CLOUDGAZING - blaise zabini

twelve

Blaise slung his bag over his shoulder and quickly waved goodbye to Slughorn, who, as per usual, had held him after class to chat for about fifteen minutes. 

And like the absolute git he was, Draco hadn't even bothered to wait for Blaise. Eyebrows furrowed as he emerged from the dungeons on his way to the great hall, Blaise considered the situation with Draco. The truth was, Draco didn't give a damn about Blaise. Since they'd become close in fourth year, Draco had only ever kept him around to help him out with dirty deeds and the like-- and now, Blaise was beyond sick of it. 

He entered the great hall, but instead of going to the left to sit with Draco as he usually did, he ducked to the right, where he knew Aurora would be sitting. Almost immediately, he spotted her, her Blonde hair swaying gently and eyes lighting up as she laughed with friends. Luckily, Jasmine sat across from her, and there was an empty space right next to Aurora.

Aurora spotted Blaise as he approached, smiling brightly up at him. When he slid into the seat next to her, she asked, "what the hell are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Blaise laughed, confused a little.

"Won't Draco drown you if he sees you over here?"

"Why should I sit with that scumbag when I can sit with my favorite cloudgazer?" Blaise said with a completely serious face.

"I mean," Aurora responded, leaning over a bit to squeeze Blaise's hand, "you've got a point."

"Okay, we get it, you two like each other," Jasmine piped up, pretending to be annoyed.

"Oh, shut up," Aurora snapped playfully, grabbing a cookie off of Jasmine's plate for effect.

A plate appeared before Blaise, and he heaped green beans, grilled chicken, and other tasty foods onto it. Aurora smiled, glad he was eating well.

"I'm going to be up until, like, three tonight because of that stupid charms essay," Jasmine announced once she finished off her ice cream. She tapped the table three times, and her plate disappeared. 

"Oh, I know," Aurora agreed. "We can work together to get it done, though."

"Looks like I'm on my own, then," Blaise quipped, drawing a laugh from Jasmine. 

"Oh shit, that reminds me, I have my first quidditch practice this afternoon," Aurora spoke.

As if on cue, Katie bell strode up to the table, making a point of not looking at Blaise. "Aurora, don't forget we have practice later today."

"Yeah, I was just talking about that," Aurora said, trying not to be awkward. "You ready?"

"We're about to find out," Katie said seriously, "anyways, see you there." With that, she walked away.

Jasmine was the first to break the silence after Katie walked away. "What was that all about?"

"She knew Blaise and I hung out at Hogsmeade, but I don't understand why she had to go and act like that," Aurora sighed.

"What a little brat," Blaise scoffed."She's on the team?"

"Sadly," Aurora replied. "Looks like I'm in for it."

+++

"Aurora!" a voice called as the blonde descended the stairs of Gryffindor Tower. It was Ginny, proudly dressed in her pristine quidditch uniform, hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Aurora turned and waved, waiting for Ginny to catch up so that they could walk to the pitch together.

"You ready?" Ginny asked, hoping to make Aurora feel at ease since it was her first year on the team.

"I think so," Aurora smiled, "Let's just hope I don't embarrass myself too much."

"You'll be great," Ginny encouraged her. "Plus, you looked amazing at tryouts."

The girls continued to chat as they made their way through the castle, talking about classes, quidditch, gossip and the like.

As they passed the greenhouse once they had made it outside, Ginny asked casually, "so, are you and Blaise a thing?"

Aurora sighed internally. Had Katie put her up to this? She answered honestly anyway, "yeah, but its pretty recent. We're not super public about it yet."

"I get it. Me and Dean are that way, I suppose," Ginny said with understanding.

"It makes things mad awkward with Katie though. I think she's still into him." Aurora admitted, deciding to trust Ginny. 

"Yeah, she's definitely going to be a bit, well, bent out of shape," Ginny agreed, "but I wouldn't worry too much about it. As long as you and Blaise are happy, that's what matters."

"I needed to hear that, honestly," Aurora laughed a little bit as they approached the Gryffindor equipment shed. "Thank you," she said to Ginny before they both stepped inside. Ginny nodded and smiled warmly.

Aurora pushed open the creaky wooden door and walked into the shed, which was lit with several lamps. All the other team members were already crowded inside, tending to their brooms or chatting amongst each other. Each member had a cubby along the left-hand wall, labeled with last name and number, along with housing a broom, alternate uniforms, and other equipment. The equipment shed was famous for being exclusive, as only team members were allowed inside. Seeing it first hand at last, Aurora finally felt like a member of the team. 

"Circle up, everybody!" Harry called suddenly, getting the team's attention. Everyone moved to the center of the shed, ready for practice. "Um, firstly, I just wanted to congratulate everyone here for making it on the team. To both new and returning members, I'm really happy you're here. Today, we're going to be running some drills just so that I can analyze everyone's strengths and weaknesses even further after tryouts. It won't be an easy session, but do your best. Today is really going to set the tone for the rest of the season. Alright, let's head to the pitch!"

Everyone followed Harry out the door, brooms in hand. Aurora moved nervously, unsure but hopeful that she was ready to rise to the challenge Harry had promised.

Just as she was about to emerge from the shed, Katie pushed her to the side and exited first, walking to catch up with Ron and Harry to start a conversation with them. Aurora just shook her head in disbelief and kept walking-- karma would catch up with Katie eventually. 

A/N: I'm back! The start of school has been so chaotic, I'm just now getting the chance to write. I'm so sorry this wasn't the best chapter :( I'm a bit out of practice lol. Hopefully I'll be able to update more from now on! Hope you all are doing well!

-ivy