Jason woke up full of energy and dread. It hadn't really hit him until now, but Jason realized that he'd actually have to play in the match today since Richard had quit on them.

He looked over to his roommates' bed but it lay empty and unmade, contrary to Richard's usual neatly folded sheets. The Draught of Peace laid on his nightstand, unused.

Though he felt a certain thrill about playing in front of the entire school, he couldn't fathom embarrassing himself again. He thought about how everyone in the school would be watching, all his teachers, his classmates, and Jackie's beautiful face crossed his mind once or twice as he nervously got out of bed. Bravely, he stepped out of his dorm room and pushed those thoughts aside, for despite his fear, the main reason he pushed himself to play quidditch in the first place — and play this match — was for Lucy. She'd asked him to be on the team and he agreed; He couldn't let her down, not like Richard had. Jason couldn't imagine how gutted he'd feel if her face contorted in anger towards him the way she did with Richard. Deep down however, Jason would be very glad to watch this match from the bench instead.

There was no sign of Richard in the Great Hall that morning as Lucy and Jason ate breakfast. They didn't speak much, for Jason was starting to feel sick to his stomach and Lucy was still fuming from yesterday.

Professor Sprout came around the corner towards them in a hurry. She had a concerned expression on her face as she frantically spoke to Lucy," Thank goodness I found you in time Lucy! I haven't had the chance to tell you since yesterday but Richard resigned from his spot on the team!"

Lucy continued munching on her toast," Mhm, he told me."

Professor Sprout suddenly calmed," Oh, I thought you didn't know," She looked towards Jason," You'll have to play today, and Lucy, you must captain the team. I don't know what got into that boy that made him quit but he left my office before I could tell him to rethink! If you see him tell him to see me right away so I can straighten him out," Sprout was uncharacteristically angry as she walked out of the Great Hall.

Various people came up to them and wished them good luck, all unaware of the predicament they were in. For the first time Jason saw Edgar Willow wear something other than black, around his neck wrapped a yellow and black Hufflepuff scarf," This'll be my first quidditch match, and I'm proud to say that I'll be supporting Hufflepuff!"

Lucy gave him an irked look," How's this your first match you've seen? This is your fifth year here."

Edgar gave them a shy smile while he hid under his characteristic hood," I've never had real friends to support, besides that I don't care too much for quidditch."

Jason was touched by this sentiment as Will Gardener came to wish him good luck and hobbled into the bench next to him," Lucy told me you'll be playing beater today; I was beater for four seasons so I can give you some tips."

For the next ten minutes Will tried to give him as many tips as he could," Don't bother with a two-hand grip..." Jason half-listened to some of his tips but he was too distracted to give him his full attention. Eventually he finished, giving him a hand shake and Lucy a pat on the shoulder.

Jason was most impressed with Davie Macmillan, who together with Emma Blythe had constructed a wall-sized yellow and black banner with a life-sized badger on it, the animal symbol of Hufflepuff House. They had charmed it so that the badger could do flips in the air whenever they scored.

It was less than an hour until the game so Lucy and Jason elected to make their way to the quidditch pitch.

Near the exit they were stopped by Claudius Flint, who was already dressed in his green and silver quidditch robes, along with his leather arm and shin padding. He offered Lucy a mocking handshake," Word is that weasel Worsley wussed out! Good luck today, Lucy. Hopefully the infirmary can fit your whole team in it. Without your best player you might as well just forfeit now!" His hand was still extended, and an ashy black glove that was not school issued covered both of his hands. Jason noticed a fire insignia on the backside.

Lucy's eyes burned like hell and Jason pushed away Flint's hand before Lucy had the chance to snap it off.

Instinctively he pulled his hand back razor fast," YEOUCH," he bellowed in pain.

Jason's hand burned red as every pore in his palm screamed in agony, while Claudius' lip curled up in wicked amusement. He put his hand in his mouth and sucked on it to relieve it, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucy's fist bawl up as if ready to strike.

Jason quickly reached his arm around Lucy's shoulder and spun her out of the Great Hall before she could knock Claudius Flint's face back into shape.

She angrily marched outside, Jason still clutching his hand treading behind her," I should've clobbered him for that! He's got a bloody death wish coming for him today!" She turned towards Jason, suddenly realizing her insensitivity," We need to do something about your hand."

