Top of Form
Bottom of Form
Chloe pulled the hood of her cloak over her head with shaking fingers. The wind was howling fiercely through the castle grounds and it felt like it was pricking her face with icicles. Chloe put her head down and kept walking. Meghan didn't know what she was talking about: this wasn't bad.
When she reached the Quidditch stadium, she tugged hopefully at the handles of the heavy wooden doors. Despite the wind, they weren't going to budge. A piece of parchment was tacked up with very threatening blood-red script and Chloe read it quickly.
Private Quidditch Practice for Gryffindor House Team
6pm-Until Needed
No unauthorized persons allowed. Violators will be hexed and house points deducted liberally.
Oliver Wood, School Quidditch Master
Chloe didn't see how exactly she was an unauthorized person. How could someone taking an interest in the Gryffindor House team be unauthorized to watch them practice? Everyone else in Gryffindor seemed to think Quidditch was a splendid joke. This was quite a different situation than Chloe had imagined. When her father had gone to Hogwarts, all the people in Gryffindor really loved Quidditch.
"Alohomora." Chloe tapped the door with her wand and glanced around nervously. Talk about poking a sleeping dragon in the eye.
Nothing happened. She felt quite lucky. She wouldn't have put it past Oliver to fix a trap door or perhaps a very large net to fall on someone. Well, she certainly wasn't going to let some silly parchment keep her from seeing a Quidditch practice this year. She rubbed her freezing hands together and glanced around the stadium. How could she get in? First years weren't allowed brooms—much to her annoyance— or else she could just fly over the very tall fence surrounding the stadium. It wasn't even close to being as tall as the stands, but it kept her from getting to them.
She didn't see any way that she could scale the fence without blowing it up. She also didn't know how to blow anything up yet. She decided to walk around and see if there was a back entrance.
She didn't find an entrance, but she did find something helpful. In the rear of the stadium, they hadn't cut down the trees near the fence. All she had to do was climb a tree and hop over the fence, easy as pie. Chloe studied the trees. They were all terribly tall and if her parents knew she was climbing them, she would probably get in three times more trouble than when she climbed Havenwood trees. She picked the one with the branches closest to the fence and set to work.
Several minutes later, she wasn't getting very far. Her cold hands kept slipping on the bark and her dumb uniform wasn't exactly perfect for tree climbing. She was positive there was a gaping hole in the knee of her tights and her Mary Janes weren't good for standing on tree branches. Chloe stretched hard for another branch and pulled herself up. She had to hug the branch with her body to stay on and it was extremely annoying because her wand was digging into her ribs. Wait a moment! Her wand....
How could she be so stupid? She was a witch. It was all a matter of a little magic. Well, the matter of working out which magic to use. She doubted there were tree climbing charms in Standard Book of Spells Grade One. She couldn't very well levitate the tree and she doubted that she could levitate herself. There was certainly a reason why wizards had brooms. The teachers didn't seem to understand the necessity!
Maybe she could use that growth charm that Professor Higginbotham had taught them. Chloe had visions of the tree shooting up through the clouds at an alarming rate with her hanging on for dear life. Too bad she didn't know how to make it grow sideways.
What would the Aurors do? They probably wouldn't have blown the fence down if they were trying to be sneaky. She hadn't brought anything for climbing in her rucksack, just things for taking notes and one of her hair ribbons that had fallen out of one her braids. Chloe smiled brightly despite the wind gusts. Ribbon! There was a charm she knew!
"Adorne!" she said, pointing her wand towards the branch she wanted to end up on. Shiny gold Christmas ribbon shot out of her wand and twisted around the branch. She had helped her parents decorate their Christmas tree millions of times with her dad's wand. It wasn't exactly rope, but it seemed sturdy enough. She gave her wand a few tugs to be sure. Maybe she didn't even have to use it to climb. Professor Flitwick would never know she was trying to make up spells. Chloe clutched her wand tightly with both of her hands. "Retracto!" she said, hoping that it wasn't Latin for something really awful.
Her arms nearly jerked out of their sockets as her wand shot her upwards, feeding the ribbon back into itself. Chloe yelped with pain as branches clawed at her on the way up. Luckily, she looked up just before she smacked her head and grabbed the top branch just in the nick of time.
