Disclaimer: I don't own HP, only Evan and Iris.

Here's the newest update (I'm really making up for missing a few weeks, amn't I? ;-D).

Read, enjoy and review!

Posted 7-2-2024

Chapter Eight

Quidditch Attacks

The Headmaster sent all the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall, where they were joined soon after by the students from the rest of the Houses, who all looked extremely confused.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Aludra's grandfather told them as her grandmother and Professor Flitwick closed all doors into the hall, casting protective charms to keep out danger. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately," he added to Percy, who was looking immensely proud and important. "Send word with one of the ghosts."

Dumbledore paused, about to leave the hall, and said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing…"

One casual wave of his wand and the long tables flew to the edges of the hall and stood themselves against the walls; another wave, and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.

"Sleep well," said Grandad, closing the door behind him.

The hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened. Cedric, Hannah, Megan and Justin came over and Aludra's group explained what had happened.

"He was in the school?!" Hannah gasped. "How could he get past the dementors?"

"It's not like they did any good in Azkaban, did they?" Susan pointed out glumly. "Merlin, when I think what might have happened if a student came across him..." She trailed off as they all shuddered in horror at the thought.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" shouted Percy. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

The Hufflepuffs scattered, Cedric going to help with guarding the doors and the others to cluster with their fellow 'puffs.

"C'mon," Ron said to the others; they seized a bunch of sleeping bags and dragged them into a corner. Iris and Maisy went to huddle with their own friends, whispering to each other.

"Do you think Pettigrew's still in the castle?" Susan whispered anxiously.

"Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be," Ron replied.

"Daddy will find him," Aludra said, more confidently than she felt. "If anyone can, he can. If nothing else, he'll be able to track Pettigrew's scent in dog-form."

"I wonder why he chose to attack today?" Evan muttered. "I mean, we were all in the Great Hall for dinner. Shouldn't he have waited for another day?"

"He probably wanted to ambush you while you were half-asleep from food and partying," Neville suggested gloomily.

"What a pleasant thought," Susan huffed.

"Lights out everyone!" Percy yelled. "No more talking! Everyone go to sleep!"

Ron rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath about Percy, but Aludra was glad to snuggle down in her cosy sleeping bag and try to get some rest.

Her sleep was light, though, and she woke up a little while later, as footsteps drew near to the corner where she and her friends huddled together on the floor.

"Any sign of him, James?" A familiar voice, Lady Potter's voice, whispered.

"None," Lord Potter replied grimly. "Sirius tracked him to the Forest, then lost his scent there."

"He's after Evan, isn't he?" Lady Potter whimpered. "He's after my little boy."

"It looks like that, yes," Lord Potter agreed, sounding defeated.

Lady Potter let out a sob and there was a rustling sound. Aludra assumed her husband was embracing her. "He won't get his filthy claws on our boy, Lily, I swear it," Lord Potter vowed. "I won't let him. There's going to be a round-the-clock Auror guard here to make sure of it."

"I'm staying too," Lady Potter insisted.

"Lily-"

"Don't argue with me, James," she cut him off. "I need to be here. I can be an assistant for Filius, or even Remus. Just as long as I'm in the castle. I just-we've already lost Ai-Aimee. I won't lose my son as well. It would kill me."

"I won't argue with you," Lord Potter sighed. "I'll be glad to have the extra wand here too. Just take care, alright? Pettigrew has made it clear he has no concern for us, and I can't lose you either."

"Where did it all go so wrong, James?" Lady Potter asked defeatedly. "We had the whole world at our feet when we found out I was pregnant and now...Most of our friends will barely meet our eyes, let alone talk to us. Those of them who are still alive, at any rate. And Aimee-" she cut herself off with a choking sound.

"It went wrong when we trusted Pettigrew with our babies' lives," Lord Potter muttered. "We'll make it through this, Lils. We always do."

"At what cost?" Lady Potter whispered. "Because there's always something, and we have so little left to lose except Evan and Iris, and I can't lose them too."

Lord Potter sighed. "We'll make it through this," he repeated. "I promise. I won't let anything happen to our children. Especially not at his hands." He spat the pronoun with venom in his tone.

The Potters walked away, and Aludra cracked open her eyes, meeting Evan's gaze. They stared at each other in solemn silence, the moonlight shining down on them.

It made records for 'world's worst Samhain', Aludra thought grimly. It really did.

For the next few days, Pettigrew's break in was the talk of the school. Cedric, the Weasley twins and Percy assigned themselves to Aludra's group of friends as a rotating guard for whenever they left the Tower, escorting them to classes and Quidditch training, and that was when teachers didn't 'accidentally' come across them in the halls and join them too. Cedric didn't really like Evan very much, Aludra knew, and he hated Ron, but he also knew that Aludra wasn't likely to leave Evan's side more than necessary while Pettigrew was around, so she was in danger too.

