And we're back. Once again, sorry for the delay. I can't tell you guys everything that's going on yet, but I can give a few hints.

First off. Penguin

That's todays hint. I'll drop another in the next chapter. Once someone figures it out, I'll give a full drop of what's going on. Fingers crossed that it actually happens…

Anyway, we need some quidditch, right? Let's do some quidditch.

—0—

Merlot leaned over her lap, focusing everything on tweezing the broom twigs of her Silver Arrow. It was the first game of the season, and right now, she needed something to take her mind off of everything going on in life.

Between the fallout with the Weasleys, the argument between her, Scortwit, and Charlie back in Romania, the flashes of memories she was trying to filter through, and the newest issues coming from the now returned Ronald no name. Draco was now acting paranoid and was in the hospital wing for some unknown reason, there was an attack on the ground keeper's cat, and she was being forced to learn harmful spells from a war veteran.

Sure Alastor Moody was a very interesting fellow… but he was hard when it came to self defense. And Dumbledore backed him.

Added to the fact, before the attack on Mrs. Norris, Merlot swore she heard a voice in the walls of the school. And that shoved memories of the soul piece in her head all the way back to the front of her mind.

So, she was quite content to sit and tend to her broomstick using the new amber-tipped tweezers she had purchased from Quality Quidditch Supplies. The delicate material was easy to enchant, but in this case, was utilized in such a small amount that it would actually flex around the wood a bit better than steel, leaving no scratches behind on the multiple twigs that made up the flying instrument's aerodynamic finish.

Merlot gently held the broom in one hand, placing the tweezers back in her case, before drawing out a bottle of oil and a smooth cloth. She left the broom to hover on its own as she measured out the oil, before polishing the fine wooden handle and renewing the anti-tarnish charms on the silver caps that sat at the Broomstick's head, as well as the footholds which were of the same material.

That was it. And Merlot had to say, her broomstick looked as good as when she had first purchased it.

She couldn't wait to fly again.

—0—

"GOOOOOOOD MORNING HOGWARTS! WELCOME TO THE OPENING OF THE HOGWARTS NINETEEN NINETY-TWO QUIDDITCH CUP! TODAY WILL BE A SPLENDID TWO MATCHES BETWEEN ALL FOUR HOUSES TO DETERMINE THEIR STARTING PLACEMENTS FOR THE SEASON! THE WINNERS OF EACH MATCH WILL PLAY EACH OTHER ON THE PREDETERMINED DATES, JUST AS THE LOSERS WILL FACE OFF TO EARN ANOTHER SHOT FOR THE FINAL GAME, AND THE CUP! I'M YOUR ANNOUNCER, LEE JORDAN! WITH ME TODAY, AS ALWAYS, THE LOVELY PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL! BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THE VOICES IN THE AIR, LET'S HEAR IT FOR OUR FIRST TWO TEAMS!"

Ron let out the breath he had been holding for the last several minutes. This was it…

After the fiasco with Percy and Wood last year, Gryffindor had lost their keeper. A shame too, as it was his last year. Of course, Ron didn't fault the professors. Wood had almost killed a student! All for the sake of a game.

And yeah, it was quidditch. But it wasn't that deep.

So now, he was here. Growing up with his siblings, he was always relegated to playing keeper. Charlie practised seeker because, well… he was Gryffindor's star seeker for a while. Fred and George got their positions by helping him learn how to dodge bludgers. Percy and Bill would just toss the quaffle around, which left him.

Ron.

Always the lone wolf.

Shaking his head, Ron gripped the handle of his borrowed cleansweep. It wasn't the fastest broom on the market, but he was going to be keeper, so a top of the line racing broom wasn't needed.

"AAAAAND FACING OFF AGAINST THE SNAKES, THEIR BIGGEST RIVALS! SPORTING A NEW KEEPER AND A NEW WAY OF PLAYING, IT'S GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron hopped on his broom and kicked off, falling into the back of the hawkshead formation as the team gave a lap around the pitch before breaking apart and settling into their positions. Ron drifted a few feet below the center hoop, making sure that he was just about the same distance away from each goal.

Jordan hadn't been lying. McGonnagal had done more than shoot down Wood's final year of quidditch. She had revoked his captain's badge and handed it off to Angelina Johnson. She had turned the team around, focusing on drilling each and every member properly on tactics and defense, and not just attacking and scoring goals.

