A Little Knowledge

The next week marked the beginning of Quidditch season at Hogwarts as the first game would be played that Saturday, and after the traumas and fright of the term thus far, everyone was certainly looking forward to the excitement of the game. Ravenclaw was slated to play Slytherin, and although Slytherin was favored to win, it was sure to be a close match.

For Corinna all of this meant two things: practice was stepped up another notch and she practically stopped eating. This was hardly due to her captain’s request that she lose weight. She simply couldn’t eat with everyone around her buzzing about Quidditch and calculating odds for the game. Olivia was especially bad as she would scratch out ratios and equations for the others, clearly demonstrating that Ravenclaw was going to obliterate the other team, and that any bets on the Slytherin team should be made with extreme caution, or better yet, not at all. The gleeful look on her face made Corinna lose her appetite entirely.

But Olivia wasn’t the only one who could barely contain their excitement. Martin was looking forward to the first match of the season himself. The boys of his year had left him alone since Woodward had threatened intervention. Martin wasn’t sure why, but they seemed to take Julian quite seriously. He had tried to talk to Woodward a few times, but had been rebuffed with curt answers and veiled threats. But at least things had returned to the way they were before the vampire attack. Martin didn’t mind being ignored.

Then again, Sissy didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the beginning of Quidditch season as she was still concerned about Professor Knowles. He had begun teaching classes again that Monday. Sophia had been amazed that he would even consider doing so as soon as that and had said as much, but an icy glare from Sissy had silenced her. The classes had been a bit dull that week as Knowles had insisted that they spend most of the class time reading and answering theoretical questions about the material. The boys in the class, including Chang, were chafing a bit about this, but Sissy understood: Knowles was too nervous to demonstrate any of the spells, and was in midst of rewriting an entire term of lessons to accommodate that fact. She still believed that he was doing well, all things considered.

When Saturday came after a long week of classes and very little excitement other than talk about Quidditch, Corinna had breakfast with the team for good luck before the game. It was an old tradition enjoyed by all of the houses. Olivia, Sissy, Sophia, and Martin ate together at the other end of the table. It was a relatively late breakfast because there had been no practice for Corinna that morning.

“It’s going to be a rough game,” commented Sexton, the ill-tempered Chaser, as he ate his breakfast. He seemed to have no problems with his appetite as he stuffed another fork full of eggs into his mouth.

Corinna and a number of her teammates glanced toward the Slytherin table where the opposing team’s Beaters were sitting with the rest of the team. MacNair and Jugson were quite imposing for fourth years. They were definitely tougher looking than Cole and Savage, the Ravenclaw Beaters.

“We’re up for it,” said Ambrose, cramming a piece of toast into his mouth with gusto.

Corinna prodded at her uneaten breakfast and said nothing.

“Of course we are,” agreed Parker. “We got them last year by fifty points, if you all remember,” she added, shaking her fork at Sexton with a smile.

“Most of us remember,” said Ambrose, elbowing Cole, who had been knocked unconscious by a Bludger about ten minutes before North caught the Snitch.

“One little mistake,” he grumbled back before helping himself another pancake or two.

Corinna wasn’t sure how they did it. The nonchalance was amazing. They were about to face the second best team in the school, and were not especially expected to win this year, and they could eat and talk like it was just another day. Of course, she didn’t realize that they were all nervous in their own way nor that they, as a very senior team, had played more than the average amount of games and had grown accustomed to pre-game jitters.

The weather outside was cool and overcast when the players took to the field. Corinna’s broom, despite taking it to Madam Hooch more than a week or so earlier, was still pulling slightly to the left and slow in the turns. She was grateful that her position required the minimum amount of movement compared to that of the other players.

From her position at the goal posts, Corinna had a moment to survey the Slytherin Quidditch team before the action started. They were mostly third and fourth years with a seventh year captain and Chaser, but they looked just as fit as the less junior Ravenclaw team. Their third year Seeker Astrophel Black was in top form and already taunting North, who had a superb record, as they zoomed above the pitch and out of the way of the Beaters.

