slytherins do it better

Chapter 8/1

Lauren had no intention of playing violently that day, but she was a Slytherin and if people tried to hinder her, her patience waned and she began to respond in kind.

The brief close encounter she'd had with Dinah just before the game was apparently enough to drive Gryffindor out of her mind. She was so mad that Lauren had to do her best to try and hold on to her broom.

The Slytherin was willing to bet that Dinah had turned the entire Gryffindor team against her on purpose.

She usually was able to beat goal after goal, but she was now an hour past and she was barely able to graze the rings of the opposing team with a quaffle.

And not because she wasn't in shape, but simply because every time she approached the shooting zone, there was someone desperately trying to push her off her broom.

It was as if Gryffindors didn't care much about the game itself, as much as making sure she was constantly being pushed, bumped, or attacked by a fireball.

The Gryffindors were leading with 70 points to the Slytherin's 40 when Normani asked for a timeout.

In the dressing rooms, Lauren could almost feel the hidden anger of her teammates who felt humiliated in the face of that bad result.

"Normally I would be proud of each of you if she started to annoy the Gryffindors, but now this is not helping us much, Jauregui." pointed out the Slytherin goalkeeper, looking annoyed at the girl.

"It's not my fucking fault, if they are targeting me!" Lauren snapped, returning the dig. 

"What did you tell Dinah before the game started?" Zayn asked, leaning against the lockers with an expression that was anything but happy.

"Nothing, I was just defending myself!" Mumbled the girl bringing her attention to her broom who had been severely hit by a fireball.

"She's angry because I'm with Camila."

"Fantastic." James sighed turning to Normani.

"So what do you do, Captain?" Normani didn't know what to do, just like the rest of the team.

"Well .. let's forget all the schemes we have prepared so far: since they have three capable pursuers." She said

"They waste a lot of people trying to keep Lauren out of the game.  We could try to take advantage of this ..."

The team captain began work on the new plan and when the Slytherins returned to the field they wore a much more confident expression on their faces.

Lauren met Dinah's gaze as the two teams mounted their brooms and she clearly saw the Gryffindor's mocking smile, eager to resume the game. After the whistle, as expected, the Slytherin found Dinah sticking to her side trying to push her to the right wing of the pitch, away from where her teammates were trying to put the new strategy into practice.

Finally the quaffle headed into her trajectory but the Gryffindor promptly stepped into her, causing her to lose her grip on the ball and crashing her into the Ravenclaw stand.

This fight only served to increase her anger;  she settled well on the broom and without wasting time she began to look for her opponent.

The Gryffindors had the quaffle and Dinah was having a hard time with the other two pursuers waving to get her attention.

Lauren quickly approached the Gryffindor and once at her side began to push her.

Dinah tossed the quaffle to a teammate and moved heavily on her. It was a constant battle as to who could push the other more and they looked like two little girls fighting in the schoolyard while they were fighting on the sidelines.