The Chaser and the Keeper

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***

James rubbed his sweaty hands against the side of his pants as he walked with Andrew and Fred towards the quidditch pitch. It was the day of their first game against Ravenclaw and he was a bit nervous. Kristen had put together an extremely good team. Today would prove whether James had done the same.

“We are going to beat Ravenclaw today,” James said confidently.

“You’ve been saying that for years, James, and that has yet to happen, unless you count that fail of a win last season that landed everyone in the hospital wing or detention,” Fred pointed out.

“As long as neither of you does something stupid like you did last time, I’ll be happy,” Andrew stated.

“Don’t you two want to win?” James asked, annoyed at their lack of confidence.

“Of course we do, James! It’s just that we’re playing against my sister, and she usually kicks our ass at quidditch.”

James sighed. Andrew had a good point. However, that wasn’t going to cause him to give up before the game had even started. He was going to give it his all and he was going to beat Kristen Wood.

***

Kristen stood in front of her team in the locker room. Everyone had determined expressions on their faces. They planned on beating Gryffindor.

“Our last game was amazing,” Kristen started, “We crushed those Hufflepuffs. However, Gryffindor doesn’t suck at quidditch nearly as bad as Hufflepuff does. They are going to be a lot harder to beat. Don’t let our last win make you cocky. We have to play our best game if we want to beat them. I believe in everyone single one of you. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be on the team. Let’s show the school who the rulers of the quidditch pitch are.”

Her team mates cheered. This was going to be an interesting game. Not as interesting as the last time they had played Gryffindor, but no one wanted a repeat of that game. They were just going to fight as hard as they could.

***

“The game has begun!” Alyssa exclaimed as the whistle was blown, “Potter has the quaffle, as in Albus, passes it to Wood, as in Andrew, who shoots on Wood, as in Kristen, but she saves the quaffle and passes it to Weasley, as in Rose. Is it just me or do these people need different last names?”

This comment got some laughs from the crowd. Between the two teams, there were three Woods, three Potters, and two Weasleys. If they kept saying last names, it was going to be extremely confusing. It always was.

“Rose has the quaffle, she passes to Jason, who passes back to Rose, who drops the quaffle because Lily just sent a bludger in her direction which she barely missed. Such a loving family, isn’t it? James has the quaffle, he passes to Andrew, who passes to Albus, who passes to James, who shoots, but Kristen makes another terrific save, which James doesn’t look to happy about. She passes it to Savannah.

“Savannah passes to Jason, who passes back to Savannah, who passes to Rose, who shoots and scores! The score is now 10-0 Ravenclaw,” Alyssa continued.

The game continued to go on for two hours. The teams were both really good. By the time two hours had passed, the score was 50-30 Ravenclaw. Both Taylor and Kristen, the two keepers, were playing fantastic. All of the beaters were doing a wonderful job of keeping all of the players conscious, which everyone was quite thankful for. The chasers were doing all right; they would have been doing better if the keepers weren’t doing as well. The seekers were still wandering around the pitch, keeping their eyes open for that snitch.

“Andrew has the quaffle, he passes to Albus, who passes to Andrew, who fake shoots before passing to James. She barely misses the quaffle and it goes through the hoop. The score is now 50-40 Ravenclaw. Dang, Kristen sure looks pissed about missing that save,” Alyssa continued, “Savannah now has the quaffle, she passes it to Rose, who tries to pass it back to Savannah, but it’s intercepted by James. He passes to Albus, who passes to Andrew, who passes back to James. James shoots and Kristen dives the other way. Wait! She stuck out her foot and kicked the quaffle away from the hoops. Kristen, that was a nice save but you’re playing quidditch not football.”

Kristen just rolled her eyes. It hadn’t hurt her foot too badly and she had saved the goal. She was going to win this game. No way was she going to let James Potter beat her.

“It looks like the seekers have spotted the snitch!” Alyssa exclaimed, and the crowd grew excited.

Kailey and Jessica were neck and neck, chasing after the snitch. They were both determined to catch it. They were close enough in score that whoever caught the snitch was going to win the game. They just needed a way to distract the other so that they could grab the snitch.

“Have you noticed that Jason has been staring at you this entire game?” Jessica asked Kailey as they raced through the air.

“He probably just wants to see if I’ve caught the snitch or not,” Kailey replied, trying to ignore what Jessica was saying.

“Whatever you say.”

“JESSICA, STOP TALKING AND CATCH THE SNITCH!” James’s voice echoed around the stadium.

“CATCH THE SNITCH FIRST AND TALK TO JESSICA LATER, KAILEY!” Kristen yelled at her seeker.

“However, you on the other hand seem to have taken a fancying to Fred Weasley,” Kailey continued, acting like she didn’t hear her captain.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jessica asked, her ears getting a little pink.

“I just think you fancy him. Unless, of course, those doodles on your Potion’s notes saying ‘JT+FW’ with a heart around it is referring to someone else.”

Jessica’s heart stopped for a second. Kailey was a Ravenclaw; she was supposed to be paying attention to what the teacher was saying, not looking at what her potions partner was doodling. However, denial had always worked for Jessica, and she had no reason why it wouldn’t work now.

“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about,” Jessica said casually, turning her head to where Kailey had been.

Her moment of distraction had cost her though. Kailey had been able to pass her and was yards in front of her. James was screaming like a banshee. Jessica leaned forward on her broom, trying to coax it to go even faster. Her efforts were useless though, because seconds later, Jessica heard the cheers from the Ravenclaw section.

“Kailey Nielson has caught the snitch! Ravenclaw wins!”

Thanks to Kailey and Fred, Gryffindor had lost the game. James was going to be pissed. Damn them all, she thought angrily as she prepared to meet the angry Gryffindor mob.