Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 4—Round 7
Team: Holyhead Harpies
Position: Captain
Task: Write about a given 'nautical ship' (H.M.S Remembered & Remaining—Cho/Cedric)
Word Count: 2,442
Shout-out to Lizzie (TheNextFolchart) who not only gave me the idea for this fic but also did a very wonderful job beta-ing!
The Hufflepuff Seeker
"The Hufflepuff Seeker is good. I won't deny it. Cedric Diggory is fast, and he's got a bit more experience than you, but—Cho, are you even listening?"
Cho Chang glanced up at Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, with wide eyes. The cheering of fans in the stands echoed in her ears as she leant toward him, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. "Sorry."
Davies grinned. "I remember my first Quidditch match."
Cho peered out of the changing room, trying to catch a glimpse of the crowd again. At barely fifteen, she was the youngest Ravenclaw Seeker in a decade, and she was determined to prove herself.
She knew she was a competent Seeker—fast, agile, well-disciplined in the air, with excellent broom control. It was these qualities which had earned her a spot on the team, after all. But her new position hadn't come without criticism. The Slytherin players had deemed her just a pretty face, cruelly implying Cho had earned her place on the team because of her looks—that her Captain had been blinded by her beauty and nothing more, or that she had otherwise 'flirted' her way onto the team.
The implied origins of her hard-earned title weren't true, of course, and Cho knew she'd be able to prove it once she got in the air, but she wondered how many of those people in the stands believed she was only there because she was pretty.
"So. Cedric Diggory," Davies was saying. "He's good, alright? But I think you might be able to gain the edge. Don't be intimidated just because he's older."
"Older?" Cho asked, suddenly nervous all over again. Older meant more experienced. Older meant better. "How much older?"
"Just one year older than you."
"But—"
"Don't worry about him. You've got excellent coordination—you've been exceptional in training. Diggory's fast, but he's not agile. If you can throw him off somehow, then you've got the upper hand."
Cho was looking at the crowd again.
"Don't look at them." Davies grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him. "I know you can do this."
Cho took a deep breath and nodded. Tightly gripping her broomstick, she made her way onto the pitch, head held high. The stands were packed full. Cho looked to where she knew her Ravenclaw friends sat and grinned when she heard them cheering her name.
Davies was right. She had nothing to fear. She'd earned her spot on the team for a reason.
The whistle blew, and Cho kicked off the ground and soared into the air.
She flew towards the outskirts of the pitch, scanning the pitch for the slightest glimmer of gold. She flicked her head around in order to get a good look at her competition—it couldn't hurt to size Cedric up. She'd never heard of the Hufflepuff Seeker before.
She found him on the other side of the pitch. Even from a distance, she could see he was every bit as broad and strong as the rest of the players. He had a good handle on his broom, and he moved through the air with ease.
"Hufflepuff scores!" the commentator yelled. Cho cursed herself for wasting time looking for the Seeker instead of the Snitch. "That's the first goal of the match, putting Hufflepuff in the lead, ten–nil."
A movement in Cho's peripheral vision caused her to swing her broom around. Cedric Diggory had apparently been circling the outskirts and was now headed straight towards her. Cho felt her stomach drop. Why was he coming towards her? Was he coming to harass her? Distract her? Try to scare her off?
Cho glanced downwards, where her teammates were too engrossed in their own duties to notice what was happening. She half-considered simply flying away from the approaching Hufflepuff Seeker, but when she looked back up at him, she froze.
Now that he was closer, she could see Cedric in more detail: the sculpted jaw, the soft bronze curls, the kind smile which extended all the way to his eyes. But it wasn't his striking good looks that kept Cho hovering where she was—it was the gentleness with which he looked at her. Her stomach dropped in an entirely different way. What was he playing at?
Cho found herself glaring at him as he flew ever closer, letting him know she wasn't intimidated and she wasn't moving. He didn't slow down. Was that his tactic? Was he going to knock her off her broom?
To Cho's surprise, Cedric came to a halt just before he hit her. He offered a charming and somewhat shy smile. "You shouldn't remain stationary during a match."
It took Cho by so much surprise that she almost fell off her broom. His voice was an impossible combination of deep and soft. Her gaze flickered toward him again, searching that face for any sign of condescension, but his smile was sincere.
