TOMORROW (Monday) IS MY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY!

Anyways… hi. xD

Reviewer Replies:

charn14: lol it's fine. :D They're in love, you're younger than them… But you can still call it young love!

HarryPotterRoxMySoxForever: Wow! Thank you! I'm glad you like it and my references. :)

Thalia Marie Grace: lol Maybe I will. :) And no, I don't live in England. I live in America. I do know a lot of British people though, and my (now ex) boyfriend lives in England… So there you have it.

DISCLAIMER!

Nina: Ice-Princess-93 doesn't own anything.

Fabian: She only owns her OCs and this plot line. Okay people?

Me: Why thank you guys. (:

Both: No problem!


Chapter Three: House of Practice

Nina's POV:

"Okay," James started off, "We're going to have a trial run, here. Ready?"

The Gryffindor Quidditch team, as well as Fabian and I, were standing in the middle of the Room of Requirement which was cleverly made to look like the Quidditch field from outside. It was still snowing pretty hard, so we couldn't actually go out and practice. At any rate, all future games were postponed until further notice.

"Fine," Roxanne said, clearly getting fed up with her cousin. "Let's do this. I'm getting impatient just standing around."

"Right," James continued, ignoring her. He turned to me. "Nina, fill in for Albus. Fabian, go sit in the stands and observe Roxie and Fred."

"Will you people please stop calling me that?" Roxanne asked incredulously, mounting her broom.

Averting my gaze to the stands, I noticed for the first time that Tarra, Mick, Alfie and Amber had also joined in watching the practice session unfold. Hugo, Louis, Lily and Molly were there too, talking animatedly to each other.

"Hugo!" James shouted. "Release the balls!"

Hugo went over to the large wooden chest, opened it, and immediately threw the Quaffle into the air, followed by the release of the Bludgers. Lastly, I saw the small, golden orb that was the Golden Snitch flit out of its pouch and rise high, going at incredible speed.

Luckily, I was faster. Granted I was still using the schools' brooms, but McGonagall had agreed to order two of the Flacons for Fabian and I to use for Quidditch practice and substitution. The only problem was waiting for them to arrive.

Seeing a blur of purple and chains, I noticed Roxanne flanking my left side, batting a persistent Bludger away so I wouldn't get attacked.

"Don't worry, Nina! I've got you covered!" she shouted, beating the Bludger a far way away from us.

"Thanks!" I shouted back, streaking after the Snitch and swerving out of the way as to avoid my other teammates flying by me. They were a lot faster on their newer brooms, but I had confidence in catching the Snitch just as fast as Al would, or even faster, as apparently I'd already outdone him.

I saw the little golden orb sparkling a few yards below me. Diving towards the ground, I caught it just before I steadied myself for a more precise landing that wouldn't have me end up back in the hospital wing.

"Great job! Brilliant!" James exclaimed, coming to land beside me with the rest of the team. "You really are a great Seeker."

"Thank you," I said, still clutching the Snitch.

"Not to be mean," Mick started off, shouting down from the stands, "but why don't you just replace Albus with Nina?"

"I won't do that," James simply told him. "No offense to Nina, but Al's been doing it longer than she has. Plus, he's my brother. And even though Nina is great at being a Seeker, she still needs a bit more practice, and participation in an actual match."

Albus smiled, clearly enjoying being praised by his older sibling. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Fabian!" James called. "Come down here and grab your broom! You'll be taking Fred's place as Beater for the next practice round!"

I smiled as I saw Fabian jump from his seat and literally scurry down the stairs of the stands, coming to a halt right in front of us, grinning largely.

"Thanks," he told Fred as he was handed a bat and helmet, as well as some other protective gear. "Where's my broom?"

"Over there," Dominique told him, pointing to a spot on the ground where his Lightening Streak 2000 lay untouched.

We all mounted our brooms. I let the Golden Snitch go, watching it fly away into the open air of the Room of Requirement.

"You know," I started off, turning to Albus, "I kind of sometimes forget we're in this room."

"Me too," he said, smiling. "It's so realistic as to what outside would be like… if it wasn't snowing insanely."

"Good luck," Fred told us, pulling Al away by the arm and leading him up to the stands.

"Okay…" James trailed off, mounting his own broom and looking around at us. "Go!"

We flew back up into the air, Fabian on my right and Roxanne on my left. I felt secure with them guarding me against the evil balls of death, until Roxanne had to go make sure Rose wasn't going to get killed by the Bludger she'd managed to accidentally hit off in her direction.

Going around aimlessly, searching for the Snitch, I realized just how much I enjoyed the sensation of flying. It was exhilarating, especially outside when the wind blows. It's like you really are flying.

Well, that's the point, isn't it? Yeah. I thought so.

Dragging myself away from my thoughts, I came back to reality only to notice the Snitch hovering not too far away from me. Before I could do anything, though, I felt a Bludger hit my left arm, hard. Roxanne came streaking over at lightening speed, apologizing deeply. It was her fault - she'd meant to hit it off in the other direction.

"Ouch… It's fine, Roxanne. Don't worry about it yet," I told her, clutching my arm with my right hand.

"No," Fabian protested. "You're hurt. James!" he shouted, turning his head in James' direction. "Time out! Nina got hit!"

Gliding back down to the ground, we were met by the rest of the team, as well as everyone who was sitting in the stands.

"I can't believe I didn't see it!" Fabian exclaimed, looking upset. "Nina, roll up the sleeve of your shirt."

I did as he told, wincing once the fabric hit the part of my arm that was hit. It really did hurt.

"Damn it," James muttered, looking over the injury. "We gotta get you to Madam Pomfrey."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked incredulously. "I've been in and out of the hospital wing ever since I came here!"

"But Nina," Rose started off, "you'll be in and out this time in only a few minutes. She can mend bones in a flash. You'll see."

I hadn't even looked at my arm. Slowly turning my gaze as to take a look, I felt the color drain out of my face.

It was bruised, bleeding, and slowly swelling up. Remembering how squeamish I was, I rolled my sleeve back down and stared at them all in disbelief, swearing under my breath.

"I hate Bludgers," I said.

"So do we," Roxanne agreed.

"Come on," Fabian said, grabbing my other arm and leading me out of the Room of Requirement. Everyone else followed. "Let's get you out of here."

"Fine," I said bitterly. "But only because I want my arm fixed."

"And you'll get it fixed. It'll be fine, and we can resume practice another day."

"Sounds good."

"Doesn't it? And I'm sorry I didn't notice the Bludger. Really, Nina, I am. I feel like it's partially my fault."

"No it's not."

"Yeah," Roxanne chimed in. "I was the one who hit it your way. Plus, you were busy defending her from the other one. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine."

"Let's not blame people, shall we?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone laughed in agreement.

I really am glad I have such great friends, I thought. I just wish stupid and painful stuff would stop happening to me.