The Morning of the Quidditch Match
Author: H Potter
Date: 02-17-02 10:03

"Ow! What was that for Ron?" Harry Potter rubbed his left side sorely where his best friend, Ron Weasley, had thrown one of his books at. Ron, like the rest of his family: his father, Arthur, his mother, Molly, his brothers, Bill, Charlie, twins Fred and George, and little sister Ginny, all who Harry liked very much, had a head of fiery red hair and a face beneath many freckles. Ron smiled back at Harry as he removed his pajamas while trying to contain his tangled hair, "You almost slept in too late. Wouldn't want to be late for your first Quidditch match now would you?"

Harry forgot about be being angry...the Quidditch match! Harry's stomach began to twist nervously. The Quidditch match was against Gryffindor's greatest rival, the Slytherin house. Harry's last Quidditch match seemed years ago, in his third year at Hogwarts. His fourth year was spent competing in the Triwizard Tournament. "Harry?" Ron was standing at the foot of his four-poster bed, "Get dressed, the others have already left!" Harry dressed slowly with his shoulders dropped and his tongue stuck dry to the top of his throat.

Harry had a feeling of nostalgia when he stood before the other team members in the Gryffindor's locker room. Oliver Wood had been the previous captain of the Gryffindor team. He was a good friend of Harry's, a great captain (however overly enthusiastic), and right now Harry wished he had a speech like Oliver's for the team, or better yet, Oliver standing beside him giving a speech to the team for him. He looked at the other team members: the chasers, Angelica Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet, the beaters, Fred and George Weasley (Ron had lied, Fred and George walked in after Harry with their robes on backwards and their puffy eyes still shut), and their new keeper, Samantha Thatcher, who took Oliver's old position. Harry decided to go through a speech before he couldn't talk any longer.

"Er...well...let's win this match guys, and girls. Gryffindor is still the best and...we have had to wait an entire year to...to prove it again. If we beat Slytherin (Harry had a horrible image of Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin and fellow fifth year who Harry had been an enemy of since his first year at Hogwarts, holding up the Golden Snitch after catching it to win the match)...we have a straight shot at winning the Quidditch Cup." Harry yawned as he mumbled out the words. He was beginning to feel worse than ever about the match as he reached for the Firebolt.

Pre-Game Thoughts
Author: Belladonna
Date: 02-17-02

Bella Sinistra called out to the students she saw on the way to the Quidditch grounds. "Officially, I didn't see that and you'd be in big trouble if I did. Hide it before anyone else comes along or they might not be as blind as I am. Got it? Unofficially, great job! Looks just like Malfoy. Going to burn it before or after the game?"

She laughed. Great to see Quidditch starting up again. That meant a strengthening of house rivalries, but it was all in good fun. Besides, all the bets were funny. Everyone had been talking about the first game: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Bill and Charlie had asked her to get seats and she had been happy to do it.

She chuckled to herself at the love of the sport. She got as excited about it as anyone else. Rabid Quidditch fan and she admitted it to herself. Of course, even better than a Quidditch game was a Quidditch game snuggled in the muscular arms of Charlie Weasley. Wasn't a better thing on earth.

They'd been dating for what had to have been the best three weeks of her life. She hadn't even minded the weekend he'd invited her to Romania to experience the dragons. She's had to wrestle one and got a small burn on her shoulder, but it had been worth it when Charlie had been telling the story to the other dragon keepers in front of the dinner campfire and had called her "absolutely incredible." Today, though, there'd be no dragons to wrestle, unless meeting her parents after the game counted. When she had explained to her father why she wouldn't be sitting with them for the game, he'd said that he wanted to meet Charlie after the game and that it was about time.

She was nervous and had taken forever to find something smart enough for Mum, totally not shocking for Da, and cute enough to make Charlie look twice. She'd finally took a page from Professor Fairchild's book and went slightly Muggle. The gray wool cloak, knee-length skirt, and cream blouse looked great with the airy beret and scarf made out of a blue fairy weave and her calf-length dragon skin boots. Very odd, but amazingly pulled together with amber earrings and her crystalized dragon's fire pendant. Some female students had stopped her and said she looked great.

It would be such a fun game. Harry Potter was a great seeker, but not as good as Charlie. Okay, she was a biased judge, but no one was changing her opinion. It would be a great game and she couldn't wait to see it. Of course, after meeting her parents, she was so nipping to the pub, although she was worried about what Bill thought of her and could most likely need a drink before the game. He so suspected everyone and she wasn't sure if he liked her, which worried her. Upon reaching the stadium, she sat down to watch the pre-game goings on. Charlie said he'd meet her there, but for now, there was her flask of tea and a scone along with practices to watch. Maybe that would help her guess who would win the game in time to make a fiver bet with Charlie.

