Dark Second Quidditch Match

Your mind was repeatedly plagued by the image of your body being torn to shreds by a pair of ravenous hounds. What was extra disturbing about it was that the physical appearance of the two dogs had changed over time. One had golden fur, brown eyes, and wore a tattered blue Scooby-Doo collar. The other was black as midnight and had icy blue eyes that reminded you of the coldest winter. The black dog was unrelenting and always struck first. But in the rare occasions where it looked like your dream self might get away - the golden dog was right there to cut off your escape and drag you back down. It wasn't lost on you that the starving dogs in your daymare had taken on traits of the two thirteen-year-old girls they represented. In fact, that’s what made the disturbing images extra creepy and extra personal.

“Welcome to the second game of the Quidditch season!” Lee Jordan’s magically amplified voice blasted through your head. The sound of people cheering drowned out the barking and growling that plagued your mind and brought your attention back to the present.

You blinked and saw two teams fly out on the Quidditch pitch. One team wore blue Quidditch robes and the other wore canary yellow.

“Today’s match is Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff!”

“Are you alright, Marvolo?” Millicent asked from on your right. “You were really out of it.”

“Er… yeah… yeah,” you answered as you tried to focus on the fourteen players currently flying around the pitch. It appeared as though you had missed the opening handshake between the two captains. “I’m… I’m good.”

“I told you that you went too far,” Millicent complained on your behalf. “He still looks pale.”

“Needed to be done,” Gemma responded with an unapologetic shrug from your other side. “He needed to be scared straight. Now he knows not to underestimate a determined woman. Life lessons like that are best implanted as early as possible.”

Madam Hooch opened the crate of Quidditch balls. The Bludgers burst out and shot up into the sky. There was a flash of gold as the Golden Snitch took off after them and almost instantly disappeared. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and threw the Quaffle up over her head. You watched as a blue-robed brown-haired Ravenclaw boy swooped in and snagged the Quaffle.

“The Quaffle is taken by third year Roger Davies! This is Davies’ first game for Ravenclaw!”

“Pay attention, Gaunt,” Gemma advised you. “Ravenclaw has three new players debuting today. Two of them are Chasers. Davies is the first and Jeremy Stretton is the other one - I think he’s a second year - and the last new player is—” The auburn-haired girl was cut off by Lee Jordan’s commentary.

“Davies dodges around Hufflepuff Captain O'Leary and heads towards the goal -- he takes the shot—No! Interception by Hufflepuff Chaser Tamsin Applebee!”

“There she is,” Gemma said as you felt her grab your shoulder. “That’s Tammy Apples…”

You tried to think back to before the trauma of imagining yourself being ripped apart by starving dogs and vaguely remembered Gemma saying back in the Great Hall that she was rooting for Ravenclaw because she had something against one of the Hufflepuff Chasers. It seemed as though Tamsin Applebee was the unfortunate recipient of that grudge.

“Okay, who is she?” you asked as you raised your Omnioculars to study ‘the enemy’. The older girl had very short dark brown hair with one rampant lock flipping wildly along her forehead as she flew. There was actually a bit of a reddish sheen to her dark brown hair. Despite the short hair, you thought objectively that she was rather pretty with pale, slightly tanned skin and big brown eyes.

“She’s a muggleborn in my year,” the auburn-haired fifth year informed you. “Apparently, she played some obscure muggle sport before Hogwarts and it translated well to Quidditch. She taught her partner-in-crime Heidi Macavoy the basics and they made the team in our second year. They’ve been an absolute terror ever since.”

“Applebee passes to Macavoy -- Macavoy back to Applebee. Look out for that—Oh! She dodged the Bludger sent at her by Ravenclaw Beater Dempsey!”

‘Partner-in-crime’ was right. Applebee and Macavoy were definitely on the same page. Their passes were pinpoint accurate. One always seemed to know exactly where the other was as they executed a series of rapid-fire passes that quickly brought them from one end of the pitch to the other. But that dynamic only seemed to exist between the two fifth year girls because the third Hufflepuff Chaser - an older dark-haired boy with golden brown skin - was just sort of ‘there’.

You took another couple of seconds to study Heidi Macavoy as she caught another pass from Applebee. The dynamic duo of Hufflepuff even looked vaguely similar. They were both fifth years so that meant they were either seventeen or eighteen. They both were light-skinned with short brown hair. But as you zoomed in with your Omnioculars you started to notice the differences. Tamsin had longer limbs and was likely taller. Heidi’s hair was slightly longer and a lighter shade of sandy brown that was pulled back into a short ponytail. And when you really focused you saw that she actually had hazel eyes as well as a somewhat bigger chest.

“What was the muggle sport that she played?” you inquired just as Macavoy dove downward and chucked the Quaffle at the ground which caused it to bounce off the grass. Applebee dove underneath Jeremy Stretton and caught the Quaffle just as she flew into the scoring area.

“Macavoy with a bounce pass to Applebee! Applebee shoots -- SHE SCORES! Hufflepuff is the first to put points on the board!”

