Light Second Quidditch Match

“At least now we can scout the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Teams together,” you reminded Draco as the two of you climbed the stairs out of the dungeons along with the other first years after you’d gone back to the Slytherin Common Room to retrieve your winter cloaks and, in the case of you and Draco, your Omnioculars.

But as you came up the stairs you saw Harry Potter and Hermione Granger heading in the direction of the Grand Staircase.

“And where are you two lions going?” you inquired.

“The library,” Hermione answered automatically. They stopped and looked back at you but their faces fell when saw Draco and the other Slytherin first years standing with you.

But then Harry couldn't help smirking when he spotted Millicent's charmed cat hat, which was fairly easy considered she was one of the two tallest in your group. "Nice beanie, Bulstrode."

"Oh, thanks," Millicent blinked in surprise at being addressed and the yellow cat eyes on the brim of her black wool beanie did the same. "It was a birthday present from Marvolo. But Flitwick charmed it." She made a point of glowering at the two Gryffindors and both of them couldn't help smiling as the adorable cat features on Millicent's hat once again mirrored her expression.

Malfoy clearly didn't like not being the center of attention so he spoke up, "The library? In case you two Gryffindorks forgot… there’s a Quidditch match today.”

“We’re aware of that, Malfoy,” Harry replied coolly. “Ron and Neville said they’d tell us all about it when they get back.”

You were actually genuinely curious why they were actively choosing to seclude themselves in the library instead of going to the Quidditch match like the rest of the school. Hadn’t you helped them finish their search for Nicholas Flamel? What were they researching now? In your eyes, there was more to be learned from watching the other Quidditch teams on the pitch today. And unlike you, Harry was actually a starting playing on the Gryffindor team.

“So you’re not going to scout the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Seekers? You’re certainly a bold one, Potter. If it were me, I’d want to know everything I could about my opponents.”

“I’ve got Oliver Wood for that,” the Gryffindor Seeker informed you. “I’m sure he’ll take loads of notes and spend weeks drilling his strategies into my head when we start training again in February.”

“Still, there are only six Quidditch matches a year,” you pointed out. “Are you sure you really want to miss one? Look, even Theodore’s coming out with us and he’s likely to spend the whole match reading.”

You looked back and Nott dutifully raised the book he was bringing along.

“Okay, you’re really gonna make me spell this out for you, aren’t you?” Harry realised. “During the last match... someone jinxed my broom and was trying to kill me. Since we still don’t know who it was, I reckon I’ll be safer in the library.”

“That’s... actually a halfway decent reason to miss a Quidditch match,” Draco admitted after a slight pause. “I don’t even have a response for that…”

“I do,” Blaise felt the need to chime in, “I mean if I wanted to kill you… I’d do it in a secluded place with as few witnesses as possible. For example, when you’re alone in the library while the rest of the school is at the Quidditch match.”

“A crowd of witnesses didn’t deter them last time,” Harry countered. “I think I’ll take my chances in the library where the worst I have to worry about is Madam Pince.”

“Suit yourself,” you replied with a casual shrug then turned to leave. The others followed along behind you.

Blaise called back to the two Gryffindors, “Good luck with not getting murdered in the library!”

“Did you have to sound so cheery when you said that?” Millicent complained.

The ten of you made it to the Quidditch Pitch and climbed up the Slytherin tower. You spotted Gemma, Lysandra, and Evanora sitting alone in the middle of the front row. There wasn’t enough room for all of you but there was an open space on the right side of the second row. You quickly claimed the open spot beside Gemma and soon found Malfoy sitting down next to you.

“Marvolo claims that you’re some kind of authority on Quidditch, Farley,” Draco spoke up while Pansy and Millicent sat down on his other side. “We’ll see about that.”

“Well, you are paying me five galleons for the lesson,” Gemma retorted, “So I suppose as a responsible upperclassman I should make sure that you at least learn a thing or two.”

“Two of you could probably squeeze in over here,” Lysandra offered as she patted the open space beside her on the other side of the group. “But be warned… I bite.”

“As fun as that sounds,” Blaise replied, “I suppose we should be gentlemen about this and let the girls have those seats.” Daphne and Tracey didn’t seem overly thrilled about sitting next to ‘the biter’ but Blaise, Vincent, Gregory, and Theodore didn’t give them time to protest and quickly filed into the row behind you. “There we go, Parkinson’s short enough for me to see over and you two are tall enough to see over Gaunt and Malfoy without any problem.” You looked back and found Crabbe and Goyle seated behind you and Draco with Zabini next to them and Nott on his other side. Blaise motioned to the book that Theodore had brought along. “And it’s not like you’ll be watching much of the match anyway so it hardly matters if you're stuck behind Bulstrode and her charming hat.”

"..." Theodore silently shrugged and seemed to agree with Blaise's sentiment as he cracked open his book and started reading.

It was quiet for a moment as you waited for the match to start but then Pansy felt the need to break the silence.

“Oh, Farley, did you hear what happened in the Great Hall after you left? That tall mudblood from the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team came over. She badmouthed you for a bit but your little boyfriend here wouldn’t stand for it. Or rather, he did. Because he literally stood up on the bench to get in that giraffe’s face. I think you’re his favorite too.”

Your face flushed as Pansy outed you and you quickly looked down and avoided eye contact.

“And what did Tammy Apples have to say about me?” you heard Gemma ask.

“They may have called you some unsavory things…” you admitted without looking up.

“I believe her exact words were ‘she’s a manipulative bitch’,” Pansy seemed to take great pleasure in answering. “And the other one called you a ‘jealous manipulative shrew’... although it was hard to understand her with that accent.” You turned and glared at Parkinson who seemed to be using this as an excuse to insult Gemma. “What? She asked. It’s not like I’m insulting her. I’m simply repeating what those other girls said.” Normally, you tried not to wish ill will on anyone. But in that moment you couldn’t help wanting something really bad to happen to Pansy Parkinson.