"Flying around gives a better perspective of the pitch." Cedric let out a gentle laugh. "Speaking of which—"
Before Cho could reply, he was gone, continuing his graceful circling of the pitch. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks. He must think her an absolute idiot—naïve, inexperienced, lacking in any strategy or common sense. In fact, Cho thought with a desperately sinking heart, he probably believed the rumours the Slytherin team had spread.
But she gritted her teeth and forced herself through the air, circling the pitch in the opposite direction. She wasn't there to impress the Hufflepuff Seeker (though she suddenly felt an indescribable urge to do so); she was there to catch the Golden Snitch.
Cho tried to keep that in mind as she circled, but she found her thoughts constantly interrupted by the vision of Cedric Diggory and that deeply charming smile.
Cho was exhausted. Two hours into the match, she had failed five times to catch the Snitch.
She and Cedric had circled the pitch in silence, travelling in opposite directions. Cho couldn't help but feel her heart rate gently increase as she anticipated the moment they'd pass each other. She caught him stealing glances at her across the pitch, too, and she'd tried not to let it get to her, but she felt her cheeks flush with colour every time she felt his gaze land on her. It was annoyingly distracting. If she missed the Snitch because she felt so flustered under the opposing Seeker's gaze, Davies would surely drop her from the team.
And Cho already felt desperately guilty. Five times the Golden Snitch had flitted onto the pitch, and five times she'd darted towards it. But Cedric was fast, and even when Cho had a slight advantage, he always managed to match her. He swerved when she swerved; when she tried to block him, he always managed to keep up with her. And neither had been quite able to wrap their hand around the elusive winged ball.
Five times the Snitch had disappeared, and the spectators, watching the pursuit in breathless anticipation, had erupted into groans. Five times, Cho thought with a sigh, she had failed to make her team proud.
For what felt like the hundredth time, they were about to cross paths mid-air. Cho's stomach was already starting to feel fluttery, and she certainly wasn't prepared when Cedric broke out into that charming smile and accompanied it with a playful, "We've got to stop meeting like this."
Cho opened her mouth—to laugh, to reply, she wasn't sure, it didn't matter—when something caught her eye: a tiny flicker of gold behind Cedric's ear.
She shot past him, the wind whistling through her robes as she gained speed. Cho couldn't see Cedric—she couldn't even sense him behind her—but she could see the Snitch, and this time, she was determined to catch it.
Gloved fingers outstretched, urging her broom forward with every ounce of strength she could muster, Cho shot forward with a sudden burst of energy. Her hand clasped around the tiny ball—she could still feel the wings struggling to flap—and before she could fully take it in, the crowd was shrieking with delight.
"CHO CHANG CATCHES THE SNITCH. RAVENCLAW WINS!"
Everything that followed happened in a blur. Cho was on the ground, being enfolded into a massive group hug by her teammates, everybody shrieking and bouncing, all the while the wings of the Golden Snitch continued to wildly beat within her fist. Had that really just happened? Had she caught her first Snitch?
As the group dispersed and headed for the changing room, Davies clapped her on the shoulder. "I don't know what you did to distract Diggory up there, but it was bloody brilliant, Cho. It worked!"
Cho started to laugh politely, but something stopped her short. Something about his comment made her feel uncomfortable. Perhaps she'd misunderstood. "What do you mean?"
"Distracting him so you could get the advantage—it was truly brilliant." And then, to Cho's horror, he winked at her. "Nicely done."
Cho felt the heat rise in her cheeks once more, but not in a good way this time. "I didn't distract him. I mean—you don't think I—"
"Flirted with him?" Davies was grinning. "Hey, I'm not judging you, Cho. It worked. We won!"
But all the excitement had disappeared without a trace. "I didn't flirt with him," Cho said. "I didn't even talk to him. He talked to me, I just—"
"Cho, relax, it doesn't matter." Davies was starting to look uncomfortable. "You still demonstrated a lot of skill. It doesn't matter how you got that advantage."
"But I didn't flirt with him. I didn't do anything of the sort. I—"
"Well, that's what it looked like. He couldn't stop staring at you the entire time. There were plenty of opportunities for him to have caught that Snitch—a little bit of coordination, some slight maneuvering—I've seen him do it before. But he didn't. And that last time especially—he was seconds behind you. He didn't even try."
