The next day—Zander awoke early, and he was quite looking forward to arriving in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class later on.
He met up with his friends during breakfast, as usual—and later, as everyone began dispersing from the great hall and heading off to their classes, Zander began to follow Alice and the others toward the corridor, slowing to a stop when he caught a peculiar sight out the corner of his eye.
Mary-Lynn was standing further down the great hall, speaking to a couple of older folks—a man and a woman who both looked similar to her, likely her parents. The father was handing her a black suitcase, and the mother was giving her a hug.
Zander eyed them from a distance, not noticing that his friends had wandered off to the hallways without him.
Mary-Lynn gave her parents her goodbyes, then turned her head—locking eyes with Zander and only just noticing he was staring.
Zander blinked and gulped, instantly wanting to leave—but Mary-Lynn strode straight toward him, smirking and stopping about a foot away.
"Take a picture," she said smugly. "It'll last longer. It'll probably smile more, too."
"Tch. Don't flatter yourself," Zander laughed, glancing down at her slender black suitcase. "I was just wondering why your parents came here."
"To bring me some stuff I forgot back home over the holiday," Mary-Lynn informed, holding the suitcase up. "Including my good broomstick. I'll need it for the final game."
"Huh." Zander eyed the suitcase again. "You fit a broomstick in there?"
"It's got an expansion charm on the inside. Duh," Mary-Lynn told him coyly. "Don't act so surprised. Everyone uses expansion charms."
"Ah-huh," Zander uttered, trying to step away. "Good to know. Bye bye now."
"Oooh… now wait a minute," Mary-Lynn said with a smile, pulling him toward her with a gentle tug on his robe. "I wanted to ask you something yesterday, but you ran off."
"Aha… okay," Zander sighed. "Look, whatever you want from me, it's not gonna happen. I really don't care for the way you treat my friends."
"Aw, come on… that was just a little fight," Mary-Lynn replied, tilting her head. "People our age fight all the time. Especially when they're feeling… y'know… competitive."
"Competitive?" Zander asked, making a face and feeling lost.
Mary-Lynn gave a nod, her eyes shifting over to the side—seeing that Alice was now leaning back into the doorway, staring at Zander from behind.
"Yes. Competitive," Mary-Lynn confirmed, her smile beginning to fade. "Definitely."
Zander followed her trail of vision, spotting Alice and moving toward her—but Mary-Lynn yanked him back again.
"I wanna make a deal with you, just for fun," Mary-Lynn told him. "The final Quidditch game of the year is next week, and there's another trip to Hogsmeade the weekend right after. So… if I beat your little girlfriend on the Quidditch field… then would you go with me to Hogsmeade? Just for a day?"
Zander's face scrunched up even more. "What… like… a date?"
"Not like a date," Mary-Lynn said, tightening her grasp on him. "As a date."
Alice continued to watch from a short distance away, her expression changing—and Mary-Lynn noticed, pulling Zander even closer to herself.
"Oh—fine—whatever," Zander agreed, quickly peeling her hand from his robe. "Whatever—just let me go."
"Deal's on," Mary-Lynn disclosed, smiling as she watched him go.
Zander hurried off, joining Alice's side as the two of them marched out of the room.
"What did she want?" Alice asked.
"My attention," Zander griped. "I dunno. I think she just wants to do whatever she can to get a rise out of you. She's just one of those people…"
"Aye," Alice shrugged. "Hope it doesn't follow me onto the field next week. She's a right savage beater, and she knocked Albus Potter clean off his broom in the last Slytherin-Gryffindor game."
Zander turned to her. "Mary-Lynn is a beater?"
"Aye—haven't you been watching the games?"
"I only go to the ones you're in. So no. Not lately."
"Well, she's a monster with handling the bludgers."
"Blimey… she seems more the cunning and conniving sort. I would think she'd be a keeper, or a seeker… not a beater."
"She's got a mean streak, and being a beater, she doesn't have to hide any of it on the field."
"Fair…"
"Oy!" James appeared behind them, planting a hand on either of Alice and Zander's shoulders. "What're we gossipin' about here?!"
"Christ—could you not scream in my ear?" Zander grumped.
"Oh… he does that all the time," Lorcan chimed in, joining alongside them. "You'll tune it out after a year or so. And by tune it out, I mean you'll go deaf."
"It sounded like they were talking about Mary-Lynn," Rose said as-a-matter-of-factly, walking by Alice's side now. "Because Mary-Lynn has a big old crush on somebody."