The crowd below roared as Sexton took control of the Quaffle and deftly passed it to Ambrose, who was already barreling toward the Slytherin goal. Corinna ducked as a stray Bludger from MacNair hurtled her way. It had been aimed at Sexton several seconds too late.

“Ravenclaw scores, ten to zero!” said the announcer, a mostly impartial sixth year Hufflepuff, whose name Corinna could not remember. Diggory or something like it.

Ambrose had managed to score, but the Quaffle was immediately claimed by Pritchard from the Slytherin team, who took a Bludger to the shoulder and hardly seemed to feel it as he reversed toward the Ravenclaw goal posts. Corinna could feel her heart pound as he hurtled toward her with a maniac grin on his pock-marked face.

“Oh, no,” she thought as he drew back for the throw.

But just then Parker snatched it from his hands with a wink as her broom came close to grazing his head. The look of shock and terror on Pritchard’s face was very nearly priceless. Corinna let out a sigh of relief as Parker tossed the ball to Sexton, who zipped down field again. If they could just keep the Quaffle away from her ...

Of course that was only wishful thinking because at that precise moment Fabian Moon, one of the Slytherin Chasers, knocked the ball from Sexton’s grip and into the waiting hands of Pritchard, who swung around to make his second attempt at a goal. Parker was not waiting in the wings this time.

Corinna missed blocking the Quaffle by mere inches as it sailed through the left hoop, earning Slytherin ten points and tying the game. Sexton, half way across the field, shook his head at her before diving to retrieve the Quaffle from Moon, who had it again. She went scarlet and tried to focus harder on the game.

“Lots of luck, fatty,” yelled Black as he whizzed by looking for the Golden Snitch.

Corinna could only clench her jaw. She couldn’t even take her eyes off the game to glare at him for fear of losing track of who had the Quaffle, which Moon had tossed toward Baddock, the third Slytherin Chaser.

Sexton rammed Baddock and gained control of the Quaffle. He was loath to part with it, but tossed it to Parker who was in the clear for the moment, but still not close enough to the Slytherin goals to score. A Bludger swept past the end of her broom and caused Parker to pitch forward, losing the Quaffle, but not her seat.

But Ambrose was there to make the recovery, elbowing Moon out of the way and shouting for the Beaters. Cole and Savage cleared the way for him to the goals, and the Slytherin Keeper was unable to block.

“Ravenclaw scores! Twenty to ten!” shouted the announcer.

Jugson, who was a sizable fourth year, shook his fist at smirking Ambrose while Baddock got the Quaffle and shot down the pitch.

Corinna braced for another attempt at the goal, determined not to let Baddock through, but a Bludger from Savage took care of that for her. The Slytherin Chaser lost the Quaffle to Sexton, who looped Moon, before handing it off to Ambrose. The three Chasers were forming up into an attack formation as they maneuvered toward the goal. It was an impressive bit of strategy that made the entire Slytherin team scramble. But to no effect.

“Ravenclaw scores again! That’s thirty to ten,” the announcer shouted with enthusiasm.

But a split second after Ambrose had scored, MacNair sent a Bludger toward the closely grouped Chasers. It collided with Parker, smashing into her ribs. She lurched to one side, but stayed on her broom with a look of tremendous pain. The noise in the stands were mixed: sounds of dismay from the Ravenclaws, whoops of triumph from the Slytherins, and mixed cheers and gasps from the other students.

Corinna could hardly believe it. Parker said something that she couldn’t hear to Ambrose and Sexton, both of whom zoomed after the Quaffle, which had been retrieved by Moon. Parker merely remained hovering while the Beaters covered her and she tried to regain her breath. It was beginning to look as though they were down one Chaser. But as Moon passed off to Pritchard, Corinna had other things on her mind.

Pritchard feighted to the left and then right before tossing the Quaffle with considerable force. Corinna didn’t fall for it, but the Quaffle glanced off her fingertips as her Tinderblast responded too slowly.

“Slytherin scores! Twenty to thirty, Ravenclaw!”

