"Alright, men. Women. This could very well be my last real competitive game of Quidditch. And Sean and Marcie's too," said Marlowe, pacing back and forth in front of his team. They were all dressed and ready to go in their blue robes, brooms lined up neatly along the wall.

"Aw, don't say that, Marlowe. You're making me sentimental," said Sean.

"Don't interrupt. The rest of you- well... it's your last game with the two of us anyway so... basically, no pressure but we absolutely cannot lose under any circumstances."

Theo and Clara smirked at one another. Luckily, Marlowe was not looking.

"Now, would anyone oblige me in reciting... the magic number."

Everyone stared at him blankly. Everyone except Elliot who raised a tentative hand.

Marlowe nodded at him.

"Four hundred and thirty," said Elliot promptly.

Marlowe beamed. "Glad to see I've indoctrinated you with the true weight of Hogwarts Quidditch. That's correct. That is the number of points we need to be ahead by before Theo can catch the snitch. That is your new best friend. My chasers... score like you've never scored before. Clara, smack the bludgers at those canaries like they've just slept with your boyfriend." (Theo flushed scarlet at this). 

"Speaking of whom, Theo, you keep their seeker distracted at all costs until the score is up. Don't let them catch it before we can get the lead we need. And Sean, don't you go letting any of their goals through. If the Hufflepuff's have a fault, it's that they're honest. And it's to our benefit that that isn't an asset in quidditch. They don't know how to trick anyone. So trust that wherever it looks like the quaffle is heading to, that's probably where it's heading to. You guys, this is life.... Or death."

"Okay, hang on-" said Eddie, raising his hand to stop Marlowe continuing. "I get what you're saying. I do. And your pep talks have always been dramatic, but like..."

"It's borderline goofy, Marlowe," said Clara, finishing for him.

Marlowe blinked, surprised, but then he sighed.

"I'm trying," he began slowly, "to..." He sighed again. "To distract myself from the fact that... this is my last game. I spent seven years thinking that professional quidditch was a given and- well, it's just not going to happen anymore. I chose something else. Someone else." His eyes flickered to Sean. "God, that sounds sappy. Sorry. The point is, this is it for me. And I don't like knowing that, but I don't want to think about yet. I've got one more game to play. And I always wanted to win but... now it's for real. Now, we've really got to."

"So... let's quit talking and let's go do it," said Sean.

Marlowe gave a firm nod. "Yeah. Also... I love you guys. This is a good team. A really good team. And also... last thing I promise- no one break your hand okay?"

Sean grimaced at the thought but laughed along with everyone else.

On that note, they marched out onto the field, Marlowe in the lead. He strode out to shake hands with Hufflepuff's captain, a sixth year named Boris, with his head buzzing and the roar of the crowd muffled in his ears. This was really it. One game and his quidditch career was done. He'd accepted it now. No matter what Caiti said, he knew there was no chance. He'd known it since St. Mungo's. It had taken months to let it sink in, but it had.

Still, he didn't love quidditch any less for it. It wasn't the fault of the sport. Only the people in it. And he was going to enjoy this last game.

---

"Oh my god," said Caiti.

"What?" asked Evelyn, head snapping up. She had a book in her lap which she'd been studying while they waited for the game to begin. N.E.W.T.s were just around the corner and she'd become a machine in the last two weeks, rarely doing anything without a book or notes or, at the very least, her wand out.

"Oh my god," she said again, clapping a hand over her mouth. "No, no, no... I mean... good... but... oh my god. Oh my god, I can't watch this."

"Can't watch what?" asked Evelyn impatiently. "They haven't even started yet."

"There are quidditch reps here. Look across. Where the professors are sitting." Caiti actually doubled over, turning her head so her cheek rested on her knee and she could watch Evelyn's reaction. Evelyn squinted across the stands, but her eyes relaxed as soon as she spotted them. It was hard to miss them, in their bright orange robes, two large black C's on the back. The Chudley Cannons.

"Well, that's great," said Evelyn.

    "Is it?" asked Caiti weakly. She wrapped her arms under her knees and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Yes, it is," said Evelyn at once. "No matter what, that means they agreed with your letter, that it was wrong to take him out of consideration just for... Caiti, they're setting a precedent. Maybe they'll speak out against werewolf discrimination in sport."

"Yes, but what if they aren't here for Marlowe. It could be for Hufflepuff or... or for Sean."

Evelyn raised her eyebrows at her. "They aren't here for Sean," she said. "He's a good player, but he's not Marlowe. Even I know that and I know nothing about quidditch."

Caiti slowly began to sit up again. "Okay so... what if they are here for Marlowe? What if... what if he sees them and it makes him nervous. Or what if he just has a bad game and this is it for him? Or what if... what if they just decide not to take him, no matter what they think of discrimination and whatever and then I got his hopes up for nothing and then he hates me because I dragged out something that was bad enough already and-"

"Caiti," said Evelyn firmly. "First of all, his hopes aren't up. He really doesn't think he'll ever play again. I heard him and Sean talking about it. And even if he did, it's still not your fault. And he won't hate you."

"God, I shouldn't have ever gotten involved," she breathed, staring across at the reps who were now shaking hands with the headmaster. "I'm so nervous."

Evelyn reached for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Don't worry about them, okay? He'll be fine."

She started to let go of Caiti's hand but Caiti tightened her own grip, looked at Evelyn and said, "Don't let go, okay?"

Evelyn smiled a little, shut her book with her other hand, and folded her fingers back down over Caiti's just as the balls were released and the players took off.

---

Something about his speech must have worked, because in the first seven minutes of the game, his chasers scored three goals. Marlowe swerved between the Hufflepuff players, hoping to knock them of course by proximity as often as with the bludger. The fewer chances they had at the goal, the better. He wanted Sean to be bored out of his mind.

By the time the score had reached seventy to zero, Marlowe had decided he'd overplayed Hufflepuff's defensive and offensive skill (not that he regretted this - better over-prepared, than under).

The only thing he was truly worried about now was Theo. He didn't doubt that they could win. If the snitch was spotted, Theo was sure to catch it. He was much smaller than the Hufflepuff seeker. Light and speedy. Still, the other seeker wasn't a joke. In fact, he was quite good. He'd caught the snitch in both Hufflepuff's other games, though they had still lost both. And what if Theo was forced to catch the snitch too soon? What if they won the game and lost the cup?

In his mind, the two events were linked. It was both or none. He had never really considered the possibility of losing in one sense and winning in another, but now it seemed like one was the most likely outcome. A lead of four hundred and thirty before the snitch was caught seemed crazy. How were they meant to score forty three goals without letting their rivals score any? And if Sean did let a goal in, the number the Ravenclaws had to score ticked up again.

A bludger whizzed past his broom, hurtling towards Elodie, who was in possession of the quaffle and Marlowe snapped back into action. They wouldn't win in any sense if he didn't get his head in the game. He shot forward and whacked the bludger towards one of the opposing chasers, who was heading towards Elodie from her right in the hopes of knocking her - and the quaffle - out of the way of the scoring region. At the sight of bludger, the girl spun in mid air, barely keeping hold of her broom and Elodie was able to launch the quaffle into the center hoop where it spun just past the captain and keeper's outstretched arms.

"Eighty to zero!" rang out the commentators voice. "Boris really fought for that one, but the Ravenclaw chaser's aim is just too good for him."

"Damn right it is," muttered Marlowe, throwing a quick glance up at Theo to make sure all was well with the seeking. In this case, that meant no sighting. Not until much later anyway. They were off to a good start, but it was just that. A start.

Marlowe sought out the bludgers again, hoping to keep the Hufflepuff chaser he had just knocked out of Elodie's way, from scoring. Clara seemed to have had the same thought, and he saw her over at the other end of the field, lodging a bludger at the girl who was now doubled over on her broom and speeding towards Sean's goal. One of their beaters intercepted it and sent it far in the other direction, but Marlowe, making a well-calculated guess at it's new direction, shot off towards it and smacked it at her again. Clara met it halfway and with a last hit in their ping pong match, made perfect contact with the quaffle itself. It dropped out of the girl's hands and into Eddie's and everyone swerved to fly in the other direction. Clara held out a hand to high five Marlowe as they redirected and he grinned at her.

If there was one good thing about his need for such a high score, it was drawing out his last game. Clara had just reminded him that this was fun.

With that, his mood totally shifted.

They were going to win the whole thing. He was sure of it.

---

They were up one hundred and forty points. Ravenclaw's defense was performing so harmoniously that Sean had hardly needed to defend the goal at all. The quaffle had flown at him maybe three times and each of these had been easy saves. He felt more like a spectator on a broom than a player, except that he was significantly more invested in the outcome of the match.

As the chasers took off for the other end of the pitch again - Eddie had just stolen the quaffle - Sean took a quick glance up at Theo. he doubletook. Theo had flattened himself down on his broom and was diving steeply towards something.

Or someone... following the direction of Theo's momentum, Sean spotted, not a glimmer of gold or a flutter of tiny wings, but the Hufflepuff seeker, a dozen yards ahead of Theo, arm outstretched.

If the other team caught the snitch, they won the game. Their lead would be almost impossible to come back from just based on goal scoring, but the hundred and fifty points awarded to the team who caught the snitch would still top Ravenclaw, if only just. Sean gripped the handle of his broom hard, unable to rip his eyes away from Theo. "C'mon," he muttered. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..."

Though he was far away, he thought he saw the Hufflepuff seeker's fist closing, oblivious to the fact that Theo was speeding towards him from behind. Without even trying to reroute, Theo crashed into their seeker, knocking them both sideways, off their brooms. They were not far from the ground after such a long and steep dive, but it still had to hurt.

Sean couldn't be too worried though, because the Hufflepuff seeker's attitude as he stood made it perfectly clear Theo's rather desperate move had worked: he had not caught the snitch.

Unfortunately, focusing on these events, he completely ignored the fact that Hufflepuff was back in possession and had just shot an effortless goal through his wide open right hoop.

"Ten points to Hufflepuff! Guess O'Connell felt bad about that forced collision between the two seekers and let one in easy," called out the announcer.

"Crap!" shouted Sean, as play turned towards the opposite goal posts again.

"What happened?" called Marlowe as he swiveled around in midair on his way to the other end.

"Sorry!" Sean yelled back. He did not know what else he could say.

He was still feeling so guilty and embarrassed over the incident that when the opposition flew his way again, following another successful goal from Ravenclaw, he fumbled and let in a second goal.

Marlowe signaled for a time out and the ref blew the whistle.

Sean flew down with the rest of the team feeling sick to his stomach. If they lost and it was his fault, Marlowe would never forgive him for it.

"I'm sorry," said Sean at once. "I don't know what happened-"

But Marlowe wasn't looking at Sean. He was looking at Theo who, after his fall, was limping and had a large, dark bruise already blossoming on the side of his face. "Are you alright?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"No," said Theo. "But I can still play. I promise I'm good enough to play."

"Tell the truth. Because we have alternates... I can put someone else in you need to see the nurse."

"I'm fine," he assured them. "I promise. I'm fine."

Marlowe hesitated, but then he sighed. "Fine," he said. He turned to Sean now. "Sean, don't freak yourself out, it's only two goals. We'll be able to come back still. Just stop thinking about it. And the rest of you, just keep scoring. Don't get too comfortable."  

The whistle blew again - timeouts were never long enough - and they all nodded darkly to each other and jumped back on their brooms to resume.

---

"I can't watch this," said Caiti, leaning forward again, face in her hands. It was probably the fortieth time she had said so. Ravenclaw was up three hundred and eighty to twenty. It seemed impossible that Ravenclaw would not win at this point and the dismal atmosphere in the Hufflepuff section seemed to have accepted this as fact. But still, odd things were happening. Theo had had probably seven opportunities to catch the snitch by now and still hadn't. It didn't even seem like he was trying. Once he had actually sat still while it flew right past his face.

"What are they waiting for?" asked Evelyn. "They're going to win, aren't they?"

"God, I don't know. What if Marlowe's seen the reps and he's told them to draw the game out as long as possible so they can see him player longer?"

"I doubt it," said Evelyn. "I think he's been too busy to look around the stands much."

They fell quiet, Caiti digging her nails into her face with nerves and Evelyn drumming her hands against her knees. All around them, the Ravenclaw supporters were tense, though no one quite seemed to know why. They should have been overjoyed at the huge lead, excepting that undeniable sense that something was off.

"Hang on. Hang on- Caiti. Look up." Evelyn grabbed her shoulder and shook her a little.

Caiti peeked up again. "What?" she asked.

"Look at Theo," said Evelyn. Her eyes were pointed up above the chasers who had just put another goal in for Ravenclaw. Caiti found him following a path that seemed random but was clearly anything but. The snitch was there, feet in front of him, but he hadn't even taken his hand off the broom to grab it.

"Something's up," said Caiti. "They've got some stupid plan."

The Hufflepuff seeker seemed to have noticed something was odd too and had rerouted towards him. "Oh no, oh no," breathed Evelyn.

"I can't look," said Caiti again. Evelyn could not tear her eyes away. "What is he doing?"

Ravenclaw scored four more times while she watched but she barely heard it announced. "Did he catch it yet?" asked Caiti, hiding her face in her hands.

