Things get a bit heated in this next installment... oohoo, what can Kit
do?? Okay, shutting up before I give anything away... enjoy!!
Chapter Four:: Flying Lessons
It turned out that the only reason she had to sit and wait in that dank, empty classroom was because Snape had taken his own precious time sorting his stuff before 'discussing' as he called it, her punishment for tardiness and blah blah blah. That lecture had sure added a spring to her step at the end of the day.
Suddenly, a face popped up in front of her. "Hey." It said. Kit leaned hurriedly away from the stranger before realizing it was the dark haired boy she had met earlier in the day - but too late. Her perch on the rail was already precarious and as over half her weight leaned away from this boy, the other half followed and she tumbled from the bleachers. *Good lord,* she thought, *am I to die just after my first day of school?*
Just as suddenly as her plummet began, it stopped with a sharp tug on the back of her robes. A gasp escaped her lips as she felt herself being hauled upward and found herself staring into the same face - though now considerably paler. The boy gave a weak laugh. "Guess I, um, startled you a bit. Er, sorry."
"D - d'you meet everyone like this?" Kit gulped as she held onto the boy's shoulders.
He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I just noticed you watching our practice and decided I'd fly over and say hi. You being new and all, I figured you might enjoy the company." Kit managed a small smile.
"Don't worry, I'm getting used to falling. It seems that any natural grace I once possessed has left me. Ugh," she added after a pause, "I still feel so lightheaded."
"Ah, it's a common side affect to flying, don't worry." Kit looked down and gave a small gasp. They were at least twenty feet off the ground and still rising, but so slowly, she could hardly tell they were moving at all. She clung tighter to the boy facing her, pressing against him. He flushed.
"Um, would you mind not holding that close?" Looking up from the ground that was now so far beneath her, she realized she was nose to nose with him.
"S - sorry," she stammered out, "It's just, I've never left the ground behind before." The boy's luminous green eyes seemed to be laughing.
Solemnly, he said, "Then that means you've never flown before, meaning you don't know what you're missing. C'mon, I'll teach you!" His face was eager; Kit could hardly resist the offer. Now that she was over the initial shock of having nothing supporting her but a few bits of wood, she found she was enjoying joining the clouds above the earth. But... she hesitated.
"Oh, I wish I could." she said with a sigh. The boy's face fell. "Why couldn't you?" "I - I don't have a broom." she said a bit startled, thinking it obvious. He relaxed.
"Oh, is that all. We can borrow one from the Quidditch shed." Kit's eyes lit up.
"Really?" The boy shrugged. "Well, the Slytherins are practicing right now - they as soon as we got off the field, for once actually waiting." He made a face. "But I'm sure we can practice at the edge of the pitch. No one will mind...too much." He added under his breath.
By now, they had floated back near the ground and hovered a couple feet, leaving their feet to dangle. As soon as he said this, Kit leapt of the broom. "Let's go, then!" Amused by her enthusiasm, the boy dismounted slower.
"Um, I kinda forgot your name. I hope you're not mad or anything..." His voice trailed off as he shifted uncomfortably. Kit laughed.
"Not at all. We only met for like two seconds, anyway. My name is Kit." and she thrust her hand out toward him.
"Now, I hope you don't mind if I ask you to refresh my memory?" she said, cocking her head to one side. He took her hand and shook it, looking slightly amazed that she had asked his name.
"Oh yeah, um, I'm Harry Potter."
Kit gave a slight nod. "Harry Potter. Got it." Then, linking her arm through his, she began to march comically forward.
"Off to the - what is it? Kwilitch? - Oh, okay, off to the Quidditch shack!"
"Um," Harry struggled not to laugh, "The Quidditch shack is the other way." He said pointing.
"Oh. Right." And they about faced and headed in the opposite direction.
~*(())*~~*(())*~*(())*~~*(())*~*(())*~~*(())*~
Five minutes later, they were out in the pitch, brooms in hand and ready to begin her first flying lesson. Ten minutes later, Harry had finished positioning her and correcting her grip. Another fifteen minutes and they were up in the air again - this time on separate brooms.
