Angelina Johnson, Quidditch Superstar

Chapter 1: Five Years Later...

What's the story, morning glory?
What's tale, nightingale?

...

Well, I heard they got pinned!
I was thinking they would!
Now they're livin' at last
They are steady for good

-The Telephone Hour, Bye Bye Birdie

March 1, 2002

Samantha Reynolds tried to pay attention as Roy Corey, head coach of the Montrose Magpies, gave a last minute strategy session before the game. However, Samantha, or Sammy, as she was more commonly known, was finding it very hard to concentrate. It didn't help that she felt extremely nauseous and was filled with a sense of foreboding about the upcoming match. It was her first time playing professional Quidditch, and for the Montrose Magpies, no less! Playing in a stadium full of millions of people was quite different than playing at Hogwarts, where only her classmates had watched, stressful as that had seemed at the time.

Samantha jumped when the door banged open and Angelina Johnson tromped in. Angelina Johnson was Samantha's idol. Angelina had been five years ahead of her at Hogwarts, but even back then Samantha had been intrigued by the finesse with which she played Quidditch. Watching Angelina play had been part of what had inspired Samantha to play Quidditch herself (as a chaser, of course). And now, Samantha was playing with her mentor - it was almost too much to grasp.

"Finally decided to grace us with your presence, eh, Johnson?" Roy Corey growled, and continued, "If you weren't the best chaser in the league, I'd have fired you a long time ago. You've just missed our entire strategy session, so if we lose today, we'll all know whose fault it is."

With that, Corey stomped out of the room, not giving Angelina a chance to respond. As soon as he was out of hearing distance, Vinny Appleman, one of the team's Beaters, began to mock Angelina. "Hear that, Johnson? We don't want slackers on our team!"

Samantha was outraged on Angelina's behalf, but Angelina responded with a mere roll of her eyes as the Keeper, Rufus Weatherby, joined in, "If you ask me, it was a mistake when we let the girls on the team in the first place." Rufus was smiling to show that he wasn't serious. He was referring to the fact that the team had consisted of all males until their seeker, Simone Lambert, had joined the year before Angelina had.

It was Simone who responded to Rufus' comment, saying, "You have a problem with winning, Weatherby?"

Warren Turner, the Magpies' other beater, cracked a smile at his teammates banter while Carter Landers, a chaser, said, "She's got you there, Rufus." Rufus just laughed, and soon his team-mates joined him.

Samantha was shocked that her teammates (were they really her teammates?) could be so light-hearted when a game was impending. She supposed that it was because they had played so many games that it was common practice to them, although Samantha doubted that it would ever become normal for her.

Samantha's anxiousness was exacerbated by the fact that so much pressure had been placed upon her. Normally, new chasers were not brought in midseason, but the former Chaser, Jonah Fitch, had suffered a major injury and would be unable to play for the rest of the season. It had happened less than a week ago, and as a result there hadn't even been time for Samantha to practice with the team!

Matters weren't helped by the fact that the Magpies had been doing so well so far and were within reach of winning the League Cup. And Samantha knew that she would make or break the team's chances.

Samantha was jarred out of her reverie when she saw Angelina Johnson approaching. Angelina Johnson was coming over to talk to her, Samantha Reynolds, who had never played Quidditch in such a capacity before.

Angelina sat down next to Samantha and smiled, saying, "I'm Angelina. And you are?"

Samantha, awestruck that Angelina Johnson would feel it necessary to introduce herself, timidly replied, "I'm Samantha Reynolds, the new Chaser. Most people call me Sammy, though."

"Well, Sammy," Angelina said, "welcome to the team."

"I- thank you," Samantha managed to stutter out. She fervently hoped that Angelina didn't notice her trembling - that would be so embarrassing.

"Do you want some advice, from someone who has been through this before?" Angelina asked.

Samantha's heart fell, Angelina had noticed. She barely managed a meek, "Of course."

"Ignore the crowd, and the announcers. It's just you and the game. And don't worry about being good or failing - just remember why you love Quidditch."

"Thanks," Sammy was grateful for Angelina's advice, even though she didn't see how it possibly could help. How could she ignore the crowd in the stadium, when it surrounded her? And how could she not worry about failing, when so much would be decided by this game?