H 10 – R 0

You blinked in surprise and pressed save on your Omnioculars then immediately rewatched what had just happened. Macavoy flew low and bounced the Quaffle to Applebee. Applebee was still only ten feet off the ground when she took the shot at the hoop overhead. The Ravenclaw Keeper - a very curvy older girl with long brown hair tied back in a thick ponytail - drifted downward to meet her. Instead of throwing with one hand like most Chasers, Applebee let go of her broomstick and bounced the Quaffle off the handle then caught it with both hands as it came back up and then used both hands to launch it upwards towards the hoop. The extra hand gave the Quaffle extra speed and it zipped up BEHIND the surprised Ravenclaw Keeper and continued through the hoop for a goal.

“I think they call it ‘Basketball’,” Gemma answered your question from a couple seconds ago. “From what I’ve been able to learn, it’s not even all that popular with muggles in the UK. It’s some ridiculous sport that the yank ‘no-majs’ across the pond made up.”

Even with your odd Ministry-sponsored upbringing, you didn’t have the faintest idea what this obscure muggle sport called ‘Basketball’ was. You pictured a group of muggles standing on the ground throwing a ball up into a strangely-shaped woven wicker basket. That couldn’t be right, could it?

Meanwhile, Lee Jordan continued his play-by-play. “Stretton recovers the Quaffle. He dodges around Applebee -- around Macavoy -- there he goes… OUCH! Hufflepuff Captain O'Leary stops him cold with a Bludger!”

You looked up and spotted a large, stocky, older red-headed boy with a face full of freckles grinning as he watched his third Chaser steal the Quaffle from Stretton then chuck it back down the pitch to Macavoy.

“Macavoy with Quaffle -- passes to Applebee -- back to Macavoy. Keeper Fawley doesn’t know where to look! Macavoy passes-Wait! No! She shoots she scores!”

H 20 – R 0

“Didn’t you say that Ravenclaw had three players debuting today?” you questioned the older girls.

“If you’re still looking at the hoops then you’re already looking at her,” Lysandra stated. “That’s Artemis Fawley - she’s a sixth year. After that last goal, she’s looking even dizzier than normal.”

“Dizzier?” you repeated as you zoomed in on the Ravenclaw Keeper. The curvy and rather well-endowed sixth-year girl’s gray eyes looked extra wide behind her glasses.

“She’s basically the textbook definition of an airhead,” Evanora said. “She looks almost as dizzy when she’s down on the ground as she does now.”

Applebee and Macavoy had reclaimed the Quaffle again and were bearing down on Fawley once more. Even though there were only two of them on offense and even though the Ravenclaw Chasers were trying their hardest to keep them covered, the two Hufflepuff Chaser always seemed to know the exact moment to pass the Quaffle to each other. Applebee flew into the scoring area and turned to catch the Quaffle from Macavoy then she ducked down low and bounced the Quaffle of the front of her broomstick before catching it with both hands and shooting upwards at the hoops. Fawley reached to catch it but wasn’t fast enough as the Quaffle flew up and back into the right hoop.

“Applebee with another goal! That’s thirty--zero for Hufflepuff!”

H 30 – R 0

This time the two Hufflepuffs didn’t even let the Ravenclaws recover. Macavoy was already in position to catch the Quaffle and quickly passed it back out to Applebee.

“Applebee and Macavoy are at it again! They’ve got Fawley completely off balance— Wait, she’s actually falling! Hang on Artemis!”

You watched in awe as Artemis caught herself with her legs and hung upside down from her broomstick. She flailed her arms in an attempt to right herself and - seemingly inadvertently - managed to knock the Quaffle off course. A surprisingly loud cheer rang out from a surprisingly large portion of the crowd at the highly unorthodox save.

“Artemis Fawley with the save! I don’t know if that was on purpose or a complete accident but either way, it was brilliant!”

“That was pure luck,” Lysandra announced to everyone. “Our little Gaunt is already a better Keeper.”

“How did her glasses stay on?” Millicent wondered. Artemis had managed to right herself and while her mane of long brown hair had come loose from its ponytail and was now blowing in the wind, her glasses had remained perched perfectly on her face.

“Maybe they’re charmed?” Blaise suggested.

“Hold on,” you interjected before the conversation could go off course. “If she’s not that good why put her on the team as a sixth year? She’s got to be at least eighteen... so she’s nearly of age. It’s not like she’s got all that much time to improve before she graduates.”

“...” Gemma didn’t answer and had been notably silent since Artemis Fawley had come up.

Evanora was the one who answered your query. “You heard that cheer from the crowd. She’s a popular pureblood. Also, she’s best friends with Jessica Mateo.”

“Who’s—”

“Mateo recovers the Quaffle -- and there she goes! She shoots right by Applebee and Macavoy! Look at her go! That girl is FAST!”

