Dursley's Daughter (A Harry Potter Next Generation Fan Fic)

16. Unfair Play

To be honest, I had a lot of qualms about Holly supposedly trying to fix the relationship between Sawyer, Scorpius, and I. Despite them, though, I didn't interfere with what she was doing and answered any random questions she had honestly, without complaint or question. Sawyer would actually talk to Holly, while all my attempts to talk to him myself were met with blank stares, so I eventually figured I would only be stressing both Sawyer and I by even attempting to talk. So I left Holly to it.

I was also too preoccupied with Quidditch to worry too much.

"Okay team, we're trying the same tactic again."

There were some nods, but also some grumbles of disapproval. "Everybody knows the Viktor Krum thing, Esther," Geronimo complained. "They're not going to fall for it. It was Malfoy's ego that won the match for us. He wanted to be the one to catch the snitch."

I shrugged. "I hate to resort to stereotypes, of course, but these are Gryffindors we're playing today."

Geronimo rolled his eyes. "It's plausible. I guess."

"Anyway, Hugo, Mona, and Oliver make a strong team of chasers. If you and Heather keep the bludgers trained on the Gryffindor chasers and keeper like you did against Slytherin, we should be fine. Just keep scoring points, and I'll do my bit to make sure they don't." I looked down my lineup of players, studying them proudly. "We've got this."

I led them out on to the pitch, our brooms in our hands. I shook hands with Albus Potter, who grinned. "Got another trick up your sleeve, Dursley?" he asked.

No, just the same trick as before. "I guess you'll have to find out," I said.

~~~

Our tactic seemed to work, for a while at least. Albus caught my eye as Mona scored her fifth goal, to make one hundred points. He raised his eyebrows, successfully conveying that he knew that we were trying to get away with using the same tactic twice.

My fears weren't warranted, however, because my chasers did a lot better than the Gryffindors. They were practically flying circles around them, and Heather and Geronimo were only helping. I had a few good saves, I suppose, but our main tactic was to pass the quaffle to Mona, who was having a great game. She scored one after the other and right when the opposition was catching on to her, she would pass to one of the boys and one of them would put it through the hoops.

"Would you look at that!" Rehmat exclaimed. "Mona Dice scores once again, making the score two hundred to fifty."

Cassie, who had been dutifully circling above and even feinting to confuse the other seeker, swooped down with surprising elegance, for her. "We just need to score one more, and then find the snitch," she said excitedly.

"We haven't won yet," I said.

The quaffle was heading towards us, along with a mass of players, so Cassie flew back up. I stayed low on my broom, so I was more streamlined and could change directions quicker to block the quaffle. I kept my eyes on the approaching chasers, Hugo and Mona in yellow, darting in and out between them, trying to intercept the Gryffindor's passes. Oliver flew perpendicular to the oncoming chasers, trying to force them to slow or turn away from the goal.

And then, a bludger zoomed straight out of the yellow and red uniforms flapping around the brooms. I tore my eyes from the oncoming players, squeezed them shut, and let myself drop over the side of the broom so I was dangling upside down. The bludger flew right overhead without hitting me, but the quaffle was closely behind it.

I cursed.

"That's another point for Gryffindor, making it sixty to two hundred! Can Hufflepuff maintain their lead, or has this turned the tides for the lions?"