Heart of Stone: HPHM Year 6

The White Owl

"Alright, everyone," said their captain, Orion Amari, "this will be our last practice before our match against Ravenclaw. I believe we are more than prepared. We are faster, stronger, and smarter than last year. And, of course, we have our new keeper and beater to shake things up." 

Their keeper had graduated last year and was now a reserve for the Wigtown Wanderers. Bean had gotten her grades up and was reinstated as beater, and Sarah been moved to keeper. She'd trained as long and hard as she ever had before, but her stomach still flipped every time she thought of their upcoming match. Every position in quidditch was important, but she knew she'd feel directly responsible if they lost on Saturday. She was the one that would be booed if Ravenclaw scored. 

"Let us begin with our broom balancing exercises, and then we shall run a few drills." 

Sarah had never been certain how helpful broom balancing actually was, but she had to admit Orion had gotten them all pretty good at it. The team floated in a circle about thirty feet in the air, standing on their brooms with hardly a wobble. Orion kept his eyes closed. 

"What does your good buddy Rath think of Ravenclaw's chances on Saturday?" Skye asked from Sarah's left. 

"I don't know, I've barely talked to her this year. But I'm sure she's confident." 

"Any word from Egwu about who'll be the main seeker?"

"No. Believe it or not, members of other quidditch teams can be friends without divulging all their team secrets." 

Skye shrugged, then righted her broom, which had begun to drift backwards. "If you say so. I'd rather not risk it." 

Sarah nearly tipped forward as her eyes fell on an object soaring across the sky. 

"Have you ever seen that owl?" she asked, pointing. 

"It's Hogwarts, mate. I've seen loads of owls."

"But that's a snowy owl," said Sarah. "I don't think I've ever seen one around here before."

Skye just shrugged again, bored. 

Sarah watched the owl fly off until it dipped down underneath the trees in the forbidden forest. That seemed odd. It was only a bit after four o'clock. If it was hunting, wouldn't it wait until nightfall? 

Amari's whistle blew. "Well done, everyone. Now, let's set up rapid quaffle. Sarah, you get in goal, and Skye, Charlie, and I will fetch the quaffles." 

Sarah sped over to the goalposts, the owl driven from her mind. 

***

"We're going to flatten Ravenclaw," Charlie remarked, as he and the rest of the team left the changing rooms to head up to dinner after practice. "Reckon that quidditch cup's got our name on it again this year." 

"Don't count your dragons before they've hatched," warned the seeker, Selina. 

"But we looked great today! I mean, how many goals did you let in, Sarah? All of two?"

Sarah wasn't listening. She'd stopped in her tracks, staring at a smoke colored object prancing about near the castle's turret. 

"Sarah?"

"Isn't that Sickleworth?" she asked him. 

The rest of the team continued to the castle as Charlie moved over to peer in the direction Sarah was looking at.

"Blimey, it is. You don't think that means Rakepick is around?"

"Not necessarily. She abandoned him last year." Still, Sarah did a quick scan of the area, searching for Rakepick's orange hair or perhaps a set of white robes. "What's that he's got in his mouth? A feather?"