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A brisk wind would certainly not keep the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts away, Tiara mused on her way down to the pitch. Though many of them would never have done anything with a broom before besides sweep the floor, hopefully their eagerness to learn would trump the less-than-perfect conditions. Ideally this lesson would have been months ago. But with the uncertainty surrounding Abraham and then Meredith.. well, this had been pushed to the back burner on the list of priorities to sort out.
Such were the thoughts swirling through Tiara's head before she arrived at her old stomping grounds. She paused to reflect at how much had changed since her arrival at Hogwarts. First Quidditch and flying with her office right here in the stadium, then a sabbatical and marriage after being aged almost into extinction, coming back just to take up Arithmancy a few months into term, working closely with Leobald and Ravenclaw, having her role with Ravenclaw ended, and now almost full circle - back to first year flying lessons. But this wouldn't do: students would be arriving soon. Focus, Tyner.. Tanner! She grinned in spite of herself.
The referee/official-turned-professor whipped out her wand and performed a full array of cushioning charms on the ground of the stadium. Hard-packed ice had made it even more unforgiving to land on than normal. The next stop was to unlock the broomshed, also with the aid of her wand. Finally, she made a sign appear in front of the stadium: "First year flying lesson inside the stadium, personal brooms not allowed by school rules". After that there wasn't much left to do but wait in the cold wind.
Rachel was prepared for Haddie's answer of trying the most difficult of hoops first. She really was but she was definitely not prepared for that answer. She did a double take at her friend. "Really?'' She took a second or two to recover before her excited attitude returned. "Let's go then!''
She gracefully got onto her broom again, following the instructions to rise gently in the air. But Haddie, it seemed, was too excited. She really shot into the air, leaving Rachel behind. "Wait for me, Haddie!'' The girl continued to rise until she caught up to where the other eagle was hovering.
"Eager Eagle, you really ought to stop leaving me behind,'' Rachel chided gently but smiling all the same. "Let me know when you're ready to get started.'' Perhaps Haddie would like some time to continue practicing her ascending and descending? If so, Rachel would wait because she and Haddie would tackle those hoops together.
Gently, Haddie guided the handle to the right. Charlie still turned more than she intended, but it was better than before. And this was probably her, getting used to controlling a broom. She would get it, though. She was sure of that. Ever-so-slightly, since her normal range was till producing turns that were a bit too sharp, Haddie angled the handle downward. She and Charlie began a slow spiral down. That felt safe and comfortable almost immediately, so, naturally, Haddie angled the broom down a bit more.
Every time, the Californian felt safe and comfortable with her current speed and angle of descent, she angled the broom down more, and leaned in more, picking up speed, until finally she was rocketing toward the ground in a steep spiral. The air whipped past her face, stinging her cheeks and freezing her nose and ears, but she didn't care. This was too amazing to let anything, even the cold, bother her.
The ground rushed at them. Haddie pulled out of the spiral and the dive. She had given herself fifteen feet of leeway to pull out of the dive before splattering on the ground, but only needed four. Rachel was still hovering in the same place Haddie'd been before her little steering adventure happened. "Hurry up Slowpoke!" The wind carried her voice as Haddie zoomed past the other girl, not stopping at all.
Haddie sped past the the first obstacle set, still not slowing down, and guided the broom into a tight circle around the course. Once she was back in front of the course, she pulled up on the handle, sitting and leaning back as she did. The broom stopped so fast that Haddie almost tumbled off. When she recovered though, she grinning madly. "That was incredible," she said, patting the handle again. The Eagle watched the others fly around, weaving through the other obstacle course as she hovered, waiting for Rachel to catch up. "Sorry, that time I didn't mean to leave you behind...just needed to get used to handling a broom." It was her first time after all. There were some issues, sure, but she overall she was doing great, she thought.
This was sooooo not the optimal setting for Jaemin to be working in. The small boy moved back obediently when the professor told them to, but he kept casting furtive glances at those around him. For most classes, this would be plenty of space for him to work comfortably around everyone else... but this was brooms. These things moved around, and sometimes rather against the will of the person on it. He could only imagine getting crash-landed on by another student, and it was more than a little off-putting.
Still... Professor Tanner wouldn't let anything bad happen. She was one of the good professors. Didn't eat kids or anything, as far as he was aware. *squints* So Jaemin dutifully swung himself onto the broom as the professor had demonstrated, and held onto it as carefully, yet firmly, as he possibly could. He didn't want to fall off, but he also didn't want to offend the broom or anything... that'd be awful.
When they were given the go-ahead, Jaemin drew a deep breath and pushed his feet off the ground as hard as he could. At the same time, he pulled the broom up just a bit; the small boy found himself about six feet in the air, wobbling a little as he tried to adjust to how it felt to be sitting on a broom and suddenly have all his weight on it like this. It was weird. He was not sure he liked this at all.
He hovered where he was for a long moment, unsteady and nervous as he squeezed the broom handle a little tighter, before tilting it forward to get back down on the ground. He must have tilted it a little bit too far or something, because he dropped out of the air like a falling rock, feet hitting the ground hard with a loud gasp.
Nope. Noooooope. Not very fond of this at all. He didn't fall, thank Merlin, but he still didn't appreciate the way he'd landed. The small Slytherin wrinkled his nose and gave the broom handle a look.
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
SPOILER!!: Haddie! <3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callie
Gently, Haddie guided the handle to the right. Charlie still turned more than she intended, but it was better than before. And this was probably her, getting used to controlling a broom. She would get it, though. She was sure of that. Ever-so-slightly, since her normal range was till producing turns that were a bit too sharp, Haddie angled the handle downward. She and Charlie began a slow spiral down. That felt safe and comfortable almost immediately, so, naturally, Haddie angled the broom down a bit more.
