Quidditch Through the Ages

1st Year:

Rose was jumping up and down, practically shaking in her boots. Sydney couldn't care less.

"It's Quidditch, Sydney, and the first game of the season. Our first game at Hogwarts! How can you not be excited for this? It's a rite of passage." Rose dropped her notebooks on the bed. "Come on, come on, we have to get good seats!"

"It doesn't start for another hour." She stacked her books neatly on her bedside table. Sydney laughed, letting Rose drag her out the door and down the stairwell. "Don't you think going down so early is absurd?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Sydney, if there was a house for party poopers, that's where you would be right now."

"I'm just being logical." Sydney tried not to be too offended. Honestly, though, with all the big personalities in Gryffindor, she did feel a bit… boring at times.

"That's your problem," Rose sighed, shaking her head. "Come on. I need someone to cheer with, and if you're not going to do it, then we need to find Mason."

"Mason?" Sydney asked. "What about Lissa?"

"Didn't you hear? Her brother was a chaser, but he got injured during practice. She says she wants her first game to be one that he plays in." Rose scowled. "Bloody inconvenient."

"Is he going to be okay?" Sydney asked. "What happened?"

"Crash landing. He'll be fine." They reached the common room.

"Oh my God." Sydney said at the same time Rose choked, "By Merlin!"

Well, they'd found Mason. They'd found him dressed completely in red and gold. Body paint, multiple scarves, and (to top it off) a cape made of flags.

"Does he meet the required level of enthusiasm?" Sydney tried not to giggle.

"Change of plans. We're sneaking off without him." Rose hissed, leading Sydney around the conference room, careful to stay out of the monstrosity's line of sight. "You and your logical ways will have to do."

They made it out onto the stairwell, and Sydney finally let her laughter loose.

"Stop laughing. We've been seen with him." Rose said, fighting a smile. Then she gave up and let it show. "Gosh, I shudder to think how badly he's going to get teased for this."

"He'll never live it down." Sydney agreed.

"Do you think it was on a dare?" Rose asked.

Sydney shook her head. "Knowing Mason, I'd say it was entirely his idea."

When they reached the main hall, Sydney led Rose off to the side and said, "Give me a second. I need to tie my shoe."

Rose nodded, then scowled. "Hang on, I've told you a million times. We're not waiting for Christian."

"And I've told you: he has detention." Sydney sighed. "Honestly, I'm just tying my shoe."

"Stopping to the side of the door this time, I see. You've learned." Sydney looked up at the sound of Adrian's voice.

"Yes. No pausing in doorways for me." Sydney double knotted her shoe laces and stood up.

"Rose, this is Adrian Ivashkov. Adrian, this is Rose Hathaway." Sydney made the introductions, looking hesitantly behind Adrian. "I don't know who they are." She told Rose.

"Oh, these are my friends." Adrian said. "The pretty one is Rowena and the other one is Micah."

"Hi," Sydney said.

"Hey," Rose greeted.

"What are you two up to?" Adrian asked. "Sneaking off to Hogsmeade? I should warn you: the shopkeepers will tattle back to the professors the minute they see you."

"Are you speaking from experience?" Sydney wondered.

"I did try and warn him." Rowena said, rolling her eyes. "He just doesn't listen."

"We're actually going to watch the Quidditch match." Rose informed them.

"It doesn't start for another hour, you know." Adrian said.

"She knows." Sydney sighed.

"You won't be so glum about it when we watch Gryffindor win from the best seats." Rose said.

Rowena shook her head. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but Gryffindor's going down. Ravenclaw has a three year winning streak."

"Let's not forget they have Belikov." Adrian said. "And with Dragomir in the hospital wing, they might actually stand a chance."

"What's wrong with the way Andre plays?" Rose asked, insulted on behalf of Lissa's brother.

"He's too easily distracted by pretty girls." Rowena answered. "It cost Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup last year when he was too busy eyeing Carly Sage to make a goal."

"Sydney!" Rose elbowed her.

"It's not my fault he thinks my sister is pretty!" Sydney protested.

"Well, if Andre does play again, it's up to you to keep her away from the pitch." Rose said.

Adrian snorted. "A man much like myself, Andre Dragomir does not eye the same woman twice. You won't have to worry about Carly."

Sydney raised an eyebrow. "What did you just say?"

"Ignore him," Rowena said. "He likes to think he's more mature than he really is."

"I'm thirteen," Adrian defended himself. "That's three months older than you!"

"Come on," Micah grabbed his arm, smiling. "We're going to be late for the study session."

"Alright. See you later, girls." He let himself be dragged away.

Rose sighed and shook her head. "You make the oddest friends, Sydney."

"Yes, I've got quite a collection. You're my prize piece." Sydney giggled as Rose chased her down the steps.

"I wasn't talking about me!"

2nd Year:

"Come on," Eddie begged while piling egg onto his plate. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to." Sydney said.

"How can you say that?" Rose asked. "You've never even tried."

