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OOC: Yeah, that's fine. I was thinking that Jasper should stay at the Manor for a bit longer anyway, as Antigonus needs to have a word with him and punish him for his actions. I was also thinking that they might run into Jack on their way to retrieve the wands.

IC:

With Jessica trotting along ahead of her at a hasty pace, it was all Eden could do to jog and keep up with her. It was a weird feeling watching the American girl navigate the cellar passageways of the Manor. The Manor was Eden’s home after all, and just as she was about to step in and inform Jessica that she had made a wrong turn, the girl spun around and let her eyes rest on Eden.

She hadn’t said a word, but Eden knew exactly what she needed. It was etched all over her face. “It’s this way,” Eden said, tracing back over their steps, weaving through the intricate maze of tunnels and hallways. It wasn’t often that Eden had spent time in the cellar – it was only for punishment down here. She had to admit that she’d been tortured in the damp stone place, but they weren’t in the torture room’s vicinity. She would not dare take Jessica past there, anyway. Even this girl, knowledgeable as she was, may not have been able to witness the kind of horror that went on in that room at the hands of the Wolfram.

They soon appeared in front of a large, dark wooden door. It was protected by wards, as were all the other doors in the Manor. Usually they were removed by the correct incantations, but a wand wasn’t necessary. Eden didn’t bother to ask Jessica for Yates’ wand, for by the way the American was gripping it protectively, Eden had a feeling that she’d have a bloody hard time getting it from her anyway…

“Patefacio ianua vos dux ducis,” Eden said in Latin. She knew the incantations to open each ward, as Antigonus had disclosed them to her and only a few of his most trusted wolves. The others, including Jasper, knew only a few. They were not permitted in the places that she was. But now… Antigonus had a different opinion of her. He was angry with her actions. She would not be secretly doted upon like before.

The door swung open and she scrambled though and up the staircase leading out of the cellar. She didn’t look back to see whether Jessica had followed or not. Eden’s mission now was to get her wand back and get out of the Manor.

Jessica followed after Eden as they wound their treacherous way through the dark and dreary cellar. She was well aware that Eden could lead her into any sort of trap at this moment, but with a wand in her grasp and a spring in her step there was nothing stopping her--except maybe the fact that she still couldn't talk. She pointed her wand at herself and tried to nonverbal herself free, but she could not.

She imagined she looked strange walking alone purposefully with a wand pointed at her own face, but she didn't care. All she wanted was her mouth back,she needed to talk to Eden...

They got to a staircase and went up--bold as brass. Eden no doubt was on the lookout for her own wand...
_______________________________________________________

"They've escaped the cellars, yes, i know." Jack's hard gaze bored holes in the Wolf that had been sent to let him know this news, "And Antigonus knows it as well?"

"He wants you to make the call..." The Wolf said with respect in his voice, "He must hold you in high regard...he wants you to decide what course of action to take."

"Let them go back." Jack waved his hand, "Let them slip from the Manor in relative solitude. They will be shaken up enough to know our purposes...and if Antigonus is angered at this, then i will explain to him later in person why i have done this. The sooner that they get back, the better. I have contacts at Hogwarts, do not fear, we will keep Eden in line."

His eyes wanded out the window, where his messenger had not to long ago soared out and away from this desolate place, "Someone will know...."

Eden hurried along a corridor, hearing the steps of the American girl behind her. It was difficult to tell what would happen at that point. Even with all the resistance Eden had put up against Antigonus, she wasn’t really sure where her allegiance was. It would be easy to become a wolf and join the ranks. The Wolfram would have trust in her. He would probably regard her more highly than most of his wolves. But was that was Eden really wanted? She certainly didn’t like the idea of becoming a wolf… not when she had already mastered her Animagus form.

She turned to Jessica. “They’ll know that we’ve escaped. My godfather has tabs on all of the wards. No where is safe now – not even Hogwarts. However, it’s our best bet to return there…”

Expectantly, she looked into the eyes of the girl. A good minute passed where Eden was just staring at Jessica, determining her thoughts. She cast a quick glance at the wand in the girl’s hands.

She doesn’t trust you. Look at the way she’s gripping that wand. She expects you to take it from her. Why not do it? She may be powerful, but you’ve not yet revealed all of your abilities. Become the fox and snatch the wand from her…

“No!” Eden shouted. She hadn’t meant it, and instant mortification overcame her. She shifted her eyes away from Jessica, hurrying down the hall toward the first floor study where she knew her wand would be.
___________________________________

“The cellar ward has been penetrated,” Antigonus stated. He turned around and took in the sight of Radner’s calm and strong demeanor. “Knwoing my goddaughter as well as I do, she’ll have left her brother down there. Take him and Yates to the torture room.”

“Yes, Master.”

“And one more thing, Radner. Watch them until I arrive. I don’t want either of them getting any ideas.” He paused, turning away from the burly wolf and gazing into the brightly-lit fire of the second floor parlor. “I’ll need to have a special little one-on-one with Exley. He will learn, no matter how much pain it takes, to no longer be naïve about the consequences of his actions. I had a feeling the boy was too young and stupid to be relied upon. Prepare the shackles for him.”

OOC: Jessica will ultimately look out for herself...and I think if she does escape, it would be very within her character to leave you behind. I hope that's alright, and i expect you can find your own way to get Eden back to Hogwarts.

IC:

Outside, i need to get outside and then i can leave this place Jessica thought quickly, trying again and again to disapparate .She had other methods of leaving, of course, but didn't want to reveal them. She had a feeling that Eden, similarly, was holding back as well...well, if they were both going to play that way, nothing was going to happen.

The manor stirred, and Jessica knew that their presence had been known. It was only a matter of time before someone somewhere made a decision to recapture them. She could not afford to be killed just yet, it was far to early in the plan. She could not afford to become a Wolf, that would undo years of planning and plotting. The conflicted look in Eden's eyes--with a thrill of horror, Jessica knew that she was being plotted against. That was it, there was nothing else for it.

She dropped to one knee, interlocked her fingers together in one swift move, and centered her being. With her eyes closed and the wind (now fiery hot) still jammed in the middle of her laced fingers, she called those red and black energies to bear.

The form of the dragon arose in the Manor's hall and enveloped her, swelled and grew to a large size, so large that the paint on the walls started to peel, the paper started to scorch. To her left was a window as she shifted to another primal state, and she dove for it, unfurling the ethereal wings. It was an apocalyptic sight to be sure, and she dug her claws into the ground, braced for impact..

She shattered the glass and took most of the wall with her, hitting the outsides cold air. That shock of slamming through the window itself nearly made her loose her form, but she kept it and wavered, hovering in the air. She pumped her wings once, twice, three times, shooting straight for the clouds before centering herself once more and vanishing into the nothing--an ardent burst of power and then....gone.

___________________________

With a flash of scarlet and onyx, she reappeared far away from the desolate place where she had been taken--overseas, further than what any apparition could have taken her. Now she stood on solid ground in the dead of the night, and even when she shivered she felt something warming in the bottom of her heart...she was home.

The dark outline of the Eagles Quidditch Stadium in Denver, Colorado reared its head against the night sky, framed oh-so-slightly by the light of the dawn. Sunrise was a few hours away, but only the slightest fringe of daybreak was daring to show its face....

She looked at the place where she had spent most of her childhood. She wasn't sure why she had come here, but never mind the reason. For the first time in a long time she felt as though she could stand and relax...

She strolled through the parking lot (the muggles knew this place as the Mile-High Stadium, that's why there were accomodations here for their vehicles) and if she imagined hard enough, it was day and tens of thousands of screaming witches and wizards had arrived to watch her and the rest of the team play...she was shouldering her broom and sauntering in from a day lounging around Denver (this great city) hanging around its muggles and seeing its sights...

As though in a stupor, she entered the building. It had been locked, oh yes, but the ancient structure remembered her and opened the door for her, glad that she had at last come home. She was sure that she didn't need her eyes as she wandered around with them closed tight...this place was as familiar to her as her own home..

No, more familiar to her than her own home.

She opened her eyes at last, well into the atrium. Her heart nearly got a shock--Jake Grose was standing at ease at the ticket booth. She knew it was him...even in the dimming light there was no mistaking his lanky frame and the way he looked at her. He almost reminded her of Race...

Despite the nostalgia welling up inside her, her wand went up and her eyes flashed, "Password, now!"

Jake (or the Wolf pretending to be Jake) came away from the counter, and walked towards her speaking as he went, "O decorus pro vir probo In liberatio jurgium. Quisnam praeter ego suum terra diligo Quod misericordia praeter vita!"

A/N: [ "O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life! " ]

"Jake!" She embraced him, "Its YOU!"

He smelled just like he always had, of aftershave, broom handles and turf from the pitch. She hugged him tightly, and felt that he was wearing his Quidditch robes..

"We have to have practice without you, Dragonfly. Everyone's gone home."

"Yeah, yeah." Jessica broke away and was shocked to find tears in her eyes, and after discovering this she gave a small little laugh,"Well I've joined the Gryffindor house team..."

Jake brushed the tears from her eyes as he continued in his deep voice, "Your letters from Hogwarts stopped....I was getting worried."

"One letter.." Jessica chuckled, hooking her thumbs on her jeans and looking at the man, "I didn't send you one letter this morning and you already called in the search dogs?"

"Yes, i did. It was our agreement, you are supposed to send me a letter every day. And our search dogs are...well, they're a bit more discreet and efficient than that." Jake winked, "I"m glad to see that you're alright. What happened to you?"

"I"ll make an official report as soon as i can and I'll have it on the desk of the embassy in Britain, once i go--once i go back." Jessica faltered once she realized that she would indeed have to go back. She shook this off and continued, "Jasper, one of the two we suspected was working with the Wolves, got me to the Manor through the Floo Network although i managed to bind his powers for a while. We got there, and i discovered that they were all plotting to turn me into a Wolf."

