Disclaimer: All recognizable characters/places are owned by J.K. Rowling and her publishers, and I do not claim ownership over them or their world. No copyright infringement is intended; this piece leads to no financial gain and it is written for the purpose of personal enjoyment and skill development. OC's and plot do belong to me.

Chapter 25 – Wavering Part 2

Now that I was standing in the Quidditch pitch at quarter to seven in the morning, this whole idea of learning to fly seemed silly – even for my own standards. The morning was cold and crisp; the snow had begun to melt and the ground was muddy and uneven. Fog covered the pitch, so I could only see ten feet ahead. I had already tripped and smeared mud on my arse twice. And we hadn't even started.

Willow's words had haunted me like angry ghosts for the past few days. But my meltdown taught me something: whatever I had to do, I wasn't ready to face him. Maybe I wasn't ready to face myself. Maybe I wanted a magical solution to fall down from the heavens. Maybe I just needed to gather my courage. So I decided to keep the Solve-The-Oliver-Wood-Fiasco item on the back of my head and focus on smaller, attainable goals, like Witch Weekly suggested. Goals such as passing arithmancy. Or learning to fly.

"Here, you'll be using a school broom," Adrian said, throwing me a broom which I caught. It was an old Comet Three-Sixty and most of the twigs on the tail were bending at odd angles. I looked at him questioningly; he shrugged. "I don't trust you with mine."

I resisted the urge to be cheeky. "Now, I know the ground is uneven, so it'll be a bit harder to take off," Adrian had already called up his broom, and was passing a leg over it. I looked at the stick with twigs in my hand and threw it to the ground. I tried to imitate Adrian.

"Up," it didn't bleeding move. "Up," I tried again, more forcefully this time. "Up you sodding piece of wood, up I tell you!" I screamed, moving my hand erratically when I felt Adrian's grabbing it. He was shaking his head with laughter.

"Brooms are like dogs, they can sense fear," he said, flying a few feet above ground and making it took so easy. "Perhaps you're right; we need to get rid of that ruddy fear of yours first," he flew around me like an eagle and grabbed me by the waist; I screamed as my feet left the floor, and he flung me over so I was seating in front of him. I squirmed trying to get him to let go, but he only lost control of the broom diving us down. "Will you stop it?" he said, snapping my hand away from him. "And turn around, if you are going to learn to fly this thing you won't be hiding your head in my shoulder."

Flushing, I looked down, only to quickly hide my head again. My legs were hanging from the side, Adrian's chest pressed against my arm. "How the bloody hell do I turn around?" I hissed, grabbing unto his neck as we sped upwards.

"Just swing your right leg over, I'll hold you," he said, prying my hand from his shoulder.

"No! You'll have to let go of the broom," I screeched, shutting my eyes tightly. Oh Salazar, if I survive this, I promise I'll never do something so rushed and stupid again – I'll leave that up to the Gryffindors.

"It'll be fine, Liz," Adrian said sounding exasperated; he had managed to pry both of my hands away and was now holding them in one of his own. "Just swing that leg over, and you'll be sitting properly."

"What's wrong with sitting sideways?"

"This is a broom, not a stinking horse and you are not a lady wearing an impractical gown, so stop whining and do it," I sighed and opened my eyes slightly; we were a good twenty feet up, and I could see the castle's second storey windows. My head began spinning, and I tried to fling myself at Adrian but he kept my hands locked in his. "I'll let go of your hands the moment you promise you won't do anything stupid."
"Alright, alright," I muttered, taking a deep breath. Merlin, I was going to die… well, at least I'd be a beautiful corpse. Unless I fall straight on my face which, with my bleeding luck, was a very likely option.

"Ok then, swing that leg," Adrian said, chuckling and releasing my hands. I placed one on his thigh to stabilize myself and, keeping my eyes focused on my right leg began to move. I felt my body lose balance, but Adrian caught my waist and straightened me. The handle of the broomstick was digging into my tailbone, but I tried again and managed to move a few inches to the right. "You'll need a little more momentum if you want to get that leg over. Just don't be afraid, I'll catch you."

I swallowed saliva, thankful I hadn't had time to drink or eat anything. "Just count to three and do it; I'm here, you can trust me. One, two – three!" I threw my leg over with all my might, making us both lose balance and tipping the broom perilously to the right. I heard Adrian swear as I shouted enough obscenities to make sailors blush; but Adrian's arms were by my side and he quickly re-established control. We were floating safe and sound. "Well, that could have gone a lot worse."