Unlike Wood's approach, this didn't leave defense solely to the keeper. And it didn't place winning on the shoulders of McLaggen either.

Ron felt his stomach twirling with anticipation as the quaffle went up. The opening move was up to him. That had been what they practised. Even if he couldn't block the shot, just watch the other team and learn.

Draco was there, left side of the pitch, flying outwards in a wide arc as the other Slytherins mirrored him. The quaffle went to Draco, then to Flint, then over, off the beaters bat, and-

Ron spurred his broom quickly, shooting to the side as Flint kicked the ball towards the right hoop. He made it just in time to punch the ball off course, right into the hands of Katie Bell, who dove down and shot towards the other end of the field.

"A SWIFT BLOCK FROM THE NEW KEEPER OF GRYFFINDOR! WITH THAT, THE LIONS RETALIATE TO TAKE THE LEAD! TEN TO ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron flew back to his position as Angelina flitted over to him. "Good block there."

"Thanks. Will we be running the same thing?"

Angelina shook her head. "Now the ball is on their side of the field. I intend to keep it locked at their throats, so you shouldn't have to worry too much."

Ron nodded. "I'll keep watch just in case they do a breakaway."

Angelina nodded. "We'll be counting on you."

As she sped off, Ron let himself fall back to rest the tail of his broom on the lip of the center goal post. He had pulled off a good play for his intro to the sport. The other team would lay it on thicker now.

He watched as the dots at the other side of the pitch flitted about each other, with red crossing over green several times before the voice of Lee Jordan boomed across the quidditch pitch.

"A GREAT INTERCEPTION BY OUR GRYFFINDOR CHASERS! TWENTY TO ZERO, GRYFFINDOR. NICE JOB GIRLS! I'D LOVE IT IF YOU COULD SHOW ME THAT TWIRLY MOVE UP CLO-"

"JORDAN! I'M WARNING YOU!"

"Sorry professor…"

There were a few giggles from the stands, and Ron couldn't help himself but smirk. Jordan certainly had a bit of a big mouth, even when the deputy headmistress was standing next to him. With that goal, Slytherin was in possession once again.

Ron flexed his fingers and began moving again, using the time he had to warm up to his broom. In practice, he had used one of the older school brooms. It didn't handle as well, nor fly as fast as his current broom. Compared to that, the cleansweep felt like a dream.

With a few smooth loops around and through the goal posts, Ron settled back into position. Just in time too, as Draco broke away from the Gryffindor chasers, quaffle in hand.

Ron dipped down to the lowest level of the hoops, remaining at the middle, just under the ring. He expected his position to push Draco up to the top hoop, and it worked. Draco came in low, but swooped up to throw the ball as hard as possible. Ron swiftly matched him and flipped over himself, knocking the quaffle away with the tail end of his broom.

"KEEPER RONALD WITH THE PERFECT FILLOLIA FLICK! WOOD COULD NEVER PULL A MOVE LIKE THAT!"

"Jordan, please refrain from insulting the previous keeper."

"Yes professor."

"Didn't know you could do that!" Draco called over to him."

Ron grinned. "You just got treated to my signature move! But I've got more tricks to use if you give me a proper challenge."

"You're asking for it!" Draco hollered back.

"GRYFFINDOR IS BACK IN POSESSION! JOHNSON WITH THE QUAFFLE. GOING… GOING… WHAT AN EVASION! THE LIONS ARE REALLY ON THEIR GAME THIS SEASON IT SEEMS!"

The game progressed with much of the same plays being made. The Gryffindor chasers would hold the Slytherins on their side of the field, eventually leaving a small opening that Draco would use to break the line, only to have Ron block his attempts. There were a few tricky shots that Ron missed, like a weird spinning curveball that managed to catch some lift and go from the bottom hoop to the middle hoop. The score sat at one hundred thirty to forty by the time McLaggen caught the snitch.

"AN AMAZING GAME WITH SOME AMAZING PLAYS! LOOKS LIKE THE GRYFFS HAVE A GREAT KEEPER, AND THAT NEW CHASER FOR THE SNAKES ISN'T HALF BAD EITHER! Now… as the teams switch out, we get ready for the match of badgers and eagles. EVERYONE GIVE IT UP FOR HUFFLEPUFF AND RAVENCLAW!"

