Author's Note- This is chapter 24!!! Yay!!! We've nearly reached 25! This
is definetely going to be longer than Lily's Lake, since we're only in
Erika's second year. Sorry the past few chapters have been bad. I've had a
TERRIBLE case of writer's block, and I'm just getting over it. Okay, this
chapter is entirely dedicated to Quidditch, and the Quidditch Final, and
the pre-end-of-the-year happenings. So, enjoy!
Disclaimer- I own absolutely nothing. It all belongs to the GREAT Harry Potter people. I am not getting paid, so don't even THINK it.
Erika - The Legacy of Lily and James
Winter ended, and spring came. Meg told me once, "I like spring, it's like rebirth. Out with the gloom of winter, in with the color of spring." I liked the quote.
The Quidditch Cup loomed in front of the entire Gryffindor team. We were in second place, to the Slytherins (no surprise). Our capitain was drilling us about a thousand times a day on plays. Even in the hallways. It didn't matter if we were going to be late for our next class.
"Twenty-two!" he'd call out, and we'd have to tell him the play.
He called this "efficency".
He could only do it when there was absolutely no Slytherins around. Or anyone for that matter. They could be "spies" for the Slytherin team. I didn't point out that they were usually Gryffindors that walked with us.
I seriously thought our capitain was crazy quite a few times, and paranoid too.
I wrote Harry about everything that was happening, and he wrote me about it in return. After writing a long, descriptive, letter about what I was doing, I walked up to Dumbledore's office alone. The last action of the Order was to keep me from writing letters directly to Harry, and likewise. They could be "intercepted". So I had to give my letters to Dumbledore, who gave them to Harry, somehow. And Harry gave them to Dumbledore too, who gave them to me.
After delivering my latest letter to Harry, I started back towards the Gryffindor tower.
The Quidditch Final was in a week. Gryffindor and Slytherin were playing against each other.
"Erika!"
I turned around to see Carly, our Seeker, running up to me in her Quidditch robes, broom in hand.
"Erika, emergency practice," Carly said, "Captain O Captain thinks we need an emergency practice. You know how he is."
I nodded, "See you in the Quidditch Pitch then."
I crawled back into our room after practice, exhausted mentally and physically.
Meg looked up from her book.
"Hard practice?" she asked.
I nodded, "Unbelievably hard. We practiced for FOUR hours. Practice is usually two to three. And it was all drills on plays. Nothing too fun."
Meg laughed.
"You joined the team," she said.
"And I don't regret it," I whispered, "I'm just exhausted. I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
Meg nodded, but I could tell something was wrong. She returned to her book silently, but she didn't turn the pages as I watched.
"Meg?" I asked.
She turned to look at me, and asked, "Yes, Erika?"
"What's wrong? You're acting all weird," I said.
Meg sighed, and leaned back against her headboard.
"I went to see Dumbledore a few days ago. I had a . . . I Saw. It was horrible what I saw. An entire family, Erika, attacked by Death Eaters. Two little children and their parents. Dumbledore tried to warn them, but he didn't get there in time. They died, all of them, the parents, and the little children," Meg whispered, "And I can't get their faces out of mind, knowing I was supposed to help them, but I couldn't. That's what this so called gift is for, so I can save people! And I failed them, especially those little children. The oldest couldn't have been more than six."
I sighed.
"You can't save everyone, Meg. Everything that lives has to die. It was their turn to die," I said, "Even the little childrens. A little bit too early than everyone may have liked, but it was their turn," I said.
I knew I didn't help her that much, but I knew this was one of those silent battles Meg had to fight herself. So I went into the bathroom, and got ready for bed.
The morning of the Quidditch Final I woke up before dawn. The dormitory was dark. I could hear Avery snoring in her bed, and once my eyes were adjusted could see that Lucy had kicked her blankets off her bed and had slid under her curtains.
I sat against my headboard, trying to go back to sleep. But I couldn't.
I was too nervous.
What if we lost? Everyone would be so disappointed. We couldn't lose. Gryffindor just couldn't. Everyone was hoping we would win. I had seen the signs a few first years had made, written in red and gold ink, a huge sign that had "GO GRYFFINDOR" written in gold, and then our names in red. It had made me so happy, and yet so nervous at the same time.
