Chapter Six - Cheerleading, Quidditch, and Hell-raising

A week later the first Quidditch match of the year found students crowded into the stands at the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. Gryffindor students waved flags of gold and scarlet, while the Slytherins waved their colors of silver and green. Although rain poured from the afternoon sky, they seemed in bright spirits.

In the Gryffindor locker room, Harry prepped his team for the match ahead. He paced in front of his teammates.

"All right people, let's do this," he said. "Ron, keep your guard up. O'Rielly and Flortesky, the same with you. We can't afford anyone knocked off their brooms."

He glanced at Oliver, who stood in the corner with his arms crossed.

"Wood was kind enough to come back and do some coaching. In case you don't know, he plays for Puddlemere. He knows what he's doing. Please listen to him. All right, let's go. It's wet out there, be careful."

He and the other players stepped outside into the rain. Their robes became splashed with mud as they tramped onto the pitch.

The members of the Slytherin team emerged on the opposite side of the field. Their fierce looks caused Christine and Angela to exchange a wary smile. The girls realized how important the match was.

Evangeline and Annie sat with Hermione in the Gryffindor stands. The rain revealed the true curly nature of Evangeline's hair. Hermione smiled flatly, knowing her secret.

"Here they come," Annie observed.

"I can't see anything," Evangeline complained. "Impervius. There . . ."

"What did that do?" Annie asked.

"It keeps the water off her glasses," Hermione replied smugly.

"Oh! How clever!"

"Humph!" Hermione said.

Brooke stood next to them, still waving her pom-poms.

"Woo-hoo! They're in the air!"

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "She needs Ritalin."

"What?" Annie asked.

"Never mind."

Hermione looked back to where the commentator, a seventh year boy she didn't know, and Professor McGonagall sat.

"This afternoonmarks the beginning of the Quidditch season!" the boy announced. "Gryffindor vs. Slytherin! This promises to be a thrilling match!"

Madame Hooch blew her whistle and the game began. Gryffindor gained control of the Quaffle. Their Chaser passed it to Ginny, but the Chaser for Slytherin intercepted it.

"Look!" Evangeline shouted, pointing at Ron. "Slytherin just scored!"

"Boo! I'm blind, I'm deaf, I wanna be a ref!" Brooke chanted. "That didn't go in!"

The Slytherin stands erupted in cheers. In the air Ginny missed the Quaffle, and Slytherin gained control again.

"Dammit! Don't make me show you how it's done!" Evangeline raged.

"Calm down!" Annie told her. "They'll pull through. They always do!"

"I can't tell what's going on!" Hermione said.

"They need to get a new commentator!" Brooke yelled. "Fire him!"

She was right. The commentator said nothing since the beginning of the match. He was nowhere near the amusement of former commentator, Lee Jordan.

The players came back in to view. Christine hit a Bludger, knocking the Quaffle out of the Slytherin carrier's hands. Ginny took advantage of the blow and grabbed the Quaffle. She sped toward the large hoops at the end of the pitch. She made a daring throw and scored.

Gryffindor cheered! The score was tied. Brooke jumped up and down, yelling a cheer.

"United we are, united we'll be, 'cuz we're the Lions and we're out for victory, yeah!"

"Whoa…" Annie said, slightly frightened.

The match seemed the drag on forever, and then some. The score was 60 to 10, Sytherin.

"We're down by fifty points!" Hermione fretted. "Harry better catch the Snitch soon!"

"Don't worry, he will," Evangeline answered, blushing.

She looked to the sideline. Oliver paced up and down shaking his head. Evangeline looked to where Ron was hovering. He moved to block a score. He flew straight into the path of a Bludger. It hit him in the jaw and he tumbled off his broom to the wet ground below. Evangeline gasped and put her hands to her face.

"What?!" Annie yelled.

"RON!" Hermione screamed. "He just got hit in the face with a Bludger!"

