Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series.

The Quidditch Final

From the corner of the Common Room, it was easy for Ella to see that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were friends once more. The trio was once again a whole since Crookshanks never appeared and Pettigrew was god knows where. That was one of the things that frightened Ella most about this whole endeavor. She thought Pettigrew had been killed and wouldn't be able to reveal her abilities to anyone, but that was no longer the case. He was roaming about and there was no way to find him or stop him. She had tried looking for him, but Pettigrew remained hidden like the rat he was.

Another terrible thing that occurred was Buckbeak had been scheduled to die after the hearing Hagrid and the hippogriff went to. Hagrid told her about it during a lesson, and Ella couldn't imagine how the creature could get out of it. She felt awful for not being able to even tell him that she'd seen Buckbeak free and fighting a werewolf. Ella wasn't even sure how or when that could possibly happen. At least, it seemed Ron was helping with the one last effort to save the animal that could possibly save Harry and Hermione's lives.

Ella entered the Common Room after her Transfigurations class to quickly grab her Divinations things. Hermione was studying her Arithmancy book with drooping eyelids. The older girl made her way over to make sure that the younger was feeling alright.

"Hello there," Ella said hesitantly. The girls hadn't been speaking much since she was once again friends with the boys.

Hermione glanced up, "Oh, hi. I'm just working on some homework before my Charms class. I've got quite the busy day today."

She nodded, "Seems like it. I'm just getting some things for Divinations."

"Oh, I have that class today too!" Hermione practically groaned as if she only just remembered. Ella frowned at the strain that Hermione was facing.

"Well, try to take it easy at least," Ella told the third year before rushing to grab her things. As she left through the portrait hole, Ella took one last look at Hermione. With a swish of her wand, Hermione's head began to drop slowly towards the book she'd been reading. Ella smiled at her handiwork before leaving to quickly tell Professor Flitwick why Hermione wouldn't be in class then rushed to Divinations in the nick of time.

"Whoa! Look out!" McLaggen shouted as Ella knocked over a candle on their table. He moved it to be upright, but a small burn was left on the table cloth despite his reflexes. "What's the rush?"

"I was going to be late," Ella shrugged taking a seat.

McLaggen laughed, "That happens to me all the time, but I don't nearly set fire to the class because of it."

Ella rolled her eyes, "Where's the fun in that?"

"You've been spending too much time with the Weasley twins. Next thing you know, we'll be sitting on Dungbombs in class, and you'll have put them there," Cormac told her. Before Ella could retort a raspy voice started the class.

"Hello all, I've been consulting the crystal orb to see how my lessons shall pan out for the day, and the heavens above have told me that it is time to discuss the final exam with you all."

Cho whispered, "Because I'm sure the calendar didn't have an influence in that at all." The two Gryffindors covered their mouths to try to hide their smirks.

Trelawney rasped on, "Since the exam last year was cancelled in celebration of the vanquishing of the Chamber of Secrets, I feel it deep within my soul that we should use a crystal ball in the final exam."

Cormac groaned, "I was awful at that. Why doesn't she just tell me I failed now and just save us both the trouble. I can't see an ounce of the future in there."

"I never got to try," Ella said. "I was Petrified when you all were working on that last year. If you think you're doomed, then I need to start digging my grave now."

"You've got a better chance than we do of actually seeing something," Cho reminded her. No matter how skeptical she was, Ella couldn't argue with that logic.

"So how do you think Quidditch will go?" Cormac asked Ella.

Cho responded before her, "Is that even a question? That Firebolt knocks out any and all competition. Besides, no one wants the Slytherins to win again except for the Slytherins themselves. It'll be a brutal battle."

"On and off the field. I can see it in their eyes. The Slytherins want to take out as many Gryffindor players as they possibly can so they can get a chance at winning," Ella told them. They were ignoring Trelawney's long drawn speech about proper crystal ball care.

The Ravenclaw nodded, "It's clear as day, and they're all going to go after Harry because he's the best Seeker in the school. I don't even care if that's an insult to myself. I work hard at being a good Seeker, but he was born to catch that Snitch."

McLaggen glanced at Ella, "You're going to be in a lot of crossfire. You're friends with over half the team."

Ella shrugged, "I'll survive. I know a thing or two about making sure that no one hurts my friends or me. Those gits won't know what hit them."

