. . .

"He sent me this," Hermione said, holding out the letter.

Matilda took it. The parchment was damp, and enormous teardrops had smudged the ink so badly in places that it was very difficult to read.

Dear Hermione and Matilda,

We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. Execution date to be fixed. Beaky has enjoyed London. I won't forget all the help you two gave us.

Hagrid

"They can't do this," said Harry. "They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous."

"Malfoy's dad frightened the Committee into it," said Hermione, wiping her eyes. "You know what he's like. They're a bunch of doddery old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal, though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope. . . Nothing will have changed."

"Yeah, it will," said Ron fiercely. "You two won't have to do all the work alone this time. I'll help."

"Didn't you say that last time, Ronald?"

Matilda rolled her eyes at Ron while Hermione continued with her breakdown. Ron looked at Matilda confused because he thought of all people, she would have gladly accepted his help. Hermione had finally finished clinging onto Harry and so she made her way over to Ron who tensed awkwardly, thinking she may be wanting to hug on him now.

"Ron, I'm really, really sorry about Scabbers. . ." she sobbed.

"You've really got to stop with the crying, Hermione," said Matilda. "It isn't a good look on you."

After hearing that Hermione quickly began to dry her cheeks and attempt to stop the flowing tears.

"Oh—well—he was old," said Ron, nervous because Matilda had crossed her arms over her chest and was watching him with her eyebrows raised. He knew not to say anything stupid. "And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl now."

Matilda smiled proudly as Ron made up with Hermione.

. . .

The safety measures imposed on the students since Black's second break-in made it impossible for Harry, Ron, Matilda, and Hermione to go and visit Hagrid in the evenings. Their only chance of talking to him was during Care of Magical Creatures lessons.

He seemed numb with shock at the verdict.

"S'all my fault. Got tongue-tied. They were all sittin' there in black robes and I kept dropping me notes and forgettin' all of them dates you looked up fer me. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exactly what he told em. . ."

"Hagrid, you can't keep blaming yourself. It is perfectly normal for a person to be nervous when they're speaking publicly, especially when under the circumstances you were," said Matilda with a sad sigh. "Besides, everyone knows that the Committee had their minds made up the moment Lucius Malfoy stepped foot into the room—he must have threatened them or something along those lines."

"There's still the appeal!" said Ron fiercely. "Don't give up yet, we're working on it!"

It wasn't like Ron to be so invested in something that involved copious amounts of research. Tilly liked seeing him like this, she enjoyed that he was sticking to his word. It was rare that she ever got to see Ron like this and she took the time to enjoy it.

They walked back up to the castle with the rest of the class. Ahead, they could see Malfoy, who was walking with Crabbe, Goyle, and Daisy Morgenstern, or as Ron would refer to her, Malfoy's tail. The three boys though kept looking back and laughing derisively.

"I can shut him up for you, Hagrid," said Matilda as she glared at Draco and his friends. "I could shut him up forever, no one would ever hear from him again. . ."

Harry turned to Matilda, he didn't know whether to be impressed or afraid.

"S'no good, Ron," said Hagrid sadly as they reached the castle steps. "Tilly's right, the committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' gonna make sure Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. I owe him that. . ."

Hagrid turned around and hurried back down toward his cabin, his face buried in his handkerchief.

"Look at him blubber!"

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had been standing just inside the castle doors, listening.

"Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?" said Malfoy. "And he's supposed to be our teacher!"

Tilly grabbed her wand from the waistband of her skirt and made a quick move at Malfoy. She would have been ready to throw a Stinging Jinx on him if Harry and Ron hadn't made a furious move and caught her just before she could raise her wand to Malfoy, who had backed into Crabbe and Goyle at the sight of Matilda approaching him with a wand in her hand. Both, Harry and Ron knew that if they would have let her continue towards Malfoy, he may not have made it to see the sunrise tomorrow morning.

While Harry and Ron were busy fighting with Matilda for her wand, Hermione took it upon herself to approach Draco on her own.

B A M ! !

Hermione punched Draco right in schnoz with all the strength she could muster. Malfoy began to stagger backward even more and quickly brought his hands up to cup his nose. Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle stood completely flabbergasted, Daisy Morgenstern quickly brought a hand up to her mouth and her eyes were so wide with shock Tilly was sure they were going to pop right out of the sockets. While the others stood in silence, not knowing how to react, Matilda allowed herself to laugh joyously while pointing a taunting finger at Draco.

"Yes!" Tilly shouted proudly.

This moment was the proudest that Tilly had ever been and probably ever will be of Hermione Granger.

"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul—you loathsome—you evil—"

"Cockroach!" finished Matilda who was still laughing.

"Hermione," said Harry weakly, and he tried to grab her hand as she swung it back.

"Get off, Harry!"