Harry had warned her to start out low, in case she fell, but she couldn't help but going higher. The feel of flying was so - so - exhilarating; she had to soar up high enough to share her joy with the clouds. Daringly, she did a loop-the-loop and spun wildly through the air, overjoyed. How could she have missed out on something so wonderful for so long?
Oh, here came Harry - she hoped he wasn't too upset, but he was yelling something - she couldn't make it out. Chagrined, Kit began to descend slowly back toward the ground, when she felt, rather than saw, an object hurtling her way. Instinctively, she pulled back - just as a round, black ball shot past her, exactly where her nose had been. She knew it had turned around, and this time she ducked as it pelted toward her, once again leaving it to soar harmlessly over her. What was that thing?
Suddenly, a blonde boy appeared in front of her, and as that - thing - came back one last time, he whacked it with all his might with a small wooden bat, sending it spiraling to the other end of the field.
"Crabbe! What the bloody devil were you thinking?!" He yelled to a bulky figure that looked like he could crush the blonde boy into a pulp.
"I - it's okay, really -" Kit began, but was surprised to see the hulk lift his meaty shoulders into a shrug and call back a halfhearted, "Sorry!" Apparently, he was the one who had shot the thing at her, though he was currently paddle-less. The blonde boy seemed to be in possession of it. Ignoring the apology, the boy turned toward her as they sank from the sky.
"Are you all right?" he asked, his silver eyes catching the light, glinting.
"Y- yes, thank you. What was that thing, anyway?" She asked, surprised at her breathlessness. She shrugged mentally; excitement.
"Oh, that was just a bludger." He said dismissively. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, thanks to you." she answered.
This seemed to satisfy him. "Oh, okay." The blonde boy gazed at her intently. Kit stared back. He was cute. His face was slim and handsome, with high cheekbones and skin that seemed as light as her own - now tinged pink by the December chill. His platinum blonde hair, slightly tousled by the wind, and his silver eyes seemed to accentuate this all the more.
She found her eyes next drawn to his lips - the perfect shade, not extremely dark as to clash with his face, but not so light as to blend in. They were the color of a peach ripe for picking, tinged with red... *what the heck am I thinking?* she could feel the tips of her ears redden.
"My name's Draco Malfoy." The boy said abruptly, his eyes fixed on her face, a slight smirk lingering on his - perfect - lips.
"Oh, I'm Kit." She said, holding her hand out for him to shake. Instead, he shocked her by bowing over it and brushing his lips over the back of her hand. Before she could stop it, Kit felt her eyes change from silver to green in surprise before flicking to an amber with embarrassment. As his eyes were still fixed on her face, she highly doubted he could have missed the change, but if he noticed, he didn't mention it. "It's an honor to meet you, Kit." He said softly.
Just as Kit was about to stammer out a reply - he was still holding her hand - Harry came running up to them, broom in hand.
"Kit!" He exclaimed, panting heavily. "Are you okay?"
"No thanks to you, Golden Boy." Draco answered. "I guess your broom isn't as great as all that." He said, sneering. Kit shot him a strange look as she turned to face Harry. His face was stony, but both boys' eyes sent out a positive loathing for the other.
"Yea, I'm all right Harry. Draco shot the bludger away down the field." Harry winced.
"You're already on a first name basis with him?" He blurted. This time the Look was sent Harry's way.
"Why not?"
"Yeah, Golden Boy," Draco smirked at Harry, "why not?" Glancing down at the two's hands, Harry opened his mouth but was cut off by a gasp from Kit.
"Ohmigosh, Hannah is going to have a fit! I'm so late to study with her!" And with that, she gently eased her hand from Draco's grasp, pecked both boys on the cheek and ran off, leaving the two dumbfounded. Harry and Draco stared at each other in silence, for once having no glib replies at the ready to toss off at the other. They mirrored each other's expression perfectly: Shock.
~*(())*~~*(())*~*(())*~~*(())*~*(())*~~*(())*~
Twenty minutes later, a thoroughly chagrined Kit sat in front of a stern faced Hannah, head hanging.