Panting, she looked down at her progress. Yes, that took much less time. She might be a little scratched up and have the taste of sap in her mouth, but she was right at the level of the fence. It seemed a lot higher from up here. If her parents knew what she was up to, her father would have the entire Auror Third Infantry around the tree and her mother would be absolutely having kittens.
Now... to get across the fence. Maybe she could use her ribbon charm again and swing across like a heroine! It looked incredibly dangerous, but an awful lot of fun.
No. She would have to save that for another day. She didn't want to waste anymore time. "Adorne!" she repeated and pointed at the branch she was hanging onto. The ribbon shot out and Chloe let it feed until she thought there was an adequate amount to hang down from and slide down the side of the fence. She took a deep breath and let go of her high perch and hung on the end of her wand with all her might.
It would have worked splendidly if she hadn't smacked straight into the other side of the fence. It hurt an awful lot and then there was the fact that she hadn't allowed for enough ribbon. There was no repairing her tights now and she was hanging halfway down the fifty-foot fence with no idea how to get down. Drat.
Finite Incantatem was a really bad idea unless she wanted to break a few bones.
Finn was going over his Charms notes for the thousandth time and Meghan was drawing something with her quill, the tips of her fingers black with the ink.
"I hope Chlo is enjoying herself in the freezing cold weather," Meghan commented. "She'd do anything to have her broom here at school with her."
"But she's good at it," Finn said. "She and Gloria Applewhite are the best flyers in our year."
"Gloria isn't trying to stalk the Quidditch team, now is she?" Meghan grinned.
"It'd be nice to be good at something," Finn answered, with a dark look in the direction of his Charms notes.
Meghan looked at him sympathetically. "I think you're doing really well, Finn."
Finn sighed softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude about it."
"You aren't rude," Meghan exclaimed. "You're the nicest person in Gryffindor! You even talk to Aidan."
"Aidan isn't bad," Finn mumbled.
"Didn't seem like he wanted to talk to Chloe," Meghan answered bitingly.
"I don't think she really wanted to either...."
Chloe's arms really hurt. Hanging from her wand was NOT comfortable. This wasn't supposed to happen to Gryffindors. Gryffindors always had a fantastic way to get out of sticky spots. Sure, you could give a Ravenclaw a tissue and a spoon and they could save the world, but a Gryffindor would find another way, with style and some impressive bravery.
"Bravery stinks," Chloe muttered, her nose pressing uncomfortably against the wooden fence.
Her fingers were slipping from her wand and she wasn't really looking forward to breaking her neck.
The branch her ribbon was attached to creaked loudly in the wind. Maybe she hadn't picked a strong enough branch in the first place, maybe it would bend and the fall wouldn't hurt so much.
POP!
Chloe shrieked as she slid quickly down the fence and hit the ground with a thump. Fortunately, she rolled out of the way to miss the tree branch which crashed down on her side of the fence. She coughed violently into the dirt, trying to breathe again.
"Ow," Chloe groaned, touching her lip. She looked at her fingertip and winced when she saw the blood from her face and her skinned knee. "That hurt," she said, feeling tears prick at the back of her eyes.
But, there was no need for tears. She was lucky she wasn't seriously hurt from the fall. In fact, the tree had spared her by breaking and the branch had hit the fence first, causing her to not fall from a dangerous height.
Chloe ignored her scraped up palms and shakily got to her feet. Her wand was still attached to the tree branch, probably smashed to splinters. Her parents were going to kill her. Chloe muttered something that Uncle Ron was quite famous for saying when he felt angry.
Her wand was just as lucky as she was, just a bit dirty from the fall and rolling in the dirt.
"Finite Incantatem," Chloe said, and the ribbon disappeared. "I'm really sorry," she apologized to the tree branch. "I didn't think I was all that heavy...."
She backed away and ran off. She had better get to work now.
"Would anyone care for anything to drink?" Hermione asked when everyone was seated in the staff room.
"I believe, Deputy, that everyone would care to get this meeting over and done with. School hours have been long over." Snape straightened his pile of parchment impatiently. "We have no need for refreshments."
"Herbal tea with milk, please," Professor Higginbotham said, lifting her finger.
"Drink, Remus?" Hermione interjected quickly. "Filius?"
