FIFTEEN

Eve stared at her half-bitten toast, unable to shake the rupture of nerves that had been accumulating inside her since the moment she woke up Sunday morning. The Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw game was in less than two hours, marking Eve's first quidditch game of the new school year.

She had never taken the sport too seriously, at least in the athletic achievement sort of way. Eve loved playing, and the glory of winning was always felt when the situation occurred, but she had never made quidditch her sole identity like many other students that played the sport. She was a solid player with a strong arm and had always had a steady balance on her broom, but she also knew she would never make it to a professional level. Eve mainly enjoyed the feeling of being on a team, the comradery, the school spirit, the sense of making others happy by the moves she made. She loved the sound of her housemates cheering when she got the quaffle past the keeper.

But stage fright, or arena fright, was very real. Eve always felt the nervous anticipation of the moment she would be flying in front of the entire school, with all eyes watching her every decision, every win, and every loss. A game was so very different than practice.

"I feel like I'm going to puke."

Fernando took the spot in front of Eve from the dining hall table, his golden-yellow uniform already on and his captain sleeve adorned on his lower shoulder. Eve thought he looked handsome, with his dark hair neatly combed back and a slight stubble of a beard appearing on his face. But his usual tan skin was paled with anxiety, and his eyes showed the look of nervous restlessness. Eve was sure he hadn't slept much.

"You should eat something," Douglas replied from beside Eve, motioning to the largely untouched dishes of food between the players.

"As should you," Douglas continued this time to Eve. The girl sighed and took another bite of her toast.

"I don't understand how you are not nervous," Eve muttered between mouthfuls of toast. She realized she was, in fact, hungry, despite the mental sickness that plagued her.

"Why should I be nervous? The team has all-around solid players, practices have been great. Ravenclaw lost four graduated players from last year. How are we not going to annihilate them?"

Douglas's reasoning was sound enough, but Eve and Fernando still glanced at one another with shared apprehension. Douglas can keep his glowing faithfulness; the two of them were still going to worry all the way to the snowy pitch.

"Beautiful day for some friendly battering, aye?"

It was Dawson who approached the table now, armed with his own unfazed confidence, if not a bit more violent than Douglas's. Fernando shot Dawson an austere look, his pointer finger targeted straight at the player's face.

"I swear to all the bloody gods, Dawson. If you try anything even remotely funny that can get us disqualified from playing, I will make it my mission to have you brought to trial with the Ministry. In fact, with all things considered, a silencing charm over you should be our best course of action," Fernando's words were sharp and venomous, his threat lingering in the air between the players and untouched porridge.

Douglas raised his eyebrows while Eve covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a laugh from the ensuing dramatics only teenage sportsmanship could possibly offer. It was the first time she had laughed all morning.

"Clean, classy Ministry-approved playing, Wells. I know. I said 'friendly,' didn't I?" Dawson offered, entirely unprovoked by the captain's threats. Dawson grabbed Eve's piece of toast from her plate, causing a huff of protest from the girl.

"Oi, you know, I wouldn't consider that friendly behavior," Eve scolded, but the boy only shrugged and turned on his heels.

"I'll see you lot in an hour," Dawson waved before disappearing out of the Great Hall doors.

"I've got to say, it's actually going to be quite strange playing without his yelling," Eve commented, turning back to Douglas and Fernando.

"Yes, it's unfortunate that Umbridge has decided to keep all the verbal assault for herself," Douglas sighed.

"I guess we've just got to rely on the crowd yelling for us," Fernando replied, giving a small smile, an attempt at optimism Eve suspected.

"Perhaps Slytherin has prepared another song," Eve grinned, but her words caused collective groans from each boy.

"I didn't put that in my possible game scenarios," Fernando sighed, getting up from his seat and shuffling out of the dining hall without another word. Eve turned to Douglas.

"I don't know. "Eve is our queen!" has a nice ring to it," Eve grinned, causing Douglas to raise his eyebrows.

"That's what's making you feel better? The thought of Slytherin house bullying you? This year really has made you demented," Douglas replied, shaking his head and taking another bite of his fried egg.

The antics at breakfast eased Eve's nerves for the rest of the hour. There was no way the game could possibly turn out as bad as the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match last month, not to mention, Douglas was correct that they did have a slight advantage over Ravenclaw because of their number of new players.

Things couldn't go that bad.

