"Ladies, gentlemen and our non-binary friends! 'Tis the day our favourite rivalry faces against each other for the quidditch cup! Yet again! Gryffindor versus Slytherin! Wood versus Potter! Who will come out victorious?! The snakes or the lions?!"
Quidditch in itself already attracted attention from the students, the thrill of watching how your team lost or won was something you couldn't experience outside of sports.
The bleachers in any other game barely had any breathing room for on-lookers. You always had to come in early to snatch a decent spot.
But, in those particular games where both James and Zoe captained, it was impossible to even stand comfortably without crashing into someone.
Two years in a row the unfortunate situation of them reaching the finals together had happened.
In the past year the game lasted just under ten hours, with three broken noses, five broken arms and two sprained ankles. Needless to say it was a rough game.
And although the audience couldn't openly admit it, they were craving that savagery that came from their games. Which is why so many students had shown up.
"Any genius plans, cap?" Zoe shrugged, pacing nearly silently along the locker rooms.
Zoe had spent the better half of a week trying to come up with new strategies to surprise James and his team, staying up until ungodly hours of the night.
Yet she always managed to forget them almost as soon as they came, the strategies being replaced by very visual images of what Cedric Potter had done to her.
She hadn't seen the man in over two months, and she could still never forget the chill that travelled up her spine every time she heard his voice.
"Stay high. That way you won't feel as much pressure from the immense crowd. Also try to stick in pairs or trios, It'd be easier to cover each other and easier to slip into defensive" The team collectively nodded.
Although they wouldn't admit it to anyone, Zoe having a fairly decent plan helped calm their nerves. As much as they loved causing chaos on the field, a plan always came in handy when facing the raging Gryffindors.
"Let's go win this and bite the head off of this lions. Figuratively if McGonnagall were to ask" The team hooted back readying themselves to get into their respective positions.
Except they were waiting on Taylor Simms' command to do their celebratory 'punch Wood in the arm' tradition.
Yet, it never came. Taylor quietly grabbed his broom and went into position, ignoring the curious and saddened glances from both his teammates and captain.
"What? No 'knock on Wood' joke this game?" Taylor didn't even meet her eyes as the team's gaze darted between the two.
"No" And so everyone else reluctantly filed into position behind Taylor, ignoring the rough exterior of the boy.
Ever since the James and amorentia incident, Taylor hadn't spoken to Zoe once, and had tried avoiding her at all costs.
A deep voice inside her wondered if James felt the exact same way she was feeling about the situation when she adamantly ignored him.
"Taylor"
"Don't. Let's just play the game so you can go back to your boyfriend" Zoe scoffed, a look of disbelief across her face.
"Look. I don't know what you heard, but whatever it is. I swear I don't-"
"-Save the speech Zoe. Just get this over with"
And unlike James, she knew when to give up and give a person their space to think things through. She just wondered if doing so was the right choice.
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YOU ARE READING
Black Roses {James Potter x OC}
Fanfiction-"No wonder you don't have a girlfriend with your trollish manners" "I'd call it more of a tedious rom-com Lily has forced me to live"- Zoe Wood and James Potter had an odd relationship. They had known each other since the moment they came out of t...
