The spring sun was shining pleasantly down on the Quidditch pitch as the Hufflepuff team trained that Monday evening. Bagsy had asked Ford if she could do her own practise that session – she didn't feel like interacting with anyone at the moment. Kindly, Ford agreed. Perhaps Greenda had informed him of what had happened with Bill. Even Teresa was more sympathetic than usual. She'd been about to tell Bagsy to hurry up with tying her shoes in the changing room, but one look from Greenda and she'd held her tongue. Bagsy got the sense Greenda was taking a lot of extra steps to make sure everything went smoothly for her.

Greenda, ensuring that everyone gave her space and understanding, was how Bagsy found herself at the edge of the Quidditch pitch, a tall stake of wood driven into the ground, and another one a dozen feet away from it also standing ready. She was trying to hit a bludger at the first stake and have it bounce off and hit the second one and was enjoying the respectful solitude she had to practice. When she'd explained her drill to Ford, a drill she'd been practising all through the Christmas holidays, he'd thought she'd been joking. But as the session went on, it became clear that Bagsy had a knack for it. She had yet to consistently hit the second stake, but her aim was getting freakishly close. Bagsy's eyes seemed to take well to calculating just how the bludger could bounce off the stake, and with each hit she found the bludger within a few centimetres or so of its secondary target – something that couldn't be explained merely by luck.

'I have no idea how you do that,' Ford breathed, having walked over. 'I've never seen anyone even attempt this.'

Bagsy shrugged. 'It's just practice,' she said. She had spent a lot of time working on this rebound move.

Ford looked unconvinced. 'I don't know… you must have some hidden talent for these things. Not everyone can visualise where the ball will bounce to.'

Bagsy just shrugged again, looking away from Ford and out over Hogwarts grounds. She could see, just at the edge of the Forbidden forest, the clostra boabs growing bulbus and tall. They were nearly as high as Bagsy and Arice now. It made it easier to avoid talking with him – Bagsy could simply skirt around the tree until she was working on the other side. They also looked a bit like rats curled up to sleep, so Bagsy looked away from them.

'Anyway, I'll leave you to it,' Ford said, turning his broom to fly back towards Kat and Jon, who were practising fake-out passes before goal shots at difficult angles. In one version of the move, Kat spun around on her broom, moving her arm in a big arc to sign-post an obvious pass to Jon. Only, she would hold onto the ball, keep spinning, and with the momentum and surprise shoot a sneaky goal through one of the hoops where, hopefully, the enemy keeper hadn't been expecting it. The only downside was it did require Kat to fly backwards which was both difficult and dangerous, and Kat had fallen off her broom twice already.

Emmeline was waiting by the posts. She wasn't quick enough or co-ordinated enough to stop Kat's goals, and Bagsy could see frustration knotting in her shoulders. Meanwhile, Greenda was flying laps of the pitch as fast as she could, but not chasing anything in particular.

'Actually,' Bagsy said, to the retreating Ford. He stopped and looked back at her. 'Could I practise something with Greenda and Emmeline? I think I have an idea.'

Ford arched an eyebrow in interest, then smiled. 'Amazing. Your ideas have never been bad so far.' Bagsy cringed inwardly, seeing a half-scaled face in her mind and internally disagreeing. 'Greenda! Emmeline! Get over here,' Ford ordered. With disdainful looks at each other, the two flew over. 'Bagsy's going to run some training for you two. Listen closely and do as she says. And no fighting,' Ford emphasised the last part, before re-joining Kat and Jon. Teresa, who'd been acting as a defender, took Emmeline's role as the keeper.

'What is it?' Emmeline asked flatly. Greenda shot an aggravated expression at Emmeline and her tone but held her tongue.

Bagsy took a deep breath. 'I, um, I had an idea. A strategy, that is, that um… I think could be good. If we learnt it, I mean.'

They both looked at her, unconvinced.

Greenda spoke first. 'Are you sure you want us to work together?' she checked, pointing between herself and Emmeline.