"I'm so sorry, Hannah. It's just that I met this one guy, Harry Potter, and he offered to teach me to fly and then I ran into another guy, Draco Malfoy, I think, yeah, well, he kinda saved me, and anyway, *they* ran into each other after I had an incident with this black ball, Draco called it a bludger - fitting name -" Kit took a breath before finishing with, "- and I'm pretty sure that they - Harry and Draco - didn't have too good of a history together... um. D'you forgive me?" She said sheepishly.
The once stern Hannah Abbot was now a thunderstruck Hannah Abbot.
"Harry Potter - The Harry Potter - is giving you flying lessons? Malfoy saved you? Girl, what have you been doing today?"
"Oh, I've been here and there by accident..." Kit said vaguely, waving her hand. "But do you forgive me?"
"Of course I forgive you," Hannah said impatiently, "On the condition that you tell me *everything* that happened when I wasn't around you."
So Kit began.
At the end of her tale, Hannah slowly sank back into the big sofa recliner she was sitting in. She laughed weakly.
"Saying the Harry and Malfoy 'don't have a good history together' is an understatement. Those two are enemies of the worst kind... to think you've caught the attention of both... this could mean war, even though both already have girlfriends." She said teasingly. Kit flushed.
"Uh oh."
"What? What's uh-oh mean?" Hannah demanded. Kit shifted uncomfortably in the chair next to her.
"It's just that, well." She cleared her throat. "Um, on a grand scale from 1-10, how much worse do you think things could get if I...kinda happened to... um..."
"Spit it out!"
"...kiss them?"
"You did WHAT?!" Hannah shrieked, rising once again out of her chair.
"To who? When? Did the other see? Did *anyone* see?"
Kit shrank down in her seat.
"Both of them on the cheek, when I was leaving. They were glaring daggers at each other when I did it, they'd have to be blind not to have noticed." She shifted again, agitated.
"I hadn't really thought about it. I mean, I usually do it when I say goodbye. The Slytherin Quidditch team was there, too. I didn't really think about them either." She cringed. Just then, Ernie Macmillan strode over to see what the commotion was.
"Ladies, ladies, what's going on? It can't be bad enough to start yelling. Hannah, sit down, you're a prefect, what kind of example are you setting? Kit, stop fidgeting." Both girls obeyed, Hannah sinking weakly back into her chair, Kit folding her hands tightly in her lap. Satisfied with their prompt obedience, Ernie asked,
"Now, what's the problem? You two are supposed to be doing you homework and studying for the upcoming test in Herbology." So Hannah recited Kit's first day to Ernie, her voice trembling with shock. At the end of the narration, Ernie was left gaping like a stranded fish; for once, he was left speechless.
"Jeez, Kit," he said weakly when he got his voice back, "You *kissed* the two greatest enemies in all of Hogwarts, in front of the entire Slytherin Quidditch team?"
"It was on the cheek," Kit said defensively, her stomach sinking, "and not all of them were watching from the air."
"Yeah, but they'll all definitely know by now, with a couple extra details, seeing as it was Malfoy you kissed. You mightn't have known this, but he's exactly the kiss-and-tell type." He shot back.
"Ernie." Hannah warned. The three were silent.
"Well." Ernie said after a pause, standing up again. "There's nothing we can do but hope for the best." His face told the two girls he had no idea what the 'best' was.
"Oh, come on, you guys!" Kit blurted, "You're acting like somebody died!" Ernie didn't answer, just wandered away from their table. After a while, the two continued with their work in silence. Kit's mind was racing furiously, replaying all that had happened.
Why was she always so dumb? Not that it all had been her fault. Sure, kissing the two might've been her fault, as well as ignoring their plain hatred of the other. But she hadn't known that Harry Potter happened to be the Boy Who Lived, in all caps, not to mention the one who sent Draco Malfoy's father to soundingly the worst place on earth - not that he had stayed there for long, but still.
She did think that Ernie and Hannah were exaggerating a bit on Draco's complete horridness. They made him sound like the most despicable git on earth. But he wasn't as bad as all that - he couldn't be; sure, he was a little slick, but hey, anyone with his looks deserved to b.