Jessica's eyes were filled with fear and she looked Jake full on in the face, waiting for anything, "They--They must know I'm Secret Keeper for the Coven!"

Jake hung his head, "Your Father must have told them..."

"Jake, what is with him!" Jessica erupted, throwing her arms in the air, "I went there, and he's been turned into a Wolf, and showed me no mercy in front of the Wolfram! Has he switched sides? I was so confused there, i thought he would help us escape--"

"Of course he had to show no mercy in front of the Wolfram, you silly girl!" Jake hissed, and suddenly he was slightly eless compassionate. He looked really and truly bothered, "He can't afford to loose the position he's been given, there. He's too far in to mess it up now...whatever happened the other night, I'm sure that none of us expected it...but no more, Dragonfly. This place may not be as safe as what we thought it. Wait to tell me the rest when you give me your report."

"What do you mean its not safe?"

"The Wolf has spies everywhere, I think DC underestimated his influence in America." Jake muttered, bringing his face very close to Jessica's, "Right now i have people running counterintelligence everywhere..."

"ANOTHER spy?" Jessica breathed.

"Looks like it. So watch your back at Hogwarts, kid."

"Oh, Jake, Oh Jake i can't go back to that place..." Jessica said, biting her lip, "I have too many classes with Eden...I would never...I could never..."

"What have i told you about that?" Jake took her face and cupped it in his hands, looking at her with his deep brown eyes. He did look like Race..., "You can do anything, you're a Vandenrbooke! The same laws of magic don't apply to you and your father..."

"Unfortunately it looks like my father is the spy..." She stepped back, worried.

Jake's expression did not change at all at this grim statement, "We'll see, Dragonfly. You've gotta get back to Hogwarts."

"How did you know to wait for me?"

"I knew that if you did manage to escape, that this would be the first place you'd go to." Jake grinned, "The office here in Denver said that you'd go right back to Hogwarts, but nope! I knew you'd come here to lick your wounds."

Although this had been said in a lighthearted tone meaning no malice, Jessica winced. She had come here to lick her wounds, hadn't she? She was supposed to be so strong and powerful and here she was, running to the man she would rather call father...after the events of tonight, the Coven's office in Denver had assumed that she would go right back to her duties at Hogwarts....when really all she had done was hide back to where she had spent most of her childhood.

"I...I'd like to play in our next game." Jessica said softly.

"We'll see what we can do, Dragonfly. Do you think you can get home on your own, or shall i take you Side-Along to Hogsmeade?"

"I can apparate into Hogwarts, Jake."

"Of coruse." Jake grinned, "Those bounds of magic....I forgot they don't apply to you."

"You just said that, though, a moment ago."

"Bad memory. Get outta here."

he clapped her on the shoulder, and she stepped back, looking at him longingly.

"Can't I stay here?"

"No, Dragonfly. I'm sorry, honey."

She bit her lip, dropped to one knee, slammed a fist into the ground and was gone.

OOC: Nice post! And Jessica's decision to leave Eden behind is fine with me.

IC:

It was with a sigh of relief that Eden watched Jessica’s strong display of magic, and her subsequent escape from the Manor. She’d needed to go on alone anyway, without the girl whom Antigonus was desperate to bite.

The study was empty, which Eden expected. No wolves were needed to protect the wands; the enchanted cabinets full of dark magic had that part covered. Eden sensed where her wand lay as soon as she entered the room. She could see it as she approached the wooden cabinet with the glass doors near the fireplace. One would think it nothing more than a decoration, the way it sat upon the pedestal behind the stained glass. How silly of her godfather to chose this particular cabinet. It was here that he always hid wands of importance that he had acquired from wolves or prisoners of the Manor. Be that as it was, Eden knew not to touch the handles. She had been instructed to hide wands here before. She knew how to get in.

“Vel a vir quisnam est putus in pectus pectoris quod says suus preces noctu may fio a lupus ut wolfbane vigeo quod lapsus luna est perspicuus.”

The cabinet doors swung open and the shelf that she and Jessica’s wands resided upon slid forward and presented itself to the pass-phrase holder. How ironic that a quote from a muggle movie about werewolves would deter the dark magic of the ancient cabinet.

Eden pocketed Jessica’s wand, figuring it may come in handy later on. She gripped her own tightly and retracted the pass-phrase so that the cabinet closed and sealed itself once more.

She crossed the study, taking the opportunity to look into the enchanted mirror that resided behind Antigonus’ desk. She looked deeply into the reflective surface, letting it examine her inquiry. A fog formed over the mirror, which signified it was ready. Eden spoke in a clear voice, “Anton Morales Petora Khillmov.” At once, the harsh face of her godfather appeared as clear in the mirror as if he were standing next to her. With the use of his full name, the mirror was able to locate Antigonus in the Manor.

He was sitting in the large dining hall with Radner. On Radner’s lap lay a very small person in wolf form, as the wolf was only a pup. Radner was petting the pup on his lap with great attention.

Thanking the mirror for its services, Eden took leave of the study and crept silently through the Manor’s halls. She encroached upon the wooden door to the dining hall, but kept her presence unknown to Antigonus and Radner. She was able to pick up some of their conversation.

“… it’s quite dangerous, sir. To put it in action would be to risk everything we have fought so hard for over the years.”

“Yes, Radner. I understand your concerns. I had the very same ones when I first thought about it myself. What I ask you is this: do you really believe me naïve enough to execute a plan that is not properly planned? I scarce believe that there is a wolf who dares to question the ingenuity of my plans. Have they not worked thus far? Was it not I who bought us this far?”

“Of course it was, Master,” Radner said with a touch of doubt in his voice.

Antigonus shook his head. “What do you hold back from me, Damion?”

Radner looked mildly frightened. He straightened up in his chair, the wolf on his lap stirring slightly. “Only this, sir. I fear for Noah’s safety. He is my nephew after all, and with my sister and her husband dead, I am all he has Master.”

“Do not worry about Noah. He will be safe here, and safe at Hogwarts. I will have Eden watch over him.”

“Eden, sir?” He asked, bewildered. “What if she does not comply? There have been many problems with her lately, Master. Would it not be better to watch over Noah myself?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Radner. You have other duties. Do you not want the boy to continue his education at Hogwarts? I hardly think it would be fair to yank him out of such a magnificent place after only a few months,” Antigonus stated. “Eden is also a Ravenclaw. She will be able to look after the boy, keep him safe.”

“I trust in you, Master.”

“Very well. Eden is near. I expect her to come barging in at any moment.” Antigonus turned to stare at Noah, protectively curled in his uncle’s lap. “It will be a perfect opportunity to get the two acquainted, don’t you think?”

Eden held her breath. She opened the creaky wooden door to the dining hall. Immediately, all eyes in the room landed on her. The pup quickly transformed back to human form, becoming a small boy with big green eyes and freckles, who was no older than eleven. He hopped down from Radner’s lap and rounded the table, coming nearer to the girl by the door.

“Is this her, Master?” he asked the Wolfram, not taking his inquisitive eyes off Eden.

Antigonus smiled. “Yes, that is her.” He rose from his seat, coming close to Eden. “This is my goddaughter, Eden. And this is Noah Levet. Well Eden, I suspect you heard most of our conversation from your post by the door.”

“You want me to keep an eye out for him?” she asked, her voice raspy and dry. It was hard to face the man that had locked her in a dark cellar and taken her wand. He was acting as if nothing of the sort had happened. “You expect me to do you a favor after everything you’ve done to me? You have real nerve.” She raised her wand. “I will do this for you on one condition.”

“And what might that be?” Antigonus asked, amusement evident in his tone.

“You leave Jessica alone. Nothing good will come from turning her into a wolf. She will not join you, I am positive.”

“Lower your wand. You are not in a position to be making deals with me, girl. I dictate the rules, and you follow them. This is not an opportunity to bargain. This is your last chance to salvage what good grace you have left with me. If you fail, I will bite you.”

Eden quickly weighed her options. Don’t be an idiot. Watch over the boy and devise a plan in the meantime. You’ll be back at Hogwarts, away from Antigonus. You’ll have time to clear your head.

Looking up at the man in front of her, Eden uttered a throaty agreement.

“Don’t expect this to be your only obligation. We need two cauldrons full of Wolf’s Elixir by Friday. Don’t disappoint me.”

Her blaze of glory apparition had scared the living hell out of the wolf pretending to be Jessica Rhee Vandenbrooke. In a flash of red and black she had stepped from the nothing and into her lonely dormitory.

It was a man of average height and stature (from what she could tell). He had been sleeping in her four poster, and now was scrambling, yelling, trying to decipher what was going on--the Wolf had his wand out and was slowly drawing conclusions in his puddle of funk--

Jessica raised her wand and pointed it furiously at the man, not thinking before she acted, the only thoughts in her mind blinded anger, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A flash of green, a rushing sound like the wings of birds--the man fell back and slumped to the floor, peaceful in his death.

Jessica stood there, breathing hard. She dropped her wand to the ground and nearly collapsed....

She waited with baited breath--what if someone had heard her? Heard the man's screams...

It was perverse, that a man was taking polyjuice potion and pretending to be a young girl. She cast a distasteful eye on everything before her, and vanished the potion equipment as it sat beside her bed. She looked around carefully--as she had expected, her belongings had been gone through. The poster of she and her team had been torn down--a shame, as it had been her favorite photo shoot.

She stepped towards her suitcase and began looking through it. Fortunately the spells and enchantments on the more pertinent documents and papers had not been broken, and the Wolf had not been able to get the bulk of things. But she had no idea what information HAD been passed on, or even what the Wolf had done in her place.

She was expected to simply go back to her routine...was that it? She walked over to the dead Wolf and hauled him around, transfiguring his body into a teacup, and setting the thing on her nightstand..