Hermione went to pull out her wand while behind her Matilda was practically rolling on the ground, still laughing at Draco Malfoy being punched in the face by Hermione Granger. Behind Draco, the blonde Morgenstern girl was trying to keep herself from letting a giggle escape her lips.

Finally, Harry managed to pull Hermione away from Draco and both, he and Ron took turns trying to calm her down. While the two boys now focused their attention on their frizzy-haired friend Matilda used this opportunity to walk up to Malfoy herself, and, of course, she had her wand tightly gripped in her hand.

"Go on then," ordered Tilly, "You better scurry off before I take my turn on you Malfoy, and I promise I won't be as generous as Hermione."

The whole time Tilly threatened Malfoy, she kept a sadistic smile plastered on his face.

Daisy Morgenstern still looked as she was trying to figure out how she felt about the events that had just unfolded before her. She stood frozen in her spot and hasn't said a word to Draco since he'd been punched. Crabbe and Goyle, the two giants with pea-sized brains, looked to Draco for instructions, thoroughly bewildered.

"C'mon," muttered Malfoy, and in a moment, all three of the boys had disappeared into the passageways of the dungeons.

Daisy lingered for a moment longer though, looking past Tilly and to Hermione.

"Thank you, so much," she said, surprising everyone there.

She didn't stay to hear a response from Hermione, right after she spoke, she turned on her heels and followed the three boys through the passageways.

After all the Slytherins had gone Tilly turned to Hermione.

"Hermione!" said Matilda, turning to face her wearing a proud expression.

"What you just did was bloody brilliant," said Tilly, praising her. "Truly a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life."

Instead of responding to Matilda, Hermione turned to face Harry, her face still red with anger.

"Harry, you'd better beat him at the Quidditch final!" Hermione said shrilly. "You just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherin wins!"

Harry didn't know how to respond to that.

"We're due in Charms," said Ron, still unsure of everything that just happened. "We'd best go."

While the three Gryffindors hurried to the marble staircase towards Professor Flitwick's classroom, Tilly hurried to get to the Green House for Herbology, which she had with the Slytherins.

Tilly arrived three minutes late to class, but thankfully Professor Sprout was too deep into scolding a few Slytherins for goofing around that she didn't notice as Matilda sneakily made her way over towards Padma Patil, who did notice Tilly's tardiness.

"You're late," said Padma with an amused smile, she made sure to whisper as she didn't want to get Matilda into any trouble.

"Yes Padma, I know that," said Tilly with the roll of her eyes. "I had other important matters that I was attending to."

Right as the words left her mouth, she glanced over at Malfoy who was already forming a bruise on the top of his nose. Tilly snickered quietly.

Padma mentioned nothing else of Tilly being tardy and they went on with the lesson as usual. Tilly had to end up helping Padma because she was unable to memorize the wand woods and their focuses.

In Herbology they began their lessons on the wand woods Dogwood, Hawthorn, Willow, Yew, Alder, and Apple. Professor Sprout had samples of each wood and she made the class guess which piece of wood was which. It surprised many students in the class that their wands were once only a part of a tree.

By the time class had ended and Tilly had made her way to the Great Hall for lunch with Padma, stories had already begun to circulate amongst the students about Malfoy's bruised nose.

"Well, Pamela Alton heard that Draco was performing dangerous tricks on his broom and he crashed," shrugged Luna as she cut herself a piece of the apple pie.

Tilly couldn't help but scoff at the absurd story.

"Yeah right," she laughed. "Malfoy can barely fly a broom, let alone perform tricks on one."

Cho looked over Tilly, joining into the conversation.

"You always seem to be well informed," said Cho from beside of her best friend, Clare Morgenstern. "Do you know the story of Draco Malfoy's bruised nose?"

"Wow," laughed Padma, looking across the table at Cho. "Not only are you obsessed with Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter, but Malfoy too?"

Cho decided to ignore Padma as she went on to laugh at her own joke.

Tilly looked over at Cho with a grin plastered on her face as she stood up and started to gather up her things.

"Cho," she sighed. "I think you know the answer to that."

Not giving Cho anything else the blue-eyed Ravenclaw skipped off towards her next class.

Tilly enjoyed Study of Ancient Runes with Professor Babbling because the class was mostly discussion and memory based, Tilly was good at both. Professor Babbling was younger than most of the Professors that taught here at Hogwarts which Tilly thought was good because she'd be able to relate to the students better than some other Professors. The long-haired Professor enjoyed hearing from the students and enjoyed answering any questions they may have.

Though Professor Babbling being an easygoing Professor the class wasn't very popular amongst many of the students, especially third-year students. With every student present in the class there are about ten. The only Ravenclaws in the class was Tilly, a blonde girl who Tilly knew as Amanda and she was friends with Padma, and Terry Boot, a brute of a boy that specialized in Quidditch and Potions. The only Gryffindor in the class is Hermione, there are four Hufflepuffs and two Slytherins.

