Bagsy Beetlehorn and the Corvid Trials (The Bagsy Chronicles 2)

Tunnel Vision

Emmeline, though, seemed to be finding Greenda's voice far more grating on her ears. 'Pack it in, would you?' she hissed, Kat nodding her agreement. Greenda grew quiet, looking wordlessly down at her food.

When they'd finished their meal, and Ford was drawing up a last-minute recap of everything they'd been practising, Teresa, who'd been sitting opposite Bagsy, went very silent. Bagsy looked over her shoulder and saw Mezrielda walking over.

'Teresa, what happened to your worm farm was terrible,' Mezrielda forced out. To a normal person it was a flat apology at best but Bagsy could sense the sincerity below the surface.

'So, you admit you did it?' Teresa sneered.

'No. I would not admit to something I didn't do, don't be silly. I just wanted to offer my condolences.' Bagsy saw Teresa puff up angrily like one of her pet toads. 'And I wanted to wish you all luck,' Mezrielda got in quickly.

Teresa's anger dissipated in shock. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 'Luck?'

Mezrielda turned to Bagsy with a slight smile – it looked odd on her face. 'Yes, luck. I'm sure you're all going to do great. I've seen you practise – you have a good team.'

'Whatever double-bluff, psychological tactic this is, it ain't gonna work. Now scram!' Teresa aimed a forkful of pumpkin pastry at Mezrielda's head. With a last encouraging look at Bagsy, and a whispered teporiem that shot happy warmth over her back, Mezrielda walked off to the Slytherin table.

Feeling awake and warm, Bagsy ate more food and paid attention to Ford's instructions.

As they stood up to head for the pitch she heard Mezrielda's voice whispering in her ear. 'Good luck,' she murmured. Bagsy looked over to the Slytherin table where Mezrielda was sitting with her wand gently pressed to her throat, having cast the same long-distance message spell she'd used last year.

Bagsy found that the world's strongest teporiem couldn't keep her nerves at bay as the team walked to the quidditch pitch. Students were excitedly milling towards the stands and taking their seats. She hadn't realised there would be such a big crowd.

The team huddled in the changing room and looked at Ford Krinkle expectantly.

Ford took out the notes he'd been making at breakfast, then crumpled them up. 'I'll be honest with you,' he said, 'we're the strongest team Hufflepuff has had since I've been here, and we're still the weakest in school by far.'

'Great speech,' Teresa grumbled.

'I'd be a much better captain,' Jon said ruefully.

'But what are we Hufflepuffs about?' Ford asked, ignoring them. There was silence. Teresa and Jon shared a confused look. Kat and Emmeline looked just as unsure.

'Loyalty?' Kat offered.

'Fairness?' Emmeline tried. Bagsy thought that was rich.

It was obvious to her, but there was no way she was going to say it.

'Hard work. Patience. Dedication,' Greenda said what Bagsy had been thinking, her voice firm with conviction.

Ford smiled. 'Exactly. The team we had before didn't care for Quidditch the way they did their work or their friends. They didn't have that desire to practise, that passion for victory. But you... I look at this new team and I see nothing but willingness to improve.'

'You do?' Emmeline muttered, glancing in Greenda's direction. Kat held back a snicker.

'I do,' Ford confirmed. 'We have this year and next before I leave. I trust that with practise and, as Greenda said, hard work, patience and dedication, we can snatch a victory for Hufflepuff at last, if not this year, then the next. Now, let's go out there, and let's learn.' Ford spun and marched confidently from their tent onto the pitch, the other players scrambling to follow his unexpected departure. Bagsy's stomach dropped as she stepped into the sunlight of a cold, December's day, and saw the cheering crowd surrounding the pitch. Watching a Quidditch match was one thing but playing it yourself was an entirely different matter.