Chapter Twenty
Quidditch Showdown
Snow began to fall the fourth week of November, drifting lazily to the frosted ground and inspiring Jennifer with thoughts of Christmas and the upcoming festival. Armed with ideas, Jennifer walked to the staff room, hoping to find a few faculty around spending the cold weekend day inside.
"Well, hello, Jennifer!" Rolanda said warmly as she came in. "No security today?"
"Not today, I have the day off," Jennifer explained.
"Ah, I know how that is. Earned one or two of those myself before. So what have you been up to then all day?" Rolanda asked.
"Making plans for the festival," Jennifer admitted, waving her notes.
"You take the day off and spend it working on a school project? Typical," Rolanda chuckled.
"Well, this is fun sort of work," Jennifer said defensively, opening the closet door to look at the schedule hanging on the back of it. "Who's broom?" she wondered out loud at the strangely large and vicious looking racing broom lying inside. Rolanda peered inside then gave Jennifer an amused look.
"That's not a broom. That's a Boggart."
"Oh." Jennifer shut the door, glancing at her watch before sitting down at the table.
"I was starting to wonder if he was going to come back, he's been gone quite a long while. Humphrey always did like this closet best," Rolanda chuckled. "Well, he did until a few years ago."
Jennifer poured herself some tea and found herself listening to an amusing story about when Remus brought a class in to learn about them, and Jennifer found herself chuckling uncontrollably when she got to the part about the Boggart, who tried to change shape into the thing that the person looking at it feared the most, changing into Severus Snape and Neville imagining him in his grandmother's dress.
"I wish I'd been in there to see that first hand," Rolanda added, laughing. "It's no wonder he was gone for so long. Remus was a good professor. I wish he could have stayed."
"It does sound like he was a good teacher," Jennifer smiled, nodding. "But I'm going to be selfish and say I'm glad he didn't, because then I wouldn't have been able to be here."
"Right you are, and you've been great for the school, no doubts there," Rolanda said, glancing over her notes. "Besides, Remus never really left, he just changed positions is all. But that's Dumbledore for you. If a person belongs at the school, really and truly, Dumbledore will somehow find a way to include them, no matter what happens. I don't think most of the staff would be here if it wasn't for the Headmaster stepping in for one reason or another. And yet everyone says Hogwarts is better than it's ever been."
Jennifer smiled thoughtfully at that and couldn't help but to agree. She had been so lucky to get on here, and even with the trials and tribulations she had gotten into over the two and a half years, she'd never want to be anywhere else.
"Jennifer, some of these ideas are great! And yes, you're right about the Color Wheel, we definitely have to set up a booth for that. You think you could get Severus to sit in the color tank?" Rolanda grinned mischievously.
"I seriously doubt it," Jennifer laughed. "But I will, at least. Although I have a feeling Corey is going to come nail me like he does by asking smart aleck questions in class."
"Is he still at it in there too? I heard he got sent to Poppy the other day and wanted to know if she was such a good healer, then how come Harry, Minerva and Dumbledore wore glasses, and that even Muggles had eye surgery. She was quite annoyed with him," Rolanda said, then got distracted by something else listed on the paper. "Hey, broom races, what a great idea! Make it on Christmas day so anyone getting a new broom can use them. Actually, how about we add a few other snow broom events too while we're at it?"
Filius Flitwick wandered in and was quickly pounded with ideas from both of them, excitedly looking over Jennifer's notes and bringing out his own ideas and his tentative events schedule so they could work them out. Jennifer, who had had every intention of getting back up to her room before Severus got off patrol, completely lost track of the time as Filius brought out a map of the courtyard and they started to lay out their planned events.
"I should have known," Severus said when he came in and saw her notes, looking annoyed. "I thought you were supposed to be taking it easy today? Weren't you going to stay in your room?"
"Good grief, Severus, you're not even married yet. It's kind of early to be trying to run her life all ready, isn't it?" Rolanda said. "Besides, since you're security, you might as well get over here and add some input in all of this."
Sighing loudly in irritation, Severus went to throw his cloak in the closet, finding himself looking at his own image when he opened the door. Quickly he closed it. "By the way, Severus, Humphrey's back," Rolanda added, not even bothering to turn around. "So how about Broom Skiing, Filius?"
