Open What's the point?

[Veronica Walden-Cade]

Quidditch was over for another year and Veronica couldn’t believe how poor the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been all year and it had only furthered her disillusionment with the team. Veronica wasn’t arrogant enough to think that her being in the team would have massively changed the teams fortunes, but her and Alicia being overlooked for a second year only proved to her that Raawhiti wasn’t up to the job as captain and never had been. Thankfully, he wouldn’t be returning for another year but at that point, Veronica wasn’t sure if she would be either. Why should she? She was continuously being overlooked and belittled and she had no confidence that whoever took over would treat her any differently.

Veronica stood on the edge of the Quidditch pitch looking out over a place she only got to fully experience during practice. Would she ever fly on the pitch for real? Would she even bother trying again? She didn’t know. It wasn’t a decision she had to make just yet, she had more important things to dwell on in the meantime.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

In the blink of an eye, the school year was coming to an end and Teddy was kind of proud he’d kept it all together with a full timetable, running the Brotherhood, winning the dueling tournament, and, of course, playing quidditch. After the Ravenclaw match, he’d been focused on homework that he hadn’t been down to the pitch since. It felt strange not being there and he missed the training sessions now the season was over. Their last match had gone well for Teddy, he'd saved every quaffle and avoided Audrey's bludgers for once. Third place overall was disappointing for the team, but it was the best they could have hoped for from the game so he was content with it.

Deciding to make time to visit the Quidditch pitch again, he grabbed his Turbo XXX broom and planned to fly it fast because he didn’t get to do that enough as keeper. The pitch was quiet when he arrived, well except for Veronica who was staring out to at it. Teddy thought Veronica was a bit weird because the vibe he got from her was that she hated him but he wasn't sure why. Teddy decided to brake the silence with, “What are you doing?” interrupting whatever grand thoughts she was having.

 

[Veronica Walden-Cade]

He was the last person she expected and the last one she wanted to appear, but she shouldn’t have been surprised. It was common knowledge that Teddy liked to practice by himself, it was one of the reasons he was so good, which she’d never admit out loud. The sound of his voice incited a visceral reaction in her but the only thing she allowed herself to do was roll her eyes.

Teddy carried his obnoxious broom that he wouldn’t shut up about, the one he had bought from her uncle’s shop. It wasn’t even that good, at least she didn’t think so. It was fast sure, but that didn’t matter as much for keepers. “Why is it that every time I turn around your stupid face is looking back at me,”. She sighed. Teddy probably had no idea what she was talking about, but he was everywhere! He took her spot on the team, relegating her to an alternate which had continued to a second year, the second time wasn’t his fault but she wouldn’t have had to try out for chaser if not for him! He was the Gryffindor golden boy, her father loved him, he won the most house points, excelled in all the classes, his stupid hair looked stupid when it caught a gentle breeze. He was so stupid. “Can’t I have a moment to myself without you just…there?”

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy wasn't overly surprised by Veronica’s hostility, though he was surprised that she thought he had a stupid face and that he was always behind her because thar was just ridiculous. They were in the same house, played on the same team and shared the same classes, and yeah Teddy sometimes sat behind Veronica in those classes so technically was behind her, but not in a creepy way like she was implying. Honestly, Teddy thought about Veronica no more than anyone else, he'd even go as far as to say that he rarely thought of her at all.

Still, he decided to handle her hostility the only way he knew how, with dry humour. “Isn’t it obvious?” he retorted lightly, letting a small pause hang in the air as he flipped his stupid hair away from his eyes. “It’s because I’m completely in love with you, Veronica.” The words came out so casually, he didn’t think he needed to overplay the sarcasm because Veronica would know he was joking. But just in case, he threw in a playfully wounded look. “You don’t have to be mean about it though.”

 

[Veronica Walden-Cade]

Veronica would have been prepared for a lot of things to come out of Teddy’s mouth. Something sarcastic, perhaps even for him to have no idea what he was talking about. But that. That she hadn’t expected and all she could do in that moment is blush deeply and look away from and at anything else. The clouds were nice, there were a lot of them and it made the sky look dreary, but it was nice in a distracting you from the cute boy kind of way.

“You’re just saying that so I’ll stop being mean to you,” Veronica couldn’t look at him. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to look at anyone ever again. “What are you doing here anyway?”