Éponine was practically sitting on the edge of her seat as Gian prepared for the try-out. One of her legs bounced with nerves, leaving Toulouse to meow in irritation. But even after apologising to her cat, Éponine continued to find other ways to calm her nerves, trying to keep a bright smile on her face for whenever Gian would look over in her direction. She had been expecting a confrontation of sorts, especially with Emmett as captain, and she was fully willing to hex the fellow seventh year all the way up to the Headmaster's office if he denied Gian the chance.

But when Regulus stepped forward and said something to Emmett, it almost appeared as they were arguing and Regulus was able to get the last word. The next thing she knew, Gian was allowed to try-out. And for that, she was thankful, but it also left her curious as to why Regulus had decided to intervene. While she wanted to believe that he did it with good intentions, part of her feared that somehow Gian would end up getting hurt while in the air.

Gian told her before they arrived at the pitch that he wanted to try out for one of the Chaser positions. Apparently, he had been inspired by watching James play over the years for the Gryffindor team and wanted to give it a go. She wasn't going to discourage him, but she had never really seen Gian fly a broom or actually play any form of Quidditch, so she wasn't even sure if he was a decent flyer.

Nonetheless, if it was something he wanted to do, who was she to discourage him?

As Gian mounted his broom and took to the air where the Slytherin teammates were waiting, Éponine's hands squeezed Toulouse gently.

"Alright, Toulouse, good thoughts for Gian," she whispered, " here we go."

"Meow."

Watching the Slytherin team in the air brought Éponine back to pleasant memories where she had made it almost a life goal to attend every Slytherin match. In the beginning, she had done so, in hopes that she would make some friends if she showed enough House spirit. But eventually, it turned into her actually really enjoying the sport itself. There had been matches so intense that she had practically chewed her finger off in the process of watching.

And as she had confessed to Regulus in the past, she had definitely enjoyed watching him play because he was a brilliant Seeker. Slytherin won match after match, and when she and Regulus started becoming closer, he had gifted her with two of his winning snitches. She still had them, keeping them safe.

However, it became so difficult to attend any Slytherin match after she and Regulus broke up.

She could feel the same surge of excitement return as she kept her gaze focused on the sky above her. If Gian made the team, she would have no choice but to return to the Slytherin matches to offer her support and she was going to see Regulus play again, but she didn't think he was going to be giving her a golden snitch again any time soon.

The try-out for Chasers consisted of putting the potential Chaser up against the rest of the team. The other Chaser would pass the Quaffle, while everyone else attempted to make sure they didn't score. The one Beater they had was active with bludgers already in the air, and the Keeper was positioned. Regulus didn't really serve any purpose of being there, besides being able to watch how the prospects played with the rest of the team.

To keep himself busy in the meantime, he released one of the practice golden snitches to give him something to do. Of course, he was paying no mind to the Snitch after it fluttered off, instead, he kept looking over in Éponine's direction.

At one point, it appeared as though she was talking to herself or maybe she was talking to Toulouse, and then she would try to find wherever Gian was in the sky. Looking around for a split second, Regulus found Gian on the other side of the pitch, preparing to start with his try-out.

Emmett was absolutely furious that Regulus had intervened, his ego as captain getting the best of him. Not to mention, he made it clear that there was no room for a muggle-born on the team. But he couldn't argue Regulus' point that if he told Gian he couldn't try-out, that he would probably end up losing his position as Captain if Gian went on to tell Professor McGonagall or even Headmaster Dumbledore.

He had no choice but to let him play, and Regulus couldn't help but noticed just how excited Gian looked as he was suddenly tossed the Quaffle.

Gian kept a steady balance on his broom, manoeuvring with only hand on the handle as he caught the Quaffle mid-air. And as soon as he caught it, the other players in the air positioned themselves to make it as difficult as possible to keep him from scoring. However, Gian was quite fast on the broom, smaller than the majority of the team that allowed him to turn easier to dodge any incoming attempt.

He appeared to be in full control and only a minute later, he managed to score against Emmett.

"GO GIAN!"

Regulus looked over his shoulder and saw Éponine jumping up and down in the stands while clapping her hands rapidly. Toulouse was next to her, on the bench, spinning around in circles as if he were celebrating with her as well.

It only made Regulus think of the time where he had Éponine's support and cheering during his matches. It was one of the things he missed the most after they had stopped talking to one another, the way she would call out to him or the way she would get so excited when Slytherin scored. He remembered the first match Slytherin played after everything had gone to shit, he remembered spending a solid five minutes just trying to find her face among the crowds of students and professors, only to realise she wasn't there.

