Little Fracture

by Vehementliss

Summary:

С днём рождения, дотя :З

The class was as boring as ever. The theoretical aspect was the main focus on those rare occasions when Astronomy lessons were taught in the light of day, and nothing could be less entertaining. Well, perhaps the History of Magic could rival the tedium of it all, but Rhaenyra could not bring herself to dwell on it for too long. Especially not when each of the desperate attempts she made of not falling headfirst into the table was proving to be less and less successful. The chocolate oat bar her friend brought from the breakfast table Rhaenyra so regretfully missed did not seem to help with energy boost.

“When did you go to sleep last night?” Alicent asked in a condescending whisper.

“Don’t start with that,” Rhaenyra whined, her neck finally gave out, bringing her forehead to the welcoming hardness of the wood beneath.

Their professor could have scolded her, but he was too busy explaining the exact position of the White Heart in the constellation of Serpentines. In truth, those little bits of sleep Rhaenyra managed to get with constant tossing in her bed were tainted with reappearing dreams of her falling. The moment her consciousness allowed her to doze off, she was quickly shaken back to reality with an all-consuming image of the ground finding its way to her. It left her spent, irritable and waspish.

“I am not starting anything, I was just wondering,” Alicent parried, turning her patronizing gaze away from Rhaenyra. “When?”

“Past midnight,” she said, to which Alicent nodded and went back to her chart following the words of their professor; her pencil traced the line of the Shadowcat Arm.

“Well, technically the dawn is after midnight,” came a quiet giggly response from behind them.

“Rhaenyra?” suddenly, the big brown eyes full of disapproval were once again on her. “Care to explain?”

“Laena! Must you snitch on me like that?!” Rhaenyra tore her forehead away from the table and turned around to glare at her roommate.

“You should lie more efficiently, then,” Laena replied with a snort.

“This is a form of power abuse and you know that,” Alicent said, pressing harder on her pencil. “You are a prefect, but that does not make you invincible.”

“Oh, Al, relax!” Rhaenyra whispered hotly bringing her attention back to the girl beside her. “I just lost the track of time.”

“And your wits, too,” as she said that their professor turned back towards the class and announced that the lesson was over. Alicent got to her feet, gathered all of the things she had, and started walking away to exit the classroom. Rhaenyra gave Laena one last angry look and ran after her friend.

“Alicent! What has got into you?” she asked, reaching out and grabbing her by the hand to stop her friend fleeing.

“No, it’s not about me, it’s about you!” she jabbed a finger pointing in Rhaenyra’s direction. “We were meant to do our Astronomy homework together, but you decided to skip on our session in favor of spending time with that oaf!”

Alicent’s scolding was loud and excessive, it started drawing attention of passing-by students as they turned their heads in curiosity.

“We have our first O.W.L.s in less than two months and you are running wild completely ruining all of the schedule I worked out for us!”

“It is just one session…” Rhaenyra began, gaping at her friend.

“Yes, and we are already behind! Argh, how can you not see?!” Alicent wrenched herself free from Rhaenyra’s grasp and started stomping angrily down the corridor.

Rhaenyra opened her mouth to shout back after her, but at the last moment decided against this idea. She knew that her friend was too agitated right now to see any reason in whatever excuses she was ready to lay out for her, so she would have to try later when Alicent mellows out. That was when Laena reached her, struggling with the button on her bag.

“She’s fuming, isn’t she?” she asked, settling the bag loosely on her shoulder.

“Yeah, thanks to you,” Rhaenyra replied, crossing the arms on her chest and throwing a scornful look at her other friend.

“I knew you wouldn’t listen to me, but you would listen to her. You have to get back on your sleeping schedule for us to stand a chance against Hufflepuff on Friday. The early seeker catches the Snitch, or whatever version of this saying you prefer,” Laena said, shrugging. “And as of now their plan of tiring you out seems to work splendidly.”

“There is no plan!” Rhaenyra exclaimed wide-eyed.

“I am joking! But you have to admit, it is rather convenient for them,” Laena laughed and brought a hand to rest on Rhaenyra’s shoulder.

“You do realize that he is with me on those nights? If both seekers are out for the match, you will just have to play for eternity! I thought you would welcome such a prospect,” Rhaenyra said playfully.

“I might have let it slip occasionally that I could spend all my life on a Quidditch field, but I did not mean it literally,” Laena chuckled. “Alright, next is Charms, come on, we don’t want to be late.”

The two girls ran up the staircase as it moved in the direction of the classroom they needed and entered it just before the lesson began. This class they shared with Slytherins, so at least it would provide some respite for Rhaenyra from Alicent’s displeasure; it was a combined Potions class for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw’s students of the fifth year.

Laena took her seat at the table in the middle of the room and Rhaenyra sat down next to her, fishing out some parchment, quill and ink. She would have to share Laena’s book, because in the morning she did not bother to take any with her; she had already been running late for Astronomy class.

This lesson was more engaging, they practiced some flammable spells and those that could serve for putting the flames out, which ultimately resulted in some of their classmates setting their cloaks on fire. One of the Slytherin students almost burned half of his hair off which did not fail to amuse the rest of the class. Laena and Rhaenyra had no such issue; fire was an easy element for the both of them to tame. They even managed to bend the shape of their fires to resemble a dragon wing, earning twenty points for Gryffindor – ten points each. When the class was through, they walked out into the corridor and checked their schedule. There was supposed to be a Care of Magical Creatures lesson, but their professor lost two fingers yesterday, introducing dugbogs to Ravenclaw students and was now at the St. Mungo’s; since no substitute was found they were free for the rest of the day.

“So, what are you going to do?” Laena asked, when they were descending the stairs. “I need to go and reserve time for a training session tomorrow, we must practice as much as we can before the match, you could come with me.”

At this Rhaenyra yawned and said, “I think I need to sleep a bit before the training we have today if you do not wish to see me falling off the broom.”

“A good call, but I am watching you, Rhaenyra. Should you come sneaking out in the night again I will tell Alicent,” Laena said raising her eyebrows to convey the earnestness of her intentions.

“I am not afraid of Alicent,” Rhaenyra scoffed.

“No, you are afraid of upsetting her and nothing does it better than you being foolish,” Laena chuckled and started walking away. “Don’t forget, 5 o’clock, sharp!” To this Rhaenyra nodded and walked in the opposite direction, heading towards the Gryffindor tower.

Laena was the captain of their Quidditch team for a year now and she was more than capable of planning out strategies for both practices and the games themselves. Still, sometimes Rhaenyra found herself lacking the enthusiasm she once had about Quidditch. When she was elected as a seeker for the Gryffindor in her third year it was the most thrilling and exiting thing, but as the years passed each game was more and more repetitive. After the fourth year was done, she contemplated leaving the team, claiming that Hogwarts games no longer posed a challenge to her. This made Laena arrange a training session where Rhaenyra had to catch the Snitch while the rest of her team attacked her with Quaffles, that seemed to bring the challenge back somewhat and Rhaenyra kept her place among them.

The first match they had in November was against the Slytherins. Their Seeker, Criston Cole, seemed to be watching out for Bludgers more than he did for the Snitch. She noticed it back in October, when Arryk Cargyll, Ravenclaw’s former Seeker, caught the Snitch in fifteen minutes, while Criston was flying aimlessly dodging Bludgers that did not even aim at him. So, during their game against the Slytherins, Rhaenyra decided to use it as an advantage, easily outracing Cole as he cowered closer to the stands. Allegedly, the Slytherin’s team Captain was so livid it resulted in a quarrel and a broken jaw, but whatever transpired, Criston was no longer the Seeker for their team. She saw Cole sulking around afterwards in the Great Hall and in the corridors. One time he even looked in Rhaenyra’s direction shooting daggers at her with just his eyes; it was rather amusing.

Even so, Rhaenyra could not care less about that now. All she wanted to do was to get under the warm blanket in her bed to escape the chill that still lingered in the air during the first month of spring. The fate had other plans for her, however. As she approached the Portrait of Fat Lady, ready to call out the password, some figure appeared in her peripheral vision.

“I knew you’d show up,” said Harwin, walking up to her. “The Lady here refused to let me know if you were inside,” he gestured towards the portrait and bowed jokingly.

“Why would I tell you of her whereabouts, young man?” came a howling screech from the woman in front of them. “ ‘Tis my duty to protect the students of this tower and none should coax any information out of me while my paint remains on this very canvas, of that you can be sure!”

“I do apologize, my lady. I never doubted your devotion,” Harwin smiled at the portrait before turning to Rhaenyra. “I wanted to talk to you, if you don’t mind.”

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Rhaenyra said looking up. Harwin was on the sixth year of his course at Hogwarts, so his schedule was more flexible and she knew about that, but it seemed to be pretty early for him to walk around free just yet.

“They cancelled D.A.D.A. because Professor Stark left with the headmaster on Ministry business,” he said smiling brightly. “Erm… Could we find a more private spot, maybe?”

“What are your intentions, boy?” came another cry from the Lady on the wall.

“Do not worry, my lady,” Rhaenyra called out, turning to her with a smile, “we are just exchanging notes.”

To this the Portrait hummed and turned away to examine a glass in her hand. Rhaenyra knew that she would probably try and break it again with her singing so she took Harwin’s arm and led him down the staircase towards the schoolyard, so he would not have to suffer her wailing. The yard was usually empty in the afternoons, because most of the students and professors were attending classes. They approached the great oak tree in the middle and she leaned against it, not before releasing Harwin’s palm.

“What was it you wanted to talk about?” she asked.

“I… Well, we agreed to meet tonight but my lads are being restless with me not getting enough sleep before the match and everything, and… Oh, but don’t get this the wrong way I’d gladly lose sleep over you… Oh, wait, I didn’t mean it like that it’s just…”

“Harwin!” Rhaenyra smiled cutting off his rumblings. “I understand,” she walked up to him and took his hand in hers, squeezing it lightly, “I have a similar problem to deal with it would seem. I was accused of falling into your trap today by Laena.”

“Trap? Wh- What trap?” he looked at her quizzingly.

“The one you so deliberately calculated!” Rhaenyra’s brows went up as if it was writ large. “To lure me out of my sleep schedule with our night-outs, that will ultimately result in the downfall of our Quidditch team,” she said in a low eerie whisper, while wriggling her fingers like a cartoonish villain.

Harwin laughed heartily, “But our joined night patrols were your idea.”

“Exactly, the plan was mine from the beginning. I will destroy you this Friday! Beware my evil genius,” she threw her head back and laughed menacingly. Harwin caught her by the waist, when she bent over too lowly and almost lost her balance.

“Careful there, genius, you don’t want to break those evil bones of yours before the match now, do you?” he said softly, not hurrying to release her from his arms. In response she clutched his shoulders with both hands and smiled brightly.

“That would be unfortunate,” she said, giggling. As he held her in the shadow of that great oak, his curls illuminated with the bright beams of light that were streaming through branches devoid of leaves, she reached with her hand to play with a stray lock. No one would argue that Harwin was a handsome young man, he had striking brown eyes that would turn amber in certain lights, broad hooked nose and thick dark eyebrows that framed his face in almost regal-like way. But it was his hair that Rhaenyra liked most, despite their unkempt appearance they were soft to the touch and supple.

“What are you doing?” he whispered, moving his palm from her waist to catch her hand.

“Admiring,” Rhaenyra said quietly. In response Harwin untangled her fingers from the stray lock she was playing with and brought her hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. Even though he appeared bulky with his hard and lean and wiry strong body concealed by the school robes, and the callousness of his fingers roughened his hands, whenever he touched Rhaenyra, he became the embodiment of all things gentle.

