A Team United

The wind was whistling in her ears. Angelina Johnson had the Quaffle securely tucked under her arm, and was flying at top speed towards the goals. Her ebony hair, secured in a ponytail, was bouncing slightly against her back. It was absolutely imperative that she made this goal. Eyes focused ahead, she dodged the chasers on the Hufflepuff team right and left. She zipped past Harry Potter, who was looking around for the snitch, deep concentration on his face.

All of the sudden, out of nowhere, there came a blur of black. All Angelina felt was an intense pain in the back of her head before the world became dark and she passed out....falling...falling....falling.......

~ ~ ~

In front of the infirmary, a tall, redheaded young man of 18, still dressed in his scarlet and gold Quidditch robes, paced restlessly. His face, usually so roguish and carefree, was solemn, and his hazel eyes were frantic with worry. Sitting close by, five other scarlet-robed individuals, their faces also concerned, although not nearly as frantic as the young man who was walking back and forth, awaited for some news.

"You know Fred, you're going to wear a hole in the floor if you don't sit down." A second redhead, whose face and features were identical to the young man pacing around, remarked.

"Oh, sod off, George." His twin snapped back. Fred Weasley was now the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, now that Oliver Wood had left. Replacing Oliver Wood was, surprisingly, Ginny Weasley, who had shown a surprising aptitude for the sport and the particular position. Ginny, at the moment, was looking at her harangued older brother with sympathy in her dark eyes. Sitting next to her was another scarlet-clad figure, this one with somewhat tousled raven hair. This was the seeker of the Gryffindor team, of course, Harry Potter. He had a comforting arm around the wiry red-haired girl.

On his other side, there sat two other girls, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, fellow Chasers and best friends to the girl who somehow had been hit by the rogue Bludger. Alicia, her blue eyes wide and frightened on her face, tightly clasped the hands of George Weasley.

At that moment, the infirmary doors opened to reveal a solemn-looking Madam Pomfrey. "Miss Johnson has suffered some head injuries. She will be all right, but it will take three days to heal." Her eyes were full of sympathy. "I'm sorry, but she cannot return to the game today. Maybe...maybe...would you like to use a reserve chaser?"

The team members turned their collective gaze towards Fred Weasley. Fred was team captain, and it was for him to decide what to do. He shut his eyes for a moment...

~ ~ ~ Flashback to Second Year~ ~ ~

Fred shot a mischievous look towards the scowling Professor Snape, and with a quick, furtive movement of his wand, the professor's limp black hair suddenly changed into a brilliant magenta. His fellow Gryffindors tittered. Snape spun around, a look of blazing outrage on his face. In no time, he figured out what had transpired. With a furious wave of his own wand, Snape had changed his hair back to its customary black, and rounded upon the Weasley twins, coal-black eyes narrowed in suspicion.

All of the sudden, the cauldron of the dark-haired girl a few seats away exploded with a bang. Snape immediately turned his attention towards her. "MISS JOHNSON! What stupidity have you committed? Was I not clear in stating that only two scoops of powdered cobra fang was required for this potion?" Fred looked at the pretty, raven-haired girl in surprise. She was one of the best students in potions, and despite the fact that she was a Gryffindor, Snape truly had precious little opportunity to criticize her work. And furthermore, she looked like she had anticipated the explosion. In fact, she had backed out of the way, so that the exploding cauldron had left her unscathed, not even touching her robes. Seeing Fred's gaze upon her, the girl gave him a wink, followed by a delicately raised eyebrow, as if to say, "You owe me one!"

= = = = = =

A few weeks later, it was time for Quidditch tryouts. Fred, as well as his brother George, had arrived at the field, joking around, and Fred was surprised to see the same girl who had saved his arse in potions that day, sitting with the rest of the people trying out. But with typical Weasley friendliness, he had sat next to her and proffered a hand.

"Fred Weasley." He had introduced himself. "What's your name, and what position are you trying for?"

"Angelina Johnson." She shook his hand firmly. "I'm trying out for chaser."

"Ah, I'm trying out for beater." He told her. She smiled at that. Then, in a tone half serious and half playful, she had said to him, "Then, if we both make the team, you will always protect me from the Bludgers, right?"

"Always, Angel."

~ ~ ~ End flashback~ ~ ~

"We forfeit."

As soon as those two words left his mouth, The entire team let out a collective gasp of shock. Professor McGonagall, who was present as well, also gave him an incredulous look.

