On the Pitch
A tubby, round faced, mousy-haired boy, know as Wormtail, sat upon the sheet-less mattress of his bed watching the boy to his left intensely as he explained in vivid detail the manner, in which a fellow female classmate thoughtfully sucked on a sugar-quill in class the day before.
James, was his name, though the three in the room referred to him as Prongs. He was dark haired and animatedly speaking, not to the only one listening with rapt attention, but the other young man across the room lounging, listlessly in his sloppily, thrown together, mess of a bed. James seemed not to realize his best friend's disinterest in his subject, or simply did not care.
Without warning a fifth person entered the room, causing the final boy, Remus Lupin, to turn his attention from the pages of a book that held him entranced with it words only seconds before. She was bright-eyed and a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. His blue eyes stared at her; he couldn't prevent them from scanning her lithe body, the way her little black shorts clung to her shapely legs. Mentally berating himself, Remus forced his eyes back to the words in his book, though they did not hold his interest long, as they blurred together, forming nothing but dark lines across the page, his mind only focusing on the conversation between the young woman and his friend. He wasn't sure when he started having these kinds of feelings for his classmate and closest female friend, but he cursed the gods for allowing it to occur.
As she entered, she asked for Sirius. She always did. They had known each other since childhood. Lucy was the only one of the acquaintances Sirius had kept after disowning his family. He called her a friend, a sister, a fling. They flirted endlessly; it was the only way they communicated. It had been that way sense the beginning of time. Neither belonged to another; he could not; she would not. He was a natural born charmer, while she was a natural flirt. They were the kind of people who many claimed were made for each other, but in reality, they were as mismatched as Peter Pettigrew's plaid shorts and tie-dyed shirt.
Sirius' black hair fell into his eyes as he sat up to greet her, flashing her that smile that would cause most of their female classmates to go weak in the knees. She just rolled her copper eyes, wordlessly, telling him to shove-it. Her hand waved gently in greeting to the others in the room before she spoke. "Hey, Sirius? Can I borrow your bat? My parents confiscated mine; Davy hasn't sent it yet." Unwittingly, the edges of Remus' mouth curved upward at the sound of her voice, at her wordless rejection of the self-proclaimed 'ladies-man.'
Sirius made some ridiculous comment that anyone else would have slapped him for, but Lucy simply ignored him. Her attention drawn to the horrid condition of his beaters bat before she even noticed he was speaking. Remus' eyes followed the bat as she spun it easily in her hand. She didn't notice. She never did. Lucy was not the type to realize what those around her were thinking. She lived in a world of rainbows and butterflies, well, maybe not quite that childlike. She did not see the bad things in the world unless they were forced upon her. Not that Remus' affections were bad; they were just confusing. Once he decided what he felt, she would take notice and welcome him whole-heartedly, but until then she liked her peace.
She reached the door before he realized it. He had expected her speech on Sirius' lack of concern for his sports equipment to last longer. Normally, when she was engaged in conversation about Quidditch it lasted for at least ten minutes. Shrugging a "later guys," she twisted the doorknob to leave. He wasn't sure what make him do it. Possibly, the odd look and nudge Sirius gave him, perhaps, his desire to get away from James' constant rambling on all matters pertaining to the redheaded beauty that was Lily Evans. Most likely, though, it was the way she smiled encouragingly at him, or at least Remus thought it was encouraging.
"Hey Luce, wait up. I'll go with you. It's not safe to fly alone." He attempted to mimic Sirius' heart-stopping grin. It didn't work, but she giggled nonetheless.
Her eyes were contented, sweet even, as she gazed up at him. "Alright, but I doubt you'll be any help if I fall. I remember our first flying lesson." He casually rose from his bed, stowing his wand in his pocket as he stood.
She held the door open, taking a step back toward the frame so he could walk passed. His chest gently brushed up against hers as he passed by and he was forced to clear his throat slightly before speaking, as it seemed his heart decided to jump to rest just above his collarbone at the brief contact. "Perhaps, you could give me a lesson. I am sure you would be a much better teacher than our dear Mister Cromwell."