I didn't reply; I was positive I had lost my voice and all means of human communication. My eyes were sealed shut as my hands grabbed the broomstick with all the strength I had. Adrian chuckled before ascending, sending my stomach, kidneys and intestines to my throat.

"Open your eyes, Liz: it's a beautiful sunrise."

I shook my head, my eyes perfectly closed. "No well in hell, Pucey! Put me down, I've changed my mind."

"A little too late for that, don't you think?" he said, the wind carrying his laughter. "How about I let go of the handle?"

"If you do, I swear to Merlin I will skin you alive and feed you to a hippogriff," I said through gritted teeth. Adrian laughed as he guided the broom ever upwards. "Adrian stop that! I want solid ground on my feet!" I screamed feeling like my heart was beating fast enough to mark a world record.

"Only if you open your eyes; trust me, the view this early is amazing," I heard him say. My heart throbbing in my throat, my insides empty, and my head spinning, I cracked one eye open. I saw the unmistakable green of the top of a pine tree and closed it again. "You're going to have to do better than that if you want to go down," feeling (knowing) I was about to die, I opened both eyes at once, and shrieked, moving backwards until my back was against Adrian's front.

The Forbidden Forest was below us, a mess of white, green and brown; all sorts of trees were in there, evergreen pines, massive oaks, and trees which were bare of everything except for a thick layer of ice, which glittered in the early morning light. The sky was grey and full of clouds, but the sun was visible just over the horizon, like a candle that was trying to survive inside a sauna. The wind felt harsher up here, it cut into my cheeks and blew my hair around (hopefully smacking Adrian's face in the process). The castle was quiet, and all that could be heard was the murmur of the lake and the whispers of the wind.

"This is beautiful," I said, transfixed, watching a few owls flying back to the owlery with dead rats on their beaks. There was not another awake human being for miles – only us, the trees, and the many creatures that wandered the forest. "This is fantastic."

"Exhilarating, isn't it?" Adrian said into my ear as he flew even higher. My eyes were wide, trying to catch every little bit of detail. "It's amazing what a change of perspective can do."

I nodded, not paying attention to what he was saying. "How about you turn left so we can fly over the lake? It's fantastic in the morning," I turned around to look at him, but he was grinning; his hands were resting on my waist. I looked down, gasped and almost fell, but Adrian caught the handle and stabilized the broomstick.

I had been the one flying steadily higher: the bastard had let go and didn't bother to tell me.

"Come on now, you were doing so well…"

"I will skin you when we get back down," I retorted, gritting my teeth and placing both hands firmly on the handle. Adrian grabbed me by the waist, one hand slightly forward in case I lost control again.

"Perfect, just turn the handle a little to the left- slowly!" he shrieked, as the broom jerked forward. "Slowly."

Muttering beneath my breath, I twitched my hand, motioning to have the dead piece of wood move, and it did. It jerked, but not as bad as before. "Good, now try to speed up a little," I leaned forward as I had seen countless Quidditch players do and the broom began speeding. It seemed to gain momentum as it darted forward, Adrian was whispering instructions in my ears but I could hardly hear him over the roar of the wind. "Perfect, now stop- stop –STOP!"

I stopped violently enough that we flipped over; Adrian's hands grasped the handle and turned us back around; my eyes were closed again and my knees were pressing into the wood to keep myself from falling into the ice cold lake. I didn't open my eyes until I felt the blood recede from my brain and back to my toes. "You are stopping a broom, Lisa, not a stampede of elephants."

I laughed at the comparison, and nudged his hands away. "Back to the pitch? It' almost breakfast."

"As much as I am probably going to regret saying this, you are in command woman," he said, positioning his hands back on my hips as I did a sharp turning, making him swear, and flew high over the lake back towards the pitch. Now that I knew I wasn't going to die a horrible death, I didn't want to stop. So I took the broom for a very jerky and unstable trip twice around the pitch – every time I turned I would hear Adrian hissing. Once I almost flew right into the stands, but he managed to avoid it at the last second.

"Let me lower us down," he said placing his hands on mine. "You just watch what I'm doing," he gently pulled the handle upwards, slowing the broom down, before bringing it back down. His landing was so smooth; it felt like we were simply floating supported by clouds. My blood was pumping with adrenaline that I jumped off the broom when we were still two feet up. The broomstick fell on top of Adrian's head.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he yelled as he rubbed his temple. I was practically jumping on the spot.

