Days in Avalon
Chapter Nine: Gryffindor/ Slytherin Battle
For the next couple of days, tension was running high in the Gryffindor tower. But not only was there tension felt within the house, but in other parts of the castle as well. They Gryffindor/Slytherin match was fast approaching. Small fights had broken out throughout the school leading to a hefty load of points taken away, detentions each night for the next two months, and half of the hospital wing filled with victims of hexes that had gone wrong. But that all ended at the end of the week…
On Saturday morning, the entire Gryffindor team was awakened by their captain's shouts. Braden Wood, a seventh year, burly Gryffindor trampled into the fifth year dormitories with his hair in slight disarray, already wearing his Quidditch robes.
"Potter! Black! Come on get up mates!" said Braden as he pulled the curtains on each of the boy's beds and yelled in their ears.
"Oy, Wood! It's not even six o'clock yet," groaned James as he glanced at the clock on his stand with sleepy eyes.
"Get up! Come on. Everyone else is up," said Wood cheerfully as he clapped his hands and started to rub them together with a mad glint in his eyes.
"Sod off, mate," yawned Sirius as rolled over in his bed and pulled the blankets closer to him.
"I'm not having tow of my best players sleeping in on one of the biggest matches of the year! NOW GET YOUR SORRY CARCASSES UP!" roared Wood as he stormed out of the room and down the stairs to the common room.
"Fine," whined James as he sat up in his bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Come on, Padfoot," he yawned as he grabbed his glasses from his nightstand and got out of bed. He noticed that both Remus and Peter were still in bed snoring away. 'Lucky blokes,' he thought.
"Wake me in five minutes," muttered Sirius as he started to fall back into a warm sleep.
"Hey," said James as he picked up a pillow and threw at Sirius. "Do I look like your mother, or your house elf? Get your arse up!"
"You know if you hunched over a bit more, wore more of a scowl look, and began muttering incoherently…then yeah you could be me house elf," replied Sirius with his eyes still closed and a grin on his face. Suddenly, Sirius had the strangest sensation that he was sliding down his bed. Soon he found himself sprawled out on the floor looking up at James who had his wand pointing at Sirius's now inclined bed.
"Snob," stated James jokingly as he returned Sirius's bed to the floor and made his way to the bathroom.
About ten minutes later both James and Sirius made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, joking around with each other, hoping to get their minds off the game for a little bit. Once they entered the hall, they found that most of the team was already seated at the table. Bill Lakewood, dark haired sixth year, and Larry Kelsworth, another sixth year, were both trying to suppress yawns as they made a feeble attempt to eat something, while ignoring Wood's babbling. As soon as James and Sirius took their seats they saw that the rest of the team was now coming in. Robin Hudson, a tall fourth year girl, walked in to the hall looking as if she would fall asleep on her feet, followed by Andy who didn't look any better. Her long blond hair that was usually in a neat ponytail, now had to appearance as if she had just rolled out of bed and put it in a sloppy do. As the two girls stumbled to the table, they all noticed the dark circles under each of the girl's eyes.
"Whoa! Talk about the living dead," muttered Sirius. James and the other two boys couldn't help but snicker at their teammates remark. Unfortunately for them, both of the girls heard the remark as well.
"Watch it Blackie! You don't want to get me started this early in the morning," growled Andy as she stared daggers at the team keeper. Sirius simply sneered at her and stuck out his tongue at her.
"Oh real mature, there Black! What are you? Three?" spat Andy as she continued to glare at her nemesis.
"All right! THAT'S ENOUGH!" bellowed Wood as he pounded his fist into the table. "I don't want to hear any insults coming from either one of you today, unless they are directed at the Slytherins. Got it? You two are on the same team for Merlin's sake! For once could you put your petty differences aside and focus on being a team? Do I make myself clear?"
"Yeah," nodded Sirius taken back at his captain's outburst.
"Yes. Sorry Wood," nodded Andy as she started to wake up a bit more. With that, Wood took his seat and began to pour himself a glass of juice.
"Kiss up," muttered Sirius under his breath as he grabbed a piece of toast. The entire team, including James gave the keeper a harsh glare that spoke the phrase, 'Don't push your luck mate.' With the spell of silence that spilled over the team, Sirius looked up to see the team's look. "Mhat?" said Sirius through a mouth full of food. Everyone just simply rolled their eyes and went back to their pervious conversations.
"Come on Jay. You got to eat something," said Andy as she noticed that James had touched anything on his plate.