“I’m sorry we cannot meet tonight,” he said softly, looking into her pale purple eyes, suddenly drawn by their luminance.

“Me too,” she said. “I will go over our notes on Shadowcat Arm alone, then. I was thinking of doing it with Al, but she’s a bit upset with me right now, so…”

“Upset? Why?” asked Harwin worried.

“Well, she doesn’t like the fact that I’m spending so much time with you.”

“She had no problem with that before, what happened now?”

“Erm, now our meetings seem to ruin the exam-preparation-schedule she created for us or whatnot,” Rhaenyra replied.

Harwin released her from his embrace and ran a hand through his loose hair, the mood turned sullen, “I think she’s right, I… I take too much of your time and I don’t want you failing on your O.W.L.s, you must spend it going over the things you need to make sure you will pass with high grades.”

“Hey,” she said, pinching his chin, so he would raise his gaze from the ground to look at her. “I spend time with you because I enjoy it. Astronomy lessons aren’t nearly as fun when it is not you explaining. I can finally fill in three quarters of a star chart without looking into the book and it is all because of you, Harwin. The time we spend together in the end is beneficial to my studies, I assure you.”

He brought his other hand and caressed her cheek gently, his thumb gliding over the skin the shade of plum under her eye, “But not to your health. We cannot spend hours gazing up at the stars if you don’t get enough sleep afterwards. Perhaps we should only meet on Fridays, so you could sleep in on Saturday, how does that sound?”

“Awful,” she huffed. “But reasonable.”

He chuckled and pressed a kiss on her forehead, “We reserved the Quidditch field for today since 8 o’clock till 10. When are you training?”

“We begin at 5 P.M. “sharp”,” Rhaenyra said rolling her eyes and started walking backwards to the castle. “And I need to catch some sleep before that time or Laena will burn me alive with her inexorable wrath,” she comically widened her eyes and scrunched her eyebrows to appear intimidating. “I guess that means I’ll see you there when you come.”

Harwin remained standing beside the tree, looking at her retreating figure as he called out, “See you there, princess!”

Rhaenyra snapped her head in his direction and yelled, “Yuck, don’t call me that!” earning a loud laugh from Harwin.

***

“There she goes!” a booming voice greeted Rhaenyra as she entered the Great Hall for an early supper arranged for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. “I was actually ready to place bets on whether or not we’re going to have a seeker this match.”

“Shut up, Cargyll,” Rhaenyra sat down on the bench and started piling mashed potatoes and chicken drums onto her plate, not paying attention to Erryk’s jests. He has been the Keeper in their team for two years now and had been a Beater for three years prior to that. He made an expert player, but not an expert comedian. Although Rhaenyra liked to have a laugh with him from time to time, at this very moment all of her focus was on the plate of delicious smelling roast and steaming buttery buns.

“Sleep well?” asked Laena. She was sitting next to Rhaenyra, mixing in the regular two teaspoons of sugar into her cup of tea.

“Like a baby,” the words came out muffled as she was too preoccupied with chewing on a spoonful of salad she found in the center of the table. That was a lie, she once again was troubled by constant falling in her dreams, but Laena did not need to know that.

“Have some decorum, we are about to train for Merlin’s sake! I will not have you retching yourself up on our heads as you take flight. Eat slowly, the rest of the team have the order to do drills while they wait, we still have ten minutes before our time starts,” Laena poured Rhaenyra some tea because the bread she was munching on was dry, and she started coughing.

“Alright, alright,” Rhaenyra took the cup from Laena’s hand and gulped down. The food was delectable and the rumbles in her stomach seemed to quiet down somewhat. When she spilled some of the liquid on her uniform Laena took out her wand and with a quick flick made the stain disappear.

Erryk could not hold back a laugh as he watched the captain of the Gryffindor team fussing over their friend, “You require a nanny now? How sweet!”

“Do not try my patience, Erryk. I haven’t eaten anything sufficient since yesterday’s evening and if you don’t shut up you might be next on the menu,” Rhaenyra shot him a glare and poked at his direction with the chicken bone in her hand.

“Woah, so much for a realm’s delight.”

“Will you ever drop that stupid nickname?”

“You know he won’t,” Laena said dismissively as she cut an apple in half and placed one of the pieces next to Rhaenyra’s plate.

“That’s right, captain,” he rose from his seat and took his helmet from the table. “Don’t linger. I will go check on our mates and their drills.”

“Be sure to do some yourself!” Laena yelled after him as he departed. Erryk turned around, nodded, and exited the hall leaving only two girls and their little feast.

Rhaenyra ate the rest of the food in silence while Laena sipped on her tea. Nearly Headless Nick passed by their table and wished them a good training session to which they nodded and thanked him. He also confided to them that lately there had been a recurring argument he was engaging in with the Fat Friar, regarding upcoming match, and requested them to win the game on Friday just so he could wipe the ghost’s eye. Laena promised that they would try their best to not disappoint their beloved house ghost and Sir Nicholas contentedly glided away.

The time on Laena’s watch showed 4:57 and Rhaenyra quickly wiped her hands clean of chicken grease, snatched the apple half from the table and put it in her mouth. When the two girls started getting up from the bench, they heard someone’s hurried footsteps and turned around, standing up straight.

“Al?” Rhaenyra bit down on her apple and chewed regarding her friend with a smile.

“Can we talk?” the girl said picking at the skin around her fingers. “I won’t take long, I promise.”

“Alright, Nyra, I’ll be waiting on the field, but be quick. For every minute you’re late two additional loops around on your broom, and I will make you do extra drills, just saying,” Laena patted her on the shoulder and nodded to Alicent, walking away.

“Aye,” Rhaenyra called after her before shifting her gaze to her other friend. “What is it?”

“I am sorry I snapped at you,” her eyes were cast down and the fidgeting of her hands seemed to pick up speed.

Rhaenyra put the remains of her apple on the table and reached out to pry her hands away from each other and said, “I’m not angry with you for it, I promise.”

“Truly? I… Listen, I know that I come off as controlling and austere…” Alicent rolled her eyes at Rhaenyra nodding in agreement, “but I’m just worried, for you. Exams are nearing and you told me you needed to spend extra time with astronomy charts so I arranged our study sessions in a way to help you out, but I feel like you don’t even care anymore! Not since you and him… Well, you get it.”

“I think it is my fault you feel so much pressure,” Rhaenyra replied, looking down on their hands. “You have always been more rational. My mom says I would have been kicked out of school on my second year if it weren’t for you.”

Alicent smiled at that, “When you tried to steal a dragon egg from Headmaster’s office?”

“Yes, you got me out of there before he returned and had been sane enough to talk me out of taking it with me,” Rhaenyra said laughing. “But I am older now, you don’t need to sacrifice your comfort taking care of me.”

“I don’t sacrifice anything, I just love spending time with you,” Alicent said, looking up at her friend. “And we don’t get to do it often lately.”

“We see each other every day, Al.”

“Yes, I know, but it feels different. And what about your charts? Surely you need someone to look over our latest night sky observations with.”

“Erm, may I ask what do you presume I do with Harwin?”

Alicent’s cheeks flushed and she looked around the hall and then back at Rhaenyra, “I- I don’t know. What other couples usually do.”

Rhaenyra laughed and released Alicent’s hands, “When we are done patrolling school on out shared shifts, we go to the Astronomy tower, and there he explains to me the position of stars and constellations based on the notes he made previous year, preparing for his O.W.L.s.”

“Oh, erm, what did he score?” Alicent’s interest picked up.

“He scored an ‘Outstanding’ I believe,” Rhaenyra shrugged.

“Woah… Did he? That’s impressive.”

“Yeah, and I think I improved with my graphs thanks to him. I took some notes and wanted to discuss them with you whenever you’re free,” Rhaenyra suggested and took a step towards the door. “You call him an oaf but that couldn’t be farther from the truth; he’s shrewd, and stalwart and he is very serious when it comes to studying. I thought you’d know it, you’re literally from the same House.”

Alicent followed her, “Well, to be honest I rarely see him, he’s a prefect but he shirks his duties more often than not and Elinda does the most of it or so I’m told.”

As they exited the hall and moved towards the gate that led to Quidditch field Rhaenyra said, “Harwin does best with patrols, they sort of have an agreement that Elinda works with students and he does all the rest the Head Buddies require.”

“Head Buddies?”

“That’s what we call Jane and Allyn,” they exited the castle, the watch showed 5:04 and Rhaenyra stopped to look at her friend. “Listen, I need to get going, what do you say we spend the entire Sunday on the lakeshore looking over those notes I told you about?”

“Sounds good to me,” Alicent beamed at her and took a step back to the gateway. “You better get going, I believe I earned you ten additional loops already.”

“Laena thinks it’s a penalty, but I like flying too much to have complaints.”

“Of course you do,” a breeze of air made Alicent shiver. “Alright, have a nice practice! Be careful!”

“Will do,” Rhaenyra turned around and sprinted down the hill to get on the trail that would bring her to the training grounds.

When she entered the pitch Laena descended on her broom looking at the watch with raised eyebrows, “That’s fourteen loops around the field, Targaryen. Get your ass on the broom and start on it, we’re releasing snitch in ten! Do double turns on far left side of the field, I’ll watch.”

“What? Why double?” Rhaenyra hated doing double turns, because it involved rotating around herself and that got her dizzy.

“Because last game you nearly crashed into a stand! It’ll give you more agility and no, I’m not going to hear you on your dizziness, the more you do it the less troublesome it gets,” Laena turned around and watched as Lorent threw the Quaffle at Erryk’s side instead of passing it to Rickard as he was supposed to. “Right, no more talking, up in the air, now!” and she flew off to scold their Beater.

Rhaenyra got her broom, mounted it and pushed off the ground easily. Nothing could beat that sensation of the first few moments when your body is no longer bound to the ground beneath. She gripped the handle of the broom tightly and lowered her body to soar up, reaching the mid-high of the field, not willing to disturb the training above. She just hoped they would not let the Quaffle drop on her head. Once halfway through her “disciplinary route” she looked up to check how the others were doing. Hobber went down to release a Bludger and a Snitch while Erryk was blocking the hoops from Larra’s attack. Laena was looking down on her and pointed towards the left edge of the field. Rhaenyra rolled her eyes, but sped up and angled her broom to the left to switch direction quickly, as she spun around twice. Once she was facing the opposite end of the field she looked up and did a mocking bow with one hand for Laena. The captain twirled her fingers in a circle signaling Rhaenyra to continue and returned her attention to the game. Once the first wave of dizziness washed away Rhaenyra directed her broom backwards to do the rest of her loops counter-clockwise. On the last circle, as she neared the edge of the leftmost stand, she dove in air and whirled around her axis, attempting to spiral up as she faced the right direction again, but in the last moment a Bludger flew by her head nearly knocking her off the broom.

“Oi, Redwyne, you git! Can’t you see I’m up here!” Rhaenyra called angrily.

“Sorry, Nyra!” Hobber called flying up to her. “I thought Lorent was on it.”

“He bloody well wasn’t,” she looked up as Lorent was flying towards them.

“I’m sorry, Erryk got me distracted,” the boy seemed rather stressed, it was only his second game as a Beater and he already messed up. “I swear I won’t—”

However, his attempts at begging pardons were briefly interrupted by bellowing of their captain that came from above, “Hey, quit apologizing and get your bony asses up here we have a Bludger loose!” When they were on the same level as their captain she continued, “Larra, Rickard you go against me and Erryk. Hobber, you protect us from the Bludger. Lorent, you protect them. Rhaenyra the Snitch is on you. Set out!” with the final cry she threw the Quaffle up and got to Erryk’s side as Larra flew up to get it.

