"Hurry up already!", Narcissa urged behind the door.
"Wait-shit, it's not getting off.", Danica shouted back from the bathroom while frantically trying to scrub the face paint off her fingers.
Impatiently, Narcissa stormed into the bathroom, and with a single swing of her wand, the paint was removed from Danica's fingers and two stripes of silver and green appeared on her cheeks.
"There you go. Now, come on, Lucius will get mad if we're late.", Narcissa grabbed Danica's hand and dragged her out of their room into the halls, but not before draping on their house scarves and putting on expensive black leather gloves.
The common room was half-empty because everyone had already left for the stadium, save for a couple of lost first-years. They ran out and into the halls, leading to the exit of the castle.
"So, are you cheering for us then?", Narcissa asked, huffing through each word.
"Is that even a question? Slytherins for the win, as always.", Danica replied almost offended.
"Your little boyfriend would beg to differ."
"He's not my boyfriend. And even if he was, I'd still cheer for my house. For Rabastan.", they reached the door to the courtyard. Narcissa pushed it open and held it to let Danica out. "Thanks."
"You're welcome.", she paused, "So you'd still cheer even when my cousin is on the team?"
"He's a good seeker."
"Woah, woah there miss.", Narcissa stopped and blocked the way in front of Danica.
"Narcissa we're getting late. The game will start soon.", she rolled her eyes trying to push through but her best friend kept stubbornly blocking her.
"The game can wait. This cannot. Did I hear someone praising Regulus Black?"
Danica scoffed, "I certainly did not praise him."
"But you did acknowledge something good about him. That's progress!", Narcissa exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Oh, don't act like you don't know what I'm saying. A few days ago you almost killed him and now this!"
"This.", Danica paused in an attempt to play along with a brow raised. "What's this?"
"Geez you're dense. Something must've happened between the two of you.", Suddenly, Narcissa's eyes widened in realization and she gasped. "What happened at the hospital wing?"
"For fuck's sake Narcissa.", Danica managed to walk around the blockage and quickly head towards the stadium, Narcissa hot on her heels.
"Go on, I'm all ears."
"Nothing happened. I fell asleep soon after you left and when I woke up, he was already discharged."
"Yeah, I'm not buying it."
"Well, too bad, because that's exactly what happened.", she replied harshly, beginning to get annoyed by all these questions about Regulus
Narcissa kept quiet for a bit, "Wait, really? You're being serious?", she asked in genuine surprise.
"Yes!", Danica raised her hands in frustration, "Why are you even so adamant that something had to happen?"
"Because of the tension!"
"Sure, whatever.", she rolled her eyes. The players' tents and the stadium itself were now only a couple dozen meters away, with a large sea of people surrounding them, however, Malfoy's unique hair was still hard to not notice. "Look, blondie's there.", she pointed at him.
It did not take even a second before Narcissa took off in his direction without even sparing a glance or saying goodbye to Danica. She watched how her best friend clung herself to Malfoy's arm. Every cell in Danica's body prayed that she was mistaken, and her friend was actually happy and loved, but the empty look on Lucius's face did not put her mind at ease.
She shrugged her feelings off, remembering the fight that she had with Narcissa not too long ago, and walked towards the Slytherin tents. She had a few players to greet.
The entrance to the large emerald-coloured tent was guarded by two underclassmen, but perhaps due to her status or reputation, they easily let her in.
The tent looked even larger from the inside, and she assumed that it was enchanted. She stepped around the carpeted floor, peeking her head in every corner looking for familiar faces, and politely greeted anyone who said hello to her, despite not knowing who they were.
"Dani, you came!"
She turned around and was greeted by the sight of a brightly smiling Evan, fully clad in his quidditch uniform and with a broom in his hand.
Her own smile reached her ears and she skipped through the space and jumped into his arms, giving a strong hug.
"Of course, I'd come. I could not miss watching you kick some Gryffindor butt today.", she chuckled when he hugged her back.
"That might pose some issues. I little bird sang to me that you gave a very strong motivation to a certain Gryffindor keeper.", he teased, releasing her from the hug. "You really gave us a hard time."
"Well, that gives you all the more reason to prove your skill on the field. You wouldn't put your friend in a difficult situation because of a single promise, would you?"
