The Fourth Year Of Usool Jahanara

13. The Epic Tie Breaker.

School's back and so is the pressure on Jahan. His O. W. Ls are nearing and he, along with Shihad, are putting a lot of effort. He was working so hard that he didn't have time to squabble with Cheryl (which is a good sign). On top of that, he constantly had to hop from the Quidditch Pitch to the Library and then to the Common Room. The tie breaker match with Hufflepuff was fixed on the second week of January, so training has been hard too. Both for them and for me, not being able to fly with them.

Our way to the finals alongside Gryffindor was crystal clear until the Hufflepuffs, being the goody two shoes they are, barged in with the same number of points. While the Gryffindors relaxed and prepared for the Finals, we had to fight cats and dogs for every single point. After a long way of cautiousness and not to mention gritted teeth, we come to today's scene.

Today was the second weekend of January, the day of the tie breaker match. We stood excitedly in the Pitch, word had spread that Payal was back but we managed to keep the reason of her absence confidential. She was sick we were told to say if anyone asked.

Me, Caren and Megan were front row center, waiting for our stars to arrive.

"Ravenclaw's got their ol' Seeker back! Wonder how she does!"

My ears perked up. There were two Gryffindor second year guys behind us.

"You mean the new girl, the Beaters' sister, um... what's her name?" I heard the other boy ask.

"Jahanara!"

"Yeah, Jahanara! That means she won't be playing?"

There was silence. The first boy might've shook his head.

"That's bad!" The second boy drawled.

"Good too!" He sounded logical. "Bad because, I hate to admit it but she's really good. She deserved to play more. Good because, she's a threat to us winning the World Cup! They say, whatever happens, happens for the good!"

Hearing their remarks, instead of feeling proud or happy, I felt hurt. Hurt because, they consider me better and I couldn't come up to their expectations. Hurt because, I got separated from something that made me realize what I am, from something that showed me that I was not only the-bookworm-Usool but something more, from something that made me feel whole, from something that made me meet Wahid, from Quidditch. I felt hurt, really hurt.

"They've come!"

Caren's voice brought me back from my brooding. I looked down to the Pitch and saw the teams had already arrived. I became conscious of my brothers' uneasiness and cheered along with the rest of the crowd. The Ravenclaws were at the right of Madam Hooch and the Hufflepuffs were in her left. I saw my brothers give a disappointed smile to me. My heart flinched seeing Payal standing where I stood. My eyes met hers and my brain cried out to look away, unable to see that trauma again. She looked at me and smirked evilly, her smirk turned into an arrogant sneer. She was looking at me as if she wholly enjoyed the scene of me getting trodden under her foot. Or in her words, I desrved it! For a bitch like me, for me hexing her, I deserved being useless at a side.

My eyes turned to the Hufflepuffs, they were wearing canary yellow robes, brooms in their hands. I didn't know most of them but a few were in my year. A guy named Leo MacMillan was one of the Chasers. Danielle Smith, our commentator Vanessa's elder sister, was the Keeper of the team. My eyes went to the very last of the Hufflepuff line, where the Seeker was present.

Adrian Rickette was a seventh year, the Seeker of Hufflepuff Quidditch team. He was tall, thinner than a stick and had braces like Leo, but don't you dare get fooled by his appearance! The saying 'Appearances can be deceiving' gets its full meaning here! Taking his oh-so-weak personality as his advantage, he had fooled many other Seekers. He is dangerously innocent, as per Dave.