Atelophobia

2_ glory

Theo

I watch Dalton walk out of class. God, she's so sure of herself that it's annoying. Nothing seems to get to her, no matter how many times I get a better mark.

I almost admire her for it, though I'd rather die before telling her that.

"Daydreaming, mate?" Blaise jokingly slaps me on the back.

"About getting better marks than her in every subject," I reply.

"Come on, Theo, stop being so uptight. Let's go practice quidditch so we can beat Gryffindor."

"Alright," I agree, slightly more lighthearted at the prospect.

We walk down to the Quidditch pitch, mainly talking about which new strategies we want to use.

We've lost to Gryffindor two years in a row, thanks to Malfoy and his big head.

Every year he says Weasley has as much talent as a troll, but he's the one who fails to catch the snitch.

"You reckon we'll get anyone new on the team?" Blaise comments.

"I doubt it, other than the Keeper's spot that needs to be filled."

And if Malfoy replaces those oafs Crabbe and Goyle we might have a chance.

"Look who it is," a charismatic voice calls.

"Zabini, Nott, long time no see," Malfoy nods at us.

Him and Blaise lapse into conversation about their extravagant summers and all the galas they had.

I was invited, but didn't go.

"Let's practice, shall we?" Malfoy finally says.

"Then we can beat those useless mudbloods," he snickers.

The trick is to not inflate his ego, so I say nothing as I grab my broom.

Though Malfoy is the seeker, he flies to the keeper's position so Blaise and I can practice scoring.

We continue for at least an hour, passing the Quaffle back and forth and changing positions until we're all sweating and breathing heavily.

Even with the sun beating down on me, it's one of the few activities I actually enjoy.

"That's enough for today, I think," Blaise yells to us and we fly to the ground.

We all have Charms later today, anyways, even if we did want to practice more.

"Should we practice again this weekend?" I ask.

"Works for me," Blaise agrees.

"I'll tell Crabbe and Goyle to come too," Malfoy adds.

Damn. Maybe I won't go after all. But any practice is better than none.

As we walk back towards the castle a flash of long, dark hair catches the corner of my eye.

Lenore Dalton.

She's with Padma, as usual, with an open book in her lap.

Whether she's studying or not who knows, but I do know that I will do anything it takes to surpass her.

The rest of the team may be setting their goals on beating Gryffindor, but I'm more determined to win against a certain witch in Ravenclaw. 

Dalton can't have all the glory.