Finding a Seat
Author: Australia Kingston
Date: 02-17-02 14:05

Australia and Prote walked into the stadium. Most of the students had already arrived and were hunting for seats. They spotted Eileen and Lee and proceeded to make their way towards them.

"Hey Eileen," Australia said. "Thanks for saving us seats. These are great. You can see everything."

"You're welcome. Besides that's what friends are for. Hey Prote," she replied.

"Hi," was all he said back to her. He led her to the other side of Eileen and sat down while still holding her hand. The game was going to be great, and who better to spend the afternoon with and watching Quidditch than Australia.

It was going to be a great day he thought.

The Next Morning
Author: Sykra Sawyer
Date: 02-17-02 14:15

Sykra, Cho, and Aradia headed towards the Quidditch field the next morning. They had forgotten about the night before. They just wanted Slytherin to get beat!

"Uh...Sykra?"

"Yeah Cho?"

"What are you doing?"

"Wataya mean?"

"Well..." Cho watched as Sykra scanned the crowd. Then she sighed. "He's not here yet..."

Sykra started to say something but stopped. "I noticed...let's find a seat..."

"There's some!" Aradia said running to grab them the seats. They sat down. Aradia and Cho refrained from teasing Sykra any more. They would have their fun later...

Searching! Searching! BINGO!
Author: Neo Anderson
Date: 02-17-02 17:08

Neo and Amerah both looked for a seat and luckily Neo spotted Prote and Australia (it's a good thing they, Prote and Neo, forgave each other.) "OY! THERE'S PROTE!!!" Neo cried to Amerah over all of the voices of the croud. "OKAY!!!" Amerah screamed back.

As they, Neo and Amerah, hurdled through the croud, they bumped into some guy... "Oof! Sorry!" the boy said. "WHAT?" screamed Neo. "I SAID SORRY!!!" the boy screamed back...

Teammates Gathering
Author: Draco Malfoy
Date: 02-17-02 17:24

Draco waited as the Slytherin team came together... "Where is Clara?" asked Draco. No one answered...

I hope she gets here soon... I hope she's not embarrassed over last night, Draco thought while he looked outside. Besides... she is kinda cute...

Just then Clara entered, "There you are!" said Draco. "What took you?" Clara just shrugged. She's avoiding me, Draco thought...

Draco walked to the front. "Listen up team! This is our chance! You do want all of those points back don't you?!" he said.

"YEAH!" bellowed the team. Clara just stood there. "Now let's go out there and get those points!!! Whaddya say?" Draco stared at Clara, who was now grinning...

Re: Searching! Searching! BINGO!
Author: Douglas Sky
Date: 02-17-02 17:38

"I SAID SORRY!!!" Douglas screamed. The sixth year just nodded. "I'M A HUFFLEPUFF THIRD YEAR!!!!! AND I'M LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO SIT!!!!" shouted Douglas. The girl the sixth year was with suddenly jumped forwards. "WE ARE ALSO HUFFLEPUFFS!!! DO YOU WANNA SIT WITH US?!" she shouted.

Douglas smiled. "SURE THANKS! BY THE WAY MY NAME IS DOUGLAS SKY!" "HI! MY NAME IS AMERAH PATTERSON AND THIS IS MY FRIEND NEO ANDERSON!!!" Neo waved...

"IT'S A PLEASURE!!" shouted Douglas, and the three headed for some seats...

Standing with Lee
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 02-17-02 19:22

Professor Minerva McGonagall made her way to the announcement stand.

"Good morning, Mr. Jordan." Minerva greeted the seventh year Gryffindor with a nod.

Lee grinned. "Morning, Professor! It is a beautiful day to win a match, wouldn't you say?"

Minerva nodded and took her seat in the box waiting for the game to start.

Game Time
Author: Clara Devaki
Date: 02-17-02 21:10

Clara couldn't help but grin. She was still kind of nervous around Malfoy after what happened but she was determined to get those points back.

She watched as Tempest joined them. Tempest started towards Clara, but before she could get to her Malfoy started his speech.

After he was done, they headed out onto the field with both Tempest and Clara making a note to speak to each other after the game.

