Amicus Draconis: 1st Cycle - Cycle of the Badger

"Last episode, Harry and Ron snuck into Hogwarts to free a group of Muggles. Of course, they couldn't have done so without the map we gave them."

"Which makes us the heroes of last episode...."

"Naturally. Still, Little Bro and Golden Boy got themselves caught by Snape, who turned out to be a surprisingly good guy, considering what an evil git he is. It seems he's no Death Eater after all, but a spy for the Order."

"Which didn't stop Harry from capslocking...."

"Elementary, my dear Weasley. Bad yelling with the Man of Noses. Bad things happening in the past."

"Bad secrets for our poor audience, still recovering from this weird trailer thing."

"Yes, there seems to be a whole lot of mystery. What about the Slytherins? What about Harry messing with things that are too big for him? And finally, is our poor Trio stumbling headfirst into a tangled-up love triangle?"

"We won't tell...." *smirks*

*

*

But do thy worst to steal thyself away,
For term of life thou art assured mine;
And life no longer than thy love will stay,
For it depends upon that love of thine.

Then need I not to fear the worst of wrongs,
When in the least of them my life hath end.
I see a better state to me belongs
Than that which on thy humour doth depend:

Thou canst not vex me with inconstant mind,
Since that my life on thy revolt doth lie.
O what a happy title do I find,
Happy to have thy love, happy to die!

But what's so blessed-fair that fears no blot?
Thou mayst be false, and yet I know it not.

*

*

Amicus Draconis

First Cycle: Cycle of the Badger

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Episode 3: The Underwater Quidditch Game - Part A

*

"What do you mean by 'nothing came up yet'? Are you trying to imply that your master's concerns are no longer yours?"

There was only a slight trace of annoyance tingeing the sound of the voice, but it was enough to make the Seer's hands tremble and to bring tiny droplets of sweat to her forehead. "I've tried everything, my Lord, all the powers and resources at my disposal. The Crystal Ball, the Cards, not even the Lights revealed the secret to me. The hiding place of He Who Must Not Be Named seems to be protected by an ancient and powerful magic, which my humble skills are not able to penetrate. I cannot find the smallest hint of information on his whereabouts."

"So it is not lack of effort that prevents you from achieving your task. Incompetence, perhaps?" The annoyance had changed to something else now, mocking contempt and possibly a slight complacency at her moistening eyes and quivering lower lip. "Rumour gives the women of your family a reputation as powerful Seers, but one never should place too much faith in rumours, don't you think, my dear Marguerite?"

"Forgive me, my Lord." She had begun to cry in earnest now, lowering her eyelashes, as if her master stood before her personally. "I'll try harder. I'll do anything, I swear! On my life, which belongs to..."

"Quiet, girl." It was hard to determine whether the soft sound of these words was soothing or dangerous. "I don't have time for your silly whimpering. Go back to work."

"As you wish, Master. It's just my father will visit us today, and he should not know.... "

"You will not be disturbed in your work. I made sure of that. Your father will inform your husband shortly that he has postponed his visit until tomorrow because of his work in Azkaban. In fact, our friend Dumbledore could be telling him right now where he hid the one we are so desperately trying to find."

The voice chuckled softly, fading away into the stillness of her room. Just like last time. And the ones before.

She was alone again, but she knew the time would come when her Lord would no longer be content with excuses. She needed results. Results she could not give. Not with the methods she was using now.

But what else was there to use?

Should she turn to Father for help? No, that wouldn't do her any good. Men knew nothing about Seeing anyway. He only would frown upon her and chide her for not fulfilling her duties to Master and Family. And if he kept his temper, there would a long sermon. 'Obedience is a woman's first virtue, ma poupette.' She did not have time for that now. And she didn't deserve it, either.

After all she had not been the one to betray the family.

* * *

"Ay, if yeh ask me, Dumbledore's right." The dishes chinked softly on the huge wooden table as Hagrid set down an enormous mug of steaming tea. "Yeh shouldn't be roaming about, gettin' yerselves into trouble. Should stay put like Dumbledore would want yer to!"

"Snape said that, not Dumbledore," Hermione corrected him. "And to be honest, we don't know if we can trust Snape. Even Harry and Ron can't agree about it, which is so strange. They usually agree about not trusting Snape."

"I've told yeh a hundred times that Snape...." Hagrid began, but broke off with a sigh. "Where's Harry anyway? Still waitin' fer letters?" He stomped to the window of his forest hut and flung it open. "Come in, Harry! Tea's ready!"