Before she knew it, it was time to fly onto the pitch. Samantha prayed that she would be able to at least hold her own during the game, though at the moment she doubted it.

***

"The whistle blows, and they're off! Johnson takes the Quaffle, passes to Reynolds, a last-minute replacement for Jonah Fitch, on medical leave. Reynolds drops the Quaffle, but Landers has caught it and is flying towards the goal. Landers scores! The Magpies lead the Arrows ten to zero!"

Angelina gave Carter Landers, her fellow chaser, a high-five before zooming off after the Quaffle. It was unfortunate that their new chaser had been brought in the middle of the season - it was a lot of pressure, which was probably why the girl wasn't handling it very well. Angelina could sympathize - she had been a mess during her first game, and she didn't have nearly as much pressure on her as this girl did, save the pressure she put on herself.

Angelina intersected a pass between two of the Arrows' chasers, and then turned and flew in the opposite direction. In the corner of her eye, Angelina caught sight of a Bludger heading directly towards her, so she quickly passed the Quaffle to Carter, who was flying nearby, and flipped over to avoid the Bludger. Carter then passed the ball to Samantha, who shot it at the goal, only to be stopped by the Keeper.

***

Samantha cursed to herself. She couldn't afford to make very many more mistakes. She needed to focus, to follow the advice that Angelina had given her earlier. Concentrate on the game, she told herself, ignore the crowd.

Just then, seemingly out of nowhere, Simone flew by. She glared at Samantha and hissed as she passed, "Snap out of it and play the bloody game," before flying off in the opposite direction.

Unnerved by Simone's admonishment, Samantha barely noticed when Angelina tossed her the Quaffle. She quickly recovered, however, and noticed that Angelina was smiling at her encouragingly. This shocked Samantha. After all of her screw-ups, Angelina Johnson still hadn't given up on her? Well, if Angelina Johnson believed in her, how could she not believe in herself?

And Samantha flew off with renewed spirit.

***

Five hours later...

"And the Magpies win, 250-150, solidifying their place as first in the league! Be sure to listen to their next game against the Harpies."

Angelina smiled widely as she circled the Pitch with her teammates. She was glad that they had managed to pull it together in the end. After Samantha had conquered her nerves, she had done fine. Sure, they had had some coordination problems, but that was nothing that practice wouldn't cure.

Angelina headed to the changing rooms and prepared to leave. When Samantha entered, Angelina smiled at her and said, "Good job today."

Samantha blushed and stuttered, "Th-thank you."

Angelina wondered what the girl had to be worried about now; after all, she had performed well, especially when one considered the circumstances. Angelina shrugged mentally and gave up - there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the girl, and it really wasn't any of her business.

Simone waltzed into the changing room, and, after giving a, "Nice comeback, kid," to Samantha, walked over to Angelina.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yep," Angelina replied. Turning towards Samantha, Angelina said, "A bunch us like to go out for drinks after the game. Wanna come?"

Samantha hastily muttered something about a prior engagement and made a hasty retreat from the room. Simone smirked at this, which led Angelina to ask, "What? What is it?"

"That kid totally idolizes you. The way she looks at you, it's as if she's saying, 'Oh, Angelina, let me build a temple to you and worship you throughout all time.'"

This jarred Angelina. "What are you talking about? Why would she be so enamoured of me?"

Simone rolled her eyes. "Don't ask me, I'll be damned if I know."

Angelina ignored Simone's sarcasm. Simone and Angelina shared an apartment, so Angelina was accustomed to her snide remarks. Instead, Angelina said, "I think you're wrong. I think the whole situation, you know, playing in front of millions of people, is overwhelming to her."

This got Angelina another eye roll. "Well, sure, but playing with the famous Angelina Johnson is undoubtedly a rather large factor as well, you have to admit."

Angelina shook her head. "What's so special about me? I play Quidditch, but that's it. Nothing worthy of idolization."

