Tooru Oikawa and the Triwizard Tournament

by Killthespares

The Triwizard tournament has come to Hogwarts! Plus, Noya and Tanaka try their hands at something new, the rest of the Crows suffer, a Quidditch rebellion is staged, and the Wizarding World awaits a champion. Meanwhile, some are still more worried about the Yule Ball. Through everything, Oikawa and Hinata are reminded of the worth of pride. Fourth story in series. Contains Slash.

5. On Their Own

"Okay," Yahaba, the only one who had thought to bring his bag, rolled out a parchment and held up the quill.

On the top of the page in large letters he wrote:

Hogwarts' Student Led Inter-House Quidditch League

"Let's figure out how this is going to work," Yahaba finished.

"Ahhh, come on," Lev complained, "it definitely needs a cooler name than that!"

"The League of Awesome," Bokuto enthused. At least half of the group nodded vigorously, the other half was judging the first. Bokuto frowned. "What? I'm great at naming stuff!"

"We'll come back to the name," Yamaguchi suggested. "How are we doing this?"

Misaki eyed the group critically, counting heads. "With this many people, we have enough for multiple games."

"Especially if some of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students want to join when they get here," Yachi added.

"Great!" Terushima fist pumped. "We'll crush them in the tournament and the Quidditch! School unity!"

"Except we're playing with mixed teams." Kuroo rolled his eyes, looking back at the paper. "Alright, so two games a week-one Saturday, one Sunday-that way the most people can play."

Yahaba quickly wrote it down. "Pro rules or school rules?"

"Pro," Futakuchi said vehemently. "School rules suck."

Noya pouted. "Aww, I like the school rules."

Ennoshita snorted. "You only like them because the Snitch is worth five times the points."

"Exactly," Noya nodded adamantly, "because Seeker's the coolest position!"

At least ten people shouted out in protest of that before Noya waved it away. "Sheesh, fine, pro rules it is! Seekers are still awesome!"

"What if the game goes too long," Hyakuzawa asked.

"No such thing," Hinata said firmly, Kageyama nodding at his side.

Daichi rubbed his temples like he already had a headache. "If it goes past midnight, we call the score as it is. These aren't official games, we won't be excused from classes."

"Quidditch is more important than classes," Lev argued.

Yaku gave him a look.

Lev wilted. "I mean…..yeah, that's probably for the best."

Yahaba wrote it down.

"How are we picking teams," Amani asked. "It should be random, right? That's the only way to make it fair."

"Eh," Bokuto waved away the concern. "That's just math. I'll figure something out." He brightened. "Oh! I'll ask Professor Yamiji! Maybe he'll let me make it an Arithmancy project!"

"There's no way he'll buy that," Kuroo said.

Bokuto shrugged.

"Wait." Osamu spoke up. "What about positions?"

"Just sign up for what you want to play that week." Kamasaki folded his arms. "This isn't like the House teams, it's not like we have to play the same positions each week."

"Huh." Watari looked contemplative.

Kuroo eyed Kenma with a specific glint in his eye that was, for once, entirely Quidditch related. Kenma sighed.

Yahaba added the new note. "So….rules, teams, positions. That's pretty much everything, right?"

"Mascot!" Noya shouted. "We've gotta have a mascot!"

Tsukishima winced. "You're not…."

"Flumpy," Noya said triumphantly, pulling out the flobberlump where he had been safely stored in his pocket. "Flumpy can be our mascot!"

The entire field stared.

"What is that thing," Atsumu asked flatly.

"A very unique creature," Ennoshita said quickly.

"He's a flobberlump," Tanaka said, reaching out to pet him while Noya cooed. "Half flobberworm, half horklump."

"...okay," Atsumu said slowly.

Nao was glaring. "Wait, that's what was too dangerous to show me?"

"Flumpy's a completely wild creature, Nao. We have to be careful," Tanaka said practically-as if he had ever been practical in his entire life.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Atsumu agreed. "The ugly worm thing can be our mascot."

Osamu sighed.