Plus, there was every chance that Pettigrew would decide to go for his arrestor's only child as well as his Master's conqueror. Aludra knew they just wanted to keep them all safe, but the constant hovering was driving her mad, and she knew the others were feeling the same way.

To add to the stress, Lady Potter was hired as Professor Flitwick's assistant, and an Auror presence was added to the school's guards.

To cap it all off, the Fat Lady's ripped canvas had been taken off the wall and replaced with the portrait of Sir Cadogan and his fat grey pony and nobody was happy about it. Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging people to duels, and the rest thinking up ridiculously complicated passwords, which he changed at least twice a day.

"He's a complete lunatic," Seamus said angrily to Percy. "Can't we get anyone else?"

"None of the other pictures wanted the job," sighed Percy. "Frightened of what happened to the Fat Lady. Sir Cadogan was the only one brave enough to volunteer."

"Or crazy enough," Ron mumbled glumly.

At tea with her grandparents on the Sunday before the first match of the year, the two Heads of the school tried to persuade Aludra to convince Evan to step down from the team, but Aludra managed to argue them down to supervision by Madam Hooch instead. She knew Evan really would go insane if he didn't have Quidditch to relieve his stress.

Not that Quidditch was very enjoyable at the moment, with rain pouring from the sky constantly. She could barely see the snitch when it was right in front of her nose, the weather was so bad.

Then, just to make things worse, at their final training session before Saturday's match, Oliver gave the team some unwelcome news.

"We're not playing Slytherin!" he told them, looking very angry. "Flint's just been to see me. We're playing Hufflepuff instead."

"Why?" chorused the rest of the team.

"Flint's excuse is that their Seeker's got a bad cold that won't go away," said Wood, grinding his teeth furiously. "But it's obvious why they're doing it. Don't want to play in this weather. Think it'll damage their chances…"

Even as Oliver spoke, they heard a distant rumble of thunder.

"There's nothing wrong with Malfoy!" Evan exclaimed furiously, cheeks darkening with an angry flush. "He's faking it!"

"I know that, but we can't prove it," said Oliver bitterly. "And we've been practicing all those moves assuming we're playing Slytherin, and instead it's Hufflepuff, and their style's quite different. They've got a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory, Ally's friend—"

Angelina and Katie suddenly giggled. Aludra grimaced in sisterly disgust.

"What?" said Wood, frowning at their light-hearted behaviour.

"He's that tall, good-looking one, isn't he?" said Angelina.

"Strong and silent," added Katie, and they started to giggle again.

"That's my older brother you're talking about!" Aludra groaned.

"Sorry Ally," they giggled.

"He's also the enemy!" Oliver thundered, nearly drowning out the sound of the storm. "You can't let anything distract us from defeating them! This is a battle to the death, and we need to go down fighting for our lives!"

"I don't know why you're worried, Oliver," Fred said casually. "Hufflepuff is a pushover. Last time we played them, Ally caught the Snitch in about five minutes, remember?"

"Don't talk about them like that!" Aludra snapped as she stomped on his foot and shot him an angry look. He ducked his head in a silent apology.

"We were playing in completely different conditions!" Oliver shouted, his eyes bulging slightly and face reddening in an alarming fashion. "Diggory's put a very strong side together! He's an excellent Seeker! I was afraid you'd take it like this! We mustn't relax! We must keep our focus! Slytherin is trying to wrong-foot us! We must win!"

"Oliver, calm down!" George tried to soothe their captain, looking slightly alarmed as Ally debated getting the team to drag the Keeper to Madam Pomfrey for a Calming Draught. "We're taking Hufflepuff very seriously. Seriously."

Oliver spent the next few days cornering Aludra whenever he could, drilling her on the importance of "not letting family come between Gryffindor and victory in the battle!" The day before the match, she had to cut him off and sprint to DADA, unsure who was covering for Remus, as there had been a full moon the night before.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor, I—" she cut herself off at the sight of Lady Potter at the front of the room, standing in front of the board, which had 'Hinkypunks' written on it in elegant handwriting. "I was speaking with Oliver Wood," she finished, trying to keep her voice from going tight.

Lad-Professor Potter smiled at her gently. "That's alright, Miss Black, we were just about to start," she replied. "But five points from Gryffindor, to be fair. I'm sure you'll make them up in the match tomorrow."

Aludra nodded tightly and sat down beside Evan, who looked confused. "Mum, what are you doing here?" He asked. "Where's Re-Professor Lupin?"

