Rivilis Amiculus

Choices

~Armin~

The weekend came around again and I was heading to the Owlery to see Alba. Inside, Reyna Songal, one of the new Ravenclaws, was caring for a great eagle owl. We made eye contact for a moment and I went inside. I called for Alba and she came flapping to my arm. I was a little suspicious of Reyna. I didn't know if she was like her sister, but she didn't seem to bully people. She's usually with her friends (Vani and Ian from what I heard) in the common room studying. Though, all three of them have given me weird looks.

"You're on the Quidditch team, right?" she asked.

I had no idea why she would want to talk to me, but I hesitantly replied, "Yes."

"Are there going to be any spaces open next year?"

Now, I didn't hate her, but I definitely felt awkward around her and if she was on the Quidditch team, I'd be around her a lot.

"Why do you ask?"

"One of my friends and I want to try out next year. He's especially excited about it," she explained and pet her owl.

"One of our Beaters is graduating this year. That's the only position that'll be open."

"Just one...?" she inquired. She sounded let down by the thought.

"Yeah, I highly doubt someone is going to give up their role any time soon," I answered. "Are you sure you want to do it, Songal? You'll be giving up a lot of study time if you join."

"Please, just call me Reyna. My last name just makes me sound like a spoiled rich girl."

"...Reyna," I said.

"I don't know. I really don't need a lot of study time. I get bored a lot in the common room. But Ian has been wanting to play Quidditch since he was a child. It's one of his biggest dreams," she lamented.

"...Well, we only take the best," I told her.

She sighed, "Maybe I won't try out. He can have Bailey's Firebolt if he wants it. He'll put it to good use."

"I'm not the one who makes the choice, so I can't promise you anything. We're just hoping next year will go better than this year has been."

"We'll see, I guess."

After losing 2 games, we all were getting worried about finishing in dead last. Gabi looked like she wasn't enjoying Quidditch anymore and she never talked to us during practice. One day, while we were discussing plans for the game against Gryffindor, she randomly spoke up out of nowhere.

"I'm quitting," she said.

We all turned to her, "What?"

"Gabi... Why?" Rico asked. She looked hurt about her sudden decision. We all were hurt.

"I'm not the right person for this. We lost two games, we have no hope to win this season and it's my fault. I can't control the Bludgers. I either hit them too hard or not hard enough. I'm going to end up killing someone if I stay!" she ranted. "And it's Zeke's last season... I couldn't even grant him walking out in first place..."

"Gabi, we've all messed up in the games. I've failed to block the Quaffle, Connie has failed to catch the snitch, we're all at fault for our losses. You can't just quit now!" I pushed.

"I just... I haven't been enjoying this as much anymore. If the Bludger had hit Theo two feet higher than it did, I would have gotten him in the head!" she reasoned.

"Gabi, we have one more game. Just one more. We can't hold another tryout to find a replacement. Two months isn't enough to train a new player. Just give it one more shot. Maybe you'll start liking it again," Rico begged.