A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
This is for the QLFC
Ballycastle Bats
Keeper
Prompt Cruelty
A huge thanks to my betas - DarylDixon'sgirl1985 and
Word Count: 1051
The team had completely lost to Ravenclaw and was now forced to face Slytherin. Training had always been intense, but never like this. It was pouring rain when Harry stepped out of the castle. Fred and George were already there and each had cast a water-repelling spell over themselves.
"Harry."
"Fred, George. What's Oliver on about this time?" Harry asked, looking up at the torrential downpour coming from the sky.
"He's determined to win the cup this year," Angelina said, walking over towards them. Katie and Alicia trailed her, both looking extremely unhappy and wet.
"Good, everyone's here!" Oliver exclaimed, circling down from the air. The team gathered around him. Harry wanted to pretend he didn't see the mad glint in Oliver's eyes, that it was just a trick of the light. Maybe it was just the rain? He'd made sure to cast the water-repelling spell before even leaving the castle.
"We were miserable last round, almost losing like that! Katie, you weren't paying a bit of attention to anything. Alicia, do you need glasses? Because it was like you didn't even see the quaffle!" Oliver was yelling. Katie glared at him and folded her arms across her chest. Alica opened her mouth as if to argue with him, but Oliver had already shifted his ire to the next people.
"Gred, Forge, you're supposed to use the bats to hit the bludgers, not your bloody heads!"
Harry watched Fred's hand curl into a fist. They knew they'd done horribly, but none of them wanted to be reminded of their mistakes, of how bad the round had gone. The sky seemed to be getting darker and the wind was definitely picking up. Harry could feel it nearly blowing through his uniform. He hoped the weather conditions for the actual match would be better. He could see Katie and Alicia looking at the sky too.
"Now, we're going to get up there and practice until we actually act as a team," Oliver said, mounting his broom again. The rest of the team looked up at the darkening sky.
"I don't know, mate. It looks like there might be lightning. Even Hooch calls a match off for dangerous conditions," George said softly. Oliver pretended he didn't hear him. He also ignored the distant echoes of thunder.
"Anyone who doesn't want to train to become part of a winning team is welcome to walk away. I could probably replace the lot of you with first-years and get better results! In fact, I could replace the lot of you right now, so get on your brooms and get up there," he yelled, taking off into the sky. Harry exchanged glances with the rest of the team. Slowly they mounted their own brooms; no one wanted to be replaced. This was their team! Practice was nearly impossible with the heavy rain. A few times, Katie missed catching the quaffle.
"Get your head in it, Katie!" Oliver screamed from his spot. Katie blinked rapidly, her tears mingling with the rain. Harry wanted to go over to her to say something comforting, but Oliver was already yelling at him about not letting the snitch get away. Harry turned his attention back to watching the pitch. He could hear Oliver yelling at Fred and George about how they were hitting the bludgers, how they were screwing up. Didn't they know how to use a bat? Harry felt his heart ache in his chest. This was his team, his friends, and it seemed like Oliver was doing his best to drive them all away.
A small white flick in the rain caught Harry's attention. He raced towards it, trying to ignore the rumble of thunder in the distance. Finally, Harry's fingers curled around the enchanted golf ball they were using a snitch because they couldn't use a real one. The team spiraled down to the ground. Oliver's face was still unsmiling. In fact, he looked madder than ever.
"You call that a throw, Angelina?"
"I do!" she snapped.
"It was nowhere near the hoop!"
"It was, until the wind ripped it from its path! Look up, Oliver. It's too dangerous for us to be out here right now," she argued as a loud clap of thunder echoed through the air. Soon a bolt of lightning followed, almost hitting one of the hoops. Fred and George stared, thinking about how close they'd nearly come to becoming fried.
"You're all useless. Out of all of you. Only Harry was any good. He at least caught the snitch."
Harry wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to call Oliver out on how dangerous this was, how maybe the rest of the team had a point?
"Oliver, you're losing it, losing focus. You want us to win, but at what cost? This practice was too dangerous. If we all get killed practicing, you really will have to replace us with first-years," Fred said softly, putting an arm around Oliver's shoulder.
"Yeah, we know you're really into winning, but this is...this is cruel, the things you're saying. Katie was crying up there."
"Was not," Katie denied, rubbing her red eyes. Oliver looked at the team around him, realizing that maybe he'd gone too far. He slumped slightly.
"It's just... this is my last chance if we lose. There's supposed to be some scouts coming to this game. We're not supposed to know, but you all know it's my dream to play professionally. What if...what if we lose and—"
"Oliver, you're an amazing keeper and most of the time a good captain. They'll say that," Alicia said. "Now, if you still want to go on about this— and I know you do— how about we go back inside the nice, safe, and warm castle and you draw this whole strategy on the giant chalkboard we'll smuggle into the common room? Would that make you feel better?"
"A little," Oliver sighed. "You know, I was a right git, and you all should have probably decked me for it. But you're all helping me."
"We're a team, Oliver, and that's what a team does," Harry said, looking at his teammates. They all nodded. Now with smiling faces, everyone put away their equipment and headed back inside to plan how they were going to win the next match.