Heart Scars

Forty Three

On the first Saturday in February, Slytherin played Gryffindor. The cold air was biting, and not even her hat and scarf could keep her warm. Pandora was in the same state next to her, shivering. Evan sat on her other side, and Severus reluctantly sat behind her. Barty was no where to be found, and that's how it had been since his and Evan's falling out.

He was letting Evan have their friend group. Barty was shutting himself out, hiding away from them, and it killed Adhara. She hated imagining him; all alone in his dorm, wishing for Evan. She hadn't seen them speak since it happened, but she could always see them staring when the other wasn't looking. Sometimes their eyes met, but it was brief.

Evan and Barty had both quit the Slytherin team, both trying to let the other have it. Barty had quit first, and Evan went in just an hour later to turn in his robes. Dorcas had quit too, but she quit mainly out of fear of what some of the Slytherins may do to her on the pitch. Dorcas may wear Slytherin robes, but she was not welcome by her house anymore.

Regulus stayed though. Quidditch made him happy. In their world of darkness, quidditch gave Regulus his out. He wasn't pretending and he wasn't hiding. He was just being.

"He looks good, has plenty of color." Pandora's cheery voice is heard from behind her. Adhara nods to signal she heard, but doesn't say a word. She was too nervous to respond.

The match started, and Adhara was left hanging on the edge of her seat. Slytherin played dirty, but Gryffindor fought back with equal ferocity. Marlene fired bludger after bludger at the Slytherins. Caspian Warley, the fourth year who replaced Sirius, seemed to be faring just fine. He was good; quick and alert. He smashed bludgers at the players, all while keeping his eyes on Regulus, who flew above searching for the snitch.

"And Caspian Warley knocks the quaffle from the hands of Grims. Potter did a good job picking him. It seems that without Crouch, Rosier, and Meadowes, the Slytherins are severely lacking in skill. It seems they've gone for brawn over brains." Remus commentates, his eyes scanning over the bulky players that had replaced her three friends. Lucinda had not had much option. No one who showed up for tryouts had skill, but at least these guys had force.

"Warley isn't going easy today." Adhara whispers to Pandora, who only nods nervously. The girls pale blue eyes watched Regulus intently, her mouth moving slightly. It was only after a minute that Adhara realized she was muttering under her breath, chanting more like.

"Safety spell." Evan leans to whisper in Adhara's ear, and she lets out a little gasp.

"That's cheating! The bludgers won't be able to get near him." She mutters back, not wanting to disrupt Pandora. Evan only shrugs.

"She's worried about him after what happened with Sirius. Besides, I doubt him catching the snitch will do us any good." Evan says the last part miserably, eyeing the score. They were down by 120 points, and she knew it was going to be a brutal beating. Without Evan out there as a chaser, their team seemed to be struggling. James had come to win, but with Pandora's spell, she wasn't sure he would be able to.

"Their seeker doesn't stand a chance if Regulus sees the snitch first." Adhara mutters back, and Evan can only nod. With Regulus's skill and the protection spell, he would be unstoppable.

"And Slytherin seems to be working with a different strategy. Lucinda Talkalot has main control of the ball, while Crabbe and Rowle block for her." Remus states, and Adhara's eyes flick to look at the scene. Lucinda held the quaffle, while both the large beaters flew on either side of her. Due to their size and force, she was scoring goal after goal.

Slytherin was only down by fifty points when she saw the blur of green shoot by. It was Regulus, his curls blowing behind him and the Gryffindor seeker right on his tail. His arm was outstretched, trying to reach the snitch which was just a few feet in front of him.

Adhara watched nervously as Warley smacked a bludger at Regulus, the bludger heading straight for his head. She got a sick feeling of Deja vu, when the bludger curved away from Regulus at the last second, instead heading for the Gryffindor seeker.

"What the hell?" James yells, his voice loud over the pitch. A knot forms in her stomach.

"It seems the wind has blown Warley's bludger off course, taking out his own seeker." It was true, the Gryffindor seeker had swerved to dodge the bludger, and had crashed into the stands instead.

Adhara watched as Regulus's fingers curled around the little golden ball, a triumphant smile on his face. He let out a loud cheer as he held his hand up, and his team flew to surround him. Adhara moved her eyes just in time to see James's grief stricken face. He had lost. He still had a chance to win the cup, but his pride was wounded. Gryffindor would now have to beat Ravenclaw by 250 to be able to play Slytherin for the cup.

Adhara was slow to congratulate Regulus. Evan and Pandora were stood around him, the rest of his team standing near. She was on the outside of the group, watching him. Slytherin was cheering loudly, and some jeered at the Gryffindors. It was like old times, like before.

Regulus had a wide grin on his face, his grey eyes shining in a way that she hadn't seen since before Sirius left. It was joy; pure joy and happiness. It was an emotion that had long been foreign to Regulus, an emotion that he should have felt everyday of his life. And then she didn't care anymore that James had lost. James won everyday of his life; why couldn't Regulus just win this once?

"Ara!" Regulus exclaims, pulling his big sister into a hug. She melts into him, feeling as though they were children again.

"You did amazing, Reg." She smiles, and his grin broadens. He was practically shaking with giddiness.

"They're throwing a party for us, in the common room. I think I'm going to go." He smiles.

"I think I'll join you later. I feel like walking." Her eyes flick to look where Remus was standing by his friends, and Regulus nodded in understanding. He pressed a quick kiss against her forehead before wrapping his arms around the Rosier twins and walking off.

Adhara made her way to the astronomy tower, which would not have any occupants on a Saturday. She had told Remus to meet her, and she stood looking over the edge as she waited.

The door slammed open, and Adhara turned with a smile, but it dropped when she saw an angry James followed by the other three boys.

"Remus, what's going on?" Her brows furrow in false confusion. She wasn't dumb, and she knew James wasn't either. She knew that James didn't believe the wind had altered the course of that bludger. And he wanted to hear her admit it.

"What did you do?" His voice was accusing, and slightly biting. Adhara took a deep breath, willing herself to stay calm.

"I didn't do a thing, James." She scoffs, shaking her head. Her eyes flicked to look at Remus, who had his own eyes trained on the floor.

"You did something. We both know the wind didn't do a thing to that bludger." James huffs. He was angry, really angry.

"I'll repeat it for you, I didn't do a thing." She sounded it out slowly, and he scoffed.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" James snaps, crossing his arms across his chest. She rolls her eyes and rounds on Remus, who still had his eyes stuck to the floor.

"Feel free to jump in at any time, maybe defend your girlfriend." She snarls at him, and his eyes jerk up to look at her. He looks between her and James for a moment.

"Did you do something to that bludger?" He asks, his voice barely above a whisper. She scoffs.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." She snaps, before storming out of the astronomy tower. No one chased after her or called her name, and her heart dropped a little.