The disgruntled looks some of her teammates shot her way weren’t lost on Corinna as the Quaffle came back into play.

Sexton reclaimed the ball and shouted something over his shoulder at Corinna that she couldn’t quite hear. She was almost glad she couldn’t as it didn’t seem very nice. Sexton muscled past Moon to throw the Quaffle up to Ambrose, the team’s best scorer. Savage was hard put to keep him from being nailed by a Bludger, but she knew her work.

“North spots the Snitch!” yelled the announcer excitedly.

Corinna risked an upward glance to spot Manfred North zigging and zagging, although she could not see the Snitch itself. She fervently hoped he would catch it and soon, before she had demonstrated complete incompetence as a Keeper. But Black was right on the tail of the more experienced Seeker.

She was forced to return her attention to the game at hand as Baddock, who had the Quaffle, and Pritchard were both hurtling toward her down the pitch, veering out of the way of a Bludger from Cole that almost clipped Baddock. He handed off the Quaffle, and Corinna braced for the shot.

But this time Corinna managed to knock the Quaffle away from the goals.

Then it was neatly caught by Ambrose and thrown to Sexton down the pitch. Relief flooded her as the action moved down field. She had stopped a goal for the very first time. The cheering from the Ravenclaw stands was very pleasing, especially since she could hear Olivia’s strident voice among those who were cheering.

Then the announcer shouted something over the crowd, which had suddenly began to roar, “Black has caught the Snitch! Slytherin wins one hundred seventy to thirty!”

Corinna’s heart sank as she looked up to see Astrophel Black with a smug grin on his face, holding the Snitch aloft. Manfred North was slowly spiraling toward the ground with a look of defeat on his face. The rest of the Ravenclaw team looked disappointed as well, but none so much as their Seeker. Corinna sighed softly and joined her team as they landed on the pitch.

“It was so close ...” murmured Manfred as they gathered to watch the Slytherins take their victory lap.

None of them looked at Corinna. There was no recrimination for her part. It had all been in the hands of North who had beaten better Seekers than Black would ever be.

“He was just lucky,” Ambrose told North, giving him a supportive clap on the shoulder.

“Yeah ...” said the dispirited Seeker.

It had been a relatively short game.

Olivia, Sophia, Sissy, and Martin were waiting for Corinna outside the locker rooms. To be fair, they had all enjoyed the match and cheered Corinna on until the Snitch had been caught. It had been a reasonably good game when looked at from the point of view of the Chasers. They had been ahead ten points when the Snitch was caught, although Parker was still wincing from her encounter with the Bludger as she left the locker room with Savage.

“Not bad for your first time out,” commented Olivia, giving Corinna a hearty pat on the back.

“Thanks, but it was such a short game ...” said Corinna.

“Yeah, you didn’t get the chance to reach your stride,” nodded Olivia with an understanding look. “Next time, you’ll warm up to it even quicker.”

“I hope so,” said Corinna with a lop-sided smile.

“If we’re going to talk about this for the rest of the day, we might as well go indoors or something,” said Sissy, glancing warily at the overcast sky above them as though it were going to start raining at any moment.

“The common room isn’t going to be a very fun place to be for the few hours,” said Corinna, watching the students trailing back up to the castle.

“Days,” Sissy corrected. She pretended not to notice when Olivia shot a glare at her.

Corinna just slumped her shoulders a little and wondered if she was still on with Professor Mallaghan later that afternoon. It would be nice to escape, no matter how much tea he asked her to drink. Actually, she could use the energy.

“The kitchens?” suggested Martin.

“They aren’t as fun around mid-day,” said Sophia. “The house elves work all the time, but they’re at their busiest in there right about now.”

“We can’t take Martin to our dormitory,” said Olivia. Her lips twitched slightly.

“We could sit out by the lake,” suggested Sophia, ignoring her.

“But it’s going to rain!” protested Sissy with a disgusted look.

“If it does, then we’ll go inside,” said Sophia in a mollifying tone.

“Fine,” Sissy muttered.

