PERFECT // JAMES POTTER

29. Quidditch Jitters

The first Quidditch game of the season was on the horizon and Scarlet wanted to grantee the win. Their first match was against Slytherin, and there was no doubt in Scarlet's mind that they would play dirty. The week leading up to the game consisted of relentless training and Scarlet staying up until midnight every night, trying to come up with tactics and tricks that would help them win. 

Finally, the cold, late January morning came and Scarlet was fully decked out in her Quidditch kit, sat in the Great Hall with James and Sirius on either side of her, gently trying to get her to eat some breakfast. James was watching in concern as he softly rubbed her back while Scarlet took tiny sips of the pumpkin juice in front of her.

"Honestly, Bambi, don't worry about it! We've spent all week training and the entire team are in top form. Those snakes won't know what hit them!" Sirius assured the green-eyed girl.

She gave him a shaky smile and sighed deeply.

"I don't know why I'm so worked up. I've played plenty of matches against Slytherin before! I don't know why this one is so different."

"Because it's your last year of being captain and you don't want to royally screw it up?" Sirius offered unhelpfully.

James shot him a small glare from behind his girlfriend's back and the dark-haired boy gave him a slightly panicked shrug in return. Unaware of the interaction, Scarlet let out a shaky laugh.

"That's the one."

"You're not going to screw it up, love. I believe in you. We've got this!" James comforted her and she gave a small nod and a grateful smile.

"Yeah, and even if you do mess it up, we'll still love you!" Sirius cut in and Scarlet groaned, putting her face in her hands.

"Padfoot?" James asked.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Right."

Thankfully, Lily and Marlene walked in at that moment and made a beeline for their friend.

"Good luck, Scar! You'll smash it!" Marlene cheered as they both sat down.

"Thanks." Scarlet replied in a quiet voice, her knees bouncing up and down as she nervously checked her watch, "Come on, we'd better go." She told the boys once she saw that the game was due to start in 45 minutes.

They nodded and they all stood up grabbing their brooms from under the table. As they left the hall, they bumped into McGonagall. Once the woman saw the obvious nerves radiating from Scarlet, she gave the girl a warm smile.

"Good luck for today, Miss Winters." She told her.

"Thank you Professor."

With that McGonagall walked away and the three began to make their way to the Quidditch Pitch again. Once they were out of the professor's earshot, Sirius snorted  slightly and nudged Scarlet's arm.

"Teacher's Pet."

Scarlet let out a genuine laugh and Sirius smiled to himself, happy that he reduced her nerves, even for a minute. 

-=+=-

Scarlet could hear the cheers from the stadium outside and shook her head, shaking off her nerves and getting her head in the game. She called the team together and they all formed a circle.

"Right. I know that we're facing Slytherin today and in the past, they haven't been the most...friendly."

Sirius let out a snort but was immediately silence by the look that Scarlet gave him.

"My point is, as long as we play by the rules, we'll be fine. Don't stoop to their levels and retaliate if they get a little pushy. Now, we've got two amazing beaters," She motioned to the two fourth years that both grinned at her, "a brilliant keeper," She smiled at Rosa Foster, a sweet girl in her year that definitely had the potential to be a professional player, "and three wonderful chasers." She beamed at James, Sirius and Jeremy Renner, a fifth year boy who she knew to have huge amounts of talent.

"And let's not forget our gorgeous and outstanding seeker!" James piped in, sending a wink to his girlfriend. Scarlet smiled and her cheeks tinted pink slightly.

"Anyway, I know that you're all great and that you'll give it your all on that field. And that's all that I ask for!" She finished her speech and her team cheered before they all lined up to go on the pitch. Just before they got called out, James gave his girlfriend a quick kiss on her forehead and a grin.

They heard their name being called out, as well as the roar from the crowd and they stepped out from the tent, walking onto the grass and to the centre of the pitch. They came face-to-face with the Slytherin team and the referee called for the captains to shake hands.

Scarlet and Lucius Malfoy gripped onto each other's hand, Malfoy sending the girl a cold glare as he did so. They quickly stepped away and mounted their brooms, ready to start.

The referee blew her whistle and immediately, they were all up in the air, zooming around the pitch. Scarlet flew up to get a full view of the entire pitch and to try and spot the little blur of gold. Every few minutes, she'd cast her gaze to her team, more specifically a certain hazel-eyed boy, to see how they were getting on. She watched with a smile as James stole the Quaffle and expertly dodged the beaters and chasers, before launching the ball through the left hoop with a powerful throw. The Slytherin keeper failed to reach the hoop in time and the ball flew through it, scoring an extra 10 points for Gryffindor. The score board changed to 80 - 30 for Gryffindor and Scarlet felt the pride bubble in her heart.

After about half an hour of fruitless searching for the snitch, Scarlet's sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of something shining, despite the lack of sunlight. She began to zoom after the snitch, ignoring the commentator's shout as he noticed her sudden movement. She could hear the Slytherin seeker, a revolting, sixth year boy with a nasally voice called Piers Bulstrode, gaining on her and she pushed forward, only about a metre away from the golden ball. 

As her fingers grazed the snitch, she felt a hand on the back of her red and gold Quiddich robe. She was suddenly yanked off her broom and she fell, losing her balance with a panicked yelp. As she fell, she felt a small spherical object in her hand and she momentarily tightened her grip on it. She hit the ground with a sickeningly loud thump and her sight was immediately encompassed by darkness.