And that vaguely positive thought was enough for Eve to walk on the quidditch pitch that late afternoon feeling just that. The rest of the Hufflepuff team was in a similar state, Fernando having given them his incredibly prepared first game speech, in which the captain recited 200 possible rules the team could break and therefore be kicked off the team. The fearmongering was then followed by a motivational quote by an old professional quidditch player Eve hadn't known existed. She swore she saw Dawson tear up, though.

The teams congregated on the quidditch pitch, giving their polite greetings and shaking hands. Eve grinned at Cho and took her hand.

"Be quick on the seeking, Chang. It's cold out," Eve joked, causing the Ravenclaw seeker to grin back. Eve rolled her eyes when Fernando sent her a sharp look.

"What's up with him?" Cho murmured back to Eve.

"I think he thinks Umbridge can hear all of our conversations," Eve shrugged. In unison, the girls glanced up at the stands, their eyes trailing to the staff box where they caught a glimpse of pink robes. Cho grimaced.

"Good luck, Eve."

"Yeah, good luck, Cho."

The game lasted longer than Eve had hoped. By the end of it, she was sure her nose and lips caught frostbite. And by the looks of the other players, each with their own rosy hues adorned on their cheeks, she was sure this was felt by everyone.

Despite Douglas's previous hypothesis, Ravenclaw had put up a good fight. Eve could tell their defense needed work, possibly to do with both new chasers and beaters, but their old players held their own. Not to mention, Cho was quick with her broom work and had kept a lead on Fernando with the snitch most of the game.

Eve and her fellow chasers, Dawson and Douglas, were on their top performance, though. Dawson had made the first goal by the first five minutes, and from there, the chasers' confidence was on full blast. Eve and Dawson went back to back with their own set of scores, all amplified by their Hufflepuff audience's loud cheers. Douglas had been unstoppable with his passing and broom work; Eve could tell he had listened to every game suggestion Fernando had made up in the book. The energy was electrifying, despite the freezing wind chill.

The long-running time and consistently dreary weather did lead to a loss of momentum from the team, which then subsequently caused a bit of a redemption arc with the opposing team. When it became close to the second hour, Ravenclaw was only down by 50 points. Worry began to set on the Hufflepuff players, especially their new keeper, Julien Farrow, who looked about ready to pass out from his goalpost.

Between pauses in plays, heads kept turning to the sky above, hoping to catch a glimpse of the whereabouts of the two seekers. But the gloomy, snowy atmosphere gave no inclination of the snitch's location for both the players and the crowds below.

"Anyone think Wells and Chang are playing chess up there?" Lee Jordan asked at one point from his commentator box.

Eve thought it was never going to end. But then, just as it hit the second hour, the yellow flash of Fernando zooming past her spot in the air stopped the game entirely from its motion. Fernando stopped in a place between the players in the air and the arena below and raised his hand to show the bright flicker of gold between his fingers. He had caught the snitch. They had won. Eve let out the heaviest sigh of relief while Dawson screamed for the first time all day.

The players were met with the loud rumble of cheers as their feet finally hit the floor of the stadium. Eve wobbled for a moment, her standing momentarily disarmed by her having been flying for so long. But right as she found her footing, her stability was halted again by strong arms circling her torso and lifting her off the ground.

"Holy shit, Eve! What bloody quidditch demon possessed you out there?" Douglas's voice yelled from behind Eve's ear. She sheepishly laughed and attempted a shrug, patiently waiting for her friend to put her down because there would be no way out of his arms now. He finally dropped her, only for another pair of arms to wrap her from the side, Dawson looking at her with an incredulous look.

"She scored more points than me out there! Let me borrow the demon next game, yeah?" Dawson grinned, causing Eve to roll her eyes, although her beaming smile did not leave her face.

Eve watched Fernando make his way from his spot next to Madam Hooch and the Ravenclaw captain, his face beaming with cold sweat and childlike delirium. Eve ran to him before anyone else could first.

"You did so well," Eve grinned, pulling the captain into a much gentler embrace than her other teammates had bestowed upon her only moments ago.

"I hardly did anything," Fernando shrugged, but he looked pleased nonetheless, "You were insane out there, Eve. Best you've ever played."

"Evie is our queen!" could be heard somewhere in the back of them, and the tone could only be attributed to Douglas's.

"I'll be back," Eve nodded to Fernando as she caught a glimpse of Cho standing a distance behind him in her Ravenclaw circle. She could see Cho's eyes on her as well as if waiting for a moment when Eve would see her too.

Eve gave a slight grin to the Ravenclaw girl as she approached her side of the field, Cho miming the same expression. They drew each other into an embrace rather than the customary opposing team handshake, knowing full well each girl needed a hug, even if it was for differing reasons.

