Chapter 6: Bludgers and Birthdays.
Disclaimer: HP and all associated characters belong to JK Rowling, WB etc. All characters recognisable from my stories belong to me.
Lily, Lena and the Weasleys returned to Hogwarts three days into the New Year. The next morning, the first year Gryffindors had Double Transfiguration first thing, Lena woke up in a bad mood — it lasted all the way through breakfast. "What's wrong with her?" Robin asked James and Lily as they entered the classroom.
"Sparky doesn't like Transfiguration," Lily reminded him, and grabbed his arm. "Best let James sit with her."
"Why?" asked Robin as they sat down in the classroom. Hermione wrote the assignment on the board and told them to get started.
"When Sparky's in a bad mood bad things can happen."
"What do you…"
At that moment, there was an explosion at James and Sparky's table — only a well-timed Containment Charm by James saved the classroom.
"That," answered Lily, and turned her attention back to her own needle. She concentrated hard, muttering the spell under her breath. After a moment it turned thin and silvery. She picked it up and scratched it across the scrap of sharkskin paper nailed to the bench — the needle head sparked and a small flame flared into life. Robin smiled and with a swish of his wand he turned his only match into a needle and back again. Lily scowled.
By the end of the lesson, other than Robin, only James had managed the spell, though Lily had managed to partially-transfigure three needles and Lena had managed to blow up four. None of the others had managed to do anything with theirs.
----
"Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another exciting match of Quidditch, the teams today are Gryffindor and Ravenclaw!" Marcus Ward told the packed stadium. "Playing for Gryffindor are… Olafsen, Valquez, Jordan, Weasley, Clarke, Stoakes, aaannnd CONROY!"
The cheers from the Gryffindor supporters easily drowned out the boo's from the Slytherins. "And for Ravenclaw… Corvus, Wilson, Quinn, Meander, Featherstone, Davis, aaannnd Sharma!"
The cheers of the Ravenclaw supporters joined the hubbub as the blue-robed Ravenclaw team stepped out. "Professor Weasley has released the Bludgers… there goes the Snitch… the Quaffle is in the air, and they're off. Ravenclaw in possession, Chaser Conroy with the Quaffle — heading towards the Gryffindor goal, she ducks a Bludger, sent her way by Beater Olafsen of Gryffindor. Gryffindor now in possession, Clarke with the Quaffle, she dodges a Ravenclaw Chaser, and passes the Quaffle to Stoakes. He shoots and puts one through for Gryffindor. Play continues with Gryffindor still in possession.
"Good teamwork," observed Harry, who was watching the game from the Gryffindor stands again with his kids and their friends. "Gordon's as good a captain as his dad was."
James nodded, "He's a great Chaser too." He observed as the Gryffindor captain put another one away for Gryffindor, taking the score to 20-0.
"Ravenclaw are back in possession, Wilson has the Quaffle, she passes it to Quinn, who races for the Gryffindor hoops, will she make it?"
"I doubt it," announced Lena.
"She ducks a Bludger, and evades Chasers Clarke and Stoakes and she shoots… and it's saved by Keeper Jordan of Gryffindor. Gryffindor are now in possession, Conroy with the Quaffle heading fast for the Ravenclaw Keeper, he passes to Clarke, she shoots… intercepted by Wilson, Ravenclaw now in possession — no, Gryffindor in possession — Clarke shoots and scores. We are twenty minutes into the game and Gryffindor are in the lead at fifty to zero!"
"Ravenclaw are possession, moving up the pitch in a Hawkshead Attacking Formation, Wilson in the lead, he takes aim — and passes it back it to Quinn — who shoots and scores for Ravenclaw! Ravenclaw have closed the gap to forty points and are still in possession. Wait, Corvus loses the Quaffle to Conroy, and Gryffindor are back in the game. Conroy streaks for the goal, but goes down after an excellent Dopplebeater Defence by Beaters Davis and Featherstone of Ravenclaw. Quinn snags the Quaffle, then passes it to Corvus, who scores again bringing the score to twenty for fifty!"
"Sharma certainly takes after his older brother," observed Harry. "This is the best I've seen Ravenclaw go in years."
"Conroy scores again to make it 60-20 for Gryffindor!"
Lily smiled, "They or he may be good, but we're better."
"70-20 for Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw are in possession… Corvus passes to Wilson, who passes to Quinn — she's blocked by Beater Valquez of Gryffindor, she passes back to Corvus, who scores just managing to slip it past Jordan."
"It's all down to who catches the Snitch," Lily asserted.
James nodded, "Catching the Snitch can lose the team the match fairly often in the League or international-level, but as far as I know, it's only happened only in the last fifty years at Hogwarts."
"You're right," confirmed Harry. "It happened in my seventh year, just before I left to train for the England-Canada semi-final match. The Hufflepuff Seeker, Owen Cauldwell, got to the Snitch before our reserve Seeker, Sonja Aquanis (Lamina at the time), they lost the game by thirty points anyway."
"He was an idiot," Lena observed, and grinned as Conroy scored again, putting Gryffindor seventy points ahead.
"I think Weasley's seen the Snitch… she diving, Seeker Meander of Ravenclaw is right behind her."
"It's a feint," predicted Harry. "The Snitch hasn't appeared at all." Lily, James and Virgil all nodded in agreement.
Sure enough, they were right. "Superb Wronski Feint there by Seeker Weasley of Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw Seeker gets ploughed!"
"Told you," said Harry. "I couldn't see the Snitch, and anyway it's not hard to notice when someone else is using one of your favourite tactics."
