Chapter 11: Heavy Rotation

"Ready for the match against Ravenclaw, Squib?" a languid-faced Ravenclaw girl taunted in a nasal tone. "We'll fly so many circles around you, you'll be too dizzy to hold onto the post."

Donald stood, about to answer back when Matthew stopped him.

"We?" Matthew said, slicing into a chicken cutlet. He glanced up for a moment, "Funny, I don't recall seeing you on the team. Unless there has been a change in the line-up."

The girl was momentarily taken aback. "Wha? Stupid squib! You know what I meant!" she fumed, stamping the stone floor with her foot.

"That you believe you are in some way a member of the team and thus entitled to a share in their success through virtue of being sorted into the same house?" This time Matthew didn't even bother to look up.

"Why you! You know what? Serves me right for speaking to an idiot squib anyway." She turned, sticking her nose in the air as she marched away toward the Ravenclaw table.

"Just ignore her," Donald said. "She's an ignorant pratt anyway."

"Don't worry, Donny. It takes more than that to get to me."

"Still, the match is only four days away, you've got to be nervous."

Three days, unless you counted the day of the match, which he didn't. Though he was not keen to let him know it, Donald was entirely correct: Matthew was nervous. He wasn't just nervous, he was downright petrified. It would be his first match, and it was against last year's champions. It would be bad enough were that the only thing, but everyone would be judging him. If they lost it would only justify to everyone that a squib had no place on the Quidditch pitch. Even if they won but he failed to perform well, they'd think that. And what if his hand slipped like it had in practice yesterday? Sure he had managed to keep the other in place and right himself, but that didn't mean he wouldn't lose his grip the next time. What if it rained and the rings were slick? Or if there was a sleet storm? Would he be able to even climb the poles then? What if he missed a ring and fell? Would Madam Hooch catch him in time? Or would he end up on the ground like Boots Luna? In his mind he could hear the jeers of the crowd over his broken body. He had never before been so afraid of falling. Still, he swallowed the truth and speared a green bean.

"Declan has had us practicing every free moment, I think we're as prepared as we'll ever be," he replied.

"Every free moment would be an understatement, he's bewitched quaffles to randomly hurl themselves at us in the corridors," Polly said, setting down next to them. "Knocked all of my books out of my hands along with a full bottle of ink on my way to potions."

It was true. Matthew could scarcely walk down the halls anymore without a quaffle hurtling toward him, often two. It was bad enough to have to come to practice late covered in stinksap from his detention with Prof. Sprout, who had him inducing the mimbulus mimbletonia's defense mechanism in order to collect the prized sap for Rolf Scamander to take his grandfather when he returned the Calygreyhounds to Oxford, but he was quite certain Declan had bewitched the second quaffle as added punishment for the detentions.

"I should have never taught him the spells for that."

"You taught him the spells?!"

"It was supposed to just be theoretical; I didn't think he'd actually use them. At least, not in this way."

"Have you ever met Declan? And what way did you think he'd use them?" Polly was incredulous.

"I don't know, he told me it was for a romantic date."

She leaned back in her seat, an expression of defeated sarcasm on her face. "Yeah, his wedding to the Quidditch cup. What are the spells? Maybe I can counter them," Polly suggested.

"Well, the first is a tracking spell. It was originally just supposed to be a basic identity-based spell, but that interacted badly with the flying charm so we had to use a tracking spell that employed a biological base-"

"A biological base?"

"Yeah, like a hair."

Polly punched her fist into her hand. "So that was why he was so keen to pick that piece of fuzz off of my shoulder. I'll murder him. So, what can we use to stop them?"

"Hmmm... I don't know... perhaps a freezing charm..."

"A freezing charm?"

"Yeah, like immobulus... I mean the theory is sound anyway."

"The theory is sound?" Polly sounded incredulous.

"Of course, that could cause the quaffle to explode given the strength of the tracking spell..." he pondered, staring at the piece of breaded chicken on his fork.

"Explode!?"

"And the pieces might still chase you."

"The pieces!?"

"Well, yeah, I mean it's not like I can test it. Perhaps if you tested it on a pillow first..."

"Wot? So I can have a deranged pillow and a million feathers chasing after me as well?!" her Scottish accent was becoming particularly pronounced.

Matthew raised his hands in surrender, "It was only a thought."