A dark-skinned girl with her dark brown hair tied back in a short ponytail sped away from the Ravenclaw hoops with the Quaffle tucked under her arm. She wore goggles over her eyes and as she flattened herself on her broomstick she seemed to squeeze every last bit of speed out of it. You zoomed in with your Omnioculars to try and check the model. It was only a Comet 260 but the girl flew on it like it was a Nimbus 2000. Applebee, Macavoy, and even the two Ravenclaw rookies, Davies and Stretton, all spun around and chased after the veteran Ravenclaw Chaser. The third Hufflepuff Chaser had been hanging back and tried to intercept Mateo but the speedy dark-skinned girl looped around him like he was moving in slow motion. Mateo was already closing in on the Hufflepuff hoops. O'Leary tried to slow her down with a Bludger but Mateo spun into a tight corkscrew to dodge it as she continued forward into the scoring area.

“Mateo with a corkscrew! She throws -- RAVENCLAW SCORES!”

R 10 – H 30

You saved the scene and rewatched it again. You couldn’t help comparing Jessica Mateo with Gryffindor’s Angelina Johnson as both of the dark-skinned older girls appeared to be exceptional Chasers. Jessica was clearly older - probably a sixth year like Fawley - but she appeared to have a slim build, especially compared to her very curvy fellow Ravenclaw sixth-year. Other differences that you noticed as you watched Mateo’s corkscrew again in slow motion were that Angelina kept her long dark hair tightly braided while Jessica’s short, slightly lighter hair was in a simple sleek ponytail. And while both Chasers had dark skin, Mateo’s appeared to be a couple of shades lighter and was more milk chocolate to Angelina’s dark. But the biggest difference between the two was that Mateo was much, much faster on a broomstick. The rest of the Chasers were all still trying to catch up after Mateo’s goal.

The Hufflepuff Keeper - a short, vaguely oriental-looking boy - swooped down to retrieve the Quaffle and warily eyed Jessica Mateo as she hovered nearby. The Keeper waited until the other Chasers got closer then lobbed the Quaffle over to Tamsin Applebee who immediately started back down the pitch in the opposite direction. Mateo was quick to catch up but despite the Ravenclaw Chaser’s speed, Applebee knew just what direction to twist in order to successfully pass to Macavoy. Davies and Stretton tried their best but Applebee and Macavoy clearly had way more experience working as a team. The two Hufflepuff Chasers continued to use their exceptional teamwork and unorthodox ‘Basketball’ tactics to score another two times.

H 50 – R 10

“Poor Artemis is in way over her head,” Lysandra remarked with a shake of her head.

You liked to think that you would have fared better against the Hufflepuff Chasers than the Ravenclaw Keeper was doing. “Seriously? What’s she doing on the team? She made one lucky save. Those girls are making mincemeat out of her.”

“Ravenclaw had a decent Keeper last year,” Gemma informed you. “His name was Andre Egwu. But he, their Seeker, and one of their Chasers all graduated. Parkin became the Ravenclaw Captain and was left to pick up the pieces of a broken team. So she moved herself into the Seeker position, stuck… Artemis... in front of the hoops, and paired Mateo with those two newbies Davies and Stretton.”

“No wonder they can’t do anything about Applebee and Macavoy,” you remarked. “It’s their first time playing in a game together.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Blaise suddenly interrupted. Millicent grunted as he practically crawled over her so he could lean across you to talk to the other girls on your other side. “Did you say ‘Parkin’? As in Blythe Parkin?”

“I take it you’re a Tornados fan,” Gemma coolly responded to Blaise’s emotional outburst. “Yeah. That’s Skye Parkin. Blythe’s younger sister. They’re both the daughters of the legendary Ethan Parkin who played for the Wigtown Wanderers and the Scottish National Team. I think they have brothers too.”

“Is Skye Parkin any good?” you asked as you raised your Omnioculars and searched for the elusive Ravenclaw Seeker.

“She was a brilliant Chaser,” Gemma admitted. “One of the best in Hogwarts. She was one of the only Chasers who could pick off a pass between Applebee and Macavoy. But this is her first time playing Seeker in an actual match.”

“She comes from a Quidditch family,” Lysandra pointed out. “The game is in her blood. She’s bound to pick it up quickly.”

You finally spotted the Ravenclaw Seeker hovering up above the pitch. Skye Parkin was a pale-skinned older girl with short brown hair that went down to her neck. Or at least the top portion was brown. The ends of her hair from her ears down had been dyed blue along with a blue braid that went across her forehead. Perhaps the blue was for Ravenclaw house pride? Or perhaps it was for a completely different reason entirely? Either way, the Ravenclaw Captain was watching the action unfold below her with a frown on her face.

But as you zoomed in you saw something change in her eyes and you saw a smirk spread across her face. She changed her grip on her broom and started to dive.

“Hey! Hey!” you called out in warning to the others. “Parkin’s diving!”

“Wot?” Millicent blurted out from beside you. “Has she seen the Snitch?”