"Ouch…"

Harry saw his friend and headed to the ground where he lay. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glimpse of gold. The Snitch. He swooped low to the ground, following its path. Malfoy did the same, relying on Harry finding the Snitch for him.

"He's found the Snitch!" Hermione said through tears.

Malfoy swooped to the side, trying to knock Harry off his broomstick. But he lost control and rolled along the muddy ground. Harry closed his fingers around the Snitch and held it triumphantly in the air. The Gryffindor stands burst into uncontrollable cheers.

Brooke swayed and began to sing, trying to put her arm around random students. "Wee are the champions, my friend. And wee'll keep on fiiighting to the end!"

Annie looked at her confused. "Brooke, right? What are you doing?"

"You don't understand. I eat, sleep, breathe, and even crap Quidditch!"

"I did not need to know that!" Annie replied, turning to Evangeline. "Hey, I'm getting out of here. Too wet,"

"Okay, I'll see you in the common room eventually," Evangeline told her.

On the pitch, teachers gathered around Ron. Madame Hooch escorted him to the infirmary. Christine landed beside Angela near by. She hit her in the head with her club.

"Ow!" Angela exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"For missing that Bludger that hit Ron!"

Angela burst into tears. "I'm sorry! I feel so bad!"

"Don't worry about it. It happens. Just don't let it happen again."

Ron sat up on a bed inside the hospital wing. He held his broken jaw trying to refrain from swearing as Madame Pompfrey worked on him. She bustled around the room. Evangeline walked in, dripping rainwater all over the floor. She wasn't the only one. The whole Gryffindor team was in there also, along with Oliver and Hermione. Evangeline blushed and smiled at Harry.

"Good game!" she said.

"Thanks!" he replied. "Couldn't have done it without the team."

Malfoy lay in a bed near by, moaning and holding his wrist. A very wet Cassandra kneeled by his bed. She looked as if Malfoy were going to die.

"Mr. Malfoy," Madame Pompfrey sighed, "it's just sprained. You can go!"

"Don't listen to her!" Cassandra said, pulling his wet hair out of his eyes. "Does it hurt bad?"

Evangeline rolled her eyes and walked to Ron's bunk. Ron looked up, still holding his jaw. Evangeline reddened.

"Hello," she said, pulling a curly strand of wet hair out of her eyes. "I just…"

Ron attempted to answer.

"Don't speak," Evangeline told him. "It needs to heal. I just wanted to see how you were…"

"Thank you," Ron mumbled. "Can you fix it?"

He remembered her fixing Malfoy's busted nose in the library last week.

"Don't speak!" Evangeline repeated. "No, I can't. Madame Pompfrey wouldn't like that. She has everything under control."

Cassandra looked over and sneered. "Looks like Weasley's got a girlfriend."

Evangeline flushed again. "Go to hell…"

"Whoa, language," Malfoy said, miming pain in his wrist.

"You're a sissy!"

As Evangeline stood, Pansy burst into the ward. She saw Cassandra and glared, then ran to Malfoy's bed.

"Draco? Are you all right? I saw you get injured."

"The only thing hurt is his ego!" Evangeline shouted. "Which is over inflated anyway!"

Cassandra stood and pulled her wand. "His ego is not over inflated, you little--"

She was cut off. Evangeline waved a hand at her. Cassandra blurred out of the way. The attack hit Pansy who flew against the wall of the infirmary and burst into tears. Cassandra picked herself up off the floor.

"You move like a snake when you want to!" said Harry.

"You'll pay for trying to hurt me!" Cassandra threatened, ignoring Harry's comment.

Evangeline laughed. "Yeah, right! You couldn't curse a dead beetle!"

Cassandra waved her wand and muttered a spell. Evangeline turned upside down and bounced. She blushed and grabbed for her skirt as it flew up.

"MISS PIERCE!" Madame Pompfrey exclaimed. "PUT HER DOWN!"

