- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE -
Vivian's ReturnJune arrived at last, bringing with it a haze of heat and a new sense of normality. For the first time in months, the boys had nothing to worry about except their exams - which was more than enough to be getting on with. The teachers all seemed to have caught 'Exam Fever' and had begun setting exuberant amounts of homework, more often than not accompanied by a lecture.
"As the end of the year approaches, you will need to work just as hard as ever," Professor Oden told them at the end of their next Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. He seemed to have recovered from being Imperiused, but he still looked exhausted.
James noticed that he was still forgetful, just much less so than before. At least he didn't keep losing his wand.
"As I'm sure you know, the exams are almost upon you and you will need to pass with good grades in order to make it into your second year. I expect all of you to at least pass."
The whole class groaned, except Remus and Lily, who sat up very straight, poised to take notes. Sirius rolled his eyes as Professor Oden continued.
"Revision is obviously advisable. No one gets the grades they want without working hard and putting in the effort."
"I think I'm the living exception to that rule," muttered Sirius on James' left. "Everything about me is effortless."
James laughed and Professor Oden caught their eye.
"That means you too, Mr Black. No harm ever comes from looking over your notes."
Sirius grinned, leaning back on two legs of his chair, shaking his hair out of his handsome eyes. "Not unless you count papercuts."
Professor Oden sighed but seemed to think it was best not to argue. "The point is, I'm supposed to be teaching you everything I can. Especially as I don't have much longer left."
Sirius's chair fell back on all four legs with an echoing bang. "What do you mean?" he demanded, folding his arms. "Why don't you have much time left? I thought Imperius Curses weren't fatal."
Professor Oden smiled dryly. "They're not," he said. "But I will not be returning at the end of the year."
A gasp rippled around the classroom.
"You're not coming back?" asked a Slytherin boy sitting a few places behind Snape, looking horrified. "But who will teach us?"
Oden smiled again. "The Headmaster will find you another teacher," he said. "I have already arranged it all with him. But I will be staying until the last day of term. No more, no less."
"Where will you go, sir?" asked Frank Longbottom, frowning.
"There are other jobs," said Professor Oden dismissively. "And I can travel some more. My brother does not approve but I doubt he will be worrying about me. He has his own pregnant wife to support."
"Don't you have any other family, sir?" asked Marlene, waving her hand in the air.
The Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher shook his head. "No. I have a handful of friends, an older brother, and a sister-in-law... And soon I will have a niece. But my parents died many years ago and I have no cousins."
"You don't have a- a partner yourself, then, sir?" asked Marlene, blushing slightly as she said it.
Professor Oden laughed. "No," he replied. "I have never had much luck with women. Or men. The only time I ever met anyone I- well, liked, I fell off a ladder and made a complete fool of myself."
"Who was it?" asked Marlene eagerly and Oden shook his head, still smiling.
"A very pretty woman. I was working in a library at the time and I've never been particularly good at socialising. She walked through the doors holding a book and I fell down the ladder I'd been climbing onto the floor."
Marlene giggled. "Were you okay, sir?"
"Eventually," replied Oden. "At least, I was when I'd stopped stammering my apologies."
Everyone laughed and Professor Oden waved his wand, causing the textbooks they'd been using to zoom back into a box on his overflowing desk.
"Well, then," he said, stowing his wand in his belt. "I think that concludes our lesson. I'd like your essays on recognising ghouls by next week and the rest of your homework will simply be to revise. You may pack away, I think the bell is about to ring."
Right on cue, the clang on the school bell rang around the classroom and nearly everyone jumped. Snape, James was pleased to see, slopped his ink bottle all over himself and stood up, cursing.
James began to shove his things into his bag, then waited for the others to pack up too. The rest of the class filed out, all excitedly discussing the weekend, relieved that another week was over. The fact that the final Quidditch match of the year was to take place on Saturday added to the air of excitement.
"I can't wait to see us thrash Hufflepuff," said James, leading the way out of the classroom, following Lily, Mary and Marlene who were laughing at something Marlene was holding.
"We might not thrash them," squeaked Peter, hurrying to catch up.