Bagsy hesitated. 'Yes,' she said after a pause. 'It has to be you two. Emmeline, as keeper, is the only one allowed to catch and throw bludgers with her hands instead of using a bat, and only you, Greenda, can catch the snitch.'

Emmeline huffed, folding her arms and looking in the opposite direction of Greenda. 'If we must, then fine. Let's be quick and get this over with.'

Greenda looked like she was about to say no but then, with a long look at Bagsy, she too signed and relented.

'First rule,' Bagsy stated, forcing authority into her voice and feeling like a professor on their first day, 'while we practise you are not allowed to speak to each other. Not one word. And you can't tell me to speak to the other on your behalf, either.' Bagsy may have a decent guess at what the feud between the two was about, but she was still clueless on how to resolve it. For now, silence was her best option.

'Fine by me,' Greenda agreed. Emmeline nodded without a word.

'Alright, then. Time to practise what I'm calling; the equalizer. I've called it that because, as we've already lost one match, we need to not just win our next one, but win by a lot. Like, by an abundant lot.'

'I'm not sure that's how you use that word,' Emmeline muttered.

'So,' Bagsy breezed on with an awkward laugh, embarrassment tingeing her ears red, 'by my thinking we can only pull this move once we're already at least fifty points ahead of Gryffindor this weekend. Otherwise, we're out of the running for first or even second place.'

'Fifty points!?' Emmeline and Greenda gaped at once before glaring at each other.

Emmeline snorted in disbelief. 'I'm not sure Hufflepuff has ever been that far ahead in a match.'

Bagsy cut in, 'Look, we've been patient as a team, working hard and improving our skills. Now it's time to have confidence.' She pointed over their shoulders at where Jon had flown at what seemed the speed of sound past Kat and Ford. Kat, purposefully throwing the ball wide, watched in glee as it soared by Ford, who was pretending to catch it, and instead found its home in Jon's palm. With a quick spin and thrust of his hand, Jon easily chucked the quaffle through the lowest goal hoop before Teresa could hope to react. 'Trust in them. They'll get us fifty points ahead,' Bagsy said with a smile. She knew there was no certainty and yet, she trusted her teammates to do exactly what they needed to do now that it mattered the most.

'Alright,' Emmeline grumbled. 'What exactly is it that we're meant to do?'

'There is a second rule before we get started,' Bagsy added sheepishly. Emmeline groaned. 'For this to work, we'll need to practise more than just tonight and Thursday evening. You'll need to meet me outside on Tuesday evening, Wednesday lunch and Saturday early morning if we want a chance at doing this right.'

Greenda said softly, 'Bagsy, we're in our sixth year. I'm not sure we can spare that kind of time.'

'You waste a lot more time trying to annoy each other,' Bagsy pointed out callously, then, 'I'm sorry… that was rude.' But to her surprise, Greenda and Emmeline were glancing guiltily at each other.

'She does make a good point.' It was Emmeline to speak first, which surprised Bagsy even more.

Greenda sucked in a long breath through her nose and exhaled out of her mouth. 'I'll make time. But you need to stop hogging the library books I need for studying,' Greenda pointed out.

'Maybe I need them too-'

Before an argument could break out, Bagsy raised a finger to gain their attention. 'Rule one,' she reminded them, and they both stopped speaking to each other. 'Now that that's all settled, I guess I should explain what it is we're doing…'

Bagsy may have had more time to focus on her work, but as she was filling out a scroll on possible methods of summoning salted or fresh water for Defence Against the Dark Arts, she doodled quidditch manoeuvres in the edges of the parchment. When she was holding a textbook in one hand and trying to memorise where delvy root could be found she was also moving her other arm as if hitting a bludger with a bat. In Transfiguration, the soft-spoken ancient Professor Hilkins was getting more and more fed up with her as she didn't bother making the wand movements for the spells anymore, in favour of gazing into the distance and envisioning how a ball may bounce off one surface and onto another. In Astronomy she knocked over her own chair as she leant back, looking at the sky and imagining the stars were quidditch players positioning for a move. At least Professor Jones seemed to understand what might be on her mind and laughed kindly as he helped her to her feet. Even in practical Herbology on Friday she was so distracted drawing attack strategies in the dirt with her trowel that she accidentally bumped shoulders with Arice, recoiling embarrassingly at the contact.

