Little Phoenix (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

24. A Second Twin Quidditch Battle

The first match of the season was finally here. Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. "Alright, team," Cedric said, clapping his hands together during the last practice before the first game. "We've studied Gryffindor's moves, we've practiced and we've trained and I have faith in all of you. Let's get out there. Thankfully this is the kind of weather we'll be playing in tomorrow, this is good practice."

Once they had gotten out there, Charlotte, Nic, and Tyriq, Nala's replacement, all shot into the air with the quaffle. It was by far the wettest, coldest practice any of them could remember. At last, an hour later, Cedric called it and they ended practice. The next day, it was just as harsh and just as cold. Everyone was grouped up in the locker rooms before the game. Nicki was shaking with nervousness and cold as they walked out towards the field.

"You'll do great," Tyriq called, trying to talk over the wind. She nodded, clearly still unsure. Rolling his eyes playfully, he grabbed her hand. Her cheeks flushed at the contact, but she ignored it. Cedric shook hands with Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor captain. Cedric gave him a kind smile while Wood merely glared at him. Soon they were up in the air. Nic grabbed the quaffle instantly and streaked towards Wood at the goalpost. As the other plays began to swarm her, she tossed the ball to Tyriq who caught it easily.

They moved to him and he passed it to Charolette. She streaked towards the goalpost and tossed it. Score! They had gotten the first point. As they continued on, their luck began to fade. Gryffindor was fifty points up when a timeout was called. The entire team gathered under a large tarp being held up. "We need to end this, soon," Tyriq said, looking at Cedric.

"I know," he replied grouchily. "It's hard to see in this."

"Hey, calm down," Nic interrupted. "It's fine. We get it." Soon they were up in the air again. Tyriq got the quaffle and began flying towards the goalpost. A few moments later, Nic saw Cedric streaking towards the golden snitch. Suddenly, an icy cold feeling swept inside of her.

"Leave her alone!"

"Crucio!"

A loud cackle rang through her ears as her eyes fluttered closed. Her hands slipped from the broom and she fell. "NIC!" Tyriq screamed, rushing towards her, but he was too late. She hit the muddy ground with a dull thump.
...........................................
Cedric was pacing anxiously around the hospital wing while Tyriq sat next to Nicki. The rest of the team sat around her bed as the Gryffindor team, around Harry, cast them glares. With a groan, Nic woke. "What happened?" she muttered.

"Nicki," Cedric cried, rushing to her side. "Merlin, do you feel okay?"

"Everything hurts," she groaned.

"You fell," Ty explained quietly, his voice breaking. "At least twenty, maybe thirty feet. It was the dementors."

"Did we win at least?" Nic muttered.

"We shouldn't have," Cedric replied darkly. "I caught the snitch right after Harry fell."

"What?" Nic exclaimed, suddenly wide awake. She forced herself up as pain erupted all over her body.

"Lay back," Tyriq protested. "Harry's right over there." The sea of yellow robes parted so she could see the red.

"Harry?!" she called. Alicia and Angelina moved so that she could see him.

"I'm okay," he replied. "You?"

"I'll be fine," she replied. "I'm sorry about the game."

"No you're not," Fred retorted.

"Seriously?" Tyriq snapped. "She's in the hospital. Cedric tried to make them do a rematch. This isn't on us."

"Well maybe-" George began.

"George," Harry interrupted. "Leave Nic and her friends alone. They may be our rivals, but she's still my sister." Shaking their heads, Fred and George turned away. With a sigh, Hermione got up and went to see Nicki.

"Traitor," Fred huffed.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sat at the edge of my bed. "You feeling all right?"

"My head's pounding," she replied.

"Madam Pomfrey said you got it worse than Harry," Hermione explained. "Dumbledore managed to slow his fall, but he didn't notice in time that you were falling too. Tyriq almost caught you, but the wind knocked him off course."

"I'm sorry," Tyriq interrupted. "I tried-"

"Ty, it's fine," Nic interrupted, grabbing hold of his hand. "I'll be fine." He nodded, but it was obvious he didn't believe her.

"You broke both your legs and your humorous," Hermione explained. "You'll be fine. She already mended them, but you'll be sore for...a week or so I think she said."

"Great," Nic groaned. "Is Harry going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Hermione replied. "He'll be able to leave tomorrow." Soon after, Madam Pomfrey ordered both teams to leave.

"Wait," Nic protested. "Can Tyriq stay?" With a sigh, she nodded. Hermione returned to Harry's side as Tyriq returned to his seat. "What happened to my broom?"

"We can't find it," Ty admitted. "The wind blew it off into the Forbidden Forest. We tried to find it, but we couldn't. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Nicki replied. "The only bad part is, that was Nala's broom."

"I'm sure she'll understand," Tyriq replied. They sat in silence, the only sound being the quiet murmuring from where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were talking quietly. Soon, the three visitors were shooed off too and Harry and Nic were left alone. It was dark by now and Harry was snoring softly a little ways from Nic who was lying wide awake. The door creaked softly open around midnight and a figure slipped into the room.

It stopped by Harry's bed, but after staring at it for a minute, moved on to the other occupied bed. "Hey, Nic," a familiar voice whispered.

"Siri?" Nic whispered.

"Hey, Nicki," he replied, sitting down next to her. "I saw the game. Your father would have been proud. You would have given him a run for his money back in the day."

"Thanks," Nic replied, attempting to sit up so she could hug him. Instantly she hissed in pain.

"Hey, hey, hey, lay back," Sirius ordered, pushing her shoulders back so she was laying down. "You need to be careful. I won't have you getting more hurt."

"I won't be able to get you food until I'm healed," Nic said sadly. "I'll ask Tyriq to take care of it for me."

"No, I'll be alright," Siri replied. "The boy doesn't trust me. I don't want you to put him in a position like that."

"Sirius," Nic groaned.

"I'll survive," he retorted quietly. "I still have some food left over from the last two days." After a short pause, he asked, "Do you need me to go get your potion?"

"No, I'll be fine for tonight," Nicki replied. "I can ask one of my roommates to get it for me from my dorm tomorrow."

"You sure?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," she assured. "Can you tell me a story? About Dad?"

"Yeah," he replied, giving her a warm smile. Searching his memories, he thought of a good story. As he began to talk, Nic closed her eyes. About a hour after he began, she managed to fall asleep. Standing up, Sirius smiled down at his goddaughter. "Goodnight, Nicki," he whispered before changing into his dog form and leaving the castle. As he left, Dumbledore propped his fingers against each other from his spot sitting on the bed across from Nicki. There, he had been sitting invisible during the entire conversation.