A.N: Hey guys. Sorry for the super late chapter. I've been really busy with packing and stuff and then I somehow managed to get myself sick... which sucks more than usual as I'm going on holiday tomorrow :( Well after spending a few days moping around, I decided to haul my ass outa bed and upload this chapter. Sorry that there's no review responses for this chapter but I'll respond to everyone's reviews in the next chapter, which will be uploaded in two weeks if not sooner in the unlikely event that I'll get my hands on a computer with internet during my holiday. (I'll carry around a pen drive in case) Anyway, on with the chapter!
Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, followed and favourited this story 3
Disclaimer: I don't own harry potter, okay?!
Chapter 15 – Quidditch Season
It was just after tea time when Madam Pomfrey finally allowed Alex to leave the hospital wing. The corridors were deserted as Alex made her way up to Ravenclaw tower. The rest of the school had already retired to their common rooms for the evening and Alex, who hadn't seen another fellow student since James Potters visit, couldn't wait to sink into one of the soft armchairs and catch up with Rose and Roxanne. She placed her hand on the cool blue-tinged glass of the scanning panel outside the Ravenclaw common room before she heard a 'click' sound as the door unlocked. She pushed it open, stepping inside the circular blue room.
As she had predicted, most of Ravenclaw house was gathered in the common room, seated round the wooden tables or in the armchairs, reading books and talking quietly amongst themselves. The white marble-set fire crackled softly and cast a warm glow around the room. No one looked up as Alex entered apart from the two girls who sat in the far corner of the room on two armchairs. They waved her over when they spotted her. Alex closed the door softly behind her, not wanting to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the common room. She carefully picked her way through the scattered Ravenclaw's as she made her way over to Rose and Roxanne who were grinning at her. She sank down into an armchair opposite them, pushing Moon, who had been occupying it, out of the way. To which Moon protested with a quiet 'Hey!' before jumping onto Alex's lap, stretching before curling back up into a ball.
"Hey Alex." Rose greeted her, putting her book down on the small coffee table beside her. Roxanne did the same grinning at Alex.
"I see Madam Pomfrey finally released you from her white prison." Roxanne joked. Alex smiled rubbing the top of Moon's head absentmindedly.
"Yeah. She's a fussy one. She wanted me to stay until tomorrow morning but I managed to convince her to let me leave." Alex said tucking her feet underneath her as she settled further into the armchair. Roxanne laughed quietly and Rose smiled.
"So what did you do after we left?" She asked.
"Nothing really. I just sat around until Madam Pomfrey let me leave. She wouldn't let me get out of bed." Alex said.
"That must have been pretty boring." Roxanne smirked. "Didn't you get any other visitors?"
Alex was about to respond with a 'no' before she froze. She had gotten another visitor apart from her friends and quidditch team. But did she really want to bring it up? Alex couldn't hide the fact that she detested James Potter and was perfectly happy disliking him openly. But he had saved her life, and however much she hated him, she was grateful. But how she wished it had been someone else. She didn't want to owe James anything. And if it wasn't bad enough that he had saved her, he had also gone and visited her while she was in the hospital wing. She scowled at the memory. He was so obnoxious and arrogant and…
"Alex?" Roxanne's voice brought her out of her thoughts and Alex realised she was waiting for an answer. Well it couldn't hurt to bring it up. After all they would probably find out anyway.
"Yeah; yeah I did." Alex answered looking down at the blue carpet.
"Who?" Rose asked, her voice riddled with curiosity. The two girls hadn't expected anyone else to visit Alex in the hospital wing as they had only been in Hogwarts for a month and so far did not know that many people.
"Potter." Alex said bitterly.
"Potter? As in James Potter?" Rose said, surprised. "Why did he visit you?" James Potter was widely known among the school as an infamous trouble maker and the eldest son of the famous 'Potters'. However, according to Rose and Roxanne, there was no connection between James and Alex – apart from the incident on the train with the water, which would probably give James less of a reason to visit Alex.
