Happy New Year everyone!
Chapter IV: Friends in High Places
Vaughn's walk around the grounds of Hogwarts was a relaxing one, helping sooth his mind better than a Calming Draught could. He found solace in being alone for a while. It was also comforting to watch others enjoying their day. By the lake, Vaughn had seen a group of First year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws throwing rocks into the water, no doubt trying to get the attention any magical creature that may be underneath. Vaughn could remember Giuliana and him doing something similar their First Year.
Beyond them, underneath the shadow of the Hogwarts' North Tower, a group of Gryffindors played Gobstones, a few of them heavily drenched in the putrid liquid the stones would squirt. 'A thoroughly horrid game.' Vaughn thought, wondering how anyone could enjoy it. It certainly fit though for the no doubt door knobbed intellect of Gryffindors. Wouldn't see them playing Wizarding Chess.
Before long Vaughn had traversed most of the grounds and found himself at the Quidditch Pitch. Perhaps that was his destination all along. While not a great Quidditch player, Vaughn did enjoy flying about and letting his mind wander as the wind blew through his hair and robes. Like any respectable Wizarding Family, the Rzhevsky home had a Quidditch Pitch where he'd first learned how to ride a broomstick. He played Quidditch with his cousins, though never excelled at it.
Now entering the pitch, itself, Vaughn saw roughly twenty students flying about. After looking at the colors on the other students' robes, Vaughn realized he was the only Slytherin there. Always a worrisome sign. Walking across the field, Vaughn approached Madam Rolanda Hooch, who's eagle like eyes were scanning the skies for any students misbehaving.
"Madam Hooch?" Vaughn began, "May I take a broom, please?"
Hooch turned her gaze to Vaughn, we almost backpedaled. Her eyes really were something. Were they enchanted? Was there some special blood in her that made them glow such an amber color? Holding her gaze for a few seconds, Hooch's face then broke out into a smile. "Of course." She replied, "We still have plenty in the back for non-Quidditch use."
Madam Hooch reached into her robes and pulled out her wand, unleashing a Accio spell. A bustle of activity was heard from underneath the Quidditch stands, sounds of boxes and equipment falling over, before a broom shot out from storage and landed firmly in Madam Hooch's gloved hand. She didn't even flinch from the impact.
"Here you are. Nothing special but it'll get the job done and keep you safe." She said, handing over the broom along with goggles and gloves. Nothing special was right. Hooch handed Vaughn the Bluebottle broomstick, a broom for parents and their babies. Why Hogwarts had a Bluebottle broom was beyond him. 'No doubt more shoddy management from Dumbledore.' Vaughn thought as he mounted the broomstick and ascended.
The chill hit Vaughn hard at first, and he took a moment to adjust while roughly fifteen meters off the ground. Once he felt warmth return to his limbs, Vaughn set off on the broom, intent on just doing laps around the field. The Bluebottle wasn't the fastest broom, and it slowed down a bit too hard on the turns, but it was an enjoyable ride still. Vaughn briefly considered asking his parents from a Nimbus for Christmas, but thought better. There were plenty of potion related material he could ask for instead.
After a few laps, Vaughn became aware that someone was calling for him.
"Hey, Slytherin!"
For a moment, Vaughn considered pretending he hadn't heard them, but the voice sounded urgent and Vaughn figured it was best to just engage and hope for the best. Stopping his broom, Vaughn looked up to see a Ravenclaw looking down at him.
"Oi! What's your name?" he asked. He looked older, though not by much. He was tall and lanky with a lot of freckles on his pale face. His brown hair was a mess from the flying, but he had a grin on his face that instinctively made Vaughn not like him.
"Vaughn Rzhevsky." He shouted back, steering his broom around so he was looking directly at the Ravenclaw.
"Rzhevsky, huh?" the boy smiled back. "Well isn't that fancy. Bit far from Durmstrang though, aren't ya? Well, I'm Eddie. Eddie Carmichael. Fourth Year Ravenclaw, here to bow to your Pureblood wishes!"
Vaughn's face grew hot. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Are you any good at Quidditch?" Eddie asked, lowering his broom so he was at the same height as Vaughn.
"Not really. I just like to fly." Vaughn replied, angling to leave.
"Well that's fine too. I'm particularly bad myself, and I play Keeper so you know that's no good. Fancy joining us? We're going to be facing off against these Gryffindors and we need another hand as a Catcher."
"Again, I'm really not great at-"
"Oi, come on! It's against a bunch of Gryffindors! Isn't beating Gryffindor your guys' thing? Or at least trying to beat them, huh?"
"It's not my thing. I don't particular care about Houses. Now, if you'll excuse me-"
"Hey! Is he joining or not?"
The recognizable voice was higher above them. Anxiety filling him, Vaughn looked up and saw Theodore "Teddy" Young descending down to them. His stomach seemed to be in knots as he looked up at his Hufflepuff peer, looking semi-divine as the light shined across his black hair and pale figure. Teddy was tall for his age, with a nice square face and hair that was close cropped on the sides and spiky haired on top.
"Doesn't look like it, mate." Eddie shouted back.
