Chapter 16: The Quidditch Match
Over a week had gone by since the Potter brothers had fought and Albus had been in a constant bad mood ever since. He had almost skipped the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff but Scorpius had convinced him otherwise. Most of the Slytherin team had sided against Gryffindor and Vanessa snorted loudly when she saw the pair donned in red and gold.
"Oh shut up Parkinson you sound like a farm animal," Jade smoothly passed between the boys and Vanessa, dressed conspicuously neutral and looking bored. Vanessa had just got to her retort when Jade spotted Quinn and left to sit by her. As she turned Vanessa have a shout and clutched her nose, which was becoming quite snout-like and pink.
Albus had found that despite spending his childhood with Lily and Rose and his other cousins, that he was quite afraid of the Slytherin First-year girls. It didn't help that almost all of them were taller than him. Something of a fight had arose between the girls and Jade and Quinn were now best of friends and barely spoke to Vanessa, who preferred the company of a few second-years. For their part, Albus and Scorpius had never heard or seen an incident, yet the animosity was palpable in every class for the last few days. Jade had gotten a good chunk of her hair cut after an unfortunate "miscast" charm by Vanessa. And she in turn had her robes ruined by a Bogeyroot extract "spilled" by Quinn in Herbology. And yet none of the three had said a word of complaint to their professors- which Albus found terrifying. Natalia Markov rarely spoke to any of them, preferring the company of her twin.
Presently the Second-year Slytherin girls were coming to aide Vanessa and Al and Scorpius hurried away, soon spotting their friend, Jeya in the front stands. Scorpius had told her all about the sport before coming to Hogwarts, but nothing prepared her for the first game. She'd been absolutely mesmerized, even checking out a few books to catch up on the jargon. Someone had charmed her badger hat to howl loudly whenever Hufflepuff scored and growl if the opposing team got too close. It was growling now as Scorpius and Al neared in their Gryffindor attire. "Just don't cheer too loudly you know," But her eyes were friendly. Just as the teams entered the pitch, Scorpius started waving frantically and Al spotted his target. Rose, along with Ida and Anya, were searching the stands for empty seats. The three made their way toward Al and Rose smiled brightly at him.
Surprisingly, she had taken Al's side in the fight between her cousins and had even told off James in the Common Room. Despite James' coverup, students had concluded that the two brothers had, had a falling out. The idea of the wildly different Potter children being at odds was both tantalizing gossip and, given James' overall popularity and age, deeply unfair to Al. He'd been reminded that he was neither as funny or as charming as his brother, nor athletic. And besides being sorted into Slytherin, he was not otherwise very interesting. Rose was impressively single-minded when it came to issues like these, for which Al was grateful. He hadn't made many friends since the start of the schoolyear, but at least he hadn't lost her. Still, a nagging gloom that seemed to bother him constantly made Al feel like, eventually, Rose might retreat to the comfort of Gryffindor friends (she'd made many) and leave him and Scorpius behind.
Ida and Anya regarded Al and Scorpio shyly. Ida had bug-eyed glasses that matched Professor Trelawney and many light freckles covering her face, which made her look rather like a snowy owl. Anya didn't need glasses to give the illusion of big eyes. Her dark brown orbs were always very open and slightly in awe, whether it was taking notes in class (which she did very frantically) or simply watching the pictures on her way through Hogwarts. The girls stuck to Rose like glue and sometimes Al would catch the three animatedly talking, but he was lucky if we got a complete sentence in response to any of his attempts at conversation. They didn't seem to be rude and neither was particularly amused by the taunts directed at Al- still, it was hard to see why they ended up in the brave, but rowdy Gryffindor House. Al stopped his train of thought abruptly. It had been months since the Opening ceremony and Al was dawning on the idea that whatever the Sorting saw within their heads, many of his classmates had yet to fill those shoes. This gave Al both hope and trepidation; he was, after all, the same person before and after being sorted, there was no need to scrutinize his past actions or change anything. But what if the hat saw something in Al's future? Something that would change him to… well to someone he didn't like. They had just finished the chapter in History of Magic about the Hogwarts Founders and Al hated Salazar Slytherin. Who would put a monster in a school? The lesson had been unfortunate timing since Al had just finished a letter home, telling his parents about his House. He'd instead ripped his letter to shreds and let Ibn hop around in the pieces. How could his Dad handle a son placed into a house that bore the origins of Voldemort's, and so many other Dark wizards' prejudices—that more or less orphaned him? Al shook his slightly and grinned at Scorpius teasing Jeya's very agitated hat. The Quidditch match was about to begin.