"Shh, not so loud." Alarmed, she put a finger to her mouth and continued softly, "Besides, you're in more danger than us, Hagrid. Voldemort's people surely know that you're our friend. It was never a secret after all."

"I told yeh, they were there, the bunch o' them. Right after yeh had left Hogwarts. Treated me with some Veritaserum an' asked a lotta questions about yer hideout. Couldn't answer any of them, so they had ter let me go fer now. Have ter get clearance from the giants ter take me into custody, but they don't help without return service. Guess, I wasn't worth the trouble. And now - livin' in the forest, they can't find me no more. Tough luck on them."

Again, he leaned out of the window frame. "Harry, tea's getting cold!" He obviously wasn't comfortable with Harry being outside for so long, although the forest was supposed to be safe.

"All they need is some sort of treaty with the Centaurs and perhaps with some of the other Magical Creatures and Peoples living in here," Hermione considered, gazing thoughtfully into her own mug. "I don't think they'd need them all on their side, only the most powerful ones. Then they could just overrun the others and take control of the Forbidden Forest as well."

"Tha's right, m' lass," Hagrid smirked, "but the Centaurs'll never support old Tom. And it would be rather foolish o' him ter attack a neutral people and bring 'em t' our side. Harry, get in here, already!"

He waved his arm, still holding Harry's tea mug, spilling some of the hot liquid on the floor. Almost at once, Fang came running, wagging his tail and lapping up the tea from the floor while Crookshanks watched with a look of disgust on his grouchy face. If he were human, he might have made a comment about doggish ingestion, but as things were, he had to content himself with a genteel meowing.

"I'm here." Creaking, the heavy door was pushed open, and a windswept Harry slid through the gap, the Invisibility Cloak over his arm. "No owl," he said dejectedly, turning to Hermione.

"I've noticed," she said coldly and her expression hardened. "Looks like someone's been too busy for little love-letters."

Harry ignored her snappy comment, turning to Hagrid instead. "Thanks for the tea, but we really have to be off. We shouldn't let the others find out again that we've left the hideout."

Hastily, he took a sip, leaning forward to put the half empty mug back on the table. As he did so, a necklace slid from his collar, a black ring on a silver chain. The ring was shaped into a dog-like head with dark rubies as its eyes.

"Do you have to wear that thing all the time?" Hermione hissed with a careful glance to Hagrid, who was in the back of the cabin, throwing more wood into the fire. "What if the others see it?"

"Stop worrying, Hermione. It's just a piece of jewellery. No one would notice." Harry tucked the ring safely under his shirt and went to say goodbye to Hagrid. Hermione scarcely had enough time to pet her cat before Harry was back, spreading the Cloak over them both. Crookshanks meowed again, this time quite piteous, as he watched her disappear.

"Next time, take Ron with yeh," Hagrid called after them, as they squeezed through the door. "There's enough room fer three under tha'."

* * *

Returning to the hideout, Harry and Hermione found everyone in the Elders' Council alert and excited. At first they suspected the worst, but they quickly realised that the others were once again dwelling on a heated discussion about their favourite subject: Magical Shapes. Ron hastily informed them that they had almost agreed on a new Shape for Hallowe'en when someone came forward with the suggestion of creating a Quidditch field. Ron did not tell them who this certain someone was, but Hermione suspected him at once, and as usual, she was right.

"We do know that a Quidditch field is not provided in the original Shapes." Absorbed in thought, Hannah Abbott toyed with one of her plaids. "All Shapes contain buildings suitable for living, rooms to sleep and spend time in, and usually some sort of garden or landscape around them. It's only logical; the Shapes are meant for long-time usage after all. Where are we supposed to sleep on a Quidditch field?"

"We'll probably need to improvise a bit," Dean Thomas suggested. "But first - what news of the outside world, Harry? Did Hagrid find out something new for us?"

Everyone fell silent; this was the first time someone had directly confronted Harry with his not-so-secret visits. All eyes were on him to see how he would react.

He simply shook his head. "There's been no news, which means no new rescue missions to go on."

Disappointed faces surrounded him; most students would have fancied a new and exciting adventure. "Oh well, mate...." Ron sighed before his expression suddenly brightened up. "So, let's talk Quidditch, then."

