The air was still, perfect for flying, and Adrienna couldn’t have been more eager to hop on her broom – a Nimbus 2010.  It was only just becoming cool out, having been a rather humid day, and what with quidditch threatening to start soon, Adrienna assumed she had better start preparing. 

She hadn’t worried herself with appropriate gear, considering she was an excellent and experienced flyer and doubted she would have an accident all alone on the pitch.  From the broom cupboards, she had removed the box that contained one of many sets of two bludgers, one quaffle, and of course, the golden snitch.  Heaving the box onto the grass beneath her, she knelt onto the ground and unlatched the lid.  Thankfully, she was a chaser, which meant she needn’t bother with the animate balls, only the quaffle, which she removed from the box with a sense of excitement. 

The other enchanted equipment shivered and rattled, but Adrienna simply ignored it and fastened the lid shut once more.  Then, with eager anticipation, she climbed on her broom and was off, wind pulsing through her hair and quaffles beginning to sail through the hoops.

Josh headed down to the Quidditch Pitch, hoping to get some Bludger practice in before the Quidditch season opened in October. reaching the pitch, he saw there was someone out alreayd. Mounting his broom, he flew over. It was Adrienna Hayes, a ravenclaw in his year, though he didn't know her well. They hadn't talked muhc. " hey, Adrienna? D'you mind if I have a Bludger out? I'd like to get some practice in." he called out.

She had only been practicing for about fifteen minutes, when below her, she spotted Joshua Harcroft coming from the locker rooms, broom in hand.  Gradually, she made her way to the pitch where he was standing over the box she had just removed her quaffle from.  As she hovered above him, he looked up.

“Hey, Adrienna,” he greeted her, flicking hair from his eyes.  “D’you mind if I have a bludger out?  I’d like to get some practice in.”

She looked at the shaking box and then back at him, envisioning herself getting hit in the back of the head with one of the heavy, iron spheres and tumbling in an unconscious spiral to the ground.  But of course, she was being ridiculous.  Joshua was a beater, after all, and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her… right?

“Um…” she hesitated for a moment.  Then… “Sure, but make sure you do your job and keep those things away from me.”  She said gesturing to the restless orbs in the chest. 

She hoped she hadn’t sounded too rude, as this was not her intention.  But then, the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea.  It wasn’t like the matches would be bludger-free so why should her practice?  Then, happy with her decision she grinned a bit.

“And I assume you are adept at this job since Gryffindor is favored for the cup this year?”  Adrienna smirked.  “Of course, Gryffindor always has the most promising odds.  As for me, I’ve always had faith in the underdogs.”

Hopefully the boy would pick up on her playful tone, but just incase she flashed a sly expression at him as she boarded her broom once more and took off, looking back at him on the ground.

" Last year was a blip due to the issues surrounding losing Gibson." Josh called out. " And you shouldn't have to worry, I rarely miss. If I do, i'll warn you, OK?" Josh said, releasing the locks holding the Bludger down , grabbed his bat, mounted his broom, and kicked off.

" Last year was a blip due to the issues surrounding losing Gibson.  And you shouldn't have to worry, I rarely miss. If I do, I'll warn you, OK?" Josh promised as he released the bludger from it’s secure casing. 
   
The sphere shot into the air almost instantly and Josh took to his broom, following it over the pitch and taking a strong whack at it occasionally.
   
Adrienna thought he had sounded rather egotistical by pointing out that he hardly ever missed, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe he was only trying to make her feel more comfortable.  Nevertheless, as she proceeded to practice, she frequently glanced over her shoulder to ensure that Josh still had all bludgers under control, which he did… every time.

Josh started to hit the Bludger about, practicing a few techniques, including a couple that couldn't be used in-game due how dangerous they would be to anyone hit. They were for use in case of an attack on Harcroft Manor while playing.

 " Doing OK Adrienna?" he asked once as he zipped past after the Bludger.

Adrienna threw yet another quaffle, aiming at the lowest ring, but it hit the edge of the hoop and began falling to the ground.  Quickly, she swooped forward, catching the quaffle before it hit the dirt below.  As she rose back to her original position, Josh whipped by, bludger not too far ahead of him. 

“Doing OK, Adrienna?” he called, his voice slightly distorted by the speed he was traveling.

Adrienna sighed and hollered back, “Of course.”

As he asked her this, she realized she had been out for a little over half an hour, and her arms were becoming very drained.  Thus, she tucked the quaffle beneath her arm and glided to the pitch, planning on heading back to the castle.

