Chapter 14
Quidditch (Teamwork? What's that?)

The day after the Hogsmeade Trip, McGonagall had announced that the first Quidditch match of the year would happen the next Saturday, and it would be Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Jamie was a bit surprised at this, and had told the team they were going to need one more practice if they were wanting to win the game. The team agreed, and Jamie got permission from McGonagall to use the field on that Friday.

Nerves had come into play that week and Jamie had to muster up all the encouragement she could get to put her team back together. It didn't work very well. On Wednesday, Madam Pomfrey had tracked Jamie down in the halls and told her that Wood, Jr was feeling very sick. But after seeing the look on Jamie's face, Madam Pomfrey assured her that he would be ready to play on Saturday, with the help of some Pepper Up Potion of course. Wood, Jr wasn't the only player on the team who was having a bad week. On Thursday, Richie had told Jamie that he had a bad dream about the match on Saturday and said that it really affected him. But after Jamie said that she could just get McClaggen to play as Keeper, Richie said that he was feeling a whole lot better.

Then there was Joseph. This was the one player on the team whom hadn't talked much about the match on Saturday. And when Jamie asked him whether he would be able to make it to practice on Friday, all he did was shrug.

"That little git better not be the reason we lose that game on Saturday," Richie said, after Jamie had told him about Joseph, "I may not like him anymore, but he is the best Chaser on the team. He is not someone I really want to lose, you know."

"I agree with you, Richie," Jamie said, "But I may not have another choice..."

"Well, let's not hope that that time comes, Jamie," Richie said.
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It was late on Friday, and Jamie had gone down to the Pitch with Richie and found the team sitting in the locker room... well, most of the team.

"Joseph isn't with you two?" Dawes said, standing up, "Aww, man!"

"He isn't down here?" Jamie asked.

"No, he hasn't showed up," Dawes said.

"Well... we are just going to practice without him, you hear?" Jamie said, "We have a match against Ravenclaw to focus on, and nothing is going to stop us from practicing. Professor McGonagall won't let us practice for long, so we have to get to it! Understand?"

Everyone nodded. Jamie and the other players walked out onto the Pitch. Hagrid was standing on the sideline. Joseph was standing beside him, looking a bit grumpy.

"Hey, you lot!" Hagrid said, "Guess who I found?"

"Didn't think you would be here, Joseph," Jamie said.

"Yeah... yeah, I guess I am here," Joseph said.

"All right, everyone," Jamie said, "Get into the air!"

As the rest of the players mounted their brooms and took off into the air, Jamie walked over to Hagrid.

"Hagrid, can you do me a small favor?" she asked him.

"Anyfing for me favorite Quidditch player," Hagrid said.

"Can you make sure no one comes to watch us practice?" Jamie said, "Including Gryffindors, as well. I want this practice to be secret."

"O' course, Jamie," Hagrid said.

"Thanks, Hagrid," Jamie said.

Jamie mounted her broom and flew into the air.

"I will release the balls fo' ya!" Hagrid said from the ground. He walked over to the trunk and opened it. One by one, the Bludgers and the Snitch flew into the air. Hagrid then released the Quaffle and threw it up towards Wood, Jr. But Joseph sped through the air and caught it before Wood, Jr could get it.

"Hey!" Jamie heard Wood, Jr say.

"You need to learn how to catch the Quaffle faster, Junior!" Joseph said, flying off toward the goal.

Jamie watched as Dawes hit a Bludger toward Joseph, but Joseph dodged it and kept flying toward the goal. He faked a throw to the middle goal, and threw the Quaffle to the left goal. It sailed through the hoop. Richie flew to the Quaffle and caught it. He threw it toward Frye, who grabbed it and flew back toward the goal.

"Frye, work on your passing back and forth with Wood, Jr," Jamie said, "He needs to practice."

Frye gave a thumbs up and motioned for Wood, Jr. to follow him.

"Jamie watch out!" Creevey, one of the Beaters said, "I'll get it!"

