Sorry the update took so long guys. Um, lets see. I don't own them. I own
the plot and my Astrid and the new character in the end. I hope you like
her. I own the Beauxbatons team too.
Please Review.
Thanks to all of those who have reviewed so far.
Thanks to Nat for betaing this.
That being said:
*****
"Are you ready?" Oliver asked, looking at the students gathered around him in the locker room. All three chasers and both beaters had hands clamped to their left ears rather suspiciously. Ron fidgeted with his robes, while Sanguinis stood in the corner behind everyone and scowled.
"While the practice you had yesterday wasn't the greatest," Oliver continued.
"What happened to the Oliver that was ready to string us up by our toenails last night?" Alicia asked quietly.
"He shagged Fleur," Fred whispered. Alicia and Katie erupted with laughter that they didn't even try to stifle. Fred smirked at the success of his joke.
"Hey Weasley, what I do in my spare time is none of your business!" Oliver spat, turning his chocolate eyes on Fred in a dark scowl. Fred's face reddened and his jaw dropped at the implications of Oliver's words.
"At any rate," Oliver continued. "This match could change some of your lives!"
"Hey Oliver?" George asked. "What happened to--," He looked down the row at his fellow seventh years and over his shoulder to Harry expectantly.
"This is it men," they chorused. "The one we've all been waiting for!" Oliver waved his hand to cut them off.
"I've moved on," he said.
"I've got a question," Fred announced.
"What is it?" Oliver asked.
"As we are, in essence, the Gryffindor house team," Fred began.
"In essence?" Alicia questioned.
"Okay, since we are the Gryffindor house team, couldn't we, you know, maybe show a little more Gryffindor pride with our uniforms?" Fred requested.
"We've still got to wear them," Malfoy spat, tugging at the front of his own green uniform to straighten it.
"How about you all ACT SERIOUS!" Oliver screamed from the front of the room. He slammed his clipboard to the floor. It clattered loudly on the tile. The seventh years all sat up straight and looked at the coach through startled wide eyes. Oliver picked up his clipboard and tucked it under his arm.
"You know, if you don't care about the match, then I don't either," he whispered. He turned on his heel and stomped out of the locker room.
"What are you going to do now?" Malfoy asked, before the shocked silence the seventh years where hoping for could settle over the room.
"Chasers?" Fred began, answering and ignoring Draco's question at the same time.
"Yes?" Alicia asked. Angelina and Katie simply looked at the elder twin.
"Those moves we've been working on in practice?" Fred questioned. The three girls all nodded with the knowledge of the moves Fred was speaking of.
"Somehow I think they're a little overrated to save for Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff," George picked up his brother's train of thought.
"Yes, they are," Fred agreed, "And now that we know we have a keeper who can back you up if things go weird," Fred smiled over his shoulder at his youngest brother. Sanguinis scowled at the three Weasleys seated in the locker room.
"Now that you've got the line up you're used to," Fred continued, removing his hand from his newly pierced ear.
"What my dear brother is trying to say is unleash all of our moves. Use them all and who cares who sees them!" George finished. Ron, Harry and all three chasers cracked into smiles at the thought of the moves the twins had designed specifically for the chasers. Fred and George's creativity didn't stop at joke products.
"Care to tell us what they're planning?" William questioned.
"Nothing your chasers would ever be able to reproduce or use against them," Draco spat. "Your team couldn't beat a Slytherin side that had chasers who had only been playing together for no more than five weeks and featured my LITTLE BROTHER as seeker!"
"Why do little siblings always get the short end of the stick?" Ron questioned.
"That's beside the point, little brother," Fred laughed.
"AND FOR HOGWARTS!" Bill's voice echoed into the locker room from the field.
"Bloody hell, we're starting!" Fred shouted, scrambling for his Nimbus.
"ONE TWO THREE GO TEAM!" the Gryffindors cried as they mirrored Fred's rush for their brooms.
"KATIE BELL!" Katie jumped onto her broom and flew directly from the room.
"ANGELINA JOHNSON!" Bill roared. Angelina flew out, hot on Katie's heels.
"ALICIA SPINNETT!" Alicia went the way of her fellow chasers. Ron, Harry and the twins all mounted their brooms.
"THE TWINS WEASLEY!" Ginny's voice sounded as loud as Bill's. The twins shot from the room, yells erupting from their throats.
"OUR LITTLE BROTHER RON!" Bill listed.
"WEASLEY!" Ginny added.
"Yes," Bill agreed as Ron flew from the locker room. William and Draco walked out after the youngest Weasley brother.
"AND HARRY POTTER!" Bill and Ginny chorused. Harry rocketed past Draco and Sanguinis on his Firebolt. He flew to the end of the hallway and turned left. He angled the broom down into a tunnel that could have acted as an air lock, were Quidditch played in a dome. Through the tunnel, Harry pulled his broom up and rocketed into the clear blue sky above Beauxbatons Quidditch pitch. Ron was already in front of the goals taking shots from the girls. Fred and George hovered a few meters above the ground hitting a muggle football back and forth between them selves. Harry took a quick circuit around the field.
"CAPTAINS!" A diminutive man standing in the center of the pitch shouted. Braeden strode purposefully towards the referee, icy blue robes fluttering behind him in the slight breeze. The Hogwarts team landed in the center of their half of the pitch.
"Captains?" Harry questioned, the last team member to land.
"Go Fred and George!" Angelina urged.
`"Are you kidding? We can't put the fear of Merlin or at least Godric in Braeden! He's our sister's boyfriend!" Fred screeched.
"You go, 'Lina," George said. The girl tucked a braid behind her ear.
"I got to know him over Christmas hols," she objected.
"Don't look at us!" Harry said as Angelina's gaze shifted to where he and Ron stood.
"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Katie insisted. She stomped around Angelina and headed to the center circle.
"Looks like Katie-bell has decided for you all," Alicia declared. The team turned to watch the smallest chaser stomp towards the center of the field. Katie's sun-streaked ponytail swished across the back of her robe as she walked.
"You know Leesh, that would work if her name wasn't Katie Bell," George laughed. Alicia brought her right foot down on George's left, just past the section that was protected by the steel toes of George's boots.
"Guys, don't kill each other before the match starts," Angelina warned, not even bothering to look over at her friends. She began following Katie, as the Beauxbatons team gathered at Braeden's back. The remainder of the Hogwarts team followed Angelina.
"*I want a good clean match!*" the referee shouted. The English translation for the Hogwarts team came directly after the French sentence. Both teams mounted their brooms, facing each other. Braeden and Ron looked silently determined and thoroughly ready to tear the other's throat out. The twins swung their bats expertly in their hands and smiled devilishly, causing Marius and Giovanni to shy away from the centerline. Genevieve smiled coyly at Angelina while Alexandre simply looked ready to kill. Luc shifted from foot to foot, either nervous or in desperate need of a loo. Calliope smirked at Harry, causing him to turn a lovely shade of light pink. Both seekers were suddenly distracted by the snitch buzzing around first Harry's then Calliope's head.
The refs whistle sounded and 15 brooms rocketed off the field. Ron and Braeden raced towards their respective goals. Luc snatched the Quaffle and tore after Ron. Ron slid into position in front of the center goal and readied himself for the shot from Luc. Luc passed the Quaffle to Genevieve who towed the ball towards the left goal before almost being removed from her broom by a bludger courtesy of George. Ron caught the sloppily thrown ball and passed it out to Angelina. The chaser spun her broom in a tight 180 and rocketed down the field. She dodged Luc then Marius, a bludger from Giovanni and Fred. The only person between Angelina and Braeden was Calliope. She didn't notice the chaser until a few seconds before Angelina would have hit her. A small squeak escaped Calliope's lips and she flipped upside down on her broom to avoid the chaser. Angelina flew right over Calliope, the straws of her broom brushing the seeker's feet.
Braeden, noticing how Angelina took care of Calliope, shied back against the center goal. Angelina entered the scoring area and headed directly for Braeden. The Beauxbatons keeper readied himself for the impending shot. Angelina curled the quaffle back over her head with both arms. She pulled the ball over her head and flung it directly at Braeden with all of the strength she could muster. The quaffle was true to its mark. It hurtled directly at the keeper's face at a high rate of speed.
