The Quidditch List

The Quidditch List

"You'll never guess what I heard!" Jimmy Peakes practically squealed as he catapulted into his fellow Beater Ritchie Coote in their compartment on the Hogwarts Express. The scarlet steam engine had just pulled away from the station, and the students had scattered into their groups for the long ride back to London.

Ritchie, who had been about to complete his year-long goal of kissing Demelza Robins, didn't much care. Demelza, however, seemed glad of the interruption. Her eyes were still red from Professor Dumbledore's funeral, and she didn't think it was an appropriate time to be kissing boys.

"What's that, Jimmy?" she asked kindly, making room for the third-year on her bench. That she had to shove Ritchie over bothered her not in the least.

"Harry, Ron, and Hermione Granger aren't returning to school next year!" he exclaimed, clearly thrilled to be the one with the news.

Demelza's eyes widened slightly. "But they still have a year to go! Not to mention their N.E.W.T.s to take. And everyone knows Hermione Granger would never dare miss an exam."

"You're missing the entire point," Jimmy complained. "Without Ron and Harry, how will we ever win the Quidditch Cup next year?"

"He does have a point, you know," Ritchie said from his position on the floor near Demelza's feet. He struggled to get up and then took the seat opposite her. "We'll be sadly depleted next year. What with Katie having graduated, Harry and Ron gone...it'll just be the three of us and Ginny."

The thought was not without its appeal. It meant less competition for Demelza's affections; not that she'd shown any interest in Harry, aside from the interest every non-Slytherin female in Hogwarts had shown. And after Ron had punched her in the mouth and reduced her to tears, Ritchie doubted Demelza harboured any feelings for him. Besides, the whole of Gryffindor Tower knew he was Hermione Granger's territory, even if they hadn't yet seemed to figure that out for themselves.

"That's assuming there's a school to come back to next year," chided Demelza. "Honestly, the two of you! How can you be thinking of Quidditch after what's happened?"

Ritchie shrugged. "I'd rather be thinking about Quidditch than the fact that Hogwarts harboured a murderer for who-knows-how-many years. I'm certain Professor Dumbledore wouldn't want us to be depressed on his behalf; he was always the first to encourage a good time. And there's no harm in planning ahead."

Tears sparkled in Demelza's lovely eyes, but she turned towards Jimmy with a suspicious look.

"How exactly did you find out about Harry and Ron, anyway, Jim? I doubt they were broadcasting their plans to the world."

Jimmy went pink. "Well, I might have been walking where they were chatting. I don't think they noticed me, and I couldn't help overhearing."

"Meaning you were eavesdropping," Ritchie said, hiding a smile. "Go on, what did they say?"

"I didn't really stick around," said Jimmy defensively. "I just heard Harry say he wouldn't come back even if the school is reopened, Hermione said she thought he'd say that, and then Harry started talking about what he'd do instead. Most of that didn't make much sense to me. Then Ron and Hermione said they'd go with him, and I took off, not wanting to...er...get caught."

Demelza tried to look disapproving, but it was hard to stay upset with Jimmy Peakes. He was one of the most adorable thirteen year olds she'd ever met. Pity he was still so immature. Not that Ritchie was much better, but at least he had a couple years on Jimmy.

"Well, there you have it," Ritchie said, "we're short a Seeker and a Keeper, not to mention a Captain. And, of course, without Katie we'll need another Chaser. Not many to choose from, are there?"

"Well, I suppose Ginny'll be made Captain," said Demelza, giving up on bringing an end to the conversation. "She played Reserve last year, and the rest of us were brand new. Besides, she's the oldest."

"By one week!" exclaimed Ritchie. "Besides, age has little or nothing to do with it. Katie's older than Harry, but he was the one picked. What's needed is a strong team leader."

Demelza stuck her tongue out at him. "And you think that's you? Ritchie, you couldn't lead a Niffler to gold."

Ritchie clutched a hand to his chest. "My dear Demelza, you wound me. I happen to think I'd make an excellent Captain."

