Mid October came fast, and so did the first Quidditch game of the season. Albus had woken up nervous, and had worked himself up more and more as the morning progressed. He was sick to his stomach at breakfast and refused to eat a bite, and finally, Scorpius said something to him, "Dude, what's your problem?"
"I'm always nervous for the first Gryffindor/Slytherin game." Albus stared at his food with a queasy look on his face.
"Yeah, I know, but you seem more worked up this year than last year." Scorpius put his fork down and faced his friend.
"My parents are coming to the game and I don't want to disappoint them. I mean, yeah, I've been on the team for the past 4 years, but this is the first game they've attended where I have to play James. They normally avoid the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor ones."
"Albus, you're the best Seeker I've ever seen, and if your dad isn't proud of you, I am."
Albus raised an eyebrow at Scorpius. Normally, he wasn't that sentimental, "That was cheesy."
Scorpius laughed and Albus lightened up before he said, "Lily can't fly nearly as fast as me and James will have to try really hard to hit me with a bludger; he hasn't made contact with me yet. And trust me, I know he's tried." Albus got his appetite back and started shoveling sausages in his mouth. His mother told him he'd inherited the appetite of his Uncle Ron and ability to grow like a bean stalk, just like his father.
"Why does James hate you so much?" Scorpius picked his fork back up and started back into his eggs.
"He says it's because I'm a Slytherin, but I think it's just because I look like Dad. James looks like a Weasley and I look like a Potter; he's always hated that I get more attention because I look like the Boy-Who-Lived. Also, now that I think about it, James blames me for Lily's whole 'Mistress-of-Darkness' look. He says it's because she wants to be like her Slytherin brother. I say she just wants to be a rebel." This past summer, Lily Potter had dyed her flaming red hair black and she had revamped her clothing to be all black. Their mother had had a fit when Lily came home after dying her hair. Mrs. Potter locked herself in her room and cried for a few days, before accepting it as a phase and moving on.
Scorpius glanced over at the Gryffindor table. Lily's jet-black hair gleamed under the sun from the ceiling of the Great Hall and her think black eyeliner made her face look sunken in, "I kinda like the look. She looks like she's expressing herself. I especially like the new lip piercing."
Albus choked on his eggs, "Her what?" He turned to look at his baby sister, and sure enough, she had a hoop looped around her lower lip, "When did she do that?"
"Well, it wasn't there a few days ago, so I'd say recently." Scorpius said casually.
"Mom's not going to like that." Albus went back to eating.
After they'd finished their breakfast, Albus and Scorpius walked down to the Quidditch pitch to get dressed for the mid-morning match. Albus pulled on his Seeker robes and stuffed his school robes in the locker. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Scorpius pull his school robes off. Albus couldn't help but notice how fit Scorpius was. His muscles flexed and relaxed as Scorpius folded his robes and pulled his Chaser ones out of his locker. Albus's eyes moved from his shoulders to his chest, and down to his abs. The pale skin of his best friend was glowing in the dim light of the locker room and his white-blond hair stood out prominently. Albus tore himself away. What was wrong with him? He just shook it off and went back to preparing his 2,000 Firebolt for the match.
The sun was out and there was only a light breeze; perfect weather for a match. The Gryffindor team took off and soared around the pitch; Lily's black hair whipped around her in furious lashes, while James's short auburn hair barely moved. The Slytherin team took off as well and chased the Gryffindor team around the pitch to get the crowd pumped-up. From the parent section, a pair of emerald eyes was watching the two teams circle. Harry Potter waved as each of his children sailed past him. Ginny Potter waved enthusiastically as Albus and James streaked by, but when Lily stopped to wave back, Ginny's smile faded. She saw the lip ring on her daughter and she didn't even try to hide her shock or disapproval.
Madam Hooch, the flying instructor and referee for the match, tossed the Quaffel into the air. Both teams kicked off the ground and were soaring through the air. Scorpius grabbed the Quaffel with ease and began streaking towards the other side of the pitch. Albus floated above everyone else; a trick he'd learned from his dad. He watched as Scorpius scored goal after goal after goal. He effortlessly avoided all the bludgers hit at him by James and the other Gryffindor Beater, and he left all the other Chasers in his dust.
Lily was circling across the pitch from Albus; both were looking for the snitch. Slytherin was leading 60 to 10 when Albus saw a tiny speck of gold hovering just inches above his father's head. Harry hadn't noticed it yet, and Albus smirked as he thought about the look on his dad's face when he swooped in and caught the snitch. Albus swung into a head-long dive directed at the parent's section. Once the adults noticed that there was a sixteen year-old racing right at them, they started to panic slightly. Wives grabbed onto their husbands, and husbands tried to locate what Albus's objective was.
Harry's eyes widened as his son came hurtling right at him and Ginny let out a terrified little screech. Albus pulled up at the last second, grabbing the snitch right out of the air above Harry's head and swerving back out to land on the field. He held the snitch high in the air and the Slytherin crowd roared with excitement as the announcer yelled, "And Albus Potter has caught the snitch! Slytherin wins!"
Albus smiled big, the snitch still held up for all to see. Out of nowhere, a bludger hit him right on the wrist. A sickening crunch sounded from his wrist and Albus dropped to the ground, clutching his injured hand. Madam hooch sounded her whistle and yelled, "JAMES POTTER! 20 points from Gryffindor for unsportsmanlike conduct and detention tomorrow evening."
Scorpius landed beside Albus at the same time Harry had reached him, "Al, are you OK?" Harry asked as he took his son's wrist and started to examine it. James touched down near-by, fuming with rage, "James Sirius Potter, you have no idea how disappointed I am in you! You could've killed your brother." Harry stood as he confronted his son.
Ginny put a hand on her husband's shoulder, "Harry, the school will handle it. No use in making a scene."
Harry nodded and calmed down; James just stalked back up to the castle. Scorpius helped his friend to his feet, "I'll take him up to see Madam Pomfrey, Mr. Potter."
"Good idea, Scorpius." Harry nodded and Scorpius guided Albus up to the castle; Rose Weasley following close behind to make sure her cousin was OK.
When the three had reached the Hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was waiting for them. She got Albus settled into a bed and began to cast spells and enchantments to fix his wrist. It was a rather painful experience and Albus began to squirm in discomfort. Once his wrist was fully repaired, Madam Pomfrey gave him an herbal remedy to kill the pain, "It'll make you sleepy, though. So just take a nap here and you should feel better once you wake up."
Madam Pomfrey left and Albus laid his head back on the pillow. Scorpius sat next to him and told story after story of the action he missed while he was searching for the snitch, and told his view of Albus's spectacular dive. Rosie told the crowd's perspective on the match too and Albus drifted off to sleep listening to the stories.
When Albus awoke, he could tell he hadn't been sleeping for very long. Scorpius and Rosie were still chattering away about the Quidditch match and the pain in his wrist was completely gone. He opened his eyes only slightly to see Scorpius and Rose sitting at his bedside, talking to each other, "Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is," Rosie blushed, "You were brilliant out there."
"Thanks!" Scorpius beamed, "It's all about practice. I practice all summer long, in order to keep in shape."
Rosie brushed a lock of hair from Scorpius's face, leaning in closer she breathed, "It shows." Then, she kissed him. Scorpius wound his fingers into her hair and kissed her back.
Albus closed his eyes and turned away from them. The pain in his wrist was gone, but a pain in his chest grew until it numbed his whole body. He began to cry. And Albus couldn't figure out why.
