A Second Chance
Chapter 22 - The Lions vs. The Eagles.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, and Harry Potter to J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything.
TIMELINE: AU. Set ten years before (Around 1988) "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone", during and after Harry Potter book 5, "Order of the Phoenix"(2003). During and after BTVS season 7, "Chosen". Pretend HP book one happened in 1999 during Buffy season three )
SUMMARY: BTVS/HP crossover. After James and Lily reappears, seemingly alive and well, mysterious things start to happen. New allies are made, prophecies revealed...and people keep rising from the dead. What's going on? And what has Voldemort got to do with it? Are the Scoobies and the Potter's second chance at life enough to stop the Dark Lord from spreading darkness across the country? Or is the world in need of more miracles?
PAIRINGS: Too many to count.
Thanks to my beta: Charmed Chick
It was after dinner and Buffy was slowly walking around the castle with Angel and Spike on either side of her, arguing over who would be 'her body-guard of the year'.
"So, Angel. I heard you've become the leader of an evil law firm. And here I thought you were helping people," Buffy said, and Angel shook his head.
"Buffy, it's not what you think. I'm not evil, and I'm not helping them being evil. By leading it, I can help more people, since I can stop them from doing evil. You know, destroying them from the inside."
"Really now?" Buffy said, clearly not believing him.
"And I guess you've got a good reason for hiring Harmony as well?"
"Buffy..."
"Fine, fine. I won't bring it up again."
"I didn'thire her! Wesley did!" Angel protested, and Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Wesley did. Of course. That explains it. Wesley. I can't believe you haven't fired him. What use can he be?"
Angel gave her a serious look.
"A lot of use. He has saved my life, once. He's different. He's not thebumbling idiot you know. He's changed."
Buffy rolled her eyes again.
"Whatever you say." She turned to Spike, clearly not wanting to spend time talking about Wesley anymore."So, Spike. How was the waiting place?"
Spike shrugged.
"Dull."
"Good to know. And being a ghost?"
Spike moaned.
"Buffy, I'm trying to forget about that..."
Buffy smirked. "Sorry." But she didn't look sorry at all.
"How have you been, Buff?" Angel asked, sounding hopeful. "Are you done baking?"
Buffy glared.
"No. And I'm not planning on it any time soon. AndI don't think I ever will." She sighed. "Angel...maybe we're not meant to be. I mean, we're cursed. I love you, I do, but I don't think I 'love' you anymore..."
Angel's face fell. "Oh..."
"What about me?" Spike asked, sounding even more hopeful. Buffy raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, let me see...I guess I love you. When you're not a pain in my ass...never!"
"Hey!" Spikeexclaimed. "You don't mean that. I remember you saying you loved me!"
"And I remember you saying I didn't," Buffy retorted.
"Alright, fine. I admit that," Spike relented."But I didn't mean it. You say things you don't mean when you're dying."
"I don't." Buffy stated, and Spike smirked.
"But you're odd that way."
Buffy stuck out her tongue, and Angel shook his head.
"Children, stop playing around."
Spike and Buffy gave each other a look, thinking the exact same thing. They turned to Angel with innocent expressions.
"What are you doing...oh, nonononono!" Angel said, and started to back, as Buffy and Spike walked closer. Soon, he found himself up against a wall.
"TICKLE TIME!" Spike screamed. The entire castle could now hear laughing, screaming and threatening.
Dawn could hear her sister and the two vampires playing around from her place in the Great Hall.
"I guess they're enjoying spending time with each other," she said. Charlie, who sat beside her, only let out a grunt in response.
Harry smirked.
"You like Dawn's sister, don't you?"
"What? No." Charlie stated, ignoring the blush that were slowly making its way up his cheek.
"Right..."
Charlie wasn't able to retort when the doors flew open, and revealed a man with thick brown hair.
"Oliver?" Ron gasped from beside Harry.
"What is he doing here!"
Dumbledore rose from his chair.
"Slayers, and staff-members..."
Harry coughed, and Dumbledore smiled.
"...snd students, let me introduce to you Oliver Wood. Mr. Wood will take the place as flying instructor once the term starts, as Madame Hooch has decided to retire. I hope you all will make him feel at home."
