end of the pitch from where Avery was searching. She was debating whether to go investigate it when-
"YES! SNIGGLE HAS BEATEN THE KEEPER! 10-0 TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Jenny watched as Steven circled the pitch punching his fists in the air. The Gryffindor supporters screamed their approval.
The Snitch, or what Jenny had presumed to be the snitch, disappeared. There was too much movement on the pitch for Jenny to sense where it went.
Then she saw it. It was hovering just below Mancour's ear. Turning her broom, she pulled into a dive.
"Watson has the Quaffle...she's streaking up the pitch...OUCH-Watson is hit by a bludger- Slytherin in possession- Vornholt has the Quaffle-Now Montague- Vornholt- Flint- Montague- IS THAT THE SNITCH?"
For Colin had seen Jenny go into her dive. Mancour looked up in horror to see Jenny barreling towards him. Jenny felt the wind push her forward- She was so focused that she almost missed it coming towards her.
That was when she noticed that Avery wasn't looking at her, but something behind her.
Jenny upended the broom almost vertically and shot towards the ground. A split second later, a bludger shot through the place where her head had just been. She pulled out of the dive a good five feet from the ground and rose up to playing level. The snitch had disappeared.
Cheering and gasps of amazement came from the crowd. Colin continued yelling into the megaphone so excitedly that Jenny wondered whether he was going to wet himself.
"And Jenny Hansen narrowly avoids being hit by a bludger! And Gryffindor is in possession...Chaser McKinnon with the Quaffle, passes to Sniggle, Sniggle swerves around Vornholt, Sniggle passes to Watson, Watson dodges bludger...
Jenny watched out of the corner of her eye as McSwigan, the Slytherin keeper flew out to meet Emma...
"WATSON BEATS THE KEEPER- 20 POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor supporters roared and cheered, faintly, you could hear the Slytherins boo-ing. Jenny didn't care, Gryffindor was 20 points ahead and they had been playing for less than ten minutes.
Off at the far end of the pitch, she could see Avery. He was still searching for the snitch himself.
Well, Jenny thought dryly to herself, I'd better get searching, my damn senses are clouded with all these people zooming around...
"And Slytherin in possession, Oh! Now Gryffindor- No- Slytherin again- Vornholt has the Quaffle...attempted intercept by Sniggle...ARGH! Slytherin scores. 20-10 Gryffindor, McKinnon in possession, she's streaking down the pitch, dodges one- No- two bludgers, McSwigan moving into position- and YES!"
Amanda scored. Colin continued to bellow happily into the magical mega- phone.
Jenny rose higher into the air and searched for the snitch. She watched as Amanda and Steven scored another four goals, bringing Gryffindor's total to 60-10.
"Nice score by Sniggle, Montague in possession, He's heading for the Gryffindor goalposts...He shoots...and MISSES! HA! Watson in possession..."
Then she felt it. Wheeling around on her broom, she saw the snitch flit past Emma. Emma had stopped in surprise; any person would after nearly colliding with something like the snitch.
Jenny dropped and sped after it.
"Watson pausing for an odd reason, MERLIN! It's the Snitch!"
Jenny could see the confounding little ball less the five feet ahead of her and winging it away fast. Weaving around Warrington and Anthony, she dove after it.
"She's closing on it!"
Jenny had the faintest warning when...
WHAM!
Jenny plummeted to the ground, reeling and quickly recovered.
It was Avery- tailing the snitch.
Cursing, she sped after them.
Quicker than she expected, she advanced on Avery and the snitch.
It felt like she was in a middle of a whirlwind, the eye of the storm, yet not quite. The wind had risen to her need and was pushing her forward, she could feel it. She was at Avery's broomtail- waist- shoulder- within a few seconds she was level with him.
Avery looked over his shoulder in shock to find Jenny staring him in the eye.
Neck to neck they zoomed after the snitch.
Jenny leaned forward and put on a burst of speed. Reaching out her hand, she felt her fingers close over the little snitch...
The roar of the crowd suddenly stopped being white noise.
"AND GRYFFINDOR WINS WITH A SPECTACULAR CATCH BY GRYFFINDOR SEEKER JENNY HANSEN!"
Jenny sank to the ground looking in wonderment at the snitch in her hand; She almost had not caught it.
Suddenly she was being bowled over by Emma and Amanda, "You did it, you did it, we won!" shouted Emma hoarsely as they hugged her. Two more collisions announced the arrival of Eddie and Salina. Jon and Thomas waved from a distance, because they could not penetrate the crowd surrounding the Gryffindor team.
Off in the distance you could see the Slytherin team standing in a huddle with their fans and scowling at the rest of the school's celebration.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That was such a cool match, maybe I'll try out for the Ravenclaw team next year." Said Thomas grinning.
Jenny looked at him in horror.
Thomas and the rest of them collapsed on the floor laughing at Jenny's expression.
"Trust me Jens, I wouldn't...my ego would be able to stand it" He said, doubled over and wheezing.
They were sitting on old couches in a vacant classroom on the fifth floor. Being best friends in different houses made it hard to find somewhere to hang out. They couldn't exactly go into others common rooms and waiting for someone coming in or out to fetch the person they were waiting for was frustrating.
"You know," said Jon thoughtfully, "we could ask our head of houses if we can go into other houses common rooms...I mean, we've stood out side of all of the entrances waiting for somebody and we already know each others passwords, because we hear them so often..."
"You know what Jon? Sometimes I wonder why you're not in Ravenclaw," remarked Salina.
"I know the hat had a hell of a time figuring me out,..." said Jon laughing, "It had no idea where to put me!"
Salina snorted.
"It wasn't you who set the record for the most time spent underneath that hat! That was me!" she said.
"Why did it take so long for you Salina?" asked Thomas curiously.
"It was torn between my family history and my values, We had a long argument," said Salina in an odd tone of voice halfway between yelling and whispering, "It wanted to put me in Slytherin, because that was 'where my blood ran' and all that pureblood crap, I'll be damned before I turned out like my family, they're evil heartless gits, the lot of them!"
"That's what the hat told me too" Said Jenny quietly. She looked up to see the four of them staring at her. Thomas and Salina looked bemused; Eddie and Jon had odd looks on their faces.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Salina.
"I mean, it said 'should I put you in Ravenclaw, where your mind will be accepted, or Gryffindor, where your blood runs?'"
"It said that?" said Thomas looking thoughtful, "But your muggleborn like me, how could it be 'where your blood runs'?"
"I have no idea," said Jenny shrugging, "I wish I knew"
"All the hat said when I put it on was 'Ah, another Weasley!' and put me in Gryffindor," said Eddie sullenly.
"That isn't too bad...is it?" asked Thomas.
"No, I guess not, but it was a little depressing if you know what I mean, apparently, it was worse for my aunt, she was the last of seven..."
"Oh, right...that must have sucked."
"Jenny, you said that you never knew who your father was, right?" Jon piped up suddenly.
"Yah...My mum doesn't even remember him- what's that got to do with anything?"
"Lots...did you ever think that your dad, whoever in the world he is, might have been a wizard?"
The expression on Jenny's face told him that, No, she had not thought of that.
Neither had the others.
"If he's a wizard..." said Eddie, trailing off.
"I think should owl my mum,..." said Jenny slowly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MWAHAHAHA!!! They're starting to figure things out!!!! But it will be awhile yet before either of them knows!! Teeheehee!
Thank you too all of you who reviewed! *Distributes large quantities of e- chocolate to reviewers* ^_^ :D:D:D:D:D:D:D