"Actually, I'll do it."
That shocked even Vaughn as he spoke. Eddie offered a bemused smile while Teddy grinned. Even from a distance, Vaughn could make out Teddy's perfectly white teeth. How did one manage such white teeth?
Still unsure of himself, Vaughn ascended with Eddie up to Teddy and the other players on the team. Most of them were Third Years, while Vaughn noticed that the opposing team, predominately Gryffindors, was Fourth or Fifth Year. Vaughn did recognize the cocky face of Cormac McLaggen, a boy he absolutely despised. Vaughn wasn't even sure if fellow Gryffindors liked him. The McLaggen's fancied themselves big shots in the Ministry, but Vaughn's parents had told him they were mainly just tools for Minister Fudge. A pitiful place in life if there ever was one.
"We have our last player." Teddy said, bringing his broom closer to Vaughn and giving him a hug around the shoulder. Vaughn felt his knees go weak, something he didn't think possible while flying on a broom, and forced a smile before introducing himself.
"Are we sure he can play?" a dark-skinned Hufflepuff girl, Megan, asked. Vaughn recognized her from class, though he couldn't remember her last name. Her frizzy hair was pulled back into a bun, tied with a ribbon of yellow and black. When she turned, Vaughn noticed a badger pin in the middle of the ribbon. Vaughn thought that looked nice.
"I can play well enough as a Catcher." Vaughn replied, "Just don't expect me to do any loops or score from our goal, huh?"
The joke didn't land well, though Teddy chuckled. That certainly helped. "It'll be fine, Megan. Besides, it's not like they're any good." He said, gesturing to the other team.
"I just don't want to lose to them." Megan replied. A few of the other players agreed with her.
"She's competitive like that. You do not want to see her playing Wizards Chess." Teddy whispered to Vaughn.
"I heard that!" Megan said playfully. "Simmons, go get Madam Hooch, tell her we're ready. Everyone else, get to your positions!"
"I still need my Bludger bat!" Eddie cried, zooming off to grab it from Madam Hooch. Megan just shook her head before flying over to the goals to take up her position. Only Teddy and Vaughn remained.
"So, are you actually good?" Teddy asked. "I hear that all you Pureblood families have Quidditch Pitches to practice on."
"I'm ok. Quidditch isn't my strong suit." Vaughn asked, thrilled to be having a conversation with Teddy. They had spoken in class, of course, but their conservations outside the classroom were sparse. "How about you?"
"I do well for myself, considering the whole childhood in a non-magical household thing. Hoping to go out for Hufflepuff Catcher next year. Cedric Diggory seems to like me well enough and he's Captain so that's always good. And to be honest, I think flying around on brooms is the coolest thing about being a Wizard. At least until we get to upper levels, you know? And forget stereotypes, huh. All non-magical people think only Witches ride brooms, so it's nice to see that's not correct."
He was chatty. It certainly helped Vaughn since he still felt nervous around Teddy. Coming from him, it was also interesting to hear about the Muggle world. Vaughn had a feeling that Lisa wasn't always the most accurate source of information.
"Well, I'll make sure to hand the Quaffle over to you when I can." Vaughn replied, working up some courage. "I'm sure it's in better hands with you then with mine."
"You reckon? I'm not quite sure about that. I'm sure your hands are fine."
Vaughn nearly fell off his broomstick, a supposed impossible feat due to the Bluebottle's safety charms. Instead, he laughed, a bit too loudly while Teddy smiled back. Vaughn could not read his face but there was just a hint there that maybe he had the same confusing feelings as Vaughn. Maybe?
A whistle disrupted them, and Vaughn looked to see Madam Hooch ascending form the ground, whistle in her mouth. The Quaffle was in her hands and the twin Bludgers flying up behind her. As the players drew in closer to her, Madam Hooch explained her rules. They were for the most part the standard for Quidditch, but the scoring was done different. They would only play to a hundred points. Looking around, Vaughn realized that each team was short one player.
"Where are our Seekers?" Vaughn asked Teddy.
"No Seekers and no Snitch." Teddy replied. "Madam Hooch says it's too difficult to manage the Snitch for just a skirmish. It's why we're only playing till a hundred."
Before long the skirmish began with a sharp whistle. Overall, it was not the terrible experience Vaughn had feared it might be. He was decent enough and thankful for the gloves to protect his grip from sweaty palms. He was also always fast to offhand the Quaffle, though luckily Teddy was always there to help. He offered a wink every time he did so.
In the end, the older students were the victors by a margin of thirty points. The opposing team celebrated amongst themselves, but nobody seemed to angered by their loss except Megan. It wasn't an outward hostility though, more a stoic silence that befell her.
"Well that was fun." Teddy commented once they were back on the ground. Vaughn hadn't even noticed that the boy was behind him as he put the Bluebottle back into storage.
"We lost though." Vaughn replied, to which Teddy shrugged.
"It was more about making friends then winning." He said, storing his broom and equipment as well. "What are you up to now?"
"Dinner. I'm meeting a friend there."
"Oh? A friend?"
