Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slytherin won, though narrowly. According to Oliver, this was good news for Gryffindor, who would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw too. He therefore increased the number of team practices to five a week, which mean the Patronus lessons were only taking place on Saturday or Sunday evenings. Alex didn't have much time to relax on the weekends as a result, since he was busy catching up on his homework. The only good thing was that Beth, who only had to attend one practice a week as a reserve, and Neville, who didn't have any extracurricular activities, wrote outlines for Alex so that he could write his essays faster. Hermione didn't quite approve of that, but he pointed out that still had to write his own essays and he was diligent about taking notes and paying attention in classes, so it wasn't as if he didn't learn the material.
Three Patronus sessions in, Fred and George produced corporeal Patronuses, that of coyotes, though it took everyone a few minutes to identify them, since they were native to North America. Since coyotes had a reputation for being tricksters, especially in certain Native American myths, the Patronuses suited the Weasley twins perfectly.
The session after that, Ivan produced a Patronus as well, that of a kestrel. "Well, kestrels are one of the smaller birds of prey, but they can be quite fierce," Cara said. "And since you're not exactly a tall person and are quite fierce when in defense of your friends and family, it suits you, Ivan."
Since the three oldest had managed to produce corporeal Patronuses, they were able to stop taking the lessons and only had to concentrate on practice. Meanwhile, the others could only produce incorporeal ones, which only held the boggart turned dementor at bay for a minute or two at most and drained them on energy. At one point, Cara did produce a silvery shadow that was starting to take on a form, but at her next attempt, the shadow that appeared was merely indistinct again.
"You're expecting too much of yourself," said Professor Lupin sternly in their fourth week of practice. "All of you. For thirteen- and fourteen-year old witches and wizards, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement."
"Actually, I'm fifteen, Professor," Cara said. "My birthday was at the end of November, remember?"
"Yes I do, and I apologize for my error, Cara. I was equating fourth-year with fourteen, since that's the age fourth-years start out as. Anyway, you are all doing quite well. Alex, you aren't passing out anymore, are you?"
"No, but I was hoping to produce a corporeal Patronus that can drive dementors away," Alex responded.
"You've still achieved a great deal in a short amount of time," Remus said kindly. "If the dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, you will able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground."
"You said it's harder if there's loads of them," pointed out Alex.
"I have complete confidence in you. Defense Against the Dark Arts is your best subject, after all, and the only one in which you out-perform Hermione in, who is the top student of your year and could give many of the older students some competition."
Hermione blushed at the praise and then Remus passed out chocolate and bottles of butterbeer. After awhile, Ron asked what was underneath a dementor's hood. Remus explained that most people didn't really know, and the ones that did were in no condition to tell everyone else, as they had undergone the Dementor's Kiss. He then had to explain what the Dementor's Kiss was to them (other than Hermione, who had read up on dementors after the encounter on the Hogwarts Express). They all shivered, and Remus added that if the twelve escaped prisoners were ever captured, the Ministry had authorized the dementors to perform the Kiss if they found any of the group.
After that, the Gryffindor quintet and Cara returned to their respective common rooms.
At the final practice before the match with Ravenclaw, the entire team plus the reserves were gathered around Oliver for his final instructions for tomorrow's match. "Alex, I've just found out who Ravenclaw is playing as Seeker. It's Cho Chang. She's a fourth year, and she's pretty good...I really hoped she wouldn't be fit, she's had some problems with injuries..." Oliver scowled his displeasure that Cho Chang had made a full recovery, then said, "On the other hand, you've got a Firebolt, and I doubt she's had that much practice on the team broom. Her own broom is a Comet Two Sixty."
Alex recalled seeing a rather pretty Ravenclaw girl of Chinese descent around the school before, and wondered if that was Cho Chang. He also felt rather uncomfortable at having a better broom than everyone else. After all, the reason Sirius had bought Nimbus Two Thousand Ones for the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw teams was so that Slytherin wouldn't have the advantage of faster brooms and they'd all be on a equal footing, broom-wise. Of course, Alex didn't mind using his Firebolt in a match against Slytherin, but that was only because the other team tended to cheat. In a match against the other two houses, things would be fairer, and there wasn't such rampant cheating and underhanded tactics.
On the other hand, Oliver was determined that Gryffindor would win the Cup again, in his final year as Captain (since he certainly wasn't going to be held back a year like Marcus Flint, the Slytherin captain, had, due to failing most of his sixth-year exams). Oliver would definitely pitch a fit if his Seeker showed up at the match tomorrow with the team broom instead of the Firebolt, and no amount of persuasion or protesting that it wouldn't be fair to Ravenclaw would change his mind. Therefore, Alex would just have to ignore his feelings and use his Firebolt in the match, or risk angering his Captain.