Harry looked at him curiously; it seemed that his best friend had cooked up some sort of plan or was brooding over an idea. "The solution is quite simple." Ron grinned. "You said it yourself, Harry. We will play Quidditch again, even if it has to be underwater."

The young witches and wizards threw each other looks, puzzlement and confusion in their eyes. Had Ron really said, 'Quidditch underwater? How on earth was that supposed to work?

"This whole Quidditch thing's another one of your silly jokes, isn't it, Ron?" For Padma Patil, the matter seemed closed.

"No, it's not ... this is good." Seamus Finnigan was just beginning to consider the possibilities. "There'd be enough room in the lake, and we couldn't be seen or heard from the outside...."

"We'd need lots and lots of Gillyweed, though," Mandy Brocklehurst added, "but we should get more of it anyway. It's not a bad thing to build up our supplies."

"But how will the balls work under water? Well, I guess we could use magic to get them to move differently, but..."

"And what's the deal with that, Lisa? This isn't the World Cup, It's just for fun!"

"Well, if you say so," Lisa Turpin snapped back at Mandy. The two Ravenclaw girls exchanged an angry glare, but didn't pursue the matter. For the rest of the discussion they chose to ignore each other.

"You are barking mad, all of you." Hannah shook her head disbelievingly. "Ernie, say something!" She nudged her boyfriend for support.

"I'm sorry to say this, my dear, but..." Ernie eyed her carefully, moving out of her reach, as she frowned at him. "I don't think it's such a bad idea after all. We have to provide some sort of entertainment for the younger students, don't we? After all, being stuck in here is even harder on them than it is on us. We are responsible for their well-being."

"Well, perhaps...." Hannah seemed to be won over by this argument.

"Do you think the Merpeople will agree?" Neville Longbottom asked cautiously.

"We'll have to ask Chieftain Murcus for permission first," Hermione stated. "The day after tomorrow is Wednesday, the day of our weekly audience with her. She'll probably think it's a pretty strange idea, but we might be able to convince her. We wouldn't be doing anything to endanger the Tritons after all."

"Considering that our presence here endangers them anyway," Harry added softly. "We know what would happen to them if Voldemort's followers found us here."

A shudder ran through the crowd, and everyone fell silent for a moment.

Harry rose. "All right, let's take the vote. All in favour of the match raise your hands."

With only a few exceptions, the hands went up in the air. Hermione noticed a small grin spreading on Ron's face.

"It's settled, then."

* * *

For the next few days, the entire hideout was buzzing with excitement. Although the prefects hadn't had a chance to talk to Chieftain Murcus yet, most students seemed to be certain that the match would take place.

Never before had anyone seen so many brooms buzzing about in the air, and never before did Padma and Parvati Patil have to deal with so many broom crashes at once. The small airspace above the little Japanese houses proved entirely unsuitable for Quidditch training. Since the illusion of blue sky was so perfect, the ambitious New Hogwarts students kept smashing headfirst into the walls and the ceiling.

Down on the ground, things weren't exactly quiet either. Each of the three Houses was in a constant debate about the team line-up, and that didn't always run smoothly. With the Hufflepuffs, Justin Finch-Fletchley made quite a fuss because he wanted to be on the team, but wasn't a very good flyer. With the Gryffindors, the trouble was once again with the Creevy brothers.

Anyway, the Lions forgot all about their quarrels when Harry announced he would not take the Seeker position on the team. His Housemates, outraged at first, soon admitted grudgingly that he was doing the right thing. Harry's flying skills were easily good enough to enter a professional team; it wouldn't be fair to use them against the other students. So fifteen-year-old Natalie McDonald took the position of Seeker, and Harry was named referee by an absolute majority of all years and Houses.

The students who did not have the ambition to enter their House team wanted to contribute to the match as well. Under Hermione's patronage they had converted the Orange Blossom Room into a workshop for painting and handicrafts. She herself was experimenting with certain charms to make all the flags, banners, and rosettes the others were creating fit for underwater usage.

"If you want to colour the lion, use the gold first, and then the red for background," Dean explained to little Ophelia Flowerfield, showing her a sketch on a huge transparent. Since Dean was very gifted with drawing, he was one of the sketchers, passing his works on for colouring.

"I'm not stupid. I know what the Gryffindor Lion looks like," Ophelia replied indignantly, pointing to her robes. She and most of the other rescued children had decided on a House by now. Thomas Krueger, who had come to regard Ophelia as a big sister, had decided on Gryffindor as well; it seemed that most of them had chosen the House of their respective saviour. Since it was going to be their first time ever to watch Quidditch, the children were especially excited about the game.

