The next two weeks flew by quickly. All the teachers were somewhat on edge and so were the students. However, with the arrival of the first house Quidditch game, the tension was starting to ease.
"I can't wait to see it," Parker said grinning.
"You'll love it," Kylie said, "It's the best sport ever."
"Do you think we'll win?" Veronica asked.
"I don't know," Kylie said, "Probably. We're playing Hufflepuff and James says they aren't too great of a team, but who knows. I've never seen any of the teams play so I can't judge, but I've heard that we have the best team Gryffindor has seen in years."
"I hope we win," Parker said smiling, "Then we can party."
"Having unscheduled parties is against the rules. Of course, I have a feeling you don't care."
"Right you are, Dani," Parker said grinning, "Are you excited about the game?"
"I think it's dangerous," Daniella said slowly, "But I would like to see at least one..."
"One," Kylie said outraged, "You are going to all of them. You'll like it once you see it. Trust me. Everyone loves Quidditch..."
Kylie stopped. "What?" Veronica asked, glancing around.
"It's way too quiet," Kylie said slowly.
Veronica stopped and listened. She was right. "Where is everyone..." Veronica began, when she heard a strange whizzing noise.
"What is that?" Parker asked.
"Who knows," Kylie said.
"Let's get out of here," Daniella said, sounding worried.
"I'll second that," Veronica said. She made to walk away, but found her feet wouldn't move. She looked down and gasped. The other girls did the same. They were stuck.
"What in the bloody hell is that?" Parker asked. None of the girls answered. They were too busy struggling to get their feet unstuck. Veronica bent down to get a closer look. The stuff surrounding their feet was a thick, neon green color. She stood back up quickly. It smelt horrible.
"This better not stink up my robes..." Parker began, but Daniella interrupted with a slight scream.
"What?" Kylie asked.
"It's rising!" Daniella screeched, as she struggled more to move.
Veronica looked down at her feet, but found now she couldn't see them. It really was rising. Veronica grabbed her wand and starting casting all the spells she knew which wasn't many. Unfortunately, none of them worked and within minutes the slime had risen to their knees. That's when they heard the laughter.
Veronica turned to look in the direction of the laughter. Her confusion was soon replaced with anger. "Get us out of this!" she commanded furiously at James, Shane, Jeff, and Orion. They seemed taken aback by her outburst, but regained their composure quickly.
"I'm afraid we can't do that, Winters," James said pleasantly, "For you see, we're not quite done. Orion, my friend, will you do the honors?"
Orion grinned and grabbed two squeeze bottle containers from his robes. "Now who shall we begin with?" he asked himself looking around, with a huge smile.
"Try it and you die Black," Parker growled. Her eyes were blazing with fury.
"Well, of course," Orion said with a smile, completely ignoring her threat, "My lovely girlfriend, Parker. I should give her the honor of going first, as any good boyfriend would do." He walked over to her and began squeezing the bottles. Parker screamed as streams of red and yellow splattered all over her. "Join in the fun boys," Orion said, laughed.
Veronica opened her mouth to scream when the goo began to hit her as well, but a large amount went in her mouth. Ketchup and mustard, she thought. This is never going to come out. The thought was swept from her mind as a wave of whip cream hit her. It stopped moments later. She brushed the whip cream from her eyes and glared at the boys. They were laughing hysterically.
"You bloody bastards," Parker yelled furiously, trying to reach them. They laughed harder.
"James Colin Potter!" Kylie said icily, "Get this slime off my feet now, or you won't live to see tomorrow."
"Better yet, take it off mine and you won't live to see the next five minutes," Parker fumed.
"We'd love to stay and chat," Shane said smiling, "But we have class."
"Shame you'll be late," Jeff said in a mockingly sorry tone, "Hopefully Professor Weasley won't be too angry. She has a nasty temper. I'd know. After all, she is my mum." The boys laughed and took off down the hall.
"Don't bother struggling," James called over his shoulder, "The slime won't wear off for another ten minutes."
"Potter," Veronica said furiously.
"See you later, sweetie," Orion called back at Parker.
"Stop calling me that, Black, or I swear I'll break every bone in your body!" Orion laughed and kept going.
Fifteen minutes later, the girls walked into Transfiguration covered in ketchup, mustard and whip cream. Only Daniella seemed worried about being late. Veronica was far too angry to care, as were Parker and Kylie. "What happened, girls?" Professor Weasley asked, looking shocked.
