Despite my frustration with Oliver scheduling such an early practice, I decided to take full advantage and wake up at five so I could get some flying in with my armor before the rest of my day started. I was tip-toeing through the Common Room to head out when I was ambushed by the twins pulling me into a nook under the stairs.
"What the hell are you two doing?" I whisper-yelled. I'd almost judo flipped them both to the floor before I realized who it was.
"We want to prank the girls," whispered George, looking far too awake for five in the morning.
"We want to go wake them up for Quidditch practice the hard way," continued Fred. "But we can't get up the stairs before they turn into a slide and send us back down to the bottom."
"So the plan is, we run up as far as we can and then jump when the stairs disappear, and you pull us up the rest of the way," finished George.
I sighed, ready to tell them no for a few reasons. Then I stopped myself. I'd been so caught up in work lately that I hadn't made time to have fun. I needed to start having some fun before I went crazy.
"Alright, I'm in," I said. "Just let me get in position at the top of the stairs."
The twins nodded excitedly and I headed up, trying not to cackle. I needed a little mischief in my life, and I didn't have time to manage a visit with Loki. This was the next best thing.
"Alright Alexa, here we come," George called softly up the stairs. Next thing I knew, the twins came charging up the stairs at full speed. They almost made it to the top, but then the stairs went slick as ice and turned into a slide. Barely, I managed to grab one of each of the twins' hands without falling over myself.
"Good! Now pull us up," said Fred, the excitement evident in his voice. I grinned at him and George and leaned in, pulling them up just a little.
"Long live the king," I whispered, the grin never leaving my face as I let them fall down the slide. The pure shock and disbelief of their faces would stick in my mind forever. The stared up at me in outrage when they reached the bottom, and my grin just widened. "I've been waiting for an opportunity to use that since you all watched Lion King."
The twins' expressions quickly changed from shock to mischief.
"That's great Alexa," said Fred, his smile taking on a wolfish quality. "Really, stellar prank."
"Unfortunately for you, you still have to come down here and face us," said George, his expression identical to Fred's.
I would've been worried, except I'd learned a few new tricks over Christmas break.
"Oh boys," I sighed, strolling along the top of the stairs. "You know, we've never gone up against each other before. Not really, since that one Potions class doesn't quite count. And let me tell you now: you have no idea who you're dealing with."
With that, I opened a sling portal to the Hogwarts grounds and stepped through, making sure to not look back. I'm sure the twins would catch up to me eventually, but right now I didn't have to worry about retribution. I could just enjoy the pure shock on their faces as I disappeared into a glowing golden portal.
I cackled in triumph for a few minutes on the grounds before I started anything productive.
After I practiced with my armor for a while, I met up with everybody at the Quidditch pitch. The twins watched me like hawks all practice, but I wasn't worried about payback yet. We all understood that Oliver would kill every single one of us if we did anything to distract from Quidditch practice, no matter what reason we had. I knew I couldn't avoid them forever, though, and I decided I'd give them opportunities to get me sooner rather than later. The less time they had to come up with crazy pranks, the better.
Fred and George didn't waste a second, and they actually managed to catch me off guard by roping Lee into their evil scheming.
"Hey, Alexa, try one of these," said Lee, passing me some candy after dinner one night. "They're wicked good."
It looked like normal candy, but since it was wizard candy I decide to take the leap; it could be some new amazing flavor that changed my life.
I immediately regretted the decision.
As soon as I swallowed it I became violently sick. I sprinted out of the Common Room without another word, barely making it to the bathroom before throwing up. It lasted for half an hour, and then finally the feeling faded. Once I'd regained my composure, I marched down to the Common Room to give Lee and the twins a piece of my mind.
"What the hell was that?" I demanded, grabbing the nearest pillow and chucking it at Fred as hard as I could. After it hit he picked it up and whacked George, which I appreciated.
"It was a sweet enchanted with a charm we made up," answered Fred with a grin.
"A charm that makes people puke their guts out?" I demanded.
"Yup!" chorused the twins, neither one looking even a little bit ashamed. I just sighed and rolled my eyes.
"I feel like your prank was way worse than mine," I said. They just shrugged.
"It was for the stairs and for potions class," George justified.