The little bow that was her mouth parted as she smiled revealing perfectly straight, white teeth. "I doubt even I could teach someone who fainted the moment the broom touched his hand." The melody of their laughter drifted up the stairwell and through the crack of the seventh year boys' dorm door. Sirius Black smiled, thinking, "Damn he is good."
They walked side-by-side down the many stairs and corridors that fill the Hogwarts castle, slowly making their way down to the Entrance Hall and out onto the grounds, idly, chatting about this or that, the useless conversation between old friends turning into new lovers. The soft silk skin of her arm grazed across his as she skipped off the last step at the castle entrance and onto the deep, green grass the covered the grounds. His heart skipped another beat. Shaking his head, he pondered what had caused this sudden change. What had caused him to have these indescribable feelings about someone he once considered one of his dearest friends?
Lucy's laughter filled his ears as he attempted to mimic her and stumbled forward nearly tumbling to the ground. Shaggy, dirty-blond hair fell into his eyes as she helped steady him. His skin tingled under her touch. The dimples on her cheeks showed as she grinned up at him, carefully tucking his hair behind his ears. He was caught, staring into the infinity of her eyes as she trailed her fingers down his jaw her thumbs coming to rest under his chin and the tips of her finger spread out across his cheeks. "Your eyes; I never noticed the green flecks before." He gave a lopsided grin and desperately wished he had the nerve to kiss her as she spoke. Her heart leaped forward in her chest as his simple features morphed into a boyish grin, the green flecks she had failed to notice within the six years that they had known each other, sparkling in enchantment.
He didn't kiss her. He hated himself for it.
The path to the pitch was filled with an awkward silence. A silence that most would not have endured, but she was distracted by the weather and the affect it would have on their flying conditions; he was determined not to screw this up, so he held his ground and refused to flee.
Finally, reaching the middle of the pitch, she sighed a contented sigh, eyes closed, her arms spread wide above her head, taking a deep breath to fill her lungs with the cool air that quickly calmed her nerves and ebbed away the stress of the week. He watched her, eyes wide in wonder. She was unlike anyone he had ever known. Her tan skinned glowed in the warm afternoon sun and her golden hair glittered as she moved. He had spent so many days knowing her, but not knowing her. He wondered why.
She quirked one eye open and smiled up at him. "So, I run about eight laps before I start. It is about two kilometers. I think. You know where the bleachers are if you want to sit it out. Try to keep up if you decide to join me." She took off at an unhurried pace and turned around, running backwards to see what he would do, grinning madly, all the while.
Remus peered down at himself. He had not dressed for a workout today. He was wearing his casual Saturday attire; long kaki shorts, a simple white T-shirt, tube socks that raised high up his calves and faded gray tennis shoes. Not exactly made for running, but it would do, he supposed.
Smirking at her cheeky grin, he took off after her.
A fourth of the way into the second lap, Lucy turned to him, her smile spreading from one ear to the other. "Ready to step it up a bit?" He chuckled and nodded as she sped away.
He collapsed in the middle of the field, laying flat on his back, spread eagle, staring up into the clouds. Lucy came to stand above him, each foot on either side of his chest. Breathing heavily, he looked up at her. "I guess I will go find you a broom, while you catch your breath," Lucy said as she rolled her eyes. "Two kilometers and you would think I asked you to run a marathon." Her smirk vaguely resembled that of Sirius'.
When she stepped over him, he idly thought about tripping her for her cheeky remark, but he was just too tired.
He was up on his elbows when she returned, smiling gently. Dropping the broom to the ground, she offered him a hand up. He blinked at it. She grinned, "Come on, Moony, I swear it won't bite you."
"It's not you I am worried about," he muttered slipping his hand into hers and allowing her to help him off the ground. His fingers continued to tingle long after the contact this time.
"Okay, first, get your broom up," she said simply, standing near her broom, and lazily gesturing toward his.
Remus swallowed down the fear that threatened to overwhelm him. He had only had two experiences with flying in his life; both ended horribly.
His fingers shook slightly as he held his hand out over the broom. Looking down at it, he inwardly cursed himself. He was such a fucking idiot.
