He was late. And Legend was defo going to be angry. Crapcrapcrapcrap!

Orlando almost ran across the grounds to get to the practice pitch - grabbing a broom from the shed, he made his way to the field. Of course nervous as a chocolate frog making it's first attempt to jump. Hmm. Not sure how Orlando could make the comparison since . . . - Orlando's uncontrollable thought process got interrupted the moment his eyes turned up toward the sky. Crap.

Legend was already in the air.

And with someone with a pink broom swooshing past him. A girl.

What to do?

Wave your arms like mad to get their attention?

Hmm. Not one of his brightest ideas. Ignoring the next idea of screaming Legend's name at the top of his lungs - Orlando, instead, mounted his broom and flew up to the place he was. Orlando was about to start apologizing and pleading him to still teaaaach him his awesome ways of playing Quidditch when he saw what he seriously did not understand why he saw.

Antlers.

On a pink broom.

"Waho. You have antlers on your head!" He blurted toward the pink broom owner.

Why?

Arabella-Marie caught the quaffle and said "Thanks Rafe" Arabella-Marie knew that something was putting Rafe off but she didnt want to question him about it

"Pretty cool brother you have then." A brand new personalized broom. Woah. "Do you love pink because your a girl or...you actually think it's a good color?" It was an HONEST question. Legend didn't know any boys who actually liked that color. Wait. Men. Yes because he was so not a boy anymore.

"Nice!" Legend had seen the move preformed dozens of times. The key part of the Bludger backbeat was timing. It was EVERYTHING. "Alright, that move if anything will put you about all the Beaters in Hogwarts." It was true. Most little kiddies wouldn't even try it because they weren't capable of perfecting it. "For now we'll just practice with a quaffle." Flicking his wand the trunk down below opened and Legend levitated two Quaffles toward them. Flying over so he was right beside Lexi he extended one of his arms that was holding a quaffle.

"The bludger will either be coming straight at you or will be coming at you from the side." Like someone else hit it at her, but really bludgers were just evil. "Even though there are two different sides which it can come from you always have to pull your arm back and smack it as hard as possible, if you do it right it will go backwards like..well it's suppose to, but if you do it wrong it will fly upwards and that's...dangerous to you." It had happened recently to a Beater in the Catapults, and had resulted in a whole weeks stay at Mungo's. "Got it?"

The sixth year SO was not expecting Orlando to show up. That was because the younger boy was LATE. Really late. Glare. Legend had half the mind to give the boy 700 pushups. But he would deal with him later in the dorms. Mwaha.

"Annnd you my friend are late." VERY LATE. Eying Lando, Legend shoved the second quaffle in his arms. "Lando, do you at least know the rules of Quidditch?" Orlando had SO much more to learn than Lexi. Shame, he wanted to teach the dude some COOL moves. But they could only go over the basics. "Oh, and Orlando this is Lexi, Lexi this is Orlando, he's trying out for the team." So he had to learn how to be ON TIME.

Chris knew immediately that Derian could learn to love flying. If he was laughing now, he would love this next part. "Good. Pull the handle so that it's tilted upward... a little further...good. Now lean forward. We're gonna take you up higher. Don't worry. I'll be right next to you. I won't let you fall," she said, examining him. He definitely looked akward and frightened on his broom, but at least he was still on. He was actually doing pretty good. He might turn out to be a pretty fair flyer. "No. Don't look down. Look at me, Derian. The ground doesn't matter," she said quietly. He had been staring at the ground, obviously afraid to fall. All that mattered on a broom were the wind and the sky. Never the ground.

"Alright," Simon said before giving his own shrug continuing to ignore the antlers. If she wasn't making a big deal she was free to get them fixed when she was done. "No problem...you're welcome," he added watching as Legend returned to their sides, the quidditch captain glad to see he had calmed and willing to fix things.

"It's Simon," he supplied, not sure he could get used to quidditch dude. Letting them go off and back to what they were working on, Simon returned his attention to the rest of the players taking special note of those wearing red and gold when they were near enough to see. Seeing the first year from before, he couldn't help but smile as she showed off her skills clearly noticing his attention.

Derian did as she asked, and only lifted the broom handle slightly the first time; but, when he was trying to get himself up to the height Chris wanted, he was apparently a little too heavy handed because he shot skywards. He rose so quickly that the wind made his eyes water, to say nothing of the state of his stomach. He brought himself to a stop by some miracle and sat, terrified and exhilarated, far too high above the ground he wanted nothing more to be standing upon once more. The broom felt shaky and uncertain underneath him, making it hard to remain upright; but he gripped the broomstick with an iron grip.

