The Red Rose That Has Green Thorns

Madam Weasley - who is in fact, Angelina Johnson-Weasley, my aunt - is the referee and flying professor. She was handpicked by the previous professor, Madam Hooch. Despite the fact that she’s related to half of us playing, she would be fair. She’s proved that time and time again, really. Even if the team her child was on didn’t win, or wasn’t winning, she’d call the plays as they were. Though she did get a little bit mad when Fred was bashed in the head by a bludger while he was busy with the other one.

That’s kind of off topic.

When the captains - Scorpius and I for Black, Albus for White - met in the middle to shake hands, she watched like a hawk - much like Mum and everyone described of Madam Hooch. And then she said the time-honored phrase that we’ve heard before nearly every Quidditch match: “I want a nice, clean game. From all of you.”

We all said something in agreement, as she gave the order to get in position. After giving my team a reassuring nod, and glancing at the opposing keeper, I streaked off to my respective place, at the goalposts. When I reached my destination, I turned sharply in the air - a move that would surely make my own mother scold me - and watched the quaffle as it went up into the air. Albus immediately snatched it, and the game began.

I hated that my cousin, too, had long since perfected the sloth grip roll, and used it to avoid my brother’s otherwise well-aimed bludger. It would have knocked him right off his broom!

“And it’s Albus Potter with the quaffle, speeding towards his cousin at the goalposts! If he gets there - yes, I said if - if he reaches the posts without a problem, can he get it past his cousin? Only an attempt will tell! And he dodges another bludger, this time from Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy! Oh, wait! What was that? An effortless steal by the Black team’s Martha Smethley! She made it seem easy!”

I gave a little cheer, letting myself shout, “C’mon, Martha!”

She dodged Al’s swipe at the quaffle and chose that moment to pass to Lily before taking up the left side of a V-formation that had Lily as the head. Forming something like that on a whim was excellent teamwork - Rose knew she was right when Scorpius gave her a look of slight triumph before speeding off to save Lily’s head from the bludger that was winging for it. I watched appraisingly as he sent it off towards Jacob Buford. My gaze then was diverted to Zack, who was circling the pitch, searching for the tiniest sign of that elusive golden ball called the snitch.

“And another sloth grip roll, this time executed perfectly by Potter’s sister! This is shaping up to be a challenging game, folks!”

The V-formation widened on a signal from Olivia that I barely caught from my end of the pitch, and Lily passed the quaffle to Olivia as though it were a hot potato. Olivia then swerved out of a bludger’s path (a bludger which would fly towards Al once Hugh got to it) and pulled a corkscrew while simultaneously passing the quaffle back to Lily. Lily immediately tossed it to Martha, who shot closer to the scoring zone before sending the quaffle back into Olivia’s hands. Olivia took it towards the leftmost hoop and, once she was so close she herself might have scored if it weren’t for their keeper, did the quickest pass I’ve ever seen to Martha, who scored.

“YES!” I shouted, although it was unheard over the ruckus of the crowd and the announcer’s, “And Martha Smethley scores! 10 points to the Black team!”

The quaffle was soon back in motion, and I watched it warily as it changed hands from Jacob to Molly, back to Jacob, then to Al, then Jacob, then Molly, then - whoa!

“And Rose Weasley catches the quaffle! Quick reflexes, that one! And she throws it back in - it’s Smethley with the quaffle, Smethley with the quaffle…”

I tuned out the announcer once more, watching as Olivia caught Martha’s pass, and she and Lily passed it quickly between each other. Back and forth, so that the quaffle was a blur. Lily obtained possession nearing the goals and passed to Olivia, who acted like she was going to score. She passed back to Lily, confusing the keeper, and Lily finally passed to Martha, who once again scored.

Albus had his serious game face on when he scored on me five minutes later - after his team had possession, lost possession, got it back, lost it again, and then got possession again.

“And it’s now twenty to ten, Black! This game is heating up!”

I grumbled at myself for letting him get by me, and he stuck his tongue out as I came back into the air with the quaffle under my arm. I returned the favor.

“Ohoho! It looks like some familial rivalry, ladies and gentlemen! Look at those expressions! This is going to be a good one!”