It was very cool outside that afternoon, partly due to the noncommittal weather, which could not decide between rain or just an abysmal overcast, but the girls and Martin were dressed comfortably for it.

Corinna collapsed on the grass with an audible sigh, sitting between Martin and Sophia, who was sprawled on the ground and looking up at the sky. Olivia was picking at blades on grass with her chin on her knees. And Sissy on the other side of Martin was seated rigidly on the turf. It was quite apparent who loathed the outdoors. Sissy was, after all, somewhat pampered.

“What’d Black yell at you during the game?” asked Olivia curiously.

“Er, he just wished me luck,” answered Corinna, coloring as she remembered his taunt about her weight.

“Right ...” Sissy said slowly. “Now I’m going to sprout wings, fly across the lake, and bring us back treats from Hogsmeade.”

Martin chuckled, but grew somber again as he realized that Sissy was being sarcastic. They were all looking at Corinna.

“He call me a ‘fatty’,” she admitted after a moment.

“He did not!” objected Olivia.

Sissy and Sophia looked horrified, but Martin only seemed puzzled. He couldn’t understand why they were so upset. Sure, Corinna wasn’t thin, but she wasn’t a cow or anything either. Black was obviously just trying to taunt her and make her angry.

“What are we going to do about this?” asked Olivia after a moment. There was a certain fire in her eyes.

“Do about it?” questioned Corinna. “There isn’t anything we can do about it. And besides, it’s only words,” she added quickly.

“Only words? Well, jinxes and hexes are words too, and we don’t let people hurl them at us,” argued Sissy vehemently.

Olivia looked surprised that Sissy would back her so readily, but grinned hard in response to the encouragement.

“So what shall we do to him then?” she asked.

Sophia and Corinna looked dubious, and Martin was still puzzled, but interested. This was one of the Slytherins who had embarrassed him, after all, and he still didn’t know why the other boy had done it. It would be nice if the girls put him in his place.

“I don’t know ...” said Corinna uncertainly.

This sort of thing was why she didn’t tell her friends absolutely everything. Just imagine if they had known what Ambrose had said about her weight.

“But imagine if we get caught ... We’ll go to Mister Pringle for sure this time, and I don’t fancy that idea one bit,” said Sophia sternly.

“Then it will have to be something where we can’t get caught,” said Sissy evenly.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Corinna with a wince. “You know that you don’t have to do this on my account, right?”

“Of course,” snorted Sissy, rolling her eyes, “but I also know that after the trouble he’s caused you, and Martin too, I might add, I would like to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“What? Call him names too?” asked Martin.

“Hardly,” said Sissy dryly.

“Hex him in the corridors?” suggested Olivia with a gleam in her eye.

“I have a few I’ve wanted to try out,” said Sissy.

“That’s not a good idea,” said Sophia disapprovingly. “What if someone notices or sees you? What if you miss?” she asked.

“Oh, ye of little faith,” sighed Sissy. “I don’t think I could mess up a little Magnus Dedecoro, and that would certainly put him in his place,” she added, smirking as she spoke.

“But that’s a curse!” exclaimed Sophia in a very shocked tone.

“Only a little one,” said Sissy nonchalantly.

“Magnus what?” asked Martin, who had only a scant knowledge of such things.

“It’s the most potent version of the Shaming Curse. It causes the victim to feel exactly as they did at the moment of the greatest shame or embarrassment they ever experienced. It’s supposed to feel rather awful, but I think it fits his crimes,” Sissy explained coolly. “Although, I’m not sure how long I could hold it. No more than fifteen minutes at best,” she said with a thoughtful look.

“Will he realize?” asked Corinna, warming up to the idea a bit since it didn’t involve harming Black in the strictest sense of the word. She knew what sort of things Sissy was apt to study. Some were downright gruesome. By comparison this was utterly tame.

“Possibly later, but if I do it in a crowded corridor, he won’t know it was me. I mean, he would hardly expect it,” said Sissy.

“When?”

“Monday?”

“I’m almost certain that we’ll regret this,” said Corinna ominously after a moment.

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