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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐄𝐍

𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐎 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄
"𝐵𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒."
—𝐿𝑎𝑜 𝑇𝑧𝑢
𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟔𝟎𝟑𝟒

⋆⋆⋆✧⋆⋆⋆

𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐒 her head rested on Cedric's lap, her eyes swiftly moving across the pages of her book. 

Cedric's fingers mindlessly played with her dark hair as he chatted with the rest of the boys, who were sitting on the couch opposite to them in the Hufflepuff common room.

It was the night before the match that would determine whether Gryffindor or Slytherin would get the Quidditch Cup. And as a result, the Gryffindor common room was filled with anxious and chatty students, which is why Liliana relocated to a space that was much more peaceful. 

As Liliana read her book, the boys talked about the upcoming match, though she was hardly listening. From what she could hear, they were placing bets on who would win. 

"I don't know, I think Slytherin has a good chance," Devon interjected with a shrug, causing the others to shake their heads. "Their players are pretty aggressive."

"But they get a lot of penalties because of that," Wesley reminded him. "That could make them lose a bunch of opportunities."

Cedric nodded in agreement with the blond boy. "I've never seen any team rack up as many penalties as they do in a single match."

"I don't know . . . ," Devon mused, leaning back on the couch. "Slytherin is pretty good."

Cedric shrugged. "Gryffindor is better, though." 

"As much as I hate to say it, Malfoy isn't that bad of a seeker," Devon continued, his hand ruffling through his black hair. "He's pretty fast."

"Yeah, but Potter has a Firebolt," Riley argued, his eyebrows raised. "A Firebolt! No one stands a chance against that broomstick!"

Liliana looked up from her book, her eyebrows furrowed. "But it's a broomstick. Does a broomstick really determine whether a player is better than the others? Or that a team will win?"

"Yes," all four boys instantly responded in unison.

She shrugged before going back to her book. "Okay."

"So, everyone against Devon?" Riley questioned with a grin. "We think Gryffindor will win, and Devon thinks Slytherin will win?"

"Yeah," Wesley agreed. "Which means if Gryffindor wins, Devon has to—"

"Hold on," Devon interrupted, now a little nervous, "I never said I thought Slytherin would win."

"Okay, so you think Gryffindor will win?" Wesley queried as he raised his eyebrows.

"Well . . ."

"A tie?" Cedric offered.

"A never-ending match?" Liliana added, a small grin on her face.

"That's not possible, it would end at some point," Devon said, sticking his tongue out at her.

She rested her book on her chest. "But what if they kept playing until every player died? Then it would've never ended!"