Eccentric Wizard Chapter 18: Quidditch (Patreon)

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Next update: An Archer's Promise and Fate Coiling Sword

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-Quidditch field-


As we entered November, the weather turned from wet to ice cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake was like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost and the roofs had giant icicles threatening to fall down at my time — quite dangerous if you'd ask me. Hagrid could be seen from where he stood, defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaver skin boots.


If I didn't know any better, then I would have mistaken him for a bear. Didn't help that he also possessed the strength of one given the fact that giants were known to be far stronger. 


A few days had passed since the talk with Dumbledore and neither professor Snape nor even Dumbledore approached me. I heard from Dobby that the house elves were tasked to remove the mirror. I still had some doubts about that last 'trial' but couldn't do much about it other than talk with Dumbledore again. I couldn't really stay away from him and hide all year, that just wouldn't work or even be a good idea. Now, all I could do was to wait and see what would happen next and witness the deviation from the original plot. There was no need to worry or stress about keeping things the same as they were in the movies, I had plans for my future and didn't want to stop myself just because I was afraid of messing up canon. 


"Alright, enough of these stressful thoughts. Better put these to the corner for now."


I had a special event I was looking forward to for many years since I came to this world — the Quidditch season had begun. Of course, the Slytherin team did indeed have a lot of practice and training before. Even if I was familiar with riding a broom didn't automatically put me on the same level as one of the better players on the team. 


We trained and had dozens of mock games against each other. Even if I wasn't a keeper, chaser, or beater — I still tried to take such roles between different matches. Safe to say, getting hit by a bludger introduced me to a whole other meaning of pain. Fortunately, I never suffered any broken bones or any other grievous wounds aside from bruises which healed at record speed thanks to Madame Pomfrey.


Quidditch was a sport with ways to commit hundreds of fouls, seven hundred to be exact. There were cases of people dying even, thankfully they were rare cases.


Draco, Blaize, Theodore, and even some girls came to cheer me up on many occasions during training. I kept seeing Hermione around Daphne Greengrass more often, they didn't seem like friends, yet. Some girls still gave her the cold shoulder — especially the older kids — thankfully she grew to ignore them. And given Draco and I hung around her more often, it gave her some sort of protection one could say. At least now she wasn't a complete outcast.


"I wonder if I can call her…" I said while looking at the Forbidden Forest in the distance, wondering about the Thestral and when we could meet once again. The last time I rode on Lune the experience was just breathtaking, feeling different than just riding on a broom. A complex sensation that I couldn't put into words. 


Both Hermione and I returned to meet Hagrid at his hut a few times afterward. We hung out and listened to him as he practiced his teaching skills and agreed to gift the man a nice brand new suit for him along with a nice fancy red tie which he could add to his collection. She agreed to accompany me the next time we would have a break from school and go to Hogsmeade. Draco only visited once but he was never interested so I didn't force him next time. I did notice how Hagrid treated me differently after the whole Thestral thing, more warmer and more generous with me. I tried to tell him that he didn't need to worry about my past and that Lucius wasn't doing terrible things to me.


"Oi, Malfoy!" 


My eyes widened as I felt a sense of danger, quickly ducking my head I barely missed a bludger flying past me. 


"Dammit!" I glared at our captain, Marcus Flint, and saw him smirking with those crooked teeth of his on full display. "Can't you aim for something else other than my head!?" 


"Hahaha! Lighten up, you were being distracted so it's my duty to beat those bad habits out of you."


"By breaking my skull open, you dolt!" How this boy ended up as a captain was beyond me. "And for your information, I was just looking out for the snitch!" 


Yes, as a seeker it was my role to find that darn thing. But given that finding a tiny flying snitch in such an enormous amount of space was a miracle in itself — I had to mostly rely on my luck. The snitch did taunt me from time to time by flying up to my face before disappearing into the sky or flying towards the bludgers. Out of ten matches, I only caught it about two times. Which was quite good for a rookie player like me, but still impressive enough to have the other players trust my skills. Before they only tolerated my presence due to my identity and the fact I gave them the latest brooms, but now they mostly thought of me as a member of the team. 


"Sorry about Marcus, Saturday we have a game against the Gryffrindors and the last thing we'd want is to lose." A blonde boy commented as he flew next to me. I remember him being a chaser, Adrian Pucey. Amongst this group of cheaters and backstabbing kids, he was by far the most honest and just. I never saw him push or kick anyone off their broom like a certain captain, he never intentionally sent a bludger onto someone's face and genuinely tried to play fair. 


