A/N: Thank you so much to GGOTHGGHP!!!! My besties haven't edited this yet (shame on them! it's okay, i love them anyway) so beware of small stupid typos.

CHAPTER 24: Facing Fears

"I am beginning to think you two are incapable of conducting a civil conversation," said Jay-Jay near the end of practice on Saturday.

"I think we are more like blue cheese," said Kellyn. "Edible, but it's really just glorified mold if you think about it."

"Your analogies suck," muttered Jay-Jay.

"I think it makes sense," said Stella with a vigorous nod of her head.

"Ha!" cried Kellyn victoriously.

"But you still argue over the slightest things. It really is rather old," added Stella.

"It's because we are like—"

"No more analogies!"

On Sunday, Hoot flew into the hall during lunch, bearing a small box which was promptly dropped into Kellyn's soup. Muttering a few choice words to the dimwitted bird, she salvaged the box and proceeded to open it. Inside was a small note from her father:

"Greetings daughter! I hope you are having a good time at Hogwarts. Congratulations on making the Quidditch Team! I knew you would. How is practice going? Do you like your teammates? Is your captain a good leader? Please send us your game schedule so your mother and I can come watch. And I thought this article was interesting. You might want to read it. Love, Da."

"That's soooooo cute!" crooned Shaylee, reading over her shoulder. "What's the article from?" Kellyn glanced inside secretively to see a copy of Wizard Sports Illustrated, with an aging Victor Krum on the cover. Kellyn glanced at the headline circled by her father: "Wronski Feint: no longer for Seekers." Kellyn felt her breath hitch.

"Kellyn, are you okay?" asked Stella cautiously.

"I'm fine. It's just some quidditch magazine. But, um, I'm not really hungry anymore, so I'm just going to head back to my room and maybe sit for awhile…"

"I'll come with you," insisted Stella, not entirely convinced.

Kellyn took the magazine from the box, slipping it into her copy of Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts: Protection in the Post-Voldemort Era. She then proceeded to read and re-read the article…

"Over 20 years later after being the youngest person to perform the Wronski feint, former Bulgarian National Quidditch player Victor Krum sits down with Wizard Sports Illustrated to elaborate on that move. 'With the way this game evolves,' said Krum, 'it seems to me that the Wronski feint is no longer a move for Seekers. So many Seekers have become increasingly close to mastering it that the next progression would be to have other players on the pitch incorporate it.'…Krum goes on to explain how Chasers could begin to adopt it. 'Chasers, these days, are just as fast as the Seekers and should move like them. Instead of diving to lead the opponent on, the Chaser's goal would be opposite: to lead the opponent away. This creates space and new passing lanes, opening the pitch up,'…Below are the steps to do a Wronski feint a la Victor Krum. Players who have performed this stunt successfully have individually adapted a distinct style."

Then, in small writing:

"This should not be attempted by an amateur player and should only be attempted by players at a professional level under controlled conditions and with proper strength building."

Kellyn scoffed before examining the diagram at length. Soon, she had a plan.

"Where are you going?" asked Stella.

"Oh, just flying."

"Be careful," said Stella, without looking up from her magazine.

Kellyn soared above the lake, rather thankful it was still slightly warm. It was now or never; she knew she had to try once before winter came and she was certain the lake would soon be too cold. She glanced down, processing what she was about to do. She would dive straight down, her body barely hanging onto the broom by her two hands, and before hitting the surface of the lake, she would completely shift her body back and pull the broom up, narrowly and stealthily escaping danger… the Wronski feint.

She knew she was not forced to do it. She knew it was her choice, even though vaguely hinted by her fanatic father. The prospect of it frightened her, but it was a good kind of fear: just the thought of it alone gave her this wild thrill. To be scared was to be living on the edge, so very close to life and death. It was dangerous and intriguing, too much so to pass up. Indeed, she was hardly scared at all; one could not even call it fear. With that thought, Kellyn began her plunge.

It was a long way down. The wind ripped passed her, causing her eyes to tear. Her weight was being pulled to the ground, her legs were wrapped around the broom and her knuckles were white from gripping. She grew tired. Perhaps it was too far down.