Still alarmed that a strange nameless faceless man had been sleeping in her bed, Jessica curled up on the floor. Then, only then (as the dawn light began to spread over the castle grounds) did she allow herself to shudder.
______________________________________

"The least you could have done is completed my homework." Jessica muttered to the teacup in the morning.

Sunlight reached its arms out to her through the window and tried to warm her ashen face, but her cold expression did not allow it. She had confiscated most of her possessions, dispatched with a Reducto curse or a simple vanishing, save for the unreplacable objects. She would send an owl to Jake and get her things replaced...

She had not slept a wink.

She walked to the mirror and inspected her reflection. Her hair was matted and unkempt, there were bags under her eyes and she just looked tired.

"Liven up, Dragonfly." Jessica tried to imitate Jake's cheering voice.

No use. Jessica could hear students moving in the castle, for them it was just another morning.

She looked at the teacup again. She felt no remorse in her, no doubt it would come later, right now she was in a state of shock.

She was already fully dressed her school robes. She had thrown most of her things together in a bag, and knew that she needed to get out there. Giving a deep breath and hoping that the man hadn't fricked up her life to terribly, she stepped out the door and into the hall.

Eden couldn’t look at her godfather. She didn’t know whether she wanted to murder him, or thank him. No, on second thought, Eden did not want to thank him. Even though he hadn’t bitten her, it was to come in one way or the other. If she kept her nose out of the Wolfram’s business, looked after the pup, and stayed at Hogwarts, she would still become a wolf by her graduation because of Antigonus’ whim to have her in the ranks. He wanted to use Eden’s great skill and knowledge of potions in his favor. He needed all of her pent up frustration and angst to be unleashed when she was on his side.

So, without a lingering glance back, Eden pulled Noah behind her through dining hall’s fireplace. Oh yes, she would look after the pup, but she would do it grudgingly so. At least it would give her a chance to question him for all her knew. It would be difficult to find out how many spies Antigonus already had in the castle, but hopefully this boy knew some information that the Wolfram had neglected to mention to Eden.

Once the Ravenclaw common room came into view, empty and dark, Eden headed for the girls dormitory steps. She was pleasantly surprised when Noah did the same at the boys’ steps, and signaled to a blue couch near the common room entrance. Eden nodded, agreeing that would be the place where the met in the morning before going downstairs for breakfast.

Up to her dorm she went; determinedly quiet as not to wake the others. It was almost the time that most students roused from slumber and waited in the common room for breakfast, and Eden was sure she heard rustling from a few of the dorms she passed. Finally up at the sixth years’ level, she entered her own dorm to find her roommate sleeping peacefully, and a quick glance at her own bed deduced the same thing. The impostor Eden Exley did not look quite the same. Her hair was not the same silvery hue, nor was the skin of her face as creamy and pale.

“Muffliato.” Eden said, throwing the spell at her roommate. The girl did not stir; she was a pretty heavy sleeper anyway.

Eden stepped closer to her bed, inspecting the person that lay within it. They had stopped snoring, but looked to still be sleeping. Eden drew closer. She was now close enough to be standing right beside the bed, hovering over the wolf.

Suddenly, the wolf stirred, noticed the shadow over the bed, and stared up at Eden with a look of surprise. The eyes of this person did not have the same shade of grey that Eden’s had, she noticed. A simple Polyjuice Potion, the likes of which could not compare to Eden’s own, would not be able to duplicate such a unique feature.

“Tell me wolf, has anyone been suspicious?” she asked quietly but forcefully.

“Yes. Another Ravenclaw named Paul Ziegler. He suspects something; keeps asking why you’re acting strange. A Hufflepuff girl in your Ancient Runes class gave you – er, me – strange looks when I didn’t know the answer to a question Professor Gentry asked.”

“You fool!” Eden said, raising her wand to the man’s face. “Did Antigonus not brief you on what would be expected of me here at school? I always know the answer in Potions or Ancient Runes – that’s why the professors call upon me so often. Is that too complex for a wolf like you?”

He didn’t answer, only stared at Eden’s wand moving closer to his forehead.

“Your services are no longer required,” she spat at him. “Ostendo vestri!”

A wave of magic swept over the impostor, converting him back to his real self. Eden restrained the urge to laugh when she was finally able to see the man’s face.

“Pulcey. I should have known. To be honest with you, I’m shocked that my godfather has given you this responsibility so quickly. After your last slip-up, I’m surprised he hasn’t turned you into a toad and stomped on you yet.”

Pulcey rose from the bed, looking at the girl in front of him with deepest loathing.

“Now now, run on back to the Manor. Antigonus will be itching to reprimand you for doing such a weak job at impersonating me,” Eden stated, a small laugh squeaking out of her. “Take the fireplace, and don’t be seen.”

Looking positively repelled, Pulcey stalked out of the dorm and down the stairs. Eden lifted the charm on her roommate, Nyssa Perren, who immediately stirred and looked around the room strangely. She was a bit of a prat at any rate.

“Hey Eden, did you hear that?” she asked.

“Hear what?” Eden asked, putting a leg up on the bed and pulling her socks up like she’d just put them on.

“Uh…” Nyssa rose from her four-poster looking bewildered. “Never mind, then.”

Eden smiled secretly and stashed her wand in her pocket before heading down to the common room. She was only the fourth person down there, one of which was Noah. He was sitting, rather nervously, on the edge of the couch where they’d agreed to meet. Eden supposed he wasn’t such a bad kid, but the prospect of babysitting a wolf pup for an extended period of time was not exactly appealing. Not when she had other, more important things to deal with.

“All right?” Eden asked, sitting down beside Noah on the couch. His response was to nod quickly, but he did not cease to look nervous. If she had really cared, she would have said something more, but since she didn’t, silence ensued.

After a few moments, more people had flooded down into the airy, open common room. Eden turned to the boy beside her, rising from the couch. “Follow me, then… I guess.” She still wasn’t comfortable with this situation, but reminded herself that things could be worse. All she had to do was deal with this nervous kid for a bit, and worry about making more Wolf’s Elixir. She would do that tonight, after she had caught herself up homework-wise. Pulcey was probably earning her horrible marks…

Out of the common room in no time flat, Noah had to scramble to keep up with Eden’s furious pace.

OOC: I'm planning on having Jessica play an Eagles game in Denver, Colorado with her team...a select group from Hogwarts could come (they'd have to buy tickets, get passes signed, that sort of thing.) It would be an oppertunity for our small cast of characters to get out away from the school and expereince the real world--AKA how far the Wolfram's influence really has gotten in America. And it would be a break from just school, school, school. If i were at Hogwarts i would thoroughly enjoy it.



IC:

In all, the Wolf pretending to be her hadn't completely ruined her life. Luckily for the poor bastard the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw game had been rescheduled from last night to tonight. She shuddered to think of the strange man touching her broom...her treasured, treasured broom...

She had fallen behind a bit in classes, but hard work in her free periods caught her up. Her performance in Defense Against the Dark Arts more than made up for it--she had hexed a Slytherin girl so thoroughly with her recent anger and vexation that Race moved to talk to her after class.

"You've been a bit...off the last few days." Race commented to her rather tenatively as they walked back to the Hall for lunch, "You blew me off for a while...is everything alright?"

"I haven't been feeling myself." She said honestly.

She looked back and saw Eden...

OOC: Sorry, rushed post...I'm sorry haha we've had such good ones....

OOC: Rushed post is okay. We’ve got lots to look forward to! And sure, the Quidditch thing sounds good. Say there’s a long weekend or something (an important wizarding holiday perhaps), so some of the students have gone to America to see Jessica’s game. I have a little surprise in store for the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw game as well…

By the way, sorry I haven't been posting regularly. I've been a bit busy lately!

IC:

Herbology and Potions whizzed by that morning, as Eden was concentrating her hardest to undo any damage Pulcey had done to her academics. She was quite insulted that Antigonus had chosen him specifically to fill her post while she was gone, as he was probably the worst candidate. Eden couldn’t help thinking it was on purpose.

Ancient Runes was a little bit more difficult. Eden’s hand flew up with every question Professor Gentry asked, and she looked thoroughly satisfied to realize that Eden had all the right answers. After class, Eden attempted to make a speedy getaway, but Professor Gentry called her name and pulled her aside from the doorway gently.

“Yes Professor?” Eden asked innocently, fighting the urge to make up an excuse and leave the room. She knew what was coming.

“Well, I’ve noticed that you haven’t been up to your usual standard in Runes the last couple of days, but today you surprised me. Is there anything you’d like to talk with me about? I’m a good listener, I promise.”

Eden stared at the tall, lanky woman in front of her. Should she make something up? After a moment, Eden shook her head slightly, making it clear that she was not in a talking mood.

“Well, alright. But you know, as your Head of House, I have to ask these things…” The woman smiled gently. “You can come to me whenever you like – remember that.”

As if that weren’t enough, Defense Against the Dark Arts went painfully slow. She was not happy to be in the same room with Jessica again, not after she’d spent the whole morning avoiding the girl’s eyes. She really didn’t have much to hide from the American at this point, but the tension between them was unbearable. Each knew that the events of the past would be nothing in comparison to what the future held.

Jessica’s frustration was clear to Eden. She’d hexed a Slytherin girl pretty badly, although Professor Clemence couldn’t stop raving about Jessica’s performance. Eden silently admitted that she would like to hex someone thoroughly as well. Antigonus mainly, but Jasper was pretty high up on Eden’s list. She wanted to hex the wolf out of him, make him turn back into the person he used to be. He wasn’t back at Hogwarts yet. Eden didn’t need to even get close to the impersonator to tell. She’d spotted him at the Slytherin table at breakfast. He was eating kippers (which Jasper hated more than anything) and his tie was slung loosely around his neck, probably to give off the impression that he was cool and laid-back (something Jasper would never do). He preferred to look clean, respectable – presentable.

