(James)
       

    When asked why a necrophiliac has a fascination with a dead person, he has no answer. Much is the same when Sirius asked me why I would invite Katrina to my house for Christmas.

   "Are you mad? She hates you, hates us!" Sirius cried while pacing behind me from my place of front of the fire place in the commons. I was writing to my parents, informing them of our soon-to-be houseguest.

    "Sirius, calm down. We've been getting on better recently, and ever since she saw you-know-what, she's, at least, more understanding." I told him, not looking away  from my writing, "Now, leave me be. I have to get ready for the match."

    "You've lost it, James..." Sirius muttered as he left through the portrait hole.

CRASH!

My head snapped around as I heard noise coming from Katrina's dorm. I sprung up quickly from the couch and jogged up the stairs. I pressed my ear against the wooden door. It was quiet.

"Katrina? Evans?" I called to them.

No response.

I rapped my knuckle on the door. "Evans, I swear on Merlin's beard, if you broke my beater, I'll have your neck!" I yelled.

Ka-Thunk!

I heard a dropping sound, and the door swung open, with a disheveled Katrina in the doorway. Her Quidditch uniform was on, but pulled tight around her abdomen as if she had gotten it stuck in her pants after a trip to the bathroom. And one of her socks was falling down. Her hair was in a loose ponytail, and it was a maroon red.

"This yours?" As I took in her appearance, I failed to notice what was in her hands. It looked up at my and meowed loudly. My ginger kitten, Yaga. He was about a year old, and I found him while on a holiday with my parents in Bosnia for an international wizarding swap meet. I swapped him for my prized collection of Chocolate Frog Wizarding Cards. And I have to say, he was worth it.

"Oh Merlin," I took him from Kat, "I'm so sorry! I thought he was locked in my dorm room." She glared at me.

"Uh-huh. Don't let it happen again, it scared Lily and I so bad we dropped the chest we were moving. He came out of nowhere!" She explained to me, exasperated. "Lily is still in there cleaning up." She made her way downstairs, and I followed her. She eyed my outfit. "Go get dressed, we have to go soon."

I smiled at her cheekily, trying to tug any semblance of happiness to her face. She does these thing recently where she goes cold for a while, as if to test her willpower not to fall for my charismatic charms.

"Will do, Captain." I responded as I went upstairs to get dressed and put Yaga away. But before I turned my back, a swear there was a smirk playing on her lips.

✧

(Katrina)

   James and I marched out onto the Quidditch pitch determined to win. Our team was lined up outside of the Gryffindor gear hut. There was a slight frosting of snow across the grass, giving everything a pale sheen. James was the first to speak.

   "Alright everyone, first game of the year. We have a new team, with new players. Some of you may be nervous, but don't worry. I've seen you practice, and you're good. So good, in fact, that we should have no problem taking down the Slytherin team. Don't get cocky, though. A big head doesn't aid a win." I snorted.

   "Says you, Lancelot of giant egos."

    "Oh really, Rose? Want to run drills for the warm-ups?" He asked, crossing his arms and staring down his nose at me.

      I shrugged. "Sure, betcha I can run the Chaser positions faster than you."

     He chuckled, "You're so on."

      "Alright everyone, take your positions, try to stop me and James as we pass by. Really work on those defensive maneuvers!" I called out as I mounted my broom and took to the air.

✧

     For the next thirty minutes, we ran drills and I beat James in the Race of the Chaser Positions. I may have cheated slightly by calling in a favor from Alice, but James didn't need to know where the tickling hex came from. By the time we were throughly warmed up, then Slytherin team had arrived on the Quidditch Pitch and students began to file into the stands to watch.

    I spotted Elisa quickly, her golden skin and wild hair standing out against the green of the Slytherin robes. I waved, trying to be just the right amount of friendly and cool. I think I nailed it, personally. She smiled brightly and waved back, mouthing "Good Luck!" with a thumbs up. Gorgeous and incredibly sweet. Wow.

The whistle pulled my out of my thoughts. The referee was standing the the middle of the pitch with the four balls in his possession. Each team assembled on their rightful side. Sybil was guarding our hoops, Alice and I were suited up with our bats, and James, Tom, and Edith were ready to take the Quaffles as soon as possible. And Jacklyn has her eyes fixed on the snitch inside the chest.

