The next morning, Kitty was actually early to breakfast. That hadn't happened since before holiday break, so the other Hufflepuffs all looked surprised as she sidled up to the table and began digging into the eggs with gusto.

"Kitty Black, on time to breakfast for once? I thought I'd never see the day!" Declared Yemi.

"You're one to talk," Kitty retorted. "Yesterday you slept through it."

"That was a one time thing!"

"You ready, Kitty?" Jack interrupted their squabbling.

"More or less." Kitty had slept poorly, too excited for the day to come. 

Across the Great Hall, a small commotion had broken out. Kitty watched in tired disbelief as Emily Afton, standing by the Gryffindor table, had clearly gotten into an argument with her brother Sirius. Emily was gesturing angrily at him, and from where they were sitting, the Hufflepuffs could catch little words and phrases: "Never there... If you would just tell me... Well, I'm not just going to sit around and wait... What on earth could be keeping you busy all night?...Suspicious..."

Kitty buried her face in her arms. "I hope this doesn't jeopardize my chances of getting onto the House team. I didn't know that Emily and my brother even know each other."

Jack and Aludra exchanged a glance. "Aren't they dating?" Jack said.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Are they? How would I know? Sirius has dated half the school at this point. But why does it have to be Emily Afton? And why now?"

***

As Kitty and Jack headed to the Quidditch pitch together--the team was still eating, but they wanted to warm up a little before everyone was there--Kitty saw Jack pull a little silvery vial out of his robes pocket.

"What's that?" She asked curiously. It looked familiar but she couldn't place it.

"Liquid Luck," he said, "bottoms up!" And before she could say anything, he tipped it into his mouth. She gaped at him as he grinned back obliviously. "If I want to beat out Ciorstaid for Seeker, I'll need luck to be on my side."

Kitty found her voice. "Jack, this is wrong! You can't use liquid luck for this. You'll have to tell Emily you'll run drills another day. Or, if Slughorn is awake, maybe there's a potion to counteract it."

"I'm not wasting my only vial!" Jack protested. "Besides, Slughorn said it can't be used for organized competition. This isn't organized competition! It's not even real tryouts! There's nothing wrong about it."

"It's morally wrong," Kitty argued. "You're manipulating the odds in your favor and hurting someone else. Besides, if you beat out Ciorstaid just because luck is on your side, you'll always wonder if she's actually the better Seeker."

Jack had set his lips in a firm line. "It's too late."

"It's not."

"Kitty, I'm not backing down."

Kitty stopped in her tracks. "If you don't tell Emily... I will."

"Tell me what?" Emily asked curiously from behind them as the rest of the Hufflepuff team filed onto the pitch.

Kitty looked at Jack, who looked at the ground. It was better to let Jack tell her, right?

"Nothing," she said to Emily. To Jack, she whispered, "by the end of practice, you better tell her."

Emily had them practice catching quaffles, which the rest of the team lobbed at them, and then they all practiced dodging bludgers, which was dreadfully fun. Being on the broom still felt unfamiliar, but Kitty was starting to get the hang of it. Emily, as well as the Chasers--Mac McGill, Carson Arlo, and Coventry Skeeter--occasionally gave her tips about how to grip the broom and how to make quick stops or sharp terms, but as she flew more, the broom felt more and more like an extension of her body.

They took a quick break for water, and then Emily directed Kitty to join the Chasers to try scoring against Miranda Gallagher, the Hufflepuff Keeper. Miranda was an excellent Keeper, able to read a Chaser's body language to guess which hoop they were aiming for, but McGill, Arlo, and Coventry were also excellent Chasers. Arlo managed to sneak a quaffle past Miranda with an elaborate diving maneuver, while McGill used speed as a weapon. Kitty admired Coventry's style the most. Somehow, even on a broom hurtling through the air, he managed to be sneaky. 

Kitty's throat was dry with nervousness as she approached the hoops. It was McGill who she'd be replacing, but she was eons away from his skill. Maybe Emily had made a mistake.

"Just do a couple simple throws," Emily called. "Don't worry about doing anything fancy. It's your first time, and there's no good in you getting hurt."

So Kitty lobbed a couple balls at Miranda, who agilely blocked them, though her reaction time was just a tad slower and her brow furrowed. On Kitty's last throw, Miranda dived for the wrong hoop, and Kitty's ball went through the hoop. 

On the ground, Coventry, McGill, and Arlo hooted and cheered, but Kitty's cheeks were flaming with embarrassment. Miranda had missed just to be nice, but it felt like she was a little kid whose older cousins had just let win wizard's chess, smiling at the child's foolish excitement.

As they landed, however, Emily was frowning. "Miranda, why did you miss that last one?"

Kitty waited for Miranda to say that she had missed it on purpose, but Miranda's answer surprised her.

"I can't read her at all. Her body language says she's going for the left hoop, but then she throws it right. It's awfully impressive, not many people can control that."

Kitty blinked in surprise. She hadn't intended to do such a thing at all.

Emily's grimace turned into a little smile. "Well, well. Good thing we're running these drills then. That's a great base to work off of." She turned to Kitty. "Do you think you'd be available other Saturday mornings? We can keep working on getting your comfortable on the broom, and then by next year, you'll already be a top-notch Chaser."

"T-that sounds great to me," Kitty stammered in disbelief. "You mean I'm on the team?"

"More or less. Of course, you'll still need to try out next year. But so will everyone on the team! We run everything fair and square around here." She turned to Jack. "So, did you want to try being Keeper? Or are you battling Black for the Chaser position?"

"Actually, I wanted to try Seeker," Jack said. The team went quiet as everyone avoided looking at Ciorstaid. Kitty's heart dropped into her stomach. So he's not coming clean.

