𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍.
chapter four; Keeper And Chaser
" It's impossible for someone this attractive to be anything less than amazing. "
THE NEXT TIME James Potter saw his sister was in the tail end of September. She was on Kai Declan's back, a wild grin on both Ravenclaws' faces. Bluebelle was walking beside them, a book tucked under her arm, and a smile matching her friends'.
Remus, James, Peter, and Sirius had halted the second they saw the normally quiet trio not caring they were attracting the most attention in the halls.
(A feat, considering they were sharing said halls with the Marauders).
Things only got more bizarre when kids with blue crests on their robes would congratulate Madeline.
"What have you done?"
Madeline's grin did not falter, the girl rested her head on Kai's shoulder and wiggled her eyebrows at Remus. Who was both amused, and increasingly worried.
"Mads," James spoke seriously, "What'd you do?"
"Oh, nothing," Madeline sang, swinging her legs slightly, "You're just looking at Ravenclaw's brand new keeper!"
It seemed everyone but James saw this as a good thing.
"Congrats, Maddie," Peter smiled as the girl slipped from Kai's back.
"Thanks."
"Hopefully you're better than the last," Remus teased lightly, laughing when she lightly hit his arm.
"I thought you weren't doing quidditch?" Madeline turned to James, his unamused expression matching the tone of his voice, "Remember? Quidditch is my thing, and you aren't gonna do it?"
"I wasn't," The brunette nodded, "Then I realized my brother is a rude, selfish git, and doesn't own the sport."
"Maddie," James sighed, "I'm sorry about the prank."
"Don't worry about it," Madeline smiled, patting the boy's arm, "See you on the pitch, brother."
ϟ
It was just James' luck that the first quidditch match of 1975 was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Briefly, when McGonagall told him, he swore it was a sick joke.
It was not.
The Potter boy had never been anxious for a match, but the idea of going up against his sister twisted his stomach. Not to mention they'd be directly against each other, chaser and keeper respectively.
"We'll kick ass," Sirius clapped a hand on James' shoulder before the boys exited the locker room. "Don't worry."
"I'm not worried about winning," James admitted, tugging his gloves on, "Maddie's never played quidditch with anyone except us before. We always go easy on her, she doesn't know how nasty it can get."
Sirius shook his head, "Maddie is not as innocent as you think."
"What does that mean?" Sirius grinned, grabbing his broom as he walked out of the room, "Sirius?!"
"Ready?" Madeline looked up at Nico Keeler, his crisp blue uniform only seemed to highlight his sharply attractive features more. The boy was a chaser, alongside Kai, and captain of the Ravenclaw team.
Madeline had met the rest of them, their seeker was a third-year named Lucy Goldewilde who stood at a whopping 5'1, but the smaller the seeker the better. Their beaters were two best friends, Ted Burrow, and Andrea Faulk, and the remaining chaser was a rather tall boy that fell in Nico Keeler's friend group, Colin Hughes.
All in all, the Ravenclaws were not only a strong but attractive team.
"As I'll ever be," Madeline breathed out nervously, running her fingers over the flat plaits she'd pulled her hair into.
"Don't be nervous," Nico nudged her with shoulder with his, "You wouldn't have gotten the spot if I didn't think you could handle it."
"Really?"
"Really."
The cheering for Ravenclaw nearly rivaled the Gryffindors, despite popular belief they were not a quiet bunch. The house of blue and bronze was nothing if not proud of its own.
Madeline had taken her placed in front of the rings, her nerves getting the better of her as her palms became slick. Kai sent her a reassuring smile from the air, and she could hear Bluebelle's encouraging shouts from the stands.
It didn't take long for the game to pick up, Madeline was doing her best to block the quaffle but it only continued to become harder to keep up. It truly was nothing like the junior league or games with her friends.
James saw his sister's panicked demeanor, and almost subconsciously, his next attempt to score was only half-hearted. Madeline easily blocked it, smiling brightly before she saw which chaser it'd come from.
"Do not go easy on me!"