"We'll have to ask Poppy about that one, it might give her too much work to do," Filius winked. "Besides, I'm hoping the rides I have planned will keep them occupied."
Severus threw his cloak on the back of a chair as he moved to sit down, gazing across the table at Jennifer who was studying him thoughtfully, questioningly, oblivious to the other two who were in the middle of another brainstorm. Severus looked away and tried to get interested in the plans, starting in about some of the more outrageous ideas on the table.
That was when Minerva came in, looking exasperated. The rest of them gazed curiously at her as she cracked the door of the closet open just long enough to grab the schedule before shutting it.
"What's wrong, Minerva?" Jennifer asked as she sat down.
"Well, you know how upset Anna's been since Halloween, and after Hogsmeade decided to go home for awhile for that American holiday, right?" Minerva said.
"Yes, we spoke of it. Dumbledore sent her back with Audi and Vallid," Severus said. "In fact, it was the only way that he would agree to let her go." Jennifer nodded in agreement.
"Well, Sirius didn't find out until after she left, and he's gotten it into his head that she's bolting and not coming back and went after her," Minerva sighed. Severus jumped up in surprise, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Dumbledore tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. He took a Muggle plane out this morning. Now the Dark Forest patrols aren't covered."
"Men," Rolanda said, shaking her hand.
"Anna has been pretty distraught lately," Jennifer admitted. "But Dumbledore said not to worry about it and to just give her some time to work it out. He's only going to end up making things worse. She's been angry at him since that whole Animagus thing. If he shows up there, it is not going to be pretty." Severus mused over that and sat back down.
"Well, they're too far away for us to do anything now. I'm sure Vallid will take over if it gets out of control," Minerva said, "but someone's going to have to pick up some more of these forest shifts."
"I can pick up some evenings if need be, Minerva," Jennifer volunteered.
"Oh, no you don't. Absolutely not. I don't want you out all night alone in that forest," Severus said. Rolanda, Filius, and Minerva all stared at him. "I'll pick up any extra patrols that need done."
"So what you're saying is that you don't think I'm capable of handling a patrol?" Jennifer asked standing up.
"No, what I said was, I don't want you going out alone in the forest at night. There are too many people who want you dead right now."
"The same ones that want you dead, and yet you do it. Look, Severus, I understand the whole bit with you wanting me to tell you what I'm up to, but I don't need your protection. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. I am the Defense Professor in the school, or have you forgotten?" Jennifer snapped angrily.
"Professors, maybe we ought to move this discussion to my –" Minerva began.
"This has nothing to do with that!" Severus snapped.
"Like constellations it doesn't, it has always had something to do with that!"
"Look, I know you're capable of taking care of yourself, but there's no reason to take unnecessary chances." Severus said calmly.
"This isn't unnecessary, this is security! And I'm just as capable of protecting this school as you are," Jennifer glared at him.
"Yes, I just prefer you to do it from the grounds like the rest of the witches so you're not in as much risk."
The entire room went silent. Minerva, who had been working to physically coax them out of the room paused and squinted at him. Rolanda, who had been sitting at the table eating popcorn suddenly stopped and gaped at him, and Filius stared at him with wide eyes.
"This is a bloody conspiracy," Jennifer said as Severus grew uncomfortable. "So, put Minerva and Aurora Sinistra on castle security, Rolanda, Pomona, and Sibyl on the gates, and me and Rolanda on games and grounds flight duty, all conveniently out of the way in case some 'real' emergency comes up, is that it?"
"Jennifer, you really don't think it was intentional, do you?" Minerva said, but something in her voice made it sound to Jennifer as if she had just realized it herself. Jennifer glanced at Severus again and then towards Filius before looking over at Minerva.
"It was intentional, and if I'm reading this right, it looks as if it were Severus' suggestion," Jennifer glared at him.
"The security patrols were set up the summer before you came here, Jennifer," Minerva pointed out.
"So it's not aimed at me personally, but I'm taking it personally! I am capable of doing anything you can do, Severus Snape, and I can best you at most of it. If I want to take a forest patrol, it's my decision and not yours."