Ron and the rest of the Gryffindor team rushed through the stands, still in their sweaty gear, to get seats to see the next match. They quickly found a place in the center of their house, with many of the members cheering for them. A few gave Ron claps on the back as he sat down with the team.

"You were wicked out there!"

"The wall!"

"The bull!"

"The king!"

Ron blushed with the praise, which caused his team to give him a few noogies, with Angelina giving him a punch in the shoulder.

"Gotta admit they're right. You're pretty rugged out there rookie."

Ron nodded and turned his attention back to the current match. "Well… I dunno. I need practice. Especially if we're up against… them…"

The team turned back to the match, where Scortwit was currently blazing across the pitch.

Angelina huffed. "Hate to say it… but I don't think any of us will compare to her."

"I think we could take her." McLaggen grunted.

"McLaggen, last year, she dealt with some pretty dangerous games. She played solo against our entire team. We might be better now, but look at her."

Scortwits quidditch robes billowed up behind her asshe gained altitude, making her look almost bat like. Even from the stands, Ron could see the wild grin that was plastered across her face.

Five seconds was all it took. A dive, followed by a wicked sloth grip roll while drifting. She had plucked the ball from the hand of the lead Ravenclaw chaser before righting her broom and shooting straight for the goal.

"That there isn't just practice, but a gift." Angelina shook her head. "If I tried that I'd be cleaning the rocks from my teeth for weeks."

Ron watched as his friend circled back to her teams side of the pitch. Barely a minute had passed, and they were already up thirty points.

"She's scary when you look at her as an opponent…" He mumbled.

"She's scary when you look at her as a friend." Katie replied. "If she's on a broom, there's probably not a single thing that could get in her way."

Ron watched as Scortwit scored another two goals. "The rest of the team barely matters…"

It didn't even matter five minutes later, when Diggory got the snitch. Hufflepuff had smoked the Ravenclaws with a score of three hundred twenty to zero.

It sent a shiver down Ron's spine. He knew that Draco was having the same thoughts.

'How would I win against that?'

Even as Jordan announced the results, shock in his voice, Ron knew.

'The next match will not be fun at all…'

—0—

Tom stalked closer to the Chambers entrance. He was going to get to the bottom of his impersonator's identity, even if it meant forcing them out with the real deal.

A single hiss was all it took to open the chamber door, a second easily dropped the jaw of his ancestor's statue.

"Ssssssssslytha! I have need of you."

The great coils of the Basilisk slowly slit from the statues maw. "Tom… you are… different from ssssssssome nightssssss ago…"

"What do you mean by that Slytha? I have not been here in years!"

"Oh… is that sssssssso? My apologiessssss Tom… my mind is ssssssso addled in here. Hassssss it really been sssssssso long?"

"Indeed. Now, I musssssst asssssssk another favor."

"Whatever it issssssss you wish, Tom. I will do my bessssssst to grant it."

Tom grinned. "The mudbloodsssss have overtaken the sssssschool once again. Ssssssoon, their families will ssssssstorm the corridorssssss, weeding out the purest among ussssss, and dessssstroying the ssssssschool."

The basilisk thrashed about in anger. "Horrid creaturessssss, dissssssturbing this place of learning! What will you have me do Tom?"

"Sssssssend a message." Tom hissed, turning to the far wall of the chamber and blasting it open. "Enter the forbidden foresssssst and kill whatever you encounter. Centaursssss, acromantulassss, unicornsssssss. Show them that we are not to be taken lightly."

The basilisk bowed her head. "Asssssss you command…"

Tom grinned, his fingers caressing the glass wand of his host. Soon they would remember… soon they would fear again.

—0—

That's the chapter! I wanted a different pov for quidditch, and since I made the space for Ron in the first book, I figured he would be perfect for it.

Sorry for the wait for it being short. I probably will never fix my schedule, but that just means I can always give y'all a surprise.

Oh yeah. I said things about the Sword of gryffindor last chapter. Unfortunately I hven't finished working out the kinks of it yet. So… maybe next chapter?

We'll see. Gonna be busy. Until next time!

Adios.