You Get What You Deserve

Well, apparently I did really well. So I was in the team. Alicia Spinnet however wasn’t so lucky. I had taken her place on the team, and she was now a back up. She took it pretty good though; she was a really nice person.

Full of determination, the team started training sessions, three evenings a week. I had to borrow one of the school’s brooms, seeing as I didn’t have my own. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights darker, but no amount of mud, wind or rain could tarnish my wonderful vision of being on the team and winning the huge silver Quidditch Cup.

Harry and I returned to the Gryffindor common room one evening after training, cold and stiff but pleased with the way practice had gone, to find the room buzzing excitedly.

“What’s happened?” I asked Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing some star charts for Astronomy.

“First Hogsmeade weekend,” said Ron, pointing at a notice that had appeared on the battered old notice-board. “End of October. Halloween.”

“Excellent,” said Fred, who had followed us through the portrait hole. “I need to visit Zonko’s, I’m nearly out of Stink Pellets.”

I threw myself into a chair beside Ron, and Harry in the one next to Hermione. His high spirits were ebbing away; I could see it.

“Harry, I’m sure you’ll be able to go next time,” said Hermione, who had obviously noticed it too. “They’re bound to catch Black soon; he’s been sighted once already.”

“Black’s not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade,” I said. “Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry, the next one might not be for ages –“

“Corey!” said Hermione. “Harry’s supposed to stay in school-“

“He can’t be the only the only third-year left behind,” said Ron. “Ask McGonagall, go on, Harry –“

“Yeah, I think I will,” said Harry.

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but at the moment Crookshanks leapt lightly onto her lap. A large, dead spider was dangling from his mouth.

“Does he have to eat that in front of us?” said Ron, scowling.

“Clever Crookshanks, did you catch that all by yourself?” said Hermione.

Crookshanks slowly chewed up the spider, his yellow eyes fixed insolently on Ron.

“Just keep him over there, that’s all,” said Ron irritably, turning back to his star chart. “I’ve got Scabbers asleep in my bag.”

I yawned. I really wanted to go to bed, but I still had my own star chart to complete. I pulled my bag towards me, took out parchment, ink and quill, and started work.

“You can copy mine, if you like,” said Ron, labelling his last star with a flourish and shoving the chart towards me.

Hermione, who disapproved of copying, pursed her lips, but didn’t say anything. Crookshanks was still string unblinkingly at Ron, flicking the end of his bushy tail. Then, without warning, he pounced.

“OY!” Ron roared, seizing his bag, as Crookshanks sank four sets of claws deeply into it, and began tearing ferociously. “GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!”

Ron tried to pull the bag away from Crookshanks, but Crookshanks clung on, spitting and slashing.

“Ron, don’t hurt him!” squealed Hermione. The whole common room was watching; Ron whirled the bag around, Crookshanks still clinging to it, and Scabbers came flying out of the top –

“CATCH THAT CAT!” Ron yelled, as Crookshanks freed himself from the remnants of the baf, sprang over the table and chased after the terrified Scabbers.

George made a lunge for Crookshanks but missed Scabbers streaked through twenty pairs of legs and shot beneath an old chest of drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched low on his bandy legs and started making furious swipes beneath the chest of drawers with his front paw.

Ron and Hermione hurried over; Hermione grabbed Crookshanks around the middle and heaved him away; Ron threw himself onto his stomach and, with great difficulty, pulled Scabbers out by the tail.

“Look at him!” he said furiously to Hermione, dangling Scabbers in front of her. “He’s skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!”

“Crookshanks doesn’t understand it’s wrong!” said Hermione, her voice shaking. “All cats chase rats, Ron!”

“There’s something funny about that animal!” said Ron, who was trying to persuade the frantically wiggling Scabbers back into his pocket. “It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bad!”

“Oh, what rubbish,” said Hermione impatiently. “Crookshanks could smell him, Ron, how else d’you think –“

“That cat’s got it in for Scabbers!” said Ron, ignoring the people around him, who were starting to giggle. “And Scabbers was here first, and he’s ill!”

Ron marched through the common room and out of sight up the stairs to the boys’ dormitories.

“Well,” I said once Hermione had sat down again. “Lovely weather we’re having lately, isn’t it?”