Ginny gave her brother a searching glance. "Are you sure, Fred? That would put us out of the running. And you...you will never again have the chance to win the cup."

Fred gave his teammates a questioning look. "Do any of you object?"

"No, of course not." George said to his twin. To confirm George's statement, the rest of the team nodded firmly. Fred then gave a decisive nod. "Then, yes, we forfeit."

Katie gave her captain a wry smile. "Angelina's going to kill you for that, you know."

Fred sighed. "The sooner she becomes well enough to kill me, the happier I'll be."

Professor McGonagall nodded solemnly. She had wanted Gryffindor to win the cup as much as the team had, but when she looked at Fred, her eyes held an odd sympathy. Usually, the Weasley twins had her at her wits' end because of their tricks and jokes. But right now, she gave Fred a rare smile.

"I'm proud of you, Gryffindor Quidditch Team. As far as I'm concerned, you have rightfully won the cup even if you are out of the running." She said. Then, she straightened up and looked at them sternly. "Now, I need to speak to the Headmaster about something, do not bother Madam Pomfrey. You may visit Miss Johnson again tomorrow."

~ ~ ~

Fred walked briskly into the hospital wing, and made a beeline to Angelina's bed. She lay there, perfectly still, her smooth, dark hair a striking contrast to the white pillowcase and the pallor of her skin. Her hands rested on top of the blanket that covered her. Gently, Fred took one of those cold hands in his own. It was three days already after the accident, and she was still unconscious.

"Angel, Angel, can you hear me?" He whispered. "Well, we're not going to get the cup this year. After that Bludger hit you, we forfeited the game."

No response. Fred brushed one strand of raven hair off her forehead, and continued talking to her. "Even though that puts us out of the running, I think we did the right thing. Without you there, the team's not complete. We need you, Angel. *I* need you. Please wake up soon! To talk to me, to yell at me for being immature, anything!"

Still nothing. Fred sighed, and ran his free hand through his red hair. "Angel, wake up or I'll dye your hair pink!"

Nothing. Fred, the glib one, for once, had nothing more to say. He simply sat by her bedside, with a scowl on his face, her hand in his. The hours flew by, and he fell asleep silently bemoaning the unfairness of it all.

~ ~ ~

'Pain...pain...my head hurts...where am I?' A pair of groggy blue eyes opened, then slowly focused. 'We were playing a Quidditch game...then..I got hit on the back of the head...and who is holding my hand? Fred? What is he doing here?' She glanced at Fred. His eyes were closed, a small frown was on his face. His red hair was nearly as messy as Harry's, and his head drooped to the side. He looked adorable. Angelina smiled, and gingerly sat up.

Fred's eyes snapped open when he felt the hand in his tighten just a trifle. "Angel! You're awake! MADAM POMFREY!" He bellowed.

"Not so loud, Fred...my head hurts..." Angelina muttered, letting go of his hand and placing both of her hands over her temples. At that moment, the mediwitch bustled in, a tray of food and a steaming cup of some sort of potion in her hands. "Now, dear, eat this, and drink that, it will take away the pain. Then, after two more hours of rest, you're free to go."

Angelina nodded, and drank the concoction at once. Immediately, her headache vanished. Fred was handing her a huge assortment of sweets: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, chocolate fudge, sugar quills, Honeydukes' chocolate, even some Butterbeer. "Compliments of the team and your devoted fans." He gave her a boyish grin.

"The team! The game! Did we finish the game? Did we win?" Angelina's hand, holding a slice of toast, immediately stilled. Fred gave her a serious look, more serious than she'd ever seen on his face.

"You were knocked out by a rogue Bludger. You fell from your broom. I caught you...you were in here for three days. We forfeited the game."

"WHAT?!" Angelina looked at him in shock. "WHY?! I'm not the seeker, you could have used a reserve...you could have just continued without me...Fred, that was your last chance to get the Quidditch Cup! It's your 7th year! You...you git!"

Fred simply took her hands in his, and smiled at her. "What, and abandon you? We're Gryffindors, Angel, we stick together. Winning the cup for me would have been meaningless if you weren't there to hold it with me." Angelina felt tears stinging in her eyes.

"B-but, the rest of the team...t-they..." She stammered.

"They all agreed. We all love you, Angel." She blushed slightly.

