Forever... Always

Year 2 - Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor

So sorry for missing I think 2 weeks of posting! Here's an extra long chapter to make up for it. I hope it's going to be worth the wait.
Please take care and enjoy :)

Today is going to be nuts. The closer we get to the match the more nervous I get. My dad sent me a letter yesterday to tell me that he'd be watching today. He wants to cheer me on because he believes in me and I'm his daughter, but he himself was, and is, a proud Gryffindor and of course the twins are the Beaters for Gryffindor and my dad is like an uncle to them. I'm sure he'll end up cheering for both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.
Breakfast today was... different? When we had our match against Ravenclaw, we had a rather normal breakfast, everyone ate and talked to one another at our tables. This morning was nothing like that, it was silent and tense. I tried not to look over at the Gryffindor table despite how much I wanted to wish Fred and George luck. That was until I saw Marvolo on the other side of our table staring at something. As it turns out, once I turned around, I saw Oliver glaring at Marvolo as he ate. I realized as I turned back to Marvolo that he was glaring back at Oliver rather than just staring. I'm not sure what they have against each other, though I'm sure time will tell. Time would tell sooner than I thought as Thornton and Linden pulled me farther away from Marvolo.
"What's this about?" I asked them, being a little irritated they pulled me away from my food before our match.
"You look curious to know what's between Oliver and Marvolo." Thronton stated.
"Want us to tell you?" Linden asked.
"I am curious. Yes, tell me."
By this point, the silence had let up and the tense feeling drifted away. Both tables started talking to one another and things became somewhat joyful.
"Well, first, did you know Oliver has an older sister?" I gave them a look implying I hadn't known. "Her name is Jennifer Wood, she's four years older than Oliver, two years older than Marvolo and she just graduated this past year." Linden explained.
"So what's she got to do with any of this?" I asked even more curiously.
"Funny you should ask, Jennifer is the reason they dislike each other so much. You see, Jennifer and Marvolo were dating last year. Oliver begged her not to date the Hufflepuff team captain, being that they both were Chasers and they'd have to play against each other, what if he used her for information to beat the Gryffindor team?" Thornton continued explaining.
"We just happened to beat them in our match against them and Oliver didn't take the loss well. He told Jennifer that it was because she was dating a player from another house, he was stealing information from her to help their team and he didn't really care about her." Linden added.
"He was wrong to say that Marvolo didn't care. He was completely heartbroken when she broke up with him. She said it was better for them to focus on themselves and that she couldn't handle fighting with Ollie over who she dates because he's her biggest fan, friend and supporter." Thornton continued.
"Long story short, it's Oliver's fault that Marvolo was and still is heartbroken. Oliver doesn't trust that Marvolo wasn't dating Jennifer to win against Gryffindor and Marvolo lost someone he loved because of unfounded distrust from her brother towards her boyfriend. That's why they're like this." Lora finished while gesturing towards Marvolo and Oliver glaring at each other.
"Way to ruin the story Lora." Thornton told her.
"You know we don't have all day and poor Rayne would have to listen to your annoying voices for too long so you're welcome Rayne." She teased.
"You know you love our voices Lora, you just don't want to admit it because you'd be admitting you like us." Linden teased back.
"You wish she fancied you Linden." Thornton said, winking at Lora.
Lora was about to say something, but was cut off by someone yelling and we all turned towards the commotion coming from the Gryffindor table.
"WILL YOU TWO STOP? WE HAVE A GAME TODAY AND YOU'RE BUSY PUTTING TADPOLES IN MY CEREAL INSTEAD OF BEING CONCENTRATED! WE HAVE TO WIN TODAY!" Oliver yelled.
I let out a little giggle because I knew he was yelling at George and Fred. Marvolo seemed to think it was funny as well because he was laughing, like laughing really hard.
"YOU! WHY WOULD YOU HELP THEM?" Oliver yelled at Lee Jordan.
Lee seemed to be becoming close with the twins and he was often helping them with pranks, so it was no surprise he'd be involved as well.