"You are acting childish, Jennifer. If you think I'll let you go off on a patrol unguarded, you are quite wrong," Severus said firmly.
"I challenge you to a grudge match then… a sparring match, and if I win, you get off my back and let me decide what I can handle on my own. I'm tired of you overprotecting me!" Jennifer snapped. Severus squinted at her, gritting his teeth.
"Fine. But if you're the one challenging, I should be the one to pick the contest," he said.
"Fine," she glared at him, folding her arms.
"Then I pick Quidditch," he smirked triumphantly then turned to walk out of the room. Jennifer stared after him in complete fury. He only picked it because she expected her not to accept.
"Fine, you're on!" she snapped just before he reached the door. He turned around and stared at her.
"Oh come, now, you can't be serious. You can't even stay on your automatic when it's hovering," he said.
"A team of witches of my choosing, made up of both faculty and students, against one of your choosing. We can make it a pre-holiday event," Jennifer decided, quite serious.
"Minerva, would you please talk some sense into her and tell her the school wouldn't support such an event? Say something." Severus said, rolling his eyes.
"Whether or not the school will support it, I'll leave to Dumbledore," she said calmly. "But if he does say yes, count me in," Minerva added with a smile.
"Oh, I'm definitely in," Rolanda agreed, grabbing another handful of popcorn and looking totally amused. Severus shook his head in disbelief and annoyance.
"Fine. Have it your way. The game will be over before you even have time to blink," he said, storming out.
After politely refusing an offer by Severus to join the team, Dumbledore offered to referee, to which both teams had quickly agreed to. Once it was obvious that the 'fiasco' was going to take place, Severus wasted little time in getting a team together. He went straight to Harry Potter first and foremost, and there were bets on the witches' side whether or not he'd even be willing to play. But Jennifer lost that battle, for Harry agreed to play if Ron did, and Jennifer in turn moved and recruited Ginny and Hermione.
The day of the match was cold and clear, but not too windy. Jennifer looked nervously over her team. Minerva and Rolanda had quickly taken over to assign everyone to positions and come up with a strategy. Jennifer was assigned as Keeper, (to keep her from having to fly around as much as possible,) Rolanda and Hermione Beaters, Ginny Weasley as Seeker, and Minerva, Julie Brim, and Susan Bones were the Chasers. Jennifer's heart sank when she saw the other team, however, and looked nervously across at the Slytherin Gate where Severus' team was. Severus, taking on a Beater position, picked Corey as the other (which actually surprised Jennifer a bit, considering Amadeus was the best Beater they'd had in a while) Harry as Seeker, Draco Malfoy as Keeper, and Filius, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Ron Weasley as Chasers.
"Harry, Justin, and Draco? We are in so much trouble," Jennifer muttered, shaking her head.
"Craw, get back over here," Rolanda said, waving her over. "All right, Professor Craw, if they go for a different ring than you're guarding and you don't think you can push it, don't. Just let it through, and do the best you can. Our strength is in our Chasers and Beaters, so we need to play that to our advantage. We Beaters will be working on slowing down Harry and Justin since they're our worst threats out there, as well as protecting our own Seeker, of course. But most importantly, we're going out there to have fun, right?" Rolanda said, and met silence. "Okay, maybe not just fun, be we should have fun too," she chuckled. "Mount up all! Jennifer, don't bother doing the circle with the rest of us you just go to the rings, okay?"
Jennifer sighed softly but nodded, seeing the sense in that. She was still annoyed with Severus for even picking this game, something he knew she was terrible at.
Now she was going to have to rely on her team to prove her point. As they sped out, a crowd of students cheered them on, accompanied by calls of "Go, Witches!" and "Go, Wizards!"
Jennifer grinned nervously and waved, coming to stop by the rings, almost wishing it were all over all ready. From there, she could see the teams assembling the circle waiting for the balls, and watched Dumbledore, looking almost comical in referee robes with goggles on his head, walked onto the field. Up into the air the Snitch and Bludgers flew, and a moment later the Quaffle followed. Justin in perfect form swept up and grabbed it just a split second ahead of Susan, and before Jennifer knew it both teams were heading for her. Flailing frantically as the Quaffle came towards her, Jennifer somehow managed to bat it away. Ron quickly caught it, throwing it in the lower ring.