Snape entered the wing, looking highly irritable, as usual. Cassandra mumbled something, and Evangeline was put back to rights. She straightened her robes and began to leave the wing when Snape stopped her. He glowered down at her.

"Fighting in the hospital wing? Miss Forrest, you have detention."

"Detention?!" she cried. "What about her?! She was fighting just as much as I was!"

Snape gave her a wry smile. "I am aware of that. Miss Pierce will serve her detention helping with Remedial Potions. For a month. Your head of house will name your detention. Miss Pierce, Mr. Malfoy? Please follow me."

"Of course, sir," they answered in unison.

Malfoy totally forgot about his "pain." Snape swept out, and Malfoy and Cassandra followed. Evangeline looked on the verge of tears.

"Remedial Potions? Good, that little--RARG!! She needs to be put in that sped class!!"

"I remember our first year, Ron. She dodged all those water bombs Peeves dropped."

"Yes," Hermione replied, though it was directed at Ron. "It's an old Japanese spell. I wonder how she learned it. It's obscure, not to mention difficult."

"Wouldn't think she had the brains…" Ron muttered through his healing jaw.

"Ron!" Hermione said severely. "She's actually quite smart. She's just a, a…"

"Slacker," Evangeline finished.

"I know that spell she used on you," Harry realized. "It's the same one my… my dad used on Snape…"

"Wonder if Snape taught it to her?" Ron questioned.

"Snape teach someone the same spell that embarrassed him?" Hermione giggled.

"It was just a thought…"

Annie sat contently at dinner next to the still fuming Evangeline.

"You broke Pansy's ribs?!"

"So?" Evangeline said, rubbing her head. "I still didn't hit the right person…"

"Well at least Snape didn't take points off the house," Annie noticed.

"Yeah. I have a headache,"

Malfoy, on his way to the Slytherin table, overheard their conversation and stopped behind them.

"That's what you get for trying to hurt her,"

Evangeline growled and started to stand. But Annie stopped her.

"You have a week of detention with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. No more!" Annie said.

Evangeline took a deep breath and sat back in her seat. "I heard stories about the last teacher. Was it true she made you write sentences in your own blood?"

"Yes!" Annie replied with a shutter, rubbing her hand.

Harry hadn't been the only one forced to spend detention with Umbridge, the professor from hell.

Dumbledore stood at his table, wanting to make an announcement. Once students noticed the tall wizard, they quit talking. Dumbledore had a lot of power over his pupils.

"Quiet please, I have a few announcements to make. After today, only those injured or aiding the injured are to go to the infirmary," he explained looking over his spectacles at Evangeline and then Cassandra. "And, on a happier note, Defense Against the Dark Arts has finally got a new teacher, Professor Masashite!"

"A Japanese wizard?" Harry pondered.

"Whoever it is, good luck!" Ron stated.

"Hopefully, they won't be worse than Umbridge!" Harry said.

"God! I hope so!" Hermione said. "I'll drink to that!"

At the Slytherin table, Cassandra looked slightly disappointed.

"Isn't Masashite the one who has the father of the kneasle kittens?" Malfoy asked her.

"Yes," she answered scowling. "And Father and he seemed to hit it off. That's why Masashite got the job. "

"That and the fact that no one in Great Britain, all of Europe or America wants the jinxed job." Malfoy said laughing. "Perhaps this one will last."

Hogwarts has yet to have a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that lasted more than one year.

"Oh, he's a tough nut to crack. He is a good teacher. He taught me some old samurai magic last year," Cassandra told him.

Malfoy took a lock of Cassandra's blonde hair and smiled. "You'll have to teach me that speed spell,"

"I'm gonna puke!" Evangeline said at the Ravenclaw table.

"Dear God . . ." Annie replied. "Look at the lovebirds!"

"DRACO!" Evangeline yelled. "SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO EAT!"

"GO TO HELL FORREST!" came the reply.

The Ravenclaws looked angrily at Evangeline. "Shut up!" one of them instructed. "You'll lose us more points!"