"Are you talking to me?" spat James as he turned to his left look at the blond haired witch sitting next to him. Andy sighed in defeat and looked down to the floor. ('Should have know that would happen.')
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened. I guess I did go a little too far. I didn't mean to go all mental on you," said Andy hoping that her friend would accept her apology. She truly did regret blowing up at James the other day in the hall. She knew that he was just trying to be helpful, but sometimes she just wondered why he couldn't just accept the fact that she just didn't get along with his best mate.
"You know, you'd think after four years of knowing you I'd become immune to the sad puppy look," sighed James as he wrapped his arm around Andy's shoulders and gave her a one armed hug. Andy couldn't help but smile at the gesture.
"Can you pass me the juice, please," she asked as James made a feeble attempt to eat something.
"I suppose. If it's a necessity," said James in a mock annoyance tone. "You know, I reckon I should give up on you two," he added as he handed over the juice pitcher.
"Really?" said a very shocked Andy. "What brought this change about?"
"I guess I realized that I just can't win. I'm mean how long has it been now? Three years? And I still haven't been able to get you two to even act civil to each other for more than a minute."
"Some people might consider that even a miracle," chuckled Andy jokingly.
"I'm serious here. A bloke can only deal with so much," said James.
"Oookay," was all Andy could really say.
"What are you going on about?" said Sirius who had been listening in on the conversation. "You never give up on anything."
"Well I thought there was a first time for everything," said James simply.
"Alright who are you and what have you done with me best mate," said Sirius.
"What? There is nothing wrong with me," stated James in a matter of fact tone.
"Really?" said Sirius as he cocked an eyebrow. "Because up until a few days ago you were hell bent on making me get along with the little princess."
"Yeah well, I changed my mind. You got a problem with it, Black?" spat James.
"Whoa…easy Prongs. Personally I'm grateful for the let up, really. I'm just wondering is all," said Sirius in defense. 'I think he's been hanging around Sparky a little to much.'
For the remainder of breakfast, the entire Gryffindor team sat in silence picking at the food that was on their plates. Every now and then, Wood would encourage his team to eat something, but never really heeded his own advice. Pretty soon, most of Gryffindor house came down for breakfast, eager for the upcoming match. Lily, Felicia, and Kelly came down to breakfast along with the rest of the house, and spotted the team sitting at the far end of the table 'eating' in silence. They thought better of going over and talking to their friend who seemed off in her own little world. They knew that their roommate didn't get much sleep the previous night. During the night they could hear her tossing and turning while muttering something in her sleep. Lily's heart went out to her best friend. She never really understood nor cared for Quidditch that much, but she went in support for her house and her friend.
"My don't they look all chipper this morning," said Felicia as she sat down and grabbed a muffin.
"You think they're nervous about the game?" said Kelly. As the girls looked down the table, they could see Larry muttering something while he buttered his hand and Robin was rocking back and forth while absentmindedly biting her nails.
"No, I don't think they're nervous," said Lily. "Petrified would be a better word."
About ten minutes later, Wood stood up and announced it was time to go. The entire team got up and walked solemnly through the hall while three fourths of the hall broke out into shouts of 'Good Luck!' and 'Knock 'em dead'. As they passed the Slytherin table, hisses and taunts poured out of each of students mouths like wildfire.
"Hope you don't fall off your broom there, Potter! Wouldn't want Slytherin to win on the account of your oversized head," spat Severus as James walked by. Robin and Braden quickly pushed James along not giving him time to retaliate against Snape's remark. Both Sirius and Andy tried to repress the urge to knock that smirk off Snivellus's face.
When the team got to the locker room, everyone quickly changed out of their school robes and into their Quidditch gear. They grabbed their brooms and sat on the benches waiting for Wood's annual pep talk. The team only half-heartedly listened to their captain, while trying to suppress the thoughts of what could happen during the game. The last time Gryffindor and Slytherin met, it was one of the bloodiest matches in Hogwarts history. Although Gryffindor did win, most of the team had to stay in the hospital for an entire week. Larry had received a bludger to the head and few broken ribs, four minutes into the game, while Bill suffered a nasty blow to the back that caused him to fall almost thirty feet. Robin received a mild concussion, while Andy suffered a broken arm and leg after the Slytherin beater pushed her off her broom when she scored one of the final goals in the match. But the one who endured worst of it all was James. After he had caught the snitch, Lucius Malfoy, the Slytherin seeker, kicked James square in the face, braking his glasses and nose. James then fell about forty or fifty feet in the air and broke some ribs, both his legs, and his collarbone. He was unconscious for an entire week, and couldn't remember exactly what happened after he caught the snitch.