Rhaenyra liked starting her search with lower half of the field, so she busied herself with flying around the edges, much like she did with her loops, but this time her head was turning left and right trying to catch the sight of a golden winged ball. The sun was high, therefore if it were to get out of shadows she would catch a glimpse, in the meantime, she looked around for any movement.

Her teammates flew above, Rickard was now in the chase while Erryk hurried to goalpost trying to block his attempt to score. He got just in time by spinning around and hitting the Quaffle with the end of his broom, giving pass to Laena. She picked up the ball and flew in the direction of hoops on other side of the field, but Larra was already on her. When the Bludger started aiming at Laena, Lorent was quick to beat it away and send it at Rickard’s side, but Hobber promptly flung it across the field with a powerful strike of his bat. The moving ball flew off in Erryk’s direction, but the boy easily dodged it flying away to Laena’s side, signaling to her that he was ready to accept a pass if she needed. Instead, Laena maneuvered her broom to the left, making a small circle as Larra followed. When she noticed Rickard coming at her from the other side, she allowed him to get closer before suddenly flying up, making him and Larra nearly clash. She used their confusion to aim for the goalpost scoring their first ten points. Erryk caught the ball and passed it to Larra and the chase began anew.

Thirty minutes passed before Rhaenyra noticed a glimmer at the center of the field, she quickly made her way upwards and that was when she noticed the Snitch hovering in one place as it glided up and down. She put her heels into the metal posts on either side of her broom and stretched out her arm, nearing the spot. In the last moment it slipped out of her grip and soared to the goalposts. She followed suit, quickly catching up with the golden sphere. The others were playing on the opposite side now, so she would not get in anyone’s way. The Snitch started swirling up around the metal post that was holding the hoop, Rhaenyra did the same. When it flew to the left, however, she turned right making a big circle, hoping that she predicted its track right, and she did. As she leveled out her broom the Snitch was coming right at her and she snatched it out of air with one powerful lunge of her forearm.

When the ball folded its wings and became just a small yellow sphere, Rhaenyra got her wand out and attached the tip of it to the top of the ball, muttering a quick spell to get the Snitch back in the game. She did that while floating in one place on her broom, not paying too much attention to what was happening above, but it would have been better if she did, because suddenly there was an outcry of “RHAENYRA!” from multiple members of her team. When she turned around to look at what was transpiring, she saw the Bludger flying towards her at full speed. How could she have forgotten about that bloody thing?

“Gotcha!” Hobber screamed as he threw his bat down to make the flying ball change direction and aim it towards the ground. The heavy wooden club hit the Bludger just in time before it crashed into Rhaenyra and was now falling down with the metal ball.

Rhaenyra clutched the Snitch in her hand and looked at Hobber, then at the Bludger that was now rolling in the sand, and back at Hobber again, “Thank you…”

“It’s alright,” the boy chuckled. “The thing is ruthless today; we ought to put a spell and slow it down a bit. Laena,” he shouted up, “let’s jinx the bastard for the rest of the training!”

“Agreed! Do it and then up again, we aren’t done yet. Rhaenyra, are you good?”

“Yes, it’s fine!” she called angling her broom to the left.

They resumed playing, while Rhaenyra’s heart rate seemed to even out. She opened her palm and watched the Snitch sprawling out its wings. When it flew up, she took a deep breath and started chasing after it. The next hour passed without any other incidents; she caught the Snitch two more times and once she had to dodge an attack from the same rogue ball, but it was less stressful because the thing was slower. Her teammates did great, too. Laena and Erryk scored ninety points, while Larra and Rickard had seventy. That was the moment when Laena called for a brake. When they reached the ground Lorent used his wand to put the Bludger back into the chest and Rhaenyra placed the Snitch there as well. Quaffle remained in Erryk’s hands as they entered the locker rooms, where teams usually hung out during time-outs.

Larra got her bag from the bench and recovered seven tightly packed sandwiches handing them out to her teammates. As everyone gratefully accepted the food she smiled and said that the elves in the kitchens were more than happy to provide. Laena was chewing on a sandwich when she remembered that they could use this time to go over a strategy for the next match once more, and rolled in a board on which fourteen chalky white members of two teams were floating. She used the wand to direct each figure in required position as she explained maneuvers and techniques she deemed worthy trying out. The rest of the team nodded in acknowledgement suggesting other things from time to time, but for the most part they were listening to Laena.

When each of them was done with snacking the time showed 6:51 which meant they had a little over an hour until Hufflepuff team arrived. Laena proposed they practice passing the Quaffle to one another in a small circle slowly widening it until they were a sufficient distance away for it to become a challenge. Five of them agreed and Rhaenyra said she would rather take more time with double turns instead. Laena proved to be right, the last time she did it during her drills was not half as bad as the first one. And that was how the rest of the training went for the Gryffindors.

Laena flew to Rhaenyra’s side letting her know that Elinda brought her team on the field already, it was 7:55 so it made sense. They descended on their brooms and greeted the Hufflepuffs. Laena ruffled Laenor’s hair, who became a chaser for the team in the beginning of this year, which made his sister extremely proud. Erryk fist-bumped Steffon Darklyn when they passed each other, while Rhaenyra’s attention was drawn to Harwin.

“How did it go?” he asked putting a hand on her arm.

“I want to drown myself in a tub,” she whined, slightly panting, and feeling the material of the uniform clinging to her soaked skin.

He leaned down and sniffed at her side, “Smells like you should.” When she hit him with the flat of her palm across the chest a rumbling sound of laughter filled the space around them.

Elinda turned around then and yelled, “Oi, lovebirds, it’s time to fly apart, I need my Seeker on the field now!”

“I’m coming, Ellie, I’m coming,” Harwin called out. Pecking Rhaenyra on the cheek he murmured, “Go rest. Jane told me they changed a password to Prefect’s bathroom to ‘dragon stone’, some third-years figured the last one out.”

“Yeah, because why would anyone make the password ‘bubbles’? Anyway, thank you,” she stepped aside and moved towards her team. “Break a broom!”

Harwin gave her a nod, straddled the broom and pushed off the ground. It was a common belief that Seekers had to be the smallest on their team, because it was thought that in order to catch the Golden Snitch you need speed and the lighter you are the faster you fly. However, in Harwin’s case, despite his bulkiness and broad form no one on his team could rival his agility. In the beginning of this school year, he outflew the Ravenclaw former Seeker, Arryk Cargyll, on a regular broom, while the latter was flying the latest model of Firefly (regrettably smashed by a Bludger during that same game). Fair to assume that the fact they were descending after the golden ball played a significant part, plummeting Harwin’s heavier body, but his quick reaction allowed him to pry the Snitch out of the other boy’s stretched out hand in the last moment bringing victory to their team. Rhaenyra remembered that game vividly, because after that she worked up the courage to talk to him and it turned out they had a lot in common. Now, after almost four months, that familiarity bloomed into something more. Throwing one last glance up at Harwin, she put the broom in the storage and joined her team.crist

Laena led her out of the field and together they walked back to the castle. She said they needed to finish their Potions essay they started on Saturday to which Rhaenyra nodded and suggested that they could work on it when she was done bathing. Laena agreed and once inside the castle walls they parted, Rhaenyra went right towards the staircase that led to Prefect’s Bathroom and Laena went left to Gryffindor bathing rooms.

Once in the tub, Rhaenyra scented the water with pine and lavender, trying to calm her racing mind. She was thinking a million thoughts and not a single one made sense. The match was due in two days and usually her nervousness would be easier to quell, but it was going to be the first time she played against Harwin as a Seeker. Last year, during the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff he played as a Chaser, while Rhaenyra went against Joffrey Lonmouth. The Gryffindors won that game. This year, they decided to switch places, because during training Harwin chased the Snitch as a joke and caught it under five minutes. They put him through a couple more try-outs and he proved to be a natural, or so he told her, and their match against Ravenclaw in October solidified his place. Rhaenyra did not want to let her team down, and she knew Harwin enough to know that playing against him will be a challenge. But that was what she wanted, right? Right.

She put her head on the edge of the tub and closed her eyes focusing on the sound of water dribbling from the tap. That helped with quieting her thoughts down and before long she realized she was slipping in and out of sleep. Not willing to be known as the girl who accidentally drowned herself in the bathtub, she finished cleaning herself up and got out of water. The mermaid figure on the stained glass above her was fast asleep on her rock and Rhaenyra could not help but smile. She dressed herself in a clean robe and left her uniform near the laundry basket, knowing that it will be cleaned and brought to her by the house elves tomorrow. When she exited the bathroom Allyn was outside, ready to get in the compartment for the Head Boy. He nodded, greeting her and Rhaenyra returned the courtesy with a smile. The time must have been around 8:40 and the Gryffindor common room was more crowded than usual. The third-years were excitedly talking about an upcoming Hogsmeade meeting and the rest of the students were buzzing about Friday’s game. When she passed them, a couple of voices shouted “LIONS FOR THE WIN” and she fist bumped the air, acknowledging their support.

Laena was lying on her bed, her head hanging off the mattrass as she read her essay thesis on the parchment. As soon as Rhaenyra walked in, she said, “Listen, about that daffodil roots’ thing, do you think it’s an overkill if I add in the information on when to harvest it? It was not in the book, but why else would Professor Westerling insist upon telling us about it every single lesson this semester?”

Rhaenyra walked up to her bed and sat down looking over her writing as she dried her hair with a towel, “Yeah, seems fitting. Add it in the second paragraph.”

“I was thinking the same thing!” Laena sat down and reached for the quill.

They spent the rest of the evening finishing up their assignments and even got enough time in the end to start looking over a chapter on dugbogs, because they were supposed to start learning them today, if it were not for the incident with the teacher.

“Do you think they’d make us feed it Mandrakes? It says they like them,” Laena pondered, yawning.

“I hope not, I fainted when we had to deal with them on our second year, remember?” Rhaenyra laughed, stretching out on Laena’s bed.

“Well, I told you to press on earmuffs harder, you wouldn’t listen.”

“I didn’t hear you!” countered Rhaenyra, pinching Laena’s side.

“Ow! Alright, alright, don’t start this again,” Laena laughed back and kicked at Rhaenyra’s leg.

They flipped through a couple more pages before finally deciding to go to sleep. It was a nice thing Rhaenyra did not have any patrols due tonight, so she could actually rest after such a draining day. The moment her head hit the pillow, she was out.

***

Friday crept upon them quicker than Rhaenyra expected. The entire school was abuzz with excitement. Hufflepuff table was rehearsing clapping and stomping in rhythm during breakfast, while Gryffindors tried to rhyme ‘lion’ with something other than ‘dying’. Oddly enough, the morning was quite nice, Rhaenyra met Alicent on her way to Charms class they had together with Hufflepuffs today and they chatted about her recent discovery of soothing effect pot-marigold had on her skin when crushed into paste. To showcase its potency, she presented Rhaenyra with her fingers that seemed to be in much better condition than usual. Peeled cuticles that typically adorned Alicent’s lean fingers near the nailbed were gone, leaving barely noticeable redness.

“And I don’t even pick on my skin anymore, whenever I try to bite a piece off, I taste this foul bitterness,” she went on excitedly. “So, I don’t!”

“Wow, Al, this is great, I’m happy for you,” Rhaenyra replied somewhat hesitantly. “Erm, say, where did you learn about this?”