You felt a hand on your shoulder and turned to see Gemma looking down at you with an unreadable expression. “And what was your take on what Applebee and Macavoy said?”

“They said you couldn’t be trusted and that you were just using me…” you quietly answered. “But I pointed out that any Slytherin who doesn’t act in their own self-interest is a bad Slytherin.”

Pansy grinned and felt the need to chime in again, “Actually, his exact words were—OUCH!”

You’d seen the white light of a Stinging Jinx fly passed you and looked to the side to see Lysandra with her wand out. Huh. Your wish for something bad to happen to Parkinson had just come true and your opinion of the tall, dark-haired fifth year girl had just gone up a notch as a result.

“Sorry, Gemma,” Lysandra apologized. “The yappy little bitch was getting on my nerves.” Oh, and now she'd just called Parkinson a bitch. Make that three notches. Evanora was going to have a hell of a time trying to catch up with her friends in your eyes.

“Normally, I’d have to take points for jinxing another student,” Gemma said, “But she really had that coming.” The prefect looked passed you and glared at Pansy who looked absolutely furious as she held her hand over her shoulder where she’d been stung. “I’ve heard enough from you today, Parkinson. Keep your mouth shut or the next one will be a Silencing Charm.”

Pansy wisely decided to keep her mouth shut. But Blaise leaned forward from his spot behind her and smirked as whispered to Parkinson loud enough for you to hear. “She did make a point to warn us all about the biting.”

You smirked in amusement and settled in to watch the second Hogwarts Quidditch match of the season with the girl you had a crush on sitting on your left side and your fellow reserve on the Slytherin Quidditch Team on your right.

“Welcome to the second game of the Quidditch season!” Lee Jordan’s magically amplified voice sounded through the pitch. You looked down and watched as the blue and yellow robed teams flew out on the Quidditch pitch. “Today’s match is Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw!”

The two captains shook hands. They were both older students and looked to be sixth or seventh years. The Hufflepuff Captain was a stocky red-headed boy and the Ravenclaw Captain was a girl who had dyed the lower half of her short brown hair blue. Perhaps as a show of Ravenclaw spirit?

Madam Hooch opened the crate of Quidditch balls and the Bludgers burst out and shot up into the sky. There was a flash of gold as the 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 boy who looked a couple years older than you 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!”

You raised your Omnioculars and focused on the tall muggleborn girl who you had a brief encounter with back in the Great Hall. “So if Applebee could barely fly straight during your Flying Lessons. How did she get on the team?”

“That’d be her partner-in-crime Macavoy’s doing,” Gemma answered. “Tammy Apples had to go to Madam Hooch’s Remedial Flying Lesson.” You resisted the urge to smirk at Malfoy who had also been **** to go to the Remedial Flying Lesson. “Macavoy went along with her and spent most of our first year helping the lanky oaf become a better flyer. Then I guess Tammy decided to return the favor and taught Macavoy this obscure muggle sport that she played before coming to Hogwarts. Apparently, it translates well to Quidditch because they both tried out in our second year and were… lucky enough to make the team as starting Chasers.”

You thought back to what Tamsin had said at breakfast. “And what did she tell you about me? That I’m some lucky muggleborn who wandered onto the pitch during tryouts and miraculously landed a spot on the team? Do you think I didn’t work hard to get where I am? I’m a Hufflepuff. Hard work is what we’re all about.”

Gemma had used the word ‘lucky’...

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

Gemma’s phrase ‘partner-in-crime’ seemed to fit the two badgers perfectly. Applebee and Macavoy were definitely on the same page. Their passes were pinpoint accurate. One always knew 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’.

“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.”

“Trust the muggles to even ruin Quidditch,” Draco grumbled from beside you.

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 to call out 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 the stocky red-headed Hufflepuff Team Captain. He had a face full of freckles and was 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 asked 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 Chasers 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 and was now blowing in the wind, her glasses had remained perched perfectly on her face.

“They’re obviously charmed with some kind of Sticking Charm,” Pansy supplied.

“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? It’s not like she’s got all that much time to improve.”

“...” Gemma didn’t answer and had been notably silent since Artemis Fawley had came 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 Two-Sixty but the girl flew on it like it was a Nimbus Two Thousand. 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 shades lighter and was more of a 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. Goyle let out an annoyed grunt before Blaise suddenly pushed you to the side and popped his head in between yours and Gemma’s.“Did you say ‘Parkin’? As in Blythe Parkin?”

“I take it you’re a Tornados fan like Gaunt,” Gemma coolly responded to Blaise’s emotional outburst. “Yeah. That’s Skye Parkin. Blythe’s younger sister. They’re both the daughters of 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. You vaguely remembered Gemma telling you to keep an eye on the Ravenclaw team during the match after you told her that you were a Blythe Parkin fan.

“She doesn’t need to be,” Draco said, “Quidditch is in her blood. And did you see what she’s flying on? That’s a Nimbus Two Thousand.”

Once Blaise had finally returned to his seat, you were able to locate the Ravenclaw girl with dyed blue hair and, sure enough, you recognised the broom she was riding as a Nimbus Two Thousand.

“Well spotted, Malfoy,” Gemma said. “You’re looking at the only Hogwarts student aside from Harry Potter who has one.”

You couldn’t help but think of the Nimbus that you had impulsively purchased during your trip to Diagon Alley and how the top-of-the-line broomstick was just sitting uselessly in Quality Quidditch Supplies due to the rule against first years having their own broom.

