━ IT'S QUIDDITCH, BITCH
( eighteen. )
━ ❁ ━
THE HANGOVER THAT PROCEEDED the next day was worse than anything they could've ever imagined. James looked like he was dead, Sirius was pretty much still sleeping, Peter was throwing up in the plant pot around the windows, and Remus? Andrea was 100% sure he was still drunk.
It was 11 in the morning when their little group woke up. They had accidentally fallen asleep in the Common Room, after a night of drunken jokes, scary story-telling, and... well, lots and lots of alcohol.
(According to James, they had to finish their entire supply in case McGonagall decided to enact another surprise Common Room search.)
Andrea watched as her friends rose up from their makeshift fort on the ground like the undead, holding back her laughter. It was times like these that the girl patted herself on the back for remaining sober.
Having got up about an hour before herself, Andrea already made a trip down to the kitchens to fetch a pitcher of water for her dehydrated friends.
Lily, who didn't seem to realize she was laying down beside James, with her head resting on his bicep, spoke first.
"Fucking hell, someone turn off the sun, please," she groaned, holding her hands in front of her face, hoping that it would do enough to shield herself from the burning rays.
James perked up slightly at the sound of his love's voice. He grumbled something along the lines of, "Anything for you, darling," before letting his head thump back down on the pillow underneath him and closing his eyes.
Andrea giggled at the sight, and handed her red headed best friend a cup of water, which she poured into a stray red cup from last night. Lily eyed her friend wearily.
"I cannot do anymore alcohol, Andrea, please don't make me–" Lily began to beg, before Andrea cut her off.
"Woah, slow down there, silly goose," the girl chuckled. "I'm not that mean, alright. It's only water." Lily hmphed in slight satisfaction. She grabbed the red cup from her best friend's ready hands and gulped it all down in mere seconds. When she was finished, she threw the plastic down with the rest of the trash, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She then burped.
"That was hot," James muttered, eyes still closed.
Lily froze at his words, seemingly only realizing now that James was sprawled out beside her. Her cheeks turned red.
Thankfully, everyone around her seemed too immersed in their splitting headaches to really notice the two's encounter.
Instead, Lily swiftly got up off the grounds and began to clear up last night's remains.
━ ❁ ━
It took another hour to get everyone up and half-running. Granted, the group of six didn't look better compared to before, but at least they managed to make their way to the Great Hall without falling apart. Andrea, on the other hand, would have preferred if her friends stayed hungover and miserable. She doesn't know if she'll be able to handle anymore of Peter's whining, or Remus' drunken antics.
"Guys, my legs are going to fall off," Peter practically sobbed. He hung off of Marlene like a leech, clinging to her arm tightly which effectively pissed the blonde off. Marlene McKinnon was not a friendly person in the morning. And hungover? Poor Peter.
Marlene sent a pleading look Andrea's way after attempting (and failing) to roughly shove the short boy away from her. Andrea responded with a sincere shrug of 'I don't know' and quickly looked ahead again so Marlene wouldn't catch the amused grin creeping up on her face.
"Peter. Peter, you know what you look like?" Remus called loudly, jogging a little to stand beside his friend. "Like a, you know, a..." he trailed off a little, trying to remember where he was going with his sentence. But drunk Remus' attention span was the size of a walnut. The group just passed a first year with bright pink hair.
Remus ooh'd at the sight, watching the girl pass until he could no longer see her pass the corner. Dorcas looked at him expectantly, waiting for Remus to finish his sentence. He just sent her a questioning look.
Andrea huffed in frustration, trying to massage away the headache that quickly began to form. She thinks that girl's hair really pushed her over the edge.
It didn't help that Sirius could barely walk in a straight line either, and in an attempt to make sure he didn't trip over his own two feet, Andrea had to practically carry his weight over toward the Gryffindor table.
"You're so good to me, love," Sirius mumbled tiredly, after the girl had plopped him down on the bench. Andrea ignored his words, and instead chose to make sure Marlene didn't kill Peter with her pancakes.
"Remind me to never drink again," Dorcas said, groaning loudly afterward into her tea mug. Andrea nodded absentmindedly, and handed the girl a napkin at the sight of the drool hanging off the side of her mouth.
