Ice

Dorcas huffed as she put on her uniform. Her ridiculously small uniform, by the way. Like, she got that she and Alice needed to look nice and uniform and all that, but did the skirt have to be so damn small? They were pulling it down at any moment they could to avoid assholes in the crowd from staring at them. She couldn’t believe it.
"Marauders Ice Girl rumored to be with a player?"
That goddamn news report. Is that all she was? a Marauder's Ice Girl? Not someone who has been putting herself through fashion school with no financial help, not someone who’s fought for equal rights her whole life, not a badass who is also really good on skates? Not Dorcas fucking Meadows? No.
And also, out of all the people they could’ve rumored her to be with, it had to be a player. Not that there was anything wrong with them, per se, but honestly, come on! They were the most pigheaded, arrogant, self-centered people Dorcas knew! Sure, she loved them, but still.
"Meadows, Fortescue!" Their tiny manager by the name of Filius called out to them. "Get on the ice in 2 minutes!"

After the game, Dorcas and Alice were getting undressed when Filius again yelled to them, "Whole team meeting in 5!"
They looked at each other, wondering what this could be about, but neither had any clue.

As they got to the meeting and were waiting for McGonagall and Filius to come out of their office, she felt an arm around her shoulder.
"So... Meadowes." Dorcas looked and found Sirius Black right next to her. "I heard you're with one of us now, huh? Who is it?"
Dorcas sighed internally. That damn article. Couldn't people just mind their own business?
"It's Lupin." Dorcas replied with a straight face. It obviously wasn't, but she wanted to throw Sirius for a loop for a minute.
"What? No. Why would you say that?" Sirius was struggling. "It's not- He wouldn't- He would tell- No-"
"Why does that bother you so much, Black?" Dorcas asked. She knew the answer. Everyone did. Everyone except for Sirius, that is.
"It's not- It doesn't... He just would've told me. That's all." Sirius tried (and failed miserably) to save himself from this conversation.
"Well, calm down. I was just messing with you."
"Oh. Okay."
"And not that it's any of your business, but I'm not interested in any of the players."
"Well, you don't have to sound so disgusted." Sirius whined.
"Oh, so should I go give Lupin a call then?" Dorcas asked.
"No!! I mean... no."
Dorcas saw James Potter heading towards them. He made a motion as if he were about to put his arm around her, but then quickly stopped himself. That's why Dorcas liked him the most out of all the players. He actually respected her personal space.
"What are we talking about?" James had no problem whatsoever jumping into their conversation.
"That stupid article about me this morning," Dorcas complained.
James wrinkled his nose at the sound of it. "Yeah. It was written by a new reporter named Rita Skeeter; from what I've heard, she loves making something out of nothing."
"Which means Dorcas isn't interested in any of us. Least of all, me." Sirius sighed dramatically.
"It's okay, Pads." James placated him by patting Sirius's shoulder. "I'm sure if Dorcas is interested in anyone, it would be that very nice girl, Marlene." James raised an eyebrow with a little smirk on his face.
Dorcas rolled her eyes. "I am not talking about his."
"From what I hear, you're going out with her this week?"
"Great, she's friends with you too." Luckily, their conversation was cut short when the door opened and three people walked out of it. Minnie, with her long brown hair pulled into a tight bun like always; Filius, who looked even shorter compared to Minnie's height; and a third older man who Dorcas didn't recognize.
"Marauders." Minnie nodded. She always had this no-nonsense attitude about her, which Dorcas had always appreciated. "Congratulations on another successful match."
Minnie continued talking about lots of stuff like strategy and sportsmanship, which didn't really apply to Dorcas, so she tuned it out, and she could tell Alice was doing the same.
"-blue line. But that should conclude my game talk." Which brought Dorcas back to earth. "We have a new member of our team who we would like to introduce to you."
Oh, so that's who that man is. Dorcas nodded in her head.
"This is Albus Dumbledore. He is our new PR manager and will be handling everything, like press statements and social media pages. Albus, would you like to introduce yourself a little bit?"
"Sure, Minerva. Thank you." Dumbledore stepped forward in order to better address the whole team. "I am so pleased and thankful to be given the opportunity to work with you all today and for the forseeable future. It is such an honor, and I look forward to better knowing each and every one of you, and you me."
What a load of bullshit.
"Getting to know the little details of this team is what is most intriguing to me. And I hope I can leave you with one piece of advice: It is our choices that show us who we truly are, far more than our abilities."
This is some pretentious motherfucker. He probably has like three middle names and brags about it.
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak to you all. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. Minerva."
"Ahem, yes." Minnie cleared her throat. "You are all dismissed unless you have a question for Albus."
"I have a question!" Dorcas heard herself yell out, even though her brain never told her mouth to do so. "If you're in charge of all media stuff, then tell me why the hell there was an article about me in the press this morning. Lies about me shagging someone in this room!"
"Dorcas." She heard Alice mutter a warning in her ear. It probably wasn't the best idea to get their new staff member mad, but she didn't care.
"Ah." Dumbledore didn't seem mad. There was a glint of something mischievous in his eye, though it was only there for a second. "I thought you might have questions about that."
"Are you gonna answer them or tell me what I already know? Today all the "fans" were screaming at me, "Who is it? Who is it?" like they're entitled to any of our personal lives. It was all they were interested in!"
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at her outburst, still not saying anything, but his expression convyed enough.
It was all they were interested in.
Interested in her.
Interested in the player.
Interested in the game.
"Oh."
"Glad we are finally on the same page, Ms. Meadowes." Dumbledore said.
Oh, you motherfucker! You're just going to exploit me and my personal life for popularity! What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Easy, Meadowes." Sirius muttered in her ear.
"No, fuck you, Black!" Dorcas cried, whirling around to face him. They were treating her like a petulant baby who was overreacting, which was completely unfair. "How would you like it if something close and personal to you was exploited for money?"
"Yeah, but it's not like it was even true."
With that, Dorcas pushed past Sirius and made her way out of the room, grabbed her stuff, and went home.

