'Have some more toast, Rizzoli,' Rowan slid another two slices onto Jane's plate, ignoring the incredulous look on the girl's face. 'Three more pancakes, Rud. Belle, another glass of juice. Finish off those scrambled eggs, Jo.'

Joren pushed his plate away, holding his stomach. 'If I eat any more, I'm going to chuck. This is so counterproductive.'

'This is twice what I normally eat,' Jane agreed, hiccupping. 'If you want me to puke on Slytherin, I'll keep going, but…'

'Psh, pussies,' Ruddy dismissed, piling a small tower of pancakes onto his plate and drowning them in maple syrup. 'You know this game could keep going into the night, right?'

'It's not going to,' Andreas said confidently, though he downed the rest of his pumpkin juice before continuing. 'We've got Belle. She's going to make that snitch her bitch!'

'Language, Andreas,' Professor Korsak appeared behind him. 'I wanted to wish you all luck today,' he addressed the entire team. 'From what I've heard, Slytherin's going to give you some stiff competition. But I also know you've been training harder than any other team. You're fitter, you're faster, and you can outfly them. I believe there's more natural talent here than there has been in a long while, and I'm already proud of you. Knock 'em dead, Gryffindor!'

The team exchanged grins, and Rowan puffed up with pride. 'Today's our day,' she looked around the group, eyeballing each player. 'Professor Korsak was right: Slytherin's our biggest challenge, and it's a shame we can't have a warm up game or two to nail our team dynamics before we crush them. But we've been training hard, we're a cohesive team, and there aren't any obvious weak links in our abilities. That means even when we're exhausted, even when we're hungry, even when the weather's pissing on us, we're still strong. Even at our weakest, we're still way above average. And since today we're well rested, we've just eaten, and rain's not due until nightfall, we're not at any disadvantage. There is a bit of wind, and obviously I'll try to win the galleon toss so I can get us the downwind goals, but even if we get landed with the upwind goals we're still better than Slytherin.'

There was a murmur of agreement among the team members, and Rowan continued.

'The really good news is that after this game, the rest are going to be easy. If we beat Slytherin – no, when we beat Slytherin, the rest of the season is going to be smooth sailing. And if today's game goes badly, it doesn't mean we've lost the Quidditch Cup. So long as we beat Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff by a big enough margin, we're still in the running. But you know why we're not even going to have to worry about that?'

'Because we're going to beat Slytherin!' Bek answered with a triumphant grin.

'Damn straight, girl!' Rowan stood up. 'Who's the better team?'

'Gryffindor!' Andreas punched his fist in the air with a laugh.

'I didn't hear you!' Rowan looked around expectantly, and raised her voice a little. 'Who's the better team?'

'Gryffindor!' Joren and Bek joined in.

'What the hell happened to team spirit?' Rowan looked pointedly at the quiet players, and gestured for them to stand up with her. 'Who's the better team?'

'Gryffindor!' all seven players, plus the reserves stood up and answered loudly.

Rowan climbed up to stand on the bench. 'Who's going to win?'

'Gryffindor!' several supporters added their voices to the mix, looking up from their breakfast.

'Who's the best? I want to hear you!'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'WHO'S GOING TO WIN?'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'WHO'S TAKING HOME THE QUIDDITCH CUP?'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Rowan vaulted over the table then, and beckoned for her team to follow as she sauntered down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, drumming up support. 'WHO'S GOING TO SLAUGHTER SLYTHERIN TODAY?'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Virtually every Gryffindor at the breakfast table, and a good chunk of the neighbouring Ravenclaws were cheering for the team in scarlet now.

'WHO'S GOING TO RIP THOSE SERPENTS TO SHREDS?'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM IT!' she shouted at the top of her lungs, starting to clap her hands above her head. 'GRYF-FIN-DOR! GRYF-FIN-DOR!'

'GRYF-FIN-DOR!' the supporters echoed with gusto. 'GRYF-FIN-DOR! GRYF-FIN-DOR!'

Jane caught Maura looking at the impromptu show with a large degree of bemusement, though she had a big smile on her face, and was clapping in time with the other supporters. 'Are you going to come and watch?' Jane asked quickly, hopefully, as the team passed by Maura's seat.

'Of course!' Maura answered, quickly jumping up to walk alongside Jane as the other players started to usher her forward. 'Where are you going now? Won't you have some time before the game?'

'Nah, we're going to go and get changed and then go over last-minute tactics for like, the millionth time.'

'Where should I sit?' Maura asked anxiously.

Jane heard her unspoken 'to get the best view of you', and grinned. 'Sit wherever; I'll be all over the pitch. Just watch for the bludgers, and chances are I won't be far behind.'

'Okay!' Maura nodded. 'Good luck! I'll see you afterwards?'