"We've got one of the best team's in Hogwarts history sitting right here. Sure the last time we met up with the Slytherins we got a little beaten up. But thanks to James's spectacular grab, we came out victorious. Now here we are again, and I know that we're ready for them this time. With all the practice sessions we've had, we're set for what ever those wankers are willing to dish out. We've got two great beaters who have never let us down," said Wood as he motioned to Larry and Bill.
"A keeper who is quick with his blocks," he said as he nodded toward where Sirius was standing.
"Not to mention two wonder chasers," he said as he motioned and beamed toward the two girls, "who've have definitely proven that they can handle their own." At this remark, both Robin and Andy couldn't help but blush a bit.
"And of course a seeker, who has more heart and determination than I've ever seen in anyone. We've bleed, we've trained, and we've pushed ourselves to the limits. Now is our time to shine. Let's go out there and show the school what we're really made of. Are you with me?" shouted Wood.
"Yeah!" said Robin and Andy together.
"Let's get 'em," said Bill and James.
"We'll knock those bloody buggers socks off," said Sirius. With that the team, jumped up and made their way to the field.
Once inside the stadium, James saw that three quarters of the stadium was covered in red and gold, while the other quarter was covered in green and silver. As he looked to the stands, he saw Remus and Peter holding a banner that read 'Go Gryffindor' and had a large lion on it that occasionally let out a thunderous roar. Sitting in the row just above them we're the girls. Felicia, Karen, and Kelly were all huddling close together while screaming along with the rest of the crowd. Lily on the other hand just simply sat there reading a large book.
'Who brings a book to one of the biggest games of the year?'
When he looked at the other end of the field, he saw that the Slytherin team had just arrived. As the two teams, and the new teacher Madam Hooch, came to the center of the field, Madam Hooch order the two captains to shake hands. Wood simply glared at Lucius Malfoy, who was also a seventh year and grabbed his hand hard. From the look of it, it seemed to everyone that Wood and Malfoy were attempting to break the bones in each other's hands. The moment Madam Hooch had ordered everyone to mount their brooms, Andy shouted something to James.
"Hey James, good luck, and please be careful," she said with worry in her eyes and voice as visions of last years match flooded her mind.
"I'll be fine," he said as with a charming grin. "Just you be careful about yourself," he added in an attempt to sound like a big brother. Andy simply rolled her eyes and scowled at James's words. She hated being treated like some fragile little thing, and the fact that he was trying to act older when she's about half a year older than him.
Once everyone was in place, Madam Hooch released the Bludgers and Snitch. As soon as she tossed the Quaffle into the air, the game began…
"And there off," screamed Parker Jordan, the official game commentator. "Wood catches the Quaffle and passes it to Hudson. Hudson dodges Flint. What a little bugger, thinking he could out run her. Oh, no! Hudson looses the Quaffle, knock out of her hand by a bludger from Davis. Ahh, but Starmenter regains control of the Quaffle and now is speeding toward the goal. Come on Andy! She passes it to Wood and… HE SCORES! Gryffindor leads 10 to nothing."
A loud thunderous wave of cheers erupted from the stands deafening the boos and hisses coming from the Slytherin end.
"WAY TO GO WOOD! All right, Flint now has possession of the Quaffle, he throws it to Baggins. Baggins flies up the middle of the field dodging Starmenter and Wood's attempts to knock the Quaffle out of his hand. He passes Nott. Nott beats Hudson and rolls away from a Bludger from Kelsworth. It's just him and Black now, and…HE DID IT! Sirius Black stops Nott's attempt to tie," shouted Jordan as he jumped up and down next to McGonagall.
From up above, James had a bird's eye view of the action going on in the game. He saw when Sirius caught the Quaffle with one hand and chucked it back toward Wood. He gave his friend a thumb's up who responded with the same gesture. As James returned to the game, he learned that Andy now had possession of the Quaffle and was going one on one with the Slytherin keeper. He watched as she dodged with easy at the attempts the Slytherins were throwing at her. As soon as she was in range, she faked the keeper and threw the Quaffle into the right hoop, giving Gryffindor the lead of 20 to nothing.
