Roxanne peeked out from behind the changing room door. At the sight of her cousins zooming through the air, she slammed the door shut. “I can’t do it, Mum. I just can’t.�

Angelina looked at her only daughter who seemed about to faint. Two years before, when Roxanne had been made Ravenclaw Seeker, everyone had been so proud. Of course, there had been matches between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw before, but none as important as this one. This year, for the first time ever, the entire Gryffindor team was made of Weasley and Potter cousins. It also didn’t help that it was the final game of the season.

“You’ll be fine, Roxie. You’re a brilliant Seeker, maybe even better than Louis. She picked up Roxanne’s crumbled robe and folded it neatly. “I’ll be so proud if you win the Cup this year.�

“Fred would be extremely angry and so would the rest of the cousins.� Roxanne lowered her voice to a whisper, even though only her mother was around. “James said he would disown me if I won. He doesn’t want Gryffindor’s winning streak to end. “She wiped a stray tear away.

“Hush, dear,� Angelina said. She gathered Roxanne’s many braids and tied them up in a tall ponytail. “There. Now you look like a true Johnson.�

“Mum, I’m a Weasley.�

Angelina smiled. “Of course you are. But you’re also half Johnson and Johnsons never quit.�

Roxanne took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Alright. I can do this.� She pulled on her Quidditch robes and hugged her mother tightly. “I love you Mum.�

“Same to you,� Angelina said. “Now off you go. I have to get ready to referee.�

Roxanne grabbed her broom and raced off to join the rest of her team, waving as she went.

Angelina smiled at her retreating figure. “That’s my girl!�

**********

“Hey Roxie!� shouted Louis.

“What’s that?� Roxanne yelled back. It was hard to hear when you were so high up.

“Can’t you just let me catch the Snitch? Then the cousin’s won’t be mad.�

“Of course not!� Roxanne retorted. “That would be throwing the game. My team is depending on me and I don’t want to let them down.�

“Aren’t Hufflepuff’s supposed to be the loyal ones?�

“Oh shut up, Louis. Just leave me alone.�

“Alright, alright,� said Louis, putting his hands up mockingly. “No need to bite my head off just for saying something.�

Glaring at her cousin one last time, Roxanne spun her broom around and set off in search of the Snitch.

Half an hour into the game, Ravenclaw was fifty points ahead and counting. James, the Gryffindor captain was getting desperate, sending Bludgers every which way. One narrowly missed Roxanne and she shouted an insult at her cousin. This only got him angrier and he shot another Bludger at her.

Not wanting to continue the argument lest she hurt herself, Roxanne flew to the other end of the pitch. She looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of the tiny golden ball.

Louis was doing the exact same thing just a few feet away from her. They both saw the Snitch at the same time, floating near the bottom of the far Quidditch hoop. Roxanne and Louis sped after it, neck and neck.

“You know what James said!� Louis shouted.

“I don’t care!� Roxanne yelled back. She urged her broom forward, knowing that this was her last chance to get the Snitch.

However, Louis had a fast broom and it showed. He sped ahead, leaving Roxanne behind. He grabbed the Snitch and held it high above his head. Cheers erupted form the Gryffindor stands.

The game was over and she had lost. Roxanne slowly flew to the ground and slipped off her broom. Her face was streaked with tears and she rubbed them away quickly. No use giving the cousins another reason to tease her.

“You all right, Roxie?� a voice said from behind her.

“No, I am bloody well not all right!� Roxanne retorted sharply. She turned around to see who had spoken. “Louis, why are you bothering me?�

“I just thought I’d try to cheer you up,� Louis said, grabbing Roxanne’s hand and pulling her to her feet.

She jerked away and stomped off, trying to get as far away from the crowd as she could.

“Roxie! Wait!� She heard Louis calling after her, but didn’t turn around.

********

“Roxie, you want to go to the Gryffindor party with me?� Lucy asked alter that day.

