If I hadn't been placed in Gryffindor with most of my family, I would have liked to be in Ravenclaw with the Scamander twins and my oldest cousin, Victoire. The Ravenclaws that I knew were peaceful and creative; unlike Gryffindors and Slytherins, who were full of pride and constantly at odds with each other and the world.
On second thought, perhaps I was in the right place. My temper probably would cause even more problems elsewhere.
I whispered goodnight to the little crane and closed my eyes.
Now that all was still and quiet, and my mind was empty, I found that a certain smirking blond boy was invading my thoughts.
I pushed those thoughts away, blushing madly in the dark, and fell asleep.
Chapter 6: Quidditch
It was the first Hogsmeade weekend, and James, Albus and I had decided to meet up at the Three Broomsticks.
James set down three butterbeers on the table. "Courtesy of your recently-salaried brother!"
"More like recently-salaried bother," Albus muttered, reaching for a glass.
James ignored Albus and attempted to recline on the wooden stool. "After this I think I'll go to Gladrags Wizardwear and buy Dad a pair of Screaming Socks. And I'll go to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop to get a new quill for Mum."
Albus took a sip and set his butterbeer down on the table carefully. "James, do you need me to explain how a savings account works? You put money into it, and you don't spend it all- OW!"
James had kicked him under the table. "I'll be taking that butterbeer back then, dear brother, for my savings account-"
"Over my dead body."
I still couldn't believe Headmistress McGonagall let him teach. Unless his behavior was wildly different around first-years, but based on prior experience, I doubted that. I let my brothers bicker for a few more minutes before I spoke.
"So," I fiddled with the end of my braid, "I'm thinking about trying out for the empty Seeker spot."
"The Seeker is the most fouled player on the team, Lil. Are you sure you can handle it?" asked James.
I slammed my butterbeer down on the table, liquid sloshing onto my hand, and turned to face him with a snarl.
"Of course I can handle it, James! I'm not the useless baby everyone seems to think I am!"
In truth, the three of us had been kind of scared of attempting the Seeker position, even though James and Albus played for their House Quidditch teams (James as a Keeper, and Albus as a Chaser). It's hard to even think of living up to family legacy when your dad was the youngest Seeker in a century while he was at Hogwarts.
Albus and James looked mildly shocked at my outburst, then shrugged it off.
"Well if Quidditch runs in the family-"
"She has the right build for Seeker-"
"Good reflexes-"
"She plays Seeker with us when we're practicing at home-"
I rolled my eyes, "Oi, can you two stop talking about me like I'm not here!"
"No can do, Lils."
I lunged at James, who burst into laughter as he scooted his chair out of the way.
The day of Gryffindor Seeker tryouts was clear, but that did nothing to put my mind at rest that morning.
I was minding my own business and attempting to eat an egg when I felt the sudden pressure of two hands resting on my shoulders.
It couldn't be James, or Albus, because the entire table was goggling at me and being annoyed by my brothers at breakfast was pretty commonplace.
Gryffindors did not suppress laughter very well. Aurelie's eyes were wide with amusement.
It had to be...
"Morning, She-Potter!"
I tried to force his hands off of my shoulders, but it was futile. Unfortunately for me, he had the arm strength of a Chaser.
I looked at Rose for help, but she was laughing, too. Traitor.
"Ew, Malfoy! I was trying to have a nice morning!"
"Hmm? Aren't I making it nice?" He leaned down so that his arms were crossed around my shoulders and his chin tickled the top of my head. I glared at Carla, who was also doing a poor job of disguising her laughter.
I felt strangely warm; it was actually kind of comfortable and Malfoy surprisingly smelled really good and I felt myself start to relax into him. I glanced down the table and saw Edith whisper something at Persephone.
James, being James, hadn't noticed yet and a glance over to the Slytherin table told me that Albus was also beside himself with laughter.
In fact, the entire Slytherin table had noticed, too. I flung an arm out.
"Get off, Malfoy, I'm not a headrest."
The arms withdrew and I could almost hear him pouting behind me. I imagined him strutting off back to the Slytherin table.
"You're no fun, She-Potter! You know how many girls would die of happiness if I happened to glance in their direction?"
"Well, I'm not one of them. So piss off."
"Your wish is my command, She-Potter."