"Cripes... how in the heck do I get down and off this thing?" He asked himself, trying not to give into his panic. He leaned over to peek down at the ground far below him; but, in addition to the already shaky broom, his movement was enough to flip him upside down. As quickly as he could, he hugged his broom for dear life hoping that Chris--or anyone--was watching him.

"How 'bout you try..." Rafe couldn't finish his sentence because what he just witnessed was appalling by Lycaon standards, "Um...hold that thought!" Rafe zoomed off in the direction of his dangling brother.

Rafe quickly flew to his brother and got under him and looked straight up at him, "You know I've heard of tree hugging, but broom hugging is a whole new thing!" Rafe laughed, but kept it down because they were rather high up and he'd hate to see his brother fall. Swooping in and getting rescued by your big brother, talk about embarassing. "So...uh...looks like you got yourself in quite a pickle." Rafe flew beside him and rolled his broom over, putting himself in the same upside down position, minus the hugging and death grip. "Hmm...interesting postion, though it would be kind hard to throw a quaffle at this angle." Rafe then looked down at the ground. "Wow, were pretty far up, the hoops kinda look like toothpicks."
Rafe then turned back over. He could see Derian was about to go into a panick. And there's nothing worse than someone inexperienced on a broom to go into a panick. Yes, Rafe could've easily flipped him over, but if Derian was going to be a good flyer, he'd have to figure this out on his own, with some guidance. "Alright bro, this is what you're going to do... Keep you legs crossed around the broom and then take your hands around the handle of the broom and lean back...now, it's going to feel a little scary, but you can do it. After that twist your arms around the handle to your left like you would a pepper grinder and then lean to the right, then let the broom do the rest and you should flip right over."

Heather walked onto the field and saw Derian and Rafe. "Derian, could I talk to you for a moment?" She called deciding to ignore Rafe until she deemed it necessary they speak.

Derian did not want to be embarrassed, but he was. His face turned beet red as Rafe flew up beside him and proceeded to tell him--in a monologue that lasted far too long for his taste--how to turn himself upright again, "Alright, Einstein,I appreciate your help, but not its overly complex delivery." His voice broke as he completed the sentence and tried to do as his brother told him to do.

He leaned back abruptly, thinking that the quicker it was done with the easier it would be to handle, and ended up flipping backwards. Fighting the paralysis of fear that threatened to overwhelm him, he furrowed his eyebrows and figured that he would just complete the backflip. That way, the solution would be fixed quickly and without any complicated steps. he continued to lean back until he saw that he was upright again, and then abruptly eased down enough to stop his momentum. Breathing hard and enjoying the feel of his blood leaving his head, he turned to his brother and smirked, being careful not to inadvertently send his broom into another fit of uncontrollable movement.

"You know, I think my way was easier."

"What's in my eye?" Rafe had no idea what he meant by 'Eyenstine', it sounded funny. Rafe was pretty impressed with Derian's method, definitely not the way he would've done it and it was less graceful, but ultimately got the job done. "Wow, you just flipped right over like a pancake didn't ya?" Rafe laughed. Rafe could finally see Derian's broom. "What the bloody 'ell are you riding? Is that a Comet? I thought those things were extinct?!" Rafe could obviously tell it was from the broomshed. He didn't understand why first years couldn't bring their own broom. "I'm totally going to buy you something that's Lycaon worthy, not this branch you're riding now!" And if anyone questioned Derian of his broom, he could just say it was Rafe's. He was a little embarassed to see his brother on that thing. "Um...but until then we'll just have to work with what we got."

Rafe didn't know who he was flying with, but whoever it was wasn't watching Derian that carefully. "Who's teaching you how to fly? No offense, but I can tell flying isn't exactly your forte." Rafe shook his head. "And well...for being this high..." he looked down once more, "...this is a little advanced for a newbie. Wanna head back down closer to the ground?"

"Derian!" Chris shouted as she watched her friend flip himself over on the broomstick. She watched nervously as Rafe came over and attempted to help. She could tell that Derian was embarrassed, but was determined to teach him to fly better than his dog of a brother. She grabbed his broom handle once more and brought it right up next to her own. She could feel him shaking, and understood why. Your first falls-or near falls- from a broom are always the worst. "Hey. It's alright. You're doing fine. I told you I wouldn't let you fall. It's all about getting used to it. I'm gonna keep you right up next to me, alright? I'll just help you down the field a little, nothing fancy, just some laps, and take you down. No great flyer was made in a day," she said, trying to reassure him, glaring at Rafe. "Or would you rather have his help?"