"Aaah—and she's getting bolder about it now, too," James nodded. "Making a patronus yesterday just shot her ego through the bloody roof."
"Oooh," Tobias grinned, emerging from between them all. "Is zat why Mary-Lynn is so mean to the rest of us? Zat is how a Slytherin acts when they're in love?"
"Tch. She's not in love, you little tosser—she's just a vain little twat who wants to win everything," James remarked. "And now that Zander's a school hero, she wants to win him, too. He'd be a nice little prize for her to have."
"Fat chance," Zander grumbled disdainfully.
Alice laughed, and they all continued to chat until they arrived in their first class of the day.
The rest of the school day carried on like usual—all of them arriving in Potions before heading off to lunch.
When the afternoon set in—they all walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Professor Crowley instructed them all to begin practicing the patronus charm once again.
Zander and his friends resumed the same space they'd claimed yesterday—and now, he wore a proud little smirk, closing his eyes and relishing in everything he'd felt the previous night.
Then—he slowly raised his wand, took in a deep breath, and chanted.
"Expecto—patronum!"
The light emerged from his wand, winding and expanding until the giant, magnificent wolf appeared before the entire class—making many students gasp and grin in fascination, Crowley nodding approvingly and clapping in response, Mary-Lynn falling totally still and gaping at Zander's patronus from across the room.
"Oh… well, well done!" Crowley smiled proudly, sauntering toward him. "Practiced a bit last night, did you?"
"Yes sir," Zander replied with a smooth half-smile, lowering his wand and allowing the wolf to easefully disappear.
"Good." Crowley briefly lowered his voice, giving him a subtle wink. "Then I imagine you'll be done with my book now… so I want it back."
At that, he ventured off and returned to the larger groups of students, Zander staring after him and breathing out a faint little laugh.
"A dog and a wolf," Crowley said, glancing back at Alice and Zander. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that a pair of best friends have similar patronuses… and they reflect your personalities quite well. Loyalty and determination, the both of you."
Zander and Alice both smiled—and they could practically feel Mary-Lynn's heated glare penetrating them from across the class.
"Just as I'm not surprised that James Potter can produce a stag," Crowley added, nodding at James across the room. "Bravery and will—that's what a stag represents. Now let's see what the rest of you can do."
The class carried on much like it had the day before—with students repeatedly creating bursts of light and the occasional shield patronus.
A Ravenclaw girl managed to create a rather lively rabbit patronus toward the end of class, warranting a lot of applause from her friends, and Tobias finally created a shield patronus around the same time, his friends showering him with the same sort of praise.
Crowley didn't open the trunk today—and he didn't open it for the rest of the week.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts class was focused solely on practicing the patronus charm until the following week, when everyone in the class had managed to at least create a shield. By this time, Crowley told everyone that they would be facing the dementor soon—but not until after the Quidditch game.
When the week ended, and Friday drew near—the day of the year's final Quidditch game—Alice began to grow nervous, using whatever free time she had to practice flying on the field or above the courtyards. Even during the time she spent with her friends, she often carried her broom around, whizzing about in the air above them whenever they decided to walk off to places beyond the castle.
As these days passed by—Zander noticed that Mary-Lynn was often smiling and waving at him from afar, making gestures and winks whenever she caught his eye.
Zander, never knowing how to respond, simply didn't reply in any way.
The day of the game—everyone in Hogwarts was lush and primed with spirit, rooting for either Slytherin or Hufflepuff and traveling the castle in loud bombastic groups, a few of them even painting their faces for the occasion.
Alice, Zander, and Tobias seated themselves across from James, Rose, and Lorcan during breakfast—and Alice was the only one not eating, gazing down at her plate of eggs and frowning.
Zander lowered his fork and eyed her. "Eat something."
Alice shook her head. "I don't wanna get sick when I fly today."
"You won't be flying for another seven hours," Zander reminded her. "Not like you'll be going into it with a stomach full of breakfast—but you do need energy. So eat."
"Yeah… he's right," James commented, jabbing his spoon at her as a bit of hash brown escaped the corner of his mouth. "I'm rooting for your side today, since Slytherin's my natural enemy. No offense, Zander."
"None taken, blowhard," Zander quipped snidely in response.
"She probably feels sick already," Rose figured, leaning forward and giving Alice a concerned once-over. "Nerves will do that, y'know. Are you okay?"
"Aye… yeah… fine," Alice nodded, mumbling distantly and sighing as she lifted her fork.