Vaughn laughed, feeling unnatural about it. "Yeah. Best Friend. From my First Year."
"Ah. Well, do you want to walk over together? Megan and I are heading there now." Teddy asked, to which Vaughn immediately agreed. It was shocking to see all this happening, but Vaughn wouldn't question it.
The walk back to the school was nice. Teddy didn't seem to stop talking though not in a grating way that Vaughn might have feared. He felt rude, but at times Vaughn interrupted Teddy to add his own thoughts. Teddy didn't seem to mind, always smiling and engaging Vaughn. That always caused him to have to look away, his face no doubt beet red. Megan for her part had also been less chilly then Vaughn expected. She never direct addressed Vaughn, but did respond to a few things he said. By the time they reached the Great Hall, Vaughn felt pretty comfortable around the Hufflepuffs.
"So, Vaughn, I have a proposition." Teddy began, "You're good at History of Magic, right?"
'Not really.' Vaughn thought before responding "I think I'm pretty good."
"Brilliant. I thought so and that had me thinking. I want to put together a study group for that class. Would you want to join?"
"Sure!" Vaughn replied, perhaps a bit too fast. "Can my friend Giuliana join us though?"
"Is she in Slytherin too?" Teddy asked. From him, there didn't seem to be an accusatory tone behind it.
"Yeah, same year as me."
"Then sure. Slytherins are supposed to be smart, aren't they? Not like Ravenclaws, but smart, right? Two should be better than one then!"
Megan looked like she had some snide comment ready, but kept her mouth shut. Vaughn smiled back at Teddy, who proceeded to hug Vaughn. He thought he'd heart would stop for a moment.
"I'll work out the details with some people and get back to you on the study group soon enough!" Teddy said, breaking away from the hug. Taking Megan's arm, the two of the skipped away as Vaughn offered goodbyes to both of them, a smile on his face as he too entered the Great Hall.
The room was candle lit as always, the lighting auburn and yellow to represent the season of fall. Red, orange, and yellow leaves fell from the ceiling as well, vanishing before they got too close to the tables. At the Slytherin table, Vaughn noticed Giuliana eyeing his with a raised brow. She had clearly noticed him entering with two Hufflepuffs.
"Hey there!" Vaughn offered, sitting down quickly so he could grab a floating turkey leg and put it on his plate. "Sorry if I'm late."
"You're not late at all." Giuliana said, now eying the Hufflepuff Table. Vaughn didn't have to look to see who she was looking at.
"I might have made a friend."
"Have you?"
"Yes. Teddy Young."
"Thought you two were already friends?"
"Sorta. He just copied my work from History of Magic."
Giuliana laughed, taking a scope out of her beef stew. "Well he seems like a nice guy. Never heard him say a bad thing about anyone. So, what were you doing with him and Megan Jones?"
Quickly, Vaughn recounted the events of the Quidditch game and walking back to the Great Hall. Giuliana didn't seem upset by anything. Was she happy he was hanging out with others? Vaughn really couldn't tell and didn't want to think so. He suddenly remembered why he had been in such a mood earlier.
"And now he wants us to join his study group?" Giuliana asked, to which Vaughn nodded in response. "How many people are in it?"
"Don't know."
"What in particular does he need help with?"
"He- I actually don't know."
"Well, it should be interesting anyways. I'd be happy to help him out." Giuliana said, grabbing some of the bread to dunk in her stew. She leaned across the table as she did so. "Plus, it'd be a good way to see if we actually retained all that History of Magic knowledge thanks to the potion."
"Yeah." Vaughn replied, then realizing how beneficial that would be. "Yeah, that's a good idea."
"But if he and his fellow friends are just calling us there to get our notes, I think we should leave."
"Oh, completely agree." Vaughn lied. He didn't mind if Teddy copied his notes if it meant he got to spend some time with the Hufflepuff.
"And I've been thinking. We should try to make the Calming Draught."
Vaughn's eyes lit up at that. "You mean it?"
"I do. We can wait until we go to Hogsmeade in December to get the supplies, or we can order them. Most of them seem pretty cheap and not conspicuous. It's not like anyone checks the mail."
A smile was now plastered on Vaughn's face. "Let's brew this Friday during the Quidditch match!" Vaughn offered. "Well send out our orders tonight, should have the ingredients in two days, and have us ready for Friday to brew!"
Giuliana smiled back. "Well alright then." She agreed, dunking her bread into the stew again. As she ate, Vaughn looked behind him towards the Hufflepuff table. At it, Teddy was looking at him, though quickly averted his gaze when he saw. Vaughn looked away, a smile back on his face and heart close to bursting from his chest. The smile would remain for most of the evening.
I didn't remember a lot of details about Quidditch at Hogwarts, but upon research it seems that that there were only six matches in total a year? I know at one point Oliver Wood had the Gryffindor's practicing five times a week - and I'm assuming other Houses Quidditch teams did too - but if it's only being used by 28 eight students for six events, that seems like a waste. So, why not give Madam Hooch more to do and allow other students to use the Quidditch Pitch when the House teams aren't?
Not sure what the next chapter will be, so stick around! And please review with any critiques or whatever!