It was a gorgeous spring day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A slight breeze caused the glass surface of the Great Lake to break, sending ripples onto the shore. Several fluffy white clouds were smeared across the sky, but apart from them, the sky was clear and bright. Birds swooped around trees, and several even fluttered around the tops of the tallest towers in Hogwarts.
A cloud of owls could be spotted in the distance, converging on the large castle. Must be the morning post, arriving as they usually did, during the breakfast rush. There was a rather large number for a Saturday. Usually mail was lighter on weekends; perhaps parents were sending their kids 'care packages' to help them cope with the upcoming final exams.
Jamie Collins was perched on the windowsill of the Ravenclaw boy's dormitory, staring off into the beautiful spring sky. He mused on the fact that he had never gotten a care package sent to him before. Not even as a first year, when it seemed that everybody was receiving packages of sweets and toys from their parents.
Not that he expected any, of course. The transatlantic flight would more than likely kill any owl that attempted it. Such were the woes of being an exchange student, especially being an exchange student with Muggle parents who still weren't incredibly keen on the idea of using magic of any sort. Jamie felt a grin spread across his face as he recalled the time he had purchased his mother a magical spatula to assist her in the kitchen. The object had become quite upset by his mother's constant attempts to grab it, and eventually ended up swatting at anybody that got near it. Jamie eventually had to stun the spatula, and get his money back.
A creek distracted Jamie from his musings. Turning away from the warmth of the sun-showered window, he saw a small creature push open the cracked dormitory door and prance across the room toward its only occupant. It was Herald, the brown Calico cat. Nobody quite knew where Herald had come from, but he was a constant presence in the Ravenclaw common room, so the students had adopted him as an unofficial House mascot. In fact, there was still a banner hanging above the girl's dormitories that depicted Harold standing triumphantly above the disemboweled body of a Hufflepuff badger—a remnant of last semester's Quidditch rivalry match between the two houses.
"Hey Harold," muttered Jamie, his voice still hoarse from sleep. The cat scurried over to the windowsill that cradled Jamie and leapt onto the boy's lap, brushing his head against Jamie's hand. "You excited for tonight?" The small creature made no motion to show that it understood, he just purred contently as Jamie stroked his head. "I suppose not. Because you're a cat, and you don't comprehend the idea of sports."
Today was the final day of Hogwarts' Inter-House Quidditch Cup, and it was a battle for first place between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. At the thought of the game, Jamie's gut clenched, and he suddenly felt very queasy. Though he knew it wasn't intentional, the entire school seemed to be putting pressure on the Ravenclaw squad to stop the onslaught that was Slytherin. Slytherin had won the Quidditch cup each of the past four years. Ravenclaw, on the other hand, were in the midst of a ten-year championship drought.
That's not to say that the team in blue and silver weren't immensely talented. Ravenclaw had opened their season with a 460-60 drubbing over their rivals Hufflepuff. Three months later they played a heavily injured Gryffindor squad and came away with a 210-20. The game would have been even more one-sided if their Seeker hadn't spotted the Golden Snitch in the first twenty minutes.
Slytherin had won their two games by equal margins, meaning that this game had the potential to be decided on penalties. The last time that a game was decided by a shootout had been over a hundred years ago.
As if the story needed any more excitement, three players on Ravenclaw and two players on Slytherin had unofficial contracts for British and Irish Quidditch League (or, as everybody referred to it, the BQL) teams, and one more player would be added to those ranks by the end of the night. Puddlemere United were intent on signing one more Chaser to their roster, and the decision appeared to come down to either Jamie, or his rival on the Slytherin squad: Maxwell Osborne.
Maxwell and Jamie were polar opposites of each other in almost every single way. Where Maxwell was well spoken and stereotypically handsome, Jamie was foul-mouthed and rugged. Maxwell came from a rich pure-blood family, Jamie was a Muggle-born. While Maxwell was a naturally gifted quidditch prodigy, Jamie had clawed and scratched his way into the Ravenclaw squad. In fact, the only thing that they both had in common was an overwhelming desire to win, no matter what the costs.