Every time, the Californian felt safe and comfortable with her current speed and angle of descent, she angled the broom down more, and leaned in more, picking up speed, until finally she was rocketing toward the ground in a steep spiral. The air whipped past her face, stinging her cheeks and freezing her nose and ears, but she didn't care. This was too amazing to let anything, even the cold, bother her.
The ground rushed at them. Haddie pulled out of the spiral and the dive. She had given herself fifteen feet of leeway to pull out of the dive before splattering on the ground, but only needed four. Rachel was still hovering in the same place Haddie'd been before her little steering adventure happened. "Hurry up Slowpoke!" The wind carried her voice as Haddie zoomed past the other girl, not stopping at all.
Haddie sped past the the first obstacle set, still not slowing down, and guided the broom into a tight circle around the course. Once she was back in front of the course, she pulled up on the handle, sitting and leaning back as she did. The broom stopped so fast that Haddie almost tumbled off. When she recovered though, she grinning madly. "That was incredible," she said, patting the handle again. The Eagle watched the others fly around, weaving through the other obstacle course as she hovered, waiting for Rachel to catch up. "Sorry, that time I didn't mean to leave you behind...just needed to get used to handling a broom." It was her first time after all. There were some issues, sure, but she overall she was doing great, she thought.
Rachel watched Haddie with a sort of pride. Her best friend was getting better and better already. She was proud of her. Admittedly, she became worried when the dives occurred. Rachel felt her pulse rate increase and found herself holding her breath at that time. "You're positively brilliant at this, Haddie,'' the girl called as the other first year streaked past her. She then zoomed closer. "I know you didn't. It seems your broom is just as excited as you are.''
Still smiling, Rachel looked towards the first group of hoops. Haddie had just zoomed around them so she reasoned they were ready to tackle them. Rachel aimed for the left. "Catch me!'' Like the time they were canaries, she took off to race her friend. These were the stationary hoops so they would pose no threat.
One, two, three hoops she zipped through, her ponytails flapping happily in the breeze. Was her best friend on her tail?
Ravenpuff | Cap'n Crunch | Bedtime Queen | O Minion, My Minion
Text Cut: Jace
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stefan
He wished Tory stood by him instead. Jace could feel his cheeks warm up when Azura stood by him, and gave him...a smile? What was going on? He was sure she was mad at him, because she walked out on him for being honest. The Ravenclaw did not return the smile, because he was confused and was still in the process of figuring out what the smile meant. After days of not talking to him, or at least an acknowledgment, there she was being all friendly.
Yes, girls are confusing. Thankful that Tenacius spoke up, if only Azura wasn't messing up his thoughts, he would have asked the Gryffindor why it wasn't cool to help Torrance...and himself. Jace was sure he'd do the silencing charm on a snoring machine to do everyone in his dorm a favour.
Following the instruction of the Professor, Jace placed the broom on his right side, raised his arm over it and commanded it to fly to his hand. He was able to get this right during the Summer Quidditch Camp, so it was no surprise that the broom responded to him immediately, "UP." After mounting his broom, and listening to the professor, Jace kicked the ground, and in seconds he was hovering off the ground. Jace did a good, solid landing when the professor asked them come down again for the main activity. Looking to the other side of the field, the Ravenclaw eyed the middle course. He wasn't really that much of a beginner anyway, so he thought he'd do okay with a bit of a challenge.
Jace's attention seemed to be on again off again, slightly diverted at times onto other individuals. But at least he had managed to get the broom into his hand. "Mister Reed, flying usually requires a little more consistent effort and focus than you are currently devoting to it." Just a suggestion.
Text Cut: Azura
Quote:
Originally Posted by MunchyBubbles
Azura was so excited about flying, she didn't even fully notice that Jace didn't smile back at her. Instead, she just shot him another wide grin, and then after listening to Professor Tanner explain how to steer as well as the obstacle courses.. She got back onto her broom..
She pulled her cloak in tighter around her, tying it on the bottom to make sure it didn't flap too much, before she rose into the air and headed straight towards the hard course!
Yes! On the ground, she was terribly clumsy, she could barely walk without tripping, but in the air.. In the air it was a different story! She was graceful and alive and didn't have a care in the world!
Even though she wished she had her own broom, she would take what she would get and she took off like a shot across the pitch!! Ahh!!!! Her dark hair was streaming back like a banner, her purple eyes alight with happeinessm the icy wind was blowing in her face but she didn't care! She felt alive and for the first time in awhile.. Happy!
"WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! She yelled out as she found the hard obstacle course and then.. Zipped straight through a smaller moving hoop! This was fun!!
Well, someone was enjoying themselves, if the rate of acceleration was any indication. Or the giant exclamation. Or the massive smile. Okay, she was definitely enjoying herself. And she wasn't shirking a challenge either, going straight for the hardest set of obstacles.
Text Cut: Haddie and Rachel
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callie
Haddie nodded without hesitation. There were very few times Haddie got to surprise Rachel, and this would be one of them. "Let's start on the easy course." Just like when she learned to snowboard in Big Bear. They started her on the kiddie slope, which she had mastered in no time and was rocketing down the hill. But it helped. Learning to control the board on a nothing slope. And that's what Haddie planned to do here. "Until I get a feel for it."
Haddie rubbed the broom's handle lovingly and mounted it. "Ready for this, Charlie?" She grinned. The broom's excitement hung around her like a thick cloud, mixing with her own excitement. Gently she pulled up on the handle, but they still shot into the air in an instant. Not that it mattered this time, since there were no instructions to stay only a few feet from the ground. Being high in the air was exhilarating. She spent a moment, taking it in, just hovering up there for a moment. Then she angled the handle to the left, and sped off a bit more sharply than she had intended.
