Chapter 12: Quidditch
As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Harry would be playing his first match after two weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second plae in the House championship. Besides the new seeker, Gryffindor suddenly had a new chaser: Erin. It was only temporary, as Angelina Johnson had injured her arm during Transfiguration. "Do you know how to play?" asked Oliver Wood hopefully. Erin nodded. "Good." Hermione, meanwhile, had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry, Ron, Lexine, Kay and Erin had rescued her from the Mountain Troll on Halloween and was much nicer for it. The day before Harry and Erin's first match the five of them were out in the six of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break and Hermione had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar. They were standing with their backs to it getting warm when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed that Snape was limping. They moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye and he limped over. "What have you got there Potter?" he asked. Kay straightened up as Harry showed Snape his copy of QUIDDITCH THROUGH THE AGES. "Library books are not to be taken outside the school," Snape snarled. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor." Snape took the book and started to walk away when: "HEY!" He turned to see the psi-mage coming towards him and glared at her. "What?" he snapped. Kay folded her arms. "Is being an asshole natural for you or do you have to practice? Because you know-practice makes perfect!" She grinned at the horrified expression on the Professor's face and used it to her advantage. She took the book back and gave it to Harry. "Now I suggest you leave, PROFESSOR, or you'll be asking for it." Snape gave the girl a "HA!" before stalking away. When Snape was gone Ron burst out laughing. "That was brilliant as usual." He said. Harry smiled. "Thanks, Kay!" he said as he held the book. Kay put her hands on his shoulders and looked Harry in the eye. "If Snape gives you any more trouble, Harry, you come right to me. Okay?" Harry nodded. "I will."
The next morning, Harry and Erin sat at the Gryffindor table trying very hard to eat but their stomachs did not seem to be cooperating. "You two have to eat something." Said Hermione. Kay took a piece of toast and held it in front of Erin. "Eat." The psi-mage encouraged. "I'm not hungry." Erin mumbled.
When breakfast was over, Harry led Erin to the Quidditch locker room. On the way he explained the rules of the game to her and when they arrived Oliver Wood was there getting the equipment ready. "Good morning Harry- Erin." They nodded. "Do you need to borrow a broom?" Wood asked. "Um- Professor McGonagall lent me one of the Cleansweep Sevens." "Cool." Soon after the rest of the team arrived. Wood then gave them all a pep talk. "Erin's only a temporary back up for Angelina," Wood explained when he noticed the confused looks on the rest of the team members. "Where exactly are you from?" asked Katie Bell, frowning. "America," Erin replied. (and another world, she added silently to herself.) Suddenly they could hear the shouts and laughter from the crowd entering the stands. Wood gave them all the 'thumbs-up' sign and turned to face the door of the locker room that led to the field. "Nervous, Harry?" Wood whispered. "A little." "Don't worry. I was nervous too before my first match." Harry looked at Oliver. "What happened?" "I uh-I can't quite remember. Took a bludger to the head two minutes in. Woke up in the hospital a week later." Erin gulped. Then they heard the commentary given by Lee Jordan: "GOOD MORNING! WELCOME TO THE FIRST QUIDDITCH MATCH OF THE SEASON! SLYTHERIN VERSUS GRYFFINDOR!" The door to the locker room opened and Erin mounted her broom, zooming out and up into the air. She did a lap around the field feeling adrenaline kicking in. When she reached the section Kay, Lexine, Hermione and Ron were in, she heard Kay shouting: "IT'S ERIN-CHAN! HI ERIN-CHAN!" Lexine whistled loudly and jumped up and down waving a small Gryffindor flag in the air. Suddenly Kay's lips broke into an evil smile and she touched her finger tips together. "He heheheheheheheh." Lexine looked at the psi-mage and before she could do anything Kay scampered to the top of the bleechers and hovered. "Erin-chan." Kay waited till Erin was halfway to her section