swim || remus lupin

on the reef

The week flew by as our first Quidditch match against Hufflepuff neared. James, our fearless leader, was worse than ever.

"Eat, sleep, quidditch!" He would say cheerfully at our daily 5AM training sessions.

"Make sure you have enough protein!" He would cry at dinner, circling the table to check on each player's meal.

"Have you had any water today?" He would ask, shoving a bottle in my hand and waiting for me to finish it entirely.

"We're more prepared than those puff-heads," he encouraged, as we finally sat in the locker room, uniforms on.

We ran out onto the field in a large ball of Gryffindor energy. The sharp air hit my face, quickly turning my cheeks and nose pink with cold. My ponytail blew through the wind as I eyed the crowd. The Hufflepuffs were decked out in yellow with black eye paint and all of the house merch they could pull from their closets. A large banner waved at the top, the words 'Hail Helga' painted brightly across the top. Across the way, the Gryffindor stands showed as much if not more spirit.

Through the sea of red, I spotted my friends. Sirius had on a large lion's head with flying gold and maroon streamers for its mane, as well as a red and gold cheer uniform with accompanying pom poms. Alice stood huddled with Frank, matching scarves and hats, pumping their fists in the air and cheering loudly. Lily had her hair in double french braids, with golden ribbons braided through. She held up a sign that read "#17 on the pitch, #1 in my <3" I turned to find Marlene beaming at the poster. Remus was up in the booth, ready to announce the game. The hype filled my ears and I felt the nervous adrenaline course through my veins.

Unlike the sports I was accustomed to at home, being new to the team did not mean riding the bench. James informed me that the two chasers I had opposed in tryouts were simply practice players, leaving Cassidy, Walter and I for the main event. Of course this terrified me, as I had only been playing the sport for 3 weeks now.

The Hufflepuff keeper was a girl by the name of Waverly Finn whom I knew from Ancient Runes. She was athletic looking, but relatively small, and Walter advised that I aim for close goals, as she was quick enough to pick off anything from long range.

"Mount your brooms, please," the skinny witch witch by the name of Madam Hooch requested. "Now, I want a nice clean game from all of you." We eyed our opponents confidently, and she threw up the quaffle, signaling the start to the match.

The female chaser by the name of Georgina Gafful took the first possession, taking off towards Quentin in our goal. She was quickly knocked off course, however, by a bludger hit by a particular blonde. The quaffle dropped into Cassidy's hands.

"McKinnon nails Hufflepuff chaser Georgina Gafful with a bludger!" Remus exclaimed from the booth. "Nice one, Mar," he added.

"GO GO GRYFFINDOR!" The crowd echoed.