"I get it, but does he have an addiction to cheating and dirty tricks or something? He's always trying to break someone's face or kill them from the fall. Heck, most of the players here play dirty." Not to mention how in the original story our house still lost due to Harry finding the snitch.


He shrugged, "It's the way we do things around here. If you're not willing to play a bit dirty then you'll never reach the top."


"I'm not against it, don't get me wrong. But just with you guys can tone it down a bit, some of your 'tricks' are way too obvious." I wasn't going to tell them to play fair and nicely, that would never work with how things were right now. "Like wouldn't it be more dominating if we beat the Gryffindors without needing to pause our tricks? Would be far more humiliating for them in a sense, given most will believe we didn't even have to give it our 'best' to beat them."


Adrian pondered on my words as I continued to keep a lookout for a buzzing sound or the golden shine of the snitch in the distance. 


"Your words are not without merit, Malfoy. But that is far too risky. Even if both of our houses aren't in the best relationship, we still can't underestimate them. Plus I heard they got Potter as a seeker… so there's that as well." He, just as many Slytherins, desired to crush the Gryffindors and ruin their pride, but he knew it wouldn't be easy.


"Are you afraid he would have his father's skill as a seeker?" It wasn't a well known fact that James Potter was a talented Quidditch player — even though the trophy with his name was displayed right near the courtyard corridor.


"Yes, a bit I won't lie." He replied honestly, a fact I appreciate from this guy. "I know it doesn't make sense and our team is better with our better brooms thanks to you, but I can't help but be wary." 


"Well, it's not like you don't have any foundations to base your fear on. Still, I'm here, and my role is to either keep Harry away from the snitch or catch the damn thing myself." 


Did I have a personal goal to prevent Harry from winning the game and steal his limelight? Not exactly. Did I desire to win my first Quidditch match? Definitely. That meant to either stop him from getting the snitch in the first place or just grab it myself if I was lucky enough.


"Neither you, Marcus or anyone else for that matter don't have to worry much, with everyone geared with the best brooms on the market then we have an enormous advantage." I added at the end, seeing the boy grin widely. "Not to mention how they most likely aren't even expecting such a thing." 


It was surprising that word didn't spread to the other houses about Slytherin having Nimbus 2000s for each player. Given how they all practised out in the open a few times a week. Or maybe rumours did spread but most just found it weird and absurd. Who would have the money to buy everyone a Nimbus and not brag about it? 


Me, of course.


"Yeah, you're right. We'll win this year's cup!" 


"Hell yeah we will!" 


"By the way, Terence Higgs will be absent due to a cold, so you're officially our only seeker for this match."


Well wasn't that convient… I certainly didn't have anything to do with it. Not like I bribed the student with a few bags of coins and other goodies.


Yup, definitely nothing to do with me.


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Saturday came faster than expected, I would be playing my first match after weeks of training: Slytherin versus Gryffrindor. If we won, then we would keep our crown.


Throughout all this time, I managed to juggle both my homework and training without any issue. I wasn't going to stop learning magic and the different lessons from all classes and Snape. It wasn't that hard to be honest. Didn't even need Hermione's help though we did study together from time to time. My grades and performance hadn't taken a hit whatsoever and I continued to follow Snape's private lessons without fail. The man himself was surprised despite not showing any shock or even a smile — but I could feel he was pleased and didn't expect my arrival in class the first few days. 


Aside from potions, he did talk to me about Quirrell, asking me questions about the teacher every so often. I was pretty certain he was not aware of Voldemort possessing the professor and most likely believed him being a regular thief for the stone. 


Speaking of the Dark Arts professor, he returned to resuming his class with minor injuries from the Troll and his stuttering speech worsening. Most likely playing his fake role as authentically as possible to fool everyone. I knew what he was about to do during the game on Saturday, so I decided to leave clues for Snape. 


"He's been talking a lot about Harry recently and how happy he is to know that one of his most attentive students became a seeker as a first year as well. He wouldn't miss the game and will attend it." Snape nodded seriously, I hoped he wouldn't go the same route and just chant a counter spell to what Quirrell was doing. Couldn't exactly expect for Hermione to burn his clothes… or maybe I could try something else on my end.


Anyways, for now, I was going to participate in my first official Quidditch game. In the locker room, we were all silently waiting for the signal before making our entrance. 


Marcus gave us a small resume of the plan once again.


"Alright, our opponent of the day are the Gryffrindors, there is not much to worry about except for Potter finding the snitch. Malfoy, you'll make sure that doesn't happen. If you manage to catch the snitch then we'll win."


"Got it." 


"Beaters, you'll target the Weasley brothers. Make sure those two don't don't get the quaffle. There is also Angelina to look out for, I've seen her get overlooked over the twins many times which enabled her to score." The twins were a major threat given how highly coordinated they were on the field with each other. A single mistake on our side could lead them to score without much issue. 


