| HIDDEN IN SECRETS |

chapter seven

QUIDDITCH

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Smoke and fire. The two go hand in hand. As beautiful as it can be, it is always dangerous. It grows and it grows, uncontrollably, unless something put a stop to it, whether that be water or dirt. But this fire raged on and on. The flames were large, yet somehow controlled.

Something was tossed into the air. It was dark with tall trees surrounding a small clearing. No more flames. Something lay dead, a black bird standing on it. But then, it wasn't a bird. Its arms spread out, its cloak making it look like wings. Then, in the shadows, two red eyes appeared.

The red faded into green eyes and circle glasses. The boy turned to her, smiling. It was genuine. He mouthed some words, but his voice was different.

"Verena!" a woman's voice called. "Verena!"

She saw the girl above her, shaking her. Verena sat up, confused. She was sweating, breathing heavily.

"Finally," said Padma. "Cho Chang is waiting for you in the common room."

"What?" she questioned, her head hurting.

"You were going to watch the Quidditch practice," Padma reminded her. "Hurry! Get dressed before you make her late."

Verena stood up and looked out the window. It was November. The mountains surrounding Hogwarts became an icy grey. The lake had frozen over, the ground covered in frost. One couldn't go anywhere without their robes and scarf. Even with the torches in the corridors, the icy chill was still present.

In this cold season, the Quidditch season had begun. For weeks, the teams had been practising. Verena would be in the stands as she watched the Ravenclaw team run through strategies and plays. With Harry Potter as the Seeker, everyone was wary. No one had seen him play, therefore no one knew how good he was.

As Verena watched the Quidditch practice, she noticed Cho looked a bit nervous. She did not know why exactly. Maybe she doubted herself. Maybe she was scared of Potter's skill. Perhaps it wasn't even him she worried about, but the Hufflepuff's Seeker.

"Okay, guys," said Roger Davies. "This is our captain's last year at Hogwarts. Let's make this the best season he's ever had!"

They all cheered in agreement, and some teased the captain. Verena smiled. She had never seen anything like this – she didn't even know what to call it. They hugged, laughed, and joked around together.

"Cho, you're on cleanup duty with our reserve," said Roger, and he winked at Verena.

"Was it hard for you to fit in with the team?" Verena asked.

Cho shook her head and said, "They were pretty welcoming. I've loved Quidditch ever since I was little so we usually talked about that. I got to know them little by little with every practice. How do we look?"

"Good," Verena replied. "Though I could tell you were nervous up there. You shouldn't show that. Otherwise, people will think you're not confident."

"It's a tactic," said Cho. "There hasn't been a female Seeker in ages. I'm playing right into their assumptions. They'll underestimate me and won't care too much, thinking they've already won."

Verena nodded saying, "Clever. It'll work on Higgs, I'm sure. My brother says he's got a big ego. It'll probably work on Hufflepuff's Seeker, too."

"It is a bit nerve-wracking though," Cho confessed. "It'll be my first real game against a different House."

"You'd be more nervous if you were a Gryffindor," Verena said. "They play tomorrow against Slytherin."

"Will you be cheering for them?" Cho asked, and Verena nodded. "They play dirty, you know."