Jessica had left the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with a tall Gryffindor boy as soon as the bell rang, so Eden felt a small rush of relief to walk towards Ravenclaw Tower without the American near by. She had a stack of homework to do, which she was planning on completing right away, but as soon as she’d given the answer to the riddle and stepped through the large stone doorway into the common room, her homework plans were put on hold.

A group of six Ravenclaws were gathered around the couch by the fireplace, most of them looking worried and anxious. The tallest one, who was a seventh year prefect by the name of Garth Walker, was standing in front of the couch talking to the group. Most of the people in the common room were either standing around watching the scene, or pretending to be occupied with something else while sneaking looks over at the group.

Although they were not dressed in their uniforms, Eden knew that the six of them made up the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. On a few rare occasions she would watch the games. It was common news that there was a game that night against Gryffindor. Eden, uncharacteristically, was curious to know why the team looked so nervous. She stepped closer to the scene.

“You realize that we’re going to get pummeled, right?” A tall girl in Eden’s year named Sandra Hughes asked. She stood up and was eye-to-eye with Walker. “We don’t have a decent replacement Beater.”

“How can I Keep properly when there’s bludgers flying at me from every direction?” A stout younger-looking boy asked.

“We’ll just have to find someone quickly. We can’t lose this game; not to Gryffindor,” Walker said.

“May I remind you that they have Jessica Vandenbrooke now?” Sandra stated, “They’ll kill us even with an adequate Beater.”

Walker looked around the common room, appearing not to have noticed everyone staring until that moment. He scanned the faces, passing from one side of the room to the other. “Does anyone know how to play Beater?” he asked dejectedly. Before anyone could speak, he added, “…decently?”

“I’m alright,” said one small boy near the couch.

“Pick me!” yelled a girl near the entrance to the dormitories.

“You don’t want them, I’m better!” said another boy.

“This is rubbish!” Walker yelled. “We’ll never get anything done this way. I’d rather forfeit than play with some kid that doesn’t know what they’re doing!”

A murmur of disapproval came from the kids who’d offered to play.

“We need someone with talent!” he exclaimed, letting his eyes scan the room once more. Eden found herself staring at him intently, but did not let her gaze falter when Walker rested his eyes upon her in the entranceway.

“You…Exley…” he said, “I’ve seen you play.”

“Oh, have you?” Eden asked mockingly.

“You played in that ‘friendly tournament’ game against Durmstrang near the end of last year. I saw you playing Beater. Why didn’t you say anything just now?”

“Why would I? Does it look like I really want to play for your team?” Eden put on the most unenthusiastic face she could muster. By that point, most of the common room had centered itself around their conversation.

Walker frowned. “Why? We need someone, and you’re the only person in this room that I’ve seen play Beater and be good at it! If we get to the pitch now, we can get time to warm up with you. Come on, we’ll have to forfeit if you don’t play…”

Eden felt hundreds of eyes on her. It didn’t make her nervous, only thoroughly disgusted with the situation. Just say no she thought, it’s really not that hard. But, wait. This could be a chance to exert some of your pent-up frustration. It beats hexing someone for no reason…

The other members of the team perked up when they saw Eden inhale deeply.

“I’m not doing this for no reason, Walker. You owe me.” Eden sighed. What if playing against Jessica was getting herself in too deep? Would they be able to beat the famed Gryffindor team?

“Right.” Walker replied, grinning stupidly. The rest of the team cheered and clapped one another on the back but immediately stopped when they spotted the look of deep irritation on Eden’s face. She’d play alright, but none of them had seen what she could really do with a bludger and a Beater’s bat…

"You ready, Dragonfly?"

"Come on, Dragonfly, let's do this!"

"You got this, Dragonfly....you GOT this.."

The accolades were coming thick and fast from every Gryffindor and non-Ravenclaw Jessica met as she walked down from the Tower and onto the grounds. Her Gryffindor House team robes were on, billowing in the wind as she practically skipped her way down to the Pitch...

Race had signed out the Pitch before the game to make sure his team was finely tuned. From what Jessica heard from others on the team (Kara and Ashley in particular expressed their vexation), the last Captain had been a real stickler for failure, and due to her lackluster performance there were a lot of internal conflicts and overall--last place in the House Cup Tournament. Ravenclaw and Slytherin had long dominated, the Gryffinfors were looking to her to bring them out of their stubborn position in last place...

Jessica made it to the pitch, and was greeted enthusiastically by the others on her team.

"Lead us to the promised land!" Dan and Curt, the two Beaters of the team were dancing around in a strange sort of ritual dance, flapping their arms up and down energetically, "Dragonflyyyyy!!!!!!!"

"Cunninghaaaaaaam!!!" Kara streamed in from the school, shooting past Jessica on her broom and buzzing Race--who had hauled down the case with the balls in it. Race cursed, ducked, nearly dropped the thing and rolled in the grass.

"With Race and Jesscica, there's NO way we can loose..." Ashley, the Asian Chaser was stretching, grinning wildly.

"Aye, and Ravenclaw is down a Beater, anyways" Drew, the Keeper chuckled, "And guess who they got to fill the position, last minute? EXLEY?"

"Jasper?" Race said sharply, looking up, 'Hey plays for Slytherin, are they really allowing this?"

"Naw, its the girl they're letting play....don't you remember, Race? When we played Durmstrang..."

Race's expression turned ugly, "Dan, Curt? Watch out for Exley in the sky. She may be a girl, but she packs a whallop--"

"And what is THAT supposed to mean?" Kara laughed, dismounting and punching Race hard on the arm, "What in the hell are you implying about girls, mate?"

Race chuckled, dancing back, "Not a think, Stellin, not a thing..."

Jessica took a deep breath--before her was a close knit team, a group of friends. She missed this feeling of unity. After the events with the Wolfram, Jessica needed to be in the sky. She took another deep breath, trying to flush all of her busy thoughts for her mind. it would do no good to be thinking about all of this when she was in the sky. 'Leave your problems on the ground' Jake had always told her...

And Eden was playing Beater?

Jessica fished her gloves out of her pocket, and strapped them on quickly. The team would only have a few minutes before Ravenclaw would come down. It was the usual custom before games--no matter which team signed out the pitch before the match, the opposite team would come and try to get time to practice before the thing started.

"How are you feeling?" Race came up behind her, whispering with concern in his voice.

"Better, now." She gripped the handle of her Eclipse. This was the truth.

The team took a few quick laps around the Pitch. Race wasn't allowed to remove the balls from the case (in previous years students had tried hexing or charming balls to make the game easier or harder) but he had fished a muggle soccer ball from somewhere, and now the team was chucking it around in the air.

"Soccer, crazy sport." Ashley watched the others on in the sky as she strapped on her boots. She looked over at Jessica, "Hey are you playing in the Eagles game in Denver on Potter's Day?"

"On...what, sorry?"

"Potter's Day..." Ashley looked at her blankly, "Were you muggleborn, that you don't know our wizarding holidays?"

Comprehension dawned on Jessica's face, "Oh, no....I'm a pure...Its just that your Potter's Day isn't an international Holiday. They don't celebrate it in America, they only do here. That's why i was confused. Didn't that have soemthing to with some bloke doing...something?"

"Yeah, yeah that's the gist of it." Ashley laughed, "Well, are you playing?"

Jessica dimly recalled the team schedule from a lifetime ago, "Actually, I think since the game is on that holiday weekend I might. Don't you guys get Friday off?"

"Yes."

"Well...then I think i might be heading back over there to play the match."

"Well, I'm going then if you are."

Jessica grinned, "It'll be good to have one team meet another."

Ashley's face broke open in a wide smile, "No WAY, surely your joking..."

"Yeah, why not? You can all get box seats too...or Pitch side in the team tent, wherever you want."

"No WAY wait till I tell Race...hey Race!!! RACE!!"

Ashley hopped on her broom and was gone and away, leaving Jessica alone on the ground. She looked up at the schoo....students were starting to pour down their way. She checked the large clock on the Tower of the school....there was at least an hour until the match started, but then again she couldln't blame some for coming down...this battle would sure be epic.

it wasn't so much Gryffinor vs Ravenclaw as Vandenbrooke vs Exley...

OOC: By the way, we both will probably have to god-mod a bit here, but nothing too extreme. Is that alright with you? And should we decide who will win now, or wait a bit?

IC:

Eden hurried down along the corridor behind Walker with her broom in hand. It wasn’t the best broom on the market, as it was a Nimbus 4000, but most of the Ravenclaw team, aide from Walker, reminded her that it was better than the brooms they had.

Walker, being captain of the team, thought he was pretty great. For what a hot-shot he was, Eden couldn’t wait to see if he was any good as a Chaser.

The sounds of grand cheers and eagle calls could be heard from the stands above the pitch as the Ravenclaw team made their way to their locker room. Eden didn’t have a uniform, but Sandra had assured her that she was good with clothing spells and could alter an old uniform to fit her.

As soon as the seven of them were in the locker room, Walker decided to introduce Eden to the rest of the team. “You already know Sandra, she plays Center Chaser. I play Outside Chaser, and this Cameron Randall, he’s the other Outside Chaser.” Walker gestured to the tall blond-haired boy on his left.

The stout boy that had been sitting on the couch in the common room spoke. “I’m Matthew Tilden, I play Keeper. This here’s Evelyn Bellamy; she’s seeker.” The seeker seemed to be young – probably the youngest of the group. She had big green eyes and looked to be no more than a third year.

“I hope you’re not lying about her talent,” the only unnamed boy in the group said to Walker. “I am vice-captain. Shouldn’t I have a say in this?” His face was scrunched up into an angry scowl. Just by his tone of voice Eden realized he was the other Beater.