'For sure,' Jane nodded back with equal vigour. 'I'll try to make it a fun first game for you!'

Maura smiled and gave up keeping pace as Jane was swept out through the doors to the atrium. The Gryffindor team left to cacophonous applause that liltingly died down to the regular chatter the Great Hall was accustomed to. Maura returned to her muesli, surprised to find she was suddenly looking forward to being a spectator at her first Quidditch game. From the show of appreciation just now, it appeared that she was definitely backing the more popular team.

She thought briefly about checking out a book from the library on modern Quidditch, so that she might learn some of the rules during the game. But that idea was swiftly cast aside when she realised she wouldn't be able to read and watch Jane fly at the same time. If her assumption was correct, and each House played the other Houses only once during the competition, then Jane would only be playing in three Quidditch games this season. Maura was determined not to miss a second of flying time, and if that meant cutting down on her weekend leisure reading, then so be it.

Bundled in her scarf and mittens, Maura followed the droves of Hogwarts students heading out of the castle and toward the Quidditch stadium. She had no idea who she was going to sit with, and instead was hoping that people would be too busy cheering and watching the game to notice that she didn't have anybody to chat to. She needn't have worried though, because almost immediately upon exiting the castle, she ran into Madam Rosmerta.

'Good morning!' she greeted with enthusiasm. 'What are you doing here?'

'Maura! Fancy runnin' in to you,' Rosmerta stopped with a smile. 'I've come to watch the Quidditch, of course. Ro got invited to referee the first game of the season, so I decided I'd tag along too. I thought you said Quidditch wasn't really up your alley?'

'It hasn't been in the past, no,' Maura confirmed. 'But Jane's playing today, and despite knowing very little of the rules, I admit I'm rather excited!'

'Ah, of course,' Rosmerta realised. 'Won't your friends talk you through the game? Who're you sittin' with?'

Maura bit her lip. 'Well… I'm not really sure. I don't know where the girls from my dormitory are.'

'Come sit with me then, darlin',' Rosmerta didn't hesitate. 'I'd be happy for the company, and I'll let you know what's goin' on in the game if you get lost. That sound alright?'

Maura nodded gratefully, and Rosmerta linked their arms and strode off toward the pitch. 'We'll make a Quidditch expert out of you yet, young grasshopper.'

The innkeeper led Maura into the base of a spectating tower, where they climbed what must have been at least ten flights of stairs crafted from wooden planks. The tower's walls were constructed of nothing more than brightly coloured material, today fashioned in patterns of green and red to support the competing Houses. When they surfaced into open space again, Maura was aghast at how high they had climbed, and paused to peer over the edge of the tower.

'Don't you go fallin' over the edge,' Rosmerta warned. 'I've seen it happen before, and it's not pleasant!'

Hagrid was sitting in the uppermost corner of their tower, and Rosmerta directed Maura to sit next to him. 'You stay sandwiched in there, and you'll keep nice and warm,' she advised, sitting on Maura's other side. 'How are you, Hagrid?'

'Can't complain, can't complain,' the groundskeeper replied. 'Ro refereeing, is she? Good thing, too. That Professor Sutton's ruddy useless at it. I hope they bring her back for the rest of the season.'

'She'd love that,' Rosmerta mused. 'I think doing this really takes her back, y'know? She got her start on this pitch. A scout watched her flying and offered her a contract with the Ballycastle Bats after she graduated.'

'What position does she play?' Maura asked.

'She's a Keeper,' Rosmerta answered with a sly smile.

Maura tuned out of their conversation to focus on the horrendous mixture of smells wafting out of Hagrid's coat. She was trapped in a haze of armpit sweat, dog biscuits, a plethora of uncomplimentary plant extracts, oil, earth, and possibly some kind of animal urine. She tried to subtly lean closer to Madam Rosmerta, who smelled like honeysuckle, but her scent was being easily overpowered.

And so she sat watching the activity of the pitch, waiting for her olfactory adaptation to kick in. They were in one of twenty towers, most of which were already full to bursting with spectators. The students who hadn't made it to the stadium fast enough were filling in the bleacher-like structures between towers. These seats were less favoured, as they didn't allow as good a vantage point as the towers did. A group of Slytherin supporters popped up from the stairwell of Maura's tower then, with a giant paper snake propped up on sticks. They took the last remaining seats in the front row, and began to manipulate the snake so that it appeared to be slithering.

'SERPENTS, SERPENTS, THEY'RE OUR TEAM! KILL THOSE LIONS, MAKE THEM SCREAM! PUT THAT QUAFFLE THROUGH THE HOOP! TURN THOSE LIONS INTO SOUP! DODGE THOSE BLUDGERS, CATCH THAT SNITCH! SLYTHERIN OWNS THIS QUIDDITCH PITCH!'