"Hey, Matty. Hey, Polly," Shoshanna said, taking the empty seat across from Donald. "Hey Donnie, do you want to help me with the puzzle tonight?"

"I thought you had homework in Runes that had you stumped."

"I did, but Matty showed me a more efficient way to interpret the ancient Suomi, so I finished it much earlier than I thought." She took the salt shaker and liberally salted her green beans. "So, anyway, do you want to?"

"Not tonight, I have a Knight's Club meeting."

"That again? I don't know why you're even part of that stupid club."

"I'll help," Matthew volunteered, glad to have anything to take his mind off of the coming game - he had already done a month's worth of homework in the past five days and read through his textbooks for a second time.

"You will?" Shoshanna and Donald spoke in unison. Donald was incredulous, but Shoshanna appeared delighted.

"Yeah. I'd like to have a go at it."

Donald took a bite of a chip, "Well, if you want to kill an evening accomplishing nothing, that's up to you."

Shoshanna stuck her nose up in the air, "Better than some boy's only "man" club."

"You know, Matt and I had better go."

"You only just got here. And Divination is only down the hall," Polly said, less out of surprise than as a taunt to make clear it was Shoshanna who was the cause of his leaving.

"I need to have a talk with Matt," Donald answered through gritted teeth. "About an assignment from Prof. Jones."

"You do realize Matt is a third year, right? He doesn't know everything. You can't keep treating him like a magical encyclopedia."

"I know that. But-" Donald suddenly turned to look at the ceiling, he squinted at something Matthew couldn't see. "Did Declan bewitch bludgers too?"

"Argh!" Polly cried, ducking.

Donald grabbed Matthew's wrist and they were halfway out the door before a meatball narrowly missed Donald's head, splattering on the door.

"Missed!" Donald shouted.

Polly scowled, sending the entire serving bowl of meatballs after him. Donald slammed the door and the two braced themselves against it. Matthew felt the patter of meatballs as they hit the wooden door.

"Wait for it," Donald instructed.

There was a loud clang from the serving bowl followed by a cry of "Miss MacHeath! Do try to control yourself!" from Prof. McGonagall.

They laughed as they ran down the corridors trying to put as much distance between themselves and what would no doubt be an irate Polly as possible. They finally stopped on the landing halfway up to Ravenclaw tower. Matthew panted as Donald held his knees, unable to speak. From the window a quaffle zoomed in, Matthew instinctively raised his arm to block it, still breathing heavily. It flew down the stairs, bouncing between stair and ceiling.

"You… you're getting better…" Donald panted.

"Not much choice in the matter. They keep coming at me until I block them. But thanks."

"How often do those things attack you?"

"Maybe every five minutes. Here comes the other one." A quaffle flew down from Ravenclaw. Matthew hit it into the air with his fist.

Donald stared, impressed, as a grin rose upon his face. "We've got this match in the bag."

"It's not that easy. I've got to get to the quaffle to block it."

"So? I've seen you at practice, you're so fast I can barely follow you."

"Yeah, but have you seen them? It's like watching a well-oiled machine. That rotation thing they do – by the time you know which one is going to attempt to score it's already too late. I've timed it. If they go for the lower hoop I can't make it in time. And if I start from the lower one I can't make the highest. I told Declan he should put in a different Keeper but he won't hear of it. Says I'm still the best he's got and he doesn't expect me to save them all."

"He must have a good plan."

"He says it'll all come down to whether Tip can get the snitch early."

Donald shuddered, "That doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

Matthew glanced at his watch, not especially wanting to speak his mind on Tip's rather… unusual training regimen. On the plus side, he had only fallen off of his broom three times this week, which was a marked improvement, at least, according to Madam Pomfrey. He still had about ten minutes before potions.

"So what assignment did Prof. Jones give you that you need help on?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, she didn't actually give me one; at least, not one that I can't handle – just something on counter-curses. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Well it's about Shosh…"

Matthew was not too eager to discuss Shoshanna with Donald behind her back. She had an almost uncanny ability to find out about it. And that, more often than not, involved a trip to Madam Pomfrey. "What about her?"

"She wants me to stop going to the Knight's Club. Says it's sexist and McLaggen's a pratt. Well, she didn't use those words exactly..."

"So? I mean, it's not like you have to do what she says."

"Well… it's complicated."