"Now, you say 'up'." Lucy grinned, unable to hide her amusement at his fear. She had known Remus Lupin for years and if it had not been for the constant teasing he endured and she overheard by the one and only Sirius Black she would have thought him fearless before now.
He tittered a little, his knees unexplainably wobbly. "Right, right. Okay, then." He took a deep breath and spoke firmly, "Up." The broom remained lying on the ground.
"Say it like you mean it. Up." Lucy informed him, tucking a dark blonde lock of hair that and fallen from her high ponytail behind her ear.
"Up." He repeated mimicking her tone. When the broom refused to rise, he looked to her, hopelessly.
She gave him a small smile. "You are making it more difficult than it is." Shaking her head, she stepped forward, and came to stand behind him.
Fighting down a shiver, Remus forced himself to focus on anything but her hand on his shoulder. If he hadn't been before, he was sweating now. "Alright, just relax." Dear God, you try to relax when your heart is about to pound out of your chest. Biting down on his tongue, he bobbed his head.
Lucy began to see little spots of perspiration forming on his neck, darkening the edges of his hair. "Relax," her voice was soft and calming and if it had not been for the images of her speaking that way in a completely different situation it might have helped. She slid her hand down his arm coming to rest at his elbow. "Okay, hold your arm out just a bit." He complied, focusing his thoughts on the color of the grass. "Good. Now," her fingers lightly caressed his skin as she moved further down his arm stopping at his wrist, "breathe." he released a shuttering breath and she giggled, slightly. "Now, fingers loose. There you go. Like your in water, just let your arm float away from you." He felt her fingers trail across his palm and down to his fingertips. "Very good," her voice was a little breathless and he began to wonder if she was doing this to him on purpose. He could see her doing something like that.
"Now, don't look at the broom. If you are looking at the broom, you are looking at the ground and that is not where you want to be. You want to be in the air. So, look out toward the horizon, just above the tree tops find something and focus on it." He tilted his head up and gazed out into the sky. There was a shimmering white cloud floating just ahead, it looked oddly like a chocolate bar. He murmured an "okay" once he picked his destination.
"Okay, good. Say 'up'." He did and the smooth, cool wood of the broom handle made contact with his skin.
"And, you didn't even faint this time." Lucy smiled and patted his shoulder. He chuckled and for some odd reason felt absurdly proud of himself.
"Next up, mounting," Lucy, informed him cheerfully and he tried not to cry.
Lucy could not resist the urge to pat his perfectly shaped ass as she moved to stand in front of him, again. Remus jumped forward, startled, but they both pretended not to notice.
"Mounting is easy. Simply toss your leg over and you're on." She grinned up at him and he swallowed hard.
Carefully, tossing his leg over, he gripped the broom handle for dear life. Lucy bit her lip to keep from laughing. He frowned at her and whined indignantly, "You've never been bucked off one of these damn things before. You have no idea what it is like!" She could not contain her laughter anymore.
She had to grab a hold of his arm to steady herself after about two minutes of non-stop chuckling. "Sorry," she whispered, her voice still full of giggles.
"I am glad you think it is so funny," he growled, still clinging to the broom as if his life depended on it.
"Okay, okay. I am sorry." Her eyes bright with merriment, she released her grasp on his arm and took a step back. "First, loosen your grip." When he did, she placed her hand over his gently sliding it forward on the broomstick. She adjusted his fingers one by one, having to pry each one off before she could direct it to the right position. "You steer with your left hand. Like when you are driving. Your right hand," She pried his right hand off the broomstick and pulled it away from him. "It's used to change the radio, shift gears, fiddle with the A/C and smack Sirius whenever he starts miss behaving," she continued, moving his hand this way and that. He ceased breathing during the entire speech.
"Remus?" He glanced at her, eyes wide with fear. "Breathe."
He did and felt much better once his brain received some much-needed oxygen. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"Quite alright. On to your feet." She smiled, releasing his hand, which shot back down to the handle.
Resting her hand on his thigh, she slowly slid it down to his knee. He closed his eyes in momentary delight before realizing what he was doing and clearing his throat. "Slowly, move your feet back to the pegs." His heart lodged in his throat and she saw it. Gently, patting his knee, she said, "It's okay, I've got you. Plus, you are like three feet off the ground. No worries." He gave a nervous laugh before following orders.
