Catch The Snitch

Sunday, September 4, 2005

At lunch, Quinn stood up and announced that she was going to demonstrate a new stunt with her broom, and that anyone who was interested could come and watch in the central courtyard after their meals. As a Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, she was well-known for pulling off daring maneuvers over the prior two years, so this drummed up a fair bit of interest. They'd only had one day of classes, so there was practically no homework assigned yet. What else was there to do?

By a quarter to one, some students from all houses (but mostly Gryffindors) had assembled in the courtyard, forming a circle around Quinn. She'd already done some warm-up exercises before lunch and the prior day in private (refamiliarizing herself with her broom after two months of inactivity), so she was feeling confident.

As it wasn't a school day, she was dressed casually--trousers and a jumper. As was her peculiar custom, since she was outside and the weather was nice, she was also barefoot--her trainers and socks had been discarded in a pile on the grass. But today, she had a more practical reason for being shoeless.

She stood with her broom as she addressed her spectators. "I've long wanted to ride a broom like a Muggle skateboard--by standing on it," she began. "On rare occasions, you'll see someone attempt this, but not for long, both because it requires excellent balance, as broomstick handles are rarely more than two inches in diameter, and because nobody really knows how to steer a broom this way--it will tend to continue flying straight, if at all. We're taught to control brooms with our hands tight around the handle. However...halfway through last term, I did some experimenting, and found it's actually possible to control a broom through one's feet and through careful leaning--it just takes a lot of patience, practice, and determination."

There was some murmuring in the crowd.

"Of course, my practicing started with the broom moving very slowly and only making broad turns," Quinn continued. "But I learned to balance myself and lean carefully so I could take sharper and faster turns. It was a slow process, but eventually, I got better at it, as you'll now see."

She let her broom fall to the ground, then stood on it, one foot in front of the other, with her arms spread wide. "Up," she commanded, and she and the broom slowly lifted off the ground. She then leaned forward slightly and started moving forward. There were some gasps, and those ahead of her stepped aside to clear a path. She leaned further forward and picked up speed...and once she was clear of the crowd, she leaned very slightly to the side and turned, and started flying circles around the crowd.

During lunch, one of the chasers from the Gryffindor Quidditch team – Quinn Rockwell – announced to the whole school that she was going to demonstrate a new stunt with her broomstick at the central courtyard later. Quite a lot of folks got pretty excited about it, but the response from the Slytherin team was lukewarm at best. Perhaps it was their pride and confidence in their own skills, but generally they didn't seem too keen on checking out Quinn’s new stunt.

Munching quietly on his sandwich, Kyle swept his gaze across his fellow Quidditch teammates and came to the conclusion that he was probably the only one who was interested in dropping by to have a look. Still, he had already planned to do some laps at the Quidditch pitch after lunch, for he had a meeting with a professor that clashed squarely with his usual solo training. With a resigned shake of his head, he took another bite of his light lunch. He’d have to forgo the chance to see Quinn in action, and maybe ask around to find out what he was missing out on.

Back in the Slytherin Common Room, Kyle emerged from his dorm and was about to head out when he found half the Quidditch team – the friendlier half – engaged in lively discussion and wild speculations about Quinn’s upcoming demonstration, painting a completely different picture from their earlier feigned indifference. Indeed, they had been too proud to show any sign of interest back then, but now it was clear that they really wanted to know what new trick she had up her sleeve.

“Hey Kyle, whatcha up to?” one of his teammates yelled from across the room. Already he could feel numerous pairs of eyes burning holes in his back. Whatever they were plotting, it was going to be hard to weasel his way out of this.

“Doing laps,” he replied, refusing to make eye contact with his teammates as he continued walking towards the door at a brisk pace. Not that it worked, because they swiftly descended upon him. “Aren’t you the least bit interested in the Gryffindor chaser’s new stunt?” his teammate asked.

“If you’re so curious, why don’t y’all go take a gander?” Kyle returned them question to them, still suspicious of their intentions.

