Wisdom and Victory {Fred Weasley}

Chapter 9

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As much as Victoria enjoyed throwing herself into her NEWTs, quidditch, and trying to finish reading the Hogwarts library, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling in the back of her head. She still hadn't made any progress on killing You-Know-Who. Well, that wasn't entirely true...she'd just exhausted all the possibilities.

She thought about this as she patrolled with her mother, scowling to herself internally at her wasted thoughts. If there was nothing else to do, why was it still on her mind? Why hadn't it been discarded along with all her knowledge of Astronomy, or History of Magic? There must be something else she could do...

And then, there was.

"Well done on making beater," said her mother into the comfortable silence.

"Oh," said Victoria. "Yes, unfortunate circumstances, though."

"Who's your teammate?"

"Andrew Kirke," said Victoria with a small frown. "I've not really spoken to him before..."

Her mother glanced around before letting out a long sigh. "I thought it would be someone like that. Only ever plays quidditch casually, he'll be dreadful at practice, and flustered in the matches..."

Victoria shrugged. "I'll just have to pull my own weight. Thank Merlin I'm not so incompetent."

"The best thing you can do is ease him into practices," her mother advised wisely. "Not too harsh." They walked down a few corridors in further silence. "I hear Potter's started an illegal gathering?" said her mother, peering round for eavesdroppers as they turned a corner. "Is it true?"

"Certainly," said Victoria, lowering her voice. "I've attended it. Where did you hear?"

"Professor Dumbledore," said her mother. She stiffened a little for some reason, like she did when she quietly disapproved, but Victoria brushed this off. Her mother always approved of Dumbledore. Which seemed a little insane because it put her in the very same category as the likes of Snape.

"He's just tutoring some of the students," Victoria continued. "Inter-house though. I think they feel like they're doing something to help. Some of them anyway, a lot of them just want to get through their exams."

"If Umbridge found out-" began her mother, but Victoria stopped her. She didn't interrupt, knowing that would most likely get her thrown out the nearby window, but instead raised her eyebrows, communicating her thoughts silently. Her thoughts of 'do I look like I give one about Umbridge?'. "I see," said her mother, a faint smile forming on her face that she attempted to conceal by looking away.

"I was wondering if I could ask something of you, actually, Mother?" Victoria said, trying and failing to sound casual. Instead her voice went up an octave. Her mother twitched her brows, indicating for her to continue. "Can I stay at the House over Christmas this year?"

"Why in Merlin's name would you want to do that?" asked her mother, baffled by her illogic.

"Just a break from school," said Victoria. "I just thought...I'm seventeen now. And I wouldn't go anywhere without asking you first."

"You do realise that I couldn't come back with you?" her mother asked as they neared Gryffindor tower. "You'd be perfectly alone."

Exactly. "I know," she said. "But I'd have Charlie."

Her mother nodded as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "You can go for me," her mother decided, and Victoria smiled widely. "But I want you to think about it more." She nodded, before scurrying into the common room, yawning widely, but her mind more awake than ever.

*****

Angelina frowned round at the Gryffindor Quidditch team, who were waiting patiently on the snowy practice pitch for their orders. "No Weasleys," she commented with narrow eyes. "That means no keeper and no seeker for practice. Has anyone seen them?"

Kirke, the only remaining boy aside from Ron, spoke up. "I didn't see her in any of my lessons today," he said.

"The twins weren't here either," said Angelina, biting her lip and craning her neck up to the castle for any flash of ginger. She had no such luck.

"Do you think something's happened?" asked Katie with a frown.

"Probably," said Victoria. "I'll ask my mother after."

"Right," said Angelina, growing impatient. "Dodging and deflecting, come on, let's go." At the clap of her hands the five of them were in the air. Victoria relished her time at quidditch practice. With only one week until the holidays, it wasn't long until she became busy once more putting her plan into action. "Andrew!" called Angelina, stood by the box containing the bludgers. "You're deflecting first!" He nodded looking determined, as Katie and Alicia groaned while beginning to pass the quaffle between them. Victoria grinned - that meant she was the one aiming the bludgers. "Ready Vic?"

"Ready!" she called down. She tightened her grip on her bat as she heard the whoosh of two bludgers in the air. Angelina blew her whistle, before kicking off herself and tearing down the pitch to Katie and Alicia. Victoria's broomstick - a Nimbus 2000 - was light and speedy, and she pressed her body flat against it to gain maximum speed with experienced ease.

She and one of the bludgers approached at speed, and she cast a glance at the formation of the three chasers, along with Kirke's positioning. Merlin, what was he doing over there? Katie had the quaffle! With great might and the force of the momentum, she sent the bludger tearing towards the trio. Alicia successfully swerved out the way, and it collided with Katie's side, sending her off course and forcing her to drop the bludger, Angelina dived down to catch it, and Alicia soon found herself on the opposite side of the pitch. Kirke meanwhile, tailed Katie, who really was in no position to receive the quaffle anyway.

Victoria darted across the pitch and into the other bludger's flight path, grinning to herself at the perfect angle she was about to create. This was going to be brilliant. She sent the bludger flying towards Angelina, who ducked down just as it skimmed the top of her head, passing to Alicia who caught and pushed on, towards the hoop. The bludger continued on its chartered course and Victoria found the other one, sending it flying (somewhat gently) into the small of Angelina's back, who lurched forward out the way. The first bludger now collided with the goalpost that Alicia was nearing, flying at the adeptly calculated angle and straight into Alicia's stomach as she took aim. She tumbled away, clutching to her broom and dropping the quaffle, where it landed in the snow.

The shrill whistle swept through the air, and Victoria sheepishly made her way over to where Katie was massaging her ribs, and Alicia looked like she was going to throw up. "...it's dodge and deflect, Kirke!" Angelina was scolding. Victoria threw a sorry look at the two eavesdropping chasers and they grinned in return with small shrugs. Next time, they'd dodge. "Did you even hit a bludger the whole time?"

"Well, Victoria didn't send them near me!" protested Kirke.

"You're supposed to go towards the bludgers!" said Angelina, crazed with frustration. "D'you know what? Let's go again. This time, you can deflect, Vic, and Andrew, you'd better watch her carefully."

Victoria climbed into the air once more with Alicia, while Katie retrieved the quaffle. The pair of them began passing it back and forth as she circled them and Kirke climbed high into the air, where the bludgers were ricocheting around, bouncing off invisible barriers. They were soon joined by Angelina, who blew her whistle sharply.

The hadn't made it far before Kirke sent a bludger flying at Angelina, who had possession of the quaffle. She passed to Katie, ready to dodge, but Victoria quickly swooped in, batting it away with ease. It hadn't even been a very quick bludger, and she doubted it would've hurt the chasers if it hit. This happened a few more times, but none of the bludgers ever reached their targets. There was one close call near to the goal, where he managed to send both bludgers flying, but nothing Victoria couldn't handle. Katie launched the quaffle through the far left hoop, and Angelina blew her whistle for the end of the practice.

The five of them trudged back to the changing rooms, Katie, Alicia, and Victoria taking about food, while Angelina lectured Kirke once again.