Across the room, Lisa, who was very good at drawings as well, sat at another table, busy with a tiny eagle on a Ravenclaw rosette. Since she did not stop to talk or to play with the children, her work progressed considerably faster. The others didn't worry about her silence; most of them knew Lisa to be a very quiet person, keeping to herself most of the time. Also, she did not get along well with small children.

Only once did she look up from her drawing to secure a strand of hair, which had freed itself from her tight French chignon. Lisa's dark brown hair was very sleek, constantly sliding out of her hairdos. Nevertheless, she liked to put it up so it wouldn't annoy her, and cutting it short wasn't really an option. There was no way she would ever look as scrubby as Mandy - thanks, but no thanks!

Why did she think such mean things about Mandy all of the sudden? The other girl had never done anything to her. That wasn't a fair thing to do, was it?

But who would worry about fair when Mandy was making passes at Terry? She was interested in him, this much was for sure. And maybe he even liked her back. It had not escaped Lisa's attention that he had been talking about her a lot, lately. Mostly to Lisa herself; after all, they had been friends since their first year at Hogwarts, and he usually confided in her.

After they had both become Ravenclaw prefects, their friendship had become even closer. Nonetheless, it had never developed into something else, and it wasn't until after Terry had started pursuing that gormless Mandy girl that Lisa realized that was exactly what she had wished for.

And still wished for....

The door slid open without a sound, and Seamus Finnigan tiptoed into the room. Since Dean sat with his back to the door, he did not notice his boyfriend sneaking up on him. Grinning, Seamus put a finger to his lips to signal Lisa and the others to be quiet. Lisa rolled her eyes; it was so obvious he was up for some stupid and childish prank, and in the very next moment, he grabbed the cushion Dean was sitting on and pulled it away from him.

Everybody laughed when Dean fell over, suddenly finding himself down on the floor. He reacted at once, reaching for Seamus and grabbing him into a headlock. His boyfriend struggled to escape, and Ophelia hastily put the colours away so they wouldn't get knocked over.

Lisa stood up, striding out of the room. She really wasn't in the mood for couply goofiness right now. Of course she knew that Dean and Seamus were only joking around a little - displaying intimate signs of affection in public was not customary for Hogwarts students - and for her bad mood this was definitely enough. She wanted to get some fresh air.

The Fates were not on her side today. Right outside the room in the dark corridor, she ran into Ernie and Hannah. Now these two had really believed themselves unobserved, and so they stood very close, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. Lisa rushed past them, not minding their startled looks. Finally, she was out in the open.

And that was when she hit bottom. On one of the wooden planks, right in the middle of the water-lilied pond, sat none other than Terry and Mandy, absorbed in blissful conversation. Apart from socializing, they were pushing tiny miniature brooms around in the air. Were they talking strategy for the Quidditch game?

The looks they gave each other said something else....

She turned without a word, hastening back into the building. Not to the workshop room, however. She was heading for the Ravenclaw girls' dormitories to finally find some solitude.

And should any love couple use that particular room for some secret snogging session, then God have mercy on them.

* * *

Wednesday afternoon had finally arrived and Lisa met with Terry, Hannah, Ernie, Hermione and Harry in front of the houses at the pond. The weekly meeting with Chieftain Murcus was the only occasion (apart from the Shape Changing, of course) when all six of the seventh-year Prefects left the hideout together. Since the Prefects had no wish to endanger themselves or the others, they would remain below the surface of the lake at all times.

The Tritons - that was the original name of the Merpeople - lived inside an underwater city, consisting of the huge coral reef where Chieftain Murcus and her court dwelled, and many surrounding houses and gardens. Not even Neville or Hermione could have explained how this particular coral was able to survive in the icy lake water; their best guesses were that it somehow had to be a Magical Creature itself.

The reef was busy as a beehive, a continual coming and going through its many exits and entrances. Everybody seemed to want to be anywhere but where they were, but this was probably due to the Tritons' restless nature. They never remained stationary for long periods of time; even conversations were held while swimming. From one room into the next, inside, outside - it was all the same to them. For human visitors, who were used to quietly sitting and socializing in chairs, it was pretty hard to get used to.

The Tritons didn't even own such things; the concept of chairs was completely unknown to them. Why would anyone want to bend their middle and hover over a piece of wood anyway?