"Ugh."
I rolled my eyes and went back to stabbing my egg with a fork.
"Eat up Lil, you need energy if you're going to do well today." Rose placed a slice of toast on my plate, still laughing. She'd stolen it from Hugo, who had barely noticed as he was deep in conversation with Maddie.
"Doesn't matter, I'll still do awful."
I was still thinking that as I stood on the Quidditch pitch with Bella Kirke, Ethan Collins, and Archie Bell.
Persephone, Isobel, and Edith had gathered in the stands, along with some other students I only knew by face and Albus, Rose, Carla, and to my great annoyance, Malfoy. Hugo and Maddie had to study with Magellan to reattempt making a Calming Draught, Lorcan had prefect duties, and Lysander was doing who-knows-what.
I glared at Malfoy, or at least would have if the wind hadn't caused my bangs to blow back into my face. He'd somehow coaxed Nisha into falling asleep on his lap. Not that Nisha really cared who she fell asleep on.
Jamie McLaggen, the reserve Keeper from last year, had replaced James as Keeper and was leaning superciliously on his broom. I recognized one of the Chasers as Rose's friend Annabel Wood, the other as Jasmine Flores, and the last as Rhys Payne, who had replaced James as the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Everyone knew Rhys; he was super popular and looked kind of ... different from anyone else. Rhys was tall, with a Chaser's light but strong build. He had light brown hair and mismatched eyes; one blue and one green, which made his stare unnerving. His strong hands had veins of mysterious white scars criss-crossing over them, and he usually pulled down his robes to cover them when people stared at his hands. He had the same scars on his face, but no one dared to stare that those.
Of course, Jamie thought that he would replace James as Captain as well, but Rhys had been on the team longer and quite frankly, deserved it a lot more than Jamie did.
Rhys lifted a hand to his forehead, squinting in the sunlight as he strode across the pitch. He announced that the first task was to dodge Bludgers, one by one. I gulped as Archie mounted his broom along with Nathaniel Graves and Sebastian Fowler, the Gryffindor Beaters. I would go last.
Rhys released the Bludgers and they instantly zoomed after Archie. I tried not to think about a hundred and fifty pounds of solid iron colliding with different parts of my body as Ethan and Bella made their attempts.
"You're up, Lily," said Rhys.
"Scared, She-Potter?" came from the stands. I didn't even have to look to see who it was as I mounted my broom and kicked off. I heard someone, probably Rose, loudly shushing Malfoy and Rhys sighing.
"Look Malfoy, you shut up or you leave, alright?"
Nathaniel hefted his bat. "Don't worry, fear tends to improve your dodging ability. Just don't fall off your broom."
Somehow, that wasn't very comforting.
Rhys released the Bludgers again. I tried to remember Albus and James's instructions.
Don't fly straight away from a Bludger. Zig-zag or dive, there'll be some latency, they haven't got brains. And keep moving, you won't get hit that way. If you're the only player on the pitch and you stop moving, they're coming for you. And those things hurt.
I managed to dodge the first one by diving and the second one by rolling. After that, it was easier. Albus and James were right. As long as I kept moving and didn't get stressed out, I wasn't going to get hit. As time went on, I got accustomed to the rhythm and speed of the Bludgers coming at me.
Still, I was relieved when Rhys called for us to stop and Nathaniel and Sebastian helped him wrestle the Bludgers back into their box.
"You've all passed the first test and shown your ability to avoid Bludger attacks during the game, which is the biggest threat to a Seeker. Your second and final test is an all-out melee-"
Rhys bent down, and when he straightened up, he was holding a small golden ball that beat against his gloved grip, trying to escape.
"Your job here is the same as it is in the real game; catch the Golden Snitch. I will release it and allow it to scatter for a few minutes. Use that time wisely to observe your surroundings and plan. You will all start from the center of the pitch. Anyone who attempts to take off or mount their broom before I say 'go' is immediately disqualified."
I hefted my broom, adjusted my glasses, and followed Rhys and the others over to the center of the pitch. Who am I kidding; I can't do this. Managing to dodge the Bludgers was just a fluke.
Rhys released the golden ball into the air and it disappeared immediately into the distance.
So much for trying to follow the ball with my eyes. I tried to think about strategies, but my mind was blank.