“Why would you want to go? You’re a Hufflepuff, not a Gryffindor,� answered Roxanne sharply.
“I thought I’d go to support the cousins. They’ve been working so hard this season.�

Roxanne snorted. “And what about me? Didn’t I deserve to win?�

“Of course you did! You all did, but it just so happened that the cousins won. Now, come on, let’s go. .� Lucy pulled Roxanne after her and headed to the Gryffindor common room.

They paused outside the portrait hole to catch their breath. Roxanne could hear rambunctious noise coming from inside. It was so different from her own quiet common room, where everyone had their nose buried in a book. If Ravenclaw had won, they would have had some book themed party. The team would have been showered with all sorts of books and they might even have played charade using famous book titles. The kind of party Gryffindor had was entirely alien to Roxanne and she wasn’t sure what she would do.

The Fat Lady swung open to let someone out and Roxanne and Lucy took the chance to enter. Roxanne immediately wished she had not come. Everything was so loud and crazy she could barely think. James, even though he was Head Boy, made no move to calm the party down and instead was busy snogging some fifth year. Roxanne grimaced. These people had no decency.

After much searching, Roxanne finally found Louis. She marched up behind him and smacked him on the arm.

“Ow!� he yelped and whirled around. “What was that for?� He rubbed his arm.

“Just trying to get your attention.� Roxanne smiled sweetly. “It’s rather loud in here, don’t you think?

“I suppose.�

“So, you want to go somewhere quieter?� Roxanne asked eagerly.

“Err, sure,� said Louis. “Any place you had in mind?�

“Not really. Just somewhere where we don’t have to yell to be heard.�

“Okay, I have an idea then.� Louis left the Common Room and Roxanne followed after him.

After a few minutes of walking in silvence, they arrived in an old deserted classroom. However, it was unlike any classroom Roxanne had ever seen. It appeared to be a huge forest, complete with a star filled sky.

“The old divination classroom,� Louis murmured. “It was used when a centaur was the teacher.�

“It’s beautiful Louis!� Roxanne said. “All it needs is a bunch of books.�

Louis snorted. “Ravenclaws.�

Roxanne smiled at him, this time for real. “Why don’t we sit down or something?�

“I guess we can.� He led Roxanne to a humongous tree and sat down.

A little unsure of what to do, Roxanne plopped herself down beside him and leaned against the trunk of the tree. It was cool in the room and somewhere a breeze was blowing. “Mmm,� she sighed contentedly. “This is nice.�

“Yeah, it is.� Louis looked at her quizzically for a moment. “What is it that you wanted to talk to me about anyway?�

“Oh, not much.� Roxanne began to fidget with her wand. “I wanted to say sorry for the way I treated you earlier. It’s not your fault I didn’t win the match.�

Louis chuckled. “Actually, it is my fault. If I hadn’t caught the Snitch, you would have own.�

“Well, that is true, but I didn’t want to win that badly,� said Roxanne. “The rest of the cousins would have been so mad at me if I had. I don’t want to get on their bad side.�

“You do realize James was just kidding when he said he’s disown you, right?�

“Yeah.�

“Then why do you care what they think?�

“They’re my family! I’m the only one in Ravenclaw now that Victoire graduated and different enough as it is. Imagine if my winning a Quidditch match cost me my friendship with my cousins.� Roxanne blined back tears.

“Don’t cry, Roxie.� Louis pulled her close and stroked her many braids. “It’ll be all right. I’m your cousin too. If you’d won the game, I wouldn’t have been made. The other’s would have gotten over it after a while. Remember when Slytherin won the house cup and James wouldn’t talk to Lily for weeks? Nobody else was mad at Lily. Instead, they were annoyed with James.� Louis hugged her tighter as Roxanne began to cry. “You’ll be fine Roxie.�

“Why are you being so nice to me?� Roxanne asked through her tears.

“Because I’m your friend and that’s what friends do for each other,� said Louis. “Now stop crying and come on. We have a party to go to.