SIXTY-ONE
- Chapter Sixty-One -
"You are our number one star player, you'll be the life of the party."
(sorry in advance for this shitty chapter)
SHERRY OPAL STOOD IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR. Her hair was tied up in that flowing high ponytail on the top of her head and her Quidditch goggles rested on her hairline, they were hideously ugly but it was also a rainy day and she had to wear them otherwise she couldn't play. She wore extra covering and protection since it was a rainy day too, yet they hadn't called off the match.
For once in her life Sherry was willing to get drenched because she hadn't played a match in months. The last one she had played was when she won it, which was good, but she was also injured and then the victory hadn't lasted for long because of Potter's idiotic mind. Ravenclaw had lost the final match and given the cup to Gryffindor; this year Sherry was determined to steal the trophy. She couldn't help but feel guilty for their failure.
Staring at herself, the blonde beauty rsn her hand across her chest, touching it delicately and reminiscing on the scars there. Stark white lines cascading against her skin, bumpy and still a bit scabby which is gross. Not once had she ever blamed Remus for her injury and she never would, but she did kind of regret running into that wolf.
It was to save Potter. Maybe at the time she regretted saving him because he had yelled at her straight after she woke up in the hospital, but now she doesn't regret a thing. Not saving him could've made him much more hurt and therefore would weigh down on her own conscience. But she had to admit he deserved at least a scratch. At least for the time being, Snape wasn't being a royal pain in her ass.
Those times had been and gone now. It was a new Quidditch Year and Sherry was ready to dominate the pitch once more, Louis would be hoisted up onto the shoulders of his team mates and hold the cup in his hands whilst yelling with victory. She would make sure of it, it was what he deserved and this match was not that hard.
They were against Hufflepuff, like they often were at the start of the year. Hufflepuff were good but Sherry reckoned that the Ravenclaw team was better after the cycles and training that Louis had put them all through since the training sessions started up. They had one session where they all practiced the Sloth Grip Roll.
This was where they all attempted to hang themselves upside down on their brooms to dodge a bludger that the other team's Beaters might have directed towards them. Jacob had fell off his broom a couple of times but not too much damage had been done, Eleanor had the help of Sherry getting her back on her broom but the rest of the team managed to perfect it.
Sherry tried the Starfish and Stick which was basically just expanding herself as far off of her broom as she could, hand gripping the wood with her leg wrapped around it so she could reach father. She didn't think she would need it but Louis had her practice it anyway so if she desperately needed to cover more space, she could.
The Double Eight move was also tried out which was flying in front of all three goals at a high speed to protect all of them, but that just made her dizzy. Despite all this, Sherry still reckoned they had a good shot at winning this match.
"Sherry." Amber poked her head in the door, her hair also up in a high ponytail and she already had her goggles over her eyes. The pouring rain could already be heard from the outside and Sherry wrinkled up her nose. "It's time."
"Awesome." The girl lowered her goggles onto her face, vision immediately being tainted a darker colour thanks to the lenses of the glasses. She grabbed her broom from the side and marched towards the door of the changing room. "How's Eleanor doing?"
"Quite nervous." Amber smiled half-heartedly as the two girls left the changing rooms and approached the rest of the team who were waiting to be announced behind the two large wooden doors.
Eleanor was stood with Jacob and Michelle, doing a small run on the spot to warm her up slightly because even under all of the Quidditch robes, the freezing cold air still managed to bite at their skin and cause goosebumps under their clothes. Her long black hair was in a bun instead of a ponytail, slick and secured with several hair grips.
She had been sat on the floor in between Sherry's legs just half an hour ago whilst the elder girl sat on one of the benches and did her hair. Hair grips by her side, a hair tie and some gel that Sherry decided not to use at risk of it washing off and obstructing her view because of the rain. It was packed in tight but Eleanor said it wasn't pulling her scalp and that was good enough.
"Hey, you alright?" Sherry approached the younger girl who stopped her running and looked up at her, a small smile making its way onto her face but she still seemed to be just as jittery and nervous. "First match jitters?"
"Yeah." Eleanor admitted sheepishly and fiddled with her gloved hands, frowning down at them for a moment as a tense moment hung in the air between them. "What if I mess this up for everyone?"
"You won't." Sherry said, shaking her head from side to side in dismissal and Eleanor just sighed and opened her mouth to say something before deciding it would be better to say nothing at all. "Eleanor, you replaced a girl 5 years older than you on this team. You're amazing, I've never seen another 12-year-old play as good as you, yeah?"
"But-"
"No buts." Sherry shook her head and lifted her hands to rest on Eleanors shoulders, smiling softly and trying to look into her eyes but the goggles made that virtually impossible. "You're gonna crush it, we're gonna pummel these puffs into the ground, we're gonna celebrate with a little party to kick off the Quidditch Season and then tomorrow...we do the thing."
"Really?" She looked up excitedly and Sherry simply nodded with a smile, thinking of the stuff that was stuffed under her bed which she and Eleanor were planning on trying out. "Okay, okay, okay, yes I'll try my best...will I be allowed at the party?"