He scoffed and smugly placed his palm on his heart, "Without a doubt. You should be having more faith in Slytherin's greatest star."
"Please, even my little brother is probably a bigger threat to the opposing team."
"Ugh, my heart, Danica. That was painful and low.", he dramatized, feigning death.
"Life's tough.", she playfully shoved at him and he acted getting even more hurt. "Speaking of quidditch stars, have you seen Bast anywhere?", Danica looked around the tent, searching for her little brother. "I wanted to see him before the game."
"Oh, sure. I think I saw him go outside in that direction for some fresh air.", he pointed at an exit, "He left a few minutes ago, so he couldn't have gone too far."
"Alright, thanks Evan. I'll see you after we win.", she gave him a quick hug one last time.
"See you," he carefully ruffled her hair, "I bought crates of drinks to celebrate our victory. Can't wait to get shit-faced."
Danica rolled her eyes, "Can't wait to clean up your vomit.".
"But you still love me.", he batted his lashes at her paired with an overly sweet voice as she was beginning to leave the tent.
"Unfortunately.", she remarked, laughing before finally exiting.
She looked around the area where she currently standing. It was a small gravel ground field behind the tents, far from anyone. There were some supplies stacked against the tent's wall that covered her view to the right.
Thinking that maybe that's where her brother went, she walked around the crates but stopped and subconsciously hid behind them when she heard two very familiar shouting voices.
"-ou done talking?"
"No! No, I am not done Regulus. I still have a lot to say."
The two Black brothers were standing at the opposite of each other in defensive stances.
"Really? How you ran away like a coward the moment your majesty felt a little uncomfortable? Or how you value your little blood traitor friends more than the honour of your family?" Regulus spat at Sirius venomously. "If that's what you have to say, save it. I've seen it all."
"There isn't much honour to preserve in the first place. That family's rotten to the core.", Sirius folded his arms, scoffing.
"Our family. Or did you forget where you belong?"
"Please, the moment you burned me off the bloody wall, you made it clear that I wasn't a part of you."
"After you betrayed us and ran off."
"Wasn't a hard decision to make with mother dearest."
Danica held her breath and listened closely to the rapid exchange between them. Their bodies were both rigid and their faces scowling at each other in pure hurt and anger. She contemplated leaving them alone, thinking there was no point in dragging it out further until Sirius's shoulders dropped and his eyes softened into a look of betrayal.
Her heart painfully clenched, and so did Sirius's from what she could see.
"I begged you to come with me. I-I just couldn't, I couldn't stay in that place anymore.", Sirius stepped forward, but his face dropped when his younger brother stepped back.
An eerie silence went through until Regulus began to chuckle.
"You really thought that would change anything?", he turned around, starting to walk back to the tent and Danica tried hiding a bit more. "Merlin, you can't be so stupid. You think your escape went so smoothly, don't you?", he shook his head, laughing sarcastically. "Unbelievable."
Sirius stepped forward in confusion, making Danica even more anxious about being found. But the conversation was far too interesting for her to miss, considering she's responsible for telling Sirius to talk. Though it seemed he'd already fucked up. "What the hell are you even saying?"
"Oh, what am I saying? You begged me to go with you, you say.", he scoffed, "Has it not ever occurred to you that the only reason they didn't follow you was because you were replaceable?", he began walking off again.
"Wait! I didn't kno-"
"Oh, of course you didn't. You thought of yourself as the single beacon of light in your disgusting family. You wouldn't care to know or think about anyone else but yourself."
"No, I-", Sirius grabbed his brother's wrist who immediately yanked it away as though he'd been burned.
"Just leave me alone! As you always do.", Regulus walked around the crates, thankfully not noticing Danica still hiding. She crawled around a bit more.
"But you're still my brother!", Sirius tried chasing him.
"You stopped being my brother when you left me in that place.", Regulus pushed the curtain door aside and stepped into the tent, but she didn't miss his glossy eyes.
Danica then looked at the older brother who remained frozen in his spot with his head hanging low. His fists were clenched and his shoulders dropped.
It was her chance to leave.
"I know you're there Lestrange.", her heart dropped and she halted mid-crawl.
She took a deep breath and stood up from behind the crates and walked out in front of him.