"What? That was nice," Atsumu hissed back. "I'm being nice!"

Osamu sighed louder.

"Okay, a mascot. That all?" Yahaba looked up. By chance, his eyes landed on Mad Dog. Mad Dog growled at him, Yahaba glared back.

"The field," Aone said.

"Huh?" Yahaba hadn't broken his glaring contest.

"He's right," Futakuchi explained. "If we're playing here for the year, we might as well fix up the field."

Miyanoshita smiled. "That's a good idea. If all of us work on it, it shouldn't take too long."

"Ugh," Tsukishima said.

"Awesome!" Hinata shouted, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "That'll be so cool! Then, next year, we can have two fields!"

At the prospect, his grin brightened to levels previously unknown. Tsukishima shielded his eyes, looking disgusted.

"Then, we work on the field this week," Daichi slung an arm around Tsukishima's shoulders before the younger teen could make a biting comment.

"Fine," Tsukishima muttered.

And, despite everything, the entire group was staring down at the piece of parchment like something truly exciting was happening right in front of them and they were just starting to catch up and notice.

Bokuto smiled. "This is going to be amazing!"

ooooooo

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a renowned school, training some of the brightest witches and wizards on the continent and leaving a lasting legacy that spanned for generations.

It was also particularly good at gossip.

The latter was more interesting.

Which meant that within the course of a few days, news of the Hogwarts' Student Led Inter-House Quidditch League-begrudgingly still named for lack of agreement on other options-had spread across the castle like fiendfyre. By the end of the next day, students had crowded among the original group, either asking to join or rallying to set up seating for spectators. Even the professors were soon to join in, refraining from helping officially but offering various helpful spells for field clearing.

Soon, even the buzz around the Triwizard Tournament had been temporarily pushed aside for the more recent excitement of the heroic return of the not-so-long lost Quidditch.

Few remained unmoved.

"This is pointless," Tsukishima muttered, nonetheless helping Yamaguchi levitate the heavier pieces of wood off the field and to a set aside dumping area. After much debate, it had been decided that all of the Quidditch hoops could use replacing if they had the excess material.

Yamaguchi laughed, wiping away sweat with his sleeve. "I think it's fun."

Tsukishima grumbled, looking even more sour than normal.

Yamaguchi bumped his shoulder against him. "You're really not signing up to play then?"

"No," Tsukishima stalked off to go grab the next section, "why would I bother?"

Yamaguchi skipped out in front of him, turning around to walk backwards and continuing to smile. "Because you love Quidditch."

"I find it mildly entertaining," Tsukishima corrected, ignoring how Yamaguchi rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean I want to play in some stupid scrimmage games every weekend."

"You practice with Akiteru every summer," Yamaguchi countered. "How's this any different? If anything it's more fun because now there's enough for a team."

They both stopped together to levitate the last piece of the broken down Quidditch hoop.

"That's just so Akiteru doesn't whine," Tsukishima answered, pulling the wood up so it levitated a bit above their heads.

Yamaguchi gave him a judgmental look. "Tsuki."

"It's just a game, Tadashi," Tsukishima said. "It's just something for idiots to get excited over. It doesn't matter, even less than the House games. What do you think is going to happen next year? When everyone goes back to House teams? There's still just seven players, not everyone gets to play."

Yamaguchi's eyes flickered to the side, looking hurt as his lips thinned. "Some people may want to play on the House team next year, Tsuki. It's practice."

They dropped the wood into the pile.

Tsukishima sighed.

"If you really want to play on the Gryffindor team so much," he said reluctantly, trying for a peace offering that he'd never been particularly good at, "I'm sure you could ask our resident Quidditch idiots. They'd love to help you. Just don't complain to me about the bruises."

Yamaguchi laughed and something in Tsukishima's chest settled.

"Someday you're going to have to admit they're your friends, too." Yamaguchi poked at him.

"I do admit it." Tsukishima smirked. "I just save it for deadly circumstances. No reason for them to get too comfortable, after all."