Cho's heart sank as the hot sting of tears began to build behind her eyes. "But I—"
"Look, I really want a shower, so I'm going to head off. But I'll see you in the Common Room, yeah? There'll be some big celebrations tonight—everybody will want to congratulate you!"
He was gone before Cho could protest further. After all that—after nearly two hours of exhausting speed and skill and agility—people actually thought she'd flirted her way to a win?
"Hi," a nervous voice piped up from behind her. She knew without turning around that it was Cedric. Everybody else had evacuated the pitch, and the stands were almost empty too. "I just wanted to—"
Cho spun around, fuming, tears still threatening. "You let me win," she said, her voice shrill and breathy.
Cedric looked startled. "What?" Now that Cho could see him up close and on the ground, she was frustrated to find him still as strikingly charming and handsome as he'd seemed in the air. Even with sweat clinging to his gear, he looked incredible.
"You let me win." Cho's tears spilt over. "I wanted to win on my own. I wanted to prove myself, and you just let me win." She wiped her eyes. "Why? Because I'm just a pretty face? Because you felt sorry for me?"
Cedric looked so genuinely confused that Cho almost regretted her outburst. "I didn't let you win," he said. "Why do you think that?"
"Everyone's saying it. My Captain told me you didn't even try to catch the Snitch. You just let me. And everybody thinks I did it on purpose. Everybody thinks I was flirting with you so that I could get the advantage."
Cedric had turned a faint pink colour. The last of the lingering spectators had disappeared, leaving them completely alone on the pitch. "I... I had no idea that it looked like that, Cho."
Cho ignored the little flutter her heart gave when he said her name.
"But you have to believe me—I didn't let you win. I was distracted." Cedric's face was still pink. "But that was my fault. I mean, if anything"—he let out a nervous laugh—"I flirted with you."
Cho's heart was suddenly pounding.
"I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry. I just—"
"Why didn't you catch the Snitch?" Cho looked at him intently. "All those times you could have—why didn't you?"
Cedric looked taken aback. "I couldn't have. Believe me, Cho, I was trying. If I could have, I would have. I actually wanted the match to end as quickly as possible so that I could... well, so that I could talk to you properly." He glanced down at his feet.
Cho felt her eyes widen. "What?"
Cedric looked back up, still visibly uncomfortable. "I didn't catch the Snitch because I couldn't. I'm a Seeker, Cho, I'm here to win—don't think otherwise. I'm not that chivalrous or humble. Not when it comes to Quidditch." He offered her another of the many coy smiles they'd exchanged on the pitch. "I couldn't catch that Snitch. You were better than I was up there. And I'll tell anyone who asks exactly the same thing." Cedric gave her a firm, assuring nod. "In fact, I'll tell everyone anyway, even if they don't ask. I won't have that honour taken away from you. You caught that Snitch fairly, based on great skill and ability. You're not a pretty face, okay?"
Cho blinked in surprise, not sure if she should be offended or flattered.
Cedric looked mortified, his face reddening even further. "I mean, you are incredibly pretty," he stuttered. "Your face—it—it is a very pretty one—I just meant—"
"Thank you." Cho was smiling again, suddenly shy. "Not for calling me pretty, but for telling me the truth. And for offering to tell that truth to everyone." She tucked a misplaced strand of hair behind her ear. "And, well, thanks for calling me pretty, too."
Cedric exhaled a sigh of relief, beaming in a way that endeared Cho more than she quite felt comfortable with. "You really are an exceptional flier. I'm looking forward to our next match."
Cho smiled. "Me, too."
"Well." Cedric hoisted his broom up from where he'd dropped it on the ground. "I suppose you'll be wanting to get back to your Common Room to enjoy the celebrations." He gave her one last charming smile. "You deserve it, Cho."
By the time she turned away from the Hufflepuff Seeker, Cho had that smile memorised.
The Valentine-Making Station (by TheNextFolchart)
Balloons – Write about any kind of flight
Blue – Write about a Ravenclaw
Gold – Write about a character finally getting what he/she has been reaching for
Yellow – Write about a Hufflepuff