Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The song "Defying Grafity" is from Wicked and I do not own it in any way.

Thrill of a Whisper
Chapter Four: Defying Gravity

Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity

"So, let me get this straight," Nat was saying, twirling her quill around, sprinkling her parchment with dots of black ink. "Werewolves are also called lycanthropes."

"Yes," I nodded, lounging in the grass on my stomach and looking at my Defence text with a great dislike.

It was a beautiful early September day - the second Saturday, in fact. The leaves were just beginning to change colour and it was one of the last warm days of the year that didn't call for scarves so we could take off our school robes and not freeze. Nat, Remus, James, and I were writing our Defence Against the Dark Arts essays out on the grounds under a beech tree on the edge of the lake that we frequented.

"And they only change the night of the full moon," Nat continued thoughtfully, wiping her wand over her parchment to clean up the stray ink.

"Obviously," James spoke up, his head propped up in the crook of my back and his text floating above his head with the aid of his wand.

Over the course of the beginning of the term, the two of us had become more accustomed to the relationship we were trying to pull off and it slowly became habit to always sit next to each other, hold hands in public, and occasionally kiss. It was obvious that our original contract had some flaws, so some amendments were made.

"Hm…," Nat furrowed her brow. "Then, Moony - "

"I was waiting for that," Remus mumbled under her breath, not looking up from his parchment, which he was writing his essay without the aid of his text.

" - why are you always gone a day or two after the full moon?"

Remus glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot before he said, "Nat, have you ever turned into a werewolf?"

"Not recently," Nat smirked.

"'Recently'?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Then you wouldn't understand why I'm not entirely up to class," Remus finished, giving her a wry look.

"I see," Nat replied, looking thoughtful again.

After a few silent moments, Nat cleared her throat again.

"So, do you have to be given permission before entering a room or whatever?"

"That's vampires," I corrected her. "However, you could kill him with a silver bullet if you saw fit."

"Really?" Nat asked, looking shocked. "I thought that was just a myth."

"You could probably kill anyone with a silver bullet if you aimed right," James pointed out, reaching up with his wand free hand and flipping the page.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Sirius asked, catching the end of the conversation with Peter, and sat himself down next to Nat, who melted back into his chest.

"Ways to kill me, apparently," Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, can I go fetch my list from our dormitory?" Peter asked, making to get to his feet.

"Ha-ha," Remus replied. "I really need to find a new set of friends - preferably ones who aren't out for my blood."

"Might I remind you, Moony, of just how boring your life would be without us to add a little colour everyday?" Sirius goaded, pulling his hand through his hair.

"It's true," I nodded, running the feather part of my quill along my cheek.

"Oh, hell, I have to go do Quidditch tryouts," James said suddenly, looking at his watch.

With a sigh, he jerked upright, letting go of his wand and allowing his Defence book to drop to the grass next to me. I sat up myself, glancing over at the Quidditch pitch, where a broken queue of Gryffindors was headed.

"I'll come with you," I volunteered, sliding my Defence book and parchment back into my bag.

"Are you going to try out?" James asked, a look of hope on his face. "You'd make a fair Seeker with you build and you're a good flier, if I remember correctly."

"Do you really think so?" I asked.

To be honest, I had been thinking about trying out since third year, but I never really had the gall to do it. Besides, the Gryffindor team hadn't won the Quidditch Cup since our second year and they were quickly becoming an object of scorn, which I wasn't interested in sharing with the rest of the team.

"Oh, don't pretend you're modest, Allie," Nat rolled her eyes. "You've been playing Quidditch since you could manage to fly."

"All right," I shrugged, giving James a smile, who looked as though he was about to cry. "I could at least try out, I suppose."

"You do realize that when you let her on the team, Prongs, everyone's going to figure it's only because you two are dating," Sirius pointed out as James and I both got to our feet.

"I've had worse rumours started about me," James smirked. "Let's go, Allie."

"Good luck!" Remus called after them.

As I straightened my bag on my shoulder, I swallowed hard and gave James a look. "D'you actually think I have a chance?"

"Thankfully Reagan finished last year - he was absolutely dreadful, but I wouldn't have the heart to not give him the spot since he's been playing since his second year and all. The only people that are trying out for the Seeker position are a score of second years and one fourth year who is almost twice the size of you," James raised an eyebrow, then ran his eyes up and down my body in an appraising way. "I wish I wouldn't have to put the others through trials and just give it to you now."

