➪ BURNT SEPIA ➪

"PRINCESS, I'M HURT!"

"Sirius, she already told us she wasn't going to support our house, stop acting like it's a surprise," Remus sighed.

The two boys, with Peter tagging behind as he tried to fix his clothes, had miraculously run into the girl on her way to the Great Hall. At the sight of her decked out Hufflepuff outfit from the last match, Sirius had called out loudly. It resulted in Peter jumping, and Loki flushing deeply. The dark-haired boy walked up to her, examinig each article of clothing before pulling away with a frown.

"How can I work with an artist who betrayed me?" Sirius tsked.

"I--it's not all Hufflepuff, actually," she muttered. Peter looked up, cocking his head in question at her statement. "Lily Evans offered to lend me an extra scarf because she thought that I could support both houses."

"Hmm," Remus hummed, his lips threatening to break out in a grin.

Loki frowned, Suddenly, she felt slighlty self conscious of her outfit, despite the positive look on the boy's face. The girl quickly covered her stomach with her arms as she turned her gaze down.

"What side are you going to be standing on?" Peter's voice inquired. Loki peeked up and shrugged. "If you want you can stand with Remus and me in the stands. I mean, you don't have any other friends in Hufflepuff , do you?"

"Merlin's Beard, Wormtail!" Sirius exclaimed. "You cant just ask people if they have any frineds or not!"

"No, no, no, it's fine," Loki interjected, quickly coming to Peter's aid. "He was just pointing out the obvious. There's no harm in it." Remus pulled some sort of face, and Loki glanced over to him, noticiing the odd emotion that covered his face. When he noticed her stare, he broke out into a grin once more.

"Yeah, Loki can join," he replied. "We should get to the Great Hall, first, however. I don't think James is going to be very happy with you, Sirius if you don't get anything to eat before the game." He brought up his hand to Sirius's back and gave it a few pats, silently telling the boy to move. The began to walk in the direction of the Great Hall, but Remus made sure to grab the girl's arm before they left her behind. He smiled widely at her. "Come on, Loki."

➪

"It's Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff! Potter versus Jones! Even though Jones isn't team captain, but who cares?" Loki smiled at the ever familiar voice of Stanley Elton coming in through the pitch. She let out a small whoop, Peter joining her, as the two teams spilled ont the pitch. "After that last victory against Ravenclaw we can be sure that Jones is feeling cocky." Even from up here Loki could tell her best friend had a smug look on his face. "Madame Hooch prepares the balls as the teams get in their positions. Oh, up goes the Snitch, then the Bludgers. And finally--" a piercing whistle sounded from the grass below, cutting Stanley off "--the Quaffle!"

Next thing anyone knew, both teams had kicked off. Nicolas immediately flew high above the pitch, easily beating Gryffindor's Seeker to the top. Loki kept her eyes peeled, not just for the Snitch, but for James and Sirius as well. Seeming to read his mind, Remus leant down next to the girl, pointing to the other side of the pitch. She followed his finger, her eyes connecting with Sirius's flying form moments later.

"No surprise, folks, Potter's got the Quaffle and is speeding down the pitch. Is this even legal, Professor?" Stanley asked one of th teachers around him, to which the response was muffled. "Okay then, so Potter's got the-- wait, no! Emilia Dorris from Hufflepuff has taken the Quaffle!"

"Yes!" Loki couldn't help but quietly cheer for the girl who was a year younger than her. Heraing her, Peter grinned in amusement.

"She also speeds down the pitch to the opposing end. Will she get there?" Stanley paused for a moment. "Hold on, ladies and gemts, because that well-aimed Bludger from the one, the only Sirius Black might just whack her out."

"Don't question Stanley's partialness to Sirius," Remus spoke in Loki's ear at her confused expression to the announcer's comment. "He thinks Sirius is some sort of God for whatever reason. I'm not sure." Loki hummed, finding the fact funny.

"Thanks to Dorris dropping the ball just in time, Hufflepuff still has the Quaffle, with Gregory Finnnigan almost at the Gryffindor posts." A light sensation filled Loki's stomach, and the familiar lump in her throat came bubbling up in her throat. "Finnigan goes to shoot to the left-- but it's a feint and he shoots to the opposing post. Melody Evergreen just isn't fast enough for it because Hufflepuff scores!"

Loud cheers erupted from all angles. Loki bounced on the balls of her feet at the event, the lump in her throat replaced with an excited shout of victory. For a moment she felt a strong urge to give either boy beside her a hug, but chose not to, instead letting out another cry of happiness. Her voiced mixed with the others, but, because of her place in the mainly Gryffindor area several strange looks were thrown her way. She couldn't help but slightly cower away from them. However, it was the laughter that erupted from Remus beside her cheered her up slightly. Her green eyes flicked to him, but his were already on her.