Several seventh year Ravenclaw boys in the row behind exchanged glances, pointed their wands at their throats, and muttered a spell that Maura couldn't hear. She got the gist of it though, because a second later, each boy took in an enormous gulp of air and gave a huge authentic lion roar at the Slytherin group, making them jump half a foot in the air. Rosmerta and Hagrid paused their conversation to give the Ravenclaws an impressed clap, earning them a dirty glare from the group in green.

'It won't be long now,' Rosmerta said to Maura, looking at her watch and pointing to a small figure on the ground who had a wooden box floating behind them.

'What's in there?' Maura queried.

'Game balls: a quaffle, two bludgers, and the golden snitch.'

'Jane said to just look for the bludgers if I wanted to find her on the pitch. What do they look like?'

'They're jet black, about this big,' Rosmerta indicated with her hands, and Maura's eyes widened. 'And they're made of iron. They're bewitched to attack the players and try to knock them off their brooms. A Beater's job is to keep the bludgers away from their own team, and hit them towards the other team, instead.'

'But isn't that… Isn't that awfully dangerous?' Maura asked fearfully. She hadn't realised just how big or how solid the balls Jane would be going after were.

'It is,' Rosmerta acknowledged, not sounding even slightly concerned. 'But I'm sure your Healer's waiting at the ready, with a few beds reserved for Quidditch injuries. Nobody's died in years.'

'Oh,' Maura said faintly, wondering now if she should be concerned for Jane's life.

'Don't worry, darlin',' Rosmerta tried to comfort her. 'Jane comes from a magical family, doesn't she?'

'Yes, but…'

'She'll have been playing Quidditch since she was a wee one,' Hagrid cut in.

Rosmerta nodded her head in agreement. 'I'd be more worried about her opposition,' she advised.

'Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!' a magically enhanced voice boomed out across the stadium. 'To the first Quidditch game of the season: Slytherin versus Gryffindor!'

The commentator paused to allow time for wild cheering. 'It's going to be an exciting game! Slytherin hold the Quidditch Cup from last season, beating Gryffindor by only twenty points!'

'That's only two goals,' Rosmerta informed Maura.

'But both teams have changed drastically since then, losing some of their best players at the end of last season to graduation. As well as taking on new players, two existing Slytherin players have switched positions within the team, and Gryffindor has taken on a third-year!'

'That's Jane!' Maura bounced a little in her seat, thrilled her friend had been mentioned.

'So this is truly a game to watch, folks! I hope you've all made your bets, because this promises to be quite a show to start the season off. With us today is guest referee Madam Rolanda Hooch, retired professional Quidditch player, and ex-flying instructor at Hogwarts. She's fast, fierce, and fair, and no dirty tactics will get past her unnoticed. So without further ado, let's meet our players! Here are the Gryffindors!'

Jane stood with her team at the entrance to the pitch, almost twitching with anticipation. The commentator had just announced it was time for them to come out, and Jane took a deep, steadying breath. She hadn't realised she would receive a special mention in the welcoming commentary, and suddenly felt a massive performance pressure that she had been ignoring until now.

'Remember, guys, one lap of the pitch, and then down to the centre circle, alright?' Rowan reminded them. 'Then it's just like we practiced. Seekers out first, Belle. You ready?'

The petite girl nodded, and mounted her broom as 'BECKER!' thundered across the stadium. She zoomed up gracefully to the spectators' eye level, her scarlet quidditch robes rippling in the wind. Jane barely had time to admire her form before 'SILK-ASHBY! PIPER! TAUNT!' were called, and the Chasers kicked off from the ground to follow hot on Belle's heels.

'We're up, Jane,' Joren looked behind him to make sure the newbie had mounted her broom. She had, and gave him a quick nod.

'BAKER! RIZZOLI! PEARSON!' were called, and after giving Joren some time to ascend, Jane bent forward on her broom, and went for a steep incline. She reached playing height, and her first instinct was to look for Maura. She quickly realised though, that in the sea of faces, there was no hope of finding her friend. The supporters were actually quite daunting. The entire stadium had erupted into cheers and jeers, and she could make out concentrated patches of green and scarlet in the nearest towers. Gryffindor and Slytherin flags were being waved, and Jane was about to be overwhelmed when Ruddy almost caught up to her.

'Don't think about them, Rizzoli!' he bellowed over the crowd. 'Pretend it's just another practice. And get a move on; Joren's way ahead of you!'

She hadn't realised she had slowed down, but the Keeper was right; Joren was half a pitch ahead of her. She urged her broom forward, and Ruddy followed while waving casually to the crowd like he was a celebrity.

