Chapter 14 – Quidditch Cup
It almost broke Liz's spirit to think her mother didn't want to reply to her. After sending letters for nearly three years, couldn't she spare just a bit more time to write one more letter? Apparently not. To distract herself from dwelling on it too much, Liz immersed herself in other things: mainly, Chris's lessons.
They had been doing lessons sprinkled throughout the school year. Sometimes Chris would do amazingly well, but sometimes he would cause a magical catastrophe to occur. It was becoming increasingly harder to hide these accidents from Hagrid, who had taken to occasionally glancing out the window at them during lengthier visits.
During one such lesson, the day before Chris's birthday sometime after mid- April, Chris was brewing a ridiculously simple Sleeping Potion, not unlike sleeping pills Muggles used when they were in dire need of a good night's rest. Maybe it was ridiculously simple for Liz, but Chris was breaking into sweat as he followed the directions, "Stir until frothy." Liz made sure her body blocked any glimpse of Chris Hagrid could get from his window.
"Liz?" Chris said suddenly. "Something's happening..."
The potion was bubbling beyond the point of froth. Rachel leaned her head over the potion, scrutinizing it. "Rachel," said Liz, "I don't think that's a very good—" Then a jet of potion hit Rachel squarely in the face. She was asleep instantly.
"Well, you made the potion right," Liz quipped, bending over her friend. "Rachel doesn't seem to have much luck with Potions, does she? First the Love Potion, and now this...Wake up, Rachel!"
Michael took Rachel by the shoulders and shook vigorously. This achieved nothing aside from Rachel's loud snore. She rolled over on her other side and curled up in the grass.
"This isn't working!" Liz cried out in frustration. "Urgh! Stupid potion!" Then she quickly looked up at Chris. "That didn't come out right. What I meant to say was—well, you know, I mean—"
"I know I did it wrong," said Chris.
"We'll work on that," said Michael, whipping out his wand. "Ennervate!"
Rachel didn't move.
"That works with Stunners, not potions," Liz told him, "which you'd know if you had been paying even one speck of attention in Charms."
"I do too pay attention in Charms. I'm just not devoted to it like you are." His voice turned high-pitched as he mimicked her. "Oh, Flitwick, please give me extra homework, please, I'd die without extra homework in Charms, or Herbology for that matter! Professor Longbottom gave me my own Fanged Geranium and I love it like a baby!"
"Oh, shut up," Liz grumbled. "All you say is Quidditch, Quidditch, duh, Quidditch!"
"Stop it!" said Chris. "We need to wake up Rachel before Hagrid sees."
Fortunately for them, Rachel sat up and stretched at that very moment. "'Morning," she said thickly. "What'd I miss?"
"Nothing you'd lament missing," said Liz. "Oh, hide the potion, Hagrid's coming!"
Michael stashed the potion behind a giant rock just before Hagrid reached them. "What were yeh doin' out here?" he asked suspiciously.
"I—I was making a potion," Rachel said quickly. "And they were watching."
"But I saw yeh lyin' in the grass," Hagrid said.
"It backfired in my face."
Hagrid nodded and let it go, though Liz could tell he still harbored some doubts about it. "It's getting' late. Time for you three ter go back." He turned and lumbered back toward his hut.
"Oh, before we go, happy birthday, Chris," said Liz, extending a present toward him. "I've probably given you something like it before, but I couldn't remember, so..." He took out a Magical History book. "Because wizard training is more than spells, you know? Hopefully, it's more interesting that listening to Binns. Bye, then."
Halfway back to the castle, Liz looked back to see he had opened the book. He had. With a small smile of satisfaction, she turned back around and continued on her way up to Hogwarts.
"Let's go GRYFFINDOR! Let's go GRYFFINDOR!"
"Shut it, will you, Michael?" Liz snapped irritably, glancing up from a large Ancient Runes book. "I'm trying to study. Professor Stickler is pulling a huge test on us tomorrow."
"So is Pumjy," said Rachel from behind the Defense Against the Dark Arts text. "But he seemed so afraid of the idea, I'm hoping he'll cancel."
"So please be quiet so we can concentrate," said Liz.
"But the day after that is the Quidditch Final," said Michael. "Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. Which reminds me, Liz, you haven't been to a match at all this year."
"And with good reason! Extra classes have devoured all my free time. I won't have a spare minute Saturday. You do remember Hagrid's giving an exam on Monday?"
"Must have slipped my mind," Michael said nonchalantly. "Come on, Liz, the bare minimum is one game a year, or you can't be worthy enough to call yourself a Gryffindor."
"Worthy? I am the top of the third-year. Don't get me started on worthy."
Michael persisted until Liz finally gave in. So it was that Liz was seen trudging along behind Rachel to the Quidditch pitch after Rachel had forced her to leave her bag in the common room.
