Redamancy (d.m)

Chapter seven-how to tie a tie

Upon learning the last name of the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, I fought to suppress my childish smirk as a million dirty jokes formed in my brain. As if reading my mind, Oliver cocked his head to the side and rolled his eyes playfully before saying

"we are not going to turn my last name into an innuendo"
"Too late" I said, biting the inside of my cheek to contain my giggles.

Calming myself down, I cleaned my throat and said

"Anyways, what was it that you wanted to talk about"
"I need a favour"
"And I need a spell that can complete this potions essay for me"
I gestured to the long length of parchment that rolled past the library desk and onto the carpet.
"Angelina's in the hospital wing for a nasty stomach bug, which leaves an opening for chaser, and there's a game coming up soon"
"Isn't that an enlightening little piece of information? If only you could be just as helpful with potions"

"Come on, (y/n), I know you can play, I've seen you with Harry and the Weasleys"
"But that was just for fun", I argued, "I've never played competitively"
"Could've fooled me. You play better than some professionals I've seen"
"You're just gassing me up so I'll agree"
"It's true, even if Angelina wasn't puking her guys out I'd have asked you to try out. Come on, please? We're playing Slytherin, we can't be a player short"
I sighed, wistfully imagining pushing Malfoy off his broom during a game.
"Fine. Just this once"

Harry was ecstatic, of course, his best friend was going to be playing along side him. Ron joined Harry in the excitement while Hermione congratulated me before quickly turning her attention back to the plate of food in front of her, knowing she wouldn't be able to contribute any further to the conversation on the Wizarding sport.

I arrived to my first quidditch practice with my personal fire bolt, which I had brought to hogwarts to use during games between Harry, Ron, and the Weasley twins, tucked under my arm, tightening my ponytail as my excited grin soured. A number of Slytherins had gathered on the bleachers, and amount the snarls and jeers sat Malfoy, next to his two devoted followers that shared a singular brain cell, as well as the screechy little pug who can't take a hint.

"Come to surrender already, have we?" Oliver laughed, speaking to a toothy burly older boy who sat amongst the Slytherins, I assumed he was the Slytherin captain.
"Don't kid yourself, Wood" he said menacingly, "we've simply come to watch your new chaser crash and burn" I felt all eyes on the quidditch pitch fall on me, including the piercing gaze of a certain blonde boy. My eyes met his for the briefest of moments, before turning my attention back to the situation at hand. Unimpressed, I faked a loud gasp and said
"Honestly, I'm just shocked you can get a word out with those ginormous beaver teeth, I bet people ask you to crack open their peanut shells all the time, don't they?" I remarked smugly.

The entire gryffindor team burst into laughter, and the Slytherins "oooo"'d at the increasingly reddening boy. He let out a strangled sort of growl before standing up and walking in my direction, rolling up his sleeves. My view was suddenly blocked by two red haired beaters, who stood in front of me and threatened in unison, "Lay a hand on her, Flint, and you'll find yourself in the hospital wing faster than you can say 'quidditch'". I smiled proudly at my defenders, who turned around to face me after making sure that Flint had sat back down and I pulled them into a hug.
" and about that part about me crashing and burning, well...I don't think you'll be so confident after practice"

And I wasn't mistaken

I swung my leg over my broom and kicked off, soaring into the air as the cool afternoon air hit my face. Maybe it was the fact that I had been cooped up in the library recently, or maybe it was that I was determined to prove Flint and the rest of the Slytherin house wrong, either way, I knew I played better than even I knew myself to be capable of. I expertly rode around the field, dogging ever incoming bludger and scoring every shot with ease. I dived and swerved, pulling out every trick I'd practiced and miraculously pulling off all them of, even standing up on my broom as I hovered ninety feet above ground, just managing to catch the quaffle and tossing it straight into the nearest hoop.

When Oliver blew his whistle signalling the end of practice, I felt a considerable decrease in adrenaline. I dismounted my broom and only had a second to take in the collective expression of shocked frustration from the green clad bleachers before, Hermione, who had stopped by to watch her best friend's first practice, raced up to me and screamed excitedly

"(Y/n) merlin you never told us you could fly like that, I mean I'm not the biggest fan of the sport but even I know what good playing looks like!"

I leaned into Harry, who's arm was draped loosely around me as we laughed along with Ron and Hermione,  mocking the faces of the rival quidditch captain upon realisation that the new chaser would be providing considerable competition, and therefore resorted to making up a lie about their seeker being injured. Please. The only thing injured was his pride. As a result, I was, instead, going to be playing against Hufflepuff. I wasn't too bothered by this unexpected change, though it did get tiring listening to Katie gush over their seeker and captain during practice. We reached the gryffindor common room still joking and laughing before I realised I had forgotten my tie in the changing room. Excusing myself, I jogged back down to the quidditch pitch, barely registering the minuscule dot darting around above, that is , until I emerged from the locker room, tie in hand,  I heard him call out as he landed in the grass

"Stalking me now, Lestrange?"
"Don't kid yourself, I was just getting my tie" which I looped around my neck, trying to fasten it. When I looked up, I was startled by his sudden closeness, that I had not registered beforehand, my focus on my stubborn tie. He looked at me with a curious expression I had never seen worn on his usually smug face. He paused, filling the air between us with a strangely unfamiliar silence before he spoke, his words slow

"You're doing it wrong." He gestured to my tie
"Shove off"
"Loop it twice or it'll be too loose"
"I'm not taking advice from someone who's been faking an injury because he's intimidated"

His hand moved from the pocket of his robes and onto my tie, fastening it correctly and, whether on purpose I might never know, drawing me closer. My mind seemed to go into overdrive, for I just stood there, my eyes looking at my shoes without actually looking at them, any trace of my usual brassy attitude diminished. His right hand left my tie and went to my chin, gently tilting it up to face him. He smirked and said

"I think you must be mistaken. I'm not the one who's intimidated here"

When I simply stared at him, his smirk grew even wider before he continued

"It wasn't my decision to cancel the match. Believe me, I'd be more than happy to show you what I'm capable of"

I had a feeling we weren't talking about quidditch anymore. And with that, I regained my voice.

"Please, Gryffindor could beat every team in hogwarts, especially your pathetic team of Slytherins, with our eyes closed"
"Bit cocky,  aren't we?"
"Just confident."
"Confident enough to bet on it?"
"Depends what the bet entails"
"If your team beats Hufflepuff tomorrow, I'll do your homework for a week."

I paused, considering the stakes

"A month. Including essays."

His eyebrows raised slightly at my demands but he agreed nonetheless.

"You're on, Lestrange."

Letting go of my tie, he swung his broom over his shoulder and flashed me a quick wink before turning to head back to the castle.

"Wait!" I suddenly remembered, and he turned back around, "what about if Hufflepuff wins?"

Malfoy paused and looked to be in thought, looking me up and down before answering

"If I win, you owe me a favour" he answered simply