"There's not enough time to go to the nurse, the game is going to start soon and she'll have me in there for hours!"

Lucy thought for a minute," Hold out your hand," she then took out her wand.

Jason obliged, and now saw the full extent of the burns. They weren't life-altering, Jason figured, but he could feel his cells erupt into protest every time he moved a muscle.

"Ignis Subsidio"

The nauseating redness of his palm and the white dots splattering over it remained unaltered, however, the pain exited his hand as he moved it around freely.

"Oh that's great, I don't feel a thing!"

Lucy forewarned," That'll wear off soon, it makes you resistant to the pains of fire and burns. Good to use if you need to run into a burning building to save a baby and you don't want to be stopped by a wall of fire. Of course, once it wears off you'd be in extreme agony but that's besides the point."

Lucy then performed a bandaging charm and Jason was ready to march to the quidditch field," Where'd you learn that?"

"Mum works at Saint Mungo's, she's a really good doctor, my sister wants to be like her one day," Lucy then turned around and they made there way to the pitch.

The locker room was quiet as Lucy explained to their team that Richard could not attend the match. Jason was a bit surprised that Lucy lied about his whereabouts saying he was,' Sick.'

Nobody on the team was happy about this, except for Hugh Fairweather who touted proudly," This works well for us, Jason's a much better beater even with his burnt hand, and now we don't have to follow his stupid tactics."

Imani Hopper scowled brutally," Of course this isn't good! Jason will play his part well, but we must play the tactics we've been practicing, or all that hard work was for nothing, right Lucy?"

Lucy nodded.

Jason pulled on his quidditch robes as they heard the school crowd in the stands above them and Hugh's squeaking was drowned away. The noise echoed through the ceiling and Jason's stomach twisted worst than ever as the band began playing and he heard the crowd begin a chant. Davie Macmillan had prepared it before the match, but Jason was too nervous to really look at it when he showed him the lyrics before.

The booming chant echoed deeply through the room as Jason finished pulling on his yellow and black robes with his rickety-old school broomstick. Jason hadn't realized until now that he'd be at a major disadvantage flying on such a poor vessel, making him anxiously tap his foot as the chanting did nothing to soothe his nerves:

SLYTHERIN CAN TAKE A KNEE

WE ALL KNOW YOU'LL BE BEAT

ALL HAIL CAP-TAIN WORSLEY

HE'LL MAKE YOU TAKE YOUR SEAT

GARD-NER WILL CATCH THE SNITCH SO FAST

THAT YOU'LL ALL END IN CASTS

THE YEL-LOW FLAG WILL RISE AGAIN

WORSLEY WILL HAVE REV-ENGE

Jason and Lucy both looked miserable when they were about ready for the walk through the tunnel when someone cleared their throat behind them.

The entire team turned to an embarrassed Richard, dressed in his black and yellow quidditch robes, holding his broomstick in one hand and his beater stick in the other, over his shoulder.

"You came back!" Jason shouted merrily. He felt like throwing up a minute ago, but now his qualms were quashed.

He stood taller than all of them except for Anthony Jackson, but his head drooped so low that he nearly reached Jason's height," I'm terribly sorry for showing up so late... If you don't want me to play, I understand."

Lucy stepped right up to him and Jason thought she was about to throw a tantrum," Don't be sorry for being ill! I'm just glad the nurse cleared you up in time!"

Richard lowered his stick confusedly," What—?"

Lucy pushed him from the back, leading him to the front of the team as the rest of them parted ways so they could walk through the middle," We've already went over your tactics so don't worry about a team talk or anything, we've just got to get on the field!" She looked back at Jason," Sorry Jason, hopefully you didn't get your hopes up too high to play."

Jason had no problem with sitting this out for he was not very confident in his abilities with a beating stick.

He watched as Richard smiled confidently and the team followed him out of the tunnel.

It was a partly-cloudy day and Jason shivered from the breezy wind. The November cold was certainly in effect, but nonetheless it would be still be a good day for quidditch. They walked up single file and gathered around Madam Hooch while the Slytherin team sallied forth opposite.

Claudius Flint's face went pink the moment he saw Richard on the field. Jason also recognized Jack Avery carrying a big beaters stick. The entire Slytherin team was fashioned with these jet black broomsticks, which were unmistakably the same model as Davie's.