Derian had to laugh at Rafe's confusion about Einstein. Oh, these wizards... "Einstein has nothing to do with your eyes. Albert Einstein is a famous muggle scientist that came up with the Theory of Relativity. Ahh... that is, basically, he came up with the law of gravity and how matter moves under that law." He was amazed that people Rafe's age had no concept of who Einstein was.

Heather's voice cut through his inner-musings and he nodded in answer to Rafe's question, "Well, seeing as Heather has summoned me, I suppose I should go sort her out..." He smirked, "And then I have to get ready for a date. So, yes! I think I can grasp the physics of it, but show me how to get down from here anyway."

Chris flying up diverted his attention. Despite her encouraging words, she still seemed miffed at Rafe on his behalf. He grinned, and spoke, hoping to dispel the tension, "Heya, Chris. Sorry I turned out to be such an over-achiever, Who knew I'd be so eager to fly?" He swallowed, still trying to calm his jittery nerves and continued, "Sure, we can fly some more! After all, I do have a couple of hours before my dinner with Elektra this evening. And, since I probably gave my brother a fright, I think we should at least let him accompany us back down... and, I have to talk to Heather too since she decided to show up..." He pointed down at the girl to reiterate his point.

"So the guy works with gravel?! That sounds boring and who would want to relate to that!?" Rafe didn't really understand the muggle world, nor did he have any desire to really understand them. He loved the wizarding world so much and surrounded his life with it. Being a wizard just made things so much easier.

Rafe heard Heather too. "Blow her off man, I can teach you the Starfish and Stick move!" He was really excited that his brother showed interest in flying. Derian certainly wasn't the best flyer, but Rafe would change all that. "Girls will usually let it go after all, send her an owl or something." Rafe was actually getting in some brotherly bonding time in (which would make their father pretty happy) and now it was interrupted by girls. They always had a way of spoiling things at the most inopportune moment. "Date huh? Picnic by the lake? Romantic one on one date in the kitchen? A moonlight walk around the grounds?" Rafe wasn't as shocked as he probably should've been by the date, but Derian was young he was free to do whatever he liked and possibly get heartbroken along the way. What Rafe did find confusing was what Derian said he understood about flying, "But there's not fish when it comes to flying?" This kid used so many weird words. "As for setting down, put your feet forward as you point your broom down towards the ground and for now you might have to do a little run once you hit the ground to stop."

Next thing he knew Derian was talking to his supposed flying "teacher." He could definitely sense some hostility coming from this girl. Rafe scoffed at her "no great flyer was made in a day" comment. She could speak for herself. Romanians were practically born on a broom! "Hey! I happen to be an excellent teacher with fifteen years experience!" What was with these girl hating on him all the time? Rafe just glanced over at his brother...yep, that's why.

There was Derian, pleasing everybody. He was really good at that. "Sounds good," she said. She was lucky to be friends with him. She guided him in a corkscrew down, trying to keep a reasonable speed. Her normal speed would probably give him a heart attack. "Dinner with Elektra? I knew there was something between you two. Have fun. I'll let you talk with Heather and Rafe... come find me later, or I'll find you whatever. But we do need to talk. I...owe you something," she said as they landed. "And I never doubted your flying skills. Just your teaching methods. We should practice sometime," she added on Rafe's behalf. She waved goodbye to everyone, even smiled at Rafe, and dragged her broom off the pitch in a suddenly much better mood.

JP instantly dropped his broom on the spot and ran over to the two girls at the pitch. JP knew healing charms but had not practiced them and thought it best to probably just help the girl get to hospital wing.
"Is she alright? Help me sit her up a bit."
"Are you ok?"

"Hey there. If I were to apologize and gravel at your feet for a few minutes would you listen to me?" Heather asked smiling at him.

Turning from watching Chris depart, he rose his eyebrows at Heather and motioned for Rafe to stay put. He figured he might as well stay and practice with Rafe since Chris left, and he figured that the discussion with Heather wouldn't be that long. "No grovelling necessary, but I will listen to you." He left it at that and made a concentrated effort not to sound unapproachable. He reasoned that he could be patient enough for now.

