Still annoyed that I can't include more characters -_-

"Are you nervous?"

Dorothea's cool voice has the opposite effect of her words, and Ryouko grins tightly. "Of course not."

"That's the spirit," their captain says with a grin, mounting his broom, and the others do the same.

One by one, the announcer blares their names over the stadium, and then they're off!

Dorothea leads the Chasers around the perimeter of the stadium, flying neatly around the flags and towers before diving back into the main stadium. The Keeper flies to his post, watching the others with a hawk's eye. The Beaters stick together, and Ryouko keeps herself amused with a few fancy tricks, grinning when she catches a glimpse of Makie and Shino waving silver and green flags from the stands.

The announcer gives them ten seconds or so before their opponents are sent out onto the field, and Ryouko's grip on her broom tightens as the Gryffindors enter the stadium.

Philip is daring enough to do a few tricks on his broom that even Ryouko wouldn't think about trying with or without practice, brimming with pride and confidence, and Ryouko catches a glimpse of Dorothea's half exasperated, half anticipatory grin. He flips himself down from a handstand and around underneath his broom before pulling himself back up, swerving sharply. The bright sun shines on his platinum blond hair as he tosses his head like a racehorse prancing up to the starting line.

Ryouko is more focused on the last red-clad figure flying out of the Gryffindor side of the pitch. Yuliy doesn't bother with any tricks or fancy maneuvers, just coasts up to a comfortable height to sweep the perimeter of the pitch, gaze sharp. His bright blue eyes flicker to Ryouko, who swallows hard, but she thinks she can see a gleam of something excited there instead of his customary, guarded expression.

She grins to herself. If it's a challenge he wants, it's a challenge he'll get from the best Seeker at Hogwarts.

With a whoop, she spirals into a steep dive as the other players begin to assemble into a ring for the start of the match. At the last moment, she pulls hard to the side, her body reacting instinctively to balance her out as she comes to a sharp, smooth stop.

Dorothea grins briefly at her (they were just talking about how to balance a dive yesterday) before making an 'I'm watching you' hand motion at Philip, who bares his teeth in a confident grin.

Yuliy drifts down calmly across from Ryouko. His lack of showboating doesn't fool her, though, and her grip tightens on her broom, the leather of her gloves creaking and stretching.

"I want a nice, clean match from all of you," Madam Hooch says sternly, marching up to the box of Quidditch balls sitting in the middle of the pitch.

With one flip of a latch, the Bludgers tear out of their constraints, droning a dull hum as they zip through the air. The Snitch follows, hovering for a moment in front of Ryouko, and then darting almost playfully over to Yuliy before it zooms off.

Their minds, wired for the hunt, make the same connection.

Target acquired.

The Quaffle is released, and the game is on.

Both Seekers fly up and away from the mosh pit that always marks the Quaffle's release. Ryouko grins when a streak of green flies away with the large red ball tucked under her arm, heading straight for Philip, who has taken up his position as Keeper.

"And Slytherin takes possession, Lopez carrying the Quaffle!"

The Slytherin Chasers work like a well-oiled machine, practiced maneuvers blending seamlessly into one another. Ryouko keeps one eye on the stadium while waiting for the Snitch to appear and decides she can spare a second to watch Philip.

One of the Gryffindor Chasers makes a lunge for the Quaffle, but the Slytherin Chaser drops it to Dorothea before soaring away, leaving Dorothea free to shoot. The red ball flies like a cannonball at the left goalpost-

The red and gold section of the stands bursts into cheers when Philip swings over to kick the Quaffle back to one of his teammates, dangling by a single hand. With deceptive ease, he hops back onto his broom and grins smugly, no doubt at Dorothea, who shakes her head at him with a grin before veering off to chase the Quaffle.

The wind tears past Ryouko as she streaks higher into the sky for a better vantage point. Yuliy has done the same, his unblinking blue gaze sweeping the field continuously. Their eyes meet, a hundred meters above the ground, and Ryouko decides to mess with him.

She takes off like a bullet towards the tangle of Chasers, dodging a Bludger. Her teammate whacks it back at Yuliy, who swerves to avoid it with barely a glance at the missile, and she flies a loop in front of the Chasers. Dorothea and her teammates split smoothly around her, but Yuliy chases Ryouko right into the path of his own teammates, causing a small pile-up of bodies. Still, he manages to slip out of the way easily enough, and Ryouko grins back at him slyly.

"Hey, nice job keeping up!" she calls out, allowing herself to indulge in some harmless teasing.

To her shock, he grins back ferally, fangs flashing bright white in the sun. Her startled squeak is thankfully carried away by the wind, but she nearly doesn't dodge a Bludger in time.

When she pulls out of a sharp turn, her face burning almost as red as Gryffindor robes, a streak of black and red screams past her. Her heart lurches when the stands fall into a hush, and she realizes that Yuliy has spotted the Snitch for real.

Sure enough, a glimmer of gold shines on the far side of the pitch, flitting about like an innocent, oblivious hummingbird. Yuliy has about a half second's head start, and he barrels towards it like a hunter with a one-track determination. She has to admire his drive, but he's too focused on the Snitch, and she can take advantage of that.

She makes a hand signal at her team's Beaters, who veer away from the Chasers. Yuliy's bright blue gaze snaps back around in surprise when the Bludgers fly at him, one after the other, and Ryouko zips past him neatly as he's regaining his figurative balance.

He takes her by surprise, though, when he recovers much faster than she expected him to. In a split second, they're neck and neck and rapidly gaining on the Snitch. It suddenly shoots straight up, and neither of the miss a beat in pursuing it in a steep climb.