"Remus is feeling a bit under the weather today, Evan," Professor Potter explained. "So he asked me to cover for him. And in class it's Professor Potter, remember? Now, everyone please open your books to page 201, and we'll begin."

Professor Potter was a good teacher. She explained things well and kept the students involved in the lecture.

But she wasn't Remus.

After class, she called for Aludra to stay behind. Aludra exhaled slowly, used a lightning-quick Occlumency exercise to suppress her frustration, and made her way to the front of the room, Susan promising to wait outside for her so they could go to Arithmancy together.

"Yes, Professor Potter?" Aludra asked calmly as she stood in front of the desk.

"I just wanted to check in with you, ask if you're doing alright," Lady Potter explained with a tentative smile. "I know Evan and Iris have been leaning on you a lot and I'm very grateful, but it's a lot of pressure for you."

Aludra tried not to show her incredulity. Surely Lady Potter didn't actually believe that Aludra would speak to her about her worries? A woman she barely knew and barely hid her dislike for? Especially when Aludra had her uncle and grandparents in the castle to speak to. "I'm fine, Professor, but thank you for your concern," Aludra said firmly. Now stay out of my business, she added mentally. "If you'll excuse me, I need to hurry if I want to make it to Arithmancy in time."

Professor Potter's expression fell, before she forced a smile and handed over a late slip. "Good luck on your match tomorrow," she offered as Aludra hurried off.

"Thank you," Aludra replied curtly, relieved to escape.

"What was that about?" Susan whispered as they hurried to their next class.

"She wanted to know how I was doing," Aludra huffed.

"Surely she didn't think you'd talk to her about feeling stressed?" Susan said incredulously.

"Don't ask me to explain how that woman or her husband think," Aludra grumbled. "Mad, the both of them. At least she gave us a late slip."

They arrived at Arithmancy and fell silent, slipping inside and passing Professor Vector the late slip. She glanced at it and nodded, before turning back to lecturing on the properties of the number seven, the most powerful magical number.

Aludra much preferred it to being stuck in a classroom with her friend's strange and intrusive mother, that was for sure.

The next morning Aludra awoke to a full-blown thunderstorm, so strong she worried her dainty form would be thrown from her broom.

Still, such was the popularity of Quidditch that the whole school turned out to watch the match as usual, but they ran down the lawns toward the Quidditch field, heads bowed against the ferocious wind, umbrellas being whipped out of their hands as they went. Just before they entered the locker room, Aludra saw Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, laughing and pointing at her and Evan from under an enormous umbrella on their way to the stadium.

The team changed into their scarlet robes and waited for Wood's usual pre-match pep talk, but it didn't come. He tried to speak several times, made an odd (and worrying) gulping noise, then shook his head hopelessly and beckoned them to follow him.

The wind was so strong that they staggered sideways as they walked out onto the field. If the crowd was cheering, they couldn't hear it over the fresh rolls of thunder. Aludra paused on the way out to cast an Impervious charm on Evan's glasses, so at least he'd be able to see something.

The Hufflepuffs were approaching from the opposite side of the field, wearing canary-yellow robes. The Captains walked up to each other and shook hands; Cedric smiled at Oliver but Oliver now looked as though he had lockjaw and merely nodded. Aludra saw Madam Hooch's mouth form the words, "Mount your brooms." She pulled her right foot out of the mud with a squelch and swung it over her Cleansweep Eleven. Madam Hooch put her whistle to her lips and gave it a blast that sounded shrill and distant—they were off.

Aludra rose as quickly as she safely could, but her broom was swerving slightly with the wind. She held it as steady as she could and turned, squinting into the rain. Within five minutes Aludra was soaked to her skin and frozen despite the special, heat-preserving robes given to her by Remus at her last birthday. She was hardly able to see her own teammates, let alone the tiny Snitch. She flew backward and forward across the field past blurred red and yellow shapes, with no idea of what was happening in the rest of the game. She couldn't hear the commentary over the wind. The crowd was hidden beneath a sea of cloaks and battered umbrellas. Twice Aludra came very close to being unseated by a Bludger; her vision was so clouded by the rain that she hadn't seen them coming.

She lost track of time. It was getting harder and harder to hold her broom straight. The sky was getting darker, as though night had decided to come early. Twice Aludra nearly hit another player, without knowing whether it was a teammate or opponent; everyone was now so wet, and the rain so thick, she could hardly tell them apart…

With the first flash of lightning came the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle; Aludra could just see the outline of Oliver through the thick rain, gesturing him to the ground. The whole team splashed down into the mud.

