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ROBYN AVOIDED PROFESSOR LUPIN as much as she could over the next few weeks. She began sitting in the back of the classroom during Defense Against the Dark Arts, and was usually the last one in the room and the first to leave. She stopped participating in class, and even began to leave her completed review practicals on her desk at the end of class rather than turn them in to him directly. She knew it wasn't fair of her to do that to him, but she'd been completely blindsided. Her professor was also her uncle? And he'd hid that knowledge for over half the school year? Of course she needed a while to come to terms with that. So Robyn resorted to burying her head in distractions to get through the days, hoping that if she didn't have to think about it too much, maybe one day it would make sense.

Luckily for her, Quidditch had started back up for the term, which provided the perfect opportunity to engage in some mind-numbing fun. That is, it was fun before all she heard all day every day was Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Flynn, Oliver, and even Rose complaining about how long Professor McGonagall was taking to return Harry's Firebolt. Hermione had reported its existence to McGonagall shortly after Christmas, much to Harry and Ron's annoyance, and it was promptly confiscated so it could be inspected, just in case Sirius Black had jinxed it. Flynn had turned in the unopened gift she'd received from her father as well, and while that had yet to be returned, too, the Firebolt was clearly the more urgent matter, as the vital Gryffindor–Ravenclaw match was coming up soon.

However, both the Firebolt and Flynn's gift had come back just in time. As a way to ease her anxiety about the upcoming match, Flynn had finally decided to open her gift to discover that it was a thin, silver necklace lined with black diamonds. It was simple, yet elegant, and clearly very expensive. Flynn still refused to wear it, but to her surprise, Robyn had woken up one morning to find the necklace displayed on top of Flynn's dresser.

The morning of the match, tensions were high among all the Gryffindor Quidditch players. Breakfast consisted of the usual, with Robyn and Lisa trying to get the team to eat their bacon and toast, and Flynn, Fred, and George belligerently refusing to for far too long before finally giving in. However, Robyn noticed that a glimmer of hope lingered among the teammates that morning; the existence of the Firebolt raised spirits, and that was infectious.

"Hey, Robbie, you excited for me to kick Davies' ass?" Fred asked jokingly. Though his face appeared to try desperately to look goofy and fun, his shaky voice ultimately betrayed his uncertainty.

"Why, because he's my ex or because he's their captain?" Robyn shot back. Robyn and Roger Davies, another student in their year who also happened to be captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, had dated for a few months the previous year. It ended...fine, Robyn presumed. She bore no ill feelings towards him, but it wasn't a hard loss, either.

"Both." Fred grinned, and this time, it appeared genuine. Robyn laughed and opened her mouth to reply when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a horde of Gryffindor boys walking into the Great Hall, led by Harry Potter with his new Firebolt. She immediately felt the energy in the room change as students began to notice the secret Gryffindor weapon Harry carried in his hands. As Harry approached the Gryffindor table, the rest of the team stood up to greet him.

"I still think we should've kept it a surprise for the match," Flynn said with a grin before leaning in so only their group could hear. "But I gotta admit, seeing everyone's reactions is making this worth it."

Oliver in particular looked positively radiant. "Put it here, Harry," he said, gesturing over to the table. Harry placed the broom in the middle of the table, then carefully turned it over so the gilded inscription faced upwards for everyone to see.

Rose approached them as well, joined by several other Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Cedric Diggory, captain of the Hufflepuff team, was part of the group, and he walked over to congratulate Harry for the new broom, expressing his gratitude that Harry had found a replacement for the Nimbus after the last match. Robyn watched as Cedric turned to leave, but not before his gaze lingered on Flynn for a moment. He gave her a small smile, and Flynn's face turned a shade of deep crimson as he walked back to the Hufflepuff table. Lisa must have noticed the interaction, too, because both she and Robyn immediately turned to give Flynn a curious look as soon as Cedric had turned away.

"What?" Flynn asked, her voice feigning innocence. Robyn and Lisa merely shared a knowing gaze before turning their attention back to the Firebolt and now the small group of Slytherins that had made their way over to the table.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" Draco Malfoy sneered. Robyn sighed, already tired of the blonde child that never knew when to shut up.

"Yeah, reckon so," Harry said flatly. Everyone who wasn't a Slytherin at the table knew full well Harry wasn't bluffing, either. He was a fantastic flier.

But, as usual, Malfoy never knew when to shut up. "Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute – in case you get too near a dementor."

Crabbe and Goyle, who stood behind Malfoy, snickered. Robyn instinctively held out a hand to stop Lisa from lunging forward and assaulting a thirteen-year-old in defense of her cousin.

There was no need, however, as Harry was fully capable of defending himself. "Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy. Then it could catch the Snitch for you."