"Whoa, boy. Easy." Haddie pulled up on the handle, but instead of stopping, they just raced higher into the air. She was high over the pitch by the time she managed to get them to stop. It was the leaning back and sit up that did it. Apparently she hadn't leaned back enough or something. "I know, I know," she patted the handle. "You've probably been in that shed way too long." That alone made Haddie feel for her broom. He was like her. They didn't do well cooped up. They both needed to be out, and active, and pushing themselves to the limit. "We'll get to the fun stuff, just let me get a feel for you first, huh?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19
Rachel was prepared for Haddie's answer of trying the most difficult of hoops first. She really was but she was definitely not prepared for that answer. She did a double take at her friend. "Really?'' She took a second or two to recover before her excited attitude returned. "Let's go then!''
She gracefully got onto her broom again, following the instructions to rise gently in the air. But Haddie, it seemed, was too excited. She really shot into the air, leaving Rachel behind. "Wait for me, Haddie!'' The girl continued to rise until she caught up to where the other eagle was hovering.
"Eager Eagle, you really ought to stop leaving me behind,'' Rachel chided gently but smiling all the same. "Let me know when you're ready to get started.'' Perhaps Haddie would like some time to continue practicing her ascending and descending? If so, Rachel would wait because she and Haddie would tackle those hoops together.
Really, Tiara was not surprised at Rachel's suggestion of starting off with a reasonable course, but she was actually taken aback by Hadley's choice to take it easy. From what she knew of the latter eagle, slow going wasn't in her nature. And after a little bit of a rocky start, the pair was off to the races.. almost literally. She clapped in delight as she watched.
Text Cut: Jaemin
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ameh
This was sooooo not the optimal setting for Jaemin to be working in. The small boy moved back obediently when the professor told them to, but he kept casting furtive glances at those around him. For most classes, this would be plenty of space for him to work comfortably around everyone else... but this was brooms. These things moved around, and sometimes rather against the will of the person on it. He could only imagine getting crash-landed on by another student, and it was more than a little off-putting.
Still... Professor Tanner wouldn't let anything bad happen. She was one of the good professors. Didn't eat kids or anything, as far as he was aware. *squints* So Jaemin dutifully swung himself onto the broom as the professor had demonstrated, and held onto it as carefully, yet firmly, as he possibly could. He didn't want to fall off, but he also didn't want to offend the broom or anything... that'd be awful.
When they were given the go-ahead, Jaemin drew a deep breath and pushed his feet off the ground as hard as he could. At the same time, he pulled the broom up just a bit; the small boy found himself about six feet in the air, wobbling a little as he tried to adjust to how it felt to be sitting on a broom and suddenly have all his weight on it like this. It was weird. He was not sure he liked this at all.
He hovered where he was for a long moment, unsteady and nervous as he squeezed the broom handle a little tighter, before tilting it forward to get back down on the ground. He must have tilted it a little bit too far or something, because he dropped out of the air like a falling rock, feet hitting the ground hard with a loud gasp.
Nope. Noooooope. Not very fond of this at all. He didn't fall, thank Merlin, but he still didn't appreciate the way he'd landed. The small Slytherin wrinkled his nose and gave the broom handle a look.
Mister Song appeared to be insecure, which was only natural and expected at this stage. "That happens sometimes, Mister Song. No worries. Just get back on and try again. Maybe try not to shift your weight forward as much when you want to descend so your broom does not think you want it to dive." Into the ground. The hard, frozen ground.
Rachel watched Haddie with a sort of pride. Her best friend was getting better and better already. She was proud of her. Admittedly, she became worried when the dives occurred. Rachel felt her pulse rate increase and found herself holding her breath at that time. "You're positively brilliant at this, Haddie,'' the girl called as the other first year streaked past her. She then zoomed closer. "I know you didn't. It seems your broom is just as excited as you are.''
Still smiling, Rachel looked towards the first group of hoops. Haddie had just zoomed around them so she reasoned they were ready to tackle them. Rachel aimed for the left. "Catch me!'' Like the time they were canaries, she took off to race her friend. These were the stationary hoops so they would pose no threat.
One, two, three hoops she zipped through, her ponytails flapping happily in the breeze. Was her best friend on her tail?
Haddie grinned as she watched Rachel take off. Now this was her idea of fun. She patted Charlie's handle and leaned forward, speeding off after the dark haired eagle. The first and second hoops she zoomed through, but the third one she clipped with her shoulder. It hurt, but thanks to the charms Professor Tanner put up, it wasn't too bad, and her shoulder was fine.
Haddie still didn't have a strong feel for the fine maneuverability, yet. It would be a while before she was comfortable enough on the broom to see what she could really do through this course. She had nearly caught up to Rachel, but now the girl was getting further and further away as Haddie slowed down a bit, taking the hoops at a fast, but manageable speed. As she went through the hoops, getting a better feel for her broom, her speed gradually picked up again. Learning to fly a broom was a lot like learning to control a surfboard, or a snowboard. Two things she'd picked up quickly and was quite good at.
Haddie didn't worry about hitting every hoop this go. She tried, but she was new to this, and if she couldn't get one, she didn't fret too much. The hoop placement got trickier near the end, and again Haddie had to slow down a little, not as much as before, but a bit. She wasn't going to catch Rachel, but that didn't matter much. It was Haddie's first time on the broom and she hadn't fallen off yet, so in Haddie's mind this was victory. She couldn't even remember how many times she'd wiped out the first time she was on a surfboard, or fallen the first time she'd snowboarded.
The Californian girl finished the first set well after her best friend. She reached out and smacked Rachel's back as she zipped past. "Tag, you're it!" Haddie kept going, angling the broom up into a vertical climb, then let herself and the broom fall backwards. As they fell, she angled the handle toward the ground, rolled and pulled herself out the dive like before and once again, raced past Rachel. "Best two of three!" she yelled, speeding over the course back to the start.
