* I would like to thank Sunstar Writer for beta reading this. Without your input I doubt I would have found the nerve to post this. Also, I do not own Oliver or any of the characters and places that are mentioned in the Harry Potter books. *
"Mom! Do I really have to wear these?" a little blonde girl whined, tugging at the leather arm and shin guards she wore.
The girl's mother looked at her, tight-lipped, and stern. She hadn't wanted Aderyn to play sports.
"It's your father's fault for suggesting this. I mean, really? Teaching 5 year olds to fly."
A handful of other children, only one other wearing guards similar to hers, were standing around a small pitch, only about half the size of regulation and the goal hoops were only a few feet off the ground. Nervously, the little girl, now identified as Aderyn, clutched her child-sized broom.
"Alright, nice to see you all...hmm...six? Okay then, good…" A tall, muscular wizard in referee robes said, clapping his hands together. "I'm Coach Rodgers."
He glanced at all the parents and Aderyn held her broom tighter, "Parents, please note that after today, arm and shin guards will be mandatory. Today, however, we will simply be covering the basics of broomsticks. Would any of you young ones like to volunteer to demonstrate how to mount and dismount a broom?"
The other child wearing guards stepped forward; Aderyn glared and stuck her tongue out at him.
Coach smiled, "Oh, Oliver, is it?" Aderyn stepped out from behind her mom, "and...?"
"Aderyn. Aderyn Rivers, sir."
The boy looked at her and smiled, his brown hair had a slight red tinge in the light and eyes that matched the dark brown finish of the broom in his hand.
Something her dad told her came to mind, "Now, sweetheart, you're as good as any boy. Don't let any of them show you up or tell you otherwise."
With those words in mind, it was so on.
For the next 5 years, she continued going to the Primary Quidditch league. Her mom had agreed to it as long as she also took up a safer hobby, and had suggested violin lessons. Now, she had that to deal with, too. Of course, though, Aderyn (or Ryn as she preferred to be called), preferred to have a broomstick in her hand over a bow any day.
The summer between primary and secondary schooling had officially arrived. No longer would she have to wander the halls of Madame Louise's Primary School for Witches. No, in the fall she would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her best friend, a girl by the name of Charlotte with whom she got along very well, and who shared her eccentricity as well as a fascination with muggles, would be attending a different school.
Despite her pleas to attend the same school as her friend, Beauxbatons, her parents had agreed she would be going to Hogwarts. (Which was interesting considering they agreed on very little.) Any day now she would be receiving her letter of acceptance and list of things she would need for her classes.
Ryn sat at the dining table, her father reading the newspaper as usual. Judging by the clink and clatter of pots and dishes coming from the kitchen, breakfast was ready.
A knock on the front door made her and her father jump.
"Ryn," he asked without looking up from the paper, "could you get the door?"
She ran to answer, sliding to a stop on the hardwood floor. A small smile graced her features as she had avoided crashing into something this time. Her face lit up when she opened the door.
"Hey Ollie. Let me grab my broom and some shoes." she said, leaving the front door wide open.
Despite the initial impression, Oliver and Aderyn became good friends. Occasionally they would throw the practice balls at each other during games, aiming for each other's heads but they shared a love of the sport and a good book in their down time.
Fumbling to put on her sneakers, Aderyn tugged the broom case from under her bed, throwing a loathsome glare at the violin case that came along with it.
Grabbing the broom, she raced back downstairs, calling out to her parents, "Going flying with Oliver! Be back later! Oh! If Charlotte comes by, send an owl!"
"Took you long enough." Oliver teased as they mounted their brooms.
Throwing her head back in laughter, she replied, "Well, my violin acted like it wanted to come along too, so I needed to make sure it got put in its place."
He gave her a concerned look, "You're weird, Ryn."
"Says the guy who can mount a broom from a full run." kicking off, she laughed again, gaining speed.
The practice pitch was too small for them to use, but that didn't stop them from tossing a Quaffle back and forth.
"Do you like playing the violin?" he asked, tossing the red leather ball at her.
She caught it with ease, "No, but my mom made me. It was the only way she would let me play Quidditch."
Ryn tossed the ball back with a bit more force than she intended.
"Are you any good at it?"
She shrugged," Everyone says I am. I think it's dreadful though. Did you get your letter from Hogwarts yet?"
"Not yet. You?"
"Nope, nothing yet."
As she finished her sentence, her mother's tawny screech owl swooped overhead.
"I gotta go. See you at school I guess?"
"Yeah, see you." he said, turning the ball over in his hands.
As she got closer to home, a figure sitting on the front stoop became more and more visible. The dark olive skinned girl waved, the mess of frizzy burgundy curls bouncing with the movement. Usually it fell in soft waves, but a straightening spell had gone awry and the other girl had actually taken a liking to the tight curls.
"Char!" Ryn called out, rolling off the broom in one swift, practiced motion.
After taking several steps, she stopped, turned around, and retrieved the broom now lying in the grass.
This, of course, sent Char into hysterical laughter, "You and that dumb broom! You should just marry it already!"
"I've thought about it..." she replied, slinging the handle across her shoulders, "because this baby's gonna make me famous one day!"
Smiling, she held a finger to her lips, "But don't tell my mom."
"So, were you with your boyfriend again, hmm Rinni?" Charlotte teased as they kicked off their shoes.
"Who? Oliver? Um, ew. He's not my boyfriend." she scrunched up her face in disgust at the question.
Crossing her arms, the other girl fired back, "Then what are you two?"
Broomstick still in hand, Ryn and Charlotte wandered into the kitchen, snatching apples off the table.
As she chewed, she answered, "I don't know. We're friends I guess, but we're always trying to outdo each other."
Her father came in the open back door, the smell of freshly cut grass following him. "I think you and that Wood boy are more like rivals than anything." he said, washing his hands in the copper sink. "And you know what your mom said about brooms in the kitchen."
"I was going to put it away right now."
The girls tossed the apple cores and made their way upstairs.
Char stared at the violin case, discarded on the bed while her friend lovingly put the broom back in its case. Flicking open the black leather and wood lid, she admired the polished ebony.
"Your mom still making you take lessons?"
With a huff, the blonde sat on her knees, arms on the edge of the bed with her chin on her forearms, "Yup." she said, popping the "P".
"I hate it, I really do. She wanted me to have a safe hobby. Brooms before bows though, I always say."
The two girls laughed and talked well into the night, sneaking down to enjoy a dinner of popcorn and chocolate frogs about midnight.
"So, you looking forward to finally getting to learn magic?" Charlotte asked sleepily to the girl beside her.
A stifled yawn and a muttered "uh-huh" was her reply.