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In this chapter, we get to see some quidditch action! Azzura gives Lily a taste of her own medicine (mwahaha!). We also get to see some of Azzura's past come out.
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Ravenclaw_Illusions
…
The team walked onto the pitch, brooms in hand, and bronze and blue clad. The sunlight shined down on us as we entered the center of the stadium. Caleb and Albus stood before their teams, waiting for the sportsmanship reminders. The two captains shook hands, and Lily smiled at me.
"Fly fast," I begged.
She nodded.
"And the quaffle's in the air – the match has officially started!" The commentator announced to the stadium.
The crowd clapped and cheered as they stomped in the stands. Slytherin house sang one of their taunting songs while they waved their serpent flags. Our house observed in hushed tension at the toss of the quaffle.
"Slytherin has possession of the quaffle! Gwendolyn Masters came out of know where! Masters passes to Malfoy and Malfoy passes to Carter… It's a fake out! Malfoy's still in possession of the quaffle!"
I noticed a bludger nearing Gavin Dilameer (one of our chasers) I sped towards him. "Gavin! Duck!" I called.
Dilameer twisted into a fade and I swung. The feeling of my beater's club making contact with the bludger was so satisfying. The nasty ball headed towards Gwendolyn Masters.
"It took a few attempts on the hoops but Slytherin scores! Malfoy's relentless today – it takes a lot skill and energy to get past Ravenclaw's Captain Caleb O'Connor ."
The stadium erupted in either victory or outrage.
"Wait, look at this! Harvel Finchfletchy is speeding towards Potter at the Slytherin hoops. He passes to Dilameer who has a bludger on his tail! What's this? Darius Samuels is coming to the rescue! Dilameer hands off to Samuels and is saved from the bludger by new Ravenclaw beater Azzura Di Napoli! Who knew such an obscure replacement would do this house team so much good? Finchfletchy scores on Potter! The match is tied!"
A wave of noise washed over the stadium.
The game went on like that for over an hour. Back and forth the score would somehow always be balanced by either side.
"Samuels passes to Dilameer! Peterson sends a bludger towards Potter! Potter ducks! Dilameer makes the goal!"
The wind blew my ponytail in ribbons that wrapped around the side of my neck. I was tailing a bludger that was directed towards our goal hoops.
We were up by three and the Slytherin beaters were furious.
Parker Harris the smaller and faster of the two opposing beaters was one step behind me all game. Thanks to my 'observations' I knew that Zabini was the bigger and brighter of the two. I faked left, he stopped – distracted. I ducked under him and got behind the bludger. I swung my bat sending the bludger towards Adam Davies, forcing him to lose sight of the snitch.
"Nice work, Di Napoli." My captain smiled from our hoops.
"Thanks," I beamed.
A sudden force pushed me sideways as pain slowly ebbed into my shoulder.
"Di Napoli's hit! That's not a display of sportsmanship from Slytherin beater Luke Zabini."
I swung my bat at the bludger that had hit me, trying to steady myself on my broom. The merciless ball bounded its way across the pitch missing Albus at the Slytherin hoops by maybe an inch.
"And she's still in the game!"
Suddenly the stands are roaring, the houses are singing and clapping while stomping the bleachers.
"What's this? It's over! Lily Potter caught the snitch!" The commentator announced.
Lily lapped the stadium with the tiny gold orb struggling in her fist.
"We won," I sighed.
Once I was back on the ground, I had to let go of my broom and club. The pain throbbed and was becoming too much. My vision started to blur and I tripped over something…
I remember being helped up by two pairs of arms…
...
Twenty minutes later, I woke up in the infirmary.
I blinked a couple of times trying to get my eyes to focus.
"Ah, there she is," Someone said softly.
"That was a brilliant move you pulled back there: yeh missed me by this much." Albus held his fingers up less than a inch of air separating them.
Him, and Scorpius sat beside my cot, still dawning their green quidditch robes.
"You helped me get here?" I tried to make sense of what I was missing.
"Yes, you got off your broom, took a few steps and then passed out." Scorpius relayed my blacking out.
"We saw it happen and brought you here. Figured, our team wouldn't miss us," Albus shrugged.
