Cassia's POV

"Take a bit of toast, mates. Go on," Ron encouraged. Today was mine and Harry's first Quidditch match. To save us time getting ready later, we both had changed into our uniforms before heading down to breakfast. But we were so nervous, we couldn't eat.

"Ron's right, guys. You're gonna need your strength today," Hermione added.

"I'm not hungry," Harry muttered, picking at his food.

"Same," I agreed.

"Good luck today, Potters," a voice said behind him. It was Snape. "Then again, now that you've proven yourself against a troll, a little game of Quidditch should be easy work for you...even if it is against Slytherin," he said, before limping away.

"That explains the blood," Harry whispered, once Snape was out of earshot.

"Blood?" Hermione echoed, confused.

"Listen, last night, I'm guessing Snape let the troll in as a diversion so he could try and get past that three-headed dog, but he got himself bitten. That's why he's limping," Harry whispered.

"But why would anyone go near that dog?" Hermione asked.

"The day Hagrid and I went to Gringotts, he took something out of one of the vaults. He said it was Hogwarts business, very secret," Harry explained to us.

"So, that means..." I said, realizing something.

"That's what the dog's guarding. That's what Snape wants," Harry cut me off.

The sound of two owls screeching interrupted us. We all looked up to see Hedwig and Ethel flying in our direction, each of them carrying a long, skinny, brown-wrapped object. They were each dropped, one at a time. Harry and I easily caught them.

"Bit early for mail, isn't it?" Hermione asked.

"But I...I never get mail," Harry said, surprised.

"Let's open them," Ron suggested. All four of us tore the wrapping paper off Harry's first, and then mine. My brother and I were in complete disbelief at what we'd been sent.

"Someone sent us broomsticks..." Harry said.

"Those aren't just broomsticks, guys. They're Nimbus 2000s!" Ron exclaimed.

"But who sent them?" I wondered. Hedwig and Ethel hooting seemed to answer my question, because when we looked at the staff table, both owls were sitting right by McGonagall. She sent us a not-so-secretive smile as she stroked their feathers.

<><><><><>

Shortly after breakfast, Oliver took us outside, to an entrance to the Quidditch field that was marked, Team Members Only. Fred and George were already there, accompanied by three girls who looked to be around the same age as either them or Oliver. One girl had dark skin and black hair that she kept in a ponytail. The girl next to her had fair skin and light brown hair that she wore in a half-up half down style. And the last girl had tan skin and dark hair that she had in a ponytail, like the first girl.

"Harry, Cassia, you guys already know Fred and George, the Weasley twins. They're our Beaters. These are our chasers," Oliver said. "Angelina Johnson-" he gestured to the dark-skinned girl "Katie Bell-" he gestured to the girl on the far end, "-and Alicia Spinnet." He gestured to the girl with her hair half up. "Katie, Alicia, and Angelina are our Chasers. Girls, meet our new reserve Chaser, Cassia Potter," Oliver introduced us.

"Hello," I said, waving. The girls waved back.

"Alright, now that we're all acquainted, let's play some Quidditch!" Oliver said. We all went inside the Team Members Only entrance. The door separating us from the field reminded me a little bit of a car garage door. I'd seen plenty of those in my hometown. Some of our neighbors had them.

I could hear students cheering faintly from behind the door, and I grew nervous. But I wasn't the only one. Harry was nervous, too.

"Scared, guys?" Oliver asked, glancing at us. I'm guessing he could sense it.

"A little," Harry replied.

"Same," I added.

"That's alright. I felt the same way before my first game," Oliver reassured us.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What happened?" he asked.

"Uh...I don't really remember," Oliver replied, "Took a Bludger to the head 2 minutes in. Woke up in the Hospital Wing a week later."
Wow, that makes us feel SO much better, I thought. Note the sarcasm.

The door in front of us opened. We all mounted our brooms and flew out onto the field. So did the Slytherin team, decked out in green robes. 

"Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts' first Quidditch game of the season! Today's game: Slytherin vs. Gryffindor!" the commentator -- Lee Jordan -- announced.
I could make out some people chanting, "Go! Go! Gryffindor!" over and over again, above all the cheering.

We formed a circle with the Slytherin players, about 10 feet off the ground. Madam Hooch came out, carrying the big trunk that held the Quaffle, Bludgers, and -- last, but not least -- the Snitch.
"The players take their positions as Madam Hooch steps out onto the field to begin the game," Lee announced.

Madam Hooch stared up at the teams. "Now I want a nice, clean game. From all of you," she ordered, looking at the Slytherins in particular. She kicked the trunk and it opened, releasing the Snitch and both Bludgers.

"The bludgers are up, followed by the golden snitch. Remember, the snitch is worth 150 points. The Seeker who catches the snitch ends the game," Lee said.

Madam Hooch picked up the Quaffle and tossed it into the air.

"The Quaffle is released, and the game begins!" Lee said.

Katie, Alicia, and Angelina fought it out with the Slytherins for the Quaffle, while I flew off to the side so I wouldn't get caught in the scuffle. I watched as Angelina made her way to the Slytherin team's goalposts, with the Quaffle tucked under her arm. One of the Slytherin Chasers bumped her, trying to knock the Quaffle out of her grip, but he was unsuccessful. Angelina ducked to avoid an oncoming Bludger, and hurled the Quaffle. It sailed right through one of the hoops. Yes! Go, Angelina!

"Angelina Johnsons scores! 10 points for Gryffindor!" Lee announced, "Slytherin takes possession of the Quaffle. Bletchley passes to captain Marcus Flint!"