Remus' eyes crinkled from behind his wire spectacles. "Black coffee, please."
"Cranberry juice!" Flitwick piped up.
"Gin martini. Dirty. Extra olives," Professor Hubble said flatly. She went back to filing her nails, which were already very sharp and pointed.
"Bad day, Aurora?" Hermione asked, eyebrows lifted.
"I don't deal with Slytherins," Professor Hubble replied with a very sassy toss of her auburn hair. "I'll just take the olives with club soda, then."
"Oliver is missing," Remus noted out loud. "Shall I send for him?"
"Oliver Wood is at a private Quidditch practice," Snape said coolly. "This meeting does not concern him in the least."
"Mr. Bell has him for Flying, does he not?" Professor Higginbotham questioned. "I'm sure he has a few words concerning the boy's ability in that area...."
"It's a...a...very important practice to Mr. Wood, Henrietta," Hermione added, handing her tea over. "He simply could not be persuaded to change the time."
"Wood?" Professor Hubble said slowly. "That must be the odd man I've seen screaming by the broomshed. I thought he was one of Hagrid's somethings. Is he quite all right in the head?"
"That question," Snape answered in a terse voice, "is uncalled for and not what we have congregated to discuss. However, I do not believe I have to remind Professor Granger that I can discuss Mr. Wood's mental health any time I decide to answer my post."
Professor Hubble took a swig of her club soda and smiled slyly. "I would have scheduled the meeting around his practice also."
"Shall we turn the discussion back to Finnigan?" Remus interjected before someone else could add their thoughts about the Quidditch teacher. "I would like to say a few words on his behalf, actually."
"Continue," Hermione nodded, placing her quill to a parchment. "I'm going to be owling this to Finnigan's mother. She refused to attend."
"He's certainly one of my best students," Remus said stirring his coffee. "If it weren't for the fact of him having little magical ability, he would probably be near the top of his year. He tries unbelievably hard, but he simply can't perform on the magical exercises."
"So, his failing grade is due to his lack of ability in practical areas of Transfiguration?" Hermione asked, while writing quickly.
"I'm afraid so. I try to give him as many points as I can. I've even given him a few extra assignments to make up for some of them. I can tell he's beginning to feel very frustrated with magic," Remus answered.
"I've seen his friends help him numerous times," Professor Higginbotham added. "It's very odd that he can't perform at the standards of the other students. He definitely wants to. It is almost like his magic is blocked away from him."
"Blocked?" Professor Flitwick shook his head. "Oh dear, dear, no. I've been paying special attention to the boy and even tried to help him with magical concentration, but his magic is not blocked from him, no, certainly not blocked. I still firmly believe that he does not know how to harness the power. I can not advance a student to the next level of Charms work if he does not master even the most basic of spells. His mother will not answer any of my owls regarding his magical ability in his early childhood."
"But he knows how to perform the spell, he just can't execute it," Remus said. "Has anyone considered the possibility of him being a Squib?"
"If he did not have the magical ability, his name would not be on the roster. He was born with the ability," Snape answered coldly.
"His mother would rather him not," Hermione added. "I'm quite concerned about her. She has a very unhealthy attitude towards the wizarding world and I think it's having a negative affect on Finn. With all due respect to his mother, I think that if it weren't for his friends, he wouldn't still be here. She would have talked him out of the magical world weeks ago. We simply cannot allow him to give up, he has an enormous amount of potential, like Remus said."
"In the process of not letting him give up, we just fail him in his first year?" Professor Hubble snorted. "That doesn't seem like much of a confidence boost to me."
"He doesn't want to leave Hogwarts," Remus said, giving her asour look. "He likes being exposed to the magical world. Not to mention, he's the absolute ONLY person in this school that Aidan Malfoy talks to."
"Aidan Malfoy," Professor Higginbotham sighed. "There's another...."
"Another student we are not discussing at this time," Snape interrupted. "Aidan excels in class, while Mr. Bell does not. If a student does not excel in classes after being given numerous chances, how do you expect him to survive on his own after he leaves Hogwarts? His mother may be right, regarding him living in the Muggle world."
Chloe could hear the Gryffindor team shouting and whooping as they practiced. She felt an electric tingle of excitement run up and down her arms. Finally! Quidditch! She pulled up the maroon coverdressing the Quidditch stand and slipped underneath it.