Skye Parkin hadn’t seen the Snitch. Instead, she divebombed the Hufflepuff Chasers. Macavoy and Applebee yelped when they saw the Ravenclaw Seeker shooting down at them and were **** to split up to avoid a collision.

“NOW!” you heard Parkin shout from all the way up in the the stands as she pulled out of her dive.

Stretton charged at Macavoy - who had been left with the Quaffle. The Hufflepuff Chaser swerved to avoid him only to find Davies flying in from the other side. The two Ravenclaw boys closed in on Macavoy and flanked her. She had nowhere to go as Mateo came flying in from straight ahead and yanked the Quaffle away from her.

“I don’t believe it! That was Parkin’s Pincher! Looks like Ravenclaw Team Captain Skye Parkin has taught her Chasers her family’s signature maneuver!”

By the time Lee Jordan had finished, Jessica Mateo was already nearing the Hufflepuff hoops after easily avoiding Hufflepuff’s ‘defensive’ Chaser. She once again started to spin into a tight corkscrew as she flew into the scoring area.

“One… two… three…” you counted as you watched Mateo spin three times in her corkscrew before she released the Quaffle and sent it flying through the right hoop.

The Hufflepuff Keeper once again dove to retrieve the Quaffle but this time Mateo beat him to it. She swooped down and snagged the Quaffle then shot back up and threw the ball through the middle hoop before the Keeper could catch up.

“And Ravenclaw scores twice in a row! That’s a hat trick for veteran Chaser Jessica Mateo. It looks like Ravenclaw is still in this match!”

R 30 – H 50

“Hmm…” you mused to yourself. Mateo had done a corkscrew for two of her goals. And for both of them she scored through the right hoop. You turned the knob on your Omnioculars and rewatched Mateo’s first goal and counted the number of spins. “One… two… three…” She performed the same corkscrew with the same three spins and she aimed for the same hoop. “Hmm… I think I’m seeing a pattern here…”

Meanwhile, there was a scuffle near the Hufflepuff hoops over the Quaffle that ended with the Hufflepuff Chasers back in possession. Applebee and Macavoy worked their way back across the pitch with another series of precise passes. They seemed to take being scored on twice personally because they quickly managed to score another two goals on Artemis Fawley.

H 70 – R 30

“One lucky save between the two of them in the entire match,” you grumbled out loud about the poor showing by the two Keepers..“Might as well leave the hoops unguarded for all the good she’s doing. Why is she even here?”

“Like I said,” Evanora replied. “She’s popular. She’s nice to literally everyone. Even to Slytherins. For anyone else, I’d call it nauseating and fake. But with her, it seems completely genuine. One day, you’ll finally meet her and she’ll be cheery and friendly to you and you’ll suddenly feel guilty for all the nasty things you said about her.”

“Sounds more like a Hufflepuff than a Ravenclaw if you ask me,” you remarked.

“To be honest, we’re not really sure what she’s doing in Ravenclaw either,” Lysandra admitted. “She’s not exactly booksmart. From what I’ve seen, Mateo has to practically drag her to the library. The Fawleys are a long-standing pureblood family but most of them have been in Hufflepuff, right Gemma?”

“...” You looked to your side and saw that Gemma had gone silent. Her hands were lying in her lap and were currently clenched into tight fists.

“Applebee scores again!” Lee Jordan called out. She’d once again shot from below but this time she’d aimed for the far hoop and the different trajectory caused the Quaffle to go flying by Fawley’s outstretched hand.

H 80 – R 30

You looked back at Gemma again. Was watching Tamsin Applebee really making Gemma this angry? You decided to cautiously probe the issue.

“So... er… Gemma… what do you have against ‘Tammy Apples’ anyway?” you inquired.

Farley’s head practically snapped to the side as she turned to stare at you. Her blue eyes were focused and intense. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s out there. And I’m stuck here. Do you remember what I told you about Selwyn after your tryout?”

“He was the Captain before Flint,” you recalled, “You said he wouldn’t let the girls tryout.”

“There used to be girls on the team,” Gemma informed you. “Erika Rath - she was a Beater for Slytherin in my first year and was a **** to be reckoned with. Whenever she played, you knew someone from the opposing team would be visiting the Hospital Wing after the match. Selwyn took over as Slytherin Captain in my second year. He booted Erika off the team and wouldn’t even let the girls tryout. Instead, he filled the roster with big brutish boys like Flint.”

There was one glaring issue with Gemma’s story… but you could tell this was a very personal thing for her so you didn’t want to approach it the wrong way.

“Okay,” you said. “So I can see why you’d have something against Selwyn… but what does Tamsin Applebee have to do with that?”

“I’ve been a Quidditch fan all my life,” Gemma told you, “I flew on my first training broom when I was four years old. Tammy didn’t even know what Quidditch was until she came to Hogwarts when she was thirteen. We had our first Flying Lesson together and I flew circles around her.”

“To be fair,” Evanora chimed in, “Gemma flew circles around basically everyone. All four houses in our year had Flying Lessons together and she was easily the best. The only one who came close was Oliver Wood from Gryffindor.”