-

Sirius was stuck in his thoughts while getting ready to leave. He couldn't stop thinking about Dorcas. Sure, she had an incredibly dramatic outburst earlier, and that's coming from him, but that wasn't the part he was caught on.
Why Remus?
Why, out of anyone she could've joked about dating, why Remus? She could've said James, or Peter, or Frank, or- Well, not Frank for obvious reasons, but still. Maybe it was because of how Remus looks. He was definitely the most handsome player on the team. With his golden hair and the cute way he arched his eyebrows when someone would say something stupid. He could have any woman he wanted. Sirius just didn't know why that thought made him sad. And why did Dorcas' joke make him flustered and mad?
"Hey, Pads. You okay?"
"Oh, hey, Moony." Sirius responded. "Yeah, fine."
Speak of the Devil.
"I was about to head out. Wanna walk with me?"
"Yeah, sure." Sirius hurriedly grabbed his stuff and walked with Remus to his car.

"You know, Dorcas said something earlier, before her outburst. Remus just hummed to acknowledge he was listening.
"I asked her if the rumors were true, and she made a joke and said she was dating you." Remus chuckled.
"She's bold; I'll give her that." Sirius nodded in agreement.
"Since it's obviously not her, is there anyone else you might have your eye on, Moons?" Sirius nudged him playfully. "You know, you could probably have anyone you wanted."
"Maybe there's someone." Sirius felt his stomach drop a little. Why did this thought bother him so much? Maybe it was just because he didn't like the thought of Remus being whicked away by some broad and spending less time with all of them. "But I doubt I could ever have them."
"What are you talking about? You're Remus fucking Lupin! You could have any girl you wanted!"
Remus gave a little laugh and shook his head, which made Sirius feel like there was something he wasn't understanding. But he couldn't focus on that right now because he was too busy shoving down his feelings of worry that Remus might leave him. Them. Whatever.

When they finally got to Remus' car, their conversation was cut short.
"Bye, Moons," Sirius bade him farewell.
"Bye, Pads. Have a good night." Remus clapped his hand on the back of Sirius shoulder, which surprised him because neither of them were big on physical touch.
Remus got into his car and drove off, leaving Sirius in the middle of the parking lot, trying to stare at his shoulder where Remus' hand had just been.
What was wrong with him? Why was he feeling these things? Some sort of betrayal and sense of worry over something that hadn't even happened? He was being stupid.
So he decided to focus on winning the match and how good it felt as he walked back to his car and headed home himself.