What if we lost?
Before I knew it, it was time to get up. Meg got up first (well, unless you count Jewel waking up and pulling the pillow over her face), and saw me.
"When did you get up?" she asked.
I shrugged, "A few hours ago."
Meg stared, and then shook her head, "Are you nervous?"
She had gotten out of bed and started to get ready. I slid off my bed and opened my trunk.
"Yeah, slightly," I said.
Meg raised and eyebrow.
"Okay, okay, a lot," I admitted.
Meg smiled, "Is Harry coming?"
"Are you kidding? He gave me a whole paragraph on how he 'wouldn't miss this for the world'. Something about his sister's first big Quidditch match, or at least match of the Quidditch Cup. He's supposed to get here after breakfast. Sarah's coming, too," I said.
"Oh, good," Meg replied, "I know she's been wanting to see Hogwarts for a while now."
I nodded, "I think Harry really likes Sarah."
"As in the L-word?" Meg asked.
I laughed, "You listen to the first years too much. But, yeah, maybe."
Meg grinned.
I produced my Quidditch robes and waited in line for the bathroom before changing.
I put my hair up so it wouldn't get in my face, and then grabbed my broom.
"Ready?" Meg asked.
I nodded, "Yeah. Let's go."
As we walked down to breakfast we met other members of the Quidditch team. Carly came over to talk to us for a little while before going back to her friends. I gripped my broom tight, and sat down at the Gryffindor table.
I couldn't eat much. I just pushed my food around my plate and had a few sips of pumpkin juice. Down the table, I could see most of the team acting the same. Captain O Captain (our nickname for him) looked about ready to murder anyone who might annoyed him.
Meg figured after the first few minutes that I wasn't going to eat, so stopped trying to make me.
"Slytherin is a good team," she said, "But their defense tactics are a little weak, especially their Keeper. You've gotten past them before."
I nodded, "I know."
Meg shook her head.
"It's just a Quidditch match, Erika, not the end of the world," Meg told me.
I nodded again, "I know."
Suddenly the table grew hushed around us. Meg looked past my face. I turned around to see Adrienne standing there, one of her schoolbooks in her arms.
"Hello, Erika, Megan. I just came to wish you luck today," she said, smiling, "I'll be hoping Gryffindor wins."
"Thanks, Adrienne," I told her.
She nodded, still smiling, and returned to the Ravenclaw table, where she sat down and opened her book up, and began reading and eating at the same time.
"She's a weird one," Lucy (who was across from me with Avery and Jewel), said, "There's something strange about her. Like she doesn't care about anything."
Meg nodded, looking over at her half-sister, "That's because she doesn't. The only thing she cares about is her lessons, because that's all she wants right now. I don't think she can face much more."
Avery rolled her eyes, "She's You-Know-Who's granddaughter. In my opinion, the only thing they all care about is killing people."
She looked straight at Meg as she said it. Meg turned away, and looked up to the Head table.
"Anya's here," she said, changing the subject.
I looked up at the Head Table. She was wearing red robes, and a gold scarf sat on the table beside her. Gryffindor colors. I smiled.
"She's still very. er. loyal to her old house, ey?" I asked.
Meg nodded, "Did you know that she has a picture of the Gryffindor lion hanging at home?"
I laughed, "Really?"
"Yeah," Meg replied, "It's actually really pretty where she put it. She says that she wants everyone to know she was a Gryffindor. 'It's something to be proud of, Meg. True Gryffindors are hard to find', that's what she says. Or something along those lines."
"I thought she was all for working together?" I asked.
Meg nodded, "She is, but she still loves Gryffindor."
"Erika!" someone shouted.
I turned to look at the doors to the Great Hall to see Harry and Sarah standing there, bedecked in red and gold. I grinned, and waved.
"Harry! Sarah!" I shouted.
They walked over to where we were sitting.
"I'm so glad you could make it!" I said once they had reached us.
"Are you kidding? I . . ." Harry started.
I nodded, "Wouldn't miss this for the world. I know, I know, you told me. Sarah, you remember Meg, my best friend?"
