Love In Magic

14.

I went to sleep that night excited. So excited that it was hard to fall asleep at all. But I knew I would see Jasper tonight, and the thought alone allowed me to drift off.

~

I opened my eyes to see what seemed to be Jasper's bedroom, and I was on top of his bed. I turned my head to find Jasper laying there next to me, content. He was just staring up at the ceiling.

"Hello, darlin'". He said, averting his eyes from the ceiling to me. "The perfume was a nice touch". I giggled as he pulled me to lay closer to him on the bed. "Well, I'm glad you liked it". 

I couldn't describe the feeling I felt in that moment. Was it something as complex as love? I'm not sure. Or was it something as simple and pure as happiness. Maybe it was longing? Or maybe it was a combination of the three. In that moment though, all I wanted was for it to continue. Our comfortable silence didn't last as long as I had hoped though.

"Alice wants to meet you". He said with a tired smile on his face. I didn't think he could be tired.

"Is that good or bad?" We talked about our families often, but I still wasn't sure about how they would react to me. Especially Alice. Alice is Jasper's best friend, found him in his time of need. She was who I was most worried about meeting, her and Jasper's "twin" sister Rosalie. Jasper has told me numerous times that I have nothing to worry about but it still bothers me sometimes.

"Good! Hayden stop worrying about it, Alice will love you! I bet she already does". I was about to tell him that I'm not worried about meeting her but he stopped me. "I know you are". As Jasper said that I began to feel waves of calm flow into me and he began combing his fingers through my hair.

"Not fair". I mumbled playfully, though welcoming the calming sensations and allowing the anxious thoughts to leave my mind. "Do you really think she'll like me?" I looked up at him momentarily before placing my head back down onto his chest.

"I do. Remember Alice can see the future, I don't think she would be so excited to meet you if she didn't see something she liked". Gosh did this man have a way with words. I looked up at him again giving him a big smile which he returned.

"Really? She was excited to meet me?" I was finally hopeful that it would all be fine and good in the end. He gave me this goofy smile before saying: "she came in here bouncing up and down, talking about a mile a minute about when she would get to meet you after she had a vision of you". He laughed and Hayden couldn't help but laugh with him. The laughter dialed down eventually and she leaned up to hug him. I began to feel myself slowly waking up as I pulled away. 

"I've gotta go," I said quickly. "I'll see you soon darlin'". Jasper hugged me one last time before I woke up.

~

Early the next morning was quidditch tryouts. Hermione was sat up in the stands while Harry, Ginny, Ron, and I were down on the pitch. Ron was finally trying out this year, I had tried out and somehow got my spot on the team as a chaser in third year, amidst all the craziness.

Ron seemed to be the only one within those trying out that had any sense this morning, standing in front of the rest quietly, you could almost see the anxiety flowing off of him in waves. The rest of the students were loudly bickering and play-fighting each other. Harry, Ginny, and I stood in front, facing them waiting for them to quiet down. So this is how Professor McGonagall feels.

"Ok, so this morning we're gonna be putting you all through a few drills just to assess your strengths. Quiet, please!" Harry attempted to talk over the bickering but failed to gain their attention.

"Shut it!" Ginny yelled over them, swiftly making them quiet down so Harry could speak. I didn't blame them, Ginny could be very scary sometimes.

"Thanks". He sighed in relief before continuing. "Alright um.. Now then remember, just because you made the team last year, does not guarantee you a spot this year. Is that clear?" There a few mumbled yes's before Harry went on: "Good".

Cormac McLaggen and Ron were both trying out for keeper. I'm sorry to say it...  but Ron doesn't have a chance.

Ginny and I started against Cormac first, he moved gracefully and seemingly without effort. Ron, on the other hand, he was doing well but seemed to be struggling. As time went on though, he seemed to get more and more comfortable. Especially after Cormac swerved right out of the way of the quaffle, allowing it to go through the goal. Very obviously a confundus charm but I wasn't going to say anything. Not only did Ron become more comfortable but exceedingly more confident.

Tryouts didn't run much longer, and all spots on the team had been given out. Ron had gotten the keeper position, whether that was because we all hated Cormac or the Confundus charm that Hermione used, I don't know. But I was proud of him, we all were, he did really well even without the help from a confundus charm.

Now I would include the match scene, but I don't really care for it. The scene directly after is much more important in my opinion. So I've started writing the rewrite for this book, I'm going to start posting it to AO3 on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday Schedule for now since I already have chapters ready, I'll move to a once a week schedule once I have to write new chapters. I hope all of you are doing well, stay cool.

~M.F. Doe