Raju nodded back at the very first England player to be there. She was recognized as the Seeker and he did observe that she seemed to be calm as well. Then, appearances were deceiving. His nerves were beginning to scratch the surface but as a seasoned Quidditch player, he had developed the knack for hiding it. Raju shook off those thoughts to ones of his teammates instead. He sensed rather than heard Nila’s approach. His face cracked into a smile even before he turned to look at her. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? This crowd.’’ Raju indicated in the general direction of the spectators. He continued, speaking in Hindi but this time offering words of encouragement. “You worked for this. Remember that. Continue to play exactly as you have throughout the tournament.’’

Raju nodded bad at the British beater. Out of the corner of his eyes, the Captain noticed that Priya was making her way towards them. “The hoops have passed your scrutiny?’’ Raju often admired the extra mile Priya went to ensure there was no hocus pocus happening at the hoops no matter where the team was playing. Captain Misra liked to think that he knew his teammates a good deal given that they had all played many matches together. It was for this reason he suspected Meera must be feeling pressured. She was their Seeker in the end. Their very talented Seeker, he would add. While he could not offer her words of comfort at the moment as she was busy warming up, he did send her a calm, confident smile.

Arjun was having his own moment. This was something Raju was used to. “Let’s all get some last-minute stretches and warm ups in, team.’’ Raju’s tone was loud enough for his teammates close to him to be heard. It was also a light and confident one.