"AND YOU!" Oliver yelled, pointing and marching over towards Marvolo, who was still laughing hysterically. "YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY? IT WON'T BE FUNNY WHEN WE BEAT YOU TODAY! NOR WILL IT BE FUNNY WHEN YOU HAVE TO SEE JENNIFER COME CONGRATULATE ME WITH HER NEW BOYFRIEND!"
"Ollie, that's much too far, come sit down." Angelina Johnson told him while pulling him back to their table.
"You better watch what you say Wood, you don't want to eat your words, or dirt." Marvolo told him calmly, but there was a fire burning in his eyes and the calmness he said it with was menacing, definitely a threat.
In this moment, Marvolo was giving us a demonstration of what the idea that Hufflepuffs are unafraid to toil really means. He was so composed despite the fact that Oliver probably just ripped stitches out of a wound that had barely even begun to heal. Oliver left the Great Hall while everyone went back to eating. Even though he was gone, the tension was heavier than before. If we lost today, Marvolo would most likely actually have to witness exactly as Oliver said. Just knowing that made our whole team pump with adrenaline, we would show him that you don't mess with a Hufflepuff if you don't want to deal with more than just them because we, unlike the other houses, are in unison. Don't try to tear one of us down if you aren't prepared to face at least 4-5 others standing up for them.
Angelina came and apologized on Oliver's behalf but it didn't mean anything. Marvolo made it very clear that he accepted her apology that she couldn't control him but that the apology wouldn't change anything on Oliver's front, he hadn't apologized or tried to mend things.
As we left the Great Hall, George bumped into me and pointed at his pocket before running off with the Gryffindor team. I put my hand in my pocket on our way back to the common room and felt a folded piece of parchment. I giggled a little as I realized what George had done. The common room was crowded when we got there to grab our brooms and robes.
"Draper, lead the team to victory!" A seventh year told him with a playfully punch.
"Honey, please let me braid your hair quickly so you'll at least have beautiful waves after the match, win or lose." One of Vale's friends told her.
"Dude! When are you going to ask Lora out?" One of Thornton's friends whispered to him just loud enough that I could hear.
"Shut up man! She's right over there." Thornton whispered back while playfully smacking his friend.
I rushed to my dorm to read the note Georgie gave me. Amber was there when I arrived.
"Hey! How's my favourite player?" Amber asked as I entered the room.
"Uh- good, mind passing me my broom?" I said, searching for my quidditch robe in my trunk. "Where could it be?"
"Here's your broom and your robe is hanging on the bedpost."
"Thank you Amber. What would I do without you?"
"Right now you'd be completely lost, why are you rushing anyway? Everyone else is just going to get their stuff."
"Oh, Georgie snuck me a note after breakfast. I wanted to read it and leave it in our dorm before I go play today."
"I won't interrupt you then, I better head to breakfast. Good luck Rayne!" Amber said joyfully as she left me alone.
I pulled out the note and started to read it.
'I know that Wood wouldn't be happy if he finds out about this note, but I really wanted to wish you luck. I hope you have fun playing no matter the outcome. I can't wait to see you afterwards because Uncle Oliver told me that he's taking the four of us, Cedric, Freddie, you and I out to Hogsmeade. Again, good luck Rayne. I know you would have wished me luck like this too if I didn't think of it first because I'm smarter. See you soon Winnie.
-Jelly bean ;P'
My smile grew wider and wider as I read it. Winnie became the nickname Georgie gave me after I told him about 'Winnie The Pooh'. He said I reminded him of the bear and told me Winnie was my new nickname because Pooh was a little too mean, even for him. I told him he reminded me of a jelly bean and that became his nickname. Jelly beans are hard on the outside and soft on the inside, Georgie looks tough but really, he's just a big softy.
"Let's go Rayne. We have to head to the pitch now, the rest of the team is waiting for us in the common room." Lora told me. I hadn't even heard her come in.
We met the team and we all walked to the pitch together. Cedric asked me what took so long and I told him about Georgie's note.
"Sounds like he fancies you sugar." Vale told me.
"Yeah right, he's my best friend Vale." I reassured her.