"Of course, love," Andrea agreed, while pouring Remus a large mug of black coffee. He only stuck his tongue out at her in response when she handed it to him.
"Can someone pass me a bucket? I think I'm going to be sick," James called out in despair, clutching his stomach. Sirius tossed a teapot over in his direction without hesitation, not paying any mind to the fact that it was full and sloshing.
Lily, the only hungover one with more than two working brain cells, snatched the teapot from James' hands quickly before he got any ideas. She bit her lip in contemplation, then snuck a glance at Andrea, who was too busy keeping Marlene from pouncing on Peter (with Remus egging her on). With a deep breath, Lily muttered a quiet, "come with me" and got up from her seat on the bench. She started toward the door, hoping James was trailing along behind her. He was. And he looked significantly better.
Sirius smirked at the sight, and silently cheered James on, but the mere act of stretching his cheeks out in the slightest made his entire face ache and his head pound, so Sirius quickly straightened out with a grimace.
I solemnly swear not to drink anymore, Sirius thought to himself grimly. For at least another week.
━ ❁ ━
Andrea huffed in frustration at the sight before her, and maybe it wasn't the best thing in the world that she was sober. Truthfully. she wouldn't mind a small drink if it meant it would drone out Remus and Dorcas' shameless flirting.
"This is a sight for sore eyes, isn't it?" a voice said from behind Andrea. The girl stiffened considerably, and turned on her heel slowly. She let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her older brother, looking quite worried for her friends' mental state.
"Oh, it's only you," Andrea smiled. She went in to hug her brother, feeling better already just by being in his arms. Sam hugged her back tight, not really wanting to let her go. Knowing Andrea, she would most likely push last night's events in the back of her mind, not letting it bother her until she cracked-
"So, how are you?" Andrea eventually asked after peeling herself away from her brother's grasp. Sam cleared his throat, taking a nervous look around, making sure a certain someone wasn't lurking around after...
Andrea gasped at the sight of her brother's bruised and bloody knuckles.
"Sam," she breathed, taking both her hands in his to take a closer inspection. Her brother grimaced, irritated she found out so quick. Sirius, having heard the whole conversation from his seat behind Andrea, chose to lift himself off the bench to join the girl.
"Wicked," Sirius muttered, looking at Sam's red hands in respect. Sam smirked at the boy's words, his level of pride only increasing.
Andrea rolled her eyes at both boys.
"Please don't tell me you did what I think you did," she begged, staring into her brother's eyes. Sam could see the sincerity behind Andrea's hazel orbs, and for a fraction of a second, he felt guilty.
But then he glanced at Sirius, at the hard, and prideful look in his eyes, and that feeling of guilt was quickly replaced by unfaltering gratification. Sam doesn't think he'll ever regret his actions.
"Samuel," Andrea pressed again. His lack of response told the girl all she needed to know, and Sam faltered for a moment, thinking his sister was going to get angry at him.
But instead, she pulled him in for another hug, clinging onto his midriff like her life depended on it.
Sam doesn't remember the last time she's ever hugged him like this.
Five seconds ago, Andrea was only pissed off and stressed by her friend's childish antics. But all of that went away as she stood in her brother's arms. The two of them grew more and more apart as the years passed, but the girl knew Sam was always going to be there for her. Now proved that more than ever.
"I'm not saying I want you to punch me in the face or anything, but can you teach me your right hook?" Sirius asked, out of the blue. "I can't seem to get my stance right," he continued, looking down at his slightly bruised hand in contemplation.
Andrea and Sam shared an amused glance, and that's when Sirius realized, he ruined their moment.
━ ❁ ━
The next day came too quickly in Andrea's opinion. Monday meant classes, and Monday afternoon meant Quidditch tryouts.
Naturally, James was over the moon happy. He, for once, got out of bed earlier than 15 minutes before classes started. Everyone else intending to try out for the Quidditch team, however, were anxiously counting down the seconds until 5 o'clock.
Andrea included.
"You've got to eat something, love," Sirius fussed, sitting next to the girl at breakfast that morning. He pushed her plate of food closer to her, but Andrea only stared down at it in disgust. Her stomach was fluttering way too much to even think about eating anything.
Maybe it was because there was a small part of her that was worried someone else would take her Chaser spot on the team.
