slytherins do it better

Chapter 29

Lauren woke up at dawn that day.  She could not sleep knowing that in a few hours she would play the last Quidditch game of the year and that her future depended solely on her future. Yes, because Normani had managed to convince the professors to summon the supervisors of the international teams just for her.

The supervisors of the Magpies team, the team Lauren wanted to join, almost never showed up at Hogwarts, because they preferred to hire Scottish players, let alone show up twice in a single year!! But McGonagall knew how much Lauren cared, so she sent a letter to the team captain and begged him to come and watch the event, because in all the years she had been Headmaster of Hogwarts she had never met a very close-knit player.

Lauren kept pacing the room, unable to find peace.  She every now and then stopped in front of the mirror and repeated to herself, "You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!". She then resumed her striding across the room, her hands trembling and her mind that she couldn't think of anything but the game.

She had been training a lot in those months, but she was still afraid that her shoulder would cause her problems. It no longer hurt her, but when she pushed it too hard on the pitch after hours of training, she felt it stiffen all over her and her performance deteriorated noticeably. At the hospital she had assured her that in time she would be as good as new, but in the meantime she had to rest as much as possible. 

Today, however, she could not show any signs of letting up and if she had made even one mistake, surely the Magpies would not have considered her and would have returned to Scotland without her. And this couldn't happen!

Becoming a professional Quidditch player had always been her dream, ever since she was a child and her father accompanied her to the stadium to watch the best games of the year. Quidditch wasn't just a sport for her, it was her life: she had trained hard since she started attending Hogwarts and didn't want her shoulder to ruin it just today. 

The St Mungos doctors had told her to take it easy, but they couldn't understand how important this game was to her and she certainly couldn't take it slow if she wanted someone to notice.

She was still focused on thinking about the game when her bedroom door swung open and Camila entered her excitedly. "Oh my God, Lauren !!" she squeaked, jumping around her neck and filling her with kisses, "This is the big day! Are you ready? Are you upset? Are you hungry? Do you want me to bring you something or maybe--"

Lauren, who could no longer hear her talk about her, kissed her softly on her lips. "You're making me anxious, Camila" she then moaned, deepening her kiss. "Anyway thanks, but I don't need anything for the moment, just a lot of luck!"

"Mmh" Camila moaned, leaving a kiss on her neck that made her shiver, "Well I'll be there to bring you luck, you don't have to worry about that"

"Yes, you who will be there cheering for Gryffindors ..." Lauren teased, rolling her eyes.

Camila looked at her guiltily, but then quickly kissed her on the cheek and intertwined their hands, "Yes, that's right ... I cheer for Gryffindors. But you're my favorite player," she told her, in a child's voice, before make a funny face, which made Lauren burst into laughter.

"Oooh, finally you smile..." the Gryffindor teased, "Since I arrived that I've seen you all tense."

"Yeah," Lauren admitted "I can't get the game out of my head ... what if they don't notice me?"  she asked, suddenly frowning.

"Hey" Camila assured her, lifting her chin "Don't think about these things ... you just have to do your best and they'll notice you! The supervisors come just for you and McGonagall wouldn't have invited them a second time, if not she was sure it was worth it! "