"Yup."


"I got this!"


Two people in the team exclaimed.


"Us chasers will focus on our main task and try to score as many points as possible. I'll take the lead and you all just focus at quaffle the ball at me." Even if this guy was a narcissistic, cunning bastard who could accidentally kill someone with his violent tricks — he was still a skilled player. "And finally keeper, you won't have to do much but to make sure no one scores."


"Don't worry, no Gryffrindor will get past me."


Marcus nodded with a smirk, once again showing his crooked teeth. He called everyone to get ready at the front gate, these new brooms gave every single member an enormous confidence boost. 


"Jarius!" As I was about to leave, I heard a small voice behind me and turned to see Hermione nervously peeking around the corner. 


I couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "Oh, what do I see here? Did the little miss perfect who hates breaking the rules actually come here secretly just to see me? As expected of a Slytherin, I'm proud of you!" 


She threw me a weak punch to my shoulders with a small glare. "Shut up, it's not against the rules for students to not pay a visit, don't make me look bad." It didn't help much when the girl looked left and right like she was afraid of getting caught. 


Hermione was an adorable kid, I couldn't help but pat her bushy haired head which seemed to make her angry but at least she didn't swat my hand away like before. 


"Can you stop doing that? It's annoying." 


"No, it's funny to see your reaction." 


"..." 


I got a second punch to my shoulders. 


"I just came here to talk about Quirrell." She whispered with a pout. "Are you sure he'll try something on Harry? Why bother targeting him when all he wants is the stone?" She must have been thinking about this for days. I was contemplating whether to reveal to her about Voldemort's existence and his current parasitic nature… but I had little to no proof or reason to go this far yet. Not to mention this wasn't the ideal place to talk about such a thing.


"He must have a grudge against Harry." I told her. "The Philosopher's stone was first kept hidden inside the Gringotts vaults before being taken by the school, later he broke into it and found nothing there. Then he came to school as a teacher and would try to get the stone once again. Maybe Harry foiled some of his plans, has the potential to become a major hurdle in the future or he's just petty. There can be many reasons behind his actions and it is not our place to understand them. All we need to do is stop before he goes too far." 


There wasn't much change from how things proceeded in the original storyline. As long as it worked back there, I saw no need to alter it.


"If you say so, I'll be sure to keep an eye on him." Hermione said before going quiet, she looked around awkwardly obviously wanting to say something. It wasn't after a few seconds later that she gathered enough courage to continue speaking. "G-Good luck, be careful out there and win."


I gave her a quick hug which she didn't protest. "Yeah, don't worry, I'll be fine. Our house will win this game." 


We said goodbye to each other before separating. I walked where the others were with my broom in hand. We could already hear the cheers from the outside, coupled with the songs and trumpets. Some of us did feel a bit of pressure, no matter how many times they had done this there was still a bit of stress coming along before any match.


"Here we go." I whispered to myself, watching the wooden doors open with the field coming into view. We got on our broom and flew out at the same time as the Gryffrindors. The cheering increased with both sides hyping their players. Adrian and I made a few rounds around the tower seats with the colours of our houses just to show off in a way. 


"You can do it, brother!" Down below, I saw Draco waving at me with a large smile on his face. Blaize by his side holding a small flat with our House's symbol and colour. 


"Good luck, Malfoy!" A few rows below was a familiar blonde haired girl standing next to a bushy haired girl. Daphne Greengrass cheered loudly along with Hermione waving the small flag similar to flag. Looking up at the higher seats, both Snape and Quirrell were there just like in the movies — the former giving me a small nod and the latter smiling widely. He did get injured from the troll in the end, it was a shame so much time passed from the trial incident or he would have appeared with a face full of bruises.


"Hey… aren't those all Nimbus 2000s!?" 


"Hahaha, that's funny!"


"I'm not joking! Look at Marcus over there, that's not his old broom."


"Holy shit, you're right! The Gryffrindors are in trouble…"


"I heard the young Potter boy has a Nimbus 2000."


"Yeah, only he does. You can't exactly expect him to do everything on his own."


Some of the more eagle eyed spectators noticed the broom we all possessed. They exclaimed in shock, their voices even reaching my ears.


Madam Hooch was refereeing, wearing a black and white robe which made her stand up amongst the crowd. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.


"Now, I want a clean and fair game, from all of you," she said, once we were all gathered around her. I noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to our Captain, Marcus Flint. Not surprised there with his record and tendencies to either give someone a concussion or break their bones with his kicks and other dirty tactics. In my opinion, the guy most certainly had some troll blood in him with how violent and hoarse his voice was. 