James was swept back into the game before Madeline could continue her shouting. Gryffindor was leading by 30 points, and it seemed the chances of Ravenclaw taking a win home were becoming slimmer by the second.
"C'mon, Maddie!" Bluebelle cupped her hands around her mouth, using all her might to cheer, "Show those lions what we're made of!"
Madeline couldn't help but grin at her best friend's shouts, she felt as if she was doing slightly better but this improvement was nearly unnoticeable.
James Potter wasted yet another shot, and it seemed Madeline was getting fed up rather quickly. Thankfully, not all of Gryffindor had the same empathy for the girl as James did, as the next time the quaffle was thrown it was with purpose.
The ball was traveling too quick for the distance Madeline was, but her brother's treatment had lit a fire beneath her, which is exactly how she blocked it.
Barely, the girl nearly slipped right off the end of her broom, but the goal wasn't made and she was still in the air.
"Nice save, Potter!" Nico praised in passing, receiving a surprisingly soft smile in return.
Ravenclaw had taken the lead in no time, and despite Gryffindor catching the snitch, the blue and bronze house claimed victory.
Bluebelle was screaming, the girl looked more excited than ever before as she ran directly onto the pitch and into Madeline's arms. The girls were both shouting incoherently, jumping whilst in a tight embrace.
Kai joined them, but in no time he was proudly hoisting Madeline into the air.
Well, him and Nico Keeler.
Madeline was bright pink as the Ravenclaw team surrounded them. It had only been a big deal since the team hadn't won a game like that in years and most blamed it on the severe lack of keepers.
Ravenclaw had a tendency of producing amazing chaser, strong beaters, even nimble seekers. But if there wasn't a good keeper, there wasn't really much of a chance in winning.
And suddenly there was Madeline Potter.
"Put me down!" Madeline laughed as the boys continued cheering.
"Don't worry!" Nico grinned up at her, "We won't drop you!"
". . . Or will we?"
"Kai!"
ϟ
"Mads!"
The girl's laughed died, her steps slowing as she turned around to face Sirius Black. The team was walking back to the Ravenclaw dorms together, and for the first time, Madeline was a part of it.
"Hey," Madeline looked back, offering the team a smile to encourage them not to wait up. Kai and Nico seemed reluctant, but it wasn't long until the corridor was empty, aside from Madeline and Sirius. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Sirius laughed, running a hand through his almost shoulder-length hair, "It's impossible for someone this attractive to be anything less than amazing."
"Okay," Madeline rolled her eyes, turning to join her team until Sirius grabbed her arm.
"Wait," Sirius said, before clearing his throat and dropping her arm. "I just wanted to say. . . congratulations."
"Thank. . . you?"
It was rare that Sirius and Madeline were anything but bickering. In all honesty, he was like a worse version of James, for Sirius Black carried a reputation.
Despite being freshly 16, Sirius was well known among the castle. His aristocratic features paired with a reckless attitude managed to make any girl swoon. It was transparent Sirius Black wanted desperately to be the bad boy, letting his hair grow an unruly length, throwing a leather jacket over whatever outfit he had on, haphazardly painting his nails, and occasionally smelling of cigarettes.
Not to mention the girls that so often returned to their common rooms at odd hours of the night or morning, with smiles stretching across their faces and stories of the Gryffindor boy.
Sirius Black was a heartthrob, but Madeline pronounced this as 'pig'.
"No problem, Mads," Sirius smiled faintly, "Uh. . . I'm sorry too. Y'know?"
"Sorry for what?"
"The prank."
Madeline's eyes widened slightly.
"I mean, it was me just as much as James," Sirius shrugged, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "I dunno, just. . ."
"It's, uh, fine," Madeline mumbled, "Well, it's not fine but I forgive you. I guess."
"Right," Sirius cleared his throat, "See you around."
Madeline offered him a confused wave, watching the boy whirl around and hurry down the hall. The brunette stayed for a moment, her eyebrows stitched together in confusion, before turning the opposite way and leaving.
Things were getting strange, and Madeline wasn't sure how she felt about it.
( AUTHOR'S NOTE. )
and so it begins!
can I just say I already
love Sirius and Mads?