The grin on her face was worth all of it, he told himself as she beamed up at his accomplishment. "Now, to the good stuff!" she said excitedly. His heart, which had finally returned to a somewhat normal position in his chest, dropped down to his stomach.
"To turn right. You simply lean right, and look right. That's all it takes." He didn't believe her, but he did it, anyway. It didn't work.
"Remus, you have to tell the broom where you want to go. It's like… surfing. You can't go where you want to go, unless you know where it is you are going." She pushed back a lock of hair that had fallen in his face, blocking her from his view. "Look, relax. Go somewhere you feel at peace." She stopped and placed her hand on the broom handle. "Close your eyes." He obeyed. "Now, picture yourself on the beach. The sand between your toes, cool water gently sweeping it all away as the tide rolls in and back out again, the salty spray of the ocean against your face. That perfect set just waiting. The suns barely rising and the clouds are every shade of beautiful you have ever seen. There. Are you there?" He nodded, his breathing returned to normal. The clouds were copper. Copper like shiny new pennies. Copper like her eyes.
"Good. Now open your eyes and look right." He did and he turned right. Lucy tumbled to the ground as the back of the broom collided with her side.
"Oh, shit!" he shouted. "Lucy, I–"
"Relax," she chuckled, picking herself of the ground. "I have had worse spills than that. Of course, usually, I am on a broom when someone knocks me over. But, hey, something new every day, right?"
He smiled at her grinning face, little flakes of freshly cut grass in her hair. "Right."
"Time for left, I suppose," she told him, "but, just let me move first." She scurried in front of him and gave him a nod of approval. He turned left. "Smashing! Best student I ever had. The only one too… but I suppose we shouldn't mention that." She grinned and he could not help, but smile back; there was something about her, something that would not let him stop smiling.
"Now, to back up, you simply put a little weight in your heels. That's it!" she exclaimed when he succeeded on his first try. "Forward, the weight in you toes." He shot forward and barely managed to stopped mere inches in front of her. "Stopping, you figured out on your own." She laughed and for some strange reason he became ridiculously happy.
She called her broom to her and mounted with ease. "Now, we fly," as the words left her mouth he didn't feel so happy anymore.
"To go up, you simply pull back on the handle. See?" She gently pulled back on the handle of her broom and she rose a few feet in the air. Closing his eyes, he mimicked her. He flew upward. It was much easier than he had previously thought. "And to get back down it's just the opposite." He nodded, pushed forward and dropped the few feet back to his safety net.
"Ready?" Lucy asked. Remus stared at her wide-eyed.
"I-I don't think I can," he stuttered, suddenly becoming a ball of nerves once more.
"Of course, you can." She tilted her head to the side and smiled at him.
Of course, I can. Of course, he could. Lucy had told him he could. She rose up into the air and flew in large circles and he followed her with ease.
They continued to fly, until the sun set low behind the trees, the clouds taking on deep purple and red shades before blurring away into the dark sky. He landed a few feet behind her as she stood staring out into the forbidding forest, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to protect her from the cold night air. She leaned back into him, laying her head against his chest.
"Lucy?" he whispered. She nodded and looked up at him, her copper eyes tranquil, and her smile sleepy, but there just the same. "Lucy, I…" He didn't know how to say it, so he just said it, "I want to kiss you."
Her little bow of a mouth opened, slightly before she closed it, again, along with her eyes. It felt like an eternity before she opened them, again. "Then do it." He stood shock-still, staring at her unbelievingly. He had expected her to say "no." He always expected them to say "no."
Remus continued to stare at her dumbfounded, so Lucy stood up on her toes and gently pressed her lips to his. He smiled slightly against her mouth before wrapping his arms around her waist and taking the lead.
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End.
Author hangs cardboard sign around neck, that has the words God is Dead crossed out in bright red marker and replaced with Review and I'll give you COOKIES in blue ink, and perches on the edge of the curb, smiling brightly as the streetlight halts you. She screams, "Wait! I can dance, too, if you want! Please, don't leave without reviewing!" running after your car as the light flicks green.