"You are… never usually nervous," Tobias knew, squinting curiously at her. "Quidditch has never made you nervous before."
"Well… she's never gone up against Mary-Lynn before," James stated. "And Mary-Lynn's a sadistic psycho who's out for her blood now, so…"
"Thanks, James," Lorcan chided, jamming his elbow into his friend rather harshly. "You are helping so much."
Zander grimaced, eyeing Alice closely, then glancing up to the teacher's table—where he spotted Arius sauntering away in his dark violet cloak.
"Oy," Zander muttered, gently nudging Alice's side. "We could tell Arius about Mary-Lynn, y'know. Tell him to keep a close eye on her during the game…"
"No… no," Alice murmured, shaking her head. "Arius has been running all over the place, talking to aurors and adding security to the castle. He's still worried about Valefor getting in… and I don't wanna add onto that. He's got enough on his mind…"
"Then Crowley," Zander proposed. "We can tell Crowley."
"Crowley's just as stressed out as Arius," Alice replied. "About all the same things…"
"He's not stressed," Zander argued. "D'you know how happy he was when I went to take his book back to him? He's on cloud nine right now. Apparently, his new supply of… sustenance… is keeping him really full of energy."
"Aye… well… I dunno," Alice sighed, standing and abandoning most of her breakfast. "Do whatever you like. I've gotta go practice a bit more before the game."
At that, she wandered off, everyone else watching as she vanished from the great hall.
Zander sighed, thumping his knuckles to the table for a moment—then he reached his feet as well, marching away and hoping to find Professor Crowley.
He strolled out of the great hall and looked up and down the empty corridor—but to his chagrin, he saw only Mary-Lynn and her girlfriends, standing outside of the nearest lavatory and trading chatter with one another.
Mary-Lynn turned and spotted him, making his repress a groaning sigh.
She waved goodbye to her friends and approached him at once, wearing the same curt smile she always gave him.
"You didn't forget, right?" Mary-Lynn said gingerly, tapping him once on the arm.
Zander blinked. "Forget what…?"
"Our date," Mary-Lynn clarified. "If I win for our house today… then you and I have a nice little date in Hogsmeade."
Zander swallowed another moan. He'd forgotten entirely that he had halfheartedly agreed to this deal last week.
"Right… yeah… I didn't forget," he told her. "But to be honest, I really don't see that going anywhere… just so you know…"
"I know," Mary-Lynn said softly, releasing a cloud of breath and wearing a strangely empathetic visage. "And… I know what you must think of me, because… well… you've only seen me at my worst. I hope you'll get to see me at my best soon, though. And then… who knows? Maybe you'll like a bit of what you see."
Zander fell silent, staring at her and failing to think of a response.
Quite honestly, he didn't feel any sort of attraction to her—but now, gazing into her dark, pearly eyes, he began to wonder just how sincere she might've been. He hadn't even considered that her feelings toward him might have been real.
"I hope you're right, honestly," Zander sighed, turning away. "I've gotta find Professor Crowley now… seeya."
"Bye bye, Zandy."
Zander marched off, making an odd face and mouthing "Zandy?" as he walked away.
The time of the year's final game began—and the stands were high above the enormous Quidditch field, echoing with the cheers and howls of students from every house just before the game was set to start.
Zander wasn't able to find Crowley before the game—but now, as he stood at the edge of the balcony in his stands, his friends were alongside him, and he was just able to see the distant black dot of Crowley's hair, moving about in the crowd amid the teacher's stands far off to their left.
Zander was in the stands with many other sixth-years, Tobias, James, Rose, and Lorcan forming a small crowd around him—James holding a small Hufflepuff flag and hollering down at the players despite that the game hadn't yet started.
Tobias held a Hufflepuff flag as well, grinning and glancing over at Zander, spotting the look on his face. He then sighed, patting him once on the arm.
"Don't vorry," Tobias advised. "Nothing vill happen."
Zander managed a halfhearted nod, gazing down at the field where the Slytherin Team stood opposite the Hufflepuff team, all of them holding their brooms as Madame Hooch placed the large trunk of balls in between them.
He glanced over to the left, where Arius, Crowley, Longbottom, and the rest of the Hogwarts teachers were all settling into their seats. The teachers' stands were the only ones not filled with excited shouts and whistles.
"Yeah," Zander mumbled. "Probably not…"
Far down below—Alice stood in her Quiddich gear, dark sports armor decorated with yellow, holding her Irish Rogue broomstick and preparing to mount it.
