Chapter 32 - The Song

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"So, I was thinking..." Sirius began, sitting down next to Grace at the Hufflepuff table for dinner. Sirius had frequented the Hufflepuff table in the past week, finding that it was the best way to avoid accidentally running into James.

"Thinking? You? Gee, I didn't know that was possible," Sam sneered, earning a slap in the wrist from Abbey.

"Samuel!" she gasped, looking extremely offended, before the pair burst out laughing.

"You know how you suggested that I apologise at the end of a Quidditch match, well, I was thinking that maybe I could write a song," Sirius said. "Or would that be too weird?"

"If it was anyone else, I would say yes, but you and James have a very peculiar sense of humour. If there's anything that's going to get James to forgive you, it's a good laugh," Ely concluded. "And maybe you can play guitar too."

"You can play guitar?!" Grace exclaimed. "Since when?"

"Since last school holidays. I found an old muggle guitar at the back of a shop and decided to learn how to play so that I could annoy my parents. I don't have it here, though."

"I have a ukulele you could borrow. My aunt sent it to me for my birthday last year – who knows why," Ely suggested.

"Sounds good," Sirius agreed.

The five of them spent the rest of their evening writing up Sirius' song, and before they knew it, it was Saturday.

At ten o'clock, they made their way down to the Quidditch pitch. With Ely's bright red ukulele safely hidden in a backpack, Sirius went and stood in the commentators stand, having already got permission that morning from Professor McGonagall to apologise to James. She was pleased with Sirius' efforts, however she was kept unaware of the fact that he planned to do it in song. In the stands, Abbey, Sam and Ely met up with Remus and Peter. Both were rather nervous after Grace had explained to them on the previous night what Sirius was going to do.

Grace meanwhile was down in the Gryffindor locker rooms with James and the rest of the team, getting ready for her first game of Quidditch. She was absolutely petrified.

For the first time in ages, James was actually quite nervous too. After the tryouts, James had realised that he really quite enjoyed being a Chaser, so Daniel had let him change positions. He didn't want to muck it up.

Outside, Grace could hear Casper Masters, the Slytherin sixth year who commentated the matches, clear his throat and welcome everyone. They were about to start soon.

Daniel realised this. "Okay, I know we've only had a few nights of training, but I trust all of you to try your hardest and..."

Grace could barely focus on his words. Instead, she stared at one of the lockers and tried to slow down her breathing – she didn't want to pass out before the match had even stated.

Before she knew it, Casper was introducing the Gryffindor team, and that was their cue to mount their brooms.

As they flew out onto the field, Casper called out each of their names and positions. "As chasers, we have Samantha Harrington, Catherine Becker and, what's this? James Potter! Taking James' place as seeker, we have Fion Blythe. Then, the keeper, Grace Thorne, and Anna Wright and the team's captain Daniel Larson as beaters! Now, on the Ravenclaw team..."

Grace reached the other side of the field and positioned herself in front of the three golden hoops. She gripped her broom tightly to stop her hands from shaking.

Soon enough, both teams were in position and ready to go, so Madam Hooch released the snitch and the bludgers, before blowing her whistle and throwing the quaffle into the air.

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