"McLaggen would be better than you," Demelza said, not bothering to smother her grin at his expression. Though she was not prone to taunting Ritchie, whom she genuinely liked (most of the time) and who, had he not decided to make his move after a funeral for Merlin's sake, she might have been snogging right now, she was unable to resist.

"You're only saying that to push my buttons," said Ritchie, though he didn't sound so convinced. "And because he's handsome!"

Demelza clutched her sides, laughing. "Well, the large, over-grown prat's not to my tastes, but if he's yours, Ritchie, darling, then by all means, go for him."

Ritchie turned purple. "Unfair! Damn it, Jimmy, why'd you have to come in? I almost had her!"

Jimmy wasn't listening. "McLaggen's left, too. Besides, after the stunts he pulled playing Keeper, would you really want him on your team?"

"His team?" said Demelza with a pleasant laugh. "It's not his team yet! And you didn't 'have' me, Ritchie, not with that chauvinistic attitude. I'd rather we made you Captain, Jimmy. Who would you want on your team?"

Jimmy's face was screwed up in genuine concentration; it was apparent that he'd actually given this some thought.

"Ritchie's right, there aren't many to choose from, unless we happen to get lucky with new recruits. There's always Vicky Frobisher for Keeper."

"Pass," said Ritchie. "She's got a stick up her--"

"Ritchie!" Demelza exclaimed. "Vicky's not that awful. You just don't like her because she turned you down for a date to Hogsmeade two years ago, she told me."

Ritchie scowled. "She cares more about her bloody Charms, anyway, I heard Angelina Johnson mention it last year, that's why she wasn't picked for the team."

Demelza shrugged. "She's dedicated, and you have to admit, being a prominent member of the Charms Club may end up more useful than an ability to save goals."

"Unless," Ritchie said with a wink for her, "you're in a sticky situation with only your broom--then flying talent may come in handy."

"Well," said Demelza, with a sparkle in her eye, "what about Geoffrey Hooper then? He's pretty fancy on a broom."

"Not a chance," said Jimmy, who'd pulled out some sort of complicated-looking list and was crossing off names with a pencil. "He's in my year, and he's a ponce."

"Isn't he the bloke who locked you in Moaning Myrtle's loo for an afternoon?" Ritchie asked.

Jimmy went pink, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the sheet of parchment on his lap. "No, that was his sister. Still don't like him, and I wouldn't want him playing on my team."

Demelza leaned back and closed her eyes. "Amazing, Ron really was the best Gryffindor had to offer, wasn't he? I mean, a part of me really did think Harry chose him because they're mates. Not that I have anything against Ron--we did win the finals with him, after all--but when he was nervous, he was rubbish. Ron is a decent bloke, overall, though. McLaggen was rubbish, too, but in a different way. I suppose we ought to be grateful he didn't beat Ron at tryouts, imagine, a whole year with 'Lacking' McLaggen."

Ritchie, who was only half-listening (completely absorbed with the way the sun shone on her blonde hair), gave a start. "You mean you didn't hear the rumours?"

She opened one eye. "What rumours?"

Ritchie started to laugh as Jimmy looked over at him, interested. "Rumour is that Hermione Granger jinxed him just before his last goal. I overheard Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Romilda Vane discussing it."

"Oh, that's ridiculous," Demelza said, though not very sharply. "You spent entirely too much time this year listening to gossip, Ritchie. And, besides, Hermione went out with McLaggen, why would she jinx him? Not to mention, Lavender loathes Hermione because of Ron, and Romilda's the worst gossip and flirt in the school."

"And I listen to too much gossip?" said Ritchie, pretending to be wounded. He thought Demelza looked particularly pretty when her nose went red. "I don't know about all that, Romilda's always been exceptionally pleasant to me. And Hermione only went out with McLaggen to make Ron jealous after he started dating Lavender. Why a perfectly normal, intelligent girl would have to stoop so low..."

"Who cares?" said Jimmy, completely ignoring the bright flush to Demelza's face as she contemplated numerous ways to make Ritchie Coote suffer. "Ron was odd, but we were better off with him than without him, right? And Ginny kept him in his place. Speaking of, I suppose she'd let Dean Thomas back on as Chaser, to take Katie's place again."