Olivia Diggory shook uncomfortably," Slytherin always has the best broomsticks, makes up for their lack of skill. Firebolts are the best brooms on the market," She looked down disappointedly at her outdated Nimbus 2000.

He looked into the crowds and saw hundreds of students gathered in the stands in a three-sixty around the pitch, most students were dressed in yellow Hufflepuff scarves but there was a loud groaning block of students wearing dark green. In the midst of the Slytherin section was the large photo of Richard being pulled off his broom repeatedly as a kid. Jason noticed Richard look up towards the photo but he did not sink from it like before.

Most of the school was in support of Hufflepuff, Gryffindor were bitter rivals with Slytherin so they joined in on the Hufflepuff chants, while Ravenclaw was split neutral.

In the section next to that one Jason could see Davie Macmillan's large banner of a badger doing flips in front of a yellow wall as they continued their chant. He could see Michael and Mitch Campbell, Will Gardener, Emma Blythe and Edgar Willow all lined up in the Hufflepuff section making as much noise as possible.

For a brief moment he cringed as he saw Jackie Elis wearing the yellow Hufflepuff scarf, her curly brown locks whipping past her shoulders in the wind. But then he thought about how much worst it would have looked if he went onto the field and played himself.

The whole stadium felt surreal, as if Jason was in a dream. It may have only been a few hundred people up there but it felt like a hundred thousand as the beating of the crowd stepped into sync with Jason's heart.

Madam Hooch was giving them a prep talk but Jason drowned her out. He looked over to see Claudius and Richard shaking hands, but before Jason could shout at him to stop they had already shook.

Time froze for a second as Claudius' smile deteriorated and Richard's grimace of pain turned into a sneer. They shook hands tightly, but Richard didn't look like he was in any pain.

They released their grip and Jason saw Richard's hand bleeding red, much worst than Jason's hand had looked before and Jason could hardly believe that he wasn't on his knees. Richard slid his glove back on as Jason went to the sidelines and the fourteen players and referee rose up above him on their broomsticks.

The large goalposts stood at least fifty feet in the air and the players matched that height.

TWEET!

The game was off as the quaffle and bludgers were released into the air.

"Oh hello everyone, it looks like the game started a second ago," The voice came from what Jason thought were loudspeakers, but what must have been a voice amplifying spell.

"My name's Luna Lovegood and today Slytherin are playing Hufflepuff!" The girl had a very gentle voice which did not match the ferocity of the game.

"That wasn't a very friendly challenge," reasoned Luna Lovegood as Claudius rammed into Richard head on, trying to knock him off his broom despite neither of them having the quaffle.

"Foul! Penalty for Hufflepuff, play the ball Flint!" shouted Madam Hooch as Imani Hopper stepped up to the penalty spot.

"I'm not too sure who that is, but the keeper Aaron White looks very confident. Too bad he used an auto-quill on his last potions quiz."

Professor McGonagall was sitting next to her and everyone could hear her through the voice amplifier," Luna!"

Aaron White floated by the goalposts, bewildered and stationary as the quaffle flew past him.

"Ten points to Hufflepuff! Sorry Professor," The crowd cheered and Jason thought they might actually have a shot at winning. He saw Lucy searching around the field for the snitch, and he kept an eye on Richard as well. A bludger fired towards Olivia Diggory who carried the quaffle and Richard attempted to beat it out of the way with his stick, but even from the ground Jason could see how red his fingers were as they poked out of his fingerless gloves, and he sloppily missed it. Jason could hardly blame him, it must have been hard to even hold the stick let alone swing it. The bludger smacked Olivia straight into the face for she couldn't see it coming, and she dropped the quaffle out of her hands.

The force of the bludger knocked her right off the broom and in an impressive sweep Richard was able to catch her midair and lower her onto the ground.

"I don't know what they're all up too but Slytherin scores, this time it's Bruce... I don't exactly remember his last name but... The Hufflepuff team are falling asleep, Richard Worsley is missing every swing of his bludger and Olivia Diggory seems unconscious on her broomstick." Much of the crowd groaned disappointedly while there were a collection of nasty jeers from the green wall in the stands. They all had bells and shook them savagely whenever Slytherin scored, culminating into what sounded like a vicious snake rattle.

