LUMOS [Marauders Era]

six: balls, beaters, and steak

Isabela paced the dormitory, fretting over her schedule. The paper was crinkled and slightly orange, because Marlene had accidentally spilt her pumpkin juice in her hurry to leave the table. Probably had an "appointment" with a certain Ravenclaw boy. Isabela loved Marlene, but sometimes the girl did manage to annoy her.

"How am I ever going to survive Ancient Rune! With Quidditch! And it's OWLs year too! Oh merde," she cursed, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically. "This is the year I die!"

"Oh honestly, calm down. You'll have a ton of time to study," Marlene called from her bed, where she was intently reading the Witch Weekly. Isabela shook her head, worry etched on her face. With a sigh, she began collecting her books into her book bag, rummaging around for her quill.

Back in third year, she had discovered a spell to keep her quills full of ink, so she only left her inkpots in her bedside drawer to occasionally refill her quills. Siphoning a long strand of ink, Isabela enchanted it to stay in her quill, seating herself on the edge of her bed.

"Do mine too, please!" Lily called out as she walked in, noticing the brunette refilling her quills. "It's only the second day of school and Potter asked me out a good five times. Honestly, why can't he just leave me alone?" Lily huffed in exasperation as she took her quills from Isabela.

"We all know you guys are soulmates," Isabela said with a laugh, dodging a slap from Lily. Grabbing her bag, she raced out of the dorm, leaving behind a blushing Lily. However, Isabela noticed that she had left her tie, and not wanting to risk running into Lily, she quickly cast, "Accio tie," and merrily went on her way towards her favorite class: Charms.

Pushing open the portrait door, Isabela ran into August Meyers, a Gryffindor sixth year who was also a chaser with her and James. He was with Maggie Robinson, a Ravenclaw chaser, and his girlfriend. He waved to her as she left, and Isabela waved as well.

"Kwon! I haven't seen you in forever! You grew so much," he said ruefully, a grin on his handsome face. He reached out for a hug, to which Isabela happily complied. "I've missed you!"

"Meyers! You ready to win the Quidditch Cup this year?" she teased with a grin, her brown eyes alight. "Last year was a pity...if only you didn't fall off of your broom, mate!"

"Excuse me, I'm pretty sure it was you who jumped off. I barely caught you!" he cried out, laughing at the memory. "I literally thought you were gonna die, Kwon!"

"Well, lucky for us, I didn't. I really tried to convince Jasper to try out for Beater, but I'm not sure if he will," Isabela grew somber as she recalled her wasted chocolate frogs. Bribery was not always the answer.

"Hey, he might show up! I'll talk to him too, don't worry," August laughed, nudging Isabela's shoulder. She brightened, knowing that Jasper would definitely listen to August.

Leaning against the wall, and occasionally greeting a passing Gryffindor, August radiated a confident and cheerful aura. He was the "jock" of the sixth years, and Isabela still couldn't believe that he chose to be her friend.