Anyway, as time passed, the young witches and wizards had become accustomed to many elements of the strange and exciting culture around them. The process was mutual, of course; the visitors would prove to be an intriguing and ever mysterious research object to the natives. The Tritons were especially fascinated and awed by magic in its every form. During their last visit, the six young witches and wizards had encountered a passing elementary school class, entertaining the Merchildren with multi-coloured sparks from their wands. Another time, they had tried to magically spice the Merfood, but that one had been a total disaster.

When the humans entered the audience hall riding their strange wooden sticks and flipping their fake Gillyweed fins, there was no sign of Chieftain Murcus. Maybe all the waiting had tired her out, and she had decided to engage herself otherwise. Or maybe there was work to be done, and she had forgotten all about the time. Time wasn't really an issue underwater, and for people like Lisa Turpin, who favoured punctuality over everything else, this attitude was particularly hard to grasp.

Inside the audience hall, a large group of Mermen and women was busy swimming around and across a large table, talking in merry musical voices and filling their stomachs with a delicious meal. Like on any audience day, the table was buckling under the weight of all the fish, sea fruit and water plants the Tritons had to offer. One thing the New Hogwarts students had noticed early on was how generous their hosts were when it came to food. They were the ones who provided their meals ever since the young witches and wizards had taken refuge down in the lake.

What was not customary among them was to wait for their guests to arrive and start the meal. They didn't seem to have fixed meal times anyway; they had something whenever they were hungry and then simply swam on. Most adults took care of their own food anyway; food on tables was something for celebrations and other special occasions, such as visits from strange tailless creatures with or without weird wooden sticks.

The Tritons waved at their visitors, eagerly pointing to the food on the table. They looked rather threatening with their wild green manes of hair, their glistening fish tails and those huge spears they waved about. And it would be foolish to underestimate them; they were a martial folk and could prove a great danger to a potential enemy.

Lisa had been cautious at first, not knowing how she should deal with these people, but very soon she had come to like the visits with them. She had even managed to learn a few of those musical tunes they used to communicate with each other. Only very few of them spoke English, and if they did, it was rather broken.

After the visitors had put the brooms away and tried some of the different foods, Hannah swam up to a stone shelf located near the ceiling. Since you could effortlessly move in all three dimensions by flipping your fins; the furniture did not have to be set on the floor like in human housings. Hannah took a couple of small blackboards with coral quills from the shelf and handed them out to the other teenagers. Those were used for communication, because English was barely understandable underwater and their knowledge of Mermish was still quite limited.

Harry was the only exception; he could even hold small conversations in Mermish. Either he had a natural linguistic talent, or the rumours were true that Dumbledore had made him learn the basics of several Magical Creatures' languages. Maybe both, but how could the boy have known that he would need those languages later on? To Lisa it all seemed pretty strange, but then, he was Harry Potter.

Right now he was talking to a young girl with very long teal blue hair. He even seemed to be flirting, because the girl blushed and giggled in a chime-like sound. She wondered about that for quite a while - Harry did not seem the type to make girls laugh. Of course she respected him greatly as a leader, but whenever she compared him to Terry, it seemed to her that Terry was a lot more fun to be around; he was cheerful, easy-going and liked to live on the bright side of life. Harry, on the other hand, seemed so removed from everyday teenage life, his head filled with countless thoughts and his soul hiding mysteries an ordinary person like her couldn't even begin to comprehend.

But maybe a person had to become like that if so much bad stuff had happened to them in early childhood. And if that hadn't been enough, he always had so much responsibility to deal with. That didn't leave much time for a normal life indeed.

Suddenly, she had to think of Cho and that thought flashed through her mind like a painful stab. Cho had been such a cheerful girl: pretty, vivacious, always the centre of attention. Then that thing with her boyfriend Cedric happened, and it broke her; it completely broke her. She had been expelled from Hogwarts, or had run away - no one knew for sure. None of the other Ravenclaws knew what had become of her either, not even her former friends like Lisa. Rumour had it, she had taken her own life, but Lisa refused to believe it.

Lisa hadn't understood much of Harry's conversation with the Triton girl, but she was certain that Chieftain Murcus' name had come up. The girl swam out through one of the windows and returned a short while later with the chieftain of the tribe.