James flew unto the pitch with ease and swooped around center field as the chasers made practice shots before the first whistle, rallying the Gryffindor fans with a few sweeps across the stadium. The fact that he was currently using a school broom while his own was being repaired barely registered in his grace and speed. As he swerved near where Al sat, Jeya's hat gave a great growl and bark, slightly startling his brother. James did a loop de loop and circled back to look at Al's small friend, puzzled. After spotting the charmed garment he gave a great laugh and saluted the group, winking.
"Good luck James!" Al shouted a little loud, surprising himself. James on considered Al for a moment before nodding and grinning. He returned to the center of the field where the players had begun to line up as Madame Hooch entered the pitch. She began bellowing the rules to each team as she wrestled open the case with the playing balls, releasing the snitch. James ceased to take in the crowd and now focused on his target. The Hufflepuff seeker, Isaac Engledorf had been regarding James with intimidation and nervously eyed between the small, golden spot and his opponent.
"He might make co-captain next year, you know. I've heard Josie Rivers had been impressed with him this year." Rose chattered to Albus as the Bludgers shot into the air and whizzed around the pitch.
"He's got to be one of the youngest captains ever then!" Scorpius exclaimed.
"In a couple decades that's for sure." Replied Rose, "Either way, he'd be loads better than Adrian, such a git, "she wrinkled her nose and glanced at Al meaningfully.
Al was impressed as well but another unconscious feeling had bubbled beneath those good intentions. It wasn't jealousy directly, but Al was sure that news of his brother being promoted to captain would make both his parents, Quidditch stars in their own right, quite proud. It would so perfectly fit what anyone would expect a Potter to be…. Something Al rarely felt he achieved. The whistle popped Albus out of his (now frequent) brooding and he brought his attention back to the game. The Quaffle was taken immediately by Adrian, who made a beeline for the goals. He was massive for a chaser, but somehow stayed agile enough to move with frightening speed. The Hufflepuff chasers were all third years and barely made and effort to steal, likely frightened of being knocked cleanly off their brooms by his freight-like momentum. In ten minutes, Gryffindor was leading by 40 points.
"As is usual, we see Gryffindor 'as taken a good lead from ze Hufflepuffs. Adrian 'as taken possession quite often and leads the score with 'hree goals." The unmistakable lilt of Dominique Weasley floated across the stadium, "'ee is definitely a strong player but also he doesn't pass much now does 'ee?" She critiqued the Gryffindor in her singsong voice.
Rosie snorted, "Of course only Dominique could get away with this…"
She was probably right, thought Al. Dominique was a fourth year Ravenclaw and beyond beautiful. She'd somehow inherited her mother's glistening white locks with the Weasley traits, getting a head of sleek, strawberry blonde hair and deep blue eyes framed by ample lightly colored lashes. Apparently she was coy and quiet in school, which made her more mysterious- but Al and Rose knew better about that. At the moment, Adrian seemed more pleased that she'd mentioned him at all than really registering her comments…
"Oh and a wonderful return by Graham Dizz- izi-inger, it 'eems the Hufflepuffs 'ave been underestimated! Bravo!" Dominique now turned her attention to the Hufflepuff captain, who had just scored after a lovely dive from a bludger. Al, noticed Graham Dessinger also enjoyed being mentioned by his cousin, his cheeks blushing beyond the flush of adrenaline.
Of course the Hufflepuff's comeback was brief as Adrian returned with yet another goal. Then, for a moment, everyone's attention riveted on the seekers, as James suddenly swooped steeply toward the ground. For a moment. Al thought he saw the glint of the snitch slightly ahead. It didn't look as though Engledorf had spotted the snitch himself as he seemed to trail James deliberately, straining to see. Al found himself standing up to cheer, along with his friends…
A bludger zoomed sideways at the two seekers and Engledorf pulled up and away. James was also aware of the ball but kept inching closer to the snitch. Finally, though, the ball caught up and he was forced to abandon his quest. He expertly rolled around his broom, just missing the bludger by centimeters and quickly righted himself. Still, it was obvious after a few moments that he'd lost sight of the snitch.
