Chasing Love

Chapter Seventy-Five - Quidditch Practise

As soon as she had finished her lunch, she bid her goodbyes to her friends before making her way to the Gryffindor Captains office. She was nervous, it was her first proper practise as Captain and she wanted to make sure the team was good. 

"Okay, everyone." Eliza said as she made her way into the changing room where all the team were waiting. "Let's get to it. Alicia and Fred, if you can just bring out the ball crate for us. Oh, and there are a couple of people out there watching but I want you to just ignore them, all right?" 

The team picked up their brooms and walked onto the pitch where they were met with catcalls and jeers from the Slytherin Quidditch Team and their supporters - they were all sat halfway up an empty stand and their loud yells echoed around the entire pitch. "What's that Weasley's riding?" Malfoy said in his normal condescending tone, "Why would anyone put a flying charm on a mouldy old log like that?" His goons burst out laughing.

They all mounted their brooms and began to fly around the pitch, Eliza flew past Ron and Harry and overheard their conversation, "Ignore them. We'll see who's laughing after we play them."

"Exactly the attitude I want, Harry." Eliza shouted down to them, as she threw the Quaffle over to Angelina. "Okay, everyone, we're going to start with some passes just to warm up, the whole team please -"

"Hey, Johnson, what's with that hairstyle, anyway?" The Parkinson brat shrieked, "Why would anyone want to look like they've got worms coming out of their head?" 

Eliza looked over at Angelina and sent her a small smile before continuing. "Spread out, then, let's see what we can do." 

Angelina threw it to Fred, who passed it to George, to Harry and then to Ron - who dropped it.  The Slytherins watching erupted into loud laughter. Ron launched forward to grab the Quaffle. Eliza looked over and saw the twins share a look but neither said anything. 

"Pass it on, Ron." Eliza shouted to him, she didn't want him to lose his small self belief. Ron threw the Quaffle to Alicia, to Harry who passed it to George.

"Hey, Potter, how's your scar feeling?" Malfoy yelled to him, "Sure you don't need a lie down? It must be, what, a whole week since you were in the Hospital wing, that's a record for you, isn't it?" 

George passed it to Eliza and she reversed it to Harry who hadn't been expecting it but still managed to catch it, he then passed it to Ron who lunged for it but missed it. "Come on now, Ron." Eliza said to him as he chased after the Quaffle. "Pay attention."

Amidst the Slytherin's laughter, Ron managed to catch the Quaffle and then out of relief he passed it rather too enthusiastically that it soared straight through Alicia's outstretched hands and it hit her straight in the head. "Sorry!" Ron shouted as he started to fly towards her. 

"Get back in position, she's fine!" Eliza yelled at him, "But as you're passing to a teammate, do try not to knock her off her broom, won't you? We've got Bludgers for that!" Eliza looked over at her friend who was still bleeding profusely, "All right?" Alicia nodded and motioned for her to continue, "Fred, George, go and get your bats and a Bludger. Ron, get up to the goalposts. Harry, release the Snitch when I say so. We're going to aim for Ron's goal, obviously."

Once, Fred, George and Harry had returned with the bludgers and snitch, Eliza blew her whistle. The three chasers then began to fly quickly towards the posts, passing the Quaffle back and forth. After they had managed to score a dozen of times, Eliza blew her whistle again, "Stop, stop - STOP!" She yelled loudly, "Ron, you are not covering your middle post!" 

The boy would only protect one hoop leaving the other two unprotected so they could score easily, "Oh, sorry." Ron told her.

"You keep shifting around while you're watching the Chasers!" She screamed, "Either stau in centre position until you have to move to defend a hoop, or else circle the hoops, but don't drift vaguely off to one side, that's how you let in the last three goals!"

"Sorry!" Ron repeated, his face going even brighter.

"And Alicia, can't you do something about that nosebleed?" She asked her best friend.

"It's just getting worse!" Alicia replied as the blood soaked through her sleeve. 

Eliza nodded her head, "Well, let's try again." With a blow of her whistle they continued to train, it took everything in her not to go over to the Slytherins and hex them into oblivion due to their newest chant, 'Gryffindor are losers.'

Within three minutes Eliza looked over at Alicia whose face had considerably paled and she absolutely covered in blood. She blew her whistle and began to fly as quickly as she could over to her friend, "Are you okay?"

"It won't stop."

Staring at her worriedly, she turned to the twins who had flown over, "She needs to go to the hospital wing."

"We'll take her." Fred said, "She, er, might have swallowed a Blood Blisterpod by mistake."

Sighing loudly, she said to the rest of the team, "Well, there's no point continuing with no Beaters and a Chaser gone." Fred and George flew off, balancing Alicia in between them, "Come on, let's go and get changed."

Angelina and Eliza shared a look as they waited for everyone to leave, "She'll be okay." Angelina told her.

"I know," She replied, "Great first training session."

"Don't worry about it El, things will get better. It's always tough when you become Captain at first."

Nodding her head, she said, "It's just been completely horrendous."

"Eliza, is everything okay with you?"

"With me? Yeah, I'm good."