“Maester Orwyle recommended it when I visited him to get potion for headaches, they’ve been killing me lately,” when they entered the class, she flung her bag on the table and plumped herself onto the bench.

“Well, that makes the two of us,” Rhaenyra took a seat next to her friend and got a book out.

They practiced slowing down a hundred-and-fifty-pound ball that Professor Mallister was throwing onto the ground with a levitating spell repeatedly. When it was Rhaenyra’s turn, she got her wand out and clearly pronounced ‘Arresto Momentum’. She suddenly felt the tingling sensation that went up her arm and for a moment she thought she was holding the boulder herself, but just before it hit the ground it hovered in the air for a split second and landed with a dull thud. The fuzzy feeling in her muscles lingered for a time and she looked at her right hand, flexing the fingers. Once the hum subsided, she moved along to let others pass.

“Brilliant, miss Targaryen!” came a call from their professor, “Miss Velaryon, you’re up next.”

“Woah, that’s weird,” Rhaenyra told Alicent, coming up to her. “Did you feel the weight when you cast the spell?”

“No, nothing of the sort. Did you?”

“Yeah, it’s almost like my hand tried to memorize it,” she put the wand away and flexed her fingers again.

“I’m sure you’re just nervous about the match and that’s how it is showing,” Alicent squeezed Rhaenyra’s hand reassuringly. “Listen, I know I ought to bet on my own House, but I’m rooting for you, Rhaenyra. You’re going to catch that Snitch just like you did a dozen times before.”

“Not very loyal of you,” Rhaenyra huffed.

“On the contrary,” Alicent shrugged turning away to sit back on the bench while others attempted their slowing charms. “I am loyal to my friend. Besides, catching a Snitch doesn’t guarantee your victory, we could still beat you on score-points.”

“Not a chance,” Rhaenyra laughed, joining her.

The next class before break was Divination, which Gryffindors also shared with Hufflepuffs. They entered the classroom and Alicent, Rhaenyra and Laena sat around one table awaiting the appearance of their professor. The rest of their classmates were engaged in heated arguments about whose spell got the boulder to hang in the air longer and whose spell held it higher. Then, they switched to the most discussed thing of the week, the upcoming game, until suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared in the center of the room and Professor Rivers walked out of it.

“Good afternoon, my dawdling souls,” she said in an eerie voice.

“Oh, there she goes again,” muttered Laena, dropping her head down in exasperation.

“There has been a talk of THE GAME in this chamber and in this castle. I once was very much like you, disbelieving, tethered to this earth by lack of sight, thinking I have will to decide what should happen and what should not. However, it is plain to me now that there are powers greater than you and I,” she made a circle looking at each of the students in the front row, stopping by the table Rhaenyra shared with her friends.

It was rumored that Alys Rivers was a vampire, because she was often seen with bloodied fingers and rarely showed up for meals at the Great Hall. Rhaenyra did not believe it to be true, because their professor did not have fangs, which was a prominent feature in vampires, as they had studied on their third year’s D.A.D.A course. She once encountered Professor Rivers at the owlery when she wanted to send a letter to her parents, and it was the happiest she had ever seen this mostly dour witch. She did not notice Rhaenyra at first, so her cheerful and amicable attitude had lasted long enough to make the girl’s eyes go wide in astonishment. When Rhaenyra cleared her throat to make her presence known, Professor Rivers turned to her with the most charming smile and, extending a hand with a small barn owl, said, “Take this one, she tells me she is rather bored as of late.” After that, she placed the owl down and walked out of the building almost skipping. Needless to say, Rhaenyra heeded her advice, and the owl did not even try to bite her fingers as most of the owlery residents were wont to do. It was one of the weirdest interactions Rhaenyra ever had with professors, which said a lot, because some of them were rather queer. Ever since then she could not look at Professor Rivers without thinking back to how striking was her smile and how at home she seemed among the birds. However, today’s lesson, just like any other, would only exude hostile and uncanny atmosphere. Perhaps because none of the students were birds.

“You will learn soon enough; you are not the player but a piece on the board. As I have,” she continued.

Someone to Rhaenyra’s left let out a snort, but their professor paid them no mind and continued, “Today we shall try to look beyond and have a glimpse of what awaits each and every one of you with the help of this book.”

Professor Rivers took a large white tome with the face painted on it from her table and turned around to present it to the class, “Behold, the Weirwood Book!”

“The Weird Wood?” someone asked.

“The Weirwood, we have a few of those in the north,” Rober Manderly called from the back of the class. “They were sort of Gods in the old days.”

“Precisely, it is an ancient work, written in runes none of you have the knowledge to comprehend,” she walked to the opposite side of the room and placed the book onto the table where Rober was sitting with two other Hufflepuff boys. “Mister Manderly, place your hand on the cover and when you are ready, open the book on whatever page your heart tells you to.”

Rober hesitantly placed his hand palm down onto the white wood. The tome seemed heavy from where Rhaenyra was sitting, but Professor Rivers carried it as if it weighed nothing. When Rober opened the book, the woman leaned in to gaze upon what was written, “Name the line, boy.”

“S- Seven?”

“Seven it is,” she took the book and turned it in the air so she could read what was written. “‘New joy is forth.’ Hm, how would you interpret it, Mister Manderly?”

“That I will be happy?” he looked at their professor quizzically.

“Aren’t you happy now?”

“I think I am. I mean, the pork pie was quite tasty this morning so I have no complaints,” at that the class erupted in laughter and he blushed.

“Interesting. Has there been any news from your parents?”

“Erm, I believe my mom is at St. Mungo’s currently, I am to have another sister.”

“Good. Do ask your parents what they plan to name her, it might just be Joy. Anyway, who is next,” she turned around to look at the class and her gaze fell upon Rhaenyra. “You, young lady, place your hand on the book.”

Rhaenyra was startled at first but shrugged and touched the cover lightly. She could feel the ridges of the wood underneath her fingertips; the figure of the face she previously thought painted was actually carved into the thick timber. When her palm made contact with the face the same tingling sensation she had during Charms spread up her right arm, and she pulled her hand back briskly.

That seemed to attract attention of Professor Rivers, “Put your palm back, dear girl. Or are you afraid?” That sounded like a challenge, and Rhaenyra could not allow herself to appear terrified of an odd lady with a book, not when the entire class was watching, so she complied. The buzz in her arm came alive once again and when it died down, she looked up at their professor and gripped the pages of the tome to flip it open. The moment the cover hit the table Professor Rivers spun the book and clutched it in her hands, “Which line?”

“The first one,” Rhaenyra said calmly.

“‘Nine stone, one three stone, little fracture in the fall…’ How would you interpret it?”

“I wouldn’t? This is nonsense, Professor Rivers.”

The woman closed the book slowly and walked away not breaking eye contact with Rhaenyra. It made the girl anxious. Something about her grey eyes seemed strange, yet captivating, so she did not look away.

“You are a Targaryen.”

“Erm, yes…”

“Some in your line possessed a great gift. A gift of a Dream,” the students around her were suddenly sitting as still as statues.

It was a wide-spread tale of a woman named Daenys, who had a prophetic dream about an attack of a once powerful coven of witches, who had styled themselves The Fourteen Flames. They were the cause of devastation for many muggle villages and fields, burning everything they deemed unworthy of existence. It was said they were obsessed with the idea of ruling over those who did not possess magical abilities with fire and blood, and wished to terminate wizarding secrecy. However, upon seeing it in her dreams, Daenys was said to assemble an army of dragons, who were known as creatures immune to fire. She defeated them on a battle field single-handedly, flying one of the beasts, raining dragon fire upon her foes as other dragons joined in. And thus, The Fourteen Flames were quenched by the very thing they aimed to use against people. It was said to have happened centuries ago and quite often was regarded to as a myth. Rhaenyra heard this story many a time, as most of her classmates did too, and when she was little, she was fascinated by it. It prodded her to attempt stealing a dragon egg from the Headmaster’s office on her second year. Now, that she grew older, this seemed to be just another tale parents used to entertain their children. How could one girl tame a dragon? Why did no one stop the coven before? Why did no one help Daenys? These and many other questions she now had were never meant to be answered, because it was a tale and not an actual historical account.

“You mean Daenys?” Rhaenyra asked. “Professor, this is only fiction.”

“Is it? I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You never know these things, not really. How easy it is to brand a false thing true and a true one false.”

Rhaenyra did not know what to answer to that so she just gaped at the woman incredulously.

“Good luck with your match,” was all she said, before moving to another table. Laena seemed to pick up on Rhaenyra’s uneasiness so she shook her by the shoulder lightly and whispered, “Don’t listen to her, she never makes any sense.”

Alicent agreed, “Yeah, can’t wait to drop this useless class next year.”

“Me too,” said Rhaenyra ponderously, watching a girl from Hufflepuff as she put her arm on the book.

***

“Here come the Hufflepuffs! Strong, Darklyn, Velaryon, Darke, Lonmouth, Arryn and Massey. Cheer for the team!” came a roar from one of the commentators for this match, Arryk Cargyll. He was Erryk’s twin brother and a huge fan of everything Quidditch, so it was only natural he oversaw the procession of this game. Arryk was paired with Addam Velaryon, Laena’s cousin, who had been a commentator since his first year at Hogwarts. Addam was a fourth year Hufflepuff student, whose greatest ambition in life was to provide commentary for a Quidditch World Cup and he alluded to it each match he was a part of, meaning every single one.

“Yes, never ever had I seen a team more formidable! It is almost like I am about to witness last year’s World Cup championship with ‘Oldtown Beacons’ against ‘Iron Krakens’! If this game is in any way similar to that legendary match, you are the luckiest crowd in the world, because I will do a far better job of providing you an account of all the things that are about to transpire than Jason Lannister. I swear to the Seven Wizards, the man would do a better job at commenting on the process of toads jumping in a puddle than a Quidditch match.”

“Mister Velaryon, please do focus on the team at hand,” came a reprimanding call from their Herbology professor and the Head of Ravenclaw House, Miss Florent, who oversaw the commentary booth today.

“I apologize, Professor, I just wanted to share this little fun fact. Anyway, Hufflepuffs are here! Go badgers! Go badgers! Go badgers!”

The Hufflepuff side of the stands took on the chant and repeated it over and over, replacing it with hooraying and hurrahing from time to time. The cheering was so resonant it was echoing throughout the field and reaching all the way to the locker rooms.

Laena prodded them to change into their uniforms, black trousers with red sweatshirt and scarlet robes, as quickly as they can while filling them on weather conditions. The day was bright and windy, but warm. There has not been a cloud in the sky for the past week, so the ground was dry, and it meant they could have a fast start. The tingle in Rhaenyra’s arm came in waves as she changed, only when she grasped the handle of her broom did it stop. Once they exited the locker rooms and walked onto the field they were met with an uproar from the Gryffindor side of the stands.

“And now meet the Gryffindors! Targaryen, Stark, Martell, Marbrand, Redwyne, Velaryon and CARGYYYYL! Everyone cheer, cheer, CHEER for the best Gryffindor keeper of the century!”

Arryk was a Ravenclaw student and typically his bias would be to his House, but today his twin was playing, and Erryk mused that his brother had talked half of the Ravenclaws into wearing red rosettes and lion head badges, earning an incredulous look from Rhaenyra. However, when she raised her head to see people sitting on the grandstands, it was not half of Ravenclaw waving scarlet flags and stretching out Gryffindor signature banners, it was all of them. Perhaps the change of hearts could be attributed to Hufflepuff flattening Ravenclaws earlier that year in November. It was, by extension, the very game that got Arryk to stop playing for Ravenclaw team when his broom was smashed mid-air by a Bludger. The fall rendered him immobile for a week and Maester Orwyle strongly advised against going back on the field for the remaining of the school year, which made Arryk rather melancholic until he was proposed with a second seat in a commentary booth. The Ravenclaws could have tried to find some sense of closure by cheering for the team that played against the badgers, and Arryk’s little endeavor might have had nothing to do with it.

