Chapter Nine – Between Here and Perdition

"Hey, guys. Look at this… The final point tallies before the last two games." Brad held out a sheet on which he'd hastily scrawled down some numbers. "This is with penalty corrections and such per house, and it's final as of now."

"So Ravenclaw is in the lead," Cory said, taking the paper. "But Gryffindor isn't too far behind us, and they'll win against Hufflepuff tomorrow. That'll put us in third going in against Ravenclaw."

"Well, technically, point wise," Brad said. "And then we'd need another hundred points just to tie Ravenclaw… How'd they get so far ahead?"

"Are you kidding?" Green leaned forward in his armchair, reaching toward the table and grabbing the sheet so he could take a look at it, too. "Ravenclaw's last game against Hufflepuff, remember? It was a total massacre."

The others nodded, murmuring their remembrance. Even if the Hufflepuff Seeker had been successful in catching two Snitches, they still would have lost badly. As it was, not only did Ravenclaw get all the points, but their Seeker was victorious in the end.

"If only Hufflepuff could have held them a little," Kylee said, fanning herself a bit with a book cover. The common room was incredibly hot. Too hot for so early in the spring. None of the students were actually in their dorms, since it was actually cooler in the common room than in was anywhere else in the House.

"That's what you get with so many of 'em on a team," Green stated matter-of-factly. "They just ruin it for the people that actually have a right to play the game."

Alexia rolled her eyes. "Muggle-borns have just as much right to try to play Quidditch as you or I," she said icily.

Ryan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye… She wasn't exactly a Muggle-Lover, but the fact was, everyone was getting tired of Green's sudden and blatant attacks on students that weren't pure-blooded. Ryan knew why… He was still angry with Anna. Over the course of the past month, he'd tried everything to reconcile them, from more letters to messing up Quidditch schedules so Slytherin and Ravenclaw had the pitch at the same time… It was terrible. They were both as stubborn as they could possibly be.

"Right, so. Anyway." Brad was always good at interrupting tense situations… True, he tended to ignore matters he considered unimportant, but he definitely had a way of bringing people back on task. "Let's say Gryffindor wins the game. That'll put them way ahead where points are concerned. We may have to make sure we have a certain number of goals before Kylee gets the Snitch."

"We'll have to wait and see," Luc said. "There's no point in getting worked up over a score that hasn't even happened yet."

"We'll just have to hold off their Seeker," Kylee muttered. "I mean, there's a bunch of things I haven't done yet, like… You know. Feints and such. He'll catch on eventually, so I'll have to be careful…"

Ryan noticed she looked quite pale; more than usual anyway. Then again, she never really was well in the conventional sense. Perhaps she was just nervous about the game. Alternatively, Ryan could have just been imagining things. That was entirely possible. Still, Kylee looked excited, and her enthusiasm was catching.

"Now that we have all the chasers back, I bet we can score plenty to get past Gryffindor," Ryan said. "Seriously, even if Gryffindor gets over two-hundred points in the match, we just need to get one step in front of them. That's all we gotta keep thinking. One more step."

"I'll score my share of goals," Alexia said. "And I know Green will. There's nothin' to worry about, Brad. It'll be tough, but we can do it. All you and Luc have to do is keep the Bludgers off us and let us do our job."

Ryan glanced at Brad. He actually looked surprised that everyone was taking the meeting seriously. "Well, then," the captain said. "The whole of it is, we've only lost one game this year. I don't think we'll lose against Ravenclaw, but we also have to watch our points carefully. That said, it's about time we got down to the Pitch for practice."

Everyone groaned.

Brad laughed. "Ah, now that's more like it. I was afraid you were all getting too agreeable on me."

---

The next day, the Slytherin team got to the Pitch as early as possible to secure a good seat in the stands. Technically, they would be rooting for Hufflepuff, but only because they didn't want to see Gryffindor scoring an obscene number of points. The sooner the game ended, the better, because as more time passed, more goals could be scored.

Kylee was actually wrapped in a light jacket despite the warmth. At one point, Brad asked her if she was alright, but she only responded with a smile, and a sarcastic remark that even Ryan would have been proud of. She was tenacious, that much was for certain, and there was no mistaking why she was placed in the house she was in.