"Why is it complicated?"

"Well… because… you know, I don't want her to think I'm, you know…" His hand turned in the air as if searching for the words.

"A sexist pratt," Matthew supplied

"Yeah."

"Why do you care what she thinks of you? I mean she has loads of opinions. Don't get me wrong, she's nice and all, but it's not like you're not going to run afoul of one of them."

"Yeah, but you know… besides you, she's my best mate."

Matthew was a bit stunned, "I'm your best mate?"

Donald turned a bit red in the cheeks, "Yeah. I mean we always hang out and talk Quidditch and everything. And we always eat and do homework together. I mean, I like her and all but it's nice to have another guy around."

Matthew thought for a minute. He hadn't had a best mate since he was nine, not since Andy and Cliff. He'd had friends from gymnastics and school, sure, but no one he could really talk to. What do you tell a muggle when they ask about your family? When they wonder why they can't ever come over to your house? Or why your sister doesn't go to school? And wizarding friends? Well... you were supposed to forget about them. He had resigned himself to always keeping friends at an arm's length. But now... He smiled, "Yeah, I guess you're my best mate, too."

"So what do you think about her asking me to quit?"

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could come with me. She might listen to you if you say it's ok. She respects your opinion. I mean, you and McLaggen are mates now, right? So he can't be that much of a pratt."

"I guess."

"What do you mean, you guess? You play him in chess almost every day of the week."

"Yeah, but not these past few days."

"Because of Quidditch practice. I mean you've either been on the pitch or in the library. Hardly any of us has seen you. I'm surprised you have time to work on that stupid puzzle."

"Ravenclaw reserved the pitch for the entire evening."

Donald stopped, "Well this is my turn." He placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder, "Just come with me to the next meeting. Please?"

"Fine."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll see you at supper. Good luck in potions." Donald waved as he walked away.

Matthew certainly could have used some luck in potions. His nerves were so on edge that he was unable to concentrate on the recipe resulting in an exploding brew that singed the tips of Prof. Slughorn's walrus mustache.

Matthew was glad to get to the white limestone room where the puzzle was kept. It was large and impeccably clean with only the midnight blue velvet bag which sat in the center.

"Oh good, you're already here," Shoshanna said, pushing her way in. "Let's get started." She dumped the contents of the bag on the floor, the cascade of pieces made it appear as though she had dumped a bag of sequins. She immediately began turning the pieces over. He had never seen a puzzle quite like it. He instantly understood why the puzzle had such a legendary reputation as impossible. The pieces were tiny, many no larger than a centimeter and colored with shining gold, blue sapphire, silver, ruby, and pearly white. There were no interlocking parts, only smooth edges of varying convexness or concavity.

"Now, I think I've found a pattern to the colors. The ruby is next to the gold which is next to the silver and then the silver is next to the blue which is next to the pearl." She illustrated this by taking six pieces, of each color she mentioned, and lining them up one next to another. "You see, there are some pieces that have slivers of other colors. And then there are these pearl pieces with jet black on them but I'm not sure whether they are runes or letters or shapes. I'm going to work on those today. Anyway," she checked her watch, "we have two hours before Filch comes around, it's not enough time to finish, but we might figure out something that will get us closer to solving it, so let's get started."

They worked at the puzzle in silence for over an hour. Even though it was clearly impossible, Matthew found the work pleasantly meditative. At first he simply tried to find pieces of the same colors that matched, but soon found it to be futile - only matching three pieces in forty-five minutes. He decided to work on a certain convex band, searching for pieces that continued the line of curvature while Shoshanna sorted through the pieces for only the pearl ones and piled them up. She then sorted them further into pieces with jet on them. Matthew was surprised how long the line continued, he was actually beginning to find pieces that fit together. Slowly he constructed a gently curving line that ran through all of the colors.

Shoshanna held three pieces close to her eyes. "Hey, Matty, what do you think this looks like?" she said, laying them down.

He glanced over, and squinted at the miniature shape. "It looks like an 'H'."

"Like the Hogwarts 'H', don't you think?"

He leaned in closer so that his nose was only inches from the pieces. "Yeah, I think so."