"I called for time-out!" Wood roared at his team. "Come on, under here—"

They huddled at the edge of the field under a large umbrella.

"What's the score?" George shouted over the booming thunder.

"We're fifty points up," Oliver called back, "but unless we get the Snitch soon, we'll be playing into the night."

"I can't see you in this deluge, never mind the Snitch!" Aludra defended herself.

"Would that charm you cast on my glasses help?" Evan suggested.

"I don't think it's against the rules," Aludra replied hesitantly. "It's worth a shot, I guess."

"We'll all use it," Oliver decide. They all tapped their faces and said 'impervious!' It instantly brought relief. It was still hard to see, but at least she could see more than blurs now.

"Okay, team, let's go for it!" Oliver called after that, as they flew back into the air.

Thunder was booming so loudly Aludra feared for her hearing, and the lightning was frighteningly close. She needed to catch the Snitch quickly, she thought grimly. She was near the goalposts for Gryffindor when she heard Oliver cry out to her in an anguished tone, "Ally, behind you!"

Aludra spun around. Cedric was pelting up the field, and a tiny speck of gold was shimmering in the rain-filled air between them—

Aludra threw herself flat to the broom-handle and zoomed toward the Snitch.

"Come on!" she growled at her Cleansweep as the rain whipped her face. She loved Cedric and wanted Hufflepuff to get some recognition but she had never lost a match before and had no desire to start now. "Faster!"

But something odd was happening. An eerie silence was falling across the stadium. The wind, though as strong as ever, was forgetting to roar. It was as though someone had turned off the sound, as though Aludra had gone suddenly deaf...

And then a horribly familiar wave of cold swept over her, freezing her insides, just as she became aware of something moving on the field below…

Before she'd had time to think, Aludra had taken her eyes off the Snitch and looked down.

At least a hundred Dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at her, were standing beneath her. It was as though freezing water were rising in her chest, cutting at her insides. And then she heard it again…A man yelling "You killed her! You killed my daughter!" Another man, her father crying, "No! No, that's not what happened! Please, just listen to me!"

Through the fog in her mind, Aludra could see a swarm of Dementors converging on Evan, but she couldn't do anything. She was too busy falling from her broom, right down into the mass of dark cloaks and visions of her father's face turning grey as a basilisk fang drained him of his lifeforce.

Everything went black.

"I don't believe it," a woman was saying. "Why would they go after Aludra? I understand Evan, but Aludra..."

"I wish I knew Lily," Granddad sighed. "The only thing I can say is that we must be grateful that Minerva saw it happen and young Cedric was able to catch her. We were so focused on protecting Evan, we were nearly too late to save Ally." She felt his familiar, scarred and callused hand squeeze her own.

"Have you spoken to Sirius?"

"Yes, indeed," Granddad replied, now sounding a bit amused. "As has the Minister. I believe Cornelius finally understands that it is a very foolish idea to put a Grim's pup at risk. He insists that the blasted things remain, but agrees that one more slip and they will be removed."

"Good," Lady Potter said decisively. "I don't know what the Minister was thinking, having them around children in the first place."

"It was a very foolish decision," Granddad agreed. "I see Evan has been released."

"He'd still be here if Poppy hadn't insisted they leave Ally to rest," Lady Potter said dryly. "Honestly, I thought there would be another revolt, with Evan, Neville, Cedric and Susan at the lead."

"Aludra has always managed to inspire loyalty in those around her. She is rather like her father in that way."

"She's his image," Lady Potter agreed wistfully. "I'm so glad she and Evan are friends. And Iris of course."

"Some things are destined to be," Granddad said sympathetically.

Aludra groaned and felt him squeeze her hand again.

"Aludra, my dear girl, can you open you eyes for me?" He asked her.

She groaned again but cracked them open into slits. Anymore was beyond her.

"Gr'nda'?" She mumbled. "'s Ev'n ok?"

"He's fine and has already been released," Granddad assured her. "How are you feeling?"

"Ti'ed."

"Very well, I won't keep you. I will just assure you that nobody was hurt. The dementors have been restless. I believe I am partially to blame, as I have forbidden them from entering the grounds. The match, all that joy and excitement, was too much for them to resist. Unfortunately, Gryffindor lost the match. Mr. Diggory requested a re-match, but he had caught the Snitch before seeing you were falling and so the result was final. Now, I will leave you be to rest. Sweet dreams, my dear." He kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes as he strode away.

Lady Potter sighed, kissing her forehead and tucking her in. "Sweet dreams, my darling," she whispered. "You are so loved, don't forget that."

Aludra was too exhausted to wonder why her friend's mother would say such a thing, instead snuggling into her blankets and falling swiftly back into a restful, healing sleep.