Begrudged Beater

Dear Mr. Weasley,

First off, I would like to say, you are my favourite wizard of all time, and I guess I could say you are my role model.

Now here is my sticky situation. I play Beater for Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, and so does my best friend who is Slytherin (but she is the good sort of Slytherin). She has been playing Quidditch even before she came to Hogwarts, where I have only been playing for 2-3 years. I am starting to catch up to her, and I am becoming an even better Quidditch player than her. I am starting to realize that she is threatened by me. She treats me like dragon dung, and I sick and tired of it. As you have been in the jealous BFF (a Muggle phrase meaning Best Friend Forever) position before, I thought it would be ideal to seek your advice. Is there anyway of fixing our friendship, or will she hate me forever?

Begrudged Beater

Dear Beater in Blue and Bronze,

Wow, your role model? Wicked! Don’t think I’ve ever been that before.

Well, it sounds like you’re a pretty fantastic player, well done! Don’t let your friend get you down, because if Ravenclaw is still anything like it was when I was at Hogwarts, they could use the talent. And if your friend feels threatened by your skill, that’s good, right? She’s an opponent, after all.

Yeah, I was in that spot before, as much as I hate to admit it, but especially when you’re in school those things are important! I mean, it’s Quidditch! So I understand where your friend is coming from. Slytherins always want to be the best, so I’m not surprised that she’s acting like that. In my fourth year, I nearly ruined my friendship with Harry because I felt like he was forgetting about me.

So my advice would be to make sure you remind her that you’re still friends, outside of Quidditch. You’re in different houses, so the time you get to spend together is important and if it’s all Quidditch all the time, she’s bound to feel threatened. Remind her that she’s good too (unless she really isn’t) and maybe you can practice together. But really, every time the Triwizard Tournament was mentioned, I felt sick, so you might want to avoid talk of Quidditch altogether. Your friendship probably doesn’t center on Quidditch. Your friend knows that, but she needs to know that YOU know that. If Harry had just said to me “Ron, this Triwizard Tournament is bollocks. Let’s go to Zonko’s and hex Malfoy,” I think my fourth year would have been a lot more enjoyable.

So you can try that, and let me know how it goes. I’m not used to giving advice, and I want to know if it works! I could be an agony aunt. An agony auror? Nah, better not.

Cheers,
Ron