"ANGELINA!" Ginny screeched, voice still magnified. The fourth year was obviously scared for her boyfriend's face. Braeden flung his hands in front of his face, narrowly stopping the Quaffle from rearranging his perfect nose. The ball bounced off his hands and back at Angelina. She grabbed it and passed it through the right hoop.
"GOAL! HOGWARTS 10- BEAUXBATONS 0!" Bill screeched. A small smattering of applause issues from the Hogwarts bench, Ginny and the box where Tonks and Arabella sat. Braeden retrieved the ball and passed it out to Genevieve. The girl caught the ball and headed up the field. Fred smashed a bludger at her so she passed the ball off to Luc. Luc caught the Quaffle and continued the trek towards Ron. He dodged an ill-placed bludger from Marius and executed a quick swerve around Katie. Fred cracked a bludger at him that was more true to aim. It hit the French chaser directly between his shoulder blades, almost removing him from his broom. Luc, however, managed to maintain both the Quaffle and his balance and continued down the filed. George sent the second bludger whizzing past Luc's ear. Luc ripped into the scoring area and flung the Quaffle at the right goal. Ron's long arm shot out and cradled the ball to his chest. Luc darted out of the scoring area and Ron flung the Quaffle out to Katie. She caught the ball and spun to her left, narrowly avoiding Giovanni. She raced up the field towards Braeden.
High above the play, Harry circled, scanning the pitch with an eagle eye for the snitch. The miniscule ball stayed fairly invisible. Calliope, however, made her presence well known. She flew just at the back of Harry's broom, crashing into him when she slowed or turned sharply. She babbled in French, nothing Harry could understand, and smirked at him in a way at made him not want to. Harry tried to turn his mind back to the game and cheered as Ron made another spectacular save, which led to another goal by Alicia. The score was 30-10, Hogwarts. Harry noticed a signal from Fred to George and then to Angelina. He smirked at the thought of what the chaser and beaters were preparing. George rounded up a bludger and moved towards Ron's left. Fred moved directly across from his twin. George hit the bludger to Fred, who hit it back. Ron gathered up a particularly vicious shot from Alexandre and passed it Angelina. She sank a few meters below Ron while the twins, still passing the bludger back and forth, rose in front of her.
"GO!" Angelina shouted. The twins started down the field at a surprising rate of speed, not losing control of the ball. Angelina held her broom just behind the protective barrier created by the twins and the bludger. Giovanni hit a bludger at the trio. Fred swatted it away easily while George controlled the original bludger. The trio advanced down the field. As they approached Braeden's goal, Angelina began mimicking the path of the bludger from twin to twin. Just outside the scoring area, the twins stopped and George cracked the bludger back towards Ron's end of the field. Before Braeden could process exactly where Angelina was, the girl flipped the ball through the right goal.
"GOAL! 40-10! Hogwarts!" Ginny screeched. Her gaze lingered a little longer than necessary on her boyfriend.
"Now Gin," Bill scolded. "There is nothing interesting up the Beauxbatons' keeper's robes!"
*****
"GOAL! BEAUXBATONS! 40-20!"
*****
"50-20! Angelina Johnson!!!"
*****
"60-20! Hogwarts!"
*****
"60-30! THAT'S GENEVIEVE D'ANGELO WITH THE BEAUXBATONS GOAL!" Bill cried. Ron passed the ball out to Alicia. She turned and began flying straight up to the center of the field, flanked by Angelina on her right and Katie to her left. Angelina and Katie both cut towards Alicia. Alicia tossed the ball to Angelina and then flew left. Angelina passed the quaffle off to Katie and continued her path to the right side of the field, leaving Katie to take the center. Katie deliberately let go of the ball and Alicia scooped it up as she headed for Angelina. A quick pass and both the ball and Angelina were in the center of the field with Alicia on the right and Katie on the left. Katie slid into the scoring area and Angelina passed her the ball. The smallest chaser tossed it neatly through the left goal.
"Goal! Katie Bell!" Bill cried.
"I should make them run laps until their legs fall of for scaring me like this," Oliver declared from his spot just in front of the Hogwarts bench.
"Only if they lose," Hermione said. Oliver nodded but seemed distracted by something high above the pitch. Hermione looked up to see the miniature figures of Harry and Calliope speeding towards the pitch. She quickly scanned the ground but caught no sight of the tiny ball. Blaming her untrained eye, she turned back to the pair of seekers.
Harry ripped through the area of play with Calliope hot on his heels. He concentrated on a section of grass just left of the center circle. Calliope fought in vain to keep up with him, trusting that the glimmer of gold she'd seen from so many meters high was indeed the snitch. The rest of the players paused to watch the seekers. Harry felt Calliope gaining on him. He didn't pull his attention away form the spot on the field. Calliope pulled up almost even with Harry. Harry wasn't flying the Firebolt at top speed, though, so Calliope's feat on the Nimbus wasn't as impressive. The pair drew nearer to the pitch and showed no sign of slowing down. Hermione fisted her hands in the sides of her robe. Ginny elbowed Bill twice.
"Is he feinting?" she asked in an attempted whisper that boomed across the stadium. About a meter from the pitch, Harry jerked the nose of his broom skyward. He spiraled safely up towards Ron. Calliope took a precious few seconds to react to Harry's exit. Her broom handle buried into the pitch. The other end rolled towards the ground, smashing Calliope directly into the grass. She didn't move. A blast form the referee's whistle sounded. The Beauxbatons coach, hospital matron, and Allegra ran onto the field.
"Are you getting called?" Alicia asked as the Hogwarts' team gathered in front of their scoring area. Harry almost tumbled off of his broom, courtesy of a pair of slaps on his back from the Weasley twins.
"Nah," Ron answered for Harry. "That was perfectly legal."
"And perfectly brilliant!" Angelina crowed. Harry stretched to peer around Angelina and the twins.
"Is she getting up?" he asked, nervously pushing his black hair off of his forehead.
"Harry, the point of the move is to incapacitate the other seeker! She's fairly incapacitated, so you did your job!" Katie insisted
"I feel bad," Harry said.
"Why did you do it then?" Ron questioned. Harry shrugged and pulled his glasses off of his face. He rubbed them furiously on his robe before shoving them back onto his nose to continue watching the proceedings on the field.
"She was annoying and I wanted to see if I could pull it off in a match," Harry admitted. "I didn't mean to kill her!"
"She's not dead!" Alicia said.
"If you don't catch the snitch now, Natalie is playing against Hufflepuff," George joked.
"That might not be a bad idea anyway. His girlfriend plays for Hufflepuff," Ron laughed. Harry glared at his friend.
"Look," Angelina said, pointing towards the ground. Her six teammates instantly turned to look where she pointed. The coach and nurse levitated Calliope's still body off of the edge of the pitch. A tiny blonde figure stood in the field pulling on an oversized Quidditch robe.
"They're playing Allegra!" The Weasley's chorused.
"Is she dead?" Harry asked, eyes following Calliope's floating form.
"Ask Allegra," Fred instructed. The beaters and chasers flew towards the center of the pitch while Harry headed up above the action. Allegra joined him shortly after the referee blew the whistle to resume play. The second year flew just alongside Harry.
"You broke both her arms, he nose and a couple of ribs," Allegra announced. "But she'll live."
"I'm sorry," Harry said. Allegra laughed; a rich bubbling sound.
"Don't be. That was a bloody brilliant piece of flying that Calliope would never be able to pull off!"
"But!" Harry began.
"No buts," Allegra objected. "It's all in the name of Quidditch! And besides, the injuries are nothing compared to the teasing she will endure from me!"
"Allegra!" Harry exclaimed. Allegra cracked a magnificent grin at the fifth year.
"Goal! Hogwarts! 90-30!" Bill shouted. Harry quickly scanned the field for the snitch.
"I've got a really random question," he finally announced.
"Yes?" Allegra asked.
"Brantley Granger? Where has he been since we've been here? I thought I'd see him at least once!" Harry said.
"Brantley fancies me. When he came back form summer vacation, he talked so much about you that some of the boys began to spread rumors that he fancied you. So when we found out you were going to be here, the boys began the rumors again and said if he could stay away from you, then they wouldn't tell me that he fancies me," Allegra explained.
"But you already know," Harry said, only half paying attention to the little girl so he could still watch out for the snitch.
"I'm friends with Braeden," Allegra said simply.