"Hey, maybe..." Shoshanna positively glowed with excitement. "Gryffindor," she said, sliding a ruby piece forward, "Hufflepuff," she slid forward a gold piece, her fingers trembling, "Slytherin," the silver piece, "and Ravenclaw." She slid forward the blue piece. "And then the pearl of the Hogwart's seal! Matty, it's the four houses! This could be something from the founders! Wait... what is that?" in her excitement she only just now noticed the sizable arc forming beside Matthew.

"Well, I was working on a line and it sort of became this. I think it might be the border."

"The puzzle is a circle?"

"Best I can figure it."

"Of course! Why didn't I see it before?"

"Yeah, and if you'll look you'll see the colors form right angles with it."

"Like a diamond tile pattern!"

The two set to work on the border, after another hour had passed the door opened and Donald stepped into the room.

"Hey, just wanted to see how- Mother of Mordred!" he gaped at the quarter of an arc which encompassed Matthew and Shoshanna. "Shosh! You've got to have fifty pieces together! I've never heard of anyone getting this far!"

"It was Matty who noticed that there was a common curve on some of the pieces. It's a circle! And look!" She motioned over to a mock-up they had made with some of the inner colored pieces of what they thought one of the tiles looked like. The pieces didn't actually fit together but they had been able to estimate the approximate size, shape, and pattern: the border of the tile was ruby, followed by gold, then silver, then blue sapphire, and in the center, the three pearl pieces that formed the partial 'H'. "The colors are meant to represent the houses - we never made the connection because green usually represents Slytherin, not silver. And see," she pointed to the small letter at the center, "they put an 'H' in the middle of the pearl section just like the Hogwart's seal."

Donald squinted at it, "So it is."

Shoshanna grabbed Donald's arm, "Donnie, I think this could be something from the founders. Something they wanted to keep hidden. Only they could have known about this room and hidden the bag here."

"But if it was the founders who hid it, why would it show itself now?"

"Maybe it had something to do with the castle being attacked. Maybe it's a weapon." Shoshanna's eye gleamed with excitement.

"Some weapon. It took us three years to figure out it was a circle."

"Well, they might have thought they would need to use it sooner. I mean this was the time when Salazar Slytherin built the Chamber of Secrets, that could be why they hid it. Maybe it's a secret weapon against the basilisk."

"Or maybe it's some kind of map," Donald suggested.

"If it is, it isn't obvious," Matthew said. Donald looked slightly crestfallen. Matthew hurriedly added, "That doesn't mean it's not, just that it would be hidden. We haven't figured out much of it so it's still entirely possible that they hid a map within the design or that it is enchanted to only show its true form when it's finished."

"Bloody hell, maybe I should've come and helped," Donald said.

"Now you'll know better for next time instead of wasting your time with a stupid boy's club," Shoshanna taunted.

"It wasn't a waste of time. We discussed ways of fending off werewolves."

"Did they bother mentioning how to throw a werewolf off of your trail so you don't have to fight them in the first place?" Her eyes flashed accusingly.

"It... didn't come up."

"No, why would it?" she spat.

"Listen, we're not talking about a bunch of innocent Remus Lupin's here, most werewolves fought for You Know Who. If they're going to go after a wizard, it's probably not by accident."

"Yes, but they are still people!"

"People who chose to follow You Know Who!"

"It's not like they had much choice!" Shoshanna was almost shouting now. "What were they supposed to do after the ministry declared they couldn't be employed? Quietly starve to death out in the woods?"

Donald was about to make a retort when Matthew raised his hand.

"Did you hear something out in the corridor?" he said.

The two immediately paused to listen.

"What did it sound like?" Shoshanna asked.

"Something like a cat, I think."

Donald checked his watch, "Bloody hell, Mrs. Norris! We'd better get out of here before she comes back with Filch."

They scurried out of the room quickly with Matthew in the rear, in no particular hurry. Afterall, wherever Mrs. Norris was, it was not the room they were now leaving. As they passed a window which overlooked the lake Matthew saw a large splash. He paused you see if it was the strange creature again.

"Come on, Matt!" Donald said, grabbing Matthew's wrist. "Now is not the time for sightseeing."

"Did you see that?"

"You mean the thestral? Yeah." Donald pulled Matthew away from the window. "What about it?"

"Oh. I thought I saw... something else... in the lake." He craned his neck for another look.

"They fish sometimes, that's all it is. Now come on, before we get caught after hours. Prof. Sprout would hang me out to dry: one of her Prefects getting detention!"

