Fire And Ice - Yin and Yang (Harry Potter fanfiction)

The Game

The following weeks, Periwinkle and Azalea noticed that the professors seemed to watch them more closely than ever. In between classes, there always seemed to be a professor checking the corridors and when they were outside, they often ran into Professor Sprout or Hagrid. Perhaps they were worried that the Reaper incident was going to repeat. Periwinkle and Azalea felt relieved knowing that their teachers kept an eye on them, although when they crossed Professor Snape's path in the dungeons, they sometimes wished he wouldn't. According to his countenance, he too wished he didn't have to babysit them while they were down there. His icy glares were definitely something the twins could live without. And poor Ron, he looked ready to faint after a week of constantly bumping into the Potions Master.

The twins continued practicing their ... weird fire and ice talents in the bathroom and often Hermione would join them to watch. It got a bit unnerving though, since she kept trying to give them tips from old books that seemed pretty outdated. They did not help much anyway, there didn't seem to be a single witch or wizard in history with Azalea's and Periwinkle's powers.

Also Hermione (thank Merlin) found Nicolas Flamel's name in a thin book in the back of the library, after many hours of searching, and it turned out that the three-headed dog was guarding something called the Sorcerer's Stone. Ron firmly believed that Snape wanted it because...well, who wouldn't want a stone that could turn everything to solid gold and make you immortal?

As the match drew nearer, however, the twins became more and more nervous. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee as Professor Snape?

Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Professor Snape was so horrible to Azalea and Periwinkle. Even for Periwinkle, who actually liked Potions, the lessons in the dungeons were starting to become her least favorite ones. Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone? Periwinkle didn't see how he could- yet she sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.

On the day of the match, Azalea hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as she picked up her Nimbus 2000.

"Don't want to pressure you, Potter", said Oliver to Azalea when he was done, "but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much. And you-"
He turned to Periwinkle, "-steer clear of the Hufflepuff Chasers. Let Katie and Angelina take the Quaffle and wait until they pass it to you. You can slip right past the Hufflepuff defense, just make sure you don't get-"

"Crushed", said Periwinkle flatly. "I know."
Why was everyone insisting on telling her she would end up a jelly sandwich after a Quidditch match?

Once they were out on the field, Periwinkle felt like her brain instantly shut out the roars from the Gryffindors and the booing from the Slytherins. Her hands tightened around her broomstick and she slid onto her Nimbus 2000 when Madam Hooch gave the signal.

Her eyes met Azalea's. Both twins nodded firmly.

They could do this.

And then they were off.

It did not take long for Periwinkle to realize what strategy the Hufflepuffs had picked: stalling. They were giving Professor Snape the chance to favor them by buying time. The Hufflepuff Seeker was constantly flying in Azalea's way, making sure she couldn't properly keep an eye out for the snitch. The Hufflepuff Beaters aimed the bludgers at Azalea, so Fred and George were circling around her with their bats ready.