"Come on, it's going to be exciting," said Rachel. "The Hufflepuff Seeker, Kathryn Hertel, is leaving at the end of next year, so this is her second to last season. Michael says she's the best since your dad, you know."
Liz cringed.
"Oh, sorry. Let's sit here."
Liz looked over and saw Bettie next to the seat Rachel had chosen, following someone out on the field with her eyes. "No, let's sit somewhere else," she said quickly. They found better seats closer to the field, where they could see more of the action.
"Is Hertel the Hufflepuff captain?" Liz asked.
"No, that's Eunice Horning, one of the Beaters. She's a seventh-year."
"How do you know that?"
"It comes from watching the games," Rachel said, the playful thrust directed at Liz's pride. "Come on, ask me anything."
"If only you could do that in school...all right, who's the other Beater?"
"Your friend David."
Panic seized Liz, who snapped her head toward the players warming up on the field. Sure enough, she spotted David's head among the group of yellow-clad players. So that was what Bettie had been looking at...
"Welcome to the Quidditch final, ladies and gents," said the commentator, a Gryffindor sixth-year named Josh Lepress. "Gryffindor and Hufflepuff duke it out for the championship today!"
The match passed in a blur for Liz. Though she watched Michael a couple of times, she mainly focused on David, who beat back the Bludgers with skillful ease. Who could ask for a better beater? Even though it was his first year on the team, he looked as though he had been doing it all his life. Every move he made, she followed; every time he redirected his broom, she noticed.
"You're absolutely infatuated with him, aren't you?" Rachel whispered slyly in Liz's ear.
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, Michael's seen the Snitch!" Rachel cried, pointing.
But Hufflepuff...she wanted David to win. But she wanted her House to win. She felt torn as Michael and Hertel raced for the Snitch. If only David would send a Bludger up there so Gryffindor couldn't be blamed...she wished he would, and end it...
Strength. Power. Invincibility. Liz struggled and cried, "Look out, Michael!" But David had already sent a Bludger aimed specifically at him. It hit him hard in the stomach, almost knocking him off his broom. Needless to say, Hertel emerged from the spectacular dive with the Snitch in her hand.
Michael and the rest of the team looked so dejected that Liz hesitated to say anything about her power, even to Rachel, who shared the team's pain. This had to stop happening. It had to. But how?
It almost broke Liz's spirit to think her mother didn't want to reply to her. After sending letters for nearly three years, couldn't she spare just a bit more time to write one more letter? Apparently not. To distract herself from dwelling on it too much, Liz immersed herself in other things: mainly, Chris's lessons.
They had been doing lessons sprinkled throughout the school year. Sometimes Chris would do amazingly well, but sometimes he would cause a magical catastrophe to occur. It was becoming increasingly harder to hide these accidents from Hagrid, who had taken to occasionally glancing out the window at them during lengthier visits.
During one such lesson, the day before Chris's birthday sometime after mid- April, Chris was brewing a ridiculously simple Sleeping Potion, not unlike sleeping pills Muggles used when they were in dire need of a good night's rest. Maybe it was ridiculously simple for Liz, but Chris was breaking into sweat as he followed the directions, "Stir until frothy." Liz made sure her body blocked any glimpse of Chris Hagrid could get from his window.
"Liz?" Chris said suddenly. "Something's happening..."
The potion was bubbling beyond the point of froth. Rachel leaned her head over the potion, scrutinizing it. "Rachel," said Liz, "I don't think that's a very good—" Then a jet of potion hit Rachel squarely in the face. She was asleep instantly.
"Well, you made the potion right," Liz quipped, bending over her friend. "Rachel doesn't seem to have much luck with Potions, does she? First the Love Potion, and now this...Wake up, Rachel!"
Michael took Rachel by the shoulders and shook vigorously. This achieved nothing aside from Rachel's loud snore. She rolled over on her other side and curled up in the grass.
"This isn't working!" Liz cried out in frustration. "Urgh! Stupid potion!" Then she quickly looked up at Chris. "That didn't come out right. What I meant to say was—well, you know, I mean—"
"I know I did it wrong," said Chris.
"We'll work on that," said Michael, whipping out his wand. "Ennervate!"
Rachel didn't move.
"That works with Stunners, not potions," Liz told him, "which you'd know if you had been paying even one speck of attention in Charms."
"I do too pay attention in Charms. I'm just not devoted to it like you are." His voice turned high-pitched as he mimicked her. "Oh, Flitwick, please give me extra homework, please, I'd die without extra homework in Charms, or Herbology for that matter! Professor Longbottom gave me my own Fanged Geranium and I love it like a baby!"
