Wood & Wild

Chapter Eleven: Quidditch Commentary

After Fiona had spoken to Morna, Blaise Zabini kept sending glares her way, but Fiona wasn't bothered by the third year. She had other things on her mind. Like the upcoming Quidditch match, for instance. Although she didn't have to worry about the Reserve match, since her team had trounced the Hufflepuff Reserves, she was worried for the First team's sake. Ravenclaw just had to beat Hufflepuff.

The House renown for its cleverness certainly had the upper hand, since Hufflepuff would be playing two matches back to back, but as there had been three weeks between the two, Fiona wasn't going to rely on that too much. Gryffindor just had to hope that Hufflepuff were riding too high on beating them in the last match. Joe had told them that Margaret had said that the Ravenclaw team were itching for a win. It seemed that despite Diggory wanting a rematch, Ravenclaw had taken it upon themselves to make sure that Hufflepuff suffered for taking advantage of Potter falling off his broom.

The Saturday morning of the match, Fiona dragged Audrey out of bed. The blonde was tired and grumpy - she had spent the evening with Hagrid. The half-giant was upset over Buckbeak. Lucius Malfoy had lodged a complaint about him to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures had yet to meet, and Audrey was confident that Buckbeak would get off. Fiona was not so sure. She knew the influence that Malfoy had in the Ministry, and the fact that it was his son that had been injured was sure to sway the Committee. Fiona also knew that the member of the Committee who would be put in charge of Buckbeak's case was Walden McNair. As he was a known Death Eater, at least to her, Fiona was sure that Buckbeak would be executed. This fact, however, she did not reveal to Audrey, because she didn't want to upset her.

These thoughts flickered through Fiona's mind as she took in Audrey's tired face. "Come on, cheer up, we're going to watch a Quidditch match," she said with forced cheer.

Audrey grimaced. "Wonderful." The sarcasm in her voice was very evident.

"Oh shut up," Fiona said, grinning. "Get dressed, and let's go. Joe and Oliver will be waiting for us."

Audrey groaned. "All right, all right." She kept grumbling as she struggled into her jeans.

Fiona was bouncing on the balls of her feet, peering out the window. "I'm glad I'm not playing today. It's pretty horrible out there."

Audrey pulled a jumper over her head, and shook her hair out. "You know, you're not inspiring me to go out there."

Fiona looked away from the window, grinning. "Oh come on, Audrey, you know you love it really. Besides, I want to try out my new camera. I think you'll like the improvements I've made." She held up the camera that her parents had given her for her birthday.

Audrey's eyes widened. "You've made improvements?"

"Don't look so scared," Fiona said reassuringly as they made their way down the stairs. "I've not done anything that bad."

Audrey snorted, and was about to answer when Joe interrupted. "What have you done, Fiona?"

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Nothing! All I did was charm the camera to film by itself. I don't want to have to hold the thing for the whole match."

Joe's eyes narrowed, but he shrugged. "I guess that's not that bad."

"Honestly, do you lot not trust me at all?" Fiona asked.

Oliver grinned, and put his arm around her shoulders. "Of course we trust you. Why wouldn't we?"

Joe shook his head. "And we trust you, too, of course, Oliver."

"Hey!"

Joe grinned. "Come on, let's go, otherwise the match'll have started before we get there."

The four laughed and quickly made their way down to the Great Hall. Most of the school had already gathered there - the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables were louder than the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw ones, whose occupants were clearly nervous about the upcoming match. As they sat down, Audrey asked, "We're not staying for both matches, are we?"

"Well, Fiona and I are," Oliver answered. "You don't have to, of course."

"Yeah, you might want to go and see Hagrid," Fiona suggested quietly.

Joe looked at her quickly, his eyes narrowing, but he said nothing. Audrey nodded, but didn't seem to notice how Fiona had spoken.

"Come on, then, if we're going," Oliver said, standing up. The rest of the school were preparing to leave, and he grabbed a couple of pieces of fruit to take with him. "You might want to grab some food, too, guys."

They took his advice and followed him out the hall. "I'm sure everything will be fine," Fiona whispered to Audrey comfortingly, keeping her true thoughts to herself.

Audrey smiled slightly. "I hope so. You know what Hagrid's like. He's devastated at the moment. That bloody Malfoy," she growled.

Fiona's face darkened slightly, but no one seemed to notice. "Don't worry yourself, Audrey. Just enjoy today," she said, following the boys as they made their way up to the Gryffindor stands.

~*~*~*~*~

Fiona put her worries over Buckbeak and Audrey to the back of her mind as they sat down in the stands. Despite the weather, the whole school was out in force. Opposite them, Fiona could see the Slytherins, especially the Quidditch team, cheering and waving black and yellow banners.

"I bet that's the only time they'll be cheering for Hufflepuff," Joe muttered to her.

Fiona grimaced and looked past the stands to where the players were about to emerge. First came the Hufflepuffs, looking somewhat nonplussed by the roar that they received from the Slytherins. Diggory looked guiltily at the Gryffindor stands, and Fiona waved at him comfortingly.

Oliver growled. "What are you waving at him for?"

"Oh come on, Oliver. He did try and get a rematch. It wasn't his fault," Fiona reminded him. "The poor chap feels really guilty. Give him a break."

Oliver grumbled and said no more, but Fiona noticed that the look he was giving the Hufflepuff Seeker had lessened in intensity. The Ravenclaw Team were then flying out to hover opposite the Hufflepuffs, and the roar from her fellow Gryffindors practically deafened Fiona.