Meg and Sarah had met over the summer. Sarah knew all about Meg. It was hard not too, since once word on Meg had leaked, the Daily Prophet had had a field day.
"Yes, I do. It's good to see you again, Meg. You look taller than when I last saw you," Sarah said, nodding.
Meg was taller, by about two inches, maybe. But she was still considerably small for her age, which was surprising, since Voldemort was supposed to be really tall. Adrienne was worse. She was REALLY small, and looked really weak. But then again, so did Meg, and she was one of the strongest people I knew.
"Thanks," Meg said.
"So," I asked Sarah, "What do you think of Hogwarts so far?"
Sarah nodded, "It is definetely different."
"But it's great here," Harry said, "You would have loved it. Erika, is Peeves still as annoying as I remember him?"
I laughed, and nodded, "Yeah. A few weeks ago he dumped a trash can on top of some poor first years head. The kid couldn't get it off, and had to wander until he found someone to take it off. Oh, and two days ago, he took it upon himself to decorate the fourth floor corridor. It was all anti- Gryffindor and -Slytherin. Strange things go on in his head."
"Who's Peeves?" Sarah asked, quite confused.
"Oh, he's this poltergiest that terrorizes everyone," Harry answered, "The other ghosts try to get him kicked out of Hogwarts every year, but it never works. I don't think he'll EVER leave."
"We didn't have anything like that in my school," Sarah said, "We had three ghosts, not at all like Hogwarts."
Harry asked, "Erika, are you nervous at all?"
I laughed, "Weren't you when you were in this position? Yeah, I'm a little nervous, how could I not be? I just hope we win."
"Wether you win or not, you're still a great team," Sarah said.
Later that day, I was in the locker room, dressed in my Quidditch robes, my broom in my lap. I had leaned against the wall. The rest of the team was there, too.
"Five minutes, people!" Captain O Captain (our nickname for our captain) shouted.
He looked about ready to vomit.
"Okay, people, this is it. The Final. We made it this far, and I have a feeling we can keep right on going," Captain O Captain said.
"'Course we can," Carly added.
Everyone nodded, starting to get hyped about the game.
"A few reminders for when we're out there. The Slytherins play a dirty game. Don't get mad. Let Madam Hooch handle it," Captain O Captain reminded us.
We all nodded.
"Let's kick some snake butt!" someone shouted.
Everyone was hyped by then. Nerves still quaked somewhere in us, but we were ready.
"Let's go!" Captain O Captain directed.
We followed him out onto the pitch, with the Slytherins entering as well. Everyone was cheering loudly. I managed to swallow my fear, but not by much.
"Mount your brooms," Madame Hooch called out.
I did so, gripping my broom hard.
Madame Hooch gave her normal list of rules and then released the balls.
A Gryffindor chaser immediately snatched the Quaffle, and the game began. The three of us sped towards the hoops, the Slytherin beaters and chasers following. Two of the Slytherin chasers started to pressue our chaser, who immediately dropped and passed it to me.
I leaned against my broom, and we sped forward, the Quaffle tucked under my arm.
I dodged a Bludger, and continued towards the hoops. The shouts of the Gryffindors were rumbling in my ears.
Two Slytherin Chasers sped in front, and then stopped in front of me, to block.
Quickly, I glanced around for the nearest Gryffindor Chaser. It took less than a second before I found them, and passed it before dropping underneath the Slytherin defenses and urged the broom to catch up with our Chaser.
She was close to the hoops, and threw the Quaffle to try and score. The Slytherin Keeper leaned to try and stop it, but it was out of reach. The Quaffle went through the hoop, and Gryffindor gained ten points.
Soon, the score was 40-30, in Gryffindor's favor. Gryffindor had the Quaffle, and one of our Chasers was flying down the field (in both literal and non-literal meanings). Slytherin was getting paricularly nasty at the thought of losing the Final.
One of the Slytherin Chasers got right along side of the Gryffindor Chaser with the Quaffle, and the next thing everyone knew, the Gryffindor Chaser had lost the Quaffle and was trying to get a hold of their broom after being knocked in the arm by the Slytherin Chasers.