No matter the reason, seeing so much red among the spectators made Rhaenyra smile broadly. Various chants of “LION, LION, NEVER DYING!” and “GRYFFINDOR FOR THE WIN!” were deafening to anyone in close vicinity to the stands.

“Yep, couldn’t think of anything else,” Laena nodded, laughing.

Erryk, who was walking next to Rhaenyra, clasped his hands in the air, while his broom was tucked under his arm, and turned from side to side looking up at the students. Rhaenyra rolled her eyes as she fixed her braid in place.

Madam Frey, their Flying instructor and a referee, whistled for the team to stand in position and they lined up in semicircle: Hufflepuff Chasers against Gryffindor’s, then Beaters and then the Seekers next to the Captains, who were also standing face to face. Harwin smiled when he saw Rhaenyra in front of him.

“Captains, shake hands,” Elinda and Laena walked towards each other and stretched out their hands for a shake. When that was done the Professor commanded to mount their brooms and get ready for the countdown. While she went away to release two Bludgers, the Snitch and retrieve a Quaffle, Harwin whistled to Rhaenyra to draw her attention.

“Break your broom, princess,” he said with a smirk.

“Don’t call me that,” she said sternly and gripped the handle of her broom even tighter. It was manufactured by one of the best Quidditch equipment companies in the Seven Kingdoms, Dragonmont. Her mother ordered it custom-made with red twigs of oak and cherry, that matched the color of Gryffindor House, with a tiny golden heart on the end of the handle. This broom was given to her as a birthday gift on her fourth year. She named it Syrax, because the official name was too bleak. Who would want to fly upon Bloodwyrm? The Old Valyrian Goddess on the other hand, that is some name for a broom! And thus, every match before the whistle blew, Rhaenyra rubbed the outline of the heart with her thumb for good luck. However, this time, it only served to make the tingles in her muscles go haywire.

“I expect no foul play from you, teams! Now, on my whistle, all of you up! Three… Two… One…” She threw the Quaffle in the air to be taken over by whoever reached it first. The uproar on the stands was unrestrained as fourteen brooms soared up. Any nervousness was gone from Rhaenyra’s heart the moment she felt the breeze of wind in her loose strands of hair, however the buzzing in her right arm returned.

“Darke in possession, making his way to Gryffindor goalposts, Cargyll is right there at the ready! READY TO SAVE! Aaaaaand…. YES! he gets the Quaffle!” said Arryk.

“Gryffindor now in possession, Laena is flying across the field to attempt a score but will she succeed? Don’t mess with them Velaryons. Oh, no! Lonmouth sent a Bludger right at her, what Lorent and Hobber are up to? Your captain is unsupervised, lads. Elinda Massey intercepted the Quaffle and she will make another attempt to score!” continued Addam.

Rhaenyra was at the center of the field listening to the accounts from Arryk and Addam as she scanned the air for any glimpse of a golden sphere. Harwin was somewhere in her periphery, flying from one side of the field to another. As the two of them hovered above the cheering crowds, Laena was said to pick up a Quaffle from Elinda, who had just been hit with a second Bludger, and scored the first ten points for the team. Rhaenyra did not have to listen to Arryk’s burst of encouragement to understand they were now in the lead, a tumultuous applause from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor stands had done the trick. The Slytherins today seemed rather quiet, as was expected, since none of them liked either of the teams playing. Laena and Larra proceeded to score ten points each in the next three minutes, while Rhaenyra scoured the Hufflepuff side of the field for any sign of the Golden Snitch.

“Gryffindor leads thirty to zero,” Addam’s amplified voice informed the audience. “Arwen Arryn had just attempted to send a Bludger at Gryffindor Keeper while the Quaffle was in the scoring area, but the attempt was unsuccessful. It’ll take more than one Bludger to take this Cargyll down, I’m afraid.”

“Ahem!”

“Oh, by the Merlin! Arryk, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that!” judging by the sound of it and a tiny squall he let out in the end, Addam meant every word of his apology.

“Do you mind telling us what is happening as you are meant to do?” Professor Florent did not tolerate rumblings in her class, nor on the field.

“Yes, I apologize. The Seekers seem to be in quite a predicament, aren’t they, Arryk?”

“Yes, certainly, the Snitch is rather avoidant today, I just hope it shows up sooner than it did during Beacons versus Krakens, we can’t be here for a week!”

“Agreed. Imagine the time outs…”

“Gentlemen! The game!”

“Of course! Hufflepuff in possession, it seems Elinda had had enough of the Gryffindor’s audacity and is ferociously leading an attack. Laenor is right by her side, ready if she needs to pass the Quaffle, but she seems rather adamant on scoring the first of the Hufflepuff points herself! There’s the spirit, am I right folks?”

Another loud cheer went up, as the students tried to inspire their team leader to score.

“Laena and Rickard are right on her! Come on, Elinda, give us a score, don’t let them get you down, and­­­­— YES! ERRYK WAS TOO LATE! TEN POINTS FOR HUFFLEPUFF! GO BADGERS!”

The response from the Hufflepuff cheerers was as if their team had just won the Quidditch World Cup. Rhaenyra was flying by the stands where yellow-cloaked figures were seated and the sound wave near made her head swirl.

“THAT’S WHAT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR,

HUFFLEPUFF JUST GOT A SCORE!”

The song was so clear and so loud, it seemed as if they had been rehearsing it for days. Lorent, who just sent a Bludger away from Rhaenyra with a powerful strike screamed as he passed by, “How do they get this song and we have a damned rhyme about dying?”

Rhaenyra laughed and flew away from the stands as she continued her search. Harwin was flying over the field aimlessly, meaning he had no luck with the Snitch either.

Hufflepuff scored three more times, one by Harrold Darke and then another two by Elinda, putting them ten points ahead of Gryffindor. That made those who cheered for the lions even more spirited as they chanted their diabolical rhymes and prodded the team to strike back.

“Erryk, brother, pull yourself together!” Arryk screamed into a magical megaphone.

“Yes, he’d better, because HUFFLEPUFF NOW LEADS THIRTY TO FOURTY! GO BADGERS! THE QUIDDITCH CUP IS ALMOST OURS!”

“Mister Velaryon, do try to provide unbiased commentary, or else I would have to take the megaphone away.”

“Sorry, Professor, but that is the truth,” Miss Florent scolded him one more time and only then did he return to the account of the game. Elinda scored another ten points in the next fifteen minutes, as the Beater of Gryffindor team repeatedly aimed at her, trying to throw her off balance, but she fought back as if the Quaffle was her life line.

“Do you see that? The Hufflepuff team Captain did not come here to play! Or, rather, she did and she is playing like there is no tomorrow! The fire in her eyes is contagious, as the rest of her team can feel it, too! Do you feel it, Arryk?”

“I do feel it, but let’s not forget who is the fire tamer here, it is the lions who have a Targaryen on their side, and looks like she had just spotted the Golden Snitch! Come on, cheer the Dragon Seeker!”

It was true, Rhaenyra saw the sphere hovering right next to the stand where Slytherin students were seated. It was a hard thing to not give it away immediately, because Harwin was in closer vicinity to the spot. If she suddenly rushed in its direction, he would have reached it quicker, earning an extra hundred-and-fifty points for his team. The game would be over and they would lose. So, before it was noticed by any other person, she lazily sauntered towards Hufflepuff stand first, then Ravenclaw, and only after that did she zoom towards her target. As soon as Harwin saw it, which happened to be the moment everyone else was notified about the Snitch appearance by Arryk, he stirred his broom in Rhaenyra’s direction, stretching out his arm in the process. Because of her little ploy, she had a head start in the chase, the golden globe was within a few feet, and she would have got it if it were not for a sudden collision of a Bludger and her left hip. She was sent spiralling down on her broom, trying to regain balance, but before she went off course, she had a look upwards and noted that the Snitch had fled. Harwin did not catch it, so she could focus on saving herself from collapsing on the ground.

As she ruled her broom upwards, the end of it barely brushed a sandy cover of the field beneath and all the Gryffindor supporters breathed out in relief. The pain in her leg throbbed, but it was no time for self-pity, she aimed higher, getting on the same level as the rest of the players.

“Oh, wow, that was a close one. But who sent the ball, Addam, have you seen?”

“N— No, Joffrey and Arwen were on the other side of the field and I don’t belief Lorent or Hobber would send a Bludger at their own Seeker.”

“Interesting,” Arryk went on, “perhaps the ball is in a sour mood today.”

“Very likely, OH! WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT! THAT’S MY COUSIN IN THE LEAD WITH A QUAFFLE AT HIS SIDE. Will he attempt to put Hufflepuff in thirty-point advantage, and, if he does, will it work? We shall see just… about… NOW! YES! HE SCORES! Arwen Arryn sent another Bludger at Erryk Cargyll and he did NOT save his goalpost. Oh, come on, Laenor, my boy, way to go!”

“WATCH YOUR LEFT AND WATCH YOUR RIGHT,

LAENOR SCORES AND BADGER BITES!”

“Some of you may have heard the words of House Hufflepuff,” said Addam into his megaphone. “Patience, dedication and loyalty. But what you have not heard is the fourth word, which is POETRY, apparently! Seriously, whoever comes up with these chants is a genius!”

Rhaenyra rolled her eyes at that and scanned the field once more stroking her left thigh with a palm, when she saw Harwin speeding his way to her she looked around, thinking the Snitch was somewhere near, but his eyes seemed to be focused not on the space around her, but on her.

“Are you alright?” he shouted, trying to make himself heard with all the cheering around them.

“Yes! We’re playing, Harwin, focus! And watch out for those bloody varmints!” And just like that, she was off to scour the field for the only thing that would bring Gryffindor to victory at the moment.

“You do, too,” but the reply did not reach Rhaenyra’s ears, for she was already gone.

“Would you look at that! Rickard Stark had just wrenched the Quaffle from Laenor!” Arryk notified the audience.

“And he is now soaring his way to Hufflepuff goalpost for… what is it? The fourth time this game? Steffon Darklyn is too good a Keeper. He saved at least seven goals and not even an hour had passed! Now that is some diligence!”

“He won’t be lucky this time, look! The Quaffle is now in the scoring grounds, which means Hobber can send a Bludger right at him. WHICH HE JUST DID AND THE GRYFFINDOR SCORES ANOTHER TEN POINTS. Hufflepuff still in the lead, forty to sixty. Come on lads, get yourself together and even out the scoreboard!”

“Hard chance, look everyone, Elinda is once again in possession, she flies like a comet to the Gryffindor goalpost and Erryk doesn’t seem to gauge which of the three she’s aiming for. She flies left and right, and center, and what is it? Oh, Merlin’s Beard, a dive in and a mid-air loop? Come on, there are some nasty tricks we got today! SHE SCORES, ERRYK HAD FLOWN TO PROTECT THE RIGHT HOOP WHILE SHE AIMED FOR THE LEFT ONE! BRILLIANT WORK!”

Hufflepuff grandstands were shouting loudly and proudly, cheering on for their Captain, and Addam seemed to approve.

“Elinda Massey? Oh, no, more like Elinda Never-Missed-Ey! That’s right!” Half of the crowd erupted in laughter, even Miss Florent gave half a smile at the sharp remark.