"Dude, what happened to that muggle saying 'Bros before gardening tools'? Or something like that?" Rafe called out to Derian as he walked away. Rafe just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, waiting for this little convo between the two of them end, so that could get back to flying. Rafe was a little curious as to what she had to say about Rafe, probably 'Rafe made me do it' and 'I had no choice.' Such a typical girl thing to do.

"Is there another place we can talk?" Heather asked glaring at Rafe. "Someplace quieter perhaps?"

Derian shook his head, "Sorry. I am sure that whatever you say can be said perfectly fine where we are." He wasn't in the mood to go running all about the castle so that Heather would feel more comfortable about explaining herself to him. Besides, her issue with Rafe (as displayed by her glare) was not his concern.

"Fine. Here are my cards. I am sorry for what I almost did to you. I honestly didn't know it was a love potion, but that doesn't let me off the hook. I knew it was bad enough to hide it from you, and that should have been enough to stop me.

Tyler and I dated for about six months. Only three weeks of that was done willingly on my part. You see, my parents weren't home a lot so I spent most my time with him. He became mean and cold. I told him I wanted to end it and he hit me. He told me he would hurt me if I ever told anyone and that I was going to stay with him. He made me kiss him in public and tell people how much I liked him. He used me and hurt me and forced me to do things." Her eyes teared up again.

"If I had known that that potion would control you I would have gotten rid of it much earlier. Believe me I know how much it hurts not to have a choice.
When I was eight I got this..." Heather lifted up her shirt a little revealing a long scratch mark going up her side. "My grandad was a werewolf, he did this to me when I was six. I got off lucky though seeing as how he was trying to kill me." She pulled her shirt back down. "I guess you could say the men in my life had a knack for hurting me. You were the first one who didn't, and I got that confused with 'romance', which brings me to my next point.

I heard about you and Elektra. I talked with Selina last night. I'm happy for you, honestly. And now that I realize all of this I don't have those feelings anymore." Heather was happy this was actually the truth for once.

"And I know I don't deserve it, but I really want to continue to be friends with you. If you would let me?"

After Roxana pushed herself away from the ground, sitting on the broom, she was happy to be up in the air again. It was a wonderful feeling when the cold air clashed into her face. She wanted to imrpove her skills for the upcoming tryouts. Ever since she rode the first time on a broom and played Quidditch with her friends at home, she wanted to be in the house team. She really hoped to play in this season!

She suddenly lost control of the quaffle right before she aimed for her target. Gravity took the ball captive and her instincts took over. The wind whip-lashed her face in an effort to capture the quaffle before it blemished the freshly mowed grass. Right before the tip of her broom could touch the first blade of grass the quaffle was successfully back in her hand.

"Okay now focus," she told herself, we only have a few days left, she thought. Picking up speed she noticed a young man who looked to be a year or two older, she breezed back around, "I need to practice...wanna help?" She smiled as to be friendly seeing as she couldn't shake his hand in a formal introduction. "I'm Wisteria" she raised her voice as other flyers were zooming around. She had so much energy she couldn't stay in one place too long.

Rene was getting alittle bored playing by herself but she had gotten in some great practice. She turned her broom and noticed another spot of yellow on the field. It was a girl she had seen before but was unsure of to where it had been. She decide to fly closer and get a closer look maybe they could help each other out even if she was trying out for beater, noticing the bat in her hand. "Hello, Im Rene. Wanna practice together? I have an old non working bludger that I can toss at you and see if you can hit it." she said kindly hoping she had made a friend

Derian smiled. He was surprised by the tack Heather took, and relieved. Plus, honestly, she apologized and it seemed genuine. He would be doing only himself a disservice if he continued to hold the grudge, "Of course I'll let you. I was just angry at the action, not the person... especially since you didn't even know what you were given." He hooked an arm around her shoulder, "And, if you will forgive me my temper, I would love to be a friend to you. I respect you, and I think you need to be shown some respect."

He blinked as another girl came up to him on her broom. He raised his eyebrows as she invited him to practice with her and introduced herself, "Hullo, Wisteria. Nice to meet you. My name is Derian Lycaon, and this is my friend Heather. You just managed to catch us in a conversation." He smiled at the girl, "And, as it happens, I am already practicing with my brother, Rafe," he gestured behind him to the sibling in question. "Join us if you like? And Heather, you and I can meet up later, yeah?"