"Yes, well, I agree with you about that. I fail to understand the fascination with watching people zoom around on sticks, subordinating themselves to a few lousy balls. Not that I'm complaining or anything, I could think of a lot of jobs that involve more work and less money." Simone sighed with frustration. "Whatever. I'm sick of conjecturing about why some pathetic girl has decided to latch onto you as her idol. I couldn't care less, and I'm sorry I even brought it up. Let's go."

***

Fred was sitting in an expensively furnished waiting room of Spin-It Industries, where his sister worked, doing something that made no sense to him, no matter how many times Ginny (or Alicia, for that matter), tried to explain it. From what Alicia told Fred (because Alicia, of course, was head of the company), Ginny was very good at what she did.

Fred was nervous. He needed Ginny's help, and he didn't know how she was going to react. This was compounded by the fact that he wasn't completely sure about it. In fact, he hoped to get some sort of validation from Ginny. Ginny was the only person whom he could really get useful advice from. His brothers could hardly be counted on for solemnity, in fact, if Fred told them, they'd probably laugh and tease him about it. After all, hadn't George snorted milk out through his nose when Fred had told him?

And so Fred was waiting. On one hand, he was glad that he had to wait, because the longer he waited, the longer before he had to ask Ginny. On the other hand, he just wanted to get it over with, and this waiting was doing his nerves no good.

Fred heard a sound from across the room and looked up. Ginny had opened her office door and was smiling at him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Fred. Mind if we talk over lunch? I'm famished."

Fred indicated that it would be all right, and stood up while he waited for Ginny to get ready. Finally, they exited the office together. Ginny took Fred to a café around the corner, one of Spin-It Industries' enterprises.

After they had ordered their meals, Ginny asked, "So, Fred, why did you want to talk to me today? I know you didn't just want to spend time with me, so just get to the point."

Fred sputtered. "I resent that! You're my sister, after all, and we don't spend nearly enough time together. Why would it be so unlikely for me to want to have lunch so we can bond."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fred, stop being so self-righteous and say what you want to say."

Fred sighed. Ginny was right, after all, and there was no use stalling any longer. "I, well, I," Fred coughed, then muttered, "I'm thinking about asking Leslie to marry me."

Leslie was Fred's girlfriend of over a year. She played Quidditch for Puddlemere United, but she wasn't your typical Quidditch player. Off the pitch, she was sophisticated, feminine, devoted, and not to mention beautiful. Such a nice change from some other female Quidditch players Fred knew.

Ginny was frowning. "I don't understand. Why are you talking to me? Shouldn't you be talking to her about it?" she asked rather pointedly.

"Well, see, I mean, its such a big decision, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't rushing into anything. And out of everyone I know, you know Leslie the best, so I figured you might be able to give me some advice," Fred said, slightly embarrassed.

"Fred, you don't need my advice. It's pretty obvious that you love her, and I'm pretty sure that she loves you. As for marriage, well, if you two love each other, then, frankly, I don't see what the problem is."

"It's just that she's Leslie. I- I don't want to mess it up."

Ginny smiled. "You won't mess it up. Leslie is completely smitten with you."

"Thanks, Gin. I, er, I had another question I wanted to ask you as well."

"What's that?"

"I was wondering if you'd help me pick out a ring. I don't know anything about that sort of thing, and I want to get her the kind of ring she deserves, I just don't know what kind that is. And I figured you might."

Ginny was surprised at his request, Fred could tell. But she gathered her wits together and replied, "I suppose I could. We'll meet again during my lunch break on Wednesday, alright?"

"Sounds great. Thanks a million, Gin."

***

Angelina sat at the kitchen table in her flat, drinking from a bottle of water while she and Alicia discussed Friday's game. They were interrupted, however, when Simone stumbled into the kitchen, still dressed in her clothes from the night before, her blond locks flying in every which way.

Angelina took in Simone's appearance and laughed. "Aw, did Simone enjoy her beauty sleep?"

Simone glared at Angelina. "Shut up," she said brusquely, as she grabbed some breakfast from the refrigerator.

"Not up to your usual level of sarcasm today, I see. Have a little bit too much fun last night?"

"Please, Angelina. It's far too early for me to do this right now, okay?"

"It's one o'clock in the afternoon!" Angelina exclaimed.

"That early? Jeez, I could have gotten in at least another hour of sleep!" Simone yawned.