"Did you see that?" I asked, doing little bunny jumps, "I jumped! Two feet high and I didn't even break a leg – I might've gotten some mud on my shoes but-"

"Your priorities never cease to surprise me," he said rolling his eyes and extending his hand forward. I run towards him to help him up before turning around with a big, goofy grin.

It was wiped off in a second. "Oi, Pucey! We are training here, get out of the pitch!" Oliver was making his way towards us, fully clothed in his uniform, broomstick in hand. He looked furious. "I claimed the pitch this morning, Slytherin gets it in the afternoon," he spat when he stopped abruptly in front of us.

Adrian placed a hand on my shoulder before replying. "We were just leaving Wood, no need to get your knickers in a twist. Coming Liz?" he nudged my shoulder as he walked away. I stayed rooted for one second, taking in the way Oliver was trying to kill Adrian with his eyes, before following him towards the castle.

"How's that little thing going, by the way?" Adrian asked as we nearer the front steps. The sun was fully up now, but the sky hadn't cleared. "Any progress?"

I shook my head, feeling like all the happiness in me had been driven away and we hadn't even walked past the dementors yet. "It's proving to be… harder than I thought it would be."
Adrian scoffed. "Please, he's fancied you since at least fourth year. I'm sure if you asked him out even as a friend he'd pee his pants in happiness."

I stopped kicking stones to look over at him. "He hasn't fancied me since fourth year. He was dating Williams at that time."

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Details. I'm a bloke Liz, I know what it looks like when a bloke has it in for a bird. He fancies you."

"Yeah right…" I muttered.

oOo

"See? I told you, if you just concentrated you'd get it!" Penelope said, smiling widely. My cheeks were hurting from the effort. After three gruelling hours of non-stop work (and whining on my part) I had managed to solve the arithmancy problem Professor Vector said was the closest we'd get for N.E.W.T's. I had left the common room and snatched Penelope from Wealsey's arms (insert massive urge to regurgitate lunch) with dual purpose. First, I wanted to get the blasted problem. Second, Willow was screaming bloody murder in the dormitory. I have no idea what's gotten into her. She snapped at Darlene at lunch, threw bits of kidney pie on her cousin's blonde head, before rushing out. Personally, I think it has something to do with the fact she's gained a few pounds (especially in the chest area. I wonder how women do that. I could use some of that). Then I heard from a bunch of fifth years she'd been sick in the loo the other day. I didn't care for the details.
Mental, that one, I tell you.

"I only got it just now because you are such a great teacher," I replied with a wink. Penelope flushed.

"That's why I like Slytherins: all the flattery."

"Yes, well, don't let it get to your head or you'll start sounding like us," I said putting my books back into my bag. Penelope muffled her laugh with the hem of her robes before standing up and stretching.

"I'll make sure to keep it in mind, now I got to go. See you Monday in class?" I nodded and waved as she waltzed out of the room. My spirits had recovered from seeing Oliver in the pitch that morning. I had managed to kind of fly a broomstick, I had finally figured out the bleeding arithmancy problem and Professor Flitwick told me during lunch that he was exceptionally happy with my last essay.

If it weren't for the stupid little problem of Flint and Oliver, life was starting to go somewhere.

Deciding to grab a few books to get a head start in Lupin's latest essay, I made my way further into the library to see what I could find. There were a few volumes I especially wanted to look at since they went in depth about the Patronous charm (which I still hadn't mastered). I was thinking about what Professor Lupin had said during our last class when I bumped into someone. Thankfully, at least, I didn't drop my books or fall on my arse.

"Sarah," I stopped rubbing my forehead and felt like someone had just dipped a bucket of ice cold water over me. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, I – I didn't see you."

"Yeah… me neither," I muttered, pretending to be very interested in a herbology tome that was lying open on the table. Oliver (should I go back to calling him Wood?) stood there for a moment, blocking my way.

"So, you're with Pucey now?" I looked up sharply at the accusing tone. His eyes were focused on me, and the skin on his face looked a bit gaunt, as if it was spread too tightly over his cheekbones.

"He was teaching me to fly," I replied curtly, my jaws barely moving.

Ol-Wood scoffed. "Is that what kids are calling it nowadays? I was watching, you looked awfully comfortable with him hugging you from behind."

"Yes, because I trusted him not to be a prat and catch me if I did something silly – like drop from the broom thirty feet high."

"I thought you wanted something more serious and I find you with some other bloke less than three weeks since-"

"Less than three weeks since what?" I shrieked, momentarily forgetting that we were in a library. "Yes, I was flirting with the idea of something more serious with you, but that doesn't mean anything because we never meant anything, Oliver!" I said, stamping my foot down. He recoiled for a moment before charging again.