We were just crossing the courtyard when someone called me from behind us. A guy in a Ravenclaw robe ran up, I couldn't tell who he was, I don't think I've ever seen him before.
"Hey Draper, mind if I talk to Dutchman quick?" He asked gently in a voice that seemed to have just recently gotten deeper.
"Uh- sure? What do you think Rayne?"
"I guess I don't mind. We need to keep it short though, we only have so much time to warm-up."
The team left me with the Ravenclaw boy I couldn't recognize. I wish I could place him, he's really cute.
"Hey Rayne, I don't know if you remember me but I'm Bryony's brother Chester. I just came to say that I hope you had a Happy Christmas, I know that that was already like two months ago, but anyway, I also wanted to wish you luck."
"Oh yeah! I do remember now, you sent me a letter on my birthday despite not really knowing me. You also helped us study in that group we had last year, right?"
"Yeah I did, well uh- I shouldn't keep you, you do have the match after all."
"Yes of course, thank you, I'll see you around Chester." I said with a smile.
I ran to the change room to get my robe on, when I got there everyone was ready and having a snack Lyptus made.
"What was that about?" Everglade asked.
"He just came to wish me luck."
"Who was he?" Lyptus asked while handing me a small bowl of strawberries.
"I didn't recognize him at first but he's my friend Bryony's older brother."
"Oh! Chester is it? He's really nice and smart, I mean, he is a Ravenclaw." Cedric added cheerfully.
"Oooo, Dutchman, I think he fancies you. You don't just go wish a girl from a different house luck before the match around her teammates." Rivers said, making me blush because I think he might be right, you don't just do that. I mean, he's cute, nice, smart and caring, what's not to fancy?
"Really Rivers? As much as you might not be wrong, he should be the one to tell Dutchman he fancies her." Raywood said sassily.
"Enough of this from right now everyone." Draper said as if he was a parent scolding their children. "Huddle in. I know that the tension for this game is heavy, don't sweat it, we can and will do our best, no matter if it leads to a win or loss. I know we all saw what happened this morning between Wood and I, but don't let it rile you up. We aren't like the other teams, we think, feel and move as one and we are NOT letting my issues with Wood determine how we play this game. We play fair and to the best of our abilities, now let's go show everyone that."
That's exactly what we did. We played hard too. Madame Hooch blew the whistle and the tension felt like it was so far below us. I'm glad Draper got me and Everglade to practice our Sloth Grip Roll because the twins have sent some almost unavoidable Bludgers my way that I would have been hit with if I didn't know how to properly hang on my broom upside down. Diggory pulled off an excellently effective Woollongong Shimmy, so effective that Wood couldn't even follow him and we scored. Lyptus gave a beautiful Porskoff Ploy to Draper, another 10 points to Hufflepuff. Everglade stopped a Gryffindor goal by using Starfish and Stick. I pulled a Wronski Feint on the Gryffindor Seeker and I could hear my dad cheer louder than any other when it worked. Raywood and Rivers saved me from a Bludger by doing a Doublebeater defense that ended up hitting the Quaffle from a Gryffindor Chaser straight to another one of their Chasers, setting us up for a Parkin's Pincer. Long after the points were starting to get high, I finally saw the Snitch. The Gryffindor Seeker saw it first though so it became a race to it. Thankfully, Rivers was presented with a perfect opportunity to do a Bludger Backbeat that went right for the other Seeker. I sped up, being that I am light and small, I'm more nimble than most on their brooms and took the opportunity to end the game with a Plumpton Pass as the other Seeker was busy dodging the Bludger.
"And sadly- er- I mean, and that's the end folks. Dutchman caught the Snitch bringing Hufflepuff to a whopping 280 points to Gryffindors 140 points. Good match everyone." Lee Jordan said into the megaphone. He's a proud Gryffindor and struggles to hide it, especially in their matches.