"Yes, heaven forbid you don't sleep the entire day away. Honestly, Simone, how do you live like this?"

"Please, I'm not the crazy one, Angelina. I don't wake up at five a.m. to run around in circles and do other actions that look like forms of torture but that you claim are 'exercise.'"

Alicia laughed, having listened amusedly to their conversation. "Angelina wants to be at her best, so as not to lose her position as the premier Chaser in England."

Angelina frowned at the compliment as Simone quipped, "Oh, please. All she does is sit on a broom and throw a ball back and forth."

Angelina broke in, "Yes, well I happen to like 'sitting on a broom and throwing a ball back and forth,' as you so nicely put it. And I want to do it as well as I can. Honestly, Simone, if you hate Quidditch so much, then why do you play?"

"Easy money. You English value your Quidditch so highly. It bewilders me."

Angelina laughed. "Yes, well, I wouldn't expect the French to understand."

Alicia, out of curiosity, interjected, "Is that why you left France? For 'easy money?'"

"Naw, I didn't even discover that until I'd been over here for a year. I left France because I heard that you had better Firewhiskey over here."

"You know," Alicia said, "when I first met you, I didn't believe you were from France. Your accent is almost imperceptible."

"Thanks. My mère was a linguist, she taught me English at an early age."

"Did she work for the Ministry?" Alicia pressed, interested because, in the time that she had known her, Simone rarely talked about her past.

"Oh, no. My mother was a Muggle, she taught languages to little brats in school."

"Oh, so you're Muggle-born, then."

Simone's eyes narrowed. "I suppose, if you must classify it that way."

Angelina briskly changed the subject, for she knew that discussing her past was one of Simone's least favourite activities and sensed that Simone was becoming annoyed. "I received a letter from my mother this morning," she said.

"Oh, how's she doing?" Alicia asked.

"She claims that she's doing alright, but I'm concerned about her health. All those years she spent with the Order seem to be taking a toll. There are some curses that you just can't recover from."

Alicia nodded sympathetically. "She's not doing that badly though, is she?"

"I don't know." Angelina sighed with frustration. "It's not like she'd tell me if she was."

"Well, if something was really wrong, I'm sure she'd tell you, Angelina. Until then, don't worry," Simone advised, be for leaving the room.

Alicia placed her hand on Angelina's shoulder to comfort her as Angelina said, "Simone has no idea what she's talking about."

"She does have a point though." At Angelina's glare, Alicia quickly continued, "What I mean is, don't give yourself gray hairs over this. Worrying isn't going to make your mother any better off, but seeing her daughter happy just might." Alicia paused. "Anyway, I have to go, I have an important meeting. I'll see you tomorrow, at lunch, right Angelina?"

"Of course." Angelina, Alicia, and Katie had lunch together once every week. It was when they caught up with all of each other's news. They all lived such hectic lives; it was practically the only time that they all got together.

Alicia waved good-bye as she left Angelina's flat and Simone, having finished her "breakfast," went to take a shower, leaving Angelina alone with her thoughts.

Angelina really was disconcerted by her mother's old age. Her mother had always seemed like a pillar of strength to her, but now it seemed like that pillar was slowly corroding, and Angelina didn't like it one bit.

Why does everything have to change all the time? Angelina thought bitterly. Why can't things stay the way they were. Angelina thought back to the time, eons ago, when her family had been intact, and happy.

Angelina's eyes strayed upon the watch that she always wore. It had been in her family for ages, passed down from generation to generation. It was a Muggle watch, for her father's father had been Muggle-born. Angelina's brother had given it to her shortly before his death, and Angelina treasured it. It wasn't much to look at: old, tarnished, and worn, but it had sentimental value beyond measure. And it reminded Angelina of her brother, and her father, who had worn it before him. Its presence on her wrist comforted her, but more importantly, it was the only link she had to her deceased loved ones.

While looking at her watch, Angelina saw the time and gasped. She had completely lost track of time, and she had a meeting with one of the Magpie's sponsors that was to start in five minutes! Angelina shot up and bolted out the door, already knowing that she was going to be hopelessly late.