At any rate, Ella didn't have to worry about anyone trying to attack her or her friends just yet. The Easter holidays had to come before the final match would. When the holidays showed up, they brought a mountain of homework for each and every student in the school. The entire break was spent studying for hours on end. Hermione was worst off, but there were many others who were close to a break down with their class load. Ella hid in a broom cupboard one night to release all her stress in an outburst of sobs that she didn't want any of her friends to see. The dreams had been hitting her hard and all the assignments seemed to be blurring together into one big mess of confusion. She needed to release the pent up feelings before she completely lost her mind.

In a surprise twist, the twins were beginning to lose their cool with the idea of the O.W.L. Exams breathing down their neck. Ella seemed to be the only one to notice the bags growing under their eyes. The three were studying under a tree one day when the twins confided their fear to Ella.

"It's not that we necessarily care ourselves, but mum and dad would be disappointed if we didn't manage to get a bunch of O.W.L.s," George told her. His face was turned towards the lake and his eyes stared out without seeing much of it.

Fred nodded solemnly from his spot in the shallow water, "We like the idea of our business, but Bill and Charlie even Percy received high marks on this test. What if we screw up with the test, then the business, and end up disappointing everyone?" He picked up a stone and chucked it towards the smooth surface. The stone whizzed out, but refused to skip and sank slowly to the bottom.

He turned to look at Ella and she could feel George's eyes on her as well, "You both believe whole-heartedly in your business? It's what you want to do with your life, right?"

"Of course!"

"We want to make the world laugh and equip a new generation of pranksters when the time comes."

Ella slowly nodded her head, "Then, well, I don't think you should be worried about the test scores." The boys both looked at her in surprise. They'd found out a while ago that Ella always worked hard for near perfect marks in her classes. "Don't give me that look. I'm thinking of what's best for you both. This career path you've chosen is your dream, and I think you can do it. So who cares if you don't get hundreds of O.W.L.s, that's not necessary for you both."

Fred shifted around in the ankle deep waters before grinning slightly, "Well, if Ella says it's all right, then who are we to argue?" George still looked up sure.

"If you want I can help you study before the exams," Ella quickly interjected. George smiled slightly at her and the two went on watching Fred struggle with rock skipping. His colorful language was accompanied by George and Ella's laughter at the afternoon went on.

"Just tell me what you see?" The high voice whispered into her ear.

Ella jerked away from the noise, "You'll have to kill me before I let you see one bit of the future. I'll never talk."

"Foolish child, you're making things more difficult," it hissed at her.

"Foolish idiot, you know nothing of compassion!" She spat at his voice though she couldn't see the body. Each night she had this conversation, but each night there were small differences in the dialogue. The theme was always the same, but the words would shift as though the future wasn't quite set in stone.

"You know what happens in the future though; I can see it in your eyes." Ella clamped the blue orbs tightly shut. Of course she'd seen the images; she couldn't get them out of her head. She refused to believe that wreckage and death would ever enter Hogwarts.

She shook her head refusing to open her eyes, "The future isn't concrete; there's still time for it to go a different way. Even I can't know how things will truly turn out."

A puff of breath brushed the back of her neck sending chills down her spine, "You seal your own fate, child."

The nights no longer ended in screaming. Ella felt too old for that at this point, too numb to have that much of a reaction to these dreams. Every night she was interrogated and tempted to give away the future's secrets, but in the dream Ella could feel that she didn't have a curse on her. She was powerful enough to ward the questions away without the pain of the spell. It was a curious feeling, but despite the horrors making Ella feel powerless, the feeling of guarding her secrets unaided made her feel confident and strong.

Classes had begun once more and the tension between the Houses was exponentially larger than it had ever been. Fights started breaking out in the corridors just as Ella, Cho, and Cormac had predicted. Cormac, himself, got sent to the hospital wing with leeks coming out of his ears after taking on a Slytherin sixth year who had been plotting to jinx Angelina. Ella also had quite a few scrapes and bruises but hers were more in favor of being on defense, not offense. She was always with the team and ended up using multiple counter curses whenever she was alone with more than two teammates. There'd even been a fist fight between her and a Slytherin her age, but it was a completely idiotic move for her to even consider taking him on. Madam Pomfrey had to heal the black eye later and then it was off to a week's worth of detentions.