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
Ariadne had nearly BURST in excitement over the hovering alone. Merlin help her when she actually got high in the air. Hearing the professor (which wasn't very hard, since she was just hovering), Ariadne lowered her broom by steering herself back down to the ground. She carefully dismounted her broom and turned her eyes to the professor.
She nodded along to the directions about steering. She could do that, YES, she could. Steer left to go left...steer right to go right! Could she fly to the SKY NOW?! Oh, right...slowing down. She probably needed to know that first, didn't she? She nodded some more. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
AN OBSTACLE COURSE?!
Oh, Merlin help her!!! THE EXCITEMENT!
Ariadne turned to see the obstacle course and jumped up and down in place a few times. This was just TOO EXCITING. She was already making plans to try the set on the right...AFTER she tried the set on the left.
So they were good to get started?! Well, then ready...set...GO!
Snow Miser | Munchy | Molly Hooper | T | Hey, you | Phantom | Mrs. Chris Evans | Brat Pack | Tristalen
Azura was laughing as she zoomed through the air.. LAUGHING!! She hadn't felt this good in awhile! Nothing could bother her up here! She zipped in and out of the obstacle course, though the broom wasn't as responsive as her broom at home so she had to make a few adjustments, but still she wasn't even close to hitting any of the hoops!
It also helped that she was small!
She wove in and out of the course, giggling happily..
"Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly awayyyyy." Her voice was lost to the air as she sang, she couldn't wait for next term when she could bring her broom with her and really tear up the course..
"You are doing a really good job." She said as she gently patted her broom, trying to make it feel good as she zipped through a moving target easily.. Ahhhh.. could she just stay up here? She couldn't trip over anything in the air!!
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
Ariadne steered her broom toward the easy set first. No way was she going to attempt the medium one or the difficult one on her very first try. Did she think she could handle them? Yeah, just...not FIRST. As she traveled over there, she passed by several of her friends. There was Azura, Haddie, Rachel, and Jace. She was sure she passed several more, but they were all blurs as they zoomed by on their brooms.
The first years were SUPER COOL and AWESOME this year!
Ariadne finally reached the easy obstacle course and pulled back on her broom to slow down. She wanted to survey the area first and get a feel for what she was doing before she just zoomed on in. It didn't look too hard to get through. Ariadne took off again, headed straight toward the poles. She began steering through them, paying careful attention to where the next pole was, so she wouldn't plow right into it.
MERLIN. This was AWESOME! Ariadne felt just like her mom, dad, and older sisters--they'd always been into flying, and now she was up in the air, too!
Ability is nothing without Opportunity | | Creativity is Intelligence having FUN
The Flying Lady… is asking him to apologize to a broom. Tenacius just blinked and looked at her as if she suddenly spoke Gobbledegook. Yeah he didn’t understand why an under performing item despite its sentience is something he should lower himself to. But the last parts he understood…. Sorta kinda ok not really. But he does remember his Grandma heaping platitudes to gossip reporters that she meets that write nothing but garbage about her. Is that how it was with him and this broom?
His nose flared as he pressed his lips thinly, then forced it to smile. Relax relax relax! "Okay broom…" yeah it gets called broom, not gonna christen this thing with cute nicknames as he usually does with things that does amuse him "… We didn’t start off on the right footing. I'm SORRY for being…." a boy who was raised with and expected higher standards? "…difficult." Even if obviously it’s the broom that started it "If you would be so kind as to show me your expertise with this obstacle course, I promise I'll just let you take the easiest---" lame duck challenge "-- lap from all three options there. Stress free yeah?" Man and just when he thought he can do his tricks today. Sighs.
The broom didn’t budge after that, but when he reached out to lower it so he could mount, it didn’t resist. No he still wasn’t trusting this with the family jewels, so he tucked as much padding as he could between himself and the shaft.
He tested its turning, left, right, then braking. Eh it was ok, at least it was good enough that it wont send him to the hospital wing. Maybe blessing in disguise that they sorta agreed to just go for the easiest obstacle. Sighs… and that obstacle course was soooo his thing, slaloming around and hoop the loops and all that.
"Ok broom lets go." and with that he kicks off for the course on the left.
__________________
++Tenacius ++🐦++ Salander++🐦++ Deo ++🐦++ Vickers ++🐦++ Huxley ++🐦+ Aquila++ Yeah thats what crazy is, when its broken you say theres nothing to fix++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++And you pray that everything will be okay, while you're making all the same mistakes
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
SPOILER!!: The Mischievous one!<3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callie
Haddie grinned as she watched Rachel take off. Now this was her idea of fun. She patted Charlie's handle and leaned forward, speeding off after the dark haired eagle. The first and second hoops she zoomed through, but the third one she clipped with her shoulder. It hurt, but thanks to the charms Professor Tanner put up, it wasn't too bad, and her shoulder was fine.
Haddie still didn't have a strong feel for the fine maneuverability, yet. It would be a while before she was comfortable enough on the broom to see what she could really do through this course. She had nearly caught up to Rachel, but now the girl was getting further and further away as Haddie slowed down a bit, taking the hoops at a fast, but manageable speed. As she went through the hoops, getting a better feel for her broom, her speed gradually picked up again. Learning to fly a broom was a lot like learning to control a surfboard, or a snowboard. Two things she'd picked up quickly and was quite good at.
Haddie didn't worry about hitting every hoop this go. She tried, but she was new to this, and if she couldn't get one, she didn't fret too much. The hoop placement got trickier near the end, and again Haddie had to slow down a little, not as much as before, but a bit. She wasn't going to catch Rachel, but that didn't matter much. It was Haddie's first time on the broom and she hadn't fallen off yet, so in Haddie's mind this was victory. She couldn't even remember how many times she'd wiped out the first time she was on a surfboard, or fallen the first time she'd snowboarded.
