Outfit

Sunday, May 10 Noon.

Mystique Ketteridge had been fairly busy between classes and captaining the Hufflepuff quidditch practices.  A game coming up on Friday meant being a bit more strict and she had been probably getting a bit on her team’s nerves. In order to find some peace and quiet, Mysti decided to take a look at the quidditch pitch. She didn’t think it had been reserved for this time, and upon arriving was correct.  Flying was something that the Hufflepuff girl could always fall into, and it was quite comforting to her as well.  And escape to the skies was something that Mysti could use right now.

She placed her bag down where she’d be able to keep an eye on it (plus there wasn’t much too valuable in it) and took off.  The wind in her hair, and the sun shining down had the exact effect she was hoping for.  At first, Mysti just did some laps around the pitch, then turned to defensive movements.  She practiced a few moves she liked knowing, just in case something absurd happened.  As she flew around, she thought of some other strategies and plans that could be used for the team.

After a while of flying, she felt like it was time to head back to earth.  She landed near her bag and pulled out her notebook and pen.  Mysti took a moment to allow her brain to sort through her thoughts and organize them in order to write them down.  Lost in her mind, she started scribbling down those thoughts and plays, enjoying the sun and the temporary calm.  Of course, this also left the girl oblivious to anyone else who might approach her, believing the pitch to deserted. So when someone started talking, Mysti was a bit startled, causing her to jump in her seat a bit.

Friday's match, Hufflepuff vs Slytherin. One of the few instances when Casey supported his own house. Quidditch matches meant Casey increased the frequency of his practices. He was not on the team. He was going to be on the team next year. Once he could manage a flight without puking.

Motion sickness was a stupid little ailment. He never felt sick on the train, sitting forwards or backwards, so why should being a broom going the same speed with wind on your face be any different.

So Casey went to the Quidditch Pitch when he knew it would be deserted. Dingy trotted behind dutifully toting Casey's well maintained Comet 470. He would've liked to have had a Firebolt, the fastest model...but that test flight had required hospitalization. He had to settle for a Comet, slower but excellent on handling. It even made sharper turns then the Firebolt at times. If he could master it that then he would get his place on the house team. Uncle Torna had supposedly been on the team in his day. Casey doubted this as now Uncle Torna was too fat for two brooms let alone one.

Casey had sent the elf back home to Doherty Manor to pick up his broom, as it was the safest place for it. And...the elf really knew what he--it!--was doing. The fire-hardened shaft of wood polished to a gleam. The twigs clipped and, to greater benefit, moistened with a faint amount of water every few months. Dingy said that would keep the twigs springy and that was right, they had yet to become brittle.

Arriving at the interior of the pitch, Casey noticed a lone figure flying through the air. Gracefully. He was jealous. As she landed, he held back, not wanting to be seen. He didn't like an audience, some of his failed attempts at past Quidditch tryouts still stung. Once he become a powerful flyer then he would parade about in public.

There was a poke in his back. Casey spun. Dingy had rammed into him with the broom. "Watch where you're pointing that thing!

"Master Casey wanted to fly, wasn't he?" replied the elf, confused.

"There's someone on the pitch, I'm not practicing until it's empty."

"Master?"

"I'm not practicing until it's empty!" Casey shouted. Oh, damnation. He saw the girl convulse, startled. She looked Hufflepuff. Well, with the upcoming match the team members would try squeezing in every bit of practice they could.

Josh headed down to the pitch, planning on getting a bit of flying in, then saw there were two people already there. Mysti, and a third year Slytherin who was bellowing at a house elf. Josh frowned. Didn't that kid know that house-elves were to be treated with respect since they had helped turn the tide of the Battle Of Hogwarts? Still, he walked over to Mysti. "Hi Mysti"he said, noticing she was jotting down Quidditch plays.  Knowing her team were facing Slytherin next, he muttered a suggestion quietly in her ear that would be useful against the Slytherins but useless against his own team. the bellowing kid ought not to hear it.

When Mysti turned around, she could then see the boy who had startled her.  He looked to be Slytherin.  She hoped he hadn’t been sent there to spy on her, but then again, no one was supposed to know she would be there.  It looked like the boy was also with a house elf, and the elf had a broom.  Mysti didn’t recognize him as someone on the Slytherin Quidditch team, so was thinking he was just wanting to get some of his own practicing in.  At least he was far enough away that he wouldn’t be able to read into her notebook.

Then Josh Harcroft came up to her.  She smiled at him and returned his hello.  Then he whispered some tips to her, which she then jotted down into her notebook.

“Thanks, Josh. It’s much appreciated.” The Hufflepuff then took a moment to slide her notebook back into her bag.  “So I’m assuming you both were going to get in some practice like I thought to?  It’s a good day for it, too.”