As the time for class to start began to near the class started to fill up a little more with every minute that passed. The only Ravenclaws in the class was herself, a girl named Amanda, but Tilly has yet to ask for her last name, but she had blonde hair and she was good friends with Padma, and Terry Boot, a large brute of a boy who was skilled in Quidditch and Potions.

Tilly sat beside of Terry Boot in class which she didn't mind. He wasn't like Padma, who needed Tilly's help every ten seconds. The most Terry ever does in ask to see a spot in Tilly's notes that he had missed while the Professor spoke. Other than that, Terry doesn't speak to her much in class.

This week Professor Babbling began discussing and showing examples of Magical Symbols of the Ancient Eastern Civilizations. In this time period wizards used the runes to communicate through writing. So, after class Professor Babbling assigned a scripture of ruins that they've gone over in class and the students must decipher it by next the next class meeting.

. . .

For many students, the Easter holidays were not very relaxing. The third years had never had so much homework. Neville Longbottom seemed close to a nervous collapse, and Padma Patil had already had one.

"Call this a holiday!" Nathaniel Douglas roared at the common room one afternoon. "The exams are ages away, what are the Professors getting at?"

This surprised everyone in the common room at the time because usually Nathaniel Douglas was viewed as a shy Ravenclaw who only talks to his select group of friends. He was not the only outburst during the holiday though.

But while students cried in the corners and threatened to drop out of school Tilly watched with amusement. She had finished all her homework weeks prior to Easter break so that she would be able to study ahead of all the others and help with Buckbeak's appeal.

Matilda and Ron had taken over responsibility for Buckbeak's appeal. When Ron wasn't doing his homework and when Tilly wasn't preparing for her classes next fall, the two were pouring over enormously thick volumes with names like The Handbook of Hippogriff Psychology and Fowl or Foul? A Study of Hippogriff Brutality. They were so absorbed they often forgot about meal times.

Hermione was the busiest student in Hogwarts now. Even without Divinations, she was taking more subjects than any other student besides Matilda. She was usually last to leave the common room at night, first to arrive at the library the next morning; she had shadows like Lupin's under her eyes and seemed constantly close to tears. On several occasions, Tilly offered her help with her work, but Hermione was adamant on completing this on her own.

Harry, meanwhile had to fit in his homework around Quidditch practice every day, not to mention endless discussions of tactics with Wood. The Gryffindor-Slytherin match would take place on the first Saturday after the Easter holidays. Harry had informed Tilly, despite her not caring at all, that Slytherin was leading the tournament by exactly two hundred points. This meant that they needed to win the match by more than that amount to win the Cup. It also meant that the burden of winning fell largely on Harry because capturing the Snitch was worth one hundred and fifty points. Tilly hated that Harry cared so much about this game because it really weighed him down, only adding more to his already full plate.

Tilly also offered Harry help on his homework due to his hectic schedule and all the things weighing down on his shoulders, and unlike Hermione, he happily accepted Tilly's offer. But when Tilly was helping Harry, he was barely able to focus because the enmity between Harry and Draco was at its highest point ever. Draco was still smarting about the mud-throwing incident in Hogsmeade, which Tilly has told him time and time again to get over, but he was even more furious that Harry had somehow wormed himself out of punishment, and for that he blames Matilda.

"Potter should have been punished for the stunt he pulled at Hogsmeade," Draco spat at Tilly one morning in the halls when she was on her way to meet Ron at the library. "And I know you're the one who covered for him with Snape."

"Okay, and?" asked Matilda in a bored tone, rolling her eyes.

"Well, let's all hope you're there to rescue your precious Potter during the Quidditch final," said Malfoy, grinning devilishly. "He's going to need it when Slytherin is through with him."

"Please, Draco," whispered Daisy Morgenstern, Draco's best friend, as she tugged on his grey sweater. "Just stop it. Let's go and get something to eat."

He didn't listen to Daisy, he hardly ever does listen to any voice of reason. Instead, Malfoy went on smirking cockily at Matilda, who showed no signs of backing down from Draco. She had been becoming incredulously annoyed with Malfoy and his constant nagging and threatening of Harry that she couldn't bring herself to back down or ignore him.

"You know Malfoy, your tired threats don't worry me at all because even when you do cheat and sabotage you still lose," said Matilda with a tired sigh, while shaking her head at Draco. "It's best for you to just face it, Harry Potter will always be better than you in every way possible."

Matilda knew that Harry wasn't better than Draco in every way possible, Draco does score higher than Harry on class exams, she just wanted to get under his skin. She knew that by telling Draco, Harry Potter, the person he loathes the most in the world, is better than him she'd hurt him in some way. Tilly knew that Lucius Malfoy held Draco to unreasonable standards and continuously compared him to the likes of Harry Potter which is why she said what she did. Because his father uses his insecurities against him, Tilly knew that if she did it too it'd hurt him a little more than any casual insult would.

