1Quidditch Reserve League, Season 1, Finals Round 2: Restrictions
Position: Seeker
Prompt: Write a story with no dialogue.
Word Count: 1,027
~End of Author's Notes~
Maisie hadn't understand how she ended up in a situation like this. Or rather, she had, but she didn't want to believe it. One moment, she had been in the middle of the Quidditch World Cup, gathered in a crowd with thousands of other hollering, cheering fans. Then the Snitch had been caught, and...more than one Snitch appeared. Hundreds of them did, dispersed among the crowd, and she, like many others, had reached out, not noticing the look of fear on the Seeker's face as he had grabbed it.
She seized one of the duplicated Snitches at the same time as the girl beside her, a Russian girl of a similar age with a broken nose and a lanky build. They'd locked eyes for a second, then she felt the telltale tug of a Portkey and was not anywhere near the Quidditch World Cup. In fact, she was in the middle of a gigantic forest that seemed to stretch out forever to either side of her
They tried to speak to one another, but soon found an obstacle: Neither could speak the other's language. They couldn't even share names, much to Maisie's chagrin; she liked names, they were useful. At first, they were frustrated, and she'd wanted to call the stranger Brokenose, on account of her broken nose, but that only lasted for a couple of hours before the anger wore off and she decided to name the similarly-stranded stranger Blondie, on account of her hair.
The first thing they tried was touching the Snitch again, which didn't work. They had a brief scuffle over who should get to hold it, which Blondie won and Maisie was only mildly grumpy about. If she was going to die, she at least wanted the proof of why in her hands.
Maisie didn't dare to reach for her wand until nightfall, fearing that Blondie might take it as an act of aggression, but the pitch-black night forced her hand. Blondie nearly jumped out of her skin, but soon smiled at the sight of the illuminated tip of Maisie's wand. That had confused her, seeing as it was by far the simplest spell she knew, but she shrugged and they continued to try to make their way through the forest. Apparating wasn't an option, not when they had no idea where they were; that would have been asking for a splinching.
They did find a particularly large tree, one which Maisie was able to hollow out with a well-placed spell or two, and would provide them with some shelter from the elements...and wild creatures. Blondie reluctantly shared with her a few squished snacks that had apparently been in her pockets. It was better than nothing.
There was fresh panic in the morning when Maisie woke up to a panicking Blondie, who had apparently not been pleased to wake up inside a tree trunk with a stranger, but managed to calm herself before she accidentally punched Maisie. Maisie was thankful for that; two broken noses would have made it hard to tell them apart. She told Blondie as much, but the joke wasn't appreciated. Blondie didn't let it get to her; at least her joke wasn't being laughed at due to the language barrier, rather than not being funny.
They spent most o the day walking. They did their best to avoid any wild animals, with Blondie eventually having to fend a bear off on Blondie's behalf. Blondie had gotten a nasty swipe across the arm and had been crying when Maisie went to bind it, her knowledge of healing charms rather lacking. They'd had to use some of Blondie's robe and that was when Maisie discovered why Blondie hadn't fought back: Her wand was snapped, and judging by the sheepish look on her face, it had been since they first arrived.
They spent another night in a tree, then another, then another. They ended up having to kill a rabbit to get meat to cook, but from there magic could duplicate it, cook it, and feed them both. Blondie hadn't looked particularly happy with it, but they had to survive long enough to get out.
They started to pass the time by singing Quidditch chants together. They couldn't understand a word the other said, but that was something they could share. They had to keep it quiet, lest another bear hear them and attack, but Maisie thought it was nice. There wasn't much else in the way of entertainment, which frustrated the pair of them. More than once, Maisie would go on a rant, venting her frustration about the situation they'd been forced into, and Blondie would sit, and listen, and nod, and just be there.
Neither of them had a choice about it, but Maisie appreciated it all the same. Blondie could have turned around, looked away, just covered Maisie's mouth if she wanted to, but she cared, and Maisie did too. She'd have returned the favor if Blondie ever wanted to vent at her, but Maisie's attempts at using gestures to get her to talk only made the Russian woman laugh. That was a nice sound; nicer than the nothing that was the wind, the fear of a cracking branch or an animal's cry in the distance.
The days were easy to count at first, but Maisie lost track, and they had nothing to write with. She didn't know how long it took for her to start treasuring Blondie's presence, or how long it took for them to start holding hands, or cuddling together on the cold nights, but that stopped mattering soon enough. Being strangers didn't matter when all they had was each other.
Eventually, they reached the edge of the forest. A storm of emotions flooded through Maisie then. Hope, joy, excitement, but also fear. Civilization meant people. It meant returning to her family and Blondie returning to hers. It meant them being apart.
But Blondie had learned to recognize her body language. She slipped the Snitch into Maisie's hand, held her close, and squeezed her tight. And Maisie realized that having freedom didn't mean she'd Blondie. It meant they could make the choice to stay together.