“Meanwhile, Applebee was shaking like a leaf and looked like a fool,” Lysandra added, “She had to take Madam Hooch’s Remedial Flying Lesson and only passed because Macavoy helped her.”

Gemma crossed her arms and continued sourly, “A year later, Tammy Apples and Macavoy turned up at the Hufflepuff tryouts and dazzled those stupid, easily impressed badgers with their ‘Basketball’ skills. They were immediately given spots on the team. But when I went to the Slytherin tryouts… Selwyn kicked me off the pitch before I could even mount my broom. Then the next year, he went and made the tryouts ‘Invite Only’. Guess who didn’t get one.”

“You… and probably all the other girls,” you realized.

“Why does she get to play for her house team while I can’t?” Gemma demanded as she glared at the muggleborn Chaser.

Gemma’s situation royally sucked. You sympathized with her and could even relate to her a little. You were the best Keeper at the Slytherin tryouts but Flint still didn’t pick you for the team. He went with the bigger, less skilled Miles Bletchley. But at least you had gotten to tryout, although even then that was only because you and Draco told Flint about Potter’s new broomstick. Gemma hadn’t gotten that opportunity. She’d been barred from the pitch. And while you certainly felt a slowly simmering hatred building for that idiot Selwyn. It wasn’t Tamsin Applebee’s fault that Gemma hadn’t been able to join the Quidditch team.

“I used to be an Appleby Arrows fan,” Gemma ‘confessed’. The Arrows weren’t an overly successful team. They did better in the League than the Cannons but not much. Only a true fan would actually publicly admit to it. “Tammy didn’t even know they existed until she came to Hogwarts but then she had the audacity to claim they were ‘her team’ because they 'shared a name'. Well, I guess you can say that I soured on those apples and now I cheer for their bitter rivals -- the Wimbourne Wasps.”

You still didn't see how Tamsin Applebee had anything to do with Gemma’s sucky situation with Selwyn and the Slytherin Quidditch team. It was clear what the problem was… the Slytherin prefect was green with envy. She wanted to be out on the Quidditch pitch but had been unjustly passed over and now she was using the muggleborn Hufflepuff as an unfortunate scapegoat for her frustrations.

Seeing this envious, bitter, and angry side of Gemma Farley caused some of the luster you always imagined around her to fade. In your head, you used to refer to her as ‘the Perfect Prefect’ but after seeing her like this… you knew that was no longer the case.

You tilted your head a bit and continued to stare at the bitterly disappointed girl sitting beside you. And that’s when it hit you. Even though your opinion of her had just changed… she was still the same girl. She was still the same Gemma Farley who had taken the time to teach you the Knockback Jinx, the same Gemma Farley who had stuck Graham Montague to the broomshed and made him apologize for tackling you, and the same Gemma Farley who came and cheered for you at your Quidditch tryout despite all the rejection she’d faced on the Quidditch pitch.

“I’m sorry, Gemma,” you said as you slowly reached your hand out and grabbed her right hand, which was still clenched in a fist on her lap. You gave it a soft squeeze. “I’m sorry that happened to you. That sucks. And you have to know that if there was anything I could do to help… I would.”

During Gemma’s story, Applebee and Macavoy had each scored again. The two happy Chasers took a moment to high-five at their gameplay as they now had a commanding seventy point lead.

H 100 – R 30

“Another goal for Hufflepuff! That’s Applebee’s sixth in the match. That puts her ahead of that tosser Marcus Flint and makes her the Chaser with the most goals this season!”

Gemma scowled at the praise Lee Jordan was giving her rival. But then her expression turned thoughtful and she clearly thought of something amusing because the corners of her mouth quirked upwards. Not that you were staring at the pretty older girl’s face, of course!

“You know what, Gaunt?” Gemma said she turned to look at you. “I think I’ll take you up on that.”

“Really?” you asked. “What do you need me to do?”

“Do you think you could do better out there than… Artemis... is?” she inquired.

“Think?” you repeated. “I know I could. I’ve already noticed a pattern for how Applebee and Macavoy shoot and I think I’ve spotted the secret to Mateo’s corkscrew.”

“I don’t care about the other two,” Gemma bluntly informed you. “When Flint pulls his head out of arse and finally makes you starting Keeper... I want you to block everything Tammy Apples throws at you.”

“Everything?” you echoed.

“Every. Single. Thing.” Gemma confirmed. “If I can’t be out there on the pitch humiliating her then I’ll need you to do it in my place. There’s nothing more humiliating to a Chaser than a shutout.”

You weren’t exactly sure how humiliating Tamsin Applebee would help Gemma’s situation. And you were about to comment on this when Gemma upped the ante.

“And here’s your incentive, Gaunt,” Gemma added as she reached her arm around you and pulled you flush against her, “Remember, I don’t care what happens with Macavoy. When you finally get a chance to face Hufflepuff… if you can manage a shutout against Tammy Apples…” She leaned her head closer to yours. You could feel her warm breath on her ear. This was feeling eerily familiar to her terrifying ‘starving dogs’ speech. “I’ll find you after the match… and I’ll snog your brains out.”