Draco's face turned a dark shade of red, his eyes began to glass over, and his hands were balled into fists by his side. Matilda only grinned though, because she knew that despite his angry appearance on the exterior on the inside his ego had been shattered and his father's voice in ringing throughout his head.

Daisy didn't say anything, she didn't even make a move towards Malfoy. Instead, she stood in her spot, awkwardly playing with the denim fabric of her overall dress and her loafers squeaked on the floor as she shuffled her feet. She knew more than anyone that Draco was most definitely hurt by Matilda's words, even though he'd never in his life admit it.

Pleased with her accomplishment of getting under Draco's skin, Matilda skipped past him and waved at Daisy with a smile when she passed by and found her way into the library. After that brief interaction with Draco, Matilda really wanted Harry to crush him at the Quidditch final.

Never, in anyone's memory, had a match approached in such a highly charged atmosphere, even Dumbledore was on the edge of his seat as the date neared. By the time the holidays were over, tensions between the two teams and their Houses was the breaking point. A number of small scuffles broke out in the corridors, it was up to the Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's to break-up these scuffles. One day while Matilda was on her way to class a nasty incident occurred in which a Gryffindor fourth year and a Slytherin sixth year ended up in the hospital wing with leeks sprouting out of their ears. Tilly didn't stop in the halls to help deter the fight, she only rolled her eyes and kept on her way to class.

Harry was having a particularly bad time of it. He couldn't walk to class without Slytherins sticking out their legs and trying to trip him up; Crabbe and Goyle kept popping up wherever he went and slouching away looking disappointed and scared when they saw him with Matilda. Wood had given instruction to Harry that he should stay by Matilda's side wherever he went, and if she was unable to accompany him, Fred and George were handed the task of being his security guards. This was only because Wood knew that the Slytherins would try and sabotage the Gryffindor's and the best way to do that would be to get to Harry Potter, the Seeker. Wood knew that Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't dare try anything with Matilda Winters around and with the Weasley twins on either side of Harry, no one would be able to get to him.

. . .

Harry and Ron had invited Matilda to the Gryffindor common room the night before the game and all usual pursuits that normally took place while Tilly was there had been abandoned. Even Hermione had put down her books.

"I can't work, I can't concentrate," she said nervously.

"That doesn't surprise me," Matilda replied, looking over Hermione's abundance of scattered notes. "Do you know anything about organization?"

There was a great deal of noise. Fred and George Weasley were dealing with the pressure by being louder and more exuberant than ever. Oliver Wood was crouched over a model of a Quidditch field in the corner, prodding little figures across it with his wand and muttering to himself. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were laughing at Fred and George's jokes. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Matilda sat together, removed from the center of things, but all the noise and nerves began to get on Tilly's nerves, and she ended up excusing herself.

She was hoping that she would get away from all the Quidditch commotion by going back to her own common room, but, of course, when she walked into the room after answering the riddle all she heard was the students betting on who was going to win the match tomorrow.

Roger Davies was leading the conversation as he stood beside a chalkboard and wrote down the many different predictions that students were yelling at him.

"Gryffindor will take the cup tomorrow," shouted Asher Morgenstern over to Roger Davies. "They'll lead by 150 points after Potter catches the Snitch!"

Roger began writing Asher's prediction down onto the blackboard.

"Want to put any money on that prediction?" asked Roger, turning back to Asher.

Roger had a smirk playing on his face and Asher took on the challenge with a confident grin.

"I'll put up sixty-five Galleons," he told Roger.

For comparison, sixty-five Galleons in the wizarding world is practically two hundred pounds in the Muggle world. When Tilly's mom married David and she moved to London she and Harper had to learn the Muggle currency. Of course, Matilda learned it much quicker than her older sister.

"Well, if it can't be Ravenclaw then I'm rooting for Slytherin," said Claire, tossing her red hair over her shoulders.

Asher couldn't help but shake his head disappointedly at his sister.

"They have no chance of winning," argued Asher. "All Gryffindor has to do is get ahead of Slytherin by fifty points before Potter gets the Snitch."

"And how do you know it'll be Harry Potter who catches the Snitch?" asked Claire, crossing her arms across her chest.

Asher let out a snort of laughter.

"C'mon sis," he said with a chuckle. "I've played Quidditch with both Potter and Draco—trust me I know Potter is getting that Snitch tomorrow."

Claire was only able to respond with the roll of her eyes.

"Also," said Bentley Morgenstern, chiming in from the window seat and looking up from his book. "Harry Potter was only a first year when he caught the Snitch in a record amount of time—and the boy barely knew how to say Quidditch that year!"

