Chapter Text
Spot was walking down the hall to potions as he felt a nudge against his shoulder.
He looked forward to find Racetrack had just sped past him.
“Screw you!”
He called after the boy. “We’re destroying you today!” Race yelled back, sticking his tongue out.
Spot watched as Race sped threw the crowds and groaned. They had a quidditch match against Slytherin that day and they had just barely beat Gryffindor last time, only winning because Mush had just managed to grab the snitch before Finch could.
Regardless, Spot was determined to beat Jack Kelly- ahem, he was determined to win this game- if it was the last thing he did.
He turned into his potions class and made his way to his table, next to Katherine.
She was also on Slytherins team, and while she was nice, she got competitive. Not unlike Spot did.
“Hey Spot. Ready for tonight? Better make sure Mush is ready to swoop in again.”
Spot sighed. He could take some trash talk, he wasn’t a baby, and Spot would’ve said the same to her.
“We’re more than ready. We’re gonna wipe the floor with your sorry asse-“
“Quiet everyone!”
Wiesel cut Spot off, and Katherine snickered. He sent her a look before giving his attention to the weasel.
“Today we’re brewing amortentia. Are any of you smart enough to tell me what that is?”
Spot scoffed at Weasel’s words as Race raised his hand.
“It’s a powerful potion that can cause deep infatuation with the person who gave it to you. It also smells like what you’re attracted to.”
Spot caught Race glancing at him as he spoke and Spot furrowed his brows. “Something doesn’t make sense, Conlon?”
Wiesel asked him. “Everything’s fine.” Spot glared at the man.
“..good. Now, you’ll be working with the person next to you to brew this before the end of class. If not, detention.”
The class got to work quickly. They all knew he was being serious and no one wanted to stay in that class with their vermin of a teacher more than they had to.
Katherine turned to Spot. “Open up the book and let me know what we need.”
He did so and after they collected all the ingredients, they got to brewing.
“So,” Katherine began as she sprinkled ground dragon scales into their cauldron.
“So?”
“What do you think it’ll smell like for you?”
“Are you just asking if I’m attracted to someone?”
She looked over at him and rolled her eyes, before grabbing the next ingredient.
“Maybe.”
“No.”
They were done pretty soon, and after it was checked that is was done correctly, they took the time to see what they smelled.
“So?” Spot asked Katherine. “Hm, ink. And vanilla.”
“Weird combination.”
“Well you go then.”
Spot smelt it and jerked back.
“What?”
“It’s fire? And.. shea moisture.”
A grin spread across Katherine’s face. “Curly heads? Huh.”
“Shut up.” Spot glanced at Race before he began to pack up his stuff just as class ended. He had to get to his dorm before the game, and maybe try to figure out what that potion was telling him.
As he entered his dorm, he saw Crutchie sitting on his bed.
“Oh, hey Crutch.” Spot said pulling his robes off.
“Hey! Game today, right?”
“Yep, in an hour. You’re coming, right?”
Crutchie smiled. “Of course. Can’t wait to see us win again.”
Spot shrugged. “Between you and me, I wouldn’t be too sure. We won by the skin of our teeth last time.”
The boy but his lip. “Okay maybe.. but we always pull through! And you’re always so focused on winning, it works out in the end.”
Spot looked at him and shrugged. “Not too focused right now.”
“Why?”
“We brewed amortentia in potions today and I smelt fire and shea moisture.” Spot looked to Crutchie. “Huh. I wonder who that could be.”
“Yeah it’s really annoying me..” Spot checked the clock. “Well I gotta go, I’ll see you after the game.”
Spot turned out of the room, grabbing his scarf and throwing it around his neck.
“See you!”
——
It was time for the game and Hufflepuff was in the changing rooms, slightly panicked.
“Okay, we got this. Now Slytherin is really good, but so are we! We’ve beat them before, we can do it again. We’re winning this.”
“I dunno Spot. I think it’s gonna rain. How am I supposed to see the snitch?”
Spot stayed silent for a bit, before an idea popped in his mind.
“Everyone come here.” Spot held out his wand to Mush’s face. “Impervius.”
Spot did this to the rest of the players and himself. “The water will repel from your face if it ends up raining. I learned that from a Ravenclaw. Now we have a few minutes, get ready to go out.”
Soon the teams were called onto the grounds, and were announced by Les, who had taken over his older brothers job.
“Welcome everyone to the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin game today! So great to see all of you- especially you Dais-“
“Les.” Medda raised a brow.
“Right!” He brushed himself off. “So to start off we got our Slytherin team.. The captain Jack Kelly-who who I’m sure has all the ladies swooning!”.
Jack waved with a big grin on his face and Spot rolled his eyes.
“Anyway he’s a chaser, along with Sniper and Katherine! Then we have our keeper, pie eater! Not sure how he got that nickname but moving on- our beaters Oscar and Morris!” They both made a point to flex their muscles.
“And finally our seeker, Racetrack Higgins! You all know and love him!” Race did a few spins on his broom and blew a kiss to the stands.
Everyone erupted in cheers and applause as Jack hit him upside the head.
“Now, moving onto our Hufflepuffs!” A chorus of cheers came from throughout the stands. “We got our team captain, Spot Conlon!-“ There were more cheers and the noise became deafening. Spot spread his hands out for a while, basking in the cheers.
