Entanglement

1. Snake in The Lion's den

TW: mental illness

In all my time at Hogwarts, I never imagined I would get the chance to share the pitch with a literal legend.

Mirren Leandra.

She's the 7th year Gryffindor quidditch captain and the best damn beater the school has ever had. Rumours had spread that she was already being recruited by the Holyhead Harpies as well as Pride of Portree. No one would be surprised if it was true, considering her older cousin is the one and only, Viktor Krum. And I got to be on the pitch with her at the same time.

I held my breath as she methodically strapped into her gear. Time seemed to slow down as she took off her many rings, one by one, and placed them in a dish in her locker. I noticed reflections on the tent from when they would catch the light that would occasionally break through the brightly coloured fabrics.

When she suddenly turned and unexpectedly made eye contact with me, her bright eyes seemed to darken, and her expression went from one of focus, to fury. I at once realized why I had tried to talk myself out of coming here to sneak a glance. I definitely should've waited to get into my green and black gear until after coming, I wasn't even supposed to be on this side of the pitch in the first place.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" She immediately advanced towards me vigorously, eyes burning with rage as her hair seemed to twist around her head, not unlike Medusa's serpents. The other players whipped their heads around to see who dared aggravate their star player right before a match. I felt every eye burn holes into my skin, but I couldn't break away from the pair looking down their nose directly in front of me. "Snakes belong in their hole."

She towered over me, and I found myself wishing I could shrivel up into an actual snake and slither away. "I, uh...I just..." My words failed me miserably as I tried to think of a good reason to be here. My normally logical mind hadn't thought it necessary to have an excuse for spying on the Gryffindor team directly before playing them. I cursed my own curiosity as my fingers tore themselves apart racking my brain for an acceptable reason to be here. Around me, the players were all glaring, waiting for me to say one wrong thing so they could pounce on me. As if they even needed another reason to.

Mirren cocked her head and narrowed her eyes with an air of superiority and confidence I couldn't fathom maintaining. "You're y/n Sloane, aren't you?" She sneered at me with a tone in her voice that made my stomach fold in on itself. "The beater Zabini took under his wing to try and take me out this year." The other players whispered to each other with looks that could kill.

I took a deep breath and prepared to get beaten to a pulp. "Y-yeah, that's my name." I shakily answered her question with a weak smile, attempting some sort of clue that despite the fact that she was right, I meant no ill-will in coming here.

She scoffed and shook her head while turning to a fellow player as they all took a step towards me.

Before I could stop myself, the words spilled out of my mouth in a desperate attempt to ease their anger just enough to save my life. "I just wanted a chance to meet you," She froze in place and carefully twisted her gaze to meet mine. I felt my throat dry up as her eyes became fiery, and I tried to elaborate. "You're the best player in the school. Probably in the school's history. I never had a chance to talk to you..." My words began to fail as her body was once again moving towards me, slower this time.

Every step was deliberate, precise; and she wasted no energy putzing about the space. "Beater. I'm the best beater in the school," Her emphasis signalled that though she was well aware of what I had been instructed to do this year, she simply couldn't care less. "As for the best in Hogwarts history," She looked down at me again as though I really was a snake that she wasn't afraid to step on. "I'd have to give that title to the Weasley twins." A cheer erupted from the team as she smirked at me.

I trained my eyes on her feet as my breath quickened. The eyes of the Gryffindor team bored holes into me I could not shake. My hands tremored and I noticed that they now bled as my anxiety coursed through my shaking body. I needed to get out of here before I had an attack.

Hastily turning on my heel, I made my way towards the exit of the tent as quietly and pathetically as possible. I silently begged the excited teenagers behind me to stay roused so I could manage my escape. Just as I reached for the safety outside, I heard a voice like thunder ringing through the pitch.

"WELCOME HOGWARTS to our very first game of the season! This game, it'll be Slytherin versus Gryffindor!" The stands shook as the students took up an enthusiastic roar throughout the crowds.

I turned to catch one last peek at Mirren before I disappeared. To my surprise, she was already looking at me when my eyes met hers. "Better get back to the snake pit." Her smile was malicious as she spoke, while ensuring she was loud enough so I could hear her.

I ran like a bat out of hell back towards the Slytherin tent. I don't know what I was expecting. Did I really think she would welcome me with open arms and be flattered by my compliments? Ridiculous. She was the school idol, and I was just another student on the Slytherin quidditch team. There was an official fan club that I was even a member of! Not to mention she likely got regular letters from students and other schools expressing their adoration for her. It didn't matter how hard I worked or how much I tried to satisfy Blaise's gruelling demands. I was not at her level. And to make it worse, she knew all about Zabini's plan to take her out this year.

I crept into the Slytherin tent and thankfully, my team did not notice my absence as they stood around the enchanted blackboard with a series of X's and O's dancing about it. The lot of them were listening intently to our own captain and I carefully snuck into the huddle while I tried to calm my racing heart.

Blaise had been set on beating Gryffindor since the beginning of last year. He always seemed to have a personal hatred for Mirren, or maybe it was just a simple quidditch rivalry. Whatever the case, he would not tolerate a loss to them. "I don't need to remind you all of our biggest threat," His crossed arms created a shield between him and the rest of the team. "Leandra took out three amazing players last year for the rest of their season, and I don't doubt she'll try again," He paced cautiously with his eyes scanning us players, looking for any sign of trepidation in our faces. "Beaters are not your babysitters," At this comment, he made direct eye contact with me. I rapidly avoided his glare and looked to the grass where my feet were pigeon-toed beneath me in anxiety. "If we're going to win this you need to be looking over your own shoulders and let them do their job." I glanced to a boy a few players down from me. His sweet eyes caught my gaze and we nodded to each other agreeingly.

Andre Colobiri and I had spent the entire summer and countless hours training for just this day. The day we attempted to send Mirren Leandra to the hospital wing and put her out for the season. Blaise had made us our own practice schedule to ensure we were as close to perfection as possible.

My stomach once again started to turn as I came to the realization that this was going to happen. I was going to fly out onto that pitch and try to send a bludger straight into the back of one of the best quidditch players I had ever seen.

I was sure I would vomit.