Chapter 13:

It was the day before the final game between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The mood in the castle was tense. Everybody was eager to see Slytherin win and finally lose the House Cup. Ruby and her friends were, of course, cheering for Gryffindor but they didn't quite like the tense mood. For softening it George decided to do his dare. The week before the game he serenaded to Professor Snape every time he saw him. This, of course, led to a lot of lost house points and detention. When Snape realized that not even this could stop him he just avoided the twins in general. Every time he saw them he vanished. The students had a blast. Even the professors seemed amused. Especially Professor Dumbledore.

Ruby and her friends were currently on their way down tot he Quidditch pitch. It was Gryffindors final practice before the game. Ruby especially didn't want to miss this practice because Charlie hinted that he might want to wear the fairy costume to lighten the mood.

When they entered the team was on the field waiting for Charlie.

'-Oi you lot. Do you know were our captain is ?' Oliver asked.

'-Don't worry Wood. He will be here any minute.' Ruby replied smirking.

'-He can't miss our final practice.' He stated.

'-There he is. He's looking good as a fairy.' Fred started laughing.

That's when everyone realized what Charlie was wearing. The burst out in laughter. Some of them were even rolling on the ground.

'-That's your doing isn't it?' Wood asked looking at Ruby. She just winked and walked over to Charlie.

'-Looking good Weasley.' She said.

'-You're really enjoying it aren't you?' he asked and she nodded.

He turned away from her and faced his teammates.

'-Alright team listen up. You were all might wondering why I'm all dressed up. The reason is that I made a big mistake in partaking in a game of truth or dare with these idiots.' He pointed at them and the twins bowed.

'-Tomorrow is the game we were all been waiting for. We can finally snatch the Quidditch Cup and therefore the House Cup from the Slytherins. It won't be easy. The Slytherins will play dirty. But we got this. Now mount your broom and we will start practicing.' He ended and shooed them away.

Ruby and the girls made their way to the stands. The twins and Lee made their way back to the castle. They had tons of homework and they didn't have any other choice than completing them when they wanted to witness tomorrows game.

'-I was hoping they would race again' Alicia said.

'-Yes I was hoping too to see another race between Charlie and Wood.' Angelina added. They both looked at the boys dreamingly. Ruby just laughed.

'-Ruby even you have to admit that both boys are quite fit.' Alicia said.

'-Well they are. But don't tell them. We don't want their ego to be thrown in another dimension.'

The three laughed and continued to observe practice.

'-I want to make it into the team next year.' Angelina said.

'-Yes me too.' Alicia said.

'-It would be amazing if the three of us could be next chasers.' Ruby said.

'-We would play well together.' Alicia said.

'-Well?! We would be amazing.' Angelina said and Ruby nodded.

'-Yes Angie is right. Think about it. We already have a strong friendship and we know one another well. I think we could be unstoppable.'

'-Then let's do this.' Angelina said.

'-What?' Alicia asked.

'-Practise together. So we all make the team.' Angelina got up and faced them.

'-I know it is quite a task. The chance of all of us getting into the team is quite small. There are a lot of talented Gryffindors but I know we can do it.' She looked at her friends. Alicia looked a bit unsure and Ruby looked thoughtful.

'-What do you think ?' Alicia asked.

'-I think Angie's right. We can do this. It would show the bloody Slytherins that girls can play Quidditch as well as the boys.' Ruby said. She was becoming determined to prove the Slytherins wrong. There were of course girls on the Gryffindor team but there were never three girls as Chasers. They would set the tone.

'-I'm in Angie.' Ruby said. Angelina threw her arms around Ruby and then looked at Alicia.

'-We can do it.' She said and they fell into a group hug.

'-We got to practice together. Learn how others fly and practice our plays. We come prepared.' Angelina said.

'-I agree. We've got to learn to trust each other up in the air. After all, it's a different and scarier environment then down here.' Ruby said.

'- We can sit together and think of some plays which would benefit our cause.' Alicia said.

'-We could start by looking at the Gryffindor Chasers now and find some inspiration.' Angelina proposed and they agreed.

When the practice was finished Ruby had already plenty of ideas what plays they had to learn and what they needed to improve. She was eager to get up to the castle and write all her ideas down. She was so in her head that she didn't notice running into someone.

'-Would not be the first time he?'

'-Oh Cedric! I'm so sorry.' Ruby said. Angelina and Alicia continued telling Ruby to stay.

'-One could think you're doing it on purpose.' He laughed.

'-I just want you to get used to getting run over by a Gryffindor.' She winked and he continued to laugh.

'-What had you so occupied?' he asked. She looked at him a bit hesitantly. It was strange. She was a bit afraid that Cedric would tell her that her plans were not going to work.

'-Promise me you won't tell anybody.' She said and he nodded.

'-Angelina, Alicia and I are trying to become the next Gryffindor Chasers.' She said and looked at Cedric unsurely. His smile grew wider and he replied.

'-That's great! I'm sure you three can get the positions. I've seen you fly. You are talented.'

Ruby overwhelmed with the support hugged him.

'-Thank you for believing in us!' she whispered and he hugged her closer.

'-Of course. I was actually looking for you.' He said.

'-Yeah? How so?'

'-I was wondering if I could sit to you tomorrow.' He looked at her timidly.

'-Do you think a badger could handle the lions ?' she asked teasingly.

'-I can handle you so I think I will be fine.' He bumped playfully into her.

'-I would like that. Just don't cheer on Slytherin.' She winked.

'-I wouldn't dream of it.' He said.