With both brothers against her, Claire had no choice but to back down, because even she knew she would not be winning this argument.

"Matilda Winters!" Roger Davies shouted after spotting her standing beside the entrance. "How about you give us one of your genius predictions?"

Matilda gave an amused grin before she scoffed.

"As long as Draco Malfoy is beaten, then we've won," she told Roger Davies.

Roger seems to agree with Matilda as he shrugs and begins writing her name and prediction on the blackboard. She even got a few laughs from the other Quidditch players standing around Roger.

After witnessing that fiasco, Tilly decided it was time for her to go and get some sleep.

. . .

The next morning Tilly woke up just as Luna began making her bed. She was already dressed and had on her Gryffindor colored scarf that she had knitted herself. Luna was just as excited for the Quidditch final as everyone else in the castle. But Tilly just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep.

"Morning, Tilly," greeted Luna brightly.

Matilda unhappily got up out of her comfortable sheets and wondered how Luna managed to be in a good mood every morning. She had known her for almost two years and never had she seen Luna wake up in a bad mood.

Quickly, Tilly finished prepping herself in the crowded restroom and hurried back to her dorm room where Cho and Padma were still sleeping soundly. She began to shuffle through her chest of clothes, messing everything up more than it already had been. She finally settled on a pair of navy blue, high-waisted shorts and a yellow blouse with a black collar. Tilly decided to pair the outfit with a pair of knee-length socks and Mary Jane black ankle boots.

When she and Luna went to leave the room for breakfast, Tilly grabbed her wand and light jacket from off her bed. She had a feeling that she would be using both items during the Quidditch final.

For breakfast, Tilly ate a fruit salad with loads of whipped cream on top. Just as she went to take another bite of her fruit covered with whipped cream loud applause erupted from the Gryffindor table and Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were quick to join in.

Looking up from her bowl she watched as the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team walked into the Great Hall together. They all wore wide grins as the three Houses continued to cheer loudly for them as they made their way to their seats. When the passed the Slytherin table they all began to hiss but no one was able to hear them over the loud cheers from the other Houses. Matilda laughed as she noticed that Draco looked paler than usual.

Finally, the applause stopped, and Tilly was able to finish her breakfast. Padma and Cho eventually found their way to breakfast and as always, they were arguing when they entered. Right as Luna, Padma, and Tilly were about to rise to leave the Great Hall to head to the Quidditch Field to get good seats, applause broke out in the Great Hall once again.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team all stood to leave the Great Hall and the three Houses Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw cheered as they walked by the tables. Tilly thought it was cute the first time but continuing to cheer every time the team rose started to become annoying.

"Good luck, Harry," called Cho as Harry walked by the table.

Tilly turned back to face Harry whose cheeks began to turn a shade of pink. She was not amused by this.

"Cho, now is not the time for your obsession," scolded Padma, as she also rose from the table. "Harry has to focus on winning this match!"

Cho who had been watching Harry walk out of the Hall quickly turned her head to face Padma.

"I was wishing him good luck," Cho defended herself. "I'm not obsessed with Harry, for the millionth time!"

From the other side of Cho, Claire Morgenstern let out a scoff as she took a bite of her toast. Cho quickly turned to face her, clearly offended but Claire only shrugged in response.

As amused as Tilly was by the sight of Claire and Cho arguing over Cho's obsession with Harry, she followed Padma's actions and rose from the table, Luna followed not far behind, and the three of them exited the Great Hall.

The sun shone brightly down on the Quidditch field and there was no cloud in sight or any wind to indicate bad weather. It was still a bit chilly, but that is why Matilda grabbed a jacket before leaving her room.

The stands began to fill up quickly as the two teams readied themselves in their locker rooms. It looked as if most of the students were rooting for the Gryffindors to take the win. This made Tilly happy because it would cause Draco to truly believe what she had told him days before about Harry being better than him. She hoped it would affect his playing ability.

Finally, the Gryffindor team walked out onto the field and instantly a tidal wave of noise erupted from the crowds. Three-quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them, or brandishing banners with slogans like "GO GRYFFINDOR!" and "LIONS FOR THE CUP!" Behind the Slytherin goal posts, however, two hundred people were wearing green; the silver serpent of Slytherin glittered on their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very front row, wearing green like everyone else, and a very grim smile.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" yelled Lee Jordan, who was acting as a commentator as usual. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years—"

Lee's comments were drowned by a tide of "boos" from the Slytherin end.

"And here comes the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill—"

More boos from the Slytherin crowd. Tilly, however, thought Lee had a point. Malfoy was easily the smallest person on the Slytherin team; the rest of them were enormous.

"Captains, shake hands!" shouted Madam Hooch.

Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other's hand very tightly; it looked as though each was trying to break the other's fingers.