Alex realised that, in all of the excitement and confusion, she had forgotten to tell Rose and Roxanne that it was actually James who had saved her life. Reluctantly she went over the story of what happened, starting from when she fell off her broom and ending with his visit in the hospital wing.
The two listened intently, not making a single comment during the story. If Alex hadn't known better, she would have thought they were ignoring her completely. Alex was glad for the lack of interruption as it allowed her to go through the tale swiftly without elaborating. However, once Alex had finished talking, the questions started.
"How did he know you were there?" Roxanne asked referring to the beginning of the story.
"I don't think he did." Alex said thinking over it.
"Then why were they there?" Rose asked looking slightly puzzled.
"I dunno." Alex answered. "Maybe they were ditching class?"
"Seems like something they would do." Rose responded. "They're always getting in trouble for skipping classes. I don't think I can count the amount of howlers James has gotten from school telling him off for one thing or another, and this is only his second year. Aunt Ginny gets ever so mad at him, but I think she's getting used to it." Rose added. Alex looked at her for a minute before understanding. That was right; Rose was related to the Potters. It was so easy to forgetting due to the major differences in attitude between her and James. They were as different as chalk and cheese. Rose was calm, collected and kind whereas James was an arrogant and big-headed git.
"I'm not surprised in the slightest." Alex said referring to Roses comment about the howlers, a frown plastered on her face. Rose sighed, seeing her expression. The fact that she hated James was no secret.
"He's really not that bad Al." Rose sighed though she knew her words wouldn't do any good to convince Alex. Alex only nodded slightly, eyes fixed down at her lap where Moon was purring. Nobody said anything as an awkward silence fell over them. Rose picked her book up and pretended to read, although the silence was too heavy for her to concentrate. It was clear that neither Rose nor Alex would break the silence, so after a few minutes of awkwardness, Roxanne sighed, brushing her curly hair out of her face before talking.
"So, the quidditch seasons starting in a few days." She said brightly. Alex looked up from her lap at her and Rose, feeling the tension, put her book back down.
"Yeah, I guess it is." Alex said. She had almost forgotten with everything that had been going on. Almost.
"You need a new broom." Roxanne stated.
"Yeah, where do you think I could get one?" Alex asked. The three girls wracked their brains for ideas but none came up. After a short while, they sighed and Rose shook her head.
"I don't know." She admitted. Alex, who had been hoping one of the other girls would know, frowned in disappointment. Seeing her expression Roxanne added quickly.
"But we still have about four weeks until we play." She reassured Alex. "There's still plenty of time."
"Yeah, I guess so." Alex said, a little more brightly. "Maybe we can ask Professor Woods if he has a spare one."
"Okay." Roxanne agreed, feeling more confident.
"So if you're not playing first, who is?" Rose asked curiously.
"Gryffindor." Roxanne answered. "They're playing Hufflepuff next Sunday."
"I hope they lose." Alex muttered under her breath.
"Yeah." Roxanne agreed, hearing her. "It'll be easier to win if it doesn't come down to us and Gryffindor."
The rest of the weekend passed uneventfully and so did the following week. The news of Alex's fall spread like wildfire and soon everyone knew of Ravenclaw's seeker who couldn't ride a broom. Though Alex heard many people laughing at her behind her back, no one said anything to her face. She was fairly surprised that the Gryffindors hadn't resorted to mocking her, but Rose had reassured her that Gryffindors weren't known for bullying other pupils, with the exception of the Slytherins. Rose was more surprised about the Slytherins, however. They were infamous for poking fun at anyone – it didn't matter who you were or what house you were in, the Slytherins weren't afraid to show their true colours and humiliate you. In a potions lesson, Rose had questioned Xzanthy about this but he had said that Scorpius and the others were holding them back. Rose didn't believe him though. In her opinion, all Slytherins were rotten to the core.
As Alex settled back into her daily routine, her worries about Quidditch settled and she was able to relax. Though the classes were getting a little more challenging and the homework increasing, she worked through it in the library with Rose and Roxanne before either heading down to Quidditch practice – which had been increased from twice a week to every other day – or hang out with Rose, Roxanne and Gianna in the grounds.