again when ZAP a big red stop sign appeared out of nowhere. SCREEEEECH! Erin pulled her broom to a stop only to vbe knocked into as a result by Fred and George Weasley. They remained at a stop waiting with confused looks on their faces. Kay raised a finger and ZAP "Green light!" Kay cried. Lee Jordan from the teacher's box began speaking again. "ALL RIGHT THEN! AFTER A BIT OF TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY, LET THE GAME BEGIN!" Madame Hooch stepped onto the field and looked up. "Now I want a nice fair game," she said in a warning tone. "From ALL of you." She released the Quaffel and the bludgers and the game was on! Erin shot after the Quaffel feeling the wind blow through her ponytail and she did her best to escape the Slytherin chasers who were trying to knock into her and distract her. Suddenly another red stop sign appeared in front of Katie Bell and George Weasley just as a bluder headed right towards Erin. "Ahhhhh!" she cried, ducking low as it flew over her head. "Green light!" Erin grabbed hold of the Quaffel and shot towards the goal post, getting the first ten points for Gryffindor. "Yes!" said Harry. Just as Fred was about to whack one of the bludgers a red stop sign appeared in front of him and Geroge nearly knocked him off of his broomstick. "Damn!" Fred snapped as the light turned to green. Kay sat giggling evily in her position when THUMP. "Owwwww!" she slowly turned sideways to look at Hagrid who had just arrived. "I knew yeh were up the no good. Yeh let those kids alone!" Kay blew raspberries at him. THUMP. "Ow! God doh friggen piece of.gasp" Hagrid lifted Kay into the air once again by the hood of her sweatshirt and brought her back to stand with Lexine, Ron and Hermione. Almost immediately after Hagrid had brought Kay back to her seat, Harry's broomstick began to go haywire. "What's going on?" Hermione cried as the broomstick took the role of a bucking broncho. Lexine leaned out over the rail as Ron handed Hermione the binoculars. She looked towards the teacher's box and saw an astonishing sight. "Snape! He's jinxing the broom!" Ron's eyes grew very wide. "Jinxing the broom!" he cried. "What do we do?" "I'll see what I can do." Lexine suddenly sprouted enormous white angel-type wings (in the process knocking over Seamus Finnigan who had been on the bleacher behind her. "Sorry about that!" Lexine apologized as she soared into the air receiving gasps of "Oooh" and "Ahhh!" She flew right for Harry who was now hanging from the broomstick by one hand. Lexine tried to hold the broomstick steady so that Harry could at least climb up and sit on the broomstick. Meanwhile, Hermione had hurried off and went underneath the bleachers to try and stop Snape. Eventually she set fire to Snape's cloak causing him to whirl around. Then Harry's broom remained still in the air giving him just enough time to hop back onto it. "Go go go!" Hagrid yelled as he zoomed off once again. Eventually he caught sight of the Snitch and hurried after it. Kay saw it as well and when she saw the Slytherin captain Marcus Flint heading in her direction, she pointed the other way. "It went that way." Flint zoomed off and Kay saw Harry searching for it. She used her powers to keep the Snitch still and tossed it in the opposite direction of Flint. "Hey Harry!" she hissed. "Yo Potter!" Harry looked at her in confusion. "It went that way!" Harry took off after the Snitch. He was varely at it when Flint aimed for him. A moment later he was going down, down- "Oh my God.he's gonna throw up!" Lexine gasped. Kay held her breath before saying "Do you NEED medical assistance? I'm semi-CPR-certified." she looked around her and realized all of the students were giving her strange looks. She slowly pulled her hood over her face. Harry suddenly coughed and spit the Snitch into his hand. He held it up and Jordan cried "HARRY POTTER HAS THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR RECIEVES 150 POINTS!" Madame Pomfrey blew her whistle and shouted "GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor stands.Lexine and Kay were hugging and jumping around in circles cheering as well. In the midst of all the commotion around him, Harry noticed Snape walking away from the Quidditch field towards the Forbidden Forest. When the rest of the team headed towards the locker room to get out of their robes, Harry followed in Snape's wake to see what he was up to.
