Chapter 11: Quidditch
Remus, Peter, Lily, Kierra and all of the Gryffindor players were the first to make it to the entrance and immediately surrounded James. Sirius and Remus pulled James up with great effort and led him to the nearest seat.
"James, what happened?" asked Remus, who was dusting James' torn robes.
"Someone...some people...attacked me...wands..." James sputtered. Blood was dripping out of his lower lip.
"Who?" Dominique asked.
"Dunno...they wore hoods...faces were covered..."
"What'd they do?" Sirius asked, as he, Remus and Dominique began frantically to check for injuries.
"Someone tripped me when I came out of the portrait hole..." James muttered, "next thing I know...a buncha people are hexing me..."-- James stopped and hunched over, and started puking a thick yellow-green substance.
"Come on, we need to get him to the hospital wing!" It was Lily. The now massive crowd that surrounded James parted, giving him room to make his way out, helped by Remus and Sirius and led by Lily and the others.
Just as they turned the corner that led to the hospital wing, the group ran right into Professor McGonagall.
"Professor! James has been attacked!" Lily exclaimed, "We don't know who, but they ambushed him..."
"Quickly, in here..." Professor McGonagall turned around and opened the door to the hospital wing. "Poppy, Mr. Potter needs immediate attention. Miss Evans, explain to me in full detail." Lily nodded and quickly recounted what little that James had told the group about the attackers, that they were all hooded.
"I bet you anything it was a bunch of Slytherins" Kierra said nastily. "Trying to sabatoge the game..."
"I agree with you Miss Nakofsky...but I'm afraid there's no way we could prove it"--
"The game! OWW!" James had shot up from his bed only to fall back down in pain. "Madam Pomfrey...I've got to play"--
"Indeed you will not, Mr. Potter! You are in no condition!" Professor McGonagall said shrilly.
"But Professor...we'll have to forfeit"--
"Then let that be! I would rather have that than have one of my students get killed in a game of quidditch!"
"Maybe if we get a substitute in..." James said hopefully.
"Enough!" shouted Madam Pomfrey, "I want everyone out of here so I can take care of Mr. Potter! Just wait outside!"
And with that, the entire group of students filed out of the hospital wing.
A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey emerged from the wing. "Mr. Potter has been badgering me to let the quidditch team in, he wants to have a quick team meeting. Now, only the quidditch players!"
With that, Kyle, Frank, Tyler, Alice, Sirius, and Dominique reentered the hospital wing, leaving Peter, Remus, Kierra, and Lily outside.
"How are you pulling through, James?" Frank asked as they gathered around his bed.
Before he could answer, Madam Pomfrey came bustling through with a bar of chocolate. "He'll live," she said, as she broke off a piece and stuffed it into his mouth. "Whoever did this to him hit him with some terrible hexes...but they didn't do a good job at it."
"Will you be able to fix him up?" asked Dominique.
"In time for the game?" James asked.
"Yes, I can fix him up, but no, not in time for the game. I can get you bandaged up, but you'll be in too much pain from the potions I'm about to give you, you will be in no state to play." Madam Pomfrey said, as she filled up a tiny goblet with a liquid that let out pink fumes. "Drink up!" she ordered.
James gulped down the contents in a few seconds, but made faces of disgust as he did so. "That was disgusting..." he muttered. "Ok listen everyone..." James let out a few coughs, "here's the thing...we have to play. Forfeiting is not an option. We have to play."
"But without a seeker?" Alice asked "Our only shot at winning then would be to score over 150 points before their seeker finds the snitch...and then of course try to beat him down with bludgers..."
"Or get a substitute" James repeated. "We need a substitute. Now, quick...who do we have..."
"Peter, Remus, Lily and Kierra are out in the hall...you can ask one of them since they're right here..." Sirius suggested.
"Excellent...ok...Peter...he's terrified of flying...Remus...hmm ok maybe Remus...he's got a good build...but...I don't think he's ever played a game of quidditch in his life..."
"Might not be a good idea then..." said Kyle.
"Ok...that leaves Kierra and Lily...I don't know how either of them are..." James turned to Alice and Dominique for answers.
"Well, they've seen some of our practices...so they wouldn't be totally clueless..." said Dominique.
"Excellent! So they know our moves!" James shouted.
"I don't think they paid that much attention to us..." said Alice.
"Ok whatever, bring them all in, we can ask..." James said.
Seconds later, Remus, Peter, Lily and Kierra appeared by James' bedside.
