Written for a prompt challenge with the words spot, balance and improvement

Word count: 658

"Oy!" a Scottish voice called out from far away. "What are you doing? You're going to kill yourself, flying like that!"

Angelina looked down and regretted it instantly. Her broom wavered and she felt herself slipping off the end. Uh-oh, Angelina thought, before she landed on soft grass.

The boy ran over, worried, and checked her pulse. When it was clear her vision had returned, he gave her his hand. Grudgingly, Angelina let him pull her up. Dusting herself off, she tried to not look at him because he was so handsome. She felt embarrassed and was glad, for once, that her dark skin concealed her discomfort.

"What were you thinking?" he asked.

Gruffly, Angelina responded, "I wanted to try practicing on my new broom before tryouts." She mumbled her words, but he was standing right next to her and had heard her clearly.

"Come on, that's not the way to practice." He smiled at the top of her head.

Confused, Angelina finally looked up at him and was dazzled by the most brilliant smile she had ever seen. That smile bowled her over and made her agree to everything, including extra lessons from this amazingly handsome boy.

"Right, now first things first. Have you played Quidditch before?" He was assessing her and she knew it.

"'Course, but I haven't played on a pitch this big." She indicated with her hands that her pitch had been half the size of Hogwarts'.

"Good. Here's what we'll do," and Wood continued to outline a good practice session.

Ten minutes in, Wood called out, "No, no, no! Angelina, pay attention! Your balance is off. Sit straight on the broom and only move your upper body to steer. Use your legs to keep you on the broom in case a Bludger comes your way or you need to dodge another player."

Angelina gritted her teeth and tried again. After an hour or two of Wood's coaching and comments, Angelina felt like a weak kitten. Once Wood called her in, she literally landed and wobbled off her broom, falling into sweet heaven as her body hit the grass.

She blinked furiously and saw a grinning Wood wearing a maroon jumper.

"Here, I brought you some food." He handed her several napkins and watched as she ate hungrily. For the first time, she didn't care what he thought of her. She knew she had to say something to show how much she appreciated his help.

"Thank you. I don't even know your name and you still helped me." She was bashful now, not knowing what to say.

He gave her one more award-winning smile.

"Anytime. I can see you'd be a great Chaser-in-the-making. Today was a great improvement. I think you have a shot at making it onto the team." He winked at her, letting her know he was teasing. "The biggest problem was getting used to a bigger broom, I think." He nodded at her Comet.

"So, will I see you on try-out day?" she asked, heart racing at the thought that he would be watching her.

Oliver Wood laughed. "'Course you will. I'll be playing Keeper."

Her heart thumped at his words. She grinned impishly at him.

"I hope you can block my shots. But on second thought, I hope to score twice," she teased.

"We'll see. I have a good record, I'll have you know. I never let more than one goal through each year and that goes to the person who gets on the team." He beamed happily.

"We'll see about that, Ollie!" she laughed.

"Not many people call me that, but I like it," he admitted. She blushed, afraid she had done something wrong. He smiled and she was caught up all over again in his chocolate brown eyes.

The two walked back to the castle, talking animatedly about Quidditch.