Yamaguchi smiled, handing him a cup of water that someone-quite possibly the elves-had thought to leave out.

Tsukishima swallowed it back, lifting his shirt up to wipe at his face and glared at the sweat.

Tt, leave it to his friends, to give him one day of actually having a peaceful year before they forced him into manual labor.

When he glanced back up, Yamaguchi had turned a bright red.

Tsukishima frowned, pushing a separate cup at him. "Need a break?"

Yamaguchi gave a small cough, the red from his cheeks fading. He grabbed the water. "Um, no, I'm fine, Tsuki."

Tsukishima still frowned but Yamaguchi waved him off. "Come on, let's go see if we missed any of the smaller pieces."

Tsukishima grimaced but let his best friend pull him on.

"So," Yamaguchi smiled at him mischievously, "excited to spend a year with Akiteru?"

"Don't remind me." Tsukishima pinched the bridge of his nose. "I thought I'd actually gotten free of him when he graduated before us."

"You're happy to see him," Yamaguchi teased. "I know you are."

Tsukishima rolled his eyes as Yamaguchi knelt down to summon any stray splinters.

"I'm happy that his useless job finally has him doing something more interesting than running notes between departments back and forth like a bloody owl," Tsukishima said.

Yamaguchi tsked distracted, still more focused on the field than anything. "You know you gotta get over the Ministry job sometime, Tsuki. I think Akiteru's really proud of getting it."

"He hates it," Tsukishima muttered.

Yamaguchi looked up and smiled-the soft, kind one this time.

"It was still his choice," Yamaguchi said firmly.

Tsukishima didn't bother to argue, pointedly turning back to survey the field while Yamaguchi continued to summon spare pieces.

In the end, it didn't really matter, either Akiteru's dumb job or the stupid new Quidditch League.

Tsukishima would be spending his time with things that would actually last.

ooooooo

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Hinata screamed right into Lev's face, grinning brightly and pushing himself up as close as he could reach to meet Lev's eye line. "Whatever team I'm on is totally going to beat your team!"

"Nope." Lev stuck out his tongue. "No way! You've never seen me play! I'm going to be awesome! The best player on the team probably! The Ace flyer! Watch, I'll-"

A bag of clothes whacked into his back, knocking him to the ground.

Yaku stood above him, entirely unimpressed and with his hands on his hips. "Well, Mr. Ace, how about you start by helping us make the practice uniforms."

Lev beamed up at him from the ground. "Hey, at this angle, you're actually taller than me for once!" He paused in consideration. "...no, I think I definitely like it more when you're shorter. You're cuter that way!"

Yaku walked over him, very purposefully stepping on Lev as he did and furiously turning away to hide a blush.

Lev wheezed, clutching his stomach but laughing.

From a bit further away, Kenma judged them both.

Yachi just shook her head, hiding a smile as she turned back to her sketchbook, filled with various logo designs for possible practice teams.

"You don't even know if you're playing this week," she reminded them. "Bokuto's still working on the arithmancy formula."

She passed over the newest sketch to Kenma, who they had recently learned was remarkably good at clothing charms. He nodded, charming some of the recently transfigured uniforms into a regal dark purple, Yachi's minimalist design of a bluejay embossed on the back.

"Eh," Lev collapsed in the grass next to Hinata, "we mean eventually. We gotta play against each other some time this year, right? That's just chance."

Hinata nodded happily, digging through the bag for another spare shirt that other students had thankfully donated and transforming it into an approximation of a Quidditch uniform.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Ahhhhhh, this is going to be so cool! We're going to get to play against everyone!" Hinata's grin turned mischievous, looking over at his partner. "I'm definitely going to beat your Quidditch team, too! Okay, Kageyama? No holding back, alright!?"

"Whatever." Kageyama was frowning, glaring down at the uniform that was more of a sickly yellow rather than the gold he was supposed to be trying for.

Yachi tapped her quill against her cheek. "You know….I think it's going to be kind of weird not seeing you two play on the same team all the time."

Hinata tilted his head. "Huh? Why's it weird?"

"Hmmm," Yachi thought, "I guess I'm just used to thinking of you like one unit, I guess. Like partners. Or….I don't know like seeing an ogre without a club or only one pygmy puff or…..," she laughed, "sorry, I guess none of those are very poetic, are they? Do you know what I mean?"

Hinata thought for another second before he shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I think it's going to be really fun, though."

"Really?" Kageyama looked up.

"Definitely." Hinata beamed before sticking out his tongue. "Don't think I forgot first year! You didn't even want to throw to me for half of the first game, you big jerk!"

Kageyama rolled his eyes. "I did eventually, didn't I?"

"I remember that game." Yaku paused in sorting the clothes to lean forward in a smirk. "And if I remember right, we still won that game, too! Even with those crazy freak quicks."

"Only with the Snitch," Kageyama muttered.

Kenma, the resident Ravenclaw Seeker, sighed. "Don't drag me into this."

Yaku just looked amused, turning back to Kageyama. "You really didn't plan the quick catches before that? Even back then, when you still messed them up half the time, I always thought you'd been working on them for months. They were too fast, unbelievable."

Kageyama and Hinata both shook their heads.

"Nah," Hinata rubbed the back of his neck, "Kageyama was barely even talking to me back then." The grin turned sheepish. "Except to argue, of course."

"Of course," Yachi teased.

Hinata grinned, throwing her the next pile of shirts.

"Wait," Yaku was still looking between the two, "then, how'd you learn that throw so fast?"

Hinata shrugged. "I just caught it."

Lev stared at him. "Wait, that's it?"

"Yeah." He laughed. "I mean there's all the fun stuff with flying, too. Like feints and rolls and diving and sometimes Kageyama throws it so I have more time; but….yeah." He pointed to Kageyama. "He throws it and I catch it."

Hinata smiled. "Nothing more important than that."

ooooooo

Oikawa and Kuroo were both crouched over, squinting at Bokuto's notes.

"No, I give up," Kuroo said. "Keep the Arithmancy stuff for yourself."

"I think it gave me a headache," Oikawa grumbled, sitting back next to Iwaizumi where they were working on charming the new Quidditch goals to be weather resistant.

Bokuto laughed. "It's really not that much. The math's the easy part, it's just setting it up to create a entropy ritual around the list." He held up the parchment. "The hard part's getting it to give priority to the ones that didn't play the week before." He thought for a second. "Oh, and to add in the ones that are good playing any position."

"Ugh," Oikawa complained. "I'm so glad I dropped Arithmancy for NEWT years."

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, counting off on his fingers. "You're still taking Runes, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense, and Potions. Did I miss any?"

"History of Magic," Oikawa said brightly. "Ooh, and I'm trying to convince Professor Mizuoguchi to let me try for Astronomy."

"You're an idiot," Iwaizumi said flatly. "You know the most NEWTs anyone actually takes is five, right? And even that's insane. Which ones are you going to drop?"

"Meh, that's a next year problem," Oikawa said airily. "Lots of people take additional NEWT classes sixth year and drop them for seventh. I'll just lose the most boring." He smiled guilelessly. Iwaizumi didn't believe it for a second. "And, hey, I dropped Arithmancy, didn't I?"

"Because we weren't allowed to take it," Kuroo reminded him, smirking.

"I like to think of it as a mutual decision," Oikawa replied.

"Mhm," Suga said wisely. "Like Herbology?"

Oikawa shuddered at the mention of his formerly most hated class. "Suga, we don't mention the H-word here."

Iwaizumi shook his head. "The amount of poor, innocent plants I've had to save from you….I swear you could kill weeds."

"Because plants are stupid and don't listen to things like logic, Iwa-chan," Oikawa said primly.

"Because you don't nurture them," Iwaizumi muttered under his breath. "You have to listen to them. You can't force plants to grow, you just help them."

Oikawa gave him a look, grin widening.

Iwaizumi blushed. "Shut up."

