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CLASSES BEGAN AGAIN FAR TOO SOON. New Year came and went in a flash, and with it finished the last of their holidays. Albany wasn't delighted about returning to the daily dreaded student life; class and homework took up so much of her day that it left her with little to no free time. She was desperate to find out as much as she could about the connection between Evander's watch and her use of old magic, and how Faith had gotten involved; but getting back into the flow of school came with the unfortunate reminder of the tournament, and she needed to crack down on deciphering the egg.

Her life in school since the publishing of Rita Skeeter's horrid article had been stressful, to say the least. The way in which her actions had been described elicited a response from most people upon seeing her in the halls that was the magical folk's equivalent of Muggles screaming "witch!" at women they didn't understand and considered a threat. Naturally, since half of the people muttering about her were witches themselves, such a term didn't really work. Instead, she was referred to in a variety of colourful and vicious insults, and she would be lying if she said they didn't hurt her.

Her fellow students either feared or resented her, and the theories of what she had done to George were never-ending. Many were saying he was now under her control, which she found ironic. A guilt weighed on her shoulders, however; as much as she didn't want to struggle through it all, the last thing she'd wanted was to pull George down with her, but now with every whisper of her name, his accompanied it. People were worried for him, wanted to save him, even. Albany wouldn't have been surprised if a protest rose up against her campaigning for his freedom.

George, bless him, handled it as well as anyone could expect him to, though Albany had a sickening feeling with every "piss off!" he yelled at students approaching him to ask if he was alright, the more he was confirming their suspicions. The more often they were seen together, the worse the rumours grew.

Most frustrating was that Albany could do nothing to disprove the theories. She wasn't very well about to tell everyone her true heritage; that was bound to make things worse. She hadn't even explained things to Lee, Angelina or Alicia, though to their credit, they trusted her and didn't ask too many questions.

Not everyone shared their kindness. Her fellow champions — even Harry, to some extent — had grown extremely distrustful of her. She had a feeling they thought she was cheating in the tournament; Krum scowled every time he saw her in the halls, and Fleur would toss her hair over her shoulder and walk the other way. Harry was too wary to approach her and find out what was really going on. She wondered if Ron had said anything to him to put him off — the Weasleys were very protective of their own, she had come to realise. The day after the article had come to the light, she'd fallen victim to an upsetting Howler from Molly Weasley.

Albany hadn't cried over the vicious yelling she was subjected to, but she wanted to. Fred and George's mother had demanded she stay far away from any of her children, and never speak with them again. A few comments had been made about Slytherins, too, and though she usually brushed such things off, this time it stung. While the twins assured her that they obviously weren't going anywhere, and Fred immediately got to writing back to his mother in protest, she couldn't deny that it had been a heavy hit.

Even her teachers looked at her differently. In class, she wasn't called on for questions, and when she'd been caught talking out of turn by Snape, he hadn't said anything. She supposed none of them knew what to make of the incident; it wasn't like any of her professors were well educated in the magic of Merlin's time. Maybe Professor Binns was, but he was so out of it that she didn't think he had a clue what was going on.

One thing was for certain, though: Moody was watching her closer than ever, and it was most unsettling. He was like her shadow, always lingering somewhere in her peripherals, that magical eye of his staring straight through her soul.

It was after a slow, depressing Defense Against the Dark Arts class she was approached by Carly and the twins, their eyes twinkling. She raised her eyebrow at the three, knowing all too well they were up to something.

"Enjoying class, Allie?" Fred asked casually, smirk growing.

"Not at all, why?"

"We know you have been stressed," Carly noted with a small smile. Curiously, she wasn't wearing her silky school robes, but a thick sweater and jeans; the twins were dressed similarly in their matching knitted jumpers, despite the fact that it was the middle of a Wednesday. "So Fred and George had an idea—"

"You play Quidditch, Al?" George interrupted.

Albany's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the redhead. "Not competitively...." she said slowly.

"But you do play?" Fred assumed, grinning.

