Flame || F. WEASLEY

Chapter 7 - Quidditch

I'm on the Quidditch pitch that weekend. I'd stayed up well past midnight with Fred and George, trying to work out the kinks in the aging potion they'd already developed. They just wanted to age themselves up to 17 for a limited amount of time but could never quite get the timing right. Malein and my other roommates had been asleep when I snuck in and I was exhausted the next couple of days as I continued going back to the Gryffindor common room to work on the potion.

My friends were upset that I didn't tell them what happened, promising I will sometime soon. They were satiated when I told them about the hug Fred gave me though, which provoked many jokes to be made.

Fred and George had made good on our deal and all four Quidditch teams stood on the pitch. Dumbledore had simply said there would be no Quidditch House Cup, not that we couldn't play Quidditch. The teams eyed each other warily, the only ones who knew why we were there were me and the twins.

"Alright," Adora finally asks, "why are we here?"

I open my mouth to answer only to find my voice has up and vanished. Everyone is looking at me and it makes my skin crawl. Thankfully Fred steps forward.

"We all know about the Quidditch Cup being canceled, but darling Williams here had the idea that we could simply have our own Quidditch Cup."

A few people are nodding. Everyone is antsy to play though so for the first part I wasn't expecting anyone to shoot down the idea. It was the second step. Fred and George had balked at the idea at first but came around to it quickly.

My voice makes it return. "However, we will be mixing the teams. Each team will have players from every house."

It was a gamble that anyone would want to play after that. Melissa, who stands almost a head taller than some of the Gryffindors, raises an eyebrow. Adora looks impressed, as does most of the Hufflepuff team. It would be getting the Gryffindors and Slytherins to agree.

"No way," someone hisses before stalking off the pitch. The blonde hair tells me its Malfoy. Not much of a loss in my opinion. Harry, standing among the Gryffindor team, watches him go. A few other Slytherins follow Malfoy.

"How will they be picked?" Someone calls out.

George produces a hat that bears a striking resemblance to the Sorting Hat from behind him.

"It's a draw," he smiles.

...

Much to my surprise, most of the teams stay. Everyone writes their names down on a scrap of paper and the twins and I take turns pulling names to form the three teams. Because we didn't have four teams to start with, three teams are formed with a couple of extra players on each.

The twins and I manage to end up on three separate teams. They frown when they ware separated and it will be interesting to see them play against each other instead of with. To my luck, Adora is on my team as well as Harry Potter and Avianna. Despite being young, Harry is an excellent seeker.

Ron ends up on George's team, along with Melissa and Angelina. Cho is also on that team. Cedric Diggory is with Fred as well as Grant Page, Ravenclaw's keeper. Everyone huddles with their team until Fred steps out of the group.

"We're playing Williams' team first."

Of course, there'd be no practice as a team for us. I've played a couple of times with Adora and Avianna, and there's a couple of players from my team here as well. This shouldn't be an absolute smackdown.

"Game on," I grin.

It takes a few minutes to get everyone situated in their new positions. Luckily, we have two beaters already and we simply have to switch a couple of people who are used to being keepers to chasers. This should definitely be interesting.

George hauls the trunk with all the balls out onto the field, as his team files up to sit in the stands and wait. I mount my broom, rising into the air with practiced ease. I survey Fred's team. One of their chasers is the keeper for Hufflepuff. Otherwise, everyone is in their usual positions. Lucky for me, I practiced with Grant for the past three years. I knew how to get the quaffle past him.

The seekers, Cedric and Harry float above me and the rest of the teams. Fred grins, spinning his bat and giving me a wink. I scowl at him. Mini and Hollyn often tease that I should be a Slytherin with my competitive streak. I just can't seem to stand to lose.

George releases the bludgers and snitch. I tense. The quaffle is tossed into the air and time seems to slow for a brief moment. I'm moving before I even realize it. One of the other chasers is diving for the ball but my outstretched fingers catch it first. I pull up hard, shooting into the sky to avoid hitting them. The quaffle sits securely in the crook of my arm as I hurtle towards the goalposts.

A bludger comes whirling at me, its growling giving me enough notice to swing out of the way. I look at the other players as two people come hurtling toward me. I've already forgotten who is on my team.

A redhead is waving at me. Ginny, of course. I chuck the quaffle to her and dive, avoiding the other two chasers. She races towards the goalpost with me hot on her heels, flying slightly below her in case she drops it.

Grant braces himself as Ginny readies to throw it; I'm keeping pace beneath her. A bludger flies in between us, mere inches from the top of my head. I whip my head around to glare at whoever sent it my way. Fred waves at me with his bat.

Ginny is readying to throw the quaffle when I see something come hurtling through the air from our side.

"Gin-" Her name barely makes it out of my mouth as one of the other chasers slams into Ginny. She drops the quaffle and I make the short dive to grab it. I pull up into a vertical climb, almost directly under Grant before pulling back and putting the quaffle through the leftmost hoop.

Cheers go up from the stands as Grant goes to retrieve the ball. Ginny is scowling but triumph glitters in her eyes.

This will be fun.