That night before the match, the Common Room was buzzing with nervous air and excited static. The teammates were especially jittery as they went about normal activities in a nearly hyperactive way. Wood sat in a corner prodding Quidditch figures about and muttering furiously to himself about the plays he could use the next day. Ella was tempted to use that sleeping spell on him, but figured it'd be a very bad idea to even try calming him. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had shied away to a corner where they sat making barely any conversation. Hermione even put down her studying, which was impressive in itself.

As for Ella's group of friends, the twins were being twice as loud as their normal volume while everyone else laughed. Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were listening and laughing with avid attention to everything the boys said. Lee and Ella were sharing skeptical looks over their friends' behavior. Neither of them wanted to try calming anyone down, it wouldn't have worked. They were too nervous for the match to come.

"Team! Bed!" Wood shouted over the twins' noise. Ella and Lee were left alone as the entire Gryffindor team marched itself up to the dormitories.

"I don't think I've ever seen them all so nervous," Lee told her as soon as they were out of sight.

Ella's eyes wandered to where the majority of her friends had disappeared, "They'll be fine, I'm sure of it."

Lee looked up at her, "Like, dream sure? You're not supposed to talk about that, remember the curse?"

"Of course I remember the curse, but I haven't seen that in a dream. I just know they'll do well because of their past experience," Ella said. Her tone was strained at the mention of her curse. Whenever someone mentioned it she could feel the weight it put on her sink lower and bring her down a bit further.

"What about the first match of the season?" Lee interjected.

"The dementors wouldn't dare show up again. Dumbledore would probably find some way to kill them if they even thought about it, and I'm not even sure you can kill those things."

He shook his head slowly, "Well, leave it to Dumbledore to find a way. I wouldn't want to get close enough to those things to figure it out." The two sat silently until finally moving to go to sleep themselves. Ella thought she was too anxious to sleep, but her mind proved her wrong.

Ella was sitting with Lee in the announcer's area, and her first assumption was that she was witnessing the Quidditch Cup game. Quickly, the surroundings made it apparent that she was wrong. There were students in the crowd that she'd never seen before, and there were people missing. The biggest indication that she wasn't in the right time period was that someone else was sitting on a broom in front of the goals. Oliver Wood must be graduated by this time, and someone else had taken his spot.

It would appear that Gryffindor had just beat Slytherin. Ella was happy to see her team still winning even in the near future. Her eyes quickly found the twins and Harry on the ground, but something was definitely wrong. The three were fighting.

Before she knew it, she was on the ground beside them looking at the spectacle that had just been separated. A toadlike woman was saying something Ella couldn't hear. Ella couldn't hear anything. The boys' mouths moved, but it was only silence that greeted the girl. A pain flared up in her hand as Ella regarded the woman standing haughtily before her. A tint of malice grew from her silent form. Ella immediately knew she hated this woman. And something told her the woman hated her just as much.

The back of Ella's hand still tingled as she got ready to watch the match the next day. She and Lee went to the Great Hall for breakfast before the rest of the team since they'd be going together. After a piece of toast, Ella felt she'd had as much as her stomach could handle. As the Gryffindor team entered a thunderous applause echoed from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws. The Slytherins were barely acknowledged as they hissed at the team.

"I think if they were to be Animagi, all of them would actually be snakes," Ella whispered in Lee's ear. He snickered at the thought, but watched the people warily as though he expected someone to try jinxing a teammate just before the game.

Wood flitted about the team trying to get everyone to eat, but it was clear to see that he wasn't going to eat himself. The twins tried eating a little food each, but none of their friends had much of an appetite. Shortly after, they decided to leave to check field conditions. Ella smiled to the twins as the rose to leave.

"Wish me luck," Fred said flippantly just before he left.

Ella smiled, "Good luck." He grinned at her then left the hall with the team. Applause filled the room once more.

From the Ravenclaw table Ella heard Cho call out, "Good luck, Harry!" The boy's face blushed red. Ella couldn't help but giggle at his crush.

Lee and Ella moved outside with the crowds after they'd left. The crowd was almost completely scarlet and gold at this moment. There were banners supporting each side, but it seemed like the school was sick of Slytherins winning the Quidditch cup and wanted to see Gryffindor take the victory this year. The excitement had welled up to a point where people were going to burst if the match didn't start soon.

Finally the teams entered the field to a roar of cheers. Ella found herself swept into the excited yelling. Lee was practically jumping up and down out of enthusiasm, "And here are the Gryffindors! Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years–" Lee was suddenly drowned out by a large amount of booing from the Slytherin side of the field. Ella glared in their general direction though they couldn't see her.

