Chapter 6 – Taking to the Air

Dinner ended pleasantly enough for the pair of boys, though it had been interspersed with glances by Scott in the direction of Alex, who was sitting with the girls. Ethan, in his infinite obliviousness, never seemed to notice Scott's concern, seemingly much more focused on making sure that Cyril got a good feed.

"I'm sure Alex is bound to be hungry," Ethan said, carrying a few napkinfuls of assorted meats back up to the common room. Alex had already left for the common room some time beforehand. "I mean, he hasn't eaten anything all day!"

They entered the common room after the solving the eagle knocker's riddle, the answer to which; "A light." Scott then took the food Ethan had brought, offering to bring it up to Alex himself. He ascended the stairs, and pushed open the dorm door.

"Wha– Oh, it's you," she mumbled nervously at Scott as he entered. She was sitting on her bed

Scott looked down at the napkins stuffed with food. "Er, Ethan thought you might be hungry," he said jokingly. "He's currently under the impression you're up here sick from last night's feast."

Alex sighed. "I've made a right mess of this," she said miserably. To Scott's horror she began to tear up. "I'm sorry I avoided you today, but I just... I didn't know how to go about-"

"It's fine," Scott said hastily, sitting awkwardly beside her. "Really, I was just worried. Would you... Do you want to talk about it? Properly?"

She wiped her eyes, smiling weakly. "I guess I owe you that." She seemed to be deep in thought for a while. "I guess I should start from the beginning. For... Well, since forever I've not really been... just one thing. That's sort of putting it lightly, of course. When I was born my parents were a bit scared, because they were worried what would happen if word got out that I... could change what I was. They were sure that the government would take me away, or some scientists would want to do experiments on me, or something.

"They didn't know what was happening was magic. That is until Professor Flitwick showed up at the door one day. He said that I was a witch, er, and a wizard. He also said that I was a Metamorphmagus. A Metamorphmagus is –"

"Someone who can change their appearance, yeah," Scott cut in. "I never read about any who changed their genders like you do though."

"Well, I guess you wouldn't have. Professor Flitwick didn't seem to think it was that common, either. I'm not sure I completely understand it, myself. But all I know is I've always done... this."

Scott nodded. "So, why've you been hiding from me and Ethan all day? I already knew, sort of, and the girls seemed to know, too."

Alex looked incredibly guilty. "The girls found out this morning during Potions, during attendance," she told him, evidently avoiding the question he'd asked. "They asked me a few questions and thought they'd keep me company for the day."

"Good on them," Scott grinned. "They were completely fine with you?"

She looked slightly uncomfortable at this. "Well, I don't know about Marietta. It sort of seemed like she was reserving judgement the whole day."

Scott waited a moment to see if she'd bring the conversation back to his original question, but she didn't seem to want to bring it back up. He took the initiative.

"But that doesn't really explain why you've been keeping it from Ethan?"

Alex looked at him with a mixture of tearfulness and exasperation. "Doesn't it?" she asked, clearly frustrated. "I guess you can't really understand."

Scott wanted to tell her that she was wrong, and that he did understand. It was almost a primal instinct to prove he knew exactly what was going on at all times. He knew she was right though, so he asked her.

"Could you help me to understand?"

She sat on this question for a while. Eventually, she began speaking again. "For my whole life I've been hidden. My parents were worried, and I was too, that if anyone found out about me, as in me, that it might spell disaster. I spoke with other children in the neighbourhood sometimes, but I didn't really have friends.

"I didn't go to school, my parents taught me from home, which meant they had to work less. I didn't have a tutor or anything like that, either. We just couldn't afford to have someone else in the know like that. Er, what I'm trying to say is... I sort of grew to be really scared of how others would react to me. But then I sat in a compartment yesterday."

She looked at him, her eyes shining with tears. "You and Ethan were perfectly nice to me. You were great. I was a bit overwhelmed, but you did your best. You really welcomed me in a way I don't know if I've ever had before."

Scott felt slightly abashed. He'd really only bought some sweets, made some conversation; the usual, frankly. "Well, I mean –"

She shushed him, smiling, though then her face dropped again. "But you two didn't really understand. And I didn't know how to tell you. You had some idea, but that was an accident. I've never told a single soul about... well, the truth. Not willingly, at least."

Scott could hardly imagine. The powerlessness of having the truth dragged from you at every turn, being unsure who would understand, or who would even bother to try. He tried to imagine the assumptions one could make about someone like his friend. The situations he came up with only served to make him angry at non-existent people who had never actually said anything of the sort.