When Alexia finally arrived a couple minutes after the others, she was looking somewhat worried herself. Brad turned to her, earnestly hoping she wasn't coming down with anything. With Kylee not feeling one-hundred percent, he couldn't afford to have a Chaser down, too.

"Did you find out anything?" Green asked, watching the Pitch as the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs got in their last practice. Brad looked at Alexia suspiciously as Cory idly picked a black feather out of her hair.

"…Yeah, before they saw me, that is. I don't know if they knew it was me or not, but I got out of there as fast as I could." She smoothed her gold and black sweatshirt down a bit – out of everyone on the team, she was the only one visibly supporting Hufflepuff. The rest were wearing Slytherin colors.

Brad rolled his eyes. "It's bad enough that we've been spying on the other teams at all, but I have to draw the line at sneaking up on them when they can't clearly see that it's you." He looked around, making sure any authority figures that happened to be in the area would have heard the admonishment. His duty as a captain done, he turned back toward the others, whispering now. "…So, what did you find out?"

"Well, they apparently brought in a coach for a day last weekend." Alexia said quietly, looking out toward the field as one of Gryffindor's chasers easily put a Quaffle through a ring. It was only practice, but it was an impressive shot. "Anyway, they have all these moves they're all excited about trying."

"Complicating matters if you ask me," Lucas drawled, boredly. "They're not professionals. They can't possibly be able to take in everything that a coach could tell them… Let alone in one day."

The other students were starting to file into the stands now. Gryffindor was first again, as usual. They seemed to think that showing up on the field first was somehow intimidating. At one point, one of the red-robed players on the field zoomed past the Slytherin stands, and Kylee leaned over to whisper to the others: "I think Weasley just flipped us off."

"Oh!" Alexia said, almost brightly. "I guess they figured out I was watching them over there, then."

Ryan merely wondered, "Can they get a penalty for that?"

It wasn't long at all before the game started. The Quaffle zoomed back and forth along the field, going through the Hufflepuff Keeper far more than in got past the Gryffindor Keeper. Still, Hufflepuff's Chasers were doing their job, and successfully defended several times. The problem was, they weren't scoring.

"At least it's not a near shut-out like the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw game was," Brad muttered. If Gryffindor were to get the Snitch, which was quite likely, as the Hufflepuff Seeker had only caught one the whole year, Slytherin would have a hard time catching up points-wise.

"Don't worry. We'll still get it." Ryan leaned over the guardrail a bit to watch the game as it continued near the far end of the field. "It'll only—Hey, what's going on down there?"

Brad leaned over the rail, too, along with the other Slytherins who were close enough to do so. The Hufflepuff Seeker was clutching one arm as if his life depended on it, while he hung upside-down from his broom by his legs. Brad wondered, "Is he hurt?"

Kylee chuckled. "No, look. Something's moving under his hand… I bet he's got the Snitch. The Plumpton Pass… He accidentally caught it up his sleeve."

And so he had. After Madam Hooch declared Hufflpuff to be the winner of the match, it became the only game Hufflepuff won all year.

It was possible that the only team more astonished than Gryffindor were the Hufflepuffs themselves. It actually took them a while to let loose a celebratory cheer that was echoed in the Hufflepuff House stands, as well as those of Ravenclaw, and, to a lesser degree, Slytherin. It had been a pretty short game by most standards – just under an hour long – but everyone was so astonished at the fact that Hufflepuff actually won a game, that no one really cared.

"Well, I think they deserved it," Alexia said as they all made their way back to the Castle. She had the yellow hood of the sweatshirt up over her head to show her support for the winners. "They're really good sportsmen, and they needed a win. It was a good end-of-the-year gift for them."

"And us," Ryan noted. "Because there's no way Gryffindor can win the cup now. They're only fifty points up on us, and that brings it all down to us and Ravenclaw. I mean, we can get fifty points in a game, easily."

"I told you that you were worrying too much," Lucas said, turning to Brad and smiling a little bit.

Brad actually looked happier than he had in days. Still, he found it in his ability to lecture the others about the upcoming Ravenclaw game. "We're not out of the woods yet. Last game of the year is this weekend, and we have to win it. I want that Quidditch cup!"