"No, Iwa-chan," Oikawa teased, "that was really heartwarming. Go on, how do I become one with the plants?"

Iwaizumi whacked him with a section of new Quidditch post and Oikawa laughed.

"Plant killer," Iwaizumi accused.

Oikawa stuck out his tongue.

"Real talk, you're not working on the Quidditch field grass, right," Kuroo asked.

"Hilarious." Oikawa rolled his eyes.

"I'm actually serious."

Oikawa huffed out a laugh. "In other news, I am now accepting applications for new best friends. Recommendations not accepted." He paused for a second. "Except for Bo and Suga, them I'm keeping." He gave a look to Suga. "Thin ice, though, Suga, thin ice."

"I live in terror." Suga grinned.

"I GOT IT!" Bokuto crowed out suddenly, shoving the parchment at them. "LOOK! LOOK, IT'S PERFECT!"

Kuroo took the paper, looking dubiously down at the figures. "You know I still can't understand this, right?"

"That's fine." Bokuto waved the concern away, smiling happily. "Terushima said he'd check my math."

"Wait, Terushima?" Iwaizumi frowned. "Yuji Terushima, that fifth year Slytherin with the tongue piercing that almost set the Potions room on fire last year?"

Bokuto nodded. "Yep! Professor Yamiji recommended him."

"He's the top in his year." Kuroo dragged a hand down his face. "And, no, life does not make sense anymore."

"I'm sure it's….very effective," Suga said kindly, looking at the formulas Bokuto was still beaming at.

"It will be!" Bokuto rubbed his hands together. "Man, I hope Terushima can look at this soon. I want to have the teams up by the weekend."

"We still have to fix up the field, too," Iwaizumi reminded them.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure everybody and their mother is helping with that," Kuroo said, gesturing around to the parts of semi-constructed goal posts, "so, I don't think it'll take that long. Maybe by Sunday, Saturday if we get lucky."

"Then, we got Beauxbatons and stupid Durmstrang coming next week," Oikawa said, stabbing with his wand more viciously than weather charms generally needed.

Suga hummed. "It's a big school, you know, I really do think we can avoid one person."

"Two," Kuroo muttered, "the red haired one was just as annoying as Ushijima."

"And besides," Oikawa pointed out, "when have you ever known our lives not to ruin into unrepentant assholes?"

Suga thought for another second before conceding the point.

"Guys, Quidditch," Bokuto waved a hand in front of them. "We're thinking of fun things right now!"

Suga laughed. "Speaking of, did you ask Akaashi to dinner yet?"

"Oh." Bokuto turned bright red. "Um, not quite." The rest of his friends stared at him and Bokuto's expression went sheepish. "I tired; but, then he started talking about Quidditch and then I started talking about Quidditch and…well, we kind of got distracted."

Oikawa poked at him. "Then, try again."

"It's hard," Bokuto whined, "you gotta find the perfect moment and….and…." he ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know, I'm bad at it! He just starts talking to me and I….I just kind of forget what I was doing and just listen to him, you know?"

The group sat in thought.

"A double date," Kuroo shouted triumphantly.

"With who," Iwaizumi demanded.

"I could probably find one," Oikawa mentioned contemplatively.

"No one asked." Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.

Bokuto looked terrified. "Wait, I thought we were starting slow! I don't even know if he likes me!"

"So, we don't sell it as a date," Kuroo explained, "just ask him if he wants to study and Kenma and I will be there. Then, it's not an actual date so no pressure and, then, I can help keep you on track."

Bokuto brightened. "You really think that'll work?"

"Wait," Suga frowned, "will Kenma really be okay with that?"

"Sure, Kenma and I always study together." Kuroo shrugged. "No difference, only this time we get to help Bo get a real date."

Suga's brows drew together at the same time Oikawa let out a low whistle.

"Look at that," Oikawa wiped away a fake tear, "maybe Kuroo really will be helpful on this whole romance stuff."

Kuroo smirked. "I'm a romance genius."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Iwaizumi said flatly.