"But," Scott began, "this could be your chance to tell someone who has no idea! Ethan's an idiot; those glasses aren't just for show. He's about as observant as a Horklump, though with the knowledge of a Centaur. He could probably give you a full anatomical break-down of both creatures, too." He smiled fondly at the thought. "He wouldn't know till you told him, you could finally have a say!"

Alex seemed to digest this for a moment, before saying, "I'm worried about how he'd react."

"What?" Scott said, chuckling. "It'd be par for the course for Ethan. He's seen weirder, believe me. He's told me all about how –"

"He was one of the first to treat me as a friend. It'd completely change how he thought about me if I told him."

Scott thought for a moment, unsure. Ethan – unlike himself – had operated under the idea, from the very beginning, that Alex was purely male. He had no reason to consider otherwise from what he'd noticed. Ethan had always had the unfortunate habit of being entirely incapable of speaking to girls. He acted in odd ways, stuttered violently, and even hid when they tried to talk to him. When they had been younger, Ethan had fled in fear every time Lindsay had entered the room when he was staying over. Would Ethan react well to what Alex had to tell him?

"Well..." Scott said uncertainly. "I still think you should tell him anyway. I wasn't serious when I said he'd never find out – he's bound to realise what's going on eventually. Surely it'd be better to come from you?"

She nodded forlornly. Scott, slightly unsure, wrapped his arms around her for a hug. Alex leaned into it, sighing deeply. He had the vague thought that he was giving far more hugs lately than he was used to.

Eventually, he pulled his arms away. "Well, I hate to ruin the moment, but I've just noticed; my letter's arrived."

Indeed it had – Merlin the eagle-owl was gazing in on them, his yellow stare creating an ominous image in contrast to the night sky behind him. He stood, walked over to the window, and lifted it so that the owl could hop in. A thick envelope was tied to his leg; Scott removed it, stroking Merlin idly.

"I'll leave Merlin with you," he said to Alex. "I'm going to go read this and write a response."

He deposited the owl on the bedside table beside Alex, and strode from the dorm, heading back for the common room. As he closed the door behind him, he saw a faint smile on Alex's face as she reached out and began petting the owl.

When he had found a place of comfort in the common room, he opened the envelope with a simple charm he'd seen his parents use a hundred times prior. He found two letters within, and began reading the first:

Scott,

Congratulations on getting Ravenclaw, your mother and I are extremely proud. I obviously knew you'd be there, no doubt Prefect and Head Boy in time, too! Sorry about not being able to see you off yesterday, but we've been going through some major breakthroughs at work. I'll say no more, though.

Your sister has also attached a letter with this one. She woke up before the crack of dawn to write a response to the one you sent last night, though she's left for school now. Your mother's already headed off for work, though she sends her love.

I don't know whether Ethan will have let his parents know where he got Sorted yet, but I'll make sure to mention it to Saul today. As for your question about Muggle technology, I can't say with certainty what the results of magical interference with Enchanted or otherwise Altered Muggle Artefacts would be, but depending on the spells used, side-effects such as Limited Vibe Telepathy, Magical Inconstancy, or even Sapience could theoretically manifest. I hope this helps solve your conundrum.

Hope you're fitting in nicely with everyone else, and say hi to Professor Flitwick for me.

Love from

Dad (and Mum)

He thought on the theories that his dad had put forth. They seemed to make sense to some extent, and Scott knew from a lifetime in the Wizarding world that intelligent objects weren't too uncommon a phenomena. In just the last twenty-four hours he'd had a debate with a hat, and been posed a riddle by a door knocker. He'd passed countless portraits that chatted idly with their neighbours, or with passing students. And what had Ollivander said about wands?

"Some wands are particularly more aware than others. A wand must feel if it is to choose a wizard to whom it bonds."

He'd described Scott's wand as being especially sentient, though he wondered what he'd think of the charmed walkman's level of sentience. Was his wand even more aware than the device still hooked to his waist?

Casting his considerations aside for the moment, he picked up the second letter, which was written in a slightly messier scrawl.

Scott,

Well done on the sorting! You didn't say how the sorting actually happened, but you must have forgotten. I'm sure you'll say in your next letter (tonight!).

You also didn't say if there was any pretty girls. I'm sure you'll tell me in your next letter. I won't show it to Mum or Dad or anyone (maybe Demelza).

