𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝘆, sirius black

˗ˋ 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
✧
-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH THE PRACTISE
ENDS

. . .

Sirius was true to his word. And Nancy was appreciative of that, clutching onto the handle of her broomstick for dear life as she swerved out of the way of the many bludgers hit her way. Perhaps he was a little on the aggressive side, but as he so delightfully put - the other houses, Slytherin especially, weren't exactly going to hold back.

Quidditch matches could be played in all conditions. Madam Hooch was infamous for not stopping a match unless the conditions were quite clearly life-threatening, and neither Sirius Black nor James Potter were particularly relentless on her either.

But it was good, she needed that. It was always good to have some sort of challenge to approach. Of course, that came with ups and downs, as Nancy soon found out as their broomsticks lowered back to the ground, the sun beginning to go down and painting the sky above the castle and Scottish Highlands a wonderful symphony of oranges and pinks.

"Bloody hell my back hurts after that." James complained as he swung his leg over and jumped the last couple of feet down to the grass, landing nimbly as he pulled off the red jacket to his Quidditch uniform. "Nancy - it's probably about quarter of an hour until dinner? We have showers in the changing rooms."

"Right." Nancy nodded, instead of copying James she lowered herself down to the ground fully, sliding off of her broom with a little more elegance than she thought she would. "Are they just those small buildings outside of the pitch?" She had gotten changing in the small bathroom that the Gryffindor captain had directed her to before, seeing as she didn't really need to go to the actual room.

"Yeah, the girls' one you have to go through the back - I'll just show you." Sirius shifted on his feet, ignoring the stare fixated on him behind the glasses propped up on the bridge of James' nose.

"Okay." Nancy blinked once at the news before brightening up. "Do I just leave my broom with-"

"I'll take it." Sirius seemed to have had a quick change of heart during the set of excersises that James had set for the trio of Gryffindors to complete. What exactly had triggered that change, James wasn't sure and if the Scamander girl had noticed, she wasn't saying anything.

Instead, she held out the school broomstick to the dark-haired boy, leaving James to tidy up the small amount of mess they had created, from all the discarded Bludgers to the hoops he had magicked to float so that Sirius had somewhere to aim nearby Nancy rather than actually at her.

Nancy walked alongside Sirius as they made their way through the tunnel out of the pitch, quietly standing beside him as they came to a stop in front of the storage cupboard, the girl holding the door open so it didn't accidentally lock on him.

"They're just around here." Sirius's hand appeared above Nancy's on the wood. The girl pulled her's away as he closed it and began leading her around the corner, coming to another door. "You have to go down the corridor a bit, the first door you come to is Madam Hooch's private office and changing rooms and then the second door is the bathroom and the third is the girls' changing rooms."

"Why is it so far back?" Nancy questioned, turning towards him before pulling it open and glancing in. "The boys' ones were right at the front."

"Because, Scamander, despite the laws of magic being much more advanced than the Muggle world, the same thing can't be said for their treatment of women. Girls couldn't play until long after this pitch and this building was built." Sirius shrugged, watching as she made her way down to the third door. "Wait - Nancy."

The girl stopped, turning back to face him with question in her eyes and clutching her folded pile of uniform to her chest. "Yes?"

"I.." Sirius leant against the door frame. "I'm sorry for treating you badly since you began here. Er - if I had magic like your's Merlin knows where I would've found my friends because I certainly wouldn't have any anymore. I'm sorry." He repeated, nodding his head and swallowing.

"Like I said, I shouldn't have done that in the first place. But thanks.. it means a lot to hear it properly." Nancy was smiling, a proper grin on her face as she turned back away from him, heading towards the third door once more.

"Oh - and you're an incredible Seeker by the way!" Sirius called after her, his expression almost matching his. "James is lucky to get you on his team!"

Nancy reached the third door, hand on the handle as she turned back to him. "Thanks Sirius." She said, and he watched as she opened the door and disappeared inside, some sort of weight lifted from his shoulders.

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