"You're going to have to get that broom moving faster than that, Professor Craw," Filius teased her as he sped past. Minerva had quickly retrieved the ball on the other side of the ring and launched herself at an alarming speed towards the other rings. Justin was hot on her tail, but at the last minute Minerva turned upside down on her broom and dove towards the ground, spinning back around and shooting up towards the top ring before Malfoy had even a chance to respond. Jennifer tried to clap and nearly fell off the broom, then decided she'd better be a bit more worried about the teams soaring to her side of the Pitch.
But as Jennifer prepared to cover the other rings, a Bludger peeled into the players and hit Justin, causing him to almost fumble the ball. He tossed it towards Filius but Julie got between them, grabbing it and diving quickly before flying back the other way. Jennifer relaxed, watching with a grin. If this kept going, they would have it in the bag for sure.
On the other side of the Pitch, Severus was far from happy. Minerva was proving to be nearly as fast as Justin on a broom, and her experienced maneuvers were giving them a definite advantage, not to mention Rolanda's perfect aim with the Bludger bat. Flying closer to Corey, Severus got his attention.
"See if you can't trip up McGonagall," he told him and flew back into the fray just as Malfoy saved the Quaffle and threw it towards Justin. Susan intercepted, saying something to Justin as she did and came back around. She feinted throwing the ball through the third loop, and as Draco moved to get it she handed it to Minerva who sped it into the ring below them before he could react.
When Minerva came around, she suddenly had a Bludger to dodge, and as she flipped around to avoid it, someone came up beside her and the ball was whisked out of her hands. Filius then quickly transferred it to Justin and took a short breather as Justin flew back across, followed closely behind by Minerva, veering away from yet another Bludger. Hooch hadn't missed the onslaught on her star Chaser and decided to get right up beside her, waiting for the next Bludger to fall.
But as they neared the rings, the Bludgers were nowhere in sight. Justin flew up to the higher ring and threw it in, Minerva quickly collecting it and throwing it to Julie before speeding back over to the other side of the Pitch. Just then, Minerva saw a Bludger halfway across the Pitch and Corey smacked it towards her. Hermione, coming up on the other side of McGonagall, slapped it towards Justin.
"Hermione!" Rolanda hovered over to her as Minerva spun down to throw the Quaffle in the lower ring just out of reach of Draco's hand, "Is it just me, are those two keeping the Bludgers out of their side of the Pitch?"
"Yes, I think you're right. What do you suppose they're up to?" Hermione asked.
"I've got a hunch. Just follow my lead," Rolanda told her and headed back in just as Ron headed up the Pitch with the Quaffle. Aiming a bit higher than normal, Rolanda caught up with one of the Bludgers and whizzed it over Ron's head as he flew towards the ring, while Jennifer was moving to protect the center goal. Severus, arriving a split second before Corey, met the Bludger and slammed it back in the other direction towards no one in particular, and Corey picked up the second Bludger before it reached the ring as well, shying it at Susan who was coming in from the rear.
Rolanda veered to grab the one that Corey had hit, slamming it back at Jennifer, who had turned to watch as Ron dove and made the bottom goal. She turned just in time to see Severus come up next to Jennifer and bat it away just as Minerva zoomed past with the Quaffle in hand.
"So, someone's afraid that Jennifer won't be able to dodge a Bludger, is he? Well, then it should be easy enough to keep them occupied," Rolanda decided with a smirk. She zoomed over to Hermione as they crossed the center of the Pitch and said something to her. Grinning, the two of them split back up.
Jennifer couldn't believe how good they were doing so far. The score was 120-30 Witches, and strangely enough, there was no sign of the Snitch yet. Harry and Ginny were still hovering above, searching, while still paying close attention to the game, and Minerva was proving to be a formidable foe on against the rings.
