Reaper's Heir (Book 1)

Chapter 8

Today was the first quidditch game of the year and people wouldn't stop talking about it. Malfoy kept going on that if he was allowed to be on the team, he would crush the Gryffindors. I rolled my eyes and continued eating, doing my best to ignore both him and the actual quidditch team members. Frankly, I didn't care about the game in the slightest.

"Excuse me?"

I looked up, eyes falling on an older-looking boy with light brown hair. "Can I help you?" I asked, swallowing the food I'd been chewing.

"You're Maeve, right?" At my nod, he continued, fidgeting as if he expected me to yell at him or something. "I'm Terrence, the Slytherin seeker." He paused again, maybe waiting for me to react with adoration. "You're related to Potter, aren't you? How is he at flying?"

"Are you nervous about playing against him?" The students closest to us went silent, staring at me like I'd uttered something sacrilegious. Wide eyes and gaping mouths were paired with glares from the other members of the quidditch team.

"We're not scared of Potter." Marcus Flint said, coming to stand right next to me. My skin crawled as he laid a hand on my shoulder. Daphne shrank away from him, her eyes glued to him. "It's just unusual for a first-year to make the teams. We figured he had to be pretty amazing. And I thought," He paused and leaned down so we were face-to-face and I instinctively leaned back. "Well, I thought you'd be the best person to ask, all things considered."

"Considering he's going to crush you, you mean?" I asked, smirking at him. Marcus scowled at me, but I stood abruptly, forcing him to back up. "He's the best damn flyer there is and he's going to crush you like a bug. Now get out of my face." Marcus sneered at me as I shoved past him and made my way over to the Gryffindor table. Harry seemed to be being difficult. Ron and Hermione seemed to be trying to make him stop being difficult.

"-need your strength today." Hermione finished saying. I looked between the three of them, trying to figure out what I'd missed.

"I'm not hungry." Harry pushed his plate away as Professor Snape appeared.

"Good luck today, Potter. Then again, now that you've proven yourself against a troll, a little game of Quidditch should be easy work for you...even if it is against Slytherin." He shot me a look and gestured to the disgruntled Slytherin quidditch team. "Starting early today, are we, Miss Keres?" He left, limping.

"That explains the blood," Harry said, watching Professor Snape.

"Blood?" I asked. I hadn't noticed Professor Snape limping on the way to the common room last night, much less if he was bleeding.

"Listen, last night, I'm guessing Snape let the troll in as a diversion so he could try and get past that 3 headed dog. But, he got himself bitten, that's why he's limping."

"But why would anyone go near that dog?" Hermione asked.

"The day Maeve and I were at Gringotts, Hagrid took something out of one of the vaults. He said it was Hogwarts' business, very secret."

"So you're saying," Hermione said, piecing it together.

"That's what the dog's guarding," I said, feeling vindicated for the first time. I knew that vault and the whole situation had been suspicious.

"That's what Snape wants." Harry finished. An owl screeched overhead, cutting off whatever else he might have said. It was Hedwig. She dropped a large package down in front of us.

"Bit early for mail, isn't it?" I asked.

"But I-I never get mail," Harry said with wide eyes.

"Let's open it," Ron said, hands already on the wrappings. We all reached in and tore off chunks of the wrapping.