Robyn dropped her arm and let out a giggle as the rest of the Gryffindor group began to laugh. Malfoy gave them all deathly glares before storming off back to the Slytherin table in defeat. But their victory was only temporary, as just as they had gotten rid of one annoyance, another skipped giddily up to them to take its place.

"Is that really a real Firebolt, Harry?" Jackie squealed. She sidled up next to Fred and nestled into his hip, wrapping his arm around her waist and giving the group a wide grin. Robyn took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, willing herself to keep her mouth shut despite desperately wanting to do the opposite.

"No, it's a fake. Fucking duh," Robyn heard Flynn mutter under her breath before taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. Robyn snorted.

Either Jackie didn't hear Flynn or just didn't care, but she made no mention of Flynn's comment and stayed focused on Harry and the Firebolt. Robyn and Flynn remained quiet during the rest of the group's conversation with Harry, glowering silently while everyone else chatted with Jackie. For a brief moment, Robyn thought she saw a flicker of annoyance pass over Fred's face as he uncoupled his arm from Jackie's waist, but as soon as she registered it, Fred's face returned to his usual goofy smile.

Time dragged on until it was finally time to make their way down to the Quidditch pitch for the match. The large group departed the Great Hall, making their way through the Main Hall and beginning the hike down the massive hill to the pitch. Once they'd made it down to the field, Flynn, Fred, George, Harry, and Oliver split off to go to the locker rooms while the rest of them continued to the stands. Thankfully, Jackie left to go sit with her group of friends, leaving Robyn, Lisa, and Rose to sit together in the Gryffindor section.

"Are you sure you don't want to sit with the Hufflepuffs, Rose?" Lisa asked gently as they climbed their way up into the stands.

Rose laughed. "We're not playing against each other today. Besides, I've got some Gryffindor-based stakes in this match."

The trio pushed their way through the stands up to the barrier, giving them a perfect view of the entire Quidditch pitch. Unlike the last match, they would be able to see everything today, as the weather was clear and sunny, with only a few clouds in the sky to occasionally mask the sun. Robyn looked down to see the Gryffindor Quidditch team making their way onto the field, approaching the Ravenclaws who stood there waiting. Oliver and Roger Davies shook hands, then all fourteen Quidditch players mounted their brooms.

Madam Hooch's voice sounded out throughout the pitch. "On my whistle...three, two one!" The screech of the whistle signaled the start, and the players kicked off the ground, making their way up into the air as the Quaffle, Bludgers, and Snitch were released into the sky. First to the Quaffle was a Ravenclaw Chaser, but few seemed to be paying attention to the initial movements of the match; all eyes were on Harry and the Firebolt. It soared elegantly across the pitch, turning on a dime as Harry scanned the skies for the Snitch. Robyn heard Rose beside her sigh with envy.

Even Lee's infamous commentary gave away how little anyone cared about the match. "They're off," he began, his voice echoing throughout the stadium from where he sat at the commentary box, "and the big excitement of this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship—"

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" Professor McGonagall's voice piped up over the microphone, interrupting Lee's Firebolt infomercial.

"Right you are, Professor, just giving a bit of background information," Lee continued, seemingly unphased. "The Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and—"

"Jordan!"

"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for goal..."

Robyn watched as Katie streaked past Harry, winding her arm back and hurtling the Quaffle towards Flynn, who caught it with ease, turning sharply and continuing course towards the goalposts. The Ravenclaw Seeker, Cho Chang, was following Harry closely, but this soon proved to be a foolish idea. As Harry led Cho around the back of the field, Flynn hurtled the Quaffle through the goalposts to secure the first goal of the match. Robyn, Lisa, and Rose cheered and screamed along with the rest of the Gryffindor section in support of their friend.

Suddenly, Harry streaked across the field and into a dive, no doubt in pursuit of the Snitch. Cho followed, but couldn't keep up with the sheer speed of the Firebolt. The sea of Gryffindors and Gryffindor-supporters watched with bated breath as Harry neared the ground at rapid speed. Then, a Ravenclaw Beater hit a Bludger towards Harry, who yanked himself out of the way and barely escaped destroying his brand-new broom within the first ten minutes of the game, but evidently lost the Snitch in the process.

The Gryffindor stands erupted into a chorus of disappointed groans. Robyn cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "Fred, where the hell were you? Come on!"

"Get him back, George!" screamed Lisa. Robyn didn't know if somehow George heard Lisa or if he had the same idea, but he hit his bat at the second Bludger, launching it at the Ravenclaw Beater and nearly knocking him clean off his broom. Robyn, Lisa, and Rose all high-fived each other in pure, vengeance-filled glee.

The game continued, interlaced periodically with Lee's attempts at continuing his admiration of the Firebolt and McGonagall quickly thwarting those efforts with growing irritation.

"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn! Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision-balance is really noticeable in these long—"

"Jordan! Are you being paid to advertise Firebolts?! Get on with the commentary!" McGonagall screeched.