James snorted. "Well, we'd better try. Hufflepuff's team are rubbish."
"They're not rubbish," said Remus reasonably, joining them, with Sirius on his right. "In fact, they're actually pretty fast. They beat Ravenclaw by two-hundred points in their last match, remember?"
"Doesn't mean they're not rubbish," replied James. "Anyway, we'd better beat them. I want that Quidditch cup."
"So does McGonagall," said Sirius, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "Did you see her lecturing Marcus outside the Charms classroom? I'm surprised she hasn't tried to bump off the Hufflepuff team."
James laughed. McGonagall was almost as serious about Quidditch as he was. "She's definitely smart enough to get away with that," he said. "But the Hufflepuffs don't need bumping off. Their Keeper is terrible."
"That's probably because people keep knocking his confidence," said Remus sharply. "People seem to have something against him for some reason."
"Maybe he's just a bad Quiddich player?" suggested James and Remus frowned.
"Maybe. But I don't think so, somehow."
James' conviction that Gryffindor would win the huge silver Quidditch cup continued to persist all the way until Saturday morning. The four boys went down to breakfast earlier than usual, only to find that the whole of Gryffindor house was gathered around the centre of the table, dressed from head-to-toe in red and gold. The Hufflepuff team were surrounded by admirers over at their table, bedecked in black and yellow, Hufflepuff badgers splashed across their chests.
Peter, Sirius, Remus and James sat down as close to their team as they could get, which wasn't that close, considering the crowd of chanting people around the players. Squinting over the heads of some fourth-years, James could just make out Marcus, the captain, scowling at the Hufflepuff table. He did not seem to be eating breakfast himself, but he kept shovelling food onto the plates of his teammates, barking instructions as he did so. Felicity sat next to him, beaming and offering encouragement.
"Nice team spirit this, isn't it?" yelled Sirius over the racket everyone else was making, looking around at everyone else's clothing, and tugging his Gryffindor scarf and rosette. "I feel a bit underdressed."
Remus laughed. "So do I. I swear, even the Slytherins are wearing red or yellow."
"Snape's not," said James, peering over the crowd to check. "Nor are Mulciber or Avery - that's surprising, you'd think they'd take Hufflepuff's side."
"I guess they're just miserable gits," shrugged Sirius, tucking into a plate of bacon and eggs. "Oh, well. It's their loss. They'll be the only ones in the crowd who are-" He suddenly choked. "Merlin's beard!"
Peter thumped him on the back, looking wildly around as he did so. "What-?"
Sirius continued to splutter, pointing at the staff table. "Look - at -McGonagall!"
"What do you-? Oh!" Turning, both Peter and Remus stared up at their Transfiguration professor, their mouths agape.
James stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth before turning around to look too. He almost spat the toast in Remus' face at the sight. "Holy moly."
Professor McGonagall was sitting at the staff table between Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore, wearing scarlet robes, a matching hat, a thick Gryffindor scarf and a glowing lion badge that actually seemed to be roaring. Beside her, Hagrid wore a long moleskin overcoat and twelve Gryffindor rosettes.
"Wow, McGonagall really wants us to win, doesn't she?" James said, chewing. "I mean, even I wouldn't dress up like that for a Quidditch match. What do you think she'll wear when the house-points are totalled up at the end of term? An actual lion costume?"
Sirius snorted. "I'd pay good money to see that."
But the Gryffindors weren't the only ones surprised by their Head-of-House's apparel. Several Hufflepuffs were staring, open-mouthed, at Professor Sprout, who had exchanged her usual patched hat for one of luminous yellow. A large, stripy badger teetered on top.
"I had no idea teachers could be so competitive," said Sirius, still watching the staff table. "Blimey - look, even Dumbledore's dressed up. He's wearing Gryffindor and Hufflepuff colours. Do you think he buys a set of robes for each occasion?"
"Probably," mumbled Peter, cramming half his breakfast into his mouth and spraying it everywhere. "He wore robes with eagles and snakes on them for the last match."
