By Friday morning the following week, the third week of term, Bagsy and Mezrielda were no closer to deciphering the clues. Bagsy had also failed to tell Mezrielda that Professor Fitzsimmons was attempting to train her one on one after her Defence against the Dark Arts lessons. Attempt being the key word – Bagsy hadn't managed to produce any magic and Fitzsimmons' patience with her was growing thinner by the day.

'My doors will open if you grieve, laugh with me and you may leave…' Bagsy repeated the rhyme again at breakfast, putting thoughts of magical ineptitude from her mind. 'Perhaps the stairs the message is meant to guide us to aren't real, but some sort of magical, emotional room?'

Mezrielda looked at Bagsy grumpily. 'A magical, emotional room,' she repeated. Bagsy nodded. Mezrielda sighed, 'I don't know why I let you in on this.' She stirred her porridge absent-mindedly. 'I feel like I only have one half of the puzzle. It's infuriating.'

'We'll get there eventually,' Bagsy assured her. Mezrielda practically growled. Bagsy didn't mind how long it was taking. Mezrielda was decent company, once you got past her sharp tongue, and Bagsy appreciated someone sitting with her outside whilst she supervised her living stampelia's sunlight hours. After they'd finished their breakfast, and after they'd had their lessons, it would be how they'd spend their break.

'I want to be there now!'

Bagsy ignored Mezrielda's outburst in favour of the noises of teasing further down the Hufflepuff table. Ignoring the glances being shot her and Mezrielda's way, a Slytherin eating at the Hufflepuff table was unusual, Bagsy's eyes found Greenda hunched over her food. Emmeline and her friends had her surrounded, leaning over her or poking her shoulder. Bagsy cast her eyes around, hoping Professor Blythurst was nearby, but he was nowhere in sight.

'Are you listening?' Mezrielda asked.

Bagsy shook her head. 'I wasn't, no,' she said honestly as Mezrielda huffed. 'Look at Greenda over there, I think she's being bullied.'

Mezrielda leant forward to look past Bagsy. Emmeline was going through Greenda's large bag, now, and had pulled out one of her books, her voice carrying down the table in a mocking tone but Bagsy couldn't make out what she was saying. Her bob-haired friend chimed in, her American voice joining the teasing.

'Yes. That does look like bullying,' Mezrielda nodded in agreement, watching in interest.

'We… we should do something…?'

Mezrielda shrugged. 'It's her problem, not mine.'

'I'm going to go and tell a Professor,' Bagsy decided, her legs feeling like lead as she went to stand up.

Mezrielda gripped the sleeve of her robe. 'Are you mad? Or do you want to get bullied too?' Bagsy pulled her arm free from Mezrielda. 'Anyway, I thought you were a coward?'

Bagsy puffed out her cheeks indignantly. 'I know I'm a coward, but at least I'm not heartless,' she hissed back, swinging her legs over the bench and standing. She'd taken no more than one step towards the teacher's table, aiming for Professor Starrett, someone she trusted to give Emmeline and her friends a good, harsh talking to, when the doors to the great hall were thrust open with a loud bang. Bagsy instinctively ducked and covered her head, her heart hammering.

'Who-?' Someone near Bagsy asked in confusion as Bagsy turned around.

A great, hulking woman stood in the door way. She had muscles on top of muscles and hair cut so short on one side Bagsy could see her scalp and on the other just long enough to hang in her eye. She was draped in faux animal skins and furs and wore massive black boots that thudded loudly on the floor as she walked down the hall.

She paused as she passed Greenda and her tormentors, eyeing Emmeline up and down who shrunk below her gaze. 'I'll make skewer of you if you trouble Miss Particularis again like dis,' she said in a thick Russian accent. Emmeline gulped and nodded, shaking all over, her bob-haired friend hiding behind her. 'Good. Glad we had this chat, little malysh,' the woman said, placing a massive hand on Emmeline's tiny shoulder, who wilted under its weight. Then the woman was walking to the head table, ignoring the hushed whispers from the students.

'Who's she-' Bagsy began to ask.

'How would I know?' Mezrielda retorted, eating a spoonful of porridge. Bagsy glanced over at Greenda who, despite now being left in peace, looked shaken and upset.

'Hey, Mezrielda?' Bagsy said.

'Hmm?'

'Would it be okay if we take a break from our treasure hunt to go to the Hufflepuff Quidditch try-outs together?'