"Huh?" Jamie said, looking around. She then noticed a Bludger heading right toward her. Jamie ducked and flew higher into the air. Creevey chased the Bludger and hit it away.

"Thanks, Creevey!" Jamie said, "I appreciate it!"

"Any time, Captain!" Creevey said, "Huh? Wait! Jamie, watch out!"

Jamie turned around and saw the Bludger coming for her again.

"It's got a mind of it's own!" Creevey said, "Fly, Jamie!"

"Jamie, over this way!" Dawes said, noticing the bludger as well, "I will help you!"

Jamie couldn't see Dawes, but flew in the direction of his voice. She then spotted him and flew over his head.

"Hit it, Dawes!" Creevey said, "I don't want to know what will happen if we don't get it away from Jamie!"

Dawes smacked the Bludger hard and it flew off in the opposite direction.

"Don't worry, Jamie," Hagrid said from the ground, "I will get it!"

A couple of seconds later, the bludger turned around and headed back for Jamie. Next thing, Jamie knew, the Bludger exploded into many pieces. Jamie looked down at Hagrid who had his umbrella out and pointed to the sky.

"Whew," Jamie said, "Thanks, Hagrid!"

"Ruddy Bludger!" Hagrid roared, "That thing went rogue! All right, everyone, I am calling this practice over. There is something definitely wrong here!"

After a couple of complaints, everyone landed on the ground safely.

"This is an outrage!" Hagrid said, "I haven't seen a Rogue Bludger fer... fer over twenty years!"

"Only a spell could make a Bludger rogue," said Creevey, "I never thought I would see one go rogue in my lifetime. The rules have been upgraded so it wouldn't happen. Who would do a thing like that?"

"I think I know," Richie said, his eyes focused on Joseph.

"Now, now," said Hagrid, "No one's putting no blame on anyone. We are all going ter go inside... I will have a little chat wif McGonagall."

"We will still be able to play on Saturday, right?" Wood, Jr, said.

"Don't worry, Oliver," Hagrid said, "I am sure Quiddtich will still be on... holy Merlin. Jamie, you are lucky ter have superb Beaters. You could have bin hurt!"

"Yeah," said Jamie, "Thanks Dawes... Creevey."

"What are team-mates for?" Dawes asked.

Jamie smiled appreciatively, and Hagrid led everyone back up to the castle.

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"I am telling you, Jamie!" Richie said, "It was Joseph! He did it!"

"He wouldn't do something like that, Richie," Jamie said, "He loves Quidditch more then anything."

Richie and Jamie had arrived in the Gryffindor Common Room twenty minutes later.

"I am really doubting that," Richie said, "You saw what happened. He isn't even a team player. He stole that Quaffle from Wood, Jr.!"

"Yeah, I saw what happened," Jamie said, "But Richie..."

"Who else could have done it, Jamie?" Richie asked, "Hagrid would have told us if he saw anyone else watching."

"What is going on?" a voice said from the stairs.

Jane, as well as Alice and James, had come down into the Common Room.

"We had to deal with a Rogue Bludger!" Richie said, "It went straight after Jamie. If Hagrid wasn't down on the field, who knows what could have happened."

"A rogue bludger?" James said, "You are kidding."

"No... I am not kidding," Richie said, "Jamie is lucky she has two really good Beaters on the team."

"Looks like some one doesn't want you to win on Saturday, Jamie," Alice said, "But who would do such a thing?"

"Joseph..." Richie said.

"Joseph wouldn't do something like that!" Jane said, "He loves Quidditch."

"That is what I said," Jamie said.

"You should have seen him down there," Richie said, "First he didn't show up. He only came down with Hagrid. I guarantee you that Hagrid dragged him down to practice. You know how much Hagrid wants to see Gryffindor win. Hagrid probably just thought that Joseph hadn't remembered about our practice. But that is not all. Joseph basically stole the Quaffle from one of the other Chasers. He wasn't working as a team... and Chasers are the ones who have to be team players."

"You are just determined to hate Joseph because he broke up with Jane," Jamie told Richie.

"Fine," Richie said, "You will see tomorrow..."

