The first day of November was a cold one despite the bright and cloudless blue sky that hung above the castle. Everyones' spirits were still high from the Halloween festivities the night before, and now they all had the official start to the Quidditch season to look forward to.
The expectations were high. Slytherin versus Gryffindor, two teams well known for being the best and most competitive in the school. Anne, however, was not feeling anywhere near as nervous as she had when they played the exhibition games.
At least, she wasn't until she was putting on her emerald and silver Quidditch sweater and trousers.
As Anne and Sebastian walked into the Great Hall with their matching sweaters, everyone at the Slytherin table kept staring and giving Anne weird looks as if expecting her to fall apart. Apparently, the memory of their first loss was still fresh on everyone's mind. However, unlike last time, Anne was not feeling threatened by her opponent. She knew that she was easily a better seeker than Gryffindor's own Vernon Hogan. She was quicker and smaller, while the only thing Hogan had going for him was his long reach.
But if Anne knew anything, she knew very clearly that length was not everything.
Ominis joined the twins after a few minutes and instantly summoned some Earl Gray tea for himself. "Are you nervous?" he asked them.
Sebastian shrugged. "Not really," he said. "Gryffindors are reckless, which means they'll do anything without thinking."
"Exactly," Anne commented. "They'll do anything. We have to be on our toes today."
Ominis nodded in agreement before he whispered. "Is Sabrina at the table?"
Anne looked around the many different Slytherin heads and saw that Sabrina was not among them. She finally located her and frowned. "No, she's sitting at the Gryffindor table with Onai and Sweeting. Looks like Weasley is with them too."
Sebastian's eyes narrowed in on Sabrina. "I can't believe she's sitting with the enemy."
"She's still wearing green. It's not like she's wearing red and gold."
Ominis, however, just nodded. "We actually discussed it. It's a good way to lure people's suspicions of us if she sits over there."
"Yeah, but you don't have to sit and watch Weasley get all chummy with her."
Ominis' teacup froze halfway to his mouth. Anne could see him try to hold back a scowl.
Sebastian opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped when he saw some girls walking towards him with identical looks of blushed nervousness on their faces. Anne turned and saw Samantha Dale of Ravenclaw and Adelaide Oakes of Hufflepuff approach him, completely ignoring her as they giggled. "Hello, Sebastian."
The boy gave them each a look of pure confusion. "Hello."
"We just wanted to wish you luck on your game today," Adelaide smiled, batting her eyes as she twisted a blonde curl with her finger..
"We know you'll win for your team," Samantha smiled. "You're the best player in the school."
Anne put down her spoon and sat back, not even hiding her amusement at how obvious these two girls were being. She hid her laugh behind a piece of toast, unable to keep it together at her brother's lack of awareness. Even Ominis' spirits seemed to have risen listening to the exchange, hiding his own mischievous smile behind his teacup.
"Well... thanks," Sebastian told them. "I appreciate it."
Both Adelaide and Samantha gave a bright smile to him. "We can't wait to see you out there," Samantha added. "We'll see you afterwards."
"Sure," Sebastian replied before they giggled again and walked away. He looked back to his sister, who was holding in her own fits of giggles. "What?"
Anne leaned her head on her brother's shoulder. "'Oh, Sebastian, you're the best player in the school'," Anne teased in a high pitched voice. "'Please notice our flirting so maybe we can get a winning smooch after the game!'"
"Stop it!" Sebastian pushed Anne off of him. "They were not."
"No, they most certainly were," Ominis grinned.
Anne bumped Sebastian's shoulder again. "Are you embarrassed, Sebastian? We wouldn't want your girlfriend to notice, would we?"
"Poppy is not my girlfriend."
"Who said anything about Poppy?"
Sebastian frowned, narrowing his eyes at Anne as she gave her best bratty face she could.
–
Sabrina watched from the Gryffindor table as Anne, Sebastian, and Ominis were having a lively conversation, and felt a slight stab of envy hit her. Ever since her and Ominis had begun seeing each other secretly, they had been trying to stay as far away from each other as they could, which unfortunately meant no more meals together, no more sitting in the same proximity as the other, and definitely no more lively conversations in public with them all together.
How she missed being able to spend time with the three of them like that. Sabrina would be lying if she said she enjoyed this arrangement, but if it was the only way to keep Ominis safe from the wrath of the Gaunts, she would gladly do it.
Besides, they had an entire room of requirement to themselves now. She shouldn't be sitting there begging for more.
Sabrina felt a nudge on her shoulder, and looked up to see Garreth watching her. "If your head is at the Slytherin table, why are you sitting over here with us?"