Judging by the younger boy’s outburst, he wasn’t too comfortable flying in front of others.  As Mysti thought of this a little more, if he didn’t want to fly in front of others, then he definitely wouldn’t be on the Slytherin team.  But that still didn’t count him out as a spy.  Either way, he obviously did want to fly better, and Mysti thought she’d at least try to give him some advice.

“Flying alone does get a bit difficult around here.  But flying around others can sometimes help as well.  Then you can learn to tune them out when flying, which does happen anyways.  That often helps you focus on the flying, and learning the control of your broom.”

Whether the younger student would listen or not, Mysti at least tried to help.  Josh might be able to back her up on that, but of course, you never know how Slytherins could react.  She knew there were good Slytherins, but until she got to know them, she figured it would never be too bad to be careful.  Sometimes they could also break your heart, but that was a thought Mysti tried to push back and not think of.  So she then turned back to Josh.

“Gryffindor’s last match went pretty well. Nice job.”

The Hufflepuff, and now a prefect sporting Gryffindor colors, were hunched together, probably talking Quidditch strategy. One or two suspicious looks his direction. Figures a Gryffindor would side with Hufflepuff on the upcoming match. And given that Casey was in Slytherin house...oh this was too rich. Did they think he was going to rat on the Hufflepuff's plans to the Slytherin team? Casey didn't see the benefit for him.

“Flying alone does get a bit difficult around here.  But flying around others can sometimes help as well.  Then you can learn to tune them out when flying, which does happen anyways.  That often helps you focus on the flying, and learning the control of your broom.”

Wait...she wasn't sure of him because he was in the rival house but she was offering advice? That made no sense.

He walked slowly closer, motioning Dingy to stay behind with a hand. "That does something? Flying in front of people that can see you get...sick afterwards?"

"Thanks Mysti, and yeah, I was going to get a bit of practice in." Josh replied, then listened to the third-year's problem. "Actually, it can help with broomsickness[1], depending on what causes it. having someone else around can provide a distraction from the flight, which can settle an upset stomach. If not, I know there are potions available for broomsickness[2], you might want to look into them."Josh said, his tone reassuring. "Thanks Mysti, wish I hadn't plowed though,[3] it hurt." Josh said, knowing Mysti would know how irritating quidditch injuries could be, being a fellow player.

1.	I assume they would sue broomsickness for flying-only sickness, since motion-sickness doesn't really qualify, since Floo would also trigger it.
2.	again, derived from motionsickness medication.
3.	Josh hit the ground hard trying to help Silversmith, who he'd accidentally hit with a Bludger. Needless to say, it hurt, even if he wasn't going full speed.

The rest of his stuff had, finally, been moved back up to Ravenclaw tower.  Though a pair of school house elves had helped transport most of his things to the fifth year dorms, there were a handful of items he hadn't entrusted to the creatures: his schoolbooks, his dog and his broom.  Exams were far too close at hand for him to risk his books getting misplaced en route and he wasn't really sure how Baldur would handle apparating with an elf.  Sasha had personally carted his books up to his bed and desk in Ravenclaw tower, only momentarily taken by the memory that the last time he'd slept in his bed, Ava had still been alive. 

But, he'd quickly driven that thought from his head and had, purposefully, left his broom for last.  This was a bit of a trial run to see how Baldur would fair left in the dorm room on his own while Sasha was elsewhere.  And, without question, Sasha was eager to get back on his broom and fly.  Another stepping stone on the path to life resuming a sense of normalcy. 

There were two fellow fifth years (and prefects, it seemed)  already on the pitch.  He recognized both readily enough and, unless either of them held a grudge about the whole Fauna rumor, he assumed he was still on friendly terms with both of them.  The third fellow Sasha only recognized by appearances. 

He caught the tail end of their current conversation as he approached, glancing from the younger student to Josh and back.  Especially to one as reserved and introspective as Sasha, Josh had always come across as quite a confident young man.  It wasn't a surprise, then, that Josh seemed to come to a different conclusion as to the cause of the younger student's broom-affliction.  He didn't think it was motion sickness but rather stage fright that attributed to the sickness the younger student was describing. 

"If everyone else is flying, you aren't really flying in front of anyone," Sasha mentioned as he approached the group.  "Allo."  He offered the gathering a slightly awkward grin before elaborating.  "They're probably just as focused on what they're doing as you are.  It takes getting used to but you don't have to fly in front of others."

What caused the broomsickness? Oh, Casey had a well supported theory that he did not want to share. At all. But a potion for it? Joyous, he only needed to take several kinds of potion a few times a month, all balanced to not interfere with each other. So chalking up another potion for it just made Casey snippy.