'Thank you, thank you,' she heard him call. 'It means a lot that you came.'

She gave a snort, and started to relax. 'No pressure, Jane,' she told herself. 'You're a kick ass Beater, and Slytherin is going down.'

'And the Slytherin team! DEAN! DEAN! MORIARTY! KIRK! MARTINEZ! FAIRFIELD! PAYNE!'

The team garbed in emerald green began to lap the pitch in the other direction as Jane and Ruddy smoothly descended to the centre circle, where Madam Hooch was waiting. Nobody on the ground spoke until Slytherin were lined up opposite Gryffindor. The referee turned in a circle, looking stern and making piercing eye contact with each player.

'Now I want a nice clean game,' she ordered. 'From all of you! Captains approach me. Slytherin call it: wizards or dragons?' she flipped a gold galleon up in the air.

'Dragons!' the Slytherin captain Castiel Dean called, and all fourteen players held their breath as the coin came tumbling down.

'Wizards,' Madam Hooch announced, catching the galleon. 'Which way are you playing, Gryffindor?'

'And it looks like Gryffindor have won the coin toss!' the commentator announced excitedly, as the players all rose up and took their positions in the air. Feet started drumming on the wooden planks, and more cheering was heard from the stands.

Maura looked around her excitedly. Rosmerta pointed Jane out to her, hovering near the edge of the pitch, but Maura had already found who she was looking for. She would have recognised Jane's black curls anywhere. Six Chasers were patterned in a circle in the centre, waiting for the referee to toss up the quaffle.

'The bludgers and snitch are in the air!' the commentary informed the crowd as Madam Hooch kicked at the box. 'The quaffle is released…' Madam Hooch blew a whistle. 'And the game begins!'

Maura was completely unprepared for the sheer speed of the game. From the second the whistle blew, the pitch was a beehive of activity, and she could barely hear herself think over the screaming of the supporters. The Chasers squabbled over the quaffle for several seconds until Maura saw Rowan streak out towards the Gryffindor goalposts looking victorious.

'Gryffindor captain Rowan Silk-Ashby with the quaffle! Slytherin Chaser Diablo Moriarty hot on her broom twigs! Silk-Ashby passes to Piper – back to Silk-Ashby – drops to Taunt – Taunt takes a shot at goal…'

The entire stadium stopped breathing as the quaffle hurtled for the left goal post, but… 'Saved by Keeper Arnicka Payne! Payne passes to- No! Intercepted by Piper! Fakes a shot, passes to Silk-Ash- GOAL!'

At least two thirds of the supporters stood up and bellowed appreciation as Madam Hooch, hovering nearby, blew her whistle to confirm the goal's legitimacy.

'Gryffindor lead by ten! Payne passes to Dean – Dean in possession – throws to Kirk – good pressure from Gryffindor – back to Dean, he's going for goal… Oh! A bulls eye bludger attack from Gryffindor Beater Jane Rizzoli! Merlin's beard, Gryffindor's got a secret weapon!'

'Go, Jane!' Maura yelled, already a bit lost, but proud all the same. The Ravenclaw boys near the front were roaring again, and Hagrid was throwing his enormous hands together and whooping.

'Dean's dropped quaffle picked up by Taunt, and the lad's got a good head start. Slytherin Beater Adam Fairfield's sent a bludger his way, but he might be too late – And it's nicely diverted by Baker, anyway! It's Payne vs Taunt, people! Neither of them have backup!'

Andreas flew straight for the Keeper, and she took his bait, flying out to the very edge of the scoring area to try and slow him down and buy some time for her team to get there. He successfully dodged her though, faking a move to the left before speeding around to the right. With nothing between him and the goalposts, the quaffle sailed through the centre hoop with ease, and when his fellow Chasers caught up it was with enormous grins on their faces.

Madam Hooch's whistle sounded once more, and Gryffindor led twenty-nil. Payne retrieved the quaffle, and the play continued.

'Payne passes to Dean – Dean to Kirk – Kirk making some good ground with the quaffle – passes to Moriarty – dodges a bludger – back to Kirk – Kirk lining up for goal – saved by Gryffindor Keeper Rudyard Pearson! Pearson to Piper – incoming bludger from Martinez – a SLOTH ROLL from Piper! This girl is incredible! But it's slowed her down, she passes to Silk-Ashby – the Captain's blocked on both sides – she's diving, good backup from Taunt, terrific defence from Slytherin – another Bludger, where are these coming from? This one's from Fairfield, and I think it's going to get bloody!'

Maura covered her eyes with her hands, and hid behind Rosmerta's back, not wanting to see the messy collision. But suddenly the noise was deafening, and every Gryffindor supporter in the stand, including Rosmerta and Hagrid, stood up and started jumping up and down.

