The Kind Hufflepuff

Chapter 56: Exhilaro

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The Kind Hufflepuff - Year Three

Chapter Fifty- Six: Exhilaro

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"I can not believe you never went to see Regulus during tryouts!" Cali shouted at the Gryffindor that stood beside her in the stands at the Quidditch field. "You had promised, I spent the entire tryout looking for you and hoping you would come to support your brother," Cali chastised the boy who seemed rather bored with the conversation.

"He had you, I do not see why he needed me," Sirius reasoned.

"Sirius, you are his brother. You matter more than I do," Cali rolled her eyes. 

Sirius snorted in response, shaking his head as Madam Hooch entered the field to announce the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. "You better look happy," Cali growled at the boy. "He better look at you and see only happiness," Cali threated the boy quietly as she began cheering.

"I am not showing support for Slytherin," Sirius snapped at the girl. "I am here because James wanted to watch the competition. Beats me as to why," Sirius rolled his eyes. "I mean, we are obviously better than both of these teams."

"Oh yes, I am sure you believe that," Cali rolled her eyes at the boy. "But if you refuse to look happy, I will make you seem happy," Cali giggled quietly before taking at her wand. "Exhilaro!" 

The Cheering Charm immediately effected Sirius Black as he began smiling wildly as he began to appear as though he was an energetic puppy. "Bloody hell Sirius, what got you so excited!?" Remus laughed when he noticed the boy's wide smile as he watched the field intently.

Cali was surprised when Sirius chose not to admit what she had done to the boy, but smiled nonetheless as she turned back to see the Slytherin team being introduced. The team was a blur of green and silver uniforms as they zoomed around the field for a moment before the Ravenclaw team was announced. Cali's eyes searched the Slytherin team until she noticed Regulus Black, the smallest of the group considering he was the only second year on the team. 

"Why are we here?" Daisy whined as she cuddled further into John Stebbins while the snitch, quaffles, and bludgers are released and everyone immediately began flying around with a purpose, Regulus finding some distance so that he could try and catch sight of the golden snitch.

"To support Regulus," Cali replied, rolling her eyes.

"We've never been to a Quidditch match before," Greta pointed.

"YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO A QUIDDITCH MATCH BEFORE?" Peter practically shouted at the girl, who shyly shook her head. Peter immediately moved from his spot beside Remus and began to walk Greta through the game, pointing out every small detail and explaining how the game worked in depth.

"They're making friends," Cali giggled, bumping shoulders with Sirius who was smiling deliriously as he gave out small bouts of cheers over random things that happened on the field.

"Merlin's beard, if I didn't know better, I'd think Sirius was charmed," James laughed as Cali's cheeks reddened, avoiding eye contact with the suspicious Remus Lupin.

Suddenly Regulus dived towards the ground as the Slytherin stands began chanting and cheering, loudly yelling about how he must have seen the snitch. Cali began joining the Slytherins, cheering loudly as she jumped from her seat and dragged Sirius to his feet alongside her to join in. Sirius was cheering loudly, his smile wide as Cali admitted to herself that she felt a bit guilty for cursing the boy. 

The snitch unfortunately evaded the Slytherin seeker as it zoomed around the field, the golden flickering caught Cali's attention a few times as she found herself urging for the Slytherin to see it. "Come on, come on," Cali urged quietly, her eyes following the Golden Snitch. She was quite disappointed when this time the person that saw the snitch was the Ravenclaw snitch, diving towards the golden ball dramatically as Regulus quickly followed. The two of them racing towards the snitch, their hands outstretched as they battled against each other.

"He is charmed," Remus announced to the small group after observing Sirius for some time.

"What?" James asked, grabbing Sirius arm and pinching it as hard as he could to find Sirius laughing in response, pushing the boy away to stop the pain. "Merlin, he is!" 

"Who did that?" Peter asked, standing up from his spot beside Greta.

"It had to have been a bloody Slytherin, nasty bastards," James growled as Cali sighed, her cheeks red as she shook her head in response.

"It wasn't a Slytherin," Cali mumbled.

"Stop defending those monsters," John chastised her. 

"I'm not, it was me," Cali hissed. "I performed the charm."

"You performed it?" James asked the girl, sitting back down. "Why?"

"He didn't go to Regulus' tryout," Cali shrugged. "I wanted Regulus to be able to see that his brother was proud but he was refusing. He acts like Regulus is a stranger, but it's his little brother."

"Regulus and Sirius have a complicated relationship," Remus mumbled. 

"I know," Cali sighed. "I just wanted to support Regulus, and I knew he'd appreciate it."

"What charm is it?" James asked Remus.

"The cheering charm, it appears," Remus nodded after a moment.

"That spell we learned in Charms this week?" James confirmed, and Remus nodded in response.

"It'll end in an hour," Remus told James.