Also can you tell me how classes go! I'm starting school today too but I wish I was learning magic. I hate maths!

Love from

Lindy

P.S: REMEMBER TO WRITE TONIGHT

P.P.S: IF YOU DONT YOU REALLY WILL GET A HOWLER AND I WILL YELL ABOUT LEBLANC AND CAITLIN BENNETT AND JULIET ALDER AND JORDAN WYATT

P.P.P.S: OK DAD IS SAYING MERLIN NEEDS REST SO WRITE TOMORROW

P.P.P.P.S: I NEED TO GET READY FOR SCHOOL SO I CANT WRITE ANYMORE

Scott put his sister's letter down, chuckling at her erratic style of writing. He turned his attention back to his walkman, unhooking it from his waist. He examined it for a moment, and then, feeling slightly foolish, asked: "Can you hear me?"

The device answered with a drawn out piano note, apparently reversed, before transitioning into a slow acoustic guitar introduction. Nonplussed, Scott waited. The piano note sounded again, followed by the same riff from before. The song struck an unbearable familiarity in Scott, and he thought hard about which song among the many he'd deposited into the walkman's long memory that this matched with. Suddenly, the guitar sped up, and he knew at once that the song could only be 'Roundabout' by the English band –

"Yes, then?" Scott asked as an incredible bassline tore through the common room, causing more than a few stares.

The following week was very interesting for the first year cohort. Their Transfiguration classes had become something of a favourite for Scott, who found the fine details of the subject incredibly fascinating. Professor McGonagall, their teacher, was quick to award him points for his detailed understandings of spell definitions and models. Meanwhile, Charms proved to be a great success for Scott as well. Professor Flitwick had lauded how quickly he'd managed to produce showers and blasts of sparks in numerous vibrant colours.

Ethan, it seemed, seemed to struggle in Flitwick's classes. He'd read, and then reread the theory behind the spells they studied, but he never seemed to produce the results he hoped for. He didn't struggle nearly as much in their Astronomy class, which was held at midnight on Tuesdays. They were ushered to the tallest tower by their house prefects, and proceeded to study the stars and planets through their enchanted telescopes.

Herbology was an interesting experience, and Ethan seemed to take to this subject more than Scott did, though Scott wasn't very far behind. Something Ethan did absolutely decimate Scott in was their Potions classes. Professor Snape had decided that their partners from their first lesson were to be their partners for the rest of the year. This news had brought Scott and Scarlett Skeres no small amount of consternation, and the class had become almost a sort of torture for them both. They attempted to entertain themselves by seeing how loudly they could threaten each other without Snape overhearing. Meanwhile, Ethan and Pellon upstaged the entire class from beside them.

History of Magic was still the depressing slog that it had been in their first lesson, and Scott's discontent only grew as the class minutes wore on. He recalled what his Hufflepuff classmate, Stebbins, had said: "Bunch of tripe, really. Don't know why we learn it," and couldn't help but see his point.

Scott was by far the best at Defence Against the Dark Arts, and he liked to imagine that Professor Foley considered him his favourite student. He still hadn't managed to speak to him alone; whenever he wasn't teaching a class, he was apparently considerably busy with his archaeological surveys of the castle.

On the Sunday exactly a week after they had arrived at school, a notice appeared on the board in their common room.

First Years are scheduled to attend Flying Lessons

Instructor: Madam Rolanda Hooch

Beginning on: Wednesday 11th September, 3:30pm

Beyond Quidditch Pitch; Beside Lake

RAVENCLAW HOUSE will attend with SLYTHERIN HOUSE

"Brilliant," Scott said furiously. "Another class I was looking forward to ruined by those two bastards."

Ethan hadn't been looking forward to Flying Lessons beforehand, but now he was no doubt excited for the classes even less. "Ugh," he muttered, "I'm going to go feed Cyril. See you two at dinner."

He left Scott and Alex (who was a boy today), heading through the door beside the statue of Ravenclaw. Scott turned to Alex, pursing his lips.

"So, Flying Lessons, huh?" Alex said, stalling. "Should be interesting, I've never flown on a broomstick before."

"Are you going to tell him?"

Alex said nothing for a moment, looking nervous. Scott put his hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"I've forgotten to," Alex said. "Honestly!" he insisted when Scott raised an eyebrow.

