October quickly turned to November, and frost began to cover the ground in the mornings. Sometimes they’d see Hagrid out in the yards all bundled up, and he’d often be out at the Quidditch pitch thawing out brooms every morning for the various broom classes.
Gryffindor versus Slytherin was coming up, and Wood had made a point of trying to hide the fact that Aerie was on the team. Word got out though. Lots of people cheered her on. The more annoying would say things like they’d be down on the pitch with a mattress to catch her.
Hermione had loaned her Quidditch through the ages, and Aerie didn’t have it in her to admit that she already had a copy. Hermione had become a bit more relaxed and had come to realize that the isolation she’d been feeling had indeed been self-inflicted.
The day before the game Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Aerie were out in one of the courtyards warming their hands with a blue flame in a jar Hermione had conjured and placed in a jar when they saw Snape crossing the courtyard and limping as he went.
Why they had to be out there was anyone's guess. When Aerie saw Snape she went to him without so much as a second thought.
“Professor Snape, you're hurt.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. I’ll help you to the medical wing if you’d like. Just put a hand on my shoulder and I’ll steady you.”
The others watched in amazement as he relented and allowed Aerie to escort him. Snape’s wizard robe was torn and damp with blood and he was leaving a blood trail. An interesting pair they made as he limped his way through the school leaning on the girl. And she, she was surprisingly strong.
“Professor Snape? Aerie? What’s happened?” Madam Pomfrey, the school’s nurse called as they entered the medical wing.
“I’m guessing it was Fluffy,” Aerie offered as they helped him to one of the examination tables.
“Fluffy?” Poppy Pomfrey asked.
“One of Hagrid’s beasts.”
“Oh my.”
“Aerie, thank you,” Snape offered. “Now get before my reputation is damaged any further.”
“Yes sir,” Aerie replied, turned, and hurried out the door.
Later in the great room, Aerie made the mistake of telling Hermione and the others that Snape had been injured by the dog in the third-floor corridor.
“He did not,” Aerie protested when Hermione announced that Snape must have been trying to get past the three-headed dog. “He was probably just checking on it. Likely hit a sour note.”
“Sour Note?” Hermione asked.
“Didn’t I tell you? To calm a Cerberus you sing. Snape knows, he probably just can’t sing,” Aerie informed them. “Someone's got to check on the animal and feed it. And I haven't exactly seen Hagrid going up there short of he’s got another way in.”
“Alright, fine. I still think it’s mighty suspicious,” Hermione stated. “I also find you and him to be suspicious too. I mean, just look at the way you started out, and now the two of you are actually on friendly terms. What changed that?”
“He did that because he thought I was a fraud.” Aerie closed her eyes and shuddered at the memory. “I think he was in love with my mom. Seeing… seeing how she died.” Aerie had to take a deep breath as emotions attempted to push upward from where they’d been crammed.
“OK, stop. Hermione, stop it,” Ron interjected. “Aerie, it’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” Hermione protested.
“Aerie doesn’t need to drag up those memories, and if she’s willing to forgive him that’s her choice. That and just because Snape is an insufferable prick doesn’t mean he was trying to get at whatever it is the dog is guarding.”
“What he said,” Aerie offered while wiping a tear from her cheek.
The morning of the Quidditch game dawned bright but cold, and everyone at breakfast was chattering about the upcoming game.
Aerie had to admit that she was nervous. Not so much that she worried about letting the team down, but because she knew that if the day's events played out the same way they had in the book, she’d be targeted just like Neville had been.
“Fred, George,” Aerie whispered at the breakfast table.
“Look, if you are nervous about the game, you shouldn't be,” George offered. “You are a smashing good flier.”
“It’s not that. I’m a little worried we might have a repeat of what happened with Neville.” Her pronouncement caused a number of people around her to stop talking or eating depending on what they’d been doing. “Listen, I’m pretty sure it’s a line of sight curse. By any chance do you have any really flashy fireworks?”
The twin boys and a few others got big grins.
“Ah, if the caster is momentarily blinded it’ll break the curse and they’ll be forced to start over again,” Hermione whispered triumphantly.
“That or spot the person doing it and slap them upside the head,” Aerie said with a big smile.
“I’d like to do more than that, I could have died,” Neville stated coldly.
“I think we keep the team covered,” Bill offered. “You’ve got an idea of what we should look for?”
