Quidditch
The quidditch match was today. Regulus flexed his fingers, slightly restless. The wait felt too long. Regulus had never been so nervous before a match before, and, well, he was Regulus Black. Regulus glanced up as Pandora and Evan strolled in.
“Is…Is Regulus Black nervous?” Evan hissed in a low voice. Regulus cut a harsh glare at him, forcing himself to rest his hands on the table in an attempt to act relaxed. It felt too hot and humid despite it being autumn, and sweat was beading on his skin even before the match would start. Why was he so nervous? Regulus didn’t know either. Or maybe…
The doors to the Great Hall banged open, and in walked the infamous four. Remus was holding a book, chatting with Peter. Regulus groaned quietly into his hands as he took in how Sirius looked. Sirius was dressed in Gryffindor quidditch robes, but his hair had streaks of green and red, like how Regulus’ hair had been. Regulus sighed in utter embarrassment.
And that wasn’t even all. Regulus hesitantly looked at James. And he regretted it instantly. As captain, James was already in quidditch robes. His hair was as messy as always, and his glasses rested crookedly on his face. But the robes hugged his arms beautifully, showing them off. Regulus gulped, dragging his eyes away with more willpower than he thought he needed.
“Regulus, if you don’t close your mouth, you’re going to start drooling,” Pandora teased lightly. Regulus glared half-heartedly at her, all too aware of his brother marching up to the Slytherin table. Regulus took in a deep breath, mentally prepared himself, then turned to ‘greet’ his brother. Sirius flung himself dramatically on the seat opposite Regulus, the other three following closely behind. They were definitely ignoring the looks they were getting now.
“Reggie!” Sirius began, and Regulus already found something to kick him for. And Regulus kicked him alright, catching Sirius in the shin. Sirius yelped, pulling away at once. He eyed Regulus before continuing on. “Now, I understand that since it is my house against yours. But you have some of my support.”
Regulus stared at Sirius in slight disbelief. “I didn’t ask for it. And you’re playing too,” Regulus replied, reaching to pick up his goblet…only to find it wasn’t there. Regulus looked up, spying James sipping on one. James caught the silence, looking around for a moment before it dawned on him. Bloody idiot.
“Oh, oops. Sorry Reggie-um, Regulus,” James said sheepishly. Regulus glared daggers at him, reaching for a missing Barty’s goblet instead. He would have much preferred it if it was firewhisky and not pumpkin juice. He glimpsed his plate, filled with food he had definitely not put there himself. Next to him, Pandora reached over for the toast, plopping them on his plate. Catching the look Regulus was giving her, Pandora gestured at the plate. Eat. She was saying wordlessly. Turning away, Regulus tore up the piece of toast.
“You didn’t have to ask for it. And yeah, I’m playing, so?” Sirius asked, stealing a cracker from Regulus’ overflowing plate. Regulus bit into one of the pieces of toast, and instantly felt the urge to spit it out. For Pandora’s sake, he swallowed it, grimacing inwardly.
“Fine. Whatever,” Regulus said in answer to Sirius, who lit up almost comically. A strange warmth filled Regulus, not that he would ever admit it. Sirius stole three more crackers, dodging Pandora’s raised hand, and sped off. Breathing a sigh of relief, Regulus turned to the twins.
They watched him, looking slightly skeptical. They turned to look at each other next, wordlessly communicating.
That was when the doors opened again, and in walked Barty and Dorcas. Barty seemed annoyed, and Dorcas exasperated. But the moment Barty saw Evan, he turned around and walked right back out. In front of everyone. Dorcas shook her head, turning to run after the Slytherin.
Regulus noted Evan’s pained expression, looking away from the doors. “I need to go now,” Regulus said as a sort of distraction, standing up and leaving his still-full plate. Pandora nodded in reply, squeezing Evan’s arm.
Regulus left quickly, with no sign of Dorcas or Barty. He would see Dorcas later, she was a chaser for Slytherin anyway, rivaling Marlene Mckinnon. Regulus slipped out, starting for the quidditch pitch.
Soon enough, after the mind-numbingly boring talk from the captain, the match started. Regulus stayed high in the air, away from the scuffle happening in the middle of the pitch. He could see Dorcas, flying away from Mckinnon, who was putting up a great chase.
A figure darted into his line of sight. Sirius was waving his bat around, seeming to yell at the Slytherin chaser. Regulus couldn’t hear it over the cheering of the crowd. Shifting away, he watched Dorcas speed up, curving sharply to throw off one of the two chasers after her. Marlene gained on Dorcas, closer and closer.