Scott found the excuse surprisingly compelling. Alex had the unfortunate habit of forgetting important things until it was too late. Scott suspected procrastination mixed with a distracted mind had something to do with his predicament. He knew for a fact that the first pieces of homework that they'd been assigned were sitting forgotten and unfinished in Alex's schoolbag.

"I hate to put pressure on you, mate, but I don't think I can distract him during roll call for much longer. You're lucky he only really talks to us, otherwise he might've noticed days ago."

"I – I'll try tomorrow. I don't know if I'll be like this," he gestured to himself, "or not, but I think you're right."

"Course I'm right," Scott said impressively.

Ethan woke to a wet sensation in his ear. Suddenly, something large withdrew itself from his ear canal, and he looked up to find a greenish blur in his face. He reached over to his bedside table, pulling his glasses over to his face. His astigmatic eyes managed to focus on Cyril's wide-mouthed face, which was currently chewing.

"Gross. What time is it?"

The clabbert simply looked at him. Not actually at him, of course, but if his eyes faced forward then he would be.

"Six o'clock? Are you serious!? What, do you want me to go with Scott on his daily death march?"

Cyril blinked one eye, then the other.

"Oh, you're hungry. Earwax not good enough for you anymore?"

The clabbert croaked.

"Alright, fine. I think I saw a spider or two around the Tower."

He pulled the blue curtains of his four-poster bed aside. Cyril climbed onto him, wrapping his tail around Ethan's neck. He glanced over at Declan Haworth's bed. The curtains were drawn, though he couldn't hear any sign that the boy lay asleep behind them. Shrugging, he stood and made his way out of the dorm and down the stairs, adjusting his glasses all the while.

He was headed for the bathroom that he shared with Scott, Alex and Haworth, where the night before he'd spotted an enormous, hairy, eight-legged beast. He'd been disappointed when he'd realised that it wasn't a baby Acromantula, though had contemplated breeding it regardless. Now, though, it was destined for greater things, namely, acting as the breakfast for one needy clabbert.

He twisted the handle on the bathroom door, but then suddenly stopped. The sound of the shower emanated from within, and he was about to tell Cyril he'd have to wait, when he reconsidered. No reasonable human being would be awake and showering at such an ungodly hour, which could only mean Scott was within. An evil plan began forming in Ethan's twisted mind, and he gave Cyril a grin that he returned with his needle-teeth.

He quietly pushed the door open, and crept into the bathroom. The shower curtain was drawn, and behind it, no doubt, was Scott, cooling off after a healthy session of masochism. He looked into the corner by the toilet door. The spider was lurking on the sink mirror, no doubt busy admiring its marvellous form in the reflection. At least, that was what Ethan was doing. Maybe the spider was just sitting there being a spider.

Cyril squirmed, and Ethan managed to catch the tongue the moment it lashed out, stopping it before it could make quick work of the arachnid. He sneaked toward the spider, his hand out. He eventually managed to coax it off the mirror and onto his palm, though it was quite a small platform for such a magnificent beast. He had to discourage it from crawling up his pyjama sleeve as he made his way over to the shower.

Before Scott could have the possibility of realising that he was there, Ethan grabbed the curtain and wrenched it open.

But before he could complete his excellent prank – "Ha haaaAAAAAAAHHH!" – he gave an ear-piercing shriek that could have woken the entire castle. The girl he'd discovered in the shower could have competed, however, as she launched herself backwards at the sight of him. In his blind panic, Ethan launched the spider in his hand randomly, and Cyril's large red pustule flashed crimson in fear as he scrambled down his owner's leg.

Ethan backed away, stammering. "Who are – I'm so – What?" Losing his head completely, he made a mad dash for the door. Unfortunately, Cyril seemed to have been thinking along the same lines, and both owner and creature found themselves crashing to the floor after colliding.

"Ethan!?" the blonde girl in the shower cried.

"Waaaagghhh!" was Ethan's only response.

The girl launched herself at the towel on the bathroom floor, swiftly wrapping it around herself. It was too late for Ethan, however. The things he had seen...

"Oh for... And today of all days! God, he was right, wasn't he?" the girl was yelling, looking entirely inconsolable.

Ethan was nursing his smarting body parts from the fall. Cyril was currently cowering inside the toilet, the top of his red pustule brightly visible over the rim of the bowl.

"Ethan, it's me, Alex!" the girl said to Ethan. "Alex Wroxton! Now, I know you're confused, but there's a really good explanation that I didn't give you before now!"