The Californian girl finished the first set well after her best friend. She reached out and smacked Rachel's back as she zipped past. "Tag, you're it!" Haddie kept going, angling the broom up into a vertical climb, then let herself and the broom fall backwards. As they fell, she angled the handle toward the ground, rolled and pulled herself out the dive like before and once again, raced past Rachel. "Best two of three!" she yelled, speeding over the course back to the start.
Before taking off for the poles, Rachel saw and distinctly heard Professor Tanner applauding for them. She smiled and waved at the woman then zoomed off, noticing Ariadne having fun on her own broom. This made the Eagle happy because she knew that her Snake friend came from a family of Quidditch players so it came as no surprise to see that she was this good at flying.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Flying ahead of Haddie gave Rachel no ability to see that her friend had made contact with one of the hoops. Instead, she was concentrating on flying through the hoops properly. She had it in her mind as a goal to emerge from the hoops without so much as touching one. She angled the broom's handle this way and that to keep this up.
Then through the last hoop of the group she flew! What success she had! She had gotten through them all and she was thoroughly pleased about this because she was certain this would not happen when she took on the last group, at least. Rachel's marveling at herself was cut short when the hand smacked her back. "It's on, Had-'' OH NO!
What was she doing? Rachel watched, holding her breath, as Haddie did another dive. But like the others, she pulled herself from it in time. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. Someday, her best friend was going to give her a heart attack.
"Should we try the second set?'' she wondered aloud.
Before taking off for the poles, Rachel saw and distinctly heard Professor Tanner applauding for them. She smiled and waved at the woman then zoomed off, noticing Ariadne having fun on her own broom. This made the Eagle happy because she knew that her Snake friend came from a family of Quidditch players so it came as no surprise to see that she was this good at flying.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Flying ahead of Haddie gave Rachel no ability to see that her friend had made contact with one of the hoops. Instead, she was concentrating on flying through the hoops properly. She had it in her mind as a goal to emerge from the hoops without so much as touching one. She angled the broom's handle this way and that to keep this up.
Then through the last hoop of the group she flew! What success she had! She had gotten through them all and she was thoroughly pleased about this because she was certain this would not happen when she took on the last group, at least. Rachel's marveling at herself was cut short when the hand smacked her back. "It's on, Had-'' OH NO!
What was she doing? Rachel watched, holding her breath, as Haddie did another dive. But like the others, she pulled herself from it in time. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. Someday, her best friend was going to give her a heart attack.
"Should we try the second set?'' she wondered aloud.
Haddie eyed the second course with a mixture of longing and apprehension. She glanced back a the first set, weighing the choice. Was she ready to jump into the second set? Or should she give it some more run-throughs? Growing up, Haddie had the importance of gradually building to the advanced areas, whether it be stronger waves or harder slopes. Going to big too fast could get you seriously hurt, or worse. There were no cushioning charms, no magic fix-its for injuries. Eventually that just became her instinct.
Haddie picked up boarding, be it snow or surf, quickly. Quicker than most people expected. Still, she'd remain in the beginner sets having fun, testing herself, falling, not falling, sapping all the fun and craziness out of it before moving on to the intermediate slope, or down the beach to where the waves were a bit bigger, a bit stronger. She'd stay there milking all the fun and excitement she could, falling, getting bruises or just jolted a little, learn more and pushing herself further. Then she'd try the advanced slopes or the bigger waves. She fell constantly, and got jolted, bumped and bruised everywhere, but she ate the challenge up. And despite her parents not being thrilled about her jumping into the advanved areas so quickly, it was harder to argue when she was doing well on the other areas.
But those times, they had the whole day to get there. Today she only had a class period. And she was getting to the hard course before it was over. "You go ahead. I'm gonna do this one one more time. I'll join you in a minute." Grinning, Haddie zoomed back into the set, weaving through the hoops faster than last time, with frequent near misses and clipping more than a few hoops in the process.
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
So nothing eventful had happened...YET. Well, nothing eventful other than the fact Ariadne was FINALLY FLYING. She honestly wanted to scream and yell at the top of her lungs for no reason whatsoever. She was just SUPER EXCITED. She flew through the easy set one more time then, when a deep breath of anticipation, headed toward the medium set.
She pulled back on her broom and paused mid-air to figure out what she was up against. This set looked like the set she'd just flown through, but some of the poles were moving side to side. The cool part of this set was that there were a few large hoops moving up and down, which was what Ariadne was looking forward to.
She leaned forward again and took off, heading right toward a pole moving from left to right. She could kind of make small predictions as she closed in on it. It's speed wasn't that bad, and she thought she could sail around it with no problem. She got closer, and the hoop unexpectedly moved to the left. With a light gasp, Ariadne steered the broom to the right and soared past the pole.
The youngest Denaker flew the easy course twice more before she felt she had mastered it enough to move on to the medium course. And by mastered, she just meant that she didn't clip any hoops at her last high speed run through. A lot of near misses, but she didn't connect with a single one.
If she had the entire day to devote to learning to fly, Haddie would have stayed on the easy course for a lot longer. She still had plenty left to try on this course, and plenty more ways to try and push herself. In short, the course hadn't gotten boring yet. But she only had the rest of the class period and so, somewhat reluctantly, she turned Charlie away from the easy course and zoomed over to the medium one in the middle. Like she had done with the easy course, Haddie raced in a tight circle around the course once, before whipping over to the start. Rachel was there waiting, but that didn't mean Haddie was going to.
"Rachel's a snail!" Hadley taunted, zipping past her best friend rather closely. And then she was into the course, and through the first loop, then the second and third and onto the fourth hoop.
