CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
On the morning of the third day in November, Jane felt like she was going to pass out. Today was the first Quidditch game of the season. Gryffindor versus Slytherin. It was to be the first real game of Quidditch she had ever played. So many people had told her 'good luck,' that she felt if she heard it again, she might be sick. In fact, she had already been sick twice that day due to nerves.
Remus and James were doing everything in their power to calm her down. They both tried to assure her that she would do just fine and that nothing bad would happen. To which Sirius had continued with:
"Yeah, I mean, the worst that could happen is you fall off your broomstick; you aren't going to die."
After that, James had forbidden Sirius from talking to Jane because she went into hysterics.
An hour before the game, Jane sat in the Great Hall, just staring at the table. She had seemed glued to the spot, so James left without her to fetch her something from the kitchens, seeing as how she didn't eat any breakfast that morning. Remus sat across from her, reading a book, as Sirius was snipping off a few bent twigs from the end of his broomstick beside her.
After a while of contemplating about whether or not she should fake an injury, and deciding that that would be a cowardly thing to do, someone sat down on the other side of her. Jane looked up.
"Hey," Aaron said when Jane looked at him.
Normally, Jane was delighted whenever Aaron spoke to her, but under the circumstances, all she could manage was a weak smile. Sirius, who seemed to dislike most of the same people that James did, and especially Aaron, stopped tending to his broom, but didn't look up or say anything.
"Come on, cheer up," Aaron said. "You get to play today."
Jane let out a tiny, anxious laugh.
"Nervous, huh?" Aaron asked.
Jane nodded.
"First games always mess with your head. Trust me, it's like that for everyone. The day before my first Quidditch game, I was so worried about it that I actually fainted in the middle of Potions class," he said, chuckling a bit.
"It was terrible," he continued. "Swelling Solution spilled all over my hand; I had to go to the Hospital Wing and everything. But you know what happened during the game the next day?"
Jane just looked at him.
"I intercepted seventeen passes and scored fifty points that game," he said. "So basically I was worried about nothing. I knew how good I was; after all, I had made the team. It was stupid to worry.
"That's what you need to remember. You're a good Quidditch player, otherwise you'd be in the stands with everybody else. You're a good Quidditch player, otherwise you wouldn't even be playing in the game. The Hogwarts teams don't just let anybody play. It may seem like Hufflepuff does, but that's because their team's just been terrible for the last three years. So you see? You're going to do just fine; you know what you're doing. You're a good player, you just have to remember that you are."
Jane knew that he had basically just told her everything that James had, but the story about his first game really settled her nerves a lot. He was right. She was a good Quidditch player. She had earned a spot on the team, and she had practised hard. Once again, she was just underestimating her abilities. She smiled a real smile.
"You know what? You're absolutely right," Jane said.
Remus' eyebrows lifted as he peered at her from over his book. Aaron just smirked.
"I always am," he said. "It's one of my many talents."
Jane giggled in the most girlish way when he smirked which caused him to laugh a bit.
"Just remember, it's not like you're going to die," Aaron teased before leaving, which caused Jane to laugh.
Sirius' jaw dropped, and he looked at Jane. Jane turned to see his expression, and shrugged.
"It was funny when he said it," was all she said.
James was beside her in no time with a plate of food.
"Why was he talking to you?" James asked.
"Relax, James. He was only giving me some advice," Jane said picking through the food.
"I don't like him," James said.
"Really? I had no clue," Jane said, sarcastically.
James scowled at her.
"What? You've told me that, like, a thousand times, yet he has always been nice to me."
"I've known him a lot longer than you have, Jane. When Ashby's 'nice,' it's usually because he wants something," James said.
"Maybe you're just creating a problem that isn't there," Jane said before filling her mouth with mashed potatoes.
"Whatever, just eat," James said, folding his arms and frowning.
By eleven o'clock, almost everybody was in the stands. A nervous feeling crept over Jane again as she took the field.
Just breathe, she kept thinking to herself. You're a great Quidditch player.
Jane looked down at the gold nineteen that was on her scarlet Quidditch robes. Nineteen was her official number.
Candice chose you to play. You're first line for a reason, she kept thinking.
Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and Jane kicked off of the ground. And the game was on. James had the Quaffle and was already shooting down the field to score. Jarod and Jane were on his flanks in a Hawkshead Attacking Formation.
However effective this formation was supposed to be, Slytherin was still able to break the three of them apart. Two Slytherin Chasers were gaining on James. Jane caught up and flew above James and slightly to the right. Once she called out to him, James threw the Quaffle up to her. Jane dodged a Bludger, and Sirius went after it. Once Jarod was open, Jane threw the ball to him, but his way to the goals became blocked, and he threw it back to her.
Suddenly, all three of Slytherin's Chasers were coming at her from different angles; she nearly had a heart attack.
"Jane! Point three!" James shouted.
When she heard that, she grinned. That was their code for her favourite move. The Porskoff Ploy.
Jane instantly shot upwards. She kept flying, up and up and up, adrenaline pumping through her veins, until all three Slytherin Chasers were right on her tail. Once she had them where she wanted them, she quickly looped backwards, turned, and threw the Quaffle as hard as she could to James who was far below her and far away from the opposing Chasers. There was no one there to stop James from entering the scoring area.
Jane held her breath as James threw the Quaffle. The Slytherin Keeper barely missed it, and it went through the left goal post.
Jane punched a fist in the air in excitement. The score was now ten to nothing. Gryffindor was winning, and Jane was eager to keep it that way.
The game was now ninety to thirty with Gryffindor in the lead. Jane had just scored her third goal of the game and was circling the goal posts with Jarod in victory. Jane stopped when she saw Brenton streaking across the pitch, Sirius' little brother, Regulus, right behind him.
It all happened so fast. Brenton's hand shot out in front of him and the crowd erupted into roars of excitement once they saw the little Snitch clutched in his hands. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signalling the end of the match.
"Yes!" Jane shouted in excitement.
Jane felt alive. The first game she had ever played in, and they had won by two hundred and ten points. She high-fived Jarod, and the two of them went back to circling the goal posts and laughing in triumph.
Suddenly, a Bludger shot right towards the two of them. Jane and Jarod both tried to fly away, but Jane didn't move quick enough, and a sickening crack could be heard as the Bludger collided with Jane's ankle.
Jane cried out in pain, but she was quickly drowned out by the angry shouts of the spectators. James looked around and spotted Avery, the Beater for the Slytherin team. He had a wry smile on his face. He had deliberately hit the Bludger at the two Gryffindor Chasers after the game had ended.
When Jane touched the ground, Jarod and their Keeper, Will, were there to help her. They sat her on the ground gently, but then another wave of shouting rippled through the crowd. Jane looked to see that James had knocked Avery to the ground. He was now on top of him, throwing punches.
Jarod and Will quickly left Jane to go and try to pull James off of Avery.
Jane's ankle was throbbing. It had already swollen to twice its size and was starting to turn a dark, bluish colour. She didn't need Madam Pomfrey to look at it to know that it was broken. She waited for things on the pitch to get calmed down and sorted out, and then, someone helped her limp up to the Hospital Wing.