Damon paced nervously, trying to compose himself. He took a seat and stared at one spot, letting all of the thoughts come. His friend Enzo called it his 'spiral'. Something he does when he thinks too much. Whether anxiety or bits of depression. This time, it was more on the anxiety end, due to the Quidditch match that would soon unfold. It was his first match as a Chaser. He was worried, not because he didn't know how to play well but because he didn't want to risk screwing up in front of hundreds of people.
Suddenly, footsteps approached him, and a Gryffindor sat beside him. Harry Potter. "Hey, it's okay" he assured his housemate. "You are plenty good enough. And it doesn't matter if you mess up. I was plenty nervous during my first game."
."yeah, and the likelihood of me having a cursed broom like you did is pretty slim" Damon chuckled.
"Exactly. You've got this. And your teammates have your back. They always do"
"Thanks, Harry" Damon said, looking at the young teen. "I should probably get changed for the match."
The Salvatore stood up and went to get changed. His mind was spinning, but he tried to relax. He took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally for his first game. He was a Chaser, along with Angelina and Alicia. He would have preferred the seeker position, but given the fact Harry Potter was the seeker, he never stood the chance.
"Harry Potter has caught the snitch. Gryffindor wins!" Shouted the commentator.
Damon did a cheering loop in the air before going down to the ground and grinning at Harry. "Great job!" He said, looking at the young teen.
Harry smiled softly, his cheeks pinkening a bit. "It wasn't all me. You were great too" he said, looking at Damon. "Not bad for a first game. You were brilliant"
"Thank you, Harry. We should all celebrate another winning match!" Damon exclaimed with a grin.
"Absolutely" Alaric said, walking over to the two. "Ill bring butterbeer."
"Where could we meet up?" Harry frowned.
"The room of requirement, maybe" Alaric said thoughtfully.
"The room of what?" Harry said incredulously. He had never heard of that before.
"The room of requirement. We can celebrate a fine game tonight. Hey, Oliver, you hear that!" Alaric called out.
Oliver Wood walked over to them. "What is it?"
"How do you feel about celebrating a game of quidditch"?"
"I say we don't party until we win the quidditch cup at the end" Oliver said, looking at them.
Damon deflated a bit. "Fine. Come on, Harry" he tugged his friend away from the crowd that had now begin to reach them. "I have something for you anyways"
Harry allowed himself to be pulled from the crowd and followed Damon out of the quidditch pitch before over to a quiet area. Damon reached into the bag he had grabbed from the locker room on the way out and pulled out a box.
"Happy late birthday?" Damon said. "I know we aren't that close. But consider it a gift for putting up with everything you have to"
Harry furrowed his eyebrows and opened it. A snitch began buzzing around him. He watched it for a long moment. "You got me a snitch? Thank you. I don't even think I want to know how much it cost"
"Yeah, well, I'm nearly as rich as you and Draco Malfoy, so I thought I should treat you. Thankfully my mother hasn't cut my fundings yet."
Harry grabbed the snitch and put it back in the box with a small smile. "Thanks again"
Damon nodded. "I'm gonna go practice some more quidditch moves. Maybe Ill be able to score more next time" he said.
Harry nodded. They both went to the locker room and changed out of their quidditch gear before Damon grabbed his broom and flew back out. He took a deep breath before practicing swift movements. He practiced side to side and dives back down and up. Honestly, this was a good way to avoid the crowd. Besides, they won because Harry caught the snitch. Damon sighed a little before practicing more movements. If he wanted to be useful for the team, he had to be a better Chaser.
After a while, he caught a brief glimpse of Enzo and flew over to him quickly. "Hey,"
"Hey, Mate" he greeted, looking at Damon. "I wanted to compliment you on your flying earlier. I gotta say, being a part of the opposing team makes it hard to cheer on you in public" Enzo chuckled
"I wasn't that good" Damon said with a frown. "It makes me wonder how I'm even on the team"
"Not that good? Bloody hell, you made several shots. The score was nearly a hundred before he caught the snitch. And a little under half was because of you"
Damon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Really?"
"Yeah, mate. Your self esteem is just getting to you. Come on, let's go get some food and talk" Enzo said. "You need a break from your crazy training anyways.
Damon nodded and landed. Enzo went over to him, and the two boys from separate houses walked back to the castle side by side.