In the morning, everyone in Gryffindor Tower was woken up to loud BANG's, a scream and a smell of truly rotten eggs.
Needing air, everyone, still in their pjs raced out of the portrait hole.
Well everyone besides the Quidditch team (minus Jack) all of who, aside from Oliver Wood, had clothes pegs on their noises.
"What the bloody hell did you lot all do this for?!" Oliver demanded trying to get the smell and the slime and the paint and the feathers off of him.
"Because Oliver," Fred said "You need to learn how to have fun."
"And you needed to pay for the horrible way you treated Jack yesterday." George added, everyone nodding to that.
"I treated him the way he needed to be treated to get his head around how important this match is!" Wood said still trying to get the stuff off him.
"Well because of you Oliver," Angelina the second in command, said "Jack has lost his spirit of fun," Fred and George looked at each other wondering if they should comment on this, but agreed they wouldn't "And thinks that you have kicked him off the team." Angelina finished.
"Fine! He's still on the team!" Wood said firmly "Now get this stuff off of me!"
"It will come off on its own when you give a polite apology to Jack," Katie Belle said.
"And seeing as the match is in 3 hours," Fred said looking at his watch, I suggest you get going to find him."
"But I suggest you apologize soon," George commented "I doubt an almost the whole of Gryffindor stampede would not go unnoticed by either McGonagall or Filch. Our guess to start looking for him is the astronomy tower, he seems to like it there a lot."
And with that the rest of the team left soon followed by a grumbling Oliver Wood.
As George had correctly guessed, Jack was indeed at the top of the astronomy tower, along with Baby Tooth who was trying to make him happy again by letting him win at the game of chess they were playing.
Jack caught on that she was doing this when he took another of her pieces making it the 7th one in a row.
"Baby, it's not really a victory if you let me win," Jack told her, only getting a tiny shrug in reply and a small blush.
"How about we play something else?" Jack asked looking in his bag and pulling out normal playing cards "But no letting me win ok?"
Baby Tooth was about to nod smiling when she quickly plugged her nose looked around and shot into Jack's hoodie pocket.
"What the...?" Jack asked but then caught the smell too and grinned.
"I told them to take them down, but do they listen?" he said smirking as he turned around to see Oliver Wood. "And what can I do for you, Goblin?"
Making a fist at the name Oliver took a calming breath and said something in a mumble.
"Sorry? Didn't quite catch that?" Jack asked holding his hand to his ear.
"I said, 'I'm... sorry," Oliver said sighing.
"For...?" Jack asked loving this, maybe a little too much.
"For yelling at you, and making you think you were off the team."
"And?"
"And I will try not to do it again."
"And?"
"And what?" Oliver asked sure that that was all he had to say sorry for "What else did I do that I need to apologize to you for to get this stuff off me?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to see how much I can get," Jack said smirking, having to duck a fist from Wood.
After a punch that dented the wall as struck, and the pranks were peeled off of Oliver, they both went to the Great Hall to have breakfast with the others before going out to the pitch.
As they got there, Jack saw Ron and Hermione wishing Harry good luck, but the feeling that came out as they said it wasn't really what one would call happy.
Jack guessed that neither he nor Harry heard Wood's pep talk as they changed into their Quidditch robes and picked up their broomsticks.
o0o
Up in the stands, Ron and Hermione had just taken their seats next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they brought their wands.
Unknown to either Harry or Jack so not to get them worried, they have been practicing the Leg-Locker-Curse, planning to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.
They had got the idea from when Malfoy did it on Neville the other day.
"Now remember, it's Locomotor Mortis" Hermione muttered as she and Ron slipped their wands up their sleeves.
"I know!" Ron snapped "Don't nag."
"Hello dears," a new voice said making them look up to see Jack's family.
"Mind if ve watch ze match with you?" North asked smiling.
Shaking their heads Ron, Hermione and Neville budged up a little more to let North, Sandy, Tina, and Aster sit with them.
o0o
Back in the changing rooms, Wood had taken Harry aside.
While they were talking Jack and the Twins were looking out the door seeing everyone there.
Jack was really happy to see the other Guardians.
"The whole school's out there," Fred said "Even – blimey – Dumbledore's come to watch."