"This is ridiculous," she heard Audrey mutter beside her. "Honestly, it's just a silly game."

Joe patted her arm. "Stop worrying about Buckbeak, Audrey, everything will be fine."

Audrey grimaced, but joined in the next cheer as Lee Jordan announced the team. Fiona exchanged a glance with Joe - she realised that Joe had cottoned on to her thinking about Buckbeak's trial - and was about to settle down to watch the match when she remembered her camera.

Fiona had stored it underneath her seat, and now reached down to pull it out. As she was undoing the case it was in, she heard a cheer. "Blast," she said softly, looking up to discover she'd missed the first catch of the match.

"Hurry up, Fiona, you're missing things," Oliver said, not watching her.

"All right, all right, I'm doing my best," Fiona answered, fighting with the camera which now did not want to come out into the open. "I swear this thing has a mind of it's own." She had just managed to pull it out when Oliver, in his excitement, joggled her arm, and the camera went flying.

Fiona swore and leapt after it, just managing to catch it before it hit a first year's head. "Phew," she said as she sat back down. "That was a close one."

"What happened to using magic?" Audrey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I need to exercise my muscles sometime, don't I?" Fiona replied archly, ignoring the knowing smiles on Audrey's and Joe's faces, which told her they knew she had completely forgotten about her wand. Instead, she pressed a button on the silver object in her hand.

Audrey, who was paying attention to Fiona and not the Quidditch match, flinched as it made a whirring noise. "What was that?" she asked. "I'm fairly sure the ones at home don't make that noise."

Fiona grinned. "That was my refinements kicking in. Just watch." She got out her wand, and pointing it at the camera, said, "Evolare" whereupon the camera sprouted wings just like a Snitch and proceeded to hover at eye view.

"Isn't it cool?" Fiona said. "Now all I have to do is tell it to film and it'll do it. I've set images of us into it, and also of the Quidditch pitch, so it knows what to film. It will also take photographs at random times."

Audrey's eyes were wide. "Wow, that's pretty impressive. But, what if it's filming us when someone scores a goal or something?"

"Ah, well, I've already thought of that. I've added another filming-thingy-ma-bobby, which means that it can film us and the pitch simultaneously," Fiona said proudly.

"What does it get recorded onto, though?" Audrey asked. "Normal Muggle ones only have one tape."

"A tape?" Fiona asked curiously, whilst keeping an eye on the match.

"It's a small, rectangular box," Audrey explained, measuring out a rectangle of about two inches by four inches, "which has this black tape inside it. The camera puts the images that it's recorded onto the tape, and then later you stick the box into a machine which is connected to another machine that allows you to watch the images again."

Fiona frowned. "It sounds awfully complicated. Well, anyway, my father must have already altered this camera, because there was nothing like the box you're talking about in it. Instead, there's this little crystal globe, which the filmed stuff is stored into. I simply made the inside of the camera bigger and added another globe."

"So, how do we watch it afterwards?" Audrey asked, peering at the camera that was presently recording the match.

"Just tap your wand against the globe, say "Elucere", and there you are, it's projected out. It helps if you have a wall handy, otherwise the images are just projected into space, and look a little odd," Fiona explained. "My next project is try and make it so that when you watch it, you can walk amongst the scene, like a Pensieve."

"That'd be so cool," Audrey said, and was about to say more when a cheer went up from the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws.

Fiona turned aside, and just saw the Quaffle flying through one of the hoops. "Woohoo, go Ravenclaw!"

"That's the third time they've scored in as many minutes!" Oliver said, his eyes gleaming.

Audrey sighed, and turned to watch the match. She realised she wasn't going to get any more out of Fiona now.

Twenty minutes into the game, and neither Seeker had caught sight of the Snitch, although Fiona was sure she'd seen it once, hovering in amongst the Slytherins. Ravenclaw were leading 120 points to 20, and Oliver was torn between berating the Hufflepuffs for playing so badly, and for cheering madly for Ravenclaw.

"What is wrong with them?" Oliver bellowed as, yet again, a Hufflepuff Chaser missed an easy shot. "Even you could have made that shot, Fiona."

Fiona ignored the jibe - after all, it was true, she was rubbish as a Chaser - and instead said, "Maybe they're playing badly on purpose, because they feel guilty about Potter."

Oliver looked aghast. "Throwing the match? That's disgraceful! No way would Diggory let them do that, not if he's a half-decent Captain! No, there has to be some other reason."

Fiona shrugged. "Maybe they're just having a bad day."

Oliver snorted. "Bad day. My team had better hope their days never get that bad." He leapt up as Ravenclaw scored again. "Did you see that? What a magnificent pass. Merlin knows what that Keeper was thinking, diving left like that."

"Committing suicide, perhaps," Fiona suggested. "It's probably the best option open to him."

After an hour of listening to Oliver and Fiona, and sometimes Joe, alternate between complimenting Ravenclaw's techniques and complaining about Hufflepuff's dreadful flying, Audrey had had enough. She was cold and not even the Heating Charm she'd set on herself helped matters. The only thing that cheered her up slightly was that the rain that had been falling since the beginning of the match was being driven directly into the Slytherin stands, whereas she was nice and dry. Audrey resigned herself to moping about Buckbeak and Hagrid. She knew that she should be thinking of other things, and enjoying the match, but she couldn't when an innocent creature like Buckbeak was about to go to trial.