'What happened?' Maura asked, standing on tiptoe to see what was going on. Rowan continued across the pitch with Andreas at her side, beginning to pull up to reach the hoops. The blood that Maura expected to see streaming from her nose was absent.

'Did everybody see that?' the commentator was in awe. 'A superb Dopplebeater Defence tactic from Rizzoli and Baker, sending their bludger into Fairfield's! Silk-Ashby remains unscathed, and goes for goal with Taunt at her side… She passes to Taunt – sails past Payne – Taunt lobs the quaffle – and another ten points for Gryffindor!'

'You didn't tell me Jane was this good!' Rosmerta nudged Maura with a grin.

'I didn't know!' Maura replied earnestly. 'How does the game end? Is it the first team to a certain number of points, or is the game being timed?'

'No, no, the game finishes when one of the Seekers catches the Golden Snitch.'

'That little thing with wings?' Maura gaped incredulously. 'But that could take hours!'

'It can take days, or weeks,' Rosmerta nodded. 'I think I remember Ro telling me the longest match on record lasted three months.'

'But… what about school? What about eating and sleeping and… exams and things?'

'Oh, I doubt that'll happen with a high school game,' Rosmerta reassured her. 'It's not always the most strategic thing to catch the snitch when you see it, though. Catching the snitch earns your team a hundred and fifty points, but if the opposition is ahead by more than that, then the game will be over, and your team will lose.'

'I see,' Maura nodded, watching the Slytherin Keeper toss the quaffle to a Chaser in green. 'So right now, it would be beneficial for either team to catch the snitch?'

'Technically, yes,' Rosmerta nodded. 'Though remember that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup is awarded on total points, and not on total wins. The bigger the point-margin is between teams, the better chance they have of winning the Cup.'

'Does that mean Gryffindor would be happy if their Seeker caught the snitch now?'

'Yes,' Rosmerta confirmed. 'They'd win a hundred and eighty points to nil, and that's not a point difference to sniff at.'

'Moriarty's heading for the goal – she's OH MY GOODNESS! Fairfield's just tried to hit a bludger into the REFEREE!'

'He WHAT?' Rosmerta stood up, shaking her fist. 'You rat bastard!'

Madam Hooch blew her whistle twice to stop game play. 'FOUL!' she screeched. 'As I'm sure you are well aware, it is an illegal move to deliberately direct a bludger toward the crowd, a Keeper who does not have a quaffle in their territory, or a REFEREE! Penalty in Gryffindor's favour!'

Slytherin groaned; they had just been about to score. Rowan took the penalty, and successfully passed it through the right hoop, upping the score to forty-nil.

As the game went on, Maura became increasingly fascinated. She stopped paying attention to the commentary, or the Chaser activity, and instead, followed Jane in the sky as best she could. Maura hadn't ever really seen Jane fly before. She had seen her on a broom, hovering outside the Ravenclaw common room, but never in any kind of flying action. The Gryffindor seemed infinitely more comfortable in the air than on land, and Maura was astounded at her agility, especially in the wind. She came to understand how Jane's role in the game was equal parts attack and defence, and how it was such an advantage to be strong and lithe. One of the Slytherin Beaters, Adam Fairfield, was strong, but he was also very beefy, and Maura saw that he couldn't swerve or dodge half as well as Jane could.

She watched Jane chase after careening bludgers, and thwack them into players who were threatening to take possession of the quaffle, or imminently score. It didn't work all the time; by the time Gryffindor got to a hundred points, Slytherin had scored four goals, but Jane had definitely stopped at least three more single-handedly. The stadium had started up a cheer of 'GO, GO, GRYFFINDOR! GO, GO, WE WANT MORE! LET THE SERPENTS HEAR YOU ROAR! USE THOSE SNAKES TO WIPE THE FLOOR!'

This chanting evidently frustrated Slytherin, because they performed three more fouls, and Madam Hooch was just about at her wit's end. 'KIRK!' her whistle sounded twice in quick succession. 'What did I tell you last time? NO BLAGGING, NO BLATCHING, NO BLURTING, NO COBBING! One more stunt like that and I'll send you off the pitch!'

'I've never seen so many fouls in such a short time!' the commentator exclaimed. 'The referee has just threatened to send Madigan Kirk off the pitch if she commits another foul! Slytherin is getting angry! That's three penalties in Gryffindor's favour! How many will they get past Payne?'

'What are all those fouls?' Maura asked, watching as all the players except the Slytherin Keeper moved to the side of the pitch.

'Blagging's holding onto another player's broom to slow them down. Usually done when two rivals are going for the snitch, or the quaf- YES!' Rosmerta clapped as Rowan shot the quaffle past Payne.

'Blatching's flying with intent to collide,' Hagrid continued. 'Quite a desperate move if you ask me.'

