A/N: And now for another chapter! Here you go!

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Terribly Tribble-y

"Diiiiiee!"

Mitchie whacked a Bludger in Sweets' direction so hard that it nearly took the Brooklyn girl's arm off. Donaghan took the Quaffle from Aldous and moved for the goal, but Mitchie's second Bludger knocked him off his broom.

"Wha," he observed, landing on his back with a goofy grin.

Julie actually stopped and watched her friend in shock, letting Chloe dive for the Golden Snitch.

"Mitchie! Are you crazy?"

A second later, a Bludger hit the brush of Chloe's broom, catapulting the light little French girl into the air. Quick as lightning, a black streak shot across the pitch, slowing down only long enough to catch Chloe.

"Die, Seeker!" Mitchie howled defiantly. The black streak slowed to a hover in mid-air. "Oh. Hi, per'fessor."

Snape raised his eyebrow at his adopted daughter-to-be and held up the small Seeker by the scruff of the robes like a misbehaving cat.

"This, I believe, is a Seeker. We do not use mangonel fouls on Seekers."

"Sorry," Mitchie mumbled through clenched teeth.

"It's bad form unless you're either very ill-mannered or in Slytherin," Snape explained. "Since you're an American, I guess you can get away with it."

"What?" Chloe protested. "She almost shot me into next week!"

"Mitchie's always been a bit berserk, haven't you?" Sweets asked cheerfully.

A frightening change suddenly swept over Mitchie's already strained countenance.

"Berserk? Berserk?!" The werewolf swept her broom over to the Brooklynite's at breakneck speed. "I'll show you berserk, you New York Yankee trash!"

"What the-?" Sweets was totally taken by surprise as Mitchie flew menacingly over and drew her wand. "Are you crazy, Mitch?"

"Don't go there," Theodoric warned Sweets as Mitchie fumed.

"Crazy?" Mitchie inquired fiercely, the end of her wand starting to emit red sparks.

"I'm your friend, I don't want to duel with you!" Sweets protested. "Are you nuts?"

"Sweets, don't go there," Theodoric warned again.

"I mean, it isn't that time of the month again?"

"She went there!" Theodoric threw up his hands and flew farther away. Professor Snape looked about to separate the girls, but the Southerner easily pulled him back by the sleeve of his robes. A split second later, Sweets disappeared in a flash of blinding light.

"Michelle Isolde Tyler!" Snape shouted. "What in Merlin's name-?" Some yards below Sweets' still-hovering broom was a little white bichon frise puppy, running in circles as if it's head had been cut off. "Michelle!"

"Let her get used to it for a change!" With that, the clearly furious werewolf flew off. Eying the small white dog, Donaghan began to chortle, but a glance from Professor Snape silenced him.

"Dammit, boy, where's your chivalry? After her!"

"Right –er, yes, sir!" Donaghan sped off.  Snape's frown didn't exactly disappear, but it lessened a little bit.

"Daddy!" Julie looked absolutely delighted by this turn of events. "How nice of you to make him go comfort her!"

Her father suddenly straightened and turned to his daughter.

"Efficiency is not approval of improper behavior for her age, nor is lack of open chastisement excuse to continue yours." Snape's face was impassive, which to Julie was worse than a frown as she tried to decipher his frozen, over-proper language.

"Dad?"

"Inside, Julia. Now."

"Yes, sir." Julie headed for the ground and the door post-haste. Just as Professor Snape was about to follow, Chloe spoke up.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Chloe?"

"About –that," Chloe pointed to the little bichon frise. "Should we-?"

"Oh, just leave it. She was annoying me terribly."

Snape sped off. Chloe, Jen, Aldous, and Theodoric were left on the ground with a suddenly canine and very nervous Brooklynite.

"Well, what now?" Chloe asked. Theodoric considered the terrified puppy for a moment.

"There's fried chicken scraps left in the dinin' room."

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"You don't suppose Snape's going to hurt Julie?" Jen asked Theodoric later

"What for? She didn't turn anyone into an AKC award-winner."

"No, but I think he knows about you-know-what."

"What?" By some miracle, Theodoric hadn't heard.

"You know, her and Malfoy."

"Me?"

"No, Professor Malfoy."

"Draco?"

"Yeah." Jen looked at him as if to say 'and where've you been?'

"She's- -he's…" The Southerner gaped in wonder. "Wow. They're just…perfect for each other." Theodoric grinned and suddenly began to chortle. "She is so busted."

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Baby A.J.  threw Rosemary the pliquash against the side of his portable crib for the umpteenth time, howling joyfully all the way. Hermione and Narcissa Malfoy, or 'Aunt Cissy' as A.J. personally thought of her, were talking very seriously of grownup things. Being a baby, A.J. didn't really pay too much attention to what they were on about, especially as Rosemary had suddenly shot something out of her side.

"Ay-ee!" he cried, startled and worried for his pet. A moment later, the little ball of fluff Rosemary had produced began to inflate and bleat happily. Another followed, and another and another, much to A.J.'s delight. "Ay-ee, ay-ee, ay!"

By the time Hermione and Narcissa heeded his joyous cries, Albus Julian was up to his merry little waist in baby pliquashi. The words that were uttered then, while certainly colorful and definitely creative in reference to Hagrid, were not exactly intended for baby wizards' ears.

"He swore it was the only pliquash in Britain!" Hermione swore.

"Apart from Draco's puffskein, it was the only furry ball I saw!" Narcissa protested. "Oh, no!"

Pliquashi and puffskeins were, very evidently, compatible.

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A/N: In the next chapter we will begin on Act Three: The Lovers Are Discovered!
(Sorry, momentarily possessed by Harry Zidler. Damn DVDs.)