As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Harry would be playing his first match after two weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second plae in the House championship. Besides the new seeker, Gryffindor suddenly had a new chaser: Erin. It was only temporary, as Angelina Johnson had injured her arm during Transfiguration. "Do you know how to play?" asked Oliver Wood hopefully. Erin nodded. "Good." Hermione, meanwhile, had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry, Ron, Lexine, Kay and Erin had rescued her from the Mountain Troll on Halloween and was much nicer for it. The day before Harry and Erin's first match the five of them were out in the six of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break and Hermione had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar. They were standing with their backs to it getting warm when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed that Snape was limping. They moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye and he limped over. "What have you got there Potter?" he asked. Kay straightened up as Harry showed Snape his copy of QUIDDITCH THROUGH THE AGES. "Library books are not to be taken outside the school," Snape snarled. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor." Snape took the book and started to walk away when: "HEY!" He turned to see the psi-mage coming towards him and glared at her. "What?" he snapped. Kay folded her arms. "Is being an asshole natural for you or do you have to practice? Because you know-practice makes perfect!" She grinned at the horrified expression on the Professor's face and used it to her advantage. She took the book back and gave it to Harry. "Now I suggest you leave, PROFESSOR, or you'll be asking for it." Snape gave the girl a "HA!" before stalking away. When Snape was gone Ron burst out laughing. "That was brilliant as usual." He said. Harry smiled. "Thanks, Kay!" he said as he held the book. Kay put her hands on his shoulders and looked Harry in the eye. "If Snape gives you any more trouble, Harry, you come right to me. Okay?" Harry nodded. "I will."
The next morning, Harry and Erin sat at the Gryffindor table trying very hard to eat but their stomachs did not seem to be cooperating. "You two have to eat something." Said Hermione. Kay took a piece of toast and held it in front of Erin. "Eat." The psi-mage encouraged. "I'm not hungry." Erin mumbled.
When breakfast was over, Harry led Erin to the Quidditch locker room. On the way he explained the rules of the game to her and when they arrived Oliver Wood was there getting the equipment ready. "Good morning Harry- Erin." They nodded. "Do you need to borrow a broom?" Wood asked. "Um- Professor McGonagall lent me one of the Cleansweep Sevens." "Cool." Soon after the rest of the team arrived. Wood then gave them all a pep talk. "Erin's only a temporary back up for Angelina," Wood explained when he noticed the confused looks on the rest of the team members. "Where exactly are you from?" asked Katie Bell, frowning. "America," Erin replied. (and another world, she added silently to herself.) Suddenly they could hear the shouts and laughter from the crowd entering the stands. Wood gave them all the 'thumbs-up' sign and turned to face the door of the locker room that led to the field. "Nervous, Harry?" Wood whispered. "A little." "Don't worry. I was nervous too before my first match." Harry looked at Oliver. "What happened?" "I uh-I can't quite remember. Took a bludger to the head two minutes in. Woke up in the hospital a week later." Erin gulped. Then they heard the commentary given by Lee Jordan: "GOOD MORNING! WELCOME TO THE FIRST QUIDDITCH MATCH OF THE SEASON! SLYTHERIN VERSUS GRYFFINDOR!" The door to the locker room opened and Erin mounted her broom, zooming out and up into the air. She did a lap around the field feeling adrenaline kicking in. When she reached the section Kay, Lexine, Hermione and Ron were in, she heard Kay shouting: "IT'S ERIN-CHAN! HI ERIN-CHAN!" Lexine whistled loudly and jumped up and down waving a small Gryffindor flag in the air. Suddenly Kay's lips broke into an evil smile and she touched her finger tips together. "He heheheheheheheh." Lexine looked at the psi-mage and before she could do anything Kay scampered to the top of the bleechers and hovered. "Erin-chan." Kay waited till Erin was halfway to her section again when