The Girl Who Vanished

Chapter 33: The Highs and Lows

Ana was exhausted.

As the term continued, Ana realized that her friends weren't the only things she was neglecting. With how busy she was outside of classes, Ana's involvement with the world of Quidditch was suffering dismally. Thankfully the matches that were taking place involved the other houses, but with her match against Hufflepuff, Ana knew that she wasn't going to be prepared.

With a mind full of memories that weren't her own, Ana felt like her head would pop; too much was going in and there was no real time for her to let them all out. Her responsibilities as a chaser all but vanished, and Ana wished for the chance to go back to the first half of the year to actually get the chance to enjoy the game. Instead, she feared how badly she would let her team down.

But no matter how hard she tried that game, she couldn't keep up. Her fatigued mind and body left her practically useless on the field. Whenever she passed the Quaffle to Pucey or Flint, it was always intercepted by the Hufflepuff chasers, and Ana feared her head would be busted in by the ferocity of the opposing beaters. She scored around 40 points, but even that could've been an overestimation.

It was a grueling match, despite only lasting forty five minutes. The sun beat down on her so strongly, too strongly for it being only April, yet the bright light burned her eyes, making her miss goals that she otherwise could have made.

Hufflepuff demolished the Slytherin team with a disappointing final of 280-90 and the rest of the school celebrated her defeat with thunderous applause.

The moments after the game were the worst, she remembered how fiercely Flint hollered the time they lost against Gryffindor: a game that she was in tip-top shape for. Two losses meant they were out of the running for the Quidditch Cup. Their season was over and the reigning champs went from first place to dead last. It was embarrassing.  

Ana was putting away her Nimbus 2000, wiping a drop of sweat from her eyebrow, when a large fist pounded the cage beside her head. Her heart caught in her throat, turning quickly to see Flint staring at her with flared nostrils and a blazing glare.

"What the hell was that Malfoy?" He hollered, making the rest of the teammates fall silent. She could hear her pulse in her ears with how quiet the usual bustling room was. "Last game you played with a broken wrist, how come you couldn't play at all today?"

His tone was bitter and acidic, if it was a potion it would cut through even the toughest of metal and stone. The older boy's larger stature left her uneasy, the now sixteen year old towered over her, making her search the room for Lucian, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"I just had an off game, Flint, it happens. How many times of you lost a game for your team?" She asked sweetly even though she knew he had a reason to be upset. The hairs on the back of her neck stood tall even as the sun was strong, Ana would rather lose another game than admit she was scared of the seething boy.

"Oh piss off, Malfoy," he chuckled darkly, throwing his hands up at her defiance. He didn't catch it, but Ana flinched slightly at the way he flung his arms. But the way he inched closer to her as his voice grew louder did nothing to calm her nerves.

"What? D'you think you're some big deal just because you're a Malfoy? Well, I'll have you know that no one, absolutely, no one could give a damn about that. You're nothing but a spoiled, rotten, b-"

"Hey!"

Flint's head whipped to the side, his teeth bared like an angry hyena at the sight of Lucian, whose usually gentle face was curled in a snarl. Lucian wasn't as old as Flint, but as the younger of the two sauntered up towards Ana, she could tell that age had nothing to do with intimidation. Lucian's clear blue eyes were practically gray as he stood before the older boy, their chests less than a foot apart. With the brewing storm between the two, Ana wanted to stay clear from the debris as she took much needed steps away. She had never in her life seen Lucian look so angry. His was a whole different person.