Dorcas darted past the other Gryffindor beater, and flung the quaffle through the hoops. Of course, she scored. The Slytherin crowd cheered as the quaffle was restarted. It was flung high into the air when…
There. A flash of gold near the quaffle. Regulus flew forward instantly, only slightly aware that the Gryffindor seeker, whose name he never bothered to learn, was chasing him down. A hand reached out, grabbing the quaffle, leaving the snitch darting here and there.
And it was gone. He had been so close, and the snitch simply shot away. Regulus looked everywhere, but the gold of the snitch was nowhere to be seen. A string of colorful curses left his mouth as he flew back up in disbelief. The game carried on, and Mckinnon had the quaffle. She threw it to James, who caught it expertly. Regulus watched intently as James leaned forward, speeding up. The wind was messing his hair up even more, yet it still looked unexplainably good. Regulus was filled with the sudden urge to ruffle it.
James tossed the quaffle back to Mckinnon. Dorcas intercepted it, nearly knocking Mckinnon off her broom as she attempted to grab the quaffle. It sailed past her, and started falling towards the ground. Gryffindor’s second beater cut in, batting the bludger away from the fight for the quaffle.
Uninterested, Regulus looked around. There was no sign of the snitch. Then the Gryffindor seeker started speeding up from where they had been lazily circling the pitch. Regulus started after them, eyes darting everywhere around the seeker for a sign of the snitch. It was either that, or the seeker was sending him on a wild goose chase.
A glimmer of gold. But it wasn’t in front of the Gryffindor seeker. It hovered behind them, near the Ravenclaw stands, near the grounds. It must have been under the stands. Regulus picked up his speed, cutting through the pitch quickly, the Gryffindor seeker having picked up on it seconds too late, and was in hot pursuit. Regulus reached out a hand, the other seeker doing the same.
His hand closed. Only then, did Regulus become aware of the hushed silence. Even the players had ceased playing, hovering in the air and watching the seekers.
Slowly, both seekers raised their closed fists. Together, they opened it. A snitch fluttered between Regulus’ fingers, and the Gryffindor seeker lowered their hand as a sign of defeat. A new rush of adrenaline filled Regulus. He had won. He had caught the snitch and won Slytherin the quidditch cup.
Cheering filled the air, and Regulus held the snitch high, allowing a small smile to slip out. Taking a deep breath, he flew towards the middle, halting to a stop, climbing off his broom. Instantly, someone went flying at him. Pandora’s blonde locks flew into his face, and Regulus spat them out. “Regulus! You were so great!” Pandora squealed, eyes shining brightly. Dorcas came up to them, but her eyes were trailing to the Gryffindors. Evan was close behind, Barty further away. It was clear their dispute hadn't been solved yet, even though Regulus had seen them sitting on either side of Pandora, their gazes trained intently on the game.
Dorcas wrapped Regulus in a hug the moment Pandora released him. “We won. You won us the cup. We won!” She gasped, squeezing Regulus even tighter. Regulus let out a strangled sound. Even so, he hugged Dorcas back for a moment, before starting to kick out of her grasp. She released him, and then it was Barty’s turn. He hugged Regulus for a moment, before letting go of him and quickly walking over to Dorcas. Away from Evan. Regulus turned to Evan, who gave him a false smile in reply and a nod of congratulations. Regulus accepted it. Evan was quite literally going through a gut-wrenching heartbreak now, he didn’t need to be happy for Regulus.
“Oomph!”
Regulus was knocked off his feet. Sirius crushed him in a hug, blabbering about how proud he was. Regulus put his arms around him awkwardly, unsure of what to do. A few long moments later, Sirius finally released him. “God, you’ve really grown,” he laughed. “I remember when you were still eight, and you had cried over your pet rock-”
“Alright, enough of that,” Regulus cut in quickly, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
“No, no, more of it. What happened?” Dorcas asked, encouraging Sirius to continue as she grinned evilly at Regulus. Regulus groaned in response as Sirius continued talking and effectively embarrassing him.
A strange ache bubbled up in Regulus, and he finally turned his head towards the Gryffindors even as he walked next to Pandora. His eyes met James’.
Oh. Was this what they called butterflies in your stomach? A feeling of nervousness washed over Regulus and something akin to panic, desire, joy and others lit up in his chest. They held eye contact, and James broke into a wide smile. He mouthed something, just as Pandora forced him around the corner.
Regulus had only caught the first part of what James had said, but he could piece together what he meant.
Astronomy tower.