“Anyone who looks like they’ve lost control of their brooms I’d imagine,” Wood offered. “Let’s face it, if Neville was a test, they might target all of us.”
By eleven that morning Aerie was in the team room getting into their scarlet jerseys and robes. Aerie’s jersey and team wizard robe had to be shrunk down to size. She was quite possibly the smallest player in the history of the game. Even more so than her counterpart and was presently trimming the scorched ends from her broom sweep.
“You waited till now to trim that?” Wood asked. He was sitting on a bench opposite her.
“It’s relaxing,” Aerie offered. “Also used my spare time to add a hidden pocket on the inside of the robe.”
“OK, I can see wanting a pocket.”
“I know you want me to hold off catching the snitch, but if it were to find its way into my pocket and no one noticed. I mean, it’s not technically caught yet.”
Wood looked at her with a look of astonishment and then burst up laughing.
“There’s a banner out there that says Potter for Prime Minister,” Fred announced.
“Right, no pressure,” Aerie replied with a big grin. “You got the fireworks.”
“In our pockets.” George offered with a big grin.
Wood stood up and cleared his throat.
“OK men,”
“And Women,” Chaser Angelina Johnson added.
“Aye, and women,” Wood acknowledged. “This is it.”
“The big one,” Fred added.
“The one we’ve all been waiting for,” George said all dramatic-like.
“He gives the same speech every time,” Alicia Spinnet explained.
“Just one thing, wouldn't her ability technically be cheating?” Cormac asked. He wouldn't be playing but was still there as a backup player.
“And Flint has been in Hogwarts how long?” Aerie asked.
“This will be his eighth year,” Fred supplied with a tone of disgust.
“And that’s not cheating?” Aerie asked. “Besides, with all those people out there my little malady might not be much help. There are no guarantees I’ll see the snitch before the Slytherin Seeker sees it.”
“What?” Now Wood looked worried.
“It’s time,” Fred announced and then retrieved his broom, and a moment later the team was on their way out the door.
Cheers erupted, and Aerie couldn’t resist waving to her friends. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and Dean were all in one group, with the first-year girls next to them. Everyone looked to be standing but to be honest, the stands were so high above them that it was hard to tell. She picked out Aurora who was waving madly and waved back.
Up ahead Madam Hooch was waiting for the teams to converge on their location. She had a broom in one hand and a whistle hung from her neck. Sitting right in the middle was a familiar-looking trunk, only this time it had the blazon of all four houses.
Madam Hooch waited until everyone had stopped.
“Is there a handshake,” Aerie asked. No one answered.
“Now then,” Madam Hooch began. “I want a fair game. There will be no Blagging, no Blatching, no Blurting, no Bumphing, no Cobbing and that includes the clothesline, no Flacking, no Haversacking, no Quaffle-pocking, no Snitchniping, no Stooging. No spikes, no springs, no punching, grappling, kicking, or eye gouging. There will be no using wands to hex or otherwise impede the other team players. Should a player be disabled gameplay will be halted until a new player can be summoned. And Mr Flint, you may not round robin the goal hoops. Once a goal has been made the Quaffle is to be handed off to the other team. Do I make myself clear?”
Flint just stood there with that I don’t give a fuck what you say look on his face.
“Mount your brooms,” Madam Hooch commanded.
Aerie simply pulled back on her broom, brought it up off the ground, and stood on the footrests.
Flint looked at what she was doing as hate seemed to fill his face. Madam Hooch opened the trunk and released the snitch, followed by kicking the trunk to kick loose the bludgers. She then took hold of the Quaffle and tossed it high into the air. The game was on and Aerie rocketed into the air.
Aerie had been looking over her glasses the whole time tracking the snitch. Up to that point, she didn’t care what the other players were doing, just so long as she was away from the huddle before anyone else.
“Oh, do you think she’s seen it already?” Hermione asked as she watched Aerie zigzag and dive. Aerie was now right off the deck, and the Slytherin Seeker fearing she’d seen the snitch dived down after, misjudged his speed, and piled into the ground.
Aerie pulled up and circled a couple of times as the boy got up.
“How is he alright after a tumble like that?” Hermione asked even as Gryffindor makes the first goal of the game.