"Ok...we need a seeker..." James said, and at once, all four of them backed away. "Come on! One of you guys needs to step up! Ok Peter, I know you're not keen on riding broomsticks, so you don't have to...(Peter sighs with relief) Remus...you've got the best build...but..." James saw apprehension rise in Remus' face; he looked a bit more closely at Remus, and noticed that he was looking a bit peaky. It suddenly hit him; the full moon was approaching. "You don't look well...ok..." James turned and faced Lily and Kierra. "Please...one of you guys..." Suddenly, Lily pushed Kierra forward. "Excellent! I knew you'd come through, Kierra!"
Kierra's jaw dropped. "B-bb-but..."
"Look you're our only hope!" James bellowed. "I know you haven't got much experience...but I can't let Gryffindor go down without a fight...if we're going down, it's got to be with dignity!"
"You'll be fine Kierra" Kyle said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "You've seen us practice a few times..."
"Listen" James interrupted. He winced for a moment and held his stomach tightly.
"James, allow me..." Sirius said, as he helped James to lie down. "Alright," Sirius said, turning to the team, "We've got 20 minutes until the game. Peter, can you go tell McGonagall that we've got a sub for James, and that we're not forfeiting?"
"Got it." With that, Peter marched off to find Professor McGonagall.
"Ok, everyone else, let's go down and change. And girls, while you get ready," Sirius said, turning to Alice and Dominique, "go over as much as you can with Kierra, alright? Get a shooting star from Madam Hooch"--
"Are you kidding me?" James had started up again. "Use my broom!"
"Your broom?" Kierra stammered. It was a known fact that James treated his Cleansweep like it was his own baby. "Are you sure?"
"Yes...I'm positive...it's the fastest broom out there, with the exception of the new nimbus...just don't hurt it, ok?" James said, with a look of plea in his eyes.
"Of course..." Kierra said.
"Alright, Remus can you go find James' broom and get it to Kierra ASAP, so she can have a go on it before the match?"
"Yea, sure" Remus said as he quickly made his way out of the hospital wing.
Sirius turned to Kyle. "Can you help me get James out of these robes? We'll clean them up a little for Kierra"--
"Sure" Kyle replied.
"I can get out of these myself!" James shouted hoarsely, causing him to fall into another fit of vomitting.
Within minutes, Kierra was being fitted into James' robes all while Alice and Dominique were trying to drill her on Quidditch moves. Remus had just appeared with Megan on the scene with James' broom in hand.
"Ok, you've got about ten minutes until you've got to appear. Let's go out into the courtyard. It should be empty since everyone's out on the quidditch pitch.
"Alright..." Kierra answered nervously as she followed Remus and Megan out onto the empty courtyard.
"Ok," Remus began, "so when you mount your broom, make sure"--
"I know how to fly, you know!" Kierra snapped. What did he take her for, anyway? Surely she had a little more wit than the blonde bimbo who was clutching his arm.
"Er..sorry...ok...go ahead..." Remus said quickly, as he backed away from Kierra. He looked at her apologetically. At that instant, Kierra felt sorry for snapping at him.
"Sorry...I'm just nervous..." Kierra muttered.
"It's ok...just go ahead and fly around a bit...get used to his broom..." Remus answered. With that, Kierra mounted James' Cleansweep and kicked off the ground. She gave a small startled gasp at the speed at which it took off with. This was nothing like the comet 100 she kept at home. It was much smoother and faster.
"Take a few dips and turns! Get a feel for the brakes!" Remus called out from below her. Kierra nodded in obedience and leaned forward. She could really feel the power in this broomstick. It was much easier to control than the ones she was used to. Excited, Kierra decided to test her skills. She plunged straight towards the ground, and shot back up when she was a few feet from the ground. As she pulled back up, Remus voiced out what she had been thinking.
"That was excellent!" he shouted, smiling at her.
"Thanks!" Kierra shouted back. Her nervousness and fear had started to melt away as she flew around. Just then, Kyle walked onto the courtyard and waved frantically at her.
"Kierra! Game time! Now!"
Immediately, Kierra lowered herself to the ground with a smooth landing, and hopped off the broom. "That was some really good flying!" Megan exclaimed.
"Thanks" Kierra answered as she clutched James' broom.
"Alright, let's get going. You two," Kyle said as he turned to Remus and Megan, "should go get some seats...maybe you can go sit with James..."
"What are you talking about?" Remus asked quickly, "Isn't he supposed to be in the hospital wing?"
"Yea...well, he threw a huge tantrum about missing the game...in front of Pomfrey, McGonagall, AND Dumbledore...burst right into tears..." Kyle grinned.