"If Lily wasn't so good, you would've had us," I smiled.
"It was a close game," Scorpius nodded.
"I wasn't my best – if we're being honest." The younger, more reserved, Potter brother clenched his jaw.
"Don't beat your-self up about it mate," The blonde frowned at his friend.
"Hey," I stared at the boy's distracted green eyes.
He looked back at me.
"You know, if you ever need a girl's opinion … that's not a relative; I'm here for you."
"I just might take you up on that offer," Albus smiled at me.
Lily and Caleb ran into the infirmary and started to slow down once they saw me.
"Oh thank Merlin," Lily exclaimed.
They walked over to my cot.
"You're one tough witch, Di Napoli," Caleb smirked. "I don't know how you stayed on your broom, otherwise kept playing."
"How are you feeling?" Lily squeaked.
"A little sore, but I'll be fine." I grabbed my friend's hand. "I'm okay, I promise."
The infirmary door opened once more.
"Too many visitors – some of you've got to leave." The Healer yelled from her office.
"Well, I'm not leaving, I just got here." James announced as he walked into the room.
Caleb patted my shoulder and made his way out.
Albus and Scorpius rose from their seats. James nodded at them, and muttered something. He then grabbed his brother by the shoulder and said, "We'll talk later."
The two Slytherins left with well wishes and kind faces.
"Thanks for having this one's back out there." James pulled Lily to his side and messed her hair.
"She didn't need my protection – she's an excellent flyer. Then again, it'd be hard to believe that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasely could have children that suck at quidditch." I felt restless in my cot; I wanted to run to him.
"You heard her. I don't need protecting." Lily spit her tongue out at her brother.
James put her in a headlock and messed her hair even more.
I giggled at them.
"I won't force Ravenclaw tower await my arrival any longer," Lily 'attempted' to nonchalantly cough. "I'll see you later."
"Have fun," I chuckled.
The infirmary door shut behind her with a soft thud.
"You did great, love." He sat down in a chair beside my cot.
"I got myself injured," I scoffed.
"And you played it off like it was nothing."
"Which it obviously wasn't," I laughed as I gestured to the room.
"I never said you weren't painfully stubborn," He smirked.
"And you're not?"
"Let's not go there," He laughed.
…
James stayed with me until I was free to go and was discharged from the infirmary.
"So how do you feel about your match tomorrow?" I asked as we walked down the corridors of the castle.
"I'm very confident in my team, but the competition is rougher than it has been in the past so – I'm not making any bets on the finals this year." Captain James provided his opinion on the competition this year.
I chuckled, "This year: emphasis on the THIS."
"I've been told that I have a tendency to be arrogant," He shrugged.
"You've been told, huh," I smiled: knowingly.
"Okay, more like reminded and scolded about it over and over again." He smirked, and ran a hand through his hair.
I giggled, and winced at the soreness in my shoulder and my neck.
"Hey, hey, hey," He cooed. "Are you alright? Should I take you back to the infirmary?"
"I'm okay, James," I smiled. "You know, I'm not made of porcelain."
"But you looked like you were in pain."
"I am but it's nothing I can't handle."
"You sure?"
"Yes," I raised an eyebrow at him. "You wanna see what's bothering me?"
"Let me see, and if it's not right, I'm taking you back."
"She gave me a tonic that is doing it's job, I tore some tendons in my shoulder and neck, the tonic is knitting them back together but I this bruise." I pulled on my top to stretch the neckline over my shoulder. "See, that's all, just a bruise."
"How did you stay on your broom?" He asked as he stared wide-eyed at my black and blue.
"I've experienced much worse," I shrugged. "The least I could do was stay in the game. Besides, I knew it would be more painful if I fell, so I held tight and tried not to think about my shoulder."
"What do you mean - you've been through worse?"
"Nothing," I bit my lip. "Just an expression."
"You know, word around Slytherin house is that you're the student in Rome that exposed the Vatican of knowing of the presence of the wizarding world."
I suddenly didn't feel so steady. "Where did you hear that?"
"Albus and Scorpius overheard it in their common room."
"It's true, isn't it?"
"That's why I went back to New York," I could barely speak above a whisper.
"What happened?"