James and Drew sat on the dock, talking Quidditch. They had noticed a figure they had guessed to be Kellyn above them, flying in aimless circles above the lake. The two boys watched her dive, both assuming it was just Kellyn being a daredevil, knowing she would level out a few seconds later. Silently, they watched her continue dive.

James hoped she would stop. He saw her body weight completely forward, not the normal dive where one would keep their weight back for better control. She huddled forward and clutched her broom, but seemed in control and frighteningly at ease. James hoped she would stop but had the uncanny feeling she would not.

Drew did not dare to hope that she would stop. As soon as he saw her weight slide forward, the latest issue of Wizard Sports Illustrated slipped through his hands and fell on the dock. He stood up slowly, knowing exactly what she was doing: the Wronski feint. He knew she would be tempted, he just never thought she would be so brazen to actually attempt it. At least, he thought dryly, she had the brains to try it above the lake instead of the unforgiving ground. At least she wouldn't die. He knew what kind of training it took to pull off a feat like that. Despite the conditioning, he knew that Kellyn did not have the upper body strength to hold herself in such a position for so long before mustering every ounce of energy to pull herself away from eminent doom. He heard himself swear under his breath as he came to this realization before yelling her name at the top of his lungs.

"Kellyn!" she heard a voice from the dock called. She suddenly snapped back to reality. It was such a long way down that she had forgotten that she wasn't suppose to go all the way down. She could see the surface of the lake; it was just windy enough that there was definition to estimate how far she had to go. Kellyn knew she had to pull back right then or else. She felt her legs giving out on her, her torso sliding forward when she needed to pull her weight back.

Drew saw her panic for a single moment, having not been able to pull her weight back. She then relied on her arms, giving a forceful yank on her broom to level it out. He could almost picture the small smile of satisfaction as the broom began to respond. James looked hopeful. But it was too late. Her focus changed. Drew took off his shoes, preparing for the worst.

As a last resort, Kellyn mustered all her arm strength and began to pull on her broom. As it began to level out, Kellyn realized how close she was to the surface of the lake. Her broom would not even out in time and she would end up doing the worst kind of belly flop possible. She was beyond pride; she knew that if she attempted to continue the feint, she would hit the lake with enough force to break bones. Making a split second decision, Kellyn let go of her broom and extended her arms, driving into the lake with a less than graceful splash.

She dove deeply underwater before realizing that she had no idea which way was up. The impact had knocked most of the air out of her and she needed to surface. Kellyn opened her eyes to an immense darkness. She released the little air she had left in her lungs, feeling for the direction of the air bubbles, knowing they would float to the surface. She swam her way desperately toward the surface, now seeing the light. Then suddenly, she was pulled up to the surface.

Kellyn opened her eyes to see blurry images. She gasped for breath but nothing came. Her head bobbed under the surface for a moment and she came back up for a second try. This was successful and Kellyn inhaled deeply. Someone helped her swim toward the dock, where another figure was waiting.

"Grab her hands and pull her up!" cried the voice. She felt her wrists being tugged, her body banging against the dock before she felt the wood securely beneath her.

"Kellyn, please breath," she heard James cry desperately. She coughed violently as pain seared her ribcage. Expelling the water that she had swallowed, Kellyn rolled onto her back, her arm clutching her torso. She opened her eyes once again. It was slightly clearer, but still blurry.

"My broom…" she muttered.

"In the name of Voldermort's nipples, you have got to get your priorities straight!" she heard James cry before a voice spoke over his.

"I have it." It was none other then Andrew who had pulled her out of the lake.

"What the hell were you thinking? Were you trying to kill yourself?"

"Close. I was trying to do the Wronski feint," Kellyn answered James' question.

"Now is not the time for humor!" he barked. "Merlin's knickers, you are dead serious, aren't you?" Kellyn nodded her head.

"I assume you got this bright idea from Wizard Sports Illustrated?" asked Andrew dryly.

"Don't patronize me," Kellyn grumbled.

"We need to get you to the Hospital Wing," insisted James.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not," said Andrew. "You're lucky you're still with us. We're lucky you're still with us." With that, the two boys picked her up and brought her inside.