"You caught me.", she raised her hand in surrender but her face remained unbothered. She should've known that he'd see her.
Danica inwardly grimaced at the thought that Regulus was even more likely to notice her, being a seeker.
"Were you following me?" he slowly raised his head and she looked into his bloodshot eyes.
She sighed, "You give yourself too much credit. I walked into whatever this was, and it felt too awkward to leave."
He took one look at her then dropped his eyes back down to look at his shoes, which she understood as her cue to leave. Danica turned around and stepped closer to the curtains, pushing them aside, momentarily stopping when she heard him mutter something.
"I'm sorry."
"You've already said that.", she paused.
They both stood in complete silence, only the cheers being heard from the far distance.
Finally, she decided the conversation that wasn't even supposed to be hers was being dragged out, and said what she thought needed to be said for some closure, despite her pride telling her not to.
"I'm sorry as well.", his head shot up instantly and she almost laughed at his reaction, "I was too harsh when you really didn't owe me anything."
When he didn't respond, she thought that was her cue to leave.
***
"HELLO, HELLO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I'm Marlene, and I've been bestowed the honor of being your Quidditch commentator because Sirius decided to call dibs on other, undoubtedly less exciting responsibilities. I know, I know, BOOO!!"
The shaky timbre of the magical microhorn hit the ears of the audience, almost deafening them. It didn't stop however people from either booing Sirius down or his fans crying from his absence.
"Why am I not surprised about Black running away like he always does?" Lucius scoffed obnoxiously.
The company wasn't ideal, but Danica had no other choice but to sit next to them. Narcissa and Malfoy were huddled up together to her left, making her avert her eyes in disgust every now and then. But to her right, the view was far from pleasant too where the Carrow twins sandwiched her in the middle of the group.
Danica looked at the much more cheerful and less pristine Gryffindor section. Sirius was indeed missing. There were only the familiar faces of Lupin, Pettigrew, and Evans laughing and making jokes.
"NOW EVERYONE! A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM!" Mckinnon announced loudly.
Cheers erupted from every corner of the stadium, some places louder, others just politely clapping for good sport. A rain of red and gold confetti exploded above their heads and then magically disappeared before landing on them.
"I heard they all got themselves a full set of Comet 220 brooms." Amycus leaned closer to Danica in a quiet murmur.
The Gryffindor team appeared floating in the middle of the stadium in a line. Their polished new brooms shone under the morning sun.
"How did they get them? Each should cost over 250 galleons." Danica asked.
"Potter. His father made a fortune this summer from his Sleekeazy's hair potion.", he pointed to a seventh-year Slytherin's elegantly slicked back hair. "He must've been elated to hear the news of his son being the new captain."
"I suppose the argument of Slytherin game superiority due to better equipment wouldn't apply this time.", her hat almost flew off her head when the Gryffindor team flew past at an incredibly high speed.
"I know, fucking hypocrites.", he continued. "The moment they get their hands on a few galleons, look at them indulging in the same luxuries as us. Huber must've brought his own fair share of fortunes too."
She paused, observing the newest equipment that even professionals would dream having one day.
"Potter could use some of that pomade himself." Danica noted in response and Amycus took that as a sign to lean back.
"NOW LET'S SEE OUR WONDERFUL LINEUP!", Marlene screamed into the microphone. "And how about we begin with the new star of the team - MAXIMILAN HUBER, THE KEEPER!"
Danica's eyes followed in the direction of the boy in question who was already looking back at her. Her heart fluttered when he winked at her, though a crowd of girls began fighting over who exactly he winked at.
He must've been famous in the world of quidditch, for even the most critical fans made banners in his name.
"Is that who I think it is? My favourite girl- MARY MACDONALD- BEATER." Danica wondered if that excluded Meadowes. "She looks sweet and soft on the surface, but worry not, she never hesitates to beat some snake a- yeah, yeah sorry prof. Professionalism is in my blood.", McKinnon, shrugged off McGonagall's warning.
"It's going to be quite fun for Avery." Malfoy snickered.
Danica glanced at Narcissa for any reaction who kept dreamily leaning her head on her fiancé's shoulder.