“Listen, Kyle,” another of his teammates chimed in, his tone even and reasonable. “Let’s be honest here: we’re not exactly the friendliest-looking lot at Hogwarts. Just imagine: half the Slytherin Quidditch team showing up all of a sudden to see some new trick that a Gryffindor chaser just came up with. Bloody intimidating, innit? So it’s best if we send a representative, preferably the least scary-looking one of us. And we think you fit the bill.”

Dang. That was a valid point, and one he couldn’t easily refute. At least, up till the part where they nominated Kyle as the least scary-looking of them. Without waiting for his response, a couple of his teammates suddenly grabbed him from behind, and the others quickly relieved him of his prosthesis. “Hey!” Kyle shouted in alarm and anger, struggling to break free as he immediately caught on to what they were up to. But it was futile, and seconds later he had his crutches shoved into his hands, and his prosthesis held hostage by his teammates.

“Please!” they implored, looking as pleadingly at him as a pack of wolves in sheep’s clothing could.

“Fine,” Kyle relented at long last. “Bastards, cowardly bastards, the lot of you,” he admonished them, half in exasperation and half in grudging admiration. How the heck had they coordinated all of this without his knowledge?

* * *
A decent crowd had already gathered by the time Kyle arrived at the central courtyard, but he was nowhere near the last. As eager students jostled around him in an attempt to get nearer to the front, Kyle found himself pushed to the middle of the crowd. Quinn was halfway through her preamble, and he had no idea what the context was as she explained how she initially had to move slowly and make broad turns. But his questions were soon answered as she let her broom fall to the ground, and then stood upon it like a skateboard. As a Quidditch player and a strong flyer himself, he knew how difficult it was to surf upon a broom like that. Most of the time, one was limited to flying in a straight line, and that made it a largely impractical move during a fast-paced Quidditch match.

An anticipatory silence descended upon the crowd as Quinn gradually lifted off the ground. Her balance was great, and her stance stable, and Kyle found himself taking notes even though it was a feat that he knew he wouldn’t be capable of. His 'cheap' prosthetic leg simply wasn't advanced enough to offer enough feedback and fine control for him to surf on a broomstick.

Quinn leaned forwards and began to move, gradually picking up speed, and then she leaned into a turn and began circling the crowd. The silence broke into applause and cheers at the demonstration of skill. Even Kyle, who already knew what Quinn was capable of from the times they played against each other, was impressed by her technique and felt compelled to voice out his thoughts. “Surfing on a broomstick is rarely seen in Quidditch matches not only because of how difficult and dangerous it is, but also how predictable your movements become. It’s possible to pull off more difficult moves, but you’re forced to commit to them fully and that makes you way too predictable. But if you're somehow nimble and agile enough, then you’ve got the element of surprise on your side, and that could come in really handy in the right situation.”

A satisfied smile spread across Quinn's face as her spectators applauded. She couldn't take a bow though, at least not while balancing precariously on her broom. Instead, to show off a little bit more, she did a few figure-eight turns, then shifted her weight to her rear leg, causing the broom to angle upwards, and then proceeded to fly over a water fountain in the center of the courtyard. "Obviously, there's a limit to how steep of an incline or dive you can take," she pointed out. "I'd probably fall off if I attempted anything steeper than what I did just now."

The boy's voice caught her attention. She recognized it as belonging to Kyle Winters, one of her Slytherin counterparts. Her relationship with Kyle wasn't completely adversarial, as they'd each stood up for the other once before. They were both muggleborns who'd been bullied or taunted on numerous occasions. They'd never really had a chance for a meaningful conversation though, what with being in different houses and two years apart. She regretted that she never really had a chance to get to know him.

She slowed down enough that she could safely devote enough of her attention look for Kyle, then pitched down and headed toward him. Once she was within conversational distance, she slowed down again and began circling him in a slow drift. The sight of his crutches somehow made her feel guilty, even though she knew she hadn't done anything wrong. "Hey, Winters. You're right, I probably wouldn't attempt this during a Quidditch match. The goals are so high up, that the risk of serious injury from falling would be a deterrent in itself. Plus with bludgers and other players swarming around, it would be too easy to get bumped and lose one's balance. And if I were wearing my Quidditch boots, I think balancing would be even harder. I feel a lot more confident doing this without anything between my feet and the handle."