"They performed what you would call a witch-hunt. Going after students, to interrogate and torment them, no one gave me up. Some students are still missing, a couple were found dead - scattered across the city. It was almost war, until the South Mediterranean Ministry came in and cut a statute policy with them and proceeded to obliviate the church's followers from ever discovering what I revealed."
"How could the muggles torture or kill witches and wizards?"
"They didn't, but the witches and wizards working for them did."
"That's what you exposed," His face dropped.
"Disturbing right?" I took a deep breath. "Let's talk about something else."
"So what color dresses did you get in Hogsmeade?"
"You cheeseball," I smiled.
"You're not going to tell me?"
"Nope, you'll have to be surprised."
"Okay, so tell me your favorite color."
"Green, emerald, like my birthstone - I'm a gemini."
"You traitor - that's a Slytherin color," He teased.
"It was my favorite color before I even knew of Slytherin house colors," I chuckled. "How about you?"
"Red, like my house, because I honor my loyalties."
I laughed so hard my shoulder hurt and I couldn't breath - I started coughing.
"Not funny. It's always been my favorite ask Lily." He fixed his glasses from sliding down. "Hogwarts, Rome, or New York?"
"New York will always be my home in the world, but definitely Hogwarts."
"Will you go back to New York when you graduate?"
"No," I shook my head. "There's nothing for me there."
"Where as here..."
"Where as here, I have people that care about me, and opportunities for a career."
"You didn't have friends or family back home?"
"Not really, I was kind of a loner in school. People didn't like that I was a seer." I sighed, "As for family. It's complicated."
"They're okay with you being a witch - right?"
"Yes, they just don't understand it, and they have other things to worry about than my feelings. I'm better off out of the way."
He stopped walking, and gently held me. "How are you so strong?" He asked into my hair.
"Survival, I guess." I looked up at him.
He kissed my forehead. "I think you do our patronus better justice than I do." We continued walking.
"Are you kidding me?" I scoffed. "You're like Mr. Gryffindor Pride - sounds like a lion to me."
"I wouldn't have compared the two characteristics."
"Just because you haven't been through hardships doesn't mean you don't have inner strength," I glanced at him.
"Thanks," He smiled.
"It makes a lot of sense that someone named after James Potter and Sirius Black would have a lion as a patronus," I smirked.
"It does?" This childish grin spread across his face.
"Yeah, The Potters are traditionally all Gryffindors, something James was very proud of. As for Sirius, he had the opposite with an all Slytherin family. So he wanted to be on the other side of the rivalry - they met on the train first year and were best friends ever since. That's what they initially bonded over, wanting to be sorted into Gryffindor."
"Monday, detention, we're having story time again. Let's take a break from prophecy stuff."
I chuckled. "Deal," I rubbed the back of my neck.
"How is it?" He looked at my injury.
"It's okay, just sore," I smirked. "Worried Potter?"
"I don't want to see you hurt," He ruffled his hair.
I grasped his hand and brought it to my face. I pressed my cheek into his open palm and kissed the heal of his hand.
"See you tomorrow," I said.
"Congrats on the game, and rest that shoulder," He held me close. "And be sure to rest your voice," He smirked.
"Why my voice?"
"Because you'll need it to cheer me on tomorrow," He waggled his eyebrows at me.
...
Walking into the common room the party was slightly dying down but the room cheered at me as I walked through.
I climbed up the stairs to the girls dormitories and heard yelling. It was, of course, coming from my room.
"The bet was that they have to be officially dating and they have to be at the ball together. They're not official, and neither the Halloween ball or the Yule ball have passed so don't get cocky kid."
"They're seconds away from being official, and he asked her to the Halloween ball - I'd be scared if I was you."
"Why are you so focused on her love-life, anyway? Living vicariously much? Maybe you can't get you're own guy so you're helping her."
"Oh really?" I crossed my arms in the doorway. "Wanna make a bet?"
"What? Azzura, no," Lily begged.
"Keep talking, New Girl," Medusa nodded at me.
"Lily will have a quidditch player on her arm at the Yule ball - Fifty galleons. Ten more if it's a captain."
"Seeing how the only captain she's not related to and is not a girl is Caleb - you're on."
"Deal," I shook her hand.