章 131: Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff

As the first Quidditch match in November approached, the excitement grew as the first match was Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. James was especially excited despite being a hint of nervous at his first game. But to be perfectly honest he was a rather good chaser despite this being his first year playing. At least that's what everyone said to his ears.

At 10:30, the students trickle out to the Quidditch stands as the students gather to watch the match that is to start at eleven. Rowan is unhappily dragged by the girls to sit with them underneath the chilly overcast sky. Sitting all together on the Gryffindor stands she solemnly contemplates how much weight the magical stands can take before crashing down.

"And why are we sitting with the Gryffindors again?" Rowan finally grumbled over the crowd's voices.

"Because this is James' first match," all three girls said as Willa, Mary, and Lily nodded their heads in emphasis. Glancing back, Rowan sees the boys do the same causing her to sigh.

"What about if I'm not feeling well at all?"

"Then we'll wait until after the match," was their cold, harsh response.

"But-."

"Enough but's, Rowan! Just sit down and enjoy the match!" They exclaimed in unison.

Rowan huffed and crossed her arms over her chest as she sullenly leaned back in her seat. Still, just in case she kept a hand on her wand in case she saw her chance to escape. Suddenly, she recalled the enchanted earplugs in her pocket that she had prepared beforehand and happily popped them into her ears. The loud noise became rather faint as she sighed in relief.

Enjoying the silence, Rowan almost missed the crowd becoming still until she saw countless heads turning. Turning the same way, she suddenly heard a bit of a cheer as they held up their lion banners in scarlet and gold. From the Gryffindor side, the quidditch team emerges in red robes with the inner robes in gold. While the Hufflepuffs emerge with canary yellow robes with their inner robes being in black.

Trying to act cool and nonchalant, James doesn't wave as he merely scans the stands and smiles in the direction of his friends as they cheer. If James noticed that Rowan wasn't cheering, his grin certainly did not falter as he followed his team to a stop in the center of the field.

With the two teams lined up in the center of the field, Madam Hooch walks out as she eyes them. Starting with her usual words, Madam Hooch says, "Let's have a fair game, and enjoy ourselves a bit."

Seeing the two teams nod, Madam Hooch continues, "Alright, Captain's shake hands." Madam Hooch said as the handsome figure of Frank Longbottom steps out from the Gryffindor, while a well-muscled attractive young man with light-colored hair and a slightly arrogant smile takes his hand and shook them.

Narrowing her eyes, Rowan removes one of her ear plugs as the loud noise crashes into her ears. Wincing, Rowan leans over and asks, "Who's the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain?" As Madam Hooch begins to open the cases on the ground.

Silvia and the rest of the girls blinked at seeing Rowan interested in someone of the opposite gender. "He's a sixth year, Edmund Macmillan," Silvia loudly replied to be overheard over the crowd as the golden-winged snitch is released.

Rowan sagely nods her head and happily pops the earplug back in. She had thought so, but she wasn't sure at the distance. If she was correct, Edmund Macmillan was either Ernest Macmillan's father or uncle. Either way, it was interesting, to say the least.

The girls however were a bit in shock as the players kicked off and 15 brooms rose into the air signaling the start of the game. After a long pause, Silvia finally said, "You don't think-?"

The other girls quickly glance at Rowan to find her surprisingly staring straight ahead. And no, Rowan wasn't watching the match, she was merely focusing on a single point on the field. But to everyone else, it seemed as though she was staring rather intently at the Hufflepuff captain.

"Well, she is of age," Tiffany wryly chirped. "Although, I never thought she liked them blond." The girls nod their heads a bit in shock as the rest of the game is a slight blur to them. Who knew that the ice-cold Rowan liked them blond?

The match increases pace as the Gryffindor chasers do a good job of scoring against the Hufflepuffs, but so do the Hufflepuffs. The game was presently 80 to 70 with only a ten-point difference. With excitement running high, the snitch was suddenly spotted as the Gryffindor Captain and the Hufflepuff seeker both raced to catch it.

Frank Longbottom pulls an impressive and manages to snatch the snitch out of the Hufflepuff seeker's grasp. With a roar, the Gryffindors cheer as they failed to see a bludger smack into James. With a groan, James feels his arm break as he slid sideways onto his broom.

The other two chasers instantly noticed as they rushed over and kept him safely on his broom as they led him to the ground below. Rolling onto the ground, James groans, "We won, right?"

"We sure did, Potter," Frank Longbottom said as he had zoomed over the minute, he saw his youngest chaser beginning to knell over.

"Oh good," James painfully puffed before fainting. Still cheering, the team quickly carried James away to have Madam Pomfrey fix him right up. Mending bones took just a second, and although rather painful, he'd be just as good as new and just in time to celebrate their victory.

Removing her earplugs, Rowan winced as the loud crowd's chatter was heard again. "Can you believe it? 230 to 70," a boy in the crowd exclaimed.

"Do you think, he'll be okay?" Lily was heard saying.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Sirius proudly boasted as though he'd personally won the match. "Pomfrey has been fixing Quidditch players for ages. He'll be right as rain, just wait and see."

Refraining from rolling her eyes, Rowan said, "I'm hungry." And without waiting for a response fled down the stands, before any of them could stop her.

The group is silent for a moment, before Bethanie says, "Well, I'm sure she's worried. Rowan just hates to show it." They rapidly nod their heads though some look less convinced than others such as Severus and Terry for example.