Chapter Twenty One
Scorpius awoke the nerves that had kept him up much of the previous night were still there. The days remaining for Scorpius's first match seemed at times to fly by and at other times to crawl. He stared up at the bright orange fabric that hurt his eyes and listened to the deep even breathing of his teammates. Actually Brian and Nathan were snoring very loudly. Scorpius chuckled quietly and lightly sprayed whipped cream over his teammate's faces. He put the can back in his bag and proceeded to play with his snitch until a fog horn like blast brought the team fastley awake.
"Good morning." Oliver said without opening his eyes as of yet unaware of his state. Scorpius laid down and made whipped cream appear over his own face. The small bottle was still in his pocket and he pretended to be in the lythargic state that accompanied him always. All around him other players were getting up and he heard the moment when they became horrified.
"Who did this?" Brian said who was actually trying not to laugh.
"I don't know but he is a brillant prankster and must be very good at avoiding security measures." Nathan said and surrendered to his laughter.
"We need to wake Scorpius." Grant Hoffman said and stood over Scorpius. Scorpius slowly raised his hand and Grant nodded. "Good its one of your better days isn't it?" Scorpius nodded and took out the potion he faked drinking it but let a drop dribble on the whip cream instead. He then sat up and opened his eyes wiping at the whipped cream with his night shirt. The billowing shirt that reached to about his waist was filled with sugary whipped cream. Scorpius stared at the sleeve of his shirt as if it had grown an extra head.
"There is some white substance on my shirt." he said with pretended outrage. "Who would dare to do this to us?" The team all smiled at that. "Well we will show them won't we?"
"Yes we will. Come on team what is our motto?"
"We will keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best?" Cassandra asked.
"No, We shall conquer."
"WE SHALL CONQUER." The team yelled and all of them looked doubtfully at the stove.
"Now how to cook what they gave us. Who here won't burn the food?" No one raised their hands.
"I could try I suppose." Scorpius said. "I work with potions all the time and I do know how to make certain herbs golden but not burnt because it ruins the potion if they are." The team agreed and soon Scorpius was staring at eggs and bacon in their uncooked form. He took out a cook book entitled simple ways to cook. "So why do we have to do this anyway?"
"A long history of cooking to premote relations within the team, but what few people realize is that most of us have absolutely no skill in cullenary arts." Scorpius put the package of bacon on.
"I think your supposed to unwrap it first." Brian said scratching his head as Scorpius snatched the oily package out of the fire.
"It just says add package of bacon." Scorpius said and then everyone started to laugh. Scorpius put the bacon down in the pan and watched as it bubbled, he watched too closely and a bit of oil splattered up in his face. He turned it rather haistily and cooked the other side. After the first batch was finished he ripped open a second package and also cooked it. He then sopped up some of the oil and broke the eggs into the pan. Soon they were finished and he put them on a diffrent plate and looked doubtfully at the can of self heating beans, tap with wand and stand back the instructions read. Scorpius did just that and soon the players and tent were splattered with beans, after that he gave the self toasting toast a wide birth.
"Split pea shrapnel." Brent joked and everyone laughed taking their portion of what had actually been made and began to eat. They were soon finished and left their plates and the tent for someone else to clean up. They changed out of their night clothes in a changing room and into their robes. They then streamed out of their tent carrying their brooms and directly into the waiting area. A few minutes later they were on the pitch greeted with a mixure of boos and cheers. Scorpius smiled and waved at the crowed cheerily and watched as they leaned forward in their seats to get a good look at the new player. He mounted upon the broom and got in circle formation with the rest of the team. The ball was realiced into the air and Olaf caught it. Scorpius smiled and pointed his broom to Olaf and saw his eyes flick to another player on his team. Scorpius intersepted the pass and flew an orange blur to the goal he darted twice and then threw it in in the oppisite direction that the keeper had dove. It was odd not to have hearing but preferable to hearing cannon fire and the cheers of fans, not to mention the announcer.
Scorpius flew back to his teammates who pounded him on the back making him drop several inches. Clyde caught it the next time and Scorpius barroled into him knocking the quaffle out of his hands with a well placed broomstick. The crowed was standing up and Clyde looked furious.
He made the spell vanish for a moment streaking to his own goal and scored. The whistle blew and Scorpius smiled as the crowed died down. "I have one thing to say, did I touch him? You will find that I did not, his hold was not strong enough simple as that. Therefore the goal I scored should stay in place according to Quidditch through the ages and about every other Quidditch book I read." The refeery flipped through the book and then nodded.
"Point remains, new move added, The Scorpian."
Scorpius grinned at that, he was the first player in fifty years to add a move to the Quidditch manual. It was not however his only one. When he had the Quaffle and someone beat a bludger to him he hit the Quaffle to his teammate and swatted the bludger into another player on the oppisite side. "Once again I did not touch him." He grinned starting to enjoy himself as Victor scored another goal easily going passed the shocked keeper.