Chloe crawled to the front and pulled out her wand. "Dissuere!" she whispered, pointing at the fabric.
The seams in the fabric began to unravel and disintegrate from the point where her wand had touched it. She gently parted the fabric and peered out.
Chloe couldn't have happened upon a better spot. Directly in front of her was the team's bench, so she could not only see the flying that was going on above her, she could hear their comments.
Chloe quickly counted the scarlet robes in front of her, sitting on the bench. Four, plus Oliver. His Quidditch robes weren't scarlet and the dead giveaway was that most of the noise was coming from him.
"PASS THE QUAFFLE TO EACH OTHER! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK WITH YOUR OTHER CHASERS!" howled Oliver. He shook his fist at the sky and Chloe looked up quickly. One of the Chasers was speeding toward the goal post with the Quaffle.
"ANY IDIOT CAN FLY STRAIGHT FOR THE GOAL POST! PASS THE QUAFFLE!"
Chloe watched the other members of the team snicker and prod each other. She recognized the back of Kinsley Auden's blond head. He was the only one not laughing, but digging at the ground with his Beater bat.
"I'M SO GLAD YOU CAN FLY BACK AND FORTH ON THE PITCH! NOW TOSS THE QUAFFLE TO EACH OTHER BEFORE I HAVE TO COME UP THERE!" Oliver screamed, his face completely red. "DO YOU LISTEN TO A WORD I SAY?!"
Chloe winced as one of the Chasers attempted to catch the Quaffle but nearly fell off his broom instead.
"CATCH THE QUAFFLE OR FALL OFF YOUR BROOM!"
Chloe removed her rucksack as quietly as she could and cupped her hands around one of her most prized possessions. Her Bauble. It had been a gift, given to her by Professor Dumbledore when she was five.
Over the years, Chloe had discovered that her Bauble could do something more than glow when picked up and stop glowing when she set it down. She had discovered that she could control the intensity of the light. If she concentrated hard enough, the Bauble would shine extremely bright, filling a completely dark room as if it were daylight. She could also concentrate on making the Bauble glow so softly that the light was as small as a tiny pinprick.
But Chloe didn't want either of those things to happen as she pulled the flat gray sphere out of her bag. It winked to life in her palms, spilling the golden light into her dim hiding place. Chloe quickly concentrating on dimming it so that no one would see the rays seeping out from under the stand cover.
"Parchment," she whispered to herself and balanced the Bauble carefully on one palm as she searched for the rest of her supplies in her rucksack.
"YOU CALL THAT A FORMATION?"
Chloe quickly scooted to the ripped seam with Bauble, parchment, and quill and peered out. She rested the Bauble in her lap and rested one of her palms on it so it would continue to glow.
"Keeper!" Oliver rounded on the bench . "Get up there and throw those Quaffles back at them. If you let one of those Quaffles make it through the hoop, I'll replace you with a flying monkey? Clear?"
The Keeper stood up and nodded. When Oliver turned back to the Chasers, Chloe was horrified to see the Keeper roll his eyes.
"IF I DON'T SEE YOU THROW ONE QUAFFLE PAST THIS KEEPER, I'M GOING TO REPLACE YOU WITH FLYING MONKEYS!" Oliver bellowed at the Chasers.
"Somebody has a fiiiixation," Chloe heard someone sing softly on the bench.
"Shut up, Delores," Kinsley said, leaning down to look at the rest of the bench.
Chloe was vaguely aware of their argument continuing, but she was more interested in what was happening in the air. Oliver had a right to be screaming. The Chasers simply weren't doing anything. The Keeper was easily catching their attempts at scoring, but barely, and surely none of the other House teams would try something so simplistic. Chloe winced when one Chaser smacked into another simply because he was trying to signal for the third Chaser to throw him the Quaffle. The third Chaser, of course, threw the Quaffle at them post-collision.
She began scribbling notes on her parchment.
"Maybe if they kill each other, we'll have to forfeit," someone on the bench was saying. "There's a small bit of honor with forfeiting a game. It's far better than being creamed."
"Maybe the Snitch'll just leap into your hands too," someone answered him. "Course I'm forgetting that you can't even catch your post when it comes."
"I told you," Kinsley interrupted. "This year is going to be different."