Josh smiled at Adrienna's reply. " good. thimking of trying out for Ravenclaw?" he asked, giving the Bludger a massive hit that sent it clean throuhg the goal hoop on the other side of the pitch.

Adrienna was almost to the ground when she heard his voice call to her once more.

“Good,” he yelled.  She looked up at him, and she couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like something of a smirk lingered on his face.  “Thinking of trying out for Ravenclaw?”

“Since I’ve been playing since second year, I would have to say yes…” Adrienna smiled, squinting slightly through the sunlight that was almost depleted.

Just as she said this, the bludger flashed past him, and he hit it so hard that it whizzed across the pitch in a matter of seconds, flying directly through the center of the tallest hoop. 

Adrienna was rather impressed, although she would hardly ever admit it.  Bludgers were extremely difficult to keep on course, and having such aim and control with one was a very rare talent to possess.  She hovered there for a moment in mild awe.

She came to her senses and yelled, “Nice hit!”

Then she landed, opened the chest, and placed the quaffle back in its place.

" I forgot you play for Ravenclaw, sorry." Josh called, then got his wand out. he knew Hayes had already opened the ball chest, so he muttered a spell to send the Bludger back to the chest. The spell also locked the Bludger in. Then, Josh landed. " I think that's long enough practice. thanks for the compliment on the hit, though. I have to admit, that was a first for me." he said.

“I forgot you play for Ravenclaw, sorry,” Josh said.

“Oh it’s alright.  Been a while since last season I suppose.  Truthfully, I’ve forgotten half of the people from the other teams…” Adrienna admitted.

She watched as Josh soared closer to her, waving his wand as he did.  He cast some sort of spell that returned the bludger safely to its place in the box of equipment.  She felt a bit guilty for earlier, when she had doubted Josh’s capability, and she felt the strong urge to apologize.

"I think that's long enough practice,” Josh said, exhaling deeply.  “Thanks for the compliment on the hit, though. I have to admit, that was a first for me."

Adrienna giggled, “Well it was excellent, either way.  Keep hitting like that and you might be able to compete professionally.  That is, if you want to…” She was silent for a moment, not sure why she felt so bad about before.

“And just so you know, I’m sorry about earlier, when I… well underestimated you,” Adrienna blushed, hoping he didn’t think her silly for apologizing for such a thing.  “I’m really not usually a git like that.”

" I'm hoping to become an Auror, actually. Both my parents are. Though if that falls through, who knows? what do you want to do after Hogwarts?" Josh asked.

" Don't worry about it, most people underestimate my skill. besides, not all of the things I did were beater moves actually. A couple of the were designed if ever I'm playing and am attacked. too dangerous to the other person otherwise." Josh said.

"I'm hoping to become an Auror, actually. Both my parents are. Though if that falls through, who knows? What do you want to do after Hogwarts?" Josh asked.  Then he added. "And don't worry about it, most people underestimate my skill. Besides, not all of the things I did were beater moves actually. A couple of them were designed if ever I'm playing and am attacked. Too dangerous to the other person otherwise."

“I’m hoping to be just that – a professional qudditch player – but incase my mom objects, I have a Plan-B to be become a wandmaker…” Adrienna replied, dusting the dirt from her robes. “And why would you ever be attacked by anyone?  That seems like a pretty foul thing to commit to anyone while playing qudditch…”

"It's more the chance of Harcroft Manor being attacked while I'm playing, we have a small pitch at home. Unfortunately, with the amount of enemies my parents ahve made, it;s a not inconsiderable possibility. I still remember when the manor was attacked by Snatchers." Josh said, with a wry grin when he mentioned his father's paranoia. " you look good enough to go professional to me" Josh said.

"It's more the chance of Harcroft Manor being attacked while I'm playing, we have a small pitch at home. Unfortunately, with the amount of enemies my parents have made, it’s a not inconsiderable possibility. I still remember when the manor was attacked by Snatchers." Josh said, with a wry grin when he mentioned his father's paranoia.  Then, he pointed out, “You look good enough to go professional to me.”

“Oh, thanks,” Adrienna blushed.  “Nothing I’ve achieved without continuous practice.”

She tried to sound normal, but truthfully, Adrienna was taken aback for two reasons: one was the fact that Josh had a quidditch pitch at his home –even if he mentioned it was small – and the other was that his home had been invaded by Snatchers.  But seeing as she did not want to offend Josh by capitalizing on his family’s obvious wealth, she decided to interrogate on the second fact.

“But what’s this about Snatchers?” she asked curiously.  “I’ve heard dreadful things about them.  What did you do when they attacked?”