Entanglement

2. A performance to remember

"Fall in!" Blaise snapped at us as we rushed to our starting lines before the gates opened.

The roar from the crowd made my head spin and my fingers had a nagging ache at the tips where I had picked the skin raw while being at the Gryffindor tent. My knuckles were ghost white from gripping my broom too hard, and I couldn't seem to keep my legs from shaking.

Blaise snarled over his shoulder without actually looking at us. "Remember everyone; any means to achieve the end." He was focused on one thing and one thing alone: getting rid of the Gryffindor captain.

The sun blinded me briefly when the gates opened, and we simultaneously mounted our brooms. One right after the other we raced into the air and flew around the pitch as Blaise had instructed us for the past several weeks. Andre and I mirrored each other as we rushed past the crowds on either side of the stands, our velocity increasing as we gained speed. I prepared to pass him and held up my bat as he did the same. Bracing myself on my broom, I swung at my fast-approaching friend. The wooden weapons met with an ear-splitting crash that shook the crowds nearby and temporarily stunned my hearing, but I could still make out the Slytherin's cheer as it echoed. My stomach continued to turn over and I prayed it would wait until after the match.

As I circled back around to the uniform pyramid of green and black fitted players, a low hum came over the Gryffindor stands, quieting the cheers from the other houses. I looked up to Blaise at the top of our configuration to try and get a read on what was happening. For a second, I swear I might've imagined it, I caught a glimmer of something other than his usual confidence and pride.

I settled on my broom and glanced anxiously at the Gryffindor gates. They were open, but the players hadn't entered the pitch. The familiar cheering had stopped completely, and the lull from the red and gold stands became rhythmic and steady. I looked to Andre hoping he would have some sort of clue as to what they were doing. I had seen the entire team all geared up and ready to play not ten minutes ago, so what exactly was happening? Andre met my gaze with a confused expression and shook his head. Suddenly, the students began to chant, and it grew in volume as more joined in.

"Bring the Lion out. Bring the-bring the Lion out."

They continued with this mantra, and I swore I could hear drums beating in time with the words, but perhaps it was just my own heart creating the rhythm in my chest. When I looked back to the gates the Gryffindors were starting to enter the field one by one, only they weren't riding their brooms. Instead, they walked out holding them in their hands. My confusion only doubled as they made two uniform lines and mounted in perfect unison. Again, they surprised me by not taking off into the air, but simply hovering in their two rows just above the grass as the chanting continued to grow louder. After what felt like an eternity, she made her entrance, and I finally understood that this was meant to be some sort of spectacle.

Her wild and obnoxiously long hair was loose, and the wind whipped it around her as she confidently sauntered onto the field to the end of the aisle the other players had created. I could see her coy smile from my vantage point. She was relaxed. Her hands rested in the pockets of her uniform, and she stood back with her weight on her heels as the chanting grew more and more intense.

"Nobody moves. Whatever they try, stand firm." Blaise harshly called to all of us while checking to make sure we were definitely in the spots he demanded we wait in before the game. I looked back at Mirren and noticed she did not have a broom in her hand. Bewildered, I glanced back at Andre. His eyes told me he had noticed it as well. What the hell was going to happen?

No sooner had the question formed in my mind than I watched Mirren whip around and grab the handle of a broom that came flying into the pitch from the gate entrance. As she was swept away from the other players, she swung her legs up to straddle the impossibly fast broom and flew into the sky above the pitch until she was no longer visible. The other players followed suit and began to circle at the centre of the field, giving each other high fives and smiles across the portal they had created. When they all looked up I had to follow their gaze, and what met my eyes was a sight indeed.

She was free falling. Her broom was in her hand but her face was angled towards the ground and her feet were streaming behind her as she plummeted to the field below. My hand flew to cover my mouth as I watched her descend towards the pitch. Several whispers emitted from the other Slytherin players as we all watched with a mixture of shock and amusement. I suddenly saw her grip the broom with both hands, and everything started in slow motion.

She levelled her body with the ground before manoeuvring her feet to her bipod. As quickly as she had gotten on it, she kicked off and swung her legs up, not quite doing a handstand as she continued to fall towards the circling players below her. She held her form for what couldn't have been very long but longer than I could ever dream to. Right as she was about to enter the continuously moving ring her team had created, she brought her legs down and crouched on her broom handle, still holding on firmly. Her fellow players ceased their incessant circling to watch their captain make her entrance as the speed of her falling sent a rush of wind that caught their uniforms and even aggravated the dust on the ground beneath them. When she came to an abrupt halt directly above and perfectly centred to her team, I could hear them cheering her on as she lifted her head and let go of her broom. She stood slowly on the handle but not out of caution. Every movement appeared deliberate and precise; this had absolutely been rehearsed.

I would've thought she'd have been at least a tad unsteady considering how tall she was. I remember her height challenging that of Dean Thomas, and she surely had no issues being found in a crowd. Yet she was steadier than a bird on a limb.

She stood proudly on her broom with her curls switching in the wind, as she straightened her back and smiled like a demon at us Slytherin players. I nervously looked to Blaise and saw his knuckles turning pale from gripping his broom so rigidly. The Gryffindors let out a thunder of screams as she leaned forward, and released a deafening roar out onto the pitch that caused every beam and board to shudder.

I thought that it sounded almost like she had taken an Elephant on a Bicycle, but something else was amplifying her voice to reach every corner of the stands.

The Gryffindors ate her performance up and I couldn't hear my own thoughts as she sat back down on her broom and the other players flew to their starting positions. She waved to the students in her house sweetly and made her way to her own designated spot on the pitch where Ginny Weasley tossed her a beater's bat.

I suddenly remembered that breathing was necessary and found myself trying to catch my breath. I hadn't realized I was holding it during that entire presentation and forced my body to relax as we followed Blaise to our starting positions. As I guided my broom over to my spot opposite Andre, I did my best to appear confident and collected, like this was any other game. I was sure I looked terrified especially when I noticed Blaise shooting daggers at me, demanding that I stop panicking like a child riding my very first broom.

Easy for him to do in this situation, considering he had dumped me not a month ago because, "Whatever this was, it was just a summer thing."

My chest became heavy, and I attempted to push the memories to the back of my mind. This was not the time for reminiscing, I needed to take Mirren out if I had half a chance at staying on the team.

Madame Hooch took her place next to the wriggling chest under our feet and addressed everyone looking down at her piercing yellow eyes. "Now I want a nice, clean game." She turned as she made a point to look at every one of us. We all knew Blaise hated Mirren, though I always thought it seemed a bit intense for a house rivalry. Our ref seemed to be clear that no cheap shots would be tolerated, and I gripped my broom handle with the desperation of a clueless first year.

When Hooch was satisfied with our attention, she kicked open the box and the bludgers soared into the sky, followed by the snitch. I didn't bother to try and follow it. I fixed my gaze on Mirren and swore she would not leave my sight for the remainder of this match.

Hooch reached for her goggles and placed them methodically over her eyes. When she palmed the quaffle, my heart was a terminally fast speed. I watched out of the corner of my vision as she threw it into the air.

Time slowed painfully as I kept my eyes glued on Mirren Leandra. She braced to fly and the moment the whistle cut through the quiet she made a mad dash directly at Blaise.