Quidditch League Season 10

Round 5, All The Feels

Team: Wigtown Wanderers

Position: Chaser 3

Prompt: Slytherin, Mystery

Additional Prompts: 8. [quote] "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."; 9. [creature] ant/ants; 15. [setting] Hogwarts grounds

Title: The Lizard and the Ants

Summary: Someone has been terrorizing the Quidditch grounds and it's up to the newly appointed Hufflepuff Quidditch captain to solve the mystery before the first game of the season.

Warnings: implied rape; implied bullying; implied child neglect and abandonment; implied ableism

Topics/Tags: HPHM; Hufflepuff!Orion Amari; Slightly canon divergent; Characters with Autism

Author's Note/Word Count: I was inspired by Orion Amari so most of this story follows HPHM characters. Also, because of my genre being mystery, I threw in bits from other mystery fandoms for fun. WC 2886; RIP to the sections that had to be cut for length. And a HUGE thanks to my team for helping me trim it down.

oOoOo

Today was the first practice of the season for the Hufflepuff quidditch team. Orion looked at his reflection in the mirror, admiring the shiny yellow and onyx captain's badge gleaming from his lapel.

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." His found mother had read him that book so many times, he could recite it by heart.

The sun was just beginning to rise as Orion left the castle. His plan was to check out the state of the pitch before meeting his team in the locker room. He had not expected to find it a mess; the pitch was unexpectedly occupied by hundreds of grass snakes. He took a deep breath, reminding himself, "I can handle this," and trudged back up to the castle grounds.

After reporting the snake problem to Hagrid, he met up with his team in the locker room. Thankfully, the rest of his team had all been perfectly on time.

"About time you strolled in," Skye Parkin scoffed from where she was standing, leaning one shoulder against her locker, arms folded in front of her. "Not a good look on the first day of the season, Captain Amari." Skye had no qualms with letting everyone know what she thought about Orion being made captain.

"Thank you all for joining me for our first practice of the season. We were all on time, which starts us off on a great foot." He swept his gaze around the room, lingering briefly on each face. "I am eager to get started with this season. Individually, you each have talents and gifts to share, your greatest strengths. But it's important to remember none of us are free of weaknesses and faults, your greatest needs. As a team, we will support the needs of our fellow athletes and encourage their strengths by working as one body.

"So today, we forgo flying." There were mutters and groans around the locker room, though none were louder than the boos from Skye. "Today we will spend our time with our feet on the ground, getting to know who will be sharing our air. Let us make our way to the castle lawn as one team."

Orion took the lead, his puzzled teammates following close behind. Skye jogged to catch up to him.

"We can't practice quidditch on the ground. Our first game is in two weeks," she complained.

"Flying is but one part of the game of quidditch. A successful team also requires the ability to toss and catch, to bat, to focus attention on a goal, to collaborate, and to understand each player's role." He met her gaze. "You're a chaser. Do you know what it takes to play beater?"

Skye rolled her eyes. "Probably more than you. My father taught me to play every position."

Orion smiled. "Then you understand."

For the next hour, Orion had his teammates answering silly questions, copying each others' movements, throwing balls back and forth, and everyone even had a go at the beater's bat. Before breaking for the day, Orion gathered his team on the grass, sitting in a circle. Most of his team appeared to be happy with how the practice had gone. All except one.

"Why are you staring at an ant bed?" Skye asked. "And now why are we staring at an ant bed?"

Orion picked up a blade of grass with a single tiny ant, holding it up for everyone to see. "Alone, the ant is fragile, easily moved, easily shaken. But together," he lowered the blade to the ground; the ant crawled back into formation with the line of ants crawling up and into the mound. "They are a force of nature. They can disturb mountains." He looked up at his team. "We are the ants, and we will take the house cup together, as one."

oOoOo

"So are you going to tell the team about the snake problem?" Murphy asked after Orion filled him in on the events of the morning.

"Would it be beneficial or cause undue panic?"

Murphy pondered this for only a few seconds before blurting, "There's a 73.8% chance telling them will cause a panic."

Orion nodded. "Then for now, we don't tell them. Mr. Hagrid had most of the serpents cleared when I went by the pitch before lunch."

Orion had been a loner for most of his young life. His birth family had abandoned him when he was three, leaving him to fend for himself. Even then, he knew he was different from them. The muggle-born witch who found him and took him in knew it too and had gotten him help. And then, his different had a name, autism. At Hogwarts, everyone knew he was unusual, even if they didn't know why. And then in his second year, he met Murphy McNully who was also different, having Multiple Sclerosis. And because they were both unusual, they quickly became best friends.

In fact, Orion had Murphy to thank for his role on the quidditch team. Though Murphy had never been able to take to the skies himself, he knew everything there was to know about quidditch. So with Murphy's coaching, Orion landed a team spot his second year and was now the youngest captain in a century.