"Let's not forget the other beater- LEO TANAKA! And our one and only Gryffindor seeker- ISABELLA ERIKKSON!"
"The stadium stenches from all the mud in the Gryffindork team.", Alecto cringed.
"Quidditch is a sport of merit.", Danica bit back, but immediately regretted it when she saw the Carrow twins staring back at her, baffled.
"What are you, a mudblood sympathiser now?"
"Stop being immature, Alecto. I only stated my observations. The match is still ahead of us."
"And the chasers are - JASPER WILDE, LUCAS ALMEIDA, and the one and only new captain of the lion team- JAMES FLEAMONT POTTER!", Marlene announced and Potter blew a kiss towards Evans, who strangely so, did not shrug it away in disgust. The captain's smile got impossibly wider.
For a solid five minutes, the entire stadium kept cheering for the Gryffindor team. It was clear who were the favourites.
"WOO HOO, YEAHH. GO LIONS!", Marlene continued the commentary, "Now, um, here comes the Slytherin team I gue- OW! I'm sorry, yeah I know, no bias." Minerva scolded her again. "Please welcome the Slytherin team!"
The red and gold confetti changed into deep green and silver as the Slytherin team appeared. The serpent's side of the stadium practically shook from the roaring cheers. A compensation for the underwhelming little claps coming from the rest of the houses.
Danica jumped up from the bench and put her palms around her mouth, "Go Bast! Take the win Evan!", her voise got lost in the thunder of cheers.
Rabastan flew around in excitement, not sparing her a glance, and Evan was busy having a stare-down with his new enemy- Huber. Giving up the hope of them noticing her in the sea of dark, posh clothes and green scarves, she sat down.
"So, the keeper is - EVAN ROSIER, and the beaters are- REGINALD SELWYN and LYSANDER AVERY, who is also the new captain." Marlene quickly brushed through the Slytherin members in disinterest. "The chasers lineup had a new addition of the second year- RABASTAN LESTRANGE! As well as the two other veterans- DESMOND MULCIBER AND THE AMAZING DORCAS MEADOWES!"
Danica raised her eyebrows in surprise at McKinnon's compliment, but one look at Dorcas's frozen figure and ghostly paled face gave her the impression that this was certainly not planned ahead.
"Of course, she praised the only woman." Lucius scoffed, which Danica decided to ignore, too tired to care.
"And last but not least, the star player, "Marlene laughed at her own pun." REGULUS BLACK! PLAYING SEEKER!"
Danica's side of her face felt cool as goosebumps tingled her skin. She knew he was looking at her.
But when she raised her head, he was long gone, waiting in his position for the game to start.
This wasn't the first time she saw him in his quidditch uniform, but Danica noticed his shoulder and chest pads accentuated his upper body which appeared to have gotten more defined since last year. His leather gloves were fingerless, which allowed him to wear his family ring. Not that it was anything special among a team made up of mostly pureblood wizards.
Much like the Gryffindor team, the Slytherin equipment was upgraded from the old Cleansweeps to Comet 220s by the Lestrange family. A 'complimentary gift' for taking in Rabastan.
However, her little brother didn't mind the fact at all, considering he would've gotten the spot without the sponsorship anyway.
"Is it time? I THINK IT'S TIME TO START THE GAME!" Marlene announced, breaking Danica out of her thoughts. "Players, get into positions!"
Madam Hooch got to the middle of the field holding a quaffle. "The game begins when I blow the whistle." She said to the players.
Evan was back at the Slytherin hoops to Danica's left, still sending glares towards Max who kept nonchalantly waving and blowing kisses at the public.
Danica squeezed her hands and pushed her feet together. She didn't know why, but the possible outcome of the game made her palms so sweaty, she took off her gloves.
And then the whistle was blown. The quaffle was thrown in the air, and immediately it got snatched away by-
"JAMES POTTER HAS THE QUAFFLE!"
Potter instantly took off in the direction of the Slytherin hoops, protected by Evan.
"WILL THIS BE THE FIRST SCORE OF THE MATCH?" James was only a few meters away from the hoops."OF COURSE IT I-What?? That b- sorry Minnie, RABASTAN LESTRANGE sneaked up from behind Potter and HAS THE QUAFFLE! He passes it to Mulciber who- OH! MAXIMILIAN HUBER SAVES THE DAY BY MAKING A SAVE WITH THE TAIL OF HIS BROOM!", Danica swore that Marlene's voice only got louder and louder.