“That Nimbus Two Thousand is actually brand new,” Gemma continued. “Skye Parkin used to play Chaser and was brilliant at it. Definitely one of the best in Hogwarts. Gaunt, you’re actually lucky you’ll never have to go against her. Back then she flew on a Comet Two-Sixty which I’m pretty sure is the one Mateo’s tearing up the pitch on now. But this is Parkin’s first time playing Seeker in a Hogwarts match so I’d wager that fancy new broomstick is to give her an edge.”

You were still focused on Parkin so you were probably the first to see her expression change as she switched her grip on her broomstick.

“Hey, Draco! Eyes on Parkin!” you warned him. “I think she’s about to dive!”

“Wot?” Millicent blurted out from the end of your row. “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 shouted from all the way up 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!”

“I told you, she’s a Parkin so Quidditch is in her blood!” Draco insisted. “She doesn’t even need a fancy broom or those ridiculous muggle tricks. Her lineage means she’ll be just as effective as a Seeker as she was a Chaser. Potter would’ve never thought to do something like that.”

“You saved that last bit, right?” you asked Draco. “I’ve only got three saves on my Omnioculars and I need to reserve those for when the Chasers score so I can prepare to defend against them.”

“So you admit that mine are a superior model,” Draco gloated. You gave a quick nod of admission. “Yes. I recorded from Parkin’s dive to Parkin’s Pincher. I suppose I can let you have a look after the match.”

“How very generous of you,” you hissed through gritted teeth. You really hoped that Gemma won their bet. Otherwise, there’d be no living with the smug little bastard after this. “Thank you, Draco.”

“I might want a look at that too,” Blaise admitted.

Meanwhile, 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 as you used your third slot to save the scene. 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

“Ha! Look at Fawley!” Pansy cackled. “Her hair looks almost as bad as Granger’s!”

You glanced at the Ravenclaw Keeper. She looked like had been through the wringer. Her long brown hair had come loose early in the match and now it had become a bushy, windswept mess. But you personally didn’t think Hermione’s bushy hair was that bad.

The fact of the matter was that you were highly unimpressed by the two Keepers in this match. “One lucky save between the two of them in the entire match. 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 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?”

“Yeah, Faarrley, aren’t most Fawley’s in Hufflepuff?” Parkinson sneered.

“What’re you on about, Parkinson?” you asked.

“Oh, I’d never spoil someone’s family secret,” Pansy replied. “Why don’t you ask your girlfriend?”

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. She didn’t look like she was in the mood to share.

“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 her this angry? No. There was something else going on here that was upsetting her.

“Parkinson, watch it,” you warned her. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull but it’s clearly upsetting Gemma so knock it off or I’ll hex you.”

“Don’t waste your magic, Gaunt,” Lysandra spoke up. “I already warned her once. Parkinson, shut your yap or I’ll come over there and shut you up myself.”

Pansy glared daggers at the dark-haired fifth year. But it seemed like the blatant threat had finally cowed her into a surly silence.

“Standing up for me again, are you, Gaunt?” Gemma asked.

You shrugged and tried to play it off, “Well, you are my favorite prefect.”

Gemma looked over at you and seemed to be sizing you up. “I bet you’d do better out there than… Artemis…”

“It’s not like that’d be hard,” you replied, “She’s made a grand total of one save.”

“That’s big talk from such a little snake,” Gemma remarked, “Even Oliver Wood has trouble defending the hoops when Gryffindor plays Hufflepuff.”

Oliver Wood had only made one save in the game against Slytherin. “Are we talking about the same Oliver Wood who allowed Flint to score five times in a row while he was distracted by Harry Potter’s jinxed broomstick? I’d never lose focus like that.”

“So you think you’d fare better against Tammy Apples than Oliver Wood?” Gemma prodded. It sounded suspiciously like she was goading you like she had with Malfoy. “In order to do that, you’d have to block every shot she takes and get a shutout. Still feeling confident?”

You looked out at the pitch and watched as Applebee executed a bounce-pass to Macavoy. “Does that mean blocking Macavoy too?”

“Of course not,” Gemma replied. “You’d have to be on a near-professional level to manage that. Just shutting out one of them would be hard enough. You’d have to be the best Keeper at Hogwarts to do it.”

“After seeing my competition… I just might be,” you boasted.

“Then let’s make this interesting…” Gemma suggested. “A friendly wager. If you somehow find your way onto the starting team and can manage a shutout against Tammy Apples… I’ll find you after the match and I’ll make your wildest dreams come true… I’ll snog you.”

Your jaw dropped. “What?”

“HE’S THIRTEEN, YOU SICK PEDOPHILE!!”

That sounded like Parkinson. What the hell was she doing here interrupting the greatest moment of your life? The Perfect Prefect had just offered to snog you!

Suddenly Lee Jordan’s magically amplified voice cut through your thoughts. “Macavoy scores! That’s her fourth goal of the match!”

H 90 – R 30

Oh. Right. There was still a Quidditch match going on. And all the other first years had just heard Gemma’s extremely appealing wager. You never thought you’d have a chance with the pretty fifth year. But this was your chance. She was offering to kiss you. A lot!

You looked to your right… Draco’s eyes were wide and his mouth was open in an expression that probably matched yours from a couple seconds ago. Pansy looked morally outraged and for some reason Millicent seemed upset too. Or at least her cat hat was because it was currently glaring at Gemma. Maybe it was because of Pansy’s ‘pedophile’ outburst?

Speaking of which, Gemma’s expression told you that she had run out of patience with Pansy. “‘Sandra, shut her up.”

“Thought you’d never ask!” Lysandra exclaimed as she drew her wand drawn.