Matthew allowed himself to be dragged along to the kitchens where Shoshanna was already waiting at the open door.

"Come on, you guys, what took you so long?" she chided, waving them inside and shutting the door.

It was the morning of the match. Matthew did not need Tip jumping on his bed to wake him up this morning - he had been lying in bed, staring at the ceiling for hours. Sometime after midnight it had begun to snow. He didn't know when exactly, just that it had been snowing since three when he had woken up to use the washroom, and had not begun to let up until six. He had crept out of bed to check every twenty minutes or so. The last time he had looked the grounds were covered in a thick white blanket of snow, giving the familiar an alien air. At least his fall would be cushioned, he tried to tell himself in a final, futile effort to put his mind at ease enough to get some sleep; but this had not had the desired effect.

He glanced over at the clock. 6:30 am. They would have to be ready by 7:30 for their entry into the Dining Hall at eight. He sat up and stretched, glancing over at the other beds. Everyone was still sleeping. Tip was snoring softly in his bed, looking more like an eight year old than his thirteen years, his jerboa curled up just under his chin. He walked over to the window, now half buried in the snow, the occasional flurry still dancing down from a steel gray sky to join its brothers. Probably seven centimeters of snow, he guessed - the advantage of living with windows that were level with the ground. He shivered, turning his back to the outside world to the warm little burrow. An evil smile spread across his face as a thought came to his mind. He ran, leaping into the air, and onto the big soft bed on the other side of the room.

"Argh! Hey what's the big idea!" Tip's shouts were slightly muffled as he struggled to free himself from his blankets. The jerboa chattered crossly from atop the round knob of the bedpost.

"It's the big match today," Matthew said, grinning.

"Exactly why I need all the sleep I can get!"

Matthew gave a knowing glance toward the window, "It snowed last night."

Tip followed Matthew's line of sight to the window where a thick line of snow was piled up against the glass. He tore off the blankets and Matthew with them. "Why didn't you tell me sooner! What time is it? 6:30? Still plenty of time. Wait... what time does Declan want us ready for?"

"7:30."

Tip seemed to be doing calculations in his mind. "Maybe if I... No... that would take too long. Or I could... nah. I mean there would still be enough time to- but would it really be worth it? I mean, I should save that one until I can do it properly..." he plopped back down onto the bed. His jerboa climbed up onto his shoulder and raised its head for a scratch under its tiny chin. "It's okay, we'll get 'em next time." He looked at the window, dolefully. "But it is a glorious snow to be missing."

They changed into their Quidditch uniforms as the other boys slowly got up and got dressed in their robes, decking them out with scarves and hats. Gerry Dartford showed off a pair of black badger paw mittens with golden claws and a big golden 'H' knitted onto the back.

"Well, here we go," Matthew said as they opened the door into the common room.

A big bomb of gold and black confetti exploded over their heads. In the falling confetti Matthew could see almost the entire house gathered all chatting and helping each other to get ready. Debbie grinned at them, her white teeth radiant through her gold lipstick. She had outdone herself, her face had been lightly powdered in some type of shimmering gold dust with black eyeliner winged out from the sides of her eyes. She put down a case of make-up she had been using to paint Midge's eyes and ran over to them, her gold feather boa trailing behind.

"What is this?" Matthew asked, astonished.

" So what do you think?" She gestured as though modeling her two hair puffs which both had gold sequined circles in the center of them making them resemble ears. "They're badger ears. I call them my HufflePuffs."

"You look great! I can believe all of this."

"Yeah, Hufflepuff always enters together with the team to show that we are united as one house so we try to make a big show of it. Anyway, good luck today you two." She gave them each a hug and scampered back to helping Midge.

"There you are!" Declan wrapped his arm about Matthew's shoulder. "You boys ready for your first match?"

"Too right!" Tip exclaimed, punching a fist into the air.

"Ready as I'll ever be. I was thinking, actually, about the Ravenclaw's rotation move..."

Declan led Matthew away from the crowd, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I've seen something like it before, I hadn't though of what it was until last night. A few years ago I went to the circus with my gymnastic's class and they had a sphere with a bunch of motorcyclists that drove around inside of it. It's not quite the same motion but it is similar. If we time it right, Linnea may be able to fly through them and snatch the quaffle. They won't use it if they know we can break it."

