KISS AND TALK

The weekends came and were dedicated to quidditch practice. The afternoon was dedicated to Gryffindor while the morning was for the Slytherin. 

The next day was dedicated to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. 

"We'll be using the snitch for this day!" All of them turned to Cassiopeia who had a hand resting on her hip. She grinned, nodding, placing a headband to keep her hair off her view. "Win. Whatever it takes. Don't cheat." All of them chuckled, "But, why not bend the rules." Cassiopeia grinned at their captain's usual pep talk. This is what made it fun. Sure, the win was an absolute boost to the ego, but the process to get there, the smart play. It wasn't just cheating (it's not), it was the thought with it. How their mind quickly works to find a loophole during the game. It was what made them win all these years. The Slytherins weren't just sly. They were smart, critical, resourceful. That's why they take pride in their wins. Because any kind of victory was well thought of by them. Not by chance, nor luck, but by them. 

"Mount your brooms!" 

The wind was as strong as their captain's voice, and with the last signal, they kicked the grass, and up they went. The Quaffle quickly got passed around, the Bludger targeting towards her. Swerving the Bludger served easier compared to her first years, Cassiopeia had become more comfortable with her broom as the years passed, and felt as if she was certainly one with it, feeling light when flying. 

The snitch was out of view, nowhere to be found, so her eyes landed downwards for a second, and a second enough to see a bludger charging towards her. This time, instead of swerving, she stayed still, quickly searching where it came from….there. To her left, Parkinson stayed glued, grinning as the bludger moved closer to her. Finally, with a target, her leg hardened, and as the bludger drew close, she kicked towards the left, the bludger returning to its sender. 

Parkinson was too stunned to react and was hit straight to the face. Cassiopeia found it very entertaining to watch anyone lose their excitement towards something they thought would go their way, this was one of those moments. 

Only a minute after that, the first round ended with Cassiopeia catching the golden snitch. 

The afternoon breeze grew louder as the seconds ticked. Sirius had his red robes placed on his shoulder, his leather gloves and knee protectors placed properly. He held his broom in his right hand, his hair tied in a bun. Though he was still distracted with the incident with Cassiopeia days prior, he shook off any thought of it for today, promising to himself that this time will be dedicated to quidditch practice. 

"Cassiopeia! Play nice!" 

Sirius was pulled back from his thoughts as they reached the quidditch pitch. The green robes that were Slytherins were whirling around in the air. But the dark raven hair was not hard to miss. "You told me to do whatever it takes!" Cassiopeia shouted back. "I meant during the games! You're going to injure our players!" Cassiopeia did not answer this time, only let go of a small golden ball, as it zoomed away. 

As they watched the Slytherins descend, Sirius's eyes stayed glued on her, as she took off her headband, ruffling her shoulder length hair, her chest puffing from fatigue, and her cheeks flushed. Little did he know he wasn't the only one watching her, another man from Gryffindor had his eyes on her, his ears flushed like her cheeks. Their team captain had had a big crush on Cassiopeia for quite some time now, but never did make any move. He had always thought that she was hard to approach, as she seemed to not want any kind of such attention. 

As Cassiopeia walked through the field, towards where the Gryffindor quidditch team stood. She noticed the handsome young man standing just beside another with spectacles. His hair was pulled up in a bun, making his jawline stand out. But she did not let him notice that she was looking. Her eyes landed on another guy she had noticed to have been looking her way. He was quite handsome too. Not meek, but silent. Not shy, but more like he did not want to speak simply because he feels so. He smiled at her and Cassiopeia absorbed every detail. His smile lines, the pinkish hue of his lips, the firm wrinkles of his eyes, and she smiled back. "Good luck Wood. You need it." She said, as she walked past them, and the Gryffindor captain turned to follow Cassiopeia with his gaze, but not once did Cassiopeia turn back to look at any of them. 

Wood chuckled as he washed his face with his palm. James turned to Sirius, who was still watching as Cassiopeia was walking away. James noticed his friend's furrowed brows, and raised his own. "Pads." He calls out, bumping his shoulder to him. Sirius turned to him, his eyebrows softening. "Yeah?" He asks, "You alright, mate?" James asks, and Sirius notices the questioning look on James' eyes. He avoided the look, suspecting he had noticed how he was looking at Cassiopeia. Which was ridiculous really. How he was affected now with what just happened. 

I was the one who got kissed, so. 

Then, Sirius shook it off, realizing that that was not a comforting thought, if not, it was more concerning, that that type of shit mattered to him. 

Of course it did not. But then, he's too caught up to it to be sure. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just play." He said quickly and pinned a stray strand of hair on the back of his ear. 

James stayed quiet, turning his head towards Wood, who had a grin as he spoke. His ears were red and James was pretty sure it was because of what Cassiopeia had told him. 

While Sirius was frustrated, James was not sure if it was because of the same thing, but suspects it is.