Venom & Virtue

chapter 18

Our quidditch team did end up winning the match, Draco had caught the snitch early on, bringing the contest to an abrupt end.

We were being given a full run-down by Terence and Adrian at dinner, the latter still dressed in his crumpled uniform, apparently he'd been too buzzed all day to bother with changing.

"And then Draco swooped down and snatched it! Nearly knocked Cho off her broom actually," Terence explained enthusiastically, waving their hands in the air, "it was awesome."

"Sounds it," Violetta added dryly.

She seemed bored of having to hear about her brother's glorious win, no doubt used to the frequent fangirling that he received.

The evening's atmosphere at the Slytherin table was particularly elated, everyone still running off the excitement of game day.

The other benches were less animated, particularly the Ravenclaws who'd gone into a collective reticence at their quick defeat.

"Well, he might have caught the snitch, but the rest of us still helped win it," Adrian piped up, munching on his broccoli.

"You didn't score any though," Terence pointed out, confusion across their face.

Adrian shot them a glare in return, muttering under his breath, "that's besides the point, there's no I in team or whatever."

I stayed quiet, secretly thinking that he seemed unnecessarily displeased that our seeker had caught the winning snitch, even despite their strange animosity.

"Who will you play next?" Violetta interjected.

"Hufflepuff in a week, and if we win against them, probably Gryffindor, as long as they beat the other houses."

"Let's hope they do, it always makes for the most interesting match," Terence smirked.

Adrian groaned, "training will be even more of a nightmare then, Malfoy already has us running insane circuits, if we have to go up against Gryffindor he's going to work us to the bone."

"Has it helped you win before?" I spoke for the first time.

"I guess so," he grumbled.

"Only every year since he became captain! We're reigning champions for three years running," Terence added chirpily, ignoring the displeasure of their companion.

I nodded in return, impressed at the information; Draco, of course, was a winner.

There was a caw overhead and we all glanced upwards, finding a sleek black crow circling down towards us, a letter clutched in its beak.

"Ahh, Cronus," Violetta smiled, extending her hand as the bird came to perch on her index finger, offering the note in its mouth.

She took it, thanking the creature as it flew off, exiting the hall with a smooth flap of its wings.

I stared at her in disbelief, not familiar with the unusual circumstance, "you have a crow instead of an owl?"

"Yes, it was father's idea, he thinks owls are too common for mail delivery," she clarified, unfolding the parchment to read the words inked across it.

"You should see their estate, its covered in the things," Terence added between sips of their drink.

"Does everyone in the family have one?"

She nodded, "father seems to think it keeps our matters more private, he says owls can be intercepted too easily."

I glanced down the bench, spotting Draco who was holding an identical letter in his hand, inspecting it as Theo fed small seeds to the crow between them.