NINE
November proved to be the start of a tremendous escalation of awful affairs at Hogwarts. Umbridge seemingly had taken complete control over the school, deeming herself as the "High Inquisitor," a title entirely made up by her and the Ministry, along with their other numbered "Proclamations" hanging around the corridors.
But even with the ever-growing prisonlike authority being mandated around the castle, there was still one thing students at Hogwarts felt they could always look forward to. That, of course, being quidditch.
With that being said, no one would have imagined the first game of the season would have ended in a fistfight.
To explain, it should first be noted that the rivalry between the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses was incredibly unmistakable and particularly carnivorous. Sure, Slytherins were usually aggressively unfriendly to any house members that weren't their own. Still, they seemed to historically target their hostility towards the house known for their own shameless pride and valor. This meant that quidditch matches between Gryffindors and Slytherins were always a bit messier, but Madam Hooch usually found a way to keep everyone under control. This was not the case for this Saturday's game, though.
The match had already gone off to a bad start, mainly with the Slytherin house leading the school in a "Weasley is Our King!" chant that was blatantly directed towards the youngest Weasley boy that seemed to be newly appointed as the Gryffindor keeper. Even from the stands, Eve could notice the nerves emanating off of Ron Weasley, as well as the aggravated shoves and ball-batting from his two older twin brothers.
But it seemed the tension had been saved by the one and only Harry Potter, who caught the snitch and lead his team to victory. The victory cheers did not last, though, as a scene broke out from the quidditch pitch below.
Although she couldn't hear a single thing, Eve and the rest of the school watched as words were shared between the Slytherin and Gryffindor teams, particularly between Slytherin keeper, Draco Malfoy, and the Weasley brothers. Eve wished she could tell the twins apart from so far away, but as she watched one of them lunge for Malfoy, only to be grabbed by his two teammate chasers, she had an inclination this initial attack was Fred. But the drama just ensued more as it seemed Malfoy kept going with his comments, and with the suspected Fred held back already, the opportunity for violence was now given to his twin.
Eve had let out an audible gasp as she watched George, or who she believed to be George, pounce now on Malfoy, this time making contact. The twin threw several punches at the younger Slytherin boy, all of which making contact with the blond boy's scowled face before Harry Potter grabbed George to hold him back. This didn't last long, though, as Malfoy seemingly continued to throw assuming harsh words towards the boys, causing George to leap on the boy again, this time with Potter aiding in the punching.
The drama only ceased when Madam Hooch made her way to the field, along with Umbridge and the other faculty members. The fight broke, and words were exchanged. These words, spoken explicitly by Umbridge, were assumed to be unpleasant.
But as Eve sat with other Hufflepuffs in their common room after the game, anxiously waiting on news from the earlier events, she would not have guessed just how unpleasant things would be.
Everyone grew silent when Fernando walked back inside the common room. The captains from each quidditch team were taken to an emergency meeting, one that had lasted far too long for Eve's comfort.
The quidditch captain walked to a group of couches in the room that occupied the quidditch team members, all of which held anxious expectant looks on their faces.
"Well, what happened?" Dawson immediately asked when it seemed Fernando was hesitant to begin his explanation. The latter sighed when he heard this question.
"Well, you all saw what happened. Malfoy and the Weasley boys got into a scuffle, surely having at least somewhat to do with that little nursery rhyme the Slytherins pulled during the game. But knowing Malfoy, it could have been anything. I know the Weasleys and Potter are decent lads, so Malfoy must have said something serious to set them off," Fernando said this with a considerate shrug.
"Obviously, we all know Umbridge doesn't care about those kinds of details, though," Fernando paused after he said this, glancing from each of his teammates with a downcast look. When no one attempted to reply, he sighed and continued.
"Umbridge banned Potter and the Weasley twins from playing," he finished.
"For how long?" Eve quickly asked, feeling her own worry bubble over her.
"For life."
Fernando's words casted an audible shock amongst the group.
"That can't be fair, though. For life? For a couple punches? And Malfoy gets nothing done to him?" It was Douglas now that was chiming in, his own frustration apparent.
"Malfoy threw no punches," Emily replied, but the team knew she only said this as a matter of fact, not in justification for it.
"And what about the rest of us?" Dawson asked, now bringing attention to their own situation. Hufflepuff was set to play Ravenclaw in three weeks. This question caused the most visual grimace from Fernando yet.
"Umbridge isn't allowing quidditch activities to resume until they have been thoroughly evaluated by herself. Expect her at our next practice."
The groans and shouts were loud enough for the rest of the common room to hear. Dawson chucked a pillow across the room, accidentally hitting a second year in the back of the head. He gave a polite "Sorry, mate" before turning his anger back to the team.
"She's canceling quidditch. There's no way she's letting us play. The Malfoy fight wasn't even about quidditch," Dawson began but was quickly cut off by Fernando.
"I was told she would be reviewing playing, not canceling it. We still need to expect to play. We just need to be on our best behavior," Fernando's eyes lingered on Dawson as he said this, causing the beater to sigh heavily and fall back on the couch.
"Please, you guys. Let's keep the spirit going. We haven't lost this year yet. It's just started. This game had nothing to do with us, and we just need to show Umbridge that," Fernando pleaded, and Eve could see the emotion in his eyes.
It was the captain's last year, and he had started it off thinking he was going to turn things around for the time being, especially after the awful turn of events last year. Of course, he was still trying to be hopeful.
Eve nodded in unison with the rest of the players now. She wanted to remain hopeful for the team, but Umbridge led to anything but hopefulness in all matters. Not to mention, Eve was feeling incredibly sad and frustrated for the newly banned Gryffindor players. She knew enough about Harry Potter and the Weasley twins to understand how much quidditch had meant to them. It was the twins' last season, just like Fernando's, after all.
"Yeah, we've already put in a lot of work this year. We have a lot of potential; we just can't give up. Not to mention, we can't let our captain down," Douglas replied, shooting Fernando an encouraging smile. Eve raised her brows but kept her mouth shut.
"I swear, if those Gryffindors cause us to stop playing," Dawson began, shaking his head as he mulled over his following words. But Eve did not let him finish.
"Malfoy's a prick. He probably deserved it. It's only Umbridge who's making it a big deal," she replied, with all the fierceness she didn't even initially mean to give. Her teammates raised their eyebrows. Eve was not known for harsh words; even "prick" was a lot for her, let alone justifying violence.
But Eve was also known for being undoubtedly genuine with her words, and at this moment, she was unwavering. She just shrugged at their expressions and fixed her glance at the fireplace a few feet behind Fernando.
"I think Eve just means the situation is not fair all around, which I agree with," Emily started, glancing at Eve with an assured nod, "but if we play as we usually do, with respect and class, I don't see why we wouldn't be allowed to compete."
The team seemed to unanimously agree Emily's words would serve as the end of the tense discussion, and the group dispersed amongst themselves. Eve and Douglas were left on the couch together, while Fernando remained standing in front of them. He sighed, looking at the two with a tight smile, before turning to his dorm room with the notion of "working on new practice rules."
Left on the couch, the pair sat in silence for a moment or two, assumingly collected in their own thoughts from the evening's events. Suddenly, Douglas seemed to snap out of his head and turn to his friend with a curious look.
"What's with the guns out for the Weasleys and Potter?"
Eve chuckled lightly and gave a slight shrug.
"What's with the captain's pet performance? Are you planning on giving motivational speeches at every team meeting now?"
Douglas sighed.
"Yeah, fair enough."
They sat watching the fireplace for a bit.
