In this chapter, Mary will play Quidditch.
Can she catch the snitch?
Sometimes seekers get lucky, sometimes they don't.
But on the other hand, Mary has a knack for being lucky.
If you've read the fanfic, you probably know that already.
Chaoter 8: Seeking House Points
"So, a Quidditch game doesn't end until the Snitch is grabbed?" asked Mary.
Oliver nodded. That was one of the rules.
Sometimes, teams requested a stalemate for that reason.
They didn't want the game to go on forever just because the Seeker couldn't catch the Snitch. Sometimes it happened.
Mary noted that Oliver Wood was a tall boy.
"Allow me to introduce you to your teammates." said Oliver.
In total, she had six teammates.
"Isn't she a little young to be on our team?" asked Angelina. She wasn't expecting a first year, that was for sure. And one that had only had one lesson with Madam Hooch, no less.
"She is. But McGonagall assured us that she would serve us well." explained Wood.
"But I thought first-years couldn't have their own brooms." said Alicia.
"McGonagall made an exception." spoke Mary.
"Pleased to be working with you, Mary!" exclaimed Fred.
Mary accepted his hand, but it had a hand buzzer.
She let out a small chuckle.
"I know you! Your brother Ron told me about you." said the girl.
"Did he tell you about how we almost got sent to the Forbidden Forest ten times?" asked George.
"Um, yeah…" nodded Mary.
Thankfully, that didn't come to pass.
"Wait, this team is mixed gender?" asked the girl who lived.
That wasn't how sports worked in the world of Muggles. She knew that from watching the sports that Dudley watched on TV. And yes, he of all people happened to like sports. Don't expect him to play soccer though. Unless he was the goalie. He might do well that way.
"It's generally pretty convenient for us. Though sometimes it results in flirting among members of our teams." explained Katie.
Angelina knew that from experience. She liked her good looks, but a few people simply wanted her for her body, not her soul.
"I think I'm a bit young for that." answered Mary.
Though Oliver Wood WAS handsome.
Fortunately, she did not have a hard time riding the broomstick at all.
Madam Pomfrey was standing by though, just in case.
Hedwig seemed happy that Mary could now fly with her.
However, it might be best if Hedwig didn't fly alongside her during the game.
Chances are she would be mistaken for a Quaffle. Though her white coloration would probably distinguish her from a Bludger.
Draco noticed Mary practicing for the upcoming game.
He wondered if Mary was going to join the Chudley Cannons if she graduated from Hogwarts.
Malfoy figured it would be appropriate considering he thought she was a loser.
"So, do you know who I'm up against in my first game?" asked the girl who lived.
She imagined it would be another one of the four houses.
"Good question. That would be Slytherin." answered Oliver Wood.
"The Sorting Hat considered putting me in Slytherin. How ironic." remarked Mary.
"Was there a reason you didn't pick that house?" asked the captain.
He was surprised to hear that, seeing as Mary didn't seem to have the traits that a Slytherin normally had.
"It was because Slytherin seemed like a giant gang of bullies." explained the girl.
"I understand. You should know that not all Slytherins are bad students, however." told Oliver Wood.
Having said that, he was personally hoping to win against the Slytherins. They had a tendency to be sore winners. And watching them throw a tantrum would be funny.
Eventually, the Quidditch game did come around.
Lee Jordan was narrating the action.
He could talk fast, so he was ideal for the role.
However, he could be distracted by the female Gryffindor players sometimes.
McGonagall had to stay with him to make sure he stayed focused.
Mary noticed Ron and Hermione among the crowd.
It was pretty obvious as to who they were going to cheer for.
Mary was careful to avoid the bludgers.
She didn't want her glasses to break. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to see the Golden Snitch too well.
Although, her friend Hermione knew a spell that could repair glasses.
She should really consider learning that spell. It would be a life saver for someone like her.
Luckily, Fred and George were making sure that her glasses didn't shatter.
This was her first game of Quidditch, so they were making extra sure she didn't get hit.
She was going to send them a thank-you card later.
The three Gryffindor chasers were doing fairly well. Mary wondered if she should call them the amazon trio because they were all girls and had good riding skills as well.