Lee continued, "And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes to the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill…" Ella watched the bulky Slytherin team storm onto the field. Malfoy looked puny next to the rest of the team, but the crowd of green and silver students booed and hissed at Lee's observation. Ella watched Wood and Flint "shake" hands; then Madam Hooch blew her whistle. The shrill pipe drowned amidst the cheers from Ella and the other students.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no –Quaffle intercepted by Warrington." Ella had a faint memory of her first train ride to Hogwarts where Warrington teased her for her blood status, but even then Angelina, Lee, and Alicia were there to stand up for their friend. "WHAM! –nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by –Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina –nice swerve around Montague –duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! –SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!" Lee screamed to the already bellowing crowd.

Ella was jumping up and down excitedly. Angelina punched the air in celebration and flew around the field. She wasn't paying attention, but Ella saw it heading towards her. She tried to yell, but her voice wasn't loud enough to overpower a crowd.

"OUCH!"

The impact of Slytherin's captain running into Angelina nearly threw her off her broom. The crowd screamed and booed at the rude display. Marcus tried to apologize to the crowd, but it was obviously deliberate, he was an experienced flyer…definitely not prone to accidentally hitting other players. Fred chucked his Beater's club moments later at Flint. The impact caused the captain's head to hit his broom handle. Ella's stomach twisted slightly at the sight of blood running from his nose.

"Don't retaliate," she groaned to herself. Madam Hooch flew between the two ill-tempered boys and called a penalty shot to both teams.

"Come of it, Miss!" Fred howled at the referee. She paid him no mind though, and his eyes glanced over towards Ella. She merely shrugged as if to tell him: No point in arguing. Alicia took the penalty shot.

Lee and Ella's voices mingled as they both yelled, "Come on, Alicia!" The quiet crowd was eerie after how animated they'd been before. Lee cried out on his own, "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Next, Flint came bolting at the Gryffindor goal posts with blood still running down his face. Ella watched holding the seat with white knuckles whispering under her breath, "You can do it, Oliver!"

"'Course Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee was commentating before Madam Hooch blew her whistle. "Superb! Very difficult to pass –very difficult indeed –YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!" Ella was cheering with the rest of the crowd, minus the Slytherins. She watched Fred and George punch the air nearly simultaneously, which was an impressive feat considering they were on opposite sides of the pitch. Harry was scanning the field for the Snitch, but Ella knew that he had to wait until Gryffindor had a fifty point or more lead.

Beside her, Lee was rapidly spewing the actions on the field, "Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession –no!– Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field –THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Ella was fuming as a Slytherin Chaser grabbed Katie's head and sent her cartwheeling. She only just managed to stay on her broom, but the Quaffle was dropped in that effort. Madam Hooch descended upon the two with her whistle blowing and screeching at the Slytherin boy. It only took a short moment later for Katie to score a penalty shot on Slytherin's Keeper.

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING–"

McGonagall cut him off, "Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way–!"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!" Lee argued, but Ella stopped paying attention to them. She'd seen a glimmer of gold near the Gryffindor goal posts. From the brief jolt of excitement in Harry's eyes, he'd seen it as well. Though, Harry knew as well as she did that he couldn't catch the Snitch now. So Harry bolted towards Slytherin's end, and Malfoy followed him eagerly. Harry wasn't watching his surroundings and a Bludger whizzed past his right ear, shot by one of the Slytherin Beaters. Then a second grazed his elbow from the other Beater.

Ella elbowed Lee hard in the ribs to draw his attention to the two Beaters as they raced towards Harry from opposite directions. Their bats posed to strike. Harry waited until the very last second before shooting upwards and letting the two guys collide nastily.

"Ha haaa! Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt!" Lee taunted as they moved apart. Ella was glad to see Slytherin get a taste of their own medicine. "And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle –Flint alongside her –poke him in the eye, Angelina! –it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke –oh no –Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal posts, come on now, Wood, save–!"

The Slytherins let out yells of enthusiasm as Flint managed to score. Lee swore so badly that McGonagall tried to take his microphone away. The two of them played a fierce game of tug-a-war for a minute before the professor finally let Lee continue his commentating.

