Moon Dust | Mattheo Riddle

Chapter 42: I don't want to waste anymore time

The house flags fluttered back and forth on the quidditch posts, carried by the wind as students whizzed past on their brooms. Undoubtedly, the wind had made the tryouts more challenging, but in all fairness, it was a rough game, so really, it was a good thing, letting them know what they were getting themselves into.

Regina rarely watched quiddich practices or games. Her and Mattheo would always skip out on them, gossiping in the dungeons instead or playing wizard poker in the library. But Mattheo was off with Nova somewhere, figures, and Regina knew Magnolia really wanted to watch the tryouts, even if she didn't say so herself.

Magnolia pretended like missing them didn't affect her, but it clearly did, Regina had to take it upon herself to suggest the idea, even if sitting outside in the murky, freezing quidditch pitch was the last thing she wanted to do.

As she glanced over at the pitch, wincing as two flyers collided mid-air, she noticed a flicker of green. Squinting, she realized it was Enzo, waving up at her.

She waved back, rolling her eyes fondly as he did a small frontwards flip on his broom. "Show off," she muttered. Beside her, Theodore—who'd already been in the stands watching when she and Magnolia arrived—hummed in agreement.

Regina looked over at him. His bottom lip was pressed between his teeth, and he was chewing on it, his cheeks turning a vibrant shade of pink. She followed his gaze, right toward Enzo, who swung forward on his broom, catching the quaffle in one hand and barely breaking a sweat before flinging it back. The back of his shirt rose up as he did so, showing off the toned muscles in his back.

Again Theodore hummed in agreement, only this time Regina hadn't even said anything.

She raised a brow, and he glanced at her, then back at Enzo, then quickly back at her with a cough, before looking over at the Gryffindor's side of the pitch, as if there was something particularly interesting there.

Regina playfully mocked his hum before shifting her focus to Magnolia, who was sat on the other side of her. Or well, not sat, more like she had one foot on the bench and half her body hanging over the railing, watching the Hufflepuff players intently—though for clearly different reasons than Theodore.

"C'mon, that guy isn't even trying. He's just picked up a bat, chasers don't even need bats," she complained, leaning a little too far over the railing. "He's gonna go flying, and not in a good way!"

Just as she had said, the guy swung the bat, overestimating his swing and sending the wooden baton flying through the stands, until Madam Hooch stopped it with a spell, yelling out furiously.

Her voice was drowned as Magnolia cried. "I told you!" She smacked her hand against the metal and climbed onto the first bar of the railing, which rattled in the wind. "Get him off the pitch!"

"Okay," Regina said calmly, standing up and placing her hands on the girl's hips to steady her, carefully guiding her away from the railing. "I think they heard you, Merlin. Let's not fall from the bloody railing."

"Less fall, looks more like she's gonna jump," Theo added. Regina shot him an unamused look, and he raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'Am I wrong?'

Magnolia sighed. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, then opened them again as someone shouted, "foul," from the pitch.

This time Regina stayed beside her, making sure she didn't start climbing again. Behind them Theo leaned forward on his seat, toying with the Nott family crest ring on his finger. "Why don't you just go down there? preferably using the stairs."

"I can't," Magnolia replied, walking back toward him. She sank back onto the bench, her head resting heavily on her hands. Regina sat down beside her, her expression softening in response.