This may not live up to any standards. My apologies.
Over the rest of the week, Riley and the others did so many naughty things, Riley felt like it may be a new record. They went out into the Forbidden Forest every night, poking fun at any creature that looked easy enough to taunt without being in mortal danger. Before dinner on her second night with the group, they'd snuck off to the Hufflepuff Common Room and thrown dung bombs everywhere. At first, these things had fascinated her, as she was clueless as to what exactly they were. Shortly after they had set off, though, she figured out they were basically the wizarding equivalent to 'stink bombs', and she wasn't very fascinated by them anymore. A few days later, a Slytherin Prefect confronted them about the incident, and Riley was once more amazed, this time by Tara's skill in lying her way out of things. It was a good thing though, as they were cut off the hook, though the Prefect was still suspicious of them.
Other days, they'd sneak off in pairs or threesomes and hide behind suits of armor or statues and jinx students of the other houses. Riley, not knowing many jinxes herself, didn't usually take part in this, but she watched in amusement. In her opinion, so long as it didn't do anyone any permanent harm, it was all in good fun. Scorpius never took part in the jinxing of others, he didn't even come along to watch, but would always look at them distastefully when they recounted stories. One particular evening he actually stormed off to his dorm when Hannah said she made some Gryffindor first year cry because Hannah had jinxed the girl's legs so bad, they wouldn't stop twitching. It was alright though, he hung out with them in every other naughty stunt they pulled. Several times she and Hannah would drop stink pellets in the girls' bathroom on the fourth floor and then hurry out and hide before anyone caught them. It was the most fun Riley had ever had at school, and all the while, she was learning all kinds of things just by hanging out with her friends.
The only problem was, she didn't speak to Atticus very often. Mostly because she knew he would disapprove of her actions, even if they weren't permanently damaging. And she knew that if she spoke too much to him, she'd get over-excited and spill everything. Which would not only get herself in trouble, but her friends in Slytherin as well. Another reason was that he had started sitting with his new friend, Megan, during Potions lessons. Riley knew it was because the poor girl was very unpopular and hadn't made any friends but Atticus all week…but it still irritated her he'd ditch her so easily. By the time Saturday rolled around, she had promised herself she'd go find Atticus and they'd catch up, and she had to keep reminding herself over and over just in case she forgot.
"Hey, Riley!" She whipped around at the sound of her name being called, seeing that it was Leia and Scorpius, making their way towards her through the crowded corridors. It was just after breakfast, and most everyone was bustling about, getting bags and things so they could do their work out on the grounds. It was a surprisingly breezy day, which was perfect for outside studying. Though some didn't seem to have any work in mind, and others were clutching broomsticks. Probably practicing for Quidditch… she thought to herself, which made her curious. She had heard the basics of the game, though it was still a lot more difficult for her to understand than for her wizard-born friends. They spoke of it like her brother Hansel spoke of football, and that is to say…a lot. She tried to keep up with the conversations, but it was just all nonsense to her. She knew there was something like a Quaffee or something, and then a Snitch - which really shocked her, only kind of Snitch she knew were the ones that told on her for breaking a rule - then there were, what were they? Bleeders? No, that wasn't right. There was just a lot to take in on the sport, and all she really understood was that it was flying.
"Hey, guys. What's up?" Riley responded when they'd finally caught up to her.
"Where you heading?" Leia asked.
"To find Atticus. Thought we'd have some quality twin time. I haven't spoken to him properly in days," Riley told them, pushing open the great, wooden doors that lead outside. She instantly looked towards the lake. Atticus was a huge fan of water, any body of water around was bound to have Atticus nearby. Sure enough, there he was. Sitting with his Ravenclaw friends, bending over what Riley knew had to be homework.
"You've still got tomorrow for that," Leia waved her hand dismissively. "We're all going down to the Quidditch field to watch them all fly. You know Bruce is on the team and all-"
"He is?" Riley questioned, and when Scorpius chuckled at her, she felt her cheeks heat up instantly. "I mean, of course I know he is. But I thought it didn't start till October?"