"Don't worry about it, professor. I won't have any problem with feeling at home at Hogwarts. After all I did live here for the better part of seven years," Oliver said, with a thick Scottish accent, making some of the Slayers sigh. He was so handsome.
Oliver smiled, and then made his way over to Harry.
"Hey Harry. Ron. Hermione. Ginny. Charlie...and...have we met?"
"No," Dawn said. "I'm Dawn."
"Nice to meet you. How are you, Harry? Played any Quidditch lately?" Oliver asked, and Harry squirmed uncomfortably in his seat.
"Not really...haven't had any time."
Oliver looked surprised.
"No time at all? Harry, you need to keep in shape," Oliver scolded."You too, Ron. I hear you're the new keeper. How are you doing?"
"It's alright..." Ron said, his ears burning red.
"He's great," Hermione said. "He just doesn't realize it."
Oliver laughed.
"I see...well, how about a game tomorrow? You think any of the Slayers are up to playing? Maybe that red-head I met in Diagon Alley? Vi, right?" Oliver asked, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice. Harry and Ron didn't notice, but Ginny, Hermione and Dawn did. They gave each other a look. The ex-Quidditch captain was obviously smitten by the Slayer.
"Sure," Ron said. "What happened with Puddlemere United, Oliver?"
"Oh, well...I wasn't really getting any chance to play - their keeper never got hurt - not that I wished him to get hurt, of course," Oliver added when he saw the others smirk. "Anyway, so when good ol' Dumbledore offered me a place here, how could I resist? And I really missed my old mates, too."
Harry and Ron nodded in understanding, but the girls gave each other another look. They was sure that wasn't the only reason...
"So, a game of Quidditch, huh?" Ron said."What're the teams going to be?"
"Well, I kind of hoped to play some, so I asked the twins, Angie (Angelina) and Allie (Alicia) to come over...Dumbledore cleared it so, it's fine. I thought maybe we could play old players against new? Harry, didn't your father play?"
"Oh, yeah! He was a chaser - damn good too from what I've heard!" Harry said proudly.
"Alright, well...this is how we're gonna do it..."
One hour later, the game and players was planned and decided.
Spike was roaming the corridors (Angel and Buffy had left to 'talk' some more), when he suddenly bumped in to someone.
"Hey, watch we're you're going!" Spike cried, but the person only sneered.
"Woah! Are you a vampire?" Spike frowned, giving the man a long, interested look."Buffy didn't say anything about another vampire in the castle!"
The man stopped.
"Excuse me?"
"I said 'are you a vampire?'"
The man glared.
"No, I am the Potions Master here."
"Oh, a potions master, huh?" Spike said, smirking."Well, you still look like a vampire to me."
The man growled.
"I would watch your mouth if I were you, Mr...?"
"Spike. And you're not me. What was your name? Tall, dark and greasy?"
"I'm Professor Snape," Snape said with a withering look that would have made all the students shiver. But not Spike, he just smirked. In that way, he remindedSnape waytoo much about the marauders.
"Snape? Well, nice to run into you. I think. Or maybe not."
Snape growled again.
"Listen here, Mr...Spike. I don't know who you think you are, but you cannot come here and insult people freely!"
"I don't. You're special..." Spike said with a serious look. Snape looked like he would explode.
"Leave before I start you on fire!"
"With that stick thing?" Spike asked innocently.
"It's called a wand," Snape said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, right. It's your magic stick." Spike snickered.
"LEAVE NOW!"
"Hey, you ran into me, remember? If anyone should leave, it's you!"
Snape looked like he wanted to retort, but instead, he sneered once more, before turning around and left, his robes soaring behind him.
Spike tutted, and shook his head sadly.
"That man needs a sense humor."
"So, Buffy..."
"What?" Buffy asked.
"Why have you changed your mind about us?" Angel...pouted?
'Since when do Angel pout?'
"Angel, there is no us. There can't be an us...I've just realized that, and I think I kinda - "
"You kind of what?"
" - like someone else..." Buffy finished quietly.
"Who?" Angel demanded to know."It's that wizard boy, right? I knew I didn't like him for a reason..." Angel muttered jealously.
