Harry Potter and the Norse Gods

{18} Trials and Tribulations

MAGNUS' POV

Despite having had it explained to me numerous times, I still didn't understand Quidditch. Yet I was at the pitch - a tall, oval-shaped one with three tall hoops and stands that were both extremely high off of the ground and far too close to the pitch, given how the game was played - on a mildly miserable weekend morning. 

Alex was sitting beside me, looking thoroughly bored. There were a few other people sprinkled around the rest of the stands, but more were beginning to come in. We weren't watching a game, which might've been fun. Instead, we were watching the trials. Well, we were going to. They hadn't started yet. 

I could just make out Harry's tiny figure strutting around in front of a small crowd with a long stick. That was the broom, I presumed. It'd be a little odd if he was just carrying around an actual, plain old stick. 

Amongst the crowd, I could see two heads of flaming red hair, probably belonging to Ron and Ginny, both of whom had said that they were planning on trying out. It didn't feel particularly ethical for a student's best friend to be deciding who got onto the team, but apparently, that was the system that Hogwarts had decided to go with, for... some reason. 

Then again, Hogwarts made quite a few questionable decisions. Like having Quidditch as not only its main sport but its only sport.

I never thought I'd wish for a place to be more like mortal high school. 

My train of thoughts - which consisted primarily of ways that normal high school was better than Hogwarts, one prominent example being the lack of deadly creatures - was interrupted by a shrill voice. 

"Oh, hi guys!" Hermione exclaimed, shifting awkwardly from one foot to another. 

Behind her was Nico and Will, neither of whom seemed happy to see us. Especially Nico. 

It had been over a  week since everything with Gaia, with still no reply from the other demigods, and the relationship between them and us - us being Alex and me - was still strained. 

On one hand, I kinda just wanted them to get over it. We had a war to fight, and we already had more than enough enemies without turning each other into them. But on the other hand, I knew exactly where they were coming from. 

Like Alex had said in the cave, if it was us in that situation and Gaia was Loki, we would have said and felt the same things that they were. But Alex had also said that none of us could be trusted to be objective in that situation, which was true. We would have reacted the same way they did, and they would have reacted the same way we did. That was just a fact. 

It was hard because there was no clear person who was at fault that could apologise. I mean, in no situation should they be the ones to apologise - they hadn't shunned us to that extreme yet - but Alex and I weren't really at fault either, although we probably were in theirs. 

"Hi," I answered Hermione, smiling hopefully at the Greek demigods. 

Nico rolled his eyes and looked away, but Will offered a small smile in response. It was strained, but it was a smile nonetheless, and that's what mattered. 

"What are we doing here?" Nico grumbled, reluctantly following Will to sit several rows behind us. 

Hermione sat down in the middle of us all, somehow looking more nervous and awkward than she had before. 

"We're watching the trials," Will replied. 

"I know that much. What's the point in watching them? The games themselves are barely tolerable."

"We're here to support Harry, Ron, and Ginny," Hermione said brightly. 

A bit too brightly in my opinion. She really wasn't a good actor. 

"Then why are they here," Nico said distastefully, eyeing us, "They aren't good at supporting anyone." 

No one said anything for a long moment. I could feel the tension between us even without looking at him. 

"Hey, the trials are starting," Hermione piped up, pointing towards the pitch, where several people were taking off on brooms. 

Nothing more was said after that. At least not between groups. Alex and I were talking more than we were paying attention to the pitch, except for when a strange ball almost crashed into the stand beside us. 

"So, this is a ploy to try to make us reconcile, right?" I checked. 

"Yep," Alex replied, "I was wondering why they invited us to this." 

"I guess now we have our answer." 

Alex nodded in agreement. 

"Should we apologise?" I wondered. 

Although once again, we weren't really to blame for anything, it might be the olive branch needed for us to start getting along again. Or at least to be able to be comfortable in the same room together again.

"Maybe," Alex said, looking strangely thoughtful.

"I guess we should at least wait until we know what the verdict is."

"Yeah," Alex answered, casting a long look around the pitch. 

I took that opportunity to attempt to focus in on the trials, as they were the supposed reason we were there, but I had no idea what was going on. I spotted Ginny on a broom, throwing a ball to someone, who in turn sped off towards one of the hoops, which now had someone guarding it. So, it was like basketball then. Or maybe soccer - or football, as the British and most of the rest of the world called it. 

"Storm's here," Alex noted. 

I glanced in the direction that Alex had indicated and sure enough, there she was. I hadn't been expecting her to come. I didn't think she'd been invited to, and also didn't think that she'd come of her free will. 

Dread shot through me. That meant that if she was here, something had probably happened. 

She paused momentarily to watch the people flying around on the pitch, an odd look on her face, before seemingly shaking herself out of it and making her way towards us. 

"What's wrong?" Will asked immediately once she was within earshot of us. 

It seemed that he'd had much the same train of thought that I'd had. 

"Nothing particularly," she replied, "But the owl we sent to the States is back. Albus told me to come and fetch you four before opening it." 

"What are we waiting for?" Nico demanded, leaping to his feet and striding past Storm. 

"You guys. Clearly. That's what I just said," she muttered, before turning to follow him at a more leisurely pace. 

Alex, Will, and I were right behind her.  

Art by theartful-dodge on DeviantArt.

Unfortunately, this story is going on a two-week break. I have my final exams (I'm a Kiwi, so our school year ends at the end of the year. It's great, you Northern Hemisphere-ers should try it.) so the next two weeks I'll be spending studying and cursing my teachers for letting the exams get so close without telling us what to study. Sorry to leave you guys on a (kinda) cliffhanger!

And Happy Halloween.