Walker looked at him disapprovingly. “Do you really think that I’d pick someone lousy? I want to go professional just as much as you do, Finch. Anything that reflects badly on the team reflects badly on our chances. I think we’ve really got a shot at winning the cup this year, even with Vandenbrooke on Gryffindor’s team.”

“Here,” Sandra said, handing Eden a handful of robes. “Just put these on and I can fix them up when you come out.”

Eden put the uniform on, with the blue flowing robes overtop. It didn’t look half-bad, but the sleeves were way too long, as were the pants. Eden came out of one of the dressing stalls, frowning as everyone turned to look. “Who wore these pants, a troll?” she asked, holding them up to keep then from falling off.

“Last season’s Keeper. She was, er…” said the blond Chaser Randall, “Big boned.”

Sandra took her wand from her pocket, pointing it ad Eden. She muttered something incomprehensible, and Eden suddenly found the fabric of her uniform hugging her body properly. “Now turn around. I’ll keep the number 16 for you, but I’ll replace the last name with yours.” She mumbled another spell and Eden felt a tingling sensation in her back.

“Alright. We need to hurry getting the rest of our equipment on. They’ve probably already had a half-hour warm-up advantage over us,” Walker stated. “This is bad. We haven’t even had a chance to—”

“Hey, slow down a bit, mate. You’re getting everyone stressed out,” Tilden interjected. He strapped up his elbow-pads while shooting Walker an apologetic look. “We’ve got time, still.”

Walker frowned and slipped on his boots in silence.

When the team had finally prepared themselves, they opened the locker room doors and flew out onto the pitch. Most of the school population had made their way into the stands already, as a great round of applause from the Ravenclaws echoed when the team flew out. The announcer, a lanky Hufflepuff boy, acknowledged their presence.

“Oh, and here comes the Ravenclaw team! It’s Captain Garth Walker out first, followed by Chasers Sandra Hughes and Cameron Randall. After that we’ve got Keeper Matthew Tilden, Seeker Evelyn Bellamy and Beaters Tate Finch and, wait folks, I’ve just got word that there’s been a line change here… Ravenclaw has got a new Beater today. Sixth-year Eden Exley will be playing Open Side Beater in place of Sean Webb, who is currently recovering from an injury in the hospital wing.”

The crowd of Ravenclaws cheered, but Eden could sense that they were only being supportive. Most of them hadn’t seen the game against Durmstrang. They didn’t know if she was good or not.

Eden spotted Jessica almost immediately. The Gryffindor Chasers were practicing passing the Quaffle, while the Beaters circled the goal hoops swinging their bats, the Seeker followed along behind them and the Keeper practiced saves.

Eden circled around Ravenclaw’s side of the pitch with the rest of the team for a minute, but soon after they formed a circle to discuss warming up. The Chasers decided to practice their passing in a similar way to the Gryffindors and Bellamy decided she’d fly around for a bit more. Tilden and Finch hung around to talk tactics with Eden.

“Matt knows what to do when a bludger comes near him. Usually I end up firing them over at a Chaser that’s trying to score. I’ll keep watch over hitting them when they’re close, and you keep track of them when they’re in the neutral zone, or in their end. And don’t resist the urge to hit as hard as you can,” Finch explained.

“You definitely haven’t seen me play then…” Eden muttered.

Finch raised an eyebrow, looking mildly interested, but his head was so wrapped around his plans that he looked back to Tilden quickly. “So we’re all set, then?”

Tilden nodded, turning away from the two Beaters and heading over to the goal hoops. Eden gripped her bat tightly, thinking about how sweet it felt to connect it with the bludger, sending the ball whizzing at top speed towards an unsuspecting member of the opposition. Just letting her mind linger on that very thought made Eden very anxious for the game to begin.

“All right, Exley?” Finch asked crudely. “I hope you’re not getting cold feet.”

Eden laughed, which made the boy reel back slightly. “Cold feet? You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s rich.”

“Well, don’t get so cheeky. I was only asking.”

Swinging her bat, Eden circled around the raven-haired boy. “You know, I don’t think it would be a tragedy if I accidentally hit a bludger your way at some point during this game…”

Finch shot Eden a loathsome look before Walker called out to them. The team assembled in a circle once more as they saw the referee, Mr. Smid, walk out onto the pitch with the box containing the quaffle, bludgers and snitch.

OOC: I was thinking that Gryffindor would win this match, but then when Gryffindor plays Slytherin in a few, they loose because Jasper can't resist the urge to hex Jessica from the sky, seeing as she and her father kinda took away his last shred of credibility. I'll post when i get home from school....or probably tomorrow, actually, now that i think about it.

The team hovered in a circle on their side of the Pitch, suspended in midair while the Gryffindors screamed and yelled and otherwise tried to drown out the Ravenclaws. The pandemonium was incredible, nearly the entire school had showed up for this epic game. Ravenclaw had long been the top dog in the House Cup, and with Gryffindor's new team and new game face....this was going to be a good match.

"Jessica, watch out for Walker." Race spoke loudly across the circle to his newest Chaser, "He'd love any excuse to run you out of the air. He nearly killed Kara last season, couldn't stand the fact that we were loosing by a margin of fifty points, wanted to make things more interesting and much more dramatic by knocking off our Seeker..."

"He's a bloody nuisance, and if you can get him on a foul and have him sit out, then this game will be much easier." Kara commented back, shifting position on her broom so she could quickly re-tie her hair, "He's aggressive, and he's sneaky. Every time he makes a move the reff doesn't see it, and thinks we're just grabbing at thin air to try and sit him out."

"Right." Jessica took mental note of all of this.

"We've got a good day for playing, there's not much wind, but as always be prepared." Race clapped his hands together, "Dan and Curt, I want you guys to watch for Exley. She may be small, but she can hit the Bludger about as hard as the both of you can."

Both Beaters nodded.

Drew clapped his hands, "Alright, let's do this."

"Ashley and I will be Outside Chasers, Jessica, this is all you!" Race said, a grin flitting around on his features, "Alright, they're gonna call in a sec...there goes Smid, alright, positions, everyone!"

"Team Captains, shake hands!" Mr. Smid called in a booming voice. Walker and Race slid forward on their respective brooms, and while each willingly gave their hand, it was obvious that they were both trying to break the hand of the other. It was almost customary and to be expected, wasn't it? Jessica grinned. She had heard Jake say that the only captain whose grip he had flinched at was the Irish International...

"If you can separate Tilden and Finch, that's good." Ashley said to Jessica as the roaring of the crowd grew nearly unbearable, "They're both tactical geniuses even if they can't do much, but only they seem to know what they're talking about. If you see Finch running back to talk to Tilden--the Keeper--its because Tilden's come up with some sort of great play,and Finch needs to let the others know."

"Thanks for the heads up." Jessica's eyes combed the opposite team, and she spotted Eden.

"Really, we SHOULD win this game, its only fair." Ashley chuckled, "With Potters Day around the corner...I mean, after all we ARE his house."

The Chasers drifted to the front, the Keeper to the back, the Seeker was away and the Beaters drifted to the sides.

"Teams ready!" Smid called with his magically magnified voice, "And....PLAY!

Jessica shot forward on her Eclipse and began to play. As usual, she lost herself in the action, the weaving, and just listened to the announcer, who seemed to dictate her movements...

"AAAAaaand we're off! Chaser Jessica Vandenbrooke snags the Quaffle, no problems and is hauling towards Ravenclaw Keeper Matthew Tilden without too much hindering her...oh my dear lord there are three chasers and two beaters barreling towards her to cut her off--a veritable ARMY--she does a quick reverse pass to Ashley Trumpe of Ravenclaw who now shoots under the small crowd that had been gathered around our International player...with everyone going after the Eagle, they left their goal wide open...this could be it, this could be it..Ashley shoooots.....she shoots...she..misses..."

Jessica felt a twinge as she yanked the handle of her broom up and back around. It had been a good play--everyone had been watching her offensively, a quick pass to Ashley could have been an easy score because no one had been covering the Asian girl. Jessica found herself thinking--no--KNOWING that she could have sank that shot if she had just charged through and done it herself. She felt now, only slightly, that she was playing with those inferior to her skills....

"Well, the Ravenclaw team certainly realizes the mistake it made...and as both teams regroup I think the Gryffindors are going to need a new strategy..."

"Hit a 4-runner on the backing lot," Jessica shouted to her teammates, pointing at Dan Kotsier and Ashley again, "Make sure to watch for the Hanging Man and fly the back like a Hersheys..."

All she got were blank stares, and Jessica felt distinctly more foolish. What was she doing? Of course this team wouldn't know that sort of speak...If she had been with her International team, they would have picked up on the signals instantly and went into action, a seamless team of weaving score...

But the Beater and the Chaser just stared back at her while Walker streaked past with the Quaffle.

Jessica gave a scream of rage and shot off after him, coming from below. Dan and Curt let off their Bludgers at the same time towards the kid--he rolled expertly and they went flying past him. Jessica rolled as well, and brought herself closer to him...

"Get out of it!" Walker shouted as she closed in on him. In those few precious seconds of hangtime, Walker leaned back and horse kicked her in the chest.

Winded, she fell back as Walker soared up and made a shot.

Drew was too busy screaming, "FOUL!" to block it, and it went in.

"Foul, Foul, Foul!" Jessica was fuming, pointing a finger at Walker (who was flying away doing a victory lap much to the enjoyment of Ravenclaw).

"Looks like the Gryffindor team isn't taking very well to getting scored on by Ravenclaw..." The Hufflepuff announcer said in an amused tone, ""Are they going to be the sore losers like last year?"

"I HAVE A DAMN FOOTPRINT ON MY CHEST, YOU IDIOTS!" Jessica screamed, "DAMMIT--FOUUUUL!!"

While the crowd tried to settle itself down after getting off its feet, Dan zoomed over to her.