TWEEEEEEEEET
"That's IT," screamed Oliver. "Get DOWN here!"
The Quidditch team congregated around their flying coach like repentant five-year-olds No doubt they were in for quite a lecture. Chloe's junior Quidditch team practiced better than they did.
"Hey," said someone, "what's under the stands there?"
Chloe gasped and shoved her Bauble back into her rucksack and started crawling furiously for the back of the stands.
"I don't know," someone else said loudly. "Let's look!"
The fabric covering the stands flew up and Chloe was face to face with a very large and angry-looking girl. Chloe gave a small squeak and tried to back away as quickly as she could, but not before the girl grabbed her foot and extracted her from the stands.
"A SPY!" yelled the girl. "Oliver! Look at this!"
Chloe's world turned into a blur of color as the girl picked her up by her feet and shook her upside down. She screamed and kicked, demanding to be let down.
Chloe's couldn't see anymore, now that part of her robes had fallen over her face, completely blackening the scene. "LET ME DOWN!" she shrieked. "I'm not a SPY!"
Delores continued to shake her. "Spy!"
"Put her down!" someone shouted. "She's not a spy, if you would take half a second to look at her robes! She's in Gryffindor! What is wrong with you?!"
Chloe hit the ground with another painful thump. "I'm not a spy!" she shrieked, trying to claw her robes out of her face.
A pair of hands reached down and helped her up. She pulled down her robes furiously. Kinsley Auden came into view. "Look, see? It's Potter. That little first year! You had to shake her to death, eh, Delores?"
Oliver glanced at Chloe and shook his head disapprovingly. "Auden, take Potter the hospital wing. She looks like she's been hit in the head. Potter, don't ever let me see you at another Quidditch practice...."
"Mum wrote me a letter," Finn said, reaching into his school things. "About Christmas this year... she doesn't want us to spend it in London."
"Don't tell me she wants you to stay in the wizarding world," Meghan said incredulously.
"No. I wouldn't mind going back to the Muggle world so much, because I thought I could visit some of my old friends, but Mum doesn't want them to suspect anything about Hogwarts."
"That's silly, they're Muggles, they'd never guess."
"I know. Mum is extra careful, though."
"Where are you going to go instead?" Meghan asked, looking very worried.
"A long holiday, travelling around and sightseeing. She wants to show me some parts of England I've never been to."
Meghan could hear the glumness in Finn's voice. "But you have to spend Christmas with somebody!"
Finn looked down. "Yeah. I might get to see my old school friends sooner than I think anyway. It's just one Christmas."
Meghan grasped Finn's hand. "No way! Come on!" She marched across the common room, curls flouncing.
Finn fought for control of his wrist. "What? Meghan? What?"
"Morty!" Meghan said, slamming her hand down on his book. "Morty, you'll never believe this."
Mortimer was startled quite violently from his reading and took a deep calming breath before gazing up at his sister and adjusting his glasses. "Meghan, for Merlin's sake, people in the common room study...."
"No," Meghan said, holding up her hand. "Wait until you hear about what Finn has to do for Christmas."
Mortimer Weasley glanced at Finn, who smiled back weakly, trying to convey that he had merely been drug over here against his will. "Yes?"
"His mum is making them travel around the Muggle countryside. A-lone." Meghan emphasized the last word by looking pitifully back at Finn.
'"It sounds like a holiday," Mortimer answered calmly. "You're wrinkling my book, Meghan."
"It is supposed to be a holi--" Finn tried to finish his statement.
"Finn can't go back to the Muggle world all by himself this Christmas! Why can't he stay with us? His first wizarding Christmas!" Meghan was quick to cut Finn off. "He could spend it with all of us and Chloe's parents too! He's just dying to meet all the others."
Mortimer quickly glanced around and lowered his tone. "Megh-an. It isn't polite of you to offer Father and Mother's house without permission. How do you know that Father hasn't invited some dignitary?"
"Like two years ago? The one from Hungary?"
"Yes," Mortimer said. "Exactly."
"He was playing horsey on the floor with Camea!" Meghan argued. "Besides, Mum and Dad would never notice someone new. He'd just blend in with the rest of us. Ten? Eleven? Who's counting? They sure aren't."
