Starry skies and Gardenias

Chapter 125

"Strong winds," James said on Saturday morning, looking up at the enchanted ceiling. Dark rain clouds were rumbling overhead.

"It'll rain for sure," Marlene sighed, dropping her gaze to her food. 

"I hope it's not a thunderstorm," Chris muttered. 

"It looks too windy," Adeline said, laughing. "You won't fly away, will you, Seeker? I don't want to lose to Slytherin because you flew off your broom,"

This is why Isabella didn't want to sit with the team for breakfast.

She happened to wake up a bit late and ran into Marlene in the common room, who dragged her off to breakfast with the team. 

And now, Isabella was giving her best to just focus on the toast on her plate. The more Adeline spoke, the more she felt her appetite ebb away.

Isabella wasn't going to answer. She instead continued buttering her toast, as though she hadn't heard a single thing. 

Three minutes. She was going to sit there for exactly a hundred and eighty seconds, then she would leave the table. She needed no more than three minutes. 

Steward was blabbing away, and Isabella's cold indifference seemed to only irk her more. 

James, as the captain wasn't sure how to deal with this situation. There countless times when arguments broke out, but Isabella's passive-aggressiveness was on an entirely different level. And Adeline wasn't exactly saying anything particularly disrespectful. 

Isabella kept her silence, and so hoping that she wouldn't snap, the other team members waited with bated breath. 

None of them had seen Isabella snap, or lose her temper. And they didn't want to see it either. 

The second Isabella counted to 180 in her head, she put her napkin down, got up from her seat, and left the Great Hall. 

Chris released an audible sigh of relief. No wands were thankfully drawn today. 

Adeline sighed too. 

"I was just joking," she said, sounding rather disappointed.

"Izzy's a bit reserved, we've told you," Chris said crossly to his classmate. "Why d'you have to keep poking her? Once she snaps, you're probably done for,"

"That's what I'm looking for," Adeline said loftily. "Our Seeker keeps acting like she's a robot. I'm just going to prove it to her that she is human too,"

Chris scoffed incredulously.

"What sort of nonsense is that?" he said rolling his eyes. "If Izzy was here, she'd probably laugh because that is the biggest joke anyone's heard in three centuries,"

Isabella walked to the locker rooms with her broomstick, as a slight drizzle started. 

She hoped it would just stay a drizzle. Heavy rain would make it hard to see the snitch. . .and the bludgers...and anything in general.

She entered the locker rooms and pulled on her Quidditch uniform quickly. 

Fifteen minutes later, they could hear the hundreds of footsteps of the students making their way to the stands, talking merrily.

"Andrew, you stay close to Izzy," James was telling their Beater. "It will be hard to see the bludgers coming if it rains any heavier,"

"Got it, Captain," Andrew chirped brightly, raising an imaginary hat at Isabella, who nodded back in acknowledgement.