Despite outward appearances, Audrey was not quite so confident that he would get off, and was busy trying to come up with a plan to help Hagrid form a defence. She knew that with Malfoy against them, they would need a good, solid argument to get anywhere. She decided that she wouldn't stay for the Reserve Match - normally she would, but this time she was so cold and miserable she doubted she would even remotely enjoy it. Instead, she would visit Hagrid. The dejected gamekeeper needed all the company he could get nowadays.

Audrey had just come to this decision when she heard Fiona yell, "Oh for Merlin's sake, how can you not see it? It's right underneath your nose, you stupid Flobberworm!"

Oliver was similarly vocal, and Joe was leaping up and down and pointing too. Audrey turned to see what was going on, surprised to see that the rain had stopped, and finally managed to see that the Snitch was hovering directly over the Hufflepuff Seeker's head. Audrey frowned. Weren't Hufflepuff losing by so much that catching the Snitch would make no difference? She asked Joe this, who was slightly less boisterous than the other two.

"Yeah, but at least they would retain some dignity and end the match," Joe replied, still keeping his eyes on the game. "If it was me, that's what I'd do. Anything to get out of this weather; they're lucky it's stopped raining."

Suddenly, a blur of blue caught Audrey's eye, and the Ravenclaw Seeker, obviously hearing the Gryffindors' shouting, shot towards Diggory. The Hufflepuff had a shocked look on his face - to him it seemed as though his opponent was on a collision course with him. Before he realised what had happened, the Ravenclaw swept over his head, and caught the Snitch, ending the match.

Oliver sat back down, somewhat disappointed. "It would have been nice if Diggory had caught the Snitch, I suppose," he said grudgingly. "Glad Ravenclaw won, though - we're still in with a chance."

"A huge chance," Fiona corrected, sitting down beside him to avoid the people leaving the stands.

"What was the score?" Audrey asked absently.

"360 to 40," Fiona replied, frowning. "Where were you for most of the match?"

"What?" Audrey shook her head, the glazed look in her eyes receding. "Oh, I was just thinking. I'm not going to stay for the Reserve match; I'm going to see Hagrid instead. I think he needs the company."

"Fair enough," Fiona answered. "Give him our love. Are you staying, Joe?"

Joe nodded. "I'm just going to collect Margaret, she'll be over the moon."

"All right." Fiona nodded absently, scanning the sky above her for her camera. "Where did it go?" she muttered, pulling out her wand.

Oliver, who had been talking to Stuart, turned back to watch Fiona as she used his shoulder for balance whilst climbing onto her chair. "What are you doing, Fiona?"

"I'm looking for my camera," she replied. "It's disappeared."

"Is that it there?" Oliver pointed to a silver speck hovering over the Ravenclaw stand.

Fiona squinted. "Yeah, although I can't think what it's doing there. Unless..." her voice trailed off. "Ah."

"Ah?" Oliver questioned.

"When I gave it images of the four of us, so it would remain around us, I think the photograph I used of Joe had Margaret in it too," Fiona explained. "That'd be why it's over there." She fetched it across the Quidditch pitch with a well-placed Accio and caught it neatly, turning it off as she did so.

"It's a good job that it wasn't over there before, someone could have mistaken it for the Snitch," Oliver added.

Fiona snorted. "You really think those two Seekers would have done today? Diggory's normally a really good Seeker, I don't know what went wrong today, but the Ravenclaw Seeker was useless. The only reason he caught the Snitch was because we were all yelling furiously."

"I suppose you're right," Oliver said, watching Fiona put the camera away. "Hey, I don't suppose you brought any hot chocolate with you?"

Fiona merely glanced at him. "Whom do you take me for? Of course I didn't." She watched Oliver's face fall, and then continued, "But that doesn't mean that I didn't get any made." She grinned as she flicked her wand.

In a matter of moments, Bonny was standing in front of them, bearing five steaming mugs of hot chocolate and a huge flask. "Thank you, Bonny," Fiona said, smiling. "Here, keep this one for yourself," she added, handing a mug to the small house-elf.

Bonny's eyes, already huge, widened to the size of saucepans, and she squeaked, "Bonny never gets hot chocolate. Thank you, missus, thank you." She smiled shyly at Fiona, and then disappeared.

Oliver frowned. "The only reason you gave her that mug was because Audrey wasn't here."

Fiona shrugged. "I could have not given it to her, and kept it for myself, you know. And besides, how do you know I wasn't going to give her a hot chocolate anyway?"

Oliver grimaced and turned away, watching the other Houses' stands empty of people. Fiona stared at him for a moment, before laying a hand on his shoulder. "Oliver, you have to stop thinking that just because I'm now wearing this ring, I'm a completely different person. Three weeks ago you wouldn't even have considered that me giving Bonny that hot chocolate was anything but a selfless act. I haven't changed, Oliver. I'll admit that the fact that Audrey isn't here made things easier for me, simply because I didn't have to conjure another mug. But other than that, there was nothing behind it at all."

Oliver turned back to her. "You're right, and I'm sorry. I guess I'm just having a hard time getting over this prejudice."

"Well, don't. Don't get over the prejudice," Fiona said. "It's there for a perfectly good reason. Just remember that there are exceptions to the rule, and I'm definitely one of them."

Oliver smiled. "I don't think they made a rule for you, Fiona."

