Practice, practice, practice.

Apollo had been all over the place during the Slytherin team's last practice, but at least he was aware of it. Surely it would have been much worse, otherwise. But he also knew that his teammates had noticed. So he was back out on the pitch to try and get himself back on track. Quidditch was something he loved, and since Christian's accident, he loved it for his brother who wouldn't let himself. It also helped him work on research and test products, though Christian seemed oblivious to Apollo's habits.

Not that Apollo could blame him.

But he had left the practice almost convulsed with anger at himself for being so off of his game. So much for letting out energy in order to improve. But he didn't know that people could see through him to realize that, the angrier he got, the more vulnerable he felt. The closer the other person was to Apollo's weaknesses. His fears, secrets and dreams. A true thing, poorly expressed - as they say - is a lie. And usually people like Lily could see through it. This was different in that he was angry with himself because he had seen people recognize his distraction. His anger was often misplaced, but it felt valid this time.

So he needed to improve. And thus he was out on the pitch, forcing himself through trials and routines. He just didn't expect that he would get interrupted.

Cronis knew he'd gotten mad before. He'd gotten mad at his parents, his friends, his brother. But for some reason, right now he was beyond angry.

He was pissed.

If it had been because of some assignment, he wouldn't have been this mad. If Evander had said something stupid, he would have gotten this mad. But this was something, and probably the only thing, he took seriously. Quidditch, that is.

The Slytherin team might not be perfect, no team ever was, but they took things seriously. Cronis especially, as its captain. So, Zabini being distracted and not giving it his all angered Cronis.

His anger could have also been because of the Valentine's party and his little dispute with Hit.

But it was mostly the lack of effort, since he and Hit were enemies on the pitch since she was on the Gryffindor team.

Once practice was over, Cronis had wanted to talk to Apollo. Yes, talk. Cronis wasn't a complete monster, after all. Besides, he needed to act professional if he wanted to continue being captain. He'd gotten tied up right after with some of the other players, though, and it wasn't until a little while after that he was able to wriggle out of the group.

He returned to the pitch, expecting Apollo to have already gone back to the dungeons. But he was wrong. There the other Slytherin was, practicing by himself. Cronis sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched before calling out, "Sure wish you'd shown that effort earlier."

Apollo pulled up sharply when he heard another voice, knowing immediately that the comment was directed at him. Who else would it be? Balancing himself again, Apollo whipped his head around to look at the captain of their team. He reached up a hand, pushing his hair out of his face as he sighed.

Cronis looked annoyed but Apollo was uninterested in being slagged off. So he just grimaced and started down towards the pitch. Perhaps if he looked attentive, Yaxley wouldn't be so bothered. At least he wasn't being aggressive, which Apollo suspected Cronis wanted to be. Particularly after what happened with Hit during that party.

Bloody hell.

Landing, Apollo walked over to his fellow Slytherin and leaned on his broom in an attempt to look casual rather than guilty. He did feel a bit bad, of course, for ruining practice. Particularly with a match coming up at the next weekend.

"Yeah, well. I figured I didn't get any real practice in, then, so I had better come out and make up for it." Fitness was one thing, of course, and Apollo wasn't overly worried about how he looked or his strength or anything else. But as soon as someone stopped practicing something, they started to lose the skill. He didn't want to ruin all of the years spent on Quidditch when he only had a year and a few months left of it before he dedicated his time to becoming a Healer.