I rolled my eyes, skimming back and forth in front of my goals to find an open person - there! - I passed the quaffle to Lily, who streaked up the field - but the quaffle was stolen by Molly. Lily immediately was on our younger cousin’s tail, but it was Martha who snuck as Molly tried to pass it to Jacob. Martha snatched it from midair and passed it quickly to Olivia, turning into a dive so as to avoid the bludger and Scorpius, who was pelting after it. I heard him yell, “Sorry, Martha!” and saw her lips move in a reply, but I couldn’t tell what it was she’d said.

I pulled my gaze away, watching as Martha scored.

An hour later, the score was 70-40, Black. I was beating myself up for only getting seven saves out of eleven attempts, but Matt Jacobs, the White keeper, only had six saves out of thirteen attempts. I guess I had a little better of an average than he did, but not by much. There had still been absolutely no sign of the snitch, if the incessant circling of Zack and Louis said anything about it.

“Once again, Martha Smethley scores for the Black team! The score is now 80-40!”

I shouted once for her, my voice ripping from my throat reluctantly. I needed a drink, but it would have to wait. Unless one of my team called it, I wouldn’t take a timeout. It wasn’t going to be me to give up first.

“This game is turning out quite nicely, isn’t it? With all the Potter/Weasleys, it’s also one helluva good game!”

“Language,” I heard a scolding over the mike.

“Aaaanyway, it’s Buford in possession, now Weasley, Potter, Weasley, Buford, Potter, Buford, aaand intercepted by Lily Potter! And look at that, she just stuck her tongue out at her elder brother! That can’t be good for her, and look! There Al’s back to chasing his sister - who passes to Wood, Smethley, Wood, Potter, Wood - is anyone else noticing a pattern here?”

Good, I though grimly. Maybe if the announcer - and the crowd - thought that our strategy was to pass to Olivia, the other team would believe it for longer. How long until they noticed that only Martha had been shooting?

The answer?

Two hours, forty-three minutes, and seven seconds later. Nearly three hours.

“And we’re nearing the four hour mark, with the Black team leading still, by a margin of seventy points! 140-70, Black! How long will it take for one of the seekers to find that elusive Golden Snitch? Will we be here ‘til the end of next week?!”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead as Al streaked determinedly toward my hoops.

“Oh, no you don’t,” I murmured, watching as the quaffle flew to Molly, then to Jacob, then to Molly and right back to Al. I stayed hovering near the center hoop, moving side to side in gentle sweeps so I could be ready to move when he chose his hoop. “One…two…three…” I counted under my breath, knowing Al’s moves like the back of my hand. Right on cue, he passed to Molly.

I saw in her eyes that it was a feint as she went for the right goal, and when it was a reverse and pass to Al, I was already at the right hoop, catching the shot.

I was mildly surprised that so far there had been no fouls, rough playing, jostling, illegal moves, or penalty shots awarded. The game was going like a professional game between the Tornadoes and Puddlemore United - they were both respectful teams, and wouldn’t pull a foul or illegal move if it could be avoided. I was thankful that there wasn’t any trouble or injuries, but if the game kept going someone might suffer from exhaustion, or something. Maybe it would be best to call a time out? So Martha could have a good rest? She was really young, to be out here for so long--

I barely dodged the bludger in time, and it snagged my robes and pulled me back several feet. I freed myself and hurriedly flew back toward my center hoop, towards which the quaffle was flying.

I didn’t think about what I was doing, I just did.

I propelled myself mostly off my broom, just holding it with my feet, as I lunged into the hoop and knocked the quaffle away. Sighing in relief as Olivia caught it, I pushed myself backwards out of the hoop and fell back onto my broom after falling about ten feet. I rose steadily back to the height of the goals, keeping my eyes on the game.

“Rose!” Scorpius’ voice jerked me out of the strange sense of nothingness that my adrenaline had put me in, “Be careful! You could have fallen!”

“But I didn’t!” I hollered after him as he bulleted toward bludger.

Lily’s shot was blocked, and I groaned when Jacob got one past me.

This was going to be a long game.