Sabrina grinned, trying to hide her down spirit. "Obviously to get info from the Gryffindor Quidditch team to sell to the Slytherins."
Natty and Poppy laughed. Both Natty and Garreth were wearing their scarlet and gold Quidditch sweaters, and Poppy was wearing a red cotton dress in support. "Would it really hurt so bad if you wore Gryffindor colors for a day?" Natty asked Sabrina. "Your father was a Gryffindor."
Sabrina looked up from her porridge and gave her friend a hard glare. "As tempting as that is and as much as I love you," she replied. "I would rather fight Ranrok again than wear Gryffindor colors to a Quidditch match."
Garreth chuckled. "Well, I knew there was a reason I liked you. You're secretly one of us."
Sabrina eyed him.
The clock bells began to ring loudly, signaling it was about time to head to the Quidditch Pitch. Everyone started getting up and walking out, and just as Sabrina made it to the Main Hall, she felt a hand on her arm. She turned and saw Garreth had caught up with her and began walking beside her. "So," he began. "I've been meaning to ask... are you currently...?"
She raised her eyes at him, confused.
"Are you currently dating anyone?"
Sabrina felt her heart begin to beat. She felt a small amount of panic, but shook her head. "No, I'm not seeing anyone," she lied.
Garreth's face lit up slightly. "Oh, good! I mean–" He cleared his throat. "I mean... if that's the case, maybe you and I could go for a butterbeer sometime? Just the two of us."
This completely shocked her and she stopped walking abruptly. Sabrina had no idea Garreth had been interested in her in that way. She suddenly found it very difficult to find the words.
Garreth suddenly looked nervous and cleared his throat again. "I know you and I haven't spent a lot of time together," he continued. "But... you are a very beautiful girl, Sabrina, inside and out. And I would love to have an opportunity to get to know you better."
Sabrina swallowed nervously. She didn't have the first clue about what to even say. "Garreth, you're very sweet," she finally began. "And I appreciate it but... I don't feel that way about you, and I don't want to hurt you later."
The red-haired Gryffindor nodded in response to her words. Sabrina felt like he was taking the rejection a bit too well, but she didn't say anything. "I understand," he said before patting her shoulder again. "Next time, then?"
Before Sabrina could say anything else, Garreth was quickly rushing to catch up to the rest of the Gryffindor team.
Sabrina looked past him, and made eye contact with Ominis, who had been standing a few feet away but had seemed to have heard every word. He had a hardened look on his face and was clenching his wand tightly before he quickly walked in the direction of the Undercroft.
Sabrina silently followed him. Thankfully, everyone was down at the game, which meant that they had no problems with prefects or wandering eyes from other students. They quickly got in the clock face, and as soon as they were past the iron grates, Ominis' lips were harshly on Sabrinas'.
His quick actions surprised Sabrina, causing her to take a step back and stand with her back against the stone wall. Ominis pulled her closer by her waist and devoured her in a hungry, frenzied kiss, causing her body to start feeling uncomfortably hot in her woolen sweater.
Sabrina felt like a jolt of electricity ran through her when she felt Ominis slip a hand under her sweater, feeling him groan in frustration when he felt her corset instead of soft skin. She gasped when his mouth moved from her mouth to the crook of her neck. His kisses here started soft and then he was gently biting at her soft skin, suddenly determined to make a small claim on her pale skin as a moan escaped her. She felt him move his knee in between her legs, determined to make sure there was no space between them as he wound his other hand in her silk hair. His touch burned her, feeling both harsh and gentle at the same time. It was addicting and she couldn't help but crave, almost beg, for more as she placed her own hands from his shoulders towards his hair, feeling how unbelievably soft his blonde hair was under her own fingertips.
Finally, Ominis let go to allow them both to catch their breaths. Sabrina felt her heart pounding hard in her chest against his. They had kissed before, but never like that.
Ominis carefully brought his hand to her face and moved some hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry," he whispered as his breathing evened out. "I... I don't know what came over me.... Hearing Garreth ask you out like that just...."
Sabrina couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you jealous?"
Ominis' grip on her waist flinched slightly. "I cannot give you what you deserve," he explained, his voice filled with regret. "You and I have to keep each other a secret, yet you deserve to have someone who can scream his love for you from any tower in this castle. You deserve someone who can take you on dates and who can hold you hand and who can kiss you in front of everyone and–"
Sabrina reached out and put her own hand on Ominis' face to stop him. "Ominis," she said softly. "Listen to me. As much as I would love all of that, I would only want to do those things with you."