As Quinn slowed down and started to circle around Kyle, the way she looked at him suddenly made him hyper aware of his crutches and how they would make Quinn feel. Hang on… shouldn’t both of them be way past that point by now? He shot her a ‘don’t you dare start feeling bad about me when I don’t feel bad about myself’ look, the very same one he would give others when they thought that they had done or said something insensitive in front of him. The last thing he needed was for people to feel sorry for him, or accommodate for him without knowing what he needed, provided he even needed any help in the first place. Just because he was missing part of his leg didn’t make him any less of a person, and most of the time all he wanted was for people to treat him like the normal person he was.

Kyle nodded as he listened to Quinn’s detailed analysis. “You’re right,” he replied. “It’s usually too risky to be worth the reward. But I think you’re on to something with your technique there.”

He took a few moments to run through his thoughts again, just in case what made sense in his head ended up sounding like utter rubbish once it came out of his mouth. “I was wondering how tight a turn you could make while standing, and it just occurred to me that it would look more like snowboarding than skateboarding.” Perhaps that was the key to broom surfing that Quidditch players had been missing all this while. “You know the way Olympic snowboarders slow down and stop after doing their big jumps?” As he spoke, he used his right hand to mimic a snowboarder and his left hand, the snowboard. “The way they skate in an arc and then place their snowboards horizontally and kick up lots of snow in the process?” As he did his weird little mime, he watched Quinn’s expression closely and eagerly, hoping she’d get what he was trying to convey. “Imagine if you could brake quickly using only your legs like a snowboarder, and still have your hands free to throw the Quaffle. Maybe that would work?”

Usually, an emergency brake would require a flyer to have a firm grip on their broom, lest they lose their balance during the sudden deceleration and fall off. But was it possible for a Quidditch player to do an emergency brake snowboarder-style? Now that he had stated his case, he suddenly felt a lot less confident that it was plausible. “But take what I say with a huge pinch of salt, alright?” he added with a laugh, hoping that would make Quinn take his words less seriously. “I mean, I can’t skateboard or snowboard.”

Quinn couldn't help but feel a bit awkward, given the stunt she was performing and Kyle's missing limb making it utterly impossible for him to replicate it, but she knew better than to draw attention to that fact. She always strived to treat people respectfully and with dignity, and avoided making unnecessary comments.

She was surprised to hear Kyle's idea and looked thoughtful as she brought her broom to a halt, hovering in place just high enough off the ground so they'd be at about eye level (she was fairly short, only about five feet tall). "I think you might be on to something," she said as she considered the possibilities. "Stopping by turning the broom sharply with my legs, instead of shifting my weight, could work...it would require more practice, but i'm game to try it. Thanks for the idea!"

She glanced behind her to see that her crowd of mostly Gryffindors was now starting to disperse as her demonstration was over, so she didn't feel the usual pressure to avoid 'associating with the enemy', as their houses were perpetually at odds.

Kyle's disclaimer though returned her attention to him. "What? Hey, that doesn't mean your idea doesn't have merit!", she protested. "Plenty of good ideas come from people who could never use them themselves. I'll consider anyone's advice as long as it's sincerely given."

Her broom suddenly started to drift sideways, and she flailed for a moment to regain her balance. "Apparently I still have some practicing to do," she admitted sheepishly after she recomposed herself. "Hey, I realize we've never really spoken much, and so we really don't know each other well, and I feel like that's possibly a huge missed opportunity." She bit her lower lip as she thought for a moment. "Would you like to do something together sometime? I mean...if you don't mind the flak you'd get from other Slytherins. If that's a problem, we could be discreet about it."

As Kyle explained his weird snowboarding idea to Quinn, he watched her expression closely to see if she would be able to comprehend what he was saying, and it seemed to him that she got the gist of it. “Don’t go off trying out this stunt by your lonesome though,” he cautioned. “It’s probably quite dangerous, so always have someone with you, alright?” He was aware how much he sounded like a naggy parent, but he wasn’t that irresponsible to plant a seed in Quinn’s head and not care about the consequences. That said, he stopped short of inviting himself along, for he wasn’t sure if his company would be welcome. Both of them were from rival houses after all, and while Kyle personally didn’t mind being seen ‘associating with the enemy’, he didn’t know if Quinn shared the same sentiment.