Try again. Right. He nodded slowly when the professor gave him a pointer and gripped the broom a little tighter, biting his lip. He could do this... he could do it. He drew a breath and pushed off the ground again, tilting the broom handle up a bit. It went higher this time, almost ten feet up, before he clumsily evened out and hovered where he was. The small Slytherin looked down and shuddered; this was high. Really high. More than twice his tiny person height. It wasn't bad, but it was unnerving...
He wasn't a fan of flying just yet. It had seemed cool, and Quidditch looked fun and stuff, but when he was actually this far off the ground it was like... reality settled in, and it was less cool. The small boy looked at the obstacle courses the professor had set up and wrinkled his nose; he'd land again, just to make sure he could, before trying one of those. Jaemin very gently tilted the broom down, holding his breath as it started toward the ground. It was much slower this time, and his feet touched the ground with much less force.
"Oh good," he murmured, letting out a relieved sigh. Now he could do the things. Maybe.
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
SPOILER!!: Hads! <3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callie
The youngest Denaker flew the easy course twice more before she felt she had mastered it enough to move on to the medium course. And by mastered, she just meant that she didn't clip any hoops at her last high speed run through. A lot of near misses, but she didn't connect with a single one.
If she had the entire day to devote to learning to fly, Haddie would have stayed on the easy course for a lot longer. She still had plenty left to try on this course, and plenty more ways to try and push herself. In short, the course hadn't gotten boring yet. But she only had the rest of the class period and so, somewhat reluctantly, she turned Charlie away from the easy course and zoomed over to the medium one in the middle. Like she had done with the easy course, Haddie raced in a tight circle around the course once, before whipping over to the start. Rachel was there waiting, but that didn't mean Haddie was going to.
"Rachel's a snail!" Hadley taunted, zipping past her best friend rather closely. And then she was into the course, and through the first loop, then the second and third and onto the fourth hoop.
Rachel didn't want to go ahead and leave her best friend behind. She reasoned that they were in this together and so she decided to wait until Haddie had finished with the first set of hoops. She hovered, cheering and encouraging her friend on especially during the third round where Haddie sailed through each and every hoop without making contact with any of them.
Then she was zooming towards her. Goodness! Haddie was practically a blur! Rachel gave a small squeak and quickly maneuvered her broomstick to avoid any collision. Really, the other Eagle was a little speed demon. "I am not!'' she called in response to the jab as she turned on her broomstick to follow.
She zoomed through the first hoop after directing her broom towards the left since the hoop moved in that direction. Rachel was careful to keep a sharp eye out on these hoops. Once she banged her left shoulder on one because she was too slow to shift direction. She didn't feel anything thanks to the safety measures Tanner had put in however.
"I'm going to catch up with you, Haddie!'' Possibly not but she would try to.
Rachel didn't want to go ahead and leave her best friend behind. She reasoned that they were in this together and so she decided to wait until Haddie had finished with the first set of hoops. She hovered, cheering and encouraging her friend on especially during the third round where Haddie sailed through each and every hoop without making contact with any of them.
Then she was zooming towards her. Goodness! Haddie was practically a blur! Rachel gave a small squeak and quickly maneuvered her broomstick to avoid any collision. Really, the other Eagle was a little speed demon. "I am not!'' she called in response to the jab as she turned on her broomstick to follow.
She zoomed through the first hoop after directing her broom towards the left since the hoop moved in that direction. Rachel was careful to keep a sharp eye out on these hoops. Once she banged her left shoulder on one because she was too slow to shift direction. She didn't feel anything thanks to the safety measures Tanner had put in however.
"I'm going to catch up with you, Haddie!'' Possibly not but she would try to.
Haddie laughed as she rolled through the next hoop. "No you won't!" She hollered back, letting the wind carry her words to Rachel. She might not have been going nearly as fast as she was through the easy course, but she was still hauling pretty well, Hadley suffered a clip or two against a hoop now and again thanks to her speed, but overall she was doing quiet well for someone who just got on a broom for the first time less than an hour ago.
Still this course was much trickier than the last one and it was only a matter of time before Haddie's novice skills and need for speed caught up with her. Disaster struck around the tenth hoop. She knew she wasn't going to miss the hoop's ring seconds before hitting it, and managed to twist herself around so that she, and not Charlie took the impact. It was instinct mostly. She was flesh and bone and all things that regenerate and can be healed. Charlie was wood, and wood splinters.
The impact jolted her, but didn't really hurt much, despite how fast she was going when she hit the moving hoop. And then broom and rider both plummeted to the cushy, charmed ground below. If it phased Haddie at all, it wasn't for long. Almost immediately she was back on her feet, dusting herself off and mounting Charlie again as her best friend soared above her. She was back in the air and zipping though the hoops again in seconds, albeit at a slightly reduced speed this time.
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
SPOILER!!: Hads! <3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callie
Haddie laughed as she rolled through the next hoop. "No you won't!" She hollered back, letting the wind carry her words to Rachel. She might not have been going nearly as fast as she was through the easy course, but she was still hauling pretty well, Hadley suffered a clip or two against a hoop now and again thanks to her speed, but overall she was doing quiet well for someone who just got on a broom for the first time less than an hour ago.
Still this course was much trickier than the last one and it was only a matter of time before Haddie's novice skills and need for speed caught up with her. Disaster struck around the tenth hoop. She knew she wasn't going to miss the hoop's ring seconds before hitting it, and managed to twist herself around so that she, and not Charlie took the impact. It was instinct mostly. She was flesh and bone and all things that regenerate and can be healed. Charlie was wood, and wood splinters.