Fiona laughed. "You're probably right. Now, come on, drink up, before it gets cold. You know it never tastes as good after a Warming Spell."

The pair sipped their hot chocolate companionably, waiting for the die-hard Quidditch fans to join them at the Gryffindor stands. For every Reserve match, the whole crowd congregated in one stand, generally huddled together for warmth - unless Slytherin were playing, in which case they sat aside aloofly. The stand used was whichever one backed into the wind and provided the most shelter, which, fortunately for Fiona and Oliver, today was the Gryffindor one.

"Hey, Joe, Margaret," Oliver called to the couple as they made their way up the stairs. "Hurry up, we've got hot chocolate!"

Margaret's face lit up. It was rosy red from the wind and rain and her dark hair was plastered against her head. "Hello," she said breathlessly as she sat down next to Fiona. "Gosh, isn't it horrible? I'm glad I'm not playing. Mind you, sitting in the stands wasn't much better. The wind was howling right through the Ravenclaw stand."

Oliver grinned. "But it was worse for the Slytherins," he pointed out. The Slytherin stand was right opposite them, and thus face into the wind. "They must be doubly miserable right now. Firstly, they're cold and soggy, and then Hufflepuff lost, so we still have a chance of winning." Oliver's face was glowing with happiness.

Margaret smiled at Joe. "Well, someone looks happy."

Joe grinned back. "He does have good reason to be, mind."

Fiona handed them the steaming mugs. She saw that Margaret was having trouble getting her wand out with her stiff fingers, and so Fiona quickly dried Margaret's long hair, and cast a Warming Charm on her. "You look like you need it. Just think of the hot lunch we'll get after the match," Fiona said reassuringly.

"Thanks, Fiona, you're a lifesaver. I think I can feel my fingers again," Margaret said, laughing.

"Speaking of Slytherins," Joe said, "what have you two got planned for Hogsmeade?"

Oliver looked innocent. "What would Slytherins have to do with Hogsmeade?"

Joe glared at him. "You know exactly what. Are you going to let me in on it this time?"

Fiona and Oliver looked at each other. Fiona shrugged. "Well, I suppose there's a first time for everything."

Oliver nodded and turned back to Joe and Margaret, who were looking on in interest. "If you must know, nothing."

"Nothing?" Margaret asked, a perfect eyebrow raised.

"Nothing?" Joe repeated, a strong note of disbelief in his voice.

Fiona nodded enthusiastically. "Nothing, niechs, nada, zip, squat, nothing," she reiterated.

Margaret looked puzzled, but Joe explained. "Fiona's showing off her knowledge of foreign languages. It runs in her family." He turned to Fiona. "I refuse to believe you have no plans whatsoever."

"Well, they're at the design stage at the moment," Fiona admitted. "After all, it is three weeks away, Joe."

"Why?" Oliver asked, suspicious. "Do you want in on it, or something?"

Joe shook his head under Margaret's stern gaze. "No, no, I was just wondering," he denied, but the twinkle in his eyes said something different.

"Well, we'll let you know if we come up with something," Fiona said reassuringly.

"Yeah, we'll make sure you're not in the thick of the carnage, don't worry," Oliver added.

Margaret looked relieved at the reassurances, and turned away to watch as the Reserve teams flew into the air. Her cousin, Gordon, played for the Reserves, and had recently become Captain, so she desperately wanted a good match for him.

~*~*~*~*~

The Reserve match was much more closely fought than the Firsts' match, however, Ravenclaw eventually won. The exhausted Quidditch players and their loyal fans made their slow, bedraggled way up to the castle, to the hot lunch waiting for them. Joe, Oliver, and Fiona joined Audrey at the Gryffindor table, whereupon she told them that Hagrid sent his thanks for their thoughts, and had told Audrey that Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter were looking for a way to help Buckbeak.

That news had certainly seemed to have put Audrey's mind at rest, and Fiona too felt slightly better knowing that Granger was helping. The third year Gryffindor was known for spending more time in the library than everyone else, bar Madam Pince. Her thoughts having turned to the library, Fiona was soon deep in conversation with Oliver, and Joe, now that Margaret was no longer with them, about their next prank to be played on the Slytherins.

"If we've got Joe helping us, it should go without a hitch," Fiona added.

"Who's going to be the one to Charm the broomsticks?" Oliver inquired.

"Well, it could be any of us, since we're all involved with Quidditch, but I think it should be Joe," Fiona said.

"Why me?" Joe asked incredulously.

"Well, you're not known as a trouble-maker," Oliver answered. "If Fiona or I go into the broom shed, and then a couple of days later the Slytherin Quidditch team blows up, it's going to be pretty suspicious."

"We like to try not to get caught, most of the time," Fiona added.

"Okay, fair point," Joe acquiesced. "So, I sneak..."

"No, you don't sneak, that'll raise suspicions of whoever might be watching," Oliver interrupted.

"Who's going to be watching?" Joe asked.

"Margaret, for one," Fiona pointed out. "Do you really think she bought that 'Oh no, I was just wondering' rubbish? She's not in Ravenclaw for nothing, Joe."

"Also, you always have to assume that the enemy is watching," Oliver added conspiratorially.

"Merlin, you two really enjoy this, don't you?" Joe said wonderingly, looking between the two of his friends, taking in their bright eyes.

"Oh, come on, Joe, get into it, it's much more fun when you do," Fiona protested.

"All right, so I wander nonchalantly into the broom shed, Charm the Slytherins' brooms, and wander nonchalantly out," Joe revised.

