Chapter Text
The first year of Hogwarts passed in a blur. It took some getting used to at first, the magic and the potions and the talking portraits. But eventually, Emmeline fell into a routine of classes and meals and studying.
It was spring of First Year when Emmeline and Alice finally caved and went to a quidditch match. They had been purposefully avoiding it, since they both disliked sports. Not to mention, it drove Sirius crazy. Finally, the day before the final match of the year, Dorcas and her friend Marlene had convinced them to come see.
Secretly, Emmeline was excited to go. It was the kind of event her primary school friends would have talked about for months in advance. Sirius had promised to throw a big party if Gryffindor won and she could not wait.
The day of the match was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining bright in the sky as dozens of students poured into the quidditch stands. Emmeline and Alice were waiting until the crowds settled down so they would not seem too eager to watch the sports.
“Hurry up, loves!” Dorcas called from the bottom of the stairs. “We’re going to be late!”
“Coming!” Quickly, Emmeline slipped the tank top at the top of her trunk over her head and rushed out the door.
The three of them darted through the crowded common room and out of the castle into the bright sunlight.
“Perfect day for quidditch!” Dorcas exclaimed delightedly. “Do you two know where to go? I want to find Marlene!”
Alice glanced around. “Doesn’t seem that confusing. Just sit in the stands and cheer for the ones in red?”
Dorcas laughed. “Yeah, that about sums it up!” With a wave, she went sprinting through the crowd in search of Marlene.
“Shall we?” Emmeline asked, grinning at Alice.
Alice sighed. “Oh, alright let’s get this over with!”
The two friends slowly made their way through the crowd towards the field, stopping occasionally to talk to other first years they knew. As they passed a group of Gryffindor students, the two got odd looks.
“Why is everyone looking at me funny?” Emmeline asked, glancing around to see that it wasn’t only the Gryffindors staring at her, but several other students on the lawn.
Alice paused, looking around at the other students, then at Emmeline. A look of shock came over her face as she realized what was wrong.
“You’re wearing a shirt with Slytherin colors!”
Emmeline looked down to see that the shirt she was wearing was gold, black, and green striped.
“Oh, shit!” Emmeline exclaimed. How could she have ruined her first quidditch match by wearing a shirt with the colors of the team she was rooting against?
“Here, it’s fine.” Alice reassured her. “You can borrow my extra shirt.” Alice reached into her bag and pulled out a grey T-shirt that she quickly handed to Emmeline.
Emmeline took it eagerly. On any other day, she would find Alice’s insistence on carrying around a spare shirt annoying and unnecessary, but today she couldn’t be more grateful.
“Thanks!” She exclaimed, moving to pull it on over her other shirt.
“Hurry, put it on.” Alice directed. “We’re going to be late.”
Emmeline nodded, quickly slipping the shirt over her head. She looked down to see that the graphic on the shirt was a black and white print of the Beatles with the band name above them. She looked at Alice in confusion.
“You don’t even like the Beatles!”
Alice rolled her eyes. “Yes, but they’re your favorite.”
It was true. Ever since they had moved into their dorm together, Emmeline has covered her walls in Beatles merchandise and played her records on repeat. It drove Alice up the wall. She laughed, then smiled, not knowing what to say. Alice shyly smiled back, clearly embarrassed.
“How do I look?” Emmeline asked as she awkwardly pulled her hair out of her face.
Alice looked at her. “You look lovely.” The two met eyes and Emmeline felt her face heat up. Alice cleared her throat. “Like an annoying prick who won’t stop talking about the Beatles.”
Emmeline chuckled, scrunching her nose in faux annoyance. “Oh, shut it!”
Alice laughed. “Never!”
“Oh, c’mon, let’s go!” Emmeline began walking towards the quidditch pitch.
“Race you!” Alice exclaimed, sprinting in front of her.
The two of them darted around the students on the lawn, laughing and pushing each other out of the way. Eventually, they made their way to the Quidditch pitch, both out of breath from running. Wheezing, they made their way up into the stands.
“Emmeline!” Sirius called out from where he was sitting with two of the other boys from the train. “Oh, erm, Alice? Right?”
Alice rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m Alice.”
“Right! Well, you remember Remus and Pete!” He gestured to his friends. Remus was sitting next to Sirius, reading a book, while Peter was excitedly cheering for the players on the field getting ready.
“Weren’t there four of you?” Alice asked.
“Why yes, Miss Fortescue, there were!” Sirius pulled the two girls towards the edge of the stands where he pointed to one of the players on the field. “That right there is our Jamie Boy! One of the youngest Chasers Gryffindor has ever seen!”
“Wow!” Alice replied, sarcastically. “Impressive.”
Sirius seemed unfazed. “You bet it is impressive! James is going to go down as one of the best Quidditch players in history!”
“I can’t wait to watch him throw balls around on a broomstick!” Alice deadpanned.
Before Sirius could respond, a voice came over the field announcing the game was about to start. Sirius gestured to two seats next to his friends and Emmeline hurriedly sat in the one next to him, leaving Alice to sit next to Remus.
“How does this work, again?” Emmeline whispered to Sirius.
Grinning, Sirius launched into an explanation of all the rules and regulations in Quidditch. He explained the point system (which Emmeline found dumb), the strategy (which Emmeline barely understood), and the famous players (which Emmeline instantly forgot about). Every once and a while, Sirius would let out a whoop or a cheer when James did something particularly great. Although she barely understood what was happening, Emmeline had a wonderful time. She enjoyed talking to Sirius and she loved the feeling of community that the game seemed to bring. By the time Sirius finished explaining the rules, Emmeline was laughing and cheering alone with everyone else. She would cheer whenever Gryffindor scored and boo whenever Slytherin did.
About an hour into the match, she looked over at Alice. She had not noticed, but her friend had not moved from her seat since the game started. Emmeline sat back down.
“Hey, are you ok?”
“Of course!” Alice replied. “This is just...not really my thing.”
“Oh, right, yes. Sorry for making you come along.”
“Don’t apologize! I’m glad you’re having fun! It makes me happy to see that you are happy!”
Emmeline smiled, shyly. “Oh...well...I’m glad you are happy.”
“Thank you.”
“And thank you for the shirt, too! Sirius said he had some Beatles records in his room that we could listen to together!”
Alice looked down. “Well, that is wonderful. I’m happy I could help.”
Emmeline smiled wider. “Oh! Before we forget, we need to take a polaroid! Our first Quidditch match, right?”
“Yes! A polaroid!” Alice rummaged around in her bag. “I’d nearly forgotten!”
“I hadn’t!”
Alice pulled out the camera. “Ah, here we are!” She said, propping it up in front of them.
“Smile!” Emmeline exclaimed.
Alice smiled. Emmeline liked Alice’s smile. She smiled even more.