Scratches (Fred Weasley)

(129) The Eagle and the Lion

Florence was beyond nervous, sitting in the locker room, shrouded by Cho Chang and Ivy Buchanan's conversation about Anthony Goldstein's disgusting eating etiquette, her anxiousness causing her to completely drown out the chatter. Furling and unfurling one of the laced on her royal blue Quidditch robe, the prospect of winning started to seem more and more impossible by the minute.

"...hello?" suddenly Ivy was right in front of her, waving a hand infront of her face, "Earth to Captain? You can't freeze in place now, we have a game to play!"

"Yes," she said stiffly, trying her best to not let her pessimism infect the others, "I was just thinking..."

"That's dangerous," Cho pointed out, "You should never be left alone with your pre-game thoughts. They're going to start eating each other up."

A small smile appeared on Florence's face, "It's always been like this ever since, yeah?"

"Ever since our first game together." Cho smiled, "And before that too, most likely. So I'm going to tell you not to worry, like I always do. This game is your second to the last house game ever. You should just think of enjoying it, rather than worrying about whether or not we're going to win."

"You're right," Florence huffed, "Sorry. I can't help it. It would be nice to win the cup before I leave this place, though, which is why I'm making a big fuss about all of this."

"We don't have to win all our games to get the cup." Ivy reminded her, "We just have to have more points when it comes down to totaling."

"And we did have a pretty big lead against Slytherin during the last game," said Cho, "That's got to count for something, right?"

"Most likely," she said, heaving herself off of the bench before slapping both palms to her cheeks, as if to shake herself out of her pessimism. "Alright. We can do this. We can do this."

The stadium divided by two different colors was a sight that Florence had gotten used to by now, the burden in her chest lifting as she walked to the center of the pitch, with her team in tow, waving to them as the chants grew louder and louder. Averting her attention forward, she could see Angelina and the Gryffindors heading towards the center as well. Right behind Katie Bell, she could see Lisa Branson, looking dapper in her Quidditch robes, a mix of excitement and fear evident on her face.

"Okay, Ladies." Madame Hooch addressed the respective captains of the teams, "You know the drill. Shake hands, to execute good sportsmanship.

Florence reached forward, clasping Angelina's hand with a firm handshake. She smiled at the Gryffindor captain, "Good luck, Ange."

"You too, Florence. No hard feelings or whatever, okay?"

"Ofcourse." she agreed, the two of them parting as soon as the sound of Madame Hooch's whistle pierced the air.

Fourteen players shot up into the sky, Florence seeing Ivy dart towards the goal posts as quickly as she could. The Quaffle came hurtling into the air seconds later, Jeremy immediately snatching it into his arms, Florence and Roger launching forward to assist him in scoring a goal.

Lee Jordan's commentary soon started blaring, dictating all the action word for word. Jeremy ducked past Alicia Spinnet's snatching hands, passing the Quaffle to Roger who was nearing the bludger zone. Securing it tightly in his grasp, he came charging forward towards Ron Weasley, and with a good throw, the Quaffle soared into one of the hoops with ease.

"And Davies of Ravenclaw scores the first point of the game! Let's step it up a little bit, shall we, Gryffindor?"

Cheers erupted from the blue cladded side of the audience, Florence not having the time to bask in the applause as the Quaffle was thrown towards her. Angelina attempted to lunge forward to grab it, her path cut off as a Bludger from Owen sailed right infront of her. This gave Florence some time to fly towards the goalposts without anyone tailing her, only for Katie Bell to appear mere seconds later.