The referee said a quick spell and the clasps popped open. The Bludgers and the Snitch flew out, signaling the start of the game. Alice and I were off, chasing down the Bludgers. The Slytherin team got to them first, quickly hitting them towards us. It was clear they were younger than us, and it was probably their first time as Beaters. The hit was weak, so I locked my ankles together and accelerated, hitting the Bludger just pass the two Slytherin Beaters and into the back of one of their Chasers. He went flying off his broom, just managing to hold on and remount it before he fell to the ground.

Alice cackled behind me and hit another one towards the Slytherin seeker, who was in hot pursuit of the Snitch. The Bludger stopped him in his tracks. Jaklyn soared in front of him, almost grabbing a wing of the Snitch, but barely missing. Alice and I hit our bats together and took off in different directions, landing and avoiding Bludgers left and right. Once, a stray Bludger nearly took James down, but he managed to dodge it. He missed his shot, though, and threw me a dirty look. I just shrugged.

✧

The score was 40-20, with Gryffindor in the
lead. The game had been going for a good two hours at this point, and I could seriously see the wear on our team. Sybil was doing a very good job at protecting the hoops, but I could tell she was getting tired when she flubbed an easy block, making the score 40-30. Come on, Jaklyn. You can do this.

I hadn't seen our Seeker in a good ten minutes, ever since she flew into the above cloud cover with the Slytherin Seeker hot on her tail. I was hoping victory would come soon enough. And just as I was thinking about this, a Bludger came out of nowhere. I raised my bat to deflect it, but that sent it flying into a Slytherin Beater who sent it flying into James as he leaped from his broom to preform a Chelmondiston Charge. His fingers left the Quaffle just before the Bludger caught him in the shoulder and sent him spiraling downward.

His body hit the ground with a sickening thud. He didn't get up. Oh no, no, no, no-

The whistle sounded. "We have a winner!! With 180 points, the Slytherin team has won!" Called the referee from the announcer's box. Sure enough, the scrawny Slytherin Seeker was holding up the tiny, golden Snitch proudly. My eyes found Jaklyn, who looked beaten up, and was hovering just above the ground next to Tom, who had thrown his goggles off in anger.

A cheer went up on the Slytherin side as I rushed to James, who was still unconscious on the field. I reached his limp body and took in the damage. I wasn't too worried, nothing Madame Pomfrey couldn't fix, but the sight still made me sick. His goggles had cracked when he hit the ground, and he had a couple of gashes on his cheek. He also had a giant welt on just next to his temple where his head hit the ground. I knelt down and lifted his head onto my lap, taking off his goggles and glasses as Sirius, Remus, and Pettigrew ran up to us from their seats in the Gryffindor stands.

"Katrina! Is he okay?" Sirius asked, kneeling beside me, completely out of breath.

"Yeah. Well, no. He's breathing, Madame Pomfrey can fix him up." I told them. Remus gagged and Pettigrew patted his back as he threw up off to the side. "C'mon," I grabbed James' limp arm, "Help me get him to the Hospital Wing." Sirius took the other arm and hoisted him onto our shoulders as Remus and Pettigrew ran ahead to tell Pomfrey to get a bed ready.

✧

Later that night, I sat in the Hospital Wing next to a sleeping James. Madame Pomfrey had giving him a potion for bone mending and concussions, and had treated his cuts with a fast-acting healing paste. I held his glasses in my hand, ready to give them to him should he wake up. I ran my thumb over the metal work of the frame and noticed a small warp in the nose bridge. Maybe that's why his glasses slip all the time.

  I grabbed my wand and whispered "Oculus Reparo" and watched as the bridge became normal again. I heard a small noise and watched James move in his sleep. I studied him. I had never noticed that small dimple in his left cheek when he frowns. Is it there when he smiles, too?

I wrapped my arms around myself and frowned slightly. I closed my eyes to sleep for a while. We seriously needed to stop visiting the Hospital Wing together, something feels off.

✧

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