𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍 | 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺

Chapter 43 - A Victory and a Break-in

Betelgeuse nodded, then she smirked, "You are so cheesy, Fred."

"No," George interrupted them, "You are both too cheesy. My teeth will rotten!"

"I will hex you, George."

☆☆☆

Ron was devastated after the death of his rat Scabbers.

Betelgeuse truly did not see how such a revolting creature could be missed. And now, with the suspicion that the rat had been Peter Pettigrew, the situation got even more complicated. Because without witness, how could an innocent man prove his estrangement from the heinous crimes ascribed to him?

Fred and George tried to make Ron feel better and see reason. They at least tried.

"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," Fred bracingly commented. "And he's been off-colour for ages; he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly — one swallow — he probably didn't feel a thing."

"Fred!" Ginny shrieked indignantly.

"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron; you said it yourself," George added. "He bit Goyle for us once!" Ron said miserably. "Remember, Harry?"

"Yeah, that's true," Harry replied.

"His finest hour," Fred remarked, unable to keep a straight face. "Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory. Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat; what's the point of moaning?"

In a last attempt to comfort Ron, Harry persuaded him to come along to the Gryffindor team's final practice before the Ravenclaw match so that he could have a ride on the Firebolt after they had finished.

Betelgeuse found the whole ordeal an extravagant absurdity.

Madam Hooch, who was still overseeing Gryffindor practices to keep an eye on Harry, was just as impressed with the Firebolt as everyone else had been. She took it in her hands before take-off and gave them the benefit of her professional opinion. She rambled about the improvements in balance and handles of the Firebolt until Wood stated that they needed to begin their practice.

The Gryffindor team gathered around Wood for his final instructions for tomorrow's match. "Harry, I've just found out who Ravenclaw is playing as Seeker. It's Cho Chang. She's a fourth year, and she's pretty good — I really hoped she wouldn't be fit, she's had some problems with injuries —" Wood scowled his displeasure that Cho Chang had made a full recovery, then said, "On the other hand, she rides a Comet Two Sixty, which is going to look like a joke next to the Firebolt." He gave Harry's broom a look of fervent admiration, then said, "Okay, everyone, let's go —"

"Finally," Betelgeuse bluntly stated, mounting her broom, and kicked off from the ground. She saw Harry flying across the field at an impressive speed creating havoc among the team. Betelgeuse decided she did not particularly care about Potter's new Firebolt and went into a perfectly controlled dive, brushing the grassy field before rising thirty, forty, fifty feet into the air again. "Harry, I'm letting the Snitch out!" she heard Wood call from the ground.

It was the best practice ever. Betelgeuse had the opportunity to clear her preoccupied mind soaring around the pitch without worry. The team, inspired by the presence of the Firebolt in their midst, performed their best moves faultlessly, and by the time they hit the ground again, Wood did not have a single criticism to make, which, as George pointed out, was a first. "I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow!" said Wood. "Not unless — Harry, you've sorted out your Dementor problem, haven't you?"