Rowan tossed the quaffle to Andreas, who took his turn with the next penalty shot.

Rosmerta nodded at Hagrid's comment. 'Blurting's locking broom handles to steer somebody off course, and Slytherin's infamous for it. Yes, Gryffindor!' Andreas successfully scored another point. 'And cobbing's excessive use of elbows, I think.'

Bek took their last penalty, but missed narrowly as Payne stuck out her foot to steer the quaffle a few degrees off course. The Slytherin supporters' cheering drowned out the Gryffindor supporters' "good try" applause, and the game play continued.

Maura watched curiously as a figure who looked awfully like Professor Korsak exited one of the spectator towers at ground level, and started sprinting as best he could toward the castle. Further ahead of him was another figure, also running at top speed. Being so high up, it was hard to tell who the person in front was, though Maura's best guess would have been Headmaster Cavanaugh. She couldn't imagine what could be so urgent during a game as exciting as this one, and her attention was drawn back to the match as a collective groan emerged from the spectators around her – Slytherin had scored.

'A goal for Slytherin; Kirk making up for those penalties! Gryffindor lead one hundred and twenty points to fifty. Pearson recovers quickly – throws to Piper – she's so quick, I don't know why this girl isn't a Seeker – Silk-Ashby – Taunt – Piper – Taunt – back to Piper, she's approaching the goal, she's in range!'

A howl of pain was heard from Arnicka Payne a second after Bek heard a sickening crunch close by. She flung the quaffle through a hoop, and then looked over to see Payne's foot twisted at a decidedly unnatural angle. Jane was hovering nearby with her bat still in mid-air, looking very guilty.

'Rizzoli's directed a bludger into Payne's ankle. I'd say that's broken; she's screaming in pain! Looks like the Slytherin Keeper's going to require a little first aid!'

Madam Hooch paused the game again to get Arnicka safely to the ground, and Professor Callahan met them on the pitch to be her hospital escort.

'You bitch!' Arnicka yelled at Jane through tears as Madam Hooch helped her onto the stretcher.

'Did Jane break the rules?' Maura asked anxiously, at the same time Castiel Dean was screaming 'FOUL!' at the referee.

'I don't think so,' Rosmerta shook her head. 'It wasn't a particularly nice move, but I think it was legal.'

'No foul, Mr Dean,' Madam Hooch informed him as the players got back into position. 'The quaffle was quite plainly inside the scoring area.'

'But, ref-'

'I said NO FOUL, Mr Dean.'

Play resumed, and without a Keeper, Slytherin was having a very bad time. Gryffindor scored a further four times with ease, and things were looking very bleak for the team in green. A new announcement from the commentator renewed their hope, though, because all of a sudden…

'SLYTHERIN SEEKER GABRIEL DEAN HAS SEEN THE SNITCH!' the commentator bellowed, and indeed, the Slytherin Seeker seemed to be streaking very purposefully toward the ground. 'Gryffindor Seeker Belle Becker now following – is she too late?'

The entire stadium seemed to be leaning forward in their seats, scanning frantically for the little flash of gold the commentator had promised would be there.

'It's a Wronksi Feint!' one of the roaring Ravenclaw boys shouted. 'He's faking it!'

'Why is he faking it?' Maura looked anxiously at Rosmerta. 'If Slytherin get the snitch, then they'll win, and Gryffindor have been playing far better!'

'One of the perils of Quidditch,' Rosmerta nodded, not taking her eyes off the pitch. 'A Seeker can make or break a team. Sometimes, a brilliant Seeker can carry a very poor team. That Slytherin boy's going to pull up out of his dive at the last minute, and hope that the Gryffindor Seeker crashes into the ground.'

'So he hasn't really seen the snitch?'

'Maybe not; this Ravenclaw lad thinks it's a defensive tactic. Gryffindor haven't figured that out yet, though.'

More and more people seemed to be catching onto the idea that this was a false snitch capture, and started standing up and shouting at the players. It quickly became undecipherable – the stadium was simply full of meaningless bellowing.

By some miracle, with no more than four metres between the Seekers and the ground, Belle pulled up and veered sharply to the left. Gabriel Dean looked over to see where she was going, and a split second later, a bludger crashed into the tail end of his broom. Twigs went flying everywhere, and the Slytherin Seeker was left to chase a snitch he still hadn't seen on just a broom handle. The crowd's shouting turned to laughter, as Gabriel turned and tried to chase after Belle. To his dismay though, he glanced up to find her rocketing towards the Slytherin goal posts.