Mezrielda shot her a confused glance. 'One, it's not a treasure hunt, it is the search for one of the most powerful items wizard kind has created. Two, it's not our treasure hunt, it's mine, you're just tagging along. Three, why would I, a Slytherin, go to the Hufflepuff Quidditch try-outs?'

Bagsy nodded in the direction of Greenda. 'To make a nervous girl feel better?'

Mezrielda looked at Bagsy silently as if she'd grown two heads. 'You can't be serious.'

'Or I won't help find the gauntlet-'

'Shh! Don't say it out loud,' Mezrielda hissed.

Bagsy raised her eyebrows. 'What, you mean don't say THE THORNED-'

'Alright, alright I'll come along!' Mezrielda growled.

'Glad you came around,' Bagsy teased as Mezrielda took a rueful spoonful of porridge and muttered something under her breath.

Bagsy headed back to her room to collect what she'd need for the day's lessons. She was excited to get Transfiguration and Personal Study out of the way, so she could enjoy double Potions in the evening. As she went to get her things, in the dormitory, a group of three Hufflepuff's were sitting in armchairs discussing in earnest.

'Who was she?' One of them asked. He had a lisp.

'One of the older students must know – maybe we should ask Greenda?' Another replied, a tall girl with glasses.

'Ew. Who'd want to talk to her? She'd just rant on about something boring – it'd be years before we got any information from her,' the third added – a small girl who looked strikingly like Emmeline from her small frame, to her blonde curls, to her small, pointed nose.

'What? But loads of people seem to like Greenda,' said the girl with glasses. 'Whoever that woman was she knew Greenda at least by name, so Greenda would definitely know. She is a fourth year, after all.'

'Sorry, can we help you?' The Emmeline-look-a-like asked Bagsy, noticing her eavesdropping.

Bagsy startled. 'Um, n-no, sorry, my b-bad,' she stammered.

'N-n-no worries,' the Emmeline-look-a-like mocked back, making a face and grabbing her hair to imitate the mess of Bagsy's.

'Don't be mean,' the one with the lisp protested.

'Having a stammer isn't the same as having a lisp.' The girl shrugged. 'You're fine, Logan.' Logan seemed placated, whilst Bagsy hung her head and rushed into her room.

'Hey, where'd she go?' she heard girl with the glasses ask in confusion as Bagsy closed the door hidden behind the armchair and ferns.

On Saturday Bagsy found Greenda at breakfast and sat down next to her. 'You're going to do just fine,' she encouraged her and Greenda smiled thinly, her hands shaking as she poured herself orange juice.

'Yeah, I'm sure.'

Bagsy didn't think anyone could sound less sure.

'One of my friends…' Bagsy hesitated, was that the right word? '…is going to come watch too, so, you'll have two people cheering you on, not just one.' That seemed to make a difference. Greenda didn't say much more but she seemed brighter after the news.

After lunch, Bagsy walked down to the Quidditch fields, feeling stuffed from roast sweet potato and chickpeas, and began to wonder where Mezrielda was. She stood at the edge of one of the practise pitches and watched as Hufflepuffs began to gather on the field, garbed in yellow and brown Quidditch jumpers and protective gear. Bagsy frowned – very few of them had their own brooms, and the brooms that were being handed out were the poor-quality school brooms. She wondered if the other houses had to use the school brooms, too.

Greenda arrived on time, dressed in pristine Quidditch gear and with her own impressive looking broom, and Bagsy felt jealousy itch at her fingers. She'd love to try flying on that broom, and regret for trading her old one for her sister's potion set weighed down in her stomach. She hadn't known at the time how enjoyable flying could be – she'd been too busy planning her next invention, and not to much success, she added to herself.

'How long until it starts?' Mezrielda grumbled.

Bagsy startled, not having noticed her arrive. 'Oh, uh, I'm not sure.' She gave Mezrielda a double-take. 'Did you steal a Hufflepuff's robes?' she asked, aghast.

Mezrielda frowned. 'Obviously not. No, I simply enchanted my robes to be yellow and black instead of green and silver. It was frightfully easy to do.'

Bagsy nodded glumly. 'You really are very good at magic.'

'Yes. I am.'

They sat in silence as they watched the try-outs begin. Bagsy watched Greenda, expecting her to be slow and hesitant with no clue on how to ride a broom, and was surprised to find that Greenda was very competent.

'This is the girl who needed our moral support?' Mezrielda asked in disbelief. 'She flies well.'

