Chasing Love

Chapter Eighty-Seven - Ballycastle Bats Practice

Taking a bite out of her piece of toast, Eliza walked down the steps into the shop, "Morning Lee, you alright?"

"Yeah," Lee nodded his head, "Just looking forward to the busy day ahead."

"The business is going well, isn't it?" Eliza said as she finished her piece of toast off, "The twins are great at this business lark."

Lee agreed with her, "They're great!" He started to stock some of the shelves up, "To think everyone just thought they were two pranksters!"

"Hello," Fred's head popped up from behind the counter, "I heard you mention me."

Eliza hit the back of his head, "You've just been there waiting to hear if we said anything about you. How annoying are you?"

"Super annoying," Fred replied, "But that's why you love me."

"Where's George?" She asked her close friend, "He's usually near you."

"Morning!" George said happily as he too came up from behind the counter, "I've been working on a new love potion."

She glanced over at his friend, "A new love potion? I never had you down for a lovey dovey person George."

He glared at her, "Ha, ha, hilarious!" George then proceeded to sit down on the desk, "The girls will love them, they'll sell out in no time."

"I'm sure they will," Eliza said as she started to help Lee, "Doesn't mean they are good though."

"They'll be brilliant Za!" Fred replied.

She turned her head towards the twins, "I don't like love potions."

"What do you smell from them?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, I haven't smelt one since fifth year."

"Seems like a life ago." George commented.

"It was, I was still with Cedric."

"What you smelt - was it to do with Cedric?" Fred asked her, suddenly interested.

Eliza smiled sadly, "No, I believe it was to do with Oliver."

"Do you want to smell it again?"

Staring at the potion, she slowly shook her head, "No, no I don't." She knew that she would still smell the same thing, that the only name in her heart was the boy who had broken it. "I should get to practice, don't want to be late, do I?"

The twins shared a glance before nodding their head, "Alright, have fun."

"Yeah, see you later."

She smiled at them before shouting, "I'll see you in a bit Lee." And then with a large crack she disapparated out of the room.

The smell of grass hit her nose as she apparated onto the Ballycastle Bats pitch, "DAWLISH!" Higgs yelled at her from across the pitch, "You're early!"

"So are you!" She screamed back as she walked over towards him, "Anyone else here?"

"Fin is." Terence replied, "He's in the office, I wouldn't talk to him if I was you!"

"Why? I do need to talk to him," She glanced over at the door, "I might just go and talk to him anyway."

Terence chuckled, "Oh, I forgot you were little Miss Gryffindor."

"Shut up Slytherin." Terence Higgs, was a couple of years older than Eliza and had played as Seeker for Slytherin, was the Seeker for Ballycastle Bats. He was one of the only Slytherins she had actually liked, he had never cheated or taunted the other players, instead he wanted to win fairly, "Maybe I'll talk to Fin later."

The two sat down in the changing room, "How are you enjoying being part of the Ballycastle Bats?"

"Or the Ballybats Castle," Eliza smiled as she remembered Hagrid on her last day, "I love it here."

"Ballybats Castle?" Terence asked confusedly.

"Hagrid mixed up the names when he found out I had made the team." She laughed, "One of the only good days of my last year there."

"I feel as though I got out at the right time!" Terence said, "Even if I hated how Malfoy stole my spot as Seeker, you know he only got in because he had money."

She nodded her head, "It was obvious, he was terrible compared to you!"

"His family are friends with mine, they've always used their money to get their own way."

"Oh I forgot, the amazing Dawlishs'."

Eliza laughed bitterly, "They are hardly amazing!"

"Morning you two." Maebh O'Donnell said happily in her Irish accent as she entered the room. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail while her brown eyes darted around the room, "Where is everyone?"

"Fin's in the office but no one else is here!" Terence told her.

"Ah, I'm not talking to him then," Maebh told them, both her and Fin were beaters, so she knew not to talk to him when he had isolated himself in his office.

"HEYYY GUYS! HOW ARE YOU ALL?" Aileen Murphy screamed as she skipped into the changing room, "I've had such a good weekend, have you all?" She grinned widely, Aileen had thick ginger hair with pale green eyes.

"What's all the noise about?" Fin walked out of the office, "Oh, you've arrived." He stared at Aileen, "We're still missing two members though."

Finbar Quigley, their Captain, was also a Beater for the National Irish Team.

They waited another ten minutes and finally the third chaser, John Wells, arrived. His blonde hair was pushed up and he had hazel eyes, "Sorry everyone, the traffics busy."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Fin asked him, "Traffic?"

"Dating a Muggle girl, aren't I? Told her I played football so she wanted to drop me off."

They all stared at him, "What are you going to do when she asks to watch you?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

"Come on, Roberts said he was going to be late." Fin said as the team began to make their way out onto the pitch.

The Chasers began to fly in several formations while the beaters practiced hitting the bludgers and Terence chased after the Snitch.

"I'm here, sorry, the appointment lasted much longer than expected," Elliot Roberts, the keeper, said as he flew onto the pitch, "Muggle doctors are crazy!"

"Why?" Maebh asked him, "What did they do?"

"She put this band around my arm and then pressed a button and it began to tighten and make a weird noise." He shook his head, "It was horrid."

Fin stared at him before shouting, "We're going to go straight into a match sequence! That alright with you Roberts?"

"Sure, sure, just be careful with my arm, I don't know what that contraption did to me."

Eliza chuckled at his dramatic behaviour before flying down so the three chasers were in an arrow formation, "Ready girls?" Wells shouted, to which they nodded and began to fly quickly towards the hoops.