Your stomach flipped and your mouth was suddenly dry.

“Wh-what?” you stammered. “Are you serious?”

“Serious as an Unforgivable Curse,” the fifth year prefect answered as she turned to face you. Her sapphire blue eyes were locked on yours. “You shutout Tammy… and I’ll snog you.”

Forget what you were thinking earlier. TAMMY APPLES WAS GOING DOWN!

“He’s thirteen!” Millicent suddenly objected from your other side. Oh. Right. There were other people sitting in the stands. For a second you had completely forgotten about everyone else.

Gemma pulled back and, to your abject horror, it looked like she was reconsidering her offer. “When’s your birthday?”

“Er… January first,” you dutifully replied.

Gemma nodded thoughtfully, “Slytherin doesn’t usually play Hufflepuff until the fifth match of the season at the beginning of May. And Flint’s being trollishly stubborn about not letting you play this year. So the earliest you could play Tammy is in May of your second year. And if my math’s right… you’ll be fifteen then. That’s definitely old enough for a good snog.”

“No, that’s even worse!” Millicent argued. “You’ll be older too. In May next year, you’ll be a sixth year and you’ll most likely be nineteen. You’ll be of age and he’ll still be an underaged minor.”

You whipped your head around and glared at your friend who was ‘defending you’. “MILLIE! DON’T RUIN THIS FOR ME!”

Millicent flinched back and looked down. “Sorry…”

“Better check your math, Bulstrode,” Gemma retorted. “My father named me ‘Gemma’ because I’m a gemini. My birthday is at the end of May. So I’ll still only be eighteen when Slytherin plays Hufflepuff at the beginning of the month. And thanks to magical folk generally having longer lifespans than muggles, we’re not considered ‘of age’ until we turn nineteen.” She turned her attention back to you and grin, “And with that in mind, I’d snog you this May if by some miracle Flint made you starting Keeper and you managed to shutout Tammy Apples.”

“You’ve got a deal,” you were quick to agree. You held out your hand and Gemma smirked as she made a show of shaking it. It was an awkward handshake considering you were still fully pressed into her side.

“Atta boy,” Gemma remarked as she reached up and ruffled your hair with her free hand.

“And there goes Mateo with her signature corkscrew!”

“Wait, what?” you blurted out as you looked back at the pitch just as Mateo started spinning towards the Hufflepuff hoops. Apparently, Ravenclaw had gotten the Quaffle back while you were distracted by Gemma’s proposal. The Hufflepuff Keeper seemed to have noticed the pattern you spotted and was already drifting over to protect the right hoop. You counted Mateo’s spins, “One… two… three… FOU--” You and the Hufflepuff Keeper were both caught off guard when Mateo threw halfway through her unexpected fourth spin while she was still upside down. The Quaffle went in the opposite direction than it usually did and flew through the left hoop before the Keeper could stop it.

“Another beautiful corkscrew and another goal by Mateo!”

R 40 – H 100

“That corkscrew of hers looks like a pain to deal with,” you commented out loud as you saved the scene. That was your third one. If something else happened, you'd have to replace one of the others.

Davies swooped in and managed to beat the Keeper to recovering the Quaffle. He passed the ball back out to Stretton who took a shot at the goal. But the Hufflepuff Keeper was out to redeem himself after being tricked by Mateo and managed to swat the Quaffle away.

The male Hufflepuff Chaser swept in and grabbed the wayward Quaffle then fired it off down the pitch to Applebee. Applebee swerved to avoid Mateo then threw the Quaffle down at the ground. The Quaffle bounced and Macavoy swooped down just in time to catch it.

But suddenly a blue-clad girl with blue-dyed hair shot down from overhead and once again divebombed the two Hufflepuff Chasers. But this time Macavoy and Applebee were more prepared and instead of scattering they both veered to the same right side to avoid her -- and flew right into the path of the Bludger.

“Ouch! Applebee just got creamed by a Bludger hit by Ravenclaw Beater Dempsey!”

Beside you, Gemma jumped up and actually cheered at her rival getting clobbered while Macavoy faltered and slowed down when she saw her ‘partner in crime’ take a hard hit from a Bludger. That left her wide open for the Ravenclaw Chasers who quickly closed in and pried the Quaffle away from her.

Lee Jordan’s sudden commentary tore everyone’s attention away from the Chasers. “Wait! Look up! Carter’s diving! I think he’s seen the Snitch!”

Skye Parkin was still down near the ground about midfield after helping her team steal the Quaffle. So she was close enough to your section in the stands that you could see her swear under her breath before she jerked her broom around and took off after the Hufflepuff Seeker and the Golden Snitch that he was already chasing.

“Helping out her Chasers is gonna cost her,” you remarked as you watched the two Seekers race across the pitch. “That ‘Carter’ guy has a huge lead on her.”