"Really?" She whispered. He nodded. Slowly, she set aside her breakfast tray on the bedside table next to her, and looked at Fred half hopefully, half shyly. "You do?" He blushed slightly too, and paused, before saying slowly.

"Angel, besides you, what other girl would play Quidditch with me, joke around with me, yell at me for being a prat, and save my arse in Snape's class, and through it all, look so gorgeous that..." the rest of his words were cut off by a gentle but thorough kiss on his lips. 'Strawberry jam.' He thought blissfully as he tangled his hands in her silky dark hair.

~ ~ ~

Meanwhile, the rest of the Gryffindor team was sitting in the common room, cheering with glee at the latest piece of news from Professor McGonagall.

With the help of Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall had figured out what exactly had happened. Because of the competition for the Quidditch Cup and exactly how the points stood, if Gryffindor won this game, then Slytherin would be put out of the running for the cup. Marcus Flint, the captain, knew this very well, and had hexed the Bludger. Originally, he had planned for it to target Harry, but instead it had hit Angelina. After this discovery, even Snape had been outraged, and Slytherin had been disqualified, with a loss of 100 points. There would be a rematch between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff in a week. And the Slytherin team would not attend the game.

"So it was Flint, eh?" George had what could only be described as an evil grin on his face. "All in favor of slipping a handful of ton-tongue-toffees into his dinner?"

Everyone laughed, and Alicia Spinnet swatted his arm gently. "GEORGE!"

"This is excellent news!" Harry exclaimed. "We need to go and tell Fred."

Ginny got up with a huge smile on her face. "He's in the hospital wing. I'll go tell him." She walked towards the portrait hole.

Harry got up as well. "I'll come with you." Together, the two headed towards the hospital wing, talking and laughing. Soon, they had reached the entrance, and Ginny ran in.

"Fred! They've figured out what had happened with the Bludger! They're going to have a rem -- OH!" Ginny's eyes widened at the sight before her. Angelina was most definitely awake. So awake, in fact, that she and Fred were oblivious to all that was around them, as their faces seemed to be attached together at the lips. Her own face burning crimson, Ginny started to back out of the room. Of all the inopportune moments she had to stumble upon! They didn't even seem to hear her.

Harry was waiting outside. "Did you tell him?" Ginny only blushed deeper. "A-Angelina's awake. T-they're..."

"Snogging." Harry finished dryly for her. She nodded, ducking her head in total embarrassment. He laughed, and grabbed her hand. "Well, we'll tell them later. Now, let's go tell the rest of the team that she's awake."

~ ~ ~

"AND HARRY POTTER CATCHES THE GOLDEN SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS 280 POINTS TO 50!" The crowd went wild as the Gryffindor team, seven red blurs, flew to the ground, practically in a huge group embrace. "GRYFFINDOR WINS THE CUP!!"

Angelina could still hear Lee Jordan's commentary. "After an incident two weeks ago when a rogue Bludger had grievously injured the chaser Angelina Johnson, Captain Fred Weasley had forfeited the game, and it was thought that Gryffindor was out of the running for the cup this year. However, in the wake of recent circumstances, when the f-"..and momentarily the magic microphone was snatched away by McGonagall.. "captain of the Slytherin team had been discovered to be the one who had hexed the Bludger, the Slytherins were disqualified from the finals, as well as from attending the games. In this final match of Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, the recovered chaser has performed brilliantly...." She raised her slightly teary eyes up at Fred, whose grin was a mile wide. Both of them watched smiling as Harry received the cup from Dumbledore, and passed it to Ginny, who then passed it to Katie, then Alicia, and then George, who handed it to his twin. Fred held it with one hand, his beater's club in the other. He held the other end of the cup out to Angelina.

Together, they raised the cup above their heads, and the crowd applauded loudly. Out of the corner of her eye, Angelina could see Cho Chang, the new captain of the Ravenclaw team, inclining her head respectfully at them. She gave the other girl a nod, and turned back to Fred.

"So, Captain Weasley, you won the cup."

He smiled down at her, and handed the cup back to Harry. "No, Angel, WE won the cup. It wouldn't have been possible without you." He brushed her cheek gently with his hand, then lowered his head to kiss her.

"OY! WEASLEY, JOHNSON, GET A ROOM!!" Lee Jordan's voice, still magically amplified by the microphone, called out. The crowds laughed, and Angelina felt her face heating up. Fred merely waved a dismissive hand in Lee's general direction as he continued to kiss her.

* * *