chapter eleven ; the chelmondistion charge
1976

"SIRIUS WAS LOOKING AT YOU AGAIN, TEMPEST," MARLENE GRINNED AS TEMPEST SLID INTO HER SEAT AT THE GRYFFINDOR TABLE. She was clad in her quidditch gear, her newly chopped hair pulled back into two French braids and her eyes droopy in exhaustion. She flashed her friend an unimpressed expression, clearly not bothered by the bare-faced lie. 

"You don't know what you're talking about, McKinnon," she grumbled, reaching across the table to pick up a piece of toast. Marlene chuckled as she pushed over the plate of jam in the chaser's direction, clearly unfazed by the dismissal she had received. She had heard Tempest awake in the early hours of the morning, clearly quite stressed about her performance in the first quidditch game of the year. It didn't help that everyone kept talking about the game, raising expectations for one of the only girls on the team. 

"Hey, I'm sure it'll be fine today," Lily reached over and patted Tempest's shoulder, her calming nature bringing a sort of serenity to the atmosphere of the table. Tempest sighed and buried her face in her hands, chewing on her breakfast despite the fact that it made her feel sick. Lily and Marlene exchanged worried expressions, as their friend usually wasn't so anxious before games, but there was a lot of pressure on the backs of the Gryffindor team, especially since they had won the tournament last year. Also, the fact that Tempest's mother had taken a day off work to view the game was eating the poor girl alive."You guys are a great team, and though I hate to praise the boy, you and James work so well together."

Tempest couldn't help but smile a little at how Lily's voice softened once she mentioned James' name, as if she didn't want anyone to hear her speaking positively about their classmate. She avoided the boy where she could, but since he was in their house, their year and their wider friend group, it proved almost impossible. 

Before she could reply, Marlene quickly interrupted, a broad smile on her face. She had just noticed James, Remus, Sirius and Peter get up from where they were eating their breakfast and head in their direction. "Speaking of Sirius--"

"No one was speaking of Sirius," Tempest muttered, reaching for her cup of water. Marlene smirked a little, her hands linking together before her. Tempest paused as the edge of the goblet reached her lips, looking up at her mischievous friend. "What are you planning, Marlene?"

"Oh, nothing," the brunette smiled, sharing a glance with Lily, who chuckled softly. "It's just that you've been looking a little lonely since the start of term. Maybe it's time to finally set you up with someone."

"And that someone is Sirius Black?" Tempest responded with raised eyebrows, clearly disinterested. She looked between her two Gryffindor friends in an indifferent manner, before setting her drink down and crossing her arms. "Listen, he's my friend, and we only started using that title a year and a half ago after her promised to stop stealing my socks."

"But he's pretty handsome, isn't he?" Marlene pressed on, her voice getting quieter as the boys drew nearer. Tempest furrowed her eyebrows and scoffed. 

"Sure, but do you really want to become part of the girlfriend tally he keeps in his charms notebook?" She retorted, and Marlene only smiled in response, clearly enjoying how easily the girl's buttons were to push. "Honestly, it's quite pathetic?"

"What's pathetic?" James' voice piped up, and Marlene looked over the shoulders of Lily and Tempest with a bright expression. She found the fact that both of her counterparts weren't impressed with the group of boys highly amusing, which she often used to her advantage. Though Tempest was clearly closer to the group (who were trying to decide a title), she herself had always remained on relatively good terms with them. "I hope you weren't talking about me."

Lily muttered something under her breath, and Tempest smiled a little. 

"Morning, James. Are you looking forward to the game today?" Marlene asked, though her eyes were stuck to Sirius, who climbed over the bench to sit next to Tempest. He had latched onto her significantly more this year, especially after hearing about her situation at home (and the fact that she had cut her hair, so it looked similar to his own). 

"Yeah, I reckon it's gonna be great, don't you, Pest?" James nudged Tempest's shoulder, and she shrugged tiredly. Sirius reached over and grabbed another piece of toast, shoving it in his mouth without care. "We're the greatest team in Hogwarts, didn't you see us play last year?"

"You alright?" Sirius muttered quietly, just so that Tempest could hear. She was poking at her half eaten breakfast, clearly not in the mood. That had been the situation all term so far, which was quite unfortunate, seeing as tempest used to be more lively. 

"I'm fine," she whispered, and he sighed, reaching under the table and squeezing her hand. It lasted only a second, but it was comforting enough. Though the two hadn't gotten off to the greatest start, their only thing in common being their friendship with James, it was clear that they mutually cared about each other in their own strange way. 

And Marlene McKinnon was loving every second of it.

