metanoia

Chapter Seventy-five

"Wake up!"

Alex jumped out of her skin, scaring Remus awake and falling on the floor with a thud, "What in the bloody Hell was that for, Jamie?!"

James pointed at his wristwatch in an annoyed manner, throwing clothes at the only two of the Quidditch team sleeping, "You guys slept through breakfast, Captain.  So hurry up and get changed so we can get to the Pitch."

"Oh shit!" Alex shrieked, jumping out of Remus' bed and running to the bathroom and stripping her clothes to change into her Quidditch uniform.

Sirius yawned, pulling his hair into a ponytail at the base of his head, "We've got to win today. After losing to Hufflepuff, we lost our lead but because Slytherin beat them, thank you Reg, we're tied with Slytherin for first place for the Quidditch House Cup."

"Well at least we've got a guaranteed 150 points since Lockhart has never caught the Snitch and Alex has never failed to catch it," Remus mused, following his friends out of their dormitory as Alex ran out of their restroom barking orders.

"Except for the time I fell off my broom and almost died," Alex reminded him, harshly piling her hair in a tight knot on the top of her head.

When the four of them finally reached the locker room, they found Letti and the Twins all ready and completely dressed in their Quidditch robes and Gideon braiding Letti's long, brown hair in two French braids as they waited for them. Letti tried to turn her head, wincing when she unintentionally caused Gideon to pull on her hair, "Where have you been, Alex? Remus? We had to send James and Sirius to find you."

"Sleep, Lisette. Something we need to survive," Remus sarcastically answered as he quickly pulled his arms through his robes.

Alex followed in suit, mumbling about how yesterday was the first time in a very long time she'd actually been able to sleep through the night. James watched his cousin mechanically complete her preparation ritual before a Quidditch Match, clearing his throat to break her focus from polishing her broom, "Hey, Captain, how about you send us off? You wanna give us one last inspirational speech?"

"More like my first..." she choked, staring at her six friends who were all looking at her and waiting to hear what she had to say. "Alright... Last Match of the season. Just because we haven't lost to them in the past, it doesn't mean we underestimate them. Emmeline is a power hitter, protect yourselves we don't need any injuries. Lovegood and Michaels are fast, make sure they don't get their hands on the Quaffle. But, this is our last Match at Hogwarts. Ever. This is the last time the seven of us will go out there and play this game we love. Revel in it, relish in every score and be here together. So let's go out there and just have fun. I love you guys."

Other speeches would usually end in cheers and applause and an energy that radiated anticipation and excitement. However, on this particular Saturday morning their speech ended in hugs and the feeling of never wanting to grow up and leave behind this place and these memories. James brought his mouth to the ear of his cousin, whispering an encouraging word for her speech before they all mounted their brooms and flew out to the Pitch.

"Catch the Snitch, alright?" Remus smiled, flying to his post in front of the Quidditch hoops as Alex followed closely behind as she usually did.

She reciprocated the smile, looking past him at her friends in the Hufflepuff section who already started cheering her on. She waved at Amos and Charlie, gripping her broom tightly with her other hand, "Block the shots, alright?"

Timothy Jordan and Nicholas Parker drummed on the tabletop, greeting the crowd together before Madam Hooch joined the fourteen Quidditch players out on the Pitch, giving them her usual speech and reminder of the rules before blowing the whistle to start the Match. Nicholas took the microphone, "Welcome back everyone to the last match of the season: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Since this is also our last Match to ever commentate for, today your hosts are both Timothy and I. Anyways, Madam Hooch blew the whistle and the Gryffindor team took off like a rocket, immediately obtaining possession. The lovely Letti Lightwood wins the Quaffle, sneaking around Lovegood and Kennedy Glass and straight to the Hoops with Sirius hot on her tail for the assist."