𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 || 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐘

➳ TWENTY SEVEN

XXVII. PROVOCATIVE PROBLEMS

Many people found Quidditch to be one of the most important things on planet earth, but not including Ruth. The excitement a quidditch match could bring to the school was bizarre, and the tension it caused was almost scary.

Each of the Hogwarts houses believed their house deserved to carry the title of Quidditch Champions, so obviously the two teams would dislike each other on the morning of the game.

But no two teams could dislike each other as much as the Gryffindor and Slytherin quidditch teams.

Ruth was half certain a fight or a riot would break out due to the amount of dirty looks and rude words being called out across the room during breakfast. Casper informed her that Ron Weasley would be playing as Keeper, and many of the Slytherins were teasing him about it. Ruth felt bad for the youngest Weasley boy.

Ruth and Casper made their own way down to the quidditch pitch, wearing identical scarves of scarlet and gold. Ruth wished Fred good luck on her way; he smiled in return.

"What are we? Hippogriff dung?" Katrina had asked.

"Hush Kat," Poppy had smirked. "Let Ruth wish her boyfriend good luck."

Thankfully, Fred had turned away from the conversation and didn't seem to have heard Poppy's remark. Ruth sent her sister a glare nonetheless.

The arena was buzzing, with a sea of green opposite an ocean of red. Ruth and Casper settled with the other Gryffindor supporters, waiting for the game to start.

The way students booed at their classmates made Ruth wonder if sportsmanship still existed. The two teams arrived on the pitch and the game began with a sharp blow of a whistle.

Although Ruth didn't know much about the two teams, it seemed very abnormal for Slytherin to soar ahead in points. Ruth remembered with a sigh that Ron was the new Gryffindor keeper, and he didn't seem to be doing a good job.

Casper gave an over dramatic reaction to everything that happened during the match. He let out a shout of disapproval whenever Slytherin got a point, and a cheer when Gryffindor did anything that stopped them. Ruth found it quite funny, actually.

"Slytherin leads with 50 points to 10," Lee Jordan, a Gryffindor in Ruth's year and the Quidditch commentator, announced.

"Come on!" Casper muttered under his breath. "We can't lose to Slytherin."

"Ron seems to be nervous," Ruth commented. "Probably because of that song that Slytherins are singing."

The Slytherins had begun chanting a song that insulted Ron and his family. "I wouldn't be able to concentrate if they were saying those sort of things about me," Ruth told Casper.

"I'm sure he's great during practices," Casper said. "But now, Harry just needs to catch the snitch. Quickly."

Ruth's eyes focused back onto the games and sought out Fred immediately. Even from so far away, Ruth could tell the Weasley twins apart somehow. Perhaps it was because she too had identical siblings.

Cheers exploded through the crowd as both Harry and Draco Malfoy dived suddenly, having presumably seen the snitch. The spectators sprung from their seats, obstructing Ruth's view of the match. The cheers that came from the Gryffindor supporters informed Ruth that Harry had caught the snitch.

"I bloody love quidditch!" Casper screamed at the top of his lungs. His shout was drowned out by the continuous screams of the people around them.

After a few minutes of celebrating, many students left the stands to either return to the castle or congratulate the team, who were still on the pitch. Ruth noticed that tensions continued to rise between the Gryffindor and Slytherin quidditch team, as a Slytherin player was speaking to the Gryffindor team, not looking happy at all.

Her curiosity taking over, Ruth dashed down to the pitch without sharing any words with Casper. Once she arrived, she realised she had been correct. Draco Malfoy was engaged in a very heated conversation with some of the Gryffindor players.

"-but you like the Weasley's, don't you potter?," the platinum blond boy was saying. "You spend the holidays there, don't you? How can you stand the stink? I suppose since you've lived with muggles, even the Weasley's hole smells okay-"

Ruth watched as Fred and George moved towards Draco, but were held back by their teammates; Harry holding George and Fred being restrained by Poppy and Katrina.

"Or perhaps you can remember what your mother's house smelt like," Draco sneered. "The Weasley's pigsty makes you feel right at home, doesn't-"

Harry lunged towards Draco, therefore releasing George, who also sprinted towards the Slytherin. Poppy and Katrina were really struggling to keep Fred from joining them, so without thinking Ruth threw herself in front of Fred, pushing herself up against his chest.

Fred didn't seem to have noticed her, too focused on his brother and friend, who were now punching Draco as hard as they could.

Fred's face was tense, his jaw clenched harshly. He looked extremely intimidating, yet undeniably attractive. Ruth shook her head to remove those thoughts from her brain.

Professor McGonagall was now on the pitch, shouting madly. She stormed up to the castle, George and Harry following glumly while Madam Hooch took care of the badly beaten Draco Malfoy.

"Fred," Ruth whispered as Katrina and Poppy slowly let go of his biceps. "Fred calm down."

"Calm down?" Fred exploded, making Ruth jump. "Calm down? Did you hear what that bastard was saying?!"

Ruth hadn't heard the full thing, but she knew saying so would make Fred angrier. Instead, she impulsively wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her.

Fred sighed into the hug and wrapped her arms around her waist, dipping his head to rest it on her shoulder.

Although Ruth's heart was hammering madly in her chest, she felt comfortable, and Fred seemed to feel comfortable as well.