“That was pathetic,” Arryk snorted.

“Oh, you’re just mad you can’t rhyme to save your life,” Addam parried.

“Listen, you…”

“BOYS!”

“Sorry, Professor,” both of the commentators said in unison.

Rhaenyra did not want to admit it, but with each point the Hufflepuffs scored her spirit was breaking more. She even cursed under her breath when Erryk did not save the last Quaffle. Laena flew past her and urged to get on with the Snitch while they still had a chance to beat them, and she wished she could, but the bastard just would not show up again.

Until… She noticed Harwin chasing something closer to the ground and went after him. As expected, it was the Snitch, and he aimed to grasp it just as Rhaenyra leveled her broom with his. He was flying the Red Comet, a fast and sturdy broom, but it was no match for Rhaenyra’s Syrax on a direct flight line. They were now so close their thighs were almost touching, and soon the crowd was getting a full account of the chase by Arryk and Addam.

Lorent used this opportunity to help Rhaenyra out, as he sent the Bludger away from Laena to hit Harwin’s broom handle with an astounding precision. His broom was sent reeling over, the rider with it, but Addam’s voice quickly cut through a worried gasps from the stands, reassuring everyone that Harwin was able to regain his balance. Still, for a short while Rhaenyra was the only one chasing the winged ball. Her fingers barely brushed its side when a second Bludger hit her across the chest, sending shock waves through her body. For a moment she thought she could not take a breath in, and she gripped her broom tightly, trying to break her fall. As if on que, the buzz in her arm redoubled. The Bludger attempted to hit her again, this time in the face, but she veered off at the last moment as adrenaline pumped in her veins. Her vision started getting blurred and she almost lost her balance, when suddenly someone grabbed her by the collar and dragged her up. The tight pain in her chest elevated and she finally took a deep breath, her mind started working again and she whirled around, regaining her composure.

“Alright there, Nyra?” Laena’s face was full of concern and the rest of the game seemed to stop, but there was no whistle. Or was there? Because Madam Frey was up in the air with them for some reason, and she held the Quaffle.

“I called for a time out,” Laena explained. “We need to take a moment, don’t you agree?”

“Y— Yes, that would… Be nice…” every word came with an effort, the impact of the Bludger hit seemed to be more severe than she thought.

When they entered the locker rooms, she was told that while Harwin and her were distracted by the Snitch, Harrold, Hufflepuff Chaser, scored another ten points. It put them in a dreadful disadvantage, with their opponent having double the score they had. Laena proposed another tactic, the one where Lorent and Hobber would divide themselves to follow each of the Bludgers to keep them away from Hufflepuff Beaters. They needed to take the Keeper Steffon off the goalposts and the only way to do it would be with the iron balls. Rickard and Larra were to remain on Hufflepuff side of the field in case the Quaffle was sent to them by their Captain. Laena was astonishingly good at prying the ball away from someone’s hands. The Hufflepuff’s Beaters knew that, because she had been hit at least six times with the Bludgers they sent at her as she chased after the opposite team, but it was not half as cruel as the strikes that got Rhaenyra.

She was clutching at the center of her chest, evening her breath out. Larra offered her a bottle of water, but she only shook her head. A few minutes had passed and Maester Orwyle appeared in the room with a wand at the ready.

“Here, Miss Targaryen, this should help,” he mumbled some unknown spell and the pain in Rhaenyra’s ribs vanished. Once she could take a breath without coughing, her team let out a collective ‘Phew’ which made her laugh.

They were going over their new strategy for the next fifteen minutes. In the span of said time Rhaenyra managed to ask if they saw who sent the Bludger, but her teammates only shrugged. Larra told her that both Joffrey and Arwen were flying after the ball that got Harwin down. It made Rhaenyra uneasy. It was not like she never got hit by a Bludger before. She had been playing for the Gryffindor team for the past three years and she had her fair share of bruises and once even had her shoulder dislocated, when she played against Slytherins and their foul Beaters. However, Rhaenyra could not remember a time when she was hit twice by a wandering Bludger in a single match. She could not dwell on it any longer, because Madam Frey appeared to announce the end of a time out.

Both teams poured out of the locker rooms. The moment Rhaenyra noticed Harwin she sprinted towards him.

“You didn’t fall, did you?”

“No, Lorent went easy on me,” he chuckled. “How are you? Did Maester Orwyle come by?”

“Yeah, he patched me up, don’t worry.”

“Oi, we’re about to take off!” Elinda called from the center of the field. “Strong, I swear to the Merlin if you are not catching the Snitch because of h—”

“No! You saw that thing flying at me, how was I supposed to stay on track?”

“Alright, alright, get on the broom. Rhaenyra, you’re good?” the expression on Elinda’s face was one of an honest sympathy.

“Yes, it’s fine, El, thank you,” Rhaenyra smiled and went to her position.

“Everyone, at the ready. Three… Two… One!” Madam Frey gave a whistle and once again fourteen brooms were up in the air.

“After a twenty-minute break our teams are up again and I remind you of the score. Forty Gryffindor against Eighty Hufflepuff,” Arryk’s voice boomed throughout the stadium.

“The Gryffindors seem to have worked out a new strategy. They aren’t letting these Bludgers anywhere near Hufflepuff Beaters, and Laena successfully intercepts a Quaffle from her brother. Eh, older sisters, am I right?”

“Tell me about it, Erryk is only twelve minutes older, but he never lets me win in anything!”

“Same with me and Alyn, he once demolished me in Exploding Snap by—”

“Oh, tell me you haven’t chattered enough during the break! Focus on the field!” came a shrieking sound of Proffessor Florent.

“Oh, oh, that’s right, ahem! Laena passed the Quaffle to Rickard and he speeds up, whirling away from grasping hands of Harrold Darke.”

“Steffon is at the ready, awaiting an eventual attack and WHAT IS IT? Lorent sent a Bludger hitting the handle of his broom and if the Keeper could withstand that, he certainly couldn’t take the second strike by Hobber, that got him in the rear! And, YES! GRYFFINDOR SCORES! FIFTY TO EIGHTY! FIFTY TO EIGHTY!” Erryk chanted.

“OUR WOLF HAS LION’S ROAR,

GRYFFINDOR NOW SCORES SOME MORE!”

Rhaenyra smiled as she flew by the Gryffindor stands. It appeared their House got some progress on the rhymes. No one shouted anything about dying anymore, at least not after she almost coughed her lungs out, and for that she was grateful.

“Rickard Stark in truth has some thunderous roar, look at him celebrating his goal,” Arryk shouted into his megaphone.

As Rhaenyra scoured the field, keeping an eye out for the Bludgers, Larra got them another ten points. Laena’s new strategy proved to do wonders. Not five minutes passed, when Rickard scored again, putting Gryffindor only ten points away from Hufflepuff. The latter by that time figured out how the team was now working, so instead of focusing on Laena, they blocked Larra and Rickard. It was a wise choice, because soon the Quaffle was in Hufflepuff’s possession and Elinda made a quick work of tricking Erryk yet again and scoring ten points for Hufflepuff.

Rhaenyra flew under the stands, around goalposts, near the Teacher’s seating but there was no trace of the Snitch. She scanned the field to find Harwin, he hovered above the center, looking left and right.

“After two more strikes of my brilliant cousin, Hufflepuff leads with a hundred and ten points against Gryffindor’s seventy,” Addam said over booming chants from Hufflepuff students.

“Gryffindor Chasers do not like it one bit, look, they teamed up against poor Laenor. The boy seems overwhelmed!”

“Oh, where are the Beaters when you need them so?”

“Well, the Beaters do not let the Bludgers to be taken over by neither Joffrey, nor Arwen. The both of them don’t know what to do with all that free time,” Arryk mused, earning a laugh wave from the Gryffindor stands.

Rhaenyra watched as Lorent and Hobber sent iron balls at each other instead of other players, it had proven to be an ingenious strategy of not letting the balls to be intercepted by the opponent’s Beaters. And what was more important, it kept Rhaenyra’s mind off of that problem. Larra put another Quaffle through Hufflepuff goalpost and now they were at eighty points. Harrold, a third year Chaser of the Hufflepuff team, gathered up his courage and flew to her. He performed a staggering feat of overturning Larra’s broom with the end of his own, making the girl lose her composure. He wrenched the Quaffle from her hands and as quick as a lightning soared towards Gryffindor goalposts. It was no wonder he made another score; the boy gave the impression of running on pure spite. Erryk did not even notice how the ball flew by his left ear and through the hoop.

Rhaenyra cursed again and drifted left to look over the rooftops of the stands. She caught the Snitch right next to the Ravenclaw roof when they played against Slytherins earlier that year, maybe the ball would hide there for a second time. In the meantime, Harrold scored again as Addam gave a detailed commentary, praising his quick reaction to an upcoming Bludger from one of Gryffindor Beaters.

“The lad is a natural! A hundred and thirty points for Hufflepuff, which puts them fifty points ahead of Gryffindors. Now all the Badgers need is a Snitch!” in reaction to this statement Hufflepuff students started singing once again.

“OUS SEEKER’S NEVER WRONG

WE SHOUT LOUD FOR HARWIN STRONG”

“Oh, we got a new rhyme, I give it a solid nine out of ten, because nothing beats Elinda Never-Missed-Ey!”

“Everything beats Elinda Never-Missed-Ey,” parried Arryk into his megaphone.

“Well, not the Gryffindors, that’s for sure, look! She is flying over the field; will she score another one?”

“Oh, that’s unlikely, look! Laena is on her, set on pulling back the score!”

Rhaenyra listened to the commentary and turned her head to see how Laena was faring with her interception attempt, and that was when she noticed a glimmer of light. The golden ball was right next to the commentary booth. She did not waste a single moment, flying past the red and yellow splotches in her periphery, not bothering to look for Harwin. She could sense he noticed it too from his lower standpoint from the other side of the field.

She flew, and flew, and flew; a typically fast flying now felt like it took her minutes to get there. Her mind was in disarray and she almost collided with the front wall of the seating area with Professors and commentators. At the last moment she made a double turn and flew in the direction of a Snitch despite her head getting dizzy. It went up, she flew after, almost getting face to face with Addam, and then the ball plummeted. But before she could turn her broom down, a ringing screech in her left ear made her already pounding head spiral. She heard Laena scoring another ten points loud and clear but the current wants of her body and soul was a far more demanding thing to focus on, and what her body and soul wanted was to catch that damned Snitch. Harwin was gaining his speed as he flew upwards with an outstretched arm. She, on the other hand, descended after the winged rascal. The sounds of the crowd around her quieted down, she did not know whether it was the people holding their breaths for the outcome of the Snitch hunt or the affects of her previous encounter with a voice amplifier.

Everything that happened next hardly registered in her mind. She lowered her body to the broom handle, to escalate her descent, and saw Harwin’s eyes widen as he looked away from the ball. He then screamed, but she could not make out the words, so instead she turned her focus back on the Snitch. In a span of a few seconds the boy was gone, soaring up to her right. But the Snitch was still there, in front of her, just a few feet... And she had it! Grasping it tightly in her palm she clutched it to her chest still heading down. Where did Harwin go? The snitch was flying right at him, why didn’t he snatch it?

She abruptly turned her head and there he was, flying towards her from above, or… His hands… They were not on the handle, and his eyes… They were closed!