But before he could speak, another person joined them in the enclave. Oh my, he was actually back? Sasha Schlongvate, in Casey’s internal labeling. And he had advice too. Did they share a script? They all offered some variation of just flying and screw what everyone else thought. True, this was what Casey would prefer but it simply wouldn’t work. Did none of them know how Slytherin tryouts worked? With no other houses to bully many attacked their own and the weakest flyers were targets for a short time. And everyone wanted to take down O’Doherty when they got the chance, whether he looked easy to pick on or if they inherited a bad debt from their parents.

Casey wanted to shout at them so they would know how stupid they were but then he realized that the Gryffindor was a prefect, the Hufflepuff was quidditch captain and prefect, and Sasha might still be prefect even if he’d been gone for nearly a whole semester. One representative form all the other houses that were not Slytherin. What was this, a student power convention?

He simmered, then, it wasn’t worth the risk of getting in trouble to write them off. So he played along. “So, have any of you been under nasty critique on your flying? Just cause you don’t have the strength…” He trailed off. Dingy, nervous amongst this tight crowd, was shifting foot to foot letting Casey’s broom pitch wildly.

Casey rapped a finger on his servant’s pot helmet. “Stand up straight, these are just older students!”

Air sickness was something that could be normally easily combatted.  Josh had good advice for the younger boy, and Mysti nodded along with what the Gryffindor was saying.  Then after his comment about the game, she nodded with a grimmace.  She’d seen the play, and experienced something like it before.  Most definitely wasn’t one of the best feelings in the world.

When Sasha showed up, it was a bit of a surprise to Mysti.  Of course, she knew she shouldn’t be surprised, as Sasha did play quidditch too.  She supposed it had something to do with the fact that he only recently came back to Hogwarts.  And Mysti was fairly certain Fauna might be a little upset at her for socializing with the Ravenclaw boy.  But Mysti wasn’t as involved in the whole debacle, and if she’d been in Sahsa’s shoes, she’d have probably been a little worried about werewolves as well.

“Sasha’s got a good point too. And I know it sounds fairly cliche, but the more you practice it, the more you get used to it.”  Mysti said to the younger boy.  Hopefully they’d be able to help him out a bit.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense too.  Slytherin was known to be not as nice in order to get the best team possible.  She wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they berated others to see who could handle the pressure most.  On her team, Mysti liked to make sure everyone was comfortable, and felt that helped with growth in their skills.  She did get a little from her brothers when they first saw her flying on their brooms when she could sneak onto them.  It took time, but she soon became a better flyer than them.

“I was often made fun of by my brothers when I first started flying.  We’d also have some tournaments with family and they’d often underestimate me for being younger, and a girl as well.  But I kept practicing and got loads better. It can be hard, but try to not let them bother you.  You’ll get better and show them how good you can be.”

What he did next, Mysti wasn’t sure how to react to it.  It was a little rude to the elf, but she didn’t want to interject, as it wasn’t really any of her business.  She just ended up standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. 

Josh frowned. "Don't have the strength? what position? the only position I know of that needs strength above that needed to fly the broom is my own position, Beater. I can assure you, though, that no-one here would be nasty about any criticism. We might give you a few tips, but nothing worse than that." Josh said, again kindly. "although if it's confidence that's the problem, then potions won't be much help, I will admit. Mysti and Sasha are right, though, the cliche of practice makes perfect i actually true. Trust me, I made some really boneheaded mistakes when I first got on a broom. Nevertheless, now I'm unquestioned in my position, and i suspect I have a decent shot at succeeding Carter as captain[1]

1.	I'll probably apply, and Josh has reason to believe hes likely to get the position, since Silversmith is the other candidate, and i believe silversmith as less experience than Josh'. so Josh isn't blowing hot air here.

Casey gritted his teeth but kept that hidden by keeping his mouth shut and lightly drumming his fingers on Dingy's helmet. He often drummed his fingers when thinking at if Dingy was about he was the makeshift table.

For whatever reason, maybe for his gusto, Casey internally labeled the Gryffindor as the most annoying of the bunch. "Pardon me, when I said strength I meant endurance. I'm not dumb enough to deal with bludgers the whole game with my physique," he bit his lip from going further. "I've tried out for Chaser or Seeker before, whatever as long as I get on the team but those players are the ones flying the most in a match." Seeker would be optimal, usually got the most glory, as Chasers had to work as a team, which Casey habitually forgot about.

Tired of the talk, Casey took his broom from his house elf. He mounted then took off, his stomach working its way down to his pelvis, the broom wavering a bit. After reaching his intended height he spun around, trying to not concentrate on initial nausea, and looked down at them.

"So, how is this going to go?" If they wanted to volunteer he wasn't going to directly ask them.

