There were more people in attendance than Taeyeon had expected. She counted a little over ten which was hardly the entire school population, but it was still much more than the zero she had expected. Cheers and jeers followed her as she ducked under the tent to retrieve her broomstick. Her palms were sweaty and she had nothing to wipe them with.

“Nervous?” Tiffany asked with a smile, hand outstretched.

Taeyeon looked down at the handkerchief in Tiffany’s hand. “Y-Yeah. What’s this?”

“Wipe your hands with it.”

“Oh, thank you.” Taeyeon took it thankfully and wiped. “Wow, it’s cooling. And minty?”

“Laced with peppermint enchanted powder. It calms you down and keeps your palms dry. Gives you better grip.”

Taeyeon gaped at the handkerchief, seeing it in new light. “It does feel good.”

“They’re going to be really aggressive but you have to keep your cool. Don’t let them scare you into freezing up. You have to keep moving.”

Taeyeon nodded. “I’ll dodge everything they hit at me.”

“You can do it.” Tiffany took Taeyeon’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “Lightning speed, Tae.”

A beam spread across Taeyeon’s face as her heart swelled. She was ready.

x

The cheers and jeers returned upon Taeyeon’s return to the pitch. Hyoyeon was standing by the case, ready to release the bludger. It was jerking under the belt that held it in. A shudder gave Taeyeon a visit just then—her nerves were shot at the sight of the muddy brown, dented ball. This could be the last time she would walk on this planet. The bludger could kill her.

They will save me if I fall, won’t they?

They will. Don’t worry.

Taeyeon shook her hands to get the trembles out. This was not the time for fear. This was her chance to defend her honour like a fierce badger would. She would show them that Hufflepuffs can be tough too.

“Ready for a knockout?” Narcy taunted from the other side of the pitch. She guffawed and so did the Slytherins behind her.

“I’m faster than you think,” Taeyeon yelled back, heart racing a little too fast. She patted her chest, willing it to slow down. Stay calm. Stay calm. Focus.

Bellix pointed at her with a smug smirk. “Look, Loserpuff over here is going to faint.”

Jeers burst out from the Slytherins.

“Go, Tae, go!”

“Go, Tae, go!”

“Go, Tae, go!”

Taeyeon smiled at the mixture of Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors cheering for her. Then she saw Tiffany at the tent giving her a thumbs up. Her smile widened and she nodded while kicking off.

“Go, Tae, go!”

“Boo, Tae, boo!”

The cheers and jeers were jumbled up and muffled as Taeyeon soared up to where Bellix and Narcy were hovering.

“Get ready to lose!” Bellix snarled with a mean frown.

“Start!” Hyoyeon yelled from below as she released the bludger. It zoomed towards Bellix who gae it a hard whack, sending it zipping to across the air to Taeyeon.

For a moment, blood roared in Taeyeon’s ears. She heard nothing, saw nothing. Just a speeding bullet coming for her.

“Go!” came a holler from below.

Taeyeon pressed on her broom and dipped just in time. She could hear the bludger swooping past her head, then it was buried by triumphant cheers from below.

“Tae!” came another holler.

Taeyeon leaned sideways, trying to find the voice, and hear the bludger bolting past her ear this time. “Woah,” she let slip as her heart skipped a beat.

“Look!” another voice came hollering yet again.

She looked and gulped and pulled her broom to the right, barely managing to dodge the blazing bludger. This time, she continued moving. Tiffany’s advice was ringing in her ears.

Don’t let them scare you into freezing up. You have to keep moving.

Keep moving. Keep moving.

Nudging her broom left, right then left again, Taeyeon tried to fly in a haphazard manner to be less predictable. This time, she saw the bludger coming and swerved in good time to dodge it.

Holy smokes, how many have I dodged?

Before she had time to count, the bludger was coming right back at her again. She went for a dip, successfully avoiding it in time and pulled up and around to face the other way, ready for the next incoming bludger.

For the first time, she got to see the Slytherin beater swing her bat. The bludger came zooming towards her at alarming speed but she managed to tilt out of the way more confidently than before.

I can do this. I can do this!

Bam! Interrupting her internal cheering was the sound of the bat colliding with the bludger. She took off blindly, in panic. For a deadly few seconds, she could hear it chasing her down and realized this wasn’t going to work. A change of course was required. With all her might, she pulled and gripped hard as her broom did a three-sixty. Whooping cheers erupted from below, putting a smile on her face for the first time.

Bam! She heard it again. Her senses were tuning into the situation and making it easier to locate the bludger. But to her horror, the bludger was already right before her eyes and she was forced to grab her broom with her legs and swing sideways to avoid it. Her control went berserk and she ended up hanging onto her broom as it sped towards Narcy.

From behind came the buzzing of the speeding bludge all over again. She was getting tired and weary. How much more of this mental beating could she take? With a yell of desperation, she pulled herself back upright and leaned forward to nudge her broom into gaining speed, but the bludger was still only an inch behind her.

Everything was swooshing past her now. Wind was whistling past her ears. Roots of her hair were on the verge of being tugged out. Nothing was going right. Everything was going wrong. What could she do?

Sunny. What did Sunny teach you?

With both hands, Taeyeon yanked hard. She jerked into an arch-like manoeuvre and her entire world turned upside down and she could just make out the bludger barely grazing strands of her hair. It was a split second decision when she pulled out the little bat from her belt and gave the bludger a whack in the direction she believed Bellix was in.

She watched as the bludger sped ahead in its subtly altered direction. She gasped as her left hand slipped. She screamed as her right hand let go of the bat to make a grab for it. She continued screaming as her legs gave way. And then she was free. Falling. 

Woosh.

Swoosh.

It might as well have been the full attendance of Hogwarts at an official Quidditch game for the cheers that thundered from her audience could have rattled the deepest dungeons underground. It didn’t make sense to her then.

What are they cheering for?

Aren’t I falling?

I lost . . .

There was a thud followed by an ugly groan, then a wrecked cry. It was only then that Taeyeon came to her senses. She was in the arms of one smiling Slytherin. She looked up into those beautiful starry eyes and knew at once that she was luckiest Hufflepuff alive.

Helped into a sitting position, Taeyeon looked at the groaning figure lying on the grass beside her. Bellix was not as lucky, it seemed. She was sporting the mark of a bludger on her forehead and rolling about in pain.

“My arm! Stop staring and fix my arm!” she was crying.

But none of the Slytherins in attendance moved to her. In the end, Sunny and Hyoyeon helped her up and brought her to the matron to get her arm fixed.

Meanwhile, the cheers would not stop as Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun came forward to congratulate Taeyeon.

“You’re the pride of Hufflepuffs, Tae,” Yuri said in a shrieking voice. “You showed them the stuff we’re made of!”

“I’ll cook up a party for you this evening,” said Yoona with a bright grin. “Everyone’s invited to the party!”

“Thanks for taking Bellix down,” said Seohyun. “I hope she will learn her lesson after this and stop discriminating against other Houses.”

Taeyeon smiled at all of them, happiness overflowing. Then, she smiled at Tiffany. “Thanks for cheering me on, Tiffany.”

Those beautiful starry eyes dazzled. “It’s the least I can do for my girlfriend.”

x