"What does it look like?" Parker snapped.
Professor Weasley frowned, but surprisingly did nothing. "Well, sit down and get to work," she said shaking her head. Veronica distinctly heard her mumble, "Evil does run in the blood." She was staring at the boys, who smiled back innocently.
Veronica smiled broadly. Her first Quidditch game. She was so excited. Parker and Kylie were too, and even Daniella couldn't suppress a smile. "This way," Kylie said, leading the girls through the stands to the highest spot, "Perfect."
"Why so high?" Daniella asked, glancing nervously at the ground. Veronica noticed she was clutching the railing so hard that her knuckles were white. She must be really scared of heights.
"You can see way better up here," Kylie said, while her eyes scanned the field.
Veronica looked around. Everyone seated around her was dressed in red and gold. Some were waving Gryffindor flags. She made a mental note to get one. She looked toward the field as the stadium burst into cheers. Walking out onto the field were fourteen players. Seven were dressed in scarlet and the other seven were dressed in yellow.
"Go Gryffindor!" Kylie screamed. Veronica stared at her and bit back the urge to laugh at her enthusiasm. She turned her eyes to the announcement box, when a voice started speaking.
"Welcome, to the first Quidditch game of the year," said a tall black boy, that Veronica recognized as Levinia's older brother, Darien. "Our game today is between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. This years Gryffindor line up consists of Captain and Keeper, Peter Baylen, a returning fifth year. We also have everyone's favorite Beater, Carly Weasley, which reminds me. So Carly, what about you and me tomorrow night for a date..."
"Jordan!" Professor Weasley snapped. She looked thoroughly irritated.
"Sorry, Professor," Darien said, "So, where was I? Oh, yes. We also have Greg Waters, a new player and resident fifth year, as Beater. Our chasers consist of Nathan Richards, a returning seventh year, Gabrielle Phillips, a returning fourth year, and Carter Matthews, a returning seventh year. And our final player, Gryffindor's new Seeker is James Potter, son of Harry Potter. May I remind you Harry Potter played for Gryffindor and the Wasps, and is considered the one of the best Seekers to ever play. The question we're all is asking is, is James as good of a flier as his father?" He paused dramatically.
"Get on with it," Professor Weasley hissed.
"Our Hufflepuffs consist of Nancy Adams, Mychal Karrows, Philip Margers, Blake Howe, Captain Genesis Gladden, Tim Johnson, and Luke Yoner."
Veronica's eyes turned to the field. Peter and Genesis were shaking hands. Coarch Weasley motioned for the players to kick off. He held the quaffle (or at least Veronica was pretty sure it was the quaffle) in one hand and put the whistle to his lips with the other. He blew it and threw the ball.
"Gryffindor in possession," Darien yelled, "Richards is heading for the Hufflepuff goals. Pass to Phillips. She's weaving. She prepares to throw. Oh, wait reverse to Matthews. Matthews shoots. It's in!"
Kylie screamed and cheered. "Take them down, Gryffindor!"
"Hufflepuff in possession. Adams is weaving. Passes to Karrows. He has a clear line at the goal. Oh, nice one by Weasley. Karrows almost lost his head. Gryffindor in possession. Matthews is taking it down. Pass to Phillips. Picked off by Howe of Hufflepuff. He's heading down the field. Passes to Karrows who passes it back. Nice fake. Howe shoots. Blocked by Baylen. Gryffindor in possession. Looks like Richards is taking it all the way. He shoots...he scores!"
Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor area. Veronica searched the sky for James. He was flying high above the others slowly pacing the field back and forth. He was a good flier, Veronica noted. She turned back to the game to see Phillips score a goal.
"Gryffindor takes an early lead 30-0," Darien yelled, "Hufflepuff in possession. Howe is taking it down. He shoots and it's in. Damn, Pete, you could have got that!"
"Mr. Jordan!"
"Sorry Professor, heat of the moment," Darien said grinning, "Back to the game. Gryffindor in possession and oh, that was a foul. Yes, I see Coach Weasley agrees. Looks like Matthews will take on the Hufflepuff Keeper, Yoner. Oh, nice fake right into the left goal! Alright Matthews!"
"Hufflepuff in possession. Adams is taking it down. He passes to Howe. Ouch, that had to hurt. A bludger to the stomach by Carly Weasley. Damn, that girl has good aim. Everyone better make a mental note not to get her angry. Oh, wait a minute. I think Potter's seen the snitch. He has and it looks like Hufflepuff's Gladden has seen it too. They are both in a dive."