"I'm pretty sure the crowd only cheered so much because it meant the game was finally over," Eve muttered when the girls finally pulled away from one another. Cho smiled back, but her expression seemed more sorrowful than Eve would have expected.

"You played so well today, Eve. You all did… He would have been so proud," Cho murmured back, her voice choking a bit on her final words.

For some reason, Eve hadn't expected to hear Cedric's name today, and technically Cho hadn't uttered it, but she didn't need to for Eve to know precisely who she was talking about. Eve didn't need confirmation now to know Cho must have spent the entire game thinking about their lost friend in the sky with them. Perhaps she thought it would be Cedric's face that would appear in the hazy clouds rather than Fernando's. Perhaps Cho was saddened by much more than a quidditch game right at this very moment.

Unable to find the right words to say, Eve instead pulling the girl in for another long embrace. The girls standing there together in the falling snow, amidst the blur of cheers and crowded chatter.

The moment Eve said her goodbyes to Cho and joined with the rest of her teammates once again, she knew she was not nearly ready for the celebratory festivities that awaited them back in the comfort of their Hufflepuff quarters.

"I'm actually so tired," Eve sighed to Douglas as the team finally shuffled their way out of the locker room and into the white landscape of the school grounds.

"Oh, you poor thing, you are not sleeping anytime soon," Douglas grinned.

"Who's talking about sleeping?" Dawson called somewhere behind them.

"You better leave the castle grounds if you want alone time, Eve," Emily called from her spot next to Fernando, the two leading the trek back up the castle.

"A couple drinks, then straight off to bed, yeah?" Douglas suggested, slinging his arm over Eve's shoulder and giving it a friendly shake. There was nothing friendly about his words, though.

And Eve's sentiments were made to be correct when the team strolled into their common room and was met by their housemates' whistles and cheers. It seemed in the relatively short time the team had been away, the rest of the Hufflepuff house had quickly set up their best attempt at an after-party. Gold streamers adorned the wooden ceiling panels, and charmed little paper mâché quidditch players zoomed around the room. Pop music played in the back from someone's muggle CD player.

Eve was swarmed by her girlfriends the moment eyes fell on her. Lucie got to her first despite Fiona's aggressive attempt, the latter girl deciding that waiting her turn wasn't the option and wrapped her arms around both girls in one little group hug.

"Eve, you were brilliant!" Lucie yelled inside Eve's shoulder.

"Thank you," Eve grinned, the girls finally separating arms and joining close to each other's sides.

"Thank goodness I was smart enough to stock up on alcohol last Hogsmeade trip," Fiona beamed with all the authentic mindfulness of any teenage girl that would be responsible for teenage misconduct, "You are getting so obliterated tonight."

"I honestly need a nap," Eve sighed, looking at both her friends with a slight pout. It did not help her cause in the slightest, though.

"You're allowed the wash-up and change, but that is it," Fiona reasoned, grabbing both Eve's and Lucie's arms and dragging them up into the direction of their dormitory. Eve smiled and nodded to the passing praises she got from her housemates.

"Go shower, Eve. We'll pick out the outfit," Lucie said, shooing Eve away into the direction of the girls' bathroom.

"And the refreshments," Fiona chimed in, her face already buried in her wardrobe chest, where she kept all the products for her tiny Hogwarts speakeasy.

Eve nodded, knowing she had no choice but to go along for the night. Tired as she was, she understood the flare of the evening. The Hufflepuff win was undoubtedly the most exciting thing that had happened in their house in ages. And with the awful reign of Umbridge all year, she was sure all of her housemates, even the most well behaved, were itching for a little misbehaved activity.

Eve showered quickly and was pleased to realize she actually felt a lot better afterward. When she arrived back inside her dormitory, her friends were already in full action. Lucie had Eve's clothes sprawled out on her bed, and Fiona was still on the floor but now had three glasses and multiple unmarked bottles displayed in front of her. The girl seemed to be conducting her own teenage potion-making, pouring even amounts of one mysterious liquid into the glasses before mixing a few drops of another. Eve knew she was done for.

"Fiona and I decided this was your best option," Lucie said, glancing at Eve and turning back to the dress that was at the top of the pile of clothes.

The dress that had been decided on was one of Eve's riskier ones, a minidress with a brown gingham pattern and square neckline. The modest top was matched by the dress's tight short cut, adorned with a small slight cut on the bottom hem. The dress was cute, much to Eve's style, and causal enough to where she wouldn't feel like she would bring too much attention to herself. Fiona was already wearing a bright pink tube top which comforted Eve slightly. No one could out-dress Fiona once the girl's muggle clothes came out.