Angered, I sped up and waited until the Slytherin Chaser went to pass the Quaffle. I immediately grabbed it just before it reached the arms of the waiting Slytherin, and turned swiftly before turning back towards the hoops, and held tight on the Quaffle as I sped as fast as I could towards the hoops. It was easy to get passed the Slytherin keeper. His left side was his weak side. So I threw it into the left hoop. Ten points to Gryffindor.
A half an hour later it was a tie between the two teams, 90-90. We were all getting tired, and I was hoping Carly would catch the Snitch soon, and end the game.
Suddenly, the two Seekers went into a dive. The rest of the game continued, but I knew everyone was holding their breath.
Six feet from the ground, the two Seekers pulled out of the dive, one of them triumphant and the other angry with loss.
Cheers went up in the stadium, and the announcer shouted, "Gryffindor wins!"
The moments that followed the game seemed absolutely perfect and wonderful to me. Everyone was congratulating us. Red and gold enveloped our entire team. Harry and Sarah came over and hugged me and congratulated us.
Dumbledore presented our team with the Quidditch cup, and we all held it up in the air while everyone cheered.
Harry and Sarah were waiting for me as I walked out of the locker room after our match.
"How do you feel?" Harry asked.
I grinned, "Happy, like I could fly, without a broom!"
We all laughed, and started walking up towards the Gryffindor tower.
"Good," Harry said.
He was bracing himself to tell me something, I could tell. I stopped dead in the hallway.
"What?" I asked.
"I got an owl from Ron. They need us back in London. We can't stay for dinner," Harry answered.
I sighed, "Is it urgent?"
"I'm afraid so," Harry said.
I nodded, "Okay. Well, it's not long now, is it? Then I'll be back in London with you."
"Yeah, not long," Harry agreed.
"When do you leave?" I asked.
"As soon as I've said goodbye," Harry answered.
I smiled, and hugged him, "Bye, then. Bye, Sarah."
"Bye Erika," they chorused.
Harry added to his goodbye, "I'll see you at the end of June. Congratulations. You're really talented on that broom."
I watched them hurry down the corridor towards Dumbledore's office before returning to the Gryffindor tower, where a party had begun.
* * * A few days later
Somewhere Else
"Ruth, I am warning you, do not fail me! I do not accept failures!" Voldemort shouted.
Ruth stood in her black robes with a group of Death Eaters behind her. She nodded.
"Yes, Master, I will not," she said, her head low but her eyes glittering.
Voldemort glared at her, "Good. Kill Megan and Adrienne, and bring the Potters and Jones here. Do not kill them, Ruth! I want the honor to be mine. But I will allow you to kill Megan and Adrienne as you please."
"Yes, Master," Ruth agreed.
Voldemort glanced at the group of Death Eaters, and nodded, "Go."
* * * Same day
Hogwarts
As told by Erika Rose Potter
"What classes did you sign up for?" Avery asked me as we sat at dinner.
We had signed up for the classes we would take in our third year, our electives.
"Arithmacy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Ancient Runes," I answered.
Avery raised an eyebrow, "Divination? I thought you hated that."
"I do. I'm taking it because Meg wanted to take it, and she's taking Ancient Runes because I wanted to," I replied
At the mention of Meg, Avery rolled her eyes.
Meg pretended not to notice. We had signed up for the same classes, and Meg wasn't particularly fond of taking Divination (she, like Harry, thought Professor Trelawney shouldn't be teaching), but it was been Dumbledore's idea. Something about helping her develop her power.
I was about to ask Lucy what she was taking when there was a loud commotion outside of the Great Hall. Everyone could hear it, and everyone turned towards the doors to the Great Hall.
Dumbledore stood up from his seat. The Great Hall seemed frozen in time.
Until the huge doors blew up, throwing splinters of wood across the Great Hall. Someone screamed, and it started a chain reaction. A second later, everyone was screaming.
Dumbledore was shouting over the screams.
Meg and I were looking at the doors, to see figures robed in black, wearing masks. Death Eaters.
Author's Note- Ta da! Chapter 24 is done! Sorry it took so long, but I'm still suffering from a slight of writer's block. Look for chater 25, where something very big happens. You'll see. I'm not giving anything else away. By the way, if you like the book Violet Eyes by Nicole Luiken, check out my fic, Crusade of the Violet Eyed! That's all for now! REVIEW!!!!!!!
