The sky was a palette of grey and white as the girls made their way out toward the pitch, their robes flapping like wings in the cold. The raw chill bit at Victoire's face as she tried desperately to calm the churning in her stomach and settle the feeling of oncoming doom that seemed to be snapping at her heels. In the sky ahead she could see some of the players flying high above the stadium, getting a few warm up laps in before the game. From the distance they approached, she couldn't tell whose side they were playing for, but she hoped that one of them were Teddy. Maybe the winter air would snap him back into his usual spirit. As much as she wished, she couldn't help but doubt it.
"I see a spot!" Ginger called as they joined the packed throng entering the stands. Throwing a glance at Victoire and Marcy, she gave them a sly smile before turning back to the object at hand. "Sean, quick, help me grab them before somebody else does!" she called to the boy, grabbing his wrist and pulling him along, much to his surprise. Victoire watched the two of them climb the stairs, Ginger laughing as Sean stumbled and blushed along behind her, following her every move, attempting to mimic each step.
"Well at least Ginger's got her priorities straight." Marcy chuckled, looping her arm through Clyde's as the two of them followed, taking the stairs two at a time. Victoire waited behind for a moment, before moving to follow with a mixed feeling in her stomach and a foul taste in her mouth.
"Ladies and gents!" boomed a voice through the pitch just as Victoire took her seat between her two friends. She couldn't help but notice the two of them snuggling up to their separate partners to keep warm. She on the other hand, had never felt colder. She turned her attention to the familiar voice of Pierce Jordan instead to distract her from the gripping chill. "We've got yet another marvelous game lined up for you today- the first of the New Year! And what a year it's turning out be! Already we've seen the Slytherin get their arses whipped by Ravenclaw-"
"Jordan I swear, this is your last warning-" McGonagall interrupted from somewhere in the stadium but Pierce went on. "Ah, relax professor it's only good friendly banter. Now where were we, ah yes, Slytherin's history of loss… and now a new shot for Gryffindor! Let's get them out here people, how about a huge cheer for the red and gold!"
There was an eruption of noise from the Gryffindor end and Victoire stood and screamed along with the rest of them, thinking that maybe out there Teddy would be able to hear her things would go differently. "We've got a sparkling new team lined up for you all this year, captained by none other than the teal-man himself, Teddy Lupin!"
The crowd grew louder as the Gryffindors made their entrance at this cue, the newest players coming in first as Pierce listed their names off in order, giving them all their moment for fame as they beamed and waved to the crowd. They didn't seem that bad… maybe Teddy had built up the necessity to give them a victory speech after all…
Those were the thoughts running through her head when he stepped onto the field.
Immediately she could tell something was wrong, and she wasn't the only one. With such a title as "the teal-man", you would think he would be living up to it. But this was a different Teddy than Victoire was used to. One that she only saw very rarely, and even then he was kept close to himself. The Teddy standing on the field, waving half heartedly to the crowd and clutching his broom tightly was, first off, definitely not the teal-man. His hair was brown- a dull flat version of the shade. His body was held differently as well; not the usual confident stride he usually entered the pitch with, now he walked with slower steps, weaker and not as straight. Not as proud.
Had she done all of this?
Down on the field Max Northwick called something across the grass to Teddy. He showed no recognition of the comment, whatever it was, although there was a new tension on the field, one between the Gryffindor members… but not against Slytherin. Their uncomfortable stance seemed to be directed at their captain. Before Victoire could voice this opinion though, the piercing note of the whistle echoed around the pitch and Pierce's voice boomed with the chant of the fans.
"And they're off!" he said as the players kicked upward, soaring foot after foot into the freezing wind. Up above the clouds were swarming in circles, almost directly over the pitch at the brooms and their riders disappeared into the sky and the quaffle was sent into play.
"It's Slytherin who picks it up now for the start of today's match, obtained by Richards who's sailing down the pitch. Looks like Northwick's got them starting a play already, take note of that Gryffindor- AH lovely interception by new chaser Brighton, what a way to get your name on the field, cheers there mate!"
Fourth year Jack Brighton kept the quaffle tucked tightly under his arm as he did a wide lap around the stadium with two chasers on his tail. Shooting toward the opposite goalposts he sent a smile toward Pierce's stand just in time to receive a bludger to the back of the head and send him spinning, losing all control of the ball.
"Direct hit from Xavier Cross of Slytherin, dodgy move if you ask me," Pierce noted, earning a look from McGonagall, "but- now here's Lupin flying on his way to recover!"
The entire population of the Gryffindor stand seemed to lean forward, holding their breath as Teddy soared towards the rapidly falling ball.
"Come on Teddy." Victoire whispered, egging him on in her mind, seeing how easy a catch this was and smiling internally at the knowledge that he wasn't going to let his shabby appearance get in the way of his playing.
That was until he fumbled the ball.
There was a loud gasp, and then a moan that echoed across the stadium, followed by a chorus of cheering from the Slytherin side. The Gryffindors looked like they could barely believe it. Pierce Jordan could barely believe it.
"I… Not sure what happened there folks, must have just been a bad cross breeze… Never the less, the game is still going and we'll see Gryffindor recover that play soon! Now it's Northwick having recovered that quaffle – passes to McKinnon who sails down the pitch toward the goalposts, takes a shot - faked it - doubles again – keeper dives – SLYTHERIN SCORE!"
The green and silver clad end of the stands went wild. And despite Pierce's promise of Gryffindor reclaiming the lead, the red and gold struggled from there on out.
Twenty more minutes into the game it was getting obvious that this wasn't the team the school was used to.
"Here's another chance for Gryffindor – it's Thomas with the quaffle headed toward the rings – she's flanked on all sides – passes to Brighton – FUMBLE, OH COME ON NOW RED GET YOUR GAME TOGETHER!"
And it didn't stop there.
The weather continued to storm as the game went on and not far after the quarter mark of the match it started to hail. Students in the crowd pulled up their hoods to protect themselves from the ice and chill but out on the field the tough flecks of snow did nothing to improve Gryffindor's game considering they had no protection and no motivation.
"Teddy again with the quaffle, dodging and playing the defense, ready to pass up the field – OH harsh ram by Northwick there, nothing serious and… wait, did he just drop the quaffle?"
What had looked like a simple shoulder collision courtesy of Max Northwick had ended with Teddy simply letting the ball drop and fall into the arms of a Slytherin chaser. Within moments she had scored, much to the moans and groans of the fed up Gryffindor stands.
"This is ridiculous." Came a mutter to Victoire's left. She had been keeping her face in her hands for the past five minutes ever since Teddy practically handed the quaffle to a Slytherin chaser much to the conflicted cursing of the rows of students around her. Now she looked toward Marcy who the voice had come from. She was staring ahead through the hail, her gaze hard and frustrated, Clyde's arm still wrapped firmly around her waist although she didn't seem to notice at this point.
"You've got to do something." She said, turning to Victoire. She felt her stomach drop.
"Me?"
"Yes you, don't give me that, you know it just as well as I do. You're the only one who can fix this. And you know you need to fix it. Might as well be now so maybe we can collect a piece or two of Teddy's dignity."
"What am I supposed to do though?" Victoire objected weakly, her head still in the argument but her heart already halfway to Teddy.
"There's halftime in less than five minutes. Get in there. Talk to him. Tell him what he needs to hear."
The thought it self sent nerves through her core like they were comets, darting into orbit.
But, although it sent pangs of panic through her body, Victoire knew Marcy was right. She had to do something, and it was about time, she told herself, that she finally stopped pretending. Time to stop pretending she wasn't loved. That he didn't care about her. Of course he cared about her. That much should have been obvious, and if he was brave enough to show it so openly, then she owed it to him to tell him the truth. Or at least as close to it as she could muster up the courage to do so.
When the whistle blew for the end of the first half, the players from each team landed in a contrast of extreme quantities. The Slytherins were down first, sliding off their brooms with a confident air about them, laughing and nodding at each other encouragingly. Victoire could see Max greet his team with a shouted remark of some sort that they cheered at before waving to the crowd and disappearing into the change room for what Toire was sure would involve them listening to another of Max's Gryffindor bashing pep talks.
The other team was a completely different story. They landed clumsily, like their impending loss was a weight on their shoulders that had taken away even the basics of their Quidditch knowledge. Teddy was the last to hit the ground, and even from the distance she could see the misery on his face. His team didn't even bother waiting for him as they disappeared into the change room. Marcy gave her a pointed look and raised her eyebrows.
"Alright, alright." Victoire breathed, her voice wavering as she stood between her friends in the stands. "I'll be right back."
Back in the Gryffindor change room, the red and gold mates were not following usual procedure. Instead of grouping together to form their second play, they were scattered, looking through lockers for nothing, wasting time until they'd have to proceed back onto the pitch. No one looked like they wanted to look at each other so much as talk, so Teddy had retreated to the bench to broad in a mix of misery. It wasn't that he wanted to lose- that wasn't possible- he just couldn't seem to get it right. The reaction from his housemates in the stands had been obvious- they were clearly furious with him. He felt a wave of shame as he thought of Brice Jolsbee, the previous Gryffindor captain who had given him the position for this year. Surely he let him down…
"Teddy?" came a voice from across the room. He looked up through his hair to see where the voice had come from and immediately froze. Victoire was waiting by the doorway, bundled up in winter clothes with Gryffindor colours painted on her face under her eyes. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and her hair a mess of waves from the wind. She took a step forward, drawing some stares, and even glares, from the Gryffindor players. "Can I talk to you?" she asked, her voice holding a strength of determination. He was taken aback by her no-bullshit attitude and so as if in a trance, he stood to follow her into the corridor.
"Hey." She said, once they were alone, turning to face him, her head tilting up to see his eyes. He swallowed, not knowing exactly why she was here.
"Hi." He replied, voice hesitant.
"You're playing like shit out there."
The criticism hit him hard even though he knew it was true. Still, he felt himself becoming angry.
"Yeah, I'm aware of that thanks." He snapped, hair turning to a darker red as a frown creased his brow. "If that's all you came down here to tell me, I'd much rather get back to my team now." He said, turning to go. He was almost facing away when he felt her grab hold of his arm, hard.
"Wait." She said, her voice cracking slightly. He froze momentarily but willed himself to turn. Immediately he was confused by what he saw on her face. She seemed to be conflicting with herself on what to say, and then it came out in a jumble.
"Remember what I said at Christmas when we were on the broom about how I loved you like a brother well I was really tired and crazy and I wasn't thinking straight Teddy and I think, well I pretty much know I was wrong." She blurted. He watched her recover, confusion hitting him hard but then turning to clarity as he watch her cheeks burn with a blush. Suddenly her words made since.
"So… wait, you're saying-"
"I was wrong." She said, taking a step toward him. He felt his face warm at how close she was, but couldn't move a muscle to step back or forward. "I lied, and I was so, so wrong." She confessed. "Just… forget everything I said that night. Nothing has changed."
Teddy couldn't believe it. He opened his mouth to speak, "Victoire, I-"
"We're on again Teddy." Came a voice from behind them. Suddenly it was as if a rush of cold hair had blown over them, ending the sudden passion that he had felt in Victoire's words.
"I have to go." He said reluctantly, looking back to where the player had now disappeared without waiting for him. Looking down, he saw that her hand was still on his arm.
"Just…win this okay? Do it for yourself." She smiled up at him, suddenly the old Victoire he was used to. Seeing her like this, it was as if all the misery he'd felt, all the grief had never happened. "Or better yet…" she continued, leaning forward quickly and brushing her lips against his cheek, stunning him momentarily. "Do it for me."