Sydney set her fork down. "You guys, I've watched plenty of Quidditch matches, and not once have I ever felt the slightest desire to join in."

"What about the flying lessons in first year?" Eddie remembered. "You were the best flyer in the class, and you loved it. Don't deny it, I saw your face."

"We all saw your face." Rose said. "You would rock it, Sydney."

"Fine. I like flying," Sydney took a bite of toast, "but that doesn't mean I'd enjoy Quidditch."

"What are we talking about?" Mason said as he and Lissa walked over to the table.

"Wait," Lissa took in their faces. "What are we arguing about?"

"Sydney doesn't think Quidditch is the sport for her." Rose explained. "We're trying to get her to see the light."

"What?" Mason snorted, taking up the cause. "Sydney, it's the perfect sport for you."

3rd year:

Well, they'd done it. It had taken an entire year of cajoling and charts and who knew what else, but they'd done it. Adrian thought as he cheered on the bleachers with the rest of his house. Though, he wasn't cheering exclusively for Hufflepuff. His cheers were, in part, for Sydney Sage.

"Oh! Gryffindor beater, Rose Hathaway, sends a bludger right at Hufflepuff's keeper. He's down, and chaser Dimitri Belikov makes the goal! Another ten points to Gryffindor!" The announcer's voice boomed across the pitch.

"No!" His housemates despaired; they were loosing badly to Gryffindor. Another ten points and not even the snitch would be able to save them.

Adrian watched as the players zigzagged across the field, following and tossing the various balls. Rose caught his eye for a moment. She was quite a spectacle in all that red and gold, but it was when his eyes came back to Sydney that he really focused.

She had that expression on her face—the one he'd be able to recognize a million miles away—and he knew she'd spotted the snitch. Carly had caught on too, evidently, and she was cheering louder than anyone around them.

A fleck of gold became visible, Sydney's hand stretched out, and, "Gryffindor seeker, Sydney Sage, has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins!"

Adrian was upset by Hufflepuff's loss, of course, but looking at a grinning Sydney, dwarfed by her clunky Quidditch gear, he couldn't help but smile.

"Well," Adrian told her after the game on the way back up to the castle, "congratulations."

Sydney was beaming. "That was fantastic! Wasn't it fantastic?"

"We told you you'd like it," Mason told her. "Didn't we tell her, Beater Hathaway?"

"That we did, Beater Ashford." Rose agreed.

"I should probably get going before I'm seen with an enemy seeker during a time of mourning." Adrian clapped a hand on her shoulder.

Carly hugged her sister close. "Well, I'm going to walk her all the way back up to the castle."

"Good job, Sydney," Dimitri said, smiling.

"Hey, Chaser Belikov, do you remember that time Seeker Sage tried out and you nearly passed her over for some clunky fourth year?"

"Yeah, well, that clunky fourth year is the one protecting your goal, so watch what you say." Trey Juarez warned.

While they bickered, Adrian leaned over and said softly, "You're really adorable in Quidditch gear, just so you know."

4th year:

Sydney hadn't even seen the bludger coming. It was like it had just materialized. In her shoulder.

Ah, well, it was over with now; though, she could feel herself bruising.

"…and then you fell right off. Everyone in the stands was worried, but those nasty Slytherins kept on playing without a second glance. I think they had it planned. Anyway, then Rose sent a bludger at their keeper's gut and knocked him right off his broom. They caught the snitch, of course, but we'd made enough goals that we didn't loose too embarrassingly. We were only 30 points behind." Mason finished his retelling of the events she'd been passed out for.

"Did you see which beater sent the bludger at me?" Sydney asked.

"That one-eyed Darnell guy," Trey scowled.

"I wanted to jump him as soon as he came out of the locker room, but Captain Finch said we can do that later, when people won't have as much reason to suspect us."

"Thanks Rose," she nodded to her friend, "and you, Marcus. I feel loved. Though, beating him up probably isn't such a good idea."

"It's the head wound talking," Marcus assured Rose when she opened her mouth. "She'll see sense when she's healed. Maybe we'll even rope her into helping us."

Lissa leaned down and said, "Don't worry. I'll keep them out of trouble."

"Thanks."

"Coming through, coming through. Family coming through." Carly pushed past Sydney's teammates and made it to the bed. "Merlin," Carly winced when she saw her sister, "you look terrible."

Sydney nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"Well, if Dad thought there was any chance of me even considering Keith, it just went down the drain." Carly informed her sister.

Before Sydney could answer, there was a bustling at the door, and the sound of a very upset boy.

"What's going on?" Sydney asked, for she could not see past the wall of red and broomsticks.

"It's Keith," Rose told her, sounding impressed. "It looks like someone got to him before we did."

Trey and Mason both backed away so that Sydney could see, and Rose was right.

When Keith caught her eye, he spat, "Tell your little boyfriend I'll be seeing him again, will you?"

"Boyfriend?" Sydney said at the same time as Carly.