Ethan was crawling backwards away from the girl, who – in addition to being a girl, naked, and speaking to him – was also claiming to be one of his best friends. Surreal didn't even begin to explain it. If he hadn't been experiencing excruciating pains in his arms and legs he might have been able to convince himself that he was having a particularly vivid nightmare.

"I'm a M-Metamorphmagus, Ethan. And I'm not just a boy. I'm s-sorry I didn't tell you before now."

"P-Prove it," Ethan spluttered out, eyes wide. "Metamorphose into your normal body."

She seemed entirely miserable; she was actually holding back sobs. "This is my normal b-body, half the time. And I can't m-make myself transform."

"W-Why are you in this bathroom if you're a girl?" Ethan said, not really listening through his terror.

"Because this is m-my bathroom!"

"No, this is a boys' bathroom!" he shouted, and he tore Cyril out of the toilet bowl and sped out of the room, not daring to look back.

Alex slid down against the wall, shaking with sobs. Why had he been in here? Why hadn't she remembered to lock the door?

"Stupid, stupid!" she said, smacking her head.

Her worst fear had been realised, and in that moment, in that chilly bathroom, she could only think of herself to blame.

A spider drifted down from the ceiling and landed on her head.

Scott knew something was wrong immediately when he returned from his post-run shower. As he entered his dorm the very mood seemed to change, and his walkman seemed to sense it.

"'Cause nothing compares

Nothing compares to you

It's been so lonely without you here

Like a bird without a song"

He looked over at Alex's bed, the curtains of which were tightly closed. Taking his headphones out, he couldn't hear the telltale deep or soft breathing that he'd grown used to hearing over the last week. Thinking this to be especially ominous, he spoke quietly.

"Hey Alex?"

There was no answer. Scott battled with himself on whether to keep bothering them, or to simply go back down for breakfast. The breakfast argument won and he tucked tail and left.

The day was especially miserable for Scott. In addition to Alex, Ethan hadn't shown for breakfast either, which was most unlike him. Potions class saw his friend return, though he didn't give any sign of recognition. He seemed practically glassy-eyed as he mechanically brewed his Forgetfulness Potion. Skeres seemed to notice Scott's less than happy demeanour.

"What's the matter, Carter?" she muttered slyly. "Unhappy about the Wasps' performance on Friday?"

"Yep," Scott said shortly.

Skeres blinked. Scott knew that she had expected a returning jibe, some sarcastic comment or witticism. She almost looked disconcerted for a moment, before her usual sneer was back in place.

"Not feeling talkative today, then?" she drawled. "If not the abysmal Keeping skills of Jacob Killian, what then could possibly have made you more one-dimensional than usual?"

"I'd rather not today, Skeres."

"Seriously, Carter," she said, temporarily dropping all pretence. "What's got your wand in a knot?"

"You know, oddly enough, I don't feel like sharing every single little detail about my life with someone I vehemently despise, Skeres."

She smirked. "Now that's much better."

He rolled his eyes at her.

Things didn't improve from that morning. By the time lunch arrived, Scott cornered Ethan in the Entrance Hall.

"Oi, what's going on? What did you and Alex –"

"Did you know?"

Scott blinked. "Did I know?"

"That he – she – I don't-" Ethan swallowed convulsively.

Scott narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I knew. If this is how you're going to act though, I regret telling Alex to tell you."

"I saw... in the shower..." he said hoarsely.

Scott felt like he was missing something. "What are you talking about, exactly?"

He told him. Scott didn't know how exactly to react to what he'd learned, so settled for: "Oh."

"Yeah; oh," Ethan said, his eye twitching. "So, what in Merlin's name are we going to do, huh?"

Scott looked at him confusedly. "What do you mean?"

Ethan looked at him as though he were dense. "We've got to tell someone, surely! I mean I think they ought to know –"

"What the bloody hell are you talking about you complete moron?" Scott raged, almost apoplectic.

"Well, think! Someone else could walk in, or she could –"

"You realise that everybody already knows, right?" Scott said through gritted teeth. "Yeah, it's just you who didn't; the village idiot who's about as insightful as a sodden rag!"

And he stormed off, leaving a dumbstruck Ethan behind him.

