Never Is Our Always

Rouge Bludger! 2

(Minnie pov)

It was the first quidditch match of the season coming up in a few hours and I would be understating the Gryffindor team immensely if I were to say they were nervous.

After half an hour of lying there with my insides churning about the match against Slytherin with their new brooms... I got up, dressed, and went down to breakfast early.

-

I walked in and found the rest of the Gryffindor team huddled at the long, empty table, all looking uptight and not speaking much.

"Good luck today," I told them all when I sat down, a few murmured in reply and others gave a weak smile.

"That's it," I groaned, getting out of my chair and they look at me in shock, "who bloody cares about their brooms?" I asked them rhetorically.

"Guys, you have got the best team, you are the best team! There's been talk about how they haven't seen a team like yours in a long time!" They all watch me as I stood there.

"Now, eat your food and have a positive mental attitude about this game! You will win!" They all erupt into cheers as I smiled.

"Aye, that was a great pep-talk from co-captain Minnie! All right ladies and gentlemen, eat up and let's win this!" Oliver said and they nod before chowing down on their food.

"Eat your food, Oliver," I ordered and he glared before he started eating.

"Ha! She pulled a Percy on you!" George said, pointing to Oliver and they all laughed.

-

As eleven o'clock approached, the whole school started to make its way down to the Quidditch stadium.

It was a muggy sort of day with a hint of thunder in the air.

The team pulled on their scarlet Gryffindor robes, then sat down to listen to Wood's usual pre-match pep talk.

"Slytherin has better brooms than us," he began. "No point denying it. But we've got better people on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers-"

"Too true," George mutters but I smacked his arm and shook my head. "I haven't been properly dry since August." He shudders beside me.

"-and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team."

Oliver turned to Harry.

"It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."

"So no pressure, Harry," Fred said, winking at him.

"Go on, Min," Oliver said as everyone ruffles my hair while I leave them to go to the stands.

-

As they walked out onto the pitch, a roar of noise greeted them; mainly cheers, because Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were anxious to see Slytherin beaten, but the Slytherins in the crowd made their boos and hisses heard, too.

Madam Hooch, the Quidditch teacher, asked Flint and Wood to shake hands, which they did, giving each other threatening stares and gripping rather harder than was necessary.

"On my whistle," said Madam Hooch. "Three... two... one..."

With a roar from the crowd to speed them upward, the fourteen players rose toward the leaden sky. Harry flew higher than any of them, it was Oliver and his plan.