Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

The crowd that was filing in seemed to buzzing with electricity- the excitement of the first game of the year and the first game for the first years to watch was charged. Seventh years filed through the crowds, picking up all the bets trickling in one by one. Once someone bet four galleons on Slytherin, why, you just had to add seven sickles and two knuts for Gryffindor! Oliver Wood, Gryffindor captain, was nervously kicking at the ground, pointing at the few leaves in the wind, anything and everything that could affect the game was being accounted for and smothered out. Ten minutes left, seats almost gone, why, there wasn't more perfect conditions for a first game of the year besides this bright, sunny autumn day!

Rachel was sitting up in the Ravenclaw stands, wearing her usual uniform as thought to say she was neutral about her game opinion. She was sitting near that Amanda girl, who she had eventually befriended with time. She was looking down at the field happily, with a small pile of Chocolate Frogs in her lap. She held one up towards Amanda.

"Do you want one?" she asked.

Amanda's eyes lit up with glee, she loved chocolate frogs! At first she thought this Rachel girl was going just be an noted friend in the crowd, but her opinion the had a maintained quite a nice friendship.

She took the chocolate frog with a smile. "Thanks much!" She took a bite, quietly munching for a minute. "So who do you think will win?"

"Hmm..." Rachel looked down at the field, where the two team captains were shaking hands. She unwrapped a chocolate frog, and bit it's head off, as she was sizing up the two teams.

"Slytherin." she said firmly after swallowing the chocolate. "They have bigger guys on their team, and they're generally smarter than Gryffindors."

Amanda took that into consideration. "True, but I was talking to Harry earlier, and he's ten times less the size of the brute of a seeker Slytherin has. I expect Gryffindor to get the Snitch, but Slytherin to rank up some major points meanwhile." Amanda noticed one of the clubs of the Slytherin beaters, eyes wide as she took another bite of her frog. "And there will be quite a few bludgers hit."

Like any good little loyalist, Mél was seated dead-center on the Slytherin-biased side of the field. She had stuck a few green and silver flags through the tops of her pigtails, and was preparing to scream her little vocal chords to fray.

"Wow, you really know your Quidditch." said Rachel. Despite being a pureblood witch, Rachel had absolutely no interest in the sport. The only reason why she actually came to the game was because everyone else (include Muggle-borns) were going.

"I just judged them on how they looked, really." she admitted with a shrug.

Amanda shrugged. "My mum and dad never really took me to games, but Harry kind of forced me into the interest... Only way to get a half minute conversation sometimes." Amanda rolled her eyes, his interest to her was as silly as some mid-life-crisis men and cars to their wives.

"I guess you gotta do what you gotta do." she turned around to inspect the other Ravenclaws in the stands. "I wonder who's all here?" she inquired, half to herself.

Serenity plopped down next to Amanda and Rachel. She was bundled up- apparently she was sensitive to the cold. "When does this thing start, anyway?"

"It seems like-" Amanda jumped at Serenity plopping, she was a bit surprised. "Oh hey, Serenity! I think we have like five minutes or so until the game starts."

"I think in a few minutes-see, they're shaking hands, and now they're climbing onto their brooms, and now... OH, here we go!" she exclaimed, as the crowd begin to cheer very, very loudly.

Amanda stood up and clapped, waving her mini split flag of the two houses some seventh year was selling. It changed house emblems and colors every two minutes.

A louder cheer erupted- Slytherin already had control of the quaffle.

Mél's squealing harmonized with the roar emanating from the rest of the crowd.

Lena had gone to breakfast with absolutely no intention of going to the Quidditch match at all. But in an uncharacteristic act of spontaneity, she had decided to go watch the game. Now she sat down, in another uncharacteristic act of being social, next to the Serenity girl she had met at dinner one night.

"OH! Hi!" Rachel jumped to shake that poor girl who sat next to Serenity's arm excitedly. A new random stranger to befriend!

"I think I've seen you around before... are you a first year too?!"

"WHOOOOOOOO!" came an ear-popping shout from behind the girls, followed by the stamping of feet and clapping of hands in rhythm to a rising cheer. Gryffindor had just scored.

Lena almost jumped in surprise, her eyes widening in an involuntary response.
"Hi," she responded, somewhat breathlessly (from the walk to the Quidditch pitch). "Yes, I am a first year, too. My name is Lena. What's yours?" She was getting used to this socializing thing, and while still uncomfortable, it was becoming slightly less cringe-worthy.

"First year?!" came a rather nasally bout from the same being who'd just released that yawp. Leaning forward between Rachel and Amanda was a dark-skinned girl with rather thin, copper waves sprouting from under a crimson beanie. "I'm a first year, too!"

"Um, excuse me..." she muttered, stealthily moving away from the new arrival, to the other girl she was talking with originally. "Anyway, I'm Rachel." she reached out, and grabbed her hand, and proceeded to shake her entire arm up and down. "I'm a Ravenclaw, if you couldn't already tell. I like my house... my future boyfriend Toby is in it."

"WOOO!" screamed a girl from the Hufflepuff stalls as she jumped up and down cheering and stuff. "PEOPLE BE FLYING ON BROOMSTICKS TODAY!" she yelled, turning to look at the person next to her. She was totally excited for this.

Amanda greeted both of the news girls with the usual, 'Hi I'm Amanda nice to meet you' and then went back to standing up and flailing her arms, cheering extremely loud.

"Nice to meet you, Rachel," Lena said politely in her quiet voice. "I could tell you're a Ravenclaw by the, you know - scarf. I'm a Gryffindor." She wondered if she was expected to further question about Toby. She decided to anyway, because it was easier than trying to stare directly into the sun that hovered high in the sky, making it impossible to watch the Quidditch game. "Who's Toby?"

That other girl was still leaning between them, expecting to be acknowledged any moment now. "Who's Toby?" she echoed, her head craning towards Rachel.

"Oh, this guy in my house. He's a year older then us. And his real name is One but I call him Toby because his middle name is sort of similar to the name Toby and he's an albino. Isn't that neat?!" She then turned around and pointed at a boy that fit the description who was sitting up farther in the stands.