Draco, although a decent Seeker, was not proving to be much of a Keeper (not that Jennifer was much better, but she had two good stops at least), and Justin had been facing a steady onslaught of Bludgers since the game began and had taken a couple hits. But even Jennifer wasn't completely blind to the fact something odd was happening on the Wizard's Beater team, for even though they had taken several shots at Minerva, Susan and Julie, they seemed to be having trouble keeping the Bludgers up. Rolanda, on the other hand, was sparing no wood to smack them back as hard as she could. Jennifer heard a round of applause as Minerva threw the ball to Susan near the bottom ring and she threw it in. Jennifer giggled. If the boys didn't pick up some points soon, they were going to have one of the worst defeats in history. A few more goals like that and even Harry wouldn't be able to help them.
Harry, hovering near the center of the pitch, was shaking his head and thinking the same thing. Filius passed below him with the ball, throwing it easily to Ron who sped forward towards the top ring. Rolanda and Hermione, crossing paths from just trying to pelt Justin with the Bludgers smacked them back up in the air, then before Corey or Severus could react, they smacked them hard towards the rings. Fortunately, their aim seemed to be way off, for they passed right under Ron. Watching from above, Harry realized they were heading straight for Jennifer, who was hovering just between the middle and upper ring. Corey zoomed over and batted one out of the way and towards the incoming Chasers, while Severus hit the other one at Hooch.
"What in blazes do you think you're doing, Hooch, have you gone blind all the sudden?" Severus yelled at her. Jennifer had little time to watch, flying to the upper ring just as Ron made the throw under her feet and down into the middle ring. Using her diving instincts she normally used as a Seeker, Julie made a tailspin dive to grab the Quaffle before it reached the ground.
"I could ask you the same thing, Snape! Whose team are you on, anyhow?" Rolanda laughed at him as she batted the Bludger at Filius who had been trying to make a move to intercept Julie's throw to Minerva. But just before Severus could veer off and fly back down the pitch, the other Bludger suddenly came back towards the witches' rings, and Severus paused to smack it back towards the Chasers.
Jennifer suddenly found herself the center of activity again as Justin soared back with the ball. She leaned slightly against her broom, watching to see which way he would go. That's when she noticed two Bludgers coming barreling down on her. She forced her broom to hop upwards, barely getting out of the way of the first one as Corey smacked the other at Susan. Jennifer cursed softly as Justin veered towards the bottom ring. She struggled to get her broom to cooperate, determined for them not to close the gap on their lead any longer. She barely got to the ring in time, but fortunately Minerva was right there.
As Jennifer reached out and blocked the ball with her leg, allowing Minerva to catch it and take off before anyone else could react. Severus got behind the stray Bludger, smacking it over to Corey so that he could smack it towards Minerva. The Bludger cracked into Minerva's broom, causing her to lose control a moment, but she heard Susan above her and she passed the Quaffle along.
Minerva paused to check the damage, hissing softly as she noticed the thin crack that had developed in the handle. She was going to have to slow down now, she thought to herself, gazing up the field just as Susan made the next goal.
Rolanda was having more fun than she had in a long time as she batted the Bludgers towards Jennifer again, laughing as she heard the bell and realized the score was 180-30. They probably should have chosen alternates, Rolanda mused, because there was no way Harry would be willing to catch the Snitch now. One more goal and the girls would have it in the bag no matter who caught it, and the humiliating defeat was something Hooch couldn't wait to taunt Severus mercilessly about. Just then, she saw something from the corner of her eye and turned her head at the sound of beating wings. Harry and Ginny shot passed her on either side as they dove towards the Snitch. Jennifer finished another precarious stop, and Minerva again had the ball. Corey, realizing the importance of the next point, zoomed forward to catch one of the Bludgers and knock it towards Minerva, looking around frantically. Rolanda grinned and met it, hitting it back towards Jennifer.
"Snape, you blasted idiot! Stop fooling around with your girlfriend and get Ginny before she catches the Snitch or we've had it!" Corey shouted angrily.
The group of students in the stands that were close enough to hear him gasped in surprise at his tone, wondering how many house points he just lost for that one. But Severus, it seemed, stared at him only for a moment and then looked around just as Harry and Ginny flew around Jennifer in a circle as they followed the golden Snitch neck and neck.