“She’s not out of the race yet,” Gemma stated. “Take a look at what she’s flying on.”

You zoomed in on Parkin’s broomstick and instantly recognized the model… the polished mahogany handle... the straight brown twigs at the tail… “THAT’S A NIMBUS TWO THOUSAND!”

“Finally noticed that, have you?” Gemma teased you. “You’re looking at the only other student in Hogwarts who has one aside from Harry Potter.”

You couldn’t help thinking of the Nimbus 2000 that you had impulsively purchased back during your trip to Diagon Alley. Because of the rule against first years having their own broom you weren’t able to have it delivered to you at Hogwarts so it was just sitting there uselessly in Quality Quidditch Supplies.

“Look at Parkin go! She’s actually gaining on Carter! That’s the speed of the Nimbus Two Thousand on display!” He was right. The distance between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Seekers had rapidly shrunk. Parkin was closing in on Carter but at the same time, Carter was beginning to close in on the Snitch.

A Bludger came whizzing towards Parkin but she tilted sideways on her broomstick and avoided it with almost casual ease.

“O'Leary tries to slow Parkin down with a Bludger! But she dodges it like it’s second nature! For the Parkin family, it probably is!”

“Parkin used to fly on a Comet,” Gemma informed you. “I think she bought that Nimbus this summer to give her an edge in the Seeker position. Actually, that might be Parkin’s old Comet that Mateo’s currently flying on.”

Speaking of Mateo, Lee Jordan brought your attention back to the Chasers. “And there goes Mateo with the Quaffle again!”

Crap. You were torn between watching the two Seekers race for the Snitch and watching Mateo split away from the other Chasers and make another speedy approach on the Hufflepuff hoops. In the end, your Keeper instincts told you to keep your eye on the Chaser.

Almost predictably at this point, Mateo launched into another corkscrew as she closed in on the Hufflepuff Keeper. But what was different this time was that she had started spinning a fair bit earlier than the previous three times. You once again counted each of the spins. One… two… three… four… FIVE! The Hufflepuff Keeper wasn’t sure what to make of the extra-long corkscrew either. Mateo came out of her fifth spin and threw the Quaffle. The extra spins meant that Mateo finished deeper in the scoring area and the Keeper’s hesitation meant he didn’t react in time to keep the Quaffle from soaring through the right hoop once more.

“Mateo scores again! And wait… the Snitch just swerved -- PARKIN’S GOT IT! SKYE PARKIN CAUGHT THE SNITCH! RAVENCLAW WINS!”

R 200 – H 100

You grumbled to yourself as you replaced the scene of Jessica Mateo scoring her first goal with the new one of her fifth goal. That signature corkscrew maneuver of hers was very tricky and you’d have to study it extensively if you wanted to stand a chance against Mateo next year. But unfortunately, you weren’t able to focus on two things at once so, while you studied Jessica Mateo, you had missed Skye Parkin catching the Snitch and ending the game. Loud cheers echoed from around the pitch and you watched as the blue-clad Ravenclaw players flew together to celebrate their victory.

Gemma jumped up so she was standing on the bench beside you and was one of the loudest cheerers in the stands.

Meanwhile, Macavoy landed next to Applebee who had only just managed to stagger back up off the ground following the hit from the Bludger she’d taken. You had suspected that Applebee was the taller of the two while you’d been watching them fly. But now that the two Hufflepuff fifth years were standing on the ground you were surprised to see that Applebee was extra tall and was nearly a full head taller than Macavoy. You’d have to watch out for that extra reach of hers if you wanted to someday get that snog Gemma had promised you.

The other Hufflepuffs flew down and joined Applebee and Macavoy on the ground and eventually, the Ravenclaws landed as well. O'Leary - the stocky red-haired Beater that led the Hufflepuff Team - walked up to Skye Parkin and held out his hand. Skye passed the Snitch she was still holding from one hand to the other so that she could shake it.

Lee Jordan couldn’t resist commenting on the display. “And Captains O'Leary and Parkin shake hands in a show of good sportsmanship. It’s also worth noting that there wasn’t a single penalty incurred in this highly competitive match. Are you paying attention Slytherins? That’s how it should be done, you cheating snakes!”

Well, that seemed unnecessary… and then almost as if spurred on by Lee Jordan’s comments, the rest of the players grouped together and started shaking hands. You were especially surprised when Artemis Fawley - whose long brown hair was now a total mess - ignored Tamsin Applebee and Heidi Macavoy’s extended hands and instead pulled the two Hufflepuff girls into a tight hug. Huh… maybe Lysandra and Evanora had a point about her being nice to everybody. The Ravenclaw Keeper clearly showed no ill will towards the girls who had spent the game running roughshod over her.

Lee Jordan went on to call out the final scores and update everyone on the Quidditch Cup standings. “We conclude this set of Quidditch matches with the scores as follows: Ravenclaw in first place with two hundred points, Gryffindor behind them with one hundred seventy points, Hufflepuff in third with one hundred points, and the slimy Slytherins in last place right where they belong with sixty points. I’ll see you all back here in February for the third match of the season where Ravenclaw faces Slytherin!”