*Yawn* Waking up
Author: Katie Bell
Date: 02-20-02 00:04

Katie stretched and yawned as she woke up that morning. She looked around and noticed her Quidditch things were strewn around her room. "Ah, that's right..." she muttered, anxiety taking over. "Today's the first Quidditch game..." She stumbled out of bed and got ready, trying not to be too nervous. After all, it was the first game of the season. But by the time she was completely awake, nerves had begun to subside and excitement took over. She walked down to get breakfast in a thoroughly happy mood.

In the Library
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 02-17-02 21:36

Two weeks had passed since Hermione had won her case against the Slytherins and had confessed to being completely in love with Ron Weasley. She still couldn't believe that she had had the guts to admit her true feelings to the entire school, much less to Ron himself. Still, it was over and done with.

As soon as the words had flown out of her mouth, she felt like she should have run away and hid in a broom closet. But, Dumbledore had then given his perspective on the trial and to Hermione's surprise, he even rewarded her with twenty extra points.

The whole school then learned of Jelena Bokic and Marcl Michelangelo, the two lone survivors from the horrible incident at their Transylvanian school. Hermione was determined to make them feel at home, and nearly asked them if she could take them to see the first quidditch game. But then she remembered that the terrible event had happened at a quidditch match, and she was certain that they would not be ready to view a game.

Ron, meanwhile, had begun acting rather awkward around Hermione. He would blush furiously every time she walked in the same room he was in and would struggle to come up with any kind of conversation with her. Hermione, too, felt odd around Ron and didn't know how to get past the feeling. Sometimes she wished that she had never revealed the truth. Things were certainly simpler before she had confessed.

Many times, Hermione found herself fleeing to the library, not only to get some quality studying done, but also to have some time to think about how she and Ron could either get back to their normal friendship, or maybe even take their relationship to the next level.

On the morning of the quidditch match, Hermione found herself sitting at a table in the library with her transfiguration book open before her. She had promised Ron that she would meet him in the stands before the start of the game. She just wanted to get a little studying done because she knew that the rest of the day would more than likely be shot, especially if Gryffindor were to beat the Slytherins.

Tempers and Apologies
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 02-17-02 22:28

Adriana had one hell of a temper.

After the Halloween feast, Bill had tried to apologize to Adriana about what had happened outside the big doors of the Great Hall. He didn't know what came over him, but as he was leaning in to kiss her, he suddenly felt as if she wasn't really who he thought she was.

It was the one thing he hated about his job. Trust. A big issue. Almost too big for him. And in the dark times they were currently living in, he certainly had a much harder time shaking away a bad feeling when he got one.

Bill had left Hogwarts that evening after receiving the yelling of a lifetime from Adriana. He had followed her to her office asking for her forgiveness, only to be turned away again and again. Having gotten a door slammed in his face, Bill wandered away certain that he couldn't possibly feel any worse.

Of course, it didn't help that when Charlie finally came to the inn that night he had the biggest possible grin on his face. Love was definitely in the cards for Charlie, but poor Bill just didn't seem to have the same luck his younger brother did. Hell, Fred and Ron were doing much better in the love department that Bill was. It wouldn't surprise him if Ginny and George would also get matched up shortly.

Bill knew that he didn't want to give up on Adriana. Not yet. He had spent the next few weeks trying to go see her, but every time she had refused to step out of her office and instead would shout obscenities at him through the closed door.

The morning of the quidditch match, Bill came once more to try and make things right with her. Naturally, she refused to come out of her office to talk to him, and certainly made no move to invite him inside for a chat.

Defeated and on the verge of giving up, Bill put down his hand which had been poised in the knock position. He banged his head on the door and gave a final apology before making his way back to Hogsmeade.

He was determined to drown his sorrows in a drink or five.

Arriving a Wee Bit Late
Author: Fred Weasley
Date: 02-17-02 23:03

Fred slipped on his scarlet Quidditch robes, rubbing his eyes and stifling yawn after yawn. Once he and George were dressed and halfway awake...no, that's not right. Once they were awake enough to use their legs, they marched down to the Quidditch Pitch.

Upon entering the locker room, they found their other team members already there, with Harry already beginning the pep talk. Samantha giggled at the sight of the twins, who had both put on their robes backwards. After giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek, Fred walked away from the group with George at his heels. The two tired boys put their robes on the correct way, rubbed their eyes furiously, and made their way back to the group.

"We have a straight shot at winning the Quidditch Cup." Harry said, concluding his speech.

Fred took a few moments to wipe some sleep from his eye and gaze around the room. Everyone looked tired. Everyone except for Sammi. She seemed wide awake and had the hugest grin upon her fair face.

Fred wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. "You excited?"

"Damn straight, I am!"

Laughing, Fred asked, "We gonna win?"