With a shake of his head, Regulus turned his attention back to the match, only to see the redness that had overtaken Emmett's face. He looked beyond furious that Gian had managed to score against him, and was whispering something into his Beater's ear while glaring in Gian's direction.

Gian, of course, paid no mind to Emmett or anything else around him for a moment because he had flown over to where Éponine was sitting.

"Did you see that?!" he called to her. "Did you see it?! I made it! I scored!"

"You were amazing!" Éponine yelled back at him. "Just keep going!"

With a nod, Gian returned to the centre of the pitch, where he was tossed the quaffle once again. Regulus noted the little blur of gold that had passed out of the corner of his eye, only to look back and witness Gian nearly get smacked by a bludger. Thankfully, he had managed to dodge it at the very last second, but the movement, almost made him fall off his broom. He managed to hold on, and Regulus suddenly noticed there were more people in the air than before, all of them carrying a beater bat.

"Emmett," he said after making his way over to the captain, "what are you doing?"

"Nothing," Emmett replied casually, " I just called up everyone that wanted to try-out for the Beater position. It'll make this end quicker."

Only, Regulus was sure that Emmett wasn't talking about the length of the try-out, but rather Gian's try-out altogether. If the majority of the team was actively trying to hit a bludger in Gian's direction, he would stand little chance to score again.

"Emmett, do you really think-"

Suddenly, Emmett rounded on him before Regulus could say anything. "Listen, Black, I get it, you're part of the Noble and Most Ancient House. You rule over that aspect, but I'm the captain of this quidditch team. I don't care what Dumbledore has to say about it. I let the filthy little mudblood try-out, as you said. I didn't have to make it easy on him. So let me manage my team, you just go and make yourself useful by finding that snitch."

Éponine was up on her feet once again as she noticed more flyers take the skies. Not to mention, they were all holding beater bats. It seemed unnecessary to have more than two people playing the position, considering only two would be able to play in a real match. But it only took her a split second to realise that it was more than likely done to ensure that Gian would get hit. And she was right because as soon as Gian caught the quaffle, he was under fire.

There were only two bludgers active in the air, but with multiple people hitting them, it was like having twenty all of a sudden. Immediately, Gian had to only focus on dodging rather than scoring. When he dodged one, the other bludger was already aimed in his direction.

"Gian!" she called to him, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Land! Land your broom!"

Her voice filled with panic and even though Gian looked over in her direction to acknowledge that he had heard her, it seemed his stubbornness had gotten the best of him because he didn't land his broom as he was told. Instead, he gripped the quaffle tighter and continued to make his attempt to score.

"Dammit, Gian, land!"

Regulus couldn't focus on finding the snitch, even if he tried. There was too much going on around him, with bludgers being hit in every direction and the other players trying to trap Gian and narrow his ability to escape. Not to mention, in the background, he could hear Éponine yelling, telling Gian to land before he ended up getting hurt. Unfortunately, it appeared as though Gian didn't want to listen to her and one of the bludgers had almost clipped the back of his broom, leaving him to nearly swerve into another incoming hit.

And that's when Regulus saw it; the golden snitch.

It was hovering in the midst of all the chaos that was laid out before him. It fluttered about in the same area as if it was tempting Regulus to come and get it. Suddenly, he couldn't take it anymore as he rushed forward, just as another bludger was on the warpath for Gian, who was too distracted by almost dropping the quaffle in his hands.

When Gian finally got a hold of the quaffle, it was too late.

The sound of cracking bone made Éponine nauseous. She had been going back and forth between covering her eyes and forcing herself to look up at the scene. Gian refused to land and found himself trapped and she couldn't get a clear shot in with her wand to try and help as Gian was surrounded.

At one point, she couldn't see anything, but she heard it. The bludger had struck someone and seconds later, the body was falling from the sky, where it hit the ground roughly. Éponine flinched and abandoned the stands with Toulouse in her arms. She hurried out as the others on the pitch landed as well.

When she arrived on the scene, she shoved Emmett out of the way, along with a younger student and dropped down to the ground. She reached one arm to turn over the body, only to see that it wasn't Gian, but Regulus that had taken the hit.

Looking over her shoulder, Gian stood behind her, a worried look on his face as he mouthed "sorry" in her direction.

"What are you all standing around for?!" she screeched at them. "Go get Madam Pomfrey!"

She shooed Emmett off, along with the others, telling them to get some help because Regulus did not look to be in good condition, especially since he had landed on his back before rolling onto his side.

And to make matters worse,  Éponine suddenly felt the warmth of a hand encase hers, bringing her to look back down. Regulus' hands shook violently, more like from his body being in shock. But suddenly, something cold was placed in her hand as she looked at her palm, she could see the tiny golden snitch come to rest.

A/N: