She grinned at him, auburn hair and red clothes matching perfectly. He stared into her eyes, nearly the colour of his own attire. Similar to his own irises, even.
He stuck out his hand and she took it, pumping it up and down once, twice. And then she dropped it. Neither was sure who moved first, but they were in each other's arms, mouths melding together in front of the entire school. The crowd laughed and cheered at the pair.
After a moment, Gyatso coughed.
"Young love, there's nothing sweeter. But we do have a game to play, don't we?" He said.
The couple broke apart, blushes staining their cheeks. They nodded, not looking at one another for a moment as they mounted their brooms.
"At least we know this will be a nice, clean game," Gyatso chuckled to himself.
"Good luck, Sokka," Suki told him, her voice soft.
He smirked at her, dipping his head.
"Just don't be upset after I beat you, hey?"
A derisive snort was his only reply, before Suki sped away to join her team.
A swish of Gyatso's wand broke open the locks on the chest at his feet. In a flash, the balls contained within rocketed into the sky.
Neither student bothered following the tiny golden snitch, instead focusing respectively on the quaffle or the bludgers.
Hefting his black beater's bat, Sokka made his way over to one, smashing it heavily. The enchanted sphere hurtled towards the Gryffindor team, who had acquired the quaffle.
The sounds of the commentators rang out across the pitch, but he tuned them out, focusing on disrupting the oncoming chasers. Suki bore down on him, victory in her eyes as she rolled to duck a bludger strike.
Sokka moaned as she swept past his defence, easily avoiding the keeper and scoring the first goal of the evening.
"And it's ten-zero to Gryffindor as Captain Suki decimates the opposition!" Pipsqueak yelled, his voice booming. His co-commentator The Duke agreed vigourously, extolling the virtues of the Gryffindor ladies. Sokka glared at them, before turning to face his team.
"Okay guys, we know how those girls work - get the quaffle before they can or they'll be all over you," he said, before pointing at his keeper, "and you - make sure you're positioned to defend the hoops."
Pep talk over, he readied himself for another go, charging into the fore. One of his chasers swiped the quaffle, his fellows at his heel to fend off their opponents reactive dives.
Sadly, a triple-pronged attack lead to the quaffle falling from the Ravenclaw's hands toward the ground. Some slick maneuvering had a black-haired Gryffindor poised to retrieve it.
'Not on my watch,' Sokka thought, intercepting a bludger the Gryffindor beater had sent his way. The chaser was forced to halt mid-dive, veering off. Sokka smiled as the ball returned to his player's hands.
Sadly his happiness didn't last long, as the Gryffindor keeper narrowly blocked the shot, grabbing the quaffle out of the air. He tossed it back to Suki, who hurled it forward to one of her other chasers.
Growling slightly under his breath, Sokka signalled to his fellow beater to focus on the chasers, before risking a glance at the seekers. They hovered in the air, eyes scanning the field for any sign of the snitch.
Ignoring them for the moment, he coordinated his attacks on the Gryffindor chasers, occasionally pausing to defend his own teammates. The all-female team were in fine form, snatching victory and scoring goals over and over.
Despair started to creep into Sokka's heart as he surveyed the scoreboard. It read 170 - 30 against him. They would need a miracle to claw back a win.
An opening appeared, and he swung as hard as he could at the speeding chaser headed toward his goal again. The bludger's aim was true, but the Gryffindor beaters were ready to divert its path.
Still, the shot was blocked by his own keeper, who'd thankfully found his stride and was managing to prevent most goals. His other teammates were flagging though, unable to withstand the Gryffindor team's tenacity.
A shout from the commentators caught his attention - someone had seen the snitch! He looked over to watch the tiny form of Shoji the second year just barely edging over his female counterpart.
Glee and suspense warred within him - this could be a narrow victory or a crushing defeat. So focused was he on the racing pair that he completely failed to notice the approaching bludger.
The light was blinding and there was a terrible taste in his mouth. Not to mention the sensation of a stampeding herd of thestrals in his brain.
His eyelids flickered as he adjusted to the glare, his vision still fuzzy. Slowly the room came into focus, and he groaned.
Immediately, there was noise and movement. Faces appeared in from of him, worry and delight on their features. He moved his lips, trying to speak. Only a pained grunt escaped him.
Katara shoved Toph to the side slightly, leaning over him with a goblet of water which she poured into his mouth..
"Come on Sokka, you can do it," she encouraged him.
He swallowed gratefully, finding it much easier to vocalise.
"…Did we win?" He questioned hopefully.
Katara's face twisted into a frown, sighing exasperatedly.
"No, Sokka," she told him.
Before the news could sink in fully, a new voice interjected.
"It was a draw, actually. Your seeker managed to grab the snitch but we scored just beforehand. 180 all," Suki said, her voice small.
He turned his head to look at her, still dressed in her quidditch gear. Remorse was plastered on her face, but he beckoned her forward with his hands.
"Don't feel bad, Suki. This sort of thing happens all the time, I'll be fine. Thick head, y'know?" Sokka said.
She giggled slightly and leaned into him, her forehead against his before he captured her lips. The others looked away, (except Toph, although she made a bemused noise.)
Yugoda bustled in, waving the group away.
"If you could stop distracting the patient, that would be nice. He needs to recover," she ordered.
"I don't know, I feel better already!" Sokka smirked and Suki hit him on the arm.
"Get well soon, Sokka!" Aang called from the doorway, Katara and Toph alongside him.
"Hey, don't worry about me airhead. I'll be trouncing you in the next game for sure!" He yelled back.
He glanced up at Suki, who was still lingering at his bedside.
"Good game there, Captain Suki. We got lucky at the end - you had us smashed the whole way. I'll need to come up with some new plans for sure."
Suki smiled, nodding.
"Your chasers aren't confident enough, though your keeper is quite good."
Sokka laughed for a moment.
"Where's a parchment and quill when you need one? I should write this down," he said, before continuing. "But seriously, you girls are good. I really think you should go pro afterwards."
A strange look passed over the redhead's face and she began to talk hesitatingly.
"It's funny you should say that, actually. We've had some interest shown in us. But of course, it's all or nothing, and there's no team who needs completely replacing. We were thinking of making our own."
Sokka was surprised, but grabbed her around the middle in a one armed hug, pulling her front to his chest.
"That's a great idea! You come up with a name yet? How about the Gryffindorians? Or maybe the Heavenly Seven?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
Suki chuckled, shaking her head.
"We were thinking the Kyoshi Warriors, actually."
Sokka's lips wrinkled and he nodded in approval.
"Intimidating, I like it. Hey, tell your girl she's got a mean swing on her for me, hey? I'll be laid up for days I bet," he moaned.
"It would be less time if I could heal you in peace…" Yugoda muttered, a few vials in her hands.
Suki nodded, kissing him briefly before turning to go. Sokka's hand shot out, smacking her gently on the rear. She rounded on him indignantly, before laughing and heading out.
Sokka watched her go, before glancing at the mediwitch.
"I hope those don't taste as bad as they usually do."
She stared at him flatly.
"Worse, I should imagine."
Sokka shuddered before she poured one down her throat. Immediately, he began to feel woozy. As the darkness descended on him, he had only one thought left.
'At least we didn't lose.'