I was distracted from my book by musings of my male friends at Hogwarts. First, there was Tom and what I had learnt from Cedrella, although an overwhelming protectiveness for my family had risen inside of me when I heard. When emotionally detached from the situation, it was easy to accept that it was very Tom to do, Merlin it was a very me thing to do, and whilst it may have seemed like the end of the world to Cedrella, she was just a school girl and in the scheme of things, it was not the most deplorable of actions.
I did however decide to keep an eye on Cedrella, ever since I had seen her and Septimus, my mind had been plagued with questions about how it had occurred. In light of what she had told me, my only guess was that Cedrella's low self-esteem after her very brief affair with Tom came to an end, had caused her to seek solace in a man who would relish, cherish even, every aspect of her. It was not that Septimus was ugly, far from it. But his lack of fortune and connection with anyone outside of his own house made it that he could only dream of marrying someone like Cedrella.
Then there was Abraxas, who surprising had not tired of me yet. He joined me on my morning runs and Cassie had mentioned that he had been talking about me in the Slytherin common room on many an occasion.
But what perplexed me most was my birthday present, for there was a connection between not the only animals themselves, but me too. I had an inkling as to the nature of this bond, but unfortunately a book on the subject of magical familiars had not appeared on my shelf as of yet.
The problem was that familiars were rather out-dated, not many wizards ever found the perfect companion, let alone two and if they did they scarcely performed the ritual.
There was nothing about it in the Hogwarts library, I suspected it was because having such a link with an animal, undetected in the castle would be a perfect spying tool, and the likes of Orion and Cygnus would use it for mischief.
What had appeared on my bookshelf however, was a thin book, illustrating the path to animagi enlightenment. The process of becoming an animal at will, required you finding a form which fit you- a spirit animal muggles called it. If the animal was found through the method illustrated, results after dabbling in the physical magical change were faster and with a lower likelihood of injury. It was my present reading material, but it was proving difficult to apply the techniques, delving into my soul was harder for me than manipulating my mind.
I sat in silence in the middle of breakfast, carefully watching, trying to calm my nerves for the upcoming game.
Charlus Potter clad in his scarlet Quidditch robes had swaggered in, flanked by his friends, looking the picture of popularity and amiability. My eyes flicked to Cassiopeia and I almost gasped. Her eyes were trained on him, burning with malevolence. I thought I saw a quiver of her lips, ever such a small movement that could have been a murmur or just a trick of the light.
Almost as soon as I saw it, my attention was wrenched away, Charlus had tripped. His head bouncing as it smacked against the cold flagstones. Chaos broke out, his Gryffindor's friends were useless, but Dorea, who happened to be walking in after them took over. Cradling his head she barked orders, staunching the flow of blood from his temple with her skirt. I looked round for Cassie, but she had gone.
One thing was certain in my mind- Cassie had performed sorcery, it was only at the most basic level, but sorcery was illegal.
Sorcery was the practice of wandless magic, the government banned it when it purged out the old religion, they claimed it was because wandless magic was only ever used for dark magic. But it had been used my priestesses and followers of the old religion for millennia in the healing arts and prayer.
The bedlam calmed when Madame Pomfrey arrived, full of praises for Dorea. She had told everyone that Charlus was likely to be out for at least another day, so Gryffindor must prepare their substitute seeker for kick-off at eleven o'clock. The Gryffindors were lamenting the loss of their captain and seeker, thanks to such a simple accident.
But the Ravenclaws were secretly gleeful.
I was finishing lacing my Quidditch boots in the corner of the changing room when my only female teammate advanced upon me.
Miranda Skeeter was sharp and quick witted with platinum blonde ringlets, long scarlet nails which surprising had helped give her the extra inch to catch the snitch on many occasions.
"Not nervous, are you Black?" she asked, she had a perpetually nasal voice and her eyes were small and beady.
"Why would I be?"
"You have a reputation to keep," she pointed out acidly.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"There are three female Quidditch players in this school," she said. "And we have an excellent reputation, you wouldn't want to tarnish that record."
"You've always been second to Lucretia," I replied, standing so I stood a few inches taller than the blonde. "I think maybe you're worried about being third best now."
"Please," she scoffed. "Bested by you?"
"You've always been crushed by Lucretia," I said, taking no small delight in how her eyes flared with rage. "Who do you think taught me to fly?"
Miranda looked murderous.
"I think you should save that anger for the pitch," I told her, smirking.
