A/N: more on the girl meets hogwarts au can be found on my blog under tagged/gmw-hp-au !
YEAR 4
By the time the team was suiting up for the big match, Lucas Friar promised himself he'd be over it. He would stop thinking about the fact that Riley had gone to the Yule Ball with Charlie Gardener, he would be over the fact that they were basically an unofficial thing, he would stop obsessing over the fact that maybe if he had just asked her a day sooner, an hour sooner, a minute sooner rather than waiting until the last minute like the idiot he is, then maybe things wouldn't be so weird between them now.
He told himself he'd be over it. But as he stands next to Maya in the Gryffindor locker room and puts on his gear, he still won't shut up about it.
"I just find it funny," he starts, trying to maintain as neutral a tone as possible. He's not doing a very good job, evidently frustrated. "That Riley doesn't seem to be under the impression that she and Charlie are any different than they were before."
Maya hums indifferently, tightening the strap of her elbow pad without giving him a second glance. He knows she's trying to send him a clear message—that she doesn't care and that what Charlie Gardener is up to is of the least importance to her currently—but he literally cannot bring himself to shut up.
He leans down to adjust his knee pads, before lifting his head again as another thought strikes him. "Like, Riley is her own person and it should one hundred percent be up to her whether or not she wants to actually be in a relationship with someone. I completely respect that. But you know, when you're always with someone, and constantly holding their hand or hugging them, it stands to reason—,"
"Ugh, shut up!" Maya finally snaps, dropping down on the bench next to him and taking his jersey to yank her towards him. She gets right in his face, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "Ranger Rick, I do not have time for you to obsess over this. Do you hear that?"
He pauses, listening. Just outside the doors to the pitch, the noise of hundreds of students and faculty moving into the pitch to watch the upcoming match thunders around them.
"You know what that is, Hop-a-long?" She doesn't give him a chance to answer. "That's all of the student body coming to watch this match. You have to get your head in the game, because if you aren't entirely in this match and you get in the way of me scoring at least fifteen goals before Charlie Gardener can get his perfect little Hufflepuff hands on that Snitch, I will make sure you suffer for the rest of your pathetic days at this school. Do you understand me?"
"Loud and clear," he grumbles, taking her hand and removing her from his shirt.
The captain enters the room and calls them to huddle up. Lucas and Maya head over together, brooms slung over their shoulders.
"Okay." Jasmine Gonzalez, a sixth year Chaser and the Gryffindor team captain, clears her throat. "I know what you're all thinking. This is the championship game, last one of the season. What happens on that pitch today may very well make us go down in history… or infamy."
Maya shoots Lucas a look. He rolls his eyes.
"We shouldn't let our guard down even for a second, but we should also remember that the Hufflepuffs haven't won the Quidditch Cup in over ten years and we're champions three years running." The team cheers, patting each other on the back and getting riled up. Jasmine smirks. "We beat the Slytherins within a record-setting fifteen minute game, and we ran Josh and his silly Ravenclaws into the ground."
"What a victory," Maya says happily, relishing in the delight of remembering how badly they crushed the Ravenclaw team. The others grin at her.
Jasmine nods in approval. "Let's get that feeling back again today. The Hufflepuffs aren't easy to beat, but they're no match for us. Even with their shiny new Seeker—Friar, Ross, don't let him get anywhere near the Snitch. That's your main focus. Don't lose sight of that."
Despite how muddled his thoughts have been since winter term, Lucas figures sending the Bludger at Charlie Gardener as hard as he can is one thing he can still manage. He nods.
"Balagot, you keep all your attention on that Snitch. Get it before Gardener does, or so help me I'll fly right off the pitch and into the sunset. Strong, keep an eye out for Meyer because you know he's got a wicked long shot and is probably going to try and score some goals from as far back as possible. Do not let him score a goal. And Hart?" Jasmine turns her attention to her fiery Chaser, her eyes proud. It's no secret she's training her to be captain when she graduates and passes on the helm. "Do your thing and get us up there so it's not even worth catching the Snitch."
Maya grins mischievously, nodding.
Jasmine does one more go around to make sure everyone is suited up properly as the crowd grows louder and louder, anxiously anticipating the Gryffindor team's walk onto the pitch. Once everyone is set, Jasmine shoulders her broom and, with Maya standing proudly by her side, leads the team out the doors and onto the grounds.