Slytherin scored again, and again, and again, and the rattles kept flowing from the audience. Olivia kept swerving like a drunkard and Richard was essentially useless at the moment, for he could barely hold his beater stick. Then, he could see Hugh Fairweather begin to yell at Richard from across the field. He couldn't actually hear what he was saying, but Hugh's arms were both madly flinging about and he had a nasty look on his face. Meanwhile Slytherin used this distraction to get a few more goals...

"This isn't looking very good for Hufflepuff... Hugh Fairleather, or was it Fairfeather? Is arguing with his captain and Ouch! He just took a bludger to the stomach! I don't think that was a good idea."

The score was really ramping up now. Olaf and Imani were flying around like bats trying to make up for their injured teammates, and Anthony Jackson saved many shots but there were just too many to not let any goals in. Jason wished he was allowed to substitute on, but once the game had started substitutes were not allowed.

"Well this is surprising, the score's one hundred and fifty to ten in Slytherin's favor," Luna sounded a little depressed by the score line.

Jason looked into the Hufflepuff stands, and to his surprise his house was still up on their feet, chanting even louder now.

BADGERS WILL NOT RE-TREAT

NO MATTER HOW HARD WE'RE BEAT

THE SNITCH IS STILL FLYING 'ROUND

SO WE'LL WIN SAFE AND SOUND

All of a sudden, Jason saw Lucy dive towards the ground after almost thirty minutes of circling the field.

"It looks like Lucy Gardener has spotted the snitch, and the Slytherin seeker, Harper— err, I'll just call him Harper, is following after her! There they go towards the bottom of the pitch, Lucy's got Harper right on her tail!"

Lucy was reaching out with her hand when Harper finally caught up with her shouldering her to the side. They now flew side by side reaching for the snitch, and Jason could see the little glimmer of gold flying right ahead of them. Harper began to edge in front of Lucy as they raced in a circular motion around the stadium. Harper was on the inside so he flew just a bit faster than her as they circled around, not to mention his broom was a much more able model.

Jason could see his hand closing around the snitch, with Lucy only a foot behind him pressing on his shoulder, and that would be it. Game over. The bells from the Slytherin section rattled vehemently and the entire stadium was shook by the clanging bells. Jason could barely think, they were so loud shaking against his cranium.

Lucy saw her chance slip away, and instead of trying to shoulder him again, she took both hands off her broom and grabbed him around his lower torso like a wrestler. Harper's eyes went wide and then Lucy only had to tug mildly to send them both tumbling off there brooms and into the sand below.

"Wow! What an amazing tackle by Lucy!"

"Luna! You must condone such violent acts!" Professor McGonagall breathed sharply.

"Oh, sorry; I mean, Lucy's heroic tackle was slightly violent but was the smart thing to do, Hufflepuff are still alive!"

He could hear Will Gardener shout from the stands," Great tackle Luce!"

Harper and Lucy both got up off the floor and Madam Hooch landed right next to Lucy, blowing her whistle.

Had she not been there Jason was sure that Harper would have thrown hands but there was nothing he could do as Slytherin was awarded a penalty and Madam Hooch gave Lucy a stern talking too.

It took a minute for all the players to get back into the air again, and Claudius stepped up to take the penalty for Slytherin.

"Hopefully they don't score this penalty," commentated Luna daintily.

"Luna! You can't be so biased!" Professor McGonagall screamed over at her.

"Oh, I mean; If Flint scores this, then Hufflepuff won't be able to win even if they catch the snitch."

The bells rattled ferociously, as the prospect of gaining an almost unbeatable lead neared closer. Claudius launched the quaffle towards the leftmost ring, but Anthony reacted razor fast.

"Anthony Jackson makes the save!" The crowd cheered wildly," Did you know that he's a really good artist, too? Hufflepuff can still win!"

The Hufflepuff section was louder than ever now. Even though their performance got worst with every minute of play, the loyalty to the team was unwavering.

The whole squad dropped back towards their goals now, attempting to hold out for as long as possible in hopes that Lucy would catch the snitch, except for Hugh Fairweather who kept charging forward with the quaffle whenever he won it, and subsequently giving it up again. Richard and Olivia staggered about in the air desperately defending despite their injuries.