Ominis lowered his head slightly as his cheeks reddened.
"And one day, we will," she further assured him. "But believe me, there's nothing in this world that would make me even consider Garreth over you. You don't need to be jealous or worried."
The boy took a few more deep breaths to calm himself, and Sabrina matched his breathing until they were moving in unison. Her chest warmed in a slow burn now instead of the intense heat she had felt before.
She suddenly felt a twitch on her leg, and when Sabrina looked down she saw that Ominis' knee was still in between her legs and pressed into her. It felt harder than normal against her body,
Ominis lay another gentle kiss on Sabrina's lips and moved away from her to compose himself. His absence against her skin felt very obvious, and Sabrina found herself almost asking him to come back to fill the void.
"We should go," Ominis said. "Before the game starts. Anne and Sebastian won't forgive us if we miss it."
—
The Quidditch locker room for the Slytherin team was loud and boisterous as everyone got ready. Anne was quickly trying to brush her hair and braid it, but found herself having a harder time than normal. Her fingers were so anxious they kept getting tangled, and she was just about to throw her comb when Imelda came up to her. "You have a guest outside."
Anne looked at her quizically, but rushed outside anyway. She was very surprised to see the auburn hair of Aurelia Keene standing against the tent. "Hello there," Anne found herself smiling. "What do I owe this pleasure?"
Aurelia's face also brightened. "Can't a girl come and wish her friend good luck on her first official game?" she asked.
Anne's heart began to skip. "Of course you can," she replied. "Does that mean you'll be supporting Slytherin? I thought Ravenclaws supported Gryffindors during games?"
Aurelia shrugged. "I'm different than most Ravenclaws, I suppose." She suddenly began playing with her fingers nervously. "Actually... I did have a question for you."
Anne raised an eyebrow.
"You know, Everett has been spreading rumors about him and I around school," she began. "And I was thinking of a way to get back at him. I was wondering...." Aurelia's voice faded before she cleared her voice and spoke quickly. "Can I borrow your scarf to wear at the Quidditch game?"
Anne was not expecting this. "Borrow my scarf?" she repeated. "Aurelia, mostly people swap scarfs when they're dating. People will start to think we're in a relationship."
Aurelia raised her head in defiance. "Exactly."
It dawned on Anne what Aurelia was implying. She wanted to get back at Everett Clopton so badly, she wanted to pretend she was dating Anne to get him to leave her alone. Anne could practically see his snotty red face when he saw the emerald scarf around Aurelia's neck and it brought her immense satisfaction.
On the other hand, Anne's chest hurt at the thought of it being a lie. "That's not fair," she found herself saying out loud. "I don't want to pretend about something like this."
"Then date me for real."
Aurelia's words caught them both off guard, and both girls stared at each other as the words sunk in. Anne's heart was beating wildly against her ribs, and her stomach began to hurt. "Are you serious?"
The Ravenclaw girl swallowed nervously, despite her hard determined face staring back at Anne. "I must have been mistaken," she said. "I thought that you–"
"I didn't say that."
"Then what's the problem?"
Anne didn't need this right now. "Can we please discuss this after the game?"
Aurelia's demeanor softened, and she nodded after a few tense seconds. "Of course. I'm sorry."
Before she turned to walk away, Anne grabbed her wrist gently, then pulled off her scarf and handed it to Aurelia. "Here," she said, trying to soften her voice as if afraid to scare Aurelia away. "I can't wait to hear about Everett's jealous face later."
A slight blush washed over Aurelia's face as she took the warm scarf, then she quickly pulled off her own blue and bronze scarf and wrapped it around Anne's neck. It smelled like Aurelia's sweet perfume, and Anne felt her own face get warm.
"Kick their ass," Aurelia smiled.
–
When Anne walked back into the locker room, no one said anything about the blue scarf she now wore. Sebastian was the only one who seemed to give her a questioning look, but didn't actually vocalize anything. Anne tried her best to look nonchalant as she tucked in the scarf under her emerald jersey. Then, she finished putting up her hair and putting on her arm and leg pads, and was ready to walk out with the rest of the team.
The teams walked out onto the field and approached Madam Kogawa, who made them all face their opponents and shake hands in a show of camaraderie. As Anne shook Hogan's hand, she had to remind herself that she was the better seeker, and that the Gryffindor's height was not going to beat her or make her anxious.
"Players, on your brooms!" Madam Kogawa called.
The two teams mounted their brooms, and kicked off the ground, allowing them to hover above the field. The stands were going crazy with excited students who cheered loudly for both teams. Anne shivered against the cold air, looking over to Sebastian who only gave her a slight nod. We can do this.
