⚯͛ Snitch - James Potter ⚯͛

6.

The first match of the season. Ilvermorny vs Beauxbatons.

As it was the match to begin the entire tournament, there was a lot of pressure riding on it. This tournament was very famous, so many well-known and rich witches and wizards could be found in the waiting audience, all desperate to watch this historic event.

And they could be heard. They screamed and cheered and sang, and it really made all the awaiting quidditch players nervous.

That is, all except from one player: Quinn Emerson. Unaware of the immense audience outside of the pre-show tent, she finished getting ready very calmly compared to her fellow teammates.

Eli in particular was shitting himself. Not literally, but Quinn couldn't help but notice his shaking hands as he unsuccessfully tried to put on his keeping gloves. She internally laughed, he was adorable when he was nervous...or maybe that was her just being a bit of a psychopath, she would never know.

She walked over to where he was standing, still trying to put on his gloves, and rested a cool, comforting hand on his wrist to stop him. She nodded to him, her eyes meeting his in a stubborn look of reassurance.

He sat down reluctantly on the hard bench as he stuck out his hands and let her sit next to him and fasten his gloves up for him, as he was obviously struggling.

She pulled the straps tight round his wrists. The she gripped the leather clad hands in hers and squeezed in any attempt to comfort her best friend. He needed to know everything would be okay. So she maintained eye contact with him, his stormy eyes were stressed and anxious whereas her darker eyes were calm and reassuring.

She nodded to him, as if to say You can do this.

He pulled her into a quick hug before they stood up and stood at the front of the tent, right by the entrance. She stood by his side as he gave a pep-talk to the rest of the team, her heart now beginning to race with the nerves (although she didn't show it).

In most games, the entire fate of the match relied on the seeker. Now this wasn't true in some cases but a lot of the time the winning seeker is on the winning team. And this terrified her. This was such a prestigious event, such a big deal...and the fact that she was such a big part of it was very scary. Being the girl that was rarely noticed was a blessing to Quinn, she was very introverted and didn't enjoy attention so you can only imagine how she was feeling.

Before they knew it they had to go out onto the pitch. Fuck. Quinn's heart was beating erratically in her chest, this was such a big moment she just couldn't mess it up.

She turned round and caught the warm eyes of Tia and Faith, who returned the nervous smile that she offered them. This was it.

And then they went.

Kicking off from the ground and speeding through the air and round the pitch was an exhilarating feeling that Quinn would never get over. It was one of those breathless feelings of euphoria. She loved it.

But wow, there were so many people watching and cheering. And not just students and teachers, hundreds of witches and wizards had come from all round the world to watch this historic match. The first match of the International Schools Quidditch Tournament.

She flew into her starting position in the air, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she saw the referee prepare to start the game in the middle the pitch.

They faced off to the Beauxbatons team opposite them. They were all attractive boys and girls, living up to their school's reputation, but their fair features were harshened by their competitive glares aimed at the Ilvermorny team. Quinn locked eyes with the Beauxbatons seeker. She looked like she would be good. She was really small, with her bleach blonde hair tied in a tight bun behind her and her sharp blues eyes regarding the other seeker...could Quinn really beat her?

Then before she could collect her thoughts the quaffle was thrown into the air, and just like that the game began.

Quinn raced to go above the action so she could observe the entire field in hopes of noticing the snitch.

Below her the game went on. As she circled the pitch like a watchful hawk, she kept an eye on the score as it went from 0:0 to 0:10 to Beauxbatons, then 10:10...and then after around fifteen it was 70:40. It was a very fast-paced game to say the least.

She caught the eye of a certain green-eyed Potter and grinned, which was a look he returned. But then, right in her eyeline as she was looking at him, was a flash of gold streaking through the air.

The snitch.

Quinn darted towards it as it hovered through the air. She noticed in her peripheral vision that the Beauxbatons seeker had seen her and was now chasing after the snitch as well.

Quinn watched as the snitch flew through the air. She raced after it and reached forward on her broom, her hand outstretched as she felt her fingers almost graze the golden surface.

And then, out of nowhere, she was thrown to the side. A bludger had hit the side of her torso. Fuck. She watched as the snitch darted away and she tumbled to the ground, clutching her side.

She landed and crumpled in agony in a ball. This wasn't how she thought this would go.

She looked up to see Eli calling a timeout with the referee as her team raced towards her. She saw James stand up in his seat to look and see if she was okay, but she couldn't send him a comforting look, all she could do was close her eyes in the pain.

Eli sped to her side and quickly signed, what do you want to do? How bad is it?

It's not the worst thing I've done, I think I can manage to the end of the game but then I'll need to get checked out, Quinn hastily signed back.

Are you sure? I don't want you getting even more hurt, Eli signed.

I'm sure, let me back out, she signed as she slowly stood up with the help of Tia.

It's your call, he nodded.

They then all flew back out to their positions. Quinn swallowed the pain and got back on the broom, even though she knew this was a bad idea. They just had to win this, she had to win this.

The game began again and Quinn was quick to see the snitch once more. She would get it this time.

The Beauxbatons seeker was more on her trail this time, and they were neck-and-neck.

It was the other side of the pitch, but she could make it before that girl. She darted through the game, weaving in and out of the various players, the movement making her inhale sharply at the pain. She had to keep going.

There it was. Come on, Quinn.

She accelerated and with that little boost she was the right distance away to hook her arm round and grab that golden ball. She breathed a sigh of relief.

She did it.

She saw the stands erupt in cheers as she held up the ball. But then she felt herself become dizzy with that overwhelming pain. Yeah, maybe this was a bad idea.

When her feet touched the ground everything became hazy. She saw the blurry image of her friends running towards her before she felt her legs give way beneath her.

And then, darkness.