Seemed the Slytherin keeper couldn't quite keep an eye on them.
As for Oliver Wood, he was keeping a careful eye around the hoops.
The Slytherin Chasers were having a hard time getting past him.
For a while, the game was rather normal.
Personally, Mary was just glad everyone was having fun.
But for the girl who lived, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, her broomstick began to vibrate uncontrollably.
"Huh?" asked the girl.
Was the broomstick broken?
It seemed perfectly operational yesterday.
Ron and Hermione noticed what was going on.
They concluded this was the work of some sort of jinx…and that their friend was in trouble.
"Somebody's trying to make Mary fall off!" exclaimed Ron.
"Is it Draco Malfoy? He and Mary don't like each other." remarked Hermione.
And quite frankly, she didn't like the Slytherin boy either.
He seemed like the most likely suspect.
At that very moment, Draco returned from the bathroom.
"What did I miss?" asked Draco to his friends Crabbe and Goyle.
"The scores are tied." explained Goyle.
"But we'll stomp 'em!" exclaimed Crabbe. The Slytherins would win for sure.
"I guess it isn't him." answered Ron. So much for the obvious suspect.
"But if it's not Malfoy, then who is it?" asked Hermione.
Suddenly, Ron noticed Snape.
He couldn't hear him, but he could tell that he was casting a spell.
The second-youngest Weasley decided that he needed to stop him.
He decided he would do something before it was too late.
Hermione followed him.
"Hey, Snape, lovely weather we're having lately. Wouldn't you say?" asked Ron.
Perhaps distracting him would be effective.
"Do you mind? I'm busy." requested Snape.
"We just want to talk to you for a minute." explained Hermione.
Curious, Ron decided to check to see if Mary's broom was back to normal.
He sighed in relief. It was no longer behaving erratically.
Seemed that their plan had worked.
"Let's hope it stays that way." said Ron. He wouldn't anything happening to his friend. Especially since she was helping Gryffindor win a game of Quidditch.
"Yes…let's hope it stays sunny." remarked Snape.
Though the broom was back to normal, Oliver Wood decided to check to see if Mary was alright.
"Are you alright? You seemed to have trouble balancing on your broom for a moment." asked Oliver.
"Yeah, but I think I swallowed a bug." answered Mary.
She could feel it buzzing in her throat.
Suddenly, she spat it out.
"Wait, is that-" questioned the girl.
Turns out it wasn't a bug after all.
It was the Golden Snitch.
"I wasn't expecting you to catch it so fast!" exclaimed Oliver.
"Yeah, but how did it end up in my mouth?" asked Mary.
The Golden Snitch fluttered nearby.
"You like the scent of chocolate? Oh, that's right." spoke the girl.
She had Chocolate Frogs before the game started. It helped her feel less nervous.
Since Mary caught the Golden Snitch (by accident), Gryffindor ended up winning the game. It looked as if Mary's astonishing luck had struck again.
Draco cursed the Gryffindor seeker underneath his breath.
Crabbe cried on Goyle's shoulder.
Madam Hooch (the referee) applauded Gryffindor for their victory.
Surprisingly, Terence Higgs congratulated Mary on a good game, even though he was the more experienced of the two.
Seemed he was a nice guy for a Slytherin.
Perhaps Oliver was right about that house.
Though to be fair, Slytherin would still win points, just not as many as they would if they had caught the Snitch.
"I'm glad that Higgs is on that team." thought Mary.
However, though he was a reasonably talented seeker, Higgs would be leaving the team next year.
He was going to graduate from Hogwarts and find a new team to join. He had to think about the future, not just the present.
She wondered who would replace him.
Though Higgs was content with how the game turned out, Flint (the Slytherin captain) was unable to believe that a first year got the better of them.
He was going to make sure that it didn't happen again.
The Slytherins were now going to be training much more often. He would make sure of that.
Ron and Hermione approached Mary.
"Are you here to congratulate me on winning the game for Gryffindor?" asked the girl.
She assumed that was the case.
"Yes, we are. But there's something that we need to tell you." explained Ron.
"What's that?" questioned Mary.
"Snape tried to jinx your broom!" exclaimed Hermione.
"He did? Really?" asked the Seeker.