"There seems to be a lot of tension between both houses. The Gryffrindor captain, Oliver, has a well known history of rivalry with the Slytherin captain. And what is this!? I just got word that the entire Slytherin team are riding Nimbus 2000s, what a frightening show of wealth!" The announcer spoke with clear shock in his voice. I recognised him as one of the few people who consistently hung out with the Weasley twins and even helped them with many pranks.


"You did this, didn't you?" I heard someone speak to me, the person being none other than Harry Potter looking at me incredulously. 


"Hey there Potter, wow you also have a Nimbus? That's surprising." I said jokingly, he knew I was already aware of the fact he had a Nimbus. "And yeah, you can think of it as a small… gift I gave to the team for letting me in. Not everyone can get a special treatment like you, no offense." 


He narrowed his eyes, not saying much before flying back to his position. 


I returned to my position and waited.


Bang!


Madame Hooch kicked the small wooden box which opened up with two bludgers flying to the sky. My ears heard a small buzz as a snitch circled around both Harry and I before following the bludgers and disappearing. The flying Professor grabbed the Quaffle and threw it upwards like during a game of basketball.


"Go!" Marcus shouted, Adrian rushed forward with greater speed and snatched it before anyone could.


"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Adrian Pucey of Slytherin — just a second earlier than Angelina Johnson! A small setback for her, I've also been told she is an excellent chaser, and rather attractive too—"


"JORDAN!"


Professor McGonagall's voice came through the speakers.


"Sorry, Professor."


"And he's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Marcus flint who just kicked away Alicia Spinnet, how brutal!" He already started with his shenanigans. "Angelina is trying to intercept him but fails ultimately as he blitzes past her with greater speed! But what is this? Oliver Woods — last year's only a reserve — has appeared and forces Adrian to pass the Quaffle to Marcuus. And he fails with Oliver kicking it away to Alicia who recovered and proceeding to catch the Quaffle!"


Surpringly, the Gryffrindors played far better than I expected and actually managed to get the Quaffle. I gazed at Harry who was watching the match from a higher position, I knew the snitch wouldn't appear yet so this gave me a few moments of freedom which I used to rush below.


"The newest addition to the Slytherin team and youngest player, Jarius Malfoy has descended to face Alicia. Oh! He punched the Quaffle straight out of her grasp with Miles Bletchley who left his keeper position and throws the Quaffle straight into the ring. SLYTHERIN SCORES! The first ten points for Slytherin!" 


The crowd on our side cheered with some of the Gryffrindors booing us. 


"Hagrid?" I nearly chocked when I saw a large man from the crowd cheering, it being none other than the half giant. Having a pair of binoculars coupled with both Slytherin and Gryffindor scarf around his neck — guess he couldn't bring himself to choose between us. It felt a bit weird to see him cheering for the Slytherin as well, but I guess that was normal given our friendship. The man liked everyone equally, even the Slytherin now with both me and Hermione being one of them — otherwise, he wouldn't have cheered much.


After that, the Gryffrindor team tried to score against us.


"The Slytherins have taken the Quaffle from Fred Weasley, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes — Flint flying like an eagle up there — he's going to scor— no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle. Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffrindor has hold of the Quaffle, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and OUCH!"


She got hit in the face by a bludger, even I flinched at that sight.


"That must have hurt, never easy to see a pretty face like her get hi—" 


"JORDAN! This is your second warning young man!" 


" R-Right, the Quaffle had been taken by the Slytherin's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger — sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which, they look the same — nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes, she's really flying, dodges a speeding Bludger,  the goal posts are ahead, come on, now, Angelina, keeper Bletchley dives and misses GRYFFINDORS SCO— nope! Jarius Malfoy grabs the ball at the last second and nearly hit his head against the Angelina."


Damn that was close, I nearly missed the Quaffle and almost crashed against the girl. Thankfully, she ducked at the right moment to save both of us. "Oi, Bletchley! I'm going to focus on the snitch for now!" I shouted at the man while passing him the ball.


"Thanks man! Yeah, make sure Potter doesn't catch it!" 


More of the Gryffindor boos filled the cold air, many throwing at me a suprise amount of colourful insults. 


{Break}


"Budge up there, move along."


"Hagrid!"


Daphne and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space. The latter a bit disgusted by his appearance and stench and tried to move further away. 


"Didn't think you would be here." Hermione commented, ignoring the blonde's reaction. 


"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting the large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"


"No," said Draco, not showing any reaction to his presence and mostly focused on the match. "My brother is keeping an eye on that useless Potter while aiding his team. Even if Potter finds the snitch then he won't be able to get it." 


