Consequences Of The Heart.

Chapter 10: Chasing a Championship.

The room was stuffy and the stale smell of medicine spread throughout the area. It was too early for anyone to be awake; probably no more than five in the morning. The beds were half-full with patients, all asleep except one boy at the far end of the wing: Remus. Even from a distance, I could make out the scars running down his torso and arms. A generic, pale blanket was pulled up to his belly button covering any potential cuts on his legs. It was hard seeing him like this every month, I can only imagine what it must've been like when we weren't with him. 

The four of us walked across the length of the Hospital Wing. He was concentrated on the book he was levitating so he didn't seem to notice us. We could see Madam Pomfrey's light out inside her office and chambers so we snuck out of the Invisibility Cloak but that still failed to catch his attention. 

"Re!" Lily had resorted to whisper-yelling to make him notice us. If we weren't absolutely quiet, we'd end up in detention for a week and Remus would kill us. Remus jumped out of his skin, almost falling off the other side of the bed. 

"Lils?" His voice was throaty and scratchy like he hasn't spoken in a while. He turned to look at the two of us and smiled. We were wearing our Quidditch uniforms because we had practice in like half an hour. Peter was asleep so we had to leave without him today but we would see him at breakfast. Lily sat down on the edge of the thin and springy mattress, causing it to dip slightly and creak due to the sudden movement. The eeriness of the room was deeply unsettling. He cleared his throat as much as possible without water and began to speak once more. "What are you guys doing here?" The two of them leaned against the wall behind them, their fingers subconsciously entwining in the middle. 

"They're visiting before Quidditch practice and I thought I would stay." Maybe the accusations about them being a couple weren't as absurd or preposterous as I thought they were. The locked hands, the sleeping in the same bed, the suggestive smiles: they all led to one thing. She never held my hand like that. She wouldn't even sit on the same couch as me. She smiled but they were never suggestive. 

Jealousy. You'd think I'd be used to it by now but it seems to strike at all the right moments which just so happen to be all the wrong moments. 

"No. I was just about to sleep. You should go watch." Lily, who was looking down blankly, lifted her head to face Remus with hopeful eyes and her mouth prepared to say something. 

"Really?!" It was too high-pitched to be audible in my opinion.

"Ouch." I turned to see Sirius clutching his ears and contorting his face awkwardly. The pitch had obviously bothered him. Ignoring this, Remus simply nodded. Lily pecked him on the cheek, muttered a quick 'thank you' and got up off the bed, concluding the conversation. Good thing too, because it wouldn't really go down well with the team if their Captain showed up late to a practice session at six in the morning on a Sunday that he himself organised. I'd probably get hexed. And I wasn't in the mood for that this morning. At least if I was, now Lily would be there to soften the blow. 

Once we had all said our 'goodbye's, we began our journey to the pitch, the time had come once more.

"Hey Lily, so I was wondering. Maybe sometime you and I co-"

"No." That was about down quickly but I was making leads is progress, firstly of all I'm pretty sure I saw her smile to herself and secondly, she usually cuts me off at 'wondering' so yay.

As we exited the castle, it became clear that the previously indifferent weather had apparently changed its mind and was incredibly upset, letting out a the nasty roar of strong gales and the incessant process of precipitation. 

"Sure, the weather isn't ideal and everyone is half asleep but nevertheless, we will push through because as usual, Ol' McG has organised a match with Slytherin sometime after Halloween. It's so typical. But we have to win so let's go!" I can't believe I gave that sorry excuse of a pep talk in the circumstances we're in currently. I gotta pre-write those or something. To be fair though, nothing could lift their spirits at six in the morning and it is our first practice so we should start slow. The team made their way out onto the field, I chuckled inwardly as I saw Lily cheering from the nearest stand, her wand was held vertically, a transparent umbrella had stemmed from its tip. 

The team circled around the box that contained the Quidditch balls as I walked up to it and loosened the belt fastened around it. The Golden Snitch and the bludgers flew out immediately. I grabbed the Quaffle and threw it up in the air above me marking the beginning of the practice match. I had divided the team into two so we could have a sense of competition. I wasn't going to play for a team to keep it fair, not to brag. Both teams struggled for the Quaffle.

The ball just kept getting tackled out by the opposing team whenever someone came even remotely close to scoring which I couldn't decide was a good or bad thing. Both teams were either really, really good or equally terrible. One or the other way, I was going to have to get them whipped into shape for our Slytherin match. Even though it doesn't help us get the Quidditch Cup, it would be good practice. So far -though I would never admit it- Frank was one of the best players, a close second to me and I do think that with his skill, he would be better suited at another roll instead of Keeper. I watched each player intently and analysed their every move, or every move I could make out in the misty haze. 

My Quidditch robes were soaked, and I shivered every few seconds when the water dampening my hair rolled slowly down my back. I pray that no one would catch a cold even though it would probably go by the time the match rolled around. I still failed to believe that it was raining in September but the weather has been freaky lately and that combined with our crappy luck should've confirmed it. 

Lastly, when our match drew nearly to a close and the score was a depressing 10-0 even after an entire hour of non-stop flying and that was only because the second team had Frank as a Keeper, my attention was turned to our Seekers who seemed to be the most incompetent. All they did the entire game was circle the pitch about a million times. Thankfully, mere minutes before the game ended Hugo stopped, swooped in and enclosed the Snitch inside his fist. These guys were going to get it from me for their utterly terrible playing, especially Tyler or TJ or whatever for his terrible Seeking.

"I am appalled at your incompetence in the sport after merely one summer! Except you Frank, keep doing exactly that."

Word Count:- 1251

Love, Kale.