Cursed: The New Order of Merlin Book 2

16. The game

Dressed in Gryffindor's red and gold uniform, Jack waited in the Common Room while the team discussed his fate in Oliver's dorm. The restless wind beat the windows while lightning rumbled threateningly close. Jack felt beyond ready to fly out in this crazy weather and show them all what he was made of, but he had been training for only a few weeks. Did the team believe in him? He imagined arguments and tears if one of the girls was told to give up her spot for him. Potter was surely making a case against him. It seemed that the better Jack performed in training, the more hostile the Scarhead got.

"Even if you don't get this game, you'll have another chance in the Spring," Colin said.

Jack gripped his hair and inhaled through clenched teeth. He didn't want to wait until Spring. He wanted it now. He needed it. Quidditch was the only school activity in which he got to use his real skills. Playing the game made him feel alive in ways he'd never felt before. He was made for this game and he was too good to not play it.

They finally came out, Oliver in front, his face unreadable, followed by Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, then Potter and Weasley twins in the back. Potter crossed his arms, brandishing his fancy Nimbus 2000 broom in front of him, looking particularly grumpy.

"You're in," Katie chirped, running up to Jack. "I had a long talk with Oliver. I think you're better than I am."

She volunteered? Jack couldn't believe this. Colin jumped around like an excited puppy while Katie beamed at Jack, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Thank you," he said. The simple words were not enough to express what he was feeling. She believed in him!

"Remember the strategies we've trained." Oliver put a hand on Jack's shoulder and squeezed. "Don't forget to pass to Alicia and Angelina. You three need to work together. Hufflepuff will be. Their teamwork is subpar."

Jack nodded enthusiastically, his legs weak but in a good way. "I won't let you down."

Oliver squeezed his shoulder harder, a little painfully, his eyes bulging from stress. "We will win this game or die trying!"

Oliver ordered them to eat a hearty breakfast though he had a hard time swallowing anything himself. Everyone jumped in their seats when the thunder rumbled overhead. Though the ceiling was no longer enchanted, the windows showed glimpses of the dark sky, illuminated by lightning, a promise of the worst game conditions there could be.

Katie sat next to Jack, telling him how well he would do, looking relieved that she wouldn't have to play in this weather. Potter glanced at the other side of the Great Hall, grumbling how Slytherins rescheduled the game because of the weather and not because of Malfoy's already-healed injury. The other Gryffindors leaned in and listened, some loudly questioning Oliver's decision about letting a newbie onto the team, others pointing out that Jack didn't even have a proper broom.

After a while, all voices blended with each other forming an incoherent babble about the weather, injuries, and newbie mistakes that have cost past teams their victory.

Once in the changing room, when they put on their protective gear, appropriate to protect from minor Quidditch injuries but not the cold they all feared, the team's stress was starting to rub off on Jack, who began to gnaw on his lip. He had to prove that it wasn't a mistake to put him on the team. They had to win. If they lost, everyone would blame him.

Oliver got up to say something but couldn't find the words and just stood there, looking pale. After an ominous silence, during which Alicia looked like she was going to be sick, they faintly heard the announcement over the roar of the storm and walked out onto the field.

Potter bumped into Jack on the way out and said, "Nix..."

"Worry about your Snitch," Jack interrupted and walked out into the rain.