"They can still fly can't they?" Leia rolled her eyes. "Let's go then!"
"But, I really should talk to Atticus…" she argued weakly, biting her lip anxiously.
"He's just doing homework anyways, besides," Leia rolled her eyes. "How are you going to have a proper conversation with his friends around?" Riley considered this, and agreed, though it was forced, so she had an excuse to go with her friends at the moment.
"Well, I suppose you're right…" she trailed, glancing still towards her brother. He had spotted her and was waving frantically to her. She waved back, and then felt a twinge of guilt when she turned her back on him and started walking with Scorpius and Leia towards the field.
As they reached the field, Riley immediately noticed that there were tons of people in the sky. She couldn't make out Bruce from the ground, but she did see Tara waving them over about halfway up the stands. Which were covered, and looked more like an actual sports stadium would, and she wondered if they were always like this. When they got to where Tara was, Riley saw that Hannah was there as well, but she had been leaning back so she wasn't visible from the ground. Scorpius sat on Tara's other side, and Leia and Riley sat in front of the three. When she looked into the air, it was much easier for Riley to find Bruce in the sky. He was flying alongside another Slytherin, and they were passing a scarlet ball between themselves.
"What position is he on the team?" she asked the others curiously.
"He's one of the Chasers',"
"How many Chasers are there again?"
"Three." Scorpius reminded her.
"And, there's two Beaters," Hannah added. She was still leaning back onto the seats behind her and was twirling a random piece of water she'd produced with her wand. Riley watched the water twist and turn in the air, mesmerized, until Leia spoke.
"And a Seeker, and a Keeper." she was saying. "And being Seeker is the hardest one, I think. Because you have to find that tiny little golden Snitch."
"No, that's all wrong." Scorpius disagreed, shaking his head. "Chaser is definitely hardest. You have to dodge Bludgers, dodge the other teams advances, keep hold of the Quaffle, and get the Quaffle through one of the goalposts. That's a lot to do,"
"Yeah, but there's three Chasers. Only one person can catch the Snitch, and the Snitch is the most important piece of the game. Catch the Snitch, basically an automatic win." Leia argued.
"Sure, but as a Chaser…" and as they continued to argue about which was harder, Riley's eyes wandered across to the field again, where she was watching everyone fly around. There were a few Gryffindors, and she saw one of them was Kevin, the boy she'd met on the train who was friends with Albus. A Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff were taking turns batting a big, black ball to each other. And another Hufflepuff was zooming in and out of all the others, chasing a tiny, fluttering golden thing. Riley watched him chase it for a few minutes, mentally cursing every time he just barely missed it, and then finally smiling when he closed his fist around it. Now, she looked in the direction of the lake, glittering under the sun in the distance. She could just make out her brother and his friends as tiny specks sitting nearby, and she felt yet another twinge of guilt for not going to talk to him. To try and ease her floppy stomach, she tuned back into her friends. Tara had joined the argument now, but she wasn't deciding on which position.
"Obviously being a Chaser is harder-" Scorpius insisted.
"No, being Seeker is a lot of pressure!" Leia retorted.
"I don't care which way, just shut up!" Tara snapped at them, looking irritated. Leia suddenly turned to Riley, looking determined.
"What do you think?" Riley looked between Leia and Scorpius, who were both looking expectant, as if they knew for sure she would choose their answer. Then she glanced over at Tara, who was still looking irritated, but was now watching the people flying about. Finally, she just shrugged and looked at the other two sheepishly.
"Impartial."
"Oh, come on!" Leia exclaimed. "Everyone knows-"
"Hey guys," Bruce interrupted her. He had flown over to them and was now hovering just out of reach of the stands, with a grin on his face. His Slytherin team mate appeared at his side, and Riley frowned. The guy looked a lot older than her, and was looking rather grim, but he didn't speak. "How boring this is, watching others fly."