By the time Saturday evening was approaching, Bagsy's stomach was filled with angry bees as her nerves grew. Greenda and Emmeline had practised well – not arguing with each other and listening to her instructions – but they still hadn't perfected the move.

The Fat Friar paused as his spectral form floated by the children sitting down for dinner. 'You look almost as pale as me!' he joked jovially. Bagsy grimaced, moving her roast pumpkin and tangled seaweed about her plate. She didn't feel like eating right then.

Mezrielda took a second to examine Bagsy. 'He's right. You're as white as a sheet. What do you usually do to calm down?'

Bagsy shrugged. To be honest, hugging Bill would have made her feel better, but thinking that only made her feel worse. It was strange; Bill was dead and here she was, continuing her life as if nothing had happened, as if Bill had never existed. In a brief flash of guilt, Bagsy wondered if it was okay for her to play in the quidditch match at all, or if it was disrespectful to Bill's memory. 'This usually works,' Mezrielda's voice cut Bagsy from her mournful thoughts, followed by a warm, comfortable feeling spreading through her bones as she cast teporiem.

'Yeah,' Bagsy sighed, feeling as if she was wrapped in a warm hug. 'That does usually work.'

But by the time Bagsy had walked from the dining hall to the quidditch pitch, and the drumming of students' feet were shaking the wooden beams holding up the Hufflepuff team tent, sending specks of dust cascading down in the lines of sunlight filtering into the space, the nerves had returned in full force. Bagsy was very familiar with them and had sat herself down in the furthest corner of the tent, head between her knees, whilst counting her breaths in an attempt to slow her heart.

'Ugh, get over it,' Teresa muttered as she tied up her shoes. 'You get like this every time. It's getting really old, Bagsy. You're amazing at quidditch, have confidence in yourself! I promise it's all going to work out fine.'

Bagsy didn't say anything, merely moving her shoulders in a limp response.

'Focus on yourself, Teresa,' Emmeline said harshly.

'Yeah,' Greenda agreed.

'Oi, no fighting,' Ford cut in, stopping the defence forming on Teresa's tongue, and looking a little confused that Emmeline and Greenda seemed to agree for once.

'Hey,' a soft voice spoke to Bagsy, the bench dipping as someone sat down. Greenda placed her arm around Bagsy's shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze. 'We've practised for this.'

'I know,' Bagsy gasped out, feeling the deluge of her worries barrelling behind her mouth, 'but it's Ford's last year, and our last chance, and if we don't win by two hundred points total we won't get through, and we've only spent one week practising this move, and I'm not sure if I can do what I need to do, I mean, it's all up to chance after a certain point really, and that's terrifying, and even if everything goes according to plan if they sneak in a goal before you get-'

'Hey, hey, hey, woah,' Greenda said. 'Take a breath their, kid. You had the right idea earlier. In… and out… in… and out…'

Bagsy nodded, returning to the regulation of her breathing, looking at the floor. With dramatic thuds, a pair of quidditch boots moved to stand right in front of Bagsy, who looked up at Emmeline's stern face.

'We've got this,' Emmeline said, holding a hand down to Bagsy. 'You told us to trust in our teammates. Well, you're my teammate, and I trust in you.' Silence stretched through the tent. The only noise was the clamour and chanting of the students stuffed into the stands outside. With a gulp, Bagsy took Emmeline's hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

'Alright, team,' Ford said, seeing they had assembled. Bagsy felt the air bubbles of anxiety climb up her stomach to her throat. She forced herself to continue the slow breathing from before, Greenda keeping her hand on her shoulder the whole time. 'We all know the drill. We can't just win, we have to win by a lot-'

'An abundant lot,' Emmeline cut in with a teasing look at Bagsy, who laughed awkwardly. It seemed to release some of the nervous bubbles inside of her.