I felt myself flush slightly and turned away until the feeling passed.

"I left my broom at home," I admitted, giving him a worried look.

"You can borrow mine - it's in the broom shed," James offered. "I have a Nimbus 1500."

I felt my jaw drop and my eyes widen in shock. "Are you serious? You left that down in the shed?"

"Yeah, my mum and dad got me one for my birthday over the summer," James smirked, obviously amused by my reaction. "It's hidden; no one would be able to find it unless they knew where it was, believe me."

"I'm still on a 1000," I sighed, my eyes still wide.

"It's one of the upsides of being an only child," James shrugged. "But, c'mon, we have to hurry - I told everyone to be here nearly at noon and it's nearly quarter past."

Once they reached the pitch, James gave me a smile and quick good luck before sprinting into the middle of the pitch, where a group of about thirty students were standing in groups, broomsticks varying from the school's ancient ones to some of the newest models of Nimbuses and Comets in their hands. Before I joined the group, I hurried to fetch James's broom from his hiding place.

" - and I really don't want to have to deal with a bunch of complaints if you aren't chosen for the team," James was saying as I hurried forward, standing next to some old faces on the team, Wynn McDougal and Julia Cunningham, both seventh years, who gave me a nod of recognition. "So, if turned down you can either leave the pitch or wait patiently in the stands. If you are chosen, please wait so I can give you instructions on when we will be holding out first practice."

James let out a large breath, then gave them a wry smile. "The order of the trials is going to be Chasers, Beaters, Keeper, and Seeker." He took a moment to glance at me, which caused me to squirm slightly. "Well, why don't we just start?"

It didn't take terribly long for James to choose two other Chasers. Julia was given her spot back without much competition and was joined with Roger Brown, who was a very quick fourth year who had managed to not only steal the Quaffle from Julia, but score from nearly twenty-five meters away from the goal post. Roger and Julie sat behind James while a score of Gryffindors, all giving James angry looks, despite how obvious it was that the two he chose were perfect for the spots, filed into the stands on the other side of the field.

James chose a set of siblings for the two Beater positions - Karen and Aaron Newsome, a seventh and fifth year, respectively. As for the Keeper, James welcomed Wynn McDougal back with open arms, especially after watching six hopefuls miss every Quaffle thrown in by Julia and Roger.

When it finally came to the Seeker trial, I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. While the fourth year did look as though his broom would hardly be able to hold him up and the second years were looking at their brooms as though they didn't know how to work them, I began to feel the beginnings of stage fright in my stomach.

"I'm going to make this a simple test," James sighed, looking weary and ready to be finished with trials. "In this bag are six Snitches. Whoever catches on first gets the spot."

I sent James a look of despair. Sure, I was able to catch his Snitch easily, but that was always in closed quarters, not in the middle of an open space. However, James gave me an encouraging smile, which made me feel a bit better.

"Here goes," James said simply, opening the bag and allowing the Snitches to hover in the air for a few seconds, before they flew off in six different directions. After a few seconds head start, James nodded at the six of us.

Before I could even make notice of what the other tryouts were doing, I mounted and kicked off on James's broom and was speeding through the air.

"Bloody hell," I remarked, amazed at how much better this broom was than mine was. Maybe if I made it on the team my dad would try to talk my mum into upgrading my broom.

Shaking off the thoughts of a possible new broom, I scanned the air quickly in search for a golden streak. I noticed that one of the second years was having difficulty keeping his broom above three feet in the air and the others were cheering him on half-heartedly. The fourth year, on the other hand, was able to keep his own much better than I would have expected, so I began to search more earnestly.

After a few moments, I noticed a golden glint from underneath one of the goal posts. Before thinking twice, I urged the broom forward, streaking across the field. I could barely hear cheering from the other members of the team as I willed the broom to go faster. Reaching forward, but not slowing down, I felt my hand close around the golden ball. I did an immediate 360° turn and streaked to the ground, landing daintily on my feet in front of James and the rest of the team, who all looked quite pleased.

"Allie, you did that in less than three minutes!" James exclaimed, rushing forward and wrapping his arms around me before lowering his voice. "I'd like to hear complaints about you only getting the position because you're my girlfriend now."

'Your girlfriend,' I thought to myself, a smile playing on my lips as James kissed me hard on the cheek before addressing the rest of the team.

Author's Note: Oh, Quidditch. You have to love it. Anyways, thanks for reading and please let us know what you think!

kamers