The practice went quite well, and nobody else (other than maybe Beth) seemed to think there was anything wrong with Alex using his Firebolt in the match tomorrow instead of a team broom. Instead, the presence of the Firebolt inspired them, and they performed their best moves flawlessly. By the time they hit the ground, Oliver didn't have a single criticism to make, which, as George pointed out, was a first.
"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow!" said Oliver delightedly. "Not unless - Alex, you've sorted out your dementor problem, haven't you?"
"Yeah," said Alex, thinking of his feeble Patronus and wishing it were stronger.
"The dementors won't turn up again, Oliver. Dumbledore'd go ballistic," said Fred confidently. "Besides, George and I have also mastered the Patronus Charm, so we can help Alex out."
"Well, let's hope the dementors don't turn up again, so your help won't be necessary," said Oliver. "Anyway - good work, everyone. Let's get back to the tower...turn in early."
Alex went down to breakfast the next morning with the rest of the boys in his dormitory, all of whom seemed to think the Firebolt deserved a sort of guard of honor. As Alex entered the Great Hall, heads turned in the direction of the Firebolt, and there was a good deal of excited muttering. He saw, with enormous satisfaction, that the Slytherin team were all looking thunderstruck. What wasn't so pleasant, however, was the sour look on Theodore Nott's face as he stared at the broom. That then turned to a look of utter loathing as he moved his head slightly to glare at Alex.
"Look at Nott," Ron hissed in glee. "He's obviously angry that you've got such a great broom, Alex. This is brilliant!"
Oliver, too, was basking in the reflected glory of the Firebolt. "Put it here, Alex," he said, laying the broom in the middle of the table and carefully turning it so that its name faced upward. People from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were soon coming over to look. Cedric Diggory came over to congratulate Alex on having acquired such a superb placement for his Nimbus, and Vera said, only half-jokingly, that he had better win the match with a broom like that. She then added that Percy had wanted a wager on the match, but she had turned him down, stating that she wasn't going to bet against her cousin and family loyalty took precedence over house loyalty for her.
After Vera had returned to her table, with Percy joining her so that they could eat breakfast together, Nott appeared at the Gryffindor table. "Sure you can manage that broom, Romanov?" he spat.
"Yeah, reckon so," said Alex casually.
"You don't deserve that broom," Nott said, eyes glittering maliciously. "Especially after what you and your friends were responsible for."
"That's not for you to decide, Nott," Alex said coldly. "And must I keep repeating myself, or haven't you gotten through your thick head that neither me or my friends had anything to do with your father's arrest? That was the Ministry's doings. And Mr. Malfoy reporting your father under Veritserum."
"Mr. Malfoy wouldn't have reported my father if he hadn't been brought in for questioning because of your actions!" Nott snapped. He then looked down at the Firebolt. "Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? But there's one it doesn't have, and that's an Unbreakable Charm."
His eyes burned with revenge as he whipped out his wand and pointed it at the Firebolt. "Reduc-" Before he could actually finish saying the incantation for the Blasting Hex, Oliver had snatched the broom out of harm's way, while the Neville and Alex tackled Nott to the ground.
"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" demanded Professor McGonagall, who had come over in a flash, closely followed by Professor Snape.
Neville and Alex got to their feet while Oliver explained, "Nott here said that Alex didn't deserve having a Firebolt and blamed him for what happened to his father. He then decided to try and sabotage the broom."
Ron added, "Nott got as far as saying 'Reduc' before he was tackled. I think he might have been trying to use the Blasting Hex, especially since he said that the Firebolt didn't have an Unbreakable Charm as one of it's special features."
"How dare you!?" Professor McGonagall shouted, a look of utmost fury on her face, as Nott stood up. "Mr. Nott, I expected better of you! Instead, you're blaming people that had nothing to do with your father's arrest and trying to destroy their brooms in revenge! Fifty points from Slytherin, and you have a detention tonight! Also, you're banned from attending the match today!" She then whirled around to face Professor Snape. "And Severus, you really need to control your Slytherins! This is getting completely out of hand. I can understand why Mr. Finnigan and Miss Brown acted the way they did to Mr. Nott in that Potions class three months ago, if this is the way he was acting towards Mr. Romanov."
