Chapter Text
“No way! That can't be legal!” Anne shouted indignantly as Cathy had to dodge another bludger, allowing a Hufflepuff chaser to score another goal.
Lina rolled her eyes. She'd been trying to tell Anne about Jane's skills for weeks, but as all practices were closed, it was the first time the seeker had seen her cousin in action.
Jane had been on the team for a year and a half - replacing one of Hufflepuff’s beaters a few months before the end of her second year - but Anne had never bothered to attend quidditch games until she decided to try out.
And she was an obvious choice, much to Catalina's chagrin. The chaser was in Jane’s year, but had somehow become reluctant frenemies with Anne a few years prior - mostly because her cousin had befriended Anne and Jane’s little cousin, Kat.
“As if! This is quidditch! There aren't any rules!” Anna cackled gleefully, shouting and hollering her support as Jane sent another bludger flying towards a Ravenclaw chaser.
That wasn't strictly true, but in fairness, the rules were pretty fast and loose. Though Madam Hooch was definitely not the type to let too many dirty plays go by without reprimand.
“Seymour is deadass just that good!” Anna shouted as she jumped out of her seat punching the air victoriously.
Catalina wasn't sure how Anna had come to be in their little friend group, but she was pleased she was. The Gryffindor was bright and charismatic, always willing to lend a hand to someone in need or welcome someone who seemed lost or alone. If she were being honest, Lina wouldn't have imagined herself being friends with someone so genuine and friendly, but Anna had an air about her that you just couldn't help but love.
“Really, Anne? I told you you should have come to at least a game or two last year so you would be prepared!” The older Slytherin chastised with a roll of her eyes.
Kat, let out a ridiculous cackle at the irritable huff Anne gave. Her cousin had always insisted there was no need to watch the games when she could be training to be playing the games. Having grown closer to Jane over the last two years, Kat had seen her oldest cousin play, though, and she couldn't help but laugh at Anne's dramatics.
“You know she's never, ever hit anyone before.” Kat added on, her gaze returning to the game.
Well, that was mostly true. There had been a few players who thought they'd try and stare the beater down. Unsurprisingly, they'd had a fair stint in the hospital wing afterward. But every player had more than enough time and notice to dodge a bludger the blonde sent barreling towards them. If they chose not to, well, it was a choice they made, because Jane never made any dirty or illegal plays - even when other teams took cheap shots at her.
Anne scowled as another bludger went whizzing by a Ravenclaw chaser, causing them to drop the Quaffle into the waiting hands of a Hufflepuff chaser who then sent the ball flying through the goalposts.
“There's no way she's that good! She has to be charming the bludgers or something!” Anne retorted.
Her comment earned her a whack on the back of the head from the other Slytherin, “Please, you know as well as I that Jane doesn't do that.” She said with a scoff.
Anne shoved her back, rolling her eyes, “Ew, stop! Just because you like her doesn't mean you have to always be on her side! You're a Slytherin not a Hufflepuff!!”
Shrugging, Lina turned back to the game as well, tuning out her three companions as they continued bickering back and forth.
Instead, her gaze followed the blonde as she flew around the pitch, sending bludgers flying this way and that with strong, sure movement and pinpoint accuracy. Despite being competitors, Lina couldn't help but be awed by her performance - Jane was incredibly skilled. That said, there really was no denying Anne's accusation.
The Slytherin had been enamored with Jane since they had met on the Hogwarts Express four years prior and still hadn't managed to muster the courage to ask her out - something that Anne and Anna teased her about relentlessly. To which, of course, she always had a quip or comeback to put them in their place.
But in fairness, she really did need to toughen up and ask the blonde out to Hogsmeade soon. According to one of her roommates, Henry Tudor - a seventh year Slytherin - had his sights set on Jane. And rumour had it that the blonde didn't seem to be rebuffing his advances with as much conviction these days - though she certainly wasn't inviting them, either.
“You have to tell her, you know. Like, soon .”
Lina almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of Kat’s voice far closer than she expected.
“That seventh year boy, he keeps asking her out and I think she's getting tired of turning him down.” The second year whispered, her eyes darting nervously towards where the boy in question was sitting with his friends, a smarmy air of arrogance rolling off him like the stench of rotten eggs.
Tudor was the epitome of everything that was wrong with Slytherin House. He embodied all of the worst traits, living up to all of the stereotypes that had given Slytherins such a bad reputation for so long.
And if that weren't enough reason for Lina to hate him, he was an absolute sleaze bag with a reputation for having a weird interest in younger girls. He'd even had the audacity to try and approach her earlier in the year. He seemed to relish in the “challenge” she presented. Though, once he realized that she wasn't giving an inch on her rejection of him, it seemed that he'd set his sights on the Hufflepuff.
So far, Jane had been holding her ground, but despite her unyielding demeanor on the quidditch pitch, Lina knew that she had trouble saying no, least of all to people as insistent as Tudor.
“I- I know. I will,” Lina stuttered, hating how her face flushed with embarrassment. “I will,” She repeated, mostly to herself.
Kat didn't look quite convinced, but Lina knew the younger girl was still quite intimidated by her - despite her best efforts to tone down her “resting bitch face” as Anna always called it.
Giving her the most friendly smile she could muster, she nodded at her gratefully, “Thank you, Katherine. Really.”
The Hufflepuff’s face lit up with a wide smile, and Lina couldn't help but notice how similar she looked to her cousin at that moment. Despite the fact that Kat physically looked like Anne the most, she had an air of genuine kindness about her that was so similar to Jane's.
A moment later, Anne hollered for her, and Kat went skittering away, but not before sending her a little wave.
Chuckling to herself, Lina turned her attention back to the blonde beater, startling slightly when she realized that those clear, blue eyes were staring directly at her.
Feeling bold, Lina waved and blew her a kiss, laughing as she watched Jane do a double take, her flush noticeable from the stands to even those who didn't have the Slytherin’s excellent eyesight.
Beside her, Anna gave a loud wolf whistle, and Anne was cackling at the ridiculously smitten look on Lina’s face. But despite the teasing she knew she'd been enduring for the rest of the match - at the very least - she certainly didn't mind.
The thought of asking Jane on a date next weekend at Hogsmeade suddenly didn't feel quite as nerve wracking.