"Hmm. Okay, maybe. But still, I want to make a truce right now. No more pranking each other, just teaming up against other people," I said, holding my hand out for them to shake.
"Sounds like a plan!" agreed Fred as George nodded. Lee went to shake my hand too, but I pulled it back.
"No way! You're a traitor to the cause! I never would've taken food from Fred and George right now, but I trusted you!" I said, faking outrage.
"That just makes me even with all of you!" explained Lee. "I helped you get the twins, and then I helped the twins get you. Easy."
"Mmm... no. You pranked me and you pranked Fred and George, now we need to prank you. Then we'll be even."
Lee's eyes widened and he took a few steps back. "No no no, we're even now. Let's make a truce!"
"Sorry Lee, no such luck." I grinned, then turned to Fred and George. "Come on boys, let's go plot."
With that we walked out of the tower, cackling and whispering as we passed Lee. We got a few hallways down before stopping, making sure Lee was well out of earshot before speaking.
"Okay, I have a plan," I said. The twins leaned in and I lowered my voice. "The way I see it, Lee is going to be so paranoid for the next few weeks that we won't get anything past him. So let's not do anything. Let's just freak him out so that he's looking over his shoulder every second of the day waiting for us to do something, and nothing ever comes. Eventually he'll either relax enough for us to sneak something by him, or we'll decide he's had enough and we'll tell him what's going on. Sound good?"
The twins nodded. "Sounds perfect," they chorused. We all high-fived, then headed back to the Common Room. Lee was jumpy all night; our plan was already working.
Even if we'd wanted to actually prank Lee, we wouldn't have had time in the days leading up to our match against Ravenclaw. Oliver got even more intense, which shouldn't have been possible, and it seemed like every free minute was spent on the Quidditch pitch. It got to the point that I used Ana and my head's up display to work on muggle assignments on my broom while Oliver wasn't looking. One way or another, it would be a relief when this game was over.
I almost hoped we'd lose so Oliver wouldn't have a reason to push us this hard for the two and a half months leading up to our next match.
All thoughts of wanting to lose were chased out of my mind, however, when I walked out onto the Quidditch pitch the first weekend of February. It was the perfect day for Quidditch, cool but not cold without a cloud in the sky. Our last practice was perfect, for the first time in anybody's memory. Harry had finally gotten his Firebolt back, and it went as fast as some of Dad's armor.
This was going to be a good match.
After Harry got taken out in our last match, Oliver decided I should stay out of the stands in case I needed to sub in at the last minute. Walking out to the cheering crowds with some of my closest friends around me was almost enough to turn me into a school sport person.
I stayed on the ground as my teammates shot up into the air, waiting to act in case anything went wrong. My CPR kit was on hand, and Ana was helping me monitor everything going on at once. I'd never felt more prepared or energized.
Harry almost ended the match as soon as it began, getting close to the Snitch within the first ten minutes. Unfortunately, one of the Ravenclaw Beaters stopped him, and the game went on.
70 points later, after Lee had been yelled at almost every point for talking about the Firebolt instead of the game, Ravenclaw started closing our lead. Katie took a bludger to the stomach, and Oliver signaled for a time out. We had less than sixty seconds, so I rushed out to meet my team as they hit the ground.
Katie was breathing heavy, trying not to let on how badly that bludger had knocked the wind out of her.
"Alexa, you're in for Katie," said Oliver, not wasting a second. "Katie, you have three minutes to recover, and then I'm putting you back in. Look sharp, we need to get our lead back. We cannot lose this game. Harry, get the snitch. Whatever it takes."
I nodded along with Oliver's speech, trying not to show how badly my heart wanted to leap out of my chest. I was about to play! In an actual Quidditch match! Time to show these wizards how we did it in Avengers Tower.
I only had three minutes, so I had to make it count. Logically I knew there were no real consequences to losing; nobody would die, like if my dad failed at some task. But my emotions were running everything right now, and this was suddenly the most important moment of my life.
A make or break moment to make a difference for my team. Exactly what my dad dealt with every day. I gripped the handle of my broom tightly, waiting for Madam Hooch to start the game again. As soon as she whistled and threw up the Quaffle, I was off, shooting through the air to reach it first.
If anyone tried to get in my way, I was going to destroy them. Time to let my competitive streak take over.