"Bro," Bokuto turned large eyes up to Kuroo, smile widening, "you and Kenma would really do that for me?"

"Definitely." Kuroo slung an arm around his shoulders. "No worries, this is going to work perfectly!"

ooooooo

It was an effort on a school wide level that the new and improved Quidditch practice field actually did get ready in time for a game on Sunday.

There were still some elements to improve. The seats were still short and stubby, more makeshift than anything where the gathered crowd had to strain their necks up to see anything. The announcer spots were a mess of magic and audio wiring, that was more dangerous than it had any right to be . And even the scoreboard was a quickly drawn chalkboard.

But, there were three hoops on either side of the field-standing tall and newly painted. The grass had been cut back and weeds pulled. There were spare jerseys in set team colors to recognize which players were on what team.

And, most importantly, there were fourteen players, staring down at each other from uniforms of sea blue and neon green.

Oh, and they had an announcer.

Said announcer had been talked into it by a very eager boyfriend

"Um-" there was a burst of static and a quick "ow" as the announcer was lightly shocked by a faulty wire. Asahi cleared his throat. "Er, right. Welcome to the inaugural game of...of the Hogwarts' Student Led Inter-House Quidditch League."

There was the sound of sudden applause and Asahi jumped in his chair.

"Oh," he mumbled more to himself, "I should probably read the teams, right?"

Noya, decked out in a referee uniform no one was entirely sure how he'd gotten, gave him a thumbs up. "You're doing great!"

"He's doing passable at best," Tsukishima muttered to Yamaguchi, both standing at the sidelines.

"Okay," Asahi rallied, actual enthusiasm showing through the nerves. "So, for the blue team-or the Fighting Snorkacks, I suppose-we have Daichi as Keeper; Yahaba as Seeker; Terushima and Aone as Beaters; and Hinata, Amani, and Misaki as Chasers."

The team decked out in dark blue jerseys sent a wave, Hinata grinning brightly and making a ridiculous challenging pose over at Lev and Kageyama. Lev made a face right back and Kageyama rolled his eyes.

"For the green team, that's the B-Basilisks' Stare," Asahi stuttered slightly, reading off the notes, "we've got Nakashima as Keeper; Mad-Kyotani as Seeker; Futakuchi and Kuroo as Beaters; and Miyanoshita, Kageyama, and Lev as Chasers."

There was another round of applause as both teams waved out at the gathered crowd.

"Ready," Asahi asked, smiling slightly and waiting until he received nods, "Alright, then we can-"

He was cut off at the sound of Noya's loudly blown whistle and the teams shot to the field.

Hinata took to the air, broom held tightly in his hands and smiling so wide it was almost terrifying.

His hands were shaking lightly around the handle, electricity running up his spine and he couldn't even describe it.

It felt like everything.

Playing every week, against new people, different people. It was….

It was a challenge.

One Hinata had never even thought of before and now that he had it in front of him, it was perfect.

From the ground, Noya threw the Quaffle in the air, letting out another whistle to signal the start of the game.

Misaki on his team got the Quaffle first, Lev darting around her in a failed attempt to intercept.

Hinata raced down to the goals before the Beaters could properly catch up, dodging around as Futakuchi reacted almost on impulse before he pulled back, realizing that for once Hinata was on a different team.

The other Chaser for Hinata's team, Amani, was still further down the field-caught up by Kuroo before she could fully make it around both Beaters.

Hinata was open, he could feel the energy crackling on his pulse as he got ready-

Misaki threw to Amani, only to get intercepted by Kageyama.

Kageyama threw to Miyanoshita, who caught it by the tips of her fingers and scored before Daichi could pull back to the left.

"Ha!" Lev beamed, from where he was floating under Hinata. "What was that about kicking our butt?"

"Next goal!" Hinata grinned back sharply.

"Nuh huh," Lev shook his head. "I told you, Ace Flyer, I'm going to be-"

"Lev!" Kuroo shouted. "Quick chatting and get back to playing the game!"

Lev yelped and they both sped back just as Daichi threw the Quaffle back into play.