"Whatever you say, Cap," Murphy saluted, bringing Orion's attention back to the present. "But I'd say it's suspicious that the snakes appeared today of all days. I suspect someone may be up to something."

oOoOo

A few days later, Hufflepuff was scheduled to have another practice. Orion started his day as he always did, reciting his mantra to himself.

After his final class of the day, he crossed the grounds to the locker rooms, only to find an even bigger mess than he'd found on the pitch days earlier. Uniforms were strewn all over the room, damp, muddy, and trampled on. Lockers had been rummaged through. A smelly green goop plastered the walls and lockers. And a lone snitch flitted amongst the chaos, buzzing like a mosquito on a summer night. But at the center of it all was a message that had been painted with the green goop,

"Heir of Slytherin, you have betrayed.

And so sweet Hufflepuff will pay!"

Skye was the next to arrive in the locker room, finding Orion sitting on the soft earth, staring intently at a line of marching ants, muttering to himself. She glanced around the room but was otherwise unperturbed.

"Amari, pull yourself together. You're captain. Act like it." She hesitated for a moment, but offered him a hand. "I'll go report the vandalism; you figure out what we're doing for practice today."

Orion was left by himself once more. "Just like an ant, I am stronger with my team," he whispered to himself with one final glance. "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. I choose Hufflepuff."

As his teammates joined him, whispering softly about the mess in the room, he paid it no mind; he simply greeted each with, "Prepare yourselves. Today, we fly."

The team spent the entire session in the air, flying in formation, taking turns leading, anticipating each other's movements and flight patterns. Orion felt it had been another excellent practice. Once back on the ground, he gathered his team around an anthill.

"Amazing how these tiny creatures can be found almost anywhere you look. Each of us is like this ant: small and easy to upend, but together a mighty force. We have three more practices before game day; we will come to the pitch as mighty as a team of ants."

oOoOo

"Well, gang, it looks like we've got a mystery on our hands," Murphy exclaimed as he walked with Orion back to the castle grounds after practice. While the team had been playing, Murphy had assisted Madam Hooch in investigating and cleaning up the vandalism in the Hufflepuff locker room. "And I found a clue!" He passed a vial of green goop to Orion.

Orion stared at the glass vial, trying to figure out what exactly made it a clue. And then he spotted it: a short, reddish-orange hair that clung to the glass, half submerged in the goop. "Whomever is interfering with our practices has ginger hair."

"Guess I'll add it to the Handy Dandy Notebook! Our first clue was the grass snakes showing up on the pitch. Our second clue is this slime hair. The only thing I can't figure out is the message. I thought the Slytherin line died out ages ago."

Orion was silent for a moment before slowly explaining. "My grandfather was Morfin Gaunt, a direct descendent of Slytherin. He had an illegitimate child… impregnated a younger prisoner during his second stint in Azkaban. His child became my mother. And she didn't want a 'freak' to be the last male heir of Slytherin."

Murphy's eyes grew wide. "So the message was addressed to you."

Orion nodded. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. "I don't choose to be in Slytherin. I choose Hufflepuff, like my mother who rescued me."

"That just means I misinterpreted the message. I thought it meant Hufflepuff had betrayed the Heir of Slytherin. It actually means you have betrayed Slytherin. Third clue, someone doesn't like you as captain. But as long as the mysterious miscreant doesn't harm you directly, we can handle it. Don't worry, captain. Murphy is on the case!"

oOoOo

A few days later, yet another practice was interfered with, this time with the ball case and brooms disappearing. Once again, Orion's ingenuity saved the practice. They were grounded once more, but with the help of Murphy and some house-elves, they were able to gather up some makeshift sports equipment; a couple apples charmed to move around like bludgers, a small melon to play quaffle, and a gold strawberry charmed to fly around like a snitch.

At the end of practice, they had enough battered and bruised fruits to create a potentially delicious cider, but unfortunately, rising anxiety to go along with it. They only had two more practices before game day. Orion sat his team down again, circled around an ant hill.

"Let us take a moment to watch the ants, how they work together." Lines of small black specks came from multiple directions, but all eventually filed into one line. Orion picked up a stray leaf and dropped it on the grass, in the middle of one of the ant trails. It took a moment, but gradually, the tiny insects regrouped, their line now circling around the leaf.

"Like these ants, our progress has been disrupted. But we have not let these sabotages hinder our progress. We work together as one team with a common fight."

oOoOo

"I've started compiling a list of suspects. So far, I've got Skye Parkin, Bill or Charlie Weasley, and basically anyone in Slytherin… Skye is clearly not happy that you were made captain, so that's her motive. The red hair points to a Weasley, and you're up against Gryffindor, so there's motive there. And of course the snakes. That's… still everyone in Slytherin."

Murphy and Orion had their heads together at dinner, discussing the mystery criminal once again.

"And all the clues are written down in the handy dandy notebook?" Orion asked.

