✓ | EPISKEY → remus lupin [ discontinued ]

Chapter Twenty Eight

"That's awful," she murmured.

"Yeah," Leonard sighed, "the perks of your mother dying."

Alanna bit her lip. "I'm really sor--"

Suddenly, Alanna sunk down into the snow. She was waist deep in the white blanket, and her lower half was now freezing. Leonard blinked once, twice, then burst out laughing. He laughed so much that he also fell into the snow; he landed in a drift after toppling backwards. His eyes went wide, and Alanna started laughing at him. He narrowed his eyes at her, but he had a smile plastered on his face.

"Um ... a little help over here!" Leonard called out to his brother and Tiffany walking ahead. The two turned around and Tiffany immediately laughed at the sight of the two stuck in the snow. She jogged over to helped Alanna out of her little hole while Luke shook his head in embarrassment but went to help his brother. A few students walked by and witnessed the scene, making them snicker. In the distance, the sounds of cheering sounded and Tiffany head jerked up. Alanna was brushing the snow from her lower half, shivering in the cold.

"It's starting!" Tiffany screeched. She grabbed Alanna's hand. "Come on, we can deal with that after, just come on!" She tugged Alanna towards the stadium of loud cheering and excited chatter.

When they arrived, the four quickly found a seat in the Ravenclaw stands. Next to them were the Slytherin stands, and across the stadium were the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor stands. Alanna caught sight of Sirius, James and Peter laughing in the stands while Remus had an embarrassed look on his face. He sat down grumpily, making Alanna chuckle.

"Allie, watch the game!" Tiffany said, bringing Alanna's attention back to Quidditch. "Alright, so the Slytherin over there has the Quaffle, which is the ball we use to score, like Leonard told you. If he gets it in those hoops over there--," she pointed to their end of the stadium, "--they get points. Then there's the Bludgers; see how Brett Anderson just whacked that one away from Casey Ferdinand and sent it to that Slytherin? That's what the Beaters do; they make sure the Chasers, the people going for the Quaffle, don't get hurt."

Alanna nodded, trying to retain the information. "Right, so the Chasers get the Quaffle in the hoops and the Beaters keep the Chasers safe. Gottit."

Tiffany nodded happily, glad that Alanna was listening. "Yup. So there's three Chasers and two Beaters."

Alanna quickly counted up the amount of players in the air. "But there's fourteen players," she observed.

"Right, yes. Those two up there are the Seekers. Our Seeker is Royce Malone, and he's definitely got the physique."

Alanna glanced at Tiffany. "I'm impressed. You know big, fancy words."

Tiffany rolled her eyes. "Honey, I'm a Ravenclaw. I may not act like it most of the time, but I wasn't put in this house for nothing. So like I was saying before you judged my vocabulary, the Seekers have to have a keen eye and good physique. Otherwise they're useless." Alanna chuckled. "Now you probably won't find it anywhere, but there's a tiny golden ball called the Snitch. That's all the Seekers have to worry about. If they find the Snitch, they go for it. But the key thing is that it avoids them. So it's actually harder than it sounds or looks. Chances are nobody'll see the Snitch until one of the Seekers does. You'll know when they see it because both of the Seekers will be zipping around the pitch. Then all eyes are on them. Once the Snitch is caught--"

"The game ends," Alanna finished for her. She smiled. "It sounds quite enjoyable."

"I know right? I can't wait to play next year!" Tiffany said excitedly.

"And the Snitch is worth a hundred and fifty points, correct?" Alanna asked, now fully focused on the game in front of her. Tiffany hummed a yes.

"Mhm. But that doesn't guarantee that team a win. They have to catch the Snitch before the other team gets a hundred a fifty points, unless they've already gained points, which is the case most of the time. Sometimes the Snitch isn't always worth it."