Any additional comments or random words can be given to me at StarlightEve111@aol.com
Disclaimer- I own absolutely nothing. It all belongs to the GREAT Harry Potter people. I am not getting paid, so don't even THINK it.
Erika - The Legacy of Lily and James
Winter ended, and spring came. Meg told me once, "I like spring, it's like rebirth. Out with the gloom of winter, in with the color of spring." I liked the quote.
The Quidditch Cup loomed in front of the entire Gryffindor team. We were in second place, to the Slytherins (no surprise). Our capitain was drilling us about a thousand times a day on plays. Even in the hallways. It didn't matter if we were going to be late for our next class.
"Twenty-two!" he'd call out, and we'd have to tell him the play.
He called this "efficency".
He could only do it when there was absolutely no Slytherins around. Or anyone for that matter. They could be "spies" for the Slytherin team. I didn't point out that they were usually Gryffindors that walked with us.
I seriously thought our capitain was crazy quite a few times, and paranoid too.
I wrote Harry about everything that was happening, and he wrote me about it in return. After writing a long, descriptive, letter about what I was doing, I walked up to Dumbledore's office alone. The last action of the Order was to keep me from writing letters directly to Harry, and likewise. They could be "intercepted". So I had to give my letters to Dumbledore, who gave them to Harry, somehow. And Harry gave them to Dumbledore too, who gave them to me.
After delivering my latest letter to Harry, I started back towards the Gryffindor tower.
The Quidditch Final was in a week. Gryffindor and Slytherin were playing against each other.
"Erika!"
I turned around to see Carly, our Seeker, running up to me in her Quidditch robes, broom in hand.
"Erika, emergency practice," Carly said, "Captain O Captain thinks we need an emergency practice. You know how he is."
I nodded, "See you in the Quidditch Pitch then."
I crawled back into our room after practice, exhausted mentally and physically.
Meg looked up from her book.
"Hard practice?" she asked.
I nodded, "Unbelievably hard. We practiced for FOUR hours. Practice is usually two to three. And it was all drills on plays. Nothing too fun."
Meg laughed.
"You joined the team," she said.
"And I don't regret it," I whispered, "I'm just exhausted. I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
Meg nodded, but I could tell something was wrong. She returned to her book silently, but she didn't turn the pages as I watched.
"Meg?" I asked.
She turned to look at me, and asked, "Yes, Erika?"
"What's wrong? You're acting all weird," I said.
Meg sighed, and leaned back against her headboard.
"I went to see Dumbledore a few days ago. I had a . . . I Saw. It was horrible what I saw. An entire family, Erika, attacked by Death Eaters. Two little children and their parents. Dumbledore tried to warn them, but he didn't get there in time. They died, all of them, the parents, and the little children," Meg whispered, "And I can't get their faces out of mind, knowing I was supposed to help them, but I couldn't. That's what this so called gift is for, so I can save people! And I failed them, especially those little children. The oldest couldn't have been more than six."
I sighed.
"You can't save everyone, Meg. Everything that lives has to die. It was their turn to die," I said, "Even the little childrens. A little bit too early than everyone may have liked, but it was their turn," I said.
I knew I didn't help her that much, but I knew this was one of those silent battles Meg had to fight herself. So I went into the bathroom, and got ready for bed.
The morning of the Quidditch Final I woke up before dawn. The dormitory was dark. I could hear Avery snoring in her bed, and once my eyes were adjusted could see that Lucy had kicked her blankets off her bed and had slid under her curtains.
I sat against my headboard, trying to go back to sleep. But I couldn't.
I was too nervous.
What if we lost? Everyone would be so disappointed. We couldn't lose. Gryffindor just couldn't. Everyone was hoping we would win. I had seen the signs a few first years had made, written in red and gold ink, a huge sign that had "GO GRYFFINDOR" written in gold, and then our names in red. It had made me so happy, and yet so nervous at the same time.
What if we lost?
Before I knew it, it was time to get up. Meg got up first (well, unless you count Jewel waking up and pulling the pillow over her face), and saw me.