Ciorstaid shrugged after a moment where no one said anything. "I don't mind. If he's better than me, he's better than me."

And sure enough, when Emily released the tiny golden snitch, it seemed to attract Jack like a magnet. Whether it was hovering above the stands, hiding in a corner, or flying up along the cloud line, Jack found it within minutes.

"Well." Emily said after a beat, as Jack landed. "That was certainly impressive. You should join us on Saturdays as well. You and Ciorstaid can practice together and maybe both try out Keeper as well. I'm--well, I've really never seen anyone catch the Snitch so quickly."

Jack grinned broadly but tried to stifle it as Ciorstaid, though taking the situation in gracefully, seemed to be melting into the ground. Kitty tried to catch his eye, but he staunchly looked everywhere but at her.

Which is more important? Loyalty to a friend or integrity? What sort of friend would I be if I got a spot on the team and took Jack's spot away. But how can I go to sleep tonight knowing that this wasn't fair? How can he do this to Ciorstaid? 

The team was gathering their things and beginning to file off the pitch. Kitty made up her mind, falling into step with Emily.

"I have to tell you something," she said quietly. "Jack--he took liquid luck this morning. Felix felicis."

Emily's face tightened--in anger? in shock? or maybe both. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. He got it in Potions class the first day, you can ask anyone. That's how he found the Snitch so quickly."

Emily put her hand on Kitty shoulder. "Thank you for telling me. I know you two are friends. But this isn't right. Now, if you'll excuse me... Jack!"

Jack looked back from where he was walking up ahead with Arlo. 

"Yeah?" He finally made eye contact with Kitty. There was anger in his eyes, but also resignation. He knows what's coming.

"We need to talk," said Emily, tightly.

***

They had all already eaten dinner in the Great Hall, but Slughorn served them a feast at the Slug Club that night. By the eighth course, most of the students were groaning, but Slughorn was happily digging into his third piece of pie with gusto. Kitty's appetite was rather diminished by the sight of Jack and Aludra, who were sitting across from her at the table, whispering to each other and occasionally shooting her a dirty glance. 

She, at least, was seated between her brother Sirius and Coventry Skeeter, who apparently, though he was invited every time, only showed up to the Slug Club once a year. He had a wicked sense of humor and quickly got both her and Sirius laughing at his quips.

"Your brother looks like he's going to kill someone," he whispered to Kitty at one point, when the laughter had died down. Sure enough, Regulus, seated next to Aludra, seemed to be regarding the whole table with great annoyance. 

Kitty went to respond but was interrupted by Slughorn's booming voice.

"So Skeeter, my dear boy, since I am not confident that we'll have the treat of your presence again this year--" he paused in case anyone wanted to laugh. Since no one did, he continued. "--We simply must get caught up on your family while you're here. How are your parents?"

"Still aurors," Coventry responded. "Still never home."

"Lovely," Slughorn said happily. "And your sister?"

"Still at the Prophet. She was promoted again recently."

"Oh my, it seems she'll be the top of the ladder any day now!" Slughorn was beside himself. "And your brothers?"

"Henry is still flying for the Arrows," Coventry said, clearly bored. "He's hoping to make it on the English team for the Quidditch World Cup this year. And Elisha is working for MACUSA, the American Ministry of Magic."

Slughorn was practically quivering with delight. "What an accomplished family!" he gushed.

Coventry grimaced. "And then there's me," he whispered to Kitty. "I don't think I'll get a single OWL."

Slughorn was already turning to Aludra, asking her about how she liked growing up as a twin.

"You're an marvelous Chaser, though," Kitty said with surprise. "Surely you could go professional."

"Maybe," Coventry shrugged. "I'm nothing compared to my brother Henry, though. You should see him, he's incredible. Best Chaser in England. He'll be on the national team to be sure."

"Well, I think you're phenomenal. And funny as well. It doesn't matter what your family has done, you're great just as yourself."

Coventry smiled at her, a faint blush on his cheeks. "I appreciate it, I really do."

"So the Sorting Hat thought about putting you in Slytherin?" Slughorn was saying with surprise. Kitty and Coventry turned their attention back to the conversation at hand. "You could have been in my house!"

Aludra smiled, somewhat uncomfortably. "I couldn't stand to be without my sister. I told the Hat it should put me in Hufflepuff as well, and it did."

"Ah, well that's the classic Hufflepuff loyalty, there!" Slughorn declared. "The Hat's never wrong. Still interesting, to be sure! Many students seem to have the aptitude for more than one House. Mr. DiGievo is as smart as any Ravenclaw! Mr. Skeeter could surely be a Gryffindor! But, of course, the Hat knows best!"

At this, Slughorn stopped his interrogations of different students, sipping a glass of mulled wine as everyone resumed their side conversations. Kitty poked Sirius in the side. "Why do you have to be dating my Quidditch captain, huh?"

"I'll date whoever I want," Sirius retorted. "And this one might actually last! Emily's smart and cool and funny."

"Can't be that smart if she's dating you," interjected Coventry. 

"Says the guy who's bottom of the class in every exam," retorted Sirius as Kitty fist-bumped Coventry under the table. "If you were less charming they wouldn't keep passing you every year."

"Well, good thing I'm charming, then." Coventry stretched out in his chair like a cat.

Across the table, there was suddenly a flurry of movement. Regulus was getting to his feet hastily, glaring down his nose at Aludra and Jack. "How dare you," he snapped. "If my sister ratted you out to the Quidditch captain, you must have done something terrible. I had better never hear you speak badly of her again or you will regret it." With that, he threw his cloth napkin at Jack and left.

Everyone gaped in silence. Jack had the decency to look abashed while Aludra glowered stubbornly. 

"Maybe I should come to the Slug Club more often," Coventry whispered. "I didn't realize there would be entertainment!"