“Who is a beater!” Les called after Spot drew his hands back and the applause settled down. Just to show off a bit more, he did loops on his broom, flipping upside down.
“Along with Buttons! Then we have Hufflepuff’s chasers who consist of Sarah Jacobs- my sister! She’s so awesome you guys- Jojo, and Romeo!”
Les cleared his throat. “Someone’s gotta get me a water, this is a lot of work. Anyways then we have Henry, Hufflepuff’s keeper! He’s great at his job and the only boy without a nickname, huh. Anyways last but certainly not least, we have Mush Meyers, the seeker! He saved Hufflepuff last time they went against Gryffindoor, close game.”
Spot rolled his eyes. Would people stop mentioning that?
“But those are our teams folks, let the game begin!”
The game started and Sniper, from the other team, got a hold of the quaffel.
“Sniper weaves through the players and dodges a bludger from Buttons, passing the quaffel to Jack, who attempts to make a goal but is blocked by Henry! Now on the other side of the pitch we have Mush looking for the snitch, Spot standing guard for him.” Les began.
“Sarah on Hufflepuff grabs a hold of the quaffel and- damn! She’s fast! Almost immediately she makes a long shot and.. she scores!”
Hufflepuff gained ten points and Spot quickly sent the girl a thumbs up.
Buttons was keeping an eye on any bludgers the Delancey brothers might send their way. The two had a history of playing dirty.
The game continued and the score was 35(Hufflepuff) to 40(Slytherin).
They were losing.
“Alright, Romeo gets a hold of the quaffel and passes it on over to Sarah, just dodging Katherine who was trying to intercept it at that moment! This game is looking good for both sides so far, folks!”
The crowd cheered as the players flew around the field.
Les groaned as he began to get wet. “Oh it seems it’s started to rain.” Dave walked over and opened an umbrella over their heads. “But Hufflepuff must’ve been doing their charms homework because the water seems to be repelling from their face- Hold on! I think Mush has caught sight of the snitch, and so has Racetrack! Who’s gonna get it first?! The rain has made this tricker, what will happen?” Dave rolled his eyes fondly. Les had always had a love for the dramatics.
Spot keeps an eye on Mush as he chases the snitch and speeds right past him, Race following shortly behind. Was that Shea Moisture?
Suddenly, Spot saw a bludger hurling at Mush, and no one was noticing.
….Act fast think later.
“Oh my god! Spot Conlon just got hit hard with a bludger to the leg! Is he okay- oh my gosh he’s falling, someone get him!”
At that very moment, Mush grabbed ahold of the snitch, and didn’t realize the boy falling beneath him.
“And he’s caught by Racetrack!”
Mush let out a sigh of relief and the whole stadium seemed to let go of a breath, but stayed silent. Spot had been hurt at games before but it was still concerning, especially if he were to fall off his broom.
He was rushed into the hospital wing, Mush and Jack following behind.
—
Spot woke up in a bed in the hospital wing, with Jack Kelly standing over his side.
As Jack saw him open his eyes, he called for Madam Pomfrey, who made her way over quickly.
“What happened?”
He asked Jack. “Delancey’s bludger hit your leg-“
“No, I mean in the game. Did we win?”
Spot smirked.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Yes. Mush caught the snitch. But you should be more concerned on who caught you.”
Spot looked up again and raised a brow(an action that took him a while to perfect.) “Race.” Jack answered.
Huh. He didn’t remember that.
He didn’t remember much, actually. Only that he saw the bludger going straight to Mush’s head as he and Racetrack sped to catch the snitch.
….
Spot kept an eye on Mush as he chased the snitch and sped right past him, Race following shortly behind. Was that Shea Moisture?
….
Oh yeah.
“Oh yeah.”
“Anyway the bludger hit your leg bad, shattered it. Pomfrey’s great though, so you should be out in a an hour or so.”
The older witch came to Spot’s side. “Yes, perhaps less. Regardless, visiting hours are over. I’ll see you later, Kelly.”
He clicked his tongue and smiled, leaving the wing.
“So, you’re in my office again.” She remarked as she tidied his bedside table.
He scoffed. “Indeed I am.”
She turned to him seriously and made sure Jack had left the room completely so they weren’t at risk of being overheard. “This can’t keep happening. Stop all the playing with fire!”
He bit his tongue begrudgingly and looked away. “I’m serious. You need to take your life more seriously. You always have a tendency to place yourself in danger when you don’t have to. You didn’t have to take the bludger to the leg, I know you could’ve hit it.” Her glare was ice. “I wonder what went through your mind as you sped over there.”
“I-“
“Move fast, think later?”
“Oh my Merlin, I’m not trying to die!-”
“Yes but you’re not trying to stay alive!”
He looked at her with his eyes wide.
He didn’t want to die. It didn’t matter if he was careless, he just didn’t take everything so seriously. If he landed himself in the hospital wing a few times it wasn’t a big deal.
“You came to me in your third year because you had “accidentally” slashed your own arm open. I kept my mouth shut but I’m very worried. If you ever need something, come to me.”
He sealed his lips before looking back up at her. “Can I go?”
“..yes. You can go.”