Flint caught the Quaffle, narrowly avoiding a Bludger coming at him. One of the Chasers -- I couldn't make out who it was -- tried to steal it from him, but he kicked them out of his way, literally. He tried to score, but Oliver blocked it with his broom. Oliver smirked at Flint, making him really mad.

Flint and another Chaser tried to get the Quaffle back, but Alicia and Katie tossed it back and forth between each other, making it considerably difficult for them to get it. Katie tossed the Quaffle to Alicia, who made a U-turn around the Slytherin goalposts and tossed it to Angelina. Angelina tossed the Quaffle into one of the hoops, scoring once again.

"Another 10 points for Gryffindor!" Lee announced.

I fist-pumped. Gryffindor's in the lead!

Flint tried to score for Slytherin, but once again, Oliver stopped him. Annoyed, Flint took a bat from one of the Slytherin beaters and hit a Bludger at Oliver. Oliver was knocked off his broom and onto the ground below. With the hoops open, one of Flint's teammates scored the first goal for Slytherin.

Flint and another Chaser went for Angelina, who was in possession of the Quaffle again. They sandwiched her in between them, steering her into one of the tallest stands reserved for the teachers. She dropped to the ground far below, unconscious and looking seriously hurt.

Flint doubled back to the Gryffindor goalposts. He threw the Quaffle in the air and hit it with the back of his broom, scoring another goal. Now the score was all tied up.

I flew out onto the field, immediately going after Flint. If these rotten Slytherins think they're going to get away with winning by blatantly cheating, they've got another thing coming. My broom got closer and closer to Flint's, until I was right next to him. I leaned to the right, and then back in his direction, bumping him hard. He bumped me back, and I did the same thing. But this time, I hit him way harder, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands. Mission accomplished. I made a dive and caught the Quaffle with one hand. Then I made a sharp turn and zoomed towards the Slytherin goalposts. But when I was about halfway there, my broom started acting up. It rolled around -- making me go upside down -- tried to buck me off, and jerked around like crazy. I don't know how the heck I managed to hold on to the broom and the Quaffle at the same time, but I did. Bletchley, Flint, and the third Chaser on Slytherin's team surrounded me, circling like hawks, waiting for me to drop the Quaffle. I heard a familiar shout coming from the other end of the field, and I turned to see it was Harry. His broom was going berserk, too. The force of it jerking him was so powerful that Harry almost fell off his broom. Luckily, he was able to hold on, but he was now dangling above the ground, holding on for his life.

"Harry, what's going on with the brooms?" I called out to him.

"I don't know!" he called back.

I looked around to see if anyone in the audience was involved, but then I saw Snape was moving his lips from where he sat in the stands. He's behind this! But then I saw part of his cloak was lit on fire, and he frantically tried to stamp it out, knocking Quirrell -- who was sitting behind him -- over in the process. With the fire keeping Snape busy, mine and Harry's brooms stopped acting up. Now we could focus on the match again.

Harry swung himself onto his broom again, taking off to go find the Snitch.

"Go, Harry!" I cheered, before making a break for the Slytherin's goalposts. I leaned forward, urging my broom to go faster, and chucked the Quaffle as hard as I could. It went right through one of the hoops.

"Reserve Chaser Cassia Potter scores another 10 points for Gryffindor!" Lee Jordan announced, "Now Gryffindor leads, 30-20!"

"Nice job, Cassia!" Alicia called out to me.

"Thanks! You, too!" I called back.

Everything soon came to a halt when I saw Harry fall to the ground. He stood up, clutching his stomach like he was going to throw up.

"Harry, are you okay?" I asked, flying closer to him.

In response, Harry coughed up the Snitch, catching it in both hands.

"He's got the snitch!" the commentator exclaimed, "Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the snitch!"

Madam Hooch blew her whistle as she flew across the field. "Gryffindor wins!" she shouted.

We all cheered. Harry and I had just won our first Quidditch match. Well, technically, Harry won because he caught the Snitch, but still, we both helped score a victory for our house team.

<><><><><>

"Nonsense! Why would Snape put a curse on Harry's broom?" Hagrid barked. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I had gone for a walk with Hagrid on the grounds. We told him how we thought it was Snape who'd jinxed mine and Harry's brooms. And from what Hermione had told me, Snape's cloak catching on fire was her doing, so she and Ron were obviously thinking along our lines. But for some reason, Hagrid didn't agree.

"I dunno. Why was he trying to get past that 3-headed dog on Halloween?" Harry retorted.

"Who told you about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked.

"Fluffy?!" Ron said in shock.

"That thing has a name?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Well, o' course he's got a name. He's mine. Bought him off an Irish fellow in the pub last year, and I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the, uh..." Hagrid explained.

"Yes?" Harry pressed.

"I shouldn'tve said that," Harris muttered. He looked back at us. "No more questions. Don't ask anymore questions. That's top secret, that is."

"But Hagrid, whatever Fluffy's guarding, Snape's trying to steal it," Harry pressed.

"Codswallop. Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher," Hagrid argued.

"Hogwarts teacher or not, I know a spell when I see one. I've read all about them. You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking," Hermione insisted.

"Exactly," Harry added.
I nodded in agreement.

"Now, you listen to me- all 4 of yeh. You're meddlin' in things not ought to be meddled in. It's dangerous. What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel," Hagrid barked.

"Nicholas Flamel?" Harry repeated.

Hagrid slowly walked away, muttering to himself how he shouldn't have mentioned that. We all exchanged looks. None of us knew anything about Nicholas Flamel. How did he tie into the mystery behind Fluffy guarding the trapdoor on the third floor? This just made me even more confused.