Dodging a Bludger

Quidditch Hero

The next weeks went by in a haze of stress. Sarah rarely saw Penny outside of class, and she could tell the worry over her sister was getting to her. Sarah did everything she could to track down a lead to the next vault, but it felt like a wild goose chase.

Jae helped her out all week. He proved a useful ally. Not only did he have the same schedule as her inside and outside of class now, thanks to her detentions, but he had creative ideas about how to track down the next vault. His history in dealing with contraband meant he knew ways around the rules, ways to sneak around the castle, and ways of finding information he wasn't supposed to have. They made a good team.

It was his idea to go to Nearly Headless Nick for information about the portraits, and he who introduced Sarah to Badeea Ali, a brilliant if eccentric Ravenclaw in their year, who had invented her own spells and was skilled in magical artwork.

Badeea, it turned out, was already very interested in Beatrice Haywood. She agreed to help Sarah in anyway she could, once she'd done some of her own research on the portrait. It wasn't much of a lead, but Sarah would take what she could get.

She was glad for the distraction when the first quidditch match of the season arrived--Slytherin versus Hufflepuff. She was quite excited to see Barnaby play. She'd hardly seen him for weeks, as he'd been busy training and she'd been busy with Jae. When she had seen him, he'd been more broody than usual. She supposed it was his way of being nervous about his first match.

She headed down the pitch with Rowan, Jae, and Charlie in tow. Rowan had needed a lot of convincing--"this is peak studying time!"--but Sarah had managed to get her to join them, in exchange for promising to spend the rest of the weekend in the library with her.

Sarah was glad they were all going to the match. She wanted everyone to see Barnaby play. She hoped Penny would be there, too.

"Excellent conditions," said Charlie, eyeing the sky as the stepped outside. "Wonder who Slytherin got to play beater."

"They're going to slaughter Hufflepuff either way," said Sarah with a bitter smile.

"Ugh, jocks," moaned Jae. Rowan laughed.

"Don't you like quidditch?" asked Charlie.

"I usually prefer sleeping in on Saturdays," said Jae, yawning for effect. "Anyway, quidditch games are the perfect time to sneak in contraband. Everyone else is at the match, far away from the castle."

"You know you just admitted that to your prefects, right?" said Charlie.

Jae snorted. "What are you and Sarah gonna do, miss a game to come and catch me?"

"Fair enough," said Charlie.

The group took their seats in the Gryffindor stands, reveling in the excited air that only quidditch could bring. Sarah felt butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't wait to see Barnaby play. Soon, Murphy's voice could be heard from the commentator's box, magically magnified to be heard above the din.

"An excellent day to begin the quidditch season folks! Our teams are geared up and ready to give you a thrilling match! First, we have the Hufflepuff team!" The cheering grew loud at the Hufflepuff end of the pitch as the players flew on to the field and did a lap.

"And now give it up for the Slytherin team, joined for the first time by their new beater, fifth year Barnaby Lee!" Sarah and her friends stood and cheered loudly, earning them scathing looks from the other Gryffindors, as the Slytherins did their own lap around the pitch, Barnaby's muscular body and messy brown hair easily visible among them.

"That cheeky blighter!" yelled Charlie, his smile wide. "He didn't tell me! I assumed he hadn't made it!"

The match began. It was as Sarah had predicted. The Hufflepuffs were no match for Slytherin's superior speed and agression. What was surprising was Barnaby's knack for finding and pelting bludgers at the chasers at crucial moments. The game would have been an easy victory for Slytherin anyway, but with Barnaby on the team, it became an absolute bloodbath.