"No, not yet," said Evelyn, and it seemed impossible that he wouldn't have at least lost it to the other seeker at this point. "You don't think he got concussed when they collided do you?"

"No," said Caiti, removing her hands again. "No, he's too on it." She gripped Evelyn's hand again. Theo had one eye on the snitch and the other on the opposing seeker. Somehow, miraculously, he was managing to not only follow the snitch and keep it close, but also to ensure that Hufflepuff did not catch the snitch.

Ravenclaw scored again, now 430 to 20. Theo gave the Hufflepuff seeker an extra hard shove and then he was back on the tail of the snitch. Following it had brought the two of them down into the middle of the main play area. Evelyn didn't understand how he could possibly keep his eye on the snitch and the other seeker with six chasers, four beaters, two bludgers, and a quaffle all spiraling around him.

Sean blocked a goal. Ravenclaw scored again. Still, Theo did not catch the snitch. Instead, he cut off the other seeker, again. They dove low after the  the fluttering golden wings until the ball was just inches above the grass.

Marlowe zoomed right past where Caiti and Evelyn sat and they heard him yell to Theo "Keep on it! Hold him off!"

"Oh my god," groaned Caiti. "This is maddening. Just catch the stupid thing already."

"They're working the score up," said Evelyn. "I just don't know what to."

She looked down at Sean, hoping things on his end were less dramatic. One of Hufflepuff's chasers held the quaffle in one hand, preparing to score, and threw a well aimed attempt at the goal. It streaked towards the outer edge of the left hoop and Sean had to lean so far off his broom to catch it that he slammed into the side of the hoop, hard, almost losing his broom entirely.

Evelyn shrieked, clapping her hand over her mouth.

Sean doubled over, hanging onto the hoop. The quaffle slipped out of his hands and fell straight down towards the earth. Elodie dove after it, tailed by a Hufflepuff. Above them, Marlowe whacked one of the bludgers straight between the two, causing the Hufflepuff to swerve. It hit Elodie in the shoulder, but she had the quaffle already and she didn't drop it.

She shot towards the other end of the field, tossed to Eddie, who had not just had his scoring arm injured, and he threw the quaffle hard and fast into the goal, a perfect curveball. The Hufflepuff keeper took off for the left goal, but it wrapped back around and fell through the center hoop.

"Now, Theo! NOW!" bellowed Marlowe, over the roar of the crowd.

Theo reached out, finally, and, with one last block of his opponent, his fingers closed around the snitch.

"That's four hundred and fifty to twenty and-" began Bill at the microphone. "Wait- that's it! That's the game! Ravenclaw's got the snitch! Ravenclaw wins, six hundred to twenty. Ravenclaw wins the match and the cup!"

    Caiti jumped up, throwing her arms in the air. Evelyn stood quickly as well, but it was only because the crowd had blocked her view of Sean. She didn't smile or cheer until she caught another glimpse of him and found that he had turned around and was heading towards the ground with the rest of the team, looking winded and a little in pain, but otherwise okay. "Oh thank god," she said, though no one heard her over the roar of the crowd.

Caiti yelled something but her voice was drowned out. "What?" Evelyn yelled back.

Caiti shook her head, grabbed, Evelyn's arm and towed her through the crowd and towards the steps leading down to the pitch.

---

Marlowe hit the ground in a daze. After all that. It was over. They had actually won. He wanted to be as excited as he'd thought he would be, to feel that buzz of elation, unable to wipe the grin off his face, but though he did smile, it felt just the tiniest bit forced.

Quidditch was over. For him anyway. He spotted Caiti hurtling down the steps to the pitch, but only for a split second before her little stature was swallowed up by the blooming crowd.

The team huddled up together, most paired up and hugging.

Sean landed next to Marlowe - the last to make it to the ground - looking a little worse for the wear. "Well," he said, wrapping his arm around Marlowe's shoulders in a way that made Marlowe think he was trying to play off a brotherly nature to cover up his completely literal need for physical support.

"We did it," said Marlowe. "And you... get to the hospital wing okay?"

"I'm fine," said Sean, "just... bad bruise on my ribs is all."

"Yeah, well... go anyway. You've got the last task in a week. Don't sabotage yourself."

Sean didn't seem to be going anywhere, and anyway, the team had turned to him now, expecting some sort of a speech. Marlowe opened his mouth before he knew what to say. His eyes flicked across the team, some of them nursing small injuries, but grinning ear to ear anyway.