"I can play," Albany corrected him. "Maybe not well, but.... Hang on, why are you asking me this?"

George pulled his hand from the pocket of his jeans, dangling a set of keys from his index finger with a mischievous grin. "We may have gotten our hands on—"

"Stolen," Carly corrected him.

"Keys to the broom shed!" Fred finished, clapping his hands together. "So maybe there's no matches this year, but it's a decent day, if a bit cold—"

"So we're skipping class to play around," George said, grinning at her. "And you're coming with us."

"Of course I am," Albany sighed, rolling her eyes in amusement, though didn't complain. "What's another detention, right?"

"Excellent! Get dressed," Fred cheered.

"And bring your egg!" Carly added. "I have a theory I want to test."

Ten minutes later, the four were down at the Quidditch pitch, shivering against the January breeze. Lee, Angelina and Alicia were waiting for them, brooms in hand and the two girls decked out in their scarlet Quidditch gear. Albany felt a quiver of excitement run up her spine; she was no star player, but there was always something thrilling about speeding through the air atop a broom and watching the world stretch out below her. She hadn't played in years; once upon a time, she and Evander would have messed around on brooms above the forest beyond their house.

"Everyone looking forward to the trouble we're gonna get into for this?" Fred asked, eyes alight with mischief as he performed some sort of friendly handshake with Lee.

Angelina rolled her eyes. "I had Potions this period; detention, just this once, is worth it."

"How are we playing with seven people?" Alicia questioned, glancing around the group. Albany had been wondering the same thing.

"I'm not playing," Carly chimed in hastily, and pulled at a curl of her hair. "I will stay on the ground. Referee."

"Suit yourself," Lee said with a shrug.

"Then it's six," George pointed out. "We would play with six all the time at home. Two Chasers on each side, and they have to defend the hoops, too. The third player is a Beater and a Seeker."

"Sounds good," Angelina agreed. "What are the teams?"

"Already picked them out," said Fred, grinning. "Me, you and Lee versus Georgie, Allie and Alicia. Sounds fair?"

"Yeah, I like those teams," Albany piped up happily. George beamed at her.

"You know how Quidditch works, right, Carly?" Fred asked the curly-haired girl. She nodded eagerly. "Alright then, teams, let's go!"

As the gang began to take to the sky, Carly grabbed a hold of Albany's arm. Surprised, Albany turned around to meet the girl's cheerful gaze; she was holding the golden egg tight in her arms.

"After the game, take the egg up on the broom," Carly suggested. "I think it might not always scream, depending on where you open it."

Albany raised her eyebrows, impressed. "That's pretty clever, actually," she said, grinning.

"Lionheart, you coming or what?"

Albany rolled her eyes in amusement at George's impatience, and threw a leg over her broom. "Make sure you give Fred loads of fouls," she joked, and took to the air.

As she rose into the sky, a rush of adrenaline began pumping through her veins. She couldn't help the broad grin that stretched her lips as she felt the wind in her hair. Up on the broom, she was free of her worries and the stresses of school and the tournament.

Alicia and George flew over to meet her, faces shining with determination. Regardless of how casual this game was, she realised, the two were both competitive players, and they were in it to win.

"You and I are Chasers," Alicia informed her with a nod. "Angelina will be a Chaser for sure, and she's strong on the offensive, so I'm gonna defend the hoops. That means you're our offensive player."

"Alright," Albany agreed, though she wasn't sure she had a choice in the matter.

"And I'll make sure Freddie doesn't kill anyone," George laughed, swinging his bat.

Carly blew a whistle from down below, and the three nodded to each other, assuming their respective positions. Albany glanced up in surprise; Fred was grinning mischievously opposite her, while behind him, Angelina was weighing up a Beater's bat in her hands.

"Wait a minute—" Albany said, gaping at him, and Fred laughed hysterically.

"Hey there, fellow Chaser," he teased.

"Let the match begin!" Carly shouted, and with a flick of her wand, she released the Quaffle, Snitch and a single Bludger.