"If you wanted to learn to fly, why didn't you come to me? I'm still your friend."

I snorted. "Oliver, we were never friends in the actual definition of the word," I said, hoisting my books up higher and clutching them tighter. "We were just two idiots with a very bad case of meningitis."

"That's a load of crap and you know it," he said taking a step forward as I turned around.

"It isn't and you know it. Friends don't sneak their hands up each other's quilts whenever-"

"Don't' be a bloody prude now, Sarah."

"Then don't be a jealous twit!" I retorted, jumping around to glare at him. His eyes were still narrowed and I could have sworn, if I placed two eggs on his forehead, I'd get a fantastic sunny-side up.

"Do you fancy him?"

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "No, get it over your thick head. Adrian's just a friend – he'll always be a friend. Sound familiar?" I turned around and walked away, seething. How dare he? After everything he said, after what he did when little Miss Williams danced in with her tears and her sobs – he comes and acts like a jealous twit; oh that insufferable, bird-brained-

Wait a second. He's jealous.

A wicked grin appeared and I licked my lips. The resident idiot was jealous. Oh, this could be good. This is such great ammunition this is-

Salvation.

I spun around. I could feel my cheeks tight from smiling after a long hiatus. With a spring on my step I made my way back to the common room, not bothering to stop when Flint called my name, not bothering to see Adrian's waving his hands in warning, not bothering to pay attention to Darlene's unusually damp face on the stairs, not bothering to pay attention to the fact that Willow was stalking me and her face screamed murder. She caught up to me seconds after I opened the door to our dorm and I began waltzing around it.

It was logical, wasn't it? If Oliver is jealous of Adrian then it must mean that Oliver fancies me and if Oliver fancies me and I fancy him and we fancy each other…

"Everything will be alright."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Snap out of it, you idiot," she said and I ignored her. My limbs were tingling with anticipation. This was it! This was my solution. All I had to do was wait for Oliver's temper to calm down, find him and tell him I fancy him too, for real. Then he will admit he feels the same for me. I will smile, snog him and ask him to go to the Misnomer Ball. He will say yes. My engagement will be broken. And then… the light at the end of the tunnel will shine bright!

I squealed and hugged Willow tight against my chest. Her arms wailed uselessly at her sides but I was too happy to care. "Willow! Willow! He fancies me! Well, at least he is jealous of Adrian, which is as good as saying he fancies me because what kind of twat would be jealous of Adrian?" I said, letting her go so she could catch her breath. I squealed again and spun on my feet. He fancies me. He fancies me. He fancies me.

"Did you bother to listen to what I said?" Willow yanked me by the back of my shirt and I almost lost my footing because I wasn't paying attention.

"No," I admitted. I let out a contented sigh and faced my friend again. "And I honestly don't care, Wood fancies me, I won't marry Flint-"

Willow snorted. "Of course you won't marry Flint, Elizabeth."

My smile only widened. "Of course I won't! I just told you so because I just found that-"

"Because I'm marrying Flint," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Author's notes: As usual, apologies for the late update. I'll be leaving on a trip/starting a new job in the next few weeks, so I can't promise an update until at least the end of April/early May. Hopefully the cliffhanger doesn't feel too awkward. Elizabeth will be forced to act, just not yet. She has more mistakes to make before ending this story. Let me know what you think! And big thanks to everyone who reviewed and continues to read this :)

Preview: Chapter 26 Gryffindor Courage

"If that dumbstruck look in your face is anything to go by," I heard Willow say, "I assumed you haven't resolved your complications with Wood, have you?"

I hadn't spoken to Oliver since… Merlin, I couldn't even remember. I had been so focused on my flying lessons, catching up in my actual lessons and Willow's pregnancy that I had all but forgotten about the bloke. Until now. Until I saw him, fifty-feet up, the wind ruffling through his chestnut hair, looking smart and handsome in his robes. I dug my nails into my arm to keep myself from joining the ongoing chorus of support.

"Don't be an idiot, Eliza," Willow said patting my hand and prying my nails off of my skin, "You can go for him now hat there really isn't anything holding you back"

"And here comes Slytherin! Captain Flint, Pucey, Montague, Derrick, Bole and Malfoy!" Seven emerald green blobs walked towards the pitch and stood, in perfect formation, in front of the Gryffindors. Willow gave a squeak of support as all the Slytherin's waved our banners and flags. "And… there goes the whistle! Johnson with the Quaffle, Gryffindor in possession!"