"Point remains another new move added." The referey said who was by this time jumping up and down excitedly. "Hermes Hold Up." The game resumed and Scorpius smiled when he saw the snitch, the other seekers had not seen it however and as he zoomed to the goal he picked it up in his sleeve. It stopped moving at once as it touched the fabric and Scorpius could not even feel it. He smiled and continued the game until his team was five hundred points up where he did a flip turning over in the air until he was a blur and launched both the Quaffle and the Snitch into the air. The ball banged loudly into the goal post and both seekers spotted the snitch circling around lazily. They both dove for it and the little ball took off, the chaise lasted for only a minute but every second was thrilling. Scorpius made one more goal before Grant triamphaintly caught the snitch and held it high above his head. The crowed went wild and Scorpius grinned the referee was staring at him in excitement. The game had only lasted two hours and Scorpius felt as if he could have continued playing for many more.
"Back to the tent." Oliver said smiling broadly and the team boosted both Grant and Scorpius onto their sholders. Scorpius grinned and waved at the audiance who were chanting his name and Grant's. He was born a loft until they were beseiged by reporters. His team set him down sighing, they had not excaped the reporters. Scorpius grinned and shrugged his sholders.
"What's so bad about these people that make you pale?" He asked grinning and the team blushed scarlet. Scorpius grinned and stuck out his hand to the nearest reporter. "Hello my name is Hermes Scorpius." The reporter stared at the proffered hand. "It won't bite." He said and laughed. "How long do I need to hold it here?" The reporter shook his hand somewhat shakily.
"Mr. Scorpius how were you discovered?"
"A Hogwarts student told Oliver about me." Scorpius replied. "I was playing for my house and was delighted to get the offer. It actualy challenges me rather than being too easy."
'How were you able to hit the bludger?"
"I am profeciant at most Quidditch positions but prefer chaising do to the mobility."
"What do you mean by mobility?"
"Chaisers can come up with the most tricks and turns, beaters are forced to somehow hit the bludger and who would want to risk harming themselves? Keepers are incouraged to keep inside the goal posts, Seekers have to look for the snitch so other than faking out other players or hiding it in their robes there isn't much they can do. Chaisers have use of the whole pitch and the ability to move more freely than most."
"How did you come up with the Hermes Hold Up?"
"No one tried it before so I thought why not? I suppose that because of my age I am willing to try new things."
"So what else have you tried?"
Scorpius blushed at the implications of those words. "I am a bit of a late bloomer in that regard, and I haven't ever found the right type of girl for me." With those words even his ears turned scarlet. He had managed to embarece himself. "Or the right type of boy." That made him blush even harder.
"Do you ever think that you will find the right type of girl as you say."
"Someday maybe when I am older, I have my whole life ahead of me and don't want to worry about such things right now." Scorpius replied.
"What is your faveroite food?"
"Well I love fish and chips, but really shouldn't you be asking my teammates some questions?" Scorpius asked and his teammates shook their heads frantically.
"Your teammates are not as interested in other people as you appear to be. You are a very charming young man, how are your studies at Hogwarts."
"I think my grades are passable." Scorpius replied smiling. "I do however not have much time for school work training with my team." He smiled. "I really like them and they are fun to be around."
"What about students at Hogwarts what do you think of the diffrent houses."
"I like Ravenclaws for their sharp wit, Hufflepuffs seem a decent enough lot, Gryffindors are completely loyal and brave and take care of their own, Slytherins are equally loyal but also know when not to show it. All houses have their pregidices I feel, Albus and James Potter are frequently stared at as are several of the Slytherins for no other reason than their parentage. Slytherin house seems to take care of their own better than most houses, except maybe Hufflepuff."
"Are you in Slytherin?"
"No I am a lion through and through." He roared and laughed as the reporters jumped. "Really I think that some of my team should have a turn." Again they shook their heads.
"Scorpius where did you get the laurels from?"
"A fair maiden gave them to me to help me battle against the dragon." Scorpius replied which made one reporter laugh at his evasion.
"What is your faveriote subject?"
"If Quidditch was counted as a subject then I suppose it would be that. Failing Quidditch I love transfiguration."
"Could you transfigure something for us?" Another witch asked and Scorpius smiled picking up a blade of grass and turned it into a single thornless rose. He handed it t Cassandra and she smiled at him as she took it.
"How are your relations with your teammates?"
"Great I think of them as my older brothers and sister." Scorpius replied. "Its fun to go out with them and we joke on and off the pitch. None of us is very good at cooking, only this morning I exploded a can of beans all over our tent. They should put warning labels on those things, do not attempt to cook if you do not have a death wish." He got two reporters to laugh at that one. "I was afraid to try the toast after that, it could well be made into a powerful wepon. Someone called it split pea shrapnel." He said his team obviously wanted the reporters to keep asking him questions.
"What is your faverite drink?"
"I like every flavor ice cream melted into butter beer. It is very good." He smiled. "Although I have yet to try it with every flavor jelly beans, I think the combination of ear wax and chocolate would be quite diffrent." The reporters laughed again and his teammates smiled.
"So how are you taking being part of the team."
"I just hope that the Cannons will be able to beat their losing streak."