“Oh boy,” you sighed to yourself, “Flint’s not gonna be happy about that. I’m glad I’m not sitting in the other Slytherin section.”

Draco Malfoy on the other hand had. When you saw him again after the match, his ears were bright red. If you had to guess they were probably still ringing from Flint screaming at him.

That night in your room, you laid back in your bed with your Omnioculars and thought about what you had seen in the match. The Hufflepuff Chasers were really good. Having now seen all the Hogwarts Chasers in action, you could honestly say that the Hufflepuff’s Chaser line was currently the best in Hogwarts. Of course, you’d never be stupid enough to actually say that in front off Gemma. Applebee and Macavoy had shown that they were a powerful offensive unit and were used to working as a team. Even their third Chaser had proved his worth by playing defensively and recovering the Quaffle a number of times and passing it off to the other two. It was easy to see why they had managed to rack up a hundred points so efficiently.

You took a moment to watch the first scene of Tamsin Applebee scoring her first goal after the bounce pass from Macavoy. So far the best defense you could devise against the Hufflepuffs was to hover low in front of the hoops in order to better block their upward angled shots.

Then your thoughts drifted to the opposition on other teams. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor both had two rookie Chasers that still needed some polish. Gryffindor’s ‘veteran’ Chaser Angelina Johnson was only on her second year on the team and had only scored one goal in the comparatively short match against Slytherin. Alicia Spinnet had scored too. That made her the only one of the ‘rookie’ Chasers to score. Davies, Stretton, and Bell all had unlucky first outings and had yet to score. But then again, neither had Warrington.

Speaking of your house, your Chaser line was rather murky. Pucey, Warrington, and even Flint had some talent. Pucey had managed to score one goal while Flint had gotten five while everyone was distracted by Potter’ jinxed broom. But that was the thing, the rough and dirty tactics that Flint insisted your team employ worked against you and overshadowed any actual talent your players had. Lee Jordan and the vast majority of the school saw the Slytherin team as a bunch of ‘cheating snakes’ and would never give your team any real credit.

And then, of course, there was Ravenclaw - the day’s big victors. You watched both of your saved scenes of Mateo scoring over and over. Maybe it was from all the spinning but you couldn’t help finding the dark-haired, dark-skinned, sixth year girl attractive. Mateo had been the one compensating for Fawley’s failings as a Keeper and had almost single-handedly kept her team in the game long enough for Parkin to catch the Snitch. Okay, maybe she hadn’t done it single-handedly. Davies and Stretton had passed the Quaffle off to her a few times and Parkin had even dropped in to help with a couple of turnovers. In fact, Parkin helping the Chasers was what nearly cost her team the match. Carter - the Hufflepuff Seeker - had spotted the Snitch first. It was only because of Parkin’s faster broom and natural flying ability that she was able to beat him to the Snitch.

You knew from Draco’s unfortunate experience at the match that Flint was taking Slytherin’s last place standing in the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup extra personally. He would likely drive the team extra hard when the new term started after the holidays. You shivered as you remembered the last brutal practice that Flint had run and suspected that there would be many like that in the future as he prepared the team for the match against Ravenclaw. You resolved to enjoy the upcoming holidays while they lasted because things were going to get very rough for you on the Quidditch pitch next term. You were almost glad that Bletchley was the one playing Keeper instead of you. That meant Flint would be more focused on him.

But then again… if you were starting Keeper that meant you’d get to play in the match against Hufflepuff. You felt your face heating up as you thought about Gemma Farley’s deal. She said she’d snog if you could manage a shutout against Tamsin Applebee.

But after seeing the day’s match, you knew that was easier said than done. None of the Keepers had managed a shutout so far this season. And Applebee was statistically the best Chaser in the school since she had scored the most goals. Her teamwork with Macavoy was incredible. Getting a shutout against Applebee most likely meant you’d have to block everything Macavoy threw too.

You didn’t have anything personally against the two Hufflepuff Chasers… but you really wanted that snog. And technically, it was already your job as a Keeper to block everything the opposing Chasers threw at you so it wasn’t like you were doing something wrong or anything that you weren’t already supposed to do. No, this was just some harmless extra motivation.

When you fell asleep that night you dreamed that you were the starting Keeper against Hufflepuff and that you managed to pull off a miraculous shutout - and not just against Applebee but against Macavoy too and even that other guy. When the match ended with a Slytherin victory, you imagined the pretty and curvy, auburn-haired, blue-eyed older girl cheering for you, hugging you, and then giving you your first kiss - quickly followed by your first snog.

Yes, that was something you wanted a great deal. Suffering through Flint’s screaming tirades and all the brutal practices leading up to the match seemed like a small price to pay in exchange for a snog from Gemma Farley.

Marvolo Gaunt House Point Ledger

Current Total: +48

Points awarded by: SS, RH, QQ