Mary-Lynn was decorated with the dark and green Slytherin gear, she and her team standing opposite the Hufflepuffs—and she met Alice's eyes, glaring into her and tightening her grasp on her own broomstick, a rather sleek and expensive-looking one that might've been superior even to Alice's.
The Hufflepuff Quidditch captain and the Slytherin Quidditch captain both stepped forward, briefly thumping fists before Madame Hooch knelt down over the trunk, preparing to open it and unleash the balls into the air.
Some of the stands began to echo with the rhythmic chants of "Hog-warts! Hog-warts! Hoggy-warty-Hog-warts!" And then—Arius stood in the center of the teachers' stands, pressing his wand into his neck and clearing his throat before he spoke.
"HELLOOO!"
His voice blasted out of the stands with the power of a PA system in a gigantic stadium—making nearly everyone in the other stands fall silent.
James and Lorcan laughed at this, Rose scoffing out a chuckle and rolling her eyes.
Zander and Tobias both leaned over the balcony, eyeing the teacher stands and waiting for the headmaster to continue.
"Oh—good, yes. Now that I've got all of your attention," Arius announced, Crowley leaning gently away from him and plugging his ear. "Welcome—to the final Hogwarts Quidditch game before we enter the Triwizard Tournament! I don't have to tell you what a big deal that is—so let's go out with a bang, shall we? Don't take that literally, players. I want a nice clean game! But we all want a good game! Now go!"
Madame Hooch opened the trunk—and the quaffle shot into the air first, the bludgers whizzing off to either side and flying into the sky. The golden snitch was to be released later than the rest—and Madame Hooch raised her hand and brought it down, signaling for the game to begin.
Alice leaped onto her broom and rose into the air—players of yellow and green shooting past her in all directions as they all ascended with rapt velocity.
The stands erupted in ravenous yells and applause as the game began—and Alice bolted through the air, chasing the quaffle and quickly reeling back when she saw that one of her fellow chasers has seized it already.
This chaser—Don Maxson—was the largest of the Hufflepuff chasers, and he raced through the air with two Slytherins hot on his tail.
Alice raced around in a quick circle and positioned herself at the nearest goal post—and Don did a wicked spin just when the Slytherins closed in on him, narrowly escaping them and nearly making them smash into one another.
Then—Don flew upward and threw the quaffle to her with all his might—Alice catching it with both hands and pitching it into the goal.
Everyone in the stands screamed and clapped—the Hufflepuffs loudest of all—and Alice smirked, flying downward just when Mary-Lynn locked onto her from across the field.
The Slytherin seeker—Scorpius Malfoy—perked up just when he noticed the snitch had been released, and he and the Hufflepuff seeker began whizzing past one another in pursuit of the tiny golden ball.
When the quaffle was thrown back into the game—it was instantly seized by the quickest of the Slytherin chasers—who raced away with it and scored a goal with little effort.
By the third round—the quaffle was trading hands almost rapidly, the beaters whacking the bludgers toward opposite players as they all continued to steal the quaffle from each other, though nobody had been struck by a bludger yet.
The Slytherins were all chasing Don again—and just when Alice moved to join the action—she jerked back hard enough to fall off her broom, wobbling and gripping it tight, just barely dodging a bludger that shot past her face inches away.
Alice let out a breath and glanced to the side—seeing Mary'Lynn with her black bat, smirking and giving her a wink.
Alice flashed a half-smile as well, holding up an OK hand sign and feeling proud of her close dodge—then she flew off and headed for the other chasers.
Zander let out a cloud of breath as he watched from afar, hardly noticing that his teeth were beginning to grind.
He could see that Mary-Lynn was most assuredly gunning for Alice now—but, perhaps he simply hadn't given Alice enough credit. After all, she was the first on the field to score, and she was good at dodging the bludgers. This was her forte, the skill where she shined the brightest, and things seemed to be going well enough so far.
In fact—as the game carried on, so did this routine, the chasers rapidly swapping possession of the quaffle and scoring on either side, all while Alice made a few more scores and swiftly dodged the occasional bludger with ease.
After an hour of this—Hufflepuff was in the lead by eighty points, a stark contrast to Slytherin's landslide victory during their last game.
Mary-Lynn slowed to a stop just after the quaffle was scored again, gazing up at the scoreboard as the crowds sheered and whistled. Grinding her teeth and frowning, she quickly glimpsed around—her eyes landing on the thirteen-year-old Hufflepuff seeker.