Veronica strained her eyes to see James. He and Genesis were headed straight toward the ground. One hundred feet, eighty, fifty, thirty. Genesis pulled up, but James kept going. Ten feet before the ground, he roughly jerked up. He flew off his broom. Gasps were heard from the students and teachers. Kylie was on her feet. Veronica stood to get a better look. She waited for James to move. What seemed like an eternity later, though it was probably only a few seconds, he got up. He held up his hand to the crowd. Clutched in it was something gold.
"He got the Snitch!" Kylie screamed. The stadium burst into cheers and applause. Kylie grabbed Veronica and pulled her into a tight hug while jumping up and down. She turned and hugged Parker and Daniella as well. "We won!" she was screaming.
"Potter's got the Snitch and in less than five minutes! And Gryffindor wins it, 190 to 10," Darien's voice echoed over the cheers, "Looks like we have another Potter legend forming."
The girls fought their way down to the field where the players stood. Kylie ran and tackled James to the ground screaming, "You got it!"
James seemed to find this very amusing. "Did you ever doubt me?"
Moments later, James was being raised on to the shoulders of some Gryffindors, who were shouting, "We love Potter!" Veronica and the girls watched as they carried him toward the castle.
Kylie joined the girls moments later. Her face was red from excitement and all the yelling. "So what did you think?"
"Bloody amazing," Parker said grinning, "Carly Weasley is an amazing Beater too. That looks like loads of fun!"
"Oh, Merlin," Kylie said laughing, "Can you imagine giving Parker a bat? She'd take down half the school."
The girls burst out laughing. "No I wouldn't," Parker said, grinning, "Just a few Slytherins and perhaps Black."
"Dani," Kylie said, "Did you like it?"
"Well, I must say," Daniella said smiling slightly, "It looked thoroughly dangerous, but I did find myself enjoying it. If only it wasn't so high up."
Kylie grinned. "Nicci? What about you?"
"It was great," Veronica said, "We must have the best team in the school!"
"Don't count on it," a voice sneered. It was Amelia. Next to her, were her two cronies, Cristina and Jillian. "The Slytherins will crush your lousy team."
"Not a chance," Kylie said, "I'd be surprised if the Slytherins could even figure out how to work their brooms."
"After all," Parker said smirking, "They aren't known to be the brightest of the bunch."
"You think you're so smart, Mudblood," Amelia said coldly, "I bet you couldn't beat us in a duel."
"Oh, really," Parker said icily, "Why don't we see? You three against us."
"You have four people," Amelia sneered, "One of you won't be able to do it."
"Fine," Kylie said, "Dani will sit it out. Name the time and place."
"One hour from now. The old Charms room. Be prepared to lose."
"We never lose," Veronica said, in a much braver voice than she felt.
"Well, you won't be able to beat us," Amelia said coldly.
"I wouldn't make any bets on that," Parker said smiling, "Come on girls. Let's go." The girls walked off toward the Gryffindor common room, leaving Amelia and her friends to stare after them.
When the girls entered the common room, they were met with loud music and cheering kids. "Looks like we're having a party," Kylie said.
"Too bad we're going to miss it. I am so going to hurt Zaben worse for this."
"Parker, you can't," Daniella begged, "None of you can. Fighting is one of the highest offenses. One of you could get hurt, or worse, expelled."
"Did I hear someone say fighting?" a voice asked. The girls turned to see Orion, Jeff, Shane and James.
"You didn't hear anything," Parker said.
"I did," Shane said slowly, "And I think it had something to do with the three of you fighting and Carter, here trying to stop you."
"Look, just forget it okay," Kylie said.
"Absolutely not," James said sternly, "I am not going to let my little sister go out and..."
"I am not your little sister!" Kylie snapped.
"Come on," Parker said, moving away, "We have somewhere to be. Stay here, Dani."
James grabbed Kylie's arm. "I am not letting you go."
Kylie sighed. "Fine," she said, smiling slightly. "You leave me no choice. James, that was so cool how you got the Snitch!"
"Tell us how you did it, James," someone shouted. There were shouts of agreement.
Peter Baylen walked over and grabbed James. He pulled him toward the center. People began to surround the boys, blocking them in. James was looking irritated. Kylie waved and the girls left the common room.
