The castle of Koldovstoretz was breathtaking. The architecture, reminiscent of the Kremlin, was robust at the same time as it appeared light and sophisticated. Koldovtoretz is in the far east of Russia, 400km from Vladivostok, the most important port city in that country. The school is part of the wizard city of the same name, which had almost 10,000 inhabitants, only losing to Alto Paraíso in Brazil as the largest exclusively wizarding city in the world. It was basically a metropolis compared to the wizarding villages of the United Kingdom and the United States. On the other hand, to be fair, the city housed the almost total population of wizards that existed in Russia. The other portion lived in secret micro neighbourhoods around Moscow.
The seat of the Russian parliament was in Koldovstoretz, whose building was a tourist attraction that stood in the center of the city, in front of a square with flowers of very vivid colours, that survived the rigorous winter by the action of the magic. There was a church immediately adjacent, for Russia was one of the few countries with representation in International Confederation of Wizards whose government was integrated with religious leaders. In this case, it was a version of orthodox Christianity. This was one of the reasons that Russians were culturally conservative. Curiously, there were no wizards in the heart of the country and in Siberia, which was a dead zone for magic. This explained why countries of great territorial extension, such as Kazakhstan and Mongolia, didn't have wizards. And that the population of Chinese wizards (which ironically was one of the smallest among the countries with representation in the International Confederation of Wizards) was concentrated in the south of the country, near the border with Tibet.
The city had an expressive shopping center, which established business with Japan, China, Korea, and South Asian countries. There was a whole neighbourhood with houses, which housed the wealthiest families in the city. There were also apartment buildings and small hotels near the mall. It was in Koldovstoretz that there was the largest factory of industrialized portions in the world. On the way between the city and the school, there was the Quidditch stadium used for both Russian national team matches and the two professional teams the city hosted. It was where the school world championship of that year would take place. Beside the school was a Quidditch pitch with modest bleachers in which a kind of rustic quidditch was practiced which, instead of brooms, students would fly across entire trees.
Despite the important trade in the region, the Russians were racially closed. The town grew basically under the dominion of four families, which made that half of the population had relation of kinship to some degree. Visiting Koldovstoretz was great. Do business in Koldovstoretz too. Living in Koldovstoretz was another story. If you weren't a pure caucasian wizard or witch, you would probably be excluded from the main social circles. But you probably could live in the city's neighbourhoods. That is why there was an almost annexed village inhabited exclusively by foreigners who would hardly be accepted as citizens but who had to remain there for some reason.
Hence the reason that the Koldovstoretz school was composed almost exclusively of Russians and pure-blooded students (there was a minority coming from Eastern Europe and a single student born in Australia, whose father was Russian). Most students spent all day at school and slept in their own homes. Only those who came from Moscow and the foreigners were housed in the dormitories of the school.
When the Hogwarts delegation arrived, they were very well received by the organization of the event. It was beautiful to enter the city under the rain of magic rose petals of all colours. The accompanist in charge of Hogwarts took the delegation to the camp and handed Padma Patil (chairman of the deletion) the schedule with all the events that would involve the championship.
"Tomorrow we will have a visit to the school and the official fraternization." Padma read the announcements to the assembled staff in the huge tent room. "Our acclimatization training is scheduled for the morning of the next few days. We will only have one hour, but we can use the outside area to do our complementary exercises. We will also have a tent next to the stadium. Wood, Travis and I are going to go there to recognize the facility."
"Aren't you going to have ball this time?" Brittany asked.
"Yes, there will be a gala ball at the end of the first round, as in the previous edition." Padma frowned as she glanced at the list of events, catching Quinn's attention.
"Is there a problem, professor?"
"There's... there's a handbook with etiquette rules for social events, like dancing." Padma held one of the pages as if disgusted with them.
"What?"
"It says, among other things, that demonstrations of homoafetivity are banned in any public space in the country, under penalty of varying from detention to deportation." Lily took Santana's hand and they both looked at the rest of the delegation. "I'm sorry, girls."
"Who needs a ball anyway?" Lily kissed Santana on the cheek and made a tough pose for the rest of the team. Everyone knew that Russia was still a conservative, bound by ancient religious traditions. It was no surprise that the regulation reminded everyone of such standards.
Padma finished giving the instructions to the students and released them to settle down and recognize the area for the delegations. This time there was a balance between the number of boys and girls. As the delegations were leaner, with no cultural groups, they could all be housed in a single tent. Of the four rooms allocated to the athletes, the boys occupied two altogether, while the girls decided to split into three with a terrible argument about who would stay with whom. The only consensus was that no one accepted that Lily and Santana were in the same room at the risk of unwanted catches. So the division was with Lily, Brittany and Aurora dividing one room, and Santana, Quinn and Lohanne in another.