"I love you guys," he said finally. "Best team I've ever had. Best team I've ever played on," he corrected. "I don't... I don't know what else to say."

His voice had gone a little funny and his eyes glassed over. He was afraid he'd cry if he continued. Since when had he become such a sap?

Luckily, at that moment, an unfamiliar voice behind him said, "Mr. Finnegan? May we have a word with you?"

Marlowe turned around at once, blinking the wetness out of his eyes. Two men stood there, both stocky in build but rather tall. "Uh- yeah," he said. Then he noticed their robes: blindingly bright orange. A small "CC" patch had been sewn on the chest. His heart rate sped up. "Yeah, of course," he said. He made a quick turn back to his team and said, "Someone get Sean to the hospital wing, will you? And Theo for that matter," and then he followed the two wizards a short distance away.

"My name is Jordan Daniels and this Marcus O'Brien. We're former beaters for the Chudley Cannons and work now in recruitment. Mr. Finnegan, I understand you're interested in pursuing a career in professional quidditch," said the one on the left.

"Yes," said Marlowe at once. "I'd- yes. Definitely."

O'Brien spoke now. "We were impressed with your performance today, both as a captain, and a beater. Your team works well together and certainly in search of a common goal. Did you ask your seeker to purposely hold off on the snitch today?"

"We needed four hundred and thirty points before the snitch  in order to win the cup," said Marlowe with a sheepish grin. "So I told him to wait if he could."

"That's a risky move," said Daniels. "But you had the sort of team to pull it off and the leadership to feel confident about it."

"Yeah," agreed Marlowe. "I was lucky to have them."

"Mr. Finnegan," said O'Brien. "We'd like to offer you a reserve contract with the Cannons."

Marlowe went still and quiet. He had expected this from the moment they'd begun talking with him, but to hear it out loud was totally different.

"You know I'm a werewolf?" he blurted out.

"Yes," said Daniels, calmly. "We're aware of the situation. It's both illegal and immoral to use an unfortunate circumstance as grounds to dismiss a perfectly capable player from consideration."

"And further," continued O'Brien, "We at the Chudley Cannons wish to be a leader to the Magical Sports Industry in matters of discrimination which have gone largely unaddressed as a whole, but we also believe that the statement would not be nearly as powerful if the player to instigate it were not truly talented and committed to the sport. It's not a decision we make lightly, Mr. Finnegan. We don't want anyone to have the opportunity to say you were chosen because we felt sorry for you."

"You would be taking on more pressure than the average quidditch player," said Daniels. "You would be under more scrutiny. We would have to ask you to keep your focus on the game, not on whatever rumors might surround you. We believe the only way to dispel any dissent surrounding your appointment to the team is to prove that, no matter what you might be, you're an asset to the team. And we believe you would be."

"I don't know what to say," said Marlowe, eyes wide.

"Let's begin," said O'Brien with a kind smile, "with yes or no."

"Yes," said Marlowe. "Yes, I want to."

They smiled. "Excellent," said O'Brien. He waved his wand and conjured a scroll with very small black lettering all the way down. "We'll ask you to read this over thoroughly and send it back to our offices signed by next Friday with your official answer."

"Okay," said Marlowe, taking the scroll. "Thank you." He could barely the get the words out. He felt almost dizzy. He could not believe this was happening. He'd never given any thought to playing for the Cannons before - truthfully, they sucked, he'd always hoped for better - but then he'd never thought he'd be fighting for a place on any team against the odds he'd been given so recently. And maybe this was the year they were trying to turn things around, to get some really good players, great management...

And no matter what, they were a professional quidditch team and they wanted him to play for them.

"We'll let you go," said Daniels. "I believe someone's been waiting to speak to you for a few minutes now."

"Caiti," said Marlowe at once. "Uhm.. thank you, again. Really."

"We look forward to hearing from you."

Marlowe turned around and the second he did, Caiti went hurtling towards him and threw her arms around him. "What'd they say?" she asked loudly.

"I got a contract," said Marlowe, clutching the papers behind her back.  Saying it aloud made it real for the first time. "Oh my god," he said, a grin slowly spreading on his face. "Oh my god... I need to... I need to do something."

Caiti stood up on tiptoe and kissed him. She pulled back, beaming, and he said, "Can we make out?" Caiti laughed loudly and kissed him again. He kept hold of her with one arm, stuck the contract into the pocket of his robes, and let his broom fall on the ground. He felt lucky for the first time since he'd been bitten.