"When did you get up?" she asked.
I shrugged, "A few hours ago."
Meg stared, and then shook her head, "Are you nervous?"
She had gotten out of bed and started to get ready. I slid off my bed and opened my trunk.
"Yeah, slightly," I said.
Meg raised and eyebrow.
"Okay, okay, a lot," I admitted.
Meg smiled, "Is Harry coming?"
"Are you kidding? He gave me a whole paragraph on how he 'wouldn't miss this for the world'. Something about his sister's first big Quidditch match, or at least match of the Quidditch Cup. He's supposed to get here after breakfast. Sarah's coming, too," I said.
"Oh, good," Meg replied, "I know she's been wanting to see Hogwarts for a while now."
I nodded, "I think Harry really likes Sarah."
"As in the L-word?" Meg asked.
I laughed, "You listen to the first years too much. But, yeah, maybe."
Meg grinned.
I produced my Quidditch robes and waited in line for the bathroom before changing.
I put my hair up so it wouldn't get in my face, and then grabbed my broom.
"Ready?" Meg asked.
I nodded, "Yeah. Let's go."
As we walked down to breakfast we met other members of the Quidditch team. Carly came over to talk to us for a little while before going back to her friends. I gripped my broom tight, and sat down at the Gryffindor table.
I couldn't eat much. I just pushed my food around my plate and had a few sips of pumpkin juice. Down the table, I could see most of the team acting the same. Captain O Captain (our nickname for him) looked about ready to murder anyone who might annoyed him.
Meg figured after the first few minutes that I wasn't going to eat, so stopped trying to make me.
"Slytherin is a good team," she said, "But their defense tactics are a little weak, especially their Keeper. You've gotten past them before."
I nodded, "I know."
Meg shook her head.
"It's just a Quidditch match, Erika, not the end of the world," Meg told me.
I nodded again, "I know."
Suddenly the table grew hushed around us. Meg looked past my face. I turned around to see Adrienne standing there, one of her schoolbooks in her arms.
"Hello, Erika, Megan. I just came to wish you luck today," she said, smiling, "I'll be hoping Gryffindor wins."
"Thanks, Adrienne," I told her.
She nodded, still smiling, and returned to the Ravenclaw table, where she sat down and opened her book up, and began reading and eating at the same time.
"She's a weird one," Lucy (who was across from me with Avery and Jewel), said, "There's something strange about her. Like she doesn't care about anything."
Meg nodded, looking over at her half-sister, "That's because she doesn't. The only thing she cares about is her lessons, because that's all she wants right now. I don't think she can face much more."
Avery rolled her eyes, "She's You-Know-Who's granddaughter. In my opinion, the only thing they all care about is killing people."
She looked straight at Meg as she said it. Meg turned away, and looked up to the Head table.
"Anya's here," she said, changing the subject.
I looked up at the Head Table. She was wearing red robes, and a gold scarf sat on the table beside her. Gryffindor colors. I smiled.
"She's still very. er. loyal to her old house, ey?" I asked.
Meg nodded, "Did you know that she has a picture of the Gryffindor lion hanging at home?"
I laughed, "Really?"
"Yeah," Meg replied, "It's actually really pretty where she put it. She says that she wants everyone to know she was a Gryffindor. 'It's something to be proud of, Meg. True Gryffindors are hard to find', that's what she says. Or something along those lines."
"I thought she was all for working together?" I asked.
Meg nodded, "She is, but she still loves Gryffindor."
"Erika!" someone shouted.
I turned to look at the doors to the Great Hall to see Harry and Sarah standing there, bedecked in red and gold. I grinned, and waved.
"Harry! Sarah!" I shouted.
They walked over to where we were sitting.
"I'm so glad you could make it!" I said once they had reached us.
"Are you kidding? I . . ." Harry started.
I nodded, "Wouldn't miss this for the world. I know, I know, you told me. Sarah, you remember Meg, my best friend?"
Meg and Sarah had met over the summer. Sarah knew all about Meg. It was hard not too, since once word on Meg had leaked, the Daily Prophet had had a field day.
"Yes, I do. It's good to see you again, Meg. You look taller than when I last saw you," Sarah said, nodding.
