#also i genuinely am unable to understand how people can still think the pink robe wearing songwriting and talent show organizing ed was GOO

[leatherbookmark]

"ed shot izzy in the leg because izzy blamed the poisonous atmosphere on the ship on ed's love for stede, as if it was something bad, when it was in fact good and made ed happy"

god help me. literally what are those people watching the show with because it sure as hell can't be their eyes. ed shot izzy for talking shit about his pure and restorative love for stede. ed "fuck you, stede bonnet" teach. ed "freezes when izzy mentions a part of stede's catchphrase and goes to threaten the crew with a gun as izzy follows him stammering that he did not mean to mention The Previous Owner Of This Vessel" teach. this ed. the same guy who literally went krakenmode after stede abandoned him and had all of his things tossed off the ship -- along with the crew, "his playthings". ed "you're not a fucking mermaid >:(" teach.

THIS ED. shooting izzy to say "you're wrong and you're fired, loving stede was GOOD actually". ??????????????

[ask-ragnarok-travelers]

[ Outmatched ] [ HP AU ] [ Farona/Yune ]

So. This is random, but I had once spoken elsewhere about a potential Harry Potter Universe AU with my characters (when asked about the houses they would be in). I ran across that stuff today and thought, “I might like to write a scene or two from that, if just for kicks.” And so I did.

Thus, here’s some silly Farona/Yune fluff thing in an HP setting that I wrote spontaneously today (although someone did help motivate me to write it, so thank you!).

Title: Outmatched

Rating: PG // Mild fluff and bantering

Characters: Farona (OC), Yune Hiraze (OC)

Universe: Hogwarts AU

Notes: Just for fun! As much as I love the Ragnarok Online universe that they belong in, I also like thinking of AUs to adapt them to just for fun. Also, they are significantly younger in this AU, and you might notice something that seems... different about someone. : ) Hope you enjoy!

Fic is beneath the “Keep reading” cut!

----Outmatched---

The crowd in the quidditch pitch erupted into ear-splitting cheers as the winners of the match were announced in a loud, resounding boom that echoed through the stands of professors and students alike. Wizards and witches threw hats, scarves, and gloves into the air, the resounding celebration carrying through the entirety of the pitch.

A young woman dressed in red and gold robes sighed heavily, her pinkish-red hair angling downward as she looked at her feet with stormy aqua eyes. She ignored a few pats to her shoulder from fellow teammates wearing the same colors and their words of "good game" or "we did our best" and "we'll beat 'em next time". She tried to force a smile, but it ended up strained as she gripped her school-issued broom with a fist.

It was her fault. If she was a better keeper, Ravenclaw's chasers wouldn't have gotten so many quaffles right by her and through the hoops. And it wasn't even the distraction of the beaters---she had taken more than a few bludgers on before without becoming too worse for wear.

The truth was, she was just... inadequate. And maybe a little too hot-headed. After a few years of playing for the team already, she wondered what she was thinking in asking to take on the keeper's position. The former team keeper had to leave after graduating, but Farona didn't feel as though she fit into his shoes all that well, even though keeper was what she wanted to play from the very beginning. Frankly, she just made a better beater or chaser at the end of the day.

...When she wasn't getting fouled for aggressive behavior on the field, anyway.

This match really was her loss, though. There was no dancing around it. She had only made two saves and neither were spectacular. There was still a lot of work to be done if she really wanted to protect the goals from the opposing team. Gryffindor's current team line-up was great. She was the one holding them back at this point.

Though, oddly enough, no one else seemed that interested in playing keeper. She had discovered that rather quickly after she had asked for the position move from the team captain and found that there were no protests or challenges for the change whatsoever.

With a longer and heavier sigh, she shook her head, walking off the edge of the field and down underneath of the structured stands far above, where people were still cheering and sharing hearty and chipper congratulations. The end of her broom dragged behind her as she sauntered off past the pitch with slumped shoulders. She couldn't let this get her down and she knew that. She was just going to have to... practice harder. Maybe later she could come back down to the pitch and--

"Rough match, hm?"

Farona paused, looking up. There was a tall boy with messy, light brown hair standing just off to her right, sporting blue and black robes, accented in bronze. Seeing the colors alone was enough for her to swiftly look away with a pout on her lips.

"Now, now, Farona. Don't be like that." His chiding was light in tone, but she wasn't in the mood for his teasing.

Not after that bloody monumental stomping.

"I'm tired," she lied shortly, moving to walk right on by him. But without any invitation to do so, he came to walk with her. Frustrated, she stopped in her tracks, glaring up at his much taller form. "Yune, don't you have a house to go and celebrate with?"

His eyebrows raised a little over his light green eyes. "Celebrate? Come now. You know I don't really take part in these things."

She rolled her eyes.

"Really," he assured her once more. "I didn't come to the match to watch my house team play. I came for you."