Madam Pomfrey began dabbing at his face with a wet cloth. He reared back and she said, "Now, now, it's just a broken nose. Nothing a healing charm can't handle."

"Boyfriend?" Carly repeated.

Sydney was at a loss.

"You tell Adrian Ivashkov he hasn't seen the last of me," Keith said when Madam Pomfrey left to get a clean rag. "Tell him, next time, it'll be him with the broken nose! Or worse!"

5th Year:

"You know," Carly said as she watched Adrian track her sister around the course. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you liked her."

"Her?" Adrian asked vaguely. "I like a lot of hers. Could you be more specific?"

Carly rolled her eyes. "You know what 'her' I'm talking about."

Adrian shrugged. "McGonagall's alright, but don't go getting the wrong ideas. There's no way I'd be taking her class if—"

"I'm talking about Sydney, you buffoon." Carly interrupted.

"Oh. Sure, I like Sydney." Adrian said. "Who doesn't?"

"But you like her a bit more than most folks, yes?" Carly put the binoculars to her face and looked at her sister—who was currently racing alongside Rowena of Ravenclaw, both with their eyes on the golden snitch.

"I like all girls a bit more than most folk." When he caught the pointy end of her glare, he sighed. "Isn't your sister practically engaged to that Jansen fellow, anyway?"

"They're friends," Carly snorted, "that's hardly engaged."

"He likes her." Adrian said. "Maybe as much as I do."

"Yes, he's got a bit of a crush on Sydney, but she likes you more than she likes him." Carly pointed out.

"She said that?" Adrian asked nonchalantly.

"No, but I'm her sister. I know these things." Carly lifted the binoculars back up.

"Well, liking me more than that kid isn't a hard thing to do." Adrian rested his head on a fist. "He's got the personality of a potato sack."

Carly laughed. "Agreed."

"What about that Brandon fellow?" Adrian brought up another boy. "Didn't they date for a while? What if she still carries a torch?"

"She doesn't." Carly said flatly. "Believe me, she doesn't."

"Well, it's obvious she has a thing for Ravenclaw boys, so—"

"By Merlin, Adrian!" Carly interrupted. "Just stop it, okay? It's your last year at Hogwarts and if you don't make your move soon, she'll have slipped through your fingers! Don't you understand that?" Carly looked him in the eyes. "You two are going into completely different career fields in completely different countries. When do you think you'll see her again, if ever?"

Adrian set his jaw, "What makes you so sure she'll even think about saying yes?"

"I'm her sister. I know these things." Carly sighed. "She likes you a lot, Adrian."

Adrian shook his head. He distantly heard the roar of the crowd get louder. "She can do so much better than some guy who's probably going to end up a bum muggle artist living off his parents—"

"I've seen your art, you're not going to be a bum, and stop acting like you will."

"Well, what about Rose?"

"What about her? You broke up. You've been broken up for months now."

"I don't want Sydney to think she's some kind of rebound—"

"Stop with the excuses." Carly's temper was getting shorter and shorter. "You are going to wait by the Gryffindor locker room door, greet her as she comes out, congratulate her, and walk with her. You are going to pull her aside and ask her on a proper date. Got it?"

"Got it." Adrian said, a bit relieved to have been defeated.

"Good. Let's go." Carly stood up.

"Wait, what?" Adrian looked at the pitch and realized the game had ended. "Who won?"

"Gryffindor," Carly smacked him upside the head. "Why else would you be congratulating her?"

6th Year:

It felt a bit odd.

Their road hadn't been a smooth one, and there had been some pretty frightening fights, but it occurred to her very suddenly that she'd taken his attendance for granted.

This was her first time playing without Adrian in the stands, ever.

He'd always been the steady, cheering presence in the audience she could count on. Even before they'd started dating, he'd been there.

She shook those thoughts out of her head. She couldn't think about him right now.

Adrian was gone, but so was Rowena. Ravenclaw had an entirely new seeker, and that's where her focus needed to be.

7th Year:

This is my last game, Sydney thought as she looked around.

The pitch was much the same. Perhaps the grass was a bit less green than her first time out, but that hardly mattered.

The team, however, had changed drastically. The captain had been Dimitri Belikov when she'd first joined, then Marcus Finch, and now the position was in possession of the one and only Rose Hathaway.

Marcus had graduated, and Angeline Dawes, an absolute wild card, had joined. Trey had graduated, and the stoic Neil Raymond had been tacked on. Mason was… murdered, and Eddie had stepped in.

The team was definitely different.

"Beater Dawes, aim for their heads." Rose ordered. "We already know those snakes will play dirty, so be prepared to fight back. Keeper Castile, no matter what you do, do not let them score a point in our goal. Seeker Sage—get that snitch."

So, there's that. I'm thinking about doing something with Jill or Zoe or Wolfe or something (still undecided, can you tell?) so this is probably not the last of the Hogwarts au's.

Anyway, please review? Anyone still out there?