"Why not me or Polly?"

"I've thought about it a lot and you're both too large. It has to be her."

"And here I was hoping for a lucky hit with a bludger knocking one of them out. Hey Aspera!" He shouted, waving over the girl with the lank black ponytail and narrow face, who was not much taller than Tip. "Tell her what you were telling me."

Matthew explained the move to Linnea, whose tight lips pulled into a contemplative frown.

"So, do you think you can do it?" Declan asked.

She nodded her head, "Yeah, I think I can. I mean, if I can't.. well Snitches or Stiches, right?"

"Yeah, Snitches or Stitches." Declan said with a winning smile and Linnea went off to join her friends. "I really hate how that caught on," Declan whispered to Matthew.

"Good morning, Hogwarts! This is Andie Greathouse in for Sean Brady, who will be playing as beater for Hufflepuff today. Good luck, Sean," the fast talking albino girl in Gryffindor robes announced into the microphone. "First we have Ravenclaw! The defending champions two years running. Will they add a sixth win to their undefeated streak? In the position of Chaser we have Team Captain Taro Matsumoto!"

A roar rose from the Ravenclaw section. A number of students pointed their wands in the air causing a giant, glittering, bronze eagle to form and flap its wings twice before dissolving into dust. "Matsumoto is the most successful captain in recent Hogwarts history, personally scoring over one thousand points in his career. It is rumored they are scouting him for the Japanese leagues but it is this announcer's personal hope he decides to play for Britain."

Someone from the audience screamed, "We love you, Taro!"

"Now I hear Matsumoto's been working on some new plays so keep your eyes peeled because I can guarantee you're going to see something today you've never seen before on the pitch."

"Next we have Co-captain Bridget Kineely-McConville playing chaser. Don't count her out. She at least as clever as Matsumoto and twice as agile. If anyone remembers her double-barrel corkscrew goal from last year-" The crowd roared appreciatively. "And completing our line-up of Chasers we have Jill Munhall. You'll remember Jill for her prowess on and off the field, eight OWLS, seven NEWTS, twenty goals, forty three assists, and veteran of the Battle of Hogwarts, and already accepted into the Auror academy, Jill is hoping to end her last year with another Quidditch cup." The crowd screamed in support.

"Beaters Paul and Lee Simons. Both returning for their third year on the team. They may not be the Weasley twins, but they can be just as dangerous with a bludger."

"Next we have Keeper Justinian Hawkins. Hawkins was a reserve last year and has since moved up to fill Detweiler's position. And finally, Seeker Paul Haverford who has caught seven snitches in his career with the team."

Declan pulled back from where he stood, peering out the tent curtain. "Alright, this is it. We've got this, just do as we planned. Ready?"

"And now Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff finished third in last year's cup but Captain Declan O'Connor believes he has finally found the right combination in his rather unorthodox team to unseat Ravenclaw. Is he right? First up, in his second year as Captain, chaser Declan O'Connor! Declan walked out of the tent with his broom in hand, raising both arms to the crowd. Through the open tent flap, Matthew could see the Hufflepuffs going wild in the stands. "Next, from the Isle of Sky, we have Co-captain Polly MacHeath playing chaser. MacHeath has been bragging that she has a new move that will turn Matsumoto's world upside-down, let's see if she can. Our third chaser is a new acquisition: Linnea Aspera. Let's give her a hand!"

Shouts and applause roared from the stands.

"Next we have beaters Sean Brady, returning for his third year, and Adrian Conway who is debuting for his very first season. Keep an eye out for stray bludgers, Sean."

"Next we have Declan's most controversial acquisition, he may be in his third year, but it's his first at Hogwarts, the first squib not only at Hogwarts but to ever play for an official Quidditch team: Matthew Boot as Keeper!"

Whatever butterflies had been floating around his insides before it seemed they had multiplied by a thousand, filling his entire body.

"Get out there!" Tip hissed, shoving Matthew through the tent flap.