Amani got to it, snatching it right before Miyanoshita tried to dive in its path.

Hinata smiled, readying as Amani passed it back to Misaki.

Futakuchi was already setting up in a block, gesturing to Kuroo beside him, far too familiar with Hinata's movements.

It didn't matter. Hinata could still beat them in speed.

He dove down under the block, pulling sharply up just before the ground and running close enough that he could reach down to touch the grass.

"OH!" He heard Asahi shudder over the speaker. "That's terrifying. Do you really think we should be-"

Noya grabbed the mic. "AND AN AMAZING DIVE BY THE SNORKACKS' RESIDENT CHASER-THE SHORT, THE ORANGE-SHOUYOU HINATA! MISAKI'S GETTING READY TO THROW AND-"

"Hey, favoritism from the ref," Ennoshita called out from the side lines.

"WHAT?!" Noya shouted. "Ugh, fine, I'll go back to-OH SHIT, MIYANOSHITA JUST INTERCEPTED THE QUAFFLE! AHH, THAT WAS AWESOME!"

Hinata jerked back up just to see Misaki looking annoyed at herself just as Miyanoshita redirected to Lev for another goal.

Hinata and Amani joined her at either side as they waited for Daichi to retrieve the Quaffle.

"Sorry," Misaki muttered. "That was on me, I hesitated too long and she caught up."

"Don't mind," Hinata reassured, Amani nodding at his other side.

Misaki offered a small smile in return. "We'll get 'em next goal. Hey, Hinata, could you pull back a bit? I can't see you through the Beaters' line."

"Huh? Oh yeah." Hinata nodded immediately. "Sorry, I, um, normally just dodge the Beaters and catch the Quaffle from there."

"Yeah, I remember." Misaki bit her lip, considering. "I guess we can try. You really think you can catch blind like that?"

Hinata shrugged. "It's what I normally do?"

Misaki nodded. "Okay."

There was the sound of a whistle and Daichi threw the Quaffle into play, quickly caught by Amani before Kuroo nailed her with a Bludger to the side.

The Quaffle dropped, fumbled slightly before Lev caught it with a wide grin. "Ha, got-"

Aone's Bludger whacked into his arm, followed a second behind by Terushima's second Bludger.

"Oh, come on!" Lev shouted as the Quaffle was knocked away. He dove down, fingers almost around it before Amani swooped back up to save it, redirecting it quickly to Misaki.

Hinata was already diving behind the opponents' defensive line.

He heard Futakuchi swear. "Merlin, cut him off now!"

Hinata almost laughed, focusing on speed and waiting. He lifted his hand to catch and-

The Quaffle wasn't there.

He frowned, turning back to see the Quaffle a few yards short.

He swerved back.

Kageyama caught it before he could get to it, throwing blindly back at Lev.

"Ack!" Lev caught it by virtue of a long arm, reaching out and snagging it out of the air.

He threw to the goals.

Daichi caught it on the edge, knocking it back only for Miyanoshita to get it on the rebound and score another goal.

"Alright," Asahi called over the mic, "another goal from Miyanoshita, bringing the Basilisks up by thirty points."

"Gah!" Hinata huffed down at Kageyama, sticking out his tongue. "NEXT TIME!"

Kageyama smirked back before both darted back to the goals.

Misaki caught the Quaffle.

She threw to Amani, dodging a Bludger from Kuroo.

Hinata dove beneath the Beaters, pulling forward at a sharp right angle to-

The Quaffle went long.

Miyanoshita intercepted and threw to Lev, who scored another goal.

Hinata stared.

Daichi threw back to Amani, who threw to Misaki.

Hinata was halfway down the field, behind the block.

The Quaffle clipped Futakuchi in the shoulder, who stared down at it looking just as surprised as Hinata.

He threw it back to Kageyama.

Daichi saved the Quaffle, only for the Basilisks to score a few moments later with a quick redirection.

Aone, the temporary team captain, called a time out.

The teams landed on the field.