Breakfast continued relatively sensibly until the house teams stood up. The Hufflepuffs got to their feet first, their Captain in the lead, all clutching oak-handled brooms that gleamed in the sun from the enchanted. As soon as they moved, the Gryffindors stood up too, arranging themselves so they made a wall between the Hufflepuff table and the door.
Peter squeaked and almost toppled backwards off the bench in his excitement.
"It's happening, it's happening!" yelped James, bouncing in his own seat and sending toast and bits of rosette flying. "The players are going to get ready! Come on, let's follow the teams down to the pitch - we'll be able to get the best seats."
Scrambling to their feet, they made their way out of the Hall and into the grounds. The two teams strode in front of them, chattering loudly to their friends, some accompanied by cheering fans.
"You'll smash them, Kev!" one girl was saying to a boy with long dreadlocks. "You show Gryffindor who the rightful champions are!"
The boy called Kev laughed, swinging his broomstick over his shoulder. "All right, I will. But it's only a game. We still have to play fair."
The girl rolled her eyes, her Hufflepuff scarf clashing with her Ravenclaw robes, and, as her face slid into the light, James caught a glimpse of sleek dark hair and a glittering Prefect's badge-
"Sirius!" he cried, grabbing his friend's arm and shaking it. "Sirius, look! It's Vivian!"
"What?" asked Sirius, frowning around at the Entrance Hall, his eyes lingering on the marble busts and the ornately-carved bannisters. "Who's-?"
"Vivian! That Ravenclaw prefect we met on the train! Look - there!"
"I don't-" Sirius began, then his face broke out into a grin. "Merlin's beard, so it is! We met her when James and I were trying to spy on the other students," he added, in response to Peter and Remus' questioning looks. "She asked us what we were doing and I tried to flirt with her. She got a bit grumpy after that."
"I'm not surprised," said Remus dryly and Sirius elbowed him as they went down the front steps into the grounds.
"Oi! Just because you don't appreciate flirting, it doesn't mean no one else does!"
"Who says I don't-?" replied Remus, but James grabbed his wrist to stop him from poking Sirius.
"Hey, stop it, you two. Look, we need to find somewhere to sit."
They all stared up at the towering profile of the stands above them. Everything had been coloured in red, green, yellow and blue, with flashes of bronze, silver or gold in between. A couple of people were already in the Hufflepuffs' end of the stands, lounging on benches or munching on toast. At the side of the pitch, the wooden shack that was the changing rooms practically shook with noise as the opposing teams changed inside.
"Where do we sit?" asked Peter, peering around him. "Last time, we sat over there, but it was really hard to see. I don't think we should sit there again."
"Let's go up here," suggested James, pointing to a set of steps directly in front of them. "If we sit at the top, we'll be able to see everything."
"All right," said Sirius, grinning. He led the others up the stairs, edging past a pair of giggling Slytherins, who were blocking the path. "Excuse me, ladies!"
The girls parted, still giggling, and the four boys climbed the rest of the way to the top row of seats, where they sat down, staring around at the pitch in front of them. It was a bright, clear day and the sun stroked the backs of their necks, warming their faces. The grass below them was especially green, slightly dry at the edges, but still vivid.
"Good view!" said James approvingly, squinting over at the glittering lake in the distance. A few large bubbles peppered the surface and Peter whimpered, gripping Remus' arm.
"It's the Giant Squid!"
Remus sighed. "Peter, you're sitting on dry land several-hundred meters away. What do you think the squid is going to do, jump out here and grab you? It doesn't even have legs!"
But Peter continued to watch the lake out of the corner of his watery eyes as the stands began to fill. His apprehension vanished, however, the moment the commentator arrived, a tall, willowy girl who was leaning on a crutch.
"Hello, Hogwarts!" she yelled into the large magical megaphone. The crowd erupted, cheering and stamping, waving flags and hats. "We're back for another match and this one will decide the cup championship. I'm not sure I need to remind you of who's in the lead, but I'll update you anyway in case any of you have been living under a rock."
The crowd cheered again and the four boys joined in, James accidentally slapping Sirius in the face with his over-zealous waving.