* “..a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet,” called Lee Jordan the official student announcer. “..a good find of Oliver Wood’s, last year she was only a reserve- back to Johnson, and the Slytherins have intercepted the Quaffle, Captain Marcus Flint has the quaffle now, and he’s making a hard drive for the Gryffindor goal posts – Oh, nice try but blocked by the Gryffindor goalkeeper Oliver Wood. The Quaffle is back in the hands of the Gryffindor team…”
The Slytherin Seeker sees Aerie circling around like she’d lost sight of the snitch, and then suddenly she darted off. Quickly he mounted his broom and pursues. He sees her spin to avoid a bludger, and head straight at her own goalkeeper veering away moments before colliding forcing the keeper to duck even as a bludger comes sailing past. A moment later Aerie has doubled back and blasted right past Flint. The Slytherin Seeker believing that she’s seen the Snitch once more is forced to pursue even as he frantically tries to spot the snitch.
Up in the stands, Hagrid has only just arrived. “Budge up there, make some room.”
“Hagrid,” Ron called even as people parted to make room for him to sit. The Slytherin team has the ball now.
“Has Aerie spotted the Snitch yet?”
“Hard to tell, she keeps darting about like she’d seen it, but seems to be losing it every time,” Hermione informed him.
“She’s been right there in the thick of it- and there she goes again!” Ron said, his tone leaping into a yell even as he sprang to his feet. “She just dived on Flint. Right through their formation. Gryffindor has the quaffle!”
“You know what? I don’t think she’s even trying to find the Snitch,” Hermione observed.
“Not trying to find the snitch?” Hagrid asked.
“Ah, that’s it. She keeps using one feint after another,” Ron observed. “Wood normally wants the Seeker to stay out of the way but she’s doing just the opposite and the Slytherin Seeker can’t tell if she’s seen the Snitch or not.”
The Slytherin seeker looked like they were starting to get sick of chasing Aerie and had climbed up to try to spot the snitch. Angelina scored again, and Aerie decided to do a loop do loop just for the fun of it, and then dove right back down to harass the Slytherin chasers.
A bludger came her way, but she dodged it, and Fred swooped in to send it hurtling at the Slytherin Chasers.
“All right there Aerie?” Fred asked as the bludger headed right for Marcus Flint.
*“Slytherin in possession!” Lea Jordan called out. “Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, chaser Bell- hang on, here comes the Gryffindor Seeker. Has she actually seen snitch this time or is she just turning up the pressure? Hang on, hang on, I think I see it?! There is definitely something there. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs is trying to close the gap now, but can he do it?!”
Aerie saw Flint coming in for a block, rolled to her side that was away from him into an outside barrel roll, nice and tight, and somehow managed to snag the end of Flint’s broom with the front shaft of her own causing it to veer off wildly Flint slamming into one of his own team members while Nova rocketed skyward.
Flint recovered but was really mad now Especially given that Madam Hooch was yelling at him for his unsportsmen like behavior and reckless flying.
Gryffindors and Slytherins alike were calling for a foul, and Dean Thomas was yelling “Send him off, ref, Red card!”
Red card?” Ron asked.
“In soccer, you get shown a red card and get ejected from the game,” Dean explained.
“This isn’t soccer though,” Hermione said sounding as though she wish it was.
“They ought a change the rules then,” Hagrid said in agreement with Dean. “And it’s not her fault she lost control like that.”
Aerie hadn’t actually lost control.
Meanwhile, Lee Jordan was having a difficult time remaining objective given Flint’s obvious flaunting of the rules. As for the snitch, it seemed to have vanished.
Gryffindor was back in possession of the Quaffle and the game was back on. Aerie had just dodged another bludger when her broom suddenly lurched to a stop.
Aerie had nearly pitched forward and right off the broom, and would have if she’d not been expecting that very thing to happen sooner or later. And then the broom began to buck.
Aerie tried to turn the broom and found that she had some control but it was acting like a stick shift being driven by someone who didn’t have a clue about how to drive a stick.
Someone in the crowd who’d come prepared saw what was going on, the broom trying to buck Aerie off, and did as requested. Up went the firework.
There was a bright flash and suddenly Aerie had control of the broom. And just in time. Flint no longer cared about the game. Not if he could hit that blasted gadfly with a bludger. Aerie dodged and shot around to put herself between Flint and Quirrel resulting in Flint momentarily losing control of his broom.