Across the way, James could hear Malfoy cursing his team for letting the goal get threw. As soon as James saw the state Malfoy was in, an idea popped in his head.
James circled the field a couple of times in an attempt to try to find the Snitch. As he looked around, there was no sign of the blasted thing anywhere. The moment James knew that Malfoy was watching him, he decided to dive toward the ground to make Malfoy think that he saw the Snitch. It worked. Malfoy quickly threw himself on to his broom and sped after James. While this was going on, Sirius saw his friend suddenly dive quickly to the ground. 'He can't have found the Snitch this soon in the game,' he thought.
At the same time, Andy also saw James's dive from the corner of her eye. She quickly looked around in the area that he dove, and couldn't see the Snitch anywhere. Suddenly he had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. 'Gods, please don't make him do anything stupid.'
From the stands, everyone saw the dive as well and were curious as to what the seeker was up too.
"What's he doing?" said Felicia.
"There's no way he could have spotted that thing already. It's not even ten minutes into the game," said Karen.
"Probably just showing off or something," said Lily in a monotone voice as she continued to read her book.
As James plunged toward the ground, Malfoy sped up and was soon neck and neck with James. But at that particular moment, Malfoy realized that he had been had when he didn't see the Snitch anywhere in sight. Just when it looked like they would crash, James quickly pulled out of the dive and merely brushed the ground lightly as he rose back into the air. As for Lucius, he was unable to pull off such a spectacular task and ended up crashing into the ground. James hovered just a few feet above Malfoy and gave him one of his famous evil grins.
"That was for last year," he said before he retook his place in the air and began to look for the Snitch again.
"Way to go, James!" barked Sirius for the Gryffindor end of the field.
'What a bloody idiot,' thought Andy as she gained control of the Quaffle again and set off toward the other end of the field. Just as she passed Malfoy getting on his broom again, she noticed the dangerous mad glint in his blue eyes. 'Uh-oh.'
thought Andy as she gained control of the Quaffle again and set off toward the other end of the field. Just as she passed Malfoy getting on his broom again, she noticed the dangerous mad glint in his blue eyes. '.'While James was looking for the Snitch, he caught a glimpse of Andy scoring another goal for the team. The score was now 40-nothing. After Andy's goal, the Slytherins called for a time out. As the Gryffindors came back down to the ground, everyone huddled together trying to catch their breath. The moment James entered the huddle, he received a hard hand to the back of his head from Andy.
"OW! Hey what was that for?" he asked her as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Do you want to get yourself killed?" she spat at him. "What were you thinking, taking on Malfoy like that?"
"Just a little pay back is all," winced James.
"Star's right there, Potter. Although that was a pretty good pay back, you shouldn't have done that. Now they're probably going to be gunning for you more now than before," said Wood.
"Hey, don't worry about me, alright. I'll be fine," protested James.
"I'm not taking any chances here, Potter. Bill, Larry, I want you two to keep an eye out for Potter, got it," said Wood with authority.
"Sure Wood," chimed Bill.
"Just let one of those lousy gits, come near him," replied Larry. At that moment, Madame Hooch blew her whistle signaling everyone to get back into position.
As soon as the game restarted, it was a whole different game. The Slytherins were merciless against the Gryffindors after the short break. The Slytherin chasers were practically clawing and pulling at the Gryffindor chasers in order to regain control of the Quaffle. Bludgers seemed to come out of nowhere every time one of the Gryffindor chasers came near the Slytherin hoops. As Robin thought she had managed to get passed the new blockade, a Bludger from Lestrange hit her in the back, knocking the wind out of her for a bit.
As soon as Robin dropped the Quaffle, Flint caught the ball and sped away toward the Gryffindor end.
"And Flint gets control of the Quaffle. He's speeding up the field, like a rocket. Come on you guys get that nasty little pri…"
"JORDAN! If you can't saying anything nice, then don't say anything at all, or I'll take that thing away!" yelled Professor McGonagall.
"Sorry Professor, but it's the truth. OH NO! Flint was able to get pass Black. The score is now 40-10," shouted Parker. The game continued to go from bad to worst for the Gryffindors. They managed to score three more times after Flint's goal tying the score at 40. By this time, most of the team was battered and bruised from the offense the Slytherins were dishing out. The only one on the team that didn't seem that hurt was James. He stayed high above the game, watching helplessly as his teammates were getting crushed. He began to franticly search for the Snitch in order to end the game. Just when he caught a glimpse of the tiny gold ball, James pelted after it as fast as he could. As soon as he came into range with the Snitch, Malfoy bull rushed James and knocked him off course and almost of his broom. At that point, Madame Hooch called for a penalty shot, which Robin took and put the team ahead 50-40.
