A/N: No, I do not own the rights to Doctor Who or Harry Potter. It would be nice though. Anyway, enjoy ;-)
November brought with it the chilly airs of winter. It seemed like every window in the castle was in a constant state of being frosted and defrosted. The grass was powdered with cold. More than a few times, we caught Hagrid defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch pitch.
After the fiasco that was Halloween, I had gifted Kendrick Smythe with my book on physics and mathematical theory. I had already read it and could recite it from cover to cover. He seemed rather pleased.
The more difficult person to find a present for was Lisa. She was sure to remind me that her birthday was the seventh and that she expected something. I had given up on buying anything, given that we were stuck in a castle until our third year. Therefore, I opted to craft a magical model of a Seifert surface. I had to explain what it was to her but once she understood she seemed rather impressed.
Quidditch fever had taken the entire school by storm. Mostly because Harry Potter, first year Gryffindor Seeker, was to play his first match. I felt for Harry, he had been thrust into a world he knew nothing about and was now expected to be their sporting hero. You couldn't have paid me a million galleons to take his place.
Hermione's general demeanor had seemed to improved since Halloween as well. I guess being saved from a mountain troll may have had something to with it. She, Harry, and Ron seemed to have become a tight knit group and I was happy for her. It was good she had finally found some friends. They certainly seemed to help her be more relaxed.
"Are you excited about the Quidditch match?" Lisa asked over breakfast.
"Um, not really. I'm not really into sports." I spread jelly onto another piece of toast and looked around the Great Hall. Everyone seemed to be chattering gleefully about the Quidditch match. I spotted a very queasy looking Harry at Gryffindor table. Poor guy.
"Well, given that I've never seen a Quidditch match, I'm rather looking forward to it." Lisa stated before returning to her book. The two of us had been doing loads of research about sleep protection since Halloween. We had managed to churn up some sleeping protection charms and I hadn't had any unwelcome visitors in my dreams, except for that strange man with my hair.
We followed nearly the rest of the school out onto the Quidditch pitch. Lisa and I clambered into the stands behind Michael Corner and Terry Boot. Those two seemed to be rather inseparable, something I had initially stated as weird to Lisa before she reminded me that we were essentially their female equivalents.
It was the big match between Slytherin and Gryffindor, with the majority of favorites going to Gryffindor. I can't say I blamed everyone else, the Slytherins were intolerable with their arrogance. I was hoping Gryffindor would cream them, just so they'd shut up.
"You think Gryffindor is going to win? They've got Potter now. Wonder if he's any good." Michael asked Lisa and me.
"I don't know. It'd be nice though. I'm sick of hearing about the 'Invincible Greens'."
"I agree with Scarlett. If I have to hear one more remark from their lot, I'm going to hex someone."
Madam Hooch, our flying coach, was refereeing that day. As she waited for the two teams, I noted the sudden silence amongst the crowd. She spoke to both teams for a moment before she blew her silver whistle.
I watched as the teams flew high into the air before taking off.
"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor-what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive too-"
"JORDAN!"
"Sorry, Professor."
Lee Jordan was the commentator for the match, being closely monitored by Professor McGonagall. Lisa and I chuckled at his comments, despite their occasional tints of rudeness.
Angelina Johnson scored Gryffindor's first points, the Gryffindors cheering while the Slytherins howled with irritation.
On and on the game seemed to go, with Harry floating steadily above the action. He had just dodged a bludger when he suddenly dove downward, seemingly after the snitch. The Slytherin Seeker, Terence Higgs, had seen it as well. Neck and neck they plummeted, faster and faster towards the ever falling snitch. A great silence fell over the crowd. Even the players seemed to stop what they were doing to watch the scene playing out before them. Harry was faster, nearly catching it when-
WHAM! Marcus Flint blocked Harry intentionally, causing his broom to fly off course. Harry clung for dear life to his broomstick. Gryffindors cried foul, a sentiment echoed by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
Lee Jordan was finding neutrality to be rather difficult. "So-after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-"
"Jordan!"
"I mean, after that open and revolting foul-"
"Jordan, I'm warning you-"
"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."