Pansy glared at her, “You. Wouldn’t. Da--”

“Silencio!” Pansy was cut off mid-word by what appeared to be a Silencing Charm. Her mouth flapped wordlessly and her face took on a pink tint as she started to silently scream. “Now, let’s have ourselves a wee chat about pedophiles since Parkinson seems to have such strong negative feelings against them.” The dark-haired fifth year stood up and worked her way passed you then stopped in front of Draco and Pansy. “Slide over, Malfoy.”

You felt an arm snake around your waist and found yourself being pulled to the left. You looked down to see that it was Gemma’s and were rather pleased when you ended up pressed fully against the seventeen-year-old witch's curvy side as you both slid over. Meanwhile, back on your other side, Lysandra had sat down in between Malfoy and Parkinson and had her arms over their shoulders. Pansy had gone pale and looked extremely nervous. This was likely because Lysandra’s wand was still in her hand and was practically pressed against the younger girl’s face.

“Now, for starters,” Lysandra began, “A pedophile is defined as an adult who is sexually attracted to children. Gemma’s seventeen which means she’s still underage and is thus still considered a child in the eyes of magical law since witches and wizards aren’t considered ‘of age’ until they’re nineteen. So she’s obviously not a pedophile. But let’s talk about someone who might be, shall we?” Lysandra turned to look at the blonde boy on her other side, “Malfoy, what year was your grandfather born in?”

“Wh-what!?” Draco sputtered, “Abraxas Malfoy was born in nineteen thirty-three and how dare you suggest that he’s a pedophile!”

“Not that grandfather,” Lysandra replied, “The one on your mother’s side - Cygnus Black the third. What year was he born in?”

“Nineteen thirty-eight,” Draco rattled off. “But he wasn’t--”

“And how about his wife Druella?” Lysandra pressed. “What year was she born in?”

“Nineteen thirty…” Draco quietly admitted.

“Nineteen thirty, you say?” Lysandra repeated louder for everyone’s benefit. “Tell me, first years, what’s thirty-eight minus thirty? Come on, this isn’t advanced Arithmancy and I only silenced Parkinson. Just shout it out if you know it.”

“Er… eight?” Crabbe answered from behind you.

“Very good, Crabbe,” Lysandra praised him. “Eight. That happens to be twice the age difference between Gemma and your friend Marvolo Gaunt. Now, I know what you’re thinking, Parkinson…” Lysandra took her arm off of Draco’s shoulders and used her freed hand to work Pansy’s mouth. “‘But ‘Sandra, wizards live hundreds of years. Eight years isn’t that big a gap between a witch and a wizard who are of age. They could have gotten married later in life.’ And you know, normally, you’d be right. But that’s not the case here, is it, Malfoy? Tell us, what year was your mother born in?”

“Nineteen fifty-five,” Draco answered. His ears had gone red.

“Alright, kids, what’s fifty-five minus thirty-eight?” Lysandra asked.

“Er… seventeen?” came Goyle’s uncertain response.

“That’s right, Goyle, well done!” Lysandra chirped. And though her voice seemed chipper and upbeat there was no hiding the hint of icy venom that lingered in it.

You glanced behind you and saw that Crabbe and Goyle both seemed pleased with their ‘correct’ answers. They had no idea that they were aiding in their friend’s embarrassment. Because you had a sinking suspicion where Lysandra’s math lesson was going. You did some math of your own and while Narcissa Malfoy had Draco at age twenty-five according to his June 1980 birthday… the same couldn’t be said for her parents who were the subject of Yaxley’s very personal line of questioning.

Further to the right, Blaise was listening with rapt attention and even Theodore had looked up from his book to listen in on Lysandra’s math and history lesson.

“So that means Cygnus Black was seventeen when his daughter was born,” Lysandra stated as you looked back at her. “Oh my! That means he wasn't of age! But that's not the worst of it, is it Draco? Your mother isn’t his only daughter… is she? In fact, the way I hear it, she’s actually the youngest of three daughters.” Lysandra leaned towards Draco as if she was whispering in his ear but spoke loud enough for everyone in the first two rows to hear. “Tell us, Draco… what year was your Aunt Bellatrix born?”

Bellatrix Lestrange had been one of the Dark Lord’s most devout followers… and likely still was. One of the worst **** Eaters to ever live. She relished in the pain and misery that she caused during the war and had been given a life sentence in Azkaban for her crimes. But as you looked over at the dark-haired fifth year and took in the sheer delight in her eyes as she tormented your roommate… you couldn’t help but compare her with the infamous Dark Witch.

“...” Draco. for his part, didn’t answer. But that didn’t stop Lysandra.

“No answer, Draco?” she prodded. “Does anyone know?”

“Nineteen fifty-one.” It was Gemma who said it. The final nail in the coffin for the utterly mortified duo of Draco and Pansy.

“Thank you, Gemma, that’s absolutely right,” Lysandra responded. “Bellatrix Black was born in nineteen fifty-one… which would make dear Cygnus thirteen when she was born. Wow. That’s certainly a special going away present to give a boy entering his first year. But let’s not forget the fact that the average pregnancy lasts nine months. So for all we know, little Cygnus could have been TWELVE when she was conceived. Well, that means someone had sex with an underaged boy. At least three times if you recall that Draco’s mother actually has two sisters.”

“How do you even know all that!?” Draco demanded. His blush had spread from his ears to the rest of his face. He was now the reddest you’d ever seen him.

“I’m named after my Great Aunt,” Lysandra casually replied. “She married into the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.”

“I-I’ll tell my father what you said!” Draco threatened.