"Angel, drop it, okay?" Buffy exclaimed, frustrated. "Why can't you ever like my boyfriends?"
"Aha! Boyfriend!" Angel said, his face litting up, as if he had just caught Buffy with her hand in the cookie jar.
Buffy sighed.
"Angel, please...I will always love you, but we just can't be. And I really like Charlie. I think there's something there...and I like it. Why can't you be happy for me?"
Angel was quiet, so Buffy continued.
"I mean, I never really said anything even though you screwed Darla and made her pregnant."
"That was different!" Angel protested.
"Oh, so it's okay for you to have a love life, while I'm just supposed to sit around on my ass and finish baking?" Buffy asked incredulously.
"You were the one that brought up the cookie analogy in the first place..." Angel muttered, and Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Angel, please..."
"Fine, I won't say anything. Good luck with wizard boy," Angel grumbled.
"Thank you."
Pause.
"Can I just hurt him a little?"
"Angel!"
"So she's all for him, then?" Spike asked.
"Yeah..." Angel sighed.
"And you just gave up?"
"I want her to be happy, Spike, and if she's happy with that Charlie boy, who am I to deny her?" Angel sighed, and kicked a really ugly cat that came strutting down the corridor. The cat hissed in pain, and showed her claws, but Angel just rolled his eyes, and showed off his 'game-face' which made the cat take off in a dead run down the corrior, its tail between the legs.
"Fine, I won't go between them," Spike said, smirking towards the retreating cat.
Pause.
"Are you sure he's good enough for her?" He then said.
Pause.
"No," Angel said.
Pause.
"Why don't we go find out?"
Pause.
"Good idea."
Charlie was walking around the castle, looking for Buffy, when he suddenly felt himself pushed up against a wall.
"What the bloody - ?"
"Hello, Charlie-boy," Angel growled.
"Me and Spike here thought we'd have a little chat..."
Charlie gulped.
"Really? And why is that?"
Spike smirked.
"What do you think of Buffy?"
Charlie thought quickly. What did the vampires want? If he said he loved her, they might kill him, if he said he didn't...well, they might kill him anyway. So he went for something in between.
"I like her. A lot." He gulped.
"Really? And why is that?" Angel asked, and pushed him closer towards the wall, and Charlie felt some sweat break out on his neck.
"She's pretty...and smart...and funny...and strong...and I just do!" Charlie exclaimed.
"So the reason you like her is because she's pretty?" Angel stated, and Charlie's eyes widened. He had a feeling this wasn't going to well...
"No!" Charlie hurried to say. Spike growled, andCharlie hastily corrected himself. "I mean, yes, she's pretty, but that's not why I like her!"
"Oh, yeah," Spike said,licking his fangs, which had suddenly appeared as the blech-blonde man transformed into a full vampire-attire."She was strong too, huh? Need someone to protect you from all evil vampires?"
"No! I can kill them myself, I just - " Charlie felt how the sweat slowly started to drip.
"You just - ?"
"I just love her! I don't have any reason for it! Isn't love supposed to be mysterious?" Charlie tried, and Angel sighed.
"Not another poet..."
"Hey! Nothing's wrong with poets!" Spike cried.
"Whatever, bleach-boy," Angel said, and rolled his eyes. "Look, both of us would do anything for Buffy to protect her. Would you?"
Spike asked, and glared at Charlie, looking for any sign of weakness.
Charlie glared back.
"With my life."
It was quiet for a minute, and then...
"Well done, Charlie boy!" Spike said, and slapped his back.
"You passed!"
"I did?" Charlie asked, and blinked. That was it? No violence?
"Yep. You're alright, kiddo," Angel said. "Someone who isn't afraid of us has our respect."
"Why would I be afraid of you? I could kick your ass," Charlie said confidently, and Angel smirked.
"Bring it on," he said, before leaving, Spike slightly behind. Charlie checked so they were completely gone, before he sank down to the floor, gasping.
"Thank Merlin!" Hebreathed."I was terrified!"
Spike was once again roaming the castle, when he saw Tara come out of a room, and leave. Spike looked inside, and found a familiar redhead sit on a bed, staring at the wall.