Scott spent the next couple of days mostly alone, and he knew that both Alex and Ethan were doing the same. He'd tried to speak with Alex more than once, but they'd quickly sped off, or pretended to be asleep every time that he'd tried. He didn't get the impression that Alex was mad with him, more ashamed and humiliated than anything else. Ethan, meanwhile, occupied himself entirely with his schoolwork and his pet frog-monkey. They weren't speaking, and he could tell that Ethan was stewing at the perceived injustice of it all.

Eventually, their first Flying class arrived. The Ravenclaw and Slytherin first years gathered on the flat stretch of grass where Madam Hooch had gathered them. She seemed quite a serious woman, with cropped grey hair and piercing yellow eyes.

"Come now, stand by a broom with your wand hand over the shaft," she ordered when they had all amassed on the field. "That's it. Now, broomsticks are enchanted to respond to your commands. These are typically non-verbal, but for the sake of today's lesson, we'll speak the commands aloud. When I blow my whistle, I want you all to command your broomsticks to fly into your hands like so: Up!" The broomstick that she'd positioned herself beside launched itself into her outstretched hand. "Right, everybody got that? Alright then, on the blow of the whistle." She blew.

At once, the assembled students broke out into choruses of "Up!" with varying results. Several broomsticks instantly found their way into the waiting arms of their respective commanders, whilst others were less fortunate.

Ethan's broom reacted quite strongly to his commands, flinging itself up with a thwack onto his head. Scott had to restrain himself from laughing, fearing that it would be taken the wrong way considering how things were between them. This didn't prevent Skeres, whose broom had been among the first to respond successfully, from picking up the slack. Her distinctive cackle left Ethan redder in the face than the fresh welt the broom had left behind. Alex, Scott was pleased to note, had been surprisingly successful with his broom, which was now gripped firmly by the blond; today a boy.

When they had all managed to get their brooms to behave, Madam Hooch began speaking again. "Excellent. Now, I want you to all to place your broomsticks between your legs in the pre-flight position. I'll come through and correct your grips individually for this step."

Several students had already managed to enact a decent grip, among which included Scott, Skeres, Cho, and a Slytherin boy, Montague. Hooch gave each of them pointers, and then they moved on to the next step, which was to actually leave the ground. A few of the students looked somewhat nervous at this, mostly those who hadn't flown, or as in Ethan's case, weren't particularly comfortable on a broom.

They each bent their knees as instructed, and pushed off the ground when Hooch blew her whistle. Ethan wobbled precariously, but managed to stay upright. Scott was faring far better, balancing quite well on the narrow old strip of wood. Skeres was making quite the show in attempting to one-up him, lazily hovering by. He noticed that Pellon was quite awkwardly perched on his broomstick; disappointingly though, he seemed to wobble far less than Ethan.

"Alright," Madam Hooch said, hovering beside the airborne group. "We'll begin with simple exercises that will test your ease with a broom, and separate you into three groups based on your capabilities. First, I want you to fly in a straight line, nice and simple to start off. If you could all line up along here..."

The tests were as simple as had been advertised, though they were effective at demonstrating their skill levels. After a few minutes, the three groups had been separated. Hooch gave each group their own space to do further exercises, and was at present focusing on the Beginners Group, which included Ethan, Edgecombe, Carmichael, and Belby, as well as two Slytherins. The Intermediate Group had the largest group by far, among which were Pellon and Haworth. The smallest group were the Experienced fliers, which consisted of Scott, Skeres, Montague, Cho, and to Scott's utter delight, Alex.

He grinned at him, to which he returned with a wobbly smile. Skeres was most displeased at this development. "Careful not to weigh your broom down, Carter. I'm not sure they were designed for your build," she said viciously.

Montague, the hypocrite, snorted at this jibe. The boy was about as large as Scott, and had the signs of being quite hairy for his age. It seemed Skeres was considered quite the comedian in her own house.

"Oh shut up, Skeres."

The response hadn't come from Scott, and they all turned with some surprise to look at Alex. Scott raised his eyebrows at him, to which he only responded with a smile, stronger than his last.

"Come on, we need to do our exercises," Chang said diplomatically, and before either of the Slytherins could bite back with a comment, the three Ravenclaws set to work. They executed a series of short dives and turns, with the Slytherin pair trailing along behind them. Scott felt fantastic all of a sudden. It had been far too long since his last broomstick ride, where he'd raced Lindsay over the Yorkshire Moors. He glanced over at Alex.

He was grinning. His face looked alive, radiant with joy, as though he'd never been as happy, as they went speeding through air, Highland wind wildly blowing their hair about.