Santana didn't even sort things out. She locked the suitcase and then left to explore the city. As much as that people of that city were racists, it was still a wizarding metropolis and that was always something to see. Santana and Quinn walked out together in their Hogwarts walking sports uniforms. The village of the delegations was much more structured than that of Durmstrang. To begin with, all the tents were in a pavement area, with a very neatly tiled central tent that served as a large communal room, with a few sofas, benches and little tables spread out. There was a large collective dining room without predetermined tables, which reinforced the idea of interaction between the delegations. Too bad it was all a make-up.
Santana passed the tent of Uagadou looking for Adila Amondi. They exchanged some correspondence. They were few, but enough to know that her friend had even doing her project as a researcher of other cultures coming out of Eurocentrism, especially the British.
"Hi." Santana said to a girl wearing a beautiful red turban.
"Hey," the girl replied without much interest.
"Is Adila Ammondi here?"
"Miss Amondi?" The girl's eyes widened. "Oh no. She's traveling around the world to write a book. "
"Sure, I know. I just thought she was coming to watch the competition."
"I know some African authorities will come. Who knows?"
"Well... who knows? Thanks!"
Since Adila was currently without a fixed address, Santana had to wait to have a letter or wait a long time until her friend picked up her own mail at the address she had in Angola. By these and others who loved the muggle communication system. It would all be easier if most wizards knew how to use the email at least.
"I'm sorry you didn't find your friend. I know you wanted to talk to her." Quinn said.
"It would be cool to show how much I improved with the wandless spells."
"I'm sure she would be proud."
"Do think so? The Uagadou studants learn to do this from the first year. Imagine this: they begin the process of becoming animagus from the age of 13!"
"That's interesting, but there are advantages and disadvantages between our system and theirs. I don't know if I would feel comfortable becoming an Animagus, to begin with."
"Considering you can't conjure up a patronus." Santana immediately regretted about the remark that she knew was painful to Quinn. "Sorry."
"Not everyone can conjure a patronus, Lopez, let alone an imposing hippogriff. This is no shame."
"I apologized, Fabray. You don't have to prolong gall."
But that bothered Quinn deeply. She couldn't conjure up a patronus not for lack of technique or talent, but because she didn't have happy memories strong enough and significant enough. What she had vividly in her mind were scenes like her sister's death, the beatings, the tortures and, one of the worst, the night her own father had authorized an associate to rape her just because she had kissed a girl. On the other hand, Santana wasn't to blame for making such comments because, apart from knowing that Quinn's father was ignorant and imprisoned for being a corrupt bastard, she didn't know the details. Quinn never tell about the violence she suffered in the home.
"Sometimes you're an idiot," Quinn grunted.
"I know."
"Sometimes not... but you're almost always an idiot."
"I know."
"You're lucky Lily can handle you."
"I know."
"Great. We are understood. "
There wasn't much else to know about the delegations village, and neither was more willing to walk inland. The return to the tent was a common silent agreement. They found Aurora, Lohanne, and Blade holding the flag of the United Kingdom and Hogwarts on the masts in front of the tent. Lily was in the common room talking to Brittany, Mike and Bail. She smiled a little when she saw her girlfriend back.
"So?" Brittany turned to the newcomers. "What's so cool out there?"
"Nothing special," Santana replied without humour.
"This time zone sucks and if I stay here, I'll end up like these two." Mike got up and clapped his hands. "Is anyone able to explore the city without Quinntana bad temper?"
"You don't have to say it twice!" Brittany rose from the sofa, taking Lily with her.
"Sorry, bae!" Lily smiled at her girlfriend and gave her a peck. "But Chang Boy is absolutely right. You two are so grumpy most of time that is exhausting."
Santana and Quinn followed the little group with their eyes out of the tent and muttered at the same time, claiming the fame of the groans they held.
...
According to census of the International Confederation of Wizards, the total population of wizards and witches in the world was 4,1 million individuals, which represented about 0.05% of the world population. To better visualize, all the magical population of the world fit in cities like Los Angeles (USA), Brasília (Brazil) or Berlin (Germany). Europe had about 500,000 wizards and witches scattered among the 50 countries, of whom 35,000 were British citizens. Counting on Ireland, the number goes to 42,000. The number of migrants (like Rachel or Santana's grandparents) increases to 47,000. But only 10,000 of British wizards and witches can be considerate pure-blood. The majority of the magical population in Britain is half-bloods in some degree. About 2,000 are Muggle-borns. The Muggle-born population of Britain is the size of Portugal's total magical population. These numbers make the island ensemble the most populous and densely populated in Europe when it comes to people endowed with magical ability on some level. The reason why more wizards and witches born on the British island than in any other country in the world was an insoluble mystery.