"Let it go, that's how it works." He muttered to her, "Walker is good like that, no one sees him make fouls so they go unnoted. He's a terrible player and an even worse teammate. If you think he's bad to us you should see how he treats some of his players."

"First blood, Ravenclaw leads...here's the Quaffle toss again and there we goooo...."


OOC: Race Cunningham: Team Captain, Chaser
Ashley Trumpe: Chaser
Kara Stellin: Seeker
Dan Kotsier: Beater
Curt Stone: Beater
Jessica Vandenbrooke: Chaser
Drew Shirley: Keeper

if you could post me a list like that, then that would be great. Just a quick reference so i know who is who on your team!

By the way...this thread is pretty much epic! We both are writing really well! I think its amazing lol!

OOC: I agree about the epic thread! I love this story; we’re covering good ground here and keeping things exciting. It’s definitely been well written and I’m glad we’ve kept it going for so long. You certainly have great writing prowess my dear!

Outside Chaser: Garth Walker (Team Captain)
Outside Chaser: Cameron Randall
Center Chaser: Sandra Hughes
Blind-Side Beater: Tate Finch (Vice Captain)
Open-Side Beater: Eden Exley
Keeper: Matthew Tilden
Seeker: Evelyn Bellamy

IC:

Eden found that she was taking an unexpected liking towards Walker after his first goal. He did a lap around the whole pitch, Hughes and Randall following behind supportively. He sailed back over to where Eden and Finch were, near the goal posts.

“Nice one, Walker,” Eden stated, a very faint smile cracking her porcelain lips. “I didn’t expect you to make a move like that; crafty, to say the least mate.”

Walker paused momentarily to gaze at Eden with a hint of approval on his face. He looked back to the team quickly. “Alright everyone, let’s regroup. We need to build ourselves up here. I may not have been able to make that play if I hadn’t kicked Vandenbrooke, so you’ve got to create more opportunities for me.” He flew off towards center field. “Come on!” he shouted at Hughes and Randall, who flew after him despite looking a little miffed at their Captain.

Of course, the Gryffindors had made a big fuss about the goal for what they thought should have been a foul. Mr. Smid hadn’t seen it though, so nonetheless, the game went on…

“And the Quaffle is now in Ravenclaw’s possession at center field. Captain Garth Walker evades a bludger flying his way and passes to Chaser Sandra Hughes. Hughes is away down the pitch, just nearly ahead of two Gryffindor Chasers inches behind her.”

Eden flew a bit behind the action, drifting into Gryffindor’s zone. Courtesy of one of the Gryffindor Beaters, a bludger came whizzing her way at top speed.

“Dodging the Chasers that pursue her, Hughes reverse-passes the Quaffle to Ravenclaw Chaser Cameron Randall, who comes ever closer to Gryffindor’s Drew Shirley. Oh, my! A bludger shot at Ravenclaw Beater Eden Exley has just been redirected by the girl, and is flying towards one of the Beaters near the goal hoops! Curt Stone just narrowly avoids a bludger to the head, but in the meantime lets Randall sneak by him. Randall has a golden opportunity, and he shoots!”

Almost as if it took place in slow motion, Eden watched the Quaffle fly towards the leftmost goalpost. It sailed just wide while the Ravenclaw fans erupted in a cry of upset, while the Gryffindor fans cheered at their team’s good fortune. Shirley, flying past the goalpost, looked immensely relieved.

Eden scanned the pitch, picking up on the whereabouts of both team’s seekers just before the announcer did. She spotted Evelyn’s sandy-blond ponytail flowing out behind her as she accelerated quickly, chasing the small golden orb that flickered through the air two inches from her outstretches fingers.

“Ravenclaw Seeker Evelyn Bellamy has spotted the snitch just above the Ravenclaw goal posts. She’s off after it, and look at her go! Oh, but here comes Kara Stellin, the representative Seeker from the Gryffindor team. She’s spotted the snitch as well, and both girls are hot on its trail. Gryffindor is now in possession of the Quaffle as they retrieve it from their end. The three Chasers fly out to center field, ready to penetrate the Ravenclaw defense and attack. It looks like the Ravenclaw Beaters have other plans, though folks. Finch hits a bludger cross-field to Exley, who sends it hurtling toward the three opposing Chasers.”

The Ravenclaw fans erupted into great suspenseful cheer as the bludger, hit with great strength and speed, curved in towards the formation of Gryffindor’s offense.

OOC: I'm hesitant to score without your permission, but i guess that we'll just have to get over it. Lol. So we agreed that Gryffindor wins this game, but we loose to Slytherin (Jasper) later. (haha look at me saying 'we' like its my own House. Can i transfer to Hogwarts lol)

IC:

Dan got there first and intercepted the Bludger as it came streaking towards the three Chasers. The burly Beater managed to get a solid hit towards the Ravenclaw Seeker, who evaded the thing at the last second with a desperate roll. This saved her life but distracted Kara, and the Snitch was gone again. The entire crowd let out its breath and returned its attention to the offensive line on Gryffindor's side.

Jessica was greatly relieved to see that Ashley and Race knew sort of what they were doing.

She had the Quafffle tucked under her arm as she whirled and spun through the masses, her teeth set and her game face on. Ashley and Race were circling around her, shouting instructions and encouragement. Again, she was drawing all the defensive players towards her--the Chasers were eying her with nervous expressions on their faces, the Keeper was bawling something to someone somewhere...

Bludgers were getting slammed towards them, but Dan and Curt followed along and were sending them right back where they came from. All eyes were on the American as she veered for the right goal-post (Matthew Tilden following her, expecting her to shoot....)

....and she snap-passed to Race, who had been going the other direction, who threw the Quaffle through the completely unguarded left post...

"Score is 10/10 and Gryffindor has managed to tie things up again! The Ravenclaws have fallen to one of the Eagle's more signature moves, Jessica seems to feel comfortable using plays that only her International team use..well ,hopefully the rest of the House Team are such avid fans that they know exactly what she's about to do before she does it..."

Jessica hauled back after her score, doing a victory lap. She came back around to where Keeper Drew Shirley was.

"Cover your right, they're going to try the same thing, except with Bludgers making sure we don't know it." She murmurred in his ear before speeding off again.

"There's the Quaffle...its Ravenclaw in possession, Randall to be exact. Exley and Finch are covering him as he comes our way--there's a reverse pass to Hughes, a snap pass back to Randall and a drop pass to--ah, i can't keep track! The three Chasers are coming at the Gryffindor goal in an up frontal assault--"

Finch hit the Bludger up--Jessica watched as the defensive line looked up to see where things had gone--the Chasers streamed past and shot the Quaffle. It would have been the perfect distraction, the perfect score, the perfect way to sneak the ball past Gryffindor's defense...if jessica hadn't warned Drew.

SHIRLEY'S CAUGHT IT!!! SHIRLEY'S CAUGHT IT! I didn't think it was possible! Wow, i didn't know it was possible. Well of course i knew it was possible, after all Drew is a friend of mine...anyways, Quaffle is back out and Gryffindor is in possession..."

It went on like this for some time. Jessica found this game much more vexing than one of her more familiar ones with the International Team. No one adhered to the rules as strictly as possible--for instance, the Keeper was allowed to be tackled even if there was a stray Bludger past the yard line. Also, Jessica watched as Walker got away with more and more fouls, and every time they escalated in viciousness. Jessica wondered how the referee couldn't even notice it...

To take out her frustration she scored again and again. Unfortunately, the Ravenclaw team was infuriatingly GOOD, and Gryffindor's defensive line needed work. The points racked up with Gryffindor only barely maintaining a lead. Now and then Ravenclaw would pull ahead...

It was starting to turn into evening, and the flood lights were turned on with a wave of a wand. Race called three time outs to remind his team that they could win if they just tightened things up, but they were all getting weary. They weren't trained to play long games, Jessica was. They weren't trained to handle all possible Quidditch situations, Jessica was. That's about what it boiled down to.

The climax came when (Jessica didn't hear the argument between them, but just saw the end result) Walker managed to wrestle Eden's Beaters bat from her, and hit a Bludger at the American at close range.

It clipped her shoulder and knocked her back--she had the sense to grip the broom with her thighs to stay on. As the Bludger whistled off into nowhere, she teetered and glared.

"Are you STUPID? That is not ALLOWED!"

"Aaand..." The announcer sounded amused, "It seems like the Gryffindor Chaser is angry at the Ravenclaw Beater for...doing her job? That's something we've never seen before. What do you mean by it, Jessica."

Jessica was halfway to her pocket for her wand, but then stopped. That was a good way to get the team disqualified, and Race was right--if they pulled together they would actually have a chance at winning this thing. She was excellent on her own, but the entire team was only as strong as its weakest link...a title that seemed to change names and switch around.

The Gryffindor team was watching Walker with an angry eye...Jessica made up her mind. Outsmarting Walker and his devious ways might be difficult, but she knew she could easily outfly him....she would lead him into a trap and show everyone, finally, what he was doing.

That was what made her a unique player--while adrenaline rush often clouded a players judgement, she was always able to keep a clear head to think about what she was doing...

She flew towards Walker, intent to trap etched all over her face.

OOC: Go ahead, you can score whenever you like. You’re going to win, so you’ll have to score at some point during your posts! (I wish I could transfer to Hogwarts too… *cries*)

IC:


“Gryffindor is now in possession of the Quaffle… oh, but it looks like Ravenclaw is calling for a time out. Each team is assembling to have a chat. This sure is a tight game folks; we’ve never had such fierce competition!”

The announcer’s voice was drowned out once Eden flew into the circle with her teammates. She blocked everything else out but her anger. Once everyone had gathered, she stared lividly at Walker, who seemed to be expecting it. His eyes looked faintly amused at her reaction.