'She told me she was nervous, honest,' Bagsy affirmed as Greenda shot about the pitch, easily outmanoeuvring the others. She noticed that Greenda wasn't the only flyer she recognised. Emmeline was on her own broom, too, as was her American friend with the brown, bobbed hair.

'Isn't that a first year?' Mezrielda asked, pointing at who Bagsy thought was Jonathan Krinkle, the boy who Professor Kim had recognised as the younger brother of someone. His blonde hair against his dark skin made him difficult to forget. Bagsy guessed an older looking boy, who had the same broad shoulders and a similarly angular face, was his brother.

'That's Jonathan Krinkle. His brother must be the captain!' she realised. Jonathan's elder brother had been the one organising the try-outs.

Mezrielda snorted. 'Ah, so it's nepotism.'

'It's what?'

'That first year boy, Jonathan, is only getting to try-out because his older brother is the captain.'

Bagsy frowned. 'That doesn't seem fair.'

'Nepotism rarely is.'

Bagsy saw Emmeline and her friend try to trip Greenda up and send a yowling large ball her way when she wasn't looking. She didn't understand how the game worked, but she knew cheating when she saw it. Thankfully, so did Jonathan's brother, who kept a close eye on Emmeline and her friend after the first few incidents, and Greenda avoided their attempts to sabotage her, to cheers of triumph from Bagsy and unenthusiastic claps from Mezrielda.

'Yaaaaay,' Mezrielda drawled out sarcastically at one point. 'This is riveting.' Bagsy, on the other hand, couldn't help watching Greenda in awe.

At the end of training the players flew down to the centre and stood in a huddle. The captain was saying something, flashing a handsome smile every now and then, and Bagsy could tell he was well-liked by Emmeline and her friend, which was perhaps why they'd paid attention when he'd told them to stop cheating.

The team began walking off the pitch, the try-outs having finished, and Bagsy hurried over to Greenda, tripping in her excitement so that she was a little muddy by the time she fell into step with her.

'Did you get in?' Bagsy asked.

Greenda smiled. 'Ford, the captain, will give it some thought and post a notice on the board in the common room later, but I'm feeling hopeful.'

'You were amazing!' Bagsy said breathlessly. 'You flew so quickly, and so neatly, it was so cool!'

Greenda laughed in embarrassment, her hands still shaking from the nerves she must have been feeling. 'You're too kind, but I know I'm average, at best.'

'What is this? Got yourself a groupie, Greenda?' Emmeline asked as she and her friend caught up to them.

Greenda's smile faded and she let out a resigned sigh. 'Emmeline, Kat,' Greenda nodded at the two. 'We might be on the team together this year – can we please try to get along?'

Emmeline laughed. 'Nice try, Greenda.'

Emmeline's American friend, Kat, shrugged. 'During matches we'll only care about winning. Other than that, don't expect anything different.' Then the two stalked off.

'What is their problem?' Bagsy asked angrily.

'It's more complicated than it looks,' Greenda answered. 'You don't know the full story.'

Bagsy raised her eyebrows in surprise. 'What do you mean?'

'People aren't mean just for the thrill of it,' Greenda explained, seeming like a wise grandma to Bagsy, who listened closely. 'There is always a reason. They may be insecure or have poor home lives, who knows. But, as I said, there is always a reason.'

'What's theirs?'

Greenda was silent and Bagsy guessed she didn't want to say.

'You drag me out to watch Quidditch and then you ditch me when it ends,' Mezrielda snapped, sitting next to Bagsy in the Library. It was evening, and the room felt cosy with dim lights from the candles and fireplaces.

Bagsy stalled. She'd completely forgotten about Mezrielda. 'I'm sorry,' she said awkwardly. 'I was so caught up in it all. It slipped my mind.'

'It slipped your mind,' Mezrielda echoed, then looked down at the book in front of her. Instead of asking her what it was, Mezrielda simply seized the book and pulled it out of Bagsy's hands.

'Hey!' Bagsy protested as Mezrielda scanned the cover and blurb of Beyond the Fundamentals: What Makes Potions.

'You're always reading this book. I was beginning to wonder what it was.'

Bagsy snatched it back from Mezrielda, who narrowed her eyes in response. 'Well, now you know,' she said gruffly. They sat in silence whilst Bagsy continued her reading.

'I found out who that woman was,' Mezrielda cut through Bagsy's concentration.

'Who?' Bagsy asked, not moving her eyes from the pages.

'Belta Zotova.'

'No, I mean, which woman?' Bagsy elaborated, looking up now.