"More like frustrating. These two won't stop arguing!" Tara grumbled, giving Scorpius and Leia a dirty look each.
"Well, grab a school broom, take flight." Bruce encouraged.
"Oh, I don't think so. I'm not a good flier." Riley shook her head. "But I'll watch."
"Nonsense, you've got to get into the air. Here, I can let you ride on mine with me," Bruce suggested, holding out a hand to help her up. She frowned, shaking her head even more sharply. But now, Tara and Hannah were grinning, and she knew what they were going to do. Riley jumped up, trying to get away, but her friends were quicker. They grabbed hold of her arms and, though she struggled as hard as she could, dragged her down a few steps. Bruce swerved to hover over the stands, he was grinning too, eyes glinting with amusement.
"Guys, she doesn't want to-" Scorpius tried, but Tara cut him off.
"Don't be so lame, Scor, geez. Why don't you summon us some brooms." Tara told him, as she and Hannah shoved Riley closer to Bruce.
"Fine," Riley sighed. "But, if I fall, I'm never forgiving you!" She snapped to Bruce, taking his hand and letting the other two hoist her up over the broomstick. Immediately, her heart started pounding and she felt her hands tremble.
"Hold on tight," Bruce instructed, reaching back and pulling Riley's arms around him. She wrapped them tighter and clutched his robes, clenching her jaw and staring at the ground, feeling very nauseas indeed.
"I change my mind!" She called in a shaky voice. "I want down! This is too high!"
"Come on, Ri, calm down." Tara taunted from below, looking like she was having the most fun. "Get outta here, Bruce. Show her the world!" Hannah laughed, and then Riley felt the broom move forward. Slow at first, and then suddenly wind was whipping her hair about and she heard herself start to scream. This sucks, this sucks, this sucks. she repeated over and over in her head, trying to take deep, calming breaths as her screams died. Bruce took a sharp turn around some Ravenclaw's, and she gasped, shoving her face into the back of his robes.
"Just calm down," she heard him yelling over the wind. "Breathe properly, stop cutting off my circulation, and just look. We're perfectly fine." For a moment, Riley absolutely refused to listen to him, then she decided she might as well look. It wasn't like he'd just let her off, not unless she looked first. So, slowly, she pulled her face from his back and looked around her again, not daring look down because she knew fear would take over once more, and suddenly she smiled. Though it was terrifying to be up so high, on a broomstick none the less, she could see a lot from this height. She could look right into the window of the Astronomy tower, and past Hogwarts, she could mountains for miles. It was absolutely beautiful. She thought maybe she saw the looks of a town not far off, but she didn't think they could be that high. At last, she loosened her grip on Bruce. She looked to the left and saw that Scorpius was flying close by, with Tara at his tail. To the right, Hannah was flying, with Leia tagging along on the back of her broom.
"This is fantastic!" she called, and Scorpius grinned at her.
"Isn't it?" Bruce replied, taking yet another sharp curve and causing the wind to produce a sharp whistling sound in her ear. He flew through the middle of the Gryffindors, and they gave Riley and Bruce annoyed looks. Riley dared to let go with one hand and waved to Kevin as she passed, he looked shocked to see her there. They flew for another few minutes before Bruce finally landed on the ground, and she slipped off the back. As the others landed around her, she beamed at them.
"It's a lot more fun when you don't have to worry about controlling the broom yourself," Leia said, sliding off of Hannah's broom.
"If you have trouble flying, I'd think so." Scorpius commented.
"Let's go have some lunch, shall we?" Tara suggested, already walking in the direction of the castle, leaving her broomstick in the middle of the ground. The others followed her more slowly, listening to Leia and Riley enthuse about flying. Hannah seemed to become bored with the discussion, and caught up with Tara as they started up the stone steps. Bruce was nodding along politely, and Scorpius actually responded sometimes. While she walked over to the Slytherin table for lunch, she had a hard time remembering why her stomach felt so sick, and she was at a loss as to why she'd been guilty before.