Quinn was quite taken by the idea that Kyle’s had raised even as he had second thoughts about it, even reassuring him that it was a good suggestion. But suddenly the broom under Quinn’s feet drifted sideways, as though the universe had decided to punish them for daring to do something so audacious. Hurriedly Kyle dropped his crutches to put his arms protectively around her in case she fell. (Whatever good that would do, he realised belatedly, since he was now balancing on one leg.) But to their collective relief she managed to regain her balance.

Seeing how his concerns about Quinn’s safety weren’t unfounded, perhaps he should have just asked to join her the next time she went broom surfing. As he picked up his crutches, Quinn asked if they should do something together sometime, and he nodded enthusiastically. “I’m bulletproof by now,” he grinned. As one of the most experienced Quidditch players in Slytherin, there was nothing anyone could do to him that wouldn’t hurt the team. “I’m not sure about you though. If you don’t mind, I could join you whenever you wanna practice this broom surfing trick.”

As fellow Chasers they encountered each other a lot during Quidditch matches as they fought for possession of the Quaffle, and since they were on opposing teams these encounters usually weren’t the pleasant sort. Otherwise, their paths rarely crossed, since they were two years apart, and in different houses to boot. “I’m open to anything else apart from Quidditch and flying too, in case you’ve had too much of my ugly mug on the pitch,” he added with a laugh. “Butterbeer at Hogsmeade, maybe, or summat like that.”

"I suppose I could find a spotter or something," Quinn relented. "Not many people like to get up as early as me, though--I like to practice in the mornings, sometimes before breakfast. The pitch is clear and there's nobody around to witness any accidents, except for that one wolf of course." Eh? A wolf? It wasn't clear what she was on about.

Quinn blushed when Kyle sprung into action, ready to catch her. It wasn't immediately clear whether it was out of embarrassment, or something else, though. "Your reflexes do you credit, Mr. Winters," she quipped. "As well as your sense of balance," she amended, seeing how he was without his prosthetic.

She smiled when Kyle responded positively to her idea of doing something together. "Butterbeer in Hogsmeade sounds nice," she was quick to agree. She'd never dated before, but she didn't think this would count as a date--they weren't involved, after all. It was just a friendly get-to-know-you-better type of arrangement, as far as he was concerned. Any witnesses might think otherwise, of course. But who cared what they thought, as long as they didn't get harassed too badly for it.

Kyle gave a sheepish smile when Quinn mentioned that few liked to get up as early as her. He was an early riser as well, and he would usually go for a run around the castle before starting his day. However, the key difference between Quinn and him was that he didn’t like getting up early. In fact, the only reason why he’d drag himself out of bed at the crack of dawn, all bleary-eyed and mardy and grouchy, was so that there wouldn’t be anyone else up and about to offend – or be offended by – Mr Do-Not-Speak-To-Me-Until-I’ve-Had My-Morning-Cuppa. He had discovered the hard way that he was not a morning person, and since then he had always preferred to avoid most social interactions for a while after he woke up to pre-empt any unpleasant encounters with other people. But apart from that sole dissimilarity, he could definitely relate to what Quinn was saying: it was a great feeling to have the whole pitch to oneself, with nobody to witness any dumb stunts—

“Wait, what wolf?” he asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow when Quinn glossed over that one wolf. If it was a reference to something, he wasn’t getting it. “You mean the wolves in the Forbidden Forest?” That didn’t add up either; he didn’t think Quinn – or anyone at all, for that matter – would be roaming about near the Forbidden Forest so early in the morning.

When Quinn remarked on his reflexes and sense of balance, he blushed a little, slightly embarrassed by his unnecessary gesture. “Your balance is way better than mine,” he replied, trying to play it cool. “You’re the one standing on a broomstick, not me.”