It only took about five minutes this time before Lucy spotted the snitch again," There she goes! Lucy's after the snitch!"

Claudius snarled furiously as the Slytherin team gave every bit of energy they had to try and score, but the defense was strong. Imani Hopper tirelessly sped about, stealing the quaffle from them anytime they got near the goals.

"This time the snitch is going up into the clouds, they kind of look like nargles. Lucy has a good lead on Harper and it looks like she's almost got it!"

Then they both disappeared into the clouds high above the quidditch field and the whole stadium held their breath in anticipation.

Seconds that felt like hours passed, and then the snitch appeared, right below the cloud line! And sweeping from above like a freight train Lucy caught the snitch and rushed back down to the stadium as the crowd erupted into a frenzy.

Jason stood up and pumped his arms into the air," YES!"

"Lucy Gardener catches the snitch for Hufflepuff! They win! One hundred sixty to one hundred fifty, by the skin of their teeth!"

Lucy landed right by Jason as the entire teem rushed to her in cheers. Exhilarated, Jason joined in on the fun, as the crowd swept onto the field and they picked Lucy up and began tossing her into the air.

"THAT'S MY SISTER! YOU'RE THE BEST LUCE!" Will lifted her up onto his shoulder and began prancing her around as everyone excitedly shook her hand from below.

Bodies flew around Jason in a frenzy as Jason stepped away from the celebrations. Still sitting on top Will's shoulders, Lucy couldn't have looked more elated as the crowd began marching back to the castle, surely ready for a massive celebration in the Hufflepuff common room.

Jason looked over to the Slytherin players who were riddled with fury. Claudius Flint madly berated his teammates," WHAT WAS THAT?" He pushed his way up to Harper who just stood there sullenly," You're pitiful! Wrestled off your broomstick by a girl! If it weren't for you we wouldn't have lost!"

Jason continued to watch joyfully as Claudius tore into each and every one of his players about how bad they were.

One of the only people who weren't celebrating was Richard. Instead of celebrating with the rest of the team, Jason saw him duck into the locker rooms and escape the festivities.

Jason was giddy with glee because of their win but he hadn't really processed the fact that Richard had come back to play with them after nearly kicking the bucket. Despite being extremely sub-par all game, even Jason recognized that Richard pulled off a better performance than he ever could. Not to mention the fact that Richard's hand was probably as good as a lumped potato by now, nearly an hour after nearly getting sizzled off. What Jason couldn't figure out was why he came back. He truly believed that Richard was set in his way, and given how stubborn he is Jason thought he'd have to take his spot.

This intrigue propelled Jason away from the direction of the crowd, which had mostly exited the stadium at this point and was now walking across the hill in celebration and cheer, and back into the tunnel.

It was now quiet in the hallway compared to the deafening roars from earlier, and Jason could hear his shoes echoing through the hallway as he turned towards their locker room and stopped dead in his tracks.

He heard a voice coming from the locker room. Not Richard's, a grown-man's voice. Yelling incredulously, the splenetic howls grew louder as Jason tip-toed to the locker room, stopping at the last corner and hearing what the voice had to say.

The man's deep voice vibrated off the interior," I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR LIMPING EXCUSES SON!" Jason could feel the air rush through the hallway as he breathed in so heavily," Richard Devlin," His voice crept disappointedly," Your mother and I have done the best we can to prepare you for the world you have yet to enter. You are at the gates my son, and I know you are capable of great feats. And while I can accept your shortcomings, I can not accept a lack of grit and effort."

He stopped and Jason's heart beat against his chest. I should leave, he thought, but the lure of this conversation was indefinite," You should learn from that Gardener girl, she was committed to the cause," His voice rose sharply," If it weren't for her, your sully actions would have been an embarrassment to the Worsley name!" His fist slammed onto one of the lockers and it reverberated greatly.

Collecting himself after a while, Richard's father went on," Since you have shown exemplary performance in your academia up to this point, I will be lenient in my arbitration. All that I request is quite attainable since you are already on the track to completion: Ten O.W.L.'s in your final exams, a deserving victory in your next quidditch match, and, my goodness if you so much as step out of line at school once I'll send you off to O'Brien's for the summer..."