"Do you fancy Brantley?" Harry queried Allegra blushed a deep red and grinned at Harry, showing dimples in both cheeks.
"No," she said. "No one knows who I fancy."
"Tell me?" Harry jokingly requested.
"Promise not to tell anyone?" Allegra asked.
"Promise," Harry agreed. "Who would I tell anyway?"
"Ginny or Hermione, who would tell Braeden," Allegra explained.
"And then Braeden will tell the guy?" Harry guessed. Allegra nodded vigorously.
"110-40!" Ginny squealed.
"Luc," Allegra whispered.
"Luc as in Braeden's best friend who just scored Luc?" Harry asked.
"Jean Lucien Dumas," Allegra said. She glanced down at the curly haired chaser flying considerably below the pair.
"Isn't he, like your sister's age?" Harry questioned. Allegra smiled sheepishly.
"He's young to be a sixth year, just turned 16 in August. And I turned 13 on October 11th," She explained. "So the age difference isn't too bad. Maybe next year when I'm 14." Harry smiled over at the girl.
"120-40!" Bill roared.
"I don't know what his problem is!" Allegra insisted, looking down at Braeden. "Your chasers are good, but he's usually better than this. Maybe we should send Ginny back to England."
"You could still catch the snitch," Harry joked. The tiny golden ball still hadn't shown as much as a wing feather.
"If I flew against you, I would meet the same fate as Calliope!" Allegra squealed.
"140-40!" Ginny and Bill chorused. Beauxbatons students began filing out of the stands, tired of watching their school loose.
"Look!" Allegra squealed, pointing at Braeden's goals. Katie held the Quaffle and flew towards the keeper with Angelina several meters behind her. Katie prepared to take the shot but at the last second she tossed the Quaffle backwards over her head. Angelina caught the ball and Katie peeled out of the way. Braeden, completely confused by the disappearing quaffle and chaser, let the shot from Angelina sail past him into the right goal.
"Gio and Vieve might be able to do that, but two of our chasers? I really don't see that working for them!" Allegra said.
"The chasers have been playing together since they were your age," Harry supplied with a shrug.
"150-40!" Bill shouted. "With a beautiful goal by Angelina Johnson and an assist by Katie Bell!"
"Look again!" Allegra cried, pointing towards the center of the field. Luc held the Quaffle, racing towards Ron's goals. Fred cracked a bludger towards the chaser. The bludger struck Luc's shoulder. Fred immediately tore off towards Braeden after the second bludger. Luc dropped the Quaffle in his attempt to stay on his broom. Alicia scooped up the ball and headed towards Braeden. Just outside the scoring area, she attempted to fake Braeden and threw the ball off to her right at the flash of green she barely noticed. Fred sensed the Quaffle moments before it hit him. Thinking the ball was a bludger, he smashed it with his bat. The ball ripped through the right goal, raising Hogwarts score to 160.
"Goal! Fred WEASLEY!" Ginny and Bill chorused, putting a little more emphasis than necessary on their last name.
BRAEDEN!" Allegra cried. Then she jabbered something in French that Harry couldn't understand at all.
"Fred's a reserve chaser," Harry supplied rather off-handedly. "It's not really surprising that he scored." Allegra leveled a glare on Harry, grey-blue eyes hardening to the color of cold steel. Harry shrugged. When he looked at the girl, he noticed a glimmer of golden wings just behind her left ear.
"Goal! Beauxbatons! That was a beautiful shot by Luc Dumas!" Bill exclaimed. At the sound of her crush's name, Allegra spun to look over her right shoulder at the action. Harry took the several second opportunity to snatch the snitch away from the girl's head. He held the tiny ball over his head in a victorious wave and began a slow descent to the pitch.
"LOOK!" Ginny squealed. "Harry's got the snitch!" The referee noticed around the same time Ginny did, and blew his whistle to end the game.
*****
"Absolutely brilliant, guys!" Luc said, flinging himself onto the couch between Marius and Allegra. "Where's Braeden?"
"He's not here," Fred replied. Madame Maxime, as a special treat, had put charms on all the children so that no matter what language was spoken, the listener heard it in the language they thought in. The charm had proved useful for everyone but Braeden, who thought half in French, half in English. This caused his friends to sound like they were speaking in whichever language he was thinking at the time. After his charm had been removed, the D'Angelo twins began speaking Italian and Angelina threw in the occasional bit of Spanish solely to confuse Braeden. Shortly after that, Braeden and Ginny left for the rose garden.
"Ginny?" Luc asked. The entire group nodded. Luc ran a hand over his curls. They were still damp from his shower.
"I just have one question," Genevieve declared. "Where did you all learn to play like that?" The three chasers all looked at each other. Katie and George curled in the armchair across from the one Alicia and Angelina shared.
"They've been playing together since they were second years!" Allegra piped up. Every eye turned to her.
"I told her," Harry finally explained from his spot on the floor.
"So you did nothing but talk to the other seeker when we let you play!" Luc exclaimed. Allegra shrugged.
"At least I didn't fall for any trick flying," she insisted. Harry scowled at her while everyone else laughed.
"Harry man, that was brilliant flying," Marius said.
"Brilliant," Genevieve agreed. Harry's cheeks turned a pale pink color and he shrugged. Ron cuffed the back of his head.
"It was great and you know it!" he said.
"Isn't he adorable?" Genevieve squealed, looking directly at Harry.
"Shall I have mum order you one for your birthday then?" Giovanni asked.
"Sorry guys, I'm an original," Harry laughed, "One of a kind."
"Certainly some American corporation has latched onto the idea of the teenage savior of the wizarding world and made a doll or a book or something," Giovanni insisted.
"Do the sidekicks get dolls too?" Hermione questioned. Ron poked her hard in her ribs.
"They'd be ACTION FIGURES!" he hissed.
"Certainly," Giovanni agreed. Genevieve bounced in her seat next to him.
"Ooooh!" she squealed. "I want the complete set!"
"I'll tell mum," Giovanni laughed.
"I bet they've even thought of a way to pass the stories off as make believe and market them to muggles!" Marius insisted.
"Think of the galleons!" Luc cried. Allegra jerked an elbow playfully into his ribs.
"And raise your hand if you've been studying businesses or the USA in Muggle Studies!" she commanded. Luc, Marius, Giovanni and Genevieve all raised their hands. Allegra smiled proudly at the Hogwarts students. "Aren't they smart?" she asked. The Hogwarts students all laughed while the four Beauxbatons students glared at the little girl.
"Does anyone agree that Little Miss Lestat needs to meet Little Miss Malfoy?" Ron asked. Harry, Hermione and the twins all nodded.
"Little Miss Malfoy. As in the guy my sister wants' little sister?" Allegra asked.
"Yes," George replied. "Only she's one of the coolest kids ever. Nothing like her brother at all." Ron, Harry and Hermione all raised eyebrows at George.
"Don't be too sure about that," Harry laughed. "But Astrid is a really cool kid, unlike her brother." George looked sufficiently confused, but no one would tell him anything.
"Guys! Come on! We've got 2 minutes until the port key leaves!" Bill shouted. The entire Hogwarts delegation jumped to their feet.
"Bye guys, it was nice meeting you!" Harry cried as he headed for the door. The students already had their luggage shrunk and in their pockets.
"Nice meeting you too!" Luc called. Genevieve sprang to her feet and hastily hugged all three chasers.
"Don't forget to owl," she reminded no one in particular.
"Hey Harry!" Allegra screeched. She held a quill and parchment out in front of her. The fifth year stopped and turned to look at the girl.
"Can I have your autograph?" she asked sheepishly. "So when you get to be famous I can say I knew you when."
"He already IS famous, dolt," Luc insisted. Allegra shrugged.
"I want to terrorize Brantley too," she admitted, smiling sweetly up at the older boy. Harry scribbled a quick Harry James Potter on Allegra's parchment and handed it back to her.
"Bye guys!" he called, and he ran after his friends who were already close to halfway out of the castle
"Gather round," Oliver commanded, as soon as the eight spilled out of the castle gate. Malfoy and Sanguinis waited across from Bella and Tonks. Ginny and Braeden stood just next to the gate, wrapped in each others arms. Braeden's cheek rested on Ginny's forehead. She had her face buried in his chest.
Oliver held out a shoe directly in front of him.
