*  *  *

"FLINT, I SWEAR to Merlin," Valerie Grindelwald spoke over the harsh afternoon winds, "Try to grab my bat one more time and my next swing will be at your head."

The girl could not be more irritated at their joke of a captain, who had on more than one occasion, attempted to use her Beater's bat to injure an unsuspecting player from the opposing team.

The stands were filled to the brim with students clad in colours of predominantly green and red, cheering for their houses in the match between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Valerie had spent the last tiring thirty minutes manning bludgers to and away, suddenly questioning her life decisions. Quidditch was supposed to be enjoyable, she gathered that much from the cheeky faces of Fred and George Weasley, the Gryffindor beaters. Her interaction with Peregrine Derrick consisted of chary shouts and subtle glares, as the fifth year insisted that she was being too altruistic.

Subconsciously, they made a rather competent pair, with Valerie's defensive instincts balancing out Peregrine's offensive tendencies. Their performance ultimately shot their team into the lead, Slytherin now ahead by fifty points.

"Grindelwald, behind you!"

Valerie swerved her broom around at Peregrine's yell, sparing herself a few seconds as the bludger soared towards her. Tightening her grip on her bat, she swung it far into the distance, in a direction away from the pitch itself. But, it seemed that the bludger had a mind of its own as it defied the laws of motion, curving around and heading straight for Oliver Wood.

The sheer impact snapped his broomstick in half, sending him falling to the sand below. The bludger simply zoomed past him, narrowly missing Harry Potter as he ducked for cover.

"Nice one, Grindelwald!" Peregrine sneered, to no response from the girl. Valerie grimaced as Harry snapped his head towards her, his eyebrows furrowed in incredulity.

Before she could apologise, the bludger had taken off yet again, peculiarly tailing Harry. The audience watched as Harry dashed around the pitch in panic, trying to outrace the wild object.

"What the bloody hell did you do?" Peregrine asked Valerie, his eyes trailing after the bludger.

"Jinxed it, of course," Marcus Flint replied for her, "Good thinking, Grindelwald."

"Wait—no, but I-I didn't—"

Valerie stopped mid-sentence as her two teammates bolted away. A sharp pain pierced its way to her forehead, one she had become all too familiar with, but she chose to ignore it. Without another second of hesitation, she dipped her broomstick down and followed after the bludger, her bat held firmly in her left hand.

She knew she was not responsible, she knew she would never intentionally hurt anyone, but at that moment she wasn't so sure anymore. Valerie had been feeling indisposed lately, as if she was losing sight of who she was from the views of others.

Shaking her thoughts from her mind, she weaved her way around the stands, following Harry and the bludger tailing behind him.

Draco had the nerve to fly up in front of them, "Training for the ballet, Potter?"

"Sod off, Malfoy," Valerie glared at him, before her eyes darted towards the golden object flying by his side. Even she didn't miss that.

Valerie spun around just as the bludger soared past them, hitting it with an intensity she was sure would send it far away. Her assumptions were made too soon when it came zooming right back, resuming their chase, which had plunged into the hollow frame beneath the stands.

She tried to keep up with their unnatural speed, and at some point Harry surpassed Draco as he dodged the wooden planks. The bludger remained relentless.

Draco was eventually thrown off balance, shooting himself into the air as he landed harshly on the ground in what could only be a painful position.

Valerie panned out of the pitch as she followed the bludger, only to watch it speed back and collide with Harry's outstretched arm. She managed to bat it away once again, but the impact had Harry sliding unto the sand on his back.

The bludger came whirling down towards the Potter boy, but Valerie quickly put herself in the middle, swinging it away. Hermione Granger shouted a general counter-spell with her wand pointed out, breaching it before it could do any damage.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Valerie asked, leaping off her broom and crouching down beside him. A crowd of Gryffindors soon came rushing over, and Valerie took it as her cue to leave. She returned to her housemates, all of which had scowls plastered unto their faces. Flint tossed his Nimbus 2001 to the ground in frustration, suddenly resembling a child throwing a fit.