***

Fred smiled at a customer as he rang up their order. Their business had grown considerably over the past few years, and Fred rarely worked in the shop anymore, spending most of his time dealing with suppliers and developing new products. However, one of their employees had called in sick, and Fred was more than willing to help out.

Fred surveyed their shop. Who would have thought that their business could have grown so much and become so successful, especially after they had been on the verge of bankruptcy? But now Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was a household name in the wizarding world. From a tiny little shop in the corner of Diagon Alley they had moved to a larger shop right in the center of the street. And now they were looking to open up another branch in Hogsmeade. Indeed, they hadn't done badly for themselves, not bad at all. Fred swelled up with pride just thinking about it.

"Oh, my! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Fred Weasley was getting a big head."

Fred turned around quickly and smiled when he saw Alicia. "Me? Never."

"Yes, well, excuse me, but if you keep on looking around like you are the Mighty Ruler of the Universe, people might get the wrong idea." She stepped forward and poked Fred on the chest. "Just make sure you don't forget the people who helped you get where you are."

"How could I, with you reminding me every time I see you?" Fred and Alicia both laughed. Fred then said, "What are you doing here, anyway? Aren't you busy, monopolizing the wizarding world or whatever it is you do nowadays."

"I'm on my way back to work. I just stopped by to say hello, and to give you some good news that I found out a couple of minutes ago."

Fred looked at Alicia expectantly. When she didn't say anything, Fred rolled his eyes. "Well?"

"Your loan got approved for opening your new branch." Alicia smiled at Fred. "Now you can start planning it for real. And, if you know what's good for you, you'll let Spin-It Industries take care of building it for you."

"Well now, I don't know." Fred scratched his cheek. "I'll have to see what other offers I get, and compare costs, you know."

"You traitor!"

"I learned from the best." Fred flashed a winning grin at Alicia.

Alicia laughed. "That goes to show what happens when you do too much for people. They turn right around and stab you in the back. Well, I'd best be off, my lunch break ended half an hour ago."

With a wave, Alicia left. Fred chuckled to himself as he rang up another customer's purchase.

Fred spent the next few hours helping out customers until it was time to close up. After locking up, he climbed the stairs up to the second level of the shop, where they came up with new innovations and where their offices were located. Fred waltzed into George's office and plopped himself down on a chair facing his brother's desk. George looked up from his paper work and smiled at his brother.

"How's it going?" Fred asked.

"I'm just going over the statistics for the Chocolate Toads. Looks like we need to adjust them a bit before we can market them."

"All right, we'll work on it tomorrow morning. Oh, by the way, Alicia stopped by today and told me that our loan got approved."

"That's great news," George said. "Now we can finally get started on that." He rubbed his hands together, eagerly anticipating this new task.

Fred nodded. "About time, seems like we've been waiting forever for this to come through. Anyway, I'm going to head home. I'll see you tomorrow." Fred started to get up from his seat.

"Wait! Aren't you going to tell me what Ginny said?"

Fred groaned. He knew it had been a mistake to tell his brother about going to ask Ginny's advice. But he had told his brother everything for his whole life, and it was a hard habit to break. "She thought it was a great idea," Fred finally replied.

George chuckled. When Fred glared at him, George quickly said, "It's just so hard to think of you getting married. To a girl like Leslie, no less."

Fred slumped back in his chair and sighed heavily. "I know. But...I love her. And I'm pretty sure she loves me too."

"Then congrats, bro. You've finally found someone you love and who loves you back. Most of us are still looking."

Fred nodded and got up. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't stay in the office too late."

***

Several hours later, George looked at his watch and groaned. How had it gotten so late? He sighed and carefully stacked the papers he had been studying before leaving. He decided to walk home, since it wasn't far and he felt that he was too tired to Apparate efficiently.

George walked along the deserted cobblestone street of Diagon Alley, the shop windows dark, so silent it was almost creepy. George nearly jumped when he heard the hooting of an owl as it flew overhead. He shook himself as he walked through the Leaky Cauldron, which had few patrons this late at night.

As George walked through Muggle London, he reflected on his brother's impending engagement. Fred was lucky. George had met Leslie many times, and she positively fawned over Fred. George wondered if he'd ever find what Fred seemed to have with Leslie.

