MISSED CALLS ➡︎ TEDDY LUPIN [2] ✓

lxxxvi. THE FIRST MATCH

Avalon, in her quidditch uniform and robes, sat down to breakfast that morning with Alaina and Josephine on either side of her, and noticed that her hands were shaking.

She did her best to stop the tremble as she shoveled toast into her mouth, but nothing could stop the nerves.

The one good thing about being so nervous for the first match of the year and being so hyped up about the recruiter for the Holyhead Harpies coming, was that she'd barely had any time to think about Teddy. The only time that he had crossed her mind in the past few weeks was when she would lay in her bed in her dormitory in the middle of the night, after everyone else was asleep and there was nothing left to distract her.

She missed him, obviously. She hadn't heard from him since the breakup, and while that was probably for the best, she also wanted to check in on him, even if that just meant texting Oliver and asking for an update on Teddy. But she was too prideful to do even that.

"Jack and Alex texted me that they're both coming today." Josephine said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "So that should be fun, seeing them again."

Alaina screwed up her face in disgust. "Oh, godric. Jack's coming?"

Avalon couldn't help but laugh at Alaina's expression—it wasn't a secret that Jack continuously asking her out for much of last year was nothing short of annoying, and while the whole team loved each other, the blonde did her best to dodge him whenever he was near.

"Come on, maybe he won't confess his love to you this time." Violetta said from across the table.

"Oi, Av!" Avalon looked away from her friends and teammates to find her younger sister approaching her, wearing her green and silver Slytherin scarf. She had the number 9 drawn on her cheek in a metallic green paint, which was Cordelia's quidditch number.

Avalon forced a smile. "Hey, Isabel."

Isabel leaned in to wrap her arms around her sister's neck, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Good luck out there. Mum told me that Aunt Ginny's recruiter is coming today, so, don't lose. But also, please lose, because I don't want my girlfriend to be sulking for the next few days."

Avalon raised her eyebrows. "So you're openly calling her your girlfriend now?"

"Yep." Isabel replied. "She's still not out to her parents, because Merlin knows they're terrifying, but we're out to the school."

Avalon squeezed Isabel's arm and gave her a reassuring smile. "Good for you. I'm happy for you two."

—

Luckily for Avalon, the weather was far nicer than it was on the day of tryouts, so she wasn't freezing her fingers off while sitting on her broom, high in the sky. Despite the weather being warmer, there was still a wind whipping at her robes and making her hair, which she'd tied back into two French braids, fly around and whack her in the face.

Five minutes into the match, Gryffindor had already scored thirty points, and she found herself grinning proudly. So far, this was the perfect match for the recruiter to be witnessing.

Her luck only increased when she saw the little golden sphere that was the Snitch flying a few feet away from the Slytherin goalposts.

She circled the stadium as casually as she could so as to not alert the opposing team's Seeker, and when she was close enough to the Snitch to make a go for it, she went into a straight ninety-degree nosedive.

And before she knew it, the Snitch was in her grasp, and the stadium was exploding into cheers and applause from the Gryffindor supporters, and shouts of unfairness from the Slytherin supporters.

"Avalon Weasley has caught the Snitch, breaking her own record she set back in 2015! Gryffindor wins the match!" The announcer boomed, voice echoing through the stands.

Avalon flew to the ground, only to be attacked from all sides as a mob of her friends, family, and teammates swarmed her. Oliver and Lawrence, who must have come with her mother, aunt, and grandmothers, hoisted her onto their shoulders, and the screams of her friends were deafening in her ears.

The boys let her down soon after, and she stumbled into her Aunt Ginny's arms, laughing and grinning from ear to ear.

"I am so proud of you!" Ginny said, smiling back just as widely.

To Ginny's left was a tall, lithe woman with dark skin and kind eyes, wearing a hoodie with the Holyhead Harpies logo on it.

"Av, this is Dawn Montgomery, the recruiter I was telling you about." Ginny introduced the two, a mischevous twinkle in her brown eyes.

Dawn smiled politely. "It's lovely to meet you, Miss Weasley. Your aunt wasn't lying when she said you were an exceptional Seeker."

Avalon shook the woman's hand, trying to contain her excitement. "It's nice to meet you, too. Call me Avalon, though. And thank you so much—that's very kind of you."

"I'm sure you're aware that the Harpies are in need of a reserve Seeker," Dawn began after she released Avalon's hand. "And based on your performance this morning, I would like to offer you the position on behalf of the team, for after you graduate Hogwarts in the spring."

Avalon's heart jumped up to her throat, and for several moments she was unable to form a coherent sentence. This was everything she'd ever wanted, and she couldn't even say the words to accept the offer.

"She'll take the spot!" Alaina burst from behind the redhead.

Avalon simply nodded mutely, light eyes wide and overjoyed.

"Excellent. We'll be in touch with you over the next few months about our practice schedules, formal team meetings, salary, and the like. We look forward to working with you."

good for her 😗✌️