"GO!" Rhys shouted, and I shot into the sky, barely thinking about what I was doing.
Higher. I needed to go higher. I'd have a better chance of seeing the glint of gold from high above the pitch.
I slowly climbed, scanning the pitch for a hint of movement or a gold flash.
The other three were zooming around below me. And then I saw it. A tiny dot of gold, glimmering at the far end of the pitch. I dived towards it, and instantly Ethan was at my elbow. He swatted at me and my stomach lurched as I nearly fell off of the broom. He continued speeding towards the Snitch, but it had disappeared again.
The skirmish had attracted the attention of Archie and Bella.
This was exactly what I didn't want. If it was a competition between who could dive faster or spiral more accurately, I'd probably lose.
But that kind of mindset wasn't going to help. I breathed deeply and tried to concentrate.
They weren't actually paying much attention to me. Right now, Ethan was the biggest threat. I had to keep it that way.
"Did you hurt your right hand, Lily?" asked Bella with false concern as I held my right hand at an odd angle.
"Yeah, I sprained it dodging a Bludger," I lied easily as I looked past her. It was one of the Slytherin traits that I'd either inherited from Dad or picked up from Albus.
The Golden Snitch floated about twenty feet in front of me, close to the ground behind Bella.
I dove, but Bella dove too. She was slightly behind me and I let her wrench my left hand off of the broom, thinking that my right hand was too weak to hold me up.
I didn't roll off of my broom as she expected, and in the moment of surprise, I reached out to grasp the tiny golden ball in front of her with my left hand. My hold on the broom faltered in the process and I tumbled a few feet to the ground.
I laid on the cold, hard ground of the pitch feeling sore and exhausted. My hearing felt fuzzy and the only thing that I could focus on was the Snitch; it was cool against my fingers and it was fluttering as fast as my racing heartbeat.
I won?
My hearing started to return, and I heard Bella's loud voice berating Rhys because I 'cheated.'
"Lying to other players about the state of their wrist is not a foul, Bella," Rhys was saying in a level tone, "Maybe if you had spent more time actually looking for the Snitch and less time trying to knock Lily off of her broom you might have been more successful."
Nathaniel and Sebastian grabbed my arms and pulled me up into a sitting position.
"How's your head?"
"And your shoulder?"
"You're going to be looking forward to many more injuries-"
"Welcome to the team!"
"I'm Nate-"
"-and I'm Seb."
I laughed, then winced slightly as I'd managed to bruise my side during my ungraceful landing.
"Yeah, I know who you are. I'm Lily."
"Well, Lily, our job is to keep you from getting too bloodied up-"
"-like the way you are now-"
"But I'm sure you already know that-"
I looked in the direction of Bella, who was retreating with Persephone, Edith and Isabella. The four of them glared at me.
Albus punched me in the shoulder lightly. "Knew you could do it." He strolled off to talk to Rhys.
"Ow! I bruised that shoulder!"
"You were absolutely amazing, Lil!" said Carla, hugging me. My poor shoulder.
"Why don't we stop physically assaulting Lily, she's become polite from hitting her head?"
"Shut up, Rose," I muttered. Apparently, Nate and Seb found her comment funny.
I groaned internally as Malfoy stepped forward.
"Can't wait to see you on the pitch in a few weeks, She-Potter."
He strutted off the pitch, holding my beloved Nisha, and left me spluttering to come up with a suitable response.
After celebrating a bit in the Gryffindor common room, I went to visit James in his office. I felt bad for him; he must have been feeling a bit lonely.
Aslan, James's aggressive (and thankfully asleep, that thing always tries to scratch me) ginger-and-white cat, was curled up in the corner of the tiny office, which wasn't much larger than a closet. There was room for a desk and two chairs. A bookshelf stood against the far wall, and the window next to it showed twilight over the grounds.
"Thank Merlin, you're here, Lil. I'm bored to death, they've got me grading the first-years' papers right now." His glasses slipped down his nose, and he pushed them back up in a reflexive gesture.
I sat down in the only other chair in the office, and noticed a stack of parchments on the desk that definitely did not look like first-year Transfiguration essays.
