AS THEY ENTERED NOVEMBER, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel.

"Winter! My favorite season of the weather!"

"What? You like cold and ice over the sun and a beach?"

"No, I like hot chocolate and snow
over sweats and exhaustion."

Every morning the ground was covered in frost.

Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows, defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch pitch, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit-fur gloves and enormous beaverskin boots.

"It's the quidditch season." Regulus point out with a light smile.

"It is." Sirius grins.

The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Coventina would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the House Championship. Hardly anyone had seen Coventina play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, she should be kept, well, secret.

But the news that she was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow.

"Snitch."

Coventina learnt that there were seven hundred ways of committing
a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473;

𝖳hat Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them;

That although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.

The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.

"Food!" Peter's mouth waters.

"Really?" Remina look at him, she had mix feeling about this, the future Peter clearly did something unforgiveable but this Peter in front of them was different.

"Food is life." Peter replied.

"You've got to eat some breakfast."
Aelora frowned. "I don't want anything." Coventina replied.

"Okay but at least, take a sip of juice." Anastacius place an orange juice infront of Coventina.

"I have never felt like this before." She muttered. Anastacius nodded, hiding his stunned expression.

"It's excitement, prongslette." Sirius smiled sadly.

By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.

Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row. As surprise for Coventina, Aelora was also there with Anstacius. They had painted a large banner, royal red colour and black.

It said Potter for President and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath.

"Aww!"

"They are so cute.

"I agree,"

Then Anstacius had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colours.

Meanwhile, in the changing rooms, Coventina and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes

Wood cleared his throat for silence.
"OK, men," he said. "And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.

"And women," Wood agreed. "This is it." "The big one," said Fred Weasley.
"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.

"We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Coventina. "We were in the team last year."

"Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."

"They better win." Sirius frowns.

"My daughter is a natural, no doubt
that they will win."

"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you." Coventina followed Fred and George out of the changing room.

Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the pitch, waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand. "Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they
were all gathered around her.

Coventina noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, a fifth-year. She thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd.

"Boosting her stupid ego." Snape rolled his eyes.

"Let me kill him-" Regulus shake his headat Barty.

"Mount your brooms, please."
Coventina clambered on to his Nimbus Two Thousand.

Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air.

They were off. "And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor - what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too - "

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

"He is right tho, she is hot." Marlene exclaims dramaticly.

The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve back to Johnson and no, Slytherin have taken the Quaffle,
Slytherin captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes Flint flying like an eagle up there." He continued.

"He's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and Gryffindor take the Quaffle that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and - OUCH - that must have
hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger."

"Quaffle taken by Slytherin - that's Adrian Pucey speeding off towards the goalposts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger - sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which - nice play by the Gryffindor Beater!"

"Anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes - she's really flying dodges a speeding Bludger the goalposts are ahead - come on, now,
Angelina - Keeper Bletchley dives - misses - GRYFFINDOR SCORE!"

"YES!!" The Gryffindors smile and
cheers while watching.

"Go!" Regulus frown.

Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.

Anastacius raise a brow and whispered to Aelora "Keep an eyes
on a suspicious people, in case."

"Got it."

"This is true friends."

"So real!"

Way up above them, Coventina was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch

"Towards the - wait a moment - was that the Snitch?" A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold
that had passed his left ear.

Coventina saw it. In a great rush of excitement she dived downwards
after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it,
too.

Neck and neck they hurtled towards the Snitch - all the chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in mid-air to watch.

Coventina was faster than Higgs she could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead - he put on an extra spurt of speed WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below Marcus Flint had blocked Coventina on purpose broom span off course,

"Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors.

"That brat!!" Remina growls.

"Let me get him!" Sirius growls too while James clenched his hand.

Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goalposts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.

Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides. "So - after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-"

"Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul-" "Jordan, I'm warning you-"

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

"Tsk." Sirius rolled his eyes.

It was as Coventina dodged another Bludger which went spinning
dangerously past her head that it happened. Her broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, se thought she was going to fall. She gripped the broom tightly with both her hands and knees.

She'd never felt anything like that.
It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck her off.

"Something is wrong with her
broom." Arcturus Black thought.

But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. She tried to turn back towards
the Gryffindor goalposts; she had half a mind to ask Wood to call time out - and then he realised that her broom was completely out of her control.

Lee was still commentating. "Slytherin in possession Flint with the Quaffle passes Spinnet passes Bell hit- hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose only joking, Professor - Slytherin score - oh no ..."

"What is happening with my daughter?" Lily asked worriedly.

"Her broom.." James observe the screen.

The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Coventina's broom was behaving strangely.

It was carrying her slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.

Antares stood up and quickly walked toward Anastacius and Aelora. "Nikova, Peverell! Something is wrong with her." He informed the too.

"Thanks, Black and we noticed." Aelora looked around herself carefully.

"I knew it," Aelora gritted her teeth. "Snape - look." Antares watched.

Snape was in the middle of the
stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Coventina and was muttering non-stop under his breath.

"Please allow me to commit homicide!" James smile sweetly.

"At the end." Mortem replied.

Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand and whispered a few, well chosen words. Bright blue
flames shot from her wand on to the hem of Snape's robes.

"I love her." Rabastan smiled at Marlene's words.

It was enough. Up in the air, Coventina was suddenly able to clamber back on his broom.

"You can look, Alice." Frank smile. "O-okay," She answered.

"I've got the Snitch!" she shouted, waving it above her head, and the game ended in complete confusion.

Quickly after the match, Coventina walked with Anastacius and Aelora as they accidentally arrive near, the conversationg of Granger, Weasley and Hagrid.

"It was Snape," Ron was explaining. "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off Potter."

"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do something like that?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, wondering what to tell him. Weasley decided on the truth.

"I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Hallowe'en. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid dropped the teapot. "How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.

"Fluffy?"

"Did he just call that shit, Fluffy!?"

"Poor children."

"I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the -' "Yes?" said Hagrid eagerly. "Now, don't ask me any more,"said Hagrid gruffly. 'That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to steal it."

"Rubbish,"said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did he just try and kill that girl?" cried Hermione. The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape.

"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"Good question."

"And the answer?" Euphemia rolled her eyes.

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Coventina's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student!
Now, listen to me, all three of yeh - yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin, that's between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel -"

"Aha!" said Weasley. 'So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel
involved, is there?" Hagrid looked furious with himself.

"Hadrig can't keep a secret." Xenophilius shake his head.

"True." Lily nod.

Coventina smirked, "I need eveything about Nicolas Flamel." She said firmly. "What do we do about Snape?"

"We will deal with him later." She replied to Anastacius.

"GRYFFINDOR WIN!!"

"YES!"