'Yes.' Ford smiled. 'By an abundant lot. So, let's go out there, focus, and give it our best game.'

With a blur of motion and time, Bagsy was out in the cool spring wind of the quidditch pitch. She'd pinned her bushy hair back as best she could, but some still got in her eyes, and she squinted in the sunlight as she tucked it behind her ears.

Professor Kim was standing in the middle of the pitch, quaffle held against her side, one foot on the chest containing the bludgers and the snitch, and an ecstatic grin on her face. 'Captains shake hands!' she called. Ford stepped forward and Bagsy noted a few wolf whistles from the crowd. Ford humbly smiled and waved at the surrounding stands, before extending his hand to the Gryffindor captain, a small girl with hair swept back like she was flying at top speed.

Swiftly, Ford mounted his broom, and the rest of the Hufflepuff team followed suit. Some of the Hufflepuffs were waving at the Gryffindor players, and some of the Gryffindor players were waving back. Bagsy spotted Killian, in fresh new quidditch gear, smiling at her. Bagsy smiled back and looked to see if Fiona was on the team as well; she wasn't.

With the blow of the whistle, Bagsy startled, and realised the game had begun. The stands erupted with excited noise, quidditch balls shot up in all directions, and players tangling through the air after them. Gripping her broom tightly and commanding herself to not fall off it this time, Bagsy took to the air, her heart thudding in her head like the loud noise the Hogwarts express made. It nearly drowned out the noise of whooshing air, cheers and boos of the arena.

The beginning of the match was promising, and Bagsy's nerves began to calm as focus took over. Emmeline wasn't having to save many goals at all – Kat, Ford and especially Jon seemed determined to keep the quaffle from getting down their end of the pitch. Three times Jon, coming out of seemingly nowhere, swooped between two Gryffindors and stole the ball as they tried to pass it. Eventually, the Gryffindors were becoming so scared to pass the ball that they were struggling to make any progress down the pitch, finding themselves blocked by an enemy chaser or a bludger rushing their way.

'This is an outstanding start from Hufflepuff!' Magnus Alden cried in surprise from the commentator's box. 'Honestly, we've seen some great improvement from Hufflepuff this year. I can't wait to see what they pull out of the hat this match! Of course, it's unfortunate this will be their last match. They can't beat Gryffindor, obviously, but it sure is fun to watch them try.' Bagsy glanced at Magnus and his Gryffindor red robes, shaking her head in disapproval – he was often rather biased in his comments, she thought. Professor Wattleseed, head of Gryffindor house, was standing at Magnus' side, looking thoroughly enraptured by the game to the point where he was paying the commentator little attention.

'Bagsy!' Greenda suddenly spoke up, drawing her attention. The Gryffindor seeker had spotted something, and he was racing towards it.

Bagsy glanced at the score – they were only twenty points ahead, it was too early for the equalizer. 'On it!' she called back to Greenda, rushing towards the nearest bludger. She closed one eye, aimed, and thwacked it as hard as she could towards the boy. Noticing the bludger, the Gryffindor seeker pulled up, losing sight of whatever he'd been chasing. Bagsy presumed it had been the snitch. She let out a sigh of relief. 'Thanks, Greenda!'

'No worries! We've got this!' Greenda repeated Emmeline's earlier sentiment. Bagsy glanced at Emmeline who, though not looking their way, had a satisfied grin on her face.

It was with a thundering heart, and white knuckles as Bagsy gripped her broom, that she waited for them to be fifty points ahead. Any time a Gryffindor approached the goal posts, Bagsy was ready and waiting with a bludger. It was exhausting, constantly redirecting the broom, mapping where the bludgers currently were and where Bagsy needed to move them to so she could be as responsive as possible. By the time they managed to get fifty points ahead of the Gryffindors Bagsy almost didn't notice, she felt so tired.