She decided to talk to Snape on the matter.
Were her friends right? She knew they wouldn't lie to her…unlike the Dursleys. But perhaps they had just been imagining things.
"Did you try to jinx my broom? My friends said that you did, but I figure they might be wrong." asked Mary. At least, she hoped they were wrong. She enjoyed potions class and didn't want Snape to be banished from Hogwarts.
Just in case, she held her wand. She didn't want Snape to silence her…for good.
"I casted a spell, but I didn't jinx your broom." explained Severus.
"OK." answered Mary, not entirely satisfied with his answer.
Quirrell congratulated the seeker girl on winning the game.
"I take it you were there to see it?" asked Mary.
He nodded. He heard that it was going to be a different Quidditch than usual. It wasn't every day a first-year got to play the game.
"Unfortunately, my t-t-turban fell off." explained the man.
"It did?" asked Mary.
Quirrell nodded.
It was windy out there.
"Sorry to hear that." sympathized the girl.
Not long after the incident with the broom, Mary noticed that Snape was walking with a limp.
"Is something wrong with your leg?" asked the girl.
"I was bitten by a dog. I called his mother a-"
"A cat?" questioned Mary.
"Yes…a cat. I was bitten three times." answered Snape.
"Three times, you say?" asked the girl.
Severus nodded. He might be a bit late for potions class for the time being. At least the bleeding had stopped.
"Sheesh. I hope your limp isn't permanent." remarked the girl.
Mary couldn't help but find that suspicious.
Wasn't there a three-headed dog guarding the Sorcerer's Stone?
She wasn't sure why Snape would want that though.
He seemed glum. So he probably wouldn't want to live longer.
She didn't rule out the possibility though.
For now, she was going to attend a party.
A party to celebrate her success.
It sounded like fun.
Especially since the birthday parties Mary had were kind of…lonely.
Would there be cake?
As a side note, Christmas was coming up.
What would she get this year?
She didn't typically get much for Christmas…
…but this year might be an exception.
Sure enough, they were happy to see her.
And yes, she did get cake.
Oliver Wood however explained that there would not be another Quidditch game for a while.
Christmas was coming up. and some of the players were planning to leave for the holidays.
Not only that, but it was going to be cold outside. And snow could end up falling on the players.
She could still practice, but she was advised to do that in moderation.
Mary wondered if she should go back to the Dursleys herself.
She hadn't fully forgiven them for their great big lie, but she might as well ask them.
"Should I stay at Hogwarts? Or should I go back home with you three?" asked Mary.
She assumed Dudley would be at home for presents.
Using Hedwig, she sent the letter home.
Hedwig came back the next day.
The message was only three letters long (excluding Vernon's signature), but it was a clear answer to her question.
STAY AT HOGWARTS!
Of course, it helped that it was in bold and was in really big letters.
"Uncle Vernon knows how to get a point across, doesn't he?" remarked Mary.
Well, it looked like she would be staying at Hogwarts for the holidays.
Perhaps she'll get to have a snowball fight with her friends.
Neville decided to congratulate Mary for winning the game.
"Good job out there." said the boy.
"Thanks. Have you ever considered playing Quidditch?" asked Mary.
"I've been afraid of heights ever since I broke my wrist." explained Neville.
"Sorry to hear that." sympathized the girl.
"I guess I'll get used to them, seeing as our living quarters are at a tower." noted the boy. Though he might feel better if their living quarters were downstairs, like the Slytherins.
"Maybe we could ride broomsticks together sometime, assuming you overcome your fear. You're too young to have your broomstick though." spoke Mary.
She got a pass due to her exceptional talent.
"Talk to you later." spoke the girl who lived.
"Man, I wish I could be more like her." remarked Neville to himself.
Mary went to bed once more, looking forward to the upcoming Christmas, and pleased with herself for winning the Quidditch game for the Gryffindors.
Perhaps her desires would be granted.
It looks like McGonagall was right to add her to the team.
Hopefully she will win the next game as well.
Also, Snape might be a bad guy.
Is Hogwarts in trouble?
In the next chapter, it will be Christmas.
Mary will encounter the Mirror of Erised.
Do you know what Erised is backwards?