Once James had regained some of his of his composure, he set off again in search of the winged ball. This time he caught sight of it near the Gryffindor hoops. James went sailing across, desperate to get to it, with Malfoy in toe. As Andy and Wood went chasing after Nott with the Quaffle, they noticed what Malfoy and James were doing. They both saw Lucius give some sort of hand signal to the Slytherin beaters as they came into position.
"They're going to attack him," said Andy fearfully to herself.
"BILL! LARRY! WATCH HIM!" screamed Wood as he went after Baggins. At that split second, Andy thought up an idea. As soon as she was near her team's goals, she flew low and waited for James and Malfoy to get near the hoops. When she saw them closing in, she shot up into the air quickly as if to block Baggins attempt to score, but she didn't. She kept rising into the air until she was almost level with James and Malfoy. As soon as she reached their altitude, James had already passed her, and was now stretching out his hand to make a grab at the Snitch. At the same time, Malfoy quickly veered off course to avoid colliding into Andy. When she that her plan had worked, she quickly dove back down to the ground behind the hoops.
While this was going on, Baggins tried for a goal, but was stopped by Sirius. As soon as he saw Malfoy in his range, as he veered off his course to avoid a collision, Sirius took the Quaffle and pelted it at Malfoy, hitting him in the side of the head.
"Sorry. Wind took," spat Sirius with a grin as Malfoy glared daggers at him.
Meanwhile, James was oblivious to what had just occurred. As he neared the Snitch, it started fly toward the other end of the stadium. He circled round and made another attempted at get close to it. As he Snitch grew closer and closer, so did Malfoy who was now at James's heels again. Soon they were neck and neck again, fighting to get to the Snitch first, some forty or fifty feet in the air.
At the same time, Andy had caught the Quaffle again, and shot up the field again for the hundredth time. As she neared the hoops, she saw the three chasers standing side-by-side getting ready to block her. As she looked below her, she saw Wood open, and dropped the Quaffle down to him. Wood then flew under the three chasers and scored another goal for Gryffindor. Mostly everyone in the stands had missed the goal, saved for a few people. Everyone else was staring at the two seekers, including Lily.
"Potter and Malfoy are neck and neck. They're both in close rang with the Snitch and…COME ON JAMES KNOCK HIM OFF HIS BROOM! Sorry Professor, and… HE DID IT! POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! 210-40!"
The moment James landed on the ground, Bill, Larry, and Sirius came piling on to him, while Robin and Andy jumped up and down screaming "WE WON!"
"That a boy Potter," beamed Wood.
"Hey Andy!" called Kelly and Lily. As soon as Andy turned around, her four friends crowded around her and had a big group hug. After a few moments, they broke and went on congratulating everyone. As James neared Lily, he felt that familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Congratulations, Potter," said Lily simply with a nod.
"Uh, thanks, Evans," said James as he ran his hand through his already messed up hair, right when Remus and Peter made their way to where their friends were.
"Hey way to go mates," said Remus as Sirius came up from behind James.
"Thanks, Moony," said James.
"Hey Sparky!" called Sirius when he recognized the back of the blond girl standing next to Lily.
"What?" said Andy, ready for some snide remark.
"Not bad," he said with a smirk.
"Excuse me?" replied Andy, utterly shock and take back at Sirius's remark. 'Is he giving me a compliment?'
"You were…pretty good," said Sirius with some difficulty.
"Really?" said a skeptical Andy, not really sure if he was telling the truth or not. After a few moments, she realized that he wasn't playing some kind of joke. "You weren't half bad your self, Blackie," she said trying to sound somewhat sincere. With that and a nod, Sirius was then pulled away by some of the other members of the team.
"Don't get any idea's, Jay. He's still a prat to me," said Andy as she noticed the slight smile on her friend's face as he witnessed their attempt to be civilized.
"I wasn't going to say anything," said James honestly. "I heard from Larry, that I owe you a thank you for getting Malfoy off my tail for a bit."
"Don't mention it. Heck you would have done the same," said Andy.
"True," added James as he pulled her into a one armed hug.
"Hey James! Star! Party in the common room," called Wood as he wrapped an arm around Kelly and Robin.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. It's all J.K. Rowling, now get off my back.