Murcus looked - if possible - even wilder than the rest of her people. Her green hair, striped with coral red strands, was kept out of her face by fishbones. Her green garment, clashing horribly with her hair, seemed to be made from seaweed. Torn and tattered, it floated around her torso, held by a chain of shark's teeth at her waist. Her breasts and belly-button were decorated with all sorts of brightly coloured fishbone piercings, as were her nose, lips, and eyebrows. In her hand, instead of the spear she usually carried, she held a leash with a Grindylow pulling at its end. She had probably been taking one of her pets for a walk when the blue-haired girl found her.

She hissed at the Grindylow, which was trying to jump onto the table, wrapping the leash several times around her hand to shorten it.

"Oh, don't you dare, beware of my glare

This day's bad hair and my nerves lie bare.

So be a good hound, stay down on the ground,

And you'll like the sound of what I found."

She threw him a large chunk of calamari, which he grabbed eagerly, bubbling and smacking his lips as he ate. Then she turned to her human guests. Lisa scraped her Mermish together to at least say an adequate hello: "We bring you greetings to our happy meetings."

"I'm greeting you back; now cut me some slack

Before I crack from stress attack.

I want to smack and whack a pack

Of stupid pricks; they make me sick.

I took a quick pick of these tricks

To block one's mind to things unkind.

A humble peace is hard to find.

Oh, don't you dare mock, my human flock,

Now mind the clock and please unlock:

Why shock my block with your loud knock?"

"Uhm...." The boys and girls exchanged rather helpless looks, while desperately racking their brains for the best way to express their request. The fact that Chieftain Murcus obviously wasn't in the best of moods certainly didn't help in achieving their goal. For the first time, Lisa had the uneasy feeling that it hadn't been such a great idea to get everyone so excited about the match before asking permission. Maybe they shouldn't have rushed things so much.

As could be expected, all glances turned to Harry. He gave a long bubbling sigh and went to it:

"You saved us from a dreadful fate,

By giving us new homes.

We live in safety, unafraid

Beneath the water foams.

A tricky question we pursued

Till now to no avail:

How to express our gratitude

When words entirely fail.

We thought some more and found a way

To fill your hearts with glee.

A gift the kindness to repay,

A special one, you'll see.

It can be seen, it can be heard,

Be felt, but not be touched.

It brings excitement beyond words;

Hands will be grasped and clutched.

And arms will wave and voices yell

In merriment and cheer.

These times are dark, but they will fail

To break what we hold dear.

I see the mystery in your eyes;

No key yet to unlock it.

The answer to this riddle lies

Well hidden in my pocket.

Harry stuck his hand inside the pockets of his robes, pulling something out. At first Lisa could not see what it was, but then she noticed the flick of gold glimmering between his fingers. Murcus seemed to have understood as well for a wide smile slowly spread over her excited face.

Slowly Harry opened his fist. In the palm of his hand sparkled a golden Snitch.

* * *

"Get out the Pearlchampagne, people," Terry shouted, while the prefects smiled knowingly at all the anxious faces awaiting them. "Yesss!" He pumped his arm and leapt from his broom, practically into arms of the person standing next to him, giving them smooches all over their cheek. This unexpected behaviour startled Justin Finch-Fletchley a little, but nonetheless he didn't waste any time to worry about it, joining the cheering instead.

Lisa had never seen the hideout in such a state; everybody was jumping up and down, squealing and waving their arms. If Terry had brought the message of the enemy's downfall, the mood couldn't have been more ecstatic.

"The Merpeople can't wait to see us play," Terry continued. "Chieftain Murcus is overjoyed. Harry was the one doing the negotiation; he sold it to them really well. Made it sound as if we're organising the match as a gift for the Merpeople. She said we don't have to repay them in any way, but Harry said it's not posing any trouble for us; it'll be fun. And he's right, too. Isn't he?" He winked at Harry, who gave him a reluctant grin.

"Wicked, mate!" Harry's best friend Ron Weasley made his way through the crowd, grabbing the Head Boy into a bear hug. "Where did you get this idea from? They can't refuse now, and we're even doing them a favour."

Harry grinned mischievously, patting Ron on the back. "I suppose my Slytherin side must have kicked in."

"Don't say things like that." Harry's other best friend, Hermione Granger, scowled at him. "You didn't take advantage of them, did you? You made everybody happy."

"Hermione, please, not now. OK?" Harry let go of Ron to face her. "You know what I meant; it's not about taking advantage of other people. It's more like taking advantage of circumstances. That's still Slytherin mentality."