We all flew back down to the pitch and I saw Wood toss his broom to the ground. He really doesn't take losing well. I felt proud that we all collectively made Wood eat his words that it wouldn't be funny when they win. We were all giving each other hugs and congratulated each other on our maneuvers. The Gryffindor team disappeared to their change room because from what I've told, a win is everyone's win and a loss is one for all of Gryffindor. With Hufflepuffs, a win is everyone's to enjoy and a loss is just an incentive to get better. We all went back to our change room laughing about mistakes and telling each other how cool we looked when we did this and that. We changed out of our robes and once again took our snack to go, this time it was frozen yogurt.
"Healthier than ice cream but just as good." Vale told us as we left the change room with all our equipment in hand.
I looked around at the crowd that was gathered waiting for us. Marvolo and Vale disappeared into a large group of older year students, mostly sixth and seventh years. Linden went off with his family. Thornton decided now was the time and feeling super confident after our match, he asked Lora out and she jumped into his arms saying yes. She waved goodbye to me as the two of them headed towards the common room hand in hand with basically all the middle year students and a bunch of first and second years following. This left Cedric and I with a seemingly rather large crowd of people still here. We realized that there were quite a few lost Hufflepuffs and we directed them to go to the common room where there'd be a celebration until late tonight. After the Hufflepuffs cleared, the group became a lot smaller, there only being a few parents of Gryffindor students, the Gryffindor team and my dad. The Gryffindor team looked as if they'd just come from a funeral. I saw that my dad was able to pull Freddie and Georgie away from the team and came over towards Cedric and I.
"Wood didn't want to let us go because we lost and apparently we should all just be depressed together in the common room." Fred said with a smirk as they approached us.
"Freddie, at least try to seem sad till we've left the school. You too Georgie." Dad told them with a pat on the back.
"But Uncle Oliver, how could we be sad when we lost fair and square and we get to spend time with you, Rayne and Cedric." Georgie told him.
"It's always been a Gryffindor thing to all feel together no matter the outcome of a match, even before my time." Dad told us. "Let's go, we're heading to Honeydukes for a treat. Professor Dumbledore only gave me permission to take you four off school grounds for so long because you're still second years."
We entered Honeydukes and I will never forget the wondrous smell of so many delicious treats all mixed together in the air. I immediately recognized one smell in particular and let my nose lead me to it. There in front of me sat a lovely looking pile of Pumpkin pastries.
"They really are your favourite aren't they?" Georgie teased as he came up behind me.
"Can you blame me Jelly bean? Look at them, smell them and oh my goodness, when you taste them." I said, playing onto his comment.
"Better hurry it up kiddos, I've got to bring you back soon." Dad warned us.
Despite my love for Pumpkin pastries, we ended up getting Chocolate Frogs, Exploding Bonbons, Pumpkin Fizz and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. We all got a little of each because we decided to share. Freddie complained to me how much he'd wanted some Fizzing Whizzbees, to which I reminded him that in Newt Scamander's book 'Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them', he wrote that the treats are made with animal parts, therefore are completely avoided, at least in my presence.
Dad returned us to the school grounds, said his goodbyes and was on his way home to mom with a small box of Chocoballs for her. We hung out in the courtyard for a while longer to have our treats together.
"Ew! I got puke!" Cedric said while spitting out one of his jelly beans.
"Marshmallow, yum!" Freddie said joyfully as he laughed at Cedric's misfortune.
"Be careful, don't eat that one Winnie, it's definitely sweaty quidditch robe flavour." Georgie told me.
"How do you even know that?" Cedric asked in pure shock.
"He's wrong Cedric, this one's Honey. I bet my last bonbon on it." I said confidently.
"We've eaten so many over the years that we rarely have disputes on what flavour they are and we're almost never wrong either." Freddie assured Cedric.
"You're on Winnie, you can have my Pumpkin Fizz if I'm wrong." Georgie told me.
"Here goes!" I popped the bean in my mouth. "Hmm- that's odd, tastes like... I'm getting your Pumpkin Fizz Jelly bean!"
"Here you are." Georgie said rolling his eyes and handing me the bottle. "We'd better get going, we need to practice looking depressed in the hallway before reaching the common room."
"Have fun with that you two, see you tomorrow." I told the twins as they left.
The party in the common room didn't even start to die down until midnight but I'd been in bed since long before that just thinking about Chester and what he'd said.