Kit finished her work and slowly trundled off to bed, trying not to envision the day looming ahead of her.
Chapter Four:: Flying Lessons
It turned out that the only reason she had to sit and wait in that dank, empty classroom was because Snape had taken his own precious time sorting his stuff before 'discussing' as he called it, her punishment for tardiness and blah blah blah. That lecture had sure added a spring to her step at the end of the day.
Suddenly, a face popped up in front of her. "Hey." It said. Kit leaned hurriedly away from the stranger before realizing it was the dark haired boy she had met earlier in the day - but too late. Her perch on the rail was already precarious and as over half her weight leaned away from this boy, the other half followed and she tumbled from the bleachers. *Good lord,* she thought, *am I to die just after my first day of school?*
Just as suddenly as her plummet began, it stopped with a sharp tug on the back of her robes. A gasp escaped her lips as she felt herself being hauled upward and found herself staring into the same face - though now considerably paler. The boy gave a weak laugh. "Guess I, um, startled you a bit. Er, sorry."
"D - d'you meet everyone like this?" Kit gulped as she held onto the boy's shoulders.
He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I just noticed you watching our practice and decided I'd fly over and say hi. You being new and all, I figured you might enjoy the company." Kit managed a small smile.
"Don't worry, I'm getting used to falling. It seems that any natural grace I once possessed has left me. Ugh," she added after a pause, "I still feel so lightheaded."
"Ah, it's a common side affect to flying, don't worry." Kit looked down and gave a small gasp. They were at least twenty feet off the ground and still rising, but so slowly, she could hardly tell they were moving at all. She clung tighter to the boy facing her, pressing against him. He flushed.
"Um, would you mind not holding that close?" Looking up from the ground that was now so far beneath her, she realized she was nose to nose with him.
"S - sorry," she stammered out, "It's just, I've never left the ground behind before." The boy's luminous green eyes seemed to be laughing.
Solemnly, he said, "Then that means you've never flown before, meaning you don't know what you're missing. C'mon, I'll teach you!" His face was eager; Kit could hardly resist the offer. Now that she was over the initial shock of having nothing supporting her but a few bits of wood, she found she was enjoying joining the clouds above the earth. But... she hesitated.
"Oh, I wish I could." she said with a sigh. The boy's face fell. "Why couldn't you?" "I - I don't have a broom." she said a bit startled, thinking it obvious. He relaxed.
"Oh, is that all. We can borrow one from the Quidditch shed." Kit's eyes lit up.
"Really?" The boy shrugged. "Well, the Slytherins are practicing right now - they as soon as we got off the field, for once actually waiting." He made a face. "But I'm sure we can practice at the edge of the pitch. No one will mind...too much." He added under his breath.
By now, they had floated back near the ground and hovered a couple feet, leaving their feet to dangle. As soon as he said this, Kit leapt of the broom. "Let's go, then!" Amused by her enthusiasm, the boy dismounted slower.
"Um, I kinda forgot your name. I hope you're not mad or anything..." His voice trailed off as he shifted uncomfortably. Kit laughed.
"Not at all. We only met for like two seconds, anyway. My name is Kit." and she thrust her hand out toward him.
"Now, I hope you don't mind if I ask you to refresh my memory?" she said, cocking her head to one side. He took her hand and shook it, looking slightly amazed that she had asked his name.
"Oh yeah, um, I'm Harry Potter."
Kit gave a slight nod. "Harry Potter. Got it." Then, linking her arm through his, she began to march comically forward.
"Off to the - what is it? Kwilitch? - Oh, okay, off to the Quidditch shack!"
"Um," Harry struggled not to laugh, "The Quidditch shack is the other way." He said pointing.
"Oh. Right." And they about faced and headed in the opposite direction.
~*(())*~~*(())*~*(())*~~*(())*~*(())*~~*(())*~
Five minutes later, they were out in the pitch, brooms in hand and ready to begin her first flying lesson. Ten minutes later, Harry had finished positioning her and correcting her grip. Another fifteen minutes and they were up in the air again - this time on separate brooms.
