Vanessa was finally feeling well enough to rejoin the rest of the castle the day before the first school quidditch match of the season. She was touched by the number of students who approached her to ask how she was doing after the ordeal, including sweet little Hermione Granger. To her surprise, even the mischievous Weasley twin, George, had stopped by her class to wish her good health. Of course, the official story for the students was that Black had just roughed her up a bit and stunned her, no mention of her real medical trauma. In the staff room, she was asked to retell the story three times before McGonagall dragged her away from their nosy coworkers to enjoy an afternoon tea in her office.

Apparently, the gossip about Sirius Black's appearance had been totally overshadowed by the imminent match between the Hufflepuff team and the Gryffindors. Vanessa was not very familiar with quidditch, and she wondered if it would measure up to the excitement of quodpot, the game she had played in highschool. McGonagall assured her that quidditch was going to keep her on the edge of her seat.

That evening, Snape greeted her near the Great Hall to begin their patrol rounds for the night. They walked in silence for a few uncomfortable minutes.

"How are you feeling? I know you say the potion I brewed acted as a pain reliever, so I'm glad that was effective at least. If only the wound sealing agents had acted as I thought they would…"

"Oh yes, I'm feeling excellent now, thank you. I'm sure you'll get the right combination soon." Snape nodded, drifting off in thoughts of herbs and root properties.

Vanessa decided she should take another stab at small talk, "So...Minerva says the quidditch world cup is going to be held in England next summer. She even offered to get me a ticket. Are you going? Or...do you dislike quidditch?"

Snape seemed surprised, but pleased by this topic. "Actually, I'm quite the quidditch fanatic. I support the Falmouth Falcons. Unfortunately, I'm attending a potions seminar in France over the break so I won't be able to make it. It's a real shame though, as I'd love to see Bulgaria's seeker in action. I suppose you're going for Ireland then, if you're going with McGonagall?"

"Actually, I haven't managed to attend a quidditch match before. Like, ever before."

"Never seen a quidditch match? Didn't you attend Ilvermorny, I thought they had a team?"

"Actually I went to Bell Adams Hall, which is a private all-witches academy in the states. The only sport we played there was quodpot. It was loads of fun though."

Snape seemed to sneer at the idea of 'quodpot'. "Well you're in luck, because tomorrow you will get a chance to see a genuine quidditch game. And in a couple weeks you can see some real players when Slytherin competes."

"I'll reserve judgement until I see it for myself. Save me a seat in the stands?"

"All right then."

They spent the rest of the night chatting lightly about quidditch and swapping gruesome stories about sports fails back in their own school days. Snape dropped her off at her rooms and they bid each other a cheerful goodnight.

The next morning, the students' giddiness was contagious, and she strode down to the pitch talking to an animated Minerva, who was decked out in bright scarlet robes.

"This way Vanessa, the top bleachers are reserved for faculty. I see Severus saved us some spots, but where has he gone? Anyways, I'll sit on the end by Jordan. I swear, that boy had better stick to the script today or I'm going to have a fit."

Professor Sprout was already settled into her seat wielding an obnoxiously large yellow banner. "Minerva, what dreadful weather for a match! I hope the Gryffindors are up for it. I know my Hufflepuffs did double practice hours in the rain last week, so of course they will just shake it off."

"Oh can it Pomona! My Gryffindors have the fire, they can handle a little rain and wind. Sadly, the Hufflepuffs are bound to sputter out without a clear shot of the goals. They'll be much more comfortable in the bleachers for the rest of the season!"

The two women continued trash-talking each other's teams goodnaturedly, and Vanessa sat down beside them. The rain truly was picking up, and Vanessa was regretting not bringing an umbrella. At least her robes were thick and sturdy to keep out the chill. Snape had yet to make his appearance, but the teams were still hosting pregame meetings. Vanessa hoped they wouldn't call the game off for weather. Looking around the pitch, she was pleasantly surprised to see Snuffles sitting on the outskirts of the field. She had missed him during her recuperation. She made a mental note to visit him tomorrow with extra chicken wings.

Vanessa started as someone tapped lightly at her arm.

"Excuse me ma'am, Professor Lupin sent me to give you this," squeaked a shivering first year boy.

'Thank you dear. Now take this and run along." She handed him a jar of enchanted fire that she'd been saving. Hermione Granger had reminded her of this old trick. She hastily shoved the parchment into her pocket for later. The wind would surely tear it from her grip if she tried reading it here. For now she would enjoy the game. Over the next few minutes, Vanessa greeted Dumbledore as her entered the section, an exuberant Hagrid who clapped her on the shoulder, and finally Severus Snape who slid into the space next to her just as Madam Hooch strode onto the field and mounted her broom.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to attend to a couple of troublemakers for Filch. There was a whole thing with a dragon dung catapult- anyways, I hope your day has been lovely." He flashed her a rare grin. Was Snape trying to have a sense of humor? This was new to her, but she liked it.

"It's gone great, aside from this flood over my first quidditch match. Do they plan them for stormy days on purpose?"

"Typically, no. But it is an unexpected treat. Now watch, see them toss the quaffle in the air on her whistle? And that tiny thing was the snitch." Snape walked her through the different tactics the players were using as they aimed the balls at the goals and each other in the beaters' case. Their legs were tantalizingly close, squished together in the crowded bleachers. This gave Vanessa a thrill, and she resisted the unaccountable urge to rest her head on his shoulder. But she couldn't dwell too long on this feeling because the crowd was erupting around her, cheering and booing as each team made gains. Something about quidditch was charming to her. While it lacked the explosive elements of quodpot, it made up for it in constant action. The Chasers juggled the quaffle, Keepers knocked volleys from their goals, and beaters slung bludgers at everyone in sight. And the seekers were zipping around, high in the air, searching...searching and...falling. Harry Potter was a plummeting drop of red in the sky. That's when she noticed that the cold from the rain had intensified to subarctic temperatures, and a throng of dementors was wading onto the pitch.

"Severus!" She exclaimed, gripping Snape's arm to draw his attention to the figures. "It's Harry Potter, oh SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!" Harry was nearly to the ground, dropping at break-neck speed. Snape jumped to his feet and jerked up his sleeve to wield his wand. But Dumbledore was already on the move, sweeping his arms in a wide enchantment that cushioned Potter's landing as if he were a feather settling from the wind. Several teachers started casting their patronuses at the mob of hooded parasites. Vanessa caught her breath in the icy air and joined them. The sound of the wolf-man was much more faint this time, so she pushed through it to find a memory of when she first saw Griggs fly. After months of nursing the fallen fledgling back to health, he had taken off in a glorious flight above the autumn trees. Then he came to rest on her arm, and they knew they would be an inseparable duo from then on.

Her patronus leapt from her wand and bounded down to banish the dark presence. But something was off about it. She could not make out what it was, but it had become significantly larger than a rabbit. After the dementors had all fled the pitch, she turned to Snape. "What in the world was that about?"

His eyes were narrowed in concentration as he surveyed the area for any more signs of foul play. "I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out."