Jess's homework situation was now dire as Charlotte was making them train almost daily, James too was sat up finishing homework, but Jess's heart wasn't really in it, she had her first ever quiddich match next day and had barely emotion to spare for a Potions essay or Ancient Runes translations. She went to bed after making a very shoddy job on both of these, but knowing at least she would have had some sleep before the match tomorrow, she didn't feel too guilty.
She awoke next morning and sat bolt upright. This was it. The test to see whether she was really good enough. She dressed silently and walked into the common room, here she found James sat with his knees pulled tightly up to his chest Sirius, Remus and Peter were all standing around him, she hurried over
"What's the matter?" All they needed was their Seeker injured today; they were playing Slytherin.
"Just nerves, don't worry!" Said Sirius smiling, and then his voice changed, it became gentler "How 'bout you? Feeling alright?" He sounded genuinely concerned so Jess decide to be truthful
"No, to be honest, I feel totally sick" Sirius smiled slightly and all of them made their way down to breakfast. They sat there for a while; neither Jess nor James touched their food, Jess knew she couldn't stomach anything, not this morning. And looking down the table Jess saw that Matt wasn't having much luck trying to get Tom to eat either, so eventually Matt gave up and called them both over so they could go down to the pitch before the stands filled up.
Once in the changing rooms Jess changed quickly then sat down, she looked at James who had his face buried in his hands and then at Tom who kept running his hands through his hair so that almost all the gel had come out, she knew how they felt because she was feeling it herself, she sat their clutching her stomach which felt so full of butterflies she was surprised it could hold them all. Matt put his arm round her in an older brotherly kind of way and she felt a bit better, just then Charlotte came out of the captains room for the pre-match pep talk,
"Right, I've only just found out the final line up for Slytherin, their Keeper is off on injury so they've got someone pathetic called Andrew Lodger and they're playing Ryan Thomas as Seeker and the usual lot for Beaters and Chasers, don't worry James, Ryan isn't anything special and I'm surprised Andrew knows one end of the broom from the other, so lets go!"
Slightly reassured by this speech Jess took her place next to Hannah, behind Charlotte. They walked onto the pitch and she was hit with a blast of sound coming from the stands, whether they were cheering or booing her team she couldn't tell but she was brought to reality when she nearly crashed into Charlotte, she had stopped and was shaking hands with the Slytherin Captain. There was a short blast from a whistle and Jess knew what to do she kicked off from the ground and all her nerves left her.
The first half an hour went well and Griffindor were winning 50-0. But it all started to go wrong, the Slytherins were getting more brutal by the minute and Hannah was knocked off her broom by a bludger, Jess took up the quaffle and streaked down the pitch, dodging a chaser, doing the 'Sloth Grip Roll' to dodge a bludger and finally she took aim, and shot. It was as though time had slowed down and for one lovely moment she felt an amazing sense of euphoria as the quaffle flew through the hoop, and then from nowhere a sharp pain surged through her body, a bludger had come in contact with the side of her head. Her vision was fogging up, her mind going blank. No she told herself firmly concentrate, just till they end of the match, stay conscious! She did the only thing that made sense as she swayed on her broom and flew towards the floor so she didn't have far to fall if she did come off. She was losing all sense of whereabouts on the pitch she was.
Just as she was skimming the grass floor of the pitch she heard the sound she had been waiting for. One long blast on the whistle,
"And James Potter has caught the snitch! GRIFFINDOR WIN!"
That was all she needed. She landed with a soft thud and dismounted, she held her broom and swayed violently. Charlotte caught her and Madam Pomfrey hurried about her and made her drink a potion so she felt slightly better.
Soon everyone in the team was hugging, and Emily and the girls were coming down from the stands to congratulate and cheer them, she hugged each of them in turn and then turned to hug Sirius, Remus and Peter. She got changed quickly, talking non-stop to James, and the others. Everyone said she was really brave, and Charlotte was talking indignantly about getting the offending Beater banned from the next match, Jess grinned, she didn't think she'd ever felt this happy in all her life.