"What are you going on about?" Skye demanded. "A handy dandy notebook?" she glanced over Murphy's shoulder to look at the lists he had in front of him. "Why am I on the list of suspects, McNully?"

"You're a suspect because you obviously don't want Orion to be captain."

She rolled her eyes, sitting down on the bench next to Murphy. "He's growing on me. I don't necessarily agree with all of your training tactics, mind you. But considering what's been thrown at you recently, I understand." She turned on Murphy. "And besides, why would I sabotage my own team? If Orion loses, I lose."

Murphy shrugged. "Just trying to crack the case. But I suppose your alibi checks out, so I'll cross you off."

"Also, after practice, I went with Madam Hooch on a hunt for the equipment and we found it. It was left in an empty classroom down in the dungeons."

She pulled Murphy's book towards her. "Also, get the Weasleys off your stupid list," she scoffed, scratching through the names with a quill. "Charlie cares more about dragons than quidditch. And Bill has better things to do."

"Which still leaves us with every member of Slytherin as suspects.."

"I think you might be overlooking the most important clue." Orion chimed in softly. "Whoever has been doing this is deep in the pure-blood rhetoric." He was running his fingers through his hair anxiously.

"That'd be an easy problem to solve. Just take a school wide poll of who thinks muggle-borns should be banned."

Orion shook his head. "No, deeper than that. It has to be someone who knows the family tree, who would know Salazar Slytherin's descendents."

"So in other words, which of the Death Eaters have settled down and gotten busy," Murphy suggested.

"Not necessarily," Skye argued. "Maybe some DE kids. But for example, Felix Rosier is a Slytherin fourth-year and his brother was suspected to be one."

"Couldn't be Felix. He's nice to me with no reason to be," Orion commented. "Besides, he cares more about dragons than broomsticks."

Orion had his back to the Slytherin table, but Skye and Murphy were facing it, both scanning the lengths of the table as discreetly as they could. "I think…" Murphy started before perking up in excitement. "I think I know who it is. And it just gave me an idea."

He rolled his chair away from the table. "McNully, where are you going?" Skye demanded.

"Don't worry about me. You just worry about the game. I've got this handled."

oOoOo

Orion recited his mantra to himself Tuesday afternoon as he made his way down to the quidditch pitch with Skye.

"Alright, Ant Man, we got it. You choose Hufflepuff. C'mon, we need to get down to the lockers before anyone else does."

When they entered the tent, they were unsurprised to find Murphy, beaming with pride. The other occupant, however, Felix Rosier, was completely unexpected.

"The locker room is intact, nothing seems to be missing, and the pitch looked clear. Is this good news?" Skye asked, glancing suspiciously at Rosier.

"I got the idea from Orion's ant speech. One of the predators of the ant is a lizard so I thought it'd be fun to turn our suspect into one. And Felix knows human to animal transfigurations, so he volunteered to help."

"And as luck would have it, we have our lizard!" Felix held up a glass jar for everyone to see. When they looked closer, Orion noticed the creature was running around furiously, bumping against its enclosure, clearly unhappy with its current predicament."

"So who is it?" Orion asked.

"I was waiting for you to arrive before the big reveal. Felix, would you do the honors?"

The Slytherin brandished his wand, placing the jar on the ground. "Gladly. But she might try to run when she's transfigured." He lifted his wand and aimed it at the glass jar. "Revelio!"

The glass shattered as the lizard transformed, and without skipping a beat, Skye aimed a well-placed "Incarcerous!" In front of them, bound in ropes, was a girl who couldn't have been much older than twelve, with brown hair and a single strip of ginger in the front, vivid purple eyes, and combat boots.

The girl struggled against her binds and glared at Felix. "Traitor," she bit out before turning on Orion. "And you as well, Orion Gaunt."

"I've renounced that name, just as the owners of that name tried to renounce me," Orion answered, unperturbed.

"Merula Snyde, Slytherin second-year," Murphy answered smugly. "She fit all the clues: Slytherin, a streak of red hair, and her parents are in Azkaban for involvement in DE activity."

"And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling Hufflepuffs."

oOoOo

The Hufflepuff locker room buzzed with energy. It was the first game of the season and the team was anxious to take to the skies. As each of his team members had entered the locker room, Orion had given them an ant pin to wear on their uniforms. His own pin gleamed next to his captain's badge.

Murphy wheeled in as Orion was gathering the team. "How's it going, Captain?"

Orion smiled at his friend before speaking to the room at large. "Please come join me for a moment of vivification." The team circled around, Murphy included.

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose," he began. "As we fly today, remember the ant. Alone, it can be upset by the slightest things, but together, they can move mountains." It was a short speech, not as long as he'd originally planned, but it felt right.

Murphy clearly agreed. He stretched out his arm to put his hand in the middle of the circle. The players followed his lead. "Hufflepuff on three. One, two, three."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"