Emaline was elated after a fantastic first week at her school. In the second week, first-years had already begun taking flying lessons and Quidditch trials for the four houses were just around the corner and Ravenclaw's tryouts were on Saturday morning. She had already impressed her new teachers, including Professor Snape, the meanest of them all and she had already put her new house in first place for the race for the House Cup, with Slytherin not too far behind, of course. Before the big day, she carved the words "Aut viam inveniam aut faciam." meaning "I shall either find a way or make one." onto the handle of her new Nimbus 2000, which she christened "Starwatcher". It was the Goode family motto. At the end of a long day, Emaline was sitting with her friends in the Great Hall at the Ravenclaw table eating dinner. Newton flew in and brought a letter from home in Oregon and some letters from her friends at Ilvermorny. She read them while she was eating breakfast and taking pleasure in a cup of coffee. And then, Cho and her friend Marietta sprinted all the way to where her friends were sitting.
"Guys! Guys!" said Cho, who was out of breath. "Did you hear?"
"Okay, Cho," said Roger. "Just calm down, breathe, focus, and keep it simple."
"Okay," said Cho. She took a deep breath. "Harry Potter just became the new Gryffindor Seeker!"
"WHAT?!" Emaline said loudly. Everyone in the Great Hall was looking straight at the Ravenclaw table. "How?"
"We heard it from Terry, Mandy, Lisa, Sue, and Amanda, who were at Flying Class with Harry and they said that Neville Longbottom broke his wrist flying his broom and then Draco Malfloy took his Remembrall. So, Harry goes after him and Malfloy throws it into the air and he catches it in mid-air! Right in front of Professor McGonagall! And his classmates were cheering for him then she came outside and asked Harry to come with her. And that was about it. I can't remember what happened next."
"I was in Professor Quirrell's class and she came over ta us," said a girl. She had short brown hair with blue tips, green eyes wore a jacket with many patches on it, and a blue Quidditch uniform and had a Scottish accent. "She asked for Oliver Wood. I walked over ta doorway and I overheard her. She said 'Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I have found you a Seeker!' and that was it." She sat back down.
"Who is that?" said Emaline to Tulip.
"Oh, her?" she said, "That's Skye Parkin. She's the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain."
"Wait," Emaline said, "Did you say 'Parkin'?" Tulip nodded, "As in the Parkin family? One of the most famous Quidditch-playing families in the world? The founders of the Wigtown Wanderers? The Parkin family?"
"Yes,' said Tulip. "Her father is a Quidditch legend."
Then Skye got back up again. "Well, of course, he is, Tulip," she said as she began walking towards Emaline, "You must be Emaline Goode, the famous American Quidditch player, and scientist. I've read all about you playing at Ilvermorny and captaining the Thunderbird Quidditch team. You're really good." She shook Emaline's hand.
"Thank you, Skye. Big fan of the Wanderers. They're my English team"
"That's good to hear. I'm a big fan of yours, too," said Skye. She inspected Emaline from top to bottom. "So...you want to play Quidditch from Ravenclaw. Don't you, Emaline?"
"That's right. Why do you think I'm here?"
"What position do you play?" said Skye.
"I'm a Chaser," said Emaline
"I'm a Chaser too. The best game I ever saw you play was when Thunderbird played Horned Serpent last year in the Ilvermorny Quidditch Cup final. You scored 32 goals, which broke the record for most single-season goals scored by a Thunderbird, set by Verity Wetherell in 1908. That's very impressive."
"Thanks, Skye. Again."
"But, here's the deal," said Skye, "You are the best American Quidditch player I've ever seen. I want ferocity, intelligence, creativity, versatility, leadership, and tenacity on my team and you fit the bill. That's what makes Ravenclaw unique out of every House at Hogwarts." She gave Emaline a big smile. "I need a second-in-command. Now that Harry Potter has joined the Gryffindor team. Plus, most of our original team graduated last year. We won the Cup last year and we hope to repeat it. This is my last year at Hogwarts and I want to end it on a high note. Would you like to join the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as my co-captain?" She stuck her hand out.
Emaline was shocked. Her jaw dropped. Her friends were speechless. Their jaws dropped. She didn't know what to say "Yes," she said quietly. "What was that Emaline? said Skye, "Didn't catch that?"
"I said, yes!" she said with more enthusiasm.
"Excellent!" said Skye delightfully, who shook Emaline's hand once again. "Look for my owl. Quidditch tryouts for Ravenclaw are on Saturday. I'll see you, then. Co-captain." She winked and then walked away. There was a moment of silence. Emaline then let out a squeal of delight. A group of people who were watching from the Ravenclaw table gave her a round of applause and started shaking her hand. "Congratulations, Emaline!" a Ravenclaw girl said.
"What happened?" said Harry, who was at the Gryffindor table with Ron.
"You didn't hear?" said Ron. "Your American friend got recruited into the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. By Skye Parkin! She's a member of one of the best Quidditch playing families in the country." Soon Emaline sat down at the Gryffindor table. "Hi, Harry," she said.
"Congratulations on making the Ravenclaw team, Emaline," said Ron.
"Thank you.," she said. "And Congrats to you Harry on joining Gryffindor. You must be the youngest Seeker in a century."