'The one who barged into the great hall and scared the life out of that Hufflepuff bully. The one with the Russian accent. She's the groundskeeper, according to Maisy,' Mezrielda explained. 'Though Maisy often lies, so who knows.'

Bagsy took the information in. 'Oh,' was all she said before going back to her reading.

'Oh? Don't you think it's a little odd?'

'What's a little odd?' Mezrielda was bothering her now – Bagsy just wanted to read.

'Where has she been the first few weeks of term? What has she been doing instead of her job?'

Bagsy shrugged. 'Maybe she was on holiday. Or late.'

'Maybe she was on holiday. Or late,' Mezrielda repeated.

Bagsy scowled. 'Stop repeating everything I say.'

'If you stopped saying stupid things I wouldn't have to,' Mezrielda retorted, getting up. 'I'll leave you to it,' she added, gesturing spitefully at the book.

'Thanks,' Bagsy said harshly, then, feeling bad about leaving her at Quidditch earlier and her sharp tone, added, 'I'll see you later.'

Mezrielda let a small smile slip through her cold demeanour. 'Sure,' she responded, leaving.

A few days after the try-outs, as the first month of Hogwarts was drawing to an end, the Quidditch team announcement was pinned to the notice board in the Hufflepuff common room. Bagsy gave a joyful leap when she saw that Greenda had been chosen for the team before calling Greenda over excitedly and pointed her name out. Greenda had been near tears she was so pleased.

'What's a seeker?' Bagsy had asked. Greenda laughed and ruffled Bagsy's messy hair, who sheepishly ducked away.

'A seeker is meant to catch the snitch,' Greenda explained, which didn't help Bagsy much, who didn't know what the snitch was. She had very little exposure to Quidditch in her life, and the rules still eluded her. When Greenda went on an hour's long rant about the best seekers in history Bagsy listened intently.

Bagsy did notice that Jonathan Krinkle, the younger brother of the captain, Ford Krinkle, hadn't been placed on the team. She noticed because Jonathan himself stormed off angrily at the sight of the team list.

The weeks began to go by very quickly, and Bagsy was beginning to lose count of how many lessons she'd taken, as well as how many times she'd failed to complete the tasks the professors had set out. Professor Starrett was threatening her with remedial Charms if she didn't improve, and even Professor Hilkins was raising his voice in frustration at Bagsy after class. Professor Fitzsimmons, despite their best attempts in their private sessions with Bagsy, was growing more and more frustrated at her inability to cast even the simplest of spells. Bagsy insisted she was doing all the homework and all the reading, even explaining all the extra practise she did each night – sometimes skipping sleep entirely – but it didn't seem to make much of a difference to the professors, though. They didn't seem to believe her.

The only exception was Professor Fitzsimmons, who did trust what Bagsy was saying, and would instead narrow their eyes in thought as they tried to figure out a different method that would work for her, but no matter how many different exercises Fitzsimmons had Bagsy do, or how different they made their private lessons, no spells were cast.

Professor Jones, the Astronomy Professor, was scratching his head trying to figure Bagsy out. He explained that Nurse Jones, his twin brother, had filled him in on Bagsy's lacking performance in her other subjects, and was baffled how she was doing well in his class. Bagsy explained that she wasn't lying, that she put all that extra work in, but that her magic just didn't want to show itself. Professor Jones, at least, seemed sympathetic, and told her she could forget about homework for his class to focus on her other subjects so long as she maintained her performance.

Professor Wattleseed hadn't seemed to notice, and Herbology was moving on well enough. Despite Winifred's initial insistence they meet during their personal studies before Herbology to discuss their project Bagsy was unsurprised to find herself alone in this endeavour. Winifred disappeared with her group of Ravenclaws to do who knows what, and rarely showed her face to help work on the living stampelia.

History of Magic was also going well. No practical magic was involved, so Bagsy wasn't too surprised. Potions, though, that was another story.

Professor Blythurst spent every lesson sitting in his chair dozing, or reading a book, or what Bagsy swore was doodling, whilst letting the students follow instructions he'd written on the board. It was a sink or swim class and most of the students were sinking.

Bagsy felt like she was soaring.

She understood it all, from the names of the ingredients to the different techniques his written instructions demanded. One lesson he wrote to mortle jewelweed on the chalkboard. There was no explanation on the chalk board for what mortling was, but thankfully Bagsy had read a chapter on it and knew it was the crushing of a herb or fungi with a mortar and pestle whilst the pestle was burning hot. Bagsy didn't know how to cast the required spell to heat the pestle, so she made do with placing it above the cauldron's flame.