As the game continued, Ella found herself cringing and screaming herself hoarse. This was without a doubt the dirtiest game in the history of Hogwarts. Ella sat on the edge of her seat while she watched the Slytherin team become increasingly violent. The Gryffindors often retaliating in anger. One Beater hit Alicia with his club and tried to play it off as though he'd mistaken her for a Bludger. George elbowed the same Beater in the face for hitting Alicia, which meant both teams got a plenty. Like earlier, Gryffindor scored while Slytherin missed because of Wood's superb skills.

It seemed that if Lee wasn't getting his mouth covered by Ella for nearly shouting something vulgar, Ella was getting held down by Lee, who ended up taking her wand away. "Believe me, if anyone could manage to turn all the Slytherins into geese in the middle of a Quidditch match, it would be you. This is for the best."

Katie scored with the help of Fred and George who were guarding her to make sure none of the Slytherins could attempt anything dangerous towards her. This plan was flawed. Oliver was pelted with two Bludgers one after another by the Slytherin Beaters. He rolled on his broom completely winded by the attack. Madam Hooch was beside herself.

"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA! GRYFFINDOR PENALTY!"

They watched Angelina score another point, then moments later Fred smacked a Bludger at Warrington who dropped the Quaffle practically into Alicia's hands. She scored sending Gryffindor on a high enough lead for Harry to finally catch the Snitch. Ella's eyes watched Harry carefully, but she also scanned the field for the glint of gold. She slowly watched Harry look upwards and followed his gaze to the metallic glint twenty feet above him. He used a burst of speed to go towards the Snitch.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" Ella shrieked as Malfoy latched himself onto the Firebolt. The broom slowed so much that the Snitch disappeared.

Madam Hooch was once more appalled by the lengths the Slytherins were going, "Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics!" The whole crowd was screaming at Malfoy for cheating and being a slimy snake.

Lee was completely beside himself, "YOU CHEATING SCUM! YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B–" He kept trying to dance further away from McGonagall, but even she wasn't paying attention to him. She was screaming things Ella had never heard come out of her mouth before. McGonagall shook her finger menacingly at Draco and in all her ferocity her hat fell off. Alicia took the penalty, but she ended up missing it too.

The game began to go downhill very fast after that. Gryffindor had hit the limit on their patience with the Slytherins and their concentration was failing. On the other hand, the Slytherins were delighted by Malfoy's tactics and began to take their playing to a new level of dirty.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal –Montague scores–" Lee groaned. "Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor…" Ella sighed in frustration. They were so close! If only she could've seen the outcome of this game. Then at least she'd be more at ease. "Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!"

Ella's eyes were locked on Angelina, but she was aware of green blurs streaking towards her as fast as they could. Then, they were scattered as the Firebolt zoomed towards them. Angelina had a completely clear shot.

"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty points to twenty!" Ella yelled into the microphone since Lee was too excited to do so. Harry nearly flew into the stands, but he managed to pull back without giving anyone too much of a heart attack. The next thing she knew, Harry was darting towards the ground trying to catch up to Malfoy who seemed to be catching up to the Snitch. The boys were soon neck in neck and both made a grab for the tiny golden object.

Then Harry was pulling up from the dive, a winged ball beating against his hands. He'd won. The stadium exploded with cheers. Ella and Lee were hugging as he screamed: WE WON! WE WON! WE WON! Into the microphone. Ella was practically in tears as she screamed and cheered with all the Gryffindors. McGonagall was sobbing harder than Wood was as he hugged Harry. The entire Gryffindor team was hugging each other as they sank back to the ground. Ella and Lee joined the crowd of Gryffindors to congratulate the team. It seemed like everyone was beyond excited, even Percy who was jumping up and down like a toddler on Christmas.

Soon enough Ella and Lee were engulfed in hugs from all their friends on the team. Ella couldn't even tell who was hugging her in all the madness. The spectators watched as Dumbledore handed the team their Quidditch Cup. Each face was beaming as they saw the trophy they'd worked so hard for. Ella watched them but felt two people join her and Lee. She only looked out of the corners of her eyes to see it was Cho and Cormac. Both of them were just as excited to see the Quidditch Cup as she was. She kept her eyes on the team and smiled at their elated faces. Fred looked out and saw her. His smiled widened even more. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she couldn't help but think that everything was right with the world.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long. There's been a lot of craziness going on in my life. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Please review. I'd love it if there could be 5 reviews at least before I posted again!