"Do we have to travel attached to Malfoy again?" George asked. Malfoy paled, if that was possible, and stepped back from the portkey. Bill pulled out his wand and fired three spells at the three boys. The twins found themselves in a similar position to the one they had held the other day, with a very unhappy Malfoy trapped in between them. Sanguinis, Bella, Tonks, the chasers and Hermione all moved in to take hold of the portkey with Bill and Oliver. Harry, Ginny and Ron remained.
"Come on Ginny," Bill said. "Let go of Braeden and grab the portkey. As much as you'd like being left here, I think mum would have my head on a platter if I left you." Ginny looked away from Braeden's chest long enough to glare at her older brother. Ron stepped in and took an edge of the portkey next to Hermione. Harry took a deep breath and stepped in between Ron and Hermione. He and Hermione faced each other and he stood with his back to Ron. Ron and Hermione exchanged a look over Harry's head. Hermione reached over and squeezed his free hand lightly with hers. He wrapped his hand around hers and smiled gratefully down at her.
"COME ON GINNY!" Bill cried. Suddenly, the group felt the familiar hooking sensation behind their navels and they were pulled forward. Harry felt something tugging at his foot. He kicked ferociously to try to shake it off. The team, their coach, professors, and staff fell into a pile just outside the Hogwarts front gates.
"Ginny!" Bill screeched. He scrambled to his feet and looked down at the pile of people lying on the ground. Sanguinis hovered about half of a meter above Malfoy, due to the cushioning charm Bill had placed on the boy.
"Ginny!" Bill said again.
"Yes?" Ginny asked, looking up at her older brother.
"I thought we'd left you! You weren't holding on to the portkey when it took off!" Bill scolded.
"Wow, you know you look a lot like mum when you do that?" Fred asked. Bill glared down at his younger brother.
"I wasn't holding on to the portkey but I dived and grabbed Harry's foot just as you all disappeared," Ginny laughed.
"So that's what it was!" Harry cried.
"Yes. And he tried to kick me off. I would have been lost in portkey nowhere land for forever!" Ginny squealed. Ron and Hermione both glared at Ginny.
"Sorry Harry," Ginny continued. "But yours was the closest foot I saw, or I would have grabbed Ron's." Harry smiled at the younger girl.
"Its okay," he said. Only then did he realize that he and Hermione were still holding hands.
"Congratulations on your astounding victory over Beauxbatons," said a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see Dumbledore standing between the open gates. Harry stood up and pulled Hermione to her feet before dropping her hand. "I will ask that you all head back to your houses now. I do believe the whole of Gryffindor anxiously awaits their team." The rest of the team struggled to stand.
"And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Wood and Miss Tonks, I will show you to your rooms." With that, Dumbledore turned and pointed to the carriages that were waiting to carry them back to the school.
*****
"PARTY!!!!!!!" Fred Weasley shouted as he tore into the Gryffindor common room. His arms were loaded with snacks, while George carried a crate of butter beer. The rest of the team and Hermione entered the room a bit more calmly.
"RONHARRYANDHERMIONE!" a very high-pitched voice shrieked. A blonde- haired blur sped across the common room and launched herself at Ron.
"Hello to you too, Astrid," Ron laugh as he caught the little girl. She wrapped her legs around him just above his hips and leaned away from him. He locked his arms around the small of her back so she could effectively sit back and look at him while still being held.
"What have we missed since we've been gone?" Hermione asked. Astrid motioned Hermione and Harry to draw closer to Ron.
"Madame Pomfrey, Professor Snape, and Dumbledore have come up with something new that they're quite certain will make Draco all better," she announced proudly. Ron rolled his eyes, but the girl didn't see.
"That's great, Astrid," Hermione said, though the smile on her face was quite forced. Harry refrained from commenting
"I heard you all kicked Beauxbatons arse!" she said. Harry and Ron nodded enthusiastically.
"I got to play!" Ron said.
"Guiny sucked that badly?" Astrid questioned.
"Guiny?" Ron said.
"Sanguinis," Astrid corrected herself.
"He sucked so badly in practice that Ron got to play the entire match!" Harry explained. Astrid smiled broadly and threw her arms around Ron's neck.
"That's awesome!" she squealed.
"That was my ear drum," Ron muttered.
"Now, lets go get some snacks then you can come tell me and Sawyer and Jason and Dennis and Nathan all about the match!" Astrid said. Ron didn't bother to put the girl down. She scrambled around and attached herself to his back.
"Go," she commanded. Ron began walking towards the snack table.
"Looks like someone's happy to see the other," Hermione muttered.
"And I'm not sure who is happier," Harry replied.
"Me either," Hermione laughed. With that, they followed their friends to the snack table.
*****
Draco stepped through the door into the Slytherin common room. The room was empty, save a second year asleep on his potions homework in the corner. Draco looked at the clock on the wall. 11:30, Saturday night.
"They're all either asleep, in Hogsmeade, or causing trouble somewhere," he thought to himself. He sank into an armchair close to the fire and pulled his bag from his pocket with his good arm. He enlarged it and pulled out a small bottle of potion. His right arm was throbbing severely under the cast. He popped the lid off of the bottle of potion and slowly drank it. As he drank, he got the odd feeling that someone was watching him.
"Seems as though you'd be afraid of doing that now," a silky female voice issued from the shadows behind him. Draco quickly dropped the empty potions bottle and spun to look at the owner of the voice. He didn't see anyone.
"Borgin," he said, quietly, hoping this would get the person to show herself.
"Malfoy," the girl replied. He sensed a movement behind him and suddenly the chair across from his was occupied. The occupant was female. About 176 centimeters tall, she was skinny, and looked positively folded into her chair. She sat with her long legs and purple skirts tucked under her, leaning gracefully on her right arm. Her waist length chocolate brown hair hung in a thick braid over her left shoulder. She had a slim face, with a thin nose, and a small but full mouth. Even in mid-February, she was tan. Her eyes were shaped like a cat's, but were a dark chocolate brown color with flecks of gold throughout. She blinked her strange eyes twice at Draco and adjusted one of the hammered gold bangles that decorated her left wrist.
"What do you want?" Draco asked. He sat up straighter in his chair and gripped the armrest tightly with his left hand. To say the girl made him uncomfortable was a bit of an understatement.
"I don't think it's what I want," the girl replied. "It's what you want."
"Cut the shit, Contessa," Draco spat. He held his injured arm closer to his stomach. The girl shrugged, a smooth movement that Draco barely noticed.
"Don't you want to know who tried to kill you?" she asked, offering an odd half smile to her companion.
"Do you know?" Draco asked, still wary of the girl.
"I can find out," Contessa replied.
"Will you?" Draco asked.
"For a price," Contessa said, mouth pulling into a full smile.
"What can you do that I can't?" Draco asked, "I'll find out eventually."
"Yes Draco, eventually." The cat-eyes blinked again. "But will eventually be soon enough to prevent it from happening again?" Draco looked down at his feet for a brief moment before returning his gaze to Contessa.
"How quickly do you think you can do it?" Draco asked. Contessa pulled at the neckline of her purple shirt and shrugged again.
"You can't rush art," she replied.
"Art?" Draco questioned.
"Art," Contessa agreed. "My magic is an art, and art takes time. But even factoring that in, I'm sure I can figure it out quicker than you can." Draco nodded. He had noticed over the years that the girl had a knack for staying invisible until she wanted to be seen. In fact, not many people knew she existed.
"Name your price," he said finally. Contessa smiled slyly. The smile unnerved Draco in an extreme way. Contessa pulled a parchment out of the folds of her skirt and tossed it to Draco. He caught it, unfolded it, and read it quickly.
"Books?" he asked.
"Books," Contessa agreed. "Your father has the only known copies in all of England and I need them."
"Why?" Draco asked. "Can't your father get them through his shop?"
"No," Contessa said. "And don't question my motives."
"I may not be able to pay until after the summer holidays," Draco said.
"That is fine. I will give you a year to pay, as I understand my payment is quite large. If you do not pay, you do not want to imagine what I will do to you. Do you accept the offer?" Draco gulped.
"Yes," he finally said. Contessa slid to her feet in a motion Draco barely noticed. He stood too. She held out her hand. Long purple fingernails sparkled on the ends of her thin fingers. Draco shook her hand awkwardly with his left.