Harry had warned her to start out low, in case she fell, but she couldn't help but going higher. The feel of flying was so - so - exhilarating; she had to soar up high enough to share her joy with the clouds. Daringly, she did a loop-the-loop and spun wildly through the air, overjoyed. How could she have missed out on something so wonderful for so long?
Oh, here came Harry - she hoped he wasn't too upset, but he was yelling something - she couldn't make it out. Chagrined, Kit began to descend slowly back toward the ground, when she felt, rather than saw, an object hurtling her way. Instinctively, she pulled back - just as a round, black ball shot past her, exactly where her nose had been. She knew it had turned around, and this time she ducked as it pelted toward her, once again leaving it to soar harmlessly over her. What was that thing?
Suddenly, a blonde boy appeared in front of her, and as that - thing - came back one last time, he whacked it with all his might with a small wooden bat, sending it spiraling to the other end of the field.
"Crabbe! What the bloody devil were you thinking?!" He yelled to a bulky figure that looked like he could crush the blonde boy into a pulp.
"I - it's okay, really -" Kit began, but was surprised to see the hulk lift his meaty shoulders into a shrug and call back a halfhearted, "Sorry!" Apparently, he was the one who had shot the thing at her, though he was currently paddle-less. The blonde boy seemed to be in possession of it. Ignoring the apology, the boy turned toward her as they sank from the sky.
"Are you all right?" he asked, his silver eyes catching the light, glinting.
"Y- yes, thank you. What was that thing, anyway?" She asked, surprised at her breathlessness. She shrugged mentally; excitement.
"Oh, that was just a bludger." He said dismissively. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, thanks to you." she answered.
This seemed to satisfy him. "Oh, okay." The blonde boy gazed at her intently. Kit stared back. He was cute. His face was slim and handsome, with high cheekbones and skin that seemed as light as her own - now tinged pink by the December chill. His platinum blonde hair, slightly tousled by the wind, and his silver eyes seemed to accentuate this all the more.
She found her eyes next drawn to his lips - the perfect shade, not extremely dark as to clash with his face, but not so light as to blend in. They were the color of a peach ripe for picking, tinged with red... *what the heck am I thinking?* she could feel the tips of her ears redden.
"My name's Draco Malfoy." The boy said abruptly, his eyes fixed on her face, a slight smirk lingering on his - perfect - lips.
"Oh, I'm Kit." She said, holding her hand out for him to shake. Instead, he shocked her by bowing over it and brushing his lips over the back of her hand. Before she could stop it, Kit felt her eyes change from silver to green in surprise before flicking to an amber with embarrassment. As his eyes were still fixed on her face, she highly doubted he could have missed the change, but if he noticed, he didn't mention it. "It's an honor to meet you, Kit." He said softly.
Just as Kit was about to stammer out a reply - he was still holding her hand - Harry came running up to them, broom in hand.
"Kit!" He exclaimed, panting heavily. "Are you okay?"
"No thanks to you, Golden Boy." Draco answered. "I guess your broom isn't as great as all that." He said, sneering. Kit shot him a strange look as she turned to face Harry. His face was stony, but both boys' eyes sent out a positive loathing for the other.
"Yea, I'm all right Harry. Draco shot the bludger away down the field." Harry winced.
"You're already on a first name basis with him?" He blurted. This time the Look was sent Harry's way.
"Why not?"
"Yeah, Golden Boy," Draco smirked at Harry, "why not?" Glancing down at the two's hands, Harry opened his mouth but was cut off by a gasp from Kit.
"Ohmigosh, Hannah is going to have a fit! I'm so late to study with her!" And with that, she gently eased her hand from Draco's grasp, pecked both boys on the cheek and ran off, leaving the two dumbfounded. Harry and Draco stared at each other in silence, for once having no glib replies at the ready to toss off at the other. They mirrored each other's expression perfectly: Shock.
~*(())*~~*(())*~*(())*~~*(())*~*(())*~~*(())*~
Twenty minutes later, a thoroughly chagrined Kit sat in front of a stern faced Hannah, head hanging.