"How did you choose to kick Harry Dallens off the team?"
"I didn't choose he asked, he had something else planned."
"Do you think that Henry Montoya has trouble dealing with being taken down to second tier?"
"Why don't you ask Henry that, not me. He seems to be fine with it." Scorpius replied shortly. "At least he is really nice to me at practice and on the field so unless he plans to suddenly change his mind about it I think he is fine with me replacing him for this season."
"I hear that your team is starting a Quidditch club is that true?"
"Yes, we plan to inform all our fellow players about it, the place the sponsers provide is excelent but it is better to have a place without outside infulence." Scorpius replied. "It is even run by former players." He grinned then. "I like the QC a lot if you want to ask me that."
"Outside infulence?"
"Although fans and reporters are delightful, we kind of wanted a place that was all our own, where we could joke and horse around." Scorpius said shortly. He waved at the crowed who were still staring at him.
"Horse around?"
"Wrestle be ourselves." Scorpius said. "Without people asking what color our underpants are, they are grey if you really want to know."
"What is your faveroite color?"
"Grey because it is between the darkness and the light."
"Are they lucky?"
"In the manner in which they stop me getting a very painful broom rash then yes they are." Scorpius said and had to cover his ears from the amount of laughter he got from that comment.
"So what are you going to do to celebrate?"
"I do not know, I would have to ask the team what they want to do." Scorpius replied grinning. "Although I will have to return to school soon."
"How did you get out of lessons on a monday before owls?"
"Certain allowences are made for Quidditch players although I have to write about five feet for each of my classes."
"That is about thirty feet." A reporter said astonished. Scorpius shrugged.
"I know teachers, what pocesses them, at least this time I can choose a subject." Scorpius smiled not revealing that it was in fact his schoolwork for a month. "Now if you don't mind these robes are slightly uncomfortable and the smell is less than pleasent, I admit to smelling slightly like aged cheese." This was accompanied by a roar of laughter. He then walked calmly into the red and gold tent.
"That was brillant Scorpius." Oliver Wood said. "When they first attacked me I went mute and only answered with an yes or no. They said I was about as dumb as my surname." Oliver laughed at the memory as did the others. "You are right about the cheese thing too, now if someone could make Quidditch robes that actually made their players smell nice that would be worth a fortune."
"I don't want to smell like flowers I would rather be moldy cheese." Scorpius said and his teammates laughed. They took quick showers before apperating to the club.
"Hello Harry, we missed you Scorpius tried to cook breakfast and we wound up with split pea shrapnel." Harry laughed at that and had the house elves carry in a very early dinner or a very late lunch.
"I made this for you in celebration, Brent will recognize it I am sure." Harry smiled and Brent's eyes went wide with childish delight when he saw the food.
"Pizza thanks Harry."' Brent said and Scorpius eyed the strange spherical dish doubtfully.
"Come now Scorpius we wouldn't poison our star player." Oliver said and put a large slice on his plate. "try it at least I think you would like it." Scorpius shrugged and cut daintily at the pizza with a knife and fork. He accidently touched the cheese to the roof of his mouth. He shudderd but then the flavor hit him and he smiled.
"It's good." He said surprised and his friends laughed. He was surprised that most of the team was eating with their hands.
"Its more fun this way." Oliver said shrugging and Scorpius picked up the pizza. He bit down this time careful of the hot cheese. He loved the taste of this stuff but thought the name to be rediculous.
"This stuff is pretty good." Scorpius said grinning. He finished his first slice and grabbed a second, after between the ten of them they had demolished four large pizzas and all were drooping slighly. Scorpius found the chair to be extreamly comfortable, his eyes drooped down and he tried to make them go up agian but they would not obey him. He felt the voices slipping away as his exostion hit and sleep claimed him. His features shifted back to his birth form his brown hair becoming blond and he grew smaller until his robes enveloped him.
"Sometimes I forget how young he is." Cassandra admitted looking at the boy.
"He is rather mature for his age, but by all definitons he is a child, an gifted child but still a child. Then little things remind me like the way he falls asleep at the table, or the way he joked with those reporters."
"He is an eager boy, he loves learning new moves." Brian said. "I like Scorpius a lot. I am going to carry him upstairs to one of the beds, I am also tired and don't really feel like apperating, I suppose we will use these twelve rooms after all. Brent picked up Scorpius and was surprised when the boy burrowed into him sighing softly. Scorpius would never have done such a thing when awake and it was in that moment that Brian realized that he wanted children someday. Scorpius trusted all of them enough to surrender to sleep in their company. Brian knew that he could have fought slumber if he wanted to but he obviously was too tired to not fall asleep. He started to snore slightly as Brian carried him upstairs and laid him in the last bedroom, pulling back the covers with magic. He gently placed Scorpius in the bed and covered him until only his blond hair and sleep relaxed face was visable. Brian walked out the door and into his own room, it had two beds, Brian smiled Harry knew how often twins thought it to be comforting to sleep in the same room. He changed out of his clothing stripping down to his pantaloon like undergarment. He got into bed and he too was soon asleep.