"Red?" Spike asked, and went inside. "Hey, Red. You alright?"
Willow didn't answer, and Spike decided it was time for a little bonding.
"When I was evil...I did a lot of horrible stuff. Turned my own mother, only to kill her...brought down the apocalypse...Never succeeded, but still. When I was human, I used to be a nerd. A bit like you. I had it bad for this girl, and I always wrote bloody poetry. It sucked pretty bad. At least that's what everyone told me. Except Angel. He liked it, but he's always been a bit weird."
Spike looked at Willow, to see if he got a reaction.
"Well... I don't really know what I'm doin' here, Red, but you looked a bit lonely, so I thought I'd join you here in the brooding. It's usually Angel's area, but he's busy brooding on his own."
Still no answer.
"I killed many men, Red. Women...children...Slayers...but only after I tortured 'em. And I enjoyed it. Just like you did. Don't tell me you didn't like being evil. It gave you a kick. From being the goody-two shoesgirl, you could finally be something else otherthan a nerd. But your love saved you. You did some redemption, and you were fine. Just like me. My love for Buffy saved me. I got my soul, did some brooding and redemption in a schools basement, and then I was fine. But the evil was still there," Spike admitted."The dark, sucking your soul dragging you down. And it won. You turned evil. Again. But you snapped out of it. Again. That's what makes you a good person. Your choices. Alright, becoming evil maybe wasn't the wisest, but turning good...that's the good thing. But you're never going to overcome the dark completely if you don't face it. Face everything black, Red. Go down there, meet your fears...and you're a good step on the way. Go down there, join the crowd, talk to them. You don't deserve their love, but you will. But only if you go down there, and face them. Think about it," Spike said, and left. Willow was still sitting in the same spot, not moving. The minutes were ticking, and then...
"...Thanks..."
The next day was spent going through the rules of Quidditch, and giving some basic flying lessons to those who'd not played before. (Dawn, Vi, Xander, Andrew) Luckily, they all seemed to have a talent for the flying, although Andrew had some trouble with hitting the Bludger and not the players around him, but all in all, it went well.
The twins and their girlfriends had showed up just in time for dinner, which was spent talking about...well, Quidditch, of course. Their conversation was mostly circled around the upcoming game. They would have night game, since Angel and Spike wanted towatch, and everyone was eager to show the vampires their sport wasn't 'bloody stupid' and 'useless', as the both had so nicely put out. The teams went as follows:
"The Eagles" - Keeper; Ron. Seeker; Harry. Chasers; Ginny, Dawn, Vi. Beaters; Xander and Andrew.
"The Lions" - Keeper; Oliver. Seeker; Charlie. Chasers; James (duh), Angelina, Alicia. Beaters; Fred and George.
It seemed like it would be a very interesting match, old players against new, and all theSlayers and all the teacherswould come down to watch, even Dumbledore.
In the locker room. "The Lions" had just changed into flying robes, and Oliver was getting ready to speak to 'his' team. He cleared his throat.
"OK, men," he said.
"And women," said Angelina, trying incredibly hard not to laugh. She had a feeling Oliver's speech would be just like every other one he'd made as Quidditch Captain at Hogwarts.
"And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."
"The big one," said Fred.
"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.
"We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told James. "We were on the team with him at Hogwarts."
"Shut up, you two," Wood growled.
"This is the best team Gryf - erhm - The Lions have had in yea - ehrm - hours. Ehrm..."
"Okay, maybe not quite the same," George said brightly, and Angelina and Alicia snickered.
James rolled his eyes.
"Alright, enough," he said, and pushed Oliver aside, as he himself took place in the middle. "As much as I'm not doubting Oliver's ability to pep-talk, I think we need something new since this team is new."
"Old, you mean," Charlie said, and James raised his eyebrows.
"Speak for yourself! I'm only twenty!" This time, it was the others turn to raise their eyebrows.
"Alright, thirty-six, but I still look like twenty!" James cried.
The other snickered.
"Yeah...you're so great. Getting yourself transported forward in time..." Charlie muttered.
