The Order of Mischief I

2.10

"I want a nice, clean game!" Madam Hooch shouted out to the children that were hovering at least one hundred feet high in the air. Nods and harmonious hums could be heard from the pupils above her, everyone agreed to give her what she wanted. But it was known, she would only enjoy ten minutes, at least, of a nice and clean game, the rest would dramatically display everyone's determination to win. Madam Hooch herself knew the nature of every quidditch match at Hogwarts, but still, she would request the same thing at the start of every game, and then cheer on the pupils as they played. She would only stop the game if the house captains asked for it, or if the game got too dangerous and a player got injured.

Anya steadied her breathing before she turned to her right and spotted her parents in the bleachers, alongside her professors. Her father smiled at her as he watched her. Her gaze drifted to her mother who was seated beside her husband. Anya's mother was smiling as well, except her smile was smaller and more delicate than her father's.

"Eyes on the balls, team," Amelia instructed, aware that many of her teammates were looking about at their families and their friends. Despite the captain's orders, Anya looked back and saw Phoebe sitting comfortably on her broom, in front of the rings. Anya could not escape the same anxieties that Amelia had where Phoebe was concerned, they both believed her to be a brilliant keeper, but neither trusted the Gryffindors to be gentle with her.

"Get ready, players!" Madam Hooch shouted, and all eyes fell upon her. She stood beside a heavy suitcase-looking box. The leather around the edges were perfectly stiff and shimmering, indicating that the case was magic bound, for no sports equipment could look so perfectly new. Anya focused her eyes on the balls as a couple of third-year students walked onto the pitch. They settled onto the knees and awaited Madam Hooch's instructions. The professor stared at each player, taking a couple seconds to properly look at every player on the field. She assessed if they were ready for the match to begin and chose to ignore the anxiety of failure in their minds. She did not care for it, for she knew it would drive them to play their best game yet.

Madam Hooch looked down at the children beside her and nodded, letting the pair to pull out their wands and cast a spell over the balls. A whistle was blown loudly as soon as the balls were immediately unhooked and fled their entrapments. The quaffle shot up straight into the air, and the bludgers shook aggressively as they flew around the field. The snitch was released too, however, it was too fast for anyone to spot just yet.

The seekers of both teams hovered above everyone else, as the players scrambled to score as many points as possible. Their eyes focused in on every small movement they could spot, suspecting everything was the fast-flying snitch. Beneath them, the rest of the team flew about the pitch, chasing the quaffle and avoiding any bludgers that would come their way. The keepers that sat on the far ends of the pitch watched diligently for any oncoming balls, trying their best to avoid letting the other team win, but also trying to avoid getting hit.

Anya held onto her beater's bat. Her fingers wrapped around the shaft that had strong tape wrapped around it, courtesy to her father's manual labour. On the end of her bat were her initials, it was carved into the wood in the same calligraphic font that was on her broom. This was another kind act of her father's, who was watching her diligently. The youngest Zion flew past a Gryffindor chaser to meet the quaffle at the rings, to deflect the ball.

James slowed down as he realised how fast Anya was on her broom. Her speed was surprising to him, and he realised that she was smart enough to hide all her skills from him, for they would frequently meet on the pitch as each other's opponent. Anya smirked as she came to a halt, holding her bat out. James halted his movement as he realised what her intentions were as soon as he threw the quaffle in the direction of one of the rings, before she could commit to her plans.