“You insolent git! You could have ruined everything for us by that one stupid decision. You’re not allowed to hit close-range!” Eden took a deep breath, but it wasn’t helping. “Your stupid impulses almost got you kicked out of the game. If the ref had seen that, you taking my bat, y- you…”

Walker flew over to Eden, squeezing into the circle between she and Evelyn. “Look, I haven’t been tossed out, alright?” He paused, waiting for another member of the group to help him out. When they all refused, giving him the same angry stare that Eden was, he continued. “Fine… no one likes the way that I play? Why do you think we’ve been neck-and-neck with them the whole time? There’s no way we could have got this far on pure talent – not up against her.”

Eden knew exactly who he meant. However, she still wasn’t convinced. “Alright,” she said, “As long as you don’t take my bat again like a pompous git, I’ll live with your constant fouls. Just don’t get caught, or it’s all out our necks on the line.”

Walker flew off towards center field, clearly irritated, and everyone else assumed their positions.

“As play resumes, it’s Race with the Quaffle. He dodges Hughes and quickly throws the Quaffle above his head, and it is caught by Vandenbrooke. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a move like that before… Vandenbrooke is off with it, down the pitch at top speed. She’s nearing Walker now, oh, and she’s just done a Sloth Grip Roll to avoid a bludger from Exley. Walker is flying right beside her now, Vandenbrooke doubles back to lose him, flies right past Referee Smid…”

A loud, ear-piercing whistle echoed through the pitch. Mr. Smid held his wand up to his throat to make his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “Ravenclaw has committed a foul on Gryffindor’s Jessica Vandenbrooke, Captain Garth Walker for blagging.”

The Ravenclaw fans booed, while Gryffindor’s cheered. The level of noise was unheard of.

Mr. Smid continued. “Gryffindor may now have possession of the Quaffle, or they may take a free shot at the Keeper. Gryffindor’s Captain shall decide…”

The announcer cut in while Race flew over to the ref. “For all of you that aren’t aware of what blagging is, it means that someone has grabbed the tail of another player’s broom. That singals the first foul of this very long game. Hold tight everyone, and we’ll see if Captain Race Cunningham’s decision affects the outcome.”

The fans were tense. You could probably hear a pin drop on the pitch. Eden spotted Walker hovering beside the other Chasers. She and Finch exchanged nervous looks and decided to see what was going on. They flew to the other side of the pitch and came up beside the Chasers.

“It’s just one foul…” Sandra stated, trying to reason with Walker. She nodded at the two Beaters. “It won’t lose us the game, we’ll be alright.”

“We better be.” There was only seriousness on Walker’s face. “We have to win this game. If we lose today, our confidence will be down, and who knows what could happen then? Hufflepuff could beat us next week. They’re the weakest team, but they’re not much worse off than we, or Slytherin are. Everyone’s betting on Gryfindor for the cup, just becase they’ve got her.”

Eden noticed that was the second time Walker had talked about Jessica with true hatred in his tone. He seemed like the kind of person that didn’t take a liking to you if you weren’t of service to him somehow. Eden thought he would have been well suited to Slytherin…

“Listen to me.” Sandra’s tone was more callous now, more demanding. “We have it in us to beat them; we’ve come this far already. We need a plan, a new strategy, and we need one now.”

Eden glanced over her shoulder at Race, who had just finished discussing his team’s plan of action with the referee. Now, Ravenclaw waited in anticipation of the verdict.

OOC: Walker just seems to be the kind of guy you want to hate. I just thought this post might as well put a nail in his coffin.

IC:

"We're taking possession." Race streaked back to speak to Jessica, "Matt--their Keeper--is too good if we just stood there and tried to take the shot. If we take possession and lead of strong, we'll have a better chance of snaking it past him. Good job, by the way. We've been trying for ages, not a lot can make Walker commit a foul in front of Smid like that. He must really hate you. This is excellent....with Walker wary now, we might have a chance at a fair match..."

"Glad i could be of some help." Jessica dipped her head and was left in her own thoughts as Race sped off to tell Ashley and the rest of the team of these goings on.

She could tell that the opposing team was getting tired, and herein lied her chance of scoring. She was conditioned for grueling matches (Her longest against the Irish National Team, which had lasted nearly three days) and this was almost nothing. Players were gripping their broom handles less firmly. Jessica was certain that never in the history of this school had a match gone for so long with such few scores. Gryffindor's offense was solid, Ravenclaw's defense was equally hard. Gryffindor's defense needed work, and Ravenclaw's offense was lacking as well. It was a paradox.

It was getting colder though, and despite years of training she had never been able to fully shake off the effect of cold on her muscles. She was going to be sore tomorrow and she knew it...

Jessica kept her eye on Kara, who was circling high above the pitch. A lot of the spectators were watching the Seekers as well, knowing that it was their respective duties (in essence) to make sure that the game ended. The Snitch had only been spotted once...

Race was done relaying his message to the rest of the team, and from across the Pitch he motioned for Jessica to play Center Chaser, and she sped into center field.

"It looks like Gryffindor has made its decision...and yes, they've decided to take possession." Even the announcers voice was starting to grow a little tired, "And its still 50/70, with Gryffindor leading. Come on, mates, if we can wrap this up before Witching Hour, that would be swell."

"Wish granted." Jessica whispered as the Quaffle was tossed.

She sped forward with a burst of energy and ganked it from under the Center Chaser's nose, and expertly wound her way through masses of speeding bludgers and players, and managed to score with ease. She leaned out of her dive and angled back up again swung around as the Gryffindors roared their approval...

She won possession again at the next toss, reverse passed to Ashley, who dropped it to Race, who wound in and out of Dan and Curt (defending) to score once more.

Again Gryffindor got possession, and again and again before Ravenclaw was loosing at a deficit of nearly 180 points.

"Have you forgotten how to guard a hoop, Tilden!" Walker was roaring.

The crowd, the players, no one was paying attention. Stellin and Bellamy had fallen into a dive with their hands outstretched...Kara was inching forward by mere centimeters...the entire crowd was on its feet, the players were watching and not even noting what was going on...

"NO!" The entire Pitch could hear Walker bawling at his teammate, as he dove forward as well, "You're going to--"

It was all over in a flash, the blow of a whistle. Kara and Evelyn had crashed onto the ground, and somehow Walker was tangled in the midst of them--with a glinting bit of gold in his fist.

"You were coming up too slow!" Walker shouted to Evelyn, waving the Snitch around in the air, "You were too slow!"

Jessica had had enough. She sped to the ground and dismounted, flinging her broom to the side as she stalked towards the boy, "SNITCHNIP!!!"

She nearly wrung the boys little neck. Now Tilden and Race had landed as well, now Finch, now Trumpe, and the rest of the teams. All were similarly angry, although Jessica exhibited the most rage.

Jessica was so angry she thought she would kill the boy the same way she had killed the Wolf she had found in her room this morning, and that realization made her wince, "You are so DUMB!"

"Better than being a Yank!" Walker shot back, pushing her hard.

Jessica fell back to the ground and scrambled to her feet, palm outstretched and eyes burning.

"Touch me again....touch me again, I dare you."

The crowd had gone quiet. Smid landed amongst them and said very softly, "Walker, Vandenbrooke..."

The announcer cleared his throat, "Umm..for those of you who...uhh...don't know, Snitchnipping is when a player other than the Seeker grabs the....ahh..Snitch."

Race came up behind Jessica and touched her arm, calming her down while at the same time he spoke venemously to Walker, "Lay off."

"Come on, let's go." Ashley grabbed Jessica's arm, and hauled her back, "Smid will call it what he wants..."

OOC: Great post, that’s definitely something Walker would do! I have an idea for how Gryffindor will win, but if you don’t like it we can always make changes. I just thought it would be appropriate considering how Walker is acting…

IC:

As soon as Eden heard Jessica yell ‘snitchnip’ from halfway across the pitch, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her fears were confirmed when Walker disentangled himself from the two seekers, snitch in hand.

“What the ruddy hell are you doing?” Eden shouted as soon as she had flown within earshot of Ravenclaw’s team captain. She quickly dismounted her broom, dropping the meter’s distance to the ground right in front of Walker.

Mr. Smid was right in the thick of the action, and he quickly pushed the two teammates apart, though he looked slightly confused as to why they were so hostile with one another. Eden stepped back gracefully, deciding that a fight wasn’t her best bet at the moment.

“It looks like… oh, golly… it appears as if teammates Garth Walker and Eden Exley are having a row. Seems like she’s upset about the snitchnipping foul. I wouldn’t get in her way, no sir! She’s dangerous with that bat…”

“Hey, take it easy mate!” Mr. Smid said to Walker, holding him back from attacking both Eden and Jessica. Walker threw the snitch on the ground in disgust, a few gasps emitting from the shocked fans in the stands.

“That’s a foul, and you’re being very unsportsmanlike,” Mr. Smid stated, looking at Walker with disapproving eyes. When Walker’s only response was to direct a bitingly sarcastic remark at the referee, Mr. Smid snapped. “You know what, this isn’t tolerated! You’re out of this game, now!”

“What?” Walker shouted. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“No, you’re out!”

Eden stared in shock at Walker’s back as he hopped onto his broom and flew off towards the Ravenclaw locker room in a fiery rage. She turned to Mr. Smid, searching for some kind of explanation.

“I’m just getting word that Garth Walker has been ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike behavior! Boy, he must have really gone off at the ref! Well, it looks like the rest of the Ravenclaw team don’t like the decision, they’re all crowded around Mr. Smid now…”

Eden was the first to speak, although Sandra was right behind her. “What are we supposed to do now?” she asked angrily, “We can’t play without another Chaser, let alone the Captain.” Cries of protest came from the rest of the team who had assembled behind Eden.

“You’re absolutely right. You can’t play, it’s against the rules. You’ll have to forfeit, it’s the only choice.”

“No way!” Finch bellowed. “We’re not giving up!”