Hinata stared down at his palms, tingling like the nerves had been called to attention without the comforting sting of a Quaffle landing in them.

He looked up at his team. "I don't….I'm sorry."

"Dude," Terushima had cocked his head, "are you like okay? I mean are you sick or something? We can find a sub probably."

"I don't think I'm sick," Hinata said, uncertain

"You're still getting around the Beaters just fine." Misaki looked thoughtful. "Maybe it's just a matter of adjusting. You're used to Kageyama's throws, yeah?"

"I-yeah." Hinata nodded. "But, I used to catch Koki's throws alright, too. I'm not sure what's happening."

"Koki passed," Aone said.

Hinata tilted his head. "Huh?"

"I think he means you guys normally used Koki for defense, right," Yahaba said. "Passing's different from offensive throws. They're shorter, easier to catch. And that guy," he narrowed his eyes over where Kageyama was standing with his team, "he's scarily good at offensive throws."

"I can get better," Hinata promised immediately, looking worriedly at Amani and Misaki.

Amani smiled softly back. "Maybe that's a bit much for one game. These games are about playing with new people, you know? They're for learning. So, why don't we all just focus the range a little bit closer for now. Until we get used to each other."

"That's a good plan." Daichi clapped his hands together. "Right, so let's get back out there and show them not to underestimate the Fighting Snorkacks!"

He motioned to Noya and the whistle blew, probably more enthusiastic than was really needed, to signal the end of the time out.

Hinata still felt unsteady, stomach clenching sickly as he opened and closed his hand.

The team was walking down the field when Hinata felt a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up to find Aone.

Aone gave him one firm nod, the same one that he always did when Futakuchi and him were blocking for him in normal Hufflepuff games.

Standing beside Aone, Daichi gave him a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Hinata, we'll cover for you. You're not doing this on your own."

For some reason, the clench in Hinata's stomach got worse.

He pulled up a smile anyway, hoping it was bright enough that no one could tell the difference.

The game continued.

It was brutally fought, with a renewed competitiveness as Beaters tried to one up Beaters and the Seekers fought neck and neck, several sightings of the Snitch having to be avoided until their team was up enough points.

In the end, it was exhausting-the final points of the game scored with Yahaba catching the Snitch a few centimeters before Mad Dog could reach it, bringing the Snorknacks to a narrow victory.

Both teams practically limped off the field, sweat running down their backs but smiling widely to the cheers of the crowd.

The first game of the new unofficial Quidditch League was an undeniable success.

Hinata went off the field, shoulders and sides aching from over a dozen not-quite catches and hands barely red from the few successes.

His team won and he was happy for them-truly, openly happy for them, jumping on their backs and jabbering excitedly about particularly impressive plays.

He was happy for them, he was, and he wouldn't let anything ruin that for the entire world.

But, the nauseating twist in his stomach had only gotten worse, swarming upwards until it had taken over his entire chest and he felt like he couldn't breathe in a way that had nothing to do with exhaustion.

And, for once, he couldn't avoid it.

Hinata hadn't scored a single goal.

ooooooo

A/N:Hey, guys, few notes this time as usual.

1.) First and as always, thank you, thank you for all your support on this story! You wonderful, awesome people, you're great and hope you continue to enjoy!

2.) Later this month, I'm taking a week off from posting this story as I have family visiting (first time seeing family since this whole COVID mess started and I am excited!). I'll give ya'll an update for the week before but just putting a notice here now.

3.) Please check out this amazing quotation art for this series! It's awesome! tagged/haikyuu-at-hogwarts-quotes

4.) Just for fun and procrastination, while writing this chapter and specifically when Kuroo calls himself a "romance genius", I amused myself by looking at the series as a whole (both written and planned) and actually making a list of all the main characters (the trio with Kenma and Lev, Crows, Investigators' Club, and Akaashi) from worst to best at romance...the Investigators' Club did the worst on average so, you know, just to know what to expect. Trio with Kenma and Lev averaged by far the best.

Next Chapter: Durmstrang and Beauxbatons
Post Date: July 18-19