The impact jolted her, but didn't really hurt much, despite how fast she was going when she hit the moving hoop. And then broom and rider both plummeted to the cushy, charmed ground below. If it phased Haddie at all, it wasn't for long. Almost immediately she was back on her feet, dusting herself off and mounting Charlie again as her best friend soared above her. She was back in the air and zipping though the hoops again in seconds, albeit at a slightly reduced speed this time.
Up went Rachel and her broom just as she was maneuvering for a hoop that had moved upwards and Haddie's voice reached her. Haddie thought so, did she? To be honest, Rachel didn't think that she would be able to catch up but she wasn't going to tell Haddie that. No, instead she giggled and leaned forward, trying to urge her broom forward. She reasoned that it was because of her experience on a broomstick, no matter how limited, coupled with the fact that she enjoyed challenging Haddie sometimes was making her somewhat competitive now.
Turn to the right, upwards, to the right again... Once or twice more Rachel made contact with the hoops but it was Haddie who seemed to have collided harder. Momentarily forgetting that the Charms were in place, the dark haired girl watched in shock as the other girl dropped towards the ground. Rachel had actually stopped flying and was hovering anxiously, too worried to even utter a sound.
But then Haddie was on her broom in no time. Blinking, Rachel realised the Charms had done their job. Silly her for forgetting that they were in place. Taking advantage of Haddie being out of the 'race', she zoomed off to finish the second course.
Maybe a helmet would have been a good idea? Melbourne huffed as she rubbed her chin as her broom had smacked her in the chin when she hadn’t asked it to get up properly. Brilliant. She was going to fail at this.
“Up?” She called at it again and finally it had lifted into her hand. Quickly she threw her legs over and hovered a tiiiiny bit off of the ground for a bit. “Lets do this broom, we can do this” she grinned and shifted herself on the broom…this was such a foreign unfortunate feeling experience. Quickly she moved to go and start soloming through the first set of obstacles.
__________________
IT'S NOT AN ACT OF LOVE __________________________________________________ ___________ ____________
IF YOU MAKE HER ____________
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
The middle set was definitely not as easy as the first set had been. Ariadne had almost run into poles several times, and she was pretty sure they were secretly human and were out to get her. SURELY they were moving just the right way so as to tackle her to the ground.
She made it through, though, and decided to try the whole set again before even thinking about the last set. The second time around, Ariadne actually went through the maze of poles MUCH easier than she had the first time. It was the up and down hoops that she thought might get her. After she soared past the last pole, she pulled back on her broom and surveyed the hoops before her.
There didn't seem to be any pattern going on. It was so random that her only hope of getting through it without getting hit was pure luck alone. Mmkay. Here goes! Ariadne leaned down on her broom and took off, heading for the first hoop.
Ravenpuff | Cap'n Crunch | Bedtime Queen | O Minion, My Minion
Well, Haddie and Rachel were off spurring each other to new heights. Ariadne was working up courage to get to the higher level course. Jaemin was mastering his landings. Melbourne was building her confidence up for the courses. Azura seemed to be handling the moving targets with ease. And then of course there was Tenacius, who appeared to be starting over in getting to know his broom - for the better, she believed.
Though it was frigid outside, her heart was warm within. She loved watching everyone be able to grow and challenge themselves at their own pace. They were all making progress, but no one was being held back by those with no experience.
But as she checked her watch, it looked like their time was drawing to a close. "We have about five minutes left, everyone! Make sure you get to the courses you want to try!"
Up went Rachel and her broom just as she was maneuvering for a hoop that had moved upwards and Haddie's voice reached her. Haddie thought so, did she? To be honest, Rachel didn't think that she would be able to catch up but she wasn't going to tell Haddie that. No, instead she giggled and leaned forward, trying to urge her broom forward. She reasoned that it was because of her experience on a broomstick, no matter how limited, coupled with the fact that she enjoyed challenging Haddie sometimes was making her somewhat competitive now.
Turn to the right, upwards, to the right again... Once or twice more Rachel made contact with the hoops but it was Haddie who seemed to have collided harder. Momentarily forgetting that the Charms were in place, the dark haired girl watched in shock as the other girl dropped towards the ground. Rachel had actually stopped flying and was hovering anxiously, too worried to even utter a sound.
But then Haddie was on her broom in no time. Blinking, Rachel realised the Charms had done their job. Silly her for forgetting that they were in place. Taking advantage of Haddie being out of the 'race', she zoomed off to finish the second course.
Haddie rolled through the last hoop with a huge smile on her face. Naturally, she came in second to her best friend once again. But that was alright. Once she mastered the broom, then they'll see who comes in first and who comes in second. When she finished her first run-through and hovered next to Rachel. Her bestie was waiting diligently as ever for her to finish and Haddie smiled. It struck her just then how lucky she was to have Rachel as her BFF. "That was the softest wipe-out I've ever had. Come on, let's go again."
As they rounded around to the front of the set though, Haddie heard Professor Tanner's announcement. She frowned, noticeably disappointed. "Maybe we should just try the hard course now?" Haddie asked with a sigh. Five minutes was a lot of time, if she was skilled on the broom. But she wasn't, and knew she was going to fall a lot in the hard course. There was a good chance it would take all five minutes for her to get through it. Ideally, Haddie would have liked to run through the middle course a few more times. It was way too soon to be jumping into hard course, but she wasn't letting the class end without going through it once. "Professor? Will you be leaving the courses up so we can practice more in our free time?" She wanted more time on the broom than a single class period. Besides, it wasn't like the Quidditch pitch was being used for Quidditch. For the first time this year though, Haddie wished it was so she could try-out and play. She didn't know anything about the sport, except that it was played on brooms and that was enough for her.
