Peace, Love, and Quidditch
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
:cheating:
Katie Bell stared at her reflection in the mirror of the Sweetwater All-Stars' changing room and wondered if she would ever stop being nervous before a Quidditch match.
Probably not, she decided. After all, she'd had pre-game butterflies before almost every match she had ever played, including those back in Hogwarts. But they never seemed to affect her playing; if anything, she was so used to them that not having that familiar nervousness would cause her to worry and most likely throw the match.
Today they were playing the Quiberion Quafflepunchers, whom Puddlemere United had played last week. Oliver's advice was simple: they played dirty, so remember to keep an eye out for the beaters. He didn't want to tell her much else (they were on opposing teams, after all), but Katie was touched nonetheless that her boyfriend cared so deeply about her.
"Katie?" Samantha Hill, the team's Seeker, poked her head into the room. "Come on, we're starting soon."
Katie took one last deep, shuddering breath and then followed her teammate out onto the pitch.
As soon as she had risen off the ground, the butterflies in her stomach evaporated. She could hear Oliver yelling through the noise of the crowd. Glancing into the stands, she saw him sitting in the row nearest to the pitch, perfectly positioned to critique her game. Most women hated criticism, but that was just another reason why she loved him so much: He was never afraid to tell her the brutal, honest truth. When it was about Quidditch, at least.
The game started, and she flew after the Quaffle, which had already gotten into the possession of one of Quiberion's players. Narrowly dodging a Bludger, Katie ducked and swerved around their Seeker while half-listening to the commentary. It was a skill she had picked up early on in her days playing Quidditch for Gryffindor, listening to Lee Jordan try to convince Angelina to go out with him.
She scanned the pitch, looking for a glimpse of the scarlet ball. Finally, she found it; the Quiberion Quafflepuncher was getting ready to throw it to his teammate. Katie bent down, level with the broom, and zoomed towards the unsuspecting receiver. She was close, close enough to reach out and snatch the Quaffle out of the air when –
Oof! Katie was knocked to her right by an oncoming player; Quiberion's Beater had deliberately flown into her, ramming her away from the Quaffle. There was a series of boos from the crowd, resulting in a whistle blow from the referee. "Cheating!" she could hear Oliver distinctly yelling to the ref. "That's a foul! That's cheating!"
"Are you okay?" Samantha asked, flying next to her. Katie winced; her entire left side hurt.
"I'll survive," she said, grimacing.
"Oh, ha. Look," Samantha said, pointing off to the edge of the pitch, where Oliver was arguing furiously with the referee.
The commentator didn't miss a beat. "Oliver Wood from Puddlemere United is now arguing furiously with the referee, ladies and gentlemen!" he announced gleefully. "Guess he wasn't too keen on his girlfriend getting blatched – oh wait, you do know that he's dating Katie Bell, right?" Katie scowled in the direction of the announcer. I'll bet this is the highlight of your career, you lowlife toerag, she thought angrily.
Katie watched the argument, unconsciously rubbing her left arm, which was turning an angry shade of red. Her boyfriend was gesticulating animatedly, while the ref continued to shake his head. As the hand gestures became wilder, the ref threw up his hands in frustration and then returned to the pitch.
"Foul to the Quiberion Quafflepunchers! Penalty shot to Katie Bell of the Sweetwater All-Stars!" he announced, which got a mixed reaction from the crowd.
Katie looked over at Oliver and their eyes met briefly; in that second, she saw his once angry eyes soften. Flying over to take the Quaffle from the referee, she smiled to herself at the thought of Oliver fighting for her penalty shot. The Quafflepunchers could cheat like that as much as they wanted if it meant that Oliver would always defend her like that.
She took the vibrant red ball from the referee and got into position. But she wouldn't miss. She couldn't.
Hee hee! I didn't make up these Quidditch teams – the Quiberion Quafflepunchers and the Sweetwater All-Stars are both found in "Quidditch Through the Ages" (at least, according to Wikipedia). And "blatching" is a real term too – it means "flying with the intent to collide" and it's not allowed in Quidditch matches.
So, like it? Hate it? Think something could be better? Tell it in a review:)
There was a tie, so I just decided to post this one, since it was already finished. Please review!