Oliver nodded. "After having spent a suitable amount of time making sure your own broom looks spick and span. After all, you need an alibi," he added.

Joe rolled his eyes, but said nothing. "And then what?"

"Then we sit back, or rather, stand back, and watch the fun," Fiona answered.

"How do you know the timing will be right?" Joe asked.

"Hey," Oliver looked hurt, "this is me. I did the timing spell on it. It'll work to the second, don't you worry."

~*~*~*~*~

The next two weeks rolled by in a haze of rain, and finally the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year approached. On the Friday afternoon, after a gruelling Potions lesson, Oliver, Fiona, and Audrey sat down to lunch.

"Where did Joe go?" Audrey asked, looking round. "He was behind us a minute ago."

Fiona shrugged, and Oliver supplied, "Perhaps he went looking for Margaret."

No other explanation could be offered, and Joe came sauntering in about ten minutes later, looking pleased with himself. "Where have you been?" Fiona asked as soon as he'd sat down.

"I went to speak to Professor Flitwick - he'd just finished with some second years - and asked him about that Engorgement Charm Hagrid was asking us about. I now know how it works," Joe answered, smiling.

Fiona frowned. "All right for some. Now I can't go and ask him."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Of course you can, you're one of his hardest-working pupils. You just don't want to seem like you're copying." Audrey laid a hand on Fiona's shoulder comfortingly. "It looks as though you're in for a long spell in the library."

Fiona sniffed, and tried to look upset, but she'd caught Joe's eye as he winked at her, and had as a result had a hard time restraining her glee. This prank had been completely her idea, inspired by a remark from the Weasley twins, and she was looking forward to seeing the results.

After lunch, the four made their way towards Charms, Fiona collaring Joe before they entered the classroom. "Did you actually speak to Flitwick? Because if you didn't, it might come out."

Joe nodded his head. "Yes, all the bases are covered. I did speak to him about the Engorgement Charm, although it was merely to confirm something I suspected. You know I'm not really the type to ask for the whole answer."

Fiona smiled. "I was just checking. To be honest, I'm not that annoyed that you spoke to him. I've been researching that charm for weeks, I don't think there's anything I don't know about it."

"Well, we both know," Joe said, as he sat down, leaving space for her next to him, "that you'll have no trouble passing anything remotely charm-related with flying colours. You've certainly worked hard enough for it."

"I can't help it if I'm not a genius at Charms, like you, Mr Clever Clogs," Fiona added, smiling. "You didn't actually have to speak to Professor Flitwick to confirm anything, it was just an alibi."

Joe shrugged. "Well, it set my mind at rest, at least."

Audrey leant over Oliver to hiss at Joe and Fiona, "Will you two shut up and pay attention? You're two of Flitwick's favourite students, I know, but even you are capable of drawing a glare from him."

Joe and Fiona looked up to see the diminutive Professor glaring - perhaps 'glaring' was too strong a word, 'looking' described it better - disapprovingly at them. They managed to look shamefaced, and he smiled indulgently, before continuing the lesson. They heard Audrey mutter something suspiciously like 'lucky teacher's pets, get away with murder' but after that, the class was silent.

The rest of the day seemed to drag endlessly on. Fiona was sitting with the other three in the Common Room when she decided she'd had enough. "That's it," she declared. "I'm going to do something."

Audrey looked up from her book, her eyes wide. "What, exactly, are you going to do?" she asked slowly and quietly, as one would speak to someone who was mad.

Fiona put her hands on her hips. "I'm going to be constructive..."

"Oh, that's all right. Just as long as it's not destructive," Audrey muttered, returning to her book.

"I'm going to practise my music," Fiona finished, ignoring Audrey's interruption. "I might as well get something useful done. I can't sit here any more, waiting for tomorrow to come."

"I know the feeling," Joe sympathised. "I don't know how you cope with it each time you play a prank."

Oliver shrugged. "You get used to it. I don't know why Fiona's all uptight," he added, watching her stride up the stairs to her dorm.

"I think she's stressed about this Christmas," Audrey supplied from behind her book.

Oliver frowned. "You really think so? Fiona's normally really calm about things like that."

"Okay, so maybe stressed wasn't the right word. I just think that she feels she needs to be doing something right now, as opposed to waiting around for things to happen," Audrey amended. "Surely you know how that feels."

Oliver nodded, and Joe said, somewhat gloomily, "Don't we all."

The subject of their conversation came bouncing back down the stairs, carrying her cloak. She certainly did not appear stressed in any way, instead seeming to be extremely happy, and, as Joe observed after she'd skipped out of the Common Room, scarily bouncy.

"Well, the whirlwind that is Fiona Wild has landed," Audrey said, smiling.

Oliver shook his head. "She's completely mental when she gets like that."

"Looks like we're not to wait up for her, then," Joe said. "Last time she was like that, she stayed out almost all night."

"Flying on her broom, if I recall correctly," Audrey added. "Just shows how mental she can get."

"Hey!" Oliver objected. "I'll have you know it's great fun flying in the dark."

"Sure, if you don't mind hitting the occasional tree in your travels," Audrey said sarcastically.

Oliver quickly gave up trying to convince Audrey that night flying was anything other than insane. The blonde was on form that night, and rebuffed every extremely serious comment that Oliver made with the large doses of sarcasm that she felt they deserved.