With a sudden jolt, the information hit her, Magnus sign-posting it for the entire audience. 'Hufflepuff are fifty points ahead!' he called out, astounded.

Now was the time to act.

'Emmeline! Greenda!' Bagsy called out urgently. From the moment they'd reached forty points ahead, Greenda had been furiously scouring for the snitch. With a cry, she spotted it and shot after the golden ball. With an eruption of surprise from the crowd, Emmeline abandoned her goal posts and flew swiftly towards Bagsy. Seeing an opportunity, the Gryffindors desperately swerved around Kat and Ford, rushing towards the goal posts.

They had to act quickly.

'Teresa! Get me a bludger!' Emmeline called. With a look of confusion, Teresa hit a bludger in Emmeline's direction. Emmeline caught it, with a small fumble, in her gloved hands, as only a keeper was allowed to do.

Greenda was gaining on the snitch but her speed wasn't quite enough. Bagsy didn't know if Greenda was scared of the speed, or couldn't track the snitch's movements with her eyes, but she'd never been able to catch it before, and that didn't seem to be changing now.

The Gryffindor chaser was nearly at their goal. Jon was gaining on him but Bagsy wasn't sure if he'd intercept in time. They'd put all their eggs in this basket – they were committed now. It had to work.

'Nice and slow,' Bagsy reminded Emmeline. Emmeline had to throw the bludger at Bagsy at the perfect speed, height and trajectory for Bagsy to have the highest chance of aiming this correctly.

With a gentle movement of her arm as she flew towards Bagsy, Emmeline tossed the bludger up into the air. The ball let out an angry squabble as it softly moved towards Bagsy, confused by its calm speed. Bagsy cast her gaze over to Greenda, and to the golden speck in front of her, ignoring the slash of red colour gaining behind. Then, turning her gaze back to the bludger approaching her at a very manageable pace, Bagsy envisioned the hit in her mind. She needed to hit the top side of the bludger and aim it downwards, and she needed to hit is very harshly, too, with a slight spin.

'What on earth are they doing?' Magnus mumbled to Professor Wattleseed, his quiet confusion broadcast to the stadium.

Like a crack of thunder, Bagsy sent the bludger down towards Greenda. Now all she could do was sit and watch. If they missed this, they had time to do it again, she told herself to try and relax the buzzing that had grown to a roar in her head. She forced her breathing to calm; she refused to faint, she had to see if they succeeded or not.

With a distant clang, the bludger collided with the snitch. The golden ball rolled over, it's wings spasming in confusion, taking a second to right itself in the air. It was in that second of motionlessness that Greenda's hand managed to firmly close around it, snatching it out of the air and claiming the Hufflepuff's victory.

'No way…' Magnus breathed. 'Hufflepuff win…?'

The cheers of the crowd muted in momentary confusion. Greenda shot up into the air, soaring around the students and waving the snitch with a victorious smile on her face. 'YEAH WE DID!'

Then there was a lot of noise. The Hufflepuffs burst out happy cries in shocked elation. Even the Ravenclaws and Slytherins seemed happy with the result. The Gryffindor spectators, some with gold and red painted faces, or banners they'd made themselves, looking downtrodden, though they were nothing compared to the miserable expressions of their players.

Abruptly, Bagsy felt someone collide with her and wrap their arms around her. 'That was amazing!' Teresa cried happily as Bagsy struggled to remain on her broom. 'You're amazing, Bagsy!' Jon soared over and joined the hug to until, soon, the entire Hufflepuff team was celebrating in one big circle.

With a bout of hive fives and fist bumps, where Emmeline and Greenda gave each other a very wide birth, the Hufflepuffs descended triumphantly from the air, landing on the ground with laughter and smiles.

They'd won by two hundred points in total, meaning they hadn't just beaten Gryffindor, they'd taken their spot in third place.