My Damned Lover: Third Year

Chapter 38

A few nights later, Oliver gathered the quidditch team in the common room. The captain clapped his hands and gazed keenly at his team. "Listen up. We have a special game to practice for." 

"Who are we up against this time? Hufflepuff?" Fred asked. 

"We played against Hufflepuff last time, you dimwit," Angelina muttered. 

"Well, excuse me for not being a genius like you," Fred huffed but winked at her. 

Angelina rolled her eyes and looked at Oliver. "It's Slytherin, isn't it?" 

"Oh, dear. We can't dare go against Seraphina's boyfriend. She'll be too busy googling over their seeker to make any goals." Fred grinned at her. 

Seraphina glanced around, and George held out the cushion beside him. "Thanks," she said before pitching the cushion right at his twin. 

"Damn it," Fred muttered. "I hate it when you two team up on me." 

"Then shut your trap," Seraphina warned with a look. 

"Ravenclaw, right?" George grinned in triumph.

 "No..." Oliver scratched his eyebrow. It was like he didn't know how he was going to break the news. 

"We're playing against ourselves?!" Fred yelped, and Harry laughed when Angelina kicked him in the shin. 

"I want to be Angelina when I grow up," Seraphina said dreamily. 

"You want to be a demonic witch?" Fred demanded. 

Seraphina scowled at him, and Fred held up his hands. "Forget it. You're already halfway there." 

"All right. Enough. Pipe down so I can tell you already," Oliver commanded. All eyes were on him now. 

"...We're having a match against Lagora," he announced. 

"O...kay? And why was that even so hard to say?" Angelina shrugged. 

The team seemed unfazed, and they just glanced at each other. 

"We have Harry," George said as he gently clapped a hand on the seeker's shoulder. "We'll win." 

"Not to mention, we have two demonic witches," Fred said. Angelina and Seraphina rolled their eyes in response. 

"It's not that simple actually," Oliver said. "It's not Lagora versus Gryffindor. It's Lagora versus Hogwarts." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alicia furrowed her eyebrows. 

Oliver sighed, "It's called a Gladiator Match. Honestly, I haven't played in one either, although I've heard of it before. Two teams will go against each other first, as per usual. But... when one player goes down, another will join. For example, if I go down, then any of the other keepers from Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw can join."

"Wait, wait." Angelina held up her hand. "What do you mean go down?" She glanced at her team before sneering in rage, "You mean, we're playing for death or something?" 

"Well, if you put it that way, it makes it sound really bad..." Oliver rubbed the back of his neck. 

"That's insane. Is Dumbledore mad or something?" Angelina demanded. 

Harry's eyebrow twitched. He didn't like it when anyone insulted the headmaster. Seraphina gently squeezed his shoulder and looked at Oliver. "Please don't tell me we can use our wands. Because we'll never be able to survive."