Richie left the group and headed for the stairs.

"Remember to go to bed early tonight, Richie!" Jamie said, "I wanna see you ready for the game tomorrow!"

"Yes, Mam," Richie said, before disappearing up the stairs.

"I am right about this... right?" Jamie asked her other friends, "It couldn't have been Joseph."

"Joseph wouldn't have wanted to hurt you, Jamie," Jane said.

"He is still our friend," Alice said, "Even if he doesn't want to be. I don't think he did it."

Jamie smiled and bit and decided to go up to her dormitory. It had been a weird week, and Jamie knew it. She hadn't talked much to Romeo, but she guessed that Romeo figured she was really busy with the upcoming game. It was true... the game was the first thing on her mind...

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It was Saturday morning, and most of the Quidditch team was sitting together in the Great Hall having lunch. Joseph was the only person whom wasn't sitting with them.

"Ravenclaw has a pretty good team this year, Jamie," Dawes said, "They have been bragging about Bones. You know, their Seeker. She is supposed to be really good."

"I can outlast her, Dawes," Jamie said, "You just need to worry about those Bludgers and keeping that Quaffle away from Ravenclaw's Chasers."

"And we have to hope that Bludger doesn't go rogue again," Creevey said, seriously.

"It won't," Jamie said, "I talked to McGonagall earlier this morning. She assured me that those Bludgers are standard. All of the Quidditch balls have been in her office since last night. Hagrid brought them up to her. She even called in Professor Wallace to inspect the things."

"Great idea," Richie said, "He is excellent with Charms and would know any charm that was put on those Bludgers."

"So, no worries about no Rogue Bludgers, team," Jamie said, "We just have to focus on this win. Oliver, Frye, don't worry about Joseph... just try to control that Quaffle."

"Sure thing, Captain," Oliver said.

"We will do our best," Frye said.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Jamie and the rest of the teams turned their attention to McGonagall, who stood up.

"Will the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw team please get ready to head down to the Pitch?" McGonagall asked.

"You heard the Headmistress!" Jamie said, "Let's go!"

Jamie and the rest of the team walked down to the Qudditch Pitch. Joseph was already in the locker room, finishing putting his things on.

"Well, Lupin," Jamie said, "Nice to see that you showed up."

"Of course I showed up!" Joseph said, "You couldn't do anything without your best Chaser!"

Jamie rolled her eyes, and looked at the rest of her team.

"All right, let's get ready guys!" Jamie commanded.

Ten minutes later, Jamie and the other players had mounted their brooms.

"... AND BONES!" a voice said from somewhere above the Pitch, "AND NOW FOR THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM! POTTER, WEASLEY, DAWES, FRYE, CREEVEY, WOOD, JR AND... LUPIN!"

Cheers were heard as Jamie and the rest of the team flew into the air.

"Jamie!" Richie said, from somewhere behind Jamie, "Look who's commentating!"

Jamie looked up at the Professors' seats and saw Jasmine Nott sitting next to Professor McGonagall. Jamie turned her attention to Joseph, who was just ahead of her.

"Why is Jasmine commentating, Joseph!" Jamie said.

"She wanted to try her skills, Jamie!" Joseph said, before waving up at Jasmine.

Jamie rolled her eyes and flew into her position.

"All right, captains," Madam Hooch said below Jamie, "You know the deal... I want a clean game! I mean it! Shake hands, please.

Jamie shook hands with the Ravenclaw captain, who was also the Keeper and looked like he could squash the Quaffle in his hand.

Madam Hooch released the Snitch and the Bludgers. Jamie flew farther into the air as she heard the whistle blow...

"AND THAT'S THE WHISTLE!" Jasmine said, "LUPIN HAS THE QUAFFLE... OH, HE DID HAVE IT! THOMPSON GRABBED IT FROM HIM! YOU CAN GET IT BACK JOSEPH!"

Jamie looked around for the Snitch, but stopped when she heard gasps from the crowd. The Ravenclaw Chaser was headed straight for Richie and the goals. Dawes hit a bludger toward Thompson, but Thompson dodged it.