Maybe it was because she knew a certain brown-eyed-someone would be at tryouts as well. And sure, it's only been two days, but to Andrea, it felt like centuries since the last times she's seen his face. She didn't really want to break her record now.
According to Alice (who had announced herself as the group's spy, and dedicated her study dates with Frank down in the Common Room to watch out for a certain seventh year), Aaron— You Know Who (not that You Know Who) had barely shown his face in the Common Room at all the remainder of the weekend.
And it worked, honestly. With him not around, even if it were for only a day, Andrea's depressing thoughts had cleared considerably, and she was able to try to forget Saturday's events entirely.
Truthfully, she wanted to forget the entire summer as well, and maybe in due time, she would.
But right now, all of that didn't matter. Because there were at least 15 other Gryffindors on the list to try out for a Chaser spot, and Andrea knew that James Potter did not kid around when it came to his Quidditch team. If Andrea messed up during tryouts, there was no way she would make it on the team again, even if she's had her spot since second year.
Andrea pushed the plate away slightly and let the sleeves of her school robe cover her cold and shaking hands. Sirius noticed, and bit his lip in deep thought. He could tell something was eating her up on the inside, but he was pretty sure he didn't have the all-clear to hold her hands in his.
"Please," Sirius begged, putting on his best show of puppy-dog eyes and dramatic pout in hopes the girl would give in and at least take a bite of her jam toast. She got like this every year before tryouts, and normally his pestering worked.
Andrea shook her head again, finding herself feeling ill at the sight of the food. She glanced down at the small, dainty watch on her wrist, and groaned. Another 45 minutes until class. She had Charms first period, but what really made her insides churn, was that this would be the first time she'd be walking to class without Aaro- that guy.
"Andrea—"
And it was only now that Andrea realized what she was doing. Here she was, sitting next Sirius -her first heartbreak - willingly. She seemed to completely forget the fact that, mere months ago, she was in a similar position as she was right now. And it was because of him.
But, despite all that, there was a nagging in the back of the girl's mind. The same voice that told her dating Sirius in the first place was a bloody terrible idea (at first, Andrea thought it was Lily's voice), that told her she needed the long-haired boy beside her.
Because, no matter how much he hurt her, there was no one else on Earth she would rather be beside right now. No one else she would have comfort her. Andrea needed him-
No, shut up, another voice in her said this time. This one really did sound like Lily. You don't need him. You can't just crawl back to him because he's suddenly being nice again. He put you through hell, Andrea.
Andrea gulped. Ignoring the questioning look Sirius kept giving her, the girl got up off her seat and picked up her bag. She mumbled something about "going to the lavatory" so Sirius wouldn't try to follow her.
The boy nodded silently, and watched her go. But even he couldn't deny the sinking feeling in his chest at the sight of her walking away.
━ ❁ ━
The last bell or the day sounded, resonating on the walls in the Potions classroom.
Slughorn huffed in annoyance, having not finished his story on what he did the day he drank a vial of Felix Felicis. The rest of his class, however, were more than happy to escape the stuffy confines of the room.
But Andrea wouldn't budge, and Lily was scared she'd ask Slughorn to finish his story. The redhead practically ran toward her best friend, and even picked up her school bag. She knew there was roughly an hour until her Quidditch tryouts, and the nerves must be eating away at her.
But Andrea was just sitting there, deep in thought.
She didn't mean to get stuck in her own head. She thought she had control over it.
The minutes passed, and Lily only got increasingly worried.
Just relax.
Just breathe.
Inhale for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Exhale for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
That little trick did a good job at stopping the girl's hands from shaking. It calmed her long enough to snap her out of her little daze.
Andrea placed a small smile on her lips and got up off her seat from the stool. She sent a quick nod in thanks Lily's way and quickly followed her out of the classroom before she accidentally started a conversation with Slughorn.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked hesitantly, glancing at her friend beside her.
Andrea took a deep breath. "I will be," was her response.
To Lily, that was good enough for now.
━ ❁ ━
The first thing Andrea heard as she walked toward the Quidditch pitch, was the sound of Potter's shrill whistle. For some reason, it was comforting.