★☆

Tempest hadn't pulled her broomstick up once. It was an hour into the game and she hardly knew the score, she was so focused on keeping the quaffle out of Ravenclaw's hands. Her and James were working perfectly in sync, as they had done for the last few years -- nothing had changed but the fact that they no longer threw quips back and forth, and they instead no longer felt the need to talk while they played. 

"Thatcher, look out!" She heard one of her teammates yell, and she quickly dove down after hearing the whooshing sound of an incoming bludger. Her eyes were darting around her as she watched out for James, eventually spotting him swerving the beaters on his tail. She drew up and began flying at a good distance from him, both players aiming for the goal. Without warning, James flung the large ball in her direction and she caught it with ease, tucking it under one arm and leaning forward to gain speed. She then dodged the keeper and threw the quaffle into the centre hoop, a loud ding ringing through the stadium.

The thought of her mother being in the audience had crossed her mind a few times throughout the game, though she tried not to concentrate on the alarming fact. She didn't want to mess up and embarrass herself, she'd hate herself for eternity. She wanted to make her mother proud, rather than give her another reason to think of her as the least competent of the three children. 

The fact that her mother was watching was also another worry for the Gryffindor, as she was a muggle. Though she knew about the wizarding world and was able to have access to the games, if she opened her mouth she would most likely be attacked by any fanatic pureblood on site. Seeing as tensions were high due to the war outside Hogwarts, those who were muggle-borns weren't as favourable. Lily was constantly being bullied for her blood 'impurity', and there wasn't a lot she could do about it. 

The war was something Tempest had been relatively sheltered from. It had been going on for nearly six years, and it hadn't had much of a direct impact on her. She knew that some of the seventh years had gone on to either join or fight against the likes of the risen Lord Voldemort, including that of the former Prefect Lucius Malfoy, who had once helped Tempest find her way to the potions classroom in her first year. 

Seeing as she lived in a muggle household over summer and other holidays, she had no idea the toll the war had taken on the Wizarding world. She knew that Edward and Tanusha had taken a role in fighting against the cause, the former working with training animals to fight and carry messages, and the latter working undercover to arrest 'Death Eaters'. Tempest wanted to know more about it so that she could help, but whenever she entered the room, conversations about the topic seemed to cease.

Tempest felt herself slow down on her broom as her mind suddenly began to entangle in the thought of war. She started thinking about how Caradoc Dearborn's father died only two weeks ago, and how Edgar Bones' sister had disappeared over summer. She looked around and saw her cheering classmates, her teachers and friends. She saw James briefly glance over from the edge of the field and pause for the shortest of seconds, noticing how she had frozen. 

"Thatcher!" He yelled out, and Tempest jumped a little, snapping out of her daze. Her eyes rested on him and she furrowed her eyebrows as she remembered where she was. Her heart was beating, and she felt her cheeks flare up, before she took off again, hazily trying to figure out where the quaffle was. A chaser from the Ravenclaw team flew past her with the ball in hand, and it took her a second to turn and follow. 

"Ravenclaw: one hundred and forty five, Gryffindor: one hundred and sixty. Both seekers are in pursuit of the snitch. It's anyone's game now..."

Tempest felt as if everything were spinning around her. She didn't know what was going on -- her chest was rising and falling and her head was pounding. This had never happened before, and she felt as though she was going to be sick. With her eyes darting in every direction, she tried to concentrate every piece of her body and mind on the game, as if it were her saving grace. 

"Calm down, Tempest," she exhaled as she shot through the field, trying to talk herself out of whatever anxiety she was feeling. Her stare was now locked on the quaffle that was now in the Michael McClaggen, the third Gryffindor chaser's grasp, and she rushed towards their end of the field, ready to aid when he needed it. 

"Thatcher!" McLaggen eventually yelled as he was cornered off by two beaters. Tempest reached her hands up and caught the oddly shaped ball, before lowering one hand to steer her broom. She was about fifteen metres from the goalpost, but since she was in the inner circle, she couldn't have any support from her fellow chasers. 

Her heartbeat picked up once more as she heard the sound of a bludger hitting a bat, and she furrowed her eyebrows, knowing what was about to happen. She held her breath, pushed herself onto her feet, balancing herself, then leaping off and punching the quaffle into the goal post. 

Before she could see if it went in, she felt an immense impact suddenly hit her right side, sending her tumbling towards the ground. Her breath quickly left her body and the screams of the audience filled her ears as she shot downwards, her broom following her. Her eyes involuntarily shut as pain overcame her, and she felt herself fall unconscious before she could hit the hard surface of the grass.

★☆

"She's waking up!" 

"Sirius, move over!"

"Hey, I was here first, McKinnon!"

"By Merlin, would you two stop?! Tempest shouldn't have to wake up to you two arguing at the end of her bed?"

"Sorry, Lily."

