Mischief Managed | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 61

Jenna could barely contain her excitement as her first practice with the Gryffindor Quidditch team arrived. Her teammates gushed over her new broomstick, observing the beautifully carved handle and the texture of it.

     "Cleansweep Seven. Nice," Mei, the Gryffindor Captain, acknowledged, nodding her head in approval. "That's the newest and fastest broom there is right now. Why don't you give it a go, Potter?"

    Nodding as she tried to hide her glee, Jenna got on her broom and shot to the sky. Mei was glad for choosing her as their new Seeker, because she believed that Jenna was the perfect build for that position; thin and light-weighted, which could add to her speed if needed.

     Jenna considered herself lucky to have Lily as her friend in times such as this. Because of all the last-minute Quidditch practices that Mei would set up, Jenna barely got the time do her homework without Lily's help, even though she never let her copy the whole thing.

     Jenna was happier than ever to play for their House's team, but with the first match of the season approaching, she found herself becoming more and more nervous. Mei had warned her that the Slytherin team wasn't going to be an easy opponent. And it certainly didn't help her nerves when Jenna woke up on the day of the match, only to find that it was snowing.

    Sleep hadn't come to her easy that night, and so Jenna woke up that day earlier than ever. She had already changed into her red and gold Quidditch robes, pacing around the room as the sun began to rose beneath the grey clouds that bore the white snow.

     Jenna kept biting on her nails nervously as she stopped by their dorm's window, watching as a light layer of white clothed the Hogwarts grounds. The chilling wind outside was certainly going to make it harder for her to catch the Snitch in such weather, which gave an advantage to the Slytherin Seeker who was a few years older than her and definitely heavier.

     "Jen?"

     Jenna turned away from the window to look behind her at the voice, seeing that Alice had woken up, sitting up on her bed as she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

     "Sorry. Did I wake you?" Jenna whispered, trying to keep her voice steady.

     "It's all right," said Alice, getting up to her feet and walking toward where Jenna stood. She glanced behind the window and her smile widened, the drowsiness leaving her eyes entirely at what she saw. "It's snowing!"

     Jenna giggled at her reaction. She sometimes wished she could see the world through Alice's eyes, as though every moment was worth living and as though every little change in the world around her was a miracle of life.

      But Alice then tore her eyes away from the window to look back at Jenna, a worried look replacing the happy expression upon her face. "Are you nervous?"

     "No," Jenna lied, shaking her head casually. But she then stiffed as Alice reached out to gently take a hold of a strand of her hair, which Jenna just realized had turned grey. "Okay, maybe just a little nervous," she confessed.

     "Well, I think the color looks pretty on you," said Alice quietly so she wouldn't wake the others, smiling softly. "Do you want me to braid it for you? It would be harder to fly with your hair loose."

     Jenna's heart got filled with warmth, and so she nodded with delight. Gleefully, Alice held Jenna's hand and dragged her back to her own bed, instructing her to sit down. Alice then got to work as she sat down on the bed behind Jenna, braiding her grey hair while humming a tune under her breath.

***

"Dunno why you're worried, Jen," said Marlene as the girls sat over breakfast later on that day, piling the ketchup on her sausages, "you've got a good broom. You're a good player. It's gonna be fine."

     "She's gonna be fine as long as she eats," Lily said firmly, placing some scrambled egg on Jenna's plate. "You need your strength for the game, Jen."

     "I'm not hungry," Jenna mumbled, feeling a bit sick in the stomach from stress.

     "All right, everyone! It's time!" Jenna's heart gave a sudden lurch when Mei called her team up so they could leave the Great Hall and go to the locker room. Jenna got up as well, following the other players away after her friends wished her luck.

     Jenna could hear the crowd outside the locker room, some cheering Gryffindor and some Slytherin. The sound of their chants and claps were so loud that she could tell the whole school had come down to the stands to watch the game.

Hoping her knees weren't going to give way, Jenna followed her teammates out of the locker room after Mei went over their strategies one last time, giving a motivational speech which in all honesty didn't manage to make Jenna feel any better.

Madam Hooch was refereeing as always, and a fifth year Ravenclaw boy was doing the commentary this year. Madam Hooch stood in the middle of the field, waiting for the two teams with her broom in her hand as the snow fell down through the stadium gracefully.

Jenna took in a deep breath, feeling like her nose was going to freeze any moment now. She looked up at the cheering crowd in the stands, searching for her friends. Her heart skipped when she saw that James and Sirius were holding onto either sides of a large banner painted in scarlet.

They had drawn a lion on the banner and put a charm on it that caused it to roar. Underneath it, Jenna made out the words with difficulty, smiling as she realized that it said, 'GO J.P!'

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch bellowed.

Jenna gulped, clambered onto her Cleansweep Seven, flying upward along with the others as soon as she heard Madam Hooch give a loud blast on her silver whistle. The balls were released, and so the game began.

     Jenna hovered in mid-air, her eyes scanning the field, though it was hard to spot the Snitch in the snowy weather. Thirty minutes had passed, and the score was now forty to fifty, in the Slytherins' favor.

     An uproar suddenly raised from the Slytherin's stands. The Slytherin Seeker had dived down. He had sighted the Snitch. With a great rush of excitement, Jenna saw the golden ball too, wings fluttering, darting downward, and so she flew after the other team's Seeker.

     She could hear the voice of the commentary and the cheers coming from the Gryffindors, shouting her name encouragingly. Jenna leaned forward on her broom to put on an extra spurt of speed. She was now neck to neck with the Slytherin Seeker, both hurtling after the Golden Snitch with all their might.

    From the corner of her eyes, Jenna saw the Slytherin boy throw a glance at her direction, before suddenly bumping into her side on purpose, in hopes of knocking her off the broom.

     "FOUL!" Everyone started yelling, an echo of rage erupting. Mei's shouts was louder than anyone else as she flew toward Madam Hooch to argue. It seemed as though both teams had forgotten the Quaffle, floating in mid-air on their brooms to watch the Seekers.

     Jenna held on tight to her broom's handle to keep her balance before adding even more speed. The Golden Snitch was flying lower and lower, nearing the ground. She could feel that the Slytherin Seeker was doubting to go after it or not, fearing to hit the ground. But Jenna went on with determination, holding the wooden handle tightly in her grasp, trying to control her speed.

Jenna's heart began racing more than before. She tried to keep her balance with one hand, hesitantly out-stretching her left arm toward the Snitch. She was getting closer and closer.

Letting out a gasp, the Slytherin Seeker immediately shot upward in fear of hitting the ground, but Jenna kept going, her arm raised, the Snitch still flying before her.

Jenna lurched forward to grab the Snitch, but then with a yelp, she fell off her broom and hit the ground. The crowd fell silent, all eyes on the blue-haired girl as she laid on her back.

Although the next moment loud cheers erupted the stadium as Jenna weakly raised her arm while she remained on the ground, and clutched in her fist was the Golden Snitch. She had caught it right before falling.

"JENNA POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" the commenter boy's voice boomed, the sound of cheers becoming even louder. "GRYFFINDOR WINS!"