Dressed in her Quidditch practice attire (her red and gold jumper, black trousers, and horrid black boots), Andrea suddenly realized she was being silly. How could she be so worried? Flying on a broom was second nature to the girl, and playing on her house team all these years has turned into a de-stressing mechanism better than any she's ever tried.
Sure, maybe the 15 other Gryffindors trying out for the open Chaser spot should put her on edge like it did earlier today; but as Andrea stood on the open pitch, under the cool wind and the beaming sunlight washing down on her, all her worries faded away. She's good at Quidditch, even James (with an ego as big as his) couldn't deny that.
So, with another deep breath, Andrea readied herself, and made her way toward her group of her remaining teammates, which, unfortunately currently consisted of Sirius, Aaron, and herself. She really didn't want to bid the two boys 'hello', even though her impoliteness may eat her up a couple hours later, Andrea couldn't bring herself to look at either Aaron or Sirius. In an attempt to ignore both boys and their sneaky glances in her direction, Andrea decided to listen in on James' directions for everyone.
"Alright, attention Gryffindors!" James said loudly, successfully getting all eyes on him. The boy stood in front of the large crowd with confidence practically oozing off him. (Andrea couldn't help but notice Sirius making his way next to James, though, looking just as tall and confident himself. The girl chose to ignore the boy's presence as much as she could throughout the day after her realization at breakfast, but it was almost like Sirius knew that Andrea was watching him. That alone made him square his shoulders a little more). "I want three lines!" James continued. "Chasers to my left, seekers to my right, and keepers in the middle."
While the Gryffindors scurried off to their respected lines, James turned toward his group of returning members.
"I want you three watching for now," he told them. "Take mental notes, try to see who you all think you'd work best with. Think of team chemistry, and keep personal bias out of it. We'll go through our runs after tryouts are over." James left it at that, then turned his attention back to those trying out.
Andrea has never seen James like this before. If only Lily-
And that's when Andrea noticed Lily sitting in the stands, trying to discreetly hide herself away behind a copy of The Daily Prophet. Andrea giggled at the sight.
The girl saw Sirius making his way toward her from her peripheral vision. With a huff, Andrea dropped her broomstick down on the grass, and plopped down right beside it. She could hear the grass rustle beside her, which made the girl flinch ever so slightly.
Sirius noticed, though. He couldn't help his dejected sigh. But he knew that he couldn't stand Andrea ignoring him, so he plopped down on the grass beside her, with hopes that maybe he'll get her to talk to him.
But neither of them could ignore Aaron, and how he was sat behind them both, listening in on their upcoming conversation.
"What are you doing?" Andrea said quietly, keeping her gaze straight ahead at the flying Gryffindors playing a scrimmage. Her fingers itched to do something, so she settled with scratching the sides of her arm.
"Watching Quidditch," was Sirius' response. "What are you doing?" the boy teased, looking right at the girl.
Andrea's face flushed, she could feel his eyes on her. "Watching Quidditch," she replied, just as quietly as before. But Sirius wasn't giving up yet.
"I barely saw you all day, love-" Andrea cringed at his words, "Please tell me you ate something, at least at lunch," he said.
Andrea turned to look at him, pure surprise painted on her face. Sirius didn't know why she was so flabbergasted by his words, and his unfaltering gaze must've proved that, because for a moment, Andrea let go whatever she was holding in.
"Dorcas shoved a sandwich down my throat," the girl muttered, staring down at her sweaty palms.
It was Sirius's turn to cringe at the girl's words. Oh, how he so wanted to make a dirty joke.
"I know what you're thinking, Black, and for the sake of you and your ankles, I suggest you keep all innuendos to yourself," Andrea huffed in faux-annoyance, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. In reality, she was fighting a deep blush from creeping its way onto her cheeks. She knew from the moment the words escaped her lips she was in for it.
Sirius barked out a laugh, letting his head fall back in all his melodramatic glory. "Oh, how you know me so well, darling," he eventually managed out.
Andrea giggled alongside him, and for a moment, she was in pure bliss; calm, happy, and in a sort of rush. She never noticed before, but Andrea only ever seemed to have this rush whenever she was around Sirius. For some reason, the outspoken, heartbreaker asshole she calls her ex, made her happy.
But then that moment passed.
It seemed both she and Sirius had forgotten about Aaron's presence behind them.
"You two really are laying it on thick, aren't you?" he scoffed.