"This is so exciting!" Lisa whispered excitedly in my ear. I tried nodding in assent, but I honestly felt sick to my stomach. Quidditch was a dangerous game and I was never truly at ease watching it.
Harry dodged another bludger when, suddenly, his broom lurched. Again, the broom violently lurched. "What's going on?" Lisa asked with anxiety.
I shook my head in confusion. If I didn't know any better, I would say someone was jinxing his broom. Brooms didn't just buck and lurch like that. I watched in abject horror as his broom zigzagged through the air, Harry holding on tightly. No one else, save Lisa and I seemed to notice. Lee Jordan was still commentating.
As he began to rise, it was as if the crowd finally took notice. Fingers pointed out and upwards and uneasy whispers flitted through the air. In one rough motion, Harry's broom jerked, leaving him holding on by one hand. A gasp erupted from the stands and I wondered why no one was doing anything.
Maybe this is that mentality humans get when they hear someone in danger. Each assumes someone else has called the police. I looked around, preparing to attempt something, anything, to help when I noticed Hermione slip through the Gryffindor stands. Good. If anyone can stop this, it would be her.
Harry's broom was vibrating violently, the crowd rising to their feet. A pin could resound with a bang if dropped, so still were the stands. Eventually, Hermione seemed to have fixed the problem because Harry was soon able to climb back onto his broom.
He sped towards the ground, clapping his hand to his mouth. Was he going to throw up? WIth a "WHAM!" he hit the ground on all fours, coughed, and suddenly held his arm aloft; his hand clenched into a fist.
"I've got the Snitch!" He shouted. The game ended then, no one completely understanding what had happened. Lee Jordan was ecstatic, raving about the results.
"That was amazing!" Lisa chirped as we made our way back to Ravenclaw tower. "That was, by far, the most brilliant thing I've ever seen! Quidditch is just...just..." Her excitement was such that she couldn't even finish her thought.
Lisa continued to chatter about the game all the way up to our dormitory. I nodded distractedly, musing about who would have wanted to jinx Harry. I thought back to Halloween and the conversation between Snape and Quirrell. Snape hated Harry but Quirrell was up to something. I had the sinking feeling that one of them had done it, but my internal dialogue was brazen with denial. Why would a teacher wish to kill a student? They were teachers! Still, the same thought remained, leaving me with a knot in the pit of my stomach.
"Are you alright?" Lisa asked finally, noting my pensive demeanor.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I was just remembering that tomorrow is my mom's birthday. It seems weird, her being gone and all." Nice cover, Scarlett. While it was true that I still missed my mom, and the next day was her birthday, I had a knowing that I shouldn't voice my fears until I had some proof. You didn't just state a theory until you had proof, data to back up your idea.
"You know what I think?"
"What?"
"I think it's your destiny to be surrounded by Scorpios." Lisa mused happily. I rolled my eyes. Lisa and her astrology.
"Riight."
"I'm serious. Your mum was a Scorpio, I'm a Scorpio, and Kendrick's one too. I think you can't stay away from us."
"If that makes you sleep better at night, sure." I snorted, shaking my head with disbelief.
"Mark my words, Scarlett Flannigan, we're fated to be linked for life." She stated forebodingly before breaking out into a fit of giggles. "You think Quirrell did it?" Lisa questioned flatly, her demeanor changing on a dime.
My eyes widened at the quickness of it. Lisa was the only person I knew who could go from jovial to serious in a moment's notice. I shrugged my shoulders, not meeting her eyes. "I don't know. Maybe. I've wondered..."
"That was my first thought." She was so intuitive and so, blasé, about it. I began to think I was never going to fully understand her. "But we need hard evidence, and I don't think Quirrell is stupid enough to leave any behind."
"What are you saying, you want to open an investigation?"
"Like Holmes and Watson."
I chewed my lip nervously. "I don't know, Lisa. I want to figure out what's going on as much as you do, but we have other things to worry about. Like the fact that someone is trying to kill me?"
"We can multi-task. We're Ravenclaws. What do you say?"
I nodded in agreement, a grin bursting out on her face. "I love a good mystery or two. Come along, Watson. Lots to do." And with that, she dashed from the room, leaving me standing in confusion.