All of this culminated into the most talked-about game in recent Hogwarts history. Several large newspapers even stated that they would be sending representatives to cover the game. There were even rumors of former players, and other people of importance returning to Hogwarts to watch the matchup. Of course, Jamie didn't believe any of the gossip that he had heard. He doubted that anybody of any real importance would be interested in an amateur grudge match between two school quidditch squads. Nonetheless, it was fun to imagine being interviewed like a real celebrity.
Picking up Herald by his sides, Jamie lightly placed the feline on his large four-poster bed, where Herald turned in a tight circle several times before curling up comfortably. Jamie stretched, letting out a large groan. He pulled off his shirt, and grabbed his toiletries bag, strutting confidently into the bathroom. Today it was finally his time to shine.
Jamie pulled on his Ravenclaw Athletics t-shirt as he exited the door to the boy's dormitory. He carried a light jacket in one hand, and was tightening the belt to his jeans with the other as he pushed open the door to the common room.
"Good morning, Mr. Collins!"
Jamie jumped when he heard his name called, startled by the excited little voice. It was Professor Flitwick, standing in front of a large blue and bronze couch. He was wearing a powder-blue scarf around his neck, and a smile that stretched form ear-to-ear.
"Oh. Good morning Professor," Jamie greeted the man. "How are you?" It was only then that he noticed the beautiful brunette sitting on the couch in front of Flitwick. Her hair was pulled up into a bun, and she wore thin glasses that almost concealed her green eyes. "Hey Sophia."
"Hey Hun," she answered.
"I wanted a moment to talk with you before you left the common room," Flitwick stated. "Would you have a seat?" he gestured toward the couch.
"Sure?" Jamie answered, confused. Usually the only time that the tiny professor had ever wanted to talk to Jamie was to scold him for slacking off, or for playing a prank, and he had done neither very recently. Well, he had slacked off in his studies, but that was nothing new. He took a seat next to Sophia who took his hand in hers, and smiled encouragingly at him. Flitwick was still grinning at Jamie, unblinking. It honestly made Jamie uncomfortable to meet his gaze.
Professor Flitwick cleared his throat before beginning. "Ahem. As you know, today is a very important occasion for Ravenclaw, and for Hogwarts in general. As your Head of House, it is my responsibility to remind you that as Quidditch Captain, you are a representative for this house, as well as the school. Reporters have gathered in the Entrance Hall, and they're all going to be looking for an opportunity to speak with you all day. While I would recommend that you avoid speaking to them entirely, I also realize who I am speaking to, and understand that that is unlikely."
"You know me far too well," Jamie muttered, with just a hint of sarcasm.
Professor Flitwick stepped a bit closer, placing his hand on Jamie's shoulder comfortingly. "Mr. Collins, I realize what you've gone through since being placed in Ravenclaw, and I will admit that I've found myself wondering at times why you were sorted into my house. I mean, after your first year, and your absolutely dreadful marks, I went and spoke to Headmistress McGonagall about having you removed from my house. I told her that you were an absolute ignoramus and that the Sorting Hat must have made some egregious error. You were a complete waste of all of your professor's valuable time. Not to mention your complete lack of respect for authority. I tell you, if it weren't for your abilities on the quidditch pitch, who knows where you would end up. Azkaban, maybe. Certainly not in the professional world, that much is for sure."
"Um, Professor, is this supposed to be a pep talk?" Jamie asked.
Flitwick looked up at Jamie and Sophia as if he had forgotten they were present. "Yes, of course. Mr. Collins, I now understand why you were placed in Ravenclaw House. You're going to end this terrible ten year drought, and then you will go on to do great things… Outside of Academia, of course." He smiled at Jamie sincerely. "Good luck tonight."
"Thanks, Professor," Jamie responded. "I think…"
With that, Flitwick scuttled toward the exit to the common room. "I'd suggest you two hurry. The reporters are getting ravenous." The door to the common room slammed shut behind him.
After several seconds of silence, Jamie turned to Sophia. "I'm under the impression that I've just been insulted." A cheeky grin broke across his face. Sophia laughed and leaned in close to kiss him.