"Are you kidding me?" Sherry scoffed out and removed her hands from Eleanor's shoulders, crossing them over her chest instead as she looked down at the second-year. "You are our number one star player, you'll be the life of the party. And I'll make sure they put some Zeppelin on though." She winked.
"Okay." Eleanor grinned widely and then the voice of the renowned Harrison Jordan echoed around the pitch.
"WELCOME TO HOGWARTS FIRST QUIDDITCH GAME OF THE SEASON!" His voice boomed through the loudspeaker and Sherry pat Eleanor on the shoulder again before making her way to the front of the team where she stood with Louis waiting for their announcement. "ALTHOUGH IT'S LOOKING A BIT SOAKED AND DIM, LIKE THE CROWD, THE TEAMS HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE CONFIRMATION THAT THEY CAN PLAY ON. INTRODUCING THE HUFFLEPUFFS...."
The crowd in the stands erupted in cheers for the yellow house as they were introduced, the Ravenclaws staying warm and dry inside their waiting room whilst the Hufflepuff Team made laps around the pitch. Harrison introduced each player by their last name as they zoomed past the commentators box, making funny comments that had the stadium roaring in laughter.
"PLAYING AGAINST...." Jordan announced and Sherry shook her head slightly, puffing out air to try and warm herself up as Louis nudged her shoulder with his before they mounted their brooms. "THE RAVENCLAWS!"
The doors in front of the Keeper and Seeker swung open, freeing the players as they pushed off of the ground and flew out into the pouring rain and hurling wind. Immediately it started to pummel the players but they flew through it, flying around the stands to the cheers and yells of the spectators as Harrison Jordan introduced them by name.
"The Seeker-Captain Louis Simmons, Keeper Sherry Opal making an awesome comeback, Beaters Amber and Oliver González and Chasers Michelle Montgomery, Jacob Sawyers and their new addition to the team...Eleanor Zane!" Harrison yelled, cheering and whooping himself as they flew and flew before getting into their strict positions amongst the weather climate.
Sherry hoped that Eleanor was soaking up these cheers and knowing how much she was supported by strangers in the school, she didn't need those shitty second-years making her life hell. Eleanor and Sherry hadn't had their Thursday meetings yet so she didn't know how the little fucks were talking to Eleanor after her conversation with them.
As always, before Madam Hooch blew the whistle to start the game and release the Quaffle, Sherry looked around the stands and tried to spy out her friends. They were all drenched from head-to-toe but she noticed them nonetheless, Lily, Marlene and Mary were all holding a banner for Ravenclaw. Remus was near them, cheering and screaming with his hair draped over his forehead.
Potter sat with them, though he had a raincoat on so his hair wouldn't get wet. She could see him cheering but after waving at Lily, Marlene, Mary and Remus, she put her hand down and centred herself back to the pitch. The rain was the thickest she'd ever played in and she almost couldn't see Louis on the floor shaking hands with the Hufflepuff captain.
The wood of her broom was getting slippery so she hoped that Louis was on the best of his game today so they could win quickly and get back in the warm and dry circumstances of the castle.
Sherry took a deep breath, readying herself for the game. At least she had to stay in one certain area unlike the rest of the players who had to go all over the place, trying to reach the Quaffle and throw it to the right goals. Her keeping skills haven't failed her once and they wouldn't fail her again, she was certain of it.
Five seconds later, both team captains back on their brooms, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and released all the game balls. Then Sherry saw nothing, just blurs of colour flying through the air until a ball was coming her way and she blocked it, hearing more cheers from the stands but those didn't encourage her, playing in the rain proved to be a much harder task than originally thought.
Hufflepuff played dirty which only added to Sherry's stress at letting the team down, bludger after bludger was aimed at her. Distractions which Sherry could normally fathom but since Louis had them practicing Sloth Grip Rolls and that was all the girl could think of to do, she started getting a bit dizzy and her head began throbbing and pounding.
There was a Chaser flying up to her, a speck of yellow in a large cloud of grey rain before her. He obviously aimed for the right goal but Sherry wasn't stupid and flew to the left instead, blocking the goal when the Chaser tried to trick her but didn't manage it.
In the end the score what 260 to 30 to Ravenclaw, they had crushed Hufflepuff but the weather had put a dampen on their mood so none of them were really that excited that they had won. Except for Eleanor, who once they had all landed on the ground with two feet, had jumped and cheered and ran straight up to Sherry.
"I did it! I did it!" She laughed, squeezing the waist of the older girl who laughed and ripped her goggles off of her eyes to see better even though they were still in the rain. "I can't believe I actually did it!"
"Well done!" Sherry laughed before pulling away from the girl and letting her teammates lift their new player onto their shoulders, chanting her name whilst she was raised high and laughed loudly with a very large grin. "Whoo!"
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A/N: this chapter is extremely boring I'm very sorry, but I just tried to force one out, this is just a filler. next chapter will be much more interesting.
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