In early November, the weather cooled down to the point where the black lake froze, a layer of ice that looked like it was made of metal formed over it. This also meant that Rigel had to stop his visits to the Unicorns for a few months.
Saturday was the Gryffindors' first Quidditch match, and it was against Slytherin.
With the game approaching, Wood seemed incredibly stressed and scheduled training sessions whenever the field was free. He almost got into a fight with the Slytherin team captain over the available times. Fortunately, it seems that the fear of detention prevented him from continuing. In the end, McGonagall and Snape had to reach an agreement for the teams, dividing the times.
The happiest person about this was Harry, the boy was almost exhausted from so much training, even more so having to deal with classes and homework.
If it weren't for Rigel's help, he wouldn't have made it.
Rigel didn't care much, he had a strong physique and the Count's Coffin to relieve stress and fatigue. Homework was easily completed during the most boring classes, such as history of magic and defense against the dark arts.
As for studying, he could project his books onto his dream with the count's coffin, in the end, he even had time to waste during the day.
Harry glared at Rigel with an annoyed expression during this period, while Rigel seemed full of energy. Harry had heavy dark circles under his eyes, and it was Rigel who dragged him into Quidditch. If it weren't for Harry discovering that his father had been a Seeker, he would have given up a long time ago.
Or, knowing Wood, even if Harry tried to leave now, Wood would pester him relentlessly. Harry, who had already seen how obsessed Wood was with Quidditch, knew that he might even camp outside their room if necessary.
Harry could only sigh and bite the bullet.
The closer the game got, the more Harry felt butterflies in his stomach.
He was scared, scared of making a fool of himself, scared of getting hurt, scared of failing and his friends leaving him out because of it, scared of many things.
On the morning of the game, Harry didn't want to eat anything, his stomach was churning, and he almost threw up when Ron tried to shove a plate of sausages down his throat, making the other boys laugh.
Seamus even tried to get him to eat, saying. "Harry, you need energy. The Seekers are always the ones who end up crippled by the other team."
"Thank you, Seamus." Harry said, his sarcasm evident.
Dean even nudged Seamus with his elbow, looking at the guy and not knowing if he was trying to help or hinder Harry.
"Don't worry too much, Harry, with Dumbledore around, you'll be fine." Hermione tried to reassure him. As she had become close to Rigel and Neville, she had also grown closer to the other boys, basically, a relationship by osmosis.
Rigel was in a mood that was the complete opposite of Harry's, eating with gusto. Even though he didn't have the physique of those gluttonous anime characters, he still ate quite a lot, and just watching Rigel eat made Harry stumble away from the table.
Later, Rigel found him alone and gave him a potion for nausea, making the boy feel much better, although he was still nervous, at least he didn't seem like he was going to vomit at any moment.
When the time for the game finally arrived, Harry was standing next to Rigel, breathing heavily and with wide eyes.
"Hey, relax, you'll be fine." Rigel patted him on the shoulder.
Harry simply gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"He's right, Harry, you'll be fine." Fred said from behind them.
"Yes, if you don't be fine, at least you'll become more famous." George added.
"And how does that help?" Harry asked, exasperated.
"It doesn't help, but it would be really funny, wouldn't it? Imagine the newspaper headline: 'The death of the boy who survived'." George replied, making the group of Gryffindor players laugh.
"The savior's weakness - a stray bludger kills Harry Potter." Fred continued.
"'You-Know-Who' vs. Broom - Which one is stronger? " George added.
"The posthumous Harry Potter discovers gravity." Fred said, not wanting to lose to George.
Just as George was about to offer another idea, about the Gryffindors' laughter and Harry's exasperated look, Oliver finally stopped them, although it was clear he was enjoying it too.
Even Rigel was laughing, those two really had a great sense of humor, although he must admit it was a bit morbid this time. At least Harry had stopped trembling.
Oliver pulled Harry forward as he spoke. "Don't worry, Harry, I was nervous during my first game too."
"What happened?" Harry asked, curious.
"Ah... I don't remember exactly." Oliver said, as if trying to recall the event. "I took a bludger to the head two minutes into the game, and woke up in the hospital a week later." The way he spoke was as if it had been just another ordinary day, without really caring much about it.
Harry: ...
The rest of the team: ...
Damn it! It would have been better to let the twins continue talking, at least then Harry had stopped shaking. Now Harry was trembling fiercely again.
Oliver seemed completely oblivious to what his words had done to Harry, thankfully, before he could continue to 'cheer' Harry up, the passage opened as the sound of the opening music played.
The Gryffindors quickly mounted their brooms and sped forward, though Harry could only control his fear and press on.
The Gryffindors and Slytherins left at the same time, and Rigel, in mid-air, looked down at the Gryffindor stands.
As expected, Calypso and Kreacher were already there, waving excitedly at him. Rigel smiled and waved back at them.
Not only them, but his friends were also waving, with Jack perched above Seamus's head, waving excitedly . Ironically, some Gryffindor girls joined in to create a huge animated banner with Rigel's figure flying for a moment, only to disappear as the words "Rigel is the best, Rigel, we love you." appeared.
Rigel's lips trembled and he looked away, these prison baits never get tired!
Those girls suddenly felt a chill run down their spines, not because of Rigel, but because, at some point, Calypso had begun fixing them with a completely unfriendly stare. Calypso was already memorizing the appearance of those little sluts, she would slip some fun potions into their drinks later.