The quaffle flew up high in the air which gave the players a moment of relief before it landed in their hands again. This also gave Max enough time to wink at Danica again.
"Is that Huber trying to flirt with you, Lestrange?", laughed Malfoy. "Just as classless as I imagined."
"Really? I thought he was winking at you, Lucius.", she dryly responded, not pulling her gaze away from Regulus who hung in the air, searching for the golden snitch.
"Excu-"
"LUCAS ALMEIDA CATCHES THE QUAFFLE! The game is back in the hands of the Gryffindor team and WOW THAT WAS A SQUEAKY CLEAN PASS, HA SEE THAT YOU SLIMY LITTLE- uhm, sorry prof. I mean, JAMES POTTER RECEIVES THE PASS FROM ALMEIDA AND, is it? Is it? IT'S A GOAL!!" McKinnon jumped up and down, making the sound from the microphone come in shaky waves. "10 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR! What a great start! SEE THAT LILY? WHAT A DASHING YOUNG MAN!"
The comments were seemingly much appreciated as Potter flew down to the level of Evans and blew her a kiss.
"The quaffle falls into the hands of THE FANTASTIC AMAZING WONDERFUL DORCAS MEADOWES." Marlene was so enthralled by the game, that she forgot to have any filter to her thoughts. Her comments were certainly starting to turn some heads.
"Is this the 'familism' thing?"
"You mean 'feminism'?" Danica asked Amycus.
"Yeah, that."
"You could say that, I suppose."
"WHAT A SKILFUL DISPLAY OF A DOPPLER DASH! MEADOWES EVADES EVERY OPPONENT AND- WHAT A SUBLIME PASS TO MULCIBER. Yeah, so ugh. The quaffle is still in the hands of Slytherin as he is getting closer and closer- WHAT WAS THAT?! MARY FREAKING MACDONALD SHOT A SNEAKY BLUDGER AT MULCIBER. I'm surprised that he managed to avoid it. Don't worry, karma will bite you in the- OW! Nooo, please don't take my microhorn, professor."
The announcer seemed to quiet down for a while due to the slight struggle.
Meanwhile, Danica held back her breath in pride as the ball fell into the hands of her little brother, who immediately took off towards the Gryffindor hoops.
He was very competitive. That, she knew. So, losing the first score to Gryffindor must've been a hard hit to his pride.
"I'm back and, OH! RABASTAN LESTRANGE IS AIMING AT THE RIGHT HOOP THAT HUBER IS- wait, wait- WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Marlene arrived back, as lively as ever. "The little sh- I mean RABASTAN LESTRANGE THREW THE QUAFFLE TO DORCAS MEADOWES IN A PENDULUM PASS, WHO SCORED 10 POINTS TO SLYTHERIN ON THE LEFT!"
The point board satisfyingly evened out to a 10-10.
"I didn't see that one coming. Your brother passing the ball to a nobody.", Alecto glared at Dorcas, despite the points that she brought. "Does he have no pride?"
"The Gryffindor team is strong." Danica replied, not entertaining her bigotry."He probably sensed the need to even out the playing field no matter what."
"There could've been other ways to do it.", Narcissa spoke up for the first time.
It finally hit Danica like an ice bucket, that her best friend still came from the same social circle as her. There was no immunity to hatred.
"Maybe, Narcissa." she tried to sound relaxed. "But I believe the players have better judgment than us, spectators."
Danica looked back at the field since she heard no more comments from McKinnon. It seemed that the quaffle fell on the ground, from how shocking the move was to everyone.
Regulus was still in the same spot, searching around like a hawk.
Or that's what she saw him doing whenever she looked at him. Danica swore she could feel his eyes on her face when she looked away.
When the sound of a whistle hit her ears again, Madame Hooch threw up the ball.
"LESTRANGE HAS THE QUAFFLE- OOF! That was a close one! Tanaka has made an attempt to knock down Lestrange with the bludger but Avery caught on in the last minute, shooting it back at MacDonald! Thank Merlin, she's gotten around it."