Meg was taller, by about two inches, maybe. But she was still considerably small for her age, which was surprising, since Voldemort was supposed to be really tall. Adrienne was worse. She was REALLY small, and looked really weak. But then again, so did Meg, and she was one of the strongest people I knew.
"Thanks," Meg said.
"So," I asked Sarah, "What do you think of Hogwarts so far?"
Sarah nodded, "It is definetely different."
"But it's great here," Harry said, "You would have loved it. Erika, is Peeves still as annoying as I remember him?"
I laughed, and nodded, "Yeah. A few weeks ago he dumped a trash can on top of some poor first years head. The kid couldn't get it off, and had to wander until he found someone to take it off. Oh, and two days ago, he took it upon himself to decorate the fourth floor corridor. It was all anti- Gryffindor and -Slytherin. Strange things go on in his head."
"Who's Peeves?" Sarah asked, quite confused.
"Oh, he's this poltergiest that terrorizes everyone," Harry answered, "The other ghosts try to get him kicked out of Hogwarts every year, but it never works. I don't think he'll EVER leave."
"We didn't have anything like that in my school," Sarah said, "We had three ghosts, not at all like Hogwarts."
Harry asked, "Erika, are you nervous at all?"
I laughed, "Weren't you when you were in this position? Yeah, I'm a little nervous, how could I not be? I just hope we win."
"Wether you win or not, you're still a great team," Sarah said.
Later that day, I was in the locker room, dressed in my Quidditch robes, my broom in my lap. I had leaned against the wall. The rest of the team was there, too.
"Five minutes, people!" Captain O Captain (our nickname for our captain) shouted.
He looked about ready to vomit.
"Okay, people, this is it. The Final. We made it this far, and I have a feeling we can keep right on going," Captain O Captain said.
"'Course we can," Carly added.
Everyone nodded, starting to get hyped about the game.
"A few reminders for when we're out there. The Slytherins play a dirty game. Don't get mad. Let Madam Hooch handle it," Captain O Captain reminded us.
We all nodded.
"Let's kick some snake butt!" someone shouted.
Everyone was hyped by then. Nerves still quaked somewhere in us, but we were ready.
"Let's go!" Captain O Captain directed.
We followed him out onto the pitch, with the Slytherins entering as well. Everyone was cheering loudly. I managed to swallow my fear, but not by much.
"Mount your brooms," Madame Hooch called out.
I did so, gripping my broom hard.
Madame Hooch gave her normal list of rules and then released the balls.
A Gryffindor chaser immediately snatched the Quaffle, and the game began. The three of us sped towards the hoops, the Slytherin beaters and chasers following. Two of the Slytherin chasers started to pressue our chaser, who immediately dropped and passed it to me.
I leaned against my broom, and we sped forward, the Quaffle tucked under my arm.
I dodged a Bludger, and continued towards the hoops. The shouts of the Gryffindors were rumbling in my ears.
Two Slytherin Chasers sped in front, and then stopped in front of me, to block.
Quickly, I glanced around for the nearest Gryffindor Chaser. It took less than a second before I found them, and passed it before dropping underneath the Slytherin defenses and urged the broom to catch up with our Chaser.
She was close to the hoops, and threw the Quaffle to try and score. The Slytherin Keeper leaned to try and stop it, but it was out of reach. The Quaffle went through the hoop, and Gryffindor gained ten points.
Soon, the score was 40-30, in Gryffindor's favor. Gryffindor had the Quaffle, and one of our Chasers was flying down the field (in both literal and non-literal meanings). Slytherin was getting paricularly nasty at the thought of losing the Final.
One of the Slytherin Chasers got right along side of the Gryffindor Chaser with the Quaffle, and the next thing everyone knew, the Gryffindor Chaser had lost the Quaffle and was trying to get a hold of their broom after being knocked in the arm by the Slytherin Chasers.
Angered, I sped up and waited until the Slytherin Chaser went to pass the Quaffle. I immediately grabbed it just before it reached the arms of the waiting Slytherin, and turned swiftly before turning back towards the hoops, and held tight on the Quaffle as I sped as fast as I could towards the hoops. It was easy to get passed the Slytherin keeper. His left side was his weak side. So I threw it into the left hoop. Ten points to Gryffindor.
