THC

House: Slytherin

Class: Astronomy

Category: Themed

CW: Brief underage drinking

Theme: (Joy) - the feeling of great happiness, delight and jubilation

Prompt(s): (Weather) A late in the year snowstorm

Word Count: 1186

Winning Spirit

I was jarred out of sleep when Ginny bashed a pillow over my face. Her footsteps faded out of the room before I could even force my eyes open. Groaning, I rolled out of bed, wincing as my feet hit the cold floor. I hobbled around, still sore from yesterday's practice, and pulled on my Quidditch robes. After one last scan around my room, I forced myself down to the Great Hall for a bite of food.

The team was huddled together at the Gryffindor table by the time I got downstairs, but I couldn't bring myself to sit with them just yet. Grudgingly, I shoved a couple of pastries in my mouth. I started to feel a little less sour by the time a fifth sweet pastry hit my tongue, but then I looked outside.

Instead of seeing the sun starting to peek up above the horizon, the sky was black. Wind billowed around the trees, and I could see snowflakes whipping around. I let out an audible sigh and the entire team turned to look at me. They beckoned me over and I sulked over to sit by Ginny.

The whole season had been abysmal. After Harry, Fred, and George were banned from the team, most of the fun of playing was gone. We had been practicing more frequently than ever and still didn't seem much better and, to top it all off, it was now snowing…in April. We had about a month before our final game and a win would be so satisfying after all we had been through, but I was getting close to loathing the game.

Sensing my foul mood, Ginny leaned over and placed a couple chocolates filled with Firewhiskey into my hand. I gave her an inquisitive look and she just shrugged.

"Don't act too insufferably today."

She gave me a sweet smile and bounded off towards the pitch. Hurriedly, I shoved the sweets into my mouth, wincing as the liquor seared my throat. Filled with temporary fire, I jogged after the rest of the team and into the snow.

Outside was messy. The snow was falling in fat, wet flakes and the wind was cold, but the temperature was somehow relatively warm. This led to the field being a slushy, muddy disaster. As soon as I retrieved my broom from the shed, I kicked off the ground and managed to splash mud in my face.

Cursing, I flew around the hoops a couple of times, wiping my face roughly with the back of my hand. My mood was foul, and I was lost in unhappy thoughts. The snow was clouding my visibility and I could hardly bring myself to pay attention to what was happening with the rest of the team.

Suddenly, the Quaffle was speeding towards me from the hands of a Chaser. I lurched forward to block it, and much to my surprise, my fingers came in contact with the ball, and I sent it flying towards the ground. A small exclamation of celebration left my lips and my mood shifted ever so slightly.

The Chasers threw a few more shots at me, trying to trip me up. For the first time since I started, I made every single save. One by one, they kept throwing them at me and every time I stopped them. Despite part of me wishing this was actual gameplay, I couldn't help but smile.

Abruptly, Ginny was beside me smiling.

"Keep it up," she said.

Snow was covering her hair and her eyelashes were heavy with condensation.

She flew off and I found myself suddenly elated. In the midst of a bloody abhorrent year, I was suddenly filled with joy. We were having a miserably cold and wet practice; our team was full of new players and we were just barely able to play the game. But, as I let myself relax, I could hear laughter between the players. The whole morning was a ridiculous situation, but we were together as a team.

Somehow, the gloomy morning had given me the time to relax into my position as Keeper. I was making amazing saves and, as the morning grew lighter, the rest of the team took notice of my improvement too. Their sudden approval and pride in me were intoxicating, but seeing my little sister start to thrive on this team also brought me a whole new set of good emotions.

Practice ended just before most of the students were heading off to breakfast and we walked off the pitch as a revitalized team. Between the snow, the early morning and the depressing games we had played this year, we had a newfound sense of comradery.

Covered in mud and snow, we bypassed the showers and stomped into the Great Hall as if we had just won the Quidditch cup. As a team, we laughed and playfully shoved each other around. All the other students gave us mixed looks of bemusement and annoyance, but we felt above it all.
A few confused looking Griffindors scooted over to give us space at the table. While I was shoving heaping forkfuls of bacon and eggs into my mouth, a peeved-looking Harry sat down beside me.

"Did I miss something?"

"Nope., I responded gleefully, spraying Harry with crumbs of egg. "Sorry mate," I apologized, accidentally spitting more food at him.

He brushed his robes off and grabbed himself a piece of toast.

Ginny leaned around me and half-shouted at Harry.

"Ron was amazing today during practice. We all were, must just be something in the air."

She let out a giddy little giggle then went back to her food. Harry just sat there, toast in hand, looking dumbfounded.

With my mood elevated, the food tasted better than ever, the snow outside was beautiful, and not even Umbridge's smug face could dampen my spirits. Harry had already finished eating and was gone, probably to go find Hermione. The team was mostly ignored by the rest of the students, but the energy between us seven was joyful.

After breakfast, the team rushed back to the Gryffindor dormitory to get changed before classes. To encourage team spirit, we all made an effort to wear our Quidditch jerseys under our robes. We wore our mud stains to show off our hard work.

Under Umbridge's rule, we took care to keep our jubilation under wraps, but for the rest of the day, we exchanged high-fives with each other when we passed in between classes. A few of us tried (but failed) to get chants started during Charms and there was nothing anyone could do to stop us.

That evening, I lay wrapped up in a blanket, staring at the canopy above my bed. My body ached everywhere, and I was beyond tired, but the success of the day was keeping me up. I was filled with gratitude and joy that I often forgot to dwell on. Over the next few days, I was sure my mood would slump back down, but I was determined to keep how I felt currently in a safe place in my mind.