The younger kid didn't exactly seemed thrilled with their words of advice.  In fact, he almost seemed annoyed by it.  Sasha cast the briefest of glances at each of his fellow fifth years in turn to see if they'd noticed but it didn't seem they had.  Of course, he'd always been a bit ... well, sensitive to discontent in others, especially when it was directed at him.  So, perhaps, he was just misreading the boy. 

Did he ever get any nasty critique for his flying?  The boy was really asking him that?  Okay.  He was a younger student so he probably didn't know all of the drama amongst the fifth years.  Though, no, the kid's specific scenario didn't apply much.  He hadn't gotten grief because he wasn't strong enough.  He'd gotten grief for a whole plethora of other reasons.  Both about flying and otherwise.

"I've been cornered on the pitch by three, sometimes four Slytherins before," Sasha admitted quietly, with a slight shrug.  He now knew in hindsight, if Kronos was correct (which, he usually seemed to be), one of them had been an imperioused Ava.  "And,... I mean, I've had posters[1] plastered all over the school.  I've been critiqued before.  But, I guess ... I don't know.  I like flying and I like competing.  I just mind my own business and ... well ... try harder to beat them." 

Sasha glanced at Josh but kept quiet.  Granted, the beater position required the most physical force but he wasn't sure it was true that the other positions didn't require strength.  Those quaffles were thrown with a fair bit of force and would roll someone off their broom if they couldn't resist the force.  And, getting the quaffle through the goals was near impossible if you couldn't pitch fast enough.  Brooms got hit by bludgers.  The Keeper - she or he had to throw himself in front of the quaffle to intercept it.  Seeker probably required the least brute force but required the most endurance.  By the sounds of it, the kid was well aware that, if one was trying to win a spot on the team, it required some degree of athleticism.  Athleticism the kid just didn't really have - judging by looks, at least.

But, before Sasha could comment, the Slytherin was on his broom and off.  With a shrug to the other two, Sasha mounted his own broom and lifted off the ground.  Quidditch had all but fallen to the wayside this year - he'd probably spent more time on horseback since the beginning of the year than he had on a broom.  Riding was and would always be his passion but it was good to be flying, again. 

"Did you want to practice seeking?" Sasha asked.  "Mystique's a chaser and Josh is a beater.  I've never really played Keeper much but I used to ride position number four in polo.  We could skirmish." 

1.	Thea's lovely posters

Mysti felt a little bad as Sasha listed all the things that had happened recently to him.  He really had been through quite a lot.  Of course, then the whole thing with Fauna, but he didn’t mention that.  Mysti wasn’t about to mention it either.  But hopefully the younger student would be able to use all their struggling to give him hope for doing better.  Everyone had things that bothered them, and people as well.  Life was just a matter of getting over them and showing people what you could do.

Casey! That was his name, right? Mysti was fairly certain she had seen him before, somewhere.  She didn’t know everyone personally, but did try to make sure she knew of everyone.  Mysti set her bag down as Casey took off, and reached over for her broom.  Sasha’s suggestion of a skrimish would hopefully be helpful to the boy.  And she had already had some warm up flying, and no other plans, so it would be a welcome distraction.

“Your name is Casey, right? There’s a couple old balls in the shed if you want to practice with those.  Any position you’d especially like some practice with?” Mysti hopped back on her broom and leveled herself with him. “And just remember to keep breathing. Also, brooms can be quite sensitive, so a gentle touch can help keep the motion smoother.”

Just keep breathing.  That advice had helped the Hufflepuff through a lot of things.  This year especially, being both a prefect and quidditch captain.  A lot of breathing was necessary.  Hopefully now it’d help Casey with his flying.  Mysti had a little experience with teaching kids to fly from some of her neighbors back home.  Of course, Casey wasn’t exactly a kid, and at least he had experience already.  She’d just have to translate some of her teachings to someone a bit older, and to fit them to Casey’s problems.

"Endurance is one of the reasons we practice, so that'll get better with time. There is nothing wrong with endurance taking a while to build up, even the pro quiddtich players sometimes have endurance issues coming back from injury." Josh said, he knew it wasn't directly comparable ( Casey not coming back from injury) but it would hopefully help the third-year. Then, since everyone was taking to the air, he mounted his broom and kicked off.

Ah, the plights of Sasha. So some of those were true. Huh. Casey wasn't devoted to gossip, only information that he could confirm of what was happening at Hogwarts.

Well, everyone was eager to help. Honestly? Even a Slytherin, the popular enemy amongst the crowd before the upcoming match? Casey was actually stunned, at a slight loss.

He sighed. "I suppose I should cover the basics. Maybe Chaser, nothing too fancy. After all there's only four of us."

"Dingy!" he called down. "You heard where the spare balls were kept? Go fetch it."