"Mount your brooms!" continues Madam Hooch. "Three. . . two. . . one. . ."

The sound of her whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as fourteen brooms rose into the air. Tilly kept an eye on Harry as his broom took him off the ground and crossed her fingers for him because she knew how nervous he was. Malfoy was already on his tail as he sped off in search of the Snitch.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no—Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the field—WHAM! —nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by—Johnson, Gryffindor back on possession, come on, Angelina—nice swerve around Montague—duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! —SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Matilda was just about to clap for the Gryffindor's but before she could get a sound out, a deafening holler came from behind her. She turned to see Asher Morgenstern who was too into the match to notice that he sat right behind Matilda Winters. His brother, Bentley sat beside him with a book in hand, shaking his head at Asher.

"Yes!" shouted Asher. "Yes! That was a good one—well deserved!"

Bentley and Matilda both looked up at Asher, who stood proudly on the bleacher, not caring that he was blocking the view of those behind him. They glanced back at one another and shared an eye-roll before Tilly turned her attention back to the game.

"OUCH!"

Just as her attention refocused on the match Angelina Johnson was nearly thrown from her broom as Marcus Flint went smashing into her.

"Oh boy," gasped Luna, gripping tightly onto Tilly's arm.

Padma, who stood on the opposite side of Tilly began biting her nails nervously as she kept her gaze focused on what was happening above.

"Sorry!" said Flint as the crowd booed. "Sorry, didn't see her!"

The crowds booed and of course, Asher went on a spree of shouting some choice words up at the players.

"That is a load of shit!" shouted Asher from on top of his bleacher. "Throw him out!"

A moment later, Fred Weasley chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into his broom and began to bleed.

Slytherins instantly started boing at Fred Weasley but they were quickly drowned out as the three other Houses began cheering for Fred.

"That will do!" shrieked Madam Hooch, zooming between them. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"

From below it seemed as if Fred had tried arguing with Madam Hooch, but he must have gotten nowhere because when she blew her whistle, Fred dropped his head and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty.

"Come on, Alicia!" yelled Lee into the silence that had descended on the crowd. "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

The crowds below cheered and turned their heads to watch Flint, still bleeding freely, fly forward to take the Slytherin Penalty. Wood was hovering in front of the Gryffindor goal posts, his jaw clenched.

"'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee Jordan told the crowd as Flint waited for Madam Hooch's whistle. "Superb! Very difficult to pass—very difficult indeed—YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"

The crowd cheered when Wood got the save and the game continued. Harry roamed around above everyone else keeping a lookout for the Snitch and watching Malfoy closely who still trailed behind him.

"You know, for a moment I started to believe that perhaps Lee Jordan didn't believe his own words," said Padma in a voice of relief.

Tilly nodded in agreement as she watched the game above.

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession—no! —Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for the Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field—THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Katie, and instead of seizing the Quaffle had grabbed her head, Katie cartwheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom, but dropped the Quaffle.

"See, Bent, I told she was a good flyer," bragged Asher, but when Tilly turned to face the two Bently looked to have little interest on the subject. "Didn't even fall off her broom!"

Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again as she soared over to Montague and began shouting at him. A minute later, Katie had put another penalty past the Slytherin Keeper.

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING—"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way—!"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"

Surprisingly Luna turned to face Tilly and Padma.

"I do believe Professor McGonagall should let Lee finish his comments," said Luna. "I think he makes good points!"

Tilly and Padma both stared at her with their eyebrows pulled together in confusion as Luna gave them a sweet smile before turning her attention back to the game.

"Oh, Harry. . ." whispered Matilda as she kept a close eye on him and his movements.

Her leg shook nervously, and she began to play with her hands nervously.

"What is it?" asked Padma, noticing Tilly's sudden change in demeanor. "What do you see?"

"I think Harry has caught spotted the Snitch," she told Padma in a whisper, careful to let anyone around them hear.

Padma's eyes widened as she looked at the game above.

"Where?" she asked looking around furiously. "How can you tell?"

Tilly rolled her eyes, she did not sign up to be Lee Jordan and comment on every aspect of the match.

"Don't look, but towards the foot of the Gryffindor goal posts—"

As if she didn't hear what Matilda just told her, Padma's head snapped towards the direction of the Gryffindor goal posts.

"You've got to be kidding me?" said Tilly, rolling her eyes at Padma's inability to follow an order. "Did I not just tell you not to look?"

Padma looked to Tilly wearing a face of confusion.

Faking a look of sudden concentration, Harry pulled his Firebolt around and sped off toward the Slytherin end—it worked. Malfoy went haring after him, clearly thinking Harry had seen the Snitch there. . .

"What is he doing?" asked Padma, as she too watched Harry fly away from the Snitch. "Why would he—he is flying in the opposite direction!"