"Can you blame him?" she joked.
Jamie chuckled. "Rude," he commented, pulling her closer to him to deepen their kiss. But Sophia placed her hands firmly on his chest to keep him at bay.
"Flitwick is right," she stated. "We should go to the Great Hall. You need breakfast."
Jamie shrugged, leaning back against one arm of the couch. "You know I'm usually not hungry before a game."
"I don't care, you need your energy," she insisted.
"What are you doing today?" Jamie asked, not so subtly changing the subject.
"I'm going to be studying until the game starts. So I'll be in the library. Want to tag along?"
"That depends. Can we sneak into the restricted section and make out again?"
"No," Sophia giggled. "I actually have work to do. And you would too if you weren't so stubborn about leaving."
She was referring to the fact that once the game was over Jamie would be dropping out of Hogwarts permanently. He was determined to receive a professional contract, and staying at school any longer would just hinder his progress. While he had already declined an offer from the professional team back home—the Sweetwater All Stars—he only had eyes for the BQL. That was where all of the rest of the Hogwarts players had ended up. He planned to do the same.
"I'm going to miss you," she stated, turning to lie against Jamie. "Things are going to be some boring around here with you gone."
"You've only got a month-and-a-half without me," he stated, wrapping his arms around her, to bring the girl as close as possible. "You'll be so busy with school and N.E.W.T.s, that time is going to fly by. Then you can come live with me in London."
"London," she sighed, imagining their life together. They would share flat in the city, close to Diagon Alley, but far enough away from the wizarding community that they could enjoy their privacy if they wished. Jamie would wake up early, as he usually did, and go to quidditch training, she would wake up later and go to Auror training. They would both return in the evening and have dinner together. They would have a Crup named Maggie, and her owl Delilah.
She mentally admonished herself for drifting off. "What about Texas?" she asked. "Don't you want to be close to your family?"
"Texas is great for a short vacation. See the family, all that. But my life is here. Sam is here, you're here, my career is here. I could never leave."
"Sam and I?" she asked. "In that order?"
"Y'all are both important to me. Don't make me choose."
Sophia giggled. "Y'all," she repeated, in an overly-exaggerated Texas accent.
"I don't sound like that," Jamie argued jokingly, squeezing her tightly in his arms.
"Ow," Sophia laughed. "Let me go!"
"Make me."
Sophia threw her hands back and furiously tickled Jamie's abdomen, causing him to jerk back, and pull his arms away, as if she were searing hot. "Not cool," he snapped, but he was still smiling.
Pushing against Jamie, Sophia stood up, then turned to offer her hand to her boyfriend. "Let's go Quidditch Captain, you've got a game to win."
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"Fuck," Jamie muttered in amazement, as he and Sophia entered the Entrance Hall hand-in-hand.
A sea of witches and wizards were there to greet them. Jamie had anticipated a few reporters to cover the sporting event, but not in his wildest dreams had he expected something of this magnitude. The large entryway was absolutely packed with people. Not just reporters either, though there were plenty, but important individuals that Jamie didn't think would even give him the time of day, let alone come to watch he and his peers play a game of quidditch.
"Is that the Minister of Magic?" Sophia whispered, pointing to a tall, powerful-looking man surrounded by reporters.
"Shacklebolt? Holy shit, yeah, it is."
"And look!" It's Blythe Parkin!" she pointed out the short witch with pixie-cut hair being interviewed by the Weekly Sports Report representative. Parkin was a former Seeker for the English National Team.
Jamie's jaw dropped when he saw a tall handsome man talking to several pretty seventh-year girls in the corner of the Entrance Hall. "Babe, it's Quentin Kowalski! Look, do you see? Over in the corner! He's actually here! Babe, he's here, in this school. In the same school I'm in!" Quentin Kowalski was a chaser for the Finchburg Finches, and had played on the American Nation Team in the latest World Cup.
"I see him," Sophia said. "Why don't you go say something?"
"What? To him? Why would he want to talk to me?"
She laughed at how dense he was. "Because he's here to see you play, obviously."