But the point here is that the world population of wizards and witches was so small that news of a school event could make someone become a celebrity who, unlike what happens in the overpopulated Muggle world, people would hardly forget. The previous school tournament, for example, left famous Hogwarts team members for different reasons. Finn Hudson saved a girl from being raped and earned a recognized hero's aura. He's now the good guy you could trust. Santana, in her turn, has publicly become the Hogwarts' half-blood lesbian destined to kill a boy of the same age who supposed to be the next dark lord. Some people believed in her, some didn't.
Santana felt a great deal of glance through the streets of Koldovstoretz. She was, in the view of the Russian press, the lesbian and double mongrel girl who scandalized the Quidditch school tournament by publicly kissing Quinn Fabray. No one cared about the true story behind the kiss, which was Quinn who took the initiative. No one wanted to know if Santana was considered the best school chaser at age 14 or that she's a good student. This had been in the background for the Russian press. The 'scandal' had more repercussion. Not that the British press had behaved better, since her photo kissing Quinn was published in the Daily Prophet at the time.
But a homosexual couple could kiss in a public square in the UK. In Russia it was different: the laws were cruel with the demonstration of homo-affections in public places. Homophobia wasn't a fault or crime. People knew who Santana Lopez was and what she represented. It was as if people waited for the slightest glide to point the finger and call one of the city's six policemen to arrest her. Santana stood all the time with her hands in the pockets of her uniform skirt and two feet away from the group, too afraid that any touch on the other girls, especially on Lily, could be oversized.
"Good thing it's only two weeks," Santana grumbled periodically as she accompanied her girlfriend and two friends through the streets of the nice Koldovstoretz (yes, the city was beautiful and clean).
"Look! A marriage!" Brittany pointed and became excited. "Let's go see it!"
It was all Santana didn't want to see given her emotional state. But Brittany pulled Quinn by the arm and ran closer to witness a legitimate Russian marriage, famous in the wizarding world for the festive rituals.
The ceremony was held in a kind of inverted arena in which the center was the highest part because of the symbolism that the most important institution of the church, the family, had to be elevated to the heavens. The guests watched the ceremony standing, occupying the lower circles, forming a current of energy to be donated to the new family. It was on the label that the guests wore orange and purple clothes because they symbolized joy, vitality, prosperity, success and magic. The groom apparated in the center in predominantly red robes, a symbol of passion and energy, while the bride arrived in white, seated in a ceremonial chair magically carried by her parents or close relatives. The chair was raised to the center and the groom was receiving it by the hand. The priest's speech was usually brief. The bride and groom were given a wreath that had the same symbology as they exchange the rings, and the groom's parents handed the family crest to the bride, symbolizing that she was being accepted into the clan. Finally, all the guests raised their wands to the sky and conjured flower petals while the bride and groom were carried on the shoulders of friends or family members to the place where the party was set up.
The wedding ceremony was usually public because the purpose was to introduce the new family to the society it would belong to, but the party used to be in a private setting, just for the guests, also as a symbol of the private life the new family was entitled to.
Brittany was delighted with the rites. In fact, a Russian wedding was truly beautiful.
"How do I get one of these?" Brittany asked excitedly to the group.
"First you need to date a Russian," Quinn pointed out. "Then you have to be accepted into Russian society, which is kind of complicated in your case."
"Why?" She frowned.
"Because you're muggle-born."
"Well..." Brittany reminisced. "I can very well date whoever I want and ask that my marriage be done in this mold, right?"
"Or this!" Santana smiled at her friend. She always thought her friend was a genius not because of the extraordinary mathematical reasoning she had, but because Brittany was able to subvert logic and rules to her own favour in a simple and innocent way.
"It's really beautiful, but I don't care. I would get married under a shack if it was the right person." Lily rambled on, exchanging glances with her girlfriend.
"How romantic!" Quinn quipped.
"Are you planning on getting married?" Brittany asked Lily with some trepidation. "You and Santana?"
"Brittany, please, we're only 16 years old. What's this marriage thing?" Santana was annoyed.
"But they can marry from the age of 16." Brittany gestured lightly to Russian girls passing by wearing the typical hat that the young woman was considered to be an adult.
"Would you marry at 16?" Lily asked Brittany defiantly.