A half an hour later it was a tie between the two teams, 90-90. We were all getting tired, and I was hoping Carly would catch the Snitch soon, and end the game.
Suddenly, the two Seekers went into a dive. The rest of the game continued, but I knew everyone was holding their breath.
Six feet from the ground, the two Seekers pulled out of the dive, one of them triumphant and the other angry with loss.
Cheers went up in the stadium, and the announcer shouted, "Gryffindor wins!"
The moments that followed the game seemed absolutely perfect and wonderful to me. Everyone was congratulating us. Red and gold enveloped our entire team. Harry and Sarah came over and hugged me and congratulated us.
Dumbledore presented our team with the Quidditch cup, and we all held it up in the air while everyone cheered.
Harry and Sarah were waiting for me as I walked out of the locker room after our match.
"How do you feel?" Harry asked.
I grinned, "Happy, like I could fly, without a broom!"
We all laughed, and started walking up towards the Gryffindor tower.
"Good," Harry said.
He was bracing himself to tell me something, I could tell. I stopped dead in the hallway.
"What?" I asked.
"I got an owl from Ron. They need us back in London. We can't stay for dinner," Harry answered.
I sighed, "Is it urgent?"
"I'm afraid so," Harry said.
I nodded, "Okay. Well, it's not long now, is it? Then I'll be back in London with you."
"Yeah, not long," Harry agreed.
"When do you leave?" I asked.
"As soon as I've said goodbye," Harry answered.
I smiled, and hugged him, "Bye, then. Bye, Sarah."
"Bye Erika," they chorused.
Harry added to his goodbye, "I'll see you at the end of June. Congratulations. You're really talented on that broom."
I watched them hurry down the corridor towards Dumbledore's office before returning to the Gryffindor tower, where a party had begun.
* * * A few days later
Somewhere Else
"Ruth, I am warning you, do not fail me! I do not accept failures!" Voldemort shouted.
Ruth stood in her black robes with a group of Death Eaters behind her. She nodded.
"Yes, Master, I will not," she said, her head low but her eyes glittering.
Voldemort glared at her, "Good. Kill Megan and Adrienne, and bring the Potters and Jones here. Do not kill them, Ruth! I want the honor to be mine. But I will allow you to kill Megan and Adrienne as you please."
"Yes, Master," Ruth agreed.
Voldemort glanced at the group of Death Eaters, and nodded, "Go."
* * * Same day
Hogwarts
As told by Erika Rose Potter
"What classes did you sign up for?" Avery asked me as we sat at dinner.
We had signed up for the classes we would take in our third year, our electives.
"Arithmacy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Ancient Runes," I answered.
Avery raised an eyebrow, "Divination? I thought you hated that."
"I do. I'm taking it because Meg wanted to take it, and she's taking Ancient Runes because I wanted to," I replied
At the mention of Meg, Avery rolled her eyes.
Meg pretended not to notice. We had signed up for the same classes, and Meg wasn't particularly fond of taking Divination (she, like Harry, thought Professor Trelawney shouldn't be teaching), but it was been Dumbledore's idea. Something about helping her develop her power.
I was about to ask Lucy what she was taking when there was a loud commotion outside of the Great Hall. Everyone could hear it, and everyone turned towards the doors to the Great Hall.
Dumbledore stood up from his seat. The Great Hall seemed frozen in time.
Until the huge doors blew up, throwing splinters of wood across the Great Hall. Someone screamed, and it started a chain reaction. A second later, everyone was screaming.
Dumbledore was shouting over the screams.
Meg and I were looking at the doors, to see figures robed in black, wearing masks. Death Eaters.
Author's Note- Ta da! Chapter 24 is done! Sorry it took so long, but I'm still suffering from a slight of writer's block. Look for chater 25, where something very big happens. You'll see. I'm not giving anything else away. By the way, if you like the book Violet Eyes by Nicole Luiken, check out my fic, Crusade of the Violet Eyed! That's all for now! REVIEW!!!!!!!
Any additional comments or random words can be given to me at StarlightEve111@aol.com