Rhaenyra dropped the Snitch down, grabbed the end of her broom tightly with the left hand and turned around, outstretching her right one. She ignored the constant reverberating clangor in her ears and the buzz that appeared to render her hand unruly; she had to catch him. Not a second had passed as their forms collided; she clutched his body tightly, the fingers of her right hand grasping the back of his yellow tunic, and only then did the buzzing stop. When they were only a short distance away from the ground, she fished out the wand from under her robes, pointed it at herself and Harwin, and screamed at the top of her lungs “ARRESTO MOMENTUM!”

At first, she thought that her voice was gone, but their bodies hovered above the ground for a split second before falling into the sand. Harwin’s broom landed a few feet away from them as she turned him onto his back. His eyes flattered open and he looked at her kneeling form beside him. She asked him if he was alright, over and over, and over again, but the sound just would not come out. His lips moved, he said something and she did not hear, even when she bent over to make him speak directly into her left ear. And all the other sounds were gone, too. No wind, no chanting, no final whistle, nothing.

That was when she realized that Arryk’s scream must have severely impaired her hearing. She brushed her fingers along her ear and felt something sticking to her skin. When she looked at it, the pad of her middle finger was red with blood.  Harwin’s eyes closed again and a wave of panic washed over Rhaenyra. She forgot all about her sudden loss of hearing and looked away, shouting for help. Out of the blue, chunks of black iron started falling all around them, and Rhaenyra instinctively went to cover Harwin’s face with her upper body.  Laena was on the ground now; flinging her broom aside, she quickly knelt in the sand beside Rhaenyra and started shaking her by the shoulders, a wand in her hand. She was saying something with a concerned look on her face. Rhaenyra repeated several times “I do not hear you!”, and Laena embraced her firmly. When she had withdrawn, her gaze fell on Harwin’s unmoving form.

A figure appeared by their side, towering over the three of them, and Rhaenyra assumed it was Maester Orwyle, but when she looked up it turned out to be Professor Rivers. She had her wand out, casting a spell that started rising Harwin’s motionless body from the ground. As if by a magical pull, Rhaenyra grasped his hand tagging at it, not allowing him to go any higher. The woman only gave her that charming kind smile, and it was enough to convince Rhaenyra that Harwin was in safe hands, so she let got.

As the rest of her team gathered around and helped her up, she could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Someone put the Snitch into her palm, but she did not care for it, not now. Her eyes were fixed on Harwin’s body flying away, while the rest of the Hufflepuff team trailed after. The ringing in her head did not quell, but the buzz in her arm did. At least this was some consolation.

***

“Alys, may I—”

“No.”

It went on like this for the past hour. After Maester Orwyle gave Rhaenyra a draught for her hearing, he went to Professor Rivers’ side and repeatedly asked to leave Harwin in his care. The woman would not listen; instead, she sat down on the bed where the boy was lying and muttered some spells as she waved the wand from one side of his head to another.

When Rhaenyra was able to hear the things happening around, her attention was pulled to Elinda and Laena having a heated conversation with Madam Frey.

“You saw what that thing did! She already had the Snitch when it aimed at her again, someone must have bewitched it!” Laena was whispering, trying not to disturb patients in the Hospital Wing, but it was a futile attempt. Every single one of them, who were too sick to attend the Quidditch match, were now awake, desperately trying to unravel the drama ensuing right in front of their eyes.

“Yes, Miss Velaryon, the Headmaster has already inspected the remains of the Bludger you blew up. The culprit was identified, don’t you worry.”

“And what of Harwin? He was directly affected by it, the stinking rat should answer for this, too. What’s their name? Do you know?” Elinda added, agitated.

“Everything is under control, girls, I understand your concern and eagerness, but let the adults sort this out. When the time is right you will know who was—”

“IT WAS CRISTON!” Arryk and Erryk burst the doors open and practically stumbled into the room, as all of the people inside turned their heads to look at them.

“Keep your voices down!” demanded Maester Orwyle walking away from Alys to scold the two boys. “This is NOT a common room, nor is it a Quidditch field. There are sick students in here and they need peace and quiet!”

“Apologies, Maester,” Arryk was out of breath giving the impression of a person who had just run a marathon.

“Erryk, tell me, what have you heard?” Elinda said, grabbing his shoulder. The rest of the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor team were gathering next to the twins.

Madam Frey threw her hands up in exasperation and exited the room, presumably to find the Headmaster.

“They caught him on the stairs that were leading to our commentary booth. He jinxed the megaphone, that’s why it was so loud, when Rhaenyra flew by!” Erryk explained.

“And the rogue ball?” asked Laena.

“Cole! He used some potion on the Snitch and the Bludger; he brewed it himself, too,” Arryk continued.

“Potion? What potion?”

“I don’t know, there was a trace on both the Snitch and the Bludger,” Erryk looked at Laena. “Well, whatever was left of it, anyway.”

“Professor Westerling said the ingredients used in that draught were reminiscent of those Cole requested for a project.”

“And he just gave them away?”

“Yes! That’s what the Headmaster asked, but Professor said he was a prodigy in potion making, so he allowed it. Must have forgotten the fact that he was also an intolerable twat.”

“They just finished questioning him,” Erryk interrupted his brother. “He said the brew made the Bludger follow Rhaenyra whenever she was closing on the Snitch.”

“What?” Rhaenyra said from her bed as she sat up. “Why me?”

“Well, he used a piece of apple you didn’t finish, or so he said, to tie the ball to you if you were near the—”

“No,” Rhaenyra cut Erryk off abruptly. “I mean, what did I do to him?”

“Erm… Not just you. He said he had hoped it would work this time as well as the last one,” the Gryffindor boy replied.

“What do you mean?” Laena asked.

“The Bludger that hit me when we played the Hufflepuffs, it was also him,” Arryk explained.

“What a turd!” Elinda exclaimed.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Arryk nodded in agreement.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand…” the grasp of the situation was right within Rhaenyra’s reach, but it still somehow evaded her.

“You and I caught the Snitch when we played against the Slytherins,” Arryk clarified. “They kicked him out and he decided to take it out on us.”

“He said, and I quote, “If they weren’t afraid of Bludgers, I’ll give them a reason to be.” I mean, what a pathetic excuse for villainy,” Erryk shrugged.

“I’ll show him afraid,” Laena started rolling up her sleeves and went to exit the Hospital Wing, but Elinda caught her by the arm.

“He is with the Professors, you can’t thrash him now,” she said, reasonably. “But once he’s alone…”

“Nope, won’t be happening. They plan to take him to the Ministry for a hearing. His actions resulted in three students getting hurt, he might be up for expulsion.”

“Good riddance,” Laena muttered, still angry.

Rhaenyra’s head was pounding again as other team members bombarded the twins with further questions. The Bludger was meant to hit her and who knows what would have happened if Harwin had not shielded her with his body. She turned her head to look at him, a few beds away Professor Rivers was now waving a wand up and down his chest, but his eyes were still closed. When she looked down on her gloved hands, they were greasy, she gathered it was the “trace” from the potion the twins were talking about. She raised herself off the bed and Larra was suddenly next to her, grasping at her waist. She did not realize she was falling.

“Miss Targaryen!” Maester Orwyle exclaimed, pushing her by the shoulders to sit back on the bed. “You need to rest while your ears are healing, some headache is expected, as well as weakness.”

“I need to see him,” she protested.

“You can watch him from right here until you are stronger,” the Maester tried to persuade her to lay still.

“No!”

“Well, you leave me with no other choice,” he tapped her head with the end of his wand and the world went black.

***

When Rhaenyra opened her eyes, the room was only illuminated by the Moon shining through the windows. The rest of the patients were fast asleep, some snoring, some turning and tossing. She found that someone had changed her dirtied uniform into a hospital gown, but what was more important she was no longer troubled by clangor in her ears and the headache was gone, too. Rhaenyra turned her head and gasped when she noticed Professor Rivers sitting on the opposite bed.

“Good night, Rhaenyra. Are you feeling better?”

“Y- Yes, thank you, Professor.”

“Oh, don’t thank me. Thank him,” she turned around and threw a look at Harwin. “It would take me at least two weeks to patch you up, I don’t know your bone structure.”

“What?”

“Never mind,” the woman got to her feet and started walking away. “Please, do not disturb him until dawn, he needs time to recover.”

And in the next moment she was gone. Rhaenyra looked at Harwin, his chest was gradually rising and falling as he breathed. There were two empty bed spaces between them, so Rhaenyra decided to move her things to the one closer to him. Once she settled there, she turned on her side and observed his calm and steady breathing until it lulled her back to sleep.

The next morning Maester Orwyle woke her up for a second portion of the draught she took for her hearing. Even though she had no further complaints she took the sour tasting substance anyway, to solidify the result. When she looked around there was no one but Harwin and her in the room, and she asked where the rest of the students had gone. The Maester informed her that they were gathering at the Hospital Dining Room for breakfast, and, once she was ready, she could join, and then he left, leaving her and Harwin in solitude.

She looked at the door and contemplated going after the Maester, she did not realize how hungry she was until the word “breakfast” was mentioned.

“You’re not planning on abandoning me, princess?” came a weak sound from her left.

“Harwin!”

She untangled herself from the bedsheets and almost fell off the bed as she struggled to get to his side quickly.

“Oh, Harwin! You scared me to death!” she exclaimed stopping herself from embracing him as he chuckled.

“You’re the one talking, I told you to turn right so the Bludger wouldn’t hit you, but you were too adamant on catching that damned thing! You Gryffindors are as brave as you are foolish.”

“First of all, ouch. Second of all, I didn’t hear you. The voice amplifier damaged both of my ears, so I didn’t know what was happening in the last minutes of the game,” she explained.

“Oh, that’s unfortunate. Are you good now?”

“Yes, I mean, I hear you now. What did you say when I caught you yesterday?”

“That I was the luckiest Snitch of all time,” he laughed and winced as if the action brought him pain.

“Harwin! I’ll go get the Maester,” she made to rise from his bed, but his hand tugged at hers.

“It’s alright, don’t bother. I thought it was a nice joke. Well, I said you should have watched out for those bloody varmints yourself,” he said, smiling. “Why didn’t you?”

“I thought Lorent and Hobber were on them, as we agreed. But we didn’t know about Criston then, so there was little they could do, really…”

“Criston?”

“Erm, yes, Criston Cole,” she said, tracing the dots on her hospital gown. “He kind of bewitched the Bludger to follow me whenever I was in close vicinity to the Snitch.”

“Where is he?” the look on Harwin’s face was blood-curdling and he attempted to sit in the bed.

“Hold your horses,” she pushed him down by the shoulders gently. “You won’t find him; they took him for a hearing at the Ministry.”

“If he is not expelled by the end of the next week, I’ll find him myself and make him wish he was,” the tone of his voice suggested that he was not joking.

“I’m sure you will,” she smiled and took his hand into hers. “Why did you do it? You should have taken the Snitch; it was coming right at you.”

“And let you fall with a broken spine or a crashed skull? Not a chance. Judging by the trajectory of that ball it was aiming either at the back of your head or your tailbone. And the impact was intense, I could feel four of my ribs shattering as I went down. If that was you who got hit, you’d have to spend at least two weeks in the Hospital Wing to get better! That’s assuming you’d survived that blasted thing at all!”

“Yeah, Professor Rivers told me as much,” she agreed.

“Alys was here? No wonder I feel better already.”

“Alys?”

“Erm… Yeah. Oh, wait, you didn’t know. Professor Rivers is kind of my aunt, or… a cousin… maybe even a twice removed grandaunt. I never figured out how, but we’re related and she used to live with us at Harrenhal when I was a kid. After I got my first broom at the age of four, I broke a bone every two months and Alys had to heal me, because my mom doesn’t trust healers at Saint Mungo’s, not after Larys… well, you know.”