The commentator took a deep breath, then continued. "Currently, Gryffindor house is in the lead, with a total of two won matches and four-hundred-and-eighty points. Hufflepuff house trails behind, but not by much - they're in second place. Ravenclaw and Slytherin... Well, they're out of the running this time, but Slytherin is sixty points behind Ravenclaw, who have a grand total of three-hundred-and-sixty. Playing today to decide the overall winner of the Quiddich cup are Gryffindor and Hufflepuff; let's hear it for the team players!"
The girl waved a hand behind her at the door of the changing rooms, which had burst open. Fourteen players emerged, carrying their broomsticks, grinning up at the crowd, with Marcus and the Hufflepuff captain in the lead. The crowd went wild again, screaming their friends' names or booing those of their enemies. James caught sight of Vivian Roberts again, sitting two rows down from them, hollering Kevin's name with as much gusto as she could muster.
"GO ON, KEVIN!"
"Why is she so obsessed with Kevin?" whispered Sirius as the cheering died away.
James grinned. "Dunno, but she's going to lose her voice if she's not careful."
Madam Hooch strode onto the pitch, her own broomstick clutched in her hand, her dark robes rippling behind her. "Captains, shake hands," she barked and Marcus stepped forwards to shake the Hufflepuff captain's hand.
Vivian screamed again in the crowd. "YES, KEVIN!"
"Look, there's Kevin," said Sirius, frowning at the Hufflepuff Seeker as the two teams mounted their brooms. "Bit ugly, isn't he?"
Remus shot him a withering look. "Who cares?" he hissed. "I thought we were here to watch the match, not this Kevin person."
"Well, Kevin is just as interesting, according to Vivian," sniggered Sirius, just as Madam Hooch's whistle pierced the air. The players were off.
"And it's Melanie Richardson with the Quaffle, Melanie Richardson of Gryffindor, streaking up the pitch." The girl with the crutch was bellowing into her megaphone again. "She dodges a bludger, she swerves around the Hufflepuff beaters... Look at that, she's heading for goal!"
The Gryffindors cheered and the commentator waved her megaphone in the air.
"A goal this early in the match is pretty impressive, but will Hufflepuff be able to-?" But the Gryffindors had let out yells of outrage. One of the Hufflepuff players had knocked the Quaffle from the Gryffindor chaser's grip.
"Nooo!" moaned James, burying his face in his hands.
The commentator seemed to share his disappointment. "Nope, it's bad luck for Richardson. Chaser Dewan knocks the Quaffle out her hands - nice use of tactics there - and speeds away. Damn, that boy can fly. But he's no match for the Gryffindor keeper as he hurtles towards the goal hoops. Marcus Meldrew certainly has talent - I mean, look at that angry face. You're not going to get any Quaffles past him in a hurry."
As the Hufflepuffs booed, Dewan took his opportunity to throw the scarlet ball at the middle goal. It sailed through the air, picking up speed, aiming for the uncovered spot near Marcus' left hand-
James was gripping the edge of his seat so hard it was leaving scarlet indents on his fingers. "Come on..." he muttered, gritting his teeth. "Save the goal... Come on, Marcus, save it..."
But Dewan had scored. The Hufflepuffs screamed and bellowed their triumph and Vivian began to chant again.
"KEVIN, KEVIN, KEVIN!"
"He didn't even score the goal," muttered James, still cursing under his breath as Dewan seized the Quaffle and passed it to the Gryffindor team. "Why can't she just shut up?"
"We could make her shut up," suggested Peter, his eyes on the scarlet Quaffle as it zoomed between the players. "Turn her hair pink or something."
"Now there's an idea!" said Sirius loudly, propping his feet up on the back of the seat in front of him. "Didn't you say you knew a spell that could change the colour of stuff, Remus?"
"You can't choose the colour, though," said Remus, sighing. Gryffindor scored their first goal and he clapped for several minutes before turning back to Sirius. "It's just random. That's why I didn't suggest we use it on Snape to turn him orange."
Sirius' face fell. "We could still do it, though," he said. "It doesn't have to be pink. And we can hex Kevin too, just to see the look on Vivian's face when she realises."
"Good idea," said James. "Do you know the incantation?"
