The Bells and the Woods had been neighbors for quite some time, and good friends since before that. It was only natural that their children be playfellows since birth. Seeing as they were both only children, Oliver Wood, who was three years older than Katie Bell, had assumed the role of older brother. They spent many afternoons fantasizing about Hogwarts (Katie resented the fact that Oliver would go before her), pulling pranks on their parents (who always acted surprised), and most importantly, flying on their toy broomsticks.
Both the Bells and the Woods agreed that five was a good age to allow their children's feet to leave the ground, but Oliver secretly gave Katie rides whenever he could. So when it came time for her to ride herself, she was not completely unfamiliar with a broomstick. On her fifth birthday, she ran outside with Oliver at the first chance she had, not listening to her parents mentioning that they'd be watching from the kitchen window.
She placed the broom between her legs, and then she realized she hadn't the foggiest idea what to do next. Oliver always seemed to just go.
"I'm right here," Oliver assured her, and he grabbed the tail end of her broomstick.
"Ollie, don't let go," Katie said. The confidence she had when she first opened her birthday present seemed to have been left behind with the wrappings.
"I won't let go 'til you're ready Katie. So do you have hands gripped tight?"
She was holding on for dear life, and she had yet to leave the ground.
"Yes."
"Good. Now kick off like I've showed you."
Katie held her breath, closed her eyes, and kicked. At first, she thought nothing had happened. But with a gasp, she opened her eyes and realized her feet were no longer touching solid ground. She hovered in one place because of Oliver's steady hand keeping her balanced.
"Let go!" she giggled, and she leaned forward to zoom off before Oliver had the chance to actually do so. He held on anyways, but soon he was struggling to keep pace with her accelerations.
"Are you sure?" he panted.
"Yes," she replied. "Now let go!"
And then she was free. She flew around in zig-zags, circles, loops, rarely straight lines. Then she aimed right towards Oliver, when she came to the horrible realization that she didn't know how to stop.
Oliver's eyes grew wide when he realized the same thing.
At the last second, she got over her initial shock and swerved, missing him by centimeters. Oliver's hair stood on end from her passing, but then he gathered his senses.
"Pull back on the handle!" he shouted. "The broom will sense you want to stop, and you can dismount!"
Oliver clenched his fists as he waited for Katie to tug her hands back. She floated gently to the ground, but broke into a run towards him once her feet made contact.
"I'm so sorry Ollie! I'll never be a good Quidditch player," she said remorsefully.
"Nah, I don't believe that," he said, and she beamed. "It was your first time on a broom, and you already know how to scare your opponents silly. Girls AND boys."
"Good, 'cause that was a lot of fun. Wanna race?"
"You're on."
And with that challenge in place, they both began doing laps around the Bells' yard.
A/N: Hey guys, this is my first fic. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