At that, she did look up again. Seeing the soft smile on his features, she quickly looked away, a light flush tinging her cheeks pink. "So you came to see me fail at being a keeper," she muttered sourly.

"All things considered, you did not perform horrendously."

"Gee, thanks."

"But there are several points you could improve upon," he continued. "For instance, the first goal that was scored about three minutes in... you had the right idea, but your timing was just a little off. You need to anticipate the quaffle's arrival a little more. Do not lash out as soon as you see it."

Farona huffed, crossing her arms and giving him a withering stare. "Are you really going to give me a lecture about how bad I played right after my team lost the match?"

Yune blinked, raising his hands slightly. "Well, you want to stay as keeper for Gryffindor's team, do you not? I thought my input might be of some use to you. I paid close attention to what you were doing."

Farona gaped at him, her face flushing brighter at the notion that he had been watching her, specifically. What a...! Why did he always have to say weird stuff to her like that? It would have made more sense for him to be picking part his own team's moves and instructing them, instead!

She shifted on her feet, unbidden nerves crawling up. "You didn't even watch the rest of the match at all?"

"No," he confirmed all too brightly. "It was much more interesting to see how you handled the pressure of defending the goal posts."

"Well I'm glad I could entertain you," she snapped irritably.

"Always so hostile," he chuckled, fondly reaching out to pat her head---even as she tried to bat the gloved hand away. "I am not trying to make fun of you or berate you. You know that. But if you do not want to hear my observations, I will not force them on you."

He shrugged, still wearing a half-smile. Farona glanced at him for a moment before she exhaled through her nose. "...I don't understand why you don't just join the Ravenclaw team. You seem to know a heck of a lot about quidditch and how to play."

Yune gave a small, short laugh in response. "I have no desire to play. It is not my sort of game," he explained. "I much prefer---"

"Wizard's chess," she finished for him. "I know. You're really good at it."

"Undefeated," he corrected.

"Undefeated," she amended with a snort-like noise underneath her breath. He certainly wasn't short of any self-confidence, himself. "Yeah, that's great. But that doesn't mean that your tactics wouldn't help out your house team with quidditch matches if you offered them. Even just from the sidelines, if you don't want to play."

He was silent for a moment, then he reached out and tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear with a gentle brushing of fingers. "And what if the truth was that I simply wished to help you, instead?"

Farona's eyes broadened as the flush in her face reinstated itself and spread. Sputtering, her eyes darted around, unable to bring herself to face him. "S--Stop saying things like that!"

"Why?" he inquired innocently, rocking back on his heels. "Is it wrong to help friends and support them?"

"Well when you say it like that, it---it sounds like..." she trailed off, gesturing with her free hand at the air.

"Hm? Sounds like what?"

She lifted her gaze, his patient green eyes waiting for her response. "...Nothing," she said, picking up into a brisk-paced walk again.

He easily matched it, casually striding alongside her. "Are you heading back to the castle?"

"Maybe," she answered in a gruff tone.

Yune released a chuckle beneath his breath, which briefly stopped her in her tracks again as she glowered up at her senior, hands on her hips. "What's so funny about that?!"

He reached out to flick the edge of her nose. "You're going to go off and sulk, aren't you?" The flood of embarrassment in her face spoke for her. He read her like an open book---like he always did, ever since they met a few years back. But before she could sputter out a response or denial, he pressed a finger to her lips. "I have a better idea. Why don't we head to the great hall? I have a butterbeer or two left from the last Hogsmeade visit. And if you would like and are willing to listen, I can offer what I observed from the match. We can even head back here later if you would prefer a more hands-on approach."

His smile seemed to say that it wasn't a joke---not that she honestly thought Yune Hiraze would poke fun at her after such a dreadful outcome to a quidditch match. He wasn't vindictive like that. Farona considered the proposition wordlessly for a moment.

She may not have said so aloud, but she had planned to come back to the pitch to practice on her own. And even if Yune was something of a know-it-all and a brilliant student in Hogwarts, he never acted condescendingly toward her. He was almost unimaginably patient with her, sometimes. And yeah, maybe he did kind of tease her sometimes or mock-flirt with her to get a rise out of her, but...

He really did want to help. It was genuine. She could see that in his eyes, which shone with a sincere luster in the green depths.

"...Are you sure you don't have any other studying to do?"

"I'm well ahead of my studies," he assured her. "You will have my full attention."

...She figured as much.

With a lop-sided smile, Farona conceded with a short, but not displeased sigh. "Alright, fine. You think you can whip me into shape then?"

"You may not want to word it quite like that," he teased with a little swish of his wand into his open-gloved palm, amusement tinged in his voice.

Heat rushed into her face again. "You--you know what I mean!"

The two made their way back toward Hogwart's inviting silhouette in the distance, quipping back and forth animatedly.

Farona felt that her sullen mood had already begun to lift.