'Gryffindor Keeper Rudyard Pearson seems to be performing a dual role in this game! He's located the snitch before Becker has, but he'll be committing a foul if he touches it! Becker seems to have realised Dean lured her into a Wronski Feint just in the nick of time. She's seen the Keeper's gestures, and she's going for gold! Will she make it? A bludger from Baker has sent Dean's broom twigs flying in the worst way possible, and I don't think he'll be catching up any time soon. The players are all at the Gryffindor end – I think this is going to be an easy catch… YES! She's done it! Belle Becker of Gryffindor has caught the golden snitch, earning one hundred and fifty points for her team! That puts our score at… three hundred and twenty points to fifty!

Madam Hooch blew her whistle three times, signalling the end of the game. 'Gryffindor win!' she announced, though this came as a surprise to nobody.

The stands erupted, and every Gryffindor supporter jumped up from their seats in glee. The Slytherin supporters stayed sitting glumly, and the group at the front of Maura's tower threw their paper snake over into the pitch in disgust.

Maura just stood in a state of rapture at the incredible energy coming from the stadium. Hagrid's booming claps reverberated in her ears, temporarily drowning out the other noises in her vicinity. She watched Jane raise both fists in the air, before racing over to her team to congratulate Belle and revel in their victory. She had never seen quite this many people so excited about something all at once. Perhaps this was the attraction people had to sport that Maura had never been able to grasp the concept of; copious quantities of shared joy. And she hadn't even had to do anything to bring about this feeling! All she'd done was sit and watch… an impressive return of adrenaline and endorphins for such minimal input.

'Jane played wonderfully!' Rosmerta spoke loudly into Maura's other ear, breaking her train of thought.

'I'm not sure I've ever seen her this happy,' Maura agreed, pointing to the team in scarlet hovering in a circle and hugging each other.

'Please be silent!' a new voice was barely audible amongst the celebration. 'This is urgent! Please be silent. Hogwarts! BE SILENT!'

Shushing and hushing swept across the stadium, and soon the stands were mostly quiet, and very confused.

'This is Professor Kathleen Harper. I have just received a patronus-message from Headmaster Cavanaugh. The castle is unsafe to return to at the present time, and will remain so for at least several hours. I cannot tell you why, as I don't know myself. No student is to leave the perimeter of the Quidditch stadium. All professors are to report to the centre of the pitch immediately to cast protective enchantments. This is not a drill.'

'What's going on?' Maura looked between Rosmerta and Hagrid. 'Are we going into lockdown?'

'It seems that way,' Rosmerta stood up with a frown. 'Ro might know something. In any case, I'd better go help with the spell casting. Stay here, okay darlin'?' she quickly followed Hagrid, who had already disappeared down the stairs.

With Hagrid gone, Maura now had a very large space to herself, though both her sources of heat had disappeared. She sat in the corner of the tower with her robes pulled tightly around her, and watched the activity on the pitch. All the Quidditch players had been ordered out of the sky, and were now standing huddled in their teams. The professors had a quick meeting on the pitch, and then disbanded to begin shooting spells into the air.

'Protego maxima!' 'Fianto duri!' and 'Repello inimicum!' were heard repeatedly from each professor. The enchantments continued to grow and grow until they began to mesh together, and a shimmering dome was completed over the stadium. Maura felt like she was in a snow globe, though it didn't feel particularly tranquil. Slowly, the chatter began to rise up again, now full of speculation rather than celebration. Maura didn't feel as though she was in any immediate danger, but it was somewhat disconcerting. If she was going to be grounded in a sports arena with no access to books to distract her for several hours, then there was only one other thing she could think of that would serve the dual role of calming her down and helping her pass the time.

Jane was surprised to see the blue-white form of a patronus charm approaching her. At first, she thought it must be another message from Headmaster Cavanaugh, but she wasn't entirely sure that a patronus would be able to get through the barrier the professors had constructed. She was also sceptical that the Headmaster's patronus would be a hummingbird. She would have expected Cavanaugh's to be a rhinoceros, or something similar. When the hummingbird started to dance around her head, she felt sure she was its intended recipient, but had no idea what she was supposed to do.

'Whose patronus is that?' Rowan looked over suddenly. 'Who has a hummingbird?'

'It must be one of the professors,' Bek added. 'Maybe Professor Molette? I'm not sure I know of any students who can produce a corporeal patronus.'

'Can Maura produce a corporeal patronus, Jane?' Ruddy teased.

'Oh!' Jane suddenly realised. 'Probably! I've never seen her do one, but I bet she can! She's probably trying to show me where she's sitting.'

The moment Jane mounted her broom, the hummingbird took off again, flitting just ahead of her. When she saw which tower it was heading for, she looked ahead to see Maura waving at her with a big smile, and accelerated.

'You can do a patronus!' Jane exclaimed as she dismounted, at the same moment Maura stated the equally obvious 'You won the game!'