It wasn't fair. First Fred had had Angelina, who had seemed to be his perfect match, and when he had messed that up, he got Leslie, who adored him and would make a perfect wife. And yet George floundered around, unable to find anyone he truly cared about. Yes indeed, Fred had it made, and he didn't even know it.

George slowly opened the door to his flat, and found his roommate sitting at the table munching on an apple. She looked up when she heard the door open, and frowned when she saw George's tired eyes. "And why are you home so late?" she demanded.

"Lost track of time at the office. Besides, I could ask the same of you, Miss Bell. Why up so late?"

"I have to go to work in a couple of minutes. I have the early shift," said Katie, who was now a full-fledged Healer.

"Want some coffee?"

"Ugh, no. Coffee is putrid, why anyone would want to drink it is beyond me."

George chuckled. "Of course. How could I forget? Katie Bell, Health Fanatic."

"And proud of it!" Katie exclaimed, grinning.

George had poured himself a glass of milk and sat down across from Katie.

"You're tired," she observed. "Why'd you stay so late?"

"I told you, I lost track of time."

Katie tsked. "You need to take better care of yourself. You look horrible."

"Gee, thanks." George grinned.

"It's not a joke! You're running yourself ragged."

"And you aren't? This coming from the person who would never leave her job if they didn't kick her out periodically?"

"At least I eat healthily to compensate. As opposed to someone who eats Chocolate Frogs for breakfast."

"I'm drinking milk now! Doesn't that count?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "You only drink milk because it helps you go to sleep. Not that you sleep that much anyway."

"What would you know about that?"

"I hear you wandering around the flat at all hours of the night."

"Woah. How can you hear me if you're supposedly sleeping?"

"I'm a light sleeper!" Katie shot back, then laughed despite herself. Her laughter was contagious and soon George found himself chuckling as well. "Jeez," she gasped, "we fight like an old married couple."

"Yeah. If there was a contest for it, we'd take first place. Too bad we're not old. Or married. And there's no contest. Unless..."

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

"We could get married, drink an Aging Potion, and then start up a contest!"

"You must be really tired. Or else I'd never believe that such as stupid idea could come from you. You're not nearly up to your standard."

"Hey! I think it's a great idea. Come on, what do you say?"

"Ha! Sorry, Weasley, but you're the last person I'd want to marry. No offence or anything, but....ew!"

"Fine! You know what, I don't want to marry you either!" They both laughed. George sobered. "Speaking of marriage, guess what?"

"What?"

"One of our friends is going to get engaged soon."

"Who?"

"Nah, I shouldn't tell you. It was told to me in strict confidence, and you're not on my good side right now."

"Oh, come on, George! You can't say something like that and then not follow it up! I won't tell anyone!"

"Nope. You were mean to me, so now you don't deserve to know."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll find out eventually, you know. I don't even care that much, anyway."

George sighed. "Well fine! Go and suck all the fun out of it!" George paused, then continued more seriously, "Fred's going to propose to Leslie."

Katie gasped. "Really? I had no idea they were that serious."

"Yep. Don't tell anyone, since I wasn't really supposed to tell anyone."

"Then I wish you wouldn't have told me! How can I not tell anyone something like this? It's too much pressure. You and your big mouth."

"Five seconds ago you were begging me to tell you!"

"Well, you should know better!" Katie's eyes glanced at the clock and she gasped. "I'm late for work! Thanks a lot, Weasley!"

"Anytime."

"Go to sleep before I sock you one."

"I'll add it to my to do list."

With a glare, Katie Apparated out of the flat, leaving George alone.

George sighed. He probably shouldn't have told Katie about Fred, but he trusted Katie not to blab to anyone. Hell, he'd trust Katie with his life, and not just because she was one of the best Healers in Great Britain.

In the four years that they'd been living together, George and Katie's friendship had burgeoned into true companionship. They had moved in together not expecting to get along half as well as they did. Getting along well had been a pleasant surprise, to Katie especially. Angelina had been Katie's roommate for the year before George moved in, and he knew that that hadn't worked out well at all. Although Katie and Angelina were best friends (plus Alicia, of course), moving in together had almost ruined their friendship for good. It might have in unsalvageable if Angelina hadn't had the good sense to move out once she had enough money to live on her own.