"So explain to me what you did again," requested Nurse Duncan for the third time.

"Wronski feint. Or at least an attempt at it."

"So, this Wrenveski feint business…"

"Wronski."

"So, the Seeker person dives toward the ground, trying to fake that the pretty golden winged ball is close to the ground and before the other Seeker person realizes that the golden ball is not there, the sneaky Seeker pulls away and the other Seeker person hits the ground."

"Yes."

"But you read in a magazine that it this idiotic—"

"Brilliant."

"—maneuver could be performed by the Chaser people in certain game situations so you had the intelligent idea that you could maybe pull it off." Kellyn nodded.

"Close enough."

"So, you tried this move above the lake so you wouldn't get yourself killed if it didn't work. And what do you know? It didn't work and so you had to dive into the lake. You are lucky you didn't break any ribs."

"They feel like it."

"They are bruised, you will be sore for a few days. And your vision should clear up with the eye drops within a day or two. Silly girl," the nurse chided. "How on earth did you get sorted into Ravenclaw?" Kellyn closed her eyes. James and Drew sat by the bed with worried expressions.

"Are you insane?" hissed James.

"Quite possibly."

"Did you ever stop to think of the consequences at all?"

"Well, I figured on crashing, which is why I tried it above the lake and not above solid ground. You have to give me points for that."

"No, Kellyn! You get negative points! You scared us shitless! Why attempt something you had a feeling that you were going to fail at?"

"Well, I wouldn't have known unless I had tried."

"People don't just wake up in the morning and say, 'Hey, I think I will do a Wronski feint today.'"

"True. I decided about ten minutes before I actually tried."

"Kellyn, that's not the point!"

"Then what's the point?"

"The point is that you were completely ill-prepared to perform a stunt like that."

"Hold up, James, you are beginning to sound like Andrew." Andrew cracked a smile.

"Don't encourage her," James scolded Andrew.

"It was stupid," said Andrew to Kellyn.

"You scared us," repeated James.

"I wasn't afraid," Kellyn said.

"You weren't afraid of plunging a hundred feet and hoping that you would be able to not kill yourself?"

"I was not afraid," she repeated. "There are worse things to be genuinely afraid of," she said, darkness clouding her eyes.

"Things like…?" James asked. Kellyn ignored him.

"I had to see. I had to see if I could do it, if I was close to being able to do it. And now I know: I'm not strong enough. And now I know and I can train all winter and spring until the lake warms back up. And then I'll try again."

"What?"

"James, you know me, I'm not the type to give up. I have to do this."

"Is this your father pressuring you, Kellyn?"

"No. This is for me. I wanted to see if I could do it." James seemed bewildered while Andrew seemed to be oddly understanding. "You have no idea what it is like. It's like… it's like mocking death. You can feel it chase after you and you know you have to fool it. It's like that. You feel so free and weightless. So in control of your fate and yet so very out of control at the same time. I can't explain it," she said with a sigh, before wincing because of her sore ribs. "I have to do it." James eyed her carefully.

"I'm still mad at you."

"I know," she said. James kissed her quickly on the forehead and left the Hospital Wing, leaving her with Andrew.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Only a little. Because you could have really let down the team there."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I know." He paused for a moment, thinking. "I get it."

"Hmm?"

"I get why you had to try. Is that crazy or what?"

"Insane," Kellyn said with a small smile. "I guess I'm rubbing off on you."

"Let's hope not." He ran his hands through his hair. "You weren't afraid?"

"Nope. Like I said before, 'There are…'"

"'worse things to be genuinely afraid of,' I know. I just cannot even begin to think of what would frighten you if that did not."

"Oh the horrors."

"Indeed."

"It's nothing particularly surprising. Even logical, dare I say."

"Logic? You? Impossible." His dry humor made Kellyn laugh before moaning in pain. "You should probably take a few days off of conditioning, considering it hurts to breathe."

"I'll make it up. Speaking of making things up, I kind of owe you. And James too. You guys pulled me out of there. Oh Merlin, it was such a long way down."

"I can only imagine." It was then that Nurse Duncan yelled at Andrew, informing him visiting hours were over. He politely excused himself and left. Nurse Duncan came over with a sly smile on her face.