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Malfoy," she said. Then she turned on her heel and slid back into the shadows with only the pat of her shoes on the floor and the swish of her skirts.
Please Review.
Thanks to all of those who have reviewed so far.
Thanks to Nat for betaing this.
That being said:
*****
"Are you ready?" Oliver asked, looking at the students gathered around him in the locker room. All three chasers and both beaters had hands clamped to their left ears rather suspiciously. Ron fidgeted with his robes, while Sanguinis stood in the corner behind everyone and scowled.
"While the practice you had yesterday wasn't the greatest," Oliver continued.
"What happened to the Oliver that was ready to string us up by our toenails last night?" Alicia asked quietly.
"He shagged Fleur," Fred whispered. Alicia and Katie erupted with laughter that they didn't even try to stifle. Fred smirked at the success of his joke.
"Hey Weasley, what I do in my spare time is none of your business!" Oliver spat, turning his chocolate eyes on Fred in a dark scowl. Fred's face reddened and his jaw dropped at the implications of Oliver's words.
"At any rate," Oliver continued. "This match could change some of your lives!"
"Hey Oliver?" George asked. "What happened to--," He looked down the row at his fellow seventh years and over his shoulder to Harry expectantly.
"This is it men," they chorused. "The one we've all been waiting for!" Oliver waved his hand to cut them off.
"I've moved on," he said.
"I've got a question," Fred announced.
"What is it?" Oliver asked.
"As we are, in essence, the Gryffindor house team," Fred began.
"In essence?" Alicia questioned.
"Okay, since we are the Gryffindor house team, couldn't we, you know, maybe show a little more Gryffindor pride with our uniforms?" Fred requested.
"We've still got to wear them," Malfoy spat, tugging at the front of his own green uniform to straighten it.
"How about you all ACT SERIOUS!" Oliver screamed from the front of the room. He slammed his clipboard to the floor. It clattered loudly on the tile. The seventh years all sat up straight and looked at the coach through startled wide eyes. Oliver picked up his clipboard and tucked it under his arm.
"You know, if you don't care about the match, then I don't either," he whispered. He turned on his heel and stomped out of the locker room.
"What are you going to do now?" Malfoy asked, before the shocked silence the seventh years where hoping for could settle over the room.
"Chasers?" Fred began, answering and ignoring Draco's question at the same time.
"Yes?" Alicia asked. Angelina and Katie simply looked at the elder twin.
"Those moves we've been working on in practice?" Fred questioned. The three girls all nodded with the knowledge of the moves Fred was speaking of.
"Somehow I think they're a little overrated to save for Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff," George picked up his brother's train of thought.
"Yes, they are," Fred agreed, "And now that we know we have a keeper who can back you up if things go weird," Fred smiled over his shoulder at his youngest brother. Sanguinis scowled at the three Weasleys seated in the locker room.
"Now that you've got the line up you're used to," Fred continued, removing his hand from his newly pierced ear.
"What my dear brother is trying to say is unleash all of our moves. Use them all and who cares who sees them!" George finished. Ron, Harry and all three chasers cracked into smiles at the thought of the moves the twins had designed specifically for the chasers. Fred and George's creativity didn't stop at joke products.
"Care to tell us what they're planning?" William questioned.
"Nothing your chasers would ever be able to reproduce or use against them," Draco spat. "Your team couldn't beat a Slytherin side that had chasers who had only been playing together for no more than five weeks and featured my LITTLE BROTHER as seeker!"
"Why do little siblings always get the short end of the stick?" Ron questioned.
"That's beside the point, little brother," Fred laughed.
"AND FOR HOGWARTS!" Bill's voice echoed into the locker room from the field.
"Bloody hell, we're starting!" Fred shouted, scrambling for his Nimbus.
"ONE TWO THREE GO TEAM!" the Gryffindors cried as they mirrored Fred's rush for their brooms.
"KATIE BELL!" Katie jumped onto her broom and flew directly from the room.
"ANGELINA JOHNSON!" Bill roared. Angelina flew out, hot on Katie's heels.
"ALICIA SPINNETT!" Alicia went the way of her fellow chasers. Ron, Harry and the twins all mounted their brooms.
"THE TWINS WEASLEY!" Ginny's voice sounded as loud as Bill's. The twins shot from the room, yells erupting from their throats.
"OUR LITTLE BROTHER RON!" Bill listed.
"WEASLEY!" Ginny added.
"Yes," Bill agreed as Ron flew from the locker room. William and Draco walked out after the youngest Weasley brother.
"AND HARRY POTTER!" Bill and Ginny chorused. Harry rocketed past Draco and Sanguinis on his Firebolt. He flew to the end of the hallway and turned left. He angled the broom down into a tunnel that could have acted as an air lock, were Quidditch played in a dome. Through the tunnel, Harry pulled his broom up and rocketed into the clear blue sky above Beauxbatons Quidditch pitch. Ron was already in front of the goals taking shots from the girls. Fred and George hovered a few meters above the ground hitting a muggle football back and forth between them selves. Harry took a quick circuit around the field.
"CAPTAINS!" A diminutive man standing in the center of the pitch shouted. Braeden strode purposefully towards the referee, icy blue robes fluttering behind him in the slight breeze. The Hogwarts team landed in the center of their half of the pitch.
"Captains?" Harry questioned, the last team member to land.
"Go Fred and George!" Angelina urged.
`"Are you kidding? We can't put the fear of Merlin or at least Godric in Braeden! He's our sister's boyfriend!" Fred screeched.
"You go, 'Lina," George said. The girl tucked a braid behind her ear.
"I got to know him over Christmas hols," she objected.
"Don't look at us!" Harry said as Angelina's gaze shifted to where he and Ron stood.
"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Katie insisted. She stomped around Angelina and headed to the center circle.
"Looks like Katie-bell has decided for you all," Alicia declared. The team turned to watch the smallest chaser stomp towards the center of the field. Katie's sun-streaked ponytail swished across the back of her robe as she walked.
"You know Leesh, that would work if her name wasn't Katie Bell," George laughed. Alicia brought her right foot down on George's left, just past the section that was protected by the steel toes of George's boots.
"Guys, don't kill each other before the match starts," Angelina warned, not even bothering to look over at her friends. She began following Katie, as the Beauxbatons team gathered at Braeden's back. The remainder of the Hogwarts team followed Angelina.
"*I want a good clean match!*" the referee shouted. The English translation for the Hogwarts team came directly after the French sentence. Both teams mounted their brooms, facing each other. Braeden and Ron looked silently determined and thoroughly ready to tear the other's throat out. The twins swung their bats expertly in their hands and smiled devilishly, causing Marius and Giovanni to shy away from the centerline. Genevieve smiled coyly at Angelina while Alexandre simply looked ready to kill. Luc shifted from foot to foot, either nervous or in desperate need of a loo. Calliope smirked at Harry, causing him to turn a lovely shade of light pink. Both seekers were suddenly distracted by the snitch buzzing around first Harry's then Calliope's head.
The refs whistle sounded and 15 brooms rocketed off the field. Ron and Braeden raced towards their respective goals. Luc snatched the Quaffle and tore after Ron. Ron slid into position in front of the center goal and readied himself for the shot from Luc. Luc passed the Quaffle to Genevieve who towed the ball towards the left goal before almost being removed from her broom by a bludger courtesy of George. Ron caught the sloppily thrown ball and passed it out to Angelina. The chaser spun her broom in a tight 180 and rocketed down the field. She dodged Luc then Marius, a bludger from Giovanni and Fred. The only person between Angelina and Braeden was Calliope. She didn't notice the chaser until a few seconds before Angelina would have hit her. A small squeak escaped Calliope's lips and she flipped upside down on her broom to avoid the chaser. Angelina flew right over Calliope, the straws of her broom brushing the seeker's feet.
Braeden, noticing how Angelina took care of Calliope, shied back against the center goal. Angelina entered the scoring area and headed directly for Braeden. The Beauxbatons keeper readied himself for the impending shot. Angelina curled the quaffle back over her head with both arms. She pulled the ball over her head and flung it directly at Braeden with all of the strength she could muster. The quaffle was true to its mark. It hurtled directly at the keeper's face at a high rate of speed.
"ANGELINA!" Ginny screeched, voice still magnified. The fourth year was obviously scared for her boyfriend's face. Braeden flung his hands in front of his face, narrowly stopping the Quaffle from rearranging his perfect nose. The ball bounced off his hands and back at Angelina. She grabbed it and passed it through the right hoop.