Jason was covered in sweat despite the cold air coming from the outside as he finally heard Richard, not in his usual voice but in a mouse-like squeak," Yes father, I'll try."

Mr. Worsley erupted in a boom," Trying isn't good enough!"

Richard, who sounded like he was trying to hold back tears croaked out," I will."

The father puffed heavily and began walking towards where Jason was standing, behind the corner.

Panicking, Jason made a hacking cough and bent down to tie his shoe. He heard the man stop when he coughed, but then continue walking towards him.

As the man turned the corner Jason looked up and narrowed his lips, getting a good glimpse of Richard's father.

A burly man: Mr. Worsley was even taller than his son. His thick blonde mustache and beard highlighted his pursed red lips. The hair on his head was neatly maintained like his beard: Trimmed to perfection.

Stopping right at his feet, Jason could smell his cologne as he gave Jason a friendly smile," Good win today boy! Much luck for the rest of your season."

Jason mumbled lowly," Uh—Thanks— yeah."

He then patted Jason on the back before sweeping away down the corridor, his midnight purple robes illuminating his bright blond head behind him.

Jason stood up and entered the locker room, now wishing he had just went with the crowd back to the castle instead of eavesdropping.

Richard sat on the bench with his head down with a quivering lip but stood up as Jason entered the room.

Neither spoke as they took off their quidditch robes and filled their lockers.

Jason tried to break the silence," Lets go to the common room; I'm sure Will has a party going already."

He closed his locker. Richard's back was turned to him as he rummaged through his things," Oh yeah, I'll meet you there."

Jason shrugged and then left the locker room. He didn't want to bother him about any personal issues he had with his Dad. He still liked Richard, even after what he said to him yesterday, and despite him constantly being a know-it-all.

Jason realized he had likely been a little over dramatic after leaving Richard alone in the Great Hall yesterday, but he more so wanted to have Richard think he was mad at him, to get him to play and all. He really wasn't mad at Richard. After all, he didn't really say anything offensive, he was just doubtful of his playing abilities.

As he entered the castle he kept trying to convince this to himself.

Why would he act angry at Richard?

He kept telling himself," It was for his own good," over and over again, but he didn't believe himself.

What had Richard even told him? "You just don't understand what I'm going through," after talking about being laughed at in front of the school.

Jason started to kick the corners of the hallways whenever he made a turn, strained in thought.

Something pinched his ears. Laughter, a maniacal chorus of laughter echoed through him, overtaking his bearings. He put his fingers to his temples and groaned frustratingly.

The laughter wouldn't stop, Jason looked around the hallway he was in but there wasn't a soul for miles.

He beat his hand against his head but it wouldn't quit. Growling, he kicked the wall as hard as he could with his big toe. Big mistake.

Pain seared through his toe as it felt like the bone crunched into two different pieces. Grabbing it like a chimpanzee Jason hopped around, angrier than ever.

"AHHHGGG!' He screamed from the top of his lungs, and finally the laughter stopped. His toe hurt worst than his hand now, which had just decided to reinvigorate the effects of his burn, and he sat against the wall, miserable in pain.

"Goddamn FAILURE," he rubbed his face. He kept thinking about that day in class, when everyone was laughing at him. He couldn't get it out of his mind.

What was he thinking? Going to a goddamn magic school. He was easily the worst wizard in his class and it wasn't even close. Jason knew that he'd never admit this to anybody, except that he sort of did that already, when he was talking with Richard yesterday. He didn't mean to say that of course, it only slipped out in his anger.

What was he thinking? Now Richard would think he's a self-doubting cupcake, Jason thought anxiously. Everyone already thought he was a squib, and he vehemently despised being terrible at something everyone else was good at. In fact nothing came close to making him as angry as he was when he was embarrassed by Professor Grodo, being made out to look like a complete idiot for not knowing how to do any spells in front of everyone.

Jason desperately desired appraisal, not just from his Mom or someone who'd give him praise no matter what, but from everybody. He thought back to Lucy being lifted up on Will's shoulders and everyone shaking her hand. That should be me, he thought.

Jason stood up, ignoring the pains in his hand and toe. That will be me, he thought now as he collected himself. Gaining his wits again he continued his walk to the Hufflepuff common room.