Oh oh. He wanted to try at least one of the courses before they were done! Jaemin bit his lip and squeezed the broom handle a little again, looking out at the easiest course before looking down at the broom again. He could totally handle that one, right? The broom seemed to be behaving, so he would get by just fine... he hoped. He only wanted to get through it once, and surely there was enough time...
"We don't have to go too fast," he whispered to it, patting it gently before gripping it again as he wobbled. Flying was hard, Merlin... but Jaemin thrived when it came to difficult things. Usually. Most of the time. "Just be careful, okay broom? I'm very small and I don't wanna get busted up."
With that, he kicked himself up off the ground again. He leaned forward a little to sort of urge the broom along; the thing took off, quite a bit faster than he expected, and the small boy let out a surprised sound. It wasn't... the worst thing in the world... but it made him a bit nervous. In this situation, a little nervousness was probably a good thing though, right? It'd keep him on his toes? Or... his broom, rather?
The small Slytherin did his best to maneuver the easy course, weaving between the poles as quickly as possible. He didn't realise he was holding his breath until his shoulder clipped one near the end, spinning him around; he clutched the broom, gasping as his eyes went wide, but he didn't fall or spin down to the ground, thankfully. He slowed to a halt and hovered where he was, a shudder going up his spine as his fingers held tight around the broom handle.
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
SPOILER!!: Hads! <3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callie
Haddie rolled through the last hoop with a huge smile on her face. Naturally, she came in second to her best friend once again. But that was alright. Once she mastered the broom, then they'll see who comes in first and who comes in second. When she finished her first run-through and hovered next to Rachel. Her bestie was waiting diligently as ever for her to finish and Haddie smiled. It struck her just then how lucky she was to have Rachel as her BFF. "That was the softest wipe-out I've ever had. Come on, let's go again."
As they rounded around to the front of the set though, Haddie heard Professor Tanner's announcement. She frowned, noticeably disappointed. "Maybe we should just try the hard course now?" Haddie asked with a sigh. Five minutes was a lot of time, if she was skilled on the broom. But she wasn't, and knew she was going to fall a lot in the hard course. There was a good chance it would take all five minutes for her to get through it. Ideally, Haddie would have liked to run through the middle course a few more times. It was way too soon to be jumping into hard course, but she wasn't letting the class end without going through it once. "Professor? Will you be leaving the courses up so we can practice more in our free time?" She wanted more time on the broom than a single class period. Besides, it wasn't like the Quidditch pitch was being used for Quidditch. For the first time this year though, Haddie wished it was so she could try-out and play. She didn't know anything about the sport, except that it was played on brooms and that was enough for her.
Rachel bobbed her head. "Yes, let's-'' She stopped short with her reply to Haddie when Professor Tanner's voice came floating up to them. Only five minutes left? The girl was crestfallen. Why had the time zoomed by just as they had been doing on their brooms? "Perhaps we should. There is no way that we would have time to do both.''
But Haddie had asked a positively brilliant question. Rachel looked towards Tanner hopefully. Please say yes, Professor, please say yes! Somewhere in her mind, she knew the woman might give a positive response as she would like to see her students get better with the broomsticks.
Wow.... This was totally awesome. If they were allowed to go at their own pace Bella would have skipped a few steps and jumped on her broom and tried to take off, but instead she flowed along with Professor Tanner's instructions. When given the go ahead she took two steps back to give herself enough room to hover, before mounting her broom.
It took her a moment to get her hands just right so that she wasn't gripping the handle to tight. She did a countdown in her head, before kicking off the ground hard. "I'm so got this," Bella said with confidence as she lifted the handle to rise up a few feet, hovering for a moment or two, and tilted the handle to come back down to land. She repeated those steps a couple of more times until she completely had it down with no wobbles.
Rachel bobbed her head. "Yes, let's-'' She stopped short with her reply to Haddie when Professor Tanner's voice came floating up to them. Only five minutes left? The girl was crestfallen. Why had the time zoomed by just as they had been doing on their brooms? "Perhaps we should. There is no way that we would have time to do both.''
But Haddie had asked a positively brilliant question. Rachel looked towards Tanner hopefully. Please say yes, Professor, please say yes! Somewhere in her mind, she knew the woman might give a positive response as she would like to see her students get better with the broomsticks.
The final course was almost impossible for a muggle-born who had only been on a broom for less than an hour. Haddie lead the way from the middle course with Rachel flying along next to her. When the reached the entrance, Haddie stopped and hovered for a long moment and watched the course. Finally she nodded looked over at Rachel. "Ready?"
Haddie entered the course, following Rachel at swift, but noticeably slower pace. She wasn't exactly ready for this one, but was determined nonetheless to try it at least once. Haddie made it through the first ring, and WHAP! Rachel clipped the moving ring but made it through. Haddie on the other hand took the full hit and tumbled off Charlie. Like she had in the middle course, the Californian eagle dusted herself off and climbed back on her broom.
It took her three more tries to make it through that hoop, and Haddie managed to do a bit better for the rest of the course. Her best friend, on the other hand, was doing significantly better than she was. Rachel clipped and bumped the hoops quite a bit, but none of them knocked her off her broom. Haddie got knocked off her broom seven more times, for a total of eleven, before she finished the course. There wasn't a hoop or pole or ring that she didn't hit, bump or clip, but still... she did better than she thought she would have. So she was happy.
When they finished, Haddie landed near Professor Tanner with a triumphant, overjoyed grin on her face. "Professor Tanner? If you ever replace Charlie here, can I adopt him?" Sure he wasn't the newest or best broom that was available to buy in Diagon Alley, but Haddie didn't care. She and the broom were two peas in a pod. She felt partially like the broom was a friend that knew her all her life and partially like he was an extension of herself. She couldn't imagine finding a broom that fit her personality better than Charlie did. And thus if at all possible, Haddie would love Charlie to be her broom.