Fiona did indeed come back late that night, silently making her way back from the music corridor, keeping to the shadows to avoid Filch and Mrs Norris. She slipped quietly into bed with a satisfied smile on her face, and didn't wake until mid-morning.

~*~*~*~*~

The day dawned reasonably clear, and the entire school from third year upwards was buzzing with the thrill of going into Hogsmeade. The Common Room was filled with chatter about Christmas, and what presents had yet to be bought, and who was going where for the holidays. Fiona and Audrey came down the stairs with grins on their faces.

Audrey, especially, loved Christmas-time, and relished the opportunity to get a taste of a wizarding Christmas before going home to her Muggle parents on the Isle of Skye. Fiona, too, loved going into Hogsmeade and enjoying a regular festive atmosphere, before she had to don the mantle of Morgan Heir. Oliver and Joe, who were waiting for them in front of the fire, also had cheery faces. It seemed as though the atmosphere of the Common Room infused into everyone's souls, possibly helped by streamers that were floating about the room, most likely set off by the Weasley twins.

"Right, then," Audrey said enthusiastically. "Let's go to breakfast!"

Fiona laughed. "You know, I don't think you're this hyper in the morning at any other time of the year."

"It's Christmas, the time for miracles," Audrey said, grinning, and leading the way out of the Common Room.

The Great Hall had a similar festive atmosphere. Voices chattered merrily about the holidays and family - Audrey even swore that she'd heard someone singing. They ate breakfast as slowly as they could, but despite this, they were still some of the first to finish. To waste time before going into Hogsmeade, the four of them ambled back up to the Common Room to gather their cloaks and money.

When the time finally came for them to head back down, they were the first out of the portrait. Joe left them waiting outside the Great Hall whilst he went to find Margaret, and when they returned, the small group led the way out of the castle.

Oliver, Joe, and Fiona make a deliberate point of not keeping an eye on the Slytherin team. After the chicken incident, Professor McGonagall was bound to be watching them closely for fear of a repeat performance. Also, Joe didn't want Margaret to suspect enough to actually say something, and perhaps accidentally alert passers-by. Oliver was, however, keeping a close eye on his watch, and when the time of execution was nearing, he gently steered them all towards the Three Broomsticks.

"They're not all in there, are they?" Fiona whispered. She didn't think that several pounds of red fish jelly all over the pub's upholstery would do anything to Madame Rosmerta's temper, and she said as much.

"No, they're not actually in the pub," Oliver confirmed. "They've congregated outside, look."

And sure enough, there they all were - the entire Slytherin Quidditch team, including some of the Reserves. Even Malfoy, who didn't usually associate with the rest of the team a huge amount, was there, having just joined the group after appearing from one of the more exclusive stores that Hogsmeade had to offer.

"Oh, look, there go Professors McGonagall and Flitwick with Minister Fudge," Margaret said.

"And Hagrid," Audrey added, waving at the giant. She only received a half-hearted wave in reply, causing her frown to deepen. "He's taking it really hard, you know, this Buckbeak business," she said quietly.

Fiona patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Audrey. It's Christmas." She cast a relieved look at Oliver, glad that Professor McGonagall had left the pub.

"Come on," Joe said, ushering his friends into the pub, squeezing past Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who were on their way out, "let's try and get a window seat this time."

As luck would have it, they did manage to get a window table, conveniently placed right next to the door, so as to ensure that Oliver, Joe, and Fiona, who had sat specifically facing the window, had wonderful views outside, and of the Slytherins who were gathered there. Fiona had just brought their drinks back to the table and sat down when she heard Oliver murmuring under his breath, "Three, two, one."

Fiona was grateful that she didn't have a mouthful of Butterbeer as she watched the show outside. All of the Slytherins went quiet, and began to look ill. Flint stared carefully and intensely into his glass, as a drunk would, if he were attempting to determine whether he'd already drunk the last drop or not. In a matter of moments, the team was looking remarkably worse for wear, and, almost indistinguishably, their heads began to grow.

Soon, everyone who had a view of them noticed that something unusual was going on, and as the team realised this themselves, some of them took prompt action. That this involved running around, screaming like stuck pigs was neither here nor there. Those members of the team that were doing it seemed to believe whole-heartedly that this would help them.

In fact, it did nothing, and their heads continued to swell. A few of the team who had more brain cells than the rest, Adrian Pucey and Draco Malfoy, for instance, had got out their wands and were desperately attempting to reverse the spell. Nothing worked, of course, as they didn't know the spell that had initiated their predicament, but Fiona didn't blame them for trying.

Soon, their heads were completely out of proportion with their bodies, and those of them that had been trying to logically counteract the spell gave up. Professor Vector and Professor Sprout, who had been in the Three Broomsticks, having a quiet drink and keeping an eye on the younger years, had ventured outside to see what all the fuss was about, and were now frantically alternating between trying to calm down the Slytherins who were running about and attempting to stop their heads expanding.

A minute later, their heads did stop expanding. The Slytherin Quidditch team now resembled stick men with pumpkins for heads. Eyes bulged and nostrils flared - it wasn't actually a particularly nice sight. Suddenly, all their heads simultaneously exploded, and everyone inside the pub instinctively ducked as red mucous-like liquid splashed against the windows. Once it had dripped down enough to enable the occupants of the pub to see outside again, the sight that greeted them was somewhere between hilarious and frightening.