"You know, it's almost as though you think he planned it all along...just to keep his looks," Fred said, and James grew a bit red. This wasn't how his 'pep-talk'was supposed to be.
"Can we stop talking about me?" He said.
"With pleasure," Charlie said, moving into captain mood. It felt great being in Quidditch clothes again, to play a real game.
"Alright, team," he said, and pushed James aside. "We're the best. We have the most experience, we have the best players England can offer, and - "
" - Excuse me?" James cried, and pushed Charlie away, retaking his place. "I was talking!"
"Too much," Charlie said and pushed back, making James stumble a little. "As I was saying - "
" - HEY! The pep-talk was up to me!" Oliver wined. "I'm the captain!"
"Says who?" James asked.
"ME! I was captain at Hogwarts since my fourth year! And I played in Puddlemere United!"
"And we all know your speech already," Angelina said. "Come on, wouldn't it be nice with something new?
"Exactly my point!" Charlie said. "Alright, team," he started again, but was again interrupted by James.
"Who made you the captain?"
"McGonagall. In my last year. And I was offered to play for England," Charlie reminded him.
"Well, I was made captain too! Since my sixth year!"
"But you weren't offered the chance to play for England" Charlie retorted.
"Well, I never wanted too! They must've known I wasn't interested!"
"Yeah, RIGHT!" Charlie exclaimed, and out his hands on his hips, towering over James. "I'm older than you, and I've played more than you! You've been practically dead for fifteen years! You can't just come here and demand to be the captain!"
"Oh, I thought I was the older one!" James said, ironically, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, you still have the mind of a twenty-years old. Wait, forgive me; five year old!"
"HEY!" James cried. "I really thought - "
They never found out what James thought, because a cough from the door made them turn around. Sirius was standing there, grinning.
"Oh, don't let me interrupt," he said."Just thought I'd tell you the game has started, and "The Eagles" has just made it's twentieth goal."
"WHAT!" Seven players screamed, horrified. "They can't start without us!"
Sirius laughed.
"Relax. They haven't. Just thought I'd remind you that there is another team out there, clearly pissed off as you haven't showed up."
He turned to leave.
"And by the way, if that screaming was your pep talk, Charlie, James...you need to work on it, 'cause it sure as Hell wasn't very inspiring."
Thirty seconds later, "The Lions" soared out on their brooms, Charlie and James giving each other dirty looks.
"Good luck, James," Charlie said. "That might help you hit the goal."
"Oh, the same to you, Charlie," James said sweetly."You'll really need it if you're going to catch the snitch before my son does."
"You'd think they were playing against each other," Angelina muttered, and Alicia snickered.
"Yeah, that's how it goes when you have two...oh, sorry, Oli, three," Alicia added as she saw Oliver flying past them towards the goalposts. "Star players and captains on the same team."
"AN THEY'RE OFF!" Sirius screamed. He had taken up the commentator task for the night'sgame. The Quidditch pitch was surrounded by magical light,making it look like they were flying in the middle of the day, except that this time, the light was more enchanting.
"IN GOLD, WE'VE GOT "THE LIONS," AND ALTHOUGH THERE LOOKED TO BE A LITTLE DISPUTE IN THE LOCKERROOM, THEY SEEM TO BE IN A NICE FORM! WOOD, WEASLEY AND POTTER ARE ALL EXCELLENT PLAYERS, ALTHOUGH WE'RE NOT SURE IF POTTER'S FORM IS UP TO DATE AS HE'S BEEN 'DEAD' FOR SEVERAL YEARS!"
"SIRIUS SHUT UP, AND COMMENT THE GAME!" James screeched.
"SORRY, PRONGS! ANYWAY, ON THE TEAM ARE ALSO JOHNSON AND SPINNET, TWO OTHER EXCELLENT PLAYERS, AND THEY ALSO ARE EQUIPPED WITH GOOD LOOKS, AND NOT ONLY A QUAFFLE!"
"SIRIUS BLACK!" McGonagall screamed.
"Sorry, Minnie. ANYWAY, THERE ARE ALSO THE WEASLEY TWINS, THEY'RE THE TEAMS BEATERS, AND DO THEIR BEST TO HIT THE BALLS - sorry, Minnie - BLUDGERS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!"