"So, which one is your boyfriend?"

"Do you want me to throw up?"

"On Friday evening you are to report to this room at precisely 8 o'clock. I do not care if you have the most beautiful or handsome date that night or some out of control party to attend, you are to be here or your grade will certainly suffer. And you will have to clean up after the first year's potions class. Without magic. With only a toothbrush," explained Professor Sharp as the students winced painfully. "I might hint that they do not make toothbrushes how they used to. The ones you receive may be prone to breakage. Having said that, I expect you all to come. Just bring yourselves and your wands. That will be all."

It was Monday morning and Kellyn had only been let out of the Hospital Wing the night before. Andrew walked her back to the common room despite her protests and Shaylee nearly tackled her upon entering as Andrew just continued walking to his room with a small smirk on his face.

"Are you bloody insane?" she screeched, clutching Kellyn.

"OW OW OW RIBS, SHAYLEE!!"

"Sorry," she cried, jumping five feet back. "So, are you bloody insane???"

"Shaylee, your voice is so high you are going to break the windows."

"Kellyn!!!"

"I'm not insane. Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Don't you ever pull that stupid shit again," said Jay-Jay with the utmost seriousness. The sad look on Stella's face said everything as Kellyn glanced at her. Kellyn opened her mouth to say she couldn't guarantee that, but Shaylee butted in.

"You smell like the lake. Please go take a shower." Kellyn gladly escaped Jay-Jay's glares and followed Shaylee's orders.

Kellyn picked random aquatic plants out of her hair while in the shower, thoroughly disgusted. Her body was stiff and she could see the dark bruising begin to form on her torso, although Nurse Duncan explained that most of the bruising was on the bone itself. It was time to slow down.

The week continued on uneventfully. Andrew and Kellyn slipped back into their usual arguing antics and Jay-Jay held a rather determined grudge for a complete 48 hours in retaliation for Kellyn's less-than-bright maneuver. Friday evening came and Shaylee, Stella, Jay-Jay, Kellyn, and Sam walked to Professor Sharp's classroom, wondering what they would do that evening.

"On the second day of class," began Professor Sharp without a greeting, "I promised you that you will have lived: that you will look fear in the eyes, smirk, and challenge it to a duel. Today is that day." The students looked around nervously. "Through this door is a boggart. Boggarts, as you know, transform into a person's greatest fear. The only way to defeat a boggart is through the spell Riddikulus and imagining something humorous. However, I ask you to face your fear, not defeat it. Therefore, we will both enter the room and you will be wandless for approximately fifteen seconds before I will give you your wand. Only then will you be able defeat the boggart. We will go in alphabetical order by last name. First is…"

Kellyn knew she was last. She was confident in the beginning, but as her fellow classmates were unceremoniously shoved out of the secret room with pale faces and wide eye, her morale fell. Kellyn was never blessed with patience and became nervous and fidgety. No one spoke, no one dared to ask their neighbor what shape the boggart took. At last, Kellyn was called into the room. With a shaky smile, Kellyn handed her wand to Professor Sharp before he closed the door. Kellyn saw the boggart sitting in a chair. Except it was not a boggart.

It was herself. Kellyn's breath hitched in her throat as she looked at herself, twenty years older and bound in a wheelchair. The figure smiled before sorrowfully glancing down at her limp limbs and the broken broom that lay at her feet. A newspaper article was folded into her lap, its headline reading 'Crash Leaves Player Paralyzed from the Neck Down.' Kellyn stumbled backward, bumping into Professor Sharp. Kellyn could not even mutter an apology. She was as paralyzed as her counterpart. The seconds dragged on before Professor Sharp placed her wand back in her hand. Kellyn remained immobile.

"Miss Wood," the professor said slowly. She snapped back, thinking of her father's apron and cap that he wore while making omelets. She heard herself say "Riddikulus" before looking at Professor Sharp.

"Can't really smirk at that," she said softly, not daring to look back. The professor nodded before guiding her out of the room, dismissing the class.

A/N: Sorry to end the chapter kind of sadly. Anyway, please review and I hope you have enjoyed reading this!