Chapter 6
'Harry! Harry! Harry, wake up!' Someone said as they shook Harry wake.
'WTF!' Harry yelled as he awoke abruptly.
'Shh, Harry, its just me, Wood.'
'What the hell do you want? It's like, 6 in the morning. Go away. I need to sleep,' mumbled Harry as he closed his eyes, and stuck his head back under his pillow.
'You need to sleep? Hell, so do I, but the team needs to practice.'
'This is about Quidditch? Why didn't you say so?' Harry said as he quickly got out of bed.
'Meet me and the rest of the team on the pitch in 10 minutes.' Across the room, Harry could see Ron getting ready.
'Oh, and Harry?'
'Yeah?'
'You might wanna put some pants on.'
'Right.'
***~~~***
Harry and Ron sleepily walked out to the pitch. And yes, Harry was wearing pants. Through the thick mist, Harry could see the rest of the team gathered around Felicia and Wood. Most of them looked half asleep.
'Glad you two could join us. I know it's early, and a little chilly as well. I don't know what Harry has told you about me, but is probably true. I hate losing, but I've realized it's not the end of the world. I do get a little practice crazy, and many of you may envision many cold early morning practices ahead. But you will be happy to know that this is our first and last early morning practice. Hey, I need my sleep too!' Wood said, as the team cheered.
'I called this practice so we could get a jump ahead of everyone else. I don't know who you're playing first but I do know a lot about the other teams and their coaches. When we do know who you're playing, we'll be able to focus on their strengths and weaknesses. For now, Felicia's just going to teach you a few little tricks you won't learn in flying class. Felicia, take it away!'
'Alright, everyone on their brooms. No fancy stuff, just get a good seat.' Felicia, to demonstrate her point, just hopped on her broom, but then sped up above their heads. 'Ok, I'm going to conduct all my lessons from up here. At the beginning, you're going to keep near the ground, so if you fall off, you won't be very hurt. I'll come down from time to time to demonstrate a move better, but I can see what you are doing better from up here,' Felicia called down to the team.
'Just in case you do fall from a bigger height, they're will be something to help you,' Wood said as he pulled out his wand. 'Rubberus Trampolinium!' Wood said as he pointed his wand at the ground. A bright pink spark shot out and hit the ground, but nothing appeared. The team burst out laughing.
'Ah, Wood," Harry called. 'Maybe you should practice spells a little more or re-enroll back here at Hogwarts. Nothing happened. Nothing's there.'
'Oh, something's there.'
'How are we supposed to know that? We can't just expect not to fall to the ground, if we can't see what's protecting us!' Ron called, looking a little worried.
'Don't worry. You'll know it when you hit it.'
'That's reassuring!'
'Rusty! Attention! Up here! If you don't listen, you will fall.' Felicia flew down and stopped beside the group.
'Ok, I'm going to teach you a simple trick. The tricks will get progressively harder, but its early, and sleepy people make stupid mistakes. This trick is called The Monkey. No, that's really what it's called. All you have to do is get a firm grip on your broom with one hand and swing down. You'll be hanging onto the broom and dangling. You can beat a bludger, score a low goal, or catch a Snitch. It's easy, effective, and totally legal. I'll demonstrate it now.' Felicia flew about 20 feet above them. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a white ball. It seemed to be a glass globe filled with mist. It hung still in the air as she flew around. Quickly she swung down from her broom, grabbed the globe, and swung back up on her broom.
'Harry Potter, as team captain, I think you should be the first to try it. I'll let you grab the Misty as you go by,' Felicia said.
'Misty? What's a Misty? Is it that floaty, white thing?' Ron asked.
'Yes. Rusty, you are just full of questions, aren't you?'
'He probably gets it from his girlfriend,' Harry whispered to Wood.
'Dude, shut up!' Ron said to Harry, and then poked him.
'Boys! Hello? Up here? Girl sitting on broom trying to explain things. Yoo hoo! Thank you for your attention. Yes, the Misty is that White floaty thing you see before you. It's just a tool used by the Acrobatic and Quidditch teams. It stays in one spot, so it is used to teach young seekers how to seek, and helps acrobats learn the monkey and other things. There are other more advanced Mistys you can buy. Those ones move around. One is so advanced that it is just a large Snitch. C'mon, lets see what you can do.' Felicia flew down and placed the Misty in the air.
Harry flew around it and, to his amazement, swung down into the monkey and grabbed the Misty on his first try. Everyone applauded. Harry just hung there, not knowing how to get back up.
'Uh, Felicia? Wood? A little help here?'
'Why Harry, whatever is the matter?' Wood called up, with a mocking tone in his voice.
'Gee, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that I can't get down or back up on my broom and I am just hanging in the air! Ever think of that?.'
'I see. Well, if you want to get down, just let go.' Wood said.
'What? You're crazy!'
'Just do it. Trust me.'
'Umm, no!'
'Harry, what example are you setting for your team?' Now Wood was really teasing him.
'Ya, Harry, if you don't jump, how am I ever going to be able to listen to you again?' Ron called up. He was also getting into the spirit of things.
'Fine, but when I get down, I am going to kick your ass, Ron! Wood, you too and I better remain in one piece.' Harry closed his eyes and let go. He fell about 15 feet and was expecting to hit hard ground. But instead of ground, he hit a bouncy material, and bounced back onto his feet.
'Wood's spell did work! The ground is like a trampoline if you fall on it. I'm ok. It's ok. Just let go!' Harry yelled up. 'Accio Firebolt!' The broom rushed into Harry's hands, he swung himself onto and flew up back to the group.
He found that everyone was convinced and for the next hour, everyone had fun swinging down and then falling. By the time the bell rang for breakfast, they had all mastered The Monkey.
The kids all walked off laughing, and Felicia and Wood watched them go.
'They're a good bunch of kids. Smart, and they're fun to teach,' Felicia said as she leant against Wood.
'Ya, I'm sure they are but I can think of better things to do than talk about them,' Wood as he turned to kiss her.
'That was nice. I spy with my little eye a clearing in the wood that isn't be used at the moment,' Felicia whispered as she gave Wood a meaningful look.
'Ah.' Wood caught her meaning. 'Well, let's go make it feel useful.'