Jane broke into an enormous grin. 'Yeah we did!' she pumped both fists into the air and Maura took advantage of her open body posture to step forward into a congratulatory hug. Jane returned the hug instantly, and this time neither of them pulled away quite so quickly as they had that day in The Three Broomsticks.

Jane was covered in a light sheen of sweat, but Maura thought she still smelled infinitely better than Hagrid had. Jane had pulled her hair out of a ponytail after the match, which could have been regarded as an error in judgement. The wind had well and truly wreaked havoc on it so that her hair had now almost doubled in volume.

'Your hair!' Maura reached over to see if she could untangle the closest knot.

'What about it?' Jane was completely oblivious to her appearance.

'It's huge! And it's going to take hours to get rid of these tangles!'

'What?' Jane reached up to finger comb some hair. 'Oh, yeah, the wind hates me. I've got some special shampoo that'll kick it back into shape. And Marisa usually attacks me with a comb if I get out of the shower and it still looks like I had a collision with a tumbleweed.'

Maura laughed. 'Might I put it in some kind of braid for your next game?'

'Sure; might as well look good when we annihilate Hufflepuff! Did you enjoy your first Quidditch game?' Jane asked eagerly, taking a seat and patting the space next to her.

'Immensely! Jane, you flew so well! Madam Rosmerta and Hagrid were sitting here before, and they were both so impressed.'

'Rosmerta? What was she doing here?'

'She's married to the referee.'

'Oh! OH! I remember now, Hagrid said something about that when me and Frankie got back from London. What's her name? Hooch? She's a damn good ref! She pulled Slytherin up on so much shit!'

'Why weren't you penalised for breaking that Keeper's ankle?'

Jane winced. 'Do you think I really broke it? I didn't mean to hurt her; I was going for her broom. You know how Joren smashed the twigs off the end of Gabriel Dean's broom? It's just as good to smash the front off too, so they have a way shorter broom handle; throws off their balance.'

'So it wasn't a foul because it was an accident?' Maura was confused.

'No, technically you're allowed to break as many bones as you like. You're not allowed to direct bludgers at the Keeper unless the quaffle's in their territory. And since – who was it? Bek? – was about to score, it was a legal move.'

'And why didn't Slytherin replace their Keeper?'

'No substitution of players in the middle of a game. Reserves are there to play if any of the regular team are too sick to play before a game starts.'

'Oh,' Maura nodded her understanding. 'What do you think's going on in the castle? A fire, perhaps? Or flooding?'

'I haven't got a clue,' Jane peered through the shimmering dome at the castle. 'I can't see any smoke. I guess if there's plumbing issues it'll take a few hours to get someone in and find out where the problem is.'

'But then why all the protective enchantments?'

'Yeah, I don't know. Maybe there's an army of dark wizards trying to take over the castle,' Jane winked. 'Maybe it's that guy Tommy O'Rourke who they let out of Azkaban, come to off Cavanaugh!'

'Why would he want to kill Professor Cavanaugh?'

'Cavanaugh used to be an Auror! He put loads of dark wizards in Azkaban after Voldemort got killed. I bet heaps of people in there are baying for his blood.'

Maura shivered, also looking toward the castle. 'What an unpleasant thought!'

'Don't worry,' Jane reassured her. 'Hogwarts is the safest place in the country. Oh, actually, maybe Gringotts. But if a dark wizard has managed to get into the castle, I'll go to the freaking Noel Ball with the first person that asks me!'

'Bold statement!' Maura grinned.

'Yeah, only because there's like, a zero chance of a dark wizard getting onto the grounds let alone into the castle. Hey, can you make me some of those flames like you did on Halloween? My wand's back in the changing rooms, and it's freezing!'

'Of course,' Maura agreed, shuffling closer and pointing her wand into Jane's cupped hands. 'Tell me about the first time you rode a broom. I was thinking before, you look much more at ease up there than you do on the ground.'

'Well,' Jane began. 'You know how my Pop's really big on Quidditch? I don't know how he did it, because my Ma's so overprotective, but for my third Christmas he convinced her that it would be a good idea for me to have a broom. Little brooms like that don't actually do much, they're just training brooms that hover a little bit, and somebody has to pull you around, but you learn how to balance and get used to the feeling of floating…'

Maura smiled contentedly as Jane launched into a long-winded explanation of her earliest broom encounters. Maura wasn't really listening; she was simply enjoying being shoulder to shoulder with Jane, listening to her steady tale, and relishing in the perfect excuse she had been given to not move away from her favourite person for several hours.

'I'm really glad I came to watch you play,' she smiled at Jane as the story came to an end.

'Yeah,' Jane bumped their shoulders together, and then threaded her arm through Maura's. 'I am too.'