"Ah, I see... I don' know how ter feel 'bout this but i'll be happy with whoever who wins." He said, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the moving speck that was Jarius. "Blimey! the boy is harder ter follow 'n a spider."


"I still think Jarius actively participating in the game as dangerous." Hermione mentioned. "He's at risk of getting hit by a bludger. No one is targeting Harry which is an advantage in itself and is giving him a the advantage at spotting the snitch."


"I just think he doesn't know what to do and is wasting everyone's time."


"Now, now, no need ter be so mean. He's a student like yeh an' needs ter be treated fairly, young man."


"Humph!" 


{Break}


We were winning, 20-0 and with how aggressively Marcus was playing then this would end up as a 30-0 soon. These brooms really did give us an advantage. Even if the increase in speed wasn't even that big to begin with, it had a major impact on the game itself and our team's morale. 


"I should be happening soon." I said, glancing at Harry upwards who was talking to Oliver. The captain was probably telling him to not worry and focus on the snitch.


The entire time, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops around the field. Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. 


"Hm?" My head jerked to the side as I noticed a small flash of gold passing near me. I wasn't the only one as Harry along with the announcer had noticed it as well after seeing our reactions.


"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the — wait a moment — was that the snitch?"


A murmur ran through the crowd making even a few players distracted for a bit.


Both Harry and I saw it. 


In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. We went for it neck and neck, hurtling toward the snitch — all the chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.


"Look out!"


Many screamed in shock as Harry nearly got hit by a bludger along with our captain blocking his way which broke his concentration and nearly caused him to fall on the ground.


A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below. "Foul!" They screamed.


Madame Hooch gave Marcus a stern warning before continuing the game.


Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was 


Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides.


"So, after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating—"


"Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.


"I mean, after that open and revolting foul..."


"Jordan, I'm warning you!"


"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinner, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."


Even I had to agree with the other side, I would need to get this man under control soon.


"Woah!" 


It finally started, Harry was getting jinxed. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, mqny thought he was going to fall. The boy gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. 


It happened again, the broom was trying to buck him off. I saw him trying to catch Oliver's attention to probably call for a time out and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control. He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.


Lee was still commentating.


"Slytherin in possession, Flint with the Quaffle passes Spinnet, passes Bell, hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose, only joking, Professor. Slytherins scores once again! That's 30-0!"


The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.


"Hmm, Hermione could save him and set Quirrell's clothes on fire, but she is too far away this time." I mumbled. Then I saw Snape beginning his counter jinx, which disappointed me as I expected for him to take a different action from the original story to stop Quirrell. 


Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and he swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.


"Well this is dire…" Hermione already started to run with Daphne following along curiosily. But it would still take a lot of time. 


In the end, I had a bold idea which would save Harry immediately but could give my team some trouble. But then, given the talk I had with Dumbledore he could look over it…


"Give me the baton, now." I asked the other chaser in my team.


"Wowz you're planning to break Potter's bones or something?" 


"Meh, I'm going to break someone's face, but not Harry's." 


Oliver seemed to have gotten the wrong idea as he rushed to stop me. 


"Block him." I asked Adrian who fortunately followed my words and intercepted the Gryffrindor's captain. 


With the bludger near, I tensed my hold on the broom and readied my arm. Channeling as much strength I could…


Bang!


I smacked the bludger.


"No!" 


Many got up their seats, appaled at my action and expecting the worse when they saw the bludger heading straight towards Harry. Even the boy himself watched with fear on his face, his closed his eyes not wanting to see his room.


Woosh!


"I wasn't aiming for you, idiot." I whispered quietly, watching with a twisted sense of amusement as bludger sailed past his head and went straight for the upper spectator seats — specially right at a certain turban wearing Professor. 


Snape became paler than usual and jumped away.


Crash!


"Argh!"


The bludger struck Quirrell's face, breaking the wood and sending his body inside the structure before disappearing completely.


"..."


"..."


"..."


The entire field became quiet, even Lee Jordan was too flabbergasted to utter a single word. Hermione and Daphne below were gobsmacked while only Draco out of everyone facepalmed himself.


Was it necessary? No, there were better ways to do it. Did I care? Again, no, I honestly wanted to smack Quirrell at least once after failing to have the troll get rid of him. Fortunately, to everyone here, I was aiming for Harry and Quirrell was just unlucky.


Still a foul and would give the other team an extra ten points, though it wouldn't change the outcome of the game in the end. I liked to think of it as a necessary sacrifice.


"Oops." I said calmly, giving back the baton to beater.