The noise of the assembled spectators is deafening when they actually step outside the locker room. It's an abnormally large crowd for a day like today, with rain falling and thunder crashing overhead, but all of them play by the knowledge that you can't cancel Quidditch. Rain or shine, if there's a match, they're on the field. Particularly the championship.
Lucas squints through the drizzle, straining to find Zay and Asher in the crowd. They're not hard to spot, partially due to the fact that Asher is waving an obnoxiously large sign with a screaming lion on it, and partially because there's a speck of blue amidst the sea of red as Isadora Smackle is standing with them. Zay waves eagerly at him, shouting things Lucas can't make out but knows are words of encouragement.
He tries not to let it get to him that Riley isn't standing in the Gryffindor stands like she usually is. She's somewhere in the Hufflepuff crowd, there to cheer on her Seeker boyfriend.
The teams assemble in front of Madam Hooch, watching as she demands a fair, clean match and forces Jasmine and the Hufflepuff captain to shake hands.
Charlie stands in the mirror position of Maya, right at the captain's side with his friendly, charming smirk on his face. Lucas remembers seeing the same smirk when Riley hugged him outside the locker rooms an hour or so ago. He resists the urge to throw his Beater bat preemptively.
"Yes, this is your commentator for the match this afternoon, Slytherin Sarah Carpenter, hoping to provide you all with accurate and at times necessarily harsh criticism as the game unfolds. At my side I have Professor McGonagall, who presently looks like she regrets allowing me to be the commentator for this match. It's like you said, professor, we need an unbiased viewpoint for the championship."
Madam Hooch instructs them to mount their brooms, raising the whistle to her lips. Lucas steels his nerves, feeling that sense of uncertainty he always gets in the pit of his stomach right before a big match. Maya's told him she recognizes the feeling too—it's the rush of knowing how dangerous the game is, but taking the risk and playing anyway. It's a thrill both of them enjoy.
"The captains have shaken hands, and the players are set to fly. There goes the Snitch. It's tough to predict who is going to catch it first—Balagot's always been a tough Seeker to beat, but since his appearance on the pitch last year Gardener has proven himself a legendary Seeker."
Madam Hooch blows her whistle, and immediately all fourteen players kick off into the air. Jasmine and Maya stay low, waiting for the her to toss the Quaffle, but Lucas starts climbing high. He's keeping an eye on Charlie, who is soaring far above them, attempting to get a starting glimpse of the Snitch through the rainy haze.
"The Quaffle is up—and the match begins!"
The stadium roars as the game truly gets going. Lucas keeps a firm grip on his bat and watches both Charlie and Maya as best he can, making sure to knock a Bludger towards anyone who gets too close to their star Chaser. Within the first ten minutes Maya's scored three goals and is working on a fourth. Hufflepuff has only scored once.
"Meyer's looking real irritated, you can tell considering Strong keeps blocking his long shots. But Hart just keeps putting them through—and there she goes again! Ten more points to Gryffindor. They lead, forty to ten."
Lucas cheers Maya on a few feet below him, just swerving away from the goal posts. She beams up at him and gives him a wink, zooming off towards the other end of the pitch.
"Looks like a rough start for the Hufflepuffs, but—oh, what's that? Looks like Gardener has got his eye on something! He's moving fast!"
Jasmine rushes by Lucas, nudging him and startling him. "Keep on Gardener!" she shouts, catching the Quaffle from the other Chaser and speeding away. Lucas regains focus, heading down to trail behind Charlie. Whatever he thought he was chasing, he seems to have lost it. When the Bludger gets close enough, Lucas takes aim and knocks it right towards the Hufflepuff Seeker.
He barely ducks out of the way in time, twirling around and giving Lucas a disgruntled look. "Watch your aim, Friar!"
"That's the game, Gardener!" he yells back.
He keeps up the attack on Charlie whenever an opportunity presents itself, thanks to the advice from his captain and also for his own sense of satisfaction. He sends the Bludger in his direction but one of the Hufflepuff Beaters blocks it, sending him a warning glare across the field.