The Hufflepuff seeker—a young boy named Roy Mathews—was hot on the snitch's tail, his hand outstretched as he whizzed down the right side of the field, leaving Scorpious Malfoy behind.
Mary-Lynn glared after him, glancing up at the scoreboard, then back.
Alice had just scored again, and the Hufflepuff seeker appeared to be closer to catching he snitch than the Slytherin one. Slytherin would never stand a chance at catching up—not if Roy Mathews laid a hand on that golden ball anytime soon.
"Wow," Tobias smiled, nudging Zander with his elbow. "Alice is very good. Hufflepuff is… how you say… unztoppable!"
"Yeah… guess so," Zander replied with a smirk. "Alice is scoring and dodging left and right."
"Seeeee?" James grinned, propping his arm on Zander's shoulder. "We had nothin' to worry about. I don't think half the people here even care about Hufflepuff. They're just cheering because Alice is there. She's a freakin' hero. Hah. You might end up with more competition, Zander."
"More…?" Zander made a bewildered face and shot him a look. "What do you mean more competition? As opposed to what?"
James opened his mouth, then decided not to reply, smiling and shaking his head. He traded odd glimpses with Lorcan, neither of them speaking any further.
Zander eyed the two of them intensely, sensing that something was afoot that neither of them wanted to reveal—but then, Rose gently tapped his shoulder, pointing down at the field and gathering his attention.
"Look," Rose mumbled, sounding troubled. "What is she doing…?"
Zander blinked and squinted into the airborne game, watching as chasers flew amok and as a Hufflepuff beater sent a bludger after one of them—and then, his eyes landed on the object of Rose's concern, Mary-Lynn, flying much lower than everyone else and appearing to be chasing someone.
Zander and the others looked up, seeing that Alice and Don were busy trying to sandwich a Slytherin chaser and steal the quaffle from him, meaning that Alice wasn't the one being chased by Mary-Lynn.
So, Zander leaned over the balcony and squinted even harder, though he couldn't make out what Mary-Lynn was chasing after.
"Here," James offered, removing his binoculars from around his neck and handing them over.
"What? Oh." Zander turned and took them, giving him a nod. "Thanks."
He pressed his eyes into the binoculars and followed Mary-Lynn's distant movements—and ahead of her, he spotted a small boy in Hufflepuff gear, racing on his broomstick with his arm outstretched toward the golden snitch.
"Oh," Zander exhaled, feeling a slow rising dread.
"What?" James, Rose, Tobias, and Lorcan all asked simultaneously.
A bludger flew to Mary-Lynn—and she smiled coldly, rearing back and bashing the bat to it with all her strength, making a loud clank.
The bludger shot off—smashing into Roy's back and sending the young boy forward, slumping over his broomstick before falling off of it.
The child hit the ground and rolled several times before stopping, sprawled over the grass and trying to cry, though the wind had been knocked cleanly out of him. Everyone in the stands reacted loudly with numerous yells and gasps—and Mary-Lynn maintained her mean half-smile, slowly rising upward and moving to return to the game now.
"Oh my God!" Rose breathed, gripping the balcony and looking aghast. "The Hufflepuff seeker's hurt!"
"Man… and he's just a kid, too," James sighed, frowning and shaking his head with disdain. "That bitch is cold."
"Quite a strategy," Lorcan murmured, gazing thoughtfully into the field.
"Strategy?" James turned and stared at him. "Whaddo you mean?"
"He means… Mary-Lynn is playing like a Slytherin now," Zander mumbled darkly, lowering the binoculars and wearing a grave visage. "She took out the seeker so the game would last long enough for her to win."
"Vhat?" Tobias griped, his mouth falling agape as he looked between all his friends. "She cannot do zat… can she?"
"I guess it's legal," James shrugged, peeking over at the teachers' stands. "Nobody's calling the game or stopping anything…"
They all traded disturbed expressions, watching as the standby team down below rushed onto the field with a stretcher, lifting Roy Mathews onto it and escorting him away.
"Aw man," James muttered. "Looks like he's too hurt to keep playing."
Everyone in the stands had similar troubled looks on their faces aside from the Slytherins—and all the players were at a temporary standstill, simply hovering in place during the pausing of the game, staring downward and watching as the Hufflepuff seeker was wheeled off of the field.
Alice frowned, sighing deeply.