Robyn, Rose, and Lisa snickered. As far as Robyn was concerned, Lee's Firebolt-centric rambling was perfectly characteristic of his usual commentary, and it was wonderful.

What wasn't as wonderful was the steady gain Ravenclaw was making. Though the Gryffindors still held the lead, the Ravenclaws had scored three goals on them, and Harry still hadn't caught sight of the Snitch again. The Quaffle traveled from Flynn to Katie to Angelina, who narrowly dodged having it stolen from her by a Ravenclaw before Fred hit a Bludger towards him, forcing him to veer out of the way. Angelina scored another goal for the Gryffindors, resulting in another cheer of support from the stands, but that success was quickly interrupted by Harry capturing everyone's attention once again.

Harry took off on the Firebolt towards the Gryffindor goalposts in pursuit of the Snitch, but Cho cut him off on the side and he had to quickly swerve to avoid colliding with the other Seeker.

"Goddamnit!" Rose yelled from beside Robyn. "Get your shit together Harry, you're trying to beat her, not date her!" Robyn looked over and shared an amused look with Lisa before they both burst out laughing.

Rose's sideline harassment must have worked, though, as Harry peeled around and leaned into another dive, Cho trailing closely behind. However, she couldn't keep up with the Firebolt, and as Harry pulled up abruptly from the dive, Cho continued downwards, freeing him to chase after the Snitch without being tailed. It was clear he'd caught sight of the Snitch, too, as he streaked across the sky towards the Ravenclaw goalposts, determined.

From across the field, Robyn suddenly heard Cho shriek and point to the ground. Following her line of sight, Robyn looked to the bottom of the field to see three hooded dementors looking up at Harry.

Not again, Robyn thought. With a start, she realized Rose wasn't out on the field to catch Harry again if he fell, and a shiver of fear shot down her spine. Robyn watched, frozen, as Harry looked down at the dementors below him. Hearing Lisa take in a deep, nervous breath, Robyn reached over and gripped her friend's hand in an attempt to comfort her.

Once again, however, Robyn underestimated Harry's abilities, as all of a sudden, he had pulled his wand from beneath his shirt and extended his arm. She couldn't hear what spell he'd cast, but it quickly became clear when a massive, silver-white stag leaped from his wand and began to race at the dementors on the ground. Robyn's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Holy shit," Rose muttered.

"Is that-?" Lisa asked incredulously.

"Merlin's beard, that's a Patronus!" Robyn gasped, interrupting her friend. Lisa hopped up, peering over the guardrail to try to get a closer look.

"My little cousin can cast a Patronus, and he's only 13!" Lisa yelled, cheering Harry on as he was swarmed by his victorious teammates, gripping the Snitch tightly in his hand. "I can't even do that!" Lisa said proudly, looking back over her shoulder to meet Robyn's eye.

Though the Patronus was incredibly impressive, and if Lisa hadn't confirmed it, Robyn wasn't sure she would have believed it, it proved ultimately pointless. As the stag vanished as quickly as it had appeared, it revealed the true nature of the dementors down on the ground. Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch team captain, along with Malfoy and a few of his cronies fell over themselves in an attempt to run from the Patronus, tangling themselves up in the black hooded robes they'd used to disguise themselves as dementors.

Robyn, Lisa, and Rose pushed their way through the crowds to meet their friends on the field below. As they approached the celebrating Gryffindor team, Robyn heard the shrill voice of Professor McGonagall scolding the Slytherins for attempting to distract Harry.

"An unworthy trick! A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake!" As McGonagall guided them away from the field, Robyn saw Rheinallt McLaughlin walk up to the group and smack Malfoy upside the back of the head.

Hearing a loud, excited cheer, Robyn turned back to her friends. She ran up and gave Flynn a hug, who looked more relieved that they'd won than anything else. Jackie ran over to Fred and went to give him a kiss, but Fred moved in for a hug instead. Robyn glanced over at Flynn, and the two shared a very curious look, as though they were both saying, Oh, now that's interesting.

Before they could dwell on it, however, Lisa raced by and jumped into George's arms, planting a victory kiss on his lips. Rose swung her arms around Oliver's neck, who responded with a surprised yelp, but hugged her back, grinning widely.

Suddenly, Robyn was side-tackled by a large, red-headed blur. "Robbie!" Fred yelled excitedly, turning her attention away from the amusing scene of her friends' celebrations and towards the friend who'd almost taken her to the ground. "We're back in the game! We could win this!"

"Hell yeah!" Robyn replied, returning the fierce hug Fred had enveloped her in. "Party tonight?" The two shared a sneaky grin; clearly he'd had the same thought.

"Are we breaking into Hogsmeade?" Fred shot her a mischievous smirk, sneakily raising an eyebrow.

Robyn returned the sly smile. "Absolutely."