Shoulder Pillow

Chapter 14: The Scars

 The sounds of bustling players permeated the air inside the locker rooms, buzzing with a concoction of excitement and anxiety. They'd been preparing for this football game all week, practicing every day, and running rigorous drills. Harry looked on as Fred and George got told off by Katie, shaking his head and grinning. Her glare was furious but her lips quirked into a smile at the corners while she swiftly braided back her brown hair. Luckily for the girls—and everyone else in either of the locker rooms—the stink bomb the twins had planted in the girl's half of the room had been faulty.

"Harry, come here a minute, will you?" Came Alicia's voice from behind Katie, who had finished her rant and was tying off her hair. Harry made his way to her, giving Fred a playful shove out of his way, just hard enough to knock him into George.

"What's up?" he asked when he reached Alicia.

"Go talk to Theo." Alicia's black eyes darted over to the boy. He was sitting on one of the benches lining the lockers, his head in his hands, fingers clenched in his brown hair. "He hasn't moved from that spot in at least three minutes."

Harry recognized the tension in Theo's body. He knew the paralyzing dread that was warring with the anticipation in his veins. The first game was always nerve-wracking, setting the tone for someone's experience during the rest of the season. It didn't help that this game would either make or break their way to the championships, and Theo had only been on the team for a few days.

With a pat on Alicia's shoulder, Harry made his way to the boy, nimbly dodging the shove Fred aimed his way.

Theo didn't move when Harry sat beside him on the bench. Harry knew he was trying to compose himself, trying to collect his fears behind a facade of confidence, attempting to prove that he was ready. The captain set a hand on Theo's shoulder.

The other boy looked up at him. Harry could see the turmoil roiling in his eyes.

"Harry, I can't... I can't do this." Theo shifted on the bench. He slouched even farther—like gravity pulled on him with a greater magnitude than the rest of the world—and leaned into Harry's hand on his shoulder. "I can't... I've only been playing for a few days, and this is just too much—it's a championship game, Harry. I'm not ready for this. Can't you just... I don't know, get Angelina back? Find someone else—anyone else?"

"Theo," Harry started, "You're going to listen to me, and you're going to listen very carefully." He tightened his grip on the other boy's shoulder. He tried to put as much force and authority into his words as possible without overwhelming Theo. He remembered all too well the suffocating fear that Theo was enduring. "You can do this. Everyone gets nervous in their first game. Everyone gets scared. But you earned this jersey, you earned your place on the team."

"Aren't you scared that we'll lose this? This is our gateway to the championship cup. If we lose, we're out. That's it."

"Are you joking?" Harry laughed. "Of course I'm scared! I'm terrified, Theo!" With large eyes, the other boy looked up at him. The captain allowed himself the smallest of moments to feel the panic he kept at bay. He only allowed it to touch him before he locked it away again, working to convert it into stamina for the game. "But we're all going to walk out on that field together—and win or lose—we're going to kick Ilvermorny's ass trying."

While Harry spoke, the rest of their teammates gathered around them. Fred and George stood at Harry's other side, Alicia and Katie sat next to Theo. He saw the eager gleam in the twins' eyes, the apprehensive twitch in their fingers. Harry glimpsed the familiar bounce in Alicia's leg, the patterns of her drumming fingers. Katie's entire body was tensed, her grin was nearly feral—like she would tear apart the other team with her teeth if she needed to. Harry looked at each of them in the eye, garnering what courage he had to give to his teammates.