"Good point," Jamie admitted.
"Jamie Collins!"
Jamie leapt, startled for the second time today by the announcement of his own name. A tall, handsome blonde boy took the stairs two-at-a-time to greet Jamie with fake enthusiasm. Placing his arm over Jamie's shoulder, Maxwell yanked him away from Sophia and toward an ocean of flashbulbs and reporters. Jamie shrugged off the boy's shoulder as civilly as he could manage.
"Mr. Osborne, are you excited to bring home a fifth Hogwarts Quidditch Cup for Slytherin?" called out a reporter.
Maxwell laughed good-naturedly. Jamie couldn't help but think that his perfect white teeth would make a great target for a wildly aimed elbow tonight. "Well, it would be nice but we haven't won anything yet. Ravenclaw still stands in our way and it won't be easy with their legendary chaser Jamie Collins standing in our way!" He good-naturedly clapped Jamie on the shoulder, and leaned in close. Without moving his lips, he muttered into Jamie's ear, "That's all bullshit. We're going to crush your team, and then I'm going to fuck your girlfriend."
"Mr. Collins, what has your team been doing to prepare for this talented Slytherin squad?"
Jamie was dumbstruck by the question. Even after all of the time that he had spent practicing speaking to reporters in the mirror, he found himself at a complete loss for words when staring into the sea of reporters.
"We've been practicing," he finally said, matter-of-factly. "I figure that the best way to get ready for a game is to just go out there and do it."
The reporters all looked disappointed by his short, bland answer. "I'm gonna go eat now," Jamie muttered, as he dropped his head, and hurried away from the crowd, who converged upon Maxwell in his absence.
Walking into the Great Hall, which was protected from reporters by a team of professors, Jamie searched for Sophia but couldn't find her among the many faces present at breakfast.
"Oy!" called out a deep voice near the middle of the Ravenclaw table. Jamie turned to the source of the call, recognizing the lanky fourth year who was waving him down. Seated with the boy was Katherine Johnson and Jack Morse.
The fourth year was Avery Kennings, an African immigrant who was enjoying his first year on the quidditch team. He and Jamie had initially bonded over a mutual feeling of being an outsider in the English school. He was a great player, despite his young age, and had outclassed every other keeper at the tryouts.
"Wotcher," muttered Katherine, stuffing her mouth with large portions of eggs and toast. Katherine was the only girl on Jamie's team this year. She was a rough player who wasn't afraid to throw her bony elbows around. Her aunt had played for the Gryffindor squad years ago, and Katherine herself was signed on to play for the Holyhead Harpies after her Hogwarts career was over.
"Wotcher," Jamie muttered back, dropping onto the bench beside Avery. "Where's Sam at?" he asked, referring to their seeker, and his best friend.
"Talking to reporters from Witch Weekly," Katherine stated in disgust. "They've unofficially named him the Most Eligible Man in Hogwarts."
"Oh yeah, that'll do wonders for his ego," Jamie said sarcastically.
Still not feeling very hungry, he poured himself a large cup of coffee, and raised the cup to his lips, but suddenly Avery's hand shot forward and he jerked the cup away from his captain's mouth, sloshing coffee over Jamie's hand, and the empty platter in front of him.
"Wait!" the keeper exclaimed. He whipped out his wand, and waved it over Jamie's cup twice, and then once more very slowly. He stowed his wand, satisfied. "Okay, you're good."
"Wanna tell me what the Hell you're doing?" Jamie asked dryly, wiping his wet hand off on his jeans.
"He's been doing this for everybody," Jack grumbled. "Thinks somebody's going to try to poison our meals."
"Oh," Jamie said. "Doesn't bother me. Just watch how close you get to my caffeine, Kennings. You may lose a hand next time." Jamie winked at the young lad to show that he was joking. Avery grinned and began to tuck into his own meal.
A stout boy took a seat beside Jack and picked up a muffin from the table.
"Hey Arty," Jack greeted his fellow beater. The two were a fearsome pair in the sky. Arthur was very intelligent, and very strong. Jamie thought that he could have been a professional quidditch player as well if he cared enough about the sport. But Arthur was determined to become a Healer like his father was.