“Oh, I see,” Rhaenyra cast her eyes down, looking at their intertwined fingers. Harwin’s brother Larys was born with a clubfoot and their mother was convinced that the healer who attended to her, while she was in labor, was to blame.

“I don’t know how she does that, but I never needed any potions or brews to heal my bones. She just uses magic and it heals itself. I had my leg and collarbone broken so many times my granduncle Simon started calling me ‘Breakbones’ whenever Alys had to tend to me,” he said, smiling. “She came up with another name, ‘little fracture’ she called me. When mom tried to lock my broom away, she persuaded her against it, assuring that she will be there to remedy whatever harm I inflict upon myself. Can’t figure why, but it convinced her.”

“You said she used to live with you?”

“Yes, she left a few years ago during my summer break. I thought I’d miss her, come to find out she applied for the position of Divination at Hogwarts. That was some surprise.”

“Woah, that’s an interesting way of getting to know more about you,” she breathed out, looking around the Hospital Wing.

They sat there in silence for some time, listening to the birds chirping outside.

“Harwin,” she whispered.

“Yes?”

“Thank you for saving my life, but promise you’ll never do it again.”

“I won’t make promises I cannot keep,” his eyes were serious and unyielding. Rhaenyra wanted to argue but suddenly the doors swung open and someone called out her name.

“Rhaenyra! Maester Orwyle told me you’re awake!”

“Alicent!” Rhaenyra got to her feet and went to meet her friend.

“How are you feeling? I was so scared! I’m sorry I didn’t visit you sooner, I came yesterday, but you were unconscious. Tell me, do you feel better?” Alicent was fussing all over her, looking Rhaenyra up and down as she checked for any untreated injuries.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine!” the girl laughed and took her friend’s face into her palms to stop her from worrying.

Alicent then looked over her shoulder, noticing Harwin. She wriggled out of Rhaenyra’s embrace and walked towards his bed.

“Thank you for saving my friend,” she said sincerely. “I hope you get well soon.”

“Thank you, Alicent,” Harwin nodded and smiled.

“Well, I guess our getaway to the lakeshore for Astronomy study session is cancelled,” Alicent said, turning back to Rhaenyra.

“The Maester said I could go back to my schedule the day after tomorrow, but you could come by whenever you wish,” Rhaenyra suggested. “We could look over the notes I took with Harwin here. He knows more about those things anyway.”

“Rhaenyra told me the two of you struggled with locating the Titan’s Sword in the night sky. I could draw the position of it on your charts if you bring them,” Harwin added.

“What do you think?”

Alicent contemplated for a moment and then said, “Alright, but please don’t make it weird.”

“How do you expect us to make it weird?”

“If you spend the entire evening ogling each other like the lovebirds you are, I will be sick,” she said, scrunching her nose as if she smelled something gross.

“Oh, no, Harwin doesn’t like public displays of affection, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“I don’t know, him shielding you from a crazy bewitched iron ball and subjecting our team for a defeat in the process was pretty affectionate and pretty public,” Alicent said matter-of-factly.

“That was different,” Harwin lowered his eyes and his cheeks started turning red.

“And all the rhymes I came up with for the chants went down the drain,” she breathed out feigning a disappointment. “Okay, I’ll come by with my charts after supper. And I’ll bring Laena with me, she’ll take your notes from the dorm and ensure my sanity is intact during our study session.”

“As you wish,” Rhaenyra laughed and watched her friend exiting the Hospital Wing.

“Oh, she hates me,” Harwin said, as he attempted sitting up. Rhaenyra hurried to help him, placing another pillow behind his back.

“No, she doesn’t, she’s just bad at making friends. It’s a miracle we got along, if I’m being honest.”

“It isn’t, you complement each other. She is reasonable and you’re… well, you.”

“Oh, thank you,” Rhaenyra said, making a face.

“Don’t turn sour, Nyra, you know I love you just as you are,” he reached out and tugged at her arm, urging her to come closer.

“And what am I like, pray tell?” she complied and was now standing right next to him.

“Exceptional,” he pulled her down and she planted herself next to him. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, just like he did under that tree. “Spirited,” he continued, planting a kiss on her little finger. “And gentle,” he reached with his other hand to pull her closer to him by the neck. As soon as she felt his lips on hers every single agitating thought that troubled her mind went out of the window. All of her being was focused on the feeling of him by her side, and it brough a sense of peace she only ever felt when she was at home. When they parted, he had her face in both of his palms as he caressed her cheeks on either side, smiling. She giggled and planted a quick peck on his nose.

Unfortunately, this peaceful moment did not last long, a sudden sound of the doors swinging open made them jump from each other’s embrace.

“Harwin! Harwin! Harwin!”

A little first year girl was chanting his name as she made her way to his bed. Rhaenyra stood up and took a step back allowing her to plump on the chair beside him.

“What is it, little one?” Harwin’s face lit up in a smile.

“Leona?” came a shout from the hall. “Leona, where are you?”

Rober Manderly ran inside and breathed out in relief.

“There you are, sorry, Harwin. She wouldn’t listen. I told her you’d be back in a few weeks and she could tell you then, but—”

“It’s alright, Rober,” he turned his attention back on the Hufflepuff girl. “What is it you wanted to tell me?”

“I have another sister now!” the girl jumped up and down in the chair, clapping excitedly.

“Oh, is that so? Congratulations!”

“Thank you! Father sent Rober the news today, we received it during breakfast. By the way, I’m not mad at you for missing the Snitch. Not at all.”

“Why, thank you, Leona,” Harwin laughed and looked at Rober. “Congratulations to you, too.”

“Thank you,” Rober took his sister by the hand and prodded her to stand up. That was when Rhaenyra remembered something.

“Rober, wait. Did your father tell you what name they picked for the girl?”

“Erm… Yes, they named her Joy.”

“Joy?! Just like Professor Rivers predicted!” Rhaenyra’s eyes widened.

“Wait, you’re right,” Rober’s expression mirrored her own. “I guess she can be right, sometimes…”

Still deep in thought he wished them both a swift recovery and exited the room as Leona was skipping right next to him.

When they were gone, Harwin asked, “Right? Right about what?”

“Before the match we had a Divination class. We sort of predicted the future based on a line from a random page in that old Weirwood Book. Professor Rivers said, that for Rober new joy is forth, and now he gets the news that he has a sister and her name is Joy.”

“And it is their fourth sibling, Leona told me she has another sister, Alayne. She’s only eight years old, so not at Hogwarts yet, but her magic outbursts once painted all of Leona’s books blue when she arranged them in rainbow colors, can you imagine?” Harwin laughed, but when he saw Rhaenyra looking out of the window somewhat taciturn, he tugged at her arm again. “Is something wrong?”

“What did you say Professor Rivers called you?”

“Erm, a ‘little fracture,’ why do you ask?”

“She predicted the outcome of the match before it happened,” Rhaenyra said solemnly. “Well, she asked me to interpret it but I didn’t know how. She read “Nine stone, one three stone” meaning the points! Gryffindor was losing, ninety to a hundred and thirty! And then she said, “little fracture in the fall,” she must have known it meant you! Why didn’t she warn me?”

“Listen, Alys is very reserved. Especially when it comes to predictions. I never took Divination seriously, but that’s because I don’t have the sight. Others could find the discipline more appealing, like she did,” he rubbed circles into the skin on the back of her right hand, trying to soothe her.

“I had these dreams of falling haunting me throughout the week. I thought it was the nerves. And my right arm was tingling ever since yesterday’s Charms class and all throughout the match. It only stopped when I grabbed you by your shirt and broke our fall,” she said meeting his eyes.

“Did I get myself a little seer of a girlfriend?” he beamed, looking up at her.

“I didn’t see anything,” she lowered herself on his bed once again, her brows still furrowed. “That’s so weird.”

“Darling, look at me,” he turned her head with a gentle nudge of his palm. “You only now start to discover your magical potential, it’s only natural you’ll find out more about yourself that way. Don’t try to rationalize every little thing, take this as a lesson and a look-in on your new abilities! Next time something starts tingling, you will know to listen to it with both your heart and your mind.”

His voice was so confident and steady it slowed down the hurricane of thoughts that were threatening to overwhelm her. She was still struggling with guilt she felt resting on her shoulders for the state that Harwin was in because of her, but the lack of judgement or resentment on his side reassured her that all will be fine.

“Well, if you put it that way,” she said, smiling at him. “Right about now my stomach is tingling like crazy, and I have a hunch it leads me to the food in the room next door.”

“By all means, act upon your calling, princess,” he laughed, watching her get up from the bed.

“Do. Not. Call me that!”

“You know I will,” he shrugged and watched her go.

Rhaenyra huffed in response and turned her head, “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Anything, I could eat a horse.”

“Let’s start with a soup,” and she exited the Hospital Wing to get them something to eat. When she returned with a tray upon which two plates of noodles and two buns were placed, they ate together laughing, discussing the details of yesterday’s match and laughing again. A little later, the Hufflepuff team showed up and spent some time cheering Harwin on. Elinda teasingly scolded him for letting the matters of heart question the loyalty to his House, but soon they all turned it into a joke. Then, the Gryffindors came to visit Rhaenyra, throwing a mini party at the Hospital Wing, until Maester Orwyle kicked them out for disturbing the peace of his patients.

Rhaenyra got a letter from her parents; they were worried about her current condition. She had been told to talk to them in the Headmaster’s fireplace tomorrow morning and she hoped they would not make a big deal out of this incident.

When Alicent and Laena visited them with books, scrolls and parchment piled up in their arms, and two bags full of sweets from Honeydukes the third years of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff collected for Rhaenyra and Harwin, Maester Orwyle did not even bother scolding them. They had a long session of Astronomy discussions as Harwin explained the position of numerous constellations and planets in the night sky, sometimes turning girls' attention to the chart they drew together with Rhaenyra on their night-outs. Alicent seemed to be settling rather comfortably in his presence and it made Rhaenyra’s heart swell. Laena never had any issue with Harwin, and they even managed to discuss the possible outcomes of yesterday’s match if it were not for the interference of a certain petty snake. Laena was of a strong opinion that Rhaenyra would get the Snitch anyway, because Syrax was quicker, but to that Harwin only shrugged, claiming that his Red Comet would give it a run for her money. Rhaenyra watched them going back and forth on all the would-haves and could-haves and smiled.

Her three closest friends were there, beside her, getting along, chaffing and making jokes, what else could she need to be happy? Perhaps, a lemon cake that was enticingly looking out of the bag the third years prepared for Harwin? She reached with her hand, grabbed it and started unwrapping the yellow paper, when all of a sudden, she felt tingles in her cheeks; when she raised her eyes, Harwin was looking at her, a reprimanding smile on his face. As soon as he lunged to grab the pastry out of her hand, she quickly stuffed it in her mouth and grinned, relishing the taste. Laena was laughing so hard some of other patients started turning their heads, and Alicent just put a hand across her face, embarrassed, muttering something about Rhaenyra resembling a hamster. Soon enough Rhaenyra found out that the lemon cakes were enchanted to give whoever ate them a temporary change in the pitch. The one she had made her voice high and squeaky, greatly amusing all of her friends. For the rest of the evening the Astronomy charts were left forgotten, as they indulged in trying out candies, toffees and lemon cakes out of the two bags, and cracking up from how wacky it made them all sound.

Notes:

I wrote this thing as a birthday gift for my friend. If you stumbled upon it and you are NOT my friend, please, be nice. English is not my first language and the work hasn't been proofread.