𝕿𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖗 - ʳᵉᵍᵘˡᵘˢ ᵇˡᵃᶜᵏ

Chaoter 6: Bickering Brits

[ October 1st, 1977 ]

     RED AND gold had taken over three quarters of the stands, violent cheers somehow forcing the roaring thunder and crackling lightning into the background. Quidditch players—half clad in green, half clad in red—soared through the fresh, rain-filtered air; chasers chased the quaffle, keepers kept the goals, beaters beat the bludgers, and seekers sought the snitch.

Theona did none of those things. And she was bitter about it too.

Quidditch was one of the hardest things to lose in the incident involving her poor, poor, nerve-damaged hands—second only to playing the piano and third to her basic motor skills. Saying she was an amazing chaser would've been an understatement; despite having just left her fourth year when her accident occurred, she had already garnered the attention of recruiters all over the world, she had plans to play professionally after school (if her parents allowed it), and her future was practically set.

Then, of course, she lost the use of her hands and her best friend and fell into a deep, deep depression. One that only broke when her brother stole her away and they rushed off to London to live happily ever after. The end.

"You guys are all just a bunch of mopers. Mopety mopey mopers." Peter chastised, looking down at the group and shaking his head.

Theona, Lily, Dorcas, and Remus were all sat on the bench looking positively done with life. Theona had quickly learned that she was not the only one who became miserable at the thought of quidditch; everyone in her newly established friend group who didn't play it had grown to dislike it (besides Peter and Pandora). Lily came to games to support Marlene (code name for James, whom she refused to admit she was in love with) like the good friend she was, but refused to go without the company of Remus and Dorcas, Mary just didn't go at all, claiming it was not worth her time, and Theona thought she'd finally grieved her hands long enough to enjoy her favourite sport again (she had not).

"Just because we don't enjoy watching a bunch of sweaty boys trying to put balls in hoops doesn't mean we're mopers," Dorcas argued, pulling her yellow raincoat further over her head. Theona tried to come up with some sort of dirty joke to make about said balls and hoops, however, it seemed her bitterness had taken her humour away along with her happiness.

"Marlene isn't a sweaty boy," Theona murmured instead.

     "That Ravenclaw need to correct people really never goes away, huh?" Remus teased, nudging Theona with his elbow.

     "That Remus need to point out other peoples flaws really never goes away, huh?" Pandora shot back from the other side of Peter. Theona, honestly, wasn't surprised that she was willing to take a break from her ever constant cheering just for a petty jab at Remus; he and Pandora were always bickering, it was quite annoying, actually.

     "Says you," Remus grumbled, slouching in his seat.

     "You guys sure have a funny way of showing your friendship," Theona whispered.

     "S'not funny, your best friend's just a nutter," Remus joked, pressing his chin into his palm.

     "I heard that!"

     "She may be a nut, but she's my nut," Theona sighed, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

     "Hey!"

     She ignored her friend's feeble attempts to defend herself, instead opting to actually pay attention to the game (a tough call to make). She quickly caught sight of James, who, with the quaffle in hand, flew all the way to the other end of the pitch, where he scored once more for Gryffindor.