“Your father?” Lysandra repeated. “I’m more interested in what your mother thinks in all this.” Lysandra’s long, dark hair flipped as she suddenly rounded on Pansy. “Parkinson, you seem to enjoy teasing your classmates about their romantic prospects. Tell me, with such strong feelings against pedophiles what do you think your chances are of becoming the next Lady Malfoy when the current Lady Malfoy hears what you think of her mother?” Lysandra twirled her wand and Pansy flinched when it flashed red as she cast a counter-spell, “Finite Incantatum! Well, Parkinson, you’re not silenced anymore. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I-I’m s-sorry…” Pansy stammered. Her voice was small and quivering. You leaned forward to get a better look around Lysandra at her and saw that Pansy was shaking and that her face was bright red - oh Merlin - she was actually crying! Lysandra Yaxley had been so devastatingly brutal in her verbal attack on Parkinson (and Malfoy) that it had reduced the most annoying girl in your year to tears.

Suddenly you heard clapping behind you. You looked back to see Blaise applauding.

“That was outright vicious!” he exclaimed with his eyes wide in what appeared to be admiration.

“Speak for yourself, that girl’s bloody terrifying,” you muttered under your breath.

You felt a hand pat your back and looked over at Gemma. Oh bugger. She’d heard you. “Oh, ‘Sandra’s not that bad. She’s only that intense when she gets worked up. She warned Parkinson twice. I warned her too. You even warned her. Maybe now she’s learned a valuable lesson about watching who she insults.” There was something about Gemma’s self-satisfied smirk that rubbed you the wrong way.

“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!”

H 100 – R 30

You blinked and once again had to remind yourself that there was a Quidditch match going on. “So… about this bet of ours… Er… what happens if I lose?”

“What happened to all that confidence from earlier, Gaunt?” Gemma teased you. “Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet now.” Her expression fell. You saw the clear disappointment in her sapphire eyes and felt your stomach twist uncomfortably.

“No, I’m… I still think I can do it,” you insisted. “But you heard the commentary. Applebee’s the Chaser with the most goals this season so she’s clearly got some talent. Getting a shutout on her could be more difficult than I initially anticipated.”

Gemma let out a soft sigh, “I’ll tell you what, Gaunt, because I like you… we can table our wager for another time. I mean, Flint’s not even going to let you play this season. Why don’t we come back to our friendly little wager when there’s actually a chance of you playing against Tammy Apples? Maybe then you can earn that snog.”

“I… okay,” you said. For some reason, you felt like you’d just lost out on an amazing opportunity.

“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 retracting her wager.

“Speaking of wagers,” Gemma remarked, “Malfoy, how do you think ours is going to turn out if Parkin catches the Snitch now? The Hufflepuffs may have the lead but if Mateo scores again it’s going to be Mateo’s goals that will put Ravenclaw in first place for the Quidditch Cup once Parkin makes the catch.”

“...” Draco was still notably subdued but you chanced a glance at him and saw that all the lingering color in his face was gone and he was now pale white.

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.

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 out to redeem himself after being tricked by Mateo and managed to swat the Quaffle away.

The male Hufflepuff Keeper 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 right 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 creamed which seemed rather cruel to you. Meanwhile, Macavoy faltered slowed down when she saw her ‘partner in crime’ take a hard hit from a Bludger and that left her 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.”

“Still think Parkin’s going to get the Snitch?” Draco gloated to Gemma. “She was so caught up in helping her Chasers that she forgot all about it. I’d never lose focus like that.” You remembered saying something similar when comparing your Keeper abilities with Oliver Wood’s.

“I hope you didn’t forget what she’s flying on, Malfoy,” Gemma reminded him. “That’s a Nimbus Two Thousand.”

“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!”

“Now they’re dead even!” Draco exclaimed. “She’s actually caught up to him!”

Lee Jordan suddenly brought your attention back to the Chasers. Or one Chaser in particular. “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 Chaser 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’s first goal with the one you’d just seen 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. Maybe Draco would let you have a look at it.

Loud cheers echoed from around the pitch and you watched as the blue-clad Ravenclaw players flew together to celebrate their victory. Gemma had 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.

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 still 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 place 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!”

“Eh-hem!” you heard Gemma clear her throat and saw her looking at Malfoy with her hand out. “Like I said, Malfoy, Ravenclaw in first place, Gryffindor second, Hufflepuff in third, and Slytherin in last. Pay up.” Damn. She’d been right on the money.

You focused your Omnioculars on the Slytherin section at the other end of the pitch and could make out Marcus Flint in the front row. Also as Gemma predicted, he was furious. Bletchley and Warrington (and Montague) had the misfortune of being the Slytherin players closest to him and were currently getting an earful.

“Pay the lady, Draco,” you advised your roommate. “She was right about Flint’s reaction too. Our jolly Captain looks ready to start cursing people. You’re really lucky she talked you out of sitting over there.”

Draco looked like he’d just sucked on something sour. But none-the-less he fished into his pocket and placed five gold coins in Gemma’s outstretched hand.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Gemma replied. “Maybe you’ll learn something from your friend, Gaunt. He knew better than to enter into a wager where he didn’t know all the details. Next time, maybe do a little research before you bet money on something.” Gemma placed her hand on your back and smiled at you, “And as for you, I meant what I said earlier. Once you make Starting Keeper, you and I can negotiate the terms of our friendly little wager. And maybe then you can finally earn that snog. ‘Til then, I’ll see you around, cutie.”

And then she caught you completely off guard when she leaned in and kissed your cheek. It only lasted a split second but that was long enough for your stomach to do one of those funny flips that it liked to do when Gemma was around. You felt your face heat up. It started from the spot on your cheek that Gemma had kissed and quickly spread to the rest of your face. You heard an assortment of girls giggling at your reaction as Gemma stood back up. “Alright, ladies, I think we’ve done enough damage here for one day. Let’s go.”