"You're damn roight we will!"

Fred smiled. Today would certainly be one hell of a day.

Ready for Some Action
Author: Prote Spacy
Date: 02-17-02 23:58

Prote noticed Neo, Amerah and another kid coming his and Australia's way. Australia seemed to notice as well, and she waved to them.

Prote covered three seats that were free beside him until they got there...

"Hey Prote! Nice seats you got!" said Neo, taking a seat next to Prote.

Prote looked to the kid who is sitting next to Amerah. "Who's your friend?" Prote asked. Amerah stared... "Oh! Prote this is Douglas! A third year Hufflepuff."

Prote and Douglas shook hands. "Hey, Doug!" said Prote. Douglas smiled, "It's a pleasure."

A Hell of a Day!
Author: George Weasley
Date: 02-18-02 00:06

"And are we going to kick Slytherin-Butt?" George chimed in.

Everyone on the team screamed, "YEAH!"

Fred and George high-fived, and then George went around high-fiving everyone else. He was extremely happy this morning, despite being sleepy. He did a bit of an excited dance.

"We're going to kick Slytherin butt--Hey! We're going to kick Slytherin butt--Ho!" He danced a bit with Angelina, Katie and Alicia, who each giggled and rolled their eyes.

Sammi laughed and clapped her hands. "George, you're a riot!"

"Why, thank you, M'lady!" He grinned and gave a mock bow.

Break a Leg
Author: Azaelia Bramble
Date: 02-18-02 00:35

"Break a leg, everyone!" Azaelia encouraged as she and the rest of the team broke from Draco's pep-talk.

Isolde laughed. "Yeah, preferably Gryffindor, right?"

Pyrrhus and Lia laughed.

"Hey, Devaki," Azaelia called to Clara.

The Slytherin teammate turned. "Yeah?"

"Let's go kick some Gryffindor butt, what do ya say?"

"I say: Let's get at it!" Clara cheered, and they both high-fived.

Game One--Time to toast 'em.

Go Gryffz!
Author: Amelia Davis
Date: 02-18-02 00:54

Amelia wandered to the Quidditch field and quickly found a seat. She was eager to see the game. Gryffindors just had to win! It was her last year at Hogwarts so she wanted to see her house win the cup again.

The Gryffindor girl grinned as she watched the players enter the field. "Go Gryffindor!!!" She cheered with the rest.

Time to Watch the Game
Author: Nessiah Wenton
Date: 02-18-02 02:02

Nessiah went out to the Quidditch field and found a seat near some friends. Personally, Nessiah couldn't wait to see Hufflepuff play! Toby and Hunter were excellent players! As were the rest! Just those two tended to stand out more. They had a great team this year! She believed they had just as good a chance as any!

She stopped conversing with her friends as the two teams came out onto the field. She eagerly leaned forward to watch. Her parents could band her from playing, but couldn't keep her from enjoying it.

The Reading Books
Author: Adam Higginton-Smythe
Date: 02-18-02 09:47

"Er...excuse me?" Hermione looked up from her book, which she appeared to be only looking at, and saw Adam standing across the table from her. She looked a little surprised that someone would be in the library, especially this morning. "Hermione Granger right?"

"Yes...and you are?" Adam smiled at her, she still wasn't paying much attention to him.

"Me? Well...I am wondering if you could get that book for me on the shelf behind you. The one with the ripped spine, and black lettering." Hermione glanced behind her and seemed to realize which book he was indicating as she stood up and retrieved it. "Thank you Hermione. And the name, Adam Higginton-Smythe." Adam turned away pretending to return to his table where five books were already open, but Hermione, as he expected, made a sound of surprise.

"Oh. Oh! Adam Higginton-Smythe. The...er...Ravenclaw team captain right, fourth year?"

"That would be correct."

"I didn't expect anyone else to be in the library this morning." Hermione was blushing a little, Adam knew why too: Adam was only a year behind and had grades to match Hermione's.

"I had something extra to work at before I leave for the the Quidditch match, that's all." Hermione looked over at where his books were spread out, and then did a double glance. His books were, well, reading themselves as the pages flipped as though an invisible hand were moving them. A quill was writing on a parchment next to another parchment with silver lettering that looked well traveled.

"Your books! Your quill too! They're moving." Adam looked behind himself as Hermione pointed over to his spot at the table. He whispered something beneath his breath, to make sure Hermione couldn't hear it, which caused the pages to stop flipping and the quill to drop.

"Just an old piece of magic my grandmum taught me. Very helpful with research." Adam looked a little uncomfortable and moved away with the book he had asked for.