The Hex That Never Was
Theme 44: Stupefy


"Stupef -"

The Slytherin chaser had little time to complete his spell: James Potter had flown at him before he could so much as say the word "Quidditch," and Avery Smith went down, his back grazing the grass as he slid across it, coming to a halt only when he collided, a little painfully, with the trunk of a tree.

"Prongs, you shouldn't have," Remus began, while Peter goggled, his eyes huge pupils of excitement, but James was panting, his gaze fierce. Avery staggered to his feet, threw James a look of pure hatred, and stormed off, a slit running down the long sleeve of his green, Quidditch robes.

*

It had begun, as anyone could have expected, in the Quidditch match earlier that morning: Sirius had been commentator and he had "accidentally" let slip "how happy" Smith had been that Mary Vendell, a Slytherin prefect known for her flirtatiousness, had made it to the quidditch team. Avery had boiled over with anger [you could have seen the muscles in his mouth twitch in fury, even when he had been fifty feet in the air] and cornered Sirius after the match.

Only to get punched in the ribs by James Potter.