Ryouko darts glances at him every so often, but his gaze is fixed resolutely on the Snitch—like a predator chasing his prey, and it's the only thing that matters. She shivers, even as she grins. Snakes are natural hunters too—they seek out their prey and lie in wait patiently until it gets close enough for them to strike-

Yuliy thrusts out a hand for the Snitch, and she makes her move then, knocking aside his hand to seize the speck of gold.

With a very unladylike whoop of triumph, she somersaults away, holding up the Snitch for all to see. Her vision becomes a whirlwind of green and silver as her teammates mob her in triumph, laughing and screaming and the occasional tear escaping freely. Makie and Shino come tearing onto the pitch, and she hugs them, hugs Dorothea, hugs her captain, hugs everyone-

She screeches to a stop, a second away from accidentally throwing her arms around Yuliy, who stops abruptly in his tracks, looking mildly bewildered.

"Oh! Uh, sorry!" she squeaks, flushing to the roots of her hair. It seemed like he was looking for someone—someone in the Slytherin crowd.

Immediately, the Slytherin Beaters flank her on either side as a silent warning towards Yuliy—Ryouko has been the target of the occasional sore loser more than once. But she senses that while Yuliy is more than a little disappointed, and perhaps angry, it would only be directed at himself, not her. She makes an 'it's fine' gesture at the Beaters, and they troop off to resume celebrating with the others.

She opens her mouth, but then Dorothea comes flying in, looping an arm around both their shoulders. "Hey, that was a close one!" She grins teasingly at Yuliy, ruffling his hair, and Ryouko thinks to herself that he has the most adorable pout. "Man, I thought you would've had it for sure."

Yuliy visibly rolls his eyes. "I'm good at dodging things quickly, not exactly at catching things."

"Well, that was some pretty good flying out there, not gonna lie."

"I thought I was your star pupil, shouldn't you have been cheering for me?" Ryouko asks Dorothea, feigning hurt and indignation, though her grin might ruin the effect slightly.

"Oh, I was," she agrees cheerfully. "Philip owes me ten galleons now, thanks! I'm gonna go shake him down for that."

She claps them both on the shoulder hard and strolls off, greeting Fallon with a swagger in her step as he hops down from the stands, not bothering with the stairs. Ryouko and Yuliy watch as the two approach Philip—they can see his ears turn red even from here.

"Good catch."

Ryouko blinks, braids whipping around as she turns back to Yuliy. "Thank you!" she says, a bubble of surprised delight swelling in her chest. "You move so well in the air, though. I could never hope to match that."

He makes a sort of awkward smile-grimace expression. "Thanks…"

She hesitates, shifting her grip on her broom. "So...If you don't mind me asking...why did you play Seeker if you're not good at catching things?"

To her surprise (and endearment), he looks vaguely embarrassed, lifting one gloved hand to scratch his head. "It was the only position I could reasonably play."

"What do you mean?" she asks in bewilderment. She can understand why he didn't play Beater, because to be honest, he's a bit lanky. But with the way he flew, and his reflexes, she could see him playing the other positions.

"Well, I couldn't beat Philip at Keeper." He makes a face and adds, "And if I did, he'd be harping at me for weeks after...Chaser requires teamwork, and the team already had three that worked fine together. Same with the Beaters. I at least have decent hand-eye coordination...and Seekers are the most targeted players in the game. I thought it would be good practice."

She stares. Practice for...what? He seems to notice her confusion and clears his throat awkwardly, shifting his feet.

"Why did you play Seeker?" he asks quickly, surprising her.

"Me? Well…" She shrugs awkwardly, having never really thought about it. "I wanted to play Quidditch, branch out a little, so I tried out in my second year. The lineup was pretty airtight, and the only position open was Seeker. Kind of the same as you. I was going to try out for Chaser the next year, but after a year of playing Seeker, I really liked it." She smiles at her trusty broom. "When I go out on the pitch, I have a clear goal. I know what I need to do."

And that's not something she really has outside the pitch, especially with regards to her future after Hogwarts. The confidence in her skills and her purpose while on the Quidditch pitch feels good.

With a bright smile, she adds, "But catching the Snitch is really fun too!"

She breaks off abruptly, wondering if her comment could be misconstrued as a jab at Yuliy's loss. But he doesn't seem upset, to her relief, instead wearing an expression of understanding.

"Hey, party in the common room!" her team captain yells, and Ryouko lets herself be swept away by her Housemates, flashing one last smile over her shoulder at Yuliy.

So Yuliy's position was also pretty easy to decide. Canon Yuliy chases revenge and answers like a Seeker chases the Snitch, and he pursues both with reckless abandon, sometimes forgetting his teammates and surroundings in the process. That's why I had Ryouko win, because she actually has experience playing Quidditch (and can think like a Slytherin). Yuliy is a better flier, but she's the better player.

With Philip, he'll definitely jump into the action without hesitation, but I never really saw him as a front-liner, if that makes sense? At Dr. Hanada's house, Yuliy was the front line while Philip got their weapons. In the siege of the Naoe mansion, Dorothea and Fallon looked like they were set up as the first line of defense. Philip and Yuliy were set further back, and the action came to them, like how Keepers work.

Also, I bet the Jaegers just know or do a bunch of seemingly random things because of their experiences hunting vampires all over the world, and then they accidentally say or do something weird in front of other people, and they're like 'how tf do you know that?' or 'wtf was that?' And they're like '...aNyWaYs'

And I also have no idea what I'm doing with my life, so I kinda projected that onto Ryouko XD