"Another goal from Maya Hart. She's shaping up to be a real star, if only her class marks were as impressive as her aim—sorry professor, just telling it like it is. Gryffindor leads, seventy to twenty, and both Gardener and Balagot have yet to get a good lead on the elusive Golden Snitch."
Lucas scans the pitch for Bludgers, observing the crowd as he goes. There's a sense of vindication in how bummed the Hufflepuffs seem in their current state of being crushed by Maya's knack for scoring. He completely loses the feeling however when he catches sight of Riley in the crowd, decked out in her yellow and black and cheering for her team, regardless of how badly they're losing.
A Bludger zips past his ear, shocking him out of his daze. Billy Ross flies up behind him and knocks it back in the other direction, towards the Beater who sent it his way in the first place. He gives Lucas an annoyed glower.
"Get your head out of the clouds, man! Focus!"
Lucas takes a deep breath, nodding and moving as far away from the Hufflepuff stands as he can. He notices Charlie take a sudden nose dive and peels down after him, eyeing the Bludger coming his way. Using some of the residual resentment from seeing Riley cheer so hard for Charlie, Lucas lines up the shot and sends the Bludger as hard as he can in his direction.
Charlie just barely swerves out of the way in time, losing track of the Snitch. He scowls at Lucas. Behind him, the Gryffindor stand erupts into cheers.
"And there goes Friar again, being extra aggressive in his playing techniques this time around. I guess when it's the championship match you can't hold back, but anybody else wonder if maybe he's compensating for something? No? Just me? I'm sorry, professor, I'm just telling it like it is!"
Lucas tries his best to block out Sarah's obnoxious commentary. He's not compensating for anything. It's his job to lob things at Charlie. He's just playing the game.
The longer they're in the air, the worse the storm gets. Lucas regrets not grabbing his goggles before heading out on the field. He squints through the haze, still doing his best to keep an eye on Charlie who is having an even harder time keeping an eye on the Snitch the heavier the rainfall becomes. At this point he's higher up than he's been yet, scanning the pitch below for even a hint of where to look.
"With an excellent fake-out from Hart and Gonzalez—an obvious mentor/mentee relationship if I've ever seen one, wonder who's going to take over the team when she finally graduates—the Gryffindor tem takes on an impressive lead of one hundred and sixty to twenty. The Hufflepuffs are just not on their game this afternoon. If Hart can get in another goal before Gardener can grab the Snitch, this game is as good as over. Sorry, puffs."
Lucas tightens his grip on his Beater bat, which is only getting more slippery with the weather. Charlie takes a dive and Lucas goes after him, not letting him out of his sight. He's only got to tail him for a few more minutes… Just long enough for Maya to get one last goal…
"And Hart's got the Quaffle again. She may really do it folks, I cannot believe the Gryffindors may cream the Hufflepuffs this badly. Sorry, professor, but really, this is pathetic. There's an impressive pass to Gonzalez… Meyer tries to steal, but Hart's quicker…"
Lucas feels a shock of panic run through him when he catches Charlie's expression change, going from lost to concentrated in an instant. He's seen the Snitch. Lucas will be damned if Charlie catches the Snitch when Maya is so close to pulling through.
"She's almost there now. Hart is going to be a legend for this, she's scored almost all the goals this entire match. I can't even see through this rain but I bet she's got her queen bitch smirk going right now—sorry, professor…"
Billy Ross flies up on the other end of the field and blocks a Bludger coming for Maya. Lucas turns to give him a congratulatory nod, confused by the look of horror on Billy's face.
"Friar, look out!"
Lucas whips around, expecting to see Charlie grabbing hold of the Snitch, when a Bludger hits him full force in the stomach. The wind is knocked right out of him and he doesn't even realize what's happening until he's lost grip of his bat and is falling off his broom, tumbling through the sky towards the pitch fifty feet below.
"Oh my God, Hart just dropped the Quaffle. Maya Hart dropped the Quaffle. That's the first time she's ever dropped the Quaffle. She was about to snatch up victory for the Gryffindors. Why would she.. where is she going? Wait… oh my God, Friar's fallen off his broom! Friar's going down!"
The last thing Lucas sees is a flash of red zooming towards him from above and the muddy ground coming towards him way too quickly.
Then, in an instant, everything goes black.