"What's all this, James?" I leafed through some complicated diagrams, with Greek letters and arithmetic scribbled in the margins in his terrible handwriting. James smiled like the Cheshire Cat, and I could tell that it had absolutely nothing to do with Transfiguration essays.
"Both Protego and its stronger versions, Protego Maxima and Protego Horribilis, have a major shortcoming. Along with often lacking the ability to completely dissipate strong curses, they often merely dissipate the spell instead of aiming it back directly at the caster. Which, in my opinion, is a total waste from a defensive perspective."
"What do you mean, James?"
He grinned conspiratorily. "You know those Muggle Star Wars movies, Lil? Where they rotate their lightsabers really fast and the force redirects the firing back to the enemy?"
"You want to make a spell where you twirl your wand around really quickly to deflect spells back at your opponent?"
He rolled his eyes. "Lil. Not so literal."
James was giddy with excitement.
"Well, magic exists all around us. Like gravity, or electricity or whatever. If you could transfigure the magical force field around you to point the other way..."
"... you could redirect all of the enemy's spells back to them." I finished. "Wait, that's absolutely brilliant, James!"
"Aren't I just? I'll continue working on it now that I have the approval of my favorite sister."
He paused. "There's actually one more thing. I was hoping you'd stop by so that I'd have a chance to give it to you."
James slid another piece of parchment across the table. This one was blank, but I recognized it instantly.
"Is that-" I reached for it.
"The Marauder's Map? Yes, I think you have greater need of it now than I do." James leaned back in his chair, looking too pleased with himself.
"Can I say the thing?"
"You can. It's yours now."
"Thank you, James!" I hugged my brother tightly.
"Alright, get off of me and try it now. I'm getting impatient."
I sat back down and tapped my wand to the map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Instantly, ink began to bloom across the pages, storms of tiny black dots forming in common rooms and hallways, each attached to a name. The Gryffindor common room was filled with stationary dots, and the adjacent hallway showed people walking about, or coming and going out of common rooms and the Great Hall.
"It really does show everything in Hogwarts! I always thought you were exaggerating!"
James tapped his wand to the map. "Mischief managed. Keep it hidden and keep it safe, Lily."
He stood up. "Well, run along now, I'm sure you have homework to do. So proud of you for making the Quidditch team, Lils."
And with that, he pushed me out of his office.
"Go, go. If you stay any longer I'll lose my taste for Transfiguration essays with horrific spelling mistakes."
At breakfast the next morning, a snowy owl swooped down, dropping a letter in my lap. I picked up the letter and recognized Dad's messy handwriting on the envelope.
"Hey, is that -" Albus happened to walk by the Gryffindor table at the most inopportune time; just as I was about to break the seal.
"NO!" I screeched, to the amusement of my entire House (and his, too), "You may not!"
I attempted to hold the letter out of arms' reach.
"It is my letter, that Dad wrote to me, and you may not see it unless you tell me about the book!"
The Gryffindor and Slytherin tables must love the free amusement that they get from Albus and I pretty much every day.
Albus frowned as he stalked back to the Slytherin table. "I hate you, Lil. You know that, right?"
I did. I ripped open the letter and began to read.
Dear Lil,
Mum and I hope you've been behaving yourself and not getting into any fights with your brothers.
Well, that was a promise I could never keep.
Congratulations on making the Quidditch team, James sent me a very detailed letter about it.
I was also surprised to learn that Astoria Malfoy has a daughter. We are looking into it now in terms of the artifact investigation, but there's nothing to go on yet.
I heard from Al that she's in Gryffindor. If you can, try to get something out of her. It would help enormously with the investigation if we knew where to look.
Love,
Dad
I stuffed the letter into the recesses of my bag and regarded Aurelie Malfoy, who was talking quietly with Hugo. She seemed so ... normal.
What secrets do you hold, Aurelie Malfoy? What do you know about Astoria that we don't?
I am seriously kicking myself for naming McLaggen 'Jamie' whilst he has a rivalry with James.
Gah, it's so confusing but I've committed to it now.
Also, out of curiosity, who do you ship Albus with? I'm kind of trying to decide between 3-4 characters I could see him working with. There's a certain one I'm leaning towards...
Decisions, decisions...
Thank you for reading and the next chapter will be out next week at the usual time!
PS: Can you guess Rhys's secret?
