Sam thought that Quidditch was amazing. The flying, the Snitch and Bludgers, the unrestricted boundaries, it was unrestricted in all the ways that sports in her world weren't. Even the enchanted binoculars that let you see really far and even contained the names of the people in view, like subtitles on TV. It was amazing. The people in the stands were wearing crazy outfits, doing things she'd never seen before, and were having a wonderful time. It was in opposition to everything se experienced back home. No one was on their phones, people were laughing and talking. They were friends. She loved it. As she sat among her new friends she realized that she ached to be a par of this world, but she couldn't, could she? She wasn't magic, she was a Muggle. It was devastating to realize that no matter how much she liked it, she'd never belong. She looked around and saw her father laughing and talking with the professor that he was sitting net to in the Great Hall. Even he was happier here.

"Hey," Colin said as he moved next to her. "What's got you down?"

"I was just thinking about how I don't fit in and will be leaving at the end of the weekend. I'm just sad," Sam said.

"Don't worry about it too much," Colin said. "You won't remember anything."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"They will erase your memory when you leave. They can't have Muggles know that this magic stuff exists. They made my parents swear not to reveal any information. There is this governmental body called the Ministry of Magic that keeps everything quiet. If anything gets out of control, they swoop in and make it all go away. They will make sure that your and your father get your memories wiped and you won't remember this," he said, gesturing to the red-haired kid scoring a goal, "or us, or Hogwarts."

"Thanks for cheering me up. Not!" Sam said.

"Sorry, but that is the way it is," Colin said.

"I wish that we could all stay friends," Sam said.

"Maybe I'll figure out a way to come visit," Colin said. "You won't remember me, but I could say hi the next time I'm in Bournemouth. Tell me something about yourself that no one else knows. I can use that to introduce myself. I imagine that in the real world, you wouldn't give me the time of day."

Sam laughed. "Even if they erased my memory, there is no way I'd forget you," she said. "But if they do, just tell me that you love Duran Duran. That will mean something to me."

"Duran Duran? Now that is a deep cut," Colin said. "I can remember that." He fist bumped Sam as the rest of the kids wondered what in the world they were doing. "Say, do you want to go ride on that broom now? We can sneak away and no one will miss us."

"I sure do!" Sam said as she put the binoculars around her neck and the two of them got up and started to make their way out of the stadium.

"And when they catch the Snitch, they get a lot of points and will most likely win the game," Pansy said.

"This is pretty exciting, I have to admit," Jack said.

Pansy continued filing her nails.

"You don't like this do you?" Jack asked.

"I'd rather get Dragon pox," Pansy said.

"So, let's get out of here. Give me a tour of the grounds or something," Jack said.

"I'd love to,"Pansy said as she grabbed up her cloak and walked directly out of the stadium.

A few minutes later, Colin pulled what looked like a very old broom out of a shed away from the stadium.

"You fly on that?" Sam asked. It looked like it might fall apart any second.

"It's not the latest model," Colin said, "but it works fine. I fly all the time, it's really wonderful. I have a good relationship with Professor Bell, and she lets me take them out. I'm very safe."

"Ok, but let's not go very high. I did just survive a plane crash, you know," Sam laughed. She really did love flying.

Colin let go of the broom and it hovered about waist high. He straddled the broom and said, "Get on behind me and hold on."

It was exciting, Sam had to admit. They started flying a few feet off the ground, then a little higher, and then after Colin shouted for her to hang on and they rocketed above the tallest trees and into to low hanging cumulus clouds. She squealed with delight. She loved flying in her father's, now defunct plane, and the joy of being high above everything was beyond anything she could imagine.

"There's the stadium," Colin said as he steered them towards the giant structure that held the last few minutes of play. "And there is the Forbidden Forest and the lake," he said as he spun them around. "There's the castle, you can see the greenhouses on the side, and hang on, what's that? Someone is foolin' around behind the greenhouses. Cheeky!"

"Where?" Sam said as she tried to follow where Colin was looking. She saw two tiny figures very close to each other on the far side of the glass structures. "Ooh the binoculars," she said as she released her hands from around Colin's waist and held the field glasses up. "I see the castle, the greenhouse…" she trailed off.

"What?" Colin asked.

"Can you take me down there please?" Sam asked.

"What is it,?" Colin asked again as he pointed the broom towards the greenhouse far below.

"That's my father kissing the Professor down there. I want to find out what's going on," Sam said.

Colin descended, but very, very slowly. "Didn't you say that your Mom passed away?"

"Yes, but," Sam started.

"Seems to me that we have two consenting adults down there. Are you sure you want to interrupt them?" Colin said with a smile.

"No. Yes. I don't know!" Sam shouted, almost losing her balance. "I want to know what is going on. Yes, great, he met a woman that obviously likes him back," she said putting the glasses up to her eyes again, and then back down as the scene became more R-rated. "But sneaking around with someone he just met? That's not like him."

"Can I see those Omnioculars?" Colin asked.

"Absolutely not," Sam declared. "Now take me down there. On the other side of the greenhouse." After a minute, she said, "And make a lot of noise."