Sirius tensed up at Aaron's words, and he was really doing everything he possibly could in order to hold himself back. He couldn't do that to James.
But he really wanted to punch him.
"Maybe we are, Ross, it's not your problem anymore though, is it?" Andrea said harshly, turning to face the boy with fury in her eyes. Sirius looked at her in amazement. Never, in the years he's known the girl, has she ever raised her voice at anyone. She's never even been mean to anyone.
Aaron huffed in anger, and stood up off the grass trying to make himself appear taller. Sirius squinted at the boy, and stood himself.
"Oh please, Andrea wouldn't be half of what she is today if it weren't for me, and–"
Sirius whipped out his wand and pointed it at Aaron's neck, successfully cutting him off.
"Finish your sentence," Sirius threatened. "I. Dare. You."
And like the madman he is, Aaron opened his mouth.
Except James made his way to the group before he could utter a word.
"I want you to leave."
Andrea took that as her cue to stand up as well. She stood beside Sirius, and looked between the three boys to try and figure out who exactly James was talking to.
Much to her relief, the bespectacled boy's gaze was set hard on Aaron Ross.
"Excuse me?" Aaron demanded. "I hope you aren't–"
"You heard me, Ross," James spat. Sirius cringed. He's never heard his best friend speak in such hostility. But the moment James laid eyes on the brewing brawl between his teammates, he knew what it was about. And he knew he couldn't let Andrea down again. "I. Want. You. To leave."
It was a serious 'if looks could kill' battle; the glares James and Aaron sent each other's way was terrifying, but no matter how hard the former tried to keep his friends close, he had zero tolerance with Ross at the moment.
"What the fuck did I do, Potter?" Aaron spat back, not backing down. James scoffed.
"Don't think I haven't been watching, Ross. I have no time to tolerate inner-team chaos. You started it with Black and Kate. You are the one that has to leave."
Aaron stared at James in astonishment. "We haven't even gotten to practice yet, you can't expect me to leave now."
"Yes I can," James replied smoothly. "The answer to your unasked question, Ross, is you're off the team."
Andrea and Sirius exchanged wide-eyes. But things were only getting more interesting.
"Excuse me?" Aaron demanded, his voice getting louder and louder. "How the fuck are you kicking me off the team? You can't do this, Potter," he continued on.
James smirked in faux-concern. He made a show of thinking for a moment by scratching his imaginary beard. "I think, oh wait, that's right. I can, actually. Last I checked I was team caption. And as team caption, it's my job to keep my team civil. You are the obvious outlier in this situation, Ross, because it seems to me that you can't keep your personal feelings to yourself on the pitch."
Andrea watched on, a new sense of respect forming for James. She really hoped Lily was watching.
The next thing she knew, Aaron pounced toward James, hands ready to throw a couple punches. Only he didn't. Instead, he was floating six feet in the air.
The group of four (which, Andrea realized was actually the entirety of the Gryffindors from try outs), looked around to see who had Wingardium Leviosa'd Ross' ass in the air.
James stood flabbergasted at the sight of a fuming Lily with her wand stuck out in the air. He doesn't think he's ever been more in love.
"Dirty move, Ross," Lily sneered. "I want to hear you apologize." When Aaron said nothing, the redhead held her wand up a little higher in the air, taking the boy with her. "Apologize to Potter."
It was deja vu all over again.
It was only when Aaron was hanging upside down, did he finally muster up enough courage to let out a feeble apology. But that was enough to Lily. She let Aaron down on the ground, and she, along with everyone else, watching in great amusement as he scurried away off the pitch, his broomstick thumping along behind him.
"Alright!" James clapped. He turned his attention back to the group of Gryffindor try outs. "Seems like a beater position just opened up. Who wants to give it a go?"
━ ❁ ━
(note!)
hope this made up for my prolonged absence! this year has been soooo crazy, but hopefully, things will start to cool down now. that means more updates!!!
i hope you enjoyed
also i hate aaron ross
also i really want to finish this book soon because it's taking everything i have to not publish a new book soon (it's a fred weasley fic i've had in my drafts since i started writing on wattpad)
alas, i know i can't do that anytime soon. i've got a couple bajillion stories i have to finish first.
see you next time my loves