"He's outsmarting Malfoy."

Tilly smiled up at Harry proudly.

"By what?" Padma continued. "Proving that he doesn't know his left from his right?"

Tilly took in a deep sigh and rolled her eyes at Padma.

"Padma," whispered Tilly, trying to remain calm. "I need you to just stop talking and watch the game."

And so, Padma stopped talking and watched the game.

WHOOSH.

One of the Bludgers came streaking past Harry's right side, hit by the gigantic Slytherin Beater, Derrick. Then again—

WHOOSH.

The second Bludger grazed by his arm. The other Beater, Bole, was closing in.

Bole and Derrick began closing in on Harry with their clubs raised.

"C'mon Harry," mumbled Matilda. "Use the Firebolt."

He turned the Firebolt upward at the last second, and Bole and Derrick collided with a sickening crunch.

"Ha haaa!" yelled Lee Jordan as the Slytherin Beaters lurched away from each other, clutching their heads. "Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle – Flint alongside her – poke him in the eye, Angelina! – it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke – oh no – Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal posts, come on now, Wood, save—!"

But Flint had scored; there was an eruption of cheers from the Slytherin end, and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him.

Everyone's eyes in the Ravenclaw stands were wide with surprise at the colorful words that came from Lee Jordan.

"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession—"

It was turning into the dirtiest game Tilly had ever watched while at Hogwarts, which truthfully wasn't many. Enraged that Gryffindor had taken such an early lead, the Slytherins were rapidly resorting into any means to retrieve the Quaffle. Bole hit Alicia with his club and tried to say he'd thought she was a Bludger. George Weasley elbowed Bole in the face in retaliation. Madam Hooch awarded both teams penalties, and Wood pulled off another spectacular save, making the score forty – ten to Gryffindor.

The Snitch appeared to have disappeared again. Malfoy was still keeping close to Harry as he soared over the match, looking around for it—once Gryffindor was fifty points ahead—

Katie Bell scored. Fifty – ten. Fred and George Weasley were swooping around her, clubs raised, in case any of the Slytherins were thinking of revenge. Bole and Derrick took advantage of Fred and George's absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood; they caught him in the stomach, one after the other, he rolled over in the air, clutching his broom, completely winded.

Madam Hooch was beside herself.

"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" she shrieked at Bole and Derrick. "Gryffindor penalty!"

"Oh, come on Hooch!" once again, Asher began to yell from behind Tilly. "Just give Gryffindor the win—Slytherin should be disqualified!"

As much as Matilda hated the yelling, she couldn't help but agree with him. The Slytherin team had been playing dirty the whole time, and Tilly knew that Draco was likely to be scolded by his good friend, Daisy Morgenstern.

Thankfully Angelina scored. Sixty – ten. Moments later, Fred Weasley pelted a Bludger at Warrington, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands; Alicia seized it and put it through the Slytherin goal—seventy – ten.

The Gryffindor crowd below was screaming itself hoarse—Gryffindor was sixty points in the lead, and if Harry caught the Snitch now, the Cup was theirs. Hundreds of eyes followed Harry as he soared around the field, high above the rest of the game, with Malfoy speeding along behind him.

"Bloody hell," groaned Asher. "What is taking Potter so long to get the Snitch?"

"He's got a plan," sighed Bentley. "He's strategizing."

Bentley spoke without looking up from his book.

"He's spotted it!" shouted Luna excitedly, pointing up towards Harry.

Harry put on a huge burst of speed, but suddenly he began to slow down as Draco grabbed onto the back of his Firebolt's tail and was pulling it back.

"Harry, kick him off his broom!" Matilda yelled up to him angrily. She wished she could just take her wand out and send him flying through the air herself, but she knew it would only mess the entire match up.

Tilly wasn't the only one yelling angrily at Draco; Asher was again, yelling behind her calling Malfoy a sneak and a cheat, and the Gryffindors were going completely mad.

"Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics!" Madam Hooch screeched, shooting up to where Malfoy was sliding back onto his Nimbus Two Thousand and One.

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY CHEATING BIT—"

Tilly smiled as the words left Lee Jordan's mouth for every student at Hogwarts to hear. Professor McGonagall didn't even bother to tell him off. She was actually shaking her finger in Malfoy's direction, her hat had fallen off, and she too was shouting furiously.

Alicia took Gryffindor's penalty, but she was so angry she missed by several feet. The Gryffindor team was losing concentration and the Slytherins, delighted by Malfoy's foul on Harry, were being spurred on to greater heights.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal—Montague scores—" Lee groaned, and several other groans followed his own. "Seventy – twenty to Gryffindor. . ."

Harry was marking Malfoy so closely their knees kept hitting each other. Tilly knew that there was no chance that Harry was going to let Malfoy anywhere near that Snitch. . .