"Harry, I'm not trying to argue with you," Hermione protested. "If you stopped arguing with me, we would be just fine. In fact, we'd be even more fine if you simply stopped mentioning the S-word in my presence. Are you trying to provoke me?"

"You two do realise that you're ruining the best moment of my life," Ron complained. "Stop arguing, both of you. There's a match to be organized. Three matches, actually."

He rummaged around in his pockets until he found what he was looking for. "The team line-up for the Lions is all set; we can go public now. What about you lot?"

"All finished." Susan Bones passed him another piece of parchment with the completed line-up for Hufflepuff.

"Eagles are ready to soar." Beaming, Terry handed Weasley the list for Ravenclaw.

How was this possible? How could their team line-up be finished already? Lisa couldn't remember a single discussion about it; at least none she had taken part in. Had the others made the decisions without her? She was a Prefect, for Merlin's sake!

Ron tipped his wand to his throat to magically enhance his voice with the Sonorus Charm and turned to his fellow rebels. "OK, people, word has it, there'll be a Quidditch tournament this Saturday!"

There was another round of loud cheers, and Ron seemed to rather enjoy the attention as he continued his speech. "Chieftain Murcus and the Tritons gave us permission today, so let's get right to it. Our tournament will consist of three games so that all our teams have a chance face each other. Winner is the team that scores the most wins, or in case of a draw, the most points. I'll read out the team line-ups, and then we'll figure out what else is there to organize. As you know, Hermione's responsible for decorations, and Ernie's in charge of finding the right spot for the field and putting up the loops. He could probably use some help. Right, Ernie?"

Lisa wasn't listening anymore; she was far too preoccupied with her own thoughts. How could Terry have treated her that way? He had simply ignored her. The others had made the team line-up without her, hadn't even asked her opinion. She was a Prefect, for Merlin's sake!

"Hey, Dennis, that's going to be a real catfight," a young Gryffindor sniggered. "All three Seekers are girls, did you see? Laura Madley for Hufflepuff, Mandy Brocklehurst for Ravenclaw, and we've got Natalie."

Mandy Brocklehurst? So that was the reason why he hadn't told her! Of course he had wanted to keep it a secret from her that his beloved Mandy would take the position of Seeker. He was bound to know that she wouldn't agree. So he made sure that all Quidditch talk happened in her absence. What a disgusting little plot!

Just a minute ago she had been so certain that she was dealing with a simple misunderstanding, but now it was crystal clear to her it was something else.

Lisa clenched her fists tightly. She would never ever let that little brat Mandy steal Terry away from her. Maybe Mandy had been the one behind the whole intrigue; yes that had to be it, but she would never fall for such a cheap scheme.

Mandy would regret this. She would make sure of it.

* * *

Amicus Draconis - 1st Cycle: Cycle of the Badger - Part 3: The Underwater Quidditch Game

"I wonder, I wonder, do you know what I wonder?"

"What?"

"Say what?"

"Five, six, seven, eight!"

Ka boom boom jonk! Ka boom boom jonk!

Hekki hekki hekki hekki! Hekki hekki hekki hekki!

Bong badabong! Bong badabong!

Yoh yoh yoh yoh! Yoh yoh yoh yoh!

"There was a young Weasley named Fred

Who kept chocolate frogs in his bed.

One day they got pulped

And poor mother gulped,

Grasping her nose as she fled."

Ka boom boom jonk! Ka boom boom jonk!

Taterang bang bang! Taterang bang bang!

Kch ptping bing! Kch ptping bing!

Aweeeeeeeeeeee! Aweeeeeeeeeeee!

"There was a young Weasley named George

Who fake chocolate froggies did forge.

Tasting like dung,

They jumped on his tongue

Until they got stuck in his gorge."

Ka boom boom jonk! Ka boom boom jonk!

Yoh yoh yoh yoh! Yoh yoh yoh yoh!

Dsh dsh honk dsh dsh honk honk! Dsh dsh honk dsh dsh honk honk!

Bong badabong bang! Bong badabong bang!

"There once was a fic named AD.

T'was odd beyond any degree.

It mixed George and Fred,

And any who read

Right into its weird potpourri."

Ka boom boom jonk! Ka boom boom jonk!

Klonk!

Pling!

"Hey, you prat, now you broke it!"

Amicus Draconis - 1. Zyklus: Zyklus des Dachses - Part 3: Quidditch unter Wasser