The three fifth years left. But you remained in your seat and idly traced the spot Gemma had kissed with your fingers. If that was a kiss on the cheek then you couldn’t help but wonder what a full-blown lip-to-lip snog would be like. You found yourself disappointed that you hadn’t taken Gemma up on her wager. But then again, she had praised you for not agreeing to it without knowing all the terms so perhaps that had been the right decision in the long run.

You weren’t sure how long you sat there swooning but eventually, Blaise’s voice drew you out of your Gemma-centric thoughts. “Oi, are we going to sit here all day or are we going inside?”

It took you another couple seconds to realise that the stands were now empty - except for your group of Slytherin first years. Greengrass and Davis were giggling together on your left side, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Nott were still seated behind you (Theodore had gone back to reading his book), Malfoy was still sitting on your right side - his face was scrunched up and his eyes were clouded over, and beyond him was Parkinson who had at least stopped crying and was now staring silently at her feet. Bulstrode and her cat hat were looking at her with clear concern.

‘Enough damage’ was right. Between Gemma and Lysandra the fifth years had managed to leave all three of the so-called ‘leaders’ of the first years in a state of unresponsive shock.

“Right,” you said as you stood up. You were the first to recover and the first to your feet. “I suppose we should…” You looked over at Millicent who was tentatively patting Pansy on the back. That said a lot about Millicent and the size of her huge heart that she was attempting to help her unpleasant roommate recover from the verbal beating that Lysandra had laid on her.

It also said a lot about the state Pansy was in. The pugnacious ‘pug-faced’ girl hadn’t made a single nasty or teasing comment about Gemma kissing your cheek. In fact, the only laughter that had come from your right side was Lysandra’s rather distinctive cackle-like giggle so Pansy hadn’t even laughed at you. Oh Merlin! Lysandra really had done a number on her!

You looked over at your own less-than-pleasant roommate. He’d perked up a bit during the exciting ending of the match but now he’d gone quiet. His frown and his cloudy expression told you that he was likely still reeling from what Lysandra had said about his mother’s family. The ironic thing was, this time Draco hadn’t even really done anything to deserve that kind of harsh treatment. Sure, he’d run his mouth back in the Great Hall but it was Pansy who had annoyed the older girls into lashing out. And in doing so, Lysandra had responded by tearing Draco’s mother’s family legacy apart. Speaking as someone who had his own ‘questionable’ family legacy, it couldn’t have been pleasant for Draco to have his family’s dirty laundry aired so publicly. Maybe he actually would have been better off sitting near an angry Marcus Flint. Flint’s yelling and screaming would’ve been louder and blunter but it definitely wouldn’t have been so devastatingly personal.

You told yourself back at the beginning of the year that the way you were going to set yourself apart from the likes of Draco and Pansy was by actually trying to give a damn about your fellow Slytherin first years. And yes, that included helping Draco and Pansy when the moment called for it.

“No,” you said as you sat back down. “We’re not going anywhere until we discuss the Erumpent in the room.” You looked over at your sullen roommate, “Draco, about what Yaxley said regarding your grandparents… her own definition of a pedophile is ‘an adult who is sexually attracted to a child’... and while she provided plenty of numbers and dates that support the adult and child part…”

“...” Draco gave you a silent annoyed glare for bringing up what was still a very sore point.

“Hold on, I have a point,” you reassured him. “She had evidence for the adult and child part but she never said anything about the sexual attraction part. We don’t actually know anything about their situation. The muggles’ second World War ended in 1945… and I read that the Dark Wizard Grindelwald had a major hand in it. 1951 wasn’t that far removed from there… if I had to guess, I’d say it was probably an arranged marriage done to strengthen the Black Family Tree. Certain exceptions can be made to certain social standards when it comes to preserving ancient families. I mean, look at what your father had the Ministry do for me! I’m basically a ward of the British Ministry.”

For a fleeting moment, you saw In Draco’s expression how much restoring a bit of his mother’s family’s dignity meant to him. But then his expression turned annoyed. “Wait a minute! Why didn’t you say any of that to Yaxley!?” Behind him, you saw that Pansy had a near-identical expression on her face which told you that she eas thinking along the same lines.

“Are you kidding?” you replied, “That girl is bloody terrifying. You think I wanted to say anything that would make her angry at me? I count myself lucky that those three actually seem to like me and I’m going to do whatever I can to keep it that way, thank you very much.”

“Does that include taking Prefect Farley up on her wager?”

You rolled your eyes, “Welcome back, Parkinson. I’d still want to know the details of the wager. Like, what happens if I can’t shutout Applebee? Gemma could make me do something horrible… like kiss you instead…” You paused for the half-second it took for Pansy’s eyes to widen as your jab registered then you quickly moved on, “Or worse, I could have to kiss Yaxley. That girl would probably bite me.”

This earned you a round of laughter which told you that you’d succeeded in raising your fellow first years’ spirits.

Blaise spoke up once it had died down, “If that winds up being the case, I’ll gladly take your place.” You whirled around to stare at him surprise - along with everyone else. “What? I think Marvolo might be onto something with his interest in older girls. If Gaunt’s got a chance with Farley, maybe I might have one with Yaxley.”

“Well,” you retorted, “if you pursue that girl then there’s also an equal chance that you’ll end up like your mother’s ex-husbands.”

Blaise nodded and seemed to be thinking it over, “Maybe. But what a way to go!”

This brought on another round of laughter. And this time when you stood up everyone else did too. You led the others out of the stands and down the stairs.

“By the way, Marvolo...” Pansy called out from just behind you.

“Yeah?” You replied as you stepped off the last step and turned to face her.