For a second the entire pitch disappeared and only the stands filled with people, cheering and booing, existed. Had there always been so many students at Hogwarts? It looked like so much less in the dining hall. He tried to smile and wave as he looked around. There was McLaggen hollering and punching the air wearing a black and gold scarf, standing with Wycliffe and Card who were still loyally donning their red and gold. His sister was perched on Cass Weasley's shoulders, both in full black and gold regalia, screaming their lungs out. The Hufflepuffs were going wild, Debbie and Midge were doing some type of Badger dance that was somehow both ridiculous and cool at the exact same moment. He found Ceelee in the crowd of Slytherins. She was seated at the very edge, near the top. Their eyes met. She looked down at her robes, took her hand and shifted them so that something gold flashed at him from her robes ever so briefly before blending back in with the black. She gave him a half smile. He took a deep breath and stepped forward to join Declan.

"And finally, you all know him whether you want to or not, in his first game as seeker, Tip Walker!"

Tip strode out waving. If he felt nervous, he certainly wasn't showing it as he drove his fist into the air.

"Alright teams, take your positions," Madam Hooch commanded.

Matthew climbed to the top of the highest ring and perched in its center.

"And there's the whistle." Andie announced. "O'Connor with the quaffle, passes to MacHeath. Ooo! Intercepted by Kineely-McConville. And she passes to Munhall, to Matsumoto, Matsumoto's going for it..."

Matthew had been watching the action so keenly it took him a moment to realize that Matsumoto was coming straight at him, eyes glued to the second lowest hoop. As much as he was tempted to Matthew did not move. The quaffle came screaming at him, he easily blocked it. The crowd cheered.

"Matsumoto with a no-look attempt at goal, blocked by Boot!"

Matsumoto lingered for a moment, gracing Matthew with half a smile before flying away. Declan had told Matthew that Matsumoto would try to test him early on, clearly, a blind goal shot was what passed for testing. Declan had warned that they would try to lull them into a false sense of security. He glanced into the slate gray sky where Tip and Paul were circling.

"Now watch out for the sun," Declan had warned, "If it comes out they'll use it for the sakura play."

Declan had the quaffle, managing to put the quaffle through the lowest hoop before Hawkins could get there. It was recovered by Munhill who passed it to Matsumoto. Matsumoto flew at a steady clip towards the goal, appearing as though he were about to go for the lowest hoop. Matthew's muscles tensed.

"Oushi shoshite onezumi!" Matsumoto shouted. He pitched the ball toward the lowest hoop. Matthew leapt from his perch to the lowest hoop. Even as he was falling he could see he had been had. From behind Matsumoto, Bridget popped up and snatched the quaffle, throwing it through the, now unguarded, center hoop.

The sea of blue in the stands roared.

"Goal by Kineely-McConville! Ten points to Ravenclaw. Tie game!"

It was clear the game had truly begun. The Ravenclaw chasers sailed through Declan and his group. Sean and Adrian sent bludgers sailing at the Ravenclaws but just as many nearly hit the Hufflpuff chasers as the Ravenclaws weaved in and out among them. What the Ravenclaw's didn't intercept, their Keeper was ready to block.

"Hana!" Matsumoto called as he flew in a tight formation with Bridget and Munhall. As they approached the goal, the two girls split off to either side. He would have to guess which Matsumoto might pass to, if he decided to pass at all. Just then he saw Sean with the bludger. He had hit it toward Munhill who was going for the lowest goal. Matsumoto's jaw tensed - he hadn't noticed Sean. Or if he had, it didn't matter. He was going to pass. That meant the quaffle would either be passed to Bridget or it would go to Jill and she would be blindsided by the bludger and it wouldn't matter. Matthew flew at the middle height goal post, catching it just in time to block the shot by Bridget, sending it flying into the lowest hoop of the Ravenclaw goal.

Declan shouted, as he passed Matthew who was shimmying up the center goal post. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

Matsumoto scowled at Matthew. Matthew glanced once more at the sky. Tip was no longer circling quite so high, just high enough to distract the Ravenclaw beaters. Matthew might have thought this a rookie mistake except that Tip was actively pulling faces at them.

"Walker!" Declan ordered. "In the sky!"

Tip rolled his eyes so hard his head rolled with them and flew back up into the sky.

"O'Connor has the quaffle, but he's flying into a wall of Ravenclaws. Passes to MacHeath. Oh! Beautiful interception by Kineely-McConville!" Andie Greathouse said.

And it had been. Bridget had come up beside Polly and launched herself over the Hufflepuff chaser, her body and broom barrel-rolling, not unlike a dolphin, as she went. She caught the quaffle while in mid-spin, while she was still only halfway right-side-up, completing the roll below Polly and shooting off toward Matthew, Matsumoto and Munhall at her side.