"But would he want back on?" countered Ritchie, watching Demelza prepare herself for another debate. "After all, she ditched Dean for Harry. Not a bad choice, if you ask me, but not, perhaps, the best idea for the team."

"I highly doubt she had the team in mind when she made the choice, Ritchie," Demelza said, rather crossly. "And Dean might view it as a chance to win her back now that she and Harry have broken up."

This came as a considerable surprise to Ritchie. "What, when did that happen? They were sitting together at the funeral!"

"Yes, but Harry's a bit preoccupied, and I saw Ginny enter a compartment with Colin. Besides, if he's taking off for parts unknown, he's not taking her with him, is he? Jimmy said Ron and Hermione will go with him, he didn't mention Ginny."

"I think Harry dumped Ginny," murmured Jimmy, still going over his list. "But, in a 'we'll always have Paris' sort of way."

The reference went completely over the Pureblooded Demelza's head. Ritchie didn't seem to get it either.

"All right then, if not Dean, who else have you got on that list?" asked Ritchie, leaning over to take the parchment from Jimmy's hand. His eyes went wide and then he burst out laughing. "Romilda Vane? You actually put Romilda Vane on your list? We might as well ask Firenze to join up."

"I think that without Harry as a distraction, she could turn out to be a pretty fair Seeker," said Jimmy defensively. "She's got eyes like a hawk."

"She also tried to feed our Captain a love potion disguised as Chocolate Cauldrons," Demelza pointed out. "I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable with someone that unscrupulous on the team."

"So a little unscrupulous is all right then?" asked Ritchie, who had somehow managed to squeeze himself in next to her when she wasn't looking. Jimmy looked as though he were about to say something, but changed his mind and closed his mouth.

"Of course," Demelza replied with a laugh. "We'd never beat the Slytherins without you, Ritchie. Who else have you got, Jimmy?"

"Wait a minute," said Ritchie, examining the list again. "Jimmy, you've got Cadwallader on this list!"

"So?"

"So, he's in Hufflepuff!" Ritchie scanned the list. "Gwenog Jones? Finbar Quigley? Viktor Krum? They're not even at Hogwarts! Jimmy, what is this?"

Jimmy, still pink in the face, bowed his head and muttered, "Well, if you must know, it's my ideal Quidditch team. I'm still working on it."

"Well, clearly you've got a few screws loose," said Ritchie, "seeing as you've got Galvon Gudgeon on here. The Cannons are rubbish, and the Daily Prophet reported Gudgeon himself as 'pathetic'."

"He's having an off-season," Jimmy retorted defensively, looking as though he wanted to use his bat on his fellow Beater. Demelza intervened.

"Sadly, Jimmy, I don't think Gwenog Jones could step in to play for Gryffindor, besides, between you and Ritchie, we've got the Beater slot covered. We're looking now for a Keeper and a Seeker, if it's true that Harry and Ron won't be returning."

"That's what they said, but I don't know if Harry'll be able to stay away," Jimmy reported, snatching his list back from Ritchie.

Ritchie looked startled. "Why's that?"

"Because of the love potions Ginny's been slipping him," Jimmy said matter-of-factly, rummaging in the bag he'd brought into the compartment with him.

Demelza exchanged a glance with Ritchie; this was by far the most bizarre conversation she'd ever had.

"What are you on about?" Ritchie asked, a bit roughly. Demelza had always suspected he had a crush on Ginny; many boys did. She was also aware of feeling slightly jealous, which obviously meant that poor timing or not, she fancied Ritchie a bit more than she thought she did.

"That's what Natalie McDonald told me, and she heard it from Dennis Creevey. I was going to mention it when you said something about love potions and Romilda, but..." Jimmy shrugged. "I know it's illegal and everything, but Harry seemed really happy--"

Demelza could hardly believe her ears. "Oh, Jimmy," she sighed, shaking her head. "You still have so much to learn...he wasn't happy because he was under the influence of a love potion, he was happy because he was with Ginny."