"GOAL! HOGWARTS 10- BEAUXBATONS 0!" Bill screeched. A small smattering of applause issues from the Hogwarts bench, Ginny and the box where Tonks and Arabella sat. Braeden retrieved the ball and passed it out to Genevieve. The girl caught the ball and headed up the field. Fred smashed a bludger at her so she passed the ball off to Luc. Luc caught the Quaffle and continued the trek towards Ron. He dodged an ill-placed bludger from Marius and executed a quick swerve around Katie. Fred cracked a bludger at him that was more true to aim. It hit the French chaser directly between his shoulder blades, almost removing him from his broom. Luc, however, managed to maintain both the Quaffle and his balance and continued down the filed. George sent the second bludger whizzing past Luc's ear. Luc ripped into the scoring area and flung the Quaffle at the right goal. Ron's long arm shot out and cradled the ball to his chest. Luc darted out of the scoring area and Ron flung the Quaffle out to Katie. She caught the ball and spun to her left, narrowly avoiding Giovanni. She raced up the field towards Braeden.
High above the play, Harry circled, scanning the pitch with an eagle eye for the snitch. The miniscule ball stayed fairly invisible. Calliope, however, made her presence well known. She flew just at the back of Harry's broom, crashing into him when she slowed or turned sharply. She babbled in French, nothing Harry could understand, and smirked at him in a way at made him not want to. Harry tried to turn his mind back to the game and cheered as Ron made another spectacular save, which led to another goal by Alicia. The score was 30-10, Hogwarts. Harry noticed a signal from Fred to George and then to Angelina. He smirked at the thought of what the chaser and beaters were preparing. George rounded up a bludger and moved towards Ron's left. Fred moved directly across from his twin. George hit the bludger to Fred, who hit it back. Ron gathered up a particularly vicious shot from Alexandre and passed it Angelina. She sank a few meters below Ron while the twins, still passing the bludger back and forth, rose in front of her.
"GO!" Angelina shouted. The twins started down the field at a surprising rate of speed, not losing control of the ball. Angelina held her broom just behind the protective barrier created by the twins and the bludger. Giovanni hit a bludger at the trio. Fred swatted it away easily while George controlled the original bludger. The trio advanced down the field. As they approached Braeden's goal, Angelina began mimicking the path of the bludger from twin to twin. Just outside the scoring area, the twins stopped and George cracked the bludger back towards Ron's end of the field. Before Braeden could process exactly where Angelina was, the girl flipped the ball through the right goal.
"GOAL! 40-10! Hogwarts!" Ginny screeched. Her gaze lingered a little longer than necessary on her boyfriend.
"Now Gin," Bill scolded. "There is nothing interesting up the Beauxbatons' keeper's robes!"
*****
"GOAL! BEAUXBATONS! 40-20!"
*****
"50-20! Angelina Johnson!!!"
*****
"60-20! Hogwarts!"
*****
"60-30! THAT'S GENEVIEVE D'ANGELO WITH THE BEAUXBATONS GOAL!" Bill cried. Ron passed the ball out to Alicia. She turned and began flying straight up to the center of the field, flanked by Angelina on her right and Katie to her left. Angelina and Katie both cut towards Alicia. Alicia tossed the ball to Angelina and then flew left. Angelina passed the quaffle off to Katie and continued her path to the right side of the field, leaving Katie to take the center. Katie deliberately let go of the ball and Alicia scooped it up as she headed for Angelina. A quick pass and both the ball and Angelina were in the center of the field with Alicia on the right and Katie on the left. Katie slid into the scoring area and Angelina passed her the ball. The smallest chaser tossed it neatly through the left goal.
"Goal! Katie Bell!" Bill cried.
"I should make them run laps until their legs fall of for scaring me like this," Oliver declared from his spot just in front of the Hogwarts bench.
"Only if they lose," Hermione said. Oliver nodded but seemed distracted by something high above the pitch. Hermione looked up to see the miniature figures of Harry and Calliope speeding towards the pitch. She quickly scanned the ground but caught no sight of the tiny ball. Blaming her untrained eye, she turned back to the pair of seekers.
Harry ripped through the area of play with Calliope hot on his heels. He concentrated on a section of grass just left of the center circle. Calliope fought in vain to keep up with him, trusting that the glimmer of gold she'd seen from so many meters high was indeed the snitch. The rest of the players paused to watch the seekers. Harry felt Calliope gaining on him. He didn't pull his attention away form the spot on the field. Calliope pulled up almost even with Harry. Harry wasn't flying the Firebolt at top speed, though, so Calliope's feat on the Nimbus wasn't as impressive. The pair drew nearer to the pitch and showed no sign of slowing down. Hermione fisted her hands in the sides of her robe. Ginny elbowed Bill twice.
"Is he feinting?" she asked in an attempted whisper that boomed across the stadium. About a meter from the pitch, Harry jerked the nose of his broom skyward. He spiraled safely up towards Ron. Calliope took a precious few seconds to react to Harry's exit. Her broom handle buried into the pitch. The other end rolled towards the ground, smashing Calliope directly into the grass. She didn't move. A blast form the referee's whistle sounded. The Beauxbatons coach, hospital matron, and Allegra ran onto the field.
"Are you getting called?" Alicia asked as the Hogwarts' team gathered in front of their scoring area. Harry almost tumbled off of his broom, courtesy of a pair of slaps on his back from the Weasley twins.
"Nah," Ron answered for Harry. "That was perfectly legal."
"And perfectly brilliant!" Angelina crowed. Harry stretched to peer around Angelina and the twins.
"Is she getting up?" he asked, nervously pushing his black hair off of his forehead.
"Harry, the point of the move is to incapacitate the other seeker! She's fairly incapacitated, so you did your job!" Katie insisted
"I feel bad," Harry said.
"Why did you do it then?" Ron questioned. Harry shrugged and pulled his glasses off of his face. He rubbed them furiously on his robe before shoving them back onto his nose to continue watching the proceedings on the field.
"She was annoying and I wanted to see if I could pull it off in a match," Harry admitted. "I didn't mean to kill her!"
"She's not dead!" Alicia said.
"If you don't catch the snitch now, Natalie is playing against Hufflepuff," George joked.
"That might not be a bad idea anyway. His girlfriend plays for Hufflepuff," Ron laughed. Harry glared at his friend.
"Look," Angelina said, pointing towards the ground. Her six teammates instantly turned to look where she pointed. The coach and nurse levitated Calliope's still body off of the edge of the pitch. A tiny blonde figure stood in the field pulling on an oversized Quidditch robe.
"They're playing Allegra!" The Weasley's chorused.
"Is she dead?" Harry asked, eyes following Calliope's floating form.
"Ask Allegra," Fred instructed. The beaters and chasers flew towards the center of the pitch while Harry headed up above the action. Allegra joined him shortly after the referee blew the whistle to resume play. The second year flew just alongside Harry.
"You broke both her arms, he nose and a couple of ribs," Allegra announced. "But she'll live."
"I'm sorry," Harry said. Allegra laughed; a rich bubbling sound.
"Don't be. That was a bloody brilliant piece of flying that Calliope would never be able to pull off!"
"But!" Harry began.
"No buts," Allegra objected. "It's all in the name of Quidditch! And besides, the injuries are nothing compared to the teasing she will endure from me!"
"Allegra!" Harry exclaimed. Allegra cracked a magnificent grin at the fifth year.
"Goal! Hogwarts! 90-30!" Bill shouted. Harry quickly scanned the field for the snitch.
"I've got a really random question," he finally announced.
"Yes?" Allegra asked.
"Brantley Granger? Where has he been since we've been here? I thought I'd see him at least once!" Harry said.
"Brantley fancies me. When he came back form summer vacation, he talked so much about you that some of the boys began to spread rumors that he fancied you. So when we found out you were going to be here, the boys began the rumors again and said if he could stay away from you, then they wouldn't tell me that he fancies me," Allegra explained.
"But you already know," Harry said, only half paying attention to the little girl so he could still watch out for the snitch.
"I'm friends with Braeden," Allegra said simply.
"Do you fancy Brantley?" Harry queried Allegra blushed a deep red and grinned at Harry, showing dimples in both cheeks.