"Corvus takes the shot and Ravenclaw are now only sixty points behind at thirty points to ninety! Gryffindor are back in possession… Conroy, now Clarke with the Quaffle — dodges Featherstone, Wilson and Quinn,, and scores. Gryffindor have regained their seventy-point lead at one-hundred for thirty!"
"I wonder when Anne's gonna get the Snitch?" wondered Lily.
"Right about… now." Harry told her, as he spotted her flying towards a tiny speck of gold.
"Weasley has spotted the Snitch, Meander is only three lengths behind and closing fast… can she get it before he closes the gap?"
"I doubt it," James stated, "He's only got a Nimbus 2500, it doesn't have the acceleration."
"Seeker Weasley of Gryffindor catches the Snitch and Gryffindor wins 250-30!"
"Good show," Harry told Anne as he, Lily, James and their friends met her outside the changing room about half-an-hour later. "You did great."
"Thanks Uncle Harry," said the flaxen-haired Weasley, grinning. "From you that means a lot."
"Well is true Anne," said a voice, from behind group. They turned as one. It was Barry Launders. "You could go pro."
"He's right you know," Harry told her, "You've got the talent."
Anne blushed, "I'll think about, okay? I have another four years before I've got make those sort of decisions." she reminded them. Barry offered her his arm and they walked slowly back towards the castle.
"Too true," admitted James, "We all have a long journey ahead of us."
----
"That's Slytherin out of the running again," commented James at breakfast a week later.
"What's that, fourth year a row?" asked Lily.
"Only third," admitted Anne, who was sitting opposite them at the house table. "They lost by 220 points, so unless they can steam-roller Ravenclaw in three weeks time, it's between us and Hufflepuff."
"What's our lead?" asked Robin.
"Only forty points at the moment. Ravenclaw are another thirty points behind them."
"They might catch up."
"I doubt it," Anne told them, "With the Hufflepuff team as strong as it is at the moment, the Final will be pretty high-scoring both ways." On that note, she rose and prepared to leave. "Sorry to rush off, but I've got a lot of homework to get done, and Gordon booked the pitch for an extra practice this evening."
"That's okay. We'll see you later." James assured her, then he turned to his friends, "Anyone got any plans for today?"
Robin nodded, "Lena and I are gonna over that spell we were doing in Charms last week, the Radius Charm. I still can't get the hang of it."
"Uncle Charlie needs some help catching a Equinor Demon that's been harassing the unicorns in the forest lately," Lily admitted. "It's already killed two and hurt five and wounded three centaurs who tried to help them."
"Anyone I know?" asked Lena.
"Ronan, Palominus, and Calliope," Lily told her.
Lena winced. Palominus was a friend of hers. "Will they be okay? Do Firenze and Bane know?"
Lily nodded, "I said I'd give him a hand. Between me, Uncle Charlie and Orion, we should be able to handle one demon."
"Why are you helping at all?" asked Shiva, who'd been listening to the last minute or so of their conversation. "First years aren't supposed to get involved with that sort of work."
Lily nodded, "You're right we're not. Uncle Charlie had to get special permission from the headmistress so I could."
"So why? Why not, get some of the older students if they need help, or contact the Ministry?"
"It's not favouritism if that's what you're thinking," Lily told her, she could tell from her dorm-mate's expression that she had been thinking that. Lily chuckled darkly. "Quite the opposite if anything. After all, it's hurt three centaurs, and it ambushed Julia and nearly cracked her head open, last night when she went looking for it. And she's a trained, and very experienced, dragon-keeper."
Shiva frowned, "So what have you got that they haven't?" she asked scornfully, "You're only a first year."
"So are you," Lena reminded her.
"I have a special knack with horses," Lily replied. "Read part seven of Harry Potter, The Man Behind The Myth. There's a clue in there." She stood up and headed for the door, saying good-bye to her friends on the way.
----
When Lily woke up on the 28th of April, there were a number of brightly wrapped packages at the foot of her bed. She grinned, padded over to Lena's bed, and shook her awake. "Uhhh. What time is it?"
"Seven o'clock," Lily told her. "Do you want to watch me open my presents?"
"Sure," Lena told her, she got out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown and joined her friend on her four-poster. "Open mine first." she insisted, handing Lily a small, gold-wrapped package.
Lily agreed and tore it open. It was the usual box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. "Thanks Sparky."
Most of the other presents were books or sweets too. Hermione and Ron had got her the new edition of Flying with the Cannon's; Sirius and Remus, a carrying-case for her Phoenix racing broom; her parents, Cunning Chasers Tactics by Carter Wilson. When they had finished, Lily cast a Clearing Charm to tidy up the mess of paper. They dressed and headed down to breakfast, Lily grumbled about having to go to classes on her birthday. At the house table, James passed over her presents from himself, the twins and Anne, and Robin added his own offering, a set of grooming brushes to use on Donatello. "Thanks Robin, the old one's are getting a bit worn out, Donnie'll appreciate it."
"I thought he would."
Lily opened her other presents, bolted down her breakfast and then detoured back to the Tower to drop them off, arriving just in time for Defence Against the Dark Arts. "What's the lesson today Moony?" she asked, sitting down between Lena and James.
"Kappas," he replied.
"Oh goody."
A/N: Chapter's 7 & 8 should be up within a week or ten days. Chapter 1-5 have been re-posted with slightly re-worked content, take a look and see if you like the changes. As always, please read and review.