"I'm sorry that this occurred, Minerva," Professor Snape said stiffly. "I can understand one of my Slytherins holding a grudge, but not behavior like this as a result of the grudge. I will have some words with Mr. Nott, and he will be doing some cleaning with Mr. Filch at his detention tonight, without magic." He then put a hand on Theodore Nott's shoulder and steered him out of the Great Hall. The Gryffindors all looked angry and many shot glares at Nott's retreating back. The rest of the students began whispering about the incident, and other than some of the Slytherins, they all looked indignant.
At a quarter to eleven. the Gryffindor team set off for the locker rooms. The weather couldn't have been more different from their match against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time, and Alex, though nervous, was starting to feel the excitement that only a Quidditch match could bring. They could hear the rest of the school moving into the stadium beyond. Alex took off his school robes, removed his wand from his pocket, and stuck it in the wand holster that Beth had given him for Christmas and he was going to wear underneath his Quidditch robes. He only hoped he wouldn't need it. He wondered suddenly whether Remus was in the crowd, watching. He knew Sirius had said that he was going to attend.
"You know what we've got to do," said Oliver as they prepared to leave the locker rooms. "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. Just - just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!"
They walked out onto the field to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the field. Their Seeker, Cho Chang (who was the Asian girl he had seen before), was the only girl on their team. She was shorted than Alex by about a head, and he couldn't help noticing, nervous as he was, that she was extremely pretty. She smiled at Alex as the teams faced each other behind their captains, and he felt a slight lurch in the region of his stomach that he didn't think had anything to do with nerves. He wondered if he was developing his first crush.
"Wood, Davies, shake hand," Madam Hooch said briskly, and Wood shook hands with the Ravenclaw Captain, a rather good-looking fifth-year. "Mount your brooms...on my whistle...three-two-one-"
Alex kicked off into the air and the Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than any other broom; he soared around the stadium and began squinting around for the Snitch, listening all the while on the commentary, which was being provided by Lee Jordan. Lee spent the first couple of minutes talking about the Firebolt until Professor McGonagall snapped at him to tell the audience what was going on with the match. Katie then scored the first goal of the match, and that was when Alex saw it- the Snitch was close to the ground, flitting near one of the barriers.
He dived; Cho ssaw what he was doing and tore after him - Alex was speeding up, excitement flooding him; dives were his specialty, he was ten feet away-
Then a Bludger, hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, came pelting out of nowhere; Alex veered off course, avoiding it by an inch, and in those few, crucial seconds, the Snitch had vanished. There was a great "Ooooooh" of disappointment from the Gryffindor supporters, but much applause of their Beater on the Ravenclaw end. George vented his feelings by hitting the second Bludger directly at the offending Beater, who was forced to roll right over in midair to avoid it.
Minutes later, Gryffindor was leading eighty points to zero, and Lee made another comment about the Firebolt. An irate McGonagall interrupted him to shout, "JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"
Ravenclaw was pulling back; they had now scored three goals, which put Gryffindor only fifty points ahead - if Cho got the Snitch before him, Ravenclaw would win. Alex dropped lower, narrowly avoiding a Ravenclaw Chaser, scanning the field frantically - a glint of gold, a flutter of tiny wings - the Snitch was circling the Gryffindor goal post - Alex accelerated, eyes fixed on the speck of gold ahead - but just then, Cho appeared out of thin air, blocking him -
"ALEX, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN!" Oliver roared as Alex swerved to avoid a collision. "KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!"
Alex turned and caught sight of Cho; she was grinning. The Snitch had vanished again. Alex turned his Firebolt upward and was soon twenty feet above the game. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cho following him...She'd decided to mark him rather than search for the Snitch herself...All righ, then...if she wanted to tail him, she'd have to take the consequences...
He dived again, and Cho, thinking he'd seen the Snitch, tried to follow; Alex pulled out of the dive very sharply; she hurtled downward; he rose fast as a bullet once more, and then saw it, for the third time - the Snitch was glittering way above the field at the Ravenclaw end.
He accelerated; so, many feet below, did Cho. He was winning, gaining on the Snitch with every second - then - "Oh!" screamed Cho, pointing.
Distracted, Alex looked down. Three dementors, three tall, black, hooded dementors, were looking up at him. He didn't stop to think. Releasing his wand from its holster, he whipped out his wand and roared, "Expecto Patronum!"
Something silver-white, something enormous, erupted from the end of his wand. He knew it had shot directly at the dementors but didn't pause to watch; his mind still miraculously clear, he looked ahead - he was nearly there. He dimly heard one of the Weasley twins also to the Patronus Charm as Alex stretched out the hand still grasping his wand and just managed to close his fingers over the small, struggling Snitch.