"No," she said. "No one knows who I fancy."
"Tell me?" Harry jokingly requested.
"Promise not to tell anyone?" Allegra asked.
"Promise," Harry agreed. "Who would I tell anyway?"
"Ginny or Hermione, who would tell Braeden," Allegra explained.
"And then Braeden will tell the guy?" Harry guessed. Allegra nodded vigorously.
"110-40!" Ginny squealed.
"Luc," Allegra whispered.
"Luc as in Braeden's best friend who just scored Luc?" Harry asked.
"Jean Lucien Dumas," Allegra said. She glanced down at the curly haired chaser flying considerably below the pair.
"Isn't he, like your sister's age?" Harry questioned. Allegra smiled sheepishly.
"He's young to be a sixth year, just turned 16 in August. And I turned 13 on October 11th," She explained. "So the age difference isn't too bad. Maybe next year when I'm 14." Harry smiled over at the girl.
"120-40!" Bill roared.
"I don't know what his problem is!" Allegra insisted, looking down at Braeden. "Your chasers are good, but he's usually better than this. Maybe we should send Ginny back to England."
"You could still catch the snitch," Harry joked. The tiny golden ball still hadn't shown as much as a wing feather.
"If I flew against you, I would meet the same fate as Calliope!" Allegra squealed.
"140-40!" Ginny and Bill chorused. Beauxbatons students began filing out of the stands, tired of watching their school loose.
"Look!" Allegra squealed, pointing at Braeden's goals. Katie held the Quaffle and flew towards the keeper with Angelina several meters behind her. Katie prepared to take the shot but at the last second she tossed the Quaffle backwards over her head. Angelina caught the ball and Katie peeled out of the way. Braeden, completely confused by the disappearing quaffle and chaser, let the shot from Angelina sail past him into the right goal.
"Gio and Vieve might be able to do that, but two of our chasers? I really don't see that working for them!" Allegra said.
"The chasers have been playing together since they were your age," Harry supplied with a shrug.
"150-40!" Bill shouted. "With a beautiful goal by Angelina Johnson and an assist by Katie Bell!"
"Look again!" Allegra cried, pointing towards the center of the field. Luc held the Quaffle, racing towards Ron's goals. Fred cracked a bludger towards the chaser. The bludger struck Luc's shoulder. Fred immediately tore off towards Braeden after the second bludger. Luc dropped the Quaffle in his attempt to stay on his broom. Alicia scooped up the ball and headed towards Braeden. Just outside the scoring area, she attempted to fake Braeden and threw the ball off to her right at the flash of green she barely noticed. Fred sensed the Quaffle moments before it hit him. Thinking the ball was a bludger, he smashed it with his bat. The ball ripped through the right goal, raising Hogwarts score to 160.
"Goal! Fred WEASLEY!" Ginny and Bill chorused, putting a little more emphasis than necessary on their last name.
BRAEDEN!" Allegra cried. Then she jabbered something in French that Harry couldn't understand at all.
"Fred's a reserve chaser," Harry supplied rather off-handedly. "It's not really surprising that he scored." Allegra leveled a glare on Harry, grey-blue eyes hardening to the color of cold steel. Harry shrugged. When he looked at the girl, he noticed a glimmer of golden wings just behind her left ear.
"Goal! Beauxbatons! That was a beautiful shot by Luc Dumas!" Bill exclaimed. At the sound of her crush's name, Allegra spun to look over her right shoulder at the action. Harry took the several second opportunity to snatch the snitch away from the girl's head. He held the tiny ball over his head in a victorious wave and began a slow descent to the pitch.
"LOOK!" Ginny squealed. "Harry's got the snitch!" The referee noticed around the same time Ginny did, and blew his whistle to end the game.
*****
"Absolutely brilliant, guys!" Luc said, flinging himself onto the couch between Marius and Allegra. "Where's Braeden?"
"He's not here," Fred replied. Madame Maxime, as a special treat, had put charms on all the children so that no matter what language was spoken, the listener heard it in the language they thought in. The charm had proved useful for everyone but Braeden, who thought half in French, half in English. This caused his friends to sound like they were speaking in whichever language he was thinking at the time. After his charm had been removed, the D'Angelo twins began speaking Italian and Angelina threw in the occasional bit of Spanish solely to confuse Braeden. Shortly after that, Braeden and Ginny left for the rose garden.
"Ginny?" Luc asked. The entire group nodded. Luc ran a hand over his curls. They were still damp from his shower.
"I just have one question," Genevieve declared. "Where did you all learn to play like that?" The three chasers all looked at each other. Katie and George curled in the armchair across from the one Alicia and Angelina shared.
"They've been playing together since they were second years!" Allegra piped up. Every eye turned to her.
"I told her," Harry finally explained from his spot on the floor.
"So you did nothing but talk to the other seeker when we let you play!" Luc exclaimed. Allegra shrugged.
"At least I didn't fall for any trick flying," she insisted. Harry scowled at her while everyone else laughed.
"Harry man, that was brilliant flying," Marius said.
"Brilliant," Genevieve agreed. Harry's cheeks turned a pale pink color and he shrugged. Ron cuffed the back of his head.
"It was great and you know it!" he said.
"Isn't he adorable?" Genevieve squealed, looking directly at Harry.
"Shall I have mum order you one for your birthday then?" Giovanni asked.
"Sorry guys, I'm an original," Harry laughed, "One of a kind."
"Certainly some American corporation has latched onto the idea of the teenage savior of the wizarding world and made a doll or a book or something," Giovanni insisted.
"Do the sidekicks get dolls too?" Hermione questioned. Ron poked her hard in her ribs.
"They'd be ACTION FIGURES!" he hissed.
"Certainly," Giovanni agreed. Genevieve bounced in her seat next to him.
"Ooooh!" she squealed. "I want the complete set!"
"I'll tell mum," Giovanni laughed.
"I bet they've even thought of a way to pass the stories off as make believe and market them to muggles!" Marius insisted.
"Think of the galleons!" Luc cried. Allegra jerked an elbow playfully into his ribs.
"And raise your hand if you've been studying businesses or the USA in Muggle Studies!" she commanded. Luc, Marius, Giovanni and Genevieve all raised their hands. Allegra smiled proudly at the Hogwarts students. "Aren't they smart?" she asked. The Hogwarts students all laughed while the four Beauxbatons students glared at the little girl.
"Does anyone agree that Little Miss Lestat needs to meet Little Miss Malfoy?" Ron asked. Harry, Hermione and the twins all nodded.
"Little Miss Malfoy. As in the guy my sister wants' little sister?" Allegra asked.
"Yes," George replied. "Only she's one of the coolest kids ever. Nothing like her brother at all." Ron, Harry and Hermione all raised eyebrows at George.
"Don't be too sure about that," Harry laughed. "But Astrid is a really cool kid, unlike her brother." George looked sufficiently confused, but no one would tell him anything.
"Guys! Come on! We've got 2 minutes until the port key leaves!" Bill shouted. The entire Hogwarts delegation jumped to their feet.
"Bye guys, it was nice meeting you!" Harry cried as he headed for the door. The students already had their luggage shrunk and in their pockets.
"Nice meeting you too!" Luc called. Genevieve sprang to her feet and hastily hugged all three chasers.
"Don't forget to owl," she reminded no one in particular.
"Hey Harry!" Allegra screeched. She held a quill and parchment out in front of her. The fifth year stopped and turned to look at the girl.
"Can I have your autograph?" she asked sheepishly. "So when you get to be famous I can say I knew you when."
"He already IS famous, dolt," Luc insisted. Allegra shrugged.
"I want to terrorize Brantley too," she admitted, smiling sweetly up at the older boy. Harry scribbled a quick Harry James Potter on Allegra's parchment and handed it back to her.
"Bye guys!" he called, and he ran after his friends who were already close to halfway out of the castle
"Gather round," Oliver commanded, as soon as the eight spilled out of the castle gate. Malfoy and Sanguinis waited across from Bella and Tonks. Ginny and Braeden stood just next to the gate, wrapped in each others arms. Braeden's cheek rested on Ginny's forehead. She had her face buried in his chest.
Oliver held out a shoe directly in front of him.