Everyone watched as the Bludgers were released, then the Snitch came out and hovered for a few seconds before flying off into the crowd.
Madam Kogawa picked up the Quaffle. The crowd went silent.
As soon as the Quaffle was thrown up, both teams swooped down fighting for the ball.
"Gryffindor starts in possession!" Lucan Brattleby's voice called above the screaming crowd. "Look at Natsai Onai go! She passes it to Nellie Oggspire, she passes it back to Natty! It goes to O'Callahan! He rushes forward, Merlin look how he flies! He goes for it– OH! It's blocked by Slytherin's Keeper, Travers! There it goes to Imelda Reyes, over to Rosier, who now passes it to Graham, back to Reyes! They're close now – GOAL! Imelda Reyes slips past Gryffindor Keeper, Garreth Weasley, and scores the first goal of the year! Ten points to Slytherin!"
The Slytherin crowd screamed in excitement. Anne clapped happily for Imelda as she hovered far above the game looking for the Snitch. Nearby, Vernon Hogan also hovered watching her, as if waiting for her to make the first move.
"Gryffindor has the quaffle again! Oggspire has possession, over to Natty who's rushing towards the goals! Can Travers block it? She goes for it– THERE IT IS! Ten points to Gryffindor!"
Most of the stands applauded for the scarlet team, who raised their hands in victory.
Anne kept her eyes open waiting for any hint of the snitch. She had to catch it. She could suddenly feel the expectations of her job weighing heavily on her. According to the rest of the school, she had lost her first match, and no doubt everyone was expecting her to fail again.
I'm not losing again, she thought as a wave of determination washed over her. I can't lose again. I have to prove them wrong.
The quaffle moved steadily back and forth between the two teams, keeping the scores even. Garreth was a fair Keeper, Anne would give him that much credit, and Natty was pretty fast on a broom. Imelda, however, was faster, and was able to dart in and around everyone with ease until she was nothing but a blur. Sebastian made sure he kept up with the Chasers, making sure to keep the bludgers away from them whenever Davies or Jenkins hit the angry balls in their directions.
As Anne was looking around for the small golden ball, her eyes caught a small hint of emerald among the sea of navy blue. Seeing Aurelia cheering for her seemed to make her relax just enough to make her worries go away.
Then she spotted it. By the Ravenclaw stands, she saw the glimmer of gold.
Anne lurched forward, gripping the broom harshly with her arms and legs to propel her forward faster than she had before. Behind her, she could feel Hogan on her tail. She could see the snitch by the wall, and just as she was about to hit the wall, she made a sharp turn to the left to follow the little golden ball. She felt her chest pounding at the adrenaline, feeling the warmth of the small victory as her practice was paying off.
The snitch flew down towards the ground, and Anne never took her eyes off of it as she followed closely behind. The snitch seemed to be testing her reflexes as it moved sharply from side to side, down to the ground and back up again before it hovered against the grass. Anne could feel her toes barefly grazing the ground and Hogan's domineering body next to her as he tried to keep up.
Just a bit closer, Anne told herself as she leaned forward as far as she could. Annabeth, just a bit closer!
The snitch was within reach. Hogan was neck in neck with Anne and reached out.
Anne's heart pounded. No!
Anne willed herself forward and reached her hand towards the snitch. For a split second, she was sure she was going to lose, but she wasn't going down without a fight.
Suddenly, Hogan pulled back. Anne wrapped her fingers around the snitch and pulled up just in time before she collided with the wooden wall.
"I GOT IT!" Anne screamed, holding up the snitch for the crowds. A harsh wave of relief washed over her as she was deafened by the screams of the students in the stands.
Madam Kogawa flew over and blew her whistle. "SLYTHERIN WINS!"
Anne dismounted her broom, still holding the snitch high and proud for the school to see. She had done it! Anne had won for her team, and the whole school could now proudly see it.
Sebastian was the first on the ground with his sister, and he quickly grabbed her by her legs and lifted her up higher for everyone to see. "WE DID IT!" he was screaming with the rest of the team as they met up with the twins. "SHE DID IT! ANNE DID IT!"
"Hell yeah, Sallow!" Imelda beamed.
Everyone else was clapping and holding their fists up in victory as pride and accomplishment overwhelmed them.
Anne had never felt more proud of herself. She had actually done it. She had won, and now no one would ever doubt her abilities as a member of the quidditch team again.
-----
A/N: Comments are love! Sorry for the delay, we've been sick. Thank you for reading!