"Santana and I were thinking of getting married!" Brittany said almost unpretentiously, causing Lily and Quinn to look inquiringly at Santana, who felt trapped.
"Britt and I were kids! We thought dating was just holding hands, and teenagers were more fun adults." Santana defended herself, shooting her ex-girlfriend with a quick glance. "Wants to know? It's almost time for the opening ceremony and I'm not in the mood to walk in a city where I can't even go hand in hand with my girlfriend."
The four teenagers returned to the village from the delegations' tents. They realized that they were late when they observed some of the schools already positioned to enter the stadium. The Hogwarts delegation itself was almost ready. Wood and Padma scolded the laggards at the same time as they made them hurry. The girls, each in their respective rooms, quickly changed their clothes, fixed themselves (literally) in magic, and put on the dark grey uniform with the school's stylized coat of arms to look more modern. It was fair to say that no one was very excited about the official events. The Hogwarts delegation went to the stadium where they attended a show that combined dance, acrobatics and magic (it was necessary to admit that the Russians knew the art very well).
Then came a demonstrative Russian Quidditch match, in which practitioners flew on tree trunks. The rules were similar to those of the old Quidditch, in which the time of the game was determined with the snitch capture. There was no keeper and there was only a small goal, not much bigger than the basketball hoop. It was interesting to watch the first hour, however, agonizingly aware that there was no time limit. No Hogwarts player liked to imagine what a match was for a week and not entitled to substitution, as the previous rules established: a horror to see and to play.
The foreign part of the audience began to get tired and to leave the bleachers after five hours of departure. There was an informal party going on outside the stadium. That's where the teenagers headed. In the middle of the way, however, the Hogwarts team crossed with some British personalities who went to Russia to accompany the event. Among them, the person who made the hairs on the arms of Lily and Quinn shiver every time: Rita Skeeter.
"Look, just look." The old social columnist smiled especially at Lily. "How long haven't I seen you, little Potter."
"You slipped a camera in my face like an unscrupulous paparazzi in July." Lily countered, still thinking about the embarrassing photo that the columnist took of her and a very drunk James Potter pouring wine into Madan McQuil's dress during a party of anniversary of Katie Bell, who is the head of the Department of Magical Transportation of the Ministry of Magic.
"Oh, yes, big event." Skeeter looked sideways at Santana. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Santana Lopez, the girl who stole little Potter's heart."
Santana forced a brief smile just for education. She had antipathy generated by the countless stories that Skeeter wrote in the Daily Prophet's gossip column about her, Lily and Quinn. Even if she hadn't read any, since she was in the United States when the news sequence about her happened, Santana relied on her girlfriend's reports.
"Tell me, how are you doing to be together in a country where... hum... demonstration of affection for a relationship like yours is not well-regarded?"
"We're here to defend Hogwarts. Not to show us in a public square!" Lily replied irritably.
"What a pity! It would be such a show. Especially with your girlfriend's badgirl fame. Lily, how do you deal playing with two of Santana Lopez's ex-girlfriends? Are you jealous?"
"Okay, ma'am, I think you'd better get out of our way." Santana replied irritably, and at the same time baffled by Rita's courage to ask such a question.
"Don't be rude, chosen one. Or people will start thinking that you are actually the lady of darkness." Rita opened a sly smile. "See you at the game tomorrow."
Santana narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath. Only two more weeks to withstand this out of the way annoyance. In the rhythm that things were happening, time seemed like an eternity to her.
...
The Hogwarts team was ready to take the field. The players were profiled side by side with the Castelobruxo team. The Brazilians, the 12 Brazilians and the two Bolivians of the team were confident in making a much better championship than the previous one. In addition, the South American team was enthusiastic, as their school was confirmed to be the next host of the championship.
Hogwarts plans were simply to make the best championship possible. They knew that the team had some internal relationship difficulties and that two female players in the starting lineup had not officially played for a long time. The referee gave orders for the two teams to enter the field. Castelobruxo and Hogwarts came in and set off magical fires to entertain the audience and win some fans in the process. Shortly thereafter, the players were called one by one. Hogwarts would start with Gail Travis as keeper, Mike, Brittany and Santana as the offensive trio, the Goyle twins as beaters and Quinn Fabray as seeker.
Santana sought to focus entirely on the game, ignoring the posters and insults that came from a sector of the stands. Apparently, Hogwarts was the gay team in the league and that everyone should massacre the British. The three balls were released, and Santana got possession of the quaffle in a more aggressive way than she planned. She passed the quaffle to Mike, who quickly threw to Brittany in a really fast pass. Brittany dribbled the Brazilian defence and returned the quaffle at the last minute to Santana, who scored. The crowd reacted coldly, leaving the British team even more suspicious.
The Brazilians came out with the quaffle and tried to attack playing by the sides of the field. They managed to dribble Brittany, who never was even good in the craft, and threw to the defence of Gail. Quaffle to Santana, who fired from the left to the right of the field. She was being chased by a bludger, so she maneuvered and returned the quaffle to Mike, who advanced, while Ezra Goyle hits the bludger and shoots him toward the chaser that was to mark Brittany. The strategy is successful, the marker is forced to leave the mark, which causes Brittany to enter free to score the second goal. 20 x 0 for Hogwarts in just over five minutes.
Quinn was feeling good back at the official contests. It was as if she had never stopped for almost two years. It took a few training sessions and then old Quinn Fabray was back. She observed the movements of the Brazilian seeker, Carla Albuquerque. For the moment, there was no sign that the player had spotted the snitch. A moment of distraction and she almost collided with the Brazilian beater who flew at high speed to counter the bludger. The near collision caused the opponent to miss the stroke, which made it possible for another clean attack on Hogwarts. Santana scored again. 30 x 0.
The Brazilian team reacted. The chaser managed to get rid of Santana's marking as the bludger began to chase after her. Mike made the last line and was dribbled. The Braziliaan chaser made a pass to the free teammate and scored. Seeing the game from above, Quinn understood at once that the Hogwarts team was very good, but the Brazilians could cope. So she had better work. Besides, she didn't have much information about her direct adversary. Quinn knew she had to work to finish the game as soon as possible.
The Brazilian team equalized after a quick and brilliant counterattack generated by Brittany's quaffle steal. unfortunately, Brittany tried an individual move that ended up going wrong and she was hit by a bludger in the process. She was able to protect herself in the impact, minimizing the damage, but the protection of her arm was damaged. Hogwarts was momentarily without a chaser and suffered the turn of the game when Santana and Mike were involved by the Brazilian team's attack, passing the front of the scoreboard.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lily complained about Brittany during the first break.
"I'm trying to win!" The Ravenclaw responded at the same time.
"You can't win if you continue to think you can play alone." Lily countered and was pushed aside by Bail and Lohanne, being watched closely by the others. "What's the matter with you?"
"Hey, let's stop this discussion now." Wood stepped in and pulled Brittany to the starting group. "I want you to work on the rehearsed formations and defence in 'v' while the twins work in the 'a' position. Improvise only when the situation asks. You are intelligent enough to read the circumstances. Santana, you're the libero and the point guard, you need to speed up the transition and get back to the defence faster."
"I am trying. But you know I play better forward. Bail is a libero, not me."
Wood nodded and looked at the team. His intention was to adapt Santana into the libero position to have the current top three Hogwarts chasers on the field. But there were times when it was necessary to give up some daring in the favour of tactical balance.
"Santana, you're out. Jerome comes in."
Obviously Santana hated being replaced, especially because she was doing her best. She greeted Jerome and stepped aside beside Lily, who comforted her with a brief touch.
"Britt should have left. She's the one playing badly." Quinn whispered to Lohanne. She didn't want to argue with the other teammates. It was only the observation of someone who had read the privileged game.
"Just take the snitch, Fabray." Lohanne tapped her friend's shoulder and sat down on the bench with the others.
With Jerome on the field, Wood thought of repeating Ravenclaw's trio of victorious chasers. The team was even more balanced, as Jerome was a home-based libero. However, it wasn't possible to equate the technical level of Hogwarts houses championship with the international championship. The trio was intertwined, but was lost in creativity, since Santana could be unpredictable inside the field. The match was balanced with both defences working hard and the keepers doing a good job. Brittany, with her arm sore from the bludger, dropped the quaffle during an attack. The counterattack was deadly and the Brazilians widened their lead. Every time the Brazilians attacked, the bleachers went crazy. The wide favouritism of the public for Castelobruxo began to annoy the British team.
"Please... Quinn... get the snitch!" Santana prayed on the bench.
"Britt is doing wrong. They are exploring the side she marks." Lily watched the movement closely. "Why doesn't the coach change it?"
"I don't know." Aurora Bloom was also restless on the bench.
A moment of disorganization of the Hogwarts team Castelobruxo extend the advantage on the scoreboard by 60 points. Quinn began to feel an emptiness in her stomach, wanting the snitch anyway, because if the match were to end in the clock, Castelobruxo would win. Already realizing this, the opposing seeker began to maneuver more to disrupt Quinn than to try to catch the snitch, which was a valid and widely used strategy among the pros.
Brittany threw the quaffle and the Brazilian keeper defended by giving a whip with the back of the broom, throwing the ball directly to one of the chasers. Goal of Castelobruxo and end of second half. Brittany and Mike were replaced by Bail and Lily. It meant that the attack was less effective, but the defence was more solid. In other words, Wood wanted the team to hold on to the scorecard and started betting on Quinn.
"Good luck." Santana kissed her girlfriend's cheek before Lily stepped on the field, then looked at Quinn. "It's in your hands, Fabray. But no pressure." She winked at her friend.
The formation with Jerome, Lily and Bail managed to not let the opponent score more goals. But the attack also didn't have much effect. Even so, when Ezra Goyle managed to throw the bludger into the quaffle, breaking the Brazilian atack, Lily managed to get the leftovers and attack with everything she had, scoring and reducing the difference a bit. Quinn didn't have time to celebrate the goal. She felt the snitch buzzing in front of her and wasted no time. Unfortunately the batter of Castelobruxo noticed the movement and threw the bludger toward Quinn.
"Son of a..." Quinn could see the bludger approaching, but the snitch was also very close. "You have to give..." She said between her teeth and reached out and threw herself.
The bludger destroyed her broom and Quinn once again was in free fall. It was Bail who rescued her and put her safely on the ground. She looked at the beautiful, imposing and modern stadium, planned for its capacity to vary according to the event. The audience was silent, the game partially paralyzed. Then Quinn ran to the Hogwarts bench. She didn't have the snitch in her hands.
"Give me your broom!" She shouted to Santana, who promptly offered hers.
Quinn and the rest of the team were disappointed by the frustrated attempt, but the game needed to continue. Lily managed to steal the quaffle and passed immediately to Jerome, who managed to get free and scored his first goal in the championship. The game began to get more hardened. Castlebruxo pressed in the attack, Hogwarts was held in the defence and invested in the counterattacks. Quinn tried to take a more aggressive stance on catching the snitch. End of the third time with Castelobruxo 30 points in front.
Santana was silent as Oliver Wood passed the instructions. She was simply delivering water bottles to her teammates. If she couldn't return the match by the rules, at least she would continue to help with little things.
"You're playing hard," Santana whispered into her girlfriend's ear, which smiled and nodded.
Lily started flying again along with the team for the time it would be all or nothing for Hogwarts. The Brazilians pressed hard, but the British resisted as much as they could with a solid defence. The dedication of both sides gave off epic and nervous moments. Jerome was almost hit by a bludger and that made him neglect the defence. Gail stepped forward to close the angle of the chaser. It was in vain. Castelobruxo scored. Quinn began to move independently of the rival. She just wanted to find the snitch as soon as possible. She knew that her team wasn't have the straight to reverse the scoreboard, so the opponents could win with greater difference in the clock. The snitch was the only way out for victory.
Quinn felt the buzz again and managed to stare into the snitch. The time of the match was running out, but she had a chance. She fled. The adversary accompanied her and tried to block her, but Quinn got out of the way and still kept her eyes on the smallest ball. She stretched her arms out. It was almost. Her opponent had been left behind, time was running out, it was the final seconds, Castelobruxo was winning, Quinn leaned down. A little more, a little more... and the snitch was in her hands at the same time she heard the final whistle.
"Castelobruxo won." The judge determined.
Quinn was desperate. She was holding the snitch. The small object was safe in her hands. Hogwarts should win. The Hogwarts team went straight to the referee. Castelobruxo's team celebrated.
"This is not right. I got the snitch!" Quinn raged to the referee.
"The time is over before you can get it all," the referee snapped back.
"Get it all? You're a thief son of a bitch!" Quinn didn't use to curse, but at that moment, she was delirious, discontented.
The referee turned to her and pointed the red card. Red card in the Quidditch had the same function of the soccer: it expelled one player of the match and it suspended the player for the next one. The whole team was outraged, except for Wood, who was trying to contain the students' moods. It took a few minutes for the Hogwarts team to pull away. The referee confirmed Castelobruxo's won, causing the audience to roar in favour of the Brazilians and boo the British. The negative situation caused the team to head straight for the tent in the village of the delegations.
"I swear the referee finished the game ten seconds earlier," Santana snarled as she reached the room.
Quinn threw herself on the bed and put a pillow on her face, letting her cry of frustration fade. Lily and Brittany got in the room with an argument in progress.
"I'm not saying you were guilty," Lily snarled at Brittany, catching Santana and Quinn's attention. "I'm saying you were complacent."
"Like you've played better!"
"I did what I had to do! I don't have the same skill you have, but at least I play for the team!"
"Go to hell, Potter!"
