The Story of Regulus Black - Years 1-4

LXXIV. 3PM

Gryffindor lost their match against Ravenclaw, despite Deacon's catching of the Snitch. What this meant for Slytherin, however, was that - if they were to beat Hufflepuff by more than fifty points - they would win the Quidditch Cup.

So, Gillian trained them extra hard all throughout April and May.

Regulus thought that the end of school would come much slower than it really did. However, before he knew it, it was 31 May, and the day of the Quidditch final.

Regulus's stomach was in knots all throughout breakfast. He knew that he needed to catch the Snitch for them to win, but he also knew that Hufflepuff's Chasers were so good that - like Deacon - he could catch the Snitch and Slytherin could still lose. For this reason, he found it very hard to eat.

Gillian, however, was shoveling food onto his plate and telling him to eat it.

"Come on Regulus," she said, adding another stack of scrambled eggs to his plate, despite his groans of protest, "you need to eat! You're no use out on the pitch without food in your stomach, and we need you in top shape!"

"I'm gonna be sick," he grumbled, and he buried his face into his crossed arms.

"Relax! Besides, not to pull this card, but you have nothing to be stressed about compared to me. Not only is this my final game as captain, I've also been putting so much effort into Quidditch the past two months that I've hardly finished my N.E.W.T. revisions. And, need I remind you, N.E.W.T. exams start on Monday."

This didn't make Regulus feel any better - in fact, it made him feel worse. "What if I don't catch the Snitch, and then we lose, and then you fail your N.E.W.T.'s because you spent too much time with Quidditch - which will have been no use since I lost - and it'll all be my fault!" Regulus was talking himself into a full-fledged breakdown.

"Regulus!" Gillian exclaimed. "We'll be fine! Name one time that you haven't caught the Snitch."

"The match against Ravenclaw last year," he said immediately, his voice still muffled by his arms. 

Gillian raised an eyebrow. "Regulus, that hardly counts! You weren't even playing in the match against Ravenclaw last year, remember? We had to get a replacement Seeker, and he didn't catch the Snitch!"

"Still!" He exclaimed in exasperation.

Gillian sighed and grabbed a piece of toast, holding it out to Regulus. "At least eat this."

Regulus nibbled on that same piece of toast all the way up until he and Gillian entered the locker rooms. Gillian looked over at the boy - who was about a quarter of an inch taller than her by now (this amazed Gillian, really. She still remembered the first time the two friends had walked to the pitch together on the day of tryouts, and he was so much shorter than her then).

"Merlin, Regulus, you look more nervous than me," she commented, noticing the slight trembling of his hands.

"Well, yeah, I probably am," Regulus replied, trying desperately to ignore the twisting in his stomach and the bile that was threatening to climb up in his throat.

Gillian laughed lowly and slapped Regulus on the back. "Just get ready, and try not to be sick," she said.

"Can't make any promises," Regulus muttered, and he dropped down onto the bench to his left.

Before he knew it, Regulus was fully changed into his Quidditch gear, and the entire team was gathered around Gillian.

Regulus kept shifting his standing position and switching his broom from one hand to the other as Gillian spoke to the team. "Alright, this is our last chance, got it? We win this match by more than fifty points, we win the Quidditch Cup. You've all done great this year, and I know that we can win as long as everyone does their best and does their job," she shot a pointed look towards Mulciber.