ZAP a big red stop sign appeared out of nowhere. SCREEEEECH! Erin pulled her broom to a stop only to vbe knocked into as a result by Fred and George Weasley. They remained at a stop waiting with confused looks on their faces. Kay raised a finger and ZAP "Green light!" Kay cried. Lee Jordan from the teacher's box began speaking again. "ALL RIGHT THEN! AFTER A BIT OF TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY, LET THE GAME BEGIN!" Madame Hooch stepped onto the field and looked up. "Now I want a nice fair game," she said in a warning tone. "From ALL of you." She released the Quaffel and the bludgers and the game was on! Erin shot after the Quaffel feeling the wind blow through her ponytail and she did her best to escape the Slytherin chasers who were trying to knock into her and distract her. Suddenly another red stop sign appeared in front of Katie Bell and George Weasley just as a bluder headed right towards Erin. "Ahhhhh!" she cried, ducking low as it flew over her head. "Green light!" Erin grabbed hold of the Quaffel and shot towards the goal post, getting the first ten points for Gryffindor. "Yes!" said Harry. Just as Fred was about to whack one of the bludgers a red stop sign appeared in front of him and Geroge nearly knocked him off of his broomstick. "Damn!" Fred snapped as the light turned to green. Kay sat giggling evily in her position when THUMP. "Owwwww!" she slowly turned sideways to look at Hagrid who had just arrived. "I knew yeh were up the no good. Yeh let those kids alone!" Kay blew raspberries at him. THUMP. "Ow! God doh friggen piece of.gasp" Hagrid lifted Kay into the air once again by the hood of her sweatshirt and brought her back to stand with Lexine, Ron and Hermione. Almost immediately after Hagrid had brought Kay back to her seat, Harry's broomstick began to go haywire. "What's going on?" Hermione cried as the broomstick took the role of a bucking broncho. Lexine leaned out over the rail as Ron handed Hermione the binoculars. She looked towards the teacher's box and saw an astonishing sight. "Snape! He's jinxing the broom!" Ron's eyes grew very wide. "Jinxing the broom!" he cried. "What do we do?" "I'll see what I can do." Lexine suddenly sprouted enormous white angel-type wings (in the process knocking over Seamus Finnigan who had been on the bleacher behind her. "Sorry about that!" Lexine apologized as she soared into the air receiving gasps of "Oooh" and "Ahhh!" She flew right for Harry who was now hanging from the broomstick by one hand. Lexine tried to hold the broomstick steady so that Harry could at least climb up and sit on the broomstick. Meanwhile, Hermione had hurried off and went underneath the bleachers to try and stop Snape. Eventually she set fire to Snape's cloak causing him to whirl around. Then Harry's broom remained still in the air giving him just enough time to hop back onto it. "Go go go!" Hagrid yelled as he zoomed off once again. Eventually he caught sight of the Snitch and hurried after it. Kay saw it as well and when she saw the Slytherin captain Marcus Flint heading in her direction, she pointed the other way. "It went that way." Flint zoomed off and Kay saw Harry searching for it. She used her powers to keep the Snitch still and tossed it in the opposite direction of Flint. "Hey Harry!" she hissed. "Yo Potter!" Harry looked at her in confusion. "It went that way!" Harry took off after the Snitch. He was varely at it when Flint aimed for him. A moment later he was going down, down- "Oh my God.he's gonna throw up!" Lexine gasped. Kay held her breath before saying "Do you NEED medical assistance? I'm semi-CPR-certified." she looked around her and realized all of the students were giving her strange looks. She slowly pulled her hood over her face. Harry suddenly coughed and spit the Snitch into his hand. He held it up and Jordan cried "HARRY POTTER HAS THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR RECIEVES 150 POINTS!" Madame Pomfrey blew her whistle and shouted "GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor stands.Lexine and Kay were hugging and jumping around in circles cheering as well. In the midst of all the commotion around him, Harry noticed Snape walking away from the Quidditch field towards the Forbidden Forest. When the rest of the team headed towards the locker room to get out of their robes, Harry followed in Snape's wake to see what he was up to.