*  *  *

Valerie was unaware that Draco Malfoy had the capacity to become any more insufferable, but as he laid grouching in pain on a cot in the Hospital Wing, she realised different.

"I don't know how I'll ever recover," he whined, clutching his stomach.

Rolling her eyes, Valerie shifted her gaze to the other side of the room, where Madame Pomfrey was tending to Harry's arm. Professor Lockhart had attempted to heal him, which only resulted in his bones vanishing on the whole. Valerie finally came to the conclusion that he was indeed, a pathetic fraud.

She wanted to approach him, to ask how he was, but in a sense she felt guilty, embarrassed to join his teammates huddled around him.

Unexpectedly, she began to feel weak, dark spots clouding her vision as her eyes drooped close. The pain that usually pierced through her head numbed her entire body, and she lost all control, falling backwards. She was caught seconds before hitting the floor, Theodore Nott's brown eyes widening in panic.

"Hey, hey, Valerie? Madame Pomfrey!" he called in alarm, sparking the woman's attention. Their hysteric voiced echoed through her ears, and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness, but not completely.

She could still see the bleak white ceiling of the Hospital Wing, along with the blurred faces of Theodore and a select few of her housemates crowning over her, and she could feel herself being set down gently on a hospital bed. But, she also couldn't. She felt numb.

"What's wrong with her?" Theodore asked.

"I have yet to find out," Madame Pomfrey replied, "It must be fatigue from the game. She'll be alright. You lot clear out, it's almost curfew."

"But—"

"Now, Mr. Nott."

Valerie heard Theodore grunt in response as he stomped out of the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey gingerly dabbed her forehead with a cold towel, and she felt herself slowly doze off into sleep.

*  *  *

"Listen," a soft voice urged, "Terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts. Harry Potter must not stay here, now that history is to repeat itself."

Valerie stirred awake to the daunting words of a familiar house-elf, and she sat up groggily to a fortuitous sight. Harry was standing next to a disquieted Dobby.

"Miss Valerie Grindelwald!" Dobby grinned happily, "Such a pleasure to meet you again!"

"It's great to see you too, Dobby," Valerie greeted weakly.

Harry was stunned by the exchange, "Wait, you two know each other?"

The house-elf violently nodded, "Dobby will never forget how Valerie Grindelwald helped him that morning at the manor."

"Don't be silly, Dobby," Valerie shook her head, "It's what any decent person would do."

There was a ghost of a smile on Harry's face, before it morphed into one of concern, "Are you sure you're alright? It was pretty scary when you collapsed."

"Yeah," Valerie laughed drily, "I seem to be collapsing a lot these days. But, I'm fine. It was just a headache."

"H-headache?" Dobby stuttered out. He then jumped off Harry's cot, his demeanour changing quickly, "Dobby wishes Valerie Grindelwald to get well soon."

"Thank you, Dobby," she spoke, before facing Harry, "Look, about the bludger, I'm so sorry—"

"What do you mean?" Harry cut her off, "Dobby was the one who tampered with the bludger."

"But, why would he do that?" Valerie then noticed that the house-elf had vanished out of their sight. She let out a quiet sigh, "So, it wasn't me."

Harry gave her a small smile, "I never believed it was."

Valerie reciprocated the gesture, before looking around the familiar room with sad eyes. She turned to Harry, "The Hospital Wing is starting to seem like a yearly tradition now. Rather unfortunate, don't you think?"

Harry laughed lightly, "I suppose so."

Hearing the patter of footsteps from out in the hall, the two exchanged looks before diving for their respective cots, feigning deep slumber.

"There's been another attack," Headmaster Dumbledore spoke gravely.

"I think he's been petrified, Madame Pomfrey," Professor Mcgonagall added, "Perhaps he managed to take a picture of his attacker."

After a few seconds, there was a loud rumble followed by a flare-up.

"What can this mean, Albus?" Mcgonagall queried. It was the first time Valerie heard the woman sound so helpless.

"It means that are students are in great danger."

"What should I tell the staff?"

"The truth," Dumbledore voiced clearly, "Tell them that Hogwarts is no longer safe."