What was hilarious was that the Slytherins were standing about, their heads back to normal, looking extremely frightened and covered in the red jelly. What was frightening was that the red jelly had also covered Professors Vector and Sprout, who were not looking pleased.

"Uh oh," Fiona said. "Whoever did that is in for a world of trouble now."

Audrey and Margaret looked suspiciously at each other, and then stared carefully at Oliver, Joe, and Fiona. "What?" Oliver asked.

"Did you have anything to do with that?" Audrey asked bluntly.

"Don't be stupid," Fiona retorted. "I know we're known for our pranks, but blowing up the Slytherins' heads? That's a bit much."

"Don't look at me," Joe added, holding his hands up. "You know I don't get involved in things like that."

"I wonder who it was then," Margaret said, looking around the pub. "The Twins certainly look as surprised as everyone else."

Fiona glanced at Fred and George. "I don't think whoever did it would stay in the pub where they could easily get caught, do you? If it was me, I'd have been outside, ready to make a run for it."

"It could have been a Hufflepuff," Oliver suggested. "I know it sounds a little strange, but even though most of them are simply easy-going, I'm fairly sure some of them are mischievous enough to think up something like that."

"I suppose they could have been getting back at the Slytherins for them cheering them on in Quidditch," Fiona supplied. "Who knows? Watch out, Vector's coming in."

The Arithmancy Professor, along with his Herbology counterpart, had cleaned themselves, the Slytherin team, and the outside of the pub, up and was now storming into the pub, a fierce look on his face. The entire place went quiet as he stood in the doorway. "Who," he started, his voice low and dangerous, "who is responsible for that?"

There was deathly silence in the room, and everyone flinched under Vector's gaze. Suddenly, a quiet voice spoke up from behind him. "I don't think there is any reason to punish the culprits this time, Professor Vector." Professor Lupin stepped into the light. "After all, this is the time for good-natured pranks, and no harm was done."

Professor Vector, whom Fiona was convinced had got up to a lot of mischief as a student, looked somewhat relieved that Professor Lupin had turned up, and nodded. "It's always good to find the humour," Lupin continued, "in a situation like this, otherwise things can get out of hand. Those who are responsible, however, should perhaps beware the consequences of their actions." As he finished, the Defence Professor scanned the room, seemingly fixing Oliver, Fiona, and Joe with an especially sharp, albeit twinkling, gaze. Once this had been absorbed by his audience, Lupin ushered Professors Vector and Sprout to the bar and conversation started up again around the tables.

"It was you," Audrey accused the three sitting opposite her.

"Huh?" Joe asked, distracted by watching the Slytherins recovering themselves.

"You three," Margaret explained. "You three did the head-exploding thing."

Fiona shrugged. "We might have had something to do with it."

"Something?" Audrey said, her voice getting louder. "Something?"

"Be quiet, Audrey," Oliver warned, looking round nervously. "We don't want it getting out, you know."

"Oliver's right. If the Slytherins find out it was you, you're in for it," Margaret added.

"That's why we did it the day before we go home," Fiona said. "By the time the Christmas holidays are over, they'll have forgotten about it. Hopefully," she added quietly.

"Forgotten about it?" Oliver asked, incredulous. "If it was you or I, we'd spend all the holidays thinking of a brilliant retaliatory move."

"Yeah, but the advantage we have over them is that they don't plan in groups. They can only work individually, and so their plans won't be nearly as sophisticated," Fiona objected.

"But, they do have access to all sorts of spells we don't even know about. We could be hit by some Dark spell whilst walking away from Potions," Oliver argued.

"Oliver, do you seriously think that any reasonably intelligent Slytherin, and let's face it, most of them are pretty smart, would work Dark Arts magic inside Hogwarts?" Fiona asked. "They'd get expelled before they could say 'You-Know-Who.' Besides," she added, "I think there are some Slytherins who will just take it as a joke and won't think anything more of it."

Oliver sniffed. "Of course, they're not likely to attack you, anyway, are they?" he asked. "After all, they wouldn't want to upset the great Heir of Morgan, who knows what horrors she might unleash on them."

Fiona laughed. "Exactly. It's good to be feared," she said, a twinkle in her eye. "To be honest, I don't think that would have any affect on it at all, except maybe to make any attack more Machiavellian in nature. Hmm, now you've got me worried, Oliver!"

"Come on," Audrey said, "drink up and let's go shopping."

Joe groaned as Margaret pulled him up. "Do I have to come?"

"Yes, you most certainly do, especially after you got yourself involved in a prank when you said you wouldn't," Margaret said, looking fierce.

Joe rolled his eyes. "Margaret, I'm Irish. There's only so much practical joking I can stay away from."

Margaret laughed. "All right, you're off the hook. But only because you're batting those baby blues at me."

Joe winked at Oliver over his shoulder as he walked out of the pub. Oliver shook his head. "It works every time."

"It's that Irish charm," Fiona explained. "Come on, we might as well join Audrey willingly, otherwise she'll just whinge until we give in."

"Hey," Audrey protested with a grin. "You know you love it as much as I do."

"Well, not necessarily the shopping - being short means I get squashed quite a lot," Fiona said. "But the atmosphere, yes, I'll admit is pretty special."

The three of them spent the rest of the time wandering around Hogsmeade, and soaking up the festive atmosphere. They met up with Joe and Margaret again in time to walk back up the hill, and entered the Great Hall in time for dinner.

