Blood of Enemies, Blood of Friends
Chapter 33 – Football Has Nothing on Quidditch
Classes resumed during the second week of January. The six Gryffindor teens and Draco were happy that their need to research had ended. Their teachers were piling work on the sixth year students in all of their classes. The Scoobies found that they were equally as busy with lesson plans and grading essays. Wesley was regularly checking in with Angel about locating the gemma sanguinis. Buffy and Faith had stepped up patrol of the Forbidden Forest. The rest of the Scoobies also helped patrol. For Buffy, Willow, and Xander, it was like old times.
Amidst all their work, students and faculty alike were looking forward to the first quidditch game of the new term, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw to be held the last weekend of the month. Dawn, Shannon, Harry, and Ron had not forgotten their promise to invite Gunn and Fred to the game. The Gryffindors arranged for Gunn and Fred to come to Hogwarts via the floo network on the morning of the game.
Though Charlie Weasley had promised Buffy that he would make every effort to see her regularly, she had been unable to make time for him. She decided that the perfect time to see him was the weekend of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw game. She sent him an owl inviting him to the game. During breakfast the following morning, she received his reply.
Buffy,
Thank you so much for inviting me to the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw game. I don't remember if I ever told you, but I used to play seeker on the Gryffindor team during my days at Hogwarts. I am looking forward to seeing my old team play, especially since Ron and Ginny are both playing. Even more so, I am looking forward to seeing you again.
I will meet you at the entrance to your common room an hour before the game begins.
-- Charlie
Buffy smiled to herself, when she read the letter. Willow could not help notice Buffy's smile. "Good news?" Willow asked.
"I asked Charlie to come to the quidditch game, and he just said that he would," Buffy replied.
"I'm happy for you," said Willow, though Buffy realized that her best friend did not look happy.
"What's wrong, Wills?"
"Everyone seems to have a date for the game. You are going with Charlie, and Xander will be with Anya. I'm just feeling sorry for myself."
"So, why don't you invite a certain auror?" asked Buffy.
"Tonks will probably think it is dumb to come to Hogwarts for a quidditch game," Willow replied.
"Everyone who ever went to Hogwarts seems to like quidditch. Besides, she'll want to come just to spend time with you."
"Do you really think so, Buffy?"
"Ever since our first night in England, it's been obvious that Tonks likes you," Buffy assured Willow. "Besides, it never hurts to ask."
"Ask what?" questioned Anya.
"I was just trying to convince Willow that she should invite Tonks to the quidditch game," Buffy explained.
"You should," Anya told Willow matter-of-factly. "Xander and I invited some friends as well."
"Who?" asked Buffy and Willow in unison.
"Just Fred and Angelina and George and Oliver. They are always inviting Xander and I to do things with them; so, it is only polite for us to invite them to something as well. Besides, they all used to play on the Gryffindor team, and Ron keeps sending owls to Fred and George taunting them about Dawn and Shannon being better beaters than the twins were."
Anya returned her attention to Xander. "I just hope that Tonks can come," Willow whispered to Buffy.
"Well you won't know unless you ask," replied Buffy.
Willow excused herself to go write a letter to Tonks. Later that evening, Willow was very happy to receive a reply.
Willow,
I would love to come to the game. It will be a lot of fun. See you then.
--Tonks
****************
The day of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw quidditch match, the students on both teams were having breakfast in the Great Hall very early in the morning. Few other students were at breakfast so early on a Saturday morning.
"I'm almost as nervous as I was for our first game," commented Shannon.
"Does this ever get any easier?" questioned Dawn.
"It gets better, but not much," explained Harry.
"I don't know," commented Ron. "Nothing was as bad as my first few games." Ginny giggled in response to her brother's comment.
"Well, I'm glad that you have gained some confidence since then," added Harry. "There is no reason for any of you to be nervous. We have been practicing hard, and Ravenclaw doesn't stand a chance against us."