You were met by a pair of lips pressing against yours. The contact was light and it only lasted about two seconds before the lips pulled away to reveal the smirking face of Pansy Parkinson.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it, you big baby?” she taunted you. Daphne, Tracey, and even Blaise erupted in laughter. Pansy looked exceptionally pleased with herself as she stepped around you. “I can’t wait to see Farley’s face when I tell her that I kissed you before her.”

“That’s karma for you,” Blaise unsympathetically chided you. “You poked the bear when you insulted her earlier… and now you’ve been mauled.”

You stood rooted at the bottom of the stairs while the others continued on around you. Millicent looked highly annoyed for some reason and her hat was glaring angrily after Parkinson. Theodore stopped next to you and gave you a soft pat on the back followed by a sad shake of his head.

“Better you than me…” The near whisper surprised you. You turned to stare at Theodore but he rolled his eyes then shook his head as he motioned to Draco who was trying to slip around him.

Well, that put things into an awful perspective. Even Draco didn’t want Pansy to kiss him. Why did you have to be the un-lucky one?

It was then that a shocking, horrible realization sunk in...

You just had your first kiss… WITH PANSY BLOODY PARKINSON!!

GAAAAAAAHHH!

---

After getting back from the match you took a very thorough shower and then spent the day drinking a comically large amount of water to ‘wash the taste of Parkinson out of your mouth’. You only stopped carrying on when Pansy threatened to kiss you again.

A kiss from the pretty, smart, curvy, seventeen-year-old Gemma Farley - Yes, please! Sign you up! That sounded very appealing and your stomach did a pleasant flip at the thought.

But a kiss from the shrill, annoying, thirteen-year-old Pansy Parkinson - GACK! No! That was very UNappealing and your stomach did a very UNpleasant flip at the thought.

“Hey Draco, do you mind if I watch the scenes on your Omnioculars for a bit?” you requested when you returned to your room and saw your and his Omnioculars sitting out on your desks where you’d left them. “I never actually got to see Parkin’s Snitch catch. I was focused on Mateo at the time and then I forgot to ask you in all the excitement and… trauma… that followed.”

“Go ahead,” Draco replied. Huh. That was odd. No gloating. No lording his more expensive superior model over you. Maybe the two of you had turned a corner in your relationship?

Thankfully, the scene that was queued up was the most recent one and the one you were looking for. You slowed down the play speed and watched as Parkin used the superior speed of her new Nimbus 2000 to catch up with Carter while he pursued the Snitch. You continued to watch as Skye Parkin did an almost graceful roll to avoid the Bludger that O'Leary sent at her then pulled up alongside Carter. The Hufflepuff Seeker was left-handed and was an arm’s length away from the Snitch. He reached out to catch it when suddenly the little golden ball veered to the right. Parkin spun and her right arm flashed out and she snagged the Snitch.

“Carter was an idiot,” Draco imparted as you restarted the scene to watch it again. “Parkin was way too fast on that Nimbus. He never should’ve gone after the Snitch. All he had to do was keep Parkin from catching it while his Chasers ran up the score. Then Hufflepuff would’ve won.”

“I don’t know, Parkin was halfway across the pitch,” you somehow found yourself defending the Hufflepuff Seeker. “I guess he figured that was his best shot. That catch could’ve gone either way. If the Snitch had veered left instead of right I think Carter could’ve gotten it.” You rewatched the scene of Parkin divebombing Applebee and Macavoy and the Ravenclaw Chasers following up by performing Parkin’s Pincher on Macavoy. “Besides, I was watching the Chasers for the majority of that match and Mateo did a decent job of keeping pace with Applebee and Macavoy. Those two are good but I don’t think even they could’ve run up the score enough to get a one hundred fifty point lead. Not while Mateo was still playing like she was. If you think about it, she’s the reason Ravenclaw is in the lead for the Quidditch Cup. Without her five goals, Ravenclaw would only be at one-fifty which would put them behind Gryffindor.” You smiled to yourself at a sudden thought, “I’m actually kind of excited to see how Potter fares against Parkin. What with them both being on Nimbus Two Thousands.”

“Bah!” Draco scoffed, “Potter didn’t catch the Snitch. He got lucky and swallowed it. Parkin knows more about Quidditch than he ever will. Potter may have some natural talent when it comes to flying… but Parkin’s family made it so she lives and breathes Quidditch. She might be new at playing Seeker but she’s still got experience on her side. And since they’re both on the same model broom, neither of them will have a major speed advantage. I’d bet on Parkin over Potter anyday.”

“Careful, Draco,” you warned him, “That’s the kind of talk that got you in trouble earlier.”

You lowered the Omnioculars in time to see Draco’s expression fall. For some reason, you were reminded of what Tamsin Applebee had said back in the Great Hall. “There’s not a thing that girl does that isn’t self-serving. We all saw how she goaded your little friend into that sucker bet.” You shook your head to rid yourself of those negative thoughts about Gemma. What did Tammy Apples know anyway?

“Thank you.”

You blinked and prodded at your ear. Draco’s voice had been so soft that you probably misheard it. “What?”

“Thank you,” he said again. Apparently, you hadn’t been hearing things. “For what you said about my mother’s family after the match. Even though I’m a Malfoy, mother insisted that I memorise the Black Family Tree so that I could acknowledge her heritage as well. I never actually did the math until now… but it seems like fathering children at a young age was something of a tradition for my mother’s branch of the family.”

“...” you didn’t want to speak. Draco was being open and was actually sharing.

“You know about my grandfather Cygnus the third,” Draco continued, “His father Pollux was born in nineteen twelve. His daughter, my Great Aunt Walburga, was born in nineteen twenty-five. He was thirteen then too just like my grandfather.”

Wow. Two generations of underaged boys fathering children.