"Oi Vance, get your head in the game! He's got one job and so do you!" Al could hear Adrian berating Gladys Pepperhorn's replacement, Annaliese Vance. The new beater reddened profusely as the game resumed. "I knew we should've went with Carlyle…"
"Aye Adrian let up… maybe you can beat your goal record now," James had pulled up near the two and playfully bantered away the tension. Josie Rivers looked more stern as she gained control of the Quaffle and passed it to Adrian, "Remember who's Captain Haverford…"
James would not be able to prevent more turmoil however, as less than ten minutes later, another bludger smacked harshly into Adrian's shoulder, throwing his shot at goal far left and taking his scoring arm temporarily out of commission. This time, Al was sure the entire stadium could hear him insulting Anna, which was confirmed by Madame Hooch's warning for sportsmanship.
Rose rolled her eyes, "Ugh see how he is, it's unfair he's so good otherwise I'm sure they'd be shot of him." Jeya's hat growled in agreement and Scorpio nodded, though probably for more personal reasons as Adrian was in competition for being his worst bully so far, "I mean it's not really her fault…" he agreed.
Al concurred. Anna had definitely missed the bludger, but only because it seemed as though she and Pierce Jenkins, the other beater, weren't communicating well and failing to cover both sides of the pitch. From what he'd heard from James, a good beater set needed to basically mindread each other, something Al doubted anyone could learn in less than two weeks.
"An' now we know why we play thee whole game! A beautiful combination by the lovely Pasha and Monique!" Monica Niles grinned as she rounded back from her goal. For the next half-hour, Hufflepuff made a steady comeback against Gryffindor's 60 point lead. This was despite good passing between Rivers and the third chaser, Max Goernings. The problem was Adrian, who, as Dominique had pointed out, was horrible at passing the Quaffle. At first, he stubbornly persisted with the ball to the Hufflepuff goal, but his arm no longer had the speed to outwit the Keeper. But even when he tried to pass, he rarely made it easy for his teammates. Yet despite this apparent dynamic, it was clear Adrian thought the blame rested on several people, maybe even everyone but himself. He even snapped at Josie after the Hufflepuff beater was able deflect his poor pass with a bludger. But the person at the end of most of his frustrations was Vance. He now practically followed her around whenever Hufflepuff had the Quaffle, telling her to be anywhere than where she was at the moment. Josie was too busy defending to throw much more than a nasty glance or two.
"Gosh McGonagall looks furious." Rosie commented. Indeed, Al could also see the Headmaster pursing her lips tightly, her bright eyes flaring as she caught snippets of Adrian's insults, "I suppose this is the first time they've seen him like this given how much Gryffindor has been winning lately…."
It finally seemed like Anna had, had enough of her teammate as she abruptly dived away from Adrian. But Al and others in the stand quickly realized that, once again, James was racing another bludger as he caught sight of the snitch. Glancing toward his left, he seemed to spot Anna hurtling his way and promptly returned attention to his prize. Again Al stood on his feet, but this time in apprehensive anticipation. Jeya verbalized his fears, "How is she going to bat that ball away when they're so close!"
Given Anna's position, it looked as though she'd only catch up inches from James. It seemed equally likely that he'd be thrown off by either her or the bludger. Still, none of the players had given up the chase. Al almost closed his eyes as the point of collision became unbearably close, but was glad he hadn't.
"Thwack!" Anna had also predicted that she wouldn't have the arm room to swing at the bludger and had instead brought her bat vertically down from above her head.
"I think thee bludger eez stuck in the ground! A brilliant idea by Annaliese Vance!" Dominique crooned from the announcer's stand, "And, oh my I 'ope she eez okay!"
The momentum completely knocked Anna off her broom, but she was able to catch her arm under the handle, slowing her fall to the ground. "GO JAMES" she screamed as he had concernedly turned to check on her. He blasted forward and yelped victoriously as he clutched the snitch.
As the teams landed Adrian roared in approval at James' performance, but he veered away from his friend's high-five, rushing instead to hoisted Anna on his shoulders as the other players rallied around her. Al, looked over at Rose cheering and smiled, "Yeah, I think he'd make a great Captain."