His eyes lit up when Quinn agreed to his suggestion. “We could go during the next Hogsmeade trip, if that’s alright with you,” he said. Technically there was also the option of stealing away to Hogsmeade, but he didn’t know if that would be appropriate, and whether that would sit well with Quinn. Of course, they weren’t supposed to do that, but nobody’s ever gotten hurt because two students decided to sneak out of school for some Butterbeer.

"Oh, there's a wolf that must have a den nearby, because I've seen him running around the castle grounds early in the morning ever since I got my broom in third year," Quinn clarified. "Sometimes I chase after him on my broom, but somehow, he always evades me and disappears. I've gotten the sense that he's playing with me. I once spotted him sitting in the Quidditch stands while I was practicing, but he slipped into the underpinnings when I tried to get close. I'm not really sure if it's a 'he' or a 'she', but I've tentatively assumed it's a 'he' and named him 'Ralph' in my journal. That name actually means 'wolf counsel', by the way--not 'vomit' as some people think. I guess not many students know about him, because as near as I can tell, he only ever comes out before breakfast."

Quinn smiled at the compliment. "I suppose I do practice a lot," she replied.

"Next Hogsmeade sounds good. I can meet you at the Three Broomsticks, unless you wanted to make the trip together?"

Kyle’s confusion turned into concern as Quinn revealed that she had once spotted the wolf in the Quidditch stands. A wolf, on the castle grounds itself? That seemed quite unbelievable: most animals that resided in the Forbidden Forest tended to keep to the forest and rarely ventured out. Still, he had no reason to doubt Quinn (or her eyesight, for that matter). “That’s quite dangerous, innit? Going after the wolf by yourself,” he said. “But if the wolf’ve been roaming about in the castle grounds for two years, then it’s either a very well-behaved wolf, or there’s some other reason that we’re not seeing.”

After they settled on a date to hang out together, Quinn asked if Kyle would want to make the trip to Hogsmeade together. “Heading down together sounds good to me,” he began, but belatedly he realised it might not be the best idea. “Will anyone give you grief for hanging around with a Slytherin though? If that’s likely to happen, then maybe we could meet directly at the Three Broomsticks Inn instead.”

Quinn thought for a moment after Kyle suggested the wolf might be dangerous. "No, I don't think so. Assuming it's a mundane wolf, they naturally avoid humans--there are actually very few cases of healthy wolves attacking humans without provocation. I think this one is naturally drawn to the castle for some reason--for all I know, someone might be leaving food out for it--but it knows that students tend to be all over the place during daylight hours, so it disappears before they show up."

"Let's go together, then. If you can tolerate any backlash from the Slytherins, then I can tolerate any backlash from the Gryffindors. They already know that I don't particularly care about the silly house rivalry, and they should by now know better than to risk riling me up--they've seen me when I'm in 'social activist' mode."

Kyle was still half-convinced when Quinn said that the wolf wasn’t dangerous, even though the facts did speak for themselves. There hadn’t been any wolf attacks as far as he knew. “I suppose we’ll be safe as long as we don’t bother or provoke the wolf,” he said, although it seemed that he was trying to persuade himself more than anyone else. “At any rate, just be careful, alright?” he continued, only realising after that fact that it was completely unnecessary. “Well, not that you need me to remind you or anything.”

At Quinn’s mention of her ‘social activist mode’, Kyle cracked up at a memory of her giving her detractors hell. “I’ve seen it before too,” he said approvingly, recalling first time he had seen Quinn calling out someone for their inappropriate behaviour, and how impressed he had been by her bravery and sense of justice. “People like you are a rare gem, and I can only hope I’m half as good as you are.” Somehow or another, he didn’t have the knack for walking away unscathed after intervening in a kerfuffle. It was often said that no good deed goes unpunished; most of the detentions he had accrued over his years at Hogwarts were due to him standing up to a bully for someone, for those confrontations often turned ugly and he would inevitably end up proving that adage true.

Suddenly, it occurred to Kyle that, even though he had thoroughly enjoyed talking to Quinn, he hadn’t had all day to do so. And she probably had her own plans for the rest of the day too. “Anyway, I’ve got Quidditch practice with my team soon,” he said, before fumbling for a way to end the conversation nicely and not awkwardly. “I… um… It was great talking with you. I’ll see you around?”