"ON THE OTHER TEAM, "THE EAGLES", DRESSED IN RED, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER WEASLEY IN FRONT OF THE GOALS, DEFENDING THEM ASTHERE WERE HIS MOST PRECIOUS - ERHM - THINGS!"
"SIRIUS!"
"Sorry Minnie, won't happen again! Ehrm...where was I? Oh, right. WE'VE ALSO GOT...ANOTHER WEASLEY! BEAUTIFUL, TOO!"
This time, all the male Weasleys on the pitch sent Sirius a murderous look, so he hastily continued.
" - ALTOUGH SHE'S WAAAAAAAAAAY TOO YOUNG! NO WORRIES, GENTLEMEN, FOCUS ON THE GAME! WE'VE ALSO GOT SUMMERS, AND...EHRM...VI, TWO NEW PLAYERS, AND WE'LL SEE WHAT THEY CAN DO AGAINST THE MORE...EXPERIENCED TEAM!"
On their seats, Buffy and Faith had given up trying to be serious, and were now howling with laughter. How come everything Sirius said seemed to be sex-related?
"WE'VE ALSO GOT HARRIS AND WELLS, TWO NEW PLAYERS AS WELL! WE'LL SE IF THEY MANAGE TO HIT ON SOMEONE...I MEAN, ON THE BLUDGERS!"
Remus was laughing too, although more discreetly than the two Slayers beside him. McGonagall had given up in trying to correct Sirius, as she understood it was no use, but inwardly she cursed herself for allowing Sirius to commentate.
"AND LASTLY, WE'VE GOT POTTER, THE SECOND GENERATION! I SWEAR, THAT KIDS'S GOING TO BE BIG! I'VE NEVER SEEN A BIGGER TALENT IN SEEKING MY ENTIRE LIFE...ALTHOUGH HE'S HAD BAD LUCK WITH SEEKING THE RIGHT WOMAN!"
"SIRIUS BLACK!" Lily stood up, "DON'T YOU DARE INSULT HARRY'S LOVE LIFE!"
Sirius gulped.
"Just kiddin'...BUT RECENTLY, IT SEEMS LIKE MAYBE HE'S FALLEN FOR THE ONE! DAWN SUMMERS, ALREADY MENTIONED - "
"SIRIUS!"
"What! I WAS COMPLEMENTING HIM!"
"Ehrm, Sirius, maybe you should comment onthe game?" Remus asked gently, although he rather enjoyed Sirius commentating skills this far.
"Oh, right. Sorry Moony. AS I'M SURE YOU UNDERSTAND, THIS WILL TURN OUT TO BE A VERY INTERESTING GAME! I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL CURIOUS AS TO WHO IS THE BEST SEEKER, POTTER, OR WEASLEY! I'VE HEARD THERE'S BEEN A BET GOING ON AMONG THE STAFF, AND MINNIE HERSELF PUT TEN GALLEONS ON POTTER!"
"SIRIUS!"
"WHAT! I'M JUST STATING A FACT! ERHM...THE SCORE IS NOW THIRTY-TWENTY TO "THE LIONS", IT SEEMS THE OLDER TEAM HAS A LITTLE ADVANTAGE!"
Ginny flew against the other side of the pitch, focused on the goal, when a well aimed bludger came straight at her, and she had to drop the Quaffle. Luckily, Dawn caught it, and continued.
"AFTER A RATHER UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT WITH A BLUDGER, AIMED FROM WELLS, WEASLEY DROPS THE QUAFFLE, BUT FORTUNATELY, IT FALLS IN SUMMERS HANDS! I SHOULD PRACTISE MORE ON YOUR AIM IF I WERE YOU, WELLS!"
Andrew blushed - he had no idea how the Bludger hadmanaged to go straight towards Ginny instead of Alicia, but he guessed he needed more muscles.
'Maybe I should do more sports instead of "Dungeons and Dragons"', he thought, but dropped this quickly. No way he would give that up!
"AFTER AN AMAZING GOAL BY SUMMERS - WOOD WAS CHANCELESS - NO OFFENCE- THE SCORE IS NOW THIRTY-THIRTY...BUT HERE COMES JAMES POTTER! GO PRONGS!"
