Losing Makes You Stronger

[Dominik Milne]

Dominik sat on one of the wooden benches in the courtyard along with the other students, waiting eagerly for Grace and the rest of the Beauxbatons Quidditch team to return from their match against Hogwarts. He had managed to borrow some face paint from a fellow sixth year who'd also decided to paint their face with the school's colours - he had also borrowed black face paint from that same students to write 'Go Grace' onto his forehead in block letters, just as he told her he would. It saddened him that they weren't allowed to come with the team to cheer them on, as he had been really looking forward to doing so, but figured that having to wait for the team to come back to the school to find out whether or not they had won the match would be fine as well. Because Dom had no idea as to when the team would arrive, he had brought some of his notes with him so he could learn for the upcoming exams whilst waiting for them to return.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grae was miserable, absolutely miserable. Her team seemed quiet as well, and she hadn't known what to say to them after the miserable match they had. The game had barely lasted any time at all, under an hour, and then they had lost. She loved Quidditch but it sometimes felt like the hard work of the chasers could be so easily removed by a single lucky seeker, and their seeker had been unlucky.

She walked through the courtyard dejectedly, hoping to get to her room quickly so she could shut herself in there. She hadn't even gotten to enjoy her stay at Hogwarts, it had been very short. She hadn't seen her cousins or much of the school, they had just been there to be beaten. From the corner of her eye she noticed someone and she looked up to see Dominik, his face made up the way he had promised. It made her even sadder, he clearly believed in her and she had let him down too. A part of her wanted to just walk on and pretend she hadn't seen him, but she knew that wouldn't be right. He was waiting for her, at least she assumed so, she might as well give him some of her time even if she wanted to cry in her bedroom on her own. She took a seat next to him. "The make-up suits you." She said, her voice glum. "But you might want to wipe it off, we lost." She bit her lip, not meeting his eye. "It was over in no time, I'm glad you didn't see it."

 

[Dominik Milne]

Dominik looked up from the notes he was reading when he noticed that someone was approaching him. His lips curled into a smile when he saw that it was Grace, glad to see that she and the team had returned from New Zealand. ''Hey there, Cap.'' he said, his voice ever so cheerful. It seemed like there was something off about her as she took a seat next to him, which only made him want to know the result of the match even more. Grace had mostly been cheery every time they spoke to one another, but she didn't look like her usual self at the moment. He frowned for a moment, hoping that instead of thinking the obvious, she was just tired from the match and the ride back to the school. Dom chuckled slightly when she made a comment about his blue-and-gold painted face, though noticed the tone in which she said it. His eyes widened at what she said next. ''What?'' he said out of surprise. And just like that, his cheerful mood faded. He hadn't expected them to lose the game so the news that they had lost felt like a slap in the face. For a second Dominik watched his friend in silence as he tried to come up with something to say to Grace that would somehow cheer her up. He knew how much winning the game against Hogwarts meant to her, as it had been one of the only things she could talk about in the days leading up to the match, knew how many hours she and the team had put into training, preparing themselves for that one moment. However, no matter how hard he tried to come up with the words, he remained speechless. Eventually, Dominik adjusted his position on the bench and moved his body to face his friend. He sighed before saying, ''Do you want to talk about it?''

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace grimaced at the utter surprise in Dominik's voice. He had really and truly believed they would win, and she had just let him down too along with the rest of her team and the school. She knew she wasn't really responsible for their loss of the game, but she felt like maybe it had been her fault in the end. Had they picked the wrong seeker? The girl had been unable to play which might have been a contribution to this disaster. Honestly, she wasn't sure what had caused it. Emma had done fine, the other seeker had just been incredibly fast. She could tell Dominik didn't know what to say, and she didn't look at him. When he asked if she wanted to talk about it she laughed hollowly. "I'm going to have to, everyone will ask about it. They'll all want detailed reports, since no one could see it for themselves. That was honestly a blessing in this case. They scored first, then Brendan managed to score for us and just when I was starting to feel like we might get ahead, their stupid seeker caught the stupid snitch." She knew she was being childish but she couldn't help it. With one hand she rubbed her face, still not turning his head to him. "I just feel like I let everyone down. We might never get a chance like this again and it was over in a flash."

 

[Dominik Milne]

Dominik listened quietly as she told him about the Quidditch match and then about how she felt because of it. ''Hey.'' the boy said after a moment of silence while trying to get eye contact with Grace. ''It might be a bump in the road, but it is not the end of the road, you have got to remember that. I know it sucks but Grace, I'm sure all of you did your best out there. You and the team will get another chance like this, of that I am certain. And you shouldn't worry about whether or not you have let everyone down, they don't blame you - nobody blames anyone because no matter how much it sucks, it's part of the game and people understand that.'' the sixth year told her convincingly. Dominik wasn't sure if what he told her would help at all but he hoped it would, he couldn't see her beaten down like this.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace sighed and smiled weakly at his words, she knew he meant well. "It's a road that's nearing its end, though." She said miserably. "We're graduating around this time next year, and I don't kid myself into believing I'm good enough to play professionally. This is my last chance to really do something. And maybe we won't be invited back at all, which means this was it." She scowled. "This was it and I messed it up." She finally looked at him. "Even if no one else blames me, I do." She said quietly. "But you're sweet... Thank you. I'm sorry, I'm not the best company right now." The sight of his made up face gave her heart a twinge, she thought it looked cute in a goofy way but it was also a reminder of the faith he'd had in her, which turned out to have been misplaced.

 

[Dominik Milne]

Dominik gave Grace a confusing look. ''Did you get hit by a Bludger or something? I have seen you play during practice, and I am pretty sure that you are good enough to play professionally.'' Dom said truthfully. If someone on that team would make it as a professional Quidditch player then it'd be Grace for sure seeing how passionate she was about the sport. ''Okay, that's is, I don't want to hear about you blaming yourself anymore,'' he said abruptly and stood up. Dominik had a feeling that Grace would continue to blame herself if she was giving the chance to do so, so held out his hand for her to grab it. ''Come, I need help practising spells for the Charms exam because I'm pretty shitty at them.'' the sixth year told her with a smile. ''And I am not taking no for an answer.'' He hoped that a distraction would get her mind off of Quidditch for a while.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Dominik telling her she could play professionally warmed Grace's heart more than she could admit to. She had never told anyone, but it was her secret dream. Her parent's wouldn't approve of that, though, and she was running out of time before graduation. It was a lost dream, probably, but she couldn't help clinging to it. She knew her father wanted her to go into the ministry, and that was a lot steadier than the life of a professional Quidditch player.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Dominik stood up and held out his hand. She looked up at him in confusion until he explained. "Charms?" She asked, blinking. Then she cracked a smile. It was pretty obvious what he was doing, but she really appreciated it. "Who says I'm not way worse than you?" She said as she took his hand. "Or am I just going to be the target for your practice? I'm not sure if I agree with that." But she didn't let go, happy to let him distract her from her worries.

 

[Dominik Milne]

His goofy smile appeared on his face when she took his hand. ''Have you seen me during Charms class? I'm a mess. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up hurting myself because of how bad I am.'' Dom told Grace. ''No, no, don't be ridiculous, you won't be a target the whole time,'' he said, shaking his head with a grin. ''I'll let you practice on me as well if you are really worse than I am.'' Dominik added whilst gently pulling her off the wooden bench. ''Also, if you don't mind, we have to stop by the lavatory real quick so I can wash the face paint off my face.'' And with that Dom led them towards the castle.