I was not nervous before the game began, all week I had almost forgotten about it. But when, under the direct scrutiny of hundreds I soared up to the goal posts, I did feel a twinge of anxiety and it spurred me on to prove myself. I had to show people I deserved to be on this team, not just because I was the only keeper who tried out, but because I was good.
I had no doubt that Ravenclaw would win the game, after all Gryffindor was known for the strength of its seeker, not its chasers.
The whistle was blown and the ruby red quaffle catapulted into the air. Davies was on it first, speeding toward the Gryffindor goal posts, using brute strength and speed to scatter opposing flyers. Seemingly without effort the ball had slipped through Weasley's fingers and a shout of Ravenclaw 10; Gryffindor 0 rang about the stadium.
But then I had to be alert, I knew it would come to me next. Sure enough, Longbottom sped towards me, feigning right, but I could spot it easily. He may have turned his head to the other goal post but his body was still aiming to the left. Thankfully I was right, the ball left his hands and I deftly dropped into a roll. Taking the force of the ball with my chest and securing it with my free hand, I swung my hanging leg back up onto my broom. I passed it back to an impressed Davies, the screams of fear had turned into choruses of delight, for many of the spectators had never seen such a move executed in real life.
Minutes later, I had caught the other three shots the lions had taken and Ravenclaw had scored four more times. It was then that I saw the snitch, shining by my own goal posts, I wanted to shout to Miranda who was not so far away, but I knew it would never be heard over the roaring of the crowd.
The ball was coming back to toward me again, held by Jacob Finnegan who looked livid at not having scored a point yet. I saw his fury to my advantage, I knew he had a hot temper and could be easily provoked.
However this diversion was not necessary, for I had seen another coming my way in the form of a bludger. I would just have time to dodge it if I was quick, but in a last minute attempt to catch Miranda's attention- I didn't.
I loosened my grip on the broom and braced, willing myself to become as light at a feather.
It did not go as planned.
I was catapulted from my broom, soaring in a wide arc. According to what everyone told me later, my body was as limp as a doll when I was knocked unconscious. I did not see my ankle smash against the solid bronze goal post, or Dumbledore himself use immense magic to lower me safely down fifty feet. Finnegan apparently stopped in his tracks, dropping the quaffle which fell all the way to the floor, watching in horror as I spun, blood spraying. Miranda was the only player who did not stop, for when she looked at me she saw just what I had intended. Using the distraction of the other players to her advantage she quickly scooped up the snitch. No one noticed for they were all fixed upon the gruesome sight of my mangled body in bronze and blue robes.
By the time I woke up I was lying on the soft, muddy turf. My ankle was on fire, but I had felt worse, I could compartmentalise the pain. I was awake when the first person reached me; Davies had been the closest to where I fell.
"Poppy," he said, clasping my hand but daring not to move me in case I had broken my neck. "Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," I croaked, lifting an arm to wipe the thick, sticky blood that running into my eyes.
"What hurts?" he asked, as other players in red and blue gathered around me.
"My ankle and my head."
"Move aside," came a strong command. The huddle parted and Dumbledore knelt beside me, surprisingly quick on his feet. "Nothing to fear Poppy," he told me, running his wand over me. "We'll have you up to Madame Pomfrey in no time."
"Is it just her ankle that's broken, sir?" Davies asked, I could hear the concern in his voice but wondered whether it was for me, or his keeper.
"She has a small fracture to her skull Mr Davies, as I said, she will be patched up in a jiffy," he said, gently levitating me onto a conjured stretcher.
"But what about the game?" I pressed. I hadn't realised it had gone according to plan.
"That is hardly something to be concerned of now Miss Black," Dumbledore replied kindly.
"I suppose Mr Davies must find a replacement keeper for today," Madame Hooch chimed in, Dumbledore sent her a look.
"That isn't necessary," Miranda said, extending a hand. "I caught this whilst everyone was gawping at Black falling." As she said it, a glint of understanding lit in her eyes and she turned to look at me, eyes wide. I only gave a small shrug.
"Here Poppy," she said, tucking the snitch into my stiff pale hand. "You deserve this one." I shared a look of understanding with the Skeeter girl, she knew what I had done and a grudging respect had grown inside of her. We had reached a truce, at least for today. Even though I still hated everything about her and I was sure the feeling was entirely mutual.
Then I was ushered to the hospital wing, all I heard as I was floated away was the screams of what was undoubtedly Cassiopeia.
"That Bludger was illegal! It could have killed her! I want Grahams expelled! I shall owl Lord Black immediately!"
I couldn't help but laugh.