"Nice," Parker said smiling.
"Thanks."
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Veronica asked quietly.
Kylie and Parker looked at her. "Don't tell me you want to back out," Parker said.
"No," Veronica said quickly, "I don't. It's just that, we don't even know how good they are or anything..."
"Relax," Kylie said, "You can have Goyle. She's big, but she's as dumb as a troll. Disarm her and you'll be fine."
Veronica sighed. "Alright."
The girls stopped when they reached the door to the old Charms room. "Shall we?" Parker asked.
Kylie grinned and Veronica forced a nervous smile onto her face. What have I gotten myself into now? she thought. "We can still leave," Daniella begged quietly.
"I told you that you could have just stayed in the common room, but as for us, we're doing it." Daniella sighed as Parker pushed open the door. Veronica followed her in. Amelia was already waiting for them along with Cristina and Jillian.
"I see you decided to show up," Amelia sneered.
Parker smirked. "I'm surprised you didn't chicken out."
"I'm no chicken," Amelia said furiously.
"You're right," Parker said smiling, "You were a pumpkin, right?"
Veronica ignored them. You can do this, she told herself calmly. You know plenty of curses and the Disarming Spell. Just relax. She took a deep breath and looked up. Cristina was standing in front of her. She gripped her wand and took ten steps back. Cristina did the same.
"So, Zaben," Parker said grinning, "You are lucky I'm in a good mood right now. I don't think your face could afford to take any more beatings. Then again, it's so ugly, I doubt it would matter."
Amelia narrowed her eyes and drew her wand. "Otrivana!"
Parker dodged it easily and laughed. "You'll have to do better than that."
Veronica looked over at Cristina, who was trying to get her wand. Veronica raised hers quickly and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" She smiled when she saw Cristina's wand fly from her hand and shoot across the room. That wasn't so bad, Veronica thought with a smile. However, her smile disappeared instantly.
Cristina obviously didn't seem to mind she had no wand and was headed straight at Veronica with her fists raised. Think of something, Veronica thought urgently. Say a spell. However, she was frozen in fear. Cristina was getting closer. Veronica panicked and shouted the first curse that came to her head. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Five feet in front of her, Cristina's arms and legs snapped together and she fell straight to the floor. Veronica turned to the other girls as she felt her heart rate return to normal. Daniella was backed up against one of the walls looking terrified. Kylie wasn't far away, ducked behind a desk, while Jillian was shooting curses at her in rapid succession. Parker was laughing and dodging curses from Amelia, who was looking more and more infuriated.
Veronica watched in shock, as Kylie and Jillian moved toward Daniella without noticing. She doesn't have her wand, Veronica thought with a wave of panic. She'll get hurt. Parker seemed to have noticed the same thing, because she was running straight towards Daniella.
"Get out of the way, Dani!" Parker shouted. Daniella wasn't moving. She was staring at the curses heading toward her in horror. Parker took out her wand and shouted something Veronica couldn't hear. Her spell knocked Daniella over, just before a series of curses hit the exact spot she had been standing.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Kylie shouted. Jillian's arms and legs snapped together and she hit the ground with a loud Thunk! Parker wasn't so lucky. Amelia was standing directly behind her, with her wand pointed at Parker's back.
"First rule of dueling, Mudblood," Amelia sneered triumphantly, "Watch your back."
A smile began to form on Parker's lips. "Petrificus Totalus!" she said. Amelia's arms and legs snapped together and she fell to the ground, looking shocked. Parker turned around. She bent down over Amelia, smirking. "Second rule of dueling, Zaben. Never drop your guard. Just because my back was turned, didn't mean my wand was." She laughed.
Veronica went over to Daniella and helped her off the ground. She was terribly pale. Parker stood up and looked over at Kylie, Daniella, and Veronica. "So what shall we do with them?" Parker asked grinning.
Kylie smiled. "I have an idea," she said slowly, "But perhaps we've done enough damage for today."
"Yes," Veronica said, "I think we have other things to take care of."
Parker looked from Daniella to the Amelia and her friends. She seemed to be having an intense inner struggle. "Alright," she said, looking very disappointed. She walked over to Daniella and put her arm around her. "Come on. Let's get you out of here." Veronica smiled as Parker led Daniella from the room. She strung her arm through Kylie's and they left the room. They had completely forgotten to undo the curse on the Slytherin girls.