"We all do," Cory agreed. Alexia nodded.

"And we'll get it," Kylee offered.

Brad seemed almost apologetic for a moment before he said, "Practice, every day this week. We only have the Pitch on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but we can practice on the grounds a bit, too. Not with the Bludgers or Snitch, of course, since they need to be contained in the Pitch… But we can do some flying and passing."

For once, no one argued.

"Six o'clock sharp then, on Monday," Brad added as they went their separate ways. He stood in the entrance hall, watching for a moment as they all disbursed. He had a really good feeling about their final game, but his heart sank as he noticed Kylee heading off to the hospital wing.

---

The Big Day was looming over everyones' heads. Between practice and schoolwork, there wasn't a member of the Slytherin Quidditch team that wasn't exhausted. Still, they were all excited about the coming game, and nothing, not even exams, could dampen their spirits. They did need to take all the practice thy could get, though… There wasn't any other option. They had to be at their absolute best for the Ravenclaw game. Even though Gryffindor had lost, Ravenclaw was still up a hundred points.

Which is why when they walked onto the Pitch on Wednesday to see that there was a photography entourage waiting for them, Brad wasn't too pleased. By the look of things, the Ravenclaw team had just had their practice cut short by the photographer's arrival, as the captain was scowling fierce enough to kill something.

Brad headed over to the Ravenclaw team, holding out his hand to the captain. "Bradley Orff. Do you have any idea what these clowns want?"

The other captain, a black-haired, brown-eyed boy, shook Brad's hand and shrugged a bit. "I'm Cecil Andary. Apparently they're here to take our picture for the Prophet. Since this is the first year Hogwarts has played Quidditch in a while, they're putting the winning team on the front page."

Brad rolled his eyes. "They couldn't do that after the match?"

"Hey," Cecil said, "I'm right angry, too. They cut off our practice by a half hour. N' I'm sure it'll dig into yours a fair amount. I suppose it's at least fair in that respect, but it's bloody inconsiderate. We even tried to contact Professor Flitwick, but he said there wasn't much he could do about it. I suppose Dumbledore has his reasons for them bein' here."

"Right. Okay then. Sorry to interrupt." Brad headed back over to the other Slytherins. "Cecil over there says they're taking our picture for the Daily Prophet, and that they couldn't wait until after the match."

The others stared at him. Finally, Lucas spoke. "Likely they want to get it printed as soon as possible."

"Even so," Alexia said. "They're taking away from our practice."

"…And theirs," Kylee added. She watched as the photographer lined the Ravenclaws up and situated them for a good photo.

He said something like, "Alright then! Look happy, like you just won!" And while they all complied, they didn't actually look remarkably happy. They were just about to get up when the photographer's pudgy assistants returned to the pitch with a large, old-looking box. "Wait one minute before you go," the cameraman said. "I just want to get a shot of you with this…"

And he took the Quidditch cup out of the box.

"No Way!" Cecil and Brad said at nearly the same time. Cecil marched up to the photographer, making the frail older man step back a couple paces. "You can't take our picture with the cup. Out of the question."

"But… I don't understand," The man said. "Why not?"

"It's bad luck, that's why," Brad added, crossing his arms and shouting it from his position across the Pitch. "You just don't handle the cup before it's awarded. That's just how it is!"

The man looked suddenly indignant. "You'll take your picture with the cup, or we'll wait here until you do!"

Faced with the prospect of completely losing a practice session, Brad blanched. It didn't much matter for the Ravenclaws, but…

Anna whispered something to Cecil, and to Brad's surprise, Cecil said, "Fine. Nobody touch it."

The photographer set the cup up carefully on the grass, and everyone present became quiet… Almost reverent. No one touched it, and very few on the Ravenclaw team even looked at it for very long. The picture was taken, and the Ravenclaws hurried off the field, not looking back.

"Alright, guys. Let's get this over with," Brad said. He didn't look at the cup, either, and allowed the photographer to arrange them as he saw fit. He handed Alexia a Quaffle, and gave Brad one of the bats. Lucas held something that looked like a Bludger, but it had the enchantment taken off of it so it didn't move. Green was handed an old broom. Lastly, he set a Snitch in front of Kylee.