Ron, who had been slightly annoyed by his best friend's reminder of his lack of confidence the previous year, felt the need to tease Harry about his own emotional issues. "At least this year, we don't have to worry about Harry getting distracted by the other team's Seeker."
"What do you mean?" asked Shannon.
"Last year Harry had a thing for Cho Chang," explained Ron, oblivious to the looks that Harry and Ginny were shooting at him.
"Oh really," said Shannon. "So what happened?"
Harry looked at his girlfriend nervously. "I, um, realized that, um, I didn't like her as, um, much as I first thought."
"Are you totally over her?" asked Shannon. The rest of the Gryffindor team was looking back and forth from Shannon to Harry. They were worried that a fight between their seeker and one of their beaters was about to erupt and that such a fight would ruin their chances of winning the match.
"Of course, I am," Harry assured Shannon. "I happen to only have eyes for a certain Gryffindor beater."
"Oh, Harry," cried Dawn melodramatically, "I am so sorry to have to tell you that my heart belongs to the Slytherin seeker." The tension was broken, as the entire team burst into laughter. Shannon and Harry caught each other's eyes and smiled.
The team finished their breakfast and walked over to the Gryffindor changing room to prepare for the game.
****************
Buffy and Willow were both up early getting ready for their visitors. Both decided that they would be more comfortable in muggle clothing than in wizarding robes. Buffy also pointed out that it was easier to look good in muggle clothing, though Willow did remind Buffy that it would be very cold and whatever they were wearing would be covered by heavy cloaks.
Buffy and Willow entered the Scooby common room to find most of the others eating breakfast. Cat had suggested having the house elves provide coffee, tea, and pastries for their guests. Cat, Wesley, Faith, and Robin were sitting at a table with Gunn and Fred. Wesley was explaining the rules of quidditch to Gunn, while Fred provided news about the American muggle world to Cat, Faith, and Robin, all of whom admitted to missing their old lives.
Xander, Anya, the Weasley twins, Angelina, and Oliver were sitting in the chairs nearest to the fireplace. Fred and George were showing Xander their latest inventions for Weasley Wizard Wheezes, while Anya, Angelina, and Oliver discussed Gryffindor's chance of winning the match.
The only person who was conspicuously missing was Giles. "Where's Giles?" Buffy asked.
"Madame Hooch came down with a nasty case of the flu, and Dumbledore asked Giles if he would be interested in refereeing the match today," explained Anya. "He left for the quidditch pitch just before you two came down. So where are your dates?"
Before Buffy or Willow could answer, there was a knock at the portrait hole. Buffy swung the door open to see both Charlie Weasley and Tonks standing in the corridor. She stepped back to allow the two guests to enter. Charlie immediately leaned down to place a light kiss on Buffy's lips. "I've missed you," he whispered.
"I've missed you too," she replied.
Tonks had slipped passed the couple. "Hey, Willow," she said. "Thanks so much for inviting me. I haven't seen a good quidditch match in ages."
"I'm glad you could come," Willow replied. "It should be a lot of fun."
"Hey, Tonks," shouted the Weasley twins.
"Hey, guys, I didn't know that you would be here," Tonks replied.
"Xander and Anya invited us. We could never turn down an invitation from our close friends," said George.
"And, ickle Ronniekins keeps writing to tell us that Shannon and Dawn are better beaters than us. As if that is even possible." George added.
"These two are so sure that two girls could not be better than them, that they've been able to talk about nothing else for the past few weeks," explained Angelina.
"It's kind of amusing to see the confidence of the Weasley twins waver," added Oliver.
"You only say that because you know that Ron could not possibly be as good as you were," pouted George.
"I don't know about that," said Charlie, who had finally torn his attention away from Buffy and noticed the conversation going on around him. "I heard from Ginny that Ron has actually gotten to be a very good keeper."
Fred and George gaped at their older brother. "Charlie?" they questioned in unison.
"What are you doing here, mate?" asked Fred.
"Neither Ginny nor Ron mentioned inviting you," added George.
Charlie chuckled at his younger brothers. "I'm actually here on a date," he explained.