Aerie zoomed upward to put some distance knowing Flint would likely come after her again.
And then it happened again. This time the broom began bucking repeatedly. Down below Flint swung around to line up another bludger only to have fireworks exploding all around.
Aerie used that moment to dive down, Flint spotting her took off in an intercept with a beater bat in hand.
For people watching what they saw was flint coming up to meet Aerie with a bat swinging, and Madam Hooch yelling and blowing her whistle when Aerie’s broom just suddenly stopped.
Aerie came adrift, and slammed into Flint dragging him down with her. It looked like they’d hit really hard, but not hard enough that they couldn't get back up.
“Nice of you to brake my fall,” Aerie said softly as she put a little distance between them.
“I’m going to make you pay for that!” Flint yelled. His face was red with rage.
“What’s a fucking squib like you going to do to me?” Aerie taunted. She kept her voice low enough that only he’d hear. He rushed her and found himself flying through the air and once more hard into the ground.
“I’m going to fucking kill you!”
“That worthless fraud of a dark lord couldn't kill me when I was a baby, what makes you think you can?” He’d yelled his threat for all to hear, but Aerie had infuriatingly kept her voice low and calm.
Flint made another rush even as people were converging on them, but his flailing fists were pushed aside like they were limp noodles, his body coming to a sharp painful stop as Aerie landed multiple strikes.
Flint dropped to the ground as searing white hot pain, unlike anything he’d ever experienced in his life radiated up from his groin.
He never felt the rapid strikes to pressure points front and back as he crumpled to the ground.
Flint looked up a moment later to see Aerie walking away.
“Don’t you fucking walk away from me you little Bitch!” Flint growled as he struggled to at least get into a sitting position. He filled all his hatred into his wand and pointed it at Aerie.
“Flint! Put that wand away! Flint!?” Madam Hooch yelled.
“Avada Kedavra!” Flint grunted out even as Aerie was turning to face him. She’d thrown up her hands, a blast came out of Flint's wand, hits an energy barrier in front of Aerie, and ricocheted right back at flint even as the force of the impact sent Aerie flying. It took less than a second for Flint’s own spell to hit him sending him flying.
Aerie could hear several girls scream as she slid along the ground.
When Aerie had stopped she lay there for a second and was delighted at the face of a familiar fiery pegasus sans horn looking down at her along with a gray with her. Either Aurora had had the forethought to switch her ring to her horn and activate it, or it was enchanted to do just that by itself. “Aerie?!”
“Are you alright?” LT Mouse asked.
“I’m fine.” Aerie offered, glad she’d slid on her back, rolled over, and stood back up. The back of her team robe was now covered in grass stains. She then continued back to the center of the pitch summoning her broom to her even as Madam Hooch ran to her.
“Aerie?!”
Aerie looked back at Madam Hooch and reached into her pocket even as Selena appeared right next to her. Aerie retrieved the snitch to display it to Madam Hooch.
“Seems to have been caught in my robe,” Aerie offered and then held it aloft.
“But he?” Madam Hooch asked as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. What was more it was looking like Flint had lost all sense in his zeal to stop her from gaining the snitch. As for Lee Jordan, he was happily shouting the results of the match oblivious to what Flint had tried to do.
Up in the stands, Slytherin House sat quietly, stunned by the outcome even as a standing ovation erupted around them. They watched quietly as Flint was placed on a stretcher and whisked off to the medical wing. They watched in dismay as even their own Quidditch team began to applaud as well. Slytherin House as a whole would not learn of the nature of Flint’s transgression until much later.
Aerie was shuttled off to the hospital wing a short time later despite the objections of the Gryffindor team who’d a mind to carry her on their shoulders. Aurora insisted on going with Aerie and as she was still in pegasus form no one even tried to stop her, and LT Mouse decided to go to see what they were going to do with Flint.
Ron, Hermione, and Neville went to Hagrid’s hut where Hagrid made them tea. The three had seen Snape attempting a counter curse and had mistakenly believed he was the one who’d repeatedly tried to curse Aerie’s broom.
“Rubbish. He’d do no such thing,” Hagrid protested. His protest was followed with an explanation that he’d apparently let slip the entire plot either to Aerie or the three now in his hut having tea. They even seemed to know about Nicolas Flamel. Hagrid was furious with himself.