"THE GRYFFINDOR BEATER WILL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT NEXT TIME!" Jasmine said, "YOU CAN'T GET A TRICK PAST THAT CHASER! AND THOMPSON IS HEADED FOR THE RINGS!"

Jamie turned her attention toward Richie. Richie looked ready to pounce. Thompson threw the Quaffle and Richie reached for it... but missed! Ravenclaw scored!

"SCORE!" Jasmine yelled, "RAVENCLAW UP TEN TO NOTHING!"

Richie looked furious with himself. He grabbed the Quaffle and threw it to Joseph.

"AND IT IS LUPIN WITH THE QUAFFLE!" Jasmine said, "WILL LUPIN SHOW WHY HE IS THE BEST CHASER EVER?"

Jamie rolled her eyes and turned his attention to searching for the Snitch. She didn't see it, but spotted Bones, the Ravenclaw Seeker. Bones didn't look as if she had seen it either.

"LUPIN DROPS THE QUAFFLE!" Jasmine said, "OH! NICE SAVE! FRYE HAS IT!"

Jamie looked down at the other end of the Pitch. Frye was headed straight for the rings.

"WILL HE MAKE IT?" Jasmine said, "OH AND A QUICK PASS TO WOOD, JR!"

Oliver circled the posts and threw the Quaffle toward the right one. It went through!

"AND IT SAILS THROUGH!" Jasmine said, "TEN-TEN ALL!"

Jamie was about to cheer, but heard a WHIRRR! She turned around and saw the Bludger heading for her. Suddenly, Creevey flew in front of Jamie and hit the Bludger away.

"THAT WAS REALLY CLOSE!" Jasmine said, "THE BLUDGER ALMOST HIT IT'S MARK!"

"Whew, thank, Creevey!" Jamie said.

"No problem," Creevey said, "I saw one of the Ravenclaw Beaters hit it towards you. Have you seen the Snitch yet?"

"No... I haven't," Jamie said.

"Well, I say we need to get this match over soon..." Creevey said, "If your cousin is right, and Joseph wants to do something... he will have his chance soon."

"I will worry about Joseph, Creevey," Jamie said, "Keep that Bludger away from me."

"That's what I do!" Creevey said, flying away.

"THOMPSON HAS THE QUAFFLE," Jasmine yelled, "HE THROWS IT... AND... AND LUPIN TAKES IT RIGHT AWAY FROM THAT RAVENCLAW CHASER! WHAT SKILL!"

Jamie watched as Joseph flew back toward the Ravenclaw goals. She noticed that the Ravenclaw Chasers were right on Joseph's tail.

"Joseph!" Jamie yelled, "Pass that thing!"

Joseph didn't listen. He was still headed for the goals. He threw the Quaffle toward the middle goal...

"OH... INTERCEPTED!" Jasmine yelled, "BIG MISTAKE BY JOSEPH! OH... WATCH OUT JOSEPH!"

It happened in a flash. One of the Bludgers hit Joseph's broom and sent Joseph and the broom toward the ground. He landed with a sickening thud.

"Joseph! No!" Jamie said.

Jamie knew this match had to get over... now. Jamie looked around for the Snitch, but failed again to find it. Suddenly, she saw Bones flying toward something near the middle of the Pitch. Something glowing... the Snitch! Jamie headed toward the Snitch.

"Come on, broom!" Jamie said.

Jamie was nearing Bones. Suddenly, the same Bludger that had hit Joseph began heading for Jamie. She saw it in time, and ducked... then heard a smack! Jamie didn't turn around to see what happened, but kept moving toward the Snitch. She reached for it... she almost had it... and...

"POTTER HAS THE SNITCH!" Jasmine yelled, "GRYFFINDOR WINS!

Jamie looked at the Snitch in her hands and smiled. She then remembered that Joseph had crashed. She looked at the ground and gasped. Joseph was still laying out on the ground. He wasn't moving...

Aww Cliffhanger... How did you like my Quidditch Match writing skills. Good, eh?

Would love feedback...