the 5th marauder

7- Quidditch

The next day, I was awakened by the sound of someone rummaging through their things. Blinking slowly, I opened the edge of my curtain to glance at my clock. 5am. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up a bit and opened my curtains further to see the corner of Marlene's blonde hair sticking out from behind the lid of her trunk. "Whatr you looking for?" I asked quietly, still drowsy and squinting in the dim morning light. "Huh? Oh- shit, sorry. Did i wake you?" She asked, her eyes widening apologetically. "It's fine, I went to sleep early last night." I said, waving my hand and propping myself up more. "So, what are you looking for?" I repeated, now awake. "My quidditch robe." She sighed, closing her trunk. "Seen it?" My eyes darted to the open bathroom door behind her, seeing a piece of red fabric sticking out from the side. "It's not that, right?" I asked, pointing. She turned and walked over, looking behind. "It is!" She took it off the hanger and held it up. A golden number 6 was highlighted on the back, with the word CHASER underneath, and MCKINNON along the top. "Still good as new. The house elves must have washed it." She said, folding it delicately and placing it in her bag. "So the first practice is today?" I asked. She nodded. "And tryouts are later. Our best chaser- Apart from me of course- graduated last year, and no one seems interested in taking his place." I nodded. "Hey wait- since you're already awake, do you wanna come watch? I could let you on my broom if you want. I'm assuming you don't know how to fly yet." She said, turning to me. I raised an eyebrow slightly. "You don't think i would fall?" She grinned and shrugged. "It's simpler than it looks." I bit my lip and furrowed my brows. "Why not then?"

I had rushed through getting ready, and my hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. Wearing my jeans and a striped zip up, I walked with Marlene down to the pitch. Opening the doors, I felt the light breeze hit my face. The sun was finally out and the pitch was practically empty, save for a small huddle of students donning red quidditch robes. I could see James, and the back of  Sirius' hair. Marlene smiled at me and split off toward them, broom in hand. Walking along the pitch to the stands, I climbed up to the top and sat down, feeling the warm golden light on my neck. I watched as they climbed onto their brooms and flew out. I knew enough about quidditch to understand what was going on. James was captain, but this I already knew. I also knew that he was seeker, Sirius and a dark skinned boy were beaters, a tall brown haired girl was keeper, and Marlene and a lanky guy were chasers. It was a bit odd watching them try to practice plays with a missing player, but they seemed to be doing alright. I thought. Suddenly, they stopped what they were doing, and I could see James beckoning them with his arm. Flying to him in the air, they gathered like a wonky red cloud above the grass. James didn't look too happy, but it seemed Marlene was talking to him- before she- strangely enough, turned towards me, and the heads of all the other players swiveled to follow her gaze. The haired girl shook her head and turned back to James, who was still focused on me. He finally peeled his eyes away and back towards the team, where he nodded to Marlene.

I was so confused as to what was happening, and even more so when I watched Marlene turn and start flying toward me. She stopped just at the bottom of the stands and hurriedly made her way up. The other players had resumed doing what I guessed were flying drills. "Cat- hey, you've never flown a broom before, right?" I shook my head. She bit the inside of her cheek. "Have you played any sports?" "I was the best on the track team" I shrugged. "Why? Shouldn't you be with the rest of-" "WHAM". I flinched as a large red ball  had hit the stands just a few inches to my left. Marlene turned to look at the lanky guy from earlier, the other chaser. "CALEB! YOU ALMOST KILLED MY FRIEND YOU DUMBASS- YOU" She stopped mid sentence when she saw the same ball flying back toward Caleb, where he caught it- staying hovered in midair, a look on his face. Marlene turned back to me, the same look of shock. "What?" I asked, suddenly very self conscious. "You threw that?" She asked. I nodded. "Cat. That was seriously good- He's like halfway across the pitch!" I looked back to Caleb. "That's definitely less than half." I said. "She rolled her eyes. "I was exaggerating, dumb-dumb. Come with me." She winked and turned around. Walking a few steps, she turned back expectantly, beckoning me forward. Getting up, I followed her down the stands to the ground. She grabbed an extra broom from the side and handed it to me- which finally made me realize what she wanted.

"Wait. No- wait, Marlene, I can't fly!" She turned back to me with what seemed like a knowing smile, but it honestly just made me more uneasy. "But you can throw. I mean, as long as you can catch, the flying should be the least of our worries. It's easy, ok?" I smiled slightly. Flying does look exhilarating. Imagine the freedom. I nodded and followed her. She stopped near the middle and placed her broom down in front of herself, motioning me to do the same. "Ok, now hold your hand over it, like this." Following her movements, I raised my brow. "Up!" She said. Her broom flew into her hand immediately. I glanced quizzically at my broom. "Up!" It zoomed up into my grasp, the wind causing my hair to flow back. I broke out into a wide smile, and looked to Marlene, who was already getting on her broom. My smile immediately dropped. "Already?" She nodded, and without a word kicked off the ground, staying hovered a few feet above ground. Following her movement, I swung a leg over mine. "So.. do i just..?" I bit my lip. "She nodded. Trust yourself. Just kick off." Taking a deep breath, I pushed my feet into the ground and kicked off, fully expecting to land on my butt. I felt myself flow upwards, and I looked down to find myself at the same height as her, hovering above the grass. She was smiling smugly at me. "You're a natural! I knew you would be." The broom felt surprisingly comfortable for being a stick of wood, so I assumed there was some kind of cushioning charm. Glancing up to the other players, I saw them flitting back and forth doing drills. I seemed to forget where I was in the moment, and I just tilted my broom upwards, suddenly feeling myself soaring through the air. I felt the wind against my face as I zoomed upwards. The broom was completely in my control, the smallest amount of pressure allowing me to turn and twist around the pitch. I felt magical. Reaching a higher point of the pitch, I looked around, taking in the view. The lake, the forest, the grass- the castle. It's the first place to make me feel so connected, as if I finally found what my heart had been longing for. Looking down, I saw the team below me. Tilting downwards, I flew down to Marlene, who was back with them, talking to James. Seeing me, she smiled. James looked at me, and I suddenly felt conscious of my windswept hair and flushed face. "You look like someone who wants to join the team." He said, grinning." I smiled, and felt myself patting down my hair. "Maybe."