"It's raining.", Narcissa noted, holding her palms up.
Danica raised her head. The once bright sky did indeed turn into gunmetal grey, as a breath of fog dimmed her surroundings and the players got soaked.
Finding the snitch would be a challenge.
She pulled out her wand and cast a thin protective shield around herself and Narcissa. Only strong enough to stop the rainwater.
"That looks like a tight situation." Marlene again laughed at her pun. "Almeida and Wilde are squeezing Lestrange between their sides and POTTER GOT AHOLD OF THE QUAFFLE!"
It must've been the fog, but James barely noticed the bludger flying right at him, shot by Selwyn.
"That was close! OH NO! Potter drops the quaffle, DORCAS MEADOWES CATCHES IT AND PASSES IT TO MULCIBER- HAH!", McKinnon loudly gasped in horror.
"DESMOND!" Avery exclaimed to his friend.
"You said they were roommates?", Amycus mockingly leaned over to Malfoy who snickered along.
The field was in chaos. Desmond Mulciber was lying unconsciously on the puddled wet grass, with some teachers and Avery rushing to him.
"Merlin's beard! What just happened! MARY MACDONALD KNOCKED DESMOND MULCIBER OFF HIS BROOM! We'll see about his condition in a moment. MEANWHILE, JAMES POTTER TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO SCORE ANOTHER 10 POINTS!"
"Is she kidding?" a random Slytherin student said above Danica and she couldn't agree more.
The inter-house rivalry was simply a disgusting display of prejudice.
"Imagine if we cheered for victory when a Gryffindor fell. Merlin forbid." another student spat out.
Soon the Slytherin side of the podium turned into a booing crowd. The booing got louder when the points turned to 20-10 in Gryffindor's favour.
Mary was raging. It was clear, why and who she was aiming at.
"That's a foul!" said Malfoy.
"I think revenge is a better fitting word, don't you think?", reasoned Narcissa.
"I agree." replied Danica. "It seemed far too personal to be purely strategic."
"That mudblood bitch!", Amycus barely managed to hold back the fuming Alecto.
"EVERYONE PLEASE SETTLE DOWN!" announced Madame Hooch with her wand held at her neck. "The game will shortly resume when everything is taken care of."
The players slowly settled back into their positions. The sound of the whistle could barely be heard from the bolts of lightning in the distance.
Immediately, two Gryffindor chasers got their hands on the quaffle and passed it to one another as they flew towards Evan.
"Almeida and Wilde are performing an exceptional Vortex Volley, BUT NO! LESTRANGE SAW RIGHT THOUGH IT AND CATCHED THE QUAFFLE MID-AIR!", Marlene struggled to speak through the storm.
"Your brother seems a little angry.", commented Amycus.
"He hates losing.", answered Danica. "Not scoring a single goal yet must've made him very mad."
Rabstan flew through the field, straight towards Maximilian. Huber must've realised the shift in Rabastan's demeanor, because his once nonchalant smirk turned into a purely focused expression, following each of his opponent's moves with his eyes.
"Lestrange chooses a strategy of aggression as every Gryffindor chaser follows closely behind-LEO TANAKA! A GRYFINDOR BEATER HAS BEEN KNOCKED DOWN BY AVERY'S BLUDGER! THIS IS A GAME OF BLOODSHED!"
"Fucking drama." Malfoy scoffed.
Danica held her breath as her little brother finally scored 10 points, using Tanaka as a distraction.
No announcement was ever made. But the booing Slytherin crown and the cheers for victory still put Rabastan in his rightful spotlight.
Danica watched in pride as the score was evened out yet again to 20-20. And for the first time, Rabastan looked at her with an expression that screamed 'I did it'.
And that's all she ever wanted to see. So much that a big portion of the game went by in a blur.
There were screams and shouting. The game was becoming unfair and brutal. Everyone was really tired and hoped for a win. Danica guessed that somewhere around half an hour must've already passed.
"POTTER HAS THE QUAFFLE AND DID BLACK JUST SPOT THE SNITCH?!"
All eyes were on Regulus.
No one saw the golden ball because of the heavy rain, so it easily could've been a deceptive tactic leading to a Wronski Feint.
