A Game To Forget

The day of the match had finally dawned, cold and dull under an ominously dark layer of clouds, so low they made Lainey feel claustrophobic when she stepped out onto the grounds to scope out the morning's conditions.

"It's gonna rain," she announced grimly at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall. What she didn't mention was that from the heavy atmospheric pressure and utter stillness of the air, it would probably be a fiercely unpleasant storm. Despite her own utter lack of enthusiasm, it was her job to keep morale up.

"We can work that to our advantage, if we're smart. I told you that practicing in that storm last week might come in handy, and now it has. Slytherin, bunch of pansies that they are, copped out and cut their practice short. You can bet they're regretting that now," she smirked, looking over at the Slytherin table. Without their captain Jericho MacDougal around to bolster their spirits, they did in fact look exceptionally stone-faced at the moment -- or perhaps it was the early hour of the morning.

"I want all members of the team to report down to the field in a half hour -- alternates included, so that's you too, Alexa, Colin, and Bex. I'm gonna want everyone suited up for this. We're going to go over some basic spells that should make it a little easier to focus on the game out there, instead of the weather. I want to make sure everyone's eaten as well, so load up -- you've got time." Lainey Vanished her own half-eaten breakfast with a too-bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Here here!" Jaina and Jacen clapped at the pep talk.

The practice that they had endeavored the previous week, the practice in the howling rain had actually left Cole in the awkward stage between a cold and not. Cole had fought furiously to keep the upcoming illness at bay, however, the cold was just so sodding resilient. She ignored it though, the cold could come later, right now, she had the match to worry about. Of course, her body seemed to think otherwise. She grabbed a tissue just in time to catch a sneeze that just wouldn't be swallowed.

"Bless you." Jaina handed her a vial. "Here, drink this."

"Thanks." Great now her voice was starting to sound funny. Cole glared at the vial Jaina was offering suspiciously. "What is it?"

At Cole's skeptical look, Jaina couldn't help but laugh. "Honestly Cole, don't you trust me?"

Cole gave her a look at clearly said no.

This made Jaina laugh even harder. "It's Peppered Up Potion. I got it from the Hospital Wing yesterday. I suspected some of us might be feeling under the weather today and didn't want to take any chances."

Cole gave her another look. She had long since learnt never to trust anything that Jaina Alonso would give.

"I swear it's just Peppered Up Potion. Really!" Jaina insisted putting a hand to her heart as a show of credibility. Cole eyed Jaina a moment or two before looking at Jacen.

"It's Peppered Up Potion." Jacen nodded. Cole took the vial and drank it feeling a wave of warmth going through her system and the fuzzy little head-ache she was experiencing earlier slowly ebbed away. "It is Peppered Up Potion," Cole confirmed.

"I really should be insulted by all of this. No one trusts me." Jaina muttered, folding her arms across her chest. But she recovered almost immediately and turned to Noah. Noah had been staring at his breakfast making no move to eat it for the past ten minutes now.

"How are you feeling, kid?" She asked him. "Ready to fight those Slytherins to the ground?"

Noah looked a little bit pale.

"Here, I've got more." Jaina handed him a Peppered Up Potion as well. Noah stared at the vial on his hand for a moment and quickly drank it. Colour started to return to his cheeks.

"Feeling better?" Jaina asked.

"Much." Noah replied and he smiled at her - a signal of thanks. He looked at his food, picked up his fork and started eating, wolfing down the food with valor.

Jaina grinned at her handiwork. "What would you lot do without me, I wonder?"

"Hold a party probably." Jacen joked.

Jaina glared at him. Jacen smiled at him sweetly.

"Alright alright, don't make me separate you two," Lainey joked, rolling her eyes at the twins. "I'm gonna start heading down now. I trust you'll all make it down in one piece?" She smirked and rose from the bench, casting a surreptitious glance over to the Gryffindor table. 

Kate Nighthook was sitting there alone, a book propped up against a pitcher of pumpkin juice, but Lainey didn't see Alex anywhere down the long table. It was surprising how very disappointed she was -- she hadn't realised she'd been counting that strongly on getting to talk to him before the game. Keeping the team's spirits up would be easier if she herself were in a good mental space, and lately nothing put her in a good mood the way Lex could. He made her laugh so easily, and their secret potion-making sessions had become so enjoyable to each of them that they'd started spending time together even when there wasn't anything to do for the potions. After just a few weeks of this, it was difficult to remember a time when they weren't thick as thieves.

It was funny that they had only been acquaintances for so long; the rivalry between their houses had made closer friendship impossible for most of the time they'd known each other. Of course, now that they were both captain, it made their current situation even more ironic -- and certainly contributed to the ever-increasing whispers that filled the air wherever they went. 

A wave of whispers followed her all along the Gryffindor table on her way out of the Great Hall. Catching them, Kate looked up just in time to see Lainey leave. Blushing at what she'd heard, she scooped her book up and shoved it into her bag before hopping off of the bench and making her way to the Ravenclaw table, where most of the team still sat. She addressed herself mainly to the twins, who, other than Lainey, were the only members of the team she knew by name, and even then, just barely.

"I just wanted to say -- good luck," she mumbled, staring down at her shoes. "I'll be rooting for Ravenclaw today."

"Aye, aye, Captain." The twins said in unison. A "Yep" and a "Yeah" was mixed in as well.

They turned back to their breakfast shortly. "Yeah, I think I'll go down as well." Cole stood up from the bench and proceeded to go out. She wasn't hungry at all. Her stomach wouldn't let her eat. It was turning and churning. All the confidence that she had over the last few weeks had slowly ebbed away as one thing after another went south. Now she couldn't think about anything but losing. Stupid MacDougal! She speedily made her way out of the Great Hall.

Jacen was in the middle of drinking his pumpkin juice, when he was elbowed by Jaina rather sharply. "Ow! Oi, that hur- " He was silenced as Katelyn Nighthook appeared in front of them.

"Cheers, Katie!" Jaina said smiling.

Jacen was blushing furiously. His mouth was suddenly very dry. This was odd because he had only been drinking a moment ago. He decided to take another quick sip but found he could not swallow. Painfully, he forced it down, and smiled sheepishly at Kate. "Cheers." He finally managed.

As he wasn't spoken to, Noah remained quiet, eating the remainder of his food.

The slightly pained expression on Jacen's face didn't escape Kate's notice. She practically ran out of the Hall without another word, in Lainey's general direction -- that is, towards the quidditch pitch. Before she was within shouting distance, she watched as Lainey's distinctive long, silvery blonde ponytail disappeared behind the door to the locker room, disappointed. There was nothing left for her to do but head up to the stands and wait for the game to begin.

Lainey, for her part, paced the room restlessly, trying to work out what she was going to say to her team once they got there. She'd managed at breakfast, but she really needed to get them excited for the match and she was barely treading water herself. Just for something to do, she started stripping off her normal robes and getting into her uniform; that was a step in the right direction, anyway, because the shiny new captain's badge pinned to the front made her smile slightly. Someone had clearly believed in her. The team certainly did. Now it was time for her to start believing in herself.