"No way..." breathed Kierra.
"Yea...he did..he was in a right state, I'm tellin ya...crying about how he had to watch the game...it was his only hope for recovery..."
Kierra snorted. "Only hope for recovery?"
"Pomfrey threw a fit herself, saying she needed to take care of him...I think Dumbledore found it quite amusing...so he let James come and watch..."
"But is he even in a state to come out there on the pitch?" asked Remus, as they walked down the grassy path towards the Quidditch field.
""Kind of...he's going to be sitting in his own little private box...so he can throw up freely, you know..." Kyle answered. "But I think you guys should go sit with him...give him some support...and maybe keep him from getting too worked up...for his own sake, you know..."
"Yes...of course..." Remus said. "Megan, you mind if we sit with James?"
"No, not at all!" Megan answered.
When they arrived at the Quidditch pitch, Kyle pulled Kierra away from Remus and Megan. "Well," he said, "We've got to go out in the back, so we can all come out together. We'll see you guys after the game."
"Alright...well, good luck guys!" Remus said, glancing at Kierra and nodding at her slightly.
"Thanks!" Kyle and Kierra said together as they strolled off. "I'm gonna need it..." Kierra muttered aloud as they made it around the back of the quidditch pitch where the other Gryffindor players were waiting.
"You'll be fine!" Kyle assured her.
Kierra looked around. Everyone was pacing around, except for Sirius, who was gripping Dominique's shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes and talking softly to her. She seemed to have gone a bit pale, and was nodding at him but didn't seem to be listening to him. It then ocurred to Kierra that this was Dominique's first match.
Listen D, I'll keep an extra eye on you...I won't let any bludgers get near you..."
"I'm not worried about bludgers..." Dominique answered, "What if I miss a goal..."
"Dominique!" Sirius exclaimed, "I'm sure we'll be able to afford to miss a few goals! Don't worry!"
But Kierra heard no more of their conversation. Kyle had just shouted at them to get into position. Dominique and Kierra stood side by side in the front. Neither of them looked at each other; they were both too nervous. Behind them were Sirius and Kyle, and in the back stood Tyler, Alice and Frank.
"This is so weird..." Frank commented, "Not having James leading us out..." The others nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Sirius jabbed Dominique in the back with his broomstick.
"Loosen your grip on your broom," he hissed, "You'll break it right in half! Just calm yourself! Ok, go!" he said quickly, as the Gryffindor team was announced on the magical megaphone. As they marched out, one by one they took off in the air, until they all hovered at different heights above the quidditch pitch.
"And in place of Gryffindor seeker James Potter," John Meyer, the announcer yelled, "we have Miss Kierra Nakofsky! Here she comes! Wonder if she plays as good as she looks!"
"MEYER!" everyone could hear Professor McGonagall scolding John.
"Sorry Ma'am! We've also got two new additions to the Gryffindor team- Kyle Watson as beater, and Dominique Fiore as keeper! Now if she plays like the average French Quidditch player...this might be a pretty quick match"--
"JOHN MEYER YOU ARE NOT BEING PAID TO INSULT THE PLAYERS!" McGonagall bellowed.
"I was just kidding professor!" John yelled into his microphone.
Seconds later, the Slytherin team was announced, and they too flew out onto the field. The Slytherin seeker, Lucius Malfoy, flew right up to Kierra and circled her. "Well, well, well...Nakofsky...you're a quidditch virgin aren't you?" he said nastily, making some nearby Slytherins, beaters, burst into laughter.
"Shut it, Malfoy" Kierra spat.
"Don't worry, we'll play nice, won't we boys?" Lucius called out at the beaters, who doubled with laughter, nodding their heads.
"Oh yes, of course we will!" said one, by the name of Ian Winston.
"Yea, we'll be sure to give her a warm reception!" said the other, whose name was Peter Johnson.
"Ignore them!" shouted Dominique, who hovered a few feet away by the goal posts. Lucius, Ian and Peter immediately turned on her, just as the quaffle was being thrown into the air by Madam Hooch.
"And Gryffindor in position!" cried John Meyer.
"Mmm, you think you're so tough, don't you Fiore?" Malfoy sneered, clearly not caring that the game had begun.
"Well, it's more of a fact than an opinion" Dominique replied coolly, keeping one eye out for the quaffle.
"We'll see about that!" Peter said, watching a nearby bludger come his way. He swung his club backwards and struck it squarely at Dominique. The bludger came speeding towards her; but before she could even make a move, something flew in between her and the bludger and struck the bludger back in the direction that it came from- hitting Peter in the side, forcing him to drop several feet below them. Now facing an angry Sirius, Ian and Lucius quickly dispersed back into the game.
