White Heather for Protection

Felons and Convicts

"It's still quicker than what I managed," Heather praised, smiling proudly at her brother.

He ducked his head shyly. "Only because you didn't have anyone to teach you."

"That's still amazing, Hadrian! This is very, very advanced magic. Only approximately 15% of adult wizards can perform this spell!" Hermione said.

"Well, what are-" George said

"-we waiting for?" Fred continued.

"Let's get cracking!"

~~~

Heather held her arm out for Hedwig to land on. "Hey there girl, good work." She removed the letter from Hedwig's leg. "Would you like some bacon?" The owl hooted eagerly. Heather gave her several strips of from her plate. "Thank you as always. Here you go, go take a rest." The snowy owl grabbed the offered food then flew off with an affectionate coo.

Too excited to wait, Heather opened the letter before continuing with her breakfast. She scanned it quickly and smiled in triumph. Griphook sure worked fast. This was perfect. Unfortunately, the Ministry wasn't as efficient. Two months. No matter, she just hoped nothing happened to screw this up.

She finished her breakfast quickly. Rian had a match against Ravenclaw today. It would be the first match he played with the Firebolt. The Claws didn't stand a chance. They hadn't with the Nimbus, and they wouldn't with the Firebolt. Admittedly, Cho Chang was a pretty good seeker. Too bad her brother was better. No, she wasn't biased. At all.

She patted the small bulge in her pocket reassuringly. Now that Rian had his Firebolt, she had asked to use the Nimbus. GredForge thought carrying a shrunken broom to Rian's matches was her paranoia acting up again, but it really made sense to her. If something happened out there, she wouldn't have to wait for the broom she summoned all the way from the broomshed to arrive. Just a simple expanding charm and voila!

The match started off normally. The weather was thankfully clear - not a cloud in sight. She heard the fevered murmuring as they saw the broom her brother was using. The Claws, especially, looked worried. He was circling the pitch lazily, appearing not to pay attention to his surroundings. Heather knew that it was a tactic of his to throw off the opposition.

The Gryffs and Claws were neck and neck in terms of points. When one team scored, the other retaliated. It was up to the seekers to win the match.

"And Potter takes off like a shot! Is it a distraction? And if so, will Ravenclaw's gorgeous, beautiful Cho Chang take the bait?" Lee's booming voice sounded over stands. Heather rolled her eyes in exasperation. The older boy still hadn't stopped his inappropriate comments despite Professor McGonagall's numerous warnings. She wondered why he wasn't just replaced.

She watched keenly as Hadrian sped towards the snitch. The Firebolt lived up to its reputation, going so fast that Chang had little chance of catching up. Abruptly, Rian slowed as he fidgeted on his broom. Oh, what now?

Heather saw him take his wand out of the holster she'd given him at Christmas and point it towards the ground. To her amazement, a large silver coil burst out of his wand. It moved towards the shrouded creatures and drove them back. Her brother then proceeded to catch the golden snitch and lead his house to victory.

"That was wonderful, Rian!" Heather exclaimed, hugging her brother once she reached him.

"Indeed." Professor Lupin walked up to them both smiling warmly. "That was quite the Patronus you cast there."

"Thank you sir, but what are you doing out on the pitch?" Hadrian asked curiously.

The man grimaced wryly. "Just taking care of some unruly troublemakers." He tilted his head to the side, indicating the robed creatures nearby.