"Oh, shut up," Liz grumbled. "All you say is Quidditch, Quidditch, duh, Quidditch!"
"Stop it!" said Chris. "We need to wake up Rachel before Hagrid sees."
Fortunately for them, Rachel sat up and stretched at that very moment. "'Morning," she said thickly. "What'd I miss?"
"Nothing you'd lament missing," said Liz. "Oh, hide the potion, Hagrid's coming!"
Michael stashed the potion behind a giant rock just before Hagrid reached them. "What were yeh doin' out here?" he asked suspiciously.
"I—I was making a potion," Rachel said quickly. "And they were watching."
"But I saw yeh lyin' in the grass," Hagrid said.
"It backfired in my face."
Hagrid nodded and let it go, though Liz could tell he still harbored some doubts about it. "It's getting' late. Time for you three ter go back." He turned and lumbered back toward his hut.
"Oh, before we go, happy birthday, Chris," said Liz, extending a present toward him. "I've probably given you something like it before, but I couldn't remember, so..." He took out a Magical History book. "Because wizard training is more than spells, you know? Hopefully, it's more interesting that listening to Binns. Bye, then."
Halfway back to the castle, Liz looked back to see he had opened the book. He had. With a small smile of satisfaction, she turned back around and continued on her way up to Hogwarts.
"Let's go GRYFFINDOR! Let's go GRYFFINDOR!"
"Shut it, will you, Michael?" Liz snapped irritably, glancing up from a large Ancient Runes book. "I'm trying to study. Professor Stickler is pulling a huge test on us tomorrow."
"So is Pumjy," said Rachel from behind the Defense Against the Dark Arts text. "But he seemed so afraid of the idea, I'm hoping he'll cancel."
"So please be quiet so we can concentrate," said Liz.
"But the day after that is the Quidditch Final," said Michael. "Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. Which reminds me, Liz, you haven't been to a match at all this year."
"And with good reason! Extra classes have devoured all my free time. I won't have a spare minute Saturday. You do remember Hagrid's giving an exam on Monday?"
"Must have slipped my mind," Michael said nonchalantly. "Come on, Liz, the bare minimum is one game a year, or you can't be worthy enough to call yourself a Gryffindor."
"Worthy? I am the top of the third-year. Don't get me started on worthy."
Michael persisted until Liz finally gave in. So it was that Liz was seen trudging along behind Rachel to the Quidditch pitch after Rachel had forced her to leave her bag in the common room.
"Come on, it's going to be exciting," said Rachel. "The Hufflepuff Seeker, Kathryn Hertel, is leaving at the end of next year, so this is her second to last season. Michael says she's the best since your dad, you know."
Liz cringed.
"Oh, sorry. Let's sit here."
Liz looked over and saw Bettie next to the seat Rachel had chosen, following someone out on the field with her eyes. "No, let's sit somewhere else," she said quickly. They found better seats closer to the field, where they could see more of the action.
"Is Hertel the Hufflepuff captain?" Liz asked.
"No, that's Eunice Horning, one of the Beaters. She's a seventh-year."
"How do you know that?"
"It comes from watching the games," Rachel said, the playful thrust directed at Liz's pride. "Come on, ask me anything."
"If only you could do that in school...all right, who's the other Beater?"
"Your friend David."
Panic seized Liz, who snapped her head toward the players warming up on the field. Sure enough, she spotted David's head among the group of yellow-clad players. So that was what Bettie had been looking at...
"Welcome to the Quidditch final, ladies and gents," said the commentator, a Gryffindor sixth-year named Josh Lepress. "Gryffindor and Hufflepuff duke it out for the championship today!"
The match passed in a blur for Liz. Though she watched Michael a couple of times, she mainly focused on David, who beat back the Bludgers with skillful ease. Who could ask for a better beater? Even though it was his first year on the team, he looked as though he had been doing it all his life. Every move he made, she followed; every time he redirected his broom, she noticed.
"You're absolutely infatuated with him, aren't you?" Rachel whispered slyly in Liz's ear.
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, Michael's seen the Snitch!" Rachel cried, pointing.
But Hufflepuff...she wanted David to win. But she wanted her House to win. She felt torn as Michael and Hertel raced for the Snitch. If only David would send a Bludger up there so Gryffindor couldn't be blamed...she wished he would, and end it...
Strength. Power. Invincibility. Liz struggled and cried, "Look out, Michael!" But David had already sent a Bludger aimed specifically at him. It hit him hard in the stomach, almost knocking him off his broom. Needless to say, Hertel emerged from the spectacular dive with the Snitch in her hand.
Michael and the rest of the team looked so dejected that Liz hesitated to say anything about her power, even to Rachel, who shared the team's pain. This had to stop happening. It had to. But how?