Draco let out a bitter chuckle, “I suppose my mother and her sisters were lucky. They were all born girls so they put a stop to that tradition.” He cocked his head to the side and had a funny expression. “But come to think of it… mother never did tell me why her sister Andromeda left the family. For all I know, Cygnus and Druella probably tried to pair her off with an underaged boy. Maybe that’s why she ran off and married a mudblood. Mother says they wound up having a half-breed abomination and that that’s what happens when you mix blood.”

Draco went quiet. It took a second for you to realize that he was looking at you and was expecting you to say something. If you ignored the pureblood vitriol he was actually being surprisingly open and **** while discussing his mother’s family’s sordid past. Maybe he wanted your take on it because of what you had said earlier at the pitch? This was a tricky spot because you wanted to support him but you also didn’t want to insult his mother’s family.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that, Draco,” you reassured him. “You’re not a Black. You’re a Malfoy. With your family’s wealth and prestige you can marry whoever you want.”

“So long as my parents approve, you mean,” Draco added. Well… he had a point… he probably couldn’t marry a muggle woman if he wanted… “Mother said something similar. But at the same time, I think she’s trying to set me up with Parkinson.”

“And er… you don’t want that?” you prodded. Draco and Pansy were practically glued together. This was completely new information.

Draco’s face scrunched up in annoyance, “Ew, would you? My father’s friends with her father and he said I have to be nice to her. But she’s so clingy and annoying! I can’t go anywhere without her trying to tag along. Do me a favor, keep carrying on like kissing her is the worst thing ever. She’ll likely try to kiss you out of spite again and in doing so, she’ll finally leave me the hell alone.”

Wow. This was a new side of Draco Malfoy that you were seeing.

He’d been open with you so you decided to return the favor. Maybe it’d help him put things into perspective.

“You know, I’ve never told anyone this,” you confessed, “But one of my Ministry minders tried to set me up in an arranged marriage. This pureblood wizarding family offered to take me in as a ward if I agreed to follow the old custom and join our families together by marrying one of their daughters when I turned thirteen. They seemed to think that restoring the Gaunt family was of the utmost importance and that I should start as soon as possible. It’s not that I had anything against the family or their daughters. And I agree that is really important that I restore the Gaunt Family. But I was ten at the time and even then I knew that I didn’t want to be **** to marry a girl who I didn’t pick myself. I refused, obviously. But if I hadn’t, I might have wound up like your grandfather and would have a little sprog of my own popping out sometime this year. I can’t even begin to imagine what that would be like.”

Left unsaid was that when you refused you were so annoyed at the Ministry minder for trying to control your life and future that you accessed the power of your Serpent’s Gaze for the first time and **** him to drop the issue and never bring it up to anyone again.

Draco reached over and grabbed your Omnioculars off of your desk. He held them up in an almost salute. “Here’s to deciding our own future.”

“To deciding our own future,” you repeated as you raised his Omnioculars in a matching salute for a makeshift toast.

Draco smirked at you, “And for what it’s worth… Gemma Gaunt doesn’t sound too bad. Blaise seems to think you have a chance.”

You sputtered for a moment while you tried to think of a response. “Oh? And what do you think?”

“Oh, I think you have a chance,” Draco admitted, “But that might not necessarily be a good thing. You might be scared of Yaxley but after spending all that time with them today, I’d say that Farley is the most dangerous of the three. Those Hufflepuffs might’ve been onto something.”

You automatically opened your mouth to defend your crush but Draco cut you off.

“Hold on,” he said. “I know you don’t like to hear anything against her but after what they put me through today - I think I at least deserve to say my piece.”

You couldn’t deny his point. “Alright. I’ll give you that.”

“Good,” Draco replied, “Because Yaxley might be a vicious blood-thirsty monster but who was the one who set her on me?”

“‘Sandra, shut her up.”

“Thought you’d never ask!”

“Gemma…” you realised.

“Yaxley was the attack dog,” Draco explained, “But Farley was the one who let her off her leash.” You remembered how Gemma had revealed Bellatrix Lestrange’s birth year as the final nail in the ‘pedophile coffin’ that Yaxley had built. “You asked earlier why - out of the three of them - Farley is the prefect. It’s because she’s the most ambitious and has the most to prove. If her grandmother was a muggleborn then that makes her a first-generation pureblood. She’s still trying to find her place in our society that runs mostly on blood status. The easiest way for her to raise her status in our society is for her to marry into a long-standing pureblood line… and let’s face it - yours goes all the way to Salazar Slytherin. They don’t get much longer than that.”

“...” Draco made a rather disturbing point. And you didn’t like to admit it, but there might’ve been a bit of validity to it.

“All I’m saying is,” Draco continued. “For the sake of deciding your own future… be careful before you propose to that girl. There’s a strong chance that she’ll say ‘yes’ and you need to be prepared for all the consequences that entails.”

He didn’t say anything else after that and could tell you had a lot on your mind. When you went to bed, you stared up at the top of your green bed curtains and mulled over what he had said. And suddenly everything the Hufflepuffs had said ij the Great Hall came back to you.

“You poor fool. She’s already got her claws in you. You know she’s using you, right?”

“One day ye’ll see ‘er fer the jealous manipulative shrew tha’ she is an’ I just hope we’ll be there t’ say ‘We told ye so’.”

You slept fitfully that night. Everything Draco and the two Hufflepuffs had said rang in your mind. But you also thought about everything that Gemma had done. She goaded Draco into that bet, she nearly goaded you into a bet, she’d sicced Yaxley on Pansy and Draco when Parkinson called her a pedophile, and she had cheered when Tamsin Applebee got hit by that Bludger at the end of the match.

“There’s not a thing that girl does that isn’t self serving.”

Was that why she was getting close to you? Was she just using you? If she was then that meant...

“That she’s a manipulative bitch.”

Was Tammy Apples right?