'-We can meet up after breakfast and walk down together?'

'-Sounds great!'

'-Perfect. Now I need to catch up with the girls and start planning. See you tomorrow.' She hugged him goodbye and they went their separate ways. When she told that evening the girls about tomorrow she had to endure endless teasing.

xXx

During breakfast the next morning the excitement was unbearable. The Slytherins were cheering when their team entered and jeered when the Gryffindors entered. Even Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall were eyeing each other. All the Gryffindors were dressed up to cheer for their team. Even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were joining them. When it was time for the teams to head down she gave Charlie a good luck kiss on the cheek and joined in in the riot. They finished breakfast. The only topic was the upcoming game. When Ruby got up she saw Cedric who was funnily wearing a Gryffindor scarf.

'-Red suits you, you know ?' she said teasingly.

'-I could see you in some yellow as well, you know?' he replied as teasingly as Ruby.

'-You know quite well I'm too of a handful to be in Hufflepuff.' She said.

'-That's quite right, Miss Finau.' Professor McGonagall said. She overheard the two and couldn't help herself.

'-Professor imagine me not being a lion. You would have such a quiet life.' Ruby said smiling at the Professor.

'-Sometimes I wish it would be the case.' She said with a stern look on her face.

When Ruby acted like she was hurt the Professor shooed her away. She then secretly smiled to herself. Ruby reminded her so much of her uncle. She definitely had his mischievous side. Looking at her friends she couldn't help but remember the time when Sirius was running around with his friends causing some mayhem. It broke her heart thinking of the fate of each oft hem. Not knowing what to believe herself she made her way down to the pitch.

It was time to kick some Slytherin butts.

xXx

'-What a great save from the Gryffindor keeper, Oliver Wood.' Lee commented.

'-It is currently 30-60 for Gryffindor.'

Charlie was right. The Slytherins played dirty. It was painful to watch. She couldn't help but notice how often the Gryffindor Chasers was fouled. She pictured herself in this position and flinched. She looked over at Angelina and Alicia and noticed that they were thinking the same thing.

'-We got this.' She murmured to them. They reluctantly nodded.

'-Look Ruby!' Cedric steered her attention back to the pitch.

Charlie spotted the snitch. The Slytherin seeker was nowhere in sight and the whole stadium seemed to hold their breath. That's when she Slytherin Captain flew into Charlie and knocked him off the broom. The stadium erupted. Even Professor McGonagall seemed to be so furious that tears were running down her cheeks.

Luckily Charlie was near the ground. His whole team flew down and after a few minutes, he was back on his broom. Gryffindor got a penalty shot, which the Chaser made and off was the game again.

The match became brutal. The Gryffindor team got angrier and angrier and Hooch had to assign more penalty shots. Ruby thought to have lived every emotion she possessed during this one hour game.

When Charlie spotted the snitch again the Slytherin seeker was right next to him. You could see the determination on both of her faces. When Charlie finally caught the snitch everybody was screaming.

'-GRYFFINDOR WON! GRYFFINDOR WON THE QUIDDITCH CUP' you could hear Lee scream through the microphone.

Ruby was so happy she hugged everybody who was near her. They all jumped up and down and cheered when the Gryffindor team flew around the pitch celebrating the win.

When the team landed they fell into a group hug and all Gryffindors run down to join in. Professor McGonagall was seen crying happy tears when she finally was able to hold the Quidditch Cup.

The best part was when Charlie broke free from all the Gryffindors and ran towards Ruby. He was so happy he spun her around and didn't let her go. They both just laughed.

'-You were my lucky charm.' He said and Ruby couldn't stop smiling.

What a day it was.

'-Party in the Gryffindor Common room.' The twins shouted in unison. Professor McGonagall was standing nearby but acted like she didn't just hear what they said.

'-Come on Cedric. You're joining the celebration as well.' Ruby said when she grabbed his arm and everybody made their way up to the castle.

xXx

The party was in full swing. People were dancing. There were people doing karaoke. There were food and drinks and everybody was having a good time.

'-I think I will cheer more for the Gryffindors in the future. This party is amazing.' Cedric said. Cedric was currently getting some drinks with Ruby, Angelina, and Alicia. The two others got to know Cedric a bit better and now quite liked joining Ruby in spending more time with him.

'-Fred and George told me they were going to do a little presentation of their firework skills.' Ruby said.

'-Oh wait till you see that. They are quite talented.' Alicia said excitedly. Just at this moment, the first firework lightened up. The Gryffindors and their guests were in awe of the show the twins put together.

'-So what did you think?' George asked the group. He joined them and put an arm around Ruby.

'-Amazing. You two are talented. You should make a living out of it.' Cedric answered.

'-Thank you Diggory. That means a lot to us.' George answered and Fred nodded. He joined the group after getting a lecture from Percy about the possible dangers of fireworks.

'-How did you get away from Percy ?' Fred asked.

'-Well you had your back turned so you couldn't see him arrive. I thought I let you deal with him alone.' George said and the others laughed.

Cedric looked at his watch and realized how late it was.

'-I should probably head down to our common room. I don't want to get caught and get any detention.' He said. Ruby nodded and walked him to the entrance door.

'-We don't want an exemplary student as you get caught after curfew.' Ruby said teasingly.

'-Don't worry. I won't get caught.' He winked, leaned forward and kissed her on the cheeks.

'-Goodnight, Ruby.' He said and left.

She was left stunned by his action. She decided to shake it off and joined Charlie on the dancefloor. After all, this was their last opportunity to party because after this night the exams were right around the corner.