Bludgers flew past, and Jennifer, slightly distracted by Harry and Ginny, found herself a target again, forcing her broom to leap up to avoid one then rolling over upside down to avoid the other, awkwardly clinging onto the broom, which was fighting her to get her upright. But from there she saw that Ginny and Harry were now skimming close to the ground, and she heard the sound of a bat cracking behind her as a Bludger was smacked back the other way. Yelping in surprise, Jennifer spun herself upright as the Bludger zoomed past, followed closely by Severus, who past beneath her as he sped back up the pitch. Jennifer was then aware that something else must have occurred near the other rings, for as they came flying towards her, Minerva stayed behind, her broom acting as if it were having trouble just hovering at the same height. That meant their best Chaser was down, Jennifer thought, and now Justin was barreling towards her at breakneck speed.
Ginny barely dodged the two Bludgers that whizzed past her head, trying to desperately keep up with Harry. It was right before them now, and as they passed the center of the field they were vaguely aware of the team going in the opposite direction towards the wizard's rings, and Minerva above them, clapping and calling her name.
That was when Ginny realized she had to get it now. Another moment more the boys would probably win, and she was sure Harry knew that as well. Because of that, she was completely surprised when she saw Harry lean further forward on his broom, pushing it to its limits to get that extra centimeter he needed to clasp his hand around the Snitch.
Jennifer forced her broom into a full climb as she struggled to reach the upper ring, knowing there was no way she was going to reach it in time. With one last push, the spent automatic broom reached its upper speed limit as she made a desperate scramble at the Quaffle that passed way over her head and into the ring just as she heard a loud whistle blow. Jennifer and the rest of the Witch team suddenly froze in fear, wondering if in that last second victory had been stolen away from them. After an entire game of dominating the pitch, were they going to lose it because Jennifer couldn't get there on time? Jennifer's heart sunk at that realization, peering over to where Dumbledore was, hearing from the speakers that Harry had caught the Snitch. But Dumbledore held up a hand, getting everyone's attention, magnifying his voice so that everyone could hear him.
"The Snitch was caught by Harry Potter a half a second before the Quaffle passed through the last ring. Therefore, it cannot be counted. The official score is 180-180, the first tie on these Quidditch grounds in nearly 200 years! I declare both teams the winner!" Dumbledore shouted, as a roar went up on the crowd. Relief and elation spread through the teams and Jennifer found herself hugging Justin Finch-Fletchley mid-air before they soared down to meet the others near where Harry and Ginny were. She soon found herself in the middle of hugging and handshaking chaos of students and teachers and a proud looking referee, who was chuckling to himself and congratulating them. Jennifer glanced at Minerva who gave her a nod and a smile, then went over to Severus, who was standing just outside the group, and hugged him warmly.
"It was a great game, although I have to admit, it would have been nice if you'd been able to pay attention to the Chasers at that point, Harry! We would have had them, you know," Ron said when things began to calm down.
"I know, Ron, I saw it," Harry admitted. "But after the trouncing we got, we didn't exactly deserve to win. Besides, this game wasn't about who was better, but if they were just as capable, and I think they proved their point."
"Sorry about your broom, Professor McGonagall," Corey said meekly.
"Oh, it's all right. It's all a part of the game, and I was due for a new one anyhow," she said, smiling softly at him. "I admit that was definitely the most fun I've had in ages. What say we all go in the staff room and celebrate, hm?"
"A splendid idea," Dumbledore chuckled. The excited students fell into step behind Minerva, Rolanda, and Filius, and Dumbledore matched step with Jennifer and Severus, who were bringing up the rear. "So, did either of you actually learn anything out of this?" he asked, smiling at them knowingly.
"I guess I learned that I don't have to do everything by myself," Jennifer said. "I wouldn't have stood a chance out there without the great team I had. Working together helped offset my weaknesses and pulled together everyone's strengths."
"I learned Rolanda is a ruthless Beater," Severus muttered.
"And?" Dumbledore prompted.
"And I can't protect Jennifer all the time and do by job. Can we drop this now?" Severus scowled.
"Now you have me feeling like a student again," Jennifer said, shaking her head at Dumbledore. "When do you stop teaching?"
"When you both start realizing that you are teaching yourselves," Dumbledore said calmly, stepping inside.