After getting the Quaffle from Oliver, James raced down towards the other end of the pitch. The onlookers were only able to catch up a blurry shade of golden, as he zoomed past them.
"JAMES, PLEASE, DON'T KILL YOURSELF!" Lily bellowed, and Hermione snickered.
"What?"
"I would be more worried about your son if I were you...when you see one of his crazy dives, you'll wish you were blind."
Lily stared.
"Don't tell me my son is worse than James? He can't be!"
Hermione snickered.
"I'm sure you'll change your mind quite soon."
"POTTER SCORES! FORTY-THIRTY TO "THE LIONS!" JAMES HAS OBVIOUSLY STILL GOT HIS SPIRIT, DEAD OR NOT!"
The game continued, and several minutes later, although it felt like seconds for the onlookers, the score was 130 points for "The Lions", but only 50 to "The Eagles." It was starting to show that the other team was less experienced, and had barely any time to practice.
It was much easier for "The Lions" as both Alicia and Angelina had played with each other before, and knew what the other was going to do, and James was so good he probably could have scored with one hand behind his back, no matter the opponents.
"THE LIONS IS IN THE LEAD BY EIGHTY POINTS, BUT STILL NO SIGHT OF THE SNITCH!"
As that was said, Sirius saw something golden flutter past his eyelashes.
"SORRY, I CHANGED MY MIND, THE SNITCH HAS BEEN SPOTTED!"
Both Charlie and Harry started to dive towards Sirius, although Harry hada more dangerous angle in his dive than Charlie. Lily buried her face in her hands.
"I don't want to look...tell me when it's over..."
"AND POTTER DIVES TOWARDS THE SNITCH - THANK MERLIN IT'S NOT IN FRONT OF ME ANYMORE - WEASLEY'S A BIT AFTER..."
Four meters from the ground, Harry pulled up, looking around him.
"IT SEEMS THE SNITCH HAS DISAPPERED ONCE AGAIN! OH, POTTER SCORES TOO- TEN POINTS TO "THE LIONS!"
It took another two hours before the snitch was spotted again, and the score was now 260 points for "The Lions", and 100 points to "The Eagles." Harry demanded time-out.
"Alright, listen up. We can still win if I catch the snitch, and you make two or three more goals. Ron, you can't let anyone score - don't be afraid to do whatever's necessary.
"Your father's impossible to stop!" Ron wined. "And Angelina and Alicia are too good!"
"No, they're not! You're better! Remember when you stopped all those Slytherin goals in last year's final game? This is the same thing, only now you know your opponents! They're no better than the Slytherins - the only difference is you have too much respect for them! Make them respect you!"
"But he's the bloody James Potter! It's obvious where your talent comes from!"
"He's not impossible to defeat!" Harry exclaimed."Just because he's my father! I can't let him win, he'll never let me live it down!"
"It's nearly impossible to score on Oliver," Dawn said. "It'seasy to seewhy he was offered to play pro."
"Maybe not," Ginny said. "Let Vi score."
"What?" Vi protested. "I'm not that good!"
"You're good enough. Look, Oliver likes you, use that fact to your advantage. I'll try to disctract Fred and George, Andrew, try to hit Angelina and Alicia, not us, alright?" Ginny ordered."Xander, help Andrew - without getting yourself killed, Dawn, you're Vi's backup. Harry, you can deal with Charlie."
Harry nodded.
"Sounds good. Alright, let's do this!"
The game started again, and twenty seconds into the game, James scored again - his fifteenth goal for the match. Ron sighed, and tossed the ball over to Vi, who flew across the pitch towards Oliver. She had no idea if she could pull this off...
"Hey, Oliver...would you like to go on a date?" She asked, and fluttered her eyelids suggestively.
Oliver blinked, and Vi took the opportunity to shoot towards the right goalpost, which Oliver's was furthest from.
"AND VI SCORES! IT'S NOW 110 POINTS AGAINST 270!"
The Slayers erupted in cheers, Oliver just looked confused. What had just happened? As he tossed the ball to Angelina, he caught Vi giving him a seductive look, and licking herself around the lips before she flew off in a quite sexy stile.