Bagsy also knew what jewelweed was – and though they'd been using it in angel's trumpet draught, a potion she recalled made the drinker let out great trumpet noises, she also remembered it being a component in many anti-parasitical brews due to its potent expelling properties.

She was in her element in potions and soon Friday evenings were Bagsy's favourite time of the week – a reward after all the other gruelling lessons.

Blythurst seemed unsurprised by Bagsy's talent for potions. Despite Bagsy frequently being the only student to successfully brew a potion, he never did more than nod gruffly and tell her she was doing well but to keep trying hard. For some reason, this approach felt more encouraging than any praise would have been to Bagsy, and she was determined to out-do herself every lesson. She didn't mind giving other students pointers, either, but only when they asked. She daren't make herself look like a know-it-all.

Arice Allthorn seemed particularly grateful to her – Bagsy was certain he'd have been kicked out of the class if it hadn't been for her help – and he'd told her she could ask anything of him any time she needed to in return.

'Seriously,' Arice had enforced. 'Any time you need a favour just let me know.'

'S-sure,' Bagsy had responded, feeling a little odd having someone indebted to her. She'd just been helping him for the sake of helping – she didn't want anything in return.

If it weren't for Potions, Bagsy wondered if she'd have convinced her sister or her parents to take her home, the thought leaving her excitedly awaiting the Christmas holidays. She couldn't wait to hole herself up in her room and not have to deal with professors or other students or lessons for a whole four weeks, even if she would miss Potions.

The search for the thorned gauntlet continued throughout the term, with Bagsy and Mezrielda puzzling over the two different riddles they had to work with, one complete, one not. They searched all the stairs in the school: the riddle Mezrielda had found in her Library research mentioned the second riddle would lead them to steps. However, no stairs in the school had any hidden passageways they could find or any that led to a hidden gauntlet. When Bagsy tried to think what steps the riddle could be talking about and tried to remember if there were any staircases in the school that stood out to her, her mind seemed to drop whatever memories it had. It was most mysterious, how the information Bagsy was thinking on seemed to slip between her fingers, but before she could truly not how odd it was her mind would promptly tell her that there was nothing suspicious in how some of her memories seemed inaccessible.

It was the week before the students would leave for Christmas and Mezrielda was beyond frustrated at their fruitless efforts. They were sitting in a small nook in the Library at the back with windows overlooking the lake – their favourite spot to sit and work, or puzzle over their quest. The living stampelia was sitting neatly at the edge of the table in the sunlight – it had taken Bagsy far too long to realise it could get the sunlight it needed through a window, and Mezrielda was still teasing her about it.

Bagsy looked up from her book briefly to appreciate the decorations. When Christmas had drawn close, trees, ornaments and ivy with tinsel had appeared around Hogwarts and it felt like all the walls, doors and windows were smiling at Bagsy with a cheer she'd never felt before. Simply being in Hogwarts had become a wonderful feeling since the decorations had been erected. Bagsy's favourite had to be the Christmas trees that speckled the castle. She'd already searched every inch to make sure she got to see each last one. She'd never seen one in person before – her family never bothered to decorate for Christmas.

'It's useless!' Mezrielda moaned, slumped on the table, her head turned to look out the windows glumly.

Bagsy looked away from the wonderful decorations and at Mezrielda. 'Get your head off the table,' she said unsympathetically, reading Hogwarts: A History in the hopes it would reveal more information on what steps the first riddle could be referring to.

'I don't think it exists, Bagsy. I think we have been on a wild goose chase from the beginning.'

Bagsy put her book down and raised her eyebrows at her. 'Mezrielda, if this gauntlet is what you say it is, it is incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous. Did you expect a thing like that to be easy to find?'

'Yes,' Mezrielda said bitterly. 'For me, anyway. I'm very good at everything I do.' Bagsy just rolled her eyes and went back to her book, before Mezrielda let out a cough and what sounded like a supressed squawk.

Bagsy looked back up. 'What was that?'

'Nothing,' Mezrielda lied.

'Didn't Nurse Jones give you medicine for that weird cough you had?'

'Yes.' Mezrielda started reading a book of her own – A Guide to Mystical Riddles and Symbolism – and avoided her prying eyes. Bagsy didn't push further.

