~*Chapter Five*~
Saved By The Bludger
The Great Hall looked wonderful. Pumpkins were stacked in piles around the room, some carved into jack-o-lanterns with evil faces and candles glowing inside. A cloud of bats flew around the room. The usual floating candles were bewitched to shine orange and black. Angelina and the rest of the Quidditch team sat down happily, all earlier tension gone. "Look at the food!" Alicia exclaimed, and even Wood was in a better mood that he didn't notice it. The food looked even better than usual and Angelina suddenly felt empty despite all the candy and butterbeer she had downed that afternoon. Even Oliver ate with great enthusiasm and was just finishing his third slice of pumpkin pie when the ghosts glided out. The Gryffindor ghost did a reenactment of his 'beheading' to much applause, and even Moaning Myrtle made an appearance.
Almost an hour and a half later, the students got up and walked laughing down the halls to their dormitories. Angelina's spirits were soaring as she walked with Oliver, Katie, Alicia, Fred, and George, as usual. Harry Potter followed close behind them, as he was part of the team, but instead he talked mostly to Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
There was a big crowd outside the Gryffindor portrait hole. "What the bloody hell is going on?" remarked Ron. "Why isn't anyone going in?" he tapped Fred on the shoulder. "Do you know why no one is going in?"
"No," Fred replied just as his older brother, Percy shoved though the crowd, shouting something about being head boy. Angelina stepped aside to see what was going on.
"Someone go get Dumbledore!" Percy said, his voice urgent. As if on cue, Dumbledore appeared. The crowd parted and Angelina got a glance of what had happened. The Fat Lady's portrait was ripped into a million different pieces, and the Fat Lady herself had fled. Alicia's voice caught in her throat as she tugged wordlessly on Angelina's shoulder.
"Peeves," George murmured, looking up.
"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir." Peeves was saying. "Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful. Poor thing."
"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black," Peeves answered.
***
No one breathed for a moment. "Everyone to the Great Hall!" Dumbledore said. Percy led them back to the Hall where they were joined with the rest of the Houses. Alicia, Katie, and Angelina stood near the wall, as the boys dragged over six sleeping bags. They took off their robes and shoes and climbed into the sleeping bags with the rest of their clothes on. Katie was wiping away frightened tears, and George laid a hand on her shoulder for comfort. Fred was looking around the Hall at the rest of the students. Oliver was tapping his fingers on the floor and looking at the stormy Halloween ceiling. Angelina was looking at her fellow teammates, seeing fear in their eyes. She shuddered and covered herself with her robe for warmth.
"It'll be okay, Angelina," Fred said, himself with a distressed look on his face. "Don't worry."
"Yeah," George said, "you've got us to protect you!"
"That's comforting," Katie said sarcastically.
***
It took a long time for everyone to fall asleep, but they did somehow. The Gryffindors were allowed to return to their dormitories in the morning, only to find that the Fat Lady had been replaced with a medieval knight named Sir Cadogan. "Stand and fight, you mangy cur!" quickly became the most annoying phrase any of the Gryffindors had ever heard.
It came time to resume Quidditch practices, and the team increamed their schedule to four practices a week instead of three. The weather became stormier and stormier as the match grew nearer. One night Oliver stormed onto the field, looking very angry.
"We're not playing Slytherin! We're playing Hufflepuff instead!" Oliver cried. He said that Flint, the captain of the Slytherin team, claimed that his Seeker was injured.
"There's nothing wrong with Malfoy's arm!" Harry Potter cried angrily.
"We can't prove it," Oliver said grimly. "Hufflepuff's got a new captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory." While he said this, he looked sidelong at Angelina, who pretended to ignore him. The team kicked off on Madam Hooch's whistle, which had been ordered to oversee their practices since the Sirius Black episode. The team practiced new maneuvers, and changed their plays to fit Hufflepuff's style. After what seemed a day the team landed, tired and wet, and went to change in the locker rooms.
"Angelina," Oliver said, stopping her outside the locker rooms. The rain poured down his face and Angelina could barely see him, and he had to shout to be heard.
"DON'T LET YOUR FEELINGS FOR DIGGORY COMPLICATE THE MATCH!" Oliver yelled.
"WHO SAID I HAD FEELINGS FOR CEDRIC?"
"I'm not blind, Angelina," Oliver said, lowering his tone. His eyes looked deeper than usual in the wind and rain. Angelina was about to reply when there was a great whooshing noise and a Bludger flew right past her head. Oliver jumped and caught it, struggling to hold it in his arms. Angelina reached down and put her hand on top of the living ball as Oliver went to get the box and strap it in. But, as soon as he turned back around to talk to her, Angelina was gone.