"Do we have to travel attached to Malfoy again?" George asked. Malfoy paled, if that was possible, and stepped back from the portkey. Bill pulled out his wand and fired three spells at the three boys. The twins found themselves in a similar position to the one they had held the other day, with a very unhappy Malfoy trapped in between them. Sanguinis, Bella, Tonks, the chasers and Hermione all moved in to take hold of the portkey with Bill and Oliver. Harry, Ginny and Ron remained.
"Come on Ginny," Bill said. "Let go of Braeden and grab the portkey. As much as you'd like being left here, I think mum would have my head on a platter if I left you." Ginny looked away from Braeden's chest long enough to glare at her older brother. Ron stepped in and took an edge of the portkey next to Hermione. Harry took a deep breath and stepped in between Ron and Hermione. He and Hermione faced each other and he stood with his back to Ron. Ron and Hermione exchanged a look over Harry's head. Hermione reached over and squeezed his free hand lightly with hers. He wrapped his hand around hers and smiled gratefully down at her.
"COME ON GINNY!" Bill cried. Suddenly, the group felt the familiar hooking sensation behind their navels and they were pulled forward. Harry felt something tugging at his foot. He kicked ferociously to try to shake it off. The team, their coach, professors, and staff fell into a pile just outside the Hogwarts front gates.
"Ginny!" Bill screeched. He scrambled to his feet and looked down at the pile of people lying on the ground. Sanguinis hovered about half of a meter above Malfoy, due to the cushioning charm Bill had placed on the boy.
"Ginny!" Bill said again.
"Yes?" Ginny asked, looking up at her older brother.
"I thought we'd left you! You weren't holding on to the portkey when it took off!" Bill scolded.
"Wow, you know you look a lot like mum when you do that?" Fred asked. Bill glared down at his younger brother.
"I wasn't holding on to the portkey but I dived and grabbed Harry's foot just as you all disappeared," Ginny laughed.
"So that's what it was!" Harry cried.
"Yes. And he tried to kick me off. I would have been lost in portkey nowhere land for forever!" Ginny squealed. Ron and Hermione both glared at Ginny.
"Sorry Harry," Ginny continued. "But yours was the closest foot I saw, or I would have grabbed Ron's." Harry smiled at the younger girl.
"Its okay," he said. Only then did he realize that he and Hermione were still holding hands.
"Congratulations on your astounding victory over Beauxbatons," said a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see Dumbledore standing between the open gates. Harry stood up and pulled Hermione to her feet before dropping her hand. "I will ask that you all head back to your houses now. I do believe the whole of Gryffindor anxiously awaits their team." The rest of the team struggled to stand.
"And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Wood and Miss Tonks, I will show you to your rooms." With that, Dumbledore turned and pointed to the carriages that were waiting to carry them back to the school.
*****
"PARTY!!!!!!!" Fred Weasley shouted as he tore into the Gryffindor common room. His arms were loaded with snacks, while George carried a crate of butter beer. The rest of the team and Hermione entered the room a bit more calmly.
"RONHARRYANDHERMIONE!" a very high-pitched voice shrieked. A blonde- haired blur sped across the common room and launched herself at Ron.
"Hello to you too, Astrid," Ron laugh as he caught the little girl. She wrapped her legs around him just above his hips and leaned away from him. He locked his arms around the small of her back so she could effectively sit back and look at him while still being held.
"What have we missed since we've been gone?" Hermione asked. Astrid motioned Hermione and Harry to draw closer to Ron.
"Madame Pomfrey, Professor Snape, and Dumbledore have come up with something new that they're quite certain will make Draco all better," she announced proudly. Ron rolled his eyes, but the girl didn't see.
"That's great, Astrid," Hermione said, though the smile on her face was quite forced. Harry refrained from commenting
"I heard you all kicked Beauxbatons arse!" she said. Harry and Ron nodded enthusiastically.
"I got to play!" Ron said.
"Guiny sucked that badly?" Astrid questioned.
"Guiny?" Ron said.
"Sanguinis," Astrid corrected herself.
"He sucked so badly in practice that Ron got to play the entire match!" Harry explained. Astrid smiled broadly and threw her arms around Ron's neck.
"That's awesome!" she squealed.
"That was my ear drum," Ron muttered.
"Now, lets go get some snacks then you can come tell me and Sawyer and Jason and Dennis and Nathan all about the match!" Astrid said. Ron didn't bother to put the girl down. She scrambled around and attached herself to his back.
"Go," she commanded. Ron began walking towards the snack table.
"Looks like someone's happy to see the other," Hermione muttered.
"And I'm not sure who is happier," Harry replied.
"Me either," Hermione laughed. With that, they followed their friends to the snack table.
*****
Draco stepped through the door into the Slytherin common room. The room was empty, save a second year asleep on his potions homework in the corner. Draco looked at the clock on the wall. 11:30, Saturday night.
"They're all either asleep, in Hogsmeade, or causing trouble somewhere," he thought to himself. He sank into an armchair close to the fire and pulled his bag from his pocket with his good arm. He enlarged it and pulled out a small bottle of potion. His right arm was throbbing severely under the cast. He popped the lid off of the bottle of potion and slowly drank it. As he drank, he got the odd feeling that someone was watching him.
"Seems as though you'd be afraid of doing that now," a silky female voice issued from the shadows behind him. Draco quickly dropped the empty potions bottle and spun to look at the owner of the voice. He didn't see anyone.
"Borgin," he said, quietly, hoping this would get the person to show herself.
"Malfoy," the girl replied. He sensed a movement behind him and suddenly the chair across from his was occupied. The occupant was female. About 176 centimeters tall, she was skinny, and looked positively folded into her chair. She sat with her long legs and purple skirts tucked under her, leaning gracefully on her right arm. Her waist length chocolate brown hair hung in a thick braid over her left shoulder. She had a slim face, with a thin nose, and a small but full mouth. Even in mid-February, she was tan. Her eyes were shaped like a cat's, but were a dark chocolate brown color with flecks of gold throughout. She blinked her strange eyes twice at Draco and adjusted one of the hammered gold bangles that decorated her left wrist.
"What do you want?" Draco asked. He sat up straighter in his chair and gripped the armrest tightly with his left hand. To say the girl made him uncomfortable was a bit of an understatement.
"I don't think it's what I want," the girl replied. "It's what you want."
"Cut the shit, Contessa," Draco spat. He held his injured arm closer to his stomach. The girl shrugged, a smooth movement that Draco barely noticed.
"Don't you want to know who tried to kill you?" she asked, offering an odd half smile to her companion.
"Do you know?" Draco asked, still wary of the girl.
"I can find out," Contessa replied.
"Will you?" Draco asked.
"For a price," Contessa said, mouth pulling into a full smile.
"What can you do that I can't?" Draco asked, "I'll find out eventually."
"Yes Draco, eventually." The cat-eyes blinked again. "But will eventually be soon enough to prevent it from happening again?" Draco looked down at his feet for a brief moment before returning his gaze to Contessa.
"How quickly do you think you can do it?" Draco asked. Contessa pulled at the neckline of her purple shirt and shrugged again.
"You can't rush art," she replied.
"Art?" Draco questioned.
"Art," Contessa agreed. "My magic is an art, and art takes time. But even factoring that in, I'm sure I can figure it out quicker than you can." Draco nodded. He had noticed over the years that the girl had a knack for staying invisible until she wanted to be seen. In fact, not many people knew she existed.
"Name your price," he said finally. Contessa smiled slyly. The smile unnerved Draco in an extreme way. Contessa pulled a parchment out of the folds of her skirt and tossed it to Draco. He caught it, unfolded it, and read it quickly.
"Books?" he asked.
"Books," Contessa agreed. "Your father has the only known copies in all of England and I need them."
"Why?" Draco asked. "Can't your father get them through his shop?"
"No," Contessa said. "And don't question my motives."
"I may not be able to pay until after the summer holidays," Draco said.
"That is fine. I will give you a year to pay, as I understand my payment is quite large. If you do not pay, you do not want to imagine what I will do to you. Do you accept the offer?" Draco gulped.
"Yes," he finally said. Contessa slid to her feet in a motion Draco barely noticed. He stood too. She held out her hand. Long purple fingernails sparkled on the ends of her thin fingers. Draco shook her hand awkwardly with his left.
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Malfoy," she said. Then she turned on her heel and slid back into the shadows with only the pat of her shoes on the floor and the swish of her skirts.