Ficlet: Not Every Win is a Victory

[seedee]

Title: Not Every Win is a Victory
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Gen. Ron, Harry, Hermione
Word Count: 371
Author's Notes: Short ficlet, written for rw_ldws. Many thanks to allie_potter for the beta.



The crowd on the pitch, a sea of orange, erupted in a booming cheer. Hundreds of voices were united in one victorious shout. Fists were raised into the air; hats were thrown; people who'd never seen each other before were hugging like dear old friends.

Even Hermione, sitting with her two best friends on a balcony off to the left and in the middle of the Cannons' curve, punched the air - just a little bit. Ron, beside her, was quiet and frowning, wringing his clasped hands between his knees.

Harry, on the other side of him, cleared his throat. "Ron? They won. It's over. The Cannons won."

Ron turned his head and stared at Harry. His eyes were unfocused as he said, "I know. Their new chaser scored sixty-nine times. After almost a whole day of playing, the Ballycastle Bats were so exhausted that they let their seeker catch the snitch, despite knowing they'd lose the game." His voice sounded hollow as he rattled off the facts of the game they'd just watched.

"For the first time in a gazillion years, they won." Harry could barely contain his excitement.

"I know," Ron said again.

"He's still in shock because of the new chaser," Hermione whispered.

"I can hear you," Ron said.

"But he's had a whole day to get over it." Harry was exasperated.

"I can hear you, too." Ron sounded terse now.

"Give him some time," Hermione said. "He'll adjust."

Ron snapped. "I can bloody well hear you. I'm not going to adjust. He's scoring for my team, on my pitch, wearing my uniform." He slumped back in his seat, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Don't sulk." Hermione patted Ron's arm in a soothing gesture. "You'll get used to it once they keep winning. And he's not all that bad. Even I can see that he's an exceptional flyer." She looked over to the small crowd of Quidditch players, her gaze lingering on one tall figure.

Ron watched his ex-girlfriend watch the chaser and then shook his head. "Please tell me she didn't just check out Marcus Flint," he said, defeated.

Harry bit his lip, suppressing a snicker. "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best."

Comments

[ridicu-liz.livejournal.com]

Awesome!

[vanseedee.livejournal.com]

Yes, you are.