The next few days the professors found it difficult to control the students as the Quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor approached. Despite Bagsy's lack of Quidditch knowledge, Greenda was happy to explain the game to her once more, so she had a basic understanding by the time Hufflepuff's first game rolled around. It was in the last week of term when they'd be against Gryffindor – last year's champions. Slytherin had already fought, and lost, against the Gryffindor team and Bagsy's hopes were unrealistically optimistic, as Mezrielda had told her.

Bagsy protested, 'You weren't at the last game, you don't know how well the Gryffindors play.'

Mezrielda gave her a contemptuous look. 'One, that's because Quidditch is boring to watch. Two, I do know they must play well because I can't escape how insufferably angry about it the rest of my house is. They don't stop chattering about it – ever.'

Despite Mezrielda's warnings, Bagsy let herself believe Hufflepuff were going to win and even dragged Mezrielda along to the match with her. Mezrielda bundled up in her cloak and scarf, whispering 'palleos!' and bewitching them to change to the Hufflepuff colours so as to blend in, before following up with a dual casting of teporiem to warm them both. Bagsy was grumpy about Mezrielda's natural ease with magic but couldn't help reluctantly basking in the warmth of her robes.

'You're going to lose,' Mezrielda warned.

Bagsy shook her head. 'Just you wait – I know Greenda can get the snitch. I know we'll win.'

Bagsy watched with an increasingly glum mood as Gryffindor destroyed the Hufflepuff team. By the end the Gryffindor team had scored 240 points, apparently the snitch was worth 150 which Bagsy thought was stupid, and Hufflepuff had scored just 10. It was very one sided, as the commentator had loved to point out over and over.

Looking at the commentator, Bagsy got a strange feeling she'd met him before, and had asked an older student behind her who he was when the curiosity had grown stronger than her desire to avoid interaction. She'd discovered he was, in fact, Magnus Alden.

Now that Bagsy knew the commentator was the elder brother of Tod Alden, she could see the resemblance – he had that same tall, dark haired, crooked-smiled confidence Tod had.

Bagsy couldn't help feeling hard done by as she watched the Gryffindor team descend at the end of the match on their home-bought brooms. They varied in quality, but all of them were far better than the school brooms the Hufflepuffs were mainly playing on, or even the budget broom Greenda used. Greenda had spent the best part of three separate lunch breaks explaining all the different kinds of brooms and their varying qualities, the information sponged up by Bagsy's brain, and it only made her realise the unfair advantage the other team had. Bagsy guessed the Hufflepuff players were unlucky and simply couldn't afford their own brooms, and it hurt to see them struggle through the match on equipment that didn't work anywhere near as nicely as the others.

'Go on, say it,' Bagsy sighed as she and Mezrielda took the steps down in the stands.

Mezrielda smirked. 'I told you so,' she tutted. Bagsy hung her head miserably.

That evening, Bagsy could tell Greenda was inconsolable. She wasn't crying, or wailing hysterically, but it was evident she was in a bad way by how quiet she was, and by how she kept herself busy by continuously checking her robes were spotless or her stationary organised. Bagsy brought her some tea and biscuits before leaving her alone – she didn't know how else to comfort her.

When Emmeline and Kat appeared and began scolding Greenda, accusing her of throwing the match and ruining their chances at the cup, Ford, the captain, stepped in before Bagsy managed to build up enough courage to do it herself.

'It's a team game. We win as a team, we lose as a team, understood? No one person is responsible,' Ford said, his dark eyes moving harshly from Emmeline to Kat. Emmeline muttered something under her breath and Bagsy saw Greenda stiffen. 'What was that?' Ford asked.

Emmeline glared at Greenda. 'I said no one ever holds Greenda responsible!' she burst out. Bagsy thought she saw the beginnings of tears in Emmeline's eyes. 'She's so innocent and everyone loves her and look at me, I'm Greenda and I talk loads, isn't it charming?' Emmeline battered her eyelids mockingly.

'I've said sorry so many times, Emmeline, let it go already!' Greenda hissed back in more anger than Bagsy had seen her display before, looking like she instantly regretted her words. Emmeline and Kat looked at Greenda with a quiet malice.

Ford clenched his jaw and went silent. He looked conflicted. 'Look – everyone go home and enjoy the Christmas holidays,' he said. 'When we come back we'll train more and do better, okay?' He fixed each of the three players with a look, who all nodded reluctantly. Emmeline and Kat shot Greenda a glare before leaving for their beds. Greenda smiled weakly at Ford and stayed curled in the armchair she'd been sitting in, looking silently at a dancing cactus on the coffee table in front of her.

Bagsy didn't know what to think.