She had almost completely forgotten about last week's events when Sunday rolled around and she found herself being jostled through a crowded corridor and out towards the school grounds. It was the day of the quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. She hadn't wanted to watch the game, not looking forward to the nerves that would follow and not wanting to see James again, but Aura-lee had insisted that they all attend the game to watch for competition and for how the other teams played. "We might be playing against one of them if we get to the finals."
Alex reluctantly followed the crowd up to the stands and took a seat next to Rose and Roxanne, pulling her scarf tighter round her neck. It was a cold day despite the sun which, unhidden by the clouds, lit the morning sky. As she sat down by her friends, the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor teams made their way out onto the quidditch pitch accompanied by Professor Woods who made the two captions shake hands before giving them the order to mount their brooms. Although Alex hadn't wanted to watch, she couldn't hold back the feeling of excitement as Woods whistle sounded and fourteen broomsticks and their riders zoomed into the sky. It was her first time watching a quidditch match after all.
"Who do you want to win?" A voice asked behind them. Alex turned round to see Gianna had managed to creep up into the Ravenclaw stand. Alex didn't hesitate before saying,
"Hufflepuff." She heard the voice of Roxanne reply with the same answer as her.
"Me too, well it is my house." Gianna smiled. "But I doubt they'll win. Everyone says Gryffindor are far better."
"Well I don't mind who wins as long as they beat Slytherin." Rose said from next to Alex. Gianna agreed. Although she had said that, Rose was secretly rooting for Gryffindor. Her whole family was from Gryffindor and, even with Alex's major dislike of her cousin; she still wanted them to win.
The girls turned back to the game as the voice of the commentator rung loud and clear form invisible speakers.
"Gryffindor in possession of the Quaffle." Alex watched as a figure cloaked in scarlet caught a flying object before they zoomed towards the goal posts narrowly missing a Bludger that was hit towards them by a Hufflepuff robed player. "Wow, watch her go. That's Gryffindors chaser Emily Chadwick flying up to the goal." Alex watched as the figure now known as Emily neared the Hufflepuffs goals. Alex watched as she aimed. "She shoots, she scores!" The commentator's voice shouted out as the brown ball flew through the hoop before being caught by a member of the Hufflepuff team. "That's 10 points to Gryffindor." The crowd erupted in cheers which quickly increased as Gryffindor repossessed the Quaffle and scored again. The same pattern repeated itself throughout the rest of the game until the Hufflepuffs had almost stopped trying. The Gryffindors thrashed the Hufflepuff team with a finishing score of almost 200 : 30 after James spotted the snitch and reclaimed it before the Hufflepuff seeker had even time to notice. The Hufflepuffs were sorely outmatched, what with Gryffindors skill and James's Blaze 5,000.
Alex's face was pressed into a hard scowl as she and the rest of Ravenclaw left the stand. The Gryffindors where celebrating with loud shouts down on the quidditch pitch and James had been hoisted up onto one of the Gryffindor's shoulders. The Hufflepuffs, defeated, smiled good naturedly and congratulated the Gryffindor team, though the disappointment was clear in their eyes.
"We never had a chance anyways." Gianna said, her voice sober. Though no one said anything, it was clear that Gianna was right. She was completely right. Gryffindor hadn't even looked like they were trying. The small confidence Alex had dwindled down into nothing. There was no way she would be able to beat James; especially on the tatty school brooms. She sighed, feeling defeated as she looked behind her to see the grinning face of James Potter riding on the shoulders of the Gryffindors.
A.N: So there you have it. If you liked it, review and if you have any ideas or things you would like to see happen in this story, review and if you have anything to say... yup you guessed it, review. (hehe. you don't have to but I'd appreciate it, I really like reading your reviews :) ) Anyway, next chapter will be up in two weeks and if you see a red nosed snivelling teenager on the beach, it'll probably be me :)
Smileytiger :P xxx