"WOOHO! VI PLAYS A NASTY TRICK ON WOOD, WHO LOOKS UTTERLY CONFUSED!"
Harry grinned. Who was affected by a girl now? Not him, that was for sure! Harry thought, as he remembered the incident with Cho in his third year. He couldn't resist; he had to tease Oliver a bit.
"Oi, Oliver! Have trouble focusing? KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU MUST!"
Oliver flushed angrily, but mostly embarrassed, as Harry grinned wider, and started to look for the snitch once again. His look drifted over towards the twins, who seemed awfully distracted by something Ginny told them.
"YOU'RE WHAT!" Georges screamed, and Ginny smiled innocently. Harry's grin widened even more - whatever Ginny'd told them to use as a distraction, obviously was working.
Xander and Andrew took this opportunity to send their Bludgers across the pitch towards James, who was about to score again. One of the Bludgers (Xander's) hit of the end of the broom, and it started to jerk dangerously. James had to use all his power to keep the broom from crashing, which meant dropping the Quaffle, which was in turn grabbed by Dawn.
Lily groaned from her seat.
"If James falls, I'll bloody kill him..." As if the broom heard her, it started to fall towards the ground in a horrible speed.
"JAMES!"
The broom crashed, with James stillon it. He was lying very still, and Lily felt her eyes widen. Suddenly, he sat up, groaning, but of the look of it, alright. Harry, who'd also been watching, took a deep breath in relief - as much as he wanted to win the game, he didn't want his father to get hurt. During the scene, Vi had scored another goal - 120 against 270. If Harry caught the snitch, the match would be a draw. But Harry wanted to win.
Suddenly, he saw Charlie dive, downwards. Harry leaned forwards on his Firebolt, making the broom go faster. As he got up beside and past Charlie, he suddenly turned left, cutting Charlie off from being able to continue. It all reminded him of what Cho had done to him, once, and he grinned at the memory.
With only two chasers on the team, Angelina and Alicia had some trouble, especially as the Bludgers came towards them in rapid succession, faster than they could even get an inch closer the goal. Fred and Geroge had stopped playing, and were now screaming at a smirking Ginny, and therefore were to no help at all.
As Vi was flirting wildly with Oliver, who tried to remain focused (but it was very hard when you had a gorgeous Slayer in front of the eyes), Ginny scored.
"AND GINNY WEASLEY SCORES! 130 to 270!"
Harry was now searching frantically for the snitch. Suddenly, he saw it, a good way ahead of him, but almost behind Charlie. IfCharlie turned around, Harry's team would definitely loose...unless... Harry knew it wascrazy - he'd never tried it for real, although he'd wanted too...and this game wasn't even a match for the Quidditch Cup...but he really wanted to beat his father. So Harry did it.
Charlie looked up, and saw Harry dive towards the ground in a very steep angle. He was grinning madly, and Charlie dove after him, fast. Everyone stopped, looking at the two Seekers.
Harry could feel Charlie slightly behind him - his heart was beating like mad, and it got worse as the ground came closer. So close...
As the onlookers took a deep breath - it looked likeHarry would crash - Harry maneuvered the broom upwards, toward the sky. Charlie, who hadn't been prepared, wasn't as lucky, and crashed into the ground. Harry hoped he hadn't hurt himself too badly. The crowd was holding their breath as Harry's hand closed around the snitch, and held it up for all to see.
It took what felt like an eternity, before everyone started to scream and applaud.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! HARRY POTTER PULLED A WRONSKI FEINT, COMPLETELY FOOLED CHARLIE WEASLEY, AND CAUGHT THE SNITCH! THE SCORE IS NOW TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TO TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY- "THE EAGLES" WIN!"
A/N: Puh! That was a lot longer than I thought! I hope you like it – I wasn't sure if I would be able to write the Quidditch game realistic, that's why I didn't 'comment' so much, but I hoped it didn't suck too bad. I was going to write a bit more, but I'll take that in next chapter – this was long enough, I think. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR LOVELY REVIEWS, KEEP 'EM COMING!
/Ida