"A date?" questioned Fred. "Who would want to date you?"
"Oh, brother of mine, have you sunk so low as to search out a date among seventh year Hogwarts students?" lamented George.
Buffy decided to rescue Charlie from the teasing that he was receiving from his younger brothers. She slid an arm around Charlie's waist and leaned into him. "Actually, Charlie here is seeing a very distinguished Hogwarts professor."
Fred and George goggled at Charlie and Buffy. The twins immediately realized that Charlie was dating the Slayer, but of course, they could not let things go so simply. "Eww, you're dating McGonagall?" Fred asked.
"No, brother dear, I think it is worse. My gaydar is going off. No, Charlie, are you dating, dare I ask, Snape?" teased George.
"Did anyone else just go to a very scary visual place?" asked Xander. Willow and Tonks both nodded emphatically.
Charlie just shook his head. He turned to Buffy and in a grand gesture, dipped her low and kissed her. Before pulling her back to her feet, he quietly asked for her forgiveness for showing off to his brothers. In response, she pulled him into another kiss. The room broke out into applause.
"I always thought that teachers were all uptight and serious," commented Gunn.
"I don't think that any of us could be called normal teachers," said Faith.
"I don't know. I taught at a small college, and the faculty in my department could be pretty insane at times," mused Cat.
Everyone eventually calmed down and returned to their quieter discussions, until it was time to head down to the quidditch pitch for the game.
****************
The Gryffindor quidditch team walked onto the pitch. The stands were full. No student or faculty member would ever voluntarily miss a match. The faculty stands were exceptionally full with the guests of the many Scooby faculty members. Dawn, Shannon, Harry, Ron, and Ginny waved to the many guests.
"I didn't know that Fred and George would be here," commented Ron.
"Don't let them make you nervous," warned Ginny.
"I bet they're here because you told them that Dawn and Shannon were better beaters than they were," Harry informed Ron.
"Well they are," said Ginny. Dawn and Shannon glanced at each other. They were both feeling exceptionally nervous again.
Harry noticed the look that passed between his girlfriend and her best friend. He reached out and squeezed Shannon's hand. "Just do what you two always do, and we are sure to win."
"Just don't get distracted by Cho," warned Shannon in a half-joking way.
"You know that you are the only one who can distract me," Harry replied. "I'm more concerned that she is going to be trailing me looking for the snitch. She's done that in the past."
"Don't worry. I will keep her off your tail," Shannon assured Harry.
The spectators began cheering as the announcer introduced each member of the two teams. Harry and the Ravenclaw captain shook hands. Everyone kicked off the ground and took their positions in the air. Giles released the snitch, the two bludgers, and the quaffle.
Ginny was the first to gain control of the quaffle. She sped toward the goal, flanked by Dawn. One of the Ravenclaw beaters sent a bludger in Ginny's direction. Dawn easily intercepted it, slamming the bludger toward Shannon. She redirected the bludger toward the Ravenclaw keeper, who was forced to swerve away leaving the goal open. Ginny took her shot and scored – 10 to 0.
Ravenclaw gained control of the quaffle. Dawn hit a bludger toward the Ravenclaw chaser, who passed the quaffle to another teammate before swerving away from the bludger. The second Ravenclaw chaser, now in possession of the quaffle, raced toward the goal. The chaser threw the quaffle, and Ron easily caught it. He sent the quaffle to Dennis Creevy, one of the Gryffindor chasers.
Dennis sped off toward the other side of the pitch. He passed the quaffle to Ginny, who had just cut in front of one of the Ravenclaw chasers. Ginny passed the quaffle back to Dennis, who dodged a bludger and threw the quaffle to the third Gryffindor chaser. She returned the quaffle to Ginny. All of the Gryffindor passing was confusing the Ravenclaw chasers and their keeper. Ginny scored again – 20 to 0.