"Yes," said Remus, sighing again. "But wait until everyone's looking the other way. You'll get an opportunity in a minute when Richardson tries to score." He leaned over and muttered the incantation in Sirius' ear.
"Merlin, that's complicated," exclaimed Sirius, raising his wand. Over at the goal hoops, Melanie Richardson missed her second goal and was hit in the stomach with a bludger. "I'll never remember this, but let's give it a go."
"Do it now," Peter advised them as James hung over the edge of his seat, yelling at the Hufflepuff beaters. "While they're all distracted."
"All right," said Sirius and, raising his wand, he pointed it at Vivian.
There were a couple of seconds when nothing seemed to have happened. Sirius stared doubtfully at his wand but, the next thing he knew, there was a loud 'pop' and Vivian's hair had turned bright pink.
"It's PINK!" yelled Sirius gleefully, dancing up and down. "Look, Remus, it's actually pink! What were the chances of-?"
Remus clamped a hand over his mouth. "Shh!" he said, gesturing to the unsuspecting prefect. "She'll hear you."
"How long d'you think it will take her to notice?" asked Sirius, lowering his voice so it was masked by the Hufflepuffs' cheers. "Ten minutes? Twenty?"
"I don't know, but you can't hex Kevin too now. It's against the rules to hex players, so you'll have to wait until after the match."
Sirius rolled his eyes and stowed his wand in his pocket, still looking gleeful. "I know. I wasn't going to." But the thought of Vivian's bright pink hair was a pleasant distraction from the abysmal way that Gryffindor was losing.
By the time Gryffindor finally scored another goal, Hufflepuff was more than seventy points ahead and the commentator was starting to lose her patience.
"Aaand another missed goal!" she groaned, on Melanie Richardson's sixth attempt at scoring. "Come on, Gryffindor! You can do better than that! I didn't buy this red rosette for nothing, you know!"
Beside her, Professor McGonagall raised her head from her hands. "Miss Everly, if you don't know how to commentate in a fair and reasonable manner-"
The commentator pulled a face. "Oh, come on, professor, you think they're doing badly too- WAIT! And there it is! I think Kevin Whitehaller of Hufflepuff has finally seen the snitch!"
"WHAT?" bellowed James, standing on his chair to get a better look. "What, no! It can't end now! Where?"
But Kevin had gone into a steep dive, his dreadlocked hair bouncing around in the wind. The Hufflepuffs were all on their feet, cheering, screaming, waving their flags as they cheered their seeker on.
Vivian was practically beside herself with excitement. "COME ON, KEVIN! YOU CAN DO IT, KEVIN!" Her pink hair was standing on end, so rumpled that she looked like an electrified hedgehog.
Sirius, Peter and Remus had stuffed their fists into their mouths to stop themselves giggling at the sight of her. Several people around her had noticed too and their eyes widened on shock.
"Um, what's happened to your hair, Viv?" asked a Gryffindor girl standing next to her.
Vivian stopped jumping around. "What?" she asked hoarsely. "What do you mean? My hair's fine, thanks very much!"
"Erm, no, Viv. It's... It's pink."
"What?" No longer distracted by Kevin, Vivian tugged at a strand of her freshly-dyed hair. Behind her, Sirius collapsed, overcome with laughter. "Pink? It's not- Merlin's beard, it is pink!" She shrieked with horror and fell over, actually trying to yank her hair off her head.
Sirius rolled on the floor, clutching his stomach. "Her - face!" he choked, wiping tears from his eyes. "Look - at - her - face!"
"My hair is pink!" cried Vivian, leaping around, waving her hands. "Merlin's pants, it's completely pink!"
"Look at Kevin!" yelled another Ravenclaw, pointing towards the ground.
Everyone gasped. Unnoticed in the commotion with Vivian, Kevin had crashed into the ground, crumpled, bruised, but holding the struggling, walnut-sized, Golden Snitch.
James groaned with the other Gryffindor fans, burying his face in his hands as Kevin raised his fist, hollering in triumph. "Please hex Kevin for me now," he moaned and Sirius raised his wand, grinning.
"Gladly."