Madam Hooch's whistle sounded. Alex turned around in midair and saw six scarlet blurs bearing down on him; next moment, the whole team was hugging him so hard he was nearly pulled off his broom. Down below he could hear the roars of the Gryffindors in the crowd.
"That's my boy!" Wood kept yelling. Alicia, Angelina, and Katie had all kissed Alex; Fred had him in a grip so tight Alex felt as though his head would come off. Both Fred and George complimented him on his Patronus and then said it was weird that none of them apparently felt affected. In complete disarray, the team managed to make its way back to the ground. Alex got off his broom and looked up to see a gaggle of Gryffindor supporters, the rest of the Gryffindor quintet in the lead. Before he knew it, he had been engulfed by the cheering crowd.
"Yes!" Ron yelled, yanking Alex's arm into the air. "Yes! Yes!"
"Well done, Alex!" exclaimed Vera, looking delighted as she kissed him on both cheeks. "It's too bad that Ravenclaw lost, but I am very impressed with your catch and your Patronus." She then moved aside as others shouted praise, including Hagrid.
"That was quite some Patronus," said a voice in Alex's ear a moment later. He turned around to see Remus and Sirius, who looked both shaken and pleased.
"The dementors didn't affect me at all!" Alex said excitedly. "I didn't feel a thing!"
"That would be because they - er - weren't dementors," said Remus. "Come and see-"
"Stupid cheating Slytherins," Sirius added, he and Remus leading Alex out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the field.
"You gave Mr. Nott quite a fright," Remus said.
"The bloody bast - er, git - bloody well deserved it," grumbled Sirius.
Alex stared. Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground were Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint, all struggling to remove themselves from long, black, hooded robes. It looked as though Nott had been standing on Goyle's shoulders. Standing over them, with an expression of the utmost fury on her face (even more so than at breakfast), was Professor McGonagll.
"An unworthy trick!" she was shouting. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! And Mr. Nott, you were banned from the match! And I would have thought you learned a lesson from the incident at breakfast! Fifty points from Slytherin, and detention for all of you! Mr. Nott, you have a week's detention! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"
If anything could have set the seal on Gryffindor's victory, it was this. The rest of the Gryffindor quintet, who had fought their way through to Alex's side, doubled up with laughter as they watched Nott fighting to extricate himself from the robe, Goyle's head still stuck inside it.
"Slytherin lost, what, a hundred points today?" said Ron. "I think they've dropped down to last place in house points."
Neville nodded. "If Nott keeps this kind of behavior up, Slytherin has no chance of winning the House Cup at all this year."
George came over and said that there was a party in the common room, so the Gryffindor quintet joined the rest of the team in leading the way out of the stadium and back up to the castle.
It felt as though they had already won the Quidditch Cup; the party went on for the rest of the day and well into the night. Sirius knocked on the entrance a couple of hours in and when Angelina opened the portrait hole, he thrust three bags at her. "There's Undetectable Extension Charms on the bags. One's got bottles of butterbeer and pumpkin juice, another is filled with Honeydukes sweets, and the third has pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, and the like. I remember the parties back when I was a student, and me and my friends would sneak into Hogsmeade to buy food and drink for everyone. Enjoy!"
"Thanks, Sirius!" Angelina exclaimed, looking surprised and grateful. "Do you want to come in for a bit?"
Sirius hesitated for a second, then shrugged and replied, "Sure, I'd love to, if you don't think I'll be damper on things."
"Why would you be a damper on the party?" asked Angelina rhetorically. "You're a cool guy, you did a great job substituting for Professor Lupin when he was ill, and you donated brooms to three Quidditch teams so that we'd all be on a even footing with Slytherin, broom-wise." She moved aside so that Sirius could climb in the entrance hole.
Once he was inside, Angelina announced that Sirius had oh-so-kindly dropped by and provided refreshments for the party, in tribute to having done the same thing back when he was a student. There were many cheers at that, and as the food and drinks were passed around, the Gryffindors all expressed their gratitude to Sirius. He ended up staying for the rest of the party, talking with the Gryffindor quintet about the match and telling the other Gryffindors some entertaining stories about his school years.
The Gryffindor party ended only when Professor McGonagall turned up in her tartan dressing gown and hair net at one in the morning, to insist that they all go to bed. She even scolded Sirius, saying that as an adult, he should know better, and if this was the kind of example he was going to set, then perhaps any future visits with the Gryffindors in their common room would be banned. He pouted for a bit before apologizing, saying that he had lost track of time, and then donned his cloak, bid everyone a cheerful good-bye, and left the common room to return home.