"I'm so sorry, Hannah. It's just that I met this one guy, Harry Potter, and he offered to teach me to fly and then I ran into another guy, Draco Malfoy, I think, yeah, well, he kinda saved me, and anyway, *they* ran into each other after I had an incident with this black ball, Draco called it a bludger - fitting name -" Kit took a breath before finishing with, "- and I'm pretty sure that they - Harry and Draco - didn't have too good of a history together... um. D'you forgive me?" She said sheepishly.
The once stern Hannah Abbot was now a thunderstruck Hannah Abbot.
"Harry Potter - The Harry Potter - is giving you flying lessons? Malfoy saved you? Girl, what have you been doing today?"
"Oh, I've been here and there by accident..." Kit said vaguely, waving her hand. "But do you forgive me?"
"Of course I forgive you," Hannah said impatiently, "On the condition that you tell me *everything* that happened when I wasn't around you."
So Kit began.
At the end of her tale, Hannah slowly sank back into the big sofa recliner she was sitting in. She laughed weakly.
"Saying the Harry and Malfoy 'don't have a good history together' is an understatement. Those two are enemies of the worst kind... to think you've caught the attention of both... this could mean war, even though both already have girlfriends." She said teasingly. Kit flushed.
"Uh oh."
"What? What's uh-oh mean?" Hannah demanded. Kit shifted uncomfortably in the chair next to her.
"It's just that, well." She cleared her throat. "Um, on a grand scale from 1-10, how much worse do you think things could get if I...kinda happened to... um..."
"Spit it out!"
"...kiss them?"
"You did WHAT?!" Hannah shrieked, rising once again out of her chair.
"To who? When? Did the other see? Did *anyone* see?"
Kit shrank down in her seat.
"Both of them on the cheek, when I was leaving. They were glaring daggers at each other when I did it, they'd have to be blind not to have noticed." She shifted again, agitated.
"I hadn't really thought about it. I mean, I usually do it when I say goodbye. The Slytherin Quidditch team was there, too. I didn't really think about them either." She cringed. Just then, Ernie Macmillan strode over to see what the commotion was.
"Ladies, ladies, what's going on? It can't be bad enough to start yelling. Hannah, sit down, you're a prefect, what kind of example are you setting? Kit, stop fidgeting." Both girls obeyed, Hannah sinking weakly back into her chair, Kit folding her hands tightly in her lap. Satisfied with their prompt obedience, Ernie asked,
"Now, what's the problem? You two are supposed to be doing you homework and studying for the upcoming test in Herbology." So Hannah recited Kit's first day to Ernie, her voice trembling with shock. At the end of the narration, Ernie was left gaping like a stranded fish; for once, he was left speechless.
"Jeez, Kit," he said weakly when he got his voice back, "You *kissed* the two greatest enemies in all of Hogwarts, in front of the entire Slytherin Quidditch team?"
"It was on the cheek," Kit said defensively, her stomach sinking, "and not all of them were watching from the air."
"Yeah, but they'll all definitely know by now, with a couple extra details, seeing as it was Malfoy you kissed. You mightn't have known this, but he's exactly the kiss-and-tell type." He shot back.
"Ernie." Hannah warned. The three were silent.
"Well." Ernie said after a pause, standing up again. "There's nothing we can do but hope for the best." His face told the two girls he had no idea what the 'best' was.
"Oh, come on, you guys!" Kit blurted, "You're acting like somebody died!" Ernie didn't answer, just wandered away from their table. After a while, the two continued with their work in silence. Kit's mind was racing furiously, replaying all that had happened.
Why was she always so dumb? Not that it all had been her fault. Sure, kissing the two might've been her fault, as well as ignoring their plain hatred of the other. But she hadn't known that Harry Potter happened to be the Boy Who Lived, in all caps, not to mention the one who sent Draco Malfoy's father to soundingly the worst place on earth - not that he had stayed there for long, but still.
She did think that Ernie and Hannah were exaggerating a bit on Draco's complete horridness. They made him sound like the most despicable git on earth. But he wasn't as bad as all that - he couldn't be; sure, he was a little slick, but hey, anyone with his looks deserved to b.
Kit finished her work and slowly trundled off to bed, trying not to envision the day looming ahead of her.