"Sirius!" Dominique gasped. "thanks..."
"Didn't I say I wouldn't let any bludgers get near you?" he replied with a wink at Dominique; but then he turned to face Kierra, who was shaking madly. "listen Kierra, Kyle and I are going to watch out for you...we've got a feeling that those dolts have marked you as their main target...since you're new and all..."
"Oh great..." Kierra muttered.
"Just...don't worry about them...focus on getting that snitch as soon as possible, and keep an eye on Malfoy!" Sirius said, as he ducked quickly to avoid taking a bludger to the head. "Ooohh, Ian's heading towards Alice, see you!" Sirius shouted as he darted off towards Alice, reaching her just in time to save her from a bludger.
"YES! YES! SIRIUS I LOVE YOU!" James shouted hoarsely from his private stand, as Sirius repelled the bludger that was about to hit Alice, allowing her to shoot the quaffle into one of the rings, bringing in another 10 points for Gryffindor. The stand's only other occupants were Remus, his date Megan, Peter and to James's surprise, (and rejoice) Lily.
"James calm yourself! Or you'll start puking again!" Lily scolded him.
"Sorry..." James said. He glanced over at Lily, but then did a doubletake when he saw that she was looking at him with worried eyes. "You don't want me to puke?" he asked.
"Course not...I don't want it getting all over me, you know..." Lily said quickly.
"Oh God...Oh God...I can't watch..." Peter was muttering, as he clamped his hands over his eyes. Lily and James stood up quickly to see what Peter was worried about. Lucius Malfoy was bumping Kierra as hard as he could...
"OH MY GOD SLYTHERIN SEEKER MALFOY IS TRYING TO KNOCK NAKOFSKY OFF HER BROOM!" Meyer shouted.
Suddenly, with great force, he pushed Kierra right off her broom, and she was hurtling towards the ground, from being almost 50 feet in the air.
"KIERRA!" Lily screamed; but she suddenly felt herself being pushed aside. It was Remus; he had pulled out his wand and was aiming carefully at Kierra.
"Mobulus Redomum!" he shouted. For an instant, Kierra's body stopped in midair, but then continued to fall again, only now she fell as if she were a feather blowing in the wind. Just as she neared the ground, her broom caught up with her, and she immediately hopped back on.
Kierra looked around wildly at the audience to see where the jet of light came from. Just then, she saw it. Remus was tucking his wand into his pocket, and Lily was hugging him, sobbing out of control.
"AND ANOTHER 10 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!" Meyer yelled. Kierra looked over at the scoreboard. It was now 80-30, Gryffindor lead. 'D's excellent...' Kierra thought; the 30 points that Slytherin had gotten were either from penalties or from cheap moves the Slytherins made on Dominique.
Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a soft buzzing noise coming from behind her. She quickly turned around, just in time to see the golden snitch shoot downwards. Kierra quickly followed. 'This isn't too hard...' Kierra thought as she nudged her broom onwards. She just needed more speed. Suddenly, the snitch decided to change angles and shot upwards again; Kierra narrowly escaping a crash in the ground. She could now hear someone flying right behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know that Lucius was tailing her. They were now neck in neck.
"Give it up you filthy half blood!" Malfoy snarled as he caught up to Kierra.
"Filthy! You should talk! Look at how you play!" shouted Kierra, as she struggled to keep up to Malfoy's speed. Suddenly they both slowed down until they stopped and hung in midair. The snitch had disappeared again.
"Well, Quidditch is a dirty little game...that's just how you play it" Lucius smirked at her.
Kierra's face suddenly lit up. "Yea...you're right...hey! The snitch!" Kierra shifted her gaze downwards and pointed at the ground.
"Where!" Malfoy looked downwards as well and leaned over to take off, when...
"AND KIERRA HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
Malfoy had looked up just in time to see Kierra race around him to grab the snitch, which was zooming around in circles around his own broomstick end. She held the snitch out in the air and grinned at him before flying out towards the other Gryffindors.
"KIERRA YOU WERE EXCELLENT! I LOVE YOU!" James was jumping up and down from his stand; His shirt looked dirty...possible covered with vomit...his lip had begun to bleed again. He looked positively sick, yet he didn't seem to notice. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID IT!"--
"KIERRA WATCH OUT!" Lily bellowed, pointing at something behind her. Kierra, who was still hovering on her broom, turned around just in time to see two bludgers coming her way.