Malfoy began to get frustrated as he tried to turn and found Harry blocking him.

"Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!"

Every single Slytherin player apart from Malfoy was streaking up the pitch toward Angelina, including the Slytherin Keeper—they were all going to block her—

Harry wheeled the Firebolt around, bent so low he was lying flat along the handle, and kicked it forward. Like a bullet, he shot toward the Slytherins.

"Harry what are you doing?" questioned Tilly, "You are not a Beater!"

The Slytherins scattered as the Firebolt zoomed toward them; Angelina's way was clear.

"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty points to twenty!"

Harry, who had almost pelted headlong into the stands, skidded to a halt in midair, reversed, and zoomed back into the middle of the field.

"No, no, no, no. . ."

Matilda began to panic as Malfoy dived with a look of triumph on his face—there, a few feet above the grass, was a tiny golden glimmer—the Snitch!

Harry urged the Firebolt downward, but Malfoy was miles ahead—

"Go! Go! Go!" all the Houses urged Harry besides the Slytherin House, who was too busy cheering for Malfoy.

Harry flattened himself to the broom handle as Bole sent a Bludger at him—he was at Malfoy's ankles—he was level—

Harry threw himself forward, took both hands off his broom. He knocked Malfoy's arm out of the way and—

"YES!"

Tilly, Padma, and Luna, along with hundreds of others shouted and cheered.

Harry pulled out of his dive, his hand in the air, and the stadiums exploding. Harry soared above the crowd. The tiny golden ball was held tightly in his fist, beating its wings hopelessly against his fingers.

"I should go," said Matilda to Luna and Padma. "I need to go find—"

"Tell Ron and Hermione we said hello," said Luna, interrupting Tilly, already knowing where she was heading. "And give Harry my best!"

This wasn't surprising coming from Luna. Harry was her favorite Quidditch player.

"And be sure to give Harry a big, wet kiss for Cho," laughed Padma, even though Cho was not even here to witness Padma's teasing.

Before heading off she offered the two of them a wave and then rushed down the Ravenclaw bleachers, trying her hardest to not be trampled by the many others rushing down the stands.

Wave upon wave of crimson supporters was pouring over the barriers onto the field. The team was already surrounded by people and had been hoisted into the air by the crowd.

"Ron!" shouted Tilly, basically running into him after she spotted him in the large crowd.

"Tilly, can you believe it?" he asked her with a wide grin. "Harry's done it – we've got the Cup!"

It never seems to fail that Ron always seemed to forget that Matilda is not a Gryffindor. But she's in too good of a mood to correct him.

"Of course, Harry's done it," said Hermione, also wearing a large smile on her face. "Harry is one of the best players in the school!"

Tilly, Ron, and Hermione all fought their way to Harry. Words failed them. They simply beamed as Harry was borne toward the stands, where Dumbledore stood waiting with an enormous Quidditch Cup.

. . .

The next morning Harry woke up earlier than usual, despite having spent most of the night celebrating the big win he still needed to finish his work before the weekend ended and classes began again. So, happily, Tilly woke up early with Harry because the both of them knew if they had waited no studying would have gotten done because everyone would want to talk about the Quidditch match and celebrate even farther.

"Harry, I believe you've got this," said Tilly as she checked over his work for Transfigurations. "This is very well done."

"Your notes helped me greatly," said Harry, taking his parchment back from Matilda. "You've really helped me a lot!"

Tilly nodded.

"I am known to take the best notes at Hogwarts," she laughed. "I'm glad they helped."

"It wasn't just the notes, Tilly," said Harry. "You've been a wonderful friend to me this year."

Tilly was stunned. She didn't really know how to respond to such things.

"Well, any enemy of Draco Malfoy is a friend of mine," she told Harry.

Harry couldn't help but to shake his head and laugh at her.

The two of them gathered their belongings and made their way out of the library and through the corridors. The halls were silent as everyone was still sleeping soundly, the only sound was the clicking of Matilda's heels.

"You know, I never got to say anything yesterday because of all their festivities," Tilly started. "But you played wonderfully yesterday, I was very impressed—you know, for someone who isn't a fan of Quidditch."

Harry nodded and a chuckle escaped from his lips.

"Also, I had basically promised Malfoy that you would beat him," Tilly told Harry for the first time. "So, if you would have lost, not only would it have looked bad on you, but I also would have looked like a fool."

"And Matilda Winters cannot be perceived as a fool," she said flipping her hair behind her shoulders. "I'm quite proud of the reputation I have now—even if people do believe I'm a cold-hearted monster."

"Tilly," said Harry, stopping her in the corridor. "You are far from cold-hearted."

Tilly gave Harry a soft smile.

"Thank you, Harry,"

And with that, the two of them went to the Great Hall for an early breakfast.

. . .

Tilly's Quidditch attire

. . .