Chapter 3: Quidditch Talk

485 17 5
                                    

"Red! Hey, Red!" Chuck called as he and Bomb entered the Great Hall. Everyone was having breakfast. Red had been sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table furthest from the door, away from everyone else. Upon Chuck shouting his name for everyone to hear like every morning for the past two weeks, Red let out an annoyed groan.

He had tried sitting in different spots in the Great Hall for breakfast, skipping breakfast, and plain telling Chuck to go away, but no matter what he did Chuck would find him and eat breakfast with him. Chuck and his friend Bomb would sit across from Red, bantering on and on about how they're favorite classes and they're not so favorite teachers, sometimes forcing Red to join their conversation by pestering him with questions until he answered.

"What do you want this time?" Red suddenly didn't have the appetite for the pumpkin pastries in front of him.

"Did you hear the news!?" Chuck put himself next to Red this morning, which was different. Bomb placed himself across, looking uneasy.

"What news?" Red wished Chuck's usual maniac energy would cease, it was shaking the bench they shared.

"The first Quidditch game is coming up! Ravenclaw VS Hufflepuff!" Chuck loved Quidditch, and couldn't wait for next year when he could try to join the Quidditch team as a Seeker, Bomb liked Quidditch too, and really wanted the a beater. Red on the other hand...

"Who cares about Quidditch! I wouldn't watch a game even if I got hexed to my seat! Everyone treats the Quidditch player like gods when all they do is fly around on sticks trying to catch balls like dogs!" Red smirked when he saw that he actually offended the two, usuals oblivious boys. Seeing them actually notice him insulting something they liked filled Red with a certain pride...until he heard Chuck sniffle and turn away from him, wiping at his eyes.

"Chuck, I'm sure he didn't mean it!" Bomb reached across the table and patted Chuck's back, trying to comfort him to the best of his abilities.

"Are you crying?" Red scoffed, not believing Chuck could have such an unhappy emotion.

"N-no!" Chuck's voice hitched as he got up and fled the Great Hall, Bomb trailing behind him. Red shrugged it off after a moment, thinking Chuck would be back to his usual self by their first class.

----------------------------------------------------------

Chuck wasn't himself by their first class, which was Charms. Chuck and Bomb had sat with Red since day one, but now they sat in the rows of seats in the opposite side of the room from where Red sat. This actually made Red feel...lonely. Throughout the entire class, it was like Chuck was intentionally avoiding the quick glances Red gave him, or that he was more distracted then usual. Could what Red have said really hurt Chuck that much?

"Alright you, what did you say to my brother!?" Sliver had tracked Red down through the halls and now had him cornered at the moving staircases. Red had been going from his Flying class (which Chuck had avoided him in as well, to his Potions class.

"What are you talking about?" Red wouldn't admit it, but he was afraid Silver would knock him over the railing and down into the seemingly endless loop of moving stairs below.

"I saw my brother in the hallway, and he looked absolutely depressed! What did you say to him!?" Silver's hands flew to her hips, making her look really fierce. Not wanting the get pushed over the railing, Red told her exactly what he said, to which Silver face palmed, but not before slapping Red.

"Ow!" Red rubbed his cheek, which was now had a red handprint on it.

"You idiot! Chuck adores Quidditch! He's wanted to be a Seeker for as long as I can remember! He feels like becoming a professional Quidditch player is the only thing he'll be able to do when he's older, and you tell him Quidditch players are like dogs?" Silver slapped Red's other cheek, giving it a matching red hand print.

"Well how was I supposed to know that!?" Red was rubbing both of his cheeks, resisting the urge to pull out his wand and set this girl's braids on fire.

"Just go apologize before I Wingardium Leviosa you over this railing!" Red thought about his options, preferring not to have the levitation charm used on him to cause his eminent death.

"Fine!" Red said in a huff, almost sprinting to Potions and trying to avoid the eyes in him from the scene that had just taken place.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Chuck?" Red sat down next to Chuck, Bomb scowling at him from Chuck's other side. Unlike the rest of their classes, Chuck couldn't sit in a different spot to avoid Red. They had a few minutes before class started, which gave Red plenty of time for his apology.

"What do you want?" Red was a little surprised by how hurt and angry Chuck's voice sounded. He was always so positive and happy.

"Your sister told me how much Quidditch means to you, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said earlier." This got both Chuck, and Bomb to turn their eyes to Red, looking as if his eyebrows had been burnt off.

"Really?" Chuck asked, tilting his head and actually looking like a puppy.

"...yes...I'm sorry..." Even Red couldn't believe those words came out of his mouth, "Can you forgive me?" Chuck sat there and stared at him for a few moments, as if he was determining if it was actually Red sitting next to him before he was once again wearing a big grin and started rapidly tapping his foot.

"Awwww! Of course I forgive you, Red!" Chuck latched his arms around Red's waist and brought him in for a hug, "I knew you weren't all grumpiness and angst!" Red didn't immediately push Chuck away for hugging him. In fact, seeing Chuck back to his usual self, put a little smile on Red's face.

"Wait..." Bomb squinted his eyes slightly and stared at Red, "Are you smiling?"

"What? No!" But for some reason Red's smile only grew bigger, not very big, but enough to where you could see the crookedness of it.

"You are!" Chuck exclaimed, "I don't think I've ever seen you smile before!"

"Yeah...well don't get used to it!" Red put on his usual angry expression and gazed down at what was in his desk.

"You know," Chuck spoke in a calm voice, putting a hand on Red's shoulder, which made Red uneasy because Chuck was never calm, "You should smile more often. You look great with a smile."

"R-really?" Red felt his cheeks flush. He hardly ever received compliments. It was a nice change.

"Yeah." Chuck removed his hand, realizing it probably had rested there a little to long and turned to face the front of the room, Red doing the same. The Potions Professor, Professor Leonard, had entered the classroom, so class had officially started.

But it didn't take words to know that Red had decided that maybe he'd like to be friends with the two guys he sat with.

Angry Birds at Hogwarts (Year 1)Where stories live. Discover now