"What is going on?" Catherine appeared behind Finn, her hand on her hips. "Meghan, you're practically screaming at Mortimer. What has happened now?"
"Meghan wants to invite Finn to stay with us this holiday," Mortimer explained. "She hasn't even asked Mum and Dad for permission."
"Mortimer," Catherine sounded extremely shocked. "That is very rude of you. Of course Finn can stay at our house. Mum and Dad would never refuse a guest!"
Meghan grinned, obviously thrilled to have obtained an ally.
"But," Finn said softly, "My mother wants to tour the Muggle countryside."
Meghan glanced quickly at Catherine, waiting for a reaction.
"Of course she does," Catherine said, smoothing her hair down. "But we'll simply have to extend an invitation for her."
"Perhaps she wanted a relaxing holiday," Mortimer said dryly. "We have a very nice family, but it is very hectic at times."
"Oh!" Meghan said, slapping her forehead. "Then he doesn't have to stay with us at all. He can stay at Uncle Harry's house with Chloe and he won't have to be around the large groups all the time!"
"Yes!" Catherine said, beaming at Meghan. "Well done, Meghan."
"It's really okay, I don't want to be any trouble..."
Catherine looked at Finn as if he were one of her youngest brothers. "Don't be silly, I'll write to Aunt Ginny and Mum right away. So will Meghan and Chloe. They'll take care of everything."
"Look, kid," Kinsley said, walking with Chloe with his hand on her elbow. "You're crazy. You could have really been hurt doing that stuff."
Chloe touched her swollen lip. "Let me come to Quidditch practices then."
"You're too young," Kinsley sighed. "Oliver has rules and you'd only be in the way."
"All I want to do is watch," Chloe answered angrily. "I want to study the plays."
"Go check out a Quidditch book in the library. Less chance of breaking your neck."
"I've read them," Chloe shot back. "I want to write plays and learn how practice works. Why can't I?"
"Because you're a first year! Next thing you know, you'll be asking for a spot on the team."
"I won't ask for my spot, I'll earn my spot," Chloe said, pulling her Bauble out of her rucksack and lighting their path a bit.
"That's great, Chloe, but in a few years. There's nothing you can do for this team. It's my responsibility."
"Ever read anything about being a Captain?" Chloe challenged.
Kinsley gave her a look. "Listen here, I'm ALLOWED in practices."
She shoved a handful of parchment in his hands. "Read my stuff. I'm smart enough, I swear. Look at my marks, they're really good. I can fly too. I just want to help...please, I love Quidditch."
Kinsley flipped through the parchment quickly. "Look, Chloe... this is really...dedicated or something but, you've got to stay out of our practices. We can't use this stuff."
"You don't know that!" Chloe exclaimed. "I worked hard on those!"
"Tell you what," Kinsley said, stopping to turn a parchment over and study it further. "You stay out of practice and once a week, you and I can get together to talk Quidditch. Deal?"
Chloe snorted loudly. "No. I might be a first year, but I'm not stupid enough to agree to that. I'm in Gryffindor, give me SOME credit."
Kinsley laughed. "You're pig-headed."
"I want to attend practices. I won't make a sound."
"This is ridiculous. I don't even have to have this conversation with you, Chloe. You have to listen to Oliver's rules and that's the end of it. Honestly, I don't even know why you're arguing with me."
"Because you're the Captain, unless you forgot."
Kinsley bristled. "Let's remember I have more say than you, Chloe."
He handed her parchments back. "I don't think you've finished coloring on these."
Chloe snatched them back. "Fine, I'll just leave them in a nice spot for the Slytherin Quidditch team to find. Even though I don't even HAVE to bother, because you'll lose anyway."
"Do what you want, kid. This isn't your manor. There'rea few more people here than just you."
Chloe crossed her arms and kept walking. "You're an awful prat."
"Yes, you're ticked off at me," Kinsley grinned. "That's okay. You're all right underneath all that stubbornness."
"Am I at least allowed to attend the games?" Chloe asked dryly.
Kinsley took the parchments from her hand again and smiled in the Bauble light. "Of course, kid. You'll be the only Gryffindor there. Maybe you'll turn out to be a good luck charm or something."
Chloe's mouth turned upwards to a smile. Maybe the situation wasn't so hopeless after all. "You need it."
"I know," Kinsley laughed.