Scorpius was hovering in a spot far away from her, though he too wore a deep grimace. He glanced up, seeing Mary-Lynn floating close by, and he shot her a questioning look, tossing up one of his hands.
Mary-Lynn replied by spinning the small bat around her hand once and catching it, giving him a wink and an OK sign.
Scorpius mildly shook his head at her, but she didn't seem interested.
"Okay… here we are," Lorcan mumbled to his friends, flipping through the tiny Quidditch book that he had slid out of his pocket. "What she did was… technically legal… but barely legal. Snitchtips are illegal… that would be another player other than a seeker catching the snitch. Basic fouls and blocking are illegal… which means anyone trying to block the seeker or push them away from the snitch is illegal. But… it doesn't say anything about using a bludger against a seeker, so… I guess she found a loophole."
"Doesn't matter," Zander uttered. "Alice can still win."
The others all stared at him.
Zander turned and caught their eyes. "The team with the most points when the snitch is caught wins. The Slytherin seeker is the only one left, which means they'll get the hundred-fifty points when Scorpius eventually catches it… but Hufflepuff has a hell of a lead. If Alice keeps playing the way she is, she might score past that hundred-fifty before the game's over."
"Hundred-seventy," Lorcan corrected, raising a finger. "Slytherin has twenty points. So she and her team would have to get more than a hundred and seventy points before the snitch is caught."
"Well… they already have an even hundred points, eighty ahead of Slytherin," Rose mumbled.
"So if they get another eighty," Zander murmured. "They'll win."
"They'll have to get even more than eighty if Slytherin scores again," James knew. "Oooh, man, this is gonna be clooose…"
Madame Hooch strolled onto the field with the quaffle, preparing to release it again.
The chasers hovered closer to her—and she tossed it up—Alice blasting through the scene and snatching it before soaring away at top speed.
Once more—everyone cheered and applauded ravenously for her, Alice blasting through the air with the ball under her arm, hair flying back and face hard with determination.
Mary-Lynn raced after her—reeling back and swinging—sending a bludger straight after her.
Alice spotted it in the corner of her eye—leaning sideways and spinning in the air—a barrel-roll narrowly rescuing her from the bludger soaring past.
Then—she shot up to the goal post and threw the quaffle in, making the crowds explode into positively deafening delight.
James and Tobias yelled bombastically over the balcony, Lorcan and Rose both clapping and Zander flashing a smooth half-smile.
"Man… her father should be here for this game," Zander mumbled. "Shame he's missing this one. No one's ever gonna forget this one."
The game carried on this way for a long while after—and to Alice's friends' pleasure, it seemed she was accomplishing just what they hoped she would. She and her team scored many more times as the late afternoon began to settle in.
Hufflepuff scored sixty more points while Slytherin gained none—and Scorpius Malfoy had only just relocated the snitch, racing off after it once more.
"This really is gonna be close," Zander determined, lowering the binoculars. "Scorpius just found the snitch again. Hufflepuff has to score two more times before they can win."
"Uhh… make that one more time," James said, pointing outward—gesturing to Don Maxson, who had just thrown the quaffle through the goal.
The crowds screamed yet again—and all of Alice's friends smiled, knowing the game was encroaching upon its resolution now.
A sense or exigency in the air—it felt as if everyone was feeling the same urgency, as if every person in all the stands were standing on their toes or hovering on the edge of their seats, waiting for the fateful moment to flourish.
Alice wheeled around midair and glanced down, watching as Madame Hooch carried the quaffle over—preparing to relinquish it to the players once more.
It almost felt as if all the students and teachers of Hogwarts were holding their breath in unison—just when Madame Hooch threw the quaffle up—two chasers smashing into each other and two more racing straight past them—Alice and the Slytherin captain both reaching for the quaffle—
Alice's fingers barely managed to graze it—and she could only smack it down, distancing the opposing chaster from it. She then shot downward—barreling toward the ground with the velocity of a missile—and she snatched the quaffle from the air, turning upward and speeding off with it in an instant.
"HA!" James bellowed.
"Whoa!" Tobias grinned.
"Nice move!" Lorcan smiled.
"That was awesome!" Rose beamed.
Zander merely smiled, watching with cool contentment as Alice rocketed toward the goal to make the fateful score—
Clank.
Mary-Lynn was waiting there—hovering by the goal post—and she sent a bludger directly into Alice's skull.
Everything in the world fell deathly silent all at once—and Alice went limp.
She fell from the broom, sliding off of it and falling from a great height, leaving a thin trail of blood in the air behind her.