invisible string! → ron weasley

xii. the match

"It wasn't you talking," she finally said, and whilst it was clear she was hurt by being snapped at, she was more worried about him than herself (which was all too usual for her). "Fear has a way of making people forget themselves, and that's what you are at the root of all this: you're afraid to let everyone down, just as you said. But..." Surprising them both, she took his hands in both of hers. "You won't let them down, Ron. I've seen you play when you're in good spirits, and you're amazing. You can't let your fear get in the way of that." She held his gaze a moment longer before releasing his hands. Her cheeks went red, but she tried her best not to think too hard on it. There were other far more pressing matters to attend to, after all. What she did or didn't feel whilst around him would have to wait. Ron let out a breath.

"How is it that you can be nice to me after what I said to you?" Kates donned the faintest of smiles.

"Because, despite what you seem to think, light can be found in every situation. You just have to open your eyes to see it." And with that she took her leave, disappearing through the portrait hole.

⋆☆.* ✧✰ .✦⋆*☆

THE MORNING OF the first Quidditch match arrived with great haste and found the extended group of Gryffindors sitting at a table in the Great Hall, shoveling down their breakfast. Ron was more nervous than she had ever seen him, but she had a feeling the mind trick Harry was trying on him would do wonders for his confidence and, hopefully, his mood as well. As she looked to Dean, she noticed that he too looked rather nervous.

"You're going to do great," she told him with a reassuring smile. He groaned, finished the last of his muffin, then replied.

"I don't know. Katie flew circles around me during the drills, how am I supposed to live up to that?"

"'Cause you're a damn good flyer," said Seamus, catching both of their attentions. He had yet to say anything of the sort since Harry made his decision. "You maneuvered around the other players like no one else, 'cept maybe Ginny, but she doesn't count, everyone knows she's crazy good. If anyone's got what it takes, it's you." Both Kates and Dean were rather stunned to hear something so positive come from their friend's mouth. Then, Kates grinned, clapping Seamus on the shoulder.

"Exactly!" she said triumphantly, looking back to Dean. "You know if he's saying something positive then it must be true." She ignored Seamus' indignant "hey!" and watched as a smile began to dance across Dean's lips, too.

"Blimey. Cheers, Seamus, I—"

"Yeah yeah yeah," said the boy in question with a dismissive wave of the hand, but they could both see he was fighting a smile. "Don't tell anyone, we can't have them thinkin' I'm takin' after Kates, can we?"

They all went down to the Pitch together, then separated as they came across the team tents. With one last exchange of encouraging words, the players went to change whilst the rest of them headed up to the stands. Quidditch matches at Hogwarts always drew in a large crowd (there were few other events like it for students to enjoy during the term), but nothing drew in more people than the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match. Their rivalry was the most heated, which meant the games were always the most tense, both for the players and the crowds. Kates loved watching Quidditch, but she had spent a few Gryffindor/Slytherin matches in the past feeling rather uncomfortable—this time, though, would be different. Even if the Slytherins did decide to get nasty, she could focus on watching her friends fly.