"ISABELLA ERIKSSON IS HOT ON HIS HEELS! Potter is still trying to get to the opponents' hoops but the bludger attacks keep slowing him down."
With an advantage in the number of beaters, Slytherin appeared to have changed their strategy to relying on beaters' sabotage.
"MacDonald jumps in to save Potter, BUT SHE ACCIDENTALLY KNOCKS THE QUAFFLE OUT OF HIS GRASP AND MEADOWES LATCHES ON IT, AND WHAT AN EXPERTLY BLOCK FROM HUBER!"
"Damn it, is this ever going to end? My hands are freezing." Amycus whined. "And the benches are now wet."
"Do you want mommy to wipe your snot, princess?", Malfoy mocked.
"Did I just hear Marie Antoinette speak?", he bit back.
"Okay, stop fighting ladies." Danica tried taming them. "My head already hurts from this game dragging out for so long. You can continue your banter at Madame Puddifoot's."
A carnal scream drove back everyone's attention to the field.
"OH MY MERLIN! MARY MY GIRL FINALLY SHOT THE BLUDGER AND HIT SELWYN IN HIS HEAD!"
Selwyn was out, but Mary was looking straight at Avery who kept challenging her with a sadistic grin.
"See, now you jinxed it, Carrow." Narcissa groaned.
The game does not stop this time, as the professors quietly drag the limping Selwyn off the field.
"WHAT IS GOING ON! Black and Eriksson and still fiercely chasing the snitch and Potter is back in attack mode! See that Evans! He can fight too! And oof- Avery and MacDonald are having a showdown! PURE CHAOS!" Marlene's hair was completely messed up from all the tugging on it due to excitement.
The stadium turned into a warfield, both in the air and on the stands. The screams and shouts became deafening, but it became all quiet inside Danica's head when she forced her eyes back on the person she tried not to acknowledge.
Regulus.
He flew in loops and zigzags, trying to get to the snitch all while attempting to throw Isabella off.
The game was at its peak, everyone was drained, and Danica was sure that she saw a bludger breaking Mary's leg. It was time for Regulus to put an end to it.
A small pocket of sunlight peaked out behind the thunderclouds as they began dissipating and a single ray shone on the surface of the snitch.
"Black is expertly avoiding the bludgers, adamant on catching the snitch, and oh, how the sun is shining brightly! This must be a sign of the game ending soon. GO ISABELLA BEAT HIS ASS! I HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE PROFESSOR!" Marlene screamed, wrestling for the microhorn with Minerva who ended up giving up on the blonde.
It was almost in his hands. Danica felt its pressure, or maybe it was just her clenched fists that gave her the impression. He lowered himself closer and closer to the ground in a steep dip and reached out-
And then it happened.
Their eyes locked.
Gunmetal grey met emerald green. In that fraction of a second, the quidditch match, the cheers, the screams—all of it disappeared.
Just as quickly as it began, the moment shattered. Regulus, with the weight of Danica's gaze still lingering in his mind, made a final, daring dive for the snitch.
And the game was over.
"MARY MACDONALD TOOK ADVANTAGE OF BLACK'S MOMENTARY WINDOW OF DISTRACTION AND KNOCKED HIM DOWN WITH A BLUDGER!" Marlene cheered ISABELLA ERIKSSON CATCHES THE SNITCH! 150 POINTS GO TO GRYFFINDOR! IT'S A WIN!"
Three-quarters of the stadium erupted into cheers. The Slytherins sat in silence.
Everyone was wondering what made their star player distracted for the first time in years.
Taking one last look at Regulus, who stood under the rain of red confetti with wide eyes, all while getting screamed at by his team members and consoled by Evan, Danica left the stadium.
Little did she know, someone was following her close behind.
———————
A/N
Well, shit. Where do I even begin?
First of all, I'm sorry for being away for over a month. Life has been hectic lately. But I promise the next update will come soon.
Also 400 reads?? That blew my mind. Thank you so much!!
I hope you liked this chapter far more than when I was writing it cuz it was literal hell. Describing personal relationships within the context of a game and including everything and everyone was so draining. I solemnly swear that I will never EVER write detailed quidditch scenes in this book.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did please leave a vote or comment under this chapter. I cherish each one of them.
Love,
strbrsweet<3