Jack was a long, lanky player. He also had a contract waiting for him after this game. The Wimbourne Wasps had wanted Jack since the end of last year, and he had agreed to terms of a contract early this semester. He and Katherine were what Jamie and Sophia liked to call an "unofficial" couple. They were technically dating, but they weren't quite aware of it yet.
"That just leaves Riley and Sam," stated Kat.
"Present!" called a familiar voice.
Riley Everly sat down next to Katherine and Sam Montgomery dropped down on the bench beside Jamie. Sam and Jamie had been friends since their first day at Hogwarts nearly seven years ago. They both relished in mischief and felt no need to waste their time with schooling. Over their time in school they had become less like friends and more like brothers. Jamie didn't even remember the first time that they met, he just always remembered Sam being there. Sam was going to play for the Falmouth Falcons after this game. He would be learning under veteran Bulgarian seeker Victor Krum.
"Alright than," said Jamie. "Everybody feeling okay?"
There was a collective murmur of positive affirmation as the team tucked into their meals (after being inspected by Avery of course). The rest of the Ravenclaw house gave their quidditch team a wide birth at the table. It had become a tradition that the team ate by themselves on game days. Occasionally a student form another house would wish them luck in passing, and they would receive a grateful nod, or even just a glance of recognition.
As their silent meal wound down, Jamie took a swig of pumpkin juice before clearing his throat. "Alright guys, I wanted to talk to you about speaking to the press. But I guess I was a little late on that." He turned to Sam, who returned his look with a smirk. "Did you say anything that's going to bite me in the ass?"
"Yeah, I told them about the Firewhisky incident," he answered with a grin. There was a chuckle from their teammates as everybody recalled the night that Sam was referencing.
Jamie grinned and rolled his eyes. "Awesome. I appreciate that. Look, game starts at five this evening, so everybody be in the locker room by four. Until then, feel free to talk to the reporters. Nobody is allowed in the gym today. Take a nap, go to the library, don't be stupid. We've done this before. It's just another game. Don't psych yourself out." Jamie stood up and stepped over the bench he had been seated on. The rest of the team, aside from Arty and Jack, followed suit. "I'll see y'all tonight."
Everybody split off, Avery going to sit with other fourth-year students, Riley and Katherine moving to a back entrance in order to avoid the press. Arty and Jack were beginning to tuck into their second course. Sam and Jamie moved toward the Entrance Hall. It was the fastest way to the Ravenclaw Common Room, even if they did have to fight their way through reporters.
"So," Jamie began, laughing. "Most Eligible Man in Hogwarts?"
"Yeah. Comes with a jacket and everything."
Jamie grinned at Sam's joke as they exited into the field of reporters.
"Jamie Collins!"
Jamie didn't think he had ever heard his name called so many times in one morning. He and Sam both turned, and their jaws hit the floor as a gorgeous redhead stood before them. She wore green robes that complimented her figure, and stood with a tall, confident presence that just made her even more attractive to the two players.
"My name is Ginny Weasley, I'm the Senior Quidditch Correspondent for the Daily Prophet. I was wondering if you had time for an interview."
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(A/N): I've never been a big fan of Author's Notes, or whatever you call them. I usually skip over them myself. But on the off chance that some of you like to know a little something about the author's life (weirdos), here you go. I've got about six chapters of this story already written out, and I'm going to try to post updates every Monday or Tuesday because I like being able to have a consistent schedule to work with.
This is the first time I've ever written something for the site that I felt was good enough to publish, so I'd love any and all feedback you guys can offer. It's going to be a sports-based story, but I'm really excited for the character development, the romance, and the laughs that we'll have along the way.
Also, I'm looking for a beta for this story. Grammar and spelling are where I excel so I'm actually looking for somebody who can help me with the progression of characters and story, and keep me correct on all of my HP information. So if you think that this story is your cup of tea, and you'd like to be the first to view chapters as they pop into my head, shoot me a PM and we'll talk.
Thanks guys!