As for George, it was an interesting experience to live with someone besides his brother. Fred had moved back in with George after the break up with Angelina, and although the two brothers had gotten along famously sharing a room during their childhood, for some reason they were no longer compatible roommates after living apart for a year. So, at the first available opportunity, Fred had decided to live alone and George had moved in with Katie. And now they were all happy. Well, for the most part. They were happier than they had been, at least. From all outward appearances, they were as happy as can be.

***

Angelina sweated profusely as she passed the ball for Sammy for what seemed to be the millionth time that day. It didn't seem like Corey would be satisfied until they worked like one efficient machine.

Angelina groaned. It had taken a full season for Carter, Jonah, and her to be able to work together perfectly. Apparently, Corey seemed determined to do what would normally take a year in a week, before their next game.

On one level, Angelina understood Corey's motivations. The Magpies were very close to winning the League Cup this year, and Corey wanted to keep it that way, no matter what toll it took on his players. However, on a more physical level, Angelina's body groaned from the gruelling work, and she prayed that Corey would come to his senses and end practice soon.

As if reading Angelina's mind, Corey signalled the three chasers to come to the ground. After spending fifteen minutes detailing exactly how they had to improve, he dismissed them for lunch, warning them to be back on time to resume practice.

Is today's practice really only half over? Angelina groaned to herself. She had been on the pitch since four in the morning, completing what seemed like hundreds of different maneuvers over and over and over again, until Angelina felt like screaming from frustration.

And now she was late for lunch with Katie and Alicia. Great, the one thing that she'd been looking forward to, and now it was going to be cut short. Angelina muttered a string of curses to herself as she hurried towards the fireplace in the offices of the stadium so that she could Floo to meet her friends for lunch.

While walking, she was met by Carter, her fellow chaser. Without any preamble, Carter said, "So, how should we kill him? Should we use an Unforgivable and then throw the body in the Thames?"

Angelina smiled. "I think someone would notice him missing, don't you?"

"Not right away. And when they do, why would they suspect us? Why would we kill our coach, whom we revere and look to for guidance?"

"Because he's a bloody slave driver, that's why," Angelina grit out.

"So, are you with me in blowing off practice this afternoon?"

"I don't think so," Angelina said. "If we do that, then we'll be the ones murdered."

Carter laughed. They had reached the fireplaces by now, so Carter said, "Well, in that case, I'll be seeing you shortly."

With that, Carter grabbed some Floo powder and left. Once he had disappeared, Angelina quickly grabbed some Floo powder and stepped into the fireplace, shouting, "The Leaky Cauldron!"

A moment later, Angelina stepped out into the busy tavern, brushing soot off her Quidditch robes, which she had not bothered to change out of. She quickly spotted Katie and Alicia and plopped herself down at their table.

Alicia looked at Angelina with mock disgust. "Not only are you late, but you're dirty! Did you go swimming the sewers before you came here, Angelina?"

Angelina surveyed herself. She did look frightful, with the ash from the fire sticking to her sweaty body.

Katie was also looking at Angelina, a worried look on her face. "Here, Angelina, drink my water. You need to keep yourself hydrated." Katie pushed her glass of water at Angelina.

Angelina rolled her eyes and pushed the water back. "I'll have a glass of water, Tom!" she shouted, although she actually had no clue as to whether Tom was even in the room or not. Luckily, he seemed to have been nearby, because a few moments later he brought a glass of water to the table. The three friends then ordered, Alicia and Katie having waited for Angelina to arrive, and then started catching up with each other.

"So, what's with the appearance, Angelina?" Alicia asked.

"Corey's working us like mules, trying to break in the new chaser. Sammy, her name is. Samantha Reynolds, I think. She's actually pretty good, and she'll fit in fine once she gets assimilated into the team. However, the assimilation is what's killing me. Corey had us out at four this morning and he'll likely keep us out until midnight."

"Why do you put up with it?" Alicia asked. "Just leave. He can't stop you."

"No, but he can fire me."

