/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

7.12.2

"the end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. a parable." ~ Nietzche

~june 1977~ (continued)

The final match of the quidditch season was intense. Gryffindor vs Slytherin hadn't been a fair match yet that year. Slytherin had better brooms, more practice time, and Regulus Black as their seeker. Gryffindor had struggled to get ahead all year. But this game, each team member had a sort of fiery motivation running through them. It was James and Marlene's last game ever. They'd be leaving school the next day, and the whole team knew silently that they had to win this one for the seventh years.

Artemis and Sirius stood in the stands, unable to keep still with excitement. Remus and Erin stood on Artemis's side, both sporting enormous Gryffindor signs and shouting at the top of their lungs during every play. Lily, Mary, and Peter occupied the stands behind them. Lily's nails were bitten almost to nubs with nervous tension.

Slytherin was playing dirty. Greg Goyle, in a wild attempt to score on Gryffindor, slammed his full body weight into James and sent him spiraling, but Emmeline covered for him by 'accidentally' losing control of her broom and colliding head-first with Greg.

"Foul!" Remus roared, stomping his foot on the stands. "Bloody foul!"

"Penalty shot!" Sirius cried down to Madam Malkin. "Gryffindor gets a penalty shot!"

Malkin called foul on both sides. Remus let out a disgruntled string of curse words while Artemis covered Erin's ears.

Marlene hovered in the goalpost, frowning down at her team. They had to win. They had to. James looked unharmed by his collision, but Emmeline was sporting a bloody nose and kept having to take her hands off of her broom to wipe at it. She never lost focus. Her eyes continued to scan the pitch until finally...

"She sees it," Lily said in a low voice, leaning down to talk to Sirius and Artemis. "Em sees the snitch but she's not letting on."

"If she gets it now, we still won't win," Sirius said, his eyes wild. "She's got to know that."

But James had noticed the same thing Lily had. In an impressive spurt of energy and speed, he barreled up the pitch, stole the quaffel from Goyle, wove his way through the other players and neatly scored the tie-breaking goal.

The moment Emmeline heard the bell, she dove. She was going so fast, all anyone in the stands could see was a streak of red robes and brown hair. With one hand outstretched and the other clinging to her broom for dear life, she pulled out of the dive at the last second.

In her hand, was the golden snitch.

The crowd went wild. Artemis couldn't even hear the announcement that they'd won over all the shouting. She threw her arms around Sirius, laughing hysterically, as Remus pounded his fist in the air and shouted unintelligibly.