"I don't really care why," Jimmy said calmly. "It was nice for him, is all. I mean, he's not got the easiest time of it, you know? So even if it was because he was being slipped a love potion, at least he got to spend a little time in someone else's life."

"That's deep, kid," said Ritchie, "but Harry'll stay away precisely because of Ginny."

Jimmy looked confused. "I don't understand."

Ritchie sighed; giving a mock-lesson on the birds and the bees to a thirteen year old had not been on his to-do list. "It's what a bloke whose life is in constant danger does for the woman he loves."

Catching sight of Demelza's amused and perplexed look he added, "So I've seen a few doomed romance films, leave it out. Anyway, Jim, the hero of our tale--that would be Harry--knows that he's no good for her, and knows that the villain would use her to get to him, so he distances himself. I'd bet anything that's what Harry's done."

"Since when have you become such an expert on all things Harry Potter?" asked Demelza, her bewitching smile firmly in place.

"I happen to know things, as hard as that may be to believe," Ritchie replied. "It's what I'd do."

Both he and Demelza flushed and looked away. Jimmy didn't notice.

"Natalie might make a good Keeper," he said, still pouring over his list. Demelza sighed and shook her head. Jimmy might be the most adorable thirteen year old she'd ever met, but he was completely lacking in a sense of perception. "I've seen her block treacle from eight starving Seventh Years at dinner."

"And the tarts, and the bread, and anything else that comes her way," Ritchie muttered under his breath. Demelza elbowed him in the gut.

"That's extremely rude," she told him. To Jimmy she said, "Well, you'll just have to encourage her to try out then. What about a Seeker?"

"It's easier to find another good Chaser than it is to find a truly great Seeker," Ritchie pointed out. "Why don't we ask Ginny to play Seeker and then just replace her as Chaser?"

"When you're Captain of the team, you can do that," Demelza said with a sly smile, "but while Ginny's Captain, I think she'll choose to play Chaser. Besides, she's not really Seeking anymore, is she?"

"You think she's only got Chasing on the brain? But I thought she had what she wanted."

"Apparently not anymore," Demelza replied with a shrug, aware that they weren't really talking about Quidditch anymore. "So she's going to Chase after what she wants, and she knows what she wants."

"To play Chaser?" Jimmy inserted, looking completely lost. Which he was.

Ritchie and Demelza exchanged another glance; sometimes it was so difficult to be older.

"I think she has other, er, long-term goals in mind, Jimmy," Demelza replied. "You know, I have to say, I really think Ginny might not return next year."

"Of course she will," Ritchie retorted as she might have known he would. "No matter what she's Chasing, she's not really a part of that, is she? That's all them."

"Them who?" said Jimmy on cue. He was ignored.

Demelza didn't think that was a particularly convincing argument. "Aside from finishing her schooling, what exactly does she have to go back for?"

"What do you mean 'aside from'? She still has two years, just like we do! Would you run off to fight You-Know-Who without finishing your school training? I know I wouldn't, it would be suicide."

"Harry, Ron, and Hermione are running off to do who-knows-what without completing school, are you questioning them?"

"After everything we've heard about them? Of course not. But you have to admit they seem a lot more capable of protecting themselves than Ginny does."

"You've obviously never seen her Bat-Bogey hex," said Demelza, staunchly defending her dorm-mate. "And I never said anything about her running off to battle You-Know-Who. I only said I don't know that she has much to come back for. She was never particularly close to anyone in our year, aside from Colin Creevey, and with her last brother gone, not to mention Harry and Hermione, she might just decide not to return--that, of course, is providing Hogwarts is even reopened!"

"Ginny's not stupid," Ritchie said, and Demelza was suddenly confused as to who was defending Ginny. "She won't give up her education for nothing. At least Harry, Ron, and Hermione have a purpose."

"Well, apparently it's become a family tradition," Demelza pointed out. "Her brothers Fred and George didn't finish Hogwarts either, and just look at them, they run an extremely successful business!"