"Might have been a bad idea to bring you over," he chuckled. Loki couldn't help but copy him, nodding as well.

"We're back in the game and once more, Potter's got the Quaffle!" The crowd immediately settled. Loki couldn't help but find it fascinating that such a game could have an effect on people like this.

The match continued on. In the hour-and-a-half that they had played, Nicolas had chased after the Snitch once, but that ended when Sirius hit a Bludger right at him and the other Seeker. The lengthier the match became, the more excited everyone came. There was a thrum in the air, one of hope, one that made you hold your breath in anticipation on what the teams would do next. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were neck and neck, both with 80 points.

Lily Evans had also joined the trio, introducing Loki to a Gryffindor by the name Marlene McKinnon. The three girls had begun to quietly speak when there was time between each goal, Lily wanting to know more about Loki and vice versa.

"With an expert pass to Burke, Gryffindor isn't far from the-- HOLY SHIT IS THAT THE SNITCH?" The crowd quietened immediately as everyone turned their full attention to the game, trying desperately to see the flying flash of gold and ignoring the loud scolding from one of the teachers through the speakers.

A golden blur flew over Loki's head. Her immediate reaction was to flinch, but she regained herself in time to watch it disappear around the tall tower on her right. When she lost it from her sight, she whipped hr head back around and watched Nicolas and Gryffindor's Seeker, Ben McConnel, steer their brooms after it.

Loki wasn't sure quite who to cheer for, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Remus noticed the girl's dilemma and, when the boys swooped past, cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Come on Nicolas!" He shouted. Loki turned to him, wide-eyed. Under her shocked gaze he cowered slightly, feeling slightly self-conscious. He could also noticed the several other Gryffindors who frowned at him, but then Loki grinned.

"Come on, Nic!" She called out, turning back to her best friend. "Come on!" She knew that the boy couldn't hear her from the opposite side of the pitch, but she tried nonetheless.

The stands seemed to be divided, or perhaps it was just the small group's view. Nicolas and Ben were both close, but Loki could see Nicolas losing in the head-to-head battle. She couldn't bear to watch as the pair zipped around, weaving in and out of the stands. She had absolutely no idea what else was going on, and glanced to the red-haired girl beside her to distract herself.

She spared herself a glance back, finding Nicolas much closer than before. She found herself turning to Lily, who was already staring at her. The red-head motioned her head to the side. Loki turned back to Nicolas, clenching her fists tightly at the sight of him flying so close. She clenched her jaw for a second, peeking back at Lily, who urged her once again.

"Nicolas!" She cried out. Lily was slightly take aback by the volume of her voice that cut through everyone elses cheers. As was everyone surrounding her.

Nicolas turned his head, hearing his best friend's shouts. He grinned widely at the sight of her, nothing even remotely gold and red on her clothing anymore as she cheered for him. A warm surge of pride spread through his chest as he turned back to where he last saw the Snitch. His eyes peered around, suddenly seeing the gold ball and Ben, and he dived. His hand was outstretched as he dropped, silently praying to wrap his fingers around it. He was so close now.

Ben and Nicolas exchanged a look. They seemed to be the same distance away. Nicolas tried harder to push his broom forward, as did the dark-haired Gryffindor seeker.

Loki stared, Remus's arm tightly clutched in her hands. There was a moment, and then the gold disappeared.

"Someone's got the Snitch," Stanley's voice seemed to cut through the thick tension in the air as everyone waited for the results. "Who caught it?" Loki watched at a hand lifted in the air.

Her face fell.

"Ben McConnel has the Snitch, ladies and gentlemen! Gryffindor wins the match with 230 points to 100!"

The entire side of Gryffindors cheered. A low hum sounded in Loki's ears as she stayed planted in her place. Her eyes stayed locked on Nicolas, who hovered on his broom watching the Gryffindor team celebrate on the ground. His hair hung over his eyes, and Loki could swear she heard the sound of a soft sob come from the boy.

➪ AUTHOR'S NOTE ➪

... i have nothing to say execpt that there's a lot more to nicolas i need to explain now.

this was long lol. i have so many people i need loki to build relationships with now. it's fine, bc hopefully more james, lily, marlene and peter content. and max. lydia too... maybe.

i hope you enjoyed this chapter. feel free to leave a comment/question and i'll try my best to respond. bye :)