Harry was hovering at the side of the quidditch pitch, looking around for the snitch. He was startled when Cho Chang began to hover at his side. Harry slowly glided away from her, but she followed along behind him. Whenever he stopped, Cho was at his side. Harry was surprised when Cho spoke to him. "You don't seem to like me much anymore," she commented. "Why is that?"
Harry looked at her like she had sprouted a second head. "You were the one who started dating Michael Corner."
"We broke up. Besides, he could never compare to you," she smiled at Harry sweetly. Several months ago, these words would have brought Harry utmost joy, but things had changed – one thing in particular, Shannon. Harry knew that Cho could never compare to Shannon, but he did not know how to convey this to Cho without sounding like a prat.
Suddenly a bludger clipped the back of Cho's broom, causing her to plummet several feet before regaining control. "Sorry about that," called Shannon, though she obviously was anything but sorry. Harry smiled widely at his girlfriend. 'Just one more thing to love about her,' he thought.
"Shannon's a bit overprotective of her boyfriend, isn't she," commented Faith. Buffy and Willow both giggled.
Fred Weasley turned toward the giggling women. "Harry's got himself a girlfriend?" he asked.
"Harry has been dating Shannon for awhile now," explained Anya.
"Our little Harry is growing up," commented George with a fake sniffle.
"The next thing you know, ickle Ronniekins will be dating," said Fred with the same fake sniffle as his twin.
"I hate to break it to you, but Ron has been officially dating Hermione for awhile," said Anya.
"That make sense," said Angelina. "Everyone always knew they would get together eventually, though many wondered if they would kill each other first."
The Scoobies and their guests turned their attention back to the game in time to see Dawn and Shannon perform a double play to force the Ravenclaw keeper away from the goal. Dennis scored – 30 to 0.
Ravenclaw gained control of the quaffle. They flew toward the other side of the pitch. Ron readied himself. One of the Ravenclaw chasers threw the quaffle. Ron caught it, and threw it toward Ginny. A Ravenclaw chaser intercepted it and threw it toward the farthest hoop. Ron was unable to get there in time, and Ravenclaw scored – 30 to 10.
Gryffindor regained possession of the quaffle. As Shannon and Dawn flanked the Gryffindor chasers, Shannon glanced toward Harry to see if Cho was still shadowing him. Fortunately Cho was farther down the field, though it appeared that Harry was staring at her. Cho was preening herself in front of him. Shannon felt a moment of worry before she realized that Harry was not in fact looking at Cho. He had spotted the snitch just behind her and was trying to distract her as he edged closer.
Shannon shot a bludger in the general direction of Cho, though not on a direct course. Cho dove out of the way of the bludger, and Harry took off after the snitch. Cho realized what was happening and turned to cut off Harry. However, Cho had not realized that Shannon had actually hit the bludger toward Dawn, not Cho. One of the Ravenclaw beaters had sent the other bludger at Dawn in the hopes of distracting her, but it was too late. As Cho neared Harry, Dawn shot the bludger in front of her, forcing her off course. Dawn then hit the second bludger toward Cho to prevent her from correcting.
"Those girls really are better than you two," Charlie kidded Fred and George.
"Oh, sod off," said Fred. He and George had to admit that Dawn and Shannon were indeed very good players.
Moments later Harry caught the snitch – 170 to 10. The Gryffindor stands roared with cheering students. The Scoobies were also cheering, though since faculty were supposed to be impartial, they were not quite as loud as the students. Fred, George, Angelina, and Oliver were all standing on their seats and screaming at the top of their lungs. They did not have to be impartial and were all thrilled to see their old team win. Gunn was looking amazed. "The kids were right. Football has nothing on quidditch," he commented.
"That was pretty cool," agreed Fred.
"Well, you two are welcome to come to a game whenever you want to," assured Wesley.
The teams both landed. Shannon ran over to Harry, cast a nasty look toward Cho, and kissed Harry full on the lips. Cho stormed off toward the Ravenclaw changing room. Harry did not notice her because all of his thoughts were focused on Shannon.
The Gryffindor team walked toward the changing room, discussing the party that they were going to have in Gryffindor tower when they returned.