"According to McGonagall!" said Harry.
"Hey, Harry. Well done! Wood's just told us!" said Fred, "I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year, We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry. Wood was almost skipping when he told us."
"Hey, Emaline," said Ron, "These are my brothers Fred and George Weasley. They're the Beaters on the Gryffindor team. Guys. This is Emaline. She just made the Ravenclaw team."
"Congratulations," said Fred. "We've been reading about you playing for Thunderbird over at Ilvermorny in the Daily Prophet. You're absolutely brilliant."
"Thank you," said Emaline, who was working on a piece of steak.
"Our job is to make sure you don't get bloodied up too bad out there, Harry," said George, "Can't make any promises, though. Rough game, Quidditch."
"Brutal," said Fred. "But no one's died in years. Someone will vanish occasionally."
"But they'll turn up in a month, or two!" The twins got up and left.
"Oh, go on Harry! Quidditch is great.," said Ron. "Best game there is. You'll be great too."
"But I've never even played Quidditch," said Harry, "What if I make a fool of myself?"
"You won't make a fool of yourself." said Hermione, "It's in your blood." Harry and Ron turned around and just looked at each other.
"All right guys," said Emaline, "I'll see you again soon. Bye." She got up after finishing eating and returned to the Ravenclaw Common Room. The rest of the Ravenclaw had somehow mysteriously disappeared. When she got there, the eagle knocker came to life and asked her a new riddle: "Tear one-off and scratch its head, what was red is now black instead. What am I?" She stopped for a minute to think. "Uhh...a matchstick?" she said. The enormous doors opened immediately.
When she got into the Ravenclaw Common Room, it was dark but there were voices whispering and the only thing lighting the room was the ceiling that was glowing and was painted with stars. When she turned on the lights, she heard a loud "SURPRISE!" from every member of Ravenclaw House. People were clapping. Professor Flitwick was clapping. The witches and wizards in the pictures were clapping. Students were singing pro-Ravenclaw chants and some wore blue and silver face paint. Banners adorned the common room. Skye got up on the couch and began to talk the crowd, It appeared as if a rally was about to take place. She wanted Emaline to join her. She then took out her wand and said: "Sonorus!" The crowd of fans quieted down. "So, last year was probably the best year of my life. We won the Quidditch Cup!" Loud cheers rang throughout the Ravenclaw common room. "But this year, we are gonna win it all again!" The cheering continued. Skye put her arm around Emaline's shoulder.
"Tonight, we welcome the newest member of the team. She's the captain of the Thunderbird team over at Ilvermorny and she is one of the best damn players I have ever seen! I believe, that with Emaline's help, we could do it all again! She is going to be co-captain." The crowd roared even louder. "Now, unfortunately, most of the original team is gone, including Orion." Then, everyone groaned in disappointment. "But we need new warriors to join our ranks! On Saturday, we're having tryouts and we are looking for the best of the best! Because when we play Hufflepuff in November, they won't know what hit them!" Everyone cheered. "Fans! Your words, your voices, your chants, and your songs are your weapons. We need them more than ever this year if we are to repeat. I need volunteers. So who's with me?" People cheered. "GODDAMMIT! I SAID: WHO'S WITH ME?!" Skye yelled louder. Everyone cheered even louder. After Skye's speech, the entire common room went crazy and had a large party. It went on until the late morning.
On Saturday morning, Emaline woke up early and was heading to the Quidditch pitch for tryouts with her broomstick. It was cold and overcast and she had on her Thunderbird scarf and her Ravenclaw Quidditch robe, which was given to her by Skye. "Good morning, Emaline.", a voice said. She turned around to see Harry Potter. "Good morning, Harry."
"Where are you heading to?"
"To the Quidditch pitch, I'm supposed to meet Oliver Wood. He's gonna teach me Quidditch. You?"
"That's awesome. Ravenclaw tryouts are today." she looked at Harry, who didn't say a word. "What's wrong, Harry? You seem quiet."
"I got challenged to a duel by Draco Malfloy last night. He set me and my friends up and we ended up in this dark room in the third-floor corridor of the castle, trying to escape Mr. Filch's cat."
"That's messed up. What's happened? What was in there?"
"A giant gorilla-dog thing. With three heads. I think it was guarding something."
"A Cerberus? And who's Malfloy? That stuck-up little blonde boy who picks on you all the time?"
"Yep," said Harry.
"Well, look at it this way, Harry: you now have an archrival. And he kinda started your career for you."
"I guess you're right."
"Harry! Over here!" said Oliver Wood, he was a burly fifth-year boy with a Scottish accent and brown hair. "You must be Emaline Goode," she shook Oliver's hand.
"Yes," she said.
"How are you? I'm Oliver Wood. I just wanted to say 'Congratulations' on joining the Ravenclaw team and on being named the co-captain."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. I've read about you in the Daily Prophet playing for Thunderbird. You're a brilliant player."
"Thanks again, Oliver."
"Of course. Be sure to tell Skye I said 'Hi'. Okay?"
"I definitely will."
"Good. Come on, Harry," Harry and Oliver walked away from Emaline's view. She walked into the Quidditch pitch. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. It almost resembled the Quidditch stadium at Ilvermorny, except this one was much bigger and much older.