"Hageshii Mawaru!" Matsumoto shouted. The trio lined up and began to fly in a rotating circle, not unlike a ferris wheel except they were all facing him. Suddenly, Bridget dropped at a diagonal angle to the opposite side of the circle, then back again, just crossing paths with Matsumoto who had done the same thing from the opposite side as she was coming up so that he only just avoided hitting her. As he was coming up, Munhall dropped down from the top of the circle to the bottom, crossing just above Matsumoto and below Bridget who had come down again, deftly releasing the quaffle into Munhall's hands. They continued in that pattern, the quaffle being passed from one to the other so quickly it was impossible to know who even had the quaffle, let alone where they might throw it. They were so close he had to make a move.

Matthew chose to gamble based on the probability that Matsumoto would know that he could not reach the lower hoop in time. He launched himself to the lowest hoop, just in time for the quaffle to sail through the tallest hoop. They managed three more goals that way.

"And the score is Hufflepuff twenty, Ravenclaw fifty!" Andie announced. "What a nail biter this one is. Now Masumoto has the quaffle, Declan's after him. He passes it to Bridget and - What's this?! MacHeath just made a one handed upside-down interception! How did she do that?! She's still flying upside down! It's hard enough to fly upside-down two-handed and she's doing it one handed while holding the quaffle! Munhill's after her but she doesn't know what to do. MacHeath is within striking distance... Goal! Hufflepuff thirty, Ravenclaw fifty! Watch out Matsumoto, Hufflepuff is catching up. Oh and now Matsumoto has the quaffle, they are going into rotation. So far Boot hasn't been able to block a single goal from this play. I don't even know who has the quaffle anymore! It's one of them. And there's Aspera, it looks like she's hoping one of them will drop the quaffle, no wait..."

Matthew locked eyes with Linnea and gave a nod. He had been watching them these last three times for when the quaffle would be vulnerable. Linnea didn't even hesitate, she flattened herself against her broom and shot like a missile through the rotation, snatching the quaffle just as it left Matsumoto's hand for Bridget's.

"I don't believe it! Aspera has got the quaffle! She's going for the goal! And she does it! Hufflepuff forty, Ravenclaw fifty!"

Matthew noticed a slight glare in his glasses from the snow. He looked up to see the sun shining down brightly. Sakura.

The Ravenclaw chasers had the quaffle, but instead of staying on the pitch they were climbing higher and higher into the sunlight. Matthew tried to see what they were doing, but it was blinding. Even the announcer was at a loss. Suddenly, the three of them plummeted from the sky simultaneously, and before he even had a moment to see, Munhill had scored a goal. Less than a minute later, Matsumoto had scored another and Munhill a third, flying and passing so fast it was almost a blur.

"And Ravenclaw is back in it, but wait! What is this?"

Tip and Paul came streaming down from the sky. Whatever they were aiming for it appeared they were closing on one of the towers. Then Matthew saw it, the snitch, flitting only centimeters from the tower wall. The seekers were neck and neck when suddenly Paul slowed, pulling away so he could fly at the tower from a better angle, but Tip continued in his free fall dive.

"What is he doing? He won't be able to get out of that dive in time to avoid a crash!" Andie cried.

In another second he was at the tower wall. He jumped from his broom, still holding it in his hand as something of a guide, and running down the wall to where the snitch hovered. Just as he was about to grab it the snitch flitted out of sight. Tip adjusted the broom so that the handle was tilted out and jumped back on just in time to brush over the heads of those in the third row. He reached out a hand, slightly tousling a girl's hair.

"Wait a second! Did he? Yes! He's caught the snitch! Tip Walker has caught the snitch!"

Tip landed, holding the snitch in the air, victorious. Matthew slid down the pole and ran to join the rest of the team who were hoisting Tip on their shoulders. As the students ran from the stands onto the pitch, Tip took the snitch and kissed it. He shouted, "This is for you, Cass!" and pitched it into the crowd where it landed right in Cass Weasley's hands. To Matthew's surprise, she blushed, looking momentarily astonished at the golden flitting ball nestled in her hands. Wycliffe shot Tip an icy glare.

"Well, gotta give the kid points for confidence," Declan said, as they carried Tip off of the pitch toward the castle.