"i know life well enough to know you can't count on things staying around or standing still, no matter how much you want them to. you can't stop people from dying. you can't stop them from going away. you can't stop yourself from going away either."...
'wool to brave the seasons, one single thread of gold tied me to you'-invisible string
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Thunder rolled overhead as the crowd erupted into cheers. Red and yellow blurs were just about visible through the sheets of rainwater down on the quidditch pitch, the two captains shaking hands in the centre.
November had been fairly uneventful after Ophelia's boggart encounter, spending her Monday evenings mastering the Seize and Pull charm with Professor Lupin, which she'd been getting quite good at. He hadn't been around on the Monday just passed, and he'd missed a few lessons that week due to illness, so now she searched the crowd for his scarred face, worried about his constant poor health. He'd been the best DADA teacher in a long time, and she hoped, for once, he'd stay.
Perhaps it was the relentless wind and rain, but her favourite professor couldn't be found. She continued to cheer from the Ravenclaw stands, sandwiched between Daisy and Elijah as the two teams mounted their brooms, Luna twirling in her lion costume towards the edge of the pitch, waving as she caught sight of her three friends.
Madam Hooch blew the whistle, and they were off, blobs of red and yellow zooming into the air, battered by the brewing storm. Ophelia lost sight of Harry almost immediately as he charged upwards, waiting in the clouds for the snitch to appear. He swerved violently as a gust of wind rushed through the stands.
People were cheering and shouting, despite barely being able to make out who was who, the rain pelting the students and their array of umbrellas. Ophelia huddled closer to Elijah, attempting to shelter from the bitter cold breeze underneath the umbrella he'd charmed to hover above them. He put his arm around her shoulders in a poor attempt of warming the girl beside him, despite shivering relentlessly himself. Daisy shuffled in next to them, Ophelia pulling her in to their little huddle, desperate for warmth.
The game continued, the persistent weather causing more injuries than usual and Oliver Wood was calling more time outs than usual.
"Are you guys cold?" Ginny had appeared behind them, frowning at the shivering trio, who began to frown back.
"Are you not?" Ophelia quirked an eyebrow at her sister. Ginny was only dressed in her usual winter robe and a singular Gryffindor scarf, and didn't appear to be trembling at all. She grinned at her twin, pulling out her wand.
"My roommate Jess taught me this this morning," Ginny was now gently tapping her wand on each of the trio's robes, "it keeps your robes warm, like a thermal I suppose." She shrugged, putting her wand back in her pocket.
Ophelia felt her robes grow warmer, and she eventually stopped shivering, along with Daisy and Elijah, who were now smiling gratefully.
"Thanks, Ginny. You're a life saver." The three Ravenclaws glanced at each other before ambushing the redhead with a bone-crushing hug.
"Argh get off!" Ginny laughed, squirming out of the group, nearly falling onto some first years in front.
A sudden crack of lightening took them all by surprise, turning to see a flash of red falling from the sky. Gasps and screams echoed around the field as the body fell, but Ophelia's was the loudest of them all.
