The next morning was the first Quidditch game of the year. Draco was the most excited, while Pansy and I were both uninterested.
"This will be another opportunity to prove that we are the best house. I can't wait to see our team beat the snot out of Gryffindor." He was met with cheering from fellow first-year Slytherins, while Pansy silently flipped a page of her Defense Against the Dark Arts book.
I shrugged while giving Val a piece of bacon.
"Sports have never been of much interest to me."
"That's just because you never do anything but study. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a Ravenclaw," Draco finished with a snicker.
I laughed along, hiding my fear from almost being placed in that very house.
"Just come to the stadium. It's a whole different experience in person."
"I wanna see! I wanna see the flying people!" Val hissed in my ear. Pansy stifled a chuckle, already familiar with his personality.
I sighed, leaning against the table.
"Fine… I'll go."
Draco smirked and nodded while Valdemar hissed happily, flailing his tail under my robes in excitement.
Once I had gotten to my seat on the bleachers beside Draco, Pansy took the other spot next to me, wearing a green and gray scarf to showcase her team colors. I wore similar hues on my gloves, while Draco sported earmuffs in the same color palette.
The teams warmed up, flying all across the field and running plays in preparation for the match.
Eventually, they circled around the center of the field, waiting for Madam Hooch to start the game. She held the Quaffle in one hand before tossing it high above her head and blowing her whistle.
One of the Slytherins charged at the ball and tossed it back to the rest of the team, just as she crashed into one of the Gryffindor players. Draco cheered at us gaining possession, and the game began.
Val's head swung all around, trying to keep track of each player darting through the sky.
"I wanna fly like that too!" he loudly hissed to be heard over the crowd.
I scoffed at him while watching the players dodge and weave between each other. I had to agree with Val—this seemed like a game that only felt fun if you were participating. Just watching was almost disorienting with how much was constantly going on.
"Why isn't he defending—" I started, before one of our players took a hit from a Bludger, making me wince.
"That guy…"
Draco looked over at me in shock.
"You knew that was going to happen?"
I shrugged, returning my attention to the field.
"The Bludger was aimed at #15 for almost a minute. Our Beater should have seen that."
I kept silent about my enhanced vision during my energy surges. I had taken my medicine today, so I felt fine without migraines, though the amount of cheering around me was hardly helping.
Draco frowned in thought for a moment before grabbing my wrist and pulling me along.
"Come with me! I need you to meet someone!"
I scowled, but after he let go, I followed him through the bleachers.
"Wait for me!" Pansy called, not wanting to be left alone, and tagged along.
We made our way down the stairs, finally arriving at the large hallway where our team had exited before the game started.
There, we spotted an older student staring at the match, yelling to herself.
"Jackson! Over-under! Howard! Protect Jackson!"
"What is she doing?" Pansy asked before I had the chance to.
Draco smirked while pointing at the upperclassman.
"She's our team captain! While the other teams like to have their captains relaying instructions while on the field, Victoria Haymond here came up with the idea of staying out of the game to watch everything from outside the chaos."
I nodded, understanding how it could be a tactical advantage.
Victoria then glanced back at us, glaring—especially at Draco.
"I told you, there's nothing I can do, Malfoy. Potter gets the pass because he has the teachers on his side, but we can't break the rules and let you play early."
Draco shook his head and pointed at me.
"No. I think you need to let my friend help coach."
Victoria rolled her eyes and returned to barking instructions at the team.
"Zack! If you don't do your one job, I swear I'm going to kick you from the team! Now defend Wendy!"
I glanced at the game and figured out who she was referring to, based on where she was looking.
"Tell Zack to hit the Bludger straight down!" I called out.
Victoria's black hair, tied into a ponytail, danced as she leered at me, her bright green eyes brimming with irritation at my sheer presence. She then glanced at Draco, who nodded furiously, and relayed my instruction.
"Zack! Hit the Bludger straight down!"
A second later, we watched as Zack flipped his broom as the Bludger barreled toward him, aiming to strike the teammate behind him. He batted the Bludger straight down.
It shot toward the ground, but a Gryffindor player got in the way. I quickly noticed that #9 lingered near the ground—most likely positioned as a safety net to catch any misplaced throws. However, he wasn't prepared for a Bludger coming so low.
It slammed into him, sending him rolling across the pitch before he finally came to a stop.
A massive cheer erupted from the stands above us as the player was knocked out of the game.
Victoria glanced at me with a grin.
"Not bad, kid… They've lost a player! Don't waste it before they send in a replacement! All offense! Last one on our side of the field is not playing next match!" she roared, her voice magically amplified.
She turned back to me.
"What's your name?"
"Lucas Peterson," I answered.
Victoria nodded.
"Slytherin's favorite first-year. I've heard of you. Alright, what else do you see?"
She pointed toward the field again.
I scanned the players whizzing about and the Bludgers chasing them. Then, I spotted Potter, clinging to his broom with just his hands as it attempted to buck him off.
"You could have Howard hit the Bludger chasing #7 toward Potter. It might knock him off his broom."
Victoria smirked evilly before relaying the instructions to both players.
We watched as Howard and another player peeled off from the pack, leading the Bludger toward Harry. Howard then slammed the Bludger straight at him.
Harry narrowly dodged it, letting go with one hand and twisting his body to the side. Cheers from the Gryffindors were deafening as he clung on by his fingertips.
One of the Weasley twins flew over to help, hoping to hit the Bludger away, but Victoria had planned for that.
"Howard, stick with it! Keep the Bludger occupied between the two!"
With the Gryffindors' attention split, we had a numbers advantage again.
Though they had brought in a replacement for the previous player, they were now down a Seeker and a Beater, while we had only lost one Beater.
The crowd watched in awe, the main game almost secondary to the battle between the Beaters and the Bludger with Harry caught in the middle.
Finally, Weasley knocked the Bludger away from Harry, creating a small window for him to pull himself back up. The Gryffindors roared in triumph.
I gave comments here and there, and our team steadily pulled ahead in points—until the game was suddenly concluded.
"Harry has done it! Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the Golden Snitch!" the announcer bellowed in excitement.
The rest of us groaned as Gryffindor snatched victory from nowhere.
"How long did we give you to find the Snitch!? Potter wasn't even looking for half the match!!" Victoria screamed at our Seeker while Draco, Pansy, and I silently left.