"That'll move when the picture's developed," the photographer explained.

Bored, Lucas drew his hood up over his head over and over again, until the photographer said, "Wait! Leave it there. That looks really hip. Gives a sort of dark feeling to you."

"…I'm not dark," Lucas grumbled. The photographer ignored him. Lucas left the hood in place.

Lastly, the assistants set the cup next to Kylee, and the photographer took her hand, and placed it on the side of the cup. Brad nearly jumped at her, but withheld himself with a muttered string of curse words and a sharp intake of breath.

"Okay, look happy!" The photographer instructed.

They tried their best, all except for Brad, who crossed his arms again and glared. Ryan was really the only one that could fake happy with any degree of success.

---

The weather held out until the next day, for which everyone was grateful. It was actually a little bit cooler, but for the purposes of playing the deciding Quidditch game, that was just fine. It was actually a night game as a special treat to the students, who would actually get to stay out on the castle grounds a little bit later than they otherwise were allowed. There were glowing orbs of light floating around the Pitch, conjured up by some of the staff prior to the match. They cast an interesting, almost warm glow, even though they were wholly intangible. The setting would have been serene, if not for the hundreds of cheering Quidditch fans.

Robed figures in blue and green hovered over the field, waiting for the Quaffle to enter play. The tension between the teams was so thick that even the crowd could feel it as Madam Hooch stepped onto the field… Their voices hushed as she tucked the Quaffle under her arm.

"Captains, shake hands," she said. Brad and Cecil met in the center of the field for the second time in as many days and exchanged a few words; perhaps of encouragement, perhaps something more unsportsmanlike… Lucas couldn't tell. He was too far back on the field already, keeping an eye out for the Bludgers, which had already been released.

He looked to Alexia, then Green and Ryan. They'd have to score if they wanted to stay in the game at all. They had a hundred points to cover, and that was just to tie. Kylee would have to get the Snitch, and Cory… Luc looked back at their Keeper. He appeared calm and confident, but that was possibly a show. As long as he kept the Quaffle out of the rings, everything would be well and good.

There was little doubt that everyone's hearts were hammering. The final game of the season, and it could actually go either way… If Kylee grabbed the Snitch fast enough, it could all be over, and Slytherin would hold the first Quidditch cup in almost a decade.

After what seemed hours, the Quaffle was in the air. Ravenclaw got it first, but Green intercepted a pass and tore off down the field toward the rings. Anna, however, was very much on her game, and stopped a beautiful shot. Taking the Quaffle, Ravenclaw made it all the way down the field before the play was broken up and they threw a shot too wide.

The play went back and forth like this for a long time until Cory finally let one through, and the score was ten to nothing in favor of the blue team.

The Slytherin chasers got it right back, though. In a pass spanning half the Pitch, Green got it to Alexia, who put it past Anna with ease. The two Seekers were almost completely forgotten amid the standoff that continued below them, until Lucas heard a shout from the Ravenclaw Seeker just above him.

He was pointing frantically to Kylee, who was barely hanging on to her broom with one hand, while her other hand clutched at her chest. She wasn't going to be able to hang on for too much longer. Lucas was hesitant to abandon his post in the air, but he was also adverse to allowing a teammate to fall off her broom; she was pretty high. If she hit the ground from that height, it wouldn't be pretty.

Making his decision, he tore off down the field, watching helplessly as her tenacity finally failed her and she lost her grip on the handle. The broom hovered there aimlessly, and it was only then that Luc noticed that the Ravenclaw player followed him down the field. While the Seeker went after the errant broom, Lucas dove after Kylee, catching her just a couple feet above the ground. The force knocked both of them backward, and Luc lay there breathless with Kylee, motionless on top of him.

He vaguely remembered Brad calling a time-out.

The medical team was hurrying onto the field.

Green-robed people were landing all around him.

As one of the nurses lifted Kylee onto a floating stretcher, Lucas said, "I don't think she's conscious…" Her face was so pale. Her eyes were closed.

And then she was gone, lost among the response team as they hurried her off toward the castle.