Afterwards, the gathering in the Common Room was quiet. Joe was leaving first in the morning, to go to London on the Hogwarts Express, whilst Audrey, Oliver, and Fiona were travelling by Floo to their homes just before lunchtime the following day. They always spent the last day before the end of the first term lazing about the Common Room, playing games and talking quietly. Fortunately, not many of their own House had been in the Three Broomsticks when their prank had taken place, so they didn't get deluged with hundreds of questions about it. It seemed, because of the fact that it was the end of term, that the news of what had happened to the Slytherins was taking longer than usual to filter through the gossip grapevine, and for that, the four were grateful.

They all went to bed late and got up early the next day to see Joe off at the station. He followed Margaret into the carriage, but not before light-heartedly warning Oliver and Fiona to watch their backs.

"I think you've got to watch out more," Fiona countered. "Margaret, you'd probably best be keeping a close eye on him at all times."

Margaret laughed. "Don't worry, I will. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, take care!" the three left on the platform yelled, waving as the train started to leave the station.

"Well, it's us next," Audrey observed, as she watched the Hogwarts Express disappear into the distance.

"Featheriest quill in the desk, this one," Fiona said dryly, dodging a punch from Audrey.

"Featheriest?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Fiona retorted good-naturedly. "There's nothing wrong with that word," she declared as they walked back towards the castle.

"Except that it doesn't exist in the English language," Audrey pointed out.

"It does now," Oliver said. "Fiona's decreed it."

Fiona wrinkled her nose up at the pair and changed the subject. "Are we all going to try to get together for New Year again?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Audrey said enthusiastically.

"I think Joe mentioned something about a big party happening at his house for the New Year," Fiona added. "Maybe we could all go over for that."

Oliver shook his head. "I can't. I've got a big family gathering that I have to go to. My father made a deal with my grandparents; a quiet Christmas and then a big family do for New Year."

Fiona's face dropped. "Oh blast. I forgot, I've got the same thing. I don't know how I could have forgotten, it's been known about for years."

"What has?" Audrey asked.

"Because Mum, Morna, and I will be spending more time over Christmas with my Grandma this year, thanks to my 'promotion', New Year will be spent with my father's family," Fiona explained. "But, I did promise I'd come and visit you sometime, I know. What are you up to over the holidays?"

Audrey shrugged. "Not much, as per usual."

Fiona frowned. "Well, how about I visit you in between Christmas and New Year? There's no time afterwards, since we're basically coming straight back here."

"Yeah, that sounds fine. I'll mention it to my parents. Send Pipit with a definite yes or no sometime, and I'll arrange something," Audrey said, her eyes lighting up.

"You'll arrange something?" Fiona repeated suspiciously.

"Never mind," Audrey said archly. "You'll see, that's all I'm going to say on the matter."

Fiona and Oliver exchanged looks, and Oliver put a reassuring hand on Fiona's shoulder. "Good luck. I'll take care of Pipit if you don't come back."

"Ha ha ha," Audrey said sarcastically as they entered the Common Room again. It was practically empty, the only occupants those students who had either elected to stay over the holidays, or those that Floo'd home from Hogsmeade. Morna and her friend Sean were sitting in front of the blazing fire, playing Exploding Snap, and the three of them decided to join them.

Time does indeed fly when you're having fun, and, almost before they realised it, it was time to catch a carriage down to Hogsmeade. The five of them squeezed into one, and waved goodbye to the castle as the invisible horses drew them away. Stepping out of the carriage in front of the Three Broomsticks, Fiona and Oliver shared a smile, remembering the trick they'd played on the Slytherins.

"What is she doing?" Sean asked, watching Audrey patting what appeared to be thin air.

Fiona turned to look. "Oh, she's stroking the invisible horse," she explained matter-of-factly. "Audrey's really into creatures of any sort. She can't see it, but she knows it's there, so away she goes to stroke it. Don't worry about it, she does strange things like that all of the time," Fiona added quietly.

"And, of course, it's nothing to do with hanging around with you all day," Morna said dryly.

"Hey," Fiona protested. "Get your scrawny body inside and keep quiet," she ordered, grinning.

Morna rolled her eyes, but entered the pub anyway, closely followed by Sean and Oliver. Fiona stayed outside to drag Audrey away from the carriage. "Come on, you've got to get home. You know that your home is only connected to the Floo for a short while."

"All right, I'm coming." Audrey gave the invisible horse one last stroke and followed Fiona inside.

They found the rest of the group gathered around the fireplace, with Madame Rosmerta holding out the jar of Floo Powder. "Well, you lot are eager to get home, aren't you? You're the first ones here. You'd best be off before this place gets crowded."

She held out the pot to Sean, who took a handful and threw it into the fire. With a quick "Merry Christmas" to everyone, he was gone. Audrey, after giving Fiona, Oliver, and Morna hugs, quickly followed him.

"Who's next then?" Madam Rosmerta asked.

Morna shrugged. "We'll go." She took a handful of Floo Powder and grabbed hold of her trunk. "See you later, Oliver. Merry Christmas!"

Fiona gave Oliver a quick hug and wished him a Merry Christmas. "I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Okay," Oliver replied, and then added, more softly, "Take care, Fiona."

Fiona smiled. "I always do, remember."

Morna then threw the Floo Powder into the fire, saying, "Wild Manor," as she did so. The flames grew higher, and flickered green. Fiona said goodbye to Madam Rosmerta and then she and Morna stepped into the emerald flames which would take them home.

~*~*~*~*~