Pragma // s.b.

10

****

I clutched the crumpled piece of parchment in my hand as I hurried through the castle towards to Quidditch pitch. Earlier that morning, I had been awoken by a tapping on my window. Unlatching it, I was greeted by the smell of musty morning dew and a rush of damp feathers dropping a ripped up note on my bed that read, "Tryouts today at 2:00!". I pushed open the door leading outside and the cool breeze hit my face in a gush. The rain from yesterday had been steadily drizzling down on and off, but luckily it seemed to be taking a break just in time for the Gryffindor team to hold their tryouts.

My ponytail swished behind me as I made my way through the muddy grounds, finally reaching the Quidditch pitch. Climbing the rickety wooden stairs leading up the stands, I strained my eyes to see if I could make out the figure of my brother. The wooden seats were damp, but I didn't really mind. I sent a stream of hot air out of the tip of my wand onto a section of the bench, and the remaining water evaporated, leaving the wood warm and ready to sit on.

I was close to the field, so I could hear the excited chatter coming from the group that had steadily formed in a cluster near the middle of the pitch. A few other people sat around me in the stands, chatting with friends or munching on a late lunch. "Bri!", a voice called out from slightly below me. My brothers beaming face along with the somewhat sly grin of his friend Greg greeted me. I stood up, leaning over the barrier so I was slightly dangling down, still a good few inches above them.

"You made it!", Ro grinned from ear to ear. " Why hello there, Briony", Greg winked, his wide blue eyes reflecting the few rays of sunlight that had managed to push their way through the overcast clouds. His jet black hair whipped around his face as the wind began to pick up. "Hi, Gregory", I rolled my eyes. He always attempted to flirt with me anytime we were in the same vicinity, and swore that one day I would stop seeing him as my younger brother's friend and realize that I was madly in love with him.

A whistle blew from beside the goal post and Ronan's head snapped in its direction. "We better get going", he said, tugging at his friends sleeve. Greg nodded and the two waved goodbye to me, running off in the direction of Potter and the other members of the Gryffindor team, who now stood slightly above everyone on a raised platform. "Good luck!", I called to their receding backs. I was so proud of Ro for putting himself out there like this, I knew he had been wanting to tryout ever since he had come to Hogwarts, but had never been able to pluck up the courage. I made a mental note to thank Greg later for encouraging him to tryout this year.

I hoisted myself up, the blood rushing from my head back down through my body. I made a move to sit back down in my previous spot, but found that someone had taken it. "I wouldn't have pinned you as the type to go for younger men", Sirius smirked, lifting a cigarette to his lips. Well, I guess that explained the musky smell of smoke that always appeared when he did. I exhaled loudly. Of course Sirius had to show up here. I ignored him, moving a down the stands, plopping down with a good 4 feet of bench in between us.

"That was my brother", I folded my arms, trying to make out what Potter was saying to the eagerly listening Gryffindors, "Not that it's any of your business". Black's mouth flew open and he pushed himself down the bench, getting rid of the comfortable bubble of space in between us. "No way Ronan's your brother", he laughed, the same bark like laugh I had heard before, and let out a long exhale of smoke, "Him and his friends are such a laugh".

I coughed and bit my lip. He realized those things kill, right? I stubbornly kept my eyes trained on the field in front of me and shook my head, "I guess all the fun genes must have gone to him then". Sirius just let out another laugh, taking one more drawl of the cigarette. I wanted to yell at him to put it out, didn't he realize that it caused diseases? And not to mention we were sitting on stands made of literal wood. Flammable wood.

A gust of wind blew harshly and my hair moved briskly around my face. "Why are you here?", I said, watching the Gryffindors down on the pitch begin to line up. "My best mate's the captain, duh. Gotta show my support", Black leaned back, propping his feet up on the railing. His black combat boots were worn and covered in mud. I glanced down at my shoes, once white Converse, that looked about the same.

"Mmm", I let out, straining my ears to see if I could catch what Potter was calling out to the hopefuls. "Listen up you lot!", he yelled over the chatter and wind, "This year we have two positions open! One beater and one chaser, got it?". Two positions, that was good right? It meant Ro had a shot at getting at least one. I hoped. "When I call out your name, come forward", Potter shouted.

After a tall girl who looked like she could, and would, beat me up very easily, Potter yelled, "Ronan Carter!". I let out a loud cheer and clapped, jumping to my feet. Several people, including Potter, looked in my direction. His facial expression become amused as he spotted me, then his eyes widened further as he noticed who was beside me. A blush crept up my cheeks as I remembered Ro's warning. I was not doing a very good job at keeping my distance from the four boys, but it wasn't my fault! I didn't plan on running into Remus at the library. And I certainly didn't plan, or want, to run into Sirius here.

I leaned forward in my seat, painfully aware of the fact that Black's gaze hadn't left the back of my head since I leapt up. Ronan pushed off the ground, soaring into the air, beater bat determinately clutched in his hand. I silently prayed that he did amazing. "Come on, Ro", I hissed under my breath as the current beater wound up, preparing to hit a bludger in his direction. The ball sped towards him, and with a loud crack, he hit it directly in the center, sending it whirring in the direction of the goal post. Looks like all the summers playing muggle baseball with the other kids from around the farm had paid off. It soared through the middle one, causing Greg to loudly cheer from the ground and me to fist pump, something I can say with certainty I had never done in my entire life before.

Sirius let out a snort and I watched Ro glide down to the ground before turning to face him. "What?", I arched an eyebrow. The cigarette hung out of the corner Sirius' mouth and he slowly removed it, blowing out smoke. I looked at it pointedly. "That's really not good for you, you know", I gestured in the direction of his cigarette. He glanced down at it, then back up at me. "That's the point, love", he said, taking a slow drag.

I bit the inside of my cheek. Greg sped above us, tossing the quaffle back and forth with a petite girl Chaser from the Gryffindor team. I huffed, leaning back. Clearly nothing and no one was going to convince him to stop his hazardous habit. "Sorry if it interferes with your whole sunshine and daisies view of the world, love", he smirked, leaning closer to me and exhaling once again. I clenched my jaw and straightened my back. Most everyone had completed their tryout by this point, and they all gathered nervously near the edge of the Quidditch pitch, awaiting news of who had made the team. "Run out of snippy remarks, sunshine?", Sirius pressed on, scooting even closer to me.

I shifted so I was face to face with him and reached for my wand. I pointed it right at his stupid face, where the stupid cigarette hung. I smiled sweetly and said, "Floradosis". His cigarette glowed and slowly began to morph into a long daisy. He sputtered and spit it out so it fell to the ground. "That was disgusting", he coughed, wiping his tongue with the sleeve of his knit grey jumper . "Almost as disgusting as how your lungs will look if you keep smoking those death sticks", I shrugged, standing up and moving to the opposite side of the stands, leaving him both speechless and cigarette-less.