Tempest groaned softly as she stirred, her eyes fluttering open. The sunlight above her hurt her head and her face scrunched up, trying to adjust to the environment. Her mind was hazy and her entire right side was aching. 

"Tempest! How are you feeling?" Peter gasped out as he noticed her head move, and Tempest grimaced as a number of heads entered her line of vision. "Are you okay? How's your arm? Your hip? Madame Pomfrey said you'd be in here another couple of days but I'm sure you'll be fine in no time-"

"Hi, Peter," Tempest mumbled, feeling a set of arms wrap around her, helping her set up. She looked over and saw that they belonged to Sirius, who was sat right at her bedside, Marlene right behind him. At the end of her bed was Lily, Fergus, Willa and Remus, while Peter and James were at her other side. "Morning everyone."

"It's four o'clock in the afternoon," Remus deadpanned, causing Lily to nudge him in the side. 

"Are you feeling alright?" James quickly interjected, reaching to touch her left arm softly. Tempest nodded, though she felt like absolute rubbish. James was wearing his regular school robes, which made her a little confused.

"What day is it?" She asked, trying to reach up to scratch her head, before yelping in pain. Her right hand was settled in a sling on her chest, and she looked down to see that it was throbbing and purple. Her friends all jumped at the agonising hurt she was clearly in, though since Sirius was closest, he rested his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. 

"Careful, Pomfrey's only just finished repairing the four breaks in that arm," he muttered, and she winced, trying to brush away the shooting pain. "And to answer your question, it's Wednesday."

"But the game was on Saturday..." Tempest trailed off, before groaning and burying her head further in the soft pillow she was rested on. Her eyes squeezed shut, she prepared herself for the bad news. "Did we lose?"

"On the contrary," James responded, and Tempest pulled a face of confusion, her eyes shooting back open to look at him curiously. A grin was spread upon his face, trying to defuse the depressing situation. "After you got knocked out, Ravenclaw took the lead, and almost an hour later, Collins caught the snitch and we won by twenty-five points! Also, you got an honourable mention for how you scored your final goal -- McGonagall said she's only ever seen four students attempt the Chemondiston Charge since she started working at Hogwarts, and it's only been successful twice! You're a living legend, Thatcher!"

"Really?" Tempest's voice was now hopeful, a relieved smile on her face, though it faded a moment later. Humiliation quickly seeped through her bones, and she exhaled softly. "What did my mother say?"

"We didn't get to speak to her," Marlene responded sadly, knowing how much Tempest wanted to prove herself. The girl in the hospital bed shrunk back a little and her smile faded slightly, not having enough energy to fake a positive attitude. A few of her friends exchanged glances, though Marlene chose to continue speaking. "But she was here! After you fell off your broom, she stayed with you for a few hours before she...had to leave again."

"She was worried about you, Tempest," Willa assured her, attempting to offer comfort. "She's just busy, that's all."

"A bunch of people sent you gifts, Pest," James changed the subject after noticing Tempest's mood change. He charged forward after scooping up some trinkets placed at the end of her bed, scattering them on the sheets. "You've got four chocolate frogs, a pack of Bertie Botts, some fizzing whizzbees, liquorice wands, and at least three packs of jelly slugs. You shouldn't expect anything different when you won the game for us."

Tempest was grateful for the gifts -- she really was -- but she also noticed Peter eyeing the fizzing whizzbees, which was why she didn't hesitate in opening her mouth. "Go ahead, Pettigrew."

Just as Peter dove into her food with the scoffs of everyone else in the background, Madame Pomfrey quickly inserted herself into the group. "Ah, Miss Thatcher, you're awake. I heard about what happened to you -- silly game, Quidditch. I expect you to remain in my care for the next two days, then you may return to your classes in just your sling. Your bones are healed, but are still fragile, so I want you to get plenty of rest. That means visiting times are over, and I want all of you gone!"

"Can we please stay?" Sirius asked, his eyes wide and pleading, which was quite out of the ordinary for the boy who cared so much about his image. Marlene smirked a little. "We'll be quiet this time, promise."

"Last time one of your group was in the hospital wing, you set the bedsheets on fire," Pomfrey retorted, to which James grinned sheepishly. "You're lucky I'm allowing you in now. So, if you don't mind, leave Miss Thatcher to recover in peace."

A few members of the group groaned, and Sirius pushed himself off the chair at Tempest's side, glancing down to look at her. He sighed loudly and patted her on the head, before following the rest of the sixth years outside. "See you later, Onyx."

★☆

aw.

also the chelmondiston charge is an actual quidditch move!! fun fact yo

tell me what you thought, i'm really enjoying writing both the past and the present chapter which is why i'm updating so frequently over the last few days! which do you prefer (past or present chapters)??