“There’s no choice…” Randall said quietly from behind Finch. The team whirled around to look at his lanky blond form. “We’re not allowed to play if the teams aren’t even.”

“So have Gryffindor knock off a Chaser as well,” Eden interjected.

Mr. Smid shook his head, frowning. “It doesn’t work that way. The team that lost the player must immediately forfeit. That’s how it goes. I didn’t make the rules, I only follow them…”

Eden watched him fly over to the Gryffindor team to tell them the news. It was all Eden could do not to throw her bat at Jessica and Race when they high-fived each other. The Gryffindor fans went crazy as the victory was announced.

“Alright, everyone! Gryffindor wins by default! That’s not to say that they wouldn’t have won anyway, with the final score being 220 – 80.” The announcer took a moment to pause for the applause of the crowd. “Well, it was certainly an exciting game to say the least! Congratulations Gryffindor, and better luck next time Ravenclaw… we’ll be looking forward to both team’s next matches. It’s Gryffindor versus Slytherin next Tuesday, then Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff on Friday.”

Dejected, the Ravenclaw team flew off the pitch before Gryffindor started their victory laps. Eden took a quick look at her teammates as they entered the locker room, and decided that she didn’t feel quite the same emotion they did. She was angry, not sad. She was only a temporary replacement, so she didn’t really care about the score. It was about the game for her, and more importantly now, how Walker had ruined it for them…

She was the first person into the change room, and spotting Walker at the end of the row of lockers, she stormed over. “You blundering idiot! How did you get to be Captain when my pet toad can play better Quidditch than you?” There was a look of pure mutiny on her face.

“Hey, Eden…” Sandra said, coming up behind Eden and trying to pull her away from Walker. “I think this is the last thing that we all need right now. Listen, it was just a game. Losing is a part of life!”

“I don’t care that we lost. I care that Walker can’t play Quidditch to save his life.”

At that, Walker rose from the bench beside his locker. “Oh, piss off Exley. You think you’re going to get your face on a chocolate frog card now that you’ve played with us once?” His tone was mocking. “Well, you’re not as great as you think you are. How you didn’t get into Slytherin, I’ll never know…”

“At times like this, I wish I wasn’t part of this crumby house anyway,” Eden stated. She knew she didn’t really mean it, but it convinced her teammates easily enough.

Sandra looked at her with deep concern, Finch looked angry, and the others stared at her wide-eyed. No one said a word.

“Fine, you don’t need me on this team anymore?” Eden shouted, not expecting an answer. She ripped the royal blue robe from her shoulders. “You can just have Webb and his concussion, then. I’m sure he’ll make a fine Beater in that condition.”

Someone called her name, but Eden ignored it and stormed back up to the castle.

OOC: Sorry, a little rushed. I would have liked to put in a bit more detail!

"Oh, don't you worry, we'll hear about this." Race shouted over the noise in the common room that night, "Although we had a margin fit to strangle the Prime Minister, you'll hear the Ravenclaws complaining that they could have won if we hadn't of interfered."

"How is it OUR fault?" Kara hollered, and her cry was mirrored by many others in the House, "How did WE interfere? It was WALKER that mucked things up, Ravenclaw cursed itself in the foot!"

"If Walker isn't hanging from the tower in the morning, i don't know what's gone wrong with this school..." A fourth year next to Jessica muttered to his friend.

The euphoria in the room was infectious, and was showing no signs of winding down. The part had been going on for some time now, and Jessica was starting to feel tired. A few of the team members had already retired, but Jessica had chugged a few too many muggle energy drinks.

"This stuff is wicked!" A seventh year laughed, prodding the shiny metal can with his wand, "Jessica, what is this again?"

"A muggle brew that gives you energy, its really quite good." She grabbed herself a can and popped the top.

"Mugglelover." Someone whispered.

Jessica turned, eyebrows raised to try and find who has said this. She could not, for the life of her, decipher who it was in the middle of all the chaos. She dismissed it and moved on.

"You watch, now that Walker's been exposed as a freak, every team is going to watch him!" Curt laughed, throwing an arm around Jessica and staggering forward a little bit, "Hoorah!!"

"Yankee Mugglelover..." Again, someone muttered it..

Jessica spun around, and decided that it was time for bed.

Once she had made it up to Ravenclaw Tower, Eden hurried to the showers. The common room was nearly empty except for a group of three second-years that were studying at the tables. They looked up when Eden rushed by them, but they clearly hadn’t seen the game and had no idea what had happened.

Eden stripped off her quidditch clothes quickly, tossing them in a pile outside of her shower. She wondered to herself whether she should throw them away or not. Would the team need her to play again? Walker certainly didn’t, but the others… Eden couldn’t be sure. She had a distinct feeling that Walker was not the only team member to dislike her, but Finch was the most obvious about it besides the captain himself. It was hard to pick up on, but Eden had found during the match that Finch may hate her, but he couldn’t find anything to criticize about her abilities. It was hard for Eden to admit, as she’d always been stubborn and independent, but she and Finch worked well together. Her intensity and pure finesse combined with Finch’s brute strength and experience made them a deadly team. It was almost an epiphany-like moment when Eden realized that she longed to continue playing with the team…

It took her a half-hour just to untangle her long, knotted silvery hair, but as she brushed it out the familiar sheen returned. Wrapping a towel around herself and scooping up the pile of quidditch robes, Eden returned to her dormitory. It was clear that most of the Ravenclaws had returned from the pitch by that point, as a buzz of conversation could be heard from the common room below.

“Eden!” Nyssa Perren was sitting on her bed when Eden entered their dorm. She had a look of excitement on her face that Eden had learned was usually something she didn’t appreciate. It had always been a mystery to Eden how someone could always be so cheerful and excited.

“You were great!” she squealed, “I had no idea!”

“Yeah, you and the rest of Ravenclaw.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked quickly. When Eden didn’t respond, Nyssa went on. “Hey, it’s okay that we lost… we’ll get ‘em next time, mate. Don’t be so dreadfully sad about it! You’ve really got to lighten u—”

“It’s not that. Listen Nyssa, if I really wanted to tell you, I would. It’s just, I don’t think you’d quite understand,” Eden stated. She wasn’t exactly in the mood for sharing, especially not with this girl that she barely knew.

Nyssa frowned. She rose from her bed looking highly dejected.

Eden walked over to the wardrobe and fished out some muggle clothes to wear for the rest of the night. She heard the tapping of shoes, and turned just in time to see Nyssa’s red curly hair fly through the doorway. She slammed the door behind her quite loudly, and it was all Eden could do not to let her jaw hang open; Nyssa Perren getting angry enough to slam a door? What on earth had she said to make her roommate so angry?

Shaking off the thought, Eden dressed quickly. She would worry about Nyssa later – for now, she had bigger fish to fry. Namely, Garth Walker. She wanted to have a chat with Finch about her future on the team, and whether Walker could legitimately kick her off if she was the best replacement.

The common room was packed with Ravenclaws, as it wasn’t quite late enough for bed yet. A few eyes landed on her as she emerged from the stairway to the girls’ dorms. It was only seconds before she spotted Finch sitting on a blue couch across the room. He was with Randall, and the two of them looked to be in deep conversation. Eden didn’t mind though, she figured that interrupting wouldn’t make too much of a splash.

Randall saw her approaching before she had a chance to say anything, and he nudged Finch, pointing at Eden. Finch glanced over his shoulder. A look of mild confusion flashed over his relaxed demeanor.

“Ah, Exley… to what do I owe this pleasure?” He snickered at that, while Randall only looked on in wonder.

“I need a word… alone.”

A few students in the near vicinity had begun to watch what was going on. Eden could hear a pair of first years whispering to one another about the quidditch match. She ignored them and focused her eyes on Finch.

“All right then.”

It was obvious that Finch was bewildered as to what Eden wanted a word about, but nonetheless he followed her through the large wooden doorway and out of the common room. Eden continued to walk down the corridor with Finch on her heels, only stopping once they had reached a quiet, secluded spot. She turned to face him, letting her concern turn into words.

“I need to know whether or not Walker’s going to keep me on the team.” She had deliberately said it as a statement and not a question. “How long d’you think Webb will need to recover?”

“Why are you asking me?” Finch inquired. His eyes were suspicious. “Why don’t you ask the ol’ brute himself?”

Eden looked at him reproachfully. “Does it look like he and I are on the best of terms? I’d rather hex myself right here than speak with him any more than I need to. Besides, I thought you’d know more about how Webb’s doing, considering you and he have played Beaters for quite a while together.”

“Hmm… well I’m flattered to know that you’d take me over Walker, but am I still higher up on your list than hexing yourself?”

“That’s not what I asked you,” Eden stated firmly. “Answer the question.”

“If you want the truth, I’d say you’re still in. Walker’s an idiot when he gets upset, but he’s no prat. He’s smart when he chooses to be, that’s how he got into Ravenclaw,” Finch said. “And besides, he told me you played well.”

“What?”

“Yeah, after everyone but I had left the locker room, he just blurted it out. He sounded kind of mad when he said it though. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s a little cross with you. It’s a pride thing. You’re so… opinionated. I think he’s a little threatened.”

“That’s news to me.”

Finch shifted his gaze to the floor. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his muggle jeans and leaned against the stone wall of the corridor. He looked Eden’s face over. “You know, maybe if you didn’t insult him so much, you two’d get along. He’s not so bad once you’ve known him for a while.”

“I don’t think that’s an option. Listen, I’ve got to go.” Eden started walking back towards the common room, suddenly realizing that she had to make a month’s supply of Wolf’s Elixir for all of Antigonus’ wolves by tomorrow. Thinking about it made her quite sad, as she’d gone almost a day without thinking of her godfather.

“Hey…” Finch called after her, but she’d slipped in quickly after another Ravenclaw that had already answered the door’s riddle.