PRANKSTER [1] ↝ C. DIGGORY

twelve

"Good morning everyone and welcome to today's Quidditch match!" Lee exclaimed into the microphone as Clary and Vasantha found their two open seats next to Oliver Wood. "Our teams today: Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff!"

"There you two are," Oliver greeted as the girls took their seats, the noise from the crowd nearly deafening.

"Sorry," Vas apologized quickly over the roar of the crowd around them, the blue and yellow colors dominating the stands. "seemed someone couldn't pull herself away from the pancakes this morning."

Clary shrugged. "They were pumpkin flavored."

The entire crowd shot to their feet in anticipation as Madame Hooch released the Quaffle, Vas even scrambling up to stand on the bench to see over the crowd with her shorter stature. Heidi Macavoy instantly raced forward to get a hold of the Quaffle before Roger Davies could, Heidi zooming off toward Ravenclaw's goal.

"The Quaffle is released, and the game begins!" Lee shouted. "Heidi Macavoy quick to grab the Quaffle, and off she goes!"

"So why was this match so important?" Clary called to Oliver over the cheering of the other spectators. "We've already played Hufflepuff."

"Ravenclaw needs to win." Oliver strategized. "Since we lost to Hufflepuff, if they also beat Ravenclaw, they're automatically in the House Cup. But if Ravenclaw wins, that puts them ahead of Hufflepuff in the ranks. All we need to do then is defeat Ravenclaw. If we do that, then we've got a good chance of making it to the House Cup if they lose to Slytherin, too."

"How's their Seeker?" Vasantha asked curiously, leaning forward to see Oliver over where Clary had been blocking her view.

"Cho's not half bad." Oliver said, his eyes watching the fourth year girl as she flew around to look for the Snitch.

Clary couldn't help but also keep her eyes on Cho, thinking about Cedric and whatever was going on between the two of them. It was no secret they were mad for each other, as whenever he was around her cheeks were always tinged pink and the boy couldn't stop smiling. Though the way the others constantly teased Clary about him, and how jealous he suddenly seemed over the love potion incident with Newt, it was hard to be sure.

Ruddy Pretty Boy Diggory.

"Malcolm Preece scores!" Lee exclaimed into the mic as the boy managed to get past Ravenclaw's Keeper. "Another ten points for Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff now leads twenty to ten."

"Well, Chang needs to get a move on." Vas said, watching as Cho searched around the Pitch helplessly, though Cedric didn't seem to be doing much better. The two were flying on opposite ends of the field, neither one of them appearing to have any idea where the tiny golden ball had flown off to. "This isn't looking good."

"Well, if she finds it, that's that." Clary reminded her. "Hufflepuff just can't lead over one hundred and fifty points."

Turning her attention back to the field, Clary watched as Newt suddenly ducked down, narrowly avoiding a Bludger shot by Duncan Inglebee. Maxine O'Flaherty was quick to come to Newt's aid and smack the Bludger out of the way, Heidi not far behind with the Quaffle as she passed it to Newt, who made a beeline for the Ravenclaw goal, eager to get the ball past Grant Page.

"Go Newt, go Newt..." Vasantha muttered as her twin brother threw the ball, the Quaffle bouncing off Grant's shoulder as he fumbled to gain hold of it, to no avail, the ball falling through the center hoop. "Yes!" she cheered, standing up and clapping amidst the sea of yellow. "That's my brother!"

"Vas," Oliver scoffed, shooting a look at the girl. "remember why we're here."

"Right, sorry," she said, sitting back down. "couldn't help myself. It's a twin thing."

The match seemed to go on forever, with neither Cedric or Cho seeming to have any idea of how to find the Golden Snitch. Hufflepuff had managed to raise their lead to 90-30, causing Oliver's nerves to get the best of him as he frantically bounced his leg up and down, eagerly watching the current scene as Randolph Burrow was hurrying over to the Hufflepuff goal, Newt and Malcolm close behind.

"There!" Vas yelled, pointing as Cho was suddenly doing a nose dive, flying lower and lower.

Cedric had taken note of where the girl was flying, eager to catch up with her, but she was too fast. Moments later, her fist was held high in the air, the small glint from the visible golden metal glimmering in the sunlight as Cho lowered herself down to the ground.

"Cho Chang has caught the Snitch!" Lee roared. "Awarding one hundred and fifty points to Ravenclaw!"

The shrill sound emitting from Madame Hooch's whistle broke through the cheers from the stands. "Ravenclaw wins!"

"We still have a chance!" Oliver exclaimed excitedly, looking over at the girls with a hopeful grin. "We still have a chance to be in the Cup! I have to go work on strategies!"

Without another word, Oliver was up off his seat, making his way through the sea of navy blue, his maroon jumper only slightly visible as he reached the bottom of the stands before taking off. Clary and Vasantha watched him in disbelief, shaking their heads as Vas pulled Clary into a hug.

"Gryffindor still has a chance!" Vasantha cheered happily as Clary caught sight of two familiar looking redheads near the entrance to the Hufflepuff locker rooms, Fred's wand aimed toward where Cedric was shaking hands with Roger Davies.

"Oh no," Clary said, covering her mouth to hide a giggle as all of a sudden, Cedric's broomstick was transfigured into a rubber chicken, the boy dropping it in surprise at the sudden change of texture, ripping his attention away from Roger.

Cedric's eyes wandered around the field, looking for the culprit before he spied the twins, excusing himself from Roger and Madame Hooch before picking up the rubber chicken and stalking off towards the two boys.

"Did you know they were going to do that?" Vas asked, giggling as Cedric turned red in the face.

"No," Clary said, shaking her head in amusement. "but I'm so glad they did."