"They run a joke shop!" said Ritchie, though Demelza was well aware that he purchased many of their products himself. He was clearly arguing for argument's sake. And perhaps they weren't exactly talking about Ginny anymore...

Bothered by the hostile environment, Jimmy intervened.

"I won't play Romilda, all right, Demelza?" Jimmy said, clearly trying to soften the mood which had become inexplicably tense.

She started at the non-sequitur, but then laughed. "Play whomever you like on your team, Jimmy. One day when you're Captain of the Appleby Arrows--"

"Ballycastle Bats," interrupted Jimmy.

"Ballycastle Bats then, you can have Romilda, and Galvon, and Gwenog, and whomever else you prefer." Demelza considered this for a minute. "Well, there's a thought, I never really thought about playing professionally once I left Hogwarts. I never really considered what I would do once I left, though Professor McGonagall was hounding me to make a choice this past year. I suppose that's a pressing question now more than ever, isn't it?"

"You can play on my team, Demelza," Jimmy said with a hint of a blush.

There was a moment of silence, but thanks to Ritchie it didn't last long.

"If I don't play Beater for the Montrose Magpies, then I think I'll work in the Experimental Charms department at the Ministry--after I complete my training, Hogwarts or no Hogwarts."

"Great," said Demelza with a light laugh, "so you can come home every night with a tail, or purple spots, or something equally hideous."

"What do you care?" Ritchie asked, a glint in his eye. "You're not going to be there, are you?"

Demelza blushed prettily. "I didn't mean it that way."

Ritchie turned a funny colour and started staring at his feet. "Uh, you could be, you know, if you want to."

Demelza almost fell off her seat, and even Jimmy looked up.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"Well, if you'd like, you could come visit me this summer in Edinburgh." Ritchie had never felt more uncomfortable in his life and briefly wondered if this was how it was supposed to go.

She hesitated, but she wasn't throwing things at him, or attempting to hex him, so he took that as a good sign. "Well, we'll see. I'd have to speak to my parents."

Then, with her familiar smile, she added, "But you can hardly expect me to date a boy who's grown an extra arm. And professional Quidditch wouldn't be much better; it's a rough game. You'd be covered in bruises, broken limbs, bleeding cuts--who knows, you could even disappear completely in some freak accident of sabotage!"

She paused a minute then smiled so deeply her dimples showed. "On second thought, perhaps that's not such a bad career for you after all, Ritchie dear."

He made a face. Back to the status quo; in a way, that was a relief. "Cute. You know, you never asked me who I'd play as Seeker and Keeper if I were made Captain."

"Could it be because she doesn't much care?" Jimmy asked with a straight face, primarily because he hadn't meant it as a joke.

"Quiet, Jimmy. I think we ought to have Dean back on as Chaser, and then recruit Dennis Creevey for Keeper and Euan Abercrombie for Seeker."

"You know," said Demelza, "that's not a bad idea, aside from the fact that Dennis is the size of a toothpick!"

"Euan's not a bad choice for Seeker, though," said Jimmy. "He's a natural flier, though not in Harry's class, and he's pretty fast."

Ritchie opened his mouth to say something else when Demelza caught sight of Ginny and Colin Creevey passing in front of their compartment. She waved to them and they opened the door to say hello.

Ginny's eyes were extremely red and she looked as if she were having a difficult time standing; Colin basically had to brace her. Still, she smiled at her three team-mates and took a seat for a moment opposite them.

"What are you three up to?" she asked, sounding much older than her fifteen years.

They all exchanged a look. Demelza took over the role of spokesperson.

"We were just making out a list of potential replacements for Quidditch next year."

Ginny froze for a moment and Demelza realised, to her horror, that she had said replacements; they probably were not supposed to know Harry and Ron wouldn't be returning to school.

For a moment, Ginny's smile was sad, but then she laughed. "So I suppose this means you're all coming back when the school reopens--good. There's no one I'd rather have on my team."

With those touching words, Ginny and Colin left the compartment and continued on their way. There were several minutes of silence before--

"What does she mean, her team?"