Immediately, Fred grabbed a hold of the Quaffle, and winked at Albany as he zoomed straight past her. Setting her jaw, she whipped her broom around and began her pursuit, flattening herself to the wood to gain speed. She was smaller and lighter, and used this to her advantage, slowly gaining on the redhead ahead of her.

She ducked as a Bludger whizzed right over her head, and stole a quick glare at George.

"Sorry Al!" he called, grinning sheepishly.

Albany shook her head in amusement and continued onwards, now neck and neck with Fred. She shot him a grin as she nudged him in the side, to which his eyes widened a fraction, before softening again with a knowing smirk. Albany was confused until Lee crashed into her from the other side, trapping her between the two.

"You gits," she laughed, though was filled with new determination. Their hoops are unguarded.

"Duck, Lionheart!"

Albany shifted her weight onto the front of her broom and pushed downwards, breaking free of their trap just in time as a Bludger barrelled into Fred's side. He let the Quaffle slip as the breath left his lungs, and she caught it in a clean motion from beneath him, grinning as she spun around again.

"Yes Albany!" Alicia cheered, spurring her onwards.

The hoops were clear on the other end of the pitch, and Albany urged herself onwards as fast as she could manage. Fingers crossed, it would be enough to keep ahead of Fred and Lee, and provided George kept the Bludger off her back, she'd have an easy shot at scoring. As the hoops loomed closer, she stretched out her arm, preparing her throw—

"Say, does Merlin hear us all those times we use his name to curse?" Fred called from just behind her. Someone made a quick recovery. "Like Merlin's toes, Merlin's beard...?"

Albany snorted at the thought. "Yeah, he hates them," she laughed. "Arthur has a list of the best ones."

She jerked her arm forward once she was in range of the hoops, but nothing flew forward, and she slowed to a stop, confused. When she turned around again, Fred was tearing off down the pitch to rejoin the others, the Quaffle tucked under his arm.

"You SNAKE!" she yelled up the pitch as she tore after him again, though couldn't stop smiling.

For the rest of the match, Fred thoroughly enjoyed using his distraction tactics to mess with Albany. Though after the third question ("So if you're a dragonlord, do all dragons have to listen to you or just the well-behaved ones?"), she was able to tune him out and get in a couple clean scores. She was grateful she hadn't mentioned anything about the soulmate situation to them, or she was sure he would have countless more questions to use against her. They played for a good forty minutes before Angelina caught the Snitch and Carly blew the whistle.

"Good game, guys," Lee said as they all landed again, smiles broad. "Just not good enough, since you lot couldn't win—"

"I would have caught the Snitch easy," George retorted, pulling the boy into a playful headlock. "Angelina's just better with balls."

"George Weasley!" the taller girl snapped, though the rest of the group collapsed into laughter.

"Well played, hon," Alicia said to Albany, grinning as she pulled her hair out of its ponytail. "You were pretty good for a casual player."

"Thanks," Albany replied cheerfully, fixing her own tangled hair. She had missed flying.

"Disappointed we didn't get to see Carly's skills," Fred remarked, nudging the shortest girl with a broad smirk. "No chance we'll get you into the air just for a bit?"

"No way," Carly argued, folding her arms. "I am happy with both feet on the ground—"

"Someone needs to take the egg up," Albany agreed with a teasing nudge. "And wow, I'm really tired...."

Carly made a face at the girl. "There is seven of us, someone else can take it up—"

"Okay, I'll do it, and you can come with me," Lee suggested brightly, taking the egg in one arm as he mounted his broom again.

"It is fine, really—"

"Yeah, a fine idea!" Fred chimed, picking up the girl and placing her on the broom behind Lee. "Enjoy your flight!"

"No, wait, I'm scared of heights!" Carly shrieked, and buried her face into Lee's back as the Gryffindor took off from the ground with a hearty laugh.

"Just don't look down!" Angelina shouted up to them.

Human nature, of course, dictates that often when told not to do something, doing it becomes a hundred times more tempting. And so, no matter how horrible and loud the egg's scream was from up in the sky, Carly's was far louder.