"Demetri sad about the loss?" Eve asked as she stripped herself of her towel and began to step into her dress. Fiona rolled her eyes at the mention of her Ravenclaw boyfriend. Her maybe-boyfriend.

"I don't know," Fiona shrugged absentmindedly, giving her cocktails one final mix with the turn of her wand, "Suppose I'll have to sneak out later and ask."

Fiona sent her friends a mischievous grin before grabbing two of her glasses, handing one to each of the girls. Lucie and Eve exchanged grimaces as they peered down at the dark liquid now in their hands.

"Obviously, it's not going to taste like pumpkin juice. Go on, children," Fiona said, rolling her eyes and grabbing the last glass into her own hands.

"Well, it's a celebration, isn't it?" Eve shrugged, lifting the menacing concoction to her lips and taking a long sip. Her face contorted immediately in disgust at the mix of various intense tastes meeting her tongue at once.

"Firewhiskey, wizard cola, and my dad's Leprechaun Liqueur," Fiona said, rather proudly, despite the less than positive reviews from her friends' faces.

"How do old people drink this?" Lucie asked, taking another reluctant sip from her glass.

"To be fair, I don't think Fiona's dad is mixing this up at home," Eve giggled, miming Lucie's actions and taking another generous sip.

Eve could already feel her stomach begin to burn, and she was sure a blush had formed on her face. But despite the abhorrent taste, she already felt slightly more relaxed and fluttery. The realization of this feeling caused her to take the last gulp from her glass.

"Oh, looks like our campion of the evening has already finished," Fiona chimed, taking Eve's gesture as a challenge and finishing her drink as well. She turned to Lucie now with an expectant look, but the latter girl shook her head.

"No way, I'm pacing myself. Someone has to watch you two hooligans, anyway," Lucie countered, raising her hands in her best parental manner.

Eve shrugged, thinking this reasoning was sound enough, and she handed her empty glass to Fiona, who took it eagerly and began refilling.

"Oi, ladies, don't be hosting exclusive events in there!"

Douglas's voice rang into the girls' dormitory, and from the tone, Eve knew almost certainly that he had already started his own drinking.

Eve grinned, hopping off the bed and pulling on her penny loafers. She glanced at the long mirror to the side of her bed, grabbing her wand and casting a drying charm for her hair, her dark curls instantly raising to their usual deep ringlets around her face. She grabbed a lipstick from her bedside table, a deep maroon color that she spread carefully on her lips. She figured the lipstick would counter the lack of makeup on the rest of her face.

"Merlin, I wish I had your hips," Fiona groaned, looking at Eve from her spot in front of the mirror. Eve had always been the curvier one of her group, which always had been a pain up until their later teenage years when the girls had traded pants for skirts. If Eve felt she had too much weight in certain places, one of her friends would always complain they didn't have enough. It was a kind of adolescent turmoil that transcended both magical or muggle girlhood.

"Says the girl with the best tits in all sixth year," Eve replied, rolling her eyes and leaving the mirror in one final look. Her comment seemed to erase all unease in Fiona, the girl looking down at her pink tube top and grinning.

The girls all filled out of their bedroom now, taking their refilled drinks with them and descending the stairs. They were instantly met with the sound of pop beats and loud discussions once again. Douglas stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the girls with an expectant stare. He glanced at Eve and raised his eyebrows.

"You look well fit," Douglas grinned, pulling Eve into a slightly sloppy hug. Eve laughed in his embrace.

"You've never sounded straighter," Eve mumbled in his ear, causing the boy to laugh and pull away.

"Well, that's a good thing. We have been dating for four years," Douglas replied, watching as Lucie and Fiona made their way to the sides of them.

"What you girls drinking, then?" Douglas asked, glancing at the filled glasses in the girls' hands.

"Poison, mostly," Lucie grinned, handing her glass to Douglas, who took an eager swig. The swig immediately causing a cough from his lips.

"This is horrid. I'll need another in ten minutes," Douglas concluded, looking at Fiona, who gave him an enthusiastic nod. There was no doubt he knew exactly who the source was for the toxic waste.

Glasses in hand, the friends raised their arms and cheersed, and the beginning of the rest of the teenage perversity began.


Author's Note: I absolutely loved writing this chapter and the next! I split them for length purposes, so the next chapter will be the rest of the night. Enjoy : )