"You? Angelina Johnson? I think not."

"I wouldn't be so sure. He's never liked me, you know. And now he hates me more than ever. Thinks that the fame has gotten to my head. He'd love to take me down a notch."

"Yeah, but not in the middle of a Quidditch season when you're within reach of the League Cup."

Angelina chuckled. "You may have a point there."

"Samantha Reynolds..." Katie mused. "The name sounds so familiar. I think she may have gone to Hogwarts, although she must have been younger than us. Yes! I think I remember. She was three or four years younger than us, and she was in Hufflepuff."

Angelina stared at Katie in awe. "How do you remember someone you probably never even talked to from six years ago?"

Katie smiled, proud of herself. "I never forget a face. Or a name, as the case may be. A person. I never forget a person."

"Jeez, I wish I had your skills. I don't know half the people who work for me, bloody bother to learn all their names, it is," Alicia said.

"Well maybe if you took the time and put a little more effort into it--"

"Please, I don't have time to learn every little person's name."

"And you accuse me of having a big head?" Angelina interjected.

Alicia glared at Angelina, before briskly changing the subject. "So, you're going to Lee's party next Friday, right?"

"If I haven't collapsed by then," Angelina replied. "And besides, why don't you just come out and say it? It might as well be your party, since I'm willing to bet that you've put more effort into the planning than he has."

Alicia and Lee had been dating on and off ever since they had graduated from Hogwarts. Lee was working as an agent for prominent Quidditch players, getting them to give endorsements to various companies. Angelina was one of his clients, though somewhat unwillingly, as she personally thought it was heinous to give endorsements, but Lee and Alicia had bullied her into it.

Alicia replied to Angelina's remark. "Ahem. I take no responsibility whatsoever for whatever Lee decides to torture us with next week."

"Ah. So you've broken up, have you?" Angelina asked.

"Lee's being a jackass again, and I refuse to put up with him when he acts that way," Alicia said.

"Jeez, someone's got a stick up her ass," Angelina quipped.

Katie, however, seemed rather disturbed by this development. "Why can't you two just decide once and for all whether you're in love or not. It's not right, this way that you're together one week, then apart the next, then 'just shagging' another week. Isn't it time you stopped this? You're getting too old for it, you know. You should take a hint from Fred..." Katie trailed off and gasped when she realized what she'd said.

"What do you mean, take a hint from Fred?" Angelina asked.

"I didn't say that. Just forget that I said that," Katie said, as if trying to convince herself.

"Oh, come on, Katie. Tell us. You have to now," Alicia wheedled.

"No, I promised. I can't tell."

"Yes, you can," Alicia said domineeringly.

"No," Katie said firmly.

"Yes," Alicia said back solidly.

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Will you both stop acting like bloody three-year-olds!" Angelina bellowed, fed up. "And Katie, for heaven's sakes, tell us."

"I-I promised," Katie said, weakly.

"You already let part of it slip, might as well say the rest," Alicia said convincingly.

"You-you promise not to say anything to anyone?"

"Yes, we swear," said Alicia.

"Well, George told me that Fred is going to ask Leslie to marry him," Katie blurted out quickly.

"What!" Angelina nearly fell out of her chair in shock.

"Angelina! Calm yourself!" Alicia said firmly, then continued, "What does he want to marry her for? She's a freaking sycophantic, two-faced bitch!"

"No she's not!" Katie immediately rushed to Leslie's defence. "She's really nice. And she seems to care about Fred a great deal..."

"How can you defend her, with the way she treats you?"

"Alicia, Leslie has never been anything but nice to me," Katie said, urging Alicia to be sensible.

"No, she hasn't been nice to you, and you know it. She's downright condescending, boosting her self-esteem by patronizing a Muggle-born."

"She means well."

"She looks at you like you're dirt."

"No, she doesn't. She-" Katie cut herself off, having glanced at Angelina, who was shaking, in shock. "Are you okay, Ang?"

Alicia now also directed her attention to Angelina, and was concerned by what she saw. "Ang, what's wrong?"

Angelina shook her head, her eyes scrunched up and her ponytail swinging from side to side. She muttered to herself. "Fred's...Fred's...Fred's getting married."