"After you grow up, Pierce!"
"Hey!" Santana slipped between them. "Give me a break, okay?" She pressed her thumb to her temple and pressed it to the point that hurt more.
"Problems with your women, Lopez?" The four turned to the door. Ezra Goyle was at door with his twin brother.
"Jealous?" To everyone's surprise, it was Quinn who answered, taking the lead. "It must be hard for you to see that a 1,60m girl manages to attract and satisfy more women than you ever dreamed of doing."
Santana looked at Lily with some panic that her girlfriend would understand the wrong message. Lily, meanwhile, was impassive as Brittany stood beside Quinn and smiled provocatively at her teammate.
"Get out, Ezra. Go masturbate in a corner fantasizing with us. That's all you will get." Brittany's speech sounded even more embarrassing to the other two girls.
"You all can try it whenever you want. I think you'll change your minds." Ezra teased
"I don't think so. I bet Santana little finger gives more satisfaction than your filthy dick."
"Whatever, dyke!" Ezra said to Quinn before getting out of sight of the girls.
Santana walked over to Quinn. She touched her friend' shoulder and gave a half smile without the slightest humour.
"Thank you, but I don't need this kind of defence. Don't use my sexuality to feed fights, okay?"
Quinn was awkward. She didn't realize that in her desire to win the fight against Ezra, she ended up making her best friend embarrassed.
...
There was a party in front of Ilvermorny's tent due to the unlikely victory the Americans had over Uagadou. The informal party wasn't much different from those seen in teen movies. The difference, of course, was that things were more controlled due to the presence of adults in the vicinity. Anyway, boys and girls danced in beer glasses in hand to the loud sound of the latest billboard artist. Brittany and Mike watched the party in the distance for a while. She was upset not only at the defeat, but at the scolding of her friends. But she still didn't recognize that she had played badly, after all she was the one who liked to have fun above all else and didn't have the patience to take competitions to heart.
"Let's take a closer look." Brittany pulled Mike to accompany her.
"It's the Americans party."
"But the music is great and everyone speaks English. "
"We'll have to practice tomorrow."
"Come on, Mickie." She pouted in an attempt to win her boyfriend.
"No, Britt."
"Please. You love to dance. Let's dance a little. "
"No."
"If you don't go with me, I'll go alone."
"Britt, I'm not in the mood to party. We lost and our team is not very well. Didn't you see how divided we are?"
"That's why we should dance and drink a little."
"Britt, we'd better stick with the team. Try to rescue some of our unit."
"Let's do this. Let's just stay for 15 minutes at the party and then we'll head back to Hogwarts' tent."
"No, Britt."
"If you don't come with me, I'm going to the party by myself, I swear."
"Then do as you wish."
Mike returned to the Hogwarts tent, but Brittany, curious, advanced toward the party. The boys soon smiled and waved at the newcomer, and the glass of beer soon reached her hands. Brittany began to dance, showing movements so coordinated and graceful that it aroused envy and jealousy in many. It was soon to be the center of the American party.
"Does the beautiful maiden grant me this dance?" Brittany was approached by a young man wearing a hood so that she couldn't see his face. But the voice was familiar.
"That depends on whether you can handle."
"I can handle you."
As soon as the young man raised his head a little more and let the dim light illuminate his face, Brittany put her hands to her face in surprise.
"Sam?"
"Hello Brittany."
"Oh my God, Samuel? Why are you here?"
"It's nothing complicated. Swear. Can we talk?"
Brittany hesitated. Samuel was supposed to be the new dark lord who was supposed to fight Santana in the near future. But all she could see was her ex-boyfriend who was remarkable in her life. Samuel was her first time and, yes, her second love. Brittany decided to give a vote of doubt, after all, Samuel was always a gentle boy, even in moments of total intimacy. She took his hand and they walked away from the party until Samuel disappeared, taking Brittany with him.
They appeared in a beautiful gazebo where they could see the glittering lights of the city. Brittany came to the conclusion that Koldovstoretz was beautiful any time of day. She reclined on the fence of the gazebo and was silent just to look at the view.
"It seems ridiculous to think that this is considered a metropolis in our world." Samuel reclined beside his ex-girlfriend. "For me, there is no more beautiful city."
"Have you seen others?"
"No..." Samuel smiled. "But I know London. That counts a lot, does not it? "
"I guess so." Brittany stared at the ex-boyfriend. "Sam, where have you been all this time?"
"Would you believe me if I said I was in a monastery?"
"What?" Brittany frowned.