"Dumbledore?" Harry asked dashing over to join them, looking out to make sure, and sure enough he was, there was no mistaking that silvery beard.
"Feeling better now?" Jack whispered smirking a little as he saw Harry's face, only getting a nod in reply.
As they took to the pitch, Jack was surprised to see that Snape was as angry as he was.
As they were mounting their brooms, Jack wondered if he should throw a snowball at him, but thought against it, thinking that it may just make him more mad, rather than happy.
o0o
In the stands Ron had noticed Snape's look of anger as well.
"I've never seen Snape so mean," he said out loud "Look - they're off. Ouch!"
Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head, making him and Aster and Tooth to spin around.
"Oh sorry Weasley, didn't see you there," Malfoy said Crabbe and Goyle with him.
"What are you doing here?" Bunny said looking at Malfoy's green scarf "Slytherin's over there."
"Just because I'm a Slytherin, doesn't mean I have to sit with them for everything, Sir," Malfoy said looking Bunny over before answering, and turning back to the game.
Jack had just scored his third goal when Malfoy spoke up again.
"I wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time. Anyone want to bet? How about you Weasley?"
Ron ignored him, Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him.
"Well then he should have gotten out they way then shouldn't he?" Bunny said as Tooth screamed that that was unfair.
Hermione wasn't paying attention to any of this and was squinting up at Harry who was circling the pitch looking for the Snitch, all her fingers crossed in her lap.
"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty because Jack flew too close to him in an attempt to catch the Quaffle as two of their Chasers were throwing it to each other.
"It's people they feel sorry for," he continued "See there's Potter who's got no parents, Frost, who's got now real family, the Weasley's who've got no money – You should be on the team Longbottom you've got no brains."
When Malfoy said his comment about Jack having 'no real family' Sandy made a ball of dreamsand appear and was about to throw it at the boy, but North stopped him telling him to wait, and Bunny had to grab Tooth, so she didn't attack him and knock his teeth out.
Neville meanwhile went bright red and turned to face Malfoy.
"I'm worth 12 of you, Malfoy," he stammered.
Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle laughed loudly, but Ron, not taking his eyes off the game said "You tell him Neville."
"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley and that's saying something."
Ron's nerves were already near breaking point with anxiety about Harry, and Tooth was trying even harder to get at this greasy haired brat, her cursed screams in both Indian and English was being muffled by the hand Bunny had over her mouth.
"I'm telling you Malfoy - one more word..."
"Ron!" Hermione cried suddenly "Harry –!"
"What? Where?"
Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from everyone in the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth as Harry streaked past Jack and towards the ground like a bullet.
"You're in luck Weasley, Potter's obviously seen some money on the..."
*SMACK!*
Bunny agreed that enough was enough and let Tooth go allowing her to hit Malfoy so hard his nose stared bleeding and a few teeth got knocked out, and before anyone else knew what was happening Ron had leapt ontop of Malfoy and was wrestling him to the ground, Sandy helping.
Bunny and Neville after a moment coming to help by taking on Crabbe and Goyle.
"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed jumping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped past Snape, she didn't even notice the Malfoy, Ron, and Tina, rolling around under her seat, or the whirl of fists that was Neville, Aster, Sandy, Crabbe and Goyle.
Up in the air Jack taking his possible last chance snatched the Quaffle and shot it through one of the Hufflepuff hoops getting an extra 10 points, just as Harry pulled out of his dive, his arm in the air, a tiny golden ball in his hand.
The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly in a Hogwarts Quidditch Match before.
"Ron! Ron where are you! The game's over! Harry's won! Gryffindor are in the lead!"shrieked Hermione hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.
Jack came down with the other Gryffindors to congratulate Harry on such a speedy catch of the snitch.
As the Gryffindors from the stands came spilling onto the pitch, he saw Snape land nearby, white faced and tight lipped, wondering what was wrong with him, but shrugged it off when he saw the Guardians and was shocked to see the state three out of four of them were.
"What happened to you lot?" he asked making some blocks of ice for them.
"We'll tell ya later mate," Bunny said accepting his one "For now go and celebrate with the rest of them friends of yours."
Grinning Jack sped off with the team back to the changing rooms to get changed before they had to go back to the common room