"I'm not kidding! In a monastery. Well, my parents are stuck and I've had a confusing year. Then Blaise Zabini decided to take me out of Britain and took me to a monastery in Scandinavia. I needed to rebalance."
"Oh... that means the allegations that you're involved with the prophecy..."
"Britt, come on... you know me. I would never associate with such a group. I was confused and angry, yes. But I've recovered and I'm ready to go back. Zabini and I are going to London, you know? We will provide the necessary clarifications and I will go back to Hogwarts next year to finish my education."
"Wow, Sam, this is so good. I'm happy for you, and relieved you're not who they say you are."
"Thank you."
They both admired the landscape again.
"Why are you here and not in London to clear your name?"
"I wanted to see you." Samuel began to stroke Brittany's hands. "I wanted to get to know the city, see the championship, see you. I saw the game. I saw you did your best as always."
"Oh! Thank goodness someone recognized!" Brittany held up her hands.
"You were wonderful, Britt. Always will be. In Quidditch, the way you think, the way you live without ties, with few moorings."
"Oh, Sam… you're so sweet. Thank you."
"You've always been a quasi-free spirit, Britt. If it weren't for that girl, you would be completely free."
"That girl? Who? Santana?"
"It's... no matter how much you want to be free, she's like a an anchor in everyone's life. She holds you. See you and me. You stayed with me because you thought she didn't want you anymore. Then you broke up with me thinking you had a second chance. But Santana chose Quinn, and then Potter. And you Britt? Do you have at least her friendship?"
"Not like before."
"You know ... in the monastery ... they showed me a way to make the heart free. I can show you, if you want."
"How?" Brittany asked, her eyes shining.
"Close your eyes."
Brittany trusted and closed. He felt Samuel's hands touching her hands and up her arms to her shoulder. The sensation was comforting. Brittany felt her lips being touch and then kissed. Brittany was no longer thinking about Mike, or even about Santana and the rest of the team. She was happy and calm. Then came the pain.
...
"Do you believe that?"
Lily threw a copy of the Daily Prophet on the couch where Santana was sitting with Bail. The team was scattered around the tent and out of it, waiting for the time when they could do tactical training. It was Bail who took the edition of the newspaper and checked the page that annoyed his colleague. It was a photo taken apparently before the game the day before when Santana appeared in the foreground holding hands with Lily, while Quinn and Brittany were in the background. It was embedded in Rita Skeeter's social column with the little headline: "How long will the chosen one withstand temptations?" In the two-paragraph story, the columnist tells of Santana's previous relationships, notes that the four girls are in the team of Hogwarts. Rita makes the nasty insinuation that Lily should have a lot of work with competitors so close, then Rita said Harry Potter most be too liberal to allow his daughter to get involved with a "womanizer".
"Wow!" Bail started to laugh. "This is ridiculous."
"That's embarrassing." Santana put her hands to her face. "This championship is a nightmare."
"I swear by Merlin that I will crush that insect," Lily snarled.
"I wouldn't mind if someone says I'm a womanizer." Bail hit Santana's back. "And you can't tell that Skeeter told a lie. You dated all three."
"Bail, do a favour to yourself and be quiet or I'll stick your mouth myself." Lily pointed her wand at his colleague's face. No one really took the girl's untimely gesture seriously. The situation even elicited laughter from Lohanne Stone and Aurora Bloom, who watched everything in the distance.
It was when Mike got in the tent crying. He crossed the room and went straight into the bedroom, leaving everyone confused. Oliver Wood and Padma Patil got in the tent immediately after Mike. They were pale, and their expression was so hardened that they seemed to have seen a ghost.
"Professors." Lily approached. "Did something happen?"
They both looked at the group of teenagers in the room and stared at Santana.
"There was a murder in town," Wood began to explain, while Padma couldn't hold back the tears.
"Murder?" Lily said almost whispering. "Who died?"
"Brittany." The word blurred from the coach's mouth. "Our Brittany was found dead this morning... I'm sorry, kids... I'm really sorry."
Santana felt her eyes on her. Suddenly, she could no longer distinguish voices and images. First, she vomited on the floor. Then Lily hugged her and both started crying copiously.
...
Samuel carefully opened the dark cloth. He stared at the heart. His expression was blank, without any emotion, as if the face itself were a plaster mask. He took the organ very carefully and deposited it inside the magic portion. Quickly, the organ